JPH09259347A - Liquid injection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent post-dripping from an injection nozzle, to achieve prompt liquid breakage and to prevent liquid from uselessly remaining inside the supply passage of the liquid when the residual amount of the liquid inside a liquid supply source is reduced and the end of ejection approaches. SOLUTION: In this liquid injection device for successively injecting the liquid of a prescribed amount ejected from the liquid supply source 5 through a send-out pipe 7 into a prescribed cup (a,) a liquid breakage pipe 9 provided with a main path 12 where the liquid is made to flow and a shunt port 15 formed at a part on the peripheral surface lower side of the main path 12 is provided in the middle of the send-out pipe 7. Then, when the liquid is ejected from the liquid supply source 5 at a more than fixed flow rate, the fluid is made to flow on the opening surface of the shunt port 15 and is passed inside the main path 12 by the power of the flow. When the end of the ejection of the liquid from the liquid supply source 5 approaches and the flow rate of the ejection is reduced, the liquid is made to flow from the main path 12 into the shunt port 15 by gravity.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid injection device which is provided, for example, in a beverage vending machine and injects liquid such as coffee or whipped beverage for sale into a container in a predetermined amount.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a beverage vending machine, coffee is extracted using ground coffee beans, the coffee is passed through a delivery pipe, and is injected into a predetermined cup from an injection nozzle at the tip of the pipe. Supply whipped raw material and boiling water in the mixing ball, mix this to prepare a whipped beverage, pass this whipped beverage through another delivery pipe,
From the injection nozzle at the tip of the cup, it is added by pouring it into the cup into which coffee has already been poured. The cup filled with the beverage is then provided to the user of the vending machine.

FIG. 4 shows a cup station b for receiving a cup a, and a cup a of a predetermined size is provided as a container on the cup station b according to a predetermined operation by a user of the vending machine. It is sent out from the upper side and set.

A liquid supply source c such as a coffee extractor or a mixing bowl is arranged above the cup station b, and a delivery pipe e is led out from a discharge port d of the liquid supply source c. An injection nozzle f is attached to the tip.

The injection nozzle d is obliquely provided at a position obliquely above the cup a in order to avoid contact with the cup a when the cup a is delivered onto the cup station b.

A liquid such as coffee or whipped beverage is discharged from the discharge port d of the liquid supply source c, and this liquid is sequentially injected from the delivery pipe e through the injection nozzle f into the cup a.

[0007]

When injecting a liquid, the liquid flows out from the tip of the injection nozzle f so as to draw a parabola. There is no particular problem as long as the liquid is flowing out of the injection nozzle f, but when the remaining amount of the liquid in the liquid supply source c decreases and the end of discharge approaches, the liquid flowing in the delivery pipe e The flow rate and the flow rate are decreased, and the liquid is dripped from the edge of the injection nozzle f to the lower side thereof. And this dropping state continues for a while.

When so-called back dripping occurs in which the liquid is dripped from the injection nozzle f in this way, the dripping liquid then forms in the cup a.
It adheres to the outer peripheral surface from the periphery of the cup and stains the cup a, thereby deteriorating the merchantability.

By the way, in recent years, a cup station for receiving a cup is provided by a transport mechanism so as to be movable in horizontal XY directions, and the cup set in the cup station is transported to each position in the vending machine integrally with the cup station. Vending machine that supplies specified additives, diluents, beverages, etc. at each position, conveys the cup station to the inside of the selling port after supplying it, and provides the cup on the cup station to the user Has appeared.

In the vending machine of this type,
When pouring liquid into the cup, it is possible to place the cup directly under the tip of the pouring nozzle together with the cup station, and in this case, therefore, even if dripping occurs from the pouring nozzle, the dripping liquid is then poured into the cup. Can be flowed in.

However, if the liquid is drooped until it completely drips down, and then the cup station is transported, a time loss occurs due to the waiting, and it takes too much time to provide the beverage to the user. I will end up.

For this reason, if the cup station is transported while rearward drooping occurs, the peripheral edge of the cup crosses the rearward sagging liquid, and then the sagging liquid adheres to the outer peripheral surface from the peripheral edge of the cup. It will be.

By the way, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-90754, a trap having a flow path lower than the outlet of the nozzle is formed upstream of the outlet of the nozzle as a means for expediting the drainage of the beverage, and the beverage is stored in the trap. A technique is disclosed in which a droop of a beverage is prevented from being prolonged.

However, this Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-90754
In the configuration disclosed in the publication, when the beverage remains in the trap, which solidifies and corrodes, causing food hygiene problems, and when hot water is poured into the beverage supply passage for cleaning. However, there is a problem that hot water remains in the trap after the cleaning, and the hot water is mixed into the beverage at the time of the next beverage supply.

The present invention has been made paying attention to such a point, and an object of the present invention is, when the remaining amount of the liquid in the liquid supply source decreases and the end of the discharge approaches,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid injecting device which prevents dripping from the injecting nozzle to achieve quick liquid drainage and does not leave the liquid unnecessarily in the liquid supply passage.

[0016]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a liquid injection device for sequentially injecting a predetermined amount of liquid discharged from a liquid supply source into a predetermined container through a delivery pipe, In the middle of the delivery pipe, a liquid draining pipe having a main passage through which the liquid flows and a flow dividing port formed in a part of the lower side of the peripheral surface of the main passage is provided, and the liquid from the liquid supply source has a certain amount or more. When the liquid is being discharged at a flow rate of, the liquid is circulated on the opening surface of the diversion port by the momentum of the flow to pass through the main path, and the liquid is discharged from the liquid supply source near the end of the discharge. When the flow rate decreases, the liquid is caused to flow from the main path into the diversion port by gravity.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 shown in FIG. 1 denotes a cup station provided in the body of a beverage vending machine. The cup station 1 includes a cup stage 2 for supporting a bottom portion of a cup a as a container for injecting liquid, and a cup a.
And a pair of openable and closable cup flappers 3, 3 for holding both sides of the cup flapper 3, 3.

The cup stage 2 is shaped like a drain,
It is supported horizontally on the liquid receiving tray 4, and the inside of the liquid receiving tray 4 communicates with a drainage part (not shown) such as a bucket. Then, a cup a of a predetermined size is supplied onto the cup stage 2 from a cup case (not shown) above the cup stage 2, and the cup a is attached via a pair of cup flappers 3, 3.
It is designed to wait for the injection of liquid.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a liquid supply source such as a coffee extracting device or a mixing bowl. The liquid supply source 5 produces a predetermined amount of liquid such as coffee or whipped beverage, and the liquid is discharged from the discharge port 6. ing.

A delivery pipe 7 is led out from a discharge port 6 of the liquid supply source 5, and an injection nozzle 8 is provided at the tip of the delivery pipe 7.
Is attached, and this injection nozzle 8 is introduced into the cup station 1. Then, the liquid generated by the liquid supply source 5 is injected from the delivery pipe 7 into the cup a in the cup station 1 through the injection nozzle 8.

A liquid draining pipe 9 is provided in the middle of the delivery pipe 7 near the tip thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid draining pipe 9 includes an inlet portion 10 and an outlet portion 1.
1, a main path 12 and an inlet portion 10 and an outlet portion 11
And a branch pipe 14 led out from the lower portion of the peripheral surface of the throttle portion 13.

A diversion port 15 is formed below the peripheral surface of the throttle portion 13 and near the outlet portion 11, and the inside of the main path 12 communicates with the branch pipe 14 through the diversion port 15. This draining pipe 9 is θ (0 ° <θ ≦
The branch pipe 14 is inclined at an angle of 60.degree.
From the peripheral surface of the liquid draining pipe 9 toward the rear side and obliquely downward. The drain pipe 16 is attached to the branch pipe 14.
Is connected, and the tip of the drain pipe 16 is inserted into the liquid tray 4 in the cup station 1.

In the liquid draining pipe 9, the inside diameter of the inlet portion 10 is d1, the inside diameter of the outlet portion 11 is d2, and the inside diameter of the throttle portion 13 is d3, and (d1 = d2)> d3.

For example, d1 = 9 mm, d2 = 9 mm, d3 =
It is 7 mm. Next, the operation will be described. Liquid supply source 5
The liquid generated in (1) is discharged from the discharge port 6, and this liquid circulates in the delivery pipe 7 by its own weight, and the liquid drain pipe 9
It passes through the main path 12 and is injected from the injection nozzle 8 into the cup a.

Until most of the liquid in the liquid supply source 5 is discharged, the liquid vigorously circulates in the delivery pipe 7, so that this liquid circulates in the main passage 12 of the liquid drain pipe 9. Occasionally, the whole of the liquid remains as it is.
It passes over the opening surface of No. 5 and hardly flows into the diversion port 15.

The flow dividing port 15 is formed on the peripheral surface of the throttle portion 13 having a narrowed inner diameter, and when the liquid flows through the throttle portion 13, the flow velocity thereof further increases, and therefore the liquid is divided into the flow dividing port 15. Instead of flowing into the inside, the entire part passes through the narrowed portion 13 more reliably without passing over the opening surface of the diversion port 15.

When most of the liquid in the liquid supply source 5 is discharged and the remaining amount becomes small, the main path 1 of the liquid draining pipe 9
The amount of liquid flowing in 2 becomes very small, and the momentum of its flow is weakened, so that the liquid is drained by the drain pipe 9
When flowing through the narrowed portion 13 and approaching the diversion port 15, the gravity causes the fluid to sequentially flow into the diversion port 15.

Therefore, at this point, the flow of the liquid into the injection nozzle 8 is stopped, so that the liquid hardly drops from the edge of the injection nozzle 8, that is, there is no dripping, and the liquid runs quickly. Is achieved.

On the other hand, the liquid that has flowed into the flow dividing port 15 flows from the branch pipe 14 through the drainage pipe 16 into the liquid receiving tray 4 of the cup station 1. Then, it is discharged from the liquid receiving tray 4 to a discarding part such as a bucket. In addition, drain pipe 16
Insert the tip directly into the waste part such as a bucket,
The liquid may be discharged directly to the waste part.

In this way, when the discharge of the liquid from the liquid supply source 5 is almost completed, the injection nozzle 8 is responded accordingly.
The flow of the liquid into the chamber is stopped, and the liquid is quickly drained. Therefore, the drooling from the injection nozzle 8 hardly occurs, and therefore the drooling liquid does not stain the cup a. Further, since the backward drip does not occur, the cup a in the cup station 1 can be quickly taken out.

Further, in the case of the system in which the cup station 1 is transported to each position by the transport mechanism,
Since the liquid run-out at the injection nozzle 8 is quickly achieved, the cup station 1 is moved almost at the same time as the end of the liquid discharge, and the liquid is conveyed to the next predetermined position, for example, a sugar or milk additive supply unit or a selling port. Therefore, the cup a containing the liquid (beverage) can be promptly provided to the user of the vending machine.

The liquid in the delivery pipe 7 and the liquid draining pipe 9 after the discharge of the liquid is discharged from the branch pipe 14 through the discharge pipe 16, so that the liquid remains in the delivery pipe 7 and the liquid draining pipe 9. Therefore, there is no food hygiene problem due to the residual liquid being left as in the case of the conventional trap type, and hygienic control is possible.

Further, even when hot water is supplied into the delivery pipe 7 or the liquid draining pipe 9 for cleaning, the hot water does not remain in the delivery pipe 7 or the liquid draining pipe 9, so that the next time. There is no inconvenience that hot water is mixed into the liquid when the liquid is supplied.

FIG. 3 shows a modification of the liquid draining pipe 9, and in FIG. 3 (A), the main path 1 of the liquid draining pipe 9 is shown.
The inner pipe 17 is provided in the inside of the double pipe 2 in the form of a double pipe, and the inner pipe 17 constitutes the throttle portion 13.

In FIG. 3B, an orifice-shaped partition ring 18 is provided inside the main passage 12 of the liquid draining pipe 9,
The partition ring 18 constitutes the diaphragm 13. In this case, the relationship between the inner diameter d1 of the main passage and the diameter d4 of the diversion port 15 is d1≤d2.

In FIG. 3C, a second pipe 19 is inserted inside the main passage 12 of the liquid draining pipe 9, and the second pipe 19 is inserted.
The pipe 19 constitutes the throttle unit 13. FIG.
In (D), the inner diameter d1 on the inlet side of the main passage 12 of the liquid draining pipe 9 is made smaller than the inner diameter d2 on the outlet side, and the central axis on the inlet side and the central axis on the outlet side are only the dimension of t. The inlet side with a small inner diameter is configured to be displaced
There are three. The present invention can be applied not only to the vending machine but also to any device for injecting a liquid into a predetermined container.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the remaining amount of liquid in the liquid supply source decreases and the end of its discharge is approaching, the remaining liquid is made to flow into the diversion port to prevent it from flowing into the injection nozzle. There is no dripping, and quick drainage can be achieved.Therefore, the liquid injection container is not polluted, and there is no unnecessary liquid remaining in the liquid supply passage. Hygienic management can be achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a liquid injection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a liquid drain pipe in the liquid injection device.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the liquid draining pipe.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a conventional liquid injection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 5 ... Liquid supply source 7 ... Delivery pipe 9 ... Draining pipe 12 ... Main path 15 ... Flow outlet a ... Cup (container)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A liquid injection device for sequentially injecting a predetermined amount of liquid discharged from a liquid supply source into a predetermined container through a delivery pipe, wherein a main path through which the liquid flows is provided in the middle of the delivery pipe.
A liquid draining pipe having a flow dividing port formed in a part of the lower side of the peripheral surface of the main path is provided, and when the liquid is discharged from the liquid supply source at a flow rate above a certain level, the liquid is forced to flow by When the flow rate of the liquid is reduced from the main path by gravity when the flow rate of the liquid is made to flow near the end of discharge of the liquid from the liquid supply source, the liquid is circulated on the opening surface of the diversion port and passes through the main path. A liquid injection device, characterized in that the liquid is made to flow into the flow dividing port.