JPH07101139B2 - Cooled beverage dispenser device - Google Patents

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a chilled beverage dispenser device for use in serving cold beverages to customers.

(Prior Art) This type of chilled beverage dispenser may be used with a refrigerator for refrigerating a beverage stock or fruits to be added to the beverage. In such a case, the chilled beverage is placed on a small refrigerator. I used multiple dispensers.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in such a conventional technique, the equipment becomes large as a whole and the equipment cost becomes large.

The present invention integrates a cooled beverage dispenser and a refrigerator,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a cooled beverage dispenser device that shares a refrigeration unit and is devised in a structure for temperature control so as to be small in size and low in equipment cost.

(Means for Solving the Problem) For this purpose, the cooled beverage dispenser device according to the present invention, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, is constituted by a heat insulating wall, and is a beverage tank containing a cooled beverage. A refrigerating unit having an upper chamber for refrigerating, a lower chamber for refrigerating the stock or an accessory of the beverage, and a box body having an outward path and a return path communicating with both chambers therein, and an evaporator located in the outward path. A circulation fan that sends air in the lower chamber to the upper chamber through the forward path and returns to the lower chamber through the return path; a lower temperature sensor provided in the lower chamber; and an upper temperature sensor provided in the upper chamber. Controlling the operation of the refrigeration unit based on the temperature detected by the lower temperature sensor and based on the temperature detected by the upper temperature sensor Serial is made of a control apparatus for controlling the operation of the circulation fan.

The lower chamber is preferably a refrigerator equipped with a drawer type storage box.

(Operation) When the temperature in the lower chamber detected by the lower temperature sensor becomes higher than the set temperature, the control unit starts the operation of the refrigeration unit. In this case, if the temperature in the upper chamber detected by the upper temperature sensor is lower than the set temperature, the circulation fan does not operate and only the lower chamber is cooled by convection. However, if the temperature in the upper chamber is also higher than the set temperature, the circulation fan operates and both the upper chamber and the lower chamber are cooled by the circulating air flow passing through the forward path and the return path.

If the temperature in the lower chamber is lower than the set temperature and the temperature in the upper chamber is higher than the set temperature, only the circulation fan will operate.
The upper chamber is cooled by the cold air in the lower chamber being circulated by a circulation fan. As a result, if the temperature in the lower chamber rises and becomes higher than the set temperature, the refrigeration unit will also operate.

When the circulation fan operates, the circulation air passes through the lower chamber, but the fruits chilled in the storage box are blocked by the side wall of the storage box, so that the air flow does not hit directly.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, an upper chamber for refrigerating a beverage tank containing a cooled beverage and a stock or an accessory of the cooled beverage by one set of refrigeration unit and one circulation fan. The lower chamber for refrigerating can be cooled to each set temperature. Therefore, since the cooled beverage dispenser device is downsized, a limited floor area can be effectively used, and the facility cost can be reduced.

Also, if the lower chamber is a refrigerator equipped with a drawer-type storage box, the air flow does not directly hit the accessories such as fruits that are refrigerated inside, so that the freshness of fruits can be maintained for a long time.

(Example) The present invention will be described below with reference to an example shown in the accompanying drawings.

Mainly as shown in FIG. 1, the outer box of the cooled beverage dispenser apparatus A is composed of a lower machine chamber frame 20 and a box 10 mounted thereon, and the whole is supported by supporting legs 25. The cooled beverage dispenser device A of this embodiment is
It is a part of a multi-dispenser having an ice making machine B (only a part of which is shown in FIG. 2) and a coffee dispenser.

The box body 10 is constituted by a heat insulating wall, and inside the box body 10, an upper chamber 12, a lower chamber 11, and an outward passage 13 that connects these chambers 11 and 12 to each other.
And a return path 14 is formed. The part of the box body 10 forming the outward path 13 and the return path 14 has a front-rear width of a lower chamber 11 and an upper chamber.
It is narrower than 12, so that a recess 19 is formed on the front side of the box body 10 over the entire width. An upper opening 10b that is opened and closed by a door 18 is provided on the front side of the upper chamber 12, and three beverage tanks 40 (see FIG. 2) that contain cooled beverages can be taken in and out through the upper opening 10b. It is housed in 12 and is supported by an upper wall 19b of the recess 19 and an angle member 16 fixed to the box body 10. A lower opening 10a is provided on the front side of the lower chamber 11, and a drawer type storage box 17 including a front plate 17a and a box-shaped accommodating portion 17b is inserted into the lower chamber 11, and the lower opening 10a is formed on the front plate 1.
It is closed by 7a.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inside of the box body 10 at the rear end of the recess 19 is partitioned by a partition wall 15 into a forward path 13 at the front side and a return path 14 at the rear end. Of the components of the refrigeration unit 30 that cools the inside of the box 10, the compressor 31, the condenser 32, and the cooling fan 33 are installed in the machine chamber frame 20, and the evaporator 34 is installed in the lower part of the outward path 13. ing. An electric circulation fan 36 is provided in the middle of the outward path 13 to send the air in the lower chamber 11 into the upper chamber 12 through the outward path 13 and return it into the lower chamber 11 through the return path 14. Further, a lower temperature sensor 38 and an upper temperature sensor 39 that detect the respective temperatures are provided in the lower chamber 11 and the upper chamber 12. In this embodiment, each temperature sensor 38,3
9 is a thermostat which can adjust each set temperature.

As shown in FIG. 3, the refrigeration unit 30, the circulation fan 36, the lower temperature sensor 38, and the upper temperature sensor 39 are connected to a control device 90 that controls the operations of the refrigeration unit 30 and the circulation fan 36. The controller 90 operates the refrigeration unit 30 when the temperature in the lower chamber 11 detected by the lower temperature sensor 38 becomes higher than the set temperature, and the temperature in the upper chamber 12 detected by the upper temperature sensor 39 becomes the set temperature. If it becomes higher than that, the circulation fan 36 is operated. The set temperatures of both chambers 11 and 12 are about the same, but they can be adjusted separately.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper wall 19b of the recess 19 has three Ls that are detachably communicated with each of the beverage tanks 40.
An upper portion of each discharge pipe 81 is fixed, and a solenoid valve 83 for discharging the beverage in the beverage tank 40 is provided at the lower front end of each discharge pipe 81.
Is attached. A solenoid valve 8 is provided on the lower wall 19a of the recess 19.
A receiving plate 22 on which a cup or the like for receiving the beverage from 3 is placed is fixed. Further, between the front end of the upper wall 19b and the rear end of the receiving plate 22, a cover plate 21 having a hole through which the discharge nozzle of each solenoid valve 83 passes is provided.
Is attached. In front of the cover plate 21, each solenoid valve 83
There are provided three push button switches 84 for opening and closing respectively.

The cooled beverage dispenser device of this embodiment is used for each beverage tank.
A variety of pre-cooled beverages such as juice and coffee is placed in 40 and refrigerated in the upper chamber 12 for use. The beverages contained in each beverage tank 40 may be of different types or of the same type. Beverage tank 40 containing the desired chilled beverage
A cup or the like is placed on the receiving plate 22 below the solenoid valve 83 communicated with and the corresponding push button switch 84 is pressed to release the cooled beverage. In this embodiment, the discharge amount is a timer (not shown)
However, the cooling beverage may be discharged only while the push button switch 84 is being pressed. The chilled beverage contained in the cup is provided to the customer as it is or with the fruit taken out from the storage box 17 in the lower chamber 11 if necessary. When the cooled beverage in the beverage tank 40 is reduced, the stock of the beverage refrigerated in the storage box 17 is taken out, the door 18 of the upper chamber 12 is opened, and the reduced amount is replenished from the front side of the upper surface of the beverage tank 40.

Next, the temperature control in the lower chamber 11 and the upper chamber 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The lower chamber
The set temperature of 11 is T1, and the set temperature of the upper chamber 12 is T2.

If you turn on the cooling temperature dispenser device,
90 starts the control operation according to the flowchart of FIG.
Repeat. If the temperature t1 detected by the lower temperature sensor 38 is higher than the set temperature T1 of the lower chamber 11, the control device 90 advances the control operation from step 100 to step 101, and starts the operation of the refrigeration unit 30. In this state, the temperature t2 detected by the upper temperature sensor 39 is the upper chamber.
If it is lower than the set temperature of 12, the control device 90 advances the control operation from step 110 to step 112, and the circulation fan 36 remains stopped. In this case, only the lower chamber 11 is cooled by convection of the air cooled by the evaporator 34. In the above state, if the detected temperature t2 also becomes higher than the set temperature T2, the control device 90 causes the control operation to proceed from step 110 to step 1.
Proceeding to 11, the circulation fan 36 is started to operate, and the amount of circulating air passing through the outward path 13 and the return path 14 is generated. In this case,
The air sucked into the outward path 13 from the lower chamber 11 is cooled by the evaporator 34, is sent into the upper chamber 12, and is returned to the lower chamber 11 through the return path 14. Therefore, both the upper chamber 12 and the lower chamber 11 are cooled.

If the detected temperature t1 becomes lower than the set temperature t1, the controller 90
Advances the control operation from step 100 to step 102 to stop the operation of the refrigeration unit 30. In this state, if the detected temperature t2 is higher than the set temperature t2, the control device 90 operates the circulation fan 36, and the cool air in the lower chamber 11 is sent into the upper chamber 12 through the outward path 13 to be cooled. . Then, when the detected temperature t1 in the lower chamber 11 becomes higher than the set temperature T1 by this, the control device 90 advances the control operation from step 100 to step 101, and restarts the operation of the refrigeration unit 30,
Both the lower chamber 11 and the upper chamber 12 become cooled.

When the detected temperature t1 is lower than the set temperature T1 and the detected temperature t2 is lower than the set temperature T2, neither the refrigeration unit 30 nor the circulation fan 36 operates.

While the circulation fan 36 is operating, the circulation air flow passes through the lower chamber 11, but fruits and the like refrigerated in the storage box 17 are blocked by the rear side wall of the container 17b and the circulation air flow directly. There is no hit. Therefore, the freshness of the fruit or the like refrigerated in the storage box 17 is maintained for a long period of time. However, when only the stock of beverage is refrigerated in the lower chamber 11, the lower chamber 11 may be a refrigerator having an opening / closing door similar to the door 18 of the upper chamber 12.

According to the above-described embodiment, the lower chamber 11 and the upper chamber 12 can be cooled to their respective set temperatures by the pair of refrigeration units 30 and the single circulation fan 36. Therefore, the cooling beverage dispenser device can be downsized and the manufacturing cost thereof can be reduced.

Further, since the pre-cooled beverage is contained in the beverage tank 40 and stored in the upper chamber 12 whose temperature is controlled to be low,
The beverage tank 40 has a simple structure that does not require a cooler, and the fact that the beverage tank 40 is housed in the upper chamber 12 so that the beverage tank 40 can be taken in and out can be extremely easily cleaned. Therefore, the cooled beverage dispenser device of this embodiment can always be used hygienically.

[Brief description of drawings]

The attached drawings show an embodiment of a cooled beverage dispenser device according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of the whole, and FIG. 2 is a front view of a state in which a part of a cover plate is cut away except an upper door, FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the temperature control system, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart of the temperature control system. Explanation of symbols 10 …… Box, 11 …… Lower chamber, 12 …… Upper chamber, 13 …… Outward route, 14 …… Return route, 17 …… Storage box, 30 …… Refrigeration unit,
34 …… Evaporator, 36 …… Circulation fan, 38 …… Lower temperature sensor, 39 …… Upper temperature sensor, 40 …… Beverage tank, 90 ……
Control device.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An upper chamber configured by a heat insulating wall for refrigerating a beverage tank containing a cooled beverage, a lower chamber for refrigerating the stock or an adjunct of the beverage, and a forward path and a return path connecting the two chambers. A box body formed inside, a refrigeration unit having an evaporator located in the forward path, a circulation fan that sends air in the lower chamber to the upper chamber through the forward path, and returns to the lower chamber through the return path, A lower temperature sensor provided in the lower chamber, an upper temperature sensor provided in the upper chamber, and controlling the operation of the refrigeration unit based on the temperature detected by the lower temperature sensor and detected by the upper temperature sensor. A cooled beverage dispenser device comprising a control device for controlling the operation of the circulation fan based on the temperature. 2. The cooled beverage dispenser device according to claim 1, wherein the lower chamber is a refrigerator equipped with a drawer type storage box.