JP2640019B2 - Beverage vending machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (A) Industrial application field The present invention relates to a cooking mechanism in which a cup in which a beverage is stored is lifted by a moving stage and a cup is taken out by a moving stage. It relates to a beverage vending machine protruding from the mouth.

(B) Conventional technology In general, in a beverage vending machine that stores beverages in cups and sells them to customers, a cup outlet is formed to open to the outer wall surface of the housing, and a cup outlet is provided. The door member which opens and closes is attached.

This door member is usually mounted so as to be slidable up and down or left and right with respect to the cup outlet, or rotatably mounted around the upper end or side end of the cup outlet. I have.

(C) Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with such a structure of the cup take-out opening, in order for the customer to take out the cup, it takes time and effort to open and close the door member, resulting in an inconvenience of poor usability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a problem of the conventional apparatus, and an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage vending machine which can reduce the trouble of removing a cup from a cup removing port.

4 (d) Means for Solving the Problems According to the present invention, the cooking mechanism is located below the cup take-out port, and the cup in which the beverage is stored by the cooking mechanism is raised by the moving stage and protrudes from the cup take-out port. In the beverage vending machine, a cover member formed on an inclined surface inclined toward the customer side, a cup outlet formed on the cover member, and a shape of the cover member and the inclined surface are similar and the cup outlet is similar. A shutter member that can be closed, a moving unit that moves the shutter member in the opening and closing direction of the cup outlet, and a cup sensor that is disposed inside the cover member and detects a lower end of the cup that is raised by a moving stage. It is provided with.

(E) Action Therefore, since the cup outlet is opened in the cover member formed on the inclined surface inclined toward the customer side, even if the sensor for detecting the lower end of the cup is arranged inside the cover member, Can be provided with the cup protruding greatly.

(F) Example Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a vending machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In the drawing, a cup outlet 4 for taking out a cup 3 containing a beverage is formed substantially at the center of the entire surface 2a of the housing 2 of the vending machine 1, and a cup outlet 4 is provided below the cup outlet 4. Inside the housing 2 on the side, a cooking mechanism (not shown) for accommodating a beverage in a cup is provided.

When the beverage is stored in the cooking mechanism, the cup 3 is conveyed from the cooking mechanism by an up / down mechanism (not shown), protrudes from the cup outlet 4, and is provided to the customer.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show an example of the mechanism of the cup outlet 4. FIG.

The cup outlet 4 is formed at substantially the center of a spherical cover member 5 attached to the concave portion 2b of the front surface 2a. Inside the cover member 5, the spherical surface of the cover member 5 and the center PC are provided. A shutter member 6 is also provided in which a part of the spherical surface where.

The shutter member 6 is fixed to a shaft 7 whose longitudinal direction coincides with a vertical line passing through the center PC.
The power of the motor 9 is transmitted via the speed reduction mechanism 8. A cup sensor 10 including a pair of light-emitting elements and a light-receiving element for detecting the cup 3 is provided inside the shutter member 6. The moving mechanism 11 is for moving the cup 3 from the cooking mechanism to the cup take-out port 4, and is stopped at the position indicated by the broken line in the drawing during standby.

As shown in FIG. 3, the shutter member 6 is formed with an opening 12 having a size slightly larger than the diameter of the cup 3. It is formed in a substantially elongated hole that is large in the moving direction.

Therefore, when the motor 9 is driven, its power is transmitted to the shaft 7 via the speed reduction mechanism 8, whereby the shaft 7 rotates in a direction corresponding to the driving direction of the motor 9, and the shutter member 6 moves the cup removing port. It moves in four opening and closing directions.

Here, in the standby state, the shutter member 6 is stopped at the position shown by the solid line in FIG.
Rotated in the counterclockwise direction in the figure, the opening 12 is moved
It stops when it comes to a state just above 11.

Thereby, the moving mechanism 11 is opened to the outside through the opening 12 of the shutter member 6 and the cup outlet 4, and
The cup 3 placed on the moving mechanism 11 can be provided to the customer.

At this time, the dust 13 riding on the upper surface of the shutter member 6 through the cup outlet 4 moves along with the movement of the shutter member 6, and the end of the cup outlet 4 on the moving direction side of the shutter member 6, that is, the right end in the drawing. When the shutter member 6 is moved to the position above and abutted on the end portion and is hooked, the position is thereafter maintained even if the shutter member 6 moves.

Therefore, the dust 13 riding on the shutter member 6 remains in a portion having a dimensional difference between the cup outlet 4 and the opening 12, thereby preventing the dust 13 from entering the inside of the cup 3 through the opening 12.

If the size of the opening 12 is formed to be larger than the opening of the cup outlet 4, when the cup outlet 4 is opened, the dust 13 riding on the shutter member 6 is removed by the difference in size between the cup 3 and the cup outlet 4. Can be collected in parts,
Therefore, the dust 13 can be prevented from falling into the inside of the cup 3.

With the above configuration, at the time of selling standby, the shutter member 4 closes the cup outlet 4 and the movement standby 11
It stops at the position shown in FIG.

In this state, when the customer inputs the effect and presses the selling button to instruct the beverage vending machine to sell the beverage, the control device (not shown) moves the moving mechanism 11 to the cup indicated by the broken line in FIG. While moving downward to the storage position, the cooking mechanism adds a cup 3 to the beverage specified by the sales button.
Housed in

When the designated beverage of the cup 3 is stored, the control device:
The cup 3 is moved to and placed on the moving mechanism 11 by a transport mechanism (not shown) (see FIG. 4A).

As described above, at the timing immediately before the placement of the cup 3 on the moving mechanism 11 is completed, the control device drives the motor 9 in the opening direction, moves the shutter member 6 in the opening direction, and closes the opening 12. It moves to a position directly above the moving mechanism 11.

When the shutter member 6 opens the cup removing port 4 in this way, the control device raises the moving mechanism 11 to move the cup 3 as shown by the solid line in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). Protrude from the outlet 4.

In this state, the lower end of the cup 3 is located at a position higher than the lowermost end of the cup outlet 4, so that the customer can take out the cup 3 without hooking on the edge of the cup outlet 4. be able to.

Thus, when the customer takes out the cup 3, the cup sensor 10 does not detect the cup 3, so the control device
The moving mechanism 11 is lowered to the standby position, and the shutter member 6 is moved in the closing direction to close the cup outlet 4.

In this way, the customer can easily take out the cup 3 from the cup outlet 4.

Further, since the size of the cup outlet 4 is larger than the diameter of the cup 3 and a margin is formed in the moving direction of the shutter member 6, dust on the shutter member 6 falls into the cup 3. Can be prevented.

Further, since the cover member 5 and the shutter member 6 form a part of the same spherical surface having the same center PC, the gap between the cover member 5 and the shutter member 6 can be made very small. It prevents dust from entering the interior.

In addition, since the cup sensor 10 for detecting the cup 3 is provided inside the shutter member 6, it is possible to prevent the cup sensor 10 from being stained by dust, insects, or drinks that have entered from the outside. Therefore, the cup 3 can be appropriately detected.

By the way, in the above-described embodiment, a shape obtained by cutting a part of a spherical surface is used as the shape of the cup outlet and the shutter member, but this shape may be any inclined surface that is inclined toward the customer side. However, it is not limited to this.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the shutter member is fixed to the shaft that stands in the vertical direction, and the shutter member is moved in the opening and closing direction by rotating this shaft. However, it is not limited to this.

In the description of the above-described embodiment, parts not directly related to the present invention are omitted.

(G) Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the present invention, since the cup outlet is formed in the cover member formed on the inclined surface inclined toward the customer side, the sensor for detecting the lower end of the cup is provided. Even if is disposed inside the cover member, since the cover member is inclined toward the customer side, the cup can be provided in a state in which the cup is largely protruded to the customer side, and the cup can be easily and reliably provided. Can be taken out. In addition, since the cup sensor is not exposed to the outside, it is possible to prevent the cup sensor from being stained with outside dust, spilled liquid of a beverage, or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a beverage vending machine according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 (a) is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a peripheral mechanism of a cup outlet, and FIG. Front view,
FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an example of a shutter member, FIG. 4 (a) is a schematic sectional view for explaining an operation at the time of taking out a cup, and FIG. 2 ... housing, 2a ... front, 2b ... recess, 3 ... cup,
4 cup outlet 5 cover member 6 shutter member 7 shaft 8 deceleration mechanism 9 motor 10 cup sensor 11 moving mechanism 12 Opening, 13 ... dust.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A beverage vending machine in which a cooking mechanism is positioned below a cup take-out port, and the cooking mechanism lifts a cup containing a beverage by a moving stage and projects the cup from the cup take-out port toward a customer side. A cover member formed on an inclined surface, a cup outlet formed in the cover member, a shutter member similar in shape to the cover member and the inclined surface capable of closing the cup outlet, and a shutter member Beverage selling, comprising: moving means for moving the cup in the opening and closing direction of the cup outlet; and a cup sensor disposed inside the cover member and detecting a lower end of the cup raised by a moving stage. Machine.