JPH063509Y2 - Beverage extractor for vending machines - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a beverage extraction device for a vending machine that extracts a beverage by filtering a mixed liquid of hot water and raw material powder with a filter.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 2, a mixing ball 1 for supplying hot water and raw material powder to form a mixed liquid A, and the mixed liquid A in the mixing ball 1 is passed through an upper inlet 2a. A cylinder 2 that flows in, a valve 3 that opens and closes an inlet 2a of the cylinder 2, a valve drive mechanism (not shown) that opens and closes the valve 3 via a valve shaft 4 whose lower end penetrates the lower surface of the valve 3, and a cylinder A filter 5 for covering the lower opening 2b of the cylinder 2 and a pressurizing device (not shown) for supplying pressurized air into the cylinder 2 through the air pipe 6 are provided, and the inlet 2a of the cylinder 2 is closed by the valve 3. Cylinder 2
There is known a beverage extraction device of a vending machine in which pressurized air is fed into the cylinder 2 and the mixed liquid A in the cylinder 2 is forcibly filtered through a filter 5 (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-151681).

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In this beverage brewing apparatus, the air inlet 2c into which the pressurized air flows is located below the liquid level A'of the mixed liquid A on the side wall of the cylinder 2 so that the inside of the cylinder 2 is closed. The mixed liquid A that has flowed into the above is stirred and mixed by the pressurized air. However, the pressurized air fed into the cylinder 2 rises as bubbles along the side wall of the cylinder 2 as shown in FIG. 2, and only the mixed liquid A on the air inlet 2c side is stirred and mixed. However, there was a problem that the mixed solution A could not be sufficiently stirred. Further, the bubbles of the pressurized air rise and burst at the liquid surface near the side wall, but due to the burst of the bubbles, a part of the mixed liquid A scatters and adheres to the side wall of the cylinder 2.
If left untreated, mold and the like would be generated, which was unsanitary.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage for a vending machine capable of uniformly stirring and mixing the mixed liquid in the cylinder and preventing the mixed liquid from adhering to the side wall of the cylinder due to bursting of bubbles. It is to provide an extraction device.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a mixing ball for supplying hot water and raw material powder to form a mixed liquid, and a mixed liquid in the mixing ball to the upper inlet. Through a valve, a valve that opens and closes an inlet of the cylinder, a valve drive mechanism that opens and closes the valve through a valve shaft whose lower end penetrates the lower surface of the valve, and a lower portion of the cylinder. A filter covering the opening and a pressurizing device for supplying pressurized air into the cylinder via an air pipe are provided, and the pressurized air is supplied to the cylinder with the inlet of the cylinder closed by the valve. In a beverage extraction device of a vending machine for feeding and forcibly filtering the mixed liquid in the cylinder through the filter, the valve shaft is made of a pipe material and is located on the axis of the cylinder. Along with
The lower opening is located below the liquid level of the mixed liquid in the cylinder, and the tip of the air pipe is communicated with the valve shaft.

(Operation) According to the present invention, the valve shaft is made of a pipe material and is located on the axis of the cylinder, and its lower opening is located below the liquid level of the mixed liquid in the cylinder so that the tip of the air pipe is Since it is communicated with the valve shaft, the pressurized air fed from the pressurizing device flows to the valve shaft through the air pipe and is fed into the mixed liquid in the cylinder from the lower opening of the valve shaft. At this time, since the valve shaft is arranged on the axis of the cylinder, the bubbles of the pressurized air ejected from the lower opening of the valve shaft move upward on the center side of the cylinder.

(Embodiment) FIGS. 1, 3, and 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of an automatic vending machine. That is, 10 is a hot water storage tank heated by the heater 11, 20
Is a mill device for crushing coffee beans and discharging coffee powder, 30
Is a beverage extraction device in which hot water from the oil supply pipe 12 of the oil storage tank 10 and coffee powder from the mill device 20 are stirred and mixed, and the coffee liquid is extracted from the mixed liquid. Reference numeral 40 denotes a mixing box, in which sugar and cream are added to the coffee liquid flowing in through the extraction liquid pipe 41 from the sugar box 42 and the cream box 43, and hot coffee is injected into the cup 50.

3 and 4 show the main parts of the beverage extraction device 30. 31 is a mixing ball, which is a cylindrical side plate 31.
1 and a bottom plate 312 whose diameter is gradually reduced downward from the side plate 311, and a discharge port 313 is formed in the center of the bottom plate 312. The lower end of the hot water supply pipe 12 is connected to the side plate 311 in the tangential direction, and the hot water from the hot water storage tank 10 flows along the side plate 311 to form a vortex in the mixing ball 31. Also mixing ball 3
1, a mill device 20 is located above, and coffee powder is supplied from an upper opening of the mixing ball 31 and is stirred and mixed with hot water in a vortex.

Reference numeral 32 denotes a cylinder, which is made of a cylindrical pressure-resistant resin having an opening at the bottom. The upper inner surface 321 of the cylinder 32 is formed in a spherical shape, and the valve guide cylinder 3 is formed at the center of the upper portion.
22 and an inlet 323 for the mixed liquid A in the vicinity of the valve guide cylinder 322, respectively. Further, a valve seat 324 extending in the circumferential direction is provided on the upper inner surface 321 of the cylinder 32 so as to project therefrom.

Reference numeral 33 is a communication passage that allows the mixing ball 31 and the cylinder 32 to communicate with each other. The communication passage 33 includes a cylindrical discharge pipe 331 that extends obliquely downward from the discharge port 313 of the mixing ball 31, and a cylindrical connection pipe 332 that extends obliquely upward from the inlet 323 of the cylinder 32. 331 and 332 are detachably fitted.

Reference numeral 34 is a valve that opens and closes an inlet 323 of the cylinder 32. The valve 34 has a valve body 341 made of rubber and having a substantially semicircular cross section, and a mounting plate 342.
Reference numeral 2 is connected to a valve shaft 35 penetrating the valve body 341 by an E ring 351.

The valve shaft 35 is formed of a metal tube and is located on the axis of the cylinder 32, and the lower opening 352 is located below the liquid level A ′ of the mixed liquid A in the cylinder 32. The valve shaft 35 is moved up and down by the valve drive mechanism 36 to open and close the valve 34.

The valve drive mechanism 36 has a valve push-up spring 361 interposed in the valve guide cylinder 322 and a cam 363 rotated by a drive motor 362. The valve push-up spring 361 normally pushes the valve 34 against the valve seat 324. Then, the inflow port 323 is closed. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the drive motor 362 is driven to rotate the cam shaft 364 counterclockwise about the fulcrum 365 by the cam 363, whereby the valve shaft 35 is pushed down and the inflow port 32.
3 can be opened.

37 is a pressurizing device such as an air supply pump,
Pressurized air is fed through 71. This air pipe 37
1 is made of a flexible resin, and its tip is fitted and crimped to the tip of the valve shaft 35.

Reference numeral 38 is a filter that closes the lower opening 325 of the cylinder 32, and is a well-known filter feeding mechanism 39 including a drive motor 391 and rollers 392.
To send the filter 38 onto the filter block 381. Further, the filter block 381 moves up and down by the solenoid 382, and the extraction pipe 4
1, the coffee liquid extracted through the filter 38 is allowed to flow into the mixing box 40.

Next, the process of extracting and selling hot coffee will be described. First,
A predetermined amount of hot water is fed from the hot water storage tank 10 into the mixing ball 31 through the hot water supply pipe 12, and a predetermined amount of coffee powder is put into the mixing ball 31 from the mill device 20 to mix the hot water and the coffee powder.

Here, when the drive motor 362 of the valve drive mechanism 36 is driven to push down the valve 34 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, the mixed liquid A in the mixing ball 31 is communicated with the communication passage 33.
Through the inflow port 323 of the cylinder 32.

Here, when the compressed air is supplied from the air supply pump 37, the compressed air is supplied to the mixed liquid A in the cylinder 32 through the air pipe 371 and the valve shaft 35. Since the shaft 35 is arranged on the axis of the cylinder 32, it is ejected from the center of the cylinder 32.

Therefore, the stirring effect accompanying the bubbles of the pressurized air is
It is possible to uniformly mix the entire mixed liquid A from the center of 2 to the peripheral edge of the cylinder 32. Also, the bubbles are in the cylinder 3
Since the liquid ruptures at the liquid surface closer to the center of 2, the distance between the rupture position and the side wall of the cylinder 32 can be made longer, and the scattered liquid mixture A can be attached to the side wall to a minimum.

Moreover, since the hot water flows in from the tangential direction of the mixing ball 31, the hot water flows along the inner peripheral surface of the mixing ball 31, and a vortex is formed in the mixing ball 31.
Therefore, the mixed liquid A flowing into the cylinder 32 via the communication passage 33 also rotates in the cylinder 32, and the coffee powder in the mixed liquid A tends to collect on the center side of the cylinder 32. At this time, as described above, the bubbles of the pressurized air rise in the center side of the cylinder 32, so that the collected coffee powder can be efficiently stirred.

In this way, after the mixed liquid A is stored in the cylinder 32,
The valve drive mechanism 36 is re-driven to close the inflow port 323 by the valve 34. At this time, the valve shaft 35
Is pushed up, and the lower opening 352 of the valve shaft 35 moves toward the upper portion of the mixed liquid A. When the supply of the pressurized air is continued in this state, the stirring action of the mixed liquid A in the cylinder 32 is continued, the pressure in the cylinder 32 rises, and the mixed liquid A is forcibly extracted and filtered, It is poured into the mixing box 40. Thereafter, sugar or the like is added to this extract and the mixture is poured into the cup 50 to sell hot coffee.

According to the present embodiment, the valve shaft 35 also serves as the feeding path for the pressurized air, and it is not necessary to separately provide a feeding path communicating with the cylinder 32 as in the conventional case.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention in which the lower opening 352 of the valve shaft 35 is improved. That is, the lower end of the valve shaft 35 is closed and a plurality of lower openings 3 are formed in the lower portion at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.
53 is provided.

According to this embodiment, the pressurized air flowing in the valve shaft 35 is jetted from each lower opening 353 of the valve shaft 35 in the radial direction, and the jet of pressurized air is not biased to one side. The rest of the configuration and operation are the same as in the first embodiment.

(Effect of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the valve shaft is formed of the pipe material and is located on the axis of the cylinder, and its lower opening is located below the liquid level of the mixed liquid in the cylinder. Since it is positioned and the tip of the air pipe is communicated with the valve shaft, the pressurized air fed from the pressurizing device is jetted into the mixed liquid in the cylinder through the air pipe and the valve shaft, and the center side of the cylinder Will rise. As a result, the entire mixed liquid in the cylinder is uniformly stirred, and the distance between the burst position of the bubbles of the pressurized air and the side wall of the cylinder can be made longer, so that the side wall of the scattered mixed liquid is There is an advantage that the adhesion can be minimized and the generation of mold and the like can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIGS. 1, 3, and 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an automatic vending machine, and FIG. 2 is a main part of a conventional beverage extraction device. Sectional view shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing an essential part of the beverage extracting device according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an essential part of the beverage extracting device, and FIG. 5 is an essential part of the second embodiment. It is a partially cutaway cross-sectional view showing. In the figure, 30 ... Beverage extracting device, 31 ... Mixing ball,
32 ... Cylinder, 34 ... Valve, 35 ... Valve shaft, 36 ... Valve drive mechanism, 37 ... Air supply pump, 3
8 ... Filter, 323 ... Inlet, 325 ... Lower opening of cylinder, 352, 353 ... Lower opening of valve shaft,
A ... mixed liquid, A '... liquid level.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A mixing ball for supplying hot water and raw material powder to form a mixed liquid, a cylindrical cylinder into which the mixed liquid in the mixing ball flows through an upper inlet, and an inlet of the cylinder. A valve that opens and closes the valve, a valve drive mechanism that opens and closes the valve via a valve shaft whose lower end penetrates the lower surface of the valve, a filter that covers the lower opening of the cylinder, and an air pipe in the cylinder. A pressurized device for feeding pressurized air, feeding the pressurized air into the cylinder in a state where the inlet of the cylinder is closed by the valve, and feeding the mixed liquid in the cylinder to the filter. In a beverage extraction device of a vending machine for forced filtration through, the valve shaft is formed of a pipe material and is located on the axis of the cylinder, and its lower opening is mixed in the cylinder. Of is positioned below the liquid level, the beverage extracting device of a vending machine that the tip of the air pipe, characterized in that in communication with the said valve shaft.