The present invention relates to improved alcohol beverage bags and a method of installing alcohol beverage bags into containers.
It is known to construct an alcohol bag in a manner that when the bag is filled with an alcohol beverage, such as, for example, beer or wine, the bag resembles the shape of the container in which the bag is housed.
In applications where the bag is used to contain beer, the bags are typically housed in a keg having a generally cylindrical shape. The bag has a neck portion secured to the keg. The bag is deflated, passed through a keg aperture and then filled with beer. After the beer is dispensed from the keg, the bag is removed through the aperture. Typically, the bag comprises two circular panels spaced apart by a cylindrical shaped sheet. The sheet is welded at its ends to the circular panels to form two end seams. The sheet is also welded along its length to form a third seam. A fourth seam is made where the neck passes through one of the circular panels. During bag removal from the keg, the end seams have a tendency to bunch together and are pulled together through the keg aperture. As a consequence, stress is placed on the end seam which reduces the recycling life span of the bag. Accordingly, any improvement in bag construction that extends the recycling life of the bag is beneficial.
An alternative form of bag comprises a first panel and a second panel having peripheral edges welded together to form a first seam. Each of the first and second panels has an area larger than a cross-sectional area for the keg. This sizing of the panels relative to the keg cross-sectional area permits the panels to be forced apart during bag filling so as to expand the bag internal space to approximate the volume of the keg. The bag has an open neck member passing through an aperture of the first panel and welded thereto to form a second seam.
A problem occurs during bag insertion into the keg. Typically, the keg has an aperture for receiving the bag where the size of the aperture corresponds to the size of the bag neck and the size of the aperture is much smaller than the bulk of the bag. This makes it difficult to insert the bag into the keg. Further care must be taken not to rupture the bag during its installation in the keg.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for installing a bag in a container which method is easier to implement.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a bag suitable for containing an alcohol beverage in a container that places less stress on the bag seams during bag removal from the container.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a bag suitable for use in a beer keg that has fewer seems than a cylindrical formed bag.
In one aspect, the present invention relates to a method of installing a bag into a container to be ready for receiving an alcohol beverage. The container has an aperture for receiving the bag where the aperture of the container has a cross-sectional area smaller than the bulk of the bag. The method comprises the steps of folding the bag into overlapping panels having a bag cross-sectional area able to pass through the aperture cross-sectional area. The method includes inserting this folded bag through the aperture and into the container.
By folding the bag, it is possible to collapse the bulk of the bag in a structured manner whereby the cross-sectional volume of the bag becomes less than or of a size that is able to pass through the cross-sectional aperture of the container without adversely effecting the integrity of the bag wall.
It is contemplated that the method of the present invention may further include the step of removing air from the bag so as to flatten the bag prior to the bag being folded.
The method of installing the bag may further include the steps of sealing the bag to the neck aperture of the container after the bag has been inserted into the container and drawing a vacuum from the container to cause the bag to unfold within the container and be drawn towards the walls of the container. While the bag may unfold by itself after it passes through the aperture or may unfold during the step of inflating the bag, it should be understood that by drawing a vacuum, the bag is positively pulled out of its folded condition towards the inside walls of the container.
In another aspect, the present invention relates to a bag suitable for containing an alcohol beverage, preferably beer, in a container, preferably a keg. The bag comprises a first panel and a second panel having peripheral edges welded together to form a first seam. Each of the first and second panels has an area larger than a cross-sectional area for the keg. This sizing of the panels relative to the keg cross-sectional area permits the panels to be forced apart during bag filling so as to expand the bag internal space to approximate the volume of the keg. The bag has an open neck member passing through an aperture of the first panel and welded thereto to form a second seam. The bag of the present invention has advantage because it has fewer seams to be stressed during bag insertion and removal into the container than a cylindrical formed bag. The fewer seams also results in a manufacturing labour cost reduction.
The aperture in the first panel of the bag is preferably offset from the center of the panel. This off center aperture orientation reduces the likelihood of the first seam of the bag being bunched up and pulled at one time through the keg aperture during bag extraction. Consequently, less stress is placed on the first seam during bag extraction from the keg thereby enhancing the recycling life of the bag.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention there is provided a bag suitable for containing an alcohol beverage when placed in a container having a cross-sectional area and a volume. The bag comprises a first panel and a second panel having peripheral edges welded together to form a first seam. Each of the first and second panels have an area larger than the cross-sectional area of the container. The first panel has an aperture contained therein. The first and second panels are moveable apart from each other when the bag is filled to expand bag internal space to approximate the volume of the container. The bag has an open neck member passing through the aperture of the first panel and welded thereto to form a second seam. The neck has a passageway for filling the bag with the alcohol beverage.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the bag may comprise a cylindrical shaped bag having a neck and four seams. The improvement resides in the neck of the bag passing through a circular bag panel off-set from the center of the circular panel. As a result, when the bag is removed from a keg, the off-set neck pulls the bag from the keg in such a manner that the bag seams are not bunched together and removed at once. Consequently, less stress is placed on these seams.
In accordance with this other embodiment of the present invention therefore, there is provided a bag suitable for containing an alcohol beverage when placed in a keg. The bag comprises two circular panels having peripheral edges welded to a cylindrical panel to form the bag with three seams. The bag is expandable to approximate the volume of the keg. The first panel has a center and an aperture therein positioned off-center from the center. The bag has an open neck member passing through the aperture of the first panel and welded thereto to form a fourth seam. The neck provides a passageway for filling the bag.
For a better understanding of the nature and objects of the present invention reference may be had to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings in which:
a is a perspective view of a bag of the present invention shown inserted and deflated in a keg;
b is a perspective view of a bag of the present invention shown inserted and deflated in a keg;
Referring to
The first panel 14 has an aperture 24 positioned in the first panel offset from its center at 26. A neck 30 extends through the first panel 14 at aperture 24 and is secured to the aperture 24 by a weld 32. The neck 30 typically comprises a rubber like material and has an opening or passageway 34 through which alcohol or beer is filled into the space or volume between the panels 14 and 16.
The bag 10 is shown in
Referring to
Advantage is found with the bag 10 shown in
Referring to
In accordance with the present invention it should be understood that the neck 30 of the bag 10 of
In order to effectively insert and install the bag 10 within the container 12, the method of the present invention comprises the first step shown in
In the next step, as shown in
The next step is to seal the neck 30 to the aperture 46 and at this time that the bag may start to unfold on its own as represented by arrows 21 shown in
It should be understood that once the bag 10 is inserted in the keg 12, it may be inflated by an initial purging of the bag 10 with CO2 or may be inflated by filling the bag 10 with a beverage. This inflation of the bag 10 results in the bag 10 unfolding.
Returning to
While the bag structure of
The offset neck feature and associated advantages discussed with respect to the cylindrical bag 80 of
It should be understood that the method of folding the bag 10 described herein is merely an example of one manner in which the bag of
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0227937.0 | Nov 2002 | GB | national |
0324908.3 | Oct 2003 | GB | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/IB03/05398 | 11/26/2003 | WO | 2/1/2006 |