JP2629973B2 - Cup-type beverage vending machine cap feeder - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is incorporated in a cup-type beverage vending machine, and automatically injects a cap into the cup carried out in accordance with the selling operation after pouring the beverage. The present invention relates to a cap supply device for supplying, loading, and closing a lid.

[Conventional technology]

As a countermeasure against the cup-type beverage vending machine mentioned above, as a measure to prevent the overflow of beverages and the rapid cooling of hot beverages when customers carry the cup, a cap that covers the top of the cup has recently been installed inside the aircraft. Development of various types of cup supply devices that automatically supply and load the cap taken out of the cap storage cylinder into the beverage cup at the final stage of the sales operation Is underway.

Here, a large number of caps are stored in a stacked manner in the cap storage cylinder.
A cam-type cap cutting mechanism as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 7801 is known. Also, a robot-type cap mounting device that receives and grips caps separated and carried out one by one from a cap storage cylinder and transfers and loads the cap to a beverage cup waiting at another position is a patent application from the same applicant. 1963-27
It has already been proposed as 2316.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

By the way, the cap cutting mechanism disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-197801 not only has a complicated cam shape, but also requires a driving motor for driving the cam, so that the cap cutting mechanism becomes large, and this installation space is secured. It is necessary to take measures. On the other hand, in order to increase the number of stored caps, the cap storage cylinder is made into a drum shape with a plurality of storage compartments like a normal cup storage cylinder, and the caps are sequentially opened from each storage compartment as sales progress. Although it is desired to supply the cap, if the conventional cap cutting mechanism described above is provided for each storage compartment of the drum-type cap storage cylinder, a plurality of drive motors are required, and it is increasingly difficult to secure the installation space. In addition, it becomes a major factor in cost increase. An attempt was also made to provide a common cap cutting mechanism for a drum-shaped cap storage cylinder having a plurality of storage compartments, but unlike caps, caps are extremely lightweight, In this state, there is little fitting allowance between the caps, and when the drum-type cap storage cylinder is rotated and the cap is supplied from each storage compartment to the cap extraction mechanism, the position of the cap collapses, which hinders the cap cutting operation. There is a problem in practical use that a trouble that easily occurs occurs.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is directed to a cap supply device that combines a cap storage cylinder with a cap extraction mechanism and a cap supply robot having a cap gripping mechanism as a hand unit. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cap feeding device for a vending machine configured to directly drive a cap cutting mechanism by skillfully utilizing the up-and-down movement of a cap gripping mechanism without the need for a driving motor.

[Means for solving the problem]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a cap supply device of the present invention is provided in a distributed manner on a periphery of a cap discharge path at an outlet end of a cap storage cylinder, and is provided with a relation between a closed position engaging with a periphery of the cap and a periphery of the cap. A pivotable cap cutting claw that rotates to an open position to release the engagement, a spring member for urging the cap cutting claw to a closed position, and an outlet of the cap storage cylinder formed integrally with the cap cutting claw A claw release lever protruding obliquely downward from the end; a cap removal mechanism for rotating the cap removal claw to an open position by operating the claw release lever to separate the caps one by one; A cap holding mechanism for receiving and holding the separated cap by releasing the cap cutting claw by contacting the lever, and a cap storage cylinder using the cap holding mechanism as a hand unit Ri shall and a cap supply robot loading into cups waiting to separate the cap into another position.

[Action]

In the above configuration, one cap cutting mechanism is provided for each storage compartment of the drum-type cap storage cylinder. Also,
In the standby state, the cap cutting claw is closed by receiving the bias of the spring, and the lowermost cap of the cap stacked in the storage cylinder is engaged with the claw and is held at the storage position. In this standby state, the cap gripping mechanism mounted on the cap supply robot is located at a position below the cap storage cylinder.

Then, when the cap gripping mechanism is raised by the robot operation based on the cap supply command and the base collides with the claw release lever of the cap cutting mechanism, the cap cutting claw is rotated by that force and the lowermost caps are separated. And
Release the constraint and transfer it to the gripping mechanism. Here, the cap cutting claw is a two-stage claw, and the second and subsequent caps are latched and held by the upper claw that is inserted between the lowermost and second caps. Further, when the gripping mechanism is lowered while receiving the cap, the cap cutting claw is closed by the bias of the spring and returns to the standby state again. On the other hand, the cap carried out of the storage cylinder is transferred to a beverage cup waiting at another position by a robot operation and loaded on the upper surface thereof.

〔Example〕

1 to 5 are explanatory views of the configuration of the embodiment of the present invention and a cap supply operation, and FIG. 6 is a structural view of the cap.

First, in FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a cup, and 2 denotes a cap attached to the upper surface of the cup 1. The cap 2 is a dish-shaped body made as a molded product of an extremely thin resin film, and has a folded portion 21 formed on the outer peripheral edge thereof so as to elastically fit on the peripheral edge of the cap 1.

Further, the overall structure of the cap supply device and the cap supply operation will be described with reference to FIG.
, A rotary drum-type cap storage cylinder having a, a rotary motor for the cap storage cylinder 3, a cap cutting mechanism installed at the lower end of each storage section 31, and a lifting / lowering cap gripping mechanism 7 in a hand section The cap 2 shown in FIG. 6 is turned upside down and stored in each storage section of the cap storage cylinder 3 in a stacked manner.
Then, the beverage is supplied in the cup to the cup 1 carried out from the cup supply mechanism (not shown) by the sales command, and the beverage containing cup 1 is subsequently moved to the designated cap loading position. The cap gripping mechanism 7 is moved up by the operation of the robot 6 at the standby position shown by the solid line in the drawing. As a result, one cap 2 is separated from the cap housing cylinder 3 via the cap cutting mechanism 5 and carried out, and is received by the gripping mechanism 7 as described in detail later. When the gripping mechanism 7 receives and grips the cap 2,
The robot 6 lowers the gripping mechanism 7 and further pivots to the position of the dashed line to change the cap 2 to the downward posture. Then, the lowering operation of the gripping mechanism 7 pushes the cap 2 onto the upper surface of the cup 1 and causes the cap 2 to adhere. The gripping state of the cap 2 is released. Thereafter, the cap transfer section 6 returns to the standby position indicated by the solid line again, and a series of cap supply operations is completed. Note that when the cap 2 housed in one section of the cap housing cylinder 3 is out of stock and this state is detected by the cap presence / absence detection switch, the rotary motor 4 is started based on the signal and the cap housing cylinder 3 is removed. By rotating by a predetermined angle, the next cap storage section 31 is moved to a predetermined cap supply position.

Next, the detailed structure of the cap extracting mechanism 5 and the cap gripping mechanism 7 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, the cap cutout mechanism 5 includes a ring-shaped case 51.
And a rotatable cap cutting claw dispersed on the outer periphery of the cap discharge path and supported on a support pin 52 (horizontal axis) of the case 51.
53, and a spring 54 for urging the claw 53 in the always closing direction. The claw 53 has upper and lower two-step claw portions projecting so as to engage with the peripheral edge of the cap 2 with an inner periphery formed in an arc shape as shown in the figure, and is inclined from the case 51 integrally with the claw body. A claw release lever 55 protruding downward is provided. It is preferable that a plurality of cap cutting claws 52, especially three or more cap separating claws are provided in order to stably hold the cap 2.

On the other hand, the cap gripping mechanism 7 includes a base 72 attached to the tip of the elevating shaft 71, and a pair of left and right arc-shaped peripheral surfaces slidably supported by two guide shafts 73 on the upper surface side of the base 72. 5, a spring 75 for urging the chuck piece 74 outward, and a cable wire 76 connected to the chuck piece 74 to restrain the movement thereof. Is moved up and down by the linear drive mechanism of the cap supply robot 6 shown in FIG. Further, when the lifting shaft 71 is fully pulled out of the wire 76, the chuck piece 74 is moved by the tension of the wire.
Is pulled toward the center of the substrate 71, and when the elevating shaft 71 retreats from this position, the wire is loosened and stretched so as to release the constraint of the chuck piece 74.

In the above configuration, in the standby state, the cap gripping mechanism 7 is retracted below the cap extracting mechanism 5 as shown in FIG. 1, and the claw 53 of the cap extracting mechanism 5 is closed by the bias of the spring 54. Therefore, the lowermost cap of the caps 2 housed in the stacking manner in the cap housing cylinder 3 is engaged with the lower pawls of the pawls 53 and is held at the storage position. Here, the cap holding mechanism 7 is operated by the robot operation based on the command.
Is raised, the peripheral edge of the substrate 72 comes into contact with the claw release lever 55 of the cap cutting mechanism 5, and the claw 53 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. As a result, the upper claw portion breaks into and enters between the lowermost cap and the second cap, engages and holds the second and subsequent caps, and further increases the rotation angle of the claw 53. The lowermost cap is disengaged from the cap cutting claw 53, and the lowermost cap is separated from the second and subsequent caps and the substrate of the cap gripping mechanism 7 that is waiting below.
Falling on 72 is accepted. At this upper limit position, the chuck piece 74 is drawn to the center of the substrate under the constraint of the wire 76 (see FIG. 3).

Subsequently, when the cap gripping mechanism 7 descends, the external force applied to the claw release lever 55 until now disappears.
1 returns to the state shown in FIG. 1 under the bias of the spring 54, and in this process, the pawl 53 rotates and the cap 2 housed in the housing cylinder 3 is carried by the lower pawl portion. On the other hand, when the cap gripping mechanism 7 starts lowering, the wire 76 becomes slack, so that the chuck piece 74 moves outward on the guide shaft 73 under the urging of the spring 57, and as shown by the chain line in FIG. From inside. Thereafter, as described with reference to FIG.
Then, the cap 2 is turned over, the posture of the cap 2 is reversed, the ascending axis is further extended, and the cap 2 is attached to the cup 1 waiting below.

〔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) Since the cap cutting mechanism mounted on the cap storage cylinder is directly driven by using the upward movement of the cap gripping mechanism mounted on the cap supply robot, a dedicated driving motor is not required for the cap cutting mechanism. It can be configured inexpensively with a small and simple structure.

(2) Also, for a drum-type cap storage cylinder having a plurality of storage sections, a cap cutout mechanism is provided for each storage section on a one-to-one basis without any special consideration for securing space for a drive motor and controlling a motor. Can be easily realized, thereby improving the reliability of the cap supply operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are plan views of a cap cutting mechanism and a cap gripping mechanism in FIG. 1, respectively. FIG. FIG. 5 is an overall configuration diagram of the cap supply device, and FIG. 6 is a structural diagram of the cap. In the figure, 1: cup, 2: cap, 3: cap storage cylinder, 5: cap cutting mechanism, 53: cap cutting claw, 54: biasing spring, 55:
Claw release lever, 6: cap supply robot, 7: cap gripping mechanism.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cap supply device for a cup-type beverage vending machine for supplying and loading a cap on a cup into which a beverage has been poured in accordance with a sales order, wherein a plurality of caps are stacked and accommodated. To a closed position, which is distributed on the periphery of the cap carry-out path at the outlet end of the cap storage cylinder, and engages with the periphery of the cap, and turns to an open position, which releases the engagement with the periphery of the cap. A rotating cap cutting claw that moves, a spring member for urging the cap cutting claw to a closed position, and a claw release lever formed integrally with the cap cutting claw and projecting obliquely downward from an outlet end of the cap storage cylinder. And a cap cutting mechanism for rotating the cap cutting claw to the open position by operating the claw opening lever to separate the caps one by one. A cap gripping mechanism that abuts on a lever to release the cap cutting claw to receive and grip the separated cap; and a cup that uses the cap gripping mechanism as a hand unit and waits for the cap separated from the cap storage cylinder at another position. A cap supply device for a cup-type beverage vending machine, comprising: a cap supply robot for loading into a container.