JPH0265816A - Electric percolator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable coffee extracted in an upper vessel, to be moved to a lower vessel in a short time by communicating the lower vessel with the open air till heating is interrupted, and by interrupting the communication when pressure in the lower vessel is made almost equal to the air pressure, after the interruption of the heating. CONSTITUTION:When water in a lower vessel 45 is boiled, vapor pressure is heightened, and the opening or closing ball 55 of a nozzle 53 is pushed upward, and a passage 53a is opened, and vapor is discharged. When heated at a desired temperature, a shape memory alloy 21 is extended, and via a working shaft 17, a working lever 23, a pressure-applying piece 31g, and an operating dial 31, electrification of a heater 5 is interrupted. The vapor discharged from the nozzle 53 is received by a driving blade 9c, and when the open air conducting blades 9a, 9b are rotated, the open air is introduced through a ventilating hole 3c, and is sprayed to the external side surface of the lower vessel 45 via outlets 41a, 41b, and the external side surface is cooled with air. When a force in the lower vessel 45 is made equal to or lower than the air pressure, with the tare weight of the opening or closing ball 55, the passage 53a is closed, and pressure in the lower vessel 45 is retained to be equal to or lower than the air pressure, and coffee extracted in a vessel 49 is led in a short time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electric coffee maker of the iPhone type for brewing coffee.

Prior Art The present applicant previously disclosed in Utility Application No. 63-24757 that the heating of the lower container is interrupted by turning off a switch using a shape memory alloy whose shape changes due to the heat of the steam in the lower container.
We proposed an electric coffee maker with adjustable coffee brewing time. That is, a shape memory alloy is arranged according to the position where steam is released from the lower container, and when the shape memory alloy is heated to a required temperature by the released steam, the switch is turned off due to the shape change of the shape memory alloy. By activating it, heating of the lower container is interrupted. As a result, compared to conventional coffee makers, which adjust the degree of extraction of heat by indirectly detecting the temperature of the lower or upper container with a υ-mister or the like and cutting off the power to the heater, The coffee extraction can be adjusted based on the temperature of the boiling water, making it possible to extract good coffee.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, in the above coffee maker, the inside of the lower container communicates with the outside through a nozzle that emits steam. For this reason, when boiling water is pushed up into the upper container and its internal pressure drops due to the heating cutoff of the lower container, the inside of the lower container is in communication with the outside, so it acts on the inside of the upper container. The pressure (atmospheric pressure) was almost the same, and the coffee extracted in the upper container could not be drawn into the lower container in a short time. As a result, the coffee takes longer to brew in the upper container, resulting in a sour taste.

In other words, in order to draw the coffee extracted in the upper container into the lower container, it is desirable that the pressure in the lower container is below atmospheric pressure, but the pressure in the lower container is lowered by the nozzle that releases steam. Since the pressure is approximately atmospheric pressure, and therefore approximately equal to the pressure acting on the coffee extracted in the upper container, the drawing efficiency was poor.

The present invention was invented to solve the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, and its purpose is to maintain communication between the lower container and the outside until heating to the lower container is interrupted. On the other hand, when the pressure inside the lower container becomes almost equal to atmospheric pressure, communication with the outside is cut off, the pressure inside the lower container is kept below atmospheric pressure, and the coffee extracted in the upper container is kept for a short period of time. To provide an electric coffee maker which can be moved into a lower container at any time.

Means for Solving the Problems For this reason, the present invention provides an IF-ON method in which water stored in a lower container is pushed up into an upper container containing coffee beans as the water is heated by a heating member to extract coffee. In this electric coffee maker, there is a discharge nozzle that discharges a part of the steam generated inside as the lower container is heated to the outside, and a discharge nozzle that is placed opposite to the discharge nozzle and has a shape when heated to a desired temperature. a shape memory alloy that changes; a switch member that cuts off electricity to the heating member according to the shape change of the shape memory alloy; and a switch member that closes the discharge nozzle when the pressure inside the lower container decreases to a required pressure. The container is characterized by comprising a closing member that cuts off communication between the inside of the container and the outside.

Since the present invention is configured as described above, when the water inside boils as the lower container is heated by the heating member, the steam inside the lower container increases the pressure and the boiling water rises. As it is pushed up into the container, a portion of the vapor is ejected from the ejection nozzle towards the shape memory alloy. When the shape memory alloy is heated to a predetermined temperature, it changes shape and turns off the switch member, thereby interrupting the heating of the lower container by the heating member. When the pressure in the lower container drops to a required pressure due to the interruption of the heating, the discharge nozzle is closed by the closing member to maintain the low pressure state in the lower container. As a result,
Since the pressure in the lower container is low, the coffee extracted by the boiling water pushed up into the upper container is drawn into the lower container in a short time.

Yuship± An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the electric coffee maker, Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the Figure 1 11-IT line, and Figure 3 is Figure 1 l1l-1.
4 is an exploded perspective view showing the installed state of the fan mechanism, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the switch mechanism.
and an upright portion 3b are formed, and a heater 5 serving as a heating member for the ITX flat portion 3a is attached such that its upper surface is exposed to the outside. Further, a changeover switch mechanism 7 and a fan member 9 are respectively built in the upright portion 3b.

The upper part of the standing portion 3b is divided into first to third sections 11a to 11c, and the upper surface of the second section 11b has a through hole 13, and the side surface of the second section 11b (the side surface facing the nozzle 53 described later). A through hole 15 is formed in each. An operating shaft 17 is supported in the second section 11b corresponding to the lower part of the through hole 13 so as to be movable in the axial direction, and a compression spring 19 is mounted on the left side of the central portion of the operating shaft 17, and a large diameter portion A shape memory alloy 21 wound into a coil is attached to the right side. This operating shaft 17 is always connected to the compression spring 19.
It is urged to move to the right side of the axis by the elastic force of about 6
When the shape memory alloy 21 is expanded by being heated to 5° C. or higher,
It is moved to the left in the axial direction against the elastic force of the compression spring 19. On the other hand, a drive lever 23 is swingably supported at the center within the upright portion 3b, and its upper end abuts against the left end of the operating shaft 17 in the axial direction. Further, the lower end of the operating lever 23 is brought into contact with the changeover switch mechanism 7. An engagement lever 27 is swingably supported on the J plate 25 of the changeover switch mechanism 7. The surface engagement lever 271ff has engagement protrusions 27a and 27b integrally formed therein.1 An operation dial 31 is provided on the upper part of the dial plate 25. The operation dial 31 is rotatably supported, and an operation piece 31b that protrudes to the outside of the standing portion 3b is integrally formed on the outer periphery of the dial portion 31a of the operation dial 31.
The rotary plate 31c is provided with first to third recesses 31d to 31f corresponding to the engaging protrusions 27a and 27b, respectively, depending on the F position, ON position, and heat retention position. Furthermore, a pressing piece 31 is provided at the lower inner circumference of the dial portion 31a.
Q is integrally formed. A power switch 33 and a heat retention switch 35 are mounted on the surface mounting plate 25 so that the respective operating rods 33a and 35a and the pressing piece 31CI face each other with a required interval. The operation dial 31 is connected to the power switch 33 and the heat retention switch 3.
The operating rods 33a and 35a built in 5 are always kept in the OFF position due to the elastic force of the spring (f not shown) that urges them to the OFF position.
It is biased to the F position.

The first section 11a, the second section 11b, and the second section 11
There are through holes 37 in the partition plates 37 and 39 between b and the third section 11c.
a.39a is formed. In addition, the first division 11
A ventilation hole 3 is provided in the standing portion 3b corresponding to the third section 11G.
C is formed so as to be inserted into the inside. The through holes 37a and 39a are inserted into the upright portion 3b.
A member 9 is rotatably supported. This fan member 9
Outside air introduction vanes 9a and 9b are integrally formed at both ends in the @ line direction, and a driving vane 9C is integrally formed between the outside air introduction vanes 9a and 9b. The outside air introduction blades 9a and 9b are inclined in the direction of the rotational force of the fan member 9, and the drive blade 9C is inclined in the opposite rotational direction. Also the first
Standing portion 3b corresponding to the lower part of the section 11a and the third section 11c
Air outlets 41a and 41b are provided so as to face the outer peripheral surface of a lower container 45, which will be described later. A safety switch 43 is attached to a part of the flat part 3a so that when the lower container 45 is placed on the upper surface of the heater 5, the lower end of the lower handle 47 comes into contact with the safety switch 43 to turn it on. ing.

A lower container 45 made of transparent glass is placed on the upper surface of the heater 5 . The lower container 45 has an opening at the upper end, and an inverted-shaped lower handle 47 made of synthetic resin and extending horizontally and then hanging downward is attached to the outer periphery of the upper part via a metal band 48. ing. Four upper containers made of transparent glass are removably attached to the upper opening of the lower container 45, and a siphon having a length that communicates with the interior and reaches the lower surface of the lower container 45 is provided at the center of the lower end of the upper container 49. A tube 49a is integrally formed. A cylindrical case 51 made of synthetic resin is attached to the lower outer periphery of the upper container 49, and an inner circumferential wall 51a is integrally formed inside the cylindrical case 51. A backing 52 is attached to the lower end of the inner circumferential wall 51a and comes into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the upper end opening of the lower container 45.

Further, a passage 51b is formed between the inner circumferential wall 51a and the outside of the cylindrical case 51, and a nozzle 53 constituting a discharge member substantially coincides with the surface through hole 15 on the outer surface of the cylindrical case 51 corresponding to the passage 51b. It is installed as follows. The nozzle 53 has a first passage 53a that communicates with the passage 51b and extends upward, a large diameter part 53b that communicates with the first passage 53a and extends in the vertical direction, and a horizontal part that communicates with the large diameter part 53b. A second passage 53c extending in the direction is integrally formed, and an opening/closing ball 55 made of synthetic resin or metal and constituting a closing member is accommodated in the large diameter portion 53b.

The cylindrical case 51 is integrally formed with an upper handle 57 that extends horizontally and then stands upward. Also,
Inside the upper container 49 is a filter container 5 whose upper end is open.
9 is accommodated. Attached to the outer and bottom surfaces of the filter container 59 are mesh filters of a required size through which coffee beans ground to a required particle size cannot pass, but which allows water to pass through. Furthermore, a locking portion 59a that locks onto the upper outer periphery of the upper container 49 is integrally formed on the outer periphery of the upper end of the filter container 59.

A tension spring 61 and a spring 63 are attached to a lip 59b provided on the bottom surface of the filter container 59 in a substantially straight line, and a hook 65 is attached to a part of the chain 63. The hook 65 is engaged with the lower end of the siphon tube 49a.

Next, the operation of the electric coffee maker 1 constructed as described above will be explained with reference to FIG. 6.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the rotating state of the 722 member 9;
After storing coffee beans ground to the required particle size in the five filter containers, the filter container 59 is inserted into the four upper containers so that its locking portion 59a is engaged with the outer periphery of the upper end of the upper container 49. Store it so that it stops. At this time, the tension spring 61 and the chain 63
a, and its hook 65 connects to the sinon tube 49a.
It is locked at the bottom end. This restricts removal of the filter container 59 from within the four upper containers. The backing 52 is r
i-, the lower container 45 and the upper container 4 are attached so as to be in contact with each other;
9 is integrated. When the device is rotated, the engagement protrusions 27a to λ), which have been disengaged from the first recess 31d, are locked to the second recess 31e, and the rotational state is maintained. At the same time, the power switch 33 is turned on by the rotating pressing piece 31g. As a result, the heater 5 starts to be energized, and the water in the lower container 45 is heated.

When the water in the lower container 45 boils as a result of the heating, the steam pressure in the lower container 45 increases and the nozzle 53
The opening/closing ball 55 housed in the large diameter portion 53b is pushed upward. This causes the steam in the lower container 45 to
It is discharged toward the shape memory alloy 21 via the passage 53a, the large diameter portion 53b, and the second passage 53c. At this time, when the shape memory alloy 21 is heated to a required temperature (approximately 65° C. or higher) as steam is blown onto the shape memory alloy 21, it expands and the actuating shaft 17 is caused by the elastic force of the compression spring 19. Move it to the left side of the axis. As a result, the engagement lever 27 is rotated clockwise by the operating lever 23 which rotates counterclockwise against the elastic force of the compression spring 29, and the second recess 31e and the engagement protrusion 27aX%X are rotated. is disengaged. Then, with the release of the above-mentioned engagement, the power switch 3
The operation dial 31 is rotated to the OFF position via the suppressing piece 31g pressed by the elastic force of the spring in the heater 5, and the power to the heater 5 is cut off. Note that even after the power supply to the heater 5 is cut off, the heating state of the lower container 45 continues for a required time due to the residual heat of the heater 5. As described above, when the steam pressure inside the lower container 45 is increased, the 1111 water in the lower container 45 is pushed up into the upper container 49 through the siphon pipe 49a to extract coffee.

On the other hand, the steam released from the nozzle 53 drives the drive blade 9
The outside air introducing vanes 9a and 9 are
b is rotated counterclockwise, the outside air introducing blades 9a.
The outside air introduced from the vent hole 3C as the rotor 9b rotates is blown onto the outer surface of the lower container 45 through the air outlets 41a and 41b, thereby cooling the lower container 45 with air. This reduces the vapor pressure within the lower container 45. When the pressure in the lower container 45 drops below atmospheric pressure due to the air cooling, the coffee extracted in the four upper containers is introduced into the lower container 45 through the siphon pipes 49a. At this time, when the pressure inside the lower container 45 drops below the required atmospheric pressure due to the interruption of the passage M of the heater 5 and the air cooling by the outside air introduction vanes 9a and 9b, the opening/closing ball 55
closes the first passage 53a with its own weight, and prevents the pressure inside the lower container 45 from becoming approximately equal to atmospheric pressure due to the inflow of air into the lower container 45, and the pressure inside the lower container 45 is reduced. Maintained below atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the coffee extracted in the four upper containers is drawn into the lower container 45 whose internal pressure has been lowered to below atmospheric pressure in a short time. In addition, when the above-mentioned coffee extraction work is completed, when the operation dial 31 is rotated from the OFF position to the moisturizing position, the heat retention switch 35 is set to 0Nfl by the pressing piece 31G.
', and the rotational state of the operation dial 31 is maintained. As a result, the lower container 45 is kept warm.

In the above description, the discharge passage of the nozzle 53 is composed of a first passage 53a extending horizontally, a large diameter part 53b extending vertically, and a second passage 53c extending horizontally, and an opening/closing ball is provided in the large diameter part 53b. However, as shown in FIG. 7, the passage 7 extending in the horizontal direction of the nozzle 71 is
1a and 71b, and a compression spring 75 is installed inside the large diameter portion 71C to bias the ball 73 so as to close the ball 73 and the passage 71a. good. In this case, when the internal pressure of the water in the lower container 45 increases to a required pressure as the water boils, the ball 73 resists the elastic force of the compression spring 75 due to this vapor pressure, as shown in FIG. Moved in the direction of the solid line arrow, passage 71
The closure of a is released. As a result, the steam in the lower container 45 is released to the outside through the open passages 71a and 71b and the large diameter portion 71C, thereby heating the shape memory alloy 21.

Further, when the heating of the lower container 45 is interrupted and the internal pressure thereof decreases to a pressure corresponding to the elastic force of the compression spring 75 or less, the ball 7 is biased by the elastic force of the compression spring 75.
3, it is possible to close the passage 71a and maintain the low pressure state of the lower container 45.

Effects of the Invention For this reason, the present invention maintains communication between the lower container and the outside until heating of the lower container is interrupted, while maintaining communication with the outside when the pressure inside the lower container becomes approximately equal to atmospheric pressure. To provide an electric coffee maker that can cut off communication, maintain the pressure in the lower container below atmospheric pressure, and move coffee extracted in the upper container into the lower container in a short time. It is possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the electric coffee maker, Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along line II-IT in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line IIr-II in Fig. 1.
A vertical sectional view taken along the I line, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the installation state of the fan □ structure, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the switch mechanism,
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a modified embodiment. In the figure, 1 is an electric coffee maker, 5 is a heater as a heating member, 7 is a switch member, 21 is a shape memory alloy, 45 is a lower container, 4 is an upper container, 53 is a nozzle as a discharge part,
55 is an opening/closing ball as a closing member. Patent applicant Kunimori Chemical Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a siphon-type electric coffee maker that extracts coffee by pushing water stored in a lower container as it is heated by a heating member into an upper container containing coffee beans, the heating of the lower container is a discharge nozzle that discharges a part of the steam generated internally to the outside; a shape memory alloy that is disposed opposite to the discharge nozzle and changes shape when heated to a required temperature; and the shape memory alloy. a switch member that cuts off electricity to the heating member in response to a change in the shape of the heating member; and a switch member that closes the discharge nozzle when the pressure inside the lower container decreases to a required pressure to prevent communication between the inside of the lower container and the outside. An electric coffee maker characterized by comprising: a closing member that shuts off; (2) A first passage with a small diameter and a second passage with a large diameter are provided in the discharge nozzle, and a closing member and an elastic member are provided in the second passage, and the elastic force of the elastic member normally closes the closing part. While the member is biased to close the first passage, when the pressure within the lower container increases to a required pressure, the closing member is moved against the elastic force of the elastic member to close the first passage. The electric coffee maker according to claim 1, wherein the electric coffee maker is opened. (3) A small-diameter first passage and a large-diameter part extending in the vertical direction are provided in the discharge nozzle, and a closing member is provided in the large-diameter part, and the first passage is always closed by the dead weight of the closing member. 2. The electric coffee maker according to claim 1, wherein, when the pressure inside the lower container increases to a predetermined pressure, the first passage is opened by moving the closing member against its own weight.