VENDING MACHINE FOR FRUIT JUICE AND CONTROLLING METHOD THEREOF
First Claim
1. An automatic vending machine for fruit juice, comprising:
- a main body, standing upright on a support surface and provided therein with a fruit storage unit for storing fresh fruit in a refrigerated state and a fruit feeding unit for feeding stored fresh fruit in the main body;
a rotary arm unit installed at a predetermined location inside the main body and comprising two rotary arms that rotate in opposite directions such that the fresh fruit, fed by the fruit feeding unit, is seated and held by the rotary arms;
a fruit cutting unit installed below the rotary arm unit and provided with a blade for cutting the fruit, held by the two rotary arms, into two pieces when the fruit is moved downwards;
a fruit crushing unit installed below the fruit cutting unit and provided with two crushing bars, which are placed vertically and crush the fruit pieces held by the two rotary arms to make fruit juice when the two rotary arms holding the respective fruit pieces are rotated downwards and move downwards; and
a control unit provided on the main body at a predetermined location and recognizing an input bill or an input coin and controlling the vending machine in accordance with manipulation of a user.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An automatic vending machine for fruit juice and a control method thereof. The vending machine includes a main body having both a fruit storage unit for storing fresh fruit in a refrigerated state and a fruit feeding unit for feeding stored fresh fruit in the main body; a rotary arm unit having two rotary arms that rotate in opposite directions such that the fresh fruit, fed by the fruit feeding unit, is seated and held by the two rotary arms; a fruit cutting unit installed below the rotary arm unit and having a blade for cutting the fruit, held by the two rotary arms, into two pieces when the fruit is moved downwards; a fruit crushing unit installed below the fruit cutting unit and having two crushing bars, which are placed vertically and crush the fruit pieces held by the two rotary arms to make fruit juice when the two rotary arms holding the respective fruit pieces are rotated downwards and move downwards; and a control unit for recognizing an input bill or an input coin and controlling the vending machine in accordance with manipulation of a user.
-
Citations
17 Claims
-
1. An automatic vending machine for fruit juice, comprising:
-
a main body, standing upright on a support surface and provided therein with a fruit storage unit for storing fresh fruit in a refrigerated state and a fruit feeding unit for feeding stored fresh fruit in the main body; a rotary arm unit installed at a predetermined location inside the main body and comprising two rotary arms that rotate in opposite directions such that the fresh fruit, fed by the fruit feeding unit, is seated and held by the rotary arms; a fruit cutting unit installed below the rotary arm unit and provided with a blade for cutting the fruit, held by the two rotary arms, into two pieces when the fruit is moved downwards; a fruit crushing unit installed below the fruit cutting unit and provided with two crushing bars, which are placed vertically and crush the fruit pieces held by the two rotary arms to make fruit juice when the two rotary arms holding the respective fruit pieces are rotated downwards and move downwards; and a control unit provided on the main body at a predetermined location and recognizing an input bill or an input coin and controlling the vending machine in accordance with manipulation of a user. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 15, 16, 17)
-
-
10. A method of controlling an automatic vending machine for fruit juice, comprising:
-
determining a value of an input bill or coin, a kind and amount of fresh fruit selected by a consumer and a presence of a cup; when a cup and selected fresh fruit are present in the vending machine, feeding the selected fruit, cutting the fruit into two pieces while holing the fruit, crushing the two pieces of the cut fruit into fruit juice, discharging peels of the crushed fruit and returning rotary arms to original positions thereof; and transmitting information about the kind and amount of sold fruit juice to a terminal, located at a place distant from the vending machine, and receiving a control signal output from the terminal and controlling the vending machine according to the input control signal.
-
-
11. A method of controlling an automatic vending machine for fruit juice, the vending machine comprising first and second rotary arms rotated in opposite directions to hold fed fresh fruit, a rotary arm base supporting the first and second rotary arms thereon and movably installed in a main body of the vending machine, a blade installed between the two rotary arms, a first drive unit for rotating the first and second rotary arms in opposite directions, a second drive unit for moving the rotary arm base upwards and downwards, two crushing bars vertically oriented below the first and second rotary arms such that the crushing bars correspond to the first and second rotary arms, respectively, a filtering net placed below the crushing bars and removing a solid fraction from fruit juice, a peel discharge tray for discharging peels of crushed fruit remaining on the first and second rotary arms, and a control unit electrically connected to the first and second rotary arms and controlling the first and second rotary arms, the method comprising:
-
determining whether fruit is dropped into a fruit holder of the first rotary arm, and when fruit has been dropped into the fruit holder of the first rotary arm, operating a gripper of the first rotary arm to hold the fruit, and operating the first drive unit to rotate the first and second rotary arms inwards, thus holding the fruit between the first and second rotary arms; operating the second drive unit to move the rotary arm base downwards, thus moving the first and second rotary arms holding the fruit downwards, and cutting the fruit into two pieces using the blade placed below the rotary arm base; and controlling the first drive unit such that the facing first and second rotary arms are rotated downwards to be oriented vertically, and controlling the second drive unit such that the rotary arm base is moved downwards, and the pieces of the cut fresh fruit, held by the first and second rotary arms, are crushed between the first and second rotary arms and the crushing bars, thus making fruit juice. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14)
-
Specification