JPH0135692Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (a) Industrial application field The present invention relates to a device for brewing beverages such as tea and coffee.

(b) Conventional technology The conventional technology for such a device is
There is a technique disclosed in Publication No. 60487. In this method, raw materials and hot water are supplied into a chamber closed by a filter, and the mixture is extracted using an electric stirring blade.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention In this conventional technique, only an extract of a certain concentration is supplied. However, it is desired to adjust the concentration depending on the type of beverage preference. For example, in the case of black tea, there are suitable strengths depending on tastes such as black, sugar, milk, or iced tea.

In view of the above points, the present invention provides an apparatus that can vary the concentration of the extract depending on the type of beverage preference.

(d) Means for solving the problem The present invention consists of a material container that supplies a predetermined amount of raw materials for each extraction operation, a material container that receives the raw materials from the container through an opening at the top, and a circular discharge port at the bottom. a mixing container having a radial direction approximately equal to the radius of the discharge port, a rotating shaft disposed at the center of the discharge port, a stirring blade installed on the rotary shaft whose length in the radial direction substantially matches the radius of the discharge port, and a drive device for the rotary shaft. , a selection switch for selecting the type of beverage preference, a control device for controlling the drive time of the drive device in response to the operation of the selection switch, and a filter for extracting the beverage from the mixed liquid discharged from the discharge port. The configuration is equipped with the following features.

(E) Effect With the above configuration, the rotation time of the stirring blade changes according to the selection of the type of beverage preference, thereby adjusting the contact time between the hot water and the raw material, and changing the concentration of the extract.

(F) Embodiment In FIG. 1, a material container 1 for storing raw materials such as black tea leaves is equipped with a delivery auger 8 inside, and a motor 9 is driven for each extraction operation to dispense a predetermined amount of tea leaves. Push out the tea leaves from the outlet 10 and chute 11
It is supplied through Tea leaves are introduced into the mixing container 3 through the chute 11 from the upper opening,
Hot water from a hot water tank (not shown) is introduced from a hot water introduction tube 12 connected to the side. As shown in FIG. 2, the mixing container 3 has a circular outlet 2 at its bottom.
The drive device 1 is located at the center of the discharge port 2.
A rotary shaft 4 rotated by a rotary shaft 4 is installed.
Stirring blades 5 are extended in the radial direction. The length of the stirring blade 5 in the radial direction is made to approximately match the radius of the discharge port 2, and the stirring blade 5 is rotated by rotation of the rotating shaft 4.
When the is rotated, hot water and tea leaves are stirred in the mixing container 3, and at the same time, the mixed liquid is prevented from flowing into the discharge port 2. Further, a prevention plate 13 is installed on the rotating shaft 4 for the purpose of preventing the mixed liquid from scattering due to rotation of the stirring blade 5.

The drive device 17 includes a drive motor and a speed reduction mechanism that reduces the rotational force of the motor and transmits it to the rotating shaft 4. The drive of the drive motor is controlled by the control device 18. The control device 18 controls the drive time by changing the power supply time to the drive device 17 according to the type of beverage preference selected. When the driving time of the driving device 17 is long, the contact time between the hot water and tea leaves due to the rotation of the stirring blade 5 becomes long, and a strong beverage is extracted. For example, in the case of a black tea brewing device, the lemon tea is desired to be thicker than black tea containing other creams or sugar, so as shown in the timing chart in Figure 3, the lemon tea selection switch _SL1 is When the selection signal S ₁ is input at time t ₀ , the control device 18 energizes the drive device 17 for a longer period than the others. In addition, by operating the selection switches SL ₂ , SL ₃ , SL ₄ , a selection signal S ₂ for black tea with cream or a selection signal S ₃ for black tea with sugar is generated.
Or select signal for black tea without cream or sugar S ₄
When input at time _t0 , the control device 18 similarly energizes the drive device 17 for a preset period. Such energization control may be an intermittent control as shown in FIG. 4, and in this case, the lower the concentration, the longer the energization cutoff period.

The filter 6 is formed of wire mesh or the like, and is supported on one side by a shaft 13 so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction. Specifically, the drive device 7 that rotates the filter 6 in the vertical direction includes a cam 7A that is rotated by a gear motor (not shown), a rod 7B that moves linearly by the rotational movement of the cam 7A, and a shaft 13 that supports the filter 6 together with the rod 7B. The crank 7C converts the reciprocating motion of the rod 7B into rotational motion, and the cam 7
In one rotation of A, the filter 6 is rotated from the horizontal position shown by the solid line to the position shown by the dotted line beyond the upright vertical position, and then returned from the dotted line position to the solid line position again. A supply section 14 is provided below the filter 6 for pouring out the extract to the outside of the machine.

With the above configuration, when one of the selection signals S ₁ to _{S 4} is inputted by the customer according to the type of black tea he/she prefers, the control device 18 energizes the drive device 17 for a period corresponding to the type. Therefore, the rotating shaft 4 is driven by the driving device 17, and the stirring blade 5 is rotated. In this state, the motor 9 is driven for a certain period of time to send out a predetermined amount of tea leaves, and hot water is supplied from the hot water introduction tube 12, so that the hot water and tea leaves are mixed and stirred by the stirring blades 5 in the mixing container 3. When the stirring period corresponding to the type of preference ends and the control device 18 stops energizing the drive device 17, the mixed liquid in the mixing container 3 passes through the gap between the stirring blades 5 and is sent out from the discharge port 2. At this time, the filter 6 is in a horizontal state shown by the solid line to receive the mixed liquid from the discharge port 2.
After passing through the filter 6, the mixed liquid is separated into an extract containing tea leaf extract and tea grounds, and the extract is introduced into the supply section 14. Then, in the supply section 14, the extract is supplied as cream or cream depending on the type of taste selected.
Sugar and lemon water are added and supplied from the supply pipe 19.

When the extraction of black tea is completed through this series of operations and an extraction completion signal is generated, specifically, when the on-delay timer outputs an extraction completion signal after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the generation of the selection signal, the gear motor described above is driven. Then, the cam 7A rotates. When the actuator of the micro switch 15 is disengaged from the notch 16 due to the rotation of the cam 7A, the micro switch 15 is turned on and the drive of the gear motor is maintained. When the crank 7C rotates due to the reciprocating movement of the rod 7B due to the rotation of the cam 7A, the filter 6
rotates from the position shown by the solid line to the position shown by the dotted line. After that, the cam 7A returns to the position shown by the solid line again.
When one rotation of the micro switch 15 is completed and the actuator of the micro switch 15 reaches the notch 16, the micro switch 15 is turned off to stop driving the gear motor and enter a standby state. Therefore, after the extraction is completed, when the filter 6 is rotated to the position indicated by the dotted line, the tea leaves are removed.

(g) Effects of the invention According to the invention, since the hot water and the raw materials are stirred by the stirring blade in the mixing container, the extract of the raw materials can be effectively extracted and it is economical. By changing the stirring time with the stirring blade, the concentration of the extract can be easily adjusted, and by setting the stirring time according to the type of beverage preference, the beverage can be brewed to the optimal concentration.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the device according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of the main parts, Figure 3 is a timing chart explaining the control of the energization time depending on the type of beverage preference, and Figure 4 is a timing chart explaining another example of controlling the energization time. . 1... Material container, 2... Discharge port, 3... Mixing container, 4... Rotating shaft, 5... Stirring blade, 17...
Drive mechanism, 18...control device, SL ₁ , SL ₂ , SL ₃ ,
SL ₄ ...Selection switch.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A material container that supplies a predetermined amount of raw materials for each extraction operation; a mixing container that receives the raw materials from the container through an opening at the top and has a circular outlet at the bottom; and a mixing container located at the center of the outlet. a rotating shaft, a stirring blade installed on the rotating shaft and whose length in a radial direction substantially matches the radius of the discharge port, a driving device for the rotating shaft, and a selection switch for selecting the type of beverage preference. a control device that controls the drive time of the drive device in response to the operation of the selection switch; and a filter that extracts a beverage from the mixed liquid discharged from the discharge port.