JP2000040176A - Remote management system for beverage supplying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a remote management system capable of accurately capturing needs on a user side, especially a situation capable of becoming a trouble, while staying away, performing quick coping without waiting for the report of the user side and providing fine services. SOLUTION: A transmitter 2 for radio-transmitting detection signals outputted from a sensor for detecting the state of a management item is provided to a beverage supplying machine 1. Also, a receiver 3 for receiving the detection signals transmitted from the transmitter 2, detecting the state abnormality of the management item from the detection signals and originating abnormality detection signals through a telephone line 4 when the state abnormality is detected is installed near the beverage supplying machine 1 and a monitoring device 5 for receiving the abnormality detection signals from the receiver 3 and reporting the abnormality of the beverage supplier and a corresponding treatment is installed on a remote manager side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage dispenser for supplying hot or cold water to a powdered material such as tea or coffee so that a hot or cold beverage such as tea or coffee is appropriately discharged from an outlet. Regarding the remote management system, in detail, quickly detect the trouble that occurs in the beverage dispenser,
The present invention relates to a remote management system for a beverage dispenser capable of providing an immediate service and providing a detailed service.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, beverage supply machines 1 such as tea and coffee beverages as shown in FIG.
There is a so-called tea corner where employees can relax. When the beverage supply device 1 selects and presses the operation button 1a, hot or cold water is supplied from the water supply tank to the powder material of the beverage such as tea or coffee, and the beverage such as hot or cold tea or coffee is discharged from the spout 1b. From their favorite drinks so that their favorite drinks can be served quickly.

[0003] A beverage dispenser 1 of this type is provided with a disinfecting water purifier capable of exchanging a disinfecting cartridge and a large number of disposable cups. The company also provides maintenance services such as refilling powdered materials and disposable cups, and replacing disinfecting cartridges in disinfecting water purifiers.

[0004]

With the progress of OA in offices, work such as information processing has been performed more precisely and more sophisticatedly, and the demand for beverage supply machines capable of producing the above-mentioned relaxation time has increased. With the increase in competition among providers, the provision of more detailed services is required.

For example, in order to supply the above-mentioned consumables,
Although periodic patrol maintenance is performed, it cannot be said that a service that satisfies the needs of the user of the beverage dispenser 1 can be always provided only by the periodic maintenance. That is, if the consumption of beverages suddenly increases due to a severe change in the climate or a large number of visitors, the above-described replenishment needs to be performed promptly, and prompt responses to unexpected failures are required. .

[0006] However, for measures other than the periodic inspection, the manager must go to the installation location and take measures based on the report from the user. in this way,
In the conventional maintenance system in which the administrator sequentially visits the office where the beverage dispenser 1 is installed, it is not possible to quickly and accurately grasp the needs of the user when a trouble occurs and provide the service.

[0007] In particular, when responding after waiting for a report from the user side, a trouble has already occurred, and the report may be further delayed and become more serious. Even if the severity of the trouble increases, it can not be said that the reporter is negligible, and in many cases, the responsibility of the manager is ultimately held.

[0008] Even if the frequency of regular patrols is increased, if trouble does not occur, not only useless patrols but also hindrance to work on the user side are not necessarily obstructed. I had to go on a timely patrol while empirically grasping the usage status of the.

[0009] Accordingly, the present invention is directed to the needs of the user,
In particular, a beverage dispenser that can accurately grasp potential trouble situations while being at a distance, and can respond quickly without waiting for a report from the user side, and can provide a fine-grained service An object of the present invention is to provide a remote management system.

[0010]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention employs the following configuration. That is,
The beverage supply machine remote management system according to the present invention is a beverage supply machine that mixes hot or cold water with a beverage powder material such as tea or coffee, and supplies and ejects a beverage eluted into a cup placed at a spout. A sensor for detecting a state of a predetermined management item such as a supply state of a beverage powder material or a cup in a beverage supply machine, a state of water supply / drainage in a pouring route, and a transmission for wirelessly transmitting a detection signal output from the sensor. A device that receives a detection signal transmitted from a transmitting device, detects a state abnormality of a management item from the received detection signal, and transmits an abnormality detection signal via a telephone line when the state abnormality is detected. A receiving device having a function, and a monitoring device that receives the abnormality detection signal transferred and notified via the telephone line from the receiving device and notifies the abnormality of the beverage dispenser and the corresponding measures. It is a symptom.

[0011] According to the remote management system for a beverage dispenser, the operation state of the beverage dispenser is detected by a sensor provided in the beverage dispenser, and the detection signal of the sensor is once wirelessly transmitted to the receiving device by the transmitter. The receiving device detects the presence or absence of a state abnormality for the management item based on the detection signal, and when the state abnormality is detected, notifies the monitoring device via a telephone line that an abnormal situation has occurred. Since the monitoring device is installed under the supplier of the beverage dispenser, the provider can promptly recognize the occurrence of the abnormality by notifying the occurrence of the abnormality and the countermeasure from the monitoring device, and quickly Since an administrator can be dispatched to the installation location to respond, it is possible to provide more appropriate services for troubles on the user side.

By providing a transmitting device and transmitting the detection signal of the sensor once to a receiving device connected to the telephone line, the installation location of the beverage dispenser can be changed regardless of the presence of the terminal on the telephone line. It is easy to introduce because it can be a place to relax.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a remote management system for a beverage dispenser according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a remote management system for a beverage dispenser according to the present invention includes a beverage dispenser 1 installed in an office and a transmitter for wirelessly transmitting data required for maintenance of the beverage dispenser 1. 2, receiving the beverage dispenser data transmitted from the transmitting device 2, detecting a state abnormality of the management item from the received data, and issuing an abnormality detection signal, and an abnormality transferred from the receiving device 3. The monitoring device 5 receives the detection signal via the telephone line 4 and notifies the provider of the abnormality of the beverage dispenser and the corresponding measures.

The beverage supply machine 1 is configured to mix hot water or cold water with a beverage powder such as tea or coffee, and to supply and supply the eluted beverage to a cup placed at an outlet. In the beverage supply machine 1, a sensor (not shown) for checking the level of hot water or a cold water tank, a sensor for checking the state of water supply / drainage in the spouting path, the degree of consumption of powdered materials such as tea and coffee, and stocks in cup holders A sensor for checking the degree of wear of the paper cup, a sensor for checking the degree of contamination of the disinfecting cartridge of the disinfecting water purifier, and the like are provided so that a check necessary for maintenance can be performed. The maintenance data from each of these sensors is also collected by the transmitting device 2 installed in the beverage dispenser 1 and transmitted from the transmitting device 2 to the receiving device 3 by weak radio waves.

The receiving device 3 includes a memory (not shown) for storing data, and abnormality determining means for performing a management check on a predetermined management item based on the transmitted maintenance data. The memory can store maintenance data for about one month, and can be downloaded as accumulated management data. The abnormality determination means determines whether or not each part of the beverage supply machine 1 is operating normally and whether or not consumables such as paper cups are in a state to be replenished based on the maintenance data, and determines whether the abnormality or the replenishment state is satisfied. , An abnormality detection signal is output.

The receiving device 3 has a built-in modem and is connected via a telephone line 4 to a monitoring device 5 installed at a provider's office of the remote beverage dispenser 1. . When the abnormality determination means of the receiving device 3 outputs an abnormality detection signal, the abnormality detection signal
Is transferred to the monitoring device 5 through

The telephone line 4 is an existing one in the office where the beverage dispenser 1 is installed, and uses a terminal line of a telephone 6 which is usually used. Switching of the line of the receiving device 3 to the telephone 6 is automatically performed by the switch 7.

Using the existing telephone line 4 as described above,
By connecting to the monitoring apparatus 5 on the trader side, cost can be reduced as compared with the case where a dedicated line is laid. In addition, the maintenance data from the beverage dispenser 1 is once wirelessly transmitted from the transmission device 2 to the reception device 3 and then transferred to the monitoring device 5, thereby eliminating the need for new wiring from the existing telephone line. 1 can be installed at the optimal place in the office.

When the monitoring device 5 receives the abnormality detection signal transferred from the receiving device 3 as described above, the monitoring device 5 notifies the standby manager of the abnormality of the beverage dispenser 1 and the corresponding measures. If an emergency is required, a warning is issued to clearly notify the occurrence of an abnormal condition, and the display screen 5
The content of the abnormality and the corresponding measures are displayed on a. As the monitoring device 5, a dedicated device may be used, but in the present embodiment, the monitoring device 5 is configured as a host management device using a general-purpose personal computer and its peripheral devices.

Therefore, it is possible to install a large number of beverage dispensers 1 in a large number of offices and offices, and to receive maintenance data from each telephone line 4 to centrally manage the respective beverage dispensers 1. Also, by keeping a history of the maintenance work, the maintenance items can be made into a database and used for improving the service.

The administrator confirms the notification from the monitoring device 5 and immediately goes to the office where the beverage dispenser 1 is installed, replenishes the raw material powder and the like, and takes measures in response to an abnormal situation. It can be carried out. In this way, the manager can constantly monitor the operating state of the beverage supply machine 1 at each contracted office while staying at a remote location. If an abnormal situation occurs, the administrator can immediately supply, repair, etc. Therefore, quick and accurate service can be provided to the user.

Further, the maintenance information of the beverage dispenser 1 can be sent to the administrator as voice mail since the telephone line 4 is used. Therefore, the manager can transfer the received voice mail to the mobile phone of the traveling person in charge, so that the nearest person can be dispatched and a quicker response can be made. Furthermore, if the supply information to be input to the monitoring device 5 is transmitted to the portable management terminal of the person in charge of patrol as needed so that the degree of consumption of a paper cup or the like can be checked in real time, the supply information for each beverage supply machine can be checked. Since the required replenishment amount can also be grasped by the person in charge, more accurate replenishment work can be performed smoothly, and a detailed service can be provided.

[0024]

According to the beverage supply machine remote management system of the present invention, the operation state of the beverage supply machine can be grasped in real time by a remote manager, and it becomes necessary to supply consumables such as raw material powder. Or an abnormal condition occurs, the manager is immediately notified and the necessary measures are notified, so that the manager can be dispatched immediately to the installation location of the beverage dispenser to respond. It is possible to provide a more appropriate service for the trouble on the user side.

[0025] Therefore, as a business operator providing a beverage dispenser, it is possible to differentiate services from competitors and expand the business. On the other hand, the user of the beverage dispenser can receive fine-grained service and can use the beverage dispenser satisfactorily.

[0026] Further, by providing a transmission device in the beverage dispenser and transmitting the detection signal of the sensor once to a receiving device connected to the telephone line, regardless of the location of the terminal on the telephone line, Since the beverage dispenser can be installed in a place suitable for relaxing in the office, introduction and installation becomes easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a beverage supply machine remote management system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a beverage supply machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Beverage supply machine 1b Spout 2 Transmitting device 3 Receiving device 4 Telephone line 5 Monitoring device 6 Telephone 7 Switching device

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A beverage supply machine for mixing beverage powder such as tea or coffee with hot water or cold water to supply a beverage eluted to a cup placed at an outlet, and a beverage powder in the beverage supply machine. A sensor for detecting a state of a predetermined management item such as a supply state of a material or a cup, a state of water supply / drainage in a spouting path, a transmitting device for wirelessly transmitting a detection signal output from the sensor, and the transmitting device Receives the detection signal transmitted from the device, detects the abnormal state of the management item from the received detection signal, and, when the abnormal state is detected, has a function to transfer and report the abnormality detection signal via the telephone line. And a monitoring device that receives an abnormality detection signal transferred and notified via a telephone line from the receiving device, and notifies the abnormality of the beverage dispenser and a corresponding measure. Remote management system of fee feeder.