JP2018191884A - Beverage manufacturing device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a beverage manufacturing device capable of supplying hot water adjusted to an optimum temperature to a leaching container.SOLUTION: An beverage manufacturing device 10 includes: a water supply mechanism 20; a heating mechanism 30 including a heating tank 31 to which water is supplied from the water supply mechanism, and a heater 32 for heating the water in the heating tank; a hot water supply mechanism 40 for sucking hot water from the heating tank and distributing it; a cooling mechanism 50 connected to the downstream side of the hot water supply mechanism, and for cooling the hot water when the hot water in the heating tank is supplied; a leaching mechanism 60 connected to the downstream side of the hot water supply mechanism, and including a leaching container 61 for producing beverage when the hot water in the heating tank is supplied; and control means 90 for controlling the heating mechanism, the hot water supply mechanism, and the cooling mechanism. By the control means, the hot water supply mechanism supplies the hot water of the heating tank to the cooling mechanism or the leaching mechanism.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing various beverages, and more specifically, to a beverage production apparatus capable of leaching tea from tea leaves at a suitable temperature.

  Beverage production apparatuses that produce beverages such as tea and coffee have been proposed. In this type of beverage manufacturing apparatus, water stored in a water supply tank is boiled and poured into a brewing container filled with tea leaves and the like to produce a beverage. And the produced drink is poured into a drink container. For example, in Patent Document 1, a heater is disposed in a flow path connecting a water supply tank and a leaching container, water is boiled while water passes through the flow path, and boiling water is poured into the leaching container.

  For example, tea leaves are required to cool boiled hot water because the optimum temperature for leaching differs depending on the type. In patent document 1, hot water is made into a mist by supplying to a leaching container through a watering nozzle from a flow path, and it is cooled by heat exchange with air.

JP-A-2006-131859

  A certain amount of hot water cooling effect can be expected by discharging the hot water in the form of a mist through the watering nozzle. However, the temperature cannot be adjusted to a desired temperature, for example, an optimum temperature according to the type of tea leaves.

  The objective of this invention is providing the drink manufacturing apparatus which can supply the hot water adjusted to the optimal temperature to a brewing container.

The beverage production apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
A water supply mechanism;
A heating mechanism comprising a heating tank to which the water is supplied from the water supply mechanism, and a heater for heating the water in the heating tank;
A hot water supply mechanism for sucking out and distributing hot water from the heating tank;
A cooling mechanism connected to the downstream side of the hot water supply mechanism, supplied with hot water in the heating tank, and cooling the hot water;
A brewing mechanism connected to the downstream side of the hot water supply mechanism, the brewing mechanism comprising a brewing container to which hot water in the heating tank is supplied to produce a beverage;
Control means for controlling the heating mechanism, the hot water supply mechanism and the cooling mechanism;
With
By the control means, the hot water supply mechanism supplies hot water in the heating tank to the cooling mechanism or the leaching mechanism.

  The hot water supply mechanism may include a hot water supply pump connected to the heating tank, and a switching valve connected to the hot water supply pump for distributing hot water in the heating tank to the cooling mechanism or the leaching mechanism. .

  The control means is configured to control the switching valve alternately and repeatedly between the cooling mechanism and the pouring mechanism while operating the hot water supply pump, so that the residual water in the heating tank and the cooling mechanism is removed from the brewing container. It can be set as the structure discharged | emitted.

  The cooling mechanism may be configured such that the downstream side is connected to the heating tank, and the hot water cooled by the cooling mechanism is returned to the heating tank.

  The control means can control the hot water supply mechanism with the heater stopped, and circulate the hot water in the heating tank between the heating tank and the cooling mechanism until the temperature reaches an appropriate temperature.

  The cooling mechanism includes a cooling pipe through which the hot water of the heating tank flows, and the cooling pipe is formed in a spiral shape on the outer periphery of the heating tank, the upstream side being the bottom surface of the heating tank, The downstream side can be configured to pass through the upper surface side of the heating tank.

  According to the beverage production apparatus of the present invention, the temperature of hot water can be adjusted to an appropriate temperature by cooling the hot water in the heating tank with a cooling mechanism. Thereby, since the hot water adjusted to an appropriate temperature is supplied to the brewing container through the hot water supply mechanism, leaching can be performed at an optimum temperature according to, for example, the tea leaves.

  Since the heating tank can supply hot water to the cooling mechanism or the leaching mechanism via the hot water supply pump and the switching valve, an individual pump is unnecessary and the configuration can be simplified.

  The configuration in which the hot water cooled by the cooling mechanism is returned to the heating tank, and further the hot water is circulated between the cooling mechanism and the heating tank so that the cooled hot water is mixed with the hot water in the heating tank, Can be evenly cooled.

  Moreover, the hot water in a heating tank and a cooling mechanism can be discharged | emitted to a leaching mechanism by repeating switching of a switching valve, operating a hot-water supply pump. Thereby, the residual water of a heating tank and a cooling mechanism can be removed, and it is hygienic.

FIG. 1 is a mechanism diagram of a beverage production apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a beverage production apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a front view of the same. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the same. FIG. 5 is a right side view of the same. FIG. 6 is a rear view of the same. FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the same. FIG. 8 is a front view of the beverage production apparatus with the main body casing removed. FIG. 9 is a right side view of the same. FIG. 10 is a rear view of the same. FIG. 11 is a left side view of the same. FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line A-A ′ of FIG. 4. FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken along line B-B ′ of FIG. 4. FIG. 14 is a perspective view of the internal structure of the beverage production apparatus as viewed from the back side. FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the water supply tank. FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the cooling mechanism. FIG. 17 is a plan view of the lid back body shown by removing the lid front body from the lid body. FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a state where the lid of the beverage production apparatus is opened and the water supply tank is taken out. FIG. 19 is a plan view showing a state in which the lid of the beverage production apparatus is opened. FIG. 20 is a plan view showing a state where the water supply tank is removed in FIG. FIG. 21 is a perspective view of a brewing container. FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the water stop valve. FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the liquid discharge pipe. FIG. 24 is a perspective view of a tea set tray. FIG. 25 shows a display panel and an operation panel. FIG. 26 is a block diagram of the electrical system.

  Hereinafter, a beverage production apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the beverage is tea, and the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10 that can brew tea from tea leaves will be described. In the following description, the front means the direction in which the water supply tank 21 is arranged in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the left and right mean the direction when the beverage production apparatus 10 is viewed from the front.

  First, with reference to FIG. 1, schematic structure of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10 of this invention is demonstrated. Drawing 1 is a figure which looked at the mechanism of beverage manufacture device 10 concerning one embodiment of the present invention from the right side. The beverage production apparatus 10 includes a water supply mechanism 20 for storing and supplying water, a heating mechanism 30 for heating water, a hot water supply mechanism 40 for distributing hot water heated by the heating mechanism 30 to a cooling mechanism 50 or a brewing mechanism 60, and hot water at an appropriate temperature. Cooling mechanism 50 that cools down to tea, tea leaf T is introduced, and brewing mechanism 60 that brews tea by pouring hot water adjusted to an appropriate temperature; A liquid mechanism 70 and a liquid injection mechanism 80 on which the tea set C is placed are provided.

  The water supply mechanism 20 includes a water supply tank 21 into which a user puts water, and a water supply pump 23 that sucks out water from the water supply tank 21. The water supply tank 21 and the water supply pump 23 are connected by a water supply upper pipe 232, and the water sucked out by the water supply pump 23 is supplied to the heating mechanism 30 via the water supply lower pipe 233.

  The heating mechanism 30 includes a heating tank 31 connected to the lower water supply pipe 233, and a heater 32 that heats the water in the heating tank 31 and boiles it if necessary. The heated hot water is supplied to the hot water supply mechanism 40. The heater 32 operates when the water is heated and boiled, but the operation can be stopped when the hot water is cooled by the cooling mechanism 50 described below. The heating tank 31 is connected to a steam / pressure discharge pipe 35 that communicates with the outside air to prevent the internal pressure of the heating tank 31 from increasing.

  The hot water supply mechanism 40 includes a hot water supply pump 41 and a switching valve 42. The hot water supply pump 41 is connected to the heating tank 31 via the hot water supply upper pipe 411. The hot water supply pump 41 is connected to a switching valve 42 via a hot water supply lower pipe 412, and the hot water from the heating tank 31 is connected to the cooling mechanism 50 or the pouring pipe 43 via the cooling upper pipe 511 by operating the switching valve 42. Via the brewing mechanism 60.

  The cooling mechanism 50 is a mechanism that cools down to hot water until it reaches an appropriate temperature for tea leaching. The optimum temperature for leaching of tea leaves T varies depending on the type. Therefore, the hot water once heated by the heating mechanism 30 is cooled by the cooling mechanism 50 to an optimum temperature corresponding to the tea leaves T. Specifically, the cooling mechanism 50 includes a cooling pipe 51 connected to the switching valve 42 via a cooling upper pipe 511. Hot water supplied from the heating tank 31 by the hot water supply pump 41 passes through the cooling pipe 51. The cooling pipe 51 is thermally connected to the cooling member 52 in which the cooling fins 523 are formed, and the hot water flowing through the inside is cooled by heat exchange. The cooling mechanism 50 is preferably provided with a cooling fan 54, and it is desirable to increase cooling efficiency by applying air to the cooling member 52 and the cooling pipe 51. The hot water cooled by the cooling pipe 51 can be returned to the heating tank 31 via the cooling lower pipe 512, and the hot water is circulated by the cooling mechanism 50 and the heating mechanism 30 until the hot water is cooled to an appropriate temperature. It is desirable. In addition, when the hot water can be cooled to an appropriate temperature only by the cooling mechanism 50, the downstream side of the cooling mechanism 50 can be connected to the hot water supply mechanism 40 or the direct brewing container 61.

  The brewing mechanism 60 supplies hot water to the brewing container 61 into which the tea leaves T are put, and brews tea. The brewing vessel 61 is connected to the switching valve 42 and the pouring pipe 43 described above, and hot water adjusted to an appropriate temperature is supplied from the heating tank 31 via the hot water supply mechanism 40. The brewing vessel 61 is provided with a water stop valve 62, and tea is brewed with the water stop valve 62 closed, and the brewed tea flows out to the discharge mechanism 70 by opening the water stop valve 62.

  The liquid discharge mechanism 70 pours tea brewed in the brewing container 61 into the tea set C disposed in the liquid injection mechanism 80 through the liquid discharge pipe 71. As a result, tea brewed into the tea set C at an appropriate temperature is supplied.

  That is, the beverage production apparatus 10 of the present invention simply heats and boiles water in the heating tank 31 and hot water in the cooling pipe 51 as described above, simply by putting water into the water supply tank 21 and tea leaves into the brewing container 61. After cooling to an appropriate temperature, hot water adjusted to an appropriate temperature is poured into the brewing container 61 to brew tea and can be poured into the tea set C.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and each drawing to be described later, the beverage production apparatus 10 according to the present invention has, as shown in FIG. A space 81 is provided, and a brewing container 61 of the brewing mechanism 60 is provided at the upper rear side, and a heating tank 31 and a cooling mechanism 50 of the heating mechanism 30 are provided at the lower rear side. With this configuration, as described later, the usability of the beverage production apparatus 10 can be dramatically improved, the safety can be improved, and the beverage production apparatus 10 can be configured in a compact manner.

  Hereinafter, specific embodiment of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10 of this invention is described.

  2 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a front view, FIG. 4 is a plan view, FIG. 5 is a right side view, FIG. 6 is a rear view, and FIG. Is a bottom view. As shown in the figure, the beverage production apparatus 10 has a front casing 112 whose center is recessed on the front side, and the left and right and the rear are covered with a main body casing 111 that is substantially U-shaped in top view. A lid 12 is provided on the upper surface of the main casing 111. Further, the bottom surface is constituted by a bottom casing 113. The casings forming these exteriors are mounted between the casings or the inner frame 13 (see FIG. 12 and the like) that is internally provided.

  A water supply tank base 14 protrudes from the recess of the front casing 112 substantially at the center in the height direction, and a water supply tank 21 constituting the water supply mechanism 20 is mounted on the water supply tank base 14. The lower side of the water supply tank base 14 is a tea set rest space 81 that constitutes the discharge mechanism 70, and a tea set C such as a cup or teapot is placed on the tea set stand tray 82 mounted on the lower front side of the front casing 112 (see FIG. 3). Is placed. In addition, the front casing 112 includes an operation panel 92 that performs various operations on the right side of the water supply mechanism 20 and a display panel 96 that can visually recognize the operation status on the left side. Further, a liquid injection lever 63 for controlling the supply of beverage is provided below the operation panel 92.

  The outer appearance of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10 will be further described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the lid 12 is supported at the rear end by the hinge portion 114 and can be opened and closed. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an exhaust port 551 is formed on the back surface of the main casing 111. As shown in FIG. 7, an air inlet 552 is formed in the bottom casing 113. A power cord 97 extends from the lower back of the main casing 111.

  Next, each mechanism of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10 will be described including its internal structure. 8 to 11 are a front view, a right side view, a rear view and a left side view, respectively, showing a state in which the main body casing 111 is removed from the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10, and FIGS. FIG. 14 is a rear perspective view showing the internal structure of the beverage production apparatus 10 from which all the exteriors such as the main body casing 111 have been removed. Below, even if it is in the state which removed the exterior, it calls the drink manufacturing apparatus 10 suitably.

  The water supply mechanism 20 includes, as main components, a water supply tank 21 into which the user described with reference to FIG. 1 and a water supply pump 23 that supplies water to the heating tank 31. The water supply tank 21 is arrange | positioned at the front side upper part of the drink manufacturing apparatus 10, as shown in FIG.8, FIG.9, FIG.11 and FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, the water supply tank 21 is a bottomed cylindrical container having an open top surface, and is made of, for example, a transparent resin. The upper surface opening of the water supply tank 21 can be sealed by a removable water tank lid 213. Furthermore, a grip portion 212 that protrudes forward is formed at the upper end of the water supply tank 21 so that the grip portion 212 can be appropriately gripped when the water supply tank 21 is attached or detached.

  The bottom surface of the water supply tank 21 is recessed in a mortar shape, and a water supply valve 211 is attached to the center as shown in FIG. The water supply valve 211 is closed when the water supply tank 21 is not attached to the beverage production apparatus 10, and when the water supply tank 21 is attached to the water supply tank base 14 protruding substantially at the front center of the beverage production apparatus 10. The water supply joint 231 provided on the water supply tank base 14 is engaged and released.

  The water supply joint 231 communicates with the water supply upper pipe 232 as shown in FIG. The other end of the water supply upper pipe 232 extends downward, and is connected to a suction port of the water supply pump 23 arranged on the lower left side as shown in FIGS. 11, 13, and 14. A feed water lower pipe 233 is connected to the feed port of the feed water pump 23 as shown in FIG. 11, and the feed water lower pipe 233 extends upward as shown in FIGS. The heating tank 31 communicates with the heating tank 31 via the heating tank lid 311. The water supply pump 23 is electrically connected to the control means 90 shown in FIG.

  As described above, the water supply tank 21 can be easily attached and detached when the user performs water supply by arranging the water supply tank 21 on the upper front side of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10. Further, by forming the water supply tank 21 with a transparent resin or the like, the amount of remaining water in the water supply tank 21 can be visually recognized from the front. Furthermore, by configuring the water supply tank 21 so that a part of the water supply tank 21 protrudes from the front casing 112 to the front as shown in the figure, the amount of remaining water in the water supply tank 21 can be visually recognized from the side.

  The heating mechanism 30 includes, as main components, a heating tank 31 that receives water supplied from the water supply mechanism 20 described in FIG. 1 and a heater 32 that heats the heating tank 31. As best shown in FIGS. 12, 13, and 14, the heating mechanism 30 is configured by arranging a heating tank 31 at the lower rear side of the beverage production apparatus 10. The heating tank 31 is a bottomed cylindrical container, and the upper surface is sealed with a heating tank lid 311. The bottom surface of the heating tank 31 is recessed in a mortar shape, and a hot water supply upper pipe 411 of the hot water supply mechanism 40 is connected to the center. In addition to the above-described water supply lower pipe 233, the steam / pressure discharge pipe 35 and the cooling lower pipe 512 of the cooling mechanism 50 are connected to the heating tank lid 311.

  A heater 32 is disposed on the bottom surface of the heating tank 31. The heater 32 can be exemplified by a heat transfer heater and is electrically connected to the control means 90 shown in FIG. In addition, as shown in FIG. 12, a temperature detection sensor 33 is attached to the heating tank 31, and the temperature of the heating tank 31 can be detected and transmitted to the control means 90.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the heating mechanism 30 serving as a heat source is arranged at the lower rear side of the beverage production apparatus 10, that is, at a position that is difficult for the user to access. Thereby, it is suppressed that a user approaches a heat source in operation, such as attachment / detachment of the water supply tank 21, the tea set C, the cover body 12, and the brewing container 61.

  The hot water supply mechanism 40 includes, as main components, a hot water supply pump 41 that sucks out hot water in the heating tank 31 described in FIG. 1 and a switching valve 42 that distributes the path of the sucked hot water to the cooling mechanism 50 or the brewing mechanism 60.

  As shown in FIGS. 9, 13 and 14, the hot water supply pump 41 is arranged at the lower right side, the hot water supply upper pipe 411 connected to the bottom surface of the heating tank 31 at the suction port, and the hot water supply lower pipe 412 at the delivery port. Is connected. The hot water supply pump 41 is electrically connected to the control means 90 shown in FIG. The hot water supply lower pipe 412 is connected to an inlet port of a switching valve 42 provided in front of the hot water supply pump 41.

  The switching valve 42 is a flow path switching valve having one inlet port and two outlet ports. An electromagnetic switching valve can be exemplified, and switching of the outlet port is controlled by the control means 90 shown in FIG. The inlet port of the switching valve 42 is connected via a hot water supply pump 41 and a hot water lower pipe 412 as shown in FIGS. One outlet port is connected to the cooling upper pipe 511 of the cooling mechanism 50, and the other outlet port is connected to the pouring pipe 43.

  Then, the hot water in the heating tank 31 is sent to the cooling upper pipe 511 or the hot water pipe 43 by operating the switching valve 42 while operating the hot water supply pump 41.

  The cooling mechanism 50 includes the cooling pipe 51 and the cooling member 52 described with reference to FIG. 1 and the cooling fan 54 that sends air to the cooling member 52 shown in FIG. 14 as main components.

  The cooling pipe 51 is connected to a cooling upper pipe 511 communicating with one outlet port of the switching valve 42, and hot water in the heating tank 31 can be circulated. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the cooling pipe 51 is configured to form a spiral flow path at a slight interval on the outer periphery of the heating tank 31. In the illustrated embodiment, the cooling pipe 51 is connected to a cooling upper pipe 511 whose lower side is upstream, and is connected to a cooling lower pipe 512 whose upper side is downstream. The cooling lower pipe 512 is connected to the heating tank lid 311, and the hot water that has passed through the cooling pipe 51 is returned to the heating tank 31 through the cooling lower pipe 512.

  FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the cooling pipe 51 and the cooling member 52 extracted from the cooling mechanism 50. As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 14 including FIG. 16, the cooling member 52 is disposed so as to be thermally connected to the outer periphery of the spiral cooling pipe 51. The illustrated cooling member 52 has a cylindrical inner surface that has a cylindrical inner surface that is open at the top and bottom and that abuts against the cooling pipe 51, and a plurality of cooling fins 523 project from the outer periphery. As shown in FIG. 16, the cooling member 52 is configured by bolting cooling member halves 521 and 522 that are substantially semicircular when viewed from above, thereby simplifying assembly and manufacturing.

  In order to effectively absorb heat from the cooling pipe 51 and the cooling member 52 and increase the cooling efficiency of the hot water in the cooling pipe 51, a control means 90 (FIG. 26) is provided below the lower opening of the cooling member 52. A cooling fan 54 to be controlled is disposed. As shown in FIGS. 11 to 14, the cooling fan 54 is disposed on the intake port 552 provided in the bottom casing 113, and sucks outside air from the intake port 552. The air flow sucked from the air inlet 552 hits the cooling member 52, particularly the cooling fin 523, and also flows into the cooling member 52 to directly cool the cooling pipe 51. Moreover, the outer periphery of the heating tank 31 is also cooled by this air flow. Thereby, the hot water and the heating tank 31 which circulate through the cooling pipe 51 are cooled. And an air flow is discharged | emitted from the exhaust port 551 opened in the back surface of the main body casing 111 shown in FIG.5, FIG6 and FIG.12. Since the exhaust port 551 is provided in the back surface of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10, it can prevent that the exhausted with heat hits a user directly.

  As described above, the temperature of the hot water is lowered by the cooling mechanism 50 by circulating the hot water from the heating tank 31 via the hot water supply pump 41, the switching valve 42, and the cooling pipe 51. The temperature of the hot water is detected by a temperature detection sensor 33 installed in the heating tank 31, and the cooling fan 54 and the hot water supply pump 41 are operated to continue the circulation of the hot water until the temperature of the hot water drops to the set temperature. . Thereby, the hot water in the heating tank 31 can be cooled uniformly. When the heated hot water is directly sent to the leaching mechanism 60 without being cooled, it is not necessary to go through the cooling mechanism 50.

  When the switching valve 42 is switched and connected to the pouring pipe 43 connected to the other outlet port, the hot water in the heating tank 31 is sent to the pouring pipe 43. The pouring pipe 43 is directed upward as shown in FIG. 9, and the tip thereof is shown in FIG. 9 and a plan view 17 of the lid back body 124 with the lid surface body 121 removed from the lid body 12, as shown in FIG. In addition, it passes through a hinge portion 114 that connects the main body casing 111 and the lid body 12 and extends to the upper portion of the brewing container 61. A hemispherical pouring nozzle 431 having a plurality of pouring holes 432 is connected to the tip of the pouring pipe 43 as shown in FIGS. The hot water is discharged from the pouring nozzle 431 to the brewing vessel 61 in a radial manner.

  Here, the lid 12 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 2, 5, and 12, the lid body 12 is supported by the main body casing 111 by a hinge portion 114. As shown in FIGS. 18, 19, and 20, the brewing container 61 and the like can be detached from the beverage production apparatus 10 by opening the lid 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 17, the lid body 12 is provided with a magnet 127 on the free end side of the lid back body 124 in order to restrict unintentional opening. Further, on the upper surface of the inner frame 13, as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, for example, a magnetic member 133, which is a screw, is disposed at a position where the magnet 127 faces in a state where the lid 12 is closed. And in the closed state of the cover body 12, the magnet 127 adsorb | sucks to the magnetic member 133, and the open | release which the cover body 12 does not intend is controlled. Note that the structure for restricting the opening of the lid 12 is not limited to this.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the lid body 12 is configured by engaging a lid front body 121 and a lid back body 124. A space is formed between the lid surface 121 and the lid back 124, and the steam / pressure discharge pipe 35 and the pouring pipe 43 described above are inserted into the space via the hinge portion 114. The lid 12 has an outer steam hole 122 (see also FIGS. 2 and 4) in the lid surface 121, and an inner steam hole 125 (also in FIGS. 17 and 18) in a position facing the outer steam hole 122 in the lid back body 124. The outer steam hole 122 and the inner steam hole 125 communicate with each other through the space.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the outer steam hole 122 is a long hole, and the inner steam hole 125 is a plurality of circular holes in the front-rear direction across the pouring nozzle 431. As shown in FIG. 12, the lid surface 121 is formed with a rib-like standing wall 123 surrounding the outer steam hole 122 on the inner surface side, and the lid back 124 is also shown in FIG. Ribbed standing walls 126 surrounding the inner steam hole 125 are formed in the front and rear. These standing walls 123 and 126 are connected when the lid front body 121 and the lid back body 124 are engaged to form a steam passage 128. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 17, the steam / pressure exhaust pipe 35 is in communication with the steam passage 128 on the rear side.

  The steam generated in the heating tank 31 and the air expanded by heating are discharged through the steam / pressure discharge pipe 35 and the steam in the leaching vessel 61 enters the steam passage 128 through the inner steam hole 125. To do. These steam and air are discharged to the outside through the outer steam hole 122. In addition, water droplets generated by condensation in the steam passage 128 fall into the leaching container 61 through the inner steam hole 125.

  As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 18, a packing member 129 that is in close contact with the upper edge of the brewing container 61 described below when the lid 12 is closed is attached to the lid backing 124.

  Next, the brewing mechanism 60 will be described. The brewing mechanism 60 includes a brewing vessel 61 described in FIG. 1 and a water stop valve 62 that controls the discharge of tea from the brewing vessel 61 as main components. As shown in FIGS. 9 to 13, 14, B <b> 10, and FIG. 19, the brewing mechanism 60 is a rear upper part of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10, that is, a rear part of the front upper water supply mechanism 20, and a lower rear heating mechanism. It is arranged at a position above 30.

  The leaching container 61 is a relatively shallow container as best shown in FIG. 21, and is attached to an annular recess 132 formed in the inner frame 13 as shown in FIGS. The By forming the brewing vessel 61 with a large diameter and a shallow bottom, it is possible to enlarge the opening while securing the amount of hot water that can be poured into the brewing vessel 61, so that the tea leaves T can be easily introduced and cleaning can be easily performed. it can. Furthermore, since the bottom area of the brewing container 61 can be taken large, the tea leaves T can be sufficiently immersed in hot water even if the amount of hot water is small. Then, by closing the lid body 12 in this state, the packing member 129 of the lid body 12 and the upper edge of the brewing container 61 abut on each other in an airtight manner. The brewing vessel 61 is filled with a water-permeable tea strainer S (see FIG. 1), at least a part of which is a mesh, and the tea leaves are charged into the tea strainer S. Then, hot water adjusted to an appropriate temperature is poured from the extraction head nozzle 431, and tea is leached.

  The brewing container 61 is filled with tea leaves T, and is frequently accessed by the user to take out the tea leaves T for replacement, cleaning, or the like. By arranging this brewing container 61 at the upper rear side of the beverage production apparatus 10, access to the brewing container 61 can be facilitated. Moreover, although tea may remain in the brewing container 61, the structure in which the brewing container 61 can be drawn upward can prevent the remaining tea from spilling.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the bottom surface of the brewing vessel 61 is inclined so as to be lowered toward the front, and an extraction hole 611 having a peripheral edge projecting downward in a substantially hemispherical shape is formed at the lowest position. In addition, since the bottom surface of the brewing container 61 is inclined and the extraction hole 611 has a protruding peripheral portion, the leaching container 61 is not tilted when the brewing container 61 is placed directly on a table or the like. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 21, a height adjustment projection 612 is formed downward from the bottom surface of the container 61.

  On the upper edge of the brewing vessel 61, left and right knobs 613 are formed, which can be picked up when the brewing vessel 61 is attached and detached. A positioning projection 614 further projects forward from the upper edge of the brewing container 61 and is formed on the front side of the annular recess 132 of the inner frame 13 when the brewing container 61 is mounted on the inner frame 13. By engaging with the positioning recess 131, the mounting direction of the brewing container 61 is regulated.

  Further, the leaching container 61 is formed with a valve guide 615 that guides the water stop valve 62 that opens and closes the extraction hole 611 up and down. In the present embodiment, the valve guide 615 has a positioning convex portion 614 formed in a hollow U shape, and an upper notch 616 connected to the hollow portion of the positioning convex portion 614 is formed on the front upper edge of the brewing container 61. . Further, as a valve guide 615 of the water stop valve 62, a rib 617 having a U-shape in a top view is provided on the bottom surface of the leaching container 61 directly below the upper notch 616. A lower notch 618 is formed in the center of the rear end of the rib 617.

  The extraction hole 611 of the brewing vessel 61 is opened and closed by a water stop valve 62. The water stop valve 62 is slidably mounted on the brewing vessel 61, closes the extraction hole 611 by its own weight, and moves upward by operating the liquid injection lever 63 shown in FIG. 2 to open the extraction hole 611. Can be illustrated. In this case, in order to block the extraction hole 611 with its own weight without liquid leakage, it is preferable that the water stop valve 62 is made of a heavy material such as stainless steel.

  As a specific embodiment, the water stop valve 62 is a valve equipped with a packing material 622 that fits into the extraction hole 611 as best shown in FIGS. 12 and 21 and FIG. 22 showing the water stop valve 62 taken out. A head 621 is provided. The front end of the valve head 621 is connected to the lower end of a rod-shaped joint 624 via a plate-shaped lower guide 623. A plate-shaped upper guide protrudes from the upper end of the joint 624 in the direction opposite to the lower guide 623. As shown in FIG. 22, the upper guide includes an upper guide piece 626 that protrudes forward from the joint 524 and an upper guide plate 627 that extends downward from the tip of the upper guide piece 626.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 12, 19, and 21, the water stop valve 62 is in a state in which the packing material 622 of the valve head 621 blocks the extraction hole 611, and the lower guide 623 is configured as the valve guide 615. The rib 617 fits into the lower notch 618 and the lower end of the joint 624 fits into the rib 617. In addition, the upper guide piece 626 fits into the upper notch 616 of the valve guide 615, the upper guide plate 627 is inserted into the space in the positioning convex portion 614 that also serves as the valve guide 615, and the lower end of the upper guide faces downward. I'm out.

  The operation of the water stop valve 62 is performed by the liquid injection lever 63. The liquid injection lever 63 protrudes from the front casing 112 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the base end of the liquid injection lever 63 is connected to a lateral link piece 631 extending in the front-rear direction. The lateral link piece 631 is supported by the inner frame 13 so as to be movable up and down and downward. The vertical link piece 632 urged by the spring 633 is connected to the lower end. The upper end of the horizontal link piece 632 extends to the left and can come into contact with the upper guide plate 627 of the water stop valve 62 as shown in FIG.

  However, when the liquid injection lever 63 is in an unloaded state, the vertical link piece 632 is biased downward by the spring 633, the water stop valve 62 is pressed downward by its own weight, and the packing material 622 passes through the extraction hole 611. Block it. In this state, when the user pushes down the liquid injection lever 63 by hand, the horizontal link piece 631 moves the vertical link piece 632 upward against the urging force of the spring 633, and the vertical link piece 632 moves to the stop valve 62. The upper guide plate 627 is pushed upward. Thereby, the water stop valve 62 slides upward, the packing material 622 is separated from the extraction hole 611, the extraction hole 611 is opened, and the tea in the brewing container 61 is discharged from the extraction hole 611. When the hand is released from the liquid injection lever 63, the link pieces 631, 632 return to their original positions by the biasing force of the spring 633, the water stop valve 62 closes the extraction hole 611 again by its own weight, and the discharge of tea stops. The water injection lever 63 also returns to the original position.

  In the present embodiment, an electrical mechanism such as a solenoid valve is not employed as the water stop valve 62, but the extraction hole 611 is closed by its own weight as described above, and is mechanically lifted by a link to open the extraction hole 611. ing. Further, the water stop valve 62 is arranged in the heating tank 31 so that it can be taken out together with the heating tank 31.

  This is to facilitate cleaning when tea astringent or the like adheres to the leaching container 61 or the water stop valve 62. For example, when a solenoid valve is employed, the inside of the inside cannot generally be cleaned, and there is a risk that tea astringency may remain. For the same purpose, the discharge mechanism 70 described below also allows the discharge pipe 71 to be detached from the beverage production apparatus 10.

  The liquid discharge mechanism 70 mainly includes a liquid discharge pipe 71 communicating with the extraction hole 611 described with reference to FIG. 1 and pours tea in the brewing container 61 into the tea set C. As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 23, which shows the liquid discharge pipe 71 taken out, the liquid discharge pipe 71 is a hollow cylinder, and the front casing 112 and the water tank base 14 are formed from the bottom surface of the annular recess 132 of the inner frame 13. And is inclined to the front and lower side. The reason why the discharge pipe 71 is inclined forward and downward is to connect the brewing container 61 at the upper rear side of the beverage production apparatus 10 and the liquid injection mechanism 80 at the lower front side.

  The spout pipe 71 has a receiving portion 711 that is reduced in the shape of a mortar on the side of the extraction hole 611. The receiving portion 711 is disposed close to the lower portion of the extraction hole 611 and spills tea discharged from the extraction hole 611. I try to receive it without any problems. A recess having a shape corresponding to the receiving portion 711 is formed in the annular recess 132 of the inner frame 13. And when the exhalation pipe | tube 71 is mounted | worn with the exudation container 61 and the cover body 12 is closed, the upper edge of the exudation container 61 will contact | abut airtightly to the packing member 129 of the cover body 12, and the exudation container 61 will be pressed below. Thereby, the receiving part 711 adheres to the brewing container 61, and tea can be prevented from flowing out of the receiving part 711.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 23, the receiving portion 711 is formed with a knob portion 713 that is picked when the discharge pipe 71 is removed. In addition, the discharge pipe 71 is gradually reduced in diameter in the illustrated embodiment, and the tip of the discharge pipe 71 passes through the water supply tank base 14 and protrudes into a tea set space 81 constituting the liquid injection mechanism 80 and opens downward. A spout 712 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the discharge pipe 71 is inserted from the annular recess 132 side of the inner frame 13 toward the front lower side with the brewing container 61 removed. In order to remove the spout pipe 71, the knob 713 may be picked and then pulled upward.

  However, the tea discharged from the extraction hole 611 is received by the receiving portion 711, passes through the discharge pipe 71 by the gravitational action, and is discharged from the discharge port 712. In the present embodiment, a pump is not employed for the discharge mechanism 70, and tea is discharged from the brewing container 61 through the discharge pipe 71 by its own weight. This is because, as explained in the brewing mechanism 60, when tea astringent adheres, it can be easily removed and cleaned.

  The liquid injection mechanism 80 in which the user puts the tea set C and pours tea is formed at the lower front side of the beverage production apparatus 10, that is, below the water supply tank base 14. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 12, and the like, the liquid injection mechanism 80 is formed above the tea set tray 82 and a removable tea set tray 82 on which the tea set C (see FIG. 12) is placed. The tea set space 81 in which the tea set C is placed is a main component.

  As shown in FIG. 24, the tea set tray 82 includes a bottomed liquid storage container 821 and a tea set plate 822 that is detachably disposed on the upper surface of the liquid storage container 821 and has a plurality of water passage holes.

  The tea set tray 82 is attached to the lower part of the front casing 112, and the tea set C is placed as shown in FIG. Then, by operating the liquid injection lever 63, the tea in the brewing container 61 is poured into the tea set C through the liquid discharge pipe 71.

  Since the liquid injection mechanism 80 is provided at the lower part on the front side of the beverage production apparatus 10, the user can easily place the tea set C on the tea set tray 82 from the front, and tea has been poured. The tea set C can be taken out from the front, and the operability is excellent.

  As described above, according to the beverage production apparatus 10 of the present invention, the water supply mechanism 20 that allows the user to attach and detach the water supply tank 21 is the front upper part of the beverage production apparatus 10, and the brewing mechanism 60 that attaches and detaches the brewing container 61 and the like is the rear side. An upper part, a liquid injection mechanism 80 on which the tea set C is placed, is arranged in the lower part on the front side. Further, the operation panel 92 and the display panel 96 are arranged in the front casing 112 of the beverage production apparatus 10. That is, the user can perform water supply, tea leaf insertion, tea container C insertion / extraction, and operation of the operation panel 92 by accessing only from the front and the upper side of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10, which is easy to use. In addition, since the heating mechanism 30 serving as a heat source is a lower part on the rear side of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10 that is difficult for the user to access, it is excellent in safety, and the exhaust outlet 551 is provided on the back side so that the heated exhaust air is Can also be prevented.

  Furthermore, the installation width of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10 can be narrowed by arranging the mechanisms forward and backward, and the installation area can also be reduced by arranging them vertically. Therefore, there is also an advantage that the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10 can be formed compactly.

However, the beverage production apparatus 10 can be used in the following manner.
The lid 12 is opened, and the discharge pipe 71 is inserted from the annular recess 132 of the inner frame 13 toward the liquid injection mechanism 80 toward the front and lower side. Subsequently, the water stop valve 62 is fitted into the brewing container 61, and the brewing container 61 is inserted into the annular recess 132.

  Further, water is put into the water supply tank 21, the water supply tank lid 213 is fitted, and the water supply tank base 14 is set. Then, the tea set C is placed on the tea set tray 82, and the operation panel 92 described below is operated to brew the tea leaves.

  The beverage production apparatus 10 is operated by an operation panel 92 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, specifically, FIG. 25, and the operation status of the beverage production apparatus 10 can be visually observed by a display panel 96. The operation panel 92 and the display panel 96 are arranged with the water supply tank 21 sandwiched between the front casing 112 and are electrically connected to the control means 90 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 25, the operation panel 92 includes a tea type selection button 93 for selecting the type of tea leaf T and a cup number button 94 for setting the amount of pouring. The tea type selection button 93 is a gyokuro button 931, an upper tea button 932, and a green tea button 933 in this embodiment. Further, the number-of-cups button 94 can select from 1 to 4 cups. For example, when two cups of gyokuro are to be added, the gyokuro button 931 is pushed, and then “2” of the cup number button 94 is pushed. Further, the operation panel 92 is provided with a second sash button 95 for once brewing tea and leaching tea again with the same tea leaves. Each button 93, 94, 95 is provided with a lamp such as an LED for indicating that the button has been pressed. Details of control by each button will be described later.

  The display panel 96 shows the operation status of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 25, in the present embodiment, the display panel 96 includes a vertically long display lamp 961 so that it is possible to visually check whether the operation state is boiling, cooling, or leaching. ing. The display lamp 961 can include a configuration in which a plurality of lamps such as LEDs are provided therein, and the operation status is level-displayed with different colors.

  Control of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 10 described above is performed by the control means 90 shown in FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the control means 90 is mounted on a substrate 91 arranged at the lower rear side of the beverage production apparatus 10 close to the power cord 97. The control means 90 is composed of a CPU, a memory, etc., and the hot water temperature (temperature program), leaching time (leaching program), and hot water supply amount (cup Several programs), various control programs such as the second pouring temperature, leaching time, and hot water supply amount (second roasting program) are stored in advance.

  The temperature program is a program for adjusting the temperature of hot water supplied to the brewing vessel 61 to an optimum temperature according to the tea leaf selected by the tea type selection button 93. For example, Table 1 shows an example of the types of tea leaves and the optimum pouring temperature.

  As shown in Table 1, since the pouring temperature varies depending on the type of tea leaf, the control means 90 temporarily uses the heating mechanism 30 while referring to the detected temperature of the temperature detection sensor 33 according to the selected tea leaf. Cool the hot water. Specifically, the control unit 90 operates the heater 32 to once boil the hot water in the heating tank 31, stops the heater 32, switches the switching valve 42 to the cooling pipe 51 side, and also supplies the hot water supply pump 41. Then, the cooling fan 54 is operated to cool the hot water until the temperature detected by the temperature detection sensor 33 reaches the pouring temperature. The display panel 96 displays the level from boiling to cooling depending on the temperature state.

  The brewing program is a program for adjusting the brewing time in the brewing container 61 as shown in Table 1 in accordance with the tea leaf selected by the tea type selection button 93. The display panel 96 displays the remaining time as a level.

  The cup number program is a program that supplies an optimal amount of hot water supply to the number of cups according to the tea leaves selected by the tea type selection button 93. The control means 90 operates the water supply pump 23 for a time corresponding to the required amount of hot water to supply water from the water supply tank 21 to the heating tank 31. As shown in Table 1, for example, if there are two cups of gyokuro, 40 to 60 cc of water is supplied from the water supply tank 21 to the heating tank 31.

  The Ninome program is a program to brew tea once again with tea leaves that have been brewed once. The second rice cracker can increase, for example, the same hot water supply amount or hot water supply amount with respect to the number of tea leaves and cups selected last time, the pouring temperature is increased by about 10 ° C., and the leaching time can be shortened by 10 to 30 seconds.

  The tea leaves T are leached in the brewing vessel 61 by operating the operation panel 92. The completion of leaching can be confirmed by referring to the display panel 96. The notification may be made by a buzzer or the like. Then, by operating the liquid injection lever 63 by the user, an optimal temperature and an optimal amount of tea corresponding to the tea leaf T can be poured into the tea set C.

  After leaching, the beverage production apparatus 10 can be maintained in the following manner.

  In this embodiment, since the cooling pipe 51 has a spiral structure, water may remain in the cooling pipe 51. In order to discharge the residual water, the switching valve 42 is alternately switched between the cooling pipe 51 and the pouring pipe 43 while operating the hot water supply pump 41 (care operation mode). Thereby, the residual water in the cooling pipe 51 gradually flows into the heating tank 31 and is discharged to the leaching container 61 through the pouring pipe 43, so that the residual water in the cooling pipe 51 can be removed. Residual water can be more effectively removed by switching the switching valve 42 a plurality of times. This operation can be programmed to be executed, for example, by simultaneously pressing any two of the buttons 93, 94, 95 on the operation panel 92, and the control means 90 implements the above-described maintenance operation mode by this operation.

  Further, the leaching container 61 and the water stop valve 62 may be cleaned by opening the lid 12 and pulling the brewing container 61 upward. Since the water stop valve 62 can be removed integrally with the leaching container 61, maintenance is also easy.

  After the brewing container 61 is taken out, the liquid discharge pipe 71 can also be cleaned by pulling out the liquid discharge pipe 71 rearward and upward.

  As described above, since the beverage production apparatus 10 of the present invention can easily take out the brewing container 61, the water stop valve 62, and the discharge pipe 71 that are easily attached with tea astringency, these washings are also simple and hygienic. It is.

  In addition, the water supply tank 21 and the tea set tray 82 can also be removed and disassembled for cleaning.

  The above description is for explaining the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or limiting the scope thereof. Further, the configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims.

  For example, the types of tea leaves, the pouring temperature, etc. shown in Table 1 are examples, and leaching conditions can be set according to various tea leaves. Moreover, a drink is not limited to tea, It can replace with a tea leaf and can manufacture coffee, a tea, etc. by throwing into a brewing container 61 coffee powder and a tea leaf.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Beverage production apparatus 12 Cover body 20 Water supply mechanism 21 Water supply tank 30 Heating mechanism 31 Heating tank 32 Heater 40 Hot water supply mechanism 41 Hot water supply pump 42 Switching valve 50 Cooling mechanism 51 Cooling pipe 52 Cooling member 523 Cooling fin 54 Cooling fan 60 Leaching mechanism 61 Leaching Container 62 Water stop valve 70 Discharge mechanism 71 Discharge pipe 80 Injection mechanism

Claims (6)

A water supply mechanism;
A heating mechanism comprising a heating tank to which the water is supplied from the water supply mechanism, and a heater for heating the water in the heating tank;
A hot water supply mechanism for sucking out and distributing hot water from the heating tank;
A cooling mechanism connected to the downstream side of the hot water supply mechanism, supplied with hot water in the heating tank, and cooling the hot water;
A brewing mechanism connected to the downstream side of the hot water supply mechanism, the brewing mechanism comprising a brewing container to which hot water in the heating tank is supplied to produce a beverage;
Control means for controlling the heating mechanism, the hot water supply mechanism and the cooling mechanism;
With
The hot water supply mechanism by the control means supplies hot water in the heating tank to the cooling mechanism or the leaching mechanism.
Beverage production equipment. The hot water supply mechanism includes a hot water supply pump connected to the heating tank, and a switching valve that is connected to the hot water supply pump and distributes hot water in the heating tank to the cooling mechanism or the leaching mechanism.
The beverage production apparatus according to claim 1. The control means is configured to control the switching valve alternately and repeatedly between the cooling mechanism and the pouring mechanism while operating the hot water supply pump, so that the residual water in the heating tank and the cooling mechanism is removed from the brewing container. To discharge,
The beverage production apparatus according to claim 2. The cooling mechanism has a downstream side connected to the heating tank, and the hot water cooled by the cooling mechanism is returned to the heating tank.
The beverage production apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The control means controls the hot water supply mechanism in a state where the heater is stopped, and circulates hot water in the heating tank with the heating tank and the cooling mechanism until an appropriate temperature is reached.
The beverage manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4. The cooling mechanism includes a cooling pipe through which the hot water of the heating tank flows, and the cooling pipe is formed in a spiral shape on the outer periphery of the heating tank, the upstream side being the bottom surface of the heating tank, The downstream side is inserted through the upper surface side of the heating tank,
The beverage production apparatus according to claim 4 or 5.

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