JPH08238178A - Beverage pouring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To set the inner capacity of a storage tank large without enlarging a device main body and suppress the temperature change of a beverage flowing in a return pipe. CONSTITUTION: A suction pipe 24 connected to the suction port of a feed pump 22 is communicated and connected to the bottom section of a hot water storage tank 10. A discharge pipe 26 connected to the discharge port of the pump 22 is communicated with a beverage pouring nozzle 28 via a pouring valve 30. A return pipe 32 connected with one end on the pump side of the discharge pipe 26 from the arrangement position of the pouring valve 30 is arranged to the inside from the bottom face of the hot water storage tank 10. An opening is bored at the position facing the upper section of the tank 10 at the free end section of the return pipe 32 facing the tank 10. When the pouring valve 30 is closed, the hot water on the lower side of the hot water storage tank 10 is sucked by the pump 22 via the operation of the feed pump 22, and it is fed to the upper section of the tank 10 via the discharge pipe 26 and the return pipe 32.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage dispenser, and more particularly, a beverage to be heated or cooled in a tank is circulated so that the entire temperature of the beverage can be kept uniform. It relates to the dispensing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a beverage pouring device for pouring a hot beverage obtained by diluting a concentrated stock solution with warm water is provided with a container for storing a concentrated stock solution inside a main body of the apparatus and a required amount of It is equipped with a hot water storage tank that keeps warm water warm.
In the front part of the apparatus body, a beverage pouring nozzle that is connected in communication with the concentrated stock solution container and the hot water storage tank is provided, and hot water kept warm in the hot water storage tank and concentrated stock solution stored in the concentrated stock solution container Is supplied to the beverage pouring nozzle to dilute the concentrated stock solution with warm water, and the heated beverage is poured out from the nozzle.

A hot water storage tank provided inside the apparatus main body has, for example, a structure shown in FIG. That is,
The hot water storage tank 10 is provided with a heater 12 on the inner bottom thereof, and a water supply pipe 14 connected to an external water source communicates with the upper portion of the heater 12, and a water supply valve 16 provided on the water supply pipe 14 is opened so that the hot water storage tank 10 is provided within the tank 10. A large amount of water is supplied. Further, inside the hot water storage tank 10, water level switches 18 and 20 are arranged vertically apart from each other.
The water supply valve 16 is controlled to open and close so as to maintain the water level during 20. At the bottom of the hot water storage tank 10, a pump 2 for supplying hot water
2 is connected in communication with the suction pipe 24, and the discharge pipe 26 of the pump 22 is connected to a beverage pouring nozzle 28 to which the concentrated liquid is supplied from a concentrated liquid concentrate container through a pouring mechanism (neither is shown). It is connected. The discharge pipe 26 is provided with a pouring valve 30, and by opening the valve 30, hot water is supplied to the beverage pouring nozzle 28 to dilute the stock solution.

One end of a return pipe 32 is connected to the discharge pipe 26 on the pump side from the position where the spout valve 30 is disposed,
The return pipe 32 is piped on the outer rear side of the hot water storage tank 10 and has the other end opening facing the upper part of the hot water storage tank 10. That is, when the supply pump 22 is operated with the pouring valve 30 closed, the lower hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 10 is sucked into the pump 22, and then the discharge pipe 26 and the return pipe 26. It is supplied to the upper part of the tank via 32. In this way, by circulating the hot water in the lower part of the hot water storage tank 10 to the upper part, the temperature of the whole hot water in the tank is kept uniform.

[0005]

Since the return pipe 32 is provided on the outside rear side of the hot water storage tank 10, as shown in FIG. 7, a rear wall 10a of the hot water storage tank 10 and a rear wall 34 of the apparatus main body are provided. In between, a required space for piping the return pipe 32 is required. That is, the size of the hot water storage tank 10 stored in the limited space in the main body of the apparatus must be set small, the amount of hot water stored is small, and the amount of heated beverage that can be continuously poured is small. It is pointed out that the device has a low pouring ability. If the size of the hot water storage tank 10 is increased, the size of the apparatus body inevitably increases. Further, since the return pipe 32 is exposed to the air from the connection portion with the discharge pipe 26 to the opening, the hot water radiates heat and cools while flowing through the return pipe 32. (Not shown). Therefore, there is a problem that the cost is increased, the piping space of the return pipe 32 is increased, and the size of the hot water storage tank 10 is further reduced.

Therefore, the return pipe 32 is connected to the hot water storage tank 10.
It is conceivable that the outer rear side of the tank is connected to the bottom surface of the tank without piping and the opening is exposed to the bottom of the hot water storage tank 10. However, only by returning the hot water at the bottom of the hot water storage tank 10 to the bottom through the return pipe 32, the hot water in the entire tank cannot be stirred and the temperature cannot be kept uniform. Further, in the beverage dispenser, hot water is supplied to the beverage dispense nozzle 28 by opening the dispense valve 30 disposed on the beverage dispense nozzle side from the connection position of the return pipe 32 in the discharge pipe 26. are doing. That is, if the amount of hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 10 is large, the return pipe 3
The water pressure applied to the opening facing the bottom of 2 is large, and the hot water discharged from the supply pump 22 to the discharge pipe 26 is returned to the return pipe 32.
All of it is supplied to the beverage dispensing nozzle 28 via the dispensing valve 30 without flowing into the. However, the hot water storage tank 10
When the amount of warm water in the inside decreases and the water pressure applied to the opening of the return pipe 32 decreases, part of the warm water discharged from the supply pump 22 to the discharge pipe 26 passes through the return pipe 32 and the hot water storage tank 10 is discharged.
Will return to. As a result, the amount of hot water supplied to the beverage pouring nozzle 28 is reduced, which causes a problem that the constant amount of hot water cannot be supplied. Therefore, in order to achieve a stable quantitative supply of hot water, it is necessary to set the opening of the return pipe 32 to a position sufficiently higher than the position where the beverage pouring nozzle 28 is arranged (a position where a required head is produced). As described above, the structure in which the opening faces the bottom of the hot water storage tank 10 has a practical problem.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks inherent in the prior art described above, and is proposed in order to suitably solve the above-mentioned drawbacks. An object of the present invention is to provide a beverage dispenser capable of setting a large product and suppressing a temperature change of a beverage flowing in the return pipe without covering the return pipe with a heat insulating material.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the intended object, the present invention provides a tank for storing a beverage to be heated or cooled, and a heating tank for the beverage stored in the tank. Or a heat exchange means for cooling, and a pump that is connected to the tank via a suction pipe, and its discharge side and a beverage pouring part are connected to each other via a discharge pipe,
A beverage dispensing device comprising: a return pipe that is connected to the discharge pipe and returns a beverage discharged from the pump to the discharge pipe to the tank by switching a control valve arranged in the discharge pipe. Is arranged in the tank, and most of it is soaked in the beverage stored in the tank.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, a beverage dispenser according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings with reference to preferred embodiments. The same members as those described in the related art are designated by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 1, the main body of the beverage dispenser is composed of an upper body 38 and a lower body 40, which are formed of a plate material such as stainless steel in a box shape.
Is mounted and fixed on the lower main body 40, and a storage 42 having a heat insulating structure is disposed on the front side inside thereof. A plurality of (for example, three) concentrated raw material containers 44 storing concentrated raw materials are provided in the main body 3 in the storage chamber 42a defined inside the storage 42.
8 are stored in parallel along the width direction. A pouring mechanism 48 including a pouring pump 46 is provided below each concentrated raw material container 44.
Also, the beverage pouring nozzle 28 is connected to the beverage pouring nozzle 28, and a required amount of the concentrated raw material poured from the concentrated raw material container 44 via the pouring mechanism 48 is supplied to the beverage pouring nozzle 28.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a hot water storage tank 10 for storing a required amount of hot water is disposed on the inner rear side of the upper main body 38. A water supply pipe 14 connected to an external water source is communicated with the hot water storage tank 10, and an electromagnetic opening / closing water supply valve 16 provided in the water supply pipe 14 is opened,
A required amount of water is supplied into the tank 10. As shown in FIG. 4, inside the hot water storage tank 10, a lower limit water level switch 20 is installed near the bottom of the tank, and an upper limit water level switch 18 is installed near the upper end of the tank 10, so that Hot water level (storage amount)
Is arranged between the two switches 18, 20. That is, water is supplied to the hot water storage tank 10 by opening the water supply valve 16, and when the water level is detected by the upper limit water level switch 18, the water supply valve 16 is closed to stop the water supply, and the water level is lowered due to consumption of hot water. When the lower limit water level switch 20 detects the water level, the water supply valve 16 is opened to replenish the water. Further, a heater 12 is arranged below the lower limit water level switch 20, and by the heater 12,
The hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 10 is heated to a set temperature (for example, 90 ° C.). A temperature sensor 50 is provided inside the hot water storage tank 10, and the heater 12 is turned on and off depending on the temperature detected by the sensor 50.
The F control is performed to maintain the temperature of the hot water at the set temperature. Further, when the lower limit water level switch 20 detects the water level, by stopping the pouring of the heated beverage,
The heater 12 is prevented from being cooked in the air.

A supply pump 22 for supplying the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 10 to the beverage dispensing nozzle 28 is provided in the lower main body 40 located below the hot water storage tank 10 in association with each dispensing mechanism 48. Are arranged. The suction pipe 24 connected to the suction port of the supply pump 22 is connected to the hot water storage tank 10.
The discharge pipe 26 connected to the bottom of the pump 22 and connected to the discharge port of the pump 22 communicates with the beverage discharge nozzle 28 via the discharge valve 30 arranged below the storage 42. Composed. The supply pump 22 is controlled to always operate, and the spout valve 30 is controlled to be opened for a fixed time by pressing a spout button (not shown) arranged at an appropriate position of the apparatus main body. It That is,
By pressing the spout button and opening the spout valve 30,
The hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 10 is supplied to the beverage pouring nozzle 28 from the lower side. Further, by operating the pouring button, the pouring pump 46 of the pouring mechanism 48 is also operated to supply a required amount of concentrated stock solution from the concentrated raw material container 44 to the beverage pouring nozzle 28.

As shown in FIG. 3, the return pipe 32, one end of which is connected to the pump side of the position of the discharge valve 30 in the discharge pipe 26, is piped from the bottom surface of the hot water storage tank 10 to the inside. . The free end of the return pipe 32 that faces the inside of the tank is supported by a bracket 52 that is placed inside the tank, and the free end of the return pipe 32 faces upward due to the position of the upper limit water level switch 18 in the return pipe 32. Opening 32
a and 32a are provided (see FIG. 4). That is, in the state where the pouring valve 30 is closed, the supply pump 2
By the operation of 2, the lower hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 10 is sucked into the pump 22, and then supplied to the upper portion of the tank via the discharge pipe 26 and the return pipe 32 (see the solid arrow in FIG. 5). By circulating the hot water at the bottom in the tank to the upper part in this manner, the temperature of the whole hot water in the tank is kept uniform. Further, since the openings 32a, 32a of the return pipe 32 are set to a level sufficiently higher than the disposition level of the beverage pouring nozzle 28, even if the pouring valve 30 is opened, the hot water discharged from the pump 22 is returned. All is supplied to the beverage dispensing nozzle 28 without flowing into the pipe 32.

[0014]

Next, the operation of the beverage dispenser according to the embodiment will be described below. The water supplied from the water supply pipe 14 and stored in the hot water storage tank 10 is
When the temperature sensor 50 detects a set temperature (for example, 90 ° C.), the heater 12 turns off.
F is activated. Further, the temperature of the hot water is lowered by stopping the heating by the heater 12, and the temperature sensor 50
When does not detect the set temperature, the heater 12 is energized again to heat the hot water to the set temperature, and the temperature of the hot water in the tank is always kept at the set temperature. During the water heating operation and the warm water warming operation, the supply pump 22 is constantly operated while the spout valve 30 is kept closed, and the lower portion of the hot water storage tank 10 passes through the suction pipe 24. The warm water sucked into the pump 22 by the discharge pipe 26 and the return pipe 32.
The hot water is supplied to the upper part of the hot water storage tank 10 through the tank, and the hot water in the tank is agitated and circulated to efficiently heat the hot water and make the temperature of the entire hot water uniform.

As shown in FIG. 5, the return pipe 32 is arranged inside the hot water storage tank 10 and most of it is immersed in the hot water in the tank. Therefore, the hot water flowing through the return pipe 32 radiates heat. This prevents the temperature from dropping. As a result, the water stored in the hot water storage tank 10 can be efficiently heated to the set temperature during the heating operation and the heat retention operation, and the entire hot water can be maintained at a uniform temperature. Since the return pipe 32 is provided inside the hot water storage tank 10, it is not necessary to secure a piping space for the return pipe 32 outside the hot water storage tank 10, and the internal volume of the tank 10 is increased without increasing the size of the entire apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to increase the storage amount of hot water. Further, since it is not necessary to cover most of the return pipe 32 with the heat insulating material, the cost can be reduced.

When the dispense button is pressed to dispense the heated beverage, the dispense pump 46 of the dispense mechanism 48 operates and a desired amount of the raw material from the concentrated stock solution container 44 enters the beverage dispense nozzle 28. Supplied. Further, all the hot water discharged from the supply pump 22 to the discharge pipe 26 is opened for a certain period of time, and all the hot water discharged from the supply pump 22 does not flow into the return pipe 32 having a high head and the beverage is discharged through the discharge valve 30. Is supplied to the outlet nozzle 28
(See the dashed arrow in FIG. 5), where the concentrated material is diluted and the hot beverage is poured out.

(Regarding Another Embodiment) FIG. 6 shows a main part of a beverage pouring device according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which the concentrated raw material is diluted with cold water to pour a cooled beverage. It is configured to be released. Since the basic structure is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, only the structure of different parts will be described.

As shown in the figure, an evaporation pipe 56 led out from a refrigeration mechanism (not shown) is wound around a water storage tank 54 for storing a predetermined amount of cooling water, and a refrigerant circulating through the evaporation pipe 56 is used. It is configured to cool the water to a required temperature by exchanging heat with the water in the water storage tank 54. The water storage tank 54 and the evaporation pipe 56 are surrounded by a heat insulating material 58 so as to suppress the temperature change of the cooling water stored inside.

Also in the beverage dispenser according to another embodiment,
The return pipe 32, one end of which is connected to the discharge pipe 26 of the supply pump 22 which is always operated, is piped inside from the bottom surface of the water storage tank 54. At the free end of the return pipe 32 facing the inside of the tank, openings 32a, 32a are bored at a position facing upward by the position where the upper limit water level switch 18 is disposed. That is, the cold water in the lower portion of the water storage tank 54 sucked into the supply pump 22 through the suction pipe 24 while keeping the pouring valve 30 in the closed state causes the discharge pipe 26 and the return pipe 32 to flow. The water is supplied to the upper part of the water storage tank 54 through the tank, and cold water in the tank is agitated and circulated to keep the temperature uniform. In this case, most of the return pipe 32 is immersed in the cold water in the water storage tank 54, so that the cold water flowing in the return pipe 32 is prevented from exchanging heat with the air and rising in temperature, and thus the water storage tank. The entire cold water stored in 54 can be efficiently kept at a uniform temperature. In addition, the water storage tank 5 without increasing the size of the device body
The inner volume of 4 can be increased, and the amount of the heat insulating material used can be reduced to reduce the cost. The cold water return pipe 32 can also prevent dew condensation on the outside of the pipe.

In the examples, the case where the concentrated raw material is diluted with hot water or cold water has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank is used, for example, in a tea strainer containing tea leaves. It can also be used in a device for pouring tea by supplying it, or dissolving a granular or powdery raw material in hot water to dispense a heated beverage, and the like. Further, if it is adopted in a device capable of selectively supplying a cooled beverage such as juice and a heated beverage such as tea or soup, a hot water storage tank for storing hot water and cold water are stored without enlarging the entire device. The internal volume of the water storage tank can be increased. Furthermore,
In the embodiment, a pouring valve is arranged on the beverage pouring nozzle side from the connection position of the return pipe connected to the discharge pipe, and when the pouring valve is opened, the hot water discharged from the supply pump by the head of the return pipe is discharged into the nozzle. The discharge pipe and the return pipe are connected by a switching valve, and the hot water flow path can be changed by switching the valves.

[0021]

As described above, according to the beverage dispenser of the present invention, the return pipe is arranged in the tank, and most of it is soaked in the beverage stored in the tank. The temperature change due to heat exchange between the beverage flowing in the return pipe and the air can be effectively prevented. As a result, the beverage stored in the tank can be efficiently heated or cooled to the set temperature, and the entire beverage can be maintained at a uniform temperature. Also, by piping the return pipe inside the tank, it is not necessary to secure a piping space for the return pipe outside the tank, so that it is possible to set the internal volume of the tank large without increasing the size of the entire device, It is possible to provide a device with a high pouring capacity by increasing the storage amount of Furthermore, since it is not necessary to cover most of the return pipe with a heat insulating material, there are advantages that the cost can be reduced and the assembling can be facilitated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a beverage pouring device according to an embodiment by partially cutting it vertically.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the beverage dispensing device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a hot water storage tank according to an embodiment with a part thereof cut away.

FIG. 4 is a rear view showing the hot water storage tank according to the embodiment with a part thereof cut away.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a circulation path of hot water in the beverage pouring device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a circulation path of cold water in a beverage pouring device according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a circulation route of hot water in a beverage pouring device according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 storage tank, 12 heater, 22 supply pump,
24 suction pipe 26 discharge pipe, 28 beverage dispensing nozzle, 30 dispensing valve, 3
2 Return pipe 54 Water storage tank, 56 Evaporation pipe

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshikatsu Takagi 3-16, Sakaemachi South Building, Toyoake City, Aichi Prefecture Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akihiro Sato 16-3, Sakaemachi South Building, Toyoake City, Aichi Prefecture Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Inoue 16-16 Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd., Sakaemachi South Building, Toyoake City, Aichi Prefecture (72) Inventor Shunichi Ueno 16-3, Sakaemachi South Building, Toyoake City, Aichi Prefecture Hoshizaki Electric Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A tank (10,54) for storing a beverage to be heated or cooled, and a heat exchange means (12,56) for heating or cooling the beverage stored in the tank (10,54). A pump (communication connected to the tank (10, 54) via a suction pipe (24), and a discharge side thereof and a beverage pouring part (28) connected to each other via a discharge pipe (26) ( Beverage discharged from the pump (22) to the discharge pipe (26) by switching the control valve (30) disposed in communication with the discharge pipe (26) and the discharge pipe (26). In the beverage pouring device consisting of a return pipe (32) for returning to the tank (10, 54), the return pipe (32) is piped in the tank (10, 54), most of which is the tank (10, 54) A beverage dispenser characterized in that it is configured to be immersed in the beverage stored inside. 2. The beverage dispenser according to claim 1, wherein a heater (12) is provided inside the tank (10) to heat the beverage stored in the tank (10). 3. The evaporation pipe (56) connected to a refrigeration mechanism is provided outside the tank (54) to cool the beverage stored in the tank (54). Beverage dispenser.