JP2002308391A - Beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a beverage dispenser which accurately, automatically and quantitatively dispenses a beverage with no fluctuation in the dispensing amount of the beverage regardless of the internal pressure fluctuation of the container or of the degree of the fluctuation among beverage containers where the beverage is dispensed. SOLUTION: This beverage dispenser is provided with a pressure sensor 29a for repeatedly detecting the internal pressure of a beer barrel 40 while beer 41 is dispensed into a beer mug 50 and a control device 7 for controlling a dispense valve 20 by opening or closing the same after calculating the total of an instant dispensed amount (total dispensed amount) in accordance with each internal pressure detected repeatedly by the sensor 29a and comparing the total with a fixed amount.

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 beverage dispenser that sends out a beverage to a beverage container by applying pressure to a beverage container containing the beverage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, there has been known a beverage dispenser for automatically quantifying a beverage such as beer or a soft drink into a drinking container such as a paper cup, a glass, or a mug. The beverage dispenser is configured such that a predetermined amount of a beverage container placed on a placing table disposed below the spout is opened by opening an open / close valve provided at the spout to which the beverage is supplied for a predetermined time. Dispensing and dispensing beverages, such a beverage dispenser sends a gas such as carbon dioxide from a gas cylinder also installed outside to a beverage container such as a beer barrel installed outside the beverage dispenser. An internal pressure is applied, and a beverage such as beer is supplied from the beverage container by the applied pressure.

[0003] Here, a gas cylinder is usually provided with a gas pressure regulator, and the pressure (gas pressure) of the gas delivered from the gas cylinder can be arbitrarily adjusted.
After the gas cylinder and the beverage container are connected directly or indirectly, and the beverage container and the beverage dispenser, respectively, the gas pressure regulator is operated to operate the gas container at the ambient temperature (outside temperature) where the beverage container is installed. (Gas temperature) is adjusted to a predetermined gas pressure.

As described above, by adjusting the gas pressure to a predetermined value, the pressure applied to the inside of the beverage container becomes the predetermined gas pressure. From the beverage container, a constant pressure corresponding to the predetermined gas pressure is obtained. The beverage is supplied at a flow rate, and the opening and closing valve is opened for a certain time corresponding to the capacity of the drinking container, whereby a fixed amount of the beverage is automatically metered and poured into the drinking container.

[0005]

As described above, the beverage dispenser has a dispensing flow rate v per unit time.
Under the assumption that [ml / sec] is constant, the opening / closing valve is opened for a certain time t [sec], thereby distributing a constant amount V (= v × t) [ml] of beverage to the drinking container. Dispensing, but when the pressure applied to the beverage container fluctuates,
The dispensed flow rate v per unit time changes, and the dispensed dispensed amount V changes. Here, it is considered that the pressure applied to the beverage container does not fluctuate since it is maintained substantially constant by the gas pressure regulator provided in the gas cylinder.

However, this gas pressure regulator is actually
Opening and closing operation within a range of a predetermined pressure value range, and when the pressure P1 that is higher by ΔP1 than the set reference value P0 is reached,
The internal valve is closed to stop gas delivery, and the reference value P0
When the pressure P2 lower by ΔP2 is reached, the internal valve is opened to start gas delivery. For this reason, the gas pressure applied to the inside of the beverage container is not constant but fluctuates in a range from the high pressure P1 to the low pressure P2.

[0007] On the other hand, the fluctuation range of the internal pressure of the beverage container during the pouring of the beverage into a full drinking container varies depending on the amount of the beverage remaining in the beverage container (remaining amount). The fluctuation range of the internal pressure due to the delivery of one cup of beverage is large, and when the remaining amount is small, the fluctuation range of the internal pressure due to the delivery of the beverage of one drinking container is small.

For this reason, when the remaining amount of the beverage is large, the internal valve may be activated to recover the internal pressure when the internal pressure falls below the low pressure P2 during the dispensing of one drinking container. Is small, the internal pressure does not fall below the low pressure P2 during the dispensing of one drinking container, and the internal valve does not operate. Therefore, when the remaining amount is large and the internal valve is operated during the dispensing, the amount of the beverage to be dispensed is substantially constant between the drinking containers, but the remaining amount decreases and the internal valve is operated during the dispensing. Otherwise, there will be a difference in the dispensed amount between each drinking container.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the amount of drink dispensed between drink containers into which the beverage is dispensed varies regardless of the internal pressure fluctuation of the beverage container and regardless of the degree of the internal pressure fluctuation. It is an object of the present invention to obtain a beverage dispenser in which the accuracy of automatic quantification is improved so as not to cause the problem.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, a beverage dispenser according to the present invention (Claim 1) is provided by opening and closing an opening and closing valve provided at a spout to which a beverage is supplied. In a beverage dispenser for dispensing and dispensing the beverage delivered from the beverage container to which pressure has been applied to a drinking container disposed below the spout,
Pressure detection means for detecting the pressure during the dispensing of the beverage, such that the dispensing and dispensing amount of the beverage to the drinking container is substantially constant regardless of the fluctuation of the pressure during the dispensing of the beverage. And control means for adjusting the opening time of the on-off valve in accordance with a change in the pressure detected by the pressure detecting means during the dispensing of the beverage.

Here, the drinking container includes a paper cup, a plastic cup, a glass, a cup, a mug and the like, and is not directly provided for drinking, but is a pitcher for further distributing to the mug and the like. Including. In addition, the beverage includes various beverages such as sparkling beverages such as beer, carbonated beverages, soft drinks, and mineral water.

The pressure applied to the inside of the beverage container may be any type of medium, such as a gas pressure, a liquid pressure, a solid pressure, and the like. In the case where the beverage is a carbonated beverage or a sparkling beverage, In addition, a gas (gas) can be dissolved in the beverage while applying a pressure to the beverage. Therefore, it is preferable to use a gas pressure, particularly a carbon dioxide gas pressure.

[0013] The pressure detecting means may include:
Any type may be used as long as the pressure is repeatedly detected so that the fluctuation of the pressure in the beverage container can be detected. That is, it has a response and pressure detection resolution capable of detecting the pressure at least twice during the dispensing of the beverage, or detecting the pressure at least once during the dispensing and at least once during the dispensing. Should be fine.

The control means stores, for example, a fixed amount V0 [ml] to be poured into the drinking container, and stores the pressure Pi [P] at minute time intervals Δt [sec] detected by the pressure detecting means.
a], and the product vi of the injection flow rate vi [ml / sec] (the injection flow rate vi corresponding to each pressure Pi is experimentally obtained and stored in advance) and the minute time interval Δt.・ Δt
When the sum ［vi · Δt [ml] of [ml] reaches the stored fixed amount V0, the open / close valve is closed.
What is necessary is just to adjust the opening time of the opening / closing valve.

As described above, according to the beverage dispenser of the first aspect, the pressure detecting means detects the pressure inside the beverage container during the dispensing of the beverage, and the control means detects the pressure detected by the pressure detecting means. By adjusting the opening time of the opening and closing valve for starting and stopping the dispensing of the beverage in accordance with the pressure fluctuation during the dispensing, the beverage can be transferred to the drinking container regardless of the pressure fluctuation inside the beverage container during the dispensing of the beverage. Can be maintained substantially constant.

Further, the beverage dispenser of the present invention (claim 2) is the beverage dispenser according to claim 1,
The beverage is a sparkling beverage in which carbon dioxide gas is dissolved, the pressure is a pressure due to carbon dioxide gas, and the pressure detecting means is provided in the beverage container.

The beverage dispenser according to claim 2 is
The type of beverage and the type of pressure medium added to the beverage container,
When the beverage is a sparkling beverage in which carbon dioxide gas is dissolved, by using carbon dioxide gas as a pressure medium, the carbon dioxide gas is compressed inside the beverage container. And dissolve in the beverage, so that the carbon dioxide gas can be prevented from being released from the beverage, and by arranging the pressure detecting means in the beverage container, the pressure fluctuation inside the beverage container can be detected with good response. be able to.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a beverage dispenser according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited by the embodiment.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a main part of a beer dispenser as an embodiment of a beverage dispenser according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an overall view of a beer supply system including the beer dispenser shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. Is a control block diagram of the control device of the beer dispenser shown in FIG. 1, and FIG.
4 is a flowchart showing a process of the control device shown in FIG.

The beer dispenser 1 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, a beer barrel 40 as a beverage container containing beer 41 as a beverage and a gas cylinder 30 in which carbon dioxide gas 32 is sealed are connected by conduits 28a, 28b and 28c of the beer dispenser 1, respectively. Have been. A gas pressure regulator 31 is connected to the gas cylinder 30, and the gas pressure regulator 31 is connected to the gas cylinder 30.
The pressure of the carbon dioxide gas 32 delivered from the
P2; however, the pressure is reduced within P1> P2).

Beer dispenser 1 through conduit 28c
Is introduced through an electropneumatic regulator valve 22c to an internal conduit 22b leading to an outlet tap and a conduit 28b leading to a beer barrel 40. Here, the electropneumatic regulator valve 22c
Is a pressure reducing valve that varies the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas 32 supplied into the beer barrel 40 according to the internal temperature of the beer barrel 40.

The beer barrel 40 has a dispense head 2
9 is attached to the dispensing head 29.
Is provided with a pressure sensor 29a for detecting the pressure (gas pressure) of the carbon dioxide gas 32 introduced from the conduit 28b, that is, the pressure inside the beer barrel 40. The pressure sensor 29a has a small time interval Δt seconds (for example, approximately 1 second interval).
This gas pressure is detected, and the detected gas pressure is transmitted to the control device 7.

The dispense head 29 is connected to a conduit 28b into which the carbon dioxide gas 32 is introduced, and a conduit 28a through which the beer 41 fed to the beer dispenser 1 passes by the gas pressure of the introduced carbon dioxide gas 32. Have been. Part of the carbon dioxide gas 32 introduced into the beer barrel 40 through the conduit 28b dissolves into the beer 41 by a capacity corresponding to the temperature of the beer 41.

Beer dispenser 1 through conduit 28a
Is passed through the internal conduit 22a, is discharged from the beer nozzle 6, and is poured into a beer mug 50 which is a drinking container set on the mug support 4. The internal conduit 22a passes through the inside of the cooling water tank 23 cooled by the cooling unit 24 in a spiral form, and the beer 41 passing through the internal conduit 22a passes through the inside of the cooling water tank 23. Meanwhile, it is cooled to a predetermined temperature.

At the discharge ends of the internal conduits 22a and 22b are provided the beer nozzle 6, the foam nozzle 2 and the discharge valve 20.
Is attached, and a mug support 4 is disposed below the tap. The beer nozzle 6 of the tap is a nozzle for discharging the beer 41 that has passed through the internal conduit 22a,
The foam nozzle 2 is connected to the beer 41 passing through the internal conduit 22a.
Is passed through the pores formed inside and on a predetermined wall surface,
This is a nozzle for making the beer 41 into fine-grained creamy foam 42 (hereinafter referred to as creamy foam 42) and pouring it onto the beer 41 by vigorously colliding with the carbon dioxide gas 32 passing through the internal conduit 22b.

The pouring valve 20 is a valve for switching between pouring and stopping the beer 41 from the beer nozzle 6 and pouring and stopping the creamy foam 42 from the foam nozzle 2, respectively. Is performed by the driving force transmitted from the discharge valve driving unit 12.

The mug supporting base 4 provided below the pouring tap has a substantially disc-shaped bottom plate for supporting the bottom surface of the beer mug 50 and a flat protruding portion for supporting a part of the peripheral surface of the beer mug 50. It consists of a backing plate, and is formed in a substantially inverted L-shaped cross section as shown in FIG. Note that a plurality of bottom plates having different height positions are provided so that the upper edges of the plurality of types of beer mugs 50 having different heights due to different capacities are supported at substantially the same height position. Of which
One corresponding to the capacity of the beer mug 50 may be selectively usable. For example, a plurality of support portions for engaging and supporting the bottom plate at different height positions are formed on the abutment plate, and the bottom plate is engaged with any of the support portions that match the capacity of the beer mug 50 by the operator's selection. You only need to support them.

The beer dispenser 1 is provided with a control device 7 which, as shown in the control block diagram shown in FIG. 3, receives inputs from the pour button 11 and the pressure sensor 29a. Is controlled in accordance with. This control is performed in response to the signal input from the dispensing button 11 for giving a signal to start the dispensing of the beer 41 from the beer nozzle 6 and the dispensing valve 2
0 is set to the beer dispensing state, the dispensing valve driving unit 12 is controlled so as to start dispensing the beer 41 from the beer nozzle 6, and the gas pressure Pi [Pa] sequentially input from the pressure sensor 29a at a minute time interval Δt. Flow rate vi corresponding to]
The product (instant dispensing amount) vi · Δt of [ml / sec] (the dispensing flow rate vi corresponding to each pressure Pi is experimentally obtained in advance and stored) and this minute time interval Δt. ml], and the sum of the instantaneous dispensing amount vi · Δt from the start of dispensing (total dispensing amount) Σvi · Δt [ml] is a predetermined amount to be dispensed into the beer mug 50, which is stored in advance. V0 [ml]
At the time of reaching, so as to close the discharge valve 20,
It controls the dispensing valve drive 12. After closing the pouring valve 20, the foaming nozzle
The dispensing valve drive unit 12 is controlled so that 2 is additionally dispensed for a predetermined time.

Next, the operation of the beer dispenser 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, this beer dispenser 1
Is filled with the beer 41 which is pressure-fed from the above-mentioned beer barrel 40 and cooled by the cooling water tank 23, and the supply is stopped by the closed pouring valve 20. ing.

Here, the operator operates the mug support 4.
Place an empty beer mug 50 on top and pour button 1
Press 1. By this operation, a signal indicating that the pouring button 11 is in the ON state is input to the control device 7 (step 1 (S1)). Upon receiving this signal, the control device 7 drives the discharge valve driving unit 12 and
2 switches the pouring valve 20 provided in the pouring tap to the beer pouring state (beer nozzle ON) (S)
2). As a result, the beer 41 pressure-fed in the internal conduit 22a is poured from the beer nozzle 6 of the pouring tap into the beer mug 50 placed on the mug support 4.

At about the same time as the start of the beer 41, the pressure Pi inside the beer barrel 40 detected by the pressure sensor 29a is sequentially input to the control device 7 at every Δt seconds (S3), and the control device 7 Reads the flow rate vi corresponding to the input pressure Pi with reference to a correspondence table or the like stored in advance (S4).

Further, the control device 7 calculates an instantaneous dispensing amount vi · Δt calculated as a product of the flow rate vi and the pressure detection time interval Δt (S5), and an instantaneous dispensing amount for each time interval Δt. Total dispensed amount Σv calculated as the sum of vi and Δt
i · Δt is calculated (S6), and the total dispensed amount Σvi · Δt
Reaches a predetermined amount V0 stored in advance (S
7) The above-mentioned pressure detection (S3) to comparison (S7) between the total dispensed amount Σvi · Δt and the fixed amount V0 (S7) are repeated at each time interval Δt.

Then, the total dispensed amount Σvi · Δt is a fixed amount V
When the value reaches 0, the control device 7 turns off the dispensing valve drive unit 12 to stop the dispensing of the beer 41 from the beer nozzle 6 (S8). As a result, even if the pressure inside the beer barrel 40 fluctuates while the beer 41 is being poured into the beer mug 50 for one cup (in the case of a large mug, about 15 to 20 seconds), The dispensed volume is always kept substantially constant.

After the pouring of the beer 41 is completed (S8),
The control device 7 turns on / off the discharge valve driving unit 12 so as to additionally discharge a predetermined amount of the creamy foam 42 from the foam nozzle 2.
OFF control is performed (S9). Due to the additional pouring of the creamy foam 42, the creamy foam 42 with a fine grain is placed on the liquid level of the liquid beer 41 poured into the beer mug 50.
Is provided by a predetermined amount.

As described above, according to the beer dispenser 1 of the present embodiment, the working pressure resolution of the gas pressure regulator 31 attached to the gas cylinder 30 is large or the response is dull. Even when the pressure inside the beer barrel 40 fluctuates during the pouring, the pressure sensor 29a repeatedly detects the internal pressure Pi of the beer barrel 40 at short time intervals Δt, and the control device 7 detects the internal pressure Pi repeatedly. The total dispensing amount Σvi ・ Δt, which is the sum of the instantaneous dispensing amounts vi ・ Δt according to the internal pressure Pi, is monitored, and the dispensing is performed such that the total dispensing amount Σvi ・ Δt always becomes a constant amount V0. Since the valve drive unit 12 is controlled, every time the beer 41 is dispensed, there is no difference in the dispensed amount, the accuracy of the automatic quantification is improved, and the reliability of the device can be improved.

[0036]

As described above, according to the beverage dispenser of the present invention (claim 1), the pressure detecting means detects the pressure inside the beverage container during the dispensing of the beverage, and the control means: The internal pressure of the beverage container during the dispensing of the beverage is adjusted by adjusting the opening time of the opening / closing valve for starting and stopping the dispensing of the beverage in accordance with the fluctuation of the pressure during the dispensing of the beverage detected by the pressure detecting unit. Irrespective of the variation, the amount of the beverage dispensed and poured into the drinking container can be maintained substantially constant.

According to the beverage dispenser of the present invention (claim 2), the carbon dioxide gas applies pressure to the inside of the beverage container and dissolves in the sparkling beverage, so that the carbon dioxide gas is prevented from falling out of the sparkling beverage. By arranging the pressure detecting means in the beverage container, the pressure fluctuation inside the beverage container can be detected with good response.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main part of a beer dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a beer supply system including the beer dispenser shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of a control device of the beer dispenser shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process of the control device shown in FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Beer dispenser (beverage dispenser) 2 Foam nozzle 4 Jug support stand (placement stand) 6 Beer nozzle 7 Control device (control means) 11 Discharge button 12 Discharge valve drive unit 20 Discharge valves (opening / closing valves) 22a, 22b Conduit 28a, 28b, 28c Conduit 29 Dispense head 29a Pressure sensor (pressure detecting means) 30 Gas cylinder 31 Gas pressure regulator 32 Carbon dioxide 40 Beer barrel 41 Beer (drink) 42 Creamy foam 50 Beer mug (drinking container)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Seiichi Hiei 1-1 1-1 Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Haruo Ota 1 Tanabe Nitta, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture No. 1 Inside Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takenobu Ishibashi 1-1-1 Tanabe Shinden, Kawasaki-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture F-term inside Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. 3E082 AA04 BB02 BB03 CC01 DD01 DD05 DD11

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A beverage delivered from a beverage container having an internally pressurized inside thereof is opened and closed by opening and closing an opening / closing valve provided at a spout to which the beverage is supplied. A beverage dispenser for dispensing and dispensing to a drinking container, wherein: a pressure detecting means for detecting the pressure during the dispensing of the beverage; and the beverage to the drinking container irrespective of a change in the pressure during the dispensing of the beverage. Control means for adjusting the opening time of the on-off valve in accordance with the fluctuation of the pressure detected by the pressure detecting means during the dispensing of the beverage, so that the dispensed and dispensed amount becomes substantially constant; A beverage dispenser comprising: 2. The beverage according to claim 1, wherein the beverage is a sparkling beverage in which carbon dioxide gas is dissolved, the pressure is a pressure by carbon dioxide gas, and the pressure detecting means is provided in the beverage container. A beverage dispenser according to claim 1.