JP4893119B2 - Beverage production equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a beverage production apparatus that produces a beverage using a bean material or a powder material.

  Conventionally, in a beverage production apparatus provided with a bean container for storing raw beans such as coffee beans inside an apparatus casing, the bean container is disposed inside the heat insulation storage room and cooled to the heat insulation storage room. By supplying air, quality deterioration of raw material beans due to heat is prevented (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Usually, in this type of beverage production device, powder raw materials such as sugar, powdered milk and powdered cocoa are stored inside the device casing, and the coffee beverage extracted from coffee beans is mixed with sugar and powdered milk. Or by directly mixing white hot water and powdered cocoa, the variation of the provided beverage is increased.

  Here, regarding storage of these powder raw materials, management of humidity becomes a problem rather than temperature. That is, when the powder raw material is placed under a high humidity condition, it may solidify due to moisture absorption and cause problems such as difficulty in dispensing from the powder container. For this reason, some conventional beverage production apparatuses are provided with a dehumidifying cooler disposed inside the apparatus housing to prevent the powder material from coagulating due to moisture absorption (see, for example, Patent Document 2). .

Japanese Patent No. 2598866 Japanese Patent No. 2998863

  However, the inside of the device housing is very often in a high temperature and high humidity state due to hot water when producing a beverage. Therefore, even if a dehumidifying cooler is installed in the device casing, it takes a lot of time to reduce the humidity of the entire interior, and the powder raw material stored in the powder container is exposed to a high humidity state. It is difficult to prevent. Incidentally, although these problems can be solved by installing a large-capacity cooler, not only the manufacturing cost and running cost are greatly increased, but also the size of the device casing is significantly increased. can not deny.

  Furthermore, when dehumidifying the inside of a device casing that is in a high temperature and high humidity state, the amount of condensed water generated due to condensation is enormous, and it is necessary to frequently discharge condensed water. This also leads to significant complication of maintenance work.

  In view of the above circumstances, the present invention provides a good state of bean raw materials and powder raw materials without causing a situation in which manufacturing costs and running costs are greatly increased and complication of maintenance work due to frequent discharge of condensed water. It aims at providing the drink production | generation apparatus which can be stored in the inside of an apparatus housing | casing.

  In order to achieve the above object, a beverage production device according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a bean container for storing raw beans and a powder container for storing powdered raw materials inside the device casing, and the raw material dispensed from the bean container. In the drink production | generation apparatus which produces | generates a drink using the powder raw material paid out from the powder container while using this after grind | pulling a bean, the 1st defined in the aspect surrounding the bean container A storage chamber, a second storage chamber defined so as to surround the periphery of the powder container, an air circulation means for circulating air between the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber, and air circulation And a cooling means for cooling the air supplied to the first storage chamber in the air circulation supply system driven by the means.

  Moreover, the drink production | generation apparatus which concerns on Claim 2 of this invention is what defined the said 1st storage chamber in Claim 1 mentioned above by surrounding a bean container with the heat insulation wall member which has heat insulation. On the other hand, the second storage chamber is defined by surrounding the powder container with a wall member having a sufficiently smaller heat insulating property than the heat insulating wall member of the first storage chamber. To do.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the beverage production device according to the first aspect, wherein a temperature detection means is disposed in the first storage chamber, and the first storage chamber detected by the temperature detection means is provided. Control means for operating the air circulation means when the temperature exceeds a predetermined threshold value is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the beverage production device according to the first aspect, wherein the humidity detecting means is disposed in the second storage chamber, and the second storage chamber detected by the humidity detection means is provided. Control means for operating the air circulation means when the humidity exceeds a predetermined threshold value is provided.

  In the beverage production device according to claim 5 of the present invention, in the above-described claim 3 or 4, the second storage chamber has an opening that is opened and closed by a door body, and the door body is opened and closed. A door body detecting means for detecting a state, and when the control means detects that the door body is once opened after the door body detecting means is closed, a predetermined time elapses. The operation of the air circulation means is prohibited.

  Moreover, the drink production | generation apparatus which concerns on Claim 6 of this invention is the heat exchanger which cools air with the cooling water of the cooling water tank provided in the inside of an apparatus housing | casing in the said Claim 1. And a drainage passage for discharging the condensed water generated in the heat exchanger to a cooling water tank.

  Moreover, the drink production | generation apparatus which concerns on Claim 7 of this invention is made to immerse the downstream opening end part of the said drainage channel in the cooling water stored in the cooling water tank in Claim 6 mentioned above.

  According to the present invention, air is circulated between the first storage chamber surrounding the bean container and the second storage chamber surrounding the powder container, and is supplied to the first storage chamber in the air circulation supply system. Since the air to be cooled is cooled, the cooled and dehumidified air is circulated in the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber, and the bean raw material and the powder raw material are stored in a good state. Will be able to. Moreover, since only the air circulating through these storage chambers can be used as the cooling air, there is no need to apply a large cooling means, and the amount of condensed water generated is small, which increases the manufacturing cost and running cost. There is no possibility of incurring complications of maintenance work due to the situation of frequent occurrence and frequent discharge of condensed water.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a beverage production device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings as appropriate.

  1 to 3 show a beverage production apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The beverage production apparatus exemplified here, after grinding coffee beans (raw material beans), this is used to extract and produce coffee drinks called regular coffee, while powdered raw materials such as sugar, powdered milk, and powdered cocoa are used. It is used to produce a beverage, and is provided with a bean container 10 for storing coffee beans and a powder container 20 for storing powder raw materials inside the apparatus housing 1.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the bean container 10 is provided with an opening 11 for charging coffee beans at the upper end, and an auger screw 12 at the lower end, and the auger screw 12 is driven by a motor 13 a of the drive unit 13. When rotated, a predetermined amount of coffee beans are dispensed from the nozzle 14 in front of the lower end. The charging opening 11 is provided with a lid 15 for opening and closing the opening 11. The coffee beans dispensed from the nozzle 14 of the bean container 10 are supplied to the mill 17 through the shooter 16 and become ground beans by driving the mill 17, and then used for extraction of the coffee beverage in the extraction container 18. As apparent from FIG. 4, the coffee bean passage 19 connecting the shooter 16 and the mill 17 is provided with a constriction passage 19 a having an inner diameter as small as possible. In the present embodiment, three independent bean containers 10 having the same configuration are arranged inside the apparatus housing 1 in a manner in which they are arranged side by side.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the powder container 20 includes a charging opening 21 for charging powder raw material at the upper end portion, and includes an auger screw 22 at the lower end portion, and the auger screw 22 is driven by the motor 23 a of the drive unit 23. When rotated, a predetermined amount of powder raw material is dispensed from the nozzle 24 in front of the lower end. The charging opening 21 is provided with a lid 25 for opening and closing it. The powder raw material discharged from the nozzle 24 of the powder container 20 is supplied to the temporary storage cylinder 26 through the cap 25, and then discharged to the cup C by opening the bottom of the temporary storage cylinder 26 at an appropriate timing. Used to produce beverages. In the present embodiment, a large number of independent powder containers 20 having the same configuration are arranged inside the apparatus housing 1 in a manner arranged in parallel to each other.

  Further, in the beverage production device, a bean container storage chamber (first storage chamber) 30 is provided in a part surrounding the bean container 10 in the apparatus housing 1 and a part surrounding the powder container 20 is provided. A powder container storage chamber (second storage chamber) 40 is provided.

  1 to 4, the bean container storage chamber 30 is defined in such a manner as to surround all three bean containers 10, and is configured in a rectangular shape having a door 31 at the upper front portion. is there. The upper wall 32, the four side walls 33, and the door body 31 of the bean container housing chamber 30 are all constituted by a heat insulating wall member having heat insulating properties, while the bottom wall 34 of the bean container housing chamber 30 is an insulating wall. When the door body 31 is closed, a desired heat insulating property and air tightness are secured inside the wall member 31 which is sufficiently smaller than the member.

  Inside the bean container storage chamber 30, there is a configuration up to the entire part of the bean container 10 including the drive unit 13 for rotating the auger screw 12 and the nozzle 14 and the shooter 16 for receiving the coffee beans discharged from the nozzle 14. It is housed. Specifically, a support frame 35 is provided on the bottom wall 34 of the bean container accommodation chamber 30, and the entire part of the bean container 10 including the drive unit 13 and the nozzle 14 is attached to the upper surface of the support frame 35 via the load cell 36. On the other hand, the shooter 16 is attached to the front surface of the support frame 35 so as not to contact the nozzle 14.

  The door body 31 of the bean container housing chamber 30 is supported on the upper wall 32 so as to be swingable through the upper edge portion thereof. By swinging the door body 31 toward the front side to open the bean container housing chamber 30, the internal bean container 10 can be handled. Further, the front side wall 33 is detachable from the bean container housing chamber 30, and the nozzle 14 and the shooter 16 can be handled by removing the front side wall 33.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5, the powder container storage chamber 40 is defined in a manner to surround all the powder containers 20, and is configured in a rectangular shape having a door body 41 at the upper front portion. It is. The upper wall 42, the four side walls 43 and the bottom wall 44, and the door body 41 of the powder container housing chamber 40 are all constituted by wall members that are sufficiently smaller in heat insulation than the heat insulating wall member of the bean container housing chamber 30. When the door body 41 is closed, the desired airtightness is secured inside.

  Inside the powder container housing chamber 40, there is a drive unit 23 for rotating the auger screw 22, an entire portion of the powder container 20 including the nozzle 24 and the cap 25, and a temporary storage cylinder for receiving the powder raw material discharged from the nozzle 24. The configuration up to the upper end of 26 is accommodated. Specifically, a support frame 45 is provided on the bottom wall 44 of the powder container housing chamber 40, and the entire portion of the powder container 20 including the drive unit 23, the nozzle 24, and the cap 25 is connected to the support frame 45 via the load cell 46. While being attached to the upper surface, the upper end portion of the temporary storage cylinder 26 is attached to the bottom wall 44 of the powder container housing chamber 40 so as not to contact the cap 25.

  The door body 41 of the powder container storage chamber 40 is supported so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and the powder container storage chamber 40 can be handled by sliding it downward to open the powder container storage chamber 40. become able to. The opening / closing movement of the door body 41 can be detected by the opening sensor 47a and the closing sensor 47b provided in the moving area of the door body 41. Further, the powder container housing chamber 40 has a front side wall 43 that is detachable. By removing the front side wall 43, the nozzle 24, the cap 25, and the temporary storage cylinder 26 can be handled.

  Further, the beverage production apparatus is provided with a cooling means 50 and an air circulation means 60. The cooling means 50 cools the air circulated by an air circulation means 60 described later, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, a radiator 51 and a cooling chamber 52 for accommodating the same in the bean container housing chamber 30. It is comprised by arrange | positioning. The radiator 51 is a heat exchanger in which the cooling water in the cooling water tank 70 provided inside the apparatus housing 1 is circulated and supplied via the water supply passage 53 and the return passage 54. The cooling water tank 70 is provided for producing a cold beverage, and stores cooling water for drinking at approximately 0 ° C. therein. The water supply passage 53 extending from the cooling water tank 70 to the radiator 51 is provided with a cooling water pump 55 for pumping the cooling water in the cooling water tank 70. The cooling chamber 52 is a box-like body that houses the radiator 51. The cooling chamber 52 is provided with an exhaust port 52a and a drain passage 56 is connected thereto. The exhaust port 52 a is a relatively large opening that communicates the inside of the cooling chamber 52 and the inside of the bean container housing chamber 30, and opens on the upper wall and side wall of the cooling chamber 52. The drainage passage 56 is a passage for returning the water stored at the bottom of the cooling chamber 52 to the cooling water tank 70. The lower end portion of the drainage passage 56 is immersed in the cooling water stored in the cooling water tank 70.

  The air circulation means 60 circulates air between the bean container accommodation chamber 30 and the powder container accommodation chamber 40, and includes a first communication passage 61 and a second communication passage 62.

  The first communication passage 61 is for supplying the air in the bean container housing chamber 30 to the powder container housing chamber 40, and between the upper part of the bean container housing chamber 30 and the air duct 63 of the powder container housing chamber 40. It is provided in a mode for communicating. The air duct 63 extends along the direction in which the plurality of powder containers 20 are arranged in the upper part of the powder container housing chamber 40, and has a plurality of air outlets 63a on the bottom wall thereof.

  The second communication passage 62 is for supplying the air in the powder container housing chamber 40 to the bean container housing chamber 30, and is provided between the blower fan 64 of the powder container housing chamber 40 and the cooling chamber 52 of the bean container housing chamber 30. They are provided in such a manner that they communicate with each other. The blower fan 64 discharges the air in the powder container housing chamber 40 to the second communication passage 62 when rotated, and incorporates a filter 65 (see FIG. 6). The filter 65 prevents passage of the powder raw material contained in the air discharged from the powder container housing chamber 40 to the second communication passage 62.

  FIG. 6 schematically shows an air circulation supply system of the beverage production apparatus described above. The control means 80 shown in FIG. 6 is based on the temperature sensor 81 provided in the bean container accommodation chamber 30, the humidity sensor 82 provided in the powder container accommodation chamber 40, and the output results of the opening sensor 47a and the closing sensor 47b. And the drive of the cooling water pump 55 is controlled.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the contents of the cooling / dehumidifying process that the control unit 80 shown in FIG. 6 repeatedly performs at a predetermined cycle time. Hereinafter, the contents of the cooling / dehumidifying process in the beverage production device will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 as appropriate.

  In the cooling / dehumidifying process, the control unit 80 first detects the temperature of the bean container housing chamber 30 through the temperature sensor 81 and the humidity of the powder container housing chamber 40 through the humidity sensor 82 (step S101).

  When the temperature of the bean container storage chamber 30 detected by the temperature sensor 81 is equal to or higher than a preset temperature (for example, 20 ° C.) (step S102: YES), or the humidity of the powder container storage chamber 40 detected by the humidity sensor 82 is When the humidity exceeds a preset humidity (for example, 20%) (step S102: YES), the control means 80 opens and closes the door body 41 of the powder container housing chamber 40 through the output results of the opening sensor 47a and the closing sensor 47b. It is determined whether or not the door body 41 has been opened and closed (step S103: NO), and the blower fan 64 is driven and the cooling water pump 55 is driven (step S104). ). The driving of the blower fan 64 and the driving of the cooling water pump 55 are continued until both the temperature and the humidity detected in step S102 are less than the set values unless the door body 41 of the powder container housing chamber 40 is opened and closed. (Step S102: NO → Step S105).

  When the blower fan 64 and the cooling water pump 55 are driven in the beverage production device described above, air circulates between the bean container storage chamber 30 and the powder container storage chamber 40 via the first communication passage 61 and the second communication passage 62. In the meantime, the air circulated and supplied is cooled by the radiator 51 when passing through the cooling chamber 52.

  Here, the air cooled by the radiator 51 is removed as moisture contained therein as condensed water. Accordingly, when the air discharged from the exhaust port 52a of the cooling chamber 52 is supplied to the inside of the bean container housing chamber 30, the air becomes a low temperature and low humidity state, and the inside of the bean container housing chamber 30 is cooled. The coffee beans stored in the bean container 10 can be maintained at a low temperature. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the quality deterioration of the coffee beans due to heat even when the inside of the device casing 1 becomes hot and humid due to hot water used when producing a beverage. The condensed water generated in the cooling chamber 52 is discharged to the cooling water tank 70 through the drainage passage 56.

  Further, after the bean container housing chamber 30 is cooled, the low-humidity air fed to the powder container housing chamber 40 through the first communication passage 61 drives the internal atmosphere from the second communication passage 62 to the cooling chamber 52. Therefore, the humidity of the powder container housing chamber 40 is reduced. Moreover, the walls 41, 42, 43, and 44 constituting the powder container housing chamber 40 are wall members having a sufficiently small heat insulating property. Therefore, the temperature inside the powder container housing chamber 40 is higher than that of the bean container housing chamber 30, and the relative humidity is also lowered, so that the powder container housing chamber 40 is further dried. As a result, the powder raw material stored in the powder container 20 is maintained in a low humidity state, and there is no possibility of causing solidification due to moisture absorption.

  Hereinafter, while the blower fan 64 and the cooling water pump 55 are driven, the air cooled and dehumidified in the cooling chamber 52 of the cooling means 50 is circulated and supplied. Even when the inside of the device housing 1 is at a temperature of 40 ° C. and a humidity of 85% and a temperature of 40 ° C. and a humidity of 40 to 50%, the inside of the bean container housing chamber 30 is maintained in a cooled state at a temperature of 20 ° C. And the inside of the powder container housing chamber 40 can be maintained in a low humidity state at a temperature of 30 ° C. and a humidity of 20%, and both the coffee beans and the powder raw material are stored in a favorable environment. It becomes possible.

  In this case, airtightness is ensured in each of the bean container storage chamber 30 and the powder container storage chamber 40, and a narrowing passage 19 a is provided in the coffee bean passage 19 connecting the shooter 16 and the mill 17. Since the lower end portion of the drainage passage 56 communicating with the cooling chamber 52 is immersed in the cooling water stored in the cooling water tank 70, an external atmosphere containing a large amount of water vapor is circulated and supplied by the air circulation means 60. There is almost no fear of mixing into the air. As a result, the amount of condensed water generated in the cooling chamber 52 remains in a small amount, and the cooling water tank 70 does not overflow. Further, the radiator 51 may be small enough to cool the air being circulated and supplied, and the manufacturing cost does not increase significantly.

  On the other hand, when the door opening / closing operation is detected in step S103 described above, that is, when the door body 41 of the powder container housing chamber 40 is once opened and then closed through the opening sensor 47a and the closing sensor 47b. (Step S103: YES), the control means 80 stops the blower fan 64 and the cooling water pump 55, respectively (Step S106), then starts a timer (Step S107), and waits until a preset time elapses (Step S106). Step S108). Therefore, for example, when the door body 41 of the powder container housing chamber 40 is opened to replenish the powder container 20 with the powder raw material and then the door body 41 is closed, the blower fan 64 and The cooling water pump 55 is stopped for a preset time (for example, 5 minutes).

  Here, it is considered that the door body 41 of the powder container housing chamber 40 is mostly opened to replenish the powder container 20 with the powder raw material. Therefore, if the driving of the blower fan 64 and the cooling water pump 55 is stopped for 5 minutes after replenishment of the powder raw material, even if the powder raw material is scattered inside the powder container storage chamber 40, this is the bean container storage chamber 30. This eliminates the possibility of causing a situation in which the inside of the blower fan 64 is contaminated and the filter 65 built in the blower fan 64 does not need to be frequently replaced. Thereby, the maintenance work can be facilitated.

  When the timer expires, the procedure is returned. In step S101, the temperature of the bean container storage chamber 30 is detected, and the process of detecting the humidity of the powder container storage chamber 40 is performed. The blower fan 64 and the cooling water pump 55 are driven again.

  In the above-described embodiment, since the nozzle 14 and the shooter 16 of the bean container 10 are not in contact with each other in the bean container accommodation chamber 30, the cap 25 and the temporary storage cylinder 26 of the powder container 20 are also present in the powder container accommodation chamber 40. In both cases, the load cells 36 and 46 can accurately detect the change in the weight of the coffee beans and the change in the weight of the powder raw material. Moreover, in the maintenance work, it is possible to perform the detachment work of the shooter 16 and the temporary storage cylinder 26 without overloading the load cells 36 and 46. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited to these.

  Moreover, in embodiment mentioned above, since the thing whose heat insulation is sufficiently smaller than a heat insulation wall member is applied as a wall member which comprises the bottom wall 34 of the bean container accommodation chamber 30, the lower part of the bean container 10 is applied. The coffee beans stored in can be brought to a relatively higher temperature than the coffee beans stored in the upper part. Thereby, there is no possibility of causing the situation where dew condensation occurs when the coffee beans are supplied to the mill 17. However, in this invention, you may apply what has heat insulation to the wall member which comprises the bottom wall 34 of the bean container storage chamber 30. FIG.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the air circulation means 60 is illustrated as having only the blower fan 64, but the number of blower fans is not necessarily one. Further, although the blower fan 64 is provided inside the powder container housing chamber 40, the blower fan may be provided in a portion other than the powder container housing chamber 40. However, since this becomes a heat source when the blower fan is driven, it is preferable to avoid the interior of the bean container housing chamber 30.

It is a principal part perspective view which shows notionally the structure of the drink production | generation apparatus which is embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part perspective view which shows notionally the drink production | generation apparatus shown in FIG. 1 from another angle. It is a cross-sectional top view which shows notionally the principal part of the drink production | generation apparatus shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional side view which shows the 1st storage chamber applied to the drink production | generation apparatus shown in FIG. It is a cross-sectional side view which shows the 2nd storage chamber applied to the drink production | generation apparatus shown in FIG. It is a circuit diagram which shows typically the air circulation supply system of the drink production | generation apparatus shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the cooling / dehumidification process which the control means shown in FIG. 6 implements.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus housing | casing 10 Bean container 14 Nozzle 16 Shooter 17 Mill 20 Powder container 24 Nozzle 25 Cap 26 Temporary storage cylinder 30 Bean container storage chamber 35 Support frame 36 Load cell 40 Powder container storage chamber 41 Door body 45 Support frame 46 Load cell 47a Opening sensor 47b Closing sensor 50 Cooling means 51 Radiator 52 Cooling chamber 52a Exhaust port 53 Water supply passage 54 Return passage 55 Cooling water pump 56 Drainage passage 60 Air circulation means 61 First communication passage 62 Second communication passage 63 Blower duct 63a Outlet 64 Air blower Fan 65 Filter 70 Cooling water tank 80 Control means 81 Temperature sensor 82 Humidity sensor

Claims (7)

The machine housing is equipped with a bean container for storing raw beans and a powder container for storing powdered raw materials. After grinding the raw beans discharged from the bean container, a beverage is produced using this, while the powder container is discharged. In a beverage production device that produces a beverage using the powdered raw material,
A first storage chamber defined in a manner surrounding the bean container;
A second storage chamber defined in a manner to surround the periphery of the powder container;
Air circulating means for circulating air between the first storage chamber and the second storage chamber;
A beverage production apparatus comprising: cooling means for cooling air supplied to the first storage chamber in an air circulation supply system driven by an air circulation means.   The first storage chamber is defined by surrounding the bean container with a heat insulating wall member having heat insulation properties, while the second storage chamber is a heat insulating wall member of the first storage chamber. The beverage production device according to claim 1, wherein the beverage production device is defined by surrounding the powder container with a wall member having a sufficiently smaller heat insulating property.   A temperature detection unit is provided in the first storage chamber, and a control unit is provided for operating the air circulation unit when the temperature of the first storage chamber detected by the temperature detection unit exceeds a predetermined threshold. The beverage production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein   Humidity detection means is disposed in the second storage chamber, and control means is provided for operating the air circulation means when the humidity of the second storage chamber detected by the humidity detection means exceeds a predetermined threshold. The beverage production apparatus according to claim 1, wherein The second storage chamber has an opening that is opened and closed by a door body, and includes a door body detection unit that detects an open / closed state of the door body,
The control means prohibits the operation of the air circulation means until a predetermined time elapses when the door body detecting means detects that the door body is once opened and then closed. The beverage production device according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by the above.   The cooling means has a heat exchanger that cools the air with cooling water in a cooling water tank provided inside the apparatus housing, and a drainage passage that discharges condensed water generated in the heat exchanger to the cooling water tank. The beverage production | generation apparatus of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned.   The beverage production device according to claim 6, wherein the downstream opening end of the drainage passage is immersed in cooling water stored in a cooling water tank.

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