JPH0739024Y2 - Beverage vending machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a beverage vending machine having a cooling water tank.

[Conventional technology]

The cup-type beverage vending machines of recent years are mainly hot and cold machines that sell cold beverages such as syrup and hot beverages made from coffee beans, powdered raw materials, and the like.

In such a beverage vending machine, raw materials such as coffee beans and powder raw materials are put in a raw material box and stored in the machine. on the other hand,
Equipment such as a hot water tank for hot beverages and a refrigeration unit attached to a cooling water tank for cold beverages is installed inside the machine, and the heat generated from these equipment usually causes the temperature inside the machine to reach 40 to 50 ° C. For this reason, unless special temperature control measures are taken, the raw materials are exposed to the high temperature atmosphere in the machine and the quality is deteriorated, and the flavor of the beverage is impaired.

Therefore, conventionally, the raw material box is housed in a heat-insulating housing to be isolated from the high temperature atmosphere, and outside air is blown into the housing, or a water cooler is attached to the raw material box to circulate water in the cooling water tank. The cooling method is used to maintain the quality of raw materials.

[Problems to be solved by the device]

By the way, of the above-mentioned conventional methods, the outside air cooling method has a low cooling effect when the outside air temperature is high, and the water cooling method requires prevention of water leaks in the water supply pipes and measures for drainage treatment of condensation formed on the cooler surface. Yes The cooling system becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage vending machine capable of effectively keeping the ingredients stored in the machine cold by a simple means.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a beverage vending machine equipped with a cooling water tank, a raw material box containing raw materials, a cooling chamber surrounding the raw material box with an insulating material, and a cooling water tank on the suction side. Of the cooling water tank, a blower duct that opens the discharge port into the cooling chamber and a blower that sends cool air from the cooling water tank to the cooling chamber through the ventilation duct, a plenum duct that is arranged on the suction side of the ventilation duct, and a cooling water tank. And a heat conducting member that is immersed in water and is thermally conductively coupled to the plenum duct.

Further, the present invention is, in a beverage vending machine equipped with a cooling water tank, a raw material box containing raw materials, a cooling chamber surrounding the raw material box with a heat insulating material, and a suction side facing the cooling water tank and cooling the discharge port. A blower duct that opens into the room, and a blower that sends cool air from the cooling water tank into the cooling chamber through this blower duct,
A plenum duct having a heat transfer fin built therein and arranged on the suction side of the air duct.

[Action]

With the above configuration, by operating the forced air blowing means, the cooled cool air is blown toward the peripheral surface of the raw material box via the water surface of the cooling water tank, and is stored in the raw material box by this cold air. The raw material is cooled. In this case, the water temperature in the cooling water tank is normally maintained at 0 ° C, and it has been confirmed that the temperature of the air flowing near the water surface drops to about 10 ° C due to contact with water in the water tank. Therefore, the cold air can be forcedly blown toward the raw material box to effectively cool the raw material and maintain its quality.

In addition, a high cold insulation effect can be obtained by isolating the raw material box from the high temperature atmosphere inside the machine, accommodating it in a cooling chamber partitioned by a heat insulating material, and blowing cool air into the cooling chamber through a blower. Furthermore, the plenum duct made of a highly heat-conductive material such as metal provided on the suction side of the blower and the heat conducting member immersed in the water of the cooling water tank are thermally coupled to each other to blow air by the cold heat of the cooling water. The cooling effect of air is further enhanced, and the heat transfer fins made of an aluminum plate or the like built in the plenum duct work effectively so as to increase the cooling area in contact with the blown air to enhance the cooling effect.

A temperature sensor is installed in the cooling chamber containing the raw material box to detect the indoor temperature, and the blower is controlled based on the temperature signal to keep the raw material at a constant temperature.
Power consumption can be reduced by suppressing excessive blower operation.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of a beverage vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIG. 2 is a detailed structural diagram around the installation of the blower in FIG.

In the figure, 1 is a cooling water tank equipped inside the machine for cooling drinking water, syrup, or carbonated water, 2 is a refrigeration unit attached to the cooling water tank, 3 is a raw material box containing coffee beans, powdered raw materials, and the like, Reference numeral 4 is a mixing bowl for stirring the raw material, hot water, and water, and 5 is a cup. Here, a blower 6 (for example, a sirocco fan) is installed near the upper part of the cooling water tank 1 with its suction port facing the water surface, and the raw material box 3 is housed in a cooling chamber 7 partitioned by a heat insulating material. A blower duct 8 is connected to connect the blower 6 and the cooling chamber 7.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the blower 6 is provided with a plenum duct 9 made of a highly heat-conductive material such as metal on the suction side, and the plenum duct 9 has heat immersed in the water in the cooling water tank 1. A conductive member 10 is heat transfer coupled. Also,
In the illustrated example, together with the heat conducting member 10, a heat transfer fin 11 made of an aluminum plate or the like is built in the plenum duct.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 12 is a thermostat installed inside the cooling chamber 7 for controlling the operation of the blower.

With the above configuration, by operating the blower 6 when the vending machine is in operation, as shown by an arrow A, the cooling air is cooled by contact with the aquarium water via the water surface of the cooling water tank 1 and radiation cooling of the water. Is sucked into the blower 6 through the plenum duct 9 and blown into the cooling chamber 7 through the blower duct 8. As a result, the raw materials such as coffee beans and powder raw materials stored in the raw material box 3 are kept cool.

In this case, as described above, the heat conducting member 10 immersed in water in the plenum duct 9 is thermally coupled to
The cold heat possessed by the water in the cooling water tank 1 is effectively transferred to further enhance the cooling effect of the blown air. Further, the heat transfer fins 11 built in the plenum duct 9 increase the contact area between the air transfer air flowing therethrough and the heat transfer fins 11 to enhance the cooling effect. It should be noted that the heat conducting member 10 and the heat transfer fin 11 described above can have an even higher cooling effect by being provided side by side, but it is also effective to provide only one of them.

[Effect of device]

Since the beverage vending machine according to the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

(1) The cooling water tank installed in the machine is effectively used, and the raw material is cooled by the cold air obtained via the water surface of the cooling water tank, so that it is not directly exposed to the high temperature atmosphere in the machine.
It is possible to maintain the product temperature of the raw material at an appropriate temperature and maintain its quality.

(2) In this case, the cold air cooled by low-temperature water is used, so the effect of keeping the raw materials cool is higher than that of the cooling method by the outside air, and moreover, it is special for the drainage treatment of water leaks and condensation of water like the water circulation method. It also has the advantage that it is not necessary to take any measures.

(3) In addition, a raw material box is housed in a cooling chamber partitioned by a heat insulating material as a forced air blowing means, and cool air is blown from the cooling water tank side through a blower here, thereby isolating the raw material from the high temperature atmosphere inside the machine and making the raw material effective. Can be cooled.

(4) Further, the heat transfer member that is immersed in the cooling water tank is thermally conductively coupled to the plenum duct provided on the suction side of the blower, or the heat transfer fin is housed in the plenum duct to blow the air. The cooling effect of air can be further enhanced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a detailed structural diagram of an installation peripheral portion of the blower in FIG. In the figure, 1: cooling water tank, 3: raw material box, 6: blower, 7: cooling chamber, 8: blower duct, 9: plenum duct, 10: heat conducting member, 11: heat transfer fin.

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A beverage vending machine having a cooling water tank, a raw material box containing raw materials, a cooling chamber enclosing the raw material box with a heat insulating material, a suction side facing the cooling water tank, and a discharge port. A blower duct opened in the cooling chamber, a blower for sending cool air from the cooling water tank into the cooling chamber through the blower duct, a plenum duct arranged on the suction side of the blower duct, and in the water of the cooling water tank. A beverage vending machine, comprising: a heat conducting member that is dipped and thermally conductively coupled to the plenum duct. 2. A beverage vending machine equipped with a cooling water tank, a raw material box containing raw materials, a cooling chamber surrounding the raw material box with a heat insulating material, a suction side facing the cooling water tank, and a discharge port. A blower duct that opens into the cooling chamber, a blower that sends cool air from the cooling water tank into the cooling chamber through the blower duct, and a plenum duct that has heat transfer fins and is arranged on the suction side of the blower duct. A beverage vending machine characterized by being equipped.