JP2000185797A - Beverage vending device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable a thermal conductivity against beverage to be improved and further enable a temperature of the beverage to approach to such a degree as one suitable for a drinking within a relative short period of time. SOLUTION: A storing case 1 has a thermal insulating structure so as to enable a beverage container 17 to be removably stored in it. There is provided a temperature adjusting device 18 for cooling or heating an inside area of the storing case 1. There is provided an agitating device 36 capable of agitating beverage within the beverage container 17 stored in the storing case 1. As the agitating device 36, this device is comprised of a rotary table 37 on which the beverage container 17 is mounted and a driving means such as a motor 45 and the like for reciprocating and rotating the rotary table 37, the beverage container 17 can be reciprocated and rotated to agitate the beverage or an agitating element stored in the beverage container 17 is rotated in a normal direction or reciprocated to rotate in a reverse direction by the rotary driving device to enable the beverage to be directly agitated. Within the storing case 1 is arranged a dispensing plug 35 capable of pouring out the beverage kept in the beverage container 17. The temperature adjusting device 18 utilizes a Peltier effect.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage dispensing apparatus used to cool or heat a desired beverage such as juice or sake filled in a beverage container and store the beverage at an appropriate temperature, and to dispense the beverage. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a beverage dispensing apparatus, for example, as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 60-57600,
A cooler and a circulation fan are provided in the storage, and a partition plate for forming a circulation path is provided, and the cool air that has passed through the cooler by driving the circulation fan is circulated in the storage, and the beverage in the storage is provided. A configuration for cooling a container and a beverage inside the container is known.

On the other hand, conventionally, as a cooling device utilizing the Peltier effect, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. Hei 9-170862 and Hei 10-238922, a heat absorbing side heat conductor of a Peltier element is disclosed. Is brought into contact with a cooling plate (heat absorbing plate) made of a heat conductive material of the storage, and the cooling plate (heat absorbing plate) is cooled via the heat absorbing side heat conductor by the Peltier effect, thereby cooling the inside of the storage. The configuration is known.

[0004]

However, in each of the conventional examples, since the beverage container and the beverage in the beverage container are cooled in a stationary state, it takes a long time to cool the beverage to a temperature suitable for drinking. It cannot be used for drinking at an appropriate temperature in a short time.

[0005] Of the above-mentioned conventional examples, in the former configuration, since a cooler, a circulation fan, a partition plate, and the like are provided in the storage, the size is increased in the lateral direction, and the installation space is increased. With a cooler (evaporator), it is difficult to precisely control the temperature in the storage.

On the other hand, in the latter configuration, the temperature in the storage can be precisely adjusted by using the Peltier element, but the Peltier element directly cools the cooling plate (heat absorbing plate) of the storage, so Since the Peltier element is arranged so as to protrude to the side of the storage, not only a large installation space is required but also the cooling effect is inferior.

[0007] The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and can bring a beverage closer to a temperature suitable for drinking in a relatively short time, thus improving convenience. In addition to the above objects, the present invention provides a beverage dispensing apparatus, and in addition to the above object, can precisely adjust the temperature in the storage, and therefore can always dispense the beverage at a substantially appropriate temperature. Providing a dispensing device, and in addition to the above purpose, it can reduce the installation space and reduce the restrictions on the installation location,
In addition, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage dispensing apparatus capable of further improving the cooling or heating efficiency and constantly dispensing a beverage at a substantially appropriate temperature.

[0008]

A beverage dispensing apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems has a storage having a heat insulating structure capable of storing a beverage container so as to be able to be taken out, and a cool air or a warm air inside the storage. Temperature control means capable of circulating, cooling, or heating, stirring means capable of stirring the beverage in the beverage container stored in the storage, and provided in the storage, And a pouring cock capable of pouring a beverage.

[0009] In the above structure, the stirring means may include a turntable for supporting the beverage container and a driving means for reciprocatingly rotating the turntable while supporting the beverage container. It is preferable that the turntable is configured to support the beverage container mounted thereon, and the driving means is disposed below the turntable.

[0010] The stirring means may include a magnetic stirrer housed inside the beverage container and having a magnetic property, and a rotary drive device for rotating the stirrer forward or backward and reciprocally by magnetic force. In this case, it is preferable to dispose the rotary drive device below the beverage container.

The temperature control means can be configured to circulate cool air or warm air in the storage by utilizing the Peltier effect so as to cool or heat. Alternatively, it is preferable to dispose the warm air sending portion so as to face downward at an eccentric position with respect to the storage.

According to the present invention configured as described above,
When the beverage is stored in the beverage container and cooled or heated by the temperature control means in the storage, the beverage is stirred by the stirring means, so that the heat conductivity can be improved and the beverage can be consumed in a relatively short time. Can be approached to a suitable temperature.

[0013] Further, by utilizing the Peltier effect as temperature control means and circulating cold air or warm air, the temperature in the storage can be precisely adjusted.
Cooling efficiency or heating efficiency can be improved.

[0014] Further, the temperature control means is provided at the top of the storage, and the rotating table of the stirring means or the rotary driving device is arranged below the beverage container, so that the installation space can be reduced by reducing the size in the horizontal direction. It can be relatively small.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described. 1 to 4 show a beverage dispensing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view with a door removed, FIG. 2 is a plan view, FIG.
FIG. 4 is a partially broken plan view showing the stirring device section.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG.
Is composed of a main body 2, a door 3, a cover 4, a support table 5, and the like. The main body 2 includes a square bottom plate 6 and a top plate 7, and side plates 8, 9 and a back plate 10 provided integrally on both sides and the back of the bottom plate 6 and the top plate 7, and the front side is open. The door 3 is rotatably connected to one side plate 7 by a hinge 11 having a vertical rotation axis so as to open and close the front opening of the main body 2. Body 2
The door 3 is filled with urethane foam in an outer shell made of metal, resin, or the like, and a gasket 12 is attached to the inner peripheral edge of the door 3 so as to be in contact with the front peripheral edge of the opening of the main body 2. Reference numeral 1 denotes a heat insulating structure capable of accommodating a beverage container. The cover 4 is made of metal, resin, or the like,
The bottom plate 13 is fixed on the top plate 7 of the main body 2 with a relatively flat hollow box shape having a square shape in a plane. In this embodiment, the front side of the cover 4 is formed so as to cover the door 3 with the door 3 closed. The support base 5 is formed in a frame shape, and the bottom plate 6 of the main body 2 is fixed on a top plate 14 thereof. Bottom plate 1 of support 5
Legs 16 are attached to the four corners of the lower surface of 5, and the storage 1 is installed with the bottom plate 15 floating by the legs 16. The beverage container 17 can be taken out by opening and closing the door 3. In the present embodiment, the beverage container 17 is supported on a turntable 37 described later in the storage 1.

At the top of the storage 1, a temperature control device 18 is provided at an eccentric position with respect to the storage 1, in the illustrated example, at a position near the corner between the side plate 8 and the back plate 10. The temperature controller 18 is configured to circulate cool air in the storage 1 by utilizing the Peltier effect. For example, one side of the heat absorbing heat conductor 20 is applied to the heat absorbing surface of the Peltier element 19, and the heat absorbing fins 21 and the heat absorbing fan 22 are sequentially provided on the other side of the heat absorbing heat conductor 20. A radiation fin 23 is provided on the radiation surface side of the Peltier element 19.
Heat radiating fans 24 are sequentially provided.

Then, the side plate 8 and the back plate 1 in the storage 1
In the position closer to the corner side with respect to 0, the heat radiation fins 23 and the heat radiation fan 24 are accommodated in the cover 4 with the heat radiation fan 24 positioned upward, and the position of the heat radiation fin 23 closer to the Peltier element 19 is located on the bottom plate 13 of the cover 4. The Peltier element 19 and the heat absorbing heat conductor 20 are housed in a hole 26 formed in the top plate 7 of the main body 2, and the heat absorbing fins 21 and the heat absorbing fan 22 project into the main body 2. . On the back plate 27 of the cover 4, a number of rows of intake holes 28 are provided behind the temperature controller 18. An exhaust hole 30 is formed in the top plate 29 of the cover 4 above the heat dissipation fan 24 of the temperature control device 18, and an edge of a ventilation member 31 is attached to an inner side surface of the edge of the exhaust hole 30.

When a current is supplied to the Peltier element 19, heat transfer from the lower heat absorbing surface to the upper heat radiating surface occurs due to the Peltier effect, and the heat absorbing fins 21 are cooled via the heat absorbing heat conductors 20. It has become so.
On the other hand, when the heat absorbing fan 22 is driven by the supply of power, the air in the storage 1 passes through the heat absorbing fins 21, becomes cool, and is sent downward from the heat absorbing fan 22. When the radiator fan 24 is driven by the supply of power, outside air is introduced from the intake hole 28, passes through the radiator fins 23, and is discharged upward from the radiator fan 24,
The heat transferred to the radiation fins 23 due to the Peltier effect is
Dissipated by the outside air.

The beverage container 17 is made of stainless steel or the like, and a dispense head 32 is mounted on the upper portion thereof. One end of a discharge pipe 34 is mounted on a discharge port 33 of the dispense head 32, and the other end of the discharge pipe 34 is It is connected to a base of a pouring cock 35 provided through the side plate 9 of the main body 2. Further, one end of a gas supply pipe 37 is connected to the injection port 36 of the dispense head 32, and the other end of the gas supply pipe 37 is connected to a gas supply source (not shown) installed in the storage 1 or the like. . Then, gas is supplied from the gas supply source into the beverage container 17 via the gas supply pipe 37 and the inlet 36, and the beverage in the beverage container 17 is pressurized to supply the cock 35 via the outlet 330 and the outlet pipe 33. Supply up to. Therefore, the beverage can be poured by opening and closing the cock 35.

The beverage stirring device 36 in this embodiment comprises a turntable 37 and a drive unit 38 for reciprocatingly rotating the turntable 37 about a vertical axis. The casters 40 are attached to the lower four corners of the base plate 39 of the turntable 37, and the casters 40 are rotatably mounted on the bottom plate 6 of the main body 2. The upper end of a vertical rotation shaft 41 is fixed to the center of the lower surface of the base plate 39, and the rotation shaft 41 is attached to the bottom plate 6 of the main body 2.
And a hole 4 formed in communication with the top plate 14 of the support base 5.
2 is penetrated rotatably in a sealed state.

Bearings 44 are attached to a support plate 43 fixed inside the support table 5 at a plurality of upper and lower positions, and the rotating shaft 41 is rotatably supported by these bearings 44. A motor 45 is mounted on the support plate 43, and one end of a link 47 is fixed on an output shaft 46 of the motor 45 in a vertical direction. One end of a connecting rod 48 whose length is adjustable is connected to the other end of the link 47 so as to be rotatable about a vertical axis, and one end of a link 49 is connected to the other end of the connecting rod 48 about a vertical axis. And the other end of the link 49 is fixed to the rotating shaft 41. When the link 47 pivots via the output shaft 46 by the drive of the motor 45, the link 49 swings via the connecting rod 48 and the rotating shaft 4.
1 and the turntable 37 are reciprocally rotated forward and backward.

The operation of the thus constructed beverage dispensing apparatus of the present embodiment will be described below.
The temperature control device 18 is driven, and the motor 38 is driven. By driving the temperature controller 18, the air in the storage 1 is passed through the heat absorbing fins 21 as described above, and is sent out from the heat absorbing fan 22 as cool air. This cool air is sent from above to below in the storage 1 and circulates vertically along the outer surface of the beverage container 17 to cool the beverage container 17 and the beverage inside. At this time, as described above, the motor 3
8, the output shaft 46, the link 47, the connecting rod 48,
By rotating the rotating shaft 41 and the rotary table 37 back and forth through the link 49 and the like, the beverage container 17 can be rotated back and forth. Along with this, the beverage in the beverage container 17 can be stirred, so that forced convection is generated, the cooling efficiency is increased by reducing the film resistance, and the temperature can be cooled to an appropriate temperature in a short time. In addition, by sending the cool air downward at the eccentric position as described above, the cool air can be circulated up and down along the outer surface of the beverage container 17 relatively neatly, so that the cooling effect of the beverage can be enhanced. it can. Further, since the temperature control device 18 uses the Peltier element 19, the temperature in the storage 1 can be precisely controlled, and furthermore, a power source for home use and a power source for automobile can be used. And the occurrence of dew condensation is relatively reduced.

A case where the drinking water filled in the drinking container 17 made of stainless steel and having a capacity of 10 liters is stirred by using the stirring device 36 as in the first embodiment of the present invention, and the same is made of stainless steel as in the comparative example. A cooling test of drinking water was carried out in a case where the drinking water filled in a drinking container having a capacity of 10 liters was not stirred (otherwise, the same configuration was used for both). As a result, as is apparent from FIG.
In the present embodiment in which the drinking water was agitated, it was about 3 hours after the start of cooling in order to obtain an appropriate temperature of about 8 ° C. In the comparative example, in order to obtain an appropriate temperature of about 8 ° C., the cooling was started. After that, it took about 5 hours. From this test result, it is possible to cause forced convection by cooling the beverage while stirring it as in the present embodiment, to increase the cooling efficiency by lowering the film resistance, and to rapidly cool to reach the appropriate temperature. It became clear what we could do.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway front view showing a beverage dispensing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, with a door removed.

In this embodiment, the beverage stirring device is different from that of the first embodiment, and the other components are the same as those of the first embodiment. The same reference numerals are given to the same parts, and the description thereof will be omitted.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the beverage container 17 is supported on the bottom plate 6 of the storage 1. A magnetic stirrer 50 is housed inside the bottom of the beverage container 17, and a rotation driving device 51 for rotating the stirrer 50 forward or reverse reciprocally by magnetic force is provided on the bottom plate 6 inside the bottom of the beverage container 17. Have been. Note that the stirrer 50 can be selected in a shape and size that is convenient for stirring the beverage in the beverage container 17.

When the beverage is cooled, the stirrer 50 is rotated forward or backward by the magnetic force generated by the rotary drive unit 51, and the beverage is directly stirred to increase the cooling efficiency and to rapidly cool the beverage. Things.

The drain plate may be provided on the bottom plate 5 of the storage 1 as needed. In the above embodiment, the beverage container 17 is stored in the storage 1 and the temperature controller 18 is used for cooling. However, the temperature controller 18 absorbs heat by flowing a current in the Peltier device 19 in the opposite direction. The desired side can be heated by circulating warm air in the storage 1 by reversing the side and the heat radiating side. Also, a beverage stirring device 3
6 is not limited to the above embodiment. In addition, the present invention can be variously changed in design without departing from the basic technical idea.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, the beverage is stored in the beverage container, and the beverage is stirred by the stirring means when the beverage is cooled or heated by the temperature control means in the storage, so that the heat conduction is achieved. The rate can be improved and the beverage can be brought to a temperature suitable for drinking in a relatively short time. Therefore, convenience can be improved.

Further, by utilizing the Peltier effect as the temperature adjusting means and circulating cold air or warm air, the temperature in the storage can be precisely adjusted, thereby improving cooling efficiency or heating efficiency. Can be.
Therefore, the beverage can always be dispensed at a substantially appropriate temperature.

Further, the temperature control means is provided at the top of the storage, and the rotary table of the stirring means or the rotary driving device is arranged below the beverage container, so that the installation space can be reduced by reducing the size in the horizontal direction. It can be relatively small. Therefore, restrictions on the installation location can be reduced.

Further, by arranging the cool air or warm air sending portion of the temperature control means so as to face downward at an eccentric position with respect to the storage, it is possible to smoothly circulate the cool air or the warm air in the storage. The cooling or heating efficiency can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing a beverage dispensing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, with a door removed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the beverage dispensing device.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the beverage dispensing device.

FIG. 4 is a partially broken plan view showing a stirring device used in the beverage dispensing device.

FIG. 5 is a table showing cooling results of the beverage dispensing apparatus and a comparative example.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway front view showing a beverage dispensing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, with a door removed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage 2 Main body 3 Door 17 Drinking container 18 Temperature control device 19 Peltier element 20 Heat absorbing heat conductor 21 Heat absorbing fin 22 Heat absorbing fan 23 Heat radiating fin 24 Heat radiating fan 32 Dispense head 35 Discharge cock 36 Stirrer 37 Rotating table 38 Drive device 50 Stirrer 51 Rotary drive

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 3E082 AA04 BB01 CC01 DD01 EE01 EE05 FF09 3L045 AA04 BA01 CA01 DA04 EA01 KA06 KA07 PA01 PA04

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A storage having a heat insulating structure capable of storing a beverage container in a removable manner, and a temperature adjusting means capable of circulating cool air or warm air in the storage to cool or heat the beverage container.
Beverage dispensing provided with a stirring means capable of stirring a beverage in a beverage container stored in the storage, and a pour cock provided in the storage and capable of discharging the beverage in the beverage container. apparatus. 2. The beverage dispensing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stirring means includes a turntable for supporting the beverage container, and a drive means for reciprocatingly rotating the turntable while supporting the beverage container. 3. The beverage dispensing device according to claim 2, wherein the turntable is configured to support the beverage container mounted thereon, and the driving means is disposed below the turntable. 4. The stirrer according to claim 1, further comprising: a stirrer housed inside the beverage container, the stirrer having magnetism, and a rotation driving device for rotating the stirrer forward or backward and reciprocally by magnetic force. Beverage dispensing equipment. 5. The beverage dispensing device according to claim 4, wherein the rotary drive device is arranged below the beverage container. 6. The temperature control means circulates cool air or warm air in the storage by utilizing the Peltier effect to cool and cool.
6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the heating is performed.
A beverage dispensing device according to any one of the above. 7. The beverage dispensing device according to claim 6, wherein the cool air or warm air sending portion of the temperature adjusting means is arranged so as to face downward at an eccentric position with respect to the storage.