JP2003135279A - Drink extractor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To uniformly pour hot water to the overall powder raw material of drink. SOLUTION: In extracting coffee, a rotating shaft 35 and a spray head 36 are rotated around an axis by the drive of a motor 50, and a driving motor of a hot water supply pump is driven to pump up hot water in a hot water storing tank to be force-fed into a hot water supply pipe 45. The hot water flows into a passage 41 in the rotary shaft 35 to be fed into the spray head 36, and then jetted like shower from the respective jet orifices 38 while being rotated to be sprayed toward coffee powder in a dripper. Meanwhile, applied voltage to the driving motor of the hot water supply pump is controlled to vary the rotational frequency, and with such variation, the flow rate of hot water to the spray head 36 side is varied to be large or small. In the case of a large flow rate, hot water is jetted over a wide area forming a circle having a large diameter Dw as indicated by a broken line, and in the case of a small flow rate, hot water is jetted over a narrow area forming a circle with a small diameter Dn as indicated by a solid line.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a beverage extraction device such as a coffee extraction device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of a drip type coffee extractor, the one described in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-125126 is known. In this product, coffee powder is stored in a filter container, and the coffee is extracted by pouring it in a shower shape from a spray head provided with a plurality of jet ports toward the coffee powder.

[0003]

However, in the conventional one, the portion of the coffee powder to be poured is inevitably biased to the portion corresponding to the spray port of the spray head, and a part of the coffee powder is wasted. There was a problem of poor efficiency. As another example, as in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-37642, there is one in which the pouring nozzle is moved along the locus of the character "no", but since there is only one pouring nozzle, this pouring is also not possible. There are still many places, and there is a problem that a complicated driving structure for the pouring nozzle is required. The present invention has been completed based on the above circumstances,
Its purpose is to uniformly pour the entire powder raw material of the beverage.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] As a means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a spray provided with a plurality of ejection ports toward a powder raw material of a beverage contained in a filter container. A beverage extraction device adapted to extract a beverage by pouring hot water from the head is characterized in that it is provided with a spray area control means capable of controlling the spray area from the spray head. According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus according to the first aspect, the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank is supplied to the spray head by a hot water supply pump, and the ejection area control means is the hot water supply pump. It is characterized in that it is configured by a motor control device that controls the drive of the drive motor. Claim 3
The invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that in the first aspect, the ejection area control means is constituted by a motor control device that controls driving of a drive motor that rotationally drives the spray head.

[0005]

<Invention of Claim 1><Invention of claim 1> When hot water is jetted from the spray head in the shape of a shower, the hot water jetting area changes widely, so that the entire powder raw material contained in the filter container is covered. It is poured evenly, so that the beverage can be efficiently extracted without wasting the powder raw material. <Invention of Claim 2> By controlling the number of rotations of the drive motor, the flow rate of the hot water pumped by the hot water supply pump is changed in magnitude, and accordingly, the ejection area from the spray head is changed in width. With a relatively simple structure, it is possible to control the hot water ejection area. <Invention of Claim 3> By varying the rotational speed of the spray head, the ejection area from the spray head is varied widely. Similarly, with a relatively simple structure, it is possible to control the hot water ejection area.

[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 drip coffee machine with a mill is exemplified. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the coffee extractor of this embodiment includes a box-shaped main body 10 and is supported by four legs 11.
Two coffee machine hoppers 13 provided with a mill 14 are mounted at a position close to one side of the upper surface of the main body 10, and hot water is heated to a predetermined temperature at a position close to the other side in the main body 10. A hot water storage tank 15 is stored therein. A stage 16 for mounting a cup C is provided on the lower portion of the front surface of the main body 10 over the entire width, and above the stage 16, a stand 1 for two left and right drippers 17
8 are provided so that their heights can be adjusted, and this stand 18 is provided with two extraction ports 19 on the lower surface and also serves as a flow divider.

A machine room 20 is formed at the upper part of the front surface of the main body 10 so as to project toward the front side. Inside the machine room 20, the extraction mechanism corresponding to the upper part of the stand 18 of each of the drippers 17 is formed. A section 21 is provided. Explaining the extraction mechanism section 21 with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, coffee powder Cp is provided on the back side.
The supply unit 22 is provided with the pouring unit 23 on the front side. The coffee powder Cp supply unit 22 is provided with a receiving unit 25 connected to the supply port of each mill 14, a shooter 26, and a shutter 27 that can be opened and closed in order downward.

In the pouring part 23, a housing 31 is mounted on a bracket 30 which has a slight downward slope (see FIG. 4) toward the front side, and a fitting formed by penetrating in the housing 31 in the longitudinal direction. A rotary shaft 35 having a spray head 36 at its tip is rotatably fitted in the mounting hole 32. The spray head 36 has a flat upper surface,
The lower surface is an arcuate bulging surface, the connection port 37 opened at the center of the upper surface is connected to the tip of the rotary shaft 35, and a large number of ejection ports 38 are opened on the lower surface. As shown in FIG. 6, for example, one jet nozzle 38 is formed in the center, six jet nozzles 38 are formed around the jet nozzle 38 at equal angular intervals, and six jet nozzles 38 are formed around the jet nozzle 38 at equal angular intervals.

On the other hand, on the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 35, a reduced diameter portion 40 having a predetermined width is formed near the center in the lengthwise direction, and inside the reduced diameter portion 40, from the vicinity of the formation position of the reduced diameter portion 40. A flow passage 41 that opens to the tip surface is formed. On the outer peripheral surface of the reduced diameter portion 40, two through holes 42 communicating with the base end side of the flow passage 41 are opened at symmetrical positions, and the tip end of the flow passage 41 is connected to the inside of the spray head 36. Has been done. On the outer peripheral surface of the housing 31, a sideways connecting port 44 that reaches the position of the fitting hole 32 in which the reduced diameter portion 40 of the rotating shaft 35 is fitted is opened.
4, a hot water supply pipe 45 is screwed in and connected. In addition,
O-rings 47 are fitted and sealed on the upper and lower sides of the reduced diameter portion 40 of the rotary shaft 35, respectively. An output shaft 51 of a motor 50 capable of forward and reverse driving is coupled to the coupling 5 at an end of the rotary shaft 35 protruding from the upper surface of the housing 31.
2, the rotary shaft 35 and the spray head 36 are rotatably driven around a vertically oriented axis line whose upper portion is inclined toward the front side, as shown in FIG. ing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the above-mentioned hot water storage tank 15 is provided with 2 for individually supplying hot water toward each pouring portion 23.
Each hot water supply pump 55 is equipped with each hot water supply pump 5
The discharge ports 5 are connected to the hot water supply pipes 45 by hot water supply hoses 56, respectively. The drive motor 60 that drives each hot water supply pump 55 is a DC motor, and as shown in FIG. 7, is driven by a DC power source applied via a motor drive control unit 61, and this embodiment is particularly preferable. Then, as will be described in detail later, while the DC voltage is applied to the drive motor 60 for a predetermined time to drive the hot water supply pump 55, the applied voltage can be controlled to change.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. For example, when extracting one cup C of coffee, as shown on the right side of FIG. 1, one cup C is placed on the stage 16 so as to straddle both extraction ports 19, and the paper filter F is placed. Set and place the dripper 17 on the stand 18. Next, when the switch for extracting one cup is operated by the operation panel 58, a predetermined amount of coffee powder Cp ground by the mill 14 is
When the shutter 27 is opened from the receiving portion 25 through the shooter 26 as shown by the chain line in FIG. 4, the shutter 27 is dropped and stored in the paper filter F of the dripper 17.

On the other hand, the motor 50 is driven for a predetermined time to rotate the rotary shaft 35 and the spray head 36 around the axis, and the drive motor 60 of the hot water supply pump 55 is driven for a predetermined time to pump up the hot water in the hot water storage tank 15. And is pressure-fed to the corresponding connection port 44. The hot water sent under pressure flows around the reduced diameter portion 40 of the rotary shaft 35, then flows through the through hole 42 into the flow passage 41 in the rotary shaft 35, is sent into the spray head 36, and then is sprayed. It is spouted like a shower while rotating from the outlet 38, and is sprayed toward the coffee powder Cp in the dripper 17.

During this time, the rotation direction is switched between the first half and the second half on the spray head 36 side, and the motor drive control unit 61 of the hot water supply pump 55 applies the applied voltage to the drive motor 60 as shown in FIG. Initially the predetermined voltage (1
00%), and then the voltage is gradually decreased to 80% of the predetermined voltage, and after temporarily stopping, the applied voltage is controlled to be gradually increased to 70%, 80% and 100% of the predetermined voltage in the latter half.
By changing the applied voltage as described above, the hot water supply pump 55
The rotation speed of the drive motor 60 changes, and the flow rate of the hot water to the spray head 36 side changes accordingly, and when the flow rate is high, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 5, a large circle with a large diameter Dw is formed. When the hot water is jetted out over the region and the flow rate is small on the contrary, as shown by the solid line in the figure, the small diameter D
Hot water is jetted out over a narrow area having a circular shape of n.

When hot water is jetted in a shower shape from the jet port 38 of the spray head 36, in addition to the spray head 36 rotating in the forward and reverse directions about the axis, the hot water jetting region changes widely and narrowly. The coffee powder is evenly poured over the entire area of the coffee powder Cp housed in the paper filter F attached to 17, and the coffee is extracted and poured into the cup C from both extraction ports 19. In addition, when extracting coffee for two cups C, as shown on the left side of FIG.
The two cups C are placed side by side so as to be below the respective extraction ports 19, and the switch for extracting two cups is operated. In that case,
The drive time of the corresponding hot water supply pump 55 is almost doubled, but the hot water ejection area from the spray head 36 can be similarly changed by changing the applied voltage in the same manner as described above.

As described above, according to this embodiment,
In spraying hot water from the spray head 36 in a shower shape, in addition to the spray head 36 rotating around the axis, the spray area of the hot water changes widely, so that the coffee powder Cp in the dripper 17 is evenly distributed over the entire area. The pouring can be performed, and the coffee can be efficiently extracted without wasting the coffee powder Cp. Spray head 3
The 6 side is simply driven to rotate by the reversible motor 50, and the means for changing the hot water jetting area also controls the applied voltage to the drive motor 60 of the hot water supply pump 55, so that the structure is relatively simple. You can deal with it. Further, while changing the applied voltage to the drive motor 60, as shown in FIG. 8, a timing for temporarily stopping the application of the voltage is provided so that the jetting of the hot water is close to the stop. The time for which the coffee powder Cp is steamed is obtained, and more delicious coffee can be extracted.

<Second Embodiment> FIGS. 9 and 10 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, while the flow rate of hot water supplied to the spray head 36 is constant, the rotation direction of the spray head 36 is changed in addition to the forward / reverse switching in the middle. Has become. Therefore, for example, the spray head 36
A motor 50 for rotating the motor is a DC motor, and is driven by a DC power source applied via a motor drive control unit 50A as shown in FIG.

When the coffee is extracted, the motor 50 is driven for a predetermined time to rotate the spray head 36 about its axis, and the hot water in the hot water storage tank 15 is sent into the spray head 36 by the hot water supply pump 55, so that each jet port is ejected. Three
8 is ejected in a shower shape and is sprayed toward the coffee powder Cp in the dripper 17. During this period, the rotation direction of the motor 50, that is, the rotation direction of the spray head 36 is switched between the first half and the second half by the function of the motor drive control unit 50A, and the applied voltage to the motor 50 is changed as shown in FIG. The voltage is controlled to gradually decrease to a predetermined voltage (100%) at the beginning and 80% to the predetermined voltage next, and to increase the applied voltage to 70%, 80% and 100% of the predetermined voltage stepwise in the latter half. .

By changing the applied voltage as described above, the rotation speed of the motor 50 changes, and the rotation speed of the spray head 36 changes accordingly. When the rotation speed is high, the broken line in FIG. As shown, large diameter Dw
When the rotation speed is low, the hot water is jetted over a narrow circular area having a small diameter Dn, as shown by the solid line in FIG. That is, since the hot water spray area changes widely
It is possible to uniformly pour the coffee powder Cp in the dripper 17 over the entire area, and the coffee can be efficiently extracted without wasting the coffee powder Cp.

<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) FIG. 11 shows a modified example of the arrangement of the ejection ports 38A in the spray head 36A. Here, one is arranged at the center, four are arranged at equal angular intervals around the same, and further at equal angular intervals around it. Eight pieces are formed. (2) The example of the change in applied voltage shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 is merely an example, and an arbitrary change mode can be applied. (3) It is also possible to control so as to change the pouring range according to the amount of coffee powder supplied into the dripper.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a coffee extractor according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway enlarged side view of the extraction mechanism section.

[Figure 5] Partially cutaway enlarged front view of the pouring part

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the spray head.

FIG. 7: Block diagram of drive system of hot water supply pump

FIG. 8 is a graph of applied voltage to the drive motor of the hot water supply pump.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a drive system of the spray head according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a graph of applied voltage to a spray head motor.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of a spray head according to a modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

Cp ... Coffee powder F ... Paper filter 15 ... Hot water storage tank
17 ... Dripper (filter container) 35 ... Rotating shaft 36
... Spray head 38 ... Jet port 41 ... Flow passage 45
… Hot water supply pipe 50… Motor 50A… Motor drive controller
55 ... Hot water supply pump 60 ... Drive motor 61 ... Motor drive control unit

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A beverage extraction device, wherein a beverage is extracted by pouring hot water from a spray head provided with a plurality of ejection ports toward a powder raw material of the beverage contained in a filter container. Beverage extraction device, characterized in that it comprises a squirt region control means capable of controlling the squirt region from the squirt region. 2. Hot water stored in a hot water storage tank is supplied to the spray head by a hot water supply pump, and the ejection area control means controls the drive of a drive motor of the hot water supply pump. The beverage extraction device according to claim 1, wherein the beverage extraction device is constituted by: 3. The beverage brewing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ejection area control means is constituted by a motor control device that controls driving of a drive motor that rotationally drives the spray head.