JP2003012091A - Carbonated beverage feed circuit of beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To change the beverage into 'strong carbonated beverage', 'weak carbonated beverage', and 'non-carbonated beverage' without using any blend- regulator of cold water or carbonated water. SOLUTION: In a beverage dispenser which is equipped with a syrup line 7 connected to a syrup container 10, a carbonated water line 9 connected to a carbonator 17, a cold water line 8 connected water to a tap water line, and a spout nozzle 4 disposed on a vend stage 1a, and feeds syrup, carbonated water and cold water to a cup 19 through the spout nozzle based on the instruction, a flow regulator 20, a carbonated water valve 21, a cold water valve 22, and a non-return valve 23 are connected to the carbonated water line and the cold water line to merge both lines, and a branch line 26 is arranged between each line and each spout nozzle on the downstream side. When the beverage is sold, the opening/closing operation of the carbonated water valve and the cold water valve connected to the carbonated water line and the cold water line is controlled to the selection of 'strong carbonated beverage', 'weak carbonated beveragew', or 'non-carbonated beverage' together with the opening operation of the syrup valve and the dilution water valve of the designated beverage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to various syrup beverages as “strong carbonated beverage”, “weak carbonated beverage”, and “non-carbonated beverage”.
The present invention relates to a carbonated beverage supply circuit of a beverage dispenser to be supplied.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A beverage dispenser for selling various syrup beverages installed in restaurants, fast food restaurants, etc. is well known, and a conventional carbonated beverage supply circuit equipped in the beverage dispenser is shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, the beverage dispenser 1 has a bend stage 1a formed in the lower front portion of its main body cabinet, a refrigerator unit 2 and a cooling water tank 3 mounted inside the cabinet, and above the bend stage 1a. A plurality of (No1 to No3) spout nozzles (beverage pouring nozzles for mixing syrup and dilution water (carbonated water, cold water)) 4 corresponding to the beverages are arranged side by side in a concentrated manner and arranged in front of the cabinet. The operation panel 5 is provided with selection buttons 6 corresponding to various syrup beverages.

A syrup line 7, a cold water line 8 and a carbonated water line 9 leading to each of the spout nozzles 4 are provided inside the main body cabinet. Here, the syrup line 7 has a concentrated syrup at its starting end. Is connected to a syrup container 10 in which a cooling coil 11 immersed in water in a cooling water tank 3 and a syrup valve (electromagnetic valve) 12 are connected in the middle of the line. Further, in the cold water line 8 connected to the tap water, a water pump 13, a cooling coil 14 immersed in the cooling water tank 3, a blend regulator 15 for mixing strong carbonated water and cold water to make weak carbonated water, and a dilution water valve (electromagnetic valve). 16 are connected.
Further, the carbonated water line 9 is drawn out from the carbonator 17 submerged in the cooling water tank 3 and is piped between the blend regulator 15 and the dilution water valve 16 (strong carbonated beverage circuit). In addition, 18 is a carbon dioxide gas cylinder for supplying carbon dioxide gas to each syrup tank 10 and carbonator 17 under pressure, 19 is a cup set on the bend stage 1a, 20 is a flow regulator connected to the syrup line and dilution water line of each beverage system ( Flow rate adjusting valve).

With the above construction, when the cup 19 is set on the bend stage 1a and the desired beverage is designated by the selection button 6, the syrup valve 12 and the dilution water valve 16 of the selected beverage circuit are simultaneously opened, and the carbon dioxide gas pressure is reduced. The concentrated syrup pressure-fed from the syrup container 10 and the diluted water (carbonated water) mixed by the blend regulator 15 are quantitatively fed to the spout nozzle 4, and the syrup and the diluted water are mixed in the nozzle to the cup 19. It is well known that the ink is supplied by discharge. The time chart of the beverage supply operation is as shown in FIG. 3, and when the sales command is given, the syrup valve 12 and the dilution water valve 16 are started at the sales start (T1).
And the water pump 13 is turned on at the same time, and the sales operation ends
It is controlled to turn off at (T2).

In the beverage dispenser shown in the figure, No
The systems of 1 and No. 2 are "weakly carbonated drinks" and No. 3 is "strongly carbonated drinks", and the beverage supply circuit (No. 1, No.
In 2), the carbonated water supplied from the carbonator 17 through the carbonated water line 9 and the cold water pumped through the cold water line 8 are mixed by the blend regulator 15 to make weak carbonated water, which is used as dilution water and used as the spout nozzle 4. To be mixed with concentrated syrup. On the other hand, in the "strong carbonated drink" circuit (No3), the blend regulator 15 is not provided, and the strong carbonated water with a high gas volume produced by the carbonator 17 is supplied to the spout nozzle 4 without being diluted with cold water. There is. In addition, the flow rate is adjusted by the flow regulator 20 of the syrup line and the dilution water line for each beverage system.

Here, in order to change the finished beverage in the beverage systems No1 and No2 of FIG. 4 from "weakly carbonated beverage" to "strongly carbonated beverage" or "non-carbonated beverage", the setting is switched by the blend regulator 15. Next, FIG. 5 shows an assembly structure of the blend regulator 15. Figure 5 (a),
In (b), 15a is a bifurcated regulator body having two valve chambers of cold water and carbonated water, 15b is a nozzle, and 15 is a nozzle.
c and 15d are balls and springs forming a check valve, 15e is an inlet joint, 15f and 15g are connection joints corresponding to cold water and carbonated water connected to the inlet joint 15e, and 15h is lateral to the flow path of each connection joint. The adjusting orifice pin 15i is a dilution water outlet joint, 15j is a mounting metal, and the orifice pin 15h has a large-diameter and a small-diameter orifice hole 15h-1 and 15h-2 intersecting on the axis of the orifice pin 15h. Is open.

With this structure, the joints 15f and 15g
If each orifice pin 15h inserted in the is turned to the position of strong carbonic acid or weak carbonic acid using a screwdriver etc.,
The h-1 and 15h-2 are switched, and the dilution water (carbonated water) from the outlet joint 15i is switched to strong carbonated water and weak carbonated water. Further, when the cold water side orifice pin 15f is switched to the closed position, the cold water is not supplied and blended, and the diluted water becomes strong carbonated water.

[0008]

The conventional beverage supply circuit described above has the following problems in structure and management. That is, (1) In order to set the beverages produced in each beverage system to “strong carbonated beverage”, “weakly carbonated beverage”, and “non-carbonated beverage”, it is necessary to provide the blend regulator 15 for each beverage system, For example, in the beverage dispenser of Fig. 4, system No. 3 (set to "strong carbonated drink")
If you try to sell a "light carbonated drink" at
A cold water line blend regulator must be additionally installed, which requires a large change in the beverage circuit, resulting in high facility costs.

(2) In terms of management, when changing the sold beverages to "strong carbonated beverages", "weak carbonated beverages", and "non-carbonated beverages" at the location of the beverage dispenser, each beverage system must be changed. As described above, the orifice pin 15h of the blend regulator 15 is switched, and in accordance with this, the dip switch for setting the carbon dioxide volume is switched on the control panel of the controller provided in the beverage dispenser, and further, the flow rate of the diluting water. Troublesome setting for adjustment is necessary.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the blend regulator incorporated in the conventional beverage supply circuit is omitted, and the beverage produced in each beverage system is simply set on the keyboard of the controller. The purpose is to provide a carbonated beverage supply circuit for a beverage dispenser with improved management and functionality by improving the circuit so that it can be changed to "strong carbonated beverage", "weak carbonated beverage", and "non-carbonated beverage". .

[0011]

To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a syrup line connected to a syrup container of each beverage, a carbonated water line connected to a carbonator, a cold water line connected to a tap, and Equipped with a spout nozzle arranged on the bend stage for each beverage, concentrated syrup extracted from the syrup container based on the sales order and carbonated water, cold water were supplied at a predetermined mixing ratio and poured into the cup through the spout nozzle. In the carbonated beverage supply circuit of the beverage dispenser, a flow regulator and a syrup valve are connected to the syrup line piped between the syrup container and the spout nozzle for each beverage system, and the carbonated water line and the cold water line are respectively flowed. Regulator, open / close valve and check bar After connecting the valve, the carbonated water line and the cold water line are joined, and the branch line is branched from the joining point to the downstream side through a dilution water valve between each spout nozzle to connect the branch line ( According to claim 1), the beverage supply circuit is controlled by opening and closing the beverage syrup valve and dilution water valve specified based on the sales instruction, and at the same time as opening and closing valve connected to the carbonated water line and the cold water line. Carbonated water valve and cold water valve of "strong carbonated drink", "weak carbonated drink", "non-carbonated drink"
The opening / closing control is performed according to the volume level of carbon dioxide corresponding to the selection (Claim 2). Specifically, the timing of the carbonated water valve connected to the carbonated water line and the cold water valve connected to the cold water line are shifted from each other. The opening / closing control is performed (claim 3).

When selling "strong carbonated drinks" in the above beverage supply circuit, open the syrup valve and dilution water valve corresponding to the selected syrup drink, and open the carbonated water valve connected to the carbonated water line. , Keep the cold water valve closed. As a result, in parallel with the supply of the concentrated syrup, strong carbonated water (diluting water) having a high carbon dioxide volume is supplied to the spout nozzle and sold as a “strong carbonated drink”.

On the other hand, when the "weakly carbonated drink" is sold, the carbonated water valve and the cold water valve are controlled to be opened and closed according to the mixture ratio of the carbonated water and the cold water corresponding to the carbon dioxide volume level of the weakly carbonated water. For example, in parallel with the supply of syrup, the carbonated water valve is opened in the first half of the selling operation to supply a predetermined amount of strong carbonated water, and in the latter half, the cold water valve is switched to supply cold water. As a result, carbonated water and cold water are added to the concentrated syrup as dilution water as a whole, and a “weakly carbonated beverage” having a desired carbon dioxide volume level is completed. In addition,
In this case, by changing the ratio of the opening time of the carbonated water valve and the cold water valve, it is possible to variously change the degree of carbonation of the “weakly carbonated beverage”. The order of supplying the carbonated water and the cold water may be reversed.

When selling "non-carbonated drinks", the carbonated water valve is closed and the cold water valve is opened, contrary to "strong carbonated drinks". As a result, only cold water is supplied as the diluting water to become a “non-carbonated drink”. The selection of “strong carbonated drink”, “weak carbonated drink”, and “non-carbonated drink” and opening / closing control of the carbonated water valve and the cold water valve can be easily set by, for example, input from the keyboard of the controller.

This eliminates the need for the blend regulator in the conventional circuit of FIG. In addition, the carbonated water line,
Flow regulator installed in the cold water line, open / close valve,
Since the check valve can be shared, the beverage supply circuit is greatly simplified.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in FIGS. In the drawings of the embodiment, the same members as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. That is, in the illustrated embodiment, first, the syrup line 7 is connected between the syrup container 10 and the spout nozzle 4 as in FIG. 4, and the syrup line 7 has a flow regulator 20 and a syrup valve 12 for each system. Are connected. On the other hand, the cold water line 8 and the carbonated water line 9 are not provided with the blend regulator 15 shown in FIG. 4, and instead, the carbonated water line 9 drawn from the carbonator 17 is provided with a flow regulator 20,
A carbonated water valve 21 and a check valve 23 are connected in series, a flow regulator 20, a chilled water valve 22 and a check valve 23 are connected to the cold water line 8, and then pipes of both lines are connected to a three-way joint 24. To join. Further, a branch line 26 is branched from the three-way joint 24 to each spout nozzle 4 via a manifold 25,
Moreover, the dilution water valve 16 is connected to each branch line 26.

With the above configuration, the beverage selling operation is performed as follows. First, when selecting the No. 1 beverage system and selling "weakly carbonated beverages", open the syrup valve 12 and dilution water valve 16 at the start of sale (T1) as shown in the time chart of FIG. At the same time, the carbonated water valve 21 is opened at the same timing, and the carbonated water is supplied to the spout nozzle 4 through the branch line 26 in parallel with the supply of the concentrated syrup. In this state, there is no possibility that the carbonated water will be blocked by the check valve 23 of the cold water line 8 and will flow back to the cold water line. Then, when a predetermined amount of carbonated water is supplied, the carbonated water valve 21 is closed at time T3, at the same time, the water pump 13 is started and the cold water valve 22 is opened to supply cold water, and the fixed amount of syrup supply is completed (T2). Then, the cold water valve 22 is closed and the water pump 13 is stopped. As a result, the beverage poured into the cup 19 through the spout nozzle 4 is finished as a “lightly carbonated beverage”. Note that contrary to the time chart of FIG. 2, cold water may be supplied in the first half of the selling operation and carbonated water may be supplied in the latter half. Also, No2, No
Even if you choose 3 systems and sell "slightly carbonated drinks",
The time chart of the beverage supply operation is the same as in FIG. Furthermore, even when the same "weak carbonated drink" is selected, the valve switching timing (T3) in Fig. 2
By changing the, it is possible to change the volume level of carbon dioxide to change the effect of carbon dioxide.

On the other hand, when the beverage is changed to "strong carbonated beverage", only the carbonated water valve 21 is opened while the cold water valve 22 is closed and the strong carbonated water is diluted with the syrup during the selling operation. Is supplied to the spout nozzle 4. When changing to "non-carbonated drink", contrary to the above, only the cold water valve 22 is opened and the carbonated water valve 21 is closed during the selling operation. As a result, cold water is supplied as dilution water for the concentrated syrup, and the product is finished as a "non-carbonated drink".

The opening / closing control of the carbonated water valve 21 and the cold water valve 22 corresponding to the sales of the above-mentioned "strong carbonated drinks", "weak carbonated drinks" and "non-carbonated drinks" are controlled by the keyboard of the controller equipped in the beverage dispenser. Can be easily set up above. It is also possible to make that selection with the DIP switch provided on the operation panel of the beverage dispenser, which allows you to select "strong carbonated drinks", "weak carbonated drinks", or "non-carbonated drinks" according to the taste of the customer for each drink sale. A selection function for designating "carbonated beverage" can be provided.

[0020]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is not necessary to adjust the blend regulator and the orifice pin of the conventional circuit shown in FIG. 4, and the beverage to be sold can be simply set by the keyboard of the controller. Can be changed to “strong carbonated drink”, “weak carbonated drink”, and “non-carbonated drink”. Moreover, the flow regulator, opening / closing valve, and check valve provided in the carbonated water line and the cold water line can be shared for a plurality of beverage systems provided in the beverage dispenser, which greatly simplifies the beverage supply circuit. It is possible to provide a beverage dispenser having excellent functionality such as cost reduction.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a beverage supply circuit of a beverage dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a time chart of a beverage selling operation corresponding to the beverage supply circuit of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a time chart of a beverage selling operation corresponding to a conventional beverage supply circuit.

FIG. 4 is a system diagram of a beverage supply circuit in a conventional beverage dispenser.

5 is a structural diagram of a blend regulator incorporated in the circuit of FIG. 4, (a) is a vertical sectional view, and (b) is an exploded perspective view.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 beverage dispenser 1a Bend stage 4 spout nozzle 7 syrup line 8 cold water line 9 carbonated water line 10 syrup container 12 Syrup valve 16 dilution water valve 17 Carbonator 19 cups 20 flow regulator 21 Carbonated water valve 22 Check valve 23 branch lines

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A syrup line connected to a syrup container for each beverage, a carbonated water line connected to a carbonator, a cold water line connected to a tap water, and a spout nozzle arranged on a bend stage for each beverage to supply a supply command. In the carbonated beverage supply circuit of the beverage dispenser, which supplies concentrated syrup extracted from the syrup container, carbonated water, and cold water at a predetermined mixing ratio and pours it into the cup through the spout nozzle, the syrup container for each beverage system Connect the flow regulator and syrup valve to the syrup line connected between the spout nozzle and the spout nozzle, respectively, and connect the flow regulator, the open / close valve and the check valve to the carbonated water line and the cold water line, respectively. And cold water line piping A carbonated beverage supply circuit for a beverage dispenser, characterized in that it joins, and branches from the joining point to a downstream side, and a branch line is piped to each spout nozzle through a dilution water valve. 2. The carbonated beverage supply circuit according to claim 1, wherein a beverage syrup valve and a dilution water valve designated based on a sales instruction are opened, and at the same time, an opening / closing valve connected to a carbonated water line and a cold water line. The carbonated water valve and the cold water valve are controlled to be opened and closed according to the volume level of carbon dioxide corresponding to the selection of "strong carbonated drink", "weak carbonated drink" and "non-carbonated drink". A carbonated beverage supply circuit for a beverage dispenser. 3. The carbonated beverage supply circuit according to claim 2, wherein the carbonated water valve connected to the carbonated water line and the cold water valve connected to the cold water line are controlled to open and close at mutually different timings. Carbonated drink supply circuit.