Reusable sanitary dust cap for a beverage tank valve

A sanitary dust cap unit is molded of flexible plastics material and includes a cup-shaped cap portion which snap-fits onto a dispensing check valve projecting from a portable metal tank adapted to contain a beverage. The unit also includes an annular retaining loop portion which surrounds the base of the valve and is integrally connected to the cap portion by a thin card-like tag portion having a width greater than the width of the cap portion. The tag portion is printed with information identifying the beverage and/or beverage producer and is flexible to permit the cap portion to be attached to the valve while the retaining portion surrounds the base of the valve.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
In the distribution of various consumable beverage products, such as premix 
or postmix soft drink beverages which are delivered to restaurants and 
other eating facilities, each beverage product is commonly enclosed within 
a portable stainless steel tank adapted to contain approximately five 
gallons. The tank is usually provided with two check valves which are 
connected to flexible hoses or lines for pressurizing the tank with carbon 
dioxide gas and for dispensing the beverage from the tank. Each of the 
valves usually carries an O-ring seal and preferably is provided with a 
sanitary protective dust cap which is molded of a plastics material. The 
dust cap has one or more inwardly projecting and circumferencially 
extending internal ribs to provide for snap-fitting the dust cap onto the 
O-ring seal of the dispensing valve. 
One form of sanitary dust cap which has been produced for many years by 
applicant's assignee is a disposable dust cap which is placed on each 
valve by the beverage producer when the portable tank receives a 
premeasured volume of a beverage. After the filled tank is delivered to 
its destination and is ready for use, the dust cap is removed from its 
valve and is discarded. The valves are then coupled or connected to 
corresponding flexible hoses or lines which provide for removing or 
dispensing the beverage product from the tank. 
Another form of sanitary protective dust cap which has been manufactured by 
applicant's assignee is a reusable dust cap wherein the cap is molded of a 
plastics material and is connected by a narrow flexible link to an 
integrally molded annular retaining loop portion which snap-fits onto the 
base portion of the valve and remains attached to the valve. When it is 
desired to snap-fit the cap onto the valve, the flexible link, connecting 
the cap to the retainer loop, is bent or flexed. Thus when the cap is 
removed from the valve after the beverage tank arrives at its destination 
and is ready to be connected, the cap remains attached to the valve by the 
connecting link portion and retainer loop. The cap is subsequently 
sanitized with the tank after the tank is returned to the supplier for 
another supply of a beverage product. 
Usually each molded plastic sanitary dust cap is printed by hot-stamping 
with a trademark which corresponds to the beverage product contained 
within the tank, for example, with one of the well known trademarks such 
as COCA-COLA or PEPSI-COLA or DR PEPPER. The beverage tank is also 
commonly provided with a separate label and/or tag which identifies the 
producer of the beverage product, the ingredients used in making the 
product and the volume of the product within the tank. The labels are 
preprinted and usually attached to the tank by adhesive, and the tags are 
commonly die-cut from a sheet of plastics material, and each tag is 
provided with a die-cut hole which is adapted to receive the dispensing 
valve for attaching the tag to the tank. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention is directed to an improved sanitary dust cap unit 
which is adapted to be mounted on a dispensing valve projecting from a 
supply tank for a beverage product and which significantly simplifies the 
labeling or marking of the tank to identify the product, the producer of 
the product, the ingredients in the product and such other information as 
is desired in the distribution of the product. Thus the sanitary cap unit 
of the invention provides for more quickly and efficiently marking a tank 
to identify its contents or the contained beverage product and the source 
for the product. 
In accordance with the invention, the above features and advantages are 
provided by molding a dust cap unit of a flexible plastics material and by 
integrally connecting a sanitary cap portion to a retainer loop portion by 
a flexible tag portion which is substantially wider than the cap and 
retainer loop portions. The tag portion is then printed or marked with 
identifying information for the beverage product within the tank at the 
same time the cap portion is printed with a trademark or other information 
relating to the product. The integrally connecting tag portion is 
sufficiently thin and flexible so that it may be easily curved when it is 
desired to attach the cap portion of the unit to the dispensing valve. 
Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the 
following description, the accompanying drawing and the appended claims.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
FIG. 1 shows a stainless steel tank 10 which has a removable lid or closure 
12 and is adapted to receive a beverage product that is pressurized with 
carbon dioxide gas. The product may be in the form of a concentrated syrup 
or a "premix" which is carbonated by the supplier of the product, or the 
tank may contain a "postmix" product which is subsequently carbonated by a 
customer who receives the tank and beverage product. Usually, a pair of 
check-type dispensing valves 14 project upwardly from the top wall of the 
tank, and the valves are adapted to be coupled to corresponding flexible 
lines or hoses which provide for pressurizing the tank with carbon dioxide 
gas and for dispensing the beverage product from the tank to a manually 
controllable dispensing valve connected to the opposite end of one of the 
hoses. Each of the valves 14 is provided with a resilient O-ring 16 which 
forms a fluid-tight seal between the valve 14 and the hose fitting which 
is coupled to the valve. 
In accordance with the present invention, each of the valves 14 and O-ring 
seals 16 are protected by a sanitary dust cap unit 20 which is molded of a 
plastics material such as polyethylene. The cap unit 20 includes a 
cup-shaped cap portion 22 which has an outwardly projecting bottom flange 
23 and a finger tab 24. The hollow cap portion 22 has a set of axially 
spaced and inwardly projecting circumferentially extending ribs (not 
shown), and the cap portion is adapted to receive either of the two forms 
of valves 14 which are commonly used on the metal beverage tanks. When the 
cap portion 22 is pressed onto a valve 14, one of the internal ribs snaps 
over the O-ring seal 16 to form a positive snap-fit of the cap portion on 
the valve. 
The cap unit 20 also includes an integrally molded card-like flexible tag 
portion 26 which connects with the cap portion 22 by a narrow neck portion 
27. The tag portion 26 has a uniform thickness of approximately 0.040 inch 
and a width which is substantially greater than the width of the cap 
portion 22. The length of the tag portion 26 is greater than the width of 
the tag portion to provide a generally rectangular configuration, and 
opposite ends of the tag portion are formed by tapered or converging end 
surfaces 29. 
As also shown in FIG. 2, the cap unit 20 includes an annular or ring-like 
retaining loop portion 32 which is integrally connected to the tag portion 
26 by a narrow neck portion 34. The retaining loop portion 32 has 
circumferentially spaced and inwardly projecting tabs 36 which are adapted 
to flex in a spring-like manner when the loop portion 32 is pressed 
downwardly onto a valve 14. The retaining portion 32 is thereby attached 
to the valve 14 so that after the cap portion 22 is removed from a valve 
14, the cap 20 will not fall off the valve in the event the beverage tank 
10 is inverted while the tank is being delivered from a customer back to 
the supplier of the beverage product. As apparent from FIG. 1, the tag 
portion 26 of the cap unit 20 is sufficiently thin and flexible to provide 
for attaching the cap portion 22 to the valve 14 while the retaining loop 
portion 32 is attached to the base portion of the valve. 
The tag portion 26 of the cap unit 20 is preprinted, for example by 
hot-stamping, with information 40 which identifies the contents of the 
beverage product within the tank 10 and/or the producer of the product, 
and/or the volume of the product within the tank. This information 40 is 
printed on the tag portion 26 at the same time as the trademark 42 for the 
product is printed on the top wall of the cap portion 22. If desired, the 
opposite side or surface of the tag portion 26 may also be printed with 
additional information corresponding to the beverage product within the 
tank. It is also within the scope of the invention to print or hot-stamp 
the tag portion 26 with a calender and to provide for punching one or more 
holes within the tag portion with a hand operated punch and at locations 
corresponding to the date when the beverage product was placed within the 
container 10. 
From the drawing and the above description, it is apparent that a sanitary 
cap unit constructed in accordance with the invention, provides desirable 
features and advantages. For example, the incorporation of the tag portion 
26 as an integral connector between the cap portion 22 and the retaining 
portion 32, simplifies the operation required for preparing a supply tank 
for delivery to a customer. That is, a single cap unit 20 not only 
protects a dispensing valve 14 but also identifies the contents of the 
beverage product within the tank 10 in addition to the source of the 
product. Thus, the cap unit 20 eliminates the need for producing or die 
cutting separate identification tags as well as the need for separately 
handling and printing the tags and assembling the tags onto the tank 
valves. As mentioned above, the tag portion 26 may also be printed at the 
same time as the cap portion 22 is printed so that a separate printing 
operation for the tag portion 26 is not required. As a result, the cap 
unit 20 provides for greater efficiency in distributing a beverage product 
within a portable container or tank by eliminating the requirement for 
producing and using separate identification tags on the tank. 
While the form of sanitary dust cap unit herein described constitutes a 
preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the 
invention is not limited to this precise form of cap unit, and that 
changes may be made therein without departing from the scope and spirit of 
the invention as defined in the appended claims.