GB2192621A

GB2192621A - Valve coupling

Info

Publication number: GB2192621A
Application number: GB08714315A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Bernt Ipsen
Original assignee: Micro Matic AS
Current assignee: Micro Matic AS
Priority date: 1986-06-18
Filing date: 1987-06-18
Publication date: 1988-01-20
Anticipated expiration: 2007-06-18
Also published as: DK284786D0; GB2192621B; GB8714315D0; DK159104B; BE1000249A5; DK284786A; DK159104C

Abstract

A valve coupling for securing a valve in a pressure container, such as a keg of beer, comprises a neck ring (1) welded to the container, a valve (2) received in an opening in said neck ring, locking means (6) for securing the valve in the neck ring, and at least one gasket (9) to form a pressure- and fluid-tight connection between the valve and the neck ring. When the valve is dismantled, it is moved out of the neck ring in at least two steps. During the first one of these it is just allowed an axial movement which is smaller than the height of the neck ring, but sufficiently large for relief of the pressure in the container. This is by virtue of two axial grooves (14, 15) in separate parts of the valve which are engaged by circumferentially-spaced projections (16, 17) on the neck ring. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A valve coupling for securing a valve in a pressure container The invention concerns a valve coupling for securing a valve in a pressure container, such as a keg of beer, comprising a neck ring secured to the container, a valve having a receiving area adapted to be received in an opening in the neck ring, locking means to secure the valve in the neck ring, and at least one gasket to form a pressure- and fluid-tight connection between the valve and the neck ring.

The known valve couplings of this type are usually formed as threaded joints where either the valve itself or a special retaining ring adapted for this purpose is provided with threads, which are screwed into corresponding threads in a neck ring in the container upon mounting of the valve. When the valve or the retaining ring, respectively, are screwed off upon dismantling of the valve, the two threads eventually disengage so that the valve, under the action of the pressure in the pressure container, is suddenly shot out of the neck ring, which is very dangerous to the operators.

The object of the invention is therefore to provide a valve of this type stated in the opening paragraph, the dismantling of which does not involve the mentioned danger, and which is at the same time simpler and cheaper in its construction than known before.

This object is achieved in that the valve coupling of the invention is characterised in that the valve and the neck ring have mutually cooperating coupling means, which, when the receiving area is removed from the neck ring, are adapted to ensure that said removal can take place only through at least two removal steps, and to ensure relief of the pressure in the container at least prior to the initiation of the last one of these steps.

This means that the valve, as it passes through the last step of removal, is no longer affected by pressure, and that, accordingly, it may be removed completely from the container without any danger.

According to the invention, the valve may in its receiving area have an upper and lower cylinder part spaced by a recess and formed with at least one upper and lower, respectively, through-going guide groove extending preferably in an axial direction and being displaced an arc distance with respect to each other along the circumference, and the neck ring along its inner side may have pins mating with said guide grooves and having a height and length which is suitably smaller than the width and depth, respectively, of the recess, said pins detachably engaging with the upper and the lower ones, respectively, of said guide grooves in the mounted position of the valve, said pins being moved, upon mounting and dismantling, through the guide grooves, in two steps with an intermediate relative angular rotation corresponding to said arc distance, the upper pin sliding in the recess between the upper and lower cylinder part and the lower pin along the underside of the lower cylinder part during said rotation. This causes the valve to be firmly secured in the neck ring in an axial direction, while the lower guide groove is rotated forwardly so as to be flush with the upper pin for initiation of the last dismantling step, and that the gasket is no longer able to seal against the pressure of the container, which is therefore relieved.

Further, according to the invention, the part of the valve receiving area comprising the upper cylinder part may be a separate loose ring. This has the advantage in terms of production that it is easier to manufacture the coupling means for coupling the valve with a dispenser head for dispensing the contents of the container.

Additionally, according to the invention, the part of the valve receiving area comprising the upper cylinder part, the recess and the lower cylinder area may consist of one or more separate loose rings. This makes the structure particularly simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Moreover, according to the invention, when positioned correctly in the neck ring, the valve may be secured against axial movement with respect to the neck ring by a retaining ring, which is positioned above the valve and is detachably engaged with a ring groove provided upwardly in the inner wall of the neck ring, thereby making it impossible to remove the valve for unauthorized persons who do not have special tools for removing the retaining ring.

Further, according to the invention, to prevent the pins in the neck ring from working loose in use, they may be integrated in the neck ring, said pins being formed by radial impression of a part of the cylinder wall of the neck ring.

Finally, according to the invention, when the valve is mounted in the neck ring, there may be a gap between the cylinder parts of its receiving area and the cylindrical inner side of the neck ring of 0.02 to 1.0 mm, preferably 0.05 to 0.5 mm. This makes it easy both to mount and dismantle the valve, and means that, in a mounted state, the valve is retained with good guidance in the neck ring, while the passage f or relieving the pressure between the first and the last dismantling steps will be sufficiently large.

The invention will be explained more fully below with reference to the drawing, in which fig. 1 is an exploded view of an embodiment of a valve coupling according to the invention, fig. 2 is an enlarged top view of a valve and a neck ring for a pressure container, fully coupled, fig. 3 shows the same, but seen from the side, fig. 4 is a lateral, partially sectional view of the coupling between the valve and the neck ring shown in fig.3, fig. 5 shows the same, seen in a first dismantling step, fig. 6 shows the same, seen in a second dismantling step, and fig. 7 shows the same, seen in a final dismantling step.

Fig 1 shows a neck ring 1 which is secured, e.g. by welding, to the wall of a pressure container not shown in the figure. A valve 2 may with a receiving area 3 be received in an opening 4 in the neck ring 1 and be secured in a mounted state against axial movement by a ring 5 and a retaining ring 6, which engages with a ring groove 7 formed upwardly in the inner wall 8 of the neck ring 1. When the valve 2 and the neck ring 1 are fully interconnected, a gasket 9 serves to form a pressureand fluid-tight connection between these parts.

The valve coupling is intended for e.g. kegs of beer and similar containers containing a beverage which, under pressure from a gas such as CO2, may be dispensed by means of a dispenser head not shown in the figure. This dispenser head is usually secured at the place of use by being screwed into coupling means 10 shown internally in the ring 5 in fig. 1.

When the dispenser head is screwed on and off, the neck ring 5 and possibly the entire valve 2 is subjected to a relatively great torque, and it is therefore essential that these parts are firmly secured against rotation during this operation since, otherwise, the valve may work loose and be shot out of the neck ring by the pressure in the container, which may cause personal injury. This may happen with known valve coupling of this type, where it is attempted to remove the valve while superpressure prevails in the container, e.g. by persons who are not aware of the danger involved by this.

To eliminate this risk, in the valve coupling of the invention, the valve is moved out of the neck ring in at least two steps during dismantling, and in the first step of these the valve is only allowed an axial movement which is smaller than the height of the neck ring, but sufficiently great to cause relief of the pressure in the#container. When the last dismantling step is initiated, the container is no longer under pressure, so that the valve may finally be removed without any danger. These working steps will be described in greater detail below with reference to figs. 2-7, in particular figs. 4-7 which show the individual prodess steps in the# dismantling procedure.

As shown, the valve 2 has in its receiving area 3 an upper and a lower cylinder part, 11, 12 spaced by a recess 14. Each of these cylinder parts 11, 12 is formed with at least one upper and lower, respectively, throughgoing guide groove 14, 15, which extend preferably in an axial direction and are mutually displaced an arc distance along the circumference of the cylinder parts. Along its inner wall 8, the neck ring has pins 16, 17 which mate with these guide grooves and have a height and length which is suitably smaller than the width and depth, respectively, of the recess 13.

Fig. 4 shows the valve 2 fully coupled with the neck ring 1. In this position the valve 2 is secured against axial movement by the retaining ring 6 engaging with the ring groove 7 in the inner wall of the neck ring 8. The gasket 9 is fixed between a downwardly facing breast 18 on the receiving area 3 of the valve 2 and an upwardly facing inner breast 19 in the neck ring 1 and seals against the pressure in the pressure container in this position. The upper pin 16 is in detachable engagement with the upper guide groove 14, and the lower pin 17 with the lower guide groove 15, and the valve is thus firmly secured against rotation when the dispenser head is screwed on and may absorb an even very great clamping moment during this operation.

When the valve is to be dismantled, the retaining ring 6 is removed first, as shown in fig. 5, so that the valve 2, with the pins 16, 17 sliding in the respective guide grooves 14, 15, is allowed to move in an axial direction until the underside 20 of the recess 13 abuts the underside 21 of the upper pin 16. In the first dismantling step the gasket 9 is no longer fixed between the breasts 18, 19, and it may therefore be moved upwardly and partly outwardly, thus opening a pressure passage from the container via the guide grooves 14, 15 and a gap 22 between the cylinder parts 11, 12 on the receiving area 3 of the valve 2 and inner side 8 in the neck ring 1.This gap 22 has a size of 0.02 mm to 1.0 mm, preferably 0.05 to 0.5 mm, which keeps the valve safely guided in the neck ring 1, while the air passage will be sufficiently large to ensure rapid relief of the pressure in the container.

The pressure in the container frequently urges the gasket 9 to a new position where it seals against the pressure again, but this will be prevented in the area at the lower pin 17 in that the gasket 9 is kept spaced from the downwardly facing breast 18 of the valve by the lower pin 17, so that, at least in this area, there will be formed an opening sufficiently large for the pressure in the container to be relieved.

It is not possible to remove the valve completely from, the neck ring 1 before it has been rotated forwardly in the second dismantling step shown in fig. 6, until the lower guide groove 15 is shown aligned with the upper pin 16. During this rotation, the upper pin 16 slides in the recess 13 between the upper and lower cylinder parts 11, 12 and the lower pin 17 along the underside 23 of the lower cylinder part 12. This angular rotation, which may suitably be 60 C, ensures sufficient time for relief of the pressure in the container before the final dismantling step is initiated.

This final dismantling step is shown in fig. 7 where the valve may now be removed without any danger, with the upper pin 16 sliding in the lower guide groove 15. Mounting of the valve takes place with the same process steps in a reverse order.

In the above embodiment of the valve coupling of the invention, the receiving area 3 of the valve 2 is integrally formed with the rest of the valve. In the embodiment of fig. 1, however, the upper cylinder 11 consists of a separate loose ring 5 in which the coupling means 10 for screwing on the dispenser head are provided. This embodiment facilitates the production of these coupling means 10. In another advantageous embodiment, the receiving area 3 of the entire valve 2 consists of one or more separate loose rings so that the structure is particularly simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

In a particularly advantageous embodiment, the pins 16, 17 may be integrally formed with the neck ring 1 by radial impression of a part of the cylinder wall 24 of the neck ring 1.

This structure is very strong and prevents the pins from working loose in use.

In the embodiments of the valve coupling of the invention described above, the valve is secured in an axial direction by the retaining ring 6. However, the valve may be secured in this direction in many other ways e.g. with a threaded ring, or by the provision of a threaded track in the ring 5, said track extending from the guide groove 15 and serving as a bayonet socket to retain the ring 5 axially with respect to the upper pin# 14.

Claims

1. A valve coupling for securing a valve in a pressure container, such as a keg of beer, comprising a neck ring secured to the container; a valve having a receiving area adapted to be received in an opening in the neck ring; locking means to secure the valve in the neck ring, and at least one gasket to form a pressure- and fluid-tight connection between the valve and the neck ring, characterized in that the valve and the neck ring have mutually cooperating coupling means, respectively, which when the receiving area is removed from the ring, are adapted to ensure that said removal can take place only through at least two re moval steps, and to ensure relief of the pressure in the container at least prior to the initiation of the last one of these steps.

2. A valve coupling according to claim 1, characterized in that the valve in its receiving area has an upper and a lower cylinder part spaced by a recess and formed with at least one upper and lower, respectively, throughgoing guide groove being displaced an arc distance with respect to each other along the circumference, and that the neck ring along its inner side has pins mating with said guide grooves and having a height and length which is suitably smaller than the width and depth, respectively, of the recess, said pins detachably engaging with the upper and the lower ones, respectively, of said guide grooves in the mounted position of the valve, said pins being moved, upon mounting and dismantling, through the guide grooves in two steps with an intermediate relative angular rotation corresponding to said arc distance, the upper pin sliding in the recess between the upper and lower cylinder part and the lower pin along the underside of the lower cylinder part during said rotation.

3. A valve coupling according to claim 2 characterized in that the through-going guide grooves extend in an axial direction.

4. A valve coupling according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that the part of the receiving area of the valve comprising the upper cylinder part is formed by a separate loose ring.

5. A valve coupling according to any of claims 1-4, characerized in that the part of the receiving area of the valve comprising the upper cylinder part, the recess and the lower cylinder part is formed by one or more separate loose rings.

6. A valve coupling according to one or more of claims 1-5, characterized in that the valve, when positioned correctly in the neck ring, is secured against axial movement with respect to the neck ring by a retaining ring, which is positioned above the valve and detachably engages a ring groove provided upwardly in the inner wall of the neck ring.

7. A valve coupling according to one or more of claims 1-6, characterized in that the pins of the neck ring adapted to engage the guide grooves of the valve are formed by radial impression of a part of the cylinder wall of the neck ring.

8. A valve coupling according to one or more of claims 1-7, characterized in that when the valve is mounted in the neck ring, there is a gap between the cylinder parts of its receiving area and the cylindrical inner side of the neck ring of 0.02 to 1.0 mm.

9. A valve coupling according to claim 8, characterized in that the gap is 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm.

10. A valve coupling generally as herein described, with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.