JP2001170463A - Carbonated water producing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a carbonated water producing apparatus for a cup type drinking water dispenser or a drink dispenser compact, to miniature a cooling water vessel and to allow the supply of carbonated water without changing the concentration of carbon dioxide even on a continuous sale by efficiently producing the carbonated water. SOLUTION: This carbonated water producing apparatus is made compact by substituting a carbonater tank for a carbonated water generating part and the cooling water vessel is miniaturized without changing the cooling performance. In addition, a flow rate controlling device is disposed, the drinking water is stably supplied thereby, the required carbonated water can be efficiently generated, the concentration of carbon dioxide does not change even on a continuous sale thereby, and the carbonated water can be stably supplied.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carbonated water producing apparatus for producing carbonated water, which is mainly used in cup-type beverage vending machines and beverage dispensers.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. This conventional example is a configuration diagram showing a carbonated water producing apparatus for a cup-type beverage vending machine or a beverage dispenser.

Conventionally, in order to generate carbonated water from drinking water and carbon dioxide gas, carbon dioxide gas is filled in a carbonator tank at a constant pressure, and drinking water is injected into the carbon dioxide tank to mix the drinking water in the carbonator tank. And produced carbonated water.

Referring to the drawings, a carbon dioxide gas inlet 32 and a nozzle 33 for injecting drinking water are provided on the upper surface of a carbonator tank (hereinafter abbreviated as a tank) 31.
Carbon dioxide and drinking water are supplied under pressure through the carbon dioxide supply pipe 14 and the drinking water supply pipe 10, respectively. Carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 11 to the carbon dioxide gas inlet 32 through the pressure reducing valve 12, the check valve 13, and the carbon dioxide gas supply pipe 14. After the drinking water is pressurized by the pressurizing pump 7, it is cooled by passing through the cooling coil 8 and supplied to the nozzle 33 through the drinking water supply pipe 10.

The upper part of the tank 31 is filled with carbon dioxide supplied from the carbon dioxide inlet 32.
Then, drinking water is injected from the nozzle 33 to produce carbonated water. The produced carbonated water accumulates in the tank 31 and its water level is detected by the float switch 34, and when the water level reaches a predetermined level, the injection of water is stopped. Reference numeral 35 denotes a siphon tube for drawing carbonated water in the tank 31 and supplies carbonated water from the carbonated water valve 18 to the cup 19 via the electromagnetic valve 16.
Further, the cooling water tank 20 functions to cool the carbonated water in the cooling coil 8 and the tank 31 to a temperature at which the carbonated water in the tank 31 can be drunk with the water in the water tank, and the water in the water tank is cooled by the cooler 21. .

[0006]

However, a conventional tank-type carbonator that fills a tank with carbon dioxide gas at a constant pressure and injects drinking water from the nozzle into the tank to generate carbonated water requires a tank. Therefore, there is a limit to reducing the size. In addition, the solubility of gas in water is determined by the temperature of the water, and the lower the temperature, the higher the solubility. It is common to use it. Therefore, the size of the cooling water tank becomes large, and there is a problem that the arrangement of the cooling pipes for the beverage materials such as juice and syrup is restricted.

An object of the present invention is to provide a carbonated water producing apparatus which solves the above-mentioned conventional problems.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a mixing chamber that mixes drinking water and carbon dioxide to generate carbonated water, and is fixed so as to communicate with the mixing chamber. Drinking water inlet, and a carbon dioxide gas inlet fixed to communicate with the mixing chamber in a direction crossing the drinking water inlet,
A carbonated water outlet fixed to communicate with the mixing chamber in a direction opposite to the drinking water inlet, and a carbonated water producing apparatus including a carbonated water generating unit including a drinking water inlet and the mixing chamber. The mixing chamber is provided with a throttle section for generating a negative pressure.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the pressure of the throttle is larger than the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas inlet.

[0010] The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that a flow regulating device for keeping the supply pressure of the drinking water constant is provided in the middle of the drinking water supply pipe connected to the drinking water inlet. .

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that a carbonated water generating section and a first cooling device for cooling a drinking water supply pipe are provided.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that a second cooling device for cooling the carbonated water pipe connected to the carbonated water outlet is provided.

The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that a resistance device for increasing the mixing ratio of carbon dioxide to drinking water is provided in the middle of the carbonated water pipe connected to the carbonated water outlet. .

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals are used for the same configurations as those in the related art.

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a carbonated water producing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a carbonated water generation unit, which will be described later in detail with reference to FIG. 2, and a drinking water / carbon dioxide mixing chamber 2, a drinking water inlet 3 to the mixing chamber 2, and a carbon dioxide gas inlet 4, and It is composed of a carbonated water outlet 5 generated in the mixing chamber 2, and supplies drinking water and carbon dioxide under pressure through a drinking water supply pipe 10 and a carbon dioxide gas supply pipe 14, respectively. After the drinking water is pressurized by the pressure pump 7, it is cooled by passing through the cooling coil 8, and is supplied from the drinking water supply pipe 10 to the drinking water inlet 3 via the flow rate adjusting device 9. Further, the carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 11 to the carbon dioxide gas inlet 4 from the carbon dioxide gas supply pipe 14 via the pressure reducing valve 12 and the check valve 13. The drinking water and carbon dioxide supplied to the carbonated water generator 1 are mixed in the mixing chamber 2 to become carbonated water, and the carbonated water outlet 5
Is cooled in the carbonated water cooling coil (carbonated water pipe) 15 and supplied to the cup 19 from the carbonated water valve 18 via the electromagnetic valve 16 and the resistance device 17. In addition, cooling water tank 2
Numeral 0 denotes water in the water tank, which serves to cool the carbonated water in the cooling coil 8, the flow rate adjusting device 9, the carbonated water generating unit 1 and the carbonated water cooling coil 15 to a temperature at which it can be drunk.
At 1, the water in the water tank is cooled.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the carbonated water generating section 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and is fixed so as to communicate with the mixing chamber 2 for drinking water and carbon dioxide and the mixing chamber 2. A drinking water inlet 3, a carbon dioxide gas inlet 4 similarly fixed to communicate with the mixing chamber 2 in a direction intersecting with the drinking water inlet 3, and a communication with the mixing chamber 2 also in a direction facing the drinking water inlet 3 The mixing chamber 2 includes a carbonated water outlet 5 generated in the mixing chamber 2 and a throttle unit 6 provided at the drinking water inlet 3 of the mixing chamber 2.

A description will be given of how the carbonated water is produced by the carbonated water producing apparatus of the present invention in the above configuration.

In order to stably generate carbonated water in the mixing chamber 2, the drinking water and carbon dioxide supplied to the carbonated water generating unit 1 are supplied with the drinking water supply pressure at the drinking water inlet of the mixing chamber and the carbon dioxide. It is necessary to equalize the carbon dioxide supply pressure at the gas inlet. In this case, if the supply pressure of the carbon dioxide gas is higher than the supply pressure of the drinking water, only the carbon dioxide gas flows into the carbonated water outlet 5. Conversely, when the supply pressure of the drinking water is higher than the supply pressure of the carbon dioxide gas, the drinking water flows backward to the carbon dioxide gas supply pipe 14 or flows out of the carbonated water outlet 5 as the drinking water.

Therefore, to stably produce carbonated water,
It is necessary to finely adjust each supply pressure so that the drinking water supply pressure at the drinking water inlet of the mixing chamber becomes equal to the carbon dioxide supply pressure at the carbon dioxide gas inlet. In the case of such an apparatus that uses drinking water to be supplied and carbon dioxide gas supplied under reduced pressure by the pressure reducing valve 12, it is very difficult.

The throttle section 6 shown in FIG. 2 is provided to solve this problem. Negative pressure is generated in the downstream side of the flow of the drinking water, that is, in the mixing chamber 2 by passing the drinking water supplied by being pressurized by the pressurizing pump 7 through the throttle unit 6 provided at the drinking water inlet 3 of the mixing chamber 2. . When carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the carbon dioxide gas inlet 4 fixed so as to communicate with the mixing chamber 2 in a direction crossing the drinking water inlet 3 to the generated negative pressure, the carbon dioxide gas is drawn into the drinking water, and the gas-liquid mixing is started. Done,
Carbonated water is produced. By providing the throttle section 6 at the drinking water inlet 3 of the mixing chamber 2 as described above, the supply pressure balance between the drinking water and the carbon dioxide gas is adjusted by the following equation: the throttle section drinking water pressure> the carbon dioxide gas inlet pressure> the carbonated water outlet pressure. Water generation becomes possible.

By providing the throttle section 6 at the drinking water inlet 3 of the mixing chamber 2, the supply pressure balance between the drinking water and the carbon dioxide gas can be controlled by the following equation: the throttle section drinking water pressure> the carbon dioxide gas inlet pressure> the carbonated water outlet pressure. Although the water can be generated, if the supply pressure of the drinking water supplied to the pressure pump 7 changes depending on the installation location, the discharge pressure from the pressure pump 7 changes and the pressure supplied to the drinking water inlet 3 changes. Changes. As a result, mixing chamber 2
, The mixing ratio of carbon dioxide in the carbonated water changes, and stable supply of carbonated water cannot be performed.

The flow rate adjusting device 9 shown in FIG. 1 is provided to solve this problem. The flow rate adjusting device 9 is provided in the mixing chamber 2 regardless of the installation state of the cup-type beverage vending machine and the beverage dispenser. This is for generating water stably.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the flow control device 9 according to the embodiment of the present invention. A flow washer 22 is provided in the flow passage in the flow control device 9. When the supply pressure of the drinking water increases, the flow washer 22 is strongly pushed by an amount corresponding to the increase in the pressure, and the central hole 2 is pressed.
3 becomes smaller, and the center hole 2 of the flow washer 22 becomes smaller.
The flow rate through 3 is reduced. Thereby, the flow control device 9
The flow through is kept constant. By providing the flow control device 9 in the drinking water supply path in this way, the pressure pump 7
The supply pressure of the drinking water supplied to the drinking water inlet 3 of the mixing chamber 2 changes even when the supply pressure of the drinking water supplied to the mixing chamber changes and the discharge pressure from the pressure pump 7 changes. Can be prevented.

FIG. 4 shows the flow washer 22 when the flow washer 22 is used as an example of the flow control device.
And the pressure of the drinking water before the flow washer 22 was measured, and the pressure of the drinking water before the flow washer 22 was measured. However, the throttle 6 provided at the drinking water inlet 3 of the mixing chamber 2
It can be seen that the drinking water pressure in the area indicated by has hardly changed. By providing the flow rate adjusting device 9 in the drinking water supply path in this way, even if the supply pressure of the drinking water supplied to the pressurizing pump 7 changes, the throttle unit provided in the drinking water inlet 3 of the mixing chamber 2 The pressure of the drinking water in part 6 is stabilized, and the carbonated water with a stable mixing ratio of carbon dioxide can be supplied.

The purpose of cooling the drinking water supplied to the carbonated water generator 1 with the water in the cooling water tank 20 is to stably generate carbonated water having a high mixing ratio of carbon dioxide in the mixing chamber 2. The solubility is determined by the temperature of the water, and the lower the water temperature, the higher the solubility. Therefore, by mixing gas and liquid at a low temperature, carbonated water having a high carbon dioxide gas mixing ratio can be obtained. By cooling the cooling coil 8, the flow rate adjusting device 9, and the carbonated water generation unit 1 with the water in the cooling water tank 20, carbonated water having a high mixing ratio of carbon dioxide can be stably generated.

The carbonated water cooling coil 15 is for stably generating carbonated water having a high mixing ratio of carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide gas is drawn into drinking water, and gas-liquid mixing is performed.
Although generated, the carbon dioxide gas that did not completely dissolve into the drinking water in the mixing chamber 2 becomes fine bubbles and moves in the carbonated water pipe, but is completely dissolved in the drinking water by further cooling in the carbonated water cooling coil 15. Thus, the carbon dioxide gas is not ejected from the carbonated water valve 18 as it is.

The resistance device 17 is for stably generating carbonated water having a high mixing ratio of carbon dioxide gas. Carbonated water is generated by drawing carbon dioxide gas into drinking water and mixing gas and liquid. Since the amount of gas dissolved in water is proportional to the pressure of water and gas, the water pressure is increased by providing a resistance device 17 in the middle of the carbonated water pipe, and the amount of dissolved gas is increased to increase the carbon dioxide mixing ratio. Water can be generated stably. As the resistance device 17, for example, a method of reducing the inner diameter of a part of the carbonated water pipe to obtain a resistance, or a method of incorporating the resistance in a carbonated water valve, and the like are considered.

[0028]

According to the present invention, the carbonated water producing apparatus can be made compact by eliminating the carbonator tank and using a small carbonated water generating section, and the cooling water tank can be made compact without changing the cooling performance. . In addition, the provision of the flow control device enables stable supply of drinking water and efficient generation of the required carbonated water, thereby causing the carbon dioxide concentration to change even during continuous sales. It is possible to supply the carbonated water stably without any trouble.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a carbonated water generation unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a flow washer as an example of a flow control device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows the pressure of drinking water applied before the flow washer when a flow washer is used as an example of the flow rate adjusting device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and the flow rate of the throttle section provided at the drinking water inlet of the mixing chamber. It is the table | surface which measured the drinking water pressure of the part and made it into a graph.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Carbonated water generation part 2 Mixing chamber 3 Drinking water inlet 4 Carbon dioxide gas inlet 5 Carbonated water outlet 6 Narrowing part 8 Cooling coil 9 Flow control device 10 Drinking water supply pipe 15 Carbonated water cooling coil 17 Resistance device 20 Cooling water tank

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Kazuhide Saito 2-5-5 Keihanhondori, Moriguchi-shi, Osaka Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 4G035 AA05 AA12 AC17 AC22

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A mixing chamber for mixing carbonated gas with drinking water to produce carbonated water, a drinking water inlet fixed to communicate with the mixing chamber, and the mixing in a direction intersecting the drinking water inlet. Carbonated water provided with a carbon dioxide gas inlet fixed to communicate with the mixing chamber, and a carbonated water outlet fixed to communicate with the mixing chamber in a direction facing the drinking water inlet. In the manufacturing apparatus, a carbonated water manufacturing apparatus characterized in that a throttle portion for generating a negative pressure in the mixing chamber is provided between the drinking water inlet and the mixing chamber. 2. The carbonated water producing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pressure of the throttle section is higher than a pressure of the carbon dioxide gas inlet. 3. The carbonic acid according to claim 1, wherein a flow rate adjusting device for maintaining a constant supply pressure of the drinking water is provided in a drinking water supply pipe connected to the drinking water inlet. Water production equipment. 4. The apparatus for producing carbonated water according to claim 3, further comprising a first cooling device that cools the carbonated water generator and the drinking water supply pipe. 5. The carbonated water producing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second cooling device for cooling a carbonated water pipe connected to the carbonated water outlet. 6. The carbonic acid according to claim 1, wherein a resistance device for increasing a mixing ratio of carbon dioxide to drinking water is provided in a part of the carbonated water pipe connected to the carbonated water outlet. Water production equipment.