JPH0969189A - Cooling device for automatic drink vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently cool materials and to prevent the deterioration in quality due to humidity by arranging a part of a refrigerant pipe for a cooling cycle in a cooling room communicated with a canistor room as a heat exchange and successively sending air sucked into the cooling room to the canistor room as cooled air. SOLUTION: A suction port 21 is formed in the cooling room 16 and the room 16 is connected to the canistor room 6 through a duct 22. Air in the room 16 is successively sent into the room 6 through the duct 22 by a fan 24 housed in a fan case 23 arranged on the way of the duct 22. A refrigerant is allowed to flow and evapolated in the refrigerant pipe 14a in the heat exchange 17 and the surface temperature of the pipe 14a is dropped to a low temperature. On the other hand, air in a machine body 1 is successively sucked into the room 16 through the suction port 21 by the drive of the fan 14 and comes into contact with the heat exchange 17, so that the air is converted into low temperature cooled air. The cooled air is successively sent to the room 6 through the duct 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage vending machine that manufactures and sells cold beverages and hot beverages using raw materials such as coffee beans and coffee powder, and cools the raw materials for producing the beverages to obtain quality. The present invention relates to a cooling device for a beverage vending machine, which prevents the deterioration of the beverage.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a beverage vending machine of this type, a canister chamber is provided in the body of the vending machine, a plurality of canisters are arranged in the canister chamber, and the raw materials for beverage production are stored in the canister. There is. Furthermore, various equipment such as a hot water heater for hot beverages, a cooling water tank for cold beverages, and a refrigeration cycle associated with an ice maker are installed in the fuselage. There is a risk that the stored raw material for producing a beverage may be deteriorated in quality and deteriorate in quality.

As a countermeasure against this, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-258171
The publication discloses a technique in which cold air on the water surface in a cooling water tank provided in the body is sent into a canister chamber through a blower fan, and the cold air cools a raw material to maintain its freshness. ing.

[0004]

However, the amount of cold air generated on the surface of the cooling water tank is not so large,
Therefore, the cooling capacity for the raw material in the canister chamber is low, and the cool air generated on the water surface of the cooling water tank contains a relatively large amount of moisture. Therefore, if this cool air is blown into the canister chamber as it is, the raw material will lose its moisture content. May be absorbed to cause deterioration in quality due to moisture.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such a point, and an object thereof is to automatically sell beverages capable of efficiently and effectively cooling the raw materials and preventing deterioration of quality due to moisture. To provide a cooling device for a machine.

[0006]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention is provided with a canister chamber in a body, a canister is arranged in the canister chamber, and a raw material for beverage production in the canister. In a beverage vending machine having a cooling water tank and an ice maker equipped with a refrigeration cycle inside the body, a cooling chamber communicating with the canister chamber is provided, and one of the refrigerant pipes for the refrigeration cycle is provided in the cooling chamber. Part is arranged as a heat exchanger, and a blower means for sucking air into the cooling chamber and blowing the air into the canister chamber is provided, and the air sucked into the cooling chamber by the blower means is brought into contact with the heat exchanger. Cold air is blown into the canister chamber in sequence.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 in FIG. 1 denotes a body of a beverage vending machine, and a cooling water tank 2 for cooling drinking water, syrup, carbonated water, etc. is provided in the lower portion of the body 1.

A water heater 3, an ice maker 4, and a plurality of canisters 5 ... Are provided in the upper portion of the machine body 1, and the canisters 5 ... Of these canisters 5 ... Canisters 5 containing raw materials that dislike hot and humid conditions, such as coffee beans
The a and 5b are arranged in the canister chamber 6, and the canister chamber 6 surrounds the periphery of the a and 5b and separates them from the outside.

A coffee mill 7 is provided in the lower portion of the canister chamber 6, and a raw material in the canisters 5a and 5b, that is, coffee beans are supplied into the coffee mill 7 in a predetermined amount in response to the input of a predetermined signal and ground. To be done.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a sales opening provided on an opening / closing door (not shown) on the front surface of the machine body 1, and a predetermined opening is provided from a cup case (not shown) provided inside the opening / closing door in the selling opening 8. The cup a is supplied.

A coffee brewer 10 is provided below the coffee mill 7, the coffee powder crushed by the coffee mill 7 is supplied into the coffee brewer 10, and the coffee powder in the coffee brewer 10 is added to the water heater. 3, hot water is supplied, coffee liquid is extracted by the hot water through the filter 10a, and the coffee liquid is injected into the cup a in the selling port 8 through the injection pipe 10b. If necessary, sugar, milk or the like is added to the cup a, and in the case of ice coffee, ice pieces are put into the cup a from the ice making machine 4.

A refrigerating cycle 11 is attached to the cooling water tank 2. The refrigerating cycle 11 includes a compressor 12, a condenser 13 and a cooler 14, and the cooler 14 is formed by winding a refrigerant pipe 14a in a coil shape. The cooling device 14 is arranged in the cooling water tank 2.

The upper surface of the cooling water tank 2 is covered with a cover 15,
A cooling chamber 16 is formed on the cover 15. A part of the refrigerant pipe 14a constituting the cooler 14 penetrates the cover 15 and extends into the cooling chamber 16 and is wound in a coil shape, and the heat exchanger is wound by the winding portion of the refrigerant pipe 1a. 17 are configured.

A heat conducting plate 18 made of metal is provided at the center of the inside of the heat exchanger 17 having a coil shape, and the lower portion of the heat conducting plate 18 penetrates the cover 15 to be submerged in water in the cooling water tank 2. It is immersed.

An intake port 21 is formed on one side of the cooling chamber 16, and the cooling chamber 16 is connected to the canister chamber 6 via a duct 22. The inside of the cooling chamber 16 is connected to the canister chamber via the duct 22. It communicates with 6. A fan case 23 is provided in the middle of the duct 22, and a fan 24 is accommodated in the fan case 23 as an air blowing means. The fan 24 sequentially blows the air in the cooling chamber 16 into the canister chamber 6 through the duct 22. It has become so.

Next, the operation will be described. By the operation of the refrigeration cycle 11, the refrigerant flows into the refrigerant pipe 14a of the cooler 14 and evaporates, and the water in the cooling water tank 2 is cooled based on this. Further, the refrigerant also flows and evaporates in the refrigerant pipe 14a of the heat exchanger 17, and the refrigerant pipe 1 of the heat exchanger 17
The surface temperature of 4a becomes a low temperature of about -10 ° C.

On the other hand, when the fan 14 is driven, the air in the machine body 1 is sequentially sucked into the cooling chamber 16 through the intake port 21, and this air comes into contact with the heat exchanger 17, whereby the air becomes a cold air of low temperature. Become. Then, this cool air is sequentially blown into the canister chamber 6 through the duct 22. Therefore, each canister 5 arranged in the canister chamber 6
The coffee beans in a and 5b are cooled by the cold air.

The air sucked into the cooling chamber 16 receives heat from the heat exchanger 1.
By contacting with 7 quickly and reliably, low-temperature cold air is obtained, and therefore a large amount of cold air can be blown into the canister chamber 6, which improves the cooling capacity and removes the coffee beans in each canister 5a, 5b. It is possible to efficiently and effectively cool and prevent deterioration of the quality.

Further, since the cool air sent into the canister chamber 6 is not the cool air on the water surface of the cooling water tank 2, it is in a dry state containing almost no humidity, and therefore the deterioration of the quality of coffee beans due to the humidity can be surely prevented. can do.

A heat conducting plate 18 is provided at the center of the inside of the heat exchanger 17, and the lower part of the heat conducting plate 18 is immersed in the water in the cooling water tank 2. Therefore, the heat conducting plate 18 has a low temperature. Therefore, the cooling chamber 1 is attached to the low temperature heat conduction plate 18.
The air sucked into 6 comes into contact with the air 6, so that the air can be cooled more efficiently and low-temperature cold air can be generated.

In the above embodiment, a part of the refrigerant pipe in the refrigeration cycle attached to the cooling water tank is placed in the cooling chamber to form the heat exchanger, but the refrigerant in the refrigeration cycle attached to the ice maker is used. It may be a case where a part of the pipe is arranged in the cooling chamber and used as a heat exchanger.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention,
There is an advantage that the raw material for beverage production can be efficiently and effectively cooled and the deterioration of the quality of the raw material due to moisture can be surely prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a cooling device of a beverage vending machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Aircraft body 2 ... Cooling water tank 4 ... Ice maker 5a, 5b ... Canister 6 ... Canister chamber 11 ... Refrigeration cycle 14 ... Cooler 14a ... Refrigerant piping 16 ... Cooling chamber 17 ... Heat exchanger 24 ... Fan (fan means)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A canister chamber is provided in a body, a canister is arranged in the canister, raw materials for beverage production are contained in the canister, and a cooling water tank or an ice maker equipped with a refrigeration cycle is also provided in the body. In the beverage vending machine provided with, a cooling chamber communicating with the canister chamber is provided, a part of the refrigerant pipe of the refrigeration cycle is arranged as a heat exchanger in the cooling chamber, and air is sucked into the cooling chamber. An air blower is provided to blow the air into the canister chamber, and the air sucked into the cooling chamber by the blower is brought into contact with the heat exchanger to form cool air, and the cool air is blown into the canister chamber sequentially. Cooling system for beverage vending machines.