JPS5821754B2 - shaved ice vending machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improvement of a shaved ice vending machine.

The applicant uses an auger mechanism to scrape off ice frozen on the inner wall surface of an ice cylinder of an auger-type ice maker, continuously compresses the ice pieces to produce a large number of ice cubes, and stores them in a water storage tank.
Furthermore, under the advance control operation of the inserted coin, a certain amount of ice cubes is sent to the ice shaver to turn it into fine ice, and this fine ice (shaved ice) is discharged into the container via a discharge tube that communicates with the ice shaver. Then, he developed a shaved ice vending machine that could spray flavored liquid such as syrup onto thin ice and obtain shaved ice hygienically without any human touch.
A patent application was filed as No.-97663 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 53-23697).

The shaved ice vending machine according to this patent application has a configuration in which the bottom of the water storage tank is sloped, and an ice block stirring member that works with an ice detection switch is arranged on the sloped bottom surface to prevent ice blocks from arching and to supply the ice blocks to an ice shaver. However, as a result of further improvements and innovations aimed at achieving a more reliable supply of ice cubes to the ice shaver, the bottom of the water tank of the shaved ice vending machine was configured horizontally, An ice block conveying device is provided at the bottom of the ice block, and a device for detecting the presence or absence of ice blocks in the ice cutting mechanism is arranged in the communication section between the water storage tank and the ice cutting machine tank, and the drive control of the conveying device is controlled under the action of this detection device. It was discovered that the intended purpose could be achieved by configuring the system to do the following.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a shaved ice vending machine that can smoothly transport and supply ice cubes in a water storage tank to an ice shaver tank.

To achieve this objective, the shaved ice vending machine according to the present invention includes an auger-type ice maker, a device for transferring ice produced by the ice maker, and a water storage tank for storing the transferred ice in the form of ice blocks. , an ice block conveying mechanism placed at the bottom of this water storage tank, a liquid agent mechanism that receives the ice blocks conveyed through the ice block supply pipe and turns them into fine ice, and a flavoring system that sprays a flavor liquid on the discharged thin ice. a liquid supply mechanism; a first water storage detection switch that is provided in an upper part of the water storage tank and stops driving the ice maker when the amount of water stored reaches an upper limit level; and a lower part of the water storage tank. a second water storage detection switch provided in the ice block supply pipe to detect whether or not the water storage amount has reached a lower limit level; and a third water storage detection switch provided in the ice block supply pipe to detect the presence or absence of ice blocks in the ice block supply pipe. and the second and third
The water storage detection switch and the ice block transport mechanism are connected in series, and when the second water storage detection switch detects the lower limit level of the water storage amount, the ice block transport mechanism is activated regardless of whether the third water storage detection switch detects the water storage level. The ice block conveying mechanism is configured to stop driving, and to drive the ice block conveying mechanism when the second water storage detection switch detects that the amount of water storage is equal to or higher than the lower limit level, and the third water storage detection switch detects that there are no ice blocks. It is characterized by:

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description below.

It will become even clearer.

Next, preferred embodiments of the shaved ice vending machine according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings, the shaved ice vending machine according to the present invention is
An auger-type ice maker 10 and a heat insulator 12 arranged at the bottom of the main body
It basically consists of a water storage tank 14 surrounded by water, an ice shaver 16 and a syrup supply device 18 provided in the center of the main body.

The auger ice maker 10 has an external water supply system (see diagram).

Water for ice making is supplied from the cylinder, and the ice frozen on the inner circumferential wall of the cylinder is scraped off by the rotation of the auger mechanism and transferred to the upper part, where it is passed through an ice compression passage to become compressed ice.

Further, a flexible conduit 20 made of a heat-poorly conductive material is communicated with the ice block discharge port of the ice maker 10 to be guided upward and connected to the ice block supply port 22 of the water storage tank 14 .

That is, by continuing the ice-making operation of the auger-type ice maker 10, the ice blocks are sequentially pushed upward through the flexible conduit 20, and further fall into the water storage tank 14 through the supply port 22. , the operating position of the first water storage detection switch, which is provided in the upper part of the water storage tank 14 and stops driving the auger-type ice maker 10 when the amount of water stored reaches the upper limit level, that is, the water storage thermoswitch 24; It is understood that the amount will be stored until the end.

An opening/closing door 28 is arranged in the opening 26 provided on the front side of the water tank 14, and the inside thereof is partitioned by a partition plate 30 made of a transparent material to form a storage chamber 32. Strawberries, strawberries, etc.
An appropriate number of cartridge tanks 34 filled with syrup liquid to which flavor components such as melon and orange are added are housed and arranged.

In this case, it is preferable that the partition plate 30 forming the storage chamber 32 is detachably attached using fasteners 36 such as screws.

At the bottom of the water storage chamber 14, an ice block conveying device 44 is disposed, which includes a screw 40 disposed around a horizontally extending shaft 38, and a motor 42 that rotationally drives this shaft 38. An ice block supply pipe 46 is connected to the end of the ice block.

An ice shaver 16 is disposed below the water storage tank 14 to cut ice blocks to obtain fine ice (shaved ice), and the supply pipe 4 is connected to the ice receiving port of the ice shaver 16.
Connect 6.

A lamp 48, a cylindrical light projecting member 50 made of a transparent resin material, a transparent blocking plate 52, and a photocell 54 are disposed facing each other on the circumferential surface of the ice cube supply pipe 46, and a photodetecting device 56, that is, a third water storage detection device is installed. A switch (see FIG. 3) is configured to detect the presence or absence of ice cubes in the supply pipe 46 and the ice shaver 16 using the optical detection device 56 to drive and control the motor 42 of the conveying device 44.

In this case, a second water storage detection switch for detecting the lower limit water storage amount, that is, a protection thermoswitch 58 is provided below the water storage tank 14, and as shown in FIG. is connected in series to the motor 42, so that when the ice block is below the level of the thermoswitch 58, the state is detected and the light detection device 56
It is preferable that the drive and selling operation of the motor 42 be stopped regardless of whether or not there is an ice block, since the motor can be protected.

The ice shaver 16 includes a casing 60 surrounded by a heat insulating material, and a rotor 62 rotatably disposed inside the casing 60.
The ice blocks supplied into the casing 60 through the supply pipe 46 are pressed against the cutting blade 64 provided on the inner circumferential wall surface of the casing 60 by the high-speed rotating action of the rotor 62 to continuously produce fine ice. It is configured to do so.

The cut ice is discharged from a discharge tube 68 that opens above a sales port 66 provided on the front surface of the vending machine main body.

A water discharge pipe 12 communicating with an external water supply system via a valve device 70 is connected to the inner circumferential wall surface of the discharge pipe 68.
It is preferable that the inner circumferential wall surface of No. 8 be constructed so as to be able to be appropriately cleaned.

On the other hand, a cartridge tank 34 arranged in the storage chamber 32
The syrup inside is configured to be discharged in a fixed amount through a pipe 80 via a valve device 78 that is opened in conjunction with the operation of discharging thin ice into the cup 76 from the cup supply device 74 to the sales port 66. .

Next, we will continue to explain the functions and effects of the shaved ice vending machine according to the present invention configured as described above.

First, when the power switch of the vending machine is turned on, the operation of the auger-type ice maker 10 is started and a large number of ice cubes are continuously produced.

At this time, since the lamp 48 of the light detection device 56 is also turned on, the photocell 54 detects that there is no ice block in the supply pipe 46 and the ice shaver 16 and sends a drive start signal to the motor 42 of the conveyance device 44. However, since there is no ice block in the water tank 14, the protective thermoswitch 58 built into the drive control circuit of the motor 42 is turned off, and the conveying device 44 is not driven.

The ice cubes produced by the auger type ice maker 10 are connected to the flexible conduit 20
It falls into the water storage tank 14 through the water tank 14 and is deposited one after another until it reaches the level of the protective thermo switch 58, and this thermo switch is turned on.
When the N operation is performed, the motor 42 of the conveying device 44 starts, the screw 40 rotates, and the ice cubes in the water storage tank 14 are transferred to the supply pipe 46.
The ice is supplied to the ice shaver 16 via the ice shaving machine 16.

When the level of the ice block supplied to the ice shaver 16 exceeds the level at which the light detection device 56 is attached, the light of the lamp 48 is blocked by the ice block, and no electromotive force is generated in the photocell 54, and the drive motor 42 The control circuit is cut off and the supply of ice cubes to the ice shaver 16 is stopped.

Note that the auger type ice maker 10 still continues to make ice, but when the ice cubes reach the level of the water storage thermo switch 24, the switch 24 is activated and the operation of the ice maker 10 is stopped.
Waiting for shaved ice to be sold.

During this sales standby, the ice cubes in the ice shaver 16 melt over time, and this melted water is discharged to the outside through a drain pipe 82 communicating with the ice shaver 16.

Next, when the customer inserts a coin and operates a button to select the desired type of syrup liquid, the vending control circuit is energized and the next sequence of operations is performed.

(1) A certain amount of tap water is supplied as a fountain to the inner circumferential wall surface of the thin ice discharge tube 68 through the water discharge pipe 72, and when the sale is completed before this sales operation, the cup is placed on the discharge tube 68 and the sales port 66. After the excess thin water remaining on the placement surface is melted, it is discharged to the outside via the drain pipe 82.

(2) The cup 76 is discharged from the cup supply device 74 toward the sales outlet.

When the cup 16 stands upright in the normal position, the detection device detects this and sends out a "cup present" signal, and the process moves to the next sequence.

(3) The rotor 62 of the ice shaver 16 rotates for a predetermined period of time and releases a predetermined amount of thin ice into the cup 76 via the ejector cylinder 68.

(4) The valve device 78 of the syrup liquid supply device 18 which is cooled and held in the storage chamber 32 defined in the water storage chamber 14 is opened, and a fixed amount of the syrup liquid stored in the cartridge tank 34 is transferred through the pipe 80. The ice is then scattered onto the thin ice placed in the cup 76.

Note that the sequence of (3) and (4) is, for example, (
3) Quantitative release of thin ice → (4) Quantitative spraying of syrup liquid → (3)
It is more preferable to repeat this process alternately and intermittently twice, such as quantitative dispensing of fine ice → (4) quantitative dispensing of syrup liquid, since the fine ice will be sufficiently impregnated with syrup by being sprayed in two stages.

With the above, the operation of selling the shaved ice is completed, and the customer picks up the finished shaved ice and eats it with the spoon provided in the vending machine.

Note that when the ice cubes in the ice shaver 16 are consumed by the selling operation and the storage level becomes below the mounting position of the light detection device 56, the motor 42 of the conveyance device 44 is driven in the same way as described above, and the ice cubes in the ice shaver 16 are driven. A predetermined amount of ice cubes is supplied from the water storage tank 14 and the system enters a standby state for the next sale.

As described above, according to the shaved ice vending machine of the present invention, since the transport device is driven and controlled by the light detection device provided in the communication section between the water storage tank and the liquid medication mechanism, ice blocks can be reliably supplied to the liquid medication mechanism. Not only this, but also the durability of the vending machine itself can be improved because the conveying device is not driven when the ice cubes in the water storage tank do not reach a predetermined level.

In addition, the ice block detection device uses light and there is nothing protruding inside the supply pipe, so it can reliably prevent ice blocks from arching.Furthermore, it can produce and shave ice blocks fully automatically without any manual intervention. Since the shaved ice is even sprayed with syrup, it has various advantages such as extremely hygienic shaved ice that can be eaten with peace of mind.

Although the preferred embodiments of the shaved ice vending machine according to the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that such embodiments depart from the spirit of the present invention.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a front view showing a preferred embodiment of the shaved ice vending machine according to the present invention, with the front door omitted; Fig. 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the shaved ice vending machine shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3; is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the ice block supply pipe and the light detection device of the shaved ice vending machine shown in Figure 1, and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the ice block supply pipe and the light detection device of the shaved ice vending machine shown in Figure 1.
It is a circuit diagram which shows the contact state of the 2nd and 3rd water storage switch immediately after operation. 10... Auger type ice maker, 12... Insulation material, 14...
... Ice storage tank, 16 ... Ice shaver, 18 ... Syrup liquid supply device, 20 ... Flexible conduit, 22 ... Ice block supply port, 24 ... Ice storage thermo switch, 26 ...・Opening, 28... Opening/closing door, 30... Partition plate, 32... Storage chamber, 34... Cartridge tank, 36... Stop, 38... Shaft, 40... Screw , 42... Motor, 44... Water conveyance device, 46... Ice block supply pipe,
48... Lamp, 50... Light projecting member, 52... Transparent closing plate, 54... Photocell, 56... Light detection device, 58... Protection thermoswitch, 60... Casing, 62... Rotor, 64... Cutting blade, 66...
Sales port, 68... Discharge cylinder, 70... Valve device, 72.
... Water discharge pipe, 74 ... Cup supply device, 76 ... Cup, 78 ... Valve device, 80 ... Pipe, 82 ...
・Drainage pipe.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1: an auger-type ice maker, a device for transferring ice produced by the ice maker, a water storage tank for storing the transferred ice in the form of ice blocks, and an ice block transport mechanism disposed at the bottom of the water storage tank; An ice shaver tank that receives ice blocks conveyed through an ice block supply pipe and turns them into fine ice cubes, a flavor liquid supply mechanism that sprays a flavor liquid onto the ejected fine ice cubes, and is provided in an upper part of the water storage tank, a first water storage detection switch that detects when the water storage amount has reached the upper limit level and stops driving the ice maker; a second water storage detection switch that detects a water storage detection switch, and a third water storage detection switch that is provided on the ice block supply pipe and detects the presence or absence of an ice block in the ice block supply pipe, the second and third water storage detection switches and The ice block transport mechanisms are connected in series, and when the second water storage detection switch detects the lower limit level of water storage, the ice block transport mechanism stops driving regardless of whether the third water storage detection switch detects the water storage amount. The second water storage detection switch detects that the amount of water storage is equal to or higher than the lower limit level, and the third
A shaved ice vending machine characterized in that the shaved ice vending machine is configured to drive an ice block conveying mechanism when the water storage detection switch detects a state in which there are no ice blocks.