GB2308350A

GB2308350A - Beverage dispensing system

Info

Publication number: GB2308350A
Application number: GB9526023A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Steven Andrew Gill
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1995-12-20
Filing date: 1995-12-20
Publication date: 1997-06-25
Also published as: GB9526023D0

Abstract

The dispensing system comprises a mounting means 1 for attaching a conventional bottle containing the beverage to be dispensed to the system, a pressurised gas cylinder 2 being arranged to supply gas under pressure, via a pressure redusing valve, to the interior of a thus connected bottle to maintain the contents of the bottle under pressure. An dispensing outlet 15 is provided with an outlet valve 14, through which beverage in the bottle can be dispensed under the action of the gas pressure in the bottle.The apparatus is adapted to be mounted on a surface by means of clamping means 7,8.

Description

Floyd Bottle Dispence System List of parts.

1 - Bottle cup 2 - Gas cylinder 3 - Bottle support frame 4 - Bottle clamp 5 - Dispense tap support frame 6 - Resting block for bottle cup 7 - Arm for securing clamp 8 - Threaded clamp for securing unit to work surface 9 - Pivot for bottle cup 10 - Support arm for bottle cup pivot 11 - On/Off valve for gas 12 - Catch on bottle cup to press On/Off switch for gas 13a - Switch for gas in Off position 13b - Switch for gas in On position 14 - Lever to open dispense tap 15 - Dispense tap 16 - Threaded end to spout for fixing various nozzles 17 - Work surface 18 - Longer pipe for releasing gas into bottle 19 - Shorter pipe to release beer fran bottle 20 - Seal to screw bottle into to make air tight 21 - Screw thread for top of bottle 22 - Rotational fitting between tube for beer and bottle cup 23 - Flexible tube to transfer beer fran bottle cup to dispense tap 24 - Rotational fitting between tube for beer and dispense tap 25 - Pressure reducing valve for gas 26 - Rotational fitting between gas tube and gas On/Off switch 27 - Flexible tube between On/Off gas switch and bottle cup 28 - Rotational fitting between gas tube and bottle cup 29 - Channel in bottle cup between rotational fitting and gas release pipe 30 - Channel in bottle cup between rotational fitting and beer release pipe 31 - Tube between pressure reducing valve and gas On/Off valve 32 - Base plate 33 - Bottle 34 - Screw thread to attach gas cylinder 35 - Centre line of dispense tap Floyd Bottle Dispence System This system relates to the dispense of beer in a draught form from bottles of various sizes.

It is widely recognised that draught beer is of a superior quality to that which is served from either a conventional aluminium can or out of a bottle.

The main problem with beer served from a can or a bottle is that it is relatively in-active and especially with traditional beers such as stout or bitter it lacks the smoothness so desired by the drinker.

A good way around this problem is to serve the beer under pressure or aerated by gas. This theory has already been utilised in such devices as the draught flow can.

This is a well known device that releases a jet of nitrogen into the can once the seal at the top of the can is broken, this in turn flows through the beer giving it life and a smooth texture. The popularity of these cans shows that people want a smooth beer and in turn more brewers are forced d to adopt this style of dispense to meet with its customers requirements.

The drawbacks of this method are, 1. The cans are more expensive to produce and the costs are passed on to the customer 2. Once the seal on the can is broken and the gas released the beer will start to lose this gas and the can must be used in a certain time to gain its benefits.

3. Due to patent law only certain brewers can adopt this method and therefore the choice to the customer can be limited.

4. This package can only realistically come in one size, 440ml cans "discounting promotional extra free cans".

Another way to serve the beer under pressure would be to supply gas into the its package from an external source. This could be done with an aluminium can but it is far more practical to serve the beer under pressure from a bottle, either plastic or glass.

Until now there has been no product on the market to serve beer from a bottle under pressure and therefore I propose to show a method of serving beer from a bottle and the apparatus to do so.

A specific embodiment of this method and an embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing in which : Figure 1 Shows the front view of the apparatus, please note that the up turned bottle of beer is not included in this figure and the beer dispensing tap is only represented by its centre line.

Figure 2 This shows the side view of the apparatus, the beer dispense tap is included in this figure but the upturned bottle is not.

Figure 3 This shows the base plate of the apparatus as seen from the cut of point at x-x on Figure 1.

Figure 4 This shows a top view of the bottle cup.

Figure 5 This shows a side view of the bottle cup as seen from point y-y on Figure 4.

Figure 6 This shows the bottle cup in the upturned position, please note that it shows a cut of section of a bottle of beer. This is the position that the bottle cup will be in when screwing the bottle into the cup.

Figure 7 This shows the gas On/Off switch and a section of the bottle cup with its catch for operating the switch.

Figure 8 This shows the clamp that will steady and hold the bottle when it is in its upturned position.

Referring to the drawing the apparatus comprises of a base plate 32 which is secured by the a screw clamp 8 to a work surface 17.

On this base plate is a bottle cup 1 which can be upturned to rest on its resting block 6 and a bottle 33 screwed into it. The e bottle catches the thread in the bottle cup 21 and is then screwed tight into the seal 20.

The bottle is then upturned by rotating the bottle cup 1 on its pivot 9 leaving the bottle up side down resting in the bottle clamp 4, the bottle clamp is held in position by its support frame 3 Whilst the bottle is upturned the gas will be turned on at the On/Off valve 11 by the catch on the bottle cup 12 depressing the switch 13. The gas will flow into the bottle through the gas pipe 18. The gas is supplied from the cylinder 2 and reduced to a desirable pressure (not yet specified) by the reducing valve 25 which in turn is passed into the On/Off valve 11 via the gas tube 31.

The gas will pressurise the bottle 33 to the desired pressure (not yet specified).

To release the beer from the bottle, simply open the dispense tap 15 by its lever 14 (this type of beer tap is not specific and could vary in design). The beer will be forced by gas pressure down the release pipe 19 through the channel in the beer cup 30 into the flexible beer tube 23 via the rotational fitting 22.

The beer will be forced through the tube 23 into the tap 15 via the rotational fitting 24. The tap 15 which is held in position by its support frame 5 will control the speed and quantity of flow of beer into a waiting glass of similar vessel.

The end of the spout on the tap 16 is threaded so that various nozzles can be fitted to give varying textures to the beer.

Both the gas tube 27 between the On/Off valve and the bottle cup 1, and the beer tube 23 between the bottle cup 1 and the dispense tap 15 are flexible and deliberately long. This is to compensate for the bottle cup 1 moving around its axis 9 when a bottle is either put in or taken out. In the drawings they are cut off just after the rotational fittings, this is due to the fact that it is not necessary to show the full tubes to demonstrate where they go.

The fittings at the ends of the gas line at the On/Off valve 26 and at the bottle cup 28 are rotational to compensate for the bottle cup 1 moving on its axis 9.

The fittings at the ends of the beer line at the bottle cup 22 and at the dispense tap 24 are also rotational and again are to compensate for the rotation of the bottle cup 1.

The gas cylinder 2 is screwed into the pressure reducing valve 25 by a threaded holder 34. Should a larger amount of gas be required a separate bottle can be attached and connected by a gas line with the correct end fitting.

The bottle cup rotates around its axis by the pivot 9 which is in turn supported by its support arm 10.

The bottle of beer may be left in position and drunk at the drinkers desired pace, with the continued pressure in the bottle the beer will not go flat and does not need to consumed in a set time period.

Once the bottle is empty it is removed from the the apparatus by rotating the bottle cup 1, release any remaining gas from the bottle by opening the dispense tap then unscrew the bottle. When the bottle cup is up turned the gas switch 13 raises and turns off the gas.

When the cylinder of gas 2 is empty simply unscrew the it and replace it with another.

NB. These drawings are not to scale.

Claims

Floyd Bottle Dispense System

Claim 1 A method of serving or emptying liquid contents of a bottle either glass, plastic or other such composites by gas pressure, this can incorporate the use of any gas at varying pressures. The gas may be supplied from either an external source as described herein or an internal lataent gas supply.
2 A method to serve or empty the liquid content of a bottle either glass, plastic or other such composites through a tap or any form of dispense valve.
3 A method to serve or empty the liquid contents of a bottle either glass,plastic or other such composites in the methods claimed in Claim 1 and Claim 2.
4 A draught bottle dispense apparatus to enable you to serve the liquid contents of a bottle either glass,plastic or other in a manor claimed in Claim 1, Claim 2 or Claim 3 and described herein. Referring to the drawings this comprises of a bottle cup 1 which is secured to the base 32 by a pivot 9 on its support arm 10. This will rotate on its pivot to enable a bottle 33 to be attached using the thread on the top of the bottle 21, a gas On/Off valve 11 to shut off the gas, a pressure reducing valve 25 to reduce the gas pressure and a cylinder 2 to supply the gas. A dispense tap 15 to serve the beer and a support arm 5 for the tap which in turn is attached to the base 32. A bottle clamp 4 and a support arm for the clamp 3 which is attached to the base. Tubes for both the gas 27,31 and beer 23 to flow from one part of the apparatus to the other.
5 A bottle cup 1 which may be rotated on its pivot 9 so that a bottle 33 may be attached by the use of its own thread to the thread 21 in the cup. The bottle is sealed in the cup by the cup seal 20. Gas may injected into the bottle via gas pipe 18 and beer released from the bottle by the beer pipe 19.
6 A draught bottle dispense apparatus as claimed in Claim 4 which incorporates one or more bottle cups as claimed in Claim 5 for the purpose as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 2, or Claim 3.
7 A draught bottle dispense apparatus which consists of at least one or more dispense taps to be used for the purpose as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 2 , or Claim 3.
8 Any dispense apparatus to be used for the purpose as claimed in Claim 1, Claim 2, or Claim 3.
9 Any apparatus to be used for the purpose as described in claim Claim 5, this may attach itself to the bottle other than the thread on the bottle itself.
10 The Floyd Bottle Dispense System and apparatus incorporates all the methods as described in Claim 1, Claim 2, or Claim 3, and any or all the apparatus as claimed in Claims 4 to 9. This apparatus may be of any size but one size could be made to suit all size of packaging.