CA1277966C - Syphon assembly and apparatus for storing and dispensing fluids under pressure - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

A syphon head (304) is configured to fit over neck (350) of a bottle (352) in sealing relationship. A lever (340) is mounted to exterior surface (360) of body (362) by breakaway filaments and a spring strip. In use, the user pulls upward on lever (340) to rupture the filaments. The strip (230) pivots an end of lever (340) through opening (342) in body (362) and through actuating rod (348).
Actuating rod (348) is attached to interior surface of the body (362) by a resilient diaphragm. Raised portion (324) on resilient sealing member (318) seals an opening in syphon tube (310) until force on handle (340) moves rod (348) to allow dispensing of seltzer water (356). Head (304) may be fabricated in a single injection molding step. Head (304) is removable attached to the bottle (352). The bottle (352) is shipped with a cap over neck (350). The user removes the cap and attaches the head (304) for dispensing the seltzer water (356). Head (304) may be reused with other bottles (352).

Description

i2~966 1 RICHARD J. HAGAN

2 DENNIS A. LEMPERT

5SYPHO~ ASSEMBLY, PACRaGE, HEAD, ~THOD, FILLING
6APPARAT~S AND FILLING PROC~SS

9 BACI~GROUND OF THE I~ ITIO~I

11 1 Field of the Invention 13 Thi~ invention relates to the storage and 14 dispensing of water or flavored beverages under gas pressure of between 90 and 150 psi (10 atmospheres~. Such 16 products are commonly known as syphon seltzer water, as 17 distinguisbed from present day bottled sparkling waters or 18 lightly carbonated flavored beverages which are charged to 19 pressures of 50 to 60 psi (3 to 4 atmospheres). For 20 further purposes of comparison, champagne is under about 6 21 to 7 atmospheres of pressure. This invention further 22 relates to a simplified syphon assembly for use to dispense 23 liquids stored in a container under pressure and to a 24 package incorporating the 6yphon assembly. This invention also relates to an improved closure especially configured 26 for fabrication in a single molding step. More 27 particularly, it relates to such a closure that is 28 tamper-resistant prior to actuation by an end user. In 29 another aspect this invention relates to a modified form of a seltzer bottle filling apparatus and to a process for 31 filling a seltzer bottle having a detachable head with the 32 head detached. More particularly, it relates to such an 33 apparatus and process in which such a seltzer bottle is 34 filled through a valve mechanism that remains on the bottle.

i -2- ~2~966 1 2. Description of the Prior Art 3 Altbough the syphon seltzer water industry was a 4 giant at the turn of the century and reached its zenith in the 1920s, today it i6 remembered mostly by the classic 6 syphon seltzer bottle which was used as a comedy prop by 7 the Marx Brothers and The Three Stooges to squirt each - 8 otber in wild water fights. The New York area alone at one 9 time had 2,000 syphon seltzer companies. Today there are about a dozen seltzer bottlers in the Vnited States. There 11 are only two syphon seltzer bottlers west of Chicago.

13 ~he syphon seltzer indu~try died after World War 14 II and remains as a nostalgic, marginally profitable local business carried on by only a handful of energetic young 16 folk who hand fill and hand deliver the old-fashioned s 17 ~yphon seltzer water to a fiercely loyal group of purists 18 who want nothing more and nothing less than thrice-filtered 19 water and carbon dioxide. There are no salts; no flavors;
20 no preservatives, a trio that is sweet music to the palates 21 of the health conscious.

23 Syphon seltzer water, up until now, however, 24 because of the use of high pressures in glass bottles was a 25 victim of several factors: ~1) the high cost of products 26 liability insurance; a heavy glass bottle exploding under a . t 27 pressure of 150 psi can inflict awesome damage; ~2) the 28 high cost of heavy glass bottle manufacture; (3) the high ~; 29 cost of tin, rubber, and brass used in the manufacture of , 30 the pewter heads and valves; (6) the high cost of bottle s 31 delivery and pick-up of the heavy, fragile bottles; (7) 32 the high cost and difficulty in sanitizing the returned 33 bottles, and especially the returned heads and valves; and 34 ultimately ~8) the switch by the mass market to lightly carbonated flavored drinks in disposable cans and thin 36 bottles. The syphon seltzer water industry died, not for a 37 good product, but for the variety of reasons set forth .j I . ' il -3- 12~966 1 above which related to its storage, distribution and 2 dispensing problems.

4 A brief background, therefore, of the seltzer industry and the syphon seltzer container is necessary to 6 an understanding of the dramatic change this invention 7 brings to an industry which has essentially stood still for 8 the last ~ixty years.

Mineral waters with light natural carbonation were 11 enjoyed by earliest man; the Romans knew about them but 12 used the water more for bathing than drinking, witness 13 Bath. The Germans and the French considered the mineral 14 waters to have curative powers and they live today in such industries as Vichy, and Perrier. Of course, the mineral 16 w~ters from the early spas could not be transported very 17 far, because heat and lack of pressurized vessels took its lB toll on the taste and effervescent quality of the water.
19 In 1772, a British scientist, Joseph Priestly, better known for his discovery of oxygen, succeeded in producing 21 artificially carbonated water. He made it in barrels and 22 the race for a container was on. The British Navy mixed 23 the carbonated water with lime juice and later the practice 24 was adopted through the Royal Navy to prevent the sailors from getting scurvy from their vitamin-deficient diet;
26 hence the term "Limeys". Nicholas Paul of Geneva is 27 credited with starting to manufacture imitation spa waters 28 in bulk in 1789 and one of his partners, Jacob Schweppe, 29 four years later ~tarted making soda water.

31 ~he manufacture of carbonated water in the United 32 States began in the early part of the l9th Century. A
33 patent was granted in 1810 for saturating water with "fixed 34 air~"

,1 1 . '; ~ ;

4 1 2 ~ 9 6 6 1 I~V~NSION OF THB SYPHO~ BOTTLP

3 Charles Plinth i6 credited as beinq the first to 4 preserve "aerated waters" in a reservoir which would deliver a portion of its contents at different times. His 6 patent on a Regency portable fountain in 1813 was identical 7 in construction with the fountains then commonly used in 8 which the motive force was compressed atmospheric air.
9 Plinth substituted carbonic acid gas for air in his apparatus. It consisted of a vessel with a tube passing 11 from an opening in the top almost to the bottom; the upper 12 part of the tube was furnished with a stop-cock and 13 delivery tube, from which the water was drawn off under 14 pressure of the carbonic acid gas.
' 15 16 Deleuze and Dutillet, Paris jewellers, who s 17 apparently were adverse to con6uming an entire bottle of 18 champagne at one sitting were granted a patent in 1829 on a 19 "siphon champenois" which coneisted of a hollow corkscrew which wae paseed through the cork into the bottle. The 21 upper part of the screw terminated in a vertical tube s 22 bearing a nearly horizontal spout. A lever operated a 23 valve, which when opened and the bottle was tipped, gave 24 exit to the champagne under preAsure of the contained gas.
; 25 26 The forerunner of the present day syphon seltzer 27 bottle was patented in 1837 by Antoine Perpigna of Paris, 28 Prance. The vase was made of metal, glass, china or 29 stoneware and the head of the syphon was hollow and contained a piston, pressed down by a spring into close 31 contact with the upper end of the tube passing to the 32 bottom of the vase. The method of attaching these early 33 head mechanisms to the bottle or vessel is unknown to y 34 applicant but it appears from the articles that there was i 35 eome sort of external collar mechanism, or perhaps the head 36 mechanism which protruded above the bottle was adhesively 37 affixed to the bottle.

:

-5- ~2~966 1 The split collar mechanism which is universally 2 adopted and is still in use today was invented in about 3 1855 by the Comte de Fontainemoreau and George Rogers.
4 They used a bottle made with a groove around the outer wall of the neck into which was fitted a ring of metal divided 6 into two segments which formed a shoulder for securing a 7 screwed collar.

9 The problem with the Rogers mechanism and virtually every mechanism for syphon seltzer water to the present day 11 is the-fact that the head mechanism, containing the valve 12 and spout, must be assembled on the bottle before filling.
13 The bottle is filled through the head mechanism and the 14 entire assembly of head and filled water bottle must be transported from the fractory, through the distribution 16 chain, to the customer and then after the contents are 17 emptied, the bottle and head must be returned through 18 the distribution chain, back to the factory for filling.
19 After sanitizing, the bottle is refilled through the head.
Again, the seltzer industry as it was known for one hundred 21 years, died because of the lack of a container system, not 22 because any superior product replaced it.

-6- i2~966 1 SU~ARY OF ~N~ INV~TIO~

3 The present invention recognizes and fulfills the 4 one basic commercial fact of our day; a beverage product mu~t meet all of the requirements for distribution and sale 6 through our present day supermarket system. These 7 requirement6 are (1) Safety; the container must not 8 explode even if mishandled. (2) Inexpensive; the bottle 9 and valve must be so inexpensive that they need not be returned and routed back through the chain of distribution ll to the factory. (3) The bottle and valve must be light 12 weight; water is already a heavy product and the container 13 cannot add appreciably to the weight or containers of 14 8ufficient volume cannot be handled through the checkout ~tand and be bagged along with other grocery products.
16 ~4) The bottle must be made of a material that can be 17 recycled in those states which have instituted laws for the 18 recycling of containers. ~S) The head mechanism must be 19 ~imple, yet easily attached and detached from the container BO that mo~t everyone can accomplish the process without 21 any danger or effort.

23 The key to the accomplishment of the above 24 objective~ i8 the separation of the head and valve actuation function from the valve and seal function and the 26 ~election of a high strength, non-frangible container.
27 Specifically, the valve and ~eal mechanism are contained 28 almo~t totally within the neck of the container, while the 29 head, which contains the valve actuator, is a separate member which can be retained by the consumer and used over 31 and over again. The container may be charged up to 150 32 pBi. To emphasize the high capacity of the container, it 33 i~ to be noted that 150 psi is the bursting pressure of 34 fftandard glass bottles used for lightly carbonated beverages.

37 A container system for storing and dispensing a ~27~966 1 pressurized fluid in accordance with one aspect of this 2 invention includes a substantially non-frangible container 3 having a necked opening with an inside surface. A valve 4 insert is fixedly attached to the inside surface of the necked opening. A removable cap is attached to the necked 6 opening over the valve insert. A dispensing head is 7 configured for fixed, removable engagement over the necked 8 opening after removal of the cap. The dispensing head 9 includes a body having an opening for discharge of the fluid and a valve actuating member in the head configured 11 or operative engagement of the valve when the dispensing 12 head is in fixed engagement over the necked opening. The 13 head has a means for attaching the head in fixed engagement 14 over the necked opening, such as threads on the head body.
16 In practice, the non-frangible container is fitted 17 with the valve mechanism. The container is filled with 18 carbonated water to a pressure from about 90 to lS0 psi. A
19 ~tandard aluminum screw type cap or other simple closure is placed on the bottle. The cap is under no pressure and 21 merely serves to protect the valve from contamination and 22 accidental discharge if the valve should break away from 23 the neck. The container is distributed through the 24 ~tandard distribution channels like any other bottled or canned beverage, without any special precautions and 26 ~helved in a supermarket along with the standard lightly 27 carbonated flavored beverages, which are under the greatly 28 reduced pressure of about 50 to 60 psi. The container is 29 di~tributed and shelved without the head and spigot mechanism. The head and spigot may be sold separately or 31 di~tributed free of charge with the ~ale of one or more 32 containers. The customer refrigerates the container of 33 ~eltzer water and, before using, removes the disposable cap 34 and attaches the head mechanism to the container. The high pressure is sufficient to discharge the entire 36 contents of the container without appreciable loss of 37 carbonation due to the use of the syphon tube. When the i I

. . .

8 12~7966 1 entire contents of the container have been discharged, the 2 head may be detached and placed on a freshly refrigerated 3 container of seltzer water. The used syphon seltzer 4 non-frangible container may be discarded or recycled by returning it to a recycling center as desired.

7 When the head is tightly attached to the 8 container, should the valve leak, the head will hold the 9 pressure. In the unlikely event that the valve should break away from the neck of the container, the head would 11 safely hold the damaged valve within the head.

13 Unlike standard syphon seltzer bottles which may 14 be accidentally discharged while being carried by simply pressing down on the lever on the head mechanism, the 16 present containers cannot be accidentally discharged. The 17 head is never placed on the container until it is ready for 18 use. The only way to discharge the container of the 19 present invention while it is in the distribution chain is to remove the protective cap, throw it away, and then poke 21 a small long, sharp object down through a small hole in the 22 valve which is down inside the neck of the container. Note 23 that the cap may be provided with a tamper proof lower 24 skirt.
26 In a further aspect of the invention, it is an 27 object of this invention to provide a simplified valve for 28 releasably confining beverages and other liquids under gas 29 pressures of up to 10 atmospheres.
31 It is another object of the invention to provide a 32 simplified syphon head assembly for use to actuate a valve 33 for release of beverages and other liquids stored under gas 34 pressures in a container at up to about 10 atmospheres.
36 It is a further object of the invention to provide 37 a syphon head assembly and package of the type in which a valve and an actuating mechanism for the valve may be ` _9_ i2~966 1 ~eparated without loss of pressure in the package, having a 2 reduced number of parts and which can be fabricated and 3 assembled on a low cost, high volume basis.

The attainment of these and related objects may be 6 achieved through use of the novel syphon assembly and 7 package incorporating the assembly in accordance with this 8 aspect of the invention. The syphon head assembly of this 9 invention is for use with a container having a necked opening and holding a beverage or other liquid under 11 pressure. In one aspect of the invention, the syphon 12 assembly has a tube dimensioned to extend from the necked 13 opening into the liquid in the container. A valve is 14 positioned proximate to the necked opening end of the tube. The valve has a frustoconical shaped resilient 16 sealing member having an open base engaging the tube and a 17 top normally biased by the resilient sealing member into 18 sealing engagement with a passageway of the valve for the 19 liquid to flow from the container through the necked opening. An actuating member is positioned in a syphon 21 head to apply force to deform the resilient sealing member 22 to move its top out of the sealing engagement with the 23 pa~sageway of the valve. The resilient sealing member has 24 a plurality of apertures spaced around the top to allow the liquid to pass from the tube to the passageway of the valve 26 when the resilient sealing member i8 deformed. A means 27 extends from the syphon head for applying force to the 28 actuating member to deform the sealing member. The syphon 29 head has a body with threads or other means for attaching the syphon head to the necked opening.

32 In another aspect of the invention, the syphon 33 assembly has a valve inserted in the necked opening for 34 relea~ably confining a liguid under pressure in the container. A syphon head has a body configured for 36 attachment to the necked opening. An actuating member for 37 opening the valve i~ fixedly attached to the body. The -10- 127~966 1 actuating member incorporates, in integrated form, a rod 2 extending downward within the body for engaging the valve 3 when the body is attached to the necked opening, a 4 resilient diaphragm extending substantially normal to the rod, and a ring portion surrounding the resilient diaphragm 6 for attaching the actuating member to the body.

8 In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the g syphon assembly incorporates both the above novel resilient sealing member and the above novel actuating member. In 11 this structure, the syphon head body and actuating member 12 may be separated from the valve without releasing pressure 13 in the container. The container holding the liquid under 14 pressure, with the closed valve in place, and a conventional closure provided over the necked opening, are 16 distributed separately from the syphon head with the 17 actuating member, which are attached to the package for 18 dispensing pressurized beverage or other liquid.

In another aspect it is an object of this 21 invention to provide an integrally formed package closure 22 incorporating a valve actuating mechanism.

24 It is another object of the invention to provide ~uch a closure which is tamper-resistant until activation 26 by the end user.

28 It i8 yet another object of the invention to 29 provide ~uch a clo~ure in which positioning of a part of the closure for activation is self guiding.

32 It is another object of the invention to provide 33 such a closure in which part of the closure that provides 34 the self guiding function also helps bias the closure valve in a sealed position when not in u~e.

37 It is a further object of the invention to provide -- -1 1- ~7966 1 such a closure which is su$ficiently low in cost that it 2 may be recycled or discarded after discharge of a single 3 filling of the package.

It is a still another object of the invention to 6 provide such a container clo~ure especially adapted for use 7 as a syphon head for relea6e of beverages and other liquids 8 stored under gas pressures of up to about 10 atmospheres.

The attainment of these and related objects may be 11 achieved through use of the novel container closure and 12 package incorporating the container closure of this aspect 13 Of the invention. A container closure in accordance with 14 this invention is a head configured to fit over a necked opening of a container in sealing relationship. There is a 16 valve actuating means in the head. A lever for operative 17 engagement of the valve actuating means has a first end and 18 a second end. The lever is integrally formed with the head 19 and is attached to an exterior surface of the head by at least one break away member. The head has a first opening 21 for insertion of the first lever end operatively to engage 22 the valve actuat'ng means. The lever is configured so that 23 the second lever end extends through ~he head opening for 24 application of actuating force in a given direction by a user when the first lever end operatively engages the valve 26 actuating means.

28 In a preferred form of the invention, the lever is 29 further permanently attached to the exterior surface of the head by a resilient biasing member, which is configured to 31 apply biasing force in opposition to the actuating force in 32 the given direction. The resilient biasing member is 33 preferably further configured to pivot the first lever end 34 through the first opening into operative engagement with the valve actuating means when the break away member is 36 broken away. The valve actuating means also preferably 37 comprises an upwardly extending rod having a first end with ~, -12- i277966 1 a transversely extending opening configured to receive the 2 first lever end. The rod has a second, valve sealing end .
3 The rod is attached to an interior surface of the head by a 4 resilient diaphragm, and the resilient diaphragm is S configured to apply biasing force to the rod in opposition 6 to the actuating force. The rod and diaphragm may be 7 integrally formed with the head. In this form, the 8 container closure of the invention is formed as one piece, 9 including the lever attached to the exterior surface of the head, and the resilient diaphragm and rod assembly attached 11 to the interior surface of the head.

33l -13- ~2~966 1 The attainment of the foregoing and related objects, 2 advantages and features of the invention should be more 3 readily apparent to those skilled in the art, after review 4 of the following more detailed description of the invention, taken together with the drawings in which: -t 19 -14- i2~7966 BRII~F DI~SCRIPTION OF TH8 DRAWI~GS

3 Figure 1 is a perspective view of the container of 4 the present invention with the valve inserted and the cap and head removed.

7 Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the 8 container of Figure 1 shown in an enlarged scale with the 9 midsection of the container removed. Portions of the valve mechanism are not shown in 6ection for purposes of clarity 11 in showing their relationship with the rest of the 12 mechanism. The preferred valve and plug apparatus is 13 ~hown. One of the forms of the syphon tube is shown.

Figure 3 is a cross section of a portion of the 16 container on an enlarged scale with the cap removed and a 17 head member attached to the form of the valve shown in 18 Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of the 21 head, valve and a portion of the syphon tube shown in 22 Figures 1 - 3.

24 Figure 5 i8 an enlarged side view of the container of the present invention with a portion in cross section.
26 The bottle is attached to a base for convenience in 27 standing in a vertical position. This view shows the shape 28 of the bottle prior to filling.

Figure 6 is a side view of the container of Figure 31 5 with portions in cross section. The container is shown 32 filled with carbonated water and is under pressure of 33 between 90 to 150 psi. The valve and disposable cap are 34 shown on the sealed and filled container.
36 Figure 7 is a cross-section view of another syphon 37 head assembly and package incorporating the assembly in -15- ~2~96~

1 accordance with the invention.

3 Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of the 4 syphon head assembly shown in Figure 7.

6 Figure 9 is a cross-section view of a portion of 7 the package shown in Figures 7 and 8.

9 Figure 10 is a cross-section view similar to Figure 1, but showing the package of Figures 7-9 in use.

12 Figure 11 is an external perspective view of still 13 another syphon head and package in accordance with the 14 invention.

16 Figure 12 is a cross section view taken along the 17 line 4-4 in Figure 11.

19 Figure 13 i8 a cross-section view of the syphon head and package shown in Figures 11 and 12 during 21 activation.

23 Figure 14 is a cross-section view of the syphon 24 head and package shown in Figures 11 and 12-13 after activation.

27 Figure 15 is a cross-section view of the syphon 28 head and package shown in Figures 11-14 during use.

Figure 16 i6 an exploded perspective and partial 31 section view of a further syphon head and package 32 embodiment in accordance with the invention.

34 Figure 17 is a cross section view of a completed package incorporating the syphon head of Figure 16.

:,r ¦ ~ .

~:~7g66 17 DESCRIPTIOW O~ THE PRBFERRED ~MBODI~2NTS

19 Turning now to the drawings, more particularly to Figure 1, the method of the present invention for storing 21 and dispensing fluids containered under gas pressure 22 comprises selecting a plastic, metal, composite or other 23 substantially non-frangible container 1 capable of safely 24 withstanding in excess of three atmospheres of pressure and preferably a 1.8 liter bottle capable of safely carrying 26 liquids at 150 psi (10 atmospheres). The container is 27 formed with a neck portion 2 having an external attachment 28 member 3. Preferably, the bottle is an 18 to 20 mil 29 polyester terephthalate (PET) bottle. Polyester terephthalate (PET) is furnished by various manufacturers, 31 including Eastman Chemical Products, Inc. One of the 32 manufacturer~ of the bottle is Plaxicon Company in the City 33 of Industry, California using eguipment and molds 34 manufactured by NISI ASB Machine Company, Ltd. of Japan, with offices in Torrance, California. The unusually high 36 strength is due to the bi-axial orientation of the 37 molecules in the plastic. Additional information on bottle manufacture is set forth in "A Layman's Guide to Pet ~ 77966 -l7-1 Chemistry and Processing", Edward E. Dennison, Eastman 2 Chemical Products, Inc. and "One-Stage Processing of Pet 3 Bottles", Eastman Kodak Company. The external attachment 4 member on the outside wall of the neck may be the formation of screw threads 3 in the plastic.

7 A valve means 4 is selected which is mounted 8 ~ubstantially within the container neck portion for 9 maintaining gas pressure of at least three atmospheres and preferably up to about 150 psi or about 10 atmospheres. A
11 tube 5, commonly known as a syphon tube, is connected to 12 the valve and has a distal end 6 which extends to a point 13 ad~acent to the bottom 7. The fluid flows up through the 14 hollow syphon tube and through the valve when opened. The container is filled with liquid 8, such as carbonated water 16 pressurized to about 10 atmospheres.

18 A cap member 9 for removably covering the opening 19 in the neck portion of the bottle is selected, which is removed prior to placing the head on the bottle and 21 dispensing the fluid. The cap preferably is of light 22 weight aluminum formed with internal threads, tamper proof 23 and recyclable or disposable. The cap sho~ld have a thin 24 flexible seal member 54 ~Figure 2) for preventing the inside of the bottle and valve from becoming contaminated 26 in the distribution system. The cap is not under pressure, 27 unlike all caps for lightly carbonated beverages.

29 The last step in the method is to select a head member 10, which is removably affixed to the external 31 attachment member on the neck portion of the container. A
32 preferred means of attachment is by internal threads 11 33 formed on the inside of wall 12 of the head member. The 34 head member has a manually engageable valve actuating member, such as a lever 13. A remote valve actuating 36 member, such as a pin 14, is selectively operable by the 37 valve actuating member and is positioned for engagement with the valve means. A substantially impermeable liquid -18~

1 and gas sealing means, ~uch as a rubber membrane 15, 2 separates the manually engageable valve actuating member 13 3 and the remote valve actuating member 14. The head is 4 formed with a chamber 16 which receives the fluid and channels it to a channel 17 in spout 18.

7 In Figures 2, 3, and 4, a 6afety neck plug member 8 19 is shown which encloses the valve means and is 9 integrally connected to the syphon tube 5. The neck plug member is preferably attached to the inside wall 20 of the 11 container by an adhesive. A ~uitable adhesive is General 12 Electric RTV Silicone Adhesive. Another method of 13 attaching wall 49 of neck plug 19 is to use a solvent to 14 soften the PET and weld the plug to the neck wall of the container. Spin welding may also be employed.

17 Continuing to refer to Figures 2, 3, and 4, the 18 valve means includes an inner chamber 21 formed in neck 19 plug member 19 having upper and lower portions 22 and 23.
A valve seat 24 is formed in the upper portion of the valve 21 chamber. This may simply be an annular protrusion. A
22 valve cup 25 is positioned for registration with the valve 23 seat in a valve closed position and is movable to a valve 24 open position away from the valve seat. Sealing means, such as a rubber washer 26, i8 positioned within the cup 26 for sealing registration with the valve seat in the valve 27 closed position. A spring retainer member 27 is mounted in 28 the lower portion 23 of the chamber 21 and flared portion 29 101 of the ~yphon tube and a ~pring member 28 is mounted in the spring retainer member and biases the valve cup to the 31 valve closed position.

33 The manually operable means for selectively 34 opening the valve for release of the contents of the container may be any member capable of depressing the valve 36 cup 25. A ~uitable head member 10 is illustrated in 37 Figures 3 and 4 for actuating the valve. A guide member 29 19 ~2~7966 1 having threads 99 is threadably inserted into an opening 30 2 formed in the head to engage head internal threads 31. Pin 3 14 is mounted for vertical reciprocation within opening 32 4 of the guide member. Lever 13 is formed with a protrusion 33 which bears on cup 34. Injection molded plastic washer 6 35 bears against annular protru6ion 36 which surrounds cup 7 34. The lever pivots about end point 100.

g Assembly and operation of the valve and head illustrated in Figures 2-4 i~ as follows. A syphon tube 5 11 is selected having a length which will reach to a point 12 adjacent the bottom of the container. Since the container 13 is plastic and will expand with increased pressure from 14 increased temperature and shrink with the loss of pressure, it is advisable to 6elect an end member 37 which is 16 frictionally placed over the di~tal end 6 in a telescoping 17 manner so that if the bottom of the bottle pushes up 18 against flared end 38, the end member 37 will simply slip 19 over the distal end 6. Note that openings 39 formed in the end member 37 permit liquid to flow into the syphon tube 21 even though the end member is pressed tightly against the 22 bottom wall of the bottle. syphon tube 5 is formed with an 23 outwardly extending flange 40. An annular rib 41 registers 24 with a matching groove 42 in the plug member 19. Spring retainer 27 snap fits into the bottom of plug 19 and is 26 in~erted into enlarged opening 43. Spring 28 is then 27 placed in the spring retainer 80 that its bottom end rests 28 on abutment 45 and the top portion encircles protrusion 46 29 on valve cup 25. Rubber washer 26 is placed in valve cup 25, which in turn is placed on the spring 28. Note that 31 washer 26 may be formed with a small opening 47 to retain 32 the end 48 of pin 14. Safety neck plug member 19 is then 33 adhered to flange 40 of the syphon tube thereby compressing 34 spring 28 and forcing seaIing washer 26 into sealing engagement with valve seat 24 formed in the plug member.
36 The entire plug and syphon tube assembly is then placed 37 into the container and the ~ide wall 49 is adhered to the I

-20- ~6 1 inner neck wall of the container by a suitable adhesive or 2 by ~pin welding.

4 Filling of the container with carbonated water is S as follows. A suitable filling apparatus depresses valve 6 cup 25 and the liquid enters through opening 50 in plug 7 member 19 and into inner chamber 21. The water is forced 8 past openings Sl and 52 and into syphon tube 5. The water 9 flows through end member 37 and then into the bottle. When the container is filled to the desired amount, the valve 11 cup i~ released and spring 28 forces the cup and washer 26 12 into sealing engagement with valve seat 24. Pressure in 13 the container also tends to force washer 26 into sealing 14 engagement. A cap 9 is then threaded onto the cGntainer to prevent contamination of the end surface 53 and opening 50 16 of the plug. The cap member may be provided with a 17 flexible sealing member 54 to further enhance the seal to 18 prevent contamination. As previously noted, the cap is not 19 under any pressure since the container pressure is entirely held by the sealing washer 26 within the safety plug.

22 Another important feature is the fact that the 23 entire valve means and plug member is within the neck of 24 the bottle except for a thin flange 55 which may rest on the upper rim 56 of the bottle. Flange 55 mechanically 26 prevents the plug from slipping inside the bottle when the 27 plug is fir~t assembled and adhered to the inside wall of 28 the neck of the container. It may also serve to provide an 29 abutment when the cap is screwed onto the bottle.

31 The container is shipped through the distribution 32 chain with the cap on and without any head mechanism. The 33 container is shelved in supermarkets and other retail 34 ~tores, where it is purchased directly by the ultimate consumer and carried to a home or business place. The 36 container i~ chilled in the refrigerator and, when ready 37 for consumption, the cap 9 is removed from the bottle and -21- ~

1 the head me~ber 10 is screwed onto the container. The 2 guide member 29 mates with conical ~urface 53, which is a 3 rigid non-co~pressible sealing surface, at its matching 4 concave surface 58. Pin 14 is inserted through opening 50 in the plug member and opening 47 in washer 26. Preferably 6 there is a detent 59 into which the end 48 of pin 14 is 7 inserted. All of the above operations are carried out 8 without releasing any prssure from the container. Note 9 that there are no compressible parts. All of the parts have a fixed length for accurate mass assembly of the valve 11 and safety plug. In order to withdraw a part or all of the 12 contents of the container, it is simply necessary to 13 depress lever 13 inserted through opening 102 in the head 14 10, which causes protrusion 33 to move downwardly against cup 34, which in turn presses downwardly on the head 60 of 16 pin 14 through sealing membrane member 15. Depression of 17 lever 13 causes pin 14 to move downwardly and end 48 to 18 depre~s valve cup 25, carrying washer 26 with it. Spring 19 28 is compressed against abutment 45 in the spring retainer 27. Gas pressure within the container forces the 21 carbonated water up through syphon tube 5, through openings 22 52 and 51 in the spring retainer and into inner chamber 23 21. The liquid is forced between seal 26 and the valve 24 seat 24 up past the flutes 61 in pin 14 and into chamber 16 in the head. Drain opening 62 permits the liquid under 26 pressure to be propelled through channel 98 in guide member 27 29 and through channel 17 in the spout 18. As soon as the 28 lever 13 is released, spring 28 forces valve cup 25 to move 29 upwardly and to seal washer 26 against valve seat 24. Pin 14 i8 forced upwardly and causes lever 13 to return to its 31 raised position. Thus, the container remains charged with 32 sufficient gas to completely empty the container whenever 33 desired at a later time. There is no escape of gases while 34 the lever is in the raised position, since the gas remains in the upper portion of the container and continues to act 36 on the surface 63 of the water, rather than on the seal 37 between washer 26 and seat 24.

1 It is standard practice in industry to provide a 2 plastic base member for plastic bottles. The drawings 3 illustrate such a standard base as indicated by the number 4 103. The base is attached to the bottle by applying adhesive at areas 94 and 9S. By applying the adhesive to 6 the base of the bottle and an upper part of the base, the 7 base will remain affixed to the bottle in spite of the 8 expansion and contraction of the bottle which results from 9 the varying pressure in the bottle, as affected by varying temperature and varying fill levels of the bottle. The 11 difference in shape of the bottle is shown in Figure 5 when 12 the bottle i8 empty and in Figure 6, which shows the shape 13 of the bottle when it is filled and pressurized. Note 14 particularly the indentation along line 96 in Figure 5 at a point just above the top edge 97 of the base 103. In 16 Figure 6, when the bottle is filled, indent 96 disappears 17 and becomes a smooth curved line. Some vertical growth 18 occurs in the bottle, but it i~ not as dramatic as the 19 diameter expansion. The difference in vertical height is, however, of sufficient importance that is necessary to make 21 provision for this dimensional change as has been described 22 above in the various syphon tube end members and the 23 provision for openings in the edge of the end member.

It is not intended that cap 9 be subject to 26 pressure at any time. If, however the valve should leak, 27 and build-up pressure, danger from the cap may be obviated 28 by providing a plurality of vertical slots in the outer 29 sidewall of the neck of the bottle which cross threads 3.
Thus, when the cap is loosened, if there should accidently 31 happen to be any pressure against the cap, the pressure 32 would safely vent through the vertical slots to atmosphere, 33 the instant the cap seal was broken. The vertical slot 34 ~ystem is presently found on plastic bottles which are under light carbonation.

~27796~;

1 Figure 7 show8 a syphon assembly 110 and a seltzer 2 water package 112 incorporating the syphon assembly 110, in 3 accordance with the invention. The package 112 includes a 4 high ~trengtb polyester terephthalate (PET) bottle 114 of the type ghown in Figures 1-3 and 5-6~
6 having a wall thickness of fr~ about 18 to 20 thousandths 7 of an inch. The bottle 114 has a necked opening 116 with 8 exterior threads 118. The syphon assembly 110 includes an 9 insert assembly 120 (see also Figure 8), bonded to the inside wall 122 of the necked opening 116 and extending 11 into the bottle 114. A head accembly 124 ~see also Figure 12 8) is attached to the necked opening by means of threads 13 126 on body 128, which mate with the threads 118 on the 14 necked opening 116. When assembled in this manner, the head a~sembly 124 engages the insert assembly 120 during 16 use of the seltzer water package 112.

18 The insert assembly 120 includes a tube 130 which 19 extends from the necked opening 116 into the seltzer water 132 in bottle 114 and to bottom 134 of the bottle.
21 Openings 136 are provided at end 138 of the tube 130 to 22 allow the ~eltzer water 132 to enter the tube 130.

24 The tube 130 has a flanged upper end 140 within the necked opening 116. A resilient, substantially 26 frustoconical shaped valve sealing member 142 rests on end 27 140 of the tube 130. Insert 144 fits over the valve 28 ~ealing member 142 and is bonded to edge 146 of the tube 29 end 140. The tube end 140 and insert 144 are both bonded in sealing engagement to the interior surface 122 of necked 31 opening 116. Valve sealing member 142 has a raised portion 32 148, which normally seals centrally disposed passageway 33 150, which extends through the insert 144. A cruciform 34 cro~s-section valve guide 152 extends upward from the raised portion 148 into the passageway 150. Openings 154 36 are provided around the raised portion 148 through the 37 valve sealing member 142.

~,z77966 1 Figure 9 shows the necked portion 116 of the 2 bottle 114 and the insert assembly as the packaged seltzer 3 water 132 is sold. A conventional aluminum twist-off cap 4 156 is fastened over the necked opening 116 by means of the screw threads 118. Pressure from the seltzer water 132 in 6 bottle 114 is not applied to the cap 156 because passageway 7 150 is sealed by the raised portion 148 of the valve 8 sealing member 142.

In use of the package 112, the purchaser removes 11 the cap 156 and replaces it with the syphon head assembly 12 124, as shown in Figure~ 7 and 8. The package 112 is then 13 ready to dispense the seltzer water 132.

The head assembly 124 includes a one-piece 16 actuator 160, consisting of an actuating rod 162, a 17 diaphragm 164 and a ring 166 for bonding the actuator 160 18 to body 128 of the head assembly 124. Bend 168 in the 19 resilient diaphragm 164 provides spring tension in the diaphragm. Actuating rod 162 extends above the diaphragm 21 164 and has a curved end 170, which engages curved surface 22 172 of lever 174. Lever 174 extends through aperture 176 23 in body 128 and iB pivotally connected to the body 128 at 24 178, on the opposite ~ide of the body 128 from aperture 176. Actuating rod 162 has a cruciform cross-section 26 portion 180 which extend~ downward from the diaphragm 164 27 to engage the cruciform cross-section projection 152 of the : 28 valve sealing member 142 within passageway 150. Ring 166 29 of the actuator 160 has an orifice 182 extending through the ring 166, to connect cavity 184, defined by the 31 actuator 160 and the insert 144, to bore 186 within spigot 32 188.

34 Figure 10 shows the syphon assembly 110 in its open position, to discharge seltzer water 132 through 36 spigot 188. As shown, when the lever 174 is depressed, :, 37 -, 1 actuating rod 16~ is pushed downward, exerting force on the 2 valve sealing member 142, defor~ing it away from sealing 3 engagement with passageway 150. The seltzer water flows 4 through apertures 154, passageway 150, cavity 184, and orifice 182 to spigot 188. When lever 174 is released, 6 spring force from diapbragm 164 moves actuating rod 162 and 7 lever 174 upwards, back to the position shown in Figure 7, 8 allowing valve sealing member 142 to assume its normal 9 position sealing passageway 150.

11 In practice, tube 130, valve sealing member 142, 12 insert 144, activator 160, head body 128 and lever 174 are 13 preferably ~eparately fabricated from a suitable plastic 14 material in a molding operation. For this purpose, an injection molded co-polyester plastic is preferably 16 employed. The valve sealing member 142 is placed on 17 flanged end 140 of the tube 130, and insert 144 is then 18 bonded to rim 146 of the end 140, such as by spin welding.
19 The completed insert may then be placed into bottle 114 through necked opening 116. The insert assembly 120 is 21 then bonded at insert 144 in sealing engagement to the 22 interior wall 122 of the necked opening 116, such as by 23 ~pin welding or with a suitable adhesive. Similarly, the 24 actuator 160 i~ bonded at ring 166 to head body 128, such as by ~pin welding.

27 Turning now to Figures 11 and 12, there is shown 28 another syphon head closure 210 in accordance with the 29 invention. The head 210 includes a body 212 with tapered flanges 214 for attachment to both inside surface 213 and 31 outside ~urface 215 of neck 217 of plastic bottle 219 by 32 spin or ultrasonic welding. A spigot 216 incorporates a 33 passageway 218 through the body 212, communicating with 34 interior surface 220 of the body 212. An actuating lever 222 i8 attached to exterior surface 224 of the body 212 by 36 first and second break away filaments 226 and 228 and by a 37 thicker, resilient biasing ribbon 230. A top 232 is 1~ .

1 attacbed to the body 212 by flexible hinge 234. The top 2 232 i~ configured to fit flange 236 of the body 212 in a 3 snap fit. An upwardly extending actuating rod 238 is 4 centrally di~posed within body 212, and is attached to interior surface 220 of the body 212 by a resilient, 6 flexible diaphragm 240. The diaphragm 240 divides the head 7 212 into an upper chamber 242 and a lower chamber 244.
8 Actuating rod 238 has a cavity 246 extending into the rod 9 238 and dimensioned to receive end 248 of the lever 222.
In practice, all of the parts of the head closure 11 210 are preferable fabricated together from a suitable 12 pla8tic material in a single molding ~tep. For this 13 purpose, an injection molded co-polyester plastic is 14 preferably employed. The body 212, lever 222, cap 232 and lS ~pigot 216 are formed by a one piece mold cavity, with 16 separate cores from above into upper chamber 242, from 17 below into lower chamber 244 and from the side to form the 18 rod 238, flexible diaphragm 240 and the passageway 218. A
19 81ider within the core used to form spigot 21~ forms the passagewsy 218.

22 Prior to attachment of the body 212 to a 23 container, the syphon tube 256 i8 attached to the inside 24 ~urface 220 of the body 212, by spin or ultrasonic welding the flange 258 in place. Tip 257 of rod 238 engages 26 opening 259 of tube 256 in a ~ealing fit when tube 256 is 27 in place. After the syphon tube 256 is attached in the 28 body 212, the top 232 is snapped into position in flange 29 236, as shown in Figure 12. Figure 12 shows closure 210 in place on neck 217 of a plastic bottle 219, permanently 31 attached by welding. Flange 274 extending around the neck 32 of the bottle 217 provides support for the body 212 against 33 lateral ~hearing forces, such as might occur if the bottle 34 219 were dropped. The bottle 219 is filled with highly carbonated water 276 through spigot 216, as is conventional 36 in ~eltzer bottling, by inserting a suitable member through 37 opening 278 in body 212 to engage rod 238 to apply force ~277966 1 for moving end 257 of the rod away from opening 259, thus 2 opening the valve assembly and allowing the highly 3 carbonated water 276 to flow into the bottle 219. This 4 procedure is explained more fully below in connection with Figures 18-22. When so filled, the bottle 219 is stored, 6 shipped and sold in the form shown in Figure 12. Since 7 lever 222 must be inserted through opening 278 to engage 8 the rod 238 to discharge the highly carbonated water 276 9 from the bottle 219, the presence of intact break away filaments 226 and 228 on the package assures the user th~t 11 the package 211 has not been tampered with prior to sale.
12 If desired~ a removable label or other sealing strip may 13 also be placed over the opening 278 during storage and 14 8hipment of the package 211.
16 Figure 13 shows the syphon head closure 210 during 17 the process of activating the ~yphon head closure for 18 dispen6ing the seltzer 276 from bottle 219 by insertion of 19 the lever 222 through opening 278. The user pulls upward on the lever handle 280, first rupturing the filament 226.
21 Spring strip 230 guides the lever 222 with continued upward 22 force on the handle 280, 80 that end 248 of the lever 222 23 enters the opening 278. ~he second break away filament 228 24 breaks during this travel. ~he spring strip 230 is configured B0 that it will guide the end 248 into cavity 26 246 in rod 238 to give the configuration shown in Figure 27 14. Nipples 281 on either side of the lever 222 engage 28 inside surface 220 of the upper chamber 242 to keep the 29 lever 222 in place once it has been inserted through opening 278. Edge 283 of opening 278 serves as a fulcrum 31 for raising rod 238 when downward force is applied to 32 handle 280.

34 Figure 15 shows the syphon head closure 210 actuated by a user. Downward force on the handle 280 of 36 the lever 222 is converted to upward force on the rod 238 37 by fulcrum edge 283, thus moving tip 257 out of sealing l,Z~q966 1 engagement with opening 259 in the syphon tube 256. The 2 6eltzer water 276 is then discharged by the carbon dioxide 3 pressure in bottle 219 through opening 259 into lower 4 chamber 244 and out passageway 218 of spigot 216. When the user releases the downward force on handle 280 of lever , 6 222, the downward biasing force of diaphragm 240 on rod 238 7 returns the head closure 210 to the position shown in 8 Figure 14, with tip 257 sealing the opening 259. If 9 desired, a compressed spring can be inserted between end 285 of rod 238 and top 232, and top 232 bonded in place, to 11 provide additional downward biasing force on rod 238. When s 12 the bottle 219 is empty, it and the head closure 210 are 13 recycled or di6carded.

s 15 Figures 16 and 17 show a third embodiment of a 16 package 300 in accordance with the invention. This package ~s 17 300 includes an insert assembly 302, which is inserted in 18 the neck 350 of a bottle 352, and a head closure 304, which ~ 19 i8 screwed by threads 306 onto mating threads on the neck !~, 20 of the bottle. With this embodiment, the bottle 352 ~i 21 containing the seltzer water 356 i6 sold with the insert 22 assembly 302 in place in the neck of the bottle and a - 23 conventional aluminum twist off or plastic snap on cap 24 fastened over the neck of the bottle. The end user replace~ the cap with the head closure 304.
i 26 27 The insert assembly 302 includes a tube 310 which 28 extends from the neck 350 of the bottle into the seltzer ~ 29 water 356 and to the bottom of the bottle 352. Openings ! 30 312 are provided at end 314 of the tube 310 to allow the 31 seltzer water to enter the tube 310. The tube 310 has a 32 flanged upper end 316 within the neck of the bottle. A
33 resilient, 6ubstantially frustoconical shaped valve sealing 34 member 318 rest6 on end 316 of the tube 310. Insert 320 fits over the valve ~ealing member 318 and is bonded to ~ 36 edge 322 of the tube end 316. The tube end 316 and insert ,~' 37 320 are both bonded in sealing engagement to interior ,, :.

1 surface 358 of the bottle neck. Valve seal ing member 318 2 has a raised portion 324, which normally seals centrally 3 disposed passageway 326, which extends through the insert 4 320. A cruciform cross section valve guide 328 extends upward from the raised portion 324 into the passageway 6 326. Openings 330 are provided around the raised portion 7 324 through the valve sealing member 318.

g As in the Figures 11-15 embodiment, the head 304 has a lever 340, mounted on exterior 6urface 360 of head 11 body 362. ~o activate the head 304, lever 340 is extended 12 through an opening 342 to engage a vertically disposed 13 actuating rod 344. Cruciform cross section end 346 of the 14 rod 344 is configured to engage the valve guide 328.

16 The head 304 i~ provided separately from the 17 seltzer water package 300 including the insert assembly 302 18 and a conventional aluminum twist off or plastic snap on 19 cap. After replacing the cap with the head 304, the user ~eparates lever 340 from body 362 of the head 304 in the s 21 same manner as in the Figures 11-15 embodiment, to insert 22 the lever 340 through opening 342, aperture 348 extending 23 transversely through rod 344 and into socket 364. When the s 24 ~eltzer package is empty, the user may remove the head 304 for use with another seltzer package. Other than as shown 26 and described above, the construction and operation of the " 27 Figures 12-13 embodiment is the same as the Figures 11-15 28 embodiment.
: 29 ' ';
; 31 ' 33 ,"
s 35 ,~ 36 , 37 , ~g~

1 It should be apparent to those skilled in the art 2 that various changes in form and details of the invention 3 as shown and described may be made. It is intended that 4 such changes be included within the spirit and scope of the claims appended hereto.

. 29 , 33 f 34 !
.

Claims (14)

1. A method for storing and dispensing fluids containered under gas pressure comprising:
(a) selecting a substantially non-frangible plastic container capable of safely withstanding in excess of three atmospheres of pressure, said container having a longitudinal axis and being formed with a neck portion having an internal annular wall having a substantial surface area generally parallel to said longitudinal axis and including an opening, said container having an attachment member formed on said neck portion adapted for removably affixing a head member to said attachment member for dispensing fluid from said container;
(b) selecting a valve means having an external annular wall dimensioned for gas sealing and structural connection to said internal annular wall of said neck portion mounted substantially within said container neck portion for maintaining gas pressure of at least three atmospheres and having a passage formed therein adapted for receiving a valve actuating member;
(c) mounting a syphon tube within said container having a distal end adjacent the bottom of said container and operatively connected to said valve means;
(d) bonding said external annular wall of said valve means to said internal wall of said neck portion;
(e) filling said container through said valve means with a liquid under at least 3 atmospheres of pressure;
(f) selecting a removable sanitary sealing means covering said opening in said neck of said container, which removable sanitary sealing means is a cap member having internal threads and has sufficient structural integrity to prevent expulsion of said valve means under normal working pressures present in said container, and wherein said attachment member is external screw threads formed in said neck portion adjacent said neck opening for threadable registration with said cap threads, and (g) selecting a head member having a manually engageable valve actuating member, a remote valve actuating member selectively operable by said valve actuating member and positioned for engagement with said valve means, said head member having a liquid and gas substantially impermeable resilient means forming a sealed top of said open-ended chamber and separating said manually engageable valve actuating member and said remote valve actuating member, said sealed top resilient separating means being free to move 80 that downward motion of said manually engageable valve actuating member is transmitted to said remote valve actuating member, said remote valve actuating member extending below said sealed top resilient separating means to open said valve in response to the downward motion of said manually engageable valve actuating member, said head member having internal threads for registration with said screw threads formed in said neck portion.

2. A container system for storing and dispensing a carbonated beverage comprising:
(a) a substantially non-frangible plastic container capable of safely withstanding in excess of three atmospheres of pressure, said container having a longitudinal axis and being integrally formed with a neck portion having an internal annular wall having a substantial surface area generally parallel to said longitudinal axis and including an opening;
(b) a normally closed valve means having an external annular wall dimensioned for gas sealing and structural connection to said internal annular wall of said neck portion mounted substantially within said container neck portion for maintaining gas pressure of at least three atmospheres and having a passage formed therein adapted for receiving a valve actuating member, said external annular wall of said valve means being fixedly attached to said internal wall of said neck portion;
(c) a syphon tube mounted within said container having a distal end adjacent the bottom of said container and an end operatively connected to said valve means:
(d) a threaded cap capable of safely withstanding in excess of three atmospheres pressure and covering said opening in said neck of said container:
(e) integrally formed threads at said neck portion adapted both for directly attaching said cap over said opening in said container and for removably and directly affixing a head member to said neck portion over said opening for dispensing the carbonated beverage from said container; and (f) a removable head member having mating threads integral with said head to attach said removable head directly to said threads at said neck portion over said opening in said container to dispense the carbonated beverage from the container, said head-including a manually operable means for temporarily opening said normally closed valve.

3. A container system as described in Claim 2 comprising:
(a) a telescoping tube end member having a flared end portion formed with notched openings therein and having a telescoping end dimensioned for frictional sliding fit with said distal end of said syphon tube.

4. A container system as described in Claim 2 comprising:
(a) a telescoping tube end member having an end portion formed with notched openings therein and having a telescoping end dimensioned for frictional sliding fit with said distal end of said syphon tube, said telescoping tube end being formed from a flexible material.

5. A container system as described in Claim 2 comprising:
(a) an end tube member having an end portion formed with a flared end having a notched opening therein, being formed from a flexible material, having a bellows type mid-section and being dimensioned for connection to said syphon tube.

6. A container system for storing and dispensing a carbonated beverage comprising:
(a) a substantially non-frangible plastic container capable of safely withstanding in excess of three atmospheres of pressure formed with a neck portion having an internal annular wall and an opening therein;
(b) valve means mounted substantially within said container neck portion for maintaining gas pressure of at least three atmospheres, said valve means including an inner chamber having upper and lower portions open at both ends and a valve seat formed in said upper portion of said chamber, a valve cup positioned for registration with said valve seat in a valve closed position and movable to a valve open position away from said valve seat, sealing means carried by said cup for sealing registration with said valve seat in said valve closed position, a spring retainer member connected to said lower portion of said chamber, and a spring member carried by said spring retainer member and biasing said valve cup to said valve closed position;
(c) an elongated syphon tube operably connected to said valve means and extending to a termination point adjacent said bottom of said container;
(d) manually operable means for selectively opening said valve for release of the contents of said container;
(e) a safety neck plug member enclosing said valve means and integrally connected to said elongated syphon tube and having a wall fixedly attached to said internal annular wall of said neck portion of said container:
(f) a threaded cap capable of safely withstanding in excess of three atmospheres of pressure and covering said opening in said neck of said container;
(g) a head member having a housing forming an open ended chamber and having threads integrally formed with said head configured for removable attachment over the opening of said container neck portion, said head member including a manually engageable valve actuating member, a remote valve actuating member selectively operable by said valve actuating member and positioned for engagement with said valve member, a liquid and gas substantially impermeable resilient means forming a sealed top of said open ended chamber and separating said manually engageable valve actuating member and said remote valve actuating member, said sealed top resilient separating means being free to move 80 that downward motion of said manually engageable valve actuating member is transmitted to said remote valve actuating member, said remote valve actuating member extending below said sealed top resilient separating means to open said valve in response to the downward motion of said manually engageable valve actuating member, and a spout operably connected to said valve member for selectively discharging the fluid contents of said container through said tube and valve; and (h) threads integrally formed at said neck portion adapted both for removably and directly attaching said cap over said opening in said container and for removably and directly affixing said head member to said neck portion over said opening for dispensing the carbonated beverage from said container.

7. A container system for storing and dispensing fluids under gas pressure comprising:
(a) a substantially non-frangible container capable of safely withstanding in excess of three atmospheres of pressure formed with a neck portion having an internal annular wall and an opening therein;
(b) valve means mounted substantially within said container neck portion for maintaining gas pressure of at least three atmospheres;
(c) an elongated syphon tube operably connected to said valve means and extending to a termination point adjacent said bottom of said container;
(d) manually operable means for selectively opening said valve for release of the contents of said container;
(e) a safety neck plug member enclosing said valve means and integrally connected to said elongated syphon tube and having a wall fixedly attached to said internal annular wall of said neck portion of said container;
(f) an attachment means at said container neck portion adapted for removably affixing a head member to said container for dispensing fluid from said container, wherein:
(g) said attachment means at said neck portion of said container includes external thread members formed in an outer wall of said neck portion;
(h) said manually operable means includes a head member having a housing formed with an open ended chamber having inner walls formed with thread members dimensioned for threadable engagement with said external thread members of said neck portion of said container;
(i) said head member includes a manually engageable valve actuating member, a remote valve actuating member selectively operable by said valve actuating member and positioned for engagement with said valve member, a liquid and gas substantially impermeable means separating said manually engageable valve actuating member and said remote valve actuating member, and a spout operably connected to said valve member for selectively discharging the fluid contents of said container through said tube and valve;
(j) said safety neck plug member has a top wall formed with a convex shape and an opening substantially at an upper part of said top wall:
(k) said head member includes a guide member formed with an opening for receiving said remote valve actuating member therethrough; and (1) said guide member is formed with a concave surface surrounding said guide member opening formed for sealing registration with said convex shaped top wall of said safety neck plug member.

8. A container system for storing and dispensing fluids under gas pressure comprising:
(a) a plastic substantially non-frangible container capable of safely withstanding in excess of three atmospheres of pressure formed with upstanding walls, a bottom, and a neck portion having an inner wall;
(b) a neck cup member having an upstanding wall dimensioned for bonding and sealing fit with said inner wall of said neck portion of said container and having a bottom wall formed with an opening therein, an inner portion of said upstanding wall being formed with internal threads;
(c) an elongated syphon tube having an upper portion in registration with said opening in said bottom wall of said neck cup and a distal end extending to a termination point adjacent said bottom of said container, said upper portion being formed with an outwardly radially extending flange;

(d) a sealing washer positioned between said flange of said elongated syphon tube and the upper side of the bottom wall of said neck cup:
(e) valve means including a valve housing having an upper wall mounted substantially within said neck cup for maintaining gas pressure of at least three atmospheres and operably connected to said upper portion of said elongated syphon tube member;
(f) a safety neck plug member formed with outer screw threads for threadable matching with said internal threads in said neck cup member dimensioned for registration with said upper wall of said valve housing and formed with an opening therethrough;
(g) removable cap means mounted on said neck portion of said container; and (h) manually operable means for selectively opening said valve member when said cap means is removed.

9. A container system for storing and dispensing fluids under gas pressure comprising:
(a) a substantially non-frangible container capable of safely withstanding in excess of three atmospheres of pressure formed with upstanding walls, a bottom, and a neck portion having an inner wall and an outer wall;
(b) a modified neck cup member having an upstanding wall dimensioned for bonding and sealing fit with said inner wall of said neck portion of said container and having a bottom wall, said inner portion of said upstanding wall being formed with internal threads, and an elongated syphon tube member extending to a point adjacent said bottom of said container and having an upper portion integrally connected to said neck cup bottom wall;
(c) valve means including a valve housing having an upper wall mounted substantially within said neck cup for maintaining gas pressure of at least three atmospheres and operably connected in said upper portion of said elongated tube member:
(d) a safety neck plug member formed with outer screw threads for threadable matching with said internal threads in said neck cup member and dimensioned for registration with said upper wall of said valve housing and formed with an opening therethrough;
(e) removable cap means mounted on said neck portion of said container; and (f) manually operable means for selectively opening said valve member when said cap means is removed.

10. A container system as described in Claim 9 wherein said substantially non-frangible container is formed from plastic.

11. A container system as described in Claim 9 wherein:
(a) said outer wall of said neck portion of said container is formed with thread members: and (b) said cap means includes a top wall and depending side walls formed with internal thread members for threadable registration with said thread members on said container.

12. A container system for storing and dispensing a carbonated beverage, which comprises a substantially non-frangible plastic container having a necked opening with an inside surface and integrally formed threads on an exterior surface, a valve insert fixedly attached to the inside surface of said necked opening, a threaded, removable cap directly attached by said integrally formed threads to said necked opening over said valve insert, and a dispensing head having integrally formed mating threads configured for fixed, removable and direct engagement over said necked opening after removal of said cap by means of the mating threads with said integrally formed threads, said dispensing head having a body including an opening for discharge of the fluid, a valve actuating member in said head configured for operative engagement of said valve when said dispensing head is in fixed engagement over said necked opening, said cap being capable of withstanding the pressure of the carbonated beverage.

13. A container system for storing and dispensing a pressurized fluid, which comprises a substantially non-frangible container having a necked opening with an inside surface, a valve insert fixedly attached to the inside surface of said necked opening, a removable cap attached to said necked opening over said valve insert, and a dispensing head configured for fixed, removable engagement over said necked opening after removal of said cap, said dispensing head having a body including an opening for discharge of the fluid, a valve actuating member in said head configured for operative engagement of said valve when said dispensing head is in fixed engagement over said necked opening, and means for attaching said dispersing head in fixed engagement over said necked opening, said dispensing head attachment means comprising threads on said body configured for engaging mating threads on the inside surface of said necked opening after removal of said cap, said dispensing head body having an inside flange and an outside flange, the body threads being on an outside surface of said inside flange, said outside flange being configured to extend along an outside surface of said necked opening, said necked opening outside surface having an outwardly extending flange, and the outside flange of said body being configured so that an end of the outside flange engages the outwardly extending flange of said necked opening outside surface when said dispensing head is in fixed engagement over said necked opening.

14. A container system for storing and dispensing a pressurized fluid, which comprises a substantially non-frangible container having a necked opening with an inside surface, a valve insert fixedly attached to the inside surface of said necked opening, a removable cap attached to said necked opening over said valve insert, and a dispensing head configured for fixed, removable engagement over said necked opening after removal of said cap, said dispensing head having a body including an opening for discharge of the fluid, a valve actuating member in said head configured for operative engagement of said valve when said dispensing head is in fixed engagement over said necked opening, and means for attaching said dispensing head in fixed engagement over said necked opening, said dispensing head attachment means comprising threads on said body configured for engaging mating threads on said valve insert after removal of said cap, said dispensing head body having an inside flange and an outside flange, the body threads being on an outside surface of said inside flange, said outside flange being configured to extend along an outside surface of said necked opening, said necked opening outside surface having an outwardly extending flange, and the outside flange of said body being configured so that an end of the outside flange engages the outwardly extending flange of said necked opening outside surface when said dispensing head is in fixed engagement over said necked opening.