JP6722872B2 - Beverage production equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present disclosure relates to a beverage manufacturing device that can clean a flow channel.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a beverage manufacturing apparatus having a coffee extractor or a milk former and capable of manufacturing and/or supplying a coffee beverage or the like has been widely used. In such a beverage manufacturing apparatus, the raw material of the beverage is produced through the flow path inside the beverage manufacturing apparatus to produce the beverage and is led to the beverage container. From the viewpoint of hygiene, it is necessary to regularly wash the raw material of the beverage and the flow path inside the beverage manufacturing apparatus through which the beverage passes.

The flow path inside the beverage manufacturing apparatus can be cleaned by, for example, disassembling and cleaning the beverage manufacturing apparatus. However, in order to disassemble and wash the beverage manufacturing apparatus, it is necessary to disassemble, clean, and then assemble the beverage manufacturing apparatus, which requires a great deal of time, labor, and cost.

For this reason, there is a technique (hereinafter, liquid passing cleaning) for cleaning the beverage path by flowing, for example, a detergent liquid into the flow path without decomposing. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a cleaning conduit formed to supply a cleaning liquid and/or steam to a first throttle and a continuous flow heater that set a flow path for hot foam, and a cleaning conduit for cold foam. And a second throttle, the cleaning conduit being merged into a flow path for liquid food (milk or the like) upstream of the first throttle and the continuous flow heater.

JP, 2016-43266, A

When a unit for supplying water or hot water used for cleaning is provided as in the device disclosed in Patent Document 1, a tank for cleaning water (hot water) is required in addition to the configuration required for manufacturing beverages. Becomes For this reason, the beverage manufacturing apparatus becomes large in size, and it may be difficult to install it in a predetermined space.

Also, for example, when configured to obtain water to be used for cleaning directly from the tap water, additional configuration such as a check valve is required so that the water does not flow back into the tap water, and the manufacturing cost of the beverage production apparatus increases. There is. Further, the installation position of the beverage manufacturing apparatus may be limited due to the relationship with the position of the tap.

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide a beverage manufacturing device that can easily perform permeation cleaning without adding a tank of water used for cleaning.

The beverage production apparatus of the present disclosure is supplied by a milk former having a gear pump that mixes milk and air supplied from a milk container via a milk supply pipe to generate foamed milk, and a hot water pump by a hot water pump. A coffee extraction unit that extracts coffee using hot water, and a control unit, and the coffee extraction unit has a branch valve that supplies the hot water in the hot water tank to either the coffee extraction unit or the gear pump. Then, the controller controls the branch valve to supply the hot water to the gear pump and then rotate the gear pump to flow the milk when cleaning the flow path of the milk in the milk former. The hot water in the gear pump is poured into the passage.

According to the present disclosure, liquid passing cleaning can be easily performed without adding a tank of water used for cleaning.

A perspective view of a beverage manufacturing device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure Diagram showing the configuration of the coffee extraction unit The figure which shows the structure of a steam supply part, a milk supply part, and an air supply part. The figure which shows an example of a structure of a T-shaped branch part. Enlarged perspective view of the nozzle unit Exploded view of nozzle unit FIG. 5 is a view of the longitudinal cross section of the milk former taken along the line V-V′ of FIG. 5 as viewed from the front. Exploded view of gear pump and its surroundings Diagram showing the dimensions of the large and small diameter gears and the internal space of the case It is a left side view of the milk former, which is a partially transparent view of the inside. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of a branch portion, a valve, and a motor-side gear as viewed from the left side, showing switching between a first outlet and a second outlet. Bottom view of nozzle unit and valve motor The figure which illustrated the control part which controls each part of a beverage manufacturing apparatus. Diagram for explaining the flow of cleaning water (hot water) during the cleaning operation

Hereinafter, each embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, a more detailed description than necessary, for example, a detailed description of well-known matters or a duplicate description of substantially the same configuration may be omitted.

It should be noted that the following description and referenced drawings are provided for those skilled in the art to understand the present disclosure, and are not for limiting the scope of the claims of the present disclosure.

<Definition of direction>
First, the directions in the following embodiments will be defined. The left-right direction is defined as the direction along the axis from the left to the right or the right to the left when the user directly faces the front surface of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1. Further, the front-back direction is defined as the direction from the front surface to the back surface or the back surface to the front surface of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 when the front surface of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 directly faces the user. Further, the direction from the bottom surface to the top surface of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 or the direction from the top surface to the bottom surface when the front surface of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 directly faces the user is defined as the vertical direction. Below, the axes along the left-right direction, the front-back direction, and the up-down direction may be referred to as the x-axis, the y-axis, and the z-axis, respectively.

<1. First Embodiment>
<1-1. Schematic configuration of the beverage manufacturing device 1>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1. The beverage manufacturing device 1 is, for example, for business use and installed in a store or the like. The beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a main body 2, a door 3, a button group 4 (see a portion surrounded by a dotted line), a canister 5, a milk cool box 6, a nozzle unit 7, and a drip tray 8. I have it.

The door 3 is attached to the front surface of the main body 2 so as to be openable and closable. The button group 4 is arranged on the front surface of the door 3. For the plurality of buttons included in the button group 4, the types of beverages that the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 can provide (espresso coffee, drip coffee (hot ice), latte (hot ice), cappuccino (hot ice), etc.) Are assigned respectively. When the user operates the button to which the desired beverage is assigned, the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 manufactures and provides the beverage assigned to the operated button. The beverage manufacturing device 1 in the present embodiment is assumed to manufacture a beverage using coffee.

The canister 5 is attached to the upper surface of the main body 2 and stores coffee beans. The milk cooler 6 stores at least one milk pack 9 (see FIG. 3 described later) and stores it at a low temperature.

The nozzle unit 7 is provided on the front surface of the main body 2 and discharges the beverage produced inside the main body 2 downward. Further, the nozzle unit 7 uses the milk supplied from the milk pack 9 to generate foamed milk (hot/cold), steam milk (hot), cold milk, etc., and discharges the milk downward. The milk and the beverage produced inside the main body 2 are separately discharged from the nozzle unit 7 and mixed in the container 10 to produce various beverages.

The drip tray 8 projects forward from the lower end of the main body 2. The beverage discharged from the nozzle unit 7 is provided to the beverage container 10 placed on the drip tray 8. Also,
The drip tray 8 collects and stores the beverage dripping from the nozzle unit 7 or spilling from the container 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, which will be described later, inside the main body 2, a coffee extraction unit 21 that produces coffee using the coffee beans stored in the canister 5 is provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 3 described later, a steam supply unit 22, an air supply unit 24, and a cleaning water supply unit 25 are further provided inside the main body 2. A milk supply unit 23 is provided outside the main body 2. The applicant of the present application discloses the coffee extraction unit, the steam supply unit, the milk supply unit, and the air supply unit in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-165814. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a portion corresponding to the disclosure content of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2013-165814 will be briefly described.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the coffee extraction unit 21. As shown in FIG. 2, the coffee extraction unit 21 includes a hot water tank 211, a hot water pump 212, a filter 213, a branch valve 2214, a hot water supply valve 214, a coffee side hot water supply pipe 215, a lifting device 216, and a cylinder. It has a unit 217, a cap 218, a coffee liquid pipe 2212, and a mill 2213.

The hot water tank 211 is a tank open to the atmosphere, and stores a predetermined amount of drinking water heated to a predetermined temperature by a built-in heater (not shown).

The hot water pump 212 is a pump that pressurizes and discharges the hot water in the hot water tank 211. The outlet of the hot water pump 212 is connected to the upstream end of the coffee side hot water supply pipe 215. The coffee-side hot water supply pipe 215 is provided with a filter 213, a branch valve 2214, and a hot water supply valve 214 including an electromagnetic valve or the like. The downstream end of the coffee-side hot water supply pipe 215 is connected to a hot water supply port of a cylinder 219, which will be described later, so that the hot water supply pipe can be inserted and removed.

The branch valve 2214 is, for example, an electromagnetic valve, and is provided between the hot water tank 211 and the cylinder unit 217 that extracts coffee. More specifically, the branch valve 2214 includes a coffee side hot water supply pipe 215a that is a coffee side hot water supply pipe 215 on the upstream side (filter 213 side) of the branch valve 2214 and a coffee side downstream of the branch valve 2214 (hot water supply valve 214). A three-way branch valve connected to the hot water supply pipe 215b and the upstream end of the cleaning water supply pipe 251 of the cleaning water supply unit 25 (see FIG. 3).

The branch valve 2214 cleans the milk former 73 from the hot water flowing from the hot water tank 211 by the hot water pump 212 through the hot water supply pipe 215a to the coffee hot water supply pipe 215b connected to the hot water supply valve 214 when extracting coffee. In the case of performing the above, the water is supplied to the cleaning water supply pipe 251 of the cleaning water supply unit 25, respectively. That is, the branch valve 2214 is provided between the hot water pump 212 and the cylinder unit 217, and the hot water flow path downstream of the branch valve 2214 includes a flow path formed by the coffee-side hot water supply pipe 215b and the cleaning water supply. The flow path formed by the pipe 251 is switched to either. The details of the cleaning operation of the milk former 73 will be described later.

The cylinder unit 217 is configured to be vertically movable, and includes a cylinder 219 and a piston 2210. The upper surface of the cylinder 219 is open, and a hot water supply port is formed on the side surface near the lower end of the cylinder 219. The piston 2210 has water permeability and is movable in the internal space of the cylinder 219.

The cap 218 is provided above the cylinder unit 217 and is fitted into the ascending cylinder 219 to close its opening. A space surrounded by the lower surface of the cap 218 closing the cylinder 219, the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder 219 and the upper surface of the piston 2210 forms a coffee liquid extraction chamber.

An extraction hole 2211 is formed in the cap 218 so as to penetrate from the lower surface to the upper surface of the cap 218. The coffee liquid obtained in the extraction chamber passes through the extraction hole 2211. The upper end of the extraction hole 2211 is connected to the coffee nozzle 72 via a coffee liquid pipe 2212 so as to be in fluid communication with the coffee nozzle 72.

A mill 2213 is provided above the inside of the main body 2. The mill 2213 crushes the coffee beans stored in the canister 5 to generate ground beans.

Next, the operation of the coffee extraction unit 21 will be described. When a specific button of the button group 4 (see FIG. 1) is operated, the mill 2213 produces ground beans. The produced ground beans are put into the above-mentioned extraction chamber.

Next, the cylinder unit 217 is raised by the lifting device 216, and the cap 218 is pushed into the opening of the cylinder 219. As a result, the ground beans in the extraction chamber are compressed between the piston 2210 and the cap 218.

Next, the hot water pump 212 is operated, the hot water supply valve 214 is opened, and a predetermined amount of hot water is pressurized and supplied from the hot water tank 211 into the cylinder 219. As a result, a highly concentrated coffee liquid is obtained. The obtained coffee liquid is delivered from the cap 218 and discharged from the coffee nozzle 72 via the coffee liquid pipe 2212. Then, it is poured into the container 10 placed on the drip tray 8 (see FIG. 1).

Next, the configurations of the steam supply unit 22, the milk supply unit 23, the air supply unit 24, and the cleaning water supply unit 25 provided inside and outside the main body 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of the steam supply unit 22, the milk supply unit 23, the air supply unit 24, and the cleaning water supply unit 25.

As shown in FIG. 3, the steam supply unit 22 includes an electromagnetic pump 221, a milk-side hot water supply pipe 222, a boiler 223, a steam pipe 224, and a three-way valve 225. The hot water tank 211 may be shared with the coffee extracting unit 21.

The hot water in the hot water tank 211 is supplied to the boiler 223 through the milk side hot water supply pipe 222 by the operation of the electromagnetic pump 221. The boiler 223 is controlled by a built-in electric heater (not shown) to always have a constant temperature, and uses the hot water supplied by the operation of the electromagnetic pump 221 to generate steam. The generated steam is supplied to the hot milk nozzle 710 via the steam pipe 224 and the three-way valve 225.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the milk supply unit 23 has a milk supply pipe 231 in addition to the milk cooler 6 described above.

The upstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 is inserted into the milk pack 9 stored in the milk cooler 6. Further, the downstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 is connected so as to be in fluid communication with a milk inlet 746 of a gear pump 74 (see FIG. 5, etc.) described later.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the air supply unit 24 has an air pump 241, an air supply pipe 242, and an air valve 243.

The air pump 241 is driven by a motor (not shown), sucks external air, and sends it to the air supply pipe 242. The downstream end of the air supply pipe 242 is connected so as to be in fluid communication with a T-shaped branch portion 252 of the cleaning water supply unit 25, which will be described later. Further, an air valve 243 including an electromagnetic valve or the like is provided in the middle of the air supply pipe 242. When the air valve 243 is opened, the air delivered from the air pump 241 is supplied to the T-shaped branch portion 252 via the air supply pipe 242.

The cleaning water supply unit 25 has a cleaning water supply pipe 251, a T-shaped branch portion 252, and a common pipe 253. The cleaning water supply pipe 251 is connected to the branch valve 2214 of the coffee extraction unit 21 and supplies hot water used for cleaning the milk former 73 from the hot water tank 211. The downstream end of the cleaning water supply pipe 251 is connected to the T-shaped branch portion 252 so as to be in fluid communication.

The T-shaped branch portion 252 is connected to a downstream end of the air supply pipe 242, a downstream end of the cleaning water supply pipe 251, and an upstream end of a common pipe 253 described later. In other words, the T-shaped branch portion 252 is connected in fluid communication with the air pump 241, the branch valve 2214, and the common inlet 747 of the gear pump 74 described later. The T-shaped branch portion 252 supplies the air from the air supply pipe 242 and the cleaning water from the cleaning water supply pipe 251 to the gear pump 74 via the common pipe 253.

As described above, when the beverage is manufactured in the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1, the air pump 241 operates to supply air to the gear pump 74 from the air supply pipe 242 through the T-shaped branch portion 252 and the common pipe 253. When cleaning the former 73, the hot water pump 212 operates to supply the cleaning water from the cleaning water supply pipe 251 to the gear pump 74 through the T-shaped branch portion 252 and the common pipe 253. The operation of the beverage production device 1 when the milk former 73 is washed in the beverage production device 1 will be described later in detail.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the T-shaped branching unit 252. As shown in FIG. 4, the T-shaped branch path has a T-shaped tube 2521 and three tubes 2522, 2523, and 2524.

The T-shaped tube 2521 is a T-shaped tubular member, and is made of, for example, resin or metal.

The tubes 2522 to 2524 are attached to three sides of the T-shaped tube 2521. The tubes 2522 to 2524 are preferably formed of a relatively soft material such as rubber or resin. The tube 2522 has one end connected to the air supply pipe 242 and the other end connected to one of the T-shaped pipes 2521. The tube 2523 has one end connected to the cleaning water supply pipe 251 and the other end connected to one of the T-shaped pipes 2521. The tube 2524 has one end connected to the common pipe 253 and the other end connected to one of the T-shaped pipes 2521. The tube 2524 is formed to have a certain length (for example, several tens of mm to hundreds of tens of mm). The lengths of the tubes 2522 and 2523 may be appropriately adjusted based on, for example, the size of the beverage manufacturing device 1.

The T-shaped branch portion 252 is thus connected to the three sides, that is, the cleaning water supply pipe 251, the air supply pipe 242, and the common pipe 253 by the tubes 2522 to 2524. Therefore, for example, by pulling out the tube 2524 from the T-shaped tube 2521, the tube 2524 portion can be easily removed. Thereby, for example, when disassembling and cleaning the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1, it is possible to reduce the labor and time required for removal and attachment.

<1-2. Nozzle unit and related structure>
Next, a detailed configuration of the nozzle unit 7 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5 to 12. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the nozzle unit 7 is provided on the front surface of the main body 2 and includes a cover 71, a coffee nozzle 72, and a milk former 73. The cover 71 is not shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 12, the milk former 73 includes a gear pump 74, a branch portion 75, a valve 76, a cold milk nozzle 77, a tempering device 78, and a milk passage 79 in the milk former. And a hot milk nozzle 710. The cold milk nozzle 77 and the hot milk nozzle 710 are examples of milk nozzles.

The gear pump 74 is a transfer pump for transferring milk, and has a case 741, a large diameter gear 742, a small diameter gear 743, and a lid 744, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.

The large diameter gear 742 and the small diameter gear 743 are housed in the case 741 while meshing with each other. The large-diameter gear 742 has a pump-side magnet 745 built therein. Details of the pump-side magnet 745 will be described later.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the dimensions of the large diameter gear 742 and the small diameter gear 743 and the dimensions of the internal space of the case. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the tip circle diameters of the large diameter gear 742 and the small diameter gear 743 are OD1 and OD2, and the root diameters of both gears 742 and 743 are RD1 and RD2. Further, the tooth widths (widths in the y-axis direction) of both gears 742 and 743 are substantially the same as each other and are W (not shown).

The case 741 is made of a non-magnetic material such as resin. The case 741 forms an internal space IS1 that accommodates both gears 742 and 743. As shown in FIG. 9, this internal space IS1 is defined by a large-diameter side arcuate surface S1, a small-diameter side arcuate surface S2, a bottom surface S3, an upper surface S4, and a front surface S5.

The arcuate surfaces S1 and S2 are arcuate surfaces including sides that form arcs having radii of approximately OD1/2 and OD2/2 when viewed from the y-axis direction.

The bottom surface S3 is a surface including two tangent lines on the lower side (two line segments perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 9) that contact the tip circles of the circular arc surfaces S1 and S2 when viewed from the front. On the other hand, the upper surface S4 is a surface including two tangent lines on the upper side (two line segments perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 9). The front surface S5 is a surface that closes the space IS1 surrounded by the surfaces S1 to S4 on the front surface side (front side in FIG. 9) of the main body 2.

In addition, the internal space IS1 may have a difference of about the tolerance with respect to the above dimensions. In addition, at the design stage of the gear pump 74, the gear pump 74 may be designed to have a slight margin with respect to the above dimensions.

The case 741 has a milk inlet 746, a common inlet 747, and a milk outlet 748, as shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. The milk inlet 746 is a cylindrical or tubular member that is in fluid communication with the internal space IS2 of the gear pump 74 via a through hole formed in the upper surface S4 of the case 741. The internal space IS2 is, of the internal space IS1 of the gear pump 74, a space surrounded by the upper surface S4 and the large diameter gear 742 and the small diameter gear 743 (hatched portion in FIG. 9). The downstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 is fluidly connected to the milk inlet 746.

The common inlet 747 is a cylindrical or tubular member that is in fluid communication with the internal space IS2 of the gear pump 74 via a through hole formed in the case 741. The common inlet 747 is connected to the downstream end of the common pipe 253 described above so as to be able to communicate with the fluid.

In addition, in the present embodiment, the common inlet 747 is configured to be in fluid communication with the internal space IS2 of the gear pump 74, similarly to the milk inlet 746. The milk inlet 746 and the common inlet 747 are preferably formed at the center of the upper surface S4 or in the vicinity thereof.

The milk outlet 748 is a through hole formed in the bottom surface S3 of the case 741. The milk outlet 748 is in fluid communication with the branch 75. The milk outlet 748 is preferably formed at or near the center of the bottom surface S3.

As described above, the case 741 is attached to the front surface of the main body 2 so that the bottom surface S3 of the internal space IS1 is parallel to the xy plane. Then, the lid 744 closes the opening portion of the case 741 in which the both gears 742 and 743 are housed.

In order to rotate the large-diameter gear 742, the main body 2 incorporates the gear pump motor 26 as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8. The gear pump motor 26 has a rotating shaft 261 and a motor-side magnet 262. The motor-side magnet 262 magnetically couples with the pump-side magnet 745 (see FIG. 7) contained in the large-diameter gear 742 to transmit the driving torque generated by the gear pump motor 26 to the pump-side magnet 745. As a result, the large-diameter gear 742 including the pump-side magnet 745 starts to rotate, and the small-diameter gear 743 is driven to rotate by the large-diameter gear 742.

The large-diameter gear 742 is rotated clockwise when viewed from the front of the beverage production apparatus 1 by the gear pump motor 26 when producing a beverage in the milk former 73 (see arrow a shown in FIG. 9 ). Along with this, the small diameter gear 743 rotates counterclockwise when viewed from the same direction (see arrow b shown in FIG. 9 ). The rotation of the gear pump 74 in this rotation direction will be hereinafter referred to as the forward rotation of the gear pump 74.

During the forward rotation of the gear pump 74, the liquid or air flowing into the case 741 from the milk inlet 746 or the common inlet 747 is rotated by the rotating large diameter gear 742 and small diameter gear 743 to the outside of the large diameter gear 742 and the small diameter gear 743 ( It is transferred to the vicinity of the milk outlet 748 through the non-engaged side). As a result, the liquid or air that has flowed into the case 741 from the milk inlet 746 or the common inlet 747 can flow out from the milk outlet 748. The outside of the large-diameter gear 742 and the small-diameter gear 743 means the side of the outer peripheral portion of the large-diameter gear 742 and the small-diameter gear 743 that is closer to the inner wall of the case 741.

On the other hand, when the gear pump 74 rotates in the reverse direction, the large diameter gear 742 is rotated counterclockwise by the gear pump motor 26 when viewed from the front of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1. Along with this, the small diameter gear 743 rotates clockwise when viewed from the same direction.

At the time of reverse rotation of the gear pump 74, the liquid flowing into the internal space IS2 of the gear pump 74 from the common inlet 747 flows backward from the milk inlet 746 to the milk pack 9 side by the rotation of the large diameter gear 742 and the small diameter gear 743.

As shown in FIG. 10, the branch part 75 is a cylindrical or tubular member extending in the front-rear direction. A cylindrical inner space IS3 is formed in the branch portion 75. An inlet 751 that is in fluid communication with the milk outlet 748 is formed near the upper front of the branch portion 75. A first outlet 752, which is in fluid communication with the cold milk nozzle 77, is formed on the lower rear end side of the branch portion 75. A second outlet 753 is formed at the front end of the branch portion 75 so as to be in fluid communication with a milk passage 79 described later. An opening 754 into which a valve 76 described later is inserted is formed at the rear end of the branch portion 75.

The valve 76 is inserted into the opening 754 of the internal space IS3 of the branch part 75 and has a substantially cylindrical rotating body 761. A first ring groove 762 and a second ring groove 763 are formed on the outer peripheral surface (in other words, the side surface) of the rotating body 761. The axis of the first ring groove 762 is parallel to the y-axis, but the axis of the second ring groove 763 is not parallel to the y-axis and is oblique to the y-axis when seen in a plan view from the x-axis direction. There is. As shown in FIG. 11, the first O-ring 764 and the second O-ring 765 are attached to the first ring groove 762 and the second ring groove 763 described above. Note that the O-rings 764 and 765 are not shown in FIG. 10 for convenience, and the ring grooves 762 and 763 are not shown in FIG. 11 for convenience.

Here, the spatial distance (hereinafter referred to as inter-ring distance) d in the y-axis direction between the O-rings 764 and 765 is a position on the circumferential surface of the valve 76 (in other words, the valve 76 in other words, as shown in FIG. 11). Direction from the central axis of)). Therefore, when the shortest part of the inter-ring distance d faces upward due to the rotation of the rotating body 761 as shown in the upper part of FIG. 11, the inlet 751 and the second outlet 753 are in fluid communication (see the dashed-dotted line arrow). As shown in the lower part of FIG. 11, when the shortest portion faces downward, the inlet 751 and the first outlet 752 are in fluid communication with each other (see the dashed line arrow).

Further, in order to rotate the valve 76, a valve side gear 766 is attached to the rear end of the valve 76 as shown in FIG. More specifically, the valve-side gear 766 is attached in a state where the rotation axis of the valve-side gear 766 and the central axis of the valve 76 are aligned. Here, in order to easily attach the milk former 73 to the main body 2, it is preferable that the valve side gear 766 can be inserted into and removed from the main body 2.

Due to the rotation of the valve 76, the valve motor 27 is built in the main body 2 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. As shown in FIG. 12, the valve motor 27 has a rotating shaft 271 and a motor-side gear 272. As shown in FIG. 12, the motor-side gear 272 is fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft 271 and meshes with the valve-side gear 766.

The cold milk nozzle 77 is integrally attached to the case 741 via the branch portion 75. As shown in FIG. 10, the cold milk nozzle 77 is a cylindrical or tubular member extending in the vertical direction. A columnar internal space IS4 is formed in the cold milk nozzle 77. An inlet that fluidly connects the first outlet 752 and the internal space IS4 is formed at the upper end of the cold milk nozzle 77. Further, the lower end of the cold milk nozzle 77 is opened so as to be in fluid communication with the internal space IS4, and the tempering device 78 is inserted into the internal space IS4 from this opening.

The upstream end of the milk flow passage 79 is fluidly connected to the second outlet 753, and the downstream end thereof is fluidly connected to the hot milk nozzle 710. As shown in FIG. 6, the hot milk nozzle 710 is connected to the downstream end of the steam pipe 224 so as to be in fluid communication.

<1-3. Operation of milk former (when making steam milk)>
Next, an operation example of the milk former 73 having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 13: is the figure which illustrated the control part 12 which controls each part of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. The control unit 12 is provided inside the body 2 (not shown), and has a button receiving unit 121, a hot water pump control unit 122, an air pump control unit 123, a gear pump motor control unit 124, and a valve motor control unit 125. The air pump control unit 123 controls driving of the air pump 241. The gear pump motor control unit 124 controls driving of the gear pump motor 26 and operates the gear pump 74. The valve motor control unit 125 controls driving of the valve motor 27.

The control unit 12 has, for example, a CPU and a memory, and the CPU reads the program from the memory and executes the program to perform the control described in the present embodiment.

The button reception unit 121 receives an operation of the user of the beverage manufacturing device 1 on the button group 4 and the like. When the button reception unit 121 determines that a specific button of the button group 4 is operated and the operated button is a beverage using steam milk, another configuration of the control unit 12 is as follows. Take control.

First, the valve motor control unit 125 drives the valve motor 27. As a result, the rotary shaft 271 rotates. The force generated on the rotating shaft 271 is transmitted to the valve 76 via the motor-side gear 272 and the valve-side gear 766 at the tip. When steam milk is generated, the valve motor control unit 125 controls the valve motor 27 to rotate and stop the valve 76 so that the shortest portion of the inter-ring distance d faces upward. As a result, a flow path from the inlet 751 to the second outlet 753 (see the dashed line arrow in the upper part of FIG. 11) is formed in the internal space IS3 of the branch portion 75.

The control unit 12 further operates the electromagnetic pump 221 to energize the three-way valve 225. As a result, the hot water in the hot water tank 211 begins to flow into the boiler 223 via the milk side hot water supply pipe 222. The hot water that has flowed in is turned into steam by the boiler 223, and is supplied to the hot milk nozzle 710 via the steam pipe 224.

Next, the gear pump motor control unit 124 drives the gear pump motor 26. As a result, the rotational force generated on the rotating shaft 261 is transmitted to the large diameter gear 742 by the magnetic coupling between the motor side magnet 262 and the pump side magnet 745. As a result, the large diameter gear 742 starts to rotate, and the small diameter gear 743 rotates following the large diameter gear 742. At this time, both gears 742 and 743 rotate in the directions of arrows a and b shown in FIG. With this rotation, the gear pump 74 starts sucking the milk in the milk pack 9 through the milk supply pipe 231. The milk sucked up into the gear pump 74 is rotated by both gears 742 and 743, is rotated around these outsides, and is discharged from the milk outlet 748.

Note that the air pump 241 is stopped and the air valve 243 is closed during the production of steam milk. That is, the gear pump 74 is not supplied with air by the air supply unit 24.

The milk discharged from the milk outlet 748 is supplied to the inlet 751 of the branch portion 75. The milk flowing from the inlet 751 into the internal space IS3 is discharged from the second outlet 753 through the internal space IS3, and then flows into the hot milk nozzle 710 via the milk flow passage 79. As described above, steam is supplied to the hot milk nozzle 710 from the steam pipe 224. Inside the hot milk nozzle 710, the milk is heated with steam, which produces steam milk. The generated steam milk is discharged from the hot milk nozzle 710 toward the container 10.

<1-4. Milk former operation (when making cold milk)>
Further, when a specific button in the button group 4 is operated and the operated button is a beverage using cold milk, the control unit 12 controls each unit having the above-described configuration as follows.

First, the valve motor control unit 125 controls the valve motor 27 to rotate and stop the valve 76 so that the shortest part of the inter-ring distance d faces downward. As a result, a flow path from the inlet 751 to the first outlet 752 (see the dashed-dotted arrow in the lower part of FIG. 11) is formed in the internal space IS3 of the branch portion 75.

The gear pump motor control unit 124 further drives the gear pump motor 26. As a result, the gear pump 74 starts sucking the milk in the milk pack 9 in the same manner as described in Sections 1-3. The cold milk in the gear pump 74 is discharged from the milk outlet 748 by the rotation of both gears 742 and 743.

When producing cold milk, the gear pump 74 does not receive air from the air supply unit 24.

The milk from the milk outlet 748 is supplied to the inlet 751 of the branch portion 75. The milk flowing from the inlet 751 into the internal space IS3 is discharged from the first outlet 752 through the internal space IS3, and flows into the internal space IS4 from the upper end of the cold milk nozzle 77. The inflowing milk is discharged toward the container 10 from the lower end of the cold milk nozzle 77 while keeping the cold state.

<1-5. Milk former operation (when making cold foamed milk)>
Further, when a specific button of the button group 4 is operated and the operated button is a drink using cold foamed milk, the control unit 12 controls each unit of the above-described configuration as follows. ..

First, the valve motor control unit 125 controls the valve motor 27 to rotate and stop the valve 76 so that the shortest part of the inter-ring distance d faces downward. As a result, a flow path from the inlet 751 to the first outlet 752 (see the dashed-dotted arrow in the lower part of FIG. 11) is formed in the internal space IS3 of the branch portion 75.

Next, the air pump control unit 123 opens the air valve 243 and drives the air pump 241 at the time of making cold foamed milk. As a result, the outside air is taken into the air pump 241, and is supplied to the internal space IS1 of the gear pump 74 via the air supply pipe 242 and the common inlet 747 of the gear pump 74.

The gear pump motor control unit 124 further drives the gear pump motor 26. As a result, the gear pump 74 starts sucking the milk in the milk pack 9 in the same manner as described in Sections 1-3.

The milk and air in the gear pump 74 are mixed by the rotation of both gears 742 and 743, whereby cold, foamed milk is produced. The generated cold-form milk passes around both rotating gears 742 and 743 and is discharged from the milk outlet 748.

The cold foamed milk discharged from the milk outlet 748 is supplied to the inlet 751 of the branch portion 75, and then discharged from the first outlet 752 through the internal space IS3, from the upper end of the cold milk nozzle 77. It flows into the internal space IS4. The tempering device 78 is provided in the internal space IS4 as described above. The tempering device 78 homogenizes the foam of the cold foamed milk that has flowed in, and discharges the foamed foam toward the container 10 from the lower end of the cold milk nozzle 77.

<1-6. Operation of milk former (when making hot foamed milk)>
Further, when a specific button in the button group 4 is operated and the operated button is a beverage using hot foamed milk, the control unit 12 controls each unit having the above-described configuration as follows. ..

First, the valve motor control unit 125 controls the valve motor 27 to rotate and stop the valve 76 so that the shortest part of the inter-ring distance d faces upward. As a result, a flow path from the inlet 751 to the second outlet 753 (see the dashed line arrow in the upper part of FIG. 11) is formed in the internal space IS3 of the branch portion 75.

Further, as described in columns 1-3, steam is supplied to the hot milk nozzle 710 via the steam pipe 224.

Further, as described in columns 1-5, the gear pump 74 generates cold foamed milk and discharges it from the milk outlet 748.

The cold foamed milk discharged from the milk outlet 748 flows into the inlet 751 of the branch portion 75, is discharged from the second outlet 753, and then passes through the milk flow passage 79 to the hot milk nozzle 710. Inflow. As described above, steam is supplied to the hot milk nozzle 710 from the steam pipe 224. Inside the hot milk nozzle 710, the foamed milk is heated with steam, which produces hot foamed milk. The hot milk formed is discharged from the hot milk nozzle 710 toward the container 10.

<1-7. Operation when cleaning the milk former>
Next, the operation of the beverage production device 1 when cleaning the milk former 73 will be described. The milk former 73 is washed, for example, during maintenance of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1. Therefore, the cleaning button 41, which is a trigger when the cleaning operation is manually performed, is not one of the button groups 4 shown in FIG. 1, but is, for example, the back surface of the door 3 or the like. It is desirable that the button be provided in a place that cannot be touched by anyone other than employees of the store where the manufacturing apparatus 1 is installed. If the cleaning operation is automatically performed in a predetermined cycle, for example, the cleaning button 41 may not be provided.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, cleaning the milk former 73 means cleaning the milk flow path in the milk former 73. The milk flow passage means the flow passage from the upstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 inserted in the milk pack 9 to the milk inlet 746 of the gear pump 74 (that is, the milk supply pipe 231) and the gear pump 74. Both the flow path from the internal space IS2 to the cold milk nozzle 77 and/or the hot milk nozzle 710 via the milk outlet 748 and the branch portion 75 of the gear pump 74 are included.

In the following, for convenience of description, a second flow path (that is, the milk supply pipe 231) from the upstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 inserted into the milk pack 9 to the milk inlet 746 of the gear pump 74 is used. The passage from the internal space IS2 of the gear pump 74 to the cold milk nozzle 77 and/or the hot milk nozzle 710 via the milk outlet 748 and the branching portion 75 of the gear pump 74 is referred to as a first flow passage. To call.

When cleaning the milk former 73, the control unit 12 controls each unit having the above-described configuration as follows. The hot water pump control unit 122 passes, for example, a predetermined amount of washing water (hot water) from the hot water tank 211 through the coffee side hot water supply pipe 215 a, the branch valve 2214, the washing water supply pipe 251, the T-shaped branch portion 252, and the common pipe 253. The hot water pump 212 is driven so as to be supplied from the common inlet 747 to the gear pump 74. Here, the amount of cleaning water supplied by the hot water pump 212 is appropriately set depending on the portion to be cleaned. The hot water pump control unit 122 supplies the necessary amount of cleaning water to the gear pump 74 by controlling the number of revolutions of the hot water pump 212, the driving time, and the like. For example, the amount of cleaning water to be supplied may be measured by a flow meter (not shown) provided between the hot water pump 212 and the branch valve 2214.

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining the flow of cleaning water (hot water) during the cleaning operation. As described above, the cleaning water supplied into the gear pump 74 cleans either the second flow path or the first flow path depending on the rotation direction of the gear pump 74.

<1-7-1. First channel cleaning operation>
Hereinafter, the cleaning operation will be specifically described. First, the first flow path from the space near the milk inlet 746 in the gear pump 74 to the cold milk nozzle 77 and/or the hot milk nozzle 710 via the milk outlet 748 and the branch portion 75 of the gear pump 74. The case of cleaning will be described.

When cleaning the first flow path, the hot water pump control unit 122 drives the hot water pump 212 to supply hot water (cleaning water) from the hot water tank 211 to the gear pump 74.

Further, the gear pump motor control unit 124 drives the gear pump motor 26 to rotate the gear pump 74 forward at a predetermined rotation speed. Forward rotation means that the large diameter gear 742 is in the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. Means to rotate. In this case, the cleaning water supplied from the hot water tank 211 to the gear pump 74 through the common inlet 747 by the rotation of the gear pump 74 passes through the inside of the gear pump 74 and is transferred from the milk outlet 748 to the branch portion 75, so that the cold milk is supplied. It is discharged to the outside of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 from either the production nozzle 77 and/or the hot milk nozzle 710. The cleaning water (rinse liquid) discharged from the cold milk nozzle 77 or the hot milk nozzle 710 to the outside of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 is, for example, the manager of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 and the cold milk nozzle 77 or the hot water. It is stored in a container or the like prepared on the drip tray 8 just below the milk nozzle 710.

Either of the above-described supply of hot water to the gear pump 74 by the hot water pump control unit 122 and rotation of the gear pump 74 by the gear pump motor control unit 124 may be performed first, or may be started at the same time.

Here, the gear pump motor control unit 124 does not cause the rotation speed of the gear pump 74 to suck up the milk in the milk pack 9, and the cleaning water in the gear pump 74 passes from the milk inlet 746 through the milk supply pipe 231 to pass the milk. The predetermined number of rotations is set so as not to flow to the pack 9 side. Specifically, the gear pump motor control unit 124 controls the gear pump so that the amount of cleaning water supplied to the gear pump 74 and the amount of cleaning water discharged from the gear pump 74 by the forward rotation of the gear pump 74 are substantially the same. The number of rotations of 74 is controlled. As a result, it is possible to prevent a situation in which milk is mixed with the cleaning water during cleaning of the first flow path, or the cleaning water flows backward through the milk supply pipe 231. Therefore, it is not necessary to remove the milk pack 9 from the milk cooler 6 during the cleaning of the first flow path, so that the labor of cleaning can be reduced.

When the gear pump 74 is normally rotated in this manner, the cleaning water can clean (rinse) the first flow path.

Note that the cleaning water transferred from the milk outlet 748 of the gear pump 74 into the branch portion 75 is one of the cold milk nozzle 77 and the hot milk nozzle 710 selected by the valve motor control unit 125. Drained from. Alternatively, the cleaning water may flow out from both nozzles at the same time. The washing water flows out of either or both nozzles, whereby the cold milk nozzle 77 and/or the hot milk nozzle 710 is washed.

<1-7-2. Second channel cleaning operation>
On the other hand, when the second flow passage (that is, the milk supply pipe 231) from the upstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 inserted into the milk pack 9 to the milk inlet 746 of the gear pump 74 is washed, the first flow passage is washed. Similar to the operation, the hot water pump control unit 122 drives the hot water pump 212 to supply hot water (cleaning water) from the hot water tank 211 to the gear pump 74.

Further, the gear pump motor control unit 124 drives the gear pump motor 26 to rotate the gear pump 74 in the reverse direction. Then, the cleaning water flowing into the case 741 from the common inlet 747 flows backward from the milk inlet 746 to the milk pack 9 side.

Either of the above-described supply of hot water to the gear pump 74 by the hot water pump control unit 122 and rotation of the gear pump 74 by the gear pump motor control unit 124 may be performed first, or may be started at the same time.

When the gear pump 74 is thus rotated in the reverse direction, the cleaning water can clean (rinse) the vicinity of the milk inlet 746 of the gear pump 74 and the milk supply pipe 231 (second flow path).

When cleaning the second flow path, for example, the administrator of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 takes out the upstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 from the milk pack 9 so that the cleaning water does not flow into the milk pack 9. The taken upstream end is inserted into the cleaning container 11. The cleaning container 11 is a container for storing cleaning water, and is, for example, an empty container.

When the gear pump motor control unit 124 reversely rotates the gear pump 74 in a state where the upstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 is inserted into the cleaning container 11, the gear pump 74 causes the cleaning water in the gear pump 74 to move to the milk inlet. It is made to flow from 746 to the milk supply pipe 231, and is stored in the cleaning container 11.

<1-7-3. Cleaning operation using detergent liquid>
Next, the cleaning operation of the first flow path and the second flow path of the milk former 73 using the detergent liquid will be described. When performing cleaning using a detergent solution, the administrator of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 puts a cleaning tablet or the like in the empty cleaning container 11 so that the cleaning water is stored in the cleaning container 11. Melts to produce a detergent solution. The cleaning tablet is an example of a cleaning agent.

When the cleaning operation is started after the upstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 is inserted into the empty cleaning container 11 containing the cleaning tablet, the hot water pump is used in the same manner as described in the above section 1-7-2. 212 is driven, and the cleaning water supplied from the hot water tank 211 to the gear pump 74 flows to the cleaning container 11 from the milk inlet 746 of the gear pump 74 through the milk supply pipe 231 by the reverse rotation of the gear pump 74, and is cleaned. A predetermined amount of cleaning water is stored in the cleaning container 11.

When the control unit 12 determines that a predetermined amount of cleaning water is stored in the cleaning container 11, the gear pump motor control unit 124 stops the reverse rotation of the gear pump 74. As a result, the cleaning water flowing out from the gear pump 74 is stopped. Since a predetermined amount of cleaning water is stored in the cleaning container 11, the cleaning tablet is melted and a detergent liquid having a predetermined concentration is generated. For example, the control unit 12 may determine that a predetermined amount of cleaning water is stored in the cleaning container 11 when a predetermined time has elapsed since the supply of the cleaning water was started. Alternatively, the control unit 12 detects that a predetermined amount of cleaning water is stored in the cleaning container 11 by using, for example, a flow meter (not shown) provided in a part of the milk supply pipe 231. Good.

When a predetermined amount and a predetermined concentration of detergent liquid are generated in the cleaning container 11, the hot water pump control unit 122 stops the hot water pump 212, and the gear pump motor control unit 124 causes the gear pump 74 to rotate forward. Then, the gear pump 74 transfers the detergent liquid in the cleaning container 11 into the gear pump 74 from the upper end of the milk supply pipe 231 inserted in the cleaning container 11 via the milk supply pipe 231 and the milk inlet 746. Start sucking. Then, as in the forward rotation of the gear pump 74, the detergent liquid sucked up by the gear pump 74 passes through the gear pump 74 and flows from the milk outlet 748 to the branch portion 75, and the cold milk nozzle 77 or the hot milk nozzle. It is discharged to the outside of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 from any of the nozzles 710.

By such an operation, the first flow passage including the second flow passage and the inside of the gear pump 74 is washed with the detergent liquid. Further, when the control unit 12 determines that the cleaning with the detergent liquid has been sufficiently performed, the hot water pump control unit 122 operates the hot water pump 212 again. Then, the hot water pump 212 supplies the washing water from the hot water tank 211 to the gear pump 74. Then, the gear pump motor control unit 124 controls the rotation speed of the gear pump 74 so that the gear pump 74 does not suck up the detergent liquid in the cleaning container 11.

The control unit 12 controls the cleaning pump 11 when the amount of the detergent liquid sucked up by the gear pump 74 is equal to or more than a predetermined amount, or for a predetermined time after the gear pump 74 starts sucking the detergent liquid from the cleaning container 11. When the time has passed, it may be judged that the cleaning with the detergent solution has been sufficiently performed.

After that, when the gear pump motor control unit 124 further continues the normal rotation of the gear pump 74, the cleaning water in the gear pump 74 passes through the first flow path and is supplied from the cold milk nozzle 77 and/or the hot milk nozzle 710 to produce a beverage. It is discharged to the outside of the device 1. As a result, the detergent liquid remaining in the gear pump 74 and the first flow path can be washed away with the cleaning water.

Further, when the hot water pump control unit 122 and the gear pump motor control unit 124 reverse the gear pump 74 while the hot water pump 212 is operating after cleaning with the detergent liquid, the cleaning water in the gear pump 74 is fed from the milk inlet 746 to the milk. It flows out to the cleaning container 11 side through the supply pipe 231. As a result, the detergent liquid remaining in the second flow path can be washed off with the cleaning water. The waste liquid that has washed off the second flow path is stored in the cleaning container 11.

Further, after flushing the detergent liquid as described above, hot water pump control unit 122 and gear pump motor control unit 124 stop hot water pump 212 and operate air pump 241. As a result, the cleaning water (waste liquid) remaining in the common pipe 253 between the T-shaped branch portion 252 and the gear pump 74 can be discharged into the gear pump 74 by the air supplied from the air pump 241. The waste liquid in the gear pump 74 is discharged from the first flow path or the second flow path as described above.

In the above-described first channel cleaning operation and second channel cleaning operation, the administrator of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 inserts the upstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 inserted into the milk pack 9 into the cleaning container 11. It is automatically performed only by operating the cleaning button 41 again. Further, a predetermined operation different from the case where the administrator of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 puts the cleaning tablet in the cleaning container 11 and performs only the cleaning operation of the first flow path and the second flow path on the cleaning button 41. In the case of doing so, after the cleaning operation of the first flow path and the cleaning operation using the detergent liquid described above are performed, the cleaning operation of the first flow path and the cleaning operation of the second flow path are automatically performed again. Is done in a regular manner. That is, the administrator of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 simply inserts the upstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 into the cleaning container 11 and operates the cleaning button 41 to clean the milk former 73 in the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 through the liquid. It is done automatically until completion. Therefore, the burden on the administrator of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 can be reduced. In addition, even when the cleaning operation of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 is automatically performed, for example, every predetermined cycle, the administrator simply inserts the upstream end of the milk supply pipe 231 into the cleaning container 11 to allow the milk former 73 to pass through. Liquid cleaning is automatically performed until completion, so the burden on the administrator is small.

In addition, the hot water pump 212 for coffee extraction outputs high-pressure hot water in the hot water tank 211 in order to preferably extract coffee. Therefore, when the hot water output from the hot water pump 212 is directly introduced into the gear pump 74 via the branch valve 2214, the high-pressure hot water causes disconnection of the connection parts such as the branch valve 2214 and the T-shaped branch portion 252. May occur.

In order to prevent such a situation, a flow path from the hot water pump 212 to the T-shaped branch portion 252 or a depressurized portion such as an orifice plate may be provided in the T-shaped branch portion 252.

For example, an orifice pipe is provided between the cleaning water supply pipe 251 (in short, the hot water pump 212 side) and the tube 2523. One of the orifice tubes is connected to the tube 2523, and the other of the orifice tubes is connected to another tube. This other tube is connected to the cleaning water supply pipe 251 (on the hot water pump 212 side). This other tube is composed of a pressure resistant tube (for example, the material is fluorine). On the other hand, the tube 2523 (and the other tubes 2522 and 2524) is composed of a general tube that is not pressure resistant (for example, the material is silicon).

As described above, by providing the orifice pipe separately from the T-shaped branch portion 252, the entire tube 2523 is not pressure-resistant, and another tube is provided as close to the cleaning water supply pipe 251 (hot water pump 212 side) side as possible. Since the length of the pressure resistant tube can be suppressed, the cost can be suppressed.

Alternatively, for example, the tube 2523 may be caulked with a nut to form a bolt-shaped groove at the tip of the T-shaped branch portion 252 on the tube 2523 side, and the tube 2523 and the T-shaped branch portion 252 may be screwed together. By doing so, it is possible to prevent the connection portion of the T-shaped branch portion 252 from falling off due to the high-pressure hot water from the hot water pump 212. Further, an orifice shape may be provided inside the tube at the tip of the T-shaped branch portion 252 on the tube 2523 side to reduce the pressure. Further, the structure of these bolts and nuts and the shape of the orifice inside the tube may be provided in another tube and orifice tube having the above-mentioned pressure resistance specifications.

<1-8. Action/Effect>
As described above, in the beverage manufacturing device 1 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the milk supplied from the milk container (milk pack 9) via the milk supply pipe 231 and the air are mixed to form the formed milk. The coffee machine includes a milk former 73 having a gear pump 74 for producing, a coffee extracting section 21 for extracting coffee from hot water tank 211 using hot water supplied by the hot water pump 212, and a control section 12. A branch valve 2214 for supplying hot water in the hot water tank 211 to either the coffee extracting unit 21 or the gear pump 74 is provided. The control unit 12 branches the branch valve 2214 when cleaning the milk flow path in the milk former 73. Is controlled to supply hot water to the gear pump 74, and then the gear pump 74 is rotated to flow the hot water in the gear pump 74 into the milk flow path.

In this way, the beverage manufacturing device 1 of the present disclosure cleans the milk former 73 using hot water for coffee extraction. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a tank for storing cleaning water or hot water, and it is possible to prevent the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 from increasing in size and to suppress the manufacturing cost. Moreover, since the installation position of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 is not limited, the installation flexibility is improved.

Further, the beverage manufacturing device 1 of the present disclosure includes an air pump 241 that supplies air to the gear pump 74, an air supply pipe 242 through which air supplied by the air pump 241 flows, a cleaning water supply pipe 251, and air supplied to the gear pump 74. A branch member (T-shaped branch portion 252) to which a common pipe 253 through which at least one of the cleaning water flows is connected.

The T-shaped branch portion 252 has a first tube (tube 2522) whose one end is connected to the downstream end of the air supply pipe 242 and a second tube (tube 2523) whose one end is connected to the downstream end of the cleaning water supply pipe. ), a third tube (tube 2524) having one end connected to the upstream end of the common pipe, and a three-way tube (T-shaped pipe 2521) having the other ends of the tubes 2522 to 2524 connected to the tip. It

With such a configuration, the T-shaped branch portion 252 can be easily disassembled by pulling out the tube 2524 connected to the T-shaped tube 2521. As a result, for example, when disassembling and cleaning the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1, it is possible to reduce the time and effort required for removing and attaching the gear pump 74 portion.

In the present embodiment, the common inlet 747 is used as the inlet for cleaning water and air, but the inlets may not be shared but may be separate and independent. In this case, the T-shaped branch portion 252 is not used, and the cleaning water pipe and the air pipe are provided separately.

Although various embodiments have been described above with reference to the drawings, the present disclosure is not limited to such examples. It is obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications can be conceived within the scope described in the claims, and naturally, they also belong to the technical scope of the present disclosure. Understood. Further, the constituent elements in the above-described embodiments may be arbitrarily combined without departing from the spirit of the disclosure.

The present disclosure is useful for beverage production machines having a milk former.

1 Beverage Manufacturing Equipment 2 Main Body 3 Door 4 Button Group 41 Wash Button 5 Canister 6 Milk Cooler 7 Nozzle Unit 8 Drip Tray 9 Milk Pack 10 Container 11 Washing Container 12 Control Section 121 Button Reception Section 122 Hot Water Pump Control Section 123 Air Pump Control Part 124 Gear pump motor control part 125 Valve motor control part 21 Coffee extraction part 211 Hot water tank 212 Hot water pump 213 Filter 214 Hot water supply valve 215, 215a, 215b Coffee side hot water supply pipe 216 Lifting device 217 Cylinder unit 218 Cap 219 Cylinder 2210 Piston 2211 Extraction hole 2212 Coffee liquid pipe 2213 Mill 2214 Branch valve 22 Steam supply unit 221 Electromagnetic pump 222 Milk side hot water supply pipe 223 Boiler 224 Steam pipe 225 Three-way valve 23 Milk supply unit 231 Milk supply pipe 24 Air supply unit 241 Air pump 242 Air supply pipe 243 Air valve 25 Washing water supply part 251 Washing water supply pipe 252 T-shaped branch part 2521 T-shaped pipe 2522, 2523, 2524 Tube 253 Common piping 26 Gear pump motor 261 Rotation shaft 262 Motor side magnet 27 Valve motor 271 Rotation shaft 272 Motor side gear 71 Cover 72 Coffee nozzle 73 Milk former 74 Gear pump 741 Case 742 Large diameter gear 743 Small diameter gear 744 Lid 745 Pump side magnet 746 Milk inlet 747 Shared inlet 748 Milk outlet 75 Branch portion 751 Inlet 752 First outlet 753 Second outlet 754 Opening 76 Valve 761 Rotating body 762 First ring groove 763 Second ring groove 764 First O ring 765 Second O ring 766 Valve side gear 77 Cold milk nozzle 78 Refiner 79 Milk flow passage 710 For hot milk nozzle

Claims (5)

A milk former having a gear pump that mixes milk and air supplied from a milk container via a milk supply pipe to produce foamed milk;
A coffee extraction unit that extracts coffee using hot water supplied from a hot water tank by a hot water pump,
A control unit,
Have
The coffee extraction unit has a branch valve for supplying the hot water in the hot water tank to either the coffee extraction unit or the gear pump,
The controller controls the branch valve to supply the hot water to the gear pump and then rotate the gear pump to flow the milk in the milk flow path when cleaning the milk flow path in the milk former. Flowing hot water in the gear pump,
Beverage production equipment. In the coffee-side hot water supply pipe that supplies the hot water to the cylinder unit for the coffee extraction unit to extract coffee, the branch valve is provided between the hot water pump and the cylinder unit, and is downstream from the branch valve. The hot water flow path on one side is either a flow path formed by the coffee side hot water supply pipe or a flow path formed by a cleaning water supply pipe for supplying hot water in the hot water tank to the gear pump. Switch to
The beverage manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1. An air pump for supplying air to the gear pump,
An air supply pipe through which the air supplied by the air pump flows, the cleaning water supply pipe, and a branch member to which a common pipe through which at least one of the air and the cleaning water supplied to the gear pump flows is connected,
The beverage manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: The branch member is
A first tube whose one end is connected to the downstream end of the air supply pipe;
A second tube having one end connected to the downstream end of the cleaning water supply pipe;
A third tube whose one end is connected to the upstream end of the common pipe;
A three-way tube in which the other ends of the first to third tubes are connected to the tip end portion,
The beverage manufacturing device according to claim 3, which is configured by: Further comprising a decompression unit provided between the hot water pump and the gear pump to decompress hot water from the hot water pump,
The beverage manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1.

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