JP6749689B2 - Beverage supply equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technique for distributing and supplying a liquid drink such as a carbonated drink, for example, a soft drink or a drink such as beer, from the inside of a container, and particularly to a drink inside the container to the outside of the container by the energy of pressurized gas. Dispensing, beverage supply device.

This type of beverage supply device can be roughly divided into two types. The first type is a type in which a beverage to be supplied is directly located in a container, and pressurized beverage is brought into direct contact with the beverage in the container to push the beverage out of the container. This first type is more common and finds a large number of related patent documents. For example, Patent Document 1 for stabilizing the posture of a valve body having legs, Patent Document 2 for preventing invasion of sewage by adding a seal ring, Patent Document 3 for discharging gas from a container through a gas vent hole, and many others. There is one.

Secondly, the beverage to be supplied is inside the flexible bag body, the bag body is located inside the container body, and the beverage is pressurized in the enclosed space between the inner wall of the container body and the outside of the bag body. By introducing a gas, the beverage inside the bag is distributed to the outside of the container body. There are relatively few patent documents for this second type. For example, there are Patent Document 4 showing a bag body excellent in foldability and deformability, and Patent Document 5 showing a technique in which a valve portion is arranged on the inner circumference of a closed jacket (in particular, refer to FIGS. 4A and 4B therein). In the second type, since the beverage is separated from the pressurized gas by the bag, it is possible to avoid deterioration of the taste and freshness of the beverage due to the direct contact between the pressurized gas and the beverage.

JP, 2006-341931, A JP-A-2004-269000 JP, 9-159040, A Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-517602 (corresponding to WO2003/070594) Special table 2002-522307 gazette (corresponding to WO2000/07902)

Here, we focus on the second type, which is excellent in maintaining the taste and freshness of the beverage. The second type is provided with a gas introduction valve for introducing/shutting off pressurized gas, a beverage opening/closing valve capable of opening/closing a beverage inlet/outlet, and a flexible bag for containing a beverage to be supplied. Up to now, flexible bags have been supported by related parts of the gas inlet valve. Therefore, the bag body moves with the operation of the gas introduction valve. The movement of the bag body has a magnitude corresponding to the valve stroke of the gas introduction valve, and has a small value of, for example, about several mm. However, since the gas introduction valve opens and closes each time the beverage is supplied, the movement thereof may cause an inconvenient exhaustion of the bag body, particularly the support portion of the bag body.

Further, in the second type, it is required to reliably separate the pressurized gas serving as the energy for distributing and supplying the beverage from the liquid beverage to be supplied. In particular, both the pressurized gas that serves as energy for distribution and the beverage that receives pressure from the pressurized gas are both in a pressurized state. Therefore, when the pressurized gas and the liquid beverage are separated, it is necessary to consider the pressurized state.

An object of the present invention is to provide, as a beverage supply device of the second type, a device capable of avoiding fatigue of a flexible bag and effectively separating a pressurized gas and a liquid beverage. That is.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a beverage supply device of the second type which is suitable for a one-way system which is not reused and which is also preferable in recycling. Further objects of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent description.

The present invention basically employs the second type of beverage supply device. That is, the supply device is provided with a container body including a neck portion and a flexible bag body inside the container body, and applies a pressurized gas to a surrounding space between the inner wall of the container body and the outside of the bag body. By introducing the beverage, the beverage inside the bag is distributed from the neck portion.

Further, the beverage supply device has, as a main component, a cylinder body that defines an internal space between a first end and a second end that are separated from each other in the axial direction, and a first body in the internal space of the cylinder body. A gas introduction valve which is located near one end and which introduces/blocks a pressurized gas into the surrounding space, and the second end in the inner space of the cylinder body while keeping the axis line with the gas introduction valve. And a beverage opening/closing valve capable of opening/closing the inlet/outlet of the beverage.

Furthermore, in the beverage supply device of the present invention, the cylinder body, the gas introduction valve, and the beverage opening/closing valve have the following conditions A to F and configurations.
A The first end side of the cylinder body is integrally supported on the container body side, and the bag body is supported on the second end side distant from the first end.
B The gas introduction valve includes a tubular valve body that includes a head portion, a leg portion extending from the head portion, and a central hole penetrating the head portion and the leg portion.
C The gas introduction valve introduces/shuts off the pressurized gas when the head portion of the tubular valve element separates from or abuts against the valve seat on the neck side of the container body.
D The beverage opening/closing valve includes a head, a support leg extending from the head, and a valve body including a beverage passage extending from the inner peripheral side to the outer peripheral side of the support leg.
E The beverage opening/closing valve opens/closes the inlet/outlet of the beverage when the head portion of the valve element separates from or hits the inner peripheral taper portion of the tubular valve body of the gas introduction valve.
F There is a protrusion on the outer periphery of the support leg of the beverage opening/closing valve that spreads radially outward, and the protrusion can press the leg of the gas introduction valve to the cylinder body side when the beverage opening/closing valve is closed. Is.

During the supply of beverage, the tubular valve body of the gas introduction valve, and the valve body of the beverage on-off valve, the direction toward the inside of the container body along the axis of the cylinder body by the operation from the outside of the neck, And vice versa. The operation from the outside is performed by mounting a head called a dispense head or a coupler on the neck of the container body. In that respect, it is well known to those skilled in the art (for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-274769).

In a preferred aspect, the container body includes a cap that is screwed to the neck portion, and the cap and the neck portion support the cylinder body. Since the cap functions as a connecting portion between the head and the container body, it ensures a reliable seal with the container body side. From the viewpoint of sealing, the cap is most preferably a screw connection, but other connection structures such as a structure in which a locking function is added to the fitting can be used.

In another preferable aspect, in the tubular valve element of the gas introduction valve, the head portion is thick and the leg portion is thin. The head portion has high rigidity and is hard to be deformed, whereas the leg portion has relatively low rigidity and is elastically deformable. When the beverage on-off valve is in the closed state, the protrusion on the outer periphery of the support leg of the beverage on-off valve can press the thin leg of the gas introduction valve against the cylinder body side. As a result, when the beverage on-off valve is closed, the protrusion on the outer periphery of the support leg of the beverage on-off valve, together with the thin leg of the gas introduction valve, allows the side of the liquid beverage and the pressurized gas Ensure a tight seal between the sides and separate. Regarding each valve body of the gas introduction valve and the beverage opening/closing valve, either the valve body itself or the valve seat on which the valve body abuts is made of an elastically deformable material such as an elastomer to improve the hermeticity. Is preferred.

The bag containing the beverage is preferably made of an aluminum sheet having barrier properties, but may be made of a plastic such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, or a laminated sheet of aluminum and plastic. it can.

The bag body can be fixed to the cylinder body, but for recycling, it is preferable that the bag body can be attached to and removed from the cylinder body.

It is one embodiment of this invention, and is an explanatory view showing a main structural portion in a sectional structure. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a state in which a coupler (head) is attached to the embodiment of FIG. 1. It is a side sectional view showing a state where a mounted coupler (head) is operated to supply a liquid beverage. It is a perspective view which shows one Example of a cylinder body. It is sectional drawing which shows one Example of the valve body of a gas introduction valve. It is a perspective view which shows one Example of the valve body of a beverage on-off valve.

A beverage supply device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The supply device 10 is a beer supply device and includes a tank made of a plastic such as polypropylene, that is, a container body 20. The container body 20 has a barrel shape and a cylindrical cross section. The volume is, for example, about 10 liters, and the size of the container body 20 is, for example, about 35 to 40 cm in height and about 20 to 25 cm in diameter. The container body 20 has a neck portion 22 at the top. The neck portion 22 has, for example, a diameter of about 6 cm, and includes an outward flange 221 located near the container body 20, and a threaded tubular portion 222 extending from the outward flange 221 to the open end.

A cap 30 that fits the threaded tubular portion 222 is screwed to the neck portion 22 of the container body 20. The cap 30 is made of engineering plastic such as polyacetal resin, and includes a cap main body 32 that is screwed to the threaded tubular portion 222 on the neck 22 side, an intermediate portion 34 that is continuous with the cap main body 32 and the step portion 33, and an intermediate portion. And an opening 36 continuous with 34. Looking at the inner peripheries of the opening portion 36 and the intermediate portion 34, the taper portion 342 adjacent to the step portion 33 (as will be described later, the taper portion 342 functions as a valve seat of the gas introduction valve 70). ), there is a first step 344a and a second step 344b. The second step 344b is located near the opening of the cap 30, and the first step 344a is adjacent to the tapered portion 342. The cap 30 is integrally screw-connected to the neck portion 22, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a head 40 called a coupler can be mounted or operated.

In the supply device 10, the cylinder body 50 is integrally supported with respect to the container body 20 by the cap 30 which is attached to the neck portion 22 of the container body 20 and detachably screwed. The cylinder body 50 is made of engineering plastic such as PA6G (polyamide 6), and when the perspective view of FIG. 4 is viewed in addition to FIG. 1, the diameter of the cylinder body 50 sequentially differs over several stages. That is, the cylinder body 50 includes a large diameter portion 52 having an outward flange 521, a medium diameter portion 54 having an intermediate diameter, and a small diameter portion 56 having the smallest diameter. Such a cylinder body 50 defines an internal space 58 from a side (first end) of the large diameter portion 52 on which the outward flange 521 is provided to an open end 561 (second end) of the small diameter portion 56. As will be described in detail later, the supply device 10 includes a gas introduction valve in the inner space 58 of the inner periphery of the cylinder body 50, particularly in the inner space 58 at the inner periphery of the large diameter portion 52 to the inner diameter portion 54. 70 and a beverage opening/closing valve 80 are arranged.

The cylinder body 50 is configured such that the outward flange 521 on the first end side is placed on the threaded tubular portion 222 of the neck portion 22, and the cylinder body 50 inserts itself into the container body 20 through the neck portion 22. Then, the cap 30 is screwed to the threaded tubular portion 222 of the neck portion 22, so that the outward flange 521 is sandwiched between the step portion 33 of the cap 30 and the upper surface of the threaded tubular portion 222 of the neck portion 22. The cylinder body 50 is integrally supported on the container body 20 side.

Further, there is a threaded portion 542 on the outer circumference of the middle diameter portion 54 of the cylinder body 50. The screw portion 542 is a mounting portion of the bag body 90, and is a portion to which an adapter ring 92 that integrally supports the flexible bag body 90 is screwed. The adapter ring 92 is made of polyethylene, for example, and is integrated with the flexible bag body 90 by, for example, fusion bonding. The bag body 90 is integrally supported by the cylinder body 50 by screwing the adapter ring 92 to the cylinder body 50 side. Therefore, since the cylinder body 50 and the container body 20 are integrated and stationary, the bag body 90 supported by the cylinder body 50 does not move up and down.

The flexible bag body 90 is located inside the container body 20, and forms a surrounding space 100 between the inner wall of the container body 20 and the outside of the bag body 90 itself. The enclosed space 100 is a space into which a pressurized gas such as carbon dioxide gas is introduced from a cylinder of an external pressurized gas source 110, as indicated by a path G indicated by an arrow. The supply device 10 stores a beverage (beer) to be supplied inside the flexible bag body 90. Then, by introducing a pressurized gas into the surrounding space 100, the flexible bag body 90 is pressed and deformed, and the beverage inside the bag body 90 is shown by the path L of the arrow through the small diameter portion 56 of the cylinder body 50. Thus, it can be dispensed out of the neck 22.

The supply device 10 includes a gas introduction valve 70 in the middle of the arrow path G connecting to the pressurized gas source 110, and a beverage opening/closing valve 80 in the middle of the arrow path L for distributing the beverage. The gas introduction valve 70 and the beverage opening/closing valve 80 are both poppet-shaped valves, that is, valves that open and close the flow path by moving the valve element in a direction perpendicular to the valve seat. The gas introduction valve 70 and the beverage opening/closing valve 80 are located in the internal space 58 of the cylinder body 50 in a position extending from the large diameter portion 52 to the medium diameter portion 54 while keeping their axes aligned.

The gas introduction valve 70 applies a force toward the valve body 72, the valve seat (the taper portion 342 on the cap 30 side functions as the valve seat) facing the valve body 72, and the valve body 72 toward the valve seat 342. And an additional valve spring 74. In FIG. 1, the gas introduction valve 70 is in an open state, and the valve body 72 is separated from the valve seat 342. Referring to FIG. 5 in more detail, the valve body 72 includes a head portion 722, a leg portion 724 extending axially from the head portion 722, and a central hole 726 penetrating the head portion 722 and the leg portion 724. Including, the overall shape is tubular. The valve body 72 is made of an elastically deformable elastomer, and the tapered portion 722a on the upper outer periphery of the head 722 hits the valve seat 342 on the cap 30 side or separates from the valve seat 342, thereby introducing/pressurizing gas. Shut off. The cylinder body 50 has an extension guide portion 544 extending from the medium diameter portion 54 on the inner circumference of the large diameter portion 56 for guiding the movement of the valve body 72. Further, the large diameter portion 56 of the cylinder body 50 also has a gas passage hole 522 for directing the introduced pressurized gas toward the surrounding space 100. The gas passage hole 522 penetrates the large diameter portion 56 and connects the inside and outside thereof. It is preferable to provide a plurality of such gas passage holes 522. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a pair of gas passage holes 522 can be provided at positions facing each other, that is, at positions separated by 180° in the circumferential direction. The head portion 722 of the valve body 72 is thick to maintain its shape, while the leg portions 724 are thin to facilitate deformation. In order to further facilitate the deformation of the leg portion 724, it is also preferable to provide a large number of grooves 724d along the axial direction on the inner circumference of the leg portion 724, as shown by the chain line in FIG.

On the other hand, the beverage opening/closing valve 80 also has a valve body 82, a valve seat facing the valve body 82 (the inner peripheral tapered portion 722b of the valve body 72 of the gas introduction valve 70 functions as a valve seat), and the valve body 82. Valve spring 84 for applying a force toward the valve seat 722b. Like the cylinder body 50, the valve body 82 of the beverage opening/closing valve 80 is made of engineering plastic such as PA6G (polyamide 6). As can be seen from FIG. 6, the valve body 82 has a cup-shaped overall shape, and a head 822 that closes the inside and the outside (a tapered portion 822a of the upper outer circumference of the head 822 hits the valve seat 722b, so that the beverage opening/closing valve 80), and a plurality of support legs 824 extending in the axial direction from the head portion 822, and a reinforcing portion 826 located at an intermediate portion of the support legs 824 when viewed in the axial direction and reinforcing the portion of the support leg 824. With. The upper half of such a valve body 82 enters the central hole 726 of the valve body 72 of the gas introduction valve 70, and the remaining lower half is located inside the medium diameter portion 54 of the cylinder body 50. Here, the plurality of support legs 824 of the beverage opening/closing valve 80 define a beverage passage hole 828 between adjacent support legs 824. Therefore, the valve body 82 may be entirely cup-shaped, the plurality of support legs 824 may be integrally formed over the entire circumference, and the plurality of beverage passage holes 828 may be provided in the support legs over the entire circumference.

Now, when distributing and supplying the beer of a drink by the drink supply apparatus 10, the head 40 called a coupler is used as well known to those skilled in the art. The operation by the head 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The head 40 is attached to a portion of the cap 30 that is screwed to the neck portion 22. The head 40 includes an operation lever 44 attached to the main body 42. When the operating lever 44 is rotated as shown by arrow R in FIG. 3, the push rod 46 inside the main body 42 moves downward, that is, in the direction of entering the neck portion 22. Further, the operation lever 44 returns to its original state by the force of the return spring 48 when the operation is stopped. The head 40 has a conduit 40G communicating with the pressurized gas source 110 and a conduit 40L serving as a passage for the beverage to be distributed.

The push rod 46 of the head 40 hits the upper surfaces of the valve body 72 of the gas introduction valve 70 and the valve body 82 of the beverage opening/closing valve 80, and pushes the valve bodies 72, 82 downward. Before the operation shown in FIG. 2, in the gas introduction valve 70, the outer peripheral taper portion 722a of the valve body 72 hits the taper portion 342 on the side of the cap 30 that is integral with the neck portion 22 so that the gas introduction valve 70 is in a blocked state (a state in which the introduction of pressurized gas is blocked). It is in. Further, the beverage opening/closing valve 80 is in a closed state (a state in which the beverage path L is closed) in which the tapered portion 822a of the upper outer periphery of the cup-shaped valve body 82 abuts the inner peripheral tapered portion 722b of the tubular valve body 72. .. The valve springs 74 and 84 maintain such a closed state and a closed state. In addition, the valve bodies 72 and 82 also receive pressure from the beverage under pressure. Therefore, the leg portion 724 of the valve body 72 receives a force that attempts to spread outward in the radial direction, and the outer peripheral surface of the leg portion 724 closely contacts the inner peripheral wall of the middle diameter portion 54 of the cylinder body 50. In addition, in the cup-shaped valve body 82 that receives pressure, the reinforcing portion 826 that projects radially outward pushes the leg portion 724 radially outward, and the space between the leg portion 724 and the intermediate diameter portion 54 of the cylinder body 50 is increased. Improve the tightness. Therefore, when the valves 70 and 80 are closed or closed, the pressurized gas side and the beverage side are reliably separated.

By operating the operation lever 44 of the head 40 from such a shut-off or closed state (state of FIG. 2), the lower surface 722c of the head portion 722 of the cylindrical valve body 72 is moved to the extension guide portion 544 of the cylinder body 50. The taper portion 822a on the upper outer periphery of the cup-shaped valve body 82 is placed on the upper surface and is separated from the inner peripheral taper portion 722b of the cylindrical valve body 72 (open state shown in FIGS. 1 and 3). .. Thereby, the gas introduction valve 70 is opened or brought into the introduction state, so that the pressurized gas of the pressurized gas source 110 is introduced into the enclosed space 100 through the path G. The flexible bag body 90 receives the pressure of the introduced pressurized gas to reduce its volume, and distributes the beverage therein to the outside through the path L. Even during such supply, the pressurized gas path G side and the liquid beverage path L side are reliably separated.

The beverage supply device 10 as described above is basically used in a one-way system that is not reused. As a result, it is possible to omit operations such as collection and cleaning of the container due to reuse. Moreover, the large container body 20 made of plastic, the bag body 90 including aluminum, and the inner peripheral parts of the neck portion 22 can be reliably separated for recycling, which is also preferable for recycling.

10 Supply Device 20 Container Body 22 Neck 30 Cap 40 Coupler (Head)
50 Cylinder body 52 Large diameter part 54 Medium diameter part 56 Small diameter part 58 Internal space 70 Gas introduction valve 72 Cylindrical valve body 722 Head 722a Outer peripheral taper part 722b Inner peripheral taper part 724 Leg part 726 Center hole 80 Beverage opening/closing valve 82 Cup-shaped valve body 822 Head portion 822a Tapered portion 824 Support leg 826 Reinforcement portion 90 Bag body 100 Enclosing space 110 Pressurized gas source

Claims (5)

A container body including a neck portion and a flexible bag body inside the container body, and by introducing a pressurized gas into an enclosed space between the inner wall of the container body and the outside of the bag body, the bag A beverage dispenser for dispensing a beverage inside a body from the neck,
A cylinder body that defines an inner space between a first end and a second end that are separated from each other in the axial direction, and a position in the inner space of the cylinder body that is close to the first end and is pressurized in the surrounding space. A gas introduction valve that introduces/shuts off gas, and a beverage that is located at a position near the second end in the internal space of the cylinder body while keeping the axis line with the gas introduction valve and that can open and close the entrance and exit of the beverage. An on-off valve, and the beverage supply device further comprising the cylinder body, the gas introduction valve, and the beverage on-off valve having the following conditions and configurations A to F.
A The first end side of the cylinder body is integrally supported on the container body side, and the bag body is supported on the second end side away from the first end.
B The gas introduction valve includes a tubular valve body including a head portion, a leg portion extending from the head portion, and a central hole penetrating the head portion and the leg portion.
C The gas introduction valve introduces/shuts off the pressurized gas when the head portion of the tubular valve element separates from or abuts against the valve seat on the neck side of the container body.
D The beverage opening/closing valve includes a head and a supporting leg extending in the axial direction from the head, and a valve body including a reinforcing portion located at an intermediate portion of the supporting leg when viewed in the axial direction and reinforcing the portion of the supporting leg. Prepare
E The beverage opening/closing valve opens/closes the inlet/outlet of the beverage when the head portion of the valve element separates from or hits the inner peripheral taper portion of the tubular valve body of the gas introduction valve.
F On the outer periphery of the reinforcing portion of the support leg of the beverage opening/closing valve, there is a protrusion that spreads radially outward, and when the beverage opening/closing valve is in a closed state, the protrusion of the gas introduction valve is connected to the cylinder body. It can be pressed to the side. The tubular valve body of the gas introduction valve and the valve body of the beverage opening/closing valve are directed toward the inside of the container body along the axis of the cylinder body by an operation from the outside of the neck portion, and the opposite direction. The beverage dispenser of claim 1, wherein the beverage dispenser is movable to. The beverage supply device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the container body further includes a cap that is screwed to the neck portion, and the cap and the neck portion support the cylinder body. The cylindrical valve body, the head portion is thick, the leg portion is thin, when the beverage on-off valve is in a closed state, the protrusion of the outer peripheral portion of the reinforcement of the support leg, The beverage supply device according to claim 1, wherein the thin leg portion of the gas introduction valve can be pressed against the cylinder body side. The beverage supply device according to claim 1, wherein the bag body is attachable to and removable from the cylinder body.