GB2346129A - Short life keg - Google Patents
Short life keg Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2346129A GB2346129A GB9901943A GB9901943A GB2346129A GB 2346129 A GB2346129 A GB 2346129A GB 9901943 A GB9901943 A GB 9901943A GB 9901943 A GB9901943 A GB 9901943A GB 2346129 A GB2346129 A GB 2346129A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- container
- keg
- channel
- lacquer
- short life
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
Classifications
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
- B65D—CONTAINERS FOR STORAGE OR TRANSPORT OF ARTICLES OR MATERIALS, e.g. BAGS, BARRELS, BOTTLES, BOXES, CANS, CARTONS, CRATES, DRUMS, JARS, TANKS, HOPPERS, FORWARDING CONTAINERS; ACCESSORIES, CLOSURES, OR FITTINGS THEREFOR; PACKAGING ELEMENTS; PACKAGES
- B65D7/00—Containers having bodies formed by interconnecting or uniting two or more rigid, or substantially rigid, components made wholly or mainly of metal
- B65D7/02—Containers having bodies formed by interconnecting or uniting two or more rigid, or substantially rigid, components made wholly or mainly of metal characterised by shape
- B65D7/04—Containers having bodies formed by interconnecting or uniting two or more rigid, or substantially rigid, components made wholly or mainly of metal characterised by shape of curved cross-section, e.g. cans of circular or elliptical cross-section
- B65D7/045—Casks, barrels, or drums in their entirety, e.g. beer barrels, i.e. presenting most of the following features like rolling beads, double walls, reinforcing and supporting beads for end walls
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Rigid Containers With Two Or More Constituent Elements (AREA)
Abstract
A short life container such as a keg 10 is designed to be used only once, or to be used and refilled only a few times. It comprises a mild steel body 12 provided internally with a protective polymeric lacquer. Preferably, the coating is a phenolic resin lacquer. Preferably the keg is made from two deep drawn halves welded together. The keg can have top and bottom chines 18, 22 formed from steel wire or rod and shaped to allow stacking of the kegs. The keg may also have a peripheral stiffening channel, transverse channels and a sump.
Description
SHORT LIFE KEG
This invention relates to kegs or like containers for pressure dispensed liquids such as beer. Beer kegs are subject to rough handling in use and must contain pressures of up to 60 psig (413 kNm~2) exerted by the gas that displaces the beer to empty the keg. They are structurally tested to a pressure of 90 psig (620 kNm-2). Conventional kegs are therefore of expensive, rugged construction and are only economic if they are refilled and reused many times. Hence they are designed to be free draining, readily washable/sterilisable and may incorporate features aiding repair, such as replaceable end chimes, further adding to manufacturing costs. The costs of keg cleaning and repair and the capital cost tied up in the kegs themselves can account for a significant proportion of beer delivery costs.
Most beer kegs in use today are either of aluminium or stainless steel. Aluminium was once the favoured material in the United Kingdom, but is increasingly being replaced by stainless steel. Kegs of either of these materials, even if made less rugged than is conventional, are too expensive to be discarded or recycled after being used only once, or after being used and refilled only a few times. We have realised that there is a need for an inexpensive, limited life keg, for example to serve export markets where the cost of returning the empty kegs is uneconomic, as well as to save capital, cleaning and repair costs generally.
Containers of cheaper materials have been suggested; for example GB 987133 proposes a plastics cask which may be provided with an outer protective reinforcing skin of alloyed metal or steel. However the design shown is unsuitable for use with the high pressures encountered in gas dispense systems. GB 510 069 proposes a double walled cask of stainless steel/galvanised iron construction. Again this design is not intended for use in pressure dispense systems; besides which it is complex and expensive to manufacture.
The present invention provides a short life container for pressure dispensed liquids such as beer, comprising a hollow mild steel body provided internally with a protective polymeric lacquer. The expression"short life container"as used herein means a container intended to be used only once, or to be used and refilled only a few times, in contrast to a conventional keg which is refilled many times.
Preferably the lacquer is a phenolic resin lacquer of per se known kind, as used to line the interior of aluminium kegs, baked onto the inside of the container.
The container body may comprise two halves, each formed as a deep drawn pressing, united by a circumferential weld.
The container may be provided with an end chime formed from steel wire or rod, welded to the container top. A similar end chime may be provided at the container bottom, allowing both ends of the container to be convex and therefore inherently resistant to internal pressure, as well as containing no"dead spaces"and therefore being free draining, readily washed and sterilised.
Alternatively, the container bottom may be generally concave, sufficiently dished and having a peripheral stiffening channel to resist internal pressure, the channel also providing a stable base upon which the container can stand. A transverse, preferably diametral, channel in the container bottom may communicate with the peripheral channel and form a well or sump into which an extractor spear extends in use, allowing the container to be drained substantially completely. Alternatively the extractor spear may have an offset bottom end, communicating with the peripheral channel. (As used herein, the expressions"concave"and "convex"relate to the container when viewed from the outside.)
The bottom or, where present, the bottom end chime, of the container is preferably configured to interengage with the top end chime of an identical container, allowing two or more such containers to be stably stacked.
Illustrative embodiments of the invention are described below with reference to the drawings in which:
Figure 1 is a top plan view of a beer keg forming a first embodiment of the invention;
Figure 2 is a cross-section on line II-II in figure 1; and
Figure 3 is a cross-section corresponding to figure 2, but showing an alternative bottom end construction.
The illustrated kegs 10,20 comprise two deep drawn mild steel pressings 12,14 of approximately 1.0 mm thickness, sufficient to resist internal pressures as stipulated for example in the relevant Allied Brewery Traders Association test specification. The pressings 12,14 form the two ends of the keg and are united by a circumferential weld 16. Mild steel is cheaper than stainless steel or aluminium of equivalent strength, and as the keg is only intended to have a short life, its construction need not be as rugged as is conventional, leading to further materials savings.
As shown in figure 2, low cost end chimes 18,22 formed from thick steel wire or rod are welded to the pressings 12,14 respectively. A keg neck 24 is welded in an aperture in the pressing 12. In the embodiment shown in figure 3, the end chime 22 is omitted and the pressing 14 is provided with a concave end 26, a peripheral stiffening channel 28 that also serves as a stable base for the keg, and a diametral sump forming channel 30 aligned with the neck 24 axis and communicating with the channel 28. This embodiment may be more difficult to wash than the figure 3 embodiment, and is primarily intended for single use only, i. e. not for refilling. For easier cleaning, the diametral channel may be omitted to provide a plain concave keg bottom as indicated by dotted line 32. An extractor spear having an offset end communicating with the peripheral channel 28 is then used to fully drain the keg contents.
To protect the pressings 12,14 against corrosion and prevent contamination of the keg contents, the keg interior is cleaned/degreased e. g. using a phosphate based cleaner, and then covered in phenolic resin lacquer (not shown) such as EPIKOTE MD2019, available from
Holdens Surface Coatings Ltd., Birmingham, England, baked on at a temperature of 210 C for 20 minutes.
Claims (8)
- CLAIMS 1. A short life container for pressure dispensed liquids, comprising a hollow mild steel body provided internally with a protective polymeric lacquer.
- 2. A container as defined in claim 1 wherein the lacquer is a phenolic resin lacquer baked onto the inside of the container.
- 3. A container as defined in claim 1 or 2 wherein the container body comprises two halves, each formed as a deep drawn pressing, united by a circumferential weld.
- 4. A container as defined in any preceding claim and provided with an end chime formed from steel wire or rod.
- 5. A container as defined in claim 4 wherein the bottom or, where present, a bottom said end chime, of the container is preferably configured to interengage with a top said end chime of an identical container, allowing two or more such containers to be stably stacked.
- 6. A container as defined in any preceding claim, the container bottom being generally concave and having a peripheral stiffening channel to resist intemal pressure, the channel also providing a stable base upon which the container can stand.
- 7. A container as defined in claim 6 wherein a transverse channel in the container bottom communicates with the peripheral channel to form a well or sump into which an extractor spear may extend in use.
- 8. A short life container for pressure dispensed liquids, substantially as described with reference to or as shown in figures 1 and 2 or figure 3 of the drawings.
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB9901943A GB2346129B (en) | 1999-01-28 | 1999-01-28 | Short life keg |
GBGB9903928.1A GB9903928D0 (en) | 1999-01-28 | 1999-02-19 | Short life keg |
EP00300419A EP1026089A3 (en) | 1999-01-28 | 2000-01-20 | Short life kegs |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB9901943A GB2346129B (en) | 1999-01-28 | 1999-01-28 | Short life keg |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
GB9901943D0 GB9901943D0 (en) | 1999-03-17 |
GB2346129A true GB2346129A (en) | 2000-08-02 |
GB2346129B GB2346129B (en) | 2001-05-02 |
Family
ID=10846695
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GB9901943A Expired - Fee Related GB2346129B (en) | 1999-01-28 | 1999-01-28 | Short life keg |
GBGB9903928.1A Ceased GB9903928D0 (en) | 1999-01-28 | 1999-02-19 | Short life keg |
Family Applications After (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
GBGB9903928.1A Ceased GB9903928D0 (en) | 1999-01-28 | 1999-02-19 | Short life keg |
Country Status (1)
Country | Link |
---|---|
GB (2) | GB2346129B (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2014106508A3 (en) * | 2013-01-02 | 2014-11-27 | Karl-Heinz Mannich | Transport container and fitting for a transport container |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1216605A (en) * | 1967-02-24 | 1970-12-23 | Gabriels Sprl Ets J B | Metal cans |
US4313545A (en) * | 1979-02-13 | 1982-02-02 | The Nippon Aluminum Mfg. Co., Ltd. | Metallic pressure vessel with thin wall |
GB2105673A (en) * | 1981-09-12 | 1983-03-30 | Gkn Sankey Ltd | Container having beaded chimes |
GB2155893A (en) * | 1984-03-14 | 1985-10-02 | Keg Services Ltd | Beer Barrels |
-
1999
- 1999-01-28 GB GB9901943A patent/GB2346129B/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1999-02-19 GB GBGB9903928.1A patent/GB9903928D0/en not_active Ceased
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB1216605A (en) * | 1967-02-24 | 1970-12-23 | Gabriels Sprl Ets J B | Metal cans |
US4313545A (en) * | 1979-02-13 | 1982-02-02 | The Nippon Aluminum Mfg. Co., Ltd. | Metallic pressure vessel with thin wall |
GB2105673A (en) * | 1981-09-12 | 1983-03-30 | Gkn Sankey Ltd | Container having beaded chimes |
GB2155893A (en) * | 1984-03-14 | 1985-10-02 | Keg Services Ltd | Beer Barrels |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
WO2014106508A3 (en) * | 2013-01-02 | 2014-11-27 | Karl-Heinz Mannich | Transport container and fitting for a transport container |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
GB9903928D0 (en) | 1999-04-14 |
GB9901943D0 (en) | 1999-03-17 |
GB2346129B (en) | 2001-05-02 |
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Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |
Effective date: 20060128 |