JP4852983B2 - Cup-type beverage vending machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cup-type beverage vending machine that sells beverages cooked with raw materials and hot water using a cup placed on a cup stage of a sales outlet.

When a beverage selection button for selecting a beverage desired by a user is pressed, a cup-type beverage vending machine cups beverages cooked with raw materials and hot water corresponding to the type of beverage displayed on the beverage selection button. Sold from the sales outlet in cups supplied from the supply device. A cup detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a cup is provided in the sales outlet, and when the user presses the beverage selection button and the beverage detection operation is not detected before the beverage sales operation starts, the cup supply device supplies the cup. When a cup is detected, a means for prohibiting the supply of the cup from the cup supply device is provided. When using a cup prepared by the user (hereinafter referred to as “my cup”), 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, beverages are sold in My Cups simply by placing on a cup stage and pressing a beverage selection button (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 59-221790 A

However, my cups are uneven in size, and there is a possibility that the gap with the nozzle for pouring out the beverage will widen, causing problems such as the beverage not entering the my cup or spilling out of the my cup. The size of my cup was limited.
In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a cup-type beverage vending machine that rarely limits the size of a My Cup used by a user.

In order to achieve the above object, a cup-type beverage vending machine according to claim 1 of the present invention is a cup-type beverage vending machine that sells beverages cooked with raw materials and hot water in a cup placed on a cup stage.
Cup detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a cup on the cup stage;
A cup upper end detecting means for detecting an upper end of the cup on the cup stage;
Cup stage elevating means for elevating the cup stage;
Control means for driving the cup stage elevating means up and down based on detection signals of the cup detecting means and the cup upper end detecting means;
With
The control means includes
When the cup detection means detects the presence of a cup and the cup upper end detection means detects the absence of a cup, the cup stage is raised by outputting a rise signal to the cup stage raising / lowering means, and the upper end of the cup When the part detection means detects the presence of a cup, the rising signal is stopped,
When the cup detection means detects the presence of a cup and the cup upper end detection means detects the presence of a cup, the cup stage is lowered by outputting a lowering signal to the cup stage elevating means. When the part detecting means detects that there is no cup, the descending signal is stopped.

The cup-type beverage vending machine according to claim 2 of the present invention is the cup-type beverage vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the control means detects that the cup detecting means is present and the cup upper end detecting means is present. When detecting, a descending signal is outputted to the cup stage raising / lowering means to lower the cup stage, and when the cup upper end detecting means detects no cup, the descending signal is stopped and then an raising signal is outputted. The cup stage is raised, and when the cup upper end detection means detects the presence of a cup, the raising signal is stopped .

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the cup detecting means detects the presence of the cup and the cup upper end detecting means detects the absence of the cup, the control means outputs a rising signal to the cup stage lifting / lowering means. When the cup stage is raised and the cup upper end detection means detects the presence of a cup, the rising signal is stopped. When the cup detection means detects the presence of a cup and the cup upper end detection means detects the presence of a cup, A lowering signal is output to the stage raising / lowering means to lower the cup stage. When the cup upper end detecting means detects no cup, the lowering signal is controlled to stop. The gap between the exiting nozzle and the top opening of the My Cup can always be set to a predetermined size, so that beverages will not enter the My Cup or spill from the My Cup. It is possible to provide a cup-type beverage vending machine that prevents the occurrence of malfunctions such as a cup and that limits the size of the My Cup used by the user. It will be possible to improve the convenience of.

According to the invention of claim 2, when the cup detecting means detects the presence of the cup and the cup upper end detecting means detects the presence of the cup, the control means outputs a descending signal to the cup stage lifting / lowering means. When the cup stage is lowered and the cup upper end detecting means detects that there is no cup, the lowering signal is stopped, then the rising signal is output to raise the cup stage, and when the cup upper end detecting means detects that there is a cup, the rising signal is output. Since the control is performed so as to stop, it is possible to more accurately stop the upper end of the cup at a predetermined position regardless of the size of the My Cup .

Exemplary embodiments of a cup-type beverage vending machine according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.
FIG. 1 shows the appearance of a cup-type beverage vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. The cup-type beverage vending machine 1 includes a beverage selection button 4 and a sales outlet 5 on a front door 3 of an equipment housing 2. I have. The beverage selection button 4 is for selecting a beverage desired by the user, and is provided corresponding to a plurality of beverage samples 7 displayed in the exhibition section 6. The front door 3 is provided with a coin insertion slot 8 for inserting coins, a coin return lever 9 for returning the inserted coins, and a coin return slot 10 for returning coins. The sales outlet 5 is an opening for providing a selected beverage, and a cup stage 11 for placing the cup C on the inner bottom thereof is disposed.

  FIG. 2 shows a sales outlet 5 of the cup-type beverage vending machine 1. The sales outlet 5 is shaped like a box with the front open, a front door (not shown) is provided, and the cup C on the cup stage 11 is provided. A cup sensor (cup detection means) 51 for detecting the presence or absence of a cup, a cup upper end sensor (cup upper end detection means) 52 for detecting the upper end C2 of the cup C, and a cup diameter sensor (cup width) for detecting the lateral width of the cup C Detection means) 53a to 53h, stage position sensors (cup stage stop position detection means) 54a to 54c for detecting the stop position of the cup stage 11, and a stage elevating device (cup stage elevating means) 55 for raising and lowering the cup stage 11. , Is provided. The cup sensor 51, the cup upper end sensor 52, and the cup diameter sensors 53a to 53h are, for example, infrared sensors that use infrared light as a light source, and the stage position sensors 54a to 54c use micro switches.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of the cup-type beverage vending machine 1. The cup-type beverage vending machine 1 determines whether the coin inserted from the vending machine control unit (control means) 90 and the coin insertion slot 8 is true or false, and recognizes the amount of money when it is determined to be a genuine coin. The processing unit N, the beverage selection button 4 for selecting a beverage desired by the user, a cup sensor 51 for detecting the presence or absence of the cup C on the cup stage 11, and the upper end of the cup C for detecting the upper end C2 of the cup C A sensor 52, cup diameter sensors 53a to 53h for detecting the lateral width of the cup C, stage position sensors 54a to 54c for detecting a stop position of the cup stage 11, a stage elevating device 55 for raising and lowering the cup stage 11, and a cup. A cup supply device 61 for supplying, a canister 62 for supplying raw materials, and a hot water tank 63 for supplying hot water are provided.
When a coin is inserted from the coin insertion slot 8 of the cup-type beverage vending machine 1, the vending machine control unit 90 determines whether the coin is a genuine coin through the coin processing unit N, and recognizes the input amount when determining that the coin is a genuine coin. I do. When coins of an amount necessary for beverage sales are inserted, the beverage selection button 4 is activated, and when the activated beverage selection button 4 is pressed, raw materials corresponding to the selected beverage are supplied from the canister 62. Then, cooking is performed with hot water supplied from the hot water tank 63, and the cup C placed on the cup stage 11 of the sales outlet 5 by the user, or the cup supplied from the cup supply device 61 onto the cup stage 11. When the beverage is poured into C and the cup C is taken out from the sales outlet 5, the sale of the beverage ends.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the contents of the processing executed by the vending machine control unit 90 when the cup-type beverage vending machine 1 sells beverages. Hereinafter, the operation when the beverage is dispensed by detecting the presence and size of the My Cup (cup) placed on the cup stage of the sales outlet at the time of beverage sales will be described with reference to this flowchart.
When a coin is inserted from the coin insertion slot 8, the vending machine control unit 90 determines whether the coin inserted through the coin processing unit N is true or false (step S101). If it is a fake, the coin is returned (step S102). If it is determined that the coin is a real coin, it is determined whether or not the coin of the amount required for beverage sales is inserted by recognizing the amount of money inserted (step S103). If it is determined that coins of an amount necessary for beverage sales are inserted, the beverage selection button 4 is validated, and it is further judged whether or not the validated beverage selection button 4 is pressed (step S104). When the beverage selection button 4 is pressed, the presence / absence of a cup on the cup stage 11 is determined based on a signal from the cup sensor 51 (step S105). If it is determined that there is no cup on the cup stage 11, a signal is output to the cup supply device 61 to supply the cup and place it on the cup stage 11 (step S106). If it is determined that the My Cup C is present on the cup stage 11, it is determined whether or not the cup upper sensor 52 recognizes the My Cup C based on a signal from the cup upper sensor 52 (Step S107). If it is determined that the cup upper end sensor 52 has not recognized the My Cup C, an ascending signal is output to the stage elevating device 55 to raise the cup stage 11 (step S108), and the cup upper end sensor 52 is detected by a signal from the cup upper end sensor 52. Recognizes my cup C (step S109), the output of the rising signal is stopped and the raising of the cup stage 11 is stopped (step S110). If it is determined in step S107 that the cup upper end sensor 52 recognizes the My Cup C, a lowering signal is output to the stage lifting device 55 to lower the cup stage 11 (step S111). When the upper end sensor 52 no longer recognizes the My Cup C (Step S112), the output of the lowering signal is stopped and the lowering of the cup stage 11 is stopped (Step S113).

The vending machine control unit 90 starts the control of raising and lowering and stopping the cup stage 11 with the upper end of these my cups C as a reference, and at the same time starts cooking the beverage to be poured into the my cups C. Ingredients corresponding to the beverage selected by the beverage selection button 4 are supplied from the canister 62, the beverage is cooked with hot water supplied from the hot water tank 63, and placed on the cup stage 11 of the sales outlet 5 by the user. The cooked beverage is poured into the my cup C and the current process is terminated.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the user moves the cup stage 11 up and down according to the height of the my cup placed on the cup stage 11 by the user and stops the upper end of the my cup at a predetermined position. Can be made. Therefore, regardless of the size of the My Cup, the gap between the nozzle for pouring the beverage and the upper end opening of the My Cup can always be set to a predetermined size, so that the beverage does not enter the My Cup or spills from the My Cup. It is possible to provide a cup-type beverage vending machine that can reduce the size of the My Cup used by the user, Convenience can be improved.

If it is determined in step S107 that the my cup C is recognized, a lowering signal is output to the stage lifting device 55 to lower the cup stage 11, and the my cup C is no longer recognized by the signal from the cup upper end sensor 52. After stopping the output of the descending signal after lowering by a predetermined dimension, the ascending signal is further output to the stage elevating device 55 to raise the cup stage 11 and ascending when the My Cup C is recognized by the signal from the cup upper end sensor 52. You may make it control to stop the output of a signal. As described above, when the cup stage 11 is lowered and then further raised to stop after recognizing the upper end of the my cup, the upper end of the cup is always stopped at a predetermined position regardless of the size of the my cup. Can be done more accurately.
Further, the volume of the My Cup C is calculated by signals output from the cup diameter sensors 53a to 53h that detect the lateral width of the My Cup C and the stage position sensors 54a to 54c that detect the stop position of the cup stage 11, When a beverage is prepared by supplying the beverage raw material and hot water in an amount corresponding to the volume of the My Cup C, a beverage can be supplied in an amount suitable for the volume of the My Cup placed on the cup stage 11. A beverage vending machine can be provided.

It is the external view which showed the cup-type drink vending machine which is embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed the sales opening of the cup-type drink vending machine shown in FIG. It is the block diagram which showed the control system of the cup-type drink vending machine shown in FIG. It is a flowchart at the time of the drink sale of the cup-type drink vending machine shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cup-type drink vending machine 2 Equipment housing 3 Front door 4 Beverage selection button 5 Sales slot 8 Coin insertion slot 11 Cup stage 51 Cup sensor 52 Cup upper end sensor 53a Cup diameter sensor 54a Stage position sensor 55 Stage lifting device 61 Cup supply Equipment 62 Canister 63 Hot water tank 90 Vending machine controller

Claims (2)

In a cup-type beverage vending machine that sells beverages cooked with raw materials and hot water in a cup placed on the cup stage,
Cup detection means for detecting the presence or absence of a cup on the cup stage;
A cup upper end detecting means for detecting an upper end of the cup on the cup stage;
Cup stage elevating means for elevating the cup stage;
Control means for driving the cup stage elevating means up and down based on detection signals of the cup detecting means and the cup upper end detecting means;
With
The control means includes
When the cup detection means detects the presence of a cup and the cup upper end detection means detects the absence of a cup, the cup stage is raised by outputting a rise signal to the cup stage raising / lowering means, and the upper end of the cup When the part detection means detects the presence of a cup, the rising signal is stopped,
When the cup detection means detects the presence of a cup and the cup upper end detection means detects the presence of a cup, the cup stage is lowered by outputting a lowering signal to the cup stage elevating means. A cup-type beverage vending machine, wherein the lowering signal is stopped when the part detecting means detects that there is no cup.   When the cup detection means detects the presence of a cup and the cup upper end detection means detects the presence of a cup, the control means outputs a lowering signal to the cup stage raising / lowering means to lower the cup stage. When the cup upper end detecting means detects no cup, the lowering signal is stopped, and then the rising signal is output to raise the cup stage. When the cup upper end detecting means detects the presence of a cup, the rising signal is output. The cup-type beverage vending machine according to claim 1, wherein

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