JPH035805B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a pressurized coffee extraction device that extracts coffee extract by force-feeding hot water to a coffee extraction section.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems] Recently, coffee vending machines have been equipped with a coffee extractor inside the machine body, pressurizes a fixed amount of coffee powder in the extractor, and extracts the pressurized coffee powder. A system has been developed in which hot water is supplied at a constant pressure to efficiently extract the extract, and this extract is used to provide customers with delicious coffee (Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-38994).

A general means for supplying hot water to a coffee extraction section is shown in Figure 1, where 1 is a hot water tank equipped with a heating element 2, 3 is a coffee extract extraction section, 4 is a hot water supply path, and 5 is in communication with a water source. At the cistern, one end of the supply path 4 is connected to the cistern 5, and the other end is connected to the coffee extraction section 3. A part of the supply path 4 is twisted spirally and placed in hot water in the hot water tank 1 to form a heat exchange section 6.
An electric pressure pump 7 is provided between the cistern 5 and the cistern 5. The hot water in the hot water tank 1 is heated by a heating element 2 which is controlled via a thermostat 8.
In this state, the pressure pump 7 is started based on a certain signal, and the water in the cistern 5 is thereby sent to the coffee extraction section 3 through the supply path 4 at a certain pressure. While the water flowing out from the cistern 5 flows through the heat exchange section 6,
It exchanges heat with the hot water in the hot water tank 1 and becomes hot water, which flows into the coffee extraction section 3 in this hot water state.

However, in such a means, while the water flows through the heat exchange section 6, the temperature of the hot water around the heat exchange section decreases, so that the temperature of the hot water pumped to the coffee extraction section 3 is initially 85. The temperature is high, around ℃, but then it gradually becomes colder. An action of extract extraction is performed using such hot water. In order to extract a flavorful extract by supplying hot water to coffee powder, the coffee powder must be heated to approximately 100°C.
Although it is extremely important to continuously supply hot water at a nearby high temperature, it has been difficult to continuously obtain hot water at a temperature close to 100°C with conventional coffee extraction devices of this type. In other words, for example, the water temperature is 98℃.
When the temperature of the thermostat 8 is set at 98°C to maintain the temperature at 98°C, if the outside temperature rises, the operating temperature of the thermostat 8 will also rise accordingly, reaching a state exceeding 100°C. For this reason,
The heating element 2 connected to this thermostat 8 will not operate even if the water temperature rises and reaches 100℃.
The boiling state continues without being turned off.
For this reason, in the conventional thermostat 8, the temperature was usually set at around 85° C. to prevent dangers such as boiling. Therefore, the above-mentioned method in which the temperature is set at the temperature (around 85°C) and the temperature of the hot water gradually decreases as the hot water is supplied is a big disadvantage in extracting a flavorful extract. . This decrease in water temperature caused by the supply of hot water can be solved to some extent by increasing the capacity of the heating element 2 that pressurizes the hot water, but the power supply generally used for vending machines is 100V-15A.
Therefore, there is a restriction that a heating element of around 1kW must be used.

On the other hand, as a method of supplying hot water, it is conceivable to directly pump the high-temperature hot water in the hot water tank to the coffee extraction section using an electric pressure pump. However, even in this case, when the hot water flows through the pressure pump, the temperature will drop to some extent, and from the viewpoint of the life of the pressure pump, air intake is prohibited and the temperature of the hot water being pumped is kept below 87℃. It is difficult to pump high-temperature hot water, that is, hot water of 88°C or higher, with a pressure pump.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made with attention to the above-mentioned points, and its object is to provide a pressurized coffee machine that can continuously and accurately supply high-temperature hot water to a coffee extractor. The purpose is to provide an extraction device.

[Summary of the Invention] In order to achieve such an object, the present invention provides a primary chamber for storing hot water and a secondary chamber for storing hot water at a higher temperature than the hot water in the primary chamber. A pressurizing pump is provided to suck hot water and forcefully send it to the coffee extraction part through a pressure pipe, and a part of the pressure pipe is twisted spirally to face the hot water in the secondary chamber to form a heat exchange part, The hot water sucked into the primary chamber by the pressurizing pump is forced to be sent to the coffee extraction section through the heat exchange section to extract energy from the coffee.

[Embodiment of the Invention] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. 2. In the figure, reference numeral 11 denotes a hot water tank, the interior of which is partitioned by a partition plate 12 into a primary chamber 13 on the lower side and a secondary chamber 14 on the upper side. Partition plate 1
2 prevents the hot water from mixing by convection within the two chambers 13 and 14, but allows a small amount of hot water to flow in and out of the two chambers. Primary room 13
A first heating element 15 is provided at the inner bottom of the chamber, and this heating element 15 is controlled by a thermostat 16, which maintains the hot water in the primary chamber 13 at a constant temperature of about 85°C. A second heating element 17 is provided in the secondary chamber 14, and a second heating element 17 is provided in the secondary chamber 14.
A steam pipe 18 is led out from the upper end of 4, and this steam pipe 18 contacts a metal heat receiving plate 19.
The heat sensitive body 2 of the thermostat 20 is attached to this heat receiving plate 19.
1 is installed. The steam generated in the secondary chamber 14 flows through the steam pipe 18, and this circulation heats the heat receiving plate 19. The temperature is sensed by the heat sensitive element 21, and the thermostat 20 is activated in response to this sensing to generate heat. The boiling water in the secondary chamber 14 is maintained at a constant temperature of approximately 100° C. by this control. A metering chamber 22 is provided on the side of the hot water tank 11, and a float switch 23 is housed inside the metering chamber 22.
An introduction pipe 24 is led out from the side surface of 1, and its lead-out end is inserted into the metering chamber 22. An electromagnetic metering valve 25 is provided in the middle of the introduction pipe 24, and this metering valve 25 measures the hot water in the primary chamber 13 to a certain amount in response to a certain command, and supplies the hot water through the introduction pipe 24 to the measuring chamber 22.
It is designed to be supplied internally. 26 is an electric pressure pump, and from this pump 26 there is a suction pipe 27.
A pressure feed pipe 28 is led out, and the suction pipe 27 is connected to the bottom surface of the metering chamber 22. Pressure feed pipe 2
8 enters its middle into the secondary chamber 14 of the hot water tank 11 and is twisted spirally around the heating element 17 to form a heat exchange section 29 . The pressure feed pipe 28 leading out from this heat exchange section 29
is led to the coffee extraction section 30.

A cistern 31 has a float 33 housed in a container 32. A water supply pipe 34 is connected to the upper side wall of the container 32 , a water supply valve 35 is provided on the water supply pipe 34 , and a communication pipe 36 is led out from the bottom of the container 32 . It is connected to the. The float 33 is supported by a movable lever 38 via a shaft 37, and a micro switch 39 is provided opposite the movable lever 38.

Next, the effect will be explained. First, hot water in the primary chamber 13 heated to about 85° C. is metered to a certain amount by the metering valve 25 and introduced into the metering chamber 22 . This introduction causes the water level in the metering chamber 22 to rise, which is detected by the float switch 23, and in response to this detection, the pressurizing pump 26 is activated. When the pressurizing pump 26 is activated, the hot water in the metering chamber 22 is sequentially sucked through the suction pipe 27 and is forced into the pressure feeding pipe 28 . At this time, since the hot water in the metering chamber 22 is at a temperature of about 85° C., which is not a problem for the pressurizing pump 26, the hot water is sucked in smoothly and accurately and is forced into the pressure feeding pipe 28. Pressure feed pipe 28
While flowing through the heat exchange section 29, the hot water sent to the The coffee flows into the coffee extraction section 30 in this state. In this way, the hot water of about 85° C. in the measuring chamber 22 is heated to approximately 100° C. and is sequentially supplied to the coffee extraction section 30, where coffee extract is extracted using this hot water. Measuring room 2 by supplying hot water
The water level in the measuring chamber 22 decreases, and when it reaches a certain level, it is detected by the float switch 23, and upon this detection, the operation of the pressurizing pump 26 is stopped, leaving a small amount of hot water in the metering chamber 22. . In this way, a fixed amount of hot water is introduced into the metering chamber 22, and the pressure pump 26 is controlled based on changes in the water level, so that the pressure pump 26 is free from operational variations. Even if there is a problem, the coffee extraction unit 30
A constant amount of hot water is always supplied for each stroke, and since the inside of the metering chamber 22 is not completely emptied and a constant amount of hot water remains, the pressurizing pump 26 may inadvertently suck in air. It is possible to reliably prevent such inconvenience.

A portion of the hot water in the hot water tank 11 is stored in the measuring chamber 2.
The amount of water in the container 32 decreases as the amount of water flows into the hot water tank 2, and in response to this decrease, the water in the container 32 is replenished into the hot water tank 11 through the communication pipe 36. The decrease in water in the container 32 is detected by the float 33 and the micro switch 39 that responds to its operation, and in response to this detection, the water supply valve 35 is opened, and water from the water source is supplied into the container 32 through the water supply pipe 34. As a result, the water level in the container 32 is kept constant at all times.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, a primary chamber and a secondary chamber are configured to store hot water, respectively, and the pressure feed pipe of the pressurizing pump is spirally twisted in the middle to open the secondary chamber. The hot water in the primary chamber is sucked in by the pressure pump and is forced into the coffee extraction section through the heat exchange section of the pressure feed pipe.
By storing hot water at a temperature that does not interfere with the pressure pump in the primary chamber, and hot water at a higher temperature than that hot water in the secondary chamber, the pressure pump can be used to continuously and accurately brew high-temperature water. This has the effect that it can be supplied to the extraction section.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a configuration diagram showing a general example of supplying hot water;
FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. 13...Primary room, 14...Secondary room, 16,17
... Heating element, 26 ... Pressure pump, 27 ... Suction pipe, 28 ... Pressure feeding pipe, 29 ... Heat exchange section, 30 ...
...Coffee extraction section.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A primary chamber for storing hot water and a secondary chamber for storing hot water at a higher temperature than the hot water in the primary chamber are provided,
A pressurizing pump is provided that sucks hot water in the primary chamber and pumps it through a pressure pipe to the coffee extraction section,
The middle of the pressure pipe is spirally twisted to face the hot water in the secondary chamber to form a heat exchange section, and the hot water in the primary chamber sucked in by the pressurizing pump is passed through the heat exchange section to the coffee extraction section. A pressurized coffee extraction device that extracts coffee extract by pressure feeding.