JP3020845B2 - Cooled beverage supply device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling beverage supply apparatus applicable to various boxes having a cooling function, such as refrigerators and refrigerators.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a device for supplying cold drinking water, a dedicated tank for chilled water is installed in a box having a cooling function, and the chilled water is taken out from the outside of the box. Vessels are common. Previously, there was a water cooler that installed a dedicated tank for cold water inside the door of the refrigerator and took out cold water from outside the door.

[0003] In such a conventional water cooler, since a dedicated tank is used, substances such as minerals contained in water and water scale adhere to the inner surface of the tank over a long period of use. Therefore, there is a problem that the inner surface of the tank must be frequently cleaned, and the maintenance is troublesome. Further, in a water cooler having such a dedicated tank, molds and the like are generated when the water cooler is not used for a while, and there is a hygienic problem.

[0004] In recent years, PET bottle drinks in which drinks such as mineral water and tea are put into PET bottles have become widespread. Such a PET bottle beverage is usually cooled in a refrigerator, and is taken out by opening the refrigerator door each time the beverage is drunk. Therefore, for example, 2 liters (hereinafter,
Expressed as L. ) If the number of times of opening and closing the door by taking out and storing the PET bottle is approximately 180 cc, the number of times becomes 22 times, and the heat loss due to the opening and closing of the door increases the power consumption. is there. This is a problem particularly when the outside air temperature is high such as in summer. Also, it takes time and effort to open and close the door, which is troublesome.

[0005] When such a PET bottle beverage is put into a dedicated tank of the above-mentioned conventional water cooler to supply cold water,
Since "water" in commercially available PET bottle beverages is usually mostly mineral water, it contains more minerals than tap water, thus further promoting the care and hygiene problems described above. This problem is more pronounced in the case of other beverages such as tea, due to its sediment and the like.

[0006] In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a cooled beverage supply device which is easy to care for, is sanitary, and can reduce power consumption.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A cooled beverage supply apparatus of the present invention cools a commercially available beverage container such as water, juice, black tea, Japanese tea, and supplies the beverage inside the beverage container. It is provided in a box body having a cooling function, and a container holding unit that holds the beverage container in a posture that can supply the beverage therein, provided on the outer surface side of the box body,
A beverage take-out unit from which the beverage is taken out, a supply unit provided inside the box, and supplying a drink from the beverage container held by the container holding unit to the drink take-out unit, and a mouth of the beverage container And a plug member for connecting the mouth portion of the beverage container held by the container holding portion and the supply portion.

[0008] Here, the commercially available beverage container is a container made of a synthetic resin or glass (for example, a PET bottle or a glass bottle) filled with a beverage such as water, tea, or juice. It refers to those that are commercially available. In particular,
The above-mentioned PET bottle, which is formed by filling a beverage into a bottle formed of a polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, is preferable from the viewpoint of handleability (claim 11).

In the above-described cooling beverage supply apparatus according to the present invention, the stopper member is provided with a body for restricting the outflow of the beverage in the beverage container, and the body is detachably provided at one end of the body. And a connection portion for connecting the mouth portion of the beverage container, the connection portion has two mounting portions having different diameters, the large-diameter mounting portion on one surface of the connection portion, the small-diameter An attachment portion is formed on the other surface of the connection portion, and when the large-diameter attachment portion is attached to the body portion, a mouth portion of the beverage container is attached to the small-diameter attachment portion, and the small-diameter attachment portion is attached to the small-diameter attachment portion. When attached to the trunk, the mouth portion of the beverage container is attached to the large-diameter attachment portion, and the mounting direction of the connection portion with respect to the trunk portion is changed so that the plug member can be connected to two types of beverages having different diameters. It can be attached to a container.

In the above-mentioned refrigerator, the container may be a refrigerator, the container holding portion may be provided on an inner side of the door of the refrigerator, and the beverage extracting portion may be on an outer side of the door of the refrigerator. And the supply unit is connected to the plug member, a liquid supply path unit penetrating the door in and out, and a control unit that controls supply of the beverage in the beverage container to the liquid supply path unit. The plug member is detachable from the supply unit. And the liquid supply path portion is arranged below the container holding portion, and the beverage container is arranged in the container holding portion with its mouth directed downward and inclined with respect to a vertical line. The plug member is connected to the liquid supply path.

In the above-mentioned refrigerator, the cold drink supply device according to claim 5 is characterized in that the box is a refrigerator, the container holding portion is provided on the inner surface side of the refrigerator door, and the beverage extracting portion is located on the outer surface side of the refrigerator door. And the supply unit is connected to the plug member, a liquid supply path unit penetrating the door in and out, and a control unit that controls supply of the beverage in the beverage container to the liquid supply path unit. The plug member is detachable from the supply unit, the liquid supply path unit is disposed below the container holding unit, and the beverage container is directed to the container holding unit with its mouth directed downward. Disposing the plug member to connect to the liquid supply path portion, wherein the plug member is provided with a valve and a valve seat for regulating the outflow of the beverage in the beverage container, and the valve seat is inclined from a horizontal plane. It was done.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooled beverage supply apparatus.
In the, the internal space of the plug member is divided by a vertical partition, the partition is perpendicular to a plane passing through the top and bottom points of the inclined valve seat and parallel to the central axis of the plug member, and It is arranged parallel to the central axis of the plug member.

In the above-mentioned refrigerator, the cold drink supply apparatus according to claim 7 is characterized in that the box is a refrigerator, the container holding portion is provided on the inner surface side of the refrigerator door, and the beverage extracting portion is located on the outer surface side of the refrigerator door. And the supply unit is connected to the plug member, a liquid supply path unit penetrating the door in and out, and a control unit that controls supply of the beverage in the beverage container to the liquid supply path unit. The plug member is detachable from the supply unit, the liquid supply path unit is disposed below the container holding unit, and the beverage container is directed to the container holding unit with its mouth directed downward. Disposing the plug member to connect to the liquid supply path section, wherein a movable plate is provided between the container holding section and the liquid supply path section, and the movable plate is used for supplying a cooled beverage. Stand the plate upright and place the beverage container in the container holder. Held in position capable of supplying the beverage, when not subjected to cooling beverage supply and pivot the movable plate horizontally, is obtained by allowing storage of various storage products such as the beverage container on said movable plate.

[0014] The cooled beverage supply device of claim 8 is the seventh embodiment.
, The plug member can be stored in the liquid supply path when not used for supplying the cooled beverage.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cooled beverage supply device.
In any one of the above items No. to No. 8, the liquid supply path portion is disposed on the door so as to be detachable from an inner surface side thereof.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the chilled beverage supply apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the control unit has an operation unit fixed to the door, and the operation of the operation unit causes the stopper member to operate to thereby supply the liquid. The beverage in the beverage container is supplied to the path.

[0017]

According to the cooling beverage supply device of the present invention, a plug member is attached in place of a stopper for sealing a mouth of a commercially available beverage container, and the container is supplied with the container into a box having a cooling function. Attach it to the container holder in a position that it can. Then, the beverage in this container is supplied to the beverage take-out unit by the supply unit, and is taken out of the box. That is, the commercially available beverage container is used as a beverage supply tank, and is replaced with a new one for each beverage, so that water stains and minerals do not adhere to the inner surface unlike a conventional dedicated tank. In addition, since the beverage in the box can be taken out without opening and closing the door of the box, power consumption due to opening and closing of the door and the like can be reduced.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a beverage container having a large diameter is used, the connection portion is attached to the body of the plug member with one surface having the large-diameter attachment portion formed facing outward. When a small-diameter beverage container is used, the connection portion is attached to the body with the other surface on which the small-diameter attachment portion is formed facing outward. In this manner, the plug member can be an attachment portion corresponding to the diameter of the beverage container simply by changing the mounting direction of the connection portion with respect to the body portion, so that there is no need to provide two types of separate plug members, Therefore, there is no trouble in placing the unused plug member or losing the plug member.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, after the plug member is attached to the beverage container, the container is arranged in the container holding portion provided on the inner surface side of the door of the refrigerator, and the plug member is provided in the liquid supply path portion. Connecting. Then, the beverage in the container is supplied to the liquid supply path by the control section, and is supplied from the inside of the door to the outside beverage extraction section through the liquid supply path. As described above, since the stopper member is provided so as to be separable from the liquid supply path portion, care such as cleaning is easy. In addition, since the beverage container is arranged upside down, the beverage in the container is supplied to the liquid supply path by gravity, and therefore, there is no need to supply the beverage using a pump or the like. Furthermore, since the beverage containers are arranged at an angle,
The inflow of air into the container is promoted, the replacement of the beverage in the container with external air is smooth, the outflow of the beverage to the liquid supply path is stable, and the amount of the outflow is large. can do.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the stopper member is provided so as to be separable from the liquid supply path portion, it is easy to perform maintenance such as cleaning, and the beverage container is arranged upside down. Therefore, there is no need to supply the beverage using a pump or the like. Further, since the valve seat, which is an outlet for the beverage supply path of the beverage in the container, is arranged to be inclined from the horizontal plane, the inflow of air from the valve seat into the container is promoted. The outflow to the liquid path is stable, and the outflow amount can be increased.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the internal space of the plug member is further divided by the vertical partition into the top side and the bottom side of the inclined valve seat. And the replacement of air is further promoted.

According to the cooling beverage supply device of the present invention, since the stopper member is provided so as to be separable from the liquid supply path, care such as cleaning is easy, and the beverage container is arranged upside down. Therefore, there is no need to supply the beverage using a pump or the like. Further, when not used for supplying a cooled beverage, for example, in winter, the movable plate is tilted horizontally so that various storage items such as beverage containers can be stored on the movable plate, and the container holding portion is used as a storage space. Therefore, unlike the conventional dedicated tank, the portion does not become a dead space, and the inside of the refrigerator can be effectively used.

In the cooling beverage supply device according to the present invention, the stopper member can be stored in the liquid supply path when not used for supplying the cooling beverage, so that there is no risk of the stopper member being lost.

In the chilled beverage supply device according to the ninth aspect, since the liquid supply path is detachably provided on the door, it can be easily removed and cleaned when it becomes dirty or when the type of beverage is changed. .

In the cooling beverage supply device according to the tenth aspect, by operating the operation unit fixed to the door, the stopper member is operated to supply the beverage in the beverage container to the liquid supply path unit. Here, since the operation unit is fixed to the door, it is separated from the liquid supply path when the liquid supply path is removed from the door.
Cleaning of the liquid supply path is easy.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a cooled beverage supply apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cooled beverage supply device 10 is provided on a door 3 of a refrigerator 2 of a refrigerator 1, and is provided in a plastic bottle 4 disposed inside the refrigerator 2. Is supplied to the outside through the door 3.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a shelf-shaped bottle storage portion provided on the inner surface side of the door 3, which is a PET bottle 4 containing 2L.
Have a space in which two can be stored side by side. This bottle storage part 12 has a bottom plate portion on the left side in FIG.
A movable bottom plate 14 is rotatably mounted on a horizontal shaft 16 disposed at the rear end of the bottle storage unit 12. The left part is a bottle holder 13 (FIG. 2) that holds the plastic bottle 4 upside down when the movable bottom plate 14 is set upright.
When the movable bottom plate 14 is tilted and leveled, the movable bottom plate 14 becomes a storage space for storing items such as plastic bottles as in the right side portion (see FIG. 4).

Reference numeral 46 denotes a beverage outlet provided on the front surface of the door 3 and is formed so as to protrude into the refrigerator compartment 2. A receiving tray 48 for preventing the beverage from dropping onto the floor is detachably provided on the bottom surface of the beverage extracting section 46.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a plug member which is attached to the mouth of the plastic bottle 4 in place of a plug provided at the time of marketing.
After being attached to the PET bottle 4, it is attached so as to be located below the movable bottom plate 14. This plug member 18
As shown in FIG. 5, a cylindrical body 20 and this body 20
A connection portion 22 is detachably screwed to the upper end of the body 20, and a valve 24 restricts outflow of the liquid in the body portion 20.

An annular valve seat 20a on which the valve 24 is seated extends vertically in the axial direction on the inner peripheral surface of the body 20, and a valve support 20b extends downward from the inner peripheral edge of the valve seat 20a. Have been. Further, the inner peripheral side of the valve seat 20a becomes a liquid flow path 20c.

The valve 24 has a substantially dish-like shape made of a soft material such as silicon rubber, and is fitted on an upper portion of a shaft 24a slidably supported in the axial direction on a valve support 20b.
When the valve 24 and the valve seat 20a come into contact with each other, the flow path 20c is closed, the space above and below the valve seat 20a is shut off, and the flow of the liquid is closed.

The connecting portion 22 has an annular handle portion 22a slightly larger in diameter than the body portion 20, and upper and lower cylindrical mounting portions 22b and 22c extending vertically from upper and lower surfaces thereof.
And The two mounting portions 22b and 22c have the same outer diameter, and the outer peripheral surface thereof is formed with a male screw which is screwed with the female screw at the upper end of the body portion 20, and the inner peripheral surface of the male portion of the mouth of the plastic bottle 4 is formed. A female screw to be screwed with the screw is formed.

The upper and lower mounting portions 22b and 22c are 2L
The inner diameters of the two kinds of PET bottles 4 having different diameters are different from each other so as to correspond to the mouths of two types of PET bottles 4 having different diameters. As shown in FIG.
When the small-diameter mounting portion 22c is screwed into the female screw of the body portion 20 so that b faces upward, and the connecting portion 22 is mounted on the body portion 20, the female screw of the large-diameter mounting portion 22b is By screwing with the male screw of the PET bottle 4, the plug member 18 is formed.
Can be attached to the mouth of the large-sized 2L PET bottle 4. When the connecting portion 22 is mounted upside down on the body portion 20, as shown in FIG. 6, the small-diameter mounting portion 22c can be mounted on the mouth of a small-diameter 1.5L PET bottle. The outer circumferential surface of the handle portion 22a is provided with anti-slip irregularities, that is, knurls, so that the connecting portion 22 can be easily twisted and detached from the body portion 20. On the upper and lower surfaces of the handle portion 22a, annular seal rubbers 22d, 22d with which the tip of the mouth of the plastic bottle 4 comes in contact are arranged, respectively.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a liquid supply path for feeding the beverage flowing out of the stopper member 18 to the outside of the door 3, and the bottle holding section 1
3 and is detachably disposed below. This liquid supply path 2
As shown in FIG. 3, a path body 28 of a rectangular container into which the plug member 18 is inserted from above, and the path body 28
And a tubular beverage outlet 30 extending downward from the lower surface of the beverage. The path portion main body 28 is disposed on the horizontal portion 3a of the door 3, which is the upper wall of the beverage extracting portion 46. Beverage outlet 30
Penetrates the horizontal portion 3a of the door 3 up and down, that is, penetrates the through hole 32 penetrating the door 3 in and out, and hangs down from above in the beverage take-out portion 46.

The bottom plate 29 of the passage body 28 is inclined downward toward the beverage outlet 30. In this bottom plate 29,
A pusher 34 for pressing the lower surface of the shaft 24a of the valve 24 upward is attached. This pusher 34 is used for the bottom plate 2.
3 is slidably disposed on an annular seal rubber 35 provided around a hole passing through the hole 9, and the downward movement from the position shown in FIG. 3 is restricted. The bottom plate 29 supports the lower end of the plug member 18 and the shaft 2 of the valve 24.
A plurality of guide ribs 36 for guiding 4a onto the pusher 34 are provided upright.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a lid disposed at the opening of the path main body 28 of the liquid supply path 26, and has an opening into which the mouth of the plastic bottle 4 is inserted. The plug member 18 is housed in the lid 38 and the path body 28.

Reference numeral 40 denotes a liquid supply lever for controlling the outflow of the beverage in the plastic bottle 4, which is rotatably mounted on a horizontal shaft 42 provided in the through hole 32 of the door 3, and has a beverage take-out portion 46. Hang down from above. The liquid supply lever 40 includes an operation arm 40a that hangs downward from a portion attached to the horizontal shaft 42, and an operation arm 40b that extends upward and presses the lower surface of the pusher 34, and pushes the operation arm 40a from the front. As a result, the working arm 40b pushes the pusher 34 upward. The liquid supply lever 40 is urged clockwise in FIG. 3 by a spring (not shown) so that the operation arm 40a is vertical.

A cup C is provided at the lower end of the operation arm 40a.
A rubber member 44 that absorbs an impact at the time of pressing by, for example, is attached. As shown in FIG. 1, when viewed from the front side of the door 3, the central axis of the operation arm 40 a of the liquid supply lever 40 and the central axis of the plastic bottle 4 are shifted left and right.

Next, the operation of the cooled beverage supply device 10 will be described.

(1) Preparation Stage When using the present apparatus 10, first, the PET bottle 4
The plug member 18 is attached to the opening of the above by screwing. At this time, the attachment direction of the connecting portion 22 to the body 20 of the plug member 18 is changed according to the diameter of the mouth of the plastic bottle 4.
In other words, in the case of a 2 L plastic bottle 4 having a large diameter, as shown in FIG. 5, in the case of a 1.5 L plastic bottle 4 having a small diameter, the mounting portion 22 b having a large inner diameter faces outward. As shown in FIG. 6, the connecting portion 22 is attached to the body 20 such that the attaching portion 22c having a small inner diameter faces outward.

Then, with the movable bottom plate 14 upright, the PET bottle 4 is placed upside down on the bottle holding unit 13, and the plug member 18 at the tip thereof is set in the liquid supply path unit 26. As a result, a beverage supply standby state shown in FIGS. Even if the plastic bottle 4 is turned upside down, the valve 2 in the plug member 18 as shown in FIG.
Since 4 is closed, the beverage does not flow out.

(2) Beverage Supply Standby State In this state, the beverage in the PET bottle 4
The valve 24 of the plug member 18 is closed as shown in FIG. A pusher 34 is provided on the lower surface of the shaft 24a of the valve 24.
Of the liquid supply lever 40 is in contact with the lower surface of the pusher 34.

(3) Beverage Supply State When the cup C is pressed against the rubber member 44 of the liquid supply lever 40, and the operation arm 40a of the liquid supply lever 40 is rotated backward as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The working arm 40b pivots upward to push the pusher 34 upward. Thereby, the valve 24 of the plug member 18 is pushed upward to open, and the beverage in the plastic bottle 4 is supplied through the plug member 18 as shown by the arrow in FIG. It flows out into the route body 28 of the route portion 26. The beverage that has flowed out is guided to the beverage outlet 30 by the inclination of the bottom plate 29 of the path body 28, and is poured from the beverage outlet 30 into the cup C of the beverage outlet 46.

When the pressing of the cup C against the liquid supply lever 40 is stopped, the liquid supply lever 40 is returned to the original state by the urging force of a spring (not shown).
The valve 24 and the pusher 34 are pressed by the beverage inside.
Is pushed back down. This returns to the beverage supply standby state.

(4) Non-Beverage Supply State When the present apparatus 10 is not used for beverage supply, for example, in winter, as shown in FIG. 4, the movable bottom plate 14 is folded down to be horizontal. As a result, the liquid supply path section 26 is closed, and a plastic bottle and other storage items can be stored on the movable bottom plate 14. Here, the plug member 18 is housed in the liquid supply path 26.

In the case of the cooling beverage supply apparatus 10 having the above configuration, a commercially available PET bottle beverage is used as it is as a beverage supply tank. As a result, there is no possibility that scales and minerals adhere to the inner surface. Therefore, care is simple and sanitary. Also, since the beverage in the refrigerator compartment 2 can be taken out without opening and closing the door 3,
Power consumption for opening and closing the door can be reduced.

Also, since no dedicated tank is used,
Even when the present apparatus 10 is not used for beverage supply, there is no dead space due to the dedicated tank, and the inside of the refrigerator compartment 2 can be effectively utilized.

Further, the beverage flows into the liquid supply path section 26 only at the time of liquid supply, and the inflowed beverage is supplied to the path section main body 2.
8 does not remain in the liquid supply path 26 due to the inclination of the bottom plate 29 toward the beverage outlet 30. Therefore, the liquid supply path 26
Is always in a dry state in the beverage supply standby state, and it is difficult for water scale, minerals, and the like to adhere thereto. Also, even if it adheres, the liquid supply path section 26 can be inserted into the through-hole 32 through the beverage outlet section 30 to open the door 3.
Since it is arranged on the inner surface of the door 3, it can be easily removed from the inside of the door 3 for cleaning.

The plug member 18 is provided with two mounting portions 22 corresponding to the mouths of two types of plastic bottles having different screw diameters.
Since there is the connecting portion 22 provided with the b and 22c, unlike the case where two separate plug members are provided, there is no need to place unused plug members or lose the plug members. In addition, since the outer diameters of the two mounting portions 22b and 22c are equal, it is possible to correspond to the mouth of each plastic bottle only by changing the mounting direction of the connecting portion 22 to the body portion 20.

Further, by turning the PET bottle 4 upside down and the plug member 18 down, the beverage can be supplied to the valve 24 and the valve seat 20.
a is constantly wet, and a force is applied to press the valve 24 against the valve seat 20a. Therefore, the sealing property between the valve 24 and the valve seat 20a is enhanced, and the leakage of the beverage in the bottle and the entry of air are prevented. Can prevent deterioration of the beverage.

It should be noted that in the stopper member 18, the outflow of the beverage from the PET bottle 4 is stably performed and a certain amount or more (2
0 cc / sec or more), the distance between the valve 24 and the inner peripheral surface of the body 20 and the distance between the valve 24 and the valve seat 20a are 2.5 mm.
It is preferable to make the above. The valve 24 and the body 2
It is preferable that the minimum gap area between the inner peripheral surface of the valve 0 and the gap between the valve 24 and the valve seat 20a be 200 mm ² .

The following plug members 18a to 18d may be used in place of the above plug member 18 in order to improve the replacement of the beverage in the plastic bottle 4 with the outside air and increase the outflow speed of the beverage. Good.

In the plug member 18a shown in FIG. 7, a plate-shaped partition wall 50 for dividing the plug member 18a back and forth is provided above the valve 24.
Is erected. This partition wall 50 is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the handle portion 22a of the connection portion 22. In this way, by dividing the internal space of the plug member 18a by the vertical partition wall 50, as shown in FIG. 7, one side of the partition wall 50 has a beverage (indicated by solid arrows in the drawings; FIGS. 9, 10 and 10). 13), but air (indicated by a dotted arrow in the drawing; the same in FIGS. 9, 10 and 13) flows to the other side.
Beverage can be replaced with air smoothly.

In the plug member 18b shown in FIG. 8, a torsional partition wall 52 is disposed above the valve 24. This twisted partition 52
Has a shape in which a plate-like partition provided in the vertical direction is twisted about the axis of the plug member 18b, and is fixed to the inner peripheral surface of the body 20 via a connecting portion (not shown). Such a twisted partition 5
2, the beverage and the air flow in a vortex, and FIG.
Can be made to flow out the beverage more smoothly than that shown in FIG.

In the plug member 18c shown in FIG. 9, an air introduction pipe 54 that opens vertically is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the body 20. The air introduction pipe 54 has a substantially trumpet shape, and a lower opening that is largely open is formed so as to be larger than the outer diameter of the valve 24 and covers the valve 24 when the valve is opened. 4 is formed in a thin tubular shape to be inserted into the mouth. In this plug member 18c, the beverage flows out through the outer periphery of the air introduction pipe 54,
Since the air flows through the inside of the air introduction pipe 54, the replacement between the two is good.

In the plug member 18d shown in FIG.
Of the valve seat 20a is inclined downward from right to left in the drawing. Above the valve 24, a plate-shaped partition wall 50 for vertically dividing the plug member 18d into right and left parts is provided. In other words, the partition wall 50 is provided so as to divide the space above the valve 24 into a top side and a bottom side of the inclined valve seat 20a. In this manner, by inclining the valve seat 20a, the inflow of air into the plastic bottle 4 is promoted, and the beverage can be stably discharged at a fixed amount or more (35 cc / sec or more). Further, by providing the partition wall 50 as described above, replacement of the beverage with air is further promoted.

It should be noted that 2L containing a commercially available product and 1.
The two types of 5L-containing square PET bottles have almost the same height but different cross-sectional dimensions. 1.5L
While the width and depth are the same size, the 2L case has the same width size as the 1.5L case but the depth size is 1.5
It is larger than with L.

For this reason, in the present apparatus 10, when disposing these PET bottles in the bottle holding portion 13, the bottle central axis is arranged to be constant, and the width direction of the bottles having almost the same size is set in the bottle holding portion. 13 in the width direction. Thereby, even if the types of the PET bottles are different, the position of the liquid supply path portion 26 and the width dimension of the bottle holding portion 13 can be made constant, and the PET bottles can be arranged in the same place. Here, the difference in the depth dimension due to the difference in the bottle type may be absorbed in the depth direction of the bottle holding unit 13 by providing a deformable bottle support or the like before and after the bottle holding unit 13.

In addition, PET bottles are also available in a cylindrical shape containing 1.5 liters, and in addition, 800 cc and 50 liters.
There are various types such as 0cc, and their dimensions are various.
In this case, a bottle support that can be deformed in the width direction and the depth direction may be appropriately provided in the bottle holding unit 13 so that the center axis of the bottle is constant.

Since commercially available PET bottles have various diameters depending on their capacity, etc., in order to make the plug member 18 correspond to three or more kinds of diameters, mounting portions 22b and 22c corresponding to the respective diameters are formed. What is necessary is just to prepare two or more connection parts 22 which were done.

A display is provided on the front of the door 3 to inform the user that the plastic bottle 4 is empty.
When the display becomes empty, the display unit may display an empty display upon detection by appropriate detection means.

Next, a cooled beverage supply device 60 according to another example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The components having the same reference numerals as those of the above-described cooled beverage supply device 10 have the same configuration unless otherwise specified.

In the cooled beverage supply device 60, the upside-down PET bottles 4 arranged in the bottle holder 13 are arranged at an angle of about 15 ° in the front-rear direction with respect to the vertical line. That is, the bottle mouth is disposed so as to be located forward of the lower end of the bottle.

This PET bottle 4 is supported in the front-rear direction by bottle supports 62 and 64 disposed at the center thereof at the center thereof, and a bottle holder 64 made of a deformable leaf spring is mounted on the rear bottle support 64. 66 are arranged. The bottle holder 66 changes the amount of deformation depending on the thickness of the bottle, and supports PET bottles having different thicknesses so that the center axis thereof is at a fixed position. In addition, such a support mechanism may be applied in the width direction of the bottle holding unit 13,
In addition, if the method is applied in both the width direction and the front-rear direction, the above-described support effect is further ensured.

In the present apparatus 60, the liquid supply path 26 is
It is placed on a support member 70 provided separately from the above.
As shown in FIG. 12, the path main body 28 of the liquid supply path 26
Is formed with a convex portion 78 projecting upward from the bottom plate 29, and a pusher 34 slidable in a vertical direction is disposed through the convex portion 78, and the upper surface of the pusher 34 is A covering film-like seal rubber 80 is attached. The upper surface of the pusher 34 is attached to the lower surface of the seal rubber 80.

The beverage outlet portion 30 of the liquid supply route portion 26 is inclined downward and forward from the lower front end of the route portion main body 28, and penetrates through the door 3 by inclining downward from the inside toward the outside. 32. At the front end of the beverage outlet portion 30, a spout prevention portion 72 for regulating the outflow direction of the beverage downward to prevent the spouting of the beverage forward is provided substantially upright. The beverage can be satisfactorily poured into a container such as a cup arranged in the container.

As shown in FIG. 11, a beverage outlet portion 46 is formed at a portion where the beverage outlet portion 30 projects forward from the door 3, that is, the beverage outlet portion 46 projects into the area of the refrigerator compartment 2. Without being formed on the front surface of the flat door 3. Accordingly, a storage space 68 is secured below the bottle holding unit 13, that is, on the inner surface side of the door 3 behind the beverage extracting unit 46.

The protruding portion of the beverage outlet 30 is covered and protected by a cover 74 provided on the front surface of the door 3. On the front surface of the door 3, a valve 24 of the stopper member 18 is also provided.
Button 82 for opening and closing the beverage, and the beverage outlet 30
Tray support portion 84 for supporting the tray 48 arranged below the tray 48
And are arranged. A machine room 86 for opening and closing the valve 24 is provided below the support member 70 on the inner surface side of the door 3.

As shown in FIG. 12, the push button 82
A rubber member fitted in a hole that penetrates a plate member 88 disposed in front of the door 3, and is slidably disposed on a rear surface thereof in a through hole 90 that penetrates through the door 3 and reaches the machine room 86. A pusher 92 is attached. The rear end of the pusher 92 is in contact with a lever 94 which is rotatably mounted on a horizontal shaft 93 provided in the machine room 86. The lever 94 is connected to the pusher 9
2 abuts a hanging arm 94a and a working arm 94b extending rearward
And is urged to rotate clockwise in the figure by a spring (not shown). Also, the working arm 9
A pin 95 is formed to project from 4b. A transmission member 96 having an elongated hole engaged with the pin 95 and transmitting the rotation of the lever 94 to the upper pusher 34 is provided in the machine chamber 8.
6 and the supporting member 70 so as to be in contact with the lower surface of the pusher 34.

The plug member 18 is provided with a partition wall 50 for dividing the space above the valve 24 back and forth. When the plug member 18 is set in the liquid supply path section 26 as described above,
A guide that regulates the setting direction of the plug member 18 so that the partition wall 50 divides back and forth, that is, divides the upper space into the apex side and the bottom point side of the valve seat 20a arranged at an angle from the horizontal plane. The portion (not shown) is provided on the outer periphery of the body portion 20 of the plug member 18 and the guide rib 36 of the liquid supply path portion 26.

A sponge-like sealing member 97 is provided around the through hole 32 of the door 3, and a molded body heat insulating material 98 is provided therearound. It has been reduced as much as possible. In addition, the through hole 90 below it
A molded body heat insulating material 99 is arranged around.

In the present apparatus 60, when the cup C is pressed against the push button 82, as shown in FIG. 13, the pusher 92 at the rear thereof rotates the lever 94 counterclockwise in the figure to raise the transmission member 96 upward. Push up. Then, the transmission member 96 pushes up the pusher 34 thereabove, whereby the valve 24 is pushed up and the beverage in the plastic bottle 4 flows out into the liquid supply path section 26. This spilled beverage,
The beverage outlet portion 3 is formed by the inclination of the bottom surface 29 of the path portion main body 28.
It is led to 0 and poured into the cup C from its tip.

In the case of the present device 60, since the plastic bottle 4 is attached at an angle, it can be easily attached and detached. Also, the valve seat 20 of the plug member 18 is formed due to the inclination of the plastic bottle 4.
a is set in an inclined state, the air inflow from the valve seat 20a into the plastic bottle 4 when the valve 24 is opened is promoted, and the beverage can be stably and more than a certain amount (35c
c / sec or more).

Further, the beverage outlet portion 30 of the liquid supply route portion 26 is formed so as to be inclined forward from the route portion main body 28, so that the beverage take-out portion 46 does not need to be provided below the bottle holding portion 13. Thus, a storage space 68 can be secured below the bottle holding portion 13.

An air introduction pipe 54 as shown in FIG. 9 may be provided in place of the partition wall 50 of the plug member 18 described above.
It is not necessary to regulate the direction of the plug member 18 when setting the plug member 3.

[0077]

According to the cooling beverage supply apparatus of the present invention, a commercially available beverage container is used as it is, and the container is used as a beverage supply tank, and each container is updated with a new one. No scale or minerals adhere to the inner surface unlike a tank. Therefore, cleaning is easy and sanitary because tank cleaning is not required. In addition, since the beverage in the box can be taken out without opening and closing the door of the box, power consumption due to opening and closing of the door and the like can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a front view of a refrigerator 1 including a cooled beverage supply device 10 according to an example of an embodiment of the present invention,
(B) is a diagram showing the inner surface of the refrigerator compartment door 3.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the refrigerator 1.

FIG. 3 shows a cooled beverage supply device 1 in a beverage supply standby state.
0 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of the refrigerator 1 in a non-beverage supply state.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the plug member 18 in a beverage supply standby state.

FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of the stopper member 18 in a beverage supply state.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a plug member 18a as another configuration example of the plug member 18.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of a plug member 18b which is another configuration example of the plug member 18.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a plug member 18c as another configuration example of the plug member 18.

FIG. 10 shows a plug member 18d as another configuration example of the plug member 18.
FIG.

FIG. 11 shows a cooling supply beverage apparatus 6 according to another example of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a main part of a refrigerator provided with a zero.

FIG. 12 is a vertical sectional view of a main part of the cooled beverage supply device 60 in a beverage supply standby state.

FIG. 13 shows a beverage supply device 60 in a beverage supply state.
It is a principal part longitudinal cross-sectional view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 ... refrigerator compartment 3 ... door 4 ... PET bottle 10, 60 ... cooled beverage supply device 13 ... bottle holding part 14 ... movable bottom plate 18 ... stopper member 20a ... valve seat 22 ... connection part 22b .., 22c mounting part 24 valve 26 liquid supply path part 34 pusher 40 liquid supply lever 46 beverage outlet part 50 partition wall 82 push button 86 machine room 92 Pusher 94 ... Lever 96 ... Transmission member

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Koichiro Ochiai 1-6 Ota Toshiba-cho, Ibaraki-shi, Osaka Toshiba Abu E Co., Ltd. Osaka Office (56) References Japanese Utility Model Showa 56-47457 (JP, U) Actually open 50-1968 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F25D 25/00 F25D 11/00 102

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] 1. A cooled beverage supply device for cooling a commercially available beverage container such as water, juice, black tea, Japanese tea, etc. and supplying a beverage inside the beverage container, wherein the device is provided in a box having a cooling function. A container holding unit that holds the beverage container in a position capable of supplying the beverage therein, a beverage extracting unit provided on an outer surface side of the box, and the beverage extracting unit that is provided inside the box. A supply unit configured to supply a beverage from the beverage container held by the container holding unit to the beverage extracting unit; and a mouth of the beverage container attached to a mouth of the beverage container and held by the container holding unit. parts and the Ri Na more and plug member which connects the supply part, wherein the plug member is to restrict the outflow of the beverage of the beverage container
A torso portion, the torso portion being detachably disposed at one end of the torso portion;
A connection portion connecting the mouth portion of the beverage container, the connection portion having two attachment portions having different diameters,
The mounting portion is provided on one surface of the connecting portion, and the mounting portion having a small diameter is provided on the one surface of the connecting portion.
Formed on the other surface of the connection portion, when the large-diameter attachment portion is attached to the body, the
Attach the mouth of the beverage container to the small diameter mounting part,
When the mounting part is attached to the body,
Attach the mouth part of the beverage container to the attachment part, in front of the connection part
By changing the mounting direction with respect to the writing barrel, the plug
A cooled beverage supply device characterized in that the material can be attached to two types of beverage containers having different diameters . 2. The refrigerator according to claim 1 , wherein the container is a refrigerator, the container holding portion is provided on an inner surface side of the refrigerator door, the beverage extracting portion is provided on an outer surface side of the refrigerator door, and the supply portion is the stopper. A liquid supply path unit connected to a member and penetrating the door in and out; and a control unit that controls supply of the beverage in the beverage container to the liquid supply path unit, wherein the plug member is attached to and detached from the supply unit. The cooled beverage supply device according to claim 1, wherein the device is free. 3. The liquid supply path portion is disposed below the container holding portion, the beverage container is disposed in the container holding portion with its mouth directed downward, and the plug member is supplied with the supply member. 3. The cooled beverage supply device according to claim 2 , wherein the device is connected to a liquid path. 4. Commercially available water, juice, black tea, Japanese tea, etc.
Cooling the beverage container and supplying the beverage inside the beverage container
A cooled beverage supply device, which is provided on an inner surface side of a door in a refrigerator, and stores the beverage container therein.
A container holding unit for holding the beverage in a position capable of supplying the beverage, and a beverage outlet provided on the outer surface side of the refrigerator door, from which the beverage is taken out.
Charge take-out unit , provided in the refrigerator, and held in the container holding unit
A supply unit that supplies a beverage from the beverage container to the beverage extraction unit
Attached to the mouth of the beverage container and held in the container holder.
Connecting the mouth of the held beverage container and the supply unit
The supply unit is connected to the plug member and penetrates the door in and out.
A liquid supply path portion through which the liquid in the beverage container is supplied
A control unit for controlling supply to the path unit, wherein the plug member is detachable from the supply unit, the liquid supply path unit is disposed below the container holding unit, and the container holding unit includes: Beverage container with mouth down
Towards and then distributing it is inclined with respect to the vertical line, the plug
A cooling beverage supply device , wherein a member is connected to the liquid supply path . 5. Commercially available water, juice, black tea, Japanese tea, etc.
Cooling the beverage container and supplying the beverage inside the beverage container
A cooled beverage supply device, which is provided on an inner surface side of a door in a refrigerator, and stores the beverage container therein.
A container holding unit for holding the beverage in a position capable of supplying the beverage, and a beverage outlet provided on the outer surface side of the refrigerator door, from which the beverage is taken out.
Charge take-out unit , provided in the refrigerator, and held in the container holding unit
Supply unit for supplying before Symbol drink take-out portion of the beverage from the beverage container
Attached to the mouth of the beverage container and held in the container holder.
Connecting the mouth of the held beverage container and the supply unit
The supply unit is connected to the plug member and penetrates the door in and out.
A liquid supply path portion through which the liquid in the beverage container is supplied
A control unit for controlling supply to the path unit, wherein the plug member is detachable from the supply unit, the liquid supply path unit is disposed below the container holding unit, and the container holding unit includes: Beverage container with mouth down
And the plug member is connected to the liquid supply path portion.
A cooled beverage supply device , wherein the plug member is provided with a valve and a valve seat for regulating the outflow of the beverage in the beverage container, and the valve seat is inclined from a horizontal plane. 6. divides the inner space of the plug member in the longitudinal direction of the partition wall, the partition wall is perpendicular to a plane parallel to the vertex and the bottom point of the inclined valve seat to the center axis of the street and the plug member, The cooling beverage supply device according to claim 5 , wherein the cooling beverage supply device is arranged parallel to a center axis of the plug member. 7. Commercially available water, juice, black tea, Japanese tea, etc.
Cooling the beverage container and supplying the beverage inside the beverage container
A cooled beverage supply device, which is provided on an inner surface side of a door in a refrigerator, and stores the beverage container therein.
A container holding unit for holding the beverage in a position capable of supplying the beverage, and a beverage outlet provided on the outer surface side of the refrigerator door, from which the beverage is taken out.
Charge take-out unit , provided in the refrigerator, and held in the container holding unit
A supply unit that supplies a beverage from the beverage container to the beverage extraction unit
Attached to the mouth of the beverage container and held in the container holder.
Connecting the mouth of the held beverage container and the supply unit
The supply unit is connected to the plug member and penetrates the door in and out.
A liquid supply path portion through which the liquid in the beverage container is supplied
A control unit for controlling supply to the path unit, wherein the plug member is detachable from the supply unit, the liquid supply path unit is disposed below the container holding unit, and the container holding unit includes: Beverage container with mouth down
And the plug member is connected to the liquid supply path portion.
A shall, a movable plate provided between said container holding portion liquid supply path portion, when subjected to cooling beverage supply, make a movable plate vertically, the beverage container to the container holder Is held in a position in which the internal beverage can be supplied, and when not used for supplying a cooled beverage, the movable plate is tilted horizontally so that various storage items such as the beverage container can be stored on the movable plate. A cooled beverage supply device characterized by the following. 8. when not subjected to cooling the beverage supply, cooling beverage supply device according to claim 7, characterized in that said plug member has to be accommodated in said liquid supply path portion. 9. The door according to claim 2 , wherein said liquid supply path is detachably provided on said door from an inner surface side thereof .
The cooled beverage supply device according to any one of claims 8 to 13 . 10. The method according to claim 10, wherein the control unit has an operation unit fixed to the door, and the operation of the operation unit operates the stopper member to supply the beverage in the beverage container to the liquid supply path unit. The cooled beverage supply device according to claim 9 , wherein: Wherein said beverage container, according to claim 1 to 10, characterized in that the PET bottles is obtained by filling the beverage
The cooled beverage supply device according to any one of the above.