Food or edible material: processes – compositions – and products – Packaged or wrapped product – Having consumer oriented diverse utility
Patent
1995-03-09
1997-09-23
Kepplinger, Esther
Food or edible material: processes, compositions, and products
Packaged or wrapped product
Having consumer oriented diverse utility
426115, 426124, 426131, 426132, 206222, 220501, 220553, 425 721, 425396, B65B 3100, B65B 1700, B65B 2500, B28B 500
Patent
active
056701942
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This specification relates to production of foam for beverages. The specification is particularly, but not exclusively, concerned with the production of a head of foam on beer dispensed from relatively small containers such as cans, bottles and the like.
While many systems exist for providing a stable, tight head on beer dispensed from casks and other bulk containers, it has long been recognized that there are problems if seeking to achieve the same effect on beer dispensed from containers such as cans and bottles. Any head tends to come from natural effervescence of the beer as dissolved carbon dioxide comes out of solution when the container is opened, and from excitation of the beer as it is poured into a glass. To a certain extent the head formation can be improved by using a combination of nitrogen and carbon dioxide, but simply doing this does not produce a head as good as that on beer pumped from casks and the like. There is a particular problem in the case of canned beers intended to provide similar qualities to traditional draught beers, where there is a significantly lower CO.sub.2 content than in other canned beers.
It has been proposed, therefor, to inject gas into the beverage when the container is opened, so as to promote formation of bubbles which will provide the foam. This proposal has been done by providing a secondary chamber containing gas at above atmospheric pressure, which is ejected into the main beverage through an orifice when the container is opened, due to the pressure difference across the relatively small orifice. In some known arrangements the secondary chamber communicates permanently while the main body of beverage and in others there is provided a valve.
In GB-A-1,266,351 there is disclosed a bottle with a cap having a secondary chamber attached to it. This chamber is in permanent communication with the main body-of the beverage and contains gas under pressure, at equilibrium with the remainder of the bottle. There are also disclosed cans with secondary chambers in their bases, which are provided with valves. Similar arrangements are shown in GB-A-1,331,425.
In GB-A-2,183,592 there is provided a secondary chamber in the form of a plastic insert which is pushed down inside a can. The chamber is provided with an orifice which communicates permanently with the main body. After sealing the can, beverage enters the insert to compress the gas therein, which is normally nitrogen. It is stated that subsequent ejection of gas and/or beverage causes the formation of a head. The insert is in the form of a plastic moulding.
In WO-A-91/07326 there is disclosed a secondary chamber in the form of a plastic insert which is pre-charged with nitrogen under pressure. The insert has a valve whose properties are altered after filling of the can with beverage and sealing, so that the valve will open when subsequently exposed to the pressure differential when the can is opened. This may be achieved by heating the insert, e.g. during pasteurization of the beer.
Known inserts exhibit various problems in terms of manufacture and handling.
According to an invention disclosed herein, there is provided a container of beverage sealed under pressure, the container being provided with a secondary chamber in the form of a hollow insert adapted to provide a flow of gas through an orifice into the beverage when the container is opened, wherein the insert is in the form of an elongate tubular member whose axis extends around an axis corresponding generally to the axis of the container.
In preferred arrangements the insert will be curved in the form of a part annulus, although the ends could meet to form a complete annulus. Thus the axis of the insert will follow a curved path. However, the insert need not follow a strictly circular or arcuate path. The insert will generally lie in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the container, although a helical form is possible. In general the insert lies against, and extend around, the cylindrical wall of a can or bottle. The insert is preferably resilient, so that it
REFERENCES:
patent: 3981663 (1976-09-01), Lupke
patent: 4545751 (1985-10-01), Lupke
patent: 4801465 (1989-01-01), Sponer
Anderson Raymond Gale
Banks Anthony John
Fuller Graham
Baxley Esq. Charles E.
Carlsberg-Tetley Brewing Limited
Kepplinger Esther
Sherrer Curtis E.
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