JP2025099390A - Liquid supply device and liquid supply method - Google Patents

Abstract

A liquid supplying device and a liquid supplying method capable of improving the supply speed are provided.
[Solution] The liquid supplying device 100 includes a tank 11 for storing miso soup, a supplying unit 20 that dispenses the miso soup in the tank 11, and a control unit 60 that controls the operation of the supplying unit 20, and the control unit 60 controls the supplying unit 20 to first dispense the miso soup at a first dispensing speed, and then, after dispensing the miso soup at the first dispensing speed, dispense the miso soup at a second dispensing speed that is faster than the first dispensing speed.
[Selected figure] Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid supply device and a liquid supply method for supplying liquid to a container.

Patent document 1 discloses a liquid supply device that includes a tank for storing liquid, a liquid supply means such as an electromagnetic valve that is connected to the tank and injects the liquid into the tableware, and a platform on which the tableware is placed.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-232800

Liquid supply devices such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1 are used to provide soup in restaurants, for example, and there is a demand for improved supply speed so as not to keep customers waiting. However, increasing the speed at which the liquid is dispensed (flow rate) can cause the dispensed liquid to spill out of the container.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a liquid supplying device and a liquid supplying method that can improve the supply speed.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a liquid supply device includes a tank for storing liquid, a supply unit for discharging the liquid in the tank, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the supply unit, and the control unit controls the operation of the supply unit so that the liquid is first discharged at a first discharge speed, and after discharging the liquid at the first discharge speed, the liquid is discharged at a second discharge speed that is faster than the first discharge speed.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a liquid supplying method using a liquid supplying device that supplies liquid to a container first discharges liquid at a first discharge speed, and then discharges the liquid at a second discharge speed that is faster than the first discharge speed.

In the present invention, liquid is first supplied to an empty container at a first discharge speed that prevents the liquid from spilling, so the liquid in the container acts as a cushion, preventing the liquid from spilling from the container even when the liquid is subsequently discharged at a second discharge speed that would cause the liquid to spill if supplied to an empty container. Therefore, the liquid supply speed can be improved without the liquid spilling from the container.

1 is a perspective view of a liquid supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. 1, illustrating the configuration of a liquid supplying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a liquid supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of a tank of the liquid supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a supply unit of a liquid supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing a valve portion of a liquid supplying device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1A shows a state in which the valve portion is fully closed, and FIG. 1B shows a state in which the valve portion is fully open. FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing cooking steps of a method for providing miso soup according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing a supplying process of a method for providing miso soup according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a cleaning process of the method for providing miso soup according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The liquid supply device 100 and liquid supply method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The liquid supply device 100 is a so-called dispenser device that is used primarily to provide liquid soup (liquid food and drink) in restaurants and the like, and in this embodiment, it supplies miso soup.

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the liquid supplying device 100 includes a housing 1, a storage unit 10 for cooking and storing miso soup, a supply unit 20 for supplying the miso soup stored in the storage unit 10, a hot water supply unit 30 for supplying hot water to the storage unit 10, a display unit 40 for displaying information, an operation unit 50 operated by the user, and a control unit 60 for controlling the operation of each component of the liquid supplying device 100.

The housing 1 is placed on the floor and has a box-like configuration that extends vertically, which is the top-bottom direction in FIG. 2. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the top and bottom in the vertical direction will simply be referred to as "top" and "bottom." Additionally, the right side in FIG. 2 will be referred to as "front" and the left side as "rear," and the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2 will also be referred to as "left and right."

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the housing 1 has a first housing section 2 that houses the storage section 10, a placement section 5 on which a container D for supplying miso soup is placed, and a second housing section 8 that houses the hot water supply section 30.

The first housing 2 has a front door 3 that opens from both sides (double doors) and opens and closes from left to right, and a pair of upper units 4 that open and close in the vertical direction. The front door 3 and the pair of upper units 4 form a space that contains the tank 11 of the storage section 10, which will be described later.

The placement section 5 is provided vertically below the first housing section 2. Miso soup is supplied from the storage section 10 to the container D placed on the placement section 5 by its own weight.

As shown in FIG. 2, the placement section 5 is provided with a positioning section 5a for positioning the container D, a drainage outlet 6 through which drainage water from the tank 11 is guided, and a container sensor 7 (see FIG. 3) for detecting the presence or absence of the container D positioned by the positioning section 5a.

The drain outlet 6 is connected to a drain tank (not shown) and directs drainage from the tank 11 to the drain tank. The drain outlet 6 opens to face the placement section 5 behind the container D that is positioned by the positioning section 5a.

The container sensor 7 is, for example, a photoelectric sensor that detects the presence or absence of a container D that has been positioned by contacting the positioning unit 5a, and transmits the detection result to the control unit 60.

The second housing section 8 is provided below the mounting section 5 and houses the hot water supply section 30.

In the liquid supply device 100, two storage sections 10 are provided. The two doors of the front door 3 of the first housing section 2 and the pair of upper units 4 are provided to correspond to the two storage sections 10. The two storage sections 10 have the same configuration, so they will not be distinguished from each other in the following description.

As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the storage unit 10 has a tank 11 for storing miso soup, a storage unit 12 that is stored in the tank 11 and stores the miso M, a stirring unit 13 that is inserted into the storage unit 12 and stirs the storage unit 12, a pressing unit 16 that presses the miso M in the storage unit 12, and a volume detection unit 17 that is provided outside the tank 11 and detects the volume of the miso M in the storage unit 12. In this embodiment, the miso M and the like are dissolved in the hot water in the tank 11, and the miso soup is cooked (produced) in the tank 11 and supplied.

The tank 11 is formed in a box shape with an open top in the vertical direction. The tanks 11 of the two storage sections 10 are housed adjacent to each other in the left-right direction within the first housing section 2.

As shown in FIG. 4, the opening of the tank 11 is closed by the lid 11a. The lid 11a is provided with a water inlet 11b through which hot water is supplied from the hot water supply unit 30. The bottom surface of the tank 11 is formed with an inclined surface 11c inclined with respect to the horizontal direction and a parallel surface 11d parallel to the horizontal direction. The parallel surface 11d is formed with a supply port 11e that guides the miso soup in the tank 11 to the discharge unit 21 of the supply unit 20 described below. The inclined surface 11c is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction so as to face upward from the parallel surface 11d. By forming the inclined surface 11c on the bottom surface of the tank 11, even if the volume of miso soup in the tank 11 decreases, the inclined surface 11c guides the miso soup to the supply port 11e of the parallel surface 11d. This makes it possible to prevent the miso soup in the tank 11 from remaining without being guided to the supply port 11e.

The storage unit 12 is a rectangular metal box with an opening at the top. The bottom and sides of the storage unit 12 have multiple through holes 12a that connect the inside and outside, and the storage unit 12 is a box made of punched metal with so-called through holes 12a. Miso M is poured into the storage unit 12 through the opening at the top, and the storage unit 12 is attached to the lid 11a of the tank 11 so as to close the opening. The inside of the storage unit 12 is connected to the outside (inside of the tank 11) through the through holes 12a, and the miso M in the storage unit 12 is dissolved in the hot water in the tank 11.

In addition, food ingredients (e.g., powdered soup stock, kelp chips, etc.) are stored in the storage section 12 along with the miso M. The size of the passage hole 12a of the storage section 12 is set to a size that does not allow solid objects such as kelp chips to pass through.

The agitator 13 has a propeller-shaped agitator 14 with multiple blades 14a (four in this embodiment) arranged radially from the shaft 14b, and an electric motor 15 that rotates the agitator 14 around the shaft 14b. The agitator 14 is attached to the lid 11a of the tank 11. The blades 14a of the agitator 14 are inserted into the storage section 12 so as to be located near the bottom of the storage section 12 (at a position close to the bottom without touching it). As a result, the blades 14a are buried in the miso M poured into the storage section 12, regardless of whether the capacity is small or large, as described below. The shaft 14b of the agitator 14 extends vertically and protrudes outside the tank 11.

The electric motor 15 is provided in the upper unit 4 of the first housing 2 (see FIG. 2). When the upper unit 4 is closed, the electric motor 15 is connected to the shaft 14b of the agitator 14 via a reducer (not shown) or the like. The rotation of the electric motor 15 is transmitted to the shaft 14b of the agitator 14 through the reducer, causing the agitator 14 to rotate around the shaft 14b. This causes the inside of the storage section 12 (and therefore the inside of the tank 11) to be agitated, and the miso M in the storage section 12 is efficiently dissolved in the hot water in the tank 11.

The pressing portion 16 has a plate-shaped portion 16a with multiple through holes 16c formed through it in the plate thickness direction, and a rod-shaped protruding portion 16b that extends vertically from the plate-shaped portion 16a and protrudes outside the tank 11.

The plate-shaped portion 16a is formed in a plate shape corresponding to the cross-sectional shape (rectangle) along the horizontal direction of the storage portion 12. The plate-shaped portion 16a is formed with a slit 16d through which the shaft portion 14b of the agitator 14 of the agitation portion 13 is inserted, so that it opens at the outer periphery of the plate-shaped portion 16a. The protrusion 16b is inserted so as to be movable in the vertical direction relative to the lid portion 11a. By inserting the plate-shaped portion 16a into the storage portion 12 so as to cover the miso M in the storage portion 12 from above, the miso M in the storage portion 12 is pressed against the bottom surface of the storage portion 12 (in other words, against the blades 14a of the agitator 14 near the bottom surface) by the weight of the pressing portion 16. The pressing portion 16 slides toward the bottom surface of the storage portion 12 as the miso M in the storage portion 12 dissolves in the hot water in the tank 11 and the volume of the miso M in the storage portion 12 (height from the bottom surface of the storage portion 12) decreases. In this way, the pressing portion 16 functions as a so-called drop lid for the miso M in the storage portion 12.

The protruding portion 16b is provided at a portion protruding from the tank 11 with a stopper portion 16e that protrudes radially outward and engages with the lid portion 11a. The stopper portion 16e engages with the lid portion 11a, restricting the sliding of the pressing portion 16 toward the bottom surface of the storage portion 12 and preventing contact between the blades 14a of the agitator 14 near the bottom surface of the storage portion 12 and the plate-shaped portion 16a of the pressing portion 16.

The capacity detection unit 17 detects the capacity of the miso M in the storage unit 12 based on the amount of protrusion of the protruding portion 16b from the tank 11. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the capacity detection unit 17 has a first sensor 17a and a second sensor 17b arranged vertically. The second sensor 17b is located relatively higher in the vertical direction. The first sensor 17a and the second sensor 17b each have a slit (not shown) through which the protruding portion 16b of the pressing portion 16 can pass, and are U-shaped (C-shaped) proximity sensors (photoelectric sensors) that turn ON when the protruding portion 16b passes through the slit. The first sensor 17a and the second sensor 17b detect that the protruding portion 16b of the pressing portion 16 has passed through the respective slits and transmit the detection result to the control unit 60. The capacity detection unit 17 detects the capacity of the miso M in the tank 11 in three stages: zero, small capacity, and large capacity, using the first sensor 17a and the second sensor 17b.

As shown in FIG. 5, the supply unit 20 has a discharge unit 21 to which the miso soup in the tank 11 is guided, a valve unit 22 for controlling the discharge of the miso soup from the discharge unit 21, and a switching unit 28 for switching the discharge direction of the discharge unit 21.

The discharge part 21 is a resin tube that can be elastically deformed by an external force, and one end (base end) is connected to the supply port 11e of the tank 11 (see FIG. 4). The discharge part 21 has a liquid passage 21a through which the miso soup in the tank 11 is guided by its own weight, and a discharge port 21b that discharges the miso soup guided to the liquid passage 21a. The liquid passage 21a is connected to the inside of the tank 11 through the supply port 11e of the tank 11, and guides the miso soup guided from the tank 11 by its own weight to the discharge port 21b. The discharge port 21b is an opening on the tip side of the discharge part 21.

The valve unit 22 controls the flow of miso soup guided by the discharge unit 21. The valve unit 22 has an electric motor 23 whose operation is controlled by the control unit 60, a valve body unit 24 driven by the electric motor 23, and a support unit 25 that supports the discharge unit 21.

The electric motor 23 is a step motor whose rotation angle changes depending on the amount of current supplied.

The valve body 24 is driven by the electric motor 23 to press the discharge portion 21 against the support portion 25, elastically deforming the discharge portion 21. The valve body 24 is a cam member that is rotated by the electric motor 23 and changes the amount of pressure that presses and deforms the discharge portion 21 depending on the rotation angle. By controlling the rotation angle of the electric motor 23, the amount of pressure that the valve body 24 presses on the discharge portion 21 (the opening degree of the valve portion 22, and therefore the opening degree of the liquid passage 21a) is continuously controlled from a fully closed state (FIG. 6(a)) in which the liquid passage 21a of the discharge portion 21 is completely blocked and the passage of miso soup is blocked to a fully open state (FIG. 6(b)) in which the liquid passage 21a is completely opened and the miso soup passes through.

A cylindrical throttle section 27 having a throttle passage 27a with an inner diameter smaller than the liquid passage 21a of the discharge section 21 is inserted into the tip of the discharge section 21, which is opposite to the base end connected to the supply port 11e of the tank 11. In other words, the throttle passage 27a is provided downstream (the end opposite the end connected to the tank 11) on the discharge port 21b side of the part of the discharge section 21 pressed by the valve section 22 (where the liquid passage 21a is opened and closed). When miso soup is discharged through the discharge section 21 and the liquid passage 21a is closed by the valve section 22, miso soup remains in the liquid passage 21a downstream of the part pressed by the valve section 22. In contrast, the throttle passage 27a applies a resistance to the miso soup that is greater than the flow resistance of the liquid passage 21a, so that the miso soup remaining in the liquid passage 21a with the valve section 22 closed can be prevented from being discharged from the discharge port 21b. In other words, by providing the throttle section 27 at the tip of the discharge section 21, the flow resistance exerted by the throttle passage 27a of the throttle section 27 can improve the drainage of the miso soup discharged from the discharge port 21b.

The switching unit 28 switches the discharge direction of the discharge unit 21 between a supply direction toward the container D placed on the placement unit 5 (solid line in FIG. 5) and a drain direction toward the drain outlet 6 facing the placement unit 5 (dashed line in FIG. 5). Specifically, the switching unit 28 has a guide unit 29 that guides the orientation of the discharge unit 21, and an actuator (not shown) that drives the guide unit 29. The guide unit 29 is formed in a hook shape that engages with the tip of the discharge unit 21 (see FIG. 2), and is driven by the actuator to switch the orientation of the discharge unit 21 between the supply direction and the drain direction. Note that the left-right direction in FIG. 5 corresponds to the front-rear direction, and the right side in FIG. 5 corresponds to the front side.

As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the hot water supply unit 30 has a water tank 31 that stores water or hot water (hereinafter, when no distinction is made, it will also be referred to as "water, etc."), a heater 32 that heats the water in the water tank 31, and a pump 33 that supplies the water, etc. in the water tank 31 from the water inlet 11b to the tank 11 through piping (not shown).

The water tank 31 is housed in the housing 1 below the placement portion 5. The heater 32 is immersed in the water in the water tank 31 to heat the water and boil it. The pump 33 is driven by an electric motor or the like (not shown) and discharges the water or the like from the water tank 31.

The display units 40 are provided on each of the two doors of the front door 3 (see FIG. 1) of the housing 1, corresponding to the two storage units 10. As shown in FIG. 3, the display unit 40 has a remaining amount display unit 41 that displays the remaining amount of miso soup in the tank 11, and a time display unit 42 that displays the elapsed time since the miso soup was cooked in the tank 11. In addition, although not shown, the front door 3 of the housing 1 is provided with a water boiling lamp or the like that displays that the water in the water tank 31 has been boiled.

The remaining amount of miso soup in the tank 11 is calculated by the control unit 60 and displayed by the remaining amount display unit 41. Specifically, the amount of each supply by the supply unit 20 to the container D is preset to a fixed amount. In this embodiment, hot water (or miso soup) is not added to the tank 11. The control unit 60 also stores the number of times miso soup has been cooked in the tank 11 and then supplied. Therefore, the remaining amount of miso soup in the tank 11 can be calculated by dividing the amount of miso soup initially cooked in the tank 11 (in other words, the amount of hot water supplied to the tank 11) by the value (total supply amount) obtained by multiplying the number of times miso soup has been supplied and the amount of supply per time. The time display unit 42 displays, for example, the elapsed time from the completion of cooking of the miso soup, measured by a timer (not shown) provided in the control unit 60.

The operation unit 50 has a supply button 51 for discharging the miso soup cooked in the tank 11, and a hot water supply button 52 for supplying hot water into the tank 11. The supply button 51 and the hot water supply button 52 are push button switches that light up when they are operable. The hot water supply buttons 52 are provided on each of the front doors 3 in correspondence with the two tanks 11, with a pair consisting of a small capacity button (referred to as small capacity button 52a) and a large capacity button (referred to as large capacity button 52b).

The control unit 60 is configured by a computer equipped with an arithmetic processing unit such as a CPU, a storage device, a network connection device, etc. Programs, applications, etc. are stored in the storage device in advance, and the CPU executes these to perform the various functions of the control unit 60 described in this specification. Note that the control unit 60 may be configured as a single device, or may be divided into multiple devices and configured to distribute the various controls among the multiple devices.

Next, the liquid supply method and provision method of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 7 to 9.

The method of providing miso soup in this embodiment includes a cooking process of cooking miso soup in the tank 11 of the storage unit 10, a supplying process (liquid supplying method) of supplying the cooked miso soup, and a cleaning process of cleaning the inside of the tank 11. The control unit 60 controls the operation of each component of the liquid supplying device 100 so as to execute each of the following processes.

[Cooking process]
First, the cooking process will be described with reference to FIG.

In the cooking process, first, the upper unit 4 of the housing 1 corresponding to one of the tanks 11 is lifted, and the lid 11a of the tank 11 is removed. Then, a predetermined amount of miso M and ingredients are placed in the storage section 12 (step S10). In this embodiment, the amount of miso M put into the storage section 12 is set to two levels: a small volume and a large volume.

Next, the agitator 14 and the pressing part 16 are assembled into a unit on the lid part 11a of the tank 11, and the unit is attached to the tank 11 so that the lid part 11a closes the opening of the tank 11 (step S11). At this time, the agitator 14 of the agitator 13 is inserted into the storage part 12 so as to be buried in the miso M, and the plate-shaped part 16a of the pressing part 16 is inserted into the storage part 12 so as to cover the miso M (see FIG. 4).

Next, the upper unit 4 is lowered, and as shown in FIG. 2, the electric motor 15 of the stirring section 13 in the upper unit 4 is connected to the shaft 14b of the stirrer 14 (step S12). Furthermore, by lowering the upper unit 4, the protruding section 16b of the pressing section 16 is inserted into the slits of the first sensor 17a and/or the second sensor 17b. The amount of protrusion of the protruding section 16b varies depending on the volume of miso M in the storage section 12. FIG. 2 shows the state in which the protruding section 16b is inserted into the slits of both the first sensor 17a and the second sensor 17b.

When miso M is not placed in the storage section 12, the first sensor 17a and the second sensor 17b are both OFF. In this case, both hot water supply buttons 52 are inoperable.

When the amount of miso M in the storage section 12 is small, the protrusion 16b is inserted into the slit of the first sensor 17a and is not inserted into the slit of the second sensor 17b. In this case, the first sensor 17a is ON, the second sensor 17b is OFF, and the small volume button 52a of the hot water supply button 52 becomes operable.

When the miso M is large, the protruding portion 16b protrudes from the tank 11 by a large amount, so that the protruding portion 16b is inserted into the slits of both the first sensor 17a and the second sensor 17b. In this case, both the first sensor 17a and the second sensor 17b are ON, and the large capacity button 52b of the hot water supply button 52 becomes operable.

In this way, based on the detection results of the first sensor 17a and the second sensor 17b, it is possible to detect whether the volume of miso M in the storage section 12 is zero, a small volume, or a large volume (step S13).

When the hot water supply button 52 is operated, a command signal is sent from the control unit 60 to the hot water supply unit 30, and hot water is supplied from the hot water supply unit 30 to the tank 11 at an amount corresponding to the amount of miso M in the storage unit 12 (in other words, the type of hot water supply button 52 that was operated) (step S14). The amount of hot water supplied by the hot water supply unit 30 for the type of hot water supply button 52 (amount of miso M added) is predetermined and stored in the control unit 60. When a predetermined amount of hot water is supplied to the tank 11, water to be used in the next cooking process in the tank 11 of the other storage unit 10 is supplied to the water tank 31, and new water is boiled. In this way, by providing two storage units 10 and using them alternately, the efficiency of cooking and serving miso soup can be improved.

Then, a command signal is sent from the control unit 60 to the electric motor 15 of the stirring unit 13, and the stirrer 14 is driven at a predetermined rotation speed for a predetermined time, stirring the hot water and miso M in the tank 11 (step S15). This causes the miso M to dissolve in the hot water, and miso soup is cooked. In addition, because the miso M in the storage unit 12 is pressed toward the bottom surface of the storage unit 12 by the pressing unit 16, the miso M is efficiently stirred by the stirrer 14 without floating in the storage unit 12.

When the agitator 14 is driven for a predetermined time, cooking of the miso soup is considered to be complete, and the tank 11 enters a standby state in which the miso soup can be served. After cooking of the miso soup is complete, the operation of the agitator 13 is controlled to, for example, agitate the miso soup in the tank 11 intermittently at time intervals, or to agitate continuously.

In this way, the miso soup is cooked in the tank 11 and the cooking process is completed.

[Supply process]
Next, the supplying step will be described with reference to FIG.

When the cooking process is completed and the device is in a standby state in which miso soup can be served, the direction of the discharge unit 21 corresponding to the tank 11 in which the miso soup was cooked is switched to the supply direction, and when the container sensor 7 detects that a container D has been placed on the placement unit 5, the supply button 51 becomes operable and the lamp of the share button lights up (step S20). When the supply button 51 is pressed (step S21), the control unit 60 controls the operation of the valve unit 22, and miso soup is discharged (supplied) from the discharge unit 21 to the container D in the placement unit 5.

The supply process is explained in detail below.

When the supply button 51 is pressed, the control unit 60 controls the operation of the supply unit 20 so as to dispense a predetermined amount of miso soup for one cup. In dispensing one cup of miso soup, the supply unit 20 is controlled so as to first dispense the miso soup at a first dispensing speed for a predetermined time (step S22), and then dispense the miso soup at a second dispensing speed that is faster than the first dispensing speed for a predetermined time (step S23). In other words, in this embodiment, the miso soup is dispensed in two stages: the relatively slow first dispensing speed and the relatively fast second dispensing speed.

More specifically, the control unit 60 outputs a command signal (current) to the electric motor 23 of the valve unit 22 so that the liquid passage 21a changes from a closed state to an opening corresponding to a first discharge speed that is stored in advance. As a result, the miso soup in the tank 11 is guided by its own weight to the liquid passage 21a of the discharge unit 21 and discharged from the discharge port 21b at the first discharge speed.

When the miso soup has been discharged at the first discharge speed for a predetermined time, the control unit 60 outputs a command signal to the electric motor 23 of the valve unit 22 to increase the opening of the valve unit 22 so that the opening corresponds to the second discharge speed that is stored in advance. As a result, the miso soup in the tank 11 is discharged from the discharge port 21b at the second discharge speed that is faster than the first discharge speed.

When the miso soup has been discharged at the second discharge speed for a predetermined time, the control unit 60 outputs a command signal to the electric motor 23 of the valve unit 22 to block the liquid passage 21a and stop discharging the miso soup (step S24).

The first and second discharge speeds are set to be the same regardless of the amount of miso soup remaining in the tank 11. The first discharge speed is set to a speed at which miso soup does not spill out of the container D even when it is discharged into an empty container D.

When miso soup is discharged by gravity without using power such as the pump 33, as in this embodiment, the discharge speed varies depending on the amount of miso soup remaining in the tank 11. The amount of miso soup for one cup ultimately supplied to the container D is set to be constant regardless of the amount of miso soup remaining in the tank 11. Therefore, the control unit 60 stores the opening degree of the valve unit 22 (command current value to the electric motor 23) for each remaining amount in the tank 11 to achieve the desired first and second discharge speeds while keeping the amount of miso soup discharged into the container D constant.

Depending on the capacity (remaining amount) of the tank 11, it may be possible to achieve substantially the same first and second discharge speeds without changing the opening of the valve section 22, even when discharging one cup of miso soup. Therefore, the opening of the valve section 22 may be set for each remaining amount of miso soup, which varies by one cup at a time, or multiple levels with a predetermined range greater than one cup may be set for the remaining amount, and the opening of the valve section 22 may be set for each level. In this case, the smaller the remaining amount of miso soup in the tank 11, the greater the change in the discharge amount in response to the change in the opening of the valve section 22. In other words, since the sensitivity of the discharge amount to the opening of the valve section 22 becomes greater, it is desirable to set the opening individually according to the remaining amount as the remaining amount decreases (the level at which the remaining amount is set is reduced).

In this way, when the supply button 51 is pressed, the control unit 60 controls the operation of the valve unit 22 according to the amount of miso soup remaining at that time, so as to achieve ejection at the first ejection speed and the second ejection speed.

Here, some liquid dispensers for miso soup mix and dispense hot water and miso each time miso soup is dispensed. In this type of device, it takes time to serve the soup because hot water and miso must be mixed each time miso soup is dispensed. Also, in devices that mix each time, dashi and the like must be mixed with the miso in advance, making it difficult to improve the flavor and taste.

In order to improve the quality of miso soup while increasing the serving speed, it is possible to prepare the miso soup in advance and supply it to the container at a high speed. However, when supplying miso soup using a power source such as a pump, increasing the supply speed requires an increase in the size of the power source for the pump, so it is not easy to increase the supply speed. Furthermore, even if the supply speed could be increased, the risk of the miso soup spilling out of the container increases accordingly.

In contrast, in this embodiment, miso soup that has been cooked in the tank 11 in advance during the cooking process is discharged into the container D by its own weight while controlling the opening of the liquid passage 21a of the discharge part 21, without using a power source such as a pump. The miso soup is discharged at two speed stages, a first discharge speed and a second discharge speed. Since the miso soup is first supplied to the empty container D at a first discharge speed that does not spill, the miso soup in the container D acts as a cushion, and even if the miso soup is subsequently discharged at a second discharge speed that is faster than the first discharge speed (for example, such that the miso soup would spill from the container D if supplied to an empty container D), the miso soup can be prevented from spilling from the container D. Therefore, miso soup with good quality, such as taste and flavor, can be quickly supplied from the container D without spilling.

In addition, in this embodiment, the predetermined time for discharging miso soup at the first discharging speed and the predetermined time for discharging miso soup at the second discharging speed are set to be the same. As a result, the amount of miso soup discharged at the second discharging speed is greater than the amount of miso soup discharged at the first discharging speed. In this way, by relatively increasing the amount of miso soup discharged at the faster second discharging speed, the supply time can be shortened and efficiency can be improved. Note that in order to relatively increase the amount of miso soup discharged at the second discharging speed, the time for discharging miso soup at the second discharging speed may be set longer than in the case of the first discharging speed.

[Cleaning process]
Next, the cleaning process will be described with reference to FIG.

The supply device has a cleaning function that supplies water into the tank 11 to perform preliminary cleaning. The cleaning process performed by the cleaning function is described below.

When all the miso soup in the tank 11 has been dispensed, or when a predetermined time has elapsed since the miso soup was cooked (specifically, the completion of step S15, which is the final step of the cooking process), which is the basis for disposal, the cleaning process shown in FIG. 9 is automatically executed by the control unit 60. Note that the cleaning process may also be executed by the operator operating a cleaning button or the like when all the miso soup in the tank 11 has been dispensed, or when a predetermined time has elapsed since the miso soup was cooked.

If the miso soup dispensed by the dispenser is stored for a long time, there is a risk that its flavor will deteriorate and quality problems will occur. For this reason, in restaurants, the miso soup is discarded when a certain amount of time has passed since the miso soup was prepared. Therefore, when the cleaning process is started, the first step is a disposal process in which the miso soup is discarded.

In the disposal process, the direction of discharge by the discharge unit 21 is switched to the drain direction by the switching unit 28 (step S30). Then, the valve unit 22 fully opens the liquid passage 21a of the discharge unit 21, and the miso soup remaining in the tank 11 is discharged toward the drain outlet 6 (step S31).

When all the miso soup in the tank 11 has been discarded, cold water is supplied from a water source such as a tap into the water tank 31, and the cold water in the water tank 31 is supplied into the tank 11 (step S32). The cold water supplied into the tank 11 is discharged through the discharge unit 21 to the drain outlet 6 (step S33). This allows the inside of the tank 11 to be washed with the cold water, and also cools the tank 11, whose temperature has risen due to the heat of the miso soup.

The cleaning process is completed when a predetermined amount of water is supplied into the tank 11 and then discharged. Once the cleaning process is completed, the tank 11 and the agitator 14 attached to the tank 11 are removed from the housing 1, and full-scale cleaning etc. is performed. In this way, the cleaning process cleans and cools the tank 11 with cold water, so that the worker does not have to handle a heated tank 11 when removing the tank 11 etc., improving safety.

Next, we will explain a variation of this embodiment.

In this embodiment, the liquid supplying device 100 does not have a power source such as a pump 33, and discharges miso soup by its own weight. In contrast, the liquid supplying method of this embodiment is useful for a liquid supplying device 100 that discharges miso soup by its own weight, but may also be performed by a liquid supplying device 100 that has a power source such as a pump 33.

Furthermore, the liquid supply method of this embodiment is not limited to supplying miso soup, but may be used to supply other liquids.

In addition, in the liquid supply method of this embodiment, miso soup is discharged at two discharge speeds, a first discharge speed and a second discharge speed. In contrast, in the liquid supply method, miso soup may be discharged at three or more discharge speeds, so long as discharge is first performed at the first discharge speed and then at the second discharge speed. In addition, the liquid supply method is not limited to a stepwise speed change, and may be configured to change the speed continuously from the relatively slow first discharge speed to the relatively fast second discharge speed.

In addition, in the liquid supply method, the first and second ejection speeds are set to be the same (common) regardless of the remaining amount in the tank 11. In contrast, the first and/or second ejection speeds may be set to be different depending on the remaining amount, for example, as long as the second ejection speed is set to be faster than the first ejection speed.

The structures of the discharge section 21 and the valve section 22 are not limited to those in the above embodiment, and may be any structure. For example, a solenoid valve may be used for the valve section 22.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the amount of miso soup remaining in the tank 11 is obtained from the amount of miso soup cooked in the tank 11 and the number of times it is dispensed. In contrast, the amount of miso soup remaining in the tank 11 may be detected by a remaining amount detection sensor, such as a sensor that measures weight or a sensor that measures the liquid level.

The above embodiment provides the following effects:

The liquid supplying device 100 that supplies miso soup to a container D includes a tank 11 for storing miso soup, a supplying unit 20 that discharges the miso soup in the tank 11, and a control unit 60 that controls the operation of the supplying unit 20. The liquid supplying method, which is executed by controlling the operation of the supplying unit 20 by the control unit 60, first discharges the miso soup at a first discharge speed, and then discharges the miso soup at a second discharge speed that is faster than the first discharge speed.

In this embodiment, miso soup is first supplied to an empty container D at a first discharge speed that prevents the miso soup from spilling, so the miso soup in the container D acts as a cushion, preventing the miso soup from spilling out of the container D even when it is subsequently discharged at a second discharge speed that would cause the miso soup to spill if supplied to the empty container D. Therefore, the supply speed can be improved without spilling the miso soup from the container D.

In addition, in this embodiment, the ejection amount at the second ejection speed is set to be greater than the ejection amount at the first ejection speed.

According to this embodiment, the amount of ejection at the relatively fast second ejection speed is large, so the supply time can be shortened and efficiency can be improved.

The liquid supply device 100 also has a discharge section 21 through which the miso soup in the tank 11 is guided by its own weight, and a valve section 22 that controls the flow of the miso soup guided by the discharge section 21, and the control section 60 controls the valve section 22 according to the remaining amount of miso soup in the tank 11 so that the miso soup is discharged at a first discharge speed and a second discharge speed.

According to this embodiment, the first and second discharge speeds can be maintained even if the remaining amount in the tank 11 fluctuates, so the supply speed can be improved regardless of the remaining amount in the tank 11.

The liquid supply device 100 also includes a tank 11 for storing miso soup, a storage section 12 that has a passage hole 12a that connects the inside and outside and that stores miso M that is stored in the tank 11 and dissolved in the hot water in the tank 11, a discharge section 21 that can be elastically deformed by an external force and has a liquid passage 21a through which the miso soup in the tank 11 is guided by its own weight and a discharge port 21b that discharges the miso soup guided to the liquid passage 21a, a valve section 22 that elastically deforms the discharge section 21 to open and close the liquid passage 21a, and a control section 60 that controls the operation of the valve section 22 to control the discharge of the miso soup from the discharge section 21.

In this embodiment, miso soup is prepared in advance by dissolving miso M in hot water in the storage section 12, and the miso soup in the tank 11 is then dispensed, so miso soup can be provided more quickly than with a device that mixes miso M and hot water each time. Furthermore, in the liquid supply device 100, the valve section 22 is configured to elastically deform the discharge section 21 to control the discharge of miso soup, so the liquid passage 21a can be opened and closed at a position close to the discharge port 21b. This makes it unnecessary to wait until the miso soup in the liquid passage 21a is dispensed by immediately closing the liquid passage 21a after the appropriate amount of miso soup has been dispensed, and the serving time can be shortened. Therefore, according to this embodiment, the appropriate amount of miso soup can be provided quickly.

In addition, in the liquid supply device 100, the valve section 22 has an electric motor 23 and a valve body section 24 that is driven to rotate by the electric motor 23 and changes the amount of pressure that presses and deforms the discharge section 21 depending on the rotation angle.

In this embodiment, the electric motor 23 can control the rotation angle of the valve body portion 24 with high precision and good responsiveness.

The liquid supply device 100 further includes a stirring unit 13 that is inserted into the storage unit 12 and stirs the contents of the storage unit 12, and a pressing unit 16 that presses the miso M in the storage unit 12.

In this embodiment, the miso M is pressed by the pressing portion 16, so that the miso M can be reliably stirred by the stirrer 14, and the miso M can be efficiently dissolved in the hot water. Therefore, a delicious miso soup can be provided.

In addition, in the liquid supply device 100, the pressing portion 16 has a protruding portion 16b that protrudes outside the tank 11, and a capacity detection portion 17 is provided outside the tank 11 to detect the volume of miso M in the storage portion 12 based on the amount of protrusion of the protruding portion 16b from the tank 11.

The liquid supply device 100 further includes an injection unit that injects hot water into the tank 11, and the control unit 60 controls the injection unit to inject hot water into the tank 11 in an amount that corresponds to the volume of the miso M detected by the volume detection unit 17.

In this embodiment, hot water is poured into the tank 11 in an amount based on the detected volume of miso M, which reduces the occurrence of errors in the amount of hot water poured, making it possible to cook miso soup of appropriate quality.

In addition, in the liquid supply device 100, a throttle section 27 is provided on the discharge port 21b side of the portion of the discharge section 21 that is opened and closed by the valve section 22, which applies a resistance to the miso soup that is greater than the flow resistance of the liquid passage 21a.

In this embodiment, when the liquid passage 21a is blocked by the valve section 22, the miso soup remaining in the liquid passage 21a can be prevented from being discharged from the discharge port 21b. In other words, by providing the throttle section 27 at the tip of the discharge section 21, the flow resistance exerted by the throttle passage 27a of the throttle section 27 can improve the drainage of the miso soup discharged from the discharge port 21b.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above embodiments merely show some of the application examples of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention to the specific configurations of the above embodiments.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Liquid supply device 11 Tank 12 Storage section 13 Stirring section 16 Pressing section 16b Projecting section 17 Capacity detection section 20 Supply section 21 Discharge section 21a Liquid passage 21b Discharge port 22 Valve section 23 Electric motor 24 Valve body section 27 Throttle section 27a Throttle passage 60 Control section D Container

Claims (4)

A liquid supplying device that supplies liquid to a container,
A tank for storing the liquid;
A supply unit that discharges the liquid in the tank;
A control unit that controls an operation of the supply unit,
The control unit is
First, the liquid is discharged at a first discharge speed;
A liquid supplying device that controls the operation of the supplying unit so as to discharge the liquid at the first discharge speed and then discharge the liquid at a second discharge speed that is faster than the first discharge speed. 2. The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1,
The control unit controls the operation of the supply unit so that the amount of liquid ejected at the second ejection speed is greater than the amount of liquid ejected at the first ejection speed. 3. The liquid supply device according to claim 1,
The supply unit includes:
a discharge portion through which the liquid in the tank is guided by its own weight;
a valve portion for controlling the flow of the liquid guided by the discharge portion,
The control unit controls the valve unit in accordance with the remaining amount of the liquid in the tank so that the liquid is discharged at the first discharge speed and the second discharge speed. A liquid supplying method using a liquid supplying device that supplies liquid to a container, comprising the steps of:
First, the liquid is discharged at a first discharge speed;
A liquid supplying method comprising: discharging the liquid at the first discharge speed, and then discharging the liquid at a second discharge speed faster than the first discharge speed.

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