Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
  • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • B67D1/00—Apparatus or devices for dispensing beverages on draught
  • B67D1/04—Apparatus utilising compressed air or other gas acting directly or indirectly on beverages in storage containers
  • B67D1/0412—Apparatus utilising compressed air or other gas acting directly or indirectly on beverages in storage containers the whole dispensing unit being fixed to the container

Definitions

• This invention relates to a liquid dispenser and, in particular, to a dispenser which is versatile, for the storage and dispensing of liquids from rigid containers.
• a plastic laminated bag having an outlet tap associated therewith is filled with the liquid and sealed and this bag is protected by an outer container, normally of cardboard but, on occasions, of tinplate.
• the laminated bag can be of relatively exotic material and can contain three or more laminations and, further, they are not particularly satisfactory when the product has to travel great distances as friction between portions of the bag can cause deterioration in the effectiveness of the bag and, further, should one bag on a pallet of containers rupture, then it may be necessary to destroy the whole of the pallet load as the liquid will permeate through the load and can damage the outer containers.
• the invention provides a liquid dispenser having a body adapted or connection to a container, a liquid inlet to and outlet rom the body, valve means which can selectively close the connection between the inlet and the outlet and means operable in association with the valve means to cause the introduction of gas under pressure into the container whereby liquid is caused to move from the container to the inlet, to the body and to the outlet for delivery.
• valve means comprises a valve member adapted to co-operate with a valve seat located between the inlet and the outlet passages and there be actuator means whereby the valve can be physically displaced from its seat.
• valve has means extending therefrom, which means cause the release of gas into the container to thereby pressurise the container and cause the movement of the liquid.
• the pressurisation of the container is preferably by a bulb or the like which contains a gas inert to the product to be distributed, which bulb has a valve which is actuated by the actuation of the valve which permits liquid flow.
• Fig. 1 is an exploded view of one form of liquid dispenser made in accordance with the invention
• Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a second form of dispenser
• Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a bulb containing a valve
• Fig. is an enlarged view of a particular form of valve for use with a bulb.
• the dispenser has a body 10, the external surface 11 of which is formed to co-operate with the top of a container.
• This surface 11 may be provided with external screw threads or, and preferably, it can be provided to be a frictional fit within a formed aperture in the top of the container.
• the body 10 includes a liquid outlet 12 and a liquid inlet 13, which are connected by a passageway.
• a flexible tube 1 Connected to the liquid inlet 13 there may be a flexible tube 1 which, if required, may have a weight at its end 15 so that the tube will normally adopt a position at the lowest position in the container.
• valve member 20 which has an upper conical portion 21 which serves as a valve, as will be described later, and the upper end 22 of which is contacted by an actuator to cause operation of the dispenser.
• the valve has a flange 23 which provides it with resilience and an extension 24 which acts as an actuator for a valve in a gas cylinder.
• a canister 30 which is adapted to receive a gas bulb 31 which is provided with the valve 32 at its upper end, which valve can be actuated by the member 24 of the valve 20.
• an actuating member 40 is located in the top of the body and this member is adapted, on downward pressure, to act on the top 22 of the valve 20 and cause operation of the dispenser.
• a safety cap 41 which prevents inadvertent actuation of the dispenser is normally located over the actuating member 40.
• Fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of a slightly modified form of dispenser in which the actuation is by means of a pivotted actuator 45, which is connected at 46 to the body, and which acts on the upper end 22 of the valve 20 in a manner similar to the actuator 40 of Fig. 1.
• a safety cap 47 can normally be located over the actuator 45.
• valve seat 25 which is formed in a passage connecting the inlet 13 to the outlet 12 and, when the valve is in the position shown in the Figure, this passage is closed.
• the flange 23 of the valve is located between the upper end of the canister 30 and the body and this locates the valve 20 in its normally closed position.
• the member 24 extends downwardly into the canister 30 and is located in the upper end 33 of the bulb 31 so as to be able to actuate the valve 32 in the bulb.
• the bulb 31 can be formed by known bulb making techniques but, instead of having a rupturable membrane at its outer end, we provide a valve assembly 32.
• This assembly comprises a slug 50 which may be of nylon and may be formed to be closely received within the neck 33 of the bulb and may be provided with a flange 51 which is adapted to extend over the top of the neck or which may be received on a seat within the neck and the top of the neck may be peened over this to retain it in position.
• a slug 50 which may be of nylon and may be formed to be closely received within the neck 33 of the bulb and may be provided with a flange 51 which is adapted to extend over the top of the neck or which may be received on a seat within the neck and the top of the neck may be peened over this to retain it in position.
• a seal is achieved by the use of an O-ring 52, should this be required.
• the slug 50 has a central bore 53 therethrough and, at its inner end, is provided with an annular seat 54 which comprises the valve seat, as will be described.
• An actuator 55 is located within the bore ' 53 and this actuator has a washer 56 thereabouts, which washer can engage with the annular seat 54 to seal the valve.
• the actuator 55 At its lower end the actuator 55 has a compression block or spring 57 which acts against an end closure cap 58 to normally keep the valve closed.
• the end cap 58 is provided with at least one aperture 59 whereby gas from the bulb can enter the valve.
• this valve will be normally closed, because of the pressure provided by the compression block or spring 57 but, if the actuator 55 is pressed downwardly, as by pressure from the member 24 of the valve 20, then the seat washer 56 will move away from the annular seat 54 and gas will flow between the bore 53 and the actuator 55 into the container.
• the pick-up tube 14 When the container is at rest, the pick-up tube 14 will be in the liquid in the container and, when the actuator 40 or 45 is operated, the valve 20 is caused to move downwardly against the resilience of the flange 23 and this opens the passage between the inlet 13 and the outlet 12 and, at the same time, causes operation of the actuator 55 which permits gas from the bulb to enter the container, thus pressurising the container and forcing liquid to be dispensed from the container.
• the container will be left substantially unpressurised but with the head space filled with the gas from the bulb.
• This gas may, for example, be carbon dioxide or it may be some other gas which is inert to the liquid in the container.
• the liquid is maintained in the container, it is only pressurised when it is actually required to deliver liquid and the degree of pressurisation can readily be adjusted by controlling the filling of the bulb 31 to control the rate of flow from the container.
• the delivery is from the top of the container, rather than adjacent the base, as is normally the case, and, because of the arrangement of the pick-up tube 14 and its associated weight 15, it is possible to dispense effectively the whole of the contents of the container.
• the dispenser of the invention is versatile.
• the pressure may need to be somewhat higher than in the first case, although we have found that undesirably high pressures are not required.
• carrier material which is normally an organic material
• dispensed and sprayed on to the recipient of the aerosol spray which may, of course, be a person's face or body, and, further, there are no complex organic compounds, particularly fluorocarbons passed to the atmosphere.
• the dispenser would need to operate at higher pressures and the gas in the bulb would need to be carbon dioxide.
• the amount of gas concerned would be sufficient to saturate the liquid in the container but without increasing the pressure in the container unduly.
• dispenser body would have to be removeably connectable to an aperture in the container and the canister would need to be able to be removed from and replaced on the body so that the bulb can be replaced.
• the dispenser would be removed from the container, the container filled with liquid, the canister removed and a new bulb inserted, the canister replaced and the dispenser relocated on the container.
• valve arrangements used could readily be varied, as could the actuators, and we could also readily change the type of valve used in the gas bulb to meet various operating requirements and/or to be satisfactory for manufacture.

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• Containers And Packaging Bodies Having A Special Means To Remove Contents (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

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ID=3771804

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

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Citations (3)

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• 1987
  • 1987-09-09 WO PCT/AU1987/000308 patent/WO1988001981A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
  • 1987-09-09 EP EP19870906052 patent/EP0281607A4/de not_active Withdrawn

Patent Citations (3)

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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