JPS6367716B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a control device for a vending machine that is equipped with an ice maker inside and sells drinks containing ice.

(b) Prior Art A vending machine that sells drinks with ice is equipped with an ice maker 1 as shown in FIG. The ice making machine 1 is configured to supply an appropriate amount of ice to the cup 5 at the same time as the ice is put out. However, especially in a vending machine that sells iced coffee, the beverage supply device 4 dissolves powdered coffee, sugar, and milk in hot water, mixes it with water, and pours it into the vending machine 5. If machine 1 runs out of ice and cannot pour ice into cup 5, coffee will be sold lukewarm and unfit for drinking.

For this reason, vending machines have been proposed that stop selling when the ice maker runs out of ice. A typical example of this is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 57-19480, in which the ice maker adds the amount of ice needed for one sale to a counter and subtracts the counter in response to a sales signal. The sales operation and stop are controlled based on the count contents of the counter. In this conventional technology, if the amount of ice sold is constant each time, sales control based on the amount of ice in stock can be reliably performed.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in a vending machine that sells iced coffee and syrup drinks such as cola, if you want to sell delicious coffee or syrup, you generally have to change the amount of ice supplied. The ratio is 2:
It is said to be around 1. Therefore, with the prior art disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, which detects the amount of ice in stock based on the number of sales, it is difficult to accurately control sales.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a control device that can accurately control sales in a vending machine where the amount of ice supplied varies depending on the type of product sold.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the vending machine control device according to the present invention is applicable to a vending machine that is equipped with an ice maker and mixes and dispenses ice with beverages. a switch that controls stopping of ice making operation when the ice storage level of the ice maker reaches a predetermined upper limit level;
A memory circuit that is set from when the power is turned on until the switch is switched, and when the ice maker is making ice, it is added every time the first unit time elapses, and when the ice maker is selling ice, it is added every time the second unit time has elapsed. a preset circuit that sets a predetermined value in the ice storage amount detection counter based on the switching of the switch when the ice storage level reaches the upper limit level; a setting device that presets the amount of ice stored in the ice maker; a comparison device that determines unsuitability for sale when the count value of the ice storage amount detection counter falls below a set value of the setting device; The device includes a timer device that generates an output over time, and an output device that outputs a sales prohibition signal based on the logical sum of the output of the timer device and the set output of the memory circuit.

(E) Function After the power is turned on, the ice storage capacity is empty, and until the ice storage capacity reaches the upper limit level due to the ice making operation of the ice maker, the output device is not sold because the memory circuit is set. Outputs a prohibition signal. When the ice storage amount reaches the upper limit level, the ice storage amount detection counter is set to a predetermined value by the preset circuit. The ice storage amount detection counter is incremented every time the first unit time elapses while the ice maker is making ice, and is decremented every time the second unit time is elapsed while the ice maker is selling ice. If the counted value of the ice storage amount detection counter falls below the set value of the setting device, it is determined that the ice is not suitable for sale, and the timer device then produces an output for a certain period of time, during which time the output device outputs a sales prohibition signal.

(f) Embodiments of the Invention FIG. 2 shows a control device for a vending machine according to the present invention. In the figure, SL is a solenoid that controls the opening and closing of the ice sales gate of ice maker 1, MC is the compressor motor of ice maker 1, S ₁ is a switch operated by the sales signal, and S ₂ is the ice storage of ice maker 1. _R1 is a subtraction control relay connected in parallel with solenoid SL, and _R2 is an addition control relay connected in parallel with compressor motor MC. and the contacts of the subtraction control relay R ₁
R ₃ is connected to the AND gate 8 together with the pulse oscillator 6 with a period of 50 ms, and the contact S ₄ of the addition control relay R ₂
is a pulse oscillator 7 whose cycle can be varied from 1.2S to 1.8S.
and is connected to AND gate 9. Also 2
is an up-down counter that detects the amount of ice stored, with AND gate 8 on the down side and AND gate 9 on the up side.
are connected to each other. Furthermore, _S5 is a switch that is activated when the ice storage amount of the ice maker 1 reaches the upper limit level, 10 is a preset circuit that presets the counter 2 to a predetermined value when the switch _S5 is activated, and 11 is a circuit for the ice maker to be discontinued. A setting device 3 that sets the inventory amount is a comparison device that compares the counted value of the counter 2 and the set value of the setting device 11. counter 2,
Each output of the preset circuit 10 and setting device 11 is
Indicated by 12-bit binary code. Further, the comparison device 3 is configured so that the count value of the counter 2 is set by the setting device 11.
When the value becomes smaller than the set value, "H" is output and the timer device 12 is activated. The setting value of the setting device 11 may be the amount of ice for one sale or the amount of ice for several sales. Further, 13 is a flip-flop circuit which is a memory circuit that is set by the detection power of the power-on detection circuit 14 and reset by turning on the switch _S3 , 15 is an OR gate as a device for outputting a sales prohibition signal, and L is an OR gate. gate 1
This is a lamp that indicates the suspension of sales at output 5.

The operation based on the above configuration will be explained. First, when the power is turned on, the power-on detection circuit 14 delays the sudden rise of the power supply voltage using an integrating circuit, and when the gradually rising integrated voltage reaches a threshold, it generates an output and sets the flip-flop circuit 13. do. Therefore, the lamp L is activated by the set output Q of the flip-flop circuit 13 to indicate that the sale is stopped. On the other hand, the counter 2 is reset by introducing the output of the power-on detection circuit 14 to the reset terminal R when the power is turned on, so the count value becomes "0", and the comparator 3 outputs "H" and resets the timer device. 1
2 generates an output TO during the operation period. Since there is no ice in the ice maker 1 and the switch _S2 is ON, the compressor motor MC is powered and driven to perform ice making operation. During ice-making operation, relay R ₂ is energized and contact S ₄ is turned on, and a pulse generated by pulse oscillator 7 is output from AND gate 9 and introduced into counter 2 to be added. At this time, the capacity of the ice maker 1 varies depending on the season, and according to experiments, the time required to make 1 g of ice varies from 1.2 to 1.8 S, so the oscillation frequency of the pulse oscillator 7 is arbitrarily set in advance within this range. Therefore, the content added to counter 2 is the amount of ice in units of 1 g. Although the timer device 12 stops the output TO during the operation period due to the expiration of the timer time, the flip-flop circuit 13 is set to continue the sales suspension state. That is, when the power is turned on, the output of the timer device 12 is ignored. This is because there is no ice in the ice maker 1 when the power is turned on, so it is dangerous to detect ice making based on the timer time. When the ice storage amount of ice maker 1 reaches the upper limit level, switch S ₂ is turned OFF, compressor motor MC becomes inactive and ice making operation is stopped, and relay R ₂ is also demagnetized, so counter 2 is turned OFF.
will no longer be added. On the other hand, when the ice storage amount reaches the upper limit level, switch _S5 is turned on and the ice amount date when the ice storage amount of ice maker 1 is full is displayed on counter 2.
The flip-flop circuit 1 is set to
3 is reset, the output of the OR gate 15 disappears, the lamp L goes out, and the sales operation becomes possible. Therefore, in response to the sales signal for the sale, the switch S is turned on, the solenoid SL is activated, the ice sales gate is opened, and ice is supplied to the ice cube 5. The sales signal is generated based on the customer's selection of coffee or syrup beverage, and the ON period of switch _S1 differs depending on the coffee or syrup beverage. During the ice sales period when switch S ₁ is ON, relay R ₁ is energized and contact S ₃ is ON, and the pulse generated in pulse oscillator 6 is passed through AND gate 8.
is introduced into counter 2 through , and is subtracted. Since it takes 50ms to discharge 1g of ice from the ice sales gate, the oscillation period of the pulse oscillator 6 is
Set to 50 ms, counter 2 performs a subtraction in units of 1 g each time a pulse is introduced.

However, when the amount of ice stored in the ice maker falls below the upper limit level due to sales, switch _S2 is turned on and ice making operation is restarted, counter 2 is incremented by 1 every time a unit of time passes, and a sale is completed. subtracted each time. When the ice storage amount returns to the upper limit level, the ice amount meter is set again on the counter 2 and the ice making operation is stopped. However, when sales are made continuously and the counted value of the counter 2 is less than the set value of the setting device 11, the comparison device 3 outputs "H" and the timer device 12 is activated, and the output is output during the operation period of the timer device 12. At TO, the vending machine stops selling and the lamp L lights up. In this state, the counter 2 only performs addition due to the ice making operation. Then, when the timer time by the timer device 12 expires and the output TO stops during the operating period, the flip-flop circuit 13 has been reset, so the vending machine is immediately ready to sell. Therefore, the timer device 1 makes ice for sale except when the power is turned on.
2, and the timer time is therefore set to a sufficient time such that the counted value of the counter 2 exceeds the set value of the setting device 11 during the ice-making operation.

(g) Effects According to the present invention, in order to detect the ice storage amount using a counter that adds count every time the ice making operation passes the first unit time and subtracts the count every time the ice discharge operation passes the second unit time, Reliable ice storage amount detection is performed in a vending machine that sells different amounts of ice for each product. Then, in order to form a sales prohibition signal from the time the power is turned on until the ice storage amount reaches the upper limit level, and for a certain period of time after the ice storage amount is divided by the scheduled amount,
Ice sales can be effectively stopped.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 shows the configuration of a vending machine with an ice maker,
FIG. 2 shows a control device for a vending machine according to the present invention. 1...Ice maker, 2...Ice storage amount detection counter, 3
... Comparison device, 11 ... Setting device, 12 ... Timer device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a vending machine that is equipped with an ice maker and mixes and dispenses ice with beverages, there is a switch that controls the stop of the ice making operation when the ice storage level of the ice maker reaches a predetermined upper limit level, and a switch that controls the stop of the ice making operation when the ice maker reaches a predetermined upper limit level. A memory circuit that is set until the switch is switched, and when the ice maker is making ice, it is added every time the first unit time elapses, and when the ice maker is selling ice, it is added every time the second unit time has elapsed. a preset circuit that sets the ice storage amount detection counter to a predetermined value based on switching of the switch when the ice storage level reaches the upper limit level;
A setting device that presets the amount of ice stored in the ice maker that should be discontinued, a comparison device that determines that the ice storage is unsuitable for sale when the count value of the ice storage amount detection counter falls below a set value of the setting device, and the comparison device control of a vending machine comprising: a timer device that generates an output for a certain period of time after determining that the vending machine is unsuitable for sale; and an output device that outputs a sales prohibition signal based on the logical sum of the output of the timer device and the set output of the memory circuit. Device.