GB2072290A

GB2072290A - Beer vessel tapping valve

Info

Publication number: GB2072290A
Application number: GB8107628A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: VSH FABRIEKEN NV
Current assignee: VSH FABRIEKEN NV
Priority date: 1980-03-14
Filing date: 1981-03-11
Publication date: 1981-09-30
Also published as: DE3108679C2; DE3108679A1; FR2478060A1; NL8001520A; GB2072290B; FR2478060B1

Abstract

A vessel tapping valve comprises a casing 1 mounted on a tube 8, in which casing a valve body 3 is mounted for sealing between the casing and the tube on the one hand and the tube and a valve 2 on the other hand, said valve being operable against the pressure of a spring 5, the metal valve body 3 in the closed position lying in engagement with the metal casing 1, and a rubber collar 9 being provided loosely between the metal valve body and the tube 8. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Tap rod with beer valve The invention relates to a tap rod comprising a casing mounted on a tube, in which casing a valve body is provided for the sealing between the casing and the tube on the one hand and a valve on the other hand, said valve being mobile against the pressure of a spring.

Such a tap rod is known from Dutch Patent Application 7712895. For the beer valve, use is made here of a valve which has been coated with an elastic material by vulcanization. Originally these valves were provided with O-rings as a sealing means. As this construction is vulnerable to the O-ring being washed out of the groove, this solution has been abandoned in favour of sealings which are fixed to the valve by vulcanization. This has the drawback that the rubber sealing is exposed continuously to the full pressure of the spring and the pressure of the medium, so that a permanent deformation is caused by creeping.

Furthermore, the rubber sealing is exposed partially to the light, which accelerates the ageing process, whereas the quality of the adhesion rubber-metal is difficult to control, so that leakages occur, because the rubber loosens.

It is the purpose of the present invention to overcome the above drawbacks and to provide a beer valve which guarantees a good sealing and has a simple construction.

To that end, the tap rod according to the invention is characterized in that the metal valve body, in its closed position, lies with its top side against the metal casing and that a rubber collar is provided loosely between the metal valve body and the tube.

The invention offers the advantage that the force of the spring and the pressure of the medium are transferred directly to the metal casing by the metal of the valve, whereas the rubber collar is less loaded mechanically and only has an elastically sealing function. Furthermore, the collar is well screened off from the light by the metal valve and the adhesion rubber-metal is no longer necessary as the collar is enclosed between the valve and the tube wall.

A favourable embodiment of the tap rod according to the invention is characterized in that the conical spiral spring is provided with some windings with an inside diameter which is slightly larger than the diameter of the tap rod, so that a guiding of the tap rod is obtained hereby.

This gives the advantage that no spring holder needs to be used which also serves as a guiding for the valve. Also balls are used as a beer valve in known constructions, which because of their shape need no guiding. The spring is then conical, so that it is guided directly in the casing. The spring holder can then be omitted. The drawback of each known construction is that the balls are usually made of glass and can be damaged easily on the sealing surfaces, so that the sealing is endangered. Furthermore, a construction is known, with which the valve is guided directly into the casing. This has the drawback of a short and therefore poor guiding of the valve and thus a complicated shape of the valve.

The above drawbacks are overcome by the conical spring with some windings of a smaller diameter, whereas also a simpler guiding is obtained. The spring then has a double function: besides providing the closing force, it provides a good guiding by the narrow connection around the valve rod. The invention will be explained hereinafter by means of the drawing, in which as an example an embodiment of the tap casing with beer valve according to the invention is shown.

In the drawing: ~Figure 1 shows, in section, a tap rod according to the invention, ~Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the beer valve with spring according to the invention, partially in section.

In Figure 1 the reference number 1 indicates a metal casing mounted on a tube 8. The valve 2 is mounted on a valve rod 6, which by the pressure of a conical spring 4 with some windings of a smaller diameter 5, in order to guide the valve rod 6, is pressed sealingly against the rubber collar 9 in the closed position of the beer valve. In the closed position the metal valve body 3 lies with its topside against the metal casing 1 , whereas a rubber collar 9 lies loosely between the metal valve body 3 and the tube 8 which is curled at its topside. Because of its shape, this rubber collar 9 is easy to mount around the metal valve body 3.

Figure 2 clearly shows the shape of the collar 9 and the shape of the metal valve body 3 which cooperates therewith. Also the guiding of the valve rod 6 through the windings 5 with smaller diameter of the conicai spring 4 can be seen clearly.

The invention has been described above by means of an example of an embodiment, but i#s not restricted thereto. It will be obvious that numerous modifications are possible, all within the scope of the invention.

1. Tap rod comprising a casing mounted on a tube in which casing a valve body is mounted for the sealing between a casing and tube on the one hand and a valve on the other hand, said valve being mobile against the pressure of a spring, characterized in that the metal valve body (3), in the closed position, lies with its topside against the metal casing (1), and that a rubber collar (9) is mounted loosely between the metal valve body (3) and the tube (8).

2. Tap rod according to claim 1, characterized in that the conical spiral spring (5) is provided with

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. SPECIFICATION Tap rod with beer valve The invention relates to a tap rod comprising a casing mounted on a tube, in which casing a valve body is provided for the sealing between the casing and the tube on the one hand and a valve on the other hand, said valve being mobile against the pressure of a spring. Such a tap rod is known from Dutch Patent Application 7712895. For the beer valve, use is made here of a valve which has been coated with an elastic material by vulcanization. Originally these valves were provided with O-rings as a sealing means. As this construction is vulnerable to the O-ring being washed out of the groove, this solution has been abandoned in favour of sealings which are fixed to the valve by vulcanization. This has the drawback that the rubber sealing is exposed continuously to the full pressure of the spring and the pressure of the medium, so that a permanent deformation is caused by creeping. Furthermore, the rubber sealing is exposed partially to the light, which accelerates the ageing process, whereas the quality of the adhesion rubber-metal is difficult to control, so that leakages occur, because the rubber loosens. It is the purpose of the present invention to overcome the above drawbacks and to provide a beer valve which guarantees a good sealing and has a simple construction. To that end, the tap rod according to the invention is characterized in that the metal valve body, in its closed position, lies with its top side against the metal casing and that a rubber collar is provided loosely between the metal valve body and the tube. The invention offers the advantage that the force of the spring and the pressure of the medium are transferred directly to the metal casing by the metal of the valve, whereas the rubber collar is less loaded mechanically and only has an elastically sealing function. Furthermore, the collar is well screened off from the light by the metal valve and the adhesion rubber-metal is no longer necessary as the collar is enclosed between the valve and the tube wall. A favourable embodiment of the tap rod according to the invention is characterized in that the conical spiral spring is provided with some windings with an inside diameter which is slightly larger than the diameter of the tap rod, so that a guiding of the tap rod is obtained hereby. This gives the advantage that no spring holder needs to be used which also serves as a guiding for the valve. Also balls are used as a beer valve in known constructions, which because of their shape need no guiding. The spring is then conical, so that it is guided directly in the casing. The spring holder can then be omitted. The drawback of each known construction is that the balls are usually made of glass and can be damaged easily on the sealing surfaces, so that the sealing is endangered. Furthermore, a construction is known, with which the valve is guided directly into the casing. This has the drawback of a short and therefore poor guiding of the valve and thus a complicated shape of the valve. The above drawbacks are overcome by the conical spring with some windings of a smaller diameter, whereas also a simpler guiding is obtained. The spring then has a double function: besides providing the closing force, it provides a good guiding by the narrow connection around the valve rod. The invention will be explained hereinafter by means of the drawing, in which as an example an embodiment of the tap casing with beer valve according to the invention is shown. In the drawing: ~Figure 1 shows, in section, a tap rod according to the invention, ~Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the beer valve with spring according to the invention, partially in section. In Figure 1 the reference number 1 indicates a metal casing mounted on a tube 8. The valve 2 is mounted on a valve rod 6, which by the pressure of a conical spring 4 with some windings of a smaller diameter 5, in order to guide the valve rod 6, is pressed sealingly against the rubber collar 9 in the closed position of the beer valve. In the closed position the metal valve body 3 lies with its topside against the metal casing 1 , whereas a rubber collar 9 lies loosely between the metal valve body 3 and the tube 8 which is curled at its topside. Because of its shape, this rubber collar 9 is easy to mount around the metal valve body 3. Figure 2 clearly shows the shape of the collar 9 and the shape of the metal valve body 3 which cooperates therewith. Also the guiding of the valve rod 6 through the windings 5 with smaller diameter of the conicai spring 4 can be seen clearly. The invention has been described above by means of an example of an embodiment, but i#s not restricted thereto. It will be obvious that numerous modifications are possible, all within the scope of the invention. CLAIMS

2. Tap rod according to claim 1, characterized in that the conical spiral spring (5) is provided with some windings with a smaller inside diameter than the diameter of the valve rod, in such a way that a good guiding of the valve rod is obtained thereby.