JP2000201628A - Ice cream dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the troubles such as the breakage of the bag of a bagged ice cream. SOLUTION: When the ice cream A in a pack B is exhausted, a heat- insulation door 3 is opened, a dispensing cylinder 12 is taken out of the chamber and a lid 19 of a pack-holding chamber 16 is removed. At the same time, a piston-lowering switch 32 is pressed to drive a pump 27 in reverse direction to return the brine X into a tank 25 and lower the piston 13. The inside of the pack-holding chamber 16 is monitored during the above process and if the pack B is bitten between the piston 13 and the dispensing cylinder 12 and the folded pack B is dragged according to the lowering of the piston 13, the piston-lowering switch 32 is pressed again immediately after the recognition of the dragging action. The reverse rotation of the pump 27 is stopped to interrupt the lowering motion of the piston 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for dispensing frozen desserts such as ice cream and yogurt.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ice cream pouring device as shown in FIG. 4 is known. In this apparatus, a pouring cylinder 103 is vertically attached to the back surface of a door 111 of a freezer compartment 102 having a cooler 101, and a piston 10 is provided.
A pack B of ice cream is stored in a storage chamber 105 provided on the upper surface side of the
The lower surface side of the piston 105 serves as a pressure chamber 108, and is connected to a tank 109 storing brine (antifreeze) X via a reversible pump 110. Then, when the cock 106 is opened and the discharge switch is turned on, the reversible pump 110 is driven to rotate forward, and the brine X is supplied to the pressure chamber 108,
When the piston 104 is pressurized and raised, the pack B is compressed, and ice cream is sequentially poured out from the pouring unit 107. When the ice cream in the pack B has been completely poured out, the door 111 is opened and the pouring cylinder 1 is opened.
03 out of the refrigerator and turning on the piston lowering switch, the reversible pump 110 is driven in reverse to
Brine X in 08 is sucked into the tank 109 side, and the piston 104 is lowered to the lower end position. As a result, the accommodation room 105 is greatly expanded, so that the cover 112 is removed and replaced with a new pack B.

[0003]

When the ice cream is poured, the pack B
Is compressed and gradually folded, but in rare cases, the lower end of the pack B or the like may bite between the piston 104 and the inner wall of the ejection cylinder 103. If the piston 104 is lowered after the completion of the pouring in this state, the pack B may be torn by being stretched from the bite portion, and ice cream remaining in the pack B may leak out and the pouring cylinder 103 There was a problem of polluting the inside. The present invention has been completed on the basis of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to prevent an accident such as a break of a bag of a packaged frozen dessert from occurring.

[0004]

As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that a cylinder in which a piston is slidably fitted is provided in a cooling storage chamber and one of the pistons is provided. On the side, a storage chamber for accommodating bagged frozen dessert is formed, and on the other side, a pressure chamber for supplying and discharging the working fluid is provided. In a frozen confectionery dispensing device, in which the piston is retracted by sucking the working fluid from the pressure chamber to accommodate the bagged frozen confection, the piston is returned to the rear end position and the pressurizing device is It is characterized in that a drive control means for enabling the stop of the drive is provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the drive control means includes a switch for driving the pressurizing device to retreat the piston, and a switch for driving the pressurizing device to reach the rear end position. And a function of stopping the operation of the pressurizing device when the switch is operated again after the switch is operated and before a detection signal is obtained from the detection means. However, it has features.

[0006]

<Operation and effect of the present invention><Invention of claim 1> Even while the piston is retreating, the driving of the pressurizing device can be stopped to stop the retraction. For example, if bagged frozen dessert is bitten and there is an abnormality in the retreating operation of the piston, by immediately stopping the lowering of the piston, it is possible to prevent an accident such as tearing of the bag. <Invention of claim 2> By operating the switch, the pressurizing device is driven and the piston is retracted. If the switch is operated again before the piston reaches the rear end position, the pressurizing device is stopped and the piston is retracted. Is aborted.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an ice cream dispenser will be described below with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a freezer formed of a heat-insulating box, which has a freezer compartment 2 provided with an openable and closable heat-insulating door 3 on a front surface thereof and a bottom surface side of the freezer 1. Is provided with a machine room 5 and is supported by legs 6 arranged at four corners. A refrigerator 8 connected to a refrigerator 7 provided in the machine room 5 and a fan 9 in the refrigerator are provided on a ceiling portion of the freezing room 2, and a duct provided on the inner surface of the freezing room 2. The air in the refrigerator sucked through 10 is exchanged with heat while passing through the cooler 8 to generate cool air, and the cool air is circulated and supplied into the freezing compartment 2 by the fan 9 in the refrigerator. I have. Thereby, the inside of the freezing room 2 is maintained at a cooling temperature at which the ice cream A is cooled and stored while maintaining a state in which the ice cream A can be poured.

On the back side of the heat insulating door 3, a pouring cylinder 12 is installed vertically with a fitting 11 interposed therebetween. A piston 13 is tightly and slidably fitted in the injection cylinder 12, and the working fluid is a brine (antifreeze) X. A pack housing chamber 16 is formed on the upper surface side of the piston 13 in the dispensing cylinder 12, and a pressure chamber 17 for supplying and discharging the brine X is formed on the lower surface side of the piston 13. A vertical U-shaped groove 18 is cut from the upper edge of the wall surface of the dispensing cylinder 12 corresponding to the heat insulating door 3.
Therefore, the pack B having the elasticity in which the ice cream A is sealed can be stored in the pack storage chamber 16 while the outlet C is fitted in the U groove 18. A lid 19 is detachably attached to the top opening of the pack storage chamber 16. A pouring pipe 21 is provided in the heat-insulating door 3 so as to penetrate in the horizontal direction, an inner end thereof is connected to the outlet C of the pack B, and a pouring section 22 is provided at an outer protruding end. Is formed, and the spout 20 is opened and closed via the valve body 24 by operating the cock 23.

A brine X is provided on the inner bottom surface in the freezer compartment 2.
A tank 25 for storing the oil is stored, and a connection between the tank 25 and the bottom surface of the pressure chamber 17 of the pouring cylinder 12 is made through a brine flow passage 26, and a reversible pump 27 is interposed in the middle thereof. It is housed in the machine room 5. Therefore, when the pump 27 is driven in the forward direction, the brine X in the tank 25 is supplied into the pressure chamber 17 as shown by the solid arrow in FIG. 1, and when the pump 27 is driven in the reverse direction. As shown by a dashed arrow in the drawing, the brine X in the pressure chamber 17 is sucked and returned to the tank 25 side.

[0010] A mounting table 29 for mounting a container for storing ice cream A is provided below the pouring section 22 on the front surface of the heat insulating door 3. An operation panel 30 is provided at the upper end of the front surface of the heat insulating door 3.
Opening operation (solid line) and closing operation (chain line) of the cock 23 described above.
A discharge switch 31 which is turned on / off in accordance with the condition is provided, and a piston lowering switch 32 described later in detail is provided on the front surface thereof.

A bottom surface of the pressure chamber 17 is provided with a float switch 34 for detecting that the piston 13 is at the lower end position. While the piston 13 is rising, the float switch 34 is in a floating state by receiving the buoyancy of the brine X supplied into the pressure chamber 17 and is turned on.
When the piston 13 descends to the lower end position, the float holding plate 35 provided on the ceiling surface is turned off by pushing down the float switch 34. When the float switch 34 is turned off, it is used to stop and control the reverse rotation of the pump 27.

An auxiliary flow path 37 provided with a normally closed solenoid valve 36 is connected between the pressure chamber 17 and the tank 25, and the float switch 34 is turned off as described above. By the way, after the solenoid valve 36 is opened for a predetermined time, for example, after the reverse rotation of the pump 27 is controlled to stop, if the suction operation by the pump 27 is continued by inertia force or the like, the brine X in the tank 25 is passed through the auxiliary flow path 37. Through the pressure chamber 17 to prevent the inside of the pressure chamber 17 from being in a vacuum state. The ends of the brine flow passage 26 and the auxiliary flow passage 37 on the side connected to the pressure chamber 17 are:
A sufficient length is provided so that the connection state is maintained even when the heat insulating door 3 is opened and the pouring cylinder 12 is taken out of the refrigerator.

In this embodiment, a function is provided that allows the piston 13 to stop descending after the piston 13 is lowered to perform the replacement of the pack B and before the piston 13 returns to the rear end position. I have. For this reason, a control unit 41 having a microcomputer as shown in FIG. 2 is provided. The input side of the control unit 41 is connected to the above-mentioned piston down switch 32 and the float switch 34. The controller 41 has a built-in switch signal unit 42, which outputs an ON signal when the piston down switch 32 is pressed, and the piston down switch 32 is pressed again while the float switch 34 is in the ON state. Then, it functions to output an off signal. Further, the control unit 41 is provided with a protection timer 43. A predetermined protection time is set in advance in the protection timer 43. The protection time is a predetermined time slightly longer than the time normally required for lowering the piston 13 from the upper end position to the lower end position in order to exchange the pack B. Have been. The output side of the control unit 41 is connected to the pump motor P via a motor drive control unit 44.
M is connected. The control unit 41 executes a program shown in the flowchart of FIG.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. In order to pour out the ice cream A, the container is prepared and the spout 20 is opened by operating the cock 23, and accordingly, the pour switch 31 is turned on and the pump 27 is driven in the forward direction. When the brine X is supplied into the pressure chamber 17 through the brine passage 26, the piston 1
3 rises, pack B is compressed and ice cream A is poured out. When an appropriate amount is dispensed, the cock 23 is closed, the dispensing switch 31 is turned off, the pump 27 is stopped, and the dispensing operation is stopped. By repeating the above, the dispensing of the ice cream A is sequentially performed. Will be

When the piston 13 is raised to the upper end position by using up the ice cream A in the pack B, the pack B is replaced. To do this, first open the heat-insulating door 3, take out the pouring cylinder 12 out of the refrigerator, and open the lid 19 of the pack storage chamber 16.
Open. At the same time, when the piston down switch 32 provided on the operation panel 30 is pressed, the piston down routine shown in FIG. 3 is executed. That is, by the pressing operation of the piston down switch 32, the piston down switch 32 is turned on (Step S1 is "Y
ES "), the protection timer 43 starts in step S2, and the pump motor PM rotates in reverse in step S3, and the pump 27 is driven to rotate in reverse. As a result, the brine X in the pressure chamber 17 of the dispensing cylinder 12 is sucked and returned to the tank 25 side, and the pressure chamber 17 is tilted to a negative pressure, whereby the piston 13 descends, and the pack storage chamber 16 is gradually expanded. .

During this time, the operator is monitoring the inside of the pack storage chamber 16 with the cover 19 taken off, and if no abnormality is found, the operator keeps the state (step S4 is “N”).
O "), the lowering of the piston 13 is continued. After a lapse of time, when the piston 13 has moved down to the lower end position, and this is detected by the float switch 34 (step S5 is “YE
S "), the protection timer 43 is reset in step S6, and the pump motor PM, that is, the pump 27 is stopped in step S7. Then, the used pack B may be taken out and replaced with a new pack B.

On the other hand, even if the piston 13 has reached the lower end position and is not detected due to malfunction of the float switch 34, the piston down switch 32 is turned on, ie, the piston 13 is lowered. When the protection time set in the protection timer 43 has elapsed since the start of the processing, the step S8 becomes "YES", and
The pump 27 is stopped. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the suction operation from being unnecessarily continued with respect to the pressure chamber 17.

By the way, when the pack B is compressed by the above-described discharging operation, the piston 13 and the discharging cylinder 12 are compressed.
The pack B may bite between the inner circumference of the pack B. If the piston 13 is fully lowered in this state, the pack B may be torn.
The following operations are performed to prevent it. When the lowering of the piston 13 is started, the inside of the pack accommodating chamber 16 is monitored as described above, and if the pack B is bitten, the folded pack B is dragged with the lowering of the piston 13. As soon as this is recognized, the piston down switch 32 is pressed again. Then, the piston down switch 32 is turned off, that is, step S in the flowchart of FIG.
4 becomes “YES”, and the protection timer 4
After the reset of the piston 3, the reverse rotation of the pump motor PM, that is, the pump 27 is stopped in step S7, whereby the lowering of the piston 13 is interrupted. Then, the used part B is removed first by removing the biting portion. Then, when the piston down switch 32 is pressed again,
Since the piston 13 is lowered to the lower end position, a new pack B may be stored.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the pack B
When the biting of the piston is recognized, the piston lowering switch 3 is again turned on.
By pressing the button 2, the lowering operation of the piston 13 can be immediately interrupted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the pack B from tearing due to the biting, and the accident that the ice cream A remaining in the pack B leaks into the pouring cylinder 12 due to the biting, and the pouring cylinder 12 can be prevented. The trouble of cleaning the inside is eliminated.

<Other Embodiments> The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and illustrated in the drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, various changes can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. (1) In the above-described embodiment, the piston descent switch can be stopped by pressing the piston descent switch twice, but a switch for interrupting the descent of the piston may be separately provided. (2) As means for detecting that the piston is at the lower end position, a reed switch arranged on the outer periphery of the cylinder may be used, or the level of brine in the tank may be detected by a float switch.

(3) As a means for estimating the biting of the pack, it is also possible to utilize the generation of abnormal noise caused by the hindrance of the smooth lowering of the piston. (4) The present invention can be similarly applied to a system in which a working fluid other than brine or a discharge cylinder using air is mounted as a working fluid. (5) The ice cream referred to in the above embodiment includes both soft ice cream and hard ice cream, and the present invention can be widely applied to other cold confectionery pouring devices such as yogurt and sherbet. Is possible.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an entire structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a piston lowering routine.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

A ... ice cream B ... pack X ... brine 2 ...
Freezer compartment 3 ... Insulated door 12 ... Pour cylinder 13 ... Piston 16 ... Pack storage compartment 17 ... Pressure compartment 19 ... Lid 25 ... Tank 27 ...
Pump PM Pump motor 32 Piston lowering switch 34 Float switch 41 Controller 42
Switch signal section 44: Motor drive control section

Claims (2)

[Claims] A cylinder having a piston slidably fitted therein is provided in a cooling storage chamber, and a working fluid is supplied to and discharged from one side of the piston in a storage chamber in which bagged frozen desserts are stored. Each of the pressure chambers is configured to supply a working fluid to the pressure chamber by a pressurizing device and advance the piston to dispense the frozen dessert, and to suck the working fluid from the pressure chamber to retract the piston to pack the frozen dessert. Wherein the drive control means for stopping the drive of the pressurizing device is provided while the piston is returning to the rear end position. Output device. 2. The drive control means includes a switch for driving the pressurizing device to retreat the piston, and a detection means for detecting that the piston has reached a rear end position. The frozen dessert according to claim 1, further comprising a function of stopping the operation of the pressurizing device when the switch is operated again before the detection signal is obtained from the detection means after the detection. Dispensing device.