JP6733186B2 - Beverage serving device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a beverage providing device.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, for example, a beverage providing device that provides coffee beverages such as cappuccino is known that includes a hot water tank that generates and stores hot water that constitutes the coffee beverage (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP, 2003-10049, A

Although not explicitly disclosed in Patent Document 1, in a beverage providing device, it is general that hot water produced in a hot water tank is supplied to a beverage production unit on the downstream side to produce a beverage in the beverage production unit. is there. The amount of hot water supplied to the beverage production unit is determined according to the beverage to be provided. That is, when the hot water supply pump or the like is driven to supply hot water from the hot water tank to the beverage production unit, the hot water supply pipe runs out at a predetermined position when the hot water supply pump or the like is stopped. It is desirable to be seen. Therefore, the beverage production unit is installed above the water level of the hot water in the hot water tank.

Therefore, in the conventional beverage providing device, the installation location of the beverage production unit is limited by the installation location of the hot water tank.

In view of the above situation, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage providing device capable of stabilizing the amount of hot water supplied to the beverage production unit while increasing the degree of freedom of the installation location of the beverage production unit. ..

In order to achieve the above object, a beverage providing device according to the present invention provides a beverage to a beverage container, and a hot water tank for generating and storing hot water constituting the beverage, and the hot water tank. In a beverage providing device having a hot water supply pipe for supplying hot water stored in the hot water supply unit to the beverage production unit, the hot water supply pipe is provided above the hot water level of the hot water tank and is supplied to the beverage production unit. The air introduction hole is formed in an upper sloping portion that gradually inclines upward as it goes in the direction or in a horizontally extending portion that continuously extends in the horizontal direction downstream of the upper sloping portion in the supply direction. ..

Further, the present invention is the above beverage providing device, wherein the upper sloped portion or the horizontally extending portion is hotter than a downstream portion including a portion where the upstream portion of the air introduction hole is formed with the air introduction hole. It is characterized in that it is configured to have a large resistance to the supply of.

Further, the present invention is, in the beverage providing apparatus, comprising an air introduction pipe provided in a manner that one end communicates with the hot water supply pipe through the air introduction hole and the other end communicates with the inside of the hot water tank. Characterize.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it is above the water level of the hot water tank in the hot water supply pipe, and the upward slope part which inclines upward gradually toward the direction which supplies to a drink production part, or the supply direction of an upward slope part. Since the air introduction hole is formed in the horizontally extending portion that continuously extends in the horizontal direction on the downstream side, the beverage production unit can be installed at a position lower than the water level of the hot water in the hot water tank, and The hot water draining can be favorably carried out when the means for delivering the water is stopped. As a result, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of the installation location of the beverage production unit and stabilize the amount of hot water supplied to the beverage production unit.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the configuration of a beverage providing device that is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a main part of the steam generation unit shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a main part of the hot water supply pipe shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a characteristic control system of the beverage providing device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the hot water supply control processing performed by the control unit shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing content of the heating control processing performed by the control unit. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the drainage control processing executed by the control unit.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a beverage providing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram schematically showing the configuration of a beverage providing device that is an embodiment of the present invention. The beverage providing device 1 illustrated here is for providing a coffee beverage containing a milk beverage component to a cup C that is a beverage container, and includes a steam generation unit 10, a milk beverage supply unit 30, an air supply unit 40, The mixing unit 50, the forming unit 60, and the nozzle 70 are provided.

The steam generator 10 includes a steam tank 11, a steam supply pipe 24, a drain pipe 25, and a relief pipe 26. The steam tank 11 is connected to a hot water tank 13 through a hot water supply path 12. Here, the hot water tank 13 has a built-in hot water generating heater 14 as shown in FIG. The hot water generating heater 14 is driven by a drive command given from a control unit 90 described later to be in an energized state. When the heater 14 is energized, it is supplied to the inside of the hot water tank 13 by a water supply means (not shown). The heated water is heated to generate hot water. That is, the hot water tank 13 generates hot water and stores it. The hot water tank 13 is provided with an overflow pipe 15. The overflow pipe 15 is for discharging hot water to the outside when the water level inside the hot water tank 13 is equal to or higher than a predetermined height. That is, the inside of the hot water tank 13 communicates with the outside air through the overflow pipe 15.

The hot water supply path 12 is configured by connecting a plurality of hot water supply pipes 121, and a hot water supply pump 16, a strainer 17, and a hot water supply pump 18 are provided in the middle thereof.

In such a hot water supply path 12, a hot water supply pipe 121 (hereinafter, also referred to as an upstream hot water supply pipe 121a) that constitutes one end side enters the hot water tank 13 in a manner protruding above the bottom portion of the hot water tank 13. There is. A hot water inlet 121b is formed on the upper end surface of the upstream hot water supply pipe 121a, and the hot water inlet 121b is located above a preset low water level L1 (see FIG. 2) of hot water stored in the hot water tank 13. It is provided in. The low water level L1 is the minimum allowable height level of the hot water stored in the hot water tank 13.

Further, in the upstream hot water supply pipe 121a, an auxiliary hot water inlet 121c having a smaller diameter than the hot water inlet 121b is provided at a peripheral surface portion below the hot water inlet 121b and below the low water level L1.

The hot water supply pump 16 is composed of, for example, a centrifugal pump, and is driven when a drive command is given from the control unit 90. When the hot water supply pump 16 is driven, it supplies the hot water sucked through the upstream hot water supply pipe 121a to the hot water supply pipe 19 whose one end is connected to itself. That is, when the hot water supply pump 16 is driven, the hot water stored in the hot water tank 13 is sent to the hot water supply pipe 19, while when the drive is stopped, the hot water stored in the hot water tank 13 is supplied. It allows passage through the path 12.

The other end of the hot water supply pipe 19 is connected to the beverage production unit 20. The beverage production unit 20 is called a brewer, and extracts the coffee beverage with the hot water supplied through the hot water supply pipe 19 and the coffee raw material put into itself. Since the structure of the beverage production unit 20 is well known, its explanation is omitted here.

The hot water supply pipe 19 has an upper sloped portion 19a that gradually inclines upward in the direction in which the water is supplied to the beverage production unit 20, at a portion above the water level of the hot water in the hot water tank 13. As shown in FIG. 3, an air introduction hole 19b is formed in the upper sloped portion 19a. Further, one end of an air introduction pipe 21 is connected to the upper sloped portion 19a in a mode in which the hot water supply pipe 19 communicates with each other through the air introduction hole 19b. The air introducing pipe 21 is connected to the hot water tank 13 in such a manner that the other end communicates with the inside of the hot water tank 13.

Further, in the upper sloped portion 19a, a reduced diameter pipe 19c is inserted in a portion upstream of the air introduction hole 19b. The outer diameter of the reduced diameter tube 19c is matched with the inner diameter d1 of the hot water supply tube 19. That is, the inner diameter d2 of the reduced diameter pipe 19c is smaller than the inner diameter d1 of the hot water supply pipe 19. More specifically, when the inner diameter d1 of the hot water supply pipe 19 is, for example, about 5.0 to 6.0 mm, the inner diameter d2 of the reduced diameter pipe 19c is, for example, about 3.5 to 4.5 mm. Further, in the present embodiment, the inner diameter d3 of the air introduction pipe 21 is set to about 1.5 to 2.5 mm. The inner diameter d3 of the air introduction pipe 21 does not need to be smaller than the inner diameter d2 of the reduced diameter pipe 19c, and may be larger than the inner diameter d2.

That is, the upper sloped portion 19a is configured such that the upstream portion of the air introducing hole 19b has a higher resistance to the supply of hot water than the downstream portion including the portion where the air introducing hole 19b is formed.

The angle of the upper slope portion 19a of the air introduction pipe 21 with respect to the upstream side portion of the air introduction hole 19b is not particularly limited in the present invention, but is preferably 90° or less.

The strainer 17 is provided downstream of the hot water supply pump 16 in the hot water supply path 12. The strainer 17 removes adhered substances contained in the hot water that passes through the hot water supply path 12, and in the present embodiment, removes scale generated by crystallization of the calcium component contained in the water that is the raw material of the hot water. Is.

The hot water supply pump 18 is composed of, for example, a diaphragm pump, and is driven when a drive command is given from the control unit 90. The hot water supply pump 18 supplies hot water from the hot water tank 13 to the steam tank 11 when driven. The hot water supply pump 18 has a function of supplying air to the steam tank 11 by driving the hot water supply pump 18. A check valve 122 is provided in the hot water supply pipe 121 between the hot water supply pump 18 and the steam tank 11. The check valve 122 is adjusted so that the closing pressure in the forward direction is equal to or higher than the head pressure of the hot water tank 13.

The steam tank 11 has a heater 22 for generating steam therein. The steam generating heater 22 is driven by a drive command given from the control unit 90 described later to be in an energized state, and when energized, heats and pressurizes the hot water supplied through the hot water supply path 12. It produces steam. That is, the steam tank 11 heats the supplied hot water to generate pressurized steam.

The steam supply pipe 24 has one end connected to the steam tank 11 and the other end connected to the mixing section 50, and connects the steam tank 11 and the mixing section 50. A steam supply valve 24a and a steam check valve 24b are provided in the middle of the steam supply pipe 24. The steam supply valve 24a is opened and closed according to a command given from the control unit 90. The steam supply valve 24a allows the pressurized steam to pass through the steam supply pipe 24 when it is opened. Further, the steam supply valve 24a regulates passage of pressurized steam through the steam supply pipe 24 when the steam supply valve 24a is closed. The steam check valve 24b allows passage of a fluid (pressurized steam) from the steam tank 11 to the mixing section 50, while restricting passage of a fluid from the mixing to the steam tank 11.

One end of the drainage pipe 25 is connected to the steam tank 11, and the drainage pipe 25 is for discharging hot water inside the steam tank 11. The drain pipe 25 is provided with a drain cock 25a. The drain cock 25a is provided so as to be swingable, and allows the hot water to pass through the drain pipe 25 by swinging in the opening direction by a manual operation.

One end of the relief pipe 26 is connected to the steam tank 11, and is for discharging the internal air, hot water, and steam of the steam tank 11. The relief pipe 26 is provided with a safety valve 26a. The safety valve 26a is opened when the pressure inside the steam tank 11 becomes a preset value (for example, about 400 kPa) or more. Reference numeral 27 in FIG. 2 is a thermostat. The thermostat 27 gives a stop signal to the control unit 90 when the temperature inside the steam tank 11 becomes a predetermined value (for example, about 130° C.) or more. Here, the temperature (about 130° C.) that is the reference for the thermostat 27 to send the stop signal is the boiling point when the internal pressure of the steam tank 11 is about 170 kPa, and is lower than the set pressure (about 400 kPa) of the safety valve 26a. It is set.

The milk-beverage supply unit 30 includes a bag-in-box (hereinafter also referred to as BIB) 31 and a tube pump 32.

The BIB 31 is configured by accommodating a bag-shaped container in which a stock solution (hereinafter, also referred to as milk stock solution) of a milk drink (milk in a foamed state) to be supplied to the cup C is housed in a box-shaped container. The BIB 31 is arranged in a cool box (not shown).

The tube pump 32 is provided below the BIB 31 inside the cool box. The tube pump 32 is driven by a command given from the controller 90. When the tube pump 32 is driven, the tube 33 connected to the BIB 31 is crushed by a plurality of rollers or the like to pump the milk stock solution of the BIB 31. It is something to put out.

Reference numeral 34 in FIG. 1 is a connector. The connector 34 is attached to the tip of a tube 33 connected to the BIB 31, and connects the tube 33 to one end of a liquid supply pipe 51 connected to the mixing section 50. The liquid supply pipe 51 is provided with a liquid check valve 51a. The liquid check valve 51a allows passage of fluid from the BIB 31 to the mixing section 50, and regulates passage of fluid from the mixing section 50 to the BIB 31.

The air supply unit 40 includes an air supply pipe 41. The air supply pipe 41 has one end connected to the air pump 42 and the other end connected to the mixing section 50, and connects the air pump 42 and the mixing section 50. The air pump 42 is driven according to a command given from the control unit 90, and when driven, compresses air and sends compressed air through the air supply pipe 41.

An air check valve 41a is provided in the middle of the air supply pipe 41. The air check valve 41a allows passage of fluid (compressed air) from the air pump 42 to the mixing section 50, while restricting passage of fluid from the mixing section 50 to the air pump 42.

The mixing unit 50 mixes the pressurized steam supplied through the steam supply pipe 24 with the milk undiluted liquid supplied through the liquid supply pipe 51 to heat the milk undiluted liquid, and the compressed air supplied through the air supply pipe 41. Is mixed to produce a milk beverage in a slightly foamed state.

The forming unit 60 is connected to the mixing unit 50 via a beverage delivery pipe 61. The forming unit 60 is for foaming the milk beverage delivered from the mixing unit 50 through the beverage delivery pipe 61.

The nozzle 70 is connected to the forming unit 60 via a beverage outlet pipe 71, and is also connected to the beverage production unit 20 via a beverage supply pipe 72. The nozzle 70 puts the milk beverage (milky beverage in a foamed state) delivered from the forming unit 60 through the beverage delivery pipe 71 and the coffee beverage supplied from the beverage production unit 20 through the beverage supply pipe 72 into the cup C. It is what is discharged.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a characteristic control system of the beverage providing device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the beverage providing device 1 includes a drain switch 81, a heating switch 82, a low water level detection sensor 83, a lower limit water level detection sensor 84, an upper limit water level detection sensor 85, a first internal temperature sensor 86, and a second internal portion. It has a temperature sensor 87 and a control unit 90.

The drain switch 81 is provided on a remote controller (not shown) electrically connected to the control unit 90. The drain switch 81 gives a drain signal to the controller 90 when operated by an operator.

The heating switch 82 is provided in the remote controller similarly to the drain switch 81. The heating switch 82 gives a heating signal to the controller 90 when operated by an operator.

The low water level detection sensor 83 is provided inside the hot water tank 13. When the water level of the hot water stored in the hot water tank 13 becomes lower than the low water level L1, the low water level detection sensor 83 detects the fact and gives an ON signal to the control unit 90.

The lower limit water level detection sensor 84 is provided inside the steam tank 11. When the water level float 23 (see FIG. 2) that moves up and down according to the water level of the hot water inside the steam tank 11 is at the lower limit position, the lower limit water level detection sensor 84 detects that fact and sends an ON signal to the control unit 90. To give.

The upper limit water level detection sensor 85 is provided inside the steam tank 11. When the water level float 23 is at the upper limit position, the upper limit water level detection sensor 85 detects the fact and gives an ON signal to the control unit 90.

The first internal temperature sensor 86 detects the internal temperature T1 of the hot water tank 13 and gives a detection signal to the control unit 90. The second internal temperature sensor 87 is an internal temperature detection unit that detects the internal temperature T2 of the steam tank 11 and gives the detection signal to the control unit 90.

The control unit 90 centrally controls the operation of each unit of the beverage providing device 1 in accordance with the programs and data stored in the memory 100, and as a characteristic of the present embodiment, the input processing unit 91, The determination processing unit 92, the comparison processing unit 93, the pump drive processing unit 94, the valve drive processing unit 95, and the heater drive processing unit 96 are provided.

The input processing unit 91 inputs a drainage signal or the like given from the drainage switch 81 or the like, or a signal given from each sensor 83 or the like. The determination processing unit 92 starts time measurement by a timekeeping unit such as a built-in clock, and determines whether or not the set time or operation time read from the memory 100 has elapsed. The comparison processing unit 93 compares the temperature input through the input processing unit 91 with various temperatures read from the memory 100.

The pump drive processing unit 94 outputs a drive command or a drive stop command to the hot water supply pump 16 and the hot water supply pump 18 to drive or stop the pump 16 and the like. The valve drive processing unit 95 gives an opening command or a closing command to the steam supply valve 24a to open or close the steam supply valve 24a. The heater drive processing unit 96 gives a drive command or a drive stop command to the steam generation heater 22 to drive or stop the steam generation heater 22.

In the beverage providing device 1 having the above structure, the controller 90 drives the hot water generating heater 14 to heat the water supplied to the hot water tank 13 to generate hot water having a desired temperature. It is stored in the hot water tank 13.

Then, the hot water supply pump 18 is driven by the controller 90, the hot water stored in the hot water tank 13 is delivered to the steam tank 11, and the steam generating heater 22 is driven by the controller 90 to heat the hot water. Then, pressurized steam is generated.

When hot water is delivered from the hot water tank 13 to the steam tank 11, the control unit 90 drives the hot water supply pump 18 when the lower limit water level detection sensor 84 detects that the water level float 23 provided in the steam tank 11 is at the lower limit position. When the upper limit water level detection sensor 85 detects that the water level float 23 is at the upper limit position, the control unit 90 stops the hot water supply pump 18 by stopping driving. In this way, hot water of a desired temperature is stored in the hot water tank 13, and pressurized steam is generated in the steam tank 11.

In the beverage providing device 1, the coffee beverage containing the milk beverage component can be provided in the cup C as follows.

The hot water supply pump 16 is driven for a predetermined time by the control unit 90 to supply the hot water stored in the hot water tank 13 to the beverage production unit 20, and the beverage production unit 20 extracts the coffee beverage. The extracted coffee beverage is supplied to the nozzle 70.

The control unit 90 opens the steam supply valve 24a and drives the tube pump 32 and the air pump 42, whereby the milk stock solution of the BIB 31 is pumped out to the mixing unit 50, and the steam generated by the steam tank 11 is generated. The compressed steam passes through the steam supply pipe 24 to reach the mixing section 50, and further compressed air passes through the air supply tube 41 to reach the mixing section 50.

Then, in the mixing unit 50, the milk stock solution is heated by the pressurized steam, and when the compressed air enters, the milk stock solution is mixed with the milk stock solution heated by the pressurized steam to produce a milk beverage. The milk beverage produced here is slightly foamed by compressed air. The milk drink produced in the mixing unit 50 in this way passes through the drink delivery pipe 61 and reaches the forming unit 60.

In the forming unit 60, the milk beverage comes into contact with the wall surface or the like to increase the amount of frothing of the milk beverage to be frothed. The milk beverage thus whipped passes through the beverage outlet pipe 71 and is supplied to the nozzle 70.

Then, the coffee beverage supplied from the beverage production unit 20 and the frothed milk beverage supplied from the forming unit 60 are discharged into the cup C by the nozzle 70, thereby providing a coffee beverage containing a milk beverage component. It

In the beverage providing device 1, since the air introduction hole 19b is formed in the upper slope portion 19a of the hot water supply pipe 19, the hot water supply pump 16 driven for a predetermined time passes through the air introduction pipe 21 when the drive is stopped. The generated air enters the hot water supply pipe 19 through the air introduction hole 19b, as indicated by the dashed arrow a in FIG. Since the air that has entered through the air introduction hole 19b has a smaller specific gravity than the hot water, the air is directed to the upper side of the upper gradient portion 19a, that is, the downstream side in the supply direction. Although the hot water in the upper sloped portion 19a tends to flow due to inertial force even after the hot water supply pump 16 is stopped, the hot water flows while entraining the air that has entered through the air introduction hole 19b, and as a result, the portion A shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The hot water on the upstream side of the portion A is returned to the hot water tank 13 by its own weight as shown by the solid arrow B in FIG. That is, when the hot water supply pump 16 is stopped, hot water can be drained well.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the hot water supply control processing executed by the control unit 90 shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. The operation of the beverage providing device 1 will be described while explaining the hot water supply control process.

In this hot water supply control process, the control unit 90 inputs the detection signal (internal temperature T1) through the input processing unit 91 by the first internal temperature sensor 86 detecting the internal temperature T1 of the hot water tank 13 and sending the detection signal. If so (step S101: Yes), the lower limit temperature (for example, 63° C.) stored in the memory 100 is read from the memory 100 through the comparison processing unit 93, and it is compared whether or not the internal temperature T1 is equal to or lower than the lower limit temperature. Yes (step S102).

When internal temperature T1 is lower than or equal to the lower limit temperature (step S102: Yes), control unit 90 sends a drive prohibition command to hot water supply pump 18 through pump drive processing unit 94 (step S103).

On the other hand, when the ON signal from the low water level detection sensor 83 is input through the input processing unit 91 without inputting the detection signal (internal temperature T1) in step S101 (step S101: No, step S104: Yes), or When the internal temperature T1 is higher than the lower limit temperature in step S102 and the ON signal is input from the low water level detection sensor 83 through the input processing unit 91 (step S102: No, step S104: Yes), the control unit 90 described above. Step S103 is implemented.

The control unit 90, which has executed step S103 in this way, then returns the procedure and ends the processing of this time.

According to this, when the hot water stored in the hot water tank 13 is at a low temperature or when the hot water stored in the hot water tank 13 is small, it is possible to avoid performing the hot water supply operation to the steam tank 11. ..

By the way, when the power supply is turned on after the maintenance work is performed on the beverage providing device 1, the operator operates the heating switch 82, so that the control unit 90 outputs the heating signal through the input processing unit 91. When input, the control unit 90 performs the following heating control process on the assumption that the heating command is given. As a premise of the heating control process, it is assumed that hot water is generated in the hot water tank 13 and is supplied to the steam tank 11.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the heating control processing performed by the control unit 90.

In this heating control process, the control unit 90 inputs the detection signal (internal temperature T2) through the input processing unit 91 by the second internal temperature sensor 87 detecting the internal temperature T2 of the steam tank 11 and sending the detection signal. If so (step S201: Yes), the reference temperature (for example, 88° C.) stored in the memory 100 is read from the memory 100 through the comparison processing unit 93, and it is determined whether the internal temperature T2 is equal to or lower than the reference temperature. Yes (step S202).

If the internal temperature T2 is higher than the reference temperature in step S202, the procedure is returned without executing the process described below, and the process of this time is ended.

On the other hand, when the internal temperature T2 is equal to or lower than the reference temperature in step S202 (step S202: Yes), the control unit 90 sends an open command to the vapor supply valve 24a through the valve drive processing unit 95 and also the heater drive processing unit 96. A drive command is sent to the heater 22 for steam generation through (steps S203 and S204), and the detection signal from the second internal temperature sensor 87 is awaited (step S205).

When the detection signal (internal temperature T2) is input from the second internal temperature sensor 87 through the input processing unit 91 (step S205: Yes), the control unit 90 is stored in the memory 100 from the memory 100 through the comparison processing unit 93. The set temperature (for example, 90° C.) is read and it is compared whether or not the internal temperature T2 is equal to or higher than the set temperature (step S206).

When the internal temperature T2 is lower than the set temperature (step S206: No), the control unit 90 repeats the steps S205 and S206 described above. On the other hand, when the internal temperature T2 is equal to or higher than the set temperature (step S206: Yes), the control unit 90 starts time measurement through the determination processing unit 92 (step S207), and the measured time is read from the memory 100. It waits until the set time (for example, 5 minutes) has passed (step S208). Here, the set time is arbitrarily determined, but is sufficient to expel air remaining inside the steam tank 11 through the steam supply pipe 24 by the pressurized steam generated by driving the steam generating heater 22. It's time.

When the determination processing unit 92 determines that the measurement time has exceeded the set time (step S208: Yes), the control unit 90 ends the time measurement (step S209), and then the heater drive processing unit 96. Through the steam generation heater 22 through the valve drive processing unit 95, and sends a closing command to the steam supply valve 24a through the valve drive processing unit 95 (steps S210 and S211). finish.

According to this, the air remaining in the steam tank 11 can be discharged to the outside of the steam tank 11.

In such a beverage providing device 1, when the steam tank 11 is emptied for maintenance work on the steam tank 11, the drain cock 25a is swung in the opening direction to allow the internal hot water to pass through the drain pipe 25. Can be discharged.

However, if the internal pressure of the steam tank 11 becomes substantially equal to the atmospheric pressure by leaving it for a while after the power supply to the beverage providing device 1 is turned off, the drain cock 25a is swung in the opening direction. However, the hot water inside cannot be discharged through the drain pipe 25.

Therefore, when the operator operates the drain switch 81 while swinging the drain cock 25a in the opening direction, and the controller 90 inputs a drain signal through the input processor 91, the controller 90 drains the water. The following wastewater control process will be carried out assuming that a command has been given.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of the drainage control processing executed by the control unit 90.

In this drainage control process, the control unit 90 sends a drive command to the hot water supply pump 18 through the pump drive processing unit 94 (step S301), and waits for an ON signal from the lower limit water level detection sensor (step S302).

The hot water (water) stored in the hot water tank 13 is supplied to the steam tank 11 by driving the hot water supply pump 18, and when the water level of the hot water becomes lower than the hot water inlet 121b, the internal air of the hot water tank 13 is changed to the steam tank. 11 is supplied. Then, the hot water inside the steam tank 11 is discharged to the outside through the drain pipe 25, and the water level float 23 moves downward in accordance with the decrease in the water level of the hot water.

When an ON signal is input from the lower limit water level detection sensor through the input processing unit 91 (step S302: Yes), the control unit 90 starts time measurement through the determination processing unit 92 (step S303), and this measurement time is stored in the memory 100. It waits until the operation time read from is passed (step S304). Here, the operating time is arbitrarily determined, but is a time sufficient to discharge the hot water (water) inside the steam tank 11.

When it is determined by the determination processing unit 92 that the measurement time has passed the operation time (step S304: Yes), the control unit 90 ends the time measurement (step S305), and then the pump drive processing unit 94. A drive stop command is sent to the hot water supply pump 18 through (step S306), the procedure is returned, and the processing of this time is ended.

According to this, by discharging the hot water of the steam tank 11 through the drain pipe 25, the inside of the steam tank 11 can be emptied.

As described above, according to the beverage providing device 1 of the embodiment of the present invention, when the control unit 90 inputs the drainage signal through the input processing unit 91, the hot water supply pump 18 is driven and the lower limit water level detection sensor is driven. Since the hot water supply pump 18 is stopped when a predetermined operation time elapses after the water level of the steam tank 11 is detected to be at the preset lower limit position through 84, the inside of the steam tank 11 is emptied. Therefore, the maintenance work of the steam tank 11 can be simplified.

According to the beverage providing device 1, when the control unit 90 inputs the heating signal through the input processing unit 91 and the internal temperature T2 detected by the second internal temperature sensor 87 is equal to or lower than the predetermined reference temperature. For driving the steam generating heater 22 while opening the steam supply valve 24a, when the internal temperature T2 is equal to or higher than a predetermined set temperature, the steam supply is performed after a predetermined set time elapses. Since the valve 24a is closed, the air remaining in the steam tank 11 can be discharged to the outside of the steam tank 11, whereby the steam in the steam tank 11 can be easily evacuated.

According to the above beverage providing device 1, since the air introduction hole 19b is formed in the upper sloped portion 19a of the hot water supply pipe 19 which is located above the level of the hot water in the hot water tank 13, the beverage production unit 20 is connected to the hot water tank. It can be installed at a position lower than the water level of the hot water of 13, and the hot water can be satisfactorily removed when the hot water supply pump 16 is stopped. As a result, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom of the installation location of the beverage production unit 20 and stabilize the amount of hot water supplied to the beverage production unit 20.

Particularly, in the upper sloped portion 19a, the diameter-reducing pipe 19c is provided in the upstream side portion of the air introduction hole 19b, so that the upstream side portion is more than the downstream side portion including the portion in which the air introduction hole 19b is formed. The resistance to the supply of hot water is increased. As a result, it is possible to prevent the flow rate and flow velocity of the hot water from decreasing in the downstream side portion of the air introduction hole 19b in the upper sloped portion 19a and prevent the hot water from flowing back into the air introduction pipe 21. it can. As a result, a stable supply of hot water can be performed.

Further, since the air introduction pipe 21 is provided such that one end communicates with the hot water supply pipe 19 through the air introduction hole 19b and the other end communicates with the inside of the hot water tank 13, it passes through the hot water supply pipe 19. It is possible to prevent hot water from being blown out through the air introduction hole 19b and dust from entering the hot water supply pipe 19 through the air introduction hole 19b.

According to the beverage providing device 1, the hot water supply path 12 supplies the hot water generated and stored in the hot water tank 13 to the steam tank 11, so that the scale generated by crystallization of components such as calcium contained in water is hot water. It can be generated in the tank 13. Then, since the hot water supply path 12 introduces the hot water from the hot water inlet 121b provided above the preset low water level of the hot water stored in the hot water tank 13 and supplies the hot water to the steam tank 11, the hot water tank 13 It is possible to suppress the supply of scale deposited on the surface. Moreover, since the strainer 17 is provided in the hot water supply path 12, even if the scale floating in the hot water of the hot water tank 13 is sucked from the hot water inlet 121b, it can be removed by the strainer 17. Therefore, the generation of scale in the steam tank 11 can be reduced.

According to the beverage providing device 1, when the controller 90 performs the hot water supply control process, the hot water stored in the hot water tank 13 is at a low temperature, or the hot water stored in the hot water tank 13 is small. It is possible to avoid performing the hot water supply operation to the steam tank 11, and thereby to prevent the steam tank 11 from being damaged. In particular, since the auxiliary guiding port 121c having a diameter smaller than that of the guiding port 121b is formed below the guiding port 121b in the hot water supply path 12 and below the low water level L1, the level of the hot water in the hot water tank 13 is temporarily determined. Even if the water temperature is lower than the low water level L1, it is possible to suck hot water from the auxiliary hot water inlet 121c, and only the air is supplied to the steam tank 11 driven by the steam generation heater 22 to damage the steam tank 11. It is possible to prevent the same.

According to the beverage providing device 1, the closing pressure in the forward direction of the check valve 122 provided in the hot water supply pipe 121 between the hot water supply pump 18 and the steam tank 11 is adjusted to be equal to or higher than the head pressure of the hot water tank 13. Therefore, even if the electromagnetic valve for closing is not provided in the hot water supply path 12, the steam tank 11 should be installed at a place where the water level of the hot water inside the steam tank 11 is lower than the hot water level of the hot water tank 13. Therefore, it is possible to improve the degree of freedom of the installation location of the steam tank 11 while reducing the manufacturing cost.

According to the beverage providing device 1, the thermostat 27 provided in the steam tank 11 has a boiling point (for example, about 170 kPa) at a pressure at which the temperature inside the steam tank 11 is lower than the operating pressure (for example, about 400 kPa) of the safety valve 26a (for example, about 170 kPa). When the temperature becomes about 130° C.), a stop signal is given to the control unit 90, so that even if the inside of the steam tank 11 has an abnormally high pressure, the driving of each unit of the beverage providing device 1 is stopped before the safety valve 26a is activated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the hot water or the like from being discharged to the store or the like in which the beverage providing device 1 is installed to damage it.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

In the above-described embodiment, the air introduction hole 19b is formed in the upper slope portion 19a of the hot water supply pipe 19, but in the present invention, the air introduction hole is formed in the hot water supply pipe downstream of the upper slope portion in the supply direction. It may be formed in a horizontally extending portion continuously extending in the horizontal direction on the side.

In the above-described embodiment, in the heating control process, the drive command or the drive stop command is sent to the steam generation heater 22 through the heater drive processing unit 96 to control the drive of the steam generation heater 22. In the present invention, the following is also possible.

That is, when the internal pressure of the steam tank 11 is equal to or lower than the preset first set value (for example, about 80 kPa), the ON signal is sent to the control unit 90, while the internal pressure of the steam tank 11 is set to the preset second value. When the control unit 90 has a pressure sensor that sends an OFF signal to the control unit 90 when the value is equal to or greater than a set value (for example, about 90 kPa), the control unit 90 uses the ON signal or the OFF signal supplied from the pressure sensor to generate steam through the heater drive processing unit 96. A drive command or a drive stop command may be sent to the generation heater 22 to control the drive of the steam generation heater 22. In such a case, in the heating control process, the processes of step S204 and step S210 can be omitted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Beverage providing apparatus 10 Steam generation part 11 Steam tank 12 Hot water supply path 121 Hot water supply pipe 121b Hot water supply port 121c Auxiliary hot water supply port 13 Hot water tank 16 Hot water supply pump 17 Strainer 18 Hot water supply pump 19 Hot water supply pipe 19a Upper slope part 19b Air introduction hole 20 Beverage Generation unit 21 Air introduction pipe 22 Steam generation heater 24 Steam supply pipe 24a Steam supply valve 30 Milk beverage supply unit 40 Air supply unit 50 Mixing unit 60 Forming unit 70 Nozzle 81 Drain switch 82 Heating switch 83 Low water level detection sensor 84 Lower limit water level Detection sensor 85 Upper water level detection sensor 86 First internal temperature sensor 87 Second internal temperature sensor 90 Control section 91 Input processing section 92 Judgment processing section 93 Comparison processing section 94 Pump drive processing section 95 Valve drive processing section 96 Heater drive processing section 100 Memory C cup (beverage container)

Claims (2)

A hot water tank for providing a beverage to a beverage container, the hot water tank forming and storing hot water constituting the beverage, and a hot water supply pipe for supplying the hot water stored in the hot water tank to a beverage generating unit. In the beverage providing device that has,
Above the water level of the hot water tank in the hot water supply pipe, the upper slope portion that gradually inclines upward in the direction of supplying the beverage to the beverage production section or the downstream side in the supply direction of the upper slope portion. An air introduction hole is formed in a horizontally extending portion continuously extending in the horizontal direction ,
Air introduction provided in such a manner that one end communicates with the hot water supply pipe through the air introduction hole and the other end communicates with an area inside the hot water tank and above the hot water level in the hot water tank. A beverage providing device comprising a tube . The upper sloped portion or the horizontally extending portion is configured such that a portion upstream of the air introduction hole has a greater resistance to hot water supply than a downstream portion including a portion where the air introduction hole is formed. The beverage providing device according to claim 1, wherein:

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