JPH0516292B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing carbonated water using an injection carbonation method.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Generally, one method for producing carbonated water is so-called injection, in which pressurized water is injected with a pump or the like into a closed tank supplied with pressurized carbon dioxide gas, and the carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the water. It is well known that there is a method called carbonation method.

Conventionally, in this type of carbonated water production equipment,
As illustrated in FIG. 3, a nozzle portion 4 at the tip of a water supply pipe 3 connected to a drinking water source 2 such as tap water is exposed to the top of the closed tank 1, and a water supply is provided midway through the water supply pipe 3. A solenoid valve 5 is provided to enable opening/closing control, and a pump 6 provided between the nozzle section 4 and the water supply solenoid valve 5 is driven to inject potable water into the sealed tank 1, while also injecting drinking water into the sealed tank 1. A gas supply pipe 8 connected to a carbon dioxide gas supply source (not shown) through a pressure regulator 7 faces the top of the tank 1, and carbon dioxide gas regulated to an appropriate pressure is supplied to the sealed tank 1. The structure is configured such that carbonated water C can be produced by dissolving carbonic acid gas in water by filling the water supply and vigorously contacting and mixing water and carbonic acid gas in a closed tank 1 using the jet stirring power of water. That's what happens.

The conventional device described above has a bubble prevention plate 9 disposed at an appropriate height on the inner bottom of a closed tank 1 with a slight gap between it and the inner wall thereof, and a water level detector 11 having a float 10. When the water supply solenoid valve 5 is opened, the pump 6 is driven to inject water from the nozzle part 4 from the top of the sealed tank 1, and the water is mixed with carbon dioxide gas supplied from the gas supply pipe 8. The water is mixed to produce carbonated water, and the surface of the carbonated water that is collecting in the sealed tank 1 is violently hit by the jet action of water to entrain carbon dioxide gas as bubbles in the carbonated water, thereby increasing the solubility of carbon dioxide gas (hereinafter referred to as When the level of carbonated water in the sealed tank 1 reaches the upper limit water level H in this state, the operation of the pump 6 is stopped by the detection operation of the water level detector 11, and at the same time the water supply electromagnetic The carbonated water C is poured out by closing the valve 5 and opening the pouring valve 13 of the pouring pipe 12 provided at the bottom of the sealed tank 1. When the water level of the carbonated water in the sealed tank 1 falls to the lower limit water level L by pouring out the carbonated water C, the water supply solenoid valve 5 is opened again by the detection operation of the water level detector 11, and the pump 6 is turned on at the same time. By running it, you can make carbonated water and refill it as you did last time.

However, in such a conventional device, the water sprayed from the nozzle part 4 flows into the closed tank 1.
Since the height of the closed tank 1 is limited, the time it takes for the water accumulated at the inner bottom of the tank to reach the surface is extremely short, and it is difficult to dissolve a large amount of carbon dioxide in the sprayed water within that time. The main method of dissolving carbon dioxide gas is to collect a certain amount of water at the inner bottom of the closed tank 1, and then violently stir the surface of the water using the pressure of jetted water to entrain carbon dioxide gas bubbles.
This is done by contacting it with water. For this reason, the degree of carbonation of the carbonated water produced depends largely on the degree of contact between the water and carbon dioxide gas bubbles in the closed tank 1, and in order to increase the degree of contact, it is necessary to Increase the water injection time from
Furthermore, it is necessary to increase the entrainment of carbon dioxide gas bubbles into the water stored in the inner bottom of the closed tank 1 by water injection.

However, the cycle time for producing carbonated water each time in the conventional device is determined by the amount of water from the lower limit water level L to the upper limit water level H in the closed tank 1 and the amount of water jetted from the nozzle part 4. One way to lengthen the injection time is to reduce the injection flow rate, but this reduces the water injection energy and significantly weakens the ability to entrain carbon dioxide bubbles into the water, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide dissolved. will decrease. Furthermore, if the amount of water between the upper and lower limits (the amount of water per carbonation) in the sealed tank 1 is increased, not only will the entrainment effect of carbon dioxide gas bubbles by the jet water not reach the deep part of the water, but the capacity of the sealed tank 1 will also increase. The problem is that the entire device becomes larger, and these conditions determine the amount of carbonated water and water injection flow rate that can dissolve carbon dioxide most efficiently.As a result, the manufacturing The drawback was that the carbonation level of the carbonated water remained at a certain value, and it was not possible to increase the carbonation level beyond that level.

[Purpose of the invention]

This invention was made under the above circumstances, and its purpose is to increase the carbonation level of carbonated water by making it possible to arbitrarily lengthen the injection time of water into a closed tank. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for producing carbonated water that can produce carbonated water with a desired carbonation degree by adjusting the injection time.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above purpose, water from the water supply route is injected under pressure from the top of the tank through a nozzle using a pump into a closed tank where carbon dioxide gas is supplied, and carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the water in the closed tank. In the apparatus for producing carbonated water, a circulation path is formed from near the bottom of the sealed tank through the solenoid valve, through the water supply path and the pump, to the nozzle section, and a timer is used to control the flow of the solenoid valve and the pump. By controlling the drive, it is possible to adjust the circulation operation time along this circulation path.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The present invention will be described below with reference to an illustrated embodiment. In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, the same reference numerals are used for parts having the same configuration as those of the conventional device shown in FIG. 3, and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 1, this invention branches a water supply pipe 3 for injecting water into a closed tank 1 through a nozzle part 4 between a water supply electromagnetic valve 5 and a pump 6, and also branches the water supply pipe 3 into a closed tank 1 through a nozzle part 4. is formed by facing the inside from the bottom of the sealed tank 1 to form a circulation path, and in the middle of the branch pipe 14, the sealed tank 1
A circulating electromagnetic valve 15 is installed which is electrically associated with a water level detector 11 provided therein, and the opening time of the circulating electromagnetic valve 15 is controlled by a timer 16. Reference numeral 17 in the figure is a check valve installed in the water supply path between the branch part of the branch pipe 14 and the water supply solenoid valve 5, so that even if the water supply solenoid valve 5 breaks down, the carbonated water C will not flow during circulation. It is designed to prevent water from flowing back to the water supply source.

Next, the control operation of the above-mentioned apparatus will be explained with reference to FIG.

The contact state in Figure 2 shows the case when the pump 6 is stopped and the water level in the sealed tank 1 is between the upper limit water level H and the lower limit water level L, and when no water is accumulated in the sealed tank 1. The float 10 lowers to the lower end and closes the lower limit contact FSL of the water level detector 11,
By energizing the relay coil 1R and closing its contact 1R ₁ , the relay coil 1R is self-held, and the pump motor P is energized and the pump 6 starts operating, and at the same time, the contacts 1R ₂ and 1R ₃ are also closed. When the water supply solenoid valve 5 is closed, the solenoid 1V of the water supply solenoid valve 5 is also energized, and the water supply solenoid valve 5 is opened so that water from the drinking water source 2 is injected into the sealed tank 1 from the nozzle part 4 at an appropriate flow rate. It has a circuit configuration.
The water sprayed from the nozzle part 4 into the sealed tank 1 is also sprayed into the sealed tank 1 even during the falling process.
A certain amount of dissolved carbon dioxide collects at the inner bottom of the sealed tank 1 due to contact with the carbon dioxide filling the tank, and when the water level gradually rises and reaches above the bubble prevention plate 9, the water surface is covered by the jet water. The water is violently stirred, and the water comes into intense contact with the entrained carbon dioxide bubbles, causing the carbon dioxide to dissolve and the water level to rise further. In this state, when the water level exceeds the lower limit water level L, the lower limit contact FSL of the water level detector 11 opens, but since the relay coil 1R continues to maintain its self-holding state, the water level rises further and reaches the upper limit water level H. When the water level reaches the upper limit contact FSH of the water level detector 11 is closed, the relay coil 2R is energized and its contact 2 is closed.
_R1 is closed, thereby self-holding the relay coil 2R and supplying power to the timer T. At the same time, the normally closed contact _2R2 opens, cutting off the power to the solenoid 1V of the water supply solenoid valve 5 and closing the water supply solenoid valve 5, while the contact _2R3 closes and the solenoid 2V of the circulation solenoid valve 15 closes. Electrification is applied, the circulation solenoid valve 15 is opened, and the carbonated water C in the sealed tank 1 is sucked in by the suction action of the pump 6 that maintains the driving state, and the carbonated water C is sucked in from the nozzle part 4 via the branch pipe 14 and the water supply pipe 3. Carbonated water is sprayed and circulated in a closed tank 1. As a result, the carbonated water injected into the sealed tank 1 entrains carbon dioxide gas bubbles into the carbonated water collected below, dissolves the carbon dioxide gas, and increases the carbonic acidity. By continuing the process for an appropriate period of time set by , the carbonated water can be further increased to the required carbonation level. Then, when the time set by the timer 16 elapses, the time contact _T1 opens,
Power to relay coil 1R is cut off and its contact 1
R ₁ , 1R ₂ , and 1R ₃ are opened, and the pump motor P, relay coil 2R, and solenoid 1V are de-energized.
Furthermore, the contacts 2R ₁ and 2R ₃ are opened, the timer coil T and the solenoid 2V are cut off, the pump 6 is stopped, and the circulation solenoid valve 15 is closed, thereby completing one carbonated water production cycle. Complete.

In addition, this device described above is capable of dispensing carbonated water from the dispensing valve 13 even during the manufacturing cycle, and the dispensed carbonated water is carbonated water stored in the lower part of the bubble prevention plate 9. Carbonated water without air bubbles can be poured out using the bubble prevention plate 9, and the amount of carbonated gas dissolved in the water is automatically replenished from the gas source into the closed tank.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment; for example, after the level of carbonated water in the sealed tank reaches the upper limit water level, the pump has already sucked in carbonated water in which a large amount of carbon dioxide gas has been dissolved. Since the water is injected from the nozzle part, if there is a large pressure difference before and after the tip of the thin nozzle part, the carbon dioxide gas that has been dissolved may foam and become liberated during the injection process. By closing the solenoid valve and opening the circulation solenoid valve, at the same time reducing the rotation speed of the pump, the amount of injection from the nozzle section is reduced or the hole diameter of the nozzle section 4 is expanded.
By reducing the pressure difference before and after the tip of the nozzle part, it becomes possible to suppress the foaming and release of dissolved carbon dioxide in the carbonated water injected from the nozzle part during circulation.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, water can be injected from the nozzle at the optimum flow rate to dissolve carbon dioxide gas, regardless of the amount of water to be replenished into the closed tank in each production cycle. , and the injection time can be arbitrarily set by circulating the produced carbonated water, so the carbonicity of the carbonated water can be easily increased or adjusted to a desired value, providing excellent effects.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of the carbonated water manufacturing device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an electrical wiring diagram also showing the control operation, and FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a conventional manufacturing device. It is. 1... Sealed tank, 2... Drinking water source, 3... Water supply pipe,
4... Nozzle part, 5... Water supply solenoid valve, 6... Pump, 7
...Pressure regulator, 8...Gas supply pipe, 11...Water level detector,
14... Branch pipe, 15... Circulation solenoid valve, C... Carbonated water,
H... Upper limit water level, L... Lower limit water level.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 Water from a water supply route is injected under pressure from the top of the tank through a nozzle part into a closed tank to which carbon dioxide gas is supplied, so that carbon dioxide gas is dissolved in the water in the closed tank. In the apparatus for producing carbonated water, a circulation path is formed from near the bottom of the sealed tank via a solenoid valve to the water supply path and the pump to the nozzle part, and a timer controls the driving of the solenoid valve and the pump. A carbonated water production device characterized in that the circulation operation time of this circulation path can be adjusted by controlling.