CN113143006A - Beverage supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a beverage supply device which can well clean a stirring paddle component, comprising a control part, wherein the control part uses a conveying mechanism to convey a cup to a preparation position and uses the stirring paddle component to stir beverage raw water in the cup to generate beverage under the condition that a beverage supply command is provided, and uses the conveying mechanism to convey the beverage raw water to a supply position to supply the beverage, the beverage raw material contains high-viscosity components which improve the viscosity of the beverage, and the control part performs the following cleaning actions: when the cup is conveyed to the supply position, the paddle member is lowered from the standby position to the entry position while discharging hot water constituting beverage raw water as rinsing hot water with respect to the paddle member, the paddle member is rotated after the discharge of the rinsing hot water is completed, the paddle member is raised to the standby position after the rotation, the hot water constituting beverage raw water is discharged as post-rinsing hot water, and the paddle member is rotated after the discharge of the post-rinsing hot water is completed.

Description

Beverage supply device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a beverage supply device, and more particularly, to a beverage supply device that supplies a beverage in a state where the beverage is put into a cup, for example.

Background

Conventionally, as a beverage supply device for supplying a beverage in a state where the beverage is put into a cup, for example, there is a device for supplying a prepared beverage by pouring a beverage raw material such as a powdery material and beverage raw water such as hot water or water into the cup conveyed by a conveying mechanism and stirring the materials by a stirring mechanism (for example, see patent document 1).

In this beverage supply device, a cup is first conveyed to a position of a can containing a beverage material by a conveying mechanism, and the beverage material is put into the cup. Next, the cup is conveyed to the preparation position by the conveying mechanism, and after the raw beverage water is put into the cup, the stirring paddle member is rotated inside the cup by the stirring mechanism, thereby stirring and mixing the raw beverage material and the raw beverage water. Thereafter, the cup is transported to the providing position by the transporting mechanism to supply the beverage.

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 devices, a beverage supply device is known in which a beverage material contains a high-viscosity component (thickening component) for increasing the viscosity of a beverage. Since the viscosity of a beverage prepared by using the high-viscosity component as a beverage raw material is increased, it is useful from the viewpoint of preventing a part of dysphagic persons such as elderly persons from mistakenly swallowing.

However, in the conventional beverage supply device, after the beverage raw material and the beverage raw water are stirred and mixed by the paddle member at the preparation position, the paddle member is usually cleaned by discharging hot water constituting the beverage raw water as rinsing hot water to the paddle member.

However, when a high-viscosity component is contained in the beverage material as described above, the high-viscosity component adheres to the paddle member only when the rinsing hot water is discharged to the paddle member, and there is a possibility that the paddle member cannot be cleaned satisfactorily.

In addition, in the conventional beverage supply device, hot water constituting raw beverage water is poured as cleaning hot water into a cup conveyed to a preparation position by a conveying mechanism, and a paddle member is lowered to rotate in a state where a tip portion thereof is immersed in the cleaning hot water, thereby periodically cleaning the inside of the cup where the paddle member is cleaned.

However, if the paddle member is continuously rotated while the tip portion is immersed in the hot washing water, the water level of the hot washing water in the central region of the cup interior becomes lower than that in the peripheral region by the centrifugal force, and as a result, the paddle member may not be washed satisfactorily.

In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage supply device capable of cleaning a paddle member satisfactorily.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, a beverage supply device according to the present invention includes a control unit that, when a beverage supply command is given, transports a cup to a preparation position by a transport mechanism, stirs a beverage raw material and beverage raw water in the cup by a paddle member to generate a beverage, and transports the generated beverage to a supply position by the transport mechanism in a state of being put into the cup, thereby supplying the beverage, the beverage supply device including a powder tray (japanese: パウダトレイ) having an opening at an upper portion thereof and a drain hole formed at a bottom portion thereof, and an upper end portion of a wall portion forming the opening being disposed in a form of a part of a transport path that transports the cup around the transport mechanism, the beverage raw material containing a high-viscosity component that increases the viscosity of the beverage, the control unit performs the following cleaning operation: when the cup is transported to the supply position, the paddle member is lowered from a standby position to an entry position in a region below the opening of the powder tray while discharging hot water constituting the raw beverage water as rinsing hot water with respect to the paddle member, the paddle member is rotated after the discharge of the rinsing hot water is completed, the paddle member is raised to the standby position after the rotation, the hot water constituting the raw beverage water is discharged to the paddle member as post-rinsing hot water, and the paddle member is rotated after the discharge of the post-rinsing hot water is completed.

Further, a beverage supply device according to the present invention is a beverage supply device including a control unit that, when a beverage supply command is given, transports a cup to a preparation position by a transport mechanism and stirs a beverage raw material and beverage raw water in the cup by a paddle member to generate a beverage, and transports the generated beverage to a supply position by the transport mechanism in a state of being put into the cup, thereby supplying the beverage, wherein the beverage raw material contains a high-viscosity component that increases the viscosity of the beverage, and the control unit, when an in-cup cleaning command is given, transports the cup to the preparation position by the transport mechanism and injects hot water constituting the beverage raw water as cleaning hot water into the cup, and lowers the paddle member into the cup to immerse a tip end portion of the paddle member in the cleaning hot water, and intermittently rotates the paddle member.

In the beverage supply device, the beverage supply device may further include a powder tray having an opening at an upper portion thereof and a drain hole at a bottom portion thereof, an upper end portion of a wall portion forming the opening may be disposed so as to surround a part of a conveyance path through which the cup is conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, and the control unit may intermittently rotate the paddle member by being given the in-cup cleaning command, and then may convey the cup by the conveyance mechanism in a state in which the paddle member is lowered, thereby disposing the cup on the powder tray.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to the present invention, the beverage supply device includes a powder tray having an opening at an upper portion thereof and a drain hole formed at a bottom portion thereof, and an upper end portion of a wall portion forming the opening is disposed in a state of surrounding a part of a conveying path for conveying the cup by the conveying mechanism, the beverage material contains a high-viscosity component for increasing the viscosity of the beverage, and the control portion performs the following cleaning operation: when the cup is conveyed to the supply position, the paddle member is lowered from the standby position to the entry position in the lower region of the opening of the powder tray while discharging hot water constituting raw beverage water as rinsing hot water with respect to the paddle member, after the discharge of the rinsing hot water is completed, the paddle member is rotated, and after the rotation, the paddle member is raised to the standby position, and the hot water constituting raw beverage water is discharged to the paddle member as post-rinsing hot water, and after the discharge of the post-rinsing hot water is completed, the paddle member is rotated.

Further, according to the present invention, the beverage material contains a high-viscosity component that increases the viscosity of the beverage, and when an in-cup washing command is given, the control unit causes the conveying mechanism to convey the cup to the preparation position, and feeds hot water constituting raw beverage water as washing hot water into the cup, and causes the paddle member to descend into the cup, and causes the tip end portion of the paddle member to be immersed in the washing hot water, and intermittently rotates the paddle member, so that it is possible to suppress a state in which the washing hot water in the cup continues to decrease in water level in the central region of the cup and increases in water level in the peripheral region near the inner wall surface of the cup, and to achieve an effect that the paddle member can be washed satisfactorily.

Drawings

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

Fig. 2 is a front view showing an internal structure of a beverage supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system characteristic of the beverage supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged front view of a main part of the inside of the main body cabinet shown in fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the discharge main body shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view showing the discharge body shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between the powder tray shown in fig. 2 and 4 and a paddle member constituting the stirring mechanism.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the powder tray shown in fig. 4.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a mounted state of the powder tray shown in fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing a mounted state of the powder tray shown in fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a schematic view showing a mounted state of the powder tray shown in fig. 8.

Fig. 12 is an explanatory view showing a procedure of detaching the powder tray shown in fig. 9 to 11.

Fig. 13 is an explanatory view showing a disassembly procedure of the powder tray shown in fig. 9 to 11.

Fig. 14 is an explanatory view showing a procedure of detaching the powder tray shown in fig. 9 to 11.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the processing content of the beverage preparation control process executed by the control unit shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 16 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of the raw beverage water supply unit and the stirring mechanism in the preparation of the beverage shown in fig. 15.

Fig. 17 is a sectional view for explaining an operation of preparing the beverage of fig. 15.

Fig. 18 is a sectional view for explaining an operation of preparing the beverage of fig. 15.

Fig. 19 is a sectional view for explaining an operation of preparing the beverage of fig. 15.

Fig. 20 is a sectional view for explaining the cleaning operation of fig. 15.

Fig. 21 is a sectional view for explaining the cleaning operation in fig. 15.

Fig. 22 is a sectional view for explaining the cleaning operation in fig. 15.

Fig. 23 is a sectional view for explaining the cleaning operation in fig. 15.

Fig. 24 is a sectional view for explaining the cleaning operation in fig. 15.

FIG. 25 is a sectional view for explaining an operation of washing the inside of the cup.

FIG. 26 is a sectional view for explaining an operation of washing in the cup.

Description of the reference numerals

1. A main body cabinet; 2. a front surface opening; 3. a front surface door; 4. opening and closing the door; 5. an outlet structure part; 5a, an outlet; 11. a selection unit; 12. a conveying mechanism; 12a, a conveying path; 121. a holding section; 122. a conveyance drive section; 123. a position detection unit; 13. a beverage material supply unit; 131. a raw material tank; 132. a raw material supply drive unit; 14. a high-viscosity component supply section; 141. a high viscosity ingredient tank; 142. a high-viscosity component supply drive section; 15. a raw water supply unit for beverage; 151. a water supply valve; 152. a hot water supply valve; 16. a stirring mechanism; 161. a paddle member; 162. a stirring paddle driving part; 17. a door opening/closing detection unit; 18. a door opening and closing locking mechanism; 20. a control unit; 22. a discharge main body part; 23. a powder tray; 25. a tray support member; C. a cup; s1, modulation position; and S2, providing the position.

Detailed Description

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

Fig. 1 to 3 are views showing a beverage supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively, fig. 1 is a front view showing an external configuration, fig. 2 is a front view showing an internal structure, and fig. 3 is a block diagram schematically showing a characteristic control system. The beverage supply device illustrated here is provided in, for example, a store or a care facility, and includes a main body cabinet 1.

The main body cabinet 1 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape having an opening (hereinafter also referred to as a front opening) 2 on a front surface. The front opening 2 of the main body cabinet 1 is opened and closed by a front door 3, and the front door 3 is provided swingably around a center axis of a shaft portion extending in the vertical direction at a right side edge portion on the front side of the main body cabinet 1.

The front surface door 3 has an opening/closing door 4. The opening/closing door 4 is a door body for opening and closing the outlet 5a, the outlet 5a is constituted by an outlet structure 5 provided in the front door 3, and the opening/closing door 4 is constituted by a translucent material such as a transparent resin, for example. The left end of the opening/closing door 4 is pivotally supported by the front door 3 and can swing in the front-rear direction. That is, the opening/closing door 4 can close the outlet 5a when it swings backward, and can open the outlet 5a when it swings forward.

The beverage supply device includes a selector 11, a conveyor 12, a beverage material supply 13, a high viscosity component supply 14, a raw beverage water supply 15, a stirring mechanism 16, a door opening/closing detector 17, a door opening/closing locking mechanism 18, and a controller 20.

The selector 11 is provided above the drawer structure 5 of the front door 3. The selector 11 is selection means for selecting a beverage, and is composed of a plurality of buttons. The selection unit 11 supplies a selection signal to the control unit 20 when any of the buttons is pressed.

The conveyance mechanism 12 includes a holding unit 121, a conveyance driving unit 122, and a position detecting unit 123. The holding portion 121 holds a cup C as a container. The conveyance driving unit 122 is configured to have a conveyance motor (not shown) and to convey the holding unit 121, which receives and holds the cup C from the cup storage unit 19, along the predetermined conveyance path 12a by being driven by a command supplied from the control unit 20. The position detecting unit 123 detects the position of the cup C conveyed by the conveyance driving unit 122, that is, the position of the holding unit 121, by detecting the rotation speed of the conveyance motor or the like.

The conveying path 12a of the conveying mechanism 12 is on a straight line along the left-right direction. The cup storage 19 is provided at the leftmost position in fig. 2.

The beverage material supply unit 13 includes a material tank 131 and a material supply drive unit 132. The raw material tank 131 is provided in plurality (two in the illustrated example) and arranged in a left-right array. These material tanks 131 are storage boxes for storing different kinds of powder materials (for example, green tea and roasted tea).

The plurality of material supply driving units 132 are provided corresponding to the material tanks 131. These raw material supply driving units 132 are driven by instructions supplied from the control unit 20, and when driven, discharge a predetermined amount of powdery raw material from the corresponding raw material tanks 131 and discharge the powdery raw material to the cup C conveyed by the conveying mechanism 12 through the raw material chute 133.

The high-viscosity component supply section 14 includes a high-viscosity component tank 141 and a high-viscosity component supply drive section 142. The high-viscosity component tank 141 is provided on the right side of the raw material tank 131, more specifically, in an upper region on the rightmost side of the conveyance path 12 a. The high-viscosity component tank 141 is a storage box for storing a high-viscosity component called a thickening component in a powder state such as starch for increasing the viscosity of the beverage.

The high-viscosity component supply drive unit 142 is provided corresponding to the high-viscosity component tank 141. The high-viscosity component supply drive unit 142 is driven by a command supplied from the control unit 20, and when the drive is performed, a predetermined amount of the high-viscosity component is discharged from the high-viscosity component tank 141, and the high-viscosity component is discharged to the cup C conveyed by the conveying mechanism 12 through the high-viscosity component chute 143.

The raw beverage water supply unit 15 is used to supply raw beverage water such as hot water and water, and includes a water supply valve 151 and a hot water supply valve 152. The water supply valve 151 is a valve element that opens and closes in response to a command supplied from the control unit 20. The water supply valve 151 sends the cooling water in the water tank 153 storing the cooling water toward the discharge body 22 provided on the left side of the head tank 131 when the valve is in the open state, and restricts the sending of the cooling water when the valve is in the closed state.

The hot water supply valve 152 is a valve element that opens and closes in response to a command supplied from the control unit 20. The hot water supply valve 152 sends hot water of, for example, 85 ℃ or higher in the hot water tank 154 storing hot water toward the discharge main body 22 when it is in an open state, and restricts the sending of hot water when it is in a closed state.

Here, as shown in fig. 4, the discharge main body portion 22 is provided in a region above the brewing position S1 in the conveyance path 12a of the cup C of the conveyance mechanism 12. As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the discharge body 22 has a substantially cylindrical shape having openings in the upper portion 22a and the lower portion 22b, and the opening area of the lower portion 22b is larger than the opening area of the upper portion 22 a. The discharge body 22 is provided with a water discharge port 221 and a hot water discharge port 222 arranged in a front-rear direction. The water discharge port 221 is an opening through which the sent cooling water is discharged when the water supply valve 151 is opened. The hot water outlet 222 is an opening through which the hot water is discharged when the hot water supply valve 152 is in an open state.

The stirring mechanism 16 is provided in the vicinity of the discharge main body portion 22, and includes a stirring blade member 161 and a stirring blade driving portion 162. The paddle member 161 is a conventionally known paddle member in which a paddle blade 161b is attached to a lower end portion, which is a tip end portion, of a rod 161a extending in the vertical direction, and is provided so as to penetrate the discharge main body portion 22.

The paddle drive unit 162 includes a lift drive unit 162a and a rotation drive unit 162 b. The elevation driving unit 162a is driven in accordance with a command supplied from the control unit 20, and moves the paddle member 161 in the vertical direction when the elevation driving unit is driven. More specifically, the vertical movement driving unit 162a moves the paddle member 161 in the vertical direction between a standby position (see fig. 5 and 6), which is an upper limit position where the stirring blade 161b is housed inside the discharge main body 22, and an entry position, which is a lower limit position where the stirring blade 161b is disposed below the discharge main body 22 as shown in fig. 7.

The rotation driving unit 162b is driven in accordance with a command supplied from the control unit 20, and when driven, rotates the paddle member 161 around the center axis of the rod 161 a.

As shown in fig. 4 and 7, a powder tray 23 is disposed in a region below the conveying path 12a through which the cup C is conveyed by the conveying mechanism 12. As shown in fig. 8, the powder tray 23 has a tray opening 23a at the top and is formed in a box shape having a longitudinal direction in the left-right direction in which a drain hole 23b is formed at the bottom. The powder tray 23 is disposed so that upper end portions of the front wall 231, the rear wall 232, the left side wall 233, and the right side wall 234, which form the tray opening 23a, surround a part of the conveyance path 12a through which the conveyance mechanism 12 conveys the cup C. That is, the powder tray 23 is disposed such that the upper end portions of the front wall 231, the rear wall 232, the left side wall 233, and the right side wall 234 are disposed above the stirring blade 161b of the stirring paddle member 161 moved to the entry position.

Further, a 1 st notch opening 231a having an upper end portion opened is formed in a left side portion of the front wall portion 231 of the powder tray 23 and a portion to be a rear side of the ejection port 5 a. A position behind the 1 st notch opening 231a and to the left of the modulation position S1 is a supply position S2 (see fig. 4). Further, a 2 nd notch opening 234a having an upper end portion opened is formed in a portion of the right side wall portion 234 of the powder tray 23 facing the conveying path 12 a.

The powder tray 23 is used to guide the beverage overflowing from the cup C, hot water used for washing, and the like to a disposal container 24 (see fig. 2) provided in the main body cabinet 1 through a drain hole 23 b.

As shown in fig. 9 to 11, the powder tray 23 is supported by tray support members 25 disposed on the left and right surfaces of the main body cabinet 1, and is provided in the main body cabinet 1.

The outer surfaces of the left side wall 233 and the right side wall 234 of the powder tray 23 are provided with rectangular parallelepiped-shaped supported portions 235, which are spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction so as to protrude outward. The tray supporting member 25 is provided with a placement portion 251, a rear regulating portion 252, and a stopper portion 253. The two mount portions 251 are provided, each extending in the front-rear direction so as to protrude inward from the inner surface of the tray support member 25, and are provided so as to be spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction. The rear regulating portion 252 is provided to extend in the vertical direction so as to protrude inward in a rear region of the rear mounting portion 251 on the inner surface of the tray supporting member 25. The stopper 253 is pivotally supported at a rear end portion on the front side of the tray supporting member 25, and is disposed so that a front end portion can swing in the vertical direction about the rear end portion. A protrusion 253a protruding downward is formed on the stopper 253.

The powder tray 23 is placed on the placement portion 251 corresponding to the supported portion 235, and is supported by the tray supporting member 25 in a state in which the movement in the front-rear direction is restricted by the rear restricting portion 252 and the protrusion 253a by the stopper 253 being in a posture of swinging downward.

Also, the powder tray 23 can be detached from the main body cabinet 1 as follows. That is, as shown in fig. 12, the stopper 253 is swung upward to be partially locked with the partial portion of the tray supporting member 25. Thereby, the protrusion 253a of the stopper 253 retreats from the front region of the supported portion 235 on the front side of the powder tray 23. Then, as shown in fig. 13, the powder tray 23 is displaced forward, the front supported portion 235 is positioned in the front upper region of the front mounting portion 251, and the rear supported portion 235 is positioned in the upper region between the front mounting portion 251 and the rear mounting portion 251, and the powder tray 23 can be separated from the tray supporting member 25 by displacing downward, as shown in fig. 14. Therefore, by displacing the powder tray 23 separated from the tray support member 25 toward the front, the powder tray 23 can be detached from the main body cabinet 1. That is, the powder tray 23 is detachably provided to the main body cabinet 1.

The door opening/closing detection unit 17 is provided in the vicinity of the ejection opening structure unit 5, and is constituted by, for example, an optical sensor. The door opening/closing detection unit 17 detects opening/closing of the ejection opening 5a by the opening/closing door 4, and more specifically, detects whether the ejection opening 5a is closed, that is, whether the opening/closing door 4 is closed. The door opening/closing detector 17 supplies the detection result of whether the opening/closing door 4 is closed to the controller 20.

The door opening/closing locking mechanism 18 is provided in the vicinity of the ejection opening structure portion 5. The door opening/closing locking mechanism 18 is capable of switching between a locked state in which the open/close door 4 closing the ejection opening 5a is kept closed and the forward swing of the open/close door 4 is restricted, and a released state in which the open/close door 4 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.

The controller 20 is electrically connected to the selector 11, the conveyor 12, the beverage material supplier 13, the high viscosity component supplier 14, the raw beverage water supplier 15, the stirrer 16, the door opening/closing detector 17, and the door opening/closing locking mechanism 18, and controls the operations of the above-described components in a unified manner according to the program and data stored in the storage 21 which are electrically connected in the same manner.

The control unit 20 may be realized by causing a Processing device such as a cpu (central Processing unit) to execute a program, that is, by software, may be realized by hardware such as an ic (integrated circuit), or may be realized by both software and hardware.

Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the processing content of the beverage preparation control process executed by the control unit 20 shown in fig. 3. The operation of the beverage supply device will be described while describing the beverage preparation control process. The door lock/unlock locking mechanism 18 is in the locked state.

In this beverage preparation control process, the control unit 20 determines whether or not a certain button in the selection unit 11 is pressed by the presence or absence of an input selection signal (step S101). If it is not determined that the selector 11 is pressed (no in step S101), the controller 20 repeats the process and waits for the selector 11 to be pressed.

When determining that the selector 11 is pressed (yes in step S101), the controller 20 prepares a beverage (step S102). The preparation of the beverage is carried out in the following manner. In step S101, it is assumed that a hot beverage containing a high-viscosity component is selected. Here, in the case of a hot beverage containing a high-viscosity component, the supply temperature thereof is set to 60 ℃ or higher, which is lower than that of a normal hot beverage (for example, 85 ℃ or higher).

The controller 20 drives the conveyance driver 122 to hold the cup C received from the cup storage 19 by the holding unit 121, and conveys the cup C to the right toward the lower region of the raw material tank 131 in which the powder raw material is stored. When the position detection unit 123 detects that the holding unit 121 (cup C) is disposed in the lower region of the predetermined raw material tank 131, the control unit 20 drives the corresponding raw material supply drive unit 132 to charge the predetermined amount of the powder raw material into the cup C. Next, the control unit 20 drives the conveying mechanism 12 to convey the cup C to the right toward the lower region of the high-viscosity component tank 141. When the position detector 123 detects that the holding part 121 (cup C) is disposed in the lower region of the high viscosity component tank 141, the controller 20 drives the high viscosity component supply driver 142 to charge a predetermined amount of the high viscosity component into the cup C.

Then, the control unit 20 drives the conveyance drive unit 122 to convey the cup C to the left direction toward the brewing position S1. When the position detector 123 detects that the holding unit 121 (cup C) is disposed at the brewing position S1, the control unit 20 performs brewing as follows.

Fig. 16 is a timing chart showing the operation of the raw beverage water supply unit 15 and the stirring mechanism 16 during preparation of a beverage. As shown in fig. 16, at time t1, the controller 20 drives the elevation driving unit 162a to lower the paddle member 161 as shown in fig. 17. Then, at time t2, the controller 20 opens the hot water supply valve 152 and the water supply valve 151, and injects hot water and cooling water into the cup C from the hot water discharge port 222 and the water discharge port 221 of the discharge body 22. When the paddle member 161 is lowered to the entry position at time t3 after time t2, the leading end portion of the paddle member 161 such as the stirring blade 161b is disposed inside the cup C, and the controller 20 drives the rotation driving unit 162b while stopping the driving of the elevation driving unit 162 a. Thereby, as shown in fig. 18, the paddle member 161 rotates about the central axis of the rod 161 a. Then, at time t4 after time t3, when predetermined amounts of hot water and cooling water are introduced, the controller 20 closes the hot water supply valve 152 and the water supply valve 151. At this time, the paddle member 161 continues to rotate, and stirs the powder material, the high-viscosity component, and the beverage raw water (hot water and cooling water). Then, at time t5, the control unit 20 stops driving the rotation driving unit 162b to stop the rotation of the paddle member 161, and drives the elevation driving unit 162a to raise the paddle member 161 as shown in fig. 19. Then, at time t6, when the paddle member 161 is raised to the standby position, the control unit 20 stops driving the elevation driving unit 162 a. Thereby, the stirring blade 161b, which is the tip end portion of the stirring paddle member 161, is retracted from the cup C and the conveyance path 12 a.

Then, the controller 20 drives the carrying driver 122 to carry the cup C from the brewing position S1 to the left toward the providing position S2, and when the position detector 123 detects that the holder 121 (cup C) is disposed at the providing position S2, the brewing of the beverage is completed.

The controller 20 that has prepared the beverage in this way releases the lock of the closed state of the opening/closing door 4 by the door opening/closing locking mechanism 18 (step S103), and determines whether or not the door opening/closing detector 17 detects opening/closing based on the input of the detection result from the door opening/closing detector 17 (step S104).

When determining that the door opening/closing detection unit 17 has not detected the opening/closing operation (step S104), the control unit 20 repeats the process. When it is determined that the door opening/closing detection unit 17 has detected the opening/closing operation (yes in step S104), the control unit 20 determines that the cup C conveyed to the supply position S2 is taken out through the take-out opening 5a and locks the opening/closing door 4 in the closed state by using the door opening/closing lock mechanism 18 (step S105).

Then, the control unit 20 cleans the paddle member 161 (step S106). The cleaning is explained. As shown in fig. 20, the controller 20 opens the hot water supply valve 152 and discharges a predetermined amount (for example, about 40 ml) of hot water as rinsing hot water from the hot water discharge port 222. Then, as shown in fig. 21, the controller 20 drives the elevation driving unit 162a to lower the paddle member 161 from the standby position to the entry position. When the paddle member 161 is lowered to the entry position, the control unit 20 closes the hot water supply valve 152 to stop the discharge of the rinsing hot water, and drives the rotary drive unit 162b to rotate the paddle member 161 to disperse the sludge attached to the paddle blade 161b and the like together with the rinsing hot water to the surroundings by the centrifugal force to remove the water, as shown in fig. 22. In this case, the periphery of the stirring blade 161b lowered to the entry position is surrounded by the front wall 231, the rear wall 232, and the like of the powder tray 23, and therefore, is not scattered to the outside of the powder tray 23. When the moisture removal is completed, the control unit 20 stops the driving of the rotation driving unit 162b and drives the elevation driving unit 162a to raise the paddle member 161 from the entry position to the standby position. When the paddle member 161 is raised to the standby position, as shown in fig. 23, the controller 20 opens the hot water supply valve 152 after stopping the driving of the elevation driving unit 162a, and discharges the hot water as post-rinse hot water from the hot water discharge port 222. After a predetermined amount (for example, about 60 ml) of post-rinse hot water is discharged, the control unit 20 closes the hot water supply valve 152 to stop the discharge of the post-rinse hot water, and drives the rotary drive unit 162b to rotate the paddle member 161 to disperse the post-rinse hot water adhered to the paddle member 161b and the like to the surroundings by centrifugal force to remove water, as shown in fig. 24. In this case, since the periphery of the stirring blade 161b raised to the standby position is surrounded by the discharge main body 22, there is no fear that the post-rinse hot water is scattered to the outside of the powder tray 23. When the removal of water from the post-rinsing hot water is completed, the control unit 20 stops the driving of the rotary driving unit 162b to finish the cleaning of the paddle member 161.

After the control unit 20 that has cleaned the paddle member 161 in this manner, the procedure is returned to end the beverage preparation control process of this time.

This enables the user who swings the opening/closing door 4 forward to be supplied with the beverage in the state of being inserted into the cup C.

However, when an operator such as a manager of the beverage supply apparatus operates the selection unit 11 according to a predetermined schedule and provides an in-cup washing instruction to the control unit 20, the control unit 20 performs in-cup washing as follows.

The control unit 20 drives the conveyance drive unit 122 to hold the cup C received from the cup storage unit 19 by the holding unit 121 and convey the cup C to the brewing position S1. When the position detector 123 detects that the holding part 121 (cup C) is disposed at the brewing position S1, the controller 20 opens the hot water supply valve 152 and discharges hot water as hot washing water to the cup C from the hot water discharge port 222. At this time, the controller 20 drives the elevation driving unit 162a to lower the paddle member 161 to the entry position. When the washing hot water is discharged by a predetermined amount, the control unit 20 closes the hot water supply valve 152. When the mixer blade 161b has been lowered to the entry position, the mixer blade is immersed in the hot washing water, and the controller 20 stops driving the up-and-down driving unit 162 a. Then, the control unit 20 repeats the operation of stopping the driving after driving the rotary driving unit 162b, thereby intermittently rotating the paddle member 161 and cleaning the stirring blade 161b as shown in fig. 25.

After the paddle member 161 is intermittently rotated for a predetermined period of time, the control unit 20 stops driving the rotation driving unit 162b, drives the conveyance driving unit 122 with the paddle member 161 disposed at the entry position, and conveys the holding portion 121 of the holding cup C, for example, to the right. In this case, since the paddle member 161 is disposed at the entry position, the paddle member 161 collides with the cup C, and as shown in fig. 26, the cup C can be detached from the holding portion 121 and discarded to the powder tray 23.

After discarding the cup C, the controller 20 drives the vertical movement driving unit 162a to move the paddle member 161 up to the standby position and to dispose the holding unit 121 at a predetermined position.

As described above, in the beverage supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the beverage raw material contains a high-viscosity component that increases the viscosity of the beverage, and the controller 20 causes the paddle member 161 to descend into the cup C at the preparation position S1, and then rotates the paddle member 161 while feeding raw beverage water (hot water and cooling water) into the cup C to stir the beverage raw material and the raw beverage water to produce the beverage.

In particular, since the stirring paddle member 161 is rotated to stir the beverage raw material and the beverage raw water while simultaneously feeding hot water and cooling water constituting the beverage raw water, the temperature and the viscosity of the beverage can be made constant. Further, since the operation of lowering the temperature with the cooling water is not required after the beverage material containing the high-viscosity component and the hot water are stirred, the supply time can be shortened.

According to the beverage supply device, when the cup C is transported to the supply position, the control unit 20 lowers the paddle member 161 from the standby position to the entry position in the lower region of the tray opening 23a of the powder tray 23 while discharging hot water constituting raw beverage water as rinsing hot water to the paddle member 161, after the discharge of the rinsing hot water is completed, the paddle member 161 is rotated, and after the rotation, the paddle member 161 is raised to the standby position, the hot water constituting the beverage raw water is discharged to the paddle member 161 as post-rinsing hot water, after the discharge of the post-rinsing hot water is completed, a cleaning operation is performed to rotate the paddle member 161, therefore, the sludge containing high-viscosity components adhering to the paddle member 161 can be removed together with the rinsing hot water, and the paddle member 161 can be cleaned satisfactorily.

Further, since the dross and the like are scattered by the centrifugal force, the amount of hot water such as rinsing hot water and post-rinsing hot water can be reduced and the time required for cleaning can be shortened as compared with the case where the washing is performed by supplying hot water to the paddle member 161.

In particular, since the upper end portion of the front wall 231 of the powder tray 23 and the like is disposed above the stirring blade 161b of the stirring paddle member 161 lowered to the entry position, it is possible to prevent hot water and the like used for cleaning from scattering to the outside of the powder tray 23 even if the stirring paddle member 161 is rotated during cleaning, and it is sanitary.

According to the beverage supply device described above, when the in-cup washing command is given, the control unit 20 causes the conveying mechanism 12 to convey the cup C to the preparation position S1, and feeds hot water constituting raw beverage water as washing hot water into the interior of the cup C, and causes the paddle member 161 to descend into the interior of the cup C, thereby immersing the paddle blade 161b of the paddle member 161 in the washing hot water, and intermittently rotates the paddle member 161, and therefore, it is possible to suppress a state in which the washing hot water in the interior of the cup C continues to keep the water level in the central region of the cup C decreasing and the water level in the peripheral region near the inner wall surface of the cup C increasing, and to perform washing of the paddle member 161 satisfactorily.

According to the beverage supply device, since the control unit 20 causes the paddle member 161 to intermittently rotate when the in-cup washing command is given, and then causes the paddle member 161 to descend and conveys the cup C by the conveyance mechanism 12, the cup C is discarded to the powder tray 23, it is not necessary to remove the cup C used for in-cup washing, and the cup C is not removed, so that it is possible to prevent the chance of missing the supply of the beverage.

According to the beverage supply device, since the cup C is conveyed to the supply position S2 after the conveyance mechanism 12 prepares the beverage at the preparation position S1, when the user takes out the cup C, hot water attached to the discharge main body 22 and the like can be prevented from dripping and burning fingers and the like.

According to the beverage supply device, the powder tray 23 supported by the tray support member 25 is moved forward and then moved downward, and then moved forward and removed from the main body cabinet 1, so that the movement distance of the powder tray 23 in the front-rear direction can be shortened.

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 paddle member 161 is intermittently rotated when an in-cup washing instruction is given, but in the present invention, the forward and reverse rotation may be repeated so that the paddle member is rotated in one direction about the central axis of the rod and then rotated in the other direction. This also suppresses the situation in which the hot water for washing the inside of the cup continues to decrease in the water level in the central region of the cup and increases in the water level in the peripheral region of the cup, and the paddle member can be washed satisfactorily.

In the above-described embodiment, when the in-cup washing is performed, the cup C is conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 12 in a state where the paddle member 161 is lowered, and the cup C is discarded onto the powder tray 23, but in the present invention, the cup may be conveyed to the supply position once after the in-cup washing is performed, and when the state where the open-close door is not swung in the opening direction continues for a predetermined time, the cup may be conveyed to the preparation position, the paddle member is lowered, and the cup may be conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, and the cup may be discarded onto the powder tray.

Further, since the cup C used for in-cup cleaning is discarded in the powder tray 23, as in the above-described embodiment, it is possible to automatically perform in-cup cleaning not only by providing an in-cup cleaning instruction to the control unit 20 by an operator such as a manager of the beverage supply apparatus, but also when the control unit provides an in-cup cleaning instruction to itself on the condition that a predetermined time has elapsed. Thus, even if the operator forgets the operation of the in-cup washing command, the sanitation can be ensured by automatically washing the in-cup.

Claims (3)

1. A beverage supply device comprising a control unit that, when a beverage supply command is given, causes a cup to be conveyed to a preparation position by a conveying mechanism, causes a stirring paddle member to stir a beverage raw material and beverage raw water in the cup to produce a beverage, and causes the conveying mechanism to convey the produced beverage to a supply position in a state of being put into the cup to supply the beverage, wherein the beverage supply device is characterized in that,

the beverage supply device comprises a powder tray which is provided with an opening at the upper part and a drain hole at the bottom part, and the upper end part of the wall part forming the opening is arranged in a mode of surrounding a part of a conveying path for conveying the cup by the conveying mechanism,

the beverage material contains a high viscosity ingredient that increases the viscosity of the beverage,

the control unit performs the following cleaning operation: when the cup is conveyed to the supply position, the paddle member is lowered from a standby position to an entry position in a region below the opening of the powder tray while discharging hot water constituting the raw beverage water as rinsing hot water with respect to the paddle member, the paddle member is rotated after the discharge of the rinsing hot water is completed, the paddle member is raised to the standby position after the rotation, the hot water constituting the raw beverage water is discharged to the paddle member as post-rinsing hot water, and the paddle member is rotated after the discharge of the post-rinsing hot water is completed.

2. A beverage supply device comprising a control unit that, when a beverage supply command is given, transports a cup to a preparation position by a transport mechanism, stirs a beverage raw material and beverage raw water in the cup by a stirring paddle member to produce a beverage, and transports the produced beverage to a supply position by the transport mechanism in a state of being put into the cup to supply the beverage,

the beverage material contains a high viscosity ingredient that increases the viscosity of the beverage,

when an in-cup washing command is given, the control unit causes the conveying mechanism to convey the cup to the brewing position, and feeds hot water constituting the raw beverage water as washing hot water into the cup, and causes the paddle member to descend into the cup, thereby immersing the tip end portion of the paddle member in the washing hot water, and intermittently rotating the paddle member.

3. The beverage supplying apparatus according to claim 2,

the beverage supply device comprises a powder tray which is provided with an opening at the upper part and a drain hole at the bottom part, and the upper end part of the wall part forming the opening is arranged in a mode of surrounding a part of a conveying path for conveying the cup by the conveying mechanism,

the control unit may be configured to, after the paddle member is intermittently rotated by receiving the in-cup cleaning command, convey the cup by the conveying mechanism in a state where the paddle member is lowered, and discard the cup on the powder tray.

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