JP2002308394A - Operation control method of beverage cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] Operation control for a frozen beverage dispenser equipped with a plurality of beverage containers, which can effectively respond to beverage replenishment, changes in ambient temperature, etc. by effectively utilizing the cooling capacity of a small capacity refrigerator. Provide the law. A refrigerator built in each of a plurality of beverage containers is connected in parallel to a single refrigerator condensing unit to configure a refrigeration cycle, and the refrigerator operates to cool liquid beverages contained in each beverage container. In the beverage cooling device configured to keep the temperature at a predetermined temperature, a temperature sensor is arranged for each beverage container to detect a beverage temperature, and a cooling request is issued from each beverage container based on a detection signal of the temperature sensor. In an operating state, until the beverage temperature of each beverage container falls below a predetermined temperature, the cooling device is periodically switched between the beverage containers to perform an alternate cooling operation, and the beverage temperature of each beverage container is below a predetermined temperature. If so, the operation control is performed such that the coolers of the beverage containers are simultaneously cooled.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for controlling the operation of a beverage cooling device applied to a frozen beverage dispenser for producing a sherbet-shaped frozen beverage by stirring syrup and ice shaving, or a machine for making frozen desserts such as soft ice cream. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned frozen beverage dispenser is for producing a sherbet-shaped frozen beverage by mixing air while cooling, stirring and freezing syrup and dilution water in a tank. FIG. 4 shows an example of a frozen beverage dispenser for producing a frozen beverage, and FIGS. 5 and 6 show a beverage system circuit and a refrigerant circuit of a refrigeration cycle, respectively.

First, in FIG. 4, reference numeral 1 denotes a beverage container which is arranged side by side and serves as a beverage production unit mounted on a dispenser main body, 1a is an upper lid, and 2 is a beverage supply nozzle with an opening / closing lever which is drawn forward from each beverage container 1. Reference numeral 3 denotes a bend stage, which is a refrigeration cycle in which each beverage container 1 is combined with a single cooling unit (condensing unit of a refrigerator combining a compressor and a condenser) 4 mounted on a dispenser body inside the container. And a cooling cylinder (cooler) 5 for ice making. Furthermore, top cover 1
A syrup nozzle 6 that opens to a syrup supply line and a dilution water supply line described below is opened inside a.

The cooling cylinder 5 is a cylindrical evaporator (a refrigerant flows between the inner and outer double walls and freezes on the inner and outer peripheral surfaces thereof). An auger (evaporator of the evaporator) is provided on the inner and outer peripheral surfaces thereof. Screw-type stirring blades 51, 52 also serving as blades for shaving ice frozen on the surface into flakes are combined, and the stirring blades 51, 52 are connected to the gear box 7a of the drive motor 7 to rotate and drive. The ice frozen on the surface of 5 is scraped off, mixed with the beverage contained in the beverage container 1 and stirred, and when the beverage supply nozzle 2 is opened, the frozen beverage is pushed out from the nozzle by the conveying force of the stirring blade. In the beverage container 1, in addition to the cooling cylinder 5, a liquid level switch for detecting the amount of the beverage in the tank to control the supply of syrup and dilution water, and a hardness detecting mechanism for detecting the hardness of the frozen beverage Equipped.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a beverage system of the dispenser. In the figure, A is the dispenser body described above, B is a beverage automatic supply unit combined with the dispenser body A,
Reference numeral 8 denotes a syrup container containing a beverage (concentrated syrup), 9 denotes a carbon dioxide gas cylinder for applying a carbon dioxide pressure to the syrup container 8 to extract the syrup in a pressure-rise manner, 10 denotes a water tap, and a beverage automatic supply unit B A syrup supply line 11 that connects the syrup nozzle 6 and the syrup container 8 arranged in each of the beverage containers 1 to the water supply port 10, a dilution water supply line 12, and the like are incorporated in the apparatus. 11a is a syrup sold-out sensor, 11b
Is a syrup flow regulator, 11c is a syrup valve, 12a is a water inlet valve, 12b is a water pump, 12
c is a dilution water valve, 12d is a water flow regulator, 1
2e is a water valve for sanitation, and 12f is a three-way pipe joint with a check valve.

FIG. 6 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of a refrigeration cycle composed of the cooling unit 4 and a cooling cylinder 5 built in each beverage container 1. The cooling unit 4 includes a compressor 4a and a condenser (condenser) 4b. , Strainer 4
c, an accumulator 4d, etc., and a cooling cylinder 5 built in the two beverage containers 1 (I, II) in the cooling unit 4 includes a capillary tube (or expansion valve) 13,
A refrigeration cycle is configured by connecting the refrigerant valves 14 (I, II) and the check valve 15 in parallel via a check valve 15.

In the above configuration, the syrup supply lines 11,
In addition, different types of concentrated syrup and dilution water are supplied to each beverage container 1 of the dispenser main body A through the dilution water supply line 12 by a fixed amount, and the ice formed on the surface of the cooling cylinder 5 is stirred by the operation of the cooling unit 4 as an auger. Feather 5
By stirring the flaked ice and the beverage while shaving them at 1, 52, a sherbet-shaped frozen beverage is produced in the beverage container 1. In the sales standby state, the frozen beverage is circulated in the beverage container 1 via the inside of the cooling cylinder 5 by the conveying force of the stirring blades 51 and 52, and the beverage is supplied to the bend stage 3 by setting a cup. When the container 2 is opened, the frozen beverage is supplied from the beverage container 1 to the cup. Further, when the cooling of the frozen beverage proceeds and exceeds a predetermined hardness, the operation control unit (not shown) stops the operation of the cooling unit 4 based on the signal of the hardness detection mechanism described above, When the frozen beverage starts to melt and soften in this state, the cooling unit 4 is operated to control the operation so that the frozen beverage maintains appropriate hardness.

Here, as described above, with respect to the frozen beverage dispenser on which the two beverage containers 1 are mounted, according to the conventional cooling operation control method, when there is a cooling request from both beverage containers 1 during operation of the dispenser. 6, the cooling valves 5 (I and II) of FIG. 6 are both opened to simultaneously perform the cooling operation of the cooling cylinders 5 of the respective beverage containers 1 so that the beverages contained in the respective beverage containers 1 are simultaneously cooled to produce a frozen beverage. When the cooling operation proceeds and the frozen beverage produced in each beverage container 1 has a predetermined hardness, the operation of the cooling unit 4 is stopped by the detection signal of the hardness detection mechanism described above.

In addition, when the dispenser equipped with the two beverage containers 1 starts operation for producing a new frozen beverage (the liquid beverage contained in each beverage container 1 is at room temperature), the cooling unit 4 In order to avoid applying a large refrigeration load, the cooling cylinders 5 provided for the two beverage containers 1 (I and II) are cooled one by one in order to produce frozen beverages, and the frozen beverages are produced in both beverage containers 1. After the production of the cooling cylinder, there is known an operation control method in which the two cooling cylinders 5 are switched from one-side operation to simultaneous cooling operation (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-75705).

[0010]

By the way, as described above, the cooling cylinders 5 (I and II) built in each of the two beverage containers 1 are connected in parallel to a single cooling unit 4, and cooling requests from the beverage containers are made. In the conventional operation control method in which the cooling cylinders 5 of the respective beverage containers are simultaneously cooled when there is a problem, there are the following problems.

That is, when a large amount of liquid beverage (syrup) is replenished to one of the beverage containers by selling the beverage while the frozen beverage dispenser is operating, the uncooled liquid beverage is placed in one beverage container and the other beverage container is placed in the other beverage container. Contains a frozen beverage cooled to below the ice temperature, which causes a large temperature difference between the beverages contained in both beverage containers 1. In such a situation, when the refrigerant valves 14 of the cooling cylinders 5 incorporated in the respective beverage containers are both opened and the simultaneous cooling operation is performed, the refrigerant flows even though both the refrigerant valves 14 (I and II) are open. The amount of refrigerant flowing through the cooling cylinder 5 on the low temperature side containing the frozen beverage and the amount of refrigerant flowing on the cooling cylinder on the high temperature side containing the liquid beverage are relatively small due to the difference in evaporation pressure in each cooling cylinder. A phenomenon occurs. As a result, in the beverage container to which the liquid beverage is replenished, there may be a problem that the cooling of the cooling cylinder is extremely reduced and the frozen beverage is not manufactured. In addition, such a problem in the cooling operation is more likely to occur as the beverage temperature and the ambient outside temperature are higher due to the relationship between the cooling capacity of the refrigerator and the refrigeration load. In some cases, the condenser (air cooling type) also has a reduced condensing ability, so that the cooling ability of the refrigerator cannot be sufficiently exhibited.

Further, in a system in which a plurality of cooling cylinders 5 (I and II) are simultaneously cooled by a single cooling unit 4, if the capacity of the refrigerator is not sufficient, the refrigeration may be limited depending on the temperature condition of the beverage. There is also a problem that the machine is overloaded, which causes an overload relay built into the compressor of the refrigerator to operate and the refrigerator to stop. Furthermore, in the operation control method (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-75705) in which the cooling cylinders 5 of the two beverage containers 1 are started up one by one at the time of starting operation of the dispenser, one beverage container is first manufactured. It is necessary to produce a frozen beverage in the other beverage container before the frozen frozen beverage is melted. For that purpose, a refrigerator having a large cooling capacity capable of producing a frozen beverage by cooling a liquid beverage contained in a beverage container to an ice temperature or less in a short time as a cooling unit, that is, a compressor having a large capacity is required. In addition, the dispenser becomes large and expensive.

[0013] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is intended for a frozen beverage dispenser equipped with a plurality of beverage containers as described above, and effectively utilizes the cooling capacity of a small-capacity refrigerator. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved operation control method capable of manufacturing a frozen beverage in response to a change of ambient temperature or the like while avoiding overload operation of a refrigerator.

[0014]

According to the present invention, a refrigeration cycle is provided by connecting a cooler built in each of a plurality of beverage containers to a single refrigerator condensing unit in parallel. In the beverage cooling device configured to cool the liquid beverage contained in each beverage container by operation of the refrigerator and keep the beverage at a predetermined temperature, a temperature sensor is arranged for each of the beverage containers to determine the beverage temperature. Detecting, when there is a cooling request from each beverage container, until the beverage temperature of each beverage container falls below the predetermined temperature, the cooling device is periodically switched between the beverage containers to perform alternate cooling operation, and If the beverage temperature of the container is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, the cooling device of each beverage container is controlled to perform the simultaneous cooling operation (claim 1).

According to the present invention, the ambient temperature of the cooling device is detected by an ambient temperature sensor in order to suppress the influence of the ambient temperature by the operation control method. Operates the cooling device of each beverage container alternately (claim 2). Further, in the above operation control method,
According to the present invention, pump-down control is performed when switching the cooling operation of the cooler between the beverage containers to prevent unnecessary stagnation of the refrigerant during the alternate cooling operation and to exert the performance of the refrigerator. Refrigerant remaining in the cooler that has been performing the cooling operation until the cooling operation is recovered to the refrigerator condensing unit side.

According to the above-described operation control method, even when the temperature of the beverage contained in the beverage container is high, such as immediately after the beverage is refilled into the beverage container, and when the ambient outside air temperature is high, each of the coolers of each beverage container can be cooled. Even if the refrigerator has a small capacity, the beverage contained in each beverage container can be cooled to a predetermined cooling temperature without applying an excessive refrigeration load exceeding its cooling capacity by alternately performing the cooling operation by periodically switching the cooling capacity. Can be cooled. In this case, if the operation cycle in the alternating cooling operation is set to a relatively short time, in the above-described frozen beverage dispenser, the cooler cools down next before the frozen beverage produced in the beverage container melts. Since it enters the operation cycle, quality can be maintained. Also, during this alternate cooling operation, by performing pump-down control when the cooling cylinder is switched, unnecessary cooling of the refrigerant can be prevented, and the cooler can be effectively cooled.

When the beverage cools down and the beverage temperature in each container falls below a predetermined value, the cooler of each beverage container is switched to the simultaneous cooling operation so that the beverage can be kept cool at an appropriate temperature, and Since the pump-down control of the refrigerator is not performed during the simultaneous cooling operation, the cooling operation can be efficiently performed by minimizing the loss time in which the refrigerator is not cooled and the unnecessary power consumption.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, taking a frozen beverage dispenser as an example. 1 and 2 are charts of operation control corresponding to Examples 1 and 2 described later, and FIG. 3 shows a refrigerant circuit thereof. In FIG. 3, members corresponding to FIG. The description is omitted.

That is, in the refrigerant circuit shown in FIG. 3, for each of the left and right beverage containers 1 (I and II) mounted on the frozen beverage dispenser, a temperature sensor 16 is disposed inside the container and the beverage in each beverage container 1 is provided. The temperature is detected, and an outside air temperature sensor 17 is disposed outside the beverage container 1 so as to detect the outside air temperature. The detected temperatures of these temperature sensors are taken into an operation control unit (not shown), and Valve 14 connected to a refrigerant circuit leading to each of the cooling cylinders 5
(I, II) is controlled to open and close as described below to cool each cooling cylinder 5 in the alternate cooling / simultaneous cooling operation mode.

[Embodiment 1] First, claims 1 and 3 of the present invention will be described.
1 will be described with reference to the charts shown in FIGS. 1 (a) to 1 (c). That is, the operation control unit sets, for example, an ice temperature (0 ° C.) as a threshold value of the predetermined cooling temperature for the temperature of the beverage contained in each beverage container 1. If there is a cooling request from the left and right beverage containers 1 (I and II) during operation of the frozen beverage dispenser, the temperature sensor 16
Is compared with the threshold value to determine whether the beverage temperature is equal to or less than the threshold value (0 ° C.). If the beverage temperature is higher than 0 ° C., the operation mode of the cooling cylinder 5 is changed to the alternate cooling operation. The left and right refrigerant valves 14 (I, II) are shown in FIG.
The opening and closing of the cooling cylinders 5 are alternately controlled as shown by
The frozen beverage is manufactured by supplying a refrigerant to the beverage container 1 and cooling the beverage contained in the beverage container 1 to an ice temperature or lower by the refrigerating cycle.

In this alternate cooling operation, the refrigerant valves 14 (I, II) are alternately opened one by one at regular intervals, as shown in the figure, so that the refrigerant flows intermittently to the left and right cooling cylinders 5. When the refrigerant valve 14 (I and I) is switched while the compressor 4a of the cooling unit 4 is continuously operated.
I) is temporarily closed to perform pump-down control, and the refrigerant remaining on the cooling cylinder side that has been performing the cooling operation is collected in the condenser 4b of the cooling unit 4 to prevent the refrigerant from stagnation. The switching cycle of the refrigerant valve 14 is set to, for example, about 5 minutes in order to prevent the frozen beverage being manufactured in the beverage container 1 from being melted while the cooling operation of the cooling cylinder 5 is stopped.

On the other hand, in the operating state where there is a cooling request from the left and right beverage containers 1 (I and II), if the beverage temperature of each beverage container 1 is below the threshold value (0 ° C.), the cooling operation mode is set to the simultaneous cooling operation. The refrigerant valves I and II are simultaneously opened as shown in FIG. In addition, if the cooling of the beverage proceeds in the alternate cooling operation mode, and the beverage temperature of the left and right beverage containers 1 drops to an ice temperature of 0 ° C. or less, which is a threshold, and a frozen beverage is produced, The operation mode of the cooler 5 is switched from the alternate cooling operation to the simultaneous cooling operation to continuously cool the beverage in the beverage container 1. In this simultaneous cooling operation mode, the pump down control is not performed as a matter of course.

[Embodiment 2] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In this embodiment, in addition to the temperature sensor 16 for beverage temperature detection described in the first embodiment, an outside air temperature sensor 17 shown in FIG. Operation control is performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG.

That is, a threshold value of, for example, 30 ° C. is set as a control condition of the outside air temperature in the operation control unit, and when a cooling request is issued from each beverage container during the operation of the dispenser, the beverage temperature of each beverage container is set. Even if the temperature is below 0 ° C, if the outside air temperature at that time exceeds the threshold value of 30 ° C, the cooling cylinder incorporated in each beverage container is switched from the simultaneous cooling operation to the alternate cooling operation, and when the outside air temperature is below 30 ° C. If so, the simultaneous cooling operation is performed.

By this operation control, even if the cooling capacity of the cooling unit 4 (see FIG. 3) is reduced due to the high outside air temperature, the frozen product manufactured in each beverage container without applying an excessive refrigeration load to the refrigerator. The beverage can be kept cool. In the operation control method according to this embodiment, the control thresholds for the beverage temperature and the ambient temperature are not limited to the above-mentioned temperatures, but the specifications of the refrigerator mounted on the dispenser and the surroundings of the installation location of the beverage dispenser. It shall be set to an appropriate value in consideration of the environment.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, a temperature sensor is provided for each of the beverage containers and the beverage temperature is detected. Until the beverage temperature of the beverage container becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, the cooling device is periodically switched between the beverage containers to perform the alternate cooling operation, and if the beverage temperature of each beverage container is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, the cooling device of each beverage container is cooled. Simultaneous cooling operation allows the beverage in each beverage container to be cooled to a predetermined temperature while avoiding overload operation of the refrigerator, even when the beverage temperature becomes high due to new supply of beverage to the beverage container. Accordingly, a small-capacity refrigerator having a small cooling capacity can be used, and the size and cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

In addition, during the alternate cooling operation of the coolers, the pump-down control is performed at the time of switching the coolers, so that unnecessary cooling of the refrigerant can be prevented and each cooler can be effectively cooled.
Further, since the pump-down control is not performed during the simultaneous cooling operation, the non-cooling loss time and unnecessary power consumption can be minimized to improve the operation efficiency. Further, in the operation control method described above, an ambient temperature sensor is added to detect an ambient temperature, and when the ambient temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the cooler of each beverage container is alternately cooled to perform the ambient temperature. Even if the temperature is high, the beverage in each beverage container can be kept cool by effectively utilizing the cooling capacity of the refrigerator without overloading the refrigerator.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of operation control of a frozen beverage dispenser according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, (a) is a flowchart of operation control, (b) and (c) are alternate cooling operations of a cooler, Time chart showing control operation of cooling operation

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of operation control according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of a frozen beverage dispenser equipped with a temperature sensor corresponding to the operation control of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a dispenser for frozen beverage to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 5 is a beverage system diagram of the dispenser of FIG. 4;

6 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of a refrigeration cycle for a cooler of each beverage container mounted on the dispenser of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 beverage container 4 cooling unit (refrigerator condensing unit) 4a compressor 4b condenser (condenser) 5 cooling cylinder (cooler) 14 refrigerant valve 16 temperature sensor for detecting beverage temperature 17 outside temperature sensor

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) B67D 1/08 B67D 1/08 A F-term (Reference) 3E082 AA02 AA04 AA06 BB07 CC02 CC04 CC09 CC10 EE03 4B014 GB22 GB23 GP12 GT13 GT14 GT20 GY03

Claims (3)

[Claims] A refrigerator built in each of a plurality of beverage containers is connected in parallel to a single refrigerator condensing unit to form a refrigeration cycle, and the liquid beverages stored in each beverage container are operated by the refrigerator. In a beverage cooling device that is cooled and kept at a predetermined temperature, a temperature sensor is arranged for each beverage container of each base to detect the beverage temperature, and when there is a cooling request from each beverage container, each beverage container is cooled. Until the beverage temperature falls below the predetermined temperature, the cooling device is periodically switched between the beverage containers to perform an alternate cooling operation.If the beverage temperature of each beverage container is below the predetermined temperature, the cooling device of each beverage container is turned on. An operation control method for a beverage cooling device, comprising performing simultaneous cooling operation. 2. The operation control method according to claim 1, wherein the ambient temperature is detected by an outside air temperature sensor, and when the ambient temperature is equal to or higher than a predetermined temperature, the cooling device of each beverage container is alternately cooled. A method for controlling the operation of a beverage cooling device. 3. The operation control method according to claim 1, wherein pump down control is performed when the cooling operation of the cooler is switched between the beverage containers, and the pump remains in the cooler that has been performing the cooling operation. A method for controlling the operation of a beverage cooling device, comprising recovering a used refrigerant to a refrigerator condensing unit.