GB2154560A - Beer cask shive assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

A shive assembly of or for a beer cask or dual-purpose container 9 comprises a fabricated metal patch plate 1 with a circular opening into which a shive bush 3 is welded. The patch plate 1 is fabricated from a main, generally rectangular, plate portion 4 to opposite longitudinal side edges of which four identical ears 5 are attached by welds. The ears 5 are of trapezoidal shape and formed as separate stampings, being appropriately positioned to suit the arrangement of the rolling ring grooves 7 formed in the wall 8 of the container 9 in which the assembly is to be fitted. The assembly is of particular utility for the conversion of an existing beer keg to a container usable as a cask. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Conversion and repair of beer kegs and casks This invention relates mainly to the conversion and repair of metal beer kegs and casks, and particularly to components for use therein. It is of particular (but not exclusive) application to the conversion of beer kegs, with the usual single outlet opening or 'pressure neck' at one end, for use as a beer cask by the provision of a side tapping bung or socalled shive opening into which a sealing bung can be fitted.

A fabricated metal beer cask, or a universal container usable as either a keg or a cask, is usually provided with a bushed shive opening. The metal ring providing the bush has an axial thickness which is many times that of the container wall, but its external projection is necessarily limited as it must not project beyond the 'rolling' circle of the container. However, to ensure satisfactory drainage through the opening the inner end of the bush should be flush with the surrounding inner surface of the container.

The foregoing conflicting requirements can be met by the fitting of what is commoniy referred to as a "shive assembly" and which comprises a patch plate, welded around its periphery to the inner surface of the container wall and with a hole into which the bush is welded, and the bush itself which is welded to the plate and on fitting of the assembly is welded into a hole in the container wall through which it projects to an allowable extent.

The invention is concerned with such shive assemblies fitted, or for fitting, to a container wall formed with integral rolling rings. The deformation of the wall outwardly to provide the rolling rings results in internally facing grooves, and to provide complete drainage the patch plate has to overlap and seal off the portions of these grooves which are co-extensive with the chordal extent of the plate. To this end the plate is formed with four projecting 'ears' which project into and across the rolling ring grooves. The continuous peripheral weld which fixes the plate extends around these ears.

The cutting out of the 'eared' plates from stainless steel sheet, for example, requires expensive press tools. This expense may be acceptable in the production of standard casks, but is not a commercial proposition for the conversion of existing kegs to enable them to be used as standard casks. The reason for this is that the kegs of a consignemnt supplied by a brewer for conversion will not be identical, particularly as regards the rolling ring arrangement, and thus a variety of patch plate stampings would be required. The cost of tooling up for this, or of cutting out the patch plates by other means, would be such that the conversion of existing kegs has not in the past been a commercial proposition.

The object of the invention is to overcome this problem, and to this end a shive assembly according to the invention has a patch plate which is a fabrication comprising a main plate portion and four projecting ears formed as separate stampings and individually welded at appropriate positions to the main plate portion.

Thus the same punch press tooling can be used to produce the patch plates required to convert a range of keg constructions, the main and initially flat plate portion being deformed to conform the periphery thereof to the contours of an individual container shape and the ears appropriately positioned to suit a particular rolling ring arrangement.

If the same ear shape will not suit all the rolling ring configurations, the same main plate portion can be used and different ear stampings produced.

The latter are of small and conveniently trapezoidal shape (to suit the usual rolling ring formation) so that only simple additional tooling is required. The main plate portion is preferably of generally rectangular shape.

As a result of the invention the conversion of a typical batch of kegs supplied by a brewer becomes, for the first time, an attractive commercial proposition. The kegs supplied for conversion will normally have been used, and thus the conversion may be effected during a general repair operation which might include re-shaping of the container.

The invention includes within its scope a method of converting a beer keg to a cask using the novel shive assembly with a fabricated patch plate, such method preferably including the steps of fabricating the shive assembly itself. In some circumstances the use of the shive assembly of the invention may be an attractive proposition in the manufacture of new containers, or in the repair or renovation of existing containers, although it is in the field of conversion that the invention is most attractive.

Thus, the invention further includes within its scope a metal beer cask or universal container the fabrication, conversion or repair of which includes a shive assembly with a fabricated patch plate as described.

The invention will now be further described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, a preferred shive assembly in accordance with the invention. In the drawings: Figure 1 illustrates the complete shive assembly prior to fitting within a container; Figure 2 illustrates the components of a patch plate of the assembly used in fabrication of the plate; Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view on the line Ill-Ill in Fig. 1; and Figure 4 illustrates the assembly as welded in position within the container.

The shive assembly illustrated has a patch plate 1 with a circular opening 2 into which a shive bush 3 is welded. The plate 1 is fabricated from a main plate portion 4 and four identical trapezoidalshaped ears 5. These components are formed as separate stampings, the plate fabrication involving attaching the ears 5 to the plate portion 4 by welds 6 as shown in Fig. 1. Before such (welding the ears 5 are appropriately positioned to suit the arrange ment of the rolling ring grooves 7 formed in the wall 8 of the container 9 in which the assembly is to be fitted. There is shown in Fig. 4 only a fragmentary portion of the wall 8 surrounding the fitted assembly.

The container 9 is typically a stainless steel beer keg which is to be converted, by fitting of the shive assembly, for universal use as either a keg or a cask. The original keg is opened up to enable the assembly to be fitted, and a hole is bored in the container wall 8 in an appropriate position to receive the bush 2 which projects through the wall by an acceptable amount. The assembly is attached to the wall 8 by a continuous peripheral weld 10 and the bush 2 is welded around the opening (not shown) in the wall 8, in the usual manner.

The initially flat plate portion 4 is deformed out of the flat before fitting to conform the periphery thereof to the contours of the container 8 and also to provide for substantially complete drainage of the latter through the bush 2. To assist such drainage the region of the plate portion 4 immediately surrounding the opening 2 is outwardly dished at 11 (see Fig. 3) before the bush 2 is fixed by a continuous weld 12 which is thus recessed in the plate portion 4. The ears 5 are attached so that they are slightly inwardly inclined with respect to the general plane of the plate portion 4, for the same purpose.

To assist in conforming of the periphery of the plate portion 4 to the container wall contours, it is formed with radiused corner cut-outs at 13 (see Fig. 2). Adjacent portions of the end edges of the plate are also slightly cut back at 14, these portions having a slightly convex profile.

In the conversion of a batch of kegs using assemblies as shown, differences in individual arrangements of the rolling ring grooves 7 can be accommodated by appropriate positioning of the ears 5. Differently shaped ears can easily and cheaply be provided, should this be necessary to match some of the batch of kegs to be converted.

Claims (16)

1. A shive assembly fitted to, or for fitting to, a metal beer cask or universal or dual-purpose container having integral rolling rings, the assembly including a metal patch plate which is a fabrication comprising a main plate portion and four projecting ears formed as separate stampings and individually welded at appropriate positions to the main plate portion.

2. A shive assembly according to claim 1, wherein said main plate portion was initially flat prior to deformation to conform the periphery thereof to the contours of the cask or container shape.

3. A shive-assembly according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein said main plate portion is of generally rectangular shape.

4. A shive assembly according to claim 3, wherein said main plate portion is formed with radiused corner cut-outs.

5. A shive assembly according to claim 4, wherein sections of the opposite end edges of the main plate portion, immediately adjoining said corner cut-outs, are cut back with a slightly convex profile.

6. A shive assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said ear stampings are of generally trapezoidal shape.

7. A shive assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein a region of the main plate portion immediately surrounding a central shive opening is outwardly dished, to provide a recessed inner end for a shive bush of the assembly which is welded into the shive opening in the plate.

8. A shive assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the ears are attached to the main plate portion so that they are slightly inwardly inclined with respect to the general plane of the main plate portion.

9. A beer cask or dual-purpose container which embodies a shive assembly according to any one of the preceding claims.

10. A cask or container according to claim 9, being the result of a conversion of an existing beer keg.

11. A method of converting an existing beer keg to a cask or dual-purpose container, including the step of fitting a shive assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 8 to provide a side shive opening.

12. A method of converting an existing beer keg according to claim 7, including the step of fabricating the shive assembly itself.

13. A method of converting an existing beer keg according to claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the beer keg has previously been used and is in damaged condition, and the shive assembly is fitted in the course of a general repair operation which corrects the original damage.

14. A method according to claim 13, wherein the repair operation includes re-shaping of the damaged container.

15. A metal container usable as beer cask and the fabrication of which as a new product, as a converted existing keg or as a repaired previously damaged keg, cask or container, includes a shive assembly with a fabricated metal patch plate comprising a generally rectangular main plate portion and four projecting ears formed as separate stampings and individually welded at appropriate positions to the main plate portion, the periphery of the main plate portion conforming to the contours of the internal shape of the cask or container and the ears projecting into and across integral rolling rings of the cask or container, to the wall of which the patch plate is fixed by a continuous peripheral weld.

16. A shive assembly, or a cask or dual-purpose container embodying a shive assembly, substantially as hereinbefore particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings.