IES20050135A2 - A seal for a keg - Google Patents

Abstract

A single-use cap for sealing a keg valve, which has a top surface and a collar adapted to enlarge the valve. The cap also has a pull-tab and weakened lines extending from the pull tab through the height of the collar which, when torn, causes the collar to break initially before tearing into the top surface ensuring removal of the cap in one piece. <Figure 6>

Description

A Seal for a Keg I LODGED The present invention relates to a seal for fitting to a container e.g. a keg.

Kegs are well-known devices for storage and transport of pressurised liquids e.g. beers. They are generally cylindrical containers, having nozzles for access to the contained liquid. It is desirable that the contained liquid is neither tampered with nor depressurised between the time that the kegs leave the brewery or bottling plant where they are filled, to the time that the contents are accessed. To this end, most kegs are supplied with single-use seals, which are attached to the nozzle of a keg. Once the seal is detached from the keg, it cannot be reapplied, indicating if the contents of the keg may have been accessed or tampered with.

An example of a known seal for a keg is shown in Fig. 1. The seal 50 has a shallow cup-shaped body, with a circular top surface 52. The seal is dimensioned to fit over the nozzle or valve of a beer keg. A collar 54 extends perpendicularly from the top surface 52 and terminates at a circular rim 53. A flat tab 56 projects orthogonally from the side of the collar 54, located towards the top surface 52. An aperture 58 is provided in the collar 54 directly beneath the tab 56.

The collar 54 is of a lesser thickness than that of the rest of the seal 50, allowing for it to be heat-shrunk OPEN TO PUBLIC INSPECTION ί UNDER SECTION 28 AND RULE 23 iiui Nn η«7£,ο·ί Gd UIIL IVUa ituiimtnirnii VI ··«·»»*«*»»*· (3,6 £0 kfr/oo.

IE 0 5 0 1 3 5 around the nozzle or valve. On the underside 62 of the top surface 52, two weakened lines 64 extend from the opposite sides of the tab 56 into the underside surface 62. The weakened lines 64 are respectively located towards the outer edges of the underside surface 62, and generally follow the curvature of the circumference of the surface until they reach a location 57 directly opposite from the tab 56. On the top surface 52, the weakened lines 64 define a generally circular removable portion 65 which, when removed, reveals the valve attachment for a tapping head. At location 57, the weakened lines 64a extend in a parallel fashion from the underside surface 62 to the rim 53 of the collar 54, defining a small finger of material which will be removed along with tab 56 and removable portion 65 In use, the seal 50 is placed atop the nozzle of a keg to be sealed. The seal is heat shrunk so that the collar 54 engages the neck of the keg nozzle. When it is desirable to open the keg, the tab 56 is pulled back over the top surface 52 of the cap 50, breaking the frangible sections 64 and separating the seal 50 from the nozzle through the breakage of the frangible collar section 60.

One disadvantage of this particular seal is that when it is removed, the seal is generally broken into two or more pieces, resulting in several pieces of waste to be cleaned up. Also, if shards from the seal enter the valve itself, it can result in contamination of the spear, or extractor tube, which can render the keg ΙΕ ο 5 0 1 3 5 unusable at site. The keg must then be returned to the brewery where, if the contamination goes unnoticed, it can cause cleaning and filling problems in production.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a seal for a keg that produces only a single piece of waste when removed.

Accordingly, there is provided a single-use cap for sealing a keg valve, said cap having a continuous collar which is adapted to surround and engage said valve, a top surface which is integral with said collar and covering said valve, and a pull-tab which cooperates with one or more weakened lines in the collar and top surface to facilitate the tearing of said cap, said pull-tab and weakened lines adapted for tearing such that said collar is initially broken, and further tearing results in tearing of the top surface, which allows for removal of said cap in one piece.

Because the collar is broken initially when the tab is pulled, with the seal in one continuous piece, the collar is freed from its engagement with the valve. Further pulling opens up the seal until it comes away in a single piece.

Preferably, one or more stiffening columns act to strengthen said pull-tab.

Preferably, a plurality of weakened lines are located adjacent to said stiffening columns, and are defined in IE 0 5 0 1 3 5 a substantially parallel fashion on said collar and diverge at an angle on said top surface.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 (a) is a perspective view of the top of a known seal for a keg; Fig. 1 (b) is a perspective view of the underside of the known seal of Fig. 1(a); Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the top of a seal for a keg according to the invention; Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional side view of the seal for a keg of Fig. 2, taken along the line III-III; Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional side view of the seal for a keg of Fig. 2, taken along the line IV-IV; Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional side view of the seal of Fig. 2 after heat shrinking has been performed; and Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the seal of Fig. 2 after the frangible sections of the seal have been torn; Referring to Figs. 2-4, a seal for a keg is indicated generally at 10. The seal 10 comprises a shallow circular cup-shaped body, having a top surface 12. A collar 14 extends downwardly from the top surface 12, the collar having an open circular free end 11 and a top closed end 13.

A tab 16 is located at the open end 11 of the collar 14. The tab 16 projects away from the collar 14, along the axis indicated as III-III, and parallel to the top ΙΕ ο 5 0 ί 3 5 surface 12. A pair of stiffening columns 18 extend from either side of the tab 16 to the closed top end 13 of the collar 14, defining a rigid strip 20 which runs from the tab 16 to the top surface 12. A pair of weakened lines 22 on either side of the rigid strip 20 assist in breaking the rigid strip 20 from the collar.

The weakened lines 22 continue as a pair of frangible grooves 24 extending from the closed end 13 of the collar 14 into the top surface 12 of the body 10. Each of the frangible grooves 24 extends in a generally straight line at an acute angle relative to the line III-III.

During application (Fig. 5), the seal 10 is heat shrunk onto the neck of a cylindrical keg nozzle (not shown), the collar 14 bending inwards to engage the neck of the nozzle, with the top surface 12 and collar 14 enclosing the dispensing valve of the nozzle.

When it is desirable to remove the seal, the tab 16 is grasped and pulled back over the top surface 12 of the cap in the direction shown by the arrow 25. This causes the seal to tear first along the weakened lines 22 and then along the frangible grooves 24, allowing for the seal to be removed (Fig. 6). The advantage of this design is that by tearing the collar 14 first, the cap 10 is removed through the act of further tearing, meaning that the cap 10, when removed, is a single piece of waste. ΙΕ ο 5 0 1 3 5

Claims (4)

Claims

1· A single-use cap for sealing a keg valve, said cap having a continuous collar which is adapted to surround and engage said valve, a top surface which is integral with said collar and covering said valve, and a pull-tab which co-operates with one or more weakened lines in the collar and top surface to facilitate the tearing of said cap, said pull-tab and weakened lines adapted for tearing such that said collar is initially broken, and further tearing results in tearing of the top surface, which allows for removal of said cap in one piece.

2. A single-use cap as claimed in claim 1, wherein a pair of said weakened lines extend from the tab, through the height of the collar and onto the top surface, said lines being substantially parallel to one another on said collar and diverging from one another at an angle on said top surface.

3. A single-use cap as claimed in claim 1, further comprising one or more stiffening elements in the collar to strengthen said pull-tab during removal.

4. A single-use cap for sealing a keg valve, substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 2-6 of the accompanying Drawings.