JPH10337253A - Beverage supply device and method for controlling retention of hot water therein - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To retain hot water that is held at as appropriate a temperature as possible in a hot water tank and avoiding the situation under which tea cannot be served. SOLUTION: Water is supplied as the level of hot water in a hot water tank decreases with the serving of tea. In a step S1, the frequency at which tea is served is checked, and in a step S2 it is determined whether or not it is busy or slack hours according to the frequency of serving. During the busy hours, the temperature of the hot water is preferentially controlled in a step S3 so that water is supplied while the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank is held within the set temperature range. Thus, hot water held at the appropriate temperature is served for drinking. During the slack hours, the amount of hot water is preferentially controlled in a step S4 so that water is supplied in such a way that the amount of hot water retained is held within the set range irrespective of the temperature of the hot water. Thus even if the amount of hot water is very small at the end of the busy hours, the amount of hot water is immediately restored at the start of the slack hours; even if the busy hours follow, tea can be served.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage supply device such as a tea machine and a hot water storage control method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a tea dispenser, a part of hot water in a hot water storage tank is supplied for drinking each time a tea pouring signal is given, and water is replenished in accordance with a decrease in the water level in the hot water storage tank. It is stored as hot water by heating.
Conventionally, as a control method in such a case, a control method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-133395 proposed by the present applicant has been known. When the water level in the hot water storage tank drops, replenish the water by opening the water supply valve, and when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank drops due to the water supply and reaches the lower limit set temperature, close the water supply valve and stop water supply. Then, when the water is heated by the heater and rises to the upper limit set temperature, the water supply is restarted. That is, water is supplied while maintaining the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank within the set temperature range. By doing so, it is possible to always supply hot water at an appropriate temperature for drinking.

[0003]

Here, taking the example of a tea dispenser installed in a company or the like as an example, the situation of the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank by the above-mentioned control method is specifically shown. become that way. First, during the busy season of the tea machine, such as during company breaks, hot water is continuously supplied from the hot water storage tank, during which time the water supply is maintained while maintaining the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank within the set temperature range. Because it is done intermittently,
The water level in the hot water storage tank will gradually decrease. When the break time is over and the work time is over, there is almost no pouring, and the tea machine is in a quiet period. During this time, water is supplied while maintaining the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank in the set temperature range.However, when the temperature of the supplied water is low, for example, in winter, the hot water temperature reaches the upper limit set temperature. The water supply is delayed and the hot water temperature is kept at an appropriate temperature.However, as shown in the graph, the hot water storage tank In some cases, the water level may be significantly lower than the reference water level (full water level).

[0004] Then, when pouring is continuously performed during the busy season, the amount of hot water gradually decreases from a place where the amount of stored hot water is small. In this case, if the capacity of the hot water storage tank is large and hot water can be stored with a margin, there is not much problem, but if the tank capacity has to be set small with a small tea machine, the tank is emptied halfway. There is a problem that it may become impossible to pour. The present invention has been completed on the basis of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to store hot water of an appropriate temperature as much as possible in a hot water storage tank and to prevent a situation in which pouring is impossible. Where you do it.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a beverage supply apparatus for supplying water into a hot water storage tank through a water supply valve and for supplying the hot water to the hot water storage tank. In the beverage supply device, the supplied water is stored as hot water by heating with a heater, and a part of the hot water in the hot water storage tank is supplied for drinking when a pouring signal is given. A spout frequency detecting means for detecting the number of times the beverage is spouted within a predetermined time based on the spout signal, and a temperature sensor for detecting a hot water temperature in the hot water storage tank,
Heater control means for controlling the power cut-off of the heater so that the hot water temperature detected by the temperature sensor is equal to or higher than a predetermined value, a water level sensor for detecting a water level in the hot water storage tank,
Water supply valve control means for controlling the opening and closing of the water supply valve,
The water supply valve control means opens the water supply valve when it is detected by the water level sensor that the water level in the hot water storage tank has fallen below the reference water level, and closes the water supply valve when the water level reaches the reference water level, And, when the number of times of dispensing detected by the dispensing frequency detecting means is larger than the reference value, the hot water temperature priority control is performed, and when the number of dispensing detected by the dispensing frequency detecting means is smaller than the reference value, The hot water temperature priority control is performed when the hot water temperature in the hot water storage tank falls below a predetermined value due to water supply. When the temperature rises to a predetermined value or more, the water supply valve is opened again, and the hot water volume priority control determines that the water level in the hot water storage tank has reached the reference water level regardless of the hot water temperature in the hot water storage tank. If the water supply It has a feature where it is a close configuration.

Further, in the method for controlling hot water storage in the beverage supply apparatus according to the invention of claim 2, the water supplied to the hot water storage tank is stored as hot water by heating with a heater, and when the pouring signal is given, the water is stored. In a beverage supply device configured to supply a portion of hot water in a hot water storage tank for drinking, a busy season and a non-working season are identified according to a frequency of dispensing a beverage, and during the busy season, the hot water storage tank is provided. Hot water temperature priority water supply for supplying water to the hot water storage tank while maintaining the hot water temperature within the set temperature, and in the off season, water supply to the hot water storage tank so as to maintain the hot water storage amount at the set amount. It has a feature in providing priority water supply.

[0007]

[Action]

<Invention of Claim 1> When the water level in the hot water storage tank decreases as the beverage is poured out, the water supply valve is opened to supply water, and the supplied water is heated by the heater and stored as hot water. At this time, when the dispensing frequency detecting means detects that the number of dispensing times of the beverage is larger than the reference value, the hot water temperature priority control is performed. Here, when the temperature sensor detects that the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank has dropped below a predetermined value due to the water supply, the water supply valve is closed, and when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank rises above the predetermined value, the water supply is resumed. Control is performed such that the valve is opened. As a result, water is supplied while the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank is kept within the set temperature. On the other hand, when it is detected that the number of times of dispensing the beverage is smaller than the reference value,
Hot water quantity priority control is performed. Here, the water supply valve is opened and water is supplied until the water level sensor detects that the water level in the hot water storage tank has reached the reference water level regardless of the hot water temperature. That is, water is supplied such that the hot water storage amount is maintained at the set amount regardless of the hot water temperature. Therefore, even if the amount of hot water in the hot water storage tank has dropped sharply at the end of the period in which the number of times of dispensing the beverage is large, the amount of hot water is recovered at once at the time when the number of times of dispensing is small, and Even during the period when there are many drinks, it is possible to handle the dispensing of beverages.

<Invention of Claim 2> When the water level in the hot water storage tank decreases as the beverage is poured, water is replenished and stored as hot water. At that time, the busy season or the off season is identified according to the frequency of dispensing the beverage, and in the busy season, temperature priority water supply is performed in which water is supplied while maintaining the hot water temperature in the hot water storage tank within the set temperature. . Thereby, hot water of a suitable temperature is always provided for drinking. On the other hand, in the off-season period, the water supply is switched to the hot water supply priority water supply for supplying water so as to maintain the hot water storage amount at the set amount regardless of the hot water temperature. As a result, even when the hot water level is greatly reduced at the end of the busy season, the hot water level is recovered at once at the beginning of the off-peak period, and it is possible to cope with the pouring even if the hot season continues.

[0009]

According to the present invention, it is possible to store hot water at an optimum temperature in the hot water storage tank as much as possible, and it is possible to avoid a situation where pouring is impossible. In particular, the present invention is suitably applied to a beverage supply device having a small capacity of a hot water storage tank.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a tea machine will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, the overall structure of the tea machine will be described with reference to FIG. A hot water storage tank 2 is installed at an upper position inside the tea dispenser main body 1. The structure of the hot water storage tank 2 is schematically shown in FIG. A throw-in type heater 3 is provided on the bottom side of the hot water storage tank 2 so as to be able to heat the water inside, and a temperature sensor 4 for measuring the temperature of the hot water is provided. At a position above the hot water storage tank 2, a water supply pipe 5 provided with a water supply valve 6 is provided.
The tap water can be supplied into the hot water storage tank 2 by opening the storage tank. In the lower position, a discharge pipe 7 provided with an injection valve 8 is provided.
When the pouring button 11 (see FIG. 3) is pressed, the pouring valve 8 is opened for a certain time and the hot water storage tank 2 is opened.
The inside hot water can be discharged.

On the front right side of the hot water storage tank 2, a tea leaf storage tank 12 capable of supplying a predetermined amount of tea leaves is provided, and on the left side thereof, a tea pipe 7 drawn out of the hot water storage tank 2 is connected. The hot water supply port 13 is opened downward. On the other hand, the tea leaf storage tank 12 and the hot water supply port 1
A tea strainer 14 is provided in a lower region of 3. The tea strainer 14 can be moved left and right between a position directly below the hot water supply port 13 and a position directly below the supply port 12A of the tea leaf storage tank 12 by a drive mechanism (not shown). When it is at a position directly below 12A, the tea leaves discharged therefrom are received and returned to a position directly below hot water supply port 13, where tea is poured out by hot water discharged from hot water supply port 13. A tea container 15 is provided in the lower left portion of the main body 1. When tea is poured out a predetermined number of times, the tea strainer 14 rotates counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. By inverting the tea onto the tea discarding container 15, the tea leaves in the tea strainer 14 are automatically discharged into the tea discarding container 15.

In this embodiment, when hot water is discharged from the hot water storage tank 2, control means is provided for replenishing water and storing the hot water. The control here is
This is performed according to the flowchart of FIG. Basically, it discriminates between a busy season and a quiet season according to the frequency of tea dispensing, performs temperature priority water supply during the busy season, and performs hot water quantity priority water supply during the off season. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 3, a control unit 16 equipped with a microcomputer is provided. First, a timer 17 and the above-described dispensing button 11 are connected to an input side of the control unit 16. Based on the input signals of the timer 17 and the dispensing button 11, a dispensing frequency check routine shown in FIG. 7 is executed. In the dispensing frequency check routine, the number of times the dispensing button 11 is pressed within a predetermined time is read, and if the frequency is equal to or greater than a set value, a busy season flag is set.

A water level sensor 18 is provided at an upper position of the hot water storage tank 2 and is connected to an input side of the control unit 16. The water level sensor 18 detects whether or not the water level in the hot water storage tank 2 is equal to or higher than the reference water level. When the water level is equal to or higher than the reference water level, the water level sensor 18 sends an ON signal. It sends out a signal. Further, the above-mentioned temperature sensor 4 is connected to the input side of the control unit 16. The detection signal from the temperature sensor 4 is used to identify whether or not the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 2 is equal to or higher than the upper limit set temperature or equal to or lower than the lower limit set temperature. The upper limit set temperature and the lower limit set temperature indicate an appropriate temperature range of the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 2, and when a user inputs a desired temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 2 by an operation unit (not shown), the control unit. 1
In step 6, the upper limit set temperature and the lower limit set temperature are set based on the input temperature. On the other hand, the water supply valve 6 and the heater 3 described above are connected to the output side of the control unit 16.

Next, the hot water storage control of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. When the power is turned on, the control shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4 is executed. First, after performing necessary initial settings, step S1
, A dispensing frequency check routine is executed. Here, as described above, the signals from the timer 17 and the dispensing button 11 and the number of times the dispensing button 11 is pressed within a predetermined time are read in accordance with the flowchart of FIG. For example, in the case where the initial water supply is performed, tea is not yet dispensed, and the dispensing frequency is naturally less than the set value. Therefore, the busy season flag is not set, and whether or not the season is busy is identified. Step S2 becomes "NO", and the hot water amount priority control routine of step S4 is executed.

In the hot water amount priority control routine, the control shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6 is executed. First, step S
At 21, it is determined whether or not the water level in the hot water storage tank 2 is equal to or higher than the reference water level based on the signal of the water level sensor 18. If the reference water level has not been reached, step S21 becomes "NO" and the water supply valve 6 is opened in step S22. As a result, tap water is supplied from the water supply pipe 5 into the hot water storage tank 2. When the water level of hot water storage tank 2 rises and reaches the reference water level, step S21 becomes "YES", and water supply valve 6 is closed in step S23. Thereby, the water supply to hot water storage tank 2 is stopped.

Subsequently, in step S24, it is determined based on the signal of the temperature sensor 4 whether or not the hot water temperature is equal to or higher than the upper limit set temperature. If the temperature has not reached the upper limit set temperature, step S24 becomes “NO” and step S2
At 5, the heater 3 is turned on, and the stored water is heated. When the heating proceeds and reaches the upper limit set temperature, step S24 becomes "YES" and the heater 3 is turned off in step S26. As a result, the hot water is stored in the hot water storage tank 2 up to the reference water level, and the hot water is heated to the upper limit set temperature, and waits.

[0017] When a break time or the like is entered, tea is continuously poured from the tea maker, and the tea maker is in a busy season.
Then, the busy season flag is set in the dispensing frequency check routine of FIG. 7, step S2 in the flowchart of FIG. 4 becomes “YES”, and the hot water temperature priority control routine of step S3 is executed. In this hot water temperature priority control routine, the control shown in the flowchart of FIG. 5 is executed. First, in step S11, it is determined whether or not the hot water temperature is equal to or higher than the upper limit set temperature. If the hot water temperature has not reached the upper limit set temperature, step S11 becomes "NO" and the heater 3 is turned on in step S12. Then, in step S13, it is determined whether or not the amount of hot water is equal to or higher than the reference water level. Since the required number of teas has already been dispensed before the busy season flag is set in the above-mentioned dispensing frequency check routine, the amount of hot water naturally drops from the reference water level, and step S13 becomes "NO". Thereby, the water supply valve 6 is opened in step S14, and water is supplied from the water supply pipe 5 into the hot water storage tank 2. Then, in step S15, it is determined whether or not the hot water temperature is equal to or lower than the lower limit set temperature. Until the hot water temperature falls to the lower limit set temperature, step S15 becomes "NO", so that the water supply is continued.

When the temperature of the hot water drops by the water supply and reaches the lower limit set temperature, step S15 becomes "YES" and the water supply valve 6 is closed in step S16. This stops the water supply. Thereafter, only the heating by the heater 3 is continued. When the hot water in the hot water storage tank 2 is heated and rises to the upper limit set temperature, step S11 becomes “YES”, and step S13 is “NO” because the water is frequently poured out. 6
Is released and water supply is resumed.

Thereafter, by repeating the above, water supply is stopped when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 2 falls to the lower limit set temperature, and water supply is started when the hot water temperature rises to the upper limit set temperature. That is, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 2 is intermittently supplied while maintaining the temperature between the upper limit set temperature and the lower limit set temperature. As a result, tea can always be poured with hot water at an appropriate temperature. During this busy season, tea is continuously poured out, while water is supplied intermittently to maintain the hot water at an appropriate temperature as described above, so that the water level of the hot water in the hot water storage tank 2 is as shown in the graph of FIG. As shown by the characteristic line X during the busy season in the above, the number gradually decreases. In the hot water temperature priority control routine, if the hot water temperature in hot water storage tank 2 has risen to the upper limit set temperature and has reached the reference water level, heater 3 is turned off in step S17.

When the business hours are over after the rest period ends, the opportunity for pouring tea decreases, and the tea machine becomes a quiet period. Then, since the dispensing frequency is less than the set value, step S2 of the flowchart of FIG. 4 for identifying whether or not the season is busy is “NO”, and the hot water volume priority control routine of step S4 is switched and executed. First, in step S21 in the flowchart of FIG. 6, it is determined whether or not the water level in the hot water storage tank 2 is equal to or higher than the reference water level. As shown by the characteristic line X in the graph of FIG. 8, since the water level has not reached the reference level at the beginning of the off season, step S2 is performed.
1 becomes “NO” and the water supply valve 6
Is opened and water supply is started. Water supply is continued until the inside of the hot water storage tank 2 reaches the reference water level, and when the water level reaches the reference water level, step S21 becomes "YES" and the water supply valve 6 is closed in step S23. That is, in the off season, the water level of the hot water storage tank 2 is raised to the reference water level at a stretch regardless of the hot water temperature, as shown by the characteristic line X in the graph of FIG.

Subsequently, in step S24, it is determined whether or not the hot water temperature is equal to or higher than the upper limit set temperature. Since the hot water temperature has naturally dropped, step S24 becomes "NO".
In step S25, the heater 3 is turned on, and heating is started. In the meantime, when tea is poured out and the water level of the hot water storage tank 2 drops, the water supply valve 6 is opened in step S22, and the water level of the hot water storage tank 2 is increased as shown by the characteristic line X in FIG. It is restored to the reference water level. When the heating proceeds and the hot water temperature reaches the upper limit set temperature, step S24 becomes "YES" and step S2 is performed.
At 6, the heater 3 is turned off.

Next, when a break period or the like is entered and the busy season is resumed, the hot water temperature priority control routine is switched and executed. As described above, when the hot water temperature priority control is performed, the water level of the hot water storage tank 2 gradually decreases. However, as shown by the characteristic line X in FIG. 8, the water level of the hot water storage tank 2 is at the reference water level. Starting from the hot water storage tank 2
The situation in which the hot water runs out is avoided. By the way, if the hot water temperature priority control is performed even in the off season, as shown by the characteristic line x of the chain line in the figure, the water level does not reach the reference water level, the next busy season starts, and hot water runs short. The possibility of causing a situation is as described in the section of the related art.

Since the above-mentioned hot water volume priority control is performed during the off-season period, for example, when the replenished water is extremely low, the hot water temperature may not rise to an appropriate temperature during the off-season period. . In such cases, especially in the early days,
The tea that does not reach the appropriate temperature will be dispensed, but the control of the present embodiment is significant in that it is necessary to be patient and avoid the situation where the dispensing is not possible at a minimum. As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to store hot water at an appropriate temperature in the hot water storage tank 2 as much as possible, and it is possible to reliably avoid a situation in which tea cannot be poured out. In particular, it is suitable to be applied to a tea machine having a small capacity of the hot water storage tank 2.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) The present invention is not limited to the tea dispenser exemplified in the above embodiment, but can be widely applied to all beverage supply devices that dispense a beverage using hot water discharged from a hot water storage tank. is there.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of the overall structure of a tea machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a schematic structure of a hot water storage tank.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a control device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the contents of hot water storage control.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a hot water temperature priority control routine.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a hot water amount priority control routine.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a dispensing frequency check routine.

FIG. 8 is a graph showing a change in hot water storage amount.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing a change in the amount of hot water stored by a conventional control method.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Hot water storage tank 3 ... Heater 4 ... Temperature sensor 5 ... Water supply pipe 6 ... Water supply valve 7 ... Discharge pipe 8 ... Discharge valve 11 ... Discharge button 16 ... Control unit 17 ... Timer 18 ... Water level sensor

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A hot water supply tank is supplied with water through a water supply valve, and the water supplied to the hot water storage tank is heated by a heater to be stored as hot water, and the hot water is supplied when a pouring signal is given. In a beverage supply device configured to supply a part of hot water in a hot water storage tank for drinking, a dispensing frequency detecting unit configured to detect a number of dispensing of a beverage within a predetermined time based on the dispensing signal; A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank; heater control means for controlling the power cutoff of the heater so that the hot water temperature detected by the temperature sensor becomes a predetermined value or more; and a water level in the hot water storage tank. And a water supply valve control means for controlling the opening and closing of the water supply valve.The water supply valve control means detects that the water level in the hot water storage tank has fallen below the reference water level by the water level sensor. Was When the water supply valve is opened and the reference water level is reached, the water supply valve is closed, and when the number of times of dispensing detected by the dispensing frequency detecting means is larger than the reference value, the hot water temperature priority control is performed. When the number of times of dispensing detected by the dispensing frequency detecting means is smaller than the reference value, the hot water amount priority control is performed. When the water temperature drops below a predetermined value, the water supply valve is closed, and when the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank rises above the predetermined value, the water supply valve is opened again. A beverage supply device configured to close the water supply valve when the water level in the hot water storage tank reaches a reference water level regardless of the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank. 2. A method in which water supplied to a hot water storage tank is stored as hot water by heating with a heater, and a part of the hot water in the hot water storage tank is supplied for drinking when a pouring signal is given. In the beverage supply device, the busy season and the off-peak season are identified according to the frequency of dispensing the beverage, and during the busy season, the temperature of the hot water in the hot water storage tank is kept within a set temperature and the hot water is supplied to the hot water storage tank. A hot water storage control method in a beverage supply apparatus, comprising: performing hot water temperature priority water supply for performing water supply, and performing hot water quantity priority water supply for supplying water to the hot water storage tank so as to maintain the hot water storage amount at a set amount during a quiet period. .