JP7146498B2 - BEVERAGE SUPPLY UNIT AND BEVERAGE SERVER INCLUDING THE SAME - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a beverage supply unit having a cooling function and a beverage server including the same.

Various beverage servers are known that have a cooling function.

For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses a beverage server using a beverage bottle (equivalent to a beverage container) such as a PET bottle. Generally, in a beverage server using such beverage bottles, the cold storage temperature is kept constant by covering the periphery of the bottle storage chamber with a heat insulating material (see FIGS. 1, 20, etc.). . In the beverage server of Patent Document 1, a cooler (corresponding to cooling means) is fixed to the side surface of the cooling support, and the cooling temperature of the cooler is detected by a temperature sensor (temperature measuring means). , the temperature is controlled so that the cooling temperature is almost constant and low (appropriate temperature for cold water).

JP 2010-083582 A

By the way, in the prior art, after the cooler and the temperature sensor are attached to the bottle storage chamber, the bottle storage chamber, the cooler, and the temperature sensor are all filled with a heat insulating material, and the bottle storage chamber, the cooler, and the temperature sensor are assembled. Integrally configured with a heat insulating material is performed.

However, the above-described prior art has a problem that when the cooler and/or the temperature sensor malfunctions, the heat insulating material becomes an obstacle and cannot be replaced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a beverage supply unit configured so that cooling means and temperature measuring means can be replaced while ensuring high cold insulation performance. and

In one aspect of the beverage supply unit according to the present invention, there is provided a container having a bottomed cooling container in which a beverage container containing a beverage is accommodated, the cooling container having an outer periphery covered with a heat insulating material, and the cooling container. and cooling means for cooling the beverage in the beverage container, and temperature measuring means for measuring the temperature of the beverage via the cooling pot, and the container exposes the cooling means and the temperature measuring means. It is divided so that it can be

According to the above configuration, the storage container is configured such that the outer periphery of the cooling kettle is covered with a heat insulating material, so that high cold insulation performance can be exhibited during use. Furthermore, since it is divided so that the cooling means and the temperature measuring means can be exposed, the cooling means and the temperature measuring means can be exposed and easily replaced.

In the beverage supply unit, the cooling means and the temperature measuring means may be attached to the outer surface of the bottom of the cooling kettle.

Thereby, the beverage supply unit 11 can be configured compactly.

The cooling means and the temperature measuring means may be arranged close to each other.

This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of temperature control of the cooling kettle.

The beverage supply unit may include a thermally conductive mounting base detachably fixed to the cooling pot, and a temperature measuring element as the temperature measuring means may be mounted on the mounting base.

This makes it possible to facilitate replacement of the temperature measuring element while ensuring the accuracy of temperature measurement by the temperature measuring element.

In the beverage supply unit, the cooling means is a Peltier element arranged so that the cooling surface is in contact with the cooling pot, and the container has an opening that exposes the heat generating surface of the Peltier element. may have.

By using the Peltier element as the cooling element in this way, the size of the beverage supply unit can be reduced.

In the beverage supply unit, the cooling pot is provided with a drain port for discharging water accumulated inside, and the storage container exposes the cooling means, the temperature measuring means and the drain port. may be divided so that

According to the above configuration, in addition to the cooling means and the temperature measuring means, for example, the drain attached to the drain port can be replaced.

One aspect of the beverage server according to the present invention comprises any one of the above beverage supply units.

According to the above configuration, high cold insulation performance can be exhibited during use, and the cooling means and temperature measuring means can be easily replaced.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The beverage supply unit of the present invention exhibits high cold storage performance during use, and the cooling means and temperature measuring means can be easily replaced.

Partially exploded perspective view of the beverage server seen from diagonally upper left front Partially exploded perspective view of the beverage server seen from diagonally upper right front Partially exploded perspective view of the beverage supply unit viewed obliquely from the front right side Partially exploded perspective view of the beverage supply unit as seen from the diagonally lower right rear side Partially exploded perspective view of the beverage supply unit as seen from the diagonally lower right rear side VV line sectional view of FIG. Partially exploded front view of beverage supply unit Partially exploded perspective view of the rear unit of the main unit as seen diagonally from the upper left front

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. The following description of preferred embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the invention, its scope or its uses.

-Beverage server configuration-
FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of the beverage server S viewed obliquely from the upper left front side, and shows a state in which a left panel 82 and an upper panel 81, which will be described later, are removed. FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the beverage server S viewed obliquely from the upper right front side, omitting a case 80 and support columns 72a to 72c and 73a to 73c, which will be described later.

The beverage server S of the present disclosure is provided with a plurality of pouring cocks 21 on the front side. abbreviated) is used to dispense beverages such as beer. The plurality of pouring cocks 21 are attached to openings (not shown) of beverage containers 23 (see FIG. 3) different from each other. Thereby, in the beverage server S of the present disclosure, different beverages are stored in each beverage container 23, so that a plurality of different beverages can be poured out from each pouring cock 21. FIG. In the following description, the top and bottom are defined based on the installation state of the beverage server S, and the side facing the user is defined as "front". Also, left and right are defined based on the front view seen from the front.

The beverage server S has a two-tap configuration, and two beverage supply units 11 arranged vertically are accommodated in the case 80 . In the following description, for convenience, the upper beverage supply unit is denoted by 11A and the lower beverage supply unit by 11B.

A support structure 70 is provided inside the case 80 to support the beverage supply units 11A and 11B.

Specifically, the support structure 70 includes a rectangular base 71 and three pairs of pillars 72a, 72b, 72c, 73a, and 73b erected at both ends of the base 71 in the left-right direction while being spaced apart in the front-rear direction. , 73c. For convenience of explanation, the left front column is denoted by 72a, the left middle column by 72b, and the left rear column by 72c. Similarly, the right front strut is denoted by 73a, the right middle strut by 73b, and the right rear strut by 73c. The support 72a and the support 73a have mutually mirror-symmetrical shapes, and are arranged so as to face each other while aligning their positions in the front-rear direction. Similarly, the struts 72b and 73b, and the struts 72c and 73c have mutually mirror-symmetrical shapes, and are aligned in the front-rear direction so as to face each other. Furthermore, the three struts 72a, 72b, and 72c (hereinafter also referred to as 72a to 72c) are aligned with each other in the horizontal direction, and the three struts 73a, 73b, and 73c (hereinafter also referred to as 73a to 73c) are aligned. ) are aligned with each other in the horizontal direction.

Support members 74a and 75a are provided on the three columns 72a to 72c so as to have different vertical height positions. Similarly, support members 74b and 75b are installed on the three columns 73a to 73c at different heights in the vertical direction. For convenience of explanation, the lower support members are denoted by 74a and 74b, and the upper support members are denoted by 75a and 75b. The support member 74a and the support member 74b are set to have the same height position, and the support member 75a and the support member 75b are set to have the same height position.

Each support member 74a, 74b, 75a, 75b extends vertically along the pillars 72a to 72c, 73a to 73c to which it is to be attached, and has its lower end bent inward. It has an L shape. Each of the support members 74a and 75a is installed between the three pillars 72a to 72c so as to be inclined downward from the front to the rear, and fixed with screws. Similarly, the support members 74b and 75b are installed between the three pillars 73a to 73c so as to incline obliquely downward from the front to the rear, and are fixed with screws.

With such a configuration, the support members 74a, 74b, 75a, and 75b can function as guides for the beverage supply units 11A and 11B when the beverage supply unit 11 is mounted, so assembly workability is high. Characteristic.

Between the beverage supply unit 11A on the upper side and the upper panel 81, a plate-shaped installation table 77 is provided that extends in the front-rear direction along the upper surface of the beverage supply unit 11A (the container 30). A power supply unit 61A that supplies power to the upper beverage supply unit 11A and a power supply unit 61B that supplies power to the lower beverage supply unit 11B are arranged side by side on the installation table 77 in the front-rear direction. Although the power supply units 61A and 61B are denoted by different reference numerals for convenience of explanation, the power supply unit 61 configured with common parts can be used.

With such an arrangement, the space can be effectively utilized, and the beverage server S can be made compact. Also, by installing the power source of the lower beverage supply unit 11B above the upper beverage supply unit 11A, it is possible to avoid the influence of water leakage from the beverage supply units 11A and 11B.

In summary, the support structure 70 comprises a rectangular base 71, three pairs of pillars 72a, 72b, 72c, 73a, 73b, 73c, support members 74a, 74b, 75a, 75b, and a mounting base 77. ing.

The case 80 is provided with left and right side panels 82 erected so as to face each other at both left and right ends of the base 71 . The upper ends of the side panels 82 are connected to the upper panel 81, the front ends to the front panel 83, and the rear ends to the rear panel 84, respectively. In other words, the case 80 is surrounded by a front panel 83 , both side panels 82 and a rear panel 84 .

The front panel 83 has a circular cutout at a position corresponding to the beverage dispensing portion 20 when the beverage supply unit 11 is attached. As a result, the beverage container 23 to which the beverage pouring part 20 is attached can be attached to or removed from the container 30 from the front side.

In addition, the beverage supply unit 11B on the lower side is arranged slightly behind the beverage supply unit 11A on the upper side, and has a configuration in which there is a difference in level in the front-rear direction between the upper and lower portions. As a result, when the beverage is poured from the upper beverage supply unit 11A into a mug or the like, the beverage pouring part 20 attached to the lower beverage supply unit 11B does not become an obstacle. Further, the front panel 83 is provided with a display section 64 composed of the aforementioned light-emitting element and switches 65 for various operations at the lower right portion of each beverage dispensing section 20 . The configurations of the display unit 64 and the switch 65 are the same as those of the conventional technology, and detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

-Beverage supply unit configuration-
Next, the configuration of the beverage supply unit 11 of this embodiment will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 3, the beverage supply unit 11 includes a beverage extraction unit 20, a container 30, a Peltier device 40, cooling fins 41, a fan 42, a power supply unit 61, a drive circuit 62, and a controller. 63.

The beverage container 23 is, for example, a bottomed cylindrical PET bottle (for example, made of resin), and the tip of the beverage container 23 is configured to allow the inside and outside of the beverage container 23 to communicate with each other so that the beverage can be filled and taken out. An opening (not shown) is formed.

The beverage pouring part 20 is used by the user to pour out the beverage into a glass or mug, and is attached to the tip of the beverage container 23 . The beverage pouring portion 20 includes a pouring cock 21, a pouring lever 22, and a lid portion 24 that closes an opening on the front side of the container 30, which will be described later.

As described above, the pouring cock 21 seals the opening of the beverage container 23 so as to be airtight and watertight. The pouring lever 22 is integrally attached to the upper side of the pouring cock 21, and switches between pouring out and stopping of the beverage guided through the pouring cock 21 according to the user's operation in the front-rear direction. .

The storage container 30 is a container in which the beverage container 23 is stored, and has a heat insulating structure that keeps the beverage in the stored beverage container 23 cool. Specifically, the storage container 30 includes a bottomed cooling pot 32 in which the beverage container 23 is stored, and a box-shaped storage container main body 31 in which the cooling pot 32 is stored.

As shown in FIG. 6, the cooling kettle 32 is made of a material having thermal conductivity, such as metal, and has an accommodation space 32r for accommodating the beverage container 23 therein.

The container main body 31 is a rectangular box body, and has a front wall 31a cut out in a circular shape. A heat insulating material 33 is filled between the container main body 31 and the cooling kettle 32 .

Then, when the beverage container 23 is inserted into the cooling pot 32 from the bottom side, the pouring lever 22 and the pouring cock 21 are exposed to the front side as described above, and the pouring lever 22 is operated and the pouring cock 21 is removed. It will be ready for pouring out beverages.

Returning to FIG. 3, the lid portion 24 is a substantially cylindrical heat insulating structure, and when the beverage container 23 is housed in the cooling kettle 32, a lock mechanism (not shown) provided on the lid portion 24 is opened. The beverage container 23 is locked and fixed to the container 30 by being locked inside the portion 31b. As a result, the inside and outside of the cooling kettle 32 are sealed airtight and watertight, and the temperature of the beverage in the beverage container 23 is less likely to change.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cooling cauldron 32 is configured to discharge water accumulated inside to a water receiver 88 via a drain 87 and a hose (not shown) connected to the drain 87 . Specifically, a drain port 32f for discharging water accumulated inside is provided on the lower surface of the bottom portion 32a of the cooling pot, and a drain 87 is attached thereto.

The housing container main body 31 is divided so that the rear unit 31c covering the cooling pot bottom 32a of the cooling pot 32 can be separated in the front-rear direction. By removing the body rear unit 31c, the Peltier element 40 as cooling means and the thermistor 50 as temperature measuring means can be exposed. In other words, it can be said that the container 30 is divided so that the Peltier element 40 and the thermistor 50 can be exposed. Similarly, since the drain port 32f is provided in the bottom portion 32a of the cooling kettle, it can be said that the container 30 is divided so that the drain port 32f and the drain 87 mounted thereon can be exposed. In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, a heat insulating material 38 is filled in the main body rear side unit 31c in the same manner as the container main body 31. As shown in FIG.

The Peltier element 40 is arranged on the outer surface 32b of the bottom of the cooling pot 32 so that the cooling surface 40a contacts the cooling pot 32, and is screwed and fixed from the inside of the cooling pot 32 using screws 36 (see FIG. 7). ing. By cooling the cooling pot bottom 32a of the cooling pot 32 with the Peltier element 40 in this manner, the beverage in the beverage container 23 accommodated in the accommodation container 30 is indirectly cooled to a predetermined cooling temperature.

Note that the cooling means is not limited to the Peltier element 40 . For example, a thermoelectric element other than the Peltier element 40 may be used, or a cooling element or cooling device other than the thermoelectric element may be used. Moreover, the fixing method of the Peltier element 40 is not limited to screwing, and other methods may be used.

As shown in FIG. 4, the body rear unit 31c is formed with an opening 31g that opens so as to expose the heat generating surface 40b (see FIG. 6) facing the cooling surface 40a (see FIG. 6) of the Peltier device 40. It is A cooling fin 41 is provided so as to come into contact with the heat generating surface 40b of the Peltier element 40 through the opening 31g. As a result, the heat transferred through the cooling fins 41 is discharged to the outside through the duct 43 (see FIG. 2) by the fan 42 (see FIG. 2) provided on the upper side of the cooling fins 41, so that the heat is radiated. It has become.

A heat insulating material 44 is attached to the Peltier element 40 so as to surround the periphery in the vertical and horizontal directions in order to prevent heat conduction between the front and rear directions. The heat insulating material 44 is configured so that it can be vertically separated at the center position in the vertical direction, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the heat insulating material 44 is vertically separated.

A mounting base 51 for mounting the thermistor 50 at a position adjacent to the Peltier element 40 is provided on the outer surface 32b of the cooling pot bottom 32a. The mounting base 51 is screwed and fixed from the inside of the cooling pot 32 using screws 37 (see FIG. 6). Although the material of the mounting base 51 is not particularly limited, it is preferably a material having heat conductivity, such as metal.

Moreover, the shape of the mounting base 51 is not particularly limited. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the mounting base 51 has a rectangular shape and an insertion portion 51a extending in the horizontal direction is provided at the center position in the vertical direction. The insertion portion 51a is formed to have a slightly larger outer diameter than the thermistor 50, and the thermistor 50 is inserted into the insertion portion 51a from right to left. The thermistor 50 may be inserted into the insertion portion 51a with grease (not shown) or the like applied to the periphery from the viewpoint of reducing friction with the insertion portion 51a and improving heat transferability.

As shown in FIG. 8, a recess 31f for fitting the cooling pot 32 is formed in the approximate center of the rear body unit 31c in the vertical and horizontal directions. An opening 31g is formed. Similarly, a recess 31h formed at a position corresponding to the mounting base 51 and a recess 31n formed at a position corresponding to the drain 87 are formed in the rear body unit 31c. Further, the body rear unit 31 c has lead wires (not shown) for transmitting temperature measurement signals from the thermistor 50 and lead wires (not shown) for supplying current to the Peltier element 40 . A concave portion 31m is formed for pulling out to the outside. Further, a lead wire guiding projection extending along the recess 31m is provided at a position corresponding to the recess 31m on the container body 31 side, from the viewpoint of guiding the lead wire and ensuring the airtightness of the inside of the recess 31m. A shaped portion 31d (see FIG. 5) is provided.

With the above configuration, when the main body rear side unit 31c is mounted, it is difficult to create a space between the cooling pot 32 and the main body rear side unit 31c, and the cold insulation effect of the cooling pot 32 can be enhanced. .

Returning to FIG. 2 , the power supply unit 61 is provided for each beverage supply unit 11 , is connected to a commercial power supply via an outlet (not shown), converts power, and supplies power to the drive circuit 62 .

The drive circuit 62 is a circuit that receives power supply from the power supply unit 61 and drives each component of the beverage supply unit 11 . In other words, the power supply unit 61 has a function of supplying power to each component of the beverage supply unit 11 including the controller 63 via the drive circuit 62 .

Controller 63 has the function of controlling the overall operation of beverage supply unit 11 . For example, the controller 63 controls the cooling temperature of the Peltier element 40 to a preset predetermined cooling temperature based on the temperature measured by the thermistor 50 . Although the predetermined cooling temperature can be set arbitrarily, it is, for example, a temperature of around 0°C to 5°C.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the Peltier element 40 and the thermistor 50 can be exposed by removing the main body rear unit 31c from the container main body 31, so that they can be replaced. Furthermore, workability is also very high.

For example, as a conventionally known method, a cooling kettle with a cooling means and a temperature measuring means attached is accommodated in a box-shaped container, and the entire cooling kettle is covered in the container. A method of filling with a heat insulating material is used. Then, the cooling means (e.g., Peltier element) and temperature measuring means (e.g., thermistor) are embedded in the heat insulating material, and it is almost impossible to replace the cooling means and temperature measuring means without breaking the container. However, the technology of the present disclosure does not.

Furthermore, since the Peltier element 40 and the thermistor 50 are attached to the outer surface 32b of the cooling pot bottom 32a, the beverage supply unit 11 can be made compact, and the beverage server S can be made compact. Furthermore, when a plurality of beverage supply units 11 are arranged vertically or horizontally in the case 80 of the beverage server S, the heat generating portion of the Peltier element is concentrated in one place (for example, the rear side of the case 80). , the heat dissipation structure (for example, the structure of a fan or duct) can be made compact and effective in cooling.

Moreover, since the Peltier element 40 and the thermistor 50 are arranged close to each other, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the temperature control of the cooling pot.

In the above embodiment, the Peltier element 40 and the thermistor 50 are attached to the outer surface 32b of the bottom 32a of the cooling kettle, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, at least one of the Peltier element 40 and the thermistor 50 may be attached to the side wall of the cooling kettle 32 . In this case, in addition to or instead of the main body rear unit, the container main body 31 corresponding to the side wall portion of the cooling pot 32 is divided so that the Peltier element 40 and the thermistor 50 can be exposed. good. For example, when the cooling pot 32 is produced through a drawing process, the cooling pot bottom 32a is easier to attach the Peltier element 40 to and has higher thermal conductivity because the side surfaces of the cooling pot 32 are curved.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The beverage server according to the present invention has a high degree of freedom in changing the types of beverages that can be supplied, so it is extremely useful as a server for beverages such as beer used in restaurants and the like.

A Beverage server 11 Beverage supply unit 30 Container 31g Opening 32 Cooling pot 32a Cooling pot bottom 33 Heat insulating material 40 Peltier element (cooling means)
50 thermistor (temperature measuring means)
51 mounting base

Claims (8)

A storage container having a bottomed cooling pot in which a beverage container for holding a beverage is accommodated, and the outer periphery of the cooling pot is covered with a heat insulating material;
a cooling means mounted in contact with the outer bottom surface of the cooling pot and covered with the heat insulating material to cool the beverage in the beverage container;
A temperature measuring means for measuring the temperature of the beverage via the cooling kettle,
The heat insulating material of the container includes a rear heat insulating material that covers the bottom of the cooling pot and the side surface of the cooling means and is separable from the container, and the rear heat insulating material is separated from the container. A beverage supply unit, wherein the cooling means and the temperature measuring means are exposed when the beverage supply unit is closed. A beverage dispensing unit according to claim 1,
A beverage supply unit, wherein the cooling means and the temperature measuring means are attached to the outer surface of the bottom of the cooling kettle. 3. A beverage dispensing unit according to claim 1 or 2,
A beverage supply unit, wherein the cooling means and the temperature measuring means are arranged close to each other. A beverage dispensing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A thermally conductive mounting base detachably fixed to the cooling kettle,
A beverage supply unit, wherein a temperature measuring element as the temperature measuring means is attached to the mounting base. A beverage dispensing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The cooling means is a Peltier element arranged so that the cooling surface contacts the cooling kettle,
A beverage supply unit, wherein the container has an opening that opens to expose a heat generating surface of the Peltier element. A beverage dispensing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A conducting path is formed in the housing container for drawing out conducting wires connected to the cooling means and the temperature measuring means, and the conducting path can be exposed in addition to the cooling means and the temperature measuring means. A beverage dispensing unit, characterized in that it is divided into A beverage dispensing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The bottom of the cooling pot is provided with a drain port for discharging water accumulated inside,
A drain whose outer periphery is covered with the heat insulating material is connected to the drain outlet,
The drain is pulled out of the container along a boundary between the rear heat insulating material and the other part of the heat insulating material so that the drain is exposed when the rear heat insulating material is separated from the container. A beverage supply unit characterized by comprising : Beverage server comprising a beverage supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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