WO2018135021A1

WO2018135021A1 - Roasting machine

Info

Publication number: WO2018135021A1
Application number: PCT/JP2017/025865
Authority: WO
Inventors: 秀樹定方; 藤田　敏広; 洋一藤原; 山本　雅弘; 久美子鈴木; 慎中野; 佐藤　誠; 暁史宮野; 智治三宅
Original assignee: パナソニックＩｐマネジメント株式会社
Priority date: 2017-01-17
Filing date: 2017-07-18
Publication date: 2018-07-26

Abstract

This roasting machine (100) is provided with: a power source (304); a momentary interruption detection circuit (312) which detects that the voltage of the power source (304) has decreased to a predetermined level or below, and outputs a detection signal; a non-volatile storage device; and a processing circuit (301) for controlling a roasting operation for roasting an object to be roasted. When the detection signal is received during the roasting operation, the processing circuit (301) causes the storage device to store a parameter relating to the roasting operation. After the voltage of the power source (304) is restored and a restart is completed, the processing circuit (301) determines whether or not the parameter is stored in the storage device. When it is determined that the parameter is stored in the storage device, the roasting machine (100) restarts the roasting operation.

Description

Roasting machine

The present invention relates to a roasting machine for roasting coffee beans.

A roasting machine is manufactured and sold as a device for roasting coffee beans. As a roasting machine, there are known a gas roasting machine that performs roasting using gas and an electric roasting machine that performs heating by heating a heater with electricity (see, for example, Patent Document 1). ).

JP 2009-268428 A

If a power failure occurs during the roasting operation or the power supply voltage drops, it is convenient for the user if the roaster continues to roast after power is restored. However, if the power outage continues for a long time, the initially set roasting is no longer possible, so it may not be appropriate to resume roasting after power is restored.

In a non-limiting exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a control operation at the time of restarting a roasting machine stopped due to a power failure or a power supply voltage drop is disclosed.

A roasting machine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a power supply, a detection circuit that detects that the voltage of the power supply has dropped below a predetermined value, and outputs a detection signal, a nonvolatile storage device, It is a processing circuit for controlling a roasting operation for roasting an object to be roasted. And a processing circuit that stores parameters relating to the roasting operation in a storage device when a detection signal is received during the roasting operation. Further, the processing circuit determines whether or not the parameter is stored in the storage device after the power supply voltage is recovered and the restart is completed, and if the parameter is stored in the storage device, the roasting operation is performed. To resume.

According to this configuration, the roasting machine that has been stopped due to a power failure or a power supply voltage drop restarts the roasting operation based on whether the parameter is stored in the non-volatile storage device after the restart. Judge whether or not. Even when the operation is stopped due to the occurrence of a power failure or the like, the roasting operation can be continued if the parameters are stored in the nonvolatile storage device.

FIG. 1 is an external view of a roasting machine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of a roasting machine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a roasting machine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, in which a roasting cylinder cover is transparently displayed. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention in a state where the roasting cylinder cover is removed. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the flow of air inside the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention by arrows. FIG. 6A is a perspective view of a heater unit of a roasting machine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the heater unit of the roasting machine according to the first modification of the present invention. FIG. 6C is a top view of the heater unit of the roasting machine according to the second modified example of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of an information providing system including a roasting machine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a hardware configuration diagram of a DB server operated by a green bean provider in an information providing system including a roasting machine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of the first roasting profile 2 used in the information providing system including the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the second roasting profile 2 used in the information providing system including the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a terminal device and a roasting machine that constitute an information providing system including a roasting machine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 shows communication performed between the roaster and the terminal device constituting the information providing system including the roaster according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and each of the roaster and the terminal device. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of a process. FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a detailed circuit configuration related to the electronic circuit board of the roasting machine and the power supply constituting the information providing system including the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram of an instantaneous power failure detection circuit constituting an information providing system including a roasting machine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15A is a flowchart showing a procedure of a first operation of the roasting machine when an instantaneous voltage drop is detected in the information providing system including the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 15B is a flowchart showing a procedure of the second operation of the roaster when an instantaneous voltage drop is detected in the information providing system including the roaster according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a process in which the roasting machine constituting the information providing system including the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention operates in cooperation with the terminal device instead of operating alone. It is. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing performed by a microcomputer that is a processing circuit of a roasting machine when a switch is pressed in the information providing system including the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. . FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example of a first method of applying AC power to the heater unit of the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19 is a diagram illustrating an example of a second method of applying AC power to the heater unit of the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a third method of applying AC power to the heater unit of the roaster according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention and the waveform of the power control signal. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a third method of applying AC power to the heater unit of the roaster according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention and the waveform of the power control signal. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the roasting temperature, the amount of temperature change, the number of set control cycles, and the time change in the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining a duty determination method based on the number of control cycles determined in the roasting machine according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a roasting machine according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the embodiment described below, it is assumed that an object to be roasted (an object to be roasted) is green coffee beans. The roasting machine is a hot-air roasting machine that roasts green beans with hot hot air. A heat source that produces hot air will be described by exemplifying a heater unit having a heating wire. However, the description up to FIG. 17 can also be applied to a roaster using gas, charcoal fire or the like as a heat source. In addition, when it is only described as “beans”, it may include any of green beans that have not been roasted, green beans that are being roasted, and coffee beans that have been roasted.

In this specification, first, the mechanical structure of the roasting machine will be described, and then the electrical structure of the roasting machine will be described. Then, operation | movement of a roasting machine is demonstrated.

1. FIG. 1 is an external view of a hot-air roaster 100. In the following description, the axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are used for the description as illustrated. In particular, the −Z direction may be referred to as “downward” or “downward”, and the + Z direction may be referred to as “upward” or “upward”. Hereinafter, the hot air roasting machine 100 is abbreviated as “roasting machine 100”. In each figure, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components.

The roasting machine 100 includes a housing 110, a switch 111, a status display LED 112, an electronic circuit board 113, a bean throwing cup 114, an exhaust port 115, a lid 116, and a container 117. The roasting machine 100 may be provided with a switch (not shown) for turning on / off the main power.

The housing 110 functions as a container that accommodates various elements provided in various interiors of the roasting machine 100, and also functions as a support that supports some elements. Further, the housing 110 has a function of confining heat generated in the roasting process and preventing a rapid temperature change during roasting.

The switch 111 is pressed by the user to start / stop roasting and discharge beans. How the roasting machine 100 operates when the switch 111 is pressed depends on the state of the roasting machine 100. Details of this operation will be described later with reference to FIG.

The status display LED 112 is lit in green, for example, until the roasting machine 100 is turned on and receives the roasting profile, and flashes in red after receiving the roasting profile. To do. Here, the “roasting profile” is control information for controlling the roasting machine 100 owned by the user. The roasting profile includes, for example, a temperature profile indicating a relationship between a roasting time and a roasting temperature in the roasting machine 100, and a roasting time and the number of rotations per unit time of the fan motor of the roasting machine 100. Includes a rotational speed profile that shows the relationship. Further, the status display LED 112 lights up in red during preheating and blinks in orange during roasting, for example.

The electronic circuit board 113 is mounted with various electronic circuits. For example, on the electronic circuit board 113, as will be described later with reference to FIG. 11, a microcomputer 301 which is a processing circuit, a wireless communication circuit 302, a memory 303, a storage 306, a communication bus 307, and the like are provided. It should be noted that the electronic circuit board 113 shown in FIG. As will be described later, the electronic circuit board 113 extends over a relatively wide range inside the housing.

The bean throwing cup 114 is a container that can be attached to and detached from the opening of the casing 110 and can be filled with raw beans below a specified amount. The bean throwing cup 114 has openings on the upper surface and the lower surface, respectively. The opening on the top surface is used by the user to fill the bean input cup 114 with green beans. The opening on the bottom surface is used for charging the green beans filled in the bean input cup 114 into a roasting pot (described later) inside the roasting machine 100.

The exhaust port 115 is an opening through which hot air being roasted is discharged out of the casing 110.

The lid 116 is detachably attached to the housing 110. The lid 116 has an opening in which the bean throwing cup 114 is mounted and an opening in which the exhaust port 115 is provided.

The container 117 stores the discharged beans.

Next, the internal structure of the roasting machine 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of the roasting machine 100. FIG. 3 shows an internal configuration of the roasting machine 100 in which the roasting cylinder cover 121 is transparently displayed. FIG. 4 shows the internal configuration of the roasting machine 100 with the roasting cylinder cover 121 removed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the roasting machine 100 includes a fan unit 120, a roasting cylinder cover 121, a roasting cylinder 122, a wind tunnel structure 123, and a discharge cylinder 124. FIG. 2 shows an example of the size and structure of the electronic circuit board 113.

The fan unit 120 takes in air outside the roasting machine 100 into the casing 110 of the roasting machine 100. As shown in FIG. 3, the fan unit 120 includes a fan motor 120a, a fan 120b, and an air outlet 120c. The fan 120b is attached to the fan motor 120a. As the fan motor 120a rotates, the fan 120b also rotates, and air outside the roasting machine 100 is taken into the roasting machine 100. The taken-in air is heated by the heater unit 127 (FIG. 4) and used for roasting green beans.

The roasting cylinder cover 121 is a cover arranged so as to cover a part of the roasting cylinder 122. The roasting cylinder cover 121 is made of a resin material such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT). As shown in FIG. 3, the inner wall of the roasting cylinder cover 121 is not in contact with the outer peripheral wall of the roasting cylinder 122, and a predetermined gap is provided.

The roasting cylinder 122 has a cylindrical shape having two openings (not shown) on the + Z side (upper side) and the −Z side (lower side). In the present embodiment, the roasting cylinder 122 is formed of a metal material such as aluminum. However, this is an example. It may be formed of other materials.

As shown in FIG. 4, a roasting chamber 126 and a heater unit 127 are provided inside the roasting cylinder 122. FIG. 4 shows a position where the roasting chamber 126 and the heater unit 127 are provided. Note that the lower end of the heater unit 127 is below the lower end of the roasting cylinder cover 121. Therefore, strictly speaking, the heater unit 127 is not completely accommodated inside the roasting cylinder cover 121.

The air sucked into the casing 110 of the roasting machine 100 by the fan unit 120 enters the roasting cylinder 122 from the lower opening and is discharged from the upper opening. The lower opening is an air inlet, and the upper opening is an air outlet. Inside the roasting cylinder 122 from the air inlet to the air outlet, a heater unit 127 and a roasting chamber 126 are provided in this order.

The wind tunnel structure 123 is a member made of a metal material having openings at positions corresponding to the upper opening of the roasting cylinder 122 and positions corresponding to the upper opening of the discharge cylinder 124. The wind tunnel structure 123 also has a groove-shaped passage connecting the two openings. The metal material is, for example, aluminum. By covering the wind tunnel structure 123 with the lid 116 having the exhaust port 115, the groove-shaped passage of the wind tunnel structure 123 forms an air path from the roasting cylinder 122 to the exhaust port 115 together with the lid 116.

The discharge cylinder 124 is a bean discharge path when the beans in the roasting chamber 126 are discharged into the container 117. When the beans are discharged, the fan unit 120 rotates at a high speed and sends a strong wind into the housing 110. Each bean is blown off from the roasting chamber 126 by a strong wind, passes through the wind path of the wind tunnel structure 123, and reaches a position corresponding to the upper opening of the discharge tube 124. Then, the inside of the discharge cylinder 124 is dropped by gravity from this opening and discharged into the container 117.

The roasting machine 100 has a plurality of spacers 128. The plurality of spacers 128 are provided between the wind tunnel structure 123 and the housing 110 to support the housing 110. The plurality of spacers 128 are made of, for example, a phenol resin (bakelite) or a polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) resin.

Next, the flow of air inside the roasting machine 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 shows the flow of air inside the roasting machine 100 with arrows. The flow of air passing through the fan unit 120, the roasting tube cover 121, the roasting tube 122, and the wind tunnel structure 123 is indicated by broken-line arrows.

First, when the fan motor 120a of the fan unit 120 rotates, air is sucked from below the casing 110 (−Z side). The air taken into the roasting machine 100 is mainly blown onto the electronic circuit board 113.

The inventor of the present application intentionally placed the electronic circuit board 113 on the air path between the fan unit 120 and the wind tunnel structure 123. The reason is that the electronic circuit board 113 can be effectively cooled. During operation of the roasting machine 100, various electronic components mounted on the electronic circuit board 113 generate heat. The outside air temperature (low temperature) air sucked in by the fan unit 120 is blown onto the electronic circuit board 113 and takes heat of the electronic components and the electronic circuit board 113. Thereby, the electronic circuit board 113 can be cooled.

It is convenient that the temperature of the air rises due to the heat of the electronic circuit board 113. This is because it is not necessary to use only the heater unit 127 as a heat source. If the temperature of the air is raised as much as possible, heating by the heater unit 127 can be performed effectively.

The air then proceeds upward, hits the outer surface (outer peripheral wall) of the wind tunnel structure 123, and changes its course in the + Y direction. In the roasting process, when the heating of the heater unit 127 is continued, the heated air passes through the wind tunnel structure 123 and is discharged from the exhaust port 115. As described above, since the wind tunnel structure 123 is made of a metal material, the heat of the air passing through the wind tunnel structure 123 is transmitted to the outer peripheral wall of the wind tunnel structure 123, and the temperature rises. As a result, when the air hits the wind tunnel structure 123, heat is also taken from the wind tunnel structure 123, and as a result, the air is further heated. Thereby, heating efficiency can be improved greatly. At the same time, the wind tunnel structure 123 can be cooled to suppress an increase in temperature.

Next, the air enters the gap air passage 125, travels downward between the roasting cylinder cover 121 and the roasting cylinder 122, and reaches the air inlet of the roasting cylinder 122. The air is also heated while passing through the gap air passage 125. This is because when the roasting process starts, the temperature of the outer peripheral wall of the roasting cylinder 122 rises for the same reason as the reason that the temperature of the outer peripheral wall of the wind tunnel structure 123 increases. Therefore, when the air travels through the gap air passage 125 and reaches the air inlet of the roasting cylinder 122, the air is heated to a considerable extent. According to the configuration of the present embodiment, very efficient heat exchange can be performed.

The air enters the roasting cylinder 122 from the air inlet of the roasting cylinder 122 and is heated by the heater unit 127 to become hot air. The hot air stirs the green beans put into the roasting chamber 126 by the wind force. As a result, the green beans in the roasting chamber 126 are roasted uniformly. The hot air enters the wind tunnel structure 123 from the upper opening (air outlet) of the roasting cylinder 122, passes through the air channel in the wind tunnel structure 123, and is discharged from the exhaust port 115.

Note that if the roasting cylinder cover 121 covers a part of the outer peripheral wall of the roasting cylinder 122, the air passing through the gap air passage 125 can take the heat of the outer peripheral wall of the roasting cylinder 122. Therefore, the roasting cylinder cover 121 only needs to cover the outer peripheral wall of the roasting cylinder 122 corresponding to the position (range) where the heater unit 127 is provided, for example. However, the inventors of the present application decided to cover not only the heater unit 127 but also the outer peripheral wall of the roasting cylinder 122 corresponding to the position (range) where the roasting chamber 126 was provided with the roasting cylinder cover 121. As a result, the air can be heated more effectively in the gap air passage 125.

As described above, a certain gap is formed between the lowermost surface of the fan unit 120 and the surface on which the roasting machine 100 is installed, so that air is sucked into the fan unit 120 from the gap.

However, if the gap is blocked by a foreign matter for some reason, air cannot be sucked into the fan unit 120 and cannot be roasted. For this reason, in the present embodiment, when the following three conditions are satisfied, it is determined that there is a foreign substance or the like in the gap, and the user is notified of an intake error, and the roasting machine 100 is safely stopped. And

1. When the heater control duty (Duty: Dh%) according to the roasting profile reflected every TR_T (= 2 seconds, for example) corresponds to one of the following conditions continuously Nduty (= 5) times,
(1) The heater control duty (Duty: Dh%) according to the roasting profile is equal to or greater than the previous value, or (2) the heater control duty (Duty: Dh%) according to the roasting profile is the upper limit value of the heater control duty. (Duty Limit)
2. When the heater temperature sensor value acquired every To (= 200 msec, for example) is continuously Nt (= 50) times or less, for example,
3. When the heater temperature sensor value acquired every To (= 200 msec, for example) is lower than the target temperature by ΔTLOW (= 40 ° C.) or more continuously Nt (= 50, for example)
Is applicable.

FIG. 6A shows the configuration of the heater unit 127. As shown in FIG. 4, the heater unit 127 is disposed inside the roasting cylinder 122.

The heater unit 127 includes a plurality of heating wires 140a to 140c, a first rectifying plate 141, a second rectifying plate 142, and a temperature sensor 143. In FIG. 6A, the partition plate 126 a is described, but the partition plate 126 a is not a component of the heater unit 127.

The plurality of heating wires 140a to 140c all convert electric power into heat. The plurality of heating wires 140a to 140c are arranged in the vicinity of the inner peripheral wall of the roasting cylinder 122 and aligned in the Z direction along the inner peripheral wall. Since the plurality of heating wires 140a to 140c are arranged along the inner peripheral wall of the roasting cylinder 122, the heating wires can be secured longer. Thereby, the contact area of a heating wire and air becomes large, and can raise air temperature effectively. In the present embodiment, three heating wires are used, but the number is arbitrary. It is sufficient that at least one heating wire is provided. A structure in which a single heating wire is spirally wound may be used.

The temperature sensor 143 is a platinum temperature sensor whose heat-resistant temperature is about 450 degrees, for example. The temperature sensor 143 detects the temperature of the air heated by the heater unit 127. Alternatively, the temperature sensor 143 may detect the temperature of the heater unit 127. In the present specification, the temperature sensor 143 only needs to detect one of the roasting temperature and the temperature of the heater unit 127.

The heating wires 140a to 140c are divided into a plurality of sections by

heater holding members

145a and 145b made of mica. In the present embodiment, the three heating wires 140a to 140c are arranged in the section located in the −Z direction of the temperature sensor 143, which is partitioned by the

heater holding members

145a and 145b. The number of heat rays is an example.

FIG. 6B is a perspective view of the heater unit 127a according to the first modification. In the heater unit 127 according to the modified example, two

heating wires

140b and 140c are provided in a section located in the −Z direction of the temperature sensor 143, which is partitioned by the

heater holding members

145a and 145b. That is, the heating wire 140a does not exist as compared with the configuration example of FIG. 6A. On the other hand, in other sections, three heating wires are provided in the Z direction.

In the example of FIG. 6B, the number of heating wires positioned in the −Z direction of the temperature sensor 143 is set to be smaller than the number of heating wires not positioned in the −Z direction of the temperature sensor 143. Thereby, the correlation between the air temperature of the roasting chamber 126 where the beans are roasted and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 143 can be increased. It becomes easy for the user to grasp the relationship between the set temperature value of the roasting profile and the roasting finish, and the ease of handling when setting the temperature of the roasting profile can be dramatically improved.

Furthermore, FIG. 6C is a top view of the heater unit 127b according to the second modification. In FIG. 6C, four heater holding members 145a to 145d divide the inner space from the heating wire of the heater unit 127 into eight spaces. That is, the air flow path is divided into eight. Of these, the number of heaters is two in the section located in the −Z direction of the temperature sensor 143, which is partitioned by the

heater holding members

145a and 145b, and the number of heaters is three in the other sections. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that described for the configuration of FIG. 6B.

Refer to FIG. 6A again.

Both the first rectifying plate 141 and the second rectifying plate 142 are provided to control the flow of air. Air enters through the opening 144 on the lower side of the drawing and is heated by the heating wires 140a-140c. Thereafter, the heated air passes through the air path formed by the first rectifying plate 141 and the second rectifying plate 142 and enters the roasting chamber 126 through the slit of the partition plate 126a. This configuration can be adopted for any of the configurations shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C described above.

2. Next, the operating environment of the roasting machine 100 will be described. As described above, the roasting machine 100 acquires a roasting profile from the outside. In the present embodiment, an example in which a roasting profile is acquired from the terminal device 200 will be described. The terminal device 200 acquires a roasting profile from a database (DB) server 400 (hereinafter referred to as the DB server 400). The DB server 400 is a server operated by a green bean provider. The green bean provider stores a roast profile in the DB server 400 by, for example, having a roaster create a roast profile for each type of green bean to be sold.

FIG. 7 shows the configuration of the information providing system 10. FIG. 7 shows different users A and B. In order to avoid duplication of explanation, only user A will be explained below, but the same explanation can be applied to user B as well.

User A holds the terminal device 200 in addition to the roasting machine 100. For example, the terminal device 200 is a smartphone with a camera. The user photographs (reads) the information code 5 with the camera of the terminal device 200. In the present embodiment, the information code 5 is information used to acquire a roasting profile of green beans displayed on a green bean packaging container purchased by the user. The terminal device 200 of the user A extracts the green bean identification information 4 from the information code 5 given to the green bean packaging container, and acquires the attribute information of the green bean based on the identification information 4. For example, the identification information may be a product number, and the information code 5 may be a QR code (registered trademark). Since a technique for generating a QR code (registered trademark) from character information is known, detailed description thereof is omitted. In the present specification, the green bean information code 5 and the identification information are described as different, but it is not essential. For example, the identification information may be handled as the information code 5 as it is.

For example, the signal processing circuit (signal processing processor or CPU) of the terminal device 200 executes the application program and extracts the identification information 4 from the read information code 5. Alternatively, the identification information 4 is extracted from the information code read by the dedicated processing circuit (DSP) of the terminal device 200.

The terminal device 200 transmits the obtained identification information 4 to the DB server 400 of the green bean provider via the communication network 9 and requests transmission of the attribute information 6 of the green bean. The communication network 9 is, for example, the Internet.

Attribute information 6 includes one or more roasting profiles 2 of the green beans. The DB server 400 transmits the raw bean attribute information 6 stored together with the roasting profile 2 to the user terminal device 200 via the communication network 9. The terminal device 200 receives the attribute information 6.

The user terminal device 200 extracts the roasting profile 2 from the acquired attribute information 6 and transmits it to the roasting machine 100 owned by itself. The roasting machine 100 receives the roasting profile 2 and sets the roasting profile 2 as control information before the start of the roasting operation. Thereby, the roasting machine 100 can perform roasting under the same conditions as when the roaster roasted the green beans. When the roasting is completed, the user can obtain the roasted beans 8a according to the roasting profile 2, and can grind it to enjoy coffee.

In roasting work, temperature management, air flow management, and time management must be performed separately and appropriately for each green bean, so time and labor are required for ordinary people to perform satisfactory roasting. For example, regarding temperature control, it is said that if the temperature differs by 1 ° C. immediately after the start of roasting, the flavor of the coffee after roasting changes greatly.

In the present embodiment, a roasting profile determined by the roaster is prepared, and the roasting profile is set in the roasting machine 100 from the terminal device 200 owned by the user. Accordingly, it is possible to easily and appropriately perform roasting, and to improve user satisfaction through the operation of roasting green beans.

Hereinafter, a hardware structure related to information processing of the DB server 400, the terminal device 200, and the roasting machine 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 8 is a hardware configuration diagram of the DB server 400 operated by the green bean provider. The DB server 400 is a computer system having a signal processing circuit (hereinafter referred to as “CPU”) 401, a communication circuit 402, and a memory 403. The CPU 401, the communication circuit 402, and the memory 403 are connected to the communication bus 404, and can transmit / receive data to / from each other. The communication circuit 402 performs, for example, Ethernet (registered trademark) standard wired communication.

In the memory 403, a computer program 403a read from a non-volatile memory (not shown) is read and expanded. The computer program 403a is, for example, a profile database (DB) construction program and a profile DB management program. The CPU 401 executes communication and processing described later by executing these computer programs.

Also, a profile database (DB) 410 is connected to the DB server 400. The profile DB 410 stores the roasting profile 2 received from the roaster by the green bean provider.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show examples of different roasting profiles 2. The horizontal axis represents the roasting time t, and the vertical axis represents the roasting temperature and the rotation speed of the fan motor 120a. The roasting profile is control information indicating a roasting method for each green bean by the roasting machine 100. The roasting profile includes a temperature profile indicating the relationship between the roasting time and the roasting temperature in the roasting machine 100, and a rotation speed profile indicating the relationship between the roasting time and the rotation speed of the fan motor 120a.

The two roast profiles shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 have the same temperature change until time t ₁ , but are different after time t ₁ . Also it is understood that the rotation speed of the fan motor 120a is different from the original time t _0.

The reason why the conditions of the temperature and the air volume at the time of roasting are different is that, for example, the characteristics of raw beans and the target roasting degree are different. “Characteristics of green beans” refers to the size, water content, various carbohydrates, acids, lipids, amino acids, proteins, caffeine, chlorogenic acid, etc. of individual green beans. The “degree of roasting” is light roasting, medium roasting or deep roasting.

For each green bean, at least three roasting profiles with different degrees of roasting, that is, three roasting profiles for shallow roasting, medium roasting, and deep roasting may be prepared.

In addition, the degree of roasting is further subdivided in order from light roast to deep roast, like light roast, cinnamon roast, medium roast, high roast, city roast, full city roast, Italian roast, French roast. Can be done.

The roasting machine 100 controls the temperature and the rotation speed of the fan motor 120a so as to follow the roasting profile shown in FIGS. A microcomputer (described later) that is a processing circuit of the roasting machine 100 adjusts the input to the heater unit 127 based on the output value of the temperature sensor 143. Thereby, the temperature in the roasting chamber 126 of the roasting machine 100 is controlled.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, in a normal roasting operation, the heater unit 127 is started up and the fan motor 120 a is rotated at the time t <b> 0 as a reference for the roast start time. It starts at the same time.

In addition, if the user intentionally or mistakenly repeats the rotation of the bean throwing cup 114 or the removal of the container 117 frequently, heat will be generated inside the main body of the roasting machine 100. When continuing roasting, it is desirable to start up the heater unit 127 after a predetermined time has elapsed since the fan motor 120a is rotated.

The waveforms shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 are shown as continuous functions for the convenience of understanding. However, actually, it can be prepared as a data string in which the temperature and the number of rotations are shown for each elapsed time with the roasting start time as a reference.

The profile DB 410 is also connected to the bus 404 via a communication interface (not shown), and the search and update of the profile DB 410 can be performed by the CPU 401 or the like. The profile DB 410 may be provided in the DB server 400.

FIG. 11 is a hardware configuration diagram of the terminal device 200 and the roasting machine 100.

The terminal device 200 includes a signal processing circuit (hereinafter referred to as “CPU”) 201, a wireless communication circuit 202, an input interface (I / F) device 203, a memory 204, an image processing circuit 205, and a display 206. , A computer system having a camera module 207, a storage 208, and a speaker 209. For example, the terminal device 200 is a smartphone or a tablet computer. The above-described components of the terminal device 200 are connected to the communication bus 210 and can transmit / receive data to / from each other.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the communication circuit 202 can perform communication of a plurality of communication standards. For example, the wireless communication circuit 202 performs communication using a communication method (for example, CDMA communication) provided by a communication company, Wi-Fi (registered trademark, the same applies hereinafter) standard communication, and Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard communication. It is possible. As an example, the former two can be used for communication with the DB server 400. The Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard communication can be used for communication with the roasting machine 100.

The input I / F device 203 is a device for a user to input a command to the terminal device 200. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the input I / F device 203 is a touch screen panel provided so as to be superimposed on the display 206. However, the touch screen panel is an example of the input I / F device 203. The input I / F device 203 may be a physical button. Alternatively, the input I / F device 203 may be configured by a microphone and a voice recognition circuit. The input I / F device 203 recognizes the user's voice and inputs an instruction to the terminal device 200.

In the memory 204, a computer program 204a read from a nonvolatile memory (not shown) is expanded. The computer program 204a is provided by, for example, a green bean provider, and describes a processing procedure that the green bean provider wants the terminal device 200 to execute. For example, the computer program 204 a activates the camera module 207 according to an instruction from the CPU 201, causes the information code to be photographed, and causes the CPU 201 to extract green bean identification information from the information code. Then, the computer program 204 a causes the CPU 201 to communicate with the DB server 400, receives raw bean attribute information from the DB server 400, and causes the display 206 to display characters and images. At this time, the image processing circuit 205 may perform processing for display. Further, the computer program 204 a causes the CPU 201 to store the received attribute information in the storage 208.

The image processing circuit 205 is a circuit that performs calculations for displaying characters, graphics, and the like on the display 206.

The display 206 is an example of an output device. The display 206 is, for example, a liquid crystal display panel or an organic EL panel, and displays characters and / or images based on the calculation result of the image processing circuit 205.

The camera module 207 is an example of a so-called imaging device. The camera module 207 includes, for example, one or a plurality of lenses, an actuator that moves the lenses in the optical axis direction, and an imaging device. In the present embodiment, the camera module 207 is used to read a QR code (registered trademark).

The storage 208 is, for example, a non-volatile flash memory and stores raw bean attribute information acquired by the terminal device 200.

The speaker 209 is an example of an output device. In the present embodiment, the speaker 209 notifies the user by voice of the normal end of roasting by the roasting machine 100, the occurrence of an abnormality, or the like.

Details of the operation of the terminal device 200 will be described later.

3. The electrical structure of the roasting machine The roasting machine 100 includes a microcontroller (hereinafter referred to as “microcomputer”) 301 that is a processing circuit, a wireless communication circuit 302, a memory 303, a power supply 304, and a storage 306. The fan motor 120a, the heater unit 127, and the temperature sensor 143 are included. The above-described components of the roasting machine 100 are connected to the communication bus 307 and can transmit and receive data to and from each other. These are mounted on an electronic circuit board 113, for example.

In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the communication circuit 302 can perform Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard communication. The wireless communication circuit 302 can perform communication of this standard with the wireless communication circuit 202 of the terminal device 200.

The microcomputer 301 communicates with the terminal device 200 via the wireless communication circuit 302, receives the roasting profile 2 from the terminal device 200, temporarily stores it in the memory 303, and stores it in the storage 306. The microcomputer 301 controls the rotation speed of the fan motor 120a (the number of rotations per unit time. Hereinafter, abbreviated as “the number of rotations”) during the roasting operation using the roasting profile 2, and further the heater unit 127. Control the temperature. The power source 304 supplies power necessary for the roasting machine 100 to operate. The storage 306 is a non-volatile storage device such as a flash memory.

The microcomputer 301 in FIG. 11 stores a computer program in advance in an EEPROM (not shown) in the microcomputer 301 so as to perform a predetermined operation in advance. The microcomputer 301 executes the computer program using an internal buffer and a register (not shown). As in the examples of the DB server 400 and the terminal device 200, the microcomputer 301 may execute the computer program loaded in the memory 303 in the roasting machine 100.

4). Normal Operation of Roasting Machine FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing communication performed between the roasting machine 100 and the terminal device 200 and the processing procedure of each of the roasting machine 100 and the terminal device 200.

In step S1, the CPU 201 of the terminal device 200 acquires the green bean code by reading the information code given to the packaging container with the terminal device 200.

In step S2, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the attribute information corresponding to the green bean code exists in the storage 208. For example, the CPU 201 determines whether or not there is attribute information having the same green bean code as the acquired green bean code. The product name can be used instead of the green bean code. If attribute information having the same green bean code as the acquired green bean code exists in the storage 208, the process proceeds to step S3. If attribute information does not exist in the storage 208, the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S3, the CPU 201 confirms with the user whether or not to update to the latest information. When the CPU 201 receives an instruction to update to the latest information, the process proceeds to step S5. On the other hand, in step S4, the CPU 201 stores the attribute information in the storage 208 in association with the green bean code.

Step S5 and subsequent steps relate to processing for transmitting control information to the roasting machine 100.

In step S5, the CPU 201 of the terminal device 200 extracts control information (roasting profile), priority information, and the like from the attribute information corresponding to the green bean code, and prompts the user to select a roasting method. Is displayed.

In step S6, the CPU 201 accepts, for example, a touch on a transmission button displayed on the display 206 as a transmission instruction for control information corresponding to the selected roasting method. The CPU 201 transmits control information (roasting profile) corresponding to the selected roasting method to the roasting machine 100.

Note that the CPU 201 desirably transmits only control information (roasting profile) corresponding to the selected roasting method to the roasting machine 100. For example, even when there are three roasting profiles stored in the storage 208 for shallow roasting, medium roasting, and deep roasting, any one of them is transmitted to the roasting machine 100. The Since the capacity of the memory 303 or storage 306 of the roasting machine 100 can be reduced by suppressing the amount of data transmitted and received, the roasting machine 100 can be provided at low cost.

In step S8, the microcomputer 301 of the roasting machine 100 receives the control information and stores it in the storage 306. Further, the microcomputer 301 sets the received control information as an operation parameter of the microcomputer 301. The microcomputer 301 holds in advance a table, a function, or a program for determining a current value to be passed through the fan motor 120a and the heater unit 127 according to the operation parameter. When the operation parameter is set, the microcomputer 301 can roast green beans according to the operation parameter.

In step S9, the microcomputer 301 of the roasting machine 100 starts roasting according to the set operation parameters.

The basic series of operations of the roasting machine 100 has been described above.

5). Operation of the roasting machine when the instantaneous voltage drop occurs Next, the operation of the roasting machine 100 when the instantaneous voltage drop occurs will be described. In this specification, “instantaneous voltage drop” means a power failure in which the voltage of the power source drops below a predetermined value, and a short time for supplying power from the power source, for example, from several microseconds to several hundred microseconds Includes both a period of seconds and a power failure that will be cut off.

First, a configuration for detecting the occurrence of an instantaneous voltage drop will be described, and then the operation will be described.

FIG. 13 is a hardware diagram showing a detailed circuit configuration related to the electronic circuit board 113 and the power supply 304 of the roasting machine 100.

In addition to the components described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 11, the roasting machine 100 includes a shunt resistor 310, a voltage sag detection circuit 312, and a switching element 314. The power source 304 has an AC-DC converter 304a. Since the LED 112 and the wireless communication circuit 302 shown in FIG. 13 have been described above, description thereof will be omitted.

The power source 304 converts an AC voltage into a DC voltage by an AC-DC converter 304a. For example, the AC-DC converter 304a converts a household 100 volt AC voltage into a DC voltage of 24V by, for example, a transformer method or a switching method. As the AC-DC converter 304a, a known AC-DC converter can be used. In this specification, further detailed description of the AC-DC converter 304a is omitted.

The shunt resistor 310 further reduces the voltage generated by the AC-DC converter 304a to a voltage at which the microcomputer 301 can operate. For example, shunt resistor 310 reduces a DC voltage of 7.5 volts to a DC voltage of 5 volts.

The instantaneous voltage drop detection circuit 312 outputs a detection signal when it detects that the output voltage Vdd1 of the power supply 304 has dropped below a predetermined value. The detection signal is input to the microcomputer 301.

FIG. 14 shows a specific configuration example of the instantaneous power failure detection circuit 312. As illustrated, the instantaneous power failure detection circuit 312 includes a Zener diode 312a and transistors 312b and 312c. The Zener diode 312a is inserted between the output voltage Vdd1 of the AC / DC converter 304a and the ground GND. The anode terminal of the Zener diode 312a is connected to the base of the transistor 312b. The collector of the transistor 312b is connected to the base of the transistor 312c, and the terminal voltage of the collector of the transistor 312c is input to the interrupt terminal (not shown) of the microcomputer 301.

When the voltage Vdd1 is larger than the Zener voltage, the Zener diode 312a is turned on, a current of a predetermined magnitude flows between the base and emitter of the transistor 312b, and the transistor 312b is turned on. As a result, the current flow transistor 312c having a predetermined magnitude is turned on between the emitter and base of the transistor 312c, and thus a terminal voltage having a predetermined magnitude is detected at the collector.

Thereafter, when the voltage Vdd1 drops below the Zener voltage, the transistor 312b is turned off and the transistor 312c is also turned off. As a result, the terminal voltage of the collector of the transistor 312c decreases. The voltage connected to the interrupt terminal of the microcomputer 301 is relatively lowered from the high level to the low level. The microcomputer 301 detects that an instantaneous voltage drop has occurred by detecting a voltage drop.

Note that the configuration shown in FIG. 14 is an example. A person skilled in the art can adopt alternative configurations that realize functions and operations equivalent to those described above.

In the power supply 304, AC power is branched so that AC power is input to the AC-DC converter 304a and also to the heater unit 127. That is, the power source 304 is a DC power source when viewed from the shunt resistor 310 and the like, and is an AC power source when viewed from the heater unit 127.

The switching element 314 is provided between the power supply 304 and the heater unit 127. The switching element 314 is turned on or off based on a power control signal output from the microcomputer 301, and controls supply and interruption of AC power from the AC power source to the heater unit 127. In the present embodiment, the power control signal is a rectangular wave. Details of the power control signal will be described later.

FIG. 15A shows an operation procedure of the roasting machine 100 when an instantaneous voltage drop is detected.

In step S11, the microcomputer 301 executes a roasting operation based on the operation parameters. At the same time, the microcomputer 301 updates state parameters related to the roasting operation. The state parameter is, for example, the following information.

A flag indicating whether the roasting machine is operating, for example, whether or not it is currently roasting. Elapsed time from the start of the roasting operation. Identification information (ID) that uniquely identifies the connected terminal device 200.
The current roasting temperature detected by the temperature sensor 143 or the temperature of the heater unit 127. The open / close state of the bean throwing cup 114. The open / close state of the container 117. The microcomputer 301 updates the state parameter at predetermined time intervals. Note that it is not necessary to update all the state parameters every time. For example, only the elapsed time from the start of the roasting operation and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 143 may be updated. The above-described operation parameters and state parameters are stored in the memory 303. The update of the state parameter is realized by rewriting data on the memory 303, for example. In the present specification, one or both of the operation parameter such as the roasting profile and the state parameter described above may be collectively referred to as “parameter regarding roasting operation” or simply “parameter”.

In step S12, the microcomputer 301 determines whether a detection signal is received from the voltage sag detection circuit 312. Until receiving, the microcomputer 301 executes the process of step S11. When the microcomputer 301 receives a detection signal from the instantaneous drop detection circuit 312, the process proceeds to step S13.

In step S13, the microcomputer 301 saves the parameters (operation parameters and state parameters) regarding the roasting operation from the memory 303 to the storage 306. When the process proceeds from step S12 to step S13, the output voltage Vdd1 of the power supply 304 is in a state of decreasing below a predetermined value. The process of step S13 is executed before the power output from the power supply 304 is shut off. Note that when an instantaneous interruption occurs, power is lost in an instant. However, for example, a backup power source such as a capacitor or a secondary battery (not shown) may be prepared for the power source 304. When an instantaneous interruption occurs, power is immediately supplied from the capacitor or the backup power source to the microcomputer 301 and the memory 303, so that the parameters are surely saved from the memory 303 to the storage 306.

After the parameter is saved, the power of the roasting machine 100 is cut off due to the instantaneous voltage drop. After the power is restored, the roaster 100 is restarted. Step S14 and subsequent steps are processing of the microcomputer 301 after restart.

In step S14, the microcomputer 301 determines whether or not the parameter is stored in the storage 306. If the parameter is stored in the storage 306, the process proceeds to step S15, and if not stored, the process ends. That is, the microcomputer 301 performs a normal startup process.

In step S15, the microcomputer 301 reads the parameter stored in the storage 306 into the memory 303, and restarts the roasting operation using this parameter. For example, the microcomputer 301 reads the roasting profile and elapsed time included in the parameters, and determines the roasting temperature at the elapsed time from the roasting profile. The microcomputer 301 heats the heater unit 127 until the roasting temperature is reached. When the roasting temperature is reached, the microcomputer 301 controls the temperature and the rotation of the fan motor 120a of the fan unit 120 based on the roasting profile, and resumes roasting of the beans remaining in the roasting chamber 126. To do. When the roasting is completed, the operation parameter (roasting profile) is deleted from the memory 303.

Next, another example of the operation of the roasting machine 100 when the instantaneous voltage drop shown in FIG. 15A is detected will be described with reference to FIGS. 15B and 16. Of the steps included in FIGS. 15B and 16, the steps included in FIG. 15A are assigned the same step numbers, and description of these steps is omitted.

In FIG. 15B, step S20 is provided between step S14 and step S15. Step S20 is processing for determining a new condition when the microcomputer 301 determines whether or not to resume the roasting operation.

In step S20, the microcomputer 301 determines whether or not the difference between the roasting temperature in the state parameter and the current roasting temperature satisfies the roasting continuation condition. First, “the roasting temperature in the state parameter” is the roasting temperature when it was evacuated in step S13. The current roasting temperature is the output value of the temperature sensor 143 when step S20 is executed. The microcomputer 301 determines whether or not the difference between these values satisfies a predetermined roasting continuation condition. The “predetermined roasting continuation condition” is, for example, “less than 30 degrees”.

If the roasting continuation condition is satisfied in step S20, the process proceeds to step S15, and the roasting operation is resumed. If the roasting continuation condition is not satisfied, the roasting operation is not resumed and the microcomputer 301 executes a normal startup process.

FIG. 16 shows a process in which the roasting machine 100 operates in cooperation with the terminal device 200 rather than operating alone. The terminal device 200 is typically a terminal device that transmits a roasting profile to the roasting machine 100. Even after the roasting profile is transmitted from the terminal device 200 to the roasting machine 100, the Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard communication is continuously established between the terminal device 200 and the roasting machine 100.

In the example shown in FIG. 16, the wireless communication circuit 302 of the roasting machine 100 periodically transmits an operation confirmation signal to the terminal device 200 after the start of roasting. The terminal device 200 can know that the roasting machine 100 is operating normally by receiving the operation confirmation signal periodically.

The CPU 201 of the terminal device 200 has a timer (not shown) inside in order to confirm that the operation confirmation signal has been received periodically. The CPU 201 counts up the timer using the clock signal.

As shown in step S50, the CPU 201 resets this timer every time an operation confirmation signal is received. Therefore, if the operation confirmation signal is not received from the roasting machine 100, the count value of the timer continues to increase. The microcomputer 301 of the roasting machine 100 restarts after the end of step S13. After the instantaneous voltage drop occurs, the roasting machine 100 cannot transmit an operation confirmation signal at least until the restart is completed. During this period, the count value of the timer of the CPU 201 continues to increase.

When the restart of the process of the roasting machine 100 is completed and the parameter is stored in the storage 306 in step S14, the process proceeds to step S40. When the restart of the roasting machine 100 is completed, the microcomputer 301 automatically establishes a connection with the terminal device 200 that has been connected immediately before.

In step S40, the microcomputer 301 transmits a startup completion notification via the wireless communication circuit 302.

The CPU 201 of the terminal device 200 that has received the activation completion notification executes the process of step S51. In step S51, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the count value of the timer is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value. In terms of time, the threshold value is “10 seconds”, for example. If the count value is equal to or smaller than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S52. If not, the process proceeds to step S53.

When the count value is less than or equal to the threshold value, the operation stop period of the roasting machine 100 is within the allowable time. The heater unit 127 still has a temperature at which the roasting operation can be resumed quickly. In step S <b> 52, the CPU 201 of the terminal device 200 transmits a roasting continuation request to the roasting machine 100 via the wireless communication circuit 202. Receiving the roasting continuation request, the microcomputer 301 of the roasting machine 100 restarts the roasting operation in step S15.

On the other hand, when the count value is less than or equal to the threshold value, the operation stop period of the roasting machine 100 exceeds the allowable time. In step S <b> 53, the CPU 201 of the terminal device 200 transmits a roasting end request to the roasting machine 100 via the wireless communication circuit 202. Receiving the roasting end request, the microcomputer 301 of the roasting machine 100 ends the process without restarting the roasting operation.

In FIG. 16, it has been described that the roasting operation is not resumed when a roasting end request is received, but this is an example. If the roasting continuation request or the roasting end request is not received after a predetermined time has elapsed from the terminal device 200 after the activation completion notification is transmitted in step S40, the microcomputer 301 determines that the roasting operation is not resumed. Processing may be terminated.

6). Next, the operation of the roasting machine 100 when the switch 111 is pressed will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the process of FIG. 17 is executed regardless of whether or not an instantaneous voltage drop has occurred. Furthermore, the process of FIG. 17 can be executed even during the roasting operation.

FIG. 17 shows a processing procedure of the roasting machine 100 when the switch 111 is pressed.

In step S61, the microcomputer 301 waits until the switch 111 is pressed. If the switch 111 is pressed, the process proceeds to step S62.

In step S62, the microcomputer 301 determines whether or not the operation parameter is stored in the memory 303. This process is a process for determining whether or not the roasting machine 100 has received the roasting profile from the terminal device 200 and stored it in the memory 303. If the operation parameter is stored in the memory 303, the process proceeds to step S63, and if not stored, the process proceeds to step S64.

In step S63, the microcomputer 301 starts the roasting operation using the operation parameters, and stops the roasting operation. The microcomputer 301 can determine whether to start or stop the roasting operation based on the state parameters existing in the memory 303. As described above, the memory 303 stores a flag indicating the operating state of the roasting machine as the state parameter. By referring to this flag, the microcomputer 301 can determine whether or not the roasting machine 100 is currently performing the roasting operation. If the roasting operation is not in progress, the microcomputer 301 starts the roasting operation using the operation parameters. If the roasting operation is being performed, the microcomputer 301 stops the roasting operation. Thereafter, the process ends.

In step S64, the microcomputer 301 executes a discharging operation. According to this process, in the state where the roasting profile is not transmitted to the roasting machine 100, the beans are discharged even if they exist in the roasting chamber 126 of the roasting machine 100. In the present embodiment, the operation parameter (roasting profile) is deleted from the memory 303 after the roasting is completed. Even if the user forgets to take out the roasted beans from the roasting machine 100, the beans can be discharged from the roasting machine 100 at any time by pressing the switch 111. At this time, since the roasting operation is not performed, the roasting is not performed again.

As understood from FIG. 17, the switch 111 is used not only for the start or end of roasting but also for discharging beans depending on the state of the roasting machine 100. Since there is no need to provide a switch for starting or ending roasting and a switch for discharging beans, the cost of parts can be reduced. In addition, since the number of parts is small, the complexity of the external design can be suppressed.

7). Next, a power control method for roasting machine 100 during roasting will be described. This power control method is a method of applying power to the heater unit 127 for causing the heater unit 127 to generate heat. The power control method described below can be applied during any of the roasting operations described above.

First, an example of power control will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 18 shows an example of a first method of applying AC power to the heater unit 127. A broken line indicates an alternating current waveform output from the power supply 304. On the other hand, the solid line shows the current waveform cut off near the peak of the sine wave by the switching element 314 (FIG. 13). The microcomputer 301 supplies a power control signal having a pulse waveform that rises / falls at a predetermined timing to the switching element 314. The switching element 314 is turned off at the timing when the pulse waveform falls, and interrupts the current. Since the switching element 314 can be turned on or off at any position of the current waveform, the temperature of the heater unit 127 can be easily controlled.

However, as understood from the solid line waveform, when the current is interrupted, the waveform is disturbed and noise is generated. Since the amount of heat generated by the switching element 314 increases, it is necessary to consider increasing the size of the cooling system and adding noise countermeasure components.

FIG. 19 shows an example of a second method of applying AC power to the heater unit 127. FIG. 20A shows an example of a third method of applying AC power to the heater unit 127.

As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20A, the switching element 314 is turned on or off in synchronization with the zero crossing of the current. Thereby, noise at the time of current interruption and heat generation of the switching element 314 can be suppressed.

However, the on / off timing of the switching element 314 depends on the AC frequency, for example, 50 Hz or 60 Hz. As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20A, it is necessary to wait for a half cycle of the alternating current even if it is turned on and off the earliest. That is, it is difficult to finely control the current or power control signal flowing through the heater unit 127 at a timing less than a half cycle. As a result, there is a limit even if the accuracy of temperature control of the heater unit 127 is improved.

FIG. 20B shows the waveform of the power control signal. In the illustrated example, the power control signal controls the switching element 314 to be turned on or off in units of control cycle T (= 6). The period t _ON = 4 when the switching element 314 is turned on and the period t _OFF = 2 when the switching element 314 is turned off. The duty ratio D of the power control signal is as follows.

D = t _ON / T = 2/3
The temperature of the heater unit 127 can vary depending on the duty ratio. In the example of FIGS. 19 and 20, since the duty ratio cannot be changed with less than 1/6, it is difficult to make the change width of the temperature of the heater unit 127 less than the change width corresponding to the duty ratio 1/6. is there.

The inventor of the present application has studied a technique for simultaneously solving the problem of reducing the heat generation amount and noise of the switching element 314 and the problem of improving the power control accuracy of the heater unit 127. As for the former problem, it is appropriate to turn on or off the switching element 314 in synchronization with the zero crossing of the current as shown in FIG.

Regarding the latter problem, the inventor of the present application considered that the switching element 314 is controlled to be turned on or off over a plurality of temporally continuous control cycles instead of being controlled in units of the control cycle T. Specifically, the inventor of the present application indicates that the average value of the power supplied to the heater unit 127 within each period of N consecutive control periods (N: an integer of 2 or more) is the heater unit 127. It was conceived that each power control signal to be supplied during N control periods should be generated so as to match the target power to be supplied. According to this control method, the duty ratios of the power control signals do not always match and differ between two control periods that are temporally adjacent. The target power to be supplied to the heater unit 127 is determined according to the target temperature. By increasing or decreasing the above-described value of N, it becomes possible to finely control at a timing less than a half cycle of the alternating current.

FIG. 21A shows an example of a fourth method of applying AC power to the heater unit 127. FIG. 21B shows the waveform of the power control signal. As shown in (b) of FIG. 21, the first control period T ₁ of the of the two control period T temporally consecutive period t _ON1 which the switching element 314 is turned on is 4, is turned off The period t _OFF1 is 2. On the other hand, in the control period T _2, the period t _ON2 which the switching element 314 is turned on is 3, the period t _OFF2 is turned off is 3. The duty ratio D ₂ in the duty ratio D ₁ and the control period T ₂ in the control period T ₁ is as follows. Note that the control cycle T ₁ = T _{2 =} 6.

D ₁ = t _ON1 / T ₁ = 2/3 = about 0.67
D ₂ = t _ON2 / T ₂ = 1/2 = 0.5
It can be seen that the duty ratios D ₁ and D ₂ are different.

As described above, in the present embodiment, on and off of the switching element 314 is not controlled in units of control cycles, but is controlled over a plurality of control cycles. In the example of the two control cycles shown in FIG. 21, the switching element 314 is turned on for a period of 3.5 per control cycle. Further, the duty ratio D when viewed in two control cycles is as follows.

_{_{D = (t ON1 + t ON2}} ) / (T 1 + T 2) = 7/12 = about 0.58
Neither the on-period 3.5 nor the duty ratio of about 0.58 can be realized when turning on and off at the zero cross of the alternating current (50 Hz or 60 Hz) shown in FIG.

The average power P ₂ in the control cycles T ₁ and T ₂ is calculated by the following equation, where P ₀ is the half cycle power of the alternating current.

P ₂ = (P ₀ · D ₁ + P ₀ · D ₂ ) / 2 = (D ₁ + D ₂ ) P _0/2.
More generally, the average power P _N when viewed over N control periods can be obtained as follows. The duty ratio in the control cycle T _k is represented as D _k (k: an integer equal to or greater than 1).

P _N = (D ₁ + D ₂ +... + D _n ) P ₀ / N
That is, the temperature of the heater unit 127 can be controlled with higher accuracy by adjusting the on / off in each control cycle by increasing / decreasing the number N of control cycles.

The microcomputer 301 determines the temperature (target temperature) of the heater unit 127 to be targeted from the roasting profile or the like. The power (target power) for causing the heater unit 127 to generate heat at the target temperature can be determined from the specifications of the heating wire of the heater unit 127 and the like. The microcomputer 301 determines the number N and the ON period of each control period of the control period so that the average power P _N calculated by the method described above coincide with the target power may be generated a power control signal.

As a method for determining the number N of control cycles, in this embodiment, the microcomputer 301 changes the number N of control cycles in accordance with the amount of change in target power. More specifically, the control cycle number N is set to be smaller as the target power change amount is larger, and the control cycle number N is set to be larger as the target power change amount is smaller. For the sake of understanding, an example in which the number N of control cycles is changed according to the target temperature will be described.

(A) of FIG. 22 shows the relationship between roasting temperature and time. The illustrated relationship corresponds to, for example, the roasting profile shown in FIG. Now, let the temperature change amounts from time t0 to t1, from time t1 to t2, and from time t2 to time t3 be E ₁ , E _2, and E ₃ , respectively. FIG. 22 (b) shows E ₁ , E ₂ and E ₃ and two thresholds Ea and Eb. The relationship of the temperature change amount E indicated by the vertical axis in FIG. 22B is E ₂ <E ₃ <E ₁ .

The microcomputer 301 classifies each of the temperature change amounts E ₁ , E _2, and E ₃ described above into at least three sections C ₁ , C _2, and C ₃ according to the following conditions. The classification criteria are as follows. In the following description, a value corresponding to each value of each temperature change amount E ₁ , E _2, and E ₃ is represented as “E”. Ea and Eb are threshold values.

When the temperature change amount E is Ea ≦ E, the classification is C1.

When the temperature change amount E is Eb ≦ E <Ea, the classification is C2.

When the temperature change amount E is E <Eb, the classification is C3.

The microcomputer 301 sets the number N of control cycles to N = k for the section Ck (k = 1, 2, 3). (C) of FIG. 22 shows the number N of the set control periods. The vertical axis of (c) in FIG. 22 indicates the value of N adopted by the microcomputer 301. The microcomputer 301 sets the value of the number N of control cycles to the smallest value 1 when the temperature change amount E is classified into the category C1. When N is 1, power control is performed for each control period, so the power system is the same as before and the control accuracy is rough. However, the heater unit 127 can be heated quickly.

On the other hand, when the temperature change amount E is classified into the category C3, the microcomputer 301 sets the value of the number N of control cycles to the largest value 3. Since the average power can be determined by adjusting the ON period and the OFF period of the power control signal over three control cycles, highly accurate power control and temperature control are possible. As described above, it is said that if the temperature differs by 1 ° C. immediately after the start of roasting, the flavor of the coffee after roasting changes greatly. According to the method of the present embodiment, since the amount of temperature change can be finely adjusted, the roasting process can be advanced very faithfully to the roasting profile. In the above example, three sections are given, but the number of sections may be two or four or more. As the amount of change in power to be supplied is smaller, the number of N may be set larger to increase the accuracy.

Next, another example of power control will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining a duty determination method based on the determined number N of control cycles. “Duty” indicates the ON period of the power control signal.

23, the horizontal axis Ptarget represents the target power required for temperature control, and the vertical axis DutyN represents the duty set for each N period. The target power at the intersection of the vertical axis and the horizontal axis is 1, and exemplary numerical values are described on the horizontal and vertical axes. The numerical value in the vertical axis direction indicates the total on-period.

Hereinafter, an example in which the temperature change amount E is E <Eb and is classified into the category C3, and the number N of control cycles is determined as N = 3 will be described. Since N = 3, the duty duty 1 in the first control period, the duty duty 2 in the second control period, and the third duty duty 3 are individually set. Note that in any case of N = 1 to 3, it is possible to control the power by changing the ratio of the periods. However, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the periods are the same for simplification.

FIG. 23 shows three lines. For example, the solid line indicates duty pattern 1 (Duty1) applied to the first control period, the thick broken line indicates duty pattern 2 (Duty2) applied to the second control period, and the thin broken line applies to the third control period. The duty pattern 3 (Duty3) to be performed is shown. A register (not shown) in the memory 303 or the microcomputer 301 holds the duty patterns 1 to 3 in advance.

According to FIG. 23, when Ptarget = 2, Duty1 = 6 and Duty2 = Duty3 = 0. Therefore, the electric power P ₃ is P ₃ = (6 + 0 + 0) × 1/3 = 2.

When Ptarget = 4, Duty1 = 6, Duty2 = 6, and Duty3 = 0. Therefore, the electric power P ₃ is P ₃ = (6 + 6 + 0) × 1/3 = 4.

When Ptarget = 6, Duty1 = 6, Duty2 = 6, and Duty3 = 6. Therefore, the electric power P ₃ is P ₃ = (6 + 6 + 6) × 100/3 = 6.

It will be understood that the average power P ₃ over the three control periods is consistent with the target power Ptarget.

As described above, the target power can be realized and the roasting temperature can be accurately controlled by controlling the switching element 314 on and off not in units of control periods but over a plurality of control periods. become.

In the above description, N = 3 is exemplified, but in the case of N = 2, two duties applied to each of the two control cycles may be prepared.

As described above, the first invention includes a power supply, a detection circuit that detects that the voltage of the power supply has dropped below a predetermined value, and outputs a detection signal, and a nonvolatile storage device. The processing circuit controls a roasting operation for roasting the material to be roasted, and includes a processing circuit that stores parameters relating to the roasting operation in a storage device when a detection signal is received during the roasting operation. Further, the processing circuit determines whether or not the parameter is stored in the storage device after the power supply voltage is recovered and the restart is completed, and if the parameter is stored in the storage device, the roasting operation is performed. Is a roasting machine.

According to the above configuration, after the roasting machine is stopped due to a power failure or a power supply voltage drop, and after power is restored and restarted, based on whether the parameter is stored in the non-volatile storage device, It is determined whether or not the roasting operation is resumed. Even when the operation is stopped due to the occurrence of a power failure or the like, the roasting operation can be continued if the parameters are stored in the nonvolatile storage device.

The second invention is a roasting machine further comprising a temperature sensor for detecting the roasting temperature, and the processing circuit updates the roasting temperature as a parameter every predetermined time. In addition, the parameter at the time when the detection signal is received is stored in the storage device, and after the power supply voltage is restored and the restart is completed, the processing circuit calculates the roasting temperature included in the parameter and the current roasting temperature. It is determined whether or not the difference satisfies a predetermined roasting continuation condition. Then, when the roasting continuation condition is satisfied, the roasting operation may be resumed.

Further, the third invention is the above-described roasting machine, wherein the processing circuit has a value set such that a difference between the roasting temperature included in the parameter and the current roasting temperature is equal to or lower than a preset target temperature. When it is less, it is good also as a structure which determines with satisfy | filling roasting continuation conditions.

The fourth invention is the above-described roasting machine, wherein the processing circuit specifies a roasting profile that specifies a temporal change in the roasting temperature, an elapsed time from the start of the roasting operation, and a roasting temperature. It is stored in the storage device as a parameter. Then, after the power supply voltage is recovered and the restart is completed, when the roasting continuation condition is satisfied, the processing circuit may restart the roasting operation based on the roasting profile and the elapsed time.

Further, the fifth invention further includes a communication circuit for communicating with an external terminal device. When the communication circuit periodically transmits a signal to the terminal device during the roasting operation and the power supply voltage is restored and the restart is completed, the parameter is stored in the storage device. Send a startup completion notification to. Furthermore, when the communication circuit receives a roasting continuation request from the terminal device, the processing circuit may resume the roasting operation.

When the communication circuit receives a roasting end request from the terminal device, or when the communication circuit does not receive the request from the terminal device within a predetermined time from the transmission completion notification transmission time, The processing circuit may end the roasting operation.

In the seventh invention, after the roasting operation is finished, the processing circuit may delete the parameters stored in the storage device.

(Additional note regarding means for solving the problem)
[Appendix 1] An AC power source, a heater unit that generates heat by the power supplied from the AC power source, and is used as a heat source for roasting an object to be roasted, a processing circuit that generates a power control signal, and the power A switching element that is turned on or off based on a control signal to control the supply and interruption of the electric power from the AC power supply to the heater unit, and the power control signal controls on or off of the switching element. The signal is controlled in units of a cycle T, and the processing circuit is an average value of electric power supplied to the heater unit in each of N control cycles (N: an integer equal to or larger than 2) that is continuous in time. Is a roasting machine that generates each power control signal to be supplied during N control periods so as to match the target power to be supplied to the heater unit.

[Supplementary Note 2] Of the N control cycles, the processing circuit performs power control with a duty ratio D1 in the first control cycle T1 for the first control cycle T1 and the second control cycle T2 that are temporally continuous. The roasting machine according to appendix 1, wherein a signal is generated and a power control signal having a duty ratio D2 different from the duty ratio D1 is generated in the second control cycle T2.

[Supplementary Note 3] When the AC power supply supplies AC power of power P0 per half cycle of AC current, the processing circuit calculates the product of the power P0 and the sum of the duty ratios of each control cycle as the control cycle. Additional remark 1 for generating each power control signal supplied during the N control periods so that the average value calculated by dividing by the number N matches the target power to be supplied to the heater unit. Roasting machine.

[Appendix 4] The roaster according to appendix 3, wherein the processing circuit changes the number N of the control cycles in accordance with the amount of change in the target power.

[Supplementary Note 5] The processing circuit sets the control cycle number N to be smaller as the change amount of the target power is larger, and sets the control cycle number N to be larger as the change amount of the target power is smaller. Roasting machine as described in.

[Appendix 6] The apparatus further includes a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the heater unit, and the processing circuit sets a larger amount of change in the target power as the temperature change amount of the heater unit is larger, and the temperature change amount is smaller. The roasting machine according to attachment 3, wherein the change amount of the target power is set to be smaller.

[Supplementary Note 7] The temperature change amount is less than a first threshold value that is a change amount that is greater than or equal to a first threshold value, less than the second threshold value that is less than the first threshold value and greater than or equal to a second threshold value, and less than the second threshold value. When the change can be classified into any one of the third divisions, the processing circuit sets the value of the number N of the control cycles to the smallest when the temperature change is classified into the first division. And when the said temperature change amount is classified into the said 3rd division, the value of the number N of the said control period is set to the largest value, The roasting machine of Additional remark 3.

[Supplementary Note 8] The processing circuit supplies an average value of the power supplied to the heater unit to the heater unit using each of N duty patterns corresponding to the number N prepared in advance. The roasting machine according to appendix 1, wherein the roasting machine is made to match the target power to be obtained.

[Supplementary Note 9] The N duty patterns are a set of kth duty patterns (k = 1,..., N) applied to the kth control period, and each of the N duty patterns is: The roasting machine according to appendix 8, which defines a relationship between the target power and a duty that is a period during which the switching element is turned on.

According to the configuration described in Supplementary Note 1, it is possible to reduce the heat generation amount and noise of the switching element and improve the power control accuracy of the heater unit.

The treatment when an instantaneous voltage drop occurs according to the present invention can be used for a roasting machine that performs roasting using a heat source such as electricity, gas, and charcoal. The power control method of the present invention is useful for a roasting machine that performs a roasting operation using electric power.

10 Information Providing System 100 Roasting Machine 110 Case 111 Switch 112 Status LED
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 113 Electronic circuit board 114 Bean input cup 115 Exhaust port 116 Lid 117 Container 120 Fan unit

120a Fan motor 120b Fan

120c Air outlet 121 Roasting cylinder cover 122 Roasting cylinder 123 Wind tunnel structure 124 Outlet cylinder 125 Gap air passage 126 Roasting Chamber 127 Heater unit 128 Spacer 143 Temperature sensor 200 Terminal device 201 Signal processing circuit (CPU)
202 wireless communication circuit 203 input interface (I / F) device 204 memory 205 image processing circuit 206 display 207 camera module 208 storage 209 speaker 210 communication bus 300 roasting machine 301 microcomputer (processing circuit)
302 wireless communication circuit 303 memory 304 power supply 306 storage 307 communication bus 312 instantaneous drop detection circuit 400 database (DB) server 401 signal processing circuit (CPU)
402 Communication circuit 403 Memory 404 Communication bus

Claims

Power supply,
A detection circuit for detecting that the voltage of the power source has dropped below a predetermined value and outputting a detection signal;
A non-volatile storage device;
A processing circuit for controlling a roasting operation for roasting an object to be roasted, wherein when the detection signal is received during the roasting operation, a processing circuit for storing parameters relating to the roasting operation in the storage device; With
The processing circuit determines whether or not the parameter is stored in the storage device after the power supply voltage is recovered and the restart is completed, and when the parameter is stored in the storage device Is a roasting machine that resumes the roasting operation.
A temperature sensor for detecting the roasting temperature;
The processing circuit updates the roasting temperature as the parameter every predetermined time, and stores the parameter at the time of receiving the detection signal in the storage device,
After the power supply voltage is restored and the restart is completed, the processing circuit determines that a difference between the roasting temperature included in the parameter and the current roasting temperature satisfies a predetermined roasting continuation condition. The roasting machine according to claim 1, wherein the roasting operation is resumed when the roasting operation condition is satisfied.
The processing circuit satisfies the roasting continuation condition when a difference between the roasting temperature included in the parameter and the current roasting temperature is less than a preset value not more than a preset target temperature. The roasting machine according to claim 2, which is determined as follows.
The processing circuit stores a roasting profile that specifies a temporal change in the roasting temperature, an elapsed time from the start of the roasting operation, and the roasting temperature as the parameters in the storage device,
After the voltage of the power source is recovered and the restart is completed, the processing circuit resumes the roasting operation based on the roasting profile and the elapsed time when the roasting continuation condition is satisfied. The roasting machine according to any one of claims 2 and 3.
A communication circuit that communicates with an external terminal device;
The communication circuit periodically transmits a signal to the terminal device during the roasting operation, and the parameter is stored in the storage device after the power supply voltage is recovered and the restart is completed. Sends a startup completion notification to the terminal device,
The roasting machine according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the communication circuit receives a roasting continuation request from the terminal device, the processing circuit restarts the roasting operation.
When the communication circuit receives a roasting end request from the terminal device, or when the request from the terminal device is not received within a predetermined time from the transmission time of the activation completion notification, the processing The roasting machine according to claim 5, wherein the circuit ends the roasting operation.
The roasting machine according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the processing circuit deletes the parameter stored in the storage device after the roasting operation is completed.