JP2005287642A - Electric kettle with tea function - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an electric pot with a tea supply function that can be realized at a low cost with a simple configuration as much as possible while maintaining consistency between a hot water supply function and a tea supply function and ease of use. To do.
An electric pot main body 2 and a tea machine main body 3 are integrally coupled, and control means 12 for controlling operations of both the electric pot main body 2 and the electric tea pot main body 3 is provided. A hot water supply pump 9 for discharging the hot water is provided, while a tea machine main body 3 is provided with a screw 30 for conveying powdered tea to the tea discharge port 28a in response to a key operation of the tea supply key 24, and a supply for driving the screw 30 A tea motor 33 is provided, and the control means 12 is configured to stop the operation of the other when the hot water supply pump 9 or the tea supply motor 33 is driven.
[Selection] Figure 9

Description

  The present invention relates to an electric pot with a tea supply function in which a tea supply function is attached to the electric pot.

  Conventionally, electric pots have been widely used in homes and offices (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In recent years, tea leaves are made into powder, and the powdered tea is put in a container such as a cup, and hot water is poured as it is to make a tea. It is convenient if such a powdered tea can be easily put into a container at any time without being particularly measured with a spoon or the like. For this reason, in the prior art, a tea dispenser capable of supplying a certain amount of powdered tea is provided.

  In other words, a conventional tea machine is provided with a screw at the bottom of a hopper for putting powdered tea, a motor is connected to this screw, and when the tea switch is pressed, the motor rotates the screw for a certain period of time, thereby storing it in the hopper. A certain amount of powdered tea is discharged from the tea outlet.

  Furthermore, in the prior art, an apparatus is also provided in which a hot water supply mechanism is connected to a tea dispenser so that powdered tea and hot water can be automatically injected into a container such as a cup (for example, Patent Document 2). reference).

JP 2003-210330 A JP 2000-14553 A

  However, in the case of the tea machine alone such as the former, it is necessary to prepare an electric pot separately for the coffee shop, so the whole apparatus becomes expensive when viewed on the assumption that both are arranged. . In addition, since it is necessary to install the electric kettle and the tea machine separately, it is difficult to place in a narrow place where the installation area is not sufficient and the usability is poor.

  In the latter case of Patent Document 2, since a certain amount of powdered tea and appropriate temperature hot water are automatically poured just by placing a container, there is no need to move the container, and the temperature of the hot water is also low. As long as it is set appropriately, it is easy to use, but the conventional device has a very large overall shape, and it is difficult to use it in a corner of a home or office.

  Furthermore, it is difficult to achieve consistency in the control operation between the electric pot and the tea machine by simply combining the electric pot and the tea machine, for example, the hot water supply pump on the electric pot side and the tea machine side When the tea supply motor that drives the screw for carrying out the powdered tea is operated at the same time, the current load on the entire apparatus becomes large, causing problems such as causing the control board to fail.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and is capable of performing an appropriate tea supply operation while maintaining consistency between the hot water supply function and the tea supply function, and is easy to use and has the simplest possible configuration. An object of the present invention is to provide an electric pot with a tea supply function that can be realized at low cost.

  In order to achieve the above object, the electric pot with a tea supply function of the present invention employs the following configuration.

  That is, in the electric pot with a tea supply function according to claim 1, the electric pot main body and the tea machine main body are integrally coupled, and the electric pot main body has an inner container for storing hot water, and a heater for heating and keeping hot water. And a hot water supply pump for discharging hot water in the inner container, a tea supply key for tea supply operation, a hopper for storing tea, and the tea in the hopper to the tea discharge port Control means for controlling the operations of both the electric pot body and the tea machine body, each of which includes a screw to be conveyed, a tea supply motor for driving the screw, and a discharge port opening / closing means for opening and closing the tea discharge port. The control means is configured to stop the operation of the other when the hot water supply pump or the tea supply motor is driven.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric pot with a tea supply function according to the first aspect of the present invention, further comprising motor load detection means for detecting a load of the tea supply motor, wherein the control means is a motor load detection means. Based on the detection output, the presence or absence of a load on the tea supply motor is determined, and when it is determined that the tea supply motor is in an overload state, control is performed to reverse the tea supply motor for a predetermined time. To do.

  An electric pot with a tea supply function according to claim 3 is the configuration of the invention according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the control means closes the tea discharge port in response to an operation of the tea supply key. Then, after the tea supply motor is driven for a predetermined time, the discharge port opening / closing means is driven to perform sequence control for opening the tea discharge port.

  The electric pot with a tea supply function according to claim 4 is the configuration of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the control means drives the discharge opening / closing means to open the tea discharge opening. A sequence control is performed in which the tea supply motor is driven for a predetermined time after opening and then the tea supply motor is reversely rotated for a predetermined time.

  An electric pot with a tea supply function according to claim 5 is the configuration of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising an attachment / detachment detection means for detecting attachment / detachment of the hopper, wherein the control means is When the attachment / detachment detection means detects that the hopper is mounted, the tea supply motor is controlled to be driven for a predetermined time with the tea discharge opening being closed by the discharge opening / closing means. It is characterized by.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electric pot with a tea supply function according to any one of the first to fifth aspects of the invention, wherein the control means uses the discharge port opening / closing means after the tea supply operation is completed. The tea supply motor is driven for a predetermined time with the discharge port closed, the load of the tea supply motor is detected by the motor load detection means, and the load of the tea supply motor detected by the motor load detection means is determined in advance. When the reference value is less than or equal to the set reference value, it is determined that the hopper is in an empty state.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the electric pot main body and the tea machine main body are integrally coupled, and when the tea supply motor is driven to drink tea, the hot water supply pump is stopped, and vice versa. When the hot water supply pump is driven, the tea supply motor is stopped. In this way, the control means associates and controls the hot water supply pump and the tea supply motor so that they do not operate simultaneously, so the current capacity for the entire apparatus can be set small. For this reason, the failure of the control board can be prevented, and the circuit element used for the control board can be used with a small current capacity, so that the cost can be reduced. Moreover, since the tea supply operation and the hot water supply operation are controlled by a single control means, the configuration of the control function of the entire apparatus is simplified and can be realized at low cost.

  According to the invention described in claim 2, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1, the control means determines that the tea supply motor is in an overload state based on the detection output of the motor load detection means. In this case, the tea supply motor is reversed for a predetermined period of time, so that when the tea in the hopper is clogged or a foreign object is caught, an overload is applied to the tea supply motor to prevent the motor from malfunctioning. Can do.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the tea supply is performed for a predetermined time while the tea discharge port is closed according to the operation of the tea supply key. Since the tea discharge opening is opened after the motor is driven, it is possible to prevent the tea from being pushed and clogged by the screw toward the tea discharge opening, and a space without tea in the screw can be prevented. For this reason, after opening the tea outlet, tea can be discharged stably, and a constant concentration of tea can always be drunk.

  According to the invention described in claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 3, the tea supply motor is reversed for a predetermined time from the time when the tea supply operation is finished. The tea in the screw is pulled back to the hopper side. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an inconvenience that an excessive amount of tea falls from the tea outlet and the amount of tea supplied is not stable.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 4, when the hopper supplemented with tea is attached to the tea dispenser body, this is the attachment / detachment detecting means. In response to this, the control means opens the tea discharge port after driving the tea supply motor for a predetermined time with the tea discharge port closed, so that the tea is pushed toward the tea discharge port by the screw. This can prevent clogging and creating a tea-free space in the screw. For this reason, tea can be discharged stably immediately after replenishing tea, and a constant concentration of tea can always be drunk.

  According to the invention described in claim 6, in addition to the effect of the invention described in any one of claims 1 to 5, the remaining amount of tea in the hopper can be easily reduced without providing a special sensor or the like. Since it can always grasp with a simple configuration, it becomes possible to replenish tea at an appropriate timing.

[Embodiment 1]
1 is a perspective view showing an entire electric pot with a tea supply function in Embodiment 1, FIG. 2 is a front view thereof, FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof, FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 2, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in FIG.

  In the electric pot 1 with a tea supply function in the first embodiment, an electric pot main body 2 and a tea machine main body 3 are integrally coupled by an outer case 4.

  The electric pot body 2 includes an inner container 6 composed of a stainless steel vacuum double container having a heat insulating structure for storing hot water, a hot water discharge port 7, a heater 8 for heating and keeping hot water in the inner container 6, and contents A hot water supply pump 9 for discharging the hot water of the vessel 6 from the hot water discharge port 7, an opening / closing lid 10 for supplying water, a temperature sensor (not shown) for detecting the temperature of the hot water, and the like are provided.

  Further, a hot water supply operation panel 11 is provided in a protruding portion of the electric pot body 2 on the front side of the opening / closing lid 10, and a control means 12 configured by a microcomputer (hereinafter simply referred to as a microcomputer) is provided therein. It has been.

  The hot water operation panel 11 includes a heat retention mode selection key 15, a reboiling key 16 operated when reheating the hot water, a hot water supply key 17 for starting the hot water supply pump 9, and a lock state of the hot water supply key 17 is released. An unlock key 18 that is operated to perform the operation, a liquid crystal display unit 19 and the like are provided.

  Then, the above-described heat retention mode selection key 16 is used to set a tea correspondence heat retention mode for keeping hot water at a tea correspondence temperature (for example, 85 ° C. here) suitable for drinking powdered tea, or at a higher temperature (for example, Here, it is possible to set a high temperature heat insulation mode for keeping the hot water at 98 ° C. close to the boiling temperature or 90 ° C. for energy saving). Then, the liquid crystal display unit 19 displays the heat retention temperature (for example, 85 ° C., 98 ° C., 90 ° C.) selected by the heat retention mode selection key 16 and the current hot water temperature detected by the temperature sensor. It has become.

  On the other hand, the tea dispenser body 3 is provided with an open / close lid 22 for pouring powdered tea into the upper part of the exterior case 4 and taking out a hopper 29 described later, and an operation panel 23 for tea supply is provided in front of the open / close lid 22. Is provided. The tea operation panel 23 is provided with tea lamp keys 24 that are operated when the tea feeding operation is performed, display lamps 25 and 26 such as LEDs for notifying the tea feeding state, and the like.

  On the other hand, an inner case 27 is formed inside the outer case 4 at a position below the opening / closing lid 22, and a funnel portion 28 having a tea discharge port 28a for discharging powdered tea to the outside is formed. A hopper 29 for storing powdered tea P is detachably disposed in the inner case 27, and a screw 30 for sending the powdered tea in the hopper 29 to the funnel portion 28 is attached to the lower part of the hopper 29. The tea supply motor 33 is connected to the screw 30 via gears 31 and 32.

  Further, an opening 27 a that communicates with the tea outlet 28 a of the funnel portion 28 is formed at a position facing the screw 27 at the lower portion of the inner case 27. A shutter 36 for opening and closing the opening 27a is provided in a swingable manner near the opening 27a, and a solenoid 37 for driving the shutter 36 is provided. The shutter 36 and the solenoid 37 constitute discharge port opening / closing means in claims.

  In the control means 1, by installing a predetermined control program in the microcomputer, the electric pot body 2 and the electric pot main body 2 can be operated according to the operation of the keys 15 to 18 and 24 of the hot water supply operation panel 11 and the tea supply operation panel 23. The function of controlling both operations of the tea machine main body 3 is achieved.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 7, the control means 12 respond | corresponds to this, when the command signal corresponding to operation of each key 15-18, 24 of the hot water supply operation panel 11 or the tea operation panel 23 is input. The switching elements 39, 40, 41 are turned on / off, thereby controlling each power supplied from the commercial AC power supply 42 to the hot water supply pump 9, the solenoid 37, and the tea supply motor 33 via the power supply circuit 43. It has become.

  In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the control means 12 selects the timing for turning on each of the switching elements 39 to 41 on the basis of the AC phase signal (zero cross point detection signal) obtained by the power circuit 43. The forward / reverse direction of the pump 9, the solenoid 37, and the tea supply motor 33 is determined. For example, when the tea supply motor 33 is rotated forward, the switching element 41 is turned on when the AC phase signal is at a high level, and when the tea supply motor 33 is rotated reversely, the AC phase signal is at a low level. Sometimes the switching element 41 is turned on.

  Next, the control operation by the control means 12 in the electric pot 1 with the tea supply function configured as described above, in particular, the cooperative operation of the hot water supply pump 9 and the tea supply motor 33 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In the following flowcharts, symbol S in the figure means each processing step.

  When the tea supply key 24 of the tea supply operation panel 23 is operated (step 10), the control means 12 first turns off the hot water supply pump 9 (step 11) and then starts the tea supply operation (step 12). . In this tea supply operation, the solenoid 37 is driven to open the shutter 36, and then the tea supply motor 33 is turned on. As a result, the powdered tea P stored in the hopper 29 is sent by the screw 30 and discharged from the tea discharge port 28a, and falls into a container 45 such as a cup or teacup previously placed below the tea discharge port 28a. Is done. Then, after the tea supply motor 33 is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed, the opening 27 a of the inner case 27 is closed by the solenoid 37.

  On the other hand, when the hot water supply key 17 of the hot water supply operation panel 11 is operated without operating the tea supply key 24 in step 10 (step 13), the control means 12 turns off both the tea supply motor 33 and the solenoid 37. (Step 14), the hot water supply operation is started (Step 15). In this hot water supply operation, the hot water supply pump 9 is turned on while the hot water supply key 17 is being pressed, and the hot water in the inner container 6 is discharged from the hot water discharge port 7 to the container 45.

  Thus, in this Embodiment 1, since the control means 12 associates and controls so that the hot water supply pump 9 and the tea supply motor 33 do not operate simultaneously, the current capacity with respect to the whole apparatus can be set small. For this reason, the failure of the control board on which the control means 12 is mounted can be prevented, and the circuit elements used for the control board can be used with a small current capacity, so that the cost can be reduced. Moreover, since the tea supply operation and the hot water supply operation are controlled by the single control means 12, the configuration of the control function of the entire apparatus is simplified and can be realized at low cost.

[Embodiment 2]
Since the basic configuration of the electric pot with the tea supply function of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, detailed description thereof is omitted here. However, in the second embodiment, a motor that detects the load of the tea supply motor 33 in order to prevent problems such as the powdered tea P being clogged in the hopper 29 or foreign matter biting in and causing the tea supply motor 33 to fail. An encoder (not shown) is provided as load detecting means. And the control means 12 performs control of the tea supply motor 33 as follows based on the detection output of this encoder.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the control operation of the tea supply motor 33 by the control means 12 in the second embodiment. Here, for convenience of explanation, the operation of the solenoid 37 is omitted, but the tea supply operation naturally involves the opening and closing operation of the shutter 36 by the solenoid 37. Further, the internal timer in the following description is realized by a program by the control means 12.

  When the tea supply key 24 is turned on (step 20), the control means 12 causes the tea supply motor 33 to rotate forward (step 21). Next, the control means 12 determines whether there is an output from the encoder (step 22). When there is an output from the encoder, it is determined that there is no powder tea jam or foreign matter biting in the hopper 29 and the process is terminated.

  On the other hand, when there is no output from the encoder, it is determined that there is a clogging of powdered tea or a foreign object in the hopper 29, and then the control means 12 sets a first internal timer provided inside (step). 23). Then, the tea supply motor 33 is reversely rotated until a predetermined time (T1, for example, T1 = 1 second) elapses and the first internal timer expires (steps 24 and 25).

  When the first internal timer expires, the control means 12 then sets the second internal timer (step 26). Then, the tea supply motor 33 is rotated forward until a predetermined time (T2, for example, T2 = 1 second) elapses and the second internal timer expires (steps 27 and 28). When the second internal timer expires, the control means 12 increments the count value N of the counter that counts the number of repetitions of reverse rotation and forward rotation by one (step 29), and then the count value N is set to a preset threshold value Nsh. It is determined whether or not (for example, Nsh = 2) has been exceeded (step 30). If the count value N does not exceed the threshold value Nsh, the process returns to step 22 to determine again whether there is an encoder output.

  At this time, when the output of the encoder is obtained, it is determined that the clogging of powdered tea in the hopper 29 or the biting of foreign matter has been resolved, and the process is terminated. On the other hand, when the output of the encoder cannot be obtained, it is determined that the powdered tea is still clogged or the foreign matter is stuck in the hopper 29, and Steps 22 to 30 are repeated.

  Thus, even if the steps 22 to 30 are repeated a predetermined number of times, if the powdered tea clogging or foreign matter biting in the hopper 29 is not eliminated and the count value is counted up (step 30), the control means 12 is used for tea supply. An error is displayed by blinking a warning display lamp 26 provided on the operation panel 23 (step 31).

  As described above, in the second embodiment, when the tea supply motor 33 is overloaded due to clogged powdered tea or foreign matter in the hopper 29, the cause is eliminated. Since the tea supply motor 33 is reversely rotated for a predetermined time, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a malfunction such as a failure of the motor 33.

  In the second embodiment, the encoder is provided as the motor load detecting means. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a current detector that monitors the current value of the tea supply motor 33 is provided as the motor load detecting means. When the current value of the tea supply motor 33 detected by the detector is greater than or equal to a preset reference value, it is determined that powdered tea is clogged or foreign matter is caught in the hopper 29. Is also possible.

  In the second embodiment, overload is prevented from being applied by electrical control of the tea supply motor 33. For example, the overload is applied to the tea supply motor 33 by a mechanical mechanism as shown in FIG. It is also possible to prevent the addition of.

  That is, in FIG. 11, the bracket 46 to which the tea supply motor 33 is attached is attached to the inner case 27 via the rubber cushion packing 47 so as to have a spring effect, and the tea supply motor 33 is overloaded. In this case, the gears 31 and 32 connecting the tea supply motor 33 and the screw are disengaged. Even in this case, it is possible to prevent the tea supply motor 33 from being overloaded.

[Embodiment 3]
Since the basic configuration of the electric pot with a tea supply function of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, detailed description thereof is omitted here.

  The feature of the third embodiment resides in that the powdered tea P is always discharged stably by the operation control of the tea supply motor 33 by the control means 12. Therefore, here, the control operation of the tea supply motor 33 by the control means 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  First, when the tea supply key 24 is turned on (step 40), the control means sets the third internal timer accordingly (step 41), and then the predetermined period T3 (until the third internal timer expires). For example, T3 = 1 second), the tea supply motor 33 is driven (steps 42 and 43). During the period T3 until the third internal timer expires, the solenoid 37 is in an off state, and therefore the opening 27a is closed by the shutter 36. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 13, the powder 3 is pushed and clogged by the screw 3 toward the opening 27 a side, so that it is possible to prevent the space 30 without the powder tea P from being generated in the screw 30.

  That is, after the previous tea supply operation is completed or after the powdered tea P is supplied into the hopper 29, as shown in FIG. 13A, the space B where the powdered tea P does not exist at the tip portion of the screw 30. Even if the shutter 36 is opened and the tea supply operation is started as it is, it takes time until the powdered tea P is fed by the screw 30 and actually discharged from the tea discharge port 28a, and a certain amount of powder is generated. It happens that tea is not discharged. On the other hand, if the screw 30 is turned with the shutter 27 closed with the opening 27a, powder tea P is clogged at the tip of the screw 30 as shown in FIG. The powdered tea P is immediately discharged from the tea discharge port 28a.

  When the third internal timer expires after the lapse of the predetermined period T3, the control means 12 drives the solenoid 37 to open the shutter 36 (step 44), and then sets the fourth internal timer (step 45). . In this case, since the tea supply motor 33 has already been driven, the control unit 12 continues the tea supply motor until a predetermined time T4 (for example, T4 = 2 seconds) elapses and the fourth internal timer expires. The drive of 33 is continued (step 46). When the fourth internal timer expires, the tea supply motor 33 is stopped (step 47). Thereby, a certain amount of powdered tea P in the hopper 29 is sent to the tea discharge port 28a by the screw 30 and supplied into the container 45 placed below the tea discharge port 28a.

  Subsequently, the control means 12 sets a fifth internal timer (step 48), and supplies it until a predetermined time T5 (for example, T5 = 0.3 seconds) elapses until the fifth internal timer expires. After the tea motor 33 is reversed (steps 49 and 50), the tea supply motor 33 is stopped (step 51). Thereby, the powdered tea P collected at the tip of the screw 30 is pulled back to the hopper 29 side. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an inconvenience that an excessive amount of powdered tea P falls from the tea discharge port 28a and the amount of tea supplied is not stable.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 14A, if the screw 30 is stopped with the shutter 36 opened, the powdered tea P accumulated at the tip of the screw 30 until the shutter 36 is closed is excessively brown. There is a possibility that the amount of tea supply will become unstable due to falling from the discharge port 28a. On the other hand, when the tea supply motor 33 is reversed, the powdered tea P collected at the tip of the screw 30 is pulled back toward the hopper 29 as shown in FIG. It is possible to ensure a stable amount of tea supply.

  After stopping the tea supply motor 33, the solenoid 37 is turned off and the opening 27a is closed by the shutter 36 (step 52). Subsequently, the display lamp 25 provided on the tea operation panel 23 blinks. For example, the fact that the tea supply operation has been completed is notified (step 53).

  As described above, in the third embodiment, when the tea supply key 24 is operated, the tea supply motor 33 is driven for a predetermined time while the tea discharge port 28a is closed in accordance with this operation. Therefore, the powdered tea P is pushed and clogged toward the opening 27a side, so that it is possible to prevent the space B without the powdered tea P from being generated in the screw 30, and the powdered tea P can be discharged stably.

  Moreover, in the third embodiment, since the tea supply motor 33 is reversed for a predetermined time from the time when the tea supply operation is finished, the powdered tea P in the screw 30 is pulled back to the hopper 29 side. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an inconvenience that an excessive amount of powdered tea P falls from the tea discharge port 28a and the amount of tea supplied is not stable, and a constant concentration of tea can be always drunk.

[Embodiment 4]
Since the basic configuration of the electric pot with the tea supply function of the fourth embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, detailed description thereof is omitted here. However, in the fourth embodiment, as shown in FIG. 15, it is detected whether the hopper 29 is attached to or detached from the inner case 27 so that the powdered tea P can be stably discharged immediately after the powdered tea P is replenished. A switch 48 is provided as attachment / detachment detection means. That is, the switch 48 is turned on when the hopper 29 is mounted on the inner case 27 and turned off when the hopper 29 is removed from the inner case 27. And the control means 12 performs control of the tea supply motor 33 based on the output of this switch 48 as follows.

  That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 16, the control means 12 determines whether or not the hopper 29 is attached to the inner case 27 based on the output of the switch 48 (step 60). After the powdered tea P is replenished to the hopper 29, when the hopper 29 is mounted on the inner case 27 and the open / close lid 22 is closed, the switch 48 is turned on. Based on this detection output, the control means 12 After setting the timer (step 61), the tea supply motor 33 is started (step 62). At that time, the renoid 37 is in an off state, and the opening 27 a is closed by the shutter 36.

  Then, it is determined whether or not an overload is detected in the tea supply motor 33 (step 64). If an overload is detected, the tea supply motor 33 is immediately stopped (step 65). On the other hand, if no overload is detected, it is determined whether or not the seventh internal timer has timed up (step 64). If the time has not expired, the process returns to step 62 to drive the tea supply motor 33. Continue. Then, when a predetermined time T7 (for example, T7 = 3 seconds) elapses and the seventh internal timer expires, the tea supply motor 33 is stopped (step 65).

  As described above, in the fourth embodiment, when it is detected that the hopper 29 supplemented with powdered tea P is attached to the inner case 27, the control means 12 is in a state of closing the opening 27a accordingly. Since the tea supply motor 33 is driven for a predetermined time T7 as it is, the powdered tea P is pushed and clogged by the screw 30 toward the opening 27a side, so that it is possible to prevent a space without powdered tea from forming in the screw 30. . For this reason, the powdered tea P can be stably discharged immediately after the powdered tea P is replenished to the hopper 29, and a constant concentration of powdered tea can always be drunk.

[Embodiment 5]
Since the basic configuration of the electric pot with a tea supply function according to the fifth embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, detailed description thereof is omitted here. However, in the fifth embodiment, a switch (not shown) for detecting the open / close state of the open / close lid 22 above the hopper 29 is provided so that the remaining amount of the powdered tea P in the hopper 29 can be grasped. And the control means 12 performs control of the tea supply motor 33 as follows based on the output of this switch.

  That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 17, for example, when all the tea supply operations as shown in FIG. 10 are completed (step 70), the control unit 12 continues to operate the hopper based on the detection output of the switch (not shown). It is determined whether or not the opening / closing lid 22 above 29 is closed (step 71).

  If the open / close lid 22 is closed, the control means 12 then sets the ninth internal timer (step 72) and then starts the tea supply motor 33 (step 73). At that time, the solenoid 37 is in an off state, and the opening 27 a is closed by the shutter 36. In this state, the control means 12 detects the load of the tea supply motor 33 based on the detection output of the motor load detection means (for example, a current detector that monitors the current value of the brown motor 33) (step 74). Then, it is determined whether or not the detected load of the tea supply motor 33 is equal to or less than a preset reference value (step 75).

  At this time, if the load of the tea supply motor 33 exceeds a preset reference value, it is determined that sufficient powdered tea P is stored in the hopper 29, and the tea supply motor 33 is turned on. Stop (step 76). On the other hand, when the load of the tea supply motor 33 exceeds a preset reference value, the process returns to step 73 again, the tea supply motor 33 is continuously rotated, the motor load is detected, and the tea supply is performed. It is determined whether or not the load of the motor 33 exceeds a preset reference value (steps 74 and 75).

  If the load on the tea supply motor 33 remains below a preset reference value even after a predetermined time T9 (for example, T9 = 5 seconds) set by the ninth internal timer has elapsed, the powder in the hopper 29 The tea P is determined to be empty, the tea supply motor 33 is stopped (step 78), and the warning display lamp 26 provided on the tea supply operation panel 23 is flashed. It is notified that the powdered tea P is empty (step 79).

  As described above, in the fifth embodiment, since the remaining amount of the powdered tea P in the hopper 29 can be always grasped with a simple configuration without providing a special capacity sensor or the like, Tea P can be replenished.

About each said Embodiment 1-5, the following various modifications and application examples can be considered.
In each of the above-described first to fifth embodiments, the case of supplying powdered tea P has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the case of supplying other tea types such as tea and coffee Can also be applied.

  Further, as a driving method of the tea supply motor 33, it is possible to set the rotation number to be low immediately after startup and control to gradually increase the rotation number as time passes, instead of maintaining the same rotation number. . By performing such rotation speed control, the tea supply operation can be performed smoothly, and it can be used to reduce the load at the time of startup.

  Furthermore, in each of the above-described first to fifth embodiments, a single control unit is provided, and both the tea supply function and the hot water supply function are controlled by this control unit. However, when the hot water supply function of the existing electric pot is maintained as it is and only the tea supply function is newly added, a dedicated control means is provided on the tea machine body 3 side, and cooperation with the control means on the electric pot side is provided. It is also possible to configure to take. As a result, the development cost can be reduced as compared with the case where a new control program is created.

It is a perspective view which shows the whole electric pot with a tea supply function in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a front view of the electric pot with a tea supply function of FIG. It is a top view of the electric pot with a tea supply function of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the AA line of FIG. It is sectional drawing which follows the BB line of FIG. It is a circuit block diagram which shows each control state of the hot water supply pump by a control means, a solenoid, and a tea supply motor in the electric pot with a tea supply function in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a timing chart which shows each control timing of the hot water supply pump by a control means, a solenoid, and a tea supply motor in the electric pot with a tea supply function in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of control operation | movement of the hot water supply pump and tea supply motor by a control means in the electric pot with a tea supply function of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a timing chart with which it uses for description of control operation | movement of the tea supply motor by a control means in the electric pot with a tea supply function of Embodiment 2 of this invention. In connection with Embodiment 2 of this invention, it is a perspective view which shows the other means for preventing that an overload is added to a tea supply motor. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of control operation | movement of the tea supply motor by a control means in the electric pot with a tea supply function of Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the control operation of the tea supply motor relevant to the flowchart of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the control operation of the tea supply motor relevant to the flowchart of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the principal part structure in the electric pot with a tea supply function of Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of control operation | movement of the tea supply motor by a control means in the electric pot with a tea supply function of Embodiment 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart with which it uses for description of control operation | movement of the tea supply motor by a control means in the electric pot with a tea supply function of Embodiment 5 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric pot with tea supply function 2 Electric pot body 3 Tea machine body 6 Inner container 7 Hot water discharge port 8 Heater 9 Hot water supply pump 12 Control means 17 Hot water key 24 Tea supply key 28a Tea discharge port 29 Hopper 30 Screw 33 Tea supply motor 36 Shutter 37 Solenoid 48 Switch (detachment detection means)

Claims (6)

An electric pot main body and a tea machine main body are integrally coupled, and the electric pot main body includes an inner container for storing hot water, a heater for heating and keeping hot water, and a hot water supply pump for discharging the hot water in the inner container. On the other hand, the tea machine body has a tea supply key for tea supply operation, a hopper for storing tea, a screw for transporting tea in the hopper to a tea discharge port, a tea supply motor for driving the screw, Discharge port opening / closing means for opening and closing the tea discharge port are provided, respectively, and control means for controlling the operation of both the electric pot main body and the tea machine main body is provided. The control means includes the hot water supply pump and the tea supply motor. An electric pot with a tea supply function is configured to stop the operation of the other when either one is driven. Motor load detection means for detecting the load of the tea supply motor is provided, and the control means determines the presence or absence of the load of the tea supply motor based on the detection output of the motor load detection means, and the tea supply motor is overloaded. The electric pot with a tea supply function according to claim 1, wherein when it is determined that the tea supply motor is in reverse, control is performed to reverse the tea supply motor for a predetermined time. A sequence in which the control means opens the tea discharge port by driving the discharge port opening / closing means after driving the tea supply motor for a predetermined time while the tea discharge port is closed in accordance with the operation of the tea supply key. The electric pot with a tea supply function according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the electric pot is controlled. The control means performs sequence control for driving the tea supply motor for a predetermined time after driving the discharge opening opening / closing means to open the tea discharge opening and then rotating the tea supply motor for a predetermined time. The electric pot with a tea supply function according to any one of claims 1 to 3. An attachment / detachment detecting means for detecting attachment / detachment of the hopper is provided, and when the attachment / detachment detection means detects that the hopper is attached, the control means closes the tea discharge opening by the discharge opening / closing means. The electric pot with a tea supply function according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the tea supply motor is controlled over a predetermined time. The control means drives the tea supply motor for a predetermined time with the tea outlet closed by the outlet opening / closing means after completion of the tea supply operation, and detects the load of the tea motor by the motor load detecting means. The hopper is judged to be empty when the load of the tea supply motor detected by the motor load detecting means is not more than a preset reference value. The electric pot with a tea supply function according to any one of claims 5 to 6.

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