JP2016179820A - Beverage server - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a water server which prevents air from entering a tank when water is taken into the tank in a structure where a bottle is installed below the tank.SOLUTION: A water server includes: a cold water tank 2 and a hot water tank 3 for storing water; a replaceable bottle 20 which is set below the hot water tank 3 and stores the water to be supplied to the cold water tank 2 and the hot water tank 3; a supply tube 5 connecting the bottle 20 with the cold water tank 2 and including a pump 6 which pumps the water from the bottle 20 to the cold water tank 2; a control part which controls water pumping by the pump 6; and a cold water cock 7 and a hot water cock 8 for taking out the water from the cold water tank 2 and the hot water tank 3. The control part controls the pump 6 so that the pump 6 pumps the water to the cold water tank 2 when the cold water cock 7 and the hot water cock 8 are opened.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a beverage server that supplies beverages contained in bottles.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, beverage servers that supply beverages such as water contained in bottles are known. Many beverage servers that have been used in the past are types of beverage servers in which bottles are set on top of a water server housing. In this beverage server, the beverage in the bottle is dropped into the tank of the water server using gravity.

  However, it is not easy for women and elderly people to set the tank on the upper part of the housing, and bottle replacement work is difficult. Patent Document 1 proposes a water server in which a bottle is set in a lower part of a casing in order to solve such problems.

JP 2014-172624 A

  In the water server described in Patent Document 1, the pumping of water from the bottle to the cold water tank is controlled when the water level in the cold water tank falls below a preset lower limit water level by driving the pump to cool water from the bottle. Drinking water is pumped into the tank and the water level in the cold water tank is raised (Patent Document 1, paragraph [0067], FIG. 12, etc.). Therefore, air enters the cold water tank from the outside until the water level in the cold water tank reaches the lower limit water level. If outside air that has not been sterilized enters the cold water tank, it can cause the growth of germs and mold.

  Therefore, in view of the above background, the present invention provides a beverage server in which air is not introduced into the tank from the outside at the time of water intake in a configuration in which the bottle is installed below the tank.

  The beverage server of the present invention connects a storage tank that stores beverages, an exchangeable bottle that is set below the storage tank and contains beverages to be supplied to the storage tank, and the bottle and the storage tank. A supply pipe having a pump for pumping a beverage from the bottle to the storage tank, a control unit for controlling the pumping of the beverage by the pump, and a cock for taking the beverage from the storage tank, The pump is controlled to draw the beverage into the storage tank when the cock is opened.

  In this way, when the beverage is taken out from the storage tank by opening the cock, the beverage can be supplied without putting outside air into the storage tank.

  In the beverage server of the present invention, an air port is formed at a position higher than the water level of the beverage to be stored in the storage tank, and the air port is closed when the beverage in the storage tank reaches a predetermined water level. When the bottle is set, the control unit controls the pump to pump up the beverage until the water level in the storage tank is higher than the predetermined water level by a predetermined threshold value. May be. The beverage server may include a reverse valve provided at the air port so as to prevent air from flowing into the storage tank.

  Thus, by pumping up a certain amount of beverage even after the air opening is closed, the inside of the storage tank is slightly pressurized, and air can be prevented from entering the storage tank from the outside.

  The drink server of this invention WHEREIN: The said control part may change the pumping-up amount of the drink to the said storage tank according to the opening degree of the said cock.

  By controlling the pumping amount to the storage tank according to the opening degree, such as increasing the pumping amount when the cock opening is large and decreasing the pumping amount when the opening is small, The water level can be kept constant.

  In the beverage server of the present invention, the storage tank is a cold water tank connected to the supply pipe, a hot water tank located below the cold water tank and connected to the cold water tank by a pipe, The control unit may control the pump so as to draw a beverage into the cold water tank in response to opening and closing of the cold water tank cock and the hot water cock. Thereby, the drink server which prevented the inflow of the air to the storage tank with one pump can be comprised.

  In the beverage server of the present invention, the bottle may be a bottle that is deformed in accordance with the outflow of the beverage. Thereby, a drink can be supplied, without putting air also in a bottle.

  The beverage server of the present invention has an effect that beverages can be supplied without introducing air that causes the propagation of germs and molds into the storage tank.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of the water server of embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode when performing initial water_filling to a water server. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode when performing initial water_filling to a water server. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode when performing initial water_filling to a water server. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode when the initial water injection to a water server is completed. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode when taking out cold water. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode when taking out warm water. It is a figure for demonstrating a control part. It is a figure which shows control of the pump by a control part. It is a figure which shows the example of the bottle installed in a water server. (A) And (B) is a figure which shows a mode that a bottle is crushed when water is taken out from a bottle.

  Hereinafter, a beverage server according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Hereinafter, a water server that supplies water in a bottle will be described as an example, but the beverage server of the present invention can be applied to supply not only water but also various beverages.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a water server according to an embodiment. The water server has a housing 1, and a cold water tank 2 and a hot water tank 3 are provided inside the housing 1 from above. A bottle 20 is set under the hot water tank 3. In FIG. 1, the bottle 20 is drawn smaller than the cold water tank 2 and the hot water tank 3, but the bottle 20 is actually larger.

  In the water server of the present embodiment, the position where the bottle 20 is set is the lower part of the housing 1, and it is not necessary to lift the bottle 20 high, so even a woman or an elderly person can easily set the bottle 20 Can do. The cold water tank 2 is connected to the hot water tank 3 with a cold water cock 7 and a hot water cock 8 for water supply, respectively.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the bottle 20 set in the water server. The bottle 20 has a substantially square shape when viewed from above, and includes a bottom portion 21 positioned below, a body portion 22 that surrounds the side surface, a shoulder portion 24 that covers the upper surface, and a neck portion 23 that protrudes in a columnar shape from the center of the shoulder portion 24. A cap 29 for sealing is attached to the neck portion 23. The bottom portion 21 is literally the portion that becomes the bottom of the bottle 20 and has a simple plate shape, and a wall-shaped body portion 22 protrudes upward from the outer edge thereof. The body portion 22 is composed of a skirt aperture portion 27 near the bottom portion 21 and a bellows portion 25 on the top portion. The skirt aperture portion 27 is narrowed in cross section as it approaches the bottom portion 21. Further, the bellows portion 25 has a structure in which a plurality of bellows 26 are stacked on top and bottom, and the height of the bellows portion 25 is reduced when each bellows 26 is crushed.

  FIG. 11A shows the bottle 20 at a stage where about half of the water W has been consumed, and FIG. 11B shows the bottle 20 at a stage where almost the entire amount of water W has been consumed. In FIG. 11A, the liquid level reaches almost the center of the bellows part 25, the bellows 26 located above the liquid level is crushed by atmospheric pressure, and the bottom 21 is also inside the bellows part 25. Has been drawn into. Thereafter, the bellows portion 26 is further crushed as the liquid W is consumed, and finally the bellows portion 25 is completely crushed as shown in FIG. The part 27 is retracted, and the volume is greatly reduced. In FIG. 11A, reference numeral 33 denotes an inner plug fitted to close the communication hole 31.

  Returning to FIG. 10, the configuration of the bottle 20 will be described. A shoulder portion 24 that covers the bottle 20 is formed on the body portion 22. The shoulder portion 24 has a pyramid shape protruding toward the neck portion 23, and a plurality of ribs 28 are formed in order to improve the strength. The entire bottle 20 from the bottom portion 21 to the neck portion 23 is integrally manufactured using PET resin as a material, but the cap 29 needs to ensure sealing performance, and other materials are used. A split groove 30 is formed in the side surface of the cap 29, and only the cap 29 can be detached from the neck portion 23 by tearing it.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the configuration of the water server will be described. The housing 1 includes a door 40 for taking the bottle 20 into and out of the housing 1. The door 40 is opened and the bottle 20 is set in the water server. After the setting, the door 40 is closed. The bottle 20 is set in the water server with the neck portion 23 facing down. At this time, the pipe 4 is inserted into the communication hole 31 (see FIG. 10) formed in the cap 31. When the shoulder portion 24 of the bottle 20 is held by the support base 32 (see FIG. 11), the bottle 20 stands upside down. The pipe 4 is connected to the cold water tank 2 through the supply pipe 5. On the supply pipe 5, a pump 6 for pumping the water in the bottle 20 to the cold water tank 2 is provided.

  An air port 9 is formed in the upper part of the cold water tank 2. A float valve 10 is attached to the air port 9. When the water level in the cold water tank 2 reaches a predetermined water level, the air port 9 is closed. The air port 9 is provided with a check valve 41 to prevent the inflow of air from the outside. Thereby, for example, even when there is a change in the water surface (such as undulations), the inflow of air into the cold water tank 2 can be prevented.

  The cold water tank 2 and the hot water tank 3 are connected by a water supply pipe 13. The inlet 12 of the water supply pipe 13 on the cold water tank 2 side is provided not at the bottom of the cold water tank 2 but at the center of the disk 11 arranged at a predetermined height. Thereby, the water is supplied to the hot water tank 3 for the first time when the water is filled up to the height of the disk 11 in the cold water tank 2. The upper part of the hot water tank 3 and the upper part of the cold water tank 2 are connected by an exhaust tube 14. As a result, the air in the hot water tank 3 exits from the air port 9 of the cold water tank 2 through the exhaust tube 14 and the cold water tank 2.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the control unit 15 of the water server. The water server has a control unit 15 that controls pumping of water by the pump 6. The control unit 15 includes a water level sensor 16 that measures the water level in the cold water tank 2, a cold water cock opening / closing sensor 17 that detects opening / closing of the cold water cock 7, a hot water cock opening / closing sensor 18 that detects opening / closing of the hot water cock 8, and a door. 40 is connected to a door sensor 19 that detects opening and closing. The control unit 15 controls the pumping amount of water by the pump 6 based on the detection results of the water level sensor 16, the cold water cock opening / closing sensor 17, the hot water cock opening / closing sensor 18, and the door sensor 19.

  The control unit 15 has two modes of “water supply mode” and “stop mode”. The water supply mode is an operation mode in a state where water remains in the bottle 20, and the water in the bottle 20 is pumped up so as to keep the water level in the cold water tank 2 at a predetermined water level L2 (see FIG. 5). On the other hand, the stop mode is an operation mode in a state where there is no residual water in the bottle 20, and the pumping operation of the pump 6 is not performed. Switching from the water supply mode to the stop mode is when the pump 6 pumps up, but the pump 6 runs idle and cannot pump up water. Switching from the stop mode to the water supply mode is when the door sensor 19 detects that the door 40 is closed. Note that when it is detected that the door 40 is closed in the water supply mode, the water supply mode remains unchanged.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation of controlling the pump by the control unit 15. As described above, after the bottle 20 is set in the water server, the door 40 is closed. When the control unit 15 detects that the door 40 is closed (YES in S10), the control unit 15 shifts to the water supply mode and pumps up the water in the bottle 20 until the water level measured by the water level sensor 16 reaches the water level L2 (S11).

  The control unit 15 determines whether or not the water has been successfully pumped up to the water level L2 of the cold water tank 2 (S12). If the pumping is not successful (NO in S12), there is no residual water in the bottle 20. The determination is made to shift to the stop mode, and the process returns to the determination of whether or not the door 40 is closed (S10). When the pumping up to the water level L2 is successful (YES in S12), the process proceeds to the determination of whether the cold water cock 7 or the hot water cock 8 is opened. That is, first, it is detected whether or not the cold water cock 7 has been opened (S13), and if it is determined that the cold water cock 7 has been opened (YES in S13), the control unit 15 supplies an amount of water discharged from the cold water cock 7. The pump 6 is controlled to pump up from the bottle 20 (S15). Thereby, the water level in the cold water tank 2 is maintained at a predetermined water level L2 (see FIG. 5).

  If it is not determined that the cold water cock 7 has been opened (NO in S13), it is determined whether the hot water cock 8 has been opened (S14). If it is determined that the hot water cock 8 has been opened (YES in S14), the control is performed. The unit 15 controls the pump 6 so as to pump the amount of water discharged from the hot water cock 8 from the bottle 20 (S15). Thereby, the water level in the cold water tank 2 is maintained at a predetermined water level L2 (see FIG. 5). If it is determined that neither the cold water cock 7 nor the hot water cock 8 is open (NO in S13 and NO in S14), the process proceeds to step S13 for determining whether the cold water cock 7 is open.

  In the pumping process (S15) following the opening of the cold water cock 7 or the hot water cock 8, the control unit 15 determines whether or not the pumping is successful (S16). If the pumping is successful (YES in S16), the process returns to step S13 for detecting whether or not the cold water cock 7 has been opened. If the pumping has failed (NO in S16), it is determined that there is no remaining water to be pumped in the bottle 20, and the process shifts to the stop mode and waits for the bottle 20 to be replaced. That is, the process returns to step S10 for determining whether or not the water server door 40 is closed.

  FIG. 2 to FIG. 5 are diagrams showing a state in which the bottle 20 is set in the water server, and initial water is introduced into the cold water tank 2 and the hot water tank 3. 2 to 5 are schematic diagrams and do not show a state in which the bottle 20 is crushed together with water supply, but actually, the bottle 20 is crushed by the amount of water discharged from the bottle 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the bottle 20 is set in the water server, the water in the bottle 20 is pumped up to the cold water tank 2 by the pump 6. At this time, since the float valve 10 is lowered, the air port 9 is opened, and the air in the cold water tank 2 goes out through the air port 9 with the inflow of water. When the water supply to the cold water tank 2 proceeds and the water level reaches the height of the disk 11, water is supplied from the inlet 12 of the water supply pipe 13 at the center of the disk 11 to the hot water tank 3 as shown in FIG. 3. . At this time, with the inflow of water into the hot water tank 3, the air in the hot water tank 3 flows to the cold water tank 2 through the exhaust tube 14 and exits from the air port 9 of the cold water tank 2 to the outside.

  When the hot water tank 3 is full, the water level of the cold water tank 2 rises above the disk 11 and pushes up the float of the float valve 10. As shown in FIG. 4, when the water level rises to a position indicated by L1, the float valve 10 is closed and the air port 9 is closed. When the water level of the cold water tank 2 further rises and the water level reaches the position indicated by L2, as shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 15 stops pumping water by the pump 6, and the initial water entry is completed. In this way, by entering water even after the float valve 10 is closed, the inside of the cold water tank 2 is slightly pressurized, and the inflow of air from the outside can be effectively prevented. Further, even if water is taken from the cold water tank 2 or the hot water tank 3 and the water level drops slightly, the float valve 10 does not open, so the effect of preventing the inflow of air from the outside can be enhanced.

  FIG. 6 is a view showing a state when water is taken from the cold water cock 7. When the cold water cock 7 is opened and water is taken in as shown in FIG. 6, at the same time, the control unit 15 controls the pump 6 to pump the water in the bottle 20 into the cold water tank 2. Thereby, water can be taken in without putting external air into the cold water tank 2 with the water level in the cold water tank 2 kept and the float valve 10 closed.

  FIG. 7 is a view showing a state when water is taken from the hot water cock 8. When the hot water cock 8 is opened and water is taken in as shown in FIG. 7, at the same time, the control unit 15 controls the pump 6 to pump the water in the bottle 20 into the cold water tank 2 and flows out to the hot water tank 3 through the water supply pipe 13. A sufficient amount of water is supplied to the cold water tank 2. Thereby, warm water can be taken in without putting external air into the cold water tank 2 with the water level in the cold water tank 2 kept and the float valve 10 closed.

  The water server of the present embodiment can take in water while preventing air from entering the cold water tank 2 from the outside, so that it is possible to prevent the propagation of germs and the generation of mold. In addition, about the air which exists in the cold water tank 2 at the time of completion of initial water injection, heat sterilization can be performed. For the heat sterilization, the method described in Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-539083 (WO2011 / 024390) filed by the present applicant can be used.

  The water server according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment. However, the water server according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, the float valve 10 is used as a configuration for closing the air port 9 when the water level in the cold water tank 2 becomes L1, but an electromagnetic valve may be used instead of the float valve 10. Good.

  The beverage server also includes a cold water cock opening sensor that detects the opening degree of the cold water cock 7 and a hot water cock opening sensor that detects the opening degree of the hot water cock 8, and the control unit 15 includes the cold water cock 7 and the hot water cock 8. It is good also as pumping up the water of the flow volume according to the opening degree. Thereby, control of the water level in the cold water tank 2 can be performed appropriately.

  The beverage server of the present invention is useful as a beverage server or the like that temporarily stores and supplies a beverage replenished from a bottle.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Case 2 Cold water tank 3 Hot water tank 4 Pipe 5 Supply pipe 6 Pump 7 Cold water cock 8 Hot water cock 9 Air port 10 Float valve 11 Disc 12 Water supply pipe inlet 13 Water supply pipe 14 Exhaust tube 15 Control part 16 Water level sensor 17 Cold water cock Open / close sensor 18 Hot water cock open / close sensor 19 Door sensor 20 Bottle 21 Bottom portion 22 Body portion 23 Neck portion 24 Shoulder portion 25 Bellow portion 26 Bellow portion 27 Bottom throttle portion 28 Rib 29 Cap 30 Split groove 31 Communication hole 32 Support base 33 Central plug 40 Door 41 Check valve

Claims (6)

A storage tank for storing beverages;
A replaceable bottle set below the storage tank and containing a beverage to be replenished to the storage tank;
A supply pipe comprising a pump for connecting the bottle and the storage tank and pumping a beverage from the bottle into the storage tank;
A controller for controlling the pumping of the beverage by the pump;
A cock for removing the beverage from the storage tank;
With
The said control part is a drink server which controls the said pump so that a drink may be drawn up to the said storage tank when the said cock is opened. In the storage tank, an air port is formed at a position higher than the water level of the beverage to be stored,
A float valve or a solenoid valve that closes the air port when the beverage in the storage tank reaches a predetermined water level;
The beverage according to claim 1, wherein when the bottle is set, the controller controls the pump to pump up the beverage until the water level in the storage tank is higher than the predetermined water level by a predetermined threshold value. server.   The beverage server according to claim 2, further comprising a reverse support valve provided at the air port so as to prevent inflow of air into the storage tank.   The beverage server according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control unit changes a pumping amount of the beverage to the storage tank according to the opening of the cock. The storage tank is a cold water tank connected to the supply pipe, and a hot water tank located below the cold water tank and connected to the cold water tank by a pipe,
The beverage according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the control unit controls the pump so as to pump the beverage into the cold water tank in accordance with opening and closing of the cold water tank cock and the hot water cock. server.   The beverage server according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the bottle is a bottle that is deformed according to a beverage outflow.

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