Liquid material dispensing method and beverage making device

Abstract

The present application provides a liquid material dispensing method and a beverage making device. The dispensing method comprises: when a liquid dispensing device dispenses a liquid material, using a controller to control a liquid pump to perform a first rotation operation to dispense the liquid material, and when the liquid dispensing operation is finished, using the controller to control the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation in the reverse direction. Thus, by means of the liquid dispensing method, when the liquid dispensing operation is finished, the material in a liquid delivery pipe can be pumped back to drive the liquid material in the liquid delivery pipe towards a liquid storage tank, so as to weaken the ability of the liquid material in the liquid delivery pipe to drip from a liquid outlet, thereby effectively solving the problem of dripping of the liquid material in the liquid delivery pipe when the liquid dispensing operation is finished, further effectively solving the problem of inaccurate liquid dispensing of the liquid material, and maintaining the desired taste of the beverage.

Description

Liquid material output method and beverage making equipment

[0001] This application claims priority to the Chinese patent application filed with the China Patent Office on December 20, 2023, with application number 202311764488.0 and invention name “Liquid Material Output Method and Beverage Production Equipment”, the entire contents of which are incorporated by reference into this application. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to the technical field of automation equipment, and in particular to a method for outputting liquid materials and beverage making equipment. Background Art

[0003] In the tea and coffee beverage industries, in order to reduce labor costs and improve the efficiency of beverage production, more and more intelligent liquid dispensing equipment, also known as beverage production equipment, is used. It can automatically output various types of tea, coffee, sugar and other liquids according to the recipe.

[0004] However, a major drawback of current intelligent liquid dispensing equipment is inaccurate dispensing. A key reason for this inaccurate dispensing is that after dispensing is complete, residual liquid in the pipes and outlets continues to drip due to gravity. For highly concentrated and flavorful materials like syrup, this dripping can significantly alter the flavor of the drink, severely affecting its taste.

[0005] Currently, no effective improvement plan has been proposed for solving the problem of inaccurate liquid discharge caused by dripping. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of this, the present application provides a beverage making device, the scheme is as follows:

[0007] A method for outputting liquid material, for controlling a liquid output device to output the liquid material, the liquid output device comprising: a liquid storage tank, a liquid outlet, a liquid pump, and a controller, wherein the liquid storage tank is used to store the liquid material, the liquid storage tank is connected to the liquid outlet via a liquid infusion pipeline, and the liquid pump is used to output the liquid material stored in the liquid storage tank through the liquid outlet under the control of the controller; the output method comprises:

[0008] The controller controls the motor in the liquid pump to perform a first rotation operation in a first direction to output the liquid material through the liquid outlet;

[0009] When the condition for stopping the output of the liquid material is triggered, the controller controls the motor in the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation in a second direction opposite to the first direction to withdraw the liquid material in the liquid delivery pipeline.

[0010] Optionally, using the controller to control the motor in the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation in a second direction includes:

[0011] Obtaining a first rotation amount;

[0012] The controller controls the motor in the liquid pump to perform the second rotation operation based on the first rotation amount.

[0013] Optionally, obtaining the first rotation amount includes:

[0014] Determine the coefficient of gyration;

[0015] The first rotation amount is determined based on a product of the gyration coefficient and a preset rotation amount.

[0016] Optionally, determining the rotation coefficient includes:

[0017] Get the viscosity value of liquid material;

[0018] determining, based on the viscosity value and the first corresponding relationship, a rotation coefficient of the motor in the liquid pump when performing the second rotation operation;

[0019] The first corresponding relationship is a pre-configured corresponding relationship between the viscosity value of the liquid material and the gyration coefficient.

[0020] Optionally, obtaining the viscosity value of the liquid material includes:

[0021] Obtaining the current temperature of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank;

[0022] Determining a current viscosity value of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank based on the current temperature of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank and the second corresponding relationship;

[0023] The second corresponding relationship is a preset corresponding relationship between the material temperature and the viscosity value.

[0024] Optionally, the output method further includes:

[0025] recording the first rotation amount;

[0026] After the second rotation operation is completed, if the motor in the liquid pump performs the first rotation operation twice in the first direction, the rotation amount of the motor of the liquid pump during the second first rotation operation is compensated based on the first rotation amount.

[0027] A beverage making device includes a liquid output device, the liquid output device including a liquid storage tank, a liquid outlet, a liquid pump, and a controller, wherein the liquid storage tank is used to store liquid material, the liquid storage tank is connected to the liquid outlet via an infusion pipe, and the liquid pump is used to output the liquid material stored in the liquid storage tank through the liquid outlet under the control of the controller;

[0028] The controller is used to control the motor in the liquid pump to perform a first rotation operation in a first direction to output liquid material through the liquid outlet, and when the condition for stopping the output of liquid material is triggered, control the motor in the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation in a second direction opposite to the first direction to withdraw the material in the infusion pipeline.

[0029] Optionally, the controller is also used to record the first rotation amount; and after the second rotation operation is completed, if the motor in the liquid pump performs a second first rotation operation along the first direction, the rotation amount of the motor of the liquid pump when performing the second first rotation operation is compensated based on the first rotation amount.

[0030] Optionally, the liquid storage tank includes a plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks, and the plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks are respectively used to store different materials;

[0031] The liquid pump includes a plurality of sub-liquid pumps, which correspond one-to-one to the plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks. Under the control of the controller, the materials in the plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks are respectively transferred to the infusion port through the infusion pipeline.

[0032] Optionally, also include:

[0033] An input unit, used to determine the material formula of the current beverage to be made according to the user's input;

[0034] The control unit controls at least one of the plurality of sub-liquid pumps to perform the first rotation operation based on the material formula, and controls the at least one sub-liquid pump to perform the second rotation operation.

[0035] Compared with the prior art, the technical solution of this application has the following beneficial effects:

[0036] The output method provided by the present application includes using a controller to control a liquid pump to perform a first rotation operation to output the liquid material when the liquid output device outputs the liquid material, and after the liquid discharge operation is completed, using the controller to control the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation in the opposite direction. Therefore, the liquid discharge method can, after the liquid discharge operation is completed, perform a back-draw operation on the material in the infusion pipeline to drive the liquid material in the infusion pipeline toward the direction of the liquid storage tank, thereby reducing the ability of the liquid material in the infusion pipeline to drip from the liquid outlet, effectively suppressing the problem of liquid material in the infusion pipeline dripping after the liquid discharge operation is completed, thereby effectively solving the problem of inaccurate liquid discharge of the liquid material, and helping to ensure the taste of the beverage. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application or related technologies, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or descriptions of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are merely embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without any creative work.

[0038] The structures, proportions, sizes, etc. depicted in the drawings of this specification are only used to match the contents disclosed in the specification so as to facilitate understanding and reading by persons familiar with this technology. They are not intended to limit the conditions under which this application can be implemented, and therefore have no substantive technical significance. Any structural modifications, changes in proportional relationships, or adjustments in size, without affecting the efficacy and objectives that can be achieved by this application, should still fall within the scope of the technical contents disclosed in this application.

[0039] FIG1 is a schematic structural diagram of a beverage making device provided by the present application;

[0040] FIG2 is a flow chart of a method for outputting liquid materials provided in this application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings to clearly and completely describe the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only embodiments of one area of ​​this application, not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative efforts are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0042] In order to make the above-mentioned purposes, features and advantages of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the present application is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0043] As mentioned in the background technology section, after existing beverage making equipment finishes dispensing liquid, due to factors such as pressure in the liquid dispensing pipeline and gravity, liquid dripping may occur, leading to inaccurate liquid dispensing. This inaccurate liquid dispensing not only affects the taste of the beverage prepared that time, but also causes inaccurate liquid dispensing in the next time, which in turn affects the taste of the next beverage prepared. This is especially true for critical ingredients with high concentrations and strong flavors, such as sugar solutions. If the liquid is not accurately dispensed, it will seriously affect the taste of the beverage and thus the customer experience.

[0044] Based on this, the present application provides a method for outputting liquid materials, which is used to control a liquid output device to output liquid materials. As shown in Figure 1, the liquid output device includes: a liquid storage tank 100, a liquid outlet 200, a liquid pump 400, and a controller 500, wherein the liquid storage tank 100 is used to store liquid materials, and the liquid storage tank 100 is connected to the liquid outlet 200 through a liquid infusion pipe 300, so that the liquid material in the liquid storage tank 100 can be transferred to the liquid outlet 200 and output through the liquid outlet 200. The liquid pump 400 is arranged in the liquid storage tank 100 and is used to output the liquid material stored in the liquid storage tank 100 through the liquid outlet 200 under the control of the controller 500. As shown in Figure 2, Figure 2 is a flow chart of a method for outputting liquid materials provided by the present application, and the output method includes:

[0045] S1: The controller 500 controls the motor in the liquid pump 400 to perform a first rotation operation along a first direction to output liquid material through the liquid outlet 200, that is, drives the material in the liquid storage tank 100 to the infusion port 200 and outputs it through the liquid outlet 200, that is, the first rotation operation is a liquid discharge operation.

[0046] S2: When the condition for stopping the output of the liquid material is triggered, the controller 500 controls the motor in the liquid pump 400 to perform a second rotation operation in a second direction, which is opposite to the first direction, to withdraw the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300, thereby driving the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 toward the liquid storage tank 100, so that the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 moves toward the liquid storage tank 100. In actual application, the condition for stopping the output of the liquid material can be that the weight of the output liquid reaches a preset weight (for example, an electronic scale can be set under the cup containing the liquid material for weighing, and the weighing result can be fed back to the controller 500 in real time through the electronic scale), or the rotation amount of the motor in the liquid pump 400 during the first rotation operation reaches a preset rotation amount, or the rotation time of the motor in the liquid pump 400 during the first rotation operation reaches a preset time, etc., which are preset trigger conditions.

[0047] From the above, it can be seen that the output method uses the controller 500 to control the liquid pump 400 to perform a first rotation operation to output liquid material, and after the liquid discharge operation is completed, the controller 500 is used to control the liquid pump 400 to perform a second rotation operation in the opposite direction, so that the liquid discharge method can, after the liquid discharge operation is completed, perform a backdraw operation on the material in the infusion pipe 300 to drive the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 in the direction of the liquid storage tank 100, thereby reducing the ability of the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 to drip from the liquid outlet 200, effectively suppressing the problem of liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 dripping after the liquid discharge operation is completed, thereby effectively solving the problem of inaccurate liquid material discharge, and helping to ensure the taste of the beverage.

[0048] Regarding step S2, in one embodiment of the present application, using the controller to control the motor in the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation in the second direction includes:

[0049] A first rotation amount is obtained, where the first rotation amount is a required rotation amount of the motor in the liquid pump 400 when performing the second rotation operation.

[0050] The controller 500 is used to control the motor in the liquid pump 400 to perform the second rotation operation based on the first rotation amount, so as to withdraw the liquid material in the liquid delivery pipeline 300 .

[0051] As described above, the purpose of using the controller 500 to control the liquid pump 400 to perform the second rotation operation is to drive the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 toward the liquid storage tank 100 after the first rotation operation is completed, so that the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 moves toward the liquid storage tank 100, or has a tendency to move toward the liquid storage tank 100, rather than simply pumping all the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 back into the liquid storage tank 100. To this end, it is necessary to control the rotation amount of the liquid pump 400 during the second rotation operation. The rotation amount of the second rotation operation cannot be too large, otherwise it will waste more time and energy, nor can it be too small, otherwise it will not be sufficient to drive the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 toward the liquid storage tank 100. Therefore, it is necessary to reasonably determine the required rotation amount of the second rotation operation, that is, the first rotation amount, to control the rotation amount of the liquid pump 400 during the second rotation operation so that the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 neither drips from the liquid outlet 200 nor is pumped back too far.

[0052] Based on the above embodiment, in one embodiment of the present application, obtaining the first rotation amount includes:

[0053] Determine the rotation coefficient. Different liquid materials correspond to different rotation coefficients when they are withdrawn.

[0054] The first rotation amount is determined based on the product of the gyration coefficient and the preset rotation amount, that is, the first rotation amount is equal to the product of the gyration coefficient and the preset rotation amount. The preset rotation amount is a preset default rotation amount, which is related to parameters such as the structure and performance of the liquid pump itself.

[0055] It should be noted that due to the properties of different liquid materials, the required withdrawal rotation amount is generally different from the preset rotation amount. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the rotation coefficient corresponding to the liquid material in the infusion pipeline 300. The required rotation amount, i.e., the first rotation amount, when withdrawing the liquid material in the infusion pipeline 300 is obtained based on the product of the rotation coefficient and the preset rotation amount, so as to withdraw the liquid material in the infusion pipeline 300.

[0056] Based on the above embodiment, in one embodiment of the present application, determining the gyration coefficient includes:

[0057] Get the viscosity value of the liquid material.

[0058] Based on the viscosity value and the first corresponding relationship, a rotation coefficient of the motor in the liquid pump 400 when performing the second rotation operation is determined.

[0059] The first corresponding relationship is a correspondence between the viscosity value of the pre-configured liquid material and the rotation coefficient. The viscosity value of the liquid material is inversely proportional to the rotation coefficient when the liquid pump performs the second rotation operation, that is, the greater the viscosity value of the liquid material, the smaller the rotation coefficient when the liquid pump performs the second rotation operation, and the smaller the first rotation amount. Conversely, the smaller the viscosity value of the liquid material, the larger the rotation coefficient when the liquid pump performs the second rotation operation, and the larger the first rotation amount. Material viscosity is one of the important factors affecting the amount of withdrawal rotation when the liquid material is withdrawn. For liquids with low viscosity and relatively strong fluidity, they are more likely to drip, so a larger rotation coefficient needs to be set; conversely, for liquids with high viscosity and poor fluidity, they are relatively less likely to drip, so a smaller rotation coefficient can be set. By setting this up, the withdrawal operation can be implemented more accurately, which meets the requirement of preventing dripping and avoids excessive withdrawal that consumes more electricity and time.

[0060] It should be noted that different liquid materials have different viscosity values, so different liquid materials all have a corresponding relationship between viscosity value and rotation coefficient, which is obtained in advance and pre-configured in the controller 500 for standby use. Specifically, it can be stored in the built-in memory of the controller 500 or in a memory associated with the controller. The corresponding relationship between the viscosity value of the liquid material and the rotation coefficient is obtained by: after the liquid pump 400 performs a first rotation operation, the liquid pump is controlled to perform a second rotation operation. When a certain viscosity value is obtained through multiple experiments, the weight of the material dripping through the liquid outlet 200 can be controlled within the allowable range of the withdrawal rotation amount, and then when different viscosity values ​​are obtained, the weight of the material dripping through the liquid outlet 200 can be controlled within the allowable range of the withdrawal rotation amount. The rotation coefficient is the ratio between the default rotation amount and the actual withdrawal rotation amount, and the corresponding relationship between the rotation coefficient and the viscosity value is obtained.

[0061] Based on the above embodiment, in one embodiment of the present application, obtaining the viscosity value of the liquid material includes:

[0062] The current temperature of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank 100 is obtained. Specifically, the current temperature of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank 100 can be obtained through a temperature sensor or the like.

[0063] Based on the current temperature of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank 100 and the second corresponding relationship, the viscosity value of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank 100 is determined.

[0064] The second corresponding relationship is a pre-configured corresponding relationship between material temperature and viscosity value, wherein different liquid materials all have corresponding pre-configured corresponding relationships between material temperature and viscosity value.

[0065] Since the viscosity of a liquid is related to its temperature, the higher the temperature, the lower the viscosity. Therefore, when determining the viscosity value of the liquid material in the infusion pipeline 300, the current temperature of the liquid material must also be considered. Therefore, the liquid discharge method determines the viscosity value of the liquid material in the current liquid storage tank 100 based on the current temperature of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank 100 and the second corresponding relationship, thereby further optimizing the determination of the viscosity value and the rotation coefficient and improving the accuracy of the withdrawal operation.

[0066] It should be noted that the corresponding relationship between the material temperature and the viscosity value of the liquid material, that is, the second corresponding relationship, is obtained through experiments and stored in the controller 500 in advance. When the corresponding relationship curve is obtained as needed, the viscosity value corresponding to the current material temperature can be obtained, and then the rotation coefficient corresponding to the current material temperature can be obtained, so as to accurately control the first rotation amount, that is, the back-drawing rotation amount, and effectively suppress the problem of the material dripping from the liquid outlet 200. Taking mango sauce as an example, obtaining its viscosity curve includes: in the laboratory, placing the mango sauce in a test cup, and within the temperature range from T1 to T4, placing the test cup containing the mango sauce in a constant temperature water bath instrument, and setting the usage scenario temperatures to T1, T2, T3, and T4 (T1 < T2 < T3 < T4) respectively. Then, using a high-precision viscometer, the viscosity values Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4 at temperatures T1, T2, T3, and T4 are measured respectively. Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4 show a linear relationship, specifically, the lower the temperature, the higher the viscosity value, and vice versa, the lower the viscosity value. By using the known temperature and viscosity values, and the expression Y = -aT + b, the values of a and b are obtained, so as to obtain the viscosity curve of the mango sauce, and then in subsequent practical applications, the viscosity value of the mango sauce at different temperatures can be obtained.

[0067] It should be noted that different materials have different requirements for storage temperature, which leads to different temperatures of the liquid storage tanks 100 storing different liquid materials. However, before the liquid material is placed in the corresponding liquid storage tank 100, its temperature cannot be guaranteed to be the same as that of the corresponding liquid storage tank 100. If the temperature of the material before being placed in the corresponding liquid storage tank 100 is different from that of the liquid storage tank 100, it needs to be cooled or heated for a period of time before it can be the same as the temperature of the corresponding liquid storage tank 100. Then, within this period of time, the temperature of the material is changing, and its viscosity value is also changing. Consequently, the first rotation amount when the liquid pump 400 performs the second rotation operation is also changing. Then, within this period of time, it is necessary to detect the temperature of the liquid material to adjust the first rotation amount when the liquid pump 400 performs the second rotation operation in real time, so as to avoid the situation of the material dripping from the liquid outlet 200.

[0068] For this output method, in an embodiment of the present application, the liquid outlet method further includes:

[0069] S3: Record the first rotation amount.

[0070] S4: After the second rotation operation is completed, if the motor in the liquid pump 400 performs a second first rotation operation in the first direction, that is, when the current beverage preparation process is completed and the next beverage needs to be prepared and liquid needs to be dispensed a second time, the rotation amount of the motor in the liquid pump 400 during the second first rotation operation is compensated based on the first rotation amount. In other words, during the second first rotation operation, the rotation amount is the sum of the first rotation amount and the current required rotation amount.

[0071] Because the liquid pump 400 has previously performed the second rotation operation, driving the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 to move toward the liquid pump 400, it is equivalent to that there is no liquid material at the liquid outlet 200. Instead, due to the effect of the second rotation operation, the liquid in the infusion pipe 300 has retreated a certain distance toward the liquid pump 400, that is, a distance is left at one end of the infusion pipe 300 near the liquid outlet 200. Therefore, when performing the next first rotation operation, it is necessary to compensate for the previous second rotation operation, that is, to compensate for the above distance, and then discharge the liquid according to the required discharge volume of the second cup of beverage. If the above distance is not compensated and the liquid is directly discharged according to the discharge volume of the second cup of beverage, the infusion pipe will first move the above distance toward the liquid outlet 200 before it can be discharged. In this case, some liquid will be used to fill the above distance gap instead of being actually discharged, resulting in inaccurate discharge.

[0072] For example, when making a second cup of beverage, the required liquid output of the liquid pump 400 for the second first rotation operation must first be obtained according to the current beverage recipe, that is, the liquid output of the second liquid output must be obtained.

[0073] A third rotation amount is acquired based on the liquid discharge amount, where the third rotation amount is the rotation amount without considering the second rotation operation previously performed by the liquid pump 400 .

[0074] The rotation amount required to perform the first rotation operation to prepare the current beverage is obtained based on the sum of the first rotation amount and the third rotation amount. For example, if the number of counter-rotating revolutions of the liquid pump 400 during the second rotation is 50 revolutions (i.e., the first rotation amount is 50 revolutions), and the number of forward rotations obtained based on the secondary liquid discharge amount is 200 revolutions (i.e., the third rotation amount is 200 revolutions), then the number of forward rotations of the liquid pump 400 during the first rotation to prepare the second cup of beverage is 250 revolutions.

[0075] Correspondingly, the present application also provides a beverage making device, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a beverage making device provided by the present application, and the beverage making device includes a liquid output device, and the liquid output device 1 includes: a liquid storage tank 100, a liquid outlet 200, a liquid pump 400 and a controller 500, wherein the liquid storage tank 100 is used to store liquid materials, that is, the liquid storage tank 100 is a liquid storage bin of the beverage making device, used to hold materials required for preparing beverages; the liquid outlet 200 is connected to the liquid storage tank 100 through an infusion pipe 300, so that the material in the liquid storage tank 100 can be transferred to the liquid outlet 200 and output through the liquid outlet 200; the liquid pump 400 is used to transfer the material in the liquid storage tank 100 through the infusion pipe 300 to the infusion port 200, and then output through the liquid outlet 200 to make beverages. It should be noted that the liquid delivery pipe 300 needs to be immersed below the liquid surface of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank 100 and communicated with the liquid outlet 200 via the liquid pump 400 .

[0076] The controller 500 is used to control the motor in the liquid pump 400 to perform a first rotation operation in a first direction to output liquid material through the liquid outlet 200, that is, to drive the material in the liquid storage tank 100 to the infusion port 200 and output it through the liquid outlet 200, that is, the first rotation operation is a liquid discharge operation.

[0077] The controller 500 is also used to control the motor in the liquid pump 400 to perform a second rotation operation in a second direction when the condition for stopping the output of liquid material is triggered. The second direction is opposite to the first direction, so as to draw back the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300, and then drive the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 toward the direction of the liquid storage tank 100, so that the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 moves toward the liquid storage tank 100.

[0078] As can be seen from the above, when the beverage making equipment discharges liquid, the controller 500 controls the liquid pump 400 to perform a first rotation operation to output the material in the liquid storage tank 100 through the liquid outlet 200 for liquid discharge operation, and after the liquid discharge operation is completed, the controller 500 controls the liquid pump 400 to perform a second rotation operation in the opposite direction to perform a back-draw operation on the material in the infusion pipe 300, so that the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 is driven in the direction of the liquid storage tank 100, thereby reducing the ability of the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 to drip from the liquid outlet 200, effectively suppressing the problem of liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 dripping after the liquid discharge operation is completed, thereby effectively solving the problem of inaccurate liquid material discharge, and helping to ensure the taste of the beverage.

[0079] It should be noted that when the liquid pump 400 outputs or withdraws liquid, the motor of the liquid pump drives the blades and other structures to rotate, and the motor rotates under the control of the controller. In actual applications, the liquid pump can be a peristaltic pump, and the motor inside it can be a stepper motor.

[0080] It should also be noted that the first rotation operation of the liquid pump 400 is usually forward rotation of the liquid pump 400, and the second rotation operation of the liquid pump 400 is usually reverse rotation of the liquid pump 400, but this application does not limit this, and it depends on the specific situation.

[0081] For the controller 500, in one embodiment of the present application, the controller 500 is also used to record the first rotation amount; and after the second rotation operation is completed, if the motor in the liquid pump 400 performs a second first rotation operation along the first direction, the rotation amount of the motor in the liquid pump 400 when performing the second first rotation operation is compensated based on the first rotation amount.

[0082] Since the liquid pump 400 has previously performed a second rotation operation, driving the liquid material in the infusion pipe 300 to move toward the liquid pump 400, the next first rotation operation needs to compensate for the previous second rotation operation to ensure the accuracy of the next liquid discharge.

[0083] It should be noted that, since a beverage is usually prepared from a variety of liquid materials, and different beverages require different materials. Therefore, in one embodiment of the present application, the liquid storage tank 100 includes a plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks 101, and the plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks 101 are respectively used to store different liquid materials, that is, each sub-liquid storage tank 101 contains a liquid material to meet the material requirements for beverage production. The above-mentioned known liquid pump 400 is used to drive the liquid material in the liquid storage tank 100 in the controller of the controller 500. Therefore, when a plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks 101 are included, the liquid pump 400 also includes a plurality of sub-liquid pumps 401, and the plurality of sub-liquid pumps 401 correspond one to one with the plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks 101, and are respectively used to drive the materials in the corresponding sub-liquid storage tanks 101 to be output through the liquid outlet 200 to achieve the preparation of beverages.

[0084] On the basis of the above embodiment, in one embodiment of the present application, the beverage making device further includes: an input unit 600, which is used to determine the material formula of the current beverage to be made based on the user's input. The material formula includes the materials required to prepare the beverage and the ratio of each material. Specifically, the input unit 600 can access the material formula of each beverage stored in the controller. When making a beverage, the staff can input the name of the beverage to be prepared, query the material formula of the beverage, and determine the material formula of the current beverage to be prepared. In actual application, the above input unit can also be a barcode scanner. When the user places an order, a QR code corresponding to the beverage in the order will be generated (the QR code can be printed on a paper strip by a printer). The barcode scanner can be connected to or integrated with the beverage making device. When the barcode scanner scans the QR code, it will identify the beverage in the order and then identify the formula of the beverage. Then, the production of the beverage will begin. This application does not limit the type of input unit, which depends on the specific situation.

[0085] After determining the material formula of the beverage to be prepared, the controller 500 controls at least one of the plurality of sub-liquid pumps 401 to perform a first rotation operation and controls the at least one sub-liquid pump 401 to perform a second rotation operation based on the material formula of the beverage to be prepared. In other words, after determining the material formula of the beverage to be prepared, the controller 500 controls at least one of the plurality of sub-liquid pumps 401 to perform a first rotation operation based on the material formula of the beverage to be prepared, so that the required weight of material is output through the liquid outlet. After outputting the required weight of material, the controller 500 further controls the at least one sub-liquid pump 401 to perform a second rotation operation to withdraw the material from the infusion pipeline.

[0086] From the above, it can be seen that the beverage making equipment only requires the staff to confirm the material formula of the beverage to be prepared. The subsequent preparation process is automatically completed by the beverage making equipment, which can greatly improve the efficiency of beverage production and save labor costs. Therefore, the beverage making equipment not only ensures the taste of the beverage, but also ensures the efficiency of beverage production and reduces labor costs.

[0087] In summary, the present application provides a method for outputting liquid materials and a beverage making device. The output method includes using a controller to control a liquid pump to perform a first rotation operation to output the liquid material when the liquid output device outputs the liquid material, and after the liquid discharge operation is completed, using the controller to control the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation in the opposite direction. Therefore, the liquid discharge method can perform a back-draw operation on the material in the infusion pipeline after the liquid discharge operation is completed, so as to drive the liquid material in the infusion pipeline toward the direction of the liquid storage tank, thereby reducing the ability of the liquid material in the infusion pipeline to drip from the liquid outlet, effectively suppressing the problem of liquid material in the infusion pipeline dripping after the liquid discharge operation is completed, and effectively solving the problem of inaccurate liquid material discharge, which helps to ensure the taste of the beverage.

[0088] Example 1: A method for outputting liquid material, for controlling a liquid output device to output the liquid material, the liquid output device comprising: a liquid storage tank, a liquid outlet, a liquid pump, and a controller, wherein the liquid storage tank is used to store the liquid material, the liquid storage tank is connected to the liquid outlet via a liquid infusion pipeline, and the liquid pump is used to output the liquid material stored in the liquid storage tank through the liquid outlet under the control of the controller; the output method comprises:

[0089] The controller controls the motor in the liquid pump to perform a first rotation operation in a first direction to output the liquid material through the liquid outlet;

[0090] When the condition for stopping the output of the liquid material is triggered, the controller controls the motor in the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation in a second direction opposite to the first direction to withdraw the liquid material in the liquid delivery pipeline.

[0091] Example 2: According to the output method described in Example 1, using the controller to control the motor in the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation in a second direction includes:

[0092] Obtaining a first rotation amount;

[0093] The controller controls the motor in the liquid pump to perform the second rotation operation based on the first rotation amount.

[0094] Embodiment 3: According to the output method described in any one of embodiments 1-2, obtaining the first rotation amount includes:

[0095] Determine the coefficient of gyration;

[0096] The first rotation amount is determined based on a product of the gyration coefficient and a preset rotation amount.

[0097] Example 4: According to the output method described in any one of Examples 1-3, determining the rotation coefficient includes:

[0098] Get the viscosity value of liquid material;

[0099] determining, based on the viscosity value and the first corresponding relationship, a rotation coefficient of the motor in the liquid pump when performing the second rotation operation;

[0100] The first corresponding relationship is a pre-configured corresponding relationship between the viscosity value of the liquid material and the gyration coefficient.

[0101] Example 5: According to the output method described in any one of Examples 1-4, obtaining the viscosity value of the liquid material includes:

[0102] Obtaining the current temperature of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank;

[0103] Determining a current viscosity value of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank based on the current temperature of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank and the second corresponding relationship;

[0104] The second corresponding relationship is a preset corresponding relationship between the material temperature and the viscosity value.

[0105] Example 6: According to the output method described in any one of Examples 1-5, the output method further includes:

[0106] recording the first rotation amount;

[0107] After the second rotation operation is completed, if the motor in the liquid pump performs the first rotation operation twice in the first direction, the rotation amount of the motor of the liquid pump during the second first rotation operation is compensated based on the first rotation amount.

[0108] Example 7: A beverage making device, comprising a liquid output device, the liquid output device comprising a liquid storage tank, a liquid outlet, a liquid pump, and a controller, wherein the liquid storage tank is used to store liquid material, the liquid storage tank is connected to the liquid outlet via a liquid infusion pipeline, and the liquid pump is used to output the liquid material stored in the liquid storage tank through the liquid outlet under the control of the controller;

[0109] The controller is used to control the motor in the liquid pump to perform a first rotation operation in a first direction to output liquid material through the liquid outlet, and when the condition for stopping the output of liquid material is triggered, control the motor in the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation in a second direction opposite to the first direction to withdraw the material in the infusion pipeline.

[0110] Example 8: According to the beverage making equipment introduced in Example 7, the controller is also used to record the first rotation amount; and after the second rotation operation is completed, if the motor in the liquid pump performs a second first rotation operation along the first direction, the rotation amount of the motor of the liquid pump when performing the second first rotation operation is compensated based on the first rotation amount.

[0111] Embodiment 9: The beverage making device according to any one of embodiments 7-8, wherein the liquid storage tank comprises a plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks, each of which is used to store different materials;

[0112] The liquid pump includes a plurality of sub-liquid pumps, which correspond one-to-one to the plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks. Under the control of the controller, the materials in the plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks are respectively transferred to the infusion port through the infusion pipeline.

[0113] Embodiment 10: The beverage making device according to any one of embodiments 7-9, further comprising:

[0114] An input unit, used to determine the material formula of the current beverage to be made according to the user's input;

[0115] The control unit controls at least one of the plurality of sub-liquid pumps to perform the first rotation operation based on the material formula, and controls the at least one sub-liquid pump to perform the second rotation operation.

[0116] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive, parallel, or combined manner. Each embodiment focuses on the differences from other embodiments, and reference can be made to the descriptions of the embodiments for similar or identical areas. For the devices disclosed in the embodiments, since they correspond to the methods disclosed in the embodiments, the descriptions are relatively simple. For relevant details, refer to the descriptions of the methods.

[0117] It should be noted that in the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operate in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as limiting this application. When a component is considered to be "connected" to another component, it can be directly connected to the other component or there may be a centrally located component.

[0118] It should also be noted that, in this document, relational terms such as first and second, etc., are used only to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "comprises," "comprising," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that an article or device comprising a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or elements inherent to such article or device. In the absence of further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising a ..." does not exclude the presence of additional identical elements in the article or device comprising the aforementioned elements.

[0119] The above description of the disclosed embodiments is intended to enable one skilled in the art to implement or use the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application is not limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is intended to conform to the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

1. A method for outputting liquid materials, characterized in that: Used to control a liquid output device to output liquid materials, the liquid output device comprises: a liquid storage tank, a liquid outlet, a liquid pump, and a controller, wherein the liquid storage tank is used to store liquid materials, the liquid storage tank is connected to the liquid outlet through a liquid infusion pipeline, and the liquid pump is used to output the liquid material stored in the liquid storage tank through the liquid outlet under the control of the controller; the output method comprises: The controller controls the motor in the liquid pump to perform a first rotation operation along a first direction to output the liquid material through the liquid outlet; When the condition for stopping the output of the liquid material is triggered, the controller controls the motor in the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation along a second direction, which is opposite to the first direction, so as to withdraw the liquid material in the infusion pipeline.

2. The output method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Using the controller to control the motor in the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation along a second direction includes: Obtaining a first rotation amount; The controller controls the motor in the liquid pump to perform the second rotation operation based on the first rotation amount.

3. The output method according to claim 2, characterized in that: Obtaining the first rotation amount includes: Determine the coefficient of gyration; The first rotation amount is determined based on a product of the gyration coefficient and a preset rotation amount.

4. The output method according to claim 3, characterized in that: Determining the coefficient of gyration involves: Get the viscosity value of liquid material; Based on the viscosity value and the first corresponding relationship, determining a rotation coefficient when the motor in the liquid pump performs the second rotation operation; The first corresponding relationship is a pre-configured corresponding relationship between the viscosity value of the liquid material and the coefficient of gyration.

5. The output method according to claim 4, characterized in that: Obtaining the viscosity value of liquid materials includes: Obtaining the current temperature of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank; Determining a viscosity value of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank based on the current temperature of the liquid material in the liquid storage tank and the second corresponding relationship; The second corresponding relationship is a preset corresponding relationship between the material temperature and the viscosity value.

6. The output method according to claim 2, characterized in that: The output method also includes: recording the first rotation amount; After the second rotation operation is completed, if the motor in the liquid pump performs the first rotation operation twice in the first direction, the rotation amount of the motor of the liquid pump when performing the first rotation operation twice is compensated based on the first rotation amount.

7. A beverage making device, characterized in that: The liquid output device comprises a liquid storage tank, a liquid outlet, a liquid pump and a controller, wherein the liquid storage tank is used to store liquid materials, the liquid storage tank is connected with the liquid outlet through a liquid infusion pipeline, and the liquid pump is used to output the liquid materials stored in the liquid storage tank through the liquid outlet under the control of the controller; The controller is used to control the motor in the liquid pump to perform a first rotation operation along a first direction to output liquid material through the liquid outlet, and when the condition for stopping the output of liquid material is triggered, control the motor in the liquid pump to perform a second rotation operation along a second direction opposite to the first direction to withdraw the material in the infusion pipeline.

8. The beverage making device according to claim 7, characterized in that The controller is also used to record the first rotation amount; and after the second rotation operation is completed, if the motor in the liquid pump performs a second first rotation operation along the first direction, the rotation amount of the motor of the liquid pump when performing the second first rotation operation is compensated based on the first rotation amount.

9. The beverage making device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The liquid storage tank comprises a plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks, and the plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks are respectively used to store different materials; The liquid pump comprises a plurality of sub-liquid pumps, and the plurality of sub-liquid pumps correspond one-to-one to the plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks. Under the control of the controller, the materials in the plurality of sub-liquid storage tanks are respectively delivered to the infusion port through the infusion pipeline.

10. The beverage making device according to claim 9, characterized in that Also includes: An input unit, used to determine the material formula of the current beverage to be made according to the user's input; The control unit controls at least one of the plurality of sub-liquid pumps to perform the first rotation operation based on the material formula, and controls the at least one sub-liquid pump to perform the second rotation operation.

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