JP2009154919A - Beverage feeding machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem that in a beverage feeding machine for feeding a beverage by opening a manually opening/closing type valve, as how much amount of the water exists in a drip pan (water receiving tray) should be visually confirmed by looking therein, the amount of the water is hardly accurately confirmed, and when the interval for visual check is too long, the amount of the water in the drip pan is increased too much, there exists possibility of overflowing when the drip pan is removed for throwing away the water in the drip pan, by a method wherein a water receiving tray corresponding to the drip pan is provided, a displaying part capable of visually confirming the amount of the water collected in the water receiving tray from the front face of the beverage feeding machine is provided, an upper limit water level displaying part is installed in this displaying part so that it is clearly found that the water in the water receiving tray reaches the upper limit water level being a condition that the water in the water receiving tray is to be thrown away, and the amount of the water can be rapidly and accurately confirmed. <P>SOLUTION: The displaying part which can visually confirm the amount of water in the water receiving tray is provided on the water receiving tray, and the upper limit water level displaying part indicating the upper limit water level is installed on this displaying part. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention provides a manual opening / closing type valve body disposed on the upper part of a beverage supply unit formed on the front surface of a beverage supply machine body, a water tray is attached to the lower part, and a beverage in a beverage storage part is opened by opening the manual opening / closing type valve body. It relates to a beverage supply machine that supplies to a cup.

Some bottles 6 containing drinking water are stored obliquely in the upper space 4 with the mouth down and supply this drinking water. This is because the bottle 6 is pressed against the evaporator 5 by gravity, and the upper space 4 is provided with a heat insulating upper door 1b for taking in and out of the bottle 6, and the upper door 1b is used for the beverage in the bottle 6. Part of it is glass so that the remaining amount can be seen. The mouth of the bottle 6 faces the reserve tank 8, and the beverage is supplied from the bottle 6 to the reserve tank 8 until the mouth of the bottle 6 comes into contact with the water surface of the reserve tank 8 and is closed.

The mechanism in which the beverage is supplied from the bottle 6 to the reserve tank 8 is that the spring-biased valve 42 provided on the cap of the bottle 6 is pushed upward by the pin 48 in the reserve tank 8 so that the valve 42 is It is supposed to open. The beverage in the reserve tank 8 is poured out of the cold water by the head pressure of the reserve tank 8 by opening the extraction valve 9 connected to the reserve tank 8. Below the dispensing valve 9, a drip pan 10 for receiving drinking water spilled during supply is provided. (See Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-327593 A

In this prior art, the amount of water in the drip pan 10 must be looked into and visually confirmed through the grill 11, so that it is difficult to confirm the amount of water accurately,
When the visual interval is long, the amount of water in the drip pan 10 increases too much, and the drip pan 10
When the drip pan 10 is removed in order to discard the water inside, there is a problem that the drip pan 10 may overflow.

The present invention is provided with a water tray corresponding to the drip pan, a display unit is provided so that the amount of water accumulated in the water tray can be visually seen from the front of the beverage supply machine, and the water in the water tray is discarded in the display unit. By providing an upper limit water level display section so that it can be clearly seen that a certain upper limit water level has been reached, the amount of water can be confirmed quickly and accurately, thereby solving the above-mentioned problems.

In the beverage supply machine according to the first aspect of the present invention, a beverage supply unit is formed on the front surface of the beverage supply machine body, a manually openable valve body is disposed on the upper side of the beverage supply unit, and an upper surface opening water is formed on the lower part of the beverage supply unit. In the beverage supply machine in which the tray is detachably attached and the beverage in the beverage storage section is supplied to the cup by the opening operation of the manual opening / closing valve body, the water tray has a visual indication of the amount of water in the water tray. And an upper limit water level display unit indicating the upper limit water level is provided on the display unit.

The beverage supply machine according to a second aspect of the present invention is the beverage supply machine according to the first aspect, wherein the display unit is a see-through window in which the water level in the water tray is directly visible from the outside, and an upper limit water level indicating the upper limit water level so as to face the see-through window A display portion is provided.

The beverage supply machine according to a third aspect of the present invention is the beverage supply machine according to the first aspect, wherein the display unit is a normal water level display LED that is sequentially turned on as the water level in the water tray rises, and the water level in the water tray reaches the upper limit water level. An upper limit water level display LED that lights up when the upper limit water level display LED is turned on, and the emission color of the upper limit water level display LED is different from the emission color of the normal water level display LED.

In the first invention, when the beverage supply machine is installed in a restaurant or the like, even a busy store clerk approaches the beverage supply machine and looks into the cup to place the amount of water in the water tray (in the above-described conventional technique, the grill).
There is no need to visually check through, and it becomes possible to check the amount of water accurately and promptly even from a place away from the beverage supply machine, saving time and making it easier to take the timing to discard the accumulated water.

In the second invention, the water level in the water tray is directly visible from the outside through the transparent window, and
By the upper limit water level display portion facing the see-through window, it is possible to accurately and promptly confirm the amount of water even from a place away from the beverage supply machine, in a state where the accumulated water is discarded. For this reason, when a beverage supply machine is installed in a restaurant or the like, even a busy store clerk looks closely at the beverage supply machine and visually checks the amount of water in the water tray through a cup mounting member (the grill in the above-described conventional technology). There is no need to check, and the amount of water can be checked accurately and promptly even from a location away from the beverage supply machine, saving time and making it easier to take the timing to discard the accumulated water.

In the beverage supply machine according to the third aspect of the invention, when the water level in the water tray reaches the upper limit water level, the upper limit water level display LED has a light emission color different from that of the normal water level display LED, so that the normal water level can be easily checked. The timing for discarding the accumulated water can be clearly displayed. For this reason, when a beverage supply machine is installed in a restaurant or the like, even a busy clerk approaches the beverage supply machine and looks into it.
There is no need to visually check the amount of water in the water tray through the cup mounting member (grill in the above-mentioned conventional technology), and the amount of water can be confirmed accurately and quickly from a location away from the beverage supply machine. This makes it easier to take the timing to discard the accumulated water.

In the beverage supply machine of the present invention, a beverage supply part is formed on the front surface of the beverage supply machine body, a manually openable valve body is disposed on the upper part of the beverage supply part, and a water tray having an upper surface opening on the lower part of the beverage supply part Is a detachably attached beverage supply machine that supplies the beverage in the beverage storage unit to the cup by opening the manually opened / closed valve body. In the beverage receiver, the water receiver can visually display the amount of water in the water receiver. The display unit is provided with an upper limit water level display unit that indicates the upper limit water level. Examples of the present invention will be described below.

An embodiment of a beverage supply machine according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view of a beverage supply machine according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the beverage supply machine according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is configured by a round see-through window for the amount of water in the water tray according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram and FIG. 4 is a control configuration diagram according to FIG.

In these drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a beverage supply machine, which includes a beverage supply machine body 1A in which a cooling chamber 3 is formed at the top and a beverage supply unit 30 is formed on the front surface, and a lid 7 that opens and closes an upper surface opening 3A of the cooling chamber 3. It is composed. In the beverage supply machine main body 1A, a beverage bottle 2 containing a beverage in a bottle container such as polyethylene terephthalate (hereinafter referred to as PET) is stored in the cooling chamber 3 upside down with its mouth 2A facing downward. Thus, the manually openable valve body 4 attached to the mouth 2A of the beverage bottle 2 is exposed outside the cooling chamber 3 so as to face the beverage supply unit 30. In the beverage supply unit 30, the beverage is supplied from the beverage outlet 5 by the opening operation of the manual opening / closing valve body 4. The lower part of the front surface of the beverage supply machine main body 1A is provided with a water receiving tray 6 having an upper surface opening for receiving water drops or the like falling from the beverage takeout port 5 part.

The cooling chamber 3 is configured so that the beverage bottle 2 can be stored and taken out from the upper surface opening 3A. The upper surface opening 3A is covered with a detachable lid 7 and has an insertion portion 8 for the manually openable valve body 4 at the lower part. The beverage bottle 2 is stored in a substantially vertical state with the manual opening / closing valve body 4 being inserted into the insertion portion 8. The insertion portion 8 of the manual opening / closing valve body 4 is formed with a receiving portion 9 for receiving the shoulder portion 2B of the beverage bottle 2, and in order to prevent the cold air leakage in the cooling chamber 3 at the receiving portion 9, an elastic ring A seal member 23 is attached, and the annular seal member 23 substantially forms the receiving portion 9. As a result, when the beverage bottle 2 is stored upside down in the cooling chamber 3,
On the side close to the mouth 2A of the beverage bottle 2, the shoulder portion 2B causes the annular sealing material 23 to be pressed by the load of the beverage bottle 2, and the cold air leakage at the insertion portion 8 is well sealed.

The cooling chamber 3 has a heat insulating configuration. This heat insulation structure has a heat insulating material UR such as urethane foam, and the inner shell 4
This is a heat insulating structure filled or loaded between 0A and the outer shell 40B. The lid 7 also has a heat insulating structure in which a heat insulating material UR such as urethane foam is filled or loaded between the inner shell 41A and the outer shell 41B in order to maintain the cooling temperature of the cooling chamber 3.

The manual opening / closing valve body 4 is stored in the cooling chamber 3 upside down in the state where the manual opening / closing valve body 4 is previously attached to the mouth 2A of the beverage bottle 2, and the beverage bottle 2 is placed in the cooling chamber 3 upside down. Any of the cases in which the manually openable / closable valve body 4 is attached after storage.

Before the beverage bottle 2 is stored upside down in the cooling chamber 3, the manual open / close valve body 4 is passed through the insertion portion 8 with the manual open / close valve body 4 attached to the mouth 2 </ b> A of the beverage bottle 2 in advance. Insert the beverage bottle 2 into the cooling chamber 3 upside down. For this reason, the external shape of the manually openable / closable valve body 4 is of a size that can pass through the insertion portion 8. In the illustrated manual open / close valve body 4, the valve opening / closing operation unit 4 </ b> A is opened by a user pressing the button unit 4 </ b> B with a finger to reduce the outer shape, and a beverage is supplied while being pressed with the finger. The push type is shown. In addition, the manual open / close valve body 4 has a configuration in which the valve is opened by pressing with a cup 18 held by the user, or the valve is opened by the user turning the lever left and right with the finger. Various types of manually openable / closable valve bodies 4 such as those having a configuration can be applied.

Further, the beverage bottle 2 in which the mouth 2A of the beverage bottle 2 is closed with the sealing material is adopted, and the beverage bottle 2 is inserted so that the mouth 2A passes through the insertion portion 8 and is turned upside down in the cooling chamber 3. Store in. In this state, the manually openable valve body 4 is screwed into the spiral portion formed on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth 2A of the beverage bottle 2 from the beverage supply unit 30 side. At the final stage of this screwing, if the sharpened portion that breaks through the sealing material that closed the mouth 2A of the beverage bottle 2 is formed in the manually openable valve body 4, the beverage can be taken out from the beverage bottle 2 by this screwing. A series of beverage passages leading to the mouth 5 is formed, and the cost of the beverage bottle 2 can be reduced by the absence of the manually openable valve body 4.

The beverage supply machine main body 1 </ b> A has a cooling device 12 disposed on the rear side of the cooling chamber 3. Cooling device 12
Constitutes a refrigerant cycle in which the refrigerant compressed by the compressor 13 dissipates heat by the radiator 14, is decompressed by the decompression unit 15 and evaporates by the cooler 16 that cools the cooling chamber 3, and then returns to the compressor 13. A configuration may be used in which the water in the water tray 6 is heated and evaporated by the vessel 14.

As is apparent from the figure, the cooler 16 is a beverage bottle 2 stored upside down in the cooling chamber 3.
The cooling surface on the front side of the shape approximate to the outer shape of the beverage bottle 2 is exposed to the cooling chamber 3 so as to wrap around the body portion of the beverage bottle 2, and the outer periphery (rear side on the back side) of the cooler 16 is the heat insulating material UR. It is in a covered state. As a result, the beverage bottle 2 stored upside down in the cooling chamber 3 is transferred to the cooler 16.
Since the cooling is promoted by the cooling surface, a cooling air circulation fan in the cooling chamber 3 may not be provided.

The water tray 6 is detachably attached to the front surface of the beverage supply machine 1 so that the water tray 6 can be easily taken in and out for cleaning or the like. As one of the configurations, upper and lower and left and right locking holes 21A and 21B are formed in the lower part of the front wall of the beverage supply unit 30, and the locking hole 21 is formed in the rear wall of the water receiving tray 6.
Locking pieces 20A and 20B are formed so as to project in a relationship corresponding to A and 21B. Thus, the locking pieces 20A and 20B are inserted into the locking holes 21A and 21B by pushing the water receiving tray 6 downward with the locking pieces 20A and 20B of the water receiving tray 6 inserted into the locking holes 21A and 21B. It moves to the lower end to be in a locked state, the rear wall of the water tray 6 comes into contact with the front wall of the beverage supply unit 30, and the water tray 6 is held in a substantially horizontal state on the front surface of the beverage supply machine 1. The removal of the water tray 6 may be performed in the reverse order to the mounting order.

A slatted cup placing member 17 for placing a cup 18 is detachably placed on the water tray 6. The cup mounting member 17 is formed in a substantially flat plate shape, and has a plurality of through holes 17A for a snooze function, and the peripheral portion of the cup mounting member 17 is formed at the peripheral edge of the upper surface opening of the water tray 6. It is mounted and held on the mounting step 6A.

The water tray 6 has a display unit 19 that allows the amount of water in the water tray 6 to be visualized from the front of the beverage feeder 1.
The display unit 19 includes upper limit water level display units 24A and 24B indicating the upper limit water level.
The display unit 19 shown in FIG. 3 is a round see-through window 1 in which the water level in the water tray 6 is directly visible from the outside.
The upper limit water level display portions 24A and 24B are formed by colored display bars formed so as to face the transparent window 19A from the left and right. This colored display bar 2
4A and 24B may be configured by a member embedded in the see-through window 19A.
The groove formed on the front or back surface of A may be colored by printing or the like, or a colored member may be attached to the front or back surface of the fluoroscopic window 19A.

Accordingly, it can be clearly indicated whether or not the amount of water in the water tray 6 has reached the upper limit water level display portions 24A and 24B. Therefore, the amount of water in the water tray 6 can be changed to the through hole 17 of the cup mounting member 17.
There is no need to visually check through A, and the amount of water can be checked accurately and promptly even from a location away from the beverage supply machine 1.

Moreover, in order to further clarify the upper limit water level display in the water tray 6, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an LED (light emitting diode) 25 for displaying an upper limit water level is provided on the front surface of the water tray 6, and the upper limit water level is displayed. The display parts 24A and 24B are used as electrodes, and the control part 27 is detachably connected to the electrodes 24A and 24B by a connector 26 so that a weak direct current flows. The connector 26 is connected when the water tray 6 is attached to the front surface of the beverage supply machine 1, and the connector 26 is separated when the water tray 6 is detached from the beverage supply machine 1.

When the amount of water in the water tray 6 reaches the electrodes 24A and 24B, the electrodes 24A and 2
LED 4 (light emitting diode) 25 is turned on by the control unit 27 and the upper limit water level is reached in addition to visual observation of the water level between the electrodes 24A and 24B.
By illuminating 5, it becomes visible from a distance.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram in which the amount of water in the water tray according to the present invention is configured by a vertical see-through window. In this case, the water receiving tray 6 has a vertically long transparent window 19 </ b> A in which the water level in the water receiving tray 6 is visible from the front of the beverage supply machine 1 and the water level in the water receiving tray 6 is directly visible from the outside. An upper limit water level display portion is formed by a colored arrow-shaped display portion 28 in the see-through window 19A. The upper limit water level display unit 28 may be constituted by a member embedded in the surface of the water tray 6, and the groove formed on the surface of the water tray 6 is colored by printing or the colored member is seen through the transparent window. The structure affixed on the surface of 19A may be sufficient.

This makes it possible to clearly indicate whether or not the amount of water in the water tray 6 has reached the upper limit water level display unit 28, so that the amount of water in the water tray 6 is visually confirmed through the through hole 17A of the cup mounting member 17. Therefore, the water amount can be confirmed accurately and promptly even from a place away from the beverage supply machine 1.

6 and 7 show another embodiment. FIG. 6 shows the amount of water in the water tray according to the present invention.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram configured by an ED display unit, and FIG. 7 is a control configuration diagram according to FIG. 6. In this case, a float 31 with a magnet 31 </ b> A that moves up and down along the vertical guide bar 29 in accordance with the water level in the water tray 6 is provided in the water receiver 6.
Reed switches R1, R2, R3, and R4 that close their contacts when close to each other are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. In addition, reed switches R1, R2, R3, R4 are provided on the front wall of the water tray 6.
LED (light emitting diode) L1, L2, L3, L so that it can be seen from the front
4 is arranged up and down.

Reed switches R1, R2, R3, R4 and LEDs (light emitting diodes) L1, L2, L
3 and L4 are connected to a connector 26A1 attached to the water tray 6, and connected to the connector 26A2 on the beverage feeder 1 side as the water tray 6 is attached to the front surface of the beverage feeder 1. In this connected state, since the float 31 rises as the water level in the water tray 6 rises, the reed switches R1, R2, R3, R4 are sequentially operated by the magnet 31A, and the controller 27A provided in the beverage supply machine 1 The corresponding LED (light emitting diode) L1, L2, L
3, L4 lights up.

LEDs (light emitting diodes) L1, L2, and L3 are normal water level display LEDs, and LED (light emitting diode) L4 is an upper limit water level display LED that displays that the water level in the water tray has reached the upper limit water level. The light emission color of L4 which is the upper limit water level display LED is L which is the normal water level display LED.
Different from the emission colors of L1, L2, and L3. For example, L1, L2, L3 which are normal water level display LEDs
By making the emission color of the blue light and the light emission color of L4, which is the upper limit water level display LED, red, it is easy to see from a place away from the beverage supply machine 1, so that the upper limit water level has been reached accurately and promptly. Be able to do.

In this case, when the water level rises, the LED (light emitting diode) L that is once lit along with it
If a circuit for maintaining the lighting state of 1, L2, and L3 is provided in the control unit 27A, the rising state of the water level can be easily understood. When the LED (light emitting diode) L4 is lit, the LED
(Light-emitting diode) If control is performed by the control unit 27A so that L1, L2, and L3 are turned off, the distinction between normal water level display and upper limit water level display becomes clear. Reed switches R1, R2, R3
, R4, and LEDs (light emitting diodes) L1, L2, L3, and L4 and lead wires to these may be embedded in the water tray 6 so as not to touch the water in the water tray 6.

Thus, since the water level in the water tray 6 rises and L4 of the upper limit water level display LED lights up, there is no need to visually check the amount of water in the water tray 6 through the through-hole 17A of the cup mounting member 17. The water amount can be confirmed accurately and promptly even from a place away from the feeder 1.

The beverage supply machine 1 is not limited to the configuration shown in the above embodiment, but can be applied to various forms, and includes various forms within the technical scope of the present invention.

It is a vertical side view of the beverage supply machine which concerns on this invention. Example 1 It is a perspective view for explanation of a beverage supply machine concerning the present invention. Example 1 It is explanatory drawing which comprised the water quantity of the water tray which concerns on this invention by the round-shaped see-through window. Example 1 FIG. 4 is a control configuration diagram according to FIG. 3. Example 1 It is explanatory drawing which comprised the water quantity of the water tray which concerns on this invention by the vertical type | mold see-through window. (Example 2) It is explanatory drawing which comprised the amount of water of the water tray which concerns on this invention by the LED display part. (Example 3) FIG. 7 is a control configuration diagram according to FIG. 6. (Example 3)

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 .... Beverage supply machine 1A ... Beverage supply machine body 2 .... Beverage bottle 3 .... Cooling chamber 4 .... Manual open / close valve body 5 .... Beverage takeout port 6. ··· Water tray 8 ··· Insertion portion 9 ··· Receiving portion 12 ··· Cooling device 13 · · · Compressor 14 · · · Radiator 15 · · · Pressure reducing portion 16 · · · Cooler 17 ... Cup mounting member 17A ... Through hole 19 ... Display part 19A ... Transparent window 23 ... Annular sealing material 24A, 24B ... Upper limit water level display part 25 ... LED for upper limit water level display (Light emitting diode)
29 ... Vertical guide bar 30 ... Beverage supply part 31 ... Float 31A ... Magnet L1, L2, L3 ... Normal water level LED (light emitting diode)
L4 ... Maximum water level indicator LED
R1, R2, R3, R4 ... Reed switch

Claims (3)

A beverage supply unit is formed on the front surface of the beverage supply machine body, a manually openable valve body is disposed above the beverage supply unit, and a water tray having an upper surface opening is detachably attached to the lower portion of the beverage supply unit. In the beverage supply machine that supplies the beverage in the storage unit to the cup by the opening operation of the manual opening and closing valve body, the water tray is provided with a display unit that can visually see the amount of water in the water tray from the front of the beverage supply machine, The beverage supply machine according to claim 1, wherein the display unit includes an upper limit water level display unit indicating an upper limit water level. The said display part was equipped with the see-through window in which the water level in the said water receiving tray can be directly visually recognized from the outside, and the upper limit water level display part which shows an upper limit water level position so that this see-through window may be faced. The beverage supply machine described. The display unit is a normal water level display LED that is sequentially turned on as the water level in the water pan rises.
And an upper limit water level display LED that lights up when the water level in the water tray reaches the upper limit water level,
The beverage supply machine according to claim 1, wherein a light emission color of the upper limit water level display LED is different from a light emission color of the normal water level display LED.

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