JPH02127289A - Drink supply apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always avoid the entry of the air into a drink supply pipe and permit the detection of the out-of-stock of a drink in a bag without flowing electric current through the drink by actuating a drink out-of-stock switch through the displacement of an actuator caused by an increase in vacuum in a pump pressure chamber resulting from the depletion of the drink in the bag. CONSTITUTION:At the time of suction by a pump 7, a drink in a bag 1 is reduced to the minimum limit of the inner volume thereof to form great degree of vacuum in a pressure chamber 11. This moves an actuator 16 in the direction of the arrow C deflecting a spring 19 to move the end part 16b thereof apart from the operating rod of a drink out-of-stock switch 18 for opening the contact point, thereby deenergizing a pump motor 8 and, at the same time, turning on a lamp for indicating depletion of the drink. Therefore, there is no air intrusion into a pipe 5 through which the drink is passing and it can be detected when the bag 1 is running out of the drink.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a beverage supply device that stores beverages in a flexible bag and dispenses the beverage from the bag at the time of supply, and particularly relates to a beverage supply device that stores beverages in a flexible bag and dispenses the beverages from the bag at the time of supply. Regarding detection.

(B) Conventional technology In such a beverage dispenser, as shown in Utility Model Publication No. 62-5753, there is a pair of pipes connected between a pump that pumps out beverages from a flexible bag and the bag. A beverage detection device equipped with an electrode is disposed in a small chamber, and a check pulp is attached to the conduit, which introduces outside air into the conduit when the pressure in the conduit decreases due to running out of beverage in the bag. When the beverage in the bag runs out, the check valve sends air into the pipe. As a result, the remaining amount of beverage in the conduit and the small chamber is pushed back into the bag, and the pair of electrodes in the J\ chamber are exposed to air, and the change in resistance detects whether the beverage in the bag is running out.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention In general, the greatest advantage of the beverage dispenser as described above is that it prevents the beverage from coming into contact with the outside until it is supplied from the bag to the outside.

However, in the beverage dispenser disclosed in the above-mentioned publication,
When the beverage runs out, outside air will be introduced into the beverage pipe, and if you want to replace the empty bag and continue supplying beverages, the pipe into which the outside air has flowed - should be replaced. There is an unfavorable hygienic problem in dispensing beverages by using

Furthermore, since the beverage dispenser disclosed in the above-mentioned publication uses a pair of electrodes as a beverage detection device, there is a problem that current flows into the beverage, which may cause deterioration in the quality of ionizing beverages.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problem, and when the negative pressure in the pressure chamber of the pump increases due to running out of beverage in the bag, the actuator is displaced against the biasing force of the biasing means and the beverage is removed. By activating the cut-off switch and detecting that the drink in the bag has run out, it is possible to detect the run-out of the drink in the bag without constantly introducing outside air to the drink supply pipe and without passing current through the drink. The present invention provides a beverage dispenser that can perform detection.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and consists of a sealed flexible bag for storing a beverage, and a supply section connected to the back of the knee for supplying the beverage. a beverage supply pipe that leads to the beverage supply pipe; a pump that is disposed in the beverage supply pipe and that changes the volume of the pressure chamber by a reciprocating motion of a reciprocating body and discharges the beverage sucked from the bag to the supply section; and the pump When the negative pressure in the pressure chamber during suction increases due to running out of beverage in the bag, the beverage dispenser is equipped with an actuator that displaces against the biasing force of the biasing means and operates a beverage out switch. Solve problems.

(E) Function According to the beverage dispenser of the present invention, when the beverage in the bag runs out, the negative pressure in the pressure chamber increases when the pump suctions, and this displaces the actuator, allowing the beverage out switch to operate, and Detects when the beverage runs out.

(F) To explain the present invention in detail according to the drawings, Fig. 1 is a piping diagram of a beverage dispenser as an embodiment, and Figs. 2, 3, and 4 each show a pump used in the same beverage dispenser. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing one operating state.

To explain the symbols and configurations of FIGS. 1 to 4, (
1) is a bag made of a flexible and easily shrinkable material such as a thin synthetic resin, which stores a beverage inside and is provided with a beverage outlet pipe (2) at one end. The tip of the beverage outlet pipe (2) is normally sealed to keep the beverage inside the knee (1) airtight.

3) is a box body for storing the back of the knee (1) in which a drink is stored to protect it from external shocks and improve operability, and a part of the bag (1) is connected to the drink outlet pipe of the bag (1). An outlet (4) for taking out (2) is formed.

(5) The beverage in the bag (1) is transferred to the beverage outlet pipe (2).
This is a conduit leading from the cup (6) placed on the beverage supply section, and a beverage supply valve (5 days) is installed at the end on the beverage supply section side.

(7) is a pump disposed in the pipe (5), and when the pump motor (8), which can rotate in both forward and reverse directions, rotates once in a predetermined direction, the cranks (9a) and (9b) are reciprocated. (1
A pressure chamber (1
A suction port (14) and a suction port (14) provided with check valves (12) and (13), respectively, due to a change in the volume within the pressure chamber (11) due to the reciprocating movement of the reciprocating body (10); Beverage is sucked and discharged from the discharge port (15). The non-return valves (12) and (13) prevent the beverage from flowing in the direction opposite to the arrow direction shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, respectively.

(16) is an actuator, and the pressure chamber 11)
A diaphragm (17) is attached to one end (16a) of the side, and the other end (16b) usually comes into contact with a beverage cut-off switch (18) to close the contacts of the beverage cut-off switch (18). When the pump (7) performs suction when the beverage in the bag (1) runs out, a large negative pressure is generated in the pressure chamber (11) and the bag is displaced against the biasing force of the spring (19). , open the contacts of the beverage out switch (18).

The beverage out switch (18) is electrically connected to the pump motor (8) and an unillustrated beverage out indicator lamp via a relay (not shown).

With the above configuration, in the standby state shown in FIG.
1) through the suction port (14) to the pressure chamber (11)
If the pump motor (8) is allowed to rotate once in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 2 from this state, the reciprocating body 10) will move from the position shown in FIG. 2 in the direction of arrow A,
The volume within the pressure chamber (11) is reduced, and the beverage within the pressure chamber (11) is discharged from the discharge port (15>).
The beverage discharged from 15) is led to the cup (6) via the conduit (5). At this time, the beverage supply valve (5a
> is open.

When the reciprocating body 10) moves to the position shown in Fig. 3 and all the beverages in the pressure chamber (11) are discharged from the discharge port (15), the beverage supply valve (5a) closes and continues. The reciprocating body (10) moves in the direction of arrow B, and the pressure chamber (10) moves in the direction of arrow B.
1) Increase the internal volume and open the suction port (14) from the bag (1).
), the beverage is sucked into the pressure chamber (11), and the system returns to the standby state shown in FIG. 2, completing one serving of beverage supply. still,
Negative pressure is also generated in the pressure chamber (11) when the pump (7) is suctioning, but since it is not a large negative pressure, the actuator (16) is not displaced and the contacts of the beverage out switch (18) remain closed. be.

If the above-mentioned beverage supply operation is repeated, the amount of beverage stored in the bag (1) will decrease, and the bag (1) will also deform accordingly and reduce its internal volume.

When the beverage in the bag (1) is exhausted during suction by the pump (7) and the internal volume of the bag (1) reaches its reduction limit, a large negative pressure is generated in the pressure chamber (11).

As a result, the actuator 16) is activated by the spring (19).
) moves in the direction of the arrow C in FIG. The motor (8) is stopped and a beverage out indicator lamp (not shown) is turned on.

Further, when the beverage runs out as shown in FIG. 4, the pump motor (8) is controlled to reverse and rotate clockwise in FIG. 4, and the reciprocating member (10
) is returned to maintain negative pressure in the pressure chamber (11), and the cranks (9a) (9b) and pump motor (8
) is prevented from being held in a loaded state, and as a result, the end (16b) of the actuator (16) shown in FIG. 3 is pressed against the beverage out switch (18) by the biasing force of the spring (19). , the contacts return to the closed state.

In this state, the empty bag (1) is converted into a new bag (1), and the beverage supply operation is continued in the same manner as described above.

The above is an explanation of the operation of the beverage dispenser as an embodiment shown in FIGS. A sufficient amount can be ensured even when delivering beverages.

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the beverage supply device of the present invention, it is possible to detect when the beverage in the bag is out of the beverage without infiltration of outside air into the pipe through which the beverage passes, and the existing pump pressure Beverage out detection can be detected with a simple configuration of adding an actuator and a drink out switch indoors, so there is no need to install a separate drink out detection device in the pipeline, significantly reducing the number of parts and assembly steps. It is possible to detect when the drink runs out without increasing the amount of water, and since the pump itself is provided with a drink run-out detection device, it is possible to reliably prevent the pump from operating under high load and being damaged.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a piping diagram of a beverage dispenser as an example; Figure 2;
FIGS. 3 and 4 are longitudinal sectional views showing one operating state of the pump used in the beverage dispenser, respectively. (1)...Bag, (5)...Pipe line, (7)...
Pump, (8)...Pump motor, (10)...
・Reciprocating body, (11)...pressure chamber, (14)...
・Suction port, (15)...Discharge port, (16)...
Actuator, (18)...Beverage cut-off switch,
(19) Spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sealed flexible bag for storing a beverage, a beverage supply pipe connected to the bag and leading the beverage to a supply section, and a reciprocating body disposed in the beverage supply pipe to generate pressure a pump for changing the volume of the chamber and discharging the beverage sucked from the bag into the supply section; and a biasing means if the negative pressure in the pressure chamber increases due to running out of beverage in the bag during suction by the pump. A beverage dispenser comprising: an actuator that is displaced against the urging force of the actuator to operate a beverage cut-off switch.