WO2003022729A1

WO2003022729A1 - Dispensing head

Info

Publication number: WO2003022729A1
Application number: PCT/NL2002/000576
Authority: WO
Inventors: Robertus Arnoldus Ebbelaar; Willem Terpstra
Original assignee: Dispense Systems International B.V.
Priority date: 2001-09-11
Filing date: 2002-09-04
Publication date: 2003-03-20
Also published as: NL1018930C2

Abstract

The invention relates to a dispensing head comprising a housing (1), which dispensing head can be connected for use to a spear (46) provided with a circular groove (48) near its upper end, which is fixed in a keg containing a liquid. The housing comprises a connection (4) for the supply of pressurised gas. A first sliding member (5) comprising a liquid outlet (9) is present within the housing, which sliding member can be adjusted by means of an operating element (18) between a first position, in which the passage through the housing of gas supplied via said connection for pressurised gas is shut off, and a second position, in which the sliding member has opened a shut-off valve for the spear during operation. A further sliding member (31) accommodated in the housing is connected to the operating element, which sliding member cooperates with locking elements (16), in such a manner that said further sliding member (16) will press the locking elements further into the groove (48) formed near the upper end of the spear upon movement of the operating element from the first position of the operating element towards the second position of the operating element.

Description

Dispensing head

DESCRIPTION

The invention relates to a dispensing head comprising a housing, which dispensing head can be connected for use to a spear provided with a circular groove near its upper end, which is fixed in a keg containing a liquid, said housing comprising a connection for the supply of pressurised gas, whilst a first sliding member comprising a liquid outlet is present within the housing, which sliding member can be adjusted by means of an operating element between a first position, in which the passage through the housing of gas supplied via said connection for pressurised gas is shut off, and a second position, in which the sliding member has opened a shut-off valve for the spear during operation and the connection for the supply of pressurised gas will be in open communication with the interior of the keg containing the spear.

Such a dispensing head is known from German patent No 3701432. When said dispensing head is to be fitted to a keg provided with a spear, the dispensing head must first be moved in a direction transversely to the longitudinal direction of the spear, in such a manner that a semicircular collar formed on the bottom end of the dispensing head slips into the groove. Then the sliding member must be pressed down by means of a lever projecting from the housing on one side thereof, which lever is pivotally connected to the housing as well as to the sliding member. Consequently, several operations must be carried out in the correct order when fitting said dispensing head, and care must be taken that the dispensing head takes up the correct position on the upper end of the spear before it is attempted to press the sliding member down by means of the lever so as to open the shut-off valve in the spear. This may entail difficulties, especially if the dispensing head is used by unskilled personnel.

According to the invention, a further sliding member accommodated in the housing is connected to the operating element, which sliding member cooperates with locking elements, in such a manner that said further sliding member will press the locking elements further into the groove formed near the upper end of the spear upon movement of the operating element from the first position of the operating element towards the second position of the operating element.

When using the construction according to the invention, the connection of the dispensing head according to the invention to the upper end of a spear and the opening of the valve in the spear can take place in a very simple manner in that it is only necessary to place the dispensing head on top of the spear and be locked in position on the spear by a single continued movement of the operating element, which movement causes the valve in the spear to open.

A very simple construction can be achieved if the operating element is a cover arranged on the housing, which cover is movable in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the sliding members between the aforesaid first position and the aforesaid second position of the operating element (cover).

The cover can be efficiently secured in the second position and, if desired, be disconnected again if the cover is fitted with a spring-loaded locking element, which snaps into a recess formed in the housing in the second position of the cover and which can retracted from said recess so as to disconnect the cover.

The locking element is efficiently fitted with an operating element for operating the same, which operating element is disposed under a projecting upper part of the cover. The operating element is screened by the cover, whilst it is nevertheless readily accessible to a operator's fingers.

The invention will be explained in more detail hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, which schematically show an embodiment of a dispensing head according to the invention. Figure 1 is a view, partially in elevation and partially in section, of a dispensing head.

Figure 2 is a view of a cross-section of the dispensing head. Figure 3 schematically shows a few parts of the dispensing head of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a larger-scale view of parts of the dispensing head of Figures 1 and 2, in a position in which the dispensing head can be placed on the upper end of a spear. Figure 5 is a larger-scale view of parts of the dispensing head of Figures 1 and 2, showing components in a position they occupy when the dispensing head is being fixed to the upper end of a spear.

Figure 6 is a larger-scale view of parts of the dispensing head of Figures 1 and 2, in the position in which the dispensing head is locked in position on the upper end of a spear and the valve in the spear is open.

Figure 7 shows an embodiment of a spear on which the dispensing head can be fitted.

The dispensing head comprises a housing 1 comprising an outer shell -shaped part 2 and a shaft-shaped part 3 disposed within said shell -shaped part 2, which part 3 bounds a passage having a stepped configuration. A connecting stub 4, whose interior passage is in open communication with the interior passage of the shaft-shaped part 3, connects to said shaft-shaped part 3. Said connecting stub 4 is used for connecting a line or the like, via which pressurised gas can be supplied during operation.

The housing 1 consisting of the parts 2-4 can be made in one piece or be built up of a few fixedly i terconnected components.

A sliding member 5 is accommodated in the bore bounded by the shaft- shaped part 3, in such a manner that said sliding member 5 is movable in its longitudinal direction relative to said shaft-shaped part. A circular groove 6 is formed in the outer ci cumference of said shaft- shaped part, which groove is located near the mouth of the passage formed in the connecting stub 4 in the position of the sliding member 5 that is shown in Figure 2. Sealing gaskets 7 are present on either side of said recess in grooves formed in the sliding member 5, which gaskets function to prevent leakage of pressurised gas along the outer circumference of said sliding member 5.

A passage 8 extending in the longitudinal direction of the sliding member 5 is formed in said sliding member, which passage is in open communication at its upper end with a passage in a pipe stub 9 connecting to the upper end of the sliding member. During use of the dispensing head, said pipe stub 9 functions to discharge liquid from a keg to which the dispensing head is connected, as will be explained in more detail yet hereinafter. The upper end of the passage 8, seen in Figure 2, is closed with a plug 10 fixed in the upper end of the sliding member 5. A rod 11 is attached to said plug 10, which rod extends in the passage 8 to a location a short distance above a ball 11' that is present in the passage, which ball rests on a seat formed in the passage 8 in the position that is shown in Figure 2.

As furthermore appears from Figure 2, as gasket 12 of a resilient material is arranged round the sliding member 5 a short distance above the lower end of the sliding member 5. Slotted holes 13 are formed in the wall of the sliding member 5 in the part thereof that extends under said gasket 12.

A gasket 14 of a resilient material extending concentrically around the lower part of the sliding member 5 is arranged in the shaft-shaped part 3. Three regularly spaced-apart recesses 15 are formed in the lower, annular part of the shaft-shaped part 3 of the housing 1 below the gasket 14. Present near said recesses are hook-shaped locking elements 16 having pivot heads 17 of more or less circular section at their upper ends, seen in Figure 2. Said heads 17 are accommodated in correspondingly shaped recesses in the outer circumference of the shaft-shaped part 3, in such a manner that the hook- shaped locking elements 16 can pivot through a small angle with respect to said shaft-shaped part 3.

The dispensing head furthermore comprises a cover 18 comprising a shell 19 which is movable round the shell -shaped part 2 of the housing 1, which shell 19 is covered by a plate-shaped upper wall 20 at its upper side. A slotted hole 20' is formed in the shell 19 of the cover 18 for passage therethrough of the pipe stubs 4 and 9, so that said pipe stubs do not interfere with the vertical movement of the cover 18 in the directions indicated by the arrow A with respect to the housing 1.

Connected to opposite sides of the cover 18, by means of pins 21 and 22 crossing the longitudinal axis of the sliding member 5 perpendicularly, are the ends of arms 23 and 24 respectively, which extend into the interior of the cover 18 from the respective pivot pins 21 and 22, in the direction of the opposite side of the cover. The arrangement is such that the shaft-shaped part 3 accommodating the sliding member 5 is located between the arms 23 and 24. The pivot pins 21 and 22 are journal led in slotted holes 25 and 26, respectively, formed in the arms 23 and 24, so that the arms 23 and 24 are capable of slight movement in their longitudinal direction with respect to the associated pivot pins 21.

The ends of the arms 23 and 24 remote from the pivot pins 21 and 22, respectively, are pivotally connected to the shell -shaped part 3 of the housing 1 by means of pivot pins 27 extending parallel to the pivot pins 21 and 22 (pivot 27 of arm 23 is not shown).

One end of a connecting piece 29 is connected to each of the arms 23, 24, at a point located between the ends of the arm in question, by means of a pivot pin 28 extending parallel to the pivot pins 21, 26,27 of the arms 23, 24. The other end of each connecting piece 29 is connected to the upper end of the sliding member 5 by means of a pivot pin 30 extending parallel to the pivot pin 28.

A further sliding member 31 surrounding the shaft-shaped part 3 of the housing is located under the arms 23 and 24 in the shell - shaped part 2 of the housing 1. Said sliding member 31 is built up of a shell 32 that abuts against the inner wall of said shell -shaped part 2, which shell 32 extends over part of the circumference of said shaft- shaped part 3, in such a manner that a slit is present in the shell 32 so as to enable sliding movement of the shell 32 in the shell -shaped part 2 of the housing 1 in the directions indicated by the arrow A, without the connecting stub 4 interfering with said movement. At its upper side, seen in Figure 2, the shell 32 has an edge 33 which is bent at right angles. Connecting rods 35 extending upwards from the edge 33 are connected to said edge 33 by means of pivot pins 34 extending parallel to the pivot pins 28. Slotted holes 36 are formed in said connecting rods 35, in which holes pins 37, which are connected to the arms 23 and 24, respectively, are slidably accommodated. As furthermore appears from Figure 3, compression springs 38 are present in said slotted holes 36, which springs attempt to urge the pins 37 in a direction away from the pivot pins 34 towards the ends of the slotted holes 36 in question.

Connected to the upper wall 20 of the cover 18, by means of a pivot pin 41 extending parallel to the pivot pins 21 and 22, is an L- shaped lever 40. A projecting cam 42 forming a locking element is present on one end of an arm of said lever. Arranged between the end of the other arm of the lever 40 and the lower side of the upper wall 20 of the cover 18 is a spring 43 which attempts to pivot the cam 42 in the direction of the shaft-shaped part 3. The cam 42 abuts against a projecting part 44 of the shaft-shaped part 3 with its bottom side, seen in Figure 2. A recess 45, whose shape corresponds to the shape of the cam 42, is formed in the outer circumference of the shaft-shaped part, below said projecting part 44. The dispensing head as described above is intended to be fitted to the upper end of a so-called spear 46, which is fixed in a keg, for example a keg which contains beer. Figure 7 schematically shows such a spear 46 which is known per se, which spear is fixed in a neck 47 of a keg (not shown) which may contain a liquid, for example beer, soft drink or the like.

As is indicated in Figure 7, such a spear a is provided with a circular groove 48 near its upper end. The spear furthermore comprises a valve disc 49, which can be pressed downwards against the action of a spring mechanism in a manner which is known per se.

Since the construction and the operation of such a spear are generally known and the spear does not form part of the invention, a detailed description of the spear will not be given herein.

When the dispensing head as described above is to be fitted to the spear, it can be placed on the upper end thereof, as indicated in Figure 4, with the various parts of the dispensing head occupying the positions as shown in Figures 1-3. Then the cover 18, which forms an operating element, can be pressed in downward direction, seen in the figures, to slide rectilinearly over the housing 1. As is shown in Figure 5, the L-shaped lever 40 will be pivoted against the action of the spring 43 as a result of the cam 42 being pressed outwards on the inclined upper surface of the projection 44.

The downward movement of the cover 18 furthermore causes the arms 23 and 24 to pivot about the pivot pins 27, which are fixedly connected to the housing 1, as a result of which a force in downward direction, seen in the figures, will be exerted on the sliding member 5 via the connecting pieces 29, so that said sliding member 5 will be move downwards, seen in the figures, in the direction of the valve 49 that forms part of the spear. The further sliding member 31 is likewise pressed downwards via the connecting arms 35 that are connected to the arms 23 and 24. Since the pins 37 that are present in the slotted holes 36 of the connecting arms 35 are located further away from the pivot pins 27 than the pivot pins 28, the sliding member 31 will initially move downwards faster than the sliding member 5 when the cover 18 is being pressed downwards. When the sliding member 31 moves downwards, the hook-shaped locking elements 16 will be pivoted inwardly about the heads 17 by the lower edge of the sliding member and move into the recesses 15 formed near the bottom end of the shaft-shaped part 3 of the housing 1, projecting into a groove 48 formed in the spear 46 in the lower position of said further sliding member 31, in which the lower edge of said sliding member 31 abuts against a shoulder formed near the bottom side of the housing 1. Thus, a firm locking engagement of the dispensing head to the upper end of the spear 46 has been effected by means of said locking elements 16. Subsequently, the sliding member 5 can be moved downwards even further by pressing the cover 18 further downwards so as to lift the valve 49 that is present in the spear 46 from its seat via the bottom end of the sliding member 5. The gasket 14 is pressed against the upper side; of the spear in this position.

During the final part of the downward movement of the cover 18, the second sliding member 31 cannot move further downward. Further downward movement of the cover 18 so as to move the sliding member 5 to its end position is nevertheless possible, however, because the compression springs 38 present in the slotted holes 36 of the connecting arms 35 will be compressed by the pins 37 during said final part of the movement.

The cover 18 is locked in its entirely depressed position as a result of the cam 42 of the lever 40 engaging in the recess 45 in said final position of the cover 18, as is shown in Figure 6.

In the lowermost position of the sliding member 5, the groove 6 formed in the outer circumference of the sliding member has been moved to such a position that pressurised gas supplied via the connecting stub 4 can flow into the space accommodating the gasket 14 in the shaft- shaped part 3 via said groove 6, and from there into the interior of the keg via the open valve 49, whilst the liquid will be forced from the keg and flow out through the passages 8 in the sliding member 5 and the pipe stub 9. The ball 11 will be lifted off its seat thereby, but it will be maintained in a position a short distance away from the seat by the rod 10 as a result of the ball abutting against the lower end of said rod.

After the supply of pressurised gas has been shut off, the dispensing head can be removed from the spear again. To this end, the lever 40 is pivoted first. This can be effected in a simple manner by a user by placing his hand on the upper wall 20 of the cover 18 and engaging under the spring-loaded arm of the lever 40 with his fingers and subsequently turn said lever in clockwise direction, seen in Figure 2, as a result of which the cam 42 is moved out of the recess 45. Then the cover 18 can be moved upwards, which movement will cause the sliding member 5 to be urged upwards via the arms 23 and 24 and the connecting pieces 29, as a result of which the valve 49 in the spear will move to its closed position. After the valve 49 in the spear 46 has been closed, any remaining pressurised gas can escape in the manner described in German patent No 3701432.

Subsequently, the pins 37 located in the slotted holes 36 and the connecting arms 35 will butt against the upper ends of said slotted holes upon further outward movement of the cover 18, so that also the further sliding member 32 will be moved upwards, thereby releasing the hook-shaped locking elements 16, so that said locking elements can move out of the groove 48 in the upper end of the spear 46, after which the dispensing head can be removed from the spear in upward direction.

When the dispensing head is disconnected from the spear, the ball 11 will fall back onto its seat, thus preventing any liquid that may be present in the passage 8 and the parts connecting thereto from flowing out of the dispensing head. From the foregoing it will be apparent that when the dispensing head is to be connected to the spear, the dispensing head can be directly placed on the upper end of the spear and subsequently be connected to the spear whilst simultaneously opening the shut-off valve that is present in said spear by moving the cover 18 downwards in the same direction. When the dispensing head is to be removed, it suffices to exert a force in opposite direction on the cover 18 after pivoting the lever 40. Said lever 40 is properly screened by the cover wall 20 disposed above the lever and the downwardly bent edge 20' thereof, so that the risk of said lever 40 being accidentally pivoted is practically excluded, whilst the lever nevertheless remains readily accessible for being pivoted by a user's hand.

A uniform loading of the sliding member 5, without any tendency towards tilting movement thereof, is effected by arranging the arms 23 and 24 and the connecting pieces 29, by means of which the sliding member 5 is moved up and down, on either side of the sliding member 5.

A compact construction of the dispensing head in vertical direction is obtained by arranging the arms 23 and 24 a comparatively great distance below the upper end of the sliding member 5 and connecting the arms to the sliding member 5 by means of connecting pieces 29 which extend upwards from said arms.

Claims

1. A dispensing head comprising a housing, which dispensing head can be connected for use to a spear provided with a circular groove near its upper end, which is fixed in a keg containing a liquid, said housing comprising a connection for the supply of pressurised gas, whilst a first sliding member comprising a liquid outlet is present within the housing, which sliding member can be adjusted by means of an operating element between a first position, in which the passage through the housing of gas supplied via said connection for pressurised gas is shut off, and a second position, in which the sliding member has opened a shut-off valve for the spear during operation and the connection for the supply of pressurised gas will be in open communication with the interior of the keg containing the spear, characterized in that a further sliding member accommodated in the housing is connected to the operating element, which sliding member cooperates with locking elements, in such a manner that said further sliding member will press the locking elements further into the groove formed near the upper end of the spear upon movement of the operating element from the first position of the operating element towards the second position of the operating element.

2. A dispensing head according to claim 1, characterized in that the operating element is a cover arranged on the housing, which cover is movable with respect to the housing in a direction parallel to the direction of movement of the sliding members between the aforesaid first position and the aforesaid second position of the operating element (cover) .

3. A dispensing head according to claim 2, characterized in that the cover is fitted with a spring-loaded locking element, which snaps into a recess formed in the housing in the second position of the cover and which can retracted from said recess so as to disconnect the cover.

4. A dispensing head according to claim 3, characterized in that the locking element is fitted with an operating element, which is disposed under an upper wall of the cover.

5. A dispensing head according to claim 4, characterized in that the locking element is formed by a cam which is attached to the end of a leg of an L-shaped lever which is pivotally connected to the cover, whilst a compression spring is arranged between a further leg of said lever and the upper wall of the cover.

6. A dispensing head according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that at least one arm connected to the first sliding member is provided, which arm is pivotally connected to the housing with one end and which is pivotally connected to the operating element with its other end.

7. A dispensing head according to claim 6, characterized in that an arm connected to the first sliding member is arranged on either side of said sliding member.

8. A dispensing head according to claim 6 or 7, characterized in that an arm is connected to the first sliding member by means of a connecting piece, which connecting piece is pivotally connected to the arm with one end, at a point located between the ends of the arm, and which is pivotally connected to the upper end of the first sliding member with its other end.

9. A dispensing head according to any one of the preceding claims 6-8, characterized in that said further sliding member is connected to an arm by means of a connecting piece, which connecting piece accommodates a spring mechanism, all this in such a manner that if said further sliding member has reached an end position in which the locking elements are pressed into a groove formed in the spear, the cover can be moved further towards the spear yet with respect to the housing.

10. A dispensing head according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the locking elements are formed by hook- shaped elements, which are pivotally connected to the housing at their upper ends and which are provided with projecting parts at their lower ends, which parts engage in the groove formed in the spear upon connection of the dispensing head.

11. A dispensing head according to any one of the preceding claims 6-10, characterized in that the arm(s) are arranged between the upper end of the first sliding member and said further sliding member.