CN112438595B

CN112438595B - Beverage supply device

Info

Publication number: CN112438595B
Application number: CN202010837586.2A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 周玉清; 平田严悟
Original assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-08-30
Filing date: 2020-08-19
Publication date: 2023-08-15
Anticipated expiration: 2040-08-19
Also published as: CN112438595A

Abstract

The invention provides a beverage supply device, which can reduce the risk of incorrect pharynx by making the existence of thick paste components clear. A beverage supply device for preparing a beverage from a beverage raw material and raw beverage water which are fed into a container (C), wherein the beverage raw material comprises a thick paste component which increases the viscosity of the beverage, and the beverage supply device comprises: a beverage selection unit (111) for selecting a type of beverage; a thick paste component selection unit (112) for selecting whether or not a thick paste component is present; and a control unit (20), wherein the control unit (20) prepares the beverage when the type of beverage is selected by the beverage selection unit (111) and the presence or absence of the thick paste component is selected by the thick paste component selection unit (112). Preferably, the thick paste component selecting unit (112) can select not only the presence or absence of thick paste components but also the amount of thick paste components.

Description

Beverage supply device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a beverage supply apparatus, and more particularly, to a beverage supply apparatus that supplies a beverage in a state where the beverage is put into a container such as a cup.

Background

Conventionally, as a beverage supply apparatus for supplying a beverage in a state in which the beverage is put into a container such as a cup, there are the following beverage supply apparatuses: beverage raw materials such as powdery raw materials and the like are poured into the container conveyed by the conveying mechanism, and raw beverage water such as hot water or water and the like is stirred by the stirring mechanism, whereby the prepared beverage is supplied (for example, refer to patent document 1).

In this beverage supply apparatus, a container is first transported to a position of a can containing beverage raw materials by a transport mechanism, and the beverage raw materials are poured into the container. Then, the container is transported to the preparation position by the transport mechanism, raw beverage water is poured into the container, and the raw beverage material and raw beverage water in the container are stirred by the stirring mechanism to be mixed. Thereafter, the container is transported to the supply position by the transport mechanism, whereby the beverage is supplied.

Existing technologyTechnical literature

Patent literature

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2005-309679

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

Among such beverage supply apparatuses, a beverage supply apparatus is known in which a beverage raw material includes a thick paste component that increases the viscosity of a beverage. The viscosity of a beverage prepared from the thick paste component as a beverage raw material is increased, and therefore the thick paste component is useful for dysphagia of a part of elderly people and the like from the viewpoint of preventing mispharynx.

Therefore, from the viewpoint of convenience, it is preferable that a selection button is provided for a beverage containing a thick paste component in the same manner as other beverages, and when the corresponding selection button is pressed to be selected, a beverage containing a thick paste component is supplied.

However, if the beverage can be selected by 1-time pressing operation of the selection button like this, there is a risk that: a user who wants to select a beverage containing a thick paste component (e.g., a green tea beverage containing a thick paste component) may erroneously select the same type of beverage (green tea beverage) not containing a thick paste component, and as a result, there is a risk of incorrect swallowing.

In view of the above-described circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage supply device capable of reducing the risk of incorrect swallowing by making the presence or absence of a selected thick paste component clear.

Solution for solving the problem

In order to achieve the above object, a beverage supply apparatus according to the present invention is a beverage supply apparatus for preparing a beverage from a beverage raw material and raw beverage water which are charged into a container, and supplying the beverage in a state in which the beverage is charged into the container, wherein the beverage raw material includes a thick paste component which increases the viscosity of the beverage, the beverage supply apparatus comprising: a beverage selection unit for selecting a type of the beverage; a thick paste component selecting unit for selecting whether the thick paste component is present or not; and a control unit that, after the type of beverage is selected by the beverage selection unit and when the presence or absence of a thick paste ingredient is selected by the thick paste ingredient selection unit, modulates the beverage.

In the beverage supply apparatus according to the present invention, the thick paste component selecting means may select not only the presence or absence of thick paste components but also the amount of thick paste components.

In addition, the present invention is characterized in that the beverage supply apparatus further comprises a component detecting means for detecting whether the thick paste component is put into the container.

In the beverage supply apparatus, the component detecting means detects the passage of the thick paste component discharged from the storage box for storing the thick paste component.

In the present invention, the beverage supply apparatus further includes a stirring mechanism that stirs the beverage raw material and the beverage raw water fed into the container to prepare the beverage, and the component detecting means detects whether the thick paste component is fed into the container based on a resistance when the stirring mechanism stirs the beverage.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, after the type of beverage is selected by the beverage selecting means and in the case where the presence or absence of the thick paste ingredient is selected by the thick paste ingredient selecting means, the control means modulates the beverage, thereby having the following effects: the presence or absence of the thick paste component can be selected as a confirmation item, and by making the presence or absence of the thick paste component clear, the risk of incorrect pharynx can be reduced.

In addition, according to the present invention, the ingredient detection unit detects whether or not the thick paste ingredient is put into the container, and thus the following effects are exhibited: in the case where a beverage containing a thick paste component is selected, it is possible to avoid a situation where the supplied beverage does not contain a thick paste component, and thus it is possible to reduce the risk of incorrect pharynx.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an external configuration of a beverage supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a characteristic control system of the beverage supply apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a front view showing the selection part shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing an example of the arrangement of the component detecting unit constituting the thick paste component supplying unit shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a flush valve housing portion provided with the housing detection portion shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing a flush valve as a storage object of the flush valve storage section shown in fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view showing a flush valve housing portion provided with the housing detection portion shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing content of the beverage preparation control processing performed by the control unit shown in fig. 2.

Description of the reference numerals

1: a main body cabinet; 2: a front surface door; 3: opening and closing the door; 4: an opening portion; 11: a selection part; 111: a beverage selection unit; 112: a thick paste component selecting section; 12: a display unit; 13: a conveying mechanism; 14: a beverage raw material supply unit; 15: a thick paste component supply unit; 153: a component detection unit; 16: a beverage raw water supply unit; 17: a stirring mechanism; 18: a door opening and closing locking mechanism; 19: a storage detection unit; 20: a control unit; 22: a flush valve housing; 221a: a detection rod; c: a container.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the beverage supply apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 and 2 show a beverage supply apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention, respectively, fig. 1 is a front view showing an external structure, and fig. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a characteristic control system. The beverage supply apparatus illustrated here is installed in, for example, a store, a nursing facility, or the like, and includes a main body cabinet 1.

The main body cabinet 1 has a substantially rectangular shape with an opening (hereinafter also referred to as a front surface opening) on the front surface (not shown). The front surface opening of the main body cabinet 1 is opened and closed by a front surface door 2, and the front surface door 2 is provided swingably about a central axis of a shaft portion extending in the up-down direction at a right side edge portion on the front side of the main body cabinet 1.

The front surface door 2 has an opening/closing door 3. The opening/closing door 3 is a door body for opening and closing an opening 4 formed in the front door 2, and is made of a translucent material such as a transparent resin, for example. The left end of the opening/closing door 3 is pivotally supported by the front surface door 2, so that the opening/closing door 3 can swing in the front-rear direction. That is, the opening/closing door 3 can close the opening 4 when swinging backward, and can open the opening 4 when swinging forward.

The beverage supply apparatus includes a selection member 11, a display 12, a conveyance mechanism 13, a beverage raw material supply unit 14, a thick paste component supply unit 15, a raw beverage raw water supply unit 16, a stirring mechanism 17, a door opening/closing lock mechanism 18, a storage detection unit (storage detection means) 19, and a control unit (control means) 20.

The selecting member 11 is provided at a position above the opening 4 in the front door 2, and includes a beverage selecting portion (beverage selecting means) 111 and a thick paste component selecting portion (thick paste component selecting means) 112. As shown in fig. 3, the beverage selection unit 111 is configured to select a type of beverage (for example, "green tea", "baked tea", "hot water") and has a plurality of beverage selection buttons 111a. When the beverage selection button 111a is pressed, the pressed beverage selection button is provided as a selection signal to the control unit 20. In the present embodiment, a total of 6 buttons including a beverage selection button 111a for selecting a cold beverage ("cold") and a beverage selection button 111a for selecting a hot beverage ("hot") are provided for each type of beverage.

As shown in fig. 3, the thick paste component selecting section 112 is for selecting whether or not a thick paste component is present (for example, "non-thick" and "thick"), and has a plurality of thick paste component selecting buttons 112a. When the pressing operation is performed, the paste ingredient selection button 112a supplies the selection signal to the control unit 20 in the sense that the pressing operation is performed. In the present embodiment, the thick paste component selection button 112a is provided with three buttons (for example, "light", "medium", "thick") according to the concentration of the thick paste component.

The display portion 12 is provided below the selection member 11 on the front surface door 2 and at a position right of the opening 4. The display unit 12 displays various information in accordance with instructions supplied from the control unit 20.

The conveyance motor (not shown) as a driving source is driven in accordance with a command supplied from the control unit 20, and thereby the conveyance mechanism 13 receives a container C (see fig. 4) such as a cup from the container housing unit and conveys the container C along a predetermined path.

The beverage raw material supply unit 14 includes a raw material tank 141 and a raw material supply driving unit 142. The plurality of raw material tanks 141 are provided in parallel to each other. The material tanks 141 are storage tanks for storing powder materials of different types (for example, "green tea" and "baked tea").

The raw material supply driving unit 142 is provided in plural numbers and is provided corresponding to the raw material tank 141. These raw material supply driving units 142 are driven by instructions supplied from the control unit 20, and when driven, eject a predetermined amount of powder raw material from the corresponding raw material tank 141, and eject the powder raw material into the container C conveyed by the conveying mechanism 13 through a raw material ejector, not shown.

The thick paste component supply section 15 includes a thick paste component tank 151, a thick paste component supply driving section 152, and a component detecting section (component detecting means) 153. The thick paste component tank 151 is provided on the right side of the raw material tank 141. The thick paste component tank 151 is a storage tank for storing thick paste components in a powder state such as starch for increasing the viscosity of the beverage.

The thick paste ingredient supply driving unit 152 is provided corresponding to the thick paste ingredient tank 151. The paste ingredient supply driving unit 152 is driven by a command supplied from the control unit 20, and ejects a predetermined amount of paste ingredient from the paste ingredient tank 151 and ejects the paste ingredient to the container C conveyed by the conveying mechanism 13 through the paste ingredient ejector 154 (see fig. 4) when driven.

As shown in fig. 4, the component detecting unit 153 is provided near the thick paste component injector 154, and detects whether or not thick paste component is put into the container C by detecting the passage of thick paste component through the thick paste component injector 154. The component detecting unit 153 supplies the detection result as a detection signal to the control unit 20.

The raw beverage water supply unit 16 is configured to supply raw beverage water such as hot water and cold water, and includes a cold water supply valve 161 and a hot water supply valve 162. The cold water supply valve 161 is a valve body that opens and closes in accordance with a command supplied from the control unit 20. The cold water supply valve 161 is configured to supply cold water in a cold water tank 163 for storing cold water to a discharge main body (not shown) provided at a predetermined modulation position when the cold water supply valve 161 is in an open state, and to restrict the supply of cold water when the cold water supply valve 161 is in a closed state. The hot water supply valve 162 is a valve body that opens and closes in accordance with a command supplied from the control unit 20. The hot water supply valve 162 supplies the hot water in the hot water tank 164 for storing the hot water to the discharge main body when the hot water supply valve 162 is in an open state, and restricts the supply of the hot water when the hot water supply valve 162 is in a closed state.

The stirring mechanism 17 is provided in the discharge main body, and includes a stirring paddle member 171 and a stirring paddle driving portion 172. The stirring paddle member 171 is a conventionally known member formed by attaching stirring blades to the lower end portion of a rod extending in the vertical direction. The paddle driving unit 172 is driven in accordance with a command supplied from the control unit 20, and in the driving state, the paddle member 171 is displaced downward and then rotated about the central axis of the lever.

The door opening/closing lock mechanism 18 is provided near the opening 4. The door opening/closing lock mechanism 18 is selectively switchable between a locked state in which the opening/closing door 3 closing the opening portion 4 is kept closed and the opening/closing door 3 is restricted from swinging forward, and an unlocked state in which the opening/closing door 3 is allowed to swing forward. The switching of the door opening/closing lock mechanism 18 is performed in accordance with a command supplied from the control unit 20.

As shown in fig. 5, the housing detection unit 19 is provided in the flush valve housing unit 22. The flush valve housing portion 22 is provided at a predetermined housing position inside the main body cabinet 1, and is configured to house a flush valve 23 as shown in fig. 6. The flush valve 23 is a cleaning water ejection member as follows: the flush valve 23 is attached to the distal end portion of the flexible tubular body 24 connected to the hot water tank 164, and ejects hot water as the cleaning water when the operation lever 231 provided in the flush valve is operated to be in an open state. The flushing valve 23 is a means for cleaning dirt generated during the preparation of the beverage described later.

The flush valve housing 22 includes a housing body 221 formed by processing a metal plate or the like, and a cover 222 provided so as to be capable of swinging so as to be close to and separate from the housing body 221. The housing main body 221 houses the flush valve 23 by holding the flush valve 23 that enters the housing main body 221 after the cover 222 swings so as to be separated from the housing main body 221 (see fig. 7).

The housing main body 221 is provided with a detection lever 221a. When the flush valve 23 is not stored as shown in fig. 5, the detection lever 221a assumes a reference posture extending in the up-down direction, whereas when the flush valve 23 is stored as shown in fig. 7, the detection lever 221a assumes a holding posture extending obliquely. The housing detection unit 19 is provided in the housing unit main body 221, and the housing detection unit 19 detects that the flush valve 23 is housed in the flush valve housing unit 22 by pressing the detection lever 221a in the holding posture, and supplies the detection result to the control unit 20. On the other hand, when the detection lever 221a is in the reference posture, the housing detection unit 19 detects that the flush valve 23 is not housed in the flush valve housing unit 22 without being pressed by the detection lever 221a, and supplies the detection result to the control unit 20.

The control unit 20 is electrically connected to the selection means 11, the display unit 12, the conveying mechanism 13, the beverage raw material supply unit 14, the thick paste component supply unit 15, the raw beverage water supply unit 16, the stirring mechanism 17, the door opening/closing lock mechanism 18, and the storage detection unit 19, and the control unit 20 comprehensively controls the operations of these respective units in accordance with programs and data stored in the storage unit 21 electrically connected thereto. The control unit 20 may be realized by, for example, a processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit: central processing unit) executing a program, that is, by software, by hardware such as an IC (Integrated Circuit: integrated circuit), or by both software and hardware.

Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the processing content of the beverage preparation control processing performed by the control unit 20 shown in fig. 2. The operation of the beverage supply apparatus will be described together with the beverage preparation control process described above. Further, as an illustrative premise, the door opening and closing lock mechanism 18 is in a locked state.

In this beverage preparation control process, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the housing detection unit 19 detects the housing of the flush valve 23 (step S101). When the housing detection unit 19 does not detect the housing of the flush valve 23 (step S101: no), the control unit 20 deactivates the selection member 11 (step S102). The invalidation of the selection means 11 means that the following state is set: the control unit 20 does not receive a selection signal, regardless of which of the beverage selection button 111a and the paste ingredient selection button 112a is pressed.

The control unit 20 thus deactivates the selection member 11 causes the display unit 12 to display an error code or the like indicating that the flush valve 23 is not stored (step S103), and thereafter returns the procedure to end the present process.

Accordingly, the manager of the beverage supply apparatus can be made aware that the flush valve 23 is not stored in the predetermined storage position.

On the other hand, when the housing detection unit 19 detects the housing of the flush valve 23 (step S101: yes), the control unit 20 activates the selection member 11 (step S104), and determines which beverage selection button 111a has been pressed based on the presence or absence of the input of the selection signal (step S105). If it cannot be determined whether or not the beverage selection button 111a has been pressed (step S105: no), the control unit 20 repeats the above-described processing, and waits for the beverage selection button 111a to be pressed.

When it is determined that any one of the beverage selection buttons 111a has been pressed (yes in step S105), the control unit 20 determines whether or not the thick paste ingredient selection button 112a has been pressed before a predetermined time has elapsed, based on the presence or absence of input of the selection signal (steps S106, S107).

When it is not determined that the paste ingredient selection button 112a has been pressed and the predetermined time has elapsed (step S106: no, step S107: yes), the control unit 20 does not execute the processing described later, and returns the steps to end the processing.

When it is determined that the thick paste ingredient selection button 112a is pressed before the predetermined time elapses (step S106: yes, step S107: no), the control unit 20 modulates the beverage (step S108). The preparation of the beverage is performed as follows. In addition, the beverage selection button 111a for hot drinking of green tea is pressed in step S105, and the thick paste component selection button 112a ("medium") is pressed in step S106.

The control unit 20 drives the conveying mechanism 13 to convey the containers C received from the container receiving unit to a region below the raw material tank 141 in which the beverage raw materials of green tea are received. The control unit 20 drives the corresponding raw material supply driving unit 142 to input a predetermined amount of beverage raw material into the container C. Next, the control unit 20 drives the conveying mechanism 13 to convey the container C to a lower region of the thick paste ingredient tank 151. The control unit 20 drives the thick paste component supply driving unit 152 to input a predetermined amount of thick paste component into the container C.

When the above-described paste ingredients are added to the container C, the control unit 20 determines whether or not the paste ingredients are added to the container C based on the presence or absence of the input of the detection signal from the ingredient detection unit 153. When it is determined that no thick paste component is added to the container C, the control unit 20 stops the preparation of the beverage, and causes the display unit 12 to display an error code or the like indicating that no thick paste component is added.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the thick paste component is put into the container C, the control unit 20 drives the conveying mechanism 13 to convey the container C to the lower region of the discharge main body. The control unit 20 drives the paddle driving unit 172 to displace the paddle member 171 downward to dispose the paddle blades inside the container C, and simultaneously, to inject raw water (hot water) by keeping the hot water supply valve 162 in an open state for a predetermined time. After the raw water is injected, the control unit 20 drives the paddle drive unit 172 to rotate the paddle member 171, thereby stirring the powder raw material, the thick paste component, and the raw water which are put into the container C. Thereafter, the control unit 20 drives the paddle drive unit 172 to displace the paddle member 171 upward, and drives the conveyance mechanism 13 to move the container C to the supply position, thereby ending the preparation of the beverage.

After the beverage is prepared in this way, the control unit 20 releases the lock of the closed state of the openable door 3 by the door opening/closing lock mechanism 18 (step S109), and thereafter returns the procedure to end the present process.

Accordingly, the user who swings the opening/closing door 3 forward can be provided with the beverage in the container C.

As described above, according to the beverage supply apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention, since the component detecting unit 153 detects whether or not the thick paste component is added to the container C, it is possible to avoid a case where the thick paste component is not included in the beverage to be supplied when the beverage including the thick paste component is selected, and to reduce the risk of incorrect pharynx.

According to the above-described beverage supply apparatus, the control unit 20 prepares the beverage when the presence or absence of the thick ingredient is selected by the thick ingredient selecting unit 112 after the type of beverage is selected by the beverage selecting unit 111, and therefore, can select the presence or absence of the thick ingredient as a confirmation item, and can reduce the risk of incorrect pharynx by making the presence or absence of the thick ingredient clear.

According to the beverage supply apparatus described above, when the housing detector 19 does not detect that the flush valve 23 is housed in the flush valve housing 22, the controller 20 causes the display 12 to display the result and notifies the result, so that a manager of the beverage supply apparatus can recognize that the flush valve 23 is not housed in the predetermined housing position, and problems caused by the flush valve 23 not being housed in the predetermined housing position can be prevented. In particular, when the housing detection unit 19 does not detect that the flush valve 23 is housed in the flush valve housing unit 22, the control unit 20 deactivates the selection member 11 to restrict the preparation of the beverage, so that it is possible to more reliably prevent a problem caused by the flush valve 23 not being housed in a predetermined housing position.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these, and various modifications can be made.

In the above embodiment, the component detecting unit 153 is provided near the thick paste component injector 154, and detects whether or not thick paste component is put into the container C by detecting the passage of thick paste component through the thick paste component injector 154, but the component detecting means is not limited to this and may be as follows in the present invention. That is, the component detecting means may detect whether or not the thick paste component is added based on the resistance of the stirring paddle member 171 during stirring, that is, whether or not the current value and the voltage value of the stirring paddle driving unit 172 are equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. That is, the method is not particularly limited as long as it can be detected whether the thick paste component is put into the container C.

In the above-described embodiment, the housing detection unit 19 detects that the flush valve 23 is housed in the flush valve housing unit 22 by pressing the detection lever 221a in the holding posture, but in the present invention, the housing detection means is not limited to this, and for example, the housing detection means may be constituted by a photosensor or the like to detect whether or not the cleaning water ejection member is housed in a predetermined housing position. That is, the method is not particularly limited as long as it is possible to detect whether or not the washing water spouting member is stored in the storage position.

Claims

1. A beverage supply apparatus for preparing a beverage from a beverage raw material and a beverage raw water which are fed into a container, and supplying the beverage in a state in which the beverage is fed into the container, characterized in that,

the beverage material comprises a thick paste ingredient that increases the viscosity of the beverage,

the beverage supply device comprises:

a beverage selection unit for selecting a type of the beverage;

a thick paste component selection unit for selecting any one of a non-thick selection button and a thick paste selection button as a selection of the presence or absence of the thick paste component, wherein the thick paste selection button is further capable of selecting the amount of the thick paste component;

a control unit that, after the type of beverage is selected by the beverage selection unit and when the presence or absence of a thick ingredient is selected by the thick ingredient selection unit, modulates the beverage, and that, after the type of beverage is selected by the beverage selection unit and when the presence or absence of a thick ingredient is not selected by the thick ingredient selection unit within a predetermined time, does not perform an operation of modulating the beverage; and

and a thick paste component supply unit configured to supply a predetermined amount of thick paste component corresponding to the selected amount to the container when the amount of thick paste component is selected by the thick paste component selection unit.

2. The beverage supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein,

and a component detecting unit for detecting whether the thick paste component is put into the container.

3. A beverage supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein,

the component detecting means detects the passage of the paste component ejected from the storage box storing the paste component.

4. A beverage supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein,

and a stirring mechanism for stirring the beverage raw material and the beverage raw water which are put into the container to prepare the beverage,

the ingredient detecting means detects whether the thick paste ingredient is put into the container or not, based on the resistance when the stirring means stirs the thick paste ingredient.