GB2169869A

GB2169869A - Containers for liquids

Info

Publication number: GB2169869A
Application number: GB08500305A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Sidney Burnham
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1985-01-07
Filing date: 1985-01-07
Publication date: 1986-07-23
Also published as: GB8500305D0; GB2169869B

Abstract

A container for liquids comprises support means 1 and a liquid impermeable, flexible plastics liner 6, the support means being constructed and arranged to provide support and dimensional stability for the liner when filled with liquid eg bear, the liner defining a substantially gas-tight container and including a first port 8 in a wall thereof in communication with a dispensing tube 9 extending from said first port substantially to the base 10 of the liner and a second port 14 suitable for venting or pressurising the container. The support means 1 may be skeleton or solid, of cuboid shape for stacking, may include a lid, apertures for lifting purposes and be lined with insulating material. It may be of metal wood, plastics or fibre glass. The liner may include a temperature controlling means in the form of a surpentine tube 18 extending between inlet and outlet ports 16, 17 for cooling or heating fluid. The liner may be used in association with a pressurised bladder positioned between the lid and liner and possibly formed integrally with the liner. The dispensing part may be positioned at the top or base of the container. The dispensing tube includes inlet holes 15 slightly above the base 10 to prevent ingress of sediment and the tube may be welded to the base. Port 14 may be in the form of a sealable tube or teat (Fig. 2). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Containers for liquids This invention relates to containers for liquids and in particular to containers for storing quantities of beverages, such as beers, ciders, etc., prior to dispensing.

In the past draught beers and similar beverages have been supplied by breweries to public houses and other retailers in containers, such as barrels, casks, kegs, etc. In general, the use of casks and the like made of wooden staves bound with iron hoops has been superceded by the use of metallic containers, usually constructed of aluminium or stainless steel. Whilst such metallic containers are robust and readily withstand the rigours of cleansing and processing within the brewery, transportation, handling and the use of pressurised gas to dispense the beverage, there are several disadvantages associated with their use.

Firstly, the capital cost of each metallic container is high. The cost is exacerbated by the fact that it is normally necessary for a brewery to possess many more containers than those actually in use. At any one time a public house will probably possess at least three containers, one in use, one empty and one full spare. The brewery will probably require at least three containers for each one in use allowing for transportation, cleansing procedures and filling. If the brewery is supplying a large area, transportation times will be long and more containers will be required.

A further disadvantage with the use of metallic containers is that they are generally cylindrical or "barrel-shaped" which is inconvenient for storage purposes, particularly in public houses which have limited cellar or stockroom space. Furthermore, it is necessary to dispense some beverages, e.g. traditional or cask conditioned ales, with the container positioned with its cylindrical axis substantially horizontal and it is necessary to employ special supports to secure the containers. This arrangement is also wasteful of space.

Recently some beverages, particularly wines, have been stored in containers essentially comprising a cardboard box containing a sealed, flexible plastics container having a dispensing tap. Certain beers have been sold by retailers in similar containers. However, the containers generally hold a limited volume of liquid, normally about 3 litres.

It is an object of the present invention to provide alternative containers suitable for the transportation, storage and dispensing of large volumes of beverages.

Therefore according to the present invention there is provided a container for liquids comprising support means and a liquid impermeable, flexible plastics liner, the support means being constructed and arranged to provide support and dimensional stability for the liner when filled with liquid, the liner defining a substantially gas-tight container and including a first port in a wall thereof in communication with a dispensing tube extending from said first port substantially to the bottom of the liner and a second port suitable for venting or pressurising the container.

The containers of the invention have several significant advantages over the known metallic containers. The containers may be any shape or size and in particular cuboid, thus making efficient use of space. The plastics liners may be disposable thereby avoiding the costly cleansing procedures required with known reuseable containers. Furthermore, it is readily possible to construct the containers to accommodate suitable devices for pressurising, cooling and insulating the beverage.

The support means for use in the invention is constructed in such a manner as to avoid dimensional instability to the flexible plastics liner when filled with liquid and must have sufficient strength to allow the container to be man-handled and transported. The support means may be constructed of metal, wood, plastics, fibre glass, etc. preferably, the support means is cuboid thereby allowing easy stacking and storage of the container making maximum use of available space. The faces of the support may be solid, e.g. the support may take the form of a tank, or may have a ribbed or lattice construction, e.g. similar to a milk crate. The support means may include means for facilitating the handling thereof, e.g.

hand grips, apertures to accommodate the blades of a fork lift truck, wheels, etc.

According to one embodiment of the invention the support means is collapsible such that when all of the liquid has been dispensed the support may be collapsed to facilitate storage.

According to a further embodiment the support means may collapse or fold as liquid within the liner is dispensed. For example, the support means may comprise two planar portions pivotally connected forming a V configuration within which the liner is placed. The support is suspended from above by chains, cords or the like connected to the top of the planar portions thereby allowing the planar portions to close gradually as the volume of liquid within the container is reduced.

The support means may be provided with a lid thereby completely enclosing the liner. The provision of a lid is particularly advantageous when it is desired to pressurise the liner since the support means and lid may provide the necessary resistance against pressurisation thereby avoiding the necessity to use a thick or otherwise reinforced liner.

If desired, the support means may be lined with insulating material, e.g. polystyrene, before insertion of the flexible plastics liner.

The flexible plastics liner may be made of any plastics material which is fluid impermea ble and does not taint the beverage. Suitable plastics materials include polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane, nylon, etc.

The liner comprises a dispensing port in communication with a dispensing tube. The position of the dispensing port and tube will vary depending upon the particular beverage and the mode of dispensing. For example, many draught beers are dispensed either by pressurised gas or the use of a beer pump and the dispensing apparatus is attached to the top of the container. Thus, the dispensing port will be positioned at the top of the container and the dispensing tube will extend from the port to the base of the container.

preferably, the dispensing tube will be secured to the base of the container. If desired, the inlet to the dispensing tube may be positioned slightly above the base of the container to prevent any sediment from being dispensed together with the beverage. In an alternative embodiment intended for use with beverages which are dispensed by gravity from the base of the container the dispensing port may be positioned at the bottom of the side face of the container or in the base.

The plastics liner additionally comprises a second port for venting and/or pressurising the container. This port is generally positioned at the top of the container. When the port is intended for pressurisation it preferably comprises a suitable flange for attachment to the pressurisation apparatus. When the port is simply required for venting, e.g. reducing the pressure generated by fermentation within the container, the port may take the form of a tube or teat. A simple clamp arrangement may be used with the tube or teat to form a valve arrangement for controlling the pressure within the container.

According to a further embodiment of the invention the liner additionally includes temperature controlling means positioned within the liner comprising a serpentine tube extending between the inlet and outlet ports for cooling fluid. The beverage within the liner may readily be cooled by passing cold or hot fluid, e.g.

water, through the serpentine tube.

If it is necessary to dispense the beverage from the container of the invention under pressure but it is undesirable for the pressurisation fluid to contact the beverage, the container of the invention may be used in association with a pressurised bladder. The support means of the invention may be provided with a lid and the pressurised bladder positioned between the lid and the liner of the invention.

The bladder may be inflated by pressurised fluid, e.g. water or gas, thereby forcing the bladder in contact with the flexible liner which applies pressure to the beverage within. The bladder may be integrally formed with the liner.

It will readily be appreciated that the container of the invention may be adapted to allow any type of beverage to be dispensed by a variety of dispensing techniques. If no pressurising gas is introduced into the flexible liner, the liner will simply collapse as the beverage is dispensed thereby preventing air from coming into contact with the beverage.

This is a significant advantage with some beers which rapidly deteriorate when exposed to air and avoids the need for storing the beer under a carbon dioxide blanket. However, a carbon dioxide blanket may readily be provided in the containers of the invention via the second port.

The liner may be constructed and arranged to provide a base conducive to the retention of sediment during dispensing from the container. For example, the base of the liner may include a sump, corrugations, etc., for maintaining the sediment away from the inlet to the dispensing tube.

The invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 represents a partial section through a container in accordance with the invention, and Figure 2 represents a section through a further embodiment of the container in accordance with the invention.

The support means 1 defines a substantially cuboid volume and may be constructed of metal, glass fibre, plastics, etc. The support means may have solid sides and base or may comprise cut away panels and ribs as shown in dashed outline at 2 and 3, respectively. The support means may comprise hand grips 4 and/or apertures 5 suitable for accommodating the blades of a fork lift truck.

The flexible plastics liner 6 is filled with beverage 7. The liner comprises a dispensing port generally shown at 8 and a dispensing tube 9 extending from the dispensing port to the base 10 of the liner. The dispensing port 8 may conveniently be formed by welding, adhering or otherwise securing a flange 11 to the inner surface of the liner which flange is also secured to the dispensing tube 9. The dispensing port 8 additionally comprises means of attachment for dispensing means comprising a flange 12 welded or secured to the outer surface of the liner in registry with flange 11. A securing flange 13 is provided for attachment of the dispensing means (not shown). The flexible plastics liner 6 is unbroken at the dispensing port thereby providing a seal and is only perforated upon attachment of the dispensing means.

The liner additionally comprises a venting or pressurising port 14. In the embodiment illustrated the port 14 has a similar construction to the dispensing port 8 and is suitable for attachment of means for providing a pressurising fluid.

The dispensing tube 9 may be welded or otherwise secured to the base 10 of the liner.

The dispensing tube 9 is provided with inlet holes 15 positioned slightly above the base 10 in order to prevent ingress of sediment. If the container is to be used with a liquid which does not produce sidiment the inlet holes 15 are not necessary and the dispensing tube 9 may extend to a point slightly above the base 10 of the liner allowing liquid to pass through its open end.

The liner 6 may optionally be provided with cooling means comprising an inlet port 16, an outlet port 17 and a serpentine tube for cooling fluid generally shown at 18. The ports 16 and 17 may have a similar construction to the dispensing port 8.

The embodiment of Figure 1 is suitable for use with draught beers and the like which may optionally be dispensed by use of pressurised fluid, a beer pump or the like.

The container illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawings is suitable for dispensing liquids under the influence of gravity. The container comprises a support 20 which may have a structure similar to that described with reference to Figure 1 with the exception that the support means additionally comprises an aperture 21 to accommodate dispensing, e.g. a tap or hand pump (not shown). Within the support is positioned a layer of insulating material 22 e.g. polystyrene. The flexible liner 23 contains liquid 24. The flexible liner comprises a dispensing port 25 which may have a similar construction to the dispensing port described with reference to Figure 1. The liner is provided with a dispensing tube 26 which extends substantially to the base 27 of the liner.

The dispensing tube 26 may be sealed at its inner end 28 and the tube provided with inlet holes 29 positioned to avoid ingress of any sediment in the base 27 of the liner.

The liner additionally comprises a venting port 30 in the form of a tube or teat. The tube or teat may be sealed when the container is filled and may be punctured to release pressure within the container. Thereafter the tube or teat may be made gas-tight by the provision of a clamp 31. Alternatively, the venting port 30 may take the form of a port comprising a flange in a similar manner to the pressurising port 14 of Figure 1. The flanges allows the attachment of suitable apparatus for venting and thereafter may be used to provide an inert gaseous atmosphere above the liquid, e.g. a carbon dioxide atmosphere in the case of beer, or for pressurisation of the container to facilitate dispensing.

Claims

1. A container for liquids comprising support means and a liquid impermeable, flexible plastics liner, the support means being constructed and arranged to provide support and dimensional stability for the liner when filled with liquid, the liner defining a substantially gas-tight container and including a first port in a wall thereof in communication with a dispensing tube extending from said first port substantially to the bottom of the liner and a second port suitable for venting or pressurising the container.

2. A container as claimed in Claim 1, in which the support means is substantially cuboid.

3. A container as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the support means is in the form of a tank.

4. A container as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, in which the support means has a skeletal structure.

5. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the support means comprises hand grips.

6. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the support means comprises aperture to accommodate the blades of a fork lift truck.

7. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the support means is collapsible when the container is empty in order to facilitate storage.

8. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the liner is constructed of polyethylene, polypropylene, polyurethane or nylon.

9. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the dispensing port is positioned at the top of the container.

10. A container as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 8, in which the dispensing port is positioned at or near the base of the container.

11. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the second port comprises a venting means positioned at the top of the container.

12. A container as claimed in Claim 11, in which the venting means comprises a tube or teat in communication with the liner, which may be sealed by a clamp.

13. A container as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 10, in which the second port is positioned at the top of the container and is adapted for connection with means for supplying a pressurising fluid.

14. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the liner additionally comprises cooling means comprising a serpentine tube positioned within the liner and extending between inlet and outlet ports for cooling fluid.

15. A container as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the support means additionally comprises a lid.

16. A container for liquid as claimed in Claim 1 substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.