JPH0236997B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a so-called cup vending machine that automatically blends multiple types of raw material liquids and sells multiple types of liquid products. This invention relates to a liquid product vending machine that allows the purchaser to select the amount of liquid products.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, the above-mentioned so-called cup bender, for example, the cold cup bender for coffee, has different types of liquid products sold at one time, such as 7 ounces, 9 ounces, and 12 ounces, but the amount of liquid products sold at one time varies depending on whether it is summer or winter. Although the seller may change the sales volume at one time, it is fixed for each vending machine.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Therefore, buyers cannot freely select the amount they want at each time. As a result, when a buyer wants more liquid product than the amount set in advance by the seller, there are inconveniences such as having to buy two cups of the product, and the seller also has to anticipate the buyer's wishes. The drawback was that it required time and effort to adjust the amount of products sold depending on the season or location.

In order to eliminate such inconveniences and drawbacks of the conventional technology, the present invention has the following features:
To realize or put into practical use a liquid product vending machine with the simplest possible configuration, in which a purchaser can select the amount of liquid product he or she wants each time.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is a vending machine that automatically mixes multiple types of raw material liquids to sell multiple types of liquid products, and also allows a purchaser to select the amount of liquid for the product, a container supply mechanism that stores raw material liquid containers for storing each raw material liquid, and sales containers for receiving liquid products to be sold, and supplies the sales containers one by one each time the product is sold;
A plurality of product type selection switches for the purchaser to specify the type of liquid product, a plurality of product quantity selection switches for the purchaser to specify the amount of the liquid product, and a plurality of product quantity selection switches provided for each of the raw material liquid containers. A liquid supply mechanism that supplies raw material liquid from the raw material liquid container at a predetermined supply rate per time, and supplying sales containers to the container supply mechanism on the condition that the product type selection switch and the product quantity selection switch are operated. At the same time, the liquid supply mechanism for the raw material liquid necessary for blending the liquid product specified by the product type selection switch is set in advance by the seller for each liquid product quantity specified by the product quantity selection switch. and a supply control circuit that specifies operation and stop commands for supplying raw material liquid for a period of time to each liquid supply mechanism according to an order set in advance by the seller, based on commands from the supply control circuit. The liquid supply mechanism is operated and stopped to supply and mix a predetermined type and amount of liquid raw material from the raw material liquid container to the sales capacity and sell the liquid raw material.

[Effect]

By using the liquid product vending machine according to the present invention as described above, the purchaser can purchase a desired amount of liquid product, such as juice containing soda, at a reasonable price, so there is no need to spend extra money as in the past.
Furthermore, since the purchaser will not be forced to give up on the purchase due to the conventional inconvenience, the purchaser's motivation can be promoted from the seller's point of view.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the external appearance of a vending machine according to the present invention, in which a switch plate 51 on which switches for selecting products are arranged is attached to the upper part of a front door 50 of a main body 10 of the vending machine. The selection switches belonging to this switch board 51 are divided into two groups, of which the first
The group includes product type selection switches SA, SB, SC and
The number of switches is arranged according to the type of product being sold, such as soft drinks such as orange, grapefruit, and melon drinks, that is, soda drinks. The second group is the product quantity selection switch SP, SQ
and SR, and in this example, a desired amount can be selected from three types of product amounts, for example, 7 ounces, 9 ounces, and 12 ounces. When the purchaser inserts a coin from the coin slot 53, the amount inserted is displayed on the amount displayed 53. When the purchaser specifies the type and quantity of liquid products that can be purchased within this input amount by pressing one of the product selection switches SA to SD and one of the product quantity selection switches SP to SR, the product will be purchased according to the specifications. A liquid product is mixed in the main body 10 as described below,
Since the liquid is poured into a sales container such as a paper cup placed at the back of the product take-out port 54, the purchaser can open the front door of the product take-out port 54 and take out the liquid product along with the paper cup. Of course, if you have change at this time, you can receive it from the change opening 55.

FIG. 2 shows an outline of a means for blending raw material liquid in a vending machine according to the present invention. In this example, a case is shown in which the liquid product being sold is a soft drink. Inside the main body 10 of the vending machine shown by the dashed line are syrups A, B, C and D for soft drinks.
For example, orange, grapefruit, melon and lemon syrups are stored in raw material syrup tanks 11A, 11B, 11C and 11D, respectively. It is housed in a cold water tank 12 necessary for mixing, and is maintained at a predetermined temperature by a cooler (not shown). The soda water container 13 stores fresh water containing carbon dioxide gas, and since the soda water has pressure, it is sealed in a cylinder-like container. In addition to raw material liquid containers such as syrup tanks, cold water tanks, and soda water containers, an ice storage container is required when cube-shaped ice or crushed ice is added to liquid products. It is omitted in the embodiment. Also, in this embodiment, two container supply mechanisms 14 are provided, one of which is a large paper cup suitable for holding, for example, 12 ounces of liquid product, and the other is a large paper cup suitable for holding, for example, 9 ounces and 7 ounces of liquid product. Each store contains a large number of small paper cups that are shared with liquid products. Of course, the number of this container supply mechanism may be one. In addition, a restriction 15 is installed at the outlet of the syrup tanks 11A to 11D.
However, a restriction 15 is also provided at the outlet of the soda water container 13. These throttles have the effect of keeping the supply rate of raw material liquid constant per hour and also of uniforming the supply rate of syrup so that it does not vary from tank to tank. Further, when it is desired to make the supply rate from one raw material liquid container different from the supply rate from another container, the size of the aperture can be changed to adjust the rate.

The switch board 51 provided on the front door 50 of the vending machine has a group of product type selection switches 51 as described above.
It is divided into two groups: a and a product quantity selection switch group 51b, each of which includes product type selection switches SA to SD and product quantity selection switches SP to SR. If the buyer is currently using one of the product selection switches, for example SA
When product A is selected by pressing , and quantity P is selected by pressing one of the product quantity selection switches, for example SD, these selections are transmitted to the supply control circuit 30 via a signal line indicated by a dotted line. The supply control circuit 30 detects that both the above switches are pressed and both the product type and product quantity are selected, and determines whether the amount the purchaser has invested so far is the same as the price of the selected product. If it exceeds this, a supply command is immediately issued through the dotted line wiring to the container feeder M1 or M2 of the container supply mechanism that stores sales containers with a volume corresponding to the selected product quantity, and one sales container 16 is sent. is sent through the chute 17 to the mixing table 18 located at the back of the product take-out port 54 in FIG.

After confirming that the sales container 16 has been sent to the mixing table 18, a timer circuit, which will be described later, is started in the supply control circuit 30, thereby issuing a supply command to the liquid supply mechanism through the wiring shown in dotted lines. This liquid supply mechanism is provided for each raw material liquid container.
As shown in the figure, the syrup tanks 11A to 11D are provided with syrup supply mechanisms VA to VD, respectively, and the cold water tank 12 is provided with a cold water supply mechanism.
VW has a soda water supply mechanism in soda water container 13.
Each comes with a VS. These liquid supply mechanisms may be small electric pumps or electromagnetic valves. In the selection example described above, since product A is selected, the supply control device 30 controls the syrup supply mechanism.
A supply command will be issued to VA, cold water supply mechanism VW, and soda water supply mechanism VS.

In the present invention, each of these liquid supply mechanisms has a constant supply rate per hour, and the quantity of the product selected by the purchaser is controlled by the operating time of the liquid supply mechanism. That is, in the selection example described above, the liquid supply mechanism is operated for a period of time such that the syrup, cold water, and soda water for the selected product A reach the selected amount Q, for example, 9 ounces, and then is stopped. However, what is complicated here is that the working time of the liquid supply mechanism must be changed for each mechanism, and there are restrictions on the order in which the raw material liquids are supplied. In other words, if the soda water is supplied in an incorrect order or at an inappropriate time, the carbon dioxide gas contained in the soda water will react with the syrup being prepared and will be lost by the time it is sold, significantly reducing the original flavor. The sense of coolness is lost. Although the order and time for supplying or blending raw material liquids differ depending on the liquid product, FIG. 3 shows what is generally considered desirable in the case of soda drinks.

Figure 3 p, q, and r show the supply times TPS, TQS, and TRS of soda water and the supply times TPA, TQA, and TRA of syrup A when the quantities of products are different P, Q, and R, respectively. There is.
Note that in this example, the supply time of cold water is the same as that for soda water, so it is omitted. First, referring to FIG. 3P, the supply of soda water and cold water is started at time _t1 when supply of raw material liquid starts, and then syrup A is supplied only at time _t2 . If the soda water is supplied after the syrup and the two are mixed together, a large amount of the syrup will be mixed with a small amount of the soda water at the beginning of the blending process, and carbon dioxide gas will be lost. Furthermore, the supply of syrup is stopped at time t ₃ , and after that, the supply of soda water and cold water is continued for a further time T to enhance the flavor of the liquid product, and then the supply of syrup is stopped at time t ₄ , and all supply is ended. . Note that the above-mentioned time T may actually be constant regardless of the quantity of products.
The same applies to q and r in FIG. 3, but the respective supply times differ depending on the quantity of the product. Theoretically, the formula TPS/TQS=TPA/TQA=P/Q TPS/TRS=TPA/TRA=P/R holds true, and the supply time can be set accordingly, but in reality, the liquid supply Since the dead time from when a command is given until the liquid supply mechanism operates cannot be ignored, the on/off time of the liquid supply command must be set in consideration of this dead time. In the present invention, consideration is given to enabling fine adjustments to the settings of the timer circuit within the supply control device 10, as will be described later. Note that although the schedule in FIG. 3 is written only for syrup A, the same applies to other syrups B to D.

As explained above, liquid supply and stop commands are sequentially issued to the liquid supply mechanism, and a predetermined raw material liquid is supplied on a predetermined time schedule and mixed in a sales container. That is, in the aforementioned selection example, syrup A, cold water, and soda water are supplied to the liquid supply mechanisms VA and VW, respectively, according to the time schedule shown in FIG.
and VS are supplied to the paper cup 16 via the piping 19 shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, and mixed there. The paper cup containing the prepared liquid product can be taken out from the mixing table 18 by opening the front door of the product outlet 54 shown in FIG. 1, as described above.

Although in the above description it is assumed that cold water and soda water are supplied at the same time, it is clear that the present invention is not limited to this embodiment and can also be applied to a case where both are supplied on different time schedules.

Next, an embodiment of the supply control circuit used in the present invention will be described in detail based on FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the supply control circuit 30 includes a selection storage circuit 31, a sales start circuit 32, a supply time setting circuit 33, a time limit circuit 34, a supply opening/closing circuit 35, and a supply order setting circuit 36, which are separated by dashed lines. The supply time setting circuit 33 and the time limit circuit 34 correspond to the above-mentioned timer circuit. Although Fig. 4 is partially composed of a switch circuit using semiconductor circuits, the function of this supply control circuit as described later can also be composed of an all-electronic circuit including a microcomputer. . The contents of the supply control circuit will be explained below according to its operation sequence. Note that P and N in the figure are control power supply terminals. The selection storage circuit 31 includes product type selection electromagnetic switches LA, LB, LC, and LD which are turned on by the aforementioned product type selection switches SA, SB, SC, and SD, respectively. It is assumed that the terminal SE of the supply order setting plate 361 in the supply order setting circuit 36 and the terminal T4 are connected as shown by the solid line in the figure. Before the start of sales, the normally closed contact L4b shown in the supply order setting circuit is closed, so
When one of the product type selection switches SA to SD is operated by the purchaser, one of the corresponding product type selection electromagnetic switches LA to LD operates, and the attached self-holding normally open contact LAa, LBa,
self-maintained by one of LCa and LDa;
The selected product type, for example A, is stored. The same applies to the product quantity selection electromagnetic switches LP, LQ, and LR, where the terminal WE and terminal T3 of the supply order setting board 361 are connected as shown by the solid line, and the normally closed contact L3b is closed before the start of sales. , when any one of the aforementioned product quantity selection switches SP, SQ, and SR is operated by the purchaser, one of the corresponding product quantity selection electromagnetic switches LP, LQ, and LR operates. , and is self-held by one of the corresponding self-holding normally open contacts LPa, XQa, and LRa, and stores the selected product quantity, e.g., P. Although not shown in the diagram, the product type and product quantity stored as described above can be easily notified to the specified purchaser by means such as lighting a lamp. can. Additionally, an interlock is required to prevent multiple storage when a purchaser accidentally operates two or more product type selection switches or product quantity selection switches. It should be understood that the electrical interlocking of the circuits is easily possible by known means and has therefore been omitted from the figures for the sake of simplicity.

As described above, when one of the product types and one of the product quantities is selected by the purchaser and stored in the machine, the sales start circuit 32 is activated to start the sales operation. As shown in the diagram, the electromagnetic switch LV, which is now on sale, is the logical OR of the normally open contacts XAa, LBa, LCa, and LDa of the product type selection electromagnetic switches LA to LD, and the normally open contacts LPa, LQa, and LQa of the product quantity selection electromagnetic switch.
Since it is operated by logical product with the logical sum of LRa, it operates when one of the product types and one of the product quantities is selected by the purchaser as described above. At this time, the normally closed contact LOb of the transmitter electromagnetic switch LO, which will be described later, is still closed.
When the sales start electromagnetic switch LV operates as described above, one of the container feeders M1 and M2 is energized. In the case of the figure, the container feeder M1 has the product amount P.
In other words, since the normally open contact XPa of the product quantity selection electromagnetic switch LP corresponding to the product quantity of 12 ounces is attached, when the product quantity P is selected, when the normally open contact LVa of the sales start electromagnetic switch LV closes, Capacity feeder M1 is energized and a large paper cup for 12 ounces is delivered. Further, the container feeder M2 is a product quantity selection electromagnetic switch corresponding to the product quantities Q and R, that is, 9 ounces and 7 ounces, respectively.
Since it is energized by the logical sum of the normally open contacts LQa and LRa of LQ and LR, when the product quantity Q or R is selected, when the normally open contact LVa of the sales start electromagnetic switch LV closes. Capacity supply device M
2 is energized to send out a small paper tip common to 9 oz and 7 oz. Next, the transmitter electromagnetic switch LO is activated after confirming that the container feeder M1 or M2 has been activated and the paper tip has been delivered. Since the normally closed contact L4a located below the transmitter electromagnetic switch LO is still closed at this time, the normally open contacts M1a of the container feeders M1 and M2
and M1a close, the transmitter electromagnetic switch LO operates and its normally open contact LOa
is self-held and starts a timer circuit 34 as described below. As can be easily seen from the figure, when the electromagnetic switch LO for the transmitter operates, the electromagnetic switch for the transmitter located below the electromagnetic switch LV, which is on sale
Since the LOa normally closed contact LOb is opened, the sales start solenoid switch is deenergized and accordingly the container feeder M1 or M2 is also deenergized. That is, the sales start electromagnetic switch also determines that the sales conditions have been met and operates the container feeder to dispense the paper tip, and after the transmitter electromagnetic switch is held in the on state, it is deenergized. In addition, when determining the above sales conditions, the sales start electromagnetic switch LV is activated only when the permission condition from the coin device of the vending machine is met, that is, the amount inserted by the purchaser is equal to or exceeds the price of the selected product. In order to include this condition, it is sufficient to take measures such as inserting a contact point of a coin device in series with the sales start electromagnetic switch. Further, as described above, the container feeder M1 or M2 is also deenergized after sending out the sales container, that is, the paper cup, so that wasteful power consumption is prevented. With the above steps, the paper tip is sent to the mixing table 18 shown in FIG. 2, and preparations for receiving the raw material liquid are completed.

The supply time setting circuit 33 and the time limit circuit 34 are
This is for injecting raw material liquid into a paper cup according to the time schedule shown in FIG. An electronic counter device is used as a timing device for this purpose, which is represented in the figure by counters C1 and C2 in a timing circuit 34. For example, only one counter, C1, may be used, but the time T shown in FIG. Therefore, counter C2 is added in this example, and counter C1
After counting up, counter C2 is started. Counters C1 and C2 are incremented by pulses from the oscillator OSC, and the outputs t ₁ , t ₂ and t ₃ of counter C1 and the output of counter C2
t ₄ corresponds to t ₁ , t ₂ , t ₃ and t ₄ in FIG. 3, respectively. Of course, if you only need one counter, for example, from t ₁ to counter C1,
It is sufficient to provide full output up to _t4 . The above counter outputs t ₁ , t ₂ , t ₃ and t ₄ are respectively associated with flip-flops FF1, FF2, FF3 and F4, and the counter outputs are connected to the set inputs of the respective flip-flops. Also, these flip-flops FF1, FF
2. The liquid supply mechanism open/close electromagnetic switches L1, L2, L3 are activated by the non-inverting outputs of FF3 and FF4, respectively.
and L4 are energized. That is, when the count values of counters C1 and C2 advance and outputs are sequentially output at t ₁ , t ₂ , t ₃ and t ₄ , flip-flops FF 1 , FF 2 , FF 3 and FF 4 are sequentially set, and their respective non-inverted outputs are set. As a result, electromagnetic switches L1, L2, L3, and L4 for opening and closing the liquid supply mechanism are operated in sequence. Note that counter C1 and flip-flop
FF1 to FF4 are the electromagnetic switches for the transmitter mentioned above.
It is reset by the normally closed contact LOb of LO before the counter starts counting. Further, the counter C2 is reset or inhibited by the inverted output of the flip-flop FF3 until the count C1 counts up, and is enabled only after the count C1 counts up. Note that since it is usually not possible to directly input the voltage from the control power supply terminal P into an electronic circuit, some kind of voltage conversion means is required for each reset input to the counter and flip-flop mentioned above and the signal line to the oscillator OSC. In the figure, for the sake of simplification, such conversion means are omitted, and the connection relationships including such conversion means are shown by arrows.

Now, as shown in Figure 3, the supply time of syrup and soda water must be changed depending on the product quantities P, Q, and R, so it is normal to provide counters for each time. In the embodiment shown in this figure, the counters C1 and C2 are provided in common for the product quantities P, Q, and R to simplify the circuit, and instead, the oscillator OSC
By changing the oscillation frequency of the product according to the quantity of the product, the supply time of the raw material liquid can be changed. This switching of the oscillation frequency is performed by the supply time setting circuit 33. Capacitor CON and resistors RO and RX form a CR time constant circuit that determines the oscillation frequency of the oscillator OSC. Now product quantity selection electromagnetic switch LP ~ LR normally open contact LPa ~
Considering when both LRa are open, the transmitter
The OSC oscillates at a frequency fO determined by the product C.RO of the capacitance value C of the capacitor CON and the resistance value RO of the resistor RO. A large number of taps come out from the resistor RX, and are connected to the upper terminal row in the illustration of the supply time setting board 331, respectively. Normally open contacts as described above
LPa, LQa, and LRa are also respectively connected to the lower three terminals in the diagram of the supply time setting 331, and the upper and lower terminal rows are connected, for example, as shown by solid lines in the diagram. Now, considering the case when any of the above-mentioned normally open contacts LPa to LRa is closed, the resistance value RX of the resistor RX is determined by this.
and the resistance value RO of the above-mentioned resistor RO.
=RO・RX/RO+RX is formed, and the oscillator OSC oscillates at a frequency determined by C・R. When the product quantity is selected as P, Q, or R in this way, the normally open contacts LPa,
LQa or LRa is closed and the oscillator OSC oscillates at different frequencies fP, fQ or fR, respectively. The supply time setting board 331 is used to set the oscillation frequency and therefore the supply time and timing, and the above-mentioned supply operation opening/closing time is determined by connecting each terminal on the lower side of the setting plate to which terminal on the upper side. t ₁ , t ₂ , t ₃ and t ₄ can be set. Of course, the number of setting plates is not limited to one, and the supply time setting plate 331 and resistor RX are connected to each of the normally open contacts LPa, LQa, and LRa of the above-mentioned product quantity selection switch.
may also be provided. Also, a setting plate may be provided for the resistor RO so that the frequency fO can be variably set, and the contact of the product quantity selection electromagnetic switch, especially the normally closed contact, may be linked to avoid creating a composite resistance with the resistor RX. You may also do so. In any case, with the above circuit configuration, when one of the product quantity selection electromagnetic switches LP to LR operates, the oscillator OSC oscillates at a frequency fP to fR corresponding to the operation of the electromagnetic switch LP to LR. When none of them is operating, it oscillates at frequency fO.

Now, when the oscillator electromagnetic switch LO operates as described above, the normally open contact LOa shown at the top of the diagram of the oscillator OSC of the time limit circuit 34 closes and the oscillator
The OSC emits at the frequency set on the supply time setting board 331, and the counter C1 immediately starts counting. Note that at the same time as normally open contact LOa closes, normally closed contact LOb opens, so when this count starts, counter C1 and flip-flop FF
1 to FF4 have already been reset and enabled. Assuming that P is selected as the product quantity, the product quantity selection electromagnetic switch LP
Since the normally open contact LPa of is closed, the oscillator OSC oscillates a pulse with a frequency fP, and the counter C1 counts the pulses with this frequency fP. As a result, when the output _t1 of the counter C1 is output, the flip-flop FF1 is set, and the non-inverted output operates the liquid supply mechanism opening/closing electromagnetic switch L1, which maintains the intermediate operating state while the flip-flop FF1 is in the set state. do.

The cold water supply mechanism VW and the soda water supply mechanism VS of the supply opening/closing circuit 35 are connected to the terminal WS of the supply order setting plate 361 of the supply order setting circuit 36, and the liquid supply mechanism is opened/closed through the terminal T1 as shown by the solid line in the figure. Normally open contact L1a of electromagnetic switch L1 and normally closed contact L4 of electromagnetic switch L4 for opening/closing the liquid supply mechanism.
b, and the normally closed contact LP4 is still closed at this point, so when the electromagnetic switch L1 for opening and closing the liquid supply mechanism operates as described above and the normally open contact L1a closes, the cold water supply mechanism VW and soda water supply mechanism VS are energized and start supplying cold water and soda water.

Next, the count of counter C1 advances and its output
When an output is output at _t1 , flip-flop FF2 is set, and the non-inverted output operates electromagnetic switch L2 for opening and closing the liquid supply mechanism. The syrup supply mechanisms VA to VD of the supply opening/closing circuit 35 mentioned above are connected to the normally open contact L2a of the liquid supply mechanism opening/closing electromagnetic switch L2 through the terminal SS of the supply order setting plate 361 of the supply order setting circuit 36 and the terminal T2. It is connected in series with the normally closed contact L3b of the mechanism opening/closing electromagnetic switch L3, and at this point the normally closed contact L3b is still closed. Now, the normally open contacts LAa to LDa of the product type selection electromagnetic switches LA to LD shown on the upper side of the diagram of the syrup supply mechanism VA to VD.
Of these, those corresponding to the product type selected by the purchaser are closed. That is, for example, assuming that product A is selected, the normally open contact LAa is closed, so when the electromagnetic switch L2 for opening and closing the liquid supply mechanism operates as described above and the normally open contact L2a closes, the liquid supply mechanism opens and closes. VA is energized and syrup A
supply will begin. In this manner, at time _t2 in FIG. 3 when the electromagnetic switch L2 for opening and closing the liquid supply mechanism operates, the supply of syrup corresponding to the product type selected up to that point is started.

When the count of the counter C1 further advances and an output is output from the output _t3 of the counter C1, the flip-flop FF3 is similarly set, and the electromagnetic switch L3 for opening and closing the liquid supply mechanism is operated by the non-inverted output. This opens the normally closed contact L3b shown in the supply order setting circuit 36, and the syrup supply mechanism that was previously energized, for example VA in the above selection example, is deenergized and the syrup supply is cut off. It will be done. Furthermore, by opening the normally closed contact L3b, the operation of the product quantity selection electromagnetic switch, eg, LP in the above selection example, which had been self-maintained until then, is stopped.
By deenergizing this product quantity selection electromagnetic switch, its normally open contacts LP to LR in the supply time setting circuit 33
are all opened, so the oscillator OSC will oscillate at the frequency fO instead of the previous frequency, for example, fP. Now, the above-mentioned flip-flop
Counter C2, which had been reset by the inverted output of FF3, is enabled by the setting of the flip-flop, so counter C2 now becomes the oscillator.
Count the pulses of the OSC at the frequency fO.

The count of this counter C2 progresses and its output
When an output is output from _t4 , flip-flop FF4 is set, and its non-inverted output operates electromagnetic switch L4 for opening and closing the liquid supply mechanism, and its normally open contact T4 in supply order setting circuit 33 is opened. By opening the normally open contact L4b, the cold water supply mechanism VW and the soda water supply mechanism VS are deenergized in the same manner as described above, and the product type selection switch, for example LA in the above example, is deenergized. Also, this normally open contact L4
At the same time as the switch LO opens, the normally open contact L4b on the lower side of the transmitter electromagnetic switch LO of the sales start circuit 32 also opens, so the transmitter electromagnetic switch LO is also deenergized and its self-holding is released, and the signal is transmitted through the normally open contact LOa. The power supply to the transmitter OSC is also cut off. At this time, the normally closed contact LOb of the electromagnetic switch for the oscillator closes again, so that the count contents of the counter C1 are cleared and reset to the initial state, and the flip-flops FF1 to FF4 are also reset and respond accordingly. All electromagnetic switches L1 to L4 for opening and closing the liquid supply mechanism are also deenergized. Also, by resetting flip-flop FF3,
The inverted output also clears the count contents of the counter C2 and resets it to the initial state.

As described above, the operation of one sales cycle is completed, and the supply of the raw material liquid is completely completed according to the time schedule shown in FIG. 3P, and the supply control circuit 30 returns to the initial state. Product quantity Q or R
The operation when is selected is the same, and the product quantity P
The counter C1 is counted by a pulse of frequency fQ or fR instead of the frequency fP of the oscillator OSC when is selected, and the liquid raw material is supplied and mixed in the paper cup 16 according to the time schedule. Regarding the counter C2, as mentioned above, pulses of the frequency fO are always counted regardless of which of the product quantities P to R is selected. The time T shown in the figure is always kept constant.

Finally, the role of the supply order setting board 361 will be explained. The raw material liquid supply schedule explained so far corresponds to the schedule shown in Fig. 3,
This is mainly for soda drinks, but liquid products are not necessarily soda drinks. In such a case, instead of starting the supply of the raw material liquid by the conventional raw material liquid supply mechanisms VW~VS earlier than the supply start by the supply mechanisms VA~VD, the supply mechanism VA~
It may be necessary to start the supply by VD earlier than the start of supply by the supply mechanisms VW to VS. As can be easily seen, such switching can be easily accomplished by changing the connection in the right half 361S of the supply order setting plate 361 from the connection shown by a solid line to the connection shown by a dotted line. Similarly, the end point of the supply can be easily switched by changing the connection in the left half 361E of the supply order setting plate 361 from the connection shown by a solid line to the connection shown by a dotted line. This concludes the explanation of the supply control circuit 50 of FIG. 4, but the supply schedule of the raw material liquid is not limited to the simple example shown in FIG. 3. That is, the supply schedule shown in FIG. 3 is for a case where the raw material liquid can be divided into two groups, but generally it must be divided into n groups. However, such design changes can be made as appropriate within the scope of the present invention; for example, the output of the counter may be changed from _t1 to _t2 instead of from t1 to _t4 as described above.
n and flip-flop FF1~ accordingly.
FF4 and electromagnetic switch L1 for opening/closing the liquid supply mechanism
~The number of L4 may be increased. Further, design changes can be easily made to increase or decrease the number of product types and product quantities.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, the liquid product vending machine according to the present invention has an unprecedented advantage in that the purchaser can freely select the amount of liquid product to be sold. Even though I had no choice but to purchase large amounts of juice and coffee at high prices,
According to the vending machine of the present invention, it becomes possible to purchase a desired amount at a reasonable price. In addition, for sellers, this eliminates the problem of having to frequently change the settings inside the machine to change the amount and price of liquid products depending on the season or location, and there is no need for extra effort. In addition, there is a great advantage that the purchaser does not hold back on purchasing because he does not want to buy an extra amount of juice or coffee, increasing sales opportunities. Furthermore, as can be seen from the above explanation, even when changing the type of product to be sold, the supply schedule of the raw material liquid can be simply set, so it does not take much time to adjust it.

As described above, the liquid product vending machine according to the present invention has advantages for both buyers and sellers, and has extremely high practical value.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

All of the drawings show a vending machine for liquid products according to the present invention, with Fig. 1 being a perspective external view of the vending machine seen from the front side, and Fig. 2 showing an overview of supplying and mixing raw material liquid in the vending machine. Figures 3 and 3 are diagrams showing a supply schedule of raw material liquid when the present invention is applied to a soda-containing youth beverage, and Fig. 4 is a wiring diagram of a supply control circuit for raw material liquid. 10: Vending machine body, 11A to 11D: Syrup tank as raw material liquid container, 12: Cold water tank as raw material liquid container, 13: Soda water container as raw material liquid container, 14: Container supply mechanism, 18:
Squeezing, 16: Paper cup as a sales container, 30:
Supply control circuit, 31: Selection storage circuit, 32: Sales start circuit, 33: Supply time setting circuit, 331: Supply time setting board, 34: Time limit circuit, 35: Supply opening/closing circuit, 36: Supply order setting circuit, 361: Supply order setting board, 50: Front door of vending machine, 51: Switch board, 54...Product outlet, C1, C2: Counter, FF1 to FF4: Flip-flop, LA
~LD: Product type selection electromagnetic switch, LP~LR: Product quantity selection electromagnetic switch, LO: Oscillator electromagnetic switch, LV: Sales start electromagnetic switch, L1~L
4: Electromagnetic switch for opening and closing liquid supply mechanism, M1, M
2: Container supply device, OSC: Oscillator, RO, RX: Resistor, SA~SD: Product type selection switch, SP~
SR: Product quantity selection switch, VA to VD: Syrup supply mechanism as a liquid supply mechanism, VS: Soda water supply mechanism as a liquid supply mechanism, VW: Cold water supply mechanism as a liquid supply mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine that automatically mixes multiple types of raw material liquids to sell multiple types of liquid products and also allows the purchaser to select the amount of liquid for the product, and includes a raw material liquid container that stores each raw material liquid individually. , a container supply mechanism for storing sales containers for receiving liquid products to be sold and supplying the sales containers one by one each time a sale is made, and a plurality of product type selection switches for allowing a purchaser to specify the type of liquid product. a plurality of product quantity selection switches for the purchaser to specify the quantity of the liquid product; and a liquid supply unit provided for each of the raw material liquid containers to supply the raw material liquid from the raw material liquid containers at a supply rate per predetermined time. Provided that the supply mechanism, the product type selection switch, and the product quantity selection switch are operated, the container supply mechanism is instructed to supply sales containers, and is necessary for blending the liquid product specified by the product type selection switch. The seller issues in advance an operation and stop command to cause the liquid supply mechanism for the raw material liquid to supply the raw material liquid for a time period preset by the seller for each liquid product quantity specified by the product quantity selection switch. a supply control circuit that specifies each liquid supply mechanism in accordance with a set order, and operates and stops the liquid supply mechanism based on instructions from the supply control circuit to supply predetermined types and types from the raw material liquid container. A vending machine for liquid products, characterized in that the vending machine supplies and mixes a certain amount of liquid raw materials to the sales capacity and sells them.