JPS61170382A - Tool for generating foam of beer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To generate soft and fine-grained foams of carbon dioxide gas, in high efficiency, by knocking the outer wall of a container with protrusions having proper tip form and arranged interposing a proper gap there between. CONSTITUTION:The foam-generation tool 1 is fixed to the bottom of a can. The knocking part 3 of the foam-generation tool 1 is deformed to be separated from the bottom 6 of the can after opening the can, and the deformation is released rapidly. The knocking part 3 is displaced by the elastic recovery, and the instantaneous knock is applied by the protrusions 5 to the bottom part 6 of the can. A minute oscillation is generated in the can to cause the generation of fine-grained foams from the beer contacting with the bottom, and the surface of the beer is covered with the bubbles. The amount of foam can be increased by repeating the knocking operation.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Industrial Application Field> The present invention creates fine creamy carbon dioxide bubbles on the top surface of beer in containers such as mugs and cans by vaporizing carbon dioxide dissolved in beer. This invention relates to a novel device for generating.

<Prior Art> In general, beer poured into a mug using carbon dioxide gas pressure from a large-capacity keg such as 251.1 (1st grade) has very fine foam and is soft and delicious. Such fine bubbles can be produced at 2-3 kg/c in a large capacity barrel.
It is thought that the carbon dioxide dissolved in beer rapidly vaporizes and forms when beer is poured from a state under carbon dioxide gas pressure into a mug under normal pressure.

On the other hand, in medium-capacity metal cans or plastic containers such as 2L 3I1, the internal carbon dioxide pressure is considerably lower, so such fine bubbles are not formed under normal conditions. For this reason, a number of methods have been proposed for producing fine bubbles even when poured from such a relatively low-pressure container into a mug.

These proposals include, for example, a method to create a shear velocity gradient in the beer liquid by making the flow of beer into a trickle, a method to create vibrations on the surface of the beer by hitting the surface of the poured beer with a trickle of beer, A method of first forming a layer of fine bubbles using the fine bubbles formed by the trickle of beer as the core to reduce the entrainment of air in the mainstream of beer (Patent Application No. 1987-1)
51648, etc.), and a method in which the inner diameter and length of the air introduction pipe are set to appropriate dimensions to cause vibration in the flow of beer being poured out (Japanese Patent Application No. 55-94380, etc.). The effect could not be achieved unless the beer was transferred from the container to a mug or the like.

However, there are many products currently on the market, such as canned beer, that can be drunk as is without pouring beer into a jug or cup, but these products generally have fine creamy foam when the container is opened. is not generated.

Furthermore, it has been known that tapping the bottle immediately after filling the bottle with beer during the beer filling process or the like promotes the vaporization of dissolved carbon dioxide.

However, in the case of canned beer, even after opening the container and hitting the container with a stick, the beer inside the container did not produce fine creamy foam.

The present inventors have invented a method and device for forming a layer of fine creamy foam on the surface of canned beer after opening and before drinking.
9-162171) and some ideas (Jitsugan Sho 59-1)
21248.59-121249.59-121250
etc.) was completed.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, a method for efficiently applying minute vibrations to beer in a can has not yet been elucidated.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to elucidate the mechanism by which minute vibrations are generated in beer in a can, and to provide a method for more efficiently applying minute vibrations to beer in a can. .

Means for Solving the Problems> In order to solve the problems of soft soil, the present invention provides a beer foam generator that is used by being fixed to a part of the outer wall of a beer container by a fixing part, It consists of a knocking part that is movable with respect to the fixed part, and a bridging part that elastically supports the knocking part and connects to the fixed part. To provide a beer foam generator characterized by being provided with at least a part of protrusions that do not deform the outer wall itself and have a sufficiently small contact area with respect to the wavelength at which vibration propagates.

The present invention will be explained in more detail below based on the drawings.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the foam generator 1 of the present invention includes a disk-shaped fixing part 2 and a knock part 3 provided concentrically so as to surround this, with a bridge between the two. They are partially connected by section 4. It is preferable that the fixing part 2, the knocking part 3, and the bridging part 4 be integrally molded with a projection 5, which will be described later, from a synthetic resin such as polyethylene. Fixed part 2
is fixed to the center of the bottom 6 of a beer container (plastic can or metal can) with an adhesive 7 or the like (FIG. 2).

In this state, when a vertical force is applied to a part of the knocking part 3, it can move relative to the fixed part 2 due to elastic deformation of the connecting part with the bridge part 4, and the knock part 3 can move with respect to the fixed part 2 on the opposite side of the bridge part 4. The end 3a can be displaced longitudinally with respect to the can bottom 6 of the container. A plurality of (four in this example) protrusions are provided on the free end 3a on the surface facing the can bottom 6, but the number is not particularly limited and may be just one.

The size of the protrusion 5 is set so that it has a sufficiently small contact area with respect to the wavelength at which the vibration generated by the impact of the protrusion 5 on the can bottom 6 propagates.

Functions The foam generator 1 of the present invention having such a structure is used in the following manner. As described above, the foam generator 1 of the present invention is already fixed to the bottom of a can, which is a packaging container, when beer is shipped from a factory.

When drinking, after opening the lid, the knock part 3 of the foam generator 1 of the present invention is deformed so as to be pulled away from the can bottom 6 (see the solid line in FIG. 3), and then this is rapidly released. The knock part 3 is displaced as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 3 due to elastic recovery, and gives an instantaneous impact to the can bottom 6 by the protrusion 5 provided at its tip. The impact force in this case is set to such a level that the impact does not deform the can wall itself. This causes minute vibrations in the can container, and fine bubbles are generated from the beer in contact with the bottom, rise upwards, and coat the liquid surface. The amount of foam can be increased by repeating the blow not only once but several times.

This foaming effect is presumed to be due to the following mechanism.

■ First, when the wall at the bottom of the container near the impact point vibrates and momentarily bulges outward, a depressurized area or gap is created between the wall and the beer, and the carbon dioxide in that area evaporates into fine bubbles. generate.

(2) Next, the vibration propagates from the impact point along the wall surface of the container to the surrounding area, and by the same effect as described above, foaming is promoted from the bottom surface in a concentric circle around the impact point.

■ Such vibrations propagate not only on the wall of the container but also in the beer liquid as compression waves, and carbon dioxide evaporates from the roughened areas, causing foam to be generated from the entire beer. .

In the foam generator of the present invention, the shape and arrangement of the projections 5 of the knocking portion have a large influence on the foaming action.

Incidentally, if a container containing beer is struck with a heavy object such as a stick, the fine vibrations aimed at by the present invention cannot be obtained, and even if bubbles are generated, they are quickly damped. This is thought to be because the beer itself as well as the container vibrates as a whole in synchrony with the impact, which prevents the generation of local compression waves.

FIG. 4 shows a graph showing the degree of generation of microbubbles when the cross-sectional shape of the protrusion 5 is varied. The experimental method was to prepare four types of bubble generators that had the same structure as the bubble generators shown in Figures 1 and 2, but with the cross-sectional shapes of the protrusions as shown in Figures 5a and 5d. Using four beer cans with a can attached to the outer bottom, the degree of foam generation was evaluated based on the height of the foam above the beer liquid level when the beer was hit sequentially from - times to three times.

The beer temperature was 8°C and the air temperature was 21°C.

As is clear from these results, the protrusion (hemispherical) shown in FIG. 5(d) foamed most effectively, while the protrusion (conical) shown in FIG. 5(a) had a relatively low foaming state. This is presumed to be because in the case of a cone, the pressure per unit area applied to the bottom of the can by the impact is excessive, and the impact force is consumed exclusively for deforming the can wall itself, giving less vibration to the liquid. On the other hand, in the case of a hemisphere, it is thought that the effect of imparting vibration to the can wall is appropriate. Also, the cylindrical protrusion in Figure 5 and the fifth
Regarding the protrusion (cylindrical shape) with a recess in the center as shown in Figure C, the latter shows slightly better results. This is presumably because the former contacts the bottom of the can over a wide area, whereas the latter contacts only the circumference, leaving an uncontacted space in the center. In other words, in the case of a cylinder, the vibration applied to the can wall by the contact surface interferes with the vibration applied by the adjacent part and is canceled out, reducing the total vibration of the can as a whole. In this case, it is thought that due to the existence of the uncontacted space in the center, the vibration of the can wall is effectively sustained because there is no canceling effect due to vibration interference as described above.

In order to investigate the relationship between the distance between the impact points and the foaming effect in more detail, two hemispherical protrusions 5 each having a radius of 1 square are placed on the foam generator symmetrically across the diameter of the can bottom, as shown in Figure 6. A foaming test was carried out using different distances M between the two. The results are shown in the graph of FIG. 7, which shows that the foaming effect tends to increase as the distance increases, except when the distance between the protrusions is less than two cranes. However, in the case of this test, when the distance exceeds 3 cranes, the amount of foaming does not increase much compared to the rate of increase in distance, indicating that the state has almost reached a saturated state. That is, it has been suggested that there is a preferable range for the distance between the protrusions.

Considering the appropriate distance to prevent interference between the vibrations generated from each impact point and the area of the bottom wall of an actual beer can, the number of protrusions is preferably in the range of 1 to 20.

In order to increase the amplitude of vibration, it is preferable that the impact point be provided as close to the center of the bottom wall of the can as possible and symmetrically with respect to the diameter of the bottom surface.

Furthermore, it is advantageous for vibration to be imparted if the gap between the protrusion and the bottom wall of the can is as narrow as possible.

<Effects of the Invention> According to the present invention, when drinking beer, beer is not transferred from a packaging container to a cup or the like, but by being struck by protrusions arranged at appropriate intervals with appropriate tip shapes on the outer wall of the container. Soft, fine-grained carbon dioxide bubbles are efficiently generated, improving the drinking experience.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the foam generating device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side sectional view of the foam generating device of Fig. 1 attached to the bottom wall of a beer container, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the foam generating device of the present invention. Fig. 4 is a graph showing the difference in foaming effect due to the difference in the shape of the protrusions; Fig. 5 a - d are examples of the cross-sectional shapes of the protrusions; Fig. 6 is the foaming due to the difference in the spacing between the protrusions. Graph showing the difference in action. FIG. 7 shows a plan view of the foam generator used to obtain the graph of FIG. 6. ■...Bubble generator, 2...Fixing part, 3...
knock part, 4... bridge part, 5... protrusion,
6...Bottom of the can.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A beer foam generator that is used by being fixed to a part of the outer wall of a beer container by a fixing part, the knock part being movable with respect to the fixing part, and the knock part being elastic. and a bridging section that supports the knocking section and connects to the fixing section, and on the surface of the knocking section facing the outer wall of the beer container, a wavelength that does not deform the outer wall itself at the time of impact and that allows vibration to propagate is provided. 1. A beer foam generator, comprising at least one protrusion having a sufficiently small contact area with the beer foam generator. 2. The beer foam generator according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the tip of the protrusion is any one of hemispherical, cylindrical, cylindrical, and conical. 3. The beer foam generator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of the protrusions are provided, and the distance between the center axes of each protrusion is 3 mm or more. 4. The beer foam generator according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the foam generator is attached to the bottom of a beer container.