CN114947526B

CN114947526B - Beverage manufacturing device

Info

Publication number: CN114947526B
Application number: CN202210110529.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 伊藤修一; 西川洋平; 加治木孝介; 德永勇贵; 垣内拓真
Original assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-24
Filing date: 2022-01-29
Publication date: 2024-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 2042-01-29
Also published as: CN114947526A; JP2022128928A

Abstract

The invention provides a beverage manufacturing device. The beverage making device comprises: a container mounting portion; a stirring section including a rotary shaft section, a blade section, and a motor, the stirring section stirring beverage raw materials placed in a container of the container placement section; a moving mechanism including a motor, the moving mechanism moving the stirring section in an up-down direction; and a control unit that controls the position of the blade unit in the up-down direction and the rotational speed of the blade unit, wherein the control unit is configured to perform control of: the control unit decreases the rotational speed of the blade unit when the blade unit is moved from the lower position of the container to the upper position of the container by the moving mechanism, and increases the rotational speed of the blade unit when the blade unit is moved from the upper position to the lower position by the moving mechanism.

Description

Beverage manufacturing device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a beverage production apparatus, and more particularly, to a beverage production apparatus provided with a stirring section for stirring beverage raw materials in a container.

Background

Conventionally, a beverage production apparatus provided with a stirring section for stirring beverage raw materials in a container is known. Such a beverage production apparatus is disclosed in, for example, japanese patent application laid-open No. 2012-10959.

The fresh fruit juice (beverage) producing apparatus (beverage producing apparatus) described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2012-10959 includes a pair of spring guides, a spring disposed between the pair of spring guides, a cylindrical member for holding the spring, a support member for supporting the cylindrical member, a cover, and a rotation shaft. A rotary blade is attached to the lower end of the rotary shaft. Further, the beverage production device described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2012-10959 is provided with an up-and-down motor for driving the rotation shaft to move in the up-and-down direction. In the beverage production device described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2012-10959, when stirring the beverage raw material (beverage production), the rotary shaft is moved up and down by the up-and-down motor, whereby the rotary blade is moved up and down, and the rotary blade is rotated at a position on the lower side of the container and a position on the upper side of the container, whereby the beverage is produced.

However, although the rotary knife (knife portion) moves in the up-down direction and rotates the knife portion at the lower side position and the upper side position of the container, the beverage raw material rotates together with the knife portion in the case where the speed difference between the rotation speed of the knife portion and the speed at which the beverage and the beverage raw material rotate is small. In this case, since the striking speed and striking frequency of the blade portion with the beverage raw material become small, the following disadvantages are present: the efficiency of pulverizing the beverage raw material by the cutter portion is lowered. In such a case, there is a problem in that the manufacturing time of the beverage increases.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage production apparatus capable of suppressing an increase in the production time of a beverage.

Solution for solving the problem

In order to achieve the above object, a beverage production device according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a container mounting part for mounting a container filled with beverage raw materials; a stirring section including a rotation shaft section that rotates about a rotation axis extending in the up-down direction, a blade section that is provided at a lower portion of the rotation shaft section and rotates with rotation of the rotation shaft section, and a rotation driving section that rotates the rotation shaft section about the rotation axis, wherein the rotation driving section is configured to stir beverage raw materials placed in a container of the container placement section to produce a beverage; a moving mechanism including a vertical driving unit, the moving mechanism moving the stirring unit in a vertical direction; and a control unit that controls the position of the blade unit in the up-down direction and the rotational speed of the blade unit when the blade unit rotates, wherein the control unit is configured to perform control of: the control unit decreases the rotational speed of the blade unit when the blade unit is moved from the lower position of the container to the upper position of the container by the moving mechanism, and increases the rotational speed of the blade unit when the blade unit is moved from the upper position to the lower position by the moving mechanism.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, the control unit is configured to control: the control unit decreases the rotational speed of the blade unit when the blade unit is moved from the lower position to the upper position by the moving mechanism, and increases the rotational speed of the blade unit when the blade unit is moved from the upper position to the lower position by the moving mechanism. In this way, when the blade is moved to the upper position, the rotational speed of the blade is reduced, and therefore the rotational speed of the beverage can be reduced by the resistance applied to the beverage from the blade. Further, since the rotation speed of the blade portion is increased when the blade portion is moved to the lower position, the blade portion can be moved to the lower position with the speed difference between the rotation speed of the blade portion and the rotation speed of the beverage increased. Thus, the difference in speed between the rotational speed of the blade and the rotational speed of the beverage raw material rotating with the beverage can be increased, and therefore the impact speed and impact frequency of the blade with the beverage raw material can be increased. Therefore, the pulverizing efficiency of pulverizing the beverage raw material by the cutter portion can be improved. As a result, it is possible to provide a beverage production device capable of suppressing an increase in the production time of a beverage.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to control: the knife is raised to a position where at least a part of the knife is exposed from the liquid surface of the beverage as an upper position. With this configuration, since the blade portion is raised to a position where at least a part of the blade portion is exposed from the liquid surface of the beverage, the resistance applied to the blade portion by the beverage can be reduced as compared with a configuration in which the blade portion is not exposed from the liquid surface of the beverage at all when the blade portion is moved to the upper position. As a result, the time required to increase the rotational speed of the blade portion at the upper position can be shortened, and thus the increase in the time required to produce the beverage can be further suppressed.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to control: the rotation speed of the blade is reduced, the blade is raised to an upper position, and the rotation speed of the blade is increased, the blade is lowered to a lower position. In this configuration, unlike a configuration in which the cutter portion is moved to the upper position after the rotation speed of the cutter portion is reduced and the cutter portion is moved to the lower position after the rotation speed of the cutter portion is increased, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a time for waiting for the reduction or increase of the rotation speed. As a result, the increase in the time for producing the beverage can be further suppressed.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to control: when the rotation speed of the blade is reduced, the rotation speed of the blade is gradually reduced. Here, when a motor is used as the rotation driving unit, a counter electromotive force is generated from the motor while the rotation speed of the blade unit is continuously reduced. When a back electromotive force is generated from the motor, a switching element electrically connected to the motor for switching a current applied to the motor, a zener diode for protecting a circuit electrically connected to the motor from an inrush current, or the like may be failed. Therefore, if the rotation speed of the blade portion is gradually decreased as described above, the generation of back electromotive force from the rotation driving portion can be suppressed, unlike the case where the rotation speed of the blade portion is continuously decreased. As a result, it is possible to suppress occurrence of failure of a member or the like connected to the rotation driving section due to back electromotive force from the rotation driving section.

In the beverage producing apparatus according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to be able to acquire the rotation speed of the rotation shaft portion, and to control the rotation speed of the cutter portion so that the rotation speed of the cutter portion during production of the beverage becomes a predetermined rotation speed irrespective of the resistance applied from the beverage raw material to the cutter portion. With this configuration, the rotation speed of the blade can be maintained at a predetermined rotation speed regardless of the type of beverage raw material, the location of the beverage raw material, and the size of the beverage raw material. As a result, the decrease in the rotation speed of the blade portion can be suppressed regardless of the type of beverage raw material, the location of the beverage raw material, and the size of the beverage raw material, and therefore, the increase in the time for producing the beverage can be suppressed.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to be able to acquire the rotation speed of the rotation shaft portion, and to control the rotation speed of the cutter portion to be reduced in the beverage production process, thereby extending the beverage production time. With this configuration, since the beverage is continuously produced until the beverage raw material is pulverized when the rotational speed of the cutter portion is reduced, the beverage raw material can be prevented from remaining without being pulverized, as compared with a configuration in which the production of the beverage is completed when a predetermined production time elapses even when the rotational speed of the cutter portion is reduced. As a result, the particle size of the beverage raw material can be kept constant, and therefore, degradation of the quality of the beverage can be suppressed.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to control: when the cutter portion is moved to the lower position at the start of beverage production, the cutter portion is moved downward a plurality of times while the cutter portion is rotated. With this configuration, when the beverage material is crushed by the cutter portion at the start of the beverage production, the beverage material can be crushed a plurality of times. Therefore, compared with a structure in which the cutter portion is moved to the lower position of the container at one stroke, the reduction in the rotation speed of the cutter portion due to resistance caused by the beverage raw material can be suppressed. As a result, the reduction in the efficiency of pulverizing the beverage raw material due to the reduction in the rotation speed of the cutter portion can be suppressed, and thus the time for producing the beverage can be shortened. Further, since the blade portion can be moved to the lower position while pulverizing the beverage raw material, the beverage raw material can be suppressed from being stirred by the blade portion without being pulverized by the blade portion. Thus, it is possible to suppress the collision of the beverage raw material, which is not crushed but stirred, with the lid portion covering the upper opening of the container when the beverage raw material is stirred (beverage is produced) by the stirring portion, which results in the lid portion being lifted by the beverage raw material during the production of the beverage. As a result, since the gap between the lid and the container can be suppressed, the beverage can be suppressed from leaking from the container when the beverage is produced.

In this case, the control unit is preferably configured to control: when the cutter portion is moved to the lower position at the start of beverage production, the cutter portion is moved upward and downward while rotating, and the cutter portion is moved so that the movement amount in the downward direction gradually increases. With this configuration, the resistance caused by the beverage raw material that is not pulverized can be suppressed from being applied to the blade portion by moving the blade portion in the upward direction. As a result, the rotation speed of the blade portion can be increased by moving the blade portion in the upward direction, and therefore the pulverizing efficiency of the beverage raw material can be improved.

In the configuration in which the blade portion is moved downward a plurality of times while the blade portion is rotated, the control unit is preferably configured to: when the cutter portion is moved upward and downward, control is performed to switch between movement of the cutter portion in the upward direction and movement of the cutter portion in the downward direction based on the time for rotating the cutter portion, or control is performed to move the cutter portion in the upward direction when the rotational speed of the cutter portion becomes smaller than a predetermined rotational speed. With this configuration, when the movement of the blade in the upward direction and the movement of the blade in the downward direction are switched based on the time for rotating the blade, the movement direction of the blade can be switched regardless of the type of beverage raw material. As a result, the control when the blade portion is moved in the upward and downward directions can be suppressed from being complicated. In addition, when the rotation speed of the cutter portion is controlled to be lower than the predetermined rotation speed, the rotation speed of the cutter portion can be increased by moving the cutter portion in the upward direction when the degree of decrease in the rotation speed of the cutter portion due to the resistance of the beverage raw material to the cutter portion is large. As a result, the reduction in the grinding efficiency can be suppressed by moving the rotating speed-increased blade portion downward. In addition, in the case where the degree of decrease in the rotation speed of the blade portion due to the resistance applied to the blade portion by the beverage raw material is small, the pulverization efficiency is not likely to decrease, and therefore, the blade portion may not be moved upward in order to increase the rotation speed of the blade portion. Therefore, the time required for increasing the rotation speed of the blade can be shortened. As a result, an increase in the time for producing the beverage can be suppressed.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, it is preferable that the beverage production device further comprises a tubular lid portion that covers an upper opening of the container when the beverage raw material is stirred by the stirring portion, and the control portion is configured to control: after the beverage is produced, the cutter portion is rotated in a state where the upper opening of the container is covered with the lid portion, and the whole cutter portion is exposed from the liquid surface of the beverage. With this configuration, even when droplets of the beverage adhere to the blade portion during the production of the beverage, the droplets adhering to the blade portion can be blown off by centrifugal force by rotating the blade portion. In addition, even when droplets of the beverage adhere to the inner side of the lid portion at the time of producing the beverage, the droplets adhering to the inner side of the lid portion can be dropped by wind, vibration, or the like generated by the rotation of the knife portion. As a result, since the droplets of the beverage adhering to the inner sides of the blade portion and the lid portion can be suppressed from dripping onto the container, the droplets of the beverage adhering to the container can be suppressed from causing the user's hand to be stained when the user takes out the container. In addition, since it is possible to prevent the droplets of the beverage adhering to the inner sides of the blade portion and the lid portion from dripping onto the container mounting portion, the container mounting portion can be prevented from being soiled with the beverage.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a beverage production apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the beverage making device.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a control structure of the beverage supply apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 200-200 of fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view (a) to a schematic view (C) for explaining a configuration in which the cutter portion is raised while the rotation speed of the cutter portion is lowered.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram (a) to a schematic diagram (C) for explaining a configuration in which the cutter portion is lowered while increasing the rotation speed of the cutter portion.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a configuration for controlling the rotation speed of the rotation driving unit.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining a speed level of the rotational speed of the rotation driving portion and a holding time at the time of deceleration.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view (a) to a schematic view (F) for explaining a structure in which the stirring section is moved in the vertical direction when starting to produce the beverage.

Fig. 10 is a schematic view (a) to a schematic view (D) for explaining a structure in which the beverage adhering to the inner side of the blade portion and the lid portion is blown off after the beverage is manufactured.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The configuration of the beverage production device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 10. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the beverage production device 100 is a device for producing a beverage L (see fig. 5) obtained by pulverizing a beverage raw material Lm (see fig. 5), which is a solid substance in a container C. The beverage raw material Lm includes, for example, a frozen product obtained by freezing vegetables and fruits. The beverage L includes smoothies and the like, for example. In the present specification, the "smoothie" refers to a beverage produced by stirring vegetables and fruits with a stirrer or the like.

The beverage production device 100 is placed in a store such as a convenience store, for example, and is used by a user such as a customer in the store. The beverage raw material Lm is frozen, and the container C containing the beverage raw material Lm is stored in a freezer. In addition, the container C is provided with a package covering an upper portion thereof. The upper part of the container C is opened by unsealing the package (lid). The user arranges the container C in the beverage production device 100 in a state where the beverage raw material Lm is contained in the container C, and performs an operation of starting to produce a beverage. When the operation of starting the beverage production is performed, the beverage production device 100 agitates the beverage raw material Lm in the container C and pulverizes the same to produce the beverage L. Here, in the beverage production device 100, the side on which the user is located is the front side (Y1 side), the opposite side is the rear side (Y2 side), and the front-rear direction is the Y direction. The direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction in the horizontal direction is referred to as the left-right direction (X direction), and the direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction is referred to as the up-down direction (Z direction).

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the beverage production device 100 includes a main body 1. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the main body 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. A door 11 is provided below the front side (Z2 direction side) of the main body 1, and a display panel 12 is provided above (Z1 direction side). The beverage production device 100 further includes a container mounting portion 7 for mounting a container C containing the beverage raw material Lm.

The door 11 is a door that divides the interior and the exterior of the beverage production device 100, and is provided on the front side (Y1 direction side) of the beverage production device 100. The door 11 is rotatably configured. The door 11 is configured to: in a state where the door 11 is opened (open state), the user can place the container C on the container placing portion 7. The door 11 is made of a transparent material that can visually confirm the inside (in the manufacturing space). The door 11 is locked to be opened and closed during beverage production.

The display panel 12 displays an image for the user to perform an operation and an image of information related to beverage supply. The display panel 12 is a touch panel display for a user to perform an operation and for indicating a state of the beverage production device 100. The display panel 12 includes a display unit 12a (see fig. 3) and an input receiving unit 12b (see fig. 3). The detailed configuration of the display unit 12a and the detailed configuration of the input receiving unit 12b will be described later.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the container mounting portion 7 is configured to mount a container C filled with a beverage raw material Lm. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the container mounting portion 7 is provided on the mounting member 8. The mounting member 8 is movable in the Y direction. That is, the mounting member 8 holds the container C and moves the container C to the stirring position (working position) for beverage production. Specifically, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the beverage production device 100 includes a tray driving unit 10 that moves the mounting member 8 in the front-rear direction (Y direction). The tray driving unit 10 is configured to be able to move the container loading unit 7 between a work position (rear position) and a loading/unloading position (front position).

As shown in fig. 3, the beverage production device 100 includes a stirring unit 2, a moving mechanism 3, a control unit 4, a tray driving unit 10, a display unit 12a, and an input receiving unit 12b.

The stirring section 2 is configured to stir the beverage raw material Lm placed in the container C of the container placement section 7 to produce the beverage L. The stirring section 2 includes a motor 23 for rotating a rotary shaft section 21 (see fig. 4) and a blade section 22 (see fig. 4), which will be described later. For example, the motor 23 is a DC motor. Specifically, the motor 23 is a brushless DC motor provided with hall elements for acquiring the rotation speed of the motor 23. The motor 23 is an example of a "rotation driving unit" in the claims.

The moving mechanism 3 includes a motor 31, and is configured to move the stirring section 2 in the up-down direction. For example, the motor 31 is a DC motor. The motor 31 is an example of a "vertical driving unit" in the claims.

The control unit 4 is configured to control the entire beverage production device 100 and control the beverage production. The control unit 4 is configured to control the position of the blade 22 in the up-down direction and the rotational speed of the blade 22 when the blade 22 rotates. The control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: each time the beverage raw material Lm in the container C is stirred by the stirring section 2 (each time a beverage is produced), the stirring section 2 is cleaned by a cleaning container 5 (see fig. 4) described later. The control unit 4 agitates the beverage raw material Lm by the agitation unit 2, and the cleaning agitation unit 2 will be described later.

The control section 4 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit: central processing unit) 41 and a memory 42. The memory 42 stores a manufacturing/cleaning program for performing a manufacturing/cleaning process for stirring (manufacturing) the beverage raw material Lm in the container C and cleaning the stirring section 2 after manufacturing.

The control unit 4 controls the drive motor 23 and the motor 31. Specifically, the control unit 4 controls the driving of the motor 23 of the stirring unit 2 by the motor driver Md 1. The control unit 4 controls the driving of the motor 31 of the moving mechanism 3 by the motor driver Md 2.

The display unit 12a is configured to notify a user (operator). The display unit 12a is configured to display information related to beverage production. The display unit 12a includes a display such as a liquid crystal display and an organic EL display.

The input receiving unit 12b is configured to be able to receive a touch operation from a user. The input receiving unit 12b includes a touch panel provided on the display unit 12 a. The input receiving unit 12b receives a touch operation to a menu button (not shown) displayed on the display unit 12 a. The input receiving unit 12b outputs a signal based on a touch operation performed by the user to the control unit 4. The menu button is a button for a user to select a menu of the beverage L and perform an operation of starting the beverage production.

The beverage production device 100 further includes a movement amount sensor S1, an upper limit sensor S2, and a lower limit sensor S3. The movement amount sensor S1 includes a light shielding portion 35a (see fig. 4) and a detection portion S, which will be described later. Namely, the beverage production device 100 includes a detection unit S. The movement amount sensor S1, the upper limit sensor S2, and the lower limit sensor S3 are transmission-type optical sensors for detecting detection signals based on the reception and shielding of light.

The upper limit sensor S2 is a sensor for detecting a detection signal when the pedestal portion 32 (see fig. 4) described later reaches an upper limit position. The detection signal is detected by the upper limit sensor S2 by blocking the light incident on the upper limit sensor S2 by the pedestal portion 32. The lower limit sensor S3 is a sensor for detecting a detection signal when the pedestal portion 32 (see fig. 4) described later reaches a lower limit position. The detection signal is detected by the lower limit sensor S3 by blocking the light incident to the lower limit sensor S3 by the pedestal portion 32.

The control unit 4 controls a pump 61c, a pump 61e, and a solenoid valve 62c of the water supply unit 6 (see fig. 4) described later. The control unit 4 is configured to control the supply of water (hot water) into the container C and the supply of water (hot water) for cleaning the stirring unit 2 by controlling the pump 61C, the pump 61e, and the solenoid valve 62C.

As shown in fig. 3, the beverage production device 100 includes a door closing detection sensor 51 for detecting that the door 11 is in the closed position. The door closing detection sensor 51 is, for example, an optical sensor.

As shown in fig. 3, the beverage production device 100 includes a door lock mechanism 52 that maintains the door 11 in a closed state. The door lock mechanism 52 is, for example, an electromagnetic lock.

As shown in fig. 3, the beverage production device 100 includes a container detection sensor MS for detecting whether or not the container C is placed on the container placement unit 7. When the container detection sensor MS detects that the container C is placed on the container placement unit 7, the container placement unit 7 is moved to the working position (backward). The container detection sensor MS is, for example, an optical sensor.

As shown in fig. 3, the beverage production apparatus 100 includes: a mounting-removal-position detection sensor RS for detecting that the mounting member 8 is located at a mounting-removal position (forward); and a working position detection sensor WS for detecting that the mounting member 8 is located at the working position (rear). The loading and unloading position detection sensor RS and the work position detection sensor WS are, for example, micro switches.

As shown in fig. 4, the stirring section 2 includes: a rotation shaft portion 21 that rotates about a rotation axis 21a extending in the up-down direction (Z direction); a knife portion 22 provided at a lower portion (end portion on the Z2 direction side) of the rotation shaft portion 21, and rotated in accordance with the rotation of the rotation shaft portion 21; and a motor 23 that rotates the rotation shaft portion 21 about the rotation axis 21 a. The motor 23 of the stirring section 2 is provided above the rotation shaft section 21 (on the Z1 direction side) and rotates the rotation shaft section 21.

As shown in fig. 4, a cylindrical lid 24 is provided on the distal end side (Z2 direction side) of the rotary shaft 21, and the lid 24 covers the upper opening of the container C when stirring the beverage raw material Lm (see fig. 5) in the container C. The lid 24 is configured to cover the upper opening of the container C when the beverage raw material Lm is stirred by the stirring section 2. The lid 24 can prevent the beverage raw material Lm from scattering from the container C during stirring.

As shown in fig. 4, the moving mechanism 3 includes a motor 31 and a pedestal portion 32 that supports the stirring portion 2 so that the stirring portion 2 can move in the up-down direction. The moving mechanism 3 includes a power conversion member 33 that changes the rotational force of the motor 31 to a moving force in the up-down direction. The power conversion member 33 is, for example, a sliding screw. The lower end portion (Z2 direction side) of the power conversion member 33 is attached to a support member 37 fixed to the inside of the main body 1.

In addition, the moving mechanism 3 includes a transmission member 34 and a transmission member 35 that transmit the rotational force of the motor 31. The transmission member 34 and the transmission member 35 are gears, for example. The transmission member 35 is connected to an upper end portion (Z1 direction side) of the power conversion member 33. The rotational force from the motor 31 is transmitted in the order of the transmission member 34, the transmission member 35, and the power conversion member 33. Further, the power conversion member 33 changes the rotational force of the motor 31 to a vertical movement force, thereby moving the pedestal 32 supporting the stirring section 2 in the vertical direction (Z1 direction or Z2 direction).

The stirring section 2 is configured to be movable in the up-down direction by the moving mechanism 3 between a retracted position (raised position) in which the blade section 22 is raised out of the container C and a stirring position (lowered position) in which the blade section 22 is lowered into the container C. The movement of the movement mechanism 3 is controlled by the control unit 4.

Further, the movement of the moving mechanism 3 (stirring unit 2) before and after stirring (beverage production) by the stirring unit 2 is controlled by the control unit 4 based on detection signals detected by the upper limit sensor S2 and the lower limit sensor S3.

Further, the stirring section 2 is moved downward by the moving mechanism 3, so that the lid section 24 is moved downward Fang Anxia to cover the upper surface opening of the container C.

As shown in fig. 4, the beverage production device 100 (the moving mechanism 3) includes a spring member 36 that biases the pedestal 32 upward. The spring member 36 is, for example, a coil spring.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: in a state where the biasing force of the spring member 36 and the gravity act, the movement of the stirring section 2 by the motor 31 is stopped based on the upward movement amount of the stirring section 2 and the downward movement amount of the stirring section 2 obtained when the movement mechanism 3 is moved by the driving of the motor 31.

As shown in fig. 4, the beverage production device 100 includes a cleaning container 5, a water supply unit 6, a container mounting unit 7, a mounting member 8, a water receiving tray 9, and a tray driving unit 10.

The cleaning vessel 5 is disposed below (on the Z2 direction side) the stirring section 2. The cleaning container 5 is disposed on the Y2 direction side of the container placement portion 7 for holding the container C. The cleaning vessel 5 is configured to be capable of storing liquid. The washing container 5 has a drain hole (not shown) for draining the waste liquid at the bottom surface. The washing container 5 can store the liquid by adjusting the water supply amount of the liquid supplied from the water supply unit 6 and generating a centrifugal force by rotating the stirring unit 2, thereby increasing the supply amount per unit time more than the water discharge amount. The liquid is for example hot or cold water.

The water supply unit 6 includes a reservoir 60, a first flow path 61, and a second flow path 62. The water supply unit 6 supplies liquid to the cleaning container 5 via the first flow path 61 during cleaning and supplies liquid to the container C via the second flow path 62 during beverage production.

The reservoir 60 stores liquid supplied from a water supply source. The storage unit 60 is disposed at the rear (Y2 direction side) of the inside of the main body unit 1, and is disposed at the rear (Y2 direction side) of the stirring unit 2 and the cleaning vessel 5.

The first flow path 61 is a flow path for supplying liquid from the reservoir 60 to the cleaning container 5. The first flow path 61 includes a supply pipe 61a, a discharge portion 61b, a pump 61c, a sub tank 61d, and a pump 61e. The first flow path 61 stores only a predetermined amount of liquid in the reservoir 60 sent by the pump 61e in the sub tank 61 d. The first flow path 61 discharges the liquid stored in the sub tank 61d from the discharge portion 61b via the supply pipe 61a by the pump 61c, and washes the stirring portion 2 by the discharged liquid. The liquid (waste liquid) after washing the stirring section 2 is discharged to the water receiving tray 9.

The pump 61e is configured to send out the liquid in the reservoir 60. The pump 61e is configured to deliver an amount of liquid proportional to the driving time. That is, the amount of liquid sent out by the pump 61e is controlled by controlling the operation time.

The second flow path 62 is configured to supply the liquid in the reservoir 60 into the container C containing the beverage raw material Lm when the beverage raw material Lm in the container C is stirred by the stirring section 2. The second flow path 62 includes a supply pipe 62a, a discharge portion 62b, and a solenoid valve 62c. The second flow path 62 causes the liquid in the reservoir 60 to be discharged from the discharge portion 62b via the solenoid valve 62C and the supply pipe 62a, and supplies the discharged liquid into the container C containing the beverage raw material Lm. That is, the supply pipe 62a is configured to introduce water in the reservoir 60 into the container C.

As shown in fig. 4, the container mounting portion 7 and the cleaning container 5 are disposed on the mounting member 8. The mounting member 8 is a tray provided with a partition member 8a that partitions the container mounting portion 7 from the cleaning container 5. The container mounting portion 7 is disposed on the front side (Y1 direction side) of the cleaning container 5. The container C is disposed in the container mounting portion 7. A drain pan 9 for allowing the waste liquid from the washing container 5 to flow to the drain tank 20 is disposed below the attachment member 8.

The water pan 9 is a tray for discharging the waste liquid to the outside. The drain pan 9 has a hole (not shown) in the bottom surface for allowing the waste liquid to flow into the drain tank 20. The water receiving tray 9 is fixed to the inside of the main body 1. The mounting member 8 is moved in the front-rear direction (Y1 direction or Y2 direction) by the tray driving section 10.

The tray driving unit 10 is attached to the side surface of the water pan 9. Therefore, the water pan 9 moves in the front-rear direction (Y direction) along the side surface thereof. The tray driving unit 10 moves the container mounting unit 7 and the cleaning container 5 in the front-rear direction (Y direction) at the same time. The tray driving unit 10 is constituted by a motor and a rack-and-pinion mechanism, for example.

(control of the movement and rotation speed of the blade in the vertical direction)

The beverage production device 100 produces the beverage L by pulverizing the beverage raw material Lm by rotating the cutter portion 22. At this time, by stirring the beverage L by the knife 22, a part of the beverage raw material Lm rotates together with the beverage L. When the difference in speed between the rotational speed at which the beverage raw material Lm rotates and the rotational speed of the blade portion 22 is small, the impact speed and impact frequency of the blade portion 22 with the beverage raw material Lm become small. That is, the efficiency of pulverizing the beverage raw material Lm by the cutter portion 22 is lowered. When the pulverizing efficiency of pulverizing the beverage raw material Lm by the cutter portion 22 decreases, the manufacturing time of the beverage L increases. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to: by controlling the position in the up-down direction when the blade 22 rotates and the rotation speed of the blade 22, a reduction in the pulverizing efficiency of pulverizing the beverage raw material Lm by the blade 22 is suppressed. Specifically, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the moving mechanism 3 moves the blade 22 from the lower position, which is the lower position of the container C, to the upper position, which is the upper position of the container C, the control unit 4 decreases the rotation speed of the blade 22, and when the moving mechanism 3 moves the blade 22 from the upper position to the lower position, the control unit 4 increases the rotation speed of the blade 22.

First, the configuration in which the control unit 4 decreases the rotation speed of the blade unit 22 and moves the blade unit 22 to the upper position will be described with reference to fig. 5 (a) to 5 (C). The examples shown in fig. 5 (a) to 5 (C) show the following cases: the control unit 4 controls the movement mechanism 3 and the motor 23 to reduce the rotation speed of the blade 22 and move the blade 22 to the upper position from a state in which the blade 22 is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed at the lower position. The predetermined rotation speed is, for example, 18,000rpm (rotations per minute: revolutions per minute).

As indicated by an arrow 80a in fig. 5 (a), the control unit 4 rotates the blade 22 at a predetermined rotation speed. When the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22 is high, the beverage L is pushed against the inner peripheral surface of the container C by centrifugal force. Therefore, the liquid level Ls of the beverage L at a position close to the inner peripheral surface of the container C becomes a position (position on the Z1 direction side) higher than the liquid level Ls of the beverage L at the central portion of the container C.

When the cutter portion 22 rotates at a predetermined rotational speed, as shown in fig. 5 (a), the beverage L rotates at the same rotational speed as the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22 as shown by an arrow 81 a. In this case, the difference in rotational speed between the blade 22 and the beverage raw material Lm becomes small, and the blade 22 and the beverage raw material Lm rotate so as not to collide with each other, that is, a so-called synchronous rotation (japanese) state.

Therefore, the control unit 4 decreases the rotation speed of the blade unit 22. For example, the control unit 4 rotates the motor 23 at an output of about half the output when the motor 23 is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed, thereby reducing the rotation speed of the blade 22. In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 increases the rotation speed of the blade 22 and increases the blade 22 toward the upper side. Specifically, the control unit 4 sets the rotation speed of the blade 22 to be lower than a predetermined rotation speed as indicated by an arrow 80B in fig. 5 (B). In the examples shown in fig. 5 (a) to 5 (C), the rotation speed of the blade 22 is indicated by the thickness of the arrow. That is, the rotation speed of the blade 22 indicated by the arrow 80a as a thick arrow is higher than the rotation speed of the blade 22 indicated by the arrow 80b as a thin arrow. In the example shown in fig. 5, the rotation speed of the beverage raw material Lm is indicated by the thickness of an arrow. That is, the rotation speed of the beverage raw material Lm indicated by the arrow 81a as the thickest arrow is higher than the rotation speed of the beverage raw material Lm indicated by the arrow 81b as the middle thick arrow and the arrow 81c as the thinnest arrow. The speed at which the beverage raw material Lm indicated by the arrow 81b with the middle thick arrow rotates is higher than the speed at which the beverage raw material Lm indicated by the arrow 81c with the thinnest arrow rotates.

As shown in fig. 5 (B), when the rotation speed of the blade 22 is reduced, the blade 22 becomes a resistance, and the rotation speeds of the beverage L and the beverage raw material Lm are reduced. In fig. 5 (B), the decrease in the rotation speed of the beverage L and the beverage raw material Lm is shown by an arrow 81B. When the rotational speed of the beverage L and the beverage raw material Lm decreases, the centrifugal force applied to the beverage L and the beverage raw material Lm also decreases, and therefore, as shown in fig. 5 (B), the liquid surface Ls in the center portion of the container C becomes a position above the liquid surface Ls in the center portion of the container C (a position on the Z1 direction side) shown in fig. 5 (a). As shown in fig. 5B, the liquid level Ls at a position close to the inner peripheral surface of the container C is lower than the liquid level Ls at a position close to the inner peripheral surface of the container C shown in fig. 5 a (position on the Z2 direction side). As a result, as shown in fig. 5B, the position of the beverage raw material Lm rotating above the beverage L is a position lower than the position of the beverage raw material Lm shown in fig. 5 a (a position on the Z2 direction side).

As shown in fig. 5 (C), the control unit 4 decreases the rotation speed of the blade 22, and moves the blade 22 to the upper position by raising the blade 22. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 5 (C), the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: the knife 22 is raised to a position where at least a part of the knife 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L as an upper position.

As shown in fig. 5 (C), when the knife 22 moves to the upper position, the rotation speeds of the beverage L and the beverage raw material Lm further decrease as compared with the state shown in fig. 5 (B). As the rotational speeds of the beverage L and the beverage raw material Lm further decrease, the position of the beverage raw material Lm becomes a position further downward (a position on the Z2 direction side).

Next, the configuration in which the control unit 4 lowers the blade unit 22 while increasing the rotation speed of the blade unit 22 will be described with reference to fig. 6 (a) to 6 (C). In addition, in fig. 6 (a) to 6 (C), the same applies to fig. 5 (a) as well

In fig. 5 (C), the difference in the rotational speed of the blade 22 is indicated by the difference in the thickness of the arrow 80a and the arrow 80 b. The difference in the rotation speed between the beverage L and the beverage raw material Lm is indicated by the difference in the thickness of the arrows 81a to 81 c.

Fig. 6 (a) shows a state in which the control unit 4 rotates the blade 22 at a rotation speed lower than a predetermined rotation speed at the upper position. When the control unit 4 moves the blade 22 to the upper position, the rotation speed of the blade 22 is increased as shown in fig. 6 (B). In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: the rotation speed of the blade 22 is increased and the blade 22 is lowered to the lower position. As shown in fig. 6 (B), the cutter portion 22 rotates at a rotational speed indicated by an arrow 80a, and the beverage L and the beverage raw material Lm rotate at a rotational speed indicated by an arrow 81B. That is, in the example shown in fig. 6 (B), the blade 22 and the beverage raw material Lm are rotated in a state where a speed difference is generated between the rotational speed of the blade 22 and the rotational speed of the beverage raw material Lm.

Accordingly, as shown in fig. 6 (C), the beverage raw material Lm is crushed by the cutter portion 22. Thereafter, the beverage L and the beverage raw material Lm remaining without being crushed are stirred by the cutter portion 22, and the rotational speed increases as indicated by an arrow 81 a. That is, the state is the same as the state shown in fig. 5 (a).

In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 repeatedly performs the control of fig. 5 (a) to 5 (C) and the control of fig. 6 (a) to 6 (C) to crush the beverage raw material Lm and produce the beverage L. The control unit 4 rotates the blade 22 at the lower position for 3 seconds, for example, and then moves the blade 22 to the upper position while reducing the rotation speed of the blade 22. The control unit 4 also performs the following control: when the blade 22 moves to the upper position, the blade 22 is moved to the lower position while increasing the rotational speed of the blade 22.

(control of the rotational speed of the rotation drive portion)

Here, when the control unit 4 decreases the rotation speed of the blade unit 22, if the rotation speed is continuously decreased, a counter electromotive force may be generated in the motor 23. In the case where the motor 23 generates back electromotive force, there is a possibility that a switching element, a zener diode, or the like connected to the motor 23 may malfunction. Therefore, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the rotation speed of the blade 22 is reduced, the rotation speed of the blade 22 is gradually reduced.

A specific example of control by the control unit 4 to gradually decrease the rotation speed of the blade unit 22 will be described with reference to fig. 7. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the control unit 4 controls the speed level of the motor 23 at 5 levels, i.e., level L1 to level L5. The graph 82 shown in fig. 7 is a graph showing an example of control in the following case: in a state where the control unit 4 rotates the speed level of the motor 23 at the level L3 when the blade unit 22 rotates, it is required to decrease the speed level of the motor 23 to the level L1, and then it is required to increase the speed level of the motor 23 to the level L4. With respect to graph 82, the vertical axis represents speed level and the horizontal axis represents time. The speed level is a level of the output value of the motor 23, and the larger the speed level is, the larger the output value of the motor 23 is. I.e. the greater the speed level, the greater the rotational speed of the motor 23.

In the present embodiment, when the speed level of the motor 23 is lowered from the level L3 to the level L1, the control unit 4 first lowers the speed level of the motor 23 to the level L2. At this time, the speed level is maintained at level L2 until the holding time Tc2 elapses. Thereafter, the control unit 4 decreases the speed level of the motor 23 from the level L2 to the level L1. At this time, the speed level is maintained at level L1 until the holding time Tc1 elapses. The control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: even when a further reduction in the speed level is required when the control for reducing the speed level of the motor 23 is performed, the speed level of the motor 23 is not reduced until the holding time corresponding to each speed level elapses. For example, the control unit 4 is configured to: when the speed level of the motor 23 is required to be lowered from the level L2 to the level L1 before the holding time Tc2 elapses after the speed level of the motor 23 is lowered from the level L3 to the level L2, the speed level of the motor 23 is not lowered until the holding time Tc2 elapses. The holding time corresponding to each speed level is different depending on the difficulty in generating back electromotive force generated when the speed level is lowered.

Thereafter, the control section 4 increases the speed level of the motor 23 from the level L1 to the level L4. When the speed level is increased, no counter electromotive force is generated, and therefore the control unit 4 increases the speed level without interruption.

Table 83 shown in fig. 8 shows the relationship between the speed level and the holding time obtained by performing an experiment. As shown in table 83, it is found through experiments that the counter electromotive force is most easily generated when the speed level is lowered from level L3 to level L2, and thus the holding time Tc2 is the longest time. Further, since no counter electromotive force is generated when the speed level is lowered from level L5 to level L4, the holding time Tc4 is 0 seconds in table 83 shown in fig. 8.

(rotation speed of blade during beverage production)

Here, when the beverage raw material Lm is pulverized, the rotational speed of the knife portion 22 may be unintentionally reduced due to resistance or the like of the beverage raw material Lm. When the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 unintentionally decreases, the pulverizing efficiency of the beverage raw material Lm decreases. When the pulverizing efficiency of the beverage raw material Lm decreases, the manufacturing time of the beverage L increases. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to be able to acquire the rotation speed of the rotation shaft 21, and is configured to control the rotation speed of the cutter unit 22 so that the rotation speed of the cutter unit 22 in the process of producing the beverage L becomes a predetermined rotation speed irrespective of the resistance applied to the cutter unit 22 from the beverage raw material Lm. In the present embodiment, the motor 23 is a brushless DC motor including hall elements. Therefore, the control unit 4 can acquire the rotation speed of the rotation shaft 21 based on the signal from the hall element provided in the motor 23.

(movement of stirring portion in vertical direction at the time of starting production)

When the beverage L is produced, if the beverage raw material Lm is large, hard, or the like, the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position without interruption, the beverage raw material Lm may not be crushed by the cutter portion 22, and the beverage raw material Lm may be crushed by the cutter portion 22. In this case, the beverage raw material Lm is stirred by the rotation of the cutter portion 22, and a part of the stirred beverage raw material Lm may reach the inside of the lid portion 24 beyond the upper opening of the container C. The lid 24 is pressed downward (Z2 direction) by the spring member 36, but is pressed upward (Z1 direction) by the beverage raw material Lm, and a gap may be generated between the lid 24 and the container C. In this case, the beverage L may leak out from the gap.

Therefore, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of the beverage L, the cutter portion 22 is moved downward a plurality of times while the cutter portion 22 is rotated.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 9 (a) to 9 (F), the control unit 4 is configured to: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of the beverage L production, the cutter portion 22 is moved in the up-down direction, and the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position. In fig. 9 (a) to 9 (F), the beverage raw material Lm crushed by the cutter portion 22 and reduced in size is illustrated as a beverage raw material Lm1. The beverage raw material Lm having a larger size than the beverage raw material Lm1 before being crushed by the cutter portion 22 is illustrated as a beverage raw material Lm2.

Fig. 9 a is a diagram showing an initial position (stirring start position) of the blade 22 at the start of the production of the beverage L. As shown in fig. 9 (B), the control unit 4 lowers the blade 22 by the movement amount D1 from the initial position shown in fig. 9 (a). The control unit 4 lowers the blade 22 while rotating the blade 22 at a predetermined rotational speed. Thus, the beverage raw material Lm2 in the portion where the knife 22 reaches out of the beverage raw materials Lm2 is crushed. Some of the pulverized beverage raw material Lm2 becomes the beverage L, and the remainder becomes the beverage raw material Lm1 having a small size.

Next, as shown in fig. 9 (C), the control unit 4 moves the knife 22 up by a predetermined movement amount D2. The control unit 4 also rotates the blade 22 and lifts it.

Next, as shown in fig. 9 (D), the control unit 4 lowers the blade 22 by the movement amount D3 while rotating the blade 22. Further, the movement amount D3 is a movement amount larger than the movement amount D1. Thus, the beverage raw material Lm2 in the portion where the knife 22 reaches out of the beverage raw materials Lm2 is crushed. Some of the pulverized beverage raw material Lm2 becomes the beverage L, and the remainder becomes the beverage raw material Lm1 having a small size. In the second descent shown in fig. 9 (D), the knife 22 moves to a position below the container C than the first descent of the knife 22 shown in fig. 9 (B). Therefore, in the second descent, the amount of beverage L increases compared to the first descent.

Thereafter, as shown in fig. 9 (E), the control unit 4 moves the knife 22 up by a predetermined movement amount D2. The control unit 4 also rotates the blade 22 and lifts it.

Thereafter, as shown in fig. 9 (F), the control unit 4 lowers the blade 22 by the movement amount D4 while rotating the blade 22. Further, the movement amount D4 is a movement amount larger than the movement amounts D1 and D3. The movement amount D4 is a movement amount of the knife 22 to a size of the lower position of the container C. Thus, by the third descent, most of the beverage raw material Lm2 in the container C is crushed, the beverage L is produced, and the remaining part becomes the beverage raw material Lm1 having a small size.

As shown in fig. 9 (a) to 9 (F), the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of the beverage L production, the cutter portion 22 is moved upward and downward while rotating, and the cutter portion 22 is moved so that the movement amount in the downward direction gradually increases. In addition, the control unit 4 raises the blade 22 by the same amount of movement each time the blade 22 is raised. In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to raise the blade 22 by the movement amount D2 when raising the blade 22.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to: when the blade 22 is moved upward and downward, control is performed to switch between movement of the blade 22 in the upward direction and movement of the blade 22 in the downward direction based on the time for rotating the blade 22, or control is performed to move the blade 22 in the upward direction when the rotational speed of the blade 22 becomes smaller than a predetermined rotational speed.

(removal of droplets of beverage at the time of completion of manufacture)

The beverage production device 100 produces the beverage L by stirring the beverage raw material Lm with the stirring section 2. When the production of the beverage L is completed, droplets Ld of the beverage L may adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the lid 24 as shown in fig. 10 (a). As shown in fig. 10B, the control unit 4 moves the cutter unit 22 in the upward direction (Z1 direction) after the beverage L is produced. At this time, as shown in fig. 10 (B), droplets Ld of the beverage L may adhere to the blade 22. When the droplet Ld of the beverage L adheres to the inner peripheral surfaces of the knife portion 22 and the lid portion 24, the droplet Ld may drop onto the container C and the container mounting portion 7 when the container C is moved to the removal position. When the liquid droplets Ld drop into the container C, the user may get his or her hands dirty when taking out the container C. When the liquid droplets Ld drop onto the container mounting portion 7, the container mounting portion 7 becomes dirty. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: as shown in fig. 10 (C), after the beverage L is produced, the cutter portion 22 is rotated in a state in which the lid portion 24 covers the upper opening of the container C, so that the entire cutter portion 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L.

As indicated by the arrows 84a and 84b, the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the blade 22 are blown off toward the inner peripheral surface of the lid 24 by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the blade 22. As indicated by arrows 84C and 84d, the liquid droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the inner peripheral surface of the lid portion 24 drop into the container C by at least one of wind and vibration generated by the rotation of the blade portion 22 by the control portion 4. Thus, as shown in fig. 10 (D), the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the inner peripheral surfaces of the blade portion 22 and the cover portion 24 are removed.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to: by rotating the blade 22 by the level L5 at which the speed level of the motor 23 is maximized, the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the inner peripheral surfaces of the blade 22 and the lid 24 are removed.

(effects of the present embodiment)

In the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, the beverage production device 100 includes: a container mounting portion 7 for mounting a container C filled with a beverage raw material Lm; a stirring section 2 that includes a rotation shaft section 21, a blade section 22, and a motor 23, and that produces a beverage L by stirring a beverage raw material Lm placed in a container C of the container placement section 7, the rotation shaft section 21 rotating about a rotation axis 21a extending in the up-down direction, the blade section 22 being provided at a lower portion of the rotation shaft section 21, the rotation of the rotation shaft section 21 being accompanied by the rotation of the rotation shaft section 21, the motor 23 rotating the rotation shaft section 21 about the rotation axis 21 a; a moving mechanism 3 including a motor 31, the moving mechanism 3 moving the stirring section 2 in the up-down direction; and a control unit 4 that controls the position of the blade 22 in the up-down direction and the rotational speed of the blade 22 when the blade 22 rotates, wherein the control unit 4 is configured to perform control of: when the moving mechanism 3 moves the blade 22 from the lower position, which is the lower position of the container C, to the upper position, which is the upper position of the container C, the control unit 4 decreases the rotation speed of the blade 22, and when the moving mechanism 3 moves the blade 22 from the upper position to the lower position, the control unit 4 increases the rotation speed of the blade 22. Accordingly, when the blade 22 is moved to the upper position, the rotational speed of the blade 22 is reduced, and therefore the rotational speed of the beverage L can be reduced by the resistance applied from the blade 22 to the beverage L. Further, since the rotation speed of the blade 22 is increased when the blade 22 is moved to the lower position, the blade 22 can be moved to the lower position with the speed difference between the rotation speed of the blade 22 and the rotation speed of the beverage L increased. Accordingly, the speed difference between the rotational speed of the blade 22 and the rotational speed of the beverage raw material Lm rotating together with the beverage L can be increased, and therefore the impact speed and impact frequency of the blade 22 with the beverage raw material Lm can be increased. Therefore, the crushing efficiency of the beverage raw material Lm by the cutter portion 22 can be improved. As a result, the beverage production device 100 can be provided that can suppress an increase in the production time of the beverage L.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: the knife 22 is raised to a position where at least a part of the knife 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L as an upper position. Accordingly, the blade 22 is raised to a position where at least a part of the blade 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L, and therefore, when the blade 22 is moved to the upper position, the resistance applied to the blade 22 by the beverage L can be reduced as compared with a configuration in which the blade 22 is not exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L at all. As a result, the time required to increase the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22 at the upper position can be shortened, and thus the increase in the time required to produce the beverage L can be further suppressed.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: the rotation speed of the blade 22 is reduced while the blade 22 is raised to the upper position, and the rotation speed of the blade 22 is increased while the blade 22 is lowered to the lower position. Thus, unlike a configuration in which the cutter portion 22 is moved to the upper position after the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 is reduced and the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position after the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 is increased, the occurrence of time for waiting for the reduction or increase of the rotation speed can be suppressed. As a result, the increase in the production time of the beverage L can be further suppressed.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the rotation speed of the blade 22 is reduced, the rotation speed of the blade 22 is gradually reduced. Here, when the motor 23 is used as the rotation driving unit, the counter electromotive force is generated from the motor 23 when the rotation speed of the blade unit 22 is continuously reduced. When the counter electromotive force is generated from the motor 23, a switching element electrically connected to the motor 23 for switching a current applied to the motor 23, a zener diode for protecting a circuit electrically connected to the motor 23 from an inrush current or the like may be failed. Therefore, if the rotation speed of the blade 22 is gradually decreased as described above, the generation of the counter electromotive force from the motor 23 can be suppressed, unlike the case where the rotation speed of the blade 22 is continuously decreased. As a result, it is possible to suppress occurrence of failure of a member or the like connected to the motor 23 due to back electromotive force from the motor 23.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to be able to acquire the rotation speed of the rotation shaft portion 21, and is configured to control the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 so that the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 in the process of producing the beverage L becomes a predetermined rotation speed irrespective of the resistance applied to the cutter portion 22 from the beverage raw material Lm. Thereby, the rotation speed of the blade 22 can be maintained at a predetermined rotation speed regardless of the type of the beverage raw material Lm, the position of the beverage raw material Lm, and the size of the beverage raw material Lm. As a result, the decrease in the rotation speed of the blade portion 22 can be suppressed regardless of the type of the beverage raw material Lm, the location of the beverage raw material Lm, and the size of the beverage raw material Lm, and therefore, the increase in the time for producing the beverage L can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of the beverage L, the cutter portion 22 is moved downward a plurality of times while the cutter portion 22 is rotated. Thus, when the beverage material Lm is crushed by the cutter portion 22 at the start of the production of the beverage L, the beverage material Lm can be crushed a plurality of times. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which the blade 22 is moved to the lower position of the container C at a stroke, the drop in the rotation speed of the blade 22 due to the resistance caused by the beverage raw material Lm can be suppressed. As a result, the decrease in the efficiency of pulverizing the beverage raw material Lm due to the decrease in the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22 can be suppressed, and thus the time for producing the beverage L can be shortened. Further, since the cutter portion 22 can be moved to the lower position while the beverage raw material Lm is crushed, the beverage raw material Lm can be suppressed from being stirred by the cutter portion 22 without being crushed by the cutter portion 22. Thus, it is possible to suppress the collision of the beverage raw material Lm, which is not crushed but stirred, with the lid portion 24 covering the upper opening of the container C when the beverage raw material Lm is stirred by the stirring portion 2 (beverage L is produced), so that the lid portion 24 is lifted by the beverage raw material Lm in the process of producing the beverage L. As a result, since the gap between the lid 24 and the container C can be suppressed, the beverage L can be suppressed from leaking from the container C when the beverage L is produced.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of the beverage L production, the cutter portion 22 is moved upward and downward while rotating, and the cutter portion 22 is moved so that the movement amount in the downward direction gradually increases. Thus, the resistance caused by the beverage raw material Lm that is not pulverized can be suppressed from being applied to the blade portion 22 by moving the blade portion 22 in the upward direction. As a result, the rotation speed of the blade 22 can be increased by moving the blade 22 upward, and therefore the crushing efficiency of the beverage raw material Lm can be improved.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to: when the blade 22 is moved upward and downward, control is performed to switch between movement of the blade 22 in the upward direction and movement of the blade 22 in the downward direction based on the time for rotating the blade 22, or control is performed to move the blade 22 in the upward direction when the rotational speed of the blade 22 becomes smaller than a predetermined rotational speed. In this way, when the movement of the blade 22 in the upward direction and the movement of the blade 22 in the downward direction are switched based on the time of rotating the blade 22, the movement direction of the blade 22 can be switched regardless of the type of the beverage raw material Lm. As a result, the control when the blade 22 is moved in the upward and downward directions can be suppressed from being complicated. In addition, when the rotation speed of the blade 22 is controlled to be lower than the predetermined rotation speed, if the rotation speed of the blade 22 is reduced to a large extent by the resistance force applied to the blade 22 by the beverage raw material Lm, the rotation speed of the blade 22 can be increased by moving the blade 22 in the upward direction. As a result, the reduction in the grinding efficiency can be suppressed by moving the rotating speed-increased blade portion 22 downward. In addition, in the case where the degree of decrease in the rotation speed of the blade portion 22 due to the resistance applied to the blade portion 22 by the beverage raw material Lm is small, the pulverization efficiency is not likely to decrease, and therefore, the blade portion 22 may not be moved upward in order to increase the rotation speed of the blade portion 22. Therefore, the time required for increasing the rotation speed of the blade 22 can be shortened. As a result, an increase in the production time of the beverage L can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the lid 24 is further provided in a cylindrical shape, and when the beverage raw material Lm is stirred by the stirring section 2, the lid 24 covers the upper opening of the container C, and the control section 4 is configured to perform the following control: after the beverage L is produced, the cutter portion 22 is rotated in a state where the lid portion 24 covers the upper opening of the container C, and the whole of the cutter portion 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L. Accordingly, even when the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhere to the blade 22 during the production of the beverage L, the droplets Ld adhering to the blade 22 can be blown off by centrifugal force by rotating the blade 22. In addition, even when the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhere to the inner side of the lid portion 24 when the beverage L is produced, the droplets Ld adhering to the inner side of the lid portion 24 can be dropped by wind, vibration, or the like generated by the rotation of the knife portion 22. As a result, the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the inner sides of the knife portion 22 and the lid portion 24 can be suppressed from dropping onto the container C, and therefore, the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the container C can be suppressed from causing the user's hand to get dirty when the user takes out the container C. In addition, since the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the inner sides of the knife portion 22 and the lid portion 24 can be suppressed from dripping onto the container mounting portion 7, the container mounting portion 7 can be suppressed from being stained with the beverage L.

Modification example

The presently disclosed embodiments are considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the description of the above embodiments but by the claims, and includes meanings equivalent to the claims and all modifications (variations) within the scope.

For example, in the above embodiment, the control unit 4 is shown as an example of a configuration in which the rotation speed of the blade unit 22 is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed irrespective of the resistance of the beverage raw material Lm. In the present invention, the control unit 4 may be configured to be able to acquire the rotation speed of the rotation shaft 21 and to control the rotation speed of the blade 22 to extend the time for producing the beverage L in response to a decrease in the rotation speed during the production of the beverage L. With this configuration, since the beverage L is continuously produced until the beverage raw material Lm is pulverized when the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22 decreases, the beverage raw material Lm can be prevented from remaining without being pulverized, as compared with a configuration in which the production of the beverage L is completed when a predetermined time has elapsed even when the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22 decreases. As a result, the particle size of the beverage raw material Lm can be kept constant, and therefore, degradation of the quality of the beverage L can be suppressed.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 has been described as an example of controlling the cutter unit 22 to rise to the position where at least a part of the cutter unit 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L as the upper position, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit 4 may be configured to perform the following control: the knife 22 is raised to a position where the entire knife 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L as an upper position. With this configuration, since the entire blade portion 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L, the resistance of the beverage L is not applied to the blade portion 22, and therefore the rotational speed of the blade portion 22 can be easily increased. As a result, the time required for increasing the rotation speed of the blade portion 22 can be shortened as compared with a configuration in which the rotation speed of the blade portion 22 is increased in a state in which a part of the blade portion 22 is retained in the beverage L, and therefore, the production time of the beverage L can be suppressed from being prolonged.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 has been described as an example of a configuration for raising the blade 22 to the upper position while lowering the rotation speed of the blade 22, and for lowering the blade 22 to the lower position while raising the rotation speed of the blade 22. For example, the control unit 4 may be configured to perform the following control: the rotation speed of the blade 22 is reduced, then the blade 22 is raised to the upper position, and the rotation speed of the blade 22 is increased, then the blade 22 is lowered to the lower position. However, in the case where the control unit 4 performs the control of raising the cutter unit 22 to the upper position after lowering the rotation speed of the cutter unit 22 and lowering the cutter unit 22 to the lower position after raising the rotation speed of the cutter unit 22, a waiting time is generated when lowering or raising the rotation speed of the cutter unit 22, and thus the manufacturing time of the beverage L increases. Accordingly, the control unit 4 is preferably configured to perform the following control: the rotation speed of the blade 22 is reduced while the blade 22 is raised to the upper position, and the rotation speed of the blade 22 is increased while the blade 22 is lowered to the lower position.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 has been described as an example of a configuration for performing control to gradually decrease the rotation speed of the blade unit 22 when decreasing the rotation speed of the blade unit 22, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in a case where the control unit 4 is configured to continuously decrease the rotation speed of the blade unit 22, but there is no possibility that a member connected to the motor 23 will malfunction, the control unit 4 may be configured to continuously decrease the rotation speed of the blade unit 22.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 has been described as an example of a configuration in which the cutter unit 22 is moved downward a plurality of times when the cutter unit 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of the beverage L, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 4 may be configured to move the blade 22 to the lower position without interruption when starting to produce the beverage L. However, when the control unit 4 moves the blade unit 22 to the lower position without interruption, the blade unit 22 may not crush the large-sized beverage raw material Lm2 or the hard beverage raw material Lm. In this case, the lid 24 is lifted by the beverage raw material Lm which cannot be crushed, and the beverage L may leak. Therefore, the control unit 4 is preferably configured to perform the following control: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of the beverage L production, the cutter portion 22 is moved downward a plurality of times.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 has been described as an example of a configuration in which the cutter unit 22 is moved in the vertical direction while being rotated at the start of the production of the beverage L, and the cutter unit 22 is moved so that the movement amount in the downward direction gradually increases. For example, the control unit 4 may be configured to perform the following control: the blade 22 is moved downward a plurality of times without moving the blade 22 upward. That is, the control unit 4 may be configured to move the blade 22 stepwise in the downward direction.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 is shown as an example of a configuration for performing control of rotating the cutter unit 22 in a state where the lid unit 24 covers the upper opening of the container C after the completion of the production of the beverage L, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 4 may be configured not to control the rotation of the cutter unit 22 in a state where the upper opening of the container C is covered with the lid unit 24 after the completion of the production of the beverage L. However, in the case where the control unit 4 does not perform the control of rotating the cutter unit 22 in a state where the lid unit 24 covers the upper opening of the container C after the completion of the production of the beverage L, the droplets Ld of the beverage L may drop down to the container C or the container mounting unit 7. Accordingly, the control unit 4 is preferably configured to perform the following control: after the beverage L is produced, the cutter portion 22 is rotated in a state where the lid portion 24 covers the upper opening of the container C.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 is shown as an example of a configuration for controlling the speed level of the motor 23 at 5 levels, i.e., the level L1 to the level L5, but the present invention is not limited to this. The control unit 4 may be configured to control the speed level of the motor 23 by a speed level of less than 5 levels or a speed level of 5 or more levels. For example, the control unit 4 may control the speed level of the motor 23 in 10% (10 steps).

Claims

1. A beverage production device is provided with:

a container mounting part for mounting a container filled with beverage raw materials;

a stirring section including a rotation shaft section that rotates about a rotation axis extending in an up-down direction, a blade section that is provided at a lower portion of the rotation shaft section and rotates with rotation of the rotation shaft section, and a rotation driving section that rotates the rotation shaft section about the rotation axis, the rotation driving section stirring the beverage raw material placed in the container placement section;

a moving mechanism including a vertical driving unit, the moving mechanism moving the stirring unit in a vertical direction; and

A control unit that controls a position of the blade in an up-down direction and a rotational speed of the blade when the blade rotates,

wherein the control unit is configured to perform the following control: the control unit decreases the rotation speed of the blade unit when the blade unit is moved from a lower position, which is a lower position of the container, to an upper position, which is an upper position of the container, by the moving mechanism, and increases the rotation speed of the blade unit when the blade unit is moved from the upper position to the lower position by the moving mechanism.

2. The beverage making device of claim 1, wherein,

the control unit is configured to control: and raising the blade to a position where at least a part of the blade is exposed from the liquid surface of the beverage as the upper position.

3. The beverage making device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

the control unit is configured to control: the rotation speed of the blade portion is reduced while the blade portion is raised to the upper position, and the rotation speed of the blade portion is increased while the blade portion is lowered to the lower position.

4. The beverage making device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

the control unit is configured to control: when the rotation speed of the blade is reduced, the rotation speed of the blade is gradually reduced.

5. The beverage making device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

the control unit is configured to be able to acquire the rotation speed of the rotation shaft portion, and is configured to control the rotation speed of the blade portion so that the rotation speed of the blade portion during the production of the beverage becomes a predetermined rotation speed irrespective of the resistance applied to the blade portion from the beverage raw material.

6. The beverage making device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

the control unit is configured to be able to acquire the rotation speed of the rotation shaft portion, and is configured to control the rotation speed of the cutter portion in accordance with a decrease in the rotation speed during the production of the beverage, so as to extend the production time of the beverage.

7. The beverage making device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

the control unit is configured to control: when the knife is moved to the lower position at the start of the production of the beverage, the knife is moved downward a plurality of times while the knife is rotated.

8. The beverage making device of claim 7, wherein,

the control unit is configured to control: when the knife is moved to the lower position at the start of the production of the beverage, the knife is moved upward and downward while being rotated, and the movement amount of the knife in the downward direction is gradually increased.

9. The beverage making device of claim 7, wherein,

the control unit is configured to: when the blade is moved upward and downward, control is performed to switch between the movement of the blade in the upward direction and the movement of the blade in the downward direction based on the time for rotating the blade, or control is performed to move the blade in the downward direction when the rotational speed of the blade is equal to or higher than a predetermined rotational speed and to move the blade in the upward direction when the rotational speed of the blade is lower than the predetermined rotational speed.

10. The beverage making device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein,

further comprises a cylindrical cover part which covers the upper opening of the container when the beverage raw material is stirred by the stirring part,

The control unit is configured to control: after the beverage is produced, the cutter portion is rotated in a state where the lid portion covers the upper opening of the container, so that the entire cutter portion is exposed from the liquid surface of the beverage.