JP7201215B2 - Extraction method and extraction apparatus - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a technology for producing beverages, mainly to a method for extracting beverage liquids.

Beverage manufacturing apparatuses for manufacturing coffee beverages and the like have been proposed (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3).

JP-A-05-081544 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-024703 JP 2013-66697 A

In order to improve quality such as taste and flavor of beverages, improvement in various aspects such as control of each element of the beverage production apparatus is required, and one aspect of this is extraction mode of the beverage.

An exemplary object of the present invention is to improve the quality of beverages.

One aspect of the present invention relates to an extraction method, the extraction method comprising:
An extraction method for extracting a beverage from an object to be extracted,
a first pressurization step of pressurizing the inside of the extraction container containing the extraction target and the liquid (hereinafter referred to as "the inside of the extraction container ") ;
a decompression step of decompressing the inside of the extraction vessel;
a second pressurization step of pressurizing the inside of the extraction vessel ,
The decompression step is performed by releasing the inside of the extraction vessel to the atmosphere.
It is characterized by

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the quality of a drink can be improved.

The external view of a beverage manufacturing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a partial front view of the beverage manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1; 2 is a schematic diagram of functions of the beverage production apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is a partially broken perspective view of the separation device; 3 is a perspective view of the drive unit and extraction container; FIG. 6 shows the closed and open states of the brewing container of FIG. 5; FIG. The front view which shows the structure of a part of upper unit and lower unit. FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG. 7; Schematic diagram of the central unit. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control device of the beverage manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1; 4A and 4B are flowcharts showing an example of control executed by a control device; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration example of a liquid feeding amount adjusting device that can function as a water tank. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the cross-sectional structure of the liquid-feeding amount adjusting device. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing several operation examples of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of control executed by a control device; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation mode of a liquid feeding amount adjusting device in a beverage manufacturing process; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an operation mode of a liquid feeding amount adjusting device in a beverage manufacturing process; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in air pressure inside the extraction container in the beverage manufacturing process. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in the air pressure and the amount of hot water in the brewing container in the beverage manufacturing process. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in target values and measured values of the air pressure and the amount of hot water in the brewing container in the beverage manufacturing process. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing changes in target values and measured values of the air pressure and the amount of hot water in the brewing container in the beverage manufacturing process. The figure which shows an example of the change method of the predetermined|prescribed target value in the manufacturing process of a drink. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a method of changing the predetermined target value in the beverage manufacturing process; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a method of changing the predetermined target value in the beverage manufacturing process; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing another example of a method of changing the predetermined target value in the beverage manufacturing process; FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of flat data corresponding to FIG. 19; FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of flat data corresponding to FIG. 20; FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of flat data corresponding to FIG. 21; The figure which shows the other example of flat data. The figure which shows the other example of flat data. The figure which shows the other example of flat data. The figure which shows the other example of flat data.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<1. Overview of Beverage Production Equipment>
FIG. 1 is an external view of a beverage manufacturing apparatus 1. FIG. The beverage production apparatus 1 of this embodiment is an apparatus for automatically producing a coffee beverage from roasted coffee beans and liquid (here, water), and can produce a cup of coffee beverage per one production operation. . Roasted coffee beans as a raw material can be accommodated in the canister 40 . A cup placing portion 110 is provided in the lower portion of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1, and the manufactured coffee beverage is poured into the cup from the pouring portion 10c.

Beverage production apparatus 1 includes a housing 100 that forms its exterior and encloses internal mechanisms. The housing 100 is roughly divided into a main body portion 101 and a cover portion 102 that covers part of the front surface and part of the side surface of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 . An information display device 12 is provided on the cover portion 102 . In the case of this embodiment, the information display device 12 is a touch-panel display, and can display various types of information as well as receive inputs from the administrator of the device and beverage consumers. The information display device 12 is attached to the cover portion 102 via a moving mechanism 12a, and is vertically movable within a certain range by the moving mechanism 12a.

The cover portion 102 is also provided with a bean inlet 103 and a door 103 a for opening and closing the bean inlet 103 . Roasted coffee beans different from the roasted coffee beans stored in the canister 40 can be thrown into the bean inlet 103 by opening the opening/closing door 103 . This makes it possible to provide a special cup to the beverage consumer.

In this embodiment, the cover portion 102 is made of a translucent material such as acrylic or glass, and constitutes a transparent cover whose entirety is a transmissive portion. Therefore, the inner mechanism covered with the cover portion 102 can be visually recognized from the outside. In the case of this embodiment, a portion of the production section that produces coffee beverages is visible through the cover section 102 . In this embodiment, the main body 101 is entirely non-transmissive, making it difficult to see the inside from the outside.

FIG. 2 is a partial front view of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1, showing a part of the production section visible to the user when the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 is viewed from the front. The cover part 102 and the information display device 12 are illustrated by imaginary lines.

A housing 100 in the front portion of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 has a double structure including a main body portion 101 and a cover portion 102 on the outside (front side) thereof. A part of the mechanism of the manufacturing department is arranged between the main body part 101 and the cover part 12 in the front-rear direction, and can be visually recognized by the user through the cover part 102 .

In the case of this embodiment, part of the mechanisms of the manufacturing department that can be visually recognized by the user through the cover part 102 are the collecting transport part 42, the grinders 5A and 5B, the separation device 6, the extraction container 9, and the like, which will be described later. A rectangular recess 101a recessed inward is formed in the front portion of the main body 101, and the extraction container 9 and the like are positioned in the recess 101a inward.

Since these mechanisms can be visually recognized from the outside through the cover portion 102, it may be easier for the administrator to inspect and confirm the operation. In addition, beverage consumers may be able to enjoy the coffee beverage manufacturing process.

The right end of the cover portion 102 is supported by the main body portion 101 via a hinge 102a so that it can be opened and closed horizontally. An engaging portion 102b is provided at the left end of the cover portion 102 to keep the body portion 101 and the cover portion 102 closed. The engaging portion 102b is, for example, a combination of magnet and iron. By opening the cover section 102, the manager can inspect a part of the above-described manufacturing section inside.

In the case of the present embodiment, the cover portion 102 is of a horizontal opening type, but it may be of a vertical opening type (vertical opening type) or of a sliding type. Also, the cover portion 102 may be configured such that it cannot be opened and closed.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the functions of the beverage production apparatus 1. As shown in FIG. The beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a bean processing apparatus 2 and an extraction apparatus 3 as a coffee beverage manufacturing unit.

The bean processing device 2 produces ground beans from roasted coffee beans. The extraction device 3 extracts coffee liquid from ground beans supplied from the bean processing device 2 . The extraction device 3 includes a fluid supply unit 7, a drive unit 8, an extraction container 9 and a switching unit 10, which will be described later. Ground beans supplied from the bean processing device 2 are put into the extraction container 9 . The fluid supply unit 7 feeds hot water into the extraction container 9 . Coffee liquid is extracted from the ground beans in the extraction container 9 . Hot water containing the extracted coffee liquid is delivered to the cup C as a coffee beverage via the switching unit 10. - 特許庁

<2. Fluid Supply Unit and Switching Unit>
The configurations of the fluid supply unit 7 and the switching unit 10 will be described with reference to FIG. First, the fluid supply unit 7 will be described. The fluid supply unit 7 supplies hot water to the extraction container 9, controls the pressure inside the extraction container 9, and the like. In this document, when atmospheric pressure is indicated by numbers, it means absolute pressure unless otherwise specified, and gauge pressure is atmospheric pressure with atmospheric pressure being 0 atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure refers to the atmospheric pressure around the extraction vessel 9 or the atmospheric pressure of the beverage production apparatus. It is the standard atmospheric pressure (1013.25hPa) at 0m above sea level of the International Standard Atmosphere (= ``International Standard Atmosphere'' [[abbreviated] ISA]) established in 1976 by the Aviation Organization [[abbreviated] ICAO]).

The fluid supply unit 7 includes pipes L1 to L3. The pipe L1 is a pipe through which air flows, and the pipe L2 is a pipe through which water flows. The pipe L3 is a pipe through which both air and water can flow.

The fluid supply unit 7 includes a compressor 70 as a source of pressurization. Compressor 70 compresses and delivers atmospheric air. The compressor 70 is driven by, for example, a motor (not shown) as a drive source. Compressed air delivered from the compressor 70 is supplied to a reserve tank (accumulator) 71 via a check valve 71a. The air pressure in the reserve tank 71 is monitored by a pressure sensor 71b, and the compressor 70 is driven so as to maintain a predetermined air pressure (7 atmospheres (6 atmospheres in gauge pressure) in this embodiment). The reserve tank 71 is provided with a drain 71c for draining water so that water generated by the compressed air can be drained.

The water tank 72 stores hot water (water) that constitutes the coffee beverage. The water tank 72 is provided with a heater 72a for heating the water in the water tank 72 and a temperature sensor 72b for measuring the temperature of the water. The heater 72a maintains the temperature of the accumulated hot water at a predetermined temperature (120 degrees Celsius in this embodiment) based on the detection result of the temperature sensor 72b. The heater 72a is turned on, for example, when the hot water temperature is 118 degrees Celsius, and turned off when the temperature is 120 degrees Celsius.

The water tank 72 is also provided with a water level sensor 72c. A water level sensor 72 c detects the water level of hot water in the water tank 72 . Water is supplied to the water tank 72 when the water level sensor 72c detects that the water level has fallen below a predetermined level. In the case of this embodiment, tap water is supplied via a water purifier (not shown). A solenoid valve 72d is provided in the middle of the pipe L2 from the water purifier. When the water level sensor 72c detects a drop in the water level, the solenoid valve 72d is opened to supply water. The valve 72d is closed to shut off the water supply. Thus, the hot water in the water tank 72 is maintained at a constant water level. The water tank 72 may be supplied with water each time the hot water used for making one coffee beverage is discharged.

The water tank 72 is also provided with a pressure sensor 72g. A pressure sensor 72 g detects the air pressure inside the water tank 72 . Air pressure in the reserve tank 71 is supplied to the water tank 72 via a pressure regulating valve 72e and an electromagnetic valve 72f. The pressure regulating valve 72e reduces the pressure supplied from the reserve tank 71 to a predetermined pressure. In the case of this embodiment, the pressure is reduced to 3 atmospheres (2 atmospheres in gauge pressure). The solenoid valve 72f switches between supplying and blocking the air pressure adjusted by the pressure adjusting valve 72e to the water tank 72 . The electromagnetic valve 72f is controlled to open and close so that the pressure inside the water tank 72 is maintained at 3 atm except when tap water is supplied to the water tank 72 . When tap water is supplied to the water tank 72, the pressure in the water tank 72 is set lower than the water pressure of the tap water by the solenoid valve 72h so that the water tank 72 is smoothly replenished with tap water. Reduce the pressure to (eg, less than 2.5 atmospheres). The solenoid valve 72h switches whether to open the water tank 72 to the atmosphere or not, and when the pressure is reduced, the water tank 72 is opened to the atmosphere. In addition, when the pressure inside the water tank 72 exceeds 3 atm, the solenoid valve 72h releases the inside of the water tank 72 to the atmosphere except when tap water is supplied to the water tank 72, and the inside of the water tank 72 is reduced to 3 atm. maintain.

The hot water in the water tank 72 is supplied to the extraction container 9 via the check valve 72j, the solenoid valve 72i and the pipe L3. Hot water is supplied to the extraction container 9 by opening the solenoid valve 72i, and the supply of hot water is cut off by closing the solenoid valve 72i. The amount of hot water supplied to the extraction container 9 can be controlled by the opening time of the solenoid valve 72i. However, the opening and closing of the solenoid valve 72i may be controlled by measuring the supply amount. A temperature sensor 73e for measuring the temperature of the hot water is provided in the pipe L3, and the temperature of the hot water supplied to the extraction container 9 is monitored.

The air pressure in the reserve tank 71 is also supplied to the extraction vessel 9 via a pressure regulating valve 73a and an electromagnetic valve 73b. The pressure regulating valve 73a reduces the pressure supplied from the reserve tank 71 to a predetermined pressure. In the case of this embodiment, the pressure is reduced to 5 atmospheres (4 atmospheres in gauge pressure). The electromagnetic valve 73b switches between supplying and blocking the pressure adjusted by the pressure adjusting valve 73a to the extraction vessel 9. As shown in FIG. The pressure inside the extraction container 9 is detected by a pressure sensor 73d. When the inside of the extraction container 9 is pressurized, the electromagnetic valve 73b is opened based on the detection result of the pressure sensor 73d, and the inside of the extraction container 9 is pressurized to a predetermined atmospheric pressure (in this embodiment, a maximum of 5 atmospheres (4 atmospheres in gauge pressure). )). The pressure inside the extraction container 9 can be reduced by the electromagnetic valve 73c. The electromagnetic valve 73c switches whether to release the inside of the extraction container 9 to the atmosphere, and releases the inside of the extraction container 9 to the atmosphere when the pressure is abnormal (for example, when the inside of the extraction container 9 exceeds 5 atmospheres).

After the production of one coffee beverage is finished, in the case of this embodiment, the inside of the extraction container 9 is washed with tap water. The electromagnetic valve 73f is opened during cleaning to supply tap water to the extraction vessel 9. As shown in FIG.

Next, the switching unit 10 will be explained. The switching unit 10 is a unit that switches the delivery destination of the liquid delivered from the extraction container 9 to either the pouring section 10c or the waste tank T. FIG. The switching unit 10 includes a switching valve 10a and a motor 10b that drives the switching valve 10a. The switching valve 10a switches the flow path to the pouring portion 10c when the coffee beverage in the extraction container 9 is delivered. The coffee beverage is poured into the cup C from the pouring portion 10c. When discharging the waste liquid (tap water) and residue (ground beans) during washing, the flow path is switched to the waste tank T. The switching valve 10a is a 3-port ball valve in this embodiment. Since residue passes through the switching valve 10a during cleaning, the switching valve 10a is preferably a ball valve, and the motor 10b rotates its rotary shaft to switch the flow path.

<3. Bean processing equipment>
The bean processing device 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. The bean processing device 2 includes a storage device 4 and a crushing device 5 .

<3-1. Storage device>
The storage device 4 includes a plurality of canisters 40 in which roasted coffee beans are stored. In this embodiment, three canisters 40 are provided. The canister 40 includes a cylindrical main body 40a for containing roasted coffee beans and a handle 40b provided on the main body 40a, and is detachably attached to the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1. As shown in FIG.

Each canister 40 may contain different types of roasted coffee beans so that the type of roasted coffee beans used to produce the coffee beverage can be selected by operating the information display device 12 . Different kinds of roasted coffee beans are, for example, roasted coffee beans of different coffee bean varieties. The roasted coffee beans of different types are coffee beans of the same variety, but may be roasted coffee beans of different roasting degrees. Moreover, the roasted coffee beans of different types may be roasted coffee beans of different types and degrees of roasting. Also, at least one of the three canisters 40 may contain roasted coffee beans in which roasted coffee beans of a plurality of varieties are mixed. In this case, the roasted coffee beans of each variety may have the same degree of roasting.

In addition, although a plurality of canisters 40 are provided in the present embodiment, a configuration in which only one canister 40 is provided may be employed. Also, when a plurality of canisters 40 are provided, the same kind of roasted coffee beans may be accommodated in all or a plurality of canisters 40 .

Each canister 40 is detachably attached to a weighing and conveying device 41 . The weighing and conveying device 41 is, for example, an electric screw conveyor, and automatically weighs a predetermined amount of roasted coffee beans contained in the canister 40 and delivers them to the downstream side.

Each measuring and conveying device 41 discharges the roasted coffee beans to a collective conveying section 42 on the downstream side. The collective conveying portion 42 is composed of a hollow member, and forms a conveying passage for the roasted coffee beans from each conveyor 41 to the crushing device 5 (particularly the grinder 5A). The roasted coffee beans discharged from each weighing/conveying device 41 move by their own weight inside the collective conveying unit 42 and flow down to the crushing device 5 .

A guide portion 42 a is formed at a position corresponding to the bean input port 103 in the aggregate transport portion 42 . The guide portion 42a forms a passage for guiding the roasted coffee beans introduced from the bean inlet 103 to the grinding device 5 (particularly the grinder 5A). As a result, coffee beverages made from roasted coffee beans fed from the bean feeding port 103 can be produced in addition to the roasted coffee beans housed in the canister 40. - 特許庁

<3-2. Crushing device>
The crushing device 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4. FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of the separating device 6. FIG. The crushing device 5 includes grinders 5A and 5B and a separation device 6. The grinders 5A and 5B are mechanisms for grinding the roasted coffee beans supplied from the storage device 4. FIG. The roasted coffee beans supplied from the storage device 4 are ground by the grinder 5A, further ground by the grinder 5B into powder, and introduced into the extraction container 9 through the discharge pipe 5C.

The grinders 5A and 5B differ in grain size for grinding beans. The grinder 5A is a grinder for coarse grinding, and the grinder 5B is a grinder for fine grinding. Each of the grinders 5A and 5B is an electric grinder, and includes a motor as a driving source and a rotating blade driven by the motor. The size (particle size) of the roasted coffee beans to be pulverized can be changed by changing the rotation speed of the rotary blade.

The separating device 6 is a mechanism for separating unnecessary substances from the ground beans. Separating device 6 includes passage 63a arranged between grinders 5A and 5B. The passage portion 63a is a hollow body forming a separation chamber through which ground beans freely falling from the grinder 5A pass. The passage portion 63a is connected to a passage portion 63b extending in a direction (horizontal direction in this embodiment) that intersects the passing direction of the ground beans (vertical direction in this embodiment). The suction unit 60 is connected to the portion 63b. Light objects such as chaff and fine powder are sucked by the suction unit 60 sucking the air in the passage portion 63a. This allows the unwanted matter to be separated from the ground beans.

The suction unit 60 is a centrifugal mechanism. The suction unit 60 includes an air blowing unit 60A and a collection container 60B. In this embodiment, the blower unit 60A is a fan motor, and exhausts the air in the collection container 60B upward.

Collection container 60B includes an upper portion 61 and a lower portion 62 that are separably engaged. The lower portion 62 has a bottomed cylindrical shape with an open top, forming a space for accumulating unnecessary items. The upper portion 61 constitutes a lid portion that is attached to the opening of the lower portion 62 . The upper portion 61 includes a cylindrical outer peripheral wall 61a and an exhaust pipe 61b formed coaxially therewith. The blower unit 60A is fixed to the upper portion 61 above the exhaust pipe 61b so as to suck the air in the exhaust pipe 61b. A passage portion 63 b is connected to the upper portion 61 . The passage portion 63b opens to the side of the exhaust pipe 61b.

By driving the blower unit 60A, air currents indicated by arrows d1 to d3 in FIG. 4 are generated. Due to this airflow, the air containing unnecessary matter is sucked into the collection container 60B from the passage portion 63a through the passage portion 63b. Since the passage portion 63b is open to the side of the exhaust pipe 61b, the air containing unnecessary substances swirls around the exhaust pipe 61b. The waste D in the air falls by its weight and is collected in a portion of the collection container 60B (deposited on the bottom surface of the lower portion 62). Air is exhausted upward through the inside of the exhaust pipe 61b.

A plurality of fins 61d are integrally formed on the peripheral surface of the exhaust pipe 61b. A plurality of fins 61d are arranged in the circumferential direction of the exhaust pipe 61b. Each fin 61d is obliquely inclined with respect to the axial direction of the exhaust pipe 61b. By providing such fins 61, the swirl of the air containing the unwanted matter D around the exhaust pipe 61b is promoted.

In the case of this embodiment, the lower portion 62 is made of a translucent material such as acrylic or glass, and constitutes a transparent container whose entirety is a transmissive portion. A lower portion 62 is a portion covered with a cover portion 102 (FIG. 2). A manager or a consumer of the beverage can see the unwanted matter D accumulated in the lower portion 62 through the cover portion 102 and the peripheral wall of the lower portion 62 . It may be easier for the administrator to confirm the cleaning timing of the lower portion 62, and for the consumer of the beverage, it is possible to visually confirm that the unnecessary matter D has been removed, which increases expectations for the quality of the coffee beverage being produced. Sometimes.

Thus, in this embodiment, the roasted coffee beans supplied from the storage device 4 are first coarsely ground by the grinder 5A, and when the coarsely ground beans pass through the passage portion 63a, the separation device 6 separates unwanted substances from them. are separated. The coarsely ground beans from which unnecessary matter has been separated are finely ground by the grinder 5B. The wastes separated by the separation device 6 are typically chaff and fine powder. These can reduce the taste of the coffee beverage, and removing chaff and the like from the ground beans can improve the quality of the coffee beverage.

Grinding of roasted coffee beans may be in one grinder (single stage grinding). However, as in the present embodiment, two-stage grinding by the two grinders 5A and 5B makes it easier for the ground beans to have a uniform particle size, and the extraction degree of the coffee liquid can be made constant. During grinding of beans, heat may be generated due to friction between the cutter and the beans. The two-stage pulverization can suppress heat generation due to friction during pulverization and prevent deterioration of the ground beans (for example, loss of flavor).

In addition, by going through the stages of coarse grinding → separation of unnecessary substances → fine grinding, when separating unnecessary substances such as chaff, it is possible to increase the mass difference between the unnecessary substances and the ground beans (required parts). This can improve the separation efficiency of unnecessary substances, and can prevent ground beans (required portions) from being separated as unnecessary substances. In addition, the heat generation of the ground beans can be suppressed by the air cooling by interposing the unnecessary matter separation processing using air suction between the coarse grinding and the fine grinding.

<4. Drive unit and extraction container>
<4-1. Overview>
The drive unit 8 and extraction container 9 of the extraction device 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the drive unit 8 and the extraction container 9. FIG. Most of the drive unit 8 is surrounded by the body portion 101 .

The drive unit 8 is supported by the frame F. The frame F includes upper and lower beams F1 and F2 and a column F3 that supports the beams F1 and F2. The drive unit 8 is roughly divided into three units: an upper unit 8A, a middle unit 8B and a lower unit 8C. The upper unit 8A is supported by the beam F1. The middle unit 8B is supported by the beam portion F1 and the pillar portion F3 between the beam portion F1 and the beam portion F2. The lower unit 8C is supported by the beam F2.

The extraction container 9 is a chamber containing a container body 90 and a lid unit 91 . The extraction container 9 may be called a chamber. The central unit 8B includes an arm member 820 that detachably holds the container body 90. As shown in FIG. Arm member 820 includes a holding member 820a and a pair of shaft members 820b spaced apart from each other in the left and right direction. The holding member 820a is an elastic member such as resin formed in a C-shaped clip, and holds the container body 90 by its elastic force. The holding member 82a holds the left and right side portions of the container body 90, and the front side of the container body 90 is exposed. This makes it easier to visually recognize the inside of the container body 90 when viewed from the front.

The container main body 90 is attached to and detached from the holding member 820a by manual operation, and the container main body 90 is attached to the holding member 820a by pressing the container main body 90 forward and backward against the holding member 820a. Further, the container main body 90 can be separated from the holding member 820a by pulling the container main body 90 forward from the holding member 820a.

Each of the pair of shaft members 820b is a rod extending in the front-rear direction, and is a member that supports the holding member 820a. Although the number of shaft members 820b is two in this embodiment, the number may be one or three or more. The holding member 820a is fixed to the front ends of the pair of shaft members 820b. The pair of shaft members 82b are moved forward and backward by a mechanism to be described later, whereby the holding member 820a is moved forward and backward, and the container body 90 can be translated forward and backward. The central unit 8B is also capable of rotating the extraction container 9 upside down, as will be described later.

<4-2. Extraction container>
The extraction container 9 will be described with reference to FIG. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing the closed state and the open state of the extraction container 9. FIG. As described above, the extraction vessel 9 is turned upside down by the central unit 8B. The extraction container 9 in FIG. 6 shows a basic posture in which the lid unit 91 is positioned on the upper side. In the following description, when the vertical positional relationship is described, it means the vertical positional relationship in the basic posture unless otherwise specified.

The container body 90 is a container with a bottom and has a bottle shape having a neck portion 90b, a shoulder portion 90d, a body portion 90e and a bottom portion 90f. A flange portion 90c defining an opening 90a communicating with the internal space of the container body 90 is formed at the end of the neck portion 90b (upper end of the container body 90).

Both the neck portion 90b and the body portion 90e have a cylindrical shape. The shoulder portion 90d is a portion between the neck portion 90b and the body portion 90e, and has a tapered shape such that the cross-sectional area of the internal space thereof gradually decreases from the body portion 90e side toward the neck portion 90b side. ing.

The lid unit 91 is a unit that opens and closes the opening 90a. The opening/closing operation (lifting operation) of the lid unit 91 is performed by the upper unit 8A.

Container body 90 includes a body member 900 and a bottom member 901 . The main body member 900 is a cylindrical member that is open at the top and bottom and forms a neck portion 90b, a shoulder portion 90d, and a body portion 90e. The bottom member 901 is a member that forms the bottom portion 90f, and is inserted and fixed to the lower portion of the main body member 900. As shown in FIG. A sealing member 902 is interposed between the body member 900 and the bottom member 901 to improve the airtightness inside the container body 90 .

In the case of this embodiment, the main body member 900 is made of a translucent material such as acrylic or glass, and constitutes a transparent container whose entirety is a transmissive portion. A manager or a consumer of the beverage can see the extraction state of the coffee beverage in the container body 90 through the cover portion 102 and the body member 900 of the container body 90 . For the manager, it may be easy to check the extraction operation, and for the consumer of the beverage, it may be possible to enjoy the extraction situation.

A convex portion 901c is provided in the central portion of the bottom member 901, and the convex portion 901c has a communication hole that communicates the inside of the container body 90 with the outside and a valve (valve 903 in FIG. 8) that opens and closes the communication hole. is provided. The communication hole is used for discharging waste liquid and residue when cleaning the inside of the container body 90 . A sealing member 908 is provided on the convex portion 901c, and the sealing member 908 is a member for maintaining airtightness between the upper unit 8A or the lower unit 8C and the bottom member 901. As shown in FIG.

The lid unit 91 includes a hat-shaped base member 911 . The base member 911 has a convex portion 911d and a flange portion 911c that overlaps the flange portion 90c when closed. The convex portion 911d has the same structure as the convex portion 901c of the container body 90, and is provided with a communication hole for communicating the inside of the container body 90 with the outside and a valve (valve 913 in FIG. 8) for opening and closing the communication hole. It is The communication hole of the projection 911d is mainly used for injecting hot water into the container body 90 and sending out the coffee beverage. A sealing member 918a is provided on the convex portion 911d. The sealing member 918a is a member for maintaining airtightness between the upper unit 8A or the lower unit 8C and the base member 911. As shown in FIG. The lid unit 91 is also provided with a sealing member 919 . The sealing member 919 improves the airtightness between the lid unit 91 and the container body 90 when the lid unit 91 is closed. The lid unit 91 holds a filter for filtration.

<4-3. Upper unit and lower unit>
The upper unit 8A and the lower unit 8C will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8. FIG. FIG. 7 is a front view showing the configuration of part of the upper unit 8A and the lower unit 8C, and FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view of FIG.

The upper unit 8A includes an operation unit 81A. The operation unit 81A performs opening/closing operation (lifting/lowering) of the lid unit 91 with respect to the container body 90 and opening/closing operation of the valves of the convex portions 901c and 911d. The operation unit 81A includes a support member 800, a holding member 801, an elevation shaft 802 and a probe 803.

The support member 800 is fixed so as not to change its relative position to the frame F, and accommodates the holding member 801 . The support member 800 also includes a communicating portion 800a that allows the inside of the support member 800 to communicate with the pipe L3. Hot water, tap water, and air pressure supplied from pipe L3 are introduced into support member 800 via communicating portion 800a.

The holding member 801 is a member capable of detachably holding the lid unit 91 . The holding member 801 has a cylindrical space into which the protrusion 911d of the lid unit 91 or the protrusion 901c of the bottom member 901 is inserted, and has a mechanism for detachably holding them. This mechanism is, for example, a snap ring mechanism, which engages with a certain pressing force and disengages with a certain separating force. Hot water, tap water, and air pressure supplied from the pipe L3 can be supplied into the extraction vessel 9 via the communicating portion 800a and the communicating hole 801a of the holding member 801. FIG.

The holding member 801 is also a movable member that is vertically slidable within the support member 800 . The elevating shaft 802 is provided so that its axial direction is the vertical direction. The elevating shaft 802 penetrates the top portion of the support member 800 in an air-tight manner in the vertical direction, and is provided so as to be vertically movable with respect to the support member 800 .

A top portion of the holding member 801 is fixed to the lower end portion of the lifting shaft 802 . The holding member 801 slides in the vertical direction by raising and lowering the elevating shaft 802, so that the holding member 801 can be attached to and separated from the projections 911d and 901c. Also, the lid unit 91 can be opened and closed with respect to the container body 90 .

A screw 802a that constitutes a lead screw mechanism is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lifting shaft 802 . A nut 804b is screwed onto the screw 802a. The upper unit 8A has a motor 804a, and the nut 804b is rotated on the spot (without moving up and down) by the driving force of the motor 804a. The elevation shaft 802 is raised and lowered by the rotation of the nut 804b.

The elevating shaft 802 is a tubular shaft having a through hole in its central axis, and the probe 803 is inserted into the through hole so as to be vertically slidable. The probe 803 penetrates the top portion of the holding member 801 in an air-tight manner in the vertical direction, and is vertically movable with respect to the supporting member 800 and the holding member 801 .

The probe 803 is an operator for opening and closing the valves 913 and 903 provided inside the convex portions 911d and 901c. It can be changed from an open state to a closed state (by the action of a return spring, not shown).

A screw 803 a that constitutes a lead screw mechanism is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the probe 803 . A nut 805b is screwed onto the screw 803a. The upper unit 8A has a motor 805a, and the nut 805b is provided so as to rotate on the spot (without moving up and down) by the driving force of the motor 805a. Rotation of the nut 805b moves the probe 803 up and down.

The lower unit 8C includes an operation unit 81C. The operation unit 81C has a configuration in which the operation unit 81A is vertically inverted, and performs opening and closing operations of the valves 913 and 903 provided inside the convex portions 911d and 901c. Although the operation unit 81C is also configured to be able to open and close the lid unit 91, the operation unit 81C is not used for opening and closing the lid unit 91 in this embodiment.

Although the description of the operation unit 81A is substantially the same as the description of the operation unit 81A, the operation unit 81C will be described below. The operation unit 81C includes a support member 810, a holding member 811, an elevation shaft 812 and a probe 813.

The supporting member 810 is fixed so as not to change its relative position to the frame F, and accommodates the holding member 811 . The support member 810 also includes a communicating portion 810a that allows communication between the switching valve 10a of the switching unit 10 and the inside of the support member 810 . The coffee beverage, tap water, and residue of ground beans in the container body 90 are introduced into the switching valve 10a through the communicating portion 810a.

The holding member 811 has a cylindrical space into which the projection 911d of the lid unit 91 or the projection 901c of the bottom member 901 is inserted, and has a mechanism for detachably holding them. This mechanism is, for example, a snap ring mechanism, which engages with a certain pressing force and disengages with a certain separating force. The coffee beverage, tap water, and residue of ground beans in the container body 90 are introduced into the switching valve 10a through the communicating portion 810a and the communicating hole 811a of the holding member 811. As shown in FIG.

The holding member 811 is also a movable member that is vertically slidable within the support member 810 . The elevating shaft 812 is provided so that its axial direction is the vertical direction. The elevating shaft 812 penetrates the bottom of the support member 800 in an air-tight manner in the vertical direction, and is provided to be vertically movable with respect to the support member 810 .

A bottom portion of a holding member 811 is fixed to the lower end portion of the lifting shaft 812 . The holding member 811 slides in the vertical direction by raising and lowering the elevating shaft 812, and the holding member 811 can be attached to and separated from the projections 901c and 911d.

A screw 812 a that constitutes a lead screw mechanism is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the lifting shaft 812 . A nut 814b is screwed onto the screw 812a. The lower unit 8C has a motor 814a, and the nut 814b is rotated on the spot (without moving up and down) by the driving force of the motor 814a. The elevation shaft 812 is raised and lowered by the rotation of the nut 814b.

The elevating shaft 812 is a tubular shaft having a through hole in its central axis, and a probe 813 is inserted into the through hole so as to be vertically slidable. The probe 813 penetrates the bottom of the holding member 811 in an air-tight manner in the vertical direction, and is vertically movable with respect to the supporting member 810 and the holding member 811 .

The probe 813 is an operator for opening and closing the valves 913 and 903 provided inside the convex portions 911d and 901c. It can be changed from an open state to a closed state (by the action of a return spring, not shown).

A screw 813 a that constitutes a lead screw mechanism is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the probe 813 . A nut 815b is screwed onto the screw 813a. The lower unit 8C has a motor 815a, and the nut 815b is provided so as to rotate on the spot (without moving up and down) by the driving force of the motor 815a. Rotation of the nut 815b moves the probe 813 up and down.

<4-4. Chubu Unit>
The central unit 8B will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 9. FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of the central unit 8B. The middle unit 8B includes a support unit 81B that supports the extraction vessel 9. As shown in FIG. The support unit 81B includes a unit body 81B' that supports the lock mechanism 821 in addition to the arm member 820 described above.

The lock mechanism 821 is a mechanism that keeps the lid unit 91 closed with respect to the container body 90 . The locking mechanism 821 includes a pair of gripping members 821a that vertically sandwich the flange portion 911c of the lid unit 91 and the flange portion 90c of the container body 90. As shown in FIG. The pair of gripping members 821a has a C-shaped cross section that is fitted with the collar portion 911c and the flange portion 90c sandwiched therebetween, and is opened and closed in the left-right direction by the driving force of the motor 822 . When the pair of gripping members 821a is in the closed state, each gripping member 821a engages the flange portion 911c and the flange portion 90c so as to vertically sandwich the flange portion 911c and the flange portion 90c, as indicated by solid lines in the enclosing view of FIG. The unit 91 is hermetically locked to the container body 90 . In this locked state, even if the holding member 801 is lifted by the lifting shaft 802 to open the lid unit 91, the lid unit 91 does not move (lock is not released). That is, the locking force of the locking mechanism 821 is set stronger than the force of opening the lid unit 91 using the holding member 801 . As a result, it is possible to prevent the lid unit 91 from being opened with respect to the container body 90 in the event of an abnormality.

When the pair of gripping members 821a are in the open state, the gripping members 821a are separated from the flange portion 911c and the flange portion 90c, as indicated by the broken lines in the encircled view of FIG. is unlocked with

When the holding member 801 is holding the lid unit 91 and when the holding member 801 is raised from the lowered position to the raised position, the lid unit 91 is lifted from the container body 90 when the pair of gripping members 821a is open. separated. Conversely, when the pair of gripping members 821a is closed, the holding member 801 with respect to the lid unit 91 is released, and only the holding member 801 is raised.

The central unit 8B also includes a mechanism for horizontally moving the arm member 820 in the front-rear direction using the motor 823 as a drive source. As a result, the container body 90 supported by the arm member 820 can be moved between the rear extracting position (state ST1) and the front bean throwing position (state ST2). The bean-throwing-in position is a position at which ground beans are thrown into the container body 90, and the ground beans ground by the grinder 5B are thrown into the opening 90a of the container body 90 from which the lid unit 91 is separated from the discharge pipe 5C. In other words, the position of the discharge pipe 5C is above the container body 90 positioned at the bean loading position.

The extraction position is a position where the container body 90 can be operated by the operation units 81A and 81C, is coaxial with the probes 803 and 813, and is a position where coffee liquid is extracted. The extraction position is a position on the back side of the bean-throwing-in position. 5, 7 and 8 all show the container body 90 in the extraction position. In this way, by changing the position of the container body 90 for the input of the ground beans, the extraction of the coffee liquid, and the supply of the water, the steam generated during the extraction of the coffee liquid is discharged from the discharge pipe, which is the supply portion of the ground beans. Adherence to 5C can be prevented.

The central unit 8B also includes a mechanism that rotates the support unit 81B around a longitudinal axis 825 using a motor 824 as a drive source. As a result, the posture of the container body 90 (extraction container 9) can be changed from the upright posture (state ST1) with the neck portion 90b on the upper side to the inverted posture (state ST3) with the neck portion 90b on the lower side. While the extraction container 9 is rotating, the locking mechanism 821 keeps the lid unit 91 locked to the container body 90 . The extraction container 9 is turned upside down between the upright posture and the inverted posture. In the inverted posture, the convex portion 911d is positioned at the position of the convex portion 901c in the upright posture. In addition, the convex portion 901c in the inverted posture is positioned at the position of the convex portion 911d in the erect posture. Therefore, in the inverted posture, the operation unit 81A can perform the opening/closing operation for the valve 903, and the operation unit 81C can perform the opening/closing operation for the valve 913. FIG.

<5. Control device>
The control device 11 of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 10 . FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the control device 11. As shown in FIG.

The control device 11 controls the beverage manufacturing device 1 as a whole. The control device 11 includes a processing section 11a, a storage section 11b and an I/F (interface) section 11c. The processing unit 11a is, for example, a processor such as a CPU. The storage unit 11b is, for example, RAM or ROM. The I/F unit 11c includes an input/output interface for inputting/outputting signals between an external device and the processing unit 11a. The I/F unit 11c also includes a communication interface capable of data communication with the server 16 via the communication network 15 such as the Internet. The server 16 can communicate with a mobile terminal 17 such as a smartphone via a communication network 15, and can receive, for example, information such as reservations for beverage production and impressions from the mobile terminal 17 of beverage consumers. .

The processing unit 11 a executes a program stored in the storage unit 11 b and controls the actuator group 14 based on instructions from the information display device 12 , detection results from the sensor group 13 , or instructions from the server 16 . The sensor group 13 is various sensors provided in the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 (for example, a hot water temperature sensor, a mechanism operating position detection sensor, a pressure sensor, etc.). The actuator group 14 is various actuators (for example, a motor, an electromagnetic valve, a heater, etc.) provided in the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 .

<6. Operation control example>
An example of control processing of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 executed by the processing unit 11a will be described with reference to FIGS. 11A(A) and (B). FIG. 11A shows a control example related to one coffee beverage production operation. The state of the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 before the production instruction is given is called a standby state. The state of each mechanism in the standby state is as follows.

The extraction device 3 is in the state of FIG. The extraction container 9 is in an upright posture and positioned at the extraction position. The lock mechanism 821 is closed, and the lid unit 91 closes the opening 90a of the container body 90 . The holding member 801 is in the lowered position and attached to the projection 911d. The holding member 811 is in the raised position and attached to the projection 901c. Valves 903 and 913 are in a closed state. The switching valve 10a communicates the communication portion 810a of the operation unit 8C with the waste tank T. As shown in FIG.

In the standby state, when there is an instruction to produce a coffee beverage, the process of FIG. 11(A) is executed. Preheating is performed in S1. This process is a process of pouring hot water into the container body 90 to heat the container body 90 in advance. First, the valves 903 and 913 are opened. As a result, the pipe L3, the extraction container 9, and the waste tank T are brought into communication.

The electromagnetic valve 72i is opened for a predetermined time (for example, 1500 ms) and then closed. As a result, hot water is injected into the extraction container 9 from the water tank 72 . Subsequently, the electromagnetic valve 73 is opened for a predetermined time (for example, 500 ms) and then closed. As a result, the air in the extraction container 9 is pressurized, and the discharge of hot water to the waste tank T is facilitated. By the above process, the inside of the extraction container 9 and the pipe L2 are preheated, and it is possible to reduce the cooling of the hot water in the subsequent production of the coffee beverage.

In S2, grind processing is performed. Here, roasted coffee beans are ground and the ground beans are put into the container body 90 . First, the lock mechanism 821 is opened, and the holding member 801 is raised to the raised position. The lid unit 91 is held by the holding member 801 and rises together with the holding member 801 . As a result, the lid unit 91 is separated from the container body 90 . The holding member 811 is lowered to the lowered position. The container main body 90 is moved to the bean-throwing-in position. Subsequently, the storage device 4 and the crushing device 5 are operated. As a result, a cup of roasted coffee beans is supplied from the storage device 4 to the grinder 5A. The roasted coffee beans are ground in two stages by the grinders 5A and 5B, and unwanted substances are separated by the separation device 6. - 特許庁Ground beans are put into the container main body 90 .

The container body 90 is returned to the extraction position. The holding member 801 is lowered to the lowered position to attach the lid unit 91 to the container body 90 . The lock mechanism 821 is closed to airtightly lock the lid unit 91 to the container body 90 . The holding member 811 rises to the raised position. Of the valves 903 and 913, the valve 903 is opened and the valve 913 is closed.

Extraction processing is performed in S3. Here, coffee liquid is extracted from the ground beans in the container body 90 . FIG. 11B is a flow chart of the extraction process of S3.

In S11, in order to steam the ground beans in the extraction container 9, hot water less than a cup of hot water is poured into the extraction container 9. - 特許庁Here, the solenoid valve 72i is opened and closed for a predetermined time (for example, 500 ms). As a result, hot water is injected into the extraction container 9 from the water tank 72 . After that, the process of S11 is terminated after waiting for a predetermined time (for example, 5000 ms). This process allows the ground beans to be steamed. By steaming the ground beans, the carbon dioxide gas contained in the ground beans can be released, and the subsequent extraction effect can be enhanced.

In S12, the remaining amount of hot water is poured into the extraction container 9 so that the extraction container 9 can accommodate a cup of hot water. Here, the solenoid valve 72i is opened and closed for a predetermined time (for example, 7000ms). As a result, hot water is injected into the extraction container 9 from the water tank 72 .

By the process of S12, the inside of the extraction container 9 can be brought to a state of a temperature exceeding 100 degrees Celsius (for example, about 110 degrees Celsius) at 1 atmospheric pressure. Subsequently, the inside of the extraction container 9 is pressurized in S13. Here, the electromagnetic valve 73b is opened and closed for a predetermined time (for example, 1000 ms) to pressurize the inside of the extraction container 9 to a pressure that does not boil hot water (for example, about 4 atmospheres (about 3 atmospheres in gauge pressure)). After that, the valve 903 is closed.

Subsequently, this state is maintained for a predetermined time (for example, 7000 ms) and immersion type coffee liquid extraction is performed (S14). As a result, coffee liquid is extracted by immersion method under high temperature and high pressure. The following effects can be expected from immersion extraction under high temperature and pressure. First, the high pressure makes it easier for the hot water to permeate the inside of the ground beans, thereby promoting the extraction of the coffee liquid. Second, the high temperature promotes the extraction of the coffee liquid. Third, the high temperature reduces the viscosity of the oil contained in the ground beans, promoting the extraction of the oil. This makes it possible to produce a coffee beverage with a high aroma.

The temperature of the hot water (high-temperature water) should be above 100 degrees Celsius, but a higher temperature is advantageous in extracting the coffee liquid. On the other hand, raising the temperature of the hot water generally results in an increase in cost. Therefore, the temperature of the hot water may be, for example, 105 degrees Celsius or higher, or 110 degrees Celsius or higher, or 115 degrees Celsius or higher, or, for example, 130 degrees Celsius or lower, or 120 degrees Celsius or lower. The atmospheric pressure should be such that hot water does not boil.

In S15, the inside of the extraction container 9 is decompressed. Here, the pressure inside the extraction container 9 is switched to the pressure at which hot water boils. Specifically, the valve 913 is opened, and the solenoid valve 73c is opened and closed for a predetermined time (for example, 1000 ms). The inside of the extraction container 9 is released to the atmosphere. After that, the valve 913 is closed again.

The pressure inside the extraction container 9 is rapidly reduced to a pressure lower than the boiling point pressure, and the hot water in the extraction container 9 boils at once. The hot water and ground beans in the extraction container 9 are explosively scattered within the extraction container 9. - 特許庁This allows the water to boil evenly. In addition, destruction of the cell walls of the ground beans can be promoted, and subsequent extraction of the coffee liquid can be further promoted. In addition, the boiling can stir the ground beans and the hot water, thereby promoting the extraction of the coffee liquid. Thus, in this embodiment, the coffee liquid extraction efficiency can be improved.

In S16, the extraction container 9 is reversed from the upright posture to the inverted posture. Here, the holding member 801 is moved to the raised position, and the holding member 811 is moved to the lowered position. Then, the support unit 81B is rotated. After that, the holding member 801 is returned to the lowered position, and the holding member 811 is returned to the raised position. In the inverted extraction container 9, the neck portion 90b and the lid unit 91 are positioned on the lower side.

In S17, permeation type coffee liquid extraction is performed, and the coffee beverage is delivered to the cup C. Here, the switching valve 10a is switched to allow communication between the pouring portion 10c and the passage portion 810a of the operation unit 81C. Also, both the valves 903 and 913 are opened. Further, the electromagnetic valve 73b is opened for a predetermined time (for example, 10000 ms) to set the inside pressure of the extraction container 9 to a predetermined pressure (for example, 1.7 atmospheres (0.7 atmospheres in gauge pressure)). In the extraction container 9, the coffee beverage in which the coffee liquid is dissolved in hot water passes through the filter provided in the lid unit 91 and is delivered to the cup C. The filter regulates the leakage of ground residue. The extraction process is completed as described above.

In this embodiment, the immersion extraction in S14 and the permeation extraction in S17 are used together to improve extraction efficiency of the coffee liquid. When the extraction container 9 is in an upright position, the ground beans are deposited from the body portion 90e to the bottom portion 90f. On the other hand, when the extraction container 9 is in an inverted position, the ground beans are deposited from the shoulder portion 90d to the neck portion 90b. The cross-sectional area of the body portion 90e is larger than the cross-sectional area of the neck portion 90b, and the ground beans are deposited thicker in the inverted posture than in the upright posture. That is, when the extraction container 9 is in the upright posture, the ground beans are relatively thin and are deposited widely, and when the extraction container 9 is in the inverted posture, they are deposited relatively thick and narrow.

In the case of this embodiment, the immersion extraction in S14 is performed with the extraction vessel 9 in an upright position, so that the hot water and the ground beans can be brought into contact with each other over a wide range, and the extraction efficiency of the coffee liquid can be improved. However, in this case, hot water and ground beans tend to come into partial contact. On the other hand, since the permeation extraction in S17 is performed with the extraction container 9 in an inverted position, the hot water passes through the piled ground beans while coming into contact with more ground beans. The hot water comes into contact with the ground beans more evenly, and the extraction efficiency of the coffee liquid can be further improved.

Returning to FIG. 11A, after the extraction process of S3, the discharge process of S4 is performed. Here, processing related to cleaning the inside of the extraction container 9 is performed. Cleaning of the extraction container 9 is performed by returning the extraction container 9 from the inverted position to the upright position and supplying tap water (purified water) to the extraction container 9 . Then, the inside of the extraction container 9 is pressurized, and the water in the extraction container 9 is discharged to the disposal tank T together with the residue of the ground beans.

Thus, one coffee beverage manufacturing process is completed. Thereafter, similar processing is repeated for each manufacturing instruction. The time required for making one coffee beverage is, for example, about 60 to 90 seconds.

<7. Summary of Device Configuration>
As described above, the beverage production apparatus 1 includes the bean processing device 2 and the extraction device 3 as production units. More specifically, the bean processing device 2 includes the storage device 4 and the crushing device 5, and the extraction device 3 It includes a fluid supply unit 7, a drive unit 8, an extraction container 9, and a switching unit 10 (see FIGS. 2, 3, etc.). The grinding device 5 receives a cup of roasted coffee beans from the storage device 4 and grinds the beans in two stages using grinders 5A and 5B. At this time, unnecessary substances such as chaff are separated from the ground beans by the separation device 6 . After the ground beans are put into the extraction container 9, the fluid supply unit 7 pours hot water into the extraction container 9, the driving unit 8 reverses the orientation of the extraction container 9, and the switching unit 10 transfers the extraction container 9 to the cup C. Via liquid delivery or the like, a single serving of beverage is provided.

A part of the production department is covered with a cover part 102 configured as a transparent cover that is a transparent part as a whole, and a user (for example, an administrator of the device 1, a consumer of beverages, etc.) can visually recognize from the outside of the device 1. It is possible. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the plurality of canisters 40, which are part of the storage device 4, are exposed and the other elements are substantially contained within the housing 100, but other In some embodiments, the entire manufacturing section may be housed within housing 100 . In other words, the cover section 102 may be provided so as to cover at least part of the manufacturing section.

At least a part of the manufacturing department is covered by the cover part 102 so as to be visible from the outside of the device 1, so that, for example, when the user is the manager of the device 1, the manager can start the device while preparing to manufacture the beverage. It may also be possible to perform an operational check. If the user is a purchaser of a beverage, the purchaser may be able to wait for the completion of production of the beverage while raising expectations for the beverage. For example, the extraction container 9 of the extraction device 3 can be viewed from the outside of the device 1 through the cover part 102, and the extraction process, which is of relatively high interest to the user, can be observed among the several processes for producing the beverage. . The drive unit 8 functions as a posture changing unit that changes the posture of the extraction container 9, and as described above, the extraction container 9 is a movable part that can be turned upside down in the manufacturing department. Therefore, this reversing operation of the extraction container 9 is relatively likely to attract the user's interest, and by making it observable by the user, it may be possible to entertain the user.

On the other hand, in order to further improve the quality of the beverages provided by the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1, improvements in various aspects such as process improvements, configuration aspects of the apparatus 1 for realizing them, control aspects, etc. are also required. . One example is to modify some elements of the device 1 . An example of a liquid feed amount adjusting device 720 that can function as the water tank 72 in FIG. 3 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14. FIG.

<8. Configuration Example of Liquid Feeding Volume Adjusting Device>
FIG. 12 shows a schematic diagram of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 . 13 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 12 and a cross-sectional view of another example (configuration example EX31). Like the water tank 72, the liquid feed amount adjusting device 720 is a tank that stores hot water (water) that constitutes the coffee beverage, and is a device that has a function of feeding a constant amount of hot water. As a result, it is possible to sequentially deliver hot water required for one cup of coffee, and it is also possible to change the amount of hot water at that time. In the following description, components having the same functions as those related to the water tank 72 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 has a tank 720a for accumulating hot water. The outer wall of the tank 720a includes a peripheral wall 721, a top wall 723 joined to the upper end of the peripheral wall 721, and a bottom wall 724 joined to the lower end of the peripheral wall 721, and as shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. has a cylindrical shape as a whole. A partition wall 722 is provided in the tank 720a, and the internal space is partitioned by the partition wall 722 into an outer cylindrical space 725 and an inner cylindrical space 726A. In the case of this example, the partition wall 722 is a cylindrical wall body arranged concentrically with the peripheral wall 721, but the partition wall 722 may be eccentric with respect to the peripheral wall 721 as shown in the configuration example EX31 of FIG. .

The space 725 constitutes a storage section that stores hot water. The space 725 is also called a reservoir 725 . A movable member 727c is arranged in the upper part of the space 726A, and the space 726 in the lower part constitutes a storage part for storing hot water. The space 726 is also called a reservoir 726 . Partitioning the storage portion 725 and the storage portion 726 with the partition wall 722, which is a common wall, allows the size of the tank 720a to be reduced compared to partitioning with separate walls.

The reservoir 725 is provided with a heater 72a for heating the water in the reservoir 725 and a temperature sensor 72b for measuring the temperature of the water. The heater 72a maintains the temperature of the accumulated hot water at a predetermined temperature (here, 120 degrees Celsius) based on the detection result of the temperature sensor 72b. The heater 72a is turned on, for example, when the temperature of hot water is 118 degrees Celsius, and turned off when the temperature is 120 degrees Celsius.

A portion of the upper wall 723 that defines the reservoir 725 is connected to a pipe for supplying the air pressure in the reserve tank 71 (see FIG. 3), and is provided with an electromagnetic valve 72f. The liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 includes a sensor (not shown. For example, a sensor corresponding to the pressure sensor 72g in FIG. 3) that detects the atmospheric pressure in the reservoir 725. The electromagnetic valve 72f is a pressure regulating valve 72e (see FIG. ) to switch between supply and cutoff of the regulated air pressure to the reservoir 725 . The solenoid valve 72f is controlled to open and close so that the pressure inside the reservoir 725 is maintained at 3 atm except when tap water (purified water) is supplied to the reservoir 725 .

A portion of the upper wall 723 that defines the reservoir 725 is also connected to a pipe that communicates the reservoir 725 with the atmosphere, and an electromagnetic valve 72h is provided here. When tap water is supplied to reservoir 725, the pressure of reservoir 725 is reduced to less than 2.5 atmospheres by electromagnetic valve 72h so that reservoir 725 is smoothly replenished with tap water. The electromagnetic valve 72h switches whether to release the inside of the water tank 72 to the atmosphere, and releases the inside of the reservoir 725 to the atmosphere when the pressure is reduced. In addition, the solenoid valve 72h releases the reservoir 725 to the atmosphere when the pressure in the reservoir 725 exceeds 3 atmospheres except when tap water is supplied to the reservoir 725, and maintains the reservoir 725 at 3 atmospheres. .

A pipe L2 for supplying tap water to the reservoir 725 is connected to a portion of the bottom wall 724 that defines the reservoir 725, and an electromagnetic valve 72d is provided here. The electromagnetic valve 72d is controlled to open and close based on the detection result of a water level sensor 72c, which will be described later, and controls the water level of the hot water in the reservoir 725. FIG.

A portion of the bottom wall 724 that defines the reservoir 725 is also connected to a pipe L2' for discharging the hot water in the reservoir 725, and is provided with an electromagnetic valve 72d'. The solenoid valve 72d' is opened when the hot water in the reservoir 725 is discarded, and the hot water in the reservoir 725 is discharged to the pipe L2'.

The reservoir 726 is a space whose volume can be changed by moving the movable member 727c. Hot water is supplied to the reservoir 726 from the reservoir 725 via a pipe 728a, an electromagnetic valve 728 and a pipe 728b. A pipe 728 a connects between the portion of the bottom wall 724 that defines the reservoir 725 and the solenoid valve 728 . A pipe 728 b connects between the portion of the bottom wall 724 that defines the reservoir 726 and the solenoid valve 728 .

In the example of FIG. 12, the electromagnetic valve 728 is a three-way valve and can switch between communication and disconnection between the pipes 728b and 728a and between communication and disconnection between the pipes 728b and 728c. . Also, the solenoid valve 728 can cut off any of the pipes. The pipe 728c is a pipe for sending the hot water in the reservoir 726 to the extraction container 9. As shown in FIG.

By switching between communication and disconnection between the pipes 728b and 728a, communication and disconnection between the reservoirs 725 and 726 can be switched. By switching between communication and disconnection between the pipes 728b and 728c, hot water delivery and storage in the storage section 726 can be switched.

When the pipes 728b and 728a are communicated with each other, the electromagnetic valve 728 shuts off the pipes 728b and 728c. Conversely, when the pipes 728b and 728c are in communication, the pipes 728b and 728a are blocked. The arrows shown in the solenoid valve 728 in the drawing indicate the operating state of the solenoid valve 728. In the example of FIG. state.

Here, by using the electromagnetic valve 728 as a three-way valve, one electromagnetic valve 728 is configured to perform these switching. However, a configuration is also adopted in which the pipe 728b is divided into two, and a valve for switching communication and blocking between one pipe 728b and the pipe 728a and a valve for switching communication and blocking between the other pipe 728b and the pipe 728c are provided. It is possible.

The liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 includes a drive unit 727 . Drive unit 727 is controlled in accordance with the amount of hot water delivered from reservoir 726 to change the volume of reservoir 726 . Depending on the size of the coffee cup, the required amount of hot water for one cup is different. The drive unit 727 adjusts the volume of the reservoir 726 so that an appropriate amount of hot water is delivered from the reservoir 726 according to the size of the coffee cup.

The drive unit 727 is a mechanism that changes the volume of the reservoir 726 by vertically moving the movable member 727c. The movable member 727c is a piston-like member configured to be inserted into the space 726A and slide in the vertical direction. From this point of view, the movable member 727c may be called a piston unit or the like, and the space 726A may be called a cylinder unit or the like. As the bottom surface 727d rises and lowers, the volume of the storage section 726 changes.

It should be noted that the volume of the reservoir 726 is not changed by moving the position of the wall on the upper side as in this example, but is changed by moving the position of the wall on the lower side or the side. is also possible.

The movable member 727c includes a seal member (not shown) that forms a seal with the inner surface of the partition wall 722, and slides on the inner surface of the partition wall 722 in a liquid-tight manner. However, a groove 727e extending in the vertical direction is formed in the peripheral surface of the movable member 727c, and the inner surface of the partition wall 722 and the gap are formed in the groove 727e.

The groove 727e is formed so as to communicate with an opening 722a penetrating the partition wall 722 in the thickness direction. The opening 722a is formed at a position above the highest water level of hot water in the reservoir 725 (the position of a sensor 731b, which will be described later), and is an air communication portion that communicates the reservoir 725 and the space 726A. The air communicates between the reservoir 725 and the reservoir 726 via the opening 722a and the groove 727e, and the air pressure in these spaces becomes the same. In addition, when the storage portions 725 and 726 are always kept at the atmospheric pressure, passages communicating with the atmosphere may be separately provided.

The drive unit 727 includes a motor 727a supported by the upper wall 723 as a drive source, and a screw shaft 727b as a moving mechanism for moving the movable member 727c. The screw shaft 727b extends vertically and is rotated by the driving force of the motor 727a. The movable member 727c has an open screw hole 727f in its upper surface, and the screw shaft 727b is engaged with this screw hole 727f. The movable member 727c is provided with a detent (not shown), and moves vertically as the screw shaft 727b rotates. The anti-rotation may be, for example, vertically extending concave and convex portions provided on the inner surface of the partition wall 722 and the peripheral surface of the movable member 727c.

Here, as a movement mechanism for moving the movable member 727c, a screw mechanism including a screw shaft 727b and a screw hole 727f is used, but the mechanism is not limited to this, and other mechanisms such as a rack-pinion mechanism can also be employed.

The water level sensor 72c is a measurement unit that measures the water level of hot water in the reservoir 725 . The water level sensor 72c includes a vertically extending hollow cylindrical reservoir 729, a float 730 provided in the reservoir 729, and a lower sensor 731a and an upper sensor 731b that detect the float 730.

The storage portion 729 communicates with the storage portion 725 at a communication portion 729a located below the sensor 731a, and communicates with the storage portion 725 at a communication portion 729b located above the sensor 731b. The hot water in the reservoir 725 flows into the reservoir 729 through the communicating portion 729a. The communication portion 729b is an air communication portion that communicates the storage portion 725 and the storage portion 729, and air communicates between the storage portions 725 and 729 via the communication portion 729b. Therefore, the water level of hot water in reservoir 729 is equal to the water level of hot water in reservoir 725 .

In the case of this example, the reservoir 729 is made of a transparent member such as glass or acrylic. As a result, the water level of hot water in storage section 729 can be visually recognized from the outside, and as a result, the user can confirm the water level of hot water in storage section 725 . Of course, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a transparent portion is provided in a part of the peripheral wall (721) of the storage portion 725 so that the water level can be visually recognized.

The float 730 may be of any type as long as it floats on hot water in the reservoir 729 .

The sensors 731 a and 731 b are, for example, optical sensors (photo interrupters), and detect the float 730 from the outside of the reservoir 729 . When the float 730 is detected by the sensor 731a, the electromagnetic valve 72d is opened and water is supplied to the reservoir 725. As shown in FIG. That is, the sensor 731 a monitors the lower limit of the hot water level in the reservoir 725 . The lower limit of the water level is set at a position higher than that of the heater 72a, so that empty heating by the heater 72a can be prevented.

When the float 730 is detected by the sensor 731b, the electromagnetic valve 72d is closed to stop the water supply to the reservoir 725. That is, the sensor 731b monitors the upper limit of the water level of the hot water in the reservoir 725. FIG.

A configuration equivalent to the water level sensor 72c can also be constructed inside the reservoir 725 . However, by constructing the water level sensor 72c outside the reservoir 725 as in this example, it becomes easier to check the water level of the reservoir 725 from the outside.

Next, an operation example of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 will be described with reference to FIG. 14 . First, the volume of the reservoir 726 is adjusted by the drive unit 727 according to the cup size and the like. State ST61 shows this situation. In the example of FIG. 13, the movable member 727c is lowered, and the volume of the reservoir 726 is set to a smaller volume than in the example of FIG. The solenoid valve 728 communicates the pipes 728b and 728c, and hot water is not supplied from the reservoir 725 to the reservoir 726.

When the volume of the reservoir 726 is set, the drive unit 727 is stopped, and the electromagnetic valve 728 allows the pipes 728b and 728a to communicate with each other. Reservoir 725 and reservoir 726 have the same air pressure, and reservoir 726 is on the bottom side of tank 720a. Therefore, hot water is supplied from storage section 725 to storage section 726 due to the head pressure of hot water in storage section 725 . In the case of this example, since it is formed at a position lower than the lowest water level of the hot water in the storage section 725 (the position of the sensor 731a), there is always a water head difference between the storage section 725 and the storage section 726 (storage section 725 hot water is higher). Therefore, hot water is supplied from storage section 725 to storage section 726 until storage section 726 is full. State ST62 indicates a state in which storage section 726 is full. The hot water also enters the groove 727c, but the groove 727c has a volume sufficient to ensure air communication, and the amount can be extremely small.

In this example, the storage section 726 is not provided with the heater 72a, but the storage section 726 is surrounded by the storage section 725, so it is possible to ensure the heat retention performance of the stored hot water. It should be noted that the volume of storage section 726 may be changed by drive unit 727 in state ST62.

Other methods are also possible for supplying hot water from the reservoir 725 to the reservoir 726, but in this example, hot water is supplied with a relatively simple configuration by utilizing the head difference between the reservoirs 725 and 726. can supply.

Next, the hot water stored in the storage part 726 is delivered. As shown in state ST63, by connecting the pipes 728b and 728c with the solenoid valve 728, hot water can be delivered from the pipe 728c to the extraction container 9 by its own weight or the pressure of the reservoir 726. After the hot water delivery is started, the hot water in the storage section 726 can be delivered step by step by shutting off the operation state of the solenoid valve 728 between any of the pipes. For example, for the steaming step (S11 in FIG. 11(B)), it is possible to interrupt the delivery of hot water, and then perform the step of delivering the remaining hot water (S12 in FIG. 11(B)). .

In any case, all the hot water stored in the storage section 726 is delivered. The delivery of the total amount can be confirmed by the opening time of the solenoid valve 728 (communication time between the pipes 728b and 728c). Each time the hot water stored in the storage section 726 is delivered once, the control valve 72d may be opened to supply water corresponding to the volume to the storage section 725 .

According to the above example, the hot water delivery rate can be adjusted. In general, control of opening and closing a valve based on the detection result of a flow rate sensor is used to adjust the delivery amount of the liquid. However, in the case of high-temperature liquids or special liquids, there are cases where compatible flow sensors are not available on the market or are expensive. On the other hand, according to the above example, by adopting the method of adjusting the volume of the reservoir 726, the amount of hot water delivered can be adjusted without the need for a flow rate sensor.

<9. Example of operation control in the case of using a liquid feeding amount adjusting device>
By using the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720, for example, it is possible to further improve the quality of the beverage provided by the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 by partially changing the manufacturing process. An example of control processing of the device 1 executed by the processing unit 11a (see FIG. 10) of the control device 11 will be described below with reference to FIG. For explanations omitted below, please refer to the steps shown in FIGS.

FIG. 15 shows an example of control related to one coffee beverage production operation. First, the preheating S1 is divided into at least two heating steps S101 and S102 (referred to as S1' for distinction from S1 in FIG. 11A).

S101 is a process of pouring hot water into the extraction container 9 (container main body 90) to heat the extraction container 9 in advance. First, the electromagnetic valve 728 is controlled to allow the pipes 728a and 728b to communicate with each other, and a small amount of hot water is moved from the reservoir 725 to the reservoir 726 . After that, the solenoid valve 728 is controlled to connect the pipes 728b and 728c, and the hot water in the reservoir 726 is delivered to the extraction container 9 through the pipe L3. Subsequently, the electromagnetic valve 73 is controlled to pressurize the inside of the extraction container 9, and the hot water in the extraction container 9 is discharged to the waste tank T.

By S101, the inside of the extraction container 9 and the pipes L2 to L3 are preheated, and it is possible to prevent the hot water from cooling down during the production of the beverage in each step described later. Further, by performing S101, it may be possible to wash away the residue (liquid residue, etc.) generated in the flow path during the previous or past extraction.

S102 is a process of supplying steam generated in the reservoirs 725 and 726 into the container body 90 to heat the extraction container 9 . This steam can be generated by decompressing the reservoirs 725 and 726 to boil the hot water in the reservoirs 725 and 726, and can be realized in the same procedure as S15 (see FIG. 11B). After the supply of steam to the extraction container 9 or the heating of the extraction container 9 using the steam is completed, the solenoid valve 728 is controlled to shut off the pipes 728b and 728c.

By performing S102, it becomes possible to heat the entire extraction container 9 uniformly. This makes it possible, for example, to extract a uniform liquid from ground beans at a desired temperature, which can result in an improvement in the quality of the beverage. In addition, in S102, the atmospheric pressure in the reservoirs 725 and 726 is lowered, and the liquid therein begins to boil, so that the liquid can be agitated to equalize the temperature.

Additionally, the piping L3, which functions as a connecting portion connecting the storage portions 725 and 726 and the extraction container 9 and forms a flow path therebetween, is also heated together with the extraction container 9 in S102. . This prevents the liquid from cooling when passing through the pipe L3.

Here, as described above, the extraction container 9 has valves 903 and 913, which are used for hot water as the liquid used for the extraction, the beverage obtained by the extraction (coffee liquid in this example), or S102. acts as an inlet or outlet for steam used to heat the In this example, in S102, the steam flows into the extraction vessel 9 through the valve 913 and flows out of the extraction vessel 9 through the valve 903. When steam flows from valve 913 into extraction vessel 9, valve 903 is open so that if this steam condenses into a liquid in extraction vessel 9, the liquid will flow into extraction vessel 9. It becomes possible to flow out of the extraction container 9 from the valve 903 without remaining inside for a long time. According to this aspect, for example, when a beverage is produced by each step described later, the taste, flavor, etc. of the beverage are not unintentionally diluted, which is advantageous for improving the quality of the beverage. be.

Alternatively, after filling the extraction container 9 with steam, both the valves 903 and 913 may be closed and the extraction container 9 may be vibrated. The generation of vibrations to the extraction container 9 can be realized by the motors 823 and/or 824 (see FIG. 9) of the central unit 8B. By vibrating the extraction container 9 whose inside is filled with steam, the steam spreads uniformly in the extraction container 9, and the entire extraction container 9 can be uniformly heated.

Note that the heating of the extraction container 9 using steam may be performed before S101 instead of/accompanied by S102 described above. That is, the execution order of S101 and S102 may be reversed, and S102 may be performed twice before and after S101. By performing S102 before S101, it may become easier to remove the residue generated during the previous or past extraction in S101.

After the preheating S1′ is performed as described above, S2 is performed in the same procedure as in FIG. )I do. In the extraction process S3', the main extraction pouring S12 is divided into at least two pouring steps S121 and S122. S121, which is the first pouring, is performed after S11 and before S13. After that, S13 to S16 are performed in the same procedure as in FIG. 11(B).

Here, in S14, the ground beans to be extracted are deposited in the upright extraction container 9 with a relatively thin deposition thickness, and the ground beans are immersed in the hot water supplied in S121. . The hot water in the extraction container 9 is boiled in S15, and the extraction container 9 is turned upside down in S16 to be in an inverted posture.

In the drawing, S122 is shown to be performed after S17 for distinction, but preferably S122 is performed substantially simultaneously with S17 after the start of S17. As another embodiment, S17 may be performed substantially simultaneously with S122 after the start of S122. That is, S122 and S17 may be performed at least partially in parallel, and may be combined into one step K, such as a pouring/delivery step.

As described above, when the extraction container 9 is in the upright position, the ground beans are deposited from the body portion 90e to the bottom portion 90f. to the neck portion 90b. That is, the extraction container 9 includes a thick portion extending from the body portion 90e to the bottom portion 90f and a thin portion extending from the shoulder portion 90d to the neck portion 90b. In the inverted posture, the deposits are deposited on the narrow portion.

At the time of permeation extraction in S17, since the extraction container 9 is in an inverted position, the hot water in the extraction container 9 passes through the ground beans deposited thicker than in the case of the upright position. Since the contact is made evenly, it is possible to achieve high efficiency of permeation extraction. Here, since S122, which is the second pouring of hot water, is performed together with S17, the extraction container 9 additionally pours hot water in S122 while delivering the beverage obtained by immersion extraction with the hot water received in S121. will receive. The hot water additionally flowed into the extraction container 9 in S122 is not substantially used for immersion extraction, but is mainly used for permeation extraction. According to such an extraction mode, it is possible to effectively impart a taste unique to the permeation type extraction to the beverage, and it is possible to improve the quality of the beverage.

The amount of molten metal poured in S121 and the amount of molten metal poured in S122 may be set or changed by the user, ie, the ratio of immersion extraction and permeation extraction may be adjustable. As a result, it may be possible to produce a beverage with quality that matches the taste of the user.

FIGS. 16(a) to 16(h) and FIGS. 17(i) to 17(o) are schematic diagrams for explaining the control mode of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 corresponding to each step in FIG. 15 described above. It is a diagram. For ease of understanding, the following description uses a simplified model of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720, and the solenoid valve 728, which is a three-way valve, is a valve that switches between communication and blocking between the pipes 728a and 728b. 7281 and a valve 7282 for switching between communication and blocking between the pipes 728b and 728c.

FIG. 16(a) shows the initial state of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720, and the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1 is waiting for a beverage manufacturing start instruction. In the initial state, both valves 7281 and 7282 are closed as schematically shown in the figure.

FIGS. 16(b) and 16(c) show a mode of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 corresponding to the above S101 (heat treatment of the extraction container 9 using a small amount of hot water). In the step of FIG. 16(b), the valve 7281 is opened to move a small amount of hot water from the reservoir 725 to the reservoir 726 as indicated by the dashed arrow. Subsequently, after closing the valve 7281, the valve 7282 is opened in the process of FIG. As a result, the inside of the extraction container 9 and the pipes L2 to L3 are heated.

FIGS. 16(d) to 16(e) show modes of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 corresponding to the above S102 (heat treatment of the extraction container 9 using steam). In the process of FIG. 16(d), steam is generated in the reservoirs 725 and 726 by decompressing the reservoirs 725 and 726 and boiling the hot water in the reservoirs 725 and 726 . Since valve 7282 is open, the generated steam is supplied to extraction vessel 9 via line 728c, as illustrated by the dashed arrow. In the process of FIG. 16(d), the boiling makes it possible to stir the hot water in the reservoirs 725 and 726, and the temperature of the stirred hot water has not reached a predetermined value (for example, 118 degrees Celsius). In that case, the heater 72a (see FIG. 12) is driven. After that, in the step of FIG. 16(e), the valve 7282 is closed to stop the supply of steam to the extraction vessel 9. Thereby, the entire extraction container 9 can be uniformly heated.

FIGS. 16(f) to 16(h) show aspects of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 corresponding to the preparatory process for executing the extraction process S3'. In the process of FIG. 16(f), after the insides of the reservoirs 725 and 726 are returned to 3 atm, in the process of FIG. A cup of hot water (for example, about 180 cc) is moved from 725 to the reservoir 726 . After the transfer of the hot water from the storage section 725 to the storage section 726 is completed, the valve 7281 is closed in the process of FIG. 16(h). The amount for one cup may be preset or selected by the user, may be determined based on the size of the cup placed on the placing section 110, or may be a fixed value. good too. Although not shown here, the grinding process S2 may be performed in parallel between the steps of FIGS. can be shortened.

FIGS. 17(i) to 17(j) show modes of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 corresponding to the steaming pouring S11. The valve 7282 is opened in the process of FIG. 17(i), and after a predetermined time has passed, the valve 7282 is closed in the process of FIG. 17(j). As a result, part of the hot water stored in the storage part 726 (for example, about 30 cc) flows into the extraction vessel 9 for steaming in S11, as indicated by the dashed arrow.

FIGS. 17(k) to 17(l) show the mode of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 corresponding to the first main extraction pouring S121. After the ground beans have been steamed, the valve 7282 is opened in the process of FIG. 17(k), and after a predetermined time has passed, the valve 7282 is closed in the process of FIG. 17(l). As a result, part of the remaining hot water in the reservoir 726 (for example, about 40 cc) flows into the extraction container 9 as indicated by the dashed arrow.

Although not shown here, S13 to S17 are performed after the step of FIG. 17(l). Although the details will be described later, in S13 of this example, the inside of the extraction container 9 is pressurized and molten metal is poured (for example, about 30 cc).

FIG. 17(m) shows a mode of the liquid feeding amount adjusting device 720 corresponding to the second main extraction pouring S122. By opening the valve 7282 in the step of FIG. 17(m), the remaining hot water (for example, about 80 cc) in the reservoir 726 additionally flows into the extraction container 9 as illustrated by the dashed arrow. becomes. As described above, S122 is performed substantially at the same time as S17, and the hot water flowing into the extraction container 9 is used mainly for permeation extraction without being substantially used for immersion extraction.

S17 is then completed when substantially all of the beverage has been delivered from the brewing vessel 9 to the cup. Here, after S122 and before completion of S17, steam in reservoirs 725 and 726 and air pressure from compressor 70 can optionally be used to facilitate delivery of the beverage. The steam in the reservoirs 725 and 726 can be generated in the same procedure as in S102 (steps of FIGS. 16(d) to 16(e)). That is, in the step of FIG. 17(n), steam is generated in the reservoirs 725 and 726 by reducing the pressure in the reservoirs 725 and 726 and boiling hot water, and the steam is sent to the extraction vessel 9 through the pipe 728c. supply. At this time, the hot water in the reservoirs 725 and 726 is appropriately agitated, and the heater 72a can be driven as necessary, as in the process of FIG. 16(d). After that, the valve 7282 is closed in the process of FIG. 17(O) to stop the supply of the steam. In addition, when accelerating the delivery of the beverage, the inside of the extraction container 9 can be adjusted to, for example, about 1.6 to 2 atmospheres.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining how the atmospheric pressure in the extraction container 9 changes during the extraction process S3'. The horizontal axis indicates the time axis, indicating the periods T1 to T11 and also indicates the steps (S11, etc.) corresponding to the periods T1 to T11. The vertical axis indicates the atmospheric pressure (or pressure) P inside the extraction container 9 in each of the periods T1 to T11.

The period T1-T2 is a period corresponding to pouring S11 for steaming. During period T1, the inside of the extraction vessel 9 is pressurized to approximately 1.8 atmospheres, and hot water (approximately 30 cc) for steaming is flowed into the extraction vessel 9 . The timing at which hot water flows into the extraction container 9 may be any time within the period T1, but may be preset or selected by the user, or may be changed according to the type of beverage. After that, the ground beans are steamed using this hot water. This period (about 15 seconds) is defined as a period T2.

A period T3 is a period corresponding to the first pouring S121. During the period T3, the inside of the extraction container 9 is pressurized to 3 atmospheres, and hot water for main extraction (about 40 cc) is flowed into the extraction container 9 in S121.

A period T4 is a period corresponding to pressurization S13 in the extraction container 9 . During period T4, the inside of the extraction vessel 9 is pressurized to 5 atmospheres, and hot water (approximately 30 cc) flows into the extraction vessel 9.

Here, the amount of molten metal to be poured can be adjusted between periods T3 and T4, and, for example, pouring of about 70 cc may be completed in period T3. The periods T3 and T4 are common in that pouring is performed while pressurizing the inside of the extraction container 9, but in this example, the pressurization modes are different from each other. For example, during the pressurization in the period T3 to T4, the pressurization mode becomes moderate in the middle (P=3 atm or so). For example, the timing between periods T3 and T4 may be defined as an inflection point of air pressure P. By controlling or adjusting the pressurization mode during the period T3 to T4, it may be possible to expand the range of tastes, flavors, etc. that can be expressed for the beverage obtained in the subsequent step of immersion extraction S14. be.

A period T5 is a period corresponding to the immersion extraction S14. After the inside of the extraction vessel 9 reaches 5 atmospheres, that state is maintained. This period (about 1 second) is defined as a period T5. As a result, coffee liquid, which is a beverage liquid, is extracted from the ground beans to be extracted.

Periods T6 to T8 are periods corresponding to the pressure reduction S15 in the extraction container 9 . During the period T6 to T7, the pressure reduction is performed in two steps. In the period T6, first, the inside of the extraction vessel 9 is reduced from 5 atmospheres to 1.5 atmospheres in a relatively short time (rapid pressure reduction), and then waited for a predetermined period (about 3 seconds). Next, in a period T7, the inside of the extraction container 9 is depressurized to 1 atmospheric pressure, and then waited for a predetermined period (about 1 second).

As described above, the liquid in the extraction vessel 9 is boiled and stirred by the reduced pressure S15. According to the decompression mode of this example, first, part of the liquid in the extraction vessel 9 is boiled and stirred by the first stage decompression in the period T6, and then the extraction vessel 9 is boiled by the second stage decompression in the period T7. Other portions of the liquid in 9 can also be boiled and stirred. Therefore, for example, it is possible to properly agitate the entire liquid in the brewing vessel 9, which may be advantageous, for example, when the brewed beverage has uneven concentration, composition, or the like. After that, the inside of the extraction vessel 9 is returned to 1.5 atmospheric pressure in a period T8 to stabilize the boiling, and the liquid (for example, about 5 cc) that may remain in the flow path (pipes L2, L3, etc.) is forced into the extraction vessel 9.

The period T9 is the reversal S16 of the extraction container 9 and the subsequent waiting period (about 2 seconds). It should be noted that the timing at which the period T9 starts corresponds to the timing at which the inversion S16 is executed. In the period T9, the ground beans to be extracted are piled up in the lower portion of the extraction container 9 turned over in S16 with a relatively large thickness. Moreover, in the period T9, the inside of the extraction container 9 is decompressed to 1 atmospheric pressure.

The period T10-T11 corresponds to the permeation extraction S17, whereby the beverage is delivered from the extraction container 9 to the cup. As described above, the second hot water pouring S122 is performed substantially at the same time as S17, and the hot water (approximately 80 cc) additionally flowing into the extraction container 9 is mainly used for permeation extraction.

In this example, the inside of the extraction container 9 is pressurized to 1.6 atmospheres after, for example, S122 in the period T10, and the inside of the extraction container 9 is pressurized to 2 atmospheres in the subsequent period T11 to promote delivery of the beverage. During period T10, steam in reservoirs 725 and 726 is used to facilitate delivery of the beverage, and during period T11 air pressure from compressor 70 is used to facilitate delivery of the beverage. This allows all of the beverage to be delivered (including the liquid in the flow path) to be provided in the cup adequately and in a relatively short time. FIG. 19 is a waveform obtained by adding a dashed line to FIG. 18 to show the amount of hot water in the extraction container 9 (how the amount of hot water changes) that changes over time. In this example, a total of approximately 185 cc of beverage will be provided.

More specifically, each of the above-described periods T1 and the like is associated with each step such as S11 or its substeps and summarized as follows. Namely
Period T1: Pouring step for steaming,
Period T2: steaming process,
Period T3: first pouring process,
Period T4: pressurization step,
Period T5: high pressure immersion step,
Period T6: rapid pressure reduction step after high pressure immersion, or
atmosphere release step (first half) for releasing the inside of the extraction container 9 to the atmosphere;
Period T7: rapid decompression process after standby state, or
atmosphere release step (second half) for releasing the inside of the extraction container 9 to the atmosphere;
Period T8: a standby step of waiting for the liquid remaining in the channel to flow into the extraction container 9;
Period T9: container orientation change process (container reversal process), and
a waiting step of waiting for the completion of deposition of the object to be extracted in the extraction container 9;
Period T10: second pouring step,
Beverage delivery process (first half), or
a beverage delivery enhancement step using steam;
Period T11: Beverage delivery step (second half), or
Beverage delivery enhancement step using pneumatic pressure;
becomes.

Here, the periods T1 to T11 are schematically illustrated with equal lengths, but they can be displayed on the actual information display device 12 at intervals corresponding to the actual length of time (described later). The same applies to other figures.).

In FIG. 19, in addition to the target values (or set values) of the air pressure in the extraction container 9 and the amount of hot water that change with the passage of time, information is displayed on how these actual values change. It may additionally be plotted on the device 12 (see FIG. 1, etc.). As a result, if the user is a purchaser of beverages or the like, it may be possible to make the user wait without getting bored. Also, if the user is an administrator of the device 1, the user may be able to confirm whether or not the device 1 is properly manufacturing beverages.

FIG. 20 shows, as information that can be displayed on the information display device 12 during beverage production, the actual values of the air pressure and the amount of hot water in the extraction container 9 superimposed on the target values over time (in real time). Shows how it is plotted. That is, FIG. 20 is obtained by adding to FIG. 19 waveforms showing changes in actual values of the air pressure and the amount of hot water in the extraction container 9 . These actual values can be measured as actual values by a pressure sensor and a temperature sensor. In the figure, the solid line shows how the target value of the air pressure inside the extraction container 9 changes when one cup of beverage is brewed, and the dashed line shows how the measured value of the air pressure inside the extraction container 9 changes. . A dashed line indicates a variation of the target value of the amount of hot water in the extraction container 9 , and a two-dot chain line indicates a variation of the measured value of the amount of hot water in the extraction container 9 .

In the example of FIG. 20, the process at the present time is in the middle of period T6 (S15), and the air pressure in the extraction container 9 and the measured value of the amount of hot water are plotted from period T1 to that point (in the middle of period T6). indicate that Here, the measured value of the air pressure in the extraction container 9 at this point is 1.2 atmospheres, and the measured value of the amount of hot water is 100 cc. In addition, the actual measurement values are continuously plotted in subsequent steps. According to such a display mode, when the actual measurement value does not reach the target value or when the actual measurement value deviates greatly from the target value, the user is notified of the occurrence of leakage in the flow path and the formation of the flow path. This makes it possible to promptly respond to malfunctions of each element (piping, valves, etc.).

FIG. 20 illustrates a mode in which the information display device 12 shows the target values of the atmospheric pressure and the amount of hot water in the extraction container 9, and how these measured values change. 12. For example, changes may be shown only for the target value and actual measurement value of atmospheric pressure, or changes may be shown only for target value and actual measurement value of the amount of hot water. Alternatively, calculation results of the target value and actual measurement value (for example, state of change in deviation amount thereof) may be displayed.

A plurality of patterns are prepared in advance for changing the target values of the air pressure in the extraction container 9 and the amount of hot water, and the user can select one of them according to his/her preference. . Information indicating the plurality of patterns may be stored in advance in the storage unit 11b (see FIG. 10), or may be acquired from the server 16 via the communication network 15, for example. Further, the selection by the user can be realized by the information display device 12, which is a touch panel display.

Further, when one cup of beverage is extracted, changes in the target values and actual measurements of the air pressure and the amount of hot water in the extraction container 9 are displayed on the information display device 12 over the entire period T1 to T11. can be stored in the storage unit 11b, for example. Therefore, the user can display the information again by performing a predetermined operation via the information display device 12 as necessary. Thereby, the user can also confirm, for example, changes in the target values and the actual measurement values in the past beverage production.

FIG. 21 shows all of a series of changes in the air pressure in the extraction vessel 9 and the amount of hot water actually measured after the completion of the extraction (after the beverage production is completed), that is, after the period T11 (after S17 and S122). indicates that is being plotted. After being stored in the storage unit 11b, the information indicating the plotted results can be read from the storage unit 11b at any timing by a predetermined operation input by the user. It can be displayed on the display device 12 again. Although the details will be described later, for example, when the user produces a new beverage on another occasion, the user can refer to the plot result as a past beverage production history and use it as a beverage production recipe. .

The above plot results are displayed here in a line graph format (line/curve graph format or timing chart format in a broad sense) with the horizontal axis as the time axis. Since the plotted results are displayed on the information display device 12, which is a touch panel display, the user can check the pressure inside the extraction vessel 9 and the amount of hot water by performing predetermined operation inputs on the information display device 12. can be changed to a desired value. The operation input to the information display device 12 includes a touch operation, and typical examples thereof include a tap operation, a flick operation, a swipe operation, a pinch-in operation (pinch operation), a pinch-out operation (stretch operation), a slide operation, and the like. mentioned. Note that the concept of the tap operation also includes a double tap operation, a long tap operation, and the like.

FIG. 22 shows, as an example, a mode of changing the target value of the air pressure inside the extraction container 9 during the period T2 (steaming step S11). After a line graph similar to that of FIG. 21 is displayed on the information display device 12, a touch operation is input to the line graph of the target values in response to an operation input for starting to change the target values. becomes possible. At this time, the line graph of the measured values may be hidden, or the display mode (for example, display color, density, etc.) may be changed. Thereafter, for example, the user inputs a downward flicking operation on the line graph of the target value, starting from point P1 indicating the target value (1.8 atm) in period T2, thereby setting the target value. It can be changed to a lower value (eg 1.5 atm). In the drawing, a light gray solid line indicates a line graph indicating the target value of the pressure inside the extraction container 9 before the change.

Note that when an upward flick operation is input from the point P1, the target value is changed to a higher value. Also, the target value is changed based on the operation amount. For example, when the operation amount is increased, the target value is changed greatly.

In this way, the user can display the plotted result of the past beverage production history as a line graph on the information display device 12, and then perform a predetermined operation input on the displayed line graph. Thereby, the user can change the target value to a desired value, and use the target value after the change as a beverage manufacturing recipe when manufacturing a new beverage on another occasion. That is, the user can refer to the past beverage production history to change the production process including the extraction process to a desired aspect, and can produce a new beverage with quality according to taste. The information indicating the target value (or line graph) after the change can be stored in the storage unit 11b, and the line graph indicating the target value after the change is displayed on the information display device 12 by a predetermined operation by the user thereafter. It can be displayed again.

FIG. 22 illustrates a mode of changing the target value of the air pressure inside the extraction container 9, but the subject of change is not limited to this.

FIG. 23 shows another example of changing the length of the period T2. After a touch operation can be input on the line graph of the target value by the same procedure as the example in FIG. can be entered. Point P2 corresponds to the boundary between periods T2-T3 in FIG. In response to the input of the flick operation, the length of the period T2 is changed from 15 seconds to 10 seconds, for example. In the figure, the point P2 is on the line of the line graph, but the point P2 may be the boundary between the periods T2 and T3 in FIG. 22 and may not be on the line of the line graph.

In the drawing, a light gray solid line indicates the target value of the pressure inside the extraction container 9 before change, and a light gray dashed line indicates the target value of the amount of hot water before change. show. In this embodiment, the period T3 is lengthened by shortening the period T2, and the mode of the first pouring S121 is changed. For example, as the amount of pressure increase per unit time in the extraction container 9 in S121 becomes smaller, the amount of molten metal poured into the extraction container 9 per unit time becomes smaller, that is, the pressure is relatively moderate and the molten metal is poured. It will happen.

As another embodiment, it is possible to change only the period T2 and leave the period T3 and thereafter as they are (no change). In this case, another touch operation may be input to distinguish between changing methods.

As exemplified in FIG. 24, the change target may be the target value of the amount of hot water in the extraction container 9 . After a touch operation can be input to the line graph of the target value by the same procedure as the example of FIG. can be entered. A point P3 indicates a target value for the amount of hot water during the period T5-T6. In response to the input of the flick operation, the target value is changed from 100cc to 90cc, for example. In the drawing, a light gray dashed line indicates a line graph indicating the pre-change target value for the amount of hot water in the extraction container 9 .

In this way, the user can refer to past beverage production histories to change the production process for each step and for each item as desired, and can make various changes in the same procedure. For example, the user can change the target values in the periods T1 to T11 and/or the individual lengths of the periods T1 to T11, as well as change other parameters. The target value of the hot water temperature in the container 9 can be changed.

FIG. 25 shows target values of hot water temperature in the extraction container 9 during periods T1 to T11 as the other parameters displayed on the information display device 12. FIG. The user can change the target value of hot water temperature to a desired value in order to make the taste, flavor, etc. of the beverage his/her favorite. In the beverage manufacturing apparatus 1, the hot water in the water tank 72 can be cooled by supplying cold water to the water tank 72, or the hot water in the water tank 72 can be heated by driving the heater 72a. By allowing the cooled or heated hot water to flow into the extraction vessel 9, the measured value of the temperature of the hot water in the extraction vessel 9 can be brought closer to the target value.

The hot water temperature can be measured by providing a temperature sensor in the extraction vessel 9 . As in FIG. 20, the hot water temperature measured in this way can be superimposed on the hot water temperature target value and plotted over time. Information indicating the hot water temperature plot results is stored in the storage section 11b, and can be read out from the storage section 11b by a predetermined operation by the user, in the same manner as the plot results for the atmospheric pressure in the extraction container 9 and the amount of hot water.

In the examples of FIGS. 19 to 25 described above, the plot results are displayed on the information display device 12 in the form of line graphs with the horizontal axis as the time axis, but they can also be displayed in other forms. Examples of other display formats include flat data (also referred to as lists, tables, etc.) displayed in a matrix format. For example, after the line graph showing the plot result is displayed on the information display device 12, the corresponding flat data is displayed on the information display device 12 in response to an operation input for changing the display format. can be The switching of the display format can be performed at any timing, for example, before the start of beverage production (before period T1), or during beverage production (between periods T1 and T11). Alternatively, it may be performed after completion of beverage production (after period T11).

FIG. 26 shows the flat data D11 before the start of beverage production (before period T1), that is, the flat data D11 corresponding to FIG. 19 in which the measured values are not displayed. FIG. 27 shows the flat data D12 during beverage production (during the period T1 to T11), that is, the flat data D12 corresponding to FIG. FIG. 28 shows flat data D13 after completion of beverage production (after period T11), that is, flat data D13 corresponding to FIG.

For example, as shown in the flat data D11 of FIG. 26, the name of the process corresponding to each of the periods T1 to T11, the time (length of the period), and the atmospheric pressure and the amount of hot water in the extraction vessel 9 during that period Target and actual values are displayed separately. In the flat data D11, since it is before the start of beverage production (before the period T1), the measured values for both the air pressure in the extraction container 9 and the amount of hot water are indicated as "not yet." During the production of the beverage (periods T1 to T11), as shown in the flat data D12 of FIG. They will be displayed in order accordingly. After completion of beverage production (after period T11), as shown in flat data D13 in FIG. 28, the measured values are displayed for all periods T1 to T11.

Although omitted here for simplification of explanation, the target value and actual measurement value of hot water temperature described with reference to FIG. 25 may also be displayed together as flat data D11 to D13.

The changes in the target values and the like described with reference to FIGS. 22 to 25 can also be realized in the display mode in the matrix format. For example, in a state where the flat data D11 (see FIG. 26) is displayed on the information display device 12, the user can make a desired change to an item desired to be changed by a predetermined touch operation. For example, when the user makes the same change as in FIG. 22 in the display mode in the matrix format, the user performs a tap operation, a flick operation, or the like for the time "15 seconds" corresponding to the period T2 of the flat data D11. , for example, "10 seconds". That is, regardless of the display format of the information display device 12, the user can change the target values and the like.

The user can return the changed flat data D11 to the line graph display again, and can visually confirm whether or not the change in the target value has been appropriately reflected. Information indicating the target value (or line graph or flat data) after change is stored in the storage unit 11b as a beverage manufacturing recipe, or can be read from the storage unit 11b at any timing by a predetermined operation by the user. do. Note that the storage unit 11b can store a plurality of beverage manufacturing recipes, and each recipe can be given a data name according to flavor and the like.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, immersion extraction is performed by pressurizing the inside of the extraction container 9 in S13 (period T4) in a state in which ground beans to be extracted and hot water as a liquid are stored in the extraction container 9. After that, the pressure is reduced in S15 (period T6, etc.) to stir the beverage and the liquid. After that, the inside of the extraction container 9 is pressurized in S17 (period T10, etc.), and the beverage obtained by the stirring is delivered to the cup C. The user can set or change the target value so that the air pressure in the extraction container 9 in each step becomes the desired pressure, thereby allowing the user to set the extraction mode and the associated quality such as the taste and flavor of the beverage according to the user's preference. It is possible to improve the quality of the beverage by making it suitable for the

FIGS. 29-32 show flat data D21-D24, respectively, as some examples of other beverage manufacturing recipes. The flat data D21 in FIG. 29 is mainly the above flat data in that the air pressure in the extraction container 9 is relatively low during the transmission extraction S17 and the second pouring S122 (period T10 to T11). Different from D11. The flat data D22 of FIG. 30 differs from the above flat data D11 mainly in that the steaming step S11 (periods T1 to T2) is omitted and the first pouring S121 (period T3) is carried out for a relatively long time. . The flat data D23 of FIG. 31 differs from the flat data D11 mainly in that the air pressure is relatively high when the pressure inside the extraction vessel 9 is reduced (period T6) after the immersion extraction S14. The flat data D24 in FIG. 32 differs from the flat data D11 mainly in that the pressure inside the extraction container 9 is relatively low during the immersion extraction S14. The user may select one of these flat data D21 to D24 so that the flavor (bitterness, sourness, etc.) that can be added to the beverage will suit his/her taste, or may partially combine the flat data D11 with the flat data D11. It is also possible to adjust the flavor by

The present invention is not limited to the several aspects and examples shown above, and the contents thereof can be combined with each other without departing from the scope of the present invention. may be changed intentionally. In addition, it goes without saying that the individual terms described in this specification are only used for the purpose of describing the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the strict meanings of the terms. It can also include equivalents thereof. For example, expressions such as “apparatus” and “department” may be rephrased as “unit” and “module”.

<Other embodiments>
In the above embodiment, coffee beverages are exclusively targeted, but various beverages such as teas such as Japanese tea and black tea, and soups can also be targeted. In addition, as extraction targets, coffee beans, raw coffee beans, ground coffee beans, roasted coffee beans, ground roasted coffee beans, unroasted coffee beans, ground unroasted coffee beans Beans, powdered coffee beans, instant coffee, coffee in pods, etc. have been exemplified, coffee beverages etc. have been exemplified as beverages, and coffee liquid has been exemplified as beverage liquids, but are not limited to these. In addition, extraction targets include tea leaves such as Japanese tea, black tea, and oolong tea, ground tea leaves, vegetables, crushed vegetables, fruits, crushed fruits, grains, crushed grains, mushrooms such as shiitake mushrooms, and mushrooms such as shiitake mushrooms. mushrooms such as shiitake mushrooms that have been dried after heating, mushrooms such as shiitake mushrooms that have been heated and dried and crushed, fish such as bonito, crushed fish such as bonito, bonito Fish that has been dried after heating, such as bonito, that has been dried after heating and then pulverized, Seaweed such as kelp, Crushed seaweed such as kelp, Heated seaweed such as kelp Products that have been dried after heating, products that have been dried after heating seaweed such as kombu and pulverized, products that have been dried after heating meat such as beef, pork, and chicken, products that have been dried after heating pulverized, beef bones, pig bones, bird bones, etc. dried after heating, and pulverized dried bones after heating. , Beverages such as Japanese tea, black tea, oolong tea, vegetable juice, fruit juice, soup, soup stock, soup, etc. Beverages include Japanese tea extract, black tea extract, oolong tea extract, vegetable extract , fruit extract, mushroom extract, fish extract, meat extract, bone extract and the like. In addition, although water, tap water, purified water, hot water, and washing water are described in the examples, any description may be changed, for example, water may be replaced with hot water or hot water may be replaced with water. It may be replaced by description, and all may be replaced by liquid, steam, hot water, cooling water, cold water, and the like. For example, if it is a description that the object to be extracted (for example, ground roasted coffee beans) and hot water are put in the extraction container 9, the object to be extracted (for example, ground roasted coffee beans) and cold water (simply water may be used). It may be replaced with the description of placing in the extraction container 9, and in this case, it may be regarded as an extraction method for cold brew coffee or the like or a beverage production apparatus.

<Summary of embodiment>
The above-described embodiments disclose the following devices or methods.

A1. An extraction method for extracting a beverage (e.g. coffee liquid) from an extraction target (e.g. ground beans),
a first pressurization step (for example, S13, T4) of pressurizing the inside of the extraction container (for example, 9) containing the extraction target and the liquid (for example, hot water);
a depressurization step (for example, S15, T6) of depressurizing the inside of the extraction vessel;
A second pressurization step (for example, S17, T10) for pressurizing the inside of the extraction container,
An extraction method characterized by
By changing the pressure in the extraction container, it is possible to adjust the extraction mode and the associated quality such as the taste and flavor of the beverage according to the user's preference, thereby improving the quality of the beverage.

A2. In the first pressurization step, the inside of the extraction vessel is pressurized to a first pressure (for example, 3 atm),
In the second pressurization step, the inside of the extraction vessel is pressurized to a second pressure (for example, 1.6 to 2 atmospheres),
the first pressure is higher than the second pressure;
An extraction method characterized by
By applying a relatively high first pressure inside the brewing container, it is possible to improve the brewing efficiency of the beverage.

A3. In the second pressurization step, the inside of the extraction vessel is pressurized by sending steam into the extraction vessel.
An extraction method characterized by
This allows the steam to spread evenly in the extraction vessel and heat the entire extraction vessel uniformly.

A4. The decompression step is performed by releasing the inside of the extraction vessel to the atmosphere.
An extraction method characterized by
As a result, the inside of the extraction container can be depressurized relatively easily.

A5. A steaming step (for example, S11, T2) of steaming the extraction object in the extraction container by pressurizing the inside of the extraction container before the first pressurization step,
An extraction method characterized by
By steaming the object to be extracted, it becomes possible to enhance the extraction effect in the subsequent extraction.

A6. Before the second pressurization step, including a posture change step (for example, S16, T9) of changing the posture of the extraction container while maintaining the atmospheric pressure in the extraction container,
An extraction method characterized by
As a result, it may be possible to attract the user's interest and entertain the user.

A7. In the first pressurizing step, the beverage is extracted from the extraction target,
In the decompression step, the liquid is boiled and the liquid and the beverage are stirred,
In the second pressurizing step, a beverage (e.g., coffee beverage) obtained by agitating the liquid and the beverage is delivered from the brewing container.
An extraction method characterized by
As a result, after the beverage is extracted while the inside of the extraction container is pressurized, the inside of the extraction container is decompressed to agitate the beverage and the liquid to eliminate unevenness between them. After that, the beverage obtained by the stirring can be appropriately provided by pressurizing the inside of the extraction container again and delivering it.

A8. An extraction device (e.g. 3) for extracting a beverage (e.g. coffee liquid) from an extraction target (e.g. ground beans),
a first pressurizing means (for example, S13, 73b, etc.) for pressurizing the inside of the extraction container (for example, 9) containing the extraction target and the liquid (for example, hot water);
decompression means (for example, S15, 73c, etc.) for decompressing the inside of the extraction vessel;
A second pressurizing means (for example, S17, 73b, etc.) that pressurizes the inside of the extraction container,
An extraction device characterized by
By changing the pressure in the extraction container, it is possible to adjust the extraction mode and the associated quality such as the taste and flavor of the beverage according to the user's preference, thereby improving the quality of the beverage.

A9. The first pressurizing means pressurizes the inside of the extraction container to a first pressure (for example, 3 atm),
The second pressurizing means pressurizes the inside of the extraction container to a second pressure (for example, 1.6 to 2 atm),
the first pressure is higher than the second pressure;
An extraction device characterized by
By applying a relatively high first pressure inside the brewing container, it is possible to improve the brewing efficiency of the beverage.

A10. The second pressurizing means pressurizes the inside of the extraction container by sending steam into the extraction container.
An extraction device characterized by
This allows the steam to spread evenly in the extraction vessel and heat the entire extraction vessel uniformly.

A11. The decompression means decompresses the inside of the extraction vessel by releasing the inside of the extraction vessel to the atmosphere.
An extraction device characterized by
As a result, the inside of the extraction container can be depressurized relatively easily.

A12. steaming means (for example, S11, 72i, etc.) for steaming the extraction object in the extraction vessel by pressurizing the inside of the extraction vessel before the pressurization by the first pressurization means;
An extraction device characterized by
By steaming the object to be extracted, it becomes possible to enhance the extraction effect in the subsequent extraction.

A13. Posture changing means (for example, S16, 8, 8B) for changing the posture of the extraction container while maintaining the atmospheric pressure in the extraction container before the pressurization by the second pressurization means,
An extraction device characterized by
As a result, it may be possible to attract the user's interest and entertain the user.

A14. The first pressurizing means extracts the beverage from the extraction target by the pressurization in the extraction container,
The decompression means boils the liquid by the decompression in the extraction vessel and agitates the liquid and the beverage,
The second pressurizing means delivers a beverage (for example, a coffee beverage) obtained by stirring the beverage and the liquid from the brewing container by the pressurization in the brewing container,
An extraction device characterized by
As a result, after the beverage is extracted while the inside of the extraction container is pressurized, the inside of the extraction container is decompressed to agitate the beverage and the liquid to eliminate unevenness between them. After that, the beverage obtained by the stirring can be appropriately provided by pressurizing the inside of the extraction container again and delivering it.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, to publicize the scope of the invention, the following claims are included.

Claims (12)

An extraction method for extracting a beverage from an object to be extracted,
a first pressurization step of pressurizing the inside of the extraction container containing the extraction target and the liquid (hereinafter referred to as "the inside of the extraction container ") ;
a decompression step of decompressing the inside of the extraction vessel;
a second pressurization step of pressurizing the inside of the extraction vessel ,
The decompression step is performed by releasing the inside of the extraction vessel to the atmosphere.
An extraction method characterized by: An extraction method for extracting a beverage from an object to be extracted,
a first pressurization step of pressurizing the inside of the extraction container containing the extraction target and the liquid (hereinafter referred to as "the inside of the extraction container");
a decompression step of decompressing the inside of the extraction vessel;
a second pressurization step of pressurizing the inside of the extraction vessel,
In the second pressurization step, the inside of the extraction vessel is pressurized by sending steam into the extraction vessel.
An extraction method characterized by: An extraction method for extracting a beverage from an object to be extracted,
a first pressurization step of pressurizing the inside of the extraction container containing the extraction target and the liquid (hereinafter referred to as "the inside of the extraction container");
a decompression step of decompressing the inside of the extraction vessel;
a second pressurization step of pressurizing the inside of the extraction vessel;
an attitude changing step of changing the attitude of the extraction container while maintaining the atmospheric pressure in the extraction container before the second pressurizing step;
An extraction method characterized by: The extraction method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
In the first pressurization step, the inside of the extraction vessel is pressurized to a first pressure,
The inside of the extraction container is pressurized to a second pressure in the second pressurization step,
the first pressure is higher than the second pressure;
An extraction method characterized by: The extraction method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
Before the first pressurizing step, a steaming step of steaming the extraction object in the extraction container by pressurizing the inside of the extraction container,
An extraction method characterized by: The extraction method according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
In the first pressurizing step, the beverage is extracted from the extraction target,
In the decompression step, the liquid is boiled and the liquid and the beverage are stirred,
In the second pressurizing step, a beverage obtained by agitating the liquid and the beverage is delivered from the brewing container.
An extraction method characterized by: An extraction device for extracting a beverage from an object to be extracted,
a first pressurizing means for pressurizing the inside of the extraction container containing the object to be extracted and the liquid (hereinafter referred to as "the inside of the extraction container ") ;
decompression means for decompressing the inside of the extraction vessel;
and a second pressurizing means for pressurizing the inside of the extraction container,
The decompression means decompresses the inside of the extraction vessel by releasing the inside of the extraction vessel to the atmosphere .
An extraction device characterized by: An extraction device for extracting a beverage from an object to be extracted,
a first pressurizing means for pressurizing the inside of the extraction container containing the object to be extracted and the liquid (hereinafter referred to as "the inside of the extraction container");
decompression means for decompressing the inside of the extraction vessel;
and a second pressurizing means for pressurizing the inside of the extraction container,
The second pressurizing means pressurizes the inside of the extraction container by sending steam into the extraction container.
An extraction device characterized by: An extraction device for extracting a beverage from an object to be extracted,
a first pressurizing means for pressurizing the inside of the extraction container containing the object to be extracted and the liquid (hereinafter referred to as "the inside of the extraction container");
decompression means for decompressing the inside of the extraction vessel;
a second pressurizing means for pressurizing the inside of the extraction container;
posture changing means for changing the posture of the extraction container while maintaining the atmospheric pressure in the extraction container before pressurizing the inside of the extraction container by the second pressurizing means;
An extraction device characterized by: The extraction device according to any one of claims 7 to 9 ,
The first pressurizing means pressurizes the inside of the extraction container to a first pressure,
The second pressurizing means pressurizes the inside of the extraction container to a second pressure,
the first pressure is higher than the second pressure;
An extraction device characterized by: The extraction device according to any one of claims 7 to 10 ,
steaming means for steaming the extraction object in the extraction container by pressurizing the inside of the extraction container before pressurizing the inside of the extraction container by the first pressurizing means;
An extraction device characterized by: The extraction device according to any one of claims 7 to 11 ,
The first pressurizing means extracts the beverage from the object to be extracted by pressurizing the inside of the extraction container,
The decompression means boils the liquid by reducing the pressure in the extraction container to agitate the liquid and the beverage,
The second pressurizing means delivers a beverage obtained by stirring the liquid and the beverage liquid from the brewing container by pressurizing the inside of the brewing container.
An extraction device characterized by:

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