JPH0542549Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention is based on the invention, in which the powdered raw material in the raw material container is supplied to the mixing bowl through the chute, where it is mixed with liquid and poured into the bowl on the drainboard-like structure. The present invention relates to a beverage dispenser of the type that is dispensed into such a container, and particularly relates to a beverage dispenser of the above-mentioned type having a structure that takes into account the replenishment of powdered raw material into a raw material container.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, in the above-mentioned type of beverage dispenser, when a specific push button selected by a customer or user is pressed, a powdered raw material is supplied from a raw material container to a mixing bowl, and a hot water storage tank is supplied. And/or hot water and cold water are supplied from the cold water tank to the mixing bowl, where they are mixed with the raw material powder and discharged into a pot located at a predetermined position on the front grille, which is a drainboard-like structure provided on the opening/closing lid. It is common that

When the raw material powder in the raw material container becomes empty, the empty raw material container must be replenished with powder raw material. In that case, in a beverage dispenser of the type in which an opening is provided in the top plate of the beverage dispenser and a lid that covers the top opening of the ingredient container faces the opening, the lid is removed and refilled, and the lid is In a beverage dispenser of the type in which the entire raw material container is housed inside, the lid of the beverage dispenser itself is opened, and then the lid of the raw material container is opened to refill the beverage dispenser.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] However, in the former type of beverage dispenser, an opening is provided in the top plate, which inevitably increases manufacturing costs, and for structural reasons, it is not possible to easily attach and detach the ingredient container. In the latter type of beverage dispenser, sufficient space must be provided between the lid of the ingredient container and the top plate of the beverage dispenser for refilling. If such a space exists, the powdered ingredients will fall from the ingredient container through the chute into the mixing bowl due to gravity, and from there into the cup. Therefore, if the position of the cup is defined for ease of use, the height of the beverage dispenser can be adjusted. becomes higher by the space mentioned above,
Otherwise, the cup will be positioned too far down, making it difficult to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage dispenser that does not increase manufacturing costs, does not deteriorate usability, and can be easily refilled with powdered raw materials.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a method in which raw material powder in a raw material container housed in a main body with an open front that is normally closed by an opening/closing lid is supplied to a mixing bowl. In this type of beverage dispenser, the raw material container is mixed with a liquid and discharged into a container such as a pot, and the raw material container has a removable lid at its open top, and the lid is removably provided at the open top of the container. The open top portion is located in the vicinity of the top plate of the main body portion, and a portion of the open top portion protrudes from the front surface of the main body portion to the outside of the main body portion by a predetermined length, and is disposed within the main body portion. The opening/closing lid includes a top plate of the opening/closing lid, and a space sufficient to accommodate a part of the open top protruding by a predetermined length.
It is characterized by being defined by a front plate and both side plates.

In a preferred embodiment, the lid removably provided on the open top of the raw material container includes a first lid part that covers a part of the open top, and a second lid part that covers the remaining part of the open top. The first lid part is connected to the second lid part so as to be openable and closable.

[Operation] When replenishing the powder raw material, first open the lid of the beverage dispenser. Since a part of the open top of the raw material container protrudes beyond the front surface of the main body of the beverage dispenser, the powdered raw material can be refilled without being obstructed by the top plate of the main body.

According to a preferred embodiment, refilling is possible by opening only the first lid portion of the lid that covers the open top of the raw material container, and there is no need to remove the entire lid.

[Embodiments] Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of an embodiment of the beverage dispenser 1 according to the present invention. The beverage dispenser 1 consists of an upper main body part 1a and a lower cold water supply part 1b. The main body part 1a is defined by a top plate 1aa, a back plate 1ab, left and right side plates 1ac, and a bottom plate 1ad.
An opening/closing lid 2 is pivotally attached to the front surface 1c of the housing 1a. The opening/closing lid 2 is defined by a top plate 2aa, a front plate 2ab, left and right side plates 2ac, and a bottom plate 2ad.
A container such as a pot (not shown) is placed in a semi-cylindrical concave space 2c formed in the front plate 2ab of the opening/closing lid 2. The front grille portion on which the pot is placed is a drainboard-like structure 2a, and a drain receiver 2b is located below it.

FIG. 3 shows the inside of the beverage dispenser 1 with the lid 2 open before a chute, which will be described later, is attached.

To give an overview of this beverage dispenser 1, for example, three raw material containers 4 are mounted on a base 3 by an appropriate method, and each raw material container 4 has a different type of powdered raw material (not shown) in the lower part of the raw material container 4. A discharge port 5 is formed. On the other hand, a funnel-shaped mixing bowl 6 is disposed below the base 3, and selected powder raw materials are supplied into the mixing bowl 6 via a chute to be described later.

Further, this mixing bowl 6 is connected to a hot water supply pipe 7 connected to a hot water storage tank (not shown), a water supply pipe 8 connected to a cold water tank (not shown), and an exhaust duct 9 connected to an exhaust fan (not shown). The powder raw material supplied into the mixing bowl 6 is dissolved and mixed with hot or cold water. The exhaust duct 9 prevents steam from entering the outlet via the chute.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the chute 10 is fitted into the fitting hole 3a formed symmetrically in the base 3 of FIG. As you can understand from this diagram,
The powdered raw material from the outlet 5 of each raw material container 4 enters the chute 10 from the back of the chute 10 and is guided into the mixing bowl 6. Shoot 10
At the top is a moisture-proof cover 20.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, the front plate 2ab of the opening/closing lid 2 has a substantially upper half that protrudes forward, and gradually retracts rearward from the lower end of the upper half to form a recess. , and the edges of both side plates 2ac have a similar shape. A front grill 2a, which is a drainboard-like structure for placing a container (not shown) such as a pot, is fitted into the lower part of the front plate 2ab from the front side. A drain receiver 2b is provided on the lower side. As can be understood from FIG. 1 showing the side surface of the beverage dispenser, both the front grill 2a and the drain receiver 2b extend from the front surface of the lid 2 toward the rear surface and protrude to the rear of the lid 2.

Referring again to FIG. 3, a thin hollow drain tank 40 is laid down on the bottom of the main body 1a of the beverage dispenser 1 or on the bottom plate 1ad, and is drained from the drain port (not shown) of the drain receiver 2b. The drain is connected to the drain tank 4 by the drain guide 30.
It leads to 0. The mixed liquid that has passed through the front grill 2a enters the drain tank 40 through the opening 42 via the drain receiver 2b and the drain guide 30.

Next, in order to fit the base 3 described above, the raw material container 4 has a structure shown in FIG. 5. That is, at the bottom of the raw material container 4, a tongue-shaped part 4a is hung downward, and a fitting part (not shown) extending from side to side is stretched, and a rail-shaped guide on the base 3 is provided. When this fitting part is fitted into the fitting hole 3d (not shown) of the base 3 and the raw material container 4 is pushed to the rear side, the protrusion part 4b with a rectangular cross section provided on the tongue part 4a will fit into the fitting hole 3d (not shown) of the base 3. The raw material container 4 is attached to the base 3 by fitting into the container (shown by the dotted line in FIG. 3).

Furthermore, a discharge screw device 50 is disposed near the discharge port 5 of the raw material container 4. The screw device 50 can be manufactured by molding.
It has a screw body consisting of screw parts 50a to 50d that are individually divided approximately every pitch of the screw, and a rotating shaft 51 that extends through the shaft hole of each screw part. Tip 51 of rotating shaft 51
a extends to the vicinity of the upward raw material guide 5a at the lower edge of the discharge port 5, and the base end 51b extends outward through the rear wall of the raw material container 4 on the opposite side from the discharge port 5. A so-called spring pin 52 is inserted through this base end 51b, so that when the raw material container 4 is mounted on the base 3 as described above, the pin 52 fits into the joint of the output shaft of the drive motor (not shown). It's summery.

Further, on each of both sides of each raw material container 4, a third
4 and 5, two ribs 4 extending parallel to the fitting direction of the raw material container 4 are shown.
d and 4e are formed. The vertical dimension between the ribs 4d is selected to be shorter than the vertical dimension between the ribs 4e. Therefore, the ribs 4d or 4e of the raw material container 4 mounted later fit between the ribs 4e or 4d of the raw material container 4 mounted earlier,
The raw material container 4 is held in a stable posture. code 4h
shows the lid of the raw material container 4, and by providing and fitting the ribs 4d and 4e as described above, the stable posture of the raw material container 4 is maintained even when the lid 4h is opened and closed. .

Details of this lid body 4h are shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B. Since the raw material container 4 has an open top 4f, the lid 4h has a groove 4i along its periphery that fits into the edge of the top. This groove 4
i is interrupted by a notch 4j at a portion slightly to one side from the longitudinal center of the lid body 4h,
It is divided into a first lid part 4ha and a second lid part 4hb with the notch 4j as a boundary. As described above, since the notch 4j exists and the shallow groove 4k is formed in this part in the width direction of the lid 4h to make it thinner, the first lid part 4ha is different from the second lid part 4hb.
It can be opened and closed freely.

The raw material container 4 described above is disposed within the main body portion 1a as best shown in FIG. That is, in FIG. 1, the raw material container 4 has its open top 4f, which serves as an inlet for the raw material powder, located near the top plate 1aa of the main body 1a, and a part of the open top is located from the front surface 1c of the main body 1a. It is arranged on a base inside the main body part 1a so as to protrude outside the main body part 1a by a predetermined length. Since a part of the raw material container 4 protrudes from the main body portion 1a in this way, the opening/closing lid 2 has a top plate 2aa,
A space 2d is defined by the front plate 2ab and both side plates 2ac, and a part of the raw material container protruding into this space 2d is accommodated when the lid 2 is closed.

[Effect of the invention] Since the raw material container according to the present invention is configured as described above, when the opening/closing lid 2 is opened, the top plate 1aa of the main body portion 1a does not exist directly above a part of the top of the raw material container 4. Therefore, the powder raw material can be easily replenished by opening the lid 4h without increasing manufacturing costs or deteriorating usability.

In addition, as in the preferred embodiment, the lid body 4h is
If the raw material container is divided into a lid part 4ha and a second lid part 4hb, and a part of the top of the raw material container protruding from the main body part 1a is covered with the first lid part 4ha, the lid part can be removed without removing the entire lid part. By opening only the first lid portion relative to the second lid portion, the powder raw material can be replenished more easily.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 is a side view of a preferred embodiment of the beverage dispenser according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the beverage dispenser of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an open/close lid of the beverage dispenser of FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view showing the chute attached to the base of the raw material container shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view showing the raw material container partially exposed. 6A is a plan view of the lid attached to the raw material container of FIG. 5, seen from the inner side, and FIG. 6B is a sectional view of the lid of FIG. 6A. 1... Beverage dispenser, 1a... Main body, 1
c...front of the main unit, 1aa...top plate of the main unit,
2...Opening/closing lid, 2d...Space, 2aa...Top plate of opening/closing lid, 2ab...Front plate of opening/closing lid, 2ac...
Side plate of opening/closing lid, 4...raw material container, 4f...opening top, 4h...lid body, 4ha...first lid part, 4hb
...Second lid part, 6...Mixing bowl.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] 1. Raw material powder in a raw material container housed in a front-open main body that is normally closed with an opening/closing lid is supplied to a mixing bowl, where it is mixed with a liquid to form a powder like a pot. In the beverage dispenser of the type that dispenses into a container, the raw material container is provided with a lid that is removably attached to the open top of the raw material container, and the open top, which serves as an inlet for the raw material powder, is located near the top plate of the main body. Along with positioning
A part of the open top protrudes from the front surface of the main body part to the outside of the main body part, and is disposed inside the main body part, and the opening/closing lid has the open top part protruding from the front surface of the main body part by a predetermined length. characterized in that a space sufficient to accommodate a part of the top is defined by the top plate, front plate, and side plates of the opening/closing lid;
Beverage dispenser. 2. The lid detachably provided on the open top includes a first lid part that covers a part of the open top, and a second lid part that covers the remaining part of the open top, and 2. The beverage dispenser according to claim 1, wherein the lid portion is openably and closably connected to the second lid portion.