JPH082333B2 - Siphon coffee extractor - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a siphon-type coffee extractor for extracting coffee liquid by utilizing a siphon phenomenon.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, as this type of siphon coffee extractor, one that automatically performs a brewing operation and a heat retaining operation by a control device has been provided. As its configuration, a series of operations are performed by placing an extraction container, which is energized through the water pipe and the inside of the storage container, which is heated by a heater, and controlling the on / off of the heater by a control device. It is done continuously. That is, while storing a desired amount of coffee powder in the extraction container, when the start switch is operated in a state where water corresponding to the amount of the coffee powder is stored in the storage container, the extraction operation command is given to the control device, In response to this, the control device energizes the heater to generate heat. Then, the water in the storage container is boiled, and hot water is supplied from the storage container to the extraction container through the water pipe by the well-known siphon phenomenon, and the coffee liquid is extracted in the extraction container. Then, the extracted coffee liquid descends through the water pipe into the storage container and is stored therein. Subsequently, the control device performs a heat retaining operation in which the heater is energized, whereby the coffee liquid in the storage container is kept warm.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Generally, when performing the above-described heat retention operation, it is necessary to control the on / off of the heater in accordance with the degree of increase in the temperature of the storage container. However, in the siphon coffee extractor, a heater is provided near the storage container and
Since the heater has a relatively large output because it is necessary to boil the water in the storage container in a short time, it becomes difficult to accurately detect the temperature of the storage container during the heat retaining operation. For this reason, conventionally, it has been considered to perform a control of intermittently energizing the heater at a constant cycle during the heat retention operation without adding the function of detecting the temperature of the storage container. However, in such a configuration, the heater is energized with a constant output during heat retention, so when the amount of coffee liquid stored in the storage container is small, the coffee liquid in the storage container is Has a drawback that it is overheated and the coffee liquid re-boils or the flavor of the coffee liquid is deteriorated. Further, when the amount of coffee liquid in the storage container is large, the heat liquid in the storage container is likely to be deprived of heat by the surroundings, and sufficient heat cannot be kept even though it is heated by the heater. There was a flaw.

Then, the object of the present invention is to extract the extracted coffee liquid,
It is to provide a siphon-type coffee extractor that can always keep an appropriate temperature without being affected by the amount.

[Configuration of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention relates to a storage container heated by a heater, an extraction container placed on the storage container and communicating with the inside of the storage container through a water pipe, and an extraction operation. In a siphon-type coffee extractor equipped with a control device for energizing the heater in response to a command and starting a brewing operation, the control device is provided with storage means for storing information indicating the amount of coffee liquid extracted, After the extraction operation is completed, the heat retention operation for energizing the heater is executed with an output that changes in proportion to the magnitude of the extraction amount information stored in the storage means.

Further, in addition to the above configuration, the control device has a detection means for detecting whether or not the storage container is located at a predetermined position, and the storage container is predetermined based on the detection result of the detection means during the heat retention operation. When it is determined that the heater is not in the position, the heater may be energized so as to have the minimum output.

(Operation) When the extraction operation command is given, the control device energizes the heater to start the extraction operation. Then, the water in the storage container boils, and accordingly, the hot water is supplied into the brewing container through the water pipe, and the coffee liquid is extracted in the brewing container. Then, the coffee liquid descends into the storage container through the water pipe and is stored therein. Subsequently, the control device performs a heat retention operation and energizes the heater with an output that changes in proportion to the magnitude of the coffee liquid extraction amount information stored in advance in the storage means. That is, when the amount of extracted coffee liquid is large and the extraction amount information stored in the storage means is large, the heater is energized so that the output of the heater during warming is high, and the amount of extracted coffee liquid is small. When the amount of extracted information is small in the state, the output of the heater is controlled to be low. Therefore, the energization of the heater during heat retention is controlled according to the amount of extracted coffee liquid, so that the coffee liquid in the storage container during heat retention is maintained at an appropriate temperature.

Further, when it is determined that the storage container is not in the predetermined position based on the detection result of the detection means during the heat retention operation, if the heater is energized with the minimum output, the storage container is once moved from the predetermined position. Then, the calorific value of the heater decreases, so that even if the coffee liquid in the storage container is drunk and the amount thereof decreases, it is possible to keep the small amount of coffee liquid at an appropriate temperature.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, in FIG. 2 showing the whole, 1 is a main body formed in a substantially L shape, and a heater 3 is disposed on the upper surface of a base portion 2 of the main body. An electric component case 4 is provided on the right side of the main body 1, and a mill motor 5 is housed above the electric component case 4. Reference numeral 6 denotes a mill case detachably mounted on the electrical equipment case 4, and a cutter 7 for crushing coffee beans is arranged on the inner bottom of the mill case.
The cutter 7 and the rotary shaft of the mole motor 5 are connected to each other via the coupling 8 when mounted on the. Reference numeral 9 is a mill filter provided on a part of the peripheral wall surface of the mill case 6, and 10 is a guide portion communicating with the inside of the mill case 6 via the mill filter 9. Reference numeral 11 denotes a container support extending upward from the left side portion of the base portion 2, which is detachably attached to the main body 1 and has a holder 12 located above the heater 3 at the tip thereof. ing. Reference numeral 13 denotes a storage container, which is made of heat-resistant glass in the shape of a round bottom flask, and the neck portion at the upper end thereof is held by the holder 12. Reference numeral 14 is also an extraction container made of heat-resistant glass, and a filter (not shown) is provided on the bottom of the extraction container, and a water pipe 15 extends downward from the filter. This extraction device 14 is placed on the storage container 13 via the packing 16, and in the mounted state, the tip of the water pipe 15 is the storage container.
Close to the inner bottom surface of 13. Incidentally, 17 is an upper lid provided so as to cover the extraction container 14 and the mill case 6, and 18 is a lid switch.

On the other hand, 19 is a temperature sensor, which is a compression coil spring 20.
The electric component case 4 is biased by and is projected obliquely upward from the center of the side surface of the electrical component case 4. Reference numeral 38 denotes a bottle switch as a detecting means, which is biased by a compression film spring 39 and projects obliquely upward from the center of the side surface of the electrical component case 4. When the extraction container 14 is placed on the storage container 13, the temperature sensor 19 and the bottle switch 38 come into contact with the side surface of the extraction container 14.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a panel provided on the front surface of the electrical equipment case 4, which includes a cup number selection button 22, a concentration selection button 23, a course selection button 24, and a start button as shown in FIG.
25 is provided and light emitting diodes 26 to 32 are provided.

Now, FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of an electric circuit, which will be described below.

33 is a control device, which is mainly composed of a microcomputer, and has a cup number selection command from the cup number selection button 22, a concentration selection command from the concentration selection button 23, and a course selection command from the course selection button 24. , The start command from the start button 25, the detected temperature from the temperature sensor 19, and the detection signal from the bottle switch 38 are input, and the light emitting diodes 26 to
The lighting of 32 and the drive of the mill motor 5 are controlled. On the other hand, 34 is a buzzer arranged in the electrical component case 4, which sounds when driven by the control device 33. Reference numeral 35 is a switching circuit, which is turned on / off in response to a command from the control device 33 to selectively connect the heater 3 to the AC commercial power supply 36. Reference numeral 37 denotes a storage means composed of, for example, a semiconductor memory, which stores digital data when it is supplied from the control device 33 and outputs the digital data to the control device 33 based on a command from the control device 33. To do.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG. 4 showing the control contents of the control device 33.

First, the mill case 6 stores a desired amount of coffee beans, and the storage container 13 stores water in an amount corresponding to the coffee beans. Next, the cup number setting button 22 is pressed according to the amount of coffee beans stored in the mill case 6. That is, when the amount of coffee beans corresponds to 2 to 3 cups, the cup number selection button 22 is pressed once or an odd number of times, and when the amount of coffee beans corresponds to 4 cups, the cup number selection button 22 is pressed to 2. Press once or even times. Then, when the control device 33 receives the cup number selection command once, the control device 33 determines that the selected cup number is “2 to 3”, lights the light emitting diode 26, and receives the cup number selection command twice. At this time, the number of selected cups is determined to be "4" and the light emitting diode 27 is turned on. Next, the concentration selection button 23 is pressed to select a desired coffee liquid concentration. That is, when the density selection button 23 is pressed once or odd times,
The control device 33 determines that the regular mode is selected and turns on the light emitting diode 28, and when the pressing operation is performed twice or even times, determines that the mild mode is selected and turns on the light emitting diode 29. Next, the course selection button 24 is pressed to select a desired driving course. That is, when the course selection button 24 is operated once or 3n times (n is a natural number), the control device 33 determines that the operation course starting from the mill is selected, and turns on the light emitting diode 30.
When the operation is performed twice or (3n + 1) times, it is determined that the course starting from the extraction is selected, and the light emitting diode 31 is turned on, and when the operation is performed three times or (3n + 1) times, only the heat retaining operation is selected. The light emitting diode 32 is turned on. Then, the control device 33 stores in the storage means 37 the information corresponding to the number of cups, the coffee concentration, and the driving course determined as described above. In this case, the number of cups stored in the storage means 37 corresponds to the extraction amount information.

Now, after performing the initial setting by pressing each of the buttons 22 to 24 a desired number of times as described above (in this case, it is assumed that the course started from the mill is selected).
Press the start button 25. Then, the control device 33
Since the start command (extraction operation command) is given to the controller 33, the control device 33 controls the step N1 of the flowchart shown in FIG.
In YES, the process proceeds to step N2 and the extraction amount information and the coffee concentration information are read from the storage means 37. Next, the control device 33 identifies the selected cup number in step N3 from the read extraction amount information. That is, when the number of selected cups is "2 to 3", it is determined to be "YES" and the driving time t1 of the mill motor 5 is set to 15 seconds in step N4,
When the number of selected cups is "4", it is determined to be "NO" and the driving time t1 is set to 20 seconds in step N5. Then, the control device 33 identifies the coffee concentration selected in step N6 from the coffee concentration information read in step N2 as described above. That is, when the regular is set, it is determined to be "YES" and the process proceeds to step N7, where the steaming time t
Set 2 to 20 seconds. Further, when the mild is set, it is determined to be "NO" and the process proceeds to step N8 to set the steaming time t2 to 0 second. Then, the control device 33 drives the mill motor 5 for the set time t1 in steps N9 to N11. As a result, the coffee beans in the mill case 6 are crushed by the cutter 7, become coffee powder, pass through the mill filter 9, and then are guided to the guide portion 10 to be extracted from the extraction container 14.
Fall inside. Next, the control device 33 turns on the switching circuit 35 in step N12. As a result, the heater 3 is connected to the AC commercial power source 36 and generates heat, and the water in the storage container 13 boils. Then, the hot water in the storage container 13 rises in the water pipe 15 due to the well-known siphon phenomenon, and the extraction container
Since it is supplied into the extraction container 14, the coffee liquid is extracted in the extraction container 14. At this time, since the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 19 rises to a predetermined temperature by supplying hot water into the extraction container 14, the control device 33 proceeds from step N13 to step N14 and waits for the steaming time t2. To do. Then, when the steaming time t2 has elapsed, the control device 33 turns off the switching circuit 35 in step N15. As a result, the heater 3 is cut off, so that the temperature in the storage container 13 decreases, and in response to this, the coffee liquid in the extraction container 14 drops into the storage container 13 and is stored therein. Then, the control device 33 identifies the number of cups selected from the extraction amount information read in step N2 in step N16. At this time, it takes a maximum of 5 minutes for the coffee liquid equivalent to 2 to 3 cups to fall into the storage container 13 and a maximum of 5 minutes and 30 seconds to descend the coffee liquid equivalent to 4 cups. Device 33 has either step N17 or step N18
At that maximum time, the buzzer 34 is rung in step N19. Therefore, the beep sound from the buzzer 34 can confirm the end of the extraction operation.

Next, the control device 33 executes the heat retention operation. That is, the control device 33 identifies the selected cup number in step N20 from the extraction amount information read in step N2. That is, when the extraction amount information is 2 to 3 cups, the operation of turning on the switching circuit 35 for 1 second in step N21 and then turning it off for 8 seconds is repeated. This allows
As shown in FIG. 5 (a), the heater 3 is intermittently energized at an energization duty ratio of 1/9 with an energization time of 1 second and an interruption time of 8 seconds.
Therefore, even if the amount of coffee liquid in the storage container 13 is as small as 2-3 cups, a small amount of heat is given to the coffee liquid in the storage container 13 because the output of the heater 3 is relatively small. After all, the coffee liquid in the storage container 13 is kept at the optimum temperature. When the number of selected cups is identified as "4" based on the discharge amount information, the process proceeds from step N20 to step N22, and it is determined whether or not the bottom presence / absence detection flag is 1. At this time, the extraction container 14 is determined to be “NO” from the relationship of being placed on the storage container 13, and the process proceeds from step N23 to step N24, and the switching circuit 35
The operation of turning on for 2 seconds and then turning off for 8 seconds is repeated. As a result, the heater 3 is energized at an energization duty ratio of 1/5 with an energization time of 2 seconds and an interruption time of 8 seconds as shown in FIG. Therefore, even if the amount of coffee liquid in the storage container 13 is as large as 4 cups, a large amount of heat is given to the coffee liquid in the storage container 13 due to the large output of the heater 3. The coffee liquid inside is kept warm at the optimum temperature.

Now, when the storage container 13 is moved from above the heater 3 by removing the container support 11 from the main body 1 in order to drink the coffee kept warm in the storage container 13, the extraction container 14 on the storage container 13 is accompanied with this. Is separated from the bottle switch 38, the bottle switch 38 detects that there is no extraction container 14. Then, in step N23, the control device 33 displays "YE
Then, the switch N25 is set and the bottle detection flag is set to 1. Then, the control device 33 determines "NO" in step N20 because the number of selected cups is "4".
Even if it is determined that it is "YES" in step N22, the process proceeds to step N21, in which the switching circuit 35 is turned on for 1 second and then turned off for 8 seconds. As a result, the heater 3 has the minimum output during the heat retention operation. That is, even if the number of selected cups is "4", once the storage container 13 is moved from the predetermined position on the heater 3 during the heat retention operation, the heater 3 is moved in the same manner as when the number of selected cups is "2 to 3". The output of is suppressed. Therefore, even if the coffee liquid in the storage container 13 is drunk at the time of heat retention and the amount thereof is reduced, the heat retention is continued with the output of the heater 3 reduced, and the reduced coffee liquid is excessively heated. Is prevented.

In short, according to the above configuration, the control device 33 is
During the heat retention operation, since the heater 3 is energized with an output that relatively changes with respect to the magnitude of the extraction amount information stored in the storage means 37, the heat generation amount of the heater 3 is changed according to the magnitude of the extraction amount information. . Therefore, the coffee liquid in the storage container 13 is kept at the optimum temperature without being affected by the amount.

Further, since the extraction amount information of the coffee liquid is obtained from the number of cups as described above, it is not necessary to newly provide a device for detecting the amount of the extracted coffee liquid. There is no complication.

Further, the control device 33 controls the bottle switch during the heat retention operation.
When 38 detects the movement of the extraction container 14, the output of the heater 3 is forcibly switched to its minimum output.
Even if the coffee liquid in the storage container 13 is drunk and the amount thereof is reduced, the amount of heat generated by the heater 3 is suppressed, so that the coffee liquid in the storage container 13 is not overheated. Therefore, the coffee liquid will boil again,
It is prevented that the flavor is deteriorated by overheating.

In the above embodiment, the extraction amount information indicating the amount of the extracted coffee liquid is configured to be obtained from the number of cups,
Alternatively, input means for setting the amount of coffee liquid may be provided, and the amount of coffee liquid set in the input device may be used as extraction amount information. It is also possible to provide a measuring means for directly measuring and use the information from the measuring means as the extraction amount information.

Further, the heater output is adjusted during the heat retention operation by changing the energization duty ratio when intermittently energizing the heater. Instead of this, however, the heater output is adjusted by so-called phase control. You may.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to what is described above and shown in the drawings, and the operation of detecting the presence or absence of the storage container may not be performed, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. .

[Effect of the Invention] As is apparent from the above description, the present invention can obtain the following effects.

According to the siphon-type coffee extractor of claim 1, the control device includes a storage unit for storing information indicating the extraction amount of the coffee liquid, and after the extraction operation is completed, the extraction amount information stored in the storage unit is reduced in size. On the other hand, since the warming operation of energizing the heater is performed with an output that changes proportionally, the extracted coffee liquid is heated by the heater with a heat amount corresponding to the extraction amount. Therefore, the extracted coffee liquid can always be kept at an appropriate temperature without being affected by the extraction amount.

According to the siphon-type coffee extractor of claim 2, the output of the heater is suppressed to the minimum output when the storage container is not in the predetermined position during the heat retention, so that the coffee liquid in the storage container is drunk during the heat retention operation. As a result, even if the amount is reduced, the output of the heater is switched to the minimum output, so that the reduced coffee liquid is not overheated, which may cause the coffee liquid to reboil. To be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration, FIG. 2 is a front view showing an upper half portion by fracture, and FIG. 3 is a front view of a panel. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the control contents of the control device, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the energization timing of the heater. In the figure, 3 is a heater, 13 is a storage container, 14 is an extraction container, 15 is a water pipe, 19 is a temperature sensor, 25 is a start button, 35 is a switching circuit, 37 is storage means, 38 is a bottle switch (detection means). Is.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A storage container heated by a heater, an extraction container placed on the storage container and communicating with the inside of the storage container through a water pipe, and the heater is energized in accordance with an extraction operation command to perform an extraction operation. A siphon coffee extractor comprising a control device for starting the control device, wherein the control device comprises a storage means for storing information indicating an extraction amount of coffee liquid,
After completion of the extraction operation, the siphon type is configured to perform a heat retention operation for energizing the heater with an output that changes in proportion to the magnitude of the extraction amount information stored in the storage means. Coffee extractor. 2. The control device has a detection means for detecting whether or not the storage container is located at a predetermined position, and the storage container is not at the predetermined position based on the detection result of the detection means during the heat retaining operation. The siphon coffee extractor according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the heater is energized, the heater is energized with a minimum output.