GB2158422A

GB2158422A - Cask or barrel tap

Info

Publication number: GB2158422A
Application number: GB08505748A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael John Start
Original assignee: Homark Associates Ltd
Current assignee: Homark Associates Ltd
Priority date: 1984-05-10
Filing date: 1985-03-06
Publication date: 1985-11-13
Also published as: GB8411907D0; GB8505748D0; GB2158422B

Abstract

A cask or barrel tap 10 comprising a body portion 11 formed of stainless steel and provided at one end with a frusto-conical transverse bore 17 in which is received a frusto-conical cock 18 formed of a material other stainless steel, the cock 18 having a portion 20 which extends out of the bore 17 and to which is keyed a lever member 21 retained thereon by a retainer nut 22 which also serves to pull the frusto-conical part of the cock 18 into contact with the bore 17 to give the desired tightness of operation. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Cask or barrel tap This invention relates to a cask or barrel tap of the type which can be driven into a cask or barrel through a plug provided on the cask or barrel.

Conventional cask or barrel taps are formed from brass and the cock or tap consists of a frusto-conical member, also formed of brass, received in a frusto-conical transverse bore with the bottom end of the cock having a retaining nut, the upper end of the cock having a lever fixed thereto by a retaining nut.

Legislation more and more requires that the lead content of materials used in the construction of apparatus for handling beverages, such as beer, be reduced and therefore the use of brass as a material is becoming less and less favourable. Attempts have been made to coat or plate brass taps with non-toxic materials, but in the main, this has proved to be unsuccessful as the bore of the tap is not always completely coated or plated. Manufacturers of such taps are not turning to stainless steel as a suitable material. However, to make all of the parts of the tap of stainless steel is undesirable because this would mean that the cock would have metal to metal contact with the body of the tap and this is undesirable when formed of stainless steel. The provision of two nuts and two screw threads on a conventional tap increases the cost of manufacture.

According to the present invention there is provided a cask or barrel tap comprising a body portion formed of stainless steel provided with a longitudinally extending bore and provided adjacent one end with a frustoconical transverse bore in communication with said longitudinal bore, a frusto-conical cock member formed of a material different to that of the body received in said transverse bore, the smaller diameter end portion of the cock member being provided with an end portion extending out of said bore, a lever member keyed to said end portion extending out of said bore and the outer end of said end portion extending out of said bore having a screw thread engaged by a nut retaining the lever member on the cock member, said retaining nut being effective for pulling the frusto-conical cock member into contact with the frusto-conical transverse bore to give the desired tightness of operation.

Preferably there is a sealing member between the lever member and the body portion.

With such an arrangement the single nut is used to retain the lever member on the cock member and to adjust the position of the cock member within the transverse bore.

The body is formed of stainless steel and the cock member is preferably formed of a plastics material.

Some embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of examples, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a first embodiment of a cock or barrel tap according to the present invention; Figure 2 is a partial plan view of the tap of Fig. 1 with the nut and lever removed; Figure 3 is an end view taken in the direction of arrow 3 indicated in Fig. 1; Figure 4 is a section taken along the line 4-4 indicated in Fig. 1; Figure 5 is a longitudinal section through a body forming a Junction; Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through a body forming a Junction; and Figure 7 is a side elevation, partly in section, of another embodiment of a cock or barrel tap according to the present invention.

The cask or barrel tap shown in Figs. 1 to 4 is generaliy indicated at 10 and comprises a body 11 formed of stainless steel. The body 11 has a longitudinal bore 1 2 and is partly tapered. Part of the exterior of the body 11 is grooved or serrated at 1 3 and the end of the tapered part is provided with longitudinal slots 1 4 which communicate with the bore 1 2.

Surrounding the slots 14 is a cylindrical filter 1 5 retained on the body 11 by a retaining screw 16.

The body 11 is provided with a frustoconical transverse bore 1 7 in which is received a cock member 1 8 preferably formed of a plastics material. The cock member 18 has a frusto-conical part 1 9 received in the bore 1 7 and a stem portion 20 on which is keyed a lever member 21 retained thereon by a nut 22 engaged with a screw threaded portion 23. Disposed between the lever member 21 and the body 11 is a sealing member 24. The cock member 1 8 is provided with a transverse bore 25 which communicates with the bore 1 2 when aligned therewith.The nut 22 serves to retain the lever member 21 on the cock member 1 8 and also serves to pull the frusto-conical part 1 9 of the cock member 1 8 into sealing contact with the bore 1 7 and thus adjusts the cock member 1 8 to give the desired tightness of operation. Upstanding from the face of a boss provided on the body 11 is a pin 26 which is fixed to the body 11 and extends through a hole provided in the sealing member 24 to enter an arcuate recess 27 formed on the underside of the lever member 21. The lever member 21 can thus be rotated through 90' whilst the sealing member 24 remains stationary.

As shown in Fig. 5, the body 11 may be Tshaped and provided with two bores 1 7 and two cock members 18.

Fig. 6 shows a body 11 which is Y-shaped with each limb provided with a bore 1 7. The body 11 has an end portion 28 which can be hammered to drive the body 11 into a cask or barrel. The Y-shaped body 11 can easily be cleaned by passing a brush along the bores in the limbs.

Fig. 7 shows an embodiment which is similar to that of Figs. 1 to 4 and like parts are indicated by the same reference numerals. In this embodiment the filter 1 5 is located in the bore 12, the cock member 1 8 is provided with "O"-ring seals 29 and 30 which seal against the wall of the bore 1 7 and the cock member 1 8 is also provided with an insert 31 formed of Ethyl Vinyl Acetate (E.V.A) which seals against the wall of the bore 1 7.

When the cock member 1 8 is in the closed position as shown in Fig. 7, the insert 31 seals around the periphery of the bore 1 2.

It wiil be appreciated that the cock member 1 8 of Fig. 7 can be used in the valve bodies 11 shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

Claims

1. A cask or barrel tap comprising a body portion formed of stainless steel provided with a longitudinally extending bore and provided adjacent one end with a frusto-conical transverse bore in communication with said longitudinal bore, a frusto-conical cock member formed of a material different to that of the body received in said transverse bore, the smaller diameter end portion of the cock member being provided with an end portion extending out of said bore, a lever member keyed to said end portion extending out of said bore and the outer end of said end portion extending out of said bore having a screw thread engaged by a nut retaining the lever member on the cock member, said retaining nut being effective for pulling the frusto-conical cock member into contact with the frusto-conical transverse bore to give the desired tightness of operation.

2. A cask or barrel tap as claimed in claim -1, in which a sealing member is provided between the lever member and the body portion.

3. A cask or barrel tap as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which a stop pin provided on the body portion is partly received in an arcuate recess formed on the lever member.

4. A cask or barrel tap as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the frusto-conical cock member is provided with an insert formed of a plastics material, said insert sealing against the wall of the frusto-conical transverse bore.

5. A cask or barrel tap as claimed in claim 4 in which the insert is formed of Ethyl Vinyl Acetate.

6. A cask or barrel tap as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the cock member is provided with "O"-ring seals which seal against the wall of the transverse bore.

7. A cask or barrel tap as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the other end of the body portion is provided with a filter.

8. A cask or barrel tap as claimed in any preceding claim, in which said body portion T-shaped or Y-shaped with a transverse bore provided in each limb portion.

9. A cask or barrel tap substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.