Vending machine for hot or cold food products, blocks compartment door when product inside is no longer fresh

DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a device for dispensing hot or cold food products intended for sale, comprising a housing containing at least one compartment openable through a door, suitable for receiving a food product;

cash input means, which allow opening of a compartment after introduction of a money supply with a value equal to the price of the food product.

Such a device is generally known and is also frequently used for dispensing food products prepared with heat, such as hot snacks (croquettes, frikadels, meatballs, etc.) or cold snacks (sandwiches, etc.). Such a device is frequently used in public places such as stations and the like, the device being incorporated in a wall or furniture, so that only the front of the device is accessible to the public.

The public can, by inserting or entering a suitable amount of money with a value at least equal to the price of a desired food product, open the door of the compartment in which the food product is located, after which the user can take the food product out of the compartment. Furthermore, the known dispensing device can be provided with money-returning means.

Because the doors are usually fitted with a glass pane, it is easy for the public to see which of the compartments are empty and in which compartment a food product is still present, and on the other hand the operator of the dispensing device at the rear can side is shielded from the public, simply provide the empty compartments with a fresh, freshly prepared food product.

A major drawback associated with current dispensing devices is hygiene. Not only are such devices difficult to clean, but above all it is difficult for the public to determine whether the product contained in a compartment is still fresh and therefore suitable for consumption. There are hygiene regulations containing guidelines regarding the duration of stay of a prepared food product in a compartment of the establishment. Strictly from a hygiene point of view, a food product known to have been in the compartment for too long should be removed from the compartment and discarded by the operator.

However, not only does the public often not know how long a certain food product has been in the compartment, the operator of the issuing device in question is not always able to accurately determine at what time a freshly prepared food product in a compartment. is placed, how long the food product has been in the relevant compartment and whether or not the food product meets the freshness requirements and is therefore still eligible for sale to the public.

The above-mentioned problems are further exacerbated with a dispensing device with a low dispensing frequency: in such an arrangement, the heated food products remain in a relevant compartment for a relatively long time and the probability of a food product whose freshness can no longer be guaranteed can be guaranteed. certainly present.

The object of the invention is precisely to provide an dispensing device according to the above preamble, which does not have these drawbacks.

According to the invention, the device is characterized for this purpose in that it further comprises control means which block the opening of the compartment if the residence time of the hot or cold food product contained in the compartment has exceeded a predetermined maximum residence time.

This property of the dispensing device according to the invention prevents a hot or cold food product, which remains in a compartment for too long and which can no longer be sold to the public by a person after import, on the basis of the hygiene rules given. of the correct amount of money can be withdrawn from the compartment.

The moment the control means and find that a hot or cold food product has been in the compartment for too long, that is to say longer than the predetermined and set maximum residence time, then by blocking the door of the compartment this can no longer be considered fresh. qualified food is no longer taken out by the public. The public is therefore no longer confronted with a food product that may no longer be fresh, but can instead assume that any food product that can be taken out of a compartment meets the hygiene requirements with regard to freshness.

In a more specific embodiment, the dispensing device according to the invention is characterized in that the control means comprise adjusting means for setting for each compartment the maximum residence time of the food product contained in the compartment concerned. This property makes the dispensing device according to the invention more versatile, because it allows each compartment to be individually adjusted for a specific food product. The latter is in particular very functional in an issuing device where different types of food products are accommodated in the different compartments.

According to a specific feature of the dispensing device according to the invention, it is characterized in that the control means comprise a time base for determining the instantaneous residence time of a food product contained in the compartment.

A more flexible embodiment, in which the influence of the environment on the food product contained in a compartment and, therefore, the influence on the freshness and the maximum residence time thereof, is taken into account, is characterized in that the control means are arranged for the basis of the prevailing temperature adjust the maximum residence time. The control means herein comprise at least one temperature sensor, which is included in the relevant compartment.

In a special embodiment, the dispensing device according to the invention is characterized in that the control means are adapted to zero the instantaneous residence time when the hot food product contained in the compartment has been taken out by a user, more particularly the control means for at least one a compartment hearing and zero adjustment switch operable by the operator of the dispensing device.

With this functionality, any empty compartment can be manually reset by the operator (via the zero set switch) or fully automatically by the control means for a new, freshly prepared food product, which is placed in the empty compartment by the operator. Zeroing each compartment after taking out the food product ensures that each food product is actually available to the public for its maximum (adjustable) residence time. An unexpected premature blocking of the door of the relevant compartment (if zero or reset has not taken place) is thus avoided.

In order to prevent the dispensing of a food product, the freshness of which can no longer be guaranteed (because it has been contained in a compartment for too long), the dispensing device according to the invention is characterized in that the device comprises the control means and actuable blocking means for blocking the door of a compartment. In a specific embodiment, these blocking means comprise a blocking catch, which catch can be inserted into an opening present in the door.

More specifically, the blocking means for each compartment includes a solenoid switch actuatable by the control means and which, upon actuation, moves the blocking pawl into the opening. Thus, with this construction, a simple yet safe blocking of the door of a compartment, in which too long a hot food product has been incorporated, can be blocked, so that the door is prevented by a person (customer).

In a highly functional embodiment, the blocking pawl forms the armature of the solenoid switch.

In another embodiment, the blocking means adjacent each door of a compartment comprises a sensor, which sensor does not actuate the central unlocking mechanism of the dispenser when it detects the opening of the door to be blocked.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to a drawing, which successively shows:

Figure 1A is a front view of a prior art heated food product dispenser;

Figure 1B shows a cut-away view of the dispensing device according to Figure 1A;

Figure 2 shows a first embodiment of an issuing device according to the invention;

Figure 3 is a partial view of the control means and of an dispensing device according to the invention.

For a better understanding of the invention, in the figures of the following figure description, the corresponding parts are indicated by those reference numerals.

In Figure 1A, a front view is disclosed of a prior art heated or cooled food product dispenser. The dispensing device 1 comprises a housing 10 with a front 11, which is often designed as a door and can therefore be folded outwards (see also figure 1B).

The known dispensing device shown in Figures 1A and 1B comprises eight compartments 14 in this embodiment₁-14₈ in which a hot or cold food product can be incorporated.

The front 11 is freely accessible to the public, while the rear of the dispenser is shielded from the public and concealed in a wall of, for example, a public place, for example a station.

Each compartment 14j-14₈ is equipped with a lockable rear 18_X-18₈, so that the operator through the back covers 18j-18₈ can place a freshly prepared food product in the appropriate compartment. On the public side 11, each compartment is 14₁-14₈ closed by means of a door 12_X-12₈, which usually 1s with a glass window or glass pane, so that the food product contained within the relevant compartment can be visually inspected by an interested customer.

In order to take out a food product contained in the compartment, the prior art issuing device also has cash input means 15 intended for inserting coins or banknotes up to a value equal to the price of the money in a particular compartment 14j-14.₈ included food product. When the entered monetary value equals the price of a hot food product contained in a compartment, the central blocking of the doors 12 ^ 128 is released, so that the person concerned can make his choice by opening one of the doors 12_χ-12₈ using the handles 13 ^ 13 ^

Figure 2 shows an embodiment of an issuing device according to the invention, wherein the

1024553 corresponding parts with identical reference numbers are indicated.

According to the invention, the extension device is provided with control means 15, which are adapted to block a specific door 12, 12, of the relevant compartment 14_X5 14_e if the residence time of the hot food product included in the relevant compartment has exceeded a predetermined maximum residence time. The control means 15 herein comprise a storage medium, for example an EPROM or other suitable storage medium, such as a memory in which for the device 10 as a whole or for each separate compartment 14! -14_e a maximum residence time for a certain food product can be entered or stored. However, it is also possible to arrange the control means 15 in such a way that it is possible to store on a storage medium for each compartment 14.₁-14_e program a separate dwell time, for example if the device 10 is used for different food products.

To this end, the control means 15 have adjustment means 23 shown as an (alpha) numerical keyboard 23b arranged on the rear of the device and a screen 23a which are connected to the control means 15 by means of a signal connection line 16. With the aid of this (alpha) numeric keyboard, the operator of the issuing device can easily set the control means with regard to the maximum residence time associated with each compartment. 14_r14₈ (or a residence time for the entire device 10 if the same food product is included in all compartments).

The operator of the dispensing device according to the invention can also use the (alpha) numeric keyboard 23b to set the time base for the device 10 or a separate compartment 14! -14_ezeros when he goes through the back door 18₁-18_e (see figure 1B) a freshly prepared hot food product in one of the compartments 14_t-14_a places. The moment there is a fresh hot

10245S3 food product is contained in one of the compartments 14 ^ 1¾, the control means and on the basis of the then starting time base will monitor the current residence time of the relevant food product in the relevant compartment and continuously compare it with the maximum residence time stored in the storage means 5, that belongs to the relevant food product.

As long as this maximum residence time for the relevant food product in one of the compartments 14i-14_e third parties have not yet expired, by inserting or entering coins or notes and by opening the door 12 ^ 128 of the relevant compartment 14! -14₈ take out the warm food product contained therein. The withdrawal of a food product from one of the compartments Mj-Mg can be detected by suitable means, for example by means of a switch which is connected to the door 12₁-12_e and which switch functions, for example, on the basis of breaking or making an electrical contact or interrupting a light path. Detecting the removal of a hot food product by a user can furthermore be signaled visually or audibly at the rear of the dispensing device by the operator who then places a new fresh food product (possibly of a different type of product) in the released compartment 14j. 14₈ can place.

Opening one of the doors 12! -12₈ a user can also be a signal for resetting the time base associated with the respective compartment. However, in order to avoid errors, it is preferable that the zero setting of the time base associated with the respective compartment is done by the operator. As mentioned earlier, this can be done via the (alpha) numeric keypad 23 or via a specific zero-setting button, which is located on the back of the device 10 next to each back door 18._t-18_e of the relevant compartment 14₁-14_e is placed. You can also remove a product from one of the compartments by means of sound or a flashing light next to each rear door._e be made known to the operator.

As long as the associated food product is contained in one of the compartments 14, -14_s the corresponding maximum residence time has not yet been exceeded by the time base, the food product concerned can be safely consumed by a user.

However, fried food products in particular are characterized by their limited freshness and can therefore, for hygiene reasons and on the basis of legal regulations, only be available in a compartment for the public or a user for a limited period of time. After the maximum residence time has elapsed, the freshness of the product concerned can no longer be guaranteed and the product must actually be removed from the compartment in order to prevent a user from consuming it.

To avoid unexpectedly leaving a food product in a compartment for too long 14₁-14₈ and is still taken out of the compartment in question by a user, the dispensing device according to the invention is provided with blocking means 19, -19₈, which or all at once all doors 12, -128 of each compartment

14, -148 or are adapted to block one of the doors 12, -12 separately₈ of compartments 14, -14_e.

In other words, the blocking means are intended to block one of the compartments 14, -14₈ for the public in the situation that the predetermined maximum residence time of one hot or cold food product contained in the relevant compartment has been exceeded.

As already explained above, the residence time of the food product in each compartment becomes 14-14_e monitored by the control means 15 on a time basis. The moment the food product in, for example, compartment 14_s longer than its predetermined maximum residence time is present in the compartment without being taken out by a user, the control means and 15 after the detection thereof via the signal line 17, the relevant blocking means 19₅ after which the door in question 12_s of the compartment 14₅ is blocked from being opened from the outside by a user.

The blocking of the compartment door can be signaled to the user (and operator) by means of a signal (sound, light).

The blocking means can be used in all kinds of different embodiments and a specific embodiment consists of the use of an electromagnetic or solenoid switch 19_r19_e that on the inside of the front 11 of the device 10 directly next to the relevant door 12! -12₈ is mounted. At the moment of actuation by the control means 15 of the electromagnetic switch, the latter will actuate a locking catch which is provided in an opening 21, -21, arranged in the door 12j-12.₈ and thus block the opening of the relevant door.

In a very specific embodiment, the locking catch is formed by the magnetic core or armature 20, -20₈ of the electromagnetic switch which can be moved back and forth through the electromagnetic coil. For specific control of the blocking means 19, -19₈ during normal operation the electromagnetic switches 19, -198 are continuously energized, so that the armature or the magnetic core 20! -20₈ is in a retracted position and therefore - whether or not via an additional locking catch - does not block doors 12, -128.

When it is determined by the control means that the maximum residence time of a product contained in a compartment is exceeded, the control means 15 are arranged for simply decoupling the solenoid valve 19j-19₈ by switching off the supply voltage applied to the electromagnetic switch. The loss of the supply voltage leads to that

1024523 the magnetic core 20! -20₈ is no longer counteracted by the electromagnetic force and under the influence of a spring (not shown) automatically activates the locking catch or otherwise directly in the relevant opening 21_t-21₈ of the doors 12j-12₈ falls and thus blocks the relevant compartment.

This embodiment also provides an additional safety aspect if the complete supply voltage of the dispenser 10 is lost and thus all doors 12i-12₈ of compartments 14! -14₈ blocked from the outside and can therefore no longer be approached from the outside by the public.

In another embodiment of the blocking means, the blocking means adjacent each door 12-12₈ of a compartment 14_r14₈ a sensor, which sensor does not actuate the central unlocking mechanism of the dispenser when detecting the opening of the door to be blocked.

Each dispenser has a central unlocking mechanism for the doors 12₁-12₈ of the compartments 14_t-14₈. This unlocking mechanism always unlocks the door of the compartment that a user wishes to open. The relevant door is usually unlocked when the user pulls the door in question to open it. Each door 12 ^ 126 has a little play.

When the door starts to open, the unlocking mechanism only allows opening the door in question and the other doors 12! -12₈ of the compartments 14₁-14_eblocks. This prevents a user from opening all compartments 14 ^ 14 (after inserting money which is only enough for the purchase of one product.

In the alternative embodiment of the blocking means, near each door is 12₁-12_a a sensor is provided, which in particular is a magnetic sensor. Because of the play that each door 12j-12₈ opening (or attempted) of door 12! -12₈ relative displacement of the door relative to the sensor. With the magnetic sensor, this relative displacement results in a disturbance of a small magnetic field and in the delivery of a signal by the (magnetic) sensor to the control means and.

If a compartment to be blocked 14i * 14_e if an attempt is made to open, the control means will not actuate the central unlocking mechanism, so that the door concerned remains closed and thus blocked.

For example, in another embodiment, the control means 15 may also contain a list in the storage means, with the maximum residence time of various types of food products, which is often legally imposed, stored therein, which is stored in one of the compartments₈ can be recorded. When placing a certain type of food product in one of the compartments, the operator can simply enter, via the input means 23, a code associated with the relevant food product, together with the compartment number, so that the maximum residence time for the product in question in the relevant compartment is immediately known.

The use of a table or list in the storage means that form part of the control means 15 makes the operation of the device according to the invention a lot easier for the operator, since he no longer has to use the maximum residence time via the input means 23 for each food product. but it is sufficient to enter a code corresponding to the food product concerned and the compartment number.

Moreover, this additional technical aspect also excludes abuse, because the operator can no longer enter the maximum residence time. The operator can therefore not commit fraud by overruling the device by deliberately introducing a very long maximum residence time for each product, which is many times longer than the actual maximum residence time permitted from a hygienic point of view.

In figure 3 a view of the control means 23 is shown. Reference numeral 28 denotes an ON / OFF button. The control means 23 have a display (LCD screen) 23a for presenting relevant information regarding the status of the dispensing device according to the invention. As can be done for any compartment 14_r14₈ both the temperature in 'C (LINE 1) and the maximum residence time (or remaining residence time) of the food product contained in the compartment are shown to the operator. The relevant compartment 14_r14₈ the status of which is presented in the display 23a can be indicated by means of a series of lamps 25.

In addition to the series of lamps 25, a series of buttons (not shown) can also be arranged, so that the operator can press the relevant compartment 14j-14 by pressing one of the buttons._B selects to request status (temperature / maximum or remaining residence time).

The selection of a compartment can also be done by means of the programming buttons 27. Programming buttons 27 (denoted by 1, 2, “δ and“ E) also allow each compartment to be programmed after selection with regard to the maximum residence time and the minimum (or maximum) temperature allowed in the compartment before the respective compartment is blocked.

The temperature can optionally also be set using the +^you and buttons 26. The control unit 23 may also be provided with one or more zero set buttons (not shown) for the compartments.

It will be clear that with such a dispensing device according to the invention a versatile device is obtained which meets the strict requirements that are nowadays placed on offering freshly prepared hot food products for sale! 324563 and which also meets all strict legal hygiene and environmental requirements. The unexpected consumption of a product that is not considered fresh is thus also prevented.