JP3384143B2 - Vending machine beverage cooking equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

The present invention is based on a sales order,
The present invention relates to a beverage cooking device of a vending machine that mixes powdered raw material and hot water to produce regular coffee or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a beverage cooking apparatus of this type is known, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-30188. The beverage cooking device is a so-called mixing ball, and includes a fixed lid, a ball body detachably attached to the fixed lid, and a stirring mechanism. The fixed lid is provided with a raw material introduction port for introducing powder raw material and a hot water supply port for introducing hot water, and the ball body is provided with a steam removal port for discharging steam and overflowing hot water during rinsing. Has been done. The raw material chute faces the raw material introduction port from above, and the hot water supply hose and the steam removal hose are connected to the hot water supply port and the steam removal port, respectively.

When a beverage is cooked, hot water is poured into a bowl body from a hot water supply hose through a hot water supply port, and a powder raw material is charged through a raw material chute through a raw material introduction port to stir them. Stir with. On the other hand, when performing rinsing (auto-rinse), hot water that overflows from the steam vent is poured and stirred by a stirring mechanism.

[0004]

In such a conventional beverage cooking apparatus, water droplets due to scattered water or rising steam adhere to the tip of the raw material chute, especially when rinsing with a large amount of water. In this state, shift to normal sales operation,
When the powder raw material is introduced through the raw material chute, the powder raw material adheres to the tip portion of the raw material chute. Then, by repeating this, the powder raw material attached to the tip portion of the raw material chute may be accumulated, and finally the powder raw material may be clogged (including insufficient supply amount).

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and provides a beverage cooking apparatus for a vending machine which can effectively prevent the powder raw material from adhering to the tip of the raw material chute. That is the purpose.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the lower end of the raw material chute is faced from the upper side to a raw material introducing port provided at the upper end of the stirring container, and the raw material chute is inserted into the stirring container. In a beverage cooking device of a vending machine, which introduces powdered raw material and hot water separately and stirs this to make a beverage, the lower end of the raw material chute faces the raw material introduction port and the upper side from the raw material introduction port. It is characterized by comprising chute moving means for moving the raw material chute in the vertical direction between the upper and lower moving positions.

In this case, it is preferable to further include a steam outlet facing the lower space of the raw material chute in the upper moving position and sucking the steam in the lower space.

In this case, it is preferable that the steam vent port is provided at the tip of the auxiliary exhaust passage branched from the main exhaust passage communicating with the stirring container.

In these cases, it is preferable that the steam vent port is closed by the raw material chute moved to the downward movement position and opened by the raw material chute moved to the upward movement position.

[0010]

According to the beverage cooking apparatus of the present invention, the raw material chute is vertically moved between the lower moving position where the lower end of the raw material chute faces the raw material introducing port and the upper moving position where the lower end of the raw material chute faces upward from the raw material introducing port. By providing the chute moving means for moving the raw material chute to the upper position during the rinsing operation, the lower end portion of the raw material chute and the stirring container are sufficiently separated from each other, and the scattered hot water or steam becomes the lower end of the raw material chute. It is possible to make it difficult to adhere to the part. On the contrary, since the scattered hot water is less likely to adhere, the liquid level of the hot water for rinsing can be increased and the rinse efficiency can be improved.

According to the beverage cooking apparatus of the second aspect, the raw material chute which faces the lower space of the raw material chute in the upper position and sucks the steam of the lower space is provided, so that the raw material chute in which air easily stays In the lower space, the steam and the scattered water can be forcibly sucked together with the air, and the hot water can be made more difficult to adhere to the lower end portion of the raw material chute. Moreover, since air flows into the space below the raw material chute, even if hot water adheres to the raw material chute, it can be dried quickly.

According to the beverage cooking apparatus of the third aspect, the steam vent port is provided at the tip of the auxiliary exhaust passage branched from the main exhaust passage communicating with the stirring container, so that a single exhaust device is used. The steam floating in the stirring container can be discharged through the main exhaust passage, and the steam floating in the lower space of the raw material chute can be discharged through the auxiliary exhaust passage. Even if the portion corresponding to the lid is filled, steam is not exhausted.

According to the beverage cooking apparatus of the fourth aspect, the steam vent port is closed by the raw material chute moved to the downward movement position and opened by the raw material chute moved to the upward movement position to move to the downward movement position. It is possible to avoid the problem that the powder raw material is directly sucked into the steam vent from the moved raw material chute. In this case, it is preferable that the outer surface of the lower end of the raw material chute is provided so as to be in sliding contact with the steam outlet, and the steam outlet is opened and closed by the vertical movement of the raw material chute.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A beverage cooking apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This beverage cooking device cooks regular coffee and the like, and is mainly installed in a cup type vending machine. FIG. 1 is a cut side view of the beverage cooking device, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. As shown in both figures, the beverage cooking device 1 is composed of a mixing ball 2 and a chute lifting mechanism (chute moving means) 3 arranged above the mixing ball 2. The mixing ball 2 is composed of a ball body (stirring container) 4 and a lid 5 to which the ball body 4 is attached, and the portion of the lid 5 is supported in the vending machine. Further, the lid body 5 is composed of a lid body 6 and a base body 7 provided on the upper side of the lid body 6, and as a result, the mixing ball 2
Has a three-part structure of the ball body 4, the lid body 6, and the base body 7 (see FIG. 3).

The base body 7 has a stirring motor 8 at the center thereof.
, And an exhaust elbow 9 connected to a fan (not shown) and a hot water supply elbow 10 connected to a hot water tank (not shown) are attached to the edges. Further, the chute raising / lowering mechanism 3 is provided with a raw material chute 11 for supplying a powdered raw material which is regular coffee ground beans into the mixing ball 2.

In response to a sales instruction, a predetermined amount of powder raw material is supplied to the ball body 4 from a raw material container (not shown) via the raw material chute 11, and at the same time, a predetermined amount of hot water is supplied from the hot water tank via the hot water supply elbow 10. Is supplied to stir the powder raw material and the hot water. Further, steam generated in the ball body 4 at that time is exhausted to the outside of the ball body 4 by the fan through the exhaust elbow 9. When the powder raw material and the hot water are stirred for a predetermined time in this way, the stirring is stopped, and regular coffee is supplied to the cup from the discharge port 12 of the ball body 4 through a filter (not shown). On the other hand, when the ball body 4 is automatically rinsed, the hot water is filled to the position where the lower surface of the lid body 6 is immersed (see FIG. 4), and the hot water is stirred.

The ball body 4 comprises a transparent resin container 13 and a stirring mechanism 14 housed in the resin container 13.
It is shaped like a modified funnel so that stirring can be performed efficiently. The upper end of the resin container 13 is wide open and is detachably attached so as to fit into the lid 5. The lower portion of the ball body 4 is formed by another member having the discharge port 12, whereby the axial end of the vertical shaft 22 described later is covered and the mixed liquid of the powder raw material and the hot water is guided to the filter side.

The stirring mechanism 14 has a vertical shaft 22 whose upper end is connected to the stirring motor 8 via a joint 21, and a vertical shaft 22.
It comprises a stirring blade 23 for rinsing, a stirring blade 24 for cooking, and a valve blade 25, which are attached to each of the above.
The stirring blade 24 for cooking is arranged at a position where it is submerged in the mixed liquid, and the valve blade 25 is arranged at the bottom of the vertical shaft 22. The stirring blade 24 for cooking and the valve blade 25 have a function of a valve that prevents the mixed solution from flowing down with the rotation,
With rotation, it has a function of mixing (cooking) the powder raw material and hot water. Further, the rinsing stirring blade 23 is arranged at a position higher than the liquid level of the mixed liquid and always idles, but when the resin container 13 is filled with rinsing hot water,
It is submerged in a rinse water and the inner surface of the resin container 13 is cleaned as it rotates.

The lid body 6 has a raw material inlet 31 facing the raw material chute 11 and a hot water supply port 3 connected to the hot water supply elbow 10.
6 (see FIG. 2) and the steam vent 3 connected to the exhaust elbow 9.
2 are formed. Further, on the outer peripheral surface of the lid body 6,
A hot water flow-down groove 33 is formed to connect to the hot water supply port 36,
An annular molten metal passage 34 is formed between the molten metal descent groove 33 and the inner peripheral surface of the upper end portion of the resin container 13. A large number of small holes 34a are formed in the hot water passage 34 in the circumferential direction.
The hot water flows down the inner peripheral surface of the resin container 13 and flows down. Further, a hot water outlet 35 connected to the hot water supply port 36 is formed on the peripheral surface of the steam outlet 32, and hot water flows down from this portion so as to wash the peripheral surface of the steam outlet 32. In addition, the lower part of the steam outlet 32 is extended downward, and the steam flow is greatly bent at this portion.
It is possible to prevent the powder raw material from being sucked into the steam vent 32 together with steam.

On the other hand, the raw material chute 11 is provided on the base body 7.
The second steam outlet 41 is formed so as to face the lower end portion of the second steam outlet 41, and the second steam outlet 41 is provided via a sub exhaust passage 42 provided so as to bypass the joint 21 of the stirring motor 8.
It communicates with the exhaust elbow 9 (see FIG. 2). The second steam vent 41 is opened close to the raw material chute 11 and sucks (exhausts) air (steam) in the lower space of the raw material chute 11 which has moved upward as described later. In this case, the back plate 11a of the raw material chute 11 is attached to the second steam vent 41.
The second steam outlet 41 is closed when the raw material chute 11 is moved downward, and is opened when the raw material chute 11 is moved upward. More specifically, at the time of the rinse shown in FIG. 3, the liquid level of the hot water is the steam vent 3
2 and the raw material introduction port 31 are reached, it is impossible to remove steam from the raw material introduction port 31 side in the main exhaust passage 43 constituted by the exhaust elbow 9. Therefore, the second steam vent 4
With this auxiliary exhaust passage 42 connected to 1, the raw material inlet 31
The steam can be removed from the side.

On the other hand, the exhaust elbow 9 is bent at an angle smaller than 90 degrees so that the fan side is directed obliquely downward, and the steam outlet 32 side is formed with a small diameter and the fan side is formed with a large diameter. ing. Therefore, the water droplets mixed with the powder raw material that are generated in the obliquely downward portion of the exhaust elbow 9 flow down to the fan side. Further, the water droplets generated in the curved portion also flow down to the boundary between the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion, and then flow down to the fan side along the boundary line (obliquely directed downward). As a result, water droplets mixed with the powder material generated on the inner surface of the exhaust elbow 9 can be made to flow to the fan side as much as possible without being retained in this portion.

Next, the chute lifting mechanism 3 will be described with reference to the side view of FIG. 5 and the front view of FIG. The chute raising / lowering mechanism 3 moves the raw material chute 11 upward so as to come off the raw material introducing port 31 at the time of rinsing, and prevents the tip of the raw material chute 11 from getting wet with the splashed water at the time of rinsing. The chute lifting mechanism 3
Holder 51 for holding raw material chute 11 and holder 51
Supporting rod 52, a crank mechanism 53 that moves the supporting rod 52 up and down, a gear motor 54 that operates the crank mechanism 53, and a frame 5 that supports the supporting rod 52, the crank mechanism 53, and the gear motor 54.
It is composed of 5 and 5.

The holder 51 is formed in a U-shaped cross section, and holds the raw material chute 11 so as to be held. An attachment fitting 56 for attaching the holder 51 to the support rod 52 is provided at the base of the holder 51, and a roller 57 is provided so as to project below the attachment fitting 56. The roller 57 is in rolling contact with the guide groove 55a of the frame 55, and the holder 51 moves up and down along the guide groove 55a as the support rod 52 moves up and down. As a result, the raw material chute 11 held by the holder 51 moves up and down between the lower position where the lower end of the raw material chute 11 faces the raw material inlet 31 and the upper position where the lower end of the raw material chute 11 moves upward from the raw material inlet 31.

The crank mechanism 53 has a crank disk 58 directly connected to the gear motor 54, a crank arm 59 engaged with the crank disk 58, and a crank arm 59 at an intermediate portion.
And a rotating arm 60 rotatably attached. The rotating arm 60 has one end rotatably attached to the support shaft 61, the support rod 52 fixed to the other end, and the crank arm 59 attached to the middle portion of the support arm 61. It is rotated vertically around the center. That is, the rotating arm 60 moves the support rod 52 up and down about the support shaft 61.

The lower end of the crank arm 59 is engaged with the pin 62 of the crank disk 58 through a long hole 59a formed in the crank arm 59. When the crank disk 58 starts rotating from the state shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 1, the pin 62 initially moves in the long hole 59a, but when it reaches the vicinity of the top dead center, the pin 62 moves to the upper end of the long hole 59a. Then, the crank arm 59 is pushed up (see FIG. 4). On the other hand, when the pin 62 passes through the top dead center, the crank arm 5
9 is moved down to the position where it abuts against the stopper 63 due to the weight of the rotating arm 60 side. After that, the crank disk 58 is
The pin 62 rotates until it reaches the bottom dead center.

The rotation of the crank disk 58 is controlled via a micro switch 64 provided adjacent to the crank disk 58. The switch ends of the micro switch 64 are respectively depressed into two cam grooves 58a, 58a formed at two locations on the outer peripheral surface of the crank disk 58 to turn the micro switch 64 on and off. 2 cam grooves 5
8a and 58a are arranged with their phases shifted by 180 degrees from each other, and when the crank disk 58 starts rotating and the pin 62 reaches the top dead center position from the state shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. The switch end falls into one of the cam grooves 58a, and the micro switch 64 is turned on (or off),
The gear motor 54 stops (state of FIG. 4). Next, FIG.
From this state, the crank disk 58 starts to rotate again, and when the pin 62 reaches the bottom dead center position, the switch end falls into the other cam groove 58a and the gear motor 54 stops (state in FIG. 1). That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the state in which the pin 62 reaches the top dead center position and stops corresponds to the upper moving position of the raw material chute 11, and the state in which the pin 62 reaches the bottom dead center position and stops is the raw material. It corresponds to the lower position of the chute 11.

The selling operation (cooking operation) will be described with reference to FIG. 1, and the rinsing operation will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, in response to a sales command, the stirring motor 8 first starts to drive, and at the same time, the hot water and the powder raw material are introduced into the ball body 4, and the steam exhaust operation is performed in tandem with these. Is started. Hot water is supplied to wash the inner surface of the ball body 4 from a hot water passage 34 formed in an annular shape, and is also supplied to wash the steam vent 32 from the hot water outlet 35. On the other hand, the powder raw material is dropped from the raw material chute 11 in the lower position via the raw material introduction port 31. Further, the steam is exhausted by sucking the outside air from the raw material inlet 31 and exhausting it from the steam outlet 32. Then, when a predetermined amount of hot water and powder raw material are supplied and the liquid mixture of these is stirred for a predetermined time, the stirring motor 8 is stopped and the liquid mixture automatically flows down from the discharge port 12. In this way, the selling operation is repeated,
The selling operation is performed a predetermined number of times, or the rinsing inside the ball body 4 is periodically performed by the switch operation of the operator.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the apparatus shifts to the rinse mode, the agitation motor 8 starts driving, at the same time hot water is supplied into the ball body 4, and steam exhaust operation is started. In addition, prior to the supply of hot water, the chute lifting mechanism 3
Thereby, the raw material chute 11 is moved to the upper moving position. In this case, the hot water is filled in the ball body 4 up to the water level reaching the raw material introduction port 31 and the steam removal port 32, the shallow part of the hot water is the rinsing stirring blade 23, and the deep part is the cooking stirring blade 24 and the valve. Stirring for rinsing is performed by the blades 25. On the other hand, as for steam, since the steam vent 32 is filled (closed) with hot water, and the second steam vent 41 is opened as the raw material chute 11 moves upward, the lower space of the raw material chute 11 is That is, the steam inside the raw material inlet 31
The second steam vent 41 is exhausted so that it does not rise toward the raw material chute 11.

The amount of hot water required for rinsing is defined by the opening time of the solenoid valve 15 provided on the outlet side of the hot water tank shown in FIG. In this case, if the opening time of the solenoid valve 15 is uniformly set (stored in the control unit 16) at the factory stage, the amount of hot water may be insufficient or the hot water may overflow from the ball body 4 due to variations in the solenoid valve 15. Therefore, the control unit 1
The opening time (amount of hot water) of the solenoid valve 15 in 6 is set on the basis of the amount of hot water during cooking. That is, the amount of hot water for cooking affects the taste of the beverage sold, and therefore is finely adjusted for each vending machine at the time of installation. For this reason, the variation in the amount of hot water used for cooking as the product of the solenoid valve 15 is sufficiently taken into consideration, and the hot water for rinsing based on this data is quantitatively supplied with high accuracy.

As described above, according to this embodiment, when the ball body 4 is automatically rinsed, the chute raising / lowering mechanism 3 is used.
Since the raw material chute 11 is moved to a rising position which is separated from the raw material introducing port 31 to the upper side, steam scattered during stirring is less likely to adhere to the lower end portion of the raw material chute 11, and when the later powder raw material is charged. It is possible to prevent the powder raw material from adhering to the raw material chute 11. Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the raw material chute 11 is clogged. In particular, as in the embodiment, when the level of hot water for rinsing is high, it works effectively.

On the other hand, the raw material chute 11 in the upper moving position
The second space that faces the lower space and inhales steam from this lower space
Since the steam exhaust port 41 is provided, steam at this portion, which becomes independent from the main exhaust passage 43 during rinsing,
Exhaust (intake) can be effectively performed. Therefore, the hot water can be made more difficult to adhere to the lower end portion of the raw material chute 11, and even if the hot water adheres to the raw material chute 11, the hot water can be dried quickly. On the contrary, since the raw material chute 11 moves downward to close the second steam vent port 41 during normal sale, it is possible to prevent the powder raw material from being directly sucked into the second steam vent port 41. it can.

The chute raising / lowering mechanism of this embodiment is constructed by using the crank mechanism, but it is constructed by using other link mechanism or cam mechanism as long as the raw material chute can be moved up and down. That is optional. Further, the shape and opening / closing structure of the second steam vent port are also arbitrary.

[0034]

As described above, according to the beverage cooking apparatus of the present invention, since the raw material chute is moved up and down, the lower end portion of the raw material chute is largely separated from the liquid level of the hot water at the time of rinsing. Therefore, it is possible to prevent hot water or steam from adhering to the lower end portion of the raw material chute. That is, it is possible to effectively prevent the powder raw material from adhering to the lower end portion of the raw material chute, and avoid a situation where the raw material chute is clogged. On the other hand, since the liquid level of the hot water at the time of rinsing can be increased, the rinsing efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cut side view of a beverage cooking device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the beverage cooking device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cut side view showing a disassembled state of the mixing ball of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cutting side view showing a rinsing operation of the beverage cooking apparatus of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the chute lifting mechanism of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the chute raising / lowering mechanism of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Beverage cooking equipment 2 mixing balls 4 ball body 5 Lid 11 Raw material chute 11a side plate 31 Raw material inlet 41 Second hot water outlet 42 Secondary exhaust passage 43 Main exhaust passage

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Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A raw material introducing port provided at the upper end of a stirring container is made to face the lower end of the raw material chute from above, and the powder raw material is introduced into the stirring container through the raw material chute and separate hot water is introduced. , In a beverage cooking device of a vending machine that stirs this to make a beverage, between the lower position where the lower end of the raw material chute faces the raw material inlet and the upper position where the lower end moves upward from the raw material inlet. A beverage cooking device for a vending machine, comprising chute moving means for moving the raw material chute in the vertical direction. 2. The vending machine according to claim 1, further comprising a steam vent port that faces the lower space of the raw material chute in the upper movement position and sucks the steam of the lower space. Beverage cooking equipment. 3. The beverage cooker for a vending machine according to claim 2, wherein the steam vent port is provided at a tip of an auxiliary exhaust passage branched from a main exhaust passage communicating with the stirring container. apparatus. 4. The steam outlet is closed by the raw material chute moved to a downward movement position and opened by the raw material chute moved to an upward movement position. Beverage cooking equipment for vending machines.