JP2002029597A - Beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently cool a beverage stored in a beverage tank by sufficiently circulating a cooling water stored in a water tank even to a region wherein the beverage tank is arranged. SOLUTION: In a steam generating tube 29, a guiding member 35 which surrounds a screw 34 is arranged. Then, on the rear wall 37 of the guiding member 35, a water rectifier 38 which tilts in a manner to approach the beverage tank 16 closer to the lower side is formed. On the bottom plate 14a of the water tank 13, a slope 39a which tilts downward toward the rear side is formed. Then, one section of a water current generated by the rotation of the screw 34 is guided to the rear side of the water tank 13 by the slope 39a. Then, on the bottom plate 14a of an internal finishing 14 facing a tank housing space S1, a guiding section 18 is projected in a manner to correspond with the rear section of the beverage tank 16. In this case, the water current which hits the guiding surface 18a on the rear side of the guiding section 18 moves from the bottom to the top along the body section of the beverage tank 16.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage dispenser, and more particularly, to a method in which a part of cooling water stored in a water tank is frozen around an evaporating pipe to be stored in a beverage tank stored in the water tank. Ice-cold beverage dispenser configured to cool a beverage in use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a beverage dispenser for dispensing a cold beverage such as iced coffee or juice, a water tank in which cooling water is stored is disposed inside a housing, and a required amount of water is stored in the water tank. Is stored in a state where a part of the beverage is stored in the cooling water. Further, an evaporating pipe extending from the refrigeration apparatus is arranged in a wound state surrounding the beverage tank, and a part of the cooling water is frozen around the evaporating pipe by a cooling operation of the refrigeration apparatus. Then, by rotating a screw disposed inside the evaporating tube by a motor, a downward water flow is generated in the cooling water cooled by the obtained ice blocks, and the water is circulated around the beverage tank, and the tank is circulated. It is configured to indirectly cool the beverage inside. In addition, the beverage tank is connected to a pouring cock arranged at the front of the housing, and by opening the cock,
The beverage in the tank is dispensed through a dispensing cock.

[0003]

In the above-described conventional beverage dispenser, since the evaporating pipe is arranged in a wound state so as to surround the beverage tank, the evaporating pipe is disposed between the outer surface of the tank and the inner surface of the water tank. It is necessary to provide a gap in consideration of the thickness of the evaporator tube and ice blocks frozen on the evaporator tube. For this reason,
The pouring cock and the beverage tank disposed at the front of the housing are separated from each other in position, and the pouring pipe that connects and connects the two is elongated, and the beverage in the beverage tank is supplied to the pouring cock via the pouring pipe. It is pointed out that the temperature tends to rise during the process. In addition, if the pouring pipe is long, the amount of the beverage that rises in temperature when the pouring interval is long increases, and there is a risk that the beverage to be poured first after resuming has a temperature unsuitable for drinking. Therefore, conventionally, the thickness of the ice blocks frozen on the evaporating tubes is set to be thin to shorten the piping distance between the beverage tank and the spout cock.However, in this case, the ice blocks are melted in a short time. The operation interval of the refrigeration system has been shortened, causing a problem of increasing running costs.

[0004] Therefore, one proposal for solving the above-mentioned problem has been filed by the present applicant as an invention "beverage dispenser". In the beverage dispenser according to the earlier application, a beverage tank is housed in a front part close to a dispensing cock arrangement position inside a water tank for storing cooling water, and an evaporating tube is housed in a rear part separated from the tank. This shortens the piping distance between the beverage tank and the spout cock,
It is possible to suppress a rise in the temperature of the beverage to be dispensed.

Here, the size of the ice block frozen on the evaporator tube varies depending on the fluctuation of the ambient temperature of the beverage dispenser. The gap between them becomes narrow, and the cooling water becomes difficult to flow. In this case, in the beverage dispenser filed earlier, the beverage tank is disposed outside the evaporating tube, and the screw is disposed inside the evaporating tube. Also, the cooling water does not efficiently flow outside the evaporating tube, and the cooling water circulates only inside the ice block. That is, there is a problem that the cooling water is not sufficiently circulated in the region where the beverage tank is disposed, and the cooling efficiency of the beverage stored in the beverage tank is reduced. It has become a challenge.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems inherent in the prior art, and has been proposed to appropriately solve the problem. Circulate enough to the area where
It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage dispenser capable of achieving efficient cooling of a beverage stored in the tank.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to overcome the above problems and appropriately achieve the intended purpose, a beverage dispenser according to the present invention comprises a water tank for storing cooling water and a water tank in which the cooling water is immersed. A beverage tank that is stored in a water tank and stores a beverage, and is stored in a state of being immersed in cooling water at a position inside the water tank that is separated from the beverage tank, and is cooled by a refrigerant supplied from a refrigeration apparatus and cooled. An evaporating tube for partially freezing, and a screw that is located inside the evaporating tube, generates a downward flow of cooling water by being rotated by a motor, and circulates the cooling water inside the water tank. A water flow adjusting plate that is inclined at a required angle so as to guide the water flow generated by the screw toward the beverage tank is provided inside the evaporator tube, and a water tank that faces below the evaporator tube. The bottom plate, and characterized by forming an inclined surface inclined downward toward a direction away from the beverage tank.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a beverage dispenser according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings by way of preferred embodiments. FIG. 1 shows the entire structure of a beverage dispenser according to an embodiment. In the beverage dispenser 10, a gantry 12 is disposed on a bottom plate 11a inside a housing 11 that opens upward. At the same time, a water tank 13 having a heat insulating structure is placed on the gantry 12. The water tank 13 is formed by integrally foaming a heat insulating material 15 with a predetermined thickness on the outside of a box-shaped interior 14 opening upward, and inside the water tank 13 (in the interior 14), a tank accommodating space S ₁ positioned on the front side, and the evaporation pipe accommodating space S ₂ located on the rear side are defining in communicating state. Then, in both storage spaces S ₁ and S ₂ , tap water as cooling water is stored in a substantially full state.

In the tank storage space S ₁ of the water tank 13,
As shown in FIG. 2, a storage unit 1 internally defining a required amount of beverage.
Two beverage tanks 16, 16 stored in 6 a are stored in parallel along the front surface of the housing 11 while being spaced apart in the width direction. Each beverage tank 16 is provided with a corresponding guide portion 18 provided on the inner bottom portion of the water tank 13 (the bottom plate 14a of the interior 14).
In a state of being placed on a (to be described later), it is attached to the water tank 13 via an attachment (not shown). In addition, both beverage tanks 1
6 and 16 are arranged with a predetermined gap with respect to the inner side surface of the water tank 13, and are configured such that the cooling water flows smoothly around the outer periphery of both beverage tanks 16 and 16. In addition, a space through which the cooling water flows is defined between the outer bottom surface of the beverage tank 16 placed on each of the guides 18 and the inner bottom surface of the water tank 13.

At the bottom of the water tank 13, each beverage tank 1
At a position corresponding to 6, a dispensing pipe 20 having one end connected to the bottom of the beverage tank 16 is provided. The other end of each of the pouring pipes 20 is connected to a corresponding pouring cock 23 which is removably provided via a nut 22 to a front panel 21 provided at a front portion of the casing 11. By opening the pouring cock 23, the beverage stored in the corresponding beverage tank 16 is discharged.
It is to be poured out through. Further, below each pouring cock 23, a receiving tray 24 is provided detachably with respect to the front panel 21 so as to be able to receive a beverage dripping from the pouring cock 23. In addition, the front panel 21 is arrange | positioned in parallel at the front part of the housing | casing 11 corresponding to each beverage tank 16, as shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 41 indicates a top panel that opens and closes an upper opening of the housing 11, and reference numeral 42 indicates
The lid which opens and closes the opening of each beverage tank 16 is shown.

As shown in FIG. 1, a bottom plate 11 of the housing 11 is provided.
a, a compressor 26, a fan motor 27 for a condenser, and a condenser 28 constituting a refrigerating device 25 are arranged, and an evaporating tube 29 derived from the refrigerating device 25 is provided in an evaporating tube storage space in the water tank 13. in S _2, it is housed and arranged in a state of being wound helically. That is, by cooling by circulating and supplying a refrigerant to the evaporation pipe 29 by the cooling operation of the refrigeration apparatus 25, is freezing a portion of the cooling water is reserved in the evaporation pipe accommodating space S ₂ around the evaporated Hatsukan 29 , To produce a cylindrical ice block 30. The operation of the refrigerating device 25 is controlled by the ice thickness detecting means 31 disposed in the vicinity of the evaporating tube 29 so that an ice block 30 having a constant thickness is generated on the surface of the evaporating tube 29. Evaporation tube 2
9 is positioned such that its lower end faces upward from the inner bottom surface of the water tank 13 by a required height.

The evaporating tube storage space S ₂ in the water tank 13
As shown in FIG. 1, a motor 33 is disposed in an inverted state via a mounting plate 32, and a screw 34 rotated by the motor 33 is wound around the evaporating pipe 29.
It is arranged to face inside. Then, by rotating the screw 34 by the motor 33, the evaporating tube housing space S
The cooling water in the ₂ to generate a downward flow, with make uniform the thickness of the ice block 30 to be frozen in the evaporation tube 29, the cooling water between the evaporation pipe accommodating space S ₂ and the tank accommodating space S ₁ Circulating (see FIG. 2), the two beverage tanks 16,
It is configured to uniformly cool the beverage 16 and indirectly cool the beverage.

FIG. 1 and FIG.
As shown in the figure, a guide member 35 formed in a substantially rectangular cylindrical shape that opens upward and downward hangs with the upper end thereof disposed on the mounting plate 32 so as to surround the screw 34. Both side walls 36 facing the width direction of the guide member 35,
A plurality of square holes (holes) 36a through which the cooling water flows are respectively formed in the position 36 above the screw 34. In addition, the lower part of the rear wall 37 (the wall separated from the beverage tanks 16, 16) of the guide member 35 which faces downward from the screw 34, the lower part of the beverage tank 1
A water flow adjusting plate 38 which is inclined at a required angle so as to be close to 6, 16 is bent. With respect to the inclination angle of the water flow adjusting plate 38, the cooling water flowing by the water flow generated by the rotation of the screw 34 is supplied to the lower part of the evaporating pipe 29 on the side of the beverage tank, and to a concave portion 39 and guide portions 18 Is set to guide toward the boundary of That is, the cooling water guided by the water flow adjusting plate 38 efficiently flows into the area where the beverage tanks 16 and 16 are disposed (tank storage space S ₁ ) after passing below the evaporating pipe 29. I have.

The bottom plate 14 of the interior 14 in the water tank 13
As shown in FIG. 1, a concave portion 39 that is recessed downward is formed from the inside of the evaporating tube 29 to the tank storage space S ₁ , as shown in FIG. The space between the lower end and the concave portion 39 is formed so as to define a required gap allowing the flow of the cooling water. In addition, the bottom surface of the concave portion 39 is set so as to be inclined downward toward the rear (in a direction away from the beverage tanks 16, 16), and a part of the water flow generated by the rotation of the screw 34 is reduced by the inclined surface 39 a. 13 is configured to be guided toward the rear side.

[0015] The interior 1 facing the tank accommodating space S ₁
As shown in FIG.
Guide portions 18 that stand up at a predetermined height are provided at positions spaced apart in the width direction corresponding to the rear portions of the beverage tank 16 at the rear portions of the beverage tank 16. Is placed, a space through which cooling water flows is defined between the outer bottom surface of the beverage tank 16 and the inner bottom surface of the water tank 13. The guide portion 18 has a truncated pyramid shape, and functions to guide the water flow hitting the guide surface 18 a on the rear side from the bottom to the top along the body of the beverage tank 16. Further, on the inner front surface of the water tank 13, as shown in FIG. 2, a rectifying portion 40 projecting inward in a trapezoidal shape is provided at a position facing between the two beverage tanks 16, 16, over the entire length in the vertical direction. The beverage tanks 16, 1
The cooling water flowing on the front side of 6 is made to flow between the two beverage tanks 16, 16 or toward the side face side of each beverage tank 16 separated by the rectifying section 40.

[0016]

Next, the operation of the beverage dispenser according to the embodiment will be described. In the beverage dispenser 10, when the operation of the refrigerating device 25 is started, the refrigerant is circulated and supplied to the evaporating pipe 29 to be cooled over time, and the screw 33 is started to rotate by the motor 33. Thus the cooling water which is reserved in the evaporation pipe accommodating space S ₂ of the water tank 13 is gradually cooled while being agitated with the rotation of the screw 34, a portion of the evaporator tube 29
Begin to freeze on the surface of the. The ice that grows on the surface of the evaporating tube 29 is connected to each other to form a cylindrical ice block 30, and the latent heat cools the cooling water stored in the water tank 13 with time.

Further cooling water in a fluidized state without lead to freezing is also to be circulated between the evaporation pipe accommodating space S ₂ and the tank accommodating space S ₁ by the screw 34, the water tank 13
Is gradually cooled by the latent heat of the ice block 30. That is, when the screw 34 rotates, the cooling water staying in the vicinity of the screw 34 flows toward the inner bottom surface of the water tank 13 along the water flow adjusting plate 38 of the guide member 35 as shown by an arrow in FIG. Guided by the water flow adjusting plate 38, the concave portion 39 and the guide portions 18, 1
Cooling water flowing toward the boundary between the 8 flows into the tank accommodating space S ₁ through the lower ice blocks 30 grown on the surface of the evaporator tube 29. And the guide surface 1 of the guide portions 18, 18
8a, 18a is guided to flow upward from below, and the cooling water is supplied to the beverage tanks 16, 1
6, flows upward along the rear trunk.

Here, the ice block 30 is attached to the detecting means 3.
1 keeps a constant thickness, but may grow larger than the set thickness due to fluctuations in the ambient temperature or the like.
And the beverage in the tank may freeze. However, in the beverage dispenser 10 of the embodiment, since a part of the cooling water is configured to flow between the beverage tanks 16 and 16 and the ice blocks 30, the ice block 30 grows until the ice blocks 30 contact the tanks 16 and 16. Can be suppressed, and freezing of the beverage in the tank can be prevented.

The cooling water that does not hit the guides 18, 18 flows forward in the space between the outer bottom surfaces of the drinking tanks 16, 16 and the inner bottom surface of the water tank 13, and then flows to the inside front surface of the water tank 13. It flows upward along. And drinking tank 1
The cooling water flowing on the front sides of the beverage tanks 16 and 16 is guided by the flow straightening unit 40 so as to flow between the two beverage tanks 16 and 16 or toward the side face side where the beverage tanks 16 are separated.
That is, the cooling water efficiently flows around the two beverage tanks 16, 16, and the beverage stored in each beverage tank 16 can be cooled uniformly.

A part of the cooling water flowing toward the concave portion 39 of the water tank 13 by the rotation of the screw 34 is
The cooling water flows to the rear side along the inclined surface 39a of the concave portion 39, and the cooling water flows as shown in FIG.
It flows upward along the ice block 30 at a position separated from the block 16. That is, the rear portion of the ice block 30 is also efficiently used for cooling the cooling water, and the cooling capacity is improved.

By opening the pouring cock 23 provided on the front panel 21, the beverage stored in the beverage tank 16 cooled by the cooling water as described above is supplied to the pouring pipe 20. After the circulation of the cock 23
It is poured out from. In this case, since the evaporating pipe 29 is not arranged outside the beverage tank 16, the beverage tank 1
The gap defined between the outer surface of the water bath 6 and the inner surface of the water tank 13 may be any size as long as the cooling water can flow, and it is not necessary to consider the thickness of the evaporating tube 29 and the ice block 30 frozen to the evaporating tube 29.
That is, the beverage tank 16 can be housed and arranged in the front part of the water tank 13 so as to be close to the front part of the housing 11, and the piping distance between the tank 16 and the spout cock 23 is shortened,
It is possible to suppress the temperature of the beverage in the beverage tank 16 from rising while the beverage reaches the pouring cock 23 via the pouring pipe 20. In addition, since the length of the dispensing pipe 20 is shortened, even when the dispensing interval is long, it is possible to prevent the first beverage to be dispensed after resuming the temperature from becoming unsuitable for drinking. Further, since the evaporating pipe 29 is arranged away from the beverage tank 16, the thickness of the ice block 30 can be set large,
The operation interval of the refrigerating device 25 is lengthened, and the running cost is reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where two drink tanks are stored in the water tank has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the number of drink tanks stored in the water tank may be one or three. It may be the above.

[0023]

As described above, in the beverage dispenser according to the present invention, by providing the water flow adjusting plate for guiding the water flow generated by the screw toward the beverage tank, the cooling water is supplied to the area where the beverage tank is disposed. It can be circulated efficiently. Therefore, the beverage stored in the beverage tank can be efficiently cooled. In addition, the cooling water circulates on the side of the evaporating tube at a position away from the beverage tank by the inclined surface formed on the bottom plate of the water tank, and efficient cooling of the cooling water with ice blocks frozen on the evaporating tube is achieved. It has the advantage of increased capacity.

Further, a guide portion for guiding the water flow generated by the screw upward from the bottom is provided on the bottom plate of the water tank facing the lower portion of the beverage tank facing the evaporator tube, so that the evaporator tube is frozen. Cooling water flows between the ice block and the beverage tank, and it can be suppressed that the ice block grows until it contacts the tank, so that freezing of the beverage in the tank can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view of a beverage dispenser according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a water tank and a beverage tank according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the beverage dispenser according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 13 water tank, 14a bottom plate, 16 beverage tank, 18 guide, 25 refrigeration device 29 evaporator tube, 33 motor, 34 screw, 35 guide member 36a square hole (hole), 38 water flow adjusting plate, 39a inclined surface

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yushi Yonekura 3-16 Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd., Sakaemachi Minamikan, Toyoake-shi, Aichi Prefecture (72) Inventor Yoshiyuki Hirate 3-16-16 Sakaemachi Minamikan, Toyoake-shi, Aichi Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshinari Hirakawa 3-16, Sakae-cho Minamikan, Toyoake-shi, Aichi F-Term (in reference) 3E082 AA01 BB04 CC01 EE05 3L045 AA04 BA01 BA10 CA01 DA01 EA03 GA01 HA01 KA15 PA04

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A water tank (13) for storing cooling water, a beverage tank (16) stored in the water tank (13) in a state of being immersed in the cooling water, and storing a beverage; and an inside of the water tank (13). An evaporating pipe (29) that is stored in a state immersed in cooling water at a position separated from the beverage tank (16) and is cooled by a refrigerant supplied from a refrigeration device (25) and freezes a part of the cooling water. The cooling tank is located inside the evaporating pipe (29), and is rotated by a motor (33) to generate a downward water flow in the cooling water to generate the water tank (1).
A screw (34) for circulating the cooling water inside 3), and the water flow generated by the screw (34) is guided toward the beverage tank (16) inside the evaporating pipe (29). A water flow adjusting plate (38) inclined at a required angle is arranged, and a bottom plate (14a) of a water tank (13) facing below the evaporating pipe (29),
A beverage dispenser characterized by forming an inclined surface (39a) inclined downward in a direction away from the beverage tank (16). 2. A guide member (35) having a hole (36a) through which cooling water flows is provided inside the evaporating pipe (29).
(34), and below the screw (34) of the guide member (35), the water flow adjusting plate (38) is required to move in the direction approaching the beverage tank (16) as the water flow adjusting plate (38) moves downward. The beverage dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the beverage dispenser is provided at an angle. 3. The bottom plate (14a) of the water tank (13) facing the lower part of the beverage tank (16) facing the evaporating pipe (29), the water flow generated by the screw (34) is applied from bottom to top. The beverage dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a guide portion (18) that guides the drink dispenser.