JPH0442272B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a post-mix carbonated beverage dispensing device called a post-mix type or the like, and particularly to a dispensing valve device thereof.

[Prior art] This type of mixing valve device is known, for example, from
As shown in the 18189 publication, it includes a body defining one or more beverage passages. Each beverage passage is equipped with a valve mechanism for opening and closing it, as well as an adjustment screw for adjusting the degree of opening.
Beverage such as carbonated water, diluted water, syrup, etc. is introduced into a communication port at one end of the beverage passage and discharged from the nozzle under control by a valve mechanism and adjustment screw. In this case, beverage raw materials such as syrup are placed in advance in a stainless steel pressure vessel and supplied to the connection port by gas or pump pressure (see, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 74100/1983).

Recently, there are cassette-type bottles, generally called plastic bottles, in which beverage raw materials are sealed. This type of bottle is convenient because it is lightweight and disposable.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the conventional blending valve device has the inconvenience of not being able to use this type of bottle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing valve device for a post-mix carbonated beverage dispensing device which allows the use of cassette-type bottles.

[Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, there is provided a body having a communication port that serves as an inlet for beverage raw materials, a nozzle that discharges a beverage, and a beverage passage that communicates them, and that opens and closes the beverage passage. In a blending valve device of a post-mix carbonated beverage dispensing device that includes a valve mechanism, a cavity is formed that communicates with the communication port and is fitted to the outside of the mouth of a bottle sealed with beverage ingredients to hold the bottle. a cylindrical bottle holder and a gas passage for introducing gas into the inside of the bottle holder; The seal ring includes a first seal ring that slides into contact with the outer peripheral surface of a flange protruding from the outer periphery of the mouth during the process of fitting and disengaging the mouth of the bottle from the bottle holder. a second sealing portion that is in close contact with an axial end surface of the flange portion when the mouth of the bottle is completely fitted to the bottle holder;
There is obtained a blending valve device for a post-mix carbonated beverage dispensing device, characterized in that the bottle holder has a seal portion, and a space is left between the inner surface of the bottle holder and the first seal portion.

[Function] In the blending valve device of the post-mix carbonated beverage dispensing device of the present invention, when the mouth of the bottle is fitted inside the bottle holder, the bottle is held in the bottle holder and the beverage ingredients in the bottle are passed through the beverage passage. It becomes possible to release it from the nozzle. Moreover, since gas is introduced inside the bottle holder, the gas pressure forces the beverage ingredients into the beverage passage.
At this time, the flange formed around the mouth of the bottle and the seal ring provided on the inner surface of the bottle holder come into close contact with each other, thereby preventing the beverage raw material from leaking to the outside. Therefore, regardless of the amount of beverage raw material remaining in the bottle, it is possible to always supply a constant amount of beverage raw material. Furthermore, when the mouth of the bottle is removed from the bottle holder, the outer circumferential surface of the flange on the outer periphery of the mouth comes into sliding contact with the first seal part. When the fitting of the mouth of the bottle to the bottle holder is completed, the axial end surface of the flange portion comes into close contact with the second seal portion.

[Embodiment] FIGS. 1 to 4 show a dispensing valve device of a post-mix carbonated beverage dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The illustrated mixing valve device includes a body 3 fixed to a frame 1 with bolts 2. As shown in FIG. The body 3 is formed with a syrup passage 4 in the center, and dilution water passages and carbonated water passages 6 and 7 on the left and right sides of the syrup passage 4. The syrup passage 4, dilution water passage 6, and carbonated water passage 7 communicate with a nozzle 8 at the lower end of the body 3.

A communication port 11 at the upper end of the syrup passage 4 is connected to a syrup container 12 installed at the upper part of the body 3. This syrup container 12 is a cassette-type bottle generally called a plastic bottle. The communication port 11 of the dilution water passage 6 is the dilution water pipe 1
3 to a dilution water source (not shown). The carbonated water passage 7 also has a carbonated water source (not shown).
It is connected to the. Therefore, the syrup, dilution water and carbonated water can be mixed and discharged from the nozzle 8.

In particular, in FIG. 1, a valve mechanism 14 is provided in the middle of the syrup passage 4 to open and close it. The valve mechanism 14 includes a valve stem 16 that is horizontally slidable on the body 3 and an O-ring 17. The valve stem 16 protrudes from the front of the body 3. The valve mechanism 14 is also biased forward by a valve spring 18. Note that 19 is a spring support member.

An operating lever 21 is provided on the front surface of the body 3. The operating lever 21 has a lower end rotatably supported by a support portion 22 via a horizontal shaft 23.
Further, an intermediate portion of the operating lever 21 is removably engaged with a shaft 24 at the front end of the valve stem 16. thus,
When the operating lever 21 is pushed in the direction indicated by the arrow 26,
The valve mechanism 14 is moved rearward by the lever principle,
Open syrup passage 4. As a result, the syrup in the syrup container 12 is supplied to the nozzle 8 from the water guiding member 27 through the syrup passage 4.

The syrup passage 4 has an opening adjustment portion 31 extending substantially parallel to the front surface of the body 3 at a downstream portion of the valve mechanism 14 . The body 3 is provided with an adjustment screw 32 screwed in corresponding to the opening adjustment section 31. The adjustment screw 32 extends horizontally in the front and back, and one end is exposed on the front surface of the body 3 and faces the back surface of the operating lever 21. The other end of the adjustment screw 32 faces the opening adjustment section 31. Adjustment screw 32
When rotated, the amount of entry into the opening adjustment section 31 changes, thereby adjusting the opening of the syrup passage 4.

When adjusting the opening degree of the syrup passage 4, the operating lever 21 is disengaged from the shaft 24, and the operating lever 21 is rotated about the shaft 23 in the opposite direction to the arrow 26, that is, the operating lever 21 is rotated. open. Then, the front end of the adjusting screw 32 is completely exposed, so that the opening degree of the syrup passage 4 can be easily adjusted without opening the cover 33.

After the adjustment, the operating lever 21 is rotated about the shaft 23 in the direction of the arrow 26 and engaged with the shaft 24. As a result, the front end of the adjustment screw 32 is covered by the operating lever 21, so that no problem arises in appearance.

The syrup container 12 is of a cassette type that can be attached to and detached from the body 3. Carbon dioxide gas, nitrogen gas, air, etc. can be supplied to the syrup container 12 from a gas hose 36 via a gas passage 34. Note that 37 is a check valve.

In particular, in FIG. 4, a valve mechanism 44 is provided in the middle of the dilution water passage 6 to open and close it. The valve mechanism 44 includes a valve stem 46 that is horizontally slidable on the body 3 and an O-ring 47. The valve stem 46 protrudes from the front of the body 3. The valve mechanism 44 is also urged forward by a valve spring 48. The front end of this valve stem 46 engages with the shaft 24 mentioned above. Note that 49 is a spring support member.

The dilution water passage 6 is located downstream of the valve mechanism 44,
It has an opening adjustment part 51 extending substantially parallel to the front surface of the body 3. The body 3 has an opening adjustment section 5
1, an adjusting screw 52 is provided in a screwed-in state. The adjustment screw 52 extends horizontally in the front and back, and has one end exposed at the front of the body 3 and connected to the operating lever 21.
It is facing the back side of. The other end of the adjustment screw 52 faces the opening adjustment section 51. When the adjustment screw 52 is rotated, the amount of entry into the opening adjustment part 51 changes,
This adjusts the opening degree of the dilution water passage 6.

Note that the carbonated water passage 7 also has the same configuration as the diluted water passage 6.

Therefore, by operating the operating lever 21, a beverage containing an appropriate mixture of syrup, carbonated water, and diluted water can be provided through the nozzle 8. Needless to say, the concentration of the beverage at that time is adjusted and set using the adjustment screws 32 and 52.

FIG. 5 shows the water guide member 27. The water guiding member 27 has a cylindrical portion 54 forming the syrup passage 4, and a water guiding plate portion 56 provided around the cylindrical portion 54. A water guide groove 57 is formed around the water guide plate portion 56 . Note that 58 is a syrup outlet, and 59 is an O-ring.

FIG. 6 shows the operating lever 21. Operation lever 2
1 is a groove 6 for engaging with the above-mentioned shafts 23 and 24;
Arms 63 and 64 having numbers 1 and 62 are provided on the back surface.

Returning to FIGS. 1 to 3, a bottomed cylindrical bottle holder 71 is removably attached to the upper surface of the body 3 with screws 72. As shown in FIG. Therefore, this bottle holder 71 can be easily replaced.

The bottle holder 71 is connected to the opening 7 of the syrup container 12.
3 to hold the syrup container 12. Referring also to FIGS. 7 and 8, the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the bottle holder 71 has a syrup container 1
A female thread 75 that screws into the male thread 74 of the mouth portion 73 of No. 2
and tightly adheres to a flange 76 integrally formed in a ring shape around the opening 73 of the syrup container 12.
A seal ring 77 is provided to close the gap.
The bottom wall of the bottle holder 71 has a beverage outlet 78 connected to the communication port 11 of the body 3 and a gas passage 3.
A gas inlet 79 connected to 4 is formed. The inner bottom of the bottle holder 71 is provided with a knife 81 for cutting the end surface of the mouth 73 of the syrup container 12. The knife 81 is composed of a plurality of blade elements arranged in the circumferential direction that pierce the end surface of the mouth portion 73 of the syrup container 12 when the syrup container 12 is inserted into the bottle holder 71. Therefore, when the syrup container 12 is screwed into the bottle holder 71, the knife 81 is inserted into the syrup container 1.
The end face of the mouth portion 73 of No. 2 will be cut open.

As a result, the syrup container 12 is attached to the bottle holder 7.
It communicates with the beverage passage through the beverage outlet 78 of No. 3. Moreover, since carbon dioxide gas is introduced inside the bottle holder 73, the syrup is forced into the communication port 11 through the beverage outlet 78 due to the gas pressure. At this time, the flange 76 formed around the mouth 73 of the bottle 12 and the seal ring 77 provided on the inner surface of the bottle holder 71 come into close contact with each other, thereby preventing the syrup from leaking to the outside. Therefore, irrespective of the amount of syrup remaining in the bottle 12, it is possible to always discharge a constant amount of syrup from the nozzle 8.

If a different size syrup container is used, replace the bottle holder 73 with one that matches the size of the syrup container. Therefore, it is possible to easily use a plurality of types of syrup containers having different sizes.

The seal ring 77 is made of an elastic member such as rubber, and has a shape as shown in FIG. 7 before being attached to the bottle holder 71. That is, the seal ring 77
a groove 86 with a square cross section extending along the outer peripheral surface;
It has a rounded surface 87 formed at the inner corner.

After attaching to the bottle holder 71, the seal ring 7
7 is modified as clearly shown in FIG. As a result, a space 88 corresponding to the groove 86 is left between the seal ring 77 and the bottle holder 71. This space 88 allows the first seal portion 77a of the seal ring 77 to be attached to the flange 7 when the bolt 12 is installed.
This is to allow it to bend slightly when pressed by the outer circumferential surface of 6. Therefore, the seal caused by the close contact between the seal ring 77 and the flange 76 can be maintained well even while the bottle 12 is being attached or detached. The flange 76 is smoothly inserted into the seal ring 77 by the action of the rounded surface 87.

Furthermore, when the installation of the bottle 12 is completed,
A complete seal is obtained by the axial end surface of the flange 76 coming into close contact with the second seal portion 77b of the seal ring 77.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above using the embodiments, according to the blending valve device of the post-mix carbonated beverage dispensing device of the present invention,
Regardless of the amount of beverage ingredients remaining in the bottle, it is possible to always supply a constant amount of beverage ingredients.
Therefore, a cassette type bottle can be used. Furthermore, when the mouth of the bottle is removed from the bottle holder, the outer peripheral surface of the flange on the outer periphery of the mouth comes into sliding contact with the first seal, so that the beverage remaining inside the bottle is released to the outside of the bottle when the bottle is replaced. The risk of leakage is reduced. Furthermore, when the fitting of the mouth of the bottle to the bottle holder is completed, the axial end surface of the flange portion comes into close contact with the second sealing portion, so that the sealing is complete.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a mixing valve device of a post-mix carbonated beverage dispensing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view, FIG. 3 is a plan view, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the water guiding member used in the mixing valve device of FIG. 1, FIG. 6 shows the operating lever, a is a side view, b is a rear view, and The figure is a sectional view of a seal ring used in the blending valve device of FIG. 1. 3...Body, 4...Syrup passage, 6...Dilution water passage, 7...Carbonated water passage, 8...Nozzle, 11...Connection port, 12...Syrup container (bottle), 14...Valve mechanism, 21...Operation lever, 71... bottle holder, 7
3... Mouth part, 76... Flange, 77... Seal ring, 78... Beverage outlet, 81... Knife, 86...
Groove, 87...R surface, 88...Space.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A blending valve device for a post-mix carbonated beverage dispensing device, which includes a body having a communication port that serves as an inlet for beverage raw materials, a nozzle that discharges a beverage, and a beverage passage that communicates them, and a valve mechanism that opens and closes the beverage passage. a cylindrical bottle holder that forms a cavity communicating with the communication port and that fits on the outside of the mouth of a bottle sealed with beverage ingredients to hold the bottle;
A gas passage for introducing gas is provided inside the bottle holder, and the inner surface of the bottle holder is provided with a seal ring made of an elastic member that comes into close contact with a flange formed around the mouth of the bottle. The ring includes a first seal portion that slides into contact with the outer peripheral surface of a flange portion protruding from the outer periphery of the mouth portion during the process of fitting and detaching the mouth portion of the bottle from the bottle holder; and a second seal portion that tightly contacts the axial end surface of the flange portion when the mouth portion of the bottle is completely fitted, and there is a space between the inner surface of the bottle holder and the first seal portion. A dispensing valve device for a post-mix carbonated beverage dispensing device, characterized in that a space is left.