US2926811A

US2926811A - Closure for pre-mix container

Info

Publication number: US2926811A
Application number: US663774A
Authority: US
Inventors: Francis S Faust
Original assignee: R G WRIGHT CO Inc
Current assignee: R G WRIGHT CO Inc
Priority date: 1957-06-05
Filing date: 1957-06-05
Publication date: 1960-03-01
Anticipated expiration: 1977-03-01

Description

March 1, 1960 F. s. FAUST 2,926,811

CLOSURE FOR PRE-MIX CONTAINER Filed June 5, 1957 Azrazlviys.

United States Patent CLOSURE FOR PRE-MIX CONTAINER Francis 8- Faust, Buffalo, N.Y., assignor to R. G. Wright Application June 5, 1957, Serial No. 663,774

4 Claims. (Cl. 220-25) This invention relates to covers, and more particularly to a closure for pre-mix drink containers.

The use of pre-mix tanks for ready mixed drinks containing syrup and carbonated water, or soda, such as the. cola type beverages now on the market, is becoming more popular, especially in automatic vending machines, at soda fountains, and for portable use as at picnics, or other. outdoor affairs. Such pre-mix tanks must necessarily be of high strength to withstand the pressure of the charged contents, and furthermore, must have a cover which must not only be large enough to afiord easy cleaning of the tank, but must also be leakproof, and strong enough to withstand the pressure when the tank is full.

. The pre-mix tanks of the prior art having closing covers generally involved a hand operation and fairly elaborate manipulation to apply or remove the cover from the er blowout.

2,926,811 Patented Mar. 1, 1960 tion broadly includes an oval shaped cover 14, and a self-locking linkage arrangement 16. The cover 14 has an outwardly extending flange 17 along the bottom edge which flange supports a rubber washer, or gasket 18 bonded to the cover, as best seen in Fig. 8. The tank opening 12 has a reduced diameter neck portion which serves to provide an inwardly facing annular shoulder to seat the gasket 18. It will be apparent that the cover 14 will thus be seated with increasing seat pressure as the pressure of the charged tank is increased, to thereby effectively reduce the possibility of leakage, or tank cov- The opening 12 and cover 14 have been specified as being oval so that the cover may be inserted Within the tank 11. Obviously, the opening and cover could be another shape if desired, such as. round, it being only necessary to afiix a ring or equivalent within the tank. In certain cases the covers were not adequately designed thereby resulting in leakage and possible great body harm it the cover was blown off.

The cover of the present invention represents an improvement, which avoids the shortcomings of many of the closures of the prior art. More particularly, covers embodying the principles of the invention may be quick- 1y applied or. removed and, furthermore may be permanently afiixed to the tank with which it is used thus avoiding loss of covers, or extra handling of covers during tank cleaning operations. Most importantly the cover of the invention is self-sealing, and provides a progressively tighter seal as the pressure inside the tank increases.

These and further objects and features of the invention will become more apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 is a section view of a pre-mix tank having a closure means incorporating the principles of the invention, said means being shown in closed condition;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1 but showing a portion of the closure means in section;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to that of Fig. 2 but with the closure means in open condition;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view generally as seen from line 44 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section view as seen from line 5-5 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section view as seen from line 6-6 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is an enlarged section view as seen from line '7-7 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is an enlarged section view as seen from line 88 in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 9 is an exploded perspective view of certain ele ments forming part of the closure means of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing and more particularly to Fig. 1, a tank, or container 11 has an oval shaped opening 12, and a filling pipe 13 which is capped after the tank is filled with a pre-mix beverage. A cover, or closure arrangement embodying the principles of the invenopening to reduce the area thereof after the cover has been placed in the tank.

The self-lock linkage arrangement 16 includes a slidable arm or lever 19, a rotatable lever 21, a pair of connecting links 22, a pair of pivoted levers 23, and a pair of mounting brackets 24. The brackets 24 are L-shaped in side projection, with one leg extending and overlying the edge of the opening 12, the other leg having laterally extending base portions 26 adapted for affixing the bracket to the top of the tank adjacent said opening. Slidable lever 19, which is U-shaped in cross section, is pivotally secured at one end to a lug 27 which is afiixed to the cover 14, and has a pair of elongated slots or longitudinal slideways 28 for receipt of a pin 29 secured in its mid-region to the forwardly extending arms of the mounting brackets 24, and at its outer region to the for ward end of the lever 21. The lever 21, which is also U-shaped for slidably receiving the lever 19, has a pair of downwardly extending lugs, or arms 31, which are pivotally ailixed to one end of the connecting links by means of pins 32. The opposite end of the connecting 1inks22 are arranged for pivotal connection with the levers 23 by means of pins 33. The pivotal levers 23 are L-shaped, the lower and shorter legs thereof being pivotally secured to the mounting brackets 24 by means of a pin 34, while the longer legs are pivo'tally affixed to one end of the slidable lever 19 by a pin 36.

A spring 37 is arranged to have one end abutting the surface of the tank adjacent the lower edge of the bracket base portion 26, is looped around the pin 34, at each end thereof, and has the other end in engagement with an edge of the pivoted levers 23. The spring 37 is tensioned to constantly urge the pivoted lever 23 counterclockwise (Fig. 2) about the pin 37. The axes of the

various pins

29, 32, 33 and 36 are, of course, parallel with each other and also with the plane of the opening 12.

The linkage arrangement 16 is self-locking when the cover 14 is moved to closed position, by virtue of the fact that the pins 32 pass dead center of the line between pins 33 and pin 29. Once the lever 21 is rotated counterclockwise about the pin 29, the locking arrangement of the links will be disrupted due to the fact that the pins 32 will move upwardly past the centerline between pins 33 and pin 29. As soon as the self-locking arrangement is disrupted, the spring 37 will expand and cause rotation of the pivoted levers 23 about the pin 34 re sulting in the counter-clockwise movement of the

levers

19 and 21 about the pin 29. Such motion will cause downward movement of the cover 14 within the tank 11, and sliding movement of the lever 19 downwardly by reason of the slot 28 and the pin 29 connection. Accordingly, the cover 14 will not only be given a rotating motion but also a linear motion, resulting in a positioning of the cover within the tank as illustrated in Fig. 3.

It will be seen that in such open position of the cover 14, cleaning of the tank, which is done with the tank in inverted position i.e,, with the opening 12 lowermost within a cleaning or washing machine, the wash water sprayed upward within the tank will wash the inside of the cover' as it flows downwardly and out of the tank.

To close the cover it will be seen that by applying force upon the end of the lever 21, to cause clockwise movement thereof, the lever 19 will be drawn upwardly via pin 36 connection between the lever 19 and lever 23, so that the cover will be drawn upward into closed position within the tank opening 12. Final downward rotary movement of the lever 21 will force the pin 32 past the line of centers of pins 33 and pin 29, and thus lock the linkage assembly in position as illustrated in Fig. 1.

It is to be noted that the lever 21 projects beyond the side of the tank 11, which projection may be utilized tor mechanical unlocking and opening of the cover by means of a plunger or arm (not shown) moving parallel with the side wall of the tank. Likewise, mechanical means may be arranged for closing and locking the cover by application of force upon the end of the lever 21.

From the foregoing it will be seen that a cover made according to the principles of the invention represents an improvement which avoids the shortcomings of prior art covers. In addition to the convenience of having the cover permanently afiixcd to the tank with which it is used, the cover of the invention provides progressively tighter sealing as the pressure inside the tank increases, thereby avoiding the hazards of covers not so constructed.

The foregoing description has been given in detail without thought of limitation since the inventive principles involved are capable of assuming other physical embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a container having an opening with a reduced diameter neck portion providing an inwardly facing annular shoulder, a cover fitting within said neck portion against said shoulder, a self-sealing gasket between said cover and shoulder and aflording progressively greater sealing efiect as pressure within the container is increased, a first lever having a longitudinal slideway, a pivotal connection between one end of said first lever and said cover, a pivotal connection between said first lever and container and including a pivot pin projecting into said slideway to permit longitudinal movement of said first lever whereby the cover can be moved into the container, at second lever, a pivotal connection between one end of said second lever and said container, a pivotal connection between the other end of said second lever and the other end of said first lever, and manually releasable means interposed between said first and second levers and locking said levers in a position holding said cover closed, the axes of said pivotal connections being generally parallel with each other and the plane of said opening.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein a spring means is interposed between said container and second lever and biases said cover to an, open position.

3. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said manually releasable means comprises a link, a pivotal connection between one end of said link and a central portion of said second lever, a third lever, a pivotal connection between the other end of said link and one end of said third lever, the other end of said third lever being pivotally supported by said pivotal connection between said first lever and container, and a handle extension on said third lever for manual manipulation thereof.

4. The combination set forth in claim 3 wherein said pivotal connection between said other end of saidlink and said one end of said third lever passes beyond dead center with reference to said pivotal connection between said first lever and container and said pivotal connection between said one end of said third lever a central portion of said second lever.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS ma Mam: