JP2976598B2 - Beverage brewing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a regular coffee,
The present invention relates to a beverage extraction device that is mounted on a cup-type beverage vending machine such as tea to produce a beverage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a beverage extraction device described above, a valve mechanism and a filter block are combined at the top and bottom of a cylinder, powdered raw material and hot water are charged into the cylinder, and then pressurized air is blown from the outside to agitate the raw material. , And a system for extracting beverages have been proposed in, for example, JP-A-1-158592, and have already been commercialized.

In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1-158592, in the stirring step, pressurized air is introduced below the liquid level of the raw material while the valve mechanism is kept open to stir the raw material. Immediately after the completion of the stirring step, the process immediately proceeds to the next extraction step. In this extraction step, pressurized air is introduced onto the liquid surface with the valve mechanism closed, and the extracted beverage is passed through the filter block from the cylinder into the cup. I am trying to supply. In addition, as an air introduction means for blowing pressurized air into the cylinder in the stirring and extraction process, an air conduit drawn from an air pump is branched into an air introduction port opened at the upper and lower parts of the cylinder via a three-way switching valve. Stirring process,
The three-way valve is switched and controlled in accordance with the extraction process.

[0004]

The above-mentioned conventional beverage brewing apparatus has the following disadvantages in terms of functions. In other words, when the introduction of the pressurized air is switched from the lower part to the upper part after shifting from the stirring step to the extraction step, the pressure in the air introduced from above the liquid level causes the lower air conduit opening below the liquid level to be open. Some of the slag of the powder raw material enters into the
After the beverage is extracted, the raw material residue adheres to the tube wall. Then, as this extraction operation is repeated, the raw material slag gradually accumulates on the tube wall. Here, if the extraction operation is further repeated while neglecting the cleaning of the air conduit, which is a routine maintenance, the air conduit eventually progresses to a state where the air conduit is clogged with raw material slag. In this case, when the introduction of the pressurized air into the cylinder is controlled by a three-way switching valve as in the conventional method, the air sent from the air pump to the lower air conduit in the stirring process loses a relief area and the air in the conduit is lost. The pressure builds up abnormally, which in the worst case can lead to unforeseen troubles, such as disconnection of the air conduit hose.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is intended to be applied to the above-described air pressurized beverage brewing apparatus because of an abnormal increase in air pressure even when the air conduit is not cleaned. It is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage brewing apparatus capable of avoiding the worst troubles such as disconnection of a conduit hose.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a solenoid valve is connected to a branch pipe leading to an air inlet on a lower side, and a branch pipe leading to an air inlet on an upper side. Is achieved by connecting an aperture mechanism.

[0007]

In the above configuration, in the configuration in which the solenoid valve is connected to the branch pipe leading to the lower air inlet, and the throttle mechanism is connected to the branch pipe leading to the upper air inlet, the solenoid valve is opened in the stirring step. As a result, most of the air sent from the air pump is blown out and introduced below the liquid level in the cylinder through the lower branch pipe. On the other hand, a throttle mechanism such as an orifice is connected to the upper branch pipe, so the amount of air introduced through the upper branch pipe is reduced by the throttle resistance. Less than the amount. On the other hand, when the solenoid valve is closed in the extraction process, the air sent from the air pump is forcibly blown out to the upper part of the cylinder through the upper branch pipe, and the extracted beverage staying there is removed from the liquid level. Apply pressure. Thereby, the brewed beverage passes through the filter and is discharged from the cylinder. In addition, since the upper branch pipe is always open in the cylinder, even if the lower branch pipe is clogged with raw material etc. due to repeated extraction operations, the lower branch pipe will be used in the next stirring process. When the solenoid valve is opened, the pressurized air from the air pump blows into the cylinder through the upper branch pipe without losing the escape area, so the connection of the conduit hose may be disconnected due to abnormally high air pressure. The worst trouble occurrence such as

[0008]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) shows the configuration of a beverage extracting apparatus. In the drawing, 1 is a cylinder, 2 is a valve mechanism provided at the top of the cylinder, 3 is a filter block assembled on the bottom side of the cylinder, 4 is an air pump, 5 is drawn from the air pump and piped between the cylinder 1 An air conduit 6 is a control unit, and a beverage delivery conduit 3a is drawn from the bottom of the filter block 3 and is piped. Here, the air conduit 5 bifurcates on the way,
The upper branch pipe 5a is connected to an air inlet 1a opened at the upper part of the side wall of the cylinder 1, and the lower branch pipe 5b is connected to the air inlet 1b opened at the lower part. Further, an orifice 7 as a throttle mechanism is connected to the upper branch pipe 5a in the middle of the hose, and an electromagnetic valve 8 and a check valve 9 are inserted and connected to the lower branch pipe 5b. The valve mechanism 2 is moved up and down by the driving operation of the motor 2a, and opens the upper surface of the cylinder 1 at the raised position and closes the upper surface of the cylinder at the lowered position.

FIG. 1B is a time chart showing the operation of the beverage brewing apparatus. The time widths of the stirring step, the stationary step, and the brewing step in the figure are, for example, 5 seconds and 5 seconds, respectively.
It is set to 5 seconds and 8 seconds. In the standby state of the apparatus, the valve mechanism 2 shown in FIG. 3A is open, and the filter block 3 is tightly connected to the lower end of the cylinder 1. here,
When a powder raw material and hot water are charged into the cylinder 1 based on a command (a vending machine sales command), first, in the stirring step, the electromagnetic valve 8 is opened and the air pump 4 is started. Thus, the mixed liquid 10 of the powdery raw material and the hot water accommodated in the cylinder 1 (the liquid level of the mixed liquid is represented by H) is supplied to the air pump 4 from the lower air inlet 1b opened below the liquid level.
Then, pressurized air sent through the lower branch pipe 5b is blown out to agitate the mixed liquid 10 and extract the powder raw material extract into the liquid. At the same time, a small amount of air squeezed by the orifice 7 is blown out onto the liquid surface of the mixed liquid 10 through the upper branch pipe 5a. The air that rises in the liquid mixture 10 and comes out above the liquid surface is exhausted through the valve mechanism 2 in an open state. Next, when a predetermined stirring time elapses, the process shifts to a stationary process by a command (timer control) from the control block 6, and the air pump 4 is controlled to stop. As a result, the liquid mixture 10 in the cylinder becomes stationary, and most of the bubbles generated in the liquid mixture 10 during the stirring process disappear during this time, and the particles of the powder raw material suspended and dispersed in the liquid also settle in the liquid. As a result, a precipitate is deposited on the filter block 3.

When the time of the stationary process has elapsed and the process proceeds to the next extraction process, the valve mechanism 2 moves down to close the upper surface of the cylinder 1 and close the solenoid valve 8, thereby closing the air pump 4.
Goes into operation again. In this state, the air sent from the air pump 4 is blown into the cylinder from the upper air inlet 1a through the upper branch pipe 5a, and pressurizes the extracted beverage from above the liquid level. Accordingly, only the liquid (drink) passes through the filter block 3 and is sent out through the drink pipe 3a without agitating or disturbing the precipitate layer of the powdery raw material residue deposited on the bottom in the cylinder. It has been confirmed from the actual machine test that the beverage extracted in this manner has no turbidity and contains almost no foreign substances such as bubbles and fine powder slag of powdered raw materials. The above-mentioned stationary process is more effective as the time width is increased. However, if the time of the stationary process is set to be longer than necessary, the selling operation time in the vending machine becomes longer.
In this regard, it has been confirmed that the time width of the stationary step is practically substantially the same as the time width of the stirring step (about 5 seconds), and a sufficient effect can be obtained.

Further, by repeating the beverage extraction operation for a long period of time, the powder is branched by the powdery raw material that has entered the lower branch pipe 5b of the air conduit 5 through the lower air inlet 1b opening below the liquid surface of the mixed liquid 10. Even if the pipe 5b is clogged, the air sent from the air pump 4 in the stirring process of the next extraction operation does not lose its escape area, and enters the inside of the cylinder 1 through the normally open upper branch pipe 5a. Since the air is blown out, it is possible to avoid a trouble that the hose of the air conduit 5 is disconnected due to an abnormal increase in the air pressure.

[0012]

As described above, according to the present invention, the solenoid valve is connected to the branch pipe leading to the lower air inlet of the cylinder, and the throttle mechanism is connected to the branch pipe leading to the upper air inlet. By adopting this configuration, even if the lower branch pipe is clogged with raw material, the air supply from the air pump can be released through the normally open upper branch pipe, thereby reducing the air pressure. It is possible to avoid the occurrence of unexpected troubles such as disconnection of the air conduit hose due to abnormal rise.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a cross-sectional view of a configuration of a beverage extracting device, and (b) is a diagram showing a time chart of a beverage extracting operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 cylinder 1a upper air inlet 1b lower air inlet 2 valve mechanism 3 filter block 4 air pump 5 air conduit 5a upper branch pipe 5b lower branch pipe 7 orifice (throttle mechanism) 8 solenoid valve

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A beverage extraction method in which a powdered raw material and hot water are charged into a cylinder combined with a filter block and a valve mechanism, and then pressurized air is further introduced into the cylinder from the outside to agitate the raw material and extract the beverage. A device that branches the air conduit drawn from the air pump to the air inlet opening at the top and bottom of the cylinder and introduces pressurized air into the cylinder. A beverage brewing apparatus, wherein a solenoid valve is connected, and a squeezing mechanism is connected to a branch pipe leading to an air inlet on the upper side.