Beverage supply device

Abstract

A beverage supply device 1 that supplies milk, which is stored in a refrigerated condition in a milk tank 10, to a cup C as at least a portion of a beverage comprises: an ingredient detection unit 34 that detects whether there is milk in the milk tank 10; and a control unit 40 that stops the refrigeration of the milk tank 10 when the ingredient detection unit 34 has detected that there is no milk in the milk tank 10. Preferably, when the ingredient detection unit 34 has detected that there is no milk in the milk tank 10, the control unit 40 stops the refrigeration of the milk tank 10 on the condition that cleaning of a supply passage for supplying milk to the cup C is complete.

Description

beverage dispensing equipment

[0001] The present invention relates to a beverage dispensing device.

[0002] A conventional beverage dispenser that dispenses milk, for example, as foamed milk, into a cup as a container is proposed in Patent Document 1. In such a beverage dispenser, the milk is generally stored in a cooled state in an ingredient tank.

[0003] Patent No. 6875899

[0004] In the beverage supply device described above, when the store in which the beverage supply device is installed closes, it is required to discard the milk in the ingredient tank and turn off the power or the sales enable switch.

[0005] However, if the power is not turned off even after the milk is discarded at closing time, the cooling operation for the ingredient tank continues, resulting in an increase in power consumption.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage dispenser that can stop unnecessary cooling operations and suppress an increase in power consumption.

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the beverage supply device of the present invention is a beverage supply device that supplies ingredients that need to be chilled and are stored in a chilled state in an ingredient tank to a container as at least part of a beverage, and is characterized by having an ingredient detection unit that detects whether or not the ingredients that need to be chilled are present in the ingredient tank, and a control unit that stops cooling the ingredient tank when the ingredient detection unit detects that the ingredients that need to be chilled are absent from the ingredient tank.

[0008] In addition, the beverage supply device of the present invention is a beverage supply device that supplies ingredients that need to be chilled and are stored in a chilled state in an ingredient tank to a container as at least part of a beverage, and is characterized by having an ingredient detection unit that detects the presence or absence of the ingredients that need to be chilled in the ingredient tank, and a control unit that stops cooling of the ingredient tank when the ingredient detection unit detects that the ingredients that need to be chilled are not present in the ingredient tank, on the condition that cleaning of the supply path for supplying the ingredients that need to be chilled to the container has been completed.

[0009] Furthermore, in the beverage supply device according to the present invention, the completion of cleaning of the supply path includes an operation input for completing the cleaning.

[0010] Furthermore, in the beverage supply device of the present invention, when the ingredient detection unit detects that the ingredient tank does not contain any ingredients that need to be cooled, the control unit stops cooling the ingredient tank, provided that cleaning of the supply path for supplying the ingredients that need to be cooled to the container has been completed.

[0011] Furthermore, in the beverage supply device of the present invention, the control unit stops cooling of the ingredient tank when the ingredient detection unit continues to detect that there are no ingredients requiring cooling in the ingredient tank for a predetermined period of time.

[0012] The present invention is also characterized in that, in the above-mentioned beverage supply device, the control unit performs an alarm operation to indicate that the ingredient requiring refrigeration remains when the ingredient detection unit detects that the ingredient requiring refrigeration is present in the ingredient tank and the power is turned off or the sales enable switch is turned off.

[0013] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that in the beverage supply device, the ingredient to be cooled is milk.

[0014] According to the present invention, the raw material detection unit detects whether or not there is raw material that needs to be cooled in the raw material tank, and the control unit stops cooling the raw material tank when the raw material detection unit detects that there is no raw material that needs to be cooled in the raw material tank, thereby achieving the effect of stopping unnecessary cooling operations and suppressing increases in power consumption.

[0015] Furthermore, according to the present invention, the raw material detection unit detects whether or not there is raw material to be cooled in the raw material tank, and when the raw material detection unit detects that there is no raw material to be cooled in the raw material tank, the control unit stops cooling the raw material tank on the condition that cleaning of the supply path for supplying the raw material to be cooled to the container is completed, thereby achieving the effect of stopping unnecessary cooling operation and suppressing an increase in power consumption.

[0016] Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a general configuration circuit of a beverage dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a typical control system of a beverage dispenser according to an embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of a cooling stop process performed by the control unit shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of a cooling start process performed by the control unit shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

[0017] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a beverage supply device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0018] 1 and 2 each show a beverage supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the general circuit configuration of the beverage supply device, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the characteristic control system of the beverage supply device.

[0019] The beverage dispenser 1 illustrated here dispenses milk for milk-based coffee such as a cafe latte into a cup C, which is a container.

[0020] This beverage supply device 1 is composed of a milk tank (ingredient tank) 10, a first gear pump 13, a steam delivery section 16, an air delivery section 18, a mixing section 19, a second gear pump 21, a milk nozzle 23 and a control section 40.

[0021] The milk tank 10 stores milk, which is a beverage ingredient (an ingredient that needs to be refrigerated). The milk tank 10 is disposed in a cooling container 11, and refrigerates the milk to a predetermined temperature.

[0022] The first gear pump 13 is connected to the milk tank 10 through the raw material suction pipe 12, and is also connected to the mixing section 19 through the raw material delivery pipe 14. When a driving section such as a motor is driven in response to a command given from the control section 40, the first gear pump 13 sucks milk from the milk tank 10 through the raw material suction pipe 12 and delivers the milk to the mixing section 19 through the raw material delivery pipe 14.

[0023] The raw material suction line 12 is a line formed by connecting a plurality of pipes, and a first check valve 12a is provided along the line. The first check valve 12a allows the fluid (milk) to flow from the milk tank 10, but restricts the fluid from flowing toward the milk tank 10.

[0024] The raw material delivery pipeline 14 is a pipeline formed by connecting a plurality of pipes, and is provided with an exhaust pipeline 15 and a second check valve 14a along the way. The exhaust pipeline 15 is provided in a manner that it branches off from the raw material delivery pipeline 14 along the way. The exhaust pipeline 15 is a pipeline formed by connecting a plurality of pipes, and is provided with an exhaust valve 15a along the way.

[0025] The exhaust valve 15a is a valve element that opens and closes in response to commands given from the control unit 40. When the exhaust valve 15a is in an open state, it allows fluid (air) to flow through the exhaust pipe 15, but when the exhaust valve 15a is in a closed state, it restricts the flow of fluid through the exhaust pipe 15.

[0026] The second check valve 14a is provided in the raw material delivery pipe 14 downstream of the exhaust pipe 15. This second check valve 14a allows the fluid (milk) to flow toward the mixing section 19, while restricting the fluid from flowing out of the mixing section 19.

[0027] The steam delivery section 16 is equipped with a steam tank 16a. The steam tank 16a heats supplied water and generates steam from the hot water. The steam tank 16a is connected to the mixing section 19 through a heating steam pipe 16b and is also connected to the raw material suction pipe 12 through a blowing steam pipe 17.

[0028] The heating steam pipeline 16b is a pipeline formed by connecting a plurality of pipes, and is provided with a heating steam supply valve 16c and a third check valve 16d midway along the pipeline.

[0029] The heating steam supply valve 16c is a valve element that opens and closes in response to commands given from the control unit 40. When the heating steam supply valve 16c is in an open state, it allows a fluid (heating steam) to flow through the heating steam pipe 16b, and when the heating steam supply valve 16c is in a closed state, it restricts the flow of the fluid through the heating steam pipe 16b.

[0030] The third check valve 16 d is provided downstream of the heating steam supply valve 16 c in the heating steam pipeline 16 b. This third check valve 16 d allows a fluid (heating steam, etc.) to flow toward the mixing section 19, while restricting the flow of a fluid from the mixing section 19.

[0031] The blow steam pipe 17 is a pipe formed by connecting a plurality of pipes, and has one end connected to the steam tank 16a and the other end connected to the raw material suction pipe 12 between the first check valve 12a and the first gear pump 13. The blow steam pipe 17 is provided with a blow steam supply valve 17a and a fourth check valve 17b along the way.

[0032] The blowing steam supply valve 17a is a valve element that opens and closes in response to commands given from the control unit 40. When the blowing steam supply valve 17a is in an open state, it allows a fluid (blowing steam) to flow through the blowing steam pipe 17, but when the blowing steam supply valve 17a is in a closed state, it restricts the flow of the fluid through the blowing steam pipe 17.

[0033] The fourth check valve 17b is provided downstream of the blow steam supply valve 17a in the blow steam pipe 17. This fourth check valve 17b allows the fluid (blow steam) to flow from the steam tank 16a, but regulates the fluid from flowing toward the steam tank 16a.

[0034] The air delivery unit 18 includes an air pump 18a. The air pump 18a is connected to the heating steam pipe 16b through a pressurized air pipe 18b. The air pump 18a generates pressurized air when a driving unit such as a motor is driven in response to a command given from the control unit 40.

[0035] The pressurized air pipeline 18b is a pipeline formed by connecting a plurality of pipes, and is connected at one end to the air pump 18a and at the other end to the heating steam pipeline 16b between the heating steam supply valve 16c and the third check valve 16d. The air delivery unit 18 generates pressurized air using the air pump 18a and delivers it to the mixing unit 19.

[0036] The mixing section 19 is a container having an internal space for mixing. The second gear pump 21 is connected to the mixing section 19 through an inlet pipe 20, and is also connected to the milk nozzle 23 through an outlet pipe 22. When a drive section such as a motor is driven in response to a command given by the control section 40, the second gear pump 21 compresses a fluid such as a mixture that has flowed in from the mixing section 19 through the inlet pipe 20, and sends the fluid to the milk nozzle 23 through the outlet pipe 22.

[0037] The inlet pipeline 20 is a pipeline formed by connecting a plurality of pipes. The outlet pipeline 22 is a pipeline formed by connecting a plurality of pipes, and an orifice portion 22a is provided midway along the inlet pipeline 20. The orifice portion 22a is a portion whose inner diameter is smaller than that of the outlet pipeline 22. Here, the inner diameter of the orifice portion 22a is, for example, about 1 to 2 mm.

[0038] The milk nozzle 23 discharges milk delivered to it into a cup C placed on a stage (not shown). Although not shown, the milk nozzle 23 has a built-in shutter mechanism, which allows the milk delivered to it to be discharged into the cup C, or to be discharged into a discharge path without being discharged into the cup C.

[0039] The control unit 40 comprehensively controls the operation of the beverage dispenser 1 in accordance with the programs and data stored in the storage unit 41. The control unit 40 may be realized, for example, by causing a processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) to execute a program, i.e., by software, or by hardware such as an IC (Integrated Circuit), or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0040] In addition to the above components, the control unit 40 is communicably connected to the operation input unit 31, the extraction unit 32, the raw material detection unit 34, and the cooling device 35.

[0041] The operation input unit 31 is an input means for inputting operations such as product selection. The operation input unit 31 also allows an administrator or the like to perform various settings, such as inputting an operation to complete cleaning after performing a cleaning operation on the supply path for milk, etc. The brewing unit 32 brews coffee and delivers it to the coffee nozzle 33.

[0042] The ingredient detection unit 34 is composed of, for example, an optical sensor, and detects the presence or absence of milk in the milk tank 10. The cooling device 35 is composed of a circuit for circulating a refrigerant, a Peltier element, etc., and cools the milk tank 10 in the cooling container 11.

[0043] The supply of milk, for example, hot frothed milk, in the beverage supply device 1 having the above-described configuration will now be described.

[0044] It is assumed that the heating steam supply valve 16c is closed, the blowing steam supply valve 17a is closed, the exhaust valve 15a is open, the air pump 18a, the first gear pump 13, and the second gear pump 21 are stopped, and a cup C is placed on the stage. It is also assumed that the milk nozzle 23 is in a state where it discharges the fluid sent to it by the shutter mechanism into the discharge path.

[0045] The control unit 40 opens the heating steam supply valve 16c and closes the exhaust valve 15a, and drives the air pump 18a and the second gear pump 21. This causes the heating steam generated in the steam tank 16a to flow through the heating steam pipe 16b, the mixing unit 19, the inlet pipe 20, the second gear pump 21, the outlet pipe 22, and the milk nozzle 23 in this order, and then discharged into the discharge path, thereby sterilizing these paths. In addition, the orifice unit 22a can be preheated.

[0046] The control unit 40 then drives the first gear pump 13. The first gear pump 13, the air pump 18a, and the second gear pump 21 are driven with variable voltages. The control unit 40 also drives the shutter mechanism of the milk nozzle 23 so that the fluid delivered to it can be discharged into the cup C. As a result, the first gear pump 13 sucks milk from the milk tank 10 and delivers it to the mixing unit 19, delivers heating steam generated in the steam tank 16a to the mixing unit 19, and delivers pressurized air generated by the air pump 18a to the mixing unit 19, heating the milk and mixing it with the pressurized air. The second gear pump 21 compresses the heated milk and pressurized air delivered to the mixing unit 19 and delivers them to the orifice unit 22a to generate frothed milk, which is then discharged and supplied from the milk nozzle 23 into the cup C.

[0047] The control unit 40 then stops driving the first gear pump 13, closes the heating steam supply valve 16c, and opens the blowing steam supply valve 17a. This allows the steam (blow steam) generated in the steam tank 16a to circulate through the blowing steam pipe 17, the ingredient suction pipe 12, the first gear pump 13, the ingredient delivery pipe 14, and the mixing unit 19 in this order, and milk remaining in the path can be delivered to the mixing unit 19. Furthermore, because the air pump 18a is driven, pressurized air generated by the air pump 18a can be delivered to the mixing unit 19, and the second gear pump 21, which is being driven, can deliver milk remaining in the path from the mixing unit 19 onwards to the milk nozzle 23, through which it can be dispensed and supplied into the cup C.

[0048] Thereafter, the control unit 40 closes the blowing steam supply valve 17a and opens the heating steam supply valve 16c, thereby sending the heating steam to the mixing unit 19, and the second gear pump 21, which is in operation, sends the milk remaining in the path after the mixing unit 19 to the milk nozzle 23, and discharges and supplies the milk through the milk nozzle 23 into the cup C.

[0049] The control unit 40 then closes the heating steam supply valve 16c, opens the blowing steam supply valve 17a, and stops driving the air pump 18a. The control unit 40 also drives the shutter mechanism to cause the milk nozzle 23 to discharge the fluid delivered to it through the discharge path. This causes the blowing steam to circulate through the blowing steam pipe 17, ingredient suction pipe 12, first gear pump 13, ingredient delivery pipe 14, and mixer 19 in this order, cleaning these paths and sterilizing them.

[0050] Thereafter, the control unit 40 closes the blow steam supply valve 17a and opens the heating steam supply valve 16c, causing the heating steam to flow through the heating steam pipe 16b, the mixing unit 19, the inlet pipe 20, the second gear pump 21, the outlet pipe 22, and the milk nozzle 23 in that order, before being discharged into the discharge path, thereby cleaning and sterilizing these paths.

[0051] The control unit 40 then closes the heating steam supply valve 16c and stops the second gear pump 21, thereby terminating the supply of hot frothed milk. The control unit 40 also opens the exhaust valve 15a to prevent negative pressure in the path.

[0052] FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the cooling stop process executed by the control unit 40 shown in FIGS.

[0053] In this cooling stop process, the control unit 40 determines whether the ingredient detection unit 34 has detected the absence of milk in the milk tank 10 before the power is turned off or the vending enable switch is turned off (steps S101 and S102). Here, the vending enable switch is an input means for permitting the production of a beverage, etc., and if this vending enable switch is turned off, the production of a beverage, etc. will not occur.

[0054] If the ingredient detection unit 34 does not detect the absence of milk in the milk tank 10 and the power is turned off or the sales enable switch is turned off (step S101: No, step S102: Yes), the control unit 40 will notify the operation input unit 31, etc. that milk remains (step S103), and then return to the procedure to end the current processing.

[0055] This allows a manager, such as a store employee, to be aware that the power has been turned off while milk remains in the milk tank 10.

[0056] On the other hand, if the ingredient detection unit 34 detects that there is no milk in the milk tank 10 without the power being turned off or the vendable switch being turned off (step S101: Yes, step S102: No), the control unit 40 determines whether or not an operation input indicating completion of cleaning has been made through the operation input unit 31 until a predetermined set time has elapsed (steps S104 and S105). To explain step S104 in more detail, for example, a power off selection display is displayed on the operation input unit 31, and the control unit 40 determines whether or not this selection display is selected and input.

[0057] The set time here is, for example, two hours or more, a time during which milk has not been supplied for a long time and it is assumed that the store in which the beverage supply device 1 is installed has closed.

[0058] If an operation input indicating completion of cleaning is performed before the set time has elapsed (step S104: Yes, step S105: No), the control unit 40 stops cooling of the milk tank 10 by stopping the operation of the cooling device 35 (step S106), and then returns the procedure to end the current processing.

[0059] This makes it possible to prevent the cooling operation from being performed even when there is no milk in the milk tank 10.

[0060] In the above steps S104 and S105, if the set time has elapsed without any operation input indicating completion of cleaning being performed (step S104: No, step S105: Yes), the control unit 40 performs the processing of the above step S106, and then returns the procedure to end the current processing.

[0061] This also makes it possible to prevent the cooling operation from being performed even when there is no milk in the milk tank 10.

[0062] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the cooling start process executed by the control unit 40 shown in FIGS.

[0063] In this cooling start process, the control unit 40 determines whether the power is on (step S111). If the power is not on (step S111: No), the control unit 40 repeats this determination process.

[0064] On the other hand, if the power is on (step S111: Yes), the control unit 40 determines whether the ingredient detection unit 34 detects the presence of milk before the preset time has elapsed (steps S112, S113).

[0065] Here, the set time is a time at which the cooling device 35 can be driven to cool the milk tank 10 well before the opening time of the store in which the beverage supply device 1 is installed.

[0066] If the set time has elapsed without the ingredient detection unit 34 detecting the presence of milk (step S112: Yes, step S113: No), the control unit 40 starts cooling the milk tank 10 by driving the cooling device 35 (step S114), and then returns the procedure to end the current processing.

[0067] This allows the milk to be cooled well even if it is refilled into the milk tank 10 before the store opens, and beverages can be supplied after the store opens.

[0068] On the other hand, in the above steps S112 and S113, if the ingredient detection unit 34 detects the presence of milk before the set time has elapsed (step S112: No, step S113: Yes), the control unit 40 starts cooling the milk tank 10 by driving the cooling device 35 (step S114), and then returns the procedure to end the current processing.

[0069] According to this, the milk tank 10 is cooled when the milk tank 10 is refilled with milk, so that the milk that has already been refilled can be cooled well and beverages can be supplied after opening time.

[0070] As described above, according to the beverage supply device 1 which is an embodiment of the present invention, when the control unit 40 detects via the ingredient detection unit 34 that there is no milk in the milk tank 10, it stops cooling the milk tank 10, provided that cleaning of the supply path for supplying the milk to the cup C has been completed.This prevents cooling operation from being performed even when there is no milk in the milk tank 10, and stops unnecessary cooling operation to suppress an increase in power consumption.

[0071] In particular, since the condition is that the cleaning of the supply path has been completed, it is possible to prevent the cooling device 35 from stopping operation simply because there is no milk left in the milk tank 10, which also makes it possible to suppress an increase in power consumption.

[0072] According to the beverage supply device 1, the control unit 40 stops cooling the milk tank 10 when the ingredient detection unit 34 continues to detect that there is no milk in the milk tank 10 for a predetermined period of time, thereby preventing cooling operation from being performed even when there is no milk in the milk tank 10, and stopping unnecessary cooling operation to suppress an increase in power consumption.

[0073] Furthermore, according to the beverage supply device 1, the control unit 40 performs an alarm operation to notify the user that milk remains when the power is turned off or the sales switch is turned off when the ingredient detection unit 34 detects that there is milk in the milk tank 10, thereby making it possible for a store employee or other manager to be aware that the power has been turned off or the like while there is milk remaining in the milk tank 10.

[0074] Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this and various modifications can be made.

[0075] In the above embodiment, milk has been described as an example of an ingredient that needs to be cooled, but in the present invention, the ingredient that needs to be cooled is not limited to milk.

[0076] In the above-described embodiment, in the cooling stop process, if the ingredient detection unit 34 detects that there is no milk in the milk tank 10, cooling is stopped on the condition that cleaning of the supply path for supplying the milk to the container has been completed. However, in the present invention, cooling may also be stopped if the ingredient detection unit detects that there are no ingredients requiring cooling in the ingredient tank.

[0077] In the above-described embodiment, the cooling stop process was performed on the condition that a set time had elapsed. However, in the present invention, instead of a set time, the store closing time may be predicted from past sales hours, etc., and the cooling stop may be performed on the condition that the predicted closing time has elapsed.

[0078] 1...beverage supply device, 10...milk tank, 11...cooling container, 12...ingredient suction line, 13...first gear pump, 14...ingredient delivery line, 15...exhaust line, 16...steam delivery section, 16a...steam tank, 16b...heating steam line, 16c...heating steam supply valve, 17...blowing steam line, 17a...blowing steam supply valve, 18...air delivery section, 18a...air pump, 18b...compressed air line, 19...mixing section, 20...inlet line, 21...second gear pump, 22...outlet line, 22a...orifice section, 23...milk nozzle, 31...operation input section, 34...ingredient detection section, 35...cooling device, 40...control section, 41...memory section, C...cup.

Claims

1. A beverage supply device that supplies ingredients that need to be chilled, which are stored in a chilled state in an ingredient tank, to a container as at least part of a beverage, comprising: an ingredient detection unit that detects whether or not the ingredients that need to be chilled are present in the ingredient tank; and a control unit that stops cooling the ingredient tank when the ingredient detection unit detects that the ingredients that need to be chilled are absent from the ingredient tank.

2. A beverage supply device that supplies ingredients that need to be chilled and are stored in a chilled state in an ingredient tank to a container as at least part of a beverage, comprising: an ingredient detection unit that detects whether or not the ingredients that need to be chilled are present in the ingredient tank; and a control unit that, when the ingredient detection unit detects that the ingredients that need to be chilled are absent from the ingredient tank, stops cooling the ingredient tank on the condition that cleaning of the supply path for supplying the ingredients that need to be chilled to the container has been completed.

3. The beverage supply device according to claim 2, wherein the completion of cleaning of the supply path includes an operation input for completing cleaning.

4. The beverage supply device described in claim 1, characterized in that the control unit stops cooling the ingredient tank when the ingredient detection unit continues to detect that there are no ingredients requiring cooling in the ingredient tank for a predetermined period of time.

5. The beverage supply device described in claim 1, characterized in that the control unit performs an alarm operation to indicate that the ingredient requiring refrigeration remains when the ingredient detection unit detects that the ingredient requiring refrigeration is present in the ingredient tank and the power or sales enable switch is turned off.

6. A beverage supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the ingredient to be cooled is milk.

Images