JP2006240681A - Refrigerator for supplying beer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To adjust pressure gas to the most suitable pressure for beer, inject the gas into each beer barrel, and thereby sell tasty beer, and to facilitate the adjustment of the gas pressure. <P>SOLUTION: The refrigerator stores the beer barrels in the refrigerator, has discharging openings with their individual cocks on the external surface of the refrigerator, and is used to supply beer. A pressure reduction valve for adjusting the pressure of a gas delivered from a gas cylinder is attached to the external face of the refrigerator. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a refrigerator installed mainly for supplying local beer in a barrel at a store such as a pub or a restaurant.

There is a refrigerator in which a beer barrel is stored in a refrigerator and beer can be poured from a spout with a cock attached to the outside of the refrigerator (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-69154 A

  This invention makes it a subject to adjust the gas for pressurization to the gas pressure most suitable for beer, inject | pour into a beer barrel, and sell delicious beer. In beer barrels sold at ordinary pubs and restaurants, carbon dioxide is supplied from a gas cylinder to the beer barrel, and the beer is poured into the mug from the spout by the pressure of the carbon dioxide. And since the beer barrel is placed at room temperature, it needs to be cooled. A common cooling method is performed by passing beer through a number of thin cooled tubes along the way from the beer barrel to the spout. For this purpose, the gas pressure must be increased due to the long distance from the beer barrel to the spout and the need to pass through a thin tube in a short time. Gas cylinders used in pubs and the like are equipped with dedicated pressure reducing valves, and are set to high pressure according to instructions from the local beer manufacturer. Taverns, etc. are pouring beer into mugs with such high-pressure gas.

  It is not preferable to pour beer with high-pressure gas. In particular, it is not preferable for craft beer, and in some cases, the original taste of craft beer is ruined. First of all, because of the high pressure, the beer is poured into the mug vigorously and so many bubbles are generated. Therefore, in order to adjust the high pressure, beer is poured while adjusting the opening and closing of the spout cock with a lever, which is a laborious operation. Furthermore, since a large amount of carbon dioxide is dissolved in beer sent at high pressure, the amount of carbon dioxide dissolved at the moment when it is poured into the mug is vaporized all at once, so that a lot of bubbles are generated. A large amount of foam is a factor that impairs the taste of the beer because the beer scent is lost when the foam disappears.

In addition, the characteristics of craft beer are not uniform, and there are traditionally inherited styles in Japan and around the world, and there are 68 styles around the world. For example, the raw malt is very different in each beer production area. There are beers that are good if you don't cool them too much, and there are beers that you drink without frothing. A particularly important factor for the delicious drinking of local beer is the gas pressure applied to the beer from the gas cylinder. This gas pressure is determined for each style of local beer. The gas pressure of an ordinary izakaya as described above is not a preferable gas pressure for a craft beer and is clearly too high for a craft beer. Moreover, the gas pressure of such izakaya beer is always constant, and the style of craft beer is completely ignored. There are almost no places where you can adjust the gas pressure optimal for local beers at pubs and restaurants. Therefore, the craft beer that ordinary people drink at izakayas and restaurants does not have the original taste and drinks without knowing its true meaning.

  The refrigerator disclosed in Patent Document 1 is for household use, and describes that small and large gas cylinders are used. The gas pressure of a small gas cylinder cannot be adjusted. A large gas cylinder also has a pressure reducing valve, but it is fixed close to the gas cylinder and does not exist outside the refrigerator. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to supply a refrigerator capable of selling delicious beer by injecting gas into a beer barrel at a gas pressure most suitable for beer. Furthermore, it aims at providing the refrigerator which can adjust gas pressure easily in front of a refrigerator.

Claim 1 of the present invention adjusts the pressure of gas sent from a gas cylinder in a refrigerator for supplying beer in which a beer barrel is housed in a refrigerator and a spout with a cock is provided on the outer surface of the refrigerator. This is a configuration in which a pressure reducing valve is attached to the outer surface of the refrigerator.

In claim 2, two or more beer barrels can be stored in the refrigerator, and each beer barrel is provided with a spout with a dedicated cock and a pressure reducing valve, and each pressure reducing valve is formed in series from a single gas cylinder. Attached so as to communicate with the venting device along the extending venting device, gas is sent to each beer barrel through those pressure reducing valves, and the gas pressure of the gas sent to each beer barrel is individually controlled by operating each pressure reducing valve. The element which can be adjusted to the above is added to claim 1.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the pressure reducing valves are arranged in a line along a ventilating device extending in the lateral direction, and the venting device has a configuration in which elements existing outside the refrigerator are added to the second aspect.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention, an element in which the pressure reducing valve of the beer barrel is attached directly below the spout with the cock is added to the second or third aspect.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is a configuration in which an element in which a spout with a cock and a pressure reducing valve are attached to an outer surface of a refrigerator door is added to the first to fourth aspects.

Claim 1 is a refrigerator for supplying beer in which a beer barrel is housed in a refrigerator and a spout with a cock is provided on the outer surface of the refrigerator, for adjusting the pressure of gas sent from a gas cylinder The pressure reducing valve is attached to the outer surface of the refrigerator. As mentioned above, there is almost no place where the gas pressure optimal for local beer is adjusted at a pub or restaurant. The gas pressure is set to a certain value by a pressure reducing valve dedicated to the gas cylinder sent from the manufacturer, and pubs and the like simply sell local beer at that gas pressure. There is no place where the gas pressure is adjusted by operating the dedicated pressure reducing valve. In such a state, in addition to the dedicated pressure reducing valve attached to the gas cylinder from the beginning, a separate pressure reducing valve is not provided so that a pub can independently adjust the gas pressure. As a matter of course, there was no one provided with a pressure reducing valve on the outside of the refrigerator so that a pub and the like can independently adjust the gas pressure. Claim 1 of the present invention can be easily adjusted by another pressure reducing valve attached to the outer surface of the refrigerator even if the gas pressure from the gas cylinder is set to a high pressure by a pressure reducing valve dedicated to the gas cylinder. Because it can be easily set to the gas pressure desired by the local beer maker, delicious local beer can be sold. Moreover, since the pressure reducing valve is provided on the outer surface of the refrigerator, the operation of the pressure reducing valve can be easily performed. In particular, when a plurality of pressure reducing valves are attached, the operation is very easy because they are all on the outer surface of the refrigerator.

In claim 2, two or more beer barrels can be stored in the refrigerator, and each beer barrel is provided with a spout with a dedicated cock and a pressure reducing valve, and each pressure reducing valve is formed in series from a single gas cylinder. Attached so as to communicate with the venting device along the extending venting device, gas is sent to each beer barrel through those pressure reducing valves, and the gas pressure of the gas sent to each beer barrel is individually controlled by operating each pressure reducing valve. It is a configuration that can be adjusted to. Since a spout with a dedicated cock and a pressure reducing valve are provided for every two or more beer barrels, the beer can be adjusted to an optimum gas pressure for each beer. When selling two or more types of craft beer at a pub or restaurant, gas cylinders are used according to the number of craft beers. However, they are all the same gas cylinder, and are set to the same high gas pressure although it is adjustable. Therefore, it is troublesome to adjust the gas pressure to be optimal for craft beer, and no one has done that. According to the second aspect of the present invention, even if there are a plurality of pressure reducing valves, the gas is attached along a passing device extending in series from a single gas cylinder, so there is no need to install a gas cylinder for each beer barrel. Regardless of a single gas cylinder, the gas pressure can be adjusted for each craft beer, and the gas pressure can be adjusted optimally for each craft beer standing by the refrigerator. Since the ventilation device extends in a series, the structure is simple and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the pressure reducing valves are arranged in a line along a ventilating device extending in the lateral direction, and the venting device is present outside the refrigerator. Therefore, since the pressure reducing valves are arranged in order in the horizontal direction at the same height, the work of sequentially adjusting the gas pressure can be easily performed without extending the hand. Since the ventilation device exists outside the refrigerator, the inside of the refrigerator can be used widely. Also, gas cylinders take up a lot of space and are inevitably placed outside the refrigerator. When the ventilation device is in the refrigerator, after the gas having the temperature of the outside air enters the ventilation device, it is cooled by the refrigerator and the volume shrinks. Therefore, in order to pour out the beer with the contracted gas, the amount of gas required to pour the same amount of beer is increased as compared with the gas having the temperature of the outside air, and the cost is increased. If the ventilation device is outside the refrigerator, such an increase in cost can be avoided.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is a configuration in which the pressure reducing valve of the beer barrel is attached directly below the spout with the cock. Therefore, if a mark indicating which beer barrel is dedicated to either the pressure reducing valve or the spout is attached, the gas pressure of the target beer can be adjusted and the target beer can be poured.

The fifth aspect of the present invention is a configuration in which a spout with a cock and a pressure reducing valve are attached to the outer surface of the refrigerator door. Usually, since the door is facing the front, it is easy to adjust the pressure reducing valve, and the work of pouring beer is also easy.

  Next, the best mode for carrying out the invention will be described. The refrigerator 1 is formed in a rectangular shape, and the front is a door 2. A spout 3 with five cocks is attached slightly above the door 2. The spout 3 is fitted by inserting the insertion pipe 20 into the hole of the door of the refrigerator 1. A lever 4 is attached to the spout 3, and the beer is poured from the spout 3 by pushing the lever 4 downward. The beer used in the present invention is not limited to craft beer, and may be draft beer. The spout 3 is preferably in front of the refrigerator 1. Therefore, when the door 2 is on the side of the refrigerator, the spout 3 is attached to the front portion that is not the door 2.

  Five pressure reducing valves 5 are attached to the door 2 below the spout 3. Each pressure reducing valve 5 is attached along the ventilation pipe 6. In these, the ventilation pipe 6 may be fixed to the door 2 by the fixing brackets 21 and 21, and the pressure reducing valve 5 may be screwed to the door 2. It may be fixed by other methods. Carbon dioxide gas supplied from the gas cylinder 7 passes through the ventilation pipe 6, and the carbon dioxide gas is sent to each beer barrel 8 through the pressure reducing valve 5 to pressurize the beer in the beer barrel 8. A jug shelf 19 is attached between the spout 3 and the pressure reducing valve 5. Since the mug shelf 19 is above the pressure reducing valve 5, spilled craft beer does not adhere to the pressure reducing valve 5. The pressure reducing valve 5 is also preferably located in front of the refrigerator 1 like the spout 3. In any case, the pressure reducing valve 5 may be attached to the outer surface of the refrigerator 1.

  The structure for pouring beer will be described in further detail. Since the refrigerator 1 is provided with the five spouts 3 and the pressure-reduction valve 5, it can accommodate the five beer barrels 8, The one beer barrel 8 in it is demonstrated. The refrigerator 1 is divided into upper and lower stages by a shelf 9 and can store at least five beer barrels 8. One gas cylinder 7 is placed outside the refrigerator 1. One gas cylinder is sufficient. The gas cylinder 7 is provided with a pressure reducing valve 10 dedicated to the cylinder.

The carbon dioxide gas leaving the gas cylinder 7 is sent to the ventilation pipe 6 through the first hose 11. As described above, each pressure reducing valve 5 is attached along the ventilation pipe 6. The ventilation pipe 6 is made of metal and communicates with the pressure reducing valve 5 interposed in the middle. Since the ventilation pipe 6 exists outside the refrigerator 1, the carbon dioxide gas in the ventilation pipe 6 is not cooled. Each pressure reducing valve 5 has an intake for taking in carbon dioxide gas from the vent pipe 6, and decompresses the introduced carbon dioxide gas and sends it to the downward pipe 12. As shown in FIG. 4, the carbon dioxide gas in the ventilation pipe 6 passes through the pressure reducing valve 5, is decompressed, passes through the downward pipe 12, passes through the second hose 13, and is sent to the beer barrel 8. A pressure gauge 14 is attached to the upper end of the pressure reducing valve 5. Further, an adjustment screw 15 is attached to the front, and the pressure can be adjusted with a screwdriver or the like. It can be set to the optimum pressure for local beer.

A shut-off lever 16 is provided on the downward pipe 12 of the pressure reducing valve 5. This shutoff lever 16 can shut off the ventilation of carbon dioxide gas. The reason why this is provided is as follows. Beer barrels delivered from local beer manufacturers to taverns are at room temperature. Since the temperature of the local beer in the beer barrel is also normal temperature, the gas pressure in the beer barrel is higher than that when the beer is cooled. Therefore, the gas pressure in the beer barrel may be higher than the gas pressure in the gas cylinder 7, and a problem arises in such a case. When the gas pressure in the beer barrel 8 is higher than the gas pressure in the gas cylinder 7, if the second hose 13 is connected to the beer barrel 8 and communicated with the ventilation pipe 6, the gas flows from the beer barrel 8 to the gas cylinder 7. It will flow backward. Therefore, the gas flow is blocked by the blocking lever 16 until the beer barrel 8 is cooled and the gas pressure is reduced, thereby preventing the reverse flow. Since the pressure reducing valve 5 is attached to the outer surface of the refrigerator 1, a blocking lever 16 provided on the downward pipe 12 is also present on the outer surface of the refrigerator 1. Therefore, the operation of the blocking lever 16 is easy.

As shown in FIG. 3, the carbon dioxide gas is sent to the beer barrel 8 to increase the gas pressure of the beer barrel 8. When the lever 4 is pushed in this state and the cock of the spout 3 is opened, the local beer in the beer barrel 8 passes through the central pipe 17 and is poured from the spout 3 to the mug through the third hose 18.

Front view of the present invention Cross section of the present invention The perspective view which shows the structure which takes out the local beer of a beer barrel from a spout Perspective view showing connection of pressure reducing valve

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Refrigerator 2 Door 3 Spout 4 Lever 5 Pressure reducing valve 6 Ventilation pipe 7 Gas cylinder 8 Beer barrel 9 Shelf 10 Pressure reducing valve 11 First hose 12 Down pipe 13 Second hose 14 Pressure gauge 15 Adjustment screw 16 Shut-off lever 17 Central pipe 18 Third hose 19 Mug shelf 20 Insertion pipe 21 Fixing bracket

Claims (5)

In a refrigerator for supplying beer in which a beer barrel is stored in a refrigerator and a spout with a cock is provided on the outer surface of the refrigerator, a pressure reducing valve for adjusting the pressure of gas sent from the gas cylinder is provided in the refrigerator. A refrigerator characterized by being attached to the outer surface. Two or more beer barrels can be stored in the refrigerator, and each beer barrel is equipped with a spout with a dedicated cock and a pressure reducing valve, and each pressure reducing valve follows a ventilation device extending in series from a single gas cylinder. The gas is sent to each beer barrel through the pressure reducing valves, and the gas pressure of the gas sent to each beer barrel can be individually adjusted by operating each pressure reducing valve. The refrigerator according to 1. The refrigerator according to claim 2, wherein the pressure reducing valves are arranged in a line along a ventilating device extending in the lateral direction, and the venting device exists outside the refrigerator. The refrigerator according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the pressure reducing valve of the beer barrel is attached directly below the spout with the cock. 5. The refrigerator according to claim 1, wherein the spout with a cock and the pressure reducing valve are attached to an outer surface of the refrigerator door.

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