JPH046403B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] This invention relates to a coffee extraction device for use in vending machines, etc., and unlike instant coffee, it fully automatically performs the extraction process by pouring hot water into powdered coffee beans. It is something to do.

One such device is described in US Pat. No. 3,349,690.

In this known device, a coffee container is attached to a moving frame that moves from side to side, coffee powder is poured into the container, the container is moved to the bottom of the cylinder, and then the lower end of the lowered cylinder and the upper end of the coffee container are brought into close contact with each other. After that, hot water is poured into the container, and then the piston in the cylinder descends to pressurize the mixture of hot water and powder in the container to extract coffee liquid, and then the piston and cylinder rise to remove the squeezed scum. Perform an operation to move the container containing it to the side.

In such a known device, the liquid is extracted by raising and lowering a piston inside the cylinder, so the piston always slides inside the cylinder, and since there is coffee powder inside the cylinder, This gets caught between the piston and cylinder and causes scratches, resulting in airtight leaks if used for a long time. The piston is moved by a drive mechanism that combines gears and cams, so even if there is a large amount of resistance due to powder or other objects getting stuck between the piston and cylinder, the piston may force its way down and damage the cylinder. . If hot water is not poured after the powder container and cylinder are in close contact with each other, hot water will leak from between the container and cylinder, resulting in problems such as a longer time required to pour the powder into the container and extract the liquid. be.

This invention does not use a piston like the conventional extraction device described above, but extracts using air pressure, so there is no risk of scratching or damaging the inner surface of the cylinder, and moreover, extraction can be carried out quickly. The purpose is to provide an extraction device.

The details of the present invention will be explained below based on an embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a case surrounding the apparatus of the present invention, which is open at the upper end, has a shallow funnel-shaped bottom plate 2 at the bottom, and has a discharge port 3 in the center thereof.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a pair of guide rods arranged parallel to each other near the upper part of the case and having both ends fixed to both end walls 5 of the case 1.A vertically open movable frame 6 is slidably attached to the guide rods 4. .

A pair of guide rods 7 are also provided below both guide rods 4.
The guide rods 7 are arranged parallel to each other, and both ends of the guide rods 7 are loosely fitted into vertical holes 8 provided in the end wall 5 so as to be movable up and down. A filter block 10 is slidably attached to this guide rod 7. This block 10 is the second
As shown in FIG. 4, it is funnel-shaped and has an extraction port 11 at the bottom, and a mesh filter 12 is placed at the top.

Inside the moving frame 6 is a cylindrical chamber 1 that is open at the top and bottom.
A gasket 15 is attached to the outer periphery of the upper end of the filter block 10 so as to be able to move up and down.
is pulled downward by a tension spring 33.

A downward spring piece 9 is fixed to the front end of the moving frame 6 as shown in FIG. A tension spring 13 is stretched between the ends, and a scraper 29 for sliding on the filter 12 is provided at the rear of the moving frame 6.

Reference numeral 16 in Figures 1 to 3 denotes a pair of support frames fixed to both sides of the upper part of the case 1 near one end.
6, a vertical guide rod 17 is fixed to each of them.
A cylinder 18 is provided between the two guide rods 17, and two or outwardly facing pieces 19 on both sides of the cylinder 18 are slidably engaged with the guide rod 17.

The bottom plate 20 of this cylinder 18 has a shallow funnel shape, and has a valve port 21 in the center. A lower valve body 22 that closes the valve port 21 from below always keeps the valve port 21 closed by a spring 24 inserted into a horizontal hole of a valve stem 23 projecting upward.

An annular wall 25 is provided on the lower surface of the bottom plate 20 of the cylinder 18.
A packing 26 is provided at the lower end of the annular wall 25 to tightly contact the upper end of the chamber 14. The guide rod 17 has a spring 2 that presses down the outward piece 19.
7 will be provided.

30 is fixed to the support frame 16 and the cylinder 1
The cylinder head is slidably fitted into the upper opening of the cylinder 18, and a packing 31 that tightly contacts the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 18 is attached to the outer periphery of the cylinder head. This head 30
A recess 32 is provided in the center of the lower surface of the head 30, and a hot water supply port 34 and an air vent hole 35 provided in the head 30 are opened in the recess 32.

Reference numeral 36 designates an upper valve body, through which a valve stem 39 is slidably passed, and a lower protrusion of the valve body 36 is fixed to the lower part of the head 30 at the center of a receiving plate 49 having a ventilation hole. pass through the hole. The catch seat 40 loosely fitted to the lower part of the valve stem 39 is prevented from coming off by a stop ring at the lower end of the valve stem, and a large diameter spring 37 is fitted between the catch seat 40 and the catch plate 49 to prevent the protrusion of the catch seat and the valve body 36 from coming off. A strong spring 50 with a small diameter is fitted between the lower ends. The catch seat 40 is the bottom plate 2
0 on the cylinder 28. 38 is head 3
A compressed air port provided at 0 communicates with an air compression source via a pressure-resistant hose, a solenoid valve, and a pressure regulating valve (not shown).

41 in Figure 1 is a powder supply pipe for coffee beans, etc.
2 is a feeding device like a coffee bean canister on the top thereof.

There is a protruding shaft 43 on both sides of the upper end of the chamber 14, and a lifting lever 44 for lifting the protruding shaft 43 is swingably attached to both side walls 45 of the case 1 with a shaft 46, and the lever 44 is held diagonally downward. spring 4
8 will be provided.

Reference numeral 51 in FIG. 1 is a push-up plate of the filter block 10, which is swingably attached to the outer support piece of the side wall 45 by a shaft 52, enters the case 1 through the opening of the side wall 45, and is inserted into the case 1 as shown in FIG. It is located directly below the cylinder 18. Reference numeral 53 denotes a push-up lever located at the lower part of the push-up plate 51, which is swingably mounted inside the case 1 by a shaft 54, and a roller 55 that contacts the lower surface of the push-up plate 51 is attached to the front end of this lever 53.

Reference numeral 56 in FIG. 2 is an elevating member, which is attached to a vertical guide hole provided in the side wall 45 so as to be able to rise and fall freely.
An engagement notch 57 on the inner side of the lower end of the lever 53 engages with the rear end pin 58 of the lever 53.

A machine box 60 is provided on the outside of the side wall 45 to which the lifting member 56 is attached, sprockets 61 and 62 are attached to both ends of the machine box 60, and a sprocket 63 driven by a drive shaft 65 is attached below the sprocket 61. A sprocket 64 is also attached diagonally below the sprocket 61, and an endless chain 66 is engaged with each of the sprockets 61 to 64 in an inverted L shape as shown in FIG.

Reference numeral 68 in FIG. 5 is a sliding member that is attached to a horizontally long guide hole formed in the side wall 45 so as to be able to move laterally. At the lower part, as shown in FIG. 6, an engagement notch 70 is provided which engages and disengages the engagement piece 69.

A part of the endless chain 66 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 7.
A plurality of pins 71 are provided as shown in the figure, and an engagement recess 72 into which the pins 71 are engaged and disengaged is provided on the outside of the sliding member 68 as shown in FIGS. Protrusion 7 with which pin 71 engages and disengages from above and below
3,74 will be provided.

Reference numeral 75 in FIG. 1 is a drawing waste discharge chute, the lower end of which penetrates the bottom plate 2 and protrudes downward, and the lower end is open.

In the above configuration, FIG. 1 shows the position where a fixed amount of coffee bean powder is supplied from the supply pipe 41 into the chamber 14, and the sliding member 68 is engaged with the notch 70 of the moving frame 6 as shown in FIG. The coupling piece 69 is engaged, the chain 66 is stopped, and the elevating member 56 is in the raised position.

At this time, the valve port 21 at the bottom of the cylinder 18 is closed by the lower valve body 22 as shown in FIG.
is connected to the inside of the cylinder 18, so the hot water supply port 34
A fixed amount of hot water is supplied into the cylinder 18 from the above.

In this state, when a fixed amount of powder is put into the chamber 14, the drive shaft 65 is activated and the sprocket 63 moves the chain 66 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6 is moved together with the chamber 14 and filter block 10 directly below the cylinder 18 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4.

The pin 71 continues to move with the chain 66, but the chain 66 is moved downwardly by the sprocket 61. Therefore, the pin 71 comes out of the recess 72 and moves downward, and the moving frame 6 stops directly below the cylinder 18.

The pin 71 that has descended together with the chain 66 engages with the protrusion 74 at the bottom of the elevating member 56 as shown in FIG.
7 pushes down the pin 58 of the push-up lever 53.

Therefore, the roller 55 of the lever 53
1, this plate 51 pushes up the filter block 10 together with the chamber 14 as shown in FIG.
6 and push up the cylinder 18 as well.

When the cylinder 18 rises, the tube 28 on the bottom plate 20 pushes up the catch seat 40 as shown in FIG.
The valve body 36 is pushed up via the spring 50 to close the hot water supply port 34 and the air vent hole 35.

Under the above conditions, the solenoid valve of the compressed air supply device (not shown) opens, and compressed air is supplied into the cylinder 18 from the compressed air supply port 38. For this reason,
Air pressure is applied to the hot water level in the cylinder 18, and this pressure pushes open the lower valve body 22 as shown in FIG. The liquid from which components such as coffee are extracted passes through the filter 12 and is sent out from the extraction port 11 of the filter block 10 via the supply pipe.

During this time, the chain 66 is stopped, but after a certain period of time passes, the pressure from the compressed air port 38 stops, and the chain 66 starts running in the same direction again under the condition that the extraction is completed.

As a result, the pin 71, which was in the position shown in FIG.
The pin 71 engages with the protrusion 73 during the movement, causing the elevating member 56 to rise.

Therefore, the pin 58 engaged with the notch 57 of the elevating member 56 is pushed up, the lever 53 is rotated, the roller 55 is lowered, and the push-up plate 51 is also lowered, so that the cylinder 18, chamber 14, and filter block 10 are Return to the original position in Figure 2.

During this time, the chain 66 continues to run and as the pin 71 begins to move to the left in FIG. 7 along the sprocket 64, this pin 71 engages with the recess 72 of the sliding body 68 at the position indicated by the chain line in FIG. This sliding body 6
8 to the right in FIG. 6 and to the left in FIG.

Therefore, the movable frame 6 begins to return to its original position, and when it reaches the position shown in FIG. 1, the filter block 10 is stopped by a stopper 47 provided on the guide rod 7. However, since the chain 66 continues to travel, the movable frame 6 moves further to the right in FIG. 1 together with the chamber 14, but at this time the spring 13 is stretched.

When the movable frame 6 moves as described above, the scraper 29 at its end scrapes off the aperture residue on the filter 12 and drops it into the chute 75. Further, the protruding shafts 43 on both sides of the chamber 14, which move together with the moving frame 6, rest on a lifting lever 44 and rise as shown in FIG.
It falls from the end of 4 due to the tension spring 33 and its own weight,
With this shot, the remaining debris adhering to the inner surface of the chamber 14 is dropped into the chute 75. chain 6
The pin 71 that runs together with the sprocket 62
When the pin 71 that has rotated along the upper part of the sprocket 62 begins to move in the opposite direction, the pin 71 engages with the recess 72 again and moves the moving frame 6 away from the filter block. 10
Start moving towards. At this time, the protruding shaft 43 is
Pass under the lever 44 as shown by the chain line in Figure 0, lift the lever 44 and move, and the protruding shaft 43
4, the lever 44 is returned to its original position by the spring 48, and the chamber 14 is positioned above the block 10.
Chain 66 is stopped.

Note that the conditions for each of the above actions are set using a position detector such as a limit switch, a timer, or the like.

As mentioned above, the extraction device of this invention applies compressed air pressure inside the cylinder and uses that pressure to push out hot water, allowing powder such as coffee to pass through and extracting its components, so it is compared to the conventional piston type. This eliminates the need for a piston drive mechanism and eliminates the risk of scratches on the inner surface of the cylinder or damage to the cylinder.

In addition, the bottom of the cylinder has a valve port with a lower valve body, and the top of the cylinder has a hot water supply port and an air vent that are opened and closed by the top valve body, so powder such as coffee is supplied to the chamber on the filter block. Hot water can be supplied inside the cylinder. Therefore, when the chamber comes to the bottom of the cylinder and rises, and the chamber comes into close contact with the cylinder and the upper valve body closes the hot water supply port and the air vent hole, compressed air can be blown into the cylinder to perform extraction, which is different from the conventional extraction device. The time required for the extraction process is shorter than that of

Also, when blowing compressed air into the cylinder,
By pressurizing this air, the air temperature naturally rises. Therefore, it is possible to increase the degree of dryness of the powder squeezed residue after extraction, which reduces the moisture content of the squeezed residue that is discharged, reducing the risk of mold and rot.In particular, compressed air can be continued for any length of time. The degree of dryness can be set arbitrarily by blowing in the air. Furthermore, since the extract can be sent upward by pressurization with compressed air, the extracting device can be installed in the lower part of the interior of the vending machine. Therefore, there are effects such as the ability to effectively utilize the air in the lower part of the vending machine compartment, which conventionally was a wasted space.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partial longitudinal sectional front view of the extraction device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional side view of the same as above, Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view of the same, Fig. 4 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional front view of the main part, and Fig. 5 The figures are an enlarged longitudinal side view of the same as above, Fig. 6 is an enlarged partially cutaway front view showing the lifting member and the guide section of the moving frame, Fig. 7 is a rear view showing the engaged state of the drive chain, and Fig. 8 is the moving frame. FIGS. 9 and 10 are enlarged longitudinal sectional side views showing the engaged state of the frame and the sliding member, and enlarged longitudinal sectional front views showing the functions of the main parts. 6...Moving frame, 10...Filter block, 1
4...Chamber, 18...Cylinder, 21...Valve port, 22...Lower valve body, 30...Cylinder head, 34...Hot water inlet, 35...Air vent hole, 36
... Upper valve body, 38 ... Compressed air port, 41 ... Powder supply pipe, 51 ... Push-up plate, 53 ... Push-up lever.

Claims (1)

[Claims] When a chamber with a powder raw material inside is connected to the bottom of a cylinder that has a mechanism for discharging hot water from the valve opening at the bottom using compressed air pressure, the chamber is placed on a filter block and hot water is poured into the chamber by the compressed air pressure applied inside the cylinder. An extraction device configured to supply hot water and discharge the powder components in the chamber to a predetermined portion via a filter block.