RU172168U1 - Beverage Storage Tank - Google Patents

Abstract

This utility model relates to containers, in particular to containers for storing drinks, comprising a housing configured to seal the throat with a suitable closure, at least a portion of the outer surface of which is coated by spraying with a material that has UV protection (protecting against radiation) ultraviolet spectrum) properties. A container is proposed in which the coating is made of a transparent conductive material and is applied to at least two non-adjacent zones of the side surface of the housing with the formation of conductive elements (6, 7, 9-12, 13-18) with the possibility of their bridging by a conductive medium with simultaneous contact with a conductive medium, while in the bottom part (2) of the housing, a backlight module (4) is installed, including at least one optical radiation source (22) connected to the power supply unit (24), as well as to the conductive elements (6, 7, 9-12, 13-18 )

Description

This utility model relates to containers, in particular, to containers for storing drinks, comprising a housing configured to seal the throat with a suitable closure, at least a part of the outer surface of which is coated by spraying with a material that has UV protection ultraviolet radiation) properties. The utility model can be used as a container / container for long-term storage, transportation and sale of drinks, in particular alcoholic beverages, including vodka, beer, etc., carbonated drinks, etc., for which special storage conditions are required requirements. In addition, due to the design features, in particular, additional effects implemented in it (backlight, sound effect), at the same time, a useful model can be used, for example, to report violations of storage conditions and / or to indicate the level of liquid contained in a container (bottle) , and / or to create decorative effects in bars, restaurants, at exhibitions, presentations, tastings, at home, etc.

Each group of drinks, including alcoholic beverages, has its own storage conditions, such as air humidity, temperature parameters, as well as the prevention of contact of the drink with air and protection from UV radiation, etc. Storage conditions must comply with regulatory documents. Moreover, if certain storage conditions are not met, the substances in the drinks can change their molecular structure and even decompose, which will lead to an undesirable change in the organoleptic properties of the drink (color, taste, aroma), its nutritional value and even the formation of harmful compounds.

If the conditions of humidity and temperature conditions can be provided in the external environment with special devices, and the drink is protected from contact with oxygen by the packaging material (glass, tin, polyethylene terephthalate), then in terms of protection against UV radiation, the known and traditionally used packaging requires additional refinement. In this regard, manufacturers of beverages, including alcoholic beverages, in various countries pay great attention to the UV-protective properties of containers intended for storage, transportation and sale of their products. Moreover, when developing containers with UV protective properties, as a rule, it is necessary to ensure its transparency for visible spectrum radiation, so that the consumer can visually evaluate the characteristics of the drink, in particular color, transparency, lack of sediment, etc., which is important for a large number drinks.

So, a bottle was proposed, on the body of which, at least on a part of its surface, a coating is applied in the form of a film transparent to visible light and impermeable to ultraviolet radiation [1]. The coating is applied to the surface of the body by ion deposition or magnetron sputtering, or, alternatively, in the form of a wrapper. The bottle body may be made of glass or a polymeric material, in particular polyethylene terephthalate. The coating is made of zinc oxide and / or indium. To perform the UV protection function, it is desirable that the coating is continuous and applied to as much of the surface of the bottle as possible.

Another actively developing direction in the development of containers for drinks, especially alcoholic ones, is to provide such containers with additional decorative effects, such as lighting and / or sound effects, the functioning mode of which (on / off) is controlled using the principle of closing an electric circuit when triggered by either an element switching the type of button [2, 3] at the moment of mechanical contact with the surface on which the container is placed, or various types of sensors associated with the tool electric circuit control, in particular with an electronic unit. Moreover, technical solutions in which circuit closure is provided by switches such as buttons, despite the fact that they were created over the past ten years, are almost “outdated” and are increasingly being replaced by technical solutions based on various types of sensors and electronic control of optical sources (backlight) and / or acoustic (sound) effect.

So, a container with effects (backlight) is known, containing a transparent case in which a backlight is installed, including at least one light source connected to a power supply [4]. At the same time, the tank is additionally equipped with at least two conductive elements connected to the backlight, made of transparent material and placed in at least two non-adjacent sections of at least the outer surface of the housing with the possibility of their bridging by the conductive medium while simultaneously contact with conductive medium. A similar technical solution is also known for a container with sound effects, where a sound source is provided instead of a light source [5]. In the mentioned capacitance designs, the function of the switch of the electric circuit is performed by a conductive medium, which can be a liquid medium in contact with the internal and / or external surface of the container in the area of the conductive elements, or a human hand in contact with the external surface of the container in the area of the conductive elements.

Drinking utensils made in the form of a container with backlight or sound effect are also known, in which the connection of the radiation element to the power supply is controlled by a control unit associated with a vibration sensor [6], including the solution of the container with light and sound effects, in which the vibration sensor simultaneously performs the function of an acoustic emitter [7]. All these designs are quite complex and designed to operate in a wide range of characteristics of the effects of backlight and sound.

When developing a new type of packaging, in particular bottles with UV protective properties for storing alcoholic beverages, taking into account the suitable properties of the electrical conductivity of the UV protective coating, the author came up with the idea of using these properties to provide illumination or sound effect. At the same time, both the backlight and sound effects can have a wider functionality compared to decorative containers known from the prior art. So, they can be used not only to create various decorative visual and sound effects at points of sale of a drink on bottling or at places of consumption of a drink. These effects, in addition, with the appropriate controls and the presence of certain types of sensors can be used as an alarm deviation of certain storage parameters (environmental parameters) from the normative. For example, the backlight and / or sound effect may “work” when the ambient temperature rises above the permissible limit, etc.

Moreover, the analysis of the prior art showed that the bottle [1] mentioned above with a coating in the form of a film transparent to visible light and impermeable to ultraviolet radiation can be selected as the closest combination of common essential features of a technical solution for the claimed tank.

Thus, the objective of this utility model is to propose the design of a beverage storage container that would reliably protect the contents from UV radiation and at the same time have a system of light and / or sound effects of wide functionality that is simple in switching and triggering principle. At the same time, the capacity should be as technologically advanced and simple in its design, while ensuring multivariance with respect to sources of optical and / or acoustic radiation.

The problem is solved by the claimed capacity for storing drinks, containing made with the possibility of clogging the neck with a suitable closure body, at least part of the side surface of which by spraying is coated with a material having UV protective properties. The problem is solved due to the fact that the coating is made of a transparent, conductive material and is applied to at least two non-adjacent zones of the side surface of the housing with the formation of conductive elements with the possibility of their bridging by the conductive medium while simultaneously contacting them with the conductive medium, while a backlight module is installed at the bottom of the case, including at least one optical radiation source connected to a power supply unit, as well as to conductive elements.

As already mentioned above, when performing a UV protective coating of conductive material in the form of at least two non-adjacent zones of the side surface of the housing, it is possible to form at least two conductive elements, which, upon contact with the conductive medium, occurs operation of the backlight system. Coating on non-contiguous areas is possible without compromising the UV-protective properties of this coating, as it is enough to make a vertical “separation seam” with a width of only a few millimeters in order to ensure the “non-contiguity” of the coating zones. Thus, the known and used for the application of such UV protective coatings technology will not require significant changes. In principle, such technologies (magnetron sputtering, ion source sputtering, chemical methods, etc.) are well known to those skilled in the art and can be selected by them depending on the container body material, coating material, required coating characteristics, size and geometry application areas, etc. In this regard, in the framework of this description, the process of zonal deposition of a UV protective coating on the outer surface of the container body will not be considered.

Various technical solutions of the illumination system are also widely known to specialists and, for the most part, involve the installation of illumination means in the bottom of the tank body with optical radiation sources (s) connected to the power supply, as well as with conductive elements, in the case of the claimed capacitance - with zoned UV coating.

In basic forms of implementing the inventive beverage storage container, the transparent, conductive material may be selected from the group comprising at least indium oxide and zinc oxide. You can use other well-known specialists in this field of technology suitable materials. The basic requirement remains the UV protection of the coating.

The inventive storage tank contains a control element associated with the source / s of optical radiation, a power supply and conductive elements. The presence of the control will allow expanding the functions of the backlight system and controlling the backlight parameters depending on these functions: from “signaling” in a certain mode (backlight color, its flickering, etc.) depending on the environmental parameter that has “gone beyond” allowable range of values, until decorative optical effects of different colors and other characteristics are created.

In some implementation forms, the inventive beverage storage container may further comprise a sound indication source associated with a control element, a power supply, and conductive elements. The presence of a sound indication source allows, along with light signaling and / or optical decorative effects, to realize the function of sound signaling and / or acoustic decorative effects.

To more effectively perform the function of ensuring the safe storage of the drink in the inventive container, it can additionally be equipped with at least one environmental sensor selected from the group including at least a humidity sensor, temperature sensor, light sensor, tilt sensor vibration sensor. Moreover, each of the sensors is associated with a control element with the possibility of changing the operating mode of the optical radiation source and / or the sound indication source in accordance with the performance of this sensor. As mentioned above, these forms of implementation are most suitable for the implementation of the "signaling" mode.

In some preferred forms of implementation of the inventive capacity for storing a beverage, the sound indication source can be configured to record, play and, if necessary, delete audio messages, which further expands the functionality of the claimed capacity and its possible applications. In this case, the source / and acoustic radiation, in the General case, is chosen in such a way as to provide the ability to play as separate various sounds and sound sequences (including melodies, words, phrases, etc.).

Recently, it has been known to use modular design in decorative containers with optical and / or acoustic effects. In this case, the container body is, in fact, one module, and the controls, light and sound indicators are in the form of a second module. Using modularity can significantly improve manufacturability and reduce the cost of manufacturing containers. In addition, modularity increases the resource of use of the modules, because, for example, in case of damage to the container body and the impossibility of its further operation, the housing can be replaced and the use of the second module can continue and vice versa. Modularity also allows you to set different functionality of the tank with the same appearance of the case for a specific consumer.

With this in mind, the main ones are the implementation forms of the claimed beverage storage container, in which the control element, power supply unit, optical radiation source, and sound indication source are made in the form of a single module equipped with a removable convex lens-cover and removably mounted in the bottom of the container body. For fixing such a module in the bottom of the container body, for example, special adhesives, mastics or other suitable and accessible to specialists in this field of technology tools can be used.

In most preferred forms of implementation, the housing of the claimed container for storing a drink can be made of a transparent material selected from the group including polyethylene terephthalate and glass. Other materials suitable for storing drinks and for applying UV protective coating to their surface are also possible. These materials also include hard polymeric materials for food purposes, among which polycarbonate has recently become more widespread.

Given the design features of the inventive capacity is not required to complete the body of a transparent material completely. In some preferred forms of implementation of the claimed capacity for storing a drink, its body, at least on a part of the external surface (for example, in the neck area, in the bottom zone, etc.) can be matted.

The simplicity and originality of the solution described above with respect to controlling the closure of the electric circuit, including taking into account the combination of optical and acoustic effects, allows you to get the capacity of the original design with useful properties (UV protection, alarm about abnormal environmental parameters, i.e. storage conditions etc.) and a wide range of different applications. At the same time, taking into account the level of development of electronics, all the elements of the electrical circuit control, as well as the sources of optical and acoustic effects and the power supply can be so minimized in size that they will not be noticeable in the tank body and will insignificantly increase the total mass of the tank.

Thus, the effectiveness of the capacity increases many times, and the possible areas of its application expand. So, the claimed capacity can be simultaneously used both as a container, ensuring the preservation of the initial properties of the drink, and as a source of decorative effects - optical and / or acoustic.

The advantages and advantages of the inventive container for storing a beverage will be discussed in more detail below and described with reference to the figures of the drawings, which illustrate only some examples of possible container designs that should not be considered as limiting. In the drawings, in particular, are presented:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a general view of a container in one embodiment with a local cutout;

FIG. 2-4 is a schematic representation of various forms of implementation of the zonal UV protective coating in the section plane along line AA of FIG. one;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a general view of a module in one form of implementation;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a module in one form of implementation.

In FIG. 1 schematically shows a General view of the tank in one form of implementation with a local cutout. The beverage storage container in the presented embodiment is made in the form of a glass bottle and comprises a housing 1 in the bottom part 2 of which a recess 3 is made on the outer surface side, in which the backlight module 4 is installed. The container body 1 is configured to clog the neck 5 with an appropriate closure (not shown in the drawings). A part with a UV protective property is coated on a part of the side surface of the housing 1 by spraying from a transparent, conductive material, in particular indium oxide. The coating is applied, in the presented implementation form, on two non-adjacent zones of the side surface of the housing 1 with the formation of two conductive elements 6 and 7. The embodiment and the relative position of the conductive elements 6 and 7 in the section plane along line AA for the implementation form of the container of FIG. 1 is shown in FIG. 2.

In the present implementation form, between the conductive elements formed by the UV protective coating, vertical dividing “seams” 8 of small width are provided, which represent a clean surface of the bottle body 1 without UV coating. The conductive elements 6 and 7 and the dividing seams 8 are made and arranged so that, while the conductive elements 6 and 7 are in contact with the conductive medium, they are interrupted and the electrical circuit is closed, into which the backlight module 4 is located, located in the recess 3 in the bottom part 2 cases 1. In the simplest forms of implementation, the backlight module 4 can be minimized to a single optical radiation source with a power supply, to which conductive elements 6 and 7 are connected (contacted) by the arms th for inclusion. In more detail, the possible composition of the backlight module 4 in one of the more complex forms of implementation will be discussed below with reference to FIG. 6.

In FIG. 2-4 are a schematic representation of various forms of implementation of the zonal UV protective coating in the section plane along line AA in FIG. 1. So, in particular, in FIG. 2, a UV protective coating is applied to two non-adjacent zones of the surface of the housing 1 with the formation of two conductive elements 6 and 7, in FIG. 3 - into four non-adjacent zones of the surface of the housing 1 with the formation of four conductive elements 9, 10, 11 and 12, and in FIG. 4 - into six non-adjacent zones of the surface of the housing 1 with the formation of six conductive elements 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18. In this case, FIG. 2-4 for clarity, all conductive elements 6, 7, 9-18 are depicted of a sufficiently large thickness, while in reality the thickness of the conductive elements (UV protective coating) is so small (measured in microns) that it is visually indistinguishable. UV protective coating can be applied with the formation of a different quantity and a different form of conductive elements.

In FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of a general view of a backlight module 4 in one embodiment. The backlight module 4 is assembled on the base 19 and is equipped with a removable convex lens-cap 20 (held on the base 19 by means of elastic “petals” 21), is mounted removably in the recess 3 in the bottom of the tank body 1. The backlight module 4 may include a control element, a power supply, an optical radiation source (s), a sound source (s). In FIG. 5 only LED 22 is shown.

In FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a backlight module 4 in one possible implementation form. The backlight module 4 contains an interconnected control element 23, a power supply 24, optical radiation sources in the form of LEDs 22, acoustic radiation sources 25 (for example, in the form of a sound card, etc.). The backlight module 4 is configured to be triggered by interconnecting the conductive elements 6 and 7 (9-12, 13-18) and / or according to the readings of the sensor / s 26 of the environmental parameter.

The principles of operation of the inventive beverage storage container will be discussed in more detail below in one example implementation, in which the inventive container is a bottle for storing an alcoholic beverage, with reference to the position of FIG. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 5, FIG. 6 drawings.

Previously, in the conditions of specialized production, the case is individually made, for the form of implementation under consideration, of glass and the optical and / or acoustic effects elements are assembled in one illumination module 4 together with the control elements 23 and the power supply 24. In this case, a control board, if necessary , "Flash" in accordance with a given "program of functioning" of the tank.

As a rule, for the formation and reproduction of an optical and / or acoustic effect for signaling purposes, the electrical circuit is closed and the backlight module 4 is triggered by the readings of the sensor / s 26 of the environmental parameter, and for decorative purposes as a result of the interconnection of conductive elements 6 and 7 (9- 12, 13-18).

The preassembled illumination module 4 is installed in the recess 3 in the bottom zone 2 of the container body 1 and, if necessary, permanently attached to the base 19, for example, by means of special glue (in Fig. 1 it is indicated by black dots without indicating the position).

In the alarm mode, when an environmental parameter is received from any of the sensors 26 (for example, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, an ambient light sensor, an angle sensor, a vibration sensor, etc.), a signal corresponding to the output of this parameter from the range of acceptable values, the control element 23 according to the program “flashed” in it turns on the LEDs 22 and / or the source / and acoustic radiation 25 in the set mode. In fact, the control element 23 receives a corresponding signal from the sensor (s) 26 A signal is sent to the medium, which closes the electric circuit between the power supply unit 24 and the LED (s) 22 and / or the acoustic emission source (s) 25. The signal is supplied in such a way as to ensure the operation of the LED (s) 22 and / or the acoustic emission source (s) 25 in the corresponding preset mode and with the specified parameters (in accordance with the current readings of the sensor / s 26 environment). When the value of the corresponding environmental parameter is returned to the acceptable range of values, the control 23 turns off the LED (s) 22 and / or the source (s) of acoustic radiation 25. In principle, the design of the backlight module 4 can also provide for the possibility of forcibly turning off the LED (s) 22 and / or source / s of acoustic radiation 25.

In decorative mode, the conductive elements 6 and 7 (9-12, 13-18) when they are bridged with a conductive medium, for example, when the bottle body 1 is grabbed by hand, close the electrical circuit, which leads to the operation of the control element 23 of the backlight module 4, which, in its in turn, it supplies a control signal to the LEDs 22 and / or the source / and acoustic radiation 25. The signal is supplied in such a way as to ensure the operation of the LED / s 22 and / or the source / s of acoustic radiation 25 in the corresponding predetermined mode and with given n parameters of.

In case of damage to the bottle body 1 and the impossibility of its further operation, the body 1 can be replaced with a similar one and placed in the recess 3 in its bottom part 2 backlight module 4 and continue to use it.

Alternatively, in cases where the power supply 24 of the backlight module 4 has exhausted its working life or when it is necessary to change the functionality of the bottle (expand functions), the backlight module 4 can be replaced.

The above description of the operation of one of the possible forms of implementation of the claimed capacity remains valid for other possible forms of implementation. It should also be noted that all devices and elements, in particular the control element 23, sensors, 26 environmental parameters, optical radiation sources, in particular LEDs 22, acoustic radiation sources 25, power supply 24 can be selected by a specialist in accordance with a specific the form of execution of the tank, its purpose, functionality, the expected conditions of its operation, etc.

Information sources

1. Application GB No. 2 139 647 A, publ. 11/14/1984.

2. DE patent No. 198842893 A1, publ. 03/30/2000

3. DE patent No. 20211408 A1, publ. January 30, 2003

4. Patent EA No. 007145 B1, publ. 08/25/2006.

5. Patent EA No. 007144 B1, publ. 08/25/2006.

6. Patent RU No. 2100006 C1, publ. 12/27/1997.

7. Patent RU No. 2236809 C1, publ. 09/27/2004.

Claims (8)

1. A container for storing a beverage, comprising a housing configured to seal the throat with a suitable closure, at least on a side surface of which, by spraying, is coated with a material having UV protective properties, characterized in that the coating is made of a transparent conductive material and applied at least two non-adjacent zones of the side surface of the housing with the formation of conductive elements, while the module is installed in the bottom of the housing l backlight, including interconnected, as well as conductive elements with the possibility of shorting the electrical circuit of at least one optical radiation source, power supply and control element. 2. A container according to claim 1, characterized in that the transparent conductive material is selected from the group comprising at least indium oxide, zinc oxide. 3. The capacity according to claim 1, characterized in that it further comprises a sound indication source associated with a control element, a power supply and conductive elements. 4. The tank according to claim 1, characterized in that it is further equipped with at least one environmental sensor selected from the group including at least a humidity sensor, a temperature sensor, an ambient light sensor, an angle sensor, a vibration sensor, the sensors being connected with a control element with the ability to change the operating mode of the optical radiation source and / or sound indication source. 5. The capacity according to p. 3, characterized in that the source of the audio indication is configured to record, play and, if necessary, delete audio messages. 6. Capacity according to any one of paragraphs. 1-5, characterized in that the control element, power supply, optical radiation source, sound indication source are made in the form of a module equipped with a removable convex lens-cover and removable mounted in the bottom of the tank body. 7. The container under item 1, characterized in that the housing is made of a transparent material selected from the group including polyethylene terephthalate and glass. 8. The container according to claim 7, characterized in that the housing is frosted on at least part of the outer surface.

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