Dispensing – With discharge assistant – Fluid pressure
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-02
2001-05-01
Scherbel, David A. (Department: 3752)
Dispensing
With discharge assistant
Fluid pressure
C222S318000, C222S148000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06223955
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tapping head for tapping a liquid pressurized with gas, for example beer.
2. The Prior Art
A tapping head described in EP-A 0 759 409 substantially consists of a rising tube arranged in a cylinder having a connection for pressurized gas; a housing connected with the cylinder; a CO
2
feed line for the beverage arranged on the housing, and a plunger for feeding and discharging pressurized gas movably arranged in the interior of the housing. The plunger in this known tapping head is loaded by a coil spring and is connected with a sleeve-like tappet slidingly arranged between the housing and the rising tube, which has a conical sealing surface and boreholes located on its underside. A water connection line feeds into the tappet which, in the tapping position, connects an annular gap with the beverage feed line, and with a water feed line in the rinsing position.
The present invention is based on the problem of substantially improving the known tapping head in view of simplification of the system and operating safety of the tapping head.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention proposes to solve this problem by providing a tapping head comprising:
(a) a tapping head housing having a side surface;
(b) a cylinder cavity formed in the tapping head housing;
(c) a plunger movably arranged in the cavity and biased by a coil spring, the plunger being movable up and down and having a lower tapping position;
(d) a barrel connection housing connected to the tapping head housing;
(e) a rising tube extending through the tapping head housing and the plunger, the tube forming a channel for a beverage;
(f) a surrounding tube surrounding the rising tube and separated therefrom by a first annular gap;
(g) a connection for cleaning liquid feeding into the first annular gap between the rising tube and the surrounding tube;
(h) a tappet slidingly arranged on the surrounding tube and connected to the plunger, said tappet having a rinsing position in which the cleaning liquid is connected to the rising tube and a tapping position in which the cleaning tube is sealed off;
(i) a feed line having a pressure controller arranged in the housing, the controller having an inlet side connected to the cylinder cavity via a first pressure line;
(j) a transversely extending gas line arranged in the plunger, the gas line, in the lower tapping position, connecting a second annular gap extending around the surrounding tube and communicatively connected to a beverage barrel via the feed line;
(k) a system connection on the side surface of the tapping head housing; and
(l) one single system hose having a plurality of conduits via which the feed of water, gas and beverage takes place, the hose being connectable to the system connection.
This tapping head offers a number of important advantages over the known tapping head. First, the water connection for the cleaning water is not movable, which is advantageous because movements of the water connection may cause injury to the person operating the tapping head. Furthermore, the connection of the gas feed in the interior of the plunger and the introduction of a pressure reducer in the tapping head improve the conditions with respect to the feed or adjustment of the reduced pressurized gas of the beverage. Finally, additional advantages ensue from the special design of the introduction of a system feed hose containing all lines, as well as from the use of the pressure employed for actuating the cylinder to adjust, with the help of the pressure reducer, the pressure of the beverage.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3734352 (1973-05-01), Dooley
patent: 4212414 (1980-07-01), Beyens
patent: 4228927 (1980-10-01), Beyens et al.
patent: 5343907 (1994-09-01), Wagner
patent: 5535923 (1996-07-01), Fujioka
patent: 28 31 463 (1979-02-01), None
patent: 91 09 177.2 (1991-12-01), None
patent: 34 38 415 (1994-05-01), None
patent: 0 759 409 (1996-08-01), None
patent: 2 659 074 (1991-02-01), None
Collard & Roe P.C.
Hwu Davis
Hygienic Design Engineering AG
Scherbel David A.
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