JP2011083446A - Low-temperature beverage extractor and method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low-temperature beverage extractor and a method thereof, capable of extracting a clear beverage of an extracted material such as coffee and tea by sufficiently reducing the extraction amount of components of miscellaneous flavors or the like. <P>SOLUTION: The low-temperature beverage extractor 10 includes: an extraction chamber 20; a filter 40 for holding the extracted material 41 within the extraction chamber 20; a bottle 30 for storing extracted water 31 extracted by the filter 40 at the lower inside of the extraction chamber 20; a tube pump 50 for injecting the extracted water 31 inside the bottle 30 into the filter 40 to be circulated; and an extraction chamber cooling device 60 having a function of controlling the interior of the extraction chamber 20 at prescribed low temperature. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a beverage low-temperature extraction apparatus and method for extracting beverages to be extracted such as coffee and tea with low-temperature water.

  Generally, as a beverage extraction device for extracting beverages such as coffee and tea, ground coffee or tea leaves are placed in a filter container. Hot water is poured into it and it is extracted by drip. When extracting with high-temperature water, components called sourness, caffeine, tannin, and miscellaneous taste other than the main components are extracted from ground coffee and tea leaves. Components such as miscellaneous taste are components that deteriorate the taste of coffee and tea. On the other hand, when extracting with water, the extraction amount of components, such as miscellaneous taste, can be reduced rather than extracting with high temperature water.

  Recently, a water-beverage extraction device has been devised due to diversification of preferences. However, in the case of a water-beverage beverage extraction device, since it is cold water, the extraction efficiency is low, so it takes a long time, for example, overnight, that is, 5 to 8 hours.

  The technology disclosed in publications such as Patent Document 1 to Patent Document 3 is devised to drain water in a short time while reducing the extraction amount of components such as miscellaneous taste. That is, at the beginning of the extraction operation, hot water heated to a high temperature is poured for a limited period of time and steamed to increase extraction efficiency, and then low-temperature water is poured to reduce extraction of miscellaneous components and other components. To do.

  In addition, as another water-beverage beverage extraction device, a method is also known in which extraction water is circulated using a pump and extracted from coffee or tea many times to compensate for the low extraction efficiency of water.

JP-A-8-154833 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-56597 Japanese Patent No. 2732629

  In devices such as Patent Literature 1 to Patent Literature 3 and the like, in order to increase extraction efficiency, extraction is performed using high-temperature water in an initial extraction operation for a certain period of time. Therefore, in terms of reducing the extraction amount of components such as miscellaneous tastes, the entire process is insufficient as compared with the case of extracting with water.

  In addition, in the case of a water-beverage extraction device that circulates extracted water using a pump and extracts it several times, temperature management (temperature control) is not performed during the extraction operation even if all steps are performed by water discharge. . For this reason, even if cold water is used for the first time, the temperature of the extraction water rises to near room temperature due to the influence of the outside air temperature, that is, the room temperature, during a long extraction operation. As a result, the extraction amount of components such as miscellaneous taste cannot be reduced sufficiently. For example, it is insufficient in terms of obtaining a soft aroma and a clear mouthfeel coffee. In addition, since temperature control (temperature control) is not performed, when the temperature rises near room temperature, various germs may propagate in the circulation system.

  Furthermore, the conventional pump-circulating watering beverage extraction device cannot easily wash the pump. For cleaning, the inside of the pump and the pipe line are cleaned by circulating for a certain period of time using normal temperature water. Then, after draining normal temperature water, it is necessary to wash | clean by circulating using the hot water which mixed the washing | cleaning liquid, and it takes an effort to wash | clean.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a low-temperature extraction apparatus and method for beverages that can extract clear coffee, tea, etc. by sufficiently reducing the extraction amount of components such as miscellaneous taste. And

In order to solve the above problems, the beverage low-temperature extraction apparatus of the present invention includes an extraction chamber, a filter that holds the material to be extracted in the extraction chamber, and a storage unit that stores extracted water extracted by the filter, An extraction water circulation device that pours and circulates the extraction water in the storage section through the filter, and an extraction chamber cooling device that controls the extraction chamber to a predetermined low temperature are provided.
The extraction chamber cooling device includes a cooling heat exchanger, a compressor, and a condensation radiator, and the cooling heat exchanger is provided in the extraction chamber, and the compressor, the condensation radiator, Is preferably provided outside the extraction chamber.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said extracted water circulation apparatus has a tube pump provided with the tube for attracting | sucking the extraction water in the said storage part, and pouring into the said filter.

  In addition, the function of adjusting the temperature in the extraction chamber by controlling the extraction chamber cooling device, the function of adjusting the circulating water amount of the extraction water by controlling the extraction water circulation device, and adjusting the circulation time of the extraction water It is preferable to have a control part provided with the function to do. It is preferable that the control unit is configured to adjust the circulating water amount of the extracted water by controlling a rotation speed of a roller provided to press and pump the tube in the tube pump. It is preferable that the control unit has a function of adjusting an operation time and a stop time of the tube pump.

  Further, the control unit has a function of adjusting the operation time and stop time of the tube pump in the initial stage of the extraction operation to a time longer than the operation time and stop time of the tube pump in the subsequent extraction process, It is preferable that the steaming step can be performed in the initial stage.

  In the extraction chamber, it is preferable that a water distribution plate for distributing the extracted water to the filter is provided above the filter. The diversion plate is preferably formed in a dish shape having a plurality of through holes on the bottom surface, and provided with diversion plate adjusting means for adjusting the bottom surface of the diversion plate to a horizontal state. It is preferable that the periphery of the through hole of the water distribution plate is surrounded by a peripheral wall provided at a predetermined height from the bottom surface.

  The beverage low-temperature extraction method of the present invention is a state in which the extraction chamber including the filter that holds the material to be extracted and the storage unit that stores the extracted water extracted by the filter is controlled to a predetermined low temperature, And it is characterized by extracting a drink by pouring the extraction water in the storage part into the filter, and circulating it. It is preferable to perform extraction at a predetermined temperature of 1 ° C. or higher and 10 ° C. or lower.

  In the present invention, a filter, a storage unit, and an extraction water circulation device are provided in an extraction chamber controlled to a predetermined low temperature, and therefore, an extraction operation in which the extraction water in the storage unit is poured into the material to be extracted held in the filter and circulated. However, it is surely performed in the extraction chamber in a low temperature state. As a result, the extraction amount of components such as miscellaneous taste in the extracted water can be sufficiently reduced, and the taste of the beverage can be improved.

  It is preferable to perform an extraction operation in an extraction chamber that is temperature-controlled at a temperature below room temperature, preferably at a low temperature of 1 ° C. or higher and 10 ° C. or lower, thereby improving the beverage taste and in the circulating system of extracted water. The propagation of germs is less.

  Moreover, if the compressor and the condenser heat radiator are provided outside the extraction chamber as the extraction chamber cooling device, it is not necessary to take up space in the extraction chamber.

  When the tube pump is used as the extraction water circulation device, when the inside of the tube is washed, only the tube can be removed from the pump main body and washed easily. In addition, when the dirt in the tube becomes severe, it can be easily replaced with a new tube. In addition, the pump body does not need to be washed because it is not in direct contact with the extracted water. Further, since the tube is not easily affected by the heat generated by the pump body itself, there is little thermal effect on the circulating extracted water.

  By providing a control unit that adjusts the operation time and stop time of the tube pump of the extraction water circulation device, the steaming step can be executed under low temperature conditions in the initial stage of extraction. Moreover, since the operation time and stop time of the extraction water circulation in the extraction process can be set in detail, the extraction conditions can be changed according to the conditions of the material to be extracted. Alternatively, the extraction conditions can be changed according to the user's preference.

  Further, by providing a water diversion plate above the filter, the extracted water can be dropped almost uniformly from the plurality of through holes in the bottom surface of the water diversion plate that are horizontally controlled to the lower filter. As a result, the extraction water can be poured evenly into the material to be extracted in the filter.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a beverage low temperature extraction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a beverage cold extraction apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a state before a tube is attached to the pump body of the tube pump, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view showing a state where the tube is attached to the pump body of the tube pump. FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view including a cross-section of the main part when adjusting the horizontal state of the water diversion plate.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the beverage low temperature extraction apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes an extraction chamber 20 and a bottle 30 that constitutes a storage unit that stores the extraction water 31 by storing in the extraction chamber 20. And a filter 40 positioned above the bottle 30, a tube pump 50 constituting an extraction water circulation device for pouring and circulating the extraction water 31 in the bottle 30 to the filter 40, and an extraction chamber cooling device 60. Configured.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the extraction chamber 20 has a box shape with an opening on the front side, and is provided with a door 21 that opens and closes the opening. It is a cold storage that keeps constant.

  The extraction chamber cooling device 60 controls the inside of the extraction chamber 20 to a predetermined low temperature. In addition, the low temperature here is a temperature below room temperature, and is preferably controlled at a substantially constant temperature in the range of 1 ° C. or more and 10 ° C. or less.

  The extraction chamber cooling device 60 only needs to cool the inside of the extraction chamber 20. For example, the extraction chamber cooling device 60 can be configured by attaching a cooling heat exchanger (evaporator) 62 to the inside of the extraction chamber 20.

  As the extraction chamber cooling device 60, the cooling heat exchanger 62, the compressor 63 that supplies the cooling heat to the cooling heat exchanger 62, and the refrigerant that has absorbed heat by the cooling heat exchanger 62 are radiated. A condensing heat radiator (condenser) 64 can be provided. By installing the compressor 63 and the condenser heat radiator 64 outside the extraction chamber 20, it is not necessary to take a place in the extraction chamber 20. Reference numeral 67 denotes a fan motor.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a control unit 80 that controls the operation of the tube pump 50 and the extraction chamber cooling device 60 is provided in the upper portion of the extraction chamber 20. The controller 80 controls the operation time and stop time of the tube pump 50, the rotation speed of the roller 54, the cooling temperature of the extraction chamber cooling device 60, and the like by operating each button of the operation panel 81 on the front surface.

  On the bottom surface of the extraction chamber 20, a snowboard 32 having a U-shaped cross section is placed on the bottom surface of the extraction chamber 20. A through hole 33 for allowing the condensed water in the extraction chamber 20 to drop downward is formed in the slat 32. Further, a butt 34 for receiving the condensed water is placed on the bottom surface in the extraction chamber 20 below the through hole 33.

  The bottle 30 is a container for storing the extracted water 31 extracted by the filter 40, and is placed on the upper surface of the slat 32.

  The filter 40 holds an extraction material 41 such as coffee or tea. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a drip through-hole for dripping the extraction water 31 is formed in a container shape having an upper surface opening and at the bottom. The filter holding member 43 has a filter paper set therein. That is, a filter paper is laid on the inner surface of the filter holding member 43 and the material to be extracted 41 is put into the filter paper for use. The filter holding member 43 is set at a predetermined position in the extraction chamber 20 via the fixing bracket 44. As the filter 40, a cloth filter can be set and used at the position of the filter holding member 43. The material to be extracted 41 held in the filter 40 is typically coffee or tea, but it is needless to say that the material is not limited to this as long as it is a material from which beverages can be extracted.

  The tube pump 50 which is the extraction water circulation device is configured to have a tube 51 and a pump main body 52 for sucking the extraction water 31 in the bottle 30 and pouring it into the filter 40. The tube 51 is detachably provided on the pump main body 52. As the tube 51, for example, a flexible resin tube such as a silicon tube can be used.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the pump main body 52 is rotatably provided with a roller 54 having one or more protrusions 53 on the outer periphery. A guide portion 56 for pressing the tube 51 against the outer periphery of the roller 54 is provided so as to be rotatable about the hinge portion 57. Reference numeral 58 denotes a screw with a knob for fixing the guide portion 56 at a position where the tube 51 is pressed.

  When setting the tube 51, as shown in FIG. 3A, the guide portion 56 is lifted and opened. As shown in FIG. 1, after the lower end side of the tube 51 is poured into the extracted water 31 in the bottle 30, the upper end side of the tube 51 is installed at the position of the two-dot chain line in FIG. Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the guide portion 56 is rotated to press the tube 51 against the outer periphery of the roller 54, and the guide portion 56 is fixed by the knob screw 58. At this time, the tip on the upper end side of the tube 51 is directed to the lower water diversion plate 70 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3B.

  When the roller 54 is rotated in a state where the tube 51 is pressed against the outer periphery of the roller 54 by the guide portion 56, the tube 51 is pressed between the guide portion 56 and the protrusion 53 of the roller 54 rotates. It operates squeezing and sucks the extracted water 31. A stepping motor is preferably used as the motor that rotates the roller 54. Since the rotation speed from low speed to high speed can be rotated with the same torque, the ironing operation of the tube 51 can be made smooth.

The water diversion plate 70 is for diverting the extracted water 31 to the filter 40, and is provided above the filter 40. The water diversion plate 70 is formed in a dish shape having a flat bottom surface 71, and the flat bottom surface 71 is provided with a plurality of through holes 72.
The through-hole 72 is preferably formed by burring (punching) in the opposite direction from the bottom of the water distribution plate 70. A peripheral wall surrounding the through hole 72 is formed by burring. Thereby, since extraction water once accumulates to the top part of a surrounding wall, the dripping amount from each through-hole 72 can be made substantially uniform. In order to make the dripping amount more uniform, it is preferable that the height of the peripheral wall surrounding each through hole 72 is uniform. The peripheral wall forming means surrounding the through hole 72 is not limited to burring, and may be formed by other processing methods.

  Moreover, the water diversion board 70 is supported by the water diversion board support member 73, and is comprised so that adjustment of the horizontal state of the bottom face 71 is possible. As shown in FIG. 4, the water diversion plate support member 73 is disposed above the fixing bracket 44 that supports the filter holding member 43, and the lower ends of a plurality of adjustment screws 75 arranged at appropriate intervals on the water diversion plate support member 73. Is supported by abutting against the surface of the fixture 44. Therefore, the height position of the water distribution plate support member 73 with respect to the fixing bracket 44 can be adjusted by turning each adjustment screw 75. Each adjustment screw 75 is screwed with a wing nut 76 serving as a lock nut. Therefore, the horizontal state of the bottom surface 71 of the water diversion plate 70 is adjusted by turning the plurality of adjustment screws 75, and the adjustment position is locked by the wing nut 76. The water distribution plate support member 73, the adjustment screw 75, and the wing nut 76 constitute a water distribution plate adjustment unit that adjusts the bottom surface 71 of the water distribution plate 70 to a horizontal state.

  When the extracted water 31 is poured from the tip of the tube 51 to the water distribution plate 70, the extracted water 31 accumulates and falls from the plurality of through holes 72 in the bottom surface 71 onto the material to be extracted 41 in the lower filter 40. At this time, the extracted water 31 is evenly dripped from the plurality of through holes 72 by adjusting the water diversion plate 70 so that the bottom surface 71 of the water diversion plate 70 is in a horizontal state. As a result, the extracted water 31 is poured evenly into the material to be extracted 41 in the filter 40.

  Moreover, it is desirable that the water diversion plate 70 be provided so as to be visible from the outside. Thereby, it can be easily confirmed whether or not the water distribution plate 70 is horizontal or whether or not the extracted water 31 is evenly dropped. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable to provide the door 21 with a window portion 21a made of a transparent material.

  Next, the effect | action in the low temperature extraction apparatus 10 of the drink of the said structure is demonstrated. First, the bottle 30 in which a desired amount of water is previously placed is placed on the upper surface of the slats 32 in the extraction chamber 20. In addition, for example, ground coffee as a desired amount of the material to be extracted 41 is put into a filter paper laid on the inner surface of the filter holding member 43, and the filter holding member 43 is placed in a predetermined position above the bottle 30 in the extraction chamber 20. Set to position. Further, the lower end side of the tube 51 in the tube pump 50 is poured into the water in the bottle 30, and the upper end side of the tube 51 is attached to the pump main body 52 as described above. After setting as described above, the door 21 of the extraction chamber 20 is closed.

  Next, the operation panel 81 of the control unit 80 is operated to turn on the low temperature extraction apparatus 10. Thereby, first, the extraction chamber cooling device 60 is operated, and the inside of the extraction chamber 20 is adjusted to a predetermined low temperature.

Next, the operation panel 81 is operated, and the operation of the tube pump 50 is started. Then, water in the bottle 30 (initially water, but when extracted, becomes extracted water 31, hereinafter referred to as “extracted water”) is sucked up by the tube 51 and rises, and the upper end side of the tube 51. The water is poured from the tip of the water to the lower water distribution plate 70. Extracted water 31 accumulates in the diversion plate 70. At this time, since the bottom surface 71 of the water diversion plate 70 is adjusted to be in a horizontal state, the extracted water 31 is evenly dropped from the plurality of through holes 72 of the bottom surface 71 and evenly onto the material to be extracted 41 in the lower filter 40. Poured.
The extracted water 31 from which the material to be extracted 41 has been extracted passes through the filter 40 and drip into the lower bottle 30 from the drip through hole of the filter holding member 43. The extracted water 31 in the bottle 30 is again sucked up by the tube 51 and dropped onto the filter 40 again through the water diversion plate 70. The extraction water 31 is circulated by the operation of the tube pump 50 and the extraction of the material to be extracted 41 is repeated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the extraction operation in which the extraction water 31 in the bottle 30 is poured into the material to be extracted 41 held in the filter 40 and circulated is performed in the extraction chamber 20 adjusted to a constant temperature at a low temperature. Done internally. Therefore, the extracted extracted water 31 is less contaminated with components such as miscellaneous taste.

  Further, since the extraction operation is performed in the extraction chamber 20 where the temperature is controlled to a temperature below room temperature, preferably a low temperature range of 1 ° C. to 10 ° C., propagation of germs in the tube 51 or the like, which is the circulation route of the extraction water 31. Less is.

  Further, since the tube 51 can be attached to and detached from the pump main body 52, the tube pump 50 can be easily cleaned by removing the tube 51 from the pump main body 52 when cleaning the inside of the tube 51. Further, when the dirt in the tube 51 becomes severe, it can be easily replaced with a new tube 51. Further, the pump main body 52 does not need to be washed because it does not directly contact the extracted water 31. In addition, since the tube 51 is not easily affected by the heat generated by the pump body 52 itself, there is little thermal influence on the extracted water 31 that is circulated, and this is also helpful in preventing the extraction of miscellaneous components.

In the low-temperature extraction apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, in order to increase the extraction efficiency of the material to be extracted 41 with cold water (extracted water 31), before the extraction process in which the extracted water 31 is circulated and extracted, that is, at the beginning of the extraction operation. In addition, it is preferable to provide a steaming step for adapting the material to be extracted 41 to the extraction water 31 (cold water). In this steaming process, the operation time of the tube pump 50 (the time during which the extraction water 31 is circulated) and the stop time (the time during which the extraction water 31 is not circulated) are determined as the operation time of the tube pump 50 in the subsequent extraction process. This can be done by setting the time longer than the stop time. In this case, the steaming step is not performed at a high temperature, but is performed at a low temperature, preferably in a range of 1 ° C. or more and 10 ° C. or less.
In addition, the extraction conditions in the steaming process and the extraction conditions in the extraction process (control conditions by the control unit 80 such as operating time, stop time, amount of circulating water, temperature in the extraction chamber) are the size of the ground coffee granules and the content of oil, etc. Alternatively, it is preferable that the operation panel 81 of the control unit 80 can be operated and finely set according to the conditions of the material to be extracted 41 such as the state of the tea leaves. Note that the circulating water amount of the extracted water 31 can be adjusted by the rotation speed of the roller 54 in the tube pump 50.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Beverage low temperature extraction apparatus 20 Extraction chamber 30 Bottle 31 Extraction water 40 Filter 41 Extractable material 43 Filter holding member 44 Fixing metal fitting 50 Tube pump 51 Tube 52 Pump main-body part 53 Protrusion part 54 Roller 56 Guide part 60 Extraction chamber cooling device 62 Cooling heat exchanger 63 Compressor 64 Condensing radiator 70 Diverging plate 71 Bottom surface 72 Through hole 73 Dividing plate support member 75 Adjusting screw 76 Wing nut 80 Control unit

Claims (12)

An extraction chamber, a filter that holds the material to be extracted in the extraction chamber, a storage unit that stores the extracted water extracted by the filter, and an extraction water circulation device that pours the extracted water in the storage unit into the filter for circulation And an extraction chamber cooling device for controlling the inside of the extraction chamber to a predetermined low temperature. The extraction chamber cooling device includes a cooling heat exchanger, a compressor, and a condensation radiator,
The beverage low-temperature extraction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cooling heat exchanger is provided in the extraction chamber, and the compressor and the condensation radiator are provided outside the extraction chamber.   The low-temperature extraction device for beverages according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the extraction water circulation device includes a tube pump including a tube for sucking the extraction water in the storage unit and pouring the extraction water into the filter.   A function for adjusting the temperature in the extraction chamber by controlling the extraction chamber cooling device, a function for adjusting the circulating water amount by controlling the extraction water circulation device, and a function for adjusting the circulation time of the extraction water The low temperature extraction apparatus for beverages according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a control unit comprising:   The low temperature of the beverage according to claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to adjust the circulating water amount of the extracted water by controlling a rotation speed of a roller provided to press and pump the tube in the tube pump. Extraction device.   The said control part is a low temperature extraction apparatus of the drink of any one of Claims 1-5 provided with the function to adjust the operation time and stop time of the said tube pump.   The control unit has a function of adjusting the operation time and stop time of the tube pump in the initial stage of the extraction operation to a time longer than the operation time and stop time of the tube pump in the subsequent extraction process. The beverage low temperature extraction apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the steaming step can be performed.   The beverage low-temperature extraction apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a water diversion plate for diverting the extracted water to a filter is provided in the extraction chamber above the filter.   The beverage according to claim 8, wherein the water diversion plate is formed in a dish shape having a plurality of through holes on the bottom surface, and provided with water diversion plate adjusting means for adjusting the bottom surface of the water diversion plate to a horizontal state. Low temperature extraction equipment.   The beverage low-temperature extraction device according to claim 9, wherein the periphery of the through hole of the water dividing plate is surrounded by a peripheral wall provided at a predetermined height from the bottom surface.   An extraction chamber having a filter that holds the material to be extracted and a storage part that stores the extracted water extracted by the filter is controlled to a predetermined low temperature, and the extracted water in the storage part is supplied to the filter. A method for extracting a beverage at a low temperature, wherein the beverage is extracted by pouring and circulating.   The method for extracting a beverage at a low temperature according to claim 11, wherein the extraction is carried out at a predetermined temperature of 1 ° C. or higher and 10 ° C. or lower.

Images