JP2007068851A - Drink extractor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To extract a drink with concentration suited to a preference without adjusting the amounts of a drink extract and water. <P>SOLUTION: This drink extractor is provided with: a hot water feed pipe 24 connected to a water tank; a first heating conduit 25 connected to a water tank 12 and heated by a heating means (a heater 21); a detour conduit 26 continued to the first heating conduit 25 and having a turn portion 26b positioned in an intermediate part in a part higher than the high water level in the water tank 12; a second heating conduit 27 continued to the detour conduit 26 and heated by the heating means; and a first discharge conduit continued to the second heating conduit 27 and having a first outlet 29 at the tip disposed in a basket 16. This extractor is further provided with a second discharge conduit 44 for feeding hot water heated by the first heating conduit 25 to the basket 16 or the first discharge conduit 28 branchedly connected to the detour conduit 26, and a channel changeover means (a selector valve 30) changing over the hot water fed to the detour conduit 26 between the second heating conduit 27 and the second discharge conduit 44 so as to pass the hot water through at least either one of them. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a beverage extractor.

  BACKGROUND ART A beverage extractor such as a coffee maker includes a water tank that receives water, a basket that stores beverage extraction raw materials, and a base that detachably installs a beverage container that receives the extracted beverage. The water tank is connected to a hot water supply pipe that is routed above the basket through the lower portion of the base portion. The hot water supply pipe is provided with heating means for heating the water in the pipe and heating the beverage container installed in the base part so as to be located in the base part.

  However, in this beverage extractor, when water is stored in the water tank, it flows into the hot water supply pipe due to water pressure, and rises to the part leading to the outlet outlet as well as the heated part by the heating means, and the water surface in the water tank Filled up to the same height. When heating is started in this state, low temperature water that has not been boiled before the heating means is initially supplied to the basket. In this case, beverage extraction raw materials such as coffee cannot obtain a sufficient extraction action with low-temperature water. As a result, the extracted coffee is low quality with a low concentration.

  Prior art document information related to the beverage extractor of the present invention includes the following.

JP 2002-51915 A

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the applicant of the present invention in Patent Document 1, the hot water supply pipe is heated by heating means at two locations, and the space between the heating portions rises to a position higher than the highest water level in the water tank. A coffee maker is provided. Specifically, the hot water supply pipe of the coffee maker includes a first heating line connected to the water tank, a bypass line continuing to the first heating line, and a second heating continuing to the bypass line. A pipe line and a discharge pipe line continuous with the second heating pipe line are provided. The detour pipe is piped so that the folded portion located in the intermediate portion is located above the highest water level in the water tank.

  Thereby, when water is stored in the water tank, the water flowing into the hot water supply pipe due to the water pressure flows into the detour pipe through the first heating pipe. However, in this detour pipe line, since the turning part is located above the highest water level of the water tank, it does not reach the second heating pipe line beyond this turning part. Therefore, when heating is started, water in an insufficiently heated state located in the bypass conduit is supplied to the basket while being sufficiently heated by the second heating conduit. As a result, since the hot water boiled from the beginning is supplied to the beverage extraction raw material, it is possible to extract coffee with excellent taste and quality.

  That is, the present applicant provides two types of so-called double heating type coffee makers with a strong taste and so-called single heating type coffee makers with a light taste by a normal extraction operation. However, there are cases where a user who purchases this type of product determines a product to be purchased based on the manufacturer or price, and does not grasp the actual function. Moreover, the user who drinks has various tastes from the person who likes a light taste to the person who likes a deep taste. For this reason, no matter which type of coffee maker is purchased, it is necessary to adjust the amount of beverage extraction raw material and water, which is not convenient.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the conventional problem, and makes it a subject to provide the drink extractor which can extract the drink of the density | concentration suitable for taste, without adjusting the quantity of a drink extraction raw material or water. Is.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the beverage extractor of the present invention heats water supplied from a water tank through a hot water supply pipe by a heating means attached to the hot water supply pipe, and the heated hot water is added to the tip of the hot water supply pipe. In a beverage extractor for pouring a beverage extraction raw material into a basket containing beverage extraction raw materials, the hot water supply pipe is connected to the water tank and heated by the heating means, A detour portion that is continuous with the first heating conduit and is located at an intermediate portion thereof is located above the highest water level in the water tank, and is connected to the detour conduit and is heated by the heating means. 2 heating conduits, and a first discharge conduit that is continuous with the second heating conduit and has a discharge outlet at the tip thereof disposed in the basket, the detour conduit being connected to the first heating conduit by the first heating conduit Heated hot water The second discharge pipe to be supplied to the basket or the first discharge pipe is branched and connected, and hot water supplied to the bypass pipe is at least one of the second heating pipe and the second discharge pipe. The flow path switching means for switching to flow into either of them is provided.

  In this beverage extractor, hot water heated in the first heating pipe by the flow path switching means is supplied to the second heating pipe, so that hot water can be supplied to the beverage extraction raw material from the beginning as in the double heating type. Therefore, a beverage with a strong taste can be extracted. On the other hand, by supplying the hot water heated in the first heating pipe line to the basket through the second discharge pipe without secondary heating, the low temperature hot water is initially added to the beverage extraction raw material as in the single heating type. Can be extracted, so that a beverage with a light taste can be extracted. Thus, since the density | concentration of the drink extracted can be changed by the flow-path switching means, the user does not need to adjust the quantity of a drink extraction raw material or water uniquely, and can improve the convenience.

  In this beverage extractor, it is preferable to provide the second discharge conduit in the vicinity of the folded portion. If it does in this way, it can prevent that piping of the hot-water supply pipe in an apparatus becomes complicated.

Further, the flow path switching means is connected to a water supply unit connected to the first heating pipeline side, a first connection unit connected to the second heating pipeline side, and the second discharge pipeline. It is preferable to include a main body having a second connecting portion and a valve body rotatably attached to the main body.
In this case, the valve body includes a first switching state that communicates only with the first connection portion, a second switching state that communicates only with the second connection portion, the first connection portion, and the second connection portion. It is preferable to have a third switching state communicating with the connection portion at a predetermined rate.
In this way, it is possible to reliably extract a beverage at a concentration according to the user's preference without providing a complicated control program or input means. Therefore, the convenience can be improved without increasing the cost of the device.

  In the beverage extractor of the present invention, it is possible to change to the double heating type or the single heating type by the flow path switching means, so that the user does not need to independently adjust the amount of the beverage extraction raw material and water, Since a suitable beverage can be extracted, convenience can be improved.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 and 2 (A) and 2 (B) show a beverage extractor according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this beverage extractor, a glass beverage container 10 is detachably disposed on an extractor body 11 having a substantially U shape.

  The extractor body 11 includes a water tank 12 on the back located on the left side in FIG. The water tank 12 is provided so as to extend in the vertical direction. The upper end of the water tank 12 is opened to receive water, and the upper end opening is closed by a removable lid 13. A nose portion 14 that protrudes forward is formed at the upper portion of the water tank 12, and a base portion 19 that protrudes forward is formed at the lower portion.

  A water supply member 15 for uniformly spraying hot water in a basket 16 to be described later is disposed inside the nose portion 14. And in the lower part of this nose part 14, the basket 16 which accommodates the extraction raw material of a drink is arrange | positioned rotatably. Specifically, the basket 16 is provided with a rotatable cover 17 at the lower portion of the nose portion 14, and is detachably disposed inside the cover 17. Further, a water stop valve 18 is provided at the lower part of the basket 16 so as to prevent the internal beverage from dripping when the beverage container 10 is not disposed on the base portion 19. The water stop valve 18 is opened by placing the beverage container 10 on the base portion 19 so that the lid body 10a covering the upper end opening of the beverage container 10 contacts and presses upward.

  The base portion 19 is configured to detachably install the beverage container 10 that receives the beverage flowing out of the basket 16. A circular metal plate 20 is disposed on the upper surface of the base portion 19. Inside the base portion 19, a heater 21 is disposed as a heating means for heating water flowing in a hot water supply pipe 24 described later and heating the beverage container 10 via the metal plate 20. .

  The heater 21 is disposed in a U shape above the hot water supply pipe 24 below the metal plate 20 of the base portion 19. The heater 21 serves as a supply means for supplying hot water to the upper basket 16 by utilizing a pressure increase caused by heating water in the hot water supply pipe 24. In the vicinity of the heater 21, a temperature sensor 22 made of a thermistor is disposed via a fixing member 23.

  Inside the extractor main body 11, a metal hot water supply pipe 24 that is piped from the water tank 12 through the base portion 19 and above the basket 16 is disposed. As shown in FIGS. 2 (A), (B) and FIG. 3, the hot water supply pipe 24 is roughly composed of a first heating line 25, a bypass line 26, a second heating line 27, and a first discharge. A switching valve 30 serving as a flow path switching means, and a second discharge pipe 44 is further provided in the switching valve 30.

  Specifically, the end of the first heating pipe 25 is connected to the water tank 12 and is piped along the lower part of the heater 21 in the base 19. The detour pipe line 26 is continuous with the first heating pipe line 25, and in front of the water tank 12, the pumping part 26 a extending upward, the folded part 26 b of the intermediate part folded back into a substantially inverted U shape, and the downward direction And a falling water portion 26c extending to the bottom. The upper portion of the folded portion 26b located at the intermediate portion, that is, the pumping portion 26a is configured to be located above the highest water level accommodated in the water tank 12 in a full state. The second heating pipe line 27 is continuous with the water falling part 26 c that is the tip of the bypass pipe line 26, and is positioned along the lower part of the heater 21 in the base part 19 and on the outer peripheral part of the first heating pipe line 25. So that it is piped. The first discharge pipe 28 is continuous with the second heating pipe 27, extends upward in front of the water tank 12, bends at the upper part, and is connected to the water supply member 15 positioned above the basket 16 at the first tip. The discharge port 29 is arranged.

  The switching valve 30 is interposed in the bypass pipe 26 in the vicinity of the turn-up portion 26b, specifically, at the boundary between the pumping-up portion 26a and the turn-up portion 26b, and is accommodated in the water tank 12 in a full state. It is comprised so that it may be located above the made highest water level. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4A and 4B, the switching valve 30 includes a main body 31 having a branch flow path, a valve body 36 rotatably attached to the main body 31, and the valve. And an operation member 41 for rotating the body.

  The main body 31 includes a water supply portion 32 extending vertically downward, a first connection portion 33 protruding in the horizontal direction, and a second connection portion protruding in the horizontal direction at an angle of about 90 degrees with respect to the first connection portion 33. 34, and a valve body mounting portion 35 extending to the water supply portion 32 is provided on the upper portion thereof. The valve body 36 is mounted in a watertight manner in the valve body mounting portion 35 via a packing 37. The valve body 36 is provided with an inverted L-shaped flow path 38 having an inflow portion 38a having a lower end opening and an outflow portion 38b having a side opening. An annular seal member 39 that seals between the inner peripheral surface of the valve body mounting portion 35 is disposed around the outlet at the tip of the outflow portion 38b. The valve body 36 is provided with a mounting portion 40 that protrudes upward from the valve body mounting portion 35 and further protrudes outward from the nose portion 14. The operation member 41 is for manually operating the valve body 36 by being fixed to the mounting portion 40 of the valve body 36 outside the nose portion 14. As shown in FIG. 2A, the operation member 41 is provided with a mark display 42 for displaying the rotation state, and a light / dark display 43 indicating the light / dark level on the nose portion 14.

  In the present embodiment, the outflow portion 38b of the valve body 36 has a shape that gradually expands toward the outflow port at the tip, and the opening area of the outflow port is configured to be larger than the inflow side opening area of each of the connection portions 33 and 34. ing. And the opening area of the outflow port is only with respect to the 1st switching state connected only to the 1st connection part 33 shown to FIG. 4 (B), and the 2nd connection part 34 shown to FIG. 4 (C). The second switching state communicated with the first connection portion 33 and the second connection portion 34 shown in FIG. 4D, which are intermediate positions thereof, communicates at a predetermined ratio according to the operation amount of the operation member 41. The size is such that three switching states can be performed.

  In the switching valve 30 having the above-described configuration, the water supply unit 32 is connected to the pumping unit 26a on the first heating pipe line 25 side. The first connecting portion 33 is connected to the folded portion 26b on the second heating pipe line 27 side. The second connection portion 34 is connected to a second discharge conduit 44 that is different from the first discharge conduit 28. The second discharge pipe 44 is piped to the water supply member 15 with the second discharge port 45 at the tip thereof positioned above the basket 16.

  In the beverage extractor, a control board (not shown) is disposed in the extractor body 11, and as shown in FIG. 5, extraction and heat retention control are executed by a microcomputer 46 mounted on the control board. Specifically, when a switch 47 for performing beverage extraction disposed in the extractor body 11 is operated, the beverage extraction control is performed by controlling the heater 21, and then the beverage container 10. Execute the beverage heat control.

  In the extraction control, energization is always performed at a power rate of 100% with full power and without interrupting energization. And when the water in the 1st heating pipe line 25 and the 2nd heating pipe line 27 is completely lost, it judges that extraction was completed because the detected value by temperature sensor 22 raised abnormally, and it carries out heat retention control. Transition. In this heat retention control, on / off control is repeated according to a preset temperature at full power, and the heat retention control is performed so that the temperature adjustment temperature of the beverage in the beverage container 10 is about 85 ° C. at a predetermined energization rate.

  Next, the extraction operation by the beverage extractor will be specifically described.

  First, when the user stores water in the water tank 12, the water flowing into the hot water supply pipe 24 due to the water pressure flows into the detour pipe 26 through the first heating pipe 25. In this detour pipe 26, since the switching valve 30 is positioned above the highest water level of the water tank 12 as well as the turn-up part 26 b, the second heating pipe 27 or the second extraction pipe passes over the switching valve 30. There is no supply of unheated water to the path.

  In this state, when the extraction operation is started by the user operating the switch 47, the microcomputer 46 starts energizing the heater 21 with full power. If it does so, while the water in the 1st heating pipe line 25 will be heated, the water in the pumping part 26a of the detour pipe line 26 will be heated up by heat transfer. And if the pressure in the 1st heating pipe line 25 and the pumping-up part 26a increases with this temperature rising, the heated hot water will flow in into the switching valve 30 from the water supply part 32. FIG.

  At this time, when the user is in the first switching state in which the switching valve 30 communicates only with the first connection portion 33 as shown in FIG. The hot water heated at 25 flows into the folded portion 26 b of the detour pipe line 26 through the first connection portion 33. Thereafter, the water flows into the second heating pipe 27 through the falling water portion 26c, and is heated secondarily by the heater 21 in the second heating pipe 27 to increase the pressure, and then passes through the first discharge pipe 28 and passes through the first discharge pipe 28. The water is supplied from the first discharge port 29 of the pipe line 28 to the basket 16 through the water supply member 15.

  Thus, the beverage extractor of the present embodiment has an insufficient heating state located in the bypass duct 26 when heating is started by setting the switching valve 30 to the double heating state shown in FIG. 4B. Of water can be supplied to the second heating pipe 27 and supplied to the basket 16 in a sufficiently heated state. As a result, since hot water can be supplied to the beverage extraction raw material from the beginning, a beverage (coffee) having a strong taste can be extracted.

  On the other hand, when the user operates the operation member 41 to change the switching valve 30 to the second switching state in which only the second connection portion 34 communicates as shown in FIG. The hot water heated in step flows into the second discharge pipe 44 through the second connection portion 34. For this reason, the secondary heating is not performed in the second heating pipe 27, but the water is supplied from the second discharge port 45 of the second discharge pipe 44 to the basket 16 through the water supply member 15.

  Thus, the beverage extractor of the present embodiment can be supplied to the basket 16 without performing secondary heating by setting the switching valve 30 to the single heating state shown in FIG. As a result, since low temperature hot water is initially supplied to the beverage extraction raw material, a beverage with a light taste can be extracted.

  On the other hand, when the user operates the operation member 41 to change the switching valve 30 to the third switching state in which the switching valve 30 communicates with both the first connection portion 33 and the second connection portion 34 as shown in FIG. Hot water heated in the one heating pipe line 25 flows into the second heating pipe line 27 via the first connection part 33 and substantially passes through the second connection part 34 according to the communication ratio based on the operation amount. It flows into the second discharge pipe 44. The hot water that has flowed into the second heating pipe 27 is secondarily heated in the second heating pipe 27 and supplied to the basket 16 through the first discharge pipe 28. The hot water that has flowed into the second discharge pipe 44 is supplied to the basket 16 from the second discharge pipe 44 without being subjected to secondary heating in the second heating pipe 27.

  As described above, the beverage extractor of the present embodiment is configured such that the switching valve 30 is in the intermediate state shown in FIG. 4D, so that the boiling water by only the primary heating and the high boiling water by the secondary heating are converted into the operation member. The basket 16 can be supplied at a desired ratio corresponding to the operation amount 41. As a result, it is possible to extract a beverage having an intermediate taste between a strong taste by double heating and a light taste by single heating.

  That is, the beverage extractor of the present invention can change the concentration of the beverage to be extracted as desired by operating the switching valve 30 which is the flow path switching means according to the user's preference. Therefore, it is not necessary for the user to independently adjust the amount of the beverage extraction raw material or water, and the convenience in use can be greatly improved.

  Further, in the present embodiment, since the manual switching system having the main body 31 and the rotatable valve body 36 is provided in the bypass pipe 26 as the flow path switching means, a complicated control program or A beverage can be reliably extracted at a concentration according to the user's preference without providing an input means (switch). Therefore, the convenience can be improved without increasing the cost of the device.

  Further, since the second discharge pipe 44 is provided in the vicinity of the turn-up part 26b by interposing the switching valve 30 in the vicinity of the turn-up part 26b that is substantially the upper end of the bypass pipe 26, the extractor body The piping in 11 can be prevented from becoming complicated.

  In addition, the drink extractor of this invention is not limited to the structure of the said embodiment, A various change is possible.

  For example, in the above-described embodiment, the manual channel switching type switching valve 30 is applied as the channel switching unit, but an electric switching type using a driving unit may be used. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the second discharge pipe 44 is directly branched and connected to the bypass pipe 26, and the folding portion 26 b and the second discharge pipe 44 on the downstream side of the branch portion are respectively opened and closed. The solenoid valves 48A and 48B are respectively interposed. The extractor body 11 is provided with a switch 47 capable of selecting the concentration or a dial type input means. As a result, by performing on / off control of the solenoid valves 48A and 48B, by supplying a predetermined amount of hot water to the second heating pipe 27 or the second discharge pipe 44, the same operation and effect as described above can be obtained. it can.

  In the above embodiment, the second discharge pipe 44 is piped on the water supply member 15 above the basket 16, but the tip thereof may be connected to the first discharge pipe 28.

It is sectional drawing which shows the drink extractor which concerns on embodiment of this invention. A drink extractor is shown, (A) is a top view, (B) is a bottom view of the state which removed the bottom. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of a water supply pipe. 1 shows a switching valve as a flow path switching means, (A) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, (B) is a cross-sectional view of main parts in a first switching state, (C) is a cross-sectional view of main parts in a second switching state, D) is a cross-sectional view of the main part in the third switching state. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of a drink extractor. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of a water supply pipe.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Beverage container 11 ... Extractor main body 12 ... Water tank 14 ... Nose part 16 ... Basket 19 ... Base part 21 ... Heater (heating means) 22 ... Temperature sensor (temperature detection means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 24 ... Hot-water supply pipe 25 ... 1st heating pipe 26 ... Detour pipe 26a ... Pumping part 26b ... Folding part 26c ... Falling water part 27 ... 2nd heating pipe 28 ... 1st discharge pipe 29 ... 1st discharge port 30 ... Switching valve (channel switching means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 31 ... Main body 32 ... Water supply part 33 ... 1st connection part 34 ... 2nd connection part 36 ... Valve body 41 ... Operation member 44 ... 2nd discharge conduit 45 ... 2nd discharge port 46 ... Microcomputer (control means)

Claims (4)

Water supplied from a water tank through a hot water supply pipe is heated by a heating means attached to the hot water supply pipe, and the heated hot water is poured from a discharge port at the tip of the hot water supply pipe into a basket containing a beverage extraction raw material. In the beverage extractor that extracts
The hot water pipe is
A first heating line connected to the water tank and heated by the heating means;
A detour pipe line that is continuous with the first heating pipe line and in which a folded portion located in an intermediate part thereof is located above the highest water level in the water tank;
A second heating pipe that is continuous with the bypass pipe and is heated by the heating means;
A first discharge pipe that is continuous with the second heating pipe and has a discharge outlet at the tip thereof disposed in the basket;
A branch discharge line for supplying hot water heated in the first heating line to the basket or the first discharge line is branched and connected to the bypass line;
Beverage extraction characterized by comprising flow path switching means for switching hot water supplied to the bypass pipe to flow into at least one of the second heating pipe and the second discharge pipe Machine.   The beverage extractor according to claim 1, wherein the second discharge pipe is provided in the vicinity of the folded portion.   The flow path switching means includes a water supply unit connected to the first heating pipeline side, a first connection unit connected to the second heating pipeline side, and a first connection unit connected to the second discharge pipeline. The beverage extractor according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a main body having two connecting portions and a valve body rotatably attached to the main body.   The valve body includes a first switching state that communicates only with the first connection portion, a second switching state that communicates only with the second connection portion, and the first connection portion and the second connection portion. The beverage extractor according to claim 3, wherein the beverage extractor has a third switching state communicating with a predetermined ratio.

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