EP0455650B1 - Tap head for keg fittings - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT No. PCT/EP90/00051 Sec. 371 Date Jul. 11, 1991 Sec. 102(e) Date Jul. 11, 1991 PCT Filed Jan. 10, 1990 PCT Pub. No. WO90/08728 PCT Pub. Date Aug. 9, 1990.A tap head for keg fittings having an actuating lever pivotally mounted on a housing and connected to a slide movable in the housing and detent members positively engaging in one another to lock the actuating lever and with one of the detent members directly biased toward the stop position and in which the detent members are formed of plastic and are made up of an elastically self-biasing tongue cooperating with a detent edge with one of the tongue and detent edge formed integrally on the housing and the other of the tongue and detent edge integrally formed on the actuating lever and with connections for gas and liquid connectable via the slide with corresponding passages in the keg fittings.

Description

The invention relates to a tap head for keg fittings according to the preamble of claim 1.

A tap head of this type is known from DE-OS 23 45 435. Similar dispensing heads are described in GB-OS 21 76 466, DE-GM 77 28 989 and FR-ZP 20 32 090.

An essential component of generic tap heads is the slide moved by the actuating lever, which has to be locked in two different end positions with regard to the function of the tap head. The locking has so far been carried out with the aid of interlocking locking means, one of which, for example in the form of a locking bolt, is loaded in the direction of the locking position by a special spring. The structure of the locking means is therefore relatively complex and therefore prone to failure.

It is an object of the invention to improve a generic dispensing head so that it is easy and inexpensive to manufacture and also works without problems over a long period of time.

The object is achieved by the characterizing features of claim 1.

Dispenser heads made of plastic are known in principle from DE-GM 79 33 172 and DE-OS 33 07 489, but these are dispenser heads of a different type which do not require resilient locking means, so that the problem underlying the invention does not arise there poses.

It is also known to use non-generic dispensing devices (DE-GM 75 22 568, DE-OS 34 29 559, DE-OS 20 34 311 and DE-OS 25 15 498) resilient snap elements, partially made of plastic. Insofar as the snap elements interact with other parts of the device and not only with beverage cans, these are permanent latches which - in contrast to the slide of the generic tap head - do not have to be constantly released.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are the subject of dependent claims 2 to 13. Various features of these dependent claims are known from DE-OS 28 51 453 and DE-OS 37 01 432.

Figur 1

eine Schnittansicht eines Zapfkopfes für eine Keg-Armatur;

Figur 2

eine teilweise geschnittene Draufsicht des Zapfkopfes entlang der Linie 2-2 in Figur 1;

Figur 3

eine Schnittansicht entlang der Linie 3-3 in Figur 2;

Figur 4

eine Teilansicht ähnlich Figur 1 einer anderen Ausführungsform eines Zapfkopfes und

Figur 5 und 6

Teilansichten ähnlich Figur 1 zweier wiederum anderer Ausführungsformen eines Zapfkopfes.

The following description of preferred embodiments of the invention serves in conjunction with the accompanying drawings for further explanation. Show it:

Figure 1

a sectional view of a tap head for a keg fitting;

Figure 2

a partially sectioned plan view of the tap head along the line 2-2 in Figure 1;

Figure 3

a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in Figure 2;

Figure 4

a partial view similar to Figure 1 of another embodiment of a tap head and

Figures 5 and 6

Partial views similar to Figure 1 of two different embodiments of a tap head.

The tap head shown in Figures 1 to 3 for a keg fitting consists essentially of the following parts: a housing 1 with a connecting piece 2 for the introduction of compressed gas, for. B. compressed air or CO₂, and an arranged on the underside of the housing 1, known sliding guide 3 with the help of the housing 1 on the keg fitting of a barrel, for example a beer barrel, can be pushed in a known manner, so that the tap head and Keg valve are firmly connected.

In the housing 1, a more or less hollow cylindrical slide 4 is displaceable in the longitudinal axis of the housing. The slide 4 runs at the top into a connecting piece 5 for the liquid to be drawn off, for example, beer. Inside the slide 4 there is loosely a valve body 6 which cooperates with a valve seat 7 on the slide 4 and forms a check valve for the draft beer. As shown, the valve body 6 has four projecting vanes 8 which guide the body 6 in the circular cylindrical cavity of the slide 4. The valve body 6 is freely movable in the slide 4. It could also be biased by a return spring.

On the housing 1, an actuating lever 11 is pivotally mounted by means of a horizontally continuous bolt 9, which in the region of the housing 1 (see FIG. 2) has a relatively large recess 12 with which it encompasses the upper part of the housing, so that it can be removed from the housing in Figure 1 with solid lines, the upper position can be pivoted into a lower position shown in dash-dotted lines. In the area of the recess 12, two pins 13, 14 protrude inward from the actuating lever 11, which engage in recesses 15 and 16 of a cross arm 17 formed integrally on the slide 4. If the actuating lever is pivoted between its two positions shown in Figure 1, the slide 4 is therefore taken. The upper position is the open position, the lower position the closed position of the tap head. In the open position, the tap head can be removed from the keg fitting or connected to it. In the closed position, the connecting pieces 2, 5 are connected to corresponding passages of the keg fitting for gas or liquid.

On the housing 1, a spring tongue 18 is integrally formed, which projects freely upwards and comprises a locking edge 19 in the upper region. As shown, the upper end of the spring tongue constantly engages in the recess 12 of the actuating lever 11. When the actuating lever is moved from its upper to its lower position, the spring tongue 18 comes under elastic prestress until it is finally with its locking edge 19 over the The upper side of the actuating lever 11 is located, this edge projecting over the edge of the recess 12 (FIG. 2) and the actuating lever 11 thereby being locked in its lower position.

Finally, a housing cover 21 is provided which closes the housing 1 at the top and has an upper opening 22 for the passage of the connecting piece 5 on the slide 4. In the interior of the housing 1, an annular seal 23 is provided on the inside, which seals towards the keg fitting.

FIG. 3 shows the tap head with the actuating lever 11 in its lower position, in which the tap head is connected to the keg fitting in a liquid- and gas-tight manner. In this position, an annular collar 24 with gas passage openings 25, which is formed in one piece in the lower region of the slide 4, engages the inner flank of the annular seal 23 and presses it in the manner shown in FIG. 3 in a sealing manner against an assigned part 26 of the one indicated in FIG. known keg fitting. At the same time, in a manner known per se, the lower opening edge 27 of the slide 4 which is guided downwards has displaced a part 28 of the keg fitting which is shown schematically and in dash-dotted lines in FIG. 3, thereby opening the passage for the liquid. Through the connecting piece 2, compressed gas can enter the space 29 (Figure 3) and from there pass through the passages 25 into the barrel provided by the keg fitting, in the area above the liquid level, from where it the liquid, for. B. beer, via a fixed in the barrel sword in the part 28 connected to the slide 4 and from there on the connecting piece 5 and a hose provided there presses to a tap.

When the operating lever 11 out of its lower, latched Position in the upper position is to be pressed, for example with the thumb on the spring tongue 18, so that the latching edge 19 reaches the region of the recess 12 and the actuating lever 11 can then be pivoted upward unhindered.

The housing 1, the slider 4, the actuating lever 11 and the spring tongue 18 used as a locking means are made of plastic, whereby for the housing 1 and the slider 4 preferably plastics with good relative sliding properties are used, for example polyacetal resins of different hardness, these substances also being a Lubricants, for example Teflon, can contain. Food-compatible plastics are used to draw beer and other beverages.

It is important that the spring tongue 18 serving as a locking means and cooperating with the actuating lever 11 is formed in one piece on the housing. In this way, the production and maintenance of the tap head is simple. The edge 31 cooperating with the spring tongue 18 and its latching edge 19 on the recess 12 of the actuating lever 11, which likewise also forms a latching edge, is of course formed in one piece on this actuating lever.

As can be seen from the drawing, the housing 1 consists of an outer housing part and an inner housing part. The inner housing part serves as a sliding guide for the slide 4. The inner housing part is designed in the lower area of the slide 4 facing the keg fitting as a self-contained guide cylinder 32. From this guide cylinder 32 project two resilient tabs 33, 34 which guide the upper region of the slide 4. The tabs 33, 34 together with the guide cylinder 32 are in turn one-piece components of the housing 1.

As shown in Figure 1, the resilient tabs 31, 34 with bent end portions form an upper stop for the slide 4, so that its travel is limited upwards. As shown, in this position the bent ends of the tabs 33, 34 engage on the cross arm 17 which is integral with the slide 4.

The upper edge 35 of the guide cylinder 32 forms a lower stop for the cross arm 17 on the slide 4, so that the travel path of the slide is limited downwards. As FIG. 3 shows, the cross arm 17 of the slide 4 also strikes an upper edge 30 of the housing 1 in its lower end position.

Sealing rings 36, 37 serve to seal the slide 4 in the guide cylinder 32.

The slide 4, as can also best be seen from FIG. 1, consists of two parts, namely an upper part 38 connected to the actuating lever 11 (hatched from bottom left to top right in FIG. 1) and one onto the keg fitting (cf. the reference numerals 26 and 28 in FIG. 3) pressable lower part 39 (hatched from top left to bottom right in FIG. 1) which slides in the guide cylinder 32. The upper part 38 of the slider 4 is essentially received between the aforementioned resilient tabs 33, 34. As shown, the upper part 38 is screwed to the lower part 39. Before these parts are screwed together, the valve body 6 is inserted into the lower part 39, in which it is held captively after the upper part has been screwed on. The valve body 6 is also made of plastic.

The slide 4 consisting of the two parts 38, 39 is inserted into the housing 1 as follows: the upper part is inserted from above between the resilient tabs 33, 34, the lower part 39 is inserted from below into the guide cylinder 32, after the Valve body 6 introduced into it has been. Then the two parts 38, 39, z. B. screwed together by rotating the lower part 39. The housing cover 21 is then applied to the housing 1 and firmly connected to it. As shown, the lid 21 has on its inside projections 41 which, when the lid is applied, bear firmly against the resilient tabs 33, 34 and hold them together in this way, so that on the one hand the upper part 38 of the slide 4 receives a guide and on the other hand the Path of the slide 4 is limited by the upper, bent end portions on the tabs 33, 34.

Because of the screw connection between the upper part 38 and lower part 39, these parts can easily be detached from one another and replaced if necessary. Instead of a screw connection, the parts 38, 39 could also be interchangeably connected to one another by a bayonet lock or the like.

The aforementioned sealing ring 23 on the underside of the housing 1 is made of elastic material and is deformable after the dispensing head is placed on the keg fitting by the lower collar 24 of the slide 4 (FIG. 3), so that an effective seal can be produced. The elastic sealing ring 23 has an axially extending, annular recess 42, with which it is positively attached to a complementary, also axially extending, annular projection 43 in the interior of the housing 1. It has been found that a particularly good sealing effect can be achieved with the aid of the sealing ring 23 held in this way and the lower part 39 of the slide 4 acting on it.

In the modified embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 4, a spring tongue is not arranged on the housing 1 but on the actuating lever 11. The in Figure 4 with the Spring tongue designated 44 has beyond its connection point with the actuating lever 11 an upwardly projecting, relatively short arm 45. An edge 47 of the spring tongue 44 interacts with a locking edge 46 formed in one piece on the housing 1 when the actuating lever 11 moves from its upper to the lower one Operating position is transferred, and thereby holds the lever 11 in this lower position. By pressing the arm 45, the locking tongue 44 can be pivoted and freed from the locking edge 46, so that the actuating lever can be returned to its upper position. In this case too, the locking means formed by the spring tongue 44 and the associated latching edge 46 are once again formed in one piece on the housing 1 and on the actuating lever 11.

The dispensing head shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is a so-called "flat fitting" because of the slide guide 3 mentioned, with which it is attached to the keg fitting. The tapping heads partially shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 correspond exactly in their upper part to the tapping heads according to FIGS. 1 to 3 or 4. They differ from this only by the type of connection of the tapping head to the keg fitting. FIG. 5 shows a dispensing head with a so-called "combination fitting", which differs from the "flat fitting" according to FIGS. 1 to 3 only in that the lower part 49 of the slide 4 is designed differently in order to work on a different, commercially available type of keg fittings to attack. The tap head shown in FIG. 6 is not connected to the keg fitting with a sliding guide, but rather (in a manner known per se) with a type of bayonet lock ("basket fitting"), the lower part 49 of the slide 4 again corresponding to the lower part 49 Figure 5 is formed. 6 also corresponds exactly to that from FIGS. 1 to 3 or 4.

The subdivision of the slide 4 into the two detachably connected parts 38 and 39 has the advantage that different lower parts 39 can be attached to a single upper part 38, depending on whether it is a basket, flat or combination fitting.

Claims (13)

1. A tap head for keg fittings comprising a housing (1), a slider (4) movable in the housing, an operating lever (11) connected to the slider and pivotably mounted on the housing, releasable securing means (18, 31, 44, 46) for the operating lever which are formed as positively interlocking detent elements, one of which is directly spring-loaded in the direction of the locked position, and connections (2, 5) for gas and liquid which can be connected to corresponding openings in the keg fittings by means of the slider, characterised in that the housing (1), the slider (4), the operating lever (11) and the securing means (18, 31; 44, 46) are of plastics material, in that the securing means comprise a spring tongue (18, 44) which can be reciliently pretensioned and co-operates with a detent edge (31, 46), and in that the a spring tongue (18, 44) and the detent edge (31, 46) are formed in one piece with the housing (1) and the operating lever (11).
2. A tap head according to claim 1, characterised in that the spring tongue (18) is formed on the housing (1) and the detent edge (31) on the operating lever (11).
3. A tap head according to claim 1, characterised in that the spring tongue (44) is formed on the operating lever (11) and the detent edge (46) on the housing (1).
4. A tap head according to claim 1, characterised in that a non-return valve element (6) of plastics material is undetachably arranged in the slider (4).
5. A tap head according to claim 1, characterised in that the slider (4) comprises two parts, namely an upper part (38) connected to the operating lever (11) and a lower part (39) which can be pressed onto the keg fitting.
6. A tap fitting according to claim 5, characterised in that the upper port (38) and lower part (39) are replaceably connected to each other.
7. A tap fitting according to claim 1, characterised in that the housing (1) has a guide cylinder (32) for the lower region of the slider (4) facing the keg fitting, and resilient strips (33, 34) project upwards from the said guide cylinder (32) and guide the upper region of the slider (4).
8. A tap head according to claim 7, characterised in that the strips (34) form an upper stop for the slider (4) and are fixed by a cover (21) connected to the housing (1).
9. A tap head according to claim 7, characterised in that the upper edge (35) of the guide cylinder (32) forms a lower stop for the slider (4).
10. A tap head according to claim 1, characterised in that a flexible sealing ring (23) which co-operates with the keg fitting and can be deformed by the axially movable slider (4) is arranged in the housing (1), and the sealing ring (23) is positively connected to the housing (1) by means of axially extending complementary recesses (42) and projections (43).
11. A tap head according to claim 1, characterised in that the slider (4) and housing (1) are of plastics material having good relative sliding properties, in particular polyacetal resins of various hardnesses.
12. A tap head according to claim 4, characterised in that the non-return valve element (6) is spring-loaded.
13. A tap head according to claim 1, characterised in that an upper edge (30) of the housing (1) forms a lower stop for the slider (4).

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