JPH0531730U - Tea leaf storage device of tea supply machine - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To prevent the sense of cleanliness inside the machine from being impaired by the tea leaves spilling during the rotating operation of the canister. A canister 30 is housed in a case 31 so that it can be rotated and taken out, and the tea leaves inside the canister 30 are turned upside down by a rotating operation of the canister 30 to be discharged. In this case, the tea leaves that spill as the canister 30 rotates remain inside the case 31.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial application]

 This invention relates to a tea leaf storage device of a tea supply machine. And, in particular, it relates to a canister that is rotatably housed inside a case.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 A conventional automatic tea dispenser is of a type in which tea leaves stored in a tank (canister) are discharged to a tea strainer in a desired amount by a measuring device provided in the canister. Is well known. As an example thereof, a technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-38487 can be cited. The canister in this example has an inlet opening on the top and a tapered bottom to serve as an outlet for the tea strainer, and the discharge amount of tea leaves is measured by a measuring device provided near this outlet. It is becoming like this.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, since the above canister cannot be removed because the canister is fixed to the cabinet of the tea dispenser, it has been pointed out that it is difficult to supply tea leaves. This problem is temporarily solved by making the canister removable. In this case, rather than providing the inlet and outlet separately in the canister as in the conventional case, only one opening (input and outlet) that doubles as these can be provided and the canister can be installed in the main cabinet. It is also advantageous in terms of construction that the opening is turned upside down after being assembled.

However, even in this case, the following points must be taken into consideration. That is, the part where the canister is incorporated in the main body cabinet is, for example, an arc-shaped wall surface so as to guide the rotational movement of the canister, but the situation where tea leaves spill out from the input / discharge port during the canister inversion operation. Cannot be completely avoided. If the spilled tea leaves are left as they are, the cleanliness of the tea supply machine is significantly impaired. It is also expected that the tea leaves pulverized by rubbing between the canister and the wall surface for guiding the reversing operation described above may be attached to the outer wall surface of the canister by the action of static electricity. If you open the front panel of the tea dispenser and see it like this, it will not look clean and you will be hesitant to hold it when you remove the canister.

The present invention has been devised and devised in consideration of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a tea leaf storage device that contributes to maintaining a clean feeling of a tea supply machine.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The structure of the present invention for achieving the above-mentioned object is to provide a main body cabinet of a tea supply machine with a tea leaf measuring unit for discharging and measuring tea leaves, and storing tea leaves therein and supplying the tea leaves to the tea leaf measuring unit. In the tea dispenser including a canister, the main body cabinet is internally formed with a canister storage section having a communication path communicating with the tea leaf measuring section, while the canister is provided with a tea leaf communicable with the communication path. The canister unit is configured with a case that has a loading / discharging port opening, and the canister is detachably and rotatably housed.

Further, in order to restrict the co-rotation of the case due to the rotating operation of the canister, engaging means that can be engaged with and disengaged from the canister housing portion may be attached to the outer side surface of the case.

【Example】

 Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, a schematic configuration of a tea dispenser to which this example is applied will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. A hot water storage tank 3 whose outer wall surface is covered with a heat insulating wall 2 is fixed to the upper part of the main body cabinet 1, and a so-called throw-in heater 4 is provided on the inner bottom surface of the hot water storage tank 3. Can be heated. An arm 6 having a float 5 attached to its tip is rotatably supported on the side wall of the hot water storage tank 3, and the movement of the float 5 according to the water level in the hot water storage tank 3, that is, the amount of rotation of the arm 6 is controlled. The water level in the hot water storage tank 3 can be detected by the photoelectric sensor unit 7. Further, a water supply hose attachment port 9 is attached to the back plate 8 of the main body cabinet 1 and communicates with the hot water storage tank 3 via a water supply valve (not shown).

On the other hand, below the hot water storage tank 3, two electromagnetic valves, a hot water supply valve for tea (not shown) and a hot water supply valve 10 for hot water, are provided for discharging hot water in the hot water storage tank 3 for tea. The hot water supply port 11 from the hot water supply valve is guided to the upper front part of the main body cabinet 1 as shown in FIG. 2, and the hot water supply port 12 from the hot water supply valve 10 is shown in the front face of the main body cabinet 1 as shown in FIG. It is led to the central part. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 14 is a cold water supply valve that cuts off the cold water supply passage 13 from a cold water supply device (not shown), and the outflow side thereof is connected to the hot water supply port 12. Reference numeral 15 is a drain pipe provided with a manual valve 16 and connected to the drain port 17, and 18 is an overflow pipe also connected to the drain port 17.

In the front part of the main body cabinet 1, an automatic tea leaf supply mechanism 19 is arranged slightly to the right of the center, and a tea strainer 20 is arranged below the hot water supply port 11. The automatic tea leaf supply mechanism 19 includes a tea leaf measuring unit 21 that discharges a required amount of tea leaves to a tea strainer 20, a canister storage unit 22 that is connected to the tea leaf measuring unit 21, and a canister that is stored in the canister storage unit 22. The unit 23 and the unit 23, which will be described in more detail later.

Since the tea strainer 20 is well known, the description will be omitted. The tea strainer 20 is attached to a slide frame 24 provided in the main body cabinet 1 so as to be movable in the left-right direction. When the motor 25 for supplying tea leaves is energized, the slide frame 24 is moved so that the position directly below the automatic tea leaf supply mechanism 19, the position directly below the hot water supply port 11, and the tea whisk 20 are reversed. It is designed to move between three positions, namely, a tea-breaker discharge position above the tea-breaker receiver 26 provided on the lower left side of the cabinet 1.

A front door 27 is provided on the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 so as to be openable and closable, and has an operation panel 28 on which various operation switches (not shown) are arranged, and a cup insertion port 29 located below the operation panel 28. When a cup (not shown) is placed on the operation panel 28 and a switch on the operation panel 28 is operated, tea poured from the tea strainer 20 or hot water supplied from the hot water supply port 11 or Cold water is poured into the cup.

Next, the canister unit 23 in the automatic tea leaf supply mechanism 19 will be described. FIG. 4 shows the canister unit 23 in a disassembled state, that is, in this embodiment, the canister 30 is of a unit type that is rotatably housed in a case 31 that can be divided into two parts. The canister 30 is integrally formed of a body portion 32 formed in a short cylinder shape and a flange portion 33 formed in a disk shape having substantially the same diameter on the front surface thereof, and the inside serves as a tea leaf storage space. There is. The tea leaves are put into this through an opening 34 formed by cutting off a part of the upper surface of the body 32 in a horizontal plane along the length direction. As will be described later, since the opening portion 34 also serves as a tea leaf outlet to the tea leaf measuring portion 21, it will be hereinafter referred to as an input / discharge outlet 34. With the formation of the charging / discharging port 34, a crescent-shaped projecting piece 35 is formed on the flange portion 33 side. Further, on the surface of the canister 30 corresponding to the input / output port 34, a horizontal mounting surface 36 is formed over substantially the same range as the input / output port 34 so that the canister 30 does not roll. .. A ring-shaped tapered surface 37 is formed on the outer peripheral side of the front surface of the collar portion 33, and the ring portion on the inner peripheral side is a flat surface orthogonal to the axis, and a knob piece 38 for operation is provided on the inner peripheral side. It is bulged. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 10, on the back surface of the body portion 32, there is integrally formed a retaining projection 39 which constitutes retaining means (upward retaining) of the canister 30. As shown in FIG. 5, the retaining projection 39 is formed in a substantially semicircular shape, and the position where it is formed is a position displaced from the axial center of the canister 30 toward the mounting surface 36 side.

The case 31 includes a main body case 40 and a cover 41 that is separably attached to the main body case 40 and covers the flange 33 side of the canister 30. The main body case 40 is formed so that it can surround the side surface and the back surface of the body portion 32 of the canister 30, and conversely the front surface is open, and the surface corresponding to the loading / unloading port 34 and the mounting surface 36 is provided. Are open to match each other. Further, an escape hole 42 is opened in the central portion of the back surface, and the retaining projection 39 is projected from this. The escape hole 42 is formed in a circular shape so as to avoid interference with the retaining projection 39 when the canister 30 is rotated (described later). A pair of guide protrusions 43 and 44 are integrally formed on the upper side surface of the main body case 40 in the lateral direction. The guide protrusions 43 and 44 guide the assembling operation of the canister unit 23 through the process of engaging with the corresponding locking recesses 45 and 46 on the main body cabinet 1 side, and when the canister 30 is rotated. The case 31 serves to prevent the case 31 from rotating around, and also serves to prevent the canister unit 23 from coming out forward. That is, the front surfaces of both the guide protrusions 43 and 44 are both set to have an inclination so that the guide protrusions 43 and 44 recede as they go downward, as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 6 and the like. , 44 have different sizes on the left and right (in this embodiment, the right side 44 in FIG. 5 is made larger).

The cover 41 has a ring shape so as to expose the knob piece 38 of the canister 30 and a flat surface portion located on the outer periphery thereof, and is curved so as to fit the tapered surface 37 on the canister 30 side. Further, the cover 41 is horizontally cut off at positions corresponding to both upper and lower openings on the main body case 40 side, that is, positions corresponding to the mounting surface 36 of the canister 30 and the inlet / outlet port 34. Further, a plurality of pairs of locking claws 47 which can be flexibly deformed are arranged on the outer peripheral edge of the cover 41 on the left and right, and are engaged and disengaged with the locking holes 48 formed on the opposite edges of the body case side 40, respectively. It is possible. As a result, the canister 30 can be installed in or removed from the case 31.

Next, the canister accommodating portion 22 will be described. The upper half of the front surface of the main body cabinet 1 is recessed with a predetermined depth in the right half surface in FIG. 2, and the concave portion 49 constitutes a part of the canister accommodating portion 22. In addition, a receiving portion 50 for accommodating the lower side of the canister unit 23 is continuously formed on the upper portion of the tea leaf measuring portion described above, and this receiving portion 50 is also a constituent element of the canister storage portion 22. The receiving part 50 has an opening upward and has a funnel-shaped connecting path 51 (see FIG. 3 and the like) inside which communicates with the tea leaf measuring part 21. Further, the receiving portion 50 is formed so as to conform to the shape of the lower portion of the canister unit 23 in order to prevent the canister unit 23 from rattling inside. Especially, the front surface of the receiving portion 50 corresponds to the front shape of the canister unit 23. The protrusions are formed so as to gradually project forward, and this projecting portion serves as a locking wall 52 that restricts the forward removal of the canister unit 23.

On the other hand, a pair of locking recesses 45 and 46 that engage with the above-described guide protrusions 43 and 44 are formed on both left and right wall surfaces facing each other in the recess 49. The structure is as shown in FIGS. 1 and 8 to 10, each of which is formed in a substantially inverted L shape, and the height position of opening to the front side of the main body cabinet 1 is shown in FIG. Thus, when the canister unit 23 is positioned above the receiving portion 50 without interfering with the locking wall 52, the guide projections 43 and 44 are set to positions where they can be inserted. Further, the insides of both the locking recesses 45 and 46 are provided with a stroke in the height direction for lowering the canister unit 23 and storing it in the catch receiving portion 50 from the state of FIG. 8 to the state of FIG. There is. Further, a locking surface 53 capable of contacting both guide projections 43, 44 is formed at the bottom of both locking recesses 45, 46, and a locking surface for both guide projections 43, 44 is provided on the front side thereof. A regulation wall 54 is formed for this purpose. However, the inner wall surfaces of both the regulation walls 54 are sloped upward toward the opening side in accordance with the outer shapes of the two guide protrusions 43 and 44 in order to smoothly perform the mounting / removing operation of the canister unit 23. There is. Further, as described above, the widths (heights) of the opening portions of the locking recesses 45 and 46 can be changed to the left and right in response to the difference in size between the guide protrusions 43 and 44. Yes (see FIG. 7). The reason for this is that when mounting the canister unit 23, in order to avoid the difficulty of fitting both guide protrusions 43, 44 into the openings of the corresponding locking recesses 45, 46 at the same time, one locking This is because the front of the recess 46 is made wider than the other 45 so that there is some room for insertion.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the front wall surface of the recess 49 is disengageably engaged with the retaining projection 39 of the canister 30 to restrict the canister unit 23 from being pulled upward. The retaining recess 55 is recessed. The retaining recess 55 is formed so that the retaining protrusion 39 can be vertically displaced and inverted during the assembling of the canister unit 23 and the rotating operation of the canister 30.

Next, the operation and effect of this embodiment configured as described above will be described. When incorporating the canister unit 23 into the tea dispenser, place the canister unit 23 in an appropriate place with the input / output port 34 facing upward, and leave the case 31 attached to the canister unit 30 from the input / output port 34. F. Add tea leaves. After filling the tea leaves in this manner, the canister unit 23 is inserted into the recess 49 so as not to interfere with the locking wall 52 of the receiving portion 50 (see FIG. 8), and the guide protrusions 43 and 44 are locked to each other. Insert into the recesses 45 and 46. In this case, when the guide projection 43 is inserted into the narrow side of the front side of the locking recesses 45 and 46 (left side in FIG. 2), even if the canister unit 23 is misaligned around the axis, the front side of the front side is wide. Since such misalignment can be effectively absorbed, it is possible to smoothly insert the guide protrusions 43 and 44. Then, if the canister unit 23 is lowered as it is, the lower side of the canister unit 23 is housed in the receiving portion 50, and both guide protrusions 43 and 44 are guided along the slope of the regulation wall 54 while being locked. It fits in the places 45 and 46. During this time, the retaining projection 39 is positioned above the retaining recess 55 (solid line state in FIG. 7) and then displaced downward (state indicated by a chain line in FIG. 7). After that, the caster 30 is turned upside down by the knob piece 38, but the situation in which the case 31 turns around at this time is avoided by the guide protrusions 43 and 44 in advance. As a result of the reversing operation, the charging / discharging port 34 faces downward and communicates with the communication path 51, so that the tea leaves inside the canister 30 are supplied to the tea leaf measuring unit 21 through the communication path 51. At the same time, the projecting piece 35 is displaced to a position projecting from the lower side of the cover 41 and deeply penetrates into the receiving portion 50 and follows the inner wall surface thereof (see FIGS. 1 and 10). Along with the engagement of the protrusions 43, the forward movement of the canister unit 23 is restricted. Further, as the canister 30 is reversed, the retaining projection 39 also reverses inside the retaining recess 55, and as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 7, the straight portion of the retaining protrusion 39 is inside the retaining recess 55. As a result of the engagement with the upper edge of the canister unit 23, the upward drop of the canister unit 23 is restricted.

When the canister unit 23 is removed, the operations in reverse order to the above are performed. As described above, in this embodiment, since the canister 30 is covered with the case 31, even if tea leaves spill from the canister 30 during the rotating operation, the tea leaves remain inside the case 31 and spill outside the canister unit 23. There is no such thing. Further, even if the tea leaf powder adheres to the outer wall surface of the canister 30, since the canister 30 is hidden by the case 31, the appearance is not visible from the outside, and a clean feeling is maintained. Further, even when replenishing tea leaves, the canister 30 to which the tea leaves are attached is not handled as in the conventional case, but the canister unit 23 housed in the case 31 is handled so that the hands are not soiled. It should be noted that, when the adhesion to the canister 30 becomes remarkable, the case 31 can be easily separated and cleaned.

Although the canister 30 is used for storing tea leaves, its use is not particularly limited.

[0021]

[Effect of the device]

 The effects of the present invention are as follows. Since the canister is removed from the case and stored in a state where rotation is allowed, it is possible to avoid the situation where tea leaves spill into the machine due to the rotation operation. Also, for the same reason, the tea leaf powder adhering to the outer surface of the canister is effective for maintaining a clean feeling, because the appearance cannot be seen directly from the outside. Furthermore, since it is possible to supplement the tea leaves without directly touching the canister to which the tea leaf powder adheres, there is no need to worry about soiling the hands.

Furthermore, in the case where the canister housing is provided with engaging means that can be engaged and disengaged with the canister housing portion on the outer side surface of the case, co-rotation of the case due to the rotational operation of the canister is restricted, and the rotational operation of the canister is stabilized. Can be done.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an assembled state of a canister unit.

[Fig. 2] Front view of the tea dispenser

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of a tea supply machine.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a canister unit.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a canister unit.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the canister unit.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a recess.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing an assembling procedure of the canister unit.

FIG. 9 is a side view showing an assembling procedure of the canister unit.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing an assembling procedure of the canister unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Main body cabinet 22 ... Canister storage 23 ... Canister unit 30 ... Canister 51 ... Communication path

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A tea dispenser having a tea dispenser main body cabinet, comprising: a tea leaf measuring unit for measuring and discharging tea leaves; and a canister for storing the tea leaves therein and supplying the tea leaves to the tea leaf measuring unit. While forming a canister storage portion having a communication path communicating with the tea leaf measuring unit inside the main body cabinet, the canister has a tea leaf input / discharge port that is communicable with the communication path and the canister. A tea leaf storage device for a tea supply machine, which comprises a canister unit together with a case that can be detached and is rotatably operated. 2. The engagement means capable of being engaged with and disengaged from the canister accommodating portion is attached to the outer surface of the case in order to restrict the co-rotation of the case due to the rotating operation of the canister. Tea leaf storage device of tea supply machine.