The present invention relates to a plastic container for liquids, particularly beverages such as beer.
Most current beer kegs include a steel body with a valve in the top for both filling the keg and for accessing the contents. The steel kegs are reusable. Empty kegs are returned and then washed and refilled in an automated process. The steel kegs are inverted, such that the valve is at the bottom of the keg to facilitate draining during cleaning. The interior of the body of the keg is washed by spraying cleansing liquids through the valve. The cleansing liquids wash the inner surface of the body of the keg and then drain downward through the valve. The kegs are typically then filled in the inverted position through the valve at the bottom of the keg. Throughout the automated process, a cylinder clamps the body of the keg with a high force (between 200 and 300 lb.) to hold the keg in place while the washing and filling heads connect to the valve at the bottom of the keg.
There are several problems with the use of steel kegs. First, they are fairly heavy, even when empty. Second, they are expensive and are not always returned by the user. If a deposit is charged to the user to ensure the return of the keg, this may discourage the user from choosing to purchase beer by the keg in the first place. However, if the deposit is too low, it is possible that the value of the steel in the keg exceeds the amount of the deposit, thus contributing to some kegs not being returned.
The present invention provides several plastic kegs with various optional desirable features.
Some of the inventive features disclosed herein permit the plastic kegs to be filled in existing automated equipment for filling steel kegs in the inverted position. The plastic beer kegs disclosed herein can be filled in the inverted position and can withstand the high clamping force typically used in this type of equipment.
In the disclosed example embodiments, a PET liner is placed within an outer, stronger, more durable plastic container. A lid is secured to the outer container and has an opening through which the valve on the PET liner extends. A head contact member adjacent a neck portion of the liner transfers axial load on the liner away from the neck portion to prevent crumpling.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the head contact member is a retainer extending down from the valve to shift the clamping load away from the neck of the liner. The retainer extends radially outward to the shoulders of the liner, nearer the cylindrical walls of the liner.
In two other embodiments of the present invention, the head contact member transfers forces to the lid of the container. The lid is secured to the neck of the liner, such that the forces on the valve are transferred to the lid, and through the lid directly to the outer container, away from the PET liner.
Several embodiments of retainers and lids are provided, as the liner, outer container and valve assembly could be the same in each of the disclosed embodiments.
These and other features of the application can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description.
The outer container 12 includes a cylindrical outer wall 22 having an outwardly projecting lip 26 at an upper edge thereof. A skirt 28 may extend around the periphery of the wall 22 to provide ease of handling.
The lid 16 includes a lip 30 extending downward from a generally horizontal, annular rim portion 31 extending about the periphery of the lid 16 and snap-fit over the lip 26 of the outer container 12. Alternatively, the lid 16 could be threaded onto the upper end of the outer container 12. The lid 16 further includes a lower annular wall 32 spaced below the upper edge of the outer container 12 and connected by a frustoconical wall 34 to the outer periphery of the lid 16. A plurality of radially extending ribs 38 reinforce the frustoconical wall 34. An upwardly angled frustoconical wall 36 extends upwardly and inwardly from an inner periphery of the lower annular wall 32 and defines an opening through which the retainer 20 projects.
The liner 14 is a PET bottle or other suitable material having generally cylindrical side walls 42 and an upper shoulder portion 44 transitioning to a neck 50, which as shown, may be threaded. In compression vertically, the cylindrical side walls 42 are fairly strong; however, the transition between the shoulder portion 44 and the neck 50 buckles easily under a compressive load placed upon the mouth of the liner 14. These axial forces bear primarily upon the base of the container 12 on one side, with the head bearing upon the retainer 20 (the “head contact member”) on the other side.
The retainer 20 is secured to the neck 50 of the liner 14 in order to retain the valve assembly 18 within the neck 50. Because the retainer 20 will also be the head contact member, the retainer also includes a skirt portion 48 extending at an angle downwardly from the neck 50 onto the shoulder portion 44 of the liner 14 near the side walls 42 of the liner 14. In this example, the diameter of the skirt portion 48 is about ⅔ the diameter of the side walls 42 of the liner 14. Thus, any weight or compressive force placed upon the retainer 20 will be distributed outward away from the neck 50 onto the shoulder portion 44 by the skirt portion 48 and distributed about a much greater surface area that is near the side walls 42 and away from the neck 50. The skirt portion 48 may contact the shoulder portion 44 of the liner with a slight interference during assembly to efficiently transfer the load from the filler head to the shoulder portion 44. The retainer 20 is secured to the neck 50 of the liner 14 by a snap-fit or by threading that locks in place when the threads bottom out.
The valve assembly 18 can be of standard design, but is preferably formed with plastic components other than perhaps the metal springs (not shown). The valve assembly 18 should also be capable of completely draining the liner 14 in the inverted position if the keg 10 is going to be used in that manner.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the retainer 120 (head contact member) is secured to the neck 50 of the liner 14 (such as by threading, snap-fit or other means) but extends downward on top of the lower annular wall 132 of the lid 116. The retainer 120 includes an outer annular flange 164 bearing upon the lower annular wall portion 132 of the lid 116. The lower annular flange 164 is connected by a stepped annular portion 165 to the remainder of the retainer 120. Referring to
Referring to
The liner 14, valve assembly 18, retainer 120 and lid 116 can be preassembled in a clean environment and shipped together as a unit for installation into the outer container 12. The lid 116 and outer container 12 may optionally include a feature for preventing relative rotation while the valve assembly 18 is being tapped or while the tap is being removed.
In this embodiment, because the liner 14 is connected to the lid 116, it may be necessary initially to suspend the empty liner 14 by the neck 50 on the lid 116 such that the base of the liner 14 is spaced above the base of the outer container 12, so that the liner 14 has room to expand vertically as it is filled and pressurized.
A keg 210 according to a third embodiment of the present invention is shown in
The retainer 220 (head contact member) includes a generally cylindrical portion 266 threaded or otherwise connected to the neck 50 of the liner 14 and extending downward to a lower annular flange 264 bearing upon the shoulder portion 44 of the liner 14 near the neck 50.
The lid 216 further includes an annular rib 236 extending upwardly from an inner periphery of the lower annular wall portion 232.
A collar 280 includes an annular recess 284 for receiving the annular rib 236 of the lid 216. The collar 280 further includes threads 282 for threading onto the cylindrical portion 266 of the retainer 220, thereby clamping the annular rib 236 and lower annular wall portion 232 of the lid between the retainer 220 and the collar 280.
In use, in this embodiment, compressive forces on the retainer 220 are transferred by the collar 280 onto the lid 216 and then to the outer container 12, as before. However, in this embodiment, there is also the ability to remove the collar 280 from the retainer 220 after the keg 210 has been emptied during use. The lid 216 can then be removed from the outer container 12 and from the liner 14. Thus, there is no need for the user to remove the retainer 220 from the liner 14, which could still be pressurized. Optionally, the retainer 220 could therefore be secured to the neck 50 of the liner 14 in a way that is not removable by the user, while still permitting the user to remove the liner 14 and retainer 220 and valve assembly 18 for recycling, and permit the user to keep and otherwise reuse or recycle the outer container 12 and/or the lid 216.
As in the previous embodiment, because the liner 14 is connected to the lid 216, it may be necessary initially to suspend the empty liner 14 by the neck 50 on the lid 216 such that the base of the liner 14 is spaced above the base of the outer container 12, so that the liner 14 has room to expand vertically as it is filled and pressurized.
Referring to
The lid 316 includes a lower annular wall portion 332 having an annular rib 336 extending upwardly from the inner periphery thereof. A frustoconical portion 334 of the lid 316 extends downward from the rim portion 331 of the lid 316 to the lower annular wall portion 332 and is reinforced by ribs 338 (
In
It should also be noted that the liner 14, valve assembly 18, lower retainer 386 and upper retainer 320 can all be shipped as a sealed unit for installation into the outer container 12 and lid 316 without unsealing the unit.
Although the outer container 12 is shown as cylindrical, it is contemplated that other shapes, such as square or rectangular cross-sections, of containers may also be utilized.
In all of the embodiments, the retainer 20, 120, 220, 320 may include a tab or button which must be pressed before the retainer can be unscrewed from the neck 50 of the liner 14. Optionally, with a ¼ turn of the retainer (or so), the liner 14 can be depressurized. Then, the retainer can be completely unscrewed, possibly by first completely breaking snaps or tabs. This forces a user to release the pressure in the liner 14 before completely releasing the retainer and valve assembly 18. In the second embodiment, the user is prevented from removing a pressurized liner 14 from the outer container 12 because the retainer 120 must be removed first. As another option, it may be desirable to design the retainers 20, 120, 220, 320 to break (such as along weakened portions) as they are being removed, to prevent them from being reused.
In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes and jurisprudence, exemplary configurations described above are considered to represent a preferred embodiment of the invention. However, it should be noted that the invention can be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described without departing from its spirit or scope. For example, although some of the inventive features described herein provide the ability to fill the keg in an inverted orientation in existing filling equipment with high clamping forces, it is also anticipated that the kegs would be desirable for use with upright filling, both automated and manually.
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