Beverage container for injecting beverage through bottom thereof

Abstract

A beverage container has a body having an inlet which is formed so as to penetrate the bottom of a receiving unit. A holder is coupled to the inlet to open and close the inlet upon ascending or descending with a nozzle of a beverage supply device being inserted into the holder. A locking member is coupled to the ascending/descending wall of the holder to allow the holder to close the inlet. The locking member has a plurality of elastic arms for elastically supporting the holder.

Claims

1. A beverage container comprising: a main body having an inlet penetratingly formed in the bottom of a receiving unit thereof; a holder, which is coupled to said inlet and opens and closes said inlet through ascending and descending thereof, wherein a nozzle of a beverage supplying apparatus is inserted; and a locking member which is coupled to an elevating wall body of said holder and has a plurality of elastic arms elastically and downwardly supporting said holder which are in contact with the lower surface of said bottom of said main body so that said holder can close said inlet, wherein said elastic arms are formed by cutting a portion of the body along an outer circumference of the center hole portion of said locking member and being upwardly bended for the elastic force of said elastic arms to be exerted, and the space remaining after cutting off said portion of said body of said locking member is a receiving slot for accommodating said elastic arm being folded when said holder is descending.

2. The beverage container according to claim 1, wherein said holder is provided with a packing member which is coupled to the lower portion of the upper wall body of said holder and in contact with said bottom of said main body around the circumference of said inlet.

3. The beverage container according to claim 2, wherein said main body includes a seating portion which is formed of a partially recessed portion of said bottom around said circumference of said inlet for said packing member to be inserted into said seating portion and be tightly contacted on said seating portion.

4. The beverage container according to claim 1, wherein said holder being coupled to said inlet includes: an upper wall body covering said inlet; said elevating wall body being coupled to said inlet wherein said nozzle of said beverage supplying apparatus is inserted and so that the up-down movement of said holder is ensured; and a plurality of connecting bands which connect said upper wall body and said elevating wall body, wherein an injection portion is formed between the connecting bands.

5. The beverage container according to claim 2, wherein said holder being coupled to said inlet includes: an upper wall body covering said inlet; said elevating wall body being coupled to said inlet wherein said nozzle of said beverage supplying apparatus is inserted and so that the up-down movement of said holder is ensured; and a plurality of connecting bands which connect said upper wall body and said elevating wall body, wherein an injection portion is formed between the connecting bands.

6. The beverage container according to claim 3, wherein said holder being coupled to said inlet includes: an upper wall body covering said inlet; said elevating wall body being coupled to said inlet wherein said nozzle of said beverage supplying apparatus is inserted and so that the up-down movement of said holder is ensured; and a plurality of connecting bands which connect said upper wall body and said elevating wall body, wherein an injection portion is formed between the connecting bands.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is the perspective views of the individual elements of the beverage containers according to the present invention.

(2) FIGS. 2a and 2b are the cross-sectional views illustrating the combined states of the beverage containers according to the present invention.

(3) FIGS. 3 to 5 are the exploded cross-sectional views of main parts of the beverage containers according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS OF THE MAIN PARTS IN THE DRAWINGS

(4) TABLE-US-00001 10: main body 10A: receiving unit 11: outer wall 12: bottom 13: inlet 14: supporting wall body 20: holder 21: upper wall body 22: elevating wall body 23: connecting band 24: injection portion 26: packing member 28: locking member 29: elastic arm 30: nozzle 31: body 33: O-ring

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

(5) This invention may be variously modified and embodied in many different forms, and embodiments (or aspects) are to be specifically described herein. However, this invention should not be construed as limited to specific disclosure forms, and the spirit and scope of the invention should be understood as incorporating various modifications, equivalents and substitutions.

(6) Wherever possible, the same reference numerals in the drawings, in particular, the reference numerals in which a two-digit number and one-digit number are the same or a two-digit number, one-digit number and letters of the alphabet are the same, will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like members. Unless otherwise stated, the members designated by respective reference numerals in the drawings are regarded as members based on such standards.

(7) In the drawings, the sizes or thicknesses of elements are expressed excessively large (or thick) or small (or thin) or in simplified form for convenience of understanding, however, this should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of protection of the claims of this invention.

(8) The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(9) It will be further understood that the terms comprises and/or comprising, or includes and/or including when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components or combinations thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, numbers, steps, operations, elements, components or combinations thereof.

(10) Unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meanings as those generally understood by those with ordinary knowledge in the field of the art to which the present invention belongs. Such terms as those defined in generally used dictionaries and are to be interpreted as having meanings equivalent to the contextual meanings in the relevant field of art, and are not to be interpreted as having ideal or excessively formal meanings unless clearly defined as having such in the present application.

(11) It will be understood that the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe different elements, and the sequence of formation thereof does not matter. These terms may be differently described in the detailed description and the claims of the invention.

(12) For explaining a beverage container according to the present invention, for the convenience's sake, the approximate reference directions are specifically defined with reference to FIG. 2a; that is, direction of gravity is defined as a downward direction which is the reference direction; and up, down, left, and right directions are defined with respect to this reference direction as viewed from user.

(13) Especially in FIG. 2a, the inner and the outer sides are defined in a way that the inner side is defined as the direction pointing towards the center of the inlet 13, and the outer side is defined as the direction pointing the opposite direction; unless otherwise mentioned, directions will be specified and described based on this reference throughout the detailed description of embodiments and claims of the present invention in relation to the other drawings.

(14) Hereinafter, a beverage container for injecting beverages through the bottom thereof according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(15) First, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, a beverage container according to the present invention mainly includes: a main body 10 which has a receiving unit 10A wherein the beverages are injected and received and an inlet 13 is formed in the bottom 12 of the receiving unit 10A; a holder 20 which is coupled to the inlet 13 of the main body 10 and opens and closes the inlet 13; and a locking member 28 which closes the inlet 13 by descending the holder 20 and maintains the state of closing.

(16) As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2a, and 2b, the main body 10 having the shape of a common cup (glass) comprises a receiving unit 10A surrounded by the outer wall 11, and the upper portion of the receiving unit 10A is open, and the an inlet 13 is penetratingly formed in the center of the bottom 12 of the receiving unit 10A.

(17) Although the main body 10 illustrated in the drawing is illustrating the shape of the most common type glass (cup) as a representative, it is not limited to this and may be modified to a beer cup like a beer jug having a wide opening and provided with a handle (not shown) at one side of the outer wall 11 or a pitcher (not shown) wherein a large amount of beverages are filled.

(18) Preferably, the main body 10 of the present invention is formed with a supporting wall body 14 along the outer circumference of the bottom 12 so that the beverage container can be stably erected on a common table or on the nozzle portion of the beverage supplying apparatus.

(19) The main body 10 is made of a glass or synthetic resin material such as plastics and the like; although it can be made of a transparent or an opaque material, it is preferred to be made of a transparent material.

(20) As illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5, the holder 20 being coupled to the inlet 13 includes: an upper wall body 21 covering the inlet 13; an elevating wall body 22 being coupled to the inlet 13 wherein a nozzle 30 of the beverage supplying apparatus (not shown) is inserted and so that the up-down movement of the holder 20 is ensured; and a connecting band 23 which connects the upper wall body 21 and the elevating the elevating wall body 22.

(21) The connecting bands 23 comprise a plurality of connecting bands 23 so as to connect the upper wall body 21 and the elevating wall body 22, and an injection portion 24 is formed between the connecting bands 23 so that the beverages can be injected into the receiving unit 10A of the main body 10 through the nozzle 30.

(22) The holder 20 is formed by injection molding with a synthetic material such as a plastic and the like and prevents deterioration due to the contact with the beverages; furthermore, it also can be manufactured with the packing member 26, which will be described later, through the dual injection molding method.

(23) The elevating wall body 22 of the holder 20 is coupled to the inlet 13, so that when the inlet 13 of the main body 10 is coupled to or separated from the nozzle 30 of the beverage supplying apparatus, the inlet 13 is opened and closed respectively as the holder 20 is ascending and descending.

(24) That is, when the main body 10 is coupled to the nozzle 30, the nozzle 30 elevates the holder 20 so that the injection portion 24 communicates with the receiving unit 10A as the inlet 13 is opened, and thus, the beverages discharged from the nozzle 30 is being filled from the lower side of the receiving unit 10A, that is, the bottom 12 of the main body 10 towards the upper side;

(25) when the main body 10 is separated from the nozzle 30, the locking member 28 descends the holder 20 so that the closed state of the inlet 13 is maintained, and thus, the beverages inside the receiving unit 10A is prevented from leaking out from the lower side.

(26) At this time, the upper portion of the body 31 of the nozzle 30 is provided with water-tightness between the upper wall body 21 and the upper end portion of the body 31 due to the O-ring 33, which will be described later; and the discharging outlet 31A, through which the beverage is discharged, is formed along the outer circumferential surface of the body 31, and thus it has a structure communicating with the supplying tube portion (not shown) wherein the beverage is transported.

(27) In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 2b and 3, a supporting protrusion 21a outwardly protruded is provided in the lower portion of the upper wall body 21 of the holder 20, thus a coupling slot 21b is formed between the supporting protrusion 21a and the upper wall body 21, and since the packing member 26 is forcibly coupled to the coupling slot 21b (It also can be manufactured by dual injection molding method with the holder 20), when the inlet 13 is closed as the holder 20 is descended the water-tightness is assured due to the contact of the packing member 26 with the upper surface of the seating portion 12a in the circumference of the inlet 13.

(28) Next, as illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the locking member 28 is coupled to the elevating wall body 22 of the holder 20 and it is in contact with the lower surface of the bottom 12 of the main body 10 so as to be closed when the holder 20 is descended, and provided with a plurality of elastic arms 29 which elastically support the holder 20.

(29) The locking member 28 is a member having a ring shaped body which is coupled to the coupling slot 22a provided along the outer circumferential surface of the holder 20, wherein

(30) a center hole portion where the elevating wall body 22 can pass through is penetratingly formed in the center of the body of the locking member 28; the end portion of the elastic arm 29 is in contact with the lower surface of the bottom 12 of the main body 10, while the holder 20 is coupled to the inlet 13 of the main body 10 as the elastic force of the elastic arm 29 is vertically exerted when a portion of the body is cut along the outer circumference of the center hole portion and upwardly bended; and

(31) the remaining space after a portion of the body of the locking member 28 is cut off due to the forming of the elastic arm 29 is functioning as a receiving slot 29a for accommodating the elastic arm as it is being folded.

(32) Thus, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4, the assembly of the holder 20 and the locking member 28 is coupled to the inlet 13 of the main body 10;

(33) when the main body 10 is separated from the beverage supplying apparatus, the locking member 28 downwardly presses the holder 20 due to the elastic force of the elastic arm 29, thus the closed state is maintained with the holder 20 descended;

(34) when the main body 10 is coupled to the beverage supplying apparatus, as the assembly of the holder 20 and the locking member 28 is ascended due to the pressure of the nozzle 30 the elastic arm 29 is folded and inserted in the receiving slot 29a, thus the open state is maintained with the holder 20 ascended.

(35) In this case, when the assembly of the holder 20 and the locking member 28 is ascended, the elastic arm 29 of the locking member 28 is contacted to the lower surface of the bottom 12 of the main body 10 and being downwardly folded, and the body of the locking member 28 is contacted to the lower surface of the bottom 12 therefore the separation of the holder 20 towards the receiving unit 10A is prevented;

(36) when the assembly of the holder 20 and the locking member 28 is descended, since the packing member 26 coupled to the upper wall body 21 of the holder 20 is contacted to the upper surface (seating portion 12a: refer to the exploded cross-sectional view of FIG. 2b) of the bottom 12 of the main body 10, the separation of the holder 20 from the inlet 13 and from the main body 10 is prevented thereby.

(37) At this time, the seating portion 12a where the packing member 26 is being contacted is formed by downwardly recessing a portion of the bottom 12 around the circumference of the inlet 13 of the main body 10 so that the gap occurring between the bottom 12 is completely closed since the packing member 26 is closely contacted to the seating portion 12a, thereby preventing the beverage from leaking out towards the outside.

(38) Especially, the present invention is easy to manufacture and its manufacturing cost can be reduced since the elastic arm 29 is formed by cutting a portion of the body of the locking member 28 and upwardly bended and fixed so that the elastic force of the elastic arm 29 is vertically exerted, and accordingly, it is manufactured in a way that the elastic arm 29 is received passing through the receiving slot 29a which is formed when the elastic arm is bended, therefore any separate element or structure and the like is not necessary in order to add a separate elastic member such as a spring and the like.

(39) And, a second mounting slot 31b is formed in the upper end portion of the body 31 of the nozzle 30, and an O-ring 33 is coupled to the second mounting slot 31b, thereby resolving the impact resulting from the contact with the lower surface of the upper wall body 21 of the holder 20.

(40) Furthermore, the present invention has a structure wherein a discharging outlet 31A of the nozzle 30 is formed along the outer circumference of the body 31 so that the beverage is exhausted and discharged in radial direction, therefore, unlike the structure wherein the beverage is discharged through the upper end portion of the body 31, the holder 20 is prevented from separating upwardly from the inlet 13 due to discharging pressure; and

(41) especially, the beverage injected through the O-ring 33 is prevented from flowing in through the surface where the upper wall body 21 and the body 31 meet so that the separation of the holder 20 from the inlet 13 due to the beverage discharging pressure is completely blocked.

(42) As described heretofore, the beverage is injected from the lower portion of the beverage container of the present invention, therefore the beverage storage tank and the connecting structure of the beverage supplying apparatus of the present invention is almost same as those of the prior art provided with the nozzle 30 except that the nozzle is provided upright inversely towards the upper direction unlike that of the prior art; and thus, the description of the detailed configuration of the beverage supplying unit is omitted in this specification since it less relevant to the fundamental essence of the present invention.

(43) Furthermore, in describing the present invention, although mainly a beverage container for injecting the beverages through the bottom thereof having a specific shape and structure is described with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention can be diversely modified, altered, and substituted by a person skilled in the art; and it should be interpreted as such modifications, alterations, and substitutions belong to the scope of the protection of the present invention.