DISPENSING OF FLUIDS

Abstract

A container for dispensing fluid under pressure, the container have a top and a base with a floor raised above the base by a downwardly depending skirt, a high pressure canister being positioned under the floor of the container within the skirt and having a regulator which is adapted to extend through the floor and into the container, whereby the regulator causes release of gas from the high pressure canister when the internal pressure in the container falls below a predetermined level.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the dispensing of fluids and, in particular, relates to the dispensing of beer under pressure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Beer drinkers are particularly fond of beer which is dispensed under pressure from a barrel. In commercial facilities, the beer is stored in large barrels and then dispensed under pressure from a beer tap. This is known as draught beer and is particularly popular the world over.

Attempts have been made to provide smaller barrels for domestic use. These barrels can vary between 5 L and 100 L and are usually pressurised to ensure the beer is dispensed in the same manner as draught beer is dispensed in commercial establishments.

A problem with the domestic style of barrel is encountered in ensuring the beer is dispensed consistently at the required pressure. There is a tendency for the beer to be over pressurised at first usage and, then as the pressure within the barrel drops, the beer becomes either flat or is difficult to dispense due to a loss of pressure. It has been proposed to place, within the beer barrel, boosters in the form of small, highly pressurised canisters that release a boost of gas, usually nitrogen or carbon dioxide, into the beer as the pressure within the barrel drops. It is these issues that have brought about the present invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a container for dispensing fluid under pressure, the container having a top and a base having a raised floor supported by a downwardly depending skirt, a dispensing tap located in the container, the floor of the container having an aperture, a high pressure canister being profiled to fit within the skirt under the floor of the container, the canister having projecting therefrom a regulator which is adapted to fit into the aperture with the regulator extending into the container, the regulator having a primer whereby in use when the container is filled with fluid and the interior of the container pressurised the regulator is primed so that as the pressure in the container drops as the fluid is dispensed the regulator activates a valve in the canister to release gas under pressure into the container to elevate the pressure within the container to maintain a substantially constant pressure.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a container for dispensing fluid under pressure, the container having a top and a base with a floor raised above the base by a downwardly depending skirt, a high pressure canister being positioned under the floor of the container within the skirt and having a regulator that is adapted to extend through the floor and into the container.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for preparing a container for dispensing of fluid under substantially constant pressure, comprising attaching a pressure control device to the underside of the exterior of the container, the pressure control device having a regulator adapted to extend through the floor of the container into the interior of the container, the regulator including a primer whereby the method comprises securing the pressure control device to the container, filling the container with fluid, pressurising the container to a pressure slightly above the operating pressure via the dispensing tap, the pressure control device either being subsequently pressurised to an excess pressure or being supplied pre-pressurised to the excess pressure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a container for dispensing beer;

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional area taken on the lines AA of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the cross section of the base of the container illustrating a pressure booster and regulator primed for use; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the regulator when activated to release pressurised gas from the booster.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The beer barrel 10 illustrated in the accompanying drawings is constructed of metal to assume a cylindrical shape with a top 11 and base structure 12. The actual floor 13 of the barrel 10 is raised above the base 12 of the barrel and is supported by an annular skirt 14 that defines a space 15 between the floor 13 of the barrel and the base of the skirt 14.

This space 15 is utilised to house a canister 20 which can be pressurised with gas, usually a mixture of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, to pressures in excess of 500 psi. The canister 20 is toroidal in shape and is designed to fit within the space defined by the skirt at the base of the barrel. As shown in FIG. 3, the toroidal canister has inwardly dished top and bottom walls 21 and 22 and has a central aperture 23 that supports a plug 30 that has a central throughway 31, an enlarged upper flange 32 that is welded to the upper surface of the top wall 21 of the canister 20 and a lower flange 33 which projects past the bottom wall 22 of the canister 20 to terminate approximately level with the base 12 of the barrel 10.

The throughway 31 is stepped to define a wide opening 36, a threaded portion 37 and an unthreaded passage 35. The opening 36 is closed by a removable end cap 39. A valve body 40 is screwed into the threaded passageway 37 and located in a sealed engagement with the plug 30 via an O-ring 41. The valve body 40 has a one-way valve including a valve member 42 located by a retainer 43 against a coil spring (not shown). The end 45 of the valve member 42 projects into a conical space 43 defined within the valve body 40 and the valve member 42 includes a head 47 which seats against an internal bore 48 of the valve member via an O-ring 49. The one-way valve is used to pressurise the canister 20 and the plug 30 has at least one aperture 46 that communicates with the interior of the canister.

The floor 13 of the beer barrel 10 has a centrally positioned aperture 16 and a circular mounting boss 17 with a central partially threaded aperture 18 is welded to the interior of the floor 13 of the barrel to extend across the aperture 16.

The upper flange 32 of the plug 30 has an upwardly and outwardly projecting spigot 38 which is externally threaded to screw into the boss 17 welded to the floor 13 of the barrel 10. The spigot 38 in turn has an internally threaded aperture 39 that accommodates a screw threaded spigot 51 formed on the end of a second plug 60 that forms the base of the regulator 50 which extends into the barrel as shown in FIG. 2.

In this manner, the centrally located plug 30 welded to the canister 20 is screw threaded through the floor 13 of the beer barrel in the boss 17 with the regulator 50 extending into the interior of the beer barrel. This allows the canister 20 to be protected by the downwardly depending skirt 14 on the beer barrel 10 and the regulator 50 to be firmly located within the base of the beer barrel to communicate with the interior of the beer barrel so that, when activated, the high pressure within the canister 20 can be released into the beer barrel.

In use, the barrel 10 can be inverted and filled with beer through the aperture 16 in the floor 13 of the barrel 10 and then the canister 20 and regulator 50 are screwed into the floor 13 of the barrel. Alternatively, the canister 20 and regulator 50 can be screwed into the floor 13 of the barrel 10 and then the barrel is filled with beer from a dispensing tap (not shown) at the top 11 of the barrel 10. The canister 20 can be pressurised to the desired pressure of approximately 500 psi either prior to delivery or can be pressurised through the one-way valve 40 after being positioned in the base of the barrel 10.

Once the barrel 10 is full of beer, it is then pressurised via the dispensing tap to a pressure of approximately 20 psi.

The regulator 50 is of the kind disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,021,559, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

The regulator 50 essentially comprises a one-way valve housed in the second plug 60. A cap 70 is secured to the plug and includes two pressure chambers 71, 72 and a piston 73. A primer 80 in the form of a syringe body 81 is secured to the top of the cap 70.

The second plug 60 has a central throughway 61 which locates a one-way valve 62 in the same manner as the one-way valve 40 in the base of the canister 20. The one-way valve comprises a valve member 63 having a head 64 that seals against a valve seat 65, a retainer 66 enclosing a coil spring (not shown) about the valve stem 67 and the end of the valve stem 67 is connected to the piston 73 which is axially slidable within a cylinder defined by a the interior of the cap 70 which is secured to the exterior of the plug 60 and sealed thereon by welding or adhesive.

The cap 70 also includes a central hollow projection 74 defining a chamber 76 which houses a flexible chamber seal 75. The space between the underside of the piston 73 and the one-way valve 62 is in communication with the interior of the barrel 10 and defines the first pressure chamber 71 and the space between the other side of the piston 73 and the cup seal 75 defines the second pressure chamber 72 or expandable chamber. Projecting axially from the top of the second chamber 72 is the syringe body 81 which includes a piston 82 with a downward projection 83 constituting the primer 80. The chamber seal 75 is annular with a peripheral lip 77 supported by an annular rib 78 with the peripheral lip 77 and annular rib 78 bearing against the wall of the chamber 76. The expandable chamber 72 is on one side of the chamber seal 75.

When the barrel 10 is pressurised, the piston 82 in the syringe body 81 is forced down to force gas past the chamber seal 75 into the second chamber 72. The design of the chamber seal 75 is such that the pressure within the second chamber 72 on one side of the piston 73 is about 3 psi less than the pressure in the first chamber 71 on the other side of the piston 73 which equates to the internal pressure of the barrel 10. As the contents of the barrel are released and the internal pressure drops, eventually the pressure in the first chamber 71 (about 17 psi) becomes greater than the internal pressure of the barrel 10 causing the piston 73 to be displaced downwardly to open the one-way valve 62 which causes release of the high pressure gas within the canister 20 to recharge the barrel 10. In this way, the syringe piston 82 primes the cup seal 75 for use at start up to be operable once the barrel has been charged. As the pressure in the barrel 10 drops below 17 psi, the one-way valve is activated causing the barrel to be recharged from the high pressure gas contained in the canister 20 in the base of the barrel.

An important design consideration with the barrel described above is its potential for reuse. The barrel, the pressurised canister and the plug which screws into the base of the barrel are all reusable. The only disposable and redundant component is the regulator and primer.

Claims

1. A container for dispensing fluid under pressure, the container having a top and a base with a floor raised above the base by a downwardly depending skirt, a high pressure canister being positioned under the floor of the container within the skirt and having a regulator, which is adapted to extend through the floor and into the container, whereby the regulator causes release of gas from the high pressure canister when the internal pressure in the container falls below a predetermined level.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein the regulator includes a one way valve that is driven to open to release high pressure gas from the canister when the pressure in the container drops below a predetermined level.

3. The container of claim 2 wherein the one way valve is driven by drive means actuatable by pressure within an expandable chamber sealed by a chamber seal whereby when the pressure within the container drops below the pressure in the expandable chamber the drive means opens the one way valve.

4. The container of claim 3 wherein the regulator includes a primer to prime the expandable chamber to a pressure slightly below the pressure in the container.

5. The container of claim 4, wherein the primer comprises a piston displaceable within a cylinder by pressure within the container to engage the chamber seal and pressurize the expandable chamber.

6. The container of claim 3 wherein the chamber seal is annular with a peripheral lip supported by an annular rib with the lip and rib bearing against a wall of the chamber.

7. The container of claim 1, wherein the canister is adapted to screw into an aperture in the base of the container with a regulator extending through the aperture.

8. The container of claim 1, having a dispensing tap to allow the fluid to be dispensed under pressure.

9. The container of claim 1, wherein the canister has a one way valve to facilitate the filling of the canister at high pressure.

10. The container of claim 1, wherein the container is cylindrical and the canister is toroidal.

11. A container for dispensing fluid under pressure, the container having a top and a base having a raised floor supported by a downwardly depending skirt, a dispensing tap located in the container, the floor of the container having an aperture, a high pressure canister being profiled to fit within the skirt under the floor of the container, the canister having projecting therefrom a regulator, which is adapted to fit into the aperture with the regulator extending into the container, the regulator having a primer whereby in use when the container is filled with fluid and the interior of the container is pressurized and the regulator is primed so that as the pressure in the container drops as the fluid is dispensed the regulator activates a valve in the canister to release gas under pressure into the container to elevate the pressure within the container to maintain a substantially constant pressure.

12. A method for preparing a container for dispensing fluid under substantially constant pressure from a dispensing tap, comprising

attaching a pressure control device containing gas at high pressure to the underside of the exterior of the container, the pressure control device having a regulator adapted to extend through the floor of the container into the interior of the container, the regulator including a primer;

filling the container with fluid; and

pressurizing the container to a pressure slightly above the operating pressure via the dispensing tap to prime the regulator.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the pressure control device may be pressurized in situ via a one way valve or supplied pre-pressurized.