JP2003079514A - Beverage producing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To mix efficiently and to simplify a structure. SOLUTION: A space 42 comprising a cylindrical shape laid on its side and obtusely bent at a center in a longitudinal direction is provided in a milk producing part 40, a bent portion comprises a diversion part 44, two mixing chambers 45 are provided on both sides of the diversion part 44, and a milk pour out port 12 is downwardly provided in an end part of each outer side. A spout port 52 of a steam spout pipe 50 faces a tangential direction in an inner circumferential face above the diversion part 44, and a milk suction opening 54 and an air inlet 58 are opened in a midway position of the steam spout pipe 50. When steam is force-fed through the steam spout pipe 50, milk and air are sucked and mixed, and they are spouted from the spout port 52. A spouted mixture is agitated and mixed by spirally flowing outward along an inner circumferential face of each mixing chamber 45, heated and foamed milk is produced, and the milk is poured out from the milk pour out ports 12.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for heating a beverage such as milk with steam and pouring it.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a milk former used for making cappuccino coffee, the one described in Japanese Patent No. 3041677 is known. This is what is called a so-called two-cup picking, and as shown in FIG. 9, in the pouring body 1, two mixing chambers 2 each having a substantially vertical shape and having a partition wall 3 are provided. Are provided on the respective bottom surfaces of the partition walls 3 and the inlet 5 is opened on the outer surface of the partition wall 3, and the inside is substantially tangential to the inner peripheral surface of each mixing chamber 2. 2 split channels 6
Are formed symmetrically. On the other hand, a pre-mixing chamber 7 is provided outside the inlet 5, a steam and air blow-out pipe 8 faces, and a milk suction port 9 is opened on the lower surface side in FIG. Then, when steam and air are blown out from the blow-out pipe 8, milk is sucked from the suction port 9 and mixed in the premixing chamber 7, and this is split into each mixing chamber 2 from the inlet 5 through the branching channel 6. After that, the milk is whipped by spirally flowing along the inner peripheral surface of the mixing chamber 2, and the generated frothed milk is poured into the cup from the spout 4 on the bottom surface.

[0003]

However, in the conventional apparatus, steam, air and milk are once mixed in the premixing chamber 7 and then split into the two mixing chambers 2 from the inlet 5 through the curved flow passage 6. Because of this, the mixing chamber 2
There was a dislike that the injecting speed to the inside was significantly reduced, and stirring and further foaming were not performed efficiently. In addition, since the structure has a complicated structure including the narrow inlet 5 and the narrow shunt channel 6, there is a problem that clogging is likely to occur and cleaning is nevertheless difficult. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to enable efficient mixing and also to simplify the structure.

[0004]

As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a beverage production apparatus comprising a production section for heating a beverage with steam and pouring the beverage, Is provided with a space that is in the shape of a substantially recumbent column and is bent at an obtuse angle at the center in the longitudinal direction, and the bent portion of this space serves as a flow dividing portion, and two mixing chambers are provided on both sides of the space. A spout is provided at each end of the mixing chambers on the side opposite to the flow dividing portion, and a vapor blowing pipe is provided at the flow dividing portion so as to be oriented substantially tangential to the inner peripheral surface thereof. The feature is that the beverage suction port is provided at an intermediate position of the blowing pipe. The invention of claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention of claim 1, an air introduction port is also opened at an intermediate position of the steam blowing pipe.

[0005]

ACTION AND EFFECT OF THE INVENTION <Invention of Claim 1> When steam is circulated through the blow-out pipe, the beverage is blown out while being sucked,
A mixture of steam and beverage is distributed to both mixing chambers by the flow dividing part, and the mixture is stirred and mixed by being spirally flown along the inner peripheral surface of each mixing chamber to the end side provided with the spout, and heated. Beverage is poured out from the spout. The mixture of steam and beverage is distributed to both mixing chambers while being blown out straight from the blow-out pipe, so that it is spirally circulated along the inner peripheral surface of each mixing chamber while suppressing the speed decrease, Since the chambers are communicated at an obtuse angle, they can be spirally circulated for a relatively long time. That is, the mixture of the steam and the beverage spirally flows at a high speed for a long time, so that the mixture is efficiently stirred and mixed. Further, since the structure is not complicated due to the flow splitting, there is little clogging and the like, and cleaning can be easily performed. <Invention of Claim 2> Since air is mixed with steam and a beverage and agitated, a frothy beverage can be obtained. In this case, foaming is also performed efficiently.

[0006]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. <First Embodiment> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, a coffee machine for making cappuccino is illustrated. This coffee machine is a so-called two-cup type machine, and as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, is provided with a block-shaped pouring body 10. The lower surface of the pouring body 10 will be described in detail later. As described above, two sets of the coffee pouring spout 11 and the milk pouring spout 12 arranged side by side are provided on the left and right, and a cup C is prepared below the coffee pouring spout 11 and the milk pouring spout 12 of each set. Then, espresso coffee is dispensed from the coffee spout 11 and frothed milk is dispensed from the milk spout 12 into the cup C, respectively, so that cappuccino is generated.

More specifically, the pouring body 10 is formed by connecting three block bodies 15A to 15C, and is a short block body 1 arranged on the lower surface on the back side (right side in FIG. 1).
The coffee pouring part 16 is composed of 5A, and the two block bodies 15 that form a region extending from the back side upper surface to the front side
The milk production part 40 is constituted by B and 15C. On the rear surface of the coffee pouring section 16, the coffee flow passage 1 is provided.
7 is opened, and this coffee flow passage 17 is extended forward, then branched into two branches and opened to the lower surface, and the above-mentioned two left and right coffee spouts 11 are provided at a predetermined interval. .

At the inlet 18 of the coffee flow passage 17 described above,
The outlet 37 of the coffee producing unit 20 for producing espresso coffee is connected. As shown in FIG. 4, in the coffee producing unit 20, a receiving plate 22 is fitted to the inner bottom surface of a cylinder 21 having a bottomed tubular shape so as to be able to move up and down, and a piston 23 fitted into the cylinder 21 from above. Is also provided so that it can be raised and lowered. At the bottom of the cylinder 21, a hot water inlet 25 is formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof to open a hot water supply port 25A and reach the upper surface. Reservoir portions 26A and 26B are formed on both upper and lower surfaces of the receiving board 22 and are connected to each other by a vertically oriented passage 27, and the bottom reservoir portion 26B communicates with the upper end of the inflow passage 25.

On the other hand, the reservoir 26A on the upper surface is covered with a filter mesh 30. This filter mesh 30
Is made of ceramics, and as shown in FIG. 6, it is fine over the entire surface of a relatively thin disc (diameter of about 0.3 mm).
Is formed in the center hole 32, and the screw 34 passing through the center hole 32 is formed in the center of the upper surface of the receiving plate 22.
It is fixed by tightening on. On the lower surface of the piston 23, a coffee reservoir 36 is formed as a recess and is covered with the same filter mesh 30 as described above.
It is fixed by tightening the screw 34 passed through 2 into a screw hole 35 provided at the center of the lower surface of the piston 23.
A discharge port 37 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the piston 23,
The discharge port 37 is connected to the reservoir 36 by a coffee outflow passage 38 formed in the piston 23 in a substantially vertical direction.

Briefly explaining the pouring operation of coffee, as shown in FIG. 4, when the piston 23 is retracted above the cylinder 21, ground coffee powder Cp is introduced into the cylinder 21 through the shooter. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the piston 23 descends to move the coffee powder Cp.
Is compressed, a solenoid valve (not shown) for hot water supply is opened for a predetermined time, and hot water pressurized to a predetermined pressure from the hot water storage tank is pumped toward the hot water supply port 25A, and the inflow path 25, the lower side Pool 26B, passage 27 and upper pool 26
After passing through A, the filter mesh 30 on the receiving plate 22 side
Is poured into the compressed coffee powder Cp. As a result, espresso coffee is extracted, and the extracted espresso coffee is filtered by the filter mesh 3 on the piston 23 side.
0, and further discharged from the discharge port 37 from the reservoir 36 through the outflow passage 38, and is pumped to the inlet 18 (see FIG. 1) of the coffee flow passage 17 of the coffee pouring part 16 described above.

After the extraction of coffee, although not shown, the piston 23 retreats upward and the receiving plate 22 rises to a position flush with the upper edge of the cylinder 21.
The coffee cake after being subjected to extraction is lifted, scraped off with a scraper and discarded. After that, as shown in FIG. 4, the receiving board 22 descends to the inner bottom surface of the cylinder 21 and enters the standby state. Here, since the filter mesh 30 is made of ceramics instead of the conventional stainless steel,
Rust generation is more reliably avoided. Further, although the filter mesh 30 is preferably thin in order to prevent clogging of coffee cake, it is subjected to high temperature and high pressure, but it is hard to be deformed by being made of ceramics.

Next, the structure of the milk production unit 40 will be described. As shown in FIG.
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a space 42 is formed which is in the shape of a recumbent column as a whole and in which the center in the longitudinal direction is bent upward at an obtuse angle α. The bent portion of the space 42 serves as a flow dividing portion 44, and two mixing chambers 45 are formed symmetrically on the left and right sides thereof in an oblique posture with the outer end portions slightly lowered. From the lower position of the outer end surface of each mixing chamber 45, a hook-shaped passage 46 protruding outward and then bent downward is formed, and the above-mentioned milk pouring outlet is formed at the lower end of each hook-shaped passage 46. 12 is projected. The distance between the milk pouring ports 12 is the same as that of the coffee pouring port 11 described above, and as shown in FIG. The spout 12 and the coffee spout 11 form a pair.

A steam blow-out pipe 5 is provided on the rear surface of the milk production section 40.
0 is opened, and the inlet 51 of this steam outlet pipe 50 is
Is connected to a steam supply unit attached to the hot water storage tank. A reduced-diameter outlet 52 is provided at the tip of the steam outlet pipe 50, and the outlet 52 is tangential to the upper inner peripheral surface of the flow dividing portion 44, as shown in FIG. It is facing in a direction. Milk production part 4
A milk suction port 54 connected to a milk reservoir (not shown) is opened on one side surface of 0, and the tip of the milk suction port 54 faces the position near the tip of the steam outlet pipe 50 described above. There is. Further, a concave portion 56 having an inclined surface 57 at the inner surface is formed at a corner of the upper rear surface of the milk production section 40, and an air introduction port 58 is opened in this inclined surface 57, and its tip is first It is in a downward posture, and is facing the position near the tip of the steam outlet pipe 50 as well.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. When the switch for manufacturing the cappuccino is operated, as described above, the espresso coffee extracted in the coffee production unit 20 is pumped to the inlet 18 of the coffee flow passage 17 in the coffee pouring unit 16, and is split into two left and right halfway. After that, it is poured into the cup C from each coffee pouring outlet 11. In the milk production unit 40, steam is pumped from the steam supply unit on the side of the hot water storage tank to the steam blow pipe 50, and the inside of the steam blow pipe 50 leans to a negative pressure as the steam is pumped. Milk is introduced from the milk suction port 54 to the air introduction port 58.
The air is sucked and mixed from each other, that is, a mixture of steam, milk and air is blown out from the blowout port 52 at the tip of the steam blowoff pipe 50.

The mixture blown out from the outlet 52 is distributed from the central flow dividing section 44 to the left and right mixing chambers 45,
As shown by the arrows in FIG. 2, milk is stirred and mixed by flowing spirally toward the outer end along the inner peripheral surface of each mixing chamber 45 to generate heated and whisked milk. The milk is then poured into the cup C from the milk pouring outlet 12. This produces a cappuccino with frothed milk on top of the espresso coffee, as shown in FIGS.

In the milk producing section 40 of the present embodiment, the opening edges of the left and right mixing chambers 45 communicate with each other at an obtuse angle α, and the communicating portion serves as a flow dividing portion 44, and the inner peripheral surface of the flow dividing portion 44. Steam outlet pipe 50 so that it is tangential to
The following advantages can be obtained by the structure in which the air outlet 52 is exposed. The mixture of steam, milk and air is distributed to the left and right mixing chambers 45 while being blown out straight from the outlet 52 of the steam outlet pipe 50, so that the inner peripheral surface of each mixing chamber 45 is suppressed in a state where the speed decrease is suppressed. It is distributed spirally along. Moreover, since both mixing chambers 45 communicate with each other at an obtuse angle α, compared to the case where both mixing chambers communicate with each other at an acute angle, which is, so to speak, a steep slope, even a mixing chamber having the same volume is faster. Instead of flowing down, it can be made to spirally flow for a long time. That is, a mixture of steam, milk and air spirally flows at a high speed over a long period of time, so that the mixture can be efficiently stirred and mixed to produce a well-whipped milk.

There is a structure in which the opening edges of both mixing chambers 45 communicate with each other at an obtuse angle α so as to divide the flow. In other words, the structure is not complicated to divide the flow as in the conventional case, so that clogging or the like occurs. There are few, and even if they become clogged, they can be easily cleaned. Further, since both the mixing chambers 45 are provided in communication with each other, the space in the left and right direction can be saved as compared with the conventional one in which the mixing chambers are provided on both the left and right sides of the partition wall.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this 2nd Embodiment, compared with the said 1st Embodiment, the pouring body 10A,
In particular, the structure of the milk production unit 40A is modified. The differences will be mainly described below, and the portions having the same functions as those of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals to simplify or omit the description. Milk production unit 40A
A horizontal mounting hole 60 is opened on the rear surface, a long rear steam outlet pipe 61 is mounted on the front side of the mounting hole 60, and a short front steam outlet pipe 62 is mounted on the rear side. ing.

The rear steam blow-out pipe 61 has a reduced diameter portion 63 formed in a predetermined region near the front end, seal rings 64 are fitted on both front and rear sides thereof, and the front end portion is tapered. A large diameter passage 65 is formed in the center of the rear end side.
Is formed, and the front end side is divided into two forked postures,
An opening is formed on the rear side of the outer peripheral surface of the reduced diameter portion 63. Reduced part 6
A cross-shaped through hole 66 is formed on the front side of the outer peripheral surface of 3, and a small diameter passage 67 is formed from the center position of the through hole 66 to the tip surface. The front steam blow-out pipe 62 is also formed with a reduced-diameter portion 70 at the center in the lengthwise direction, seal rings 64 are fitted on both front and rear sides thereof, and a tapered hole 71 is formed at the center of the rear surface. ing. A passage 72 is provided so as to penetrate through the center of the interior, and four inclined holes 73 are formed obliquely forward from the outer peripheral surface of the reduced diameter portion 70 to reach the passage 72.

The front steam outlet pipe 62 is fitted inside the mounting hole 60, while the rear steam outlet pipe 61 is screwed into the front steam outlet pipe 62 with a predetermined clearance. It is fixed. The large-diameter passage 65 of the rear steam outlet pipe 61 is connected to the steam supply unit attached to the hot water storage tank, and the outlet 52 is concentrically connected to the tip of the passage 72 of the front steam outlet pipe 62. , This outlet 5
2 faces the lower inner peripheral surface of the flow dividing portion 44 between the both mixing chambers 45 in a posture tangentially oriented. A ring-shaped vapor reservoir 75 is formed around the reduced diameter portion 63 of the rear vapor outlet pipe 61. In addition, the front and rear steam outlet pipes 61,
A ring-shaped milk reservoir 76 is formed between the portions 62, and the milk suction port 5 is opened on one side surface of the milk producing portion 40A.
The tip of No. 4 faces the milk pool 76. further,
A ring-shaped air reservoir 77 is formed around the reduced-diameter portion 70 of the front steam outlet pipe 62, and the tip of the air introduction port 58 formed in an oblique posture from the upper rear surface of the milk production unit 40A,
It faces this air reservoir 77.

The operation of the second embodiment is as follows.
When the steam is pressure-fed to the large-diameter passage 65 of the rear steam outlet pipe 61, the steam flows from the steam reservoir 75 to the cross-shaped through hole 6
The small-diameter passage 67 flows through 6 and is then blown out into the passage 72 of the rear steam blow-out pipe 61. Accordingly, the milk sump 76 first leans toward the negative pressure, so that the milk suction port 54
Is sucked from the air, and then the air reservoir 77 is inclined to a negative pressure, so that air is sucked from the air inlet port 58 and mixed with each other, so that the mixture of steam, milk and air passes through the outlet port 52. Blown out. Outlet 52
The mixture blown out from the center is divided into the left and right mixing chambers 45 from the flow dividing section 44, and the mixture is stirred and mixed by flowing spirally toward the outer end along the inner peripheral surface of each mixing chamber 45. The heated, frothed milk is produced and dispensed from the milk spout 12. This second
In the embodiment, by narrowing the flow from the large diameter portion to the small diameter portion in the blowout path of the steam, the speed is increased particularly in the small diameter passage 67, and the milk reservoir 76 connected to the outlet is greatly inclined to the negative pressure, It becomes possible to suck milk more efficiently.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition to the above, various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the milk production section, the introduction of air may be stopped and the milk may be simply heated by steam and poured out. (2) Furthermore, the present invention can be widely applied to all devices that heat beverages other than milk with steam to be poured out.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a pouring body according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the milk production part.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the milk production unit in perspective.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which coffee powder is charged in the coffee production unit.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the coffee extracted state.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a filter mesh.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of a pouring body according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the milk production part.

FIG. 9 is a plan sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Pour-out body 12 ... Milk spout 40 ... Milk production part 42 ... Space 44 ... Flow dividing part 45 ... Mixing chamber 50 ...
Steam outlet pipe 52 ... Blowout port 54 ... Milk suction port 58
... Air inlet 10A ... Pourout body 40A ... Milk production part 61,62 ... Steam blowout pipe

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A beverage production apparatus comprising a production section for heating and pouring a beverage by steam, wherein the production section has a substantially recumbent column shape and is bent at an obtuse angle at the center in the longitudinal direction. A space is provided, a bent portion of this space serves as a flow dividing portion, two mixing chambers are provided on both sides thereof, and a spout is provided at each end of the mixing chamber opposite to the flow dividing portion, A steam outlet pipe is provided in the flow dividing portion so as to be oriented substantially tangentially to the inner peripheral surface thereof, and a beverage inlet is provided at an intermediate position of the outlet pipe. Beverage production equipment. 2. The beverage manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an air introduction port is also opened at an intermediate position of the steam outlet pipe.