JPH0330198B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a cup turret in a cup feeding device that stores cups and replenishes the cups to a cup delivery device as needed.

(b) Conventional technology As such a cutterlet, the
A configuration as disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 59-70281 is known. In this prior art, a plurality of cup storage chambers are arranged around the circumference of a cup storage drum, and the rows of cups loaded in the cup storage chambers are guided to a predetermined cup delivery device by the rotation of the drum. It is installed on the fixed base of the cup storage drum, and the bottom of the lowest cup in the cup row moves in direct contact with the fixed base surface.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, when the row of cups moves in direct contact with the fixed base surface, there is a problem in that the lowest cup gets dirt from the base or gets damaged. Furthermore, when the friction between the cup row and the base increases due to the adhesion of dirt, the cup row becomes clogged, causing deformation of the cup or, in the worst case, the drum not being able to rotate.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent the cup rows from directly touching the base surface and moving by providing a bottom plate that supports the rows of cups stored in the cup column, which is a cup storage chamber. be.

A further object of the present invention is to pivot the bottom plate so that it can be opened and closed, so that when the cup row reaches the cup ejection port provided on its moving track, the bottom plate opens and the cup column enters the cup column. This allows the row of cups in the cup to be quickly dropped and delivered to the cup delivery device disposed below.

However, if the cup row is configured to be delivered falling, the distance between the rotational track surface of the cup column and the cup delivery device must be at least equal to the height of the cup row, which causes the problem that the device becomes larger in the vertical direction. occurs.

Therefore, a further object of the present invention is to introduce a row of cups from the cup column into the cup delivery device by separating a part of the row of cups with a wedge plate, thereby reducing the size of the row in the vertical direction. This is to prevent it from becoming a problem.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the cup turret according to the present invention houses a row of cups formed by stacking cups in the vertical direction, and has a bottom plate that supports the row of cups and is configured to be openable and closable. a plurality of cup columns, a substrate on which the plurality of cup columns are arranged in a closed loop, a drive device for driving the cup columns to move on the substrate along the closed loop, and a cup formed on the substrate on a movement track of the cup columns. a support member that supports the bottom plate of the cup column that moves over the cup outlet, and a wedge plate that protrudes into the cup column that has reached the cup outlet and bites into the rows of cups therein to separate some of the cups. and a control section that controls the supply of the cups separated by the wedge plate by controlling the separation operation of the cup by the wedge plate and the release of support of the bottom plate by the support member.

(e) Operation The cup column moves over the substrate by the drive of the drive device. When the cup column reaches the cup outlet, the control section controls the wedge plate to move inward of the column. When the wedge plate advances inward of the cup column and bites into the cup row in the cup column, some cups are separated from the cup row. The cup row post-separation control section is
The operation of supporting the bottom plate of the cup column above the cup outlet by the support member is released. As a result, in the cup column, the cups separated by the operation of the wedge plate lose support from the bottom plate and are sent out falling from the cup outlet.

(f) Embodiment FIG. 1 shows a plan view of a cup turret according to the present invention, and the cup turret of this example accommodates hot beverage cups and cold beverage cups, and can be adapted to a predetermined cup dispensing device as appropriate. It supplies cups of water. In the figure, nine cup columns 2 capable of storing both hot cups and cold cups are arranged in an oval closed loop on a substrate 1, and two adjacent cup columns 2 are connected by a connecting member 3. The cup column 2 is connected at two places, upper and lower, and driven by a sprocket 8 to sequentially move the cup column 2. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the coupling member 3 has a pair of holes 4 and 5 to which the cup columns 2 ₁ and 2 ₂ are inserted and coupled, and one of the holes 4 has a protrusion 6. Set up a cup column 2 ₁
It is fitted into a groove 7 formed in. Therefore, one cup column 2 ₁ is fixed to the coupling member 3 ₁ , but the other cup column 2 ₂ is free to rotate relative to the coupling member 3 ₁ because no protrusion is formed in the hole 5 . be. However, the cup column 2 ₁ fixed to the coupling member 3 ₁ is not coupled to the coupling member 3 ₂ and is in a free state. In this way, one cup column 2
The nine cup columns 2 are connected in a closed loop in a manner dependent on the movement of the other cup column 2 fixed to the coupling member 3. Therefore, by rotating the sprocket 8, each cup column 2
moves in an elliptical orbit, and at this time a guide portion 9 is provided at a position where the direction of the cup column 2 is changed by the sprocket 8 to facilitate the movement. The cup column 2 accommodates a row of cups in which hot cups or cold cups are stacked vertically, and a bottom plate 11 that can be opened and closed using a shaft 10 as a fulcrum is provided at the bottom as shown in FIG. A roller 12 is provided on the opposing surface of the cup column 2, and the cup column 2 is moved over the substrate 1 by rotation of the sprocket 8.

As shown in FIG. 5, a hot cup outlet 13 and a cold cup outlet 14 are provided on the movement trajectory of the cup column 2 of the board 1, and as shown in FIG. Exit 1
3 and 14, the support of the bottom plate 11 by the substrate 1 is released, but instead the bottom plate 11 is maintained in the closed state by the support member 15. The support member 15 is
As shown in FIG.
7, the lever 16 is rotatably supported by a wall 18, but its rotation in the direction of the arrow a is prevented by a wall 18, and the other end of the lever 16 is rotatably supported by a drive shaft 19. . Therefore, when the lever 16 is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown by the dashed dotted line by driving the drive shaft 19, the support member 15 is also rotated in the same direction, and the bottom plate 11 is released from the lock. Moreover, a wedge plate 26 for taking out about 10 cups from the cup row 25 is rotatably supported at the upper part of the take-out ports 13 and 14 by a drive shaft 27, and is driven as shown in FIG. axis 27
When driven, the wedge plate 26 rotates in the direction of the arrow,
A wedge plate 26 comes into contact with the cup row 25 and is wedged into the gap between the curls of the cups. At the same time that the wedge plate 26 separates the cups from the cup row 25, the bottom plate 1 is removed by the support member 15.
1 is released, a plurality of cups are stacked and dropped from the cup row 25 through the outlets 13 and 14. The wedge plate 26 and the support member 15 are provided at the outlet ports 13 and 14, respectively.
10 and 11 show the configuration of the control unit 23 that controls the drive of the wedge plate 26 and the support member 15, and shows the drive shaft 25 of the wedge plate 26 and the support member 15.
A gear 6 is attached to the drive shaft 19 of the lever 16 that drives the
0 and 61 are installed respectively. Gears 60, 61
gears 63 and 64 attached to the deceleration output shaft 62 of the separation motor 48. In FIG. 10, the gear 64 is shown by a solid line and the gear 63 is shown by a broken line. Further, a cam 65 is attached to the output shaft 62 of the separation motor 48, and the cup separation operation is achieved by one cycle operation of the cam 65. When the output shaft 62 is rotated in the direction of the arrow by the drive of the separation motor 48, the gear 60, which has teeth 60A facing the recess 63A of the gear 63 in the standby state, engages with the teeth 63B of the gear 63 and rotates. Accordingly, the drive shaft 27 rotates and the wedge plate 26 is wedged into the cup row 25. On the other hand, the drive shaft 19 is urged by a spring 66 to rotate in the direction of the arrow.
The gear 61 is locked because it is in contact with the protrusion 64A of the gear 64. When the recess 64B reaches the gear 61 due to the rotation of the gear 64, the drive shaft 19 is unlocked and is urged by the spring 66 to rotate in the direction of the arrow.
moves away from the cup row 25 and the bottom plate 1
1 is open. Therefore, some of the cups separated from the cup row 25 by the wedge plate 26 lose their support from the bottom plate 11 and are separated, and are separated from the cup row 25 by the wedge plate 26.
3 and 14 to the cup delivery mechanism 22.
When the output shaft 62 further rotates and the teeth 64C of the gear 64 mesh with the teeth 61A of the gear 61, the drive shaft 19 rotates in the opposite direction of the arrow against the spring 66 and the bottom plate 11 is closed. When the recess 63A of the gear 63 faces the gear 60, the gear 60 becomes free, so the drive shaft 27 is urged by the spring 67 and rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow.
Stay away from 5. As a result, the cup row 25 that has been locked by the wedge plate 26 falls onto the bottom plate 11.
This one-cycle operation is performed by a full-cycle switch 43 that turns on and off in conjunction with the rotation of the cam 65.
detected by. Also, a spring 3 is installed in the middle of the power transmission path from the output shaft 62 to the wedge plate 26.
5 forms a buffer section. Therefore, when the wedge plate 26 comes into contact with the cup row 25, the power transmitted thereafter is absorbed by the spring 35, and the wedge plate 26 can reliably support the curl of the cup row 25. In addition, this buffer section allows for coping with differences in cup size depending on the type of cup and misalignment of the cup columns stopped at the outlet ports 13 and 14 without any adjustment. A recess 28 that substantially matches the circumference of the cup is formed in the piece of the wedge plate 26 that comes into contact with the cup row 25, and a step 29 is formed in the inner wall of the cup column 2 facing the wedge plate 26. When the plate 26 sinks into the gap between the curls, the cup to be separated is urged against the recess of the step 29.
The cup can be separated more smoothly than the cup row 25.

Below the outlets 13 and 14, cup delivery devices 22 are disposed, respectively, for receiving the cups separated from the cup row 25 and delivering the cups one by one in response to a predetermined cup delivery signal. The cup delivery device 22 includes a plurality of cup droppers 30, as shown in FIG. 8, and the cup droppers 30 support the curled portion of the lowest cup _C1 . When a cup drop motor (not shown) is driven by a predetermined cup delivery signal, each cup dropper 30 rotates about the shaft 31, and separates the cup C ₁ from the cup row 25 and delivers it. ₂
New support for. The detection member 33 moves in and out depending on the presence or absence of a cup in the cup delivery device 22.
The cup switch 32 detects the presence or absence of a cup in response to the movement of the detection member 33.

Also, an exterior case 34 that accommodates the cup column 2
Sensors 3 are installed on the inner wall of the
7, and a display section 40 is formed in a portion of each cup column 2 facing the sensor 37. The display section 40 of each cup column 2 displays whether the stored cup is a hot cup or a cold cup, and in this example, a reflective member is attached when a hot cup is stored. The sensor 37 irradiates light and detects the presence of a reflective member based on the amount of reflected light, thereby determining the type of cup stored in the cup column 2. Alternatively, a reflective member may be attached to the display section 40, and the position of the reflective member relative to the sensor 37 may be changed by sliding the display section 40 depending on the hot cup or cold cup.
Further, the sensor 41 detects the presence or absence of a cup row within the cup column 2.

With the above configuration, when the cup switch 32 detects that the cup delivery device 22 is out of a cup, the sprocket 8 is driven to move the cup column 2 sequentially. If the cup dispensing device 22 corresponding to the cup outlet 13 is out of cups, the sensors 37 and 41 provided corresponding to the cup outlet 13 detect the type of cup stored in the cup column 2 and the presence or absence of a cup. judge. The cup outlet 13 is for taking out a hot cup, and when the sensors 37 and 41 detect that the reached cup column 2 is storing a hot cup, the sprocket 8 is stopped and the separating motor 48 is driven. Then, the cam 65 is rotated by the drive of the disconnection motor 48, and the full cycle switch 43 is activated.
When it detects that it changes from OFF to ON and then turns OFF again, the disconnection motor 48 is made inoperable. In one cycle of the separation motor 48, some of the cups are separated from the cup row 25 by the wedge plate 26, and when the support member 15 releases the support for the bottom plate 11, the separated cups pass through the outlet 13 to the cup on the hot side. The delivery mechanism 22 is replenished. The same goes for the case of a broken cold cup; the sprocket 8 is driven by the broken cold cup, and the cup outlet 1 is opened.
Sensors 37 and 41 provided corresponding to the cup column 2 determine whether or not the cup column 2 that has been reached accommodates a cold cup. Upon detection of the cup column 2 containing cold cups, the separation motor 48 provided at the cup outlet 14 is driven to separate some of the cold cups from the cup column 2.
The cup is supplied through the cup outlet 14 to the cup delivery mechanism 22 on the cold side. However, even if the sprocket 8 is driven, if the sensor 41 cannot detect the presence of the target hot cup or cold cup in any of the cup columns 2, the sprocket 8 is stopped as the cup is out of storage. For example, sprocket 8
If a detection signal is not obtained from the sensor 41 even after a certain period of time has elapsed after driving the cup, it is determined that the cup is out of storage.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, it is possible to downsize the device without having to move the cup row in the horizontal direction in order to take out the cup out of the rotational orbit of the cup column. Since the cup row is not moved in the horizontal direction, the cup row does not fall over, and the cup feeding operation from the cup turret to the cup delivery device is ensured. Further, since some cups are separated from the cup row and introduced into the cup delivery device, the entire weight of the cup row is not applied to the cup delivery device, and a stable cup delivery operation can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the cup turret, Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the connection of the cup columns, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the cup turret.
4 is a diagram showing the main parts near the outlet, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional plan view showing the main parts near the outlet.
Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the support member, Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the wedge plate, Fig. 8 is a configuration diagram of the cup delivery mechanism seen from the front, Fig. 9 is a diagram showing the arrangement of the sensor, and Fig. 10. is a plan view showing the configuration of the control section;
FIG. 1 is a side view of FIG. 10. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Substrate, 2...Cup column, 11...Bottom plate, 13, 14...Cup outlet, 15...Support member, 23...Control unit, 26...Wedge plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of cup columns having a bottom plate that can be opened and closed to house and support rows of cups formed by stacking cups in the vertical direction; a substrate on which the plurality of cup columns are arranged in a closed loop; a drive device that drives the cup column to move along the closed loop; a cup ejection port formed in the substrate on the movement track of the cup column; and a support that supports the bottom plate of the cup column that moves over the cup ejection port. a wedge plate that protrudes into the cup column that has reached the cup outlet and bites into a row of cups therein to separate some of the cups; and a wedge plate that separates the cups by the wedge plate and supports the bottom plate by the support member. A cup turret comprising: a control section that controls the supply of the cups separated by the wedge plate by controlling release.