US2646073A - Faucet for gas-charged liquids - Google Patents

Description

July 21, 1953 v J, SCHOR 2,646,073 vFAUCET FOR GAS-CHARGED LIQUIDS Filed Jan. 2a. 195o JOSEPH SCHUH /7/19 ATTORNEY vfoam is fiat and unpalatable.

aienteclv July 2l, 1953" UNITED STATES PATENT". OFFICE j FAUCET FOR GAS-,canarino Lloums Joseph Schor, SanrFrancisco, Calif. Application January 2s, 1950, Vserial No. v140,987

My invention relates to faucets and particularly to faucets for dispensing'gas-charged liquids from a container, such for example as beer from a keg. l A

The principal object of my invention isfto control the premature escape of gas from the liquid which causes excessive foaming. *l

The invention has other objects which will be explained in the following description of that form of the invention which is illustrated in the drawings. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to-this single embodiment, but may be included' in a plurality of forms as set forth in the claims. f 1

Referring to the drawings: v y

Figure' 1 is a side elevation, partly in vertical section, of one of my faucets. The faucet is shown mounted ona panel, and with a part of the coupling and yhose through which'the liquid flows to the faucet. Figure 2 isa cross section taken in the plane indicated by the `=line 2-2 of Figure l. Figure 3 is also a cross section 'taken' in the My invention is adaptable to the serving of any carbonated or gas-charged beverage liquid, but for purpo'ses' of this specification, 'it will be explained as it is applied to the dispensing of beer from a keg.

In dispensing draft beer, it is customary in theUnited States to keep the keg from whichthe beer is to .be drawn in a cold chamber close tothe panel' upon which the faucet is'inounted The kegs are usually delivered from the brewery with an internal pressure of 8 to 12 pounds per square inch, and as the beer is drawn off, this pressure is conveniently maintained by suitable connection witha source of gas under pressure, such as an oxygen tank.

Pressure in the keg is of course necessary to prevent the escape of the CO2 gas with which the beer is charged as a result of fermentation. As with all such carbonated liquids, the discharge of cold beer from the relatively high pressure in the keg into the relatively low pressure of the Warmer atmosphere, allows the dissolved carbonating gas to escape within a few moments; and since beer is rich in lm or bubble forming substances, a great deal of foaming can occur. Beer without With too much foam considerable waste occurs, and it is dinicult to drink without swallowing undesirable quantities of the charging gas and inspiring complaints of short measure by the customer. At the same time it must be recognized that a certain quantity of foam is not only an attractive 36'- able axially thereinis a feature but because o f the effect of the CO2 gas inthe bubbles contributes denite Values to taste and enjoyment of the beverage. It is therefore of great importancein the dispensing of beer'to be able to draw into the glass a .still heavily because of the attractiveness of transparency,-

and easy workability.`-

The extension is provided with a flangev 5A which-fits against the panel 6 on which the fau-r cet is mounted; a nut l threaded on the shank 8y holding all in place. A flexible plastic hose connection 9, detachably-secured to the shank in a conventional manner connects the faucet tothe bottom of the keg of beer.

A passage I2 extends through. the. extension,

and into the central portion of the head, at which pointitj opens int0 ,a C onical chamber I 3,;.at its i base joining a cylindrical chamberv I 4.V Snugly tting in the cylindrical chamber and adjustplug I6 having aconifr cal end I 'I of the same' engular values as the chamber so that .the plug may be pushed into the chamber to completely close it. Such axial adjustment is secured by the gland-like adjustment ring I8, threaded on the lower end of thehead and engaging the lower end of the plug. A deformable rubber gasket ring- I9 seals the joint between head and plug.

At the base of the conical end of the plug, a circular groove 2U is formed faround the plug; and radial passages 2I connect the groove with the chamber 22 in the center of the plug. The chamber is the upper end of a recess, the lower end of which is threaded to receive the threaded end of the tube 23, in which the passage 2li eX- tends from a valve seat forming the bottom of chamber 22, to the lower end of the tube where the passage opens linto radial slots 21. A gasket ring 28, between the end of the plug I6 and the tube flange 29, insures a tight joint between plug and tube; and flange 30 overlying the edge of the ring I8, forms with the end of the plug a groove in which the 'edge of the ring lies, so that adjustment ring and the tube-plug unit are connected for relative rotation but not for relative axial movement. Thus the position of the conical end l1 in the chamber I3 is subject to fine adjustment by rotation of the adjustment ring.

Seated on the valve seat 26 is a stainless steel ball 3| to which is attached a stem 32, extending down through the tube and ending in the button 33 threaded on the end of the stem, so that upward pressure on the button, such as would be exerted by the inside bottom of a beer glass held up against the tube, raises the ball valve, seats the button 33 across the end of the passage 24, and permits beer to ow through the head and out radially at the bottom of the tube.

Upon release of pressure on thebutton, valve closes being held on its seat both by gravity The manner of use in drawingv a glass Ofbeers thus clear; and since only one hand for the handling ofthe glass is required, the location-of two faucets twelve or fourteen inches apart permits two glasses, one in each hand, to be lled at once, the eyes being easily capable of Watching both rising collars and lowering the glasses to stop the flow just as the foam startsto overow. It is also entirely feasible where handled glasses are used to locate two faucets with the tubes about three inches apart so that two glasses are grasped in but one hand and both filled simultaneously. Because of the substantially instantaneous control of the flow, a great deal of waste may be avoided by lowering the glass from contact with the button at the proper instant. This is easily learned after a few tries.

Beforerputting the faucet into operation the ring I8 is adjusted to leave a very thin gap or space between the conical faces of plug and head chamber. This is measured in thousandths of an inch and each faucet must be adjusted for thevbeer which is to be served through it, temperature, gas content, composition and 1Keg pressure all being factors. VAdjustment actually is simple; and turning the ring one way or the other to vary the vertical or axial position of the plug in the coned chamber gives the desired result after one or two experimental glasses have been drawn. 1

I am not entirely described gives the sought result. It seems clear from experiment that the spacing between plug conev andr coned chamber is controlling in the'A over-all result of discharging beer into the botthebauf l and by gas pressure in the line back to the keg.

tom of the glass with no prior release or at most a very small release of absorbed gas.

I claim:

l. A faucet for gas-charged liquids, comprising a head having a passage therethrough including a conical chamber, a conical plug disposed in the chamber, means for varying the spacing of the plug from the wall of the chamber'to vary the flow of liquid therearound in the head passage, a tube extending from the head and having a passage therethrough in continuation of the head passage, a valve controlling the tube passage and normally closed by pressure of liquid ,in thefhead passage, and means for lifting the valve.

2. Afaucet-for gas-charged liquids, comprising a head having a passage therethrough includin'g a conical chamber, a conical plug disposed j I in the chamber, a gland threaded on the head to sure just why the structure adjust the spacing of the plug from the wall of the chamber to vary the flow of liquid through the spacebetween the adjacent surfaces of plug and chamber Wall, a deformable gasket ring between the head and the gland, a tube extending from the head and having a passage therethrough in continuation of the head passage, a Valve controlling the tube passage and normally closed by pressure of liquid in the head passage, and means for .lifting the valve.

3. A faucet for gas-charged liquids, comprising a head having a passage therethrough including a kconical chamber, a hollow conical plug disposed inthe chamber, the surface of the plug being spaced from the chamber Wall to provide a passage therebetween, said plug havingv a passage from the hollow to the surface of the plug in continuation of the passage between the plug and chamber wall, a tube fixed in the plug and extending from the head and having a passage therethrough in continuation of the plug passage, a valve controlling the tube passage and normally closed by pressure of liquid in the plug passage, and means for lifting the valve.

JOSEPH SCI-IOR.

vrRefemwes cited in the me of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name kDate 854,108 Reynolds May 21, 1907 977,723 Field Dec. 6, 1910 2,217,876 Richardson Oct. 15, 1940

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