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
  • B67D1/08—Details
  • B67D1/0829—Keg connection means
  • B67D1/0831—Keg connection means combined with valves
  • B67D1/0832—Keg connection means combined with valves with two valves disposed concentrically

Definitions

• This invention relates to a valve fitting for a keg, of the kind generally used to store beer or other liquids under pressure.
• the valve fitting is of the kind referred to within the trade as a flat top spear.
• Spears comprise a body secured to the top of the beer keg, either permanently by means such as welding or removably by means such as a screw thread or a circlip.
• Located within an opening in the body are other components of the valve fitting the top surfaces of which may be flush with the top of the body to provide what is known a "flat top” spear or recessed into the body to provide what is known as a "well type” spear.
• the present invention relates to a flat top spear.
• the other components of flat top spears include a tube which is located in the centre of the opening in the body and which extends to a point close to the bottom of the keg.
• a valve which comprises a main seal element, often with a metal washer to provide stiffening, and a spring which acts between a lower portion of the body and a washer supporting the underside of the main seal element to bias the main seal element into position in the opening in the body to provide a seal between the body and the top of the tube.
• the top of the tube is sealed and there are apertures in the tube close to the upper end of the tube and the main seal element is operable to open and close both the body aperture and the tube apertures, as will be described below.
• the tube does not move as part of the valve operation.
• the main seal element In normal use, to extract liquid from the keg, the main seal element is pushed into the body against the bias of the spring. This opens the body aperture which allows pressurised gas into the keg and forces liquid up the tube and out through the tube apertures and thus out of the keg. To fill the keg, which is undertaken with the keg upside down, the liquid is forced into the keg though the body aperture and the gas escaping from the keg exits through the tube apertures.
• the main seal element which is formed of a resilient material such as rubber, is moved repeated up and down the upper portion of the tube as the keg is emptied and then refilled time and again.
• FIG. 1 illustrates a valve fitting according to the invention in (a) exploded partial section view, (b) assembled partial section and with the valve apertures opened, and (c) assembled partial section and with the valve apertures closed;
• Figure 2 illustrates some components of the valve fitting of Figure 1 in more detail, and
• Figure 3 illustrates components required to implement the invention as a retro-fit to an existing conventional valve fitting.
• a valve fitting, or spear, 1 is of the "flat top” kind and includes a body 7 secured (in this case by welding) to the upper surface 8 of a keg.
• the body 7 has an aperture 7a in which are received the other components of the valve fitting 1, and a lower portion 7b.
• the other components of the valve fitting 1 include a tube 12 with an upper portion 12a sealed at the top 12b and which has six apertures 12c spaced around the circumference and close to the top 12b.
• the external diameter of the top 12b of the tube is T
• external diameter of the majority of the tube 12 is S, which is smaller than T.
• the main seal element 2 is formed of a resilient material such as rubber, but may be made of any suitable material.
• a step 2a which provides a seal surface which when the valve is closed, as in Figure 1(c), seals against the edge of the body aperture 7a.
• the main seal member 2 also has an aperture 2b in the centre for receipt of the tube 12 and a portion 2c which extends downwardly around that aperture from its lower surface.
• the safety washer 3 has an external diameter P greater than the internal diameter of the body aperture 7a which prevents most of the components of the valve fitting 1 from being forced out under pressure when the keg is filled with liquid should the main seal member fail.
• a flat 3a is provided on the washer 3 to enable the components of the valve fitting 1 to be assembled through the body aperture 7a with the help of a special tool (not shown) but as described in the applicant's European Patent EP 1 003 687 B.
• the safety washer 3 also provides stiffening for the main seal element 2 underneath which it is located such that the portion 2c depends downwardly through its aperture 3b.
• the guide member 4 is the component of the valve fitting 1 which is new in the present invention, the other components being present in prior art valve fittings in substantially the same form.
• the guide member 4 is formed of a material which is stable in size when wet and dry and over a wide range of temperatures, for example glass fibre filled plastic. Preferably the guide member 4 is not made of the same material as the other components against which it moves, as this often means there is a tendency to bind.
• the guide member 4 includes a generally cylindrical portion 4e with in internal diameter of Y and an external diameter of R. The internal diameter Y is larger than the external diameter T of the top of the tube, to enable the guide member 4 to be assembled onto the tube 12.
• the guide member 4 Around its upper end the guide member 4 has an internal step 4a for receipt of the portion 2c of the main seal element 2 as a tight push fit such that the main seal element 2 is retained with the portion 2c in step 4a.
• the upper end of the guide member 4 also has a radially outwardly extending portion 4b, which extends outwardly under the main seal member 2 and thereby provides support. There is a step 4c on the upper surface of the portion 4b for receipt of the safety washer 3.
• the tube locator member 6 has a cylindrical portion 6b, with an external diameter of X, with an outwardly extending flange 6a at it's lower end.
• the tube locator member 6 is secured to the tube 12 at a fixed location and has formations around the flange 6a which co-operate with formations on the lower part 7b of the body 7 to locate the tube 12 relative to the body 7 such that it is held securely in place.
• the external diameter X of the cylindrical portion 6b of the tube locator member 6 is a good sliding fit within the internal diameter Y of the guide member 4.
• the main purpose of the cylindrical portion 6b of the tube locator member 6 is to increase the diameter of the relevant portion of the tube 12 such that the guide member 4 fits over the top 12b of the tube 12 but is a close sliding fit on the part of the valve fitting on which it moves up and down in use.
• the spring 5 surrounds the cylindrical portion 6b of the tube locator member 6 and the guide member 4 beneath the lip 4b, thus the external diameter R of the guide member 4 fits within the coils of the spring 5.
• the sides of the spring 5 are kept parallel to the sides of the cylindrical portion 6b of the tube locator member 6 and the tube 12, and to achieve this the external diameter R of the guide member is slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the spring 5.
• the purpose of the guide member 4 is to hold the main seal element 2 square and central relative to the tube 12 as it is moved up and down to close and open the valve apertures 7a and 12c. That is the guide member 4 prevents the main seal element 2 from tipping and being biased towards one side of the tube 12 by the force of the spring 5.
• the guide member 4 performs this function better the longer it is, and thus it is made as long as possible consistent with permitting the required degree of opening of the valve apertures 7a and 12c.
• the bottom of the guide member 4 is close to or in contact with the flange 6a around the bottom of the tube locator member 6.
• the guide member 4 performs its function best when it cannot tip off line with the tubel2. It is in most danger of doing this just as the valve is beginning to open and the degree of overlap between the guide member 4 and the cylindrical portion 6b of the tube locator member 6 on which it is sliding is at it's minimum.
• the cylindrical portion 6b of the tube locator member 6 must also be of the maximum length possible consistent with permitting the required degree of opening of the valve apertures 7a and 12c.
• Other methods may be used to provide an appropriate effective diameter of the tube 12 at its end (within the body), in place of the cylindrical portion 6b of the tube location member 6.
• metallic bushes may be welded to the tube 12, the tube 12 may have a bulge over the relevant length or the top portion of the tube may be cast in the desired shape and the rest of the tube welded to it. Because there are already many kegs with flat top spears fitted in use with the breweries, and to replace them all would be a very costly exercise, it may also be appropriate to implement the invention as a retro-fit to existing flat top spears.
• the guide member 9 is largely of the same form as the guide member 4, it is generally cylindrical in shape with in internal diameter of Yl (different from the internal diameter Y of the guide member 4, as will be explained below) and an external diameter of R.
• the internal diameter Yl is larger than the external diameter T of the top of the tube, to enable the guide member 9 to be assembled onto the tube 12.
• the guide member 9 Around its upper end the guide member 9 has an internal step 9a for receipt of the portion 2c of the main seal element 2 as a tight push fit such that the main seal element 2 is retained with the portion 2c in step 9c.
• the upper end of the guide member 9 also has a radially outwardly extending portion 9b (but there is no step on its upper surface for receipt of a safety washer as there is no need for such a washer, as discussed above), and a plurality of apertures 9d spaced apart around the circumference beneath the lip 9b.
• the outwardly extending portion 9b has a diameter greater than the body aperture 7a and thus also acts a safety device preventing blow out of the spear components.
• the guide member 9 has one additional feature compared with the guide member 4, in that it has a small inwardly projecting lip 9e, the reason for which will become clear below.
• a detachable bush 10 or 11 is required to achieve this.
• the detachable bush must be a tight fit on the tube 12, but must be able to pass over the top 12b of the tube where the diameter T is greater than the diameter of the tube elsewhere.
• the detachable bushes 10 and 11 are able to expand to pass over the top 12b of the tube 12.
• Detachable bush 10 has a plurality of slits cut into it, some 10a being from the bottom, and others 10b being from the top, but none of the slits 10a, 10b are for the whole length of the bush 10.
• the bush 10 is formed of a material which is resiliently deformable, this configuration permits the bush to expand in diameter to pass over the top 12b of the tube 12, and then to clamp tightly onto the tube 12.
• Detachable bush 11 has a single slit 11a of width N which passes along its entire length.
• the bush 11 is formed of a material which is resiliently deformable, this configuration permits the bush to expand in diameter to pass over the top 12b of the tube 12, and then to clamp tightly onto the tube 12.
• detachable bushes can also be designed which would fall inside the scope of this invention.
• the detachable bushes 10 and 11 can be made from a glass fibre filled plastic, as described for the guide member 4.
• the guide member 9 must be made of a different material as it is not desirable to have the guide member 9 running up and down in use on a bush 10 or 11 of the same material, as this tends to lead to binding.
• the guide member 9 may conveniently be made of stainless steel.
• the external diameter Z of the detachable bushes 10 and 11 is chosen to be greater then the internal diameter Y of the guide member 4.
• the lip 9e on the guide member 9 is provided such that, if the detachable bush 10 or 11 should move up the tube 12 towards the top 12b, then the lip 9e will tend to push it back to its correct location when the valve is opened.

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• Safety Valves (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

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ID=28686760

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (3)

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Family Cites Families (4)

• 2003
  • 2003-09-01 GB GB0320515A patent/GB0320515D0/en not_active Ceased
• 2004
  • 2004-08-26 WO PCT/GB2004/003675 patent/WO2005021418A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 2004-08-26 EP EP04768230A patent/EP1680352A1/de not_active Withdrawn

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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