PT90945B - DISPENSING CONTAINER FOR A LIQUID DRINK CONTAINING A PRESSURE GAS - Google Patents

Abstract

A container device serves to distribute a preferably drinkable liquid, such as beer, wine, mineral water or juice, under pressure from a gas, e.g. CO2. The container device comprises a liquid container (1) with a combined gas and liquid valve (6) and a coupling head (3) which may detachably be coupled with the gas and liquid valve (6) with a view to dispensing liquid from the liquid container (1) and adding gas via a reduction valve (8) from a reservoir of liquefied gas in a pressure container. The pressure container comprises at least one such high pressure container which forms a component firmly integrated with the liquid container. Hereby, without noticeable increase in its overall volume, the container itself can hold and carry a sufficient amount of propellant gas for emptying the liquid container (1) of liquid.

Description

The invention relates to a container for dispensing a container for dispensing a liquid, preferably a liquid drink, for example beer, wine, mineral water or juice, containing a gas under pressure, for example CO2, which comprises a liquid reservoir with a combined valve for liquid and gas, and a coupling nozzle, which can be separably adapted, to the gas and liquid valve, for the supply of a liquid from the liquid reservoir, and the addition of a gas that passes through a reduction valve, from a reservoir with liquefied gas, contained in a high pressure resistant packaging. !

Containers of this kind, which are generally called vats or barrels, are widely used today for the distribution of, for example, beer, which is a breed. kept in the tank with a CO2 gas pressure of about 3 bars, in order to keep the beer fresh and confe. laugh at its special characteristic of effervescent and foamy. The container is opened when a coupling nozzle is mounted on the respective valve, which in turn is connected to a dispensing valve via a pipe. During delivery, the gas then acts as a propellant gas.

which, however, follows the drink out of the reservoir only to a certain extent. To remedy the disastrous consequences of this aspect, it is necessary to complement, constantly- * ·

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the gas content of the reservoir, with more gas, è. as the drink is dispensed, and, in the current state of the art, this is done by connecting the gas inlet of the coupling nozzle, through a reduction valve, with a separate bottle or with disposable cartridges, which contain the gas in the liquefied state. This is complicated and time consuming, in any case, and especially in cases where bottles are used, relatively complicated connections are required, while, on the other hand, costs increase considerably when, in cartridges are used instead, since emptying only one reservoir takes several cartridges, which will then have to be discarded.

We tried to solve these inconveniences by installing an additional chamber upwards, through a partition, in a reservoir for drinks that, in other aspects, remains conventional. The consumer then fills the said chamber in advance with sufficient gas to empty the beverage container. This essentially solves the problems mentioned above, as the user no longer needs to use separate gas bottles or cartridges, but due to the excessively large volume of the gas, this type of reservoir takes up much more space than before , which contributes to increase transportation and handling costs.

The object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a container of the kind mentioned in the first paragraph, which can itself contain the amount of gas necessary for emptying the drink without an aumer. perceptible of the total volume of the container, and that it is also easier and faster to assemble, when it needs to be used, than the state of the art containers.

This is achieved by the fact that the information container

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The invention is characterized by the fact that at least one high-pressure resistant container for liquefied gas is a component that forms a single piece with the container for the liquid, so that the transportable reservoir can contain enough gas for the its emptying, without its overall volume being noticeably increased, since the gas in liquefied form has only a small volume.

According to the invention, the reservoir resistant to high pressures can be a cylindrical or ring-shaped container with pressure, which is connected to the container for the liquid by a connection process, such as | hot welding, cold welding, driving or screwing. The transport container is, by this process, divided into two chambers, one of which is a low pressure resistant chamber for the liquid, and the other chamber is a high pressure resistant chamber for the liquefied gas. I

In a preferred embodiment, the high pressure-resistant reservoir can, according to the in-! prevention, be a pressure vessel, cylindrical in shape; or ring, which is embedded in a shell made of, for example, plastic foam, which surrounds the liquid container and is firmly attached to it, so that the chamber resistant to high pressure and the surrounding areas will be located completely outside the low pressure resistant chamber, which is therefore easier to clean.

In addition, according to the invention, the rotating container includes one or more containers resistant to high pressure, each of which is adapted to withstand a minimum pressure of 60 bars, and the product between said pressure and the volume of the container expressed in liters p_o | less than 250, preferably less than 200. In this way, the gas can be stored in a liquefied state without

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the high pressure resistant reservoir or the high pressure resistant containers are subjected to tests%

official and repetitive, and approval requirements, since the amount of gas sufficient to empty the container with the liquid is divided, if deemed necessary, between several containers of this type, resistant to high pressures.

In addition, in accordance with the invention, the reducing valve can form a component that constitutes a single piece with the container for the liquid, so that the assembly is considerably simplified, when the reservoir has to be used.

Finally, the outlet openings of the reduction valve and the gas and liquid valve can be arranged with; a reciprocal axial spacing, and the coupling nozzle can be equipped with a distribution valve for the liquid, and can also be placed so that, in the assembled state, it partially connects the reduction valve with the inlet! the gas valve of the gas and liquid, and turns on partially! the distribution valve with the liquid outlet of the gas and liquid valve. This means that the coupling nozzle can be fitted to the transport container in a single operation, which at the same time establishes the necessary connections for gas and liquid in order to make the { make the reservoir run and supply the liquid.

The invention will be explained in more detail by means of the description, which follows, of the preferred forms of reproduction, which are presented by way of example and do not imply any limitation of the scope of the invention as far as protection is concerned. References are made to the drawings in which: j - figure 1 is a sectional, side and partial view of umâ

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first embodiment of a container according to the invention;

figure 2 is a top view of the above mentioned container;

figure 3 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a second embodiment of the container according to the invention;

figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a third embodiment of a reservoir according to the present invention;

figure 5 ® is a top view of the aforementioned embodiment;

figure 6 is a partial cross-sectional side view, in enlarged scale, of a part of the container according to the invention, in which the connections between the coupling nozzle and, respectively, the valve are illustrated in detail. reduction valve and gas and liquid valve combined

In the figures, which show the various embodiments of the container according to the invention described in more detail below, the equal parts are indicated with the same reference numbers, while the parts constructed as alternatives and which have the same functions are Indicates at least reference numerals, but with a number as a prefix, corresponding to the respective form of realization.

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a container according to the invention, which includes a reservoir for liquids 1, for a drink, for example beer, wine, mineral water or juice, a container resistant to high pressures 102 for a liquefied gas, for example CO2, hot welded in the aforementioned liquid reservoir (r

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as well as a mounted coupling nozzle 3, which serves to interconnect the liquid containers and the containers resistant to high pressure. The liquid container 1 can be made of plastic, but it is generally made of metal, such as aluminum or stainless steel, and the high pressure resistant container 102 can be made of a corresponding material. The liquid container 1 rests on a base ring 4 and, above, has a neck ring 5, on which a valve 6 for combined gas and liquid is mounted, which is not shown in figure 1, but in figure 6. In this case, the high pressure resistant reservoir 102 is in the form of a cylinder and extends vertically along the liquid container 1, to which it is welded at the top and bottom, so that the two containers 1, 102, in combination form a single firmly integrated unit.

-for liquids container 1 is a low pressure resistant container with a relatively low operating pressure, for example 3 bars, when the container is used to store beer, while the gas container is a container resistant to high pressures, which is filled with gas by means of a filling valve 7, which is shown schematically, and which, when the propellant gas is CO2, must withstand a test pressure of 190 bars. During the distribution of liquids, when the pressure in the liquid container 1 drops below the pressure to which a reduction valve 8 had been set, which is welded in the high pressure container 1C2, the liquefied gas, which is inside of said container 102, begins to evaporate and penetrates into the liquid container 1 through the reducing valve 8, the coupling nozzle $ and the valve 6 for combined gas and liquid, to replace the gas that accompanies the liquid du

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; during distribution. In addition to being a propellant gas, the aforementioned! gas serves to keep the drink cool inside the reservoir; and gives beer, for example, its typical character of): effervescent and foamy drink.

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S During evaporation, the volume of liquefied gas is multiplied to a value such that even a very small amount of liquefied gas will be sufficient to empty the entire liquid container and the 'welded' tank, resistant to high pressure 1 can therefore be produced in relatively small dimensions, so that Si the thickness of its walls will be correspondingly small and does not restrict the useful volume of the liquid container in any noticeable way. According to the present invention, in general it does not occupy more space than the corresponding conventional reservoirs S, despite the fact that it contains and S1 itself carries its propellant gas.

High pressure resistant reservoirs are

S subject to the rules established by government agencies,

Si which require, among other factors, that the reservoir! is subjected to pressure tests, for example every five years. However, this rule does not apply in cases where the product between the volume expressed in liters and a. pressure expressed in bars is less than a predetermined limit value, for example 250 or 200, a value that may vary slightly from country to country. Given that the gas tank, as mentioned above, has a relatively small volume and, in spite of that, is able to contain the necessary amount of gas, then the small gas containers can be used normally, in a that the application of repeated tests, which will be cumbersome and difficult to perform in such an integrated device, is not necessary. If, however, the volume has to be so .1

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large, especially in large reservoirs for liquids, that the aforementioned limit value cannot be obeyed by a reservoir, instead of this more containers with gas according to the invention are used, among which the gas is then distributed, according to so that the limit value will not be exceeded by any of these containers.

In the embodiment illustrated in figure 1, the reduction valve 8 is welded on top, over the high pressure resistant reservoir 1C2, as already mentioned. According to the illustration, the coupling nozzle 3 can be mounted in a single operation, which establishes, at the same time, all connections, as will be explained further on in relation to figure 6. In this case, the assembly is carried out when a hook 9 in the coupling nozzle 3 is forced to be attached below a front edge IC facing backwards on the neck of the neck 5 s then turn the coupling nozzle downwards until a stop 11 is forced to be attached to a pin 13, on each side of the reduction valve, by means of a spring 12. The coupling nozzle also has a dispensing valve 13, which can be activated by a swing arm 15 ·

The assembly of this structure does not require any special skills or tools and can be carried out with a single manipulation, as already mentioned, and after that the tank is immediately ready for use. When the reservoir is empty, it is simply dismantled by releasing the stop 11 by pulling a handle for an existing finger 15 on the stop 11.

The mechanism described above can also be arranged in many other ways within the scope of the invention.

In this regard, it is essential that the connections for gas and liquid are established simultaneously when fitting the coupling nozzle.

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The embodiment of the reservoir according to the invention shown in figure 5 is quite similar to that of the reservoir drawn in figure 1, except for the fact that, in this case, the container for gas 202 has an annular shape and is welded to the top of the liquid container 1. This structure has the special advantage that the 202 gas reservoir can achieve a sufficiently large volume even with a very small diameter container, since on the other hand ring can be produced with a large diameter, corresponding to that of the container for the liquid.

: In both cases described above, the gas reservoir \ or the high pressure resistant reservoir has been welded to the liquid container. However, according to the invention, the two reservoirs can also be connected

Intended to form an integrated unit in any other suitable manner, which can establish a firm connection between the two components, for example, cold welding, driving or screwing.

Figures 4 and 5 show a third embodiment of the invention, in which the pressure-resistant reservoir 502, which in this case has an annular shape, is attached to the liquid container 1 by means of a housing! t

External material made of, for example, plastic foam, such as polyurethane foam, which shapes the two containers 1, 302 to form an integrated structure. Then, the reservoir for gas 302 will be placed entirely; out of the space in the liquid container 1, in which the drink is stored. This embodiment is particularly advantageous since the internal surfaces of the liquid container can be cleaned more easily. ί lity and more care, than in the above described embodiment, when also the tank resistant to highs:

S ♦ U-11; ί pressures have surfaces that contact the drink. The external casing 17 can, in addition, provide a complete reservoir with adequate protection during transport and niani pui tion, and also serves as an insulator in order to keep the debt cool. In addition to the modifications already mentioned above, this structure corresponds, in all other aspects, to the embodiment illustrated in figure 5.

Figure 6 shows, in more detail and on an enlarged scale, the arrangement of valve 6, coupling nozzle 3 and reduction valve 8, which is welded to a reservoir with an annular shape and resistant to high pressure 202, in the case in point. The valve 6 is a valve for the combined gas and liquid, which is, in general, called ternary and which has a passage for gas 18 and a passage for liquid 19, but which, in other aspects, may have which, any appropriate structure and therefore will not be described in detail here. Through a channel for liquid 20, located in the coupling nozzle 3, the liquid passage is connected to the distribution valve 14, which can be opened with a slight pressure on the swing arm 15, so that a valve is opened 21. However, this latter arrangement can also be established in many other ways, for example as a rotating plug. The gas passage communicates with the reduction valve via a gas channel 22 in the coupling nozzle 3. The structure of valve 8 is of a well-known type, such as that of valve 6, and therefore , will not be described in more detail here.

j! As already described above, the coupling nozzle is easily and quickly assembled with a single handle, thus providing a seal for the! Valve. gas and liquid 6, by means of a sealing taper washer 23, ie, for the reducing valve 8, by means of another O-ring 24. As can be seen, all connections are thus automatically established through the coupling nozzle 3 , so that the liquid container 1 is successively filled with gas from the gas reservoir 202, and with drink provided by the valve 14.

1 ! CLAIMS: 1 ' \ '1. Container for distribution of a liquid, preferably a liquid drink, such as í beer, wine, mineral water or juice, under pressure from a

Claims (9)

1 ! CLAIMS: 1 ' \ '1. Container for distribution of a liquid, preferably a liquid drink, such as í beer, wine, mineral water or juice, under pressure from a gas, for example CC4, comprising a container containing liquid with a combined valve for gas and liquid and a coupling nozzle which is detachably coupled with a ^! gas and liquid valve in order to supply liquid from said container and add gas via a pressure reducing valve from a reserve of liquefied gas contained in a reservoir under high pressure, i characterized by the fact that said reservoir under high pressure, containing liquefied gas, be connected to the liquid reservoir in such a way that the liquid container and the 'high pressure reservoir containing liquefied gas only! can be separated by destroying the liquid container 2. Container for dispensing a liquid, according to the claim 1, featured fur fact that in O 1 reservoir under high pressure be a cylinder or one reservoir under high pressure with the shape ring what is connected with container of liquid by means or methods in junction, such as autogenic welding, welding with weak welding, welding with seam or screwing. Container for dispensing a liquid according to claim 1, characterized in that the high pressure reservoir is a cylinder or a high pressure reservoir with the annular shape it has! soaked in a wrapper that surrounds the liquid container and is firmly attached to it. Container for dispensing a liquid according to claim 3, characterized in that the casing is formed of a foamed plastic material. Container for dispensing a liquid according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises one or more containers under high pressure, each of which is designed to withstand a pressure j at least equal to 60 bar ( 6 x 106 Pa) and the product of this pressure because the volume of the container expressed in liters is less than 250. Container for dispensing a liquid according to claim 5, characterized in that the product of that pressure by the volume of the container is less than 200. | ί Container for dispensing a liquid according to claim 1, characterized in that the reducing valve is integrally formed with the liquid container and with at least one reservoir under high pressure. Container for dispensing a liquid according to claim 7, characterized in that an outlet opening> of the reduction valve and the gas and liquid valve are mounted with a mutual axial spacing and the coupling nozzle is placed in such a way that, in the assembled state, it connects the reduction valve with a gas inlet of the gas and liquid valve, at the same time that it connects a distribution valve with the liquid outlet of the gas and liquid valve. ! 9. Container for dispensing a liquid, according! according to claim 7, characterized in that the coupling nozzle I is equipped with a distribution valve! into the liquid.