JPS6045783B2 - Water circuit of cup-type beverage vending machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a water circuit in a cup-type beverage vending machine equipped with an ice maker, which prevents water quality from deteriorating in the water system of the ice maker during operation of the vending machine.

First, an overview of the beverage system of a conventional cup-type beverage vending machine will be described with reference to FIG.

In the figure, 1 is a water reservoir that receives water from a water supply 2 through a water inlet valve 3, and from the water reservoir 1, two water lines I are taken out. One of them is a cold water line 8 that is piped through the water pump 4, water cooling coil 5, and cold water valve 6 to the bend stage where the cup 7 is carried out, and the other is a cold water line 8 that is connected to the ice maker 9 and connected to the ice maker. This is an ice-making water line 10 that supplies water. Reference numeral 11 denotes a top line which is piped from the syrup tank 12 through the syrup valve 13 to the bend stage, and 14 a carbonator 15 which branches off from the cold water line 8 via the cold water valve 6 as a three-way valve and connects to the carbonator 15 and the carbonated water valve 16. This is the carbonated water line that is piped to the bend stage. As is well known, the ice making machine 9 includes an ice making section 91 containing an evaporator and an auger, and a water storage chamber 92. The other water outlet 94 and water storage chamber 92 are connected to the water inlet 93 opened at the bottom of the ice making section 91.
A drain O-direction cock 17 is connected to a water-resistant line 96 drawn out from a water-resistant drain hole 95. Note that some types of ice making machines are not equipped with a water outlet 94, and in this case, the three-way drain cock 17 is connected to the ice making water line 10.
The water resistant J line 96 is inserted in the middle of the water inlet 93.
connected to the side. In the above configuration, the ice making machine 9 receives water from the water reservoir 1 and constantly stores ice made by the ice making section 91 in the ice storage chamber 92. When a sales command is given from here, 5 syrup valves 1
3 is opened to supply syrup to the cup, and at the same time water pump 4 is started and cold water valve 6 is opened to supply cold water to the cup. Further, in accordance with the selection of the product, the carbonated water valve 16 opens to supply carbonated water, and furthermore, ice is supplied from the ice maker 9 to the cup 7. By the way, among the above water circuits, cold water line 8
Since water flows toward the bend stage each time a product is sold, water does not remain in the line for long periods of time.

On the other hand, the ice making machine 9 connected by the ice making water line 10 concentrates on making a large amount of ice at once, stores it in a water storage chamber, and carries out a predetermined amount each time it is sold. If it falls below the level, it will start making ice again. In other words, ice does not flow every time ice is sold, as in the cold water line 8, and water does not flow in the water systems of the ice making machine, such as the ice making water line 10 and the melting water line 96, for a relatively long period of time from ice making to the next ice making. It remains stagnant. In this way, if water remains stagnant for a long time without flowing,
Small amounts of microorganisms, algae, etc. contained in water from taps tend to grow, causing food hygiene problems such as the quality of the water deteriorating and making it unsuitable for drinking. For this reason, in the past, especially regarding the water system of the ice maker 9, it was necessary to drain the accumulated water in the melt water line 96 and the ice maker line 10 by switching the three-way drain cock 17 without leaving it for a long time. Become. Moreover, water quality deteriorates more quickly in environments with high ambient temperatures, such as in the summer, so in order to maintain specified water quality standards, frequent drainage operations must be performed at short intervals, and this work becomes a maintenance difficulty5. ing. Moreover, if this work is neglected, hygiene problems will develop. This invention was made in consideration of the above points, and its purpose is to maintain water quality without requiring the frequent drainage work performed on the ice maker mentioned above. The object of the present invention is to provide a water circuit that is advantageous for water quality control.

According to the present invention, a three-way joint is inserted into the cold water line connecting the water reservoir and the suction side of the water pump, and an auxiliary running water line that communicates with the water system of the ice maker is connected to the branch boat of the three-way joint. This is achieved by

The present invention will be described in detail below based on illustrated embodiments.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 2 has an ice making section 9 similar to the ice making machine shown in Fig. 1.
1 shows an example in which an ice maker 9 is adopted which is equipped with a water inlet 93 and a water outlet 94, and the cold water line 8 connecting the water reservoir 1 and the suction side of the water pump 4 has an ice maker 9 in the middle. A three-way joint 18 whose detailed structure is shown in FIG. Line 19 is connected. In addition, in FIG. 4, the three-way joint 18 has a flow rate adjustment mechanism 2, which is a needle valve with adjustable needles, on the boats a and b on the suction side.
0. This mechanism 20 is connected to the boat AI:. This is to adjust the ratio of the suction flow rate b, and an orifice may be used instead of the needle valve. Further, the flow rate adjustment mechanism 20 may be provided so as to narrow the flow path only to boat b based on the diameter of boat a, or the flow rate adjustment mechanism 20 may be provided in advance such that boat AI:. The flow rate adjustment mechanism 20 may be omitted as long as it is made so that a desired flow balance can be obtained with the aperture size b. Now, by configuring the water circuit as shown in Fig. 2, when the water pump 4 is operated each time according to a sales command, the water in the water reservoir 1 is pumped through the boats a and b of the three-way joint 18, and the solid line As shown by the arrow, the water is led from the cold water line 8 to the water pump 4, and on the other hand, it flows into the ice making section 91 of the ice making machine 9 through the ice making water line 10.
The melted water from the ice storage compartment 92 is guided to the water pump 4 through the auxiliary water flow line 19 as indicated by the dotted arrow.

This prevents water from remaining in the ice-making water line 10 and the ice-making machine 9 for a long time, and is replaced with new water fed from the water reservoir 1 for each sale. In this way, there is no fear of the proliferation of microorganisms, algae, etc., and the specified water quality standards can be maintained. In addition, when the amount of water flowing from the ice maker 9 through the auxiliary water line 19 increases during the water flow operation process at the time of sale, the melt water line 9
The water level in the ice making unit 9 may drop abnormally, causing air to be sucked in from the ice storage unit and interfering with the water supply of the water pump 4, or the ice making unit 9
Normal ice-making operations may not be possible due to an abnormal drop in the water level in boat b. However, as mentioned above, the flow rate of water flowing through boat b at three-way joint 18 is limited by flow rate adjustment mechanism 20 or the like. This ensures safe driving. Further, FIG. 3 shows an embodiment different from FIG. 2, in which an auxiliary running water line 19 is connected to the middle of the ice-making water line 10 via a cock 20,
A melt water line 95 is also connected to the water inlet 93 side of the ice making section 91.

The rest is the same as the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, and by setting the cock 21 to the position shown in the figure during the sales operation, the water pump 4 is driven each time the sales operation is performed, and the ice-making water line is drawn as shown by the dotted arrow. 10. The water in the bottom of the ice making section 91 and the melt water line 96 of the ice making machine 9 is sucked into the water pump 4 through the auxiliary water line 19 and replaced with fresh water, producing the same effect as in the previous embodiment. . As described above, according to the present invention, the water in the ice maker, which in conventional water circuits often remains stagnant for a long time while the vending machine is in operation, is reduced to water every time the vending machine operates. Since the water flows when driven by a pump, it prevents the propagation of microorganisms and the like, and effectively prevents the quality of drinking water from deteriorating.

Furthermore, since there is no need to drain old water by frequently operating a drain cock as in the past, this alone provides advantages in terms of food hygiene management, such as reducing the hassle of maintenance.

[Brief Description of the Drawings] Figure 1 is a circuit diagram of a beverage system of a conventional cup-type beverage vending machine, Figures 2 and 3 are water circuit diagrams of different embodiments of the present invention, and Figure 4 is a circuit diagram of a beverage system of a conventional cup-type beverage vending machine. FIG. 3 is a structural cross-sectional view showing a specific example of the three-way joint in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 1...Water reservoir, 4...Water pump,
8...Cold water line, 9...Ice maker, 9
1...Ice making section, 92...Ice storage chamber, 96...
...Melting water line, 10...Ice making water line, 1
8... Three-way joint, 19... Auxiliary water line, 20... Flow rate adjustment mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a cup-type beverage vending machine having an ice maker that receives water through a cold water line piped from a water reservoir to a bend stage via a water pump and an ice making water line drawn out from the water reservoir, A water circuit for a cup-type beverage vending machine, characterized in that a three-way joint is inserted into a cold water line connecting a water pump and a water pump suction side, and an auxiliary running water line communicating with an ice maker is connected to a branch port of the three-way joint. 2. The water circuit for a cup-type beverage vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the three-way joint has a flow rate adjustment mechanism on its suction side port. 3. The water circuit of a cup-type beverage vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary running water line communicates with the ice making section of the ice maker and the melt water line of the ice storage compartment.