Patent Application
20200093318
The present invention relates to a beverage supply apparatus that supplies and provides a beverage into a cup.
Beverage supply apparatuses which are installed in a shop or the like to automatically pour and provide a beverage such as coffee into cups are developed.
For example, a beverage supply apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a structure of pouring and supplying a beverage such as coffee from a nozzle into a cup placed below the nozzle. Furthermore, the beverage supply apparatus according to Patent Document 1 is provided with an actuator such as an electric motor at a bracket that supports the nozzle. The apparatus is configured such that the nozzle can be moved by the actuator and when the supply of the beverage into the cup is completed, the nozzle is moved to a standby position retracted from above the cup. After the supply of the beverage into the cup is completed, it is thereby possible to prevent the beverage remaining in the nozzle from dripping from the nozzle distal end and being stuck around the cup, so-called post-drip.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. S62-71787
However, the beverage supply apparatus, the nozzle of which is made movable described in Patent Document 1 needs to be configured such that the nozzle is made to be movable and an actuator for moving the nozzle needs to be provided, which will make the configuration in the vicinity of the nozzle complicated.
The present invention has been devised to solve such a problem and it is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage supply apparatus in a simple configuration, capable of preventing post-drip from the nozzle.
In order to achieve the above object, an aspect of a beverage supply apparatus of the present invention is directed to a beverage supply apparatus that supplies a beverage into a cup placed at a cup station from a nozzle, a distal end of which is disposed above the cup, in which the nozzle pours the beverage vertically downward and a lateral discharge part that discharges the beverage passing through the nozzle at a flow rate equal to or less than a predetermined value to a side of the nozzle is provided.
The nozzle is preferably constructed of a first nozzle and a second nozzle disposed above the first nozzle.
Alternatively, the beverage supply apparatus of the present invention is a beverage supply apparatus that supplies a beverage into a cup placed at a cup station from a first nozzle, a distal end of which is disposed above the cup, in which a second nozzle is provided above the first nozzle, the first nozzle pours the beverage vertically downward, and a lateral discharge part that discharges the beverage passing through the first nozzle at a flow rate equal to or less than a predetermined value to a side of the nozzle is provided.
The lateral discharge part preferably discharges post-drip after pouring the beverage from the second nozzle to a side of the first nozzle.
The second nozzle preferably pours the beverage vertically downward.
The first nozzle and the second nozzle are preferably disposed coaxially on a vertical line.
A guide for guiding post-drip of the beverage from a pour spout of the second nozzle to the lateral discharge part may be preferably provided.
An end part of the guide preferably protrudes toward the pour spout of the second nozzle.
An undersurface of the guide is preferably treated to produce a capillary phenomenon.
The treatment to produce a capillary phenomenon is preferably a groove provided in the undersurface of the guide.
A bottom end part of the guide is preferably inclined diagonally downward from the pour spout of the second nozzle toward the outside.
The bottom end part of the guide is preferably inclined at two stages such that a region outside the region on the pour spout side of the second nozzle is more steeply inclined.
The lateral discharge part may be preferably provided with discharge restricting means for damming up beverage discharge at a flow rate equal to or above a predetermined value to a side of the first nozzle.
According to the beverage supply apparatus of the present invention, the lateral discharge part is provided on the side face of the nozzle (or the first nozzle) that pours a beverage vertically downward, the beverage passing through the nozzle at a flow rate equal to or less than a predetermined value is discharged by the lateral discharge part to the side of the nozzle, and so after the beverage is poured vertically downward from the nozzle, post-drip of the beverage from the nozzle is discharged by the lateral discharge part to the side of the nozzle.
Therefore, it is possible to restrain, with a simple configuration, post-drip after beverage discharge from being discharged below the nozzle and prevent mixture into the cup placed below the nozzle.
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The coffee machine 1, which is a beverage supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus placed at a store such as a convenience store to provide a beverage such as coffee only or a mixture of coffee and milk such as cafe latte or cappuccino.
As shown in,
Inside the body part 3, there are a canister for storing coffee beans, a hot water tank, a raw milk tank for storing raw milk, a whipping unit for whipping the raw milk, a coffee mill for milling the coffee beans and an extraction unit for extracting coffee, or the like, which are not shown.
The door 2 is formed into a box shape including a space therein and is supported by the body part 3 so as to be opened or closed in a left-right direction swinging with the end part on the right side as a fulcrum. The door 2 can be locked in a closed state by a removable key 4 and is opened when a raw material such as coffee beans is supplied or at the time of maintenance such as cleaning.
Selection switches 5 for selecting a beverage such as coffee, cafe latte are provided on the front of the door 2. A slide door 6 is provided at the front bottom of the door 2 and a cup station 7 at which a cup is placed is provided in the slide door 6. The cup station 7 is provided in the door 2.
The body part 3 is provided with a nozzle unit 10 that supplies a beverage into a cup from the extraction unit, the raw milk tank or the like. The nozzle unit 10 is disposed so that it is positioned above the cup station 7 when the door 2 is closed.
A space 12 for housing the nozzle unit 10 in the door 2 is formed in a rear surface panel 11 positioned on the body part side of the door 2 while the door 2 is closed. The space 12 is positioned above the cup station 7, covered with a partition wall 13 on the top, bottom, left and right, and is partitioned from other spaces in the door 2. Note that a hole 14 for allowing a beverage to pass from the nozzle unit 10 to the cup station 7 side is opened in the partition wall 13a below.
As shown in
The nozzle unit 10 is provided with a buffer 22 that temporarily stores coffee extracted by the extraction unit, a coffee nozzle 23 (first nozzle, nozzle) fixed below the buffer 22 to supply coffee from a pour spout below the buffer 22, a hot water/water nozzle 24 that supplies other beverages such as hot water/water, a milk nozzle 25 that supplies raw milk supplied from the raw milk tank or milk obtained by whipping the raw milk, a fixed nozzle support unit 26 that supports the buffer 22, the coffee nozzle 23 and the hot water/water nozzle 24, and a movable nozzle support unit 27 that supports the milk nozzle 25.
The nozzle lower tray 20 is provided below the nozzle unit 10. The nozzle lower tray 20 includes a tray 20a that receives post-drip from the milk nozzle 25. The tray 20a is placed at a position in the vertical direction between each nozzle 23, 24 or 25 and the cup C disposed at the cup station 7. A cylinder part 20b extending in the vertical direction integrally molded with the tray 20a is provided at a rear end part of the nozzle lower tray 20. The cylinder part 20b is provided with a discharge port 20c at its bottom end part and detachably fixed at a lower part of the body part 3. The top surface of the tray 20a is inclined downward toward the cylinder part 20b, a liquid dropping on the top surface of the tray 20a is directed to the cylinder part 20b, and is configured to flow downward through the cylinder part 20b and be discharged into a drainage tray 28 placed below the body part 3.
As shown in
The movable nozzle support unit 27 is horizontally swingably supported with respect to the fixed nozzle support unit 26 via a pin 32 extending in the vertical direction.
A torsion spring 33 biasing the movable nozzle support unit 27 toward a direction away from the fixed nozzle support unit 26 is provided around the circumference of the pin 32. The fixed nozzle support unit 26 or the movable nozzle support unit 27 is provided with a stopper (not shown) for restricting the movable nozzle support unit 27, when it moves in a direction away from the fixed nozzle support unit 26 up to a predetermined position (standby position), from further moving in the separating direction.
Thus, the movable nozzle support unit 27 is configured to be swingable between the standby position away from the fixed nozzle support unit 26 shown in
Furthermore, the fixed nozzle support unit 26 is provided with a protruding part 34 that protrudes downward in such a way that its distal end is tapered in a downward direction at a lower position coaxial with the pin 32.
The fixed nozzle support unit 26 and the movable nozzle support unit 27 are provided with through holes vertically penetrating regions overlapping in the vertical direction when the movable nozzle support unit 27 is positioned at a supply position. There are two such through holes: a circular through hole 35a and a rectangular through hole 35b into which the distal end part of the key 4 for locking the door 2 can be inserted, which are provided for the fixed nozzle support unit 26 and the movable nozzle support unit 27 respectively. As shown in
The fixed nozzle support unit 26 is provided with a coffee nozzle support hole 36 perforated in the vertical direction to support the coffee nozzle 23 inserted from above and a hot water/water nozzle support hole 37 perforated in the vertical direction to support the hot water/water nozzle 24 inserted from above.
The movable nozzle support unit 27 is provided with a milk nozzle support hole perforated in the vertical direction to support the milk nozzle 25 inserted from above. Note that
As shown in
The tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20 is also provided with a hole 43 in the region positioned below the milk nozzle 25 when the movable nozzle support unit 27 is positioned at the supply position. Milk poured vertically downward from the milk nozzle 25 passes through the hole 43 of the nozzle lower tray 20 and is supplied into the cup C placed at the cup station 7. Sizes and positions of the holes 41, 42 and 43 provided in the tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20 are set in such a way that beverages poured from the respective nozzles 23, 24 and 25 do not scatter from the edge of the cup C placed at a predetermined position of the cup station 7 or to the outside of the cup C.
The tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20 is provided so as to include the position below the milk nozzle 25 when the movable nozzle support unit 27 is positioned at a standby position and placed so as to surely receive milk dropping from the milk nozzle 25 at the standby position.
The tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20 is provided both around the holes 41, 42 and 43 provided below the milk nozzle 25, the coffee nozzle 23 and the hot water/water nozzle 24 when the movable nozzle support unit 27 is positioned at the supply position and at the position below the milk nozzle 25 when the movable nozzle support unit 27 is positioned at the standby position, and these regions are integrally formed, and so it is possible to share the cylinder part 20b that discharges the liquid received at the tray 20a and miniaturize the nozzle lower tray 20.
Furthermore, on the top surface of the tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20, there is a first partition part 46 that protrudes upward between the region below the milk nozzle 25 when the movable nozzle support unit 27 is positioned at the standby position and the regions where the holes 41, 42 and 43 are provided so as to partition these regions.
This first partition part 46 allows the milk that has dropped from the milk nozzle 25 when the movable nozzle support unit 27 is positioned at the standby position to be discharged into the cylinder part 20b without flowing into the holes 41, 42 and 43.
On the top surface of the tray 20a, there is also a second partition part 47 that protrudes upward at edges of the hole 41 below the coffee nozzle 23 and the hole 42 below the hot water/water nozzle 24. This is attributable to a structure in which the coffee nozzle 23 is provided with a discharge hole for discharging post-drip of coffee poured from the buffer 22 to a side on the rear side and post-drip of coffee dripping from the discharge hole drops to a region behind the hole 41 and the hole 42 in the tray 20a. This second partition part 47 is configured to cause a liquid such as coffee dropping behind the hole 41 below the coffee nozzle 23 and the hole 42 below the hot water/water nozzle 24 to be discharged into the cylinder part 20b without flowing into the holes 41 and 42.
The nozzle lower tray 20 is provided with a support hole 48 into which a distal end of the protruding part 34 provided below the pin 32 of the fixed nozzle support unit 26 is inserted. The fixed nozzle support unit 26 and the nozzle lower tray 20 are connected by inserting the protruding part 34 of the fixed nozzle support unit 26 into this support hole 48. Therefore, the fixed nozzle support unit 26 is not only supported by the body part 3 via the support member 21 but also supported by the body part 3 via the nozzle lower tray 20. Even if an operator mistakenly contacts and pushes the nozzle lower tray 20 or the nozzle unit 10, for example, during maintenance, it is possible to prevent fall of the nozzle lower tray 20, dropout of the nozzle unit 10, or the like.
When the protruding part 34 of the fixed nozzle support unit 26 is inserted into the support hole 48 of the nozzle lower tray 20, positioning in the horizontal direction of the nozzle lower tray 20 and the fixed nozzle support unit 26 is done. Positionings in the horizontal direction of the respective nozzles 23, 24 and 25, and the nozzle lower tray 20 are precisely done, making it possible to accurately supply a beverage such as milk from the respective nozzles 23, 24 and 25 to the cup C, accurately receive post-drip or scattering of the beverage from the respective nozzles 23, 24 and 25 by the tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20 and discharge the beverage into the drainage tray 28.
As shown in
The nozzle moving unit 50 is disposed in an inner space on the movable nozzle support unit 27 side (left side in
The nozzle moving unit 50 is provided with an electrically driven actuator 51 and a pusher 52 that pushes the movable nozzle support unit 27.
The pusher 52 is provided with a cylindrically formed proximal end part 52a and a distal end part 52b inserted into the proximal end part 52a and extendable/retractable with respect to the proximal end part 52a. The pusher 52 has a compression coil spring 53 that biases the distal end part 52b in the extension direction with respect to the proximal end part 52a.
The pusher 52 is disposed at the same vertical position as that of the movable nozzle support unit 27 and disposed to be movable in the horizontal direction (left-right direction) with respect to the door 2.
A hole through which the proximal end part 52a of the pusher 52 passes is provided in the partition wall 13 that partitions the space 12 in which the nozzle unit 10 is stored on the movable nozzle support unit 27 side, that is, in a partition wall 13b on the left side in
The actuator 51 has a function of moving the proximal end part 52a of the pusher 52 in the left-right direction with respect to the door 2, and may be constructed of, for example, an electric motor and a mechanism that converts rotation by the electric motor to straight-going motion or may be constructed of a straight-going motion type solenoid. However, an electric motor is more preferable than the solenoid for the actuator 51. Since the electric motor rather than the solenoid can cause the pusher 52 to extend/contract more smoothly, thus allowing the movable nozzle support unit 27 to move smoothly. After milk is supplied, it is thereby possible to prevent milk remaining in the milk nozzle 25 from scattering when the movable nozzle support unit 27 moves.
As shown in
On the other hand, when the actuator 51 performs contraction motion to cause the pusher 52 to move in a direction away from the movable nozzle support unit 27, the movable nozzle support unit 27 moves to the standby position by a biasing force of the torsion spring 33, and the amount of movement of the pusher 52 is set so that the distal end part 52b of the pusher 52 moves away from the movable nozzle support unit 27.
As shown in
The coffee machine 1 in the above configuration operates and controls the actuator 51 of the nozzle moving unit 50 to cause the pusher 52 to perform extension motion only when milk or the like is supplied from the milk nozzle 25 and moves the movable nozzle support unit 27 to the supply position. Except in the case where milk is supplied, for example, after milk is supplied, the actuator 51 causes the pusher 52 to perform contraction motion to thereby move the movable nozzle support unit 27 to the standby position.
After milk is supplied, since the movable nozzle support unit 27 moves to the standby position, even when post-drip of milk drips from the milk nozzle 25, the milk drops into the tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20, passes through the cylinder part 20b and is discharged into the drainage tray 28. Thus, it is then possible to prevent post-drip of milk from mixing into the cup C placed at the cup station 7. Therefore, when a beverage not using milk such as straight coffee is provided to the next cup, it is possible to prevent a mixture of milk and safely provide a beverage not using milk to, for example, a user having allergy to milk with the next cup.
Note that the coffee machine 1 according to the present embodiment is provided with a cleaning unit (not shown) that discharges compressed air and hot water from the milk nozzle 25. Every time after supplying milk from the milk nozzle 25, the coffee machine 1 discharges air from the milk nozzle 25 for a certain time first, then discharges hot water and thereby enables rising operation to clean the milk nozzle 25 and a milk supply path.
In the present embodiment, through control whereby the movable nozzle support unit 27 is moved to the standby position after milk is supplied to then perform rinsing operation, it is possible to receive milk or hot water remaining in the milk supply path after being poured from the milk nozzle 25 by the tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20 and prevent the milk from scattering to the partition wall 13 or the like. The coffee machine 1 is provided with a locking mechanism for locking the slide door 6 during rinsing operation. However, due to a failure of this locking mechanism or damage to the slide door 6, even if the operator's finger is mistakenly placed in the cup station 7 during the rinsing operation, hot water discharged from the milk nozzle 25 is received by the tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20, and so it is possible to avoid burning of a hand or finger.
Furthermore, since the tray 20a is provided below the coffee nozzle 23 or the hot water/water nozzle 24, even when a liquid such as coffee scatters from the coffee nozzle 23 or the hot water/water nozzle 24, the tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20 receives it, thus making it possible to prevent scattering of the coffee over the partition wall 13 or the like.
When performing maintenance such as cleaning of the nozzle unit 10 in the coffee machine 1 of the present embodiment, by opening the door 2 and removing the nozzle unit 10 from the support member 21, it is possible to clean the buffer 22 and each nozzle 23, 24 or 25. The nozzle lower tray 20 can also be removed from the body part 3 and cleaned.
In the coffee machine 1 of the present embodiment, the nozzle moving unit 50 that operates the movable nozzle support unit 27 is provided separately from the nozzle unit 10 and the nozzle moving unit 50 need not be removed when cleaning the nozzle unit 10, making it possible to easily perform maintenance such as cleaning of the nozzle unit 10. Furthermore, since the nozzle moving unit 50 is provided in the door 2, the nozzle unit 10 and the body part 3 can be separated from each other by opening the door 2 during maintenance. Even when internal cleaning is performed whereby the inside of the nozzle unit 10 set in the body part 3 or the inside of the body part 3 in the periphery is cleaned with hot water, it is possible to prevent scattering over the actuator 51 of the nozzle moving unit 50 and protect the actuator 51.
Since the movable nozzle support unit 27 is biased to the standby position by the torsion spring 33, if the pusher 52 is in a contracted state, the milk nozzle 25 can be reliably positioned above the tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20. When the door 2 is mistakenly opened while milk is being poured from the milk nozzle 25, the pusher 52 is separated and the movable nozzle support unit 27 is moved to the standby position by the torsion spring 33, and so even when milk continues to be poured from the milk nozzle 25, the milk is discharged into the nozzle lower tray 20, making it possible to prevent the milk from spoiling areas of the body part 3 below the nozzle unit 10.
The pusher 52 that moves the movable nozzle support unit 27 can be moved by the actuator 51 of the nozzle moving unit 50 and the distal end part 52b has a two-stage extendable structure. The distal end part 52b is biased in the extension direction by the compression coil spring 53 and even when the movable nozzle support unit 27 is operated at the supply position, the distal end part 52b is biased in the extension direction by the compression coil spring 53 and the movable nozzle support unit 27 is biased toward the fixed nozzle support unit 26 side, and so when milk is supplied, it is possible to position the movable nozzle support unit 27 to ensure that the movable nozzle support unit 27 comes into contact with the fixed nozzle support unit 26. Thus, when milk is supplied, it is possible to cause milk poured from the milk nozzle 25 to pass through the hole 43 of the nozzle lower tray 20 and reliably supply the milk into the cup C placed at the cup station 7.
As shown in
Since the movable nozzle support unit 27 and the fixed nozzle support unit 26 are provided with the through holes 35a and 35b communicating therewith with the movable nozzle support unit 27 set at the supply position, by inserting a pin or a distal end of the key 4 into the through hole 35a or 35b with the movable nozzle support unit 27 pushed at the supply position, it is possible to hold the movable nozzle support unit 27 at the supply position. In this way, when the door 2 is opened, when checking to see whether or not, for example, a predetermined amount of milk is poured from the milk nozzle 25, it is possible to easily confirm the amount of milk supplied by causing the milk to be poured into the cup placed below the nozzle unit 10. When performing maintenance operation of cleaning a milk supply system such as the milk nozzle 25 while discharging hot water, a large drainage recipient may be placed below the nozzle unit 10 to make it possible to discharge a large amount of hot water from the milk nozzle 25 and sufficiently clean the milk supply system.
Note that after the milk supply, the actuator 51 may be controlled so as to repeat extension/contraction motion several times after restricting the amount of extension of the pusher 52 so that the milk nozzle 25 moves between the standby position and the first partition part 46, and the movable nozzle support unit 27 may be caused to swing in the vicinity of the standby position. By causing the movable nozzle support unit 27 to swing several times after the milk supply, it is possible to shake milk remaining in the milk nozzle 25 off and discharge the milk into the tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20. It is thereby possible to further prevent post-drip of milk after the milk supply.
Next, a post-drip prevention structure in the coffee nozzle 23 will be described using
Note that
As shown in
The buffer 22 is a recipient for temporarily storing coffee supplied from the coffee extraction unit and even if the amount of coffee supplied from the coffee extraction unit fluctuates, the buffer 22 temporarily stores the coffee, thus allowing a constant amount of coffee to be stably supplied into the cup C. A filter 62 is provided in the buffer 22 and has a function of finally filtering residues from coffee supplied from the coffee extraction unit and also erasing large bubbles.
A buffer nozzle 61 (second nozzle, nozzle) which is a cylindrical nozzle is provided below the buffer 22. A pour spout 63 for pouring coffee supplied into the buffer 22 is provided at a bottom end part of the buffer nozzle 61. The buffer nozzle 61 is coupled with the coffee nozzle 23 by inserting the buffer nozzle 61 from above the cylindrical coffee nozzle 23.
As shown in
The coffee nozzle 23 and the buffer nozzle 61 are arranged coaxially on a vertical line. The buffer nozzle 61 has a structure of pouring coffee vertically downward from the pour spout 63 at the bottom end part, and pouring coffee into the coffee nozzle 23.
Furthermore, a guide 64 protruding outward in one diameter direction is provided on a side face of the buffer nozzle 61. The guide 64 is a flat plate extending an axial direction of the buffer nozzle 61, that is, in the vertical direction and a bottom end part 64a is inclined downward from the pour spout 63 at the bottom end part of the buffer nozzle 61 outward in the diameter direction. The inclination of the bottom end part 64a of the guide 64 is small in the vicinity of the pour spout 63 of the buffer nozzle 61 and large in an outer part in the diameter direction, constituting a two-stage inclination.
As shown in
As shown in
Note that coffee extracted from the coffee extraction unit is configured to be introduced from the rear side in the buffer 22.
In the buffer 22 configured as described above, as shown by a solid line arrow in
As shown in
As shown in
The bottom end part of the body part 81 of the coffee nozzle 23 has a reduced diameter and a hole 85 for pouring coffee vertically downward is provided at the bottom end part of the body part 81. Furthermore, a rectification plate 86, a traverse cross section of which is cross-shaped and a bottom end part of which becomes smaller toward the axial center is fitted into this hole 85.
When the buffer nozzle 61 is inserted into the opening 84 of the top end part of the coffee nozzle 23, the length in the axial direction of the body part 81 of the coffee nozzle 23 is set so that the bottom end part of the buffer nozzle 61 is separated from the rectification plate 86 of the coffee nozzle 23 in the axial center direction (up-down direction).
The lateral discharge part 82 is formed into a trapezoidal box shape, a top surface and both side faces of which are opened and protrudes outward in the diameter direction from the side faces of the body part 81. A width of the opening 87 of both side faces of the lateral discharge part 82 is, for example, on the order of 1 cm and the body part 81 communicates with the inside thereof. The bottom wall 82a of the lateral discharge part 82 is inclined downward from the body part 81 outward in the diameter direction.
As shown in
Note that as shown in
In the above configuration, coffee supplied from the coffee nozzle 23 is poured from the buffer 22 vertically downward via two nozzles of the buffer nozzle 61 and the coffee nozzle 23 and supplied to the cup C.
When coffee is supplied from the coffee nozzle 23, coffee may remain in the buffer 22 or the filter 62, and post-drip may result after the coffee supply. However, according to the present embodiment, even when post-drip of coffee is about to drip from the pour spout 63 of the buffer nozzle 61, that is, coffee flowing at a flow rate of a predetermined value or less flows along the bottom end part 64a of the guide 64 inclined downward from the proximal end part 65 of the guide 64 and is discharged into the lateral discharge part 82 of the coffee nozzle 23. The coffee flowing along the guide 64 passes through the gap between the guide 64 and the partition plates 91 and is discharged outward in the diameter direction on the bottom wall 82a.
The coffee discharged outward in the diameter direction on the bottom wall 82a of the lateral discharge part 82 is discharged downward from the opening 87 at the end part outward in the diameter direction of the lateral discharge part 82. Since the tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20 is located below the outward end part in the diameter direction of the lateral discharge part 82, post-drip of the coffee from the pour spout 63 of the buffer nozzle 61 is discharged from the lateral discharge part 82 and discharged into the drainage tray 28 of the body part 3 via the tray 20a of the nozzle lower tray 20 and the cylinder part 20b.
In this way, it is possible to prevent post-drip after the coffee supply from the coffee nozzle 23. For example, in the case cafe latte, if a post-drip of coffee drips after milk is supplied into the cup C, this may make a poor appearance, but such a problem can be avoided in the present embodiment.
Provision of the filter 62 as described above allows coffee to stay in the buffer 22 and so even in a case like cappuccino where only a small amount of coffee is supplied, large bubbles of coffee can be effectively erased. In the case of a configuration of a coffee extraction unit in which coffee is extracted under pressure using a tube pump, bubbles are likely to be generated due to pressure pulsation by the tube pump, but bubbles of coffee can be sufficiently erased by the buffer 22 and the filter 62 in the present embodiment and a coffee beverage of high quality can be provided.
Since the filter 62 causes the pouring speed of coffee from the buffer nozzle 61 to decrease, especially when regular coffee is extracted, it is possible to reduce the flow rate of a certain portion of miscellaneous flavor at the end of extraction to a predetermined value or less, causing the portion of coffee to be discharged into the nozzle lower tray 20 from the lateral discharge part 82 of the coffee nozzle 23 as post-drip without being supplied into the cup C, and thereby provide coffee of still better quality.
Note that since the filter 62 is provided upstream of the buffer nozzle 61, when the mesh part 70 of the filter 62 after the coffee supply is closed with the coffee liquid or bubbles, the coffee remaining in the buffer nozzle 61 may not be easily discharged just as in the case where for example, an appropriate amount of water is put in a straw and one opening is blocked, water will not flow out from the other opening. However, according to the present embodiment, since the space between the mesh part 70 of the filter 62 and the buffer nozzle 61 is configured to communicate with the upper space in the buffer 22 via the air intake port 73 above the air intake port 72, even when the filter 62 is closed with the coffee liquid or bubbles after the coffee supply, air is introduced through the air intake port 73 as shown by a dotted line arrow in
Since the proximal end part 65 of the guide 64 in the buffer nozzle 61 protrudes in the axial center direction at the pour spout 63, a small amount of coffee dripping from the pour spout 63 will not drop on the coffee nozzle 23 side but flow along the guide 64 and is more likely to be discharged into the lateral discharge part 82, making it further possible to prevent post-drip after coffee pouring. Note that in the above embodiment, the proximal end part 65 of the guide 64 protrudes in the pour spout 63, whereas without the proximal end part 65 protruding in the pour spout 63, processing such as emboss processing that will cause a capillary phenomenon on the surface may be applied to the bottom end part 64a of the guide 64 and around at least the proximal end part 65 or preferably including the end part of the pour spout 63 and the vicinity of the bottom end part 64a of the guide 64. Applying such emboss processing or the like makes it easier for the liquid to stay on the surface of the guide 64, preventing coffee from dropping from the guide 64 and facilitating discharging of the coffee along the guide 64 into the lateral discharge part 82 without dropping on the coffee nozzle 23 side.
Since the V groove 67 is provided in the bottom end part 64a of the guide 64, when coffee is about to drip from the pour spout 63, coffee does not drop along the bottom end part 64a of the guide 64, but more easily moves outward in the diameter direction along the V groove 67. When coffee remaining in the buffer nozzle 61 after coffee pouring is discharged from the pour spout 63, the coffee is more likely to flow along the guide 64 without dropping on the coffee nozzle 23 side and further coffee is more easily discharged into the lateral discharge part 82.
The inclination of the bottom end part 64a of the guide 64 is small in the vicinity of the pour spout 63 of the buffer nozzle 61 and large in an outward part in the diameter direction, that is, two-stage inclination, and so it is possible to shorten the length of the guide 64 (dimension of the buffer nozzle 61 in the diameter direction). By reducing the inclination in the vicinity of the pour spout 63 of the buffer nozzle 61 (region on the pour spout 63 side), it is possible to limit the flow rate of coffee guided outward along the bottom end part 64a of the guide 64 from the pour spout 63 to a low level. Therefore, it is possible to supply coffee to the coffee nozzle 23 side without any waste during coffee pouring and pour the coffee from the coffee nozzle 23 and discharge only post-drip of the coffee from the pour spout 63 from the opening 87 of the lateral discharge part 82. By increasing (making steeper) the inclination of the outward part in the diameter direction of the bottom end part of the guide 64 (region outside the region on the pour spout 63 side), it is possible to speedily discharge post-drip of coffee flowing along the bottom end part of the guide 64 from the opening 87 of the lateral discharge part 82.
By providing a pair of partition plates 91 in the lateral discharge part 82 of the coffee nozzle 23 and thereby reducing the cross-sectional area of the channel below the lateral discharge part 82, it is possible to reduce the flow rate of coffee discharged from the lateral discharge part 82. Even when a large amount of coffee flows into the lateral discharge part 82 during coffee supply, the coffee is blocked by the partition plate 91 and discharged to the coffee nozzle 23 side. Therefore, it is possible to prevent wasteful discharge of coffee from the lateral discharge part 82 during the coffee supply, that is, wasteful disposal of coffee.
With the configuration of the present embodiment in which the above buffer nozzle 61 is provided upstream of the coffee nozzle 23, it is possible to prevent post-drip of coffee in a simple configuration without providing any actuator.
Note that the beverage supply apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, the cup station at which a cup is placed is not limited to the cup station 7 provided in the door 2 as described in the above embodiment, but may also have a configuration in which a cup is held by a cup holder or a configuration in which a beverage is supplied into a cup at a predetermined position in the body part 3 and then transferred to a takeout port and provided.
In the above embodiment, the buffer nozzle 61 and the coffee nozzle 23 constitute a nozzle for pouring coffee, but the buffer nozzle 61 and the coffee nozzle 23 may be integrated to constitute one nozzle.
The coffee machine 1 of the above embodiment is configured to supply milk obtained by whipping raw milk from a milk nozzle, but the present invention is also applicable to a coffee machine that supplies milk obtained by dissolving powdered milk in hot water to a cup. The present invention is also widely applicable to an apparatus that provides beverage other than milk or coffee such as cocoa or green tea.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-100330 | May 2017 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2018/017356 | 4/23/2018 | WO | 00 |
