GB2185470A

GB2185470A - Improvements in tap heads

Info

Publication number: GB2185470A
Application number: GB08701147A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Willem Terpstra; Dirk Hendrik Van Genderen
Original assignee: VSH FABRIEKEN NV
Current assignee: VSH FABRIEKEN NV
Priority date: 1986-01-21
Filing date: 1987-01-20
Publication date: 1987-07-22
Also published as: DE3701433A1; GB2185470B; FR2593262B1; GB8701147D0; NL8600121A; ES2004063A6; FR2593262A1; NL192448C; NL192448B; DE3701433C2

Abstract

A tap head for coupling to a tap rod assembly mounted in the wall of a keg comprises a housing 1 and a slide 6 movable in said housing for pushing the tap rod into the keg while simultaneously opening an inlet connection 5 for CO2 and an outlet connection 29 for liquid. The slide is operated by a handle 9 which is pivotally connected (at 10) to the housing and is provided with a lever 15. The lever is pivotally connected (at 17) to the handle and can cooperate with an abutment 19 of the housing to lock the handle with respect to the housing in the two extreme positions. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in tap heads The invention relates to a tap head provided with coupling means for coupling thereof to a tap rod assembly mounted in the wall of a keg, said tap head comprising a housing with an inlet connection for the supply of a pressurized gas, in particular CO2, to the keg, a slide being movable in said housing and being provided with an outlet connection for the discharge of liquid from the keg, it being possible to push the tap rod of the assembly inwardly into the keg by means of said slide while simultaneously opening both connections, said slide being operated by a handle which is pivotally connected to the housing and which is provided with means to block the handle in respect of the housing.

In the known tap head the means for blocking the handle in both extreme positions is formed by a pin positioned in the interior of the handle and being movable in longitudinal direction of the handle. The pin is operated because the portion of the handle which has to be taken in the hand is equally movable in longitudinal direction while by means of a spring positioned in the interior of the handle said pin is always biased to the blocking position.

This brings a cumbersome and so relatively expensive construction with it while pulling a portion of the handle outwardly for releasing the pin has disadvantages in particular when the coupling means of the tap head is formed by a sliding-coupling in which the tap head is shifted onto the tap rod assembly in radial direction. After this shifting-up the handle has to be deblocked by pulling at the handle for moving the slide in the tap head. During this deblocking again a force is exerted on the tap head by which the coupling with the tap rod assembly, which was just realized, can be completely or partly undone, so that the slide cannot be moved in the housing of the tap head in the desired way.

The object of the invention now is to remove these disadvantages and to that end it is provided, that the means for blocking the handle are formed by a lever extending substantially parallel to and at some distance from the portion of the handle which has to be taken in the hand and being pivotally connected to the handle near the housing and which can be pressed towards the handle against the force of a spring when simultaneously seizing the handle and the lever for disconnecting that part of the lever that is one of the two extreme positions of the handle cooperates with an abutment provided to the housing for blocking the handle.

This provides a very simple and so inexpensive construction while when operating the handle the forces which will be exerted on the housing of the tap head will only work in substantially vertical direction. So there is no danger that the coupling between the tap head and the tap rod assembly will be disconnected when operating the handle.

According to a particularly simple embodiment of the invention it can be provided, that both the handle as well as the lever are executed from a plate which is provided with one or more flanged portions. By this the manufacturing of said portions is extremely simple so that the costs of the tap head are decreased though the handle may also be a pressed portion.

The invention will now be further elucidated by means of an embodiment shown in the drawing, in which: Figure 1 is showing a longitudinal section and partial side view of a tap head, specific parts being represented in various positions; and Figure 2 is showing a cross-section of the handle with lever according to the line ll-ll of Fig. 1.

The tap head shown in the drawing comprises the housing 1 which at its lower side is provided with an edge portion 2 extending over about half the circumference and having a substantially L-shaped cross-section. By means of this L-shaped portion 2 the housing 1 can be transversally shifted on the flanged edge 3 of the tap rod assembly 4, which tap rod assembly is fitted into the wall of a keg, not shown, by means of screw thread.

The housing 1 is provided with an inlet connection 5, said connection in a way not shown being connected to a pressurized gas container, in particular a CO2 container.

A slide 6 is movable in vertical direction in the housing 1, said slide being provided with the sealing rings 7 and 8.

The upward and downward movement of the slide 6 in the direction of the arrow P is caused by means of the handle 9 which is pivotally connected at the point 10 with a protruding portion 11 of the housing 1.

As in particular appears from Fig. 2 the handle 9 can be made of a plate and can be U-shaped where it is gripped by the hand, the legs 12 extending along the slide 6 to the hinging point 10 and being provided with a pin 13 engaging a flat portion 14 of the slide 6 so that when pivoting the handle 9 from the position shown in Fig. 1 over the angle a, the slide 6 from the position shown in the left hand portion of the figure can be moved to the position shown in the right hand portion of Fig. 1.

In order to block the handle in the two extreme positions a lever 1 5 is provided which e.g. can be U-shaped and the legs 16 of which are hingedly connected with the legs 12 of the handle 9 in the points 17.

In the position shown in Fig. 1 a part of the flange 18 of the lever 15 is positioned below the abutment 19 connected to the housing 1, whereas in the upwardly rotated position of the handle the relevant part can be present in the recess 20 of the abutment 19.

In order to keep the lever in connection with the abutment 19 in any one of the extreme positions of it, a compression spring 21 is mounted between the lever 15 and the handle 19, said spring being held in it position by a portion 22 bent from the plane of the lever 15.

When the handle is moved upwardly the slide 6 will be in the position as shown in the right hand portion of Fig. 1, whereby the sealing rings 7 and 8 are taking care for closing the supply connection 5 so that no gas can be supplied to the space 23 of the housing 1.

In this position of the handle 9 the L-shaped portion 2 of the housing 1 can be shifted on the flanged edge 3 of the tap rod assembly 4.

For obtaining a sealing outwardly between the housing 1 and the flanged edge 3 the sealing ring 24 is provided in the lower end of the housing 1.

When gripping the handle 9 the lever 15 is seized as well and the latter is rotated around the shaft 17 against the action of the compression spring 21, so that the flange 18 of the lever 15 is brought outside the recess 20 and the lever 9 can be moved downwardly so that the slide 6 will arrive in the position as shown in the left hand portion of Fig. 1.

When now the handle 9 and the lever 15 are released they will assume the position as this is shown in Fig. 1.

During this movement of the slide 6 the truncated conical portion 25 of it will be pressed against an edge portion of the sealing ring 24 adapted to this, so that this sealing ring is pressed against the flanged edge 3, said pressing being increased because pressurized gas will flow into the space 23 of the housing 1 via the supply connection 5.

In a way not shown the tap rod is pushed inwardly into the keg by the lower portion 27 of the slide 6, so that via the cavity 28 in the slide 6 liquid may flow from the keg to the outlet connection 29.

It will be obvious that only a possible embodiment of the invention is shown in the drawing and is described above and that many modifications can be applied without extending outside the inventive idea.

Claims

1. Tap head provided with coupling means for coupling said tap head to a tap rod assembly mounted in the wall of a keg, said tap head comprising a housing with an inlet connection for the supply of a pressurized gas to the keg, a slide being movable in said housing and being provided with an outlet connection for the discharge of liquid from the keg, such that the tap rod of the assembly is movable inwardly into the keg by means of said slide while simultaneously opening the inlet and the outlet connections, said slide being operated by a handle which is pivotally connected to the housing and which is provided with means to block the handle in respect of the housing, wherein the means for blocking the handle are formed by a lever extending substantially parallel to and at some distance from the portion of the handle which is held in the hand and being pivotally connected to the handle near the housing and which can be pressed towards the handle against the force of a spring when simultaneously seizing the handle and the lever for disconnecting that part of the lever, that in one of the two extreme positions of the handle cooperates with an abutment provided to the housing for blocking the handle.

2. Tap head according to claim 1, wherein the handle and the lever are both manufactured from a plate which is provided with one or more flanged portions.

3. A tap head substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.