JPH11108524A - Machine for producing frozen beverage - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a liquid loss and a problem in cleaning a tank by a method wherein a link is made magnetic between the shaft of a circuit of a reduction motor and the shaft of a propeller circuit and the hardness in the slurry of a mixture is quickly returned to the optimum slurry hardness to avoid possible overheating of the motor in the case of excessive cooling. SOLUTION: A link between the shaft of a propeller for mixing and the shaft of a circuit of a reduction motor is built up with a first magnet set 22 to be rotatively driven by a rotating shaft of the reduction type motor 21 outside a container and a second magnet set 23 connected with a rotating shaft of the propeller inside the container. The first and second magnets face each other on surfaces as opposed to each other of the wall of the container to be magnetically linked through the wall so that the first and second sets are driven to rotate. Thus, a positively handling of a frozen beverage is accomplished to return the beverage back to the optimum conditions even under an excessively cooled conditions and the possibility of the leakage of a liquid is removed from a tank. This also removes a difficulty in cleaning, for example, that of a path for a shaft with a seal or the like.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to water ice (wat ice).
er-ice).

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Machines with transparent tanks containing the evaporator of a refrigeration circuit and a mixing propeller that keeps the beverage moving and cooling in the tank are known in the prior art. The frozen beverage thus obtained is poured out with a supply tap at one end of the tank. Usually, the tank is provided with side openings for sealingly receiving the evaporator and the mixer, which are horizontally supported in a cantilever manner on vertical shoulders fixed to the base of the machine. I have. As a result, the tank can be easily removed for careful cleaning.

[0003]

If the beverage is cooled too much, the thickness of the beverage will be excessive and the propeller will rotate until the propeller is completely stopped. The resistance increases.
In this state, the electric rotary motor is likely to suffer permanent damage in a short time. In order to avoid this damage, there is known a machine in which a thermal protection device is inserted to intervene in the event of overheating due to the stop of the motor, and the motor itself reacts to the shaft when excessive rotational resistance occurs. It has also been proposed that the motor be installed to rotate about an axis and against the action of a reverse-acting spring, thereby activating a microswitch that disables the refrigeration circuit.

[0004] The muddy hardness of the beverage increases too much, especially if the beverage is sufficiently frozen and comprises several liters by volume.
Once the ice mass has formed, a relatively long time is required before the muddy hardness of the beverage returns to an acceptable value. Further, even solutions intended to wait for motor overheating before proceeding to electrical disconnection, include anomalous motor distortion that can lead to accidents in long-term operation.

It has also been pointed out that, except for a few accidental cases, it is clear that the cooling time of the motor does not coincide with the thawing time of the mass. As a result, the motor is repeatedly exposed to overheating. The passage through the tank wall of the rotating propeller shaft often presents several problems due to the inevitable loss and leakage of liquid therethrough and the difficulties encountered during cleaning operations.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The general object of the present invention is to restore the mixture mud hardness more quickly to optimum mud hardness in the event of overcooling, to avoid overheating of the motor and to reduce liquid loss and the SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a frozen beverage manufacturing machine which prevents problems during tank cleaning and obviates the above disadvantages. In view of this object, according to the present invention, water ice (water-i
A machine for producing and supplying frozen beverages, such as ces), has a refrigeration circuit evaporator inside, a tank for holding and cooling the beverage, and a rotary connected through a tank wall to a rotating shaft of a reduction electric motor. It is devised to have a mixing propeller having a shaft, and the connection between the rotation shaft of the reduction motor and the rotation shaft of the propeller is magnetic.

[0007] Magnetic stirrers are known in the prior art. However, such agitators are intended for low torque transmission at high speeds, and are used exclusively for agitating liquids with a muddy hardness as low as water. Furthermore, if the propeller accidentally stops, the agitator must be manually restarted because the driving magnet cannot spontaneously hook the driven magnet again. Moreover, known agitators are used exclusively to prevent the propeller from passing through the vessel wall and to allow the use of different types of vessels rather than for specific purposes. There are still no applications that can improve the operation of the frozen beverage maker or restore optimal muddy hardness in the frozen liquid. To better illustrate the innovative principles of the present invention and the advantages offered over the prior art, the following is presented with the help of the drawings, which are accompanied by possible embodiments that apply the principles described above. Is not limited to these examples.

[0008]

Referring to the drawings, the machine made in accordance with the present invention is shown diagrammatically in FIG. The machine 10 includes a base 11 (which holds a refrigeration circuit, not shown), but on top of the base is placed a container or tank 12 with a top cover 13 and a supply tap 14. I have. The base 11 terminates at a shoulder 15 from which the evaporator 16 of the refrigeration circuit extends horizontally. The tank 12 is provided with a corresponding side opening intended to sealingly connect with the annular projection of the shoulder 15 with the help of a seal 17. In this way, the tank can be easily slid off the evaporator, for example, to remove it from the base for cleaning or cleaning operations.

The evaporator is cylindrical and the propeller 18 is located inside. The rotation axis 19 of the propeller is coaxial with the cylinder. Advantageously, a second propeller 20 is provided which is integral with the inner propeller and rotates along the outer wall of the cylinder.

In order to rotate the propeller with relatively high torque and low rotation, the rotating shaft 19 of the mixing propeller 18 is moved out of the container (for example, in the shoulder 15) through a container wall 28 formed in the shoulder 15. ) Arranged reduction electric motor 2
And one rotating shaft. A frozen beverage production and supply machine has been described which substantially belongs to the prior art. For the above reasons, the different circuits required for the same operation, for example a refrigeration circuit, will not be further described or presented, but will be readily imaginable by a person skilled in the art.

According to the principle of the present invention, the connection between the mixing propeller shaft and the rotation shaft of the deceleration motor is a first magnet set rotatably driven by the rotation shaft of the deceleration motor 21 outside the container. 22 and a second set of magnets 23 inside the vessel and coupled to the axis of rotation of the propeller.
The first and second sets of magnets face each other on opposite sides of the vessel wall and are thus magnetically coupled through the wall.
Thus, the first set rotationally drives the second set. The suction between the first and second sets must be selected to allow transmission of the required rotational torque of the propeller. As will be apparent from the following, the transmission torque must only cause the propeller to rotate such that the muddy hardness of the product does not exceed the intended maximum muddy hardness by more than a predetermined value. The transmission torque must not be higher than the allowable safe torque of the motor used. In other words, even if the propeller shows excessive rotational resistance or stops rotating, the drive magnet set 22 must be driven by the motor to continue rotating.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, advantageously, the first and second sets of magnets are a plurality of radially arranged magnets or magnets spaced from one another about the axis of rotation of the respective set. The magnetic poles 24 and 25 can be formed respectively. The angular pitch is comprised between 30 and 90 degrees,
For example, as shown in FIG. The magnets 24 or 25 of each set are supported by respective disks 26, 27 made of a ferromagnetic material, the disks having an axis coinciding with the axis of rotation of the respective set so that the disks They face each other with the container wall 28 as an intermediary. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the magnet set 23 is advantageously incorporated into a plastics material, for example, forming an extension of the propeller shaft 19. The wall 28 may be provided with a seat 29 for one end of the shaft 19 so that the propeller 18 is axially supported for rotation, and the opposing tank wall may be provided at the other end 32 of the shaft 19. Seat 31 can be provided. The propeller is removed for disassembly and easy cleaning by sliding the container off the shoulder in this manner. The wall 28 may also have a seat 35 on the outside for the rotating shaft of the reduction motor.

As clearly shown in FIG.
At its front and back, is suspended on its axis of rotation, and a force is applied by a spring 33 which acts against rotation about this axis. A sensor, for example, a micro switch 34 is configured to detect the degree of rotation of the deceleration type motor, and to disable the refrigeration circuit when the rotation is detected to be larger than a predetermined value. The spring is set so that the microswitch is activated when the propeller receives a resistance greater than a predetermined value, which corresponds to an allowable optimum muddy hardness of the beverage in the tank. In this way, when the product muddy hardness increases beyond a predetermined value, the torque generated by the motor causes the deceleration motor to rotate against the action of the spring, causing the motor in the tank to rotate. The refrigeration circuit is disabled until the product muddy hardness falls to an acceptable value. In a machine according to the innovative principles of the present invention, unlike what happens in the prior art, for example, as a result of a wrong mixture or a fault in the refrigeration circuit,
Even when the propeller is completely stopped due to excessive hardening of the mass, the motor can continue to rotate without being subjected to excessive distortion. In addition to avoiding motor failure, automatically disconnecting the propeller from the motor when the resistance applied to the propeller increases increases the likelihood that if a human hand is accidentally inserted into the tank while the machine is running. It provides additional safety to the machine because the presence of the hand stops the propeller before damage occurs.

According to the present invention, if the muddy hardness increases and, as a result, the driving magnet set is cut off from the driven magnet set, the rotating magnetic field is at each angular pitch between the magnetic poles. Attempt to hook the two sets again. Therefore, a pulse-changing torque is applied to the blocked propeller. This pulsating torque causes the propeller to act as a hammer, thereby promoting the opening of the propeller from the frozen beverage. This helps to directly reduce the muddyness of the mixture and helps the ice block to thaw faster when the refrigeration unit is shut down.

[0015] The intended object of the present invention to provide a frozen beverage maker in which the motor requires less operating force has now been achieved, and the active use of frozen beverages to return the beverage to optimal conditions even under overcooled conditions is achieved. Obviously, handling has taken place and the possibility of leaking from the tank has been eliminated. Furthermore, there is no longer any difficulty in cleaning, such as a sealed shaft passage.

The foregoing description of the embodiments using the innovative principles of the present invention has been presented for the purposes of illustration only and is not to be considered as limiting the scope of the invention as claimed. Is clear.

For example, the structure of the tank and the balance of different parts of the machine may vary depending on requirements. Further, the machine may include components such as liquid level sensors, liquid and syrup topping devices, etc., as known in the art.

FIG. 3 shows an alternative version of the machine according to the invention,
At 110, it is generally identified and shown. Similar elements are assigned the same reference numerals as in FIG. 1 with the addition of 100.
Coolers and other mechanical elements are not shown because they are the same as in FIG. In this mold 110, the deceleration motor 121 is driven by a propeller through a first set of magnets outside the tank 112 and coupled to the deceleration motor and a second set of magnets inside the tank and coupled to the propeller 118. Operate 118.

The two magnet sets correspond to two of the tank walls 128.
It has magnets 124 and 125 facing each other on one side. According to this alternative solution, both magnets are facing each other radially with respect to the axis of rotation, due to the proper configuration of the wall 128, which is cylindrical instead of planar.
This embodiment is particularly advantageous for magnets with strong mutual attraction.

In practice, in the structure of FIG. 3, the attraction between the two magnets is radial with respect to the direction of rotation (ie, the direction of separating the propeller from the machine). Accordingly, the removal of the propeller requires less force than the force required in the embodiment of FIG.

As a result, disassembly of the propeller for cleaning is made easier. When the propeller rotates around a closed cooling cylinder without an inner propeller, the magnetic coupling means (of the type shown in FIG. 1 or 3) is connected to the other end of the cylinder in the context of the structure shown in FIG. The end wall of the cylinder may effectively form the tank wall.

A preferred embodiment is as follows.

1. Inside there is an evaporator (16) of a refrigeration circuit for holding and cooling beverages (12, 11
2) and a mixing propeller (18, 118) having a rotating shaft connected to the rotating shaft of the reduction electric motor (21, 121) through the tank wall (28, 128). -Ice), wherein the connection between the rotating shaft of the deceleration motor and the rotating shaft of the propeller is magnetic.

2. 1. Machine, wherein the magnetic connection is outside the tank and is rotatably driven by the rotating shaft of the reduction motor.
2, 122) and a second set of magnets (23, 123) inside the tank and coupled to the propeller shaft, the first and second sets being opposed to the tank wall. Facing each other for magnetic coupling through the wall on the surface, whereby the first set (22, 12
2) A machine characterized by rotating the second set (23, 123).

3. 2. In the machine as described above, the first
And the second set of magnets is formed from a plurality of magnets or magnetic poles (24, 124; 25, 125) spaced radially from each other about the axis of rotation of the respective set. Machine to do.

4. 3. The machine of any of the preceding claims, wherein the magnets or magnetic poles (24, 124; 25, 125) are radially spaced from one another at an angular pitch comprised between 30 and 90 degrees.

5. 3. The machine of any of the preceding claims, wherein each set of magnets (24, 25) is supported by a disk (26, 27) of ferromagnetic material having an axis that coincides with the axis of rotation of each set. Machine.

6. 1. In the machine according to the above, the reduction type electric motor (21, 121) is mounted on a rotation axis of the motor, and a force acting reversely to the rotation of the motor around the axis is applied to the reduction type motor. A sensor (34) is applied to detect the applied rotation angle.
A machine for disabling the refrigeration circuit when the sensor detects a rotation angle greater than a predetermined value.

7. 6. The machine of any preceding claim, wherein the counteracting force is generated by a thrust spring (33) acting on the decelerating motor body.

8. 2. The machine of claim 1 wherein said wall (28, 128) coaxially bears said second set (22) on an inner surface of said wall.
9) support seat (29) for receiving the end (30)
A machine comprising:

9. 2. The machine of any of the preceding claims, wherein the walls (28, 128) are provided on an outer surface of the walls with the first set (2, 128).
2) A machine characterized by having a seat (35) for receiving the rotating shaft of the deceleration type motor that coaxially carries out (2).

10. 2. The machine of any of the preceding claims, wherein the magnet sets (22, 23, 122, 123) face each other in a direction transverse to the axis of rotation of the set itself.

11. 2. The machine of any of the preceding claims, wherein the magnet sets (22, 23, 122, 123) face each other in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation of the set itself.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of a machine according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of an alternative version of the machine of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 110 Machine for producing frozen beverages 11 Base 12, 112 Container or tank 13 Upper cover 14 Supply tap 15 Shoulder 16 Evaporator 17 Seal 18, 118 Propeller 19 Rotary shaft or shaft 20 Second propeller 21, 121 Reduction type Electric motor 22, 122 First magnet set 23, 123 Second magnet set 24, 25, 124, 125 Magnet or magnetic pole 26, 27 Disc 28, 128 Container or tank wall 29, 31, 35 Seat 30, 32 end 33 spring 34 micro switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] An evaporator for a refrigeration circuit is provided inside the tank for holding and cooling a beverage, and a mixing propeller having a rotating shaft connected to a rotating shaft of a reduction electric motor through a tank wall. A machine for producing and supplying frozen beverages such as water ice, wherein the connection between the rotating shaft of the deceleration motor and the rotating shaft of the propeller is magnetic.