BACKGROUND ART

In the beverage industry, beverages are supplied either in individually sized containers such as cans or bottles or in bulk form such as drums or flexible bags.

Flexible bags usually accommodate between 4 to 20 litres of beverage liquid. For beverages or other liquids sold in bulk, suitable means are required to transfer the liquid from the bulk container to the consumer. One well known method for effecting such transfer is to pressurise the bulk container so as to force the liquid through an outlet. This technique is popular in dispensing beer from beer kegs. In this known procedure, a hollow rod or "spear" is inserted through an opening of an unpressurised beer keg. The "spear" contains a gas inlet valve and a hollow tube. The beer keg is subsequently pressurised by carbon dioxide flowing through the gas inlet valve and into the interior of the beer keg and by this action the beer is dispensed through the hollow tube. This procedure also partially carbonates the beer. A disadvantage with this known procedure is that it is unsuitable for

dispensing liquids or beverages which are not normally carbonated or which are sensitive to gas. Some liquids such as wines are sensitive to oxygen or carbon dioxide and can deteriorate in quality upon contact with such gases. Furthermore, many liquids such as still wines are not required to be made effervescent by absorbtion of carbon dioxide.

Attempts have been made to overcome the above disadvantage by the use of inert gases such as nitrogen or argon however these gases are expensive and are not readily available to all uses.

A second type of dispensing apparatus involves the use of pressure to transfer a liquid from a storage container such as a drum or collapsible bag and wherein the pressurant is not in direct contact with the liquid.

One type of such device comprises a rigid pressure tight container having a plunger or other type of slidable portion within the container. The container is filled with the desired liquid to be dispensed and upon such filling the plunger or slidable portion is moved down towards the end of the container. To dispense the liquid, the portion of the container behind the plunger is pressurised thereby moving the plunger towards the outlet which in turn forces the liquid through an outlet. A disadvantage with such a system is the requirement for a pressure tight seal between the plunger and

the container. Such a seal is susceptible to deterioration which results in leakage or gas contamination of the liquid.

A second type of dispensing apparatus comprises the use of a collapsible bag located within a pressure tight container. The dispensing outlet of the collapsible bag is in a pressure tight sealing relationship with the wall of the container. The bag is filled with the desired liquid to be dispensed, and the pressure tight container is subsequently pressurised which in turn compresses the collapsible bag to expel the liquid.

A disadvantage with this type of system is that the dispensing outlet of the collapsible bag is required to be in a pressure tight sealing relationship with the wall of the container so that the container remains pressure tight. Once empty, the whole dispensing apparatus needs to be returned to the manufacturer for refilling. Examples of this type of' dispensing apparatus are given in U.S. Patents 3,265,254 and 3,300,102.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a dispensing apparatus to dispense liquids stored within a collapsible bag which may at least partially overcome the deficiencies of the prior art. In one aspect the invention resides in a dispensing apparatus for dispensing a liquid from within a collapsible

bag, said apparatus comprising a body portion for receiving at least part of the collapsible bag, and an inflatable bladder at least partially disposed between the collapsible bag and said body portion, whereby upon inflation of said inflatable bladder, the bladder expands against the collapsible bag to dispense liquid therefrom.

In another aspect, the invention resides in a method for dispensing fluid from a collapsible bag comprising locating the collapsible bag at least partially within the body portion of a dispensing apparatus as described above, supplying pressurised fluid to the inflatable bladder thereby expanding said bladder against a wall of the collapsible bag and continuing to inflate the bladder to cause liquid within the collapsible bag to be dispensed. The term "collapsible bag" includes bladders and other flexible containers which are filled with a fluid and which upon dispensing of the fluid adopts a collapsed position. The collapsible bags typically have a wall formed of a flexible inextensible metallic foil. The foil is normally coated on an inside face with a polymer to prevent tainting of the liquid by the metallic foil. The collapsible bag includes a dispensing outlet.

The body portion may comprise an open ended substantially hollow container. The container may comprise a base wall and a continuous side wall to define an interior volume with one end of the body portion being open.

The body portion may be of any suitable cross- sectional shape such as circular, oblong or polygonal, and can be of various sizes to accommodate various shapes and sizes of collapsible bags. The body portion may be formed from paper, plastics, glass, wood, metals or a combination of these materials. The body portion may comprise a sheet material or a mesh material. If desired, the body portion can be insulated to maintain the contents within the collapsible bag at a particular temperature. It is preferred that the body portion is formed from a durable material to provide a long working life.

The inflatable bladder may comprise a bag. The bag may include an upper and lower wall joined by a seam. The walls may be hemispherical. One of the hemispherically shaped walls may be positioned adjacent the side wall and base wall of the body portion. The other of the hemispherically shaped walls may overly a portion of the collapsible bag when placed in the body portion and may support the collapsible bag within the body portion.

The inflatable bladder may be of any suitable shape or size and may comprise a single inflatable member or a plurality of inflatable members which may be in fluid communication with each other or via a separate supply conduit.

The inflatable bag may be formed from flexible

inextensible or extensible material and suitably comprises plastics, rubber, metallic foil or a combination thereof. If required, the inflatable bag can be reinforced.

The dispensing apparatus may include a closure to overly the open end of the body portion. The closure may comprise a lid. A skirt portion may depend from adjacent the periphery of the lid. When the closure is fitted to the body portion, the lid may substantially overly the open end of the body portion and the skirt portion may overly an upper part of the side wall of the body portion. The lid may include an opening to accommodate the dispensing outlet of the collapsible bag.

The closure may be removably secured to the body portion. The closure may be removably secured by the use of releasable fasteners. The releasable fasteners may comprise a male portion located on the closure or the body portion and which releasably engages a female portion located on the body portion or the closure. The male portion may comprise a hook and a female portion may comprise an eye. The hooks may be spaced about the periphery of the closure or the side wall of the body portion and the corresponding eyes may be spaced about the side wall or the closure the arrangement being such that a hook can engage an eye upon positioning of the closure to the body portion. The hooks are preferably pivotally mounted to be rotated into the corresponding eyes.

Alternatively, the closure may be removably secured to the body portion by straps or webbing or other suitable type of binding. The closure may comprise a screw-on closure, snap-on closure or hinged closure. Although it is preferred that the lid is provided with an opening to accommodate the dispensing outlet of the collapsible bag, it is also possible for the dispensing outlet of the collapsible bag to pass through an opening in the side wall of the body portion. The bladder includes an inlet to allow pressurised fluid to pass into the bladder. The inlet may be located adjacent the base wall of the body portion. Suitably, the inlet comprises a one-way or two-way valve.

The inlet may be in communication with a source of pressurised fluid via a supply conduit. One end of the supply conduit may include a coupling assembly and to couple the supply conduit to a source of pressurised fluid. The supply conduit may comprise a rigid or flexible pipe.

A pressure relief valve may be provided to prevent over inflation of the bladder. The pressure relief valve may be in communication with the supply conduit.

The body portion may be supported above a ground surface by one or more supports. The one or more supports may comprise a continuous skirt portion depending from adjacent the base wall to provide a false bottom for said body portion. The lower peripheral edge of the continuous

skirt portion may be connected by a web such that the false bottom defines a separate chamber relative to the body portion.

The inlet, supply conduit and pressure relief valve may be located substantially beneath the base wall of the body portion and within the chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will be better understood by reference to the following description of one specific embodiment thereof as shown in the accompanying drawing which depicts a side sectional elevation view of a dispensing apparatus according to the invention.

THE BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The embodiment illustrates a dispensing apparatus for dispensing liquids from within a collapsible bag such as a wine cask bladder.

The dispensing apparatus comprises an hollow cylindrical body portion 10. Body portion 10 includes a base wall 11 and a continuous side wall 12. The base wall 11 and side wall 12 define an internal volume. The upper peripheral edge 14 of side wall 12 defines an open end to the body portion. A collapsible bag 13 such as a wine cask bladder can be located within body portion 10.

An inflatable bladder 15 is located within body portion 10. Inflatable bladder 15 comprises a flexible bag having a pair of hemispherical walls 16, 17 joined along a seam 18. Hemispherical wall 17 is positioned adjacent the internal face of side wall 12 and the internal face of base wall 11.

In the deflated state, hemispherical wall 16 adopts a collapsed configuration whereby it overlies hemispherical wall 17.

Bladder 15 includes an inlet 18. Inlet 18 passes through an opening in base wall 11. Inlet 18 comprises a two-way valve to allow inflation and deflation of bladder 15. A removable closure 19 overlies the open end of the body portion 10. Closure 19 includes an upper horizontal lid 20 and a integrally formed depending continuous skirt portion 21. Lid 20 is of a larger size than the open end of body portion 10 such that skirt portion 21 overlies an upper portion of side wall 12. Lid 20 includes an opening (not shown) through which dispensing outlet 22 of collapsible bag 13 can protrude.

Closure 19 is secured to the side wall 12 of body portion 10 by releasable fasteners. The releasable fasteners comprise a series of hook and eye assemblies. A number of hooks 23 are spaced about the periphery of skirt portion 21

and are pivotally mounted thereto. A corresponding number of eyes 24 are spaced about the upper periphery of side wall 12. When closure 19 is fitted to body portion 10, hook 23 can be rotated to engage with a corresponding eye 24 thereby securing the closure to the body portion in a releasable fashion.

Bladder 15 can be inflated by passing compressed air or carbon dioxide through inlet 18. Inlet 18 is in communication with a supply conduit 19 in the form of rigid pipe. The supply conduit includes a coupling assembly 20 which can be fitted to an external gas conduit.

A pressure relief valve 21 is fitted to conduit 19 to prevent over-inflation of bladder 15.

Base wall 11 of body portion 10 is supported from the ground by a depending skirt 22 extending about the periphery of base wall 11 to form a false bottom. A web 23 connects the lower peripheral edge of skirt 22 to provide a chamber 24 below base wall 11.

Inlet 18, supply conduit 19 and pressure relief valve 21 are located within chamber 24.

In use, a collapsible bag such as a wine cask bladder is placed within body portion 10. The collapsible bladder is supported within the body portion by hemispherical wall 16 of bladder 15. The bladder 15 is suitably in a deflated condition but if not, inlet 18 can be opened to exhaust bladder 15 upon inserting a filled collapsible bag

into body portion 10.

Closure 19 is secured to the body portion through the hook and eye assemblies and dispensing outlet 22 is pushed through opening on the lid 20. Pressurised gas is introduced into bladder 15 through conduit 19. As bladder 15 is inflated, hemispherical wall 16 is forced against the wall of collapsible bag 13 and squeezes bag 13 against the lower face of closure 19. After any air within bag 13 is expelled, further inflation of bladder 15 will dispense the liquid from the collapsible bag at a rate dependant on the rate of inflation of bladder 15.

An advantage of the apparatus of the invention is that it can be positioned at a location remote from the end use of the liquid. The liquid can be transferred from the collapsible bag to a desired location through a suitable conduit. The supply of liquid can be regulated by the amount of inflation of bladder 15.

Thus, the dispensing apparatus according to the invention will allow air sensitive liquids such as still wines to be readily and easily dispensed from a wine bag without any contact between the wine and the compressed air.

Furthermore, the wine bladder can be of the conventional type and does not need to be modified in any form prior to placement within the dispensing apparatus. After the wine or other desired liquid has been dispensed from the collapsible bag, the exhausted bag can be

removed from the dispensing apparatus and a fresh bag can be inserted with a minimum of turn around time.

Various types and sizes of collapsible bags can be used with the dispensing apparatus according to the invention as inflatable bladder 15 can adopt ^" a wide variety of different configurations to accommodate the various shapes of collapsible bags.

While the above has been given by way of illustrative example of the invention, many modifications and variations may be made thereto by persons skilled in the art without departing from the broad scope and ambit of the invention as claimed.