JPS6239354B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a cup-type beverage vending machine equipped with an ice maker, and particularly to a water circuit designed to facilitate cleaning of the water circuit including the ice maker.

First, an overview of the beverage system of a conventional cup-type beverage vending machine will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 1 is a water reservoir that receives water from a water supply 2 through a water inlet valve 3, and two water lines are drawn out from the water reservoir 1. One of them is a cold water line 8 that is piped through a water pump 4, a water cooling coil 5, and a cold water valve 6 as a three-way solenoid valve to a bending stage from which the cup 7 is carried out, and the other is a cold water line 8 that is connected to an ice maker 9. This is an ice-making water line 10 that connects between the ice-making machines and supplies water to the ice-making machine. In addition, 11 is a syrup line piped from the syrup tank 12 through the syrup valve 13, 14 is a carbonator water supply line that branches from the cold water line 8 via the cold water valve 6 and connects to the carbonator 15, and 16 is a carbonated water line from the carbonator 15. This is a carbonated water line that is piped to the bend stage via valve 17. The ice making machine 9 consists of an ice making section 91 containing an evaporator, an auger, etc., and an ice storage chamber 92. A melt water line 9 is connected to the ice making section 91 to return melted ice water generated in the ice storage chamber 92 to the ice making section 91.
3 is piped between the bottom of the ice storage chamber and the inlet of the ice making section. 18 is a three-way switching pot for a drain inserted in the middle of the ice-making water line 10. Also cold water valve 6
The operation is as shown in FIG. 2 (a) and (b), and when the power is off, the normally open port NO is opened to prepare for water supply to the carbonator 15. On the other hand, if the power is turned on due to the beverage sales directive, the normally closed port
NC opens and cold water is supplied to cup 7 by starting water pump 4. Note that carbon dioxide gas is supplied to the carbonator 15 under pressure from a carbon dioxide gas pressure cylinder (not shown).

Since the beverage vending operation having the above configuration is well known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted, and next, a method for cleaning a beverage system, which is an object of the present invention, will be described.

For hygiene management purposes, cleaning and sterilization of the beverage system is particularly important for beverage vending machines, and regular cleaning is required. In this method, a beverage cleaning and sterilizing solution is prepared, and each line shown in FIG. 1 is cleaned using the diluted cleaning solution. In this case, to clean the ice making system, as shown in FIG. 1, first remove the top cover of the ice storage chamber 92, fill it with a separately prepared cleaning solution, and leave it as it is for about 10 minutes. Next, the three-way drain pot 18 is operated to drain the cleaning liquid. Repeat this operation several times, and finally rinse thoroughly with water until there is no remaining cleaning solution. On the other hand, cold water line 8, carbonated water line 16
The cleaning is performed by pouring a cleaning solution into the water reservoir 1 and operating the water pump and valve to flow the cleaning solution. However, the conventional cleaning method described above is complicated and requires a long time to complete. In particular, since the ice maker is separated from the cold water line, the cleaning solution must be added separately from the water reservoir, and furthermore, the cleaning solution remains stationary for a long period of time, which increases the operating time.

This invention was made in consideration of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a water dispenser for cup-type beverage vending machines, which makes it possible to easily and quickly clean the ice maker system, thereby improving serviceability. The purpose is to provide circuits.

According to the present invention, this object is achieved by providing a new coupling for water extraction, which is branched from the middle of the cold water line after the discharge side of the water pump, and is detachable from the cleaning hose.

The present invention will be described in detail below based on illustrated embodiments.

First, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a three-way joint 19 is inserted into the cold water line 8 immediately after the discharge side of the water pump 4.
A water extraction coupling 20 is connected to the branch port. The coupling ring 20 is configured to be detachable from a cleaning hose designated by the reference numeral 21, and the detailed structure of an example thereof is shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. That is, the coupling ring 20 is equipped with a normally closed valve mechanism composed of a valve seat formed at the tip of a main body 22 and a valve body 24 that is urged from behind by a spring 23 toward the valve seat. Opposite this, the hose 21 has a coupling socket 25.
is installed. The socket 25 is equipped with a normally closed valve mechanism similar to the coupling 20, and its valve body 26 is equipped with an actuator rod 27 projecting forward. Also, the connection between the coupling 20 and the socket 25 is made using the coupling 20.
This is done between the pin 28 on the side and the bayonet type holder 29 on the socket 25 side, and when they are connected as shown in FIG. 5B from the disconnected state of FIG. Upon reaching the end, the valve bodies 24 and 26 are both retracted from the valve seat to open the valve mechanism. Returning to FIG. 3, with the cleaning hose 21 connected to the water extraction coupling 20,
If the water pump 4 is started with the cold water valve 6 energized and turned off, the carbonator 15 is always pressurized with carbon dioxide gas pressure, so the pressurized water discharged from the water pump 4 is not injected into the carbonator 15 and water is extracted. The cleaning hose 21 will forcefully spray water through the coupling ring 20. Therefore, by pouring the cleaning solution into the water reservoir 1 and performing the above operation by directing the tip of the cleaning hose 21 into the ice storage chamber of the ice maker 9 as shown by the dashed line in the figure, the water reservoir 1
The pumped cleaning solution can be vigorously injected into the ice storage compartment 92 for effective cleaning. Next, connect the tip of the cleaning hose 21 to the drain port of the three-way drain pot 18 as shown by the two-dot chain line,
If the pot is switched to the ice making machine side, the cleaning solution pressurized by the water pump 4 is forcefully introduced into the ice making section 91 to perform forced cleaning. Furthermore, if the pot 18 is switched to the water reservoir side, the cleaning solution will circulate in the following order: water reservoir 1 → water pump 4 → coupling 20 → cleaning hose 21 → ice making water line 10 → water reservoir 1, and this circulation system Each part in the road, plumbing pipes, etc. can be effectively cleaned. Furthermore, once the ice making machine system has been cleaned by the above operation, the cleaning hose 21 can be connected to the syrup line 11 shown in FIG. hose 21
Versatile cleaning can be carried out using the . Note that when the cleaning hose 21 is removed from the coupling ring 20, it goes without saying that the entire area of the cold water line 8 and the carbonated water line 16 can be cleaned using the cleaning solution poured into the water reservoir 1 as in the conventional case.

Next, FIG. 4 shows another embodiment in which the connection position of the water extraction coupling is slightly different from that of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. That is, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the coupling 20 is connected to the carbonator water supply line 14 branching off from the cold water line 8. In addition, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 4, a three-way solenoid valve 30 similar to the cold water valve 6 is inserted in the middle of the cold water line 8 on the downstream side of the cold water valve 6, and a coupling indicated by the symbol 20' is connected to the normally closed port NC of the three-way solenoid valve 30. It is also possible to perform this by connecting the coupling 2 when extracting water.
0', turn on the cold water valve 6 and the three-way solenoid valve 30, and turn on the water pump 4.
When started, the normally open port NO of the valve 30 is closed and the normally closed port NC is opened, and pressurized water or cleaning liquid can be extracted through the coupling ring 20' to clean various parts.

As described above, this invention provides a branched water extraction coupling on the water pump discharge side of the cold water line.Therefore, when the water pump is started, the water or cleaning solution in the water reservoir is extracted and cleaning is performed. It can be guided through the hose to the ice maker and other areas for cleaning. In addition, water or cleaning solution can be sprayed vigorously to the area to be cleaned using the pressurized water pump, which increases the cleaning effect and shortens cleaning time, improving serviceability during maintenance. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a beverage system circuit diagram of a conventional cup-type beverage vending machine, Fig. 2 A and B are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the chilled water valve in Fig. 1, and Figs. FIGS. 5A and 5B are structural cross-sectional views showing separated and connected states of a specific example of the water extraction coupling used in the embodiments of FIGS. 3 and 4. FIGS. 1: water reservoir, 4: water pump, 6: cold water valve,
8: Cold water line, 9: Ice maker, 10: Ice making water line, 14: Carbonator water supply line, 15: Carbonator, 20, 20': Water extraction coupling, 21: Washing hose, 24: Valve body of normally closed valve mechanism , 30: Three-way valve.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A cup-type beverage vending machine having a water reservoir, a water pump, a cold water line piped to a bend stage via a cold water valve, and an ice-making water line piped between the water reservoir and an ice maker. 1. A water circuit for a cup-type beverage vending machine, characterized in that a cold water line is branched from the middle of the cold water line to the discharge side of a water pump, and a detachable water extraction coupling for a cleaning hose is connected thereto. 2. The water circuit of a cup-type beverage vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the water extraction coupling is connected midway between the water pump and the cold water valve in the cold water line. 3. The water circuit for a cup-type beverage vending machine according to claim 1, wherein the water extraction coupling is connected to a carbonator water supply line that branches from the cold water line and connects the carbonator. 4. In the water circuit according to claim 1, the water extraction coupling is connected to a branch port of a three-way valve inserted into the cold water line downstream of the cold water valve. circuit. 5. In the water circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the water extraction coupling has a normally closed valve mechanism whose outlet is opened only by connection of a cleaning hose. The water circuit of a cup-type beverage vending machine.