KR102288480B1 - Dispenser for beverage - Google Patents

Abstract

The beverage dispenser 10 includes a supply passage 25 through which beverage is supplied, an on/off valve 32 connected to the supply passage, and a pouring passage connected to the on-off valve and extending vertically downward in the supply passage ( 39), wherein at least one through hole 51 is provided in the pouring passage at 90 It is formed at an angular position between 270 degrees.

Description

Dispenser for beverages {DISPENSER FOR BEVERAGE}

The present invention relates to a beverage dispenser for dispensing beverages.

There are various types of dispensers for supplying beverages, that is, water servers on the market. As users' interest in beverages increases, securing the safety of beverages and pursuing quality in terms of sensuality of beverages are highly demanded. To ensure the safety of beverages, in the case of a dispenser that supplies tap water, since tap water itself has a certain degree of sterilization by chlorine added to the tap water for sterilization, the growth of microorganisms in tap water is suppressed, so there is not much of a problem. doesn't happen However, in the case of beverages such as mineral water, chlorine for sterilization is not added to the beverage, and the growth of microorganisms in the beverage is an important problem.

The growth of microorganisms in beverages is harmful to the human body if the microorganisms are pathogenic, and even if there is no pathogenicity, strange taste and strange odor may be added to the beverage, or the beverage may become cloudy. If the dispenser is constantly supplying beverages, it is difficult for microorganisms to grow in the dispenser. For example, when used in an office, etc., it is not used at night or on weekends, and the beverage is stagnated in the dispenser for a long time. If there is, there is a possibility that microorganisms may multiply. In addition, there is a case in which a microflora of microorganisms is gradually produced in a dispenser used over a long period of time.

Conventionally, in order to suppress the growth of microorganisms in the dispenser, a disinfectant or high-temperature water is injected into the piping system in the dispenser from the outside of the dispenser and circulated to sterilize, or a sterilization filtering device is installed in the dispenser. However, from the viewpoint of cost and maintenance, by arranging a heater in a specific portion of the piping system of a dispenser that provides beverages from a container filled with beverages, heat sterilization of the piping system is performed without separately installing a sterilization filtration device or the like. .

As is known, a nozzle is connected to the piping system of the dispenser. Moreover, a solenoid valve is normally arrange|positioned at the connection part between a nozzle and a piping system. When the user operates the switch connected to the solenoid valve, the solenoid valve is opened, and beverage is poured out from the nozzle.

At this time, after the user complete|finishes the pouring operation of a beverage, it has become clear that a beverage remains in the nozzle. The piping system of the dispenser can be sterilized by circulating the hot water heated by the heater.

However, such hot water does not circulate in the nozzle located downstream of the solenoid valve, so that the nozzle cannot be sterilized. For this reason, it is necessary to frequently wash|clean the nozzle of a beverage, and it is troublesome. When washing of the nozzle is neglected over a long period of time, there is a possibility that microorganisms may propagate in the beverage remaining in the nozzle.

The nozzle of the dispenser disclosed in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2011-178408 is provided with the bending part which extended downward from an on-off valve toward the front. As the beverage becomes turbulent as it passes through the bend, air stagnation occurs in the bend. For this reason, after completion of the pouring operation, the stagnant air moves above the nozzle, and fresh air enters from the tip of the nozzle, and as a result, it is possible to avoid the beverage remaining in the nozzle.

Moreover, in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2011-178408, the through-hole is formed in the passage located downstream of a bending part. Thus, air enters the nozzle through the through hole, whereby the beverage in the nozzle can be quickly displaced with air.

However, the through-hole disclosed in Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2011-178408 is a passage located downstream of a bending part, WHEREIN: It is formed in the position far from a user. When the through-hole is formed at this position, the beverage in the nozzle can be quickly replaced with air, but compared with the case where the through-hole is not formed, there is a possibility that the beverage pouring flow rate of the beverage is greatly reduced.

In addition, since the bent part of Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 2011-718408 extends downward toward the front, space is required inward by that much. For this reason, the dispenser is enlarged inward, and such a dispenser is not suitable for a place where space saving is requested|required.

The present invention was made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage dispenser capable of preventing the beverage from remaining in the nozzle without significantly lowering the pouring flow rate or increasing the size.

In order to achieve the above object, according to a first embodiment, a supply passage through which beverage is supplied, an on-off valve connected to the supply passage, and an on-off valve connected to the on-off valve and extending vertically downward with respect to the supply passage a passage, wherein at least one through hole is provided in an angular position between 90° and 270°, with a line segment connecting the center line of the supply passage and the center of the extraction passage in a cross section of the pouring passage at 0° A dispenser for beverages is provided.

According to the second embodiment, in the first embodiment, the through hole is formed in the pouring passage above half the length of the pouring passage.

According to the third embodiment, in the first or second embodiment, the through hole is formed in the pouring passage just below the on-off valve.

According to the fourth embodiment, in any one of the first to third embodiments, the plurality of through holes are formed in the pouring passage.

According to a fifth embodiment, in any one of the first to fourth embodiments, a cover portion covering at least a region between the through hole formed in the pouring passage and the base end of the pouring passage is provided.

In the first embodiment, since the through hole is formed in the pouring passage, it is possible to prevent the beverage from remaining in the pouring passage (nozzle). In addition, since this through hole is formed between 90 degrees and 270 degrees, ie, a position close to a user, the pouring flow rate of a beverage hardly falls. Moreover, since the pouring passage extends downward in the vertical direction, the dispenser does not enlarge in the inward direction.

In the second embodiment, it is possible to reduce the amount of beverage remaining in the pouring passage.

In the third embodiment, it is possible to almost completely prevent the beverage from remaining in the pouring passage.

In the fourth embodiment, the beverage in the nozzle can be replaced with air more quickly.

In the fifth embodiment, while preventing the beverage from remaining in the pouring passage, it is possible to prevent the user from inadvertently contacting the through hole or foreign substances from adhering to the through hole.

These objects, features and advantages and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the detailed description of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a dispenser for beverages based on the invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the beverage dispenser shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a partially enlarged view of the dispenser for beverages based on the present invention.
It is a front view of the solenoid valve for cold water, and a pouring passage.
5 is a diagram showing a relationship between a formation position of a through hole and a pouring flow rate.
It is a perspective view which shows the front-end|tip vicinity of the pouring passage of the dispenser for beverages in another embodiment.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described with reference to an accompanying drawing. In the following drawings, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same members. For ease of understanding, these figures have been appropriately scaled.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a dispenser for beverages based on the present invention; As an example of a beverage, the beverage container 12 filled with beverage is a bag-in-box-type container, and is formed by being connected to an inner bag (not shown) of the bag-in-box-type container. One end of the tube was taken out and mounted on the dispenser (10). As long as the container filled with beverage can absorb the volume expansion of the beverage by heating and has sealability, any type of container may be used. What is necessary is just to connect with the dispenser side through a spout and a connection mechanism.

As shown in Fig. 1, the common pipe 21 extending from the beverage container 12 is branched to a branch pipe 22 and a branch pipe 28, and these branch pipes 22 and 28 are two types of storage. It is respectively connected to the hot water tank 13 and the cold water tank 14 which are tanks. The beverage supplied from the beverage container 12 to the hot water tank 13 is heated to an appropriate temperature, for example, about 70° or more by a heating device 15 installed in the hot water tank 13 . Similarly, the beverage supplied from the beverage container 12 to the cold water tank 14 is cooled to about 4° to 10° by the cooling device 16 installed in the cold water tank 14 . Moreover, by operating the solenoid valve 31 for hot water provided in the piping 23 connected to the hot water tank 13, hot water is poured out from the front-end|tip of the pouring passage 38, and the piping connected to the cold water tank 14 further. Cold water is poured out from the front-end|tip of the pouring passage 39 by operating the solenoid valve 32 for cold water provided in (25). In addition, instead of these solenoid valves 31 and 32, a pouring cock or a pouring lever can be employ|adopted.

As can be seen with reference to FIG. 1 , the branch 22 for pouring beverage into the hot water tank 13 extends to a deep layer of the hot water tank 13 , for example greater than 75%, while , the pipe 23 for dispensing beverages from the hot water tank 13 extends only to a shallow layer of the hot water tank 13, for example, to a depth not exceeding 25%. Since hot water convections toward the top (upper side in FIG. 1) of the hot water tank 13, hot water can be poured out from the hot water tank 13 efficiently.

In addition, the branch pipe for pouring beverage into the cold water tank 14 extends only to a shallow layer of the cold water tank 14 , for example, to a depth not exceeding 25%, and on the other hand, a pipe for dispensing beverage from the cold water tank 14 . 25 extends to a deep layer of the cold water tank 14 , for example greater than 75%. Since cold water convects toward the bottom part (lower side in FIG. 1) of the cold water tank 14, cold water can be poured out from the cold water tank 14 efficiently.

1, the communication pipe 24 extending from the hot water tank 13 is connected to the solenoid valve 32 for cold water of the pipe 25, and the communication pipe 24 has a circulation valve ( 35) and a circulation pump 40 are provided. This circulation valve 35 is, for example, a solenoid operated solenoid valve. Moreover, as shown in figure, the pipe 26 provided with the drain valve 33 extends from the communication pipe 24, and the pipe 27 provided with the drain valve 34 similarly extends from the cold water tank 14. there is. In such a configuration, for example, by opening the circulation valve 35 and driving the circulation pump 40 at night, the hot water in the hot water tank 13 is communicated to the piping 24, the cold water tank 14, the piping ( 22) and by circulating through the pipe 28, these can be heat-sterilized.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the dispenser for beverages shown in Fig. 1; As shown in FIG. 2 , in the front surface 11a of the housing 11 of the dispenser 10 , a recess 45 in which the cup C can be placed is formed. The cover 44 extends downward from the upper surface of the recess 45 , and the pouring passages 38 and 39 extend downward beyond the lower ends of the cover 44 .

In addition, an operation panel 41 is disposed on the front surface 11a of the housing 11 . When the pouring buttons 48 and 49 of the operation panel 41 are pressed, the corresponding solenoid valves 31 and 32 are driven, and hot water or cold water is poured out from the front-end|tip of the pouring passages 38 and 39.

Figure 3 is a partial enlarged view of the dispenser for beverages based on the present invention. In FIG. 3, the cold water tank 14 and the solenoid valve 32 for cold water and the pouring passage 39 corresponding thereto are shown as an example. In addition, for the purpose of brevity, illustration of the communication pipe 24 is abbreviate|omitted in FIG. In addition, although not shown in the figure, the hot water tank 13 and the solenoid valve 31 for hot water corresponding thereto, and the pouring passage 38 are also set as the thing of a structure as mentioned later.

As shown in FIG. 3, the piping 25 which connects the cold water tank 14 and the solenoid valve 32 for cold water extends in the horizontal direction and is connected to the solenoid valve 32 for cold water. Moreover, the pouring passage 39 extended from the solenoid valve 32 for cold water extends substantially vertically downward. That is, the pipe 25 and the pouring passage 39 are substantially perpendicular to each other.

As shown in FIG. 3 , in the present invention, a through hole 51 is formed in the pouring passage 39 . This through hole 51 is formed in a part of the pouring passage 39 located far from the pipe 25 . In other words, the through hole 51 is formed in a position close to the front surface 11a of the housing 11, that is, in a position close to the user. In one embodiment, the inner diameter of the pouring passage 39 is 8.5 mm, and the diameter of the through hole 51 is 1.5 mm to 2.0 mm. However, the dimensions of the pouring passage 39 and the through hole 51 may be different from those described above.

When the solenoid valve 32 for cold water is stopped and the beverage is not supplied from the tip of the pouring passage 39 , the beverage remains at least partially in the pouring passage 39 . In the present invention, since air from the outside enters the pouring passage 39 through the through hole 51 , the beverage remaining in the pouring passage 39 is discharged from the tip of the pouring passage 39 . That is, the beverage in the pouring passage (39) is replaced by the air entering from the through hole (51). For this reason, in the present invention, almost no beverage remains in the pouring passage 39 , and therefore, no microorganisms propagate in the pouring passage 39 .

It is a front view of the solenoid valve for cold water, and a pouring passage. In FIG. 4 , three through-holes 51 , 52 , 53 are shown on the pouring passage 39 , but it is assumed that only one of the through-holes is actually formed. The through hole 51 is formed in the position P1 just below the solenoid valve 32 for cold water. The through hole 53 is formed in the position P3 near the tip of the pouring passage 39 . In addition, the through hole 52 is formed in the position P2 of about half of the length part of the pouring passage 39 extended from the solenoid valve 32 for cold water. In one embodiment, the length of the pouring passage 39 extending from the solenoid valve 32 for cold water is 28.5 mm.

In addition, Table 1 shows the relationship between the formation position of a through-hole, pouring flow volume, etc. In Table 1, on the basis of the pouring passage 39 of Sample No. 0 in which no through-holes are formed, the pouring passages 39 having through-holes formed at height positions P1, P2, and P3 (Sample Nos. 1 to 3) and are comparing

Table 1 shows the remaining amount of the beverage in the pouring passage 39 after stopping the pouring of the beverage. Based on sample number 0, in the case of the height position P1 of the through hole (sample number 1), the remaining amount in the pouring passage 39 decreases to minus 87%, and almost no beverage remains. For this reason, there is no chance that microorganisms will propagate in the pouring passage 39 . Therefore, the frequency of cleaning the pouring passage can be reduced.

In addition, in the case of the height positions P2 and P3 of the through-holes (Sample Nos. 2 and 3), the remaining amount in the pouring passage 39 is minus 82%. That is, in this case, a large amount of beverage remains in the pouring passage 39 than in the case of the height position P1 of the through hole.

For this reason, in the case of the height position P1 of the through hole (Sample No. 1), the liquid does not flow, but in the case of the height positions P2 and P3 of the through hole (Sample No. 2, 3), a small amount of liquid can flow down ( 1.0 ml or 1.5 ml).

In addition, with respect to the pouring flow rate, based on sample number O, the pouring flow rate is minus 1.1% in the case of the through-hole height position P2 (sample number 2), and in the case of the through-hole height position P3 (sample number 3). The pour flow rate is plus 0.2%. Moreover, in the case of the height position P1 (sample number 1) of a through-hole, the pouring flow rate is minus 2.8%. However, compared with sample number 0, the fall of the pouring flow rate in the case of the height position P1 (sample number 1) of a through-hole is very small. In other words, even in the case of the height position P1 (sample number 1) of a through-hole, the pouring flow rate hardly falls.

Moreover, FIG. 5 is a figure which shows the relationship between the formation position of a through-hole, pouring flow rate, etc. FIG. In the sample number 0 - sample number 7 shown in FIG. 5, the through-hole 51 shall be formed in the pouring passage 39 in the height position P1. In addition, in FIG. 5, the extraction|pouring passage 39 of the sample number 0 in which the through-hole is not formed serves as a reference|standard.

In addition, the "angular position of the through hole" shown in FIG. 5 is 0° when the line segment connecting the center of the pouring passage 39 and the center line of the pipe 25 in the cross section of the pouring passage 39 is 0° from the upper side. It shall mean the angular position of the through-hole 51 in a boa counterclockwise direction. Therefore, in the case of 0 degree angle (Sample No. 1), the through-hole 51 is formed in a part of the pouring passage 39 located in the position close to the piping 25. As shown in FIG. In addition, in the case of an angle of 180 degrees (sample number 4), as shown in FIG. 3, the through-hole 51 is formed in a part of the pouring passage 39 located in the position furthest from the pipe 25. As shown in FIG.

In Fig. 5, the residual amount in the pouring passage 39 compared with the case in which the through hole 51 is not formed is between minus 82% and minus 87% in Sample Nos. 1 to 7.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 5, when the angle position is 0 degree (Sample No. 1), compared with the case where the through-hole 51 is not formed, the pouring flow rate falls to minus 13%. Even when the angular position is 45° (Sample No. 2), the pouring flow rate is reduced to minus 12%.

However, when the angular position is 90° (Sample No. 3), the drop in the pouring flow rate is only minus 3.2%. In addition, when the angular position is 180° (Sample No. 3), the drop in the pouring flow rate is minus 2.8%, and the drop in the pouring flow rate is the smallest. In addition, since the cross section of the pouring passage 39 is circular, when the angular position is 270° (not shown), the same result as in the case where the angular position is 90° (Sample No. 3) can be obtained.

By the way, in FIG. 3, the broken line which continued parabolically from the site|part 39a located in the upper end side of the pouring passage 39 and the piping 25 side into the pouring passage 39 is shown. And the inside of the pouring passage 39 is divided into two areas Z1 and Z2 by this broken line. As can be seen from FIG. 3 , the region Z1 is a region in the pouring passage 39 located at a position far from the pipe 25 , and the region Z2 is a region in the pouring passage 39 located at a position close to the pipe 25 . is the area

As described above, the pipe 25 is perpendicular to the pouring passage 39, and the pouring passage 39 extends downward in the vertical direction. For this reason, the flow velocity of the beverage in the region Z1 is greater than the flow velocity in the region Z2. That is, the flow velocity of the beverage in the pouring passage 39 is large in the vicinity of the upper end of the pouring passage 39 and at a position far from the pipe 25, and gradually decreases as it moves away from this position. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 3, in this invention, the through-hole 51 is formed in the pouring passage 39 in the area|region Z1.

For this reason, when the angular position of the through hole 51 is at 180°, that is, when the through hole 51 is formed at the position closest to the user, as shown in FIG. 5 , the beverage The pouring flow rate hardly decreases. In addition, even when the angular position of the through hole 51 is between 90° and 270°, the beverage pouring flow rate is very slightly lowered.

Further, in the present invention, since the pouring passage 39 extends only downward in the vertical direction, the dispenser 10 does not enlarge in the inward direction either. Therefore, in the present invention, it is possible to prevent the beverage from remaining in the pouring passage 39 without significantly lowering the pouring flow rate and not increasing the size.

In addition, the sample numbers 5-7 in FIG. 5 have shown the case where two mutually opposing through-holes are formed in the extraction|pouring passage 39. In FIG. It is assumed that both of these two through-holes are formed in the height position P1 in the pouring passage 39. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the angular positions of the two through-holes 51 are 0° and 180° (Sample No. 5), compared with the case where the through-holes 51 are not formed, the pouring flow rate is negative. down to 13%. Similarly, in the case where the angular positions of the two through-holes 51 are 45° and 225° (Sample No. 6), the pouring flow rate is reduced to minus 11% compared to the case in which the through-holes 51 are not formed. In addition, when the angular positions of the two through-holes 51 are 90° and 270° (Sample No. 7), compared with the case where the through-holes 51 are not formed, the drop in the pouring flow rate is minus 3.7%. .

As can be seen from FIG. 5 , the results of the respective pouring flow rates of Sample Nos. 5 to 7 are the same as the respective results of Sample Nos. 1 to 3. As shown in FIG. For example, the pouring flow rate in Sample No. 5 in which two through-holes 51 are formed at angular positions of 0° and 180° is that one through-hole 51 is formed at 0° angular positions. case (Sample No. 0). The same is true for other sample numbers 6 and 7.

This has shown that the fall of the pouring flow rate depends on the angular position of the through-hole which reduces the pouring flow rate. That is, when the two through-holes 51 are formed in the pouring passage 39, it pours out according to the angular position (for example, angular position 0 degree in Sample No. 5) of the through-hole which further reduces the pouring flow rate. The flow rate is lowered. Although not shown in FIG. 5 , the same applies to the case where three or more through-holes 51 are formed at the same height position. However, when a plurality of through-holes are formed at the same height of the pouring passage 39, the beverage in the pouring passage 39 is mixed with air after stopping the pouring operation, rather than when only a single through-hole 51 is formed. can be replaced quickly.

It is a perspective view which shows the front-end|tip vicinity of the pouring passage of the dispenser for beverages in another embodiment. 6 shows a state in which the concave portion 45 of the dispenser 10 is viewed from below. As can be seen from FIG. 6 , the cover 44 is arranged to surround the pour passages 38 , 39 . In addition, the inner surface of the cover 44 is spaced apart from the pouring passages 38 and 39 to some extent. And so that FIG. 3 may show, the through-hole 51 of the extraction|pouring passage 39 is coat|covered with the cover 44 so that it cannot be accessed from the outside. The cover 44 preferably covers at least between the through hole 51 and the base end of the pouring passage 39 .

Due to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the user from contacting the through hole 51 due to carelessness or the like, or from attaching foreign substances to the through hole 51 . In addition, since the inner surface of the cover 44 is spaced apart from the pouring passages 38 and 39 , air can enter into the pouring passage 39 through the through hole 51 , and thus the beverage in the pouring passage 39 . can be prevented from remaining.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where water in the beverage container 12 is poured from the tips of the pouring passages 38 and 39 has been described. However, it will be clear that the dispenser 10 is also included in the scope of the present invention in the case of dispensing beverages other than water, for example, tea beverages, juices, and the like.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to typical embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and various other changes, omissions, and additions can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims (5)

a supply passage through which the beverage is supplied;
an on/off valve connected to the supply passage;
a pouring passage connected to the on-off valve and extending vertically downward with respect to the supply passage;
In the pouring passage, at least one through-hole extending perpendicular to the pouring passage is formed with a line segment connecting the center of the pouring passage and the center of the supply passage in the cross section of the pouring passage as 0°, from 90° to 270° A beverage dispenser formed at an angular position between the The beverage dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the through hole is formed in the dispensing passage above half of the length of the dispensing passage. The beverage dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the through-hole is formed in the dispensing passage just below the on-off valve. The beverage dispenser according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the through-holes are formed in the pouring passage. The beverage dispenser according to claim 1, further comprising a cover portion covering at least a region between the through hole formed in the pouring passage and the base end of the pouring passage.

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