Hermetical Stopper for Liquid Receptacle

This invention relates to a hermetical stopper for a minicask of beer and further any such a liquid receptacle being equipped with a discharge port.

Recently, minicasks made of aluminum for draft beer come into the market and win popularity. Receptacles of beer requires a very high-degree airtightness. Accordingly, it is impossible to attain such a degree of sealability by means of using commonplace stoppers. A liquid receptacle of this type is usually made by sealing the discharge port with aluminum as the same material for the main body. In broaching such a receptacle, it is an accepted way of doing to cut off the portion of the discharge port. However, a means like this has a disadvantage that the recetpacle which has been opened in such a manner can not be provided for its reuse in the state as it was even if being stoppered after the primary use, the reason for which is because it becomes impossible to close tightly anew the receptacle having been once opened.

Under such circumstances as above, the present invention has for its object the provision a hermetical stopper, of an excellent sealing effect, being used for the minicask of beer and further any such a liquid receptacle equipped with a discharge port.

Another object of this invention is to provide a hermetical stopper being used for a liquid receptacle by the use of which it is made possible to obtain again the hermetically sealed state same as before even after having once opened.

A further object of this invention is to provide a hermetical stopper which, in the case of a receptacle formed of aluminum and equipped with a discharge port, is possible to be hermetically sealed again in the same manner after having been once opened, and consequently which is possible to be repeatedly used in the hermetically sealed state same as before even after its primary use.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide a hermetical stopper for a liquid receptacle by means of which it is possible to reuse the receptacle made of aluminum and equipped with a discharge port while keeping the sealing effect same as before again even after having been opened, thereby being able to the effective use of resources.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a hermetical stopper for a liquid receptacle wherein a perfect state of hermetical sealability can be obtained only by turning an operationg means attached to the main body of the stopper which is inserted into the discharge port of the liquid receptacle, whereby the receptacle can be sealed completely by a simple operation.

Other objects of the invention and advantages able to be attained in accordance therewith will be more clearly understood from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of the principal part of the hermetical stopper according to the invention showing a state where the stopper has been inserted into the discharge port of the receptacle, but it is not yet tightly sealed thereat;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view showing a state of the same after having been tightly sealed; and

FIGS. 3 and 4 are vertical sectional views of the principal parts of two different examples according to the invention, showing their respective states of being not yet tightly sealed.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral (1a) indicates a cylindrical discharge port of a liquid receptacle (1) made of aluminum. Into this discharge port (1a) is inserted the main body (2) of the stopper. This main body (2) of the stopper is a cylinder which is formed on its upper end part into a flange (3), is threaded on its inner circumference with a female screw (4), and has a large diametral inner circumferential part (6) which is opened toward the side of its bottom part (5). Numeral (7) indicates a holding member which is screwed on the female screw (4) of the main body (2) of the stopper through the medium of its own male screw (8). This holding member (7) projects over the main body (2) of the stopper. On the projecting part of this holding member (7) is provided a flange (9) facing to the foregoing flange (3) of the main body (2) of the stopper. On the top face of this flange (9) is integrally formed a knob (10) as an anxiliary of the operating means (15).

On the other hand, the lower end part of the holding member (7) is formed into a large diametral outer circumferential part (11) which enters and leaves the interior of the above-mentioned large diametral inner circumferential part (6) of the main body (2) of the stopper, and further, continuing to this large diametral outer circumferential part (11) and on the lower part of it, a tapered outer circumferential part (12) growing downwards in large diameter is formed, while an O ring (13) for sealing is fitted on the outer circumferential part of the holding member (7) being composed of both the large diametral outer circumferential part (11) and the tapered outer circumferential part (12) from outside below the lowermost part of the main body (2) of the stopper.

Hereupon, when gripping the knob (10) on the upper face of the holding member (7) to rotate that holding member (7) to the one side, then the holding member (7) shifts upward through the part screwing on the main body (2) of the stopper, and thereby the O ring (13) impinges against the lowermost part (5) of the main body (2) of the stopper and at the same time is expanded and swelled outward by dint of the tapered outer circumferential part (12) to be compressed between the lowermost part (5) and the tapered part (12), so that the O ring (13) closely adheres to the inner wall face of the liquid receptacle (1), as seen in FIG. 2, whereby the hermetically sealed state of the receptacle can be achieved to perfection.

FIG. 3 shows another example according to the invention. In contrast to the example in FIG. 1, this is the one, where the tapered outer circumferential part (12) is formed in such a manner as to grow in large diameter obliquely upward from the lowermost part of the main body (2) of the stopper to the outer circumferential part thereof, while on the other hand the holding member (7) projecting below the lowermost part of the main body (2) of the stopper is formed on its own lower part into a large diameter in the form of a step part (14), whereby the O ring (13) should be made expanded and swelled outward by the cooperation of the step part (14) with the tapered circumferential part (12). Incidentally, in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, the knob (10), the flange (9), and the holding member (7) are depicted as if being formed in one body, however, in practice, they are united each other after having been formed separately.

FIG. 4 shows still a further example according to the invention. In this example, the holding member (7) is made to be slidingly contacted with the main body (2) of the stopper without the medium of somewhat such as screwing-on part as in the former example, the operating means (15) provided with the knob (10) makes a shank (16) which is formed thereunder project inwardly piercing through a hollow space of the main body (2) of the stopper, and the male screw threaded on that shank (16) is made to be screwed from the upper face of the holding member (7) onto the female screw part (18) which is formed by being threaded in the interior of the cavity of the central part of the holding member (7). In this example, the tapered outer circumferential part (12) is formed on the side of the holding member (7), as in FIG. 1, however, it will do well also if that tapered part (12) is formed on the side of the main body (2) of the stopper.

While a few preferred embodiments of the invention have been described in the above, this invention is not limited thereto, but various charges and modifications may be possible within the scope as set out in the accompanying claims.