CN112839550A

CN112839550A - Beverage supply device

Info

Publication number: CN112839550A
Application number: CN201980065277.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 强瀬俊祐
Original assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-12-04
Filing date: 2019-11-27
Publication date: 2021-05-25
Anticipated expiration: 2039-11-27
Also published as: CN112839550B; JP2020090296A; WO2020116285A1

Abstract

A beverage supplying device (1), the beverage supplying device (1) comprising: a main body cabinet (3) having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and a front surface opening (3a) in a front surface; and a front door (4) which is provided on one side edge of the main body cabinet (3) in a manner of opening and closing the front opening (3a), wherein the beverage supply device (1) supplies the beverage extracted by a beverage extraction part (30) provided inside the main body cabinet (3) to a container C placed on a predetermined position, the beverage supply device (1) comprises a storage box sensor (56), the storage box sensor (56) is provided near the front opening (3a) of the main body cabinet (3), and detects the existence of a storage box (55) for storing extraction dregs (K) generated by the beverage extraction part (30) extracting the beverage.

Description

Beverage supply device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a beverage supply device.

Background

Conventionally, as a beverage supply device for supplying a beverage to a container, the following beverage supply device is known. That is, a beverage extraction unit disposed inside the main body cabinet having a front opening opened and closed by a front door extracts a beverage from hot water and a pulverized material, and supplies the extracted beverage to a container such as a cup. In this beverage supply device, a storage box for storing extraction residue generated by extracting a beverage by a beverage extraction unit is provided inside a main body cabinet (see, for example, patent document 1).

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2006-190238

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

Although not explicitly shown in patent document 1, in the beverage supply device, when the number of times of supplying the beverage to the container is equal to or more than a predetermined reference number of times, it is reported that the storage box is full, and the operation of discarding the extracted residue stored in the storage box is urged.

However, since the detection sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the housing box is provided in the rear portion of the installation area of the housing box, there are the following problems.

That is, the front surface door is swung to open the front surface opening, the container is taken out through the front surface opening, and the collected sludge is discarded, but if the detection sensor is provided at the rear portion of the installation area, the detection sensor cannot detect the absence of the container if the container is moved slightly forward.

Therefore, the operator feels that the disposal work for extracting the dross is troublesome, and when the storage box is moved forward without discarding the extracted dross and is moved backward, the beverage supply apparatus may consider that the disposal work is completed when the detection sensor detects no storage box.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage supply apparatus capable of reliably performing a disposal operation for extracting dregs.

Means for solving the problems

To achieve the above object, a beverage supply device according to the present invention includes: a main body cabinet having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and a front surface opening on a front surface; and a front door swingably provided at one side edge portion of the main body cabinet in a manner of opening and closing the front opening, wherein the beverage supply device supplies a beverage extracted by a beverage extraction unit provided inside the main body cabinet to a container placed at a predetermined position, and the beverage supply device is characterized by comprising a housing box detection means provided in the vicinity of the front opening of the main body cabinet and detecting the presence or absence of a housing box for housing extraction residue generated by extracting the beverage by the beverage extraction unit.

In the beverage supply device, the beverage supply device may further include a control unit configured to validate a reset operation for detecting a full state of the storage box when the storage box detecting means continues to detect no storage box for a predetermined time.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, since the container detection means for detecting the presence or absence of the container for containing the extraction residue generated by extracting the beverage by the beverage extraction portion is provided in the vicinity of the front surface opening of the main body cabinet, the detection of the absence of the container cannot be performed unless the container is sufficiently pulled out from the front surface opening. Therefore, the effect of reliably performing the disposal operation of extracting the dross is obtained.

Drawings

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

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a beverage supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention with a part of components separated.

Fig. 3 is a front view showing a beverage supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, with some of the components omitted.

Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a characteristic control system of the beverage supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the beverage extraction unit shown in fig. 3 and 4.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the beverage supplying apparatus shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a communication relationship between the fan case and the stirring bowl shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a communication relationship between the fan case and the stirring bowl shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a communication relationship between the fan case and the stirring bowl shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is an exploded perspective view of the converging duct shown in fig. 7.

Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a structure of an extracting mechanism portion constituting the beverage extracting portion shown in fig. 5 in a vertical cross section.

Fig. 12 is an explanatory view schematically showing the extraction mechanism shown in fig. 11.

Fig. 13 is an explanatory view showing an extracting operation of the beverage by the extracting mechanism shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 14 is an explanatory view showing an operation of extracting the beverage by the extraction mechanism shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 15 is an explanatory view showing an operation of extracting the beverage by the extraction mechanism shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 16 is an explanatory view showing an extracting operation of the beverage by the extracting mechanism shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 17 is an explanatory view showing an operation of extracting the beverage by the extraction mechanism shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 18 is an explanatory view showing an operation of extracting the beverage by the extraction mechanism shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 19 is an explanatory view showing an operation of extracting the beverage by the extraction mechanism shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 20 is an explanatory view showing an extracting operation of the beverage by the extracting mechanism shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 21 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of the flushing process of the extraction mechanism shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 22 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of the flushing process of the extraction mechanism shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 23 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of the flushing process of the extraction mechanism shown in fig. 12.

Fig. 24 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the storage box taking-out process performed by the control unit shown in fig. 4.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the beverage supply device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 to 4 are views each showing a beverage supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration, fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a part of components separated, fig. 3 is a front view showing a part of components omitted, and fig. 4 is a block diagram showing a characteristic control system.

The beverage supply device 1 illustrated here is installed in a store such as a convenience store or a supermarket, and includes a device main body 2.

The apparatus main body 2 includes a main body cabinet 3 and a front surface door 4. The main body cabinet 3 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having an opening (hereinafter also referred to as a front opening) 3a on a front surface. The main body cabinet 3 is provided therein with a beverage supply unit 10, a beverage preparation unit 20, a beverage extraction unit (beverage extraction device) 30, and a fan case 40.

The beverage supply unit 10 is provided at a lower front portion of the main body cabinet 3 and includes a mounting table 11. The mounting table 11 is used to mount a container C such as a cup, and is provided with an arc-shaped stopper 11 a. A drain tray, not shown explicitly, for storing drain water of beverages and the like is provided at a lower portion of the mounting table 11.

A nozzle 12 is provided above the mounting table 11. The nozzle 12 is attached to the main body cabinet 3 via a support member not shown in the figure in a state of being connected to the beverage preparation unit 20 and the beverage extraction unit 30.

The beverage preparation unit 20 is used for preparing a beverage from a powdery raw material serving as a beverage raw material and hot water supplied thereto, and includes a powdery raw material tank 21 and a stirring bowl (stirring vessel) 22.

A plurality of powder raw material tanks 21 (3 in the illustrated example) are provided in parallel on the left and right. These powder material tanks 21 are used to store different kinds of powder materials.

A plurality of the stirring bowls 22 (3 in the illustrated example) are provided. The stirring bowl 22 is used to stir the powdery raw material charged from the corresponding powdery raw material tank 21 and the hot water charged from a hot water tank, not shown, provided at the rear of the powdery raw material tank 21. Here, the hot water tank is used to heat supplied water and store the heated water as hot water.

In the beverage preparation unit 20, a beverage is prepared as follows in accordance with a command supplied from the electrically connected control unit 50.

Here, the control unit 50 is used to collectively control the operations of the respective units of the beverage supply device 1 in accordance with a program and data stored in the electrically connected storage unit 51. The control unit 50 may be realized by software that causes a Processing device such as a cpu (central Processing unit) to execute a program, may be realized by hardware such as an ic (integrated circuit), or may be realized by software and hardware in combination.

In the beverage preparation unit 20, the powdery raw material discharged from any of the powdery raw material tanks 21 is put into the stirring bowl 22, and the hot water stored in the hot water tank is put into the stirring bowl 22. The powdery raw material and the hot water that have been put into the mixing bowl 22 are mixed and mixed, and the mixed beverage is delivered to the nozzle 12. The nozzle 12 discharges and supplies the fed beverage to the container C placed on the mounting table 11.

The beverage extraction unit 30 is used for extracting a beverage such as coffee from an extraction material such as coffee beans as a beverage material and hot water sent from a hot water tank, and includes, as shown in fig. 5, an extraction material tank 31, a grinder 32, and an extraction mechanism 33.

The extraction material tank 31 is used to store an extraction material as a beverage material. The grinder 32 is provided below the extraction raw material tank 31 and is configured to grind the extraction raw material discharged from the extraction raw material tank 31.

The extraction mechanism 33 is provided below the grinder 32, and extracts a beverage from the pulverized extraction material (hereinafter, also referred to as pulverized extraction material) fed from the grinder 32 and the hot water fed from the hot water tank. The structure of the extraction mechanism 33 will be described later.

In the beverage extraction unit 30, a beverage is extracted as follows in accordance with a command provided from the electrically connected control unit 50. That is, the extraction material discharged from the extraction material tank 31 is pulverized by the mill 32, and the pulverized extraction material is fed to the extraction mechanism 33, and the hot water stored in the hot water tank is fed to the extraction mechanism 33. The beverage is extracted by the extraction mechanism 33, and the extracted beverage is sent to the nozzle 12. The nozzle 12 discharges and supplies the fed beverage to the container C placed on the mounting table 11.

A storage box 55 is provided below the beverage extracting unit 30. The storage box 55 is used for storing extracted dregs K (see fig. 15 and the like) generated by extracting the beverage in the beverage extraction unit 30. When the front opening 3a of the main body cabinet 3 is opened as described below, the storage box 55 can be taken out through the front opening 3 a.

As shown in fig. 6, a storage box sensor (storage box detection means) 56 is provided in an installation area of the storage box 55. The storage box sensor 56 detects the presence or absence of the storage box 55, and is provided in the vicinity of the front opening 3a of the main body cabinet 3. That is, the storage box sensor 56 detects that there is no storage box 55 when the storage box 55 provided in the installation area is pulled out forward by more than half of the bottom surface of the storage box 55 through the front opening 3 a. The storage box sensor 56 transmits the detection result to the electrically connected control unit 50.

The fan case 40 is disposed between the beverage preparation unit 20 and the beverage extraction unit 30, and is a lower rear portion of the main body cabinet 3. The fan case 40 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and incorporates an exhaust fan 41.

The exhaust fan 41 is electrically connected to the control unit 50 and driven in accordance with a command supplied from the control unit 50. A filter opening, not shown, is formed in the front surface of the fan case 40, and a fan filter 42 is removably attached to the filter opening.

As shown in fig. 7, the fan case 40 is connected to the respective stirring bowls 22 of the beverage preparation unit 20 via the suction passage constituting member 43. As shown in fig. 8 and 9, the suction passage forming member 43 includes a suction hose 43a and a joining pipe (joining portion) 43b, and forms a suction passage therein for communicating the fan case 40 and the stirring bowl 22.

One end of the suction hose 43a is connected to the fan case 40, and the other end is connected to the merging pipe 43 b. The merging conduit 43b has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and includes a conduit seat 431 and a conduit cover 432. The duct seat 431 constitutes a lower portion of the merging duct 43b and is a portion connected to the suction hose 43 a.

The duct cover 432 is formed in a box-like shape having an open lower surface, and the opening of the lower surface is closed by the duct seat 431, thereby forming the merging duct 43 b. As shown in fig. 10, the duct cap 432 is detachable from the duct seat 431 by removing the decorative screw 433, and is detachably coupled to the duct seat 431. A passage port 432a communicating with the exhaust port 22a of each stirring bowl 22 is formed in the front surface of the pipe cover 432.

Further, in the merged channel 43b, a mesh 434 is provided so as to close the suction passage inside the merged channel 43 b. The net 434 is made of a metal material such as a metal plate.

The net 434 can be removed from the pipe seat 431 by removing the decorative screw 433 to detach the pipe cover 432 from the pipe seat 431, and is detachably provided in the merging pipe 43 b. The net 434 has a plurality of through holes 434 a. The size, the interval, and the like of the diameter of the through holes 434a are adjusted so that the steam generated in each stirring bowl 22 can be uniformly sucked.

In the fan case 40, the exhaust fan 41 is driven in response to a command supplied from the control unit 50, and sucks and merges the steam generated in the respective mixing bowls 22 into the merging pipe 43b, sucks the steam through the plurality of through holes 434a of the mesh 434 and then passes through the suction hose 43a, and then discharges the sucked steam to the outside from a discharge unit, not shown, formed in the lower portion of the rear surface of the main body cabinet 3. Note that, although the description has been given of the case where the fan case 40 is connected to each stirring bowl 22 by the suction passage constituting member 43, the fan case 40 may be connected to the beverage extraction unit 30 by another suction hose, and the steam generated in the beverage extraction unit 30 may be sucked by driving the exhaust fan 41.

The front door 4 is a door body that opens and closes the front opening 3a of the main body cabinet 3, and is provided so as to be swingable around the central axis of a shaft portion extending in the vertical direction by a shaft support portion 4a at the left side edge portion on the front side of the main body cabinet 3.

The front door 4 includes a display portion 61, an opening 62, and an opening/closing door 63. The display section 61 is formed of, for example, a liquid crystal touch panel, displays various information based on an instruction from the electrically connected control section 50, and enables input operations such as touch operations. The display unit 61 transmits a predetermined signal to the control unit 50 when an input operation such as a touch operation is performed.

The opening 62 is provided below the display unit 61 and exposes the beverage supply unit 10 forward. The opening/closing door 63 is made of a translucent material such as a transparent resin, and has a size sufficient to cover the opening 62. The left end of the opening/closing door 63 is pivotally supported by the front door 4 and can swing in the front-rear direction. That is, the opening/closing door 63 can swing in the front-rear direction so as to approach and separate from the beverage supply unit 10, and can close the opening 62 when swinging in the rear direction so as to approach the beverage supply unit 10, and can open the opening 62 when swinging in the front direction so as to separate from the beverage supply unit 10.

Fig. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a structure of the extracting mechanism 33 constituting the beverage extracting unit 30 shown in fig. 5 in a vertical cross section. Fig. 12 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the extraction mechanism 33 shown in fig. 11.

The extraction mechanism 33 illustrated here includes a cylinder 331, a filter unit 332, a cylinder head 333, and a scraper 334.

The cylinder 331 is a cylindrical extraction container, and is supported by a cylinder support member 335. The filter unit 332 is disposed below the cylinder 331. The filter module 332 includes a disk-shaped metal mesh member 336 having a plurality of extraction holes 336 a. The filter unit driving mechanism 341, which is an actuator, is driven in accordance with a command supplied from the control unit 50, and the filter unit 332 moves up and down so as to approach and separate from the cylinder 331. When the filter unit 332 moves to the uppermost position, the lower opening 331a of the cylinder 331 is closed.

Further, an extraction path 337 is connected to the filter module 332. The extraction path 337 is a path for supplying the beverage having passed through the filter assembly 332 to the nozzle 12. An extraction valve 337a is provided in the extraction path 337. The extraction valve 337a is a valve element that opens and closes in response to a command provided from the control unit 50, and allows a fluid such as a beverage to pass through the extraction path 337 when the valve element is open, and restricts the fluid from passing through the extraction path 337 when the valve element is closed.

The cylinder head 333 is disposed above the cylinder 331. The cylinder head 333 is formed with a 1 st inlet hole 333a, a 2 nd inlet hole 333b, and an air supply hole 333 c. The 1 st inlet 333a is used to pass the extraction raw material pulverized by the pulverizer 32, and the pulverized extraction raw material is introduced into the cylinder 331. The 2 nd inlet hole 333b is used to allow hot water from the hot water tank to pass therethrough, and to introduce the hot water into the cylinder 331. The air supply hole 333c is used to supply pressurized air to the cylinder 331 by passing the pressurized air supplied from the air supply path 338.

The cylinder head driving mechanism 342 as an actuator is driven in accordance with a command supplied from the control unit 50, and the cylinder head 333 moves forward and backward so as to approach and separate from the cylinder 331. More specifically, as shown in fig. 11 and 12, when the cylinder head 333 is disposed at the rearmost position, the 1 st intake hole 333a and the 2 nd intake hole 333b are located above the upper surface opening 331b of the cylinder 331, as being farthest from the cylinder 331. When the cylinder head 333 is disposed at the forefront, it is closest to the cylinder 331 and closes the upper surface opening 331b of the cylinder 331, which will be described in detail later. In this case, the 2 nd throw-in hole 333b and the air supply hole 333c face the upper surface opening 331 b.

The squeegee 334 includes a squeegee body 334a and a squeegee action portion 334 b. The squeegee main body 334a is formed in a rectangular frame shape, and a rectangular through hole 334c penetrating vertically is formed. The through hole 334c has a size that allows the filter assembly 332 to pass therethrough. The blade action portion 334b is made of a resin material such as rubber, and is provided to protrude downward from the front end portion of the blade main body 334 a.

The blade drive mechanism 343 as an actuator is driven in accordance with a command supplied from the control section 50, and such a blade 334 is moved in the front-rear direction. More specifically, the scraper 334 is provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction between a rear end position (1 st position) where the scraper action portion 334b is located rearward of the filter unit 332 and a front end position (2 nd position) where the scraper action portion 334b is located forward of the filter unit 332. Then, the scraper 334 moves from one position to the other position of the rear end position and the front end position, so that the tip of the scraper action portion 334b can slide on the upper surface of the mesh member 336 of the filter assembly 332 moved to the lowermost position, and the extracted slag K placed on the mesh member 336 can be removed.

A rear end detection sensor 344 and a front end detection sensor 345 for detecting the position (rear end position and front end position) of the blade 334 are provided. The rear end detection sensor 344 detects whether the blade 334 is disposed at the rear end position, and transmits a detection signal to the control unit 50 when the blade 334 is detected to be disposed at the rear end position. The leading end detection sensor 345 detects whether the squeegee 334 is disposed at the leading end position, and transmits a detection signal to the control unit 50 when the squeegee 334 is detected to be disposed at the leading end position.

In this manner, since the rear end detection sensor 344 and the front end detection sensor 345 are included, the start position of the movement of the squeegee 334 can be set to any one of the rear end position and the front end position every time a beverage is extracted. In the present embodiment, the start position is alternately set to the rear end position and the front end position every time the beverage is extracted.

In the above-described extraction mechanism 33, the filter unit driving mechanism 341, the cylinder head driving mechanism 342, and the blade driving mechanism 343 are provided separately, but in the present invention, the filter unit driving mechanism 341, the cylinder head driving mechanism 342, and the blade driving mechanism 343 are not necessarily provided separately, and may be shared by a cooperating gear or the like.

Next, the operation of extracting the beverage by the extracting mechanism 33 (beverage extracting unit 30) will be described. As a premise, the filter assembly 332 is moved to the lowermost position, the cylinder head 333 is disposed at the rearmost position, and the scraper 334 is disposed at the rear end position.

When the container C is placed on the mounting table 11 of the beverage supply unit 10 and the operation display unit 61 is touched, the control unit 50 transmits a drive command to the filter unit drive mechanism 341 to drive the filter unit drive mechanism 341, and as shown in fig. 13, moves the filter unit 332 upward to close the lower surface opening 331a of the cylinder 331. Then, the control unit 50 injects the pulverized extraction raw material into the cylinder 331 through the 1 st injection hole 333a, and injects hot water into the cylinder 331 through the 2 nd injection hole 333 b.

After the pulverized extraction raw material and the hot water are charged into the cylinder 331, the controller 50 supplies the agitation air into the cylinder 331 for a predetermined time from an agitation air supply path, not shown, connected to the filter unit 332, and agitates the pulverized extraction raw material and the hot water.

After the supply of the agitation air is completed, the control unit 50 drives the cylinder head driving mechanism 342 to move the cylinder head 333 forward, and as shown in fig. 14, the cylinder head 333 is disposed at the forefront, thereby closing the upper surface opening 331b of the cylinder 331. Then, the control unit 50 supplies pressurized air to the cylinder 331 through the air supply hole 333c, opens the extraction valve 337a to extract the beverage, and sends the beverage to the nozzle 12 through the extraction path 337. Thereby, the beverage is discharged from the nozzle 12 and supplied to the container C.

After the beverage is extracted, the control unit 50 closes the extraction valve 337a, drives the filter unit driving mechanism 341 to move the filter unit 332 downward, and drives the cylinder head driving mechanism 342 to move the cylinder head 333 rearward. Thus, the extracted foots K generated by extracting the beverage is placed on the upper surface of the mesh member 336 of the filter unit 332.

After the filter assembly 332 has moved to the lowermost position, the control unit 50 drives the blade drive mechanism 343 to move the blade 334 from the rear end position to the front end position, as shown in fig. 15. Thus, the scraper action part 334b slides in contact with the upper surface of the mesh member 336, and the extracted residue K placed on the upper surface of the mesh member 336 can be scraped off, as shown in fig. 16, and discharged to the storage box 55.

When the leading end detection sensor 345 detects that the blade 334 is disposed at the leading end position, the control unit 50 stops driving of the blade driving mechanism 343 and disposes the blade 334 at the leading end position.

Then, when the other container C is placed on the mounting table 11 of the beverage supplying unit 10 and the operation display unit 61 is touched, the control unit 50 transmits a drive command to the filter unit driving mechanism 341 to drive the filter unit driving mechanism 341, and as shown in fig. 17, moves the filter unit 332 upward to close the lower surface opening 331a of the cylinder 331. Then, the control unit 50 injects the pulverized extraction raw material into the cylinder 331 through the 1 st injection hole 333a, and injects hot water into the cylinder 331 through the 2 nd injection hole 333 b.

After the pulverized extraction raw material and the hot water are charged into the cylinder 331, the controller 50 supplies the stirring air from the stirring air supply path into the cylinder 331 for a predetermined time to stir the pulverized extraction raw material and the hot water.

After the supply of the agitation air is completed, the control unit 50 drives the cylinder head driving mechanism 342 to move the cylinder head 333 forward, and as shown in fig. 18, the cylinder head 333 is disposed at the forefront to close the upper surface opening 331b of the cylinder 331. Then, the control unit 50 extracts the beverage by supplying pressurized air to the cylinder 331 through the air supply hole 333c and opening the extraction valve 337a, and sends the beverage to the nozzle 12 through the extraction path 337. Thereby, the beverage is discharged from the nozzle 12 and supplied to the container C.

After the filter assembly 332 has moved to the lowermost position, as shown in fig. 19, the control unit 50 drives the blade drive mechanism 343 to move the blade 334 from the front end position to the rear end position. Thus, the scraper action part 334b slides in contact with the upper surface of the mesh member 336, and the extracted residue K placed on the upper surface of the mesh member 336 can be scraped off, as shown in fig. 20, and discharged to the storage box 55.

When the rear end detection sensor 344 detects that the blade 334 is disposed at the rear end position, the control unit 50 stops driving of the blade driving mechanism 343 and disposes the blade 334 at the rear end position.

Next, a washing process of washing the cylinder 331 and the like of the extraction mechanism 33 with hot water as washing hot water at a predetermined timing (a timing when the number of times of beverage extraction reaches a predetermined number of times, a timing at every predetermined time) will be described.

The control unit 50 sends a drive command to the filter unit drive mechanism 341 to drive the filter unit drive mechanism 341, and moves the filter unit 332 upward to close the lower surface opening 331a of the cylinder 331. Then, the control unit 50 sends a drive command to the cylinder head drive mechanism 342 to move the cylinder head 333 forward, and as shown in fig. 21, the cylinder head 333 is disposed at a position slightly separated from the upper surface opening 331b such that the 2 nd inlet hole 333b and the air supply hole 333c are positioned above the upper surface opening 331 b.

Then, the controller 50 injects the hot water as the washing hot water into the cylinder 331 through the 2 nd injection hole 333 b. The controller 50 causes the cleaning hot water injected from the 2 nd injection hole 333b to overflow from the upper surface opening 331b as shown in fig. 22.

Then, the control unit 50 stops the introduction of the hot washing water, opens the extraction valve 337a, and passes the hot washing water through the extraction path 337. When the water level of the hot washing water in the cylinder 331 reaches the middle level in the vertical direction of the cylinder 331, that is, when the remaining amount of the hot washing water in the cylinder 331 is equal to or less than half, the control unit 50 closes the extraction valve 337a, transmits a drive command to the filter unit drive mechanism 341 to drive the filter unit drive mechanism 341, moves the filter unit 332 downward, and ends the flushing process, as shown in fig. 23.

When the number of times of supplying the beverage from which the beverage is extracted is predetermined, the beverage supply apparatus 1 determines that the storage tank 55 is filled with the extracted residue K, and notifies the staff of the store of the extracted residue K by displaying the extracted residue K on the display unit 61 or by a buzzer sound or the like. Thus, the worker such as the employee swings the front door 4 in the opening direction to open the front opening 3a, and performs the disposal operation of the container box 55 to extract the dross K. In this case, the control unit 50 performs the following box taking-out process.

Fig. 24 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the storage box taking-out process performed by the control unit 50 shown in fig. 4.

In this storage box taking-out process, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the storage box sensor 56 detects the non-storage box 55, that is, whether or not the non-storage box 55 is detected (step S101). When it is detected that the storage box 55 is not present (yes in step S101), that is, when at least half of the bottom surface of the storage box 55 is pulled out forward, the control unit 50 starts the measurement of a preset set time (for example, 5 to 10 minutes) by the built-in time measuring unit (step S102) and waits for the elapse of the set time (step S103). If no housing box 55 is detected (no in step S101), control unit 50 repeats the process of step S101.

When the set time has elapsed (yes in step S103), the control unit 50 ends the measurement of the set time (step S104), validates the reset operation for detecting the full state of the storage box 55 (step S105), and returns the sequence to end the processing of this time.

Here, as the reset operation for detecting the full state of the storage box 55, a touch operation on the display section 61, a pressing operation of a reset button provided in the apparatus main body 2, and the like are listed, and the validation of the reset operation means that the number of times of supply of the extracted beverage is zero by the reset operation.

As described above, the beverage supply device 1 and the beverage extraction unit 30 according to the present invention have the following operational advantages.

In the beverage supply device 1, the mesh 434 having the plurality of through holes 434a is provided in the converging duct 43b constituting the suction passage constituting member 43 so as to close the suction passage communicating the stirring bowls 22 and the fan case 40, and therefore, the steam generated in the stirring bowls 22 is brought into contact with the mesh 434 by the driving of the exhaust fan 41, and a part of the steam passes through the through holes 434 a. This makes it possible to attach the powder material contained as fine powder in the steam to the portion of the mesh 434 other than the through holes 434a, and to reduce the proportion of the powder material contained in the steam passing through the through holes 434a, and also to reduce the humidity of the steam. Therefore, the amount of the powdery raw material adhering to the wall surface of the suction passage of the suction hose 43a on the downstream side of the mesh 434 can be reduced, and the amount of the powdery raw material adhering to the fan filter 42 can be reduced.

Therefore, according to the beverage supply device 1 of the present embodiment, maintenance work such as removal of the powder material can be reduced, and the burden on the worker can be reduced.

Further, since the net 434 is detachably provided in the merging pipe 43b, the operation such as cleaning of the net 434 can be easily performed. In particular, since the net 434 is made of a metal material, there is no fear of deformation or the like due to contact with high-temperature steam or the like.

Further, since the size, the interval, and the like of the diameter of the through holes 434a formed in the mesh 434 are adjusted so that the steam generated in the respective mixing bowls 22 can be uniformly sucked, the steam generated in the respective mixing bowls 22 can be uniformly discharged without variation by driving the exhaust fan 41.

In the beverage supply device 1, since the storage box sensor 56 that detects the presence or absence of the storage box 55 is provided in the vicinity of the front opening 3a of the main body cabinet 3, if the storage box 55 is not sufficiently pulled out forward from the front opening 3a, the detection of the absence of the storage box 55 is not performed.

Therefore, according to the beverage supply device 1 of the present embodiment, the disposal work for extracting the dregs K can be reliably performed.

Further, when the container sensor 56 detects that the container 55 is not present for a predetermined set time, the control unit 50 validates the reset operation for detecting the full state of the container 55, and thus the disposal operation for extracting the dross K can be performed more reliably.

In the beverage extraction unit 30, since the start position of the movement of the scraper 334 is set to either the rear end position or the front end position every time a beverage is extracted, the start position can be flexibly set according to the shape of the housing box 55, and the residue K can be stored in the housing box 55 without being deviated.

Therefore, according to the beverage extraction unit (beverage extraction device) 30 of the present embodiment, the extracted foots K is deposited on the housing box 55 without variation, and the disposal work for extracting the foots K can be reduced.

In the beverage extraction unit 30, when the washing process of the washing cylinder 331 is performed, the control unit 50 moves the filter unit 332 upward to close the lower surface opening 331a by the filter unit 332, then injects hot water as washing hot water into the cylinder 331 to overflow the upper surface opening 331b, sucks a part of the washing hot water in the cylinder 331 through the mesh member 336, and further separates the filter unit 332 from the cylinder 331, so that not only the inner surface near the upper surface opening 331b of the cylinder 331 but also the outer surface can be washed with the washing hot water, and also the peripheral edge portion of the mesh member 336 of the filter unit 332 can be washed with the washing hot water stored in the cylinder 331.

Therefore, according to the beverage extraction unit (beverage extraction device) 30 of the embodiment of the present invention, the cylinder 331 and the like can be cleaned satisfactorily.

Further, the control unit 50 separates the cylinder head 333 from the upper surface opening 331b and washes the cylinder head 333 with the washing hot water overflowing from the upper surface opening 331b during the washing process, and thus the cylinder head 333 can be washed well.

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

In the above-described embodiment, the mesh 434 is provided in the merging conduit 43b, but in the present invention, the position where the mesh is provided is not particularly limited, and may be provided in a form of closing the suction passage.

In the above-described embodiment, the start position of the movement of the squeegee 334 is alternately set to the rear end position and the front end position every time beverage is extracted, but in the present invention, the start position can be changed as described below. For example, the start position of the movement of the squeegee may be set to the rear end position and then set to the front end position two consecutive times. That is, the start position of each extraction may be set to the rear end position twice in succession, and after the extraction, the extracted dross may be discharged to the front side of the housing box, and then, the start position of the next extraction may be set to the front end position once, and after the extraction, the extracted dross may be discharged to the rear side of the housing box. The starting position of the movement of the squeegee may be set according to the shape of the storage box or the like, or may be set according to the type of the beverage to be extracted.

Description of the reference numerals

1. A beverage supply device; 2. a device main body; 3. a main body cabinet; 3a, a front surface opening; 4. a front surface door; 10. a beverage supply section; 12. a nozzle; 20. a beverage preparation unit; 21. a powder feedstock tank; 22. a stirring bowl (stirring vessel); 30. a beverage extraction unit (beverage extraction device); 31. extracting a raw material tank; 32. a grinder; 33. an extraction mechanism section; 331. a cylinder body; 332. a filter assembly; 333. a cylinder cover; 334. a squeegee; 40. a fan case; 41. an exhaust fan; 42. a fan filter; 43. a suction passage constituting member; 43a, a suction hose; 43b, a confluence line (confluence section); 431. a pipe seat; 432. a duct cover; 434. a mesh; 434a, a through hole; 50. a control unit; 55. a housing box; 56. a storage box sensor (storage box detection means); 61. a display unit; 62. an opening part; 63. opening and closing the door; C. a container; K. extracting the residue.

Claims

1. A beverage supply device, comprising:

a main body cabinet having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and a front surface opening on a front surface; and

a front door swingably provided at one side edge of the main body cabinet to open and close the front opening,

the beverage supply device supplies the beverage extracted by the beverage extraction part arranged in the main body cabinet to a container arranged at a predetermined position,

the beverage supplying apparatus is characterized in that,

the beverage supply device comprises a storage box detection component which is arranged near the front surface opening of the main body cabinet and detects the existence of the storage box for storing the extraction dregs generated by extracting the beverage by the beverage extraction part.

2. The beverage supplying apparatus according to claim 1,

the beverage supply device includes a control unit that validates a reset operation for detecting the full state of the storage box when the storage box detection means detects that the storage box is not present for a predetermined time.