JPH03246785A - Water discharging device for vendor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To present sanitary drink and to automatically replenish water to a cooling water tank by automatically discharging water in an ice machine system pipe to lead it to the cooling water tank at the time when the water level in the cooling water tank is reduced and a condition of water discharging operation is satisfied. CONSTITUTION:A water discharge valve 21 placed on the way of a pipe 19 through which water is supplied from a water reserver 1 to an ice machine 5 and a pipe 20 which leads water discharged by this valve 21 to a cooling water tank 7 are provided. When float switches 2 to 4 detect that water in the cooling water tank 7 does not reach a prescribed water level and a discharge bucket 14 where water overflowing from the cooling water tank 7 is stored is not full and water in the water reserver 1 reaches a prescribed water level and a front door is closed, the water discharge valve 21 is opened for a prescribed time. Consequently, water staying in the pipe 19 from the water reserver 1 to the ice machine 5 is discharged and is led to the cooling water tank 7. Thus, water is automatically replenished to the cooling water tank 7, and the degradation in water quality is prevented.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a water draining device for a vending machine.

[Conventional technology]

Some vending machines that sell cold drinks are equipped with an ice maker for making ice to be added to cold drinks in addition to a cooling water tank for making cold water. The cooling water tank and the ice maker are supplied with water from a water reservoir supplied from a water pipe.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, when the demand for ice is low, such as during the winter, water may remain in the pipe from the water reservoir to the ice maker for a long time, and since the water in this pipe is at room temperature, bacteria can grow. easy to clean and unfavorable from a sanitary standpoint. Conventionally, the piping had to be periodically removed to drain the water, which was time-consuming. In addition, the water cooled in the cooling water tank is not directly served as a beverage, but is cooled by passing it through a cooling coil provided in the cooling water tank. Therefore, in the conventional cooling water tank, The cooling water tank is only refilled with a predetermined amount of water for the first child; it is not automatically refilled. However, as the water level gradually decreased due to natural evaporation, it was necessary to replenish the water manually each time. This invention was made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to easily drain the water from the pipes, which may cause water quality deterioration. The purpose is to provide piping equipment.

[Means to solve the problem]

The water draining device for a vending machine according to the present invention includes an ice maker that produces drinking water, a water reservoir that stores water from a water supply means and maintains the water level in the ice maker, and a cooling water tank that produces cold water. A vending machine comprising: a water drain valve provided in the middle of a pipe that supplies water from the water reservoir to the ice maker; and a pipe that guides water discharged by the water drain valve to the cooling water tank, When the water tank is below the specified water level, the drainage bucket that stores overflow water from the cooling water tank is not full, the water reservoir is at the specified water level, and the front door of the vending machine is closed. The drain valve is kept open for a predetermined period of time when the water is running.

[Effect]

According to the above configuration, by detection of a float switch etc.
When there is no water at the specified water level in the cooling water tank, the drainage bucket that stores overflow water from the cooling water tank is not full, the water reservoir is at the specified water level, and the front door of the vending machine is closed. , the water drain valve is opened for a predetermined period of time, thereby draining the water remaining in the pipe leading from the water reservoir to the ice maker. Since the water is guided to the cooling water tank, automatic water supply to the cooling water tank is possible.

【Example】

FIG. 1 shows a beverage piping device showing one embodiment of the present invention. ■ is a reservoir that stores water, and this water reservoir/
(Limit switch 3 for detecting high water level and low water level from the position of float 2 which moves up and down according to the water level within -1
, 4, a predetermined amount of water is always stored by supplying water from a water supply means (not shown). 5 is an ice maker, which is connected to a water reservoir via piping 6.
Water is supplied from 3. 7 is a cooling water tank, and a certain amount of water stored in this cooling water tank 7 is cooled by a cooling device (not shown). Reference numeral 8 denotes a cooling coil made of a coiled pipe that is immersed in the cooling water, and water from the water reservoir 3 is communicated to this cooling coil 8 by a water pump 9 via a pipe IO. The liquid is then cooled and discharged into a drinking cup or the like. II is an agitator for circulating cold water in the cooling water tank, and 12 is
This is a tank that stores syrup, and is stored in the cooling water to prevent it from spoiling. 13 is a water tank water level float switch that detects the water level in the cooling water tank 7. 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a drainage bucket, which receives water produced by melting ice in the ice maker 5 via a pipe 15, and receives water overflowing from the cooling water tank 7 via a pipe 16. 17 is a float switch that detects water in the drain bucket 14. Further, a three-way valve 18 is provided in the middle of the pipe 15, and a communication pipe 19 is provided between the three-way valve 18 and the pipe 10.
Another pipe 20 branching from this pipe I9 is led into the cooling water tank 7, and a drain valve 21 is provided in the middle of this pipe 20. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the vending machine configured as described above, in which the same members as in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals. 22 is a door switch that detects the opening/closing state of the front door of the vending machine, and 23 is a timer for timing the opening time (for example, 10 seconds) of the drain valve 21 when draining water. 24 is a CPU (central processing unit) that centrally controls this vending machine, and 25 is a
A ROM (read only memory) stores programs for control operations as described below, and a RAM (random access memory) 26 stores data necessary for various sales controls. 27 is an input/output unit of the CPU 24. Next, the control operation of the vending machine having the above configuration will be explained according to the flowchart shown in FIG. Note that the three-way valve 18 is switched so that the drain water from the ice maker 5 flows to the pipe I9 side. First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the front door is currently closed based on the state of the door switch 22. If the front door is closed, the process proceeds to the next step S2. Here, the closed state of the front door was used as one of the operating conditions for draining water.When the serviceman opens the door, the syrup tank 12 is immersed in the cooling water tank 7. This is to eliminate a situation where the water level is wavy and the float switch 13 operates unnecessarily. In step S2, it is determined whether or not the drain bucket 14 is full of drain water based on the detection of the float switch 17. If the drain bucket 14 is not full, the limit switch 4 detects the water in the water reservoir l in step S3. It is determined whether or not there is water above the water level, and if there is water above the low water level, in the next step S4, the aquarium water level float switch 13
Depending on whether or not is turned on, the cooling water l! 7 is the specified water level or not, and if there is no specified water level, the process proceeds to step S5, where the timer 23 is set, and the drain valve 21 is turned on in the next step S6.
As a result, the water remaining in the pipes 19 and 6 is discharged to the cooling water tank 7 via the drain valve 21 and the pipe 20. At this time, as shown in the time chart of FIG. 4, the detection signal from the water tank water level float switch 13 of the cooling water tank 7 is ignored. In step S7, it is determined whether or not the timer 23 has counted a predetermined time (10 seconds in this embodiment). enable the signal, and in step S9 the timer 23
is reset. After that, the process returns to step Sl, and similar determinations are made in steps S1 to S4, but at this time, the front door is closed, the drainage bucket is not full, the water level in the water reservoir 1 has not decreased, and the cooling When the specified water level exists in the water tank 7 and the four conditions are met, the process proceeds to step 85 and subsequent steps again and the same control as described above is performed, but if even one of the above conditions is missing, step SIO , the timer 23 is reset, and the water draining valve 21 is turned off in step Sll, thereby completing the water draining operation.

【Effect of the invention】

As explained above, the present invention automatically drains the water in the pipes in the ice maker system when the water level in the cooling water tank drops and satisfies the conditions for draining the water. Since the water is led to the cooling water tank, there is no possibility of bacteria-infested water remaining in the piping, making it possible to provide hygienic drinks and automatically replenishing water to the cooling water tank.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a system diagram of a vending machine to which an embodiment of the beverage piping device of the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a control block diagram for the vending machine of Fig. 1, and Figs. 3 is a flowchart and a time chart showing the control operation of the control block diagram of FIG. 2. FIG. 1...Water reservoir, 2...Float, 3.4...
Limit switch, 5... Ice maker, 6... Piping, 7... Cooling water tank, 8... Cooling coil, 9... Water pump, IO... Piping 11... Stirrer, 12...・Syrup tank, 13...
・Float switch, 14... Drain bucket, 15.1
6... Piping, 17... Water tank water level float switch, 18... Three-way valve, 19.20... Piping, 21... Drain valve, 22
...Door switch, 23...Timer, 24...C
P.U. 25...ROM, 26...RAM. 27...Input/output section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) an ice maker that makes ice for drinking; a water reservoir that stores water from a water supply means and maintains the water level in the ice maker;
In a vending machine equipped with a cooling water tank for producing cold water, a water drain valve provided in the middle of a pipe that supplies water from the water reservoir to the ice maker, and a water discharged by the water drain valve to the cooling water tank. When the water level in the cooling water tank is below a specified level, the drainage bucket for storing overflow from the cooling water tank is not full, and the water reservoir is at the specified water level, and the automatic A water draining device for a vending machine, characterized in that the drain valve is opened for a predetermined period of time when a front door of the vending machine is closed.