JP2022060794A - Beverage pour-out valve device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a beverage pour-out valve device in which a desired liquid can be securely selected with a simple operation.SOLUTION: A beverage pour-out valve device provided with a first valve that opens/closes a feed passage of a first beverage such as carbonated water and a second valve that opens/closes a feed passage of a second beverage such as syrup, includes three levers of a first lever that performs operation to open/close solely the first valve, a second lever that performs operation to open/close solely the second valve, and a third lever that performs operation to open/close both the first and second levers simultaneously. While the three levers are urged in a valve closing direction in a normal state, the three levers are each provided with locking means capable of fixing the respective levers in a valve opening position. Furthermore, the third lever may be provided with a knob that can be distinguished from the other two levers.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a device for pouring out carbonated water and a beverage stock solution such as shochu or whiskey diluted with carbonated water separately or in a mixed manner, and relates to a valve device for pouring out three types of beverages with a simple operation. It is a thing.

Carbonated drinks are one of the favorite beverages that have been favored in the past. In restaurants and the like, a beverage server for mixing and supplying carbonated water and a beverage stock solution such as whiskey, shochu, or juice (syrup) is used.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-188207 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-20804 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2018-30599

The invention described in Patent Document 1, which is the invention of the applicant of the present application, is a carbonated beverage by mixing liquids provided from two channels of carbonated water and a beverage stock solution. In this configuration, the only beverage provided is a carbonated beverage obtained by diluting the undiluted solution with carbonated water.

By the way, when a beverage is provided at a restaurant or the like, not only the beverage obtained by diluting the undiluted solution with carbonated water as in the configuration described in Patent Document 1, but also only carbonated water or straight whiskey is provided. In some cases, only the undiluted solution may be provided, and it is preferable that this type of server can selectively provide these three types of beverages with one device. The inventions described in Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3 respond to such a request, and have three embodiments in which the liquids provided from the two flow paths are discharged independently or by synthesizing them. It is possible. Then, as a configuration for realizing this, the type of liquid to be poured out, that is, the undiluted solution, is selected by operating the operation lever to select the first position, the second position, or the intermediate position among the slide holes. It is possible to select either carbonated water or a mixed solution thereof.

However, in the means for selecting the liquid to be discharged in Patent Documents 2 and 3, the distance between the first position, the intermediate position, and the second position is mechanically narrow, and it is appropriate visually when operating the operation lever. It is necessary to confirm the correct position. Otherwise, it may lead to erroneous operation, and if you want to inject only carbonated water, you may inadvertently inject the mixed solution.

The present invention solves the problems inherent in these conventional structures, and an object thereof is to provide a beverage dispensing valve device capable of reliably selecting a desired liquid by a simple operation. There is something in it.

In order to achieve the above object, the apparatus of the present invention is provided with a first valve that opens and closes a supply path for a first beverage such as carbonated water and a second valve that opens and closes a supply path for a second beverage such as syrup. A first lever that opens and closes the first valve independently, a second lever that opens and closes the second valve independently, and the first valve and the second valve. The three levers of the third lever that open and close both of the levers at the same time are provided, and each of the three levers operates in parallel and linearly. According to this means, the first beverage and the second beverage can be dispensed independently by the first lever and the second lever, and both the first and second beverages can be dispensed at the same time by the third lever. Since three levers are provided for each beverage to be poured out in this way, the operation is easier than using one lever to separate the beverages. The first beverage and the second beverage are not limited to carbonated water and syrup, and may be other beverages.

While the three levers are normally urged in the valve closing direction, it is preferable to provide a locking means capable of fixing the levers at the valve opening position. This is because the presence of the locking means makes it possible to maintain the valve open state (beverage pouring state) hands-free. After pouring a predetermined amount of the beverage, it is needless to say that the locking means is released by operating the lever in the valve closing direction.

Further, it is preferable that the three levers are arranged in parallel on the upper surface side of the device with the third lever as the center. This is because there is no interference with the pouring nozzle and the glass compared to arranging all the levers on the lower surface side of the device in a hanging state, so that the opening and closing operation is easy and the position is easy for the operator to see. In addition, in a post-mix type carbonated drink server that mainly provides carbonated drinks by simultaneously pouring out carbonated water and syrup by arranging the third lever in the center, the third lever is the main lever. This is because it can be emphasized.

Therefore, it is more preferable to provide the third lever with a knob that can be distinguished from the other two levers.

The knob identification means provided on the third lever may change its color, but by making it longer than the other two levers, it also contributes to the improvement of operability.

Furthermore, by opening the valve by tilting the three levers toward you, the same operability as the tap-type dispensing device often used in beer servers can be obtained, and beverages can be dispensed more easily. be able to.

Furthermore, in order to more reliably enhance the discriminating power between the third lever and the other two levers, the third lever sets the tiltable area required for the valve opening operation in front of the other two levers. It is preferable to shift the position closer to the setting. With this means, not only the emphasis of the third lever is exhibited, but also the third lever is tilted toward the valve opening operation side due to the fact that it is closer to the front, so the first valve and the second valve can be pressed with a small force. It can be opened at the same time without fail.

In order to realize this means more concretely, it is preferable to attach a cover case provided with three guide elongated holes corresponding to the tiltable regions of the three levers in parallel on the upper surface side of the device.

In the present invention, since three levers are provided for each beverage to be dispensed, it is possible to more reliably dispense the target beverage with less erroneous operation than when the beverages are separately dispensed with one lever.

Perspective view of a beverage dispensing valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The same, perspective view at the time of valve opening operation of the third lever The same, perspective view at the time of valve opening operation of the first lever The same, perspective view at the time of valve opening operation of the second lever Same, disassembled perspective view The same, exploded perspective view of the main part The same, exploded perspective view with a part of the main part assembled The same, sectional view of the valve closed state The same, sectional view of the valve open state Similarly, a cross-sectional view showing the movement of the locking means during the valve opening operation. Similarly, a cross-sectional view showing a locked state at the valve opening position. The same, detailed perspective view of the cover case

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a beverage dispensing valve device according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a valve closed state which is an initial state. In this device, a cover case C is attached to the upper surface side of the device, and the main lever ML (corresponding to the third lever described in the claims) is set as the center as a manual operator (actor) for pouring out beverages. Two sub-lever SL1 (corresponding to the first lever described in the claims) and SL2 (corresponding to the second lever described in the claims) are provided in parallel on the left and right sides thereof. Further, on the lower surface side of the device, a first nozzle N1 for pouring carbonated water (corresponding to the first beverage described in the claims) and a syrup (corresponding to the second beverage described in the claims) are placed. It is equipped with a second nozzle N2 to be dispensed.

The main lever ML and the two sub-lever SL1 and SL2 are operated by tilting toward the front side of the device along the three guide elongated holes C1, C2, and C3 provided in parallel with the cover case C. By tilting the lever ML in the direction of the arrow in the drawing, carbonated water and syrup are simultaneously poured out from the first nozzle N1 and the second nozzle N2 as shown in FIG. On the other hand, if the sub-lever SL1 is tilted, only carbonated water is poured out independently from the first nozzle N1 as shown in FIG. 3, and if another sub-lever SL2 is tilted, only the syrup is independently ejected from the nozzle N2. It is poured out at. Therefore, in this device, it is possible to select and pour out three types of beverages, such as carbonated syrup, carbonated water only, and syrup only, according to the customer's order and the like. Depending on the order, it is also possible to provide one glass with a carbonated syrup with an increased concentration of syrup by sequentially operating the main lever ML and the sub lever SL2.

FIG. 5 is a completely disassembled perspective view of the apparatus, which is roughly divided into a flow control block BR1 for controlling the flow path of the beverage, a pouring block BR2 for actually discharging the beverage, and a cover block BR3. .. Of these, the dispensed block BR2 can adopt the known structure shown in Patent Document 1 according to the application of the present applicant, but in this embodiment, the dispensed base B has a conventional mixed flow path. The carbonated water inflow path B1 corresponding to the above and the syrup inflow path B2 are independently provided, and the first nozzle N1 and the second nozzle N2 are connected to the respective inflow paths B1 and B2. Further, the cover block BR3 includes the cover case C described above and three knobs K1 to K3 corresponding to the three levers ML, SL1 and SL3.

On the other hand, the flow control block BR1 is a portion where the features of the present invention are integrated, and is a linear carbonated water supply path 1a and a syrup supply path 1b from the primary side (upstream side) to the secondary side (downstream side). With the flow control base 1 provided in parallel independently as the main member, three lever bodies 2 to 4, three sets of locking means 5 to 7 corresponding to the lever bodies 2 to 4, and carbonated water and syrup. Two sets of first valve 8 and second valve 9 provided on the secondary side of each supply path 1a and 1b, and a leaf spring portion 10a for urging each of these first valve 8 and second valve 9 in the valve closing direction. Two sets of orifice caps 11 having a bifurcated return spring 10 provided with 10b on the left and right and an orifice in which the first valve 8 and the second valve 9 are seated and assembled on the secondary side of the flow control base 1.・ It consists of 12.

In FIG. 5, 13 and 14 are flow rate adjusting screws screwed orthogonally from the lower surface to the two supply paths 1a and 1b of the flow control base 1, and the head of the flow control base 1 can be screwed in by adjusting the screwing amount. The amount of protrusion with respect to the supply paths 1a and 1b is changed to adjust the amount of fluid passing through the supply paths 1a and 1b. On the other hand, 15 and 16 are joints connected to the two supply paths 1a and 1b on the back surface side of the flow control base 1.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 for details of the flow control block BR1 and each member, first, the three lever bodies 2 to 4 are shafts on which knobs K1 to K3 are attached by screwing or the like. A pair of leg portions 2c to 4c are provided on the lower side of the portions 2a to 4a via the arc-shaped cover portions 2b to 4b, and a pin penetrating the flow control base 1 to the left and right with respect to the leg portions 2c to 4c. 17 is inserted, and the three lever bodies 2 to 4 are rotatably supported in parallel with each other in an upright state. Reference numeral 18 is a tension spring, which urges the lever bodies 2 to 4 in the valve closing direction to hold the initial position.

Further, the lever bodies 2 to 4 are on the back side of the cover portions 2b to 4b, and the pressing portions 2d to 4d that bulge in the valve opening direction, that is, the tilting direction are formed at the base portions of the leg portions 2c to 4c. There is.

The pressing portions 2d to 4d press the first valve 8 and the second valve 9 in the valve opening direction when the lever bodies 2 to 4 are tilted (during valve opening operation). Specifically, the first valve 8 and the second valve 9 are provided with valve bodies 8b and 9b seated on the orifice caps 11 and 12 of the orifice caps 11 and 12 at the center of the annular seal portions 8a and 9a. The valve body 8b / 9b is a type of so-called paddle valve in which the tip of the leaf spring portion 8c / 9c is embedded and the other end is projected to the upper part of the sealing portion 8a / 9a. It is a valve that has been used for a long time in this kind of post-mix type valve device. Then, by providing the pressing portions 2d to 4d of the lever bodies 2 to 4 at positions where they can come into contact with the protruding portions of the leaf spring portions 8c and 9c, the leaf spring portions 8c and 9c are provided by the pressing portions 2d to 4d during the tilting operation. Is pressed against the urging force of the return spring 10, so that the valve bodies 8b and 9b are deformed so as to be separated from the orifice (see FIG. 9).

Of the lever bodies 2 to 4, the central lever body 2 corresponding to the main lever ML and the lever bodies 3 and 4 arranged to the left and right of the lever bodies 3 and 4 corresponding to the sub-lever SL1 and SL2 have pressing portions 2d to 4d. The form is different. That is, in the central lever main body 2, the pressing portion 2d is formed on the front surface of both shoulder portions 2e protruding to the left and right, whereas in the left and right lever main bodies 3 and 4, one of the left and right adjacent to the central lever main body 2 is formed. Shoulders 3e and 4e are formed on the shoulders, and pressing portions 3d and 4d are formed on the front surfaces of the shoulders 3e and 4e. As a result, the pressing portions 3d and 4d can independently contact the leaf spring portions 8c and 9c by the tilting operation of the lever bodies 3 and 4, and the first valve 8 and the second valve 9 can be opened individually. At the same time, the left and right pressing portions 2d can simultaneously press the leaf spring portions 8c and 9c by the tilting operation of the lever 2, and the first valve 8 and the second valve 9 can be opened at the same time.

Next, the locking means 5 to 7 for fixing the three levers to the valve opening positions will be described. The locking means each have an engaging recess 5a to 7a having an arc-shaped upper surface and the locking recesses 5a to 7a having an arc shape on the upper surface, respectively, attached from the lower side upward. It is composed of coil springs 5b to 7b, and the engaging recesses 5a to 7a are housed in an exposed state in three storage portions provided in parallel on the upper surface of the flow control base 1.

On the other hand, the lever bodies 2 to 4 are engaged on the back side of the cover portions 2b to 4b in an arc shape that can be engaged with the upper surfaces of the engaging recesses 5a to 7a in addition to the pressing portions 2d to 4d described above. It has convex portions 2f to 4f. The engaging convex portions 2f to 4f also project in the valve opening direction, that is, in the tilting direction, like the pressing portions 2d to 4d, but they abut on the leaf spring portions 8c and 9c of the first valve 8 and the second valve 9. There is no such thing. It should be noted that the locking means and the lever body may have the opposite relationship between the engaging concave portion and the engaging convex portion.

According to such a locking means, the engaging protrusions 2f to 4f push down the engaging recesses 5a to 7a against the coil springs 5b to 7b due to the tilting operation of the lever bodies 2 to 4 (see FIG. 10). When the valve opening position is reached by continuing the tilting operation, the engaging protrusions 2f to 4f engage with the upper surfaces of the engaging recesses 5a to 7a, and the lever bodies 2 to 4 are fixed in this posture (see FIG. 11). ). Therefore, the beverage can be poured out while the hands are released from the lever bodies 2 to 4. Then, when the pouring work is completed, the lever bodies 2 to 4 can be lightly pushed up in the valve closing direction to return to the original initial position by the urging force of the tension spring 18. Further, when the lever bodies 2 to 4 return to the initial positions, the first valve 8 and the second valve 9 also return to the normal closed state by the urging force of the return spring 10.

As described above, in the above embodiment, as the operator for dispensing the beverage, three levers that can be individually operated for each beverage are provided, so that the desired beverage can be reliably dispensed with a simpler operation. Can be done. Further, since the hands-free pouring work can be performed by the locking means, the pouring work can be easily performed, and other work can be performed during that time.

In the present embodiment, the main lever ML is arranged in the center as a means for more surely preventing the erroneous operation of the lever, and a knob N1 longer than the other two sub-lever SL1 and SL2 is attached to the main lever ML.

Further, with respect to the cover case C, as shown in FIG. 12, the central guide elongated holes C1 corresponding to the main lever ML are provided so as to be displaced toward the front of the left and right guide elongated holes C2 and C3. As a result, the stopping discriminating power between the main lever ML and the other sub-lever SL1 and SL2 is enhanced, erroneous operation can be prevented more reliably, and interference between the levers at the time of dispensing the beverage can be eliminated.

C Cover case C1 to C3 Guide slot ML Main lever SL1 / SL2 Sub lever N1 First nozzle N2 Second nozzle K1 to K3 Knob BR1 Flow control block BR2 Injection block BR3 Cover block 1 Flow control base 1a Carbonated water supply path 1b Syrup Supply path 2 to 4 Lever body 2d to 4d Pressing part 2f to 4f Engagement convex part 5 to 7 Locking means 5a to 7a Engagement recess 5b to 7b Coil spring 8 First valve 9 Second valve 10 Return spring 11/12 Orifice cap 17 pin 18 tension spring

Claims (8)

A beverage dispensing valve device provided with a first valve for opening and closing a supply path for a first beverage such as carbonated water and a second valve for opening and closing a supply path for a second beverage such as syrup. Three levers: a first lever that opens and closes the valve independently, a second lever that opens and closes the second valve independently, and a third lever that opens and closes both the first valve and the second valve at the same time. A beverage pouring valve device characterized in that each of the three levers operates in parallel and linearly. The beverage dispensing valve device according to claim 1, wherein the three levers are normally urged in the valve closing direction, while a locking means capable of fixing the levers at the valve opening position is provided. The beverage dispensing valve device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the three levers are arranged in parallel with the third lever as the center on the upper surface side of the device. The valve device for beverage dispensing according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the third lever is provided with a knob that can be distinguished from the other two levers. The beverage dispensing valve device according to claim 4, wherein the knob provided on the third lever is longer than the other two levers. The beverage dispensing valve device according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the three levers are operated to open the valve by tilting toward the front side. The beverage dispensing valve device according to claim 6, wherein the third lever is set so that the tiltable area required for the valve opening operation is shifted toward the front side of the other two levers. The beverage dispensing valve device according to claim 7, wherein a cover case provided with three guide elongated holes corresponding to the tiltable regions of the three levers in parallel is attached to the upper surface side of the device.

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