GB2211478A

GB2211478A - Compartmented drinks container

Info

Publication number: GB2211478A
Application number: GB8825420A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ernest James Cameron-Price
Original assignee: E J Price
Current assignee: E J Price
Priority date: 1987-10-29
Filing date: 1988-10-31
Publication date: 1989-07-05
Anticipated expiration: 2008-10-31
Also published as: GB2211478B; GB8825420D0

Abstract

A gas chamber (10) at one end of a beer container is separated from the main drinks compartment by a partition wall (4), the chamber (10) containing pressurised air for assisting in producing a head on the beer. The partition wall can be the base (4) of a conventional drinks can (1), in which case a plastics cup member (2) is fitted to the bottom of the can to provide the gas chamber (10), and a spike (11) carried by the base (8) of the cup member is caused to pierce the base (4) of the can when the can is pressed downwards into the cup, to break an adhesive connection between the cup sidewalls (9) and the can and allow sliding of the can relative to the cup member. The cup member may be re-usable. The spike is preferably fluted to define a series of passages for the air. Instead of providing a cup member a can may be provided with an internal partition wall, the base end of the can carrying a spike. The partition wall may be pre-pierced and sealed with a plug or film which is driven out by the spike or the wall may include an area of weakness. Sealing between the cup member and the can wall may be improved by providing an annular sealing gasket or flexible integral sealing lips on wall (9). End wall (8) may include a flexible portion for pressing spike towards partition wall. <IMAGE>

Description

DRINKS CONTAINER This invention relates to a drinks container particularly, but not exclusively, to a beer can.

Nitrogen is valuable in promoting a good head on beer. When the beer is sold in cans there is difficulty in introducing nitrogen into the beer, because nitrogen is relatively insoluble in beer as compared with the solubility of carbon dioxide. It has been proposed to provide a plastics nitrogen containing vessel inside a can of stout at the bottom, with a small hole through which the pressurised nitrogen escapes when the can is opened. Whilst that proposal is feasible, it requires the manufacture of the special vessel which must then be retained in place at the bottom of the can in some way.

According to one aspect of the invention a drinks container assembly comprises a cylindrical wall, first and second end walls at opposed ends of the container assembly, and a partition wall extending substantially parallel to the end walls and being positioned axially closer to said first end wall to provide a. gas reservoir between the partition wall and the first end wall, the second end wall comprising an area which is adapted to provide a normally closed pouring opening to enable drink to be poured from the main chamber defined between the second end wall and the partition wall, and passage producing means arranged to enable a passage means to be formed or opened in the partition wall just prior to pouring of the drink to provide restricted communication between the gas reservoir and the main chamber to enable gas under pressure in the reservoir to pass into drink in the main chamber.

Since the passage means is not created or opened until shortly before the drink is poured, it is possible to use air ås the gas in the reservoir.

Whilst nitrogen in the air can assist in promoting a good head on beer, it is important to keep oxygen in the air separate from the beer during storage because oxygen reacts with beer.

The passage producing means conveniently comprises at least one punch which is preferably located in the gas reservoir and which can be urged against the partition wall to form or open the passage means.

The punch is preferably supported on a portion of the first end wall which portion can be urged towards the partition wall to cause the punch to operate on the partition wall.

The punch is preferably in the form of a spike which pierces the partition wall when it is urged there-against.

Alternatively, the partition wall could be pre-pierced and sealed with a plug or with a film, the punch being arranged to drive out the plug or rupture the film.

The partition wall in one embodiment is the base of what can be more or less a conventional drinks can.

Conventional drinks cans, often of capacity approximately 330ml, have a cylindrical aluminium alloy side wall formed integrally with the base, and a top which is swaged to the upper end of the side wall and is usually provided with a ring pull device. The top of the can then constitutes the second wall of the drinks container assembly, and the first wall is then the base of a cup-shaped member which is fitted on the lower end of the can. The side walls of the cup are sealed to the lower part of the can side wall to seal the gas reservoir which is within the cup, beneath the base of the can.

The cup member is conveniently a plastics moulding, in which case the punch is preferably an integral projection depending from the cup base.

Each can is preferably provided with such a plastics cup member to provide the can with an auxiliary gas reservoir, but if desired the user may employ a re-usable cup member.

The cup side wall is preferably adapted to seal slidably with the lower part of the can side wall, to enable pressurisation of the gas in the reservoir to be achieved simply by urging the cup and can together. A pressure of about 3 atmospheres could be produced in the reservoir in this way.

In the case of a re-usable cup member it might be sufficient just to press the can down into the cup member.

For cups applied to individual cans it is desirable to provide some means for retaining the cup and can together with the reservoir pressurised. This may be by means of interengaging formations on the cup and can, but preferably the cup is adhesively retained on the can, for example by use of an edible-type adhesive securing a radially inwardly directed flange on the cup side wall to the periphery of the can base.

When the punch is in the form of a spike, the spike is preferably shaped to jam in the hole it makes in the can base, and the spike is preferably fluted to define with the can base a series of passages of predetermined dimensions through which the gas can flow into the beer.

The base of the cup, or that portion of the base to which the punch is secured, is preferably made sufficiently flexible to permit the user to press the punch towards the can base.

Instead of using an independent cup member, the first end wall could be a metal basal wall of a non-conventional can which is provided internally with the partition wall. There are various ways in which such a can could be constructed, but preferably the partition wall is formed integrally with the can side wall, and the basal wall is a separate disc which is secured to the remainder of the can.

The integral connection between the partition wall and the can side wall is preferably extended downwards as a skirt to provide an extension of the can side wall, and the basal wall can then be a metal disc secured to the lower end of the extension, possibly using the same techniques and even the same machine as is used for securing the can top to the can side wall.

Alternatively a metal cup member could be used, with the rim of the cup secured to the connection between the can side wall and the partition.

Of course, it would be necessary te charge the reservoir with gas, which may be air, under pressure.

This could be done after securing a basal wall on the can, or by carrying out the securing process under pressure.

When the first end wall is metal then the punch is conveniently in the form of a rivet, but it might be possible to form a cone shape into the first end wall which can act as the punch.

In order to assist the formation of the passage in the partition wall the area of the partition wall for engagement by the punch can be provided with a weakness, for example by subjecting that area to a pair of opposed convex punches to define a circular line of reduced thickness.

A drinks container assembly in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying schematic drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of the charged drinks assembly in the storage condition; Figure 2 is a vertical cross-section of the assembly of Figure 1; and Figure 3 is a cross-section similar to Figure 2 but showing the can depressed to pierce the can base.

The drinks container assembly comprises a conventional metal drinks can 1 which has been fitted with a plastics cup member 2. The can 1 comprises an integral can sidewall 3 and can base 4 produced by deep drawing aluminium alloy to a thickness of approximately 0.005 inches, and a top 5 swaged around its periphery in well known manner to the free edge of sidewall 1.

The top 5 incorporates a tab 6 which is tearable by a ring pull 7 to define a pouring opening in the top 5, but it will be appreciated that any convenient arrangement may be provided for defining a pouring opening in the can top.

The cap member 2 comprises a cup base 8 and cylindrical cup walls 9 which are dimensioned to be a sealing sliding fit on the outside of the can sidewall 9. If necessary the inner surface of the wall 9 may be provided with an annular sealing gasket to improve the sealing with the can wall 3, or one or more flexible integral sealing lips may be provided on wall 9.

A gas reservoir 10 is defined in the cup member 2 between the can base 4 and the cup base 8, and this reservoir is preferably pre-charged with gas, preferably air, under superatmospheric pressure.

A spike 11 is supported integrally by cup base 8 and is directed towards can base 4. In the storage condition shown in Figures 1 and 2 the tip of the spike 11 is preferably spaced downwards from the can base 4. The storage position of the cup member 2 is preferably maintained by the use of an edible-type adhesive applied to the surfaces if engagement between the can wall 3 and the cup wall 9, but the adhesive is chosen to have a shear strength which can be overcome by downward manual pressure on the can when the cup base 8 is supported on a convenient horizontal surface.

As shown in Figure 3, downward pressure on the can causes the spike 11 to pierce the can base 4, thereby allowing pressurised air from the reservoir 10 to enter the drinks can through the hole produced in the can base 4. The spike 11 is provided with a series of longitudinally extending flutes, not shown, such that a series of holes are defined around the spike between the spike 11 and the pierced material of the can base.

The dimensions of the holes produced can be controlled by the dimensions of the flutes.

The can 1 may contain, for example, stout which contains dissolved gases, and when the can base has been pierced by the spike 11 the air in chamber 10 will bubble into the stout to initiate the production of large quantities of bubbles in the stout to create a head on the stout, provided that the can top 5 has been opened. The tops may be opened prior to pressing the can against the spike 11, or afterwards.

In a modification, not shown, the height of the sidewall 9 of the cup member 8 is substantially increased such that the cup member can be re-used, the pressure being developed in chamber 10 merely by urging the can 1 downwards into the cup member.

Claims

1. A drinks container assembly comprising a cylindrical wall, first and second end walls at opposed ends of the container assembly, and a partition wall extending substantially parallel to the end walls and being positioned axially closer to said first end wall to provide a gas reservoir between the partition wall and the first end wall, the second end wall comprising an area which is adapted to provide a normally closed pouring opening to enable drink to be poured from the main chamber defined between the second end wall and the partition wall, and passage producing means arranged to enable a passage means to be formed or opened in the partition wall just prior to pouring of the drink to provide restricted communication between the gas reservoir and the main chamber to enable gas under pressure in the reservoir to pass into drink in the main chamber.

2. A drinks container assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the passage producing means comprises at least one punch.

3. A drinks container assembly as claimed in claim 2 in which the punch is located in the gas reservoir.

4. A drinks container assembly as claimed in claim 3 in which the punch is supported on a portion of the first end wall, which portion can be urged towards the partition wall to cause the punch to operate on the partition wall.

5. A drinks container as claimed in claim 4 in which said portion of the first end wall has a flexible connection with the remainder of the first end wall to permit the user to press the punch with a thumb towards the partition wall.

6. A drinks container assembly as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5 in which the punch is in the form of a spike which is adapted to pierce the partition wall when the spike is urged there-against.

7. A drinks container assembly as claimed in claim 6 in which the spike is shaped to jam in the hole it makes in the can base, and the spike is fluted to define with the partition wall a series of passages of predetermined dimensions through which the gas can flow into the drink.

8. A drinks container assembly as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5 in which the partition wall is pre-pierced and sealed with a plug or with a film, the punch being arranged to drive out the plug or rupture the film.

9. A drinks container assembly as claimed in claim 4 or any of claims 6 to 8 each as appended to claim 4 and comprising a main drinks container and a co-operating cup member, the drinks container being slidably and sealably fitted in the mouth of the cup member, whereby said partition wall is provided by one end of the drinks container, said first wall is provided by the base of the cup member, said second wall is provided by the other end of the drinks container, and said gas reservoir is provided in the cup between said one end of the drinks container and said cup base, the punch being supported on the base of the cup.

10. A drinks container assembly as claimed in claim 9 comprising retaining means so arranged normally to retain said cup member against sliding movement relative to the drinks container, at least in the direction of separation.

11. A drinks container assembly as claimed in claim 10 in which the retaining means comprises a formation provided on the sidewall of the cup member which co-operates with a complementary formation on the container to resist sliding movement.

12. A drinks container assembly as claimed in claim 10 in which the retaining means comprises an adhesive connection between the sidewall of the cup member and the sidewall of the container.

13. A drinks container assembly as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 12 in which the drinks container is a metal drinks can.

14. A drinks container as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 13 in which the cup member is a plastics moulding.

15. A drinks container assembly as claimed in any of the preceding claims in which drink is contained in the main chamber, and gas at superatmospheric pressure is contained in the gas reservoir.

16. A drinks container assembly as claimed in claim 15 in which the gas is air.

17. A drinks container assembly substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

18. A cup member suitable for use in the drinks container assembly as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 14, said cup member comprising a base, a depending sidewall, and a punch supported on the base and pointing outwardly of the cup, the sidewall being adapted to make a sliding, sealing engagement with the sidewall of a drinks container.

19. A cup member suitable for fitting on the lower end of a drinks can to provide a sealed gas reservoir and for piercing the base of the drinks can, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.