JPH0253049B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a valve mechanism for a liquid reservoir.

[Prior art and its problems]

Generally, various liquids are used in daily life and industrial activities.

In order to facilitate the handling of these liquids and to provide useful usage methods depending on the properties of the liquids, liquid reservoirs are used to store the liquids.

There are various ways to use this liquid reservoir, depending on the nature of the liquid being handled and the purpose of use.
One example of the most complex use of a liquid reservoir is to remove the stored liquid, perform the desired treatment with or on the liquid, and then return the liquid to the original liquid reservoir. One example of its use is to store it for later use and release it to the outside when it is used.

In order to take out the liquid once stored in the liquid reservoir to the outside and return it to the inside,
Conventionally, a circulation mechanism has been installed that includes a pump for transporting liquids and a circulation channel with many switching valves arranged in the middle, but the structure becomes complicated and the entire mechanism becomes large. Therefore, it was unsuitable when the above-mentioned treatment for a fixed amount of liquid was to be repeated continuously in a relatively short period of time. Furthermore, it is necessary to provide a liquid outflow mechanism separate from the circulation mechanism, which is equipped with an on-off valve, etc., for draining the liquid returned to the inside after being taken out of the liquid storage device for subsequent use. There were problems in that the structure became more complex and larger. In addition, the large number of valves provided in the circulation mechanism and fluid outflow mechanism are each opened and closed by mutually independent drive mechanisms, and these valves are operated at different timings when performing complex processing on liquids. There were problems in that it was extremely difficult to operate properly, and the drive mechanism required complicated components such as electronic control, making it expensive.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and includes an upper opening for allowing liquid to enter and exit the liquid reservoir;
The lower liquid outlet through which the liquid stored in the liquid storage device flows out to the outside can be opened and closed in common by one valve mechanism provided in the liquid storage device, and the liquid stored in the liquid storage device can be opened and closed in common. It is an object of the present invention to provide a valve mechanism for a liquid reservoir that can perform complicated processing extremely easily, has a simple and compact structure, and is inexpensive.

[Summary of the invention]

The valve mechanism of the liquid reservoir of the present invention opens and closes the upper opening and the lower liquid outlet of the liquid reservoir in common, and also allows liquid to freely enter and exit the liquid reservoir. The upper opening of the liquid reservoir is closed with a flexible flange part, and the outer liquid outlet is connected to the top and bottom of the funnel. It has a structure in which a valve part that opens and closes with movement is integrally formed.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention, with FIG. 1 showing the lower liquid outlet in an open state and FIG. 2 showing it in a closed state.

In the figure, numeral 1 is a liquid reservoir. The liquid reservoir 1 has a circular planar cross section, and a reservoir 3 having a circular upper opening 2 is provided in the center thereof. A recess 4 is further formed in the center of the bottom of the reservoir 3, and an external liquid outlet 5 is provided in the recess 4 to allow the liquid in the reservoir 3 to flow out when the liquid is used. There is. The valve mechanism 6 of the present invention is installed in the liquid reservoir 1 thus formed.

This valve mechanism 6 mainly includes a funnel 7 housed in the reservoir 3 so as to close the upper opening 2, and an external liquid outlet that is integrally fixed to the lower end of the funnel 7. and a valve portion 8 that closes the valve 5. The funnel 7 is made of a rigid body from the lower end to which the valve part 8 is fixed to the upper end to which the upper opening 9 is provided. A plurality of slit-shaped communication holes 10, 10, . . . are bored to communicate with each other.

A flexible flange portion 11 made of an elastic material is formed on the outer peripheral edge of the upper opening 9 of the funnel 7 and extends radially downward, and the outer peripheral portion of the flange portion 11 is used for storing liquid. It is attached to the upper end of the container 1 in an air-tight and liquid-tight manner, and the upper opening 2 of the liquid reservoir 1 is closed, and when in use, the upper opening 9 of the funnel 7 is closed.
The upper opening 2 of the liquid reservoir 1 is opened and closed by covering the liquid reservoir 1 airtightly with another container 18. In this way, the valve mechanism 6 of the present invention is configured such that the funnel 7 and the valve part 8 move together in the opening/closing direction of the lower liquid outlet 5, that is, in the vertical direction, due to the flexibility of the flange part 11. ing. Further, in this embodiment, a force is provided between the bottom surface of the upper end of the funnel 7 and the bottom surface of the storage section 3 to push up the funnel 7 and the valve section 8 and cause the valve mechanism 6 to open the lower liquid outlet 5. When the container 18 is placed on the flange portion 11 of the funnel 7 in an airtight manner, the conical coil spring 12 is compressed and presses down the valve portion 8 to close the lower liquid outlet 5. ing. Further, an upper communication hole 13 is bored in the upper part of the liquid reservoir 1 to allow liquid to flow into the storage part 3 and to supply and discharge pressurized gas.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

There are many ways to use liquid using this embodiment, and one of them, coffee extraction, will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

In this embodiment, a coffee cartridge 14 for extracting coffee is provided. This coffee cartridge 14 stores medium-ground coffee powder 17 inside a liquid-impermeable annular body 16 whose both openings are closed with appropriate filters 15, 15 such as non-woven fabric, filter cloth, filter paper, etc. It is formed by filling the appropriate amount. The size of the annular body 16 of the coffee cartridge 14 is determined to be just enough to rest on the outer peripheral edge of the upper opening 9 of the funnel 7. Further, in this embodiment, the container 18 is used as a secondary reservoir 18 that presses the coffee cartridge 14 against the upper end of the funnel 7 and temporarily stores the liquid flowing upward from the coffee cartridge 14. ing.

Using the liquid reservoir 1, valve mechanism 6, coffee cartridge 14, and secondary reservoir 18, coffee is extracted in the following manner.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the coffee cartridge 14 is inserted between the funnel 7 of the valve mechanism 6 and the upper opening 9 and lower opening 19 of the secondary reservoir 18.
The valve mechanism 6, coffee cartridge 14, and secondary reservoir 18 are lowered against the elasticity of the conical coil spring 12 with the secondary reservoir 18 interposed, and the valve portion fixed to the lower end of the funnel 7 is lowered. 8 to block the lower liquid outlet 5 of the liquid reservoir 1,
The space between the two is airtightly sandwiched and partitioned.

Next, hot water for extracting the active ingredient from the medium ground coffee powder is poured into the liquid reservoir 1. In this case, the upper communication hole 13 serves as an inlet for hot water,
The amount of hot water required for extraction is injected into the reservoir 3 of the liquid reservoir 1 through the upper communication hole 13. When the liquid reservoir 1 is heated by a heating means (not shown), the steam fed into the reservoir 3 together with the hot water flows into the funnel 7 through the communication hole 10, and then flows into the funnel 7. 7 and further filter 15
The medium-ground coffee powder 17 in the cartridge 14 is first steam-steamed to improve subsequent extraction efficiency. This steam continues into the coffee cartridge 1.
4 and flows into the secondary reservoir 18, and is then discharged to the outside from the upper opening (not shown) of the secondary reservoir 18. Further, the hot water is temporarily stored in the storage part 3 of the liquid storage device 1 and in the funnel 7 at the same liquid level.

After that, the liquid reservoir 1 is passed through the upper communication hole 13.
Air is forced into the reservoir 3 to make the pressure inside the reservoir 3 higher than the pressure inside the secondary reservoir 18. Due to this pressure difference, the hot water in the storage part 3 is pushed up and rises in the funnel 7 of the valve mechanism 6 through the communication holes 10, 10..., and then flows into the coffee cartridge 14 from the upper opening 9 of the funnel 7. Filter 15 below it
It flows in all at once from all sides. The rising speed of hot water flowing into the coffee cartridge 14 is determined by the rate at which the hot water flows into the coffee cartridge 14.
and the secondary reservoir 18, and while the hot water passes through the coffee cartridge 14, the active ingredients of the medium ground coffee powder 17 are extracted as if in a siphon system. It passes through the upper filter 15, flows into the secondary reservoir 18, and is stored.

In this way, when the coffee extraction is finished, the inside of the storage part 3 of the liquid storage device 1 is connected to the upper communication hole 13.
is communicated with the outside air, while pressurized air is introduced into the secondary reservoir 18, and the coffee stored in the secondary reservoir 18 is forcibly lowered. When the coffee is forcibly lowered, the coffee reaches coffee cartridge 1.
4, and comes into contact with the medium-ground coffee powder 17 inside again, and further extracts the active ingredient as in the drip method, and flows down the funnel 7 of the valve mechanism 6 while increasing the concentration. The liquid is returned into the reservoir 3 of the liquid reservoir 1 through the communication holes 10, 10, . . . at the lower end of the liquid reservoir 7.

In order to serve the coffee stored in the liquid reservoir 1 as a beverage, the pressurized air supplied to the secondary reservoir 18 is stopped, and then the secondary reservoir 18 and the coffee cartridge 14 are transferred to the liquid reservoir 18. 1 and separate it from the valve mechanism 6. At this time, the valve mechanism 6 is raised by the elastic force of the conical coil spring 12, and the valve part 8 is separated from the lower liquid outlet 5 to open the lower liquid outlet 5, and the coffee is passed through the lower liquid outlet 5 to the outside. to flow out to.

Although the above embodiment is an example in which the valve mechanism is used for extracting coffee, the valve mechanism of the present invention can be similarly used not only for extracting coffee, but also for extracting green tea, black tea, etc., for example.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The valve mechanism of the liquid reservoir of the present invention is formed by integrating the funnel and the valve part, and has a simple structure and easy opening/closing operation. The outflow port can be opened and closed at the same time, and the desired treatment can be freely applied to the liquid stored in the liquid reservoir without using a solenoid valve, allowing the liquid to enter and exit as usual. There is no need for any special means for this purpose, the overall configuration is compact, and the cost is low.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the valve mechanism of the liquid reservoir of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view with the lower liquid outlet opened, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal side view with the lower liquid outlet closed. It is a diagram. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Liquid reservoir, 2...Upper opening, 5...Lower liquid outlet, 6...Valve mechanism, 7...Funnel,
8... Valve part, 10... Communication hole, 11... Flange part, 13... Upper communication hole.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A valve mechanism provided in a liquid reservoir having an upper opening and a lower liquid outlet through which the liquid stored inside flows out to the outside, the valve mechanism having a flexible flange portion at the upper opening, a funnel that closes the upper opening with the flange portion and is movable up and down with its lower part facing the lower liquid outlet; A valve mechanism for a liquid reservoir consisting of a valve part that opens and closes the outlet.