JP2009280223A - Pressure regulator for carbon dioxide gas - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a pressure regulator for carbon dioxide gas which is capable of maintaining the minimum pressure necessary for well pouring a sparkling beverage from the inside of a container even at low temperature, and feeding an adequate carbon dioxide gas according to the temperature of the sparkling beverage to a sparkling beverage container, good in responsiveness, precise and reliable. <P>SOLUTION: The pressure regulator for carbon dioxide gas is equipped with a valve element 13 to be urged in the closing direction of a valve opening 11 of a valve seat body 9 by a first elastic body 7 between a gas inlet part 3 and a gas feeding part 6, a plate 15 with a fore end 14 of the valve element being abutted thereon, a first pressure chamber 16 for storing the plate 15, a second elastic body 19 for urging a diaphragm 17 abutted on the plate 15 in the direction for expanding the valve opening 11, a second pressure chamber 21 for storing the second elastic body 19, a first valve 22 provided in a gas passage communicated with the second pressure chamber from a gas outlet part 20 of the first pressure chamber, a second valve 25 provided in a gas passage communicated with a gas exhaust port 23 from the second pressure chamber, and an electronic control unit for controlling the first and second valves. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a carbon dioxide pressure regulator that adjusts the pressure in a container that stores sparkling beverages according to the temperature of sparkling beverages such as draft beer.

According to the temperature of the sparkling beverage supplied from the sparkling beverage container, the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas supplied from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder to the sparkling beverage container, the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas is too low when the temperature of the sparkling beverage supplied is low, A pressure adjusting device for sparkling beverage containers has been proposed for the purpose of efficiently supplying sparkling beverages without reducing the supply amount (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-210274 A

  In the pressure adjusting device for sparkling beverage containers as described above, the pressure of carbon dioxide gas supplied to the beer barrel is adjusted according to the beer temperature from the beer barrel by the wax of the thermo element, but the response speed is never fast. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately obtain the target supply pressure. Furthermore, in the above apparatus, since beer is directly passed through the apparatus, there is a sanitary problem that sanitary specifications are required and sufficient cleaning is required.

  The present invention maintains the minimum pressure required to pour a sparkling beverage from the container that stores the sparkling beverage even at low temperatures, and supplies the sparkling beverage container with an appropriate carbon dioxide gas corresponding to the temperature of the sparkling beverage. The main object of the present invention is to provide a carbon dioxide gas pressure regulator that can be responsive, accurate, accurate and reliable.

  The carbon dioxide pressure regulator of the present invention includes a temperature sensor (27, 28) that measures the temperature, the temperature of the sparkling beverage, and / or the temperature of the sparkling beverage container and outputs a temperature signal, and the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas to be supplied. The pressure sensor (29, 30) that measures the pressure and outputs the pressure signal, and the valve of the valve seat (9) by the first elastic body (7) between the gas inlet part (3) and the gas supply part (6) A valve body (13) biased in a direction in which the opening (11) is closed, a plate (15) with which the tip (14) of the valve body abuts, and a first pressure chamber (16) containing the plate (15) ), A second elastic body (19) for urging the diaphragm (17) in contact with the plate (15) in a direction to expand the valve opening (11), and a second elastic body (19) for accommodating the second elastic body (19) Two pressure chambers (21) and the second pressure from the gas outlet (20) of the first pressure chamber (16). A first valve (22) in the gas passage leading to the chamber (21), a second valve (25) in the gas passage leading from the second pressure chamber (21) to the gas outlet (23), and carbon dioxide supply with respect to temperature A control map for defining a pressure relationship; the temperature signal and the pressure signal are input, and the first carbon dioxide gas supply pressure defined in the control map for the temperature signal is set to the first carbon dioxide gas supply pressure. And an electronic control unit for controlling the valve (22) and the second valve (25).

  According to the present invention, the first and second elastic bodies adjusted to a predetermined elastic constant and elastic force respectively urge the diaphragm from opposite directions, and the first and second pressure chambers are separated from each other by the diaphragm. Is provided. Then, the gas of the gas supply unit is led to the second pressure chamber by the operation of the first and second valves, and further discharged to the atmosphere. The electronic control unit is a control map for the measured pressure and the measured temperature. Since the first valve and the second valve are controlled so that the pressure of the supplied carbon dioxide gas becomes the carbon dioxide supply pressure specified in the control map with respect to the temperature to be measured, from the relationship with the carbon dioxide supply pressure specified in (1). By operating the first and second valves and flowing the carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide having an accurate pressure corresponding to the temperature of the sparkling beverage can be supplied to the sparkling beverage container with good responsiveness.

  In the present invention, the first valve (22) and the second valve (25) are solenoid valves, and the electronic control unit is such that the pressure of carbon dioxide supplied is lower than the carbon dioxide supply pressure defined in the control map. It is preferable to operate the first valve (22) to pass carbon dioxide gas and to operate the second valve (25) to pass carbon dioxide gas when high.

  According to the present invention, since the first valve and the second valve are solenoid valves, quick operation is possible, and when the pressure of the supplied carbon dioxide gas is lower than the carbon dioxide supply pressure defined in the control map, the first valve As a result, the carbon dioxide in the gas supply part partially flows into the second pressure chamber. As a result, the pressure in the second pressure chamber increases until it reaches the pressure in the first pressure chamber, so that the diaphragm balances at a position where the valve opening of the valve seat is widened, and carbon dioxide is supplied from the gas inlet to Gas supply pressure increases. When the pressure of the supplied carbon dioxide gas is higher than the carbon dioxide supply pressure specified in the control map, the carbon dioxide gas in the second pressure chamber is discharged to the atmosphere by the operation of the second valve. As a result, the pressure in the second pressure chamber is reduced, so that the diaphragm balances at the position where the valve opening of the valve seat body is closed, and the supply of carbon dioxide from the gas inlet is stopped.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that when the pressure of the supplied carbon dioxide gas is higher than the carbon dioxide supply pressure defined in the control map, the electronic control unit further operates the first valve (22) to pass the carbon dioxide gas. As a result, part of the carbon dioxide in the gas supply section is discharged to the atmosphere through the second pressure chamber, so that the pressure of the supplied carbon dioxide can be quickly set to the carbon dioxide supply pressure defined in the control map. it can.

  In the present invention, the second elastic body (19) is preferably adjusted so that the carbon dioxide gas in the first pressure chamber (16) does not drop below a predetermined pressure. Thereby, even when the foamed beverage is low in temperature, the minimum pressure necessary for pouring out the sparkling beverage can be applied to the sparkling beverage in the container.

  According to the carbon dioxide pressure regulator of the present invention, the first and second elastic bodies having a predetermined elastic constant and elastic force urge the diaphragm from opposite surfaces, and further the first and second pressure chambers with the diaphragm as a boundary surface. The gas supply unit gas is led to the second pressure chamber by the operation of the first and second valves, and further discharged to the atmosphere, and the electronic control unit supplies the optimum carbon dioxide gas with respect to the temperature based on the control map. Since the first and second valves are controlled so as to become pressure, an appropriate carbon dioxide gas corresponding to the temperature of the sparkling beverage can be supplied to the sparkling beverage container, and the response is good, accurate and reliable. A carbon dioxide pressure regulator can be provided.

  According to the carbon dioxide pressure regulator of the present invention, even when the foaming beverage is low in temperature, if the carbon dioxide supply pressure falls below a certain pressure, the valve body causes the diaphragm to widen the valve opening by the elastic force of the second elastic body. The valve opening opens and carbon dioxide gas is supplied, so even if the control system is malfunctioning, the minimum pressure required to successfully pour the sparkling beverage from the container that stores the sparkling beverage is maintained. it can.

  Hereinafter, a carbon dioxide pressure regulator according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not construed as being limited thereto, and does not depart from the scope of the present invention. Insofar as various changes, modifications and improvements can be made based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art.

  FIG. 1: shows the whole structure of the sparkling beverage supply apparatus 100 provided with the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 1 which concerns on this invention. The high-pressure carbon dioxide in the carbon dioxide cylinder 39 is decompressed by the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 1 and supplied to the beer barrel 26 through the carbon dioxide supply passage 33. Beer in the beer barrel 26 is supplied through a beer passage 32 from a take-out port (not shown) provided in the lower portion of the beer barrel 26 by the pressure of carbon dioxide gas. Electricity for the carbon dioxide pressure regulator is derived from a power source (AC adapter) 40.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 1 according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the central portion of FIG. In the present embodiment, springs are used as the first elastic body and the second elastic body, and springs are similarly used in the following embodiments.
Carbon dioxide gas enters from the gas inlet 3, is decompressed through the valve opening 11 of the valve seat 9, enters the first pressure chamber 16, exits the gas supply unit 6, and is supplied to the beer barrel 26. The valve body 13 is biased by the first spring 7 in the direction in which the valve opening 11 of the valve seat body 9 is closed, and the tip 14 of the valve body is in contact with the plate 15.

The diaphragm 17 in contact with the plate 15 is moved in the right direction of the drawing, that is, the valve seat body 9 by the second spring 19 via the second spring receiver 18 in contact with the surface opposite to the contact surface of the plate 15. The valve opening 11 of the valve seat body 9 is in an open state before the operation is started because the valve opening 11 is urged with a larger elastic force than the first spring 7 in the direction of expanding the valve opening 11.
The second spring 19 is accommodated in the second pressure chamber 21, and the carbon dioxide gas in the first pressure chamber 16 is supplied to the second pressure chamber 21 through the gas outlet portion 20 when the first solenoid valve 22 is opened. The The carbon dioxide gas in the second pressure chamber 21 is discharged from the gas discharge port 23 when the second solenoid valve 25 is opened.

  At the start of operation, when the original valve 41 of the carbon dioxide cylinder 39 is opened, the valve opening 11 is open, so that the carbon dioxide flows into the beer barrel 26 through the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 1 and the beer barrel 26 is pressurized. . The supply pressure, that is, the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas in the first pressure chamber 16 is opposed to the elastic force urged by the second spring 19, and the diaphragm 17 is closed in the left direction in the drawing, that is, the valve opening 11 of the valve seat body 9 is closed. When the pressure is higher than a certain pressure, the valve opening 11 is closed, the supply of carbon dioxide from the carbon dioxide cylinder 39 is stopped, and the pressure of the supplied carbon dioxide is kept constant.

  When beer is supplied from the beer barrel 26 and the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas supplied from the beer barrel 26 is reduced, the pressure of the carbon dioxide gas in the first pressure chamber 16 is lowered and is urged by the elastic force of the second elastic body 19. Since the force in the right direction is won, the valve opening 11 of the valve seat body 9 is opened, and carbon dioxide is supplied from the carbon dioxide cylinder to the beer barrel 26.

  In the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 1 according to the present embodiment, the urging force of the second spring 19 acts on the diaphragm 17 in the direction of opening the valve opening 11 of the valve seat body 9, and the carbon dioxide pressure in the first pressure chamber 15. The urging force of the first spring 7 acts in the direction of closing the valve opening 11 of the valve seat body 9. For this reason, when the supply pressure of the carbon dioxide gas decreases and the carbon dioxide gas in the first pressure chamber 15 falls below a predetermined pressure, the biasing force of the second spring 19 changes the carbon dioxide gas pressure in the first pressure chamber 15 and the biasing force of the first spring 7. It exceeds. Then, when the diaphragm 17 moves the valve body 13 to the right in the drawing via the plate 15 in contact with the diaphragm 17, the valve opening 11 of the valve seat body 9 is opened. Accordingly, since carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 39, the carbon dioxide gas pressure in the first pressure chamber 15 rises again, and the pressure of the supplied carbon dioxide gas is maintained at a predetermined pressure or higher.

  The predetermined pressure can be appropriately determined by selecting the urging force of the first spring and the second spring 19, but normally, the first spring is fixed and the urging force of the second spring 19 is set to the lowest value. Select the pressure. In this embodiment, the urging force of the second spring 19 is selected so as to be the minimum pressure Po (described in FIG. 4).

  In the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 1 according to the present invention, the lowest pressure of carbon dioxide gas to be supplied is set by adjusting the elastic force of the second spring 19 acting on the diaphragm 17 even when the beer is at a low temperature. Therefore, even when the beer is cold, the minimum necessary pressure Po required for pouring the sparkling beverage from the beer barrel can be maintained, and the responsiveness is good and accurate.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the beer temperature immediately after coming out of the beer barrel 26 is detected by a temperature sensor 27 and passes through a temperature sensor cord 35 as a signal to an electronic control unit (not shown) of the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 1. Sent. The temperature of the beer barrel 26 is detected by a temperature sensor 28 provided at the lower portion of the beer barrel 26, and is sent as a signal to an electronic control unit (not shown) through the temperature sensor code 35. As the temperature sensor, a thermistor element can be used. In order to detect the pressure inside the beer barrel 26, a pressure sensor 29 is provided at the top of the beer barrel 26, and this pressure is sent as a signal to an electronic control unit (not shown).

  FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the temperature of carbon dioxide adjusted by the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 1 according to the present invention and the supply pressure. This control map shows the relationship between the temperature and pressure controlled by the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 1 as the optimum carbon dioxide supply pressure for each temperature, and this relationship is input to the electronic control unit in advance. Here, within a predetermined temperature range, the carbon dioxide gas supply pressure increases monotonically with increasing temperature. Outside this range, the carbon dioxide gas supply pressure remains constant with respect to temperature changes. To do. As a result, it is possible to avoid that the gas supply pressure is too low and hinders beer dispensing, or that the supply pressure is too high and the beer discharge pressure becomes too high. As the temperature, the temperature, the temperature of the sparkling beverage, and / or the temperature of the sparkling beverage container can be used singly or in combination, and the combination is a gas as a linear function with these temperatures in a predetermined range as variables. Supply pressure can be defined.

When the beer temperature is input from the temperature sensor 27 to the electronic control unit (not shown), the optimum carbon dioxide supply pressure (hereinafter referred to as “Pt”) for the temperature (T ° C.) input in the control map. ) And the supply pressure of the beer barrel 26 sent from the pressure sensor 29 (hereinafter referred to as “Pa”).
As a result, when Pa is lower than Pt, the electronic control unit outputs a control signal to the first solenoid valve 22, and the first solenoid valve 22 receiving this signal operates to pass carbon dioxide gas. By this operation, a part of carbon dioxide gas enters the second pressure chamber 21 from the gas outlet portion 20 of the first pressure chamber 16 through the first solenoid valve 22, so that the pressure in the first pressure chamber 16 and the second pressure chamber 21 is increased. Are equal. That is, since the above operation is started, carbon dioxide flows from the gas inlet 3 to the gas supply 6 and the carbon dioxide pressure in the beer barrel 26 increases.

  Further, when Pa increases and reaches Pt, the electronic control unit outputs a control signal for causing the first solenoid valve 22 to close the valve. As a result, the first solenoid valve 22 is closed and the supply of carbon dioxide gas to the second pressure chamber is stopped, so that the diaphragm 17 is balanced at a position where the valve opening 11 of the valve seat body 9 is closed, and the beer barrel 26 is supplied to the beer barrel 26. The supply of carbon dioxide gas is stopped, and the increase in carbon dioxide gas supply pressure in the beer barrel 26 is stopped.

  When Pa is higher than Pt, the electronic control unit outputs a control signal to the second solenoid valve 25, and the second solenoid valve 25 receiving this signal operates to pass carbon dioxide gas. By this operation, carbon dioxide gas in the second pressure chamber 21 passes through the second solenoid valve 25 and is discharged from the gas discharge port 23 to the atmosphere, so that the pressure in the second pressure chamber 21 is reduced and the diaphragm is left on the drawing. By moving in the direction, the valve element 13 moves to the left in the drawing via the plate 15, the valve opening 11 is closed, and the supply of carbon dioxide gas is stopped.

  Next, when the first solenoid valve 22 is actuated by a control signal output from the electronic control unit, carbon dioxide gas can flow through the first solenoid valve 22, so that from the gas outlet 20 of the first pressure chamber 16. Since the supplied carbon dioxide gas passes through the second pressure chamber 21 and is discharged to the atmosphere from the gas discharge port 23, the carbon dioxide supply pressure in the beer barrel 26 is reduced more rapidly.

  Further, when Pa decreases to Pt, the electronic control unit outputs a control signal for closing the first solenoid valve 22 and the second solenoid valve 25. As a result, the carbon dioxide gas is no longer discharged from the gas outlet portion 20 to the atmosphere, and the decrease in the carbon dioxide gas supply pressure is stopped.

  In the present embodiment, the control map shown in FIG. 4 stipulates that the carbon dioxide gas supply pressure is constant (Pm) above the temperature Tm, so even when the temperature of the sparkling beverage is above the temperature Tm, It can prevent that supply pressure becomes abnormally high and supply of sparkling beverages increases too much.

  In the present embodiment, the operation of the first solenoid valve 22 and the second solenoid valve 25 is an operation that repeats opening and closing of the valve intermittently, and the interval thereof suppresses a rapid flow of carbon dioxide gas, thereby enabling accurate pressure control. It is adjusted by the electronic control unit so that

FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 10 of the second embodiment. In FIG. 5, the same components as those used in FIGS. 2 and 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
As shown in FIG. 5, the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 10 detects the pressure in the first pressure chamber 16 by forming orifices 4 and 6 in the gas inlet 3 and the gas outlet 20, respectively, in order to restrict the gas flow. For this purpose, the second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the pressure sensor 30 is provided.

  In the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 10 according to the second embodiment, the orifices 4 and 5 are formed, so that the sudden carbon dioxide gas from the carbon dioxide gas cylinder 39 to the first pressure chamber 16 and from the first pressure chamber 16 to the beer barrel 26 is increased. The flow can be prevented, and the carbon dioxide supply pressure can be adjusted more smoothly and accurately.

  Further, in this embodiment, instead of the pressure sensor 29 installed on the upper part of the beer barrel 26, the electronic control unit uses the carbon dioxide supply pressure detected by the pressure sensor 30 formed in the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 10 as a signal. To adjust the carbon dioxide supply pressure. Since the electronic control unit is attached to the carbon dioxide pressure regulator 10 (the back side of the drawing), the pressure sensor cord can be minimized. In the present embodiment, the control of the carbon dioxide gas supply pressure in the beer barrel 26 is performed more quickly and accurately than the first embodiment.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the adjustment of the carbon dioxide gas supply pressure in accordance with the temperature can be made finely because the response speed is fast and fine, so that it can be used as a carbon dioxide gas pressure regulator for sparkling beverage barrels such as beer halls and taverns.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a general-view figure which shows the whole structure of a sparkling beverage supply apparatus provided with the carbon dioxide gas pressure regulator which concerns on Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration of the carbon dioxide pressure regulator according to the first embodiment. It is an expanded sectional view which shows the structure of the center part of FIG. It is a characteristic view which shows the relationship between the supply pressure of gas adjusted with the carbon dioxide pressure regulator which concerns on this invention, and temperature. FIG. 5 is a partially omitted cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a carbon dioxide pressure regulator according to a second embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,10 Carbon dioxide pressure regulator 3 Gas inlet part 4,5 Orifice 6 Gas supply part 7 First spring 9 Valve seat body 11 Valve opening 13 Valve body 14 Tip of valve body 15 Plate 16 First pressure chamber 17 Diaphragm 18 First 2 spring receiver 19 second spring 20 gas outlet 21 second pressure chamber 22 first solenoid valve 23 gas outlet 25 second solenoid valve 26 beer barrel 27, 28 temperature sensor 29, 30 pressure sensor 39 carbon dioxide gas cylinder 100 supply of sparkling beverage apparatus

Claims (4)

A temperature sensor (27, 28) for measuring the temperature, the temperature of the sparkling beverage, and / or the temperature of the sparkling beverage container and outputting a temperature signal;
A pressure sensor (29, 30) for measuring the pressure of the supplied carbon dioxide gas and outputting a pressure signal;
A valve body (13) biased in a direction in which the valve opening (11) of the valve seat body (9) is closed by the first elastic body (7) between the gas inlet section (3) and the gas supply section (6); A plate (15) with which the tip (14) of the valve body abuts, a first pressure chamber (16) for accommodating the plate (15),
A second elastic body (19) for urging the diaphragm (17) in contact with the plate (15) in a direction to widen the valve opening (11), and a second pressure chamber for housing the second elastic body (19) (21) and
A first valve (22) in a gas passage leading from the gas outlet (20) of the first pressure chamber (16) to the second pressure chamber (21);
A second valve (25) in the gas passage leading from the second pressure chamber (21) to the gas outlet (23);
A control map for defining the relationship between the carbon dioxide gas supply pressure and the temperature, and by inputting the temperature signal and the pressure signal, the pressure of the supplied carbon dioxide gas becomes the carbon dioxide gas supply pressure defined in the control map for the temperature signal. A carbon dioxide pressure regulator comprising an electronic control unit for controlling the first valve (22) and the second valve (25).   The first valve (22) and the second valve (25) are solenoid valves, and the electronic control unit supplies carbon dioxide when the pressure of the carbon dioxide supplied is lower than the carbon dioxide supply pressure defined in the control map. The carbon dioxide pressure regulator according to claim 1, wherein the first valve (22) is actuated to pass the gas and the second valve (25) is actuated to pass the carbon dioxide gas when the gas is high.   3. The carbon dioxide pressure according to claim 2, wherein the electronic control unit further activates the first valve (22) to allow carbon dioxide to pass when the pressure of the carbon dioxide supplied is higher than the carbon dioxide supply pressure defined in the control map. Adjuster. The carbon dioxide pressure regulator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second elastic body (19) is adjusted so that the carbon dioxide gas in the first pressure chamber (16) does not drop below a predetermined pressure.

Images