JPH09265574A - Automatic vending machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To hold the raw material liquid in an extraction container at proper temperature and extract tasteful beverage of good quality in a short time with good extraction efficiency by providing a heat-insulating hot water heating chamber which stores hot water outside an extraction chamber. SOLUTION: An extraction container 51 of an extraction device 19 as a waist part is provided with a raw material shooter 50 which is connected to a coffee canister, a hot water pipe 52, and an extraction valve 52 which is operated by an extraction motor and opens and closes a valve hole 51a at an upper part; and an extraction air supply pipe 54 is connected to a body part and the heat-insulating hot water heating chamber 55 as a tank which stores hot water for heat insulating and heating is formed surrounding the periphery of the body part. A heat-insulating heating hot water supply pipe 56 is connected to the upper part of the heat-insulating heating hot water chamber 55, a heat-insulating heating hot water discharge pipe 57 is connected to a lower part, and the bottom part 51b of the extraction container 51 is opened. Consequently, the extraction container 51 is heated with the heat-insulating heating hot water stored in the heat-insulating heating hot water chamber 55 to hold the inside at high temperature, thereby extracting tasteful coffee in a short time.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic vending machine for extracting and selling a beverage from a beverage material such as coffee or tea.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a vending machine, when there is a sales request in a standby state, the extraction container lowers and the filter is sandwiched by the extraction table, and then the beverage raw material and the hot water are supplied to the extraction container. It is agitated and mixed by supplying air from below. Then, after that, the pressurized air is added to the space above the brewing container to brew and sell the beverage by the filter. By the way, the beverage can be extracted in a short time by mixing the beverage raw materials such as coffee and tea and hot water with vigorous stirring to extract the beverage, but the temperature of the mixed liquid in the extraction container is sharp The quality of the beverage is reduced and it is not possible to extract good quality beverages. On the other hand, in the above stirring step, if the extraction time is extended while the stirring by the pressurized air is weakened and the proper temperature is maintained, a drink with good quality can be obtained. Conventionally, in order to keep the inside of the extraction container at an appropriate temperature, a heater is directly wound around the extraction container, a heater is attached to a part of the extraction container, or a heater is attached to a member for fixing the extraction container.

[0003]

However, it is extremely difficult to maintain the inside of the extraction container at an appropriate temperature by heating such as by directly attaching a heater as in the conventional case, and the extraction efficiency is poor,
It was an obstacle to extracting good coffee. Further, direct heating of a heater or the like locally raises the temperature, which may change the quality of the extracted beverage.

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic vending machine capable of extracting a drink of good quality and deliciousness in a short time while maintaining the raw material liquid in the extraction container at an appropriate temperature.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a vending machine including an extraction device having an extraction chamber for mixing hot water and beverage raw materials to extract a beverage, and the hot water is provided outside the extraction chamber. A warm and warm hot water room is provided to store the heat.
According to this means, the extraction chamber is heated by hot water,
Since the beverage can be extracted, the extraction efficiency is good, and a delicious beverage at an appropriate temperature can be extracted in a short time.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the vending machine according to the first aspect, a hot water tank for storing hot water used for extraction in the extraction chamber is provided, and the hot water in the hot water tank is appropriately supplied to the warming and warming hot water chamber. It was done like this. According to this means, since the hot water in the hot water tank for extraction is used, it is not necessary to separately provide a hot water tank, and the energy is efficient and economical.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the first or second aspect, the vending machine is provided with a steam generator for heating the hot water stored in the warm warm water room. Is. According to this means, the steam is supplied to the warming and warming hot water chamber, and the hot water is heated by the steam. Therefore, since the decrease in the temperature of the hot water is suppressed and the beverage can be extracted in a high temperature state, the extraction efficiency is good and a delicious beverage can be obtained in a short time.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the vending machine according to the first or second aspect, a heater is provided in the warm and warm hot water chamber to control the temperature of the hot water. According to this means, the temperature of the hot water is adjusted to a high temperature by the heater, so that the high temperature can always be maintained. Therefore, since the beverage can be extracted at a high temperature, the extraction efficiency is good and a delicious beverage can be obtained in a short time.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the automatic vending machine according to the third aspect, the steam generator is arranged at a position lower than the warming and heating hot water chamber, and the steam pipe connected to the steam generator is located under the warming and warming water chamber. The hot water for generating steam is supplied from the warm heating room to the steam generator while the steam generated from the steam generator is supplied to the warm heating room. By this means, steam is sequentially supplied to the warm heating room by utilizing the pressure of the warm heating room and steam generator. Therefore, since the beverage can be extracted at a high temperature, the extraction efficiency is good and a delicious beverage can be obtained in a short time.

[0010] The invention of claim 6 is the first to fifth aspects of the present invention.
In any one of the above-described vending machines, a suppressing member that suppresses evaporation is floated on the hot water stored in the warm heating room. By this means, the release of steam is suppressed by the suppressing member, so that the number of times of supplying hot water can be reduced.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this vending machine, coffee cooked in the vending machine is provided to a product purchaser in a cup, and FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a cooking section of the coffee. As shown in the figure, the cooking section 1 is roughly divided into a water supply section 2 and an extraction sales section 3.

The water supply unit 2 is provided with a cistern 11 for storing tap water and a water pump provided downstream of the cistern 11 to pressurize the water of the cistern 11 and supply it to each part in the vending machine through a water supply pipe 12. (Main pump) 13
And a cooling water tank 14 for cooling the dilution water sent to the cup C by the water pump 13 with the cooling pipe 20, and a hot water tank 15 for heating the supplied water to store hot water. In the water supply unit 2, after the water supplied from the tap water is temporarily stored in the cistern 11, the water pump 13 pressurizes the stored water and supplies it to the cooling water tank 14 via the hot water tank 15 and the cooling pipe 20. ing. The hot water tank 15
The supplied water is heated by the heater 17 to make hot water of 90 degrees or more and stored. The hot water stored in the hot water tank 15 passes through the hot water valves 18a and 18b, and the extraction device 1 described later is used.
Hot water is supplied to 9. The cooling water tank 14 stores water cooled by a refrigeration cycle (not shown), and dilutes the cooling water tank 14 by passing the water supplied through the cooling pipe 20 arranged in a meandering manner in the cooling tank 14. Water valve 21
Cooled dilution water is fed to cup C via.

The brewing and selling unit 3 supplies a cup C for supplying a cup C, a coffee canister 23 for storing a coffee powder raw material (beverage raw material), and an extraction device for extracting coffee by mixing the powder raw material and hot water. 19, and a storage tank 24 for storing the coffee extracted by the extracting device 19
The cream canister 25 for storing cream, the sugar canister 26 for storing sugar, the syrup canister 27 for storing syrup, and the sugar and cream supplied from the sugar canister 26 and the cream canister 25 according to the sales order, respectively, It is provided with a mixing bowl 28 that mixes with the extracted coffee, a cup holder 30 for placing a cup C, and a waste storage container 31 arranged below the cup holder 30.

A sales pipe 37 and a waste pipe 38 are connected to the lower portion of the storage tank 24. The sales pipe 37 has a tip facing the mixing ball 28 via a sales valve 39, while the waste pipe 38 is discarded. The tip of the valve 40 faces the waste container 31 via the valve 40. Further, a beverage supply pipe 41 is connected to the upper part of the storage tank 24,
By providing a switching valve 42 in the middle of this beverage supply pipe 41,
The beverage supply pipe 41 side and the branch pipe 43 side can be switched appropriately.

In the extraction / sales section 3, the extraction device 19 is previously installed.
Drinking supply pipe 4 for several cups of coffee
When the coffee is stored in the storage tank 24 via 1 and a coffee product selection switch (not shown) is pressed, the cup supply device 22 supplies the cup C to the cup holder 30. At the same time, one cup of coffee from the storage tank 24, sugar from the sugar canister 26, and cream from the cream canister 25 are supplied to the mixing ball 28, respectively, and these are mixed in the mixing ball 28, and then this mixed liquid is cupped. Supplied to C. When the switching valve 42 provided on the beverage supply pipe 41 is switched to the branch pipe 43 side, the beverage extracted by the brewing device 19 is mixed with the mixing ball 2
8 to provide fresh, delicious coffee.

Next, the extraction device 19 which is the main part of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

First, the brewing container 51 of the brewing device 19 has a raw material shooter 5 connected to the coffee canister 23 at the upper part thereof.
0, a hot water supply pipe 52, and an extraction valve 53 that operates by an extraction motor (not shown) to open and close the valve hole 51a, connect the extraction air supply pipe 54 to the body, and keep the surroundings of the body warm. Warming hot water chamber 55 that is a tank for storing hot water
The warming hot water supply pipe 56 is connected to the upper part of the warming warm water chamber 55, the warm warm water discharge pipe 57 is connected to the lower part thereof, and the bottom 51b of the extraction container 51 is opened. An extraction table 59 for placing a filter 58 for extraction is arranged directly below the extraction container 51. An agitation air tube 60 and a beverage tube 61 are connected to the extraction table 59, and the extraction table 59 is provided below the extraction table 59. A motor shaft 62 connected to a motor (not shown) for feeding the filter 58, a filter feed roller 63, and a guide roller 64 are arranged, and a slag storage container 65 is arranged below the motor shaft 62. With this configuration, the brewing container 51 is heated by the warming hot water stored in the warming warm water chamber 55, and the inside of the brewing container 51 is maintained at a high temperature so that delicious coffee can be extracted in a short time. Incidentally, 48 is an air pump for supplying pressurized air described later.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention will be described according to the processing procedure shown in FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, in this standby state, the hot water valve 18b for supplying hot water to the warm hot water supply pipe 56 connecting the hot water tank 15 and the warm warm water chamber 55 is closed, and the hot water tank 15 and The hot water valve 18a for supplying hot water to the hot water supply pipe 52 connecting to the extraction container 51 is closed, the air valve 67 arranged at the extraction air supply pipe 54 connecting the air pump 48 and the extraction container 51 is opened, and the air pump 48 and An air valve 68 arranged in a stirring air pipe 60 connecting with the extraction table 59.
Is opened, the beverage valve 69 arranged in the beverage pipe 61 connected to the brewing table 59 is opened, and the warming and warming water chamber 55 is further opened.
The waste valve 70 connected to the waste heat storage hot water waste water discharge pipe 57 whose front end faces the waist storage container 71 is opened (S1).

When there is an extraction request as shown in FIG. 5 in the standby state, an extraction motor (not shown) operates to lower the extraction container 51, and the bottom 51b (see FIG. 2) of the extraction container 51 and the extraction table 59 are connected. The filter 58 is sandwiched between the bottom 51b and the extraction table 59 is pressed against the bottom 51b (S2, S3). With the lowering of the extraction container 51, the air valve 67 is closed,
The beverage valve 69 is closed, the waste valve 70 is closed, and then the hot water valve 18b of the hot water tank 15 is opened, and hot water is introduced into the warm warming hot water chamber 55 as warm warming hot water into the warm warming hot water chamber 55. Hot water is stored (S4).

Subsequently, the raw material is supplied from the coffee canister 23 and drops through the raw material shooter 50 into the extraction container 51, the hot water valve 18a of the hot water tank 15 is opened, and the hot water in the hot water tank 15 flows through the hot water supply pipe 52. The raw material and the hot water are mixed with each other by flowing into the extraction container 51 (S5). After that, the air pump 48 operates and the air flows under the extraction table 59 through the agitation air pipe 60, passes through the filter 58, and the raw material and hot water are stirred in the extraction container 51 by the fine air. It is steamed (S6).

Next, the air pump 48 is stopped, the air valve 68 is closed, the extraction valve 53 is raised to close the valve hole 51a (see FIG. 2) as shown in FIG. 6, and the inside of the extraction container 51 is sealed. And then the air valve 67 and the beverage valve 6
9 is opened and the air pump 48 is operated, pressurized air is supplied to the upper space of the extraction container 51, and the beverage is filtered by the filter 58 and delivered from the beverage pipe 61 (S7). When the beverage is delivered from the brewing container 51, the brewing container 51 rises to release the pressure contact of the filter 58 with the brewing table 59 as shown in FIG. The filter 58 that is rotated and sandwiched between the guide roller 64 and the filter feed roller 63 is fed for a predetermined length and is discarded in the slag storage container 65 (S8). At this time, the waste valve 70 is opened and the warm warm water filled in the warm warm water chamber 55 is discharged to the waist storage container 71 (S
9).

When the above steps are completed, the process of shifting to the standby state is performed (S10). As a result, the process returns to the standby state shown in FIG. In this way, since the beverage raw material to be extracted is warmed by the warming hot water, it is not heated at the same temperature as a whole and at 100 ° C. or higher under normal pressure, as compared with directly heating it by a heater or the like. , Local high temperature does not change the quality of the beverage.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are views showing a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the heater 72 for applying heat to the warming hot water stored in the warming warming water chamber 55 and the warming warming heating in the warming warming hot water chamber 55 in the first embodiment. Temperature control thermo 73 to control the temperature of hot water
In this state, the heater 72 is already controlled so that the warming warming hot water is already filled in the warming warming hot water chamber 55 and the temperature control thermostat 73 raises the temperature to a high temperature. Has been done. It should be noted that, as shown in FIG. 9, the warm water is not discharged even in the slag treatment process, and is configured to be discharged only when necessary by setting an arbitrary time. Therefore, this configuration has an advantage that the hot water supply from the hot water tank 15 is extremely small because the warm warm water is not discharged after the series of steps as in the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention, in which a steam supply pipe 74 connected to the lower part of the warming / warming hot water chamber 55 is connected to the steam generator 16 and at the same time, the steam generator 16 is connected. Equipped with a water solenoid valve 75 on the inlet side of the water pump 13
On the other hand, the tip of an overflow pipe 76 connected to the upper portion of the warming / warming hot water chamber 55 faces the waist storage container 71. The water pump 13 is operated and the water solenoid valve 7
When 5 is opened, water is generated from the cistern 11 to the steam generator 16
The steam generated by the steam generator 16 is guided from the steam supply pipe 74 to the lower side of the heat retaining / warming hot water chamber 55. The introduction of this steam is appropriately performed. In the warm warm water room 55,
The introduced steam warms the warm hot water stored in the warm warm water chamber 55 to maintain a high temperature, which improves extraction efficiency and makes it possible to brew delicious coffee. Here, as shown in the figure, the steam generator 16 is provided with a block-shaped heat storage body 45 made of a material having a large heat capacity, such as an aluminum alloy or stainless steel, in a heat insulating box having excellent heat insulating properties. A recess 44 is formed in the heat storage body 45, the temperature of the heat storage body 45 is detected, and the heater 46 is controlled to turn on / off at a predetermined temperature.

FIG. 11 is a view showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention, in which a steam supply pipe 74 connected to the lower portion of the warming / warming hot water chamber 55 is connected to the steam generator 16 and the steam generator 16 is connected. A solenoid valve 77 for adjusting pressure is provided on the inlet side, and an overflow pipe 76 is connected to the upper portion of the warming / warming hot water chamber 55.
The tip of the container faces the waist container 71.

First, when the pressure of the steam generator 16 is low at the beginning, as shown in FIG. 12, the heat-warming hot water flows from the heat-warming hot water chamber 55 through the steam supply pipe 74 to the recess 44 in the steam generator 16 due to the head pressure. Be led to. After that, steam generator 1
When the warming hot water guided in 6 is warmed by the heater 46, it becomes steam and the pressure inside the steam generator 16 rises, and the steam passes through the steam supply pipe 74 as shown in FIG. It is introduced into the lower part of the chamber 55. As a result, the warm warm water in the warm warm water chamber 55 is warmed by the steam, and the temperature of the warm warm water rises.

When the steam in the recess 44 of the steam generator 16 disappears as shown in FIG. 14, the pressure in the steam generator 16 decreases, and the head pressure causes a part of the warm warm water in the warm warm water chamber 55 to be removed again. , The steam generator 16 as shown in FIG.
Introduced into the inside, these operations are repeated to gradually reach an equilibrium state, and the above operations are stopped. In such a state, when the solenoid valve 77 is opened and the inlet side of the steam generator 16 is opened to the atmosphere, the pressure inside the steam generator 16 decreases and the above-described operation is repeated again. As a result, the warm water can be kept at a predetermined high temperature.

FIG. 16 is a view showing a state in which the small balls 78 are floated on the warm warm water in the warm warm water chamber 55. The small balls 78 prevent evaporation of the warm warm water from the liquid surface. As a result, the number of times hot water is supplied to the warm warm water chamber 55 can be reduced.

[0030]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, since the warming and warming hot water chamber for storing hot water is provided outside the brewing chamber, the brewing chamber is heated and the beverage can be brewed. From this, it is possible to extract a delicious beverage at an appropriate temperature in a short time with good extraction efficiency.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the hot water in the hot water tank for extraction is used, there is no need to provide a separate hot water tank, and the energy is efficient and economical.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the steam generator is provided, and the generated hot water heats the hot water stored in the warming and warming hot water chamber, so that the temperature of the hot water is prevented from decreasing and the beverage is kept hot. Since it can be extracted, the extraction efficiency is good and a delicious beverage can be obtained in a short time.

According to the invention of claim 4, since the heater is provided in the heat-retaining hot water chamber to heat the hot water by the heater, the hot water is heated to a high temperature at all times, and the hot water is constantly maintained at a high temperature. Since extraction is possible, the extraction efficiency is good and a delicious beverage can be obtained in a short time.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the steam is sequentially supplied to the warming and warming hot water chamber between the warming and warming warm water chamber and the steam generator, the beverage can be extracted at a high temperature, so that the extraction efficiency is high. Good and delicious drinks can be obtained in a short time.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, since the suppressing member that suppresses evaporation is floated on the hot water stored in the warming and warming hot water chamber, the emission of steam is suppressed by the suppressing member and the number of times of supplying hot water can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system diagram showing a system in a vending machine of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an extraction device provided in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an operation diagram showing a standby state in the processing shown in FIG.

5 is an operation diagram showing a case of an extraction request in the processing shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an operation diagram showing when coffee is extracted in the process shown in FIG.

7 is an operation diagram showing a slag process in the process shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a system diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

9 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of FIG. 8. FIG.

FIG. 10 is a system diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a system diagram showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an operation diagram showing the first operation of FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is an operation diagram showing the second action of FIG. 11.

14 is an operation diagram showing a third action of FIG. 11. FIG.

FIG. 15 is an operation diagram showing a fourth action of FIG. 11.

FIG. 16 is a system diagram showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cooking Department 2 Water Supply Department 3 Extraction Sales Department 16 Steam Generator 18a, 18b Hot Water Valve 19 Extraction Device 22 Cup Supply Device 23 Coffee Canister 24 Storage Tank 25 Cream Canister 26 Sugar Canister 27 Syrup Canister 51 Extraction Container 55 Warming Hot Water Chamber 56 Heated warm water supply pipe 57 Heated warm water waste pipe 72 Heater 73 Temperature control thermo 74 Steam supply pipe 75 Water solenoid valve 76 Overflow pipe 77 Solenoid valve 78 Small ball

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A vending machine provided with an extraction device having an extraction chamber for mixing hot water and beverage ingredients to extract a beverage, wherein a warming and warming hot water chamber for collecting hot water is provided outside the extraction chamber. And vending machines. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising a hot water tank for storing hot water used for extraction in the extraction chamber, and the hot water in the hot water tank is appropriately supplied to the warming and warming hot water chamber. . 3. The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising a steam generator, wherein the generated steam heats the hot water stored in the warm warm water chamber. 4. A heater is provided in the warming hot water chamber,
The vending machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the hot water is heated by the heater. 5. The steam generator is arranged at a position lower than the warming and warming hot water chamber, and a steam pipe connected to the steam generator is connected to a lower portion of the warming and warming hot water chamber to remove steam from the warming warm water chamber. 4. The vending machine according to claim 3, wherein hot water for generating steam is supplied to the generator while steam generated from the steam generator is supplied to the warming and warming water chamber. 6. The vending machine according to claim 1, wherein a suppressing member that suppresses evaporation is floated on the hot water stored in the warm warm water chamber.