JPH0563165B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to an apparatus for mixing powder raw materials and hot water to extract powder components.

(B) Prior Art As such an extraction device, a well-known device is one that mixes ground coffee beans and powdered coffee with hot water, decocts the mixture, and extracts the resulting liquid. In order to dissolve a certain amount of the powder raw material in a certain amount of hot water in this manner, stirring is required since a good effect cannot be obtained by simply mixing the hot water and the powder raw material in a static state. Stirring can be thought of as a relative movement between hot water and powdered raw materials, but in Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-35234, a piston is placed at the bottom of a mixing chamber for hot water and powdered raw materials through a filter, and the rising of the piston causes mixing. It is disclosed that air is introduced into the chamber for stirring.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention However, in this case, the relative motion between the hot water and the powdered raw material is determined by the amount of air pushed out from the piston, so the stirring effect cannot be varied, and if the temperature of the hot water is low. Alternatively, if the particle size of the powder raw material is coarse, it may not be stirred sufficiently.

According to the publication, extraction of the dissolved solution is carried out by generating negative pressure in the mixing chamber by lowering the piston, but this extraction effect also depends on the capacity of the piston, and the extraction may not be sufficient.

As described above, the conventional technology has a drawback in that stirring and extraction are determined by the capacity of the piston.

In view of the above, the present invention provides an extraction device that can effectively perform stirring and extraction using pressurized air.

(d) Means for solving the problems In order to solve the above problems, the extraction device according to the present invention includes a raw material supply device that supplies a predetermined amount of powdered raw material, a hot water supply mechanism that supplies a predetermined amount of hot water, a stirring chamber into which the powder raw material and the hot water are introduced and an outlet formed at the bottom; an extraction chamber communicating with the stirring chamber through the outlet; and an extraction chamber that is permeable to gas and liquid. A filter disposed below the chamber, a valve device for opening and closing the outlet, an air tube for introducing pressurized air into the extraction chamber, and a valve device for keeping the outlet in a half-open state during stirring. and a control member that controls the valve device to close the outlet during extraction, and during stirring, pressurized air from the air tube causes the mixed liquid in the stirring chamber to pass through the half-open outlet. The liquid mixture in the extraction chamber is prevented from being introduced into the extraction chamber, and during extraction, the mixed liquid in the extraction chamber is extracted through the filter using pressurized air.

(E) Action When powdered raw materials and hot water are introduced into the stirring chamber, and pressurized air is introduced into the extraction chamber from the air tube with the outlet opened half-open using the valve device, air is blown up from the outlet. The powder raw material and hot water are stirred in a stirring chamber. After the mixed liquid is introduced into the extraction chamber through the outlet, pressurized air is introduced from the air tube with the outlet closed by the valve device, and the mixed liquid in the extraction chamber is filled with pressurized air. It is extracted through a filter by pressure.

(f) Embodiment FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a vending machine equipped with a brewing device according to the present invention, in which 1 is a raw material supply device that supplies a predetermined amount of coffee powder raw material for each vending operation;
10 is a raw material chute, 11 is a hot water supply nozzle for dispensing hot water from the hot water supply mechanism 2, and 3 is a stirring chamber having a receiving portion 3A into which powdered raw materials and hot water are introduced. Stirring chamber 3
As shown in FIG. 2, an outlet 4 having a smaller diameter than the upper opening is provided at the bottom, and the bottom surface is inclined toward the outlet 4. Reference numeral 5 denotes an extraction chamber, which is connected to the stirring chamber 3 through an outlet 4, and communication thereof is controlled by a valve device 7. A pin 12 is attached to the outer wall of the extraction chamber 5 and is locked to one end of a yoke 13, and the other end of the yoke 13 is pivotally supported by a shaft 14, and a spring 15 is provided in the center to provide constant force. A pressure device 16 is provided. The extraction chamber drive plate 17 comes into contact with the cam 18 via a cam follower 19, moves downward as the cam 18 rotates at a predetermined angle, and presses the constant pressure device 16. A pin 20 is attached to one end of the extraction chamber drive plate 17. We are prepared. In addition, the extraction chamber drive plate 17
is constantly urged upward by a spring (not shown). The rollers 29 are provided on a side plate (not shown), and the guide rails 30 are provided on the outer wall of the stirring chamber 3, and the rollers 29 determine the trajectory along which the stirring chamber 3 moves in the vertical direction. Lever 21
The central portion of the extractor is supported by a pin 20 that moves vertically as the extraction chamber drive plate 17 moves, and a pin 22 is attached to one end to connect the valve device 7 via a connecting shaft 23. , the other end has a movable pin 24
are connected. The valve drive plate 25 is configured to come into contact with a cam 27 via a cam follower 26 and move downward as the cam 27 rotates through a predetermined angle, and one end is connected to the movable pin 24 via an adjustment nut 28. are doing. This valve drive plate 25
is also constantly urged upward by a spring (not shown). With this configuration, the valve drive plate 2
5 moves downward and the lever 21 rotates clockwise about the pin 20, the valve device 7 rises and closes the outlet 4. Therefore, in this example, the cam 27 constitutes a control member that controls the opening and closing of the valve device 7. An air hole 29 is formed in the side of the extraction chamber 5 and is connected to an air pump 30 through an air tube 8.
1 is branched from the air tube 8. A filter 6 is provided at the upper opening of the beverage receiver 32 facing the extraction chamber 5, and a gasket 3 is provided around the opening.
3 are arranged in an annular manner, and the extraction chamber 5 is connected to an extraction chamber drive plate 17.
The lower end portion is brought into close contact with the gasket 33 by the biasing force. A spout 35 connected to a beverage tube 34 is opened at the bottom of the beverage receiver 32 . The air tube 8 and the beverage tube 34 are made of, for example, silicone rubber that has excellent resilience, and the opening and closing of the air vent tube 31 and the beverage tube 34 are controlled by pressure from pressing plates 36 and 37, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pressing plates 36 and 37 are rotatably supported at one end, and are urged by the rotation of the cams 38 and 39 to rotate. Cams 18, 27, 38 are deceleration motors 40
The cam 39 is mounted on a drive shaft 41, and the cam 39 is mounted on a driven shaft 42. and driven shaft 42
is a pair of pulleys 43 and 44 with a reduction ratio of 1:1.
The drive shaft 41 is connected to the drive shaft 41 by a timing belt 45. The wiper 46 is configured to reciprocate over the filter surface of the beverage tray 32 by means of a crank cam 49 attached to a drive shaft 48 of a motor 47 to wipe away raw material scum after component extraction.
That is, a link 50 with a wiper 46 attached to one end.
The other end is a link 5 that rotates around a shaft 53 by a connecting rod 51 connected to a crank cam 49.
2 and a pin 54, and when the link 52 rotates due to the rotation of the motor 47, the link 50
moves back and forth.

Further, in FIG. 1, 55 and 56 are raw material delivery devices that supply a predetermined amount of sugar and milk as necessary for each sales operation, and 58 is a mixing device that mixes sugar and milk into the coffee introduced through the beverage tube 34. It's a ball. and mixing bowl 58
Coffee is introduced into a vending cup 59 which is delivered from a cup delivery mechanism 57 for each vending operation.

The operation of the above configuration will be explained. 6 shows the positional relationship between the cam 18 and the cam follower 19, and FIG. 7 shows the positional relationship between the cam 27 and the cam follower 26. In the standby position, the cam 39
is not acting on the pressing plate 37 and the beverage tube 34
is in the open state. Also, the cam 18 is the cam follower 1
9 urges the extraction chamber drive plate 17 downward. Therefore, the yoke 13 is urged to rotate counterclockwise by the pressing force from the extraction chamber drive plate 17 applied to the constant pressure device 16, and the lower end of the extraction chamber 5 is rotated as shown in FIG. , it is in a state just before coming into contact with the gasket 33.

In this standby state, the deceleration motor 40 is driven by a predetermined extraction signal, and stops when each cam rotates by a predetermined angle and reaches the stirring position. At this stirring position, the brewing chamber drive plate 17 is further pushed down by the cam 18, and the brewing chamber 5 is brought into close contact with the beverage receptacle 32. on the other hand,
When the valve drive plate 25 is urged downward via the cam follower 26 by the rotation of the cam 27, the lever 21 rotates clockwise about the pin 20, and the valve device 7 closes the outlet 4. move upwards. In this way, the deceleration motor 40
When the cams 18 and 27 are rotated to the stirring position by the drive of the extraction chamber drive plate 17 and the valve drive plate 25
are moved downward, but by setting the amount of movement of the valve drive plate 25 to be larger than the amount of movement of the extraction chamber drive plate 17, the lever 21 is rotated clockwise. Further, at this time, the rubber ring 60 of the valve device 7 is closed only to the extent that it does not come into contact with the lower end opening side of the outlet 4. That is, the outlet 4 is closed by the valve device 7 in a half-open state where the gap 61 is formed. The rotation of the cam 38 causes the pressure plate 36 to rotate clockwise to close the air vent tube 31, and the rotation of the cam 39 causes the pressure plate 37 to rotate clockwise, thereby closing the beverage tube 34. . The above state is the stirring state shown in FIG. 3, and after a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the generation of the extraction signal, the air pump 30 is operated to introduce pressurized air into the extraction chamber 5. At the same time, the raw material supply device 1 is driven to introduce the coffee powder raw material into the receiving part 3A through the raw material chute 10, and the solenoid valve 2A of the hot water supply tank 2B is opened to introduce hot water into the receiving part 3A. Therefore, in the receiving part 3A, the coffee powder raw material is introduced to the stirring chamber 3 while being mixed with hot water. Thus, the pressurized air introduced into the brewing chamber 5 by the operation of the air pump 30 blows through the gap 61 into the stirring chamber 3 because the beverage tube 34 is closed. Therefore, the mixed liquid in the stirring chamber 3 flows into the gap 61 due to the blowing up of the pressurized air.
is prevented from being introduced into the extraction chamber 5 through the
Moreover, the mixed liquid stored in the extraction chamber 5 is stirred by the passage of air.

After such stirring has been carried out for a predetermined time, the deceleration motor 40 is rotated by a predetermined angle to set each cam at the introduction position. Since the shapes of the stirring position and the introduction position of the cam 18 are set to have the same radius, the extraction chamber drive plate 17 does not move and the extraction chamber 5 remains in close contact with the beverage receiver 32. Also, since the shape of the introduction position of the cam 27 has a smaller radius than the shape of the stirring position, the valve drive plate 25 moves upward, and the lever 2
1 rotates counterclockwise about the pin 20 as a fulcrum. Therefore, the valve device 7 moves downward, and the outlet 4 opens wide. Therefore, the mixed liquid in the stirring chamber 3 is introduced into the extraction chamber 5 through the outlet 4. At this time, the air pump 30 is stopped after a short delay time has elapsed after the stirring is completed. Further, the cam 38 does not act on the pressing plate 36, and the air vent tube 31 pushes up the pressing plate 36 by elastic restoring force to open it. As a result, the pressurized air remaining in the extraction chamber 5 is discharged through the air tube 8 and the air removal tube 31, so that the mixed liquid can be smoothly introduced from the stirring chamber 3 to the extraction chamber 5. Since the cam 39 does not act on the pressing plate 37, the beverage tube 34 uses its elastic restoring force to push up and open the pressing plate 37, allowing the coffee beverage to pass through. Lever 2 in such an introduced state
1, valve drive plate 25, valve device 7, pressing plate 3
6 and the cam follower 26 are shown in dotted lines in FIG.

When the movement of the mixed liquid from the stirring chamber 3 to the extraction chamber 5 is completed, the deceleration motor 40 is rotated by a predetermined angle to set each cam at the extraction position. The radius of the extraction position of the cam 18 is set equal to the radius of the stirring position, and the extraction chamber 5 is maintained in close contact with the beverage receiver 32. Further, since the shape of the cam 27 at the extraction position has a larger radius than the shape at the introduction position, the valve drive plate 25 moves downward, and the lever 21 rotates clockwise about the pin 20 as a fulcrum. Therefore, the valve device 7 moves upward and closes the outlet 4. Since the radius of the extraction position of the cam 27 is larger than the radius of the stirring position, the valve device 7 at the extraction position
is in close contact with the rubber ring 60 without leaving a gap 61 and closes the outlet 4. Further, the pressing plate 36 is urged by the cam 38 and rotates clockwise to close the air vent tube 31. This extraction state is shown by the solid line in FIG. 4, and when the air pump 30 is operated, pressurized air pressurizes the mixed liquid in the extraction chamber 5.
The mixed liquid is pushed out by this pressure and filtered by the filter 6, and the coffee liquid is introduced into the beverage tube 34 through the beverage receiver 32. At this time, the cam 39 is not acting on the pressing plate 37, the beverage tube 34 is open, and the coffee liquid is flowing into the mixing bowl 5.
8, and raw material delivery devices 55, 5 according to preference.
It is mixed with cream and sugar introduced from 6 and supplied to a sales cup 59.

After the coffee liquid has been extracted, the air pump 30 is stopped with a slight delay. After the extraction is completed, the deceleration motor 40 is rotated by a predetermined angle to set each cam at the slag discharge position. Both the cams 18 and 27 have a smaller radius compared to the extraction position, so the extraction chamber drive plate 17 is moved upward by the action of the spring described above. Therefore lever 2
1 also moves upwards with almost no rotation. Then, by raising the extraction chamber drive plate 17, the constant pressure device 1
6 is no longer pressed, the yoke 13 rotates clockwise, and the extraction chamber 5 is lifted up. Therefore, the pressure between the brewing chamber 5 and the beverage receiver 32 via the gasket 33 is released, and the brewing chamber 5 rises to a position where the wiper 46 can pass over the surface of the filter 6, as shown in FIG. . When this rise of the extraction chamber 5 is detected by a switch (not shown), the motor 47
A drive signal is applied to the motor 47, and the power of the motor 47 is transmitted to the links 52, 51 via the connecting rod 51, so that the wiper 46 removes the coffee grounds remaining on the filter 6. One rotation of the crank cam 49 causes the wiper 46 to reciprocate once over the filter 6. At this time, the operating distance of the wiper 46 is
It is set larger than the length of the second surface. Wiper 4
The wiper 46 is urged to come into pressure contact with the filter 6, but when it passes the filter 6, the wiper 46 suddenly falls by the length H due to the step with the link 50. Therefore, the coffee grounds adhering to the wiper 46 can be shaken off by the impact of the fall. At this time, if the wiper 46 is made of rubber or the like having appropriate softness, problems such as getting caught on the end of the beverage tray 32 during the return stroke will not occur.

When the completion of the removal of the coffee grounds is detected by a switch (not shown) that detects one revolution of the crank cam 49, the deceleration motor 40 is rotated by a predetermined angle to return each cam to the standby position, and the device is operated as shown in FIG. Put it into the standby state shown in .

(G) Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, the relative motion between the powder raw material and the hot water can be adjusted by changing the time for introducing pressurized air from the air tube. Therefore, it is possible to arbitrarily set the stirring effect to obtain the optimum stirring effect depending on the temperature of the hot water and the particle size of the powder raw material. Furthermore, the pressurized air can also be used for extrusion during extraction by simply closing the valve device during extraction, simplifying the configuration.

Since the stirring chamber and the extraction chamber are configured separately, the following effects can be obtained. That is, when stirring and extraction are performed in the same room, the room generally has only the minimum number of openings necessary for supplying hot water and raw materials in consideration of sealability during extraction. However, powdered raw materials such as coffee contain fatty components, which cause foaming when stirred, and the resulting foam lifts the raw materials to adhere to the upper wall of the room. If this adhesion is repeated and left for a long time, it will deteriorate and spoil the flavor of the beverage. However, according to the present invention, since the stirring chamber is formed separately from the extraction chamber, there is no need to seal it, and such problems can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram of a vending machine equipped with an extraction device according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the device during standby, Figs. 3 and 4 are explanatory diagrams of operation, and Fig. 5 is a slag discharge Fig. 6 is a positional relationship diagram of the cam for driving the extraction chamber and its cam follower;
FIG. 7 is a positional relationship diagram of a cam for driving the valve device and its cam follower. 1... Raw material supply device, 2... Hot water supply mechanism, 3...
Stirring chamber, 4... Outlet, 5... Extraction chamber, 6... Filter, 7... Valve device, 8... Air tube.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A raw material supply device that supplies a predetermined amount of powdered raw material, a hot water supply mechanism that supplies a predetermined amount of hot water, a stirring chamber into which the powdered raw material and hot water are introduced and has an outlet formed below, and the stirring chamber. an extraction chamber that communicates with the extraction port; a filter that is permeable to gas and liquid and is disposed below the extraction chamber; a valve device that opens and closes the extraction port; and pressurization of the extraction chamber. It consists of an air tube for introducing air, and a control member that controls the valve device so that the outlet port is in a half-open state during stirring, and controls the valve device so that the outlet port is closed during extraction, During stirring, pressurized air from the air tube prevents the mixed liquid in the stirring chamber from being introduced into the extraction chamber through the half-open outlet;
An extraction device characterized in that during extraction, the mixed liquid in the extraction chamber is extracted through the filter using pressurized air.