JPH11283090A - Data setting method for automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily perform data setting to an automatic vending machine and to intuitively discriminate which value is to be changed and when the value is to be changed after setting by enabling the setting work while visually confirming it. SOLUTION: The setting work is performed while using an external terminal 7 provided with the graphic display enabled display of a personal computer or the like and graphically displaying the setting object data of the automatic vending machine on that display. When setting the cooking timing of a cup type automatic vending machine, for example, a cooking timing chart is displayed on the display of the external terminal 7 and data are set by directly operating the displayed chart with a mouse or the like. The set result is converted to a numerical value and temporarily stored in the memory of the external terminal. Then, that external terminal 7 is connected through a connector 6 to the automatic vending machine, and the stored data are transferred to a main control part 1 of the automatic vending machine and written in the memory of the main control part 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a complicated vending machine such as setting a cooking timing in a cup-type vending machine in which hot water is poured into raw material powder such as coffee or cocoa, and then stirred and then put into a cup for sale. The present invention relates to a vending machine data setting method which is effective for setting various data.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a coffee cup-type vending machine, a coffee powder raw material, sugar, cream, etc. are stored in a raw material tank, and hot water is stored in a hot water tank. Put hot water and hot water in a stirring vessel, stir in it, and sell in a paper cup.

FIG. 6 is a cooking time chart in a conventional cup-type vending machine. After coin insertion, time T0
When the coffee product selection button is pressed, the cup drop motor is activated and the paper cup is placed on the cup table. Thereafter, the hot water solenoid valve is opened, and a small amount of hot water is poured from the hot water tank into the stirring vessel. On the other hand, the raw material auger motor of the raw material tank operates,
Raw materials such as sugar and cream are charged from the raw material tank into the stirring vessel.

[0006] A little after the start of the operation of the raw material auger motor, the whipper motor starts to operate and stirs the inside of the stirring vessel for a preset time. There is a hole in the bottom of the agitating container to inject coffee made in it into a paper cup.While the whipper motor is operating, the hot water in the agitating container is stirred by centrifugal force. Stops in container. As a result, the raw materials for coffee powder, sugar, cream and the like and the hot water are sufficiently stirred in the stirring vessel. As the operation time of the whipper motor at that time, a value at which stirring is completed without any problem with a normal amount of raw material is set as a recommended value.

After the set time has elapsed, when the whipper motor is stopped, the coffee agitated in the agitating container is put into a lower paper cup through a discharge hole provided at the bottom of the agitating container. However, at that stage, the coffee concentration is high. Therefore, the hot water solenoid valve is opened again to inject a predetermined amount of hot water from the hot water tank. When the whipper motor is again operated for a short time at a stage where a certain amount of hot water has been poured, the hot water accumulated in the stirring vessel is stirred, and the inside of the stirring vessel is washed. Then, the hot water solenoid valve is opened for a predetermined time,
When a predetermined amount of hot water is poured and the hot water solenoid valve is closed, coffee having an appropriate concentration is completed in the paper cup.

[0006] In a cup-type vending machine, such processing is performed for each sale. Among them, the operating time A of the raw material auger motor, the operating time B of the whipper motor, and the opening time C of the hot water solenoid valve are determined by the following. The setting can be changed according to the type of beverage to be sold by the cup-type vending machine. And
To change the time settings, use the input device 21 provided inside the vending machine as shown in FIG. 5 and operate the keyboard 23 while displaying necessary items on the display 22. It is performed by

[0007] The setting of the correspondence between the product selection button and the drink to be sold is also performed by numerically inputting the number of the product selection button to be set and the product number of the beverage to be set by using the keyboard 23. .

Conventional documents relating to such a vending machine data setting method include, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No.
No. 72992 (B67D 1/12).

[0009]

However, in the above-described conventional vending machine data setting method, the operation time A of the raw material auger motor, the operation time B of the whipper motor, and the open time C of the hot water solenoid valve are individually set as follows. There is a problem in that it is difficult to understand where the value changes as a result of inputting the numerical value because the user simply inputs the numerical value. Values other than the operation time A of the raw material auger motor, the operation time B of the whipper motor and the opening time C of the hot water solenoid valve are as follows:
There was also a problem that it could not be changed unless it was a vending machine maker. In addition, the setting of the correspondence between the product selection button and the beverage can also be done by simply inputting the number of the product selection button and the product number of the beverage with a numerical value on the keyboard, so that the position of that button on the vending machine However, there was a problem that it was difficult to understand intuitively.

[0010] The present invention solves such a problem and makes it possible to easily set data of a vending machine, and to perform setting work while visually confirming the setting. The purpose is to make it possible to intuitively understand what value changes and how.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data setting method for a vending machine.
While displaying the setting target data of the vending machine graphically on the display of the external terminal equipped with a display capable of displaying graphics, data is input by operating the external terminal and stored in the external terminal, and then stored. The acquired data is transferred to a vending machine and written into a vending machine memory. This makes it easy to set up vending machine data,
It is possible to visually confirm the result, and after setting, you can intuitively understand what value changes and how.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a data setting method for a vending machine, wherein setting of a cooking timing in a cup-type vending machine is performed by directly operating a cooking timing chart displayed on a display of an external terminal. It is characterized by the following. In this way, complicated cooking timing settings can be made while directly checking the timing charts, and the setting work becomes more efficient.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the internal mechanism of the cup-type vending machine. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 10 denotes a raw material tank;
Is a raw material auger motor, 12 is an addition guide, 13 is a stirring vessel, 14 is a whipper motor, 15 is a hot water tank, 16 is a hot water electromagnetic valve, 17 is a cup container, 18 is a cup drop motor, 19 is a paper cup, and 20 is a cup holder. is there.

A powdered coffee material, sugar, cream, etc. are put in a raw material tank 10, and at the time of sale, a raw material auger motor 11 of a raw material tank containing necessary raw materials is operated, and the raw material is added to a necessary amount in an addition guide 12. Dispense and put in stirring vessel 13. In addition, hot water is stored in a hot water tank 15, and at the time of sale, the hot water electromagnetic valve 16 is opened and a required amount of hot water is poured into the stirring vessel.

On the other hand, a paper cup 19 is
Is stored, and at the time of sale, cup drop motor 1
8 is operated to take out the paper cup 19 on the cup table 20. Then, after the raw materials and hot water are put into the stirring container 13, the whipper motor 14 is operated to stir the inside of the stirring container 13, and the resulting beverage is put into the paper cup 19 for sale.

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a cup-type vending machine to which the present invention is applied. The main control unit 1 controls a terminal control unit that individually controls each unit of the vending machine, such as an input control unit 2, a customer service control unit 3, and a sales control unit 4, through a data bus 8 and controls the terminal control unit.

The input control unit 2 is connected to an input device 21 having a display 22 and a keyboard 23 as shown in FIG. 5, and sends various data input from the input device 21 to the main control unit 1. send. The customer control unit 3 is connected to a product selection button (not shown) and an amount indicator (same) provided on the front of the vending machine, and the main control unit 1 determines which product selection button has been pressed. Notifying and displaying the amount of money inserted into a coin insertion slot (not shown) on an amount indicator. The sales control unit 4 mixes various beverages based on a command from the main control unit 1 and then sells them in a cup.

In the present invention, an interface 5 and a connector 6 are further provided so that an external terminal having an information processing function such as a personal computer 7 can be connected thereto. The personal computer 7 sets cooking timing such as the operation time A of the raw material auger motor, the operation time B of the whipper motor, the opening time C of the hot water solenoid valve, and the setting of the correspondence between the product selection button and the beverage to be sold. And so on.

When setting the vending machine data using the personal computer 7, the setting work can be performed even when the vending machine is disconnected from the vending machine. For example, when setting the cooking timing, a timing chart is graphically displayed as a cooking timing setting screen as shown in FIG. 2, and the setting is performed by operating a mouse or the like. At that time, as the cooking timing to be displayed,
The data currently set in the main control unit 1 may be read and displayed, or may be displayed using standard data stored in the personal computer 7 in advance.

When the operation time of the raw material auger motor is changed while the cooking timing setting screen is displayed in such a manner, for example, as shown in FIG. Alternatively, after moving the cursor to the rear end and clicking, the mouse is moved right and left. The display portion is made to expand and contract accordingly, and the mouse is clicked again at the desired length to complete the operation for setting the operation time of the raw material auger motor.
Other times such as the operation time B of the whipper motor and the opening time C of the hot water solenoid valve can be set in the same manner. Further, if necessary, the operation time A,
The setting other than the operation time B of the whipper motor and the opening time C of the hot water electromagnetic valve can be performed by performing the same operation.

The results are converted into numerical values and stored. Then, the personal computer 7 is connected to the connector 6 of the vending machine and communicates with the main control unit 1 to transmit the stored cooking timing setting data to the main control unit 1. , The setting of the cooking timing is completed.

When setting the correspondence between the product selection button and the beverage to be sold, a correspondence setting screen between the product selection button and the beverage as shown in FIG. 3 is displayed on the display screen of the personal computer 7. . This screen corresponds to the arrangement of the product selection buttons on the front of the vending machine. And, for example,
When assigning the product with the product number 001 to the upper left button B1, the user clicks the setting position N1 of the button B1 with the mouse and then inputs "001" by key. As a result, the product with the product number 001 is assigned to the button B1. The other buttons are set similarly.

The results are stored in the memory of the personal computer 7. Then, the personal computer 7 is connected to the connector 6 of the vending machine and communicates with the main control unit 1 to transmit the stored cooking timing setting data to the main control unit 1. , The setting of the correspondence between the product selection button and the beverage is completed.

As described above, the input device 21 provided in the vending machine can easily perform a complicated setting operation. On the other hand, those which can be easily set with the input device 21, such as changing the selling price and adjusting the increase or decrease of the raw material, are set using the input device 21. Thus, by using the external terminal and the provided input device 21 properly according to the contents of the setting, an efficient setting operation can be performed.

In the above embodiment, a personal computer is used as the external terminal. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and another general-purpose information processing terminal or a dedicated terminal device may be used.

[0027]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

That is, in the data setting method for a vending machine according to the first aspect, the setting operation is performed while using an external terminal to graphically display the setting target data of the vending machine on a display of the external terminal. So that you can easily set up vending machine data,
After the setting, it is possible to visually confirm where the value changes and how to change the value, so that the operation becomes accurate and efficient.

In the data setting method for a vending machine according to the second aspect, the setting of the cooking timing in the cup-type vending machine is performed by directly operating the cooking timing chart displayed on the display of the external terminal. So,
The complicated cooking timing setting can be performed while directly checking the timing chart, thereby making the setting work more efficient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control block diagram of a cup-type vending machine to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cooking timing setting screen.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a setting screen for a correspondence between a product selection button and a beverage.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of an internal mechanism of the cup-type vending machine.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an input device.

FIG. 6 is a cooking time chart in a conventional cup-type vending machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 6 connector 7 personal computer 10 raw material tank 11 raw material auger motor 13 stirring vessel 14 whipper motor 15 hot water tank 16 hot water electromagnetic valve 17 cup holder 18 cup drop motor 19 paper cup 20 cup holder

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An external terminal provided with a display capable of graphic display, while displaying data to be set for a vending machine graphically, operating the external terminal to input data and store the data in the external terminal. Transmitting the stored data to a vending machine and writing the data in a vending machine memory. 2. The data of a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the setting of the cooking timing in the cup-type vending machine is performed by directly operating a cooking timing chart displayed on a display of an external terminal. Setting method.