GB2210106A - Dispensing beverages - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a means of storing and dispensing beverage. A bladder 21 is provided having an end which is rolled back on itself to form an integral gasket 23 for sealing purposes between a container for beverage and a closure. Conveniently the bladder is made of latex. A valve in the closure is also provided for introducing a fluid under pressure into the bladder to expand it and thus generate a motive force for dispensing the beverage from the container. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: Dispensing Beverages DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to dispensing liquids, especially beverages and in particular alcoholic beverages such as beer and wine, from containers therefor.

The popularity of home brewing has led to the production of beers and wines etc in increasingly larger quantities and as this is not necessarily linked to increased consumption it gives rise to storage problems. In the case of beer, the tendency is to keep it in a barrel, usually plastic, which is vented to allow the liquid to be drawn off. This venting immediately limits the useful life of the beer and accordingly limits the quantities which can be usefully stored. The quantity of beer in the barrel also dictates the speed of delivery with a gravity feed system which can be pitifully slow when the barrel is less than half full. Another option is to use a hand pump to draw beer from the barrel, but this adds to the capital expense.

It is also known to dispense beer by pressurising the container in which it is kept usually by introducing carbon dioxide. The container hs to withstand pressurisation and this has led to the use of metal barrels or kegs which are expensive for some use.

Furthermore, introducing carbon dioxide gases the beer artificially which is not favoured by many beer drinkers who prefer the beer to sparkle as a result of secondary fermentation.

The storage and dispensing of wine in bulk is likewise a problem where presence of air cannot be tolerated. Bottling large quantities of wine is tedious and accordingly there is a requirement for the long term storing of wine, also allowing for convenient consistant dispensing without the need for a hand pump.

The present invention aims to provide solutions to the above problems.

According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a beverage storage and dispensing system comprising a container for the beverage to be dispensed, which container has a valved outlet for the beverage and an opening preferably necked for inserting a bladder into the container, the bladder comprising an open end which is rolled on itself to form an integral sealing gasket and wherein the gasket seats about said opening, preferably on the neck end, and a securable closure- for said opening such that said gasket provides a seal between the opening and said closure to seal the container and the bladder from atmosphere and one another, and means in said closure to admit fluid to said bladder for expansion thereof to occupy the space within the container not occupied by the liquid to be dispensed.

Where the bladder is fitted directly to the cap and a separate seal provided between the cap and container, twisting of the bladder occurs when fitting the cap to the container. Forming the gasket integrally with the bladder avoids this problem of twisting.

By providing the means in the closure in the form of a valve, especially a schroeder valve, it is a simple matter, using say a foot pump or hand pump, for the bladder to be inflated and pressurised and thereby limit air contact with the liquid in the container and also provide a motive force for dispensing the beverage from the container.

Liquid could be used to expand the bladder, say supplied from a head or pressure source, but particularly convenient is the use of air to expand the bladder. Allowing air to be drawn into the bladder is not sufficient on its own to provide satisfactory dispensing although in conjunction with a hand pump and a readily expansible bladder, it is possible. More preferably and particularly convenient is to introduce the air under pressure. This enables a thicker and more durable bladder material to be used. The greater the pressure introduced into the bladder the greater the force exerted on the beverage and the greater the quantity that can be dispensed before the need to introduce further air. The bladder will continue to expand to fill the space within the container until the tension in the bladder material equals the internal pressure.

As an alternative to or in addition to the schroeder valve, a valve from a "sparkler" can be provided whereby gas say carbon dioxide from a compressed source can be admitted controllably into the bladder for expansion thereof and pressurisation. A pressure gauge connected in the lines can indicate the pressure so that speed of dispensing can be consistent irrespective of container contents. Using latex as the bladder is exceptionally durable so that its life expectation is extremely high.

According to another aspect, the present invention provides a bladder for a beverage storage and dispensing system which bladder is expansible and contractable, characterised in that the bladder has an open end which is rolled on itself to form an integral sealing gasket.

I prefer to roll the end of the bladder back on itself so that the gasket formed thereby provides an external peripheral lip - I find that a gasket of 5mm diameter in cross-section works particularly well. My preferred bladder has an opening diamter of 48mm and a free volume of about half a litre with a capacity to expand easily to 25-30 litres. Using food quality latex for the bladder does not give any contamination of the beverage and a free bladder wall thickness of 0.5mm allows for repeated expansion and contraction and provides the required impermeability. Using latex provides a particularly effective seal.

The present invention will now be described further, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic view of a beverage storage and dispensing container; and Figure 2 is a sectional view of part of the container circled at A showing the bladder with integral gasket.

A container for a beverage - say beer or wine, is shown at 1 with an outlet valve 3 for dispensing the contents, and an inlet at 5 closed off by a cap 7 having sealingly therein a valve 9 with which a line 11 from a pressure source is connectable. The pressure source may be a pump 13 (foot or hand operated possibly electric if convenient) or a compressed gas bottle 15. A pressure gauge 17 is shown in line 11 for measuring the pressure although this may be omitted and pressure readings taken using a separate pressure gauge.

Figure 2 shows the circled part of Figure 1 in greater detail.

The container is conveniently formed as a plastics moulding with the container wall shown at 13 having a neck formation 15 provided with a thread formation 17 for receiving threadingly the cap 7.

Alternatively a bayonet type fixing may be employed.

A bladder 21 is shown extending into the container. It is made from an expansible and contractable material, and in this respect we prefer to use food quality latex. The open end of the baldder is rolled back on itself by an amount sufficient to form a gasket 23 integral with the bladder and arranged to seat sealingly on the free end 19 of the neck 17 by virtue of cooperation with a seat 25 on the cap 7. The arrangement does away with the need for a separate sealing gasket and serves in a simple manner to simultaneously seal the baldder interior 31 and the container interior 33 from the atomsphere and each from the other.

We find that rolling the open end of the baldder back to form a gasket having a circular cross-section of about 5mm to be quite satisfctory for a bladder neck diamter of 48mm. We envisage rolled ends having cross-sections in the range of 3mm to 8mm to be suitable as gaskets where latex is the gasket material.

Also shown in the cap 7 is a valve 9 sealed with respect to the cap and providing a means of controlling the introduction of fluid into the bladder interior or its expulsion.

In use, with the cap 7 and bladder 21 removed the liquid to be stored and subsequently dispensed is first introduced into the inlet 5 to a level which virtually fits the container so as to minimise air content in the container interior 33. Then the bladder is inserted into the container so that its gasket around the open end seats on the neck end 19. The cap 7 is then secured in place.

Any convenient source of pressure can then be used to pressurise the bladder to the required degree to ensure that when liquid is subsequently dispensed from the container the bladder is capable of expanding to compensate for the reduction in liquid volume. It also ensures good delivery especially when liquid contents are becoming low.

The presence of the bladder avoids the need to vent the container to permit dispensing of the contents and also avoids the alternative of gassing the contents.

The proposed design of bladder provides an effective and economic dispensing system, is easy to clean and reduces the number of parts to the minimum.

Claims (12)

1. A beverage storage and dispensing system comprising a container for the beverage to be dispensed, which container has a valved outlet for the beverage and an opening for inserting a bladder into the container, the bladder comprising an open end which is rolled back on itself to form an integral sealing gasket and wherein the gasket seats about said opening, and a securable closure for said opening such that said gasket provides a seal between the opening and said closure to seal the container and the bladder from atmosphere via said opening and from one another, and means in said closure to admit fluid to said bladder for expansion thereof to occupy the space within the container not occupied by the liquid to be dispensed.

2. A system as claimed in claim 1 in which the opening is a necked opening providing an end face on which the gasket seats and wherein the neck carries a formation receiving releasably engagably the closure.

3. A system as claimed in claim 2 in which the formations are helical or part helical.

4. A system as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 in which the end of the bladder is rolled back on itself to provide an external peripheral lip.

5. A system as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4 in which the bladder is laytex.

6. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the valve means in the closure is a schroeder valve for receiving air under pressure from a foot or hand pump.

7. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding claims further comprising a sparkler connection for pressuring the bladder.

8. A beverage storage and dispensing system constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

9. A bladder for use in the system of claims 1 to 7 which has an open end which is rolled on itself to form an integral sealing gasket.

10. A bladder as claimed in claim 9 in which the end of the bladder is rolled back on itself so that the gasket formed thereby provides an external peripheral lip.

11. A bladder constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

12. A beverage storage and dispensing system adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.