JPH11149587A - Beverage supplying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a beverage supplying machine which easily and efficiently performs replenishing work of powder material to a material container, also secures sufficient capacity and efficiently contains the powder material. SOLUTION: A material container 2 in a machine body 1 of this beverage supplying machine consists of a container body 11 and an auxiliary container 12 that can be mounted on top of the body 11, the body 11 has an opening 16 for supplying powder material and an auger 14 for ejecting the powder material, and the container 12 has an opening 20 for replenishing the powder material and a shutter 21 for opening and closing the opening 20. Here, the container 12 is mounted on top of the body 11 with the opening 20 directed downward in inverted state to link the opening 20 of the container 12 to the opening 16 of the body 11 and the opening 20 of the container 12 is opened by the shutter 21 in this linkage state to connect the inside of the container 12 with the inside of the body 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage dispenser in which a raw material container is provided in an airframe, and a beverage is prepared using powdered raw material such as coffee discharged from the raw material container.
Particularly, the present invention relates to a beverage dispenser in which the structure of the raw material container is improved.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a beverage dispenser of this kind, for example, configured as a vending machine, a cup holding unit for holding a cup and a cup holding unit in predetermined positions are provided in a box-shaped body having an open front. , A cup supplying device for supplying cups of various sizes to the cup holding unit, a plurality of raw material containers for supplying various powder raw materials in the cup, and hot water for dissolution in the cup A hot water supply device and the like are provided.

[0003] The raw material container has a substantially hopper shape, and contains a powdered raw material such as coffee therein. A discharge port is formed in the lower front surface of the raw material container so as to protrude in a cylindrical shape,
An auger driven by a motor is provided on the inner bottom.

When a predetermined signal is input, the auger is driven by a motor to rotate for a predetermined time, and a predetermined amount of powdered material such as coffee in the raw material container is discharged from the discharge port by this rotation operation.

[0005] The powder raw material discharged from the discharge port is supplied into a cup disposed below the powder raw material. Then, if necessary, additives such as sugar and cream are supplied from another raw material container into the cup, and hot water is further supplied from a hot water supply device, and is stirred by a stirring device to prepare a beverage such as coffee. The beverage brewed cup is provided to a user of the beverage dispenser through an outlet on the front of the body of the beverage dispenser.

[0006] An opening for supplying powdered raw material is formed on the upper surface of the raw material container. When the amount of powdered raw material decreases, the powdered raw material is supplied from this opening. The powder raw material in the raw material container is supplied from the discharge port to the cup below the raw material by a dropping operation. Therefore, the raw material container is installed at the upper part in the machine body. However, when the upper surface of the raw material container is disposed close to the ceiling surface of the machine body, the space for replenishing the powder raw material from the opening on the upper surface is narrowed, and the replenishing operation becomes difficult. For this reason, the upper surface of the raw material container is inclined obliquely downward toward the front of the fuselage, and this inclination expands the front side of the upper surface of the raw material container so that the supply operation of the powder raw material can be easily performed.

[0007]

However, in this type of beverage supply machine, it is preferable in terms of management to reduce the frequency of replenishment of the powdery raw material to the raw material container, so that a large amount of the powdery raw material can be effectively stored in the raw material container. It is hoped that it can be accommodated. However, if the upper surface of the raw material container is inclined to secure a space for replenishing the powder raw material, the capacity is reduced by that amount, and the powder raw material storage efficiency is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of such a point, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily and efficiently supply a powder material to a material container and to secure a sufficient capacity. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage supply machine capable of efficiently storing a powder raw material.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a beverage container is provided in a body of a beverage supply machine, and a beverage is prepared by using a powdered material discharged from the raw material container. In the beverage vending machine, the raw material container includes a container main body and an auxiliary container that can be placed on the upper surface of the container main body, and the container main body has an opening for replenishing the powder raw material on the upper surface. The auxiliary container has an opening for replenishing the powder raw material on the upper surface, and an opening / closing means for opening and closing the opening, and the auxiliary container has an opening for opening the auxiliary container. The opening of the auxiliary container is connected to the opening of the container main body by placing the container on the upper surface of the container main body in the inverted state with the portion facing downward, and the opening of the auxiliary container is connected under the connected state. Open the opening and closing means to connect the inside of the auxiliary container and the container body. It is obtained as can be.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the upper surface of the container body is inclined obliquely downward toward the front surface of the body of the beverage dispenser, and the upper surface of the auxiliary container has an angle corresponding to the inclination of the upper surface of the container body. In the invention of claim 3, when the auxiliary container is placed upside down on the upper surface of the container main body, the uppermost wall surface of the auxiliary container is the It is arranged close to the ceiling of the fuselage.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an internal structure of a vending machine as an example of a beverage supply machine, and 1 is its body. The body 1 is formed in a box shape with an open front, and an opening / closing door (not shown) is pivotally connected to the front of the body 1 so that a sales outlet (not shown) is formed in the opening / closing door. ing.

A plurality of raw material containers 2 are provided side by side in the rear upper part of the inside of the machine body 1, and various kinds of powder raw materials such as coffee, cocoa, black tea, sugar and the like are individually accommodated in these raw material containers 2. Have been. Further, various devices and equipment such as a water heater 3 and an ice maker 4 are densely arranged in the body 1.

In the space below the front side of the raw material container 2,
Cup holding unit 5 and cup holding unit 5
There is provided a transport device 6 for moving in a horizontal XY direction and traveling around predetermined positions.

In addition, a bend stage 7 is provided at an open portion on the front surface of the body 1 so as to face the sales outlet, and a stirrer 9 having an impeller 8 which can move up and down is mounted on the bend stage 7. .

When the user of the vending machine operates the selection button corresponding to the desired beverage, the transport device 6
, The cup holding unit 5 is transported to the cup receiving position, and at this position, a cup of a predetermined size is supplied to the cup holding unit 5 from a cup supply device (not shown).

Next, the holding unit 5 holding the cup is transported to a position below the raw material container 2 in which the powdered raw material of the predetermined beverage is stored, and at this position, the predetermined powdered raw material is transferred from the raw material container 2 into the cup. Is supplied.

For example, when coffee is selected as a beverage, powdered coffee material is supplied into the cup. Thereafter, the cup holding unit 5 is conveyed into the bend stage 7, in which a predetermined amount of hot water is injected from the water heater 3 through the nozzle into the cup, and the impeller 8 of the stirring device 9 is moved into the cup. The contents of the cup are agitated by the rotation of the impeller 8 to mix the coffee. The coffee cup is then provided to the user of the vending machine through an outlet on the front of the vending machine.

As shown in FIG. 2, the raw material container 2 comprises a container body 11 and an auxiliary container 12 which can be placed on the upper surface of the container body 11. The container main body 11 has a substantially hopper shape, and a discharge port 13 projecting in a cylindrical shape is formed on a lower front surface. An auger 14 is provided at the inner bottom of the container body 11 so as to be disposed along the axis of the discharge port 13, and a motor 15 for driving the auger 14 is provided on the back side of the container body 11. The discharge port 13, the auger 14, and the motor 15 constitute discharging means for discharging the powder raw material in the container body 11.

The upper surface 11a of the container body 11 is inclined obliquely downward toward the front surface of the body 1, and the inclined upper surface 11a
An opening 16 for supplying the raw material powder is formed in a. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the auxiliary container 12 is placed upside down and placed on the upper surface 11a of the container body 11,
FIGS. 3 and 4 show a state in which the auxiliary container 12 is detached from the container main body 11 and arranged in a normal posture.

The auxiliary container 12 is formed in a substantially triangular shape in which the bottom surface 12b is horizontal and the upper surface 12a is inclined in one direction when in the upright posture. The angle of inclination of the upper surface 12a of the auxiliary container 12 and the angle of inclination of the upper surface 11a of the container body 11 correspond to each other, and the auxiliary container 12 is turned upside down so that the upper surface 12a is the upper surface of the container body 11. When placed along with 11 a, the bottom surface 12 b of the auxiliary container 12 is arranged parallel to and close to the ceiling surface of the body 1 while maintaining a horizontal state.

On the upper surface 12a of the auxiliary container 12, there is formed a convex portion 19 which can be fitted into the inner periphery of the opening 15 formed on the upper surface 11a of the container main body 11. Opening 20 is formed. The opening 20 is formed at a position near the lower end of the upper surface 12a when the auxiliary container 12 is inverted as shown in FIG.

The auxiliary container 12 is provided with a shutter 21 as opening and closing means for opening and closing the opening 20. The shutter 21 is slidably inserted into the projection 19 from the outside of the auxiliary container 12 through a slit 22 formed on a side surface of the projection 19, and the opening 20 is opened and closed by the sliding operation. ing.

Next, the operation of the raw material container 2 configured as described above will be described. When replenishing the raw material container 2 with the powder raw material, first, in a state where the container main body 11 and the auxiliary container 12 are separated, the upper surface 11a of the container main body 11 is separated.
The powdery raw material is supplied into the inside through the opening 16 and filled until it is almost full.

At this time, the upper surface 11a of the container main body 11 is inclined obliquely downward toward the front side of the body 1, so that the space between the near side of the upper surface 11a of the container body 11 and the ceiling surface of the body 1 is provided. As shown in FIG. 6, a relatively large space is secured as shown in FIG. 6, so that the powder raw material can be easily injected into the container main body 11 from the opening 16 in the upper surface 11a of the container main body 11.

On the other hand, an auxiliary container 12 different from the container body 11
3 and 4, the shutter 21 is pulled out to open the opening 20 under the normal posture as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and the powder material is supplied from the opening 20 to the inside. Fill until almost full. And after this filling,
The shutter 20 is pushed in to close the opening 20.

Next, the auxiliary container 12 is turned upside down as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 so that the convex portion 19 is directed downward, and the auxiliary container 12 is placed on the upper surface 11a of the container body 11 in this posture. The part 19 is fitted into the opening 16 of the container body 11.
After that, the shutter 19 is pulled out to open the opening 20 of the auxiliary container 12 as shown in FIG. Due to this opening, the inside of the auxiliary container 12 and the inside of the container main body 11 communicate with each other, so that the powder raw material in the auxiliary container 12 sequentially moves under its own weight into the container main body 11 according to the decrease of the powder raw material in the container main body 11. I do.

The opening 20 of the auxiliary container 12 is formed at a position near the lower end of the upper surface 12a, so that even when the amount of the powder material in the auxiliary container 12 is reduced to a small amount, the powder can be inclined by the inclination. The raw material flows out of the opening 20 into the container body 11 without interruption, so that the auxiliary container 12
Almost the entire amount of the powder raw material therein can be effectively transferred into the container body 11.

When the powder material in the container body 11 is sequentially discharged from the discharge port 13 and decreases, and the powder material in the auxiliary container 12 also moves into the container body 11 and becomes empty,
The auxiliary container 12 is removed from the container main body 11 again, and the powder raw material is supplied into the container main body 11 and the auxiliary container 12, respectively.

As described above, the container body 11 and the auxiliary container 12
By using (1) and (2), it is possible to secure a large capacity for accommodating the powder raw material and improve the storage efficiency, and therefore, it is possible to reduce the frequency of replenishment of the powder raw material and to operate the vending machine advantageously.

The space above the upper surface 11a of the container body 11 is reserved for the operation of replenishing the powdery raw material, but becomes useless after the replenishment operation. However, in the present invention, the auxiliary container 12 is placed on the container main body 11 by using a space that is not needed except during the replenishing operation. Therefore, the limited narrow space inside the body 1 of the vending machine is provided. This is particularly effective in that the efficiency of accommodating the powder raw material can be increased by effectively utilizing the space without waste.

In the case of a powdery raw material of a beverage that is not well sold, an appropriate amount of the powdery raw material is stored only in the container body 11 and the auxiliary container 12 is made empty in order to avoid deterioration in quality due to long-term storage. It can be used as a lid for covering the opening 16 in the container body 11 as it is.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In addition to being able to easily and efficiently supply powdered raw materials to the raw material containers, it is possible to efficiently store a large amount of powdered raw materials by using the limited narrow space inside the body of the beverage supply machine without waste. It works.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the internal structure of a beverage supply machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a raw material container provided in the body of the beverage supply machine.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an auxiliary container in the raw material container.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the auxiliary container.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the auxiliary container upside down.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the auxiliary container is placed on a container main body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Body 2 ... Raw material container 11 ... Container main body 12 ... Auxiliary container 13 ... Discharge port 14 ... Auger 15 ... Motor 16 ... Opening 20 ... Opening 21 ... Shutter

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A beverage supply machine in which a raw material container is provided in a body of a beverage supply machine, and a beverage is prepared using a powder raw material discharged from the raw material container, wherein the raw material container comprises a container body and the container An auxiliary container that can be placed on the upper surface of the main body, wherein the container main body has an opening for replenishing the powder raw material on the upper surface, and a discharge means for discharging the powder raw material on the lower part, The container has an opening for replenishing the powdery raw material on the upper surface, and an opening / closing means for opening and closing the opening, and the auxiliary container is placed on the upper surface of the container body in an inverted state with the opening directed downward. The opening of the auxiliary container is connected to the opening of the container main body, and the opening of the auxiliary container is opened by the opening / closing means in this connection state to allow communication between the inside of the auxiliary container and the inside of the container main body. Beverage supply machine characterized in that: 2. The upper surface of the container body is inclined obliquely downward toward the front surface of the body of the beverage supply machine, and the upper surface of the auxiliary container is inclined at an angle corresponding to the inclination of the upper surface of the container body. The beverage dispenser according to claim 1, wherein: 3. When the auxiliary container is placed upside down on the upper surface of the container main body, the uppermost wall surface of the auxiliary container is arranged close to the ceiling surface of the body of the beverage dispenser. The beverage supply machine according to claim 1, wherein: