JP2007197039A - Beverage feeding valve - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a beverage feeding valve for extracting a beverage stably and smoothly from a beverage container. <P>SOLUTION: This beverage feeding valve 1 is provided with a main body 2 which is mounted on the opening D of a PET bottle P and keeps the inside communicating with the inside of the bottle, a holding part 3 positioned at the lower part of the main body when the opening of the bottle is downwardly opened, an opening 18 formed at the bottom end and held vertically movable by the holding part and an extracting member 4 provided with first and the second communicating openings 21, 22 formed on the side face communicating with openings 18, 19 formed at the lower end. In a condition where the member 4 is moved downward, the first and the second communicating openings are closed. In the condition that the member 4 is moved upward, the openings are opened to the inside of the main body 2. The first opening 21 is formed above the second opening 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a beverage supply valve that is attached to a mouth portion of a beverage container such as a plastic bottle, a bottle, a paper pack, or a barrel and controls beverage extraction.

Conventionally, when extracting beverages in plastic bottles, etc., a valve is attached to the mouth of the beverage container such as the PET bottle, and the beverage container is turned upside down by manually opening and closing the valve. The method of extracting the drink of this is taken (for example, refer patent document 1 or patent document 2).
JP-A-9-126649 JP 2003-221099 A

  However, when extracting a beverage from such a beverage container, the beverage in the beverage container does not come out unless air is allowed to flow into the beverage container from the mouth. However, since the conventional valve described above has a structure in which air flows into the beverage container through the same path as the beverage flows down, the flowing beverage and rising air (bubbles) collide with each other in the valve. There is a problem that the extraction becomes unstable and smooth extraction cannot be performed.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the conventional technical problems, and provides a beverage supply valve capable of stably and smoothly extracting a beverage from a beverage container.

  The beverage supply valve of the present invention is provided at the mouth portion of the beverage container to control the extraction of the beverage from the mouth portion, and is attached to the mouth portion of the beverage container so that the inside communicates with the beverage container. A main body, a holding part located at the lower part of the main body in a state where the mouth part of the beverage container is opened downward, and held by the holding part so as to be movable up and down. An extraction member having first and second communication ports formed on a side surface. With the extraction member lowered, the first and second communication ports are closed and the extraction member is raised. The first and second communication ports are opened in the main body, and the first communication port is formed above the second communication port.

  In the beverage supply valve according to the second aspect of the present invention, in the above, the extraction member partitions the first passage from the first communication port to the opening and the second passage from the second communication port to the opening. It is provided with.

  The beverage supply valve of the invention of claim 3 is characterized in that the opening of the portion corresponding to the second passage is open below the opening of the portion corresponding to the first passage.

  The beverage supply valve of the invention of claim 4 is characterized in that the second communication port is opened in the main body before the first communication port in the process of the extraction member rising in each of the above inventions. To do.

  In the present invention, in the beverage supply valve that is provided in the mouth portion of the beverage container and controls the extraction of the beverage from the mouth portion, the main body that is attached to the mouth portion of the beverage container and communicates inside the beverage container; A holding part located at the lower part of the main body in a state where the mouth part of the beverage container is opened downward, and is held by the holding part so as to be movable up and down. The first and second communication ports are closed, the first and second communication ports are closed, and the extraction member is raised. Since the first and second communication ports are opened in the main body, the beverage is not extracted from the opening because the first and second communication ports are closed when the extraction member is lowered. The supply valve closes the mouth of the beverage container. When the extraction member is raised, the first and second communication ports are opened in the main body, so that the beverage container communicates with the opening through these communication ports and the main body.

  At this time, since the first communication port of the extraction member is formed above the second communication port, the beverage that comes out of the beverage container and enters the main body is basically downward due to the head difference. It becomes easy to go out from the 2nd communicating port located. And in that case, air flows in from the 1st communicating port located above, and comes to flow in a drink container through the inside of a main part. As a result, air passes through the first communication port from the opening of the extraction member, flows into the beverage container through the main body, and the beverage in the beverage container passes through the main body and exits from the second communication port to be extracted from the opening. Will be.

  In addition, even when a beverage starts to come out from the first communication port, the beverage is extracted from the opening through the first communication port, and air flows into the main body from the opening through the second communication port. Become. In any case, according to the present invention, the route through which the beverage is extracted from the beverage container and the route through which air flows into the beverage container can be divided into either the second communication port or the first communication port. It becomes possible to allow air to flow into the beverage container smoothly and to extract the beverage stably and smoothly.

  According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the above, the extraction member partitions the first passage from the first communication port to the opening and the second passage from the second communication port to the opening. Since the partition wall is provided, there is no inconvenience that the beverage to be extracted and the inflowing air collide in the extraction member, and the extraction is further facilitated.

  According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the above, the opening of the portion corresponding to the second passage is opened below the opening of the portion corresponding to the first passage. The beverage extracted from the opening of the portion corresponding to the second passage through the passage can prevent the inconvenience of blocking the opening of the portion corresponding to the first passage, and the first passage The beverage can be stably extracted by allowing air to smoothly flow in from the opening of the portion corresponding to.

  According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the above-described inventions, the second communication port is opened in the main body before the first communication port in the process in which the extraction member is raised. Therefore, the 2nd communicating port in the position where a drink tends to flow out by a head difference is made to communicate in the main body before the 1st communicating port, and the beverage in the main body is made to flow out from the 2nd communicating port from the beginning. Will be able to. This prevents or suppresses the phenomenon that the beverage flows out from the first communication port, and reliably configures the state in which the beverage flows out from the second communication port and the air flows in from the first communication port. A stable extraction can be realized.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a state in which a beverage supply valve 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to a plastic bottle P and the plastic bottle is inverted, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a beverage of FIGS. A longitudinal side view of the supply valve 1 is shown.

  In each figure, P is a plastic bottle containing carbonated beverages such as cola, or non-carbonated beverages such as mineral water, tea, and juice. In this embodiment, this plastic bottle P is used as an example of a beverage container. The present invention will be described. As is well known, the plastic bottle P has a mouth portion D positioned at the upper end in a standing state, and a flange portion L that projects outward is integrally formed below the open end of the mouth portion D. The mouth D is initially closed with a cap (not shown), and when the beverage supply valve 1 described below is attached, the cap is removed and the mouth D is opened.

  The beverage supply valve 1 of the present invention includes, for example, a stainless steel main body 2 and a stainless steel extraction member that is held in a vertically movable manner by a holding portion 3 formed in a lower wall 2A located at the lower portion of the main body 2. 4 and an operation lever 6 for moving the extraction member 4 up and down. The main body 2 has an internal hollow cylindrical shape in which substantially the entire upper surface is open and the lower surface of the lower wall 2A is opened by the holding portion 3, and the upper surface has a lid portion 7 (one of the main bodies 2) connected by screwing. Part). 8 is a packing for sealing between the lid 7 and the upper edge of the main body 2. Further, a connecting portion 9 is formed at the center of the lid portion 7 so as to project upward and open, and a packing 11 is attached around the distal end side of the flange portion 9A projecting outward from the connecting portion 9. .

  On the other hand, the extraction member 4 has a columnar shape thinner than that of the main body 2, and the outer diameter thereof is close to the inner surface of the holding portion 3 of the main body 2 and can be slidably inserted. A first passage 12 and a second passage 13 are formed in the extraction member 4 so as to penetrate in the axial direction, and the passages 12 and 13 are partitioned by a partition wall 14. Further, the upper end of the extraction member 4 is screwed and connected to a flat top closing portion 16 (which constitutes a part of the extraction member 4), whereby the upper ends of both passages 12 and 13 are closed. Reference numeral 17 denotes a packing that seals between the closed portion 16 and the upper edges of the passages 12 and 13.

  Also, the opening 18 at the lower end of the first passage 12 (the opening corresponding to the first passage) and the opening 19 at the lower end of the second passage 13 (the opening corresponding to the second passage) are moved up and down. The opening 19 is open below the opening 18. Further, a first communication port 21 and a second communication port 22 are formed on the side surface of the extraction member 4, and the first communication port 21 communicates with the first passage 12, and the second communication port 21. The communication port 22 communicates with the second passage 13. That is, the first communication port 21 communicates with the opening 18 through the first passage 12, and the second communication port 22 communicates with the opening 19 through the second passage 13.

  In the present invention, the first communication port 21 is formed above the second communication port 22. In the embodiment, the two communication ports 21 and 22 are holes of the same size (round holes), the upper edge of the first communication port 21 is located above the upper edge of the second communication port 22, and the first communication port The lower edge of the mouth 21 is also located above the lower edge of the second communication port 22. That is, the center of the first communication port 21 is above the center of the second communication port 22.

  In addition, the lower end of the closing portion 16 is lowered to the upper limit of the first communication port 21, and a packing 23 is attached to the lower end. The extraction member 4 is held by the holding part 3 of the main body 2 so as to be movable up and down, and in the lowered state, the upper part including the closing part 16 is located in the main body 2 and the lower part including the openings 18 and 19 is lower than the main body 2. It protrudes downward. Both communication ports 21 and 22 are located on the inner surface of the holding portion 3 of the main body 2 and are closed by the holding portion 3. Furthermore, the packing 23 contacts and seals the upper surface of the lower wall 2A around the upper end opening of the holding portion 3 (FIG. 3).

  In this embodiment, the two communication ports 21 and 22 are closed by the inner surface of the holding unit 3. However, as described above, the packing 23 seals the periphery of the upper end opening of the holding unit 3. Even if the structures 21 and 22 are not in close contact with the inner surface of the holding portion 3 and are not blocked by the inner surface, the communication ports 21 and 22 are substantially blocked by the packing 23 of the closing portion 16 of the extraction member 4. Will be. That is, in the embodiment, the closed state is reliably maintained as a form in which the communication ports 21 and 22 are closed by both the holding portion 3 and the packing 23.

  When the extraction member 4 is lifted from this state, both the communication ports 21 and 22 move upward from the holding portion 3 and are opened in the main body 2. Even in this raised state, the lower part of the extraction member 4 including the openings 18 and 19 protrudes downward from the main body 2 (FIG. 4).

  On the other hand, the operation lever 6 (which constitutes a part of the beverage supply valve 1) is freely rotatable on the shaft 26A of the fixture 26 that is attached by engaging with the constricted portion 2B formed on the outer surface of the lower wall 2A of the main body 2. The engaging portion 6A extending to the extraction member 4 side with respect to the shaft 26A is engaged with the lower surface of the step portion 4A formed on the outer surface of the extraction member 4. Further, the portion extending from the shaft 26A in the direction away from the extraction member 4 is the operation portion 6B, and the distance from the shaft 26A to the tip of the operation portion 6B is larger than the distance from the shaft 26A to the tip of the engagement portion 6A. It is set long.

  With the above configuration, when the beverage supply valve 1 of the present invention is attached to the plastic bottle P, first, the cap (not shown) is removed while the plastic bottle P is erected, and the connection portion of the beverage supply valve 1 is removed. The connecting part 9 and the packing 11 are pushed into the mouth part D with the face 9 facing down. Thereby, the packing 11 is intimately sealed to the inner surface of the mouth portion D, and the connection portion 9 is opened in the plastic bottle P.

  Next, the beverage supply valve 1 is fixed to the plastic bottle P by a fastener 28 (not shown in FIGS. 3 and 4) shown in FIGS. In this case, the fastener 28 (which constitutes a part of the beverage supply valve 1) is a flange 29A that contacts the surface of the main body 2 side of the flange 9A of the connection portion 9 and the beverage supply valve of the flange L of the plastic bottle P. A clamp body 29 having a flange 29B located on one side, and a pressing tool 32 having screws 31, 31 screwed into the flange 29B and abutting against a surface of the flange L opposite to the flange 29B. It has. When the screws 31 and 31 are screwed into the flange 29B, the presser 32 and the flange 29A sandwich the flange 9A of the connecting portion 9 and the flange L of the plastic bottle P from the outside. Thereby, the main body 2 of the beverage supply valve 1 is detachably attached to the mouth portion D of the plastic bottle P.

  After the beverage supply valve 1 is attached to the plastic bottle P in this way, the plastic bottle P is inverted as shown in each drawing so that the beverage supply valve 1 is on the lower side. When the plastic bottle P is inverted, the beverage accommodated therein flows into the main body 2, but the extraction member 4 is lowered by its own weight and the water pressure received by the closing portion 16 from the beverage in the plastic bottle P, As shown in FIG. 3, the packing 23 is in close contact with the upper surface of the lower wall 2A, and the communication ports 21 and 22 are closed by the holding portion 3, so that the openings 18 and 19 are not communicated with the main body 2, so that the beverage can be There is no extraction from the beverage supply valve 1.

  And when extracting a drink, the operation part 6B of the operation lever 6 is pushed down. When the operation portion 6B is lowered, the engaging portion 6A is lifted, so that the extraction member 4 is lifted and lifted. At this time, the extraction member 4 is applied with a force in a direction of being pushed down by its own weight and water pressure from the beverage (in the case of carbonated beverage, an increased pressure due to foaming is also applied). Therefore, the operating lever 6 is pushed down against this force. As described above, the operating lever 6 has a distance from the shaft 26A to the tip of the operating portion 6B from the shaft 26A to the tip of the engaging portion 6A. Since it is set longer than that, the force when pushing down by the lever principle is very light.

  In this way, when the extraction member 4 is raised, the packing 23 is separated from the lower wall 2A as shown in FIG. 4, and the communication ports 21 and 22 move to the upper side of the lower wall 2A. Is opened in the main body 2, and both the passages 12 and 13, the communication ports 21 and 22, and the inside of the plastic bottle P are communicated with both the openings 18 and 19 through the main body 2.

  At this time, since the first communication port 21 of the extraction member 4 is formed above the second communication port 22, the first communication port 21 is first opened in the main body 2. Therefore, a small amount of the beverage that comes out of the plastic bottle P and enters the main body exits from the first communication port 21 (it may not come out depending on the pressure or water pressure from the plastic bottle P). However, since it is easy for the beverage to go out from the second communication port 22 positioned below due to the head difference, the beverage is positioned below when the second communication port 22 opens into the main body 2. The state is switched to the state of exiting from the second communication port 22. On the other hand, external air (atmosphere) flows from the first communication port 21 located above, and flows into the plastic bottle P through the main body 2.

  As a result, the air flows from the first opening 18 of the extraction member 4 through the first passage 12, through the first communication port 21, through the main body 2, and into the plastic bottle P (indicated by broken line arrows in FIG. 4). The beverage in the plastic bottle P is extracted from the second opening 19 through the second communication port 22 through the main body 2 and through the second passage 13 (solid arrow in FIG. 4). ).

  That is, the path through which the beverage is extracted from the plastic bottle P and the path through which air flows into the plastic bottle P are the second communication port 22-the second passage 13-the second opening 19 (beverage). The first opening 18-the first passage 12-the first communication port 21 (air). Therefore, compared with the case where the beverage that flows out and the air that flows in pass through the same communication port, for example, the air flows smoothly into the PET bottle P from the first opening 18-the first communication port 21, The beverage can be extracted stably and smoothly from the second communication port 22-the second opening 19.

  Here, when both the communication ports 21 and 22 are formed at the same height position, when the weight of the beverage container in the PET bottle P or the force due to the foaming pressure described above is balanced with the atmospheric pressure, However, if the first communication port 21 is formed above the second communication port 22 as in the present invention, there is a difference in height between the two communication ports. If this is provided, the balance state can be destroyed. Moreover, since it becomes possible to attach a head difference to both the communication ports 21 and 22, priority is given to the ease of a drink | pillar outflow. Therefore, there is no possibility that the beverage cannot flow out in a balanced manner.

  In particular, since the first passage 12 and the second passage 13 of the extraction member 4 are partitioned by the partition wall 14, there is no inconvenience that the beverage to be extracted and the inflowing air collide in the extraction member 4. Extraction is further facilitated.

  When the second opening 19 from which the beverage is extracted and the first opening 18 through which air flows are at the same height or substantially the same height, the beverage extracted from the second opening 19 is on the surface. There is a risk that the flow of air flowing from the opening 18 to the first opening 18 side is obstructed by tension. However, if the second opening 19 is opened below the first opening 18 as in the embodiment, the beverage extracted from the second opening 19 via the second passage 13 is the first one. Since it does not go up to the opening 18, the inconvenience of blocking the opening 18 can be prevented, and air can be smoothly introduced from the first opening 18 to stably extract the beverage. Will be able to.

  When the beverage extraction is finished, the extraction member 4 is lowered by its own weight and the pressure from the beverage by releasing the hand from the operation portion 6B of the operation lever 6. And it returns to the state of FIG. 3, both the communicating ports 21 and 22 are obstruct | occluded in the holding | maintenance part 3, and the packing 23 closely_contact | adheres to the upper surface of 2 A of lower walls, Therefore Beverage extraction stops.

  In this embodiment, the first communication port 21 is first opened in the main body 2 in the process of the extraction member 4 ascending, and therefore, as described above, the first communication port 21 in the main body 2 is first formed. A small amount of beverage begins to come out. And depending on the case, even if the 2nd communication port 22 opens in the main body 2, the state which a drink continues flowing out from the 1st communication port 21 may be continued. In that case, air flows from the communication port 22 through the second opening 19, and the beverage comes out of the first communication port 21 and is extracted from the first opening 18.

  In any case, according to the present invention, the route through which the beverage is extracted and the route through which the air flows are separated, so that the beverage can be smoothly extracted by smoothly flowing the air into the plastic bottle P. It becomes like this.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the case where the first communication port 21 is formed above the second communication port 22 and a head difference is made as in the above-described embodiment, the first communication port 21 is first moved in the process of raising the extraction member 4. It is opened in the main body 2. That is, since the upper edge of the first communication port 21 comes out on the upper surface of the lower wall 2A before the upper edge of the second communication port 22, a small amount of beverage comes from the first communication port 21 as described above. It begins to flow out. Even in such a case, when the second communication port 22 is eventually opened in the main body 2, the beverage is switched so that the beverage flows out from the second communication port 22. Therefore, as described above, in some cases, the beverage continues to flow out from the first communication port 21 and the air flows into the second communication port 22. That is, in the above-described embodiment, the beverage basically comes out from the second opening 19, but sometimes comes out from the first opening 18.

  Structures that prevent this are shown in FIGS. In each figure, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 4 have the same or similar functions. In this case, a cut 34 is formed on the inner surface of the holding portion 3 of the main body 2 so as to rise obliquely to the upper surface of the lower wall 2A at a position corresponding to the upper side of the second communication port 22 when the extraction member 4 is lowered. ing. In the state where the extraction member 4 is lowered, the distance from the lower end of the notch 34 to the upper edge of the second communication port 22 is greater than the distance from the upper surface of the lower wall 2A to the upper edge of the first communication port 21. Is set too small. Further, the packing 23 is configured to be in close contact with the upper surface of the lower wall 2 </ b> A outside the notch 34.

  With the above configuration, in the state where the extraction member 4 is lowered, the two communication ports 21 and 22 are located on the inner surface of the holding portion 3 and are closed as in the above-described embodiment, so that no beverage is extracted. Since the packing 23 is in close contact with the upper surface of the lower wall 2A outside the notch 34 as described above, the two communication ports 21 and 22 are substantially closed, so that the second communication port 22 in the state of FIG. It does not matter even if it wraps in the notch 34 and communicates with the notch 34. However, in the case of this embodiment, the first communication port 21 is necessarily closed by the inner surface of the holding portion 3.

  In this state, when the operation portion 6B of the operation lever 6 is pushed down and the extraction member 4 is raised, the upper edge of the first communication port 21 comes out above the upper surface of the lower wall 2A, and the upper portion of the second communication port 22 The edge reaches the notch 34, and the second communicating port 22 communicates with the inside of the main body 2 through the notch 34 earlier than the first communicating port 21. Therefore, the beverage flows out from the second communication port 22 from the beginning (indicated by a solid arrow in FIG. 6).

  Then, when the extraction member 4 is further raised, the upper edge of the first communication port 21 comes out on the upper surface of the lower wall 2A, and thereafter, air is supplied from the first communication port 21 to the main body 2 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment. And then flows into the plastic bottle P (indicated by a broken line arrow in FIG. 7). Thereafter, this state is continued.

  Thus, in this case, the second communication port 22 is opened into the main body 2 prior to the first communication port 21 in the process of the extraction member 4 ascending, so that the beverage is caused by the head difference. The 2nd communicating port 22 in the position which is easy to flow out can be made to communicate in the main body 2 before the 1st communicating port 21, and the drink in the main body 2 can be discharged from the 2nd communicating port 22 from the beginning. It becomes like this. Thereby, according to the structure of this embodiment, the phenomenon of the beverage flowing out first from the first communication port 21 described above is prevented or suppressed, and the outflow of the beverage from the second communication port 22 and the first Thus, the air can be reliably introduced from the communication port 21, and more stable extraction can be realized.

  In each embodiment, the first communication port 21 and the second communication port 22 are configured by holes of the same size, and the center of the first communication port 21 is above the center of the second communication port 22. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the first communication port 21 and the second communication port 22 may have a head difference (the first communication port 21 is higher than the second communication port 22). The present invention is not limited to the examples. In the embodiment, the two communication ports 21 and 22 are formed. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more communication ports including the first and second communication ports of the embodiment are formed, and a head difference is added to them. However, the present invention is effective.

It is a perspective view of a plastic bottle (beverage container) in a state where the beverage supply valve of the present invention is attached and inverted. It is a side view of the plastic bottle (beverage container) of the state which similarly attached the beverage supply valve of this invention and made it invert. (Example 1) which is a vertical side view of the drink supply valve of the state of FIG. 1, FIG. FIG. 3 is another longitudinal side view of the beverage supply valve in the state of FIGS. 1 and 2. It is a vertical side view of the other Example of the drink supply valve | bulb of this invention (Example 2). FIG. 6 is another longitudinal side view of the beverage supply valve of FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is still another longitudinal side view of the beverage supply valve of FIG. 5.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Beverage supply valve 2 Main body 3 Holding | maintenance part 4 Extraction member 6 Operation lever 12 1st channel | path 13 2nd channel | path 14 Partition wall 18 1st opening 19 2nd opening 21 1st communication port 22 2nd communication port 34 notches

Claims (4)

A beverage supply valve provided at the mouth of a beverage container to control the extraction of beverage from the mouth,
A main body attached to the mouth of the beverage container and having an interior communicating with the beverage container;
A holding part located at the lower part of the main body in a state where the mouth part of the beverage container is opened downward;
An extraction member which is held by the holding portion so as to be movable up and down, and has an opening formed at a lower end and first and second communication ports formed on a side surface in communication with the opening;
With the extraction member lowered, the first and second communication ports are closed, and with the extraction member raised, the first and second communication ports are opened in the main body, The beverage supply valve, wherein the first communication port is formed above the second communication port.   The extraction member includes a partition wall that partitions a first passage from the first communication port to the opening and a second passage from the second communication port to the opening. The beverage supply valve according to claim 1.   The beverage supply valve according to claim 2, wherein the opening of the portion corresponding to the second passage is opened below the opening of the portion corresponding to the first passage.   4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second communication port is opened into the main body before the first communication port in a process in which the extraction member moves upward. 5. Beverage supply valve as described in.

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