JPH06323715A - Cooling device for beer barrel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively cool draft beer by creating a convection current in a beer barrel having a heat-insulating construction with a cooling surface in part. CONSTITUTION:Beer barrels are each horizontally loaded in a section on a rack 11 through a front opening. A container main body 1 is pushed into the section with a cooling surface on the bottom of the main body 1 toward a rear plate 14 in the section, a lower end flange of an external drum is connected to a seal 17, so that a lower space of the external drum including the cooling surface is sealed. When only dampers 20 in an air supply duct 13a leading to the sections where the beer barrels are to be loaded are opened and a cold-air generator 12 is started to generate cold-air, the cold-air generated flows into the selected sections through the air supply duct 13a and fills the lower spaces of the container main bodies 1. Further, the cold-air is returned to the cold-air generator 12 through a return duct 13b to cool it again and sent to the air supply ducts 13a, thus the cold-air is circulated repeatedly. The single-walled cooling surface of the container main body 1 is exposed to the cold-air supplied to the lower space of the container main body 1 and forcibly cooled. Thereby, draft beer is effectively cooled.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beer barrel cooling device for forcibly cooling a beer barrel during storage.

[0002]

Draft beer is packed in a metal container called a beer barrel and transported, and at the time of sale, carbon dioxide gas is pressed into the beer barrel and directly taken out from the beer barrel into jugs.
Draft beer is barrel-packed at a relatively low temperature at the time of shipping, but it is a normal treatment to raise the temperature to ambient temperature during transportation and storage and to cool it instantaneously at the time of sale. However, draft beer has a problem that the original taste and aroma of draft beer is lost once the temperature rises to the atmospheric temperature.

In order to solve this problem, the inventors previously developed the shape and structure of a beer barrel suitable for storing draft beer and keeping it cold during sale (see Japanese Patent Application No. 3-9110). As shown in FIG. In the figure, the container body 1 of the improved beer barrel has an inner-outer double-tube structure of an inner cylinder 2 and an outer cylinder 3 except for a bottom portion, and a vacuum heat insulating layer 4 is formed between the inner and outer cylinders 2 and 3. And the bottom portion is the cooling surface 5.

According to this structure, the single container body 1 is formed.
The bottom space of the container is used as a cold room, and the space is filled with dry ice, ice or the like, or a cooling water tank is combined to circulate the cooling water, and the single cooling surface 5 of the container body 1 is used. You can keep the draft beer in the barrel cool directly through the bottom. In addition, if the container body 1 is maintained in the upside-down posture during transportation and storage, the draft beer will be stored between the heat insulating layers 4 between the inner and outer cylinder barrels, which is an advantage that it is difficult to cool. There is.

[0005]

However, when cooling the draft beer filled inside through the cooling surface 5 of the container body 1 of the beer barrel, if the container body 1 is cooled in an upright posture, it will pass through a single bottom. Although low temperature can be directly applied to draft beer, it is difficult to effectively cool the entire draft beer in the barrel because convection is unlikely to occur.

An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device for a beer barrel which can easily generate convection in the above-mentioned beer barrel having a heat insulating structure having a cooling surface to effectively cool draft beer.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, in a cooling device for a beer barrel according to the present invention, there is provided a cooling device for a beer barrel having a rack, a cool air generator and a duct. Is a metal container that has a cooling surface on the bottom, and the rack is equipped with beer barrels placed horizontally 1
It is a storage shelf that has two or more compartments, and has a seal, a ventilation port, and an exhaust port on the back surface inside the compartment, and the seal hermetically seals the periphery of the cooling surface of the beer barrel loaded inside the compartment. The blower vent and the exhaust vent are opened on the back surface of the compartment surrounded by the seal, and the cool air generator is
The duct is for generating cold air for cooling the beer barrel, and the duct is arranged between the blower port and the exhaust port and the cool air generator to form a circulation path for the cool air.

Further, the rack has at least two compartments vertically or horizontally for loading the via barrels, respectively, and the duct is connected between the blower vent and the exhaust vent of each compartment and the cool air generator. In addition, each section has a dedicated damper, and the damper opens and closes the inside of the blower side duct to switch between blowing cold air and stopping blowing air to each section.

Further, the rack has at least two compartments vertically or horizontally in which the via barrels are loaded, and the duct is connected between the air outlet and the air outlet of each compartment and the cool air generator. Each section has its own fan, and the fan is installed in the duct on the blower side for each section and forcibly blows the cool air from the cold air generator into the section and blows the air into the section when stopped. It is an axial fan that stops.

Further, the rack has a holding member that is inclined downward toward the rear surface of the compartment, and the holding member holds the via barrel in a horizontally inclined posture in the compartment.

[0011]

[Function] In the beer barrel loaded in the compartment of the rack, the lower edge of the outer cylinder of the container main body is pressed against the seal on the rear surface, and the cool air of the cool air generator is sent through the duct into the closed space, so that the container main body Force the cooling surface to cool. The container body is loaded horizontally in the compartment of the rack,
The side cooling is performed, and convection occurs due to the temperature difference between the upper and lower sides, so that the entire amount of draft beer is effectively cooled. In particular, when the beer barrel is placed horizontally in an inclined posture, the self-weight of the beer barrel acts and the sealing effect of the seal can be improved.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, the device of the present invention comprises a combination of a rack 11 and a cold air generating device 12, and the rack 11 and the cold air generating device 12 are connected by a duct 13 that forms an environment duct for cold air. is there.

In the rack 11, as shown in FIG. 2, a shelf plate 15 and a partition plate 16 are projected on a back plate 14a of a frame 14 installed on the cold air generator 12, and in the embodiment, the front faces are opened. Up and down, left and right 4 sections a ₁ ~
It is a storage shelf for a ₄ . The front opening is the entrance of the beer barrel. An opening / closing door may be further attached to the front surface.

The shelf board 15 is a back board 14a as shown in FIG.
The via barrel is projected more obliquely upward and the via barrel is received in each of the compartments a _{1 to} a ₄ in a horizontally inclined posture. Incidentally, the shelf plate 15 and the partition plate 16 for partitioning each partition a ₁ ~a ₄
Is not necessarily a plate and may even be a guide or holder that allows the vial barrel to slide within each compartment. Compartment means the location where the vials are positioned for loading, and each compartment does not have to be isolated.

The via barrel shown in FIG. 3 has an annular flange 3a at the lower edge of the outer cylinder 3. The back plate 14a supports the lower edge of the outer barrel of the beer barrel, and an annular seal 17 such as a rubber packing is attached to a portion corresponding to the lower edge of the outer barrel of the beer barrel as shown in FIG. Seal 1 in compartments a _{1 to} a ₄
Blower port 18 and exhaust port 1 on the plate surface of back plate 14a surrounded by 7.
9 are opened respectively.

The blower port 18 is opened at the upper stage and the exhaust port 19 is opened at the lower stage. The blower port 18 and the cool air generator 12 in the compartment are divided into the blower duct 13 for each compartment.
The air outlet 19 and the cold air generating device 12 are connected by a return duct 13b of the device to form a circulation path for cold air. However, a dedicated air duct may be used for each section and the return duct 13b may be commonly used. The duct 13 is piped in the frame 14 and covered with a heat insulating material 21.

A damper 20 for opening and closing the duct by an external operation is provided at each of the branch portions of the blower duct 13a.
The structure of the cold air generator 12 is not particularly limited, but as shown in FIG. 3, the refrigerant circulation pipe 21 includes an expansion valve 22, a compressor 23, an evaporator 24, and a radiator 25. The heat exchanger 24 is connected to the blower duct 13a and the return duct 13b, and the radiator 25 is equipped with the cooling fan 26.

In the embodiment, the via barrels shown in FIG. 5 are loaded in the compartments a _{1 to} a ₄ of the rack 11 through the front openings in a horizontal position. In the container body 1, the bottom cooling surface 5 is pushed toward the back plate 14 in the compartment, the lower edge flange 3a of the outer cylinder 3 is engaged with the seal 17, and the lower space of the outer cylinder 3 including the cooling surface 5 is included. Is sealed.

Only the damper 20 in the air duct 13a leading to the compartment where the beer barrel is to be loaded is opened, and the cool air generator 1 is opened.
When 2 is activated to generate cold air, the cold air flows into the selected section through the air duct 13a, and the container body 1
Of the blower duct 1 that is filled in the lower space of
Air is supplied to 3a, and circulation is repeated.

The single cooling surface 5 of the container body 1 is exposed to the cold air blown into the lower space of the container body 1 and is forcibly cooled. Since the container body 1 is in a horizontal position, the container body 1 is cooled on the side surface, and further, cold air flows toward the upper portion of the side surface and flows downward, so that the draft beer filled in the container body 1 is first cooled on the liquid surface side, and therefore the container body 1 is cooled. Convection occurs in 1 and draft beer is kept cold at a constant temperature.

When the beer barrel is taken out from the compartment,
The damper in the ventilation duct leading to the area where the vial is removed by an external operation is closed to stop the ventilation.

Experiments have shown that 5 in 10 liter beer barrels
The temperature of draft beer rose to 25 ° C. when it was filled with draft beer at 0 ° C. and left in the atmosphere for 24 hours. The beer barrel filled with this draft beer was loaded in the rack of the cooling device of the present invention, and when one beer barrel was centrally cooled with a cold air of -10 ° C, even when the outside air temperature was 35 ° C in the summer, it was about 1.5. 5 in time
It was possible to cool to ° C.

In the case of the embodiment, since the cooling air generated by one cooling air generator is separately sent to each section of the rack, the cooling capacity decreases as the number of cooling increases, but four vias are used. In the case of simultaneous cooling of barrels, it takes about 6 hours to cool from 25 ° C to 5 ° C. This is enough time for the draft beer to be sold from the evening when the beer is delivered from the factory to the store in the morning.

FIG. 4 shows a blower duct 13a instead of the damper.
An example in which an axial fan 22 is provided inside is shown. In this embodiment, when the dedicated axial fan 22 is activated in the compartment in which the beer barrel is loaded, the rotation of the axial fan 22 forcibly blows the cool air in the air duct 13a into the compartment to promote cooling. It At the time of stop, the inside of the duct 13a is cut off and the air is not blown into the compartment.

In the embodiment, since the via barrel is loaded in each compartment in a horizontally inclined posture, the container body 1 is press-fitted at the time of loading so that the lower edge of the outer cylinder is tightly engaged with the seal 17. Easy to operate and pull out. However, when the inclination direction of the beer barrels loaded in the compartment is reversed, the draft beer becomes more convective in the container body. In the present invention, “horizontally placed” includes the upside-down and side-down tilted postures of the container body 1 in the compartment.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, the temperature of draft beer carried over from the time of shipment to the time of sale and the day after closing using a heat-insulating viar barrel having a cooling surface on the bottom is kept at an appropriate low temperature. Therefore, the beer can be sold without degrading the quality of the draft beer, and an excellent effect can be obtained as a beer barrel cooling device that is permanently installed in a store or a beer hall.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of a cold air generator.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a via barrel applied to the device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Container Main Body 2 Inner Cylinder 3 Outer Cylinder 4 Insulating Layer 5 Cooling Surface 11 Rack 12 Cold Air Generator 13 Duct 13a Blower Duct 13b Return Duct 14a Back Plate 17 Seal 18 Blower Vent 19 Exhaust Vent 20 Damper 21 Insulation Material 22 Axial Fan a _{1 to} a ₄ sections

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] November 20, 1991

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 5

[Correction method] Added

[Correction content]

[Figure 5]

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] December 10, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 5

[Correction method] Added

[Correction content]

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a via barrel applied to the present invention.

[Procedure Amendment 2]

[Document name to be corrected] Drawing

[Name of item to be corrected] Figure 5

[Correction method] Added

[Correction content]

[Figure 5]

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Ryo Sakazume 7-10-1, Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo Inside Sapporo Robot Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Kazuo Furuichi 2-3-11 Iwamoto-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside of Gitechno Co., Ltd.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cooling device for a beer barrel having a rack, a cool air generator, and a duct, wherein the beer barrel is a metal container having a cooling surface on a bottom surface, and the rack horizontally holds the beer barrel. It is a storage shelf that has 1 to 2 or more compartments to be loaded into the compartment, and has a seal, a ventilation port, and an exhaust port on the back surface in the compartment, and the seal is the periphery of the cooling surface of the beer barrel loaded in the compartment. The air blower and exhaust vents are opened on the back side of the compartment surrounded by the seal, and the cold air generator generates cold air for cooling the beer barrel. The cooling device for a beer barrel is characterized in that the duct is installed between the air outlet and the air outlet and the cool air generator to form a circulation path for the cool air. 2. The rack has at least two compartments in each of which the via barrels are loaded in the vertical or horizontal direction, and the duct is connected between the blower vent and the exhaust vent of each compartment and the cool air generator. In each of the sections, a dedicated damper is provided, and the damper opens and closes the inside of the blower duct to switch between blowing cold air to each section and stopping blowing air. Cooling device for beer barrel described in. 3. The rack has at least two compartments in each of which the via barrels are loaded in the vertical or horizontal direction, and the duct is connected between the blower vent and the exhaust vent of each compartment and the cool air generator. Each section has its own fan, and the fan is installed in the blower duct for each section.
The cooling device for a beer barrel according to claim 1, wherein the cooling device is an axial fan that forcibly blows cold air from the cold air generator into the compartment and stops blowing air into the compartment when stopped. 4. The rack according to claim 1, wherein the rack has a holding member that inclines downward toward the rear surface of the compartment, and the holding member holds the via barrel in the compartment in a horizontally inclined posture. Cooling device for the beer barrel described.