Field of the Invention

The invention relates to apparatus and methods for the dispensing of fluids.

Reference will be made hereinbelow to the dispensing of beer from beer kegs but it should be appreciated that the invention has application to the dispensing of other fluids from other types of containers. Examples of other vessels are barrels, feeder units or modules, vats and cylinders. Examples of other fluids are lagers and ciders.

Background to the Invention

An establishment, such as a public house, may have a plurality of beer kegs from which beer is fed to dispensing units usually located on the bar from where the customers are served. When a beer keg becomes empty, the dispensing unit to which it is connected will become unavailable until the dispensing unit is connected to another, full keg. This process takes up considerable staff time, which could be better utilised, and also can cause customers to become dissatisfied.

A system for the changing of beer kegs has been proposed in GB2185962. In this document there is disclosed apparatus for the changing of kegs comprising a number of input pipes each adapted for connection to a corresponding keg, a valve system to connect any one of said input pipes to an output pipe and a control circuit to operate the control system. When a bar person sees that a keg is nearly empty, he/she presses a button mounted behind the bar. The button operates a control circuit which actuates valves to disconnect the nearly empty keg from the system and connect a full keg into the system. GB2236180 discloses a system for the detection of bubbles in a beer flowing from a keg through a duct by causing a beam of light to pass through the beer and to a sensor. The output from the sensor is affected by an increased presence of bubbles in the beer and this can indicate that the keg is nearly empty. The nearly empty keg can then be disconnected and replaced with a fully charged one.

Statements of the Invention

According to the present invention, there is provided apparatus for the automatic changing of fluid containing vessels connected to a common dispensing unit, the apparatus defining a plurality of flow paths between a plurality of inlets and a common outlet, each of said flow paths being provided with a sensor for determining a change in a property of the fluid passing along said flow path, the flow paths collectively forming a manifold located between each of said sensors and said outlet, each flow path being further provided with a fluid control valve located between the sensor in that flow path and the manifold, and control means, responsive to the output from a sensor in a flow path along which fluid is flowing, for closing the valve in that flow path and for opening a valve in another flow path.

In this way, the apparatus of the invention facilitates an automatic changeover from one vessel to another and the requirement for a fob (foam on beer) device is avoided.

The apparatus may include a three way valve located between the manifold and the dispensing unit. The apparatus may include a purge line for sending foam to waste before sending fluid to the dispensing unit.

A preferred manifold comprises nested conical members defining channels, each channel forming part of one of said flow paths. The nested conical members may be provided with peripheral flanges by which the conical members are connected together.

The apparatus may be mounted within a housing. The flange of the outermost conical member may be integrated with a mounting bracket within the housing.

Sensors which may be used in apparatus of the invention include any suitable detection device including those using any suitable form of radiation. Examples include a photocell device, a pressure variation device, a laser, an LED device, an ultrasound/sonic detection device, an optical detection device or a volume monitoring device.

The fluid may be a liquid and the liquid may be a beer.

The vessels may be pressurised or non-pressurised, for instance, beer kegs.

An inspection window may be provided in the manifold. A continuous flow connection may be maintained in case of power failure and the apparatus may include a back up power supply. The apparatus may include an internal or integrated cooling arrangement. In particular, the manifold may be provided with an integrated cooling device and/or the housing may be provided with or contain a cooling device.

The sensors may be separate from or an integral part of their corresponding valves.

The apparatus of the invention may be used to change supply vessel feeds by switching between vessels when a vessel becomes empty or at any other point in order to prevent over-pressurisation/overgassing. This can be particularly useful in connection with kegs containing alcoholic liquids such as beer, lager, bitter, stout and cider.

The control unit may be arranged to draw an amount of liquid from one vessel before switching to another vessel and can alternate between vessels according to operational/product control requirements.

The invention also provides a system for dispensing a fluid comprising apparatus of the invention and a dispensing unit to which the apparatus is connected or connectable.

The system may comprise a plurality of vessels to which the apparatus is connected or connectable.

The invention further provides a method for the automatic changing of fluid containing vessels connected to a common dispensing unit, the method comprising passing the fluid along one of a plurality of flow paths, each of said flow paths being provided with a sensor for determining a change in a property of the fluid passing along said flow path, the flow paths collectively forming a manifold located between each of said sensors and said outlet, each flow path being further provided with a fluid control valve located between the sensor in that flow path and the manifold, and, responsive to the output from a sensor in a flow path along which fluid is flowing, closing the valve in that flow path and opening a valve in another flow path.

The method may involve the detection of a change in the nature of the fluid such as a change from a substantially continuous liquid to one containing foam or gas or bubbles within the liquid or the method may involve the detection of a change of fluid from a continuous liquid to a fluid in which liquid is absent or partially absent.

Sensors which may be used in apparatus of the invention include any suitable detection device including those using any suitable form of radiation. Examples are photocell devices, pressure variation devices, lasers, LED devices, ultrasound/sonic detection devices, optical detection devices and also volume monitoring devices in which switchover occurs after a specified volume of liquid has been dispensed.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings are as follows:

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic representation of a first embodiment in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 illustrates a second embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the present invention; Figure 3 shows in detail and in side elevation the valve and manifold sections of a third embodiment of apparatus in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 3a is a section B-B on Figure 3;

Figure 4 is a section A- A on Figure 3; and

Figure 5 shows in exploded perspective view the side and valve and manifold sections of Figure 3.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The present invention will now be described, by way of examples only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, a first embodiment apparatus in accordance with of the present invention comprises a manifold 1 having a housing 3 and a window 5 through which the interior of the housing can be inspected.

Manifold 1 is provided with six inlets 6 to each of which is attached, via a valve 7 and sensor 9, a supply pipe 11 which is connected to 6 a respective beer keg.

Manifold 1 is also provided with an outlet 13 to which is attached an outlet pipe 15 which is connected to a dispensing unit 19, typically located on the bar where customers are to be served.

Sensors 9 are capable of detecting changes in the flow of beer or in some physical character of the beer such as viscosity, effervescence, density and pressure. They are set to respond to a predetermined threshold level, which indicates that the keg is nearly empty, beyond which a signal is sent to a controller 17 which in turn actuates the closure of the valve 7 through which the beer is flowing and also the opening of another valve 7 to allow beer to flow from a full keg to the dispensing unit.

At the same time as the liquid feed is switched, the apparatus will switch over any gas feeds which are required to dispense the beer.

The switching over of liquid and gas feed is accomplished through the activation of switches, valves, relays and any other devices with which the system is provided.

Operating data is recorded and utilised by a central processing unit which may provide operational, stock control and maintenance data to the operator. In this way, efficient operation and management of the delivery system can be achieved, including:

• cleaning scheduling and capability for cleaning the fluid carrying lines

• stock control, re-ordering and audit

• maintenance

• stock rotation

Stock control and management software systems may be utilised.

It is to be noted that:

• The supply manifold could be produced to allow connection to

different numbers of kegs, as well as multiple outlets.

• The valves and sensors do not have to be part of the manifold

assembly

• The valve/sensors could be exchangeable, for simple replacement. • The sensors could communicate with a central processor, which controls the valve sequencing

• The sensors are desirably protected from ambient light

• A separate cleaning port can be provided. This is a simpler way of cleaning the system rather than cleaning via each beer line

• The display in the bar will preferably show at a glance the status of the barrels on the system, along with last line clean and next line clean data.

• Status information and control can be provided via an app on a mobile device

• Status information can be displayed on a portable device carried by bar staff or bar managers

• The function of the window in the manifold can be achieved by

making the manifold in a clear material

• The manifold is capable of being used for gas flow control, as well as liquid, with interchangeable sensor valves.

The control of the standard operation through a four keg change process having Kegs 1 to 4 and corresponding Valves 1 to 4 will involve switching from Valve 1 open to Valve 1 closed and Valve 2 open, on detection that Keg 1 is empty, and so on through to Keg 4, at which time it will naturally revert back to Keg 1, assuming it has been replaced with a new keg.

This standard operation may be interrupted, or may need to be interrupted for the following reasons: -

1. Rejection of a barrel - this function may be provided in case of a bad keg, and will involve a command or "button" that closes the valve corresponding to that keg and moves on to the next, but then purges the new beer right through to the tap, to expel all the bad beer. This is preferably controllable from the bar.

2. Line cleaning - this involves pushing a "line cleaning button" or command that would then shut off the supply that was active at that time. Then gas is applied to purge the beer in the manifold and supply line up to the pump.

The bar operator can then serve the last of the beer in the system and then clean the entire system through. At the end of the line cleaning process, any empty barrels can be replaced and then the system would start serving from exactly where it left off, so that line cleaning can be carried out at any point in the rotation of the four barrels. The system opens all valves and purges the air from the four supply pipes and manifold and then up to the service tap to begin service again.

3. Reset - the system should preferably have the facility to return to the beginning of the cycle, (i.e. keg 1), on command.

4. Advance - in case of valve failure, an advance button may be provided to advance supply to the next keg.

The bar display may be able to effect the line clean/sell-off process, the reject process and the advance process. The main unit should preferably also have these controls.

By way of example, an Allen Bradley Micro830 PLC with an analogue module may be used for controlling the beer and cleaning valves. From the description above the following IO may be used:

4 x valves for beer. (Digital outputs.)

4 x valves for cleaning. (Digital outputs.)

1 x solenoid to switch between gas purge or line cleaner. (If only one type is used, this output will not be needed.) (Digital output.) 4 x beer/froth detectors. (Analogue inputs.)

For the operator interface a touchscreen human machine interface (HMI) may be used. This allows all the above proposed operations and monitoring of the system on a graphical display. However, the system is preferably able to be operated from the bar and where the system is installed. This would require 2 HMIs.

Flow meters may be added to the system to monitor the flow of the beer and provide sales data. This is facilitated by changing one of the HMIs to enable the collection and storage of data. The data may be displayed on the HMI itself or stored on an SD card or a similar device. It is also possible to connect the HMI to an Ethernet network and retrieve the data via a PC. Over-gassing, which can occur when beer is under gas pressure for too long, allows too much CO2 into the beer and causes excessive fobbing and "ice cream" effect. Over-gassing can be avoided by controlling a valve or valves on the gas supply system. This requires only simple open/closed commands, splitting the gas into supplying Kegs 1 & 2, then 3 & 4 when 2 becomes empty, so that only two kegs are gassed at any one time. Two more outputs may be provided on the PLC: one for turning on and off the gas supply to the system, and the other to change over between one set of kegs and the other.

Although, as indicated above, the apparatus of the invention may be computer controlled, other forms of control may be utilised. A relatively simple mechanical and electrical solution may not be dependent upon a central processing unit nor be subject to the involvement of a complex management system. Referring to Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings, apparatus in

accordance with the present invention comprises a box or housing 102 provided with a door (not shown), within which is located a plurality of components.

Located at a lower portion of box 102 is a sensor box assembly 103 which encloses four individual sensors (not shown). These sensors are capable of detecting changes in the flow of beer or in some physical character of the beer such as viscosity, effervescence, density and pressure. They are set to respond to a predetermined threshold level, which indicates that the keg is nearly empty, beyond which a signal is sent to a controller (not shown).

Flow sensors may be utilised to monitor the quantity of beer that has been served. These will preferably be of the ultrasonic type as turbine type flow sensors may not be able to withstand the gas pressures and the refilling of the pipe with liquid.

Positioned above sensor box assembly 103 is a valve bracket 108 which supports four 2 way lever valves 1 12. Each valve 112 is positioned over a corresponding sensor and is connected thereto by a tube 112b. Preferably, all the tubes are clear to enable visual inspection to check that there is no build up of bacteria, that the liquids are flowing correctly and that no excessive foaming is occurring. (If desired, coils of tubing may be used to extend the distance between the sensors and the valves 112.) Each sensor monitors beer in tube 112b which connects to a bulkhead connector 113 in the base of box 102. One end of a tube 113a may be connected to a bulkhead connector 113 at the outside of box 102 and at its other end to a waste liquid receptacle. Located above valves 112 is a manifold 101. Each valve 112 is connected to a manifold inlet (not shown) by a tube 112c. Manifold 1 is provided with an outlet 101a from which extends upwardly a tubel 16 which terminates at an inlet to a 3 way lever valve 111 located near the top of box 102.

Also connected to 3 way lever valve 111 is a clear purge tube 118 which extends to a connector 113a in the base of box 102. A third connection to valve 111 is by one end of clear tube 115, the other end being connected to a bulkhead connector 114 located in the top of box 102. One end of a tube may be connected to bulkhead connector 114 at the outside of box 102 and the other end to a fluid dispensing unit.

Referring to Figures 3 to 5 of the accompanying drawings, the valve and manifold sections of a third embodiment of the present invention includes four 2 way lever valves 201 mounted below a manifold 203. Manifold 203 comprises a nested assembly of conical elements comprising an inner cone base 205, a cone seal 207 and an outer cone top 209. Each conical element includes a peripheral flange 210 and the elements are bolted together by bolts passing through aligned holes 210a in the flanges 210.

Cone base 205 is provided with four equally spaced apart channels 211 which are closed by cone seal 207 and which extend from the base of the cone to its apex. Above the apex of cone base 205 there is located a manifold outlet 213 to the upper end of which a tube may be connected to convey fluid emerging from the manifold to a remote dispensing unit.

Each channel 211 is in fluid connection with a tube 212 located below cone base 205 and extending to a respective valve 201. The flange 210b of cone top 209 is extended outwardly to form a mounting bracket 215. It can be seen that the valve and manifold sections of Figures 3 to 5 provide a plurality of parallel flow paths from valves 201 to the top of the cone assembly where they are combined at outlet 213.