JP2001275838A - Tea dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tea dispenser that feeds hot water and powder tea into a cup and rationally stirs both of them at the same time without an existent body-incorporated stirrer comprising a mixing case, a screw, a deaerator and the like. SOLUTION: The tea dispenser feeds given amounts of hot water W and powder tea Tb into a container 8 such as a cup to stir both of them. The container 8 such as a cup is fed with the hot water W and powder tea Tb in this order: hot water W, powder tea Tb and hot water W. The amount of the former hot water is made small and the amount of the latter hot water is made larger than that of the former hot water.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tea dispenser capable of rationally stirring powdered tea without specially providing a stirring device such as a mixing case and a screw in a main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a tea supply machine is provided with a supply device 100 for supplying a fixed amount of tea leaves as shown in FIG.
The supply device 100 includes a storage unit 101 that stores the tea leaves T,
Tea leaf quantitative replenishment unit 10 provided below the storage unit 101
The tea leaf quantitative supply unit 102 is formed by rotating a cylinder 103 provided with an opening 103a having a fan-shaped cross section, thereby forming the tea leaf quantitative supply unit 102.
A constant space A is created between the opening 2a and the opening 103a, and the tea leaves T in the storage unit 101 enter the space A, and a certain amount of tea leaves T are stored in the space A by rotating the cylinder 103. It is taken out from 101 and poured from the outlet 102b.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, a conventional raw material supply device and a stirring device different from the above-mentioned ones are composed of a raw material container 105 for accommodating a tea powder raw material G, a raw material supply passage 106 at a bottom portion 105a thereof, A feed coil 107 for sending out the powder raw material G through the passage 106; and a mixing case 108 connected to the raw material supply passage 106 for stirring the powder raw material G and hot water. When the rotation is performed by the mechanism 109 for a certain period of time, the powder material G in the raw material container 105 is extruded and a certain amount falls into the mixing case 108, and the powder material G and the hot water W are agitated in the mixing case 108 to form a cup or the like. Is to be poured.

Meanwhile, among the conventional tea machines, particularly in the latter embodiment, a mixing case 108 for mixing the powder material G and the hot water W and a screw 110 are used.
Is built in the main body.

[0005]

Therefore, the conventional tea dispenser has a problem that it is difficult to perform maintenance work such as cleaning and inspection of the stirring device. Further, in order to prevent the powder raw material from being solidified at the outlet of the material supply device due to the steam of the hot water from the stirring device, it is necessary to provide a deaerator 111 for discharging the steam outside the case. There was a problem that it became large, large, and expensive.

[0006]

The present invention does not solve the above problem by improving the conventional stirrer, but by another simple and rational means. In a tea dispenser in which a predetermined amount of hot water W and powdered tea Tb are poured into and stirred, hot water W is stored in a container 8 such as the cup.
And the powdered tea Tb are poured in the order of hot water W-powdered tea Tb-hot water W, and the amount of the first hot water is smaller than the last hot water. Is proposed.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. Reference numeral 1 denotes a tea supply machine using the powdered tea supply device 2 of the present invention.
A water heater 4 for boiling water in a main body 3 having an operation panel, a crusher 5 for crushing the tea leaves T into powdered tea Tb,
The powdered tea Tb discharged from the crushing unit 5 is stored, and a powdered tea supply device 2 for supplying a certain amount to the container 8 and a control unit 6 for controlling each unit are provided.

The main body 3 has the above-mentioned parts,
Front door 3a provided on the upper surface with an operation panel 7 having a button (not shown) for operating when making tea
And a receiving portion 3b on which a container 8 such as a cup is placed, and a through-hole 3c for inserting a tea leaf T into a first hopper portion 13 described later.
Is formed of a metal or a synthetic resin.

The water heater 4 is a tank 9 for storing water (hot water) W, and a heater 10 is provided on the bottom side thereof.
Is provided to boil water stored in the tank 9. The heated water is kept warm by the heater 10 so as not to be cooled. The hot water stored in the tank 9 is poured into a container 8 such as a cup via a hot water supply pipe (not shown) by a pump (not shown) operated by a signal from the control unit 6. It is supposed to be.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a crushing section provided on the front side of the main body 3, and a first hopper section 13 for storing tea leaves T to be crushed.
And a first pulverizing unit 1 for pre-pulverizing the tea leaves T to equalize the particle size.
4, a second hopper 15 for storing pre-ground tea leaves (hereinafter referred to as powdered tea Ta), and powdered tea Ta as powdered tea Tb.
A second crushing unit 16 for crushing the powdered tea, a scraping member 17 for collecting the powdered tea Tb crushed and discharged by the second crushing unit 16 and discharging the powdered tea Tb to the storage unit 29; the first crushing unit 14 and the second crushing unit 16; And a drive unit 18 for driving the.

[0013] 13 is detachably attached to the main body 3,
It is a first hopper portion formed in a funnel shape with its upper part expanded, stores the tea leaves T inserted through the through holes 3c of the lid 3d, and supplies the tea leaves T to the first crushing unit 13. .

A transparent or translucent lid 19 is removably covered on the upper opening 13a of the first hopper 13, so that the tea leaves T in the first hopper 13 can be removed.
Are prevented from spilling from the first hopper section 13 and the remaining amount of the tea leaves T in the first hopper section 13 can be visually checked.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a first pulverizing section for preliminarily pulverizing (shearing) the tea leaves T supplied from the first hopper section 13 to have a uniform particle size, and a first pulverizing section provided at a lower side of the first hopper section 13. It comprises a die 20 fitted in a through hole 13 b communicating with the two hoppers 15, and a screw 21 inserted through the die 20.

The die 20 is formed in a ring shape from ceramics (for example, alumina, ordinary porcelain) or synthetic resin (for example, acetal resin) having excellent wear resistance. A cut portion 20a is provided.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a screw formed of ceramics (for example, alumina, ordinary porcelain) or synthetic resin (for example, acetal resin) having excellent wear resistance and inserted into the die 20, and a rotary drive shaft 18a of the drive unit 18
The lower mill 23 is fixed to the main body 3 so that the upper mill 22 of the second crushing section 16 can be rotated. The upper mill 22 and the screw 21 screwed to the rotary drive shaft 18 a are driven to rotate by the drive unit 18. Further, the screw 21 is provided with a pressing portion 21 a that constantly presses the upper mill 22 toward the lower mill 23, and the pressing surface 21 a of the second milling unit 16 is provided.
The crushing pressure between a and 23a is appropriately adjusted so that the crushing efficiency is increased.

Further, a cut portion 21b for shearing the tea leaves T is provided on the side surface of the screw 21.
The cutting unit 2 of the die 20 is rotated by the driving unit 18.
Oa and the cutting portion 21b of the screw 21 shear the tea leaves T in the first hopper portion 13, and the second hopper portion 1
5 to be discharged.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a second hopper for storing the powdered tea Ta preliminarily crushed by the first crushing unit 14 and supplying the powdered tea Ta to the second crushing unit 16. A material supply port 15a for feeding the powdered tea Ta is provided between the crushing surfaces 22a and 23a formed on the upper mill 22 and the lower mill 23 from the portion 15.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a second crushing unit comprising an upper porcelain 22 and a lower mortar 23 made of ceramic such as alumina porcelain, ordinary porcelain, and porcelain formed in a mortar shape. The upper mortar 22 and the lower mortar 23 face each other. The crushed surfaces 22a and 23a formed of the parallel grooves 24 are provided on the surface where the crushed surfaces 22a and 23a are formed. While rising, the powdered tea Ta is sheared by the parallel grooves 24 of the crushing surfaces 22a and 23a, crushed and turned into powdered tea Tb, and discharged to the receiving member 26 of the raking member 17.

The upper mill 22 is covered with a cover member 25 for covering the second hopper 15 provided on the upper surface thereof, and the powdered tea Ta stored in the second hopper 15.
Is not scattered outside. The cover member 25 has a through hole 25a through which the powdered tea Ta discharged from the first crushing unit 14 passes.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a receiving member 26 for receiving the powdered tea Tb discharged from the second crushing unit 16, a brush member 27 for scraping the discharged powdered tea Tb, and a discharging member for discharging to the powdered tea supply device 2 described later. The receiving member 26 is fitted with an upper end side of the lower mill 23 so that the discharge port 28 is provided and the port 28 comes to the front of the main body 3. A plurality of the brush members 27 are attached to the end portion 25b of the lid member 25. When the upper mill 22 rotates, the lid member 25 and the brush member 27 rotate, and the powdered tea Tb on the receiving member 26 is rotated. Was raked up,
The powder is supplied to the powdered tea supply device 2 from the discharge port 28. Note that the upper surface side of the receiving member 26 is
5 is covered with powdered tea Tb.
It does not scatter inside.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a drive unit, which is a main unit in which a small motor 18b for AC driving and a transmission gear 18c for shifting the high-speed rotation of the small motor 18b to a low-speed rotation (for example, 20 to 100 rpm) are combined. 3 A rotary drive shaft 18a is an output shaft of the transmission gear 18c. The rotation drive shaft 18a drives the upper mill 22 and the screw 21 to rotate, and drives the first crushing unit 18 and the second crushing unit 16. The start / stop of the drive unit 18 is controlled by a signal from the control unit 6 described later.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a powder tea supply device which is provided on the front side of the main body 3 and supplies the powdered tea Tb to a container 8 such as a cup in a fixed amount, and stores a powdered tea Tb discharged from the crushing unit 5. 29 and the powdered tea Tb stored in the storage unit 29
Is measured in a predetermined amount (for example, 0.5 g), and a container 8 such as a cup is
The measuring unit 30 configured to discharge the powdered tea Tb into the measuring unit 30 and the powdered tea Tb stored in the storage unit 29 form a bridge, and the powdered tea Tb that does not fall into the measuring unit 30 is formed. Stirring unit 31 that stirs inside storage unit 29 for breaking
A driving unit 32 for driving the measuring unit 30 to drop a certain amount of powdered tea Tb into a container 8 such as a cup; and a sensor 33 for detecting the amount of powdered tea Tb in the storage unit 29. ing.

The storage section 29 is made of a transparent synthetic resin, has an open upper surface, the discharge port 28 of the crushing section 5 fits into the storage section 29, and stores the powdered tea Tb in the storage section 29. Has been discharged into Further, a lid 34 is provided at the opening of the storage section 29, and the powdered tea T stored in the storage section 29 is provided.
b does not scatter in the main body 3. The lid 34
Is provided with a through hole 34a that fits into the discharge port 28 of the crushing unit 5, and the powdered tea Tb is discharged to the storage unit 29 through the hole 34a.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a measuring section connected to the bottom side of the storage section 29. The measuring section 30 includes a slide plate 35 movable in a lateral direction by a drive unit 32 described later, and a cover 36 covering the slide plate 35. The plate 35 is provided with a measuring hole 35a, and the powdered tea Tb in the storage portion 29 is provided in the hole 35a.
Enters. The slide plate 35 is a hook portion 35 of the plate 35.
When the drive unit 32 is moved to the left in FIG. 10 by the drive unit 32, excess powdered tea Tb is scraped off by the wall 29a of the storage unit 29 and the cover 36, and a certain amount is taken out. When it moves further to the left, a certain amount of powdered tea Tb is discharged to a container 8 such as a cup through a powdered tea discharge port 36a provided on the lower surface side of the cover 36.

Reference numeral 37 denotes a shutter provided at the tip of the projection 35c of the slide plate 35, so that steam rising from the container 8 such as a cup does not enter the storage 29 through the discharge port 36a and the measuring hole 35a. The shutter 37 is opened and closed by the movement of the slide plate 35. In addition, a scraper 36b is provided at the lower end side of the outlet 36a of the cover 36 to sweep out the powdered tea Tb stored on the upper surface side of the shutter 36.

31 is the powdered tea Tb stored in the storage unit 29
And a plurality of horizontal portions 31b for agitating the powdered tea Tb. The vertical portion 31a extends into the storage portion 29. The stirrer 31 is a slide plate 3
5 is fixed to the upper surface of the slide plate 35 by the drive unit 32.
Tea T in the storage unit 29 every time the tea is moved in the horizontal direction.
“b” hits the stirring section 31, and the bridge-like (bridging) powdered tea is broken and stirred.

Numeral 32 denotes a drive unit composed of an electromagnetic solenoid or the like, and a leading end 32a of the drive unit 32 is hung on a hook 35b of the slide plate 35.
The drive unit 32 operates in response to a signal from the controller and moves leftward in FIG. 10 to slide the slide plate 35. After a predetermined time (for example, 0.7 seconds), the drive unit 32 moves rightward in FIG. 10 to slide the slide plate 35, and returns to the original position.

33 is the powdered tea T stored in the storage section 29
A sensor for detecting the amount of b, for example, an infrared sensor can be used. The sensors 33 are provided on both sides of the storage unit 29 so as to sandwich the storage unit 29.
When b is stored, the light of the sensor 33 is blocked by the powdered tea Tb, and it is detected that the powdered tea Tb is stored. Since the light of the sensor 33 is transmitted through the storage unit 29, it detects that there is no or little powder tea Tb and outputs a signal to the control unit 6 described later.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a control unit which performs a crushing operation, a tea supply operation, and the like by pressing a signal from the sensor 33 and a button (not shown) of the operation panel 7.
It controls the above-described units. FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of the tea feeding operation.

Next, the operation of the tea dispenser 1 using the powdered tea supply device 2 of the present invention will be described. The lid 19 provided on the first hopper section 13 is removed, the tea leaves T are put in the same section 13, and the lid 19 is closed. At this time, water is poured into the tank 9 of the water heater 4. Next, when the power supply (not shown) of the tea supply machine 1 is turned on, the sensor 33 detects that there is no powdered tea Tb in the storage section 29 of the powdered tea supply device 2,
A signal is output to the control unit 6. When the control unit 6 receives the signal, the control unit 6 outputs a signal to the crushing unit 5 to operate the driving unit 18 and the crushing of the tea leaves T is started.

The tea leaves T in the first hopper section 13 are supplied to the first crushing section 14 and are sheared by the dies 20 and the cut sections 20a and 21b of the screw 21 to become powdered tea Ta having a uniform particle size. It is discharged to the two hoppers 15. The discharged powdered tea Ta is supplied between the crushing surfaces 22a and 23a of the upper mill 22 and the lower mill 23 through the material supply port 15a, and the powdered tea Ta is crushed by the crushing surfaces 22a and 23a.
While being cut, it rises or falls on the grinding surfaces 22a and 23a in the mortar shape, is finely crushed into powdered tea Tb, and is discharged to the receiving member 26 of the raking member 17. The scraping member 17 scrapes the discharged powdered tea Tb by the brush member 27 and discharges the powdered tea Tb to the storage unit 29 through the discharge port 28.

When the powdered tea Tb stored in the storage section 29 is stored beyond the position where the sensor 33 is attached, the light of the sensor 33 is blocked by the powdered tea Tb,
A signal is sent to the control unit 6. The control unit 6 detects that the storage is completed by a signal from the sensor 33, outputs a signal to the driving unit 18 of the crushing unit 5, and stops the crushing operation.

On the other hand, in the water heater 4, the water stored in the tank 9 is heated by the heater 10 to maintain a constant temperature.

When the boiling and crushing operations are completed, tea supply can be started. By pressing a button (not shown) provided on the main body 3, the control unit 6 outputs a signal to a pump (not shown) to operate the pump for a certain period of time (for example, 0.3 seconds). A small amount of hot water is poured into the cup 8 through a hot water supply pipe (not shown). At that time, a certain period of time (for example, 0.5 seconds) can be opened in order to release steam from the cup. Then, the control unit 6
Outputs a signal to the driving unit 32 of the powdered tea supply device 2,
When the slide plate 35 of the measuring section 30 is slid, the powdered tea Tb that has entered the measuring hole 35a is worn away by the wall 29a and the cover 36 of the storage section 29 and a certain amount (for example, 0.5
g), the shutter 37 moves together with the slide plate 35 to open, and a certain amount of powdered tea Tb stored in the measuring hole 35 a of the measuring unit 30 is discharged to the outlet 36 of the cover 36.
The powdered tea Tb is discharged to the container 8 through a. After a lapse of a predetermined time (for example, 0.7 seconds), the drive unit 32 operates according to a signal from the control unit 6, and the slide plate 35 is returned to the original position.

When the powdered tea Tb is discharged into the cup 8,
A certain time (for example, 0.5 seconds) is opened to release steam again, and a pump (not shown) is operated by a signal from the control unit 6 for a certain time (for example, 2 to 5 seconds), and the inside of the tank 9 is released. Hot water is poured into cup 8, powdered tea T in cup 8
b is stirred by the poured hot water to complete the tea supply. In other words, when roasting coffee or cocoa in powdered form, first pour a small amount of hot water into a cup, then add an appropriate amount of powdered coffee or cocoa, and immerse the powder and hot water in advance to make the powder The present invention focuses on a stirring means for preventing the water from floating on the surface of the hot water, and finally mixing the hot water by pouring a predetermined amount (a larger amount than the initial amount). Pour the powdered tea into the cup in the order of hot water-powdered tea-hot water, first put the powdered tea in a small amount of hot water, pre-soak the powdered tea and hot water, and finally pour a lot of hot water into it. A means is employed in which the powdered tea and hot water are convected upward from the bottom of the cup to agitate the two.

The tea supply is continued and the powdered tea T
If b is absent or small, the amount of powdered tea Tb is detected by the sensor 33 and the control unit 6 operates the crushing unit 5. In the crushing unit 5, the tea leaves T are preliminarily crushed in the first crushing unit 14 into powdered tea Tb as described above, and the powdered tea Ta is crushed in the second crushing unit 16 into powdered tea Tb, which is discharged to the storage unit 29. refill. Until the storage unit 29 is replenished with the powdered tea Tb, the operation panel 7 of the main body 3 displays that tea cannot be supplied, and does not supply tea.

Similarly, when the amount of hot water in the tank 9 is exhausted, the fact that the tea cannot be supplied is displayed on the operation panel 7 and the tea cannot be supplied. It remains displayed until it is displayed.

[0038]

The tea dispenser of the present invention pours hot water and powdered tea into a cup in the order of hot water-powdered tea-hot water, and further pours the amount of the first hot water into a small amount. Put the tea and pre-soak the powdered tea in the hot water so that the powdered tea does not float on the surface of the water, and pour a lot of hot water from above and the powdered tea and hot water convection from the bottom up in the cup Because it is a stirring means so that both are mixed, compared with a conventional tea machine with a special stirring device in the main body like a tea machine,
The structure of the entire tea dispenser can be simplified, and at the same time, maintenance is easy, and further, downsizing and cost reduction can be achieved.

Further, in the tea dispenser of the present invention, since the hot water and the powdered tea are poured into the cup outside the case and stirred as described above, the steam may cause the powdered tea to solidify at various places in the case. Can be prevented. ,

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a tea dispenser of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the tea dispenser with a front door and a lid opened.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view in which a pulverizing section is enlarged.

4A and 4B are views showing a die, in which FIG. 4A is a plan view and FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the screw.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the upper mill.

FIG. 7 is a top view of a lower mill.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the powdered tea supply device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a left side view of the powdered tea supply device of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a powdered tea supply device in the tea supply machine of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a tea supply (stirring) operation.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a conventional supply device.

FIG. 13 is a view showing another conventional supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 tea supply machine 2 powdered tea supply device 29 storage unit 30 measuring unit 31 stirring unit 33 sensor 35 slide plate 37 shutter 38 scraper T tea leaf Ta powdered tea Tb powdered tea

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a tea dispenser in which predetermined amounts of hot water (W) and powdered tea (Tb) are poured into a container (8) such as a cup and the two are stirred, hot water is contained in the container (8) such as the cup. (W) and powdered tea (Tb) are poured in the order of hot water (W) -powdered tea (Tb) -hot water (W). A tea dispenser comprising stirring means wherein the amount of hot water is larger than the amount of the first hot water.