JP2020062505A - Beverage supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a beverage supply device that allows countermeasures to be taken before the device becomes uncontrollable even when an extraction tube is clogged during extraction.SOLUTION: A beverage supply device includes: a cylinder 311 for accommodating coffee bean powder; a coffee liquid pipe for delivering coffee liquid extracted by the supply of hot water into the cylinder; a water permeable piston that moves in the cylinder and accumulates coffee grounds after the coffee liquid is extracted at the upper part; and a control part that executes control to perform processing for removing a moisture from the coffee grounds through the water permeable piston for a longer time when clogging of the coffee liquid pipe is detected by a sensor than when clogging of the coffee liquid pipe is not detected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 13

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a beverage supply device that pressurizes and supplies hot water to coffee raw material powder to extract coffee liquid.

  In recent years, drip coffee and pressure extraction coffee (espresso) are generally provided in restaurants and cafes. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a brewing unit capable of making both an American coffee beverage and an espresso coffee beverage.

JP2012-179364A

  A conventional beverage supply device including Patent Document 1 generally has, for example, an extraction chamber that stores ground coffee beans, and a lid that closes the extraction chamber. Then, the extraction chamber or the lid is driven by a drive device such as a motor so that the inside of the extraction chamber can be pressurized. A hot water supply pipe that supplies hot water to the extraction chamber, an extraction pipe that supplies the extracted coffee liquid to the user, and a drain pipe that drains the waste liquid after extraction are connected to the extraction chamber. Further, each pipe connected to the extraction chamber is provided with a valve.

  When coffee is brewed in such a beverage supply device, ground coffee beans are stored in the brewing chamber and sealed by the lid. Then, high-temperature hot water is introduced from the hot water supply pipe. At this point, the valve of the drain pipe is closed, and the coffee liquid extracted in the extraction chamber is provided to the beverage container outside from the extraction pipe.

  Here, if the extraction pipe is clogged during extraction, the pressure in the extraction chamber rises because the liquid cannot pass through the extraction pipe and the drain pipe even though hot water is continuously supplied from the hot water supply pipe as described above. As a result, the liquid may leak from the extraction chamber or flow backward in the hot water supply pipe. In order to prevent such a situation, generally, the beverage supply device is provided with a flow rate sensor in the hot water supply pipe so that the hot water supply can be stopped when the flow rate is abnormal.

  However, when the extraction pipe is clogged during extraction and the pressure in the extraction chamber rises, the pressure in the extraction chamber may cause the motor to rotate in the reverse direction, and the extraction chamber or the lid may move in a direction of expanding the volume of the extraction chamber. In this case, the beverage supply device becomes uncontrollable, and the drive device is overloaded, so that countermeasures are required.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage supply device that can deal with a brewing tube that is clogged during brewing before it becomes out of control.

  The beverage supply device of the present invention includes a cylinder for storing coffee bean powder, a coffee liquid pipe for delivering coffee liquid extracted by supplying hot water into the cylinder, and a coffee liquid for moving inside the cylinder. Of the water-permeable piston that accumulates coffee slag after extraction in the upper part, and when the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe is detected by the sensor, the water-permeable piston is more than when the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe is not detected. And a control unit that controls the process of removing water from the coffee grounds for a long time.

  According to the present invention, even if the extraction pipe is clogged during extraction, it can be dealt with before it becomes out of control.

The perspective view of the external structure of the beverage supply apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The perspective view of the beverage supply mechanism which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Side view of a beverage supply mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention The figure which showed the flow of the hot water in the drink supply mechanism which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The perspective view of the coffee extraction part which concerns on embodiment of this invention. Functional block diagram showing each functional unit of the beverage supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention Operation explanatory drawing of coffee supply operation which concerns on embodiment of this invention Operation explanatory drawing of coffee supply operation which concerns on embodiment of this invention Operation explanatory drawing of coffee supply operation which concerns on embodiment of this invention Operation explanatory drawing of coffee supply operation which concerns on embodiment of this invention Operation explanatory drawing of coffee supply operation which concerns on embodiment of this invention The figure which shows operation | movement of the principal part regarding coffee extraction of the beverage supply apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the principal part at the time of clogging of the coffee liquid supply path in the coffee liquid extraction operation | movement of the beverage supply apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, the beverage supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

[External Structure of Beverage Supply Device 100]
First, the external structure of the beverage supply device 100 will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a beverage supply device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the beverage supply device 100 includes a housing 1, a front door 2, a touch panel 3, a coffee nozzle 4, a milk nozzle 5, a hot water nozzle 6, and a beverage container support base 7.

  The housing 1 holds a beverage supply mechanism 10 which will be described later, and has a front door 2, a touch panel 3, a coffee nozzle 4, a milk nozzle 5, a hot water nozzle 6 and a beverage container support 7 mounted on the front surface. It is a case member.

  The front door 2 is attached to the front surface of the housing 1 so as to be freely opened and closed, is normally closed, and is locked so that the user cannot open and close it. The front door 2 is opened, for example, at the time of maintenance so that the administrator of the beverage supply device 100 can access the beverage supply mechanism 10 housed inside the beverage supply device 100 from the front part of the housing 1.

  The touch panel 3 is an operation reception unit that displays beverage options, messages, and the like to the user of the beverage supply device 100, and receives a beverage selection operation and a discharge instruction operation by the user.

  The coffee nozzle 4 is a nozzle for providing the coffee produced by the beverage supply mechanism 10 to a beverage container placed on a beverage container support, which will be described later. The milk nozzle 5 is a nozzle for providing the formed milk or the steamed milk to the beverage container. The coffee nozzle 4 and the milk nozzle 5 are arranged close to each other, and are configured so that coffee and milk can be mixed in a beverage container to supply a milk / coffee mixed beverage such as cafe latte or cappuccino. Has been done. The hot water nozzle 6 is a nozzle for providing only hot water to the beverage container for a user who uses a tea bag or the like.

  The beverage container support base 7 is a base for placing a beverage container that receives the beverage (or hot water) discharged from each of the nozzles.

[Beverage supply mechanism 10]
Next, the beverage supply mechanism 10 will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the beverage supply mechanism 10, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the beverage supply mechanism 10. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the beverage supply mechanism 10 includes a hot water tank 11, a hot water pump 12, a canister 13, a mill 14, a coffee slag receiving portion 15, and a coffee extracting portion 30.

  The hot water tank 11 is a tank that can store several liters of hot water, and is provided therein with a heater (not shown) that heats and keeps the stored drinking water at, for example, 97 ° C. The hot water pump 12 provided near the bottom of the hot water tank 11 is a pump that pressurizes and discharges the hot water in the hot water tank 11.

  The canister 13 is a container for storing roasted coffee beans used for coffee production. A coffee bean acquisition port (not shown) is opened in the lower part of the canister 13, and coffee beans are supplied from the acquisition port according to the operation of the mill 14.

  The mill 14 grinds the coffee beans supplied from the canister 13 into a suitable particle size. By being crushed by the mill 14, hot water easily permeates coffee beans, and suitable coffee extraction is performed.

  The coffee beans (ground beans) crushed by the mill 14 are put into a coffee extraction unit 30 described later. The details of the coffee extracting operation by the coffee extracting unit 30 will be described later.

  The coffee slag receiving unit 15 stores the residue of ground beans used for extracting the coffee liquid by the coffee extraction unit 30. The coffee slag receiving portion 15 is configured so that it can be pulled out forward with the front door 2 opened, and the stored coffee slag can be removed.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the flow of hot water in the beverage supply mechanism 10. As shown in FIG. 4, one end of a hot water supply pipe 24 in which a hot water filter 21, a flow rate sensor 22, and a hot water supply valve 23 are sequentially arranged is connected to the outlet of the hot water pump 12. The other end of the hot water supply pipe 24 is connected to a hot water supply port 313 provided in the cylinder unit 31 of the coffee extraction unit 30 described later. In the present embodiment, connector 24A is provided at the other end of hot water supply pipe 24, and is connected to hot water supply port 313 by this.

  A drain pipe 25, which is located between the hot water supply valve 23 and the coffee extraction unit 30, and which branches off from the hot water supply pipe 24 via a flow divider 29, is connected to the hot water supply pipe 24. The drain pipe 25 is provided with a drain valve 26. Further, a coffee liquid pipe 27 is connected to a coffee liquid take-out portion 37B provided on a cap 37 of a coffee extracting portion 30 described later. The coffee liquid pipe 27 is provided with an extraction valve 28.

  The flow divider 29 is provided with a pressure sensor 291 for monitoring the pressure in the cylinder 311 (see FIG. 5 described later) to which the hot water supply pipe is connected. The pressure sensor 291 may be arranged at any position as long as the pressure in the cylinder 311 can be monitored. For example, the hot water supply pipe 24 from the hot water supply valve 23 to the hot water supply port 313 of the cylinder unit 31 via the flow divider 29. It may be arranged at a predetermined position, a predetermined position in the cylinder 311, or the like.

  The hot water filter 21 is a filter that removes impurities and the like of the hot water supplied from the hot water tank 11 to the coffee extraction unit 30 via the hot water pump 12. The flow rate sensor 22 measures the amount of hot water supplied from the hot water tank 11 to the coffee extraction unit 30. The hot water supply valve 23 is an electromagnetic valve that is opened and closed under the control of the control unit 50 of the beverage supply device 100 described later. The operation of the hot water supply valve 23 will be described later in detail. The hot water supply pipe 24 is a pipe portion that forms a flow path of hot water from the hot water tank 11 to the coffee extraction unit 30.

  The drainage pipe 25 is a pipe portion for controlling the discharge of the residual liquid in the coffee extraction unit 30 and the coffee liquid pipe 27 described later to the outside. The drain valve 26 is an electromagnetic valve that is opened and closed under the control of the control unit 50, like the hot water supply valve 23 described above. The operation of the drain valve 26 will be described in detail later.

  The coffee liquid pipe 27 is a pipe portion for guiding the coffee liquid extracted by the coffee extraction unit 30 to the above-described coffee nozzle 4. The extraction valve 28, like the hot water supply valve 23 and the drain valve 26 described above, is an electromagnetic valve that is opened and closed under the control of the control unit 50. The operation of the extraction valve 28 will be described later in detail.

[Coffee extractor 30]
Next, the coffee extraction unit 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the coffee extraction unit 30. The coffee extraction unit 30 extracts hot water from the ground beans supplied from the mill 14 to extract coffee liquid.

  The coffee extraction unit 30 includes a cylinder unit 31, a lifting unit 32, a lifting shaft 33, a motor 34, a pulley 35, a frame unit 36, a cap 37, and a wiper 38.

  The cylinder unit 31 includes a cylinder 311 having an open upper surface, and a water-permeable piston 312 that can move up and down in the cylinder 311. The hot water supply port 313 described above is arranged on the bottom side surface of the cylinder 311, and the connector 24A of the hot water supply pipe 24 is removably connected to the hot water supply port 313.

  The piston 312 is composed of a disk-shaped member and a rod-shaped member that are approximately equal to the inner diameter of the cylinder 311, and the rod-shaped member is fitted into a hole formed in the center of the lower surface of the cylinder 311 and extends downward of the cylinder 311. . On the upper surface of the piston 312, for example, a mesh filter for filtering coffee liquid is arranged.

  The elevating part 32 holds the cylinder unit 31 described above and moves up and down together with the cylinder unit 31.

  The lifting shaft 33 is a shaft portion that supports the lifting unit 32, and the lifting unit 32 moves up and down along the lifting shaft 33.

  The motor 34 is a drive unit that rotationally drives the lifting shaft 33, and in the present embodiment, is a motor with an electromagnetic brake, for example. A brushless motor is preferably used as the motor 34 of the present embodiment. The motor 34, which is a brushless motor, has a rotor position detection sensor (Hall element) 341 (see FIG. 6 described later) that detects the position of the rotor (rotor), and the rotation of the motor generated by the rotor position detection sensor 341. A pulse signal (FG (Frequency Generator) signal: an example of the operation signal of the present invention) having a frequency proportional to the number is output.

  The pulley 35 is connected to the upper end of the lifting shaft 33 and transmits the rotation of the motor to the lifting shaft 33. The elevating shaft 33, the motor 34, and the pulley 35 described above are held by the frame portion 36, respectively.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the frame portion 36 includes an upper surface portion 36A, a lower surface portion 36B, and at least one pillar portion 36C connecting these. Both ends of the elevating shaft 33 are connected to the upper surface portion 36A and the lower surface portion 36B, respectively. The pulley 35 is connected to the upper surface 36A side of the elevating shaft 33, and the motor 34 is arranged in the vicinity thereof.

  With such a configuration, when the motor 34 rotates in the normal direction, the elevating shaft 33 rotates, the elevating section 32 rises, and the cylinder unit 31 held by the elevating section 32 also rises. On the contrary, when the motor 34 rotates in the reverse direction, the elevating part 32 and the cylinder unit 31 descend.

  The cap 37 is a columnar member provided above the cylinder unit 31 in the upper surface portion 36A of the frame portion 36. The lower end of the cap 37 has substantially the same diameter as the upper surface opening of the cylinder 311, and the lower end of the cap 37 is fitted into the cylinder 311 as the cylinder unit 31 moves up. That is, when the cylinder unit 31 moves up together with the elevating part 32, the opening of the cylinder 311 is closed by the cap 37. Therefore, the cylinder 311 can be sealed by raising the cylinder unit 31. Here, coffee beans ground by the above-described mill 14 are enclosed in the cylinder 311 by the cap 37, and hot water is introduced from the hot water supply port 313, whereby the coffee liquid can be extracted.

  Further, on the lower surface of the cap 37, that is, the surface fitted into the cylinder 311, an extraction port 37A (see FIG. 7 and the like) for leading out the coffee liquid extracted in the cylinder 311 to the outside is formed. The extraction port 37A is formed so as to communicate with an extraction path (not shown) formed by vertically penetrating the inside of the cap 37, and the other end of the extraction path is exposed on the upper surface of the cap 37 and the coffee liquid extracting portion is formed. 37B is formed. The above-mentioned coffee liquid pipe 27 is connected to the coffee liquid take-out portion 37B.

  Although the cylinder unit 31 moves up and down together with the lifting unit 32 as described above, a sensor for detecting the position of the cylinder unit 31 is appropriately arranged in the frame unit 36. As shown in FIG. 5, the position detection sensor includes an upper limit position detection sensor 41, a hot water pouring position detection sensor 42, a coffee bean pouring position detection sensor 43, and a lower limit position detection sensor 44 in this order from the top. Each position detection sensor is an optical sensor (not shown) including, for example, a pair of a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and detects the position by blocking the light emitted from the light emitting element according to the elevation of the elevating unit 32.

  The upper limit position detection sensor 41 is a sensor that detects the upper limit position of the cylinder unit 31. The hot water pouring position detection sensor 42 is a sensor for detecting the position of the cylinder unit 31 for pouring hot water into the cylinder 311. The coffee bean insertion position detection sensor 43 is a sensor for detecting the position of the cylinder unit 31 for introducing the ground coffee beans into the cylinder 311. The lower limit position detection sensor 44 is a sensor that detects the lower limit position of the cylinder unit 31.

  The wiper 38 is fixed at a position slightly above the upper end of the cylinder 311 and moves up and down together with the cylinder unit 31 and the elevating part 32. When the cylinder unit 31 reaches a predetermined height, the wiper 38 performs a wiping operation to bounce off the coffee grounds after the coffee liquid extraction with the fixed position as a fulcrum. The smashed coffee slag is stored in the coffee slag receiving portion 15 as described above.

[Control unit 50]
Next, the control unit 50 of the beverage supply device 100 will be described. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing each functional unit of the beverage supply device 100. The control unit 50 is composed of, for example, a general-purpose microcontroller.

  On the input side of the control unit 50, the touch panel 3, the flow rate sensor 22, the pressure sensor 291, the rotor position detection sensor 341, the upper limit position detection sensor 41, the hot water pouring position detection sensor 42, the coffee bean pouring position detection sensor 43, the lower limit position detection. The sensor 44 and the like are connected. The hot water pump 12, the mill 14, the hot water supply valve 23, the drain valve 26, the extraction valve 28, the motor 34, etc. are connected to the output side.

  The control unit 50 controls the output side based on the information input from the input side, thereby performing the coffee supply operation in the beverage supply device 100. Hereinafter, details of the coffee supply operation in the beverage supply device 100 will be described.

[Coffee Supply Operation of Beverage Supply Device 100]
7 to 11 are operation explanatory views of the coffee supply operation in the beverage supply device 100. Further, FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the main part of the beverage supply device 100 relating to coffee extraction. The coffee supply operation in the beverage supply device 100 will be described below with reference to these drawings.

  First, before starting a series of coffee supply operations, the cylinder unit 31 (and the elevating part 32) is in the standby position. The standby position is the position of the cylinder unit 31 after the piston position returning operation, which will be described later, is completed in the previous coffee supply operation. At the standby position, as shown in “standby” in FIG. 12, the cap 37 is completely fitted in the cylinder 311. Hereinafter, the state where the cylinder unit 31 is in the standby position is referred to as a standby state. In the standby state, the piston 312 of the cylinder unit 31 is located at the inner bottom portion of the cylinder 311. The control unit 50 stops the hot water pump 12, closes all the hot water supply valve 23, the drainage valve 26, and the extraction valve 28, and waits until there is a coffee extraction request operation via the touch panel 3.

(A) Coffee Bean Loading Operation When the user performs a coffee extraction request operation via the touch panel 3 in the standby state, the control unit 50 causes the motor to move, as shown in “descent” to “powder receiving” in FIG. By controlling 34, the elevating part 32 is lowered to be in the powder receiving state. In the powder receiving state, the cap 37 is completely separated from the upper surface of the cylinder 311 and the upper portion of the cylinder 311 is opened so that ground beans (powder) can be charged, as shown in “Powder receiving” in FIGS. 7 and 12. It is like this.

  On the other hand, the control unit 50 drives the blade portion (not shown) of the mill 14 to crush the coffee beans stored in the canister 13 into ground beans according to the coffee extraction request operation. The coffee beans ground in the mill 14 are put into a cylinder 311 having an open top.

(B) Coffee liquid extracting operation When the coffee bean charging operation is completed, the control unit 50 then executes the coffee liquid extracting operation. In the coffee liquid extracting operation, first, as shown in “tamping” of FIGS. 8 and 12, the control unit 50 causes the motor 34 to rotate in the normal direction to raise the cylinder unit 31 (the cylinder 311 and the piston 312). As a result, the lower end of the cap 37 is pushed into the opening on the upper surface of the cylinder 311. The ground beans that have been put into the cylinder 311 are sandwiched between the piston 312 located at the inner bottom and the cap 37, enclosed, and compressed. This compression of ground beans is called tamping. In the tamping operation, the control unit 50 closes the hot water supply valve 23 and the extraction valve 28 shown in FIG. 6 and opens the drainage valve 26.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the cylinder 311 and the piston 312 are fitted to each other in the tamping operation, the hot water pouring position detection sensor 42 detects that the cylinder unit 31 has reached a position where hot water can be poured. When the tamping operation is completed, the control unit 50 operates the hot water pump 12 to pressurize the hot water, and also closes the drain valve 26 to open the hot water supply valve 23 to open the hot water, as shown in "extraction" in FIGS. 8 and 12. Pressurized hot water is supplied from the tank 11 into the cylinder 311. Here, the control unit 50 detects the supply amount of hot water with the flow rate sensor 22, and first supplies a small amount of hot water into the cylinder 311 to steam the ground beans. After steaming, the control unit 50 supplies a predetermined amount of hot water, for example, a cup of coffee, into the cylinder 311 again, and when the supply is finished, the hot water pump 12 is stopped and the hot water supply valve 23 is closed.

  By the above operation, the pressurized hot water is introduced into the cylinder 311 sealed by the cap 37, so that the pressure in the cylinder 311 rises and the hot water permeates into the ground bean tissue. The result is a strong coffee liquor, or espresso. The control unit 50 opens the extraction valve 28 at the start of extraction. The extracted coffee liquid passes through the inside of the cap 37 from the extraction port 37A formed on the lower surface of the cap 37, and is discharged from the coffee nozzle 4 through the coffee liquid pipe 27 connected to the coffee liquid outlet 37B. It As a result, the coffee liquid is supplied to the beverage container placed below the coffee nozzle 4 on the beverage container support base 7. At this time, the milk supply unit (not shown) may supply the milk / coffee mixed beverage by supplying foamed milk or steamed milk from the milk nozzle 5 at the same time as the coffee liquid.

(C) Coffee grounds discarding operation When the coffee liquid extracting operation is finished, the beverage supply device 100 executes the coffee grounds discarding operation. First, as shown in “Residual pressure purging” in FIG. 12, the control unit 50 maintains the hot water supply valve 23 closed, opens the drain valve 26, and closes the extraction valve 28. Then, the pressure in the cylinder 311 that has been pressurized is released. When the pressure in the cylinder 311 becomes a normal pressure, the control unit 50 reverses the motor 34 to lower the cylinder unit 31 (the cylinder 311 and the piston 312) as shown in "suction" in FIGS. 9 and 12. At this time, the control unit 50 closes the hot water supply valve 23 and the drainage valve 26, and opens the extraction valve 28. Then, as the cylinder unit 31 descends, the volume of the space inside the cylinder 311 increases, so that the inside of the cylinder 311 becomes negative pressure, and the inside of the pipe from the extraction port 37A to the coffee liquid take-out portion 37B and inside the coffee liquid pipe 27. The coffee liquid remaining in the cylinder 311 can be sucked into the cylinder 311.

  When the control unit 50 further lowers the cylinder unit 31 (cylinder 311 and piston 312), as shown in FIG. 9, the lower end portion of the piston 312 located at the lowermost end of the cylinder unit 31 becomes the lower surface portion 36B of the frame portion 36. Abut. When the control unit 50 continues the lowering operation, the lower end portion of the piston 312 is pressed against the lower surface portion 36B, and the piston 312 moves up in the cylinder 311.

  As a result, the coffee grounds remaining in the cylinder 311 rise while being collected by the upper surface of the piston 312. When the cylinder unit 31 further descends to the lower limit position, the lower limit position detection sensor 44 detects the position. In response to the detection by the lower limit position detection sensor 44, the control unit 50 stops driving the motor 34 and stops the descent of the elevating unit 32. In this state, as shown in “separation” in FIG. 12, the coffee grounds collected on the upper surface of the piston 312 are pushed up to the outside of the cylinder 311 and positioned above the edge of the upper surface opening of the cylinder 311. Become.

  Here, since the hot water supply valve 23 and the drain valve 26 are closed as described above, when the piston 312 moves up in the cylinder 311, a negative pressure is applied between the upper end of the piston 312 and the inner bottom of the cylinder 311. Become. Since the piston 312 has water permeability as described above, the water contained in the coffee grounds collected on the upper surface of the piston 312 is drawn into the cylinder 311 through the piston 312. In FIG. 12, the drawn water is shown as the residual liquid. As a result, the water content contained in the coffee grounds can be reduced. Therefore, in the subsequent coffee grounds removal operation, there is a problem that the coffee grounds containing water stick to the upper surface of the piston 312 and cannot be sufficiently removed. It is possible to solve the problem, and it becomes possible to preferably remove the coffee grounds.

  When the cylinder unit 31 descends to the lower limit position, the control unit 50 then causes the motor 34 to rotate normally and raises the cylinder unit 31 again, as shown in FIG. 10. When the cylinder unit 31 reaches a predetermined height position, the wiper 38 operates in conjunction with the lifting operation of the cylinder unit 31. As described above, the wiper 38 is located slightly above the upper end of the cylinder 311, and when the wiper 38 performs the wiping operation, the coffee slag pushed up to the outside of the cylinder 311 by the piston 312 is wiped off by the wiper 38. Will be removed. Here, the removed coffee grounds are received in the above-mentioned coffee ground receiving portion 15.

(D) Piston Position Returning Operation After the coffee grounds are discarded, the control unit 50 continues to raise the elevating unit 32 to execute the piston position returning operation. In the piston position returning operation, the control unit 50 causes the motor 34 to rotate normally until the upper limit position detection sensor 41 detects that the cylinder unit 31 is at the upper limit position, as shown in FIG. 11. Detection that the cylinder unit 31 is at the upper limit position means that the cap 37 has been fitted to the innermost portion of the cylinder 311. At that time, the piston 312 pushed up to the uppermost portion of the cylinder 311 in the above-mentioned coffee grounds discarding operation abuts the lower surface of the cap 37, and the cylinder unit 31 is further raised to be pushed down to the inner bottom portion of the cylinder 311. .

  In this process, the control unit 50 opens the drain valve 26, as indicated by "waste liquid" in FIG. As a result, the water sucked into the space between the inner bottom portion of the cylinder 311 and the piston 312 in the coffee dregs discarding operation is smoothly discharged from the drain pipe 25 to the outside via the drain valve 26.

  When the position of the piston 312 is pushed down to the inner bottom of the cylinder 311, that is, when the control unit 50 enters the standby state described above, the rotation of the motor 34 is stopped and the hot water supply valve 23, the drainage valve 26, and the extraction valve 28 are stopped. Close all valves in and wait for the next coffee brewing operation.

  The coffee supply operation of the beverage supply device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above. The above-described coffee supply operation is premised on the case where each unit operates in a suitable manner without delay. However, in the coffee liquid extracting operation described above, one of the routes (hereinafter referred to as the coffee liquid supply passage) from the coffee liquid extraction portion 37B of the piston 312 to the coffee nozzle 4 via the coffee liquid pipe 27. There may be a problem that is blocked. The operation of the beverage supply device 100 in such a case will be described in detail below.

[Operation when the coffee liquid supply path is clogged]
As shown in “Extraction” in FIG. 12, the drain valve 26 is closed during the coffee liquid extracting operation. For this reason, when the coffee liquid supply path is clogged, the coffee liquid cannot pass through the drain pipe 25 and the coffee liquid pipe 27 although the hot water is continuously supplied from the hot water supply pipe 24, and the pressure in the cylinder 311 rises. This may cause the coffee liquid to leak from the seal portion of the cylinder 311 and the cap 37.

  In order to prevent such a situation, the control unit 50 monitors the flow rate of hot water flowing through the hot water supply pipe 24 by the flow rate sensor 22. When the control unit 50 detects an abnormality such as the flow of hot water stopped with the hot water supply valve 23 open, or the state in which the flow rate is lower than the flow rate during the normal coffee liquid extraction operation for a predetermined time or more, The hot water supply valve 23 is closed and the hot water pump 12 is stopped.

  The control unit 50 also monitors the pressure sensor 291 during the coffee liquid extraction operation. When the pressure in the cylinder 311 detected by the pressure sensor 291 becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value higher than that of the normal coffee liquid extracting operation and the state continues for a predetermined time or longer, the control unit 50 closes the hot water supply valve 23. , Stop the hot water pump 12.

  The controller 50 also monitors the FG signal output from the rotor position detection sensor 341 of the motor 34. Since the FG signal is a signal output from the rotor position detection sensor 341 in accordance with the rotation of the motor 34, the FG signal should not be detected during the coffee extraction operation in which the motor 34 is stopped so that the elevating unit 32 is not moved up and down. Is. That is, if the control unit 50 detects the FG signal during the coffee extracting operation, it means that the motor 34 starts to rotate in reverse due to the pressure in the cylinder 311. Therefore, when the FG signal is detected while the motor 34 is stopped, the control unit 50 determines that an abnormality, that is, a clogging of the coffee liquid supply path is detected, closes the hot water supply valve 23, and turns on the hot water pump 12. stop.

  In this way, the control unit 50 monitors the amount of hot water supplied by the flow rate sensor 22, monitors the pressure in the cylinder 311 by the pressure sensor 291, and outputs the FG signal from the rotor position detection sensor 341 during the coffee liquid extraction operation. To monitor. As a result, the beverage supply device 100 according to the present embodiment can preferably detect the occurrence of clogging of the coffee liquid supply path during the coffee liquid extraction operation. Although the amount of hot water supplied, the pressure in the cylinder 311, and the FG signal are simultaneously monitored in the above-described embodiment of the present invention, for example, only one of them is used to detect an abnormality. May be.

[Operation after detection of clogged coffee liquid supply path]
As described above, when the clogging of the coffee liquid supply path is detected, the beverage supply device 100 cannot normally supply the coffee liquid, so that it is necessary to wait until maintenance is performed by, for example, an administrator. For this reason, the beverage supply device 100 notifies that the jam has occurred, for example, by a not-shown notifying unit or the like.

  However, since the coffee brewing unit 30 stops operating during the coffee liquid extracting operation, the inside of the cylinder 311 is filled with the coffee liquid being brewed, which makes maintenance difficult. Therefore, in order to easily receive maintenance, the beverage supply device 100 performs the following operation.

  FIG. 13: is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement of the principal part of the beverage supply apparatus 100 at the time of clogging of the coffee liquid supply path in a coffee liquid extraction operation. As shown in “Drainage” in FIG. 13, for example, when the FG signal is detected while the motor 34 is stopped during “extraction”, the beverage supply device 100 executes the drainage operation.

(E) Drainage Operation When the coffee liquid supply path is clogged during the coffee liquid extraction operation, the cylinder 311 is filled with the coffee liquid being extracted, and the pressure is high. Therefore, as shown in “Drainage” in FIG. 13, the control unit 50 closes the hot water supply valve 23 and opens the drainage valve 26, drains the coffee liquid in the cylinder 311 to the outside, and lowers the pressure in the cylinder 311.

(C ') Coffee slag discarding operation When the above-described drainage operation is completed, the coffee slag containing water is left in the cylinder 311. Therefore, the beverage supply device 100 executes the coffee grounds discarding operation. However, the pressure in the cylinder 311 has already been released by opening the drain valve 26 in the drain operation described above. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, the beverage supply device 100 performs the same operation as the coffee dregs discarding operation from the “suction” to the “waste liquid” shown in FIG. 12 to remove the coffee dregs and the remaining liquid. Drain and drain.

  However, although the extraction valve 28 is in the open state in the above-described "suction" operation shown in FIG. 12, in the "suction" operation in FIG. 13, the inside of the cylinder 311 is closed because the coffee liquid supply path is blocked. Therefore, a large force is required to lower the elevating part 32. In such a case, for example, the drain valve 26 may be opened and the inside of the cylinder 311 may be set to the same pressure as the outside.

  Further, in the "separation" operation shown in FIG. 13, it is desirable that the descending speed of the lifting / lowering section 32 by the motor 34 be slower than that in the "separation" operation shown in FIG. As a result, the time for removing water from the coffee grounds through the water-permeable piston 312 becomes longer, and more water can be removed from the coffee grounds.

  As described above, according to the beverage supply device 100 of the embodiment of the present invention, the cylinder 311 that stores coffee bean powder, the hot water pump 12 that pressurizes hot water into the cylinder 311, and the cylinder 311 are used. The coffee liquid pipe 27 for delivering the extracted coffee liquid, the drain valve 26 provided in the drain pipe 25 for discharging the residual liquid in the cylinder 311, and the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe 27 at the time of extracting the coffee liquid When detected, the hot water pump 12 stops the pressurized supply of hot water, and the control unit 50 that opens the drain valve 26 is provided.

  Further, according to the beverage supply device 100 of the embodiment of the present invention, a cap 37 that closes the opening of the cylinder 311 and a motor 34 that moves the cylinder 311 so that the cap 37 closes the opening are further provided. The control unit 50 detects clogging of the coffee liquid pipe 27 based on the signal indicating the rotation of the motor 34 when the coffee liquid is extracted. As a result, the pressure in the cylinder 311 becomes larger than the brake pressure of the motor 34, and the cylinder 311 moves in a direction of expanding the volume, so that the pressure in the cylinder 311 decreases, and hot water supply continues. Can be prevented.

  In addition, according to the beverage supply device 100 of the embodiment of the present invention, a pressure sensor 291 that detects the internal pressure of the cylinder 311 is further provided, and the control unit 50 causes the internal pressure detected by the pressure sensor 291 during extraction of the coffee liquid. Based on the above, the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe 27 is detected. Accordingly, the beverage supply device 100 can detect clogging of the coffee liquid supply path based on the pressure abnormality in the cylinder 311.

  Further, according to the beverage supply device 100 of the embodiment of the present invention, the control unit 50 further includes the flow rate sensor 22 that detects the flow rate of the hot water supplied into the cylinder 311. Based on the flow rate detected by 22, the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe 27 is detected. Thereby, the beverage supply device 100 can detect clogging of the coffee liquid supply path based on the abnormality in the amount of hot water supplied.

  Further, according to the beverage supply device 100 of the embodiment of the present invention, the control unit is further provided with a water-permeable piston 312 that moves in the cylinder 311 and accumulates the coffee grounds after the extraction of the coffee liquid in the upper portion. When the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe 27 is detected, the reference numeral 50 slows the speed at which the cylinder 311 is moved with respect to the piston 312 having the coffee grounds accumulated therein, when the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe 27 is detected. As a result, even when a large amount of coffee liquid remains in the cylinder 311, it is possible to sufficiently remove water from the coffee dregs because the elevating unit 32 has a long time to descend during the coffee dregs discarding operation.

  The above-described embodiment is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this. In the above-described embodiment, the beverage supply device 100 compresses coffee beans and pressurizes and supplies hot water to produce a strong coffee liquid, that is, espresso. However, the present invention can also be applied to a beverage supply device that pressurizes hot water at a low pressure to supply drip-flavored coffee. The present invention can also be applied to a beverage supply device capable of producing a plurality of types of coffee beverages such as drip-flavored coffee, American coffee and high-pressure extraction espresso by controlling pressurization of hot water with a hot water pump.

  The disclosures of the specification, drawings, and abstract contained in the Japanese application of Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-008661 filed on Jan. 20, 2015 are all incorporated herein.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is suitable for a beverage supply device that extracts hot water by introducing hot water into a container in which coffee bean powder is placed.

100 Beverage Supply Device 1 Case 2 Front Door 3 Touch Panel 4 Coffee Nozzle 5 Milk Nozzle 6 Hot Water Nozzle 7 Beverage Container Support 10 Beverage Supply Mechanism 11 Hot Water Tank 12 Hot Water Pump 13 Canister 14 Mill 15 Coffee Dish Receiver 21 Hot Water Filter 22 Flow rate sensor 23 Hot water supply valve 24 Hot water supply pipe 24A Connector 25 Drain pipe 26 Drain valve 27 Coffee liquid pipe 28 Extraction valve 29 Flow divider 291 Pressure sensor 30 Coffee extraction part 31 Cylinder unit 311 Cylinder 312 Piston 313 Hot water supply port 32 Lifting part 33 Lifting Shaft 34 Motor 341 Rotor position detection sensor 35 Pulley 36 Frame part 36A Upper surface part 36B Lower surface part 36C Column part 37 Cap 37A Extraction port 37B Coffee liquid take-out part 38 Wiper 41 Upper limit position detection sensor 42 Hot water pouring position Detection sensor 43 coffee beans on position detecting sensor 44 lower limit position detecting sensor 50 control unit

Claims (4)

A cylinder containing coffee bean powder,
A coffee liquid pipe for delivering coffee liquid extracted by supplying hot water into the cylinder,
A water-permeable piston that moves in the cylinder and accumulates coffee grounds after the extraction of the coffee liquid in the upper part,
When the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe is detected by the sensor, control is performed for a long time to remove the water from the coffee dregs through the water-permeable piston, as compared with the case where the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe is not detected. A beverage supply device comprising: a controller.   When the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe is detected by the sensor, the control unit slows the moving speed of the cylinder with respect to the piston, as compared with the case where the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe is not detected. The beverage supply device according to claim 1, which performs control.   When the sensor detects a clogging of the coffee liquid pipe, the control unit removes the water from the cylinder that has been subjected to a treatment for removing water for a longer time than when the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe is not detected. The beverage supply device according to claim 1 or 2, which is pushed up.   The control unit stops the supply of the hot water and opens a drain valve for discharging the residual liquid in the cylinder when the clogging of the coffee liquid pipe is detected by the sensor. The beverage supply device according to claim 3.

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