JPH07104979B2 - Beverage extractor - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a beverage extraction device that is mounted on a beverage vending machine such as regular coffee and tea to produce a beverage.

[Conventional technology]

As this type of beverage extractor, a cylinder and a filter block are combined vertically, and here, a predetermined amount of powder raw material and hot water are put into the cylinder, and pressurized air is blown into the cylinder to blow the powder raw material and hot water. The mixed liquid was stirred, and then the valve provided at the opening of the upper surface of the cylinder was closed, and then pressurized air was blown again to allow the mixed liquid retained in the cylinder to permeate through the filter and be extracted. The method of the system is known from JP-A-61-31108. In the beverage extractor according to the proposal, pressurized air is introduced from below the filter to agitate the mixed liquid in the cylinder during disturbance, and compressed air is introduced from above the liquid level in the cylinder during extraction. I am trying to do it.

In addition, as a beverage extraction device that performs stirring and extraction with the same pressurized air, pressurized air is introduced from the pressurized air inlet opening below the liquid surface of the cylinder through the steps of stirring and extraction,
Further, a system in which a valve provided on the upper surface of the cylinder is opened during stirring and the valve is closed during extraction is also known.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

By the way, the tastes of vending machine users are becoming more and more diverse these days. For example, even when you take a cup of coffee, you can enjoy a rich creamy cafe o.
There are various types of coffee, such as lighter American coffee and standard coffee in between, which differ in intensity. As vending machines, the intensity varies depending on such diversification of taste. It is required that customers can freely select various coffees.

On the other hand, according to the findings obtained by the inventor of various types of beverage extraction devices of this type for regular coffee,
Strong coffee can be obtained by injecting pressurized air directly into the mixed liquid and forcibly stirring. In this case, the stronger the time of forced stirring by the pressurized air, the stronger the coffee is obtained, but at the same time, as the amount of air introduced below the liquid level increases, the stirring becomes sharper and the turbidity of the beverage also increases. . Contrary to the above, on the contrary, keeping the static state without blowing pressurized air into the mixed liquid, and then extracting by pressurizing air from above the liquid surface, coffee with high transparency and less cloudiness appears. Although it is obtained, it has been confirmed that the taste is pale and light coffee.

Considering the conventional beverage extractor according to the above-mentioned methods from this point of view, there are problems in the following aspects in producing beverages having different concentrations in accordance with the diversification of tastes.

That is, among the above-mentioned methods, in the method in which pressurized air is introduced from below the filter at the time of stirring and pressurized air is introduced from above the filter at the time of extraction, the stirring and extraction steps are clearly separated in time. It is necessary to do so, while stirring the mixed liquid of powder raw material and hot water in the cylinder with pressurized air, it is not possible to permeate through the filter to extract the beverage at the same time (when stirring, the pressurized air is blown from below the filter in the cylinder. To enter). Therefore, if it takes a long time for the air agitation process to obtain a strong coffee, the time from when the raw materials are put into the cylinder to a new extraction after the agitation until the beverage extraction is completed, that is, the sales time is longer. It will be like this.

Further, in the method of introducing pressurized air into the cylinder below the liquid surface of the mixture through stirring and extraction, the mixed solution in the cylinder is forcibly stirred by the pressurized air from the start of stirring to the completion of extraction. Only a strong-tasting beverage can be obtained, and a highly transparent pale coffee cannot be produced.

Thus, it is difficult to manufacture beverages with different strengths so as to respond flexibly to the diversification of the tastes of the customers immediately by responding to the market needs described above with the configuration of the conventional beverage extraction device. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to make it possible to selectively change the introduction position of the pressurized air to be supplied into the cylinder through stirring and extraction, thereby providing a rich taste. An object of the present invention is to provide a beverage extractor capable of manufacturing beverages having different strengths, from beverages to light-flavored beverages, so as to cope with diversification of tastes of users.

[Means for Solving the Problems]

In order to solve such a problem, according to the present invention, a cylinder into which powder raw material and hot water are poured from above, a filter block that is coupled to the bottom of this cylinder, and an upper opening of the cylinder are closed during beverage extraction. A valve mechanism, an upper air inlet opening above the liquid level relative to the liquid mixture inside the cylinder and opening to the cylinder, and a lower position below the liquid level relative to the liquid mixture inside the cylinder, and The cylinder is equipped with a lower air inlet that is located above the filter connected to the bottom of the cylinder and opens into the cylinder, and an air pump that pressurizes and supplies pressurized air into the cylinder through each air inlet. The feature is that the introduction position of the pressurized air to be supplied inside is selectively switched up and down so that beverages having different concentrations can be extracted.

Further, in the beverage extraction device, pressurized air is supplied from the lower air inlet into the cylinder through stirring and extraction in the rich beverage selection mode, and stirring by pressurized air is performed in the light beverage selection mode. Instead, pressurized air is supplied into the cylinder through the upper air inlet during brewing, and in the beverage selection mode that is between the rich and light white, pressurized air is supplied into the cylinder through the lower air inlet during agitation to extract. At times, the upper air inlet is switched to supply pressurized air.

On the other hand, in the beverage brewing device, the lower air introducing port located below the liquid surface and opening to the cylinder prevents the raw material slag from entering the air introducing port from the cylinder side at the opening end of the air introducing port. It is preferable to provide a filter member.

Further, of the upper and lower air inlets, a pipe leading to the lower air inlet is provided with a throttle valve so that the amount of air introduced during stirring is relatively small compared to the amount of air introduced during extraction. Good.

[Action]

With the above configuration, by selectively switching the three-way switching valve while the air pump is operating, the position where the pressurized air is introduced into the cylinder is below the liquid surface of the mixed liquid of powder raw material and hot water, or Pressurized air is selectively introduced from above the liquid surface. If you select a rich cafe au lait on the selection button of the vending machine, pressurized air is supplied into the cylinder from the lower air introduction port through stirring and extraction, and the powder raw material that is put into the cylinder The mixture of hot water and hot water is subjected to forced agitation by direct injection of pressurized air, and the internal pressure of the cylinder rises by closing the opening on the top surface of the cylinder in the latter half of the process, and the mixture passes through the filter and is extracted. This produces strong coffee. If American coffee is selected, pressurized air is supplied above the liquid surface of the mixed liquid through the upper air inlet at the time of extraction in the latter half of the process without forced agitation with pressurized air in the first half of the process. High and light coffee is obtained. If Standard Coffee is selected, pressurized air is introduced into the cylinder through the lower air inlet to agitate the mixed liquid during the first half of the stirring, and the upper air inlet is switched to the liquid surface of the mixed liquid during the latter half of the extraction. Pressurized air is introduced upwards, which results in the production of a coffee of medium intensity between strong and light.

Moreover, by providing the filter member at the opening end of the lower air inlet, it is possible to prevent the raw material slag from entering the air inlet from the cylinder side. Furthermore, by providing a throttle valve as an orifice in the conduit leading to the lower air inlet, the air introduction amount that is blown below the liquid surface during agitation can be reduced to a small amount while using an air pump with the same air supply capacity. Therefore, the occurrence of turbidity in the beverage due to rapid air agitation can be suppressed. On the other hand, at the time of brewing, the amount of air introduced from the liquid surface through the upper air inlet is relatively increased compared to that at the time of stirring, so that the extraction time required to discharge the beverage from the cylinder is not extended and the time is shortened. Can finish

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a beverage extracting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are time charts of stirring and brewing operations in beverage selection modes having different concentrations. First, in FIG. 1, 1 is a cylinder having upper and lower ends opened, and a powder raw material and a pouring part for pouring hot water in the upper portion, 2 is a filter 2a on the upper surface, and a packing 2b which is tightly adhered to the lower edge of the cylinder 1. The equipped filter block 3 is a valve mechanism that opens and closes the upper opening of the cylinder 2. In addition to the filter 2a, a paper filter fed from a roller may be loaded on the upper surface of the filter block 2 if necessary. Further, the cylinder 1 has an upper air introducing port 4 and a lower air introducing port 5 which are vertically located on the side wall of the cylinder, and which is switched between the air introducing ports 4 and 5 and the air pump 6 in three directions. Air supply hoses 8 and 9 are connected via a valve 7. Furthermore, among the above-mentioned upper and lower air inlets 4 and 5,
In particular, at the opening end of the lower air inlet port 5, for example, in order to prevent the raw material slag contained in the beverage mixture from entering the air supply hose 9 from the cylinder through the air inlet port 5, A filter member 5a made of fine mesh is attached, and the air supply hose 9 is provided with a throttle valve 9a. The throttle valve 9a is installed by inserting it into the opening end of the air supply hose 9 using an orifice having a simple structure, and can be replaced with an orifice having a different shape as required. Further, 10 is a mixing bowl connected to the latter stage of the filter block 2, 11 is a beverage supply pipe, 12 is a bend stage, 13 is a beverage cup, 14
Is a control unit, and 15 is a product selection button provided on the front of the vending machine cabinet.

Next, the manufacturing and selling operations of the beverage having the above configuration will be described. First, when a sales command is given as a basic operation, a predetermined amount of powder raw material and hot water are supplied from the powder raw material box, a hot water tank (not shown), and the cylinder 1 while the valve mechanism 3 is open.
And then start the air pump 6 to start the three-way switching valve.
7. Pressurized air is introduced into the cylinder through the air introduction ports 4 to 5, and the mixed liquid 16 of the powder raw material and the hot water is stirred in the cylinder. Subsequently, the valve mechanism 3 is lowered from the open position to close the upper surface opening of the cylinder 1, and in this state, the pressurized air is again introduced into the cylinder to increase the internal pressure of the cylinder 1 so that the mixed liquid 16 is filtered. After passing through 2a, it is extracted to the side of the filter block 2 from which the beverage is mixed.
Sent to 10. On the other hand, sugar, milk, etc. are added and added to the mixing bowl 10 according to the customer's choice, and after mixing with the drink, the bend stage 12 is supplied through the drink supply pipe 11.
It is discharged and supplied to the beverage cup 13 waiting to be carried out.
Note that these series of operations are program-controlled by a command from the control unit 14.

Here, taking the regular coffee powder as an example, the time charts shown in FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (c) showing the production operation of various coffees having different densities such as the above-mentioned cafe au lait, standard coffee and American coffee. It will be described together with.

First, when a customer of a vending machine selects a rich cafe au lait with the product selection button 15, a predetermined amount of powder raw material is stored in the cylinder 1 with the valve mechanism 3 opened as shown in FIG. 2 (a). When hot water is supplied, the air pump 6 is started, and the lower air introduction port 5 that opens below the liquid surface of the mixed liquid 16 that has been injected into the cylinder is passed through the three-way switching valve 7 and the air supply hose 9.
More pressurized air is introduced directly into the mixture where it
16 is forcibly stirred by the jet of air. It should be noted that the air discharged into the cylinder becomes bubbles and then comes out above the liquid surface and then out of the cylinder. When this stirring operation has passed for a predetermined time, the valve mechanism 3 is then closed while the supply of pressurized air is continued, and the upper opening of the cylinder 1 is closed. As a result, the internal pressure of the cylinder 1 rises while continuing the above-mentioned forced stirring action by the pressurized air, and the mixed liquid retained in the cylinder is retained.
16 passes through the filter 2a of the filter block 2 and is extracted. From there, it is sent toward the mixing bowl 10 to add sugar and milk. That is, in this selection mode, the pressurized air is supplied into the cylinder through the lower air inlet 5 from the start of stirring to the end of extraction. Therefore, the pressurized air is blown directly into the mixed solution through the stirring and extraction steps to forcibly stir the mixed solution, and as a result, concentrated coffee suitable for cafe ole is extracted. Moreover, in the latter half of the process, air agitation and extraction proceed at the same time, so that the sales time is not particularly prolonged.

Next, when standard coffee is selected with the product selection button 15, the three-way switching valve is used in the first half of the stirring process as shown in FIG. 2 (b).
7, Pressurized air is introduced below the liquid surface of the mixed liquid 16 through the lower air introduction port 5 to forcibly stir the mixed liquid, and when a predetermined time elapses, the valve mechanism 3 is activated by a command from the control unit 14. Upon closing, the three-way switching valve 7 is switched, and the pressurized air sent from the air pump 6 is switched from the lower air introduction port 5 to the upper air introduction port 4 and introduced above the liquid surface of the mixed liquid 16. In this state, the internal pressure of the cylinder 1 is increased without applying the forced stirring action of the pressurized air to the mixed liquid 16, and the mixed liquid is permeated and extracted to the filter block 2 side. Therefore, as compared with the rich selection mode described above, the amount of forced stirring time of the mixed solution 16 is shorter, so that coffee slightly suitable for standard coffee can be obtained. In this selection mode, the forced stirring time of the mixed liquid, which is performed by introducing the pressurized air through the lower air inlet 5, is set to be slightly shorter than that in FIG. 2A in advance.

Further, when American coffee is selected with the product selection button 15, after the raw material is put into the cylinder 1 with the valve mechanism 3 left open as shown in FIG. Is not supplied and the mixed liquid is left in the cylinder in a stationary state, and then the valve mechanism 3 is closed and
Pressurized air is supplied to the upper side of the mixed liquid staying in the cylinder through the upper air inlet 5 to extract the beverage to the filter block 2 side. This makes it possible to obtain highly transparent coffee suitable for light-colored American coffee. If black coffee to which sugar and milk are not added is selected, the coffee is extracted in the selection mode described above, and then the coffee is directly supplied to the drinking cup without supplying sugar and milk to the mixing bowl.

When standard coffee or American coffee is selected in the above, pressurized air is introduced onto the liquid surface in the cylinder 1 through the upper air introduction port 5 during the beverage extraction process. A phenomenon occurs in which a part of the mixed liquid of the beverage staying in the cylinder flows back into the air supply hose 9 through the lower air inlet 5 opening below the liquid surface. In this case, however, by covering the opening end of the lower air inlet port 5 with the filter member 5a as in the illustrated embodiment, the raw material slag contained in the mixed liquid is filtered to feed the air supply hose 9 to the air supply hose 9. Intrusion can be stopped. The filter member 5a does not hinder the introduction of the air supplied into the cylinder through the lower air introduction port 5. As a result, the raw material slag adheres to the inside of the air supply hose 9 and causes the hose to be clogged, which hinders the introduction of air. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of a situation.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, the lower air inlet 5
By providing the throttle valve 9a on the air supply hose 9 leading to the above, the amount of air introduced at the time of stirring blown below the liquid surface in the cylinder is throttled in the first half step of the selection mode of FIG. 2 (b) described above. As a result, the turbidity of the beverage due to rapid air agitation can be suppressed. On the other hand, at the time of extraction in the latter half process, the pressurized air blown onto the liquid surface of the beverage through the air supply hose 8 and the upper air introduction port 4 is introduced as it is without being throttled as in the agitation. Therefore, since the amount of air introduced is relatively larger than that during stirring, the extraction of the beverage discharged from the cylinder is completed in a short time. That is, it is possible to produce a high-quality beverage with less turbidity by suppressing rapid air agitation in the agitation process without prolonging the time required for beverage extraction.
By replacing an orifice having a different shape as the throttle valve 9a, it is possible to widely change the amount of air introduced from the lower air inlet 5.

〔The invention's effect〕

Since the beverage extraction device of the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

That is, the air inlets are opened above and below the liquid surface of the raw material mixture with respect to the cylinder, and the pressurized air sent from the air pump is selectively introduced into each air inlet. In addition, by controlling the introduction of pressurized air according to the selection mode, various coffees with different densities such as cafe au lait, standard coffee, American coffee, etc. can be obtained, thereby diversifying the taste of users. Can respond flexibly.

Further, in particular, by providing the filter member at the opening end of the lower air introduction port, it is possible to prevent the raw material slag from entering the air introduction port from the cylinder side.

In addition, by providing a throttle valve in the air conduit leading to the lower air inlet, the amount of pressurized air blown below the liquid surface through the lower air inlet is reduced to prevent the occurrence of cloudiness in the beverage due to rapid stirring. On the other hand, on the other hand, the amount of air introduced at the time of extraction can be relatively increased to finish the beverage extraction in a short time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a beverage extraction device according to an embodiment of the present invention,
FIGS. 2 (a) to (c) are time charts showing the rich, intermediate, and white beverage extraction operations, respectively. In each figure, 1: cylinder, 2: filter block, 3: valve mechanism, 4: upper air inlet, 5: lower air inlet, 5a: filter member, 6 is an air pump, 7: three-way switching valve, 8, 9 : Air supply hose, 9a:
Throttle valve, 14: control unit, 15: product selection button, 16: mixed liquid of powder raw material and hot water.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cylinder into which powdered raw material and hot water are poured from above, a filter block which is coupled to the bottom of this cylinder, a valve mechanism which closes the upper opening of the cylinder during beverage extraction, and a mixed liquid in the cylinder. The upper air inlet opening to the cylinder above the liquid level and the filter connected to the bottom of the cylinder below the liquid level with respect to the mixed liquid in the cylinder. Also has a lower air inlet that is located above and opens to the cylinder, and an air pump that pushes and supplies pressurized air into the cylinder through each air inlet, and introduces pressurized air that is fed into the cylinder through stirring and extraction. A beverage extraction device characterized in that beverages of different strengths can be extracted by selectively switching positions. 2. The beverage extraction apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, in a selection mode of a rich beverage, pressurized air is supplied from the lower air introduction port into the cylinder through stirring and extraction. 3. The beverage brewing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in the mode of selecting a light beverage, stirring with pressurized air is not performed, and pressurized air is supplied into the cylinder through the upper air inlet during brewing. Characterized beverage extraction device. 4. The beverage brewing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein in a beverage selection mode of a medium taste between rich and light, pressurized air is supplied into the cylinder through the lower air introduction port at the time of stirring, and the upper air introduction port at the time of brewing. A beverage extraction device, characterized in that it is switched to and supplied with pressurized air. 5. The beverage brewing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a filter member is provided at the opening end of the lower air inlet to prevent the raw material slag from entering the lower air inlet from the cylinder side. Beverage extraction device. 6. The beverage brewing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a throttle valve is provided in an air pipe communicating with the lower air inlet.