GB2130177A - Device for use in dispensing and other carbonated beverages - Google Patents

Abstract

A dispense spout for apparatus for dispensing beer or other carbonated beverages has a sparkler (6) which can be removed for cleaning. To prevent the spout being used without the sparkler there is a closure valve in the form of a ball (10) which engages a seat (5) and thus closes the spout when the sparkler is removed. The sparkler includes a conical portion (8) which, when it is replaced on the spout, lifts the ball from its seat and thus re-opens the valve. The sparkler screws onto the lower end of the spout and can be adjusted by rotation to vary the gap between the cone and the valve seat in a known manner. The ball is sufficiently soft to prevent its being noisy in use and is retained in the spout by a bush (11) held frictionally in the tapered bore of the spout. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Device for use in dispensing beer and other carbonated beverages This invention relates to a device for use in dispensing beer and other carbonated beverages.

In dispensing beer and other carbonated beverages it is common practice for the beverage to be discharged through a downwardly directed spout into a glass or other container. The disturbance of the beverage resulting from its discharge into the container usually gives rise to the formation of bubbles in the beverage or to an increase in the size and number of the bubbles therein. This results in the beverage having an attractive, sparkling appearance and may give rise to the formation of a head, or layer of froth, on top of the beverage, particularly when the beverage is beer. Nevertheless the bubble formation or increase in bubble formation is relatively uncontrolled and can vary with the way in which the beverage is dispensed into the glass or other container.In order to ensure adequate bubble formation or an adequate increase in bubble formation use is often made of a sparkler, that is a device affording one or more constrictions through which the beverage is constrained to pass as it is being dispensed.

One known form of sparkler comprises a cap mounted on the lower, outlet end of the spout.

The cap has a circular end plate. A central part of that end plate constitutes the base of an upstanding cone which is formed integrally with the plate and projects upwards into a lower end portion of the spout. Arcuate slots are formed in the end plate around the base of the cone. An upstanding cylindrical wall extends around the periphery of the end plate, the arcuate slots being situated between the wall and the cone. The upstanding wall is formed internally with a screwthread which co-operates with a complementary screw-thread formed externally on a lower end portion of the spout. In use, beverage to be discharged passes down the spout in a single coherent stream, strikes the cone and is forced radially outwards as it moves downwards past the cone. It is then discharged through the arcuate slots in the end plate.The position of the sparkler can be adjusted throughout a range of positions by rotating it relatively to the spout. As the sparkler is raised relatively to the spout the radial width of the annular gap between the cone and the internal edge of the bottom of the spout is reduced, thus increasing the turbulence in the beverage and tending to increase the release of gas from the beverage.

In practice it is found that a person regularly dispensing beer or some other beverage can readily adjust the setting of the sparkler, as may from time to time be required, to achieve the desired release of gas in the beverage.

The sparkler described above can be removed from the spout by being unscrewed from it. It is desirable to remove the sparkler when the spout is to be cleaned; furthermore the sparkler itself can be more readily cleaned when it has been removed than when it is mounted on the spout. It is found, however, that sparklers removed from spouts are not always replaced before beverages are dispensed again. The sparklers may be lost or mislaid or the users may deliberately fail to replace them. One reason why sparklers are not replaced is that the person dispensing a beverage often wishes to do this as quickly as possible and, having found that the rate at which a beverage can be dispensed from a spout is usually greater when the sparkler is not present than when the sparkler is present, removes the sparkler and does not replace it.Another reason is that the presence of a sparkler tends to result in the formation of a head or of a more pronounced head (particularly when the beverage is beer), and the person dispensing the beverage may wish, or may be called on, to dispense the beverage with no head or a head of reduced thickness.

Various attempts have been made to prevent the removal of sparklers from dispense spouts but none has proved to be practicable. Moreover, as mentioned above, it is in any case desirable for sparklers to be removable for cleaning. Another problem that can arise, however, if a sparkler is not regularly removed for cleaning, is that the complementary threads on the spout and in the sparkler can become clogged so that manual adjustment of the sparkler becomes difficult if not impossible; where the beverage being dispensed is beer, the threads may become clogged with carbohydrate solids yielded by the beer as it evaporates.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that it is difficult to reconcile the facts that on the one hand it is desirable for the sparkler to be removable, so as for example to enable cleaning to be readily effected, and that on the other hand it is desirable for the sparkler not to be removable, so as to prevent or to make it difficult for a beverage to be dispensed when the sparkler is not present.

The present invention aims to provide means enabling this problem to be overcome or at least reduced.

According to the present invention there is provided, in or for apparatus for use in dispensing beer or some other carbonated beverage, a device comprising a dispenser spout having a sparkler, which is removable from the spout, the device also including a closure valve for the spout, which valve is such that at least in normal operation it closes when the sparkler is removed and opens when the sparkler is replaced.

In normal use, removal of the sparkler, whether for cleaning or otherwise, results in closure of the valve, so that no more of the beverage can be dispensed until the sparkler is replaced. It might of course be possible, by misuse of the device, to enable beverage to be dispensed while the sparkler was not present on the spout, but such misuse might well require the use of unauthorised equipment or material.

The sparkler and the dispense spout are preferably formed with complementary screw threads such as to enable the sparkler to be removed from the spout by its being unscrewed from the spout.

The device is preferably such that the setting of the sparkler can be adjusted by screw means and that when the sparkler is replaced after removal the valve opens and remains open while the sparkler is adjusted to any position of adjustment within a range of positions of adjustment.

Said screw means is preferably constituted by said complementary screw threads.

The valve is preferably such that it is biased gravitationally to its closed state when the spout is directed downwards. The valve preferably comprises a ball or other valve member which is disposed inside the spout and which co-operates with an inwardly directed valve seat in the spout, the arrangement being such that the valve member is prevented from closing by the presence of the sparkler but can close when the sparkler has been removed. The ball or other valve member preferably has a resilient sealing surface for engagement with the valve seat. Retaining means is preferably provided, the retaining means being operative to prevent the escape of the valve member from the inlet end of the spout.

The sparkler may be of the kind described above or it may be of some other form or construction. The sparkler preferably incorporates an upstanding part which in use enters the spout and serves to open the valve. The upstanding part is preferably of conical or other flared shape and in use forces the beer or other beverage radially outwards as it moves past the upstanding part, the sparkler having an outlet opening or outlet openings downstream of the upstanding part.

An embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, which is a side view of a spout provided with a sparkler and a closure valve, parts being sectioned along a diametral plane to reveal the interior of the device.

The device illustrated is intended for incorporation in apparatus for use in dispensing beer. That apparatus may comprise a beer engine, having a manually operable reciprocating pump, or may comprise a dispense valve controlling the flow of beer fed to the tap by any suitable means.

The device includes a spout 1 of tubular form made from a hard plastics material. An upper end portion 2 of the spout is externally screw-threaded to enable the spout to be removably connected to the remainder of the apparatus. Immediately below that screw-threaded portion, 2, is an outwardly directed flange 3 which assists the user to screw the spout into position on the apparatus and to unscrew it as required.

A lower end portion 4 of the spout 1 is also formed with an external screw-thread. An inwardly directed annular flange 5 is provided at the bottom end of the spout 1, its upper surface being of frusto-conical shape and constituting a valve seat.

The device also includes a sparkler 6 of a known kind. The sparkler comprises a unitary metal cap which is mounted on the lower, outlet end of the spout 1. The cap has a circular end plate 7, a central part of which constitutes the base of an upstanding cone 8 which projects upwards into the lower end portion 4 of the spout.

Two arcuate slots (not shown) are formed in the end plate 7 and extend around the base of the cone 8, the ends of each slot subtending an angle of only a little less than 1800 at the centre of the end plate. An upstanding cylindrical wall 9 extends around the periphery of the end plate 7, the arcuate slots being situated between the wall 9 and the cone 8. The upstanding wall 9 is formed internally with a screw-thread which co-operates with and is complementary with the external screw-thread on the lower end portion 4 of the spout 1. The cap illustrated is made from metal but it is to be understood that use could be made of a cap of similar shape made from any other suitable material and in particular one made from a plastics material.

A spherical ball 10 made of "Neoprene" or some other synthetic rubber-like material or plastics material is disposed inside the spout 1. It is of rather smaller diameter than the internal diameter of the spout so that in use beer can pass between the ball and the inside wall of the spout, but it is of larger diameter than the outlet opening defined by the flange 5 so that it cannot escape from the lower end of the spout. A tubular bush 11 is fitted into the spout 1 and is situated about half way along the length of the spout. Its external diameter is such that the bush is an interference fit in the spout and is thus secured in place by friction. Its internal diameter is rather less than the diameter of the ball 10 so that the bush acts as retaining means operative to prevent the escape of the ball.During assembly of the device the ball 10 is inserted into a lower portion of the spout and the retaining bush is then pushed into position.

In normal use, when beer is being dispensed the beer flows down the spout, through the bush 11, past the ball 10, through the annular gap between the cone 8 and the flange 5 and through the arcuate slots in the end plate 7 whence it is discharged into a glass or other container. As it passes through the sparkler the beer is disturbed in the manner outlined above with the result that the beer dispensed from the device tends to contain many small bubbles. The effect of the sparkler can be varied in the known manner by screwing it up or down the end portion 4 of the spout 1 as described above.

It has been observed in experiments with a transparent spout that as beer passes through the spout the ball 10 tends to reciprocate rapidly up and down between the cone 8 and the bush 11. If a hard ball is used this movement gives rise to a rattling sound; it is therefore preferred to use a ball that is sufficiently soft to prevent the occurrence of an obtrusive noise.

The ball 10 constitutes a valve member. In normal use, when the ball 10 is in its lowermost position it engages the cone 8 and is thus prevented from sealing against the valve seat afforded by the flange 5. The ball may touch the valve seat at some point around the seat, but cannot seal again against the seat owing the presence of the cone 8. If, however, the sparkler 6 is unscrewed from the spout 1 and is removed, the ball drops gravitationally onto the valve seat and seals against it, thereby preventing any filter discharge of beer from the spout. (Any slight leakage that might occur would not normally matter.) The ball 10 is somewhat resilient so that its surface seals more readily against the valve seat than would be the case if a hard ball were used.

The arrangement may be such that the ball 10 can seal against the valve seat before the sparkler 6 has been fully unscrewed from the spout. This is immaterial, however, provided that throughout the range of settings of the sparkler that is required in normal use the ball is prevented by the sparkler from sealing against the valve seat.

It is intended that the sparkler 6 should be periodically unscrewed from the spout, cleaned and replaced. The presence of the ball 10 prevents beer being dispensed when the sparkler is not present on the spout, The spout itself may be cleaned by passing an aqueous solution of a detergent through it. The previously cleaned sparkler may be replaced first to enable the solution to pass through. Alternatively some other means may be provided to lift the ball temporarily from the valve seat; or in another alternative method the whole spout may be unscrewed from the remainder of the apparatus before it is cleaned. The ball itself does not normally require to be removed from the spout for cleaning. Its reciprocatory movement inside the spout during dispense helps to prevent any solid material adhering to it, and the detergent solution passing through the spout washes it clean.

It is envisaged that not only will devices embodying the invention will be newly manufactured but that existing spouts, already provided with sparklers, will be converted into devices embodying the present invention.

Claims (1)

1. In or for apparatus for use in dispensing beer or some other carbonated beverage, a device comprising a dispense spout having a sparkler, which is removable from the spout, the device also including a closure valve for the spout, which valve is such that at least in normal operation it closes when the sparkler is removed and opens when the sparkler is replaced.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which the sparkler and the dispense spout are formed with complementary screw-threads such as to enable the sparkler to be removed from the spout by its being unscrewed from the spout.

3. A device according to either of claims 1 and 2 in which the device is such that the setting of the sparkler can be adjusted by screw means and that when the sparkler is replaced after removal the valve opens and remains open while the sparkler is adjusted to any position of adjustment within a range of positions of adjustment.

4. A device according to claim 3 as dependant on claim 2 in which said screw means is constituted by said complementary screw threads.

5. A device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the valve is biased gravitationally to its closed state when the spout is directed downwards.

6. A device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the valve comprises a ball or other valve member which is disposed inside the spout and which co-operates with an inwardly directed valve seat in the spout, the arrangement being such that the valve member is prevented from closing by the presence of the sparkler but can close when the sparkler has been removed.

7. A device according to claim 6 in which the ball or other valve member has a resilient sealing surface for engagement with the valve seat.

8. A device according to either one of claims 6 and 7 in which there is provided retaining means operative to prevent the escape of the valve member from the inlet end of the spout.

10. A device according to claim 9 in which the retaining means comprises a bush inside the dispense spout.

1 A device according to claim 10 in which the interior of the spout is tapered and the bush is forced into the spout so as to be secured in place by friction.

12. A device according to any one of the preceding claims in which the sparkler incorporates an upstanding part which in use enters the spout and serves to open the valve.

13. A device according to claim 12 in which the upstanding part is of conical or other flared shape and in use forces the beer or other beverage radially outwards as it moves past the upstanding part, the sparkler having an outlet opening or outlet openings downstream of the upstanding part.

14. In or for apparatus for use in dispensing beer or some other carbonated beverage, a device comprising a dispense spout, a sparkler and a closure valve substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.