JPH0668352A - Diaphragm pump of automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the diaphragm pump which can automatically discharge gas accumulated in a diaphragm chamber. CONSTITUTION:The series circuit 14 of a check valve 12 and a gas-liquid separating membrane 13 is provided, one end of the series circuit 14 is connected to the upper part of the diaphragm chamber 4, and the direction of the check valve 12 is so set as to allow the gas to be discharged from the diaphragm chamber 4, so a liquid raw material B is sucked into the diaphragm chamber 4 in a sucking process through an intake 5. Since the direction of the check valve 12 is a suction inhibiting direction for the direction of the suction, no air is sucked in the diaphragm chamber 4 through the gas-liquid separating membrane 13. In a discharging process, the liquid raw material B in the diaphragm chamber 4 is sent out of a discharge opening 6. At this time, only the gas gathered in the diaphragm chamber 4 is discharged through the gas- liquid separating membrane 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a diaphragm pump used for transporting liquid raw materials in a cup type beverage vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 3, when a syrup B contained in a syrup tank A is sucked up and discharged into a cup C, a diaphragm pump is used. For the basic structure of this diaphragm pump, see
For details, refer to the publication No. -227794. The diaphragm pump sandwiches a diaphragm 3 between a pump body 1 and a cover 2 and integrally connects them, and a diaphragm chamber 4 formed by the pump body 1 and the diaphragm 3 is provided with a suction port 5 and a discharge port 6. Check valves 7 and 8 are provided in each. The diaphragm 3 is driven by the motor 10 so as to reciprocate in the arrow D direction by the motor 10. The reciprocating motion of the diaphragm 3 causes the diaphragm chamber 4 to pass through the suction port 5.
The syrup B is sucked in, and the syrup B in the diaphragm chamber 4 is pushed out toward the cup C via the discharge port 6. A part of the pipe path 11 from the discharge port 6 to the cup C is attached to the same cold water tank (not shown) as the syrup tank A so as to indirectly cool the syrup B which is being sent to the cup C.

[0003]

In such a conventional structure, when the waiting time becomes long, the air E may accumulate in the upper part of the diaphragm chamber 4 as shown in FIG.
When the diaphragm pump is operated with the air E thus accumulated, there is a problem that the amount of the syrup B discharged to the cup C fluctuates and the taste of the beverage changes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a diaphragm pump capable of stabilizing the discharge amount by extracting the gas accumulated in the diaphragm chamber 4.

[0005]

A diaphragm pump according to the present invention is a diaphragm pump in which a diaphragm is reciprocated to suck a liquid raw material in a diaphragm chamber from a discharge port by sucking it from a suction port and a check valve and a gas-liquid separation membrane. Is provided, one end of the series circuit is connected to the upper portion of the diaphragm chamber, and the direction of the check valve is arranged in a direction that allows discharge from the diaphragm chamber.

[0006]

According to this structure, when the diaphragm reciprocates, the liquid raw material is sucked into the diaphragm chamber through the suction port in the suction step. Since the direction of the check valve is the direction in which the suction is prohibited with respect to the suction direction, air is not sucked into the diaphragm chamber through the gas-liquid separation membrane.

In the discharge step, the liquid raw material in the diaphragm chamber is sent out from the discharge port. At this time, only the gas accumulated in the diaphragm chamber passes through the gas-liquid separation membrane and is discharged.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. It should be noted that components having the same functions as those of the conventional example shown in FIGS.

The diaphragm pump of the present invention is constructed as shown in FIG. At the top of the diaphragm chamber 4,
One end of a series circuit 14 of the check valve 12 and the gas-liquid separation membrane 13 is connected, and the direction of the check valve 12 is arranged so as to allow the discharge from the diaphragm chamber 4. The other end of the series circuit 14 is open.

The gas-liquid separation membrane 13 has a characteristic of passing only gas by utilizing the difference in size of molecules of gas and liquid. With this configuration, when the syrup payout instruction is detected and the motor 10 is operated, the syrup B of the syrup tank A is sucked into the diaphragm chamber 4 through the suction port 5 and sent out from the discharge port 6 toward the cup C. .

At this time, since the check valve 12 is oriented in the direction in which the suction is prohibited with respect to the suction direction in the suction process, air can be sucked into the diaphragm chamber 4 through the gas-liquid separation membrane 13. Absent.

In the discharge step, only the air accumulated in the diaphragm chamber 4 is discharged through the gas-liquid separation membrane 13 so that the air can be evacuated, and the fluctuation of the delivery amount of the syrup B can be reduced, and the taste of the beverage can be improved. Can be kept constant.

In the above-described embodiment, the diaphragm pump is mounted so that the suction port 5 is on the upper side and the discharge port 6 is on the lower side. However, as shown in FIG.
It is possible to carry out the same in the same manner even when the mounting position is on the upper side. However, in this case, the position of the discharge port 6 should be shifted downward as shown in FIG. 2 so that the space of the air reservoir is formed above the discharge port 6 in the upper part of the diaphragm chamber 4. Is preferred.

In each of the above embodiments, the gas-liquid separation membrane 13 was connected to the diaphragm chamber 4 via the check valve 12, but one side of the gas-liquid separation membrane 13 was directly connected to the diaphragm chamber 4. The other end may be opened via the check valve 12.

[0015]

According to the diaphragm pump of the present invention,
Since a series circuit of a check valve and a gas-liquid separation membrane is provided, one end of the series circuit is connected to the upper part of the diaphragm chamber, and the direction of the check valve is arranged in a direction that allows discharge from the diaphragm chamber, the diaphragm. By the normal operation of the pump, the gas accumulated in the diaphragm chamber can be automatically extracted, and the amount of the liquid raw material to be delivered can be kept constant for a long period of time to keep the taste of the beverage constant.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a diaphragm pump of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional diaphragm pump.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram when the diaphragm pump of the conventional example is operated for a long period of time.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A Syrup tank B Syrup C Cup 4 Diaphragm chamber 5 Suction port 6 Discharge port 12 Check valve 13 Gas-liquid separation membrane 14 Series circuit

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A diaphragm pump that reciprocates a diaphragm to suck the liquid raw material in a diaphragm chamber from a discharge port and suck the liquid raw material from a discharge port to form a series circuit of a check valve and a gas-liquid separation membrane. A diaphragm pump for a vending machine, one end of which is connected to an upper portion of a diaphragm chamber, and the check valve is oriented so as to allow discharge from the diaphragm chamber. 2. A diaphragm pump for a vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the other end of the series circuit is connected to a tank for liquid raw material.