US2873051A - Beverage dispenser - Google Patents

Description

Fb. `10, H359 H. F. HAMBURG ET AL 2,873,051

BEVERAGE DISPENSER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 1l, 1956 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Feb. 10, 1959 H. F. HAMBURG ET AL BEVERAGE DISPENSER 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May ll, 1956 I l `INVENTOR ATTORNEYS Feb- 10, 1959 H. F. HAMBURG ET AL 2,873,051

BEVERAGE DISPENSER l Filed May '11, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS` BEVERAGE DISPENSER Henry 'E'. Hamburg, Stratford, and: AnthonyEaugno,

Darien, Conn.

Application May` 11, 1956, Serial No. 584,266

12 Claims. (Cl. Z22-396)v This invention relates to a beverage -dispenser'- and more particularly relates vto a dispenser'for carbonated beverages.

Carbonated beverages such as various soft drinks and beerenjoy a widespread consumption in the home and are ordinarily supplied in` individual bottles or cans. Once these containers are opened'there is no truly satisfactory method of preserving the beverage carbonation since even perfect sealing is ineffective where a large air space exists in the4 container. The merchandising of beverages of this nature in such relatively small containers adds to the cost ofthe drink and often timesv results; in a container disposal problem. While beer is customarily dispensed fromv kegs in commercial establishments, no satisfactory home dispenser hasachieved any, widespread usage, primarily because of the difficulty in supplying gas under'l pressure in an economical and safe'manner. Problems of cleanliness and contamination also exist so that any dispenser of this' nature for'home use must be susceptible to effective butv inexpensive sterilization.`

It is accordingly a primary object of the present in# vention to provide an improved bulk vcarbonatedbeverage dispenser.

It is another object of the invention to provide an im: proved bulk carbonated beverage dispenser-having asafe and economical means for maintaining the beverage/under pressure.

It is anotherL object ofthe invention to providelan irnproved bulk carbonated 1beverage4 dispenser which may be easily sterilized.

It is another objectl of the invention to provide an improved bulk carbonated beverage dispenser vhaving-a novelv and improved valvev means for maintaining'. pressure therein.

It isanother object'ofA the invention to provide. an improved bulk carbonated beverage dispenser, having an improved dispensing valve means.

Itis another object of the invention to provide an irn provedbulk carbonatedbeverage container which may be economically transported with a minimum amount of breakage. l

These and further objects and advantages of the inven,`

2,873,051 Patented Feb. 1o, 1959 ice formed integrally with, the interior of the container and its bottom. The concave bottom 12 is formed with a depression 16 which surrounds the housing 14, as may be seen in Figuresl, 2 and 3, and the bottom of this depression is at the same level as the lowermost portion in l the container surrounding* the concave bottom 12d as shown'.

The housing 14 is bored atr 20 and counterbored'at 22ltolreceivea container sealingvalve assembly indicated generally'lat 24. This valve assembly consists of a sleeve l having a smaller diameterend 264 received within the bore20 andraF larger diameter end 28 received withiny thecounterbore '22; The back end 30 of the housing14 is-apertured at 32 to provide avent and the bottom of bore 20 is cut away in an inclined manner at 34 toy form apassage'forbeverage being removed from the container; The' passage 34 communicates with a slot 36- in the wall ofibore 20. The large diameter section 28 of the valve sleeve is sealed' to the inside of the-housing 14 by means of an O-ring 38 Yand is retained in the housing by a lock ring 40 received withinv the housing. The larger end 28d of the sleeve is bored at 42 and the smaller end 26 is provided with a bore 44 larger than the bore 42 which' forms a shoulder-46 where the two bores meet. A coil spring 48 -Vis mounted in the bore 44 and is received i wit-hin a cap 50 sliding in bore 44. The face of the cap is provided with aseal gasket 52 which is urged against the-shoulder 46 bythe spring 48. A draftingport 54 in the-small end 26 of the sleeve providesl communication between theipassagef36 and the inside'of the valve sleeve. It `will beiseen that in the position shown in Figure'l the spring-48 forces the valve seal 52 against the shoulder 46' to',V prevent any escape of liquid from within the container.

The boret42 has an 0ring 56 mounted therein and is provided with a counterbore 58 and bayonet slot 60. The bore 424 in the valve sleeve is adapted to receive the valve stem 62 of'a drafting spigot indicated generally at 64. The drafting spigot consists of a body 66 havingl an enlarged end 68 which receives an enlarged portion 70 of the valve stem-62 and which is provided with a tapered bore72. The bore 72 communicates with a tapered bore 74n the end 70-of valve `stem 62 and the smaller end of the bore: 74 in valve `stem 62 -extends downwardly atv 76l andpassesthrough the cylindrical surface of the valve stem at thelrear thereof. A pair of bayonet lock pins 78 are providedin the side of thevalve stem 62 for engagetion will become apparent'upon reference to the following specification and claims andappended drawings wherein:

Figure lis a vertical cross.. section of atbeverage dispenser constructed according tothe present invention;

Figure' 2 is a top plan view of the beverage dispenser of' Figure l;v e

Figure 3 is a side elevation ofA the beverage dispenser of Figure l; and' Figure 4 is a cross sectional view ofthe pressure maintenance valve assembly.

Referring to Figure 1` there is shown at 101a fiber glass reinforced plastic container having an open` mouth at the upper end thereof and havingan upwardly concave bottom 12. At one side of. itsv bottom the. container `1l) is provided-withva discharge valve housing 14 whchis ment with the bayonet slot 60 in the valve sleeve. The large end 68 of the drafting spigot body 66 hasa tubular extension Srextending therefrom and a discharge conduit 82 extendsdownwardly from this extension. A bore 84 passes through the discharge conduit 82 and communicates with the small end of the bore 72.V A pear shaped valve-member 86 carrying an O-ring 87 is received within thebore 72 and has a rod 83 extending therefrom through a hole in the body 66. The end of body 66 is bored. to receive a coil spring 94 which bears against the underside of the button 96 which is carried by the stem 88.

In drawing carbonated beverages through a valve it isl important that the valve should not be only slightly opened-inasmuch as this causesthe beveragev toE foam. Withthe drafting spigot of this invention the valve member 86- is held in a closed position both by the spring 9.4 and by the pressure of the beveragein the container which acts-upon the exposed side of the pear shaped member 86.` When the button96 is depressed the beverage hasaccess to the right side of the member 86 in the drawing thereby completelyr eliminating the closing pressure previously appliedtotheA valve member by the beverage. As this pressurel is relievedl the valve snaps completely open so 3 that no foaming occurs. The spring 94 is provided basically to reclose the valve and consequently it need not exert any appreciable pressure on the button 96. The pressure of the beverage seals the valve once it is closed.

It will be seen that when the drafting spigot is mountedl on the container, the valve stem 62 enters the bore 42 and engages the seal 52. Further movement of the drafting spigot compresses spring 48 to uncover drafting port 54 and to provide communication between conduit 76 and passage 34 in the container. Leakage is prevented during the mounting operation by the O-ring 56 which tightly engages the stem 62 and the spigot is locked into position by means of the bayonet pins 78 and bayonet slot 60. After the spigot is inserted beer may be drawn by depressing the button 96 which moves the valve member 86 and O-ring 87 away from the throat of conical bore 72 so as to permit beverage to ow from depression 16 through passage 34, drafting port 54, passage 76, conical bores 74 and 72, and conduit 84. It will be noted that with thispvalve arrangement liquid may be withdrawn from the container until it reaches the level 102 at which time very little liquid remains in the container.

The upper end of the container is provided with a thickened portion 104 having a peripheral slot 106 on the inside thereof and this slot receives the lip 108 of a removable cover 110. The cover is preferably metal and concave in shape and is provided with a plurality of clips 112 which are secured thereto in any suitable manner, such as by spot welding. The clips 112 serve as means for removing the cover. A suitable fixture, not shown, is provided for clamping onto the underside of clips 112 and urging them inwardly to deform the cover 110 sufciently to allow its removal from the container. This operation generally entails the application of more pressure than may conveniently be applied by hand so that the container is not readily opened by users who do not possess the necessary fixture for properly accomplishing this function. This prevents unauthorized access to the interior of the container so that foreign articles may not readily be introduced thereinto. A gas charging valve assembly shown generally at 114 is mounted at the center of the cover.

Referring to Figure 4 it will be seen that the gas charging yvalve assembly consists of a cup member 116 having an outwardly extending upper ange 118 which is fastened to the cover 110 by any suitable means, such as welding. The bottom 120 of the cup 116 is provided with a series of charging ports 122 and the inside of the cup is formed into three bores 124, 126 and 128 of increasingly smaller diameter, the bores abutting to form shoulders 130 and 132.

A valve housing 134is received within bore 124 in cup 116 and the lower edge of the housing seats against shoulder l132 to compress the rim 136 of a resilient diaphragm 138 into sealing engagement with the shoulder 130. The housing 134 is secured in position in the cup by means of a lock ring 140. A boss 142 extends upwardly from the housing 134 and is exteriorly threaded at its upper end at 144. The interior of the boss is provided with three bores 146, 148 and 150 of decreasing diameters and the uppermost portion of bore 146 is threaded at 152. A rubber valve seat 154 is received within the bore 146 and is secured in position therein by means of an open mouthed retainer 156. Slidably mounted within bore 148 is a puncturing plug 158 which carries a hollow needle 160 at the upper end thereof. A bore 162 in needle 160 extends through the puncturing plug 158 and communicates with a matching passage 163 in a valve member 165 which is screw threadedly secured to the underside of puncturing plug 158. Valve member 165 is slidably received in a further bore 164 in housing 142 and has an enlarged head 166 which moves within a bore 168. The juncture of bores 150 and 168 form a shoulder on which is formed a valve seat 170 and the head 166 carries a valve seal O-ring 172 which mates with the valve seat 170. A coil spring 174 engages a flange 176 on puncturing plug 158 to urge the plug upwardly and to seal O-ring 172 against valve seat 170. A radial passage 178 is provided in valve member 165 in cornmunication with passage 163 so that when the puncturing plug 158 is depressed until passage 178 clears valve seat 170 communication is established between bore 168 and the mouth of needle 160. 4

The lowermost portion of bore 168 in housing 134 receives the threaded upper end of a valve block 180 carrying a flange 182 which seals to an O-ring 184. The other side of ange 182 is engaged by a coil spring 186 which seats against the upper surface of the diaphragm 138. Diaphragm 138 consists of a resilient disc portion formed of a material such as rubber which is molded or cast about a metal cup shaped hub 188 which slides upon a tube 190 depending from valve block 180. The hub 188 isl sealed to tube 190 by means of an O-ring 192 and the bottom of the cup is covered by a seal 196 which is bonded thereto. Radial ports 198 extend into the bottom of the cup and communicate with a passage 200 in valve block 180. The bottom of tube 190 is of a reduced diameter at 202 to provide a maximum sealing action with the seal 196.

The operation of this gas charging assembly is as follows. A carbon dioxide cartridge 204 is mounted upon thc rubber valve seat 154 and is advanced downwardly over needle 160 by means of a cartridge holder 206 which engages the threads 144 on stud 142. As the cartridge holder 206 is advanced downwardly the puncturing plug 158 is forced down against the action of spring 174 until the lower edge of the plug engages shoulder 208. This movement breaks the seal between valve seat 170 and O-ring 172 and places radial passage 178 in communication with the bore 168. Further downward advance of the cartridge 204 causes the needle 160 to pierce the cartridge and release the gas through bores 162, 163 and 178 into bore 168. From here the high pressure gas passes downwardly through passage 200 to apply force to seal 196 which is carried by diaphragm 138. A pair of vents 210 in housing 134 connect the space above diaphragm 138 to the atmosphere so that spring 186 forces diaphragm 138 downwardly into an unsealed position so long as the pressure in the container is insuicient to overcome the spring pressure. The spring 186 is normally designed to maintain a pressure of approximately 8 pounds per square i-nch within the container and so long as this pressure is maintained the diaphragm is forced up to seal the -high pressure within the passage 200. When the pressure in the container drops below this amount, as is caused by withdrawing of beverage from the container, the spring 186 forces the diaphragm downwardly so that seal 196 clears the lower end 202 of tube and high pressure gas enters the containervthrough passages 198 and ports 122. Just as soon as sullicient gas has entered to raise the pressure within the container to the desired value the diaphragm 138 again moves upwardly to close off the high pressure from the cartridge. Proper pressure is thus main-A tained within the container completely automatically once the carbon dioxide cartridge has been mounted in position and pierced. The rubber valve seat 154 prevents any leakage of high pressure carbon dioxide and diaphragm 138 provides for feeding the desired amount into the container.

The container is of such a size that a commercially available carbon dioxide cartridge is capable of maintaining the beverage carbonated until the container is completely empty. When the cartridge is removed spring 174 forces puncturing plug 158 upwardly to close passages 178 and to seal O-ring 172 against valve seat 170. Thus should it be necessary to change cartridges while the container contains some beverage this does not result in depressurization.

In normal usage the container is supplied to the consumer `filled with the beverage to be dispensed and the top'of the charging valve assembly is covered by means of a plastic shipping cap 215 shown in broken lines in Figure 1. The container is precharged to the proper pressure atthe factory so that the beverage therein is capable of being shipped relatively long distances without losing its carbonation. It will be noted that the plastic shipping cap 215 is within the concavity enclosed by the cover 110 and thus lsprotected from damage. Similarly the drafting spigot 1s not mounted upon the container during transportation so that the containers may be readily stacked and transported in an economical and easy fashion. Upon delivery, the user mounts the drafting spigot in the manner pointed out herein and atiixes a carbon dioxide cartridge to the charging valve assembly after removing the plastic cap 215. The dispenser is then ready for operation and maintains the liquid being dispensed in an optimum carbonated condition until the container is empty. When the container is empty the spigot and cartridge are removed from the container and it is returned to the factory. The top of the container is then removed through the use of a suitable fixture which engages clips 112 and the container may be sterilized in the same manner as any open ended container.

lt will be apparent that through the use of the container of this invention it is possible to market carbonated beverages in bulk form in a safe, convenient and economical manner. A minimum amount of equipment is needed by the consumer and this may be supplied by the beverage vendor.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description. and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

l. A container for carbonated beverages comprising an open mouthed container having a mouth of substantially the same diameter as the container, a removable cover closing said open mouth, a valve containing spigot re- .fnovably mounted in an aperture in a lower portion of said container, valve means associated with said aperture for closing said aperture when said spigot is removed, charging valve means mounted on said cover, means on said charging valve means for receiving a high pressure gas vessel, and means associated with said charging valve means for admitting said high pressure gas to said container to maintain a substantially constant pressure in said container as beverage is withdrawn therefrom.

2. A container for carbonated beverages comprising an open mouthed plastic container. a removable concave cover closing said open mouth, said open mouth being of substantially the same diameter as said container, a valve containing spigot removably mounted in an aperture in a lower portion of said container, valve means associated with said aperture for closing said aperture when said valve containing spigot is removed, charging valve means mounted on said cover, means on said charging valve means for receiving a high pressure gas vessel, and means associated with said charging valve means for admitting said high pressure gas to said container to maintain a substantially constant pressure in said container as beverage is withdrawn therefrom, said charging valve means being located within the concavity of said cover so as to be below the mouth of said container.

3. A container as set out in claim 2 wherein the peripheral edge of said cover engages a peripheral groove in the wall of said container adjacent the mouth thereof, and clips on said cover to permit deformation thereof to disengage said cover from said groove.

4. A container as set out in claim 2 wherein the bottom of said container is concave upwardly and wherein said valve means associated with said aperture has an inlet port below the uppermost portion of said concave bottom.

5. A container as set out in claim 1 wherein said valve means associated with said aperture includes a housing within said container deiining said aperture, a sleeve in said aperture and defining an internal shoulder, a valve seal engaging said shoulder to seal said aperture, and a spring urging said seal into said shoulder.

6. A container as set out in claim 5 wherein said housing includes a passage in the lowermost portion thereof connecting the inside of said housing to the inside of said container.

7. A container as set out in claim 5 in which said valve containing spigot has a stem in said sleeve, said stem compressing said spring to open said valve seal and admit beverage to the valve in said spigot. v

8. A container as set out in claim 1 wherein said charging valve means comprises, a seat for a high pressure gas vessel, piercing means for said vessel, and a valve which is opened by piercing said vessel.

9. A container as set out in claim 8 wherein said means associated with said charging valve comprises a flexible diaphragm having one side thereof exposed to the pres sure in said container and the other side thereof eX- posed to atmospheric pressure, aspring engaging the atmospheric side of said diaphragm, and valve means actuated by said diaphragm to admit said high pressure gas to said container when the pressure in said container falls below an amount determined by said spring.

10. A container as set out in claim 9 wherein the peripheral edge of said diaphragm is secured to the peripheral inner wall of a cup mounted in said cover, a valve housing mounted above said diaphragm at least partially in said cup and housing said charging valve.

11. A container as set out in claim 10 wherein said diaphragm carries a valve member sealingly engaging the lower end of a tube extending down from said valve housing, said spring engaging said diaphragm and said valve housing.

12. A container as set out in claim 11 wherein said valve housing and diaphragm form a chamber vented to the atmosphere through ports in said valve housing.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 453,165 Smith May 26, 1891 570,725 Beebe Nov. 3, 1896 841,350 Stock Jan. 15, 1907 1,651,866 Bowers Dec. 6, 1927 2,082,838 Lindell June 8, 1937 2,138,060 Conner Nov. 29, 1938 2,189,643 Ward Feb. 6, 1940

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