JPS6217913Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed explanation of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention is applicable to in-flight applications such as beverage vending machines that prepare and sell cold drinks on-board, or food preparation vending machines that prepare and sell food on-board. This invention relates to improvements to vending machines equipped with water systems.

[Conventional technology]

From the standpoint of hygiene management, this type of vending machine is strictly regulated to regularly clean and sterilize the water system. For cleaning such water systems, a method is generally adopted in which a cleaning and sterilizing solution for drinking water systems is prepared in advance, and after the water in the water system is drained, cleaning with the cleaning and sterilizing solution (hereinafter simply referred to as cleaning solution) and rinsing are performed. has been done. Additionally, in order to carry out the above cleaning service, a drain pipe is generally installed with a branch in the middle of the water supply pipe of the in-flight water system, and this drain pipe is used to drain the accumulated water and cleaning fluid. is configured to do so.

A conventional example of such a water system will be explained with reference to FIG. Figure 1 shows an example of a cold drink vending machine, in which 1 is an in-machine water reservoir piped to a water source 2, 3 is an ice maker, 4 is a syrup tank, 5 is a cooling water tank, 6 is a bend stage, and 7 is a cup. Note that the product sales operation is well known and will be omitted here. Of the water guide pipes 8 and 9 drawn out from the water reservoir 1, the pipe 8 is connected to the cooling water tank 5.
Piping is connected to the ice maker 3 via a pre-cooling coil 81 immersed therein, and the piping 9 is opened above the bend stage 6 through the cooling water tank 5.
Although not shown, a water guide pipe is also led out to a carbonator for preparing carbonated water from the water reservoir 1. Here, a conventional cleaning method for the water system between the water reservoir 1 and the ice maker 3 will be described, taking the ice maker 3, which is an in-flight device, as an example. A drain pipe 10 is branched in the middle of the pipe 8, and a faucet 11 for draining is provided here. When cleaning the water system from the water reservoir 1 to the ice maker 3, first the faucet 11 is opened and all the water in the system is drained. Thereafter, with the faucet 11 closed, a cleaning liquid prepared in advance is supplied to the water reservoir 1 to clean and sterilize the inside of the water system. Next, the faucet 11 is opened to drain the cleaning liquid, and the process is completed by thoroughly rinsing with water.

[Problems to be solved by the invention] By the way, the ice maker 3 has a complicated internal water passage, and the water stays in the ice maker for a long time due to the operation cycle. It gets dirty more quickly than the water reservoir 1, and often requires more frequent cleaning than the water reservoir 1. However, in the conventional system shown in FIG. 1, when the faucet 11 is opened, water in the water system leading from the water reservoir 1 to the ice maker 3 via the water guide pipe 8 is drained. As a result, the work efficiency of cleaning services is poor, and cleaning fluids and
There will be a lot of wasted time and effort. Moreover, if pre-cooled water that does not need to be drained is also drained when servicing only the ice maker, it will undesirably lengthen the ice making time when the vending machine resumes sales operation. The same thing can be said when it is desired to wash the water reservoir 1 and the pre-cooling coil 81 separately from the ice maker 3.

The present invention was developed in consideration of the above points, and the purpose is to obtain a vending machine equipped with a water system that can be divided into sections and cleaned separately for each section, thereby improving serviceability. do.

[Means for solving problems]

This invention has three ports in the middle of the water supply piping that connects the water reservoir installed in the aircraft and the equipment on board that receives water from the water reservoir, and the connection between each of the three ports by switching operation. A three-way socket is inserted and installed to selectively switch conduction and conduction between two ports selected from three ports, and a drain pipe is connected to the three-way socket, and the drain pipe is connected to the drain pipe. This is achieved by inserting another three-way tank in the middle and connecting a cleaning tank and a liquid pump to one branch pipe drawn out through the three-way pipe.

[Effect]

This invention cleans the water system by supplying cleaning liquid to the water supply piping through a branch pipe, another three-way pipe, a drain pipe, and a three-way pipe in order using a pump, and after a certain period of time after the pump stops, the other three-way pipe is The system is switched to discharge the cleaning liquid, and then the water system is flushed with water from the tap source to perform the cleaning operation.

〔Example〕

First, to explain the operation of the three-way kettle using the water system of a vending machine, in Fig. 2a, there is a drain pipe 10 in the middle of the water guide pipe 8 that connects the water reservoir 1 and the ice maker 3. A three-sided pot 12 is inserted between them. Mikata Kotuku 1
The basic structure of 2 has three ports as shown in the diagram.
, and a plug 122 with a T-shaped groove, and by switching the plug 122, the four positions a, b, c, and d in FIG. 2 can be selectively switched. That is, in a, the ports are electrically connected to each other, and a water supply channel to the ice making machine 3 is established. On the other hand, in the switching positions b and c, the ports - and -, two of which are selected from the three ports, are electrically connected, and in the position d, the three ports are electrically connected, and the water guide pipe 8 is communicated with the drain pipe 10. Note that a three-way solenoid valve may be used as the three-way valve. Further, FIG. 3 shows another example of the three-sided pot 12. In this example, the plug 122 functions as a roller 123 that is eccentrically moved within the casing 121 along a trajectory T.
By moving 23, the four positions can be selectively switched as shown in FIGS. 2a to 2d.

Returning to FIG. 2 again, in a, the port connected to the drain pipe 10 is closed, and the water reservoir 1 and the ice maker 3 are communicated via the water guide pipe 8. At b, the port is closed, and the water reservoir 1 and precooling coil 81 are communicated with the drain pipe 10 through the port. In the switching position c, contrary to the switching position b, the ice maker 3 and the drain pipe 10 are communicated with each other. At d, both the water reservoir 1 and the ice maker 3 are communicated with the drain pipe 10. As is clear from the switching operation between the pipes by the switching operation of the three-way pot 12 described above, not only the drain pipe 10 is kept closed during normal operation of the vending machine, but also the water reservoir 1 and the ice maker 3 are closed at the same time. Drainage can be carried out by connecting the water reservoir 1 to the ice maker 3 to the drain pipe 10, and draining can be carried out by communicating the water reservoir 1 and the ice maker 3 separately to the drain pipe 10. It can supply cleaning liquid and perform cleaning services.

Next, the three-way pot 12 is adopted to drain the drain pipe 1.
An embodiment of the present invention of an automatic cleaning device that supplies cleaning liquid to a water system through a water system will be described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 4, another three-way pot 13 is inserted in the middle of the drain pipe 10. This three-sided pot 13 can be similar to the three-sided pot 12 described above. On the other hand, a cleaning liquid tank 15 containing a cleaning sterilizing solution and a liquid feeding pump 16 are connected to a branch pipe line 14 branched through a three-way tank 13. In addition, the three-way pot 13 and the pump 16 are equipped with a liquid level detection sensor 17 installed in the water reservoir 1.
The control circuit is configured such that the switchover and pump operation are controlled by a timer-equipped control relay 18 that operates in response to a signal from the pump.

In this configuration, the cleaning service operation according to the embodiment of FIG. 4 will be described. First, the three-way tank 12 is set to the switching position shown in FIG.
All accumulated water in the water system between the ice maker 3 and the ice maker 3 is drained. Next, the three-way pot 13 is switched to close the drain side, and then the pump 16 is started to supply cleaning liquid to the water reservoir 1, ice maker 3, and water guide pipe 8 through the three-way pot 13, 12. When the water level of the cleaning liquid rises and the water reservoir 1 eventually becomes full, the sensor 17 detects the full water state and sends a signal to the control relay 18. At the same time relay 18
With this operation, the pump 16 is stopped and the timer starts a time-limited operation, and when a predetermined time has elapsed, the three-way pot 13 is switched to discharge the cleaning liquid that has been retained in the water system. The time limit of this timer is set based on the time required for sufficient sterilization of the water system by the cleaning liquid. Next, water is supplied to the water reservoir 1 from the water supply source, and together with the switching operation of the three-way pot 12, the inside of the water system is sufficiently washed with water to complete the cleaning service work.

Although the above description has been made regarding the water system between the water reservoir 1 and the ice maker 3, the same procedure can be applied to other water systems, such as the water system between the water reservoir and the carbonator, in addition to the ice maker. Can be applied.

[Effect of idea]

As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, the water system connecting the water reservoir and various in-flight equipment such as the ice maker is divided into sections, and an independent cleaning service can be performed for each section by switching the three-way switch. In addition, by automatically sending the cleaning liquid to the water system and automatically performing the cleaning operation, the cleaning service for the water system in the vending machine can be reliably performed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a water system diagram of a conventional vending machine.
Fig. 2a shows an embodiment of the present invention, and is a water system diagram employing a three-way kettle, and Fig. 2b, c, and d are explanatory diagrams showing different switching operation positions of the three-way kettle in Fig. 2a, respectively. FIG. 3 is a structural cross-sectional view showing a different embodiment of the three-way kettle, and FIG. 4 is a water system diagram of a vending machine showing an embodiment of the present invention. 1...Water reservoir, 3...Ice maker, 8...Water pipe, 10...Drain pipe, 12, 13...Three-way drain, 14...Branch pipe, 15...Washing liquid tank, 16...Liquid feeding pump.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] There are three ports in the middle of the water supply piping path that connects the water reservoir installed on the aircraft and the equipment on board that receives water from the water reservoir, and conduction between each of the three ports is established by switching operations. Two of the three ports are selected, and a three-way switch is inserted and installed to selectively switch conduction between each port.
A drain pipe is connected to the three-way tank, another three-way pipe is inserted in the middle of the drain pipe, and a cleaning tank and a liquid supply are connected to one branch pipe drawn out through the three-way pipe. A vending machine characterized by being connected to a pump.