JP6306259B1 - Carbonated water supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a drinking water server that is small and lightweight and can supply carbonated water. When a single supply of carbonated water is completed, carbonated water 16 into which carbon dioxide gas was blown in during the previous supply remains in the storage unit 8. Next, when the push button 6a is operated, the on-off valve 10 and the on-off valve 15 are interlocked and simultaneously opened. By opening the on-off valve 10, the water in the water tank 2 is poured into the paper cup 17 through the pipe 9, the carbon dioxide gas ejection part 8, the storage part 7 and the supply port 6. [Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a carbonated water supply apparatus that is incorporated in a part of a drinking water server or that can supply carbonated water alone.

  There exist some which are disclosed by patent documents 1-3 as a drinking water server which can supply carbonated water other than coffee and water.

  The server disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses a pressure vessel as a carbonator that dissolves carbonic acid in water, puts pressurized water and carbonic acid gas into the pressure vessel, dissolves carbonic acid gas in water to form carbonated water, and this pressure vessel The carbonated water inside is supplied into the cup by the pressure of carbon dioxide gas.

Patent Documents 2 and 3 disclose a direct injection type in which carbon dioxide gas is blown directly into water without using a pressure vessel.
Patent Document 2 discloses an in-line carbonator in which an ejector and a diffuser are integrated. Carbon dioxide gas is ejected from the ejector into water, and stirred in the diffuser to effectively mix carbon dioxide gas and water. Water is supplied.
In Patent Document 2, as described in paragraph (0012), the manufactured carbonated water is discharged downward as it is and cannot be stored.

  Patent Document 3 has a structure in which carbon dioxide gas is directly jetted into the water through a porous member from the side surface of the upward flow pipe.

Japanese Patent No. 4466255 JP 2000-348250 A Japanese Patent No. 6134521

  Since the drinking water server disclosed in Patent Document 1 can store a large amount of carbonated water in a pressure vessel that also serves as a carbonator, it is advantageous for vending machines and the like, but a pressure vessel is required in addition to a cylinder. There is a disadvantage that the whole apparatus becomes larger.

  In Patent Documents 2 and 3, the apparatus can be miniaturized. However, in Patent Document 2, carbonated water is not stored in the diffuser, and even in Patent Document 3, there is no member for storing carbonated water, and water may remain at the bottom of the U-shape. Therefore, the remaining amount is small, and a large amount of carbon dioxide gas is not blown into this small amount of water.

  And in patent document 2, 3, when operating a lever, a button, etc. and supplying carbonated water in a cup from an exit, at the same time as operation of a lever, a button, etc., the water first supplied from a discharge outlet is carbonated. There is almost no gas, and water containing carbon dioxide is supplied after a while. As a result, the carbonated water in the cup has a low concentration and becomes an unpleasant carbonated water.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the carbonated water supply device according to the present invention, a part of the water supply pipe connected to the carbonated water discharge port is a reservoir, and a cylinder or the like is provided downstream of the reservoir or the reservoir. The carbon dioxide gas ejection section connected to the carbon dioxide gas source is provided, and the storage section is configured to selectively become a sealed space or an open air space by operating an on-off valve provided in the water supply pipe.

  The on-off valves provided in the water supply pipe and the carbon dioxide supply pipe are opened and closed in conjunction with the user's carbonated water supply request operation such as lever operation and button operation, and are further provided in the water supply pipe. The opening / closing valve opening operation is set to operate slightly behind the opening / closing valve opening operation provided in the carbon dioxide gas supply pipe. In order to supply high-concentration carbonated water from the beginning, it is preferable to set the valve to operate slightly earlier than the closing operation of the on-off valve provided in the supply pipe.

  By reducing the volume of the storage part below the volume of carbonated water supplied from the discharge port at a time, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size.

  According to the present invention, the pressure vessel is provided as a carbonator in the water supply pipe (line) without being disposed at a position off the line as in the prior art, so that the entire apparatus can be reduced in weight and size. In particular, since it has an in-line structure in which the carbonated water storage part and the carbon dioxide gas ejection part are part of the water supply pipe, the size is almost the same as that of a conventional drinking water server that provides only hot water and water. Ideal as a drinking water server for business and office use.

  Moreover, since what is stored in the storage portion is the remaining carbonated water supplied last time, a large amount of carbon dioxide is already contained. Since water containing a large amount of carbon dioxide is supplied for the first time next time, the concentration of carbonated water does not decrease. Therefore, delicious carbonated water can be supplied.

  After each time a certain amount of carbonated water is left in the reservoir, and the carbonated water is supplied, the reservoir becomes a sealed space, so the internal pressure of the reservoir increases, and the proportion of carbon dioxide gas that dissolves in the water in the reservoir during standby Becomes higher.

  In particular, the opening operation of the on-off valve provided in the water supply pipe is slightly delayed from the opening operation of the on-off valve provided in the carbon dioxide gas supply pipe, and the opening / closing valve provided in the water supply pipe is closed. The amount of carbon dioxide dissolved in the water in the reservoir can be further increased by slightly accelerating the closing of the opening / closing valve provided in the carbon dioxide supply pipe.

External view of a drinking water server incorporating a carbonated water supply device according to the present invention The figure which shows the state before ejecting a carbon dioxide gas to a storage part in the block diagram of the carbonated water supply apparatus of the drinking water server A diagram explaining from the start to stop of carbonated water supply along the opening and closing of the valve The figure which shows the state which is discharging the carbon dioxide gas to the storage part in the block diagram of the carbonated water supply apparatus of the drinking water server Figure similar to FIG. 2 showing another embodiment

  The drinking water server includes a server body 1 incorporating the carbonated water supply device according to the present invention, and a water tank 2 is set on the server body 1 in a replaceable manner. The water tank 2 may be stored in the lower part of the main body 1. In this case, a structure is used to pump water in the water tank 2 with a pump.

  A space 3 opened toward the front is formed at an intermediate height position of the server body 1, and a hot water supply port 4, a cold water supply port 5, and a carbonated water supply port 6 are formed in the ceiling of the space 3. The bottom surface of the space 3 is a mounting surface such as a cup.

  Push buttons 4a, 5a, and 6a are provided on the front surface of the main body 1 above the supply ports 4, 5, and 6 to indicate what is supplied from the supply ports 4, 5, and 6 thereon. . The consumer can pour the desired amount of hot water, water or carbonated water into the paper cup 7 by pressing the desired button.

  The push buttons 4a, 5a and 6a are means for requesting what the consumer wants from hot water, cold water and carbonated water, and a cock or the like may be used as the request means.

  Alternatively, the supply ports 4, 5, and 6 may be combined into one to selectively supply hot water, cold water, or carbonated water from one supply port via a spool valve or the like. Furthermore, a supply port such as a sweetener can be added.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the carbonated water supply device has a carbonated water reservoir 9 at the upstream end (lower end opposite to the supply port) of the supply pipe 8 having an inverted U shape connected to the carbonated water supply port 6. The upper end portion is connected, the upper end portion of the carbon dioxide gas jetting portion 10 is connected to the lower end of the storage portion 9, and the pipe 11 connected to the water tank 2 is connected to the lower end portion of the carbon dioxide gas jetting portion 10. .

  An opening / closing valve 12 is provided in the downstream portion of the storage portion 9 of the carbonated water supply pipe 8, and a check valve 13 is provided in the upstream portion of the piping 11 from the carbon dioxide gas ejection portion 10. The on-off valve 12 is electromagnetically opened and closed in conjunction with the pressing operation of the push button 6a.

  The upper half part of the storage part 9 is narrowed in a taper shape and swirls when water flows to make it easy to mix water and carbon dioxide. The volume of the storage unit 9 is set to be smaller than the amount of carbonated water supplied at one time. Here, as long as the button or lever is pressed, in the structure where carbonated water is supplied, the eighth supply of a paper cup generally used in a drinking water server is set as the amount supplied at one time. To do.

  The carbon dioxide jet 10 has a cylindrical shape and holds a porous member 14 having the same diameter as the pipe 11 inside. A space 15 is formed outside the porous member 14, and the space 15 is connected to a carbon dioxide source 17 such as a carbon dioxide cylinder through a pipe 16. In the middle of the pipe 16, an on-off valve 18 is provided in conjunction with the operation of the push button 6a.

  The carbonated water supply procedure is set up below. First, in FIG. 3, when the on-off valves 12 and 18 are closed, since the check valve 13 is provided in the pipe 11, the inside of the storage unit 9 is in a sealed state. Further, a part 19 of the carbonated water sent last time remains in the reservoir 9. Further, in this embodiment, the control circuit is configured so that the timing for closing the on-off valve 12 is slightly earlier than the timing for closing the on-off valve 18.

  Therefore, the pressure in the storage unit 9 is increasing, and most of the gas in the storage unit 9 is carbon dioxide, so that the carbon dioxide gas further dissolves in the part 19 of the carbonated water remaining in the storage unit 9.

  From this state, the button 6a is pressed. At substantially the same time as the pressing operation of the button 6a, the on-off valve 18 is opened, and additional carbon dioxide is supplied to a part 19 of carbonated water in which carbon dioxide is already dissolved, and the carbon dioxide concentration is further increased.

  The on-off valve 12 is opened with a slight delay (for example, 0.1 to 1.0 second) from the opening of the on-off valve 18. When the on-off valve 12 is opened, the carbonated water in the reservoir 9 is supplied to the paper cup 7 via the carbonated water supply terminal pipe 8 by the pressure in the reservoir 9. Moreover, since the pressure in the storage part 9 falls, the check valve 13 is opened, and the water in the water tank 2 is sent into the storage part 9 via the pipe 11. Since carbon dioxide is continuously supplied into the storage unit 9 during this time, the water sent into the storage unit 9 is sent out as carbonated water.

  Next, when the pressing operation of the button 6a is stopped, the on-off valve 12 is closed substantially simultaneously. On the other hand, the on-off valve 18 constitutes a control circuit so that it closes with a slight delay (for example, 0.1 to 1.0 seconds) after the on-off valve 12 is closed. Therefore, carbon dioxide gas is supplied into the storage unit 9 for a predetermined time even after the inside of the storage unit 9 is sealed, and the pressure in the storage unit 9 increases, and the carbonic acid concentration in the first carbonated water supplied next time increases.

  Thereafter, the on-off valve 18 is closed, and the carbonated water remaining in the storage unit 9 is allowed to stand under a high carbon dioxide pressure, during which the carbon dioxide dissolves.

  FIG. 5 shows another embodiment. In this embodiment, a carbonated water storage section 9 is provided in the middle of the rising line of the pipe leading to the supply terminal pipe 8 so that a predetermined amount of carbonated water remains. Then, the carbon dioxide jet part 10 was provided in the upstream (down line) of the U-shaped trap. With such a configuration, there are more portions where carbonated water on the downstream side than the carbon dioxide jetting portion 10 remains, so the entire downstream side of the carbon dioxide jetting portion 10 can be provided without providing a special enlarged reservoir. It can be used as a reservoir.

  In the embodiment, the structure of the type in which the water tank 2 is set on the upper part of the server body 1 is shown. However, the water tank 2 is set inside the lower part of the server body 1 and the water in the water tank is pumped using a pump. It may be. Furthermore, it is good also as a water supply direct connection type without using a water tank.

  Moreover, although the server which can supply cold water and warm water other than carbonated water was shown in the Example, the server which supplies only drinks other than cold water and warm water, or carbonated water may be sufficient.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Server main body, 2 ... Water tank, 3 ... Space, 4 ... Hot water supply port, 5 ... Cold water supply port, 6 ... Carbonated water supply port, 4a, 5a, 6a ... Push button, 7 ... Paper cup, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 8 ... Carbonated water supply pipe, 9 ... Storage part, 10 ... Carbon dioxide gas injection part, 11 ... Pipe connected to water tank, 12 ... Open / close valve, 13 ... Check valve, 14 ... Porous member, 15 ... Space part, 16 ... piping connected to a carbon dioxide source, 17 ... carbon dioxide source, 18 ... open / close valve, 19 ... carbonated water.

Claims (1)

A carbonated water supply device for supplying carbonated water in which carbon dioxide gas is dissolved, wherein the carbonated water supply device is configured such that a part of a water supply pipe connected to a carbonated water discharge port serves as a storage unit. A carbon dioxide gas jetting part connected to a carbon dioxide gas source such as a cylinder is provided on the downstream side of the cylinder, and the storage part is selectively opened in an enclosed space or an open air space by operating an on-off valve provided in a water supply pipe. The on- off valve provided in the water supply pipe and the carbon dioxide supply pipe is opened and closed in conjunction with the user's carbonated water supply request operation such as lever operation and button operation, and further to the water supply pipe. The opening operation of the on-off valve provided is set to operate slightly behind the opening operation of the on-off valve provided in the carbon dioxide supply pipe, and the closing operation of the on-off valve provided in the water supply pipe is Provided in carbon dioxide supply piping Carbonated water supply apparatus characterized by being configured to operate earlier slightly than closing the valve closing.

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