JPS6016211B2 - Semi-frozen beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention is capable of supplying syrup liquid in a syrup tank and water in a water storage tank controlled to a predetermined level by opening and closing a water supply valve to a predetermined level by a water level control device to cool the cylinder. In a semi-frozen beverage dispenser for producing semi-frozen beverages, the present invention particularly relates to a circuit for defrosting the product in the freezing cylinder and cleaning the water storage tank.

When dispensing products in this type of dispenser, it is necessary to maintain the product in a good condition in the refrigeration cylinder at all times in preparation for dispensing.

However, if the product supply is cut off and the machine is on standby for a long time, ice particles may combine with each other to form large ice souls, making it impossible to supply the product. On the other hand, if the water in the water storage tank stays for a long time, there is a great danger that it may become favorable conditions for microbial growth. In view of the above-mentioned problems that occur when the machine is in a product supply stop state for a long time, the present invention defrosts the product if necessary by operating a switch before starting supply, thereby ensuring smooth product supply. The purpose is to improve the hygiene of water storage tanks by automatically cleaning them. An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram of a semi-frozen beverage dispenser embodying the present invention, and 1 is a syrup tank in which syrup liquid is stored, which is connected to the suction side of a pump device 3 via a syrup valve 2. . Reference numeral 4 denotes a water storage tank for storing water supplied when the water supply valve 5 is opened, and a drain pipe 7 with a drain valve 6 interposed therebetween is connected to the bottom, and a water outlet is connected to the suction side of the pump device 3. The discharge side of 3 is connected to a refrigeration cylinder 9 via a relay tank 8.

A raw material supply pressure switch that indirectly senses the internal pressure state of the freezing cylinder 9 by being connected to the relay tank 8 controls supply and stop of the syrup liquid and water to the freezing cylinder 9.

11 is an evaporation pipe wound around the outer surface of the freezing cylinder 9;
12 is an electric compressor of the refrigeration system, 13 is a cooling valve, and 14 is a condenser.

15 is a hot gas valve interposed between the cooling valve 13 and the bypass pipe of the condenser 14.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a hawk device for hawking the product, to which the rotational force of the drive device is transmitted via a torque coupling 17.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a limit switch that controls the cooling operation based on the viscosity of the product, and the contact is turned ON and OFF by the movement of the torque coupling 17 caused by the torque of the flywheel device 16.
F.

19 is a service cock for taking out the product.

FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the water storage tank 4, in which an upper reed switch 23 and a lower reed switch 24, which open and close contacts by floating and sinking a float 22 containing a permanent magnet 21, are arranged in a standpipe 25. This is a water level control device consisting of:

Next, referring to FIG. 3, a specific configuration of the electric circuit of the present invention will be explained.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a motion operation switch having cooling contacts 26A and 26A2 and defrosting and cleaning contacts 26B and 26&; when switched to the cooling contacts 26A and 26, the position is maintained, and the defrosting and cleaning contacts 26B and When switched to 26B2, it is configured to automatically return to the normal position.

Reference numeral 27 indicates the drive motor for the Rokuyo installation 16, 12 indicates the electric compressor, 28 indicates the high/low pressure switch, 18 indicates the limit switch, 13 indicates the cooling valve, 29 indicates the cooling indicator lamp,
15 is the hot gas valve, 3 river thawing indicator lamps, 31
32 is a first relay, and 32 is a thermostat that detects the temperature of the freezing cylinder 9, and its contacts are closed when the set temperature is 7° C. or lower.

31a and 31a2 are normally open first relay contacts, 31b
1 is the normally closed first relay contact, 10 is the raw material supply pressure switch, 3 is the pump device, 2 is the syrup valve, 23
is the upper reed switch, 33 is the second relay, 24 is the lower reed switch, 34 is the third relay, and 35 is an indicator lamp connected through the regular third relay bushing point 34a. This is to display this when cleaning.

5 is the water supply valve connected via the normally closed fourth relay contact 36b and the normally open second relay contact 33b; 6 is the drain valve connected via the normally closed fourth relay contact 36a; 3;
6 is the fourth relay connected via the normally closed fifth relay contact 37b.
Relay, 37a is a normally open fifth relay contact, 38 is a manual open/close switch that is operated when cleaning is not required, 34
a2 is the normally open third relay contact, 39 is the timer, 39A
is the first timer point, the circuit is closed after a first time (to be described later) has elapsed, and the win is won normally after a second time has elapsed.

39B is a second timer contact, which opens immediately after the timer 39 is started, and opens at the same time as the first timer contact 39A closes to normal.

37 is a fifth relay, and 37h is a self-holding contact of the fifth relay 37.

Note that this circuit diagram shows a state in which water is stored at a predetermined level in the water storage tank 4. Next, the operation of the present invention will be explained.

When the power is turned on, first turn the operation switch 26 to the cooling contact 26A.
, and 26A2. As a result, the electric compressor 12 and the cooling valve 13 operate, and the cooling indicator lamp 2
9 lights up. Also, the pump device 3 and the syrup valve 2 are operated via the normally closed first relay contact 31b, and the syrup liquid in the syrup tamp 1 and the water in the water storage tank 4 are supplied to the freezing cylinder 9 via the relay tank 8. . When the raw material supply pressure switch 10 senses that a predetermined amount of the mixture of syrup and water has been supplied to the freezing cylinder 9, the pump device 3 and the syrup valve 2 are made inoperable and the supply of the syrup and water is stopped. The mixed liquid supplied to the freezing cylinder 9 is cooled appropriately and is twisted in a rope waving device 16 to become a semi-frozen beverage in the form of fine snow. As the cooling operation progresses, the viscosity of the product gradually increases, so the torque coupling 17 moves rearward to close the limit switch 18. Then, the cooling valve 13 becomes inoperable, stopping the circulation of refrigerant, and as a result, the low pressure side of the electric compressor 12 drops rapidly, opening the low pressure side contact of the high/low pressure switch 28, and making the electric compressor 12 inoperable. . When the viscosity of the product decreases again, the torque coupling 17 returns to its normal state and closes the limit switch 18, so that the cooling operation is restarted. In this way, the cooling operation is appropriately controlled by opening and closing the limit switch 18 based on the viscosity of the product, so that the product in the freezing cylinder 9 is maintained in a good condition. Note that when the product is supplied from the service cock 19 and the internal pressure of the freezing cylinder 9 decreases, the raw material supply pressure switch 10 senses this and replenishes the syrup liquid and water to the freezing cylinder 9. The above is a description of the normally performed raw material supply operation and cooling operation.

By the way, the supply of products will be cut off for a long time from the end of the previous day's sale until the start of the next day's sale. It is not desirable for product preservation to completely stop the cooling operation during this time, and the current situation is that the cooling operation is controlled as described above. However, if the cooling operation is performed while the product supply is cut off for a long period of time, the ice particles will become large, as described above, and it will sometimes become impossible to restart the product supply. Furthermore, microorganisms actively breed in the water storage tank 4, resulting in unsanitary conditions. This is where the defrosting and cleaning circuit of the present invention comes into play, and its detailed operation will be explained below. When the operation switch 26 is closed to the defrost/clean contacts 26B and 26&, if the thermostat 32 senses a cylinder temperature of 7°C or less and closes the contact, the first relay is activated via the lower defrost/clean contact 26B2. 31 is energized to close and close the normally connected first relay contacts 31a and 31a2.

Therefore, even if the operation switch 26 automatically returns and the thawing/cleaning contact 26B2 opens, the first relay 31 is self-held via the normally connected first relay contact 31a2, so the normally connected first relay 31
The hot gas valve 15 opens via the relay support point 31a2,
The electric compressor 12 operates via the normally open first relay contacts 31a2 and 31a. This causes hot gas to flow through the evaporation pipe 11 to heat the freezing cylinder 9 and thaw the product. This thawing operation is performed when the thermostat 32 is set at 700°C.
It ends when a higher temperature is detected. On the other hand, the upper decompression
The fourth relay 36 is energized via the cleaning contact 26B, thereby opening the normally open fourth relay contact 36a.

Therefore, even if the upper thawing/cleaning contact 268 is connected, the fourth
The relay 36 has a normally open fourth relay contact 36a and a normally closed fifth relay contact 36a.
It is self-held via relay contact 37b. As a result, the drain valve 6 opens via the normally open fourth relay contact 36a, and the water in the water storage tank 4 is drained from the drain pipe 7. As a result, the upper switch 23 is first turned off, the excitation of the second relay 33 is released, and the normally closed second relay contact 33b is closed, but since the normally closed fourth relay contact 36b is open, the water supply valve 5 will not open and water will not be supplied. When the water level further decreases, the lower switch 24 closes and closes, the third relay contact 34 becomes energized, and the normal third relay contacts 34a and 34a2 close and close. This causes the indicator lamp 35 to light up to indicate that cleaning is in progress. On the other hand, the normally closed fourth relay contact 36a, which is closed at this time, and the normally closed third relay contact 34a.
A timer 39 is started via 2. timer 39
Immediately after the start of , the second timer contact 39B closes. This is to prevent the power supply to the timer 39 from being cut off midway when the lower switch 24 is activated, the third relay 34 is de-energized, and the regular third relay contact 34a2 is opened. This is provided to cut off the power to the timer 39 when the timer 39 is activated. Further, the first time from when the timer 39 starts to when the first timer contact 39A opens is set to a time at which the water in the water storage tank 4 will be almost completely drained. Therefore, when the first timer contact 39A closes, the water in the water storage tank 4 is almost completely drained. (first mode).
When the first timer contact 39A opens, the fifth relay 3 passes through the second timer contact 39B and the first timer contact 39A.
7 is excited and closes the normally connected fifth relay contact 37a, and the fifth relay 37 is self-held via the self-holding contact 37h.

As a result, the excitation of the fourth relay 36 is released, the normally open fourth relay contact 36a is removed, and the normally closed fourth relay contact 36 is removed.
In order to open the circuit b, the water supply valve 5 opens via the normally closed fourth relay contact 36b and the normally open second relay contact 33b, and starts supplying water to the water storage tank 4. On the other hand, since the drain valve 6 continues to operate via the second timer contact 39B and the regular fifth relay contact 37a, water is supplied and water is drained at the same time. This water supply and drainage is performed at a second time that the first timer contact 39A normally relates to. Then, after the second time has elapsed, the first timer contact 39A closes, and at the same time, the second timer contact 39B closes, and the timer 39 stops in its initial state. (Second mode). Due to the closing of the first and second timer contacts 39A and 39B, the excitation of the fifth relay 37 is canceled and the normally open fifth relay contact 37a is no longer involved, so the drain valve 6 is closed and only the drain operation is stopped. The water supply valve 5 is stopped when the water supply reaches a predetermined level in the water storage tank 4, at which the upper switch 23 is opened. (Third mode).
As described above, the cleaning operation of the water storage tank 4 is completed by continuously performing the first mode to the third mode. Note that the cleaning operation can also be prevented by manually switching the on/off switch 38. After thawing the product and cleaning the water storage tank 4, the operation switch 26 is switched to the cooling contacts 26A and 26A2 to start the cooling operation as described above and supply the product.

As described above, the present invention allows the thawing operation of the product and the cleaning operation of the water storage tank to be performed in parallel based on the operation of the operation switch, and the thawing operation is not carried out blindly, but only when thawing is necessary, i.e. Since this is done so as to release the danger when there is a risk of interfering with product supply, there is an advantage that smooth product supply can be carried out at all times.

In addition, the cleaning operation is divided into two modes: the first mode in which the water supply is stopped until the old water in the water storage tank is almost completely drained, the second mode in which the water supply and drainage are simultaneously performed after the drainage is completed, and the second mode in which the water supply and drainage are simultaneously performed after the drainage is completed, and the second mode in which the water supply is stopped until the water reaches a predetermined level. Since the third mode of water supply is performed continuously, the first mode does not waste water supply, the second mode washes away microorganisms and dirt attached to the bottom of the water storage tank, and the third mode In this case, each mover is provided with new water at a predetermined level, so that cleaning of the water storage tank can be completed efficiently and hygiene can be improved. Although the present invention has been described in detail regarding a dispenser that produces a semi-condensed beverage by cooling a mixture of syrup and water in a freezing cylinder, it is also applicable to a dispenser in which the mixture contains carbon dioxide gas. Applicable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the semi-frozen beverage dispenser of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an internal configuration diagram of a water storage tank, and FIG. 3 is an electric circuit diagram. 4... Water storage tank, 5... Water supply valve, 6
... Drain valve, 3 ... Refrigeration cylinder,
15... Hot gas valve, 20... Water level control device, 26... Operation switch. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Syrup liquid in the syrup tank and water in the water storage tank, which is controlled to a predetermined level by opening and closing the water supply valve by the water level control device, are appropriately supplied to the freezing cylinder and cooled to produce a semi-frozen beverage. In the semi-frozen beverage dispenser, there is a first mode in which the water supply valve is closed and the drain valve is opened to drain the water in the water storage tank based on the operation of the operating switch, and a first mode in which the water supply valve and the drain valve are opened to drain the water. A cleaning circuit is formed that continuously executes a second mode in which the drain valve is closed and a water supply valve is opened to supply water to a predetermined water level based on the water level control device. A semi-frozen beverage dispenser characterized by forming a thawing circuit that heats a freezing cylinder with hot gas when the temperature is lower than a predetermined temperature.