COMBINED DISTRIBUTION AND CLEANING VALVE UNIT

Abstract

The combined dispensing and cleaning valve assembly (7) is configured to articulate with the beverage container (1), comprising the main body of the valve housing (8), the reciprocating piston assembly (9), and the actuator to drive the reciprocating motion of the reciprocating piston assembly (9) in the cylinder bore (12). The reciprocating piston assembly (9) moves in turn to position the combined dispensing and cleaning valve assembly (7) between the beverage dispensing and cleaning modes. The actuator to drive the reciprocating motion of the reciprocating piston assembly (9) in the cylinder bore (12) between the beverage dispensing and cleaning modes consists of air supplied to or released from the upper chamber (20) of the main body of the valve housing (8) and a spring actuator (37).

Description

[0001] COMBINED DISPENSING AND CLEANING VALVE MEMBER FOR A BEVERAGE CONTAINER

[0002] The present invention relates to a combined dispens ing and cleaning valve member that is configured for being coupled to a beverage container to in turns , as the circumstances require , operate in at least a cleaning mode and a beverage dispensing mode . Most of the time beverage is drawn from the beverage container and the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member is in a beverage dispensing mode , but occasionally there is a need to clean at least the dispensing lines from the beverage container . In such situations the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member can operate in a cleaning mode , as an alternative to mount a separate conventional cleaning system to the beverage dispensing lines and clean the demounted keg valve separately .

[0003] The applicant has made several approaches and improvements to make cleaning of beverage dispensing lines easier and safer .

[0004] Such approaches include the systems described in the applicant ' s International patent applications nos . PCT / DK2022 / 050212 and PCT / EP2023 / 058609 . Both these inventions describe substantial improvements of the hitherto known cleaning equipment and systems for cleaning dispensing lines . These known systems are however rather bulky and complex .

[0005] Published Japanese patent application no . 2007039083A discloses a dispensing head for pouring a beverage , and having a cleaning function . In the dispensing mode an operation portion of a piston is free of a main seal packing of a spear valve , whereby the free end of the operation portion of the piston is moved axially upwards and free of contact with the main seal packing . The reciprocating piston member is in the upper axial pos ition in the beverage dispending mode . In contrast in the cleaning mode the operation portion of the piston is in contact with the main seal packing of the spear valve . Thus in the cleaning mode the free end of the operation portion of the piston has been moved axially downwards whereby the free end of the operation portion of piston is forced against the main seal packing . Thus the reciprocating piston member is in the lower axial position in the cleaning mode .

[0006] In this known dispensing head the operation portion of the piston attacks , in an axial stroke , the main seal packing of the spear valve from above to just achieve axial contact there between, not radial contact . Its head part , thus the operation portion does never pass by the main seal packing, as this is simply impossible due to structural and spatial limitations , including that the lower end surface of the operation portion is wider than the inner diameter of the main seal packing . Thus the engagement between the operation portion and the main seal packing is undependable .

[0007] It is a main aspect of the present invention to provide a device and a system by means of which cleaning of dispensing lines , in particular beer dispensing lines , can be improved .

[0008] It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a device that can rearrange its operational mode to either clean a dispensing line or dispense a beverage from a beverage container without the need for decoupling component s from the beverage container .

[0009] It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a compact combined dispensing and cleaning valve member .

[0010] It is a further aspect of the present invention to provide a combined dispensing and cleaning valve member than can be operated remotely without direct interaction with the beverage container or the beverage dispensing conduits .

[0011] The novel and unique features whereby these and other aspects are achieved according to the present invention consists in the provision of a combined dispensing and cleaning valve member as defined in claim 1 .

[0012] The piston member of the present inventor opens and closes in directly opposite positions of JP 2007039083A .

[0013] The valve housing main body is configured for coupl ing to a beverage container outlet of a beverage container, e . g . via a keg valve of a beer keg . The valve housing main body serves as a piston cylinder that accommodates a reciprocating piston member that , upon reciprocation in the cylinder bore of the valve housing main body, can place the combined dispensing and cleaning valve in at least a beverage dispensing mode or a cleaning mode .

[0014] To be able to assume these modes the reciprocating piston member has a hollow piston rod with a beverage inlet end adapted for alignment with the beverage container outlet and an opposite beverage outlet end so that beverage can be drawn from the beverage container through a lumen of the hollow piston rod .

[0015] A typical reciprocating piston member has an air di splacing piston head arranged at an end of the piston rod . The piston head travels upwards and downwards inside a cylinder as a reaction to the air pressure on the opposite sides of said piston head . The reciprocating piston member of the present invention performs same function as the typical reciprocating piston member but have a modified design . Thus in contrast to the piston head of said aforementioned typical reciprocating piston member the piston head of the reciprocating piston member of the present invention is not arranged at a free end of a piston rod, but is instead arranged circumferentially around the hollow piston rod a distance from a beverage outlet end of said hollow piston rod . Thereby a length of the hollow piston rod protrudes beyond the piston head and into a beverage dispensing chamber of the valve housing main body . A beverage inlet end of said hollow piston rod opposite the beverage outlet end faces the beverage outlet end .

[0016] The upper chamber is conveniently delimited by an upper circumferential wall of the upper valve housing end part , a top cover part of said upper valve housing end part , and the head side of the piston head, thereby defining an upper chamber on the head side of the piston head opposite the rod side of the piston head . The orientations "upper"' and " lower" refer to the position of the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member in its mounted position on a vertically arranged beverage container . The top cover part delimits the beverage dispensing chamber which is in, or can be arranged in, fluid communication with the beverage inside the beverage container through the lumen of the hollow piston rod .

[0017] A drive means , which serves for driving reciprocation of the reciprocating pi ston member in the cylinder bore between the beverage dispensing mode , in which a pressure is applied to the head side of the piston head, and the cleaning mode , in which pressure is applied to the rod side of the pi ston head, comprises at least a first drive means component in form of air supplied to or relieved from the upper chamber, respectively .

[0018] I f air is supplied to the upper chamber the injected air forces the piston head towards the beverage container outlet for the reciprocating piston member to open access to the beverage container in the beverage dispensing mode . In said beverage dispending mode said reciprocating piston member is in a beverage dispensing position, a cleaning agent conduit for a supply of a cleaning agent is closed off , and the beverage inlet end of the reciprocating piston member is in fluid communication with the beverage container outlet for beverage to be expelled from the beverage container up into the hollow piston rod, further into a beverage dispensing line via a beverage dispensing conduit of the valve hous ing by supplying air to the beverage container .

[0019] In the cleaning mode the piston head is displaced up again towards the cylinder head, e . g . towards a top cover part of the main valve housing body, and access to the beverage container outlet becomes closed once the hollow piston rod is sufficiently free of the beverage container outlet , e . g . free of a beverage container valve , such as a beer keg valve . Via the cleaning agent conduit cleaning agent can then be supplied to the hollow piston rod of the reciprocating piston member to flush and clean the beverage dispensing line previously used to convey beverage from the beverage container to a tapping faucet .

[0020] The beverage inlet end of the hollow piston rod may advantageously be provided with an enlarged tapering collar configured to mate into the beverage container outlet , e . g . into a beverage container valve , to upon reciprocation of the reciprocating piston member to open and close said beverage container outlet . Preferably the enlarged tapering collar is conical or f rusto-conical and tapers towards the beverage inlet end of the hollow piston rod to ensure a tight seal against the beverage container outlet so that beverage does not leak into a lower housing end part of the valve housing main body in the beverage dispensing mode .

[0021] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention the drive means may further comprise a second drive means component to apply pressure to a rod side of the piston head, e . g . a spring means inserted between the rod s ide of the piston head and the lower valve housing end part . In a preferred embodiment the spring means can be one or more compression springs situated in a respective at least one blind spring hole in the lower valve housing end part . Said compression spring ( s ) can advantageously extend into the upper chamber in its / their relaxed state , so that when the first drive means component is actuated, e . g . by injecting air into the upper chamber, the piston head can apply a force on the compressions spring ( s ) to compress said springs . A compression spring is used to push back on the force making it compress . This allows it to return to its original free relaxed length when said force is removed .

[0022] The reciprocating piston member can be displaced towards the beverage container outlet into the beverage dispens ing mode due to the air pressure onto the head side of the piston head thereby compressing the drive spring means , such as the at least one compression spring . When later injection of air into the upper chamber is discontinued the force applied to the compressed compression springs will maintain until air pressure is rel ieved . Once air pressure is relieved said compressed compressing spring ( s ) can return to a relaxed state , whereby the piston head is set free to travel upwards and free of the beverage container outlet in preparation for assuming e . g . the cleaning mode .

[0023] Alternative means that can apply the proper pressure to the rod side of the piston head can be used instead of plural compression springs in respective blind spring holes . Such alternative means can e . g . be a loosely arranged single compression spring of substantially same radius as the upper chamber and being arranged surrounding the hollow piston rod .

[0024] The lower valve housing end part may in some embodiments comprise a gasket member arranged to engage and disengage , respectively, a circumferential protrusion of the enlarged tapering collar of the reciprocating piston member depending on the mode in which the reciprocating piston member is placed or is being placed . In some embodiments of the present invention the gasket member can be made of a resilient material and be ring-shaped . The ring-shaped gasket member may comprise at least an exterior ring part seated in a circumferential seat in the lower valve housing end part , and an interior ring part with a protruding resilient lip that is configured for engaging and disengaging, respectively, the circumferential protrusion of the enlarged tapering collar of the reciprocating piston member depending on the relative position of the reciprocating piston member in the piston bore . The gasket member can e . g . be made entirely or partly of rubber or silicone , which material pos sesses sufficient resiliency for the gasket member to seal tight against the circumferential protrusion of the enlarged tapering collar of the reciprocating piston member, at least in the cleaning mode .

[0025] In the context of the present invention " resilient" means the property of gett ing back into shape after bending, stretching, or being compressed . So any material possessing such mechanical properties is equally usable for the resilient gasket member .

[0026] In the context of the present invention the term " air" is intended to mean atmospheric air, but can also include single gases , such as the propelling gases C02or nitrogen, or combinations of gases , with or without atmospheric air . The kind of " air" depends on the kind and configuration of the beverage container .

[0027] In the context of the present invention "vent" means an opening that allows " air" to pass out of or into a confined space .

[0028] In some embodiments of the present invention the valve housing main body may have such a vent in fluid communication with the upper chamber, thus on the piston head side , to thereby allow air to pass in and out of said upper chamber, so that when the reciprocating piston member moves upwards the draw following a negative pressure on the mechanical coupling between the beverage container and the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member of the present invention is balanced .

[0029] A vent may be particular important if the beverage container is of the "bag-in-keg' ' kind, wherein a flexible plastic bag holding a beverage is arranged inside a rigid keg, and beverage is displaced from the flexible bag by injecting air into the gap between the rigid keg and the flexible plastic bag, thereby applying a pressure to said flexible plastic bag to expel the beverage there from . Beverage containers of this kind for storage of beer, thus "beer kegs"' , are e . g . known as the Draughtmaster system from Carlsberg Danmark A / S , J . C . Jacobsens Gade 1 , 1799 Copenhagen, or the KeyKeg or UniKeg system from OneCircle , Koperslagersweg 4 , 1786 RA Den Helder, Netherlands .

[0030] These kinds of "beer kegs" are expected to dominate the beer keg market within the next few years and gradually replace the conventional steel kegs where beer is displaced by injecting C02into the beer .

[0031] The flexible plastic bag can be disposed or recycled and need not be cleaned, so the need for cleaning is limited to the keg valve and the dispensing lines . However, dispensing lines often are very long, as the keg ( s ) is / are placed in a chilled place far from the dispenser faucets at the end of a dispensing conduit and dispensing line .

[0032] Due to the vent the flexible plastic bag does not get along when the piston head moves up along the cylinder bore due to a potential creation of a negative pressure on the rod side of the piston head . The upper valve housing end part may have an air in jection conduit , and the lower valve housing end part may have at least the cleaning agent conduit . The cleaning agent conduit may be the same as the air conduit used to supply air to the beverage container to compress the inner compressible bag to expel beverage .

[0033] Preferably any of the air conduit , air injection conduit , and the cleaning agent conduit may have a connection piece suited for mounting of a respective medium supply conduit , such as a tube or hose . Preferably the connection piece is a stepped connection piece to thereby improve grip at the hose or tube .

[0034] Both dispensing lines and keg valves associated with storing and dispensing e . g . beer are exposed to organic matter, which may constitute nutrition for growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungus and yeast . Dispensing lines and keg valves for dispensing unpasteuri zed matter and / or non-homogeneous matter are in particular vulnerable to growth of microorganisms and deposits to set , and may require very frequent cleaning in order to avoid health risks .

[0035] The cleaning agent may be ozonated water; however within the scope of the present invention other kinds of cleaning agents are foreseen . Such cleaning agents can e . g . contain hydrogen peroxide or other chemicals , such ad acidic or basic agents .

[0036] However preferably the cleaning agent is ozonated water, which preferably can be produced by an electrolytic ozone generator, e . g . from tap water or demineralised . As the ozonated water is trapped in a closed system humans are not exposed to contact with the ozonated water . Once the ozonated water has passed through the dispensing lines ozone concentration is low and remaining concentrations of ozone will quickly decompose during draining . Use of ozonated water as a cleaning agent requires component in contact with the ozonated water to be of ozone resistant materials .

[0037] To save energy and eliminate , or at least reduce , the need for storage space of cleaning agent it may be preferred only to produce ozonated water on demand, for which the electrolytic ozone generator is particular advantageous .

[0038] An alternative way of producing ozonated water is to bubble ozone gas into water with a diffuser or inject it into water with a venturi . This process requires pumps , ozone gas generators , diffusers , and venturis . All of this equipment has moving parts , is large , and involves handling ozone gas , and is therefore less preferred, although still an option for producing ozonated water . Yet an alternative way to obtain ozonated water is to use a corona discharge , but as with dissolving ozone in water, this alternative way are slow, which will result in undesired long downtime of the beverage dispensing system . So although an electrolytic ozone generator may use more power than the above alternatives an effective ozone concentration in the water can be reached must faster . As an example the electrolytic ozone generator may use twice as much power as a corona discharge generator but is able to provide over 4 times the level of dissolved ozone after 5 minutes , so in the overall energy calculation the electrolytic ozone generator takes priority and it the most preferred means to produce ozonated water for the present invention .

[0039] Preferably the concentration of ozone in the oz onated water, which e . g . is produced by the electrolytic ozone generator, is at least 3 ppm, more preferred at least 5 ppm, or at least 6 ppm, or at least 7 ppm, or at least 8 ppm, or at least 9 ppm, or at least 10 ppm . The concentration is easily adjusted according to need . E . g . some beer dispensing lines for fruity beer with some presence of pulp may require higher ozone concentration than ordinary lager . The invention i s described in further detail s below with references to the drawing, wherein the invention is described and illustrated with references to the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member of the present invention being mounted on a KeyKeg® for dispensing beer . Emphasis is made that the drawing and detailed discussion below represent just one example of the multiple uses of the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member, the features and functionalities of which can be used on other kinds of keg valves , kegs , containers and beverages . The below description should therefore not be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention as the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member can be used to dispense any liquid or semi-liquid substance , or similar matter . E . g . the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member can be used for dispensing other displaceable beverages or substances than beer, such as wine , soft drink, water, dairy products , such as milk or yoghourt , cosmetics , pharmaceuticals , oils , etc . Furthermore , the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member can be scaled according to intended use , e . g . for use at factories and farms .

[0040] The upper valve housing end part may have the air injection conduit . The lower valve housing end part may have at least a lower conduit for in turns acting as the cleaning agent conduit for supplying cleaning agent to the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member and its associated dispensing lines , and the air conduit for supplying air to the gap between the outer pressure resistant container and the inner compressible bag of the beverage container . Preferably any of the air conduit and the lower conduit can have a connection piece for mounting of a respective tube or hose . Preferably the connection piece is a stepped connection piece that provides a safe connection to any conduit , e . g . a hose . During cleaning, preferably the lower conduit is a cleaning agent conduit , which cleaning agent conduit is the same as the air conduit .

[0041] Below the KeyKeg® is for simplicity referred to as a "keg"' , and the beverage is referred to as "beer" .

[0042] In the drawing :

[0043] Fig . 1 is a perspective side view of the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member of the present invention mounted on a KeyKeg®,

[0044] Fig . 2 shows , in enlarged scale view, the same , but in a sectional view taken along line I I-I I of fig . 1 , wherein no pressure is applied to the keg and prior to dispens ing beer,

[0045] Fig . 3 shows the same but with the piston head lowered, whereby the keg with the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member is being prepared for dispensing beer,

[0046] Fig . 4 shows the same with the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member in a pressure balancing mode upfront the beverage dispensing mode ,

[0047] Fig . 5 shows the same with the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member in the beverage dispensing mode ,

[0048] Fig . 6 shows the same with the reciprocating piston member in a venting position in which the upper chamber is vented during an initial upwards stroke of the hollow piston rod,

[0049] Fig . 7 shows the same with the reciprocating piston member in a further raised intermediate position during an upwards stroke Fig . 8 shows the same with the reciprocating piston member in a gasket member deflecting position prior to balancing the pressure in the pressuri zed space between the enlarged tapering collar, the gasket member and the keg valve ,

[0050] Fig . 9 shows the same with the reciprocating piston member in a subsequent pressure balancing position, and

[0051] Fig . 10 shows the same with the combined di spensing and cleaning valve member in a cleaning mode .

[0052] The keg 1 , which in the present exemplary embodiment constitutes the beverage container, has an outer substantially rigid pressure resistant container 2 and an inner compressible bag 3 that holds the beer . Both are at ambient atmospheric pressure . Typically, the inner compressible bag 3 is replaceable arranged in the outer pressure resisting container 2 for at least the latter to be reused and the inner compressible bag 3 to be disposed . A neck fitting 5a connects the substantially rigid pressure resisting container 2 and the inner compressible bag 3 at a beverage container outlet 4 . A bag valve 5b, which is intended for coupling with a conventional KeyKeg coupler, is seated in the neck fitting 5a to provide access to the beer inside the inner compressible bag 3 . Together the neck fitting 5a and the bag valve 5b constitute the keg valve 5 . The bag valve 5b is configured to seal between the inner compressible bag 3 and the outer pressure resisting container 2 to there between delimit a gap 6 into which air can be injected to compress the inner compressible bag 3 and displace the beer inside it out into a beer dispensing line to a dispenser faucet (not shown) . These kinds of beer keg systems are known to the skilled person and will not be discussed in further details herein .

[0053] A combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 is secured to the neck fitting 5a and to the bag valve 5b to in turns allow dispensing of beer and cleaning of the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 , and the beer dispensing line coupled thereto , without said combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 5 needs to be decoupled the neck fitting 5a and the bag valve 5b .

[0054] Fig . 2 is an enlarged scale sectional view of the keg 1 seen in fig . 1 with the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 in a mode in which no pressure is applied to the keg 1 and prior to dispensing beer .

[0055] As seen in fig . 2 the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 comprises a valve housing main body 8 inside which a reciprocating hollow piston member 9 is arranged, as indicated by double arrow A1 , A2 .

[0056] The valve housing main body 8 has a lower valve housing end part 10 that faces the keg 1 , and is configured with keg coupling means in form of a coupling flange 11 suited for coupling to the neck fitting 5a and the bag valve 5b at the beverage container outlet 4 of the keg 1 . The lower valve housing end part 10 also has a cylinder bore 12 that accommodates the reciprocating piston member 9 . The lower valve housing end part 10 extends into an opposite hollow upper valve housing end part 13 with a top cover part 14 as an end closure part , to thereby, together with a hollow piston rod 15 of the reciprocating piston member 9 , delimit an upper chamber 20 for reciprocation of the piston head 19 .

[0057] The hollow piston rod 15 has a beverage inlet end 16 and an opposite beverage outlet end 17 . The hollow piston rod 15 is axially aligned with the beverage container outlet 4 to , on the one hand allow beverage do be dispensed up inside the piston rod lumen 18 of the hollow piston rod 15 in a beverage dispensing mode of the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member, and on the other hand allow injected cleaning agent to leave the piston rod lumen 18 via the beverage outlet end 17 of the hollow piston rod 15 in a cleaning mode . A piston head 19 is arranged circumferentially around the hollow piston rod 15 a distance from the beverage outlet end 17 , which piston head 19 is located in the upper chamber 20 of the hollow upper valve housing end part 13 . The upper chamber 20 is circumferentially delimited by an upper circumferential wall 21 of the hollow upper valve housing end part 13 , and by the top cover part 14 and the piston head 15 of the hollow piston rod 1 , thereby obtaining a dynamically changing volume of the head side part and the rod side part of the upper chamber 20 depending on the travel of the hollow pi ston rod 15 and the axial position of its piston head 19 .

[0058] The beverage inlet end 16 of the hollow piston rod 15 is provided with an enlarged tapering collar 22 that is configured to mate into the bag valve 5b situated in the beverage container outlet 4 . By displacing the hollow piston rod 15 in the cylinder bore 12 the enlarged tapering collar 22 can be placed either in a lowermost position, which is a beverage dispensing position, in which the bag valve 5b is open and allows beer to be expelled from the inner compressible bag 3 up into the piston rod lumen 18 of the hollow piston rod 15 , as seen in fig . 5 , or in a cleaning position wherein the enlarged tapering collar 22 is displaced upwards in the cylinder bore 12 whereby the bag valve 5b becomes closed, as seen in fig . 10 , and cleaning agent , such as ozonated water, can pass up into the piston rod lumen 18 of the hollow piston rod 15 instead of beer and into the beer dispensing line secured to the upper valve housing end part . The piston rod lumen 18 extends fully through the enlarged tapering collar 22 .

[0059] The enlarged tapering collar 22 has an upper cylindrical collar part 23 that extends into a conical lower collar part 24 . Thereby the enlarged tapering collar 22 tapers towards the beverage container outlet 4 , so that the configuration of the enlarged tapering collar 22 is suited for being seated in the bag valve 5b .

[0060] The conical lower collar part 24 has a lower circumferential recess 25 configured to engage a plurality of flexible upright fingers 26 of an inner bag valve member 27 of the bag valve 5b . The inner bag valve member 27 is axially displaceable towards and away from the keg 1 in relation to an outer bag valve member 28 when the hollow piston rod 15 reciprocates in the cylinder bore 12 , whereby a bead 29 at a free end of a flexible upright finger 26 can engage and disengage the circumferential recess 25 as will be explained in further details below in relation to the discussion of the different modes that the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 can operate in .

[0061] The lower valve housing end part 10 comprises a gasket member 30 , which is arranged to engage and disengage a circumferential protrusion 46 at a free end of the upper cylindrical collar part 23 oppos ite the beverage inlet end 16 of the hollow piston rod 15 depending on the axial position of the hollow piston rod 15 , as will be explained in further details below .

[0062] The gasket member 30 is ring-shaped and has an exterior ring part 31 seated in a circumferent ial seat 32 in the lower valve housing end part 10 , and an interior ring part 33 with a protruding resilient lip 34 adapted for engaging and disengaging the circumferential protrusion 46 of the upper cylindrical collar part 23 of the enlarged tapering collar 22 .

[0063] The combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 has a drive means for driving the reciprocation of the reciprocating piston member 9 in the cylinder bore 12 between the beverage dispensing mode and the cleaning mode . The drive means comprises a first drive means component , which is air delivered via an air conduit from a source of compressed air, as indicated by air hose 35a and arrow Bl in fig . 3 , to an air connection piece 35 that via air channel 36 in the circumferential wall of the valve housing main body 8 guides the air into upper chamber 20 to apply pressure to the head side 40b of the piston head 19 to drive the piston head 19 axially towards the keg valve 5 .

[0064] The drives means further comprises a second drive means component to counter-act the force of the first drive means component . The second drive means component is a spring means 37 to reverse the downwards stroke of the hollow pi ston rod 15 and move the piston head 19 upwards again into the upper chamber 20 , as seen in e . g . fig . 8 .

[0065] The exemplary shown spring means 37 is comprised of a plurality of compression springs 38 , which are situated in respective blind spring holes 39 in the circumferential wall of the lower valve housing end part 10 . The plurality of compression springs 38 are compressible by the piston head 19 during a down stroke of the reciprocating piston member 9 between a rod side 40a of the piston head 19 and a top face 41 of the lower valve housing end part 10 . The compres sion springs 38 have a length to extend out of the blind spring holes 39 into the upper chamber 20 in their relaxed state . The upper circumferential wall 21 of the upper chamber 20 has at least one radial ly extending vent (not shown) to evacuate air when the piston head 19 travels upwards to thereby eliminate the risk that the inner compressible bag 3 is sucked along up into the bag valve 5b .

[0066] The lower valve housing end part 10 has a lower connection piece 42 to which lower tube 43 is attached . The lower tube 43 supplies air into the gap 6 , as indicated by arrow Cl in fig . 5 , or supplies cleaning agent to the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 , depending on whether the reciprocating piston member is in its lowermost beverage dispensing position, as seen in fig . 5 , or is in an uppermost raised cleaning position, as seen in fig . 10 , respectively . The hollow upper valve housing end part 13 has an upper connection piece 44 onto which upper tube 45 is secured to expel beer in the dispensing mode , or cleaning agent in the cleaning mode .

[0067] The reciprocation of the hollow piston rod 15 and the function of the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 will be described in further details below with reference to the further figures .

[0068] In fig . 3 the keg 1 , with the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 seen in fig . 2 , is being prepared for dispensing beer . So the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 is still not in its dispensing mode . Air has been, or is being, supplied by air hose 35a into the head side part of the upper chamber 20 via air channel 36 , as indicated by arrows B1 , B2 . The piston head 19 is thereby forced downwards , as indicated by arrow Al , on its way for the beads 29 at the free ends of the flexible upright fingers 26 to snap to engage into the lower circumferential recess 25 of the conical lower collar part 24 . In the position seen in fig . 3 the circumferentially protrusion 46 is in form of a chamfered protruding breast 46 of the upper cylindrical collar part 23 of the enlarged tapering collar 22 . Said chamfered protruding breast 46 contacts at least the lip 34 of the exterior ring part 31 of gasket member 30 . A further downwards force is required for the chamfered protruding breast 46 to pass fully by the lip 34 as said chamfered protruding breast 46 has a larger diameter than the inner diameter of the gasket member 30 , thus of the lip 34 . Such passage of the chamfered protruding breast 46 past the lip 34 is facilitated, on the one hand because the lip 34 of the exterior ring part 31 of gasket member 30 is resilient and flexible , and on the other hand, because of the sloped design of the chamfered protruding breast 46 , which in the embodiment shown in the figures is configured as a 45° chamfer, thus with a 45° slope from the free face 47 of the chamfered protruding breast 46 that faces the rod side 40a and towards the upper cylindrical collar part 23 . This design allows the chamfered protruding breast 46 to smoothly pass by the lip 34 in response to the downwards force on the piston head 19 indicated by arrow A, and being occasioned by injecting air to the head side 41 of the hollow piston rod 15 .

[0069] During the down stroke of the piston rod member 9 in direction Al the lower circumferential recess 25 reaches the bead 29 at the free end of a flexible upright finger 26 . As said bead 29 is designed to snap into the lower circumferential recess 25 of the enlarged tapering collar 22 the reciprocating piston member 9 can bring the inner bag valve member 27 of the bag valve 5b along, and axially free of the outer bag valve member 28 of the bag valve 5b, to thereby fully open the beverage container outlet 4 , the gap 6 , and open for flow up into the piston rod lumen 18 , as shown with arrow El in fig . 4 .

[0070] To that aspect air needs to be supplied to the gap 6 to compress the inner flexible bag 3 to expel beer .

[0071] At the same time as air is injected into the head side part of the upper chamber 20 to force the piston head 19 to travel down, air is also supplied into the air tube 43 via lower connection piece 42 , as indicated by arrows C1 , C2 , as indicated in fig . 3 , to pressuri ze the space 55 between the upper cylindrical collar part 23 , the bag valve 5b, the neck fitting 5a and the gasket member 30 . As seen in fig . 4 the space 55 is still closed towards the gap 6 . Such closing is achieved in that an outer shoulder 56 of the lower section 50 of the outer bag valve member 28 sealingly engages a lower edge 57 of the neck fitting 5a . As the air pressure of said air into the space 55 initially is supplied to said space 55 at the same pressure as in the inner compressible bag 3 the bag valve 5b does not open prematurely in the posit ion seen in f ig . 3 .

[0072] The bag valve 5b remains closed until the pressure in the space 55 is greater than the pressure inside the inner compressible bag 3 , and / or the enlarged tapering collar 22 i s forced so far down that the bag valve 5b is forced open by the down travel of the conical lower collar part 24 of the enlarged tapering collar 22 , as illustrated in fig . 5 , in which the keg valve 5 , the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 , and the reciprocating piston member 8 is in a beverage dispens ing position . The air pressure on the piston head 19 is maintained for the beverage dispensing mode , as illustrated in f ig . 4 by arrow B2 , and beer travels up the piston rod lumen 18 , as indicated by arrow El .

[0073] A back pressure valve 48 , which has a valve head 69 arranged in the piston rod lumen 18 of the enlarged tapering collar 22 , is forced upwards by the flow of the beer triggered by the pressure applied via space 55 and gap 6 to the inner compressible bag 3 until said back pressure valve 48 hits an end stop 49 . As indicated in fig . 4 by arrow D , and as also indicated by beer flow arrows E1 , E2 in fig . 5 , beer is dispensed into the piston rod lumen 18 and out of beverage dispensing chamber 66 in the top cover part 14 , through upper connection piece 44 and into the upper tube 45 , as indicated by flow arrow E3 , thus into the upper tube 45 , that constitutes the beverage dispensing conduit of a beverage dispensing line in the beverage dispensing mode that is reached once the hollow piston rod 15 is di splaced just slightly deeper into the bag valve 5b and into the beverage dispensing position than seen in fig . 4 . In the beverage dispensing position of fig . 5 the beads 29 at the free ends of the flexible upright fingers 26 are fully deflected to engage into the lower circumferent ial recess 25 of the conical lower collar part 24 . When the hollow piston rod 15 at a later stage moves upwards again either for replacing the keg 1 , or for assuming the cleaning mode , the inner bag valve member 27 can be pulled along, due to said engagement , to thereby close the beverage container outlet 4 again .

[0074] The outer bag valve member 28 has a lower section 50 and an upper section 51 , and a middle section 52 there between . The middle section 52 has a smaller diameter than the lower section 50 and the upper section 51 due to an increased wall thickness . Thereby the middle section 52 defines a constriction that the flexible upright fingers 26 must pass when the inner bag valve member 27 is moved downwards upon down stroke of the reciprocating piston member 9 . Due to the constriction the flexible upright fingers 26 are pressed against the conical lower collar part 24 to create a tight seal between inner bag valve member 27 and outer bag valve member 28 when beer is being dispensed up into the piston rod lumen 18 into the beverage dispensing chamber 66 , through the upper connection piece 44 and out into upper tube 45 , which i s the beer dispensing conduit . In the " ready-to-dispense" position of fig . 4 the chamfered protruding breast 46 of the upper cylindrical collar part 23 hits a free edge 53 of the outer bag valve member 28 , and only a sl ight further depression of the reciprocating piston member 9 towards the bag valve 5b is achievable .

[0075] Such further depression of the reciprocating pi ston member 9 is illustrated in fig . 5 , wherein the conical lower collar part 24 is in its lowermost position, thus in the beverage dispensing position . The slight further depression is facilitated due to a chamfer 54 at the chamfered protruding breast 46 of the upper cylindrical collar part 23 . The sloping of said chamfer 54 enables a small sliding of the chamfered protruding breast 46 on the free edge 53 of the outer bag valve member 28 , which free edge 53 conveniently may have a complementary chamfer, to thereby promote the final depression of the hollow piston rod 15 , to thereby open the bag valve 5b fully .

[0076] The slight further depression of the reciprocating piston member 9 also serves to open fully for flow of compressed / compressing air through space 55 and into the gap 6 to compress the inner compressible bag 3 and thereby expel beer . Said slight further depression may be as litt le as 2 mm .

[0077] In order to replace a keg 1 or clean any of the dispensing lines and / or the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 the piston head 19 must be returned to an upper cleaning position inside the upper chamber 20 , as seen in fig . 10 .

[0078] To make the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member to operate in the cleaning mode the upper chamber 20 i s first vented via a vent (not shown) in the circumferential wall 21 of the upper valve housing end part . Injection of air into the gap 6 and into the upper chamber 20 is terminated, but the pressure in the space 55 between the neck fitting, the bag valve 5b and the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 is maintained . As the upper chamber 20 is gradual ly vented the compression springs 38 will inevitable be relieved of compression and apply a force on the rod side 40a of the piston head 19 to force the piston head 19 upwards via the position seen in fig . 6 into its intermediate posit ion seen in fig . 7 to reach a gasket member deflection position seen in fig . 8 , and then pass into the pressure balanced position and eventually reach the uppermost cleaning position seen in fig . 10 , as will be further explained below . As illustrated in fig . 6 the slightly further depression that opened the bag valve 5b fully, thus the depressing of the inner bag valve member 27 further axially downwards in relation to the outer bag valve member 28 , is reversed . The compression springs 38 have been slightly relieved as the air injection via lower tube 43 and into the gap 6 is terminated . Due to the enlarged tapering collar 22 engaging the flexible upright fingers 26 the inner bag valve member 27 can follow the travel of the hollow piston rod 15 axially upwards . Thereby the inner bag valve member 27 is pulled axially upwards in relation to the outer bag valve member 28 , as indicated by arrow F in fig . 6 , and into engagement with the outer bag valve member 28 , whereby the beverage container outlet 4 becomes closed, and flow of beer from the inner compressible bag 3 into the piston rod lumen 18 stops .

[0079] In the position of the reciprocating piston member 9 seen in fig . 6 the compression springs 38 are still inside the blind spring holes 39 and the rod side 40a of the piston head 19 is in contact with the top face 41 of the lower valve housing end part 10 . Thus the compression springs 38 are not being relieved, and the beads 29 of the flexible upright fingers 26 are still located in the lower circumferential recess 25 .

[0080] In fig . 7 said compression springs 38 extend partly relaxed into the upper chamber 20 , the enlarged tapering collar 22 contacts the gasket member 30 , and the space 55 of the lower valve housing end part 10 above the bag valve 5b and below the gasket member 30 is still pressuri zed by injecting air into the gap 6 , as indicated by arrow Cl . Thus the space 55 is still under overpressure . As there is no flow of beer inside the piston rod lumen 18 the pressure valve 48 drops down, whereby beer captured in the voids of the combined dispensing and cleaning valve , including beer captured in the piston rod lumen 18 above the pressure valve 48 , and in the di spensing line constituted by upper connection piece 44 and the upper tube 45 that goes to the tapping faucet (not shown) , remains under pressure as long as the tapping faucet at the end of the dispensing line is closed .

[0081] When making beer to be dispensed the chamfered protruding breast 46 of the upper cylindrical collar part 23 was forced below the lip 34 of the interior ring part 33 of the gasket member 30 . Now when the direction of the piston stroke of the reciprocating piston member 9 i s reversed to close the bag valve 5b again the beads 29 of the flexible upright fingers 26 disengage the lower circumferential recess 25 . The smooth passing of the chamfered protruding breast 46 beyond lip 34 is obstructed due to the chamfered protruding breast 46 having a flat free upper face 47 terminating its chamfering, thus no chamfered face that beneficially can promote a smooth passing of the lip 34 , as in the down stroke of the hollow piston rod 15 , nor would such smooth passing during the upwards piston stroke be desired . Instead the flat free upper face 47 of the chamfered protruding breast 46 beneficially deflects the lip 34 upwards into passing, as seen in fig . 8 , whereby any overpressure in the space 55 , that still may apply a downwards pressure force on the inner bag valve member 27 in relation to the outer bag valve member 28 is instantaneously vented, and the beads 29 of the flexible upright fingers 26 are set fully free of the lower circumferential recess 25 .

[0082] The sudden pressure drop in the aforementioned space 55 not only secures the final reliable closing of any leakage between inner bag valve member 27 and outer bag valve member 28 but it also secures that the flow path of air via space 55 into the gap 6 becomes closed, as the outer shoulder 56 of the lower section 50 of the outer bag valve member 28 is pulled into sealing engagement with the lower edge 57 of the neck fitting 5a, as seen in fig . 9 . Such pulling is possible because the force caused by said sudden pressure drop exceeds the engagement force between the flexible fingers 26 of the inner bag valve member 27 and the lower conical collar part 25 .

[0083] As seen in fig . 10 the chamfered protruding breast 46 has been forced above the lip 34 , mainly due to relieving the compression of the compression springs 38 , which al lows the lip 34 to reassume its initial relaxed position . The overpressure in the space 55 has been balanced, and the keg valve 1 is closed, as described in relation to fig . 9 , so that the cleaning agent cannot pass into said gap 6 , which gap 6 still is pressurised to keep the bag valve 5b closed and the inner compressible bag 3 compressed . The maintained pressure on the inner compressible bag 3 contributes in pressing the inner bag valve member 27 in sealing engagement with the outer bag valve member 28 . The cleaning agent follows a f low path in which it circulates in the depressurised space 55 , between the inner bag valve member 27 and the outer bag valve member 28 , below the enlarged tapering collar 22 , up into the piston rod lumen 18 and out via upper tube 43 , which is the beverage dispensing conduit , and further out through the tapping faucet to also clean said tapping faucet , to end into a drain (not shown) .

[0084] Cleaning agent is supplied via the lower tube 43 , which was also used to inject air into the gap 6 , however as access to the gap 6 has been closed now, no cleaning agent will enter said gap 6 . After flushing with cleaning agent a required set , optional user set , cleaning period with cleaning agent , an optional water f lushing may be performed along same flow path as the cleaning agent in a similar manner, hereafter the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 can revert to the dispensing mode . Such water flushing can e . g . be conducted simply by stopping the electrical discharge for the ozone production of the electrolytic ozone generator, and use the water passing the uncharged electrolytic ozone generator for a post-flushing of the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member, the beverage dispensing line , including the tapping faucet .

[0085] A plurality of O-rings are part of the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member 7 to ensure that said valve member does not leak in operation .

[0086] To that aspect the upper cylindrical collar part 23 of the enlarged tapering collar 22 has an upper circumferential recess 58 for receiving a first 0-ring 59 to seal against the outer keg valve member 28 . A second 0-ring 60 is situated to seal between the lower section 50 of the outer bag valve member 28 and the lower edge 57 of the neck fitting 5a when the access to the gap 6 via the space 55 is closed . A third tiring 61 is arranged below the middle section 52 of the outer bag valve member 28 to seal against a lowermost ring section 62 of the inner keg valve member 27 . A fourth O-ring 63 is situated around the hollow piston rod 15 and serves as a seal against the cylinder bore 12 . A fifth O-ring 64 seals between the piston head 19 and the hollow piston rod 15 , and a sixth O-ring 65 seals the hollow piston rod 15 towards the top cover part 14 and thus towards the beverage dispensing chamber 66 . A seventh O-ring 67 is arranged around the tip of pressure valve 48 to engage the interior wall of the conical lower part 28 to close the flow path through the piston rod lumen 18 when no fluid is allowed to pass into said piston rod lumen 18 , as e . g . in the positions seen in figs . 2 and 3 .

[0087] The head side of the piston head 19 is equipped with a head gasket 68 to seal against the upper circumferential wall 21 of the hollow upper housing end part 13 , whereby the head side section of the upper chamber 20 is efficiently sealed towards the rod side section of the upper chamber at any position of the piston head 19 inside the upper chamber 20 . Switching between injecting air and cleaning agent through lower tube , as well as the movement of the reciprocating piston member 9 may be performed via a valve means . The opening and clos ing of the ports of said valve means and the operation of the parts of the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member is controlled by a controller including computational means , such as a computer with suitable software program adapted to run software related to control the valve means to allow dispensing and cleaning sequences , respectively . The controller receives input from a user to control the modes of the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member from a remote position, and allows the user to change operational parameters without being in contact with the combined dispensing and cleaning valve member itself . All kegs of an establishment may be equipped with each their combined dispensing and cleaning valve member, and as the controller is adapted to clean only those combined dispensing and cleaning valve member ( s ) that at a current moment need ( s ) cleaning, other kegs are left in the dispensing mode .

Claims

Claims1. A combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) configured for coupling to a beverage container (1) , which combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) comprises : a valve housing main body (8) that comprises at least a beverage container facing lower valve housing end part (10) configured for coupling to a beverage container outlet (4) of the beverage container (1) , and having a cylinder bore (12) that accommodates a reciprocating piston member (9) , and an opposite upper valve housing end part (13) , the reciprocating piston member (9) comprises a hollow piston rod (15) with a beverage inlet end (16) adapted for alignment with the beverage container outlet ( ) , an opposite beverage outlet end (17) , and a piston head (19) arranged circumferentially around the hollow piston rod (15) a distance from the beverage outlet end ( 17 ) , a drive means for driving reciprocation of the reciprocating piston member (9) in the cylinder bore (12) , an upper chamber (20) , which is delimited by an upper circumferential wall (21) of the upper valve housing end part (13) , a top cover part (14) of the upper valve housing end part (13) , and a head side (40b) of the piston head (19) , wherein the hollow piston rod (15) extends through the upper chamber (20) and into a beverage dispensing chamber (66) of the top cover part (14) , and the beverage outlet end (17) of the hollow piston rod (15) is arranged in said beverage dispensing chamber (66) ,whereby said reciprocating piston member (9) is configured to, upon reciprocation, in turns arrange said combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) in at least a beverage dispensing mode and a cleaning mode, wherein in the beverage dispending mode said reciprocating piston member (9) is in a beverage dispensing position in which a supply conduit (43) of a cleaning agent is closed off, and the piston head (19) is displaced by the drive means into a lower axial position in which the beverage inlet end (16) of the reciprocating piston member (9) is arranged in fluid communication with the beverage container outlet (4) for beverage to be displaced from the beverage container (1) at least up into the hollow piston rod (15) by supplying air to the beverage container (1) , and in the cleaning mode said reciprocating piston member (9) is in a cleaning position in which the piston head (19) is displaced by the drive means into an upper axial position wherein the beverage container outlet (4) is closed and a cleaning agent can be flushed through the hollow piston rod (15) , wherein the drive means for driving reciprocation of the reciprocating piston member (9) in the cylinder bore (12) between the beverage dispensing mode and the cleaning mode comprises air supplied to or relieved from the upper chamber (20) .

2. A combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the beverage inlet end (16) of the hollow piston rod (15) is provided with an enlarged tapering collar (22) configured to mate into the beverage container outlet (4) at least in the beverage dispensing mode.

3. A combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the drive means comprises a spring means (38; 39) inserted between a rod side (40a) of the piston head (19) and the lower valve housing end part (10) .

4. A combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the drive means (38; 39) is in form of at least one blind spring hole (39) in the lower valve housing end part (10) , which at least one blind spring hole (39) receives an associated compression spring (38) , which compression spring (38) extends into the upper chamber (20) in its relaxed state.

5. A combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the lower valve housing end part (10) comprises a gasket member (30) arranged to engage and disengage a circumferential protrusion (46) of the enlarged tapering collar (22) of the hollow piston rod (15) .

6. A combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) according to claim 5, wherein the circumferential protrusion (46) is a chamfered protruding breast (46) .

7. A combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) according to any of the preceding claim 5 or 6, wherein the gasket member (30) is ring-shaped and comprises at least an exterior ring part (31) seated in a circumferential seat (32) in the lower valve housing end part (10) , and an interior ring part (33) with a protruding resilient lip (34) for engaging and disengaging the circumferential protrusion (46) of the enlarged tapering collar (22) of the reciprocating piston member (9) .

8. A combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the valve housing main body (8) has a vent in fluid communication with the upper chamber (20) .

9. A combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the upper valve housing end part (13) has an air conduit (35; 35a; 36) , and the lower valve housing end part (10) has at least a lower conduit (43) , preferably any of the air conduit (35; 35a; 36) and the lower conduit (43) has a connection piece (35; 42) for mounting of a respective tube (35a; 43) or hose, preferably the connection piece (35; 42) is a stepped connection piece (35; 42) , preferably the lower conduit is a cleaning agent conduit (42; 43) , which cleaning conduit is the same as utilized for supplying air to a gap (6) between an inner compressible bag (3) and an outer pressure resisting container (2) of a beer keg (1) .

10. A combined dispensing and cleaning valve member (7) according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the cleaning agent is ozonated water, preferably the ozonated water is produced by an electrolytic ozone generator, preferably ozonated water is produced by the electrolytic ozone generator on demand, preferably the concentration of ozone in the ozonated water, which is produced by the electrolytic ozone generator is at least 5 ppm.

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