GB2269364A - Beer engines - Google Patents

Abstract

A beer engine is provided with a chassis 1, Figure 1, of fabricated construction in which a fascia panel 21, which faces the beer engine operator in use, is attached to two parallel side plates of the chassis. Panel 21 is removable to allow access by a service engineer to the space between the side plates enclosing piston-cylinder unit 11. A top plate is provided for clamping the beer engine to a bar, and is covered by a self-levelling plinth 37. The spout 31 may be mounted on either side plate, and alternative embodiments are disclosed in which beer is delivered on the inwards or the outward stroke of the piston rod 14 of the beer engine. A sealing ring 50, Figure 17, for the piston rod 14 is of non-round cross-section, and is axially preloaded by a seal loading plug 51, the plug acting as a bearing for the piston rod 14 on the dry side of the sealing ring 50. <IMAGE>

Description

BEER ENGINES This invention relates to beer engines.

The term beer is intended to include beer-like beverages.

Conventional beer engines are relatively expensive to manufacture and are not always easy to install and subsequently service on site. We have set out to design a beer engine which is less costly to manufacture, and which eases servicing, and the various aspects of the present invention are concerned with features of the resulting designs.

With existing beer engines access to the pump cylinder assembly is not easy. For example, it generally takes over 15 minutes for a service engineer to replace the pump cylinder assembly.

According to one aspect of the invention a beer engine comprises a chassis in the form of two spaced-apart, parallel side plates to which a pump handle is pivoted, mounting means for securing the chassis to a bar, a pump cylinder assembly operable by the pump handle disposed substantially in the space defined between the side plates, and a fascia panel adapted to be releasably secured to the side plates, the fascia panel extending substantially vertically in use, and spanning the gap between the side plates on that open side of the chassis which the pump operative faces in use of the pump.

The fascia panel can be removed to provide ready access to said space between the side plates, thereby facilitating servicing of the cylinder assembly and handle linkage. The service engineer is able to gain access to said space from the front of the chassis, that is from the side faced in use by the pump operative.

The fascia panel can serve as a splash-back to prevent any beer which splashes from a glass during dispensing from falling on the components mounted on the chassis between the side plates.

Preferably the fascia panel is adapted to have a clip-on connection with the side plates.

The fascia panel is preferably a plate with a pair of parallel depending flanges, so as to be of shallow channel-section, the flanges being adapted to lie outside of the respective chassis side plates when the fascia panel Is in position.

The flanges are preferably spaced from the respectively adjacent side plate by an amount which is sufficient to enable a service engineer to Insert his finger tips to prise the fascia panel from the side plates.

The fascia panel is preferably releasably secured to the side plates by the engagement between lugs secured to the side plates and formations provided on or In the flanges of the fascia panel.

According to a second aspect of the invention a beer engine comprises a chassis which has been formed from a flat sheet of metal, the metal having been folded to define a pair of parallel side plates which extend substantially in vertical planes in use, and a mounting plate integrally connecting the side plates, the mounting plate being adapted in use to overlie a bar to which the chassis is clamped, a pump cylinder assembly operable by a pump handle being disposed substantially in the space defined between the side plates.

The use of sheet material to construct the chassis can lead to a reduction in cost.

The mounting plate is preferably reinforced by an inverted tray secured thereto, conveniently by welding.

Such a chassis can be made strong yet can provide ready access to components disposed in said space between the side plates.

According to a third aspect of the invention a beer engine comprises a chassis comprising a pair of parallel side plates which extend substantially vertically in use, and clamping means for clamping the chassis to a substantially horizontal bar top, the clamping means comprising a clamp bar which extends through openings provided in the respective side plates, and a pair of clamping screws threadedly engaged with the clamp bar at positions outboard of the respective side plates, the clamping screws being adapted to clamp in use against the underside of the bar top.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention a beer engine comprises a chassis which incorporates a mounting plate adapted to be clamped In use against the upper surface of a bar top by clamping means carried by the chassis and adapted to engage with the underside of the bar top, and a plinth which covers the mounting plate and lies beneath the exposed portion of a handle pivotally connected to the chassis, the plinth being captively connected to the chassis by connection means so as to be capable of tilting slightly with respect to the mounting plate and so as to be urged resiliently downwards with respect to the mounting plate whereby the plinth lies in use flush against the bar top even when the bar top is not exactly parallel to the mounting plate.

The connection means conveniently comprise screws secured to the underside of the plinth, the shanks of the screws passing with clearance through respective holes provided in the mounting plate, a respective compression spring acting between the head of the screw and the underside of the mounting plate.

The plinth has a cut-out in one side to accommodate the shank of the handle when the handle is in an upright condition.

Since the plinth self-adjusts to fit a bar top, no setting of the pllnth is required on an assembly line, as is currently required for a fixed plinth.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention a beer engine comprises a chassis comprising a pair of parallel side plates which extend substantially vertically in use, a cylinder disposed substantially tn the space defined between the side plates, a dispensing spout for dispensing beer into a glass, alternative left and right mounting means projecting outwardly from the left and right side plates respectively for alternatively mounting the spout outboard of either the left or right side plates, a flexible hose connecting the cylinder to the dispensing spout, the side plates each being formed with a respective opening through which the hose can pass to connect with the spout, depending upon whether the spout is to be mounted on the left or on the right.

The foregoing arrangement enables the spout to be altered from left to right on site simply by disconnecting the flexible hose, disconnecting the spout from one mounting means, connecting the spout to the other mounting means1 and re-connecting the flexible hose.

A sixth aspect of the invention concerns the sealing of the piston rod of the beer engine cylinder.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, a beer engine comprises a beer cylinder assembly operable by a handle, the cylinder assembly comprising a piston rod extending through one end of the cylinder, the seal assembly for sealing the piston rod to said cylinder end comprising a sealing ring of resilient material housed in a first counterbore to a bore through which the piston rod extends into that cylinder chamber bounded by said cylinder end, a seal loading plug being housed in a second counterbore to said bore, the second counterbore being of larger diameter than said first counterbore, the sealing ring being of non-round cross-section, and the axial length of the first counterbore being chosen such that the plug exerts a substantial predetermined axial preload on said seal with said plug abutting the step defined between the first and second counterbores.

A preferred sealing ring is of substantially cruciform cross-section.

Such cruciform seals are available under the name QUAD-RING (Registered Trade Mark of Quadion Corporation) from Shamban (RTM) Sealing Systems of Such seals are not intended to be subject to an axial preload but we have found, unexpectedly, that the axial confining of the seal in this situation improves the sealing against beer and substantially extends the usable life of the seal.

By arranging the seal in the first counterbore, it is exposed to beer in the cylinder and is therefore self-lubricated.

We believe that the axial preload on the seal effectively results in seal material being fed to replace any worn areas of the seal thereby providing an extended life.

The plug is provided with a plug bore to receive the piston rod, and the plug bore is preferably dimensioned such that the plug acts as the bearing to support slidably the piston rod.

It should be noted that, as distinct from normal beer engine practice, the bearing provided by the plug is on the dry side of the seal, which, of course, is on the wet side of the bearing. This avoids the problem with the conventional arrangement that the seal can dry out.

By a suitable choice of the material for the plug we avoid any excessive wear which might otherwise result from running the bearing on the dry side of the seal.

The plug is preferably a matrix of polyester rolled into a scroll form and impregnated with a resin.

Two beer engines in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure l is a vertical cross-section of a first beer engine having a generally vertically disposed cylinder, and shown with the pump handle in its unoperated vertical position; Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but of a second beer engine having a generally horizontally disposed cylinder; Figure 3 is a front view of the second beer engine, looking from the right in Figure 2; Figures 4, 5 and 6 are respectively side, front and underplan views of the chassis of the first beer engine of Figure 1; Figures 7 and 8 are respectively side and front elevations of the chassis of the second beer engine of Figure 2;; Figures 9, 10 and 11 are respectively front, side and plan views of the fascia panel of the first beer engine of Figure 1; Figures 12, 13 and 14 are respectively front, side and plan views of the fascia panel of the second beer engine of Figure 2; Figure 15 is an enlarged end view of a mounting lug for retaining the fascia panel; Figure 16 is a section on the line 16-16 of Figure 15; Figure 17 is a side view, partly in longitudinal section of a piston and cylinder assembly used in the second beer engine of Figure 2; and Figure 18 is an enlarged transverse cross-section of the Quad-Ring (RTM) seal employed to seal the piston rod of the assembly of Figure 17.

Referring to Figures 1, 4, 5 and 6, the first beer engine comprises a chassis 1 formed from sheet metal essentially by pressing a flat sheet and then folding about two fold lines to define a pair of spaced-apart parallel side plates 2, 3 connected at the top by an integral top plate 4 which is horizontal in use. Top plate 4 is reinforced by a pressed metal tray structure 5 spot-welded thereto.

As shown in Figure 4, the side plates 2, 3 comprise a main portion 6 of chamfered oblong shape, an upstand portion 7 and an overhanging portion 8 defining a bite 9 to accommodate a bar top. The space 10, Figure 5, defined between the side plates 2, 3 accommodates the piston and cylinder assembly 11, shown in Figure 1, and the lower portion 12 of the pump handle 13 with the piston rod 14. The lower extremity of the pump handle 13 is pivotally attached to the free end 15 of the piston rod, the pump handle 13 being pivotally mounted between opposed adjustable bearings 16 carried by the respective side plates 2, 3, in holes 17 (Figure 4).

The platform portion 4 and tray structure 5 have a cut-out 18 to accommodate the handle in the upright, unoperated position thereof.

The cylinder is pivotally supported between the side plates 2, 3 by trunnions 19 secured to the lower cylinder end plate 20.

With reference to Figures 9, 10 and 11, a fascia panel 21 is of channel section, having parallel flanges 22 each provided with a pair of holes 23 for snap-connection with a respective pair of lugs 26, Figures 15 and 16, carried by the respective side plates 2, 3. The front wall 24 of the fascia panel is provided in its upper half with a slot 25 to accommodate the downward displacement of the handle 13.

Each side plate 2, 3 has rigidly secured thereto, by screws in holes 29, a vertically-spaced pair of the horizontally, outwardly projecting lugs 26, the lugs being formed of acetal. The free ends 27 of the lugs 26 are formed as projecting pins having a rounded outer end 28.

The pins are dimensioned to be received in the corresponding holes 23, Figure 10, provided in the flanges 22.

The distance between the flanges in the undistorted condition of the fascia plate corresponds approximately to the distance between shoulders 30 of opposed lugs 26 whereby the fascia panel is normally retained in place by the co-operation between pins 27 and holes 23.

The fascia panel can readily be removed by urging the flanges 22 apart, by putting the finger tips into the slot defined between the side plate 2, 3 and the respective flange 22. The rounded end 28 of pins 27 assists in snapping-on of the fascia plate.

When the fascia panel 21 is removed, the service engineer has ready access to the cylinder assembly 11, lower handle 12 and all the other components housed between side plates 2, 3.

A dispensing nozzle 31 is mountable on a mounting bracket 32, Figure 5, welded to plates 2, 3. The inner end 33 of the nozzle being connected to a cylinder outlet 34 by a flexible hose 35, and the nozzle passing through the lower end of slot 25. A drip tray 35 is carried by a strip frame 36 secured to chassis 1.

A decorative plinth 37 is of generally inverted tray shape and covers the top plate 4. The plinth is held captive to top plate 4 by a pair of screws 38 which are secured to the underside of plinth 37, the shank of each screw passing with clearance through a respective hole 39, Figure 6, in the top plate 4, and with a respective compression spring 39 acting between each screw head and the underside of the reinforcing tray structure 5, thereby to bias plinth 37 resiliently downwards in use against the upper surface of the bar top. This biassing ensures that the plinth automatically fits snugly on a sloping bar top in the event that the bar top is not horizontal yet the pump is mounted precisely vertically.

The pump is clamped to the bar top by a pair of screw clamps 40 which are threadedly carried by an elongate clamp bar 41 extending through corresponding apertures 42, Figure 4, in the side plates 2, 3.

The second beer engine of Figures 2, 3, 7, 8 and 12 to 14 is similar to that of Figures 1, 4 to 6 and 9 to 11 except that the piston cylinder assembly 11 is disposed generally horizontally, and the spout 31 is mounted to one side of the handle 13.

In the drawings of the second beer engine, parts corresponding to those of the first beer engine have been given corresponding reference numerals.

To enable the spout 31 to be positioned either to the left or the right of the handle 13, as viewed by the operative, Figure 3, a pair of brackets 32 are provided, one bracket 32 being welded to the outer face of the side plate 2, and the other bracket 32 to the outer face of side plate 3. Rectangular apertures 43 are provided in both side plates 2, 3 to provide alternative paths for the flexible hose connecting with the cylinder outlet 34.

It is a simple matter for the spout position to change from right to left or vice versa by a service engineer. All that is necessary is for the fascia panel 21 to be unclipped, four securing screws 45 connecting the spout 31 to bracket 32 to be removed, the spout to flexible hose 35 joint to be disconnected, the spout repositioned on the alternative bracket, after directing the hose 35 through the aperture 43 in the opposite side plate and reconnecting the hose to the spout.

Fascia 21, Figure 12, has two cut-outs 57 to accommodate the alternative spout positions.

The drip tray frame 36, which is asymmetric, is readily detached at 46 and inverted to repositian the drip tray 35 beneath the spout 31.

Figure 17 shows the piston and cylinder assembly 11 of the second beer engine of Figure 2, but the assembly 11 of the first beer engine of Figure 1 is similar to that of Figure 17 except that the valving on the piston is reversed in assembly 11 of the first beer engine to provide a pumping stroke during removal of the piston rod from the cylinder.

The sealing arrangement between the piston rod 14 and the cylinder end plate 20 will now be described.

First and second counterbores 47, 48 are provided to the bore 49 in end plate 20, the first counterbore 47 housing an annular seal 50, shown enlarged in Figure 18, and the second counterbore 48 housing a cylindrical piston rod bearing 51 which also acts as a plug axially preloading the seal 50, the bearing 51 being maintained against the step 52 defined between counterbores 47, 48 by washers 53 and screws 54.

The seal 50 is a nitrile Quad-Ring (Registered Trade Mark of Quadion Corporation) from Shamban Sealing Systems, and has a substantially cruciform cross-section whereby a pair of annular sealing lips 55 make contact with the piston rod 14. The axial depth of the first counterbore 47 is chosen such that the bearing 51 applies an axial preload to the seal 50. This has been found in tests to provide an extended seal life in this situation, and it is believed that the long seal life achieved results partly from the fact that the seal 50 is on the wet side of the bearing 51, as distinct from normal practice, and because the axial loading of seal 50 results in new material being fed to the sealing contacts to replace any material worn from lips 55.

The bearing 51 operates dry and is formed of a matrix of woven polyester rolled into a scroll and impregnated with a resin.

Claims (20)

1. A beer engine comprises a chassis in the form of two spaced-apart, parallel side plates to which a pump handle is pivoted, mounting means for securing the chassis to a bar, a pump cylinder assembly operable by the pump handle disposed substantially in the space defined between the side plates, and a fascia panel adapted to be releasably secured to the side plates, the fascia panel extending substantially vertically in use, and spanning the gap between the side plates on that open side of the chassis which the pump operative faces in use of the pump.

2. A beer engine as claimed in claim 1 in which the fascia panel comprises a plate with a pair of parallel depending flanges, so as to be of shallow channel-section, the flanges being adapted to lie outside of the respective chassis side plates when the fascia panel is in position.

3. A beer engine as claimed in claim 2 in which each flange is spaced from the respectively adjacent side plate by an amount which is sufficient to enable a service engineer to insert his finger tips to prise the fascia panel from the side plates.

4. A beer engine as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the fascia panel is adapted to have a clip-on connection with the side plates.

5. A beer engine as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3, or claim 4 as appended to claim 2 or claim 3, in which the fascia panel is releasably secured to the side plates by the engagement between lugs secured to the side plates and formations provided on or in the flanges of the fascia panel.

6. A beer engine comprising a chassis which has been formed from a flat sheet of metal, the metal having been folded to define a pair of parallel side plates which extend substantially in vertical planes in use, and a mounting plate integrally connecting the side plates, the mounting plate being adapted in use to overlie a bar to which the chassis is clamped, a pump cylinder assembly operable by a pump handle being disposed substantially in the space defined between the side plates.

7. A beer engine as claimed in claim 6 in which the mounting plate is reinforced by an inverted tray secured thereto.

8. A beer engine comprising a chassis which comprises a pair of parallel side plates which.extend substantially vertically in use, and clamping means for clamping the chassis to a substantially horizontal bar top, the clamping means comprising a clamp bar which extends through openings provided in the respective side plates, and a pair of clamping screws threadedly engaged with the clamp bar at positions outboard of the respective side plates, the clamping screws being adapted to clamp in use against the underside of the bar top.

9. A beer engine comprising a chassis which incorporates a mounting plate adapted to be clamped in use against the upper surface of a bar top by clamping means carried by the chassis and adapted to engage with the underside of the bar top, and a plinth which covers the mounting plate and lies beneath the exposed portion of a handle pivotally connected to the chassis, the plinth being captively connected to the chassis by connection means so as to be capable of tilting slightly with respect to the mounting plate and so as to be urged resiliently downwards with respect to the mounting plate whereby the plinth lies in use flush against the bar top even when the bar top is not exactly parallel to the mounting plate.

10. A beer engine as claimed in claim 9 in which the connection means comprises screws secured to the underside of the plinth, the shanks of the screws passing with clearance through respective holes provided in the mounting plate, a respective compression spring acting between the head of the screw and the underside of the mounting plate.

11. A beer engine as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10 in which the pllnth has a cut-out in one side to accommodate the shank of the handle when the handle is in an upright condition.

12. A beer engine comprising a chassis which comprises a pair of parallel side plates which extend substantially vertically in use, a cylinder disposed substantially in the space defined between the side plates, a dispensing spout for dispensing beer into a glass, alternative left and right mounting means projecting outwardly from the left and right side plates respectively for alternatively mounting the spout outboard of either the left or right side plates, a flexible hose connecting the cylinder to the dispensing spout, the side plates each being formed with a respective opening through which the hose can pass to connect with the spout, depending upon whether the spout is to be mounted on the left or on the right.

13. A beer engine as claimed in claim 12 comprising asymmetric frame means adapted to be inverted so as to support a drip tray towards the left or right of the chassis beneath the spout.

14. A beer engine comprising a beer cylinder assembly operable by a handle, the cylinder assembly comprising a piston rod extending through one end of the cylinder, the seal assembly for sealing the piston rod to said cylinder end comprising a sealing ring of resilient material housed in a first counterbore to a bore through which the piston rod extends into that cylinder chamber bounded by said cylinder end, a seal loading plug being housed in a second counterbore to said bore, the second counterbore being of larger diameter than said first counterbore, the sealing ring being of non-round cross-section, and the axial length of the first counterbore being chosen such that the plug exerts a substantial predetermined axial preload on said seal with said plug abutting the step defined between the first and second counterbores.

15. A beer engine as claimed in claim 14 in which the sealing ring is of substantially cruciform cross-section.

16. A beer engine as claimed in claim 14 or claim 15 in which the axial preload is sufficient to feed seal material to replace worn areas of the seal so as to extend the life of the seal.

17. A beer engine as claimed In any one of claims 14 to 16 in which the plug is provided with a plug bore to receive the piston rod, and the plug bore is adapted to act as the bearing to support slidably the piston rod.

18. A beer engine as claimed in any one of claims 14 to 17 in which the plug is a matrix of polyester rolled into scroll form and impregnated with a resin.

19. A beer engine substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 4 to 6, 9 to 11 and 15 to 18.

20. A beer engine substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 2, 3, 7, 8 and 12 to 18.