JPH0928572A - Automatic tea supplying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an automatic tea supplying machine in which an abnormal water feed can be alarmed to a user in case of a suspension of water supply or the abnormality of a water supplying system, the state of the automatic tea supplying machine can be displayed to the user, and the provision of a large capacity heater is dispensed with. SOLUTION: This automatic tea supplying machine is provided with a hot water tank 11 for storing hot water; a cold water tank for storing cold water; a flexible pipe 2 for guiding the hot water from an intake port laid in the floated state on the hot water in the hot water tank 11 by a float to a hot water side outflow port; an upper level sensor and a lower level sensor for detecting the level of the hot water in the hot water tank 11; and a control part 12 for giving a primary alarm and a secondary alarm from an alarm part.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic tea dispenser for providing tea or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an automatic tea supply machine, which stores hot or cold water in a tank and mixes powdered tea with hot or cold water to supply tea or coffee, has been widely used in offices and the like.

Therefore, a conventional automatic tea supply machine will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic system diagram of a conventional automatic tea supply machine. The conventional automatic tea dispenser main body 63 is configured as follows. 20 is a cold water tank for storing cold water,
11 is a hot water tank for storing hot water, 27 is a water supply joint, 2
8 is a water supply channel for supplying tap water, 29 is a filter for removing dust, 30 is a check valve for preventing reverse flow of water, 3
1 is a cold water side water supply solenoid valve for adjusting the water supply to the cold water tank 20, 32 is a hot water side water supply solenoid valve for adjusting the water supply to the hot water tank 11, 22 is a cold water side water supply passage for supplying water to the cold water tank 20, 8 is a hot water side water supply passage that supplies water to the hot water tank 11, 23 is a baffle plate that makes it difficult for the water supplied to the cold water tank 20 to mix with cold water, 17 is a water level sensor that detects the water level of cold water, and 39 is cold water A cooling unit for cooling the water in the tank 20 and a water temperature sensor 38 for detecting the water temperature in the cold water tank 20. 10 is a baffle that makes it difficult for the water supplied to the hot water tank 11 to mix with the hot water, 5 is a water level sensor that detects the water level of the hot water, 9 is a heater that heats the water in the hot water tank 11 and keeps it warm at the same time, 33 is hot water A hot water sensor for detecting the water temperature in the tank 11 and a temperature rise preventor 34 for cutting off the supply of electric power to the heater 9 when the inside of the hot water tank 11 is overheated.

Reference numeral 48 is a cold water discharge valve for adjusting discharge of only cold water, 49 is a cold water discharge passage for discharging only cold water, 40 is a cold water side overflow pipe, 41 is a drainage passage for discharging cold water in the cold water tank 20, and 42 is A drain valve 35 is a hot water side overflow pipe, 36 is a drainage channel for draining hot water in the hot water tank 11, 37 is a drain valve, 46 is a hot water discharge valve for adjusting discharge of only hot water, and 47 is hot water only. It is a hot water discharge path. Reference numeral 16 is a cold beverage solenoid valve for adjusting the discharge of cold beverage, and 3 is a hot beverage solenoid valve for adjusting the discharge of hot beverage. Reference numeral 66 is a cold water side water supply port, and 68 is a cold water side outlet, and since cold water tends to collect in the lower layer as a result of convection, it is provided at the bottom of the cold water tank 20 at a position where cold water easily flows out. Reference numeral 65 is a warm water side water supply port, and 67 is a warm water side outlet, which is provided at a position where hot water near the hot water surface in the hot water tank 11 easily flows out because warm water tends to collect in the upper layer as a result of convection.

Reference numeral 44 denotes a collecting portion for collecting hot water and cold water discharged from the hot water communication passage 4 and the cold water communication passage 21, respectively.
Is a supply path for supplying cold water or hot water to the mixing ball 51, 53 is a canister for storing and supplying powder raw material 56 such as tea and coffee, 55 is a screw for pushing out the powder raw material 56, 54 is a raw material motor for driving the screw 55, Reference numeral 52 is a stirring blade for mixing the powder raw material 56 with cold water or warm water, which functions as a valve in addition to stirring during rotation to prevent the unmixed material from being discharged into the cup 64. 50
Is a mixing motor that drives the stirring blades 52, 12 is a control unit that controls the operation of the automatic tea supply machine, and 57 is an operation panel provided with a hot switch 58, a cold switch 59, a hot water switch 60, and a cold water switch 61.
Reference numeral 43 is a drain tray for draining hot water or cold water. The powder tea supply unit 62 includes a cold beverage solenoid valve 16, a hot beverage solenoid valve 3, a hot water communication passage 4, a cold water communication passage 21, a collecting portion 44, a supply passage 45, a canister 53, a powder raw material 56,
It is composed of a screw 55, a raw material motor 54, a stirring blade 52, a mixing ball 51, a mixing motor 50, etc. Normally, this unit is provided in the main body 63 with three sets for coffee, tea and green tea, and a cold beverage 3 It is possible to supply varieties, 3 types of hot drinks, and 8 types of cold water and hot water.

Next, the operation of the conventional automatic tea supply machine will be described. If you want to drink hot tea, cup 6 in body 63
4 is set and when the hot switch 58 of the operation panel 57 is pressed, the hot beverage solenoid valve 3 is opened and the hot water in the hot water tank 11 is supplied to the mixing ball 51 by flowing down the hot water communication passage 4, the collecting portion 44, and the supply passage 45. It Immediately before the hot water is supplied to the mixing ball 51, the mixing motor 5
0 rotates the stirring blade 52 so that hot water does not leak into the cup 64. Next, hot water is mixing ball 51
When about 1/3 of the predetermined amount is supplied, the raw material motor 54 drives the screw 55 to supply the powder raw material 56 stored in the canister 53 to the mixing ball 51 by a predetermined amount. After a predetermined amount of hot water and the powder raw material 56 are supplied, the stirring blade 52 is rotated for a certain period of time to continue stirring. After mixing for a predetermined time, the rotation of the stirring blade 52 is stopped, and the tea in the mixing ball 51 falls by its own weight and is supplied to the cup 64 to complete the tea supply operation. The hot water in the hot water tank 11 will be consumed by the amount of hot water supplied here,
It is necessary to replenish that much water. A water level sensor 5 provided in the hot water tank 11 transmits an OFF signal to the control unit 12 when the water level is below a predetermined level, and the control unit 12 controls the hot water side water supply solenoid valve 32 to open and replenish the hot water side water supply passage. Water is supplied to the hot water tank 11 through 8. When water is supplied to the hot water tank 11 and reaches a predetermined water level, the water level sensor 5 outputs an ON signal to the control unit 12, and the hot water side water supply solenoid valve 3
Close 2. Since the temperature of hot water drops when water is supplied to the hot water tank 11, the hot water side outlet 67 has the highest temperature near the hot water surface in the hot water tank 11 so that the temperature of the hot water used for tea supply does not drop next time. The hot water supply port 65 is provided at the position of the hot water, the hot water supply port 65 is provided at the bottom of the hot water tank 11, and the baffle plate 10 and the like are provided around the hot water tank 11 to prevent direct mixing. When the temperature of the hot water decreases, the hot water sensor 33 detects the hot water temperature and notifies the control unit 12 of the temperature.
The heater 2 supplies electric power to the heater 9 to heat it to a predetermined temperature. The control unit 12 controls the series of operations described above.

On the other hand, if you want to drink cold tea,
When the cup 64 is set in 3 and the cold switch 59 of the operation panel 57 is pressed, the cold beverage electromagnetic valve 16 opens and the cold water in the cold water tank 20 flows down the cold water communication passage 21, the collecting portion 44, and the supply passage 45 to mix the mixing ball 51. Is supplied to. Immediately before the cold water starts to be supplied to the mixing ball 51, the mixing motor 50 rotates the stirring blade 52,
Make sure that cold water does not leak into the cup 64. Next, when cold water is supplied to about 1/3 of the predetermined amount of the mixing ball 51, the raw material motor 54 drives the screw 55 to supply the powder raw material 56 stored in the canister 53 to the predetermined amount of the mixing ball 51. After a predetermined amount of cold water and the powder raw material 56 are supplied, the stirring blade 52 is rotated for a certain period of time to continue stirring. After mixing for a predetermined time, the rotation of the stirring blade 52 is stopped, and the tea in the mixing ball 51 falls by its own weight and is supplied to the cup 64 to complete the tea supply operation. The cold water in the cold water tank 20 is consumed by the amount of the cold water supplied here, and it is necessary to replenish the water with that amount. Water level sensor 1 installed in the cold water tank 20
7 is below a predetermined water level, transmits an OFF signal to the control unit 12, opens the cold water side water supply solenoid valve 31 under the control of the control unit 12, and the water to be supplied passes through the cold water side water supply communication passage 22 and the cold water tank 20. Will be supplied with water. When water is supplied to the cold water tank 20 and reaches a predetermined water level, the water level sensor 17 transmits an ON signal to the control unit 12, and closes the cold water side water supply solenoid valve 31. In order to prevent the temperature of the cold water from suddenly rising when the water is supplied to the cold water tank 20, the cold water side water supply port 66 is provided at the top of the cold water tank 20, and the cold water side outlet 68 is provided at the bottom of the cold water tank 20. The baffle plate 23 and the like are provided around the device so that the water supply does not mix directly. However, when the temperature of the cold water rises, the water temperature sensor 38 detects the water temperature and notifies the control unit 12, and the control unit 12 causes the cooling unit. Power is supplied to 39 to cool it to a predetermined water temperature. If hot water is desired, the cup 64 is set and the hot water switch 60 on the operation panel 57 is pushed, and hot water is discharged from the hot water discharge passage 47 while the hot water discharge valve 46 is opened and the hot water switch 60 is kept pressed. If cold water is desired, the cup 64 is set and the cold water switch 61 on the operation panel 57 is pushed, and the cold water discharge valve 48 opens and the cold water is discharged from the cold water discharge passage 49 while the cold water switch 61 is kept pressed. The method of replenishing the hot water and cold water consumed by these operations is the same as the method already described.

As described above, in the conventional automatic tea dispenser, the hot water tank 11 has the water level sensor 5 and the hot water side outlet 67 near the hot water surface thereof, and the cold water tank 20 has the water level sensor 17 and the cold water side outlet 68 thereof. Is provided, water is supplied for replenishment each time tea is supplied, and a fixed amount of hot water and cold water are always stored in the respective tanks so that tea can be supplied at any time. However, this method can use only part of the hot water in the hot water tank 11. This is because the hot water side outlet 67 is provided near the hot water surface in order to supply hot water of high temperature. Then, if the water supply is cut off like when water is cut off, the hot water cannot be used even though it is in the hot water tank 11. Therefore, if the mounting position of the hot water side outlet 67 is lowered so that as much hot water as possible can be used, the temperature of the hot water will decrease, and the head difference between the water surface and the hot water side outlet 67 will decrease as the water level decreases. It changes and the flow rate of hot water gradually decreases. Since the amount of hot water supplied must be constant, the valve opening of the solenoid valve must be adjusted according to the head difference, which is difficult to adjust. Therefore, the applicant of the present invention floats a free pipe having an intake port on the hot water in the hot water tank 11
By making the position of the water intake port follow the change of the level of the hot water, these problems are solved, and most of the hot water in the hot water tank 11 can be used with a simple structure.

[0009]

However, since this method supplies water at an appropriate frequency during normal use, the amount of hot water does not change and the heat capacity of the hot water is large, so it is necessary to maintain a stable hot water temperature. However, when hot water is repeatedly used without being supplied with water when the water is cut off, the amount of hot water in the hot water tank decreases, and the heat capacity decreases. Then, at this time, when the water cutoff is released, a large amount of water supply causes a sharp drop in the hot water temperature, and cold water may come out.
Then, the user may mistakenly think that the automatic tea dispenser is out of order. However, in order to prevent this, if the temperature of the hot water is raised as soon as possible, the heater needs to have a large capacity, which increases the cost.

Therefore, the present invention solves these problems, and when the water supply is interrupted or the water supply system is abnormal, the user can be warned that the water supply is abnormal and the user can be automatically notified. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic tea dispenser that can display the state of the tea dispenser and does not require a large capacity heater.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an automatic tea dispenser of the present invention comprises a hot water tank for storing hot water,
A cold water tank that stores cold water, a free pipe that guides hot water to the hot water side outlet from a water intake in the hot water tank that is floated by a float, an upper water level sensor that detects the water level in the hot water tank, and a lower part A water level sensor is installed, and when the upper water level sensor detects that the water level has dropped below the upper water level and the water level does not recover to the upper water level after a lapse of a predetermined time, a primary alarm is output from the alarm unit and the lower water level sensor is The present invention is characterized in that a control unit for issuing a secondary alarm from the notification unit is provided when it is detected that the water level has dropped below the water level.

Further, it is desirable that the upper water level sensor and the lower water level sensor are float sensors that detect the level by the vertical movement of the float.

Further, an upper water level sensor and a lower water level sensor are provided in the cold water tank, and a cold water side outlet is provided near the bottom of the cold water tank, and the upper water level sensor detects that the water level has dropped below the upper water level. If the water level does not recover to the upper water level even after a lapse of a predetermined time, the primary alarm is issued from the alarm unit, and if the lower water level sensor detects that the water level has dropped below the lower water level, the secondary alarm is issued from the alarm unit. A feature is that a control unit is provided.

[0014]

The automatic tea dispenser of the present invention detects the water level of the hot water in the hot water tank and the free pipe that guides the hot water to the hot water side outlet from the intake port floated by the float in the hot water tank. Since the upper water level sensor and the lower water level sensor are installed and the control unit that issues an alarm from the alarm unit is used, most of the hot water in the hot water tank can be used, and when the water supply is abnormal, a primary alarm is issued to notify the user of the abnormality. Along with the notification, a secondary alarm can be issued when the remaining amount of hot water drops below the lower water level.

Further, since the upper water level sensor and the lower water level sensor are float sensors, respectively, the position of the water surface can be accurately detected.

Further, since the upper water level sensor and the lower water level sensor are provided in the cold water tank and the control unit for issuing an alarm from the alarm unit is provided, most of the cold water in the cold water tank can be used, and when the water supply is abnormal, A primary alarm can be issued to inform the user of the abnormality, and a secondary alarm can be issued when the remaining amount of cold water drops below the lower water level.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An automatic tea dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a hot water tank of an automatic tea supply machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a cold water tank of an automatic tea dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a flow chart during operation of the automatic tea dispenser according to the embodiment of the present invention. Here, the same reference numerals as those used in the description of the conventional example are basically the same also in the present embodiment, and therefore the description will be omitted for the conventional example.

FIG. 1 shows the automatic tea feeding machine of this embodiment.
It will be described based on. The hot water side outlet 67 formed in the hot water tank 11 is connected to the hot water communication passage 4 provided with the hot beverage solenoid valve 3. The deformable universal pipe 2 is attached to the hot water side outlet 67 in the hot water tank 11 in a cantilever state. A water intake 1a is provided at a free end of the free pipe 2, and a float 1 is provided near the water intake 1a. Therefore, when hot water is stored in the warm water tank 11, the free pipe 2 floats near the water surface because of the float 1. Therefore, the water intake 1a can always collect hot water having the highest temperature near the liquid surface. The hot water outlet 67 is provided near the bottom of the hot water tank 11. Free pipe 2 even if hot water is discharged and the water level continues to drop
Since the float 1 provided at the position follows the change of the water level, most of the hot water stored in the hot water tank 11 can be stably discharged and used for tea supply. The material of the flexible tube 2 may be either resin or metal, but it must be flexible enough to follow the movement of the float 1. It may be made of a resin having flexibility, or may have a structure in which a metal ring is telescopically connected in a vertical direction so that the metal ring can expand and contract.

The water level sensor 5 comprises an upper water level sensor and a lower water level sensor, both of which are float sensors. The upper water level sensor detects the upper water level 6 set in the warm water tank 11 by the upper water level float 5a. ,
The lower water level sensor changes the lower water level 7 to the lower water level float 5b.
Is detected by. Thus, the float sensor detects the level by the vertical movement of the upper water level float 5a and the lower water level float 5b. Here, the operation of the upper and lower water level sensors will be described. When the water level of the warm water is at the upper water level 6, the upper water level sensor is ON and the water level sensor 5 sends an ON signal to the control unit 12.
In this state, new water is not supplied from the warm water side water supply passage 8. Next, the cup 64 is supplied with tea and the hot water tank 1
When the hot water in 1 is consumed, the water level of the hot water is lowered and the upper water level sensor is turned off. Upper water level sensor is OFF
When the control unit 12 knows that the time has come, the timer starts counting. At the same time, the control unit 12 transmits a water supply signal to the hot water side water supply solenoid valve 32 to start water supply. When the water supply is started and the upper water level sensor is turned on, the water supply is stopped. If water is not supplied due to abnormality in the water supply system or water is cut off, the upper water level sensor will not turn ON even if the timer times out for a predetermined time. When the upper water level sensor is OFF and the timer times out, the control unit 12 sends a control signal to the notification unit 70 to issue a primary alarm of water supply abnormality. The notification unit 70 warns or conveys an abnormality by displaying a state, a warning light, or a warning sound. Therefore, the user can know that the water supply is abnormal by the primary alarm, and the tea is supplied while confirming the water temperature by looking at the hot water temperature display or the like displayed by the notification unit 70, so that cold tea is not surprising. . In this way, the user can safely use the hot water in the hot water tank 11 completely. In this state, when water supply is released and water supply is started in a large amount, a large amount of cold water is supplied in a small amount of hot water at a time. The control unit 12 can stop the tea supply until. Since the heating can be performed while the user is informed of the temporary stop of the tea supply, it is not necessary to provide the heater 9 having a large capacity. When the water level further drops and reaches below the lower water level 7, the lower water level sensor turns off. The lower water level sensor sends this OFF signal to the control unit 12, and the control unit 12 receiving this signal sends a control signal to the notification unit 70 to display the stop of tea supply and at the same time stop the tea supply operation of the automatic tea supply machine. .

As described above, in this embodiment, hot water can be used until the secondary alarm is issued even when the water is cut off. In addition, even after the primary alarm is notified, the user can supply tea and can check the water supply system for malfunctions.
Don't be surprised by the cold warm water, and never waste it.

Next, the operation of the automatic tea feeder of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a flowchart when the automatic tea supply machine operates. Control unit 12 at the start of S1
Opens the hot water side water supply solenoid valve 32 and the cold water side water supply solenoid valve 31. Water is supplied to the hot water tank 11 and the cold water tank 20 to the water levels of the upper water level 6 and the upper water level 18, respectively, and the heater 9 of the hot water tank 11 is energized to heat the water to a predetermined temperature. The cooling element of the cooling unit 39 of the cold water tank 20 is also energized to cool it to a predetermined temperature. In this state, the standby S2 is entered. When the user operates the hot switch 58 on the operation panel 57 in S3, the tea supply operation is started in S4, the control unit 12 opens the hot beverage solenoid valve 3 for a certain period of time, and a certain amount of hot water in the warm water tank 11 is mixed with the mixing ball. Supply to 51. The hot beverage solenoid valve 3 is closed in S5, but by this time the amount of hot water in the hot water tank 11 has decreased by this fixed amount, and the water level has decreased. When the water level drops, the upper water level sensor is turned off in S6 and the timer starts counting. If the upper water level sensor is OFF in S8 even if the timer times out after a predetermined time has elapsed in S7, the control unit 12 causes the notification unit 70 to issue a primary alarm in S9. When timeout occurs in S7 S8
If the upper water level sensor is changed to ON, the process returns to the standby of S2. The predetermined time measured by this timer can be set in advance depending on the frequency of tea supply, the volume of hot water to be stored, etc., but a suitable range is from a few seconds to a dozen seconds. However, it is appropriate to select from several tens of seconds to several tens of minutes when it is judged to be abnormal after several teas have been supplied. After the primary alarm is issued in S9, the primary alarm is continued until the upper water level sensor in S8 is turned on. In this way, even if there is an abnormality in the water supply system or water is cut off, in the present embodiment, it is possible to eliminate waste by using hot water continuously for tea supply while issuing a primary alarm.

If tea supply is repeated without water being supplied to the warm water tank 11, the water level will drop, and eventually the lower water level sensor will be turned off at S10. At this time, the control unit 12 judges that the water supply limit is reached, and at the same time, causes the notification unit 70 to issue a secondary alarm in S11, at the same time stops the tea supply operation in S12, and suspends the operation of the automatic tea supply machine due to the water supply abnormality in S12. It will be.

As described above, even if the hot water in the hot water tank 11 reaches the upper water level 6 or less, tea can be supplied while issuing the primary alarm, and the user can know from the primary alarm that the water supply is abnormal. You don't have to be surprised by the sudden cold tea, because you can check the hot water temperature while checking the hot water temperature. The user can safely use up the hot water in the hot water tank 11 completely. When the water supply is started after the water cutoff is released, a large amount of cold water is supplied into a small amount of hot water at a time. However, in addition to displaying the hot water temperature by the alarm unit 70, the controller 12 until the predetermined temperature is reached. You can also stop the tea supply.

By the way, in this embodiment, the deformable universal pipe 2 and the float 1 are provided in the hot water tank 11 so that hot water can be used even when the water supply is abnormal. This allows the intake port to follow the surface of the hot water in the hot water tank 11,
Since the temperature near the surface of the hot water is the highest, it is possible to always supply hot tea, and since there is no change in the head difference, it is possible to supply a constant amount of hot water.

Further, in this embodiment, the heater 9 is provided near the bottom surface of the hot water tank 11. This is because, considering the convection motion of the hot water in the hot water tank 11 when the heater 9 is heated, the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 11 tends to be uniform when the heater 9 is arranged along the bottom surface of the hot water tank 11. .

Next, the cold water tank 20 of this embodiment shown in FIG.
Will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a cold water tank of the automatic tea supply machine in the embodiment of the present invention. A cold water side water supply passage 22 is connected to the cold water tank 20. The cold water side water supply passage 22 is formed so as to extend to the upper part in the cold water tank 20, and a baffle plate 23 is provided near the discharge port. This baffle plate 23 is for preventing the temperature of the cold water from suddenly rising when mixed immediately because the temperature of the inflowing water is room temperature. A cold water communication passage 21 for supplying cold water to the mixing ball 51 is connected to the lower portion of the cold water tank 20. A cold beverage solenoid valve 16 for adjusting the supply amount of cold water is provided in the cold water communication passage 21 near a connection portion with the cold water tank 20. Further, inside the cold water tank 20, a water level sensor 17 for cold water is provided. The water level sensor 17 of this embodiment is a float sensor, and the cold water tank 20.
The upper water level 18 and the lower water level 19 set therein are detected by the upper water level float 17a and the lower water level float 17b of the float sensor, respectively. The cold beverage solenoid valve 16 and the water level sensor 17 are electrically connected to the control unit 12, respectively. The control unit 12 has a water level sensor 17
The cold water side water supply solenoid valve 31 is controlled by a detection signal from the cold water side, the cold beverage solenoid valve 16 is adjusted, and the water temperature sensor 3 is used.
The cooling unit 39 is controlled based on the detection signal of 8.

The operation of the cold water tank 20 will be described. When the user presses the cold switch 59 of the operation panel 57, in response to this, the controller 12 opens the cold beverage solenoid valve 16 for a certain period of time, and supplies a certain amount of cold water in the cold water tank 20 to the mixing ball 51. The amount of cold water in the cold water tank 20 is reduced by this fixed amount, and the water level is lowered.
When the water level drops, the upper water level sensor turns off and the timer starts counting. Even if the timer times out after a certain period of time, the upper water level sensor turns off.
If so, the control unit 12 causes the notification unit 70 to issue a primary alarm indicating a water supply abnormality. If the upper water level sensor is turned ON when the time-out occurs, the process returns to standby. The predetermined time measured by this timer can be set in advance depending on the frequency of tea supply, the volume of cold water to be stored, etc., but a suitable range is from a few seconds to a dozen seconds. However, you may choose from several tens of seconds to several tens of minutes. After the primary alarm is issued, water supply is started, so that the primary alarm is continued until the upper water level sensor is turned on.

In this way, even if there is an abnormality in the water supply system or water is cut off, in the present embodiment, it is possible to eliminate waste by using cold water continuously for tea supply while issuing a primary alarm. In this embodiment, when either the hot water side or the cold water side issues the primary alarm or the secondary alarm earlier, the other is not displayed in an overlapping manner, but a status display to that effect can be added. If tea supply is repeated without water being supplied to the cold water tank 20, the lower water level sensor will eventually turn off, and the control unit 12 will judge that the water supply has reached the water supply limit. To do.

As described above, even if the cold water in the cold water tank 20 becomes lower than the upper water level 18, tea can be supplied while issuing a primary alarm, and the user can know from the primary alarm that the water supply is abnormal. Since the tea is supplied while checking the water temperature by looking at the water temperature display of 70, it is not possible to judge that the automatic tea dispenser itself is out of order. Since the tea can be supplied while paying attention to the above, the user can completely use the cold water in the cold water tank 20. Then, when water supply is started by canceling water supply or the like, a large amount of warm water is supplied into a small amount of cold water at one time. In addition to displaying the water temperature by the notification unit 70, the control unit until it is cooled to a predetermined temperature. It is also possible for 12 to stop the tea supply.

In this embodiment, since the cold water communicating passage 21 for supplying the cold water to the mixing ball 51 is connected to the lower portion of the cold water tank 20, the cold water having the lowest temperature can be supplied.

[0031]

As can be seen from the above description, the automatic tea dispenser of the present invention is provided with a hot water tank for storing hot water, a cold water tank for storing cold water, and an intake port floated on the hot water in the hot water tank by a float. A free pipe that guides hot water to the hot water side outlet, an upper water level sensor and a lower water level sensor that detect the water level of the hot water in the hot water tank, and the upper water level sensor detects when the water level has dropped below the upper water level. If the water level does not recover to the upper water level even after a lapse of a predetermined time, the primary alarm is issued from the alarm unit, and if the lower water level sensor detects that the water level has dropped below the lower water level, the secondary alarm is issued from the alarm unit. Since the control unit is provided, the user can know that the water supply is abnormal by this primary alarm,
You can supply tea while checking the hot water temperature by checking the hot water temperature display, etc., and even if the water supply system is abnormal or water is cut off, most of the water stored in the hot water tank will be output until the primary alarm is issued and the secondary alarm is issued. You can continue hot water supply by discharging hot water. Also, it is not necessary to provide a large capacity heater.

Further, since the upper water level sensor and the lower water level sensor are respectively float sensors, maintenance is easy.

Further, an upper water level sensor and a lower water level sensor are provided in the cold water tank, and a cold water side outlet is provided near the bottom of the cold water tank, and the upper water level sensor detects that the water level has dropped below the upper water level. If the water level does not recover to the upper water level even after a lapse of a predetermined time, the primary alarm is issued from the alarm unit, and if the lower water level sensor detects that the water level has dropped below the lower water level, the secondary alarm is issued from the alarm unit. Since the control unit is provided, the user can know that there is an abnormality in water supply by this primary alarm, and can supply tea while checking the water temperature by checking the water temperature display, etc. Also, until the primary alarm is issued and the secondary alarm is issued, most of the cold water stored in the cold water tank can be discharged to continue the tea supply.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a hot water tank of an automatic tea supply machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a cold water tank of an automatic tea supply machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart when the automatic tea dispenser operates according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic system diagram of a conventional automatic tea supply machine.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 float 2 universal pipe 3 hot beverage solenoid valve 4 hot water communication passage 5, 17 water level sensor 5a, 17a upper water level float 5b, 17b lower water level float 6, 18 upper water level 7, 19 lower water level 8 hot water side water supply communication path 9 heater 10 , 23 baffle plate 11 hot water tank 12 control section 16 cold beverage solenoid valve 20 cold water tank 21 cold water communication passage 22 cold water side water supply passage 27 water supply joint 28 water supply passage 29 filter 30 check valve 31 cold water side water supply solenoid valve 32 hot water side water supply Solenoid valve 33 Hot water sensor 34 Temperature rise preventer 35 Hot water side overflow pipe 36, 41 Drainage channel 37, 42 Drain valve 38 Water temperature sensor 39 Cooling unit 40 Cold water side overflow pipe 43 Drainage tray 44 Collecting unit 45 Supply channel 46 Hot water discharge valve 50 Mixing motor 51 Mixing motor 52 Stirring blade 53 Canister 54 Raw material motor 55 Screw 56 Powder raw material 57 Operation panel 58 Hot switch 59 Cold switch 60 Hot water switch 61 Cold water switch 62 Powdered tea supply unit 63 Main body 64 Cup 65 Hot water side water supply port 66 Cold water side water supply port 67 Hot water Side outlet 68 Cold water side outlet 70 Notification section

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A hot water tank for storing hot water, a cold water tank for storing cold water, a free pipe for guiding hot water to a hot water side outlet from an intake port floated on the hot water in the hot water tank, and the hot water. An upper water level sensor and a lower water level sensor that detect the water level of the hot water in the tank are installed, and the upper water level sensor detects that the water level has dropped below the upper water level and the water level does not recover to the upper water level even after a predetermined time In this case, a primary alarm is output from the alarm unit, and when the lower water level sensor detects that the water level has dropped below the lower water level, a secondary alarm is output from the alarm unit. Tea machine. 2. The upper water level sensor and the lower water level sensor are float sensors that detect a level by moving the float up and down, respectively.
The described automatic tea dispenser. 3. An upper water level sensor and a lower water level sensor are provided in the cold water tank, and a cold water side outlet is provided near the bottom of the cold water tank so that the upper water level sensor detects that the water level has dropped below the upper water level. Then, if the water level does not recover to the upper water level after a lapse of a predetermined time, a primary alarm is issued from the alarm unit, and if the lower water level sensor detects that the water level has dropped below the lower water level, a secondary alarm is issued. 3. The automatic tea dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a control unit for ejecting from the unit.