GB2272893A

GB2272893A - Drink delivery systems

Info

Publication number: GB2272893A
Application number: GB9224189A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Whitford
Original assignee: T K C S Ltd
Current assignee: T K C S Ltd
Priority date: 1992-11-18
Filing date: 1992-11-18
Publication date: 1994-06-01
Anticipated expiration: 2012-11-18
Also published as: GB2272893B; GB9224189D0

Abstract

A drink supply system involves a drink supply 201 positioned typically distant from a drink dispensing point 202, e.g. in a cellar and to avoid wastage of drink in the intervening supply line 203 at the time of necessary cleaning of the system, a gas-driven shut-off valve 217 is positioned in the supply line 203 near to and downstream of the supply 201, and a gas injection point 216 is provided just downstream of the shut-off valve 217. The shut-off valve 217 and gas injection point 216 may be connected in common to a single supply of compressed gas 204 actuated by a switch (210, Figure 3) provided at the drink dispensing point 202. Actuation of the switch 210 cuts off the supply 201 but simultaneously backs up the residual liquid in the supply line 203 with compressed gas, enabling it to be dispensed and thereby not wasted. Non-return valve 215 prevents reverse flow of gas or drink. Shut off valve 217 preferably includes an obturator (224, Figure 2) operable by a gas actuated spring biased mechanism (225, Figure 2). Switch 210 is preferably a push pull actuator (242, Figure 3) positioned adjacent the drink dispensing point 202 and connected by gas lines 211 to the valve 217 and point 216 and the gas supply 204. <IMAGE>

Description

DRINK DELIVERY SYSTEMS, AND METHODS OF OPERATING, CLEANING AND MODIFYING THEM This invention relates to drink delivery systems.

In a bar, drinks are generally stored in kegs, barrels or other large containers which, for reasons of convenience, are kept at some distance from the bar itself. For example, beer kegs are usually held in a cellar or a separate room, connected to drink dispensers - usually hand pumps or electric pumps - in another room.

Most bars serve a variety of drinks, and so the bar may be supplied by way of a number of long flexible tubes, each connected to an appropriate supply container in the cellar or adjoining room. For convenience, these tubes are usually bundled together in a flexible outer sleeve to form what is sometimes known as a python.

For reasons of health, safety, and for keeping a good flavour, drink delivery systems must be cleaned out at regular intervals using a cleaning fluid. In existing systems, all drinks occupying the supply lines at the time of cleaning are lost. With long tubes, several drinks and regular cleaning, this loss can be a significant one.

We aim to provide a novel drink delivery system, and means which can be used for modifying an existing system, which can at least to some extent overcome the problems mentioned above.

Our invention uses a supply of pressurised gas which can be fed into a drink supply line between the drink supply location and the drink dispensing location. The pressurised gas can be used to displace liquid from the line when the main drink supply has been shut off, ensuring that a minimum is wasted.

In one specific aspect, our invention provides a drink supply system having a supply line communicating between a supply station and a dispensing station; a shut-off, for shutting off supply to the supply line from the supply station; means for feeding a pressurised gas into the supply line downstream of the shut-off, and an actuator for initiating operation of the gas feed into the supply line.

Preferably the gas feed enters the supply line at or near the supply station, to minimise the amount of drink wasted.

It is highly preferred that the gas feed and shutoff operate in tandem, and preferably the actuator actuates the shut-off as well as initiating the gas feed.

The actuator may be a tap or valve on a gas line communicating between a pressurised gas supply station and the gas feed.

It is particularly preferred that the shut-off be gas actuated, so that shut-off and gas feed can be initiated together simply by opening a gas line.

However, other ways may be used whereby the shutoff could be connected to the gas feed so as itself to be actuated when gas feed is initiated.

In another aspect, relating particularly to the system when installed, the invention provides a drink supply installation in which a drink supply is connected to a hand-operable tap or pump for dispensing drinks by a supply line, a shut-off is provided which is operable to shut off the supply of drink along the supply line from the drink supply, and a pressurised gas supply is arranged to be operable to feed pressurised gas into the supply line downstream of the shut-off.

Particulars of the installation may be as for the system aspect described above. The following further possibilities should also be mentioned.

In particular, typically the tap or pump will be at a first location while the drink supply is at a second location substantially inaccessible from the first, connected by the supply line. This may correspond to the situation in a public bar. For example, the first and second locations may be at least five meters apart. They may be on separate levels of a building, or separated by a wall.

It is particularly preferred that the actuator for initiating gas feed be at the first location, i.e. the location at which drinks are dispensed. Normally the gas feed itself will be at the second location. To achieve this remote control, the actuator may govern an actuating gas line which has an upstream portion communicating between the gas supply (at the second location) and the actuator (at the first location), and a downstream portion communicating back from the actuator to the gas feed into the supply line at the second location.

The drink supply line and the upstream and downstream portions of the actuating gas line may extend together along the same path e.g. in a common bundle of supply lines which may be surrounded by a sleeve. Many bars have a pre-existing pressurised gas supply used for forcing drink from the drink supply along the supply line. Typically, carbon dioxide is used for this. This gas supply can conveniently be put to use to supply also the gas feed of our invention. The two applications are entirely distinct, since a gas input for driving supply from the drink supply will be upstream of the shut-off.

Also, it will not need to be subject to the actuator used in the present invention.

We find that the feed pressure used for our concept is also desirably greater than that typically used for drink supply e.g. at least twice as great. Where the same gas supply is used to serve both purposes, an individual pressure regulator may be used on one or both lines to achieve the required differential.

In a typical case there will be plural drink supplies with respective drink supply lines, and the invention may therefore provide plural respective shutoffs and gas feeds for these. Desirably, the plural shut-off and feeds would be under the control of a single common actuator.

In another aspect, we provide a method of modifying a drinks supply system in which drink is fed under pressure from a drink supply along a supply line to a dispensing station, the pressure being provided from a pressurised gas supply connected to the drink supply.

The modification comprises adding a shut-off to the supply line and leading a gas feed into the supply line downstream of the shut-off - the gas feed preferably being provided from the same pressurised gas supply as drives the drink supply - and also providing an actuator for initiating operation of the gas feed and shut-off of the supply line.

Again, particulars of the modification could be in line with the various preferred features explained above in relation to the previous aspects. However it will be seen that in many cases the modification will require relatively little disruption of an existing gaspressurised system. Of course, the invention is not applicable only to drink supply systems which are already gas-pressurised, but that is a primary area of applicability.

In a fourth aspect, the invention provides a method of cleaning a drink supply system, the system comprising a drink supply, a drink dispenser and a supply line connecting them, the method comprising the steps of shutting off the supply of drink through the supply line from the supply; connecting the supply line to a supply of pressurised gas; and using the pressurised gas to displace residual drink from the supply line through the dispenser, so that the pressurised gas occupies the supply line.

By these means, drink can be cleared from the supply line(s) in a controlled, tidy way-without waste necessarily being involved, before subsequent cleaning steps (which may be conventional) are carried out.

An embodiment of the invention is now described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a schematic side view of a drink supply system; Figure 2 is an axial cross-section of a shut-off valve positioned on a supply line of the system, and Figure 3 is an axial cross-section of a push-pull actuator for controlling a supply of pressurised gas.

Figure 1 shows a drink supply system in which a beer keg 1 is connected to a dispenser tap 2 at a bar (not shown) by a long, flexible plastic supply tube 3.

Particularly the keg 1 is in a cellar area, on a level below the bar as shown by the dotted line "F" indicating a floor level.

Also in the cellar is a high-pressure carbon dioxide (C02) container 4. A supply pipe 5 leading from this has a regulator 6 to keep the supply pressure at 30psi (200kPa). Adjacent the keg 1, the supply line 5 divides into a beer supply branch 7 and an actuating gas line 8.

The beer supply branch 7 is connected into the top of the keg 1 by way of a regulator 9 keeping the beer supply pressure down to about lOpsi (about 70kPa). This pressure enables the continuous supply of the beer from the keg 1 to the tap 2.

The actuating gas line 8 - which may be a flexible plastics tube like a conventional drink supply line extends up with the drink supply line 3 to the bar area.

At the bar area a gas actuator 10 is mounted. The gas line 8 is connected through this actuator and a downstream portion 11 thereof returns, side-by-side along the same route, to the cellar area. This downstream portion 11 of the gas line then itself branches at a Tpiece 12 into a gas feed branch 13 and a shut-off branch 14.

The gas feed branch 13 includes a non-return valve 15 (which may be conventional) and communicates into the drink supply line 3 at a T-piece 16. This communication into the supply line is generally only a short distance, e.g. less than 1 metre, downstream of the keg 1.

A shut-off valve 17 is positioned on the drink supply line 3 a short distance upstream of the gas feed T-piece 16. The shut-off valve 17 is gas-actuated, and connected to the shut-off branch 14 of the gas line 11.

When the shut-off valve closes, beer from the keg 1 can no longer flow past it along the supply line 3.

Conversely, gas from the gas feed branch 13 will be able to enter the supply line 3 in the portion between the valve 17 and the dispenser tap 2. Because of the nonreturn valve 15, no reverse flow of gas, or flow of beer from the line 3 into the gas system, is possible.

Figure 2 shows the shut-off valve 17 in more detail.

It has a body 20 with threaded inlet and outlet ports 21,22 into which ends of the supply tube 3 are connected.

The inlet and outlet ports 21,22 are connected through the body by a link passage 23. An obturator 24 is operable to block this link passage by a gas-actuated, spring-biased mechanism indicated generally at 25.

The mechanism 25 has a cylinder housing 26 projecting transversely relative to the supply line outlet link passage direction. The end of the housing 26 is connected by a spigot 27 to the shut-off branch 14 of the gas line. The obturator 24 is mounted on the end of a connecting rod 28 whose outer end is fixed in a piston 29 which is axially movable in the housing 26. A ring seal 30 seals around the piston 29, creating a gas working space 31 at the outer end of the housing 26. A biasing spring 32 acts between the valve body 20 and the piston 29, tending to urge the piston outwardly and hence keep the valve in the open condition i.e. with the obturator 24 clear of the link passage 23.

Figure 2 shows the valve in the closed condition, wherein gas pressure from the line 14 has forced the piston 29 against the bias of the spring 32, moving the obturator 24 to block the passage 23.

Thus, shut-off valve 17 will remain open, allowing beer to flow, unless gas line branch 14 is pressurised to overcome the spring bias thereof.

Fig. 3 shows the gas actuator 10 in more detail. It has a body 40 with a through-bore 41 in which a plunger 42 is recriprocably movable. An inlet passage 43 and an outlet passage 44, having respective spigots 45,46 for connection to the sections of the tubular gas line 8,11, enter the bore 41 at axially staggered locations. The plunger 42 seals against the bore 41 at two axiallyspaced locations 47,48 between which is a flow clearance 49. With the plunger in the outward position (as in Fig.

3), the inlet 43 communicates into the flow clearance 49 but is isolated from the outlet by the inner seal 48.

When the plunger 42 is pushed in, the flow clearance 49 registers with both inlet 43 and outlet 44, allowing gas to flow from the permanently pressurised upstream portion 8 of the gas line through the actuator 10 into the downstream portion 11 of the gas line.

The actuator is preferably fitted to the bar somewhere easily accessible to a person operating the bar.

The parts having been described, operation of the system is relatively easy to understand.

When it is desired to clear the lines - typically for cleaning - the bar operator pushes in the actuator plunger 42. This puts high-pressure carbon dioxide (30 psi) into communication with the gas feed 13 and shut-off valve 17. The pressure of the gas promptly shuts the valve 17, cutting off supply from the keg 1. Via the non-return valve 15, newly-pressurised gas in the branch 13 pressurises the residual drink in the supply line 3.

Thus, drink can still be dispensed from the tap 2 under that gas pressure so that the drink is not wasted. Since the entire system is operated from the bar, it is economical of time and manpower. Furthermore, since all the components are operated by the pressure of the gas supply, no components need be electrically-powered.

It will be also be understood that an existing gasdriven supply system (which in effect would have only one gas pipe 5,7) can be modified by adding extra tube sections 8,11 communicating to the bar, an actuator 10 at the bar and a shut-off valve 17 and gas introduction point 16 for the supply line 3.

Claims

1. A drink supply system comprising a supply line communicating between a supply station and a dispensing station; a shut-off, for shutting off supply to the supply line from the supply station; means for feeding a pressurised gas into the supply line downstream of the shut-off, and an actuator for initiating operation of the gas feed into the supply line.

2. A drink supply system according to claim 1 in which the gas feed enters the supply line at or near the supply station.

3. A drink supply system according to claim 1 or claim 2 in which the gas feed and shut-off operate in tandem.

4. A drink supply system according to claim 3 in which the actuator actuates the shut-off and initiates the gas feed.

5. A drink supply system according to any one of the preceding claims in which the actuator is a tap or valve on a gas line communicating between a pressurised gas supply station and the gas feed.

6. A drink supply system according to any one of the preceding claims in which the shut-off is gas actuated, and the shut-off and gas feed are operable together by opening a single gas line.

7. A drink supply installation in which a drink supply is connected to a hand-operable tap or pump for dispensing drinks by a supply line, a shut-off is provided which is operable to shut off the supply of drink along the supply line from the drink supply, and a pressurised gas supply is arranged to be operable to feed pressurised gas into the supply line downstream of the shut-off.

8. An installation according to claim 7 in which the tap or pump is at a first location and the drink supply is at a second location at least five meters from the first location, and/or on separate levels of a building, and/or separated by a wall.

9. An installation according to claim 8 in which the actuator for initiating gas feed is at the first location.

10. A method of modifying a drinks supply system, being a system in which drink is fed under pressure from a drink supply along a supply line to a dispensing station, and pressure is provided from a pressurised gas supply connected to the drink supply, a modification comprising adding a shut-off to the supply line and leading a gas feed into the supply line downstream of the shut-off, also providing an actuator for initiating operation of the gas feed and shut-off of the supply line.

11. A method according to claim 10 in which the gas feed is provided from the same pressurised gas supply as drives the drink supply.

12. A method of cleaning a drink supply system, the system comprising a drink supply, a drink dispenser and a supply line connecting them, a method comprising the steps of shutting off the supply of drink through the supply line from the supply; connecting the supply line to a supply of pressurised gas; and using pressurised gas to displace residual drink from the supply line through the dispenser, so that the pressurised gas occupies the supply line.