JP4045701B2 - Coffee machine - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an automatic coffee machine suitable for business use used in restaurants, coffee shops and the like.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As an automatic coffee machine for business use as mentioned above, drip-type coffee extraction that extracts regular coffee by adding ground coffee beans (pulverized roasted coffee beans and ground) and hot water into the machine Equipped with a canister for storing ground coffee beans and supplying to the coffee extractor, a hot water tank for hot water supply, and a coffee storage tank for transferring and maintaining regular coffee produced by the coffee extractor from the coffee extractor, There is a known configuration in which a coffee is stored in a storage tank by a specified amount by supplying a supply command in a state where the cup is set on a bend stage.
[0003]
This type of commercial automatic coffee machine extracts and produces a large amount (for example, about 2 liters) of coffee at a time, unlike a home coffee extractor that makes several cups of coffee at a time. It is required to have a function that can be kept warm in a storage tank and provided to a large number of customers without waiting time.
[0004]
For this reason, in a non-pressure drip extraction system such as a home coffee extractor, it is necessary to place a coffee storage tank below the coffee extractor, which eliminates the freedom of layout. A forced filtration system is employed in which the storage tank can be arranged at the same height as the coffee extractor or above the coffee extractor. Specifically, the following method is known.
[0005]
(1) With the coffee grounds and hot water charged in the coffee extractor cylinder, seal the cylinder, feed compressed air into the cylinder with an air compressor, pressurize, and forcibly extract and filter the coffee.
[0006]
(2) A vacuum pump is connected to the outlet pipe of the filter block connected to the lower part of the cylinder where the coffee beans and hot water are charged, and the coffee is forcibly filtered by the decompression operation.
[0007]
(3) A rotary vacuum pump is connected to the coffee storage tank connected to the rear of the coffee extractor, and the vacuum inside the storage tank is reduced by the operation of the vacuum pump during coffee extraction, and the negative pressure is reduced by the filter block of the coffee extractor. It acts on the lower surface side, and after forcibly filtering the coffee, it is sucked into the storage tank and transferred.
[0008]
Further, in a conventional coffee machine, a single hot water nozzle is connected to a hot water pipe drawn from a hot water tank, and hot water is supplied to the coffee extractor through the nozzle.
[0009]
On the other hand, in order to produce a delicious coffee by sufficiently extracting the flavor of ground coffee beans using a drip-type extractor, the coffee is extracted in the first half of the steaming process and the second half of the extraction process. It is important to swell the ground coffee beans quickly and uniformly with the supplied hot water, and to add the hot water evenly and gently in the subsequent extraction process. In addition, when hot water is poured into ground coffee beans, gas is generated from the ground beans during the swelling process, but if this gas dissolves in the liquid, the flavor of the coffee is impaired, so extraction is performed so that this gas does not dissolve in the coffee. It is also important to exclude from the vessel out of the system.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, the above-described conventional coffee machine has the following problems in terms of the quality of the extracted regular coffee and the maintainability. That is,
(1) In the method of compressing and extracting by sending compressed air to the cylinder of the coffee extractor, the ground pressure of the cylinder increases, so the ground coffee beans do not swell enough, and the cylinder is sealed, so the ground coffee The generated gas does not escape from the cylinder but dissolves in the coffee liquid and impairs the flavor.
[0011]
(2) In the method of sucking and filtering coffee from the extractor using a positive displacement pump, the pump is frequently washed because the oil and fat contained in the coffee adheres to and accumulates on the sliding part inside the pump. There is a need for maintenance work.
[0012]
(3) In addition, in a system in which a vacuum pump is connected to the coffee storage tank, the air in the storage tank is evacuated and the coffee is transferred from the extractor to the storage tank, the vacuum pump contains coffee components from the storage tank. In order to suck the steam, the coffee component adheres to the rotating and sliding parts inside the pump, causing malfunction and shortening the pump life. Furthermore, when coffee is sucked directly into the vacuum pump due to abnormal operation of the coffee extractor, the vacuum pump may break down.
[0013]
The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is an improved coffee machine that solves the above-described problems and improves maintenance, reliability, and quality of coffee for a commercial coffee machine. The purpose is to provide.
[0014]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a canister for storing ground coffee beans, a hot water tank for hot water supply, a drip coffee extractor for charging coffee by adding ground coffee beans and hot water, In the coffee machine equipped with a coffee storage tank that transfers and keeps the coffee produced by the coffee extractor and supplies coffee to the cup from the coffee storage tank in accordance with the directive,
The coffee storage tank is used as a sealed tank, and an air compressor and an ejector pump type exhaust device are connected to the storage tank via an air pipe and an air valve. The ejector pump type exhaust device has a water supply / drain pipe and is capable of changing water. A pump unit and an ejector connected to the discharge side of the pump are immersed in the water tank, and an intake pipe drawn from the coffee storage tank is connected to the ejector. The coffee storage tank is depressurized to a negative pressure by operation to draw coffee from the coffee extractor to the coffee storage tank, and when supplying coffee, the air compressor operates to pressurize the storage tank and supply the coffee by discharging it to the cup. To do.
As is well known, the ejector-type pump jets water, which is a working liquid, from a nozzle at a high speed and sucks and discharges gas around the nozzle, and rotates like a positive displacement pump or a rotary vacuum pump. , It has a simple structure with no sliding parts. Therefore, even if the coffee component contained in the air exhausted during operation adheres, there is no possibility of causing malfunction, and it can be operated for a long time without any trouble even if it is almost maintenance-free. Moreover, the coffee extractor performs extraction and filtration by a suction method, so the cylinder of the extractor can be used with the atmosphere open, so that the gas generated from the ground coffee beans during extraction can be extracted directly into the atmosphere. Can do.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the examples shown in FIGS.
First, in FIG. 1, 1 is a canister containing ground coffee beans 2, 3 is a coffee extractor, 4 is a hot water tank, 5 is a sealed coffee storage tank, 6 is a hot water bath, and 7 is an ejector pump. 8 is an air compressor, 9 is a bend stage, and 10 is a cup.
[0018]
Here, the canister 1 includes a screw conveyor 1a, and inputs a predetermined amount of ground coffee beans 2 into the coffee extractor 3 through the shooter 1b based on a command. The coffee extractor 3 is composed of an open top cylinder 3a and a filter block 3b combined on the bottom side, and a steam supply nozzle that is drawn from the hot water tank 4 through a pipe at the top of the cylinder 3a. 4a, an extraction hot water supply shower nozzle 4b, and a washing hot water supply nozzle 4c are arranged, and flow rate adjusting valves 4d and 4e are respectively provided in the piping of the steaming hot water supply nozzle 4a and the extraction hot water supply shower nozzle 4b. It is connected.
[0019]
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the ejector pump type exhaust device 7 is connected to a water tank 7a, a pump 7c connected to a drive motor 7b and immersed in the water of the water tank 7a, and a discharge side of the pump 7b. An air supply pipe 5a drawn from the coffee storage tank 5 (see FIG. 1) is connected to an air supply opening which is configured between the ejector 7d and opened between the nozzle 7d-1 incorporated in the ejector 7d and the diffuser. ing. 7e is a water supply pipe, 7f is a drain pipe, 7g is an overflow pipe, and 7h is a liquid level sensor.
[0020]
Next, the coffee extraction and coffee supply operations of the coffee machine configured as described above will be described. Each operation is automatically performed according to a command from an operation control unit (not shown).
[0021]
(1) Coffee extraction operation:
When a coffee extraction command is given from the control unit in a state where the coffee storage tank 5 is empty, the canister 1 is started, a fixed amount of ground coffee beans 2 are taken out, put into the cylinder 3a of the coffee extractor 3, and simultaneously steamed. An appropriate amount of hot water set by the flow rate adjusting valve 4d is injected into the cylinder 3a through the hot water supply nozzle 4a, and the hot water is spread over the whole ground coffee beans 2 and steamed into a swollen state. Subsequently, the 4d valve of the shower is opened, and an appropriate amount of hot water set by the flow rate adjusting valve 4e is sprayed on the ground coffee beans in a shower-like manner and uniformly poured. In this process, the gas generated from the ground beans escapes into the atmosphere through the open surface of the cylinder 3a. When a predetermined extraction time has passed, the ejector pump type exhaust device 7 is started with the valves 12 and 13 closed and the valves 11 and 14 opened, and the pump 7c sucks the water filled in the water tank 7a. , The pressure is raised and sent to the ejector 7d and ejected from the nozzle 7d-1 of the ejector 7d at a high speed. As a result, a negative pressure is generated at the air supply port of the ejector 7d, and air is sucked from the coffee storage tank 5, and the air is discharged into the water of the water tank 7a together with the working water.
[0022]
As a result, the inside of the coffee storage tank 5 is depressurized and negative pressure acts on the filter block 3 b of the coffee extractor 3, and the coffee liquid extracted in the cylinder permeates the filter block 3 b and is sucked and conveyed to the storage tank 5. Is done. And when the filter block is emptied (detected by the sensor) and the produced coffee is transferred to the storage tank 5, the operation of the ejector pump type exhaust device 7 is stopped based on the signal of the sensor. In addition, the coffee transferred to the storage tank 5 is kept at a suitable sales temperature in the hot water type heat insulating tank 6. The coffee extractor 3 automatically waits for the next extraction operation by automatically removing the coffee cake remaining on the filter block 3a.
[0023]
(2) Coffee supply operation:
On the other hand, when the cup 10 is set on the bend stage 9 and a supply command (for example, push button operation) is given, the valves 11 and 14 are switched to “closed” and the valve 13 is switched to “open”, and at the same time, the air compressor 8 is started. Then, compressed air is fed into the coffee storage tank 5. Subsequently, the valve 12 is opened, and coffee is supplied from the storage tank 5 to the cup 10. When a predetermined amount of coffee is supplied to the cup 10, the valve 12 is closed and the air compressor 8 is stopped. At the same time, the valve 13 is also closed to return to the standby state. When the supply of coffee proceeds and the storage tank 5 becomes empty, the coffee extraction operation is performed to supply the storage tank 5 with coffee.
[0024]
Although the illustrated example has been described for a commercial coffee machine used in a coffee shop or the like, the apparatus can also be applied to a regular coffee extraction device mounted on a cup-type beverage vending machine.
[0025]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the configuration of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
A coffee storage tank is used as a sealed tank, and an air compressor and an ejector pump type exhaust device are connected to the storage tank via an air pipe and an air valve. The ejector pump type exhaust device has a water supply / drain pipe and is in a water-replaceable water tank. The pump unit and the ejector connected to the discharge side of the pump are immersed and installed, and the intake pipe drawn from the coffee storage tank is connected to the ejector. By reducing the inside of the storage tank to negative pressure and drawing coffee from the coffee extractor into the coffee storage tank, and when supplying coffee, pressurizing the inside of the storage tank by the operation of the air compressor and discharging coffee to the cup By repeating the extraction operation, the oil component of the coffee There is no possibility that even when wearing cause malfunction, positive displacement pump as a negative pressure generating means as in a conventional coffee machine, reliable in comparison with the configuration employing a rotary vacuum pump, the maintenance can be greatly improved.
Moreover, since the water in the water tank can be changed, the inside of the water tank can be kept clean and the maintainability can be improved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an in-flight system diagram of a coffee machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a detailed structural diagram of an ejector pump type exhaust device in FIG.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Canister 2 Coffee ground beans 3 Coffee extractor 3a Cylinder 3b Filter block 4 Hot water tank 4a Steamed hot water supply nozzle 4b Extracted hot water supply nozzle 4d, 4e Flow control valve 5 Coffee storage tank 5a Air supply pipe 6 Thermal insulation tank 7 Ejector pump type exhaust device 7a Water tank 7b Drive motor 7c Pump 7d Ejector 8 Air compressor 9 Bend stage 10 Cup

Claims (1)

Canisters that store ground coffee beans, hot water tanks for hot water supply, drip coffee extractors that extract coffee by adding ground coffee beans and hot water, and coffee produced by the coffee extractors are transferred and kept warm In a coffee machine equipped with a coffee storage tank and supplying coffee from a coffee storage tank to a cup in accordance with a command, the coffee storage tank is used as a sealed tank, and an air compressor is connected to the storage tank via an air pipe and an air valve. , And an ejector pump type exhaust device, and the ejector pump type exhaust device is provided with a pump unit and an ejector connected to the discharge side of the pump in a water-replaceable water tank having a water supply / drain pipe. And a structure in which an intake pipe drawn from the coffee storage tank is connected to the ejector. And, the pressure was reduced to a negative pressure inside the coffee storage tank by the operation of the ejector pump exhaust system when the coffee extract draw coffee from the coffee extractor coffee storage tank, pressurized storage tank by the operation of the air compressor at the time of the coffee supply The coffee machine is characterized in that the coffee is discharged and supplied to the cup.

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