TAP AND LIQUID DISPENSER USING THE SAME

Abstract: The tap (10) includes: a valve housing (17) including one end having an inlet port (28) formed therethrough for introducing a liquid thereinto, a circumferential wall (18, 19) defining a housing passage 18c) axially extending therein to communicate with the inlet port (28), and an attachment flange (20) mounted to the other end thereof for attachment to the container; a tubular valve member (30) telescopically received in the housing passage (18c) for axial movement, the valve member (30) including one end portion having a first valve aperture (34) formed therein, a circumferential wall (31a) having a second valve aperture (37) formed therethrough and defining a valve passage (31b) communicating the second valve aperture (37) to the first valve aperture (34) for entering the liquid from the housing passage and through the first valve aperture therein, and a closed other end portion (32); and a dispensing mechanism (43, 53, 63), movably attached to the valve member (30), for dispensing the liquid from the valve passage (31b), the dispensing mechanism being movable between an opening position to open the second valve aperture (37) for allowing the liquid to flow outside through the second valve aperture (37) and a closed position to close the second valve aperture (37).

Description: This invention relates to taps. FR-A-859320 generally discloses a tap comprising a valve housing having an inlet port therein for introducing a liquid thereinto, the valve housing having a circumferential wall defining a housing passage axially extending therein to communicate with the inlet port, and an attachment flange mounted to the outer end of the valve housing; and a tubular valve member telescopically received in the housing passage for axial movement, the valve member having a first valve aperture therein, a circumferential wall having a second valve aperture therethrough, the circumferential wall defining a valve passage communicating the second valve aperture to the first valve aperture, and an outer end which is closed; the valve member having an open position in which the first valve aperture thereof is in liquid flow communication with the housing passage to pass liquid, introduced through the inlet port into the housing passage, via the valve passage to the second valve aperture. In the present invention as claimed, the aforesaid generally disclosed tap is characterised in that the inlet port is formed in the inner end of the valve housing and the first valve aperture is formed in the inner end portion of the valve member, and in that a dispensing means is provided for dispensing liquid externally from the valve passage, the dispensing means being attached to the valve member for movement relative thereto between an open position in which to open the second valve aperture to allow liquid to flow from the valve passage externally through the second valve aperture and a closed position in which to close the second valve aperture. The tap of the present invention has particular utility when incorporated in a liquid dispenser comprising a carton and a flexible bag having an aperture and received within the carton with the aperture at a lower level, the bag containing a predetermined amount of liquid, the tap communicating at the inlet port of its valve housing with the bag aperture and being supported at the attachment flange of the valve housing to the carton to dispense liquid from the carton. Containers for dispensing a desired amount of an alcoholic drink, a liquid condiment or a cooling drink and provided with taps are known. Such taps are devised so that liquid in the containers is not oxidized during the dispensing thereof. In AU-A-446218 there is disclosed a liquid container with a tap, in which container a closed bag is placed within a carton and has the tap attached to its opening, the tap including two valves. Improvements to that liquid container are to be found in AU-A-571926 and AU-A-510198. However, the first two liquid containers with taps have a drawback in that the tap of each container is liable to house bacteria around the spout since it always projects outside through the carton. The last one does have a structure such that the tap is retracted within the carton when it is not used and it is hence kept clean. This tap is, however, disadvantageous in that it is difficult to make the carton of a small size since the retracted tap restricts the minimum depth of the carton. In a preferred liquid dispenser incorporating the tap of the present invention, the circumferential wall of the valve housing comprises a hollow cylindrical housing sleeve which includes the inlet port at one end thereof and an outer circumferential face, the circumferential wall further comprising a hollow cylindrical housing body concentrically mounted at one end thereof to the outer cylindrical face of the housing sleeve to surround a part of the housing sleeve to define an annular cavity in cooperation with the part of the housing sleeve, the housing body having its opposite end remote from the one end of the housing sleeve and including an inner circumferential face having at least one helical groove formed therein to extend axially and angularly about the housing passage, the valve member being axially movable between a retracted position in which to be substantially contained within the valve housing and an extended position in which to project outwardly of the other end of the valve housing, the valve member including a skirt integrally formed therewith so that the skirt is inserted into the annular cavity when the valve member is in the retracted position, the skirt including a pin engaged within the at least one helical groove so that axial movement of the valve member causes angular movement thereof about its axis. The preferred liquid dispenser is advantageous over the hereinbefore first two discussed liquid containers in that the tap construction enables it to be retracted into the carton thereby effectively preventing bacteria from growing around its spout, and advantageous over the liquid container of AU-A-510198 in that the length of the tap stored in the carton is small as compared therewith thereby providing a compact liquid dispenser. In order that the invention may be well understood there will now be described some embodiments thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a vertical axial section of a tap according to the present invention, with the valve member placed in a retracted position; FIG. 2 is a vertical axial section of the tap in FIG. 1 with the valve member placed in an extended position; FIG. 3 is a front view of the attachment ring of FIG. 1 on a reduced scale; FIG. 4 is an axial cross-sectional view of the attachment ring of FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a vertical axial section, on a reduced scale, of the valve housing in FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a front view of the valve housing in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is an axial cross-sectional view, on a reduced scale, of the retaining ring in FIG. 1; FIG. 8 is a front view of the retaining ring in FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a side view, on a reduced scale, of the valve member in FIG. 1; FIG. 10 is an axial cross-sectional view, on a magnified scale, of the valve member in FIG. 9 with the outer sleeve; FIG. 11 is a rear view of the valve member in FIG. 10; FIG. 12 is a front view, on a reduced scale, of the outer sleeve in FIG. 1; FIG. 13 is a side view of the outer sleeve in FIG. 12; FIG. 14 is a vertical axial section, on a reduced scale, of the dispensing ring in FIG. 1; FIG. 15 is a side view, partly in section, of the plug in FIG. 1 on a reduced scale; FIG. 16 is a vertical axial section of a second embodiment of the present invention, in which the valve member is placed in a retracted position; FIG. 17 is a vertical axial section of the tap in FIG. 16, with the valve member placed in an extended portion; FIG. 18 is a vertical axial section of the tap in FIG. 17, with the dispensing ring placed in an open position; FIG. 19 is a sectioned side elevation of a third embodiment of the present invention, in which the valve member is located in a retracted position; and FIG. 20 is a sectioned side elevation of the tap in FIG. 19, with the valve member located in an extended position, with the dispensing ring opened. In the drawings, like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout views and descriptions of corresponding parts are omitted after once given. A tap according to the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1, in which reference numeral 10 designates a tap, which is mounted to a carton 11 made of a cardboard, corrugated board, a synthetic resin board, a metallic sheet or the like material. Within the carton 11, there is accommodated an air-impermeable bag 12, made of a flexible film, for containing a liquid to be dispensed through the tap 10. The carton 11 and the bag 12 are only partly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 for illustration purposes. The bag 12 is placed in the carton 11 with its aperture or opening portion 12a at a lower position near the bottom of the carton 11 as shown. The opening portion 12a of the bag 12 is welded to an attachment ring 13 during manufacturing of the bag. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the attachment ring 13 has a sleeve 14 and an attachment flange 15 projecting radially outwardly from one end of the sleeve 14, the attachment flange 15 being attached to the opening 12a of the bag 12. The attachment flange 15 has an threaded inner face 16. The tap 10 has a valve housing 17, which includes, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, a housing sleeve 18, a housing body 19 mounted at its rear end to the front end portion of the housing sleeve 18, an outer flange 20 and an intermediate flange 21 connecting the outer flange 20 to the front end of the housing body 19, the parts 18, 19, 20, 21 being integrally and coaxially formed. The housing sleeve 18 has an external thread 18a formed in the outer face of the rear end thereof and the external thread 18a is engaged with the threaded inner face 16 of the attachment ring 13. The outer flange 20 and the intermediate flange 21 define an annular recess 22 on the inner circumferential wall 23 of which is formed an annular lip 23a. Snap engaged into the recess 22 is a generally cylindrical cap-shaped retaining ring 24, which, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, has an annular end wall 24a, an annular side wall 24b, and an annular flange 24c, the parts 24a-24c being formed coaxially and integrally. The annular side wall 24b has an annular snap groove 24d formed in the outer circumferential face thereof, the wall of the annular snap groove 24d being snap engaged with the annular lip 23a of the valve housing 17. The housing body 19 of the valve housing 17 is attached at ist rear end to the outer circumferential face 18d of the housing sleeve 18 at an intermediate port ion thereof so that it externally surrounds a front part 18b of the housing sleeve 18 in a concentric manner to thereby define an annular cavity 25 in cooperation with the front part 18b of the housing sleeve 18. The housing body 19 is provided in its inner face 26 with a pair of helical grooves 27 angularly and extending axially at a predetermined lead angle and substantially through the overall length of the housing body 19. The housing sleeve 18 has a valve seat 28a, defining an inlet port 28, at its rear end and an annular inclined surface 29 formed inside the valve seat 28a to be continuous to the latter. The inner wall of the housing sleeve 18 defines a housing passage 18c. A hollow cylindrical valve member 30, as illustrated in FIGS. 9 to 11, is associated with the valve housing 17 for helical movement within the latter. The valve member 30 has a valve tube 31 snugly fitted into the housing sleeve 18. The valve tube 31 has a rear end wall 32 closing the rear end thereof and having a valve sealing face (32a) formed thereon for resting on the valve seak 28a to close the inlet part (28) of the valve housing (17). The valve tube 31 also has a plurality of, three in this embodiment, ribs 33 connecting the periphery of the end wall 32 to the rear end of the valve tube, whereby adjacent ribs 33, the end wall 32 and the rear end of the valve tube 31 define three first valve apertures 34 at equal angular intervals which communicate with a valve passage 31b through the valve tube 31. The ribs 33 are formed so that the outer faces thereof may rest on the inclined surface 29 of the housing sleeve 18. The valve member 30 has an open front end 35 of which the inner face thereof is threaded to form an inner thread 36. Near the open front end 35 there is formed a circular second valve aperture 37 through the wall of the valve member 30. A thin hollow cylindrical skirt 38 is coaxially mounted to an intermediate portion of the valve tube 31 for surrounding the latter from the outside to thereby define an annular cavity 39 in cooperation with the intermediate portion. The skirt 38 is formed to fit into the annular cavity 25 of the valve housing 17. The skirt 38 has a pair of engaging pins 38a and 38a formed at its rear end symmetrically about the axis X thereof so that they slidably engage with respective helical grooves 27, 27 of the housing body 19. The skirt 38 has a hollow cylindrical outer sleeve 40 fitted around it. The outer sleeve 40 extends axially to the front end 35 of the valve tube 31 to define an annular cavity 41 in cooperation with the front portion 31a of the valve tube 31. The outer sleeve 40 has a dispensing aperture 42 formed through it to be aligned with the second valve aperture 37. (see also FIGS. 12 and 13) The outer sleeve 40 may be integrally formed with the skirt 38. Slidably fitted into the annular cavity 41 is a dispensing ring member 43, which includes a dispensing ring 44, fitted around the front portion 31a of the valve tube 31, and a flange 45 projecting radially outwardly from the front end of the dispensing ring 44. The dispensing ring 44 has a dispensing aperture 46 formed through it. The dispensing ring member 43 is placed over the front portion 31a to align the dispensing aperture 46 with both the second valve aperture 37 and dispensing aperture 42 for flowing liquid outside through it. Threadedly engaged with the inner thread 36 of the valve tube 31 is a plug 48, shown in FIG. 15. The plug 48 normally closes the open front end 35 of the valve tube 31 but is removed when a liquid is to be supplied into the bag 12. The plug 48 has a handle 50 pivotally mounted to the head 49 thereof by means of a pair of pivots 51, 51. In use of the tap 10 for dispensing the liquid, the handle 50 is pulled forwards while it is allowed to rotate about the axis X, so that the engaging pins 38a, 38a slide within the helical grooves 27, 27. This results in the front portion of the valve member 30 projecting forward from the valve housing 17 as shown in FIG. 2, in which position the inlet port 28 is opened to pass liquid from the bag 12 into the valve member 30 through the first valve aperture 34. Then, the dispensing ring member 43 is turned about the axis X to align the dispensing valve aperture 46 with both the second valve aperture 37 and the dispensing aperture 42 for allowing the liquid within the valve member 30 to flow outside. After dispensing a desired amount of the liquid, the dispensing ring member 43 is turned to move the dispensing aperture 46 upwards for closing the second valve aperture 37. The valve member 30 is then pushed backwards to the retracted position shown in FIG. 1 while allowed to rotate. To fill the bag 12 with a liquid, the valve member 30 is placed in the extended position shown in FIG. 2, and the plug 48 is removed. Then, a liquid charging nozzle, not shown, is inserted through the open front end 35 into the valve tube 31 to supply liquid into the bag 12 through the valve passage 31b, the housing passage 18c and the inlet port 28. After filling the bag 12 with liquid, the open front end 35 is closed again with the plug 48 and the valve member 30 is pushed within the valve housing 17 to the retracted position shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the valve member 30 is accommodated within the valve housing 17 with its front end substantially flush with the outer face of the carton 11 when it is in the retracted position, and hence dust and bacteria are effectively prevented from adhering to exposed surfaces of the valve member 30. The tap 10 is hence capable of keeping it clean. The closed bag 12 is communicated with the valve passage 31b by a relatively short since the skirt 38 is inserted into the annular cavity 25 of the valve housing 17. Thus, the tap 10 can be made fairly compact. Referring to FIGS. 16 to 18, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described, in which a dispensing ring 53 is fitted into the valve member 30 and the outer sleeve 40 is omitted. The front portion 31a of the valve tube 31 has a diametrically enlarged inner wall 55, of which the front end is provided with an inner thread 36. The dispensing ring member 53 has a dispensing ring 56, fitted into the enlarged inner wall 55, and a flange 58 formed integrally with the dispensing ring 56 to project radially outwards from the front end of the dispensing ring 56. The dispensing ring 56 is provided in its outer face adjacent to the flange 58 with an outer thread 57 which engages with the inner thread 36 of the valve tube 31. The dispensing ring 56 further has a dispensing aperture 59 formed through its intermediate portion. The inner wall of the front end of the dispensing ring 56 is provided with an internal thread 60, with which a threaded portion 52 of a plug 48 engages. In this embodiment, the valve housing 17 is secured to the carton 11 in a manner slightly different from the manner in the preceding embodiment in that the outer flange 21 which axially extends is supported in a cantilever fashion by retaining rings 24 and 61 which sandwich it. A desired quantity of a liquid is dispensed from the bag 12 in a manner similar to that of the preceding embodiment; that is, the valve member 30 is pulled to project externally of the valve housing 17 as shown in FIG. 17 and then the dispensing ring member 53 is turned relative to the inner wall 55 of the front portion 31a of the valve member 31 to align the dispensing aperture 59 with the second valve aperture 37 for allowing the liquid to flow outside through the dispensing aperture 59 and the second valve aperture 37 as illustrated in FIG. 18. A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, in which a dispensing ring member 63 is rotatably fitted around the front portion 31a of the valve tube 31. The dispensing ring member 63 has a dispensing aperture 64 formed through it and is rotated about the axis X to align the dispensing aperture 61 with the second valve aperture 37 for allowing the liquid within the valve tube 31 to flow outside. Also in this embodiment, the plug 48 is threaded to the inner wall of the front end of the valve member 30 but as shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the head 50a thereof is brought into abutment against the front end of the dispensing ring member 63 for holding the the ring member 63 from axial movement. To supply a desired quantity of the liquid from the bag 12, substantially the same procedure as in the preceding embodiment is carried out; that is, the valve member 30 is pulled to project the front portion 31a outside of the valve housing 17, and then the dispensing ring member 63 is rotated to align the dispensing aperture 64 with the second valve aperture 37 as illustrated in FIG. 20. This procedure is then reversed in order to close the tap.

Claims: A tap comprising a valve housing (17) having an inlet port (28) therein for introducing a liquid thereinto, the valve housing (17) having a circumferential wall (18, 19) defining a housing passage (18c) axially extending therein to communicate with the inlet port (28), and an attachment flange (20) mounted to the outer end of the valve housing (17); and a tubular valve member (30) telescopically received in the housing passage (18c) for axial movement, the valve member (30) having a first valve aperture (34) therein, a circumferential wall (31a) having a second valve aperture (37) therethrough, the circumferential wall (31a) defining a valve passage (31b) communicating the second valve aperture (37) to the first valve aperture (34), and an outer end which is closed; the valve member (30) having an open position in which the first valve aperture (34) thereof is in liquid flow communication with the housing passage (18c) to pass liquid, introduced through the inlet port (28) into the housing passage (18c), via the valve passage (31b) to the second valve aperture (37); characterised in that the inlet port (28) is formed in the inner end of the valve housing (17) and the first valve aperture (34) is formed in the inner end portion of the valve member (30), and in that a dispensing means (43; 53; 63) is provided for dispensing liquid externally from the valve passage (31b), the dispensing means (43; 53; 63) being attached to the valve member (30) for movement relative thereto between an open position in which to open the second valve aperture (37) to allow liquid to flow from the valve passage (31b) externally through the second valve aperture (37) and a closed position in which to close the second valve aperture (37). A tap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the valve member (30) has an axis (X), and wherein the dispensing means (43; 53; 63) comprises a dispensing ring member (43; 53; 63) fitted to the valve member (30) for angular movement about the axis (X) of the valve member (30). A tap as claimed in claim 2, wherein the dispensing ring member (43; 63) is fitted around the valve member (30) for the angular movement, the dispensing ring member (43; 63) having a dispensing aperture (46; 64) formed therethrough so that the dispensing aperture (46; 64) thereof is aligned with the second valve aperture (37) in the open position of the dispensing ring member (43; 63) while the dispensing aperture (46; 64) thereof is out of alignment with the second valve aperture (37) in the closed position. A tap as claimed in claim 2, wherein the dispensing ring member (53) is fitted within the circumferential wall (55) of the valve member (30) for the angular movement, the dispensing ring member (53) having a dispensing aperture (59) formed therethrough so that the dispensing aperture (59) thereof is aligned with the second valve aperture (37) in the open position of the dispensing ring member (53) while the dispensing aperture (59) is out of alignment with the second valve aperture (37) in the closed position. A tap as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the circumferential wall (19) of the valve housing (17) includes an inner circumferential surface (26) having at least one helical groove (27) formed therein to extend axially and angularly about the housing passage (18c), and wherein the valve member (30) has a pin (38a) engaged within the at least one helical groove (27) so that the axial movement of the valve member (30) causes angular movement thereof about the axis (X) thereof. A tap as claimed in claim 5, wherein the valve housing (17) has a pair of said helical grooves (27) formed in the inner circumferential surface (26) symmetrically about the axis of the valve housing (17). A tap as claimed in claim 2, wherein the circumferential wall (18, 19) of the valve housing (17) comprises a hollow cylindrical housing sleeve (18) which includes the inlet port (28) at one end thereof and an outer circumferential face (18d), the circumferential wall (18, 19) further comprising a hollow cylindrical housing body (19) concentrically mounted at one end thereof to the outer circumferential face (18d) of the housing sleeve (18) to surround a part (18b) of the housing sleeve (18) to define an annular cavity (25) in cooperation with the part (18b) of the housing sleeve (18), the housing body (19) having its opposite end remote from the one end of the housing sleeve (18) and including an inner circumferential face (26) having at least one helical groove (27) formed therein to extend axially and angularly about the housing passage (18c), the valve member (30) being axially movable between a retracted position in which to be substantially contained within the valve housing (17) and an extended position in which to project outwardly of the other end of the valve housing (17), the valve member (30) including a skirt (38) integrally formed therewith so tha the skirt (38) is inserted into the annular cavity (25) when the valve member (30) is in the retracted position, the skirt (38) including a pin (38a) engaged within the at least one helical groove (27) so that axial movement of the valve member (30) causes angular movement thereof about its axis (X). A tap as claimed in claim 5, including a cylindrical outer sleeve (40) mounted to the skirt (38) of the valve member (30) to externally and coaxially surround the valve member (30), the outer sleeve (40) extending towards the other end of the valve member (30) to define an annular cavity (41) in cooperation with the valve member (30), the outer sleeve (40) having a dispensing aperture (42) formed therethrough to be aligned with the second valve aperture (37), the dispensing ring member (43) being fitted around the valve member (30) and in the annular cavity (41) of the valve member (30), and the dispensing ring member (43) having a dispensing aperture (46) formed therethrough so that the dispensing aperture (46) thereof is aligned with the second valve aperture (37) in the open position of the dispensing ring member (43) while the dispensing aperture (46) thereof is out of alignment with the second valve aperture (37) in the closed position. A tap as claimed in claim 7 or claim 8, wherein the flange (20) of the valve housing (17) is mounted to the other end of the housing body (19) for supporting the valve housing (17) in a cantilever fashion. A tap as claimed in any of the preceding claims, wherein the one end of the valve housing (17) has a valve seat (28a) defining the inlet port (28), and wherein the one end portion of the valve member (30) includes one end wall (32) having a valve sealing face (32a) formed thereon for resting on the valve seat (28a) to close the inlet port (28) of the valve housing (17). A tap as claimed in any of the preceding claims, including a plug (48) threaded to the opposite end portion (35) of the valve member (30) for closing the opposite end portion (35). A liquid dispenser comprising a carton (11), a flexible bag (12) having an aperture (12a) and received within the carton (11) with the aperture (12a) at a lower level, the bag (12) containing a predetermined amount of liquid, and a tap (10) as claimed in any of the preceding claims communicating at the inlet port (28) of its valve housing (17) with the bag aperture (12a) and being supported at the attachment flange (20) of the valve housing (17) to the carton (11) to dispense liquid from the carton (11).

Inventors: HATA, HIDEAKI
Applicants: HATA, HIDEAKI
Application year: 1989
Main classification: B67D3
IPC codes: B65D77, B67D3