JP6942365B2 - Extractor - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an extraction device that drops and stores an extract from a raw material by spraying treated water from above the raw material.

Coffee, Japanese tea, black tea, etc. are produced by an extraction device in which hot water at high temperature or water at room temperature is sprayed on the raw material from above the raw material, and an extract is dropped from the raw material and stored. As such an extraction device, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known.

The beverage extraction device described in Patent Document 1 has an extraction chamber (tank body) capable of producing a beverage by extracting a raw material with treated water, and a filter capable of covering the opening on the lower surface of the extraction chamber and placing the raw material. A filter fluid receiver (lower lid) that is located below the filter and temporarily stores the extracted extract, a water supply section that can inject treated water into the extraction chamber, and the extracted extract. It has a discharge unit capable of discharging the liquid from the filter liquid receiver, and a liquid level control unit for controlling the position of the liquid level of the extract liquid on the raw material placed on the filter.

JP-A-2002-320550

In the structure like the beverage extractor described in Patent Document 1, the space between the filter liquid receiver and the filter located below the extraction chamber is a space for storing the extract (hereinafter, the space in which the extract is stored is the storage chamber). This storage chamber is an empty space before the extract is extracted.

As the extraction from the raw material progresses, the extract collects in the storage chamber, the gap between the liquid level of the extract and the filter gradually narrows, the air in this gap is compressed, and the pressure rises. The compressed air rises toward the raw material through the filter, lifts the raw material and passes it to the upper part of the extraction room.

However, even if the compressed air in the storage chamber tries to pass through the filter before the extract dripping from the raw material wets the entire filter, the extraction chamber is set to a high pressure state for extraction (hereinafter referred to as high pressure extraction). In this case, since the raw material having a fine particle size is used, the raw material serves as a lid and the compressed air cannot pass through the filter. Therefore, the compressed air that has lost the escape area is in a state of being accumulated in the storage chamber, so that the extract cannot be dropped.
In such a state, even if the extract is taken out from the storage chamber after the elapse of a predetermined time when the extraction is completed, the planned amount cannot be secured. Also, in this state, if you try to remove the extract from the storage chamber, the extract will be discharged together with the air, so the compressed air will expand at once, and the extract will contain fine bubbles. turn into.

Further, when the extraction chamber is set to the normal pressure state for extraction (hereinafter referred to as normal pressure extraction), since the raw material having a coarse particle size is used, the air in the gap of the storage chamber is compressed and the pressure is increased. When it rises, the air in the storage chamber passes through the upper filter, and at that time, the fine powder of the raw material may pass through the filter and fall into the storage chamber.
In that case, when the extract is discharged and water is supplied, the filter arranged in the water supply path is clogged with fine powder.

In order to cause such a problem, hot water or room temperature water called bottom hot water is stored in advance in the storage chamber, and the bottom hot water is discharged as much as the extract from the filter is dropped. I try to fill the space and eliminate the air.

However, when the bottom water is stored in the storage chamber, it is necessary to extract the extract from the raw material, discard the raw material, and supply a large amount of bottom water to the filter fluid receiver and store it each time the next extraction work is performed. Yes, it takes time to store the bottom water.
Further, the bottom bath is supplied to the storage chamber before the raw material is put into the extraction chamber. Therefore, when the input port at the top of the extraction room is opened in order to input the raw material into the extraction room, if the bottom water is hot water, the high temperature steam rises from the storage chamber and rises to the input port. Squirt from. Therefore, the operator may be exposed to high temperature steam.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an extraction device capable of improving the production efficiency of the extract and improving the working environment.

The extraction device of the present invention includes an extraction tank that extracts an extract from the charged raw materials and a water supply unit that sprays treated water toward the raw materials. The water supply unit is provided with a spraying nozzle for spraying treated water from above the raw material, and is provided in a storage chamber for storing the extract solution below the filter, between the filter and the liquid level of the extract solution. It is characterized in that a ventilation pipe for exhausting the air from the above to the outside of the extraction tank is provided.

According to the extraction device of the present invention, the extract is collected in the storage chamber and the space between the liquid level of the extract and the filter is narrowed, so that the pressure in the space is increased, but a ventilation pipe is provided in the storage chamber. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the air in the space from escaping to the outside of the extraction tank from the intake port of the ventilation pipe, and to prevent the pressure in the storage chamber from rising excessively.

The filter can be formed in a conical shape that is convex upward.
Since the filter is formed in a conical shape, the contact area with the raw material can be increased and the strength of the raw material against a load can be improved as compared with a filter having a simple flat surface.

The air intake of the vent can be located in the conical space behind the filter where the raw material is located on the front side.
Since the intake port of the ventilation pipe is located in the conical space of the filter, the intake port can be positioned higher than the liquid level of the extract even if the extract collects up to the peripheral edge of the filter. Therefore, a large amount of the extract can be stored, and it is possible to prevent the extract from flowing into the ventilation pipe.

A valve for adjusting the opening degree of the ventilation pipe, a pressure sensor provided in each of the extraction chamber and the storage chamber, and a control for instructing the valve to open the opening degree based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor. A device is provided, and the control device indicates a first opening in which the opening degree is suppressed when the differential pressure between the pressure in the extraction chamber and the pressure in the storage chamber is large, and the first opening when the differential pressure is small. It is possible to specify a second opening degree larger than the degree.
A large differential pressure means a low pressure in the storage chamber. Therefore, by setting the first opening degree in which the opening degree of the valve is suppressed, it is possible to suppress the escape of air from the high-pressure storage chamber, promote the pressure increase in the storage chamber, and reduce the pressure difference from the extraction chamber.
Moreover, the fact that the differential pressure is small means that the pressure in the storage chamber is high. Therefore, by setting the opening degree of the valve to the second opening degree which is wider than the first opening degree, the air in the storage chamber which has become high pressure can be quickly evacuated, and the pressure in the storage chamber can be reduced.

According to the extraction device of the present invention, it is possible to suppress an excessive increase in the pressure in the storage chamber, so that it is possible to eliminate the need for bottom water at the bottom of the extraction tank. Therefore, the extraction device of the present invention can improve the production efficiency of the extract and improve the working environment.

It is a figure for demonstrating the extraction apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention, and is the figure in the state which the lower lid part is closed. It is a figure for demonstrating the extraction apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and is the figure in the state which the lower lid part is open. It is a figure for demonstrating the extraction apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and is the enlarged view of the lower lid part. It is a figure for demonstrating the adjustment of the opening degree in the ventilation pipe of the extraction apparatus shown in FIG.

The extraction device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
The extraction device 10 shown in FIG. 1 uses, for example, roasted coffee powder as a raw material, sprays hot water as treated water, and extracts a stock solution of coffee as an extract at high pressure.
In the extraction device 10, a residue hopper H that receives the extracted raw material is arranged below.
The extraction device 10 includes a tank-shaped extraction tank 20 for extracting the extract from the charged raw material, and a water supply unit 30 for spraying the treated water from above the raw material.

The extraction tank 20 is formed in a columnar shape having a hollow inside and a bulging top surface 20t and a bottom surface 20b.
In the extraction tank 20, treated water is sprayed on the raw material to extract the extract from the raw material. A tank body 21 having an open lower surface 21b, a lower lid 22 located below the extraction tank 20 and closing the opening on the lower surface of the tank body 21, and a charged raw material are arranged, and an extract from the raw material is placed in the lower lid. A filter 23 for passing through the portion 22 and an arm 24 for opening and closing the lower lid portion 22 are provided.

The internal space of the tank body 21 is an extraction chamber 21R that allows the sprayed treated water to permeate the raw material and extract the extract from the raw material.
The upper portion 21u of the tank body 21 (the upper portion of the extraction tank 20) is formed with an inlet 21c for charging raw materials with a lid.

The lower lid portion 22 is formed in a bowl shape for storing the extract. A discharge port 22e for taking out the extract is formed at the center of the bottom surface 22b of the lower lid portion 22 (bottom surface 20b of the extraction tank 20).
Below the filter 23 located inside the bowl-shaped lower lid 22 (bottom of the extraction tank 20) is the storage chamber 22R for storing the extract.

The filter 23 is provided in the opening of the lower lid portion 22 inside the extraction tank 20. The filter 23 is formed in a mesh shape. The filter 23 is formed in a conical shape that is convex upward so that the central portion 23c is higher than the peripheral portion 23p when the tank body 21 is closed by the lower lid portion 22. In the present embodiment, since the extraction tank 20 is formed in a columnar shape, the filter 23 is formed in a conical shape.

The base end portion 24b of the arm 24 is connected to the side surface 21s of the tank body 21, and the tip end portion 24e is connected to the bottom surface 22b of the lower lid portion 22. The base end portion 24b of the arm 24 has an actuator 25 that functions as a drive unit that opens and closes the lower lid portion 22 by moving the tip end portion 24e so as to draw an arc around the base end portion 24b.

The water supply unit 30 is for spraying the shaft 31 penetrating the crown 21t of the tank body 21, the drive unit 32 for rotating and raising and lowering the shaft 31, and the treated water flowing through the shaft 31 as raw materials. A spraying portion 33 and a squeegee portion 34 formed at the lower end 31a of the shaft 31 for leveling the raw materials are provided.

The spraying portion 33 includes a horizontal bar 33h extending in the horizontal direction from the shaft 31 and spraying nozzles 33n arranged at equal intervals on the horizontal bar 33h.
The squeegee portion 34 is a rotary blade formed in a plate-shaped member extending in the horizontal direction from the shaft 31.

As shown in FIG. 4, the extraction chamber 21R and the storage chamber 22R are provided with pressure sensors 28a and 28b for measuring the internal pressure. A control device 40 is connected to the pressure sensors 28a and 28b.
The control device 40 is connected to a valve 27, which will be described later, and has a function of adjusting the opening degree of the valve 27.
Further, a pressurizing air supply port (not shown) for supplying pressurized air to pressurize the inside of the extraction chamber 21R is formed in the upper portion 21u (upper part of the extraction tank 20) of the tank body 21. ..

Here, the ventilation pipe provided in the lower lid portion 22 will be described.
In the extraction device 10 according to the present embodiment, the ventilation pipe 26 provided in the storage chamber 22R (lower lid portion 22) for exhausting the air in the storage chamber 22R to the outside of the extraction tank 20 and the ventilation pipe 26 are opened. It is provided with a valve 27 for adjusting the degree.

The ventilation pipe 26 is a metal pipe having a diameter of about 25 mm. The ventilation pipe 26 is formed so as to pass through the bottom surface 22b (bottom surface of the extraction tank 20) of the lower lid portion 22 and face the filter 23 (opening of the lower lid portion 22). The intake port 26s, which is the tip of the ventilation pipe 26, is located in the conical space 23R on the back side of the filter 23 on which the raw material is arranged on the front side.
The valve 27 is connected to a liquid receiving tank (not shown) by a pipe. A mechanism such as a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of liquid in the pipe is provided on the pipe path.

The operation and usage state of the extraction device 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, in the case of a conventional extraction device, treated water called bottom hot water is injected and stored in the lower lid portion 22 within a range where the water level does not exceed the filter 23, and then the raw material is supplied from the inlet 21c to the filter 23. It is thrown toward.

However, in the extraction device 10 according to the present embodiment, since the bottom bath is not required, the raw material can be immediately charged from the charging port 21c. Since the raw material can be added without preparing the bottom bath, it is possible to prevent the operator from being exposed to the steam rising from the bottom bath.
When the input of the raw material is completed, the extraction chamber 21R is pressurized to bring it into a pressure state higher than the atmospheric pressure. In the present embodiment, the extraction chamber 21R is pressurized to 0.2 MPa or more.

Then, by passing water through the spraying section 33 via the shaft 31 of the water supply section 30, high-temperature treated water, for example, treated water at 110 ° C. is sprayed from the spraying nozzle 33n.
By doing so, the high-temperature treated water is sprayed on the raw material and permeates the raw material, so that the extract passes through the filter 23 and is dropped and stored in the storage chamber 22R of the lower lid portion 22.
After that, the extraction room 21R can be further pressurized. For example, the pressure can be adjusted to 0.3 MPa.

The extract is collected in the storage chamber 22R, and the space S (see FIG. 3) between the liquid level of the extract and the filter 23 is narrowed. The raw material is arranged on the filter 23, and the treated water is infiltrated into the raw material. Therefore, the air in the space S cannot escape into the raw material, and the pressure in the space S increases.

Even if the pressure in the space S increases, since the ventilation pipe 26 is provided in the lower lid portion 22, the air in the space S escapes from the intake port 26s of the ventilation pipe 26 in the direction of the valve 27, and the storage chamber 22R It is possible to prevent the pressure from rising excessively.
Therefore, in the high-pressure extraction in which the storage chamber 22R is made high pressure to extract the extract, the treated water permeating the raw material reaches the filter 23 and becomes the extract from the filter 23 against the pressure in the space S, and becomes the extraction liquid in the storage chamber. It can be dropped on 22R. Then, the extract drips smoothly and the entire filter 23 gets wet, so that the extract can be dropped into the storage chamber 22R without stagnation.

Further, even if the extraction device 10 is a normal pressure extraction, since the space S does not have an excessive pressure, it is possible to prevent the air in the space S where the pressure has increased from flowing upward through the filter 23. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the fine powder of the raw material from being dropped from the filter 23 into the extract by allowing the air to pass upward through the filter 23.

As described above, in the extraction device 10 according to the present embodiment, since the occurrence of defects can be suppressed without preparing the bottom bath in advance, the manufacturing efficiency can be improved and the working environment can be improved. Can be done.

At this time, the control device 40 shown in FIG. 4 measures the pressure in the space S and the extraction chamber 21R by the pressure sensors 28a and 28b. Then, the difference in pressure in the space S is calculated from the pressure in the extraction chamber 21R to calculate the differential pressure.
Then, the control device 40 instructs the first opening degree in which the opening degree is suppressed when the differential pressure is large, and instructs the second opening degree which is larger than the first opening degree when the differential pressure is small.

In the extraction device 10, when the extract is extracted from the state where there is no bottom water, the extract is accumulated in the storage chamber 22R. When the amount of the extract is increased, most of the air originally contained in the storage chamber 22R cannot escape to the extraction chamber 21R having a high pressure. If air continues to stay in the storage chamber 22R for a certain amount of time or more, the extract does not fall from the extraction chamber 21R through the filter 23 thereafter. Therefore, it is desired to remove the air from the space S and fill the storage chamber 22R with the extract.
Therefore, the valve 27 is opened in order to evacuate the air in the storage chamber 22R. However, if the valve 27 is opened wide, air is quickly released and the pressure in the storage chamber 22R is lowered, so that the pressure difference from the extraction chamber 21R becomes large, and there is a risk of mechanical damage such as the filter 23 falling off.
Therefore, the pressure difference between the storage chamber 22R and the extraction chamber 21R can be reduced while suppressing the escape of air by setting the first opening degree in which the opening degree is suppressed.
Further, if the pressure difference becomes small, the air in the space S can be quickly evacuated by setting the opening degree of the valve 27 to the second opening degree which is wider than the first opening degree.

Here, in order to give a hysterical characteristic to the change of the opening degree of the valve 27, the predetermined value can be set to the first threshold value when the differential pressure rises and the second threshold value when the differential pressure falls. The relationship is that the first threshold value> the second threshold value.
For example, the first threshold value can be 0.033 MPa, the second threshold value can be 0.030 MPa, and the opening degree can be 20% for the first opening degree and 70% for the second opening degree.
By setting in this way, the control device 40 has a differential pressure of 0.033 MPa (first threshold value) or more when the differential pressure rises when the opening of the valve 27 is 70% (second opening). Then, the opening degree can be set to 20% (first opening degree). Further, when the differential pressure becomes 0.030 MPa (second threshold value) or less when the differential pressure drops, the opening degree of 20% can be set to 70% (second opening degree).

As shown in FIG. 3, since the filter 23 is formed in a conical shape, the contact area with the raw material can be increased and the strength of the raw material against a load can be improved as compared with a simple flat filter. Can be done.
Since the intake port 26s of the ventilation pipe 26 is located in the conical space 23R of the filter 23, the intake port 26s is higher than the liquid level of the extract even if the extract is accumulated up to the peripheral edge portion 23p of the filter 23. Can be positioned. Therefore, a large amount of the extract can be stored, and it is possible to prevent the extract from flowing into the ventilation pipe 26.

The extraction device of the present invention is suitable for a device for extracting coffee, green tea, oolong tea, black tea, mixed tea, barley tea, sencha, other Chinese herbs, and various seasoning extracts.

10 Extractor 20 Extraction tank 20t Top surface 20b Bottom surface 21 Tank body 21b Bottom surface 21c Input port 21u Top 21s Side surface 21t Top of head 21R Extraction room 22 Lower lid 22b Bottom surface 22e Discharge port 22R Storage room 23 Filter 23R Cone-shaped space 23c 23p Peripheral part 24 Arm 24b Base end 24e Tip 25 Actuator 26 Ventilation pipe 26s Intake port 27 Valve 28a, 28b Pressure sensor 30 Water supply part 31 Shaft 31a Lower end 32 Drive part 33 Spraying part 33h Horizontal bar 33n Spraying nozzle 34 40 Control device S Space H Residual hopper

Claims (4)

It is equipped with an extraction tank that extracts the extract from the raw material and a water supply unit that sprays the treated water toward the raw material.
The extraction tank includes a filter for passing the extract from the extraction room in which the raw material is arranged.
The water supply unit includes a spraying nozzle for spraying treated water from above the raw material.
A ventilation pipe for exhausting the air between the filter and the liquid level of the extract to the outside of the extraction tank is provided in the storage chamber below the filter for storing the extract.
A valve that adjusts the opening of the ventilation pipe and
Pressure sensors provided in the extraction room and the storage room, respectively,
A control device for instructing the valve to open the valve based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor is provided.
If the differential pressure between the pressure in the extraction chamber and the pressure in the storage chamber is larger than a predetermined value, the control device indicates a first opening degree in which the opening degree is suppressed, and the differential pressure should be smaller than the predetermined value. For example, an extraction device that indicates a second opening degree that is larger than the first opening degree. It is equipped with an extraction tank that extracts the extract from the raw material and a water supply unit that sprays the treated water toward the raw material.
The extraction tank includes a filter for passing the extract from the extraction room in which the raw material is arranged.
The water supply unit includes a spraying nozzle for spraying treated water from above the raw material.
A ventilation pipe for exhausting the air between the filter and the liquid level of the extract to the outside of the extraction tank is provided in the storage chamber below the filter for storing the extract.
A valve that adjusts the opening of the ventilation pipe and
Pressure sensors provided in the extraction room and the storage room, respectively,
A control device for instructing the valve to open the valve based on the pressure measured by the pressure sensor is provided.
The control device instructs the first opening degree in which the opening degree is suppressed when the differential pressure between the pressure in the extraction chamber and the pressure in the storage chamber becomes equal to or higher than the first threshold value when the differential pressure rises, and when the differential pressure falls, the control device indicates the first opening degree. An extraction device that indicates a second opening degree that is larger than the first opening degree when the pressure is less than or equal to the second threshold value that is smaller than the first threshold value. The extraction device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein the filter is formed in a conical shape that is convex upward. The extraction device according to claim 3 , wherein the intake port of the ventilation pipe is located in a conical space on the back side of the filter in which the raw material is arranged on the front side.

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