JPH05237032A - Beverage feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a hot water from pouring and increase safety. by providing a pouring frequency-measuring means detecting the actuation frequency of a pouring controller and providing an annulling means of boiling action to cancel the boiling action by a boiling controller when the measured frequency is higher than a specified value. CONSTITUTION:When a cup is inserted into a cup insertion opening 28 and a tea-button on an operation panel 27 is manipulated, a tea-pouring valve 31 is opened for a specified interval and the hot water in a hot water tank 3 is fed into a tea-filter 19 through a hot water pass. When a hot-water button on the operation panel 27 is manipulated, a specified volume of cold water is poured from a cold water feeder through a hot water pass 11. Regarding the retaining control of hot water in the hot water tank 3 for such feeding tea or hot water as above-mentioned, functions such as water level control, water temperature control, boiling control, abnormal boiling control, annulling of boiling action are provided in the controller 29.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage supply device having a function of heating water in a hot water storage tank until it boils.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an automatic tea dispenser, that is, a tea server, hot water is prepared by providing a hot water storage tank and a heater for heating water inside the main body cabinet, and when a tea pouring signal is given. By opening the solenoid valve, a certain amount of hot water is supplied from the hot water storage tank to the tea strainer containing the tea leaves and the tea is poured out.

By the way, in this type of beverage supply apparatus, the temperature of hot water most suitable for drinking is said to be about 70 ° C. to about 90 ° C. Therefore, a temperature sensor for measuring the hot water temperature in the hot water storage tank. Is provided and the signal is input to the microcomputer, and the heater is turned on and off based on the signal from the microcomputer, whereby control is performed to maintain the hot water temperature at a temperature suitable for drinking.

On the other hand, on the other hand, there is also a demand that the water in the hot water storage tank be boiled once before it is used in order to remove the so-called chlorine smell contained in tap water, and this type of tea server has a boiling control function. Some of them are also provided. With this product, if the boiling mode is set in advance, the hot water in the hot water storage tank can be brought to the boiling state for a predetermined time, and then the heater is cut off and the temperature of the hot water naturally drops to a temperature suitable for drinking. To do.

[0005]

However, in the tea server having the above-mentioned configuration, once the boiling mode is set, the heater is continuously energized to rapidly raise the hot water temperature, and the hot water temperature in the hot water storage tank is kept for a while. It is maintained at a high temperature of about 100 ° C. For this reason, if tea is frequently brewed, for example, if the tea server is set to boiling mode just before lunch, many people will drink tea at a high temperature far above the optimum drinking temperature. There is a problem that not only the taste of the tea is impaired but also it is very dangerous.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a boiling control function for boiling the hot water in a hot water storage tank, and in the case where the beverage is frequently poured out even if the boiling mode is set carelessly. An object of the present invention is to provide a beverage supply device capable of improving safety by stopping the boiling operation.

[0007]

The beverage supply device of the present invention comprises a hot water storage tank for storing hot water for beverages, a heater for heating the water in the hot water storage tank, and a hot water storage tank when a pouring signal is given. It has a pouring control means for pouring out a part of the hot water in the pot for drinking, and a boiling control means for executing heating by a heater to boil the water in the hot water storage tank when the boiling mode is set. In the provided one, a pouring frequency measuring means for detecting the operating frequency of the pouring control means is provided, and when the operating frequency measured by the pouring frequency measuring means is a predetermined value or more, the boiling operation by the boiling control means It is characterized in that a boiling operation invalidating means for canceling the above is provided.

[0008]

When the pouring signal is given, a part of the hot water in the hot water storage tank is poured out for drinking by the pouring control means. When the boiling mode is set, heating by the heater is executed by the boiling control means, and the hot water in the hot water storage tank is boiled.

On the other hand, the operating frequency of the dispensing control means, that is, the beverage dispensing frequency is measured by the dispensing frequency measuring means,
When the pouring frequency exceeds a predetermined value, the boiling operation invalidating means cancels the boiling operation. Therefore, when the frequency of pouring the beverage becomes high, even if the boiling mode is set, the boiling operation is not actually performed, and it is possible to prevent the beverage at a high temperature from being supplied forever.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a tea server will be described below with reference to the drawings. The overall schematic structure is as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, and a hot water storage tank 3 having a heat insulating wall 2 on an outer wall surface is fixed to an upper part of a main body cabinet 1. A so-called throw-in heater 4 is provided at the inner bottom of the hot water storage tank 3 to heat the water inside. An arm 6 having a float 5 attached to its tip is rotatably supported on the side wall of the hot water storage tank 3,
The amount of displacement of the float 5 depending on the water level in the hot water storage tank 3, that is, the amount of rotation of the arm 6 can be detected by the photoelectric water level sensor unit 7 to detect the water level in the hot water storage tank 3 in multiple stages. Also, the back plate 1a of the main body cabinet 1
A water supply hose attachment port 8 is attached to the water supply hose, and the water supply hose attachment port 8 communicates with the inside of the hot water storage tank 3 via a water supply valve (not shown). A water supply hose (not shown) connected to the tap of the water supply is connected to the water supply hose attachment port 8 so that when the water supply valve is opened, fresh water is supplied into the hot water storage tank 3.

In order to let the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 flow out, the tea pouring valve 31 (only shown in FIG. 10) and the hot water pouring valve 9 are provided.
, And the hot water supply path 10 from the tea pouring valve 31 is guided to the upper front part of the main body cabinet 1 as shown in FIG. 9, and the hot water supply path 11 from the hot water pouring valve 9 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, it is guided to the center of the front surface of the main body cabinet 1. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 12 is a cold water supply valve that cuts off a cold water supply passage 13 from a cold water supply device (not shown), and its outflow side is connected to the hot water supply passage 11. Reference numeral 14 denotes a drain pipe that is provided with a manual valve 15 and is connected to a drain port 16.
An overflow pipe 7 is also connected to the drain port 16.

On the other hand, on the front surface of the main body cabinet 1, there are provided an automatic tea leaf supply mechanism 18 located on the right front side of the hot water storage tank 3 and a tea strainer 19 located below the outlet of the hot water supply passage 10. Has been. The automatic tea leaf supply mechanism 18
For example, the mechanism is equivalent to the mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-38488 of the present applicant, and the tea leaf measuring unit 20, the canister storage unit 21 connected to the tea leaf measuring unit 20, and the canister storage unit. A canister 22 is detachably attached to the device 21. Also, the tea strainer 19
Is attached to a slide frame 23 provided in the main body cabinet 1 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and by energizing a tea leaf replacement motor 24, the slide frame body 23 is moved to automatically supply the tea strainer 19 with the tea leaves. There are three positions, that is, a position directly below the mechanism 18, a position directly below the outlet of the hot water supply passage 10, and a position where the tea strainer 19 is inverted and above the tea dust receiver 25 provided on the lower left side of the main body cabinet 1 and a tea dust discharge position. Can be moved between. As shown in FIG. 8, a front door 26 is provided on the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 so as to be openable and closable, and the front door 26 has various operation switch groups 27.
An operation panel 27 on which a is arranged and a cup insertion port 28 located below the operation panel 27 are provided, and a cup (not shown) is placed in the cup insertion port 28 and the operation panel 27
Turn on the desired operation switch in the tea strainer 1
The tea poured from 9 and the hot or cold water supplied from the hot water supply passage 11 can be received in the cup.

As shown in FIG. 10, the electrical configuration for controlling the above-mentioned various mechanisms mainly comprises a control unit 29 equipped with a microcomputer. This control unit 2
A hot water temperature sensor 30 provided in the hot water storage tank 3 for detecting the temperature of the hot water inside and a water level sensor unit 7 for detecting the water level of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 are connected to the hot water storage tank 3 Information about the hot water temperature and the hot water level is given, and the water level and hot water temperature in the hot water storage tank 3 are controlled by the water level control function and the hot water temperature control function described later so as to maintain the set values. The control unit 29 also functions as a pouring control means, and based on the pouring signal given from the switch group 27a of the operation panel 27, the tea pouring valve 3
1. The hot water dispensing valve 9 and the cold water supply valve 12 are controlled to execute the following known beverage dispensing operation.

That is, assuming that sufficient hot water is currently stored in the hot water storage tank 3, when the cup is inserted from the cup insertion port 28 and the "tea" button on the operation panel 27 is turned on, the tea pouring valve 31 is opened. The hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 is supplied to the tea strainer 19 through the hot water supply passage 10 after opening for a predetermined time. As a result, tea is poured out by the tea strainer 19 and a certain amount of tea is poured into the cup. When the "hot water" button on the operation panel 27 is turned on, the hot water spout valve 9
Is opened for a predetermined time, and a predetermined amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 is poured into the cup through the hot water supply passage 11. When the "cold water" button on the operation panel 27 is turned on, the cold water supply valve 12 is opened for a predetermined time, and a predetermined amount of cold water from the cold water supply device is poured into the cup through the hot water supply passage 11. Now, in relation to the control for storing hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 for tea supply and hot water supply as described above, the control unit 29 has a water level control function, a hot water temperature control function, a boiling control function,
It has a boiling abnormality control function and a boiling operation invalidation function. These functions are mainly achieved by the software of the microcomputer included in the control unit 29, and are the parts directly related to the present invention, and therefore will be described in detail with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. 1 to 5.

(1) Water Level Control When the power of the tea server is turned on, the control shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2 is first executed. Here, first, after the required initial setting is performed, the water level in the hot water storage tank 3 is at the water supply level for immediate water supply based on the information from the water level sensor unit 7, or level 1 that does not require immediate water supply. It is determined whether the water level is -15 (step a1). Here, when it is determined that the water level is the water level, the water supply indicator lamp 32 provided on the operation panel blinks, the heater 4 is turned off (step a2), and the water supply valve is opened (step a3). .. As a result, tap water is supplied into the hot water storage tank 3 and the water level in the hot water storage tank 3 gradually rises, so that the water level detected by the water level sensor unit 7 exceeds the water supply water level and reaches the region of levels 1 to 15. .. Then, when any of the preset levels is exceeded, the determination step a from the step a1 to the next determination step a
Then, the process shifts to 4 and it is determined whether or not the "boiling mode" is set.

Whether or not the "boiling mode" is set is determined by reading the boiling mode flag, and the flag is set at the time of initial setting immediately after the power is turned on and the condition setting switch provided on the rear surface of the front door 26. It is set when the setting operation of the "boiling mode" is performed in the group 33, and is reset when it is once determined that the boiling state is reached as described later.

If the "boiling mode" is not set, the hot water temperature control is performed next. The case where the "boiling mode" is set will be described later.

(2) Hot Water Temperature Control When this hot water temperature control routine is entered, whether the hot water temperature is within a temperature range suitable for drinking (for example, 70 ° C. to 94 ° C., hereinafter referred to as “drinking suitable temperature”) is determined. It is determined (steps b1 and b2). At the beginning of power-on or immediately after replenishing a large amount of water, the temperature of hot water is lower than the temperature suitable for drinking.
Becomes "no", and the process proceeds to the next judgment step b3. In this determination step b3, it is determined whether or not the hot water temperature is equal to or higher than the set temperature, and the heater 4 is provided on condition that the hot water temperature is lower than the set temperature.
Is energized (step b4) and the process returns to step b1. By repeating the above operation, when the hot water temperature exceeds 70 ° C. and the drinking temperature becomes appropriate, the appropriate temperature display lamp 34 provided on the operation panel is turned on (step b5), and it is determined that the temperature further rises to reach the set temperature. It becomes “yes” in step b3. Since it is assumed that the "boiling mode" is not set here, the heater 4 is turned off at step b6 (step b7) and the normal water level control is resumed. The “set temperature” can be set to a desired value by the user by operating the condition setting switch group 33 within a range of 70 ° C. to 94 ° C. (suitable temperature for drinking).

(3) Boiling Control As described above, the "boiling mode" setting operation is performed immediately after the tea server is turned on and in the condition setting switch group 33 provided on the rear surface of the front door 26. Immediately, the boiling mode flag is set and the boiling operation as described below is executed. This boiling operation is executed based on software control centered on the microcomputer of the control unit 29, so that the control unit 29 functions as a boiling control means.

When the boiling mode flag is set, the result of the judgment step a4 shown in FIG. 2 is "yes". Therefore, the routine proceeds to step a5, where it is judged whether or not the present time is in the busy season. It Here, the “busy season” means that tea or hot water is frequently poured out, for example, at meal time. The pouring frequency of tea or hot water is measured based on the pouring frequency measuring function, which will be described in detail later, but here it is assumed that it is not in the "busy season". Therefore, at step a5, the result becomes "no", the boiling indicator lamp 35 is turned on (step a6), and then the process goes to the hot water temperature control routine (step b).

Then, when the hot water temperature in the hot water storage tank 3 reaches the set temperature by executing the hot water temperature control routine, "yes" is given at step b3. And whether or not it is in a "busy period" (steps b6, b8). Since it is assumed that the heater 4 is not in the "busy period", the heater 4 is not cut off, and the boiling control routine is started while continuing to heat the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 (step c).

Next, it is first determined whether or not the temperature has exceeded the appropriate drinking temperature (ie, whether or not the temperature has reached 94 ° C. or higher) (step c1). Since it is general that the temperature does not exceed 94 ° C. at the beginning when the set temperature is exceeded, the result is “no” in step c1, and the process proceeds to step c2 for determining whether or not the boiling detection flag is set.

This boiling detection flag is set when boiling is detected in the boiling detection routine shown in FIG. 4, and this boiling detection routine is executed as follows by a timer interrupt at predetermined time intervals, for example. To be done. First, the hot water temperature is read based on the signal from the hot water temperature sensor 30 (step d1), the temperature difference Δt between this and the previously detected hot water temperature is calculated (step d2), and then this temperature difference Δt is determined. It is determined whether or not it is within the range (step d3). Here, when the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 is not in the boiling state, the slope of the change curve of the hot water temperature is large, so the temperature difference Δt calculated in step d2 is large. On the contrary, if the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 is boiling, the temperature of the hot water slightly changes depending on the atmospheric pressure, but the temperature is 100 ° C.
Since it stabilizes in the vicinity, the slope of the hot water temperature change curve becomes small in that state, and the temperature difference Δt calculated in step d2 becomes extremely small. Therefore, at the initial stage when the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 has not yet boiled, step d3
Since the judgment result of "No" is "no", the routine directly returns to the main routine, and when the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 has started to boil, the judgment result of Step d3 is "yes", so the boiling detection flag is set (step After d4), the process returns to the main routine. As a result, the hot water storage tank 3
When the hot water therein is not yet boiling, the boiling detection flag is reset, and when boiling, the boiling detection flag is set.

In the boiling control routine as described above,
Initially, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 has not yet boiled, so it becomes "no" at the judgment step c2, and returns to the hot water temperature control routine through the "boiling abnormality control routine" (step e) described later in detail. , The heater 4 continues to be energized. As a result, the hot water temperature further rises, and when the hot water temperature first exceeds 94 ° C., the determination step c1 becomes “yes”, so that the appropriate temperature display lamp 34 is in a blinking state (step c3). When the hot water temperature further rises to bring the hot water to the boiling state, the boiling detection flag becomes the set state as described above, so that the result is "yes" in step c2. Then, under the condition that the boiling state continues for 5 minutes, for example (step c4), the heater 4 is turned off (step c
5) The boiling mode flag is reset (step c)
6). By performing such a boiling operation, the heater 4 is cut off after the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 is kept in a boiling state for about 5 minutes. The odor of chlorine is sufficiently removed.

Once the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 has boiled in this way, the "boiling mode" is released (step c6), so the heater 4 maintains the power-off state until the hot water temperature falls below the set temperature. The hot water is naturally cooled. When the hot water temperature is below the set temperature, normal hot water temperature control and water level control are executed, and the set amount of hot water is maintained at the set temperature.

(4) Boiling Abnormality Control When the above boiling control routine is executed, the boiling abnormality control routine shown in FIG. 6 is always executed together.
The microcomputer can function as timer means by known software means, and the elapsed time t (70) from when the hot water temperature detected by the hot water temperature sensor 30 reaches 70 ° C. and the hot water temperature sensor 30. The time t (94) elapsed from when the hot water temperature detected by the method reaches 94 ° C. is measured.

When the process goes to the boiling abnormality control routine, it is first judged whether or not the elapsed time t (70) exceeds the first reference time T1 (step e1). The first reference time T1 is set as a time longer than the time required until the boiling point of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 reaches 70 ° C., and is, for example, 30 minutes in this embodiment. The first reference time T1 can be easily obtained in advance by an experiment.

After the judgment step e1, a step e2 for judging whether or not the elapsed time t (94) exceeds the second reference time T2 is executed. The second reference time T2 is set as a time longer than the time required until the boiling point of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 reaches 94 ° C., and is, for example, 15 minutes in this embodiment.
This reference time T2 can also be determined experimentally.

By executing such a boiling abnormality control routine, even if an abnormality occurs in the boiling detection means,
When the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 exceeds 70 ° C. and exceeds 30 minutes, the judgment result of step e1 becomes “yes”, so that the heater 4 is cut off (step e3) and the normal hot water temperature control is performed. It returns to and is cooled naturally until the hot water temperature drops to the set temperature. Also, if the above step e1 is “yes”
Even if it does not become “s”, the judgment result of step e2 becomes “yes” when 15 minutes have passed since the hot water temperature exceeded 94 ° C. Therefore, the heater 4 is also cut off (step e3), It returns to the hot water temperature control and is naturally cooled until the hot water temperature falls to the set temperature.

(5) Disabling Function of Boiling Operation Now, as described above, the microcomputer of the control unit 29 functions as a pouring frequency measuring means for detecting the pouring frequency of the beverage, and the boiling for canceling the boiling operation. It also functions as an operation invalidating means.

First, in order to realize the function as the pouring frequency measuring means, the control unit 29 has a counter for counting the number of times the button of the operation switch group 27a is pressed for pouring tea or hot water. Is provided.

This counter is read in a pouring frequency check routine executed every time a fixed time elapses, for example, by a timer interrupt (step f1 in FIG. 5), and its value is compared with a predetermined value (step f2). Step f
The value read from the counter in 1 indicates the number of times the button was pressed to pour out tea or hot water during a certain period of time, so it corresponds to the frequency of the beverage being poured out within a certain period of time. Higher frequency means a "busy season". Therefore, when the value of the counter, that is, the dispensing frequency within a fixed time exceeds a predetermined value (“yes” in step f2), the busy season flag is set (step f4), and the process returns. When the pouring frequency is less than the predetermined value (“no” in step f2), the busy period flag is kept in the reset state and the process returns. The counter is reset for the next counting cycle before returning to the main routine (step f3).

As described above, if the beverage is frequently dispensed and the busy season flag is set, the answer is "yes" in step b8 of the hot water temperature control routine, so that the "boiling mode" is set. However, the boiling operation is canceled without shifting to the boiling control routine. In this case,
Even at step a5 of the water level control routine, the result is "yes", so the boiling display lamp 35 is not turned on.

As a result, since the tea server has just been powered on, or even if the "boiling mode" is manually set by the user, the boiling operation is not executed and the normal hot water temperature control is resumed. The hot water temperature is maintained at the set temperature. Therefore, even if the user inadvertently sets the "boiling mode" at lunch, the boiling water is not performed and the hot water temperature is maintained at the optimum drinking temperature, so high temperature tea or hot water is poured out. Safety is significantly improved.

In this embodiment, in particular, the boiling rate is not detected based on the absolute value of the hot water temperature, but the rate of change of the hot water temperature is calculated, and the rate of change is below a predetermined value. Since boiling is detected, it becomes possible to reliably detect boiling even under the circumstances where the boiling temperature of water fluctuates due to atmospheric pressure, etc. No longer affected by atmospheric pressure fluctuations.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be modified and implemented as follows, for example.

(B) The boiling detection means is not limited to the method of measuring the rate of change of the hot water temperature, but may be, for example, a method of measuring the absolute value of the hot water temperature and making a judgment as in the conventional method. Absent.

(B) The heater for heating the water in the hot water storage tank is not limited to the electric heater, but may be a heater using gas as a heat source.

Besides, the present invention is not limited to the tea server,
The present invention can be variously modified and implemented within a range not departing from the gist, such as being widely applicable to all beverage supply devices having a function of boiling water in a hot water storage tank.

[0040]

As described above, according to the beverage supply device of the present invention, when the boiling mode is set, in the one having the boiling control function of boiling the hot water in the hot water storage tank, the boiling mode is carelessly set. Even if it is set, the boiling operation is stopped if the beverage is frequently poured,
The present invention has an excellent effect that it is possible to prevent the high temperature beverage from being supplied and enhance the safety.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing the contents of boiling control.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the contents of water level control.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the contents of hot water temperature control.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the contents of boiling detection processing.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the contents of a dispensing frequency check routine.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the contents of boiling abnormality control.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the entire tea server.

FIG. 8 is a vertical side view of the tea server.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the tea server shown with the front door removed.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of a control circuit.

[Explanation of symbols]

3 ... Hot water storage tank 4 ... Heater 29 ... Control unit (pouring control means, boiling control means, pouring frequency measuring means, boiling operation invalidating means)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hot water storage tank for storing hot water for drinking, a heater for heating water in the hot water storage tank, and a portion of the hot water in the hot water storage tank for drinking when a pouring signal is given. In addition to having a pouring control means for pouring, a boiling control means for executing heating by the heater to boil the water in the hot water storage tank when the boiling mode is set is provided. The pouring frequency measuring means for detecting the pouring frequency of the beverage by the means, and when the pouring frequency of the beverage measured by the pouring frequency measuring means is a predetermined value or more, cancel the boiling operation by the boiling control means A beverage supply device comprising a boiling operation invalidating means.