JP3249229B2 - Vending machine tea cooking method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for cooking tea in a vending machine such as black tea and green tea sold in a cup-type vending machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a method of cooking tea or the like in a cup-type vending machine, a predetermined amount of tea leaves and hot water are put into a mixing ball (stirring vessel), and then the extract of the tea leaves is poured into hot water. And finally, the stirring is stopped and the extract (tea) containing the leaves of the black tea is allowed to flow down from the mixing bowl to a tea strainer (for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-45106). .

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

[0003] In such a conventional tea cooking method of a vending machine, the tea leaves and the hot water are agitated even after the tea leaves and the hot water are blended together. After the tea leaves are mixed with the hot water, which is a method of putting black tea, a slightly unnatural method different from the method of dissolving the tea leaf extract in the hot water is used. For this reason, in addition to the extract of the tea leaves constituting the taste of the black tea, the astringency of the tea leaves is also extracted, and there is a problem that the taste of the original black tea beverage is impaired.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and can provide a tea beverage having an original good taste, and an automatic beverage in which tea leaves hardly remain in a stirring container after pouring. Its purpose is to provide a method of cooking tea for vending machines.

[0005]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, tea leaves and hot water or water are charged into a stirring vessel having a spout at the bottom, and the tea leaves are filled with hot water or water. A first step of stirring in a vortex state until adaptation, and a second step of stopping the stirring and stopping the mixture of tea leaves and hot water or water until the tea leaf extract is extracted into the hot water or water. And the extract mixed with the tea leaves is re- mixed in a vortex.
A third step of pouring from a spout into a lower tea strainer.

[0006]

[Effect] The tea leaves and hot water or water put in the stirring vessel
After mixing and stirring in a vortex state , this mixture is allowed to stand still, so that only the extract necessary for taste from tea leaves can be dissolved in hot water or water, as in the original method of putting tea. . In addition, the extract mixed with tea leaves is swirled.
By pouring into the lower tea strainer from the spout while re-stirring in the state, the tea leaves that have settled in the stirring vessel in a stationary state can be sufficiently mixed with the extract, and during this time, the spout is opened. Even when the tea leaves are fully opened, the extract mixed with the tea leaves can be held in the stirring vessel by centrifugal force generated by re- stirring in a vortex state . Then, at the same time as the stirring is stopped, the extract mixed with the tea leaves can flow down from the spout into the tea strainer at the same time, and furthermore, on the vortex.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a tea cooking method according to an embodiment of the present invention; In this vending machine, tea prepared in the vending machine can be provided to a product purchaser in a cup. FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a tea cooking section. As shown in FIG. 1, the cooking unit 1 includes a stirrer 2 for mixing tea leaves and hot water to produce black tea as an extract, and a mixing ball (stirring vessel) of the stirrer 2.
3. A filter container (tea strainer) 4 for separating tea leaves and black tea flowing down from 3 and a spout 5 of the mixing ball 3 are opened and closed, and the tea husk (extracted tea leaves) remaining in the filter container 4 And a control device 7 for controlling the operation of the stirring device 2 and the processing device 6. As shown in FIG. 2, the devices 2, 4, and 6 are supported by a chassis 8 provided so as to sandwich the devices 2, 4, and 6 from both sides (front and back of the drawing). ing.

The stirrer 2 is composed of a mixing ball 3 and a stirrer 9. In the mixing ball 3, black tea leaves from a black tea supply container 10 (see FIG. 2) and hot water from a hot water tank (shown in FIG. 2). (Omitted) These are supplied respectively, and these are stirred by the stirrer 9. Mixing ball 3
Is a resin container 21 having an overflow portion 21a formed on the upper portion, a hopper-like attachment 22 fitted to a lower portion of the resin container 21, and a rubber which is attached to a lower portion of the attachment 22 and constitutes a spout 5 of the mixing ball 3. And a valve seat 23 made of stainless steel. The resin container 21
It has a special buttocks-like shape so that good agitation of the tea leaves and hot water and good pour out of the tea including the tea leaves can be performed.

The stirrer 9 has a structure in which a stirring blade 26 and a cap-shaped member 27 are fixed to a lower end of a drive shaft 25 suspended from a stirring motor 24. The cap-shaped member 27 disposed above the stirring blade 26 creates a vortex suitable for stirring, and is rotated together with the stirring blade 26. The stirring motor 24 is
As will be described later, the control device 7 rotates at a predetermined timing for a predetermined time. Reference numeral 28 in the drawing denotes a bearing that rotatably supports the drive shaft 25, and the drive shaft 25 is supported by the bearing 28 only at one upper end.

[0010] The filter container 4 has a tea husk pool 31 at the top.
Is formed at the lower end of the tea husk pool 31.
The filter 32 is stretched so as to form the bottom surface of the filter 32. The front end (left end in the figure) of the tea husk pool 31 is open, and the tea husks scraped out by the processing device 6 fall from the front end of the filter container 4 to a lower tea husk container (not shown). . A flow outlet 33 is formed at the lower front end of the filter container 4, and the bottom surface of the filter container 4 is inclined downward toward the flow outlet 33. The black tea (extracted liquid) from which the tea husks have been removed by the filter 32 is supplied to the cup from the downflow port 33 and is provided to the product purchaser in a state where the cup is filled.

The processing device 6 includes a fan-shaped valve operating member 12 having a valve body 11 attached to and separated from a valve seat 23 of the mixing ball 3, and a wiper 1 for scraping a tea shell on a filter 32.
Arm 14, to which the valve operating member 3 is attached, a connecting link 15 to which the valve operating member 12 and the bending arm 14 are connected, and a crank disk 16 for cranking the connecting link 15
And a processing motor 17 for rotating the crank disk 16. When the processing motor 17 rotates,
The connecting link 15 is moved forward and backward by the crank disk 16, whereby the valve operating member 12 and the bending arm 14 operate at a desired timing, and the spout 5 of the mixing ball 3 is opened and closed by the valve body 11, respectively. , Wiper 13
Thus, the tea husks on the filter 32 are scraped out.

The valve operating member 12 is formed by bending a pair of fan-shaped side plates at a connecting plate portion, and is rotatably supported by a fixed shaft 41 extending between the chassis 8 at the upper center of both side plates. I have. A connecting rod 42 whose both ends are fixed to both side plates of the valve operating member 12 is provided below the front end of the valve operating member 12, and a pair of support members whose both ends are connected by pins 43 to the connecting rod 42. The arm 44 is fixed. The valve element 11 is rotatably attached to an intermediate portion of the pin 43.

The valve body 11 is formed in a spherical shape with resin or the like, and is attached to the pin 43 in a skewered manner. Also,
The valve body 11 and the pin 43, the pin 43 and the support arm 44, and the support arm 44 and the connecting rod 42 are loosely attached to each other, and a part of the spherical surface of the valve body 11 is a valve seat of the mixing ball 3. When the valve body 11 comes into contact with the valve body 23, the valve body 11 escapes so as to coincide with the valve seat 23, and the close contact state (valve closing) between the valve body 11 and the valve seat 23 is ensured.

On the other hand, a long groove 45 is formed along the circular arc in the lower circular arc portion of both side plates of the valve operating member 12, is bridged between the long grooves 45, and is slidable in the long groove 45. Is connected to the connecting shaft 18. The connecting shaft 18 is fixed to the bending arm 14 at both ends, and the front end of the connecting link 15 is rotatably attached to the intermediate portion. A coil spring 46, one end of which is fixed to the chassis 8, is hung on the upper end of both side plates of the valve operating member 12, and the valve operating member 12 is moved clockwise in FIG. Biased in the direction.

The bending arm 14 rotates a first arm 51 rotatably attached to the fixed shaft 41 of the valve operating member 12 and a second arm 52 to which the wiper 13 is attached, by a connecting shaft 53. It is movably connected and configured.
A torsion spring 54 whose both ends are hung on the first arm 51 and the second arm 52, respectively, is wound around the connection shaft 53, and the torsion spring 54
Are biased in the direction of pressing the filter 32.

The connecting shaft 18 is fixed to an intermediate portion of the first arm 51. When the connecting link 15 advances with the crank movement, the first arm 51 is connected via the connecting shaft 18. While rotating forward, the second arm 52 moves forward with the wiper 13 pressed against the filter 32. Thereby, the tea husk on the filter 32 is removed. On the other hand, when the connecting link 15 starts to retreat,
A roller 55 provided on the second arm 52 back to back with the wiper 13 is guided by a guide protrusion (not shown) of the chassis 8 to separate the wiper 13 upward from the filter 32 in the rear position. Lead to. That is, the wiper 1
Numeral 3 moves forward on the filter 32 at the time of forward movement, moves away from the filter 32 at the time of backward movement, and retreats. The tea leaves are scraped out at the time of forward movement, but not scraped at the time of backward movement.

The connecting link 15 has a front end rotatably mounted on the connecting shaft 18 and a rear end rotatably mounted on a side edge of the crank disk 16. The front end is a long groove 45 of the valve operating member 12.
It is designed to perform the crank movement regulated by the above. That is, as described later in detail, the front end of the connecting link 15 is restricted by the long groove 45 of the valve operating member 12, or when engaged with the rear end of the long groove 45, the front end of the connecting link 15 is fixed to the fixed shaft 41 of the valve operating member 12. It is regulated and moved forward and backward.

The crank disk 16 is rotated in one direction (clockwise direction in the figure) by the rotation of the processing motor 17, and the rotation angle is fixed to the first supporting plate 61 of the processing motor 17.
By the detection switch 62 and the second detection switch 63,
Is to be detected. For this reason, a first cam groove 64 and a second cam groove 65 such that the respective switch ends of the first and second detection switches 62 and 63 fall into two positions on the outer peripheral surface of the crank disk 16. It is formed out of phase. While the switch ends of the respective detection switches 62 and 63 fall into the corresponding cam grooves 64 and 65, the respective detection switches 62 and 63 are ON, and are turned OFF when they come out of the respective cam grooves 64 and 65. Then, the detection signal is output to the control device 7, and the processing motor 17 is stopped. As will be described later in detail, when the first detection switch 62 is turned off, the valve opening operation is stopped, and when the second detection switch 63 is turned off, the scraping operation of the tea husk is stopped.

The control device 7 is composed of a microcomputer or the like, and controls the timing and the operation time of the feeding of the tea leaves, the feeding of the hot water and the driving of the stirring device 2 which are respectively set according to the type of the tea leaves. Control. On the other hand, the start timing of the processing device 6 and the first and second
The stop of the processing device 6 by the two detection switches 62 and 63 is controlled.

Here, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, the control operation of the whole apparatus and the accompanying procedure for cooking tea will be described with time.

When the control is started from the initial position shown in FIG.
And the supply of hot water from the hot water tank to the mixing tank 3 is started at the same time. At the same time, the stirring motor 24, that is, the stirring blade 26 starts rotating,
Even after the addition of the tea leaves is completed and then the addition of the hot water is completed, stirring is performed until the both are adjusted (the stirring step in FIG. 3). When the stirring blade (stirring motor) 26 stops rotating, it waits for a while and waits for the tea leaf extract to dissolve in the hot water. During this time, the leaves of the black tea sink slowly (extraction step).

When the extraction of the tea leaf extract is completed, the rotation of the stirring blade 26 is started again, and at the same time, the processing motor 17 of the processing device 6 starts rotating. By the start of the rotation of the processing motor 17, the first detection switch 62 falls into the first cam groove 64 of the crank disk 16, and the first detection switch 62 is turned on.

When the processing motor 17 starts rotating, the crank disk 16 rotates, and the valve operating member 12 and the bending arm 14 are pulled rearward through the connecting link 15. That is, the connection shaft 18 connected to the front end of the connection link 15 is engaged with and held by the rear end of the long groove 45 of the valve operating member 12, and when the connection link 15 moves rearward, Both the valve operating member 12 and the bending arm 14 are rotated rearward (counterclockwise in the drawing) against the coil spring 46. As a result, the valve element 11 comes off the valve seat 23 of the mixing ball 3, and the spout 5 of the mixing ball 3 is opened. At this time, since the extract (black tea) containing the leaves of the black tea is being stirred, it is held in the mixing ball 3 by the centrifugal force accompanying the stirring and does not flow down onto the filter 32 (valve opening step).

When the rotation of the crank disk 16 advances and the connecting link 15 reaches the rear dead center position, the first detection switch 62 is turned off, and at the same time, the processing motor 17 is stopped. Stop in the state of 2 (b). Then, a little after the stop of the processing motor 17, the stirring motor 24 is stopped. By stopping the stirring, the extract in a vortex state including the leaves of the black tea flows down from the spout 5 onto the filter 32 at once. Here, while the extract containing the tea leaves completely flows down from the mixing ball 3,
Wait for the time for draining the tea husk on the filter 32 (separation step).

When the draining is completed, the rotation of the processing motor 17 is started again. The start of rotation of the processing motor 17 causes the second detection switch 63 to move the crank disk 16
And the second detection switch 63 is turned on.

When the processing motor 17 resumes rotation, the connecting arm 15 pushes the bending arm 14 forward (clockwise in the drawing), and the valve operating member 12
Due to the biasing force of (1), the shaft rotates forward (clockwise in the figure) while maintaining the engagement state with the connecting shaft 18. In this state, the wiper 13 advances on the filter 32 and gradually scrapes the tea husk. Wiper 13 is filter 3
When the valve body 11 is moved to a position just before the intermediate position of No. 2, the valve body 11
And the rotation of the valve operating member 12 is regulated (stopped).
When the connecting link 15 moves forward, the connecting shaft 18 is guided by the long groove 45 of the valve operating member 12, and only the bending arm 14 is pushed forward by the connecting link 15. When the rotation of the crank disk 16 advances and the connecting link 15 reaches the front dead center position, as shown in FIG.
1 is overrun to completely scrape the tea husk (processing step).

When the rotation of the crank disk 16 further advances, the connecting link 15 is guided in the opposite direction by the long groove 45 of the valve operating member 12 to move the bending arm 14 backward. At this time, the roller 55 of the bending arm 14 is
The wiper 13 is moved rearward while being separated from the filter 32 by being guided by the guide projections. Further, the rotation of the crank disk 16 advances, and the connection shaft 18
However, when it comes short of contacting the rear end of the long groove 45 of the valve operating member 12, the second detection switch 63 is turned off, and at the same time, the processing motor 17 is stopped.
Stop in the state of. That is, it returns to the original position (return step).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, after the tea leaves and the hot water are mixed by stirring, the stirring is stopped to stop the stirring, and the tea leaf extract is easily dissolved in the hot water. Therefore, a method similar to the original method of adding black tea can be employed, and black tea with a good taste without astringency can be provided. In addition, when an extract (tea) containing black tea leaves is allowed to flow down to the filter container 4, a vortex state
When the stirring is stopped, that is, when the valve seat 11 is fully opened, the extraction including the leaves of the black tea is performed. The liquid can flow down at once.
Therefore, the leaves of the black tea hardly remain in the mixing ball 3, the rinsing becomes easy, and the mixing ball 3 can be kept hygienic.

On the other hand, since the mixing ball 3 is opened and closed by the valve body 11, the above-mentioned extraction step can be provided in the black tea cooking step.
1 and the wiper 13 are skillfully linked by the link mechanism (processing device 6), so that the valve body 11 and the wiper 13 can be operated with a single drive source (processing motor 17) at a good timing. it can. In addition, in this link mechanism, since the valve element 11 rotates and opens and closes the valve seat 23 of the mixing ball 3, the extract containing the flowing black tea leaves does not hit the valve element 11, and the valve element 23 does not. There is no black leaf sticking to 11 or the extract scattered outside the filter 32. In this link mechanism, the valve element 1
Since the wiper 1 and the wiper 13 are moved (rotated) in the same direction, they do not interfere with each other, and the entire apparatus can be made compact. Further, since the valve body 11 is spherical and is loosely attached to the valve operating member 12, the valve body 11 is in good contact with the valve seat 11, and the mixing ball 3 can be made leak-free.

In the present embodiment, the required time for each step is not particularly specified, because the required time is slightly different depending on the type of tea leaves as the raw material and the temperature of the hot water used. This is because it should be determined empirically as appropriate. Also, in this embodiment, black tea has been described,
It goes without saying that it can be applied to other green tea and the like.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the mixture is allowed to stand still after the tea leaves and hot water or water are agitated and blended, so that the original tea leaves can be removed from the tea leaves. Only extracts necessary for taste can be dissolved in hot water or water, and a good-tasting tea without astringency can be provided. In addition, since the extract mixed with the tea leaves is poured into the lower tea filter while stirring again in a vortex state, the tea leaves remaining and adhering to the stirring vessel are removed. Reduce the amount
As a result of which container rinsing is easier.
In addition, the inside of the stirring vessel can be kept hygienic.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram of a cooking unit of a cup-type vending machine to which a tea cooking method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a method of cooking tea according to the embodiment together with the movement of a cooking unit.

FIG. 3 is a time chart showing a method (control) of cooking black tea in an embodiment in a step-by-step manner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cooking part 2 Stirrer 3 Mixing ball 4 Filter container 5 Spout 6 Processing device

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-5-81544 (JP, A) JP-A-2-105994 (JP, A) JP-A-63-794 (JP, A) JP-A-61-1986 119142 (JP, A) Fully open 63-171879 (JP, U) Fully open 62-3630 (JP, U) Fully open 62-47323 (JP, U) Fully open 61-177546 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G07F 13/00-15/12 G06F 17/60-17/60 124 G06F 17/60 126 G06F 17/60 128-128 G06F 17/60 234 G06F 17/60 300-342 G06F 17/60 414 G06F 17/60 500-19/00 140 G06F 19/00 600 A47J 31/00-31/60 A23L 2/00-2/40 A23F 3/00-5 / 50

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first step in which tea leaves and hot water or water are charged into a stirring vessel having a spout at a bottom portion, and the tea leaves are stirred in a vortex state until the hot water or water is adjusted. Stop stirring, mix tea leaves and hot water or water,
A second step of leaf extract of tea is still to be extracted in hot water or water, re while stirring the mixed extract of leaves of the tea in the vortex state
And a third step of pouring from the spout into a lower tea strainer.