JPS6244679B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a vending machine that delivers a plurality of fluid raw materials such as liquids and powders for cooking or blending.

(Prior Art) Referring to Figure 4, as an example of this type of vending machine, there is a vending machine that dispenses instant black tea and regular coffee (coffee liquid extracted by passing hot water through ground coffee beans). Describe what you are selling. This vending machine includes a cup supply mechanism 51 that supplies stored cups to a takeout port each time they are sold, instant black tea powder,
Storage tubes 5 each containing ground coffee
2, 53, storage cylinders 54 and 55 containing sugar and cream, respectively, a delivery device (not shown) provided in each storage cylinder, hot water tank 56, electromagnetic valves 57 and 58 for hot water supply, coffee brewing machine 59, and It has a mixing gutter 60.

When selling regular coffee, first the cup supply mechanism 51 operates to place the cup at the outlet, and a certain amount of ground coffee is supplied from the storage cylinder 53 into the extractor 59, and then the electromagnetic valve 58 is opened. The hot water is then supplied to the extractor 59. Thereafter, the operation of the brewer 59 causes the extracted coffee liquid to flow into the trough 60. At the same time, a certain amount of sugar or cream is dropped from each container onto the pipe 60, mixed with the coffee liquid, and supplied into the cup at the outlet.

Here, the control of conveyance of raw materials such as ground coffee, sugar, cream, etc. is performed by a control mechanism called a program timer. Referring to FIG. 5, the program timer here includes a timer motor 61 and a plurality of cam sets 63 to 63 on its driving shaft 62.
69, and micro switches 70 to 77 installed corresponding to each cam group. One cam set, for example, the cam set 64, consists of two cams 64a and 64b, and a micro switch 7.
The timing and operating time of the micro switch 74 are determined by the positions of the concave and convex portions of the two cams 64a and 64b and the distance between them. It goes without saying that this operating time corresponds to the time for transporting the raw material, that is, the amount of transport. Such a program timer is, for example, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 1983-
This is shown in Publication No. 110388.

On the other hand, vending machines that require sugar or cream, such as coffee or tea, need to sell products according to customer preferences, such as with or without sugar, with or without cream, and with increased amounts of these products. For this reason, the outer door of the vending machine has a condition selection button for specifying the presence or absence of sugar and cream, and an increase selection button for specifying an increase in quantity.The internal mechanism can be used in several ways depending on the combination of these buttons. It is possible to carry out large quantities. That is, as described above, it is provided with a basic amount setting cam for carrying out the basic amount of one raw material to be carried out, and an increase quantity setting cam for carrying out only the increased amount.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, the amount of raw material to be discharged can be set by making the cam assembly rotatable about the moving shaft as necessary and determining the position of the unevenness of the two cams and the distance between them. This is done by adjusting the However, such a mechanism requires a special tool to adjust the cam position. In addition, setting the amount to be delivered must be done while actually measuring the amount to be delivered because it is difficult to estimate the set amount, and setting the desired amount requires repeated adjustments and measurements, which is extremely troublesome. It was hot.

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a control circuit for a vending machine that allows easy setting of the discharge amount of various raw materials.

Another object of the present invention is to enable the set value of the discharge amount to be understood at a glance when performing the discharge amount setting operation.

(Means for Solving the Problems) According to the present invention, a plurality of condition selection buttons for specifying raw materials to be exported from among a plurality of raw materials and one or more condition selection buttons for specifying an increase in the amount of raw materials to be exported. A vending machine that discharges and mixes raw materials in accordance with a combination with an increase selection button, which is comprised of a plurality of memory sections corresponding to the condition selection button and increase selection button, and when the button is operated, the corresponding memory a memory circuit that continues to output signals from the plurality of raw materials; a timer circuit that has a plurality of output terminals and outputs pulse signals whose generation times are shifted by a certain amount of time from each output terminal; It consists of a discharge timing setter for setting the timing of the start of raw material discharge, and a plurality of setting devices for setting the discharge amount of the plurality of raw materials in accordance with the condition selection button, the quantity increase selection button, and combinations thereof. , each setting device has a plurality of input terminals connected to a plurality of output terminals of the timer circuit, and a switching connection terminal that can be selectively connected to one of the plurality of input terminals, and has a plurality of output terminals of the timer circuit. a discharge amount setting section which is capable of outputting one of the following, and in which a set discharge amount is attached to the plurality of input terminals; a reset control circuit that sends a reset signal to each memory section of the corresponding memory circuit; and a circuit that individually controls the raw material discharge motor based on the signal from the memory section and the timing created by the discharge timing setter. A control circuit for a vending machine is obtained.

(Function) With the above configuration, when either the condition selection button or the increase selection button is pressed under conditions that allow sales, the storage section of the corresponding raw material outputs a signal. The discharge amount of each raw material is determined by the connection position between the input terminal of each setting device and the switching connection terminal in the discharge amount setting section connected to the output terminal of the timer circuit. The motor for discharging each raw material is controlled by a motor control circuit,
The start timing is determined by the signal from the storage section and the output of the discharge timing setter, and the stop timing is determined by the reset control circuit resetting the corresponding memory section based on the output from each setting device of the discharge amount setting section. determined by Setting of the discharge amount of each raw material is performed by switching the connection position of the switching connection terminal with respect to the plurality of input terminals in each setting device.

(Example) Examples of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the main parts of a vending machine control circuit according to the present invention, and the case of a coffee vending machine will be explained.

In the figure, 1 is a condition selection section for specifying the presence or absence of sugar and cream using push buttons; 2 is an increase selection section for specifying an increase in the amount of sugar and cream using push buttons;
Reference numeral 3 denotes a circuit that stores the raw materials to be transported out of coffee powder, sugar, and cream according to the operation of these buttons, separately in the basic amount and the increased amount. That is, the coffee powder storage section 31 is set when any button is pressed in the condition selection section 1, and the basic amount of sugar is set when the "contains sugar" button 102 or the "contains sugar/cream" button 104 is pressed. storage unit 32 and “sugar increase button” 20
Sugar increase memory unit 3 that is set when 1 is pressed
4, a storage unit 33 for the basic amount of cream that is set when the "contains cream" button 103 or the "contains sugar/cream" button 104 is pressed;
It has a cream increase storage section 35 that is set when the "cream increase" button 202 is pressed. Flip-flops are used here as these storage units.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a discharge amount setting section which sets the discharge amount of coffee powder, sugar, and cream in combination with the timer circuit 5, and is comprised of setting devices 41 to 47 corresponding to the type of combination of the condition selection button and the increase selection button. In other words, the coffee powder output amount setting device 4
1. (Basic amount + increased amount) sugar output amount setting device 4
2. Setter 43 for the basic amount of sugar delivered, setter 44 for the sugar delivered only for increased amount, setter 45 for the cream delivered amount (basic amount + increased amount), setter 46 for the basic amount of cream delivered, It also has a cream delivery amount setting device 47 that only increases the amount. Each setting device here has a rotary switch that switches and connects one switching connection terminal to a plurality of input terminals, and each of these input terminals receives a constant pulse generation time from a timer circuit 5. Pulse signals shifted by time are sequentially applied as a discharge amount setting signal. As a result, after starting the timer circuit 5,
Each setter outputs one pulse to the reset control circuit 6 when a time period determined by the connection position of its switching connection terminal has elapsed. Furthermore, the amount of raw material to be delivered is numerically attached to each input terminal of each setting device, as will be described later.

On the other hand, the timer circuit 5 has a clock pulse generation function and a counter function for counting the clock pulses, and sends out a pulse to the reset control circuit 6 every time it counts a certain number of clock pulses. Also, the setting device 41
- 47 input terminals are provided with counting output terminals with the above-mentioned fixed number of counting intervals, and by connecting these corresponding terminals in parallel for each setting device, switching connection of each setting device is possible. It is possible to send pulse signals with different pulse generation times through the terminals.

The reset control circuit 6 resets each memory section of the memory circuit 3 using a cycle signal indicating the transition of the operating state from the cycle counter 9 and a pulse signal from each setter of the clock pulse output amount setting section 4 from the timer circuit 5. do.

Reference numeral 7 denotes a motor control circuit, which together with a cycle counter control circuit 8 and a cycle counter 9, which will be described later, constitutes a control circuit for various motors for carrying out raw materials. That is, the motor control circuit 7 starts the brewer motor _M2 in the brewer mechanism for brewing coffee based on the cycle signal from the cycle counter 9, and also starts the coffee motor M2 for discharging coffee powder based on the contents of each memory section of the memory circuit 3. _1. Controls the driving of sugar motor M ₃ for transporting sugar and cream motor M ₄ for transporting cream.

The cycle counter 9 outputs a cycle signal indicating the transition of the operating state of the entire device, that is, the point at which the operation is switched, and the operation is switched by a signal from the cycle counter control circuit 8. 1
0 is a discharge timing setter that sets a certain time from the time when the brewer motor _M2 is started until the discharge of sugar and cream is started.

Next, the operation will be explained with reference to FIG. 2, which shows the time course of the signals of each part.

When a predetermined amount of coins is inserted into the vending machine and either button in the condition selection section 1 or button in the increase selection section 2 is pressed, the types of sugar and cream output amounts are changed to each in the memory circuit 3. Storage section 32~
35 is stored. Of course, the same applies even if only one button of the condition selection section 1 is pressed.

Here, a case will be described in which the "Add sugar/cream" button 104 is pressed in the condition selection section 1, and the "increase cream button" 202 is pressed in the increase selection section 2 a little later than this.

In the memory circuit 3, when the condition selection button is pressed as described above (FIG. 2b), FIG. 2d,
As shown in e and f, respectively, the coffee powder storage section 31, the basic sugar amount storage section 32, and the cream basic amount storage section 33 are set at the same time. When the increase selection button is subsequently pressed (Fig. 2c),
Cream increase storage unit 35 is set (Fig. 2g)
be done. This set signal from the memory circuit 3 causes the cycle counter control circuit 8 to advance the cycle counter 9 by one step (h ₁ in FIG. 2).

On the other hand, in the motor control circuit 7, the coffee motor 8 is activated by the set signal d from the coffee powder storage section 31 and the signal _h1 from the cycle counter 9 (FIG. 2i). At the same time, the timer circuit 5 starts counting, and as a result, the discharge amount setting section 4 outputs a pulse signal (Fig. ) is sent.

In the reset control circuit 6, the cycle counter 9
After receiving the signal h ₁ from the timer circuit 5, the coffee powder storage section 31 is reset by the pulse signal j ₁ and the pulse from the timer circuit 5. This reset causes the motor control circuit 7 to stop the coffee motor _M1 . In this way, a predetermined amount of ground coffee is first delivered to a predetermined location of the brewer mechanism.

The cycle counter 9 is advanced by one step by the cycle counter control circuit 8, and the motor control circuit 7 starts the brewer motor _M2 (Fig. ₂ k) in response to the switching signal from the cycle counter 9 (Fig. 2 h2). . In the brewer mechanism, as in the conventional case, once a start signal is given to the brewer motor _M2 , the built-in cam switch is turned on after a predetermined period of time ( _k1 in Fig. 2), forming a self-holding circuit. Even if the control signal from the motor control circuit 7 is released, the operation is maintained for a certain period of time.

When the brewer mechanism operates, a carriage containing coffee powder is transported to a hot water supply section, and coffee liquid is extracted by supplying hot water.

Set time t ₁ (second
Figure l) specifies the timing of the start of discharging sugar and cream, but the extraction of coffee liquid or extraction starts from the time j ₁ when the pulse signal is sent from the setting device 41, that is, from the time when the brewer mechanism starts. The time will be set slightly later than the actual time. As a result, when the pulse signal _l1 is sent out from the discharge timing setter 10 a little later than the start of coffee liquid extraction, the cycle counter 9 is set to 1 by the control circuit 8.
The step is advanced (Fig. 2 h ₃ ). At the same time, the motor control circuit 7 starts the sugar motor _M3 based on the signal _h3 from the cycle counter 9 and the contents of each memory section in the memory circuit 3 (Fig. 2 m).
At the same time, the cream motor _M4 is started (Fig. 2n).

Each setter in the discharge amount setting unit 4 has a time set based on the time when the timer circuit 5 starts counting, but except for the setter 41, a pulse signal is actually sent from the discharge timing setter 10. The time from the time _l1 when the pulse signal is sent to the reset control circuit 6 becomes the set time that defines the amount of sugar or cream to be discharged.

Regarding sugar output amount control, sugar motor
After _M3 starts driving, a pulse signal is sent from the setting unit 43 for the basic sugar output amount (Fig. 2 p).
The reset control circuit 6, which receives the signal _h3 from the cycle counter 9, resets the sugar basic amount storage 32 in the storage circuit 3 in response to a clock pulse from the timer circuit 5. At the same time, the motor control circuit 7 stops the sugar motor _M3 , so that the basic amount of sugar is delivered to the mixing tray where the coffee liquid is being extracted.

On the other hand, since (basic amount + increased amount) is specified for cream delivery amount control, the reset control circuit 6
First, the cream basic amount storage unit 33 is reset by the pulse signal from the basic cream delivery amount setter 46 (Fig. 2 q), and then (basic amount + increased amount)
The cream increase storage section 35 is reset by a pulse signal from the cream delivery amount setting device 45 (see r in FIG. 2). As a result, in the motor control circuit 7,
By driving the cream motor _M4 until the cream increase storage unit 35 is reset, (basic amount+increase amount) cream is delivered to the mixing tray.

That is, in the reset control circuit 6, the memory circuit 3
For example, if the cream basic amount storage section 33 and the cream increasing storage section 35 are set, the cream increasing storage section 35 cannot be reset unless the cream basic amount storage section 33 is reset. , the pulse signal from the cream delivery amount setter 47 which only increases the amount in the delivery amount setting unit 4 is ignored. Of course, if the "black" button 101 and the "increase cream" button 202 are pressed, and the cream basic amount storage section 33 is not set and the cream increase storage section 35 is set, then only the increased amount of cream will be delivered. The cream increasing storage section 35 is reset by a pulse signal from the amount setting device 47, and cream corresponding to the increased amount is delivered.

FIG. 3 shows an example of the logic circuit configuration of the reset control circuit 6 for controlling the amount of cream delivered.

Thereafter, the reset control circuit 6 outputs the signal h ₄ from the cycle counter 9 when the timer circuit 5 is fully counted.
and a pulse from the timer circuit 5, all the memory circuits 3 are reset, and the system enters a sales standby state.

As is clear from the above explanation, even when other buttons are pressed in the condition selection section 1 and increase selection section 2, or when only one of the condition selection sections 1 is pressed, at least the coffee powder memory The section 31 is brought into a set state. On the other hand, pulse signals are sent from each setter in the discharge amount setting section 4 when a set time elapses after the timer circuit 5 starts counting, and the reset control circuit 6 outputs these pulse signals and the storage circuit 3. After making a correspondence with the storage section that is in the set state, the storage section that is in the set state is reset.

Regarding sugar, three types of output amounts are required depending on the combination of the "with sugar" and "increase sugar" buttons, and similarly three types of output amounts are required for cream. For this reason, the discharge amount setting unit 4 is provided with three types of setting devices each for specifying the drive time of the sugar discharge motor and the cream discharge motor, so that all discharge amounts can be set. . Furthermore, by pre-measurement and assigning a value corresponding to the discharge amount to each input terminal of a changeover switch serving as a setting device, the discharge amount can be easily set as the actual discharge amount. In this way, the set amount can be known at a glance, and the set value can be changed very easily.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and the specific configurations of the storage circuit 3, the discharge amount setting section 4, etc. can be variously modified. For example, in the storage circuit 3, three types of reset timings are created by the reset control circuit 6 in the basic amount storage section and the increase storage section, but the discharge amount setting section 4
Similarly, the configuration of the reset control circuit 6 can be simplified by providing a basic amount storage section, an increase storage section, and a (basic amount+increase) storage section for one raw material.
Moreover, it can be applied not only to coffee vending machines but also to vending machines for tea, soup, etc.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the discharge amount of each raw material can be set by selecting one of the plurality of output terminals of the timer circuit and switching each setting device in the discharge amount setting section. The setting operation is very easy because all you have to do is switch the connection terminal, and since the output amount is attached to the terminal to be switched, the set output amount can be confirmed at a glance.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a chart diagram showing changes in signals of each part over time, Fig. 3 is a logic circuit diagram of the main part of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is an automatic FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically showing the internal configuration of an example of a vending machine, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a conventional program timer mechanism. In the figure, 1 is a condition selection section, 2 is an increase selection section, 3 is a storage circuit, 4 is a discharge amount setting section, 5 is a timer circuit,
6 is a reset control circuit, 7 is a motor control circuit, 8
is a cycle counter, 9 is a cycle counter,
M ₁ is the coffee motor, M ₂ is the brewer motor, M ₃
is sugar motor, _M4 is cream motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Materials are transported out according to a combination of multiple condition selection buttons for specifying raw materials to be transported out of multiple raw materials and one or more increase selection buttons for specifying an increase in the amount of raw materials to be transported. A vending machine that performs dispensing is comprised of a plurality of memory sections corresponding to the condition selection button and the quantity increase selection button, and a memory circuit that continues to output a signal from the corresponding memory section when the button is operated, and a plurality of output terminals. a timer circuit that outputs pulse signals whose generation times are shifted by a certain amount of time from each output terminal, and a discharge timing setter that sets a timing for starting discharge of a predetermined raw material among the plurality of raw materials; It consists of the condition selection button, the increase selection button, and a plurality of setting devices for setting the discharge amount of the plurality of raw materials in accordance with the combination thereof, and each setting device is connected to a plurality of output terminals of the timer circuit. and a switching connection terminal that can be selectively connected to one of the plurality of input terminals to output one of the plurality of outputs of the timer circuit; sends a reset signal to each memory section of the memory circuit corresponding to each setting device based on signals from a discharge amount setting section to which a set discharge amount is attached, and each setting device of the discharge amount setting section. A control circuit for a vending machine, comprising a reset control circuit, and a circuit for individually controlling a raw material discharge motor based on a signal from the storage section and a timing created by a discharge timing setter.