JP3114921B2 - Coffee bean roaster - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a coffee bean roaster, and more particularly to a coffee bean roaster for roasting green coffee beans efficiently and stably.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Normally, green coffee beans are roasted, and the roasted coffee beans are ground by a coffee mill and then appropriately heated to obtain a coffee beverage. The roasting process of the coffee beans at this time is roughly divided into a process of removing moisture contained in the green beans and a process of baking, and these two processes are clearly defined in the conventional coffee bean roaster. The heating power supplied from the heat source and the air volume flowing through the roaster were always constant without being controlled. And although the heating time by a heat source such as a heater may be slightly increased or decreased depending on the amount of beans, since the amount of water contained in the green coffee beans was not considered at all,
The degree of baking varied depending on the type of bean production area, the type of new or old, or the difference in storage conditions, and skill was required to obtain coffee beans of stable quality.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has been made so that the two roasting steps of the water removing step and the baking step can be clearly separated to perform roasting.
Even if the condition of beans such as the amount of water contained in green coffee beans differs depending on the type of beans, new or old, or storage conditions, adjust the timing of switching between the two roasting processes to reduce variations in the degree of baking. It is an object of the present invention to provide a coffee roaster that can easily obtain coffee beans having stable quality. In particular, an object of the present invention is to switch between roasting processes in consideration of the amount of water contained in green coffee beans and the like using only a temperature sensor that is simpler and easier to handle than a humidity sensor.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, a first invention of the present application is directed to a drum which is installed laterally in a closed space in a casing and is rotated by a driving device, and a drum below the drum. A heat source for heating the drum, and a closed space for feeding green beans through an opening at one end in the axial direction of the drum .
A bean tray that communicates with the one end opening through an opening formed in the side surface, and an entrance shutter that opens and closes the opening; and a green coffee bean charged into the drum, a water removing step; in the coffee roaster for roasting through the tempering process, the roaster has a first temperature sensor for detecting a temperature in said drum, from the one end opening of the drum
An intake pipe extending upward into along the outer surface of the closed space in order to discharge outside said closed space to accept exhaust gas that is exhausted through the opening of the closed space, the upper end portion of the intake pipe closed space from the extend laterally along the upper surface between the connected closed space
The drum extends downward along the other outer surface of the
An exhaust pipe provided with a tip opening below, a second temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of exhaust gas exhausted from the drum in the exhaust pipe, and a first temperature sensor and a second temperature sensor. and informing means for informing a timing switching to migrate to the baked steps from the water removing step and operates in response to the output of, provided with a, the notification means may output a second temperature of the first temperature sensor are those in which the output of the sensor is activated a time corresponding as the timing switching, the
At the switching time, the second temperature sensor detects
Equipped with a structure that prevents the exhaust temperature from
Characterized in that that. Thus, when the first temperature sensor detects that the temperature in the drum has reached a predetermined temperature, the notification means is activated (the lamp is turned on or the buzzer sounds). And the time to take out the roasted coffee beans can be reliably ascertained. Also, when the exhaust temperature (exhaust pipe internal temperature) exhausted from the drum detected by the second temperature sensor reaches a temperature corresponding to the predetermined temperature detected by the first temperature sensor, the notification means is activated. Therefore, it is possible to surely know the timing of the increase in the thermal power of the heat source (the timing of transition from the water removal process to the baking process).

Further, the second invention of the present application is directed to a drum which is installed laterally in a closed space in a casing and is rotated by a driving device, a heat source which is located below the drum and heats the drum, and A bean tray that communicates with the one-end opening through an opening formed in the side surface of the closed space for introducing green beans from the one-end opening in the axial direction of the drum, and an entrance plate that opens and closes the opening.
A coffee roaster for roasting green coffee beans charged into the drum through a water removing step and a baking step, wherein the roaster detects a temperature in the drum. And a first temperature sensor along the outer surface of the closed space for receiving exhaust discharged from the one end opening of the drum through the opening of the closed space and discharging the exhausted gas to the outside of the closed space. An intake pipe extending upward, and the intake pipe
Extending laterally along is connected to the upper end portion on the upper surface of the closed space
And then extend downward along the other outside surface of the closed space
Exhaust pipes each having a tip opening below the drum
And controlling the timing of feeding green beans into the drum and discharging after roasting according to the output of the first temperature sensor.
And a second temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the exhaust gas exhausted from the drum in the exhaust pipe, and wherein the output of the first temperature sensor and the output of the second temperature sensor are different from each other. and a second control means for shifting to step baked performing thermal increase of the heat source when the corresponding said cutting conversion
The exhaust temperature detected by the second temperature sensor
It is characterized by having a configuration in which the temperature does not rise sharply . Thereby, when it is detected by the first temperature sensor that the temperature in the drum has reached a predetermined temperature, the input of the green beans and the removal of the roasted coffee beans are automatically performed. it can. Further, when the temperature of the exhaust gas exhausted from the drum detected by the second temperature sensor (exhaust pipe internal temperature) reaches a temperature corresponding to a predetermined drum temperature detected by the first temperature sensor, The heating power of the heat source is automatically increased. These are achieved by the microcomputers constituting the first control means and the second control means and their peripheral devices.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic front vertical sectional view of a coffee bean roaster according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a front external view of the coffee bean roaster shown in FIG. First, a configuration of a coffee roaster according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a casing having a closed space 2 inside, a ventilation hole 3 for introducing outside air is provided on a lower side surface of the casing 1, and an intake pipe 23 to be described later is provided on an upper side surface. And an exhaust opening 4 communicating with the exhaust pipe 24. The opening 4 also communicates with a bean receiver 16 described later via an entrance shutter 17, and green beans are introduced through the opening 4. Closed space 2
Is a space arranged in the casing 1 and includes a drum 7, a heat source 13, and the like inside. The closed space 2 is a space defined by six surfaces such as an upper surface 2a, side surfaces 2b, 2c, a bottom surface 2d,..., And forms a space defined in the casing 1. Reference numeral 7 denotes a cylindrical drum which is horizontally disposed inside the closed space 2 and rotatably supported and mounted. The drum 7 is provided with a number of small holes 8 on its outer peripheral surface. One of the bottom surfaces (one end surface in the axial direction) is opened and the casing side wall 9 (the outer surface 2
An opening part is close to part of c) and partly coincides with the opening part 4, and a side plate 10 is provided on the other bottom side. The drum 7 is mounted such that the shaft 11 is substantially horizontal (horizontal), and the shaft 11 is rotatably connected by a driving device 12 provided outside the casing 1. Also this drum 7
A heat source 13 for heating the drum 7 is provided below the heat source 13. The heat source 13 is a heat source that can arbitrarily adjust the thermal power, and the drawing shows a case where the thermal power of gas is used,
Electric heat may be used.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a temperature sensor as a first temperature sensor which is attached to the casing side wall 9 and protrudes so as to reach a central portion inside the drum 7. This temperature sensor 14
For example, when the drum 7 is heated by the heat source 13 and rises to a certain temperature (point t3 in FIG. 3), this is detected and an input lamp (notifying means) 15 for instructing the input of the green beans a is turned on. It is configured. The beans receiver 16 is provided on the upper outer side of the casing side wall 9, and its outer wall surface can be thrown into the drum 7 through the entrance shutter 17 connected to the lower part by inclination and the opening 4 of the casing side wall 9. It is formed as follows. That is, the entrance shutter 1
By adjusting the opening and closing of 7 manually or automatically,
The desired amount of the green beans stored in the bean tray 16 can be put into the drum 7. Reference numeral 18 denotes a cooling tray provided below the bean tray 16, and reference numeral 19 denotes an exit shutter provided on the casing side wall 9 for taking out roasted beans from the drum 7 into the cooling tray 18. This exit shutter 19
The opening 9 provided in the casing side wall 9 by operating
A can be opened and the roasted beans can be taken out of the drum 7 to the cooling dish 18. Reference numeral 20 denotes a fan provided in a ventilation passage 21 in the bottom, which is connected to a motor of the driving device 12 and sucks air in the ventilation passage 21 and exhaust gas in the exhaust pipe 24 by rotation of the fan 20. Exhaust to the outside. Thus, the roasted coffee beans can be cooled by heating the cooling tray 18 and the inside of the drum 7 can be exhausted. Reference numeral 22 denotes an exhaust gas temperature sensor as a second temperature sensor mounted in the exhaust pipe 24, and an opening 9 provided in the casing side wall 9.
It is provided in the exhaust pipe 24 above the casing 1 at a position close to A. The exhaust pipe 24 communicates with an intake pipe 23 extending upward from the opening 4 along the side wall 9, and the inside of the tank 7 and the exhaust pipe 24 are always in communication via the intake pipe 23. Further, the exhaust pipe 24 is arranged above the upper surface 2 a of the closed space 2. The exhaust pipe 24 extending above the closed space 2 changes the path downward along the side surface 2 b of the closed space, and opens a front end opening 25 near the fan 20.

A damper 5 is provided in the exhaust pipe 24 on the upstream side of the exhaust temperature sensor 22. This damper 5 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, two large and small openings, namely, a small opening 6A and a large opening 6B, are provided, and the small opening 7A is usually located in the exhaust path. An exhaust temperature from the hole is detected by an exhaust temperature sensor 22.
The damper 5 is configured to be freely movable in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 4 (in FIG. 1, the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1), and the ventilation holes 6A and 6B are appropriately positioned in the exhaust path, and Can be controlled. In other words, when detecting the temperature in the exhaust pipe 24 before shifting to the baking process, the vent 6A, which is a small opening, is positioned in the exhaust pipe 24, and the temperature of the exhaust from the vent 6A is exhausted. The temperature is detected by the temperature sensor 22. On the other hand, when it is determined that the switching time to be described later has been reached and the thermal power of the heat source is increased, the damper is moved to move the large opening 6B into the exhaust pipe 24 as described later. Then, the baking process is started (this point will be described in the description of time T6 in FIG. 3). Further, reference numeral 27 shown in FIG. 2 denotes a bean take-out temperature switching lever (thermal power adjusting means), which is switched according to the roasting temperature of lightly baked for American coffee, medium baked for general use, and deep baked for iced coffee. It is for. By switching the switching lever 27, a temperature t6 described later can be changed. Specifically, for example, if the temperature t6 in the drum shown in FIG. 3 is 206 ° C. or less, light baking is performed. If the temperature is 210 ° C., 207-217 ° C. is standard medium baking, and if it is 218 ° C. or more, deep baking is performed. When the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 14 reaches the temperature t6, the take-out lamp 28 is turned on. Therefore, take-out lamp 2
When 8 lights up, the outlet shutter 19 is opened and the roasted beans may be taken out to the cooling dish 18. In this embodiment, the opening / closing of the opening shutter 17 for green beans, the increase in the heat power of the heat source 13 and the opening / closing of the exit shutter 19, which are performed simultaneously with the opening of the damper 5, are performed by the input lamp 15, the heat amount switching lamp 26, and the extraction lamp 28, respectively. Although it has been described that the operation is performed manually at the same time as each lighting, the provision of a driving device such as a microcomputer and an actuator interlocked with the microcomputer allows the output of the temperature sensor 14 for detecting the temperature in the drum to be generated in the drum 7. Cooling dish 18 after adding beans and roasting
And the operation of opening the damper 5 and switching the heat source 13 to increase the thermal power can be automatically operated by the output of the exhaust temperature sensor 22 that detects the exhaust temperature in the exhaust pipe 24. be able to. In addition, a buzzer or the like may be provided as appropriate to perform notification by a buzzer sound. Note that the lamp, the buzzer, and the like constitute notification means. In addition, as described in the above-mentioned items such as “claims” and “problem to be solved by the invention”, for example, the microcomputer refers to a microcomputer from the temperature sensor (first temperature sensor) 14. First control means for controlling the timing of charging the green beans into the drum 7 and discharging after roasting according to the output, and the output from the temperature sensor 14 and the exhaust temperature sensor (second
And a second control means for increasing the thermal power of the heat source at a point (joining point) corresponding to the output from the temperature sensor 22 to shift to the baking process. In addition, when roasting at the temperature obtained by the temperature sensor 14 and the exhaust temperature sensor 22, it is more accurate to make the amount of the green beans which are put into the drum 7 at a time and roasted at a fixed amount for more accurate roasting. Although it is easy to perform, roasting can be always performed irrespective of the amount of green beans by tabulating the relationship between the amount of green beans and each of the temperature sensors 14 and 22 and performing control based on the table. It becomes possible.

Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, after the power switch 34 of the coffee bean roaster is turned on (at time t0 in FIG. 3), the take-out temperature (t6) is adjusted by operating the switching lever 27 according to light baking, medium baking, and deep baking. The preheating of the inside of the casing 1 (closed space 2) is performed only for the time T1, and the temperature inside the drum is t.
Set to 1. This time T1 depends on the capacity of the closed space 2 and the room temperature, but is usually about 5 minutes, and the temperature t1 in the drum is about 220 ° C. When the preheating step is completed and the time T2 has elapsed, the heat source 13 is ignited and the rotation of the drum 7 is started. At this time, the time T2 is about 8 minutes, the temperature t2 in the drum is about 90 ° C., and the exhaust temperature is about 3 to 4 ° C. higher than the temperature in the drum (indicated by A in the figure). The temperature in the drum reaches a predetermined temperature t3
When the temperature t3 reaches the temperature sensor 1
4 and the closing lamp 15 is turned on. As a result, a certain amount of green beans a supplied into the bean tray 16 is put into the drum 7 from the entrance shutter 17 and roasting is started. The roasting first enters the water removal step, where the green beans are gradually heated in a steamed state, and the moisture contained in the green beans is removed from the drum 7.
Is rapidly discharged into the casing 1 surrounding the.

Normally, when the temperature in the drum is a predetermined temperature t3,
For example, the temperature reaches 110 ° C. in about 10 seconds, and the temperature t4 in the drum 7 temporarily rises to about 63 ° C. during the time T4 (about 1 minute) by charging the green beans a into the drum 7. It goes down, but starts rising immediately. On the other hand, as shown by the dotted line, the temperature of the exhaust gas has a gentle slope of temperature rise, but does not reach the temperature drop but continues to rise with a gentle slope. Therefore, the temperature in the drum coincides with (merges with) the exhaust temperature at about the time T5 (temperature t5), and then rises further overtaking the exhaust temperature. When the two temperatures match (corresponding point = confluence point), the heating power of the heat source 13 is increased, and the process proceeds from the moisture removal process to the baking process. In this baking step (T6), the damper 5 is slid from the small opening 6A to the large opening 6B, and the heat generated by the heat source 13 is sufficiently increased. That is,
In the present invention, the corresponding point is regarded as a switching time for shifting from the water removing step to the baking step. Thereafter, the discharge lamp 28 is turned on when the temperature in the drum reaches the temperature t6 after a lapse of about time T6, so that the heat source 13 is extinguished, the outlet shutter 19 is opened, and the roasting in the drum 7 is performed. Cool coffee beans 18
To take out. At this time, the time T5 is 6 to 10 minutes, the temperature t5 is 140 to 150 ° C., the time T6 is about 6 minutes in the case of standard middle baking, and the temperature t6 is 210 ° C. Note that the time T5 is a time that is influenced by the amount of moisture contained in the green beans, the indoor temperature and humidity, and is not constant. The above-mentioned specific values such as time and temperature are set in accordance with the amount of a certain raw green bean, for example, 250 g and the calorific value of the heat source, and are not particularly limited to the present invention. Absent.

[0011]

The coffee bean roaster according to the present invention has the following effects by having the above-described structure. According to the configuration of the first aspect, the two roasting processes, that is, the moisture removing process and the baking process, can be clearly distinguished, and the operation from the moisture removing process to the baking process can be performed at an optimal timing by operating according to the instruction of the lamp. The quality of the done and roasted beans does not depend on the type of green beans, the difference between old and new, and storage conditions. Thus, it is possible to freely sort from light to deep grilling. That is, when the first temperature sensor detects that the temperature in the drum has reached a predetermined temperature, the notifying means is activated (the lamp is turned on or the buzzer sounds), so that the timing of feeding green beans and It is possible to surely know when to take out the roasted coffee beans. Further, when the temperature of the exhaust gas exhausted from the drum by the second temperature sensor reaches a temperature corresponding to the predetermined temperature detected by the first temperature sensor, the notifying means operates, so that the heating power of the heat source increases. (The time of switching from the water removal step to the baking step) can be reliably known. Claim 2
According to the configuration described above, a series of operations for charging the green beans into the drum, opening the damper, increasing the heat power of the heat source, and discharging to the cooling dish after roasting can be automatically performed with good timing.
That is, when it is detected by the first temperature sensor that the temperature in the drum has reached a predetermined temperature, the input of the green beans and the removal of the roasted coffee beans can be automatically performed. . Further, when the temperature of the exhaust gas (exhaust pipe temperature) exhausted from the drum by the second temperature sensor reaches a temperature corresponding to a predetermined temperature in the drum detected by the first temperature sensor, the thermal power of the heat source The increase is automatic.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front longitudinal sectional view of a coffee bean roaster according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front external view of the coffee bean roaster shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a time chart showing an example of a roasting step.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a damper illustrated in FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Casing, 2 closed space, 3 ventilation holes, 4 openings, 5 dampers, 6 small ventilation holes, 7 drums, 8 small holes, 9 casing side walls, 10 side plates, 11 shafts, 12
Drive device, 13 heat source, 14 temperature sensor, 15 input lamp, 16 beans receiver, 17 entrance shutter, 1
8 cooling tray, 19 exit shutter, 20 fan, 21
Ventilation path, 22 exhaust temperature sensor, 23 intake pipe, 24
Exhaust pipe, 25 tip mouth, 26 calorie switching lamp,
27 switching lever, 28 take-out lamp, 29 lamp, 30 lamp, 31, 32, 33, 34 power switch, 35a green beans.

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A drum installed laterally in a closed space in a casing and rotated by a driving device, a heat source located below the drum to heat the drum, and one axial opening of the drum Shape on the side of the enclosed space to put green beans from
A bean tray that communicates with the one end opening through the formed opening; and an entrance shutter that opens and closes the opening . The coffee green beans charged into the drum are subjected to a water removing step and a baking step. And a roasting machine, wherein the roasting machine has a first temperature sensor for detecting a temperature in the drum, and an opening in the closed space from the one end opening of the drum.
An intake pipe extending upward accept exhaust gas that is exhausted through the parts to along the outer surface of the closed space in order to discharge outside the closed space, the closed space is connected to the upper end of the intake pipe Extends laterally along the top surface and then along the other outside surface of the enclosed space
Extending downward and below the drum end opening
An exhaust pipe provided with: a second temperature sensor for detecting a temperature of exhaust gas exhausted from the drum in the exhaust pipe; and an operation responsive to respective outputs from the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor. together and a notification means for notifying a time switching to migrate to the baked steps from the water removing step and said notifying means, the output of the first temperature sensor and the output of the second temperature sensor of the corresponding It is intended to operate the time as the timing switching, in the switching timing, the second temperature sensor of test
Equipped with a configuration that prevents the exhaust temperature
Coffee bean roaster, characterized in that is. 2. A drum installed laterally in a closed space in a casing and rotated by a driving device, a heat source located below the drum to heat the drum, and one axial opening of the drum. Shape on the side of the enclosed space to put green beans from
A bean tray that communicates with the one end opening through the formed opening; and an entrance shutter that opens and closes the opening . The coffee green beans charged into the drum are subjected to a water removing step and a baking step. And a roasting machine, wherein the roasting machine comprises: a first temperature sensor for detecting a temperature in the drum; and an opening in the closed space from the one end opening of the drum.
An intake pipe extending upward along an outer surface of the closed space for receiving exhaust discharged through the portion and discharging the exhausted gas to the outside of the closed space; and a closed space connected to an upper end of the intake pipe. Extends laterally along the top surface and then along the other outside surface of the enclosed space
Extending downward and below the drum end opening
An exhaust pipe comprising: a first control means for controlling the timing of charging of green beans into the drum and discharging after roasting in accordance with the output of the first temperature sensor; A second temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the exhaust gas in the exhaust pipe, and increasing the thermal power of the heat source when the output of the first temperature sensor and the output of the second temperature sensor correspond to each other. A second control means for shifting to a baking process , wherein the second temperature sensor detects at the switching time.
Equipped with a configuration that prevents the exhaust temperature
Coffee bean roaster, characterized in that is.