JP2017202041A - Beverage extraction method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To satisfactorily extract a beverage without using a power source such as an air pump. A beverage extraction method for extracting a beverage from coffee raw materials and hot water charged into a bottomed cylindrical cylinder 20 and discharging the extracted beverage through an extraction path 50, when a start command is given. A charging step that restricts the passage of beverages through the extraction path 50 and arranges the mesh member 31 at an intermediate position to allow the coffee raw material or the like to be charged, and the mesh member 31 in which the coffee raw material or the like is charged on the upper surface. A stirring step in which the coffee raw material and hot water are agitated by air passing through the through hole 31a by moving the coffee raw material close to the bottom 22 and an extraction step in which the mesh member 31 is moved away from the bottom 22 to extract a beverage. And a discharge step of opening the extraction valve 51 and discharging the beverage extracted through the extraction path 50. [Selection diagram] Fig. 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a beverage extraction method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a beverage extraction device applied to, for example, a coffee server (beverage server) or a cup-type beverage vending machine, a device including a cylinder, a filter block and a cylinder head is known.

  The cylinder is an extraction container having a cylindrical shape. The filter block has a built-in filter and opens and closes the lower surface opening of the cylinder. The cylinder head opens and closes the upper surface opening of the cylinder.

  In the beverage extraction apparatus having such a configuration, the beverage is extracted as follows. Beverage ingredients and hot water are respectively supplied from the raw material supply device and the hot water supply device to the cylinder whose lower surface opening is closed by the filter block through the open upper surface opening. The beverage ingredients and hot water introduced into the cylinder are agitated by the air supplied into the cylinder from the first air supply path connected to the filter block. Thereafter, the supply of air from the first air supply path is stopped.

  The cylinder head closes the top opening of the cylinder, and air is supplied to the inside of the cylinder from the second air supply path connected to the cylinder head, and the extraction path connected to the filter block is opened. Thereby, the stirring liquid inside a cylinder is extracted as a drink through the filter of a filter block, passes the extraction path | route, and is discharged outside (for example, refer patent document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 4760549

  By the way, in the beverage extraction apparatus described above, the agitation of the beverage raw material and hot water and the extraction of the beverage are performed by the air supplied by driving the air pump from the first air supply path and the second air supply path, such as an air pump. The power source was essential.

  An object of this invention is to provide the drink extraction method which can extract a drink favorably, without using power sources, such as an air pump, in view of the said situation.

  In order to achieve the above object, a beverage extraction method according to the present invention extracts a beverage from a beverage raw material and hot water charged in a bottomed cylindrical cylinder whose bottom opening is closed at the bottom, and is connected to the bottom. A beverage extraction method for discharging a beverage extracted through an extraction path, and when a start command is given, the extraction valve provided in the extraction path is closed to restrict the beverage from passing through the extraction path In addition, a mesh member having a disk shape in which a plurality of through holes are formed and whose side surface is in contact with the inner surface of the cylinder is disposed at an intermediate position spaced apart from the bottom portion and the upper surface opening of the cylinder, A charging process for allowing the beverage ingredients and hot water to be fed through, and the mesh member loaded with the beverage ingredients and the hot water on the upper surface by the charging process is moved so as to be close to the bottom The stirring process for stirring the beverage ingredients and the hot water by the air passing through the through hole, and the mesh member moved to a position close to the bottom by the stirring process are moved away from the bottom. An extraction step of extracting the beverage, and a discharge step of opening the extraction valve and discharging the extracted beverage through the extraction path when the mesh member has moved to a position close to the upper surface opening by the extraction step. It is characterized by including.

  Moreover, this invention includes the stationary process which waits the mesh member which moved to the position close | similar to the said bottom part by the said stirring process in the said drink process for the predetermined time, The said extracting process includes the said stationary process The beverage is extracted by moving the mesh member placed on standby in a manner so as to be separated from the bottom.

  Moreover, this invention includes the removal process which removes the extraction basket | hook mounted in this mesh member, when a mesh member moves to the position close | similar to the said upper surface opening by the said extraction process in the said beverage extraction method. Features.

  According to the present invention, in the charging process, when a start command is given, the extraction valve is closed to restrict the beverage from passing through the extraction path, and the disk is formed with a plurality of through holes. Then, the mesh member whose side surface is in contact with the inner surface of the cylinder is disposed at an intermediate position spaced apart from the bottom and the upper surface opening of the cylinder, allowing the beverage ingredients and hot water to be charged through the upper surface opening, and in the stirring process, the charging process. By moving the mesh member with the beverage ingredients and hot water on the top surface so as to be close to the bottom, the beverage ingredients and hot water are agitated by the air passing through the through hole, and the extraction process is brought close to the bottom by the agitation process. The mesh member that has been moved to the position where it is moved is moved away from the bottom to extract the beverage. When the mesh member is moved, the beverage extracted through the extraction path is opened by opening the extraction valve, so that the coffee raw material and hot water can be well stirred without using a power source such as an air pump. There is an effect that can be done.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view schematically showing a beverage extraction apparatus for performing a beverage extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure of a beverage extraction operation of the beverage extraction device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure of a beverage extraction operation of the beverage extraction device shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the procedure of the beverage extraction operation of the beverage extraction device shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure of a beverage extraction operation of the beverage extraction device shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the procedure of the beverage extraction operation of the beverage extraction device shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the procedure of the beverage extraction operation of the beverage extraction device shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the procedure of the beverage extraction operation of the beverage extraction device shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a beverage extraction method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view schematically showing a beverage extraction apparatus for performing a beverage extraction method according to an embodiment of the present invention, and a part thereof is shown in cross section.

  The beverage extraction apparatus 10 exemplified here is applied to a beverage server that provides beverages such as coffee and tea, a cup-type beverage vending machine, and the like, and coffee raw materials (crushed beans: beverages) provided from the mill 1 The coffee beverage is extracted from the raw material) and the hot water supplied.

  Such a beverage extraction device 10 includes a cylinder 20, a piston unit 30, a cover member 40, and an extraction path 50.

  The cylinder 20 has a bottomed cylindrical shape in which a lower surface opening 21 formed on the lower surface is closed by a bottom portion 22. Such a cylinder 20 is supported by a cylinder holder (not shown), and the axial direction coincides with the vertical direction.

  The piston unit 30 includes a mesh member 31, a feed nut 32, and a feed screw 33. The mesh member 31 is made of, for example, a metal material and has a disk shape. The mesh member 31 has a side surface that is in contact with the inner surface of the cylinder 20 and is formed in such a manner that a plurality of through holes 31a penetrate vertically.

  The feed nut 32 is a long member whose vertical direction is the longitudinal direction, and is attached to the center portion of the lower surface of the mesh member 31 via an attachment block 34. The feed nut 32 has a cylindrical shape in which an opening on the upper surface is closed by a mounting block 34, and passes through a nut hole portion 22 a formed in the center portion of the bottom portion 22. Here, the outer diameter of the feed nut 32 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the nut hole portion 22a, and the gap between the feed nut 32 and the nut hole portion 22a is provided with packing or the like so that airtightness is achieved. It is secured.

  The feed screw 33 is a long member whose vertical direction is the longitudinal direction, and part of the feed screw 33 enters the feed nut 32. The feed screw 33 has an outer surface that enters the inside of the feed nut 32 and is screwed into an inner surface of the feed nut 32. The lower end of the feed screw 33 is linked to the piston motor 35. The piston motor 35 is driven to rotate forward and backward in accordance with a command given from the control unit (control means) 60.

  Therefore, when the piston motor 35 is driven forward, the feed screw 33 moves the feed nut 32 screwed downward by rotating clockwise around the center axis of the feed screw 33 when viewed from above, for example. On the other hand, when the piston motor 35 is driven in the reverse direction, the feed nut 32 is moved upward by rotating around the central axis, for example, counterclockwise as viewed from above.

  As the feed nut 32 moves in the vertical direction by the rotation of the feed screw 33 in this way, the mesh member 31 to which the feed nut 32 is attached via the attachment block 34 is in contact with the inner surface of the cylinder 20. It is possible to move in a state of approaching and separating from the bottom 22 in the state.

  The cover member 40 is provided in the upper area of the cylinder 20. Such a cover member 40 has a box shape in which the lower wall portion and the left wall portion are opened, and the upper wall portion 41 is large enough to cover the upper surface opening 23 of the cylinder 20. ing.

  Such a cover member 40 is linked to a cover motor 42. The cover motor 42 is driven to rotate forward and backward according to a command given from the control unit 60.

  Therefore, when the cover motor 42 is driven to rotate forward, the cover member 40 moves to the right and closes the upper surface opening 23 of the cylinder 20 as indicated by a broken line in FIG. When the cover motor 42 is driven in the reverse direction, it moves to the left and moves to the second position where the upper surface opening 23 of the cylinder 20 is opened as shown by the solid line in FIG. It is. That is, the cover member 40 is provided so as to be movable between a first position where the upper surface opening 23 is closed and a second position where the upper surface opening 23 is opened.

  The cover member 40 has a scraper portion 43 and a supply path 44. The scraper portion 43 is configured by the right wall portion of the cover member 40. The scraper portion 43 has a vertical dimension determined such that the lower end portion is in sliding contact with the upper surface of the cylinder 20 when the cover member 40 moves between the first position and the second position.

  The supply path 44 is connected to the upper wall portion 41 of the cover member 40 and allows hot water supplied from a hot water tank (not shown) to pass therethrough. A supply valve 45 is provided in the supply path 44. The supply valve 45 is a valve body that opens and closes in response to a command given from the control unit 60. When the supply valve 45 is opened, hot water is allowed to pass through the supply path 44, whereas when the supply valve 45 is closed, The hot water is prevented from passing through the supply path 44.

  The extraction path 50 is connected to the bottom portion 22 in such a manner as to penetrate an extraction hole (not shown) provided in the bottom portion 22. The extraction path 50 allows the coffee beverage extracted inside the cylinder 20 to pass through and be discharged to the beverage container 2 (see FIG. 8). The extraction path 50 is provided with an extraction valve 51 and a pressure sensor 52.

  The extraction valve 51 is a valve body that opens and closes in response to a command given from the control unit 60. When the extraction valve 51 is opened, the coffee beverage is allowed to pass through the extraction path 50, whereas when the extraction valve 51 is closed. The passage of the coffee beverage through the extraction path 50 is restricted.

  The pressure sensor 52 is provided on the upstream side of the extraction valve 51. The pressure sensor 52 detects the pressure below the mesh member 31 inside the cylinder 20. The pressure sensor 52 gives the detected pressure to the control unit 60 as a pressure signal.

  The extraction operation of the beverage extraction apparatus 10 having the above-described configuration, that is, the beverage extraction method will be described below.

  In the standby state, as shown in FIG. 2, the mesh member 31 is disposed at the top dead center position at the same level as the upper surface of the cylinder 20 to close the upper surface opening 23, and the cover member 40 is the first member. Placed in position. The supply valve 45 and the extraction valve 51 are both closed.

  When a start command is given from the standby state, the control unit 60 gives a drive command to the piston motor 35 to drive the piston motor 35 to rotate forward. As a result, the mesh member 31 moves downward together with the feed nut 32 as the feed screw 33 rotates clockwise as viewed from above. When the mesh member 31 moves to an intermediate position that is separated from the bottom portion 22 and the top surface opening 23, the control unit 60 gives a drive stop command to the piston motor 35. As a result, the mesh member 31 is disposed at an intermediate position as shown in FIG.

  The control unit 60 gives a drive command to the cover motor 42 in parallel with the drive command for the piston motor 35 to drive the cover motor 42 in the reverse direction. Thereby, the cover member 40 moves from the first position toward the left. When the cover member 40 moves to the second position, the control unit 60 gives a drive stop command to the cover motor 42. As a result, the cover member 40 is disposed at the second position as shown in FIG. In this manner, the upper surface opening 23 of the cylinder 20 is opened, and the coffee raw material from the mill 1 is awaited.

  When coffee raw materials are charged into the cylinder 20 from the mill 1, these coffee raw materials are deposited on the upper surface of the mesh member 31. When the input of the coffee raw material from the mill 1 is completed, the control unit 60 gives a drive command to the cover motor 42 to drive the cover motor 42 to rotate forward. Thereby, the cover member 40 moves toward the right from the second position. When the cover member 40 moves to the first position, the control unit 60 gives a drive stop command to the cover motor 42. As a result, the cover member 40 is disposed at the first position as shown in FIG. In this case, the upper surface opening 23 of the cylinder 20 is closed by the cover member 40.

  After the cover member 40 is disposed at the first position, the control unit 60 gives an opening command to the supply valve 45 to open the supply valve 45. As a result, hot water from the hot water tank passes through the supply path 44 and is introduced into the cylinder 20. When the opening time of the supply valve 45 reaches a predetermined time, the control unit 60 gives a close command to the supply valve 45 to cause the supply valve 45 to close. As a result, a predetermined amount of hot water has been introduced into the cylinder 20 (the introduction step).

  Thus, in the inside of the cylinder 20 into which the coffee raw material and hot water are charged in the charging step, the stagnation of the extraction valve 51 causes air to stay below the mesh member 31 at the intermediate position.

  After the charging step, the control unit 60 gives a drive command to the piston motor 35 to drive the piston motor 35 in the normal direction. As a result, the mesh member 31 moves downward together with the feed nut 32 as the feed screw 33 rotates clockwise as viewed from above. As a result of the mesh member 31 moving downward in this way, the pressure below the mesh member 31 inside the cylinder 20 rises to a positive pressure.

  Then, positive pressure air below the mesh member 31 passes through the through-hole 31a of the mesh member 31 to generate an air bubble AB, and the coffee raw material and hot water are stirred by the air bubble AB (stirring step). Such stirring of the coffee raw material and hot water is performed until the mesh member 31 reaches the bottom dead center position closest to the bottom portion 22.

  Incidentally, the pressure below the mesh member 31 inside the cylinder 20 is detected by the pressure sensor 52, and the detection result is given to the control unit 60 as a pressure signal. Therefore, the control unit 60 may PWM control the piston motor 35 so that the pressure value (pressure result) given from the pressure sensor 52 becomes a predetermined pressure value set in advance.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the mesh member 31 reaches the bottom dead center position, the control unit 60 gives a drive stop command to the piston motor 35. Thereafter, the control unit 60 waits the mesh member 31 at the bottom dead center position until a predetermined time has elapsed after giving a drive stop command to the piston motor 35 (stationary step).

  As a result, the coffee raw material after stirring the coffee raw material and hot water precipitates on the upper surface of the mesh member 31 to become a precipitate D, and as shown in an enlarged view in FIG. D1 (hereinafter also referred to as a fine powder raw material) precipitates, and a coffee raw material (hereinafter also referred to as a powder raw material) D2 having a diameter larger than that of the fine powder raw material D1 is deposited on the fine powder raw material D1.

  After the stationary step, the control unit 60 gives a drive command to the piston motor 35 to drive the piston motor 35 in the reverse direction. Accordingly, the mesh member 31 moves upward together with the feed nut 32 by rotating the feed screw 33 counterclockwise as viewed from above.

  As a result of the mesh member 31 moving upward in this way, as shown in FIG. 6, the coffee liquid and hot water agitation liquid can pass through the through-hole 31 a and extract the coffee beverage below the mesh member 31. Yes (extraction process).

  In this case, since the stirring liquid passes through the precipitate of the mesh member 31, the extracted coffee beverage is filtered. Moreover, it is preferable that the control part 60 carries out PWM control of the piston motor 35 so that the pressure value (pressure result) given from the pressure sensor 52 may become the predetermined pressure value set beforehand.

  Then, when the mesh member 31 has reached the top dead center position as shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 60 ends the extraction process by giving a drive stop command to the piston motor 35. At this time, the extraction basket K is placed on the upper surface of the mesh member 31.

  After the extraction process is thus completed, the control unit 60 gives a drive command to the cover motor 42 to drive the cover motor 42 in the reverse direction. Thereby, the cover member 40 moves from the first position toward the left. In this case, the scraper portion 43 of the cover member 40 is brought into sliding contact with the upper surface of the mesh member 31 at the top dead center position, so that the extraction basket K placed on the upper surface of the mesh member 31 is scraped off, as shown in FIG. The extraction basket K can be accommodated in the basket 3 arranged on the left side of the cylinder 20. In this way, when the cover member 40 moves to the second position, the control unit 60 gives a drive stop command to the cover motor 42.

  In addition, the control unit 60 gives an open command to the extraction valve 51 in parallel with the drive command to the cover motor 42. As a result, the extraction valve 51 is opened, and the coffee beverage stored in the cylinder 20 passes through the extraction path 50 and is discharged into the beverage container 2 (discharge process).

  In this way, a predetermined amount of coffee beverage is discharged into the beverage container 2, whereby the coffee beverage is provided to the user.

  After the discharge process is completed in this manner, the control unit 60 gives a close command to the extraction valve 51 and also gives a drive command to the cover motor 42 to drive the cover motor 42 to rotate forward. Thereby, the cover member 40 is arrange | positioned in a 1st position, and returns to the standby state mentioned above.

  As described above, according to the beverage extraction device 10, the scraper 43 of the cover member 40 closes the upper surface opening 23 when the cover member 40 moves from the first position to the second position. Since the extraction basket K placed on the member 31 is removed, the basket container 3 for storing the extraction basket K can be installed beside the cylinder 20. Therefore, the capacity | capacitance of the koji container 3 can be enlarged enough, avoiding that the height dimension of the installation area | region of the beverage extraction apparatus 10 and the koji container 3 becomes large. Accordingly, it is possible to increase the capacity of the extraction basket K.

  Thus, since the amount of the extracted straw K can be increased, the ratio of the number of times the waste container 3 is disposed with respect to the number of coffee drinks provided can be reduced, and the beverage extraction apparatus 10 is applied. The burden on the administrator of the beverage server etc. can be reduced.

  According to the beverage extraction device 10, the cover member 40 is disposed at the first position except when the coffee raw material is charged and when the extracted coffee beverage is discharged, so that dissipation of the aromatic component of the coffee beverage can be suppressed. At the same time, it is possible to avoid the situation where the outlet of the mill 1 is blocked due to the steam reaching the mill 1.

  According to the beverage extraction apparatus 10, the cover member 40 can be protected from airborne bacteria because the supply path 44 is connected to supply hot water.

  According to the beverage extraction device 10, when the start command is given, the control unit 60 disposes the mesh member 31 at the intermediate position while closing the extraction valve 51, and the coffee raw material and the upper surface of the mesh member 31 are placed on the upper surface of the mesh member 31. When hot water is introduced, the mesh member 31 is moved downward, so that the air below the mesh member 31 inside the cylinder 20 can be compressed into air bubbles AB to stir the coffee material and hot water. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily stir the coffee material and hot water without using a power source such as an air pump.

  According to the beverage extraction method of the present embodiment, when a start command is given, the extraction valve 51 is closed and the mesh member 31 is placed at an intermediate position, and the coffee raw material and hot water are supplied through the upper surface opening 23. A charging process that allows charging, and a mesh material 31 in which coffee material and hot water are charged on the upper surface in the charging process are moved so as to be close to the bottom portion 22, whereby the coffee material is generated by the air passing through the through hole 31 a. A stirring process for stirring water and hot water, a stationary process for waiting for a predetermined time for the mesh member 31 that has moved to the bottom dead center position by the stirring process, and a mesh member 31 that has been waiting for the stationary process from the bottom 22 The mesh member 31 is moved to a position close to the upper surface opening 23 by an extraction step of extracting the coffee drink by moving it apart, and the extraction step. A discharge step of opening the extraction valve 51 and discharging the coffee beverage extracted through the extraction path 50 when moved, so that the coffee raw material and hot water can be well stirred without using a power source such as an air pump. be able to.

  The preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made.

  In the above-described embodiment, the cover member 40 has a box-like shape in which the lower wall portion and the left wall portion are opened, and the right wall portion configures the scraper portion 43. The form of the cover member is not particularly limited, and various forms can be adopted.

  In the above-described embodiment, the stationary process is included. However, in the present invention, the stationary process may not be included.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Beverage extraction apparatus 20 Cylinder 21 Lower surface opening 22 Bottom part 23 Upper surface opening 30 Piston unit 31 Mesh member 31a Through-hole 32 Feed nut 33 Feed screw 35 Piston motor 40 Cover member 42 Cover motor 43 Scraper part 44 Supply path 45 Supply valve 50 Extraction path 51 Extraction Valve 52 Pressure Sensor 60 Control Unit (Control Unit)

Claims (3)

A beverage extraction method for extracting a beverage from a beverage raw material and hot water charged in a bottomed cylindrical cylinder whose bottom opening is closed at the bottom, and discharging the extracted beverage through an extraction path connected to the bottom,
When a start command is given, the extraction valve provided in the extraction path is closed to restrict the beverage from passing through the extraction path, and the disk is formed with a plurality of through holes. A loading step of allowing a beverage ingredient and hot water to be charged through the top surface opening by disposing a mesh member whose side surface is in contact with the inner surface of the cylinder at an intermediate position spaced from the bottom and the top surface opening of the cylinder;
The beverage ingredient and the hot water are agitated by the air passing through the through-hole by moving the mesh member in which the beverage ingredient and the hot water are introduced on the upper surface in the charging step so as to be close to the bottom. A stirring step;
An extraction step of extracting the beverage by moving the mesh member moved to a position close to the bottom by the stirring step so as to be separated from the bottom; and
A beverage extraction method comprising: a discharging step of opening the extraction valve and discharging the beverage extracted through the extraction path when the mesh member moves to a position close to the upper surface opening by the extraction step. . Including a stationary step of waiting for a predetermined time, the mesh member moved to a position close to the bottom by the stirring step,
The beverage extraction method according to claim 1, wherein the extraction step extracts the beverage by moving the mesh member waiting in the stationary step so as to be separated from the bottom portion.   3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: a removing step of removing an extraction rod placed on the mesh member when the mesh member moves to a position close to the upper surface opening by the extracting step. The beverage extraction method described.

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