CN114947526A

CN114947526A - Beverage making device

Info

Publication number: CN114947526A
Application number: CN202210110529.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 伊藤修一; 西川洋平; 加治木孝介; 德永勇贵; 垣内拓真
Original assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Current assignee: Fuji Electric Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-02-24
Filing date: 2022-01-29
Publication date: 2022-08-30
Anticipated expiration: 2042-01-29
Also published as: JP2022128928A; CN114947526B

Abstract

The invention provides a beverage production device. The beverage making device comprises: a container mounting part; a stirring section including a rotating shaft section, a blade section, and a motor, the stirring section stirring the beverage material placed in the container placement section; a moving mechanism including a motor, the moving mechanism moving the stirring section in the vertical direction; and a control unit that controls a position of the knife unit in a vertical direction and a rotation speed of the knife unit, wherein the control unit is configured to perform: the control unit decreases the rotation speed of the knife unit when the moving mechanism moves the knife unit from a lower position, which is a lower position, to an upper position, which is an upper position, of the container, and increases the rotation speed of the knife unit when the moving mechanism moves the knife unit from the upper position to the lower position.

Description

Beverage making device

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a beverage production apparatus, and more particularly to a beverage production apparatus including a stirring unit that stirs a beverage material in a container.

Background

Conventionally, there is known a beverage production apparatus including a stirring section for stirring a beverage material in a container. Such a beverage production device is disclosed in, for example, japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2012-10959.

A fresh juice (fresh juice) manufacturing apparatus (beverage manufacturing apparatus) described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2012-10959 includes a pair of spring guides, a spring disposed between the pair of spring guides, a cylindrical member for holding the spring, a support member for supporting the cylindrical member, a lid, and a rotary shaft. In addition, a rotary knife is mounted at the lower end of the rotary shaft. Further, the beverage producing apparatus described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2012-10959 is provided with a vertical motor for driving a rotary shaft to move in the vertical direction. In the beverage producing apparatus described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2012-10959, when the beverage material is stirred (beverage is produced), the rotating shaft is moved up and down by the up-down motor, so that the rotating blade is moved up and down, and the rotating blade is rotated at a position below the container and at a position above the container, thereby producing the beverage.

However, although the rotating knife (knife portion) moves in the vertical direction and rotates the knife portion at the lower position and the upper position of the container, when the speed difference between the rotational speed of the knife portion and the rotational speed of the beverage and the beverage material is small, the beverage material rotates together with the knife portion. In this case, since the impact velocity and the impact frequency between the knife portion and the beverage material are reduced, there are the following disadvantages: the efficiency of crushing the beverage material by the blade portion is reduced. In such a case, there is a problem that the manufacturing time of the beverage increases.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a beverage producing apparatus capable of suppressing an increase in the time required for producing a beverage.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, a beverage producing apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes: a container mounting part for mounting a container in which a beverage material is loaded; a stirring section including a rotation shaft section, a blade section, and a rotation driving section, for stirring the beverage material placed in the container of the container placement section to produce a beverage, the rotation shaft section rotating about a rotation axis extending in a vertical direction, the blade section being provided at a lower portion of the rotation shaft section, the rotation driving section rotating the rotation shaft section about the rotation axis in accordance with the rotation of the rotation shaft section; a moving mechanism including a vertical driving unit, the moving mechanism moving the stirring unit in a vertical direction; and a control unit that controls a position of the blade unit in a vertical direction and a rotational speed of the blade unit when the blade unit rotates, wherein the control unit is configured to perform: the control unit decreases the rotation speed of the knife unit when the moving mechanism moves the knife unit from a lower position, which is a lower position, to an upper position, which is an upper position, of the container, and increases the rotation speed of the knife unit when the moving mechanism moves the knife unit from the upper position to the lower position.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, as described above, the control unit is configured to perform the following control: the control unit decreases the rotation speed of the knife section when the moving mechanism moves the knife section from the lower position to the upper position, and increases the rotation speed of the knife section when the moving mechanism moves the knife section from the upper position to the lower position. Accordingly, when the knife portion is moved to the upper position, the rotational speed of the knife portion is reduced, and therefore the rotational speed of the beverage can be reduced by the resistance applied to the beverage from the knife portion. Further, since the rotational speed of the knife portion is increased when the knife portion is moved to the lower position, the knife portion can be moved to the lower position while increasing the speed difference between the rotational speed of the knife portion and the rotational speed of the beverage. Therefore, the speed difference between the rotational speed of the blade portion and the rotational speed of the beverage material rotating together with the beverage can be increased, and thus the impact speed and the impact frequency between the blade portion and the beverage material can be increased. Therefore, the efficiency of grinding the beverage material by the blade portion can be improved. As a result, it is possible to provide a beverage production apparatus capable of suppressing an increase in the production time of a beverage.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to perform the following control: the knife part is raised to a position where at least a part of the knife part is exposed from the liquid surface of the beverage, which is an upper position. With this configuration, since the knife portion is raised to a position where at least a part of the knife portion is exposed from the liquid surface of the beverage, when the knife portion is moved to the upper position, the resistance applied to the knife portion by the beverage can be reduced as compared with a configuration in which the knife portion is not exposed at all from the liquid surface of the beverage. As a result, the time required to increase the rotational speed of the knife section at the upper position can be shortened, and thus an increase in the time required to produce the beverage can be further suppressed.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to perform the following control: the cutter portion is raised to an upper position while the rotational speed of the cutter portion is lowered, and the cutter portion is lowered to a lower position while the rotational speed of the cutter portion is increased. With this configuration, unlike a configuration in which the knife section is moved to the upper position after the rotational speed of the knife section is decreased, and the knife section is moved to the lower position after the rotational speed of the knife section is increased, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a time for waiting for the decrease or increase in the rotational speed. As a result, the increase in the time required for producing the beverage can be further suppressed.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to perform the following control: when the rotation speed of the knife part is reduced, the rotation speed of the knife part is reduced step by step. Here, when a motor is used as the rotation driving unit, a counter electromotive force is generated from the motor when the rotation speed of the knife unit is continuously decreased. When a counter electromotive force is generated from the motor, a switching element electrically connected to the motor for switching a current applied to the motor, a zener diode for protecting a circuit electrically connected to the motor from a surge current or the like, or the like may fail. Therefore, if the rotation speed of the knife section is gradually decreased as described above, the generation of the counter electromotive force from the rotation driving section can be suppressed, unlike the case where the rotation speed of the knife section is decreased without interruption. As a result, it is possible to suppress occurrence of a failure in a member or the like connected to the rotation driving unit due to the counter electromotive force from the rotation driving unit.

In the beverage producing device according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to acquire a rotation speed of the rotary shaft, and to control the rotation speed of the blade unit so that the rotation speed of the blade unit in the process of producing the beverage becomes a predetermined rotation speed regardless of resistance applied from the beverage material to the blade unit. With this configuration, the rotational speed of the blade portion can be maintained at a predetermined rotational speed regardless of the type of the beverage material, the location of the beverage material, and the size of the beverage material. As a result, the rotational speed of the blade portion can be suppressed from decreasing regardless of the type of the beverage material, the location of the beverage material, and the size of the beverage material, and therefore, the increase in the time required for producing the beverage can be suppressed.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to acquire a rotation speed of the rotation shaft unit and to perform control to extend the production time of the beverage in accordance with a decrease in the rotation speed of the blade unit during production of the beverage. With this configuration, since the beverage is continuously produced until the beverage material is pulverized when the rotational speed of the blade portion is reduced, the beverage material can be prevented from remaining without being pulverized, as compared with a configuration in which the beverage is produced after a predetermined production time has elapsed even when the rotational speed of the blade portion is reduced. As a result, the particle size of the beverage material can be kept constant, and thus the quality of the beverage can be suppressed from being degraded.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, the control unit is preferably configured to perform the following control: when the knife portion is moved to a lower position when starting to produce a beverage, the knife portion is moved downward a plurality of times while being rotated. With this configuration, when the beverage material is pulverized by the blade portion at the time of starting to produce a beverage, the beverage material can be pulverized a plurality of times. Therefore, compared with a structure in which the knife portion is moved to a position below the container at a time, the reduction in the number of revolutions of the knife portion due to resistance caused by the beverage material can be suppressed. As a result, the reduction in the efficiency of grinding the beverage material due to the reduction in the rotational speed of the blade portion can be suppressed, and therefore, the time required for producing the beverage can be shortened. Further, the blade portion can be moved to the lower position while the beverage material is being pulverized, and therefore, the beverage material can be prevented from being stirred by the blade portion without being pulverized by the blade portion. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the lid portion from being pushed up by the beverage material during the production of the beverage due to the collision between the beverage material that has not been pulverized but stirred and the lid portion that covers the upper opening of the container when the beverage material is stirred by the stirring portion (beverage production). As a result, the occurrence of a gap between the lid and the container can be suppressed, and therefore, the leakage of the beverage from the container during the production of the beverage can be suppressed.

In this case, preferably, the control unit is configured to perform the following control: when the knife section is moved to the lower position at the start of beverage production, the knife section is moved in the upper direction and the lower direction while being rotated, and the knife section is moved so that the amount of movement in the lower direction is gradually increased. With this configuration, the knife section is moved upward, whereby the resistance due to the beverage material that has not been crushed can be prevented from being applied to the knife section. As a result, the rotation speed of the knife portion can be increased by moving the knife portion in the upward direction, and thus the efficiency of grinding the beverage material can be improved.

In the configuration in which the knife part is moved downward a plurality of times while rotating the knife part, it is preferable that the control part is configured to: when the knife section is moved in the upward direction and the downward direction, control is performed to switch between the upward movement of the knife section and the downward movement of the knife section based on the time for rotating the knife section, or control is performed to move the knife section in the upward direction when the rotation speed of the knife section becomes less than a predetermined rotation speed. With this configuration, when the movement of the knife section in the upward direction and the movement of the knife section in the downward direction are switched based on the time for rotating the knife section, the movement direction of the knife section can be switched regardless of the type of beverage material. As a result, it is possible to suppress complication of control when the knife section is moved in the upward direction and the downward direction. In the case where the control is performed to move the knife section in the upward direction when the rotational speed of the knife section becomes lower than the predetermined rotational speed, the rotational speed of the knife section can be increased by moving the knife section in the upward direction when the degree of decrease in the rotational speed of the knife section due to the resistance applied to the knife section by the beverage material is large. As a result, the cutter portion having the increased rotation speed is moved downward, whereby the reduction in grinding efficiency can be suppressed. Further, in the case where the degree of decrease in the rotation speed of the knife portion due to the resistance of the beverage material applied to the knife portion is small, the grinding efficiency is not easily decreased, and therefore the knife portion does not need to be moved upward in order to increase the rotation speed of the knife portion. Therefore, the time required to increase the rotation speed of the knife portion can be shortened. As a result, an increase in the time required for producing the beverage can be suppressed.

In the beverage production device according to the above aspect, it is preferable that the beverage production device further includes a cylindrical lid portion that covers an upper opening of the container when the beverage material is stirred by the stirring portion, and the control portion is configured to perform the following control: after the beverage is produced, the knife section is rotated in a state in which the entire knife section is exposed from the liquid surface of the beverage with the lid section covering the upper opening of the container. With this configuration, even when droplets of the beverage adhere to the blade portion when the beverage is produced, the blade portion is rotated to blow away the droplets adhering to the blade portion by centrifugal force. In addition, even when the liquid droplets of the beverage are attached to the inner side of the lid portion at the time of producing the beverage, the liquid droplets attached to the inner side of the lid portion can be dropped by wind, vibration, or the like generated by the rotation of the blade portion. As a result, it is possible to prevent the droplets of the beverage adhering to the inner sides of the knife portion and the lid portion from dropping into the container, and therefore it is possible to prevent the droplets of the beverage adhering to the container from soiling the user's hands when the user takes out the container. Further, since it is possible to prevent the droplets of the beverage adhering to the inner sides of the knife portion and the lid portion from dropping onto the container placement portion, it is possible to prevent the container placement portion from being soiled with the beverage.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a beverage production apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the beverage making device.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing a control structure of the beverage supply apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 200-200 of fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is schematic views (a) to (C) for explaining a structure in which the knife section is raised while the rotational speed of the knife section is lowered.

Fig. 6 is schematic views (a) to (C) for explaining a structure in which the knife section is lowered while increasing the rotational speed of the knife section.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram for explaining a configuration for controlling the rotation speed of the rotation driving unit.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram for explaining the speed level of the rotation speed of the rotation driving unit and the holding time at the time of deceleration.

Fig. 9 is schematic views (a) to (F) for explaining a structure in which the stirring section is moved in the vertical direction when starting to produce a beverage.

Fig. 10 are schematic views (a) to (D) for explaining the structure in which the beverage adhering to the inside of the blade portion and the lid portion is blown off after the completion of the production of the beverage.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

The configuration of the beverage production apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 1 to 10. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the beverage production apparatus 100 is an apparatus for producing a beverage L (see fig. 5) obtained by pulverizing a beverage material Lm (see fig. 5) which is a solid material in a container C. The beverage material Lm includes, for example, a frozen product obtained by freezing vegetables and fruits. Further, the beverage L contains smoothie or the like, for example. In the present specification, "smoothie" refers to a beverage produced by stirring vegetables and fruits with a stirrer or the like.

The beverage production apparatus 100 is disposed in a store such as a convenience store, and is used by a user such as a customer in the store. The beverage material Lm is frozen, and the container C containing the beverage material Lm is stored in the freezer. In addition, the container C is provided with a packing covering the upper portion thereof. The upper portion of the container C is opened by unsealing the package (lid). The user places the container C in the beverage production apparatus 100 with the beverage material Lm contained in the container C, and starts the operation of producing a beverage. When the operation of starting the production of the beverage is performed, the beverage production apparatus 100 stirs the beverage material Lm in the container C and pulverizes the same to produce the beverage L. Here, in the beverage production apparatus 100, the side where the user is located is referred to as the front side (Y1 side), the opposite side is referred to as the rear side (Y2 side), and the front-rear direction is referred to as the Y direction. A direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction in the horizontal direction is a left-right direction (X direction), and a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the left-right direction is a top-bottom direction (Z direction).

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the beverage production apparatus 100 includes a main body 1. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the main body 1 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. A door 11 is provided below (Z2 direction side) the front surface side of the main body 1, and a display panel 12 is provided above (Z1 direction side). The beverage production apparatus 100 further includes a container placement unit 7 for placing the container C containing the beverage material Lm.

The door 11 is a door that divides the inside and the outside of the beverage production apparatus 100, and is provided on the front side (Y1 direction side) of the beverage production apparatus 100. The door 11 is configured to be rotatable. The door portion 11 is constituted by: in a state where the door portion 11 is opened (opened state), a user can place the container C on the container placement portion 7. The door 11 is made of a transparent material that can be visually confirmed inside (in the manufacturing space). The door 11 is locked so as not to be opened or closed during beverage production.

The display panel 12 displays an image for the user to perform an operation and an image of information related to the beverage supply. The display panel 12 is a touch panel display for a user to operate and to indicate the state of the beverage production apparatus 100. The display panel 12 includes a display unit 12a (see fig. 3) and an input receiving unit 12b (see fig. 3). The detailed configuration of the display unit 12a and the detailed configuration of the input receiving unit 12b are described later.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the container placement unit 7 is configured to place a container C in which a beverage material Lm is placed. As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the container mounting portion 7 is provided to the mounting member 8. The mounting member 8 is configured to be movable in the Y direction. That is, the mounting member 8 holds the container C and moves the container C to a stirring position (working position) for beverage production. Specifically, as shown in fig. 3 and 4, the beverage production apparatus 100 includes a tray driving unit 10 that moves the mounting member 8 in the front-rear direction (Y direction). The tray driving unit 10 is configured to be able to move the container mounting unit 7 between a working position (rear position) and a mounting/removing position (front position).

As shown in fig. 3, the beverage production apparatus 100 includes a stirring section 2, a moving mechanism 3, a control section 4, a tray driving section 10, a display section 12a, and an input receiving section 12 b.

The stirring unit 2 is configured to stir the beverage material Lm placed in the container C of the container placement unit 7 to produce the beverage L. The stirring section 2 includes a motor 23 for rotating a rotating shaft 21 (see fig. 4) and a blade 22 (see fig. 4) described later. The motor 23 is, for example, a DC motor. Specifically, the motor 23 is a brushless DC motor including a hall element for acquiring the rotation speed of the motor 23. The motor 23 is an example of the "rotation driving unit" in the claims.

The moving mechanism 3 includes a motor 31 and is configured to move the stirring section 2 in the vertical direction. For example, the motor 31 is a DC motor. The motor 31 is an example of the "vertical direction driving unit" in the claims.

The control unit 4 is configured to perform control of the entire beverage production apparatus 100 and control for producing a beverage. The control unit 4 is configured to control the position of the knife section 22 in the vertical direction and the rotational speed of the knife section 22 when the knife section 22 rotates. The control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: the stirring unit 2 is cleaned by a cleaning vessel 5 (see fig. 4) described later every time the stirring unit 2 stirs the beverage material Lm in the container C (every time a beverage is produced). Details of the structure of the control unit 4 for stirring the beverage material Lm by the stirring unit 2 and details of the structure of the cleaning and stirring unit 2 will be described later.

The control section 4 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 41 and a memory 42. The memory 42 stores a manufacturing/cleaning program for performing a manufacturing/cleaning process for stirring (manufacturing) the beverage material Lm in the container C and cleaning the stirring section 2 after the manufacturing.

The control unit 4 controls the drive motor 23 and the motor 31. Specifically, the control unit 4 controls the driving of the motor 23 of the stirring unit 2 by the motor driver Md 1. The control unit 4 controls the driving of the motor 31 of the moving mechanism 3 by a motor driver Md 2.

The display unit 12a is configured to notify a user (operator). The display unit 12a is configured to display information related to beverage production. The display unit 12a includes a display such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

The input receiving unit 12b is configured to be capable of receiving a touch operation from a user. The input receiving unit 12b includes a touch panel provided on the display unit 12 a. The input receiving unit 12b receives a touch operation on a menu button (not shown) displayed on the display unit 12 a. The input receiving unit 12b outputs a signal based on a touch operation performed by a user to the control unit 4. The menu button is a button used by the user to select a menu of the beverage L and start the operation of producing the beverage.

The beverage making apparatus 100 includes a movement amount sensor S1, an upper limit sensor S2, and a lower limit sensor S3. The movement amount sensor S1 constitutes a light shielding portion 35a (see fig. 4) and a detection portion S, which will be described later. That is, the beverage production apparatus 100 includes the detection unit S. The movement amount sensor S1, the upper limit sensor S2, and the lower limit sensor S3 are transmissive photosensors for detecting detection signals based on the reception and blocking of light.

The upper limit sensor S2 is a sensor for detecting a detection signal when the pedestal part 32 (see fig. 4) reaches the upper limit position, which will be described later. The detection signal is detected by the upper limit sensor S2 by the pedestal portion 32 blocking the light incident on the upper limit sensor S2. The lower limit sensor S3 is a sensor for detecting a detection signal when the pedestal portion 32 (see fig. 4) reaches the lower limit position, which will be described later. The detection signal is detected by the lower limit sensor S3 when the light incident on the lower limit sensor S3 is blocked by the pedestal portion 32.

The control unit 4 controls a pump 61c, a pump 61e, and an electromagnetic valve 62c of the water supply unit 6 (see fig. 4) described later. The controller 4 is configured to control the supply of water (hot water) into the container C and the supply of water (hot water) for washing the stirring unit 2 by controlling the pump 61C, the pump 61e, and the electromagnetic valve 62C.

As shown in fig. 3, the beverage production apparatus 100 includes a door closing detection sensor 51 for detecting that the door 11 is in the closed position. The door closing detection sensor 51 is, for example, an optical sensor.

As shown in fig. 3, the beverage production apparatus 100 includes a door lock mechanism 52 that maintains the door 11 in a closed state. The door portion locking mechanism 52 is, for example, an electromagnetic lock.

As shown in fig. 3, the beverage production apparatus 100 includes a container detection sensor MS for detecting whether or not the container C is placed on the container placement unit 7. When the container detection sensor MS detects that the container C is placed on the container placing portion 7, the container placing portion 7 is moved to the working position (rear). The container detection sensor MS is, for example, an optical sensor.

As shown in fig. 3, the beverage production apparatus 100 includes: a loading/unloading position detection sensor RS for detecting that the mounting member 8 is positioned at the loading/unloading position (in front); and a working position detection sensor WS for detecting that the mounting member 8 is located at the working position (rear). The loading/unloading position detection sensor RS and the working position detection sensor WS are, for example, micro switches.

As shown in fig. 4, the stirring section 2 includes: a rotation shaft 21 that rotates about a rotation axis 21a extending in the vertical direction (Z direction); a knife section 22 provided at a lower portion (end portion on the Z2 direction side) of the rotation shaft section 21 and rotating with the rotation of the rotation shaft section 21; and a motor 23 that rotates the rotation shaft 21 about the rotation axis 21 a. The motor 23 of the stirring section 2 is provided above the rotating shaft section 21 (on the side of the Z1 direction) and rotates the rotating shaft section 21.

As shown in fig. 4, a cylindrical lid 24 is provided on the distal end side (the Z2 direction side) of the rotary shaft 21, and the lid 24 covers the upper opening of the container C when stirring the beverage material Lm (see fig. 5) in the container C. The lid 24 is configured to cover the upper opening of the container C when the beverage material Lm is stirred by the stirring unit 2. The lid 24 can suppress scattering of the beverage material Lm from the container C during stirring.

As shown in fig. 4, the moving mechanism 3 includes a motor 31 and a pedestal portion 32 that supports the stirring portion 2 so that the stirring portion 2 can move in the vertical direction. The moving mechanism 3 includes a power conversion member 33 for changing the rotational force of the motor 31 to a moving force in the vertical direction. The power conversion member 33 is, for example, a slide screw. The lower end (the Z2 direction side) of the power conversion member 33 is attached to a support member 37 fixed inside the main body 1.

The moving mechanism 3 includes a transmission member 34 and a transmission member 35 that transmit the rotational force of the motor 31. The transmission member 34 and the transmission member 35 are gears (gear), for example. The transmission member 35 is connected to an upper end (Z1 direction side) of the power conversion member 33. The rotational force from the motor 31 is transmitted in the order of the transmission member 34, the transmission member 35, and the power conversion member 33. Then, the base 32 supporting the stirring section 2 is moved in the vertical direction (Z1 direction or Z2 direction) by changing the rotational force of the motor 31 to the vertical moving force by the power conversion member 33.

The stirring section 2 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction by the moving mechanism 3 between a retracted position (an elevated position) where the blade section 22 is elevated outside the container C and a stirring position (a lowered position) where the blade section 22 is lowered inside the container C. The movement of the moving mechanism 3 is controlled by the control unit 4.

The movement of the moving mechanism 3 (stirring unit 2) before and after stirring (beverage production) by the stirring unit 2 is controlled by the control unit 4 based on the detection signals detected by the upper limit sensor S2 and the lower limit sensor S3.

Further, since the stirring section 2 is moved downward by the moving mechanism 3, the lid section 24 is pushed downward to cover the upper surface opening of the container C.

As shown in fig. 4, the beverage production apparatus 100 (movement mechanism 3) includes a spring member 36 that biases the base portion 32 upward. The spring member 36 is, for example, a coil spring.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: in a state where the biasing force of the spring member 36 and the gravity act, the movement of the stirring section 2 by the motor 31 is stopped based on the upward movement amount of the stirring section 2 and the downward movement amount of the stirring section 2 acquired when the moving mechanism 3 is moved by the driving of the motor 31.

As shown in fig. 4, the beverage production apparatus 100 includes a cleaning container 5, a water supply unit 6, a container placement unit 7, a mounting member 8, a water receiving tray 9, and a tray driving unit 10.

The cleaning container 5 is disposed below the stirring section 2 (on the Z2 direction side). The cleaning container 5 is disposed on the Y2 direction side of the container placement unit 7 for holding the container C. The cleaning container 5 is configured to be capable of storing liquid. The cleaning container 5 is provided with a discharge hole (not shown) for discharging waste liquid on the bottom surface. Further, cleaning container 5 can store the liquid by adjusting the amount of liquid supplied from water supply unit 6 and generating a centrifugal force by rotating stirring unit 2, thereby making the amount of liquid supplied per unit time larger than the amount of water discharged. The liquid is, for example, hot or cold water.

The water supply unit 6 includes a reservoir 60, a first channel 61, and a second channel 62. The water supply unit 6 supplies liquid to the cleaning container 5 through the first flow path 61 during cleaning, and supplies liquid to the container C through the second flow path 62 during beverage production.

The liquid supplied from the water supply source is stored in the storage unit 60. Storage unit 60 is disposed at the rear (Y2 direction side) of the interior of main body 1, and is disposed at a position rearward (Y2 direction side) of stirring unit 2 and cleaning container 5.

The first channel 61 is a channel for supplying the liquid from the reservoir 60 to the cleaning vessel 5. The first flow path 61 includes a supply pipe 61a, a discharge portion 61b, a pump 61c, a sub-tank 61d, and a pump 61 e. The first flow path 61 stores only a predetermined amount of the liquid in the storage section 60 sent out by the pump 61e in the sub tank 61 d. The first flow path 61 causes the liquid stored in the sub tank 61d to be discharged from the discharge portion 61b via the supply pipe 61a by the pump 61c, and the stirring portion 2 is cleaned by the discharged liquid. The liquid (waste liquid) after washing the stirring section 2 is discharged to the water receiving tray 9.

The pump 61e is configured to send the liquid in the reservoir 60. The pump 61e is configured to send out a liquid in an amount proportional to the driving time. That is, the amount of liquid sent by the pump 61e is controlled by controlling the operation time.

The second flow path 62 is configured to supply the liquid in the reservoir 60 into the container C containing the beverage material Lm when the beverage material Lm in the container C is stirred by the stirring unit 2. The second flow path 62 includes a supply pipe 62a, a discharge portion 62b, and a solenoid valve 62 c. The second flow path 62 causes the liquid in the reservoir 60 to be discharged from the discharge unit 62b via the solenoid valve 62C and the supply pipe 62a, and supplies the discharged liquid into the container C containing the beverage material Lm. That is, the supply pipe 62a is configured to introduce the water in the reservoir 60 into the container C.

As shown in fig. 4, the container placement unit 7 and the cleaning container 5 are disposed on the mounting member 8. The mounting member 8 is a tray provided with a partition member 8a that partitions the container placement unit 7 and the cleaning container 5. The container placement unit 7 is disposed on the front side (Y1 direction side) of the cleaning container 5. The container C is placed on the container placement unit 7. Further, a drain pan 9 for circulating the waste liquid from the cleaning container 5 to the drain tank 20 is disposed below the mounting member 8.

The drain pan 9 is a tray for discharging waste liquid to the outside. The drain pan 9 has a hole (not shown) in the bottom surface thereof for allowing waste liquid to flow into the drain tank 20. The drain pan 9 is fixed inside the body 1. The mounting member 8 is moved in the front-rear direction (Y1 direction or Y2 direction) by the tray driving section 10.

The tray driving unit 10 is attached to a side surface of the water receiving tray 9. Therefore, the water receiving tray 9 moves in the front-rear direction (Y direction) along the side surface thereof. The tray driving unit 10 moves the container placement unit 7 and the cleaning container 5 in the front-rear direction (Y direction) simultaneously. The tray driving unit 10 is constituted by a motor and a rack and pinion mechanism, for example.

(control of the movement of the blade in the vertical direction and the rotational speed)

The beverage manufacturing apparatus 100 manufactures the beverage L by rotating the cutter unit 22 to pulverize the beverage material Lm. At this time, by stirring the beverage L with the blade portion 22, a part of the beverage material Lm rotates together with the beverage L. When the speed difference between the rotational speed of the beverage material Lm during rotation and the rotational speed of the blade portion 22 is small, the impact speed and the impact frequency between the blade portion 22 and the beverage material Lm become small. That is, the efficiency of crushing the beverage material Lm by the cutter unit 22 is reduced. When the grinding efficiency of grinding the beverage material Lm by the cutter portion 22 is lowered, the production time of the beverage L is increased. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to: by controlling the vertical position of the cutter 22 and the rotational speed of the cutter 22 during rotation, the reduction in grinding efficiency of the cutter 22 in grinding the beverage material Lm is suppressed. Specifically, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the moving mechanism 3 moves the knife 22 from the lower position, which is the lower position, of the container C to the upper position, which is the upper position, of the container C, the control unit 4 decreases the rotation speed of the knife 22, and when the moving mechanism 3 moves the knife 22 from the upper position to the lower position, the control unit 4 increases the rotation speed of the knife 22.

First, a configuration in which the control unit 4 lowers the rotation speed of the knife 22 and moves the knife 22 to the upper position will be described with reference to fig. 5 (a) to 5 (C). The examples shown in fig. 5 (a) to 5 (C) show the following cases: the controller 4 controls the moving mechanism 3 and the motor 23 to lower the rotation speed of the knife 22 and move the knife 22 to the upper position from the state where the knife 22 is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed at the lower position. The specified rotational speed is, for example, 18,000rpm (rotations per minute).

As indicated by an arrow 80a in fig. 5 (a), the control unit 4 rotates the knife unit 22 at a predetermined rotational speed. When the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22 is high, the beverage L is pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the container C by centrifugal force. Therefore, the liquid level Ls of the beverage L at a position close to the inner peripheral surface of the container C is higher than the liquid level Ls of the beverage L at the center of the container C (position on the Z1 direction side).

As shown in fig. 5 (a), when the knife 22 rotates at a predetermined rotational speed, the beverage L rotates at the same rotational speed as the rotational speed of the knife 22 as indicated by an arrow 81 a. In this case, the difference in the rotational speed between the cutter unit 22 and the beverage material Lm is reduced, and the cutter unit 22 and the beverage material Lm are rotated without colliding with each other, that is, in a state of so-called synchronous rotation (japanese: feed/return り).

Therefore, the control unit 4 decreases the rotation speed of the knife 22. For example, the control unit 4 reduces the rotation speed of the blade unit 22 by rotating the motor 23 at an output approximately half the output when the motor 23 is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed. In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 raises the knife section 22 to the upper position while lowering the rotation speed of the knife section 22. Specifically, the control unit 4 sets the rotation speed of the knife section 22 to be lower than a predetermined rotation speed, as indicated by an arrow 80B in fig. 5 (B). In the example shown in fig. 5 (a) to 5 (C), the rotation speed of the blade 22 is indicated by the thickness of the arrow. That is, the rotation speed of the knife 22 indicated by the thick arrow 80a is higher than the rotation speed of the knife 22 indicated by the thin arrow 80 b. In the example shown in fig. 5, the rotation speed of the beverage material Lm is indicated by the thickness of the arrow. That is, the speed at which the beverage material Lm rotates as indicated by the arrow 81a, which is the thickest arrow, is higher than the speed at which the beverage material Lm rotates as indicated by the arrows 81b, which are the intermediate arrows, and 81c, which is the thinnest arrow. The speed at which the beverage material Lm rotates as indicated by the arrow 81b having a middle thickness is higher than the speed at which the beverage material Lm rotates as indicated by the arrow 81c having the thinnest thickness.

As shown in fig. 5 (B), when the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 is decreased, the cutter portion 22 becomes resistance, and the rotation speed of the beverage L and the beverage material Lm is decreased. In fig. 5 (B), the rotation speed of the beverage L and the beverage material Lm is reduced as shown by an arrow 81B. When the rotation speed of the beverage L and the beverage material Lm is decreased, the centrifugal force applied to the beverage L and the beverage material Lm is also decreased, and therefore, as shown in fig. 5B, the liquid surface Ls at the center of the container C is located above the liquid surface Ls at the center of the container C shown in fig. 5a (position on the Z1 direction side). As shown in fig. 5B, the liquid surface Ls at a position close to the inner peripheral surface of the container C is lower than the liquid surface Ls at a position close to the inner peripheral surface of the container C shown in fig. 5a (position on the Z2 direction side). As a result, as shown in fig. 5B, the position of the beverage material Lm rotated above the beverage L is a position (position on the Z2 direction side) below the position of the beverage material Lm shown in fig. 5 a.

As shown in fig. 5 (C), the control unit 4 lowers the rotation speed of the knife 22 and raises the knife 22 to move the knife 22 to the upper position. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 5 (C), the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: the knife 22 is raised to a position where at least a part of the knife 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L, which is an upper position.

As shown in fig. 5 (C), when the cutter unit 22 moves to the upper position, the rotation speed of the beverage L and the beverage material Lm is further reduced as compared with the state shown in fig. 5 (B). As the rotation speed of the beverage L and the beverage material Lm further decreases, the position of the beverage material Lm becomes a lower position (position on the Z2 direction side).

Next, a configuration in which the control unit 4 lowers the knife section 22 while increasing the rotation speed of the knife section 22 will be described with reference to fig. 6 (a) to 6 (C). In addition, fig. 6 (a) to 6 (C) are also equivalent to fig. 5 (a) > e

Similarly, in fig. 5 (C), the difference in the rotation speed of the knife section 22 is indicated by the difference in the thickness of the arrow 80a and the arrow 80 b. The difference in the rotation speed between the beverage L and the beverage material Lm is indicated by the difference in the thickness of the arrows 81a to 81 c.

Fig. 6 (a) shows a state in which the control unit 4 rotates the knife unit 22 at a rotation speed lower than the predetermined rotation speed at the upper position. When the control unit 4 moves the knife 22 to the upper position, the rotation speed of the knife 22 is increased as shown in fig. 6 (B). In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: the cutter portion 22 is lowered to the lower position while increasing the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22. As shown in fig. 6 (B), the cutter unit 22 rotates at a rotational speed indicated by an arrow 80a, and the beverage L and the beverage material Lm rotate at a rotational speed indicated by an arrow 81B. That is, in the example shown in fig. 6 (B), the cutter unit 22 and the beverage material Lm are rotated in a state where a speed difference is generated between the rotational speed of the cutter unit 22 and the rotational speed of the beverage material Lm.

Therefore, as shown in fig. 6 (C), the beverage material Lm is pulverized by the cutter unit 22. Thereafter, the beverage L and the beverage material Lm remaining without being pulverized are stirred by the cutter unit 22, and the rotation speed increases as indicated by an arrow 81 a. That is, the state is the same as the state shown in fig. 5 (a).

In the present embodiment, the control section 4 repeatedly performs the control of fig. 5 (a) to 5 (C) and the control of fig. 6 (a) to 6 (C) to pulverize the beverage material Lm to produce the beverage L. The control unit 4 rotates the knife section 22 at the lower position for 3 seconds, for example, and then moves the knife section 22 to the upper position while decreasing the rotation speed of the knife section 22. Further, the control unit 4 performs the following control: when the knife section 22 moves to the upper position, the knife section 22 is moved to the lower position while increasing the rotation speed of the knife section 22.

(control of rotational speed of rotation drive section)

Here, when the control unit 4 decreases the rotation speed of the knife section 22, a counter electromotive force may be generated in the motor 23 when the rotation speed is decreased without interruption. When the motor 23 generates a counter electromotive force, a switching element, a zener diode, or the like connected to the motor 23 may malfunction. Therefore, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 is decreased, the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 is decreased stepwise.

A specific example of control for the control unit 4 to lower the rotation speed of the cutter unit 22 step by step will be described with reference to fig. 7. In the present embodiment, an example will be described in which the control unit 4 controls the speed level of the motor 23 at 5 levels, i.e., level L1 to level L5. The graph 82 shown in fig. 7 is a graph showing an example of control in the following case: in a state where the speed level of the motor 23 is rotated at the level L3 when the controller 4 rotates the cutter unit 22, the speed level of the motor 23 is required to be lowered to the level L1, and then the speed level of the motor 23 is required to be increased to the level L4. In the graph 82, the vertical axis represents the speed rank and the horizontal axis represents time. The speed level is a level of an output value of the motor 23, and the output value of the motor 23 increases as the speed level increases. I.e. the greater the speed level, the greater the rotational speed of the motor 23.

In the present embodiment, when the speed level of the motor 23 is lowered from the level L3 to the level L1, the control unit 4 first lowers the speed level of the motor 23 to the level L2. At this time, at level L2, the speed level is maintained until the holding time Tc2 elapses. Thereafter, the control section 4 lowers the speed level of the motor 23 from level L2 to level L1. At this time, at level L1, the speed level is maintained until the holding time Tc1 elapses. The control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: even when the speed level is required to be further lowered in the case of performing the control for lowering the speed level of the motor 23, the speed level of the motor 23 is not lowered until the holding time corresponding to each speed level elapses. For example, the control unit 4 is configured to: in the case where it is required to lower the speed level of the motor 23 from the level L2 to the level L1 before the speed level of the motor 23 is lowered from the level L3 to the level L2 and the holding time Tc2 elapses, the speed level of the motor 23 is not lowered until the holding time Tc2 elapses. The holding time corresponding to each speed class is different depending on the difficulty of generation of the counter electromotive force generated when the speed class is lowered.

Thereafter, the control section 4 increases the speed level of the motor 23 from level L1 to level L4. When the speed rank is increased, the control unit 4 increases the speed rank without interruption because no counter electromotive force is generated.

Table 83 shown in fig. 8 shows the relationship between the speed level and the holding time obtained by performing the experiment. As shown in table 83, it is experimentally found that the counter electromotive force is most easily generated in the case of decreasing the speed level from level L3 to level L2, and thus the holding time Tc2 is the longest time. Further, when the speed level is lowered from level L5 to level L4, no counter electromotive force is generated, and therefore, in table 83 shown in fig. 8, the holding time Tc4 is 0 second.

(rotational speed of blade in beverage production)

Here, when the beverage material Lm is pulverized, the rotational speed of the cutter unit 22 may be unintentionally decreased due to the resistance of the beverage material Lm, or the like. If the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22 is unintentionally decreased, the efficiency of grinding the beverage material Lm is decreased. When the pulverization efficiency of the beverage raw material Lm is decreased, the production time of the beverage L is increased. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to acquire the rotation speed of the rotary shaft 21, and is configured to control the rotation speed of the blade unit 22 so that the rotation speed of the blade unit 22 in the process of producing the beverage L becomes a predetermined rotation speed regardless of the resistance applied to the blade unit 22 from the beverage material Lm. In the present embodiment, the motor 23 is a brushless DC motor including hall elements. Therefore, the control unit 4 can acquire the rotation speed of the rotation shaft 21 based on a signal from a hall element provided in the motor 23.

(movement of stirring section in vertical direction at the beginning of production)

In addition, when the cutter unit 22 is moved to the lower position without interruption when the beverage material Lm is large or the beverage material Lm is hard at the start of producing the beverage L, the beverage material Lm may not be crushed by the cutter unit 22 and the beverage material Lm may be crushed by the cutter unit 22. In this case, the beverage material Lm is stirred by the rotation of the cutter unit 22, and a part of the stirred beverage material Lm may reach the inside of the lid unit 24 beyond the upper opening of the container C. The lid portion 24 is pressed downward (Z2 direction) by the spring member 36, but is pressed upward (Z1 direction) by the beverage material Lm, and a gap may be formed between the lid portion 24 and the container C. In this case, the beverage L may leak from the gap.

Therefore, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of producing the beverage L, the cutter portion 22 is moved downward a plurality of times while the cutter portion 22 is rotated.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 9 (a) to 9 (F), the control unit 4 is configured to: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of producing the beverage L, the cutter portion 22 is moved in the vertical direction, and the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position. In fig. 9 (a) to 9 (F), a beverage material Lm crushed by the cutter portion 22 and reduced in size is shown as a beverage material Lm 1. Further, a beverage material Lm larger in size than the beverage material Lm1 before being pulverized by the cutter unit 22 is illustrated as a beverage material Lm 2.

Fig. 9 (a) is a view showing an initial position (stirring start position) of the blade portion 22 when production of the beverage L is started. As shown in fig. 9 (B), the controller 4 lowers the knife 22 by a movement amount D1 from the initial position shown in fig. 9 (a). The control unit 4 lowers the knife 22 while rotating the knife 22 at a predetermined rotation speed. Thereby, the beverage material Lm2 in the portion of the beverage material Lm2 where the cutter unit 22 reached was pulverized. A part of the pulverized beverage material Lm2 became a beverage L, and the remainder became a small-sized beverage material Lm 1.

Next, as shown in fig. 9 (C), the controller 4 raises the knife 22 by a predetermined movement amount D2. Further, the control unit 4 raises the knife 22 while rotating it.

Next, as shown in fig. 9 (D), the controller 4 lowers the knife 22 by a movement amount D3 while rotating the knife 22. The moving amount D3 is a moving amount larger than the moving amount D1. Thereby, the beverage material Lm2 in the portion of the beverage material Lm2 where the cutter unit 22 reached was pulverized. A part of the pulverized beverage material Lm2 became a beverage L, and the remainder became a small-sized beverage material Lm 1. In the second lowering shown in fig. 9 (D), the knife 22 is moved to a position below the container C than in the first lowering of the knife 22 shown in fig. 9 (B). Therefore, in the second fall, the amount of the beverage L is increased as compared to that in the first fall.

Thereafter, as shown in fig. 9 (E), the controller 4 raises the knife 22 by a predetermined movement amount D2. Further, the control unit 4 raises the knife 22 while rotating it.

Thereafter, as shown in fig. 9 (F), the controller 4 lowers the knife 22 by a movement amount D4 while rotating the knife 22. The movement amount D4 is a movement amount larger than the movement amount D1 and the movement amount D3. The moving amount D4 is the moving amount of the knife 22 reaching the lower position of the container C. Therefore, most of the beverage material Lm2 in the container C is crushed by the third descent, and the beverage L is produced, and the remaining part becomes the small-sized beverage material Lm 1.

As shown in fig. 9 (a) to 9 (F), the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of producing the beverage L, the cutter portion 22 is moved in the upper direction and the lower direction while being rotated, and the cutter portion 22 is moved so that the amount of movement in the lower direction is gradually increased. Further, the control unit 4 raises the knife 22 by the same amount each time the knife 22 is raised. In the present embodiment, the controller 4 is configured to raise the knife 22 by a moving amount D2 when raising the knife 22.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to: when the knife 22 is moved in the upward direction and the downward direction, control is performed to switch between the movement of the knife 22 in the upward direction and the movement of the knife 22 in the downward direction based on the time for rotating the knife 22, or control is performed to move the knife 22 in the upward direction when the rotation speed of the knife 22 becomes less than a predetermined rotation speed.

(removal of droplets of beverage upon completion of production)

The beverage producing apparatus 100 produces the beverage L by stirring the beverage material Lm with the stirring unit 2. When the production of the beverage L is completed, droplets Ld of the beverage L may adhere to the inner circumferential surface of the lid portion 24 as shown in fig. 10 (a). As shown in fig. 10B, the controller 4 moves the blade 22 in the upward direction (Z1 direction) after the beverage L is produced. At this time, as shown in fig. 10 (B), droplets Ld of the beverage L may adhere to the blade portion 22. When the liquid droplets Ld of the beverage L adhere to the inner peripheral surfaces of the knife 22 and the lid 24, the liquid droplets Ld may drop into the container C and the container placement unit 7 when the container C is moved to the removal position. When the liquid droplets Ld are dropped on the container C, the user may get dirty his or her hand when taking out the container C. When the liquid droplets Ld are dropped on the container mounting portion 7, the container mounting portion 7 is soiled. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: as shown in fig. 10 (C), after the production of the beverage L is completed, the knife 22 is rotated in a state where the entire knife 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L, with the lid 24 covering the upper opening of the container C.

As indicated by arrows 84a and 84b, droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the knife 22 are blown off toward the inner circumferential surface of the lid 24 by centrifugal force generated by rotation of the knife 22. As indicated by arrows 84C and 84d, droplets Ld of beverage L adhering to the inner peripheral surface of lid portion 24 are dropped into container C by at least one of wind and vibration generated by control portion 4 rotating knife 22. Therefore, as shown in fig. 10 (D), the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the inner circumferential surfaces of the blade portion 22 and the lid portion 24 are removed.

In the present embodiment, the control unit 4 is configured to: the cutter portion 22 is rotated by the level L5 at which the speed level of the motor 23 is maximized, thereby removing the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the inner circumferential surfaces of the cutter portion 22 and the lid portion 24.

(Effect of the present embodiment)

In the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, the beverage production apparatus 100 includes: a container mounting part 7 for mounting the container C in which the beverage material Lm is loaded; a stirring section 2 including a rotation shaft 21, a blade section 22, and a motor 23, for stirring the beverage material Lm placed in the container C of the container placement section 7 to produce the beverage L, the rotation shaft 21 rotating about a rotation axis 21a extending in the vertical direction, the blade section 22 being provided below the rotation shaft 21, and the motor 23 rotating the rotation shaft 21 about the rotation axis 21a in accordance with the rotation of the rotation shaft 21; a moving mechanism 3 including a motor 31, the moving mechanism 3 moving the stirring section 2 in the vertical direction; and a control unit 4 that controls a position of the knife section 22 in the vertical direction and a rotation speed of the knife section 22 when the knife section 22 rotates, wherein the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the moving mechanism 3 moves the knife 22 from the lower position, which is the lower position, of the container C to the upper position, which is the upper position, of the container C, the control unit 4 decreases the rotation speed of the knife 22, and when the moving mechanism 3 moves the knife 22 from the upper position to the lower position, the control unit 4 increases the rotation speed of the knife 22. Thus, since the rotational speed of the blade portion 22 is reduced when the blade portion 22 is moved to the upper position, the rotational speed of the beverage L can be reduced by the resistance applied to the beverage L from the blade portion 22. Further, since the rotation speed of the knife 22 is increased when the knife 22 is moved to the lower position, the knife 22 can be moved to the lower position while increasing the speed difference between the rotation speed of the knife 22 and the rotation speed of the beverage L. Therefore, the speed difference between the rotational speed of the blade portion 22 and the rotational speed of the beverage material Lm rotating together with the beverage L can be increased, and therefore the impact speed and the impact frequency between the blade portion 22 and the beverage material Lm can be increased. Therefore, the efficiency of grinding the beverage material Lm by the cutter unit 22 can be improved. As a result, the beverage production apparatus 100 can be provided that can suppress an increase in the production time of the beverage L.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: the knife 22 is raised to a position where at least a part of the knife 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L, which is an upper position. Accordingly, since the knife 22 is raised to a position where at least a part of the knife 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L, when the knife 22 is moved to the upper position, the resistance applied to the knife 22 by the beverage L can be reduced as compared with a configuration in which the knife 22 is not exposed at all from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L. As a result, since the time when the rotational speed of the blade portion 22 is increased at the upper position can be shortened, the increase in the time for producing the beverage L can be further suppressed.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: the cutter portion 22 is raised to the upper position while the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 is lowered, and the cutter portion 22 is lowered to the lower position while the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 is increased. Thus, unlike the configuration in which the knife section 22 is moved to the upper position after the rotational speed of the knife section 22 is reduced, and the knife section 22 is moved to the lower position after the rotational speed of the knife section 22 is increased, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a time for waiting for a decrease or an increase in the rotational speed. As a result, the increase in the time required for producing the beverage L can be further suppressed.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 is decreased, the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 is decreased stepwise. Here, when the motor 23 is used as the rotation driving unit, when the rotation speed of the knife unit 22 is continuously decreased, a counter electromotive force is generated from the motor 23. When a counter electromotive force is generated from the motor 23, a switching element electrically connected to the motor 23 for switching a current applied to the motor 23, a zener diode for protecting a circuit electrically connected to the motor 23 from a surge current, or the like may malfunction. Therefore, if the rotation speed of the knife section 22 is gradually reduced as described above, the generation of the counter electromotive force from the motor 23 can be suppressed, unlike the case where the rotation speed of the knife section 22 is continuously reduced. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a failure in a member connected to the motor 23 or the like due to the counter electromotive force from the motor 23.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to acquire the rotation speed of the rotary shaft 21, and is configured to control the rotation speed of the blade 22 so that the rotation speed of the blade 22 during the production of the beverage L becomes a predetermined rotation speed regardless of the resistance applied to the blade 22 from the beverage material Lm. Accordingly, the rotational speed of the cutter unit 22 can be maintained at a predetermined rotational speed regardless of the type of the beverage material Lm, the position of the beverage material Lm, and the size of the beverage material Lm. As a result, the rotational speed of the blade portion 22 can be suppressed from decreasing regardless of the type of the beverage material Lm, the location of the beverage material Lm, and the size of the beverage material Lm, and therefore, an increase in the time required for producing the beverage L can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of producing the beverage L, the cutter portion 22 is moved downward a plurality of times while the cutter portion 22 is rotated. Thus, when the beverage L is started to be produced, the beverage material Lm can be pulverized a plurality of times when the beverage material Lm is pulverized by the cutter unit 22. Therefore, compared to the structure in which the cutter unit 22 is moved to the lower position of the container C at a time, the reduction of the rotation speed of the cutter unit 22 due to the resistance caused by the beverage material Lm can be suppressed. As a result, the efficiency of grinding the beverage material Lm can be suppressed from being lowered due to the reduction in the number of revolutions of the cutter unit 22, and therefore the time required for producing the beverage L can be shortened. Further, since the cutter unit 22 can be moved to the lower position while the beverage material Lm is being pulverized, the beverage material Lm can be prevented from being stirred by the cutter unit 22 without being pulverized by the cutter unit 22. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the lid portion 24 from being pushed up by the beverage material Lm during the production of the beverage L due to the lid portion 24 covering the upper opening of the container C being hit by the beverage material Lm that has not been pulverized but stirred when the beverage material Lm is stirred by the stirring portion 2 (beverage L is produced). As a result, the occurrence of a gap between lid 24 and container C can be suppressed, and thus leakage of beverage L from container C during production of beverage L can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to perform the following control: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of producing the beverage L, the cutter portion 22 is moved in the upward direction and the downward direction while being rotated, and the cutter portion 22 is moved so that the amount of movement in the downward direction gradually increases. Thus, the knife section 22 is moved upward, whereby the resistance due to the beverage material Lm that has not been crushed can be prevented from being applied to the knife section 22. As a result, the rotation speed of the knife section 22 can be increased by moving the knife section 22 in the upward direction, and therefore, the efficiency of grinding the beverage material Lm can be improved.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the control unit 4 is configured to: when the knife 22 is moved in the upward direction and the downward direction, control is performed to switch between the movement of the knife 22 in the upward direction and the movement of the knife 22 in the downward direction based on the time for rotating the knife 22, or control is performed to move the knife 22 in the upward direction when the rotation speed of the knife 22 becomes less than a predetermined rotation speed. Thus, when the movement of the knife section 22 in the upward direction and the movement of the knife section 22 in the downward direction are switched based on the time for rotating the knife section 22, the movement direction of the knife section 22 can be switched regardless of the type of the beverage material Lm. As a result, it is possible to suppress complication of control when the knife section 22 is moved in the upward direction and the downward direction. In addition, in the case of performing control for moving the knife section 22 in the upward direction when the rotation speed of the knife section 22 becomes smaller than the predetermined rotation speed, when the degree of decrease in the rotation speed of the knife section 22 due to the resistance applied to the knife section 22 by the beverage material Lm is large, the rotation speed of the knife section 22 can be increased by moving the knife section 22 in the upward direction. As a result, the cutter portion 22 having an increased rotation speed is moved downward, whereby the reduction in grinding efficiency can be suppressed. Further, when the degree of reduction in the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22 due to the resistance applied to the cutter portion 22 by the beverage material Lm is small, the grinding efficiency is not easily reduced, and therefore, the cutter portion 22 may not be moved in the upward direction in order to increase the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22. Therefore, the time required to increase the rotation speed of the knife section 22 can be shortened. As a result, the increase in the time required for producing the beverage L can be suppressed.

In the present embodiment, as described above, the beverage material Lm is further provided with the cylindrical lid portion 24, and when the stirring portion 2 stirs the beverage material Lm, the lid portion 24 covers the upper opening of the container C, and the control portion 4 is configured to perform the following control: after the production of the beverage L is completed, the cutter portion 22 is rotated in a state where the entire cutter portion 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L, with the lid portion 24 covering the upper opening of the container C. Thus, even when the liquid droplets Ld of the beverage L adhere to the blade portion 22 when the beverage L is produced, the liquid droplets Ld adhering to the blade portion 22 can be blown off by centrifugal force by rotating the blade portion 22. Even when the liquid droplets Ld of the beverage L adhere to the inside of the lid portion 24 when the beverage L is produced, the liquid droplets Ld adhering to the inside of the lid portion 24 can be dropped by wind, vibration, or the like generated by the rotation of the blade portion 22. As a result, it is possible to prevent the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the inner sides of the blade portion 22 and the lid portion 24 from dropping into the container C, and therefore it is possible to prevent the user's hands from being soiled when the user takes out the container C due to the droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the container C. Further, since the liquid droplets Ld of the beverage L adhering to the inner sides of the knife 22 and the lid 24 can be prevented from dropping on the container mounting portion 7, the container mounting portion 7 can be prevented from being contaminated with the beverage L.

[ modified examples ]

The presently disclosed embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims rather than the description of the above embodiments, and includes all modifications (variations) within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

For example, although the above embodiment shows an example in which the control unit 4 rotates the cutter unit 22 at a predetermined rotational speed regardless of the resistance of the beverage material Lm, the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit 4 may be configured to acquire the rotation speed of the rotation shaft 21 and perform control to extend the production time of the beverage L in accordance with a decrease in the rotation speed of the blade 22 during the production of the beverage L. With this configuration, since the beverage L is continuously produced until the beverage material Lm is pulverized when the rotation speed of the cutter unit 22 is reduced, the beverage material Lm can be prevented from remaining without being pulverized, as compared with a configuration in which the production of the beverage L is completed when a predetermined time has elapsed even when the rotation speed of the cutter unit 22 is reduced. As a result, the particle size of the beverage raw material Lm can be kept constant, and therefore, the quality of the beverage L can be suppressed from being degraded.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 performs the control of raising the knife section 22 to the position where at least a part of the knife section 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L, which is the upper position, but the present invention is not limited to this. In the present invention, the control unit 4 may be configured to perform the following control: the knife section 22 is raised to a position where the entire knife section 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L, which is the upper position. With this configuration, the entire blade portion 22 is exposed from the liquid surface Ls of the beverage L, and therefore resistance of the beverage L is not applied to the blade portion 22, and the rotational speed of the blade portion 22 can be easily increased. As a result, compared to a configuration in which the rotational speed of the knife 22 is increased in a state in which a part of the knife 22 remains in the beverage L, the time when the rotational speed of the knife 22 is increased can be shortened, and therefore, the production time of the beverage L can be suppressed from being lengthened.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 performs the control of raising the knife part 22 to the upper position while lowering the rotation speed of the knife part 22 and lowering the knife part 22 to the lower position while increasing the rotation speed of the knife part 22, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 4 may be configured to perform the following control: the cutter portion 22 is raised to the upper position after the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22 is decreased, and the cutter portion 22 is lowered to the lower position after the rotational speed of the cutter portion 22 is increased. However, in the case where the control unit 4 performs control for raising the knife 22 to the upper position after lowering the rotation speed of the knife 22 and for lowering the knife 22 to the lower position after increasing the rotation speed of the knife 22, a waiting time is generated when lowering or increasing the rotation speed of the knife 22, and therefore the time required for producing the beverage L increases. Therefore, the control unit 4 is preferably configured to perform the following control: the cutter portion 22 is raised to the upper position while the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 is lowered, and the cutter portion 22 is lowered to the lower position while the rotation speed of the cutter portion 22 is increased.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 performs the control of gradually decreasing the rotation speed of the knife section 22 when decreasing the rotation speed of the knife section 22, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, when the control unit 4 is configured to continuously decrease the rotation speed of the knife section 22 but there is no possibility of a failure of a member connected to the motor 23, the control unit 4 may be configured to continuously decrease the rotation speed of the knife section 22.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the control unit 4 performs the control of moving the knife part 22 downward a plurality of times when moving the knife part 22 to the lower position at the start of producing the beverage L has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 4 may be configured to move the blade unit 22 to the lower position without interruption when starting to produce the beverage L. However, when the control unit 4 moves the cutter unit 22 to the lower position without interruption, the large-sized beverage material Lm2 and the hard beverage material Lm may not be crushed by the cutter unit 22. In this case, the lid 24 is pushed up by the beverage material Lm that cannot be pulverized, and the beverage L may leak. Therefore, the control unit 4 is preferably configured to perform the following control: when the cutter portion 22 is moved to the lower position at the start of producing the beverage L, the cutter portion 22 is moved downward a plurality of times.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 performs the control of moving the knife section 22 in the vertical direction while rotating the knife section 22 at the start of producing the beverage L and moving the knife section 22 so that the amount of downward movement gradually increases, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the control unit 4 may be configured to perform the following control: the blade portion 22 is moved downward a plurality of times without moving the blade portion 22 in the upward direction. That is, the control unit 4 may be configured to move the knife unit 22 downward in stages.

In the above embodiment, the control unit 4 controls the rotation of the knife 22 in a state where the lid 24 covers the upper opening of the container C after the production of the beverage L is completed. For example, the controller 4 may be configured not to control the rotation of the knife 22 in a state where the lid 24 covers the upper opening of the container C after the production of the beverage L is completed. However, in the case where the control unit 4 is not configured to control the rotation of the blade unit 22 in a state where the lid unit 24 covers the upper opening of the container C after the production of the beverage L is completed, the droplets Ld of the beverage L may drop onto the container C and the container placement unit 7. Therefore, the control unit 4 is preferably configured to perform the following control: after the production of the beverage L is completed, the cutter portion 22 is rotated in a state where the lid portion 24 covers the upper opening of the container C.

In the above embodiment, the example in which the controller 4 controls the speed level of the motor 23 at 5 levels, i.e., level L1 to level L5, has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. The control unit 4 may be configured to control the speed level of the motor 23 by a speed level of less than 5 levels, or a speed level of 5 levels or more. For example, the control unit 4 may control the speed level of the motor 23 in units of 10% (10 steps).

Claims

1. A beverage production device is provided with:

a container mounting part for mounting a container in which a beverage material is loaded;

a stirring section including a rotation shaft section that rotates about a rotation axis extending in a vertical direction, a knife section provided at a lower portion of the rotation shaft section, and a rotation driving section that rotates the rotation shaft section about the rotation axis in accordance with rotation of the rotation shaft section, the stirring section stirring the beverage material placed in the container placement section to produce a beverage;

a moving mechanism including a vertical driving unit, the moving mechanism moving the stirring unit in a vertical direction; and

a control unit that controls a position of the knife section in a vertical direction and a rotational speed of the knife section when the knife section rotates,

wherein the control unit is configured to perform the following control: the control unit decreases the rotation speed of the knife unit when the moving mechanism moves the knife unit from a lower position, which is a lower position of the container, to an upper position, which is an upper position of the container, and increases the rotation speed of the knife unit when the moving mechanism moves the knife unit from the upper position to the lower position.

2. The beverage making apparatus of claim 1,

the control unit is configured to perform the following control: the knife portion is raised to a position where at least a part of the knife portion is exposed from the liquid surface of the beverage, which is the upper position.

3. A beverage making device as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the control unit is configured to perform the following control: the cutter unit is raised to the upper position while the rotation speed of the cutter unit is lowered, and the cutter unit is lowered to the lower position while the rotation speed of the cutter unit is increased.

4. A beverage making device as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the control unit is configured to perform the following control: when the rotation speed of the knife part is reduced, the rotation speed of the knife part is reduced step by step.

5. A beverage making device as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the control unit is configured to acquire a rotation speed of the rotary shaft, and to control the rotation speed of the blade unit so that the rotation speed of the blade unit in the process of producing the beverage becomes a predetermined rotation speed regardless of resistance applied to the blade unit from the beverage material.

6. A beverage making device as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the control unit is configured to acquire a rotation speed of the rotation shaft unit and to perform control to extend a production time of the beverage in accordance with a decrease in the rotation speed of the blade unit during production of the beverage.

7. A beverage making device as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

the control unit is configured to perform the following control: when the knife portion is moved to the lower position at the start of producing the beverage, the knife portion is moved downward a plurality of times while being rotated.

8. A beverage making device as defined in claim 7,

the control unit is configured to perform the following control: when the knife section is moved to the lower position at the start of producing the beverage, the knife section is moved in the upper direction and the lower direction while being rotated, and the knife section is moved so that the amount of downward movement gradually increases.

9. A beverage making device as defined in claim 7,

the control unit is configured to: when the knife section is moved in the upward direction and the downward direction, control is performed to switch between the upward movement of the knife section and the downward movement of the knife section based on the time for rotating the knife section, or control is performed to move the knife section in the downward direction when the rotation speed of the knife section is equal to or greater than a predetermined rotation speed, and to move the knife section in the upward direction when the rotation speed of the knife section becomes less than the predetermined rotation speed.

10. A beverage making device as claimed in claim 1 or 2,

further comprising a cylindrical lid portion that covers an upper opening of the container when the beverage material is stirred by the stirring portion,

the control unit is configured to perform the following control: after the beverage is produced, the cutter portion is rotated in a state in which the entire cutter portion is exposed from the liquid surface of the beverage with the lid portion covering the upper opening of the container.