JP2004283574A - Liquid vessel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid vessel which can inhibit the oxidizing deterioration of stored liquid effectively and maintain its depression effect when discharging trapped liquid in small amounts. <P>SOLUTION: A closed space (12b) of a thermal internal vessel (12) which makes up a liquid vessel (1B) is made up with airtight closure by the closure of a lid structure (141). A contact between the trapped liquid and an atmosphere is blocked making an inside of the closed space inactive gas atmosphere. The trapped liquid can be ejected by the pressure of a supplied inactive gas when opening a pouring valve (168) which communicates with the internal vessel. The oxidizing deterioration of liquid is prevented effectively by blocking an atmosphere. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention is a liquid container for storing various beverage liquids such as coffee and tea, and liquids other than the beverage liquid, and in particular, can suppress deterioration in quality (oxidative deterioration) of the stored liquid due to oxidation. It relates to a liquid container.

As a liquid container for storing the stored beverage liquid, there is a domestic push-type pot (see Patent Document 1). This type of liquid container is generally used to store hot water for extracting coffee or tea, but may be used to store coffee or tea instead of hot water.
See JP-A-7-163471 (see FIG. 1)

  However, if coffee of, for example, about 90 degrees is stored in a conventional liquid container, the color of the coffee changes or the taste deteriorates over time. This is mainly because air (oxygen) in the liquid container reacts and degrades (oxidizes) coffee, which has been a problem. Tea and other beverages have the same problems as coffee. Further, not only when the temperature is high, but also when the liquid such as soft drink is stored at a low temperature, the problem of deterioration is pointed out.

  An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems. That is, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid container capable of effectively suppressing oxidative deterioration of a liquid stored in a liquid container and maintaining the effect of suppressing the stored liquid even when the stored liquid is discharged little by little. The purpose is.

  In order to achieve the above object, the inventor first configures the inside of the liquid container as a closed space that is isolated from the atmosphere, and then replaces the atmosphere (air) in the closed space with an inert gas. . Thereby, the contact between the atmosphere and the stored liquid can be cut off, so that the oxidative deterioration can be effectively suppressed. The detailed configuration will be described later. It should be noted that definitions of terms used in describing the invention described in any claim are to be applied to the inventions described in other claims to the extent possible in nature.

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 1)
The liquid container according to the first aspect of the invention (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “the liquid container of the first aspect”) includes an outer container, a heat-insulating inner container housed in the outer container, and an inner container of the inner container. A lid structure capable of forming a closed space in the inner container by air-tightly closing the upper opening so as to be openable and closable, gas supply means for supplying an inert gas of a predetermined pressure to the closed space of the inner container, A valve structure that allows communication between the closed space of the container and the outside, a pumping pipe for guiding the liquid stored in the inner container to the outside of the outer container via the closed space, and a pump pipe provided on the pumping pipe. A discharge valve. With such a configuration, the liquid stored by the pressure of the supplied inert gas can be discharged when the injection valve is opened. The heat retaining property of the inner container is a concept including both the heat retaining property of the container itself and the heat retaining property maintained by the heating device or the cooling device. The “lid structure” can be constituted by a single or a plurality of members, and refers to all members that can directly or indirectly close an opening of an inner container. The opening and closing of the valve structure may be automatic or manual. Further, the valve structure may have a function as a purge valve for releasing gas inside the closed space when the pressure in the closed space exceeds a predetermined value.

  According to the liquid container of the first aspect, the lid structure is closed after the lid structure is opened and the liquid is put into the inner container. At this point, a closed space in which the atmosphere is enclosed is formed in the inner container. When the valve structure is opened, the inside and outside of the inner container communicate temporarily, but at this time, the inert gas is supplied into the closed space by the gas supply means. By supplying the inert gas, the atmosphere in the closed space gradually flows out through the valve structure to the outside. When the inside of the closed space becomes an inert gas atmosphere (dilution of the atmosphere with the inert gas), if the valve structure is closed, the contact between the liquid in the inner container and the atmosphere will be interrupted, and the deterioration of the liquid will continue in the future. Effectively suppressed. On the other hand, the inside of the closed space is maintained at a predetermined pressure (higher than the atmospheric pressure) by the inert gas. When the discharge valve is opened, the stored liquid that has been receiving the pressure of the inert gas via the liquid level is pushed up into the pumping pipe by the pressure of the inert gas. The pushed-up liquid passes through the closed space while being guided by the pumping pipe as it is, and is drawn out (poured) out of the pouring valve. The withdrawal of liquid is terminated by closing the discharge valve. An inert gas is continuously supplied into the closed space, and a portion corresponding to the volume from which the liquid is drawn is replenished. Thus, the inside of the closed space is maintained at a predetermined pressure. If the injection valve is opened and closed again in the above procedure, the liquid can be withdrawn as many times as the stored liquid remains. In the case of extracting again, an inert gas corresponding to the extracted amount is supplied, and the pressure in the closed space is kept constant. The atmosphere does not enter the closed space when the liquid is withdrawn. The stored liquid is kept warm by the heat retaining property of the inner container, and the deterioration is suppressed by the action of the inert gas. The liquid container according to the first aspect can store the liquid put in the inner container for a long time without changing the temperature and quality at the time of putting as much as possible. In addition, long-term storage eliminates the need for waste to be discarded due to quality degradation, if not, thereby preventing economic losses due to disposal.

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 2)
The liquid container according to the second aspect of the present invention (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “the liquid container of the second aspect”) is the liquid container of the first aspect, wherein the lid structure has a pressure in the closed space of a predetermined value. A purge valve for automatically purging when the above occurs is provided.

  According to the liquid container of the second aspect, in addition to the operation and effect of the liquid container of the first aspect, when the pressure in the closed space rises to a predetermined value or more for some reason, the gas in the closed space is automatically purged. The pressure can be returned below a predetermined value. That is, when the pressure in the closed space is increased to a predetermined value or more, for example, inconveniences such as that the liquid to be extracted at the time of liquid extraction is suddenly ejected and scattered can be considered. By doing so, such inconvenience can be prevented beforehand. It also contributes to higher safety.

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 3)
The liquid container according to the third aspect of the invention (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “the liquid container of the third aspect”) is the liquid container of the first or second aspect, wherein the lid structure is configured to supply the supplied inert gas. It is characterized by having a pressurizing structure for pressurizing. The pressurizing structure is provided either in the case where the pressure of the supplied inert gas alone is sufficient for extracting the liquid, or in the case where the pressure is increased to a sufficient level because it is not sufficient for the extraction. You may.

  According to the liquid container of the third aspect, in addition to the function and effect of the liquid container of the first or second aspect, the pressure of the inert gas supplied by pressurizing the pressurizing structure can be increased. A pressurized structure in which only the pressure of the supplied inert gas is sufficient for the liquid to be withdrawn enables a smoother extraction by increasing the pressure, and is not sufficient for the withdrawal. In the case of increasing the pressure, the pressurizing structure is designed so that the pressure can be extracted.

(Characteristics of Claim 4)
The liquid container according to the invention of claim 4 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “liquid container of claim 4”) is the liquid container of claim 3, wherein the pressurizing structure is provided between a top plate and a bottom plate. A bellows is provided so that the air pump and the closed space can communicate with each other through an opening formed in the bottom plate. The top plate and the bellows and the bottom plate and the bellows can be easily manufactured by integrally molding each with, for example, a synthetic resin, but can also be manufactured by other methods. Furthermore, the top plate or the bottom plate is not necessarily required to be a single plate, and can be appropriately modified.

  According to the liquid container of the fourth aspect, in addition to the operation and effect of the liquid container of the third aspect, by directly or indirectly pressing down the top plate, the bellows shrink, and the distance between the top plate and the bottom plate is reduced. That is, the volume in the air pump is reduced. Due to this reduction, the inert gas in the air pump is pushed out to the closed space through the opening, and the pressure of the inert gas in the closed space increases accordingly. That is, the inert gas is pressurized, and this pressure realizes a smooth extraction of the liquid. Although having a simple structure, the air pump can efficiently pressurize the inert gas.

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 5)
The liquid container according to the invention of claim 5 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “the liquid container of claim 5”) is the liquid container of claim 3 or 4, wherein the dispensing valve is provided by the pressurizing structure. It is characterized in that it is constituted by a check valve which is automatically opened so that it can be automatically returned by pressurizing the active gas. The pressurization may be continuous, intermittent, wavy, or the like.

  According to the liquid container of the fifth aspect, in addition to the operation and effect of the liquid container of the third or fourth aspect, when the pressurization by the pressurizing structure is performed, the discharge valve is opened correspondingly to open the liquid. Allow the removal of When the pressurization stops, or when the pressure once pressurized falls to a predetermined value or less due to liquid removal, the dispensing valve automatically returns to the closed state to prevent liquid removal. Since the dispensing valve is a check valve, liquid can be withdrawn, but the atmosphere that tries to flow in the opposite direction to that of the liquid is blocked.

(Characteristics of the invention according to claim 6)
The liquid container according to the invention of claim 6 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “the liquid container of claim 6”) is the liquid container according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the gas supply unit includes the closed space. And a gas supply source for supplying an inert gas to the gas passage, and the gas passage is provided with a check valve for gas.

  According to the liquid container of the sixth aspect, in addition to the function and effect of the liquid container of any of the third to fifth aspects, the pressure of the inert gas in the closed space is increased by pressurization of the pressurizing means. The increased pressure prevents the inert gas from flowing back through the gas passage. Therefore, a liquid container having no pressurizing means does not necessarily have a check valve for gas because there is no backflow due to pressurization. The backflow of the inert gas may not occur due to the reason that the pressure of the inert gas supplied from the gas supply source is higher than the pressure of the inert gas to be backflowed. By providing a stop valve, no extra burden is placed on the gas supply source. Therefore, for example, it is possible to simplify the structure of the gas supply source or to employ a gas supply source having a low gas supply capability.

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 7)
A liquid container according to the invention of claim 7 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “liquid container of claim 7”) is the liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the gas supply unit is configured to supply an inert gas. A regulator for adjusting the pressure is provided.

  According to the liquid container of the seventh aspect, in addition to the function and effect of the liquid container of any one of the first to sixth aspects, by providing a regulator, it is possible to accurately and smoothly adjust the pressure of the inert gas and the supply amount associated therewith. Can be done. Proper and smooth supply of the inert gas stabilizes the pressure of the inert gas in the enclosed space. As a result, stable storage and smooth extraction of the stored liquid are promoted.

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 8)
The liquid container according to the invention of claim 8 (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “the liquid container of claim 8”) is the liquid container of claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressure of the inert gas in the closed space is: The pressure is set to 0.001 to 0.1 MPa, more preferably 0.003 MPa or less. It is sufficient that the pressure of the inert gas is higher than the atmospheric pressure, and it is not intended to limit the pressure to this range. However, it is preferable to set the pressure to the above range in order to smoothly extract the liquid.

  According to the liquid container of the eighth aspect, since the pressure of the inert gas in the closed space is set to 0.001 to 0.1 MPa, the operation and effect of the liquid container of the first or second aspect occur smoothly. . That is, the pressure of the supplied inert gas needs to be higher than the atmospheric pressure in order to push up the stored liquid, but if the pressure is less than 0.001 MPa, the pressure is too weak, so that it takes time to withdraw the liquid. When the pressure exceeds 0.1 MPa, the pressure is too high, and the liquid when the liquid leaves the pouring valve may be scattered, which is not smooth. It goes without saying that whether or not the extraction is smooth depends on the properties of the liquid to be extracted (differences in types of inclusions and viscosities), the diameter of the pumping pipe, the shape of the discharge valve, etc. .

(Characteristics of the invention described in claim 9)
A liquid container according to a ninth aspect of the present invention (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “the liquid device of the ninth aspect”) is the liquid container according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein the lid structure is provided in the closed space. It is characterized by including an injection check valve for injecting the liquid.

  According to the liquid container of the ninth aspect, in addition to the functions and effects of the liquid container of any one of the first to eighth aspects, the liquid can be injected into the inner container through the injection check valve. Need not always be performed. Opening of the lid structure is convenient for cleaning the inside of the inner container, etc., and liquid injection is possible by opening, but liquid injection through the injection check valve is more convenient than injection with opening of the lid structure. There are cases. In addition, in the case of injection with opening and closing of the lid structure, the atmosphere enters the inner container due to the opening, so that it is necessary to extract the atmosphere such as opening the valve structure again, but through the injection check valve. By injecting the liquid so as not to invade the atmosphere, the liquid can be stored or poured out without performing the operation of extracting the air. It is very convenient not only to inject the liquid into the empty inner container but also to replenish the liquid into the remaining inner container without having to remove the atmosphere. Since the injection check valve is configured to allow only injection, the inert gas in the closed space does not flow out.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to the liquid container which concerns on this invention, while being able to suppress oxidative deterioration of the stored liquid effectively, when the stored liquid is discharged little by little, the suppression effect can be maintained.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention (hereinafter, appropriately referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the liquid container according to the present embodiment. 2 and 3 are partial enlarged views of the liquid container. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the liquid container. FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which the liquid container is vented. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view and a bottom view of a vertical section of the liquid container. FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional view of the bottom member. 8 and 9 are longitudinal sectional views of a liquid container according to a first modification. FIG. 10 is a front view of the liquid container. FIG. 11 is a plan view of the liquid container. FIG. 12 is a piping diagram showing the flow of the inert gas. 13 and 14 are longitudinal sectional views of a liquid container according to a second modification. FIG. 15 is a chart showing a list of analyzers for analyzing a temporal change of the stored coffee of the stored liquid. FIG. 16 is a chart showing the analysis results. FIG. 17 is a chart showing the results of the sensory evaluation.

(Schematic configuration of liquid container)
A description will be given based on FIGS. The liquid container 1 is formed to have substantially the same appearance as a household or business pot (a thermos), and has an outer container 2 forming an outer appearance, and an inner container 12 having a heat retaining property accommodated in the outer container 2. A lid structure 7 capable of forming a closed space 12b in the inner container 12 by opening and closing the upper opening 12a of the inner container 12 so as to be openable and closable, and a shoulder member disposed between the upper portion of the outer container 2 and the lid structure 7 8, a pumping pipe (pumping pipe) 21 for guiding the liquid stored in the inner container 12 to the outside of the outer container 2 through the closed space 12b, and a first valve structure (liquid injection pipe) provided on the pumping pipe 21. And a delivery check valve) 80. The outer container 2 can be manufactured by processing steel or a synthetic resin, and the inner container 12 is constituted by a vacuum double glass bottle in order to maintain heat retention (constant temperature). The inner container 12 may be provided with a heater (not shown) or the like to keep the temperature.

  The shoulder member 8 is made of an integrally molded synthetic resin, and is generally formed in a funnel shape as a whole, and its lower portion functions as a first valve structure 80 and a second valve structure 90 described later. It is configured as follows. Specifically, the shoulder member 8 has a flat upper surface 8a and an inner surface 8b inclined downward toward the center. In addition, the shoulder member 8 is sharply inclined from the inner surface 8b toward the upper opening 12a of the inner container 12. A liquid supply surface 8c is also provided. Further, the shoulder member 8 is provided with a water pipe cover 9 projecting forward (to the left in FIG. 1) to cover a water pipe 22 described later. On the liquid supply surface 8c, there are formed a liquid injection port 8d for allowing the pumping pipe 21 to pass in an airtight state and a gas supply port 8e for supplying an inert gas (nitrogen gas). The pumping pipe 21 hangs down to near the bottom of the inner container 12, and the upper part thereof is bent in the horizontal direction toward the water inlet pipe cover 9. The bent horizontal portion of the pumping pipe 21 is a portion that passes through the liquid outlet 8d while maintaining the airtightness. The liquid outlet 8d and the gas supply port 8e are arranged at positions facing each other with the upper opening 12a of the inner container 12 interposed therebetween. A liquid supply unit 10 is provided below the liquid supply surface 8c so as to cover the upper end of the inner container 12 from inside and outside of the container. A sealing material 10a is interposed between the liquid supply unit 10 and the upper end of the inner container 12 to maintain airtightness between the two.

  The first valve structure 80 is configured as a check valve for discharging liquid, which allows liquid to be discharged from the pumping pipe 21 to the outside, but does not permit intrusion of air in the opposite direction. That is, the first valve structure 80 includes a communication path 80a, a valve ball moving path 80b, a slide support path 80c, and a coil storage chamber 80d that linearly communicate from left to right in FIG. Each of the surfaces has a circular shape. The communication path 80a is a portion that directly communicates with the end of the pumping pipe 21, and the inner diameter of the valve ball moving path 80b that follows is set larger than the inner diameter of the communication path 80a. A seal member 80s is disposed at a step between the communication path 80a and the valve ball moving path 80b due to the difference in inner diameter, and a passage hole (not shown) through which liquid can pass is formed in the seal member 80s. It is. On the other hand, the inner diameter of the slide support path 80c is set smaller than the inner diameter of the valve ball moving path 80b, and therefore, there is a step between them. The valve ball moving path 80b is configured such that the valve ball 81 can move in the length direction of the moving path, and the diameter of the valve ball 81 is any one of the inner diameter of the communication path 80a and the inner diameter of the slide support path 80c. It is set larger than. Accordingly, the movement of the valve ball 81 is limited between the seal member 80s between the communication path 80a and the slide support path 80c. The valve ball 81 can be formed of a substantially perfect sphere, for example, of metal or synthetic resin. One end of a horizontal rod 82a of an operating body 82 (described later) which is slidably supported by a slide support path 80c in an airtight manner is fixed to the valve ball 81, and the valve ball 81 moves by the movement of the valve operating body 82. It is configured as follows. The other end of the horizontal bar 82a is fixed to a coil spring 80f in the coil storage chamber 80d, and the coil spring 80f urges the horizontal bar 82a in the closing direction (from left to right in FIG. 1). The valve ball 81 is configured to be pressed against the seal member 80s. When the valve ball 81 is pressed against the seal member 80s, the passage hole (not shown) of the seal member 80s is always closed. In order to open the passage hole of the seal member 80s, it is necessary to move the valve ball 81 in the opening direction (from right to left in FIG. 1) while resisting the urging force of the coil spring 80f. Sometimes it is possible. This will be described later. Note that the valve ball moving path 80b communicates with the water injection pipe 22 through a drop hole 80h penetrating the bottom thereof. That is, by moving the valve ball 81 in the opening direction, the inside of the pumping pipe 21 passes through the passage hole of the seal member 80 s and communicates with the valve ball moving path 80 b, and further, the water injection pipe 22 passes through the drop hole 80 h. Will be communicated inside.

  The second valve structure 90 is configured as an inert gas injection check valve that allows the injection of the inert gas from the communication pipe 31 into the closed space 12b of the inner container 12, but does not allow the gas to enter in the opposite direction. is there. That is, the second valve structure 90 includes a gas supply path 90a communicating with the gas supply port 8e described above, a valve ball moving path 90b having an inner diameter larger than the inner diameter of the gas supply path 90a, and a valve ball moving path 90b smaller than the inner diameter of the valve ball moving path 90b. A communication path 90c having an inner diameter is provided. The valve ball moving path 90b is formed to have a circular vertical cross section, in which a valve ball 91 is housed so as to be freely movable in the length direction of the moving path. A seal member 90s having a passage hole (not shown) is disposed at a step between the valve ball moving path 90b and the communication path 90c, and the passage hole can be closed by receiving the pressure contact of the valve ball 91. It is configured in. The valve ball 91 does not come into close contact with the seal member 90s due to the pressure of the inert gas supplied from the communication pipe 31 via the communication path 90c, so that the inert gas pressurized by the air pump 4 described below is used. When the gas is blown into the valve ball moving path 90b from the gas supply path 90a, it is pressed against the seal member 90s by the pressurized pressure (greater than the supplied pressure). When the valve ball 91 is pressed, the passage hole of the seal member 90s is closed, and the pressurized inert gas is prevented from flowing back into the communication pipe 31.

(Specific structure of lid structure)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the lid structure 7 is attached to the shoulder member 8 via the hinge 27, whereby the lid structure 7 can open and close the upper opening 12 a of the inner container 12. The locking of the lid structure 7 to the shoulder member 8 is performed by a locking structure (not shown) configured between them. The lid structure 7 includes a cover plate 7a shaped like an inverted bowl, and receives an air pump (pressurized structure) 4 in a space surrounded by the cover plate 7a. The cover plate 7a is made of a synthetic resin, and a part of the cover plate 7a is integrated with the above-described water injection pipe cover 9. The air pump 4 is formed by bonding a bellows 5 and a pump top plate 51 and a pump bottom plate 52 above and below the bellows 5, respectively. At substantially the center of the pump top plate 51, a valve mounting hole 56 for mounting a valve structure 60 described later is formed. The periphery of the valve mounting hole 56 is folded down into the valve mounting hole 56 via the bent portion 51a. The folded portion is referred to as a folded portion 51b in this specification. An opening 58 for communicating the inside and outside of the air pump 4 is formed through substantially the center of the pump bottom plate 52. The air pump 4 may be integrally formed of a synthetic resin.

(Structure of pump push plate)
Above the air pump 4, there is arranged a pump push plate 6 which is pressed when the air pump 4 is operated. The pump push plate 6 is formed in a short cylindrical shape including a circular top plate 6j and a side wall 6k hanging down from the periphery of the top plate 6j, and a part of the pump top plate 51 of the air pump 4 is provided therein. Can be stored. A gas escape hole 6d is formed through the top plate 6j, and a valve structure 60 for communicating the closed space 12b of the inner container 12a with the outside on the back side of the top plate 6j, that is, on the pump top plate 51 side. Is provided with a valve structure main body 6a which is a part of the valve structure. The valve structure 60 according to the present embodiment includes an opening 58 of a pump bottom plate, a valve structure main body 6a, and a gas escape hole 6d. The valve structure main body 6a will be described later. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, on the outer peripheral surface of the side wall 6k, ridges 6g, 6g having a predetermined width facing each other are provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the upper end surface of each ridge 6g is set to be slightly lower than the upper surface of the top plate 6j, that is, a step is formed between the ridge 6g and the outer peripheral surface of the side wall 6k. Reference numeral 6f shown in FIG. 4 indicates an operation knob for rotating the pump pressing plate 6. The operation knob 6f has two concave portions formed so that a fingertip can be inserted into the top plate 6j, and a portion sandwiched between the concave portions can be pinched.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a circular opening 7h for receiving the pump push plate 6 is formed substantially in the center of the cover plate 7a forming the appearance of the lid structure 7, and is formed on the periphery of the circular opening 7h. Has notches formed in the elongated grooves 7g, 7g facing each other. The elongated grooves 7g, 7g are formed in a similar shape slightly larger than the ridges 6g, 6g so that they can pass through the ridges 6g, 6g. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, on the periphery of the circular opening 7h of the cover plate 7a, an annular opening edge 70a protruding in the direction of the pump push plate 6 housed from the upper end, and a cylindrical shape hanging down from the upper end also. A guide wall 70 is formed. As shown in FIG. 3, the projecting dimension of the opening edge 70 a is set slightly larger than the thickness dimension of the projecting strip 6 g, whereby the projecting strip is formed between the guide wall 70 and the side wall 6 k of the pump push plate 6. 6g is accommodated. At this time, the upper end surface of the ridge 6g and the lower end surface of the opening edge 70a are engaged with each other so that the pump push plate 6 can be prevented from floating. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the pump push plate 6 is configured to be rotatable in a horizontal direction (in FIG. 3, a direction perpendicular to the paper surface) with respect to the cover plate 7a (guide wall 70). Therefore, the pump push plate 6 is stored in the circular opening 7h by aligning the protrusions 6g, 6g of the pump push plate 6 with the elongated grooves 7g, 7g of the cover plate 7a, and passing the latter through the former. Is rotated by a predetermined angle. After the rotation, the protrusions 6g, 6g are pressed from above by the opening edge 70a as described above, and the lifting of the pump pressing plate 6 is prevented. Reference numeral 6e denotes a see-through window for making the display part of the pump internal pressure gauge 57 visible from outside the pump push plate 6. The pump internal pressure gauge 57 is an internal pressure gauge for observing the internal pressure of the air pump 4.

(Structure of operation lock lid)
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, an operation lock lid 53 is disposed between the cover plate 7 a and the pump top plate 51. The operation lock lid 53 has a substantially donut shape when viewed from above, and is configured to be rotatable around the pump push plate 6 while being sandwiched between the cover plate 7a and the pump top plate 51. I have. The operation lock lid 53 is rotated by operating a lock knob 54 protruding from the upper surface thereof in the rotation direction. The lock knob 54 protrudes outside the cover plate 7a via a long groove 7d penetrating the cover plate 7a. As shown in FIG. 3, the operation lock lid 53 has a cylindrical wall portion 55 having an inverted L-shaped cross section, and a horizontal protrusion protruding from the lower end of the cylindrical wall portion 55 along the pump top plate 51 toward the pump push plate 6. An edge 55a is provided. The horizontal protruding edge 55a has a predetermined width in the rotation direction of the operation lock lid 53 (the thickness direction of the paper surface in FIG. 3), and the horizontal protruding edge 55a on the left side in FIG. Similarly, the right horizontal protruding edge 55a is located on the rear side of the protruding ridge 6g in the thickness direction of the drawing. Therefore, none of the ridges 6g, 6g in the state in FIG. 3 is in a position in contact with the horizontal ridges 55a, 55a. Therefore, the pump push plate 6 can be pushed down without being disturbed by the horizontal protruding edges 55a. The position where the pump push plate 6 can be pressed down in the present embodiment is set when the pump push plate 6 is located at a position where the position code Pa matches the escape hole 6d in FIG. When the position code Pb is made to coincide with the relief hole 6d by rotating clockwise, it is set as described in the next section.

(Pump plate up / down movement)
As shown in FIG. 4, when the position code Pb and the relief hole 6d coincide with each other by the rotation, the projections 6g, 6g and the elongated grooves 7g, 7g are aligned with each other with the rotation, and the opening edge 70a is formed. Out of regulation. At this time, the pump push plate 6 is raised by the push-up structure formed between the pump push plate 6 and the guide wall 70. In the present embodiment, the spiral structure formed between the ridges 6g, 6g of the pump push plate 6 and the guide wall 70 functions as this push-up structure. Specifically, the spiral ridges 70d, 70d protruding from the guide wall 70 and the spiral grooves 6p, 6p formed in the ridges 6g, 6g corresponding to the spiral ridges 70d, 70d are configured to be screw-connectable. (The spiral ridge and the spiral groove may have the opposite positional relationship to the above). The spiral ridge 70d and the spiral groove 6p on the left side in FIG. 3 extend upward from the near side of the paper toward the back, and the spiral ridge 70d and the spiral groove 6p on the right side also upward from the back of the paper toward the near side. Extending in the direction. Therefore, the pump push plate 6 can be raised by rotating the pump push plate 6 shown in FIG. With this rise, the ridges 6g, 6g fall out of the elongated grooves 7g, 7g (see FIG. 4) and are not regulated by the opening edge 70a. Needless to say, the elongated grooves 7g, 7g are formed so as to be able to pass through the ridges 6g, 6g which rise obliquely by the spiral structure. As the pump push plate 6 is raised, the valve structure main body 6a, which is a main component of the valve structure 60, operates.

(Configuration of valve structure)
A description will be given based on FIG. The valve structure main body 6a is formed in a shape attachable to a valve mounting hole 56 in the pump top plate 51. That is, the valve structure main body 6a is generally constituted by a cylindrical portion 6b hanging down from the center of the lower surface of the top plate 6j of the pump push plate 6, and a slide cylindrical body 65 slidably fitted outside the cylindrical portion 6b. . The cylindrical portion 6b is formed to have a length that reaches from the back surface of the top plate 6j to a position penetrating through the valve mounting hole 56 of the pump top plate 51, and has an outer diameter as shown in FIG. It is formed to the diameter. The cylindrical portion 6b is provided with vertical slits 6u, 6u which reach a position below the upper surface of the top plate 6j at the time of liquid pouring (the position where the position code Pa matches the escape hole 6d), and the vertical slits 6u, 6u Are provided with step portions 6w and 6w at the lower end thereof. A return spring 6c is provided in the cylindrical portion 6b.

  The slide cylindrical body 65 has an inner peripheral surface slidable on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 6b, and an outer peripheral surface slidable on the lower end of the folded-down portion 51b of the pump top plate 51. The flange 61 has a flange-shaped fitting projection 62 at the lower end thereof, and slits 62s, 62s in the longitudinal direction. The flange 61 has projections 61a, 61a which can enter the vertical slits 6u, 6u. An annular gasket 64 is fixed to the lower surface of the flange 61. The gasket 64 is located between the flange 61 and the bent portion 51a of the pump top plate 51, and the slide cylinder 65 is urged downward (closed direction) in FIG. 3 by the return spring 6c. Thus, the air pump 4 is configured to be hermetically closed between them, that is, inside and outside of the air pump 4. The fitting projection 62 is configured to be able to abut the lower end of the folded-down portion 51b, thereby preventing the slide cylindrical body 65 from coming off upward.

(Opening and closing of valve structure)
A description will be given based on FIG. The valve structure 60 indicated by a solid line in FIG. 3 seals the inside and outside of the air pump 4 with air as described above. Here, when the pump push plate 6 is rotated clockwise (from the front to the back of the paper), the pump push plate 6 is pushed up by the screw action between the spiral ridges 70d, 70d and the spiral grooves 6p, 6p. The cylindrical portion 6b is raised by the pushing up, and the raised portions bring the step portions 6w, 6w of the cylindrical portion 6b into contact with the protruding pieces 61a, 61a of the flange 61, and further raise the slide cylindrical body 65 to raise the gasket 64. From the bent portion 51a of the pump top plate 51. By this separation, a passage is formed between the gasket 64 and the bent portion 51a, and this passage communicates with the slit 62s, so that the inside and the outside of the air pump 4 communicate as a whole (see FIG. 5). That is, the inside of the air pump 4 communicates with the closed space 12b of the inner container 12 through the opening 58 of the pump bottom plate 52, and the outside of the air pump 4 communicates with the outside through the relief hole 6d of the pump push plate 6. Therefore, opening the valve structure 60 allows the closed space 12b to communicate with the outside, that is, forms a purge passage. On the other hand, when the valve structure 60 is closed, the pump push plate 6 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction (from the back side of the paper of FIG. 3 to the front side), and the screw action between the spiral ridges 70d, 70d and the spiral grooves 6p, 6p. Is made to act in the opposite direction to the case of opening to lower the slide cylinder 65 together with the pump push plate 6.

  As a mechanism for moving the pump push plate 6 up and down, a mechanism other than the above-described mechanism can be appropriately adopted. For example, a cam mechanism (not shown) for up / down movement is configured between the operation of the operation lock lid 53 and the pump push plate 6, or the operation lock lid 53 and the pump top plate 51 are formed by pushing down the lock knob 54 itself. There is a method in which the bellows 5 of the air pump 4 is configured to be slightly deflected through the air passage and the purge passage can be opened by the deflection.

(Structure of inverted T-shaped valve operating body)
A description will be given based on FIGS. The inverted T-shaped valve operating body 82 is a member for determining whether the first valve structure 80 is opened or closed. The opening and closing of the first valve structure 80 is controlled by the valve ball 81, and the valve ball 81 is interlocked with the horizontal rod 82a as described above. The valve operating body 82 uses the horizontal bar 82a as one of the components. That is, the valve operating body 82 is generally constituted by the horizontal rod 82a and a vertical rod 82b standing substantially vertically from the horizontal rod 82a. The vertical rod 82b communicates with the slide support path 80c of the shoulder member 8. The upper portion extends through the through hole 52 a penetrating the pump bottom plate 52 and extends to the side of the air pump 4. The upright support path 80p is configured to allow a movement in the lateral direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 1) in which the vertical rod 82b is slid along with the horizontal rod 82a. The through hole 52a also allows this lateral movement. A cam structure 59 is formed between the lock lever 53 and the upper part of the vertical rod 82 b located on the side of the air pump 4. The cam structure 59 has a tapered surface formed on the side of the vertical rod 82b (located on the back side of the paper surface of FIG. 1) and a tapered surface formed on the side of the lock lid 53 (not visible behind the vertical rod 82b of FIG. 1). By the engagement, the valve operating body 82 is forcibly held in a state shown in FIG. 1, that is, a state in which the valve ball 81 is pressed against the sealing material 81s (a state in which the valve ball 81 cannot be poured). As described above, the lock lid 53 is configured to be rotatable in the horizontal direction by operating the lock knob 54 (see FIG. 4). State. Conversely, when the lock knob 54 is turned clockwise to release the lock, the tapered surface of the lock lid 53 moves in a direction away from the tapered surface of the vertical rod 82b from the back surface of the paper in the state shown in FIG. Thus, the engagement of the cam structure 59 is released. When the lock is released, the movement of the vertical rod 82b, that is, the movement of the valve ball 81 via the horizontal rod 82a becomes possible. That is, pouring is possible.

  When the lock knob 54 is in the locked state, the horizontal projections 55a, 55a of the lock lid 53 in the state shown in FIG. 3 project below the projections 6g, 6g to prevent the pump push plate 6 from being pushed down. It is configured in. That is, by configuring so that the locking of the first valve structure 80 and the locking of the pump push plate 6 can be performed simultaneously, the liquid does not easily flow out even when the liquid container 1 falls down, If the pump push plate 6 is inadvertently pushed down, it cannot be pushed down.

(Inert gas supply structure)
As shown in FIG. 1, the inner container 12 is supported from below by an inner container receiving wall 14 rising from the center of the inner container receiving plate 13. A space S is formed between the inner container receiving plate 13 and the bottom member 3 of the liquid container 1, and a gas cylinder 15 filled with nitrogen gas, which is an inert gas, is disposed in the space S. It is. Above the gas cylinder 15, a regulator 16 attached to the lower surface of the inner container receiving plate 13 is arranged. The gas cylinder 15 and the regulator 16 are connected via a supply connection 17, and the supply connection 17 has a built-in original pressure on-off valve (not shown). The supply connection portion 17 is connected to an original pressure valve knob 18 via a valve rod 19 and an original pressure gauge 32 via a thin tube 33, respectively. The tubular communication pipe 31 is further connected to the regulator 16, and the upper end of the communication pipe 31 is connected to the second valve structure 90, and supplies an inert gas from the gas cylinder 15 to the second valve structure 90. It is configured to be possible. The members described above are combined to form a gas supply unit in the present embodiment.

  The “nitrogen gas” used in the present embodiment means a gas containing nitrogen as a main component as an inert gas. Since this nitrogen gas is inert to coffee and the like, it is stored in a liquid container and is replaced with air. After that, the coffee and the like cut off contact with air (atmosphere). It is possible to expect effective suppression of deterioration of flavor and taste. It is considered that, besides nitrogen gas, carbon dioxide gas, a mixed gas of nitrogen gas and carbon dioxide gas, and other gases can be used as the inert gas. For example, in the case of a carbonated beverage, if carbon dioxide is used as the inert gas, oxidation and deterioration of the carbonated beverage will be prevented, and the disappearance of the carbonated component will be prevented. Further, liquids to be targeted include liquid beverages such as alcohols, carbonated beverages, nutrients, dairy products, and fruit juices with pulp, in addition to coffee.

(Structure of inert gas supply source)
A description will be given based on FIGS. The above-described gas cylinder 15 in the present embodiment is preferably configured to be replaceable as a cartridge type. As a specific structure, for example, a structure including a lock ring 11 rotatably fitted to the bottom of the outer container 2 and a bottom member 3 on which a gas cylinder 15 is set can be suitably used. A lock finger 3a and a key 3b protrude from the outer peripheral wall of the bottom member 3, and the key 3b is formed so as to fit (fit) into a key groove 2b formed in the bottom of the outer container 2. . On the inner peripheral wall of the lock ring 11, a lock finger 11a that engages with the lock finger 3a of the bottom member 3 protrudes.

  The gas cylinder 15 is mounted on the bottom of the outer container 2 so that the key 3b of the bottom member 3 on which the gas cylinder 15 is set is fitted into the key groove 2b on the bottom so as not to rotate. It is configured to be attachable by being locked by the rotation of. Locking by the lock ring 11 is performed by engagement between a lock finger 11 a of the lock ring 11 and a lock finger 3 a of the bottom member 3. Instead of the replaceable gas cylinder 15, a gas cylinder is configured to be fixable on the bottom member 3, and is externally inert via a gas supply valve (not shown) such as a nipple appropriately disposed on the fixed gas cylinder. The gas may be refillable.

(How to use liquid container)
This will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, coffee is used as the stored liquid. First, the lock (not shown) of the lid structure 7 is released to open the lid structure 7 to the outer container 2 (see FIG. 2). The opening also opens the closed space 12b, and the upper opening 12a of the inner container 12 is exposed. Here, the coffee extracted in advance is poured into the inner container 12. When the injection is completed, the lid structure 7 is closed and locked. At this time, coffee and the atmosphere are mixed in the closed space 12b inside the inner container 12. Next, replacement of the atmosphere with an inert gas is performed. First, when the pump push plate 6 is rotated clockwise to make the position code Pb coincide with the relief hole 6d (see FIG. 4), the pump push plate 6 is raised by the action of the push-up structure accompanying the rotation. As the pump push plate 6 rises, the valve structure 60 is opened, and the closed space 12b and the outside are in communication with each other via the inside of the air pump 4. Here, the supply connection portion 17 is operated to supply the inert gas from the gas cylinder 15 to the second valve structure 90 via the communication pipe 31. The supply of the inert gas may be started before the rotation of the pump push plate 6.

  The inert gas supplied to the second valve structure 90 flows into the closed space 12b while moving the valve ball 91 in the opening direction at a predetermined pressure. The pressure in the closed space 12b increases due to the inflow of the inert gas, and the gas passes through the opening 58 of the pump bottom plate 52, enters the air pump 4, further passes through the valve structure 60, out of the air pump 4, and further moves to the top plate 6j. The gas (atmosphere, inert gas) that has been in the closed space 12b to the outside through the escape hole 6d flows out. At the beginning of the inflow of the inert gas, the concentration of the inert gas is lower than the atmospheric concentration. However, as the inflow of the inert gas and the outflow of the internal gas continue, this ratio is gradually diluted and eventually reversed or replaced. After a certain period of time, the replacement of the atmosphere in the closed space 12b with the substantially inert gas is completed. When the inert gas atmosphere is reached, the pump push plate 6 is turned counterclockwise this time to make the position code Pa coincide with the relief hole 6d (see FIG. 4). The pump push plate 6 is lowered, and the valve structure 60 is also closed.

  By closing the valve structure 60, the inside of the air pump 4 and the inside of the closed space 12b become an inert gas atmosphere, and the coffee and the atmosphere are cut off from each other. Even in this state, the inert gas is in a state where it can be supplied, and is continuously supplied until the pressure reaches a predetermined pressure. Here, if the pressure in the closed space 12b exceeds a predetermined pressure for some reason, the pressure pushes up and opens the slide cylinder 65 of the valve structure 60 so that the inert gas can be automatically released. In other words, the valve structure 60 functions as a purge valve when replacing the atmosphere with an inert gas, and adjusts the pressure when the pressure in the closed space 12b (inside the air pump 4) exceeds a predetermined value. It has a function as a safety valve to return to the value. The setting of the appropriate pressure value in the closed space 12b can be performed by selecting the urging force of the return spring 6c of the valve structure 60. When the pressure of the inert gas exceeds an appropriate value set for some reason (for example, the vapor pressure generated from coffee), the valve structure 60 automatically opens to adjust the pressure.

  Next is coffee pouring. The coffee is poured by turning the lock knob 54 shown in FIG. 4 clockwise to open the first valve structure 80 and depressing the pump push plate 6. When the pump push plate 6 is pushed down, the bellows 5 of the air pump 4 is contracted accordingly, whereby the inert gas in the air pump 4 flows into the closed space 12b through the opening 58. The contracted bellows 5 naturally expands and returns to its original state when the pressing force is lost. Due to the inflow of the inert gas, the inert gas in the closed space 12b is pressurized and rises. The pressurized inert gas presses the liquid level of the coffee and pushes the coffee up into the pumping pipe 21. The pushed-up coffee moves the valve ball 81 of the first valve structure 80 in the opening direction while moving against the urging force of the coil spring 80f, passes through the inside thereof, and is discharged from the discharge pipe 22 to the outside. The pressure in the closed space 12b, which is reduced by the pour of the coffee, is compensated by the inert gas continuously supplied from the gas cylinder 15, and is maintained at a substantially predetermined value. Each time the pump push plate 6 is pressed down a plurality of times, coffee is poured out and the inert gas is supplied.

(1st modification of this embodiment)
This will be described with reference to FIGS. The difference between the present embodiment described above and the first modification is that the former does not have the air pump that the former has, and the latter is that the former discharge valve automatically opens and closes. Is a point related to the operation of the user. Therefore, in the following description, the portions related to these two points will be mainly described, and the description of the common portions will be limited to the same reference numerals used in FIGS. Omitted as far as possible. The same applies to the second modified example described later, except that the applied drawings are different.

  The liquid container 1 </ b> A shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 has a shoulder member 8. The shoulder member 8 has an opening communicating with the closed space 12b at the center, and this opening is airtightly closed by the inner lid 40. The inner lid 40 includes a top plate 41 that is thinner than the peripheral edge, and a cylindrical inner wall 42 that hangs down from the lower surface of the top plate 41. The inner wall 42 is configured so that a male screw portion formed on the outer peripheral portion thereof can be screwed into the female screw portion of the shoulder member 8. The screwing and the packing 40 p disposed therebetween allow the inner lid 40 to be attached to the shoulder member 8. It is configured to be airtight. The top plate 41 is provided with a valve structure 60 ′ and a middle lid plug (middle lid joint, injection check valve) 43.

(Configuration of valve structure)
The valve structure 60 'has both a purge function and a function as a safety valve, similarly to the valve structure 60 according to the present embodiment. The valve structure 60 'is fitted in a mounting hole 41h penetrating the top plate 41, and has a shape similar to a peg as a whole. The valve structure 60 'has an upper flange portion 60'c and a lower flange portion 60'b above and below the cylindrical body 60'a, and a spring 60's is arranged inside the cylindrical body 60'a. is there. The spring 60's supports the projection 63 via a movable plate 60'd located at the top so as to be able to protrude and retract from below. The upper flange portion 60'c has a function of engaging the periphery of the mounting hole 41h from above through the annular packing 60'p to support the entire valve structure 60 'on the top plate 41. Reference numeral 63a denotes a bridge member for assisting the protrusion 63 to stand on its own. The bridge member 63a allows the protrusion 63 to protrude and retract. As shown in FIG. 8, a cylindrical peripheral wall 7b is provided which hangs down from the bottom surface of the cover plate 7a. When the lid structure 7 is closed, the peripheral wall 7b comes into contact with and presses the tip of the projection 63. I have. As shown in FIG. 9, the pressing by the peripheral wall 7 b is released by opening the lid structure 7.

  Since the valve structure 60 'when pressed by the peripheral wall 7b is pressed against the top plate 41, airtightness is maintained between the annular packing 60'p and the peripheral edge 41e of the mounting hole 41h, but the valve is closed. When the pressure in the space 12b exceeds a predetermined value for some reason, the pressure acts on the lower flange portion 60'b to push up the valve structure 60 '. When the pushing force exceeds the urging force of the spring 60's, the valve structure 60 'is pushed up while opposing the urging force of the spring 60's. The airtightness between the annular packing 60'p and the peripheral edge 41e of the mounting hole 41h is released by this lifting, so that the gas inside is released. Therefore, the selection of the biasing force of the spring 60's determines the value of the appropriate pressure. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, even when the lid structure 7 is opened and the pressing on the projection 63 is released, the valve structure 60 ′ has the annular packing 60 ′ p and the peripheral edge of the mounting hole 41 h due to its own weight. Although the airtightness during the period is not immediately released, it is easy to release the airtightness because there is no pressing force. That is, the valve structure 60 ′ is configured to function as a safety valve when the lid structure 7 is closed, and as a vent valve (purge valve) for replacing the atmosphere with the inert gas when the lid structure 7 is opened. is there. The method of replacing the inert gas is as described in the description of the present embodiment. However, when the liquid container 1A is used, the inside of the closed space 12b of the inner container 12 is set to the inert gas atmosphere before the coffee is put. It is preferable to keep it. It is also possible to supply the inert gas from the inner container 12 while evacuating the atmosphere through the valve structure 60 ', and then supply the inert gas. This is because it is less likely to be performed, which is preferable for preventing deterioration. The pressure in the closed space 12b can be monitored by the internal pressure gauge 57 '.

(Configuration of inner lid plug)
The inner lid plug (injection check valve) 43 formed on the top plate 41 is set at a height that does not affect the closing of the lid structure 7, and the use of the inner lid plug 43 is as shown in FIG. Then, the lid structure 7 is opened. The inner lid plug 43 is a plug for allowing coffee (liquid) to be poured into the inner container 12 without removing the inner lid 40, that is, without opening the closed space 12b. The inner lid plug 43 includes an upright cylindrical body 43a from the top surface of the top plate 41, a hollow part 43b vertically penetrating the cylindrical body 43a, a bottomed part 43c for closing a lower part of the hollow part 43b, and a hollow part 43b. It comprises a packing 43d with a hole for closing the upper part, a spring 43e mounted on the bottom part 43c in the hollow part 43b, and a check valve 45 urged from below by the spring 43e. It is preferable that the cylindrical body 43a is formed integrally with the top plate 41 in order to simplify the production, but it can be formed separately. The tip of the check valve 45 is always resiliently pressed against the packing 43d with a hole by the spring 43e, so that the hollow portion 43b is air-tightly closed so as to be openable. An annular receiving groove 43f is formed on the upper outer periphery of the cylindrical body 43a. The bottom part 43c is formed so that a part thereof protrudes from the lower surface of the top plate 41, and the liquid supply pipe 44 is connected to the protruding part.

  The lower end of the liquid supply pipe 44 is suspended down to a predetermined liquid storage surface. The reason for hanging down to the storage surface is that when coffee is injected from the inner lid plug 43, when the storage surface of the coffee stored in the inner container 12 reaches the lower end of the liquid supply tube 44, the opening of the liquid supply tube 44 is opened. This is to automatically stop coffee infusion because the coffee infused is blocked and prevents further infusion. That is, the liquid supply pipe 44 is provided with a function for automatically supplying a predetermined amount of coffee. Therefore, the liquid level of the inner container 12 at which the supply of the liquid is automatically stopped, that is, the required amount of the liquid stored in the inner container 12, is determined by appropriately selecting the length of the liquid supply pipe 44. can do.

  Reference numeral 95 denotes a liquid injection joint with a check valve attached to the tip of the liquid supply pipe 96. The liquid injection joint 95 is a columnar member having an outer diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the cylindrical body 43 a of the inner lid plug 43, and is configured to be connectable to the inner lid plug 43. The liquid injection joint 95 includes a joint body 95a, a receiving recess 95b formed at a coupling end (lower end in FIG. 9) of the joint body 95a so as to receive the tip of the cylindrical body 43a (see an enlarged view of FIG. 9), and a receiving recess. An annular protruding piece 95c which is located near the entrance of the receiving groove 95b and can be fitted in the receiving groove 43f, a hollow passage 95e penetrating through the joint body 95a and communicating with the receiving recess 95b, and a hollow passage 95e in the receiving recess 95b. A receiving packing 95d with a hole, a closing packing 95f with a hole disposed on the side of the receiving recess 95b in the hollow path 95e, a lid 95g with a hole closing the entrance of the hollow path 95e, and a packing 95d disposed in the hollow path 95e. It comprises a spring 95h, a check valve 95j urged in the direction of the closing packing 95f by the spring 95h, and a projection 95k protruding from the check valve 95j. The check valve 95j is always pressed against the closing packing 95f by the urging force of the spring 95h, whereby the communication between the receiving recess 95b and the hollow passage 95e is airtightly shut off. The protrusion 95k of the check valve 95j is located at the receiving recess 95b with its tip penetrating through the hole of the closing packing 95f and the hole of the receiving packing 95d. A part of the lid with hole 95g protrudes from the joint body 95a, and a liquid supply pipe 96 is connected to the protruding portion.

Here, when the liquid injection joint 95 is connected to the inner lid plug 43, the upper part of the joint body 95a is received in the receiving recess 95b. At this time, the upper end of the former comes into contact with the receiving packing 95d and the annular projection 95c is inserted into the receiving groove. 43f is detachably fitted.
When fitted, the projection 95k contacts the check valve 45 as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. By this contact, the check valve 45 is pushed in to open the hole of the holed packing 43d, while the urging force of the spring 43e also slightly pushes back the check valve 95j to open the hole of the closing packing 95f. At this point, the liquid supply pipe 96 communicates with the closed space 12b via the liquid injection joint 95 and the inner lid plug 43. In other words, coffee can be poured (liquid can be supplied). The coffee is preferably injected using the pressure of an inert gas supplied by an inert gas supply device (not shown). Injection with an inert gas causes the coffee pressed by the inert gas to move in the liquid supply pipe 96. If the inert gas is used, the coffee is closed together with or after the coffee. This is because the atmosphere of the inert gas in 12b is not damaged.

  According to the liquid container 1A, coffee can be injected through the inner lid plug 43. Therefore, as long as the inner lid plug 43 is used, it is necessary to open the lid structure 7 except when cleaning the inside of the inner container 12 or the like. There is no. This makes it possible firstly to carry out the coffee injection after first leaving the empty inner container 12 in an inert gas atmosphere. Secondly, it is possible to inject coffee into the inner container 12 in which the stored coffee has been emptied again by pouring or the amount of stored coffee has been reduced while maintaining the inert gas atmosphere. In the former case, the opportunity of contact between the coffee and the atmosphere can be reduced as compared with the case where the lid structure 7 is opened and coffee is poured, and in the latter case, it is repeated until washing or the like. In the case where coffee replenishment is performed, it is not necessary to sequentially perform the inert gas replacement. The same applies to a liquid container 1B described later.

(Structure of injection valve)
The injection valve 100 includes a sealing material 101 with a hole, a valve ball 102 that can be pressed by the sealing material 101 with a hole, a valve ball moving path 103 for moving the valve ball 102 in the opening and closing direction, and a valve ball moving path 103. A fixed rod-shaped valve operating body 104, a support portion 105 for supporting the valve operating body 104 in an airtight manner, and a spring 106 disposed in a valve ball moving path 103 for constantly biasing the valve ball 102 in the closing direction. And The valve operating body 104 is configured to be movable in the opening and closing directions together with the valve ball 102 by rotating the operation lever 108 via the cam structure 107. In other words, the valve ball 102 is constantly pressed against the sealing material 101 with holes by the urging force of the spring 106, and the injection valve 100 is in the closed state. 104 is drawn in the opening direction (from right to left in FIG. 8), and accordingly, the valve ball 102 is also drawn in the same direction, and the airtightness with the sealing material 101 with holes is released. That is, the pouring valve 100 is opened. Needless to say, the urging force of the spring 106 is set to be higher than the pressure of the inert gas supplied to the closed space 12b. This is because if it is small, the injection valve 100 cannot be kept closed.

  The inert gas supplied to the closed space 12b from the communication pipe 31 is given a pressure (for example, 0.001 to 0.1 MPa) sufficient to press the liquid surface and push up the coffee into the pumping pipe 21. . Therefore, when the coffee is to be poured from the inner container 12, the coffee can be poured simply by operating the operation lever 108 and opening the discharge valve 100. That is, the coffee that has been pushed up by the inert gas is discharged from the discharge pipe 22 to the outside through the discharge valve 100 by opening the discharge valve 100. Therefore, the operation of the pump push plate as in the case of using the liquid container 1 according to the present embodiment is not required, so that the operation becomes easier accordingly. According to the liquid container 1A, similarly to the liquid container 1 described above, since the contact between the coffee stored in the inner container 12 and the atmosphere can be cut off, the deterioration of the coffee can be effectively suppressed in the future. Furthermore, according to the liquid container 1A, when injecting or refilling coffee into the inner container 12, it is not necessary to pay attention to the amount of coffee stored each time. This is because even if you do not care, the supply is automatically cut off when a certain amount is injected.

(Second modification of the present embodiment)
This will be described with reference to FIGS. The liquid container 1B according to the second modified example of the present embodiment is configured to be capable of storing and discharging liquid according to basically the same operation principle as the liquid container 1A according to the first modified example described above. The liquid container 1B is significantly different from the liquid container 1A in the structure for supplying the inert gas and the structure of the purge valve. In the former, the second valve structure for preventing backflow of the inert gas due to pressurization was omitted in the former, and the regulator took on the role, and in the latter, the purge function and the safety valve function were used together. In the former, the valve structure is constituted by independent valves. In the following, this different point will be mainly described. As for members common to the present embodiment, only the necessary range will be described as described above.

  A lid structure 141 is attached to the upper part of the outer container 2 of the liquid container 1B shown in FIGS. The lid structure 141 includes a lid structure main body 143 hinged to the outer container 2 and an openable / closable cap portion 144 provided on the top of the lid structure main body 143. The outer container 2 is provided with a shoulder member 151, and an opening communicating with the closed space 12 b of the inner container 12 is formed in the center of the shoulder member 151. Inside the lid structure body 143, an inner lid 153 and a packing 152 are provided. When the lid structure 141 is closed, the packing 152 comes into close contact with the shoulder member 151 and the inner lid 153, and the inner lid 153 closes the closed space 12b. It is configured to be airtight. The lid structure 141 is configured such that both are securely locked by a lock structure (not shown) configured between the lid structure main body 143 and the outer container 2. A long hole 144h for venting air is passed through the cap portion 144. Reference numeral 146 denotes a cover member attached to the back surface of the outer container 2 via a detachable hinge 148. The cover member 146 is a member for covering an inert gas supply structure to be described later, and is configured to be able to expose the inert gas supply structure when opened as shown by an imaginary line in FIG. 13, for example. It is.

  The inner lid 153 is provided with a supply valve 161, an exhaust valve 162, and four valves including a purge valve 163 and a liquid supply valve 164, which communicate with the inside and outside of the inner lid 153. The former two are manually operated valves, and the latter two are automatically operated valves. The supply valve 161 is a valve for supplying the inert gas supplied via the supply pipe 167 into the closed space 12b. The exhaust valve 162 is a valve that opens together with the supply of the inert gas and exhausts the atmosphere in the closed space 12b. The exhaust valve 162 constitutes a valve structure for evacuating the atmosphere according to the second modification. The purge valve 163 has a function of automatically opening when the pressure in the closed space 12b becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value and keeping the pressure in the closed space 12b within a predetermined value. The purge valve 163 may be omitted by appropriately considering the structure of the supply source of the inert gas, the strength of the member or structure surrounding the closed space 12b, the installation of the purge means other than the purge valve 163, and the like. The supply valve 161 has the same structure and function as the middle lid plug 43 (see FIG. 8) according to the first modification.

  A liquid supply pipe 166 is attached to the closed space 12b side of the liquid supply valve 164. The liquid supply pipe 166 has the same function as the liquid supply pipe 44 described above (see FIG. 8). A part or all of the supply pipe 167 is configured to be flexible (flexible) so as to follow the opening and closing of the lid structure 141, and a sufficient length of play is provided. Therefore, the supply pipe 167 becomes slack when the lid structure 141 is in the closed state, and can extend when the lid structure 141 is in the open state. Reference numeral 168 indicates a discharge valve provided on the discharge pipe 22, and the discharge pipe 22 is directly connected to the pumping pipe 21. That is, when the injection valve 168 is opened in a state where the inert gas is supplied, the coffee receiving the pressure of the inert gas is pushed up into the pumping pipe 21 and is discharged to the outside through the injection pipe 22. It has become.

  Although the coffee can be injected into the inner container 12 by directly opening the lid structure 141 by opening the lid structure 141, the liquid container described above in that the opening and closing of the lid structure 141 is unnecessary if the lid structure 141 is opened via the liquid supply valve 164. It has the same advantages as 1A. Further, in the case of injection with opening and closing of the lid structure 141, the opening causes the air to enter the closed space 12 b of the inner container 12, so that it is necessary to perform an air extraction operation such as opening the exhaust valve 162 again. By injecting the coffee via the liquid supply valve 164 so as not to allow the air to enter, it is possible to store and pour the coffee without performing the air extracting operation. This is very convenient not only when infusing coffee into the empty inner container 12 but also when refilling coffee into the inner container 12 in which coffee remains, saving the trouble of removing the air.

(Inert gas supply structure)
This will be described with reference to FIGS. The inert gas supply structure (gas supply means) 171 is generally constituted by a gas tank 172 for storing the inert gas, and a regulator 176 for reducing the gas pressure of the gas tank 172. The side is connected to a supply valve 161 via a supply pipe 167. The regulator 176 includes a handle 178 for adjusting pressure, and the handle 178 can be operated from outside the cover member 146. The gas pressure in the supply pipe 167 can be monitored by a digital pressure gauge 177. The display section of the digital pressure gauge 177 is exposed to the outside through a window 147 provided in the cover member 146, and is configured so that pressure can be read with the cover member 146 closed. The internal pressure of the gas tank 172 can be monitored by a pressure gauge 173, and the gas tank 172 can be filled with an inert gas from outside (for example, an inert gas generator) via a valve 174. By allowing filling, the gas tank 172 does not need to be replaced, and the gas tank 172 can be used many times, which is economical. Reference numeral 175 indicates a valve for releasing an inert gas disposed between the gas tank 172 and the regulator 176. The regulator 176, the digital pressure gauge 177, and the like are fixed to the outer container 2 with screws via the mounting member 179.

  According to an experiment conducted by the inventor, good results are obtained when the pressure of the inert gas supplied into the closed space 12b is set to 0.001 to 0.1 MPa, more preferably 0.003 MPa or less. I was able to. That is, in order to push up the stored coffee, the pressure of the supplied inert gas needs to be higher than the atmospheric pressure. However, if the pressure is less than 0.001 MPa, the pressure is too weak, so that it takes time to withdraw the liquid. When the pressure exceeds 0.1 MPa, the pressure is too high, and the liquid when the liquid leaves the pouring valve may be scattered, which is not smooth. It goes without saying that whether or not the extraction is smooth depends on the properties of the liquid to be extracted (differences in types of inclusions and viscosities), the diameter of the pumping pipe, the shape of the discharge valve, etc. .

(Change over time of stored coffee)
This will be described with reference to FIGS. Using the liquid container 1B according to the second modified example, an experiment was conducted on the change over time of the stored coffee. The experimental items and analytical instruments are as shown in the table of FIG. The coffee to be tested was obtained by the following procedure. First, coffee was extracted twice from a coffee powder with a predetermined amount of hot water, and the extracted coffee was mixed. Half of the mixed coffee was poured into a liquid container 1B, and the other half was poured into a liquid container C (not shown) equivalent to the liquid container 1B, with the lid structure opened. Thereafter, an inert gas (nitrogen gas) is immediately supplied into the liquid container 1B (pressure 0.002 MPa), and at the same time as the supply, the exhaust valve 162 is opened for about 90 seconds to make the inside of the closed space 12b an inert gas atmosphere. (See FIG. 13). The inside of the liquid container C was kept at the atmosphere. The experimental results are as shown in the chart of FIG. The rate of change in the table of FIG. 16 is shown for each time (60 minutes, 180 minutes, and 480 minutes) when the measured value when the elapsed time after extraction (vertical axis of the table) is 0 (zero) is 1; The measured value ratio is shown. In the following description, the coffee stored in the liquid container 1B will be referred to as “coffee 1B”, and the coffee stored in the liquid container C will be referred to as “coffee C”.

  From the above experimental results, the following has been found. That is, the change in Brix (solid content) was hardly observed in both coffee C and coffee 1B. The pH (hydrogen ion activity index) decreased with the passage of time, but the rate of decrease was faster for coffee C than for coffee 1B. The acidity increased over time in both coffee C and coffee 1B, but the former increased at a higher rate. The turbidity (OD 720, optical density 720 nm) also increased with time in both coffee C and coffee 1B, but the difference in the increase ratio between the two was most prominent among the analysis items. Coffee 1B had almost the same liquid color as that after extraction even after a lapse of time, and there was almost no change in turbidity. However, coffee C became darker with the passage of time.

  The results of the sensory evaluation are as shown in the chart of FIG. The sensory evaluation was carried out by tasting coffee poured every time and evaluating the five items of aroma, bitterness, sourness, body (body), and aftertaste in five steps. The evaluation criterion is based on 0 (zero) minutes after the extraction, and compares the aged coffee (coffee C, coffee 1B) with the new coffee (coffee D) newly added as 0 (zero) minutes after each sensory. Scored. Using a score of 4 as a reference value (taste of coffee D at 0 minutes after extraction), a scoring method was used in which the higher the number, the better the lower the worse. The chart shows that the larger the area surrounded by the line segment, the less the deterioration. That is, almost no difference was observed between Coffee C and Coffee 1B after 60 minutes from the extraction. However, after 180 minutes, coffee 1B hardly deteriorated, whereas coffee C considerably deteriorated. At this time, the flavor and liquid color of Coffee 1B were not much different from Coffee D. After the elapse of 480 minutes, both coffee C and coffee 1B were deteriorated, but the deterioration degree of the former was larger than that of the latter, and the former was darkened, and the latter was reddish. By collating the above sensory evaluation and various analysis values, it was found that the liquid container 1B can maintain the flavor of the coffee 1B for a long time. Therefore, for example, in the coffee sales of various restaurants and railway cars as well as in offices and homes, when storing coffee extracted early in the morning and dispensing it in small portions, the flavor at the time of extraction at least until the evening is almost the same. The same coffee can be provided.

It is a longitudinal section of the liquid container concerning this embodiment. It is a partial enlarged view of a liquid container. It is a partial enlarged view of a liquid container. It is a top view of a liquid container. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the air release state of a liquid container. It is the elements on larger scale and the bottom view of a longitudinal section of a liquid container. It is a longitudinal section of a bottom member. It is a longitudinal section of the liquid container concerning a 1st modification. It is a longitudinal section of the liquid container concerning a 1st modification. It is a front view of a liquid container. It is a top view of a liquid container. It is a piping diagram which shows the flow of an inert gas. It is a longitudinal section of the liquid container concerning a 2nd modification. It is a longitudinal section of the liquid container concerning a 2nd modification. It is a chart which shows a list of analyzers for analyzing a temporal change of stored coffee of a stored liquid. 4 is a chart showing analysis results. It is a chart which shows the result of a sensory evaluation.

Explanation of reference numerals

1, 1A, 1B Liquid container 2 Outer container 2b Keyway 3 Bottom member 3a, 11a Lock finger 3b Key 4 Air pump 5 Bellows 6 Pump push plate 7 Lid structure 8 Shoulder member 9 Discharge pipe cover 10 Liquid supply unit 10a Seal material DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Lock ring 12 Inner container 12a Upper opening 12b Closed space 13 Inner container receiving plate 14 Inner container receiving wall 15 Gas cylinder (gas supply source)
16 Regulator 17 Feed connection 18 Source pressure valve knob 19 Valve rod 21 Pumping pipe (pumping pipe)
22 Outlet pipe 27 Hinge 31 Communication pipe 32 Source pressure gauge 33 Thin tube 40 Middle lid 43 Middle lid plug 44 Liquid supply pipe 45 Check valve 51 Pump top plate 52 Pump bottom plate 53 Operation lock lid 54 Lock knob 55 Tube wall 56 Valve mounting hole 57 Pump internal pressure gauge 58 Opening 59 Cam structure 60, 60 'Valve structure 70 Guide wall 80 First valve structure 81 Valve ball 82 Inverted T-shaped operating body 90 Second valve structure 91 Valve ball 95 Injection joint 96 Liquid supply pipe 100 Discharge valve 102 Valve ball 104 Valve operating body 107 Cam structure 108 Operation lever 141 Lid structure 143 Lid structure main body 144 Cap part 146 Cover member 147 Window part 148 Hinge 151 Shoulder member 153 Middle lid 161 Supply valve 162 Exhaust valve 163 Purge valve 164 Supply Liquid valve 166 Supply pipe 167 Supply pipe 16 8 Outlet valve 171 Inert gas supply structure 172 Gas tank 173 Pressure gauge 174,175 Valve 176 Regulator 177 Digital pressure gauge 178 Handle 179 Mounting member S Space

Claims (9)

An outer container,
A heat-insulating inner container housed in the outer container,
A lid structure capable of forming a closed space in the inner container by air-tightly closing the upper opening of the inner container so as to be openable and closable,
Gas supply means for supplying an inert gas of a predetermined pressure to the closed space of the inner container,
A valve structure that allows communication between the closed space of the inner container and the outside,
A pumping pipe for guiding the liquid stored in the inner container to the outside of the outer container through the closed space,
A discharge valve provided on the pumping pipe,
A liquid container characterized in that the stored liquid can be discharged by the pressure of the supplied inert gas when the injection valve is opened. The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the lid structure includes a purge valve that automatically purges when a pressure in the closed space becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined value. 3. The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the lid structure includes a pressurizing structure for pressurizing the supplied inert gas. 4. The pressure structure includes a bellows between the top plate and the bottom plate,
The liquid container according to claim 3, wherein an air pump and the closed space can communicate with each other through an opening formed in the bottom plate. The liquid container according to claim 3, wherein the discharge valve is configured as a check valve that automatically opens so as to be automatically returned by pressurizing the inert gas by the pressurizing structure. The gas supply means includes a gas passage for sending an inert gas to the closed space and a gas supply source, and the gas passage is provided with a check valve for gas. The liquid container according to any one of the above. The liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the gas supply unit is provided with a regulator for adjusting a pressure of the inert gas. The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the pressure of the inert gas in the closed space is set to 0.001 to 0.1 MPa. The liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the lid structure includes an injection check valve for injecting a liquid into the closed space.

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