FR2597462A1 - Cask for the pressurised packaging of still liquids and method for packaging such liquids in the cask - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a cask for the pressurised packaging of still liquids, such as still beverages, particularly wine, milk, fruit juice, still mineral waters or the like, as well as to a method for packaging such liquids in the cask. According to the invention, the packaging cask comprises: - a food-grade leaktight chamber 2 suitable for being filled with a volume V1 of the said liquid 4 which is less than the volume Ve of the said chamber, the remainder of the volume Vg of the chamber being filled by a pressurised gas 5 which is virtually inert with respect to the said liquid 4, - food-grade controlled tapping means, enabling the said liquid 4 to be drawn off under pressure, regardless of the level 6 of the liquid in the cask 1. The invention will apply most particularly to the field of the handling of liquids for filling casks or similar containers with a view to the pressurised packaging of the said liquid in order to dispense it under pressure.

Description

 The invention relates to a barrel for packaging non-gaseous liquids under pressure, such as non-carbonated drinks, in particular wine, milk, fruit juice, non-carbonated mineral waters or the like, as well as to a method for packaging such liquids in the barrel.

 The invention will particularly find its application in the field of handling liquids and more specifically for filling with liquids drums or similar containers in order to condition the liquid under pressure in order to deliver said liquid under pressure, in particular during consumption. It will find its use in drinking places or even in the home.

 Devices for drawing gaseous or non-gaseous liquids, such as beer, lemonade or wine, which use to expel the drink from the container in which it is contained, have been known for a long time. pressure which, introduced into the container and applied to the surface of the liquid, makes it possible to deliver the drink "on pressure".

 Generally, these installations include sealed drums capable of withstanding the pressure containing the desired liquid as well as at least one metal bottle containing the expelling gas, comprising a tensioning device, and successively connected to the containers to be emptied by various pipes. controlled and terminated by a valve device.

 As and when drawn, inside the container, the gas compensates for the evacuated liquid, which avoids the introduction of air inside the container to avoid oxidation and keep the taste qualities drink.

 Generally, in the case of carbonated drinks such as beer, carbon dioxide is used, on the other hand in the case of non-carbonated drinks, nitrogen is used which, unlike carbon dioxide, hardly dissolves in these drinks and is not likely to distort them.

 However, these devices for drawing drinks under pressure are cumbersome to implement and such installations present a significant investment, which limits their use to professionals of drinking establishments and moreover, generally when the clientele allows a large drawing.

 In addition, these installations require specific manipulations for drilling, changing the gas cylinder, precise adjustments, important maintenance and cleaning which discourage and limit their use.

 The object of the present invention is to present a container for packaging liquids under pressure, such as non-carbonated drinks, capable of withstanding the pressure in order to contain and deliver said liquid under pressure, which makes it possible to overcome the various drawbacks of drawing installations, in particular by eliminating the use of auxiliary bottles of pressurized gas, by reducing restrictive handling and by minimizing the cost and size of the drawing devices.

 Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for packaging liquids, such as non-carbonated drinks, in a sealed packaging barrel according to the invention, which in fact makes a device of reduced size and autonomous, which overcomes the various aforementioned drawbacks.

 Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent during the description which follows, which is however only given for information and which is not intended to limit it.

According to the invention, the barrel for packaging pressurized liquids, such as non-carbonated drinks, in particular wine, milk, fruit juice, mineral water or the like, capable of withstanding the pressure in order to contain and deliver said liquid under pressure is characterized by the fact that it comprises
a sealed food-grade enclosure, capable of being filled with a volume V1 of said liquid less than the volume Ve of said enclosure, the rest of the volume Vg of the enclosure being supplemented by a gas under pressure, practically inert with respect to screw of said liquid,
- Controlled drawing means, of food quality, making it possible to withdraw said liquid under pressure, whatever the level of the liquid in the barrel.

According to the method for packaging liquids in a sealed packaging barrel provided according to the invention,
- a sealed inlet orifice fitted with a dip tube which extends partly inside said enclosure and has a so-called internal end and which opens outwardly by presenting a so-called external end is provided on a barrel wall
the liquid is introduced through the inlet orifice, simultaneously evacuating the corresponding air contained, the volume of the liquid introduced being less than the volume of said enclosure,
the remaining volume of the enclosure is completed by the introduction of an inert gas with respect to the liquid, under pressure,
the liquid, and the gas under pressure is maintained above the liquid, in the barrel by immersing the internal end of the dip tube in said liquid and by sealing the external end of the tube.

 The invention will be better understood on reading the following description accompanied by the attached drawing which forms an integral part thereof.

 FIG. 1 represents a schematic sectional view of an embodiment of the barrel for packaging pressurized liquids according to the present invention.

 The invention relates to a barrel for packaging liquids, such as non-carbonated drinks and in particular wine, milk, fruit juices, mineral waters, or the like, which is capable of withstanding the pressure in view, on the one hand, to contain said liquid under pressure and on the other hand, to debit it by authorizing a draft under pressure.

For this, the packaging barrel must meet the essential and necessary conditions to obtain a good conservation and a good draft of the drink, in particular it is necessary
- provide for the tightness of the barrel to avoid any penetration of air, and to keep the liquid under pressure during its flow,
- provide a supply of pressurized neutral gas inside the barrel, to ensure the draft of the drink while preventing oxidation,
- provide for a control of the beverage flow rate to prevent it from gushing under pressure during drawing,
- provide food-grade materials due to its use and not to alter the taste.

 In addition, the present invention relates to a method for packaging liquids, such as non-carbonated drinks, which uses a packaging barrel according to the invention and which authorizes its use by professional drinking establishments or by a private individual, by putting in place operates a device for drawing autonomous drinks and reduced dimensions.

 As shown in Figure 1, the packaging barrel (1) essentially consists of a sealed enclosure (2) and controlled drawing means (3).

 The sealed enclosure (2) consists of any container capable of withstanding the pressure in order to contain in particular non-carbonated drinks such as wine, milk, fruit juice, mineral water or the like. For this, it should be noted that this enclosure must be of so-called food quality and will, for example, be made of stainless steel.

 In particular, according to the present invention, the sealed enclosure (2) will be able to be filled with a volume V1 of liquid (4) less than the volume Ve of said enclosure (2).

The rest of the enclosure (2) will be completed by a volume Vg of gas (5) under pressure, practically inert with respect to said liquid (4).

As regards the controlled drawing means (3), they will also be of food quality and will make it possible to withdraw said liquid (4) under pressure whatever the
level (6) of the liquid (4) in the barrel (1).

More specifically, said sealed enclosure (2) having an upper (7) and lower (8) wall, the barrel comprises
- a sealed inlet (9) fitted with a dip tube
(10), food grade, which extends in part to
the interior of said enclosure (2) and has one end
(11) called internal and an end (12) called external opening
outside the enclosure,
- a draft pipe (13), connected at the level of
the outer end (12) of the dip tube (10) and having at
at least one flow valve (14) capable of regulating the flow of the
liquid withdrawn.

In one embodiment of the invention, the
flow valve (14) is of the "brake valve" type and
allows, by simple adjustments, to regulate the flow to
as the pressure changes inside said barrel.

In addition, the draw pipe (13) will have a
stop valve (15) which will allow in particular and
advantageously the connection between the draw pipe and the
dip tube (10), which will isolate and seal
this one.

All these different accessories will also be
food grade and made from stainless steel,
for example.

Finally, to authorize an operation of the keg
advantageous without requiring operations during the draw, the
construction of the barrel will be such that when it rests on the
ground, the dip tube (10) has its inner end (11) placed at
near the bottom wall (8), as close as possible to the latter to empty the barrel as much as possible while allowing correct circulation during the withdrawal of the liquid. Therefore, the outer end (12) of the tube (10) will open above the upper wall of the barrel (1).

The packaging barrel (1) which has just been described allows in particular the implementation of the method for packaging liquids according to the present invention. Indeed, after having provided on a wall (7) of the barrel (1) a sealed inlet orifice (9) equipped with a dip tube (10) which extends partly inside said enclosure (2 ) and which emerges externally, the following steps are carried out
- the liquid (4) is introduced through the inlet orifice (9) while simultaneously evacuating the corresponding air contained by means of a pump, for example, the volume of the liquid V1 introduced being less than the volume of milk pregnant
Ve,
the remaining volume Vg of the enclosure (2) is supplemented by the introduction of a gas (16), inert with respect to the liquid (4) under pressure,
- the liquid (4) and the gas (16) are kept under pressure above the liquid (4), in the barrel (1), by immersing the internal end (11) of the dip tube (10) in said liquid (4) and by closing the outer end (12) of the tube (10).

 Thus, at the end of the filling phases of the barrel (1), the oxygen remains inside the barrel in negligible quantity, the proportion of oxygen being substantially reduced to less than 6% of the mass of the enclosed gas.

 However, it could be envisaged to make the gas contained under pressure completely inert with respect to the liquid, in this case there will be carried out before the introduction of the liquid, the vacuum inside said enclosure (2) and we will introduce then the liquid (4) under vacuum.

 According to an advantageous process of the present invention, nitrogen will be used as the inert gas which has the advantage of not being soluble in non-carbonated drinks such as those mentioned above. In addition, this gas will be used at a pressure between 1.1 and 3.5 kp / cm2.

 Regarding the capacity of the barrels, it can be quite arbitrary and according to commercial requirements, we will make barrels of ten, fifteen, thirty or fifty liters.

 According to an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, said enclosures (2) will be filled with a volume of liquid V1 of between half and four fifths of the volume of the enclosure Ve. More specifically, good results have been noted by filling the barrel with two thirds of liquid and one third of nitrogen under a pressure close to 2.2 kptem2.

 It should be noted that the filling of the barrel, as regards both the liquid and the gas, is done according to traditional methods known to those skilled in the art; however, good results have been noted by injecting nitrogen into the enclosure by installing an adequate plunger head on the outer end of the plunger tube (10). Furthermore, during the racking, after having opened the stop valve (15) and the flow valve (14), the gas pressure, shown diagrammatically in the figure by the arrows (16) applying to the surface (6 ) of the liquid (4), raises the latter in the dip tube (10) then in the tube (13) to finally evacuate by the flow valve.

 Due to the process of the present invention, the gas pressure will be maximum when the barrel is full and the liquid will tend to spurt at the start of draw. To overcome this, the adjustment of the brake flow valve (14) will allow acceptable flow.

 Conversely, as the level of the liquid will drop, the pressure of the gas volume Vg will drop and it will then be necessary to release the control of the flow rate of the tap (14), the pressure and the volume of gas being determined beforehand for be able to completely empty the liquid (4) contained in the barrel (1) by pressing.

 Naturally, other implementations of the present invention, within the reach of those skilled in the art, could have been envisaged without departing from the scope thereof. For example, one could consider providing a refrigeration system or thermostatic heating to maintain the drink at the desired temperature or other systems and arrangements facilitating handling and use by the user.

Claims (9)

 1. Packaging barrel (1) for pressurized liquids, such as non-carbonated drinks, in particular wine, milk, fruit juice, mineral water or the like, capable of withstanding the pressure in order to contain and deliver said liquid to pressure, characterized by the fact that it includes  - A sealed enclosure (2), of food grade, capable of being filled with a volume V1 of said liquid (4) less than the volume Ve of said enclosure, the rest of the volume Vg of the enclosure being supplemented by a gas (5 ), under pressure, practically inert with respect to said liquid (4),  - Controlled drawing means, of food quality, making it possible to withdraw said liquid (4) under pressure whatever the level (6) of the liquid in the barrel (1).  2. Liquid packaging drum, according to claim 1, said sealed enclosure (2) having an upper wall (7) and a lower wall (8), c a r a c t é r i s é by the fact that it comprises in combination  - an inlet orifice (9), sealed, equipped with a dip tube (10), of food grade, said tube (10) extending partly inside said enclosure (2) and having one end internal (11) placed close to the lower wall (8), as well as an external end (12) opening above the upper wall (7) of the enclosure (2),  - a draft pipe (13) connected at the level of the external end (12) of the dip tube (10) and having at least one flow valve (14) capable of regulating the flow of the withdrawn liquid.  3. Liquid packaging barrel according to claim 2, c a r a c t é r i sé in that the draw pipe (13) further comprises a stop valve (15).  4. Liquid packaging barrel according to claim 2, characterized in that the flow valve (14) is of the "brake valve" type allowing, by simple adjustments, to regulate the flow as the pressure changes inside said enclosure (2).  5. Liquid packaging barrel according to claim 1, c a r a c t e r i sed in that it is made from stainless steel.  6. A method of packaging liquids, such as non-carbonated drinks and in particular wine, milk, fruit juice, mineral water or the like, in a sealed packaging barrel according to claim 1, with a view to delivering said liquid under pressure, charmed by the fact that  - There is provided on a wall (7) of the barrel (1) a sealed inlet orifice (9) equipped with a dip tube (10) which extends partly inside said enclosure (2), which has an internal end (11), and which opens outwardly having a so-called external end (12),  - the liquid (4) is introduced through the inlet orifice (9) while discharging. simultaneously the corresponding air contained, the volume of the liquid V1 introduced into the enclosure (2) being less than the volume Ve of said enclosure,  the remaining volume Vg of 11 enclosure (2) is supplemented by the introduction of a gas (16), inert with respect to the liquid (4), under pressure,  - the liquid (4) and the gas (16) are kept under pressure above the liquid (4), in the barrel (1) by immersing the internal end (11) of the dip tube (10) in said liquid ( 4) and by closing the outer end (12) of the tube.  7. A method of packaging liquids according to claim 6, c a r a c t e r i ed by the fact that one uses a container inert with respect to its content and food grade.  8. A method of packaging liquids according to claim 6, c a r a c t é r i sé in that one uses as inert gas (16) nitrogen at a pressure between 1.1 and 3.5 kp / cm2.  9. A method of packaging liquids according to claim 6, characterized in that the enclosure (2) is filled with a volume V1 of said liquid (4) between half and four fifths of the volume Ve of the enclosure (2).