JP2513288B2 - Cup-type beverage vending machine cap feeder - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention is incorporated into a cup-type beverage vending machine, and a cap is placed on the upper surface of the cup after the beverage is supplied to the cup discharged to the bend stage in accordance with the selling operation. The present invention relates to a cap supply device that automatically supplies and loads a lid.

[Conventional technology]

The above-mentioned cup-type beverage vending machine supplies beverages produced in the machine to the cups that have been carried out to the bend stage for sale, and conventional vending machines use the vent stage with the beverages in the cups. I take it out and sell it.

By the way, if there is a drink in the cup as described above, there is a problem that the drink overflows when the customer carries the cup and the pot drink cools down quickly. The cap supply mechanism is designed to be automatically stored and stored in the cap storage cylinder inside the machine, and the cap taken out from the cap storage cylinder is automatically supplied and loaded into the beverage-containing cup at the final stage of the sales operation. Has been.

Further, as the cap supply mechanism, the present inventors have used a shooter transfer system for supplying the cap dispensed from the cap storage cylinder to the upper surface of the beverage-filling cup waiting on the bend stage via the shooter, or a vacuum from the cap storage cylinder. We have already developed a vacuum pad transfer system that cuts one by one with the operation of the pad, transfers it to the bend stage, and loads it into the cup, and is trying to apply it to the actual machine.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

By the way, each of the above-described cap supply methods has the following practical problems. That is, in the shooter transfer method, since the weight of one cap is extremely light, the powder material of the beverage scattered in the machine adheres to the shooter surface, absorbs moisture, and solidifies. It was found that it is difficult to stably supply and load the cap to the cup, because foreign substances are often caught during the transportation of the shooter or the supply posture is disturbed. Also,
The vacuum pad system requires auxiliary machinery necessary for vacuum generation, and also requires complicated valve control for the timing of the vacuum pad suction and release operations that are performed according to the cap receiving and loading operations in terms of its control surface. However, the cost is too high for a vending machine and it is not practical.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and solves the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional method, and makes it possible to reliably and stably supply and load the cap dispensed from the cap storage cylinder to the cup with a simple mechanism. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cap supply device having high practicability.

[Means for solving the problem]

According to the present invention, such a problem is to mechanically receive and hold the cap storage cylinder with the cap cutting mechanism, which accommodates a large number of caps in a stacked manner, and the cap dispensed from the cap storage cylinder, to the bend stage. It is equipped with a cap supply robot that transfers to a waiting beverage cup and attaches to the cup by fitting it from above, and this cap supply robot can be opened when engaging with a claw opening / closing guide provided on the cap storage cylinder. A hand part having a certain cap gripping chuck claw and a biasing spring that closes this chuck claw, and this hand part can be raised and lowered, and the cap gripping chuck claw of the hand part is engaged with the claw opening / closing guide to open. When lowering, the cap gripping chuck claw is disengaged from the claw opening / closing guide, and the spring force of the biasing spring is used to grip the cap. The problem is solved by including a hand unit raising / lowering mechanism for holding the cap by the hack claw and a rotating mechanism capable of rotating the hand unit raising / lowering mechanism and transferring the cap held by the hand unit to the bend stage. .

[Action]

With the above configuration, a large number of caps are stacked inside out in the cap storage cylinder, and when a payout command is given here, the cap cutout mechanism operates and the caps are turned upside down one by one. put out. On the other hand, the hand part of the cap supply robot is in the standby position at the carry-out end of the cap storage cylinder with the chuck claws opened by the constraint of the claw opening / closing guide provided on the side of the cap storage cylinder.
The cap dispensed from the cap storage cylinder is received in the hand part. Next, when the robot mechanism descends the hand part, the chuck claws are automatically closed by the spring bias while the hand part is separated from the claw opening / closing guide, and the cap is mechanically spring-loaded from the outer peripheral side or the inner peripheral side. Hold it. When the hand is turned over by the robot mechanism, the cap is turned upside down and the mounting surface of the cup faces downward. In this case, the cap is mechanically gripped by the hand part and does not fall off. Subsequently, after the cap is reversed, the hand portion is lowered to press the cap onto the upper surface of the cup, so that the cap is elastically fitted and loaded into the peripheral flange portion of the upper surface of the cup to cover the opening of the upper surface of the cup. Here, when the hand portion is pulled up, the gripped state of the hand portion and the cap is released, and the cap remains on the cup side.
After that, the cap supply robot returns the hand part to the standby position again to complete a series of cap supply operations.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the entire structure of a cap supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a structural diagram of a cup and a cap.
3 to 5 are structural views of a concrete embodiment of the cap supplying robot in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are structural drawings of a hand portion of another embodiment.

First, in FIG. 1, 1 is a cap storage cylinder in which a large number of caps 2 are stacked upside down and accommodated, 1a is a cap cutting mechanism provided at the lower end of the cap storage cylinder 1 and 3 is a cap storage cylinder 1 More paid cap 2
The hand unit 4 for mechanically gripping the
A cap supply robot composed of a combination with a robot mechanism 5 for inversion operation, 6 a vent stage of a vending machine, 7 a cup, and 8 a beverage supply line. The cup 7 is unloaded from the cup supply mechanism (not shown) to the vent stage 6 in accordance with the sales operation, and the beverage produced inside the machine at this position (for example, the powder raw material is dissolved in hot water to produce) is the beverage supply line. 8 into the cup.

On the other hand, the cup 7 is a paper cup having a flange portion 7a formed by folding the peripheral edge of the upper surface outward as shown in FIG. Also,
The cap 2 that covers the upper surface of the cup 7 is made of a molded product of an extremely thin polyethylene film,
As shown in the drawing, a concave portion 2a fitted into the inner periphery of the cup 7 and an outer peripheral fitting portion 2b which elastically fits with the flange portion 7a of the cup 7
Are formed.

Here, the cap supply operation related to the beverage selling operation will be conceptually described with reference to FIG. 1, and when the cup 7 is carried out to the vent stage 6 by the sales instruction and the beverage is further supplied to the cup 7, the cap is next supplied. The cutting-out mechanism 1a operates and one cap 2 is discharged downward from the cap storage cylinder 1 in an upside-down posture. The cap cutting mechanism 1a
Is similar to a well-known cam type cutting mechanism as a cup supply mechanism, and separates the caps 2 stored in a stack one by one and drops the caps 2 downward to dispense.

On the other hand, the cap supply robot 3 is on standby at the cap receiving position shown by the solid line in the drawing, and the cap storage cylinder 1
The cap 2 paid out from the hand is received by the hand part 4, and the cap 2 is mechanically gripped as described in detail later, and then transferred to the cap delivery position indicated by the chain line by the descending and reversing operation of the robot mechanism 5, Furthermore, the cap 2 is pressed from above with the mounting surface facing downward on the beverage-containing cup 7 waiting on the bend stage 6, and the cap 2 is fitted and loaded in the state shown in FIG. When the cap 2 is supplied to the cup 7 and loaded, the robot 3 returns to move the hand unit 4 back to the standby position indicated by the solid line, and one cap supply operation is completed.

Next, the detailed structure of one embodiment of the cap supplying robot for performing the above cap supplying operation is shown in FIGS. First, the hand unit 4 of the cap supply robot 3
Is a disc 4a for receiving the cap 2, a pair of left and right chuck claws 4c supported on the disc through guide pins 4b so as to be slidable in the radial direction, and the chuck claws 4c are directed toward the center of the disc. It consists of a spring 4d that has a relatively weak spring force and a guide projection 4e for opening and closing the chuck claw that extends the rear end of the chuck claw 4c and projects to the outer peripheral side of the disc 4a. Then, the guide protrusion 4e described above is the cap storage cylinder 1
The pair of left and right chuck claws protruding from the lower surface of the claw 4c are engaged with each other to hold and hold the chuck claws 4c in an open state. The guide member 1b is a wedge body having an outer surface as a taper surface with an inclination angle θ as shown in the figure and also for positioning the hand portion 4. The guide surface on the hand portion side is formed on the taper surface.
4e engages. Here, when the hand portion 4 is raised, the chuck claws 4c are retracted and opened laterally outward along the tapered surface of the guide member 1b via the guide protrusions 4e, and when the hand portion 4 is lowered, the chuck claws 4c are released. It is closed toward the center of the disc under the bias of the spring 4d, and the cap 2 received on the disc 4a is clamped from the outer periphery and mechanically gripped.

On the other hand, the robot mechanism 5 is the disc of the hand unit 4 described above.
It comprises an elevator shaft 5a with rack teeth coupled to 4a, and a reversing oscillating arm 5b which guide-supports the elevator shaft 5a so as to vertically drive it through a pinion. In addition, 5c is a rack tooth formed along the elevating shaft 5a, 5d is a pinion that meshes with the rack tooth 5c, 5e is a pinion drive motor, and 5f is a reverse drive motor connected to one end of the arm 5b.

With this configuration, the lifting shaft 5a is moved up and down in the arrow P direction with respect to the arm 5b via the rack / pinion by driving the motor 5e. In addition, the arm 5b is operated to invert and swing (the swing angle is 180 degrees) in the direction of the arrow Q by driving the motor 5f.

Therefore, when the hand portion 4 is moved upward by the operation of the robot mechanism 5 so as to approach the carry-out end of the cap storage cylinder 1 in accordance with the cap supply operation described in FIG. 1, the chuck claw opening / closing guide member 1b is restrained. Upon receipt, the chuck claws 4c of the hand unit 4 open left and right. Further, when the hand portion 4 is moved downward by the operation of the robot mechanism 5 after the cap 2 dispensed from the cap storage cylinder is received on the disk 4a, the chuck is released when the constraint with the chuck claw opening / closing guide member 1b is released. The claw 4c is closed, and the cap 2 is gripped mechanically by gripping it from the outer peripheral side. By the subsequent descending and reversing operation of the robot mechanism 5, the cap 2 is held by the hand portion 4,
As shown in the figure, when the cap 2 is transferred to a position right above the cup 7 waiting on the vent stage 6 and the cap 2 is pressed against the upper surface of the cup 7 as shown in FIG. It is loaded on the No. 7 in a mating manner. Next, when the hand portion 4 is pulled up by a robot operation from this state, since the biasing spring force of the hand portion 4 holding the cap 2 is set to be relatively weak, the cap 2 is left in the cup 7. The hand unit 4 separates from the cap 2. After that, by operating the robot mechanism 5 to reverse and raise the hand portion 4 contrary to the above, the hand portion 4 is returned to the standby position and the chuck claw 4c is restrained by the guide member 1b and released.
Here, one cap supply operation is completed.

The movement of the robot mechanism 5 including the raising / lowering stroke of the hand unit 4 should be performed in advance in the cap storage cylinder,
The teaching is performed according to the mounting position of the bend stage, the height of the cup 7, and the like, or the signal is controlled by receiving a signal from a position detection switch provided at a key point along the robot movement path.

6 and 7 show an embodiment of the hand unit different from the above embodiment. That is, although the chuck claws 4c of the hand portion 4 grip the cap 2 from the outer peripheral side in the above-described embodiment, the chuck claws 4c are held in this embodiment.
Is pressed from the inner peripheral side into the concave portion 2a of the cap 2 shown in FIG. That is, the sixth
In FIG. 7 and FIG. 7, the pair of left and right chuck claws 4c arranged on the disc 4a of the hand portion 4 are urged outward by the urging springs 4d as circular arc surfaces on the outer periphery thereof. Further, the guide member 1b provided on the side of the cap storage cylinder 1 facing the guide projection 4e for opening and closing the claw that extends outward from the chuck claw 4c is
It is configured as a wedge body whose inner side surface is tapered (inclination angle θ).

Therefore, at the standby position for receiving the cap in which the hand portion 4 is moved upward as shown in the drawing, the chuck claw 4c is urged along the taper surface of the guide member 1b via the guide protrusion 4e.
It is pushed from the inside against 4d. That is, the chuck claw 4c is held in the open state. On the other hand, the cap storage cylinder 1
After receiving the cap 2 dispensed from the hand unit 4
When is operated to descend, contrary to the above, along the tapered surface of the guide member 1b, the chuck claw 4c is biased by the spring and pushed outward, so that the cap 2 is mechanically gripped from the inner peripheral side. The subsequent cap transfer and loading operations for the cup are performed in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment.

In order to shorten the sales operation time of the vending machine as much as possible, the above-mentioned cap receiving and gripping operation from the cap storage cylinder is performed while waiting for the sales, or during the sales operation, in parallel with the in-machine beverage manufacturing process. It is preferable to carry out the above process, and immediately after the beverage is supplied to the cup, the step of loading the cap on the cup is started.

〔The invention's effect〕

Since the cap supply device according to the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

(1) The cap dispensed from the cap storage cylinder is mechanically gripped by the hand part, and the cap is inverted by the operation of the robot mechanism to transfer it to the beverage cup waiting on the bend stage. Since the cup top surface is pressed against the cup for loading, there is no risk of disturbing the cap transport posture due to catching foreign matter, which was a problem with the conventional shooter transfer method, and the cap is always stable and reliable. It is possible to supply and load to and improve reliability. Further, as compared with the conventional vacuum pad supply method, auxiliary equipment necessary for generating a vacuum is not necessary, and the cost can be reduced.

(2) The chuck claws of the hand portion of the cap supply robot are configured to be opened by receiving the constraint of the chuck claw opening / closing guide provided on the side of the cap storage cylinder at the cap receiving position to open the chuck claws. It is possible to smoothly and surely perform the correct positioning of the cap with respect to the cap storage cylinder and the gripping operation of the cap in conjunction with the raising / lowering operation of the hand portion by the robot mechanism without requiring a special power source.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual view showing the overall structure of the cap supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention and the cap supply operation, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view in a loaded state showing the structure of the cup and cap adopted in the present invention. FIG. 4 is a detailed structural diagram of a concrete embodiment of the cap supplying robot, FIGS. 4 and 5 are plan views of the hand portion in FIG. 3, and internal mechanism diagrams of the robot mechanism, FIG. 6 and FIG. FIG. 7 is a side view and a plan view showing the structure of an embodiment of a hand unit different from the above embodiment. In the figure, 1: Cap storage cylinder, 1a: Cap cutting mechanism, 1b: Guide member for opening and closing the chuck claw, 2: Cap, 3: Robot for supplying cap, 4: Hand part, 4c: Chuck claw, 4d: Energizing spring ,
5: Robot mechanism, 5a: Lifting axis, 5b: Inversion swing arm, 5
e: Pinion drive motor, 5f: Reverse drive motor, 6: Bend stage, 7: Cup, 8: Beverage supply line.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cap storage cylinder with a cap cutting mechanism, which stores a large number of caps in a stack, and a cup with a beverage that mechanically receives and holds the cap dispensed from the cap storage cylinder and waits on a bend stage. A cap gripping robot that can be opened when the cap feeding robot is engaged with a claw opening / closing guide provided in the cap storage cylinder. The hand part has an urging spring that closes this chuck claw, and this hand part can be moved up and down. Remove the chuck claw from the claw opening / closing guide and place the cap on the chuck grip chuck claw by the spring force of the biasing spring. A cup-type beverage automatic vending machine comprising a hand-portion raising / lowering mechanism to be held and a pivoting mechanism capable of rotating the hand-portion raising / lowering mechanism to transfer the cap gripped by the hand portion to the bend stage. Machine cap supply device.