Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd.

Fiju Electric Co., Ltd.

Hajime Erikawa

Katsuhiko Fukuda

Tsutomu Iwako

Nobutoshi Migishima

Yohei Nishikawa

Hiroshi Yamamoto

Naoto Fukushima

Michihiko Makino

Norio Nakajima

Shirou Takeuchi

Yuji Tachi

Takashi Uzawa

Yasuhiko Miyata

Takuya Sakatoku

Tomoya Miyakoshi

Takuma Kakiuchi

Yoshiyuki Kato

A beverage extraction device includes: a cylinder, having a bottomed cylindrical shape, having a lower-surface opening which is closed with a bottom portion; a mesh member, having a disk shape, having a plurality of through holes, moving close to and away from the bottom portion to extract beverage from beverage raw material and hot water, fed through an upper-surface opening of the cylinder, so that the extracted beverage is discharged through an extraction passage connected to the bottom portion; an ultrasonic vibrator provided on the bottom portion; and a control unit, when a cleaning instruction is given, driving the ultrasonic vibrator in a state where the hot water is stored in the cylinder to apply ultrasonic waves to the hot water, and causing the mesh member to move close to and away from the bottom portion.

Beverage extraction device

An ice making device includes: an ice making part in which an evaporator is incorporated; a refrigerating circuit for ice making including a compressor, a condenser, an electronic expansion valve, and the evaporator, the refrigerating circuit being configured to circulate a refrigerant through the compressor, the condenser, the electronic expansion valve, and the evaporator in this order to produce ice in the ice making part; and a controller configured to increase a circulation amount of the refrigerant in the refrigerating circuit and then reduce the circulation amount in accordance with reduction in a cooling load in the ice making part when receiving an ice making command, and adjust the circulation amount such that a degree of superheat is equal to or lower than 2&#xb0; C.

Ice making device

A product storage device includes: a main gate that is swingably provided to advance and move away from a product storage column, that advances to an advanced position, and that allows a downstream-most product to be taken out; a sub-gate that is swingably provided in association with the main gate; a sliding member that regulates the main gate from moving away and retracting from the product storage column; and a lever that allows the sliding member to be present at a regulation position, that switches to a regulation posture which regulates the sliding member from returning to the regulation position, and that then, when the main gate moves away from the product storage column in response to a take-out operation, switches to a standby posture when the main gate advances to the product storage column to allow the sliding member to return to the regulation position.

Product storage device and automatic vending machine

An article dispensing apparatus includes an article discharging apparatus, which includes a base, an article storage passage storing articles, a lower pedal, and an upper pedal, an out-of-stock detection switch that is turned to a first state when the lower pedal is in a second standby position and that is turned to a second state when the lower pedal is in a position other than the second standby position; an output member putting the article discharging apparatus in the standby state and drives the article discharging apparatus when the output member rotates from the standby position; and a controller rotating the output member to return the output member to the standby position when the output member rotated from the standby position does not return to the standby position in a preset set time and when the out-of-stock detection switch is turned to the first state in the set time.

Article dispensing apparatus

A beverage extraction device includes a cylinder having a bottomed cylindrical shape; a piston member configured to move close to and away from a bottom portion of the cylinder, the beverage extraction device being configured to extract a beverage from a beverage raw material and hot water that are fed through an upper surface opening of the cylinder by a movement of the piston member and discharge the extracted beverage through a discharge passage connected to the bottom portion; and a cover member configured to move between a fully opened position and a fully closed position. The cover member includes a scraper portion configured to remove an extraction residue placed on the piston member closing the upper surface opening when the cover member moves from one to another of the fully opened position and the fully closed position.

A product storage device includes: a product storage column storing products aligned in a row in a product storage path; a first gate moving back from and forward to a most downstream area that is downstream of a most downstream product in the product storage path; a second gate disposed in an upstream side with respect to the first gate and moving back from and forward to the most downstream area; a gate operation mechanism keeping the first and second gates in a state of having moved forward to the most downstream area in a standby state and to allow them to move back from the most downstream area when an operation command is given; and a measuring unit measuring the number of taken-out products by counting the number of changes in at least one of the first and second gates from a backward movement to a forward movement.

Product storage device

An article ejecting device of an automatic vending machine includes an article storage rack having an article storage passage for storing articles while being laid sideways, a base board forming one side of the article storage passage, a first stopper member movable between a protruding position in which the first stopper member protrudes toward the article storage passage and a retractable position in which the first stopper member is retracted from the article storage passage, a second stopper member movable between a protruding position in which the second stopper member protrudes toward the article storage passage and a retractable position in which the second stopper member is retracted from the article storage passage, and an outlet adjustment member forming another side of the article storage passage. The first stopper member includes an article placement surface having a holding portion holding the first vending article in a rolling manner.

Article ejecting device of automatic vending machine

A product dispensing device includes: product accommodating passages; a dispensing mechanism which regulates a product from moving toward the downstream side in a standby state, and dispenses a product positioned at the most downstream side; a disc-shaped member which rotates in one or another direction; link members each of which has a standby attitude in a normal state to cause the dispensing mechanism to be in the standby state, and causes the dispensing mechanism to be driven when swinging from the standby attitude to have a dispensing attitude; and a hook member which causes the link member to swing to have the dispensing attitude when the disc-shaped member rotates in the one direction so that the distal end abuts against the link member, and retreats from the radially outer region when the disc-shaped member rotates in the other direction so that the distal end abuts against the link member.

Product dispensing device

A selective actuating apparatus involves a barrel rotated due to rotation of a driving motor , a revolving shaft A supporting rotatably the barrel , and a barrel rotated as a result of transmitting torque in the case where the barrel is rotated in a direction b indicated by an arrow wherein a cam section B is defined on the barrel . In this condition, when the barrel rotates in a direction a indicated by an arrow, the torque does not transmit to the barrel , but the barrel is allowed to displace along the revolving shaft A due to sliding motion in between a projection A formed on the barrel and a projection D formed on the inner circumference of the barrel in a stepped manner. As a result, the selective actuating apparatus by which a plurality of driving objects can be driven without requiring a plurality of driving sources, so that its driving system can be downsized is obtained.

Selective actuating apparatus

A drink cup supplying apparatus in which cup replenishing work can be conducted easily in a short time and also maintenance characteristic is improved. In the apparatus, the main body is enabled to be opened and closed in both faces by a pair of the front and back divided doors and Cup holding stands on which vertically piled cup groups are placed, are disposed in a cup holding unit in the main body in a state that they are arranged in connected plural rows and capable of moving circularly and intermittently. Cup take-out mechanisms are disposed inside the orbit X of the cup holding stands And, cup push-out-loading mechanisms which push out the cup groups placed on the cup holding stands to the cup take-out mechanisms for loading, are disposed on the reverse side of one divided door

Drink cup supplying apparatus

A link ( ) is moved to a perpendicular (upper) direction based on a driving force F and a pin ( ) provided on a link ( A) is moved along a guide groove ( ) to a position shown in FIG. . Since the link ( A) is pivotally connected to a supporting unit ( ) by a pin ( ), the pin ( ) can be moved along the guide groove ( ) to a horizontal direction shown by an arrow without any change of its perpendicular position. By the movement to the horizontal direction, a clockwise rotating power around the pin ( ) is generated in the link ( A). According to the cup type automatic vending machine of the invention, a cup transport mechanism can be driven by a small driving force, and the vending machine can be smaller without any deformation and circulation incapability of cups.

Cup type automatic vending machine

The operation of selecting one cup delivery section from a plurality of cup delivery sections is performed based on the rotation of a barrel in one direction. On the other hand, the operation of driving the selected one cup delivery section to feed a cup is selectively performed based on the rotation of the barrel in another direction. Thus, a cup feeding apparatus can be provided which can feed various cups without providing a plurality of drive sources and can realize excellent working efficiency of the assembly and the maintenance and inspection without increasing the apparatus cost.

Cup feeding apparatus

Vapor evaporated from plural mixing bowls are absorbed and exhausted by a box shaped vapor-exhausting chamber. The vapor-exhausting chamber is composed of an upper casing, a lower casing, and a panel provided with plural through-holes inserted between the upper and lower casings. The panel equalizes negative pressure applied to the plural mixing bowls, and functions as a filter for separating powdery material from vapor by making powdery material adhere to the panel. The powdery material-accumulated panel can be removed by disassembling the vapor-exhausting chamber, and cleaned up.

Vapor-exhausting mechanism of drink supply appliance

Cups stored in the automatic vending machine are released and dropped from a cup supply unit to a cup holding unit one at a time and drink is injected thereinto as selected by a customer. The cup holding unit holding the cup filled with drink is transported approximately horizontally by a front/back cup transport unit to a vertical cup transport unit. As the vertical cup transport unit lifts the cup upward, the vending door is opened to expose to the customer the upper portion of the cup out of the cup outlet, as if the cup were sitting on a counter table in the front of the vending machine.

Growing community of inventors

Kumagaya, Japan

Hajime Erikawa