JP2002012299A - Panel connection structure of beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the penetration of water or the like into a dispenser from the mutual connection part of panels by simple constitution. SOLUTION: A receiving part 60 bent from the upper end of the front surface part 50a of a front panel to extend almost horizontally is formed to the upper end of the front panel 50 arranged to the front part of a housing 16, and the projected part upwardly projected from the receiving part 60 up to predetermined height is formed to the rear end part of the receiving part 60 over the almost total length in the lateral direction of the front panel 50. A groove 66 capable of being fitted to the projected part 62 of the front panel 50 from above is formed to the undersurface of the front end of the top panel 64 arranged to the upper part of the housing 16, and a contact part 68 is formed on the front side of the groove part 66. The top panel 64 is arranged to the upper part of the housing 16 in such a state that the groove part 66 is fitted to the projected part 62 of the front panel 50 from above and, at this time, the contact part 68 comes into close contact with the receiving part 60 of the front panel 50.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a panel connection structure for a beverage dispenser, and more particularly, to a front panel provided at a front portion of a housing and a top panel provided at an upper portion of the housing. And the connection structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a beverage dispenser for dispensing a beverage (liquid) such as coffee or juice, a water tank for storing cooling water is provided inside a casing that opens upward, and the inside of the water tank is provided inside the water tank. , A storage tank for storing a required amount of beverage is stored in a state where a part of the storage tank is immersed in cooling water. Further, the evaporating pipe led out of the refrigerating device is arranged in a wound state surrounding the liquid storage tank. The cooling operation of the refrigerating device freezes the cooling water around the evaporating tube, and indirectly cools the beverage in the liquid storage tank through the cooling water cooled by the obtained ice blocks. The liquid storage tank is connected to a pouring cock, and the beverage in the tank is discharged through the pouring cock by opening the cock.

In the beverage dispenser, a front portion of the housing is provided with an operating portion for setting operating conditions and the like of the dispenser and a display portion on which electric parts such as lamps for displaying operating conditions and the like are arranged. Panels are provided. In addition, a top panel that covers an opening of the housing is provided at an upper portion of the housing. For connection of both panels, as shown in FIG. 4A, for example, the upper end of the front panel 10 is bent toward the rear (inside of the dispenser), and the bent portion 10a is connected to the lower surface of the front end of the top panel 12. Is screwed in a state in which the abutment is mounted. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the top panel 12 placed on the top of the housing has
There is also a configuration in which the lower surface of the bent portion 10a of the front panel 10 is screwed in a state where the lower surface is abutted and mounted.

[0004]

In the beverage dispenser, the lid disposed on the top panel 12 is removed to supply cooling water or beverage to the water tank or liquid storage tank.
During the supply, the cooling water or the beverage may spill on the top panel. In this case, when the top panel 12 and the front panel 10 are connected by the connection structure shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the cooling water or the beverage enters the inside of the dispenser from the joint of the connection portion. There was a risk of doing. For this reason,
The arrangement of the electric components disposed on the front panel needs to be set so that the cooling water and the beverage do not come into contact with each other, and the degree of freedom of arrangement is low. In addition, the control board connected to the operation unit and controlling the operation of the dispenser must be disposed inside a housing where there is no risk of contact with cooling water or beverage, and the operation unit disposed on the front panel There is a problem that the wiring to the substrate becomes longer and the assembling of the front panel becomes complicated. In addition, if a structure is adopted in which a sealing material such as packing is provided at the connection between the panels 10 and 12 to prevent the intrusion of cooling water or beverage, the structure becomes complicated and the number of parts is increased. You.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned problems inherent in the prior art, and has been proposed to solve the problem suitably. It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage dispenser panel connection structure having a simple configuration capable of preventing the intrusion of a beverage.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and appropriately achieve the intended purpose, a panel connection structure for a beverage dispenser according to the present invention is provided in a liquid storage tank disposed inside a housing. Beverage that is configured to pour out the stored beverage through a pouring cock, a front panel is provided at a front portion of the housing, and a top panel is provided at an upper portion of the housing. In the dispenser, a protrusion protruding from an upper end of the front panel and extending in a width direction, and a groove formed on a lower surface of a front end of the top panel and fitted into the protrusion of the front panel from above, It is characterized by comprising.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a preferred embodiment of a panel connection structure of a beverage dispenser according to the present invention will be described.
This will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiment, a case will be described in which a panel connection structure is employed for a beverage dispenser for dispensing a cold beverage such as iced coffee or juice.

FIG. 1 shows a main part of a panel connection structure according to an embodiment, and FIG. 2 shows an entire structure of a beverage dispenser employing the panel connection structure. In the illustrated beverage dispenser 14, a water tank 18 having a heat insulating structure is disposed inside a housing 16 that opens upward, and a storage amount in which a required amount of beverage (liquid) is defined inside the water tank 18. The liquid storage tank 20 stored in the portion 20a is housed at a predetermined interval from the inner surface of the water tank 18. Tap water as cooling water is supplied to a storage space 18a defined by an inner surface of the water tank 18 and an outer surface of the liquid storage tank 20 via a pipe extending from an external water system (not shown). Or supplied from the upper part by a container or the like and stored in a substantially full state. In the storage space 18a, an evaporating pipe 24 extending from the refrigeration device 22 disposed in the housing 16 is arranged in a wound state surrounding the storage tank 20, and the cooling operation of the refrigeration device 22 causes the storage space 18a The cooling water stored in the evaporator is frozen around the evaporator tube 24. In addition,
Each of the water tank 18 and the liquid storage tank 20 is opened upward, and cooling water or a beverage is supplied through the upper opening.

A circulating pump 26 communicating with the storage space 18a of the water tank 18 is provided inside the housing 16, and the cooling water is circulated by the pump 26 to freeze on the evaporating tube 24. The thickness of the ice block is made uniform, and the liquid storage tank 20 is cooled by the cooling water to indirectly cool the beverage in the storage section 20a.

A condenser 28 and a fan motor 30 constituting the refrigeration unit 22 are arranged in a vertical relationship on the rear side inside the housing 16, and a compressor 32 of the refrigeration unit 22 is mounted thereon. A suction port (not shown) is formed at a position below the fan motor 30 in the bottom plate 34 of the housing 16 to be placed. Then, the condenser 28 is air-cooled by the external air sucked from the suction port by the rotation of the fan motor 30, and the heat-exchanged air is blown to an outlet 64a
It is designed to be discharged from.

An outlet pipe 40 is connected to the bottom of the liquid storage tank 20 to be connected to an outlet cock 38 which is detachably mounted on a front panel 50 via a nut 36 to be described later. When the outlet cock 38 is opened, the beverage stored in the tank 20 is discharged.
It is to be poured out through. Further, below the pouring cock 38, a receiving tray 42 is detachably mounted on the housing 16 so as to be able to receive a beverage dripping from the pouring cock 38.

A drain hose 46 for discharging the cooling water overflowed from the water tank 18 is provided at a position below the water tank 18 inside the housing 16 so as to communicate with the tray 42, and overflow water is discharged to the tray 42. It is configured to be able to. In addition, a small-diameter drain hose 48 branched from the suction port of the circulation pump 26 is attached to the tray 42 inside the housing so as to be able to be pulled out. Then, with the receiving tray 42 removed from the housing 16 and the drain hose 48 attached to the receiving tray 42 pulled out to the outside, the cooling water in the water tank can be drained.

A front panel 50 is provided at the front of the housing 16 so as to be detachable.
Are provided so as to extend forward from the front panel 50. The front panel 50 is screwed to the mounting plate 52, the bottom plate 34, and the water tank 18 provided on the housing 16, respectively. The front part 5 of the front panel 50 above the pouring cock 38
0a, a control board 54 for controlling the operation of various devices of the beverage dispenser 14 and a liquid storage tank 20 are provided inside.
A display substrate 58 provided with an electric component 56 such as a lamp for displaying a liquid amount of the beverage stored in the display device 58 is provided. Although not shown, the front section 50a is provided with an operation section for setting operation conditions and the like of the beverage dispenser 14 and a display section for displaying an operation state at positions corresponding to the control board 54 and the display board 58.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the upper end of the front panel 50 has a receiving portion which is bent rearward (inside the dispenser) from the upper end of the front portion 50a and extends substantially horizontally. 60 are formed. Further, a protrusion 62 projecting upward from the receiving portion 60 at a predetermined height is provided at a rear end portion of the receiving portion 60.
Are formed over substantially the entire length of the front panel 50 in the width direction.

A top panel 64 is detachably mounted on the upper part of the housing 16, and the top panel 64 is
The upper opening 6 is closed. The front panel 5 is provided on the lower surface of the front end of the top panel 64.
A groove 66 that can be fitted from above is formed in the protrusion 62 of the zero, and a contact portion 68 is formed on the front side of the groove 66. The top panel 64 is mounted on the housing 16 with the groove 66 fitted into the projection 62 of the front panel 50 from above.
The contact portion 68 is configured to contact the receiving portion 60 of the front panel 50 closely at this time. In addition, on the lower surface of the top panel 64 on the rear side of the groove 66, a regulating portion 70 hanging down at a predetermined length is formed, and the rear surface of the projection of the front panel 50 comes into contact with the front surface of the regulating portion. .

The liquid storage tank 2 of the top panel 64
At a position corresponding to 0, an opening is provided to allow the supply of the beverage to the tank 20. The opening is opened and closed by the lid 72 together with the upper opening of the liquid storage tank 20. (See FIG. 2). That is, the supply of the beverage to the liquid storage tank 20 is performed by the lid 72.
This is performed from the opened upper opening with the cover 72 removed or the cover 72 rotated and opened with respect to the top panel 64. Further, the water tank 1 is provided on the top panel 64.
Water supply port 74 is provided at a position above lid 8 and covered with lid 72, and the supply of cooling water to water tank 18 is controlled by water supply port 74.
Through the network. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of outlets 64a are formed in the top panel 64 at positions corresponding to the condenser 28, and the air that has exchanged heat in the condenser 28 is discharged upward through the outlets 64a. I have to do it.

[0017]

Next, the operation of the panel connection structure of the beverage dispenser according to the above-described embodiment will be described. In the beverage dispenser 14, the lid 72 is removed from the top panel 64 or opened and rotated to supply tap water as cooling water to the water tank 18 via the water supply port 74. After the cooling water has been supplied to the water tank 18, when the cooling operation of the refrigeration apparatus 22 is started with the lid 72 attached to the top panel 64 or rotated and closed, the refrigerant flows into the evaporating pipe 24. Circulated supply. By circulating and supplying this refrigerant, the evaporating tube 24 is gradually cooled, and a part of the cooling water stored in the storage space 18 a of the water tank 18 starts freezing from the surface of the evaporating tube 24. The ice that grows on the surface of the evaporating tube 24 is connected to each other to form a cylindrical ice block, and the latent heat thereof cools the cooling water stored in the water tank 18 over time. When the circulation pump 26 is operated at a predetermined timing from the start of the operation of the refrigeration apparatus 22, the cooling water stored in the storage space 18a circulates around the ice block and is efficiently cooled.

Next, the lid 72 is removed or rotated and opened to open the upper opening of the liquid storage tank 20, and when the beverage is supplied to the tank 20 from the opening, the cooling water circulates into the liquid storage tank 20. The stored beverage is cooled efficiently,
The beverage is dispensed from the cock 38 by opening the dispensing cock 38.

When the cooling water is supplied to the water tank 18 or the beverage is supplied to the liquid storage tank 20, the cooling water or the beverage may spill on the upper surface of the top panel 64. In this case, the connection between the top panel 64 and the front panel 50 has a fitting structure of the protrusion 62 and the groove 66 as shown in FIG. And the beverage flows from the front end of the panel 64 to the surface of the front part 50a of the front panel 50, and both panels 50,
It does not penetrate the interior of the dispenser from the connection at 64. Even if the cooling water or the beverage enters the joint between the contact portion 68 of the top panel 64 and the receiving portion 60 of the front panel 50, the cooling water or the beverage enters the inside of the dispenser by the protrusion 62. Can be reliably prevented.

That is, since there is no possibility that the cooling water or the beverage comes into contact with the control board 54, the display board 58, and the electric component 56 provided inside the front panel 50, the two boards 54, 58 are arranged. Can be set freely. Further, the control board 54 and the display board 58 are connected to the front panel 50.
In this case, the wiring between the operation unit and the display unit provided on the panel 50 can be minimized, and the assembling of the front panel 50 can be simplified. Moreover, both panels 5
There is no need to dispose a sealing material such as a packing at the 0,64 connection part, so that the number of parts does not increase and the structure does not become complicated. In addition, since the height dimension of the top panel 64 facing upward from the receiving portion 60 of the front panel 50 in the embodiment is set small, the entire front surface of the beverage dispenser 14 is occupied by the front panel 50.
The design is easy and the appearance is good.

In the embodiment, a dispenser configured to cool the beverage stored in the liquid storage tank has been described as an example. However, the beverage is heated with hot water obtained by heating the water stored in the water tank with a heater or the like. The panel connection structure of the present invention can also be used for a dispenser that indirectly heats.

[0022]

As described above, in the panel connection structure of the beverage dispenser according to the present invention, water or the like can enter inside from the connection between the front panel and the top panel without using a sealing material such as packing. Can be prevented, and the configuration of the connecting portion can be simplified. Also, the connection between both panels is simplified. Further, since water or the like does not enter the inside of the front panel, the degree of freedom in arranging the electric components disposed on the panel is increased, and the control board and the like can be disposed, thereby facilitating wiring and assembly. It has advantages such as becoming.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of a beverage dispenser employing a panel connection structure according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the beverage dispenser according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection portion between the front panel and the top panel according to the embodiment in an exploded state.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a connection structure between a front panel and a top panel according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

16 housing, 20 liquid storage tank, 38 pouring cock, 50
Front panel 60 receiving part, 62 protruding part, 64 top panel, 66 groove part, 68 contact part

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Inoue 3-16 Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd., Sakaemachi Minamikan, Toyoake-shi, Aichi Prefecture (72) Inventor Toshinari Hirakawa 3-16-16 Sakaemachi Minamikan, Toyoake-shi, Aichi Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Yushi Yonekura 3-16, Sakaemachi South Building, Toyoake City, Aichi Prefecture F-term (reference) 3E082 AA01 BB01 CC01 EE01 EE05 FF09 3L045 AA07 BA01 BA02 CA01 DA02 EA03 GA02 HA01 PA04

Claims (2)

[Claims] A liquid storage tank (2) disposed inside a housing (16).
0), the beverage stored in the casing (16) is discharged through a pouring cock (38), and a front panel (50) is provided at the front of the casing (16). In a beverage dispenser in which a top panel (64) is disposed on an upper part of a body (16), a protrusion (62) projecting from an upper end of the front panel (50) and extending in a width direction; A groove (6) formed on the lower surface of the front end of the panel (64) and fitted from above into the projection (62) of the front panel (50).
6) A panel connection structure for a beverage dispenser, comprising: 2. A projection (6) on the front panel (50).
2) In the receiving part (60) formed on the front side, the top panel
The panel connection structure for a beverage dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the contact portion (68) formed on the front side of the groove (66) of the (64) is in close contact with the groove.