JPH04144518A - Automatic tea supplying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a delicious teat whose taste and color are both strong, in which tea leaves are open enough even at the time of supplying tea of first decoction by providing a steaming control means for supplying new tea leaves to a tea strainer, and thereafter, electrifying a valve to the extent that the tea leaves become wet for a prescribed time, and supplying hot water. CONSTITUTION:When a tea strainer 7 returns completely to a correct position by a rotation of a motor, a first switch 12 is turned on, and H is inputted to an input terminal (b) of a microcomputer 29. L is outputted to an output terminal (f), a motor is turned off, the strainer 7 is stopped in a correct position, new tea leaves are supplied to the tea strainer 7 from a tea canister 9, and an ON integrating time of a hot water supply valve is reset. Subsequently, H is outputted to an output terminal (e) of the microcomputer 29, and the hot water supply valve 5 is turned on. Next, whether the turn-on time of the hot water supply valve 5 exceeds a prescribed time T2 or not is checked. This prescribed time is the time for only supplying hot water to the extent that the tea leaves in the tea strainer 7 become wet. When the prescribed time T2 elapses, the hot water valve 5 is turned off, and the tea leaves subjected to hot water supply to the extent that they become wet are opened enough before supplying of first decoction.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial applications The present invention relates to a tea dispenser that dispenses tea.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, tea dispensers that store hot water in a tank and supply a predetermined amount of hot water to tea leaves to brew tea have become widely used in offices, restaurants, and the like. For example, this is
It is shown in Publication No. 60.

A conventional tea dispenser will be described below with reference to FIG.

1' is a tea dispenser, 2' is a hot water tank covered with a heat insulating material such as glass wool, and a heater 3' is provided at the bottom. 4 is a hot water supply pipe, and a hot water supply valve 6' for controlling hot water supply is provided between the pipes. 6' is a hot water supply port provided at the tip of the hot water supply pipe 4'. 7' is a tea strainer that is located directly below the hot water spout and is used to put tea leaves in and brew tea, and 8' is a tea cup. Reference numeral 9' denotes a tea caddy for storing new tea leaves and supplying them to the tea strainer 7', and 10' is a tea leaf exchanging device incorporating a spider 11' and the like. 12' is a control device that controls the entire tea dispenser 1'.

The operation of the conventional tea dispenser configured as described above will be explained. When the user turns on the tea switch (not shown), the hot water supply valve 5' is activated, and the hot water in the hot water tank 2' is poured into the tea strainer 7' from the hot water supply port 6' and stored in the tea strainer 7'. Through the tea leaves, the tea is supplied to the teacup 8'. Here, the tea leaves in the tea strainer 7' are used as grounds when a suitable amount of tea is supplied, and after a certain amount of tea has been supplied, the old tea leaves are discarded and new tea leaves are supplied from the tea caddy to the tea strainer.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with the above configuration, there is a problem that the tea leaves are not fully opened during the first brewing after feeding new tea leaves to the tea strainer, and the taste and color are weak and not delicious. was there.

Therefore, the first object of the present invention is to provide a delicious tea with a rich taste and color in which the tea leaves are sufficiently opened even during the first brewing after fresh tea leaves are fed into a tea strainer.

The second purpose is to always provide delicious tea with a strong taste and color even if the amount of tea leaves supplied from the tea caddy to the tea strainer changes.

Means for Solving the Problems Therefore, in order to achieve the first object, the automatic tea dispenser of the present invention has a tea leaf exchange control means that, after supplying new tea leaves to the tea strainer, sets a predetermined amount in the nozzle to the extent that the tea leaves are moistened. It is provided with unevenness control means for supplying hot water by supplying electricity for a certain period of time.

In addition, in order to achieve the second object, the present invention provides a tea leaf supply amount detector that is installed in a tea caddy and outputs a signal proportional to the amount of tea leaves supplied to a tea strainer, and a tea leaf supply amount detector that is installed in a tea caddy and outputs a signal proportional to the amount of tea leaves supplied to a tea strainer. An unevenness control means is provided for supplying hot water to the extent that the tea leaves are moistened by energizing the valve for a time proportional to the tea leaf supply amount signal from the tea leaf supply amount signal.

Effect With this configuration, hot water is supplied to the extent that the tea leaves are moistened after supplying new tea leaves to the tea strainer, so the user can
The tea leaves have fully opened by the time you drink the brewed tea. From the first infusion, it is possible to provide tea that is rich in flavor and color and is delicious.

In addition, after supplying new tea leaves to the tea strainer, hot water is supplied in proportion to the amount of tea leaves supplied from the tea caddy to the tea strainer, so even if the amount of tea leaves supplied to the tea strainer changes, the tea will be delicious and delicious in both taste and color from the first brew. can be provided.

EXAMPLE A first example of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a tea dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a tea dispenser, 2 is a hot water tank covered with a heat insulating material such as glass wool, and a heater 3 is provided at the bottom. 4 is a hot water supply pipe, and a hot water supply valve 6 for controlling hot water supply is provided between the pipes. 6 is a hot water supply port provided at the tip of the hot water supply pipe 4. 7 is a tea strainer which is located directly below the hot water supply spout and is used to put tea leaves in and brew tea, and 8 is a teacup. 9 is a tea caddy that stores new tea leaves and supplies them to the tea strainer 7; 1o is a tea leaf exchanging device that has a built-in motor 11;

46 is a tea jar container, 12 is a first switch that detects that the tea strainer 7 is in the normal position, and 13 is a second switch that detects that the tea strainer 7 is in the reverse position. 14 is a control device that controls the entire tea dispenser.

When the tea switch 16 is turned on, the control device 14 operates a tea supply control means 16 which energizes the hot water supply valve 5 to supply hot water to the tea strainer 7 to supply tea, and when the amount of hot water supplied by the tea supply control means 16 reaches a predetermined amount. a tea leaf exchange control means 17 that discards old tea leaves by energizing the motor 11 and supplies new tea leaves from the tea caddy 9 to the tea strainer; It consists of an unevenness control means 18 which supplies hot water to the extent that the tea leaves in the tea strainer 7 are moistened by supplying electricity to the valve 5 for a predetermined period of time.

FIG. 2 is an example of a specific electric circuit. 19 is a power switch, the heater 3 and the temperature fuse 21 are connected in series via the thermostat 20, the hot water supply valve 5 is connected via the normally open contact 23 of the first relay 22, and the second relay 24 is normally open. The motor 11 for reversing the tea strainer is connected through the contacts 25, and the power transformer 2 in the control board 26
The primary side of 7 is connected. A DC power supply circuit 28 is connected to the secondary side of the power transformer 27. The control board 26 has, as an input, a tea filter 15, a first switch 12 for detecting that the tea strainer is in the normal position, and a second switch 13 for detecting that the tea strainer is in the reverse position, each connected to a DC power source V at one end. 0, and the other end is connected to resistor R1,
The input terminal a of the microcomputer 29 is grounded via R2 and R3.

Connected to b and c. Output terminals e and 4 of the microcomputer 29 are connected to a first relay 22 having a normally open contact 23 and a second relay 24 having a normally open contact 26 via buffers 30 and 31, respectively.

The tea dispenser configured as described above will be explained using the flowchart of FIG. 3.

In step 32, it is checked whether the tea switch 16 is turned on. When the user turns on the tea switch 15, H is input to the input terminal a of the microcomputer 29. In step 33, a program preset in the microcomputer 29 outputs H to the output terminal e, and the first relay 22 is turned ON via the buffer 30, the normally open contact 23 is closed, and the hot water supply valve 5 is turned ON. . Hot water in a hot water tank 2 is poured into a tea strainer 7 from a hot water supply port 6, and the tea is supplied to a container such as a hot water cup 8 through tea leaves stored in the tea strainer T.

In step 34, the microcomputer 29 starts integrating the ON time of the hot water supply valve 5. Again, step 32
When the tea switch 16 is turned off again, L is input to the input terminal a of the microcomputer 29. In step 35, L is output to the output terminal e to turn off the hot water supply valve 5, and in step 36, the ON time integration of the hot water supply valve 6 is counted. In step 37, it is checked whether the cumulative ON time of the hot water supply valve 6 exceeds a predetermined time T1. This predetermined time T1 is set to a time to supply a limit amount of hot water that does not cause the tea leaves in the tea strainer T to become loose.

If the predetermined time T1 has been exceeded, in step 38, H is output to the output terminal f, and the second
Turn on the relay 24 and close the normally open contact 25 to turn the motor 1 on.
Turn on 1. The tea strainer 7 begins to turn over as shown in FIG. In step 39, it is checked whether the second switch 13, which detects that the tea strainer 7 is in the reversed position, is turned on. When the tea strainer 7 is completely reversed by the rotation of the motor 11, the second switch 13 is turned ON, H is input to the input terminal C of the microcomputer 31, and the old tea leaves that have become grounds in the tea strainer 7 are removed from the tea container 46. will be discarded. Chakoshia continues to make a comeback.

In step 40, it is checked whether the first switch 12, which detects that the tea strainer 7 is in the correct position, is turned on. When the tea strainer 7 is completely returned to its normal position by the rotation of the motor 11, the first switch 12 is turned on and "H" is input to the input terminal of the microcomputer 29. In step 41, "Ll" is output to the output terminal f and the motor 11
is turned off, the tea strainer 7 stops at the normal position, and new tea leaves are supplied to the tea strainer 7 from the tea caddy 9. Then, in step 42, the accumulated ON time of the hot water supply valve is reset.

Next, in step 43, the microcomputer 2
The output terminal eKH of 9 is output, and the hot water supply valve 5 is turned on. In step 44, it is checked whether the ON time of the hot water supply valve 6 exceeds a predetermined time T2. This predetermined time T2 is
This is the time required to supply enough hot water to moisten the tea leaves in the tea strainer 7. If the predetermined time T2 is exceeded, the hot water supply valve 6 is turned off in step 46.
is turned off and the process returns to step 32 again. The tea leaves that have been heated to the point where they are wet will have fully opened by the time the first tea is brewed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, by providing the unevenness control means for supplying hot water by energizing the valve for a predetermined period of time to the extent that the tea leaves are moistened after supplying new tea leaves to the tea strainer, the user can easily prepare the tea for the first brewing. By the time the tea is drunk, the tea leaves are fully opened, and the tea is rich in taste and color from the first brew.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a tea dispenser according to another embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a tea dispenser, 2 is a hot water tank covered with a heat insulating material such as glass wool, and a heater 3 is provided at the bottom. 4 is a hot water supply pipe, and a hot water supply valve 5 for controlling hot water supply is provided between the pipes. 6 is a hot water supply port provided at the tip of the hot water supply pipe 4. 7 is a tea strainer which is located directly below the hot water supply spout and is used to put tea leaves in and brew tea, and 8 is a teacup. 9 is a tea caddy that stores new tea leaves and supplies it to the tea strainer 7; 47 is a tea leaf supply amount detector installed in the tea caddy and outputs a signal proportional to the amount of tea leaves fed to the tea strainer; 10 is a tea leaf exchanging device;
1 is built-in. 46 is a reed for pouring tea, 12 is a first switch that detects that the tea strainer 7 is in the correct position, 1
3 is a second knob that detects that the tea strainer 7 is in the reversed position.

14 is a control device that controls the entire tea dispenser.

When the tea switch 15 is turned on, the control device 14 operates a tea supply control means 16 which energizes the hot water supply valve 5 and supplies hot water to the tea strainer 7 to supply tea, and when the amount of hot water supplied by the tea supply control means 16 reaches a predetermined amount. Power is applied to the Zenmei motor 11 to discard old tea leaves and transfer new tea leaves from the tea caddy 9 to the tea strainer 7.
and after supplying new tea leaves to the tea strainer 7 by the tea leaf exchange control means, the valve 6 is energized for a time proportional to the tea leaf supply amount signal from the tea leaf supply amount detector 47. It is comprised of an unevenness control means 48 that supplies hot water to such an extent that the tea leaves are moistened.

FIG. 2 is an example of a specific electric circuit. 19 is a power switch, to which the heater 3 and temperature fuse 21 are connected in series via the thermostat 2o, the hot water supply valve 6 is connected via the normally open contact 23 of the first relay 22, and the normally open contact of the second relay 24. The motor 11 for reversing the tea strainer 7 is connected via the power transformer 2 in the control board 26.
The primary side of 7 is connected. A DC power supply circuit 28 is connected to the secondary side of the power transformer 27. The control board 26 has a tea switch 15 as an input, a first switch 12 that detects that the tea strainer is in the normal position, a second switch 13 that detects that the tea strainer is in the reverse position,
A tea leaf supply amount detector 47 that outputs a signal proportional to the amount of tea leaves supplied to the tea strainer 7 has one end connected to a DC power supply V, respectively. C, and the other end is grounded via resistors R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R, and input terminals a, b, c of the microcomputer 29.

It is connected to g, h, and i. The tea leaf supply amount detector 4
7 opens contacts j and 1 corresponding to three levels of the amount of tea leaves supplied from the tea caddy 9 to the tea strainer 7 at one time: large, medium, and small. The output terminals f of the microcomputer 29 are connected to a first relay 22 having a normally open contact 23 and a second relay 24 having a normally open contact 25 via buffers 30 and 31, respectively.
It is connected to the.

Questions will be asked regarding the tea dispenser configured as described above using the flowchart shown in FIG.

In step 32, it is checked whether the tea switch 16 is turned on. When the user turns on the tea switch 16, the input terminal alcH of the microcomputer 29 is input. In step 33, a program preset in the microcomputer 29
The power terminal eJcH is output, the first relay 22 is turned ON via the buffer 3o, the normally open contact 23 is closed, and the hot water supply valve 6 is turned ON. Hot water in a hot water tank 2 is poured into a tea strainer 7 from a hot water supply port 6, and the tea is supplied to a container such as a hot water cup 8 through tea leaves stored in the tea strainer T.

In step 34, the microcomputer 29 calculates the cumulative ON time of the hot water supply valve 6. Again, step 32
When the tea switch 15 is turned off, the input terminal a IICL of the microcomputer 29 is inputted. In step 35, L is output to the output terminal and the hot water supply valve 6 is set to 0FFL, and in step 36, the hot water supply valve 5 is set to 0FFL.
Stops integration for N hours. In step 37, it is checked whether the cumulative ON time of the hot water supply valve 5 exceeds a predetermined time T1. This predetermined time T1 is set to a time to supply a limit amount of hot water that does not cause the tea leaves in the tea strainer T to become loose.

If the predetermined time T1 has been exceeded, in step 38, the output terminal fKHt-al is applied, the second relay 24 is turned on through the buffer 31, the normally open contact 26 is closed, and the motor 11 is turned on. The tea strainer 7 begins to turn over as shown in FIG. In step 39, it is checked whether the second switch 13, which detects that the tea strainer 7 is in the reversed position, is turned on. When the tea strainer 7 is completely reversed by the rotation of the motor 11, the second switch 13 is turned ON, H is input to the input terminal C of the microcomputer 31, and the old tea leaves that have become grounds in the tea strainer 7 are removed from the tea container 46. will be discarded. Chakoshi 7 continues to reverse the situation.

In step 4o, it is checked whether the first switch 12, which detects that the tea strainer 7 is in the correct position, is turned on. When the tea strainer 7 is completely returned to its normal position by the rotation of the motor 11, the first switch 12 is turned on and "H" is input to the input terminal of the microcomputer 29. In step 41, 8 wires "L1" are connected to the output terminal f, and the motor 11
is turned off, the tea strainer 7 stops at the normal position, and new tea leaves are supplied to the tea strainer 7 from the tea caddy 9. Then, in step 42, the accumulated ON time of the hot water supply valve is reset.

Next, in step 43, the microcomputer 2
9 outputs H to the output terminal e and turns on the hot water supply valve 5. In step 44, it is checked whether the ON time of the hot water supply valve 6 exceeds a predetermined time T2.

This predetermined time T2 is determined by the following energization.

When the amount of tea leaves supplied from the tea caddy 9 to the tea strainer 7 per serving is set to be large, the contact j is closed and the input terminal qKH of the microcomputer 29 is inputted. The predetermined time T2 at this time is a time 72a sufficient to supply hot water to the extent that a large amount of tea leaves are sufficiently moistened. Further, when the tea leaf supply amount is set to medium, the contact k is closed and H is input to the input terminal of the microcomputer 29. The predetermined time T2 at this time is a time T2b sufficient to supply hot water to the extent that the tea leaves being supplied are sufficiently moistened. When the tea leaf supply amount is set to be small, the contact 2 is closed and H is input to the input terminal i of the microcomputer 29. The predetermined time T2 at this time is T2c, which is enough time to supply hot water to the extent that tea leaves with a small supply amount are sufficiently moistened, T2a) T2
b) T2c.

If the predetermined time T2 is exceeded, the hot water supply valve 6 is turned off in step 46, and the process returns to step 32 again. The tea leaves that have been heated to the point where they are wet will have fully opened by the time the first tea is brewed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the tea leaf supply amount detector outputs a signal proportional to the amount of tea leaves supplied from the tea canister to the tea strainer, and the tea leaf supply amount detector outputs a signal proportional to the amount of tea leaves supplied from the tea strainer after new tea leaves are supplied to the tea strainer. By providing a second unevenness control means that supplies hot water by energizing the valve for a time proportional to the signal, the user can control the amount of hot water even if the amount of tea leaves supplied from the tea caddy to the tea strainer changes.
The tea leaves are fully opened by the time the tea is drunk, and from the first brew, it is possible to provide tea that is rich in taste and color and is always delicious.

Effects of the Invention As described above, in the automatic tea dispenser according to claim 1, the following effects can be obtained.

By providing a first unevenness control means for supplying hot water by energizing a valve for a predetermined period of time to the extent that the tea leaves are moistened after supplying new tea leaves to the tea strainer, the tea leaves are sufficiently opened by the time the user drinks the first tea. It is possible to provide delicious tea with appropriate taste and color from the first infusion, and its practical effects are great.

Moreover, in the automatic tea dispenser according to claim 2, the following effects can be obtained.

A tea leaf supply amount detector outputs a signal proportional to the amount of tea leaves supplied from the tea caddy to the tea strainer, and after supplying new tea leaves to the tea strainer, electricity is supplied to the valve for a time proportional to the tea leaf supply amount signal from the tea leaf supply amount detector to supply hot water. By providing the second unevenness control means, even if the amount of tea leaves supplied from the tea caddy to the tea strainer changes, the tea leaves will be fully opened by the time the user drinks the first brew, and the taste will always be maintained from the first brew. It can provide delicious tea with appropriate color and has great practical effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an automatic tea dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram of the same device, FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the same device, and FIG. 4 is a diagram of another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an electric circuit diagram of the automatic tea dispenser according to the embodiment, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a diagram of a conventional tea dispenser. 2... Hot water storage tank, 3... Heater, 6
...Hot water valve, 7...Tea strainer, 9.
...Tea caddy, 11...Motor, 16...
...Tea switch, 16...Tea supply control means,
17...Tea leaf exchange control means, 18...
First unevenness control means, 47... tea leaf supply amount detector, 48... second unevenness control means. Name of agent: Patent attorney Akira Okaji and 2 others

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A tea caddy that stores tea leaves, a tea strainer that is placed below the tea caddy and receives tea leaves from the tea caddy, a motor that reverses the tea strainer, a hot water tank, and a heater provided in the hot water tank; A hot water supply valve that supplies hot water in a hot water tank; a tea supply control means that energizes the hot water supply valve when a tea switch is turned on and supplies hot water to the tea strainer to supply tea; and hot water supply using the same tea leaves by the tea supply control means. a tea leaf exchange control means that energizes the motor to discard old tea leaves and supply new tea leaves from the tea caddy to the tea strainer when the amount reaches a predetermined amount; and after the tea leaf exchange control means supplies new tea leaves to the tea strainer. An automatic tea dispenser comprising an unevenness control means for supplying hot water by energizing the valve for a predetermined period of time to the extent that tea leaves are moistened. (2) a tea leaf supply amount detector installed in a tea caddy and outputting a signal proportional to the amount of tea leaves supplied to the tea strainer, and a tea leaf supply amount detector that outputs a signal proportional to the amount of tea leaves supplied to the tea strainer; An automatic tea dispenser comprising unevenness control means for supplying hot water to the extent that tea leaves are moistened by energizing a valve for a time proportional to a supply amount signal.