JP2003312789A - Beverage container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a beverage container which can approximately completely seal a gap between a mouthpiece and a bush against both the outside and the inside to keep hygienic and well keep quality of a beverage and enables a conventionally used beverage filling machine to be used as it is, resulting in an improvement in economy. <P>SOLUTION: The bush 17 of a fitting 3 is screwed with the mouthpiece 14 of a beverage container body 1. Thus a gap between the inner periphery of the base of the mouthpiece 14 and the outer periphery of an intermediate part of the bush 17 is kept sealed by a first sealing member 23. In addition, a gap between the tip of the mouthpiece 14 and a step 25 of the bush 17 provided to cover the tip of the mouthpiece 14 is kept sealed by a second sealing member 26. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a beverage container such as a draft beer barrel, which is used for filling and cooling or heating a desired beverage such as draft beer or draft sake and pouring.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an example of a draft beer barrel for business use, a bush of a well-type fitting is detachably screwed inside the mouthpiece of the body of the draft beer barrel, and the inner circumference of the base of the mouthpiece and the outer circumference of the middle portion of the bush are connected to each other. There is known a configuration in which a packing for sealing is interposed between them in a compressed state.

In the draft beer barrel having the above-mentioned structure, the female thread of the mouthpiece and the male thread of the bush are open to the outside, so that rainwater, fine dust, etc. are exposed from the opening to the female thread of the mouthpiece and the bush. Enter the gap with the male screw. The rainwater, dust, etc. that have entered are prevented from entering the draft beer barrel main body, that is, draft beer, by the packing interposed between the inner circumference of the base of the mouthpiece and the outer circumference of the intermediate portion of the bush. However, if rainwater, dust, etc. are left in a state where they are left in the gap between the female screw of the mouthpiece and the male screw of the bush, it is not only unhygienic due to the generation of bacteria, but also loose packing, In the case of damage, rainwater, dust and the like may enter the draft beer barrel body and contaminate draft beer.

Conventionally, in order to solve the above problems,
As described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-79991, a brim-like portion is provided on the outer periphery of the tip end portion of the bush, and a packing for sealing is interposed in a compressed state between the inner surface of the brim-like portion and the tip end surface of the die. In addition, there has been proposed a beverage container configured to prevent rainwater, dust and the like from entering the gap between the female screw of the mouthpiece and the male screw of the bush.

[0005]

However, in the structure of the conventional example as described above, when the second seal member is interposed between the tip surface of the die and the collar-shaped portion of the bush,
Since the brim portion of the bush covers the tip surface of the mouthpiece that has the brim portion for cooperation with the draft beer filling machine at the tip, it is not possible to use the conventional draft beer filling machine as it is, which is uneconomical. Is. Further, when the brim-shaped portion of the bush is housed in the concave portion formed on the inner circumference of the tip of the die, a gap is left between the outer circumferential surface of the brim-shaped portion of the bush and the peripheral wall of the concave portion of the die outside the packing. Therefore, rainwater, dust, etc. may get into this part,
In addition, it is insufficient.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to reliably and almost completely seal the gap between the mouthpiece and the bush from the inside and the outside. It is possible to prevent rainwater, dust, etc. from the outside and drinks from the inside, and prevent these from being mixed in the drink inside, and therefore, it is possible to hold the drink sanitarily. It is possible to maintain the quality of the beverage in good condition, and to use the conventional beverage filling machine as it is. Therefore, it is possible to provide a beverage container in which the economical efficiency can be improved. It is what

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, a beverage container according to the present invention comprises a beverage container body having a base,
A fitting having a bush formed so as to be detachably screwed to the inside of the mouthpiece, the tip end side covering the tip end of the mouthpiece, and the tip end portion being able to cooperate with a beverage filling machine, A first seal member interposed between the inner circumference of the base of the base and the outer circumference of the middle part of the bush; and a second seal member interposed in the annular outer opening of the base and the bush. Be prepared.

In the above structure, a seal ring having a quadrangular cross section is used as the second seal member, and a step portion formed so as to cover the tip of the die and the tip of the die in the bush with the seal ring. It is possible to intervene in a compressed state between and.

According to the present invention constructed as described above,
The first seal member maintains a sealed state between the inner periphery of the base of the mouthpiece and the outer periphery of the intermediate portion of the bush, and the second seal
Since the ring-shaped outer opening of the mouthpiece and bush is kept in a sealed state by the sealing member of, the gap between the mouthpiece and the bush can be reliably and almost completely sealed to the inside and the outside. It is possible to prevent rainwater, dust, etc. from entering from the inside, and drinks from entering inside, and these can be prevented from mixing into the drink inside, and the tip of the bush covering the tip of the mouthpiece is linked to the beverage filling machine. Since it is formed so as to be possible, the conventionally used beverage filling machine can be used as it is.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing a beverage container according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view showing the beverage container, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing main parts of the beverage container.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a beverage container 1 in this embodiment is attached to a beverage container body 2 and a mouth portion of the beverage container body 2, and supplies the beverage to the beverage container body 2. And a well type fitting 3 that can be discharged. In the present embodiment, an example in which the beverage container 1 is applied to a draft beer barrel will be described.

An example of the draft beer barrel main body 2 will be described. Particularly, as is clear from FIG. 1, a barrel 11 made of metal such as stainless steel, an upper mirror 12, and a lower mirror 13 are integrally provided, and At the edge of the hole formed at the center of the mirror 12, a cylindrical base 14 made of metal, for example, stainless steel, is provided.
The bases of are joined together. A lower skirt portion 15 made of hard rubber or the like is integrally provided on the outer circumference of the lower mirror 13, and an upper skirt portion 16 made of hard rubber or the like is integrally provided on the outer circumference of the upper mirror 12. Holes for draining (not shown) in the lower skirt portion 15 and the upper skirt portion 16
Are respectively formed at one location or at a plurality of locations. Unlike the conventional draft beer barrel, the mouthpiece 14 does not have a collar-shaped portion formed on the outer periphery of the tip portion thereof, and is set to be shorter than the conventional example.

An example of the fitting 3 will be described. Particularly, as apparent from FIGS. 2 and 3, the base 1
4 and the upper portion of the draft beer barrel main body 2, a bush 17 is inserted, and a male screw 19 formed on the outer circumference of the middle portion of the bush 17 is detachably screwed to a female screw 18 formed on the inner circumference of the mouthpiece 14. The bush 17 is formed to have a large diameter so that its tip end side covers the tip of the mouthpiece 14, and a brim portion 20 for linking with a draft beer filling machine 50 described later is provided on the outer circumference of the tip end of the bush 17. This collar-shaped part 2
0 is set to have a height and an outer diameter corresponding to the collar-shaped portion of the mouthpiece 14 in the conventional draft beer barrel.

A seal having a quadrangular cross section, which is a first sealing member, is provided between an annular projecting portion 21 formed on the inner circumference of the base of the mouthpiece 14 and an annular step portion 22 formed on the outer circumference of the intermediate portion of the bush 17. The ring 23 is interposed and sealed in a compressed state. An engagement recess 24 is formed on the inner peripheral side of the tip of the mouthpiece 14, and a second seal member is provided between the engagement recess 24 and a step 25 formed on the bush 17 so as to cover the tip of the mouthpiece 14. A seal ring 26 having a quadrangular cross section is interposed and sealed in a compressed state. In this way, the gap between the mouthpiece 14 and the bush 17 is sealed to the inside by the seal ring 23 which is the first seal member, and to the outside by the seal ring 26 which is the second seal member. It is sealed.

The upper part of the down tube 27 is inserted into the bush 17, and the down tube 27 is provided so that its lower end reaches the vicinity of the bottom of the draft beer barrel main body 2 and is movable in the axial direction. The down tube 27 has a collar-shaped portion 28 at the upper end thereof, and the lower portion of the first valve body 29 whose outer peripheral portion is formed of rubber is fixed to the inside of the upper end portion by press fitting or the like. The step portion 30 on the outer periphery of the intermediate portion is in contact with the upper surface of the collar portion 28.

The stopper 31 is made of a leaf spring material, and the base ring-shaped portion 32 is fitted to the upper end of the down tube 27 in contact with the lower surface of the collar-shaped portion 28. The receiving portion 33 is formed at a plurality of locations inside the lower end of the bush 17, and the retainer 34 is engaged with the receiving portion 33 on the outer periphery of the down tube 27. The inside of the bush 17 and the inside of the draft beer barrel body 2 are communicated with each other by an open portion 35 at the lower end of the bush 17, an elongated hole 37 formed in the skirt portion 36 of the bush 17, and the like. The elongated holes 37 are formed at a plurality of locations on the circumference and in two steps along the axial direction.

A compression spring 38 is interposed between the ring-shaped portion 32 of the stopper 31 and the retainer 34 on the outer circumference of the down tube 27, and the elasticity of the compression spring 38 causes the stopper 31, the down tube 27 and the first valve body. 29
Are integrally urged upward. As a result, the outer peripheral portion of the upper portion of the first valve body 29 is brought into contact with the valve seat 39 provided inside the bush 17, the first flow passage 40 is closed, and the first stopper portion 41 of the stopper 31 and the first stopper portion 41 The second stopper portion 42 projects outward from a hole 43 formed in the skirt portion 36 of the bush 17. When the draft beer barrel main body 2 and the fitting 3 are washed and repaired, the first valve body 29, the down tube 27, the stopper 31 and the like are lowered against the elasticity of the compression spring 38 to degas the stopper portion. 41 and 42 are brought into contact with the lower edge of the hole 43 and housed in the bush 17, and can be removed from the mouthpiece 14 in this state. Even if the fitting 3 is to be removed from the mouthpiece 14 in the state where gas is not released as described above. Stopper part 4
1 is set so as to come into contact with the lower surface of the mouthpiece 14 to be in a retaining state (lock state).

A second valve element 44 is provided inside the upper portion of the down tube 27 so as to be movable in the axial direction. A compression spring 46 is interposed between the second valve body 44 and the step portion 45 formed in the lower tube inner periphery of the second valve body 44 in the down tube 27, and the elasticity of the compression spring 46 causes the second valve body 44 to move.
Is urged upward. Thereby, the second valve body 44
Is brought into contact with the valve seat 47 of the first valve body 29, and the second flow path 48 is closed. Bush 17
Engaging claws 49 that can be engaged with a jig (not shown) for rotational operation are formed at two locations inside the upper end (outer end) of the same with 180 degrees out of phase.

The fitting 3 is a seal ring 2
3, 26 and the outer peripheral portion of the first valve element 29 are formed of metal, for example, stainless steel.

To fill draft beer into the draft beer barrel 1, for example, the draft beer barrel 1 is inverted upside down (not shown in FIG. 2), and the draft beer filling machine 50 is used. The packing 52 around the lower end of the outer cylinder 51 is overlapped on the tip surface of the bush 17,
The clamp 53 engages with the collar-shaped portion 20 of the bush 17 to link them. Then, the filling probe 54 presses the first valve element 29 and the second valve element 44 in a sealed state by interposing the packing 55. Along with this, the first valve body 29, the down tube 27, and the like are moved toward the bottom side against the elasticity of the compression spring 38, so that the first valve body 29 is separated from the valve seat 39, and the first valve body 29 is separated. While opening the flow path 40, the second valve body 44 is moved toward the bottom side against the elasticity of the compression spring 46, and the second valve body 44 is moved.
Can be separated from the valve seat 47 to open the second flow path 48. Then, a draft beer is supplied from a draft beer supply source (not shown) to the flow path 56 between the outer cylinder 51 and the filling probe 54, the first flow path 40, and the skirt portion 36 of the bush 17.
Is supplied into the draft beer barrel main body 2 through the inside of the bottle, and the gas in the draft beer barrel main body 2 is supplied to the down tube 27 and the second flow path 4.
8, hole 57 at the tip of filling probe 54, filling probe 5
Draft beer can be filled in the draft beer barrel main body 2 by discharging the draft beer through the flow passage 58 in the draft No. 4. At the time of this filling, the tip end surface of the bush 17, which is a portion where the packing 52 of the draft beer filling machine 50 is overlapped as described above, is flat and is open without any obstacles. Can be used as is. It should be noted that the draft beer barrel 1 can be filled with draft beer by the draft beer filling machine even in a normal orientation in which the draft beer barrel 1 is not inverted.

A dispense head (not shown) is used to discharge the draft beer in the draft beer barrel 1 for pouring into a desired container such as a glass. That is, the lower portion of the dispensing head is inserted into the bush 17 and the inside of the first valve body 29, the tops of the first valve body 29 and the second valve body 44 are pressed, and the fitting 3 is made elastic by the compression spring 38. The second flow path 40 is opened by opening the second flow path 48 while opening the first flow path 40 by opening the second valve body 44 against the elasticity of the compression spring 46. In this state, carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the carbon dioxide gas supply source from the first flow path 40 through the flow path of the dispensing head into the draft beer barrel body 2, and the draft beer in the draft beer barrel body 2 is pressurized to bring down the draft beer. It can be discharged through the tube 27, the second flow path 48, and the flow path of the dispensing head and poured into a desired container.

According to the present embodiment, as described above, the seal ring 23, which is the first seal member, keeps a seal between the inner periphery of the base of the mouthpiece 14 and the outer periphery of the intermediate portion of the bush 17, and Since the ring-shaped outer opening of the mouthpiece 14 and the bush 17 is kept in a sealed state by the seal ring 26 which is the second seal member, the gap between the mouthpiece 14 and the bush 17 can be surely sealed to the inside. Of course, it can be sealed almost completely without leaving a gap to the outside, and it can be sealed almost completely, rainwater, dust etc. can get in from the outside, draft beer can get in from the inside, these It is possible to prevent it from being mixed into the draft beer and maintain it in a sanitary manner, and to prevent deterioration of the quality of the draft beer. , It is possible to reduce the cost.
Further, according to the present embodiment, since the outer shape of the tip side of the mouthpiece 14 in the conventional draft beer barrel is given to the bush 17 as the flat surface of the tip, the collar-shaped portion 20, etc., the draft beer that has been conventionally used The filling machine 50 can be used as it is without changing the design, and the economical efficiency can be improved.

By interposing the seal ring 26, which is the second seal member, between the tip of the die 14 and the step 25 of the bush 17 as in the above embodiment, the seal ring 26 having a large step area can be provided. Although it is possible to reliably seal the outer opening portion of the mouthpiece 14 and the bush 17 by using the second embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the second sealing member is used as the inner peripheral surface of the tip portion of the mouthpiece 14. Bush 1
It is also possible to intervene between the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate portion of 7. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various design changes can be made without departing from the basic technical idea thereof.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the first seal member maintains the sealed state between the inner circumference of the base of the mouthpiece and the outer circumference of the intermediate portion of the bush, and the second seal member is used. Since the annular outer opening of the base and the bush is kept in a sealed state, the gap between the base and the bush can be reliably and almost completely sealed to the inside and the outside, and rainwater and dust from the outside can be sealed. It is possible to prevent such substances from getting into the inside beverage and from entering the beverage from the inside. Therefore,
Not only can it be maintained hygienically, but also the quality of the beverage can be kept good. Further, since the tip portion of the bush covering the tip of the mouthpiece is formed so as to be able to cooperate with the beverage filling machine, the beverage filling machine conventionally used can be used as it is, and therefore, the economical efficiency is improved. It is possible to improve.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing a beverage container according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view showing the beverage container.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of an essential part showing the beverage container.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 draft beer barrel (beverage container) 2 Draft beer barrel body (beverage container body) 3 fitting 14 mouthpiece 17 Bush 20 Collar 23 Seal Ring (First Seal Member) 26 Seal Ring (Second Seal Member) 27 Down Tube 29 First valve body 31 Stopper 44 Second valve body 50 draft beer filling machine

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Tadahiro Ogawa             Eggplant, 2-24 Higashishinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo             Inside Toa Corporation F term (reference) 3E082 AA04 BB03 CC01

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A beverage container main body having a mouthpiece, and a detachably screwed inside of the mouthpiece, a tip end side of which is formed so as to cover the tip of the mouthpiece, and a tip end of which is linked to a beverage filling machine. A fitting having a bush formed so as to obtain; a first seal member interposed between the inner circumference of the base of the mouthpiece and the outer circumference of the intermediate portion of the bush;
A beverage container comprising a second sealing member interposed in an annular outer opening of the base and the bush. 2. The second seal member is a seal ring having a quadrangular cross section, and the seal ring is compressed between a tip of the die and a stepped portion formed on the bush so as to cover the tip of the die. The beverage container according to claim 1, which is interposed in a state.