A cup and lid dropping machine
By using a lid-dropping assembly and transmission structure composed of internal gears and half-gears, the problem of lid jamming and multiple lids falling off when adapting to different sizes of cup lids in existing cup lid dropping machines is solved, achieving efficient and reliable cup lid separation and dispensing.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- 杭州仟源科技有限公司
- Filing Date
- 2025-08-29
- Publication Date
- 2026-07-17
AI Technical Summary
Existing cup and lid dispensing machines have problems such as lid jamming, multiple lids falling at the same time, or lids tilting and getting stuck when adapting to different sizes of cups and lids, resulting in low food serving efficiency and the need for manual intervention.
The lid-dropping assembly consists of an internal gear, six equally spaced circumferentially distributed half-gears, and an arc-shaped trapezoidal extrusion plate. The internal gear drives the half-gears to rotate synchronously, and the extrusion plate precisely inserts into the gap between stacked lids to achieve flexible separation. Combined with the transmission assembly, it ensures that only a single lid is separated each time.
It achieves precise adaptation to cup lids of different thicknesses, avoiding jamming and multiple lids falling off, improving food preparation efficiency and reducing the need for manual intervention.
Smart Images
Figure CN224511543U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of lid-dropping machines, and discloses a cup-dropping and lid-dropping machine. Background Technology
[0002] With the automation upgrade in the freshly made beverage industry, various smart vending machines and automatic beverage dispensing equipment have been widely used in shopping malls, office buildings, subway stations, and other scenarios. In the beverage preparation process of these devices, the automatic dispensing of the cup and lid is the core process connecting raw material addition and finished product output, directly affecting the equipment's dispensing efficiency and user experience.
[0003] However, the existing cup and lid dropping mechanisms mostly adopt spring-push type or single-set paddle drive structure: the former relies on the spring force to push the stacked cup lids towards the discharge port, which is prone to lid jamming due to uneven gaps between the stacked cup lids, and cannot adapt to cup lids with large thickness differences; the latter uses a single paddle to periodically push the cup lid to drop, which often results in problems such as "multiple lids falling at the same time" or "cup lid tilting and jamming", requiring frequent manual intervention.
[0004] The information disclosed in this background section is intended only to enhance the understanding of the overall background of this utility model and should not be construed as an admission or in any way implying that the information constitutes prior art known to those skilled in the art. Utility Model Content
[0005] The purpose of this invention is to provide a cup and lid dropping machine that solves the problems of poor compatibility of cup and lid specifications and uncontrolled dropping of lids in the prior art.
[0006] To achieve the above objectives, this utility model provides the following technical solution:
[0007] A cup and lid dropping machine, comprising:
[0008] The machine body has two cup storage tubes and two cap storage tubes at its upper end, and each of the cup storage tubes and cap storage tubes has a cap at its upper end.
[0009] A cup dropper is disposed at the bottom end of the cup storage tube;
[0010] The mounting base is fixedly connected to the inside of the machine body and has two symmetrical channels. The upper end of the mounting base is provided with two limiting rings concentric with the channels, and the upper end of the limiting rings is fixedly connected with a protective cover. The bottom end of the storage cover tube is fixedly connected with a protective cover.
[0011] A cover-dropping assembly, wherein the cover-dropping assembly is located inside the limiting ring;
[0012] A transmission assembly is disposed on the rear side of the limiting ring.
[0013] Furthermore, the cover assembly includes: an internal gear, on the inner side of which are six circumferentially spaced half-gears that mesh with the internal gear, and a rotating shaft is fixedly connected to the center of each half-gear, with the upper and lower ends of the rotating shaft rotatably connected to the protective cover and the mounting base, respectively.
[0014] Furthermore, an extrusion plate is provided on the surface of the half gear relative to the tooth groove, and the extrusion plate is an arc-shaped plate with a trapezoidal vertical cross section.
[0015] Furthermore, the transmission assembly includes: a driver and a disk, the output shaft of the driver is connected to one end of the disk, the other end of the disk is connected to a transmission rod, and the bottom end of the transmission rod is connected to a connecting rod.
[0016] Furthermore, a connecting block is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the internal gear, and the connecting block is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the connecting rod.
[0017] Furthermore, the surface of the limiting ring has a notch and the connecting block passes through the notch.
[0018] Furthermore, two symmetrical infrared sensors are provided on the inner side of the protective cover, and a control circuit board is provided inside the rear end of the machine body.
[0019] This utility model provides a cup and lid dropping machine, which has the following beneficial effects:
[0020] (1) This utility model adopts a lid-dropping assembly composed of an internal gear, six circumferentially spaced half-gears and an arc-shaped trapezoidal extrusion plate. When the internal gear drives the half-gears to rotate synchronously, the extrusion plate can be precisely inserted between the stacked cup lids to achieve flexible separation without relying on spring push. This avoids jamming caused by uneven gaps between stacked cup lids and can adapt to cup lids of different thicknesses.
[0021] (2) This utility model forms a multi-point synchronous drive structure by six half-gears distributed in a circle. Compared with a single set of paddles, it can ensure that only a single cup lid is separated each time, effectively preventing multiple lids from falling at the same time or the cup lid from tilting and getting stuck, and reducing the need for manual intervention. Attached Figure Description
[0022] To more clearly illustrate the embodiments of this utility model or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art can derive other embodiments based on the provided drawings without creative effort.
[0023] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of a cup and lid dropping machine according to the present invention;
[0024] Figure 2 This is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of the cup and lid dropping machine of this utility model;
[0025] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of a cup and lid dropping machine according to the present invention;
[0026] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the lid dropping assembly and transmission assembly of a cup and lid dropping machine according to the present invention;
[0027] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a half-gear structure of a cup and lid dropping machine according to the present invention;
[0028] Figure 6 This utility model relates to a cup and lid dropping machine. Figure 4 Enlarged view of point A in the middle.
[0029] The components include: 1. Body; 101. Cup storage tube; 102. Lid storage tube; 103. Tube cover; 104. Control circuit board; 2. Cup dropper; 3. Mounting base; 301. Channel; 302. Limiting ring; 303. Protective cover; 304. Notch; 305. Infrared sensor; 4. Lid dropper assembly; 401. Internal gear; 402. Half gear; 403. Extrusion plate; 404. Rotating shaft; 405. Connecting block; 5. Transmission assembly; 501. Driver; 502. Disc; 503. Transmission rod; 504. Connecting rod. Detailed Implementation
[0030] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present utility model, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative effort are within the protection scope of the present utility model.
[0031] Please see Figure 1-6A cup and lid dispensing machine includes: a machine body 1, a cup dispenser 2, a mounting base 3, a lid dispensing assembly 4, and a transmission assembly 5. The upper end of the machine body 1 is provided with two cup storage tubes 101 and two lid storage tubes 102. The cup storage tubes 101 are used to stack and store cups to be dispensed, and the lid storage tubes 102 are used to stack and store lids to be dispensed. Both the cup storage tubes 101 and 102 are fitted with caps 103 at their upper ends to prevent dust and impurities from entering and contaminating the cups or lids. The cup dispenser 2 is located at the bottom end of the cup storage tubes 101, corresponding to the lower end of the cup storage tubes 101, and is responsible for dispensing the cups individually and orderly downwards from the cup storage tubes 101, supplying cups for subsequent beverage dispensing processes. The mounting base 3 is fixedly connected to the interior of the machine body 1 and has openings... There are two symmetrical channels 301, which serve as channels for the cup lids to fall and guide them to fall precisely to the designated position. The upper end of the mounting base 3 is provided with two limiting rings 302 that are concentric with the channels 301, and the upper end of the limiting rings 302 is fixedly connected with a protective cover 303. The bottom end of the lid storage tube 102 is fixedly connected with the protective cover 303, so that the cup lids in the lid storage tube 102 can enter the interior of the limiting rings 302 through the protective cover 303. The lid dropping assembly 4 is located inside the limiting rings 302 and its function is to separate the stacked cup lids that have fallen into the limiting rings 302 from the lid storage tube 102. The transmission assembly 5 is located on the rear side of the limiting rings 302 and is used to provide power to the lid dropping assembly 4 to drive the lid dropping assembly 4 to complete the cup lid separation action.
[0032] Specifically, the lid assembly 4 includes: an internal gear 401, which meshes with six equally spaced semi-gears 402 on its inner side to form a linkage transmission structure. A rotating shaft 404 is fixedly connected to the center of each semi-gear 402, and the upper and lower ends of the rotating shaft 404 are rotatably connected to the protective cover 303 and the mounting base 3, respectively. An extrusion piece 403 is provided on the surface of the semi-gear 402 relative to the tooth groove. The extrusion piece 403 is an arc-shaped piece with a trapezoidal vertical cross-section. Its arc contour matches the curvature of the outer edge of the lid, and the trapezoidal structure can form a gradual thickness from top to bottom. In actual operation, the transmission component 5 drives the internal gear 401 to rotate. The internal gear 401 synchronously drives the six half-gears 402 to rotate around their respective shafts 404 through meshing. At this time, the six extrusion plates 403 move in a circular trajectory synchronously with the half-gears 402. When the stacked cup lids in the storage tube 102 fall into the limiting ring 302 through the protective cover 303, the rotating extrusion plate 403 first inserts into the gap between two adjacent cup lids with the thin end of the trapezoidal cross section. As the half-gears 402 continue to rotate, the thick end of the extrusion plate 403 gradually opens the gap, and finally achieves the separation of the single cup lid from the stacked cup lids.
[0033] Through the above technical solution, the six extrusion plates 403 work together to form a layered separation effect, effectively preventing the problem of multiple lids falling off at the same time, ensuring that only one lid is separated at a time. The arc-shaped structure of the extrusion plate 403 can fit the outer edge of lids of different diameters, avoiding contact misalignment caused by differences in lid diameter.
[0034] Specifically, the transmission component 5 includes a driver 501 and a disk 502. The driver 501 is the power core and can be a stepper motor or a servo motor. Its output shaft is directly fixedly connected to one end of the disk 502, enabling the disk 502 to rotate around the output shaft. The other end of the disk 502 is connected to a transmission rod 503, and the bottom end of the transmission rod 503 is connected to a connecting rod 504. A connecting block 405 is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the internal gear 401, and the bottom end of the connecting rod 504 is fixedly connected to the connecting block 405. Through the connecting block 405, the linear reciprocating power of the transmission component 5 can be converted into the circumferential rotational power of the cover-dropping component 4.
[0035] With the above technical solution, after the driver 501 is started, it drives the disc 502 to rotate at a constant speed. During the rotation of the disc 502, the transmission rod 503 is pulled up and down to reciprocate through the eccentric connection point. The transmission rod 503 drives the connecting rod 504 to move synchronously. The connecting rod 504 drives the internal gear 401 to rotate periodically inside the limiting ring 302 through the connecting block 405, thereby driving the lid-dropping assembly 4 to complete the cup lid separation action.
[0036] Specifically, the limiting ring 302 has a notch 304 on its surface and the connecting block 405 passes through the notch 304 to facilitate the rotation of the internal gear 401.
[0037] Specifically, two symmetrical infrared sensors 305 are installed inside the protective cover 303, and a control circuit board 104 is installed inside the rear end of the main body 1. The sensors are distributed at 180° along the circumference of the protective cover 303, and their detection range covers the cup lid storage area inside the limiting ring 302. They can simultaneously collect the presence and positional offset of the cup lid. At the same time, the control circuit board 104 is fixedly installed inside the rear end of the main body 1. The circuit board is electrically connected to the two infrared sensors 305, the driver 501 of the transmission component 5, and the relevant components of the lid dropping component 4 through wires to form a closed-loop control link.
[0038] In use, first open the caps 103 at the top of the cup storage tube 101 and the cap storage tube 102. Place cups of appropriate size into the two cup storage tubes 101 and corresponding caps into the two cap storage tubes 102. After closing the caps 103, start the device. The control circuit board 104 inside the rear of the machine body 1 initializes first, synchronously triggering the two infrared sensors 305 inside the protective cover 303. The infrared sensors 305 detect whether there are caps falling from the cap storage tube 102 inside the limiting ring 302 and whether the cap positions are normal. The control circuit board 104 then instructs the cup dropper 2 at the bottom of the machine body 1 to move, placing the cups into the two cap storage tubes 101 and 102. A single cup is placed downwards to the designated cup receiving position, and then a power command is sent to the driver 501 of the transmission component 5. The driver 501 drives the disc 502 to rotate, and the disc 502 pulls the connecting rod 504 through the transmission rod 503. The connecting rod 504 then drives the internal gear 401 to rotate inside the limiting ring 302 through the connecting block 405. The internal gear 401 meshes and drives the six half-gears 402 to rotate synchronously around the rotating shaft 404. The arc-shaped trapezoidal extrusion piece 403 on the surface of the half-gear 402 inserts into the gap between the stacked cup lids to complete the separation of a single cup lid. This cycle is repeated to achieve continuous automatic placement of cups and cup lids.
[0039] It should be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus.
[0040] All electrical components mentioned in this article are connected to an external main controller and 220V AC mains power. The main controller can be a conventional known device such as a computer for control. The detailed description of known functions and components is omitted in the specific implementation of this disclosure. To ensure the compatibility of the device, the operating methods used are consistent with the parameters of commercially available instruments.
[0041] The sensors are existing products on the market, and their connection and control methods are also existing technologies, so they will not be described in detail here.
[0042] Finally, it should be noted that the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this utility model and is not intended to limit the utility model. Although the utility model has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments or make equivalent substitutions for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this utility model should be included within the protection scope of this utility model.
Claims
1. A cup and lid drop-off machine characterized by, include: The body (1) has two cup tubes (101) and two cap tubes (102) at its upper end, and the upper end of the cup tubes (101) and the cap tubes (102) are both provided with caps (103). A cup dropper (2) is provided at the bottom end of the cup storage tube (101); Mounting base (3), the mounting base (3) is fixedly connected to the inside of the body (1) and has two symmetrical channels (301). The upper end of the mounting base (3) is provided with two limiting rings (302) with the same center as the channels (301), and the upper end of the limiting rings (302) is fixedly connected with a protective cover (303). The bottom end of the storage cover tube (102) is fixedly connected with the protective cover (303). Cover assembly (4), the cover assembly being located inside the limiting ring (302); The transmission assembly (5) is located on the rear side of the limiting ring (302).
2. A cup and lid drop-off machine according to claim 1, characterised in that: The cover assembly (4) includes: an internal gear (401), on the inner side of the internal gear (401) are six half-gears (402) distributed at equal intervals in a circle and the half-gears (402) mesh with the internal gear (401), and a rotating shaft (404) is fixedly connected to the center of the half-gears (402). The upper and lower ends of the rotating shaft (404) are rotatably connected to the protective cover (303) and the mounting base (3) respectively.
3. A cup and lid drop-off machine according to claim 2, wherein: An extrusion plate (403) is provided on the surface of the half gear (402) at a position opposite to the tooth groove. The extrusion plate (403) is an arc-shaped plate with a trapezoidal vertical cross section.
4. A cup and lid drop-off machine according to claim 2, wherein: The transmission assembly (5) includes a driver (501) and a disk (502). The output shaft of the driver (501) is connected to one end of the disk (502), and the other end of the disk (502) is connected to a transmission rod (503), and the bottom end of the transmission rod (503) is connected to a connecting rod (504).
5. A cup and lid drop-off machine according to claim 4, wherein: The connecting block (405) is fixedly connected to the outer wall of the internal gear (401), and the connecting block (405) is fixedly connected to the bottom end of the connecting rod (504).
6. A cup and lid drop-off machine according to claim 5, wherein: The limiting ring (302) has a notch (304) on its surface and the connecting block (405) passes through the notch (304).
7. A cup and lid drop-off machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein: The protective cover (303) has two symmetrical infrared sensors (305) inside, and the rear end of the body (1) has a control circuit board (104).