A bubble-forming container has a venturi-tube type inlet unit which can rapidly draw a beverage into the body of the container. A blocking plate is disposed in the container body in alignment with the inlet of the container so that the liquid forming the beverage can pound against the blocking plate, thereby splashing to the inner wall of container body. A cylinder stands on the lower end wall of the container body. The liquid whirls around the cylinder and flows out of the container through an opening which is formed in the cylinder.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to a bubble-forming apparatus, more particularly to 
a venturi-tube type bubble-forming container. 
The high-pressure vapor produced by espresso coffee makers has been used 
for drawing a beverage, such as milk and juice, into a container so as to 
bubble the same according to the principle of venturi tube. The 
improvement of this invention is directed to a conventional venturi-tube 
type bubble-forming container such as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. As 
illustrated, the container C includes a vertical connecting pipe Cl 
secured to the upper end thereof which engages with the vapor or main pipe 
B of an espresso coffee maker A. The container C has a funnel-like inlet 
C2 which forms the throat of the vapor passage. A branch pipe C3 is 
provided in communication with the inlet C2 and a beverage container so 
that, when high-pressure vapor flows from the coffee maker A into the 
interior chamber C5 of the container C, the beverage is drawn into the 
chamber C5. When the steam of the beverage pounds on the inner wall of the 
container C, a turbulence is created in the liquid forming the beverage so 
as to form bubbles in the beverage. A vent hole C4 is also communicated 
with the inlet C2 of the container C. A discharge pipe C6 is provided at 
the lower end of the container C and is used for entry of the bubbled 
liquid into a collecting glass which is disposed immediately below the 
discharge pipe C6. A portion of the liquid from the inlet C2 directly 
flows into the discharge C6 and thus hardly forms bubbles. Although the 
remaining portion of the liquid flows along the inner wall of the 
container C, the period of moving the liquid in the container C is too 
short to efficiently form bubbles. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
An object of this invention is to provide a bubble-forming container in 
which all of the liquid flows along the inner wall of the container before 
it flows out of the container. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a bubble-forming container 
which can increase the period of moving the liquid in the container so as 
to form a greater amount of bubbles. 
According to this invention, a bubble-forming container includes a body 
with an interior chamber, a venturi-tube type inlet unit and a discharge 
pipe unit. The inlet unit includes a main pipe with a throat for passage 
of a high-pressure gas therethrough, a branch pipe communicated with the 
throat of the main pipe so as to draw a liquid into the throat, and an 
inlet formed through the upper wall of the body in communication with the 
main pipe so that a fluid combined from the gas and the liquid can flow 
quickly and downward into the chamber The discharge pipe unit includes a 
discharge pipe extending through the lower wall of the body in such a 
manner that a liquid-tight seal is established between the body and the 
discharge pipe, a blocking plate sealing the upper end of the discharge 
pipe, and an opening formed through the discharge pipe which 
intercommunicates the chamber and said discharge pipe, the blocking plate 
being positioned so that a stream of the fluid can flow from the inlet to 
pound on the upper surface of the blocking plate. When the blocking plate 
disperses the fluid so that a turbulence is created in the liquid in the 
chamber, bubbles are formed in the liquid and flow out of the chamber 
through the opening. Preferably, the upper surface of the blocking plate 
includes a concavity formed therein which has an inclined wall so as to 
easily disperse the fluid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring to FIGS. 3-6, a bubble-forming container of this invention 
includes a spherical container body consisting of an upper half 1 and a 
lower half 2. The upper half 1 has an internally threaded lower end, while 
the lower half 2 has an externally threaded upper end so as to couple with 
said upper half 1. A vertical connecting pipe 11 extends upward from the 
upper end of the upper half 1. A branch pipe 12 extends laterally from the 
connecting pipe 11. The connecting pipe 11 includes a vent hole 13 formed 
through one wall thereof in alignment with the branch pipe 12, and three 
equally spaced-apart projections 14 extending radially and inwardly from 
the inner wall of the connecting pipe 11. A vapor or main pipe 3 is 
inserted into the connecting pipe 11 and has a tapered lower end which 
engages the projections 14 with the inclined wall thereof. An O-ring 31 is 
received within the annular groove of the main pipe 3 so as to establish a 
liquid-tight seal between the main pipe 3 and the connecting pipe 11. The 
container body has a funnel-like inlet 15 which registers with the outlet 
32 of the main pipe 3. 
A vertical discharge pipe 21 extends through the lower end wall of the 
lower half 2 and is in line with the connecting pipe 11 so as to form a 
cylinder 22 in the interior chamber of the container. A blocking plate 23 
is fixed on the cylinder 22 so as to seal the upper end opening of the 
discharge pipe 21. A concavity 231 is formed in the upper surface of the 
blocking plate 23 in registry with the inlet 15 and is defined by an 
inclined wall. The cylinder 22 has three aligned rectangular openings 24 
formed in the upper end portion thereof, and a slot 241 which extends 
axially along the full length of the cylinder 22 and thus intersects the 
inner wall of the container. 
The branch pipe 12 extends into the beverage in a container. When 
high-pressure vapor flows through the connecting pipe 11, the beverage is 
drawn into the interior chamber of the container body through the inlet 15 
in accordance with the principle of venturi tube and pounds on the 
blocking plate 23. Because the liquid forming the beverage is entrained by 
the vapor flowing through the inlet 15, the temperature of the beverage is 
increased. Then, the hot or warm beverage splashes on the inner wall of 
the container body forming a turbulence which whirls the liquid around the 
cylinder 22. As a result, a large amount of bubbles are formed in the 
liquid. Finally, the bubbled liquid flows into the discharge pipe 21 
through the openings 24 and slot 241. Certainly, most of the beverage 
flows through the slot 241. 
Referring to FIG. 7, instead of the openings 24, three slots, all of which 
are similar to the slot 241 in construction, may be formed in the cylinder 
22. 
It can be appreciated that the container of this invention has the 
following advantages: 
(1) With the blocking plate 22 positioned in registry with the inlet 15, 
the liquid from the inlet 15 cannot directly flow into the discharge pipe 
21. 
(2) Because the blocking plate 22 disperses the liquid, the latter can flow 
in the container body for an extended period so as to form a large amount 
of bubbles therein. 
(3) The arrangement of the projections 14 and the tapered lower end of the 
main pipe 3 facilitates the interconnection of the connecting pipe 11 and 
the main pipe 3. 
(4) It is easy to separate the upper half 1 from the lower half 2 for 
cleaning 
With this invention thus explained, it is apparent that numerous 
modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope 
and spirit of this invention. It is therefore intended that this invention 
be limited only as indicated in the appended claims.