GB2217787A

GB2217787A - A liquid dispensing device

Info

Publication number: GB2217787A
Application number: GB8810332A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Paul Palmer; Garry Ernest Cartwright; Nicholas Edward Breden Taylor
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1988-04-29
Filing date: 1988-04-29
Publication date: 1989-11-01
Also published as: GB8810332D0

Abstract

A liquid dispensing device is described for dispensing a liquid e.g, wine, beer, other beverages, food products, or drugs, from a sealed container. The device comprises a body (41) having a manifold housing (10) for a gas cannister (15) for supplying an innocuous pressurised gas e.g. nitrogen. The liquid is dispensed from the container along a passage (42) of an inert material to an outlet valve (73) (Fig 2). The body manifold (21) is in direct contact with a secondary chamber (23), housing a demand valve (69) which leads to sealed container (57). The demand valve (69) is controlled by a regulating piston (34) connected to the secondary chamber (23). The gas enters the container via an annular space (40b) surrounding the passage (42). The spring bias on piston (34) is adjustable by a knob (37). <IMAGE>

Description

LIQUID PRESERVING AND DISPENSING APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to liquid dispensers and more particularly to a device adapted to be operatively connected to a sealed container of liquid to facilitate dispensing of the liquid and preserved undispensed portions of the liquid and also relates to the method performed with such a device.

When a bottle or container of wine, or other perishable liquid, is opened in a home, restaurant or bar, the contents must be consumed in a reasonably short period of time to prevent degradation of quality and subsequent spoilage from contact with the atmosphere.

In case of wine, it is known that spoilage results from contact with yeast spores in the air and oxidation. The degradation to the wine occurs once the bottle is opened and the oxygen rich air carrying the yeast spores replaces the wine removed from the bottle so that the remaining undispensed wine in the bottle is subject to spoilage from the air.

In recent years there have been many attempts to provide alternative means for dispensing beverages and particularly wines in order to facilitate consumer satisfaction and decrease product waste. A major direction of these efforts has been to increase the shelf life of opened containers of beverages. Prolonging shelf life is particularly advantageous for the dispensing of products which are not normally consumed at once. Also, a prolonged shelf life is particularly beneficial if it is possible to preserve the original quality and palatability of the product.

In some instances, a single bottle of wine for example may be so rare as to demand thousands of pounds on the consumer market. In such cases, once the bottle of wine has been opened, the value of the wine is destroyed. Once the wine is exposed to a new source of air, the degradation of the wine is accelerated thereby destroying the possibility of the further resale or later consumption of the wine. If the shelf life of the product could be extended, the contents of the bottle of wine could be preserved over a period of time either for the enjoyment of the original purchaser or for subsequent consumption and/or distribution to other consumers. Use of inert gases such as nitrogen to replace the gas space in the bottle has been employed with some success.

However using inert gas alone does not solve the problem, further problems arise from the devices themselves.

Production methods have generally required plastics to be used and in systems where an outlet valve is used to control flow and seal against the atmosphere, a situation arises whereby wine in contact with the passageways to the outlet valve is in permanent contact with the plastic passageways which taints the wine.

Also to achieve a desirous smooth lamina flow from the outlet requires a small outlet diameter, in these cases wine can be present in the outlet pipe due to capillary action after the outlet is closed and will degrade and taint the next dispense.

To overcome this problem large bore outlets have been employed which results in frothy (delaminated) flow and a change in texture of the liquid due to airation. Current systems employed generally use plastic large bore taps or have no outlet valve and separate gas supplies connected to the container.

Accordingly, there is a need for an integrated system manufactured from inert materials for dispensing and preserving unused portions of perishable liquids such as wine at a constant pressure low enough not to effect texture, using disposable canisters, so that the wine is protected against the atmosphere and the device itself, so that the entire contents of a container of such a perishable liquid remain palatable and does not need to be consumed at any one sitting but can rather be consumed over an extended period of time.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved integrated device for dispensing liquids from a sealed container and for preserving undispensed portions of the liquids.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method of and device for dispensing liquids from a sealed container and for preserving undispensed portions of the liquid in the sealed container whereby the dispensed liquid is replaced with an innoxious gas such as nitrogen under a range of preselected pressures.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method of device for dispensing liquids from a sealed container and for preserving undispensed portions of the liquid in the sealed container whereby the passageway from the liquid in the container to the outlet valve and the outlet valve itself is constructed of materials that will not taint the wine.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method of and device for dispensing liquids from a sealed container and for preserving undispensed portions of the liquid in the sealed container whereby the flow from the outlet valve is lamina.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method of and device for dispensing liquids from a sealed container and for preserving undispensed portions of the liquid in the sealed container whereby the atmospheric side of the outlet valve is evacuated after the outlet is closed.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method of and device for dispensing liquids from a sealed container and for preserving undispensed portions of the liquid in the sealed container whereby the device can be transferred from one container to another without loss of gas from the integral canister.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method of and device for dispensing liquids from a sealed container and for preserving undispensed portions of the liquid in the sealed container whereby new canisters can be added such that gas will not be lost from the container.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method of and device for dispensing liquids from a sealed container whereby any leakage from the high pressure canister does not subject the container to the same high pressure.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved method of and device for dispensing liquids from a sealed container whereby any leakage from the canister seal does not pressurise the canister housing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The device of the present invention is adapted to be incorporated into a container such as a bottle and includes means for selectively allowing liquids in the container to flow therefrom and be replaced by an innoxious gas and use state of the art production techniques such as insert moulding of sub assemblies to allow uninterrupted stainless steel piping, and the choice of high tech materials such as ceramics to prevent the liquid in the container from spoiling. While the disclosure is made in connection with bottle type containers of wine, it will be appreciated that the device of the present invention would be useful with similar containers of other perishable goods such as champagne, beer, non-alcoholic beverages, food products, drugs, chemicals, biotics, etc.

The device of the present invention includes a canister housing which contains a vent to atmosphere, terminating at a piercing point and an 0 ring seal for the disposable high pressure gas canister.

The gas canister is located by a rotatable cap in threaded engagement with the canister housing.

The piercing point and canister seal are in a cartridge which is threadedly located and sealed by an O Ring into a manifold which is in direct connection with a secondary chamber.

The secondary chamber contains a simple spring operated valve to prevent gas loss should the canister be removed and also contains the spring biased demand valve which is in contact with the regulator piston.

The regulator piston is sealed by an 0 ring, between its periphery and its housing and biased in its operating position by a spring.

The spring is located in a central position by a rotatable cap in threaded location with the regulator housing, which contains a vent on its atmospheric side.

The gas side of the regulator is in communication with the container via moulded in channels in the device body.

An uninterrupted stainless steel pipe is in commmunication from the liquid to one side of the ceramic outlet valve assembly.

The two halves of the outlet valve are made of ceramic and the interfacing surfaces are lapped flat and smooth to such a degree that the sealing surfaces ring together and give a perfect seal. The valve assembly is biased together by a spring to safeguard against shocks loads. The upper or fixed ceramic valve contains a vent such that when the valve is closed, liquid in the outlet pipe will be exhausted.

The device is located into the container and sealed via an expanding rubber seal into the neck of the container.

The operation, and other advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become more apparent as the description in conjunction with the drawings proceed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a horizontal section taken through the canister and regulation system centre lines as indicated by the sectional arrows on fig 2 showing a canister installed and the device at system pressure.

FIG 2 is a vertical section taken through a bottle type container with the device of the present invention operatively connected thereto as indicated by the sectional arrows on fig 1 showing the outlet valve in the closed position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG 2, a bottle type container 57 is shown having a quantity of liquid 58, for example a perishable wine, therein. The device 9 of the present invention is shown operatively connected to the bottle.

The device is connected to the bottle as follows, the food grade rubber seal 62 is inserted into the neck 67 of the bottle. The rotatable member 60 which is in threaded engagement with the device body 41 is rotated clockwise, the seal 62 is compressed against stainless steel seal retainer 63, which is in threaded location with pipe 42 thus causing the seal 62 to expand and grip the neck 67 of the bottle 57.

A PTFE thrust washer 61 is provided to ensure the seal 62 does not rotate and scuff. The inside of the bottle is now sealed to the atmosphere.

Referring now to fig 1. A canister 15 is installed as follows, insert canister 15 into canister housing 10 and engage into canister 0 ring seal 14, engage threads 17 of rotatable member 16 and rotate in a clockwise direction.

The continued rotation of the member 16 will cause the canister 15 to move forward to a point where the canister membrane 15a will be pierced by the piercing point 12. High pressure gas will now fill the passageways 22 and 22a of the manifold 21 and enter the secondary chambers 23 and 23a located in housing 33. The piercing point 12 and the canister seal 14 are housed in a cartridge 18 sealed by an O ring 19 and in threaded 20 location with manifold 21.

Should the canister seal 14 or the cartridge seal 19 leak then vent 11 is provided to prevent pressure build up in the canister housing 10.

The gas enters the secondary chambers 23 and 23a through non return valve 26. This valve is held in position by a light force supplied by spring 24. A metal backing plate 25 is provided between the spring 24 and the rubber valve 26 to prevent rupturing of the valve 26, this will be explained later in the description. The valve 26 operates as follows, if a higher pressure exists in passageway 22a than in secondary chambers 23 and 23a then the force generated over the CSA of passageway 22a will cause the valve 26 to move off its seat, as soon as the pressures in passageway 22a and secondary chambers 23 and 23a are equal then the spring 24 will cause the valve 26 to close.

Secondary chambers 23 and 23a are in direct communication with and at the same pressure as each other due to passageways 32 in guide bush 31.

The demand valve 69 consists of a rubber seal 28 fixed to valve guide 27 and biased in the closed position by spring 30 which reacts against guide bush 31 and thrust washer 29 which is in abutment with rubber seal 28 which seats against seat in housing 33. The operation of the demand valve will be explained later in the context of the overall operating system.

One end of the valve guide 27 is in contact with the underside of the regulator piston 34. The piston 34 is sealed between its periphery and the regulator housing 70 by O ring 35 and maintained in its operating position by spring 36, which reacts against the rotatable member 37 which is in threaded 38 engagement with housing 70.

The force the spring 36 supplys to the piston 34 can be varied by rotating member 37 in a clockwise direction to increase and an anti-clockwise direction to decrease the higher the spring 36 force the higher the system pressure and vice versa.

The operation of the regulator piston will be explained later in the context of the overall operating system.

The underside of the piston 34 is in direct communication with the gas space 59 in bottle 57 via moulded in channels 40, 40a and 40b and passageways 65 and 65a. The channel 40b forms an annular passageway around stainless steel delivery pipe 42.

Referring to Fig 2. The liquid contents 58 of the bottle 57 are in communication with the food grade ceramic outlet valve assembly 73 via stainless steel extent ion pipe 66 and pipe 42. Pipe 66 and pipe 42 are threadedly located with PTFE sealing tape 71. The bottom of pipe 66 is arranged to be clear of the base of the bottle 57 to prevent sediment being disturbed and dispensed.

The pipe 42 is connected to the upper ceramic valve 43 through a food grade 0 ring seal 45. The 0 ring seal cavity is formed between valve body 43 and seal retainer 44.

The upper valve 43 is fixed in its radial position by key 46 which reacts against slot in manifold 21, passageway 50 is provided between the pipe 42 and the valve interface 49.

The lower ceramic valve 48 is keyed into rotatable member 54 by flats (not shown).

The outlet pipe 52 is fixed to the lower valve 48 by chemically inert bonding materials and sealed by food grade rubber washer 51.

The upper 43 and lower 48 valves are biased together as a prevention against shock loads by spring 53 which exerts a force of approx 21bs on the interface 49.

Passageway 72 is provided between the pipe 52 and the valve interface 49.

The lower valve 48 in rotatable member 54 are kept in radial position and assembled to the upper valve 43 by retainer 55.

The rotatable member 54 is limited to 180 degrees rotational movement by stops on member 54 which react against stops (not shown) on manifold 21.

The valve assembly 73 is shown in the OFF position. In this position it can be seen that the vent 47 in upper valve 43 is in alignment with passageway 72 in lower valve 48, thus allowing any liquid in the passageway 72 and pipe 52 to be evacuated, air enters the valve assembly 73 by vents 56.

The lapped and highly smooth interface 49 ensures complete sealing between passageways 50 and 72.

If the lower valve 48 is now rotated 180 degrees it can be seen that the passageways 50 and 72 are in alignment, the vents 47 and 56 are shut OFF and the valve assembly 73 is OPEN.

When the valve assembly 73 is open the gas 59 at system pressure typically 3psi to 10psi will force liquid 58 up the pipes 66 and 42 and out, immediately the liquid 58 moves, the volume of gas 59 increases hence its pressure drops, this pressure drop is sensed on the underside of the regulator piston 34 via the passageways 65a and 65 and channels 40b, 40a and 40.

This drop in pressure on the underside of the piston 34 allows the spring 36 to push the piston 34 forward thus pushing demand valve 69 of its seat and allowing gas to flow through annular passageway 68 into channels 40 etc into gas space 59 thus maintaining the motive pressure required.

When the valve assembly 73 is closed the pressure in the gas space 59 rises to the system pressure and via channels 40 etc increases the force on the underside of the piston 34 which compresses the spring 36 until the demand valve 69 reseats itself and shuts of the flow of gas.

Should the demand valve 69 leak, gas at high pressure would enter the bottle. If this does happen then the piston 34 is pushed backwards until the seal 35 reaches vent 39 which will vent the high pressure gas safety to atmosphere.

To transfer the device 9 from one bottle to another without loosing the contents of canister 15, rotate the member 37 fully anti-clockwise until the spring 36 is totally uncompressed, which allows the demand valve 69 to close, thus closing the passageways to canister 15.

Should the canister 15 run out while the device 9 is connected to a half filled bottle, it is desirous not to allow gas within the bottle to escape. The valve 26 prevents this by the action of the spring 24.

Backing plate 25 is provided to ensure the valve 26 does not puncture if for example the canister 15 was accidentally removed when high pressure existed in secondary chambers 23 and 23a. If this were to happen then a pressure difference across the valve of typically 2000psi (disposable canister pressures) could exist. To this end passageway 22a has approx CSA of 0.005 square inches to keep the rupturing force down to approx lobs, this in conjunction with the backing plate 25 increases long term reliability of the valve.

Similarly if you for any reason the system pressure rises drastically the CSA of the passageways 50 and 72 in the valve assembly 73 has been limited to approx 0.015 square inches such that the load tending to open the interface 49 would be small. It is also possible to use smaller canisters if a spacer (not shown) is inserted between canister 15 and rotatable member 16, this is particularly desirous when purging the device with sterilised water for example as cheap C02 canisters can be used as the motive force.

Claims

1. A liquid dispensing device for dispensing a liquid from a sealed container, comprising a body including a manifold housing for a gas cannister supplying an innocuous pressurised gas, a passage of an inert material leading from the sealed container to an outletvalve, the body manifold being in direct contact with a secondary chamber, housing a demand valve, which leads to the sealed container, and a regulating piston connected to the secondary chamber to control the demand valve.

2. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein -the manifold housing is provided with a piercing point and a cannister seal for the gas cannister, the piercing point being in direct communication with the secondary chamber.

3. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the secondary chamber houses a spring operated valve to prevent gas loss from the demand valve.

4. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the regulating piston is sealed by an O-ring between it's periphery - and it's housing and biased to it's operating position by a spring.

5. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in claim 4, wherein the spring is located in a central position by a rotatable cap threaded to the body with a vent on it's atmospheric side.

6. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the gas side of the regulating piston is in communication with the sealed container via moulded channels in the device body.

7. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the manifold housing for the gas cannister has a vent to atmosphere to prevent buildup of leakage gas in the manifold housing.

8. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in claim 7, wherein the gas cannister is held in the manifold housing by a cap in threaded engagement with the manifold housing.

9. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the passage of inert material is made of stainless steel pipe.

10. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the outlet valve is made in two halves of ceramic material, the interfacing surfaces of which are lapped providing a flat and smooth sealing surface.

11. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in claim 10, where in the outlet valve is biased by a spring to safeguard against shock forces.

12. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the outlet valve contains a vent so that when the valve is closed liquid remaining in the valve will be exhausted.

13. A liquid dispensing device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the device is mounted on the sealed container via an expanding rubber seal forced into the neck of the container by a cap screwthreaded onto the body of the device.

14. A method of dispensing a liquid from a sealed container using a device as claimed in any preceding claim.

15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the flow of liquid from the outlet valve is lamina.

16. A method as claimed in claim 14 or 15, wherein the outlet side of the outlet valve is evacuated after the outlet valve is closed.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the device can be transferred from one container to another without loss of gas from the installed gas cannister.

18. A method as claimed in claim 16, wherein a new gas cannister can be installed in the device without loss of gas from the sealed container.

19. A method as claimed in any of claims 14 to 18, wherein loss of gas from the gas cannister does not subject the container to undue high pressure.

20. A method as claimed in any of claims 14 to 19, wherein leakage from the cannister seal does not pressurise the manifold housing.

21. A liquid dispensing device for dispensing a liquid from a sealed container, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

22. A method of dispensing a liquid from a sealed container, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.