JPH097061A - Beer supply machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a beer supply machine capable of automatically pouring appropriately frothed beer. CONSTITUTION: This machine is provided with supply devices 12, 13 and 15, etc., for pouring beer in a tank through a nozzle 12 to a cup C, a cup tilting means for grasping the cup C, tilting the grasped cup C obliquely to a vertical direction and making it relatively face the nozzle 12 and a control means for operating the cup tilting means in advance to the operation of the supply devices 12, 13 and 15, etc.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beer feeder for automatically pouring beer into a cup.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a beer feeder, for example, a beer dispenser for pouring draft beer is known. A beer dispenser dispenses draft beer into a container by placing a container such as a jug directly below the nozzle and pulling a lever provided at the base of the nozzle.

[0003]

In such a conventional beer feeder, the operation of applying the container to the nozzle and the operation of operating the lever are manually performed, so that the amount of draft beer to be dispensed and the draft beer There was a problem that the degree of foaming that affects the taste varied depending on the operator. However, it is conceivable to automate this manual operation like a cup type vending machine for juice or the like. However, unlike a cup-type vending machine, simply pouring draft beer into a cup placed on a cup table causes a problem that a large amount of foam is generated unlike juice or the like. It is empirically known that the occurrence of bubbles is affected by changes in the flow rate of draft beer, changes in pressure, and changes in temperature at the time of pouring, and the greater these changes, the more pronounced the occurrence of bubbles. There is.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a beer feeder capable of automatically pouring beer appropriately foamed.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a beer feeder according to a first aspect of the present invention is a beer feeder for pouring beer in a tank into a cup through a nozzle, a gripping device and a gripping device. A tilting means for tilting the cup obliquely with respect to the vertical direction and relatively facing the nozzle, and a control means for actuating the cup tilting means prior to the operation of the supply device. To do.

[0006] In claim 1, the cup tilting means moves the cup between a vertical posture position and a pouring posture position which is inclined relative to the vertical direction with the cup relatively facing the nozzle. It is preferable that the control means controls the tilting mechanism to move the cup from the pouring posture position to the vertical posture position in accordance with the amount of beer poured into the cup accompanying the pouring.

Further, in claim 1, the cup tilting means comprises a gripping mechanism for gripping the cup, a moving mechanism for moving the cup in parallel to just below the nozzle, and a rotating mechanism for tilting the cup by tilting it. Is preferably provided.

Further, in the present invention, it is preferable that the cup is placed on a horizontal cup table, and the moving mechanism moves the cup in a slantingly upward direction to a position directly below the nozzle via a gripping mechanism. .

[0009]

According to the beer feeder of claim 1, the control means operates the cup tilting means to grip the cup and tilt the gripped cup obliquely with respect to the vertical direction and relatively face the nozzle. No Next, the supply device is activated,
The beer in the tank is poured into the cup via the nozzle. In this case, the beer poured from the nozzle flows down along the inner peripheral surface of the cup because the cup is inclined obliquely with respect to the vertical direction before the beer is poured. For this reason, beer receives resistance from the inner surface of the cup,
After separating from the nozzle, it gradually poured into the cup while gradually decreasing its flow rate. This suppresses excessive foaming of the beer poured into the cup.

According to the beer feeder of claim 2, the tilting mechanism is controlled to move the cup from the pouring posture position to the vertical posture position according to the amount of beer poured into the cup accompanying the pouring. As a result, while suppressing excessive foaming of beer,
It is possible to prevent the beer from overflowing the cup before the specified amount of beer is poured into the cup.

According to another aspect of the beer feeder of the present invention, the cup tilting means has a gripping mechanism for gripping the cup, a moving mechanism for moving the cup in parallel to directly below the nozzle, and a turning mechanism for tilting the cup by tilting it. By being configured with the moving mechanism, it is possible to allow the cup, which is separated from the nozzle and placed on the table, to face the nozzle in an appropriate posture in which excessive foaming is suppressed. In addition, gripping, moving,
The operation may be performed in the order of rotation, or may be performed in the order of grasping, rotating, and moving, or in the order of moving, grasping, and rotating.

According to the beer dispenser of claim 4, the cup is placed on the horizontal cup table, and the moving mechanism moves the cup in a slanting upward direction to the position just below the nozzle via the gripping mechanism. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the lower surface of the cup from sliding on the cup table when the cup is moved in parallel. Further, even when the cup is subsequently rotated, it is possible to prevent the cup from touching the cup table.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the beer feeder of the present invention is applied to a vending machine will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This vending machine sells draft beer (product) in a cup, and FIG. 1 (a) is a front view of the vending machine.
FIG. 1B is a front view of the opened state. As shown in the figure, the vending machine 1 is composed of a vending machine body 2 and a main door 3 that opens and closes the front surface of the vending machine body 2. On the upper half of the main door 3, a product display 4 displaying the sold products is arranged, and on the lower side of the product display 4, a product selling port 5 for taking out the purchased product is arranged. Further, on the front surface of the main door 3, a selection button, a coin slot, a bill slot, a coin return slot, etc. are appropriately arranged. In this case, as the product, three types of normal beer, black draft beer, and so-called half & half draft beer in which draft beer and black draft beer are mixed can be sold.

On the other hand, the vending machine body 2 has a sales port box 7 arranged in the cabinet 6 so as to correspond to the above-mentioned product sales port 5, a cup chute 8 attached to the upper side of the sales port box 7, and a cup. It is provided with a cup dispenser 9 disposed above the chute 8 with a gap, and further, a refrigerator 10 disposed on the back side of the selling port box 7 and a carbon dioxide gas cylinder 11 disposed next to the refrigerator 10. I have it. Although not shown, a refrigerator 10 contains a tank for draft beer and a tank for black draft beer, and a carbon dioxide gas cylinder 11 is connected to these tanks on the input side via a pressure hose. Further, supply hoses are connected to the output sides of both tanks, and the refrigerator 1 is connected to the tips of both supply hoses so as to face the selling port box 7.
Nozzle 12 for black beer and nozzle 12 for black beer attached to the front door of No. 0 are respectively connected.

An opening / closing cock 13 is provided at the base of each nozzle 12.
Is provided, and the operating lever 14 of the opening / closing cock 13 is provided.
Are operated by carbon dioxide cylinders 15, 15 driven by the pressure of carbon dioxide (FIG. 2).
And FIG. 5). Each tank is pressurized to a predetermined pressure by the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 11, and when the operation lever 14 is opened, draft beer is poured out from the nozzle 12. That is, the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 11, the opening / closing cock 13, the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 15, the hose, and the like constitute a draft beer supply device.

On the other hand, a cup tilting means 16 for gripping and tilting the cup C when pouring draft beer is arranged beside the selling port box 7, and the cup tilting means 16 is a controller (control means) 17 It is connected to the. further,
The controller 17 is connected to the cup dispenser 9 and the carbon dioxide gas cylinders 15 and 15, and the controller 17 controls a series of sales operations.

That is, when a sales command is issued by pressing the selection button, the cup table 1 of the sales port box 7 is transferred from the cup dispenser 9 via the cup chute 8.
The cup C is dropped on the upper surface of the nozzle 8, and subsequently the cup tilting means 16 grips the cup C so as to face the nozzle 12 while tilting the cup C. In this state, carbon dioxide cylinder 15
Thereby, the opening / closing cock 13 is opened, and draft beer is poured from the nozzle 12 into the cup C. When the draft beer has been poured, the cup C filled with draft beer is returned to the cup table 18 by the cup tilting means 16 and is ready to be taken out from the product selling port 5.

2 is a front view, FIG. 3 is a side view, and FIG.
The cup tilting means 16 will be described in detail with reference to the plan view of FIG. The cup tilting means 16 includes a gripping mechanism 21 for gripping the cup C, a moving mechanism 22 for moving the cup C to a position directly below the nozzle 12, and a turning mechanism (tilting mechanism) for turning the cup C and tilting it obliquely. The controller 17 controls the operation of these mechanisms to grip the cup C placed on the cup table 18 and then move it to just below the nozzle 12, where the cup C The nozzle 12 is rotated so as to face the edge.

The gripping mechanism 21 has a left gripping arm 31a and a right gripping arm 31b facing each other with the cup C on the cup table 18, and an outer tube 32a and a right gripping arm 31b to which the left gripping arm 31a is attached. The sleeve tube 32 includes the inner tube 32b, the combination screw mechanism 33 that moves the outer tube 32a and the inner tube 32b in opposite directions, and the grip gear motor 34 that operates the combination screw mechanism 33. . Sleeve tube 32
The right half part and the left and right gripping arms 31a, 31b of the gripping part face the inside of the selling port box 7, and in this state, the gripping gear motor 34, the combination screw mechanism 33, and the sleeve tube 32.
The left half of the is housed in and attached to the inner chassis 24.

The combination screw mechanism 33 includes a threaded rod 35 having male screw portions 35a and 35b, which are in a reverse screw relationship with each other, formed on the left and right portions, and male screw portions 35b and 35a on the left and right portions. An input gear 36 fixed to an intermediate portion of the threaded rod 35 so as to be sandwiched, and a left female screw member 37b and a right female screw member 37a screwed to the left and right male screw portions 35b and 35a, respectively. ing. The sleeve tube 3 is attached to the left female screw member 37b.
The left end of the second inner pipe 32b is fixed, and the right female screw member 37a
The left end of the outer tube 32a of the sleeve tube 32 is fixed to the. In this case, the threaded rod 35 has a bearing 3 at both ends.
The sleeve tube 32 is supported by the inner chassis 24 via the cables 8 and 38, and the sleeve tube 32 is supported by the inner chassis 24 via the guide members 39 and 39 that guide the slides of the outer tube 32a and the inner tube 32b, respectively.

An output gear 40 fixed to the output shaft of the gripping gear motor 34 meshes with the input gear 36. When the gripping gear motor 34 rotates in the normal direction, the threaded rod 35 rotates in one direction via the input gear 36. The left female screw member 37b and the right female screw member 37a are moved in opposite directions by the left and right male screw portions 35b and 35a. That is, the left female screw member 37b moves to the left and accordingly the right gripping arm 31b moves to the left, and at the same time, the right female screw member 37a moves to the right and accordingly the left gripping arm 3b.
1a moves to the right. Then, the left female screw member 37b and the right female screw member 37a move to the outer end portion of the threaded rod 35, whereby the cup C is gripped by the left and right gripping arms 31a, 31b. Further, when the procedure is reversed, that is, when the gripping gear motor 34 is rotated in the reverse direction, both the left and right gripping arms 31a and 31b are separated from the cup C and the gripped state is released. The forward / reverse rotation of the grip gear motor 34 is stopped by a switch (not shown) arranged outside the moving stroke of the left female screw member 37b.

The turning mechanism 23 has an output end at the gripping mechanism 21.
A crank mechanism 41 rotatably attached to the inner chassis 24 supporting the inner chassis 24, a rotating gear motor 42 for operating the crank mechanism 41, and a rotating shaft 43 rotatably supporting the inner chassis 24. Both ends of the rotary shaft 43 are provided with an outer chassis 25 provided so as to cover the inner chassis 24.
Supported by. The rotary gear motor 42 is also fixed to the upper part of the outer chassis 25, and the inner chassis 24 is rotated around the rotary shaft 43 with the outer chassis 25 as the fixed side.

That is, the gripping mechanism 21 is rotated by the rotating mechanism 23 via the inner chassis 24, and the gripping mechanism 21 is rotated.
The cup C gripped by the above tilts about the above-mentioned rotation shaft 43. In this case, the rotating shaft 43 is substantially on the axis of the nozzle 12 when it is retracted by the moving mechanism 22 described later.
Is arranged so that the tip of the nozzle is positioned, and the cup C rotates around the tip of the nozzle 12 (see FIG. 3).

The crank mechanism 41 includes a rotary gear motor 42.
Of the crank arm 44 fixed to the output shaft of the crank arm 44, and a connecting arm 45 rotatably attached to the output end of the crank arm 44. It is fixed to the chassis 24. In this case, when the rotation gear motor 42 makes a half rotation, the crank arm 44 rotates from the position of the bottom dead center to the position of the top dead center, and the inner chassis 24 rotates about the rotation shaft 43 toward the front side. As a result, the cup C gripped by the gripping mechanism 21 tilts from the vertical posture to the pouring posture. When the rotary gear motor 42 further rotates half a turn, the crank arm 44 rotates substantially from the top dead center position to the bottom dead center position, causing the inner chassis 24 to rotate backward about the rotary shaft 43. As a result, the cup C returns from the pouring posture to the vertical posture.

That is, one rotation of the rotation gear motor 42 rotates the cup C for one cycle. In this case, the controller 17 quickly rotates the cup C from the vertical posture to the pouring posture, and conversely rotates the cup C slowly from the pouring posture to the vertical posture (details will be described later). The rotation gear motor 42 is stopped by the switches 48, 48 with which the pin 47 connecting the crank arm 44 and the connecting arm 45 contacts at the bottom dead center position and the top dead center position, respectively.
Done.

The output end of the moving mechanism 22 has a rotating mechanism 23.
A crank mechanism 51 rotatably attached to the outer chassis 25 that supports the motor, a moving gear motor 52 that operates the crank mechanism 51, and a pair of left and right slide rails 53 and 5 that slidably support the outer chassis 25 in the front-rear direction.
The slide rails 53 are provided on the bottom surface of the fixed chassis 26 provided outside the outer chassis 25. A pair of left and right sliders 55, 55 are provided on the lower surface of the outer chassis 25 via a support plate 54, and the sliders 55, 55 are mounted on the slide rail 5.
It is engaged so that it rides on 3,53.

In this case, the bottom plate of the support plate 54 and the bottom plate of the fixed chassis 26 are inclined parallel to each other and obliquely upward and rearward, and accordingly, the slider 5 is moved.
5 and the slide rail 53 extend obliquely rearward and upward. As a result, the gripping mechanism 21 supported by the inner chassis 24 and the turning mechanism 23 supported by the outer chassis 25 are moved obliquely rearwardly upward from the front side and obliquely frontward downward from the rear side. That is, the cup C gripped by the gripping mechanism 21 is
Is moved diagonally rearward and upward from the set position toward the nozzle 12 and diagonally downward and forward from the position of the nozzle 12 toward the set position of the cup table 18 (details will be described later).

The crank mechanism 51 includes a moving gear motor 52.
Of the crank arm 56 and a connecting arm 57 rotatably attached to the output end of the crank arm 56. The tip of the connecting arm 57 is rotatably attached to the bottom plate of the support plate 54. It is installed. The crank arm 56 and the connecting arm 57
Is parallel to the slide rail 53 that is obliquely arranged, and (the output shaft of) the moving gear motor 52 is the slide rail 5
3 are arranged perpendicular to each other.

In this case, when the moving gear motor 52 makes a half rotation, the crank arm 56 rotates substantially from the bottom dead center position to the top dead center position, and the outer chassis 25 supporting the inner chassis 24 is moved along the slide rail 53. Move from front to back. As a result, the cup C gripped by the gripping mechanism 21 moves from the set position on the cup table 18 to a position directly below the nozzle 12. When the moving gear motor 52 further makes a half rotation, the crank arm 56 rotates substantially from the top dead center position to the bottom dead center position, and the outer chassis 2
5 is moved from the back side to the front side. As a result, the cup C returns from the position directly below to the set position.

That is, with one rotation of the moving gear motor 52, the cup C moves back and forth from the cup table 18 as a base point.
The output shaft 52a of the moving gear motor 52 also protrudes downward from the gear box, and the two cam discs 5 arranged with their phases 180 degrees apart from each other at this protruding portion.
8, 58 are fixed. A stop switch 59 is arranged so as to face each cam disk 58. The stop gears 59 and 59 stop the moving gear motor 52 when the cup C reaches the position directly below and the set position.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, an opening / closing cock 13 is provided at the base of each nozzle 12, and an operating lever 14 of the opening / closing cock 13 extends upward. The operating lever 14 is engaged with the plunger of the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 15 which slides back and forth, and has a pull rod 19 at its upper end.
However, the push rods 20 are engaged with the intermediate portions. The pull rod 19 and the push rod 20 also serve as the plungers of the carbon dioxide gas cylinders 15 and 15, respectively. When the operation lever 14 is pushed forward by the push rod 20 and draft beer is poured from the nozzle 12, conversely, when the operation lever 14 is pulled backward by the pull rod 19 and the operation lever 14 is pushed backward, the beer is used for decoration. The fine bubbles of are poured out. In addition, these nozzle 12, opening / closing cock 13, carbon dioxide gas cylinder 1
5 and the like are housed in a heat insulating cover A provided on the front door of the refrigerator 10. This prevents a drastic temperature change in the beer that is poured out and suppresses unnecessary foaming.

When selling ordinary draft beer or black draft beer, a specified amount of beer is poured into the cup C from the draft beer nozzle 12 or the black draft beer nozzle 12 (about 80% of the cup depth). ), And the foam for decoration is poured on it (about 20% of the depth of the cup). Also, half & mixed draft beer and black draft beer
In half draft beer, the mixing ratio of draft beer or black draft beer is set appropriately, but black draft beer is poured out first,
Next, the draft beer and its foam are controlled to be poured out. The bubbles tend to sneak up underneath the previously poured bubbles, so by pouring black draft beer first, the black bubbles should be positioned at the top of the mixed beer. become. Thereby, the purchaser can visually recognize that the black draft beer is mixed.
Although the control becomes complicated, the above-mentioned pouring order is not limited to this, if the foam pouring process on the draft beer side is omitted.

Here, with reference to FIG. 5 to FIG. 12, a series of sales operations of draft beer will be described step by step.

When the select button is pressed, the cup C is dropped from the cup dispenser 9 through the cup chute 8 to the set position on the cup table 18. When the cup C settles in the set position, the gripping mechanism 21 operates and the left and right gripping arms 31a and 31b grip the cup C (see FIG. 5). Next, the moving mechanism 22 operates to move the cup C diagonally rearward and upward from the set position to the position directly below (see FIG. 6). In this state, the cup C slightly floats from the cup table 18 and its rear edge faces the vicinity of the tip of the nozzle 12.

Next, the rotating mechanism 23 is operated to rotate the cup C from the vertical posture to the pouring posture about the tip of the nozzle 12 (see FIG. 7). This allows cup C
Is fully tilted. Here, the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 15 is activated, the operation lever 14 is tilted to the front side, and the draft of beer is started (see FIG. 8). The draft beer discharged from the nozzle 12 gently flows down along the inner peripheral surface of the obliquely inclined cup C. When the liquid level of draft beer rises to about half of cup C, the rotating mechanism 23 is turned on again.
Is activated, and the cup C is slowly rotated from the pouring posture to the vertical posture (see FIG. 9). This rotation is linked to the amount of draft beer poured out, and when the specified amount of draft beer is poured into the cup C, the cup C almost returns to the vertical posture.

When the pouring of the draft beer is completed, the operation lever 14 is tilted rearward by the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 15, and the bubbles for decorating the draft beer are poured into the cup C (see FIG. 10). Here, it waits for several seconds until the beer remaining in the nozzle 12 has finished dropping (see FIG. 11). When the pouring of draft beer is completed in this way, the moving mechanism 22 and the gripping mechanism 21 are activated again in a procedure reverse to the above, and the cup C filled with draft beer is returned to the set position (see FIG. 12).

As described above, the gripping mechanism 21 and the moving mechanism 2
2 and the cup tilting means 16 provided with the rotating mechanism 23 hold the cup C and incline it obliquely so as to face the nozzle 12, so that excessive foaming occurs when the draft beer is poured into the cup C. Suppressed and automatic, good beer can be served in cups. The bubbles generated by pouring out draft beer have large bubbles, the bubbles disappear quickly, and carbon dioxide gas escapes from the beer quickly, so that the taste of draft beer is impaired quickly. The bubbles that are poured out for decoration have small bubbles and enhance the taste of draft beer.

Further, when the draft beer is poured out, the cup C is tilted to return to the original vertical posture in accordance with the amount of the draft, so that the draft beer is reached when the amount of the draft does not reach the specified amount. There is no problem such as overflowing from the cup C, and the stains on the cup C and the selling port box 7 can be reduced. Similarly, by waiting for the beer in the nozzle 12 to finish dripping for a few seconds after the draft of the beer is completed,
It is possible to reduce the contamination of the selling port box 7.

In the above embodiment, the cup tilting means is composed of the gripping mechanism, the moving mechanism and the rotating mechanism. However, the moving mechanism and the rotating mechanism use a link mechanism to form a single mechanism. It is also possible to do so. In addition, the above 3
Each structure of one mechanism can be configured by using another mechanism such as a cam. Further, the cup tilting means may be configured so that the tilted cup can be relatively faced to the nozzle, and for example, the cup can be tilted and the nozzle can be moved to face the cup. However, it is also possible to provide a sheath tube at the tip of the nozzle so that the sheath tube extends and faces the cup during pouring.

[0040]

As described above, according to the beer brewing machine of the present invention, by providing the cup tilting means for gripping the cup, tilting the cup, and relatively facing the nozzle, the quality which is appropriately foamed. Good beer can be provided automatically and stably.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of an automatic vending machine which is an embodiment of a beer dispenser of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view around the cup tilting means of the vending machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view around the cup tilting means of the vending machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial plan view around the cup tilting means of the vending machine according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view showing a cup dropping operation and a gripping operation thereof.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view showing a movement operation of the cup to the rear.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view showing an operation of tilting the cup to the pouring posture.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view showing a beer pouring operation into a cup.

FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory view showing an operation of returning the cup to the vertical posture and a beer pouring operation accompanying it.

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view showing the operation of pouring beer foam into the cup.

FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory view showing the operation of the nozzle running out of liquid with respect to the cup.

FIG. 12 is an operation explanatory view showing an operation of returning the beer-filled cup to the set position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Vending Machine 11 Carbon Dioxide Cylinder 12 Nozzle 13 Opening / Closing Cock 15 Carbon Dioxide Cylinder 16 Cup Tilt Means 17 Controller 18 Cup Table 21 Gripping Mechanism 22 Moving Mechanism 23 Rotating Mechanism C Cup

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A supply device for pouring beer in a tank into a cup through a nozzle, holding the cup, tilting the held cup obliquely with respect to the vertical direction, and relatively facing the nozzle. A beer feeder characterized by comprising: a cup tilting means, and a control means for actuating the cup tilting means prior to the operation of the feeding device. 2. The cup tilting means comprises a tilting mechanism for moving the cup between a vertical posture position and a pouring posture position that is inclined with respect to the vertical direction with the cup relatively facing the nozzle. The control means controls the tilting mechanism, and moves the cup from the pouring posture position to the vertical posture position according to the amount of beer poured into the cup accompanying the pouring. The beer supply machine according to claim 1. 3. The cup tilting means comprises a gripping mechanism for gripping the cup, a moving mechanism for moving the cup in parallel to directly below the nozzle, and a rotating mechanism for rotating the cup to tilt it obliquely. The beer feeder according to claim 1, wherein the beer feeder is a beer feeder. 4. The cup is placed on a horizontal cup table, and the moving mechanism moves the cup in a slantingly upward direction up to directly below the nozzle via the gripping mechanism. The beer supply machine according to claim 3.