JP2933530B2 - Automatic dispensing device for sparkling beverages - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic dispensing apparatus for automatic dispensing of a sparkling beverage, and more particularly to an automatic dispensing apparatus for dispensing and dispensing a beverage such as a raw beer by extruding the beverage from a beverage container with carbon dioxide pressure. It relates to a quantitative dispensing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are various types of sparkling beverages containing carbon dioxide which are handled by an automatic metering and dispensing apparatus, such as raw beer, cola, and juice. Here, raw beer will be described as an example. I do.

[0003] Conventionally, raw beads are used as beverage containers.
Fig. 5 shows an automatic dispensing device for dispensing quantitatively from barrels.
2. Description of the Related Art An automatic quantitative dispensing apparatus as shown in FIG. That is, the refrigeration apparatus 2 and the cooling water tank 3 are provided in the pouring device main body 1.

[0004] The cooling water 4 in the cooling water tank 3 is supplied to the refrigerating device 2.
More cooled. In the cooling water tank 3, a beer cooling pipe 5 as a beverage cooling pipe is provided, and exchanges heat with the cooling water 4.

[0005] One end of the ball cooling pipe 5 is connected to a discharge valve 6, to which a discharge port 7 is attached. The other end of the beer cooling pipe 5 is connected to a beer introduction pipe 8 serving as a beverage introduction pipe outside the dispensing device main body 1.

A dispense head 11 is detachably mounted on a beverage outlet 10 of a raw beer barrel 9 as a beverage container. The dispense head 11 is connected to a siphon tube (not shown) provided in the raw beer barrel 9, and the upper end of the dispense head 11 communicates with the beel introduction tube 8.

A pressure reducing valve 14 attached to a carbon dioxide gas cylinder 13 serving as a carbon dioxide gas supply source is connected to a gas inlet 16 of the dispense head 11 via a gas conduit 15.

On the other hand, below the spout 7 is a mounting table 18 on which a container 17 such as a mug can be mounted, and the mounting table 18 can be raised and lowered by a table elevating device 19.

A control device 20 is provided in an upper part of the main body 1 of the dispensing device. Then, the control device 20 includes the platform elevating device 19 and the discharge valve control device 22 for the discharge valve 6.
And are electrically connected to each other.

Next, a description will be given of a pouring operation of the raw beer B which is a carbonated beverage in the above-mentioned apparatus. First, in order to discharge the raw beer B, the carbon dioxide gas in the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 13 is depressurized using the pressure reducing valve 14 and supplied to the raw beer barrel 9 via the gas conduit 15 and the dispense head 11. I do.
Thus, the inside of the raw beer barrel 9 is pressurized by the carbon dioxide gas pressure. Then, by opening the pouring valve 6, the raw beer B stored in the raw beer barrel 9 passes through the raw beer introducing pipe 8 and the raw beer cooling pipe 5, and from the pouring outlet 7. It will be poured out into the container 17.

The poured raw beer B is placed in a container 17.
It is preferable that a predetermined amount of liquid and foam be poured into the inside, and this greatly affects the flavor of the raw beer B. Therefore, when the raw beer B is poured, when the discharging button 21 is pressed, the mounting table 18 on which the container 17 is placed is driven up by the table elevating device 19 so that the container 17 and the spout 7 are close to each other. Injection was performed while the head falling from the bevel outlet 7 into the container 17 was reduced to suppress the foaming amount.

In addition, when the container 17 is to be poured into containers 17 of different sizes, such as a large jug and a small jug, the container sizes are detected by container size detecting mechanisms 23a and 23b arranged corresponding to the container mounting portions. The control device 20, which received the signal, opened the dispensing valve control device 22 for a time corresponding to the container size in which the dispensing valve 6 was detected, and dispensed a fixed amount.

The following has been proposed as a control example for controlling the quantitative dispensing. A detection mechanism for detecting the size of the container 17 and a conversion element for converting the size of the container 17 detected by the detection mechanism into a time proportional to the detection mechanism are provided. A container which can be opened and can be poured at a constant rate into containers 17 of different sizes (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 55-178783).

A sorting switch corresponding to the number of containers 17 of different sizes is provided, and by operating a sorting switch corresponding to the size of the selected container 17,
(See Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 55-178785).

A container size detecting mechanism corresponding to the number of containers 17 of different sizes is provided, and a container size detecting mechanism corresponding to the container 17 of the selected size detects the container size, and is supplied for a time corresponding to the container size. The outlet valve 6 is opened so that a constant amount can be poured into containers 17 of different sizes (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 55-178784).

Have been proposed. In each of these cases, it is indispensable to control the pouring time such that the pouring valve 6 is opened for a time corresponding to the selected container size.

As is well known, raw beer B contains 2.4 to 2.9 vol. Of carbon dioxide, and unless a pressure suitable for the temperature of raw beer B is applied, carbon dioxide can be produced. Free foaming or conversely, carbon dioxide gas is excessively absorbed into raw beer B, resulting in a marked decrease in taste.

Generally, 1 kg of raw beer B at 10 ° C.
/ Cm ^2, 20 ° C. of Namabi - le in B 2 kg / cm ^2, also 3
The carbon dioxide content can be maintained by applying a carbon dioxide gas pressure of 3 kg / cm ² to the raw beer B at 0 ° C. Thus, although stable under certain conditions of temperature and pressure, raw bead
When the fluid B is put into a fluidized state as in the case of pouring out the fuel B, the balance of conditions is broken and carbon dioxide gas is liberated and foams.

Also, when pouring into the container 17 such as a mug or the like, when the pouring port 7 of the pouring valve 6 is brought close to the container 17 so that the drop of the raw beer B is reduced and the pouring is performed, the foaming is prevented. If it is small and large, the amount of foaming increases. The degree of foaming is
In relation to the flow rate and the flow condition of the raw beer B, when the flow rate is low, the foaming is gentle, and when the flow rate is high, the foaming is rapid.

In view of the above, when dispensing a fixed amount of sparkling beverage such as fresh beer B, it is not sufficient to simply open the dispensing valve 6 for the time corresponding to the container 17 as the control device 20. It is necessary to change the pressure of carbon dioxide supplied to the raw beer barrel 9 in accordance with the temperature of the raw beer B, and accordingly, the "open" time of the discharge valve 6 must be changed. . It is a very troublesome operation to re-adjust artificially.

The raw beer B is completely liquid and the container 17
If it is poured into the container, it can be dispensed in a fixed amount by controlling the opening of the dispensing valve 6 for a time corresponding to the container size. In such a case, the control using only the time requires the discharge valve 6 within the determined time.
Is not closed, so that the raw bead B overflows from the container 17, resulting in problems such as poor control.

The amount of foaming of the raw beer B varies depending on the temperature of the raw beer B, the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas, the pouring speed (flow rate), the head drop, and the like. It is difficult to control the injection valve 6 to be closed in a state where is fully filled.

Further, in the conventional apparatus, when a plurality of containers 17 of different sizes are used in combination as described above, the number of container size detection mechanisms is required by the number of types of the containers 17.
The number of conversion elements required to convert to the time corresponding to the size of the container 17 is required for the number of types of the container 17, a selection switch corresponding to the number of the containers 17 is required, and the price becomes extremely expensive. There were drawbacks.

[0024]

As described above, in the conventional apparatus, when a plurality of containers of different sizes are used together in one apparatus, the control device becomes complicated and the sparkling beverage does not overflow from the container. There is a problem that it is extremely difficult to pour out a container in a full state.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple and inexpensive structure, in which a foamed beverage overflows from a container even when a plurality of containers of different sizes are used in combination. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for automatically dispensing a constant volume of a sparkling beverage, which can be dispensed in a state in which a container is fully filled.

[0026]

According to the present invention, an apparatus for automatically dispensing a constant volume of a sparkling beverage according to the present invention supplies a carbon dioxide gas into a beverage container containing a sparkling beverage containing a carbon dioxide gas. In the automatic dispensing device for dispensing and dispensing sparkling beverage from the dispensing valve into the container , the upper edge position in the container
Of the container so that they are tied regardless of the size of the container.
Container support means that can be supported by changing the support position, and liquid level detection that is installed in the main body of the automatic dispensing device adjacent to the spout of the beverage and detects bubbles or liquid level of the beverage to be poured into the container Device, a control device that controls to close the pouring valve when it is detected that the foam or liquid level of the beverage to be poured into the container has reached a preset position by the liquid level detecting device, It is characterized by having.

[0027]

According to the present invention, the liquid level detecting device is incorporated in the main body of the automatic metering and dispensing device, and the bubble or liquid level rises to a predetermined level in the container by using the liquid level detecting device. Since the discharge is detected and the dispensing valve is closed to stop the dispensing of the beverage, it is not necessary to change the dispensing time according to the temperature and the dispensing pressure of the beer unlike the conventional apparatus.

Further, in addition to the above-described structure, the apparatus is provided with container supporting means capable of changing the supporting position of the container and supporting the container.
Regardless of the size of the container, the upper edge position of the container can be adjusted to a predetermined position . Thus, even if a plurality of containers of different sizes are used in combination, it is possible to control the opening and closing of the injection valve with one liquid level detection device and to discharge an appropriate amount to each container.

[0030]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below as first
This will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a pouring device main body, in which a refrigerating device 2 and a cooling water tank 3 are provided.

The cooling water 4 in the cooling water tank 3 is supplied to the refrigeration system 2.
More cooled. In the cooling water tank 3, a beer cooling pipe 5 as a beverage cooling pipe is provided, and exchanges heat with the cooling water 4.

One end of the beer cooling pipe 5 is connected to a discharge valve 6, and the discharge valve 6 is provided with a discharge port 7. The other end of the beer cooling pipe 5 is connected to a beer introduction pipe 8 serving as a beverage introduction pipe outside the dispensing device main body 1.

A dispense head 11 is detachably mounted on the beverage outlet 10 of the raw beer barrel 9 serving as a beverage container. The dispense head 11 is connected to a siphon tube (not shown) provided in the raw beer barrel 9, and the upper end of the dispense head 11 communicates with the beel introduction tube 8.

A pressure reducing valve 14 attached to a carbon dioxide gas cylinder 13 as a carbon dioxide gas supply source is connected to a gas inlet 16 of the dispense head 11 via a gas conduit 15.

On the other hand, below the spout 7, there is provided a container supporting means 28 on which the container 17 such as a mug can be placed. The container supporting means 28 includes the mounting table 18 and the mounting table 1.
And a platform elevating device 19 composed of, for example, a stepping motor with a linear head.

A control device 20 is provided in the upper part of the main body 1 of the dispensing device. And this control device 20
Is electrically connected to the platform elevating device 19 and a discharge valve control device 22 for opening and closing the discharge valve 6, so that each can be controlled.

Further, a container position detecting device 25, a liquid level detecting device 26, and a mounting table position detecting device 27, which will be described later, are electrically connected to the control device 20, and each detection signal is input to the control device 20. I can do it.

The container position detecting device 25 includes a platform elevating device 19
Detecting the upper edge of the container 17 on the mounting table 18 which rises, and is made of a photoelectric type such as a reflection type optical sensor. Then, the control device 20 receives the detection signal and controls to stop the ascending drive of the platform elevating device 19.

The liquid level detecting device 26 has a detection distance H
It detects a liquid level or a bubble level of the raw bead B in the container 17. Then, the detection distance H is set to the same distance as the distance to the upper edge of the container 17 at a preset position by being controlled to rise and stop by the detection signal of the container position detection device 25.

The mounting table position detecting device 27 detects the lowest position of the mounting table 18 lowered by the table elevating device 19, and is of a photoelectric type such as a reflection type optical sensor.

Next, the operation of the thus-configured automatic quantitative dispensing apparatus will be described. First, the carbon dioxide gas in the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 13 is depressurized using the pressure reducing valve 14 in advance, and is supplied to the raw beer barrel 9 via the gas conduit 15 and the dispense head 11. And the raw bead is generated by this carbon dioxide gas pressure.
The raw beer B in the barrel 9 can be poured out.

On the other hand, in the initial state, the mounting table position detecting device 27 detects the lowest position of the table elevating device 19, that is, the mounting table 18 is lowered to the lowest position.

When pouring out the raw bead B, the container 17 such as a mug is placed on the placing table 18.
Thereafter, the ejection button 21 is pressed. Thereby, the control device 20
The table elevating device 19 is driven to move upward, and the mounting table 18 is moved to a position where the upper edge of the container 17 is detected by the container position detecting device 25.
Stops.

Next, the discharge valve 6 is controlled to "open" by the discharge valve control device 22 by the control device 20, and the raw beal B passes through the raw beel introduction pipe 8 and the beal cooling pipe 5. The liquid is poured into the container 17 from the spout 7 into the container 17, and the liquid level or the foam level in the container 17 rises as the raw bead B is poured.

When the liquid level or foam level of the raw bead B has risen to the upper edge of the container 17, that is, the container 1
7 when the raw beer B is fully filled.
6, the liquid level or foam level of the raw beer B is detected.
Upon receiving the detection signal of the liquid level detecting device 26, the control device 20
Controls the pouring valve 6 to the "closed" state to stop the raw beer B pouring operation, and issues a descending command to the platform elevating device 19, and the container position detecting device 27 is moved to the lowest position of the mounting table 18. Until the position is detected, the platform elevating device 19 is controlled to descend.

Further, in response to the detection signal of the mounting table position detecting device 27, the control device 20 controls the table elevating device 19, the discharging valve 6,
Discharge button 21, container position detecting device 25, liquid level detecting device 26
And other functions are stopped to complete the dispensing operation.

The description of these control circuits is omitted because they are general techniques. The present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and can be variously modified. For example, the container position detecting device 25, the liquid level detecting device 26, and the mounting table position detecting device 27 are photoelectric devices such as a light reflection type sensor.
The present invention is not limited to this, and other types such as an ultrasonic type may be used.

Further, the apparatus using a stepping motor with a linear head as the table elevating device 19 has been described. However, for example, an air cylinder or the like may be used as a driving source.

The container supporting means 28 is composed of the mounting table 18 and a table elevating device 19 for moving the mounting table 18 up and down. However, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the container supporting means 28 is selectively used. A plurality of mounting tables 30, 31 having different heights may be used.

That is, for example, a container 17 such as a small mug
In order to pour out the raw bead B into the container a, as shown in FIG.
3, the movable mounting table 31 is raised with the hinge 32 as a rotation fulcrum and retracted from the fixed mounting table 30 as shown in FIG. 3, and the container 17 b is mounted on the fixed mounting table 30 and discharged. .

At this time, the distance between the liquid level detecting device 26 and the upper edge of each of the containers 17a and 17b, that is, the liquid level detecting device 26
It is necessary to set a relational position between the movable mounting table 30 and the fixed mounting table 31 so that the detection distance H of the same is the same. When the container 17b is mounted on the fixed mounting table 30, the movable mounting table 31
Must be configured so as not to hinder the operation.

Thus, the discharge button 6 is operated by operating the discharge button 21.
Is opened, the raw bead B is discharged, and when the liquid level detecting device 26 detects the liquid level or the foam level in the container, the discharging valve 6 is closed,
Stop dispensing. At this time, containers 17 of different sizes
Since the liquid level or the bubble level at the upper edge of the container is detected even in the case of the containers 17a and 17b, the raw beads are not overflown from the containers 17a and 17b regardless of the size of the container 17a or 17b.
B can be dispensed.

Further, the present invention is applicable not only to a case where a plurality of containers having different sizes are handled, but also to a case where a single container 17 is used to quantitatively dispense raw beads B as shown in FIG. You may. By setting the detection distance of the liquid level or the bubble level to, for example, H in advance by the liquid level detecting device 26, the discharging button 21 is operated to open the discharging valve 6, and the raw bead B is poured into the container 17. When the liquid level detecting device detects the rising or rising liquid level or foam level at the upper edge of the container, the control device 20 controls the discharging so as to close the discharging valve 6. . In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0054]

As described above, the present invention has the following effects. The liquid level detecting device for detecting a note bubbles or liquid surface of the beverage issued in the container provided, that the bubbles or the liquid surface of the beverage to be dispensed into the container by the liquid level detection device has come to a preset position Since the spout valve is closed when it is detected, the sparkling beverage can be poured in a full container without overflowing from the container, and the conventional method depends on the temperature of the sparkling beverage, the dispensing pressure and the container size. It is not necessary to change the dispensing time as in the case of the apparatus described above, and the dispensing operation is simple.

Further, a container supporting means which can support the container by changing the supporting position so that the upper edge position of the container is the same regardless of the size of the container is provided, and the container supported by the container supporting means is provided in the container. A liquid level detecting device for detecting the foam or liquid level of the beverage to be dispensed is provided, and the liquid level detecting device detects that the foam or liquid level of the beverage to be dispensed into the container has reached a preset position. Close and Note-off valve
As a result, even when a single apparatus or a plurality of containers of different sizes are used in combination, a full container of the sparkling beverage can be filled without overflowing from each container.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a first example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a main part of a second example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a main part of a second example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a third example of the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

B: Raw beer (foamed beverage), 6: Discharge valve, 7
..Outlet, 9 ... raw beer barrel (beverage container), 17.
..Containers, 18 ... Placement table (container support means), 19-
..Table elevating device (table elevating means), 20 ... control device,
22 ... discharge valve control device, 26 ... liquid level detection device,
28: container support means, 30: fixed mounting table, 31
... Movable mounting table.

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Seiji Oguro 2068-3 Ooka, Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture Inside the Numazu Office of Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd. 55-1778783 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Showa 52-120085 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G07F 13/00 B67D 1/07

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A sparkling beverage containing carbon dioxide gas is stored.
Supply carbon dioxide into the beverage container and adjust to the pressure of this carbon dioxide.
Disperse the beverage into the container from the dispensing valve.
In the automatic dosing device, the upper edge position in the container is the same regardless of the size of the container.
Containers that can be supported by changing the support position of the container so that
A support means and an automatic dispensing device installed adjacent to the beverage outlet.
To detect the foam or liquid level of the beverage to be poured into the container.
Liquid level detecting device, and a beverage poured into the container by the liquid level detecting device.
It is detected that the foam or liquid level has reached a preset position.
And a control device for controlling the dispensing valve to close when dispensed.
Place. 2. A container mounting means for mounting a container.
A table, and a table elevating means for elevating the table.
Automatic quantitative injection of sparkling beverage according to claim 1, characterized in that:
Output device. 3. The container support means may be selectively used.
A plurality of mounting tables with different heights
The automatic quantitative dispensing device for a sparkling beverage according to claim 2.