JPH08249538A - Automatic cup-type beverage vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To stably support cups of deferent sizes with a simple control structure and to always align the central axes of those cups in respective size. CONSTITUTION: A pair of cup holders 57a and 57b are respectively supported through a supporting shaft so as to be freely rotatable, hand parts 58 opposed to each other for pinching the upper end part of cup are provided, steps 62 are formed on the inner faces of these hand parts 58 and with this step 62 as a border, the hand part is divided into an upside first pinching part 58a and a downside second pinching part 58b expanded inside the hand part 58 rather than the first pinching part 58a. Then, the level of the height of a cup stage 52 and the interval width of hand parts 58 at the respective cup holders 57a and 57b are controlled corresponding to the size of cup sent into a cup supporter 15, and the upper end part of the cup is pinched by any one of first and second pinching parts 58a and 58b at these hand parts 58.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cup-type beverage vending machine for storing hot drinks and cold drinks of a plurality of varieties in a cup having a size suitable for the varieties.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an automatic vending machine of this type, JP-A-6-
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 231,359, there is provided a cup supporting device having a cup stage for supporting a bottom portion of the cup and a pair of cup holders for sandwiching side surfaces of the cup arranged on the cup stage. It is known that a cup is supported by a supporting device and a drink is contained in the cup for sale.

As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-334546, a cup supporting device is provided so as to be movable in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and the cup supported by the cup supporting device is supported by the cup supporting device. The beverage moves by moving in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction integrally with the device and transporting it to each position for receiving the raw material of the beverage, hot water, water, etc., and receiving the raw material, hot water, water, etc. in the cup at that position. It is known that a cup is prepared, and the cup is integrated with a cup supporting device to be transported to a position inside the selling port for sale.

[0004] By the way, in a vending machine for selling beverages of a plurality of varieties, a cup having a size corresponding to the varieties of the beverages is prepared, and a cup of each size is selected according to the varieties of the beverages to be sold. Supplied to the cup support device. Cup sizes include, for example, 6.5 ounces, 7 ounces, 9 ounces, 12 ounces, 16 ounces, and cups of these sizes are commonly used in vending machines.

The cup supporting device in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-231359 discloses a cup stage that can be raised and lowered, a pair of cup holders arranged above the cup stage, and one of the pair of cup holders in the horizontal direction. And a moving means for moving the cup stage, the cup stage is moved up and down according to the size of the cup supplied to the cup supporting device, and one of the cup holders is horizontally moved so that the gap between the cup holders is increased. I am trying to correspond to the size of.

[0006]

However, in the cup supporting device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-231359, the cup stage is moved up and down according to each size of the cup, and the cup holder is moved horizontally. This makes the control structure complicated and expensive.

Further, when only one of the pair of cup holders for holding the cup is moved horizontally, it is possible to hold a cup having a small diameter and a cup having a large diameter. The center axis of the cup will be misaligned.

Generally, the cup is supported by a cup supporting device,
After receiving the beverage ingredients, hot water, water, etc. in this cup, insert the stirring rod of the stirring device into the cup, and stir the contents in the cup through this stirring rod to obtain a homogeneous beverage. Is prepared.

At this time, in order to efficiently and effectively stir the beverage in the cup, it is preferable to insert a stirring rod along the central axis of the cup, but as described above, in the conventional cup supporting device. The position of the center axis of each cup shifts depending on the size of the cup, which makes it difficult to insert the stirring rod along the center axis of each size cup, and as a result, the stirring of the beverage There is a risk that the efficiency will decrease and insufficient stirring will occur. Incidentally, JP-A-6-2313
Although it is possible to horizontally move both of the pair of cup holders in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59, the center axes of the cups of the respective sizes coincide with each other due to the specific structure and movement thereof. There is no disclosure of such a cliché.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a point, and an object of the present invention is to stably support cups of each size with a simple control structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cup-type beverage vending machine in which the central axes of the cups are always aligned and the stirring rod can be inserted along the central axes of the cups.

[0011]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention selectively feeds any one of a plurality of sizes of cups housed in a cup case to a cup supporting device, The cup supporting device is sequentially transported to each position for supplying the raw material of the beverage, hot water, water, etc. by the transport mechanism to receive the raw material, hot water, water, etc. in the cup,
And in a cup-type beverage vending machine for stirring the contents in the cup with a stirring rod of a stirring device to prepare a beverage, and further transporting the cup supporting device to the inside of the selling port to sell the beverage, the cup The support device includes a cup stage that supports the bottom of the cup and can move up and down, a stage drive mechanism that drives the cup stage, and a pair of cup stages that are arranged above the cup stage and that face each other on the left and right and that open and close in conjunction with each other. Cup holders and a holder drive mechanism for driving these cup holders, and the pair of cup holders are rotatably supported via support shafts, and are arranged to hold each other at their upper ends. It has opposite hand parts, and steps are formed on the inner surfaces of these hand parts. A first clamping portion, the first at the bottom side
And a second holding portion that extends inward of the hand portion with respect to the holding portion, and controls the stage driving mechanism and the holder driving mechanism according to the size of the cup sent to the cup supporting device. Adjusting the height level of the cup stage and the width of the space between the hand parts in each cup holder so that the upper end part of the cup is held by either one of the first and second holding parts of the hand parts. Is.

[0012]

When the gap width between the pair of cup holders is adjusted to a certain width, the width L1 between the first holding portions becomes small and the width L2 between the second holding portions becomes large. Therefore, the cup stage is held at, for example, the high level H position, and the cup C1 having a small height and a small diameter is placed on the cup stage.
The upper edge of the cup C1 when the
It can be held between the holding portions and can be supported in a stable state.

When the cup C2 having a height and diameter slightly larger than the cup C1 is arranged on the cup stage, the gap width of the cup holder and the height position of the cup stage can be changed without changing the position. Cup C2
The upper edge of the can be held between the second holding parts and supported in a stable state.

When the gap width of the cup holder is adjusted to a wider width, the width between the first holding portions and the width between the second holding portions become larger than the widths L1 and L2, respectively, and the widths of L3 and L4 are increased. Width. When the cup stage is held at the low level L, and the cup C3 having a height higher than the cup C2 and a larger diameter is arranged on the cup stage, the upper edge of the cup C3 becomes the first edge. It is held between the two holding parts and is supported in a stable state.

When a cup C4 having a height and diameter larger than that of the cup C3 is arranged on the cup stage, the interval width of the cup holder and the height of the cup stage are not changed. The upper edge of the cup C4 can be held between the second holding portions and supported in a stable state.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 2 and 3 show a housing 1 of a vending machine, in which raw material powder such as coffee or cocoa is contained and the raw material powder is discharged from the outlets 2a and 3a by a predetermined amount. Canisters 2 and 3 to be supplied, a predetermined amount of coffee powder crushed in a coffee mill 5a are brewed with hot water to extract coffee, and the extracted coffee is supplied from a coffee brewer 5 through a discharge port 5b, sugar and milk as additives. And the like, and discharge it by a predetermined amount 6
a, 7a, canisters 6, 7, syrup tanks 8a, 9a, 10a, syrup feeders 8, 9 and 10, hot water heaters that inhale various syrups in nozzles 8b, 9b and 10b A hot water supply device 11 for supplying a predetermined amount of hot water boiled in 11a from a nozzle 11b,
A cold water supplier 12 that sucks cold water in the cooling tank 12a and supplies it from the nozzle 12b by a predetermined amount, an ice supplier 13 that supplies ice pieces manufactured by the ice maker 13a from the outlet 13b by a predetermined amount, and the like are provided. There is.

Further, a stirring device 14 is provided in the housing 1, and this stirring device 14 is provided with a stirring rod 14a with a propeller capable of moving up and down, and the stirring rod 14a is lowered and rotated at a constant speed. It is designed to stir the contents in the cup.

Further, the cup supporting device 15 is provided in the housing 1.
The cup support device 15 is configured to be transported by the transport mechanism 16 in the left and right X-axis directions and the front and rear Y-axis directions.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, the transport mechanism 16 includes a pair of fixed rails 17, 1 extending in the left-right direction of the housing 1.
7 and a movable rail 18 hung between the fixed rails 17 and 17, and a cup support device 15 is provided on the movable rail 18.

The movable rail 18 is moved by the DC motor 19 along the longitudinal direction of the fixed rails 17, 17.
The cup supporting device 15 is moved along the longitudinal direction of the movable rail 18 under the control of the DC motor 20, so that the cup supporting device 15 is conveyed in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

A front door 25 is rotatably provided at an opening on the front surface of the housing 1 via a hinge 24. A sales port 26 is formed in the front door 25, and a cup case 27 is attached to the inside of the front door 25. The cup case 27 has a different size, for example, 6.5 ounces,
Multiple cups of 7 ounces, 9 ounces, 12 ounces, and 16 ounces are stored.

On the front surface of the front door 25, the coin slot 3
0, a bill insertion slot 31, a change return slot 32, and a plurality of selection buttons 33 for selecting the kind of beverage, and a control unit having a microcomputer (not shown) inside the front door 25. 34 are provided.

When a coin is inserted into the coin insertion slot 30 or a bill is inserted into the bill insertion slot 31 and a desired selection button 33 is operated, the transport mechanism 16 is controlled via the control section 34, and the cup supporting device is operated. 15 is conveyed below the cup case 27. Along with this conveyance, a predetermined cup C is transferred from the inside of the cup case 27 to the cup supporting device 1.
Sent to 5.

After that, the cup supporting device 15 is sequentially transported to a predetermined position for receiving the raw material of the beverage via the transport mechanism 16 as shown in FIG. For example, first, the coffee powder is transported to a position below the discharge port 2a of the canister 2, and the coffee powder supplied from the discharge port 2a of the canister 2 is received in the cup C at this position.

Next, the cup support device 15 is conveyed to a position below the discharge port 6a of the sugar canister 6, and at this position, the sugar supplied from the discharge port 6a of the canister 6 is received in the cup C. Further, the cup support device 15 is conveyed to a position below the milk discharge port 7a of the canister 7, and at this position, the milk supplied from the discharge port 7a of the canister 7 is received in the cup C.

After that, the cup supporting device 15 is conveyed to a position below the nozzle 11b of the hot water supplier 11,
At this position, the hot water supplied from the nozzle 11b is received in the cup C.

Next, the cup supporting device 15 is changed to the stirring device 14.
When the cup C is conveyed to a position below, and the cup C reaches this position, the stirring device 14 is driven and the stirring rod 14a descends and is inserted into the cup C.
The stirring rod 14a rotates to stir the contents in the cup C.

When the stirring of the contents is completed, the stirring rod 14 rises and the cup supporting device 15 is conveyed to the position inside the selling port 26 in the front door 25. Then, the cup C can be taken out from the front side of the front door 25 through the selling port 26. After the cup C is taken out from the cup supporting device 15, the cup supporting device 15 is conveyed to a predetermined standby position and waits for the next operation at the standby position.

In the case of other beverages, for example, in the case of syrup beverages, the syrup stock solution is placed in the cup C via the syrup feeders 8, 9 and 10, the cold water is fed via the cold water feeder 12, and the ice feeder 13 is fed. The ice pieces are sequentially supplied via the stirrer, and the contents are stirred via the stirring rod 14a of the stirring device 14.

In the cup supporting device 15, the movable rail 18 is driven in the X-axis direction along the fixed rail 17 by the DC motor 19, and the cup supporting device 15 is driven in the Y-axis direction along the movable rail 18 by the DC motor 20. By being driven, it is transported to each position.

As shown in FIG. 5, DC motors 19 and 20
Has terminals A and B, and when an H (high) signal is applied to the terminal A via the control section 24 and an L (low) signal is applied to the terminal B, the DC motors 19, 20 When the movable rail 18 and the cup support device 15 move in one direction, and the signal of L is applied to the terminal A via the control unit 24 and the signal of H is applied to the terminal B, DC The motors 19 and 20 reversely rotate and the movable rail 18 and the cup support device 15 move in opposite directions.

The DC motors 19 and 20 are set to the brake mode by applying the L signal to the terminals A and B except when the DC motors 19 and 20 are operated. By this setting, the cup supporting device 15 vibrates when the cup supporting device 15 is stopped. It is surely held at the predetermined position without moving carelessly.

By the way, at the time of cleaning or maintenance of the housing 1, it is convenient for the operation to manually move the cup supporting device 15 to a corner of the housing 1, but D
When the C motors 19 and 20 are set to the brake mode, it becomes difficult to move the cup support device 15 manually.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a brake mode release switch 37 is provided between the front door 25 and the housing 1, and when the front door 25 is opened,
The release switch 37 opens the power supply circuits of the C motors 19 and 20 to release the brake mode, whereby the cup supporting device 15 can be manually moved freely. The brake mode release switch 37 may be provided on, for example, an operation panel inside the front door 25 so that it can be operated arbitrarily regardless of the opening / closing operation of the front door 25.

Next, regarding the structure of the cup supporting device 15,
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 10. The cup supporting device 15 has a vertically long device case 40, and the device case 4
A guide shaft 42 is vertically installed in the shaft 0, and a U-shaped movable body 43 is vertically slidably mounted on an intermediate portion of the guide shaft 42. A laterally long fitting hole 44 is formed on the side surface of the movable body 43 as shown in FIG.

Further, in the equipment case 40, a gear drive
Is provided with a rotary shaft 4 of the geared motor 47.
8, a crank 49 is attached, and a roller 50 is rotatably attached to an end portion of the crank 49.
0 is fitted in the fitting hole 44 of the movable body 43. The crank 49 rotates integrally with the rotation shaft 48 of the geared motor 47 so that the movable body 43 moves up and down along the guide shaft 42.

A support shaft 51 is attached to the lower portion of the movable body 43, and the support shaft 51 is used for the equipment case 40.
As shown in FIG. 8, a cup stage 52 formed in the shape of a slats is horizontally attached to the protruding portion of the support shaft 51 so as to horizontally project from one side surface to the outside.

A shaft support frame 55 is attached to one side surface of the upper part of the equipment case 40, and the pair of support shafts 5 is attached to the shaft support frame 55.
6a, 56b are mounted vertically in parallel with each other, and a pair of cup holders 57 are attached to the support shafts 56a, 56b.
a and 57b face each other, and the cup stage 5
It is attached so that it may be arranged above 2.

Each of the cup holders 57a and 57b has a hand portion 58 that is curved in a substantially semicircular shape, an arm portion 59 extending from one end side edge portion of the hand portion 58, and the arm portion 5.
9 and the bosses 60 formed at the ends of the cup holders 57a and 57b, so that the hand parts 58, 58 of the cup holders 57a, 57b are symmetrically arranged with the insides of their curves facing each other. Is rotatably attached to the support shafts 56a and 56b.

Each hand portion 58 is composed of a wall surface having a constant height, and a step 62 is formed in a substantially middle portion of the hand portion 58. The upper side of the step 62 is the first holding portion 58a and the lower portion is a lower portion. The side serves as a second holding portion 58b that projects inward from the first holding portion 58a.

Further, a plurality of vertically extending ribs 63 are integrally formed on the inner surface of the hand portion 58, and a guide piece 58c inclined upward toward the upper side is formed at the upper end edge of the hand portion 58. Further, a finger-hanging tongue piece 58d bent so as to open outward is integrally formed at the tip edge of the hand portion 58, respectively.

Interlocking pieces 65, 65 are formed on the outer sides of the bosses 60, 60 of the cup holders 57a, 57b at substantially right angles to the arm portion 59, and the tips of these interlocking pieces 65, 65 overlap each other, and the overlapping portions. Thus, the pair of cup holders 57a and 57b are interlocked with each other to rotate, and the hand parts 58 and 58 are opened and closed by this rotation.

As shown in FIG. 7, a spring 66 is provided between the cup holder 57a and the support shaft 56a supporting the cup holder 57a, and the cup holders 57a and 57b interlocking with each other are closed by the spring 66. Is elastically biased in the direction.

Further, the boss 6 in the cup holder 57b
As shown in FIG. 8, a projecting piece 67 projects from the outer side of 0, and a cam roller 68 is rotatably attached to the tip of this projecting piece 67.

In the equipment case 40, the geared motor 7
A cam 72 driven by No. 1 is provided, and the cam roller 68 elastically abuts the circumferential surface of the cam 72 against the spring 66.

First, second, and third cam portions 72a, 72b, and 72c are formed on the circumferential surface of the cam 72, and the cam holders 72a, 72b, and 72c form the cup holder 57a,
57b can be displaced to three positions.

Inside the front door 25, as shown in FIG. 10, a frame 73 is attached so as to face the selling port 26. Then, when the cup supporting device 15 is conveyed and arranged at a position facing the selling port 26, the cup supporting device 15 is joined to the opening on the rear side of the frame 73 and the cup holders 57a and 57b are connected to the frame. It is designed to enter inside 78. The cup stage 52 in the cup supporting device 15 is formed in a substantially V shape, and a substantially V-shaped cutout portion 74 corresponding to the cup stage 52 is formed in the bottom wall of the frame 73. Part 7
The cup stage 52 is arranged so as to enter the inside of 4.

When the front door 25 is opened, this front door 25
The frame 73 moves integrally with the cup supporting device 15
Break away from At this time, since the cup stage 52 has a substantially V shape, the corner 73a of the bottom wall of the frame 73 is
Without hitting the circumferential side portion of the cup stage 52, the cup stage 52 moves while drawing the locus shown by the chain line A in FIG. 10, and therefore the front door 25 can be smoothly opened. Similarly, even when the front door 25 is closed, the corner 73a of the bottom wall of the frame 73 does not hit the peripheral side of the cup stage 52, and the closing can be smoothly performed.

Next, the operation when the cup supporting device 15 receives the cup will be described. Cup support device 1
When the cup 5 receives the cup, the cup support device 15 is first transported from a predetermined standby position to a position below the cup case 27.

When the cup supporting device 15 is waiting for the cup to be received, the cam roller 68 contacts the first cam portion 72a of the cam 72, and this contact causes the cup holder 5 to move.
The hand parts 58, 58 in 7a, 57b have the caliber of all target cups (the outer diameter of the upper end opening of the cup).
It is held in a state of expanding at a larger interval than.

From this state, when a cup C1 having a size of 6.5 ounces or 7 ounces, for example, is delivered from the inside of the cup case 27 to the cup supporting device 15, the cup C1
Falls through the space between the cup holders 57a and 57b onto the cup stage 52 by its own weight. At this time, the cup stage 52 is held at the high level H position. Note that the 6.5 ounce and 7 ounce cups have approximately the same diameter and height.

After the cup C1 is supported on the cup stage 52, the cam 72 is rotated by the drive of the motor 73, and the second cam portion 72b contacts the cam roller 68. Due to this contact, one cup holder 57a is moved to the support shaft 56.
While rotating in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 8 about a as a fulcrum, the other cup holder 57b is linked with this operation to move the support shaft 5
It rotates clockwise about 6b as a fulcrum. That is, the cup holders 57a and 57b are displaced by the same width in the direction in which the cup holders 57a and 57b are close to each other and close to each other, and as shown by the solid line in FIG.
The width L of 58b corresponds to the diameter of the upper end of the cup C1.
Narrows to 1. By this operation, the upper edge of the cup C1 is held by the second holding portions 58b and 58b of the cup holders 57a and 57b.

In this state, the cup supporting device 15 is transported to each position, a predetermined beverage is prepared in the cup C1, and further transported to a portion inside the outlet 26.
Then, the user inserts his / her hand into the selling port 26 and takes out the cup C1 from the top of the cup stage 52 while opening the cup holders 57a and 57b outwards against the elastic force of the spring 66. At this time, since the tongue pieces 58d and 58d for hooking fingers are provided on the tip edges of the cup holders 57a and 57b, the fingers can be hooked on these tongue pieces 58d and 58d to easily move the cup holders 57a and 57b outward. Can be opened to.

The case where a 9 ounce size cup C2 is used will now be described. As shown by the chain line in FIG. 1 (A), when a 9 ounce size cup C2 is delivered from the inside of the cup case 27 to the cup support device 15, as in the case of the 6.5 ounce or 7 ounce cup C1, The cup stage 52 is held at the high level H position, and the second cam portion 72b of the cam 72 is held by the cam roller 6
Controlled to touch 8.

In this state, the cup holder 57
The distance between the first holding portions 58a, 58a of a and 57b is maintained at a width L2 corresponding to the diameter of the upper end of the cup C2. 9
An ounce cup C2 is a 6.5 ounce or a 7 ounce cup C
Its height is higher than 1, so cup stage 5
The upper edge of the cup C2 arranged on the upper side of the second cup is held by the first holding portions 58a, 58a.

As shown by the solid line in FIG. 1B, when a 12 ounce size cup C3 is delivered from the inside of the cup case 27 to the cup support device 15, the cup stage 52 is driven by the geared motor 47. It is held at the low level L position. The cam 72 is rotated by the drive of the motor 73, and the third cam portion 72c moves the cam roller 68.
To contact. This contact causes the cup holders 57a, 57b to rotate and displace, and the distance between the second holding portions 58b, 58b in the cup holders 57a, 57b becomes the width L3 corresponding to the diameter of the upper end of the cup C3. By this operation, the upper edge of the cup C3 is moved to the cup holders 57a and 57b.
It is held by the second holding portions 58b, 58b in the.

Further, as shown by the chain line in FIG.
16 ounce cup C from inside cup case 27
When 4 is delivered to the cup support device 15, the cup stage 52 is the same as for the 12 ounce cup C3.
Is held at the high level H position and the second position of the cam 72 is
The cam portion 72b is controlled so as to contact the cam roller 68.

In this state, the cup holder 57
The distance between the first holding portions 58a, 58a of a and 57b is maintained at a width L4 corresponding to the diameter of the upper end of the cup C4. 1
The 6 ounce cup C4 is taller than the 12 ounce cup C3, and therefore the upper edge of the cup C4 placed on the cup stage 52 has the first holding portion 58.
It is held by a and 58a.

As described above, the cup holder 5 can be used even when handling four types of cups C1 to C4 of different sizes.
It is only necessary to switch the width of the interval between 7a and 57b in two steps, and it is not necessary to move the cup holders 57a and 57b in small steps.
The adjustment of the shape of No. 2 and the rotation angle of the cam 72 becomes simple, and the cost can be reduced.

When holding the cup C, the pair of cup holders 57a, 57b are displaced in the direction of closing while interlocking with each other to hold the cup C, so that any size of the cup C is held. However, the central axis of the cup C is always set at a fixed position.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the cup C is transported together with the cup supporting device 15 to a position below the stirring device 14 via the transport mechanism 16, and the stirring rod 14a of the stirring device 14 is moved to the cup C. When inserting into the inside and stirring the contents inside, regardless of the size of the cup C,
The stirring rod 14 can always be inserted along the central axis of the cup C. Therefore, the contents in the cup C can be effectively and efficiently stirred to always prepare a homogeneous beverage.

By the way, there is a case where the cup C is unnecessarily conveyed together with the cup supporting device 15 inside the selling port 26, and in such a case, it is necessary to discard the useless cup C. An example of this discarding means is shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 80 shown in the drawing is a discarding device.
Has a vertically movable waste rod 80a. And FIG.
As shown in FIG. 11A, when the useless cup C is conveyed to the inside of the selling port together with the cup support device 15 and the cup C is arranged below the waste container 80, as shown in FIG. The discarding device 80 is driven to lower the discarding rod 80a to enter the cup C, and the cup supporting device 1
The cup holder 57 that drives 5 and holds the cup C.
Spread a and 57b outward.

Next, the transport mechanism 16 is driven, and
As shown in (C), the cup support device 15 is moved. Along with this movement, the cup C disposed on the cup stage 52 is pushed down through the discard rod 80a, and the cup C surely drops downward, and is guided into the discard box 82 through the guide plate 81. Be discarded. The waste rod 80a can also be used as a stirring rod for stirring the contents in the cup C.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By driving a pair of cup holders with a simple control structure, various cups of different sizes can be stably supported, and the center axis of each cup is always set at a fixed position so that the stirring rod is on the center axis of the cup. , And the contents in the cup can be effectively and efficiently stirred to prepare a homogeneous beverage.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an operation explanatory view for explaining an operation of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the internal configuration of the housing of the cup-type beverage vending machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the overall appearance of the cup-type beverage vending machine.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a transport mechanism in the cup type beverage vending machine.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a brake mode of a motor of the transport mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a disposition state of a switch for releasing the brake mode.

FIG. 7 is a side sectional view of a cup supporting device in the cup type beverage vending machine.

FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view of a cup support device in the cup type beverage vending machine.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a part of a movable body in the cup supporting device.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a state in which the cup stage of the cup supporting device is arranged in a cutout portion of a frame body inside a selling port.

FIG. 11 is a front view showing a state in which the cup supported by the cup supporting device is conveyed to a position below the stirring device.

FIG. 12 is a side view showing an example of means for discarding a cup when the useless cup is supported by the cup supporting device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 14 ... Stirring device 15 ... Cup support device 16 ... Conveyance mechanism 52 ... Cup stage 56a, 56b ... Support shaft 57a, 57b ... Cup holder 58 ... Hand part 58a ... 1st holding part 58b ... 2nd holding part 62 ... Step 47 ... Geared motor 71 ... Geared motor 72 ... Cam

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cup supporting device for selectively feeding any one of a plurality of sizes of cups housed in a cup case, and the cup supporting device supplies a raw material of beverage, hot water, water, etc. by a transport mechanism. Sequential transport to each position to receive the raw materials, hot water, water, etc. in the cup, agitate the contents in the cup with a stirring rod of a stirring device to prepare a beverage, and sell a cup support device In a cup type beverage vending machine that conveys the beverage inside the mouth and sells the beverage, the cup supporting device is a vertically movable cup stage that supports a bottom portion of a cup, and a stage drive mechanism that drives the cup stage, A pair of cup holders, which are arranged above the cup stage, oppose each other on the left and right, and open and close in conjunction with each other, and a holder drive mechanism for driving these cup holders. Each of the pair of cup holders is rotatably supported via a support shaft, and has hand portions facing each other for holding the upper end portion of the cup. A step is formed on each of the steps, and the inner surface of the hand portion overhangs the first holding portion on the upper side of the step and the lower side of the inner surface of the hand portion inward of the hand portion rather than the first holding portion. It is divided into two holding parts and controls the stage driving mechanism and the holder driving mechanism according to the size of the cup fed into the cup supporting device to control the height level of the cup stage and the hand part in each cup holder. The cup-type beverage vending machine characterized in that the upper end portion of the cup is held by one of the first and second holding portions of these hand portions.