JP7049956B2 - Beverage cooling device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a beverage cooling device that cools a beverage such as beer before pouring it out.

Patent Document 1 discloses a beverage cooling device that cools a beverage such as beer before pouring it out. This beverage cooling device includes a cooling water tank provided in the housing for storing cooling water, an evaporator of the refrigerating device arranged along the inner peripheral surface of the cooling water tank, and inside the evaporation pipe in the cooling water tank. It is provided with a beverage cooling pipe that is arranged to cool the beverage and a stirring device that stirs the cooling water in the cooling water tank. In this beverage cooling device, the cooling water in the cooling water tank is cooled by the heat of vaporization when the refrigerant evaporates in the evaporator of the refrigerating device and freezes around the evaporator, and the beverage passing through the beverage cooling pipe is cooled by the stirring device. It is cooled by the agitated cooling water. The cooling water in the cooling water tank may increase because the water contained in the surrounding air is cooled by the cooling water and condensed. Therefore, the cooling water tank is provided with an overflow pipe for draining the cooling water exceeding the predetermined water level, and the cooling water in the cooling water tank is discharged from the overflow pipe when the water level exceeds the predetermined water level.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-016820

In the beverage dispensing device described in Patent Document 1, since cooling water does not always flow in the overflow pipe, insects flowing in from the drain port of the overflow pipe climb up along the inner peripheral surface of the overflow pipe to form a housing. There was a risk of invading inside. Further, when the cooling water in the cooling water tank is discharged from the overflow pipe, the cooling water flows down continuously along the inner peripheral surface of the overflow pipe, and flows down from the stirring motor of the stirring device to the cooling water in the cooling water tank. When an electric leak occurs, the current flowing through the cooling water in the cooling water tank due to the electric leakage flows down continuously along the inner peripheral surface of the overflow pipe. There was a risk that it would be transmitted to. It is an object of the present invention to prevent insects from invading the housing from the overflow portion and to prevent electric leakage from the stirring motor of the stirring device to the cooling water in the cooling water tank so as not to be transmitted to the outside.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention agitates a cooling water tank provided in a housing to store cooling water, a beverage cooling pipe arranged in the cooling water tank to cool a beverage, and cooling water in the cooling water tank. A beverage cooling device including a stirring device and an overflow portion that overflows and drains cooling water exceeding a predetermined water level in the cooling water tank. The overflow portion is arranged at the upper part of the cooling water tank to set a predetermined water level. An overflow outlet that allows the cooling water that overflows beyond it to flow downward , an overflow pipe that extends downward from the overflow outlet at the top of the cooling water tank, and a drain pipe that discharges the cooling water that flows out of the overflow pipe to the outside of the housing. And an adapter that connects the overflow pipe part and the drain pipe part, and the adapter is connected to the lower part of the overflow pipe part and is connected to the inner pipe part and the inner pipe part that allows the cooling water flowing from the overflow outlet to flow downward. The upper end is fitted and fixed to the flange of the upper adapter and the upper adapter provided with the flange integrally formed on the outer peripheral portion of the above, and the flange is separated from the outer peripheral surface and the lower end of the inner pipe portion. It is provided with a lower adapter having an outer pipe portion extending downward so as to cover the outside of the inner pipe portion and a connection portion provided at the lower part of the outer pipe portion and connected to the drain pipe portion. It provides a characteristic beverage cooling device.

In the beverage cooling device configured as described above, the overflow portion is arranged at the upper part of the cooling water tank and overflows at the overflow outlet for flowing the cooling water overflowing above the predetermined water level to the lower side and the upper part of the cooling water tank. It is equipped with an overflow pipe part that extends downward from the outlet, a drain pipe part that discharges the cooling water flowing out from the overflow pipe part to the outside of the housing, and an adapter that connects the overflow pipe part and the drain pipe part. An upper adapter having an inner pipe portion that is continuously connected to the lower part of the portion and allows cooling water flowing from the overflow outlet to flow downward, and a flange portion integrally formed on the outer peripheral portion of the inner pipe portion, and a flange of the upper adapter. The outer tube portion is fitted and fixed to the portion, and the outer tube portion extends downward so as to cover the outside of the inner tube portion while being separated from the outer peripheral surface and the lower end of the inner tube portion from the flange portion, and the lower portion of the outer tube portion. It is equipped with a lower adapter provided with a connection portion which is provided in the water pipe and is connected to the drain pipe portion . When the insect that has flowed into the outer tube climbs upward along the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube, the upper edge of the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube is not connected to the lower edge of the inner tube and is flanged. Since it is stopped at, insects that have climbed along the inner peripheral surface of the outer tube cannot invade along the inner tube. In this way, it was possible to prevent insects from invading the housing from the overflow portion.

Further, when the cooling water in the cooling water tank is discharged from the overflow portion, the lower edge of the inner pipe portion is separated from the outer pipe portion, so that the cooling water is continuous from the inner pipe portion to the outer pipe portion. It runs down without it. Therefore, even if a current flows through the cooling water in the cooling water tank due to leakage from the stirring motor of the stirring device, the current flowing through the cooling water in the cooling water tank due to leakage is prevented from being transmitted to the outside by the cooling water in the overflow portion. I was able to.

Further, the overflow part can prevent insects from invading the above-mentioned housing by attaching an adapter between the overflow pipe part and the drain pipe part, and the overflow part flows into the cooling water in the cooling water tank due to electric leakage. Since the current can be prevented from being transmitted to the outside by the cooling water of the overflow portion, the drain pipe portion is directly connected to the overflow pipe portion between the overflow pipe portion and the drain pipe portion of the conventional beverage cooling device. By attaching an adapter, it has become possible to impart the above-mentioned effects to the conventional beverage cooling device.

It is a perspective view which shows the beverage dispenser which is one Embodiment of the beverage cooling apparatus of this invention. It is a vertical sectional view along the front-rear direction of FIG. It is a perspective view of a cooling water tank. It is a vertical sectional view of the state where the adapter and the drainage pipe part are attached to the overflow pipe part of a cooling water tank.

Hereinafter, a beverage dispenser, which is an embodiment of the beverage cooling device according to the present invention, will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the beverage dispenser 10 of the present embodiment cools the beverage such as beer before pouring out, and is provided in the housing 11 to store the cooling water. A beverage cooling pipe 22 arranged in the cooling water tank 20 to cool the beverage, a stirring device 23 for stirring the cooling water in the cooling water tank 20, and a beverage cooling pipe 22 provided on the front surface of the housing 11 for cooling. It is equipped with a pouring cock 50 for pouring out the beverage.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, the cooling water tank 20 is housed in the front half of the housing 11, and the cooling water in the cooling water tank 20 is cooled in the latter half of the housing 11. It is a machine room 12 that houses the refrigerating device 30. As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling water tank 20 cools the beverage, and the cooling water for cooling the beverage is stored in the cooling water tank 20. The cooling water tank 20 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open upper side, and a heat insulating material 21 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cooling water tank 20. The heat insulating material 21 is made by covering the outside of the cooling water tank 20 with a predetermined thickness of the foam material, and the heat insulating material 21 has a function of suppressing the cold heat in the cooling water tank 20 from being transmitted to the housing 11. ..

As shown in FIG. 2, the evaporation pipe 33 of the refrigerating apparatus 30 described later is arranged on the inner surfaces of the front, rear, left and right side walls in the cooling water tank 20, so that the evaporation pipe 33 has a spiral traveling direction in the vertical direction. It is arranged in a spiral shape. The refrigerating device 30 cools the cooling water in the cooling water tank 20. The refrigerating device 30 has a compressor 31 for compressing the refrigerant, a condenser 32 for cooling the compressed refrigerant gas, a capillary tube (not shown) for expanding the liquefied refrigerant, and a spiral on the inner peripheral surface of the cooling water tank 20. It includes an evaporation pipe 33 that vaporizes the liquefied refrigerant that has been wound and expanded to cool the cooling water, and connects these to form a refrigerant circuit in which the refrigerant circulates. The refrigerating device 30 cools the cooling water around the evaporation pipe 33 in the cooling water tank 20 by circulating the refrigerant of the refrigerant circuit by the operation of the compressor 31, and ice of a predetermined thickness around the evaporation pipe 33. Is formed.

As shown in FIG. 2, a beverage cooling pipe 22 is arranged inside the spiral evaporation pipe 33 in the cooling water tank 20, so that the beverage cooling pipe 22 has a spiral traveling direction in the vertical direction. It is arranged in a spiral shape. The introduction end of the beverage cooling pipe 22 is connected to a beverage hose derived from a beverage container such as a via barrel (not shown) provided outside the housing 11, and the outlet end of the beverage cooling pipe 22 is a cock mounting shaft 51 described later. It is connected to the pouring cock 50 via.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cooling water tank 20 is provided with a stirring device 23, and the stirring device 23 stirs the cooling water in the cooling water tank 20 by rotating the stirring blades 23d arranged in the cooling water tank 20. It is something to do. The stirring device 23 includes a stirring motor 23b on the upper surface of the support plate 23a erected on the upper edge of the cooling water tank 20. The rotary shaft 23c rotated by the stirring motor 23b extends into the cooling water tank 20 at a position at the inner center of the spiral beverage cooling pipe 22 through the support plate 23a, and the cooling water is stirred at the tip of the rotary shaft 23c. The stirring blade 23d is fixed. When the rotating shaft 23c is rotated by the stirring motor 23b, the stirring blade 23d at the tip of the rotating shaft 23c rotates inside the spiral beverage cooling pipe 22 in the cooling water tank 20. The cooling water in the cooling water tank 20 flows from the inside of the spiral beverage cooling pipe 22 to the outside of the spiral beverage cooling pipe 22 through the bottom by the rotation of the stirring blade 23d, and flows to the outside of the spiral beverage cooling pipe 22. It rises between the inside of the spiral evaporation tube 33 and flows into the inside of the spiral beverage cooling tube 22 again.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an overflow portion 40 is provided on the right front portion of the cooling water tank 20, and the overflow portion 40 overflows the cooling water exceeding a predetermined water level in the cooling water tank 20 to drain the water. Has a function to do. The overflow portion 40 is connected to an overflow pipe portion 41 having an overflow outlet 41a that extends downward from the upper part of the cooling water tank 20 and causes the cooling water that overflows above a predetermined water level to flow downward. It is provided with an adapter 42 and a drain pipe portion 45 connected to the adapter 42 to discharge cooling water to the outside of the housing 11. The overflow portion 40 is embedded in the heat insulating material 21 of the cooling water tank 20 except for the lower portion of the drain pipe portion 45.

As shown in FIG. 3, the overflow pipe portion 41 is integrally formed on the right front portion of the cooling water tank 20, and an overflow outlet 41a for overflowing cooling water exceeding a predetermined water level is formed on the upper portion of the overflow pipe portion 41. Has been done. The overflow pipe portion 41 extends downward at the front right side of the cooling water tank 20, and the adapter 42 is connected to the lower portion of the overflow pipe portion 41. The adapter 42 includes an upper adapter 43 and a lower adapter 44. The upper adapter 43 is composed of an inner pipe portion 43a that is connected to the lower portion of the overflow pipe portion 41 and extends vertically, and a flange portion 43b that is integrally formed on the outer peripheral portion of the inner pipe portion 43a. A connection portion 43c having a diameter larger than that of the lower side is provided above the flange portion 43b of the inner pipe portion 43a, and the adapter 42 communicates with the overflow pipe portion 41 by fitting the connection portion 43c to the overflow pipe portion 41. Has been done.

The lower adapter 44 is fitted and fixed to the flange portion 43b of the upper adapter 43. The lower adapter 44 includes an outer tube portion 44a that covers the outside of the inner tube portion 43a in a state of being separated from the outer peripheral surface and the lower edge of the inner tube portion 43a. The outer pipe portion 44a extends downward from the lower end of the inner pipe portion 43a, and the cooling water dropped from the lower end of the inner pipe portion 43a can be received by the outer pipe portion 44a. Since the lower end of the inner pipe portion 43a is separated from the outer pipe portion 44a, the cooling water flowing down from the inner pipe portion 43a at a small flow rate flows down in a state of not being continuous with the outer pipe portion 44a. A connecting portion 44b having a reduced diameter is formed in the lower portion of the outer pipe portion 44a, and the drainage pipe portion 45 is connected to the connecting portion 44b. The introduction end of the upper part of the drainage pipe portion 45 is connected to the connection portion 44b, and as shown in FIG. 1, the outlet end portion of the lower part of the drainage pipe portion 45 extends to the upper side of the drain pan 13 provided on the front surface of the housing 11. ing. The cooling water overflowing from the cooling water tank 20 is guided to the drain pipe portion 45 through the overflow pipe portion 41 and the adapter 42, and the water guided to the drain pipe portion 45 is from the drain port 45a at the tip of the outlet end to the housing 11 It can be received by the drain pan 13 provided on the front surface of the.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pouring cock 50 is for pouring a beverage into a container such as a glass or a mug, and has a cock main body 52 and a valve mechanism portion 53 housed in the cock main body 52. The operation lever 54 for opening and closing the valve mechanism portion 53 and the pouring nozzle 55 for pouring out the beverage are provided. The cock body 52 is detachably attached to the cock mounting shaft 51 on the front side of the housing 11. An operation lever 54 is provided on the upper part of the cock main body 52, and the operation lever 54 opens and closes the valve mechanism portion 53. The operating lever 54 is urged to a neutral position that stands up substantially vertically, and when the operating lever 54 is in the neutral position, the valve mechanism portion 53 is in the closed state. When the operation lever 54 is tilted from the neutral position to the front side, the valve mechanism portion 53 is opened for liquid injection, and when the operation lever 54 is tilted from the neutral position to the rear side, the valve mechanism portion 53 is used for foam injection. Be released. A pouring nozzle 55 is provided at the bottom of the cock main body 52, and the pouring nozzle 55 pours a foam pouring nozzle 55a for pouring a foamed beverage on the front side and a liquid drink on the rear side. It is equipped with a liquid injection nozzle 55b. The inside of the foam pouring nozzle 55a and the liquid pouring nozzle 55b can be opened and closed by the valve mechanism portion 53 to communicate with the beverage passage of the cock main body 52. When the operating lever 54 is tilted from the neutral position to the front side, the valve mechanism portion 53 is opened for liquid injection, and the beverage delivered from the beverage cooling pipe 22 passes through the beverage passage of the cock body 52 and the liquid injection nozzle 55b. Is poured out from. When the operating lever 54 is tilted rearward from the neutral position, the valve mechanism 53 is opened for foam ejection, and the beverage delivered from the beverage cooling pipe 22 passes through the beverage passage of the cock body 52 and the foam injection nozzle. It is poured out from 55a.

The operation of the beverage dispenser 10 configured as described above will be described. In the beverage dispenser 10, the refrigerating device 30 is controlled to operate when ice of a predetermined thickness is not formed around the evaporation tube 33. In the refrigerating apparatus 30, the vaporized refrigerant sent from the compressor 31 to the condenser 32 is condensed by the condenser 32 to become a liquefied refrigerant, and the liquefied refrigerant is vaporized by the evaporation pipe 33 in a state of being expanded by the capillary tube and vaporized. Cools the surrounding cooling water by the heat of vaporization and returns to the compressor 31. The cooling water in the cooling water tank 20 is cooled by the refrigerant circulating in the refrigerant circuit and freezes around the evaporation pipe 33, and when ice of a predetermined thickness is formed around the evaporation pipe 33, the operation of the refrigerating device 30 is stopped. It is controlled to let.

Further, the cooling water in the cooling water tank 20 is circulated inside and outside the beverage cooling pipe 22 by the operation of the stirring device 23, and is cooled when passing around the evaporation pipe 33 arranged outside the beverage cooling pipe 22. ing. The beverage passing through the beverage cooling pipe 22 is cooled by circulating the cooled cooling water as it passes around the evaporation pipe 33. When the valve mechanism 53 in the cock body 52 is opened by using the operation lever 54 of the pouring cock 50, the beverage in the beverage container such as a via barrel is sent to the beverage cooling pipe 22 through the hose, and the beverage cooling pipe is sent. When it passes through 22, it is cooled and poured out from the pouring nozzles 55a and 55b of the pouring cock 50 into a container such as a glass.

In the beverage dispenser 10 configured as described above, the cooling water in the cooling water tank 20 may increase because the water contained in the surrounding air is cooled by the cooling water and condensed. For this purpose, the cooling water tank 20 is provided with an overflow portion 40 for draining cooling water exceeding a predetermined water level. The overflow portion 40 of the beverage dispenser 10 is arranged at the upper part of the cooling water tank 20 and has an overflow outlet 41a that allows the cooling water that overflows above a predetermined water level to flow downward and a cooling water that flows from the overflow outlet portion 41a to the lower side. The inner pipe portion 43a is separated from the flange portion 43b, the flange portion 43b provided on the outer peripheral portion of the inner pipe portion 43a, and the outer peripheral surface and the lower end (lower edge) of the inner pipe portion 43a. It is provided with an outer tube portion 44a extending downward so as to cover the outside. In this embodiment, an overflow pipe portion 41 extending downward from the overflow outlet 40a is provided in the upper part of the cooling water tank 20, and the connection portion 43c constituting the upper part of the inner pipe portion 43a is communicated and connected to the lower part of the overflow pipe portion 41. A flange portion 43b is integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner pipe portion 43a, the upper end portion of the outer pipe portion 44a is fitted and fixed to the flange portion 43a, and the connection portion 44b constituting the lower portion of the outer pipe portion 44a is formed. A drain pipe portion 45 for discharging the cooling water to the outside of the housing 11 was connected in communication.

When an insect that has flowed in from the drainage port 45a at the lower end of the drainage pipe portion 45 climbs upward along the inner peripheral surface of the drainage pipe portion 45, the inner peripheral surface of the drainage pipe portion 45 to the inner peripheral surface of the outer pipe portion 44a. However, the upper edge of the inner peripheral surface of the outer pipe portion 44a stopped at the flange portion 43b without being connected to the lower edge of the inner pipe portion 43a, and climbed along the inner peripheral surface of the outer pipe portion 44a. Insects cannot invade along the inner tube portion 43a. By doing so, it was possible to prevent insects from invading the housing 11 from the overflow portion 40.

Further, when the cooling water in the cooling water tank 20 is discharged from the overflow portion 40, the lower edge of the inner pipe portion 43a is separated from the outer pipe portion 44a, so that the cooling water is separated from the inner pipe portion 43a to the outer pipe portion 43a. It flows down to the portion 44a in a non-continuous state. At this time, even if a current flows through the cooling water in the cooling water tank 20 due to electric leakage from the stirring motor 23b of the stirring device 23, the current flowing through the cooling water in the cooling water tank 20 due to electric leakage is caused by the cooling water in the overflow portion 40 in the housing 11. It was possible to prevent it from being transmitted (to the outside) to the outer wall of the water and the metal parts on the outside.

Further, the inner pipe portion 43a and the flange portion 43b are integrally formed as the upper adapter 43, and the upper end portion of the outer pipe portion 44a of the lower adapter 44 is fitted to the flange portion 43b to form the adapter 42. The overflow section 40 can obtain the above-mentioned action and effect by attaching the adapter 42 assembled as described above between the overflow pipe section 41 and the drainage pipe section 45, and the overflow section 40 can easily have the above-mentioned function. Was able to be granted. In particular, by attaching the adapter 42 between the overflow pipe portion 41 and the drain pipe portion 45 to the conventional beverage dispenser in which the drain pipe portion 45 is directly connected to the overflow pipe portion 41, the conventional beverage dispenser can also be described above. It has become possible to impart such effects. Further, since the connection portion between the overflow pipe portion 41 and the upper adapter 43, the connection portion between the upper adapter 43 and the lower adapter 44, and the connection portion between the lower adapter 44 and the drain pipe portion 45 are embedded in the foam material 21, each of them is used. The connecting portion is firmly connected in the foam material 21.

10 ... Beverage cooling device (beverage dispenser), 11 ... Housing, 20 ... Cooling water tank, 22 ... Beverage cooling pipe, 23 ... Stirrer, 40 ... Overflow part, 41 ... Overflow pipe part, 41a ... Overflow outlet, 43a ... Inner pipe Part, 43b ... Flange part, 44a outer pipe part, 45 ... Drain pipe part.

Claims (1)

A cooling water tank installed in the housing to store cooling water,
A beverage cooling pipe arranged in the cooling water tank to cool the beverage,
A stirring device that stirs the cooling water in the cooling water tank,
A beverage cooling device provided with an overflow portion for overflowing and draining cooling water exceeding a predetermined water level in the cooling water tank.
The overflow portion includes an overflow outlet that is arranged in the upper part of the cooling water tank and allows cooling water that overflows above a predetermined water level to flow downward, and an overflow pipe that extends downward from the overflow outlet in the upper part of the cooling water tank. A drain pipe portion for discharging the cooling water flowing out of the overflow pipe portion to the outside of the housing, and an adapter for connecting the overflow pipe portion and the drain pipe portion are provided.
The adapter
An upper adapter provided with an inner pipe portion that is communicated with the lower portion of the overflow pipe portion and allows cooling water flowing from the overflow outlet to flow downward, and a flange portion integrally formed on the outer peripheral portion of the inner pipe portion. ,
The upper end portion is fitted and fixed to the flange portion of the upper adapter, and the outer side extends downward so as to cover the outer side of the inner pipe portion from the flange portion in a state of being separated from the outer peripheral surface and the lower end portion of the inner pipe portion. A beverage cooling device comprising a pipe portion and a lower adapter provided at a lower portion of the outer pipe portion and having a connection portion communicatively connected to the drain pipe portion .

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