JP2006298411A - Ice-cooled dispenser - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ice-cooled dispenser supplying a liquid beverage while cooling it with ice. <P>SOLUTION: The ice-cooled dispenser 1 includes: a housing 2 for defining a cooling chamber C storing ice; a cooling plate 3 provided in the housing to be cooled by ice and having a passage formed such that the beverage to be cooled flows therethrough; and a spout 4 connected with the passage formed on the cooling plate. At least sidewalls 2 forming the housing are made of a transparent material. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ice-cooled dispenser for liquid beverages, and more specifically, ice that allows liquid beverages such as draft beer to be extracted while being immediately cooled with ice on the spot, and the state of internal ice can be visually recognized from the outside. It relates to a cold dispenser.

Conventionally, as this type of dispenser, those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below have been provided. Among these, in the ice-cooled server described in Patent Document 1, water generated by melting ice is discharged from the inside of the server to the outside so that the cooling plate is not immersed in the water, so that high cooling capacity can be exhibited. As a specific configuration for that purpose, (1) a cooling pipe for passing a beverage is spirally wound and spirally wound at the end to form a cup as a whole, and ice is put into the beverage Adopts a configuration for cooling while passing through the cooling pipe, or (2) a configuration for cooling the beverage by placing ice on the upper side of the cooling plate.
In the ice-cooled server described in Patent Document 1, in order to insulate the cooling chamber in which the cooling pipe or the cooling plate formed in the cup shape is disposed from the outside, the ice-cooled server has a side wall, an upper lid, and a bottom wall. Has placed insulation. For this reason, the state of the ice in the cooling chamber cannot be visually recognized from the outside.

On the other hand, in the sake server described in Patent Document 2, a cooling unit that stores bottles containing sake and cools them, a Peltier module that absorbs heat or dissipates, and a window on a substantially cylindrical side surface are provided. It is composed of a cylindrical heat absorbing part made of a good thermal conductor and a transparent cylindrical part made of a transparent member that seals the side surface of the cylindrical heat absorbing part, and the portions other than the window of the cylindrical heat absorbing part are covered with a heat insulating member. It has been. In the liquor server described in Patent Document 2, it is possible to see the inside of the cooling part through the window of the cylindrical heat absorption part, but this window only allows the bottle label etc. to be seen from the outside, The inside cannot be visually recognized over the entire circumference of the cylindrical heat absorbing portion.
Moreover, the liquor server described in Patent Document 2 does not cool the bottle using ice, but cools the bottle electrically through a Peltier module.

JP 2002-255287 A JP 2002-19894 A

As described above, in the conventional server, there was no idea of actively showing the inside from the outside of the server including the ice-cooled server.
By the way, in an ice-cooled server or dispenser, normally, ice of almost constant shape made by an ice maker is irregularly loaded in a large amount inside, and the ice melts as time passes. Ice melts and a bridge phenomenon occurs (a phenomenon in which a large amount of ice is welded together to form a bridge or bridge to form a relatively large space), and the ice contacts the cooling pipe or cooling plate evenly. However, the conventional server or dispenser does not have a structure that allows the inside to be visually recognized from the outside, so it is not possible to see whether a bridging phenomenon has occurred through the peripheral wall of the server. . For this reason, in the past, the bridge phenomenon was broken by opening the upper lid at an appropriate time and tapping the ice in the server or dispenser with any tool.
However, this requires unnecessarily opening / closing the lid and knocking the ice, which not only complicates handling, but also opens the lid frequently, causing outside air to enter the server and reduce cooling efficiency. It is also.

The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and makes it possible to visually recognize the state of ice inside the dispenser from the outside so as to eliminate unnecessary lid opening operations and to detect the occurrence of a bridging phenomenon at an early stage. Thus, an object of the present invention is to provide an ice-cooled dispenser capable of breaking the bridging phenomenon early and improving the cooling efficiency.
Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to visually recognize the state of ice inside the dispenser from the outside, eliminate unnecessary lid opening operations, enable early detection of the occurrence of a bridging phenomenon, and induce condensation outside. It is to provide an ice-cooled dispenser capable of visually inducing a refreshing feeling.

According to the invention of claim 1, in an ice-cooled dispenser capable of supplying a liquid beverage while cooling with ice,
A housing defining a cooling chamber capable of storing ice;
A cooling plate disposed in the housing and adapted to be cooled by the ice and having a passage through which a liquid beverage to be cooled flows;
A pouring cock connected to a passage formed in the cooling plate,
An ice-cooled dispenser is provided in which at least a side wall forming the housing is made of a transparent material.
According to invention of Claim 2, in the ice-cooled dispenser which can be supplied while cooling a liquid drink with ice,
A housing defining a cooling chamber capable of storing ice;
A cooling plate disposed in the housing and adapted to be cooled by the ice and having a passage through which a liquid beverage to be cooled flows;
A pouring cock connected to a passage formed in the cooling plate,
An ice-cooled dispenser is provided, wherein a side wall forming the housing includes a plurality of side wall parts assembled into a polygon, and at least two of the plurality of side wall parts are made of a transparent material. Is done.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ice-cooled dispenser, the housing has an upper lid that is detachably attached to the side wall, and the upper lid is made of a material that can be seen through. An ice-cold dispenser is provided.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ice-cooled dispenser, the housing further includes a tray-type base portion, and the base portion is formed with a protruding portion separated from the side wall on the periphery, and An ice-cooled dispenser is provided in which dripping of a liquid can be received by a base through a gap between a side wall and the protrusion.

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since at least the side wall of the dispenser housing is made of a material that can be seen through, the ice condition inside the housing can be visually recognized from the outside of the housing. Decline can be prevented.
(2) The side wall of the housing is made of a material that can be seen through, and the conventional heat insulating material is omitted, so that the ice inside the dispenser can be visually recognized and the surface can be condensed to give a refreshing feeling to the viewer. it can.
(3) Ice shortage can be detected early and ice can be quickly replenished, and cooling efficiency can be prevented from decreasing.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 3, the ice-cooled dispenser according to the present embodiment is indicated by 1 as a whole.
The ice-cooled dispenser 1 of this embodiment is roughly divided into a rectangular or rectangular housing 2 defining a cooling chamber C therein, a cooling plate 3 disposed in the cooling chamber C of the housing 2, and a housing. 2, and a conduit 5 that connects the passage formed in the cooling plate and the extraction cock 4.

  In this embodiment, the housing 2 that defines the cooling chamber C of the dispenser includes a square tray-like base portion 21, a square hollow cylindrical side wall 22, and an upper lid 23 that is detachably disposed on the upper side of the side wall. It has. The base portion 21 has a flat portion 21a and a protrusion 21b formed on the periphery thereof, and can accommodate water formed by melting ice inside the protrusion. A drain hole (not shown) is formed in a substantially central portion of the flat portion 21a, and a drain connector 25 is provided in the drain hole. The side wall 22 has a front wall portion 22a, a rear wall portion 22b, and both lateral wall portions 22c, 22d, which are transparent materials so that they can be seen through, ie, the inside of the side walls can be seen through from the outside. It is made with. As an example of the material that can be seen through, there is a transparent synthetic resin material such as colored transparent acrylic, but other materials may be used as long as they can be seen through. In this embodiment, colored transparent acrylic is used as a material for the side wall. The side wall 22 may be formed by integrally forming four side wall portions, that is, a front wall portion 22a, a rear wall portion 22b, and both side wall portions 22c and 22d into a rectangular hollow cylindrical shape, or (b) horizontal. Three parts (for example, the front wall part 22a and the two side wall parts 22c and 22d) are integrally formed so that the cross section is substantially U-shaped, such as the front wall part 22a, the two side wall parts 22c and 22d, and the rear wall part 22b. Only the remaining one part (for example, the rear wall part 22b) may be formed as a separate body, and the rear wall part may be fixed to the rear edge of the lateral wall part, or (c) the front wall part 22a, The four rectangular flat plates constituting the rear wall portion 22b and the both lateral wall portions 22c and 22d may be combined to form a hollow cylindrical shape and connected to each other by a connecting means. In addition, it is not necessary for all the surfaces of the side walls to be transparent, and it is sufficient that at least two surfaces are transparent. In the case of (b) or (c) above, although not shown, (a) a corner member extending vertically is arranged adjacent to the rear edge of both lateral wall portions adjacent to the rear wall portion, and both lateral wall portions are disposed on the corner member. Even if both edges of the rear edge and the rear wall portion are fixed by a fastener such as a set screw, for example, (b) corner members extending vertically are provided at the four corners of the rectangular cooling chamber, and the corner members are provided. For example, even if it is fixed by a fastener such as a set screw, or (c) in the case of (b) above, the rear edges of both lateral wall portions 22c and 22d are made thicker and penetrated through the rear wall portion 22b. (D) In the case of (c), the left and right sides of the opposing lateral wall portions, for example, the front wall portion 22a and the rear wall portion 22b (see FIGS. 2 and 4). The thickness of both edge portions extending in the vertical direction) is increased, and other side wall portions, for example, left and right Even if the set screws penetrated through the wall portions 22c and 22d are screwed into and fixed to the thick front and rear wall portions, or (e) the front wall portion 22a and the lateral wall portions 22c and 22d are integrally formed in a U shape. The rear wall portion 22b is formed by bending both left and right edges with a metal plate, and the bent portions are assembled so as to be inserted between the opposite rear edges of the both side wall portions, and a set screw is attached to each side wall portion. You may penetrate to the rear-edge vicinity and screw together in the bent part of the metal rear wall part. In the present embodiment, the above configurations (b) and (e) are combined. The distance between the opposing protrusions 21b on the peripheral edge of the base portion 21 is such that the opposite side wall portions (front wall portion, rear wall portion and both side wall portions) are separated from the outer surface of the side wall by a desired distance, for example, about 5 mm to 10 mm. It is formed larger than the distance between the outer surfaces. This is because the ice-cold dispenser of the present invention is not provided with a heat insulating material on the side wall, the outer surface of the side wall is condensed due to the low temperature in the cooling chamber C, and water drops may flow down along the outer side surface of the side wall. The surface including the outer surface of the side wall and the surface including the inner surface of the protrusion are separated from each other by the above-described dimension so that the water droplet can be received, and the water droplet is dropped onto the tray-type base portion through the gap g.

  A notch 22e is formed at the lower end edge of at least one portion of the side wall 22 (preferably three or more portions, for example, both lateral wall portions and the rear wall portion), and water condensed on the outer surface of the side wall falls into the base portion. After that, it can flow toward the drain hole. Instead of providing a notch, the lower edge of both lateral wall parts or the lower edge of the front and rear wall parts is positioned higher than the lower edge of the other part to form a gap between the base part and water through it. May be allowed to flow. Furthermore, in order to position the side wall 22 with respect to the base portion 21, a positioning portion 21d that contacts the outer surface of the lower end edge of the side wall may be formed at the base of the protrusion on the peripheral edge of the base portion.

  In this embodiment, the cooling plate 3 may be formed by casting a pipe 31 bent into a flat spiral shape having a shape as shown in the figure into an aluminum flat block 32, or such a pipe 31 may be formed. It may be housed in a box-shaped case made of a material having good heat conductivity, but the former is superior in terms of heat conduction efficiency, and the former is adopted in this embodiment. The pipe 31 forms a flow path through which the beverage to be cooled is passed in the block 32. As shown in FIG. 4, the cooling plate is installed on the base 21 in the cooling chamber C so that one end (the left end in FIG. 4) is inclined higher than the other end (the right end in FIG. 4). It has come to be. The reason for the inclination is to prevent water formed by melting ice in the cooling chamber from staying on the block 32 and improving the cooling efficiency by ice.

One end 31a of the pipe 31 is connected to one end of the conduit 51 by a known method, and the other end of the conduit 51 is connected to the end of the pouring cock 4 on the cooling chamber side by a known method. The other end 31 b of the pipe 31 is connected to a beverage supply source (not shown) provided outside the ice-cooled dispenser via a conduit 52. Since the structure of the dispensing cock is the same as that of a conventional dispenser or server, description of its structure and function is omitted.
On the upper side of the side wall 2, an upper lid 23 is detachably disposed with respect to the side wall 2. The upper lid is also made of a transparent material so that it can be seen through, ie, the inside of the upper lid can be seen through from the outside. As an example of the material that can be seen through, there is a transparent synthetic resin material such as colored transparent acrylic. However, other materials may be used as long as they can be seen through. In the present embodiment, colored transparent acrylic is used as the material of the upper lid. The top lid has an upper edge of two opposing side wall portions (e.g., a front wall portion and a rear wall portion as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2), and two other opposite side wall portions (the implementation shown in FIG. 2). It is dimensioned so as to be placed on the upper edge of the central portion and both end portions (upper and lower ends in FIG. 2) of both lateral wall portions) as in the form. By adopting such a structure, the user of the ice-cooled dispenser can temporarily place the container before or after putting the beverage on the upper lid, and the usability of the ice-cooled dispenser with a relatively simple structure. Is improving. In addition to the above-mentioned shape, the upper lid may be formed in a tray shape so that the upper edge of the side wall enters the inside of the flange portion formed on the peripheral edge of the tray-shaped upper lid.
In addition, 7 is a collection tray fixed to the front wall part or the base member adjacent to the lower part of the front wall part, and collects the beverage that flows when the beverage is poured from the dispensing cock into a container such as a cup. The container can be discharged and can support a container for injecting a beverage.

In the ice-cooled dispenser having the above configuration, when used, the end of the conduit 52 outside the housing is connected to the beverage supply source, and the ice that is finely crushed or crushed in the cooling chamber C defined by the housing 2 is cooled. Fill the chamber so that it is almost full of ice. Keep this state for a while, and cool the cooling plate sufficiently with ice. Thereafter, the beverage is supplied into the ice-cold dispenser 1 via a conduit 52 from a source of beverage, for example beer. Then, the beverage is rapidly cooled by the cooling plate 3 cooled by ice. When a beverage is poured into the container by operating the dispensing cock in this state, supplemented beverage flows from the supply source into the cooling chamber. Since the use frequency of the dispensing cock is not so frequent, it is possible to sequentially supply beverages that are repeatedly operated and cooled by the cooling plate.

  It is useful at restaurants that offer soft drinks such as beer.

It is a perspective view of the ice-cooled dispenser by this invention, and has shown the state which can see an inside through a colored transparent side wall, giving hatching. It is an ice-cooled dispenser side view shown by FIG. It is a top view of the ice-cooled dispenser shown by FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 3. It is a figure which shows the shape of a pipe

Explanation of symbols

1 Ice cold dispenser
2 Housing 21 Base portion 21b Projection portion 22 Side wall 23 Upper lid 3 Cooling plate 31 Cooling pipe 4 Dispensing cock

Claims (4)

In an ice-cold dispenser that can supply liquid beverages while cooling with ice,
A housing defining a cooling chamber capable of storing ice;
A cooling plate disposed in the housing and adapted to be cooled by the ice and having a passage through which a liquid beverage to be cooled flows;
A pouring cock connected to a passage formed in the cooling plate,
An ice-cooled dispenser, wherein at least a side wall forming the housing is made of a material that can be seen through. In an ice-cold dispenser that can supply liquid beverages while cooling with ice,
A housing defining a cooling chamber capable of storing ice;
A cooling plate disposed in the housing and adapted to be cooled by the ice and having a passage through which a liquid beverage to be cooled flows;
A pouring cock connected to a passage formed in the cooling plate,
An ice-cooled dispenser, wherein a side wall forming the housing is composed of a plurality of side wall parts assembled into a polygon, and at least two of the plurality of side wall parts are made of a transparent material. The ice-cooled dispenser according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the housing has an upper lid removably attached to the side wall, and the upper lid is made of a transparent material. . The ice-cooled dispenser according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the housing further includes a tray-type base portion, and the base portion is formed with a protruding portion that is separated from the side wall on the periphery, and the side wall. An ice-cooled dispenser characterized in that dripping of the liquid can be received by the base through a gap between the projection and the protrusion.

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