JP2001178370A - Dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent ices from being frozen up as much as possible. SOLUTION: This dispenser 1 has a mix tank 6 for storing the mix of a raw material, a cooling cylinder 11 arranged in the mix tank 6, a stirrer arranged in the vicinity of the cooling cylinder 11 and for stirring the mix in the mix tank 6, and a mix-temperature sensor 43 for detecting the temperature of the mix in the mix tank 6, and can produce the frozen dessert or the like by mixing the mix by the stirrer while cooling the mix by the cooling cylinder. The dispenser 1 not only detects the hardness of the mix by the torque of the stirrer when carrying out the cooling step, but also stops the cooling when the detected temperature by the temperature sensor 43 of the mix becomes a temperature equal to or lower than a prescribed temperature.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a soft ice cream,
The present invention relates to a dispenser mainly for producing ice cream or frozen dessert such as frozen sorbet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional dispenser of this type is disclosed in
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-262360 (A23G9 / 16) discloses a mix tank for storing a mix serving as a raw material, a cooling cylinder disposed in the mix tank, and a mixing cylinder provided adjacent to the cooling cylinder. And a stirrer that stirs the mix therein, and a frozen dessert manufacturing apparatus that manufactures a semi-frozen frozen dessert by stirring the mix with the stirrer while cooling the mix with the cooling cylinder, that is, a dispenser.

[0003]

In such a conventional dispenser, the hardness of the frozen dessert is detected by the torque applied to the stirrer. For this reason, when the amount of the frozen dessert decreases to less than half of the stirrer, the frozen dessert is not sufficiently torqued, but the torque is not applied to the stirrer, and the cooling may be continued and frozen. .

[0004] As described above, when frozen desserts are frozen, there is a problem that frozen desserts cannot be extracted even though a sellable amount of frozen desserts remains.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and provides a dispenser for preventing frozen desserts from freezing as much as possible.

[0006]

As means for achieving the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mix tank for storing a mix as a raw material, and a cooling cylinder provided in the mix tank. A stirrer provided adjacent to the cooling cylinder, for stirring the mix in the mix tank, and a mix temperature sensor for detecting the mix temperature in the mix tank, while cooling the mix by the cooling cylinder. In a dispenser that produces frozen desserts by stirring with the stirrer, in the cooling step, while detecting the hardness of the mix by the torque of the stirrer, when the detection temperature of the mix temperature sensor has become equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature. Provide a dispenser to stop cooling.

As described above, the cooling operation is controlled by both the torque applied to the stirrer and the mix temperature.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the dispenser according to the first aspect, further comprising an operation lamp that flashes when the cooling device is operating and lights up when the cooling device is stopped in the cooling step.

[0009] As described above, when the cooling device is operating, the sold frozen dessert becomes soft, so the user is notified and the caution at the time of sale is urged.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the dispenser according to any one of the first and second aspects, wherein when the agitator detects a predetermined torque other than during the cooling step, the operation is stopped for a predetermined time.

As described above, when the torque is detected in a state other than the cooling step, for example, during the washing step, the thawing step, the sterilizing step, etc., even though the torque is not applied to the stirrer, the operation is stopped for a predetermined time. I do.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the dispenser according to the third aspect, wherein the operation is stopped when the predetermined torque detection of the stirrer is continued a plurality of times.

As described above, when the torque is continuously detected a plurality of times while the torque is not applied to the stirrer, the operation is stopped.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispenser provided with the present invention, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the dispenser provided with the present invention, FIG. 3 is a refrigerant circuit diagram showing a flow of a refrigerant during cooling, and FIG.
Is a refrigerant circuit diagram showing the flow of the refrigerant at the time of thawing, FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a control device, FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of each device connected to the control device when hot gas is used as a heating device, and FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of each device connected to the control device when a heater is used as the device, FIG. 8 is a display panel of the control device, FIG.
FIG. 10 is a timing chart in the cooling step, that is, a slash operation, FIG. 10 is a timing chart in the thawing step, and FIG.
12 is a timing chart for the cleaning process, FIG. 12 is a timing chart for the sterilization process, FIG. 13 is a timing chart for compressor protection, and FIG. 14 is a timing chart for stirring motor protection. First, in FIG. 1, the dispenser 1 of the embodiment is for producing so-called frozen desserts (flavor mix, soft ice cream, etc.) and hot beverages, and includes a main body 4 in which a heating device, a cooling device 3, and a control device 5 are incorporated.
It comprises two left and right mix tanks 6, 6 arranged on the main body 4. Each mix tank 6, 6
Is made of a transparent resin, and has a lid 7 which is opened on the upper surface and which closes the upper surface opening so that it can be opened and closed.

A pouring section 8 is attached to a lower portion of the front of each of the mix tanks 6, 6, and a leaking portion is provided at a front portion of the main body 4 at a position below the pouring sections 8, 8. A saucer 9 for receiving frozen desserts and hot beverages is provided.

Next, in FIG.
Cooling cylinders 11 having good thermal conductivity are provided on the left and right sides of the lower portion of the mix tank 6 at an interval from the bottom surface of the mix tank 6. The cooling cylinder 11 includes a left evaporator 12A of the cooling device 3.
(Alternatively, the right evaporator 12B) is attached by heat. That is, the left evaporator 12A is connected to the left mix tank 6,
The right evaporator 12B is provided in each of the cooling cylinders 11 of the right mix tank 6. 10A is a refrigerant inlet pipe of the left evaporator 12A (or the right evaporator 12B),
10B is a refrigerant outlet pipe. The front end of the cooling cylinder 11 is open into the mix tank 6, and a rotating shaft 13 is provided at the center thereof.

The front end of the rotating shaft 13 is
And a rear end thereof is connected to a left stirring motor 16A (or a right stirring motor 16B) having a speed reduction mechanism. That is, the left stirring motor 16A is provided in the left mix tank 6, and the right stirring motor 16B is provided in the right mix tank 6.

A helical inner blade 17 located inside the cooling cylinder 11 and a helical outer blade 18 located outside the cooling cylinder 11 are attached to the rotating shaft 13. Right stirring motor 16B)
By rotating the rotating shaft 13 clockwise as viewed from the front, the inner blade 17 has a function of transporting the mix inside the cooling cylinder 11 to be described later from the front to the rear. It has the function of transporting the mix from the rear to the front.

The stirring motor 16A (16B), the rotating shaft 13, the inner blade 17, and the outer blade 18 constitute a stirrer.

The pouring section 8 includes a pouring pipe 21 arranged vertically, a plunger 22 inserted vertically into the pouring pipe 21 and a cock 23 for moving the plunger 22 up and down. It is composed of The pouring pipe 21 has an opening 2 formed at the front bottom of the mix tank 6 where the front end of the outer blade 18 is located.
4, the plunger 22 closes the opening 24 in a lowered state, and communicates the opening 24 with a spout 26 at the lower end of the pouring pipe 21 in a raised state. The plunger 22 is constantly urged by the helical spring 27 in a downward direction.

The left stirring motor 16A (or right stirring motor 16B) is arranged in a pendulum shape in a motor case 28 provided at the rear of the mix tank 6.
Reference numeral 29 denotes legs attached to the four corners of the bottom surface of the main body 4.

Next, a refrigerant circuit of the cooling device 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the cooling device 3 includes a compressor 32, a condenser 33, a dehydrator 34, left and right cooling electromagnetic valves 36A and 36B, capillary tubes 37A and 37B, and the left and right evaporators 12A and 1B.
2B and the accumulator 38 are sequentially connected in a ring shape to form a refrigerant circuit. The left cooling solenoid valve 36A
Is connected in series with the capillary tube 37A and the left evaporator 12A, the right cooling solenoid valve 36B is connected in series with the capillary tube 37B and the right evaporator 12B, and these series circuits are connected in parallel with each other by piping. I have.

The main body 4 of the dispenser 1 includes:
In order to cool the condenser 33 and the compressor 32, a condenser cooling blower provided with a fan motor FM is provided.

The pipes on the upstream side of the left and right cooling electromagnetic valves 36A and 36B and the pipe on the suction side of the compressor 32 are exchanged with each other, and a hot gas circuit 39 branches off from the pipe on the discharge side of the compressor 32. ing. The hot gas circuit 39 branches in two directions, and via the left and right hot gas solenoid valves 40A and 40B respectively.
B is connected to the entrance side.

With the above configuration, the flow of the refrigerant at the time of cooling shown in FIG. 3 will be described. First, the high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 32 is condensed by the condenser 33, passes through the dehydrator 34 and the left and right cooling solenoid valves 36A and 36B, is throttled by the capillary tubes 37A and 37B, and flows into the left and right evaporators 12A and 12B. I do. This left and right evaporator 12
The refrigerant that has exchanged heat at A and 12B, that is, has absorbed heat, returns to the compressor 32 after flowing into the accumulator 38.

Next, the flow of the refrigerant at the time of thawing in FIG. 4 will be described.

The high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from the compressor 32 passes through left and right hot gas solenoid valves 40A and 40B.
It flows into the left and right evaporated air 12A, 12B. The refrigerant that has exchanged heat in the left and right evaporators 12A and 12B, that is, radiated heat, flows into the accumulator 38 and returns to the compressor 32.

Next, the control device 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.

The control device 5 is provided with a one-chip microcomputer 41. The one-chip microcomputer 41 is provided in the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B for detecting the torque of the agitator described above. The hardness detection switch 42 is connected.

In addition, a mix temperature sensor 43 for detecting the mix temperature, a discharge temperature sensor 44 for detecting the temperature on the discharge side of the compressor 32, and a display panel 45 shown in FIG. It is connected.

The display panel 45 has a slash operation, that is, a slash switch 4 for performing a cooling process.
6. A thawing switch 47 for performing a thawing step for heating in the hot gas circuit 39, a cleaning switch 48 for performing a cleaning step, a sterilizing switch 49 for performing a sterilizing step, and a stop switch 50 for stopping operation of the apparatus are provided. On the upper portions of 46, 47, 48, and 49, cooling operation lamps, that is, a slash lamp 46A, a thawing lamp 47A,
A cleaning lamp 48A and a sterilizing lamp 49A are provided.

The relays RY1 to RY receive the inputs of the display panel 45, the hardness detection switch 42, the mix temperature sensor 43, and the discharge temperature sensor 44.
4, the compressor motor CM of the compressor 32, the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B, the left and right hot gas solenoid valves 40A and 40B, the fan motor FM, and the left and right cooling solenoid valves 37A and 37B are controlled.

FIG. 7 shows an embodiment in which a heater HL is provided instead of forming the hot gas circuit 39. Therefore, the heater HL is connected instead of the left and right hot gas solenoid valves 40A and 40B.

With the above configuration, a slash operation will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the mix is put into the mix tank 6 and the slash switch 46 is pressed.
2 compressor motor CM, left and right stirring motor 16A,
16B, face of the condenser cooling blower = "MS Mincho"> The fan motor FM is turned on, and the slash lamp 46A blinks.

The left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B, face = "MS Mincho" of the condenser cooling blower> Fan motor FM
Are always driven during the slash operation.

When the mixture temperature decreases and the mixture becomes hard, a predetermined torque is applied to the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B, and the hardness detection switch 42 is turned on, the slash lamp 46A is turned on and the compressor 32 is stopped. . Thereafter, the hardness detection switch 42 is turned off.
F, that is, when the mix becomes soft, the slash lamp 46A blinks to turn on the compressor 32, and when the mix becomes hard, the slash lamp 46A is turned on and the control to turn off the compressor 32 is repeatedly performed.

As described above, when the compressor 32 is ON and the slash lamp 46A is blinking, it is understood that the frozen dessert sold is soft because the cooling is in progress. Therefore, sales are not performed while the slash lamp 46A is blinking, and sales are performed after the slash lamp 46A is turned on, so that optimal frozen desserts can always be sold. That is, the operator can know the state of the frozen dessert.

Furthermore, if the frozen dessert extracted while the slash lamp 46A is flashing is sufficiently cooled, the hardness detection switch 4
The stop point of the second compressor 32 may be changed.
That is, by appropriately changing the stop point of the compressor 32 according to the sales situation, it is possible to provide an optimal frozen dessert.

When the frozen dessert is sold, the mix in the mix tank 6 decreases, and when the mix level falls below the stirrer, no load is applied to the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B, and the hardness detection switch 42 is turned on. No longer.

Therefore, although there is no need for cooling,
The cooling of the mix will be continued. For this reason, when the detection temperature of the mix temperature sensor 43 detects a predetermined temperature (for example, −7 ° C.), the compressor 32 is turned off even if the hardness detection switch 42 is not turned on.
Then, the slash lamp 46A is turned on.

Thereafter, the mixed temperature sensor 43 becomes -5.
When the temperature is detected, the control of turning on the compressor 32 to blink the slash lamp 46A, and turning off the compressor when the temperature falls to -7 ° C. to turn on the slash lamp 46A is repeated.

Since the mix tank 6 is made of a transparent resin as described above, the operator can visually confirm that the remaining mix is small. Therefore, if the control by the above-described mix temperature sensor 43 is being performed, the operator supplies the mix into the mix tank 6.

Next, the thawing step will be described with reference to FIG.

To some extent, when the sales standby, that is, the slash operation is prolonged, there is a problem that ice grains re-freeze and become large, and the tongue feel becomes poor. Therefore, if the sales standby is prolonged, it is necessary to perform thawing.

In the thawing process, the heater HL, the left and right stirring motors 16A,
6B is turned on, the thawing lamp 47A blinks, and the temperature rises until the mix temperature sensor 43 detects 5 ° C.

Next, the cleaning step will be described with reference to FIG.

In the washing step, first, the mixing tank 6
Drain the remaining frozen dessert inside and add water. When the cleaning switch 48 is pressed, the heater HL, the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B are turned on, and the cleaning lamp 48A is turned on.
Blinks and the temperature rises until the mix temperature sensor 43 detects 40 ° C.

Then, the mixed temperature sensor 43 is set at 40 ° C.
For 5 minutes after detecting the
Keep at ° C. That is, when the temperature reaches 40 ° C., the heater HL is turned off once, and when the temperature has dropped to 38 ° C., the heater HL is turned on again.

Next, after 5 minutes, the heater H
L, left and right stirring motors 16A, 16B, cleaning lamp 48A
Is turned off to end the cleaning.

Next, the sterilization step will be described with reference to FIG.

This sterilization step is a legal heat sterilization performed when a dairy product mix is used.
Is pressed, the heater HL, the left and right stirring motors 16A, 1
6B is turned on, and the sterilization lamp 49A blinks. And
Mix at 80 from 78 ° C with mix temperature sensor 43
Keep at ° C. That is, the mixed temperature sensor 43
When 0 ° C is detected, the heater HL is turned off and the temperature is set to 78 ° C.
, The control to turn on the heater HL again is repeated.

First, the mix temperature sensor 43 is set to 80
When 40 minutes have passed since the temperature was detected, the heater HL is turned off, and the compressor 32 and the fan motor FM of the condenser cooling blower are turned on.

When the temperature detected by the mix temperature sensor 43 reaches 5 ° C., the compressor 32, the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B are turned off, and the sterilizing lamp 49A is turned on.

When the mix temperature rises to 8 ° C. due to the stop of the compressor 32, the control is repeated such that the compressor 32 and the left and right stirring motors 16 A and 16 B are turned on again and stopped when the mix temperature drops to 5 ° C.

Next, protection of the compressor 32 will be described with reference to FIG.

When the compressor 32 is turned on and the discharge temperature sensor 44 detects 100 ° C., the compressor 32 is stopped for 3 minutes. When the discharge temperature sensor 44 detects 80 ° C. or less after 3 minutes, the compressor is restarted. If the discharge temperature sensor 44 does not fall below 80 ° C. even after 3 minutes,
The compressor 32 is stopped until the temperature falls below ℃. Then, when the discharge temperature sensor 44 becomes 80 ° C. or lower, the compressor 32 is turned on again.

By performing the above control, the compressor 32 is prevented from being unnecessarily loaded.

Next, protection of the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B will be described with reference to FIG.

Other than during the slash operation described above,
When the hardness detection switch 42 is turned on, the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B are turned off for one minute. After one minute, the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B are turned on again. The control of stopping for a minute is repeated a predetermined number of times (three times in the present embodiment).

Incidentally, if this is left, for example, after the slash operation is stopped, it may be temporarily frozen.
If the thawing process or the sterilizing process is performed in this state, the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B may be locked by the frozen cake. In this case, after a while, the frozen solid is melted, and the locks of the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B are released.

Even if such a control is repeated three times, if the hardness detection switch 42 is still turned on, the icing mass is large and must be removed by the operator.
Stop the dispenser 1.

Further, during the cleaning process, the hardness detection switch 4
2 is turned on, the main reason is that foreign matter has entered, so that the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B are turned on and off.
Is repeated three times, the hardness detection switch 42 is turned ON, and the dispenser 1 stops. As described above, when the hardness detection switch 42 is turned on in a state where it should not be turned on, the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B are turned on and off a predetermined number of times.
Repeat FF, but the hardness detection switch 42 is still O
In the case of N, the load on the left and right stirring motors 16A and 16B can be prevented as much as possible by stopping the dispenser 1.

[0065]

As described above in detail, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the cooling process is controlled by both the torque applied to the stirrer and the mix temperature. Therefore, even if the frozen dessert is sold and the mix in the mix tank is reduced and the torque is not applied to the stirrer, the mix can be put into a state in which the dessert can be sold by the temperature sensor.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the cooling step, when the cooling device is operating, the frozen dessert is in a soft state, so that the user is notified to be alerted at the time of selling. Therefore, selling the frozen dessert when the operation lamp is stopped optimizes the sold dessert.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when torque is detected in a state where no torque is applied to the stirrer except during the cooling step, for example, during the washing step, the thawing step, the sterilization step, etc. The operation is stopped for a predetermined time. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a load from being applied to the stirrer as much as possible, and to prevent a failure of the stirrer.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, when the torque is continuously detected a plurality of times in a state where no torque is applied to the stirrer, the operation is stopped. Therefore, failure of the stirrer can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dispenser having the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a dispenser provided with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a refrigerant circuit diagram illustrating a flow of a refrigerant during cooling.

FIG. 4 is a refrigerant circuit diagram showing a flow of a refrigerant at the time of thawing.

FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of a control device.

FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram of each device connected to a control device when hot gas is used as a heating device.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of each device connected to a control device when a heater is used as a heating device.

FIG. 8 is a display panel of the control device.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart of a cooling step, that is, a slash operation.

FIG. 10 is a timing chart at the time of a thawing step.

FIG. 11 is a timing chart in a cleaning step.

FIG. 12 is a timing chart in a sterilization step.

FIG. 13 is a timing chart of compressor protection.

FIG. 14 is a timing chart for protecting a stirring motor.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 dispenser 3 cooling device 4 main body 5 control device 6 mix tank 11 cooling cylinder 12 evaporator 12A left evaporator 12B right evaporator 16 stirring motor 16A left stirring motor 16B right stirring motor 17 inner blade 18 outer blade 32 compressor 36 cooling electromagnetic valve 36A Left cooling solenoid valve 36B Right cooling solenoid valve 39 Hot gas circuit 40 Hot gas solenoid valve 40A Left hot gas solenoid valve 40B Right hot gas solenoid valve 42 Hardness detection switch 43 Mix temperature sensor 46A Slash lamp HL Heater

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A mixing tank for storing a mix serving as a raw material, a cooling cylinder disposed in the mixing tank, and a stirrer provided adjacent to the cooling cylinder and agitating the mix in the mixing tank. And a mix temperature sensor for detecting a mix temperature in a mix tank, wherein the dispenser produces a frozen dessert or the like by stirring the mixture with the stirrer while cooling the mix with the cooling cylinder. A dispenser for detecting the hardness of the mix based on the torque of the mixer and stopping the cooling when the temperature detected by the mix temperature sensor falls below a predetermined temperature. 2. The dispenser according to claim 1, further comprising an operation lamp that flashes when the cooling device is operating and lights up when the cooling device is stopped in the cooling step. 3. The dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the operation is stopped for a predetermined time when the stirrer detects a predetermined torque other than during the cooling step. 4. The dispenser according to claim 3, wherein the operation is stopped when the detection of the predetermined torque of the stirrer is continued a plurality of times.