JPH0979890A - Stock solution remainder detecting device for cup beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To continuously and accurately weigh the remainder of a beverage stock solution. SOLUTION: A Roberval type scale T is constituted of the first operating lever 4, the second operating lever 5, a frame 9 fixed to a housing, and a mount base 1 mounted with a stock solution tank 3. The operating levers 4, 5 and the others 9, 1 are formed into flat box shapes. Center of gravity points 6a, 6b, 13, fulcrums 8a, 8b, and a point of application 12 are connected by pins 7, 11a, 11b, 14, and a spring 16 is provided at the point of application 15 of the second operating lever 5. The scale T is flat and advantageous in view of space, and its change level is stable because it is operated by the spring 16. The interval change between the frame 9 and the second operating lever 5 is detected by the contact or separation between a magnet and a Hall element, and it is converted into the electrical signal.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device capable of continuously and accurately weighing the remaining amount of undiluted beverage contained in a cup beverage vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A cup beverage vending machine has a
Built-in heating device or cooling device, means for preparing and supplying hot water or cold water, and means for sending a constant amount of the concentrated solution from the beverage stock solution tank by a constant amount pump, the hot water or the cold water sent out from both means, The undiluted solution is mixed and a moderately flavored beverage is supplied to a cup prepared in a cradle.

This cup beverage vending machine is installed in an appropriate place on each floor of an inn / hotel or office building, and hot water or cold water is introduced from a water supply pipe and heated or cooled to be continuously supplied. . On the other hand, the stock solution for beverages is prepared by filling it into a stock solution tank (a bag made of a laminate film of Al foil and polyethylene film packaged in cardboard, so-called bag-in-box), and the stock solution tank is emptied. Then, it will be replaced with a new stock solution tank.

The conventional stock solution tank is replaced by circulating each cup beverage vending machine from the management center based on the past sales record (stock solution consumption record) data. However, this actual data cannot respond to abrupt seasonal changes and is inaccurate, especially when the weather is bad in recent years, and this tendency is strong. There are a lot of cases where it is in a state.

In order to solve this problem, the spring back (extension of the spring) corresponding to the level of the stock solution is used to lift the stock solution tank when the remaining amount of the stock solution becomes small, and the state is detected by the micro contact, It has been proposed to transmit data to a management center using a public telephone line to manage the remaining amount of undiluted solution.

[0006]

However, the above-mentioned stock solution level detection is extremely difficult and unreliable in view of the shape and structure of the stock solution container. In addition, even if a micro switch is used to detect the remaining amount using springback, when the certain amount is reached, the micro contacts only work, that is, only one point of the certain amount is detected, and it is not continuous. However, it is not satisfactory, and the purpose of transmitting the amount to the control center by using a public telephone line and controlling the remaining amount of the undiluted solution has not been sufficiently achieved.

In view of the above problems, according to the present invention, when the remaining amount of undiluted solution in the beverage undiluted solution tank loaded in the cup beverage vending machine reaches the set remaining amount, the remaining amount is continuously weighed thereafter. And convert this weighing value electrically,
The converted signal data is transmitted to the control center via a public telephone line, etc., and the transmitted data is arithmetically processed, etc., and the remaining amount of undiluted beverage in many cup beverage vending machines located in the control area It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage undiluted solution remaining amount detection device capable of continuously and accurately managing the beverages and exchanging the undiluted fluid tanks in good timing.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 consists of the following constitutions (1) to (4), in which a fixed amount of undiluted solution is supplied from a beverage raw material tank through an elastic flexible hose by a metering pump. We decided to send them out one by one. A beverage stock solution weighing mechanism is arranged in the body of the cup beverage vending machine, and equilibrium means for starting the balance when the remaining quantity of the beverage stock solution reaches a set value is attached to the action point of the weighing mechanism, and the rod of the weighing machine is attached. In addition, it consists of a remaining amount of undiluted beverage detection device equipped with a converter that outputs a voltage according to the tilt of the rod, and an elastic flexible hose that is connected to the undiluted liquid outlet of the undiluted beverage tank via a connector and led to a metering pump. Beverage undiluted solution supply pipe system, a notch through which an elastic flexible hose from the undiluted solution outlet passes is provided on the beverage undiluted solution tank platform of the weighing mechanism, and the elastic flexible hose is fixed in front of the metering pump to fix the elastic flexible hose A weighing function stabilizing means in which an edge cutting jig is arranged to prevent external force from the metering pump side via the hose from being transmitted to the weighing mechanism.

As described above, since the voltage corresponding to the inclination of the lever of the weighing mechanism is output to detect the remaining amount of the undiluted solution, the change in the remaining amount can be continuously grasped.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the edge cutting jig of the weighing function stabilizing means is embodied, and a fixed flange plate having an elastic flexible hose passing through the center thereof. And a tubular mesh fixed around the hose through hole and covering the hose on the metering pump side.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in both of the above aspects, a bellows which is expandable and contractible in the axial direction is interposed between the stock solution discharge port of the elastic flexible hose and the edging jig.

The elastic flexible hose can respond to the movement of the stock solution discharge port by its own flexibility, but if the bellows is provided, the response becomes smoother.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in each of the above inventions, the connector portion between the stock solution discharge port and the elastic flexible hose is fixed to the cut portion of the beverage stock solution tank mount.

As described above, when the connector portion is fixed to the tank mounting table, the elastic flexible hose (bellows) is separated from the stock solution tank, and the bending of the hose (bellows) is not transmitted to the stock solution tank side. The weighed value (remaining amount) does not change due to movement of the tank based on hose flexure.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in each of the above inventions, the means for detecting the remaining amount of undiluted solution of beverage is a specific mode, and has a rod for receiving the weight of the undiluted solution tank in four sections. Consists of a combination of a first mallet having a fulcrum, an important point and an action point, and a second barb having a fulcrum, an important point, a second important point and an action point. In the balance state of the mechanism, it is a flat type weighing mechanism that is positioned on substantially the same plane.A counter spring is attached to the action point of the second rod and the converter is attached near the action point of the rod. This is the means for detecting the remaining amount of undiluted beverage.

By thus flattening the overall shape of the weighing mechanism, the cup beverage vending machine can be compactly stored in the main body.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in each of the above inventions, a specific mode of the balancing means is a counter spring or a counter weight. When these are used, the slant of the barrel changes smoothly with the change in the remaining amount of undiluted solution.

[0018]

1 and 2 are partially cutaway perspective views and cut-away front views of a beverage stock solution remaining amount detecting means T according to one embodiment, in which 1 is a platform of a beverage stock solution tank 3, 2a, 2b. Is a leg portion for transmitting the weight of the beverage concentrate tank 3 placed on the placing table 1 to the weight points 6a and 6b of the first and second rods 4 and 5, and the leg portion 2a,
2b and each of the points 6a and 6b are connected by a pin 7.
The fulcrum 8a of the first bar rod 4 is supported by the fulcrum base 10a of the frame 9 via the pin 11a, and the fulcrum 8b of the second bar rod 5 is
The frame 9 is supported by a fulcrum base 10b via pins 11b. The frame 9 is screwed to the housing H of the vending machine body through a screw hole 9a or the like.

The point 12 of action of the first bar rod 4 is connected to the second weight 13 of the second bar rod 5 by a pin 14, and the second bar rod 5
A counter spring 16 is provided at the action point 15 of (1) to start the balance (become in a balanced state) when the remaining amount of the stock solution tank 3 reaches a set value. A magnet 28a and a Hall element 28b are provided between the second rod 5 and the frame 9 (housing H), and a voltage corresponding to the contact and separation of the magnet 28a and the Hall element 28b based on the change in the inclination of the rod 5 (gap t). Is output. That is, the output corresponds to the remaining amount of the stock solution.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the beverage stock solution supply pipe system.
Is a bag-in-box type beverage stock solution tank in which a bag 3a made of a laminated film is packed in a cardboard 3b.
8 is integrally formed, and this portion is sealed and transported from the management center to each cup beverage vending machine. The connection pipe 18 is provided on the side of the cup beverage vending machine.
A bellows 20 integrally formed with a connecting means (connector) 19 at the front end thereof and an elastic flexible hose 22 extending from the bellows 20 via a flange 21 to form a beverage concentrate supply pipe system.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the weighing function stabilizing means. The stock solution tank mount 1 of the weighing means T has a stock solution discharge port 1
7 (see FIG. 3) is provided with a notch portion 23 for penetrating a portion where the connecting pipe 18 and the bellows 20 are connected by the connector 19 (see FIG. 1). The notch portion 23 penetrates the connector 19 portion. The flange 21 provided on the lower portion of the bellows 20 is detachably fixed to the bracket 24 fixed to the housing H with a gap of the length of the bellows 20 immediately below the bellows 20. It is introduced inside the rotor 26.

The constant quantity supply unit of the constant quantity pump 25 integrates two discs 25a (rotor 26) separated by about the diameter of the hose 22 and rollers 25b at three circumferential positions between them.
The disk 25a is rotated every 120 degrees, and the rollers 25b,
The undiluted solution in the hose 22 between the portions 25b is sent to the supply nozzle portion 27 while squeezing it between the curved portion 24a of the bracket 24. That is, as the rotor 26 rotates, the stock solution in the hose 22 between the rollers 25b is sent out in a fixed amount.

Next, the undiluted solution remaining amount detection data a according to the above embodiment, and the remaining amount detection data b when the upper and lower parts of the bellows 20 are not fixed, that is, when the weighing stabilizing mechanism is not attached, and the above embodiment. 5 and 6 show the results of comparison with the remaining amount detection data c in the case of using the counter weight instead of the counter spring 16 installed at the action point of the second rod 5 with the same configuration. In the figure, ○ indicates data a, ●
Indicates the data b, and Δ indicates the data c, and the variation between the upper and lower portions indicates the degree of variation.

From the result of the comparison data, the data a of the embodiment is obtained.
Has good conversion output tendency and stability (FIG. 5).
The remaining amount detection data b in the case where the weighing stabilization mechanism is not attached to the bellows 20 had a very large tendency of conversion output and variation of the data, and could not be used at all (FIG. 6). In addition, the remaining amount detection data c in the case of using the counter weight instead of the counter spring 16 does not have a big difference in the tendency of the conversion output from that of the embodiment except that there is a large variation in the data. It remains, but it is not unusable. (Fig. 5).

If the top and bottom of the bellows 20 are not fixed, the bellows 20 is stretched as the number of times the metering pump 25 is operated increases, and data indicating that there is a remaining amount although the undiluted solution is output is output. It was found that the problem of the invention cannot be solved without this means for stabilizing the weighing function.

When the weighing function stabilizing means is examined further, it is found that the large variation in the data b is that the hose 22 is pulled by the metering pump 25, and the force exerts an influence on the weighing mechanism. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, there is no problem even if the bellows 20 is removed and the elastic flexible hose 22 is extended and directly connected to the connector 19, and the connector 19 portion is also fixed to the cut portion 23. There was no problem even without it. At this time, even if the bag 3a is bent as shown by the chain line in the figure, the hose 22 is also deformed by the flexibility and responds.

As a means for supporting the elastic flexible hose 22 smoothly and as shown in FIG. 8, a wire grip 21 'in which the upper end of a tubular net 21a made by braiding a wire in a tubular shape is held by flanges 21b and 21b is provided. Preferably, for example, FIG.
The flange plates 21b and 21b are fixed to the housing H as shown in FIG. In the wire grip 21 ′, when the hose 22 is pulled in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 8, the net 21 a contracts due to frictional resistance, and the hose 22 is firmly tightened and fixed.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the configuration of a beverage stock solution residual amount management system for a cup beverage vending machine using the apparatus of the above embodiment. Office buildings A, B ... N
It is. Inside each building, there are several cup drink vending machines α ₁ , α _2, ... α _n . In each building, a data processing device 30 for centrally processing the data a output from the device of the embodiment of the cup beverage vending machine is arranged for each building. For example, from the apparatus of the embodiment, the remaining amount is 500 g, 400 g, 300 g, 200 g, 1 based on FIG.
The signal a is set to be emitted each time it reaches 00g and 0g.

In the data processing device 30, the remaining amount value by the signal a and the reception time are classified and plotted for each machine, and the data a for each machine is transmitted to the management center by the public telephone line 31 via the line interface. The transmitted data a is processed and recorded by the computer C via the exchange / data processing device of the management center, and the consumption forecast of the beverage concentrate is calculated and recorded, so that it is necessary to replace the beverage concentrate tank 3 of each cup beverage vending machine with time. Printed out.

[0030]

[Effect] As described above, according to the present invention, since the balance is flat, it is effective in the installation space. Since the weight loss can be continuously and accurately weighed,
It is possible to accurately predict the replacement time of the beverage tank by arithmetically processing the signals emitted from this device set in a large number of widely distributed cup beverage vending machines over time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a beverage stock solution remaining amount detecting means according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a cutaway front view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part for explaining the beverage concentrate supply pipe system of the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of an essential part for explaining the weighing function stabilizing means of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a characteristic diagram of the amount of remaining undiluted beverage-converted voltage in the example.

FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram of the residual amount of the liquid beverage-converted voltage in the comparative example.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of main parts of another embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the wire grip of the same embodiment.

[Figure 9] Beverage solution remaining amount management system diagram

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 platform 2a 1st rod leg 2b 2nd rod leg 3 undiluted solution tank 4 1st rod 5 2nd rod 6a 1st rod 6b 2nd rod 7pin 8a 1st rod 8b Two-barrel fulcrum 9 Frames 10a, 10b Frame fulcrum base 11 Pins on the fulcrum base 12 Point of action of the first barbet 13 Second priority point of the second barbet 14 Pin 15 Point of action of the second barbet 16 Counterspring 17 Undiluted solution outlet 18 Connection pipe 19 Connector (connection means) 20 Bellows 21 Flange 21 'Wire grip 22 Elastic flexible hose 23 Notch 24 Bracket 25 Metering pump 26 Metering pump rotor a Amount of remaining liquid-output voltage characteristic curve of one embodiment b Comparative example Stock solution remaining amount-output voltage characteristic curve of c. Stock solution remaining amount-output voltage characteristic curve of other comparative examples

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Shizuo Fujita 2-11-8 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Coca-Cola Pacific Technology Center Co., Ltd. (72) Teruyoshi Parki 2-3-3 Iwata-cho, Higashi-Osaka City No. 1 in Tatsuta Electric Wire Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tadaaki Masui 2-3-1, Iwata-cho, Higashiosaka City Inside Tatsuta Electric Wire Co., Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A device for detecting the remaining amount of undiluted solution in a cup beverage vending machine, which comprises the following configurations and sends out undiluted solution from the undiluted beverage solution tank 3 through a flexible hose 22 by a metering pump 25 in a fixed amount. The beverage stock solution weighing mechanism is arranged in the body of the cup beverage vending machine, and equilibrium means for starting the balance when the remaining amount of the beverage stock solution reaches the set value is attached to the action point 15 of the weighing mechanism. Beverage undiluted solution remaining amount detection means in which converters 28a and 28b for outputting a voltage according to the inclination of the rod 5 are attached to the rod 5. A connector 19 is provided on the stock solution discharge port 17 of the drink stock solution tank 3.
A beverage stock solution supply pipe system including an elastic flexible hose 22 which is connected to the metering pump 25 via a pipe. The beverage stock solution tank mount 1 of the weighing mechanism is provided with a notch 23 through which the elastic flexible hose 22 from the stock solution discharge port 17 penetrates, and the elastic flexible hose 22 is fixed in the preceding stage of the metering pump 25 so that the elastic Weighing function stabilizing means in which edging jigs 21 and 21 'are arranged to prevent external force from the side of the metering pump 25 from being transmitted to the weighing mechanism via the flexible hose 22. 2. The edge cutting jig 2 of the weighing function stabilizing means.
1'is a wire grip 21 'consisting of a fixed flange plate 21b having an elastic flexible hose 22 penetrating through the center and a cylindrical net 21a fixed around the hose through hole and covering the hose 22 on the metering pump 25 side. The undiluted solution remaining amount detecting device of the cup beverage vending machine according to claim 1, wherein. 3. The stock solution discharge port 1 of the elastic flexible hose 22.
7. A bellows 20 which is expandable and contractible in the axial direction is interposed between the edge cutting jigs 21 and 21 'from 7.
Or the undiluted solution remaining amount detecting device of the cup beverage vending machine according to 2. 4. The stock solution discharge port 17 and the elastic flexible hose 2
The undiluted solution remaining amount detecting device for a cup beverage vending machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a connector 19 part with 2 is fixed to the cut portion 23 of the beverage undiluted solution tank platform 1. . 5. The beverage concentrate remaining amount detecting means T has a rod for receiving the weight of the concentrate tank 3 at four points, and the rod has a fulcrum 8a, an important point 6a, and an action point 12 as a first rod 4.
And fulcrum 8b, point 6b, second point 13 and action point 1
A flat type, which is composed of a combination with a second rod 5 having 5 and in which the fulcrum / weight point / second weight point / action point of these bar rods 4 and 5 are located on substantially the same plane in the balance state of the weighing mechanism. 5. A weighing mechanism, wherein the equilibrium means is attached to the action point 15 of the second rod 5, and the converters 28a and 28b are attached in the vicinity of the action point 15 of the second rod 5. The undiluted solution remaining amount detecting device of the cup beverage vending machine according to one. 6. The counter spring 1 as the balancing means.
6. The undiluted solution remaining amount detecting device for a cup beverage vending machine according to claim 1, wherein 7. The undiluted solution remaining amount detecting device of a cup beverage vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the balancing means is a counterweight.