Cleaning Device For Beverage Dispensers

Abstract

A tubular housing receives the pipe of a standard beer keg tap or pump. Water is forced, under pressure, through the tubular housing, pipe and pump in order to clean it out.

Description

Our invention relates to a cleaning device for beverage dispensers and more particularly to a device for cleaning a tap dispenser for beer, or the like.

Beer kegs have standard size and shape openings for receiving taps or pumps which are adapted to pump the beer out of the keg and into any suitable glass, mug, pitcher, or other containers. After a short period of time, the tap or pump collects sediment, becomes fouled, and needs cleaning. This is not easily done since the long pipe which projects down into the keg is an awkward shape and since the pump parts are difficult to reach or clean.

Accordingly, an object of our invention is to provide a cleaning device that is designed and adapted to fit any conventional beer keg pump attachment.

Another object of our invention is to provide a device of the character described which is easy to operate, without any special training.

Still another object is to provide a beer tap cleaner that may be used without requiring any special tools or equipment.

A further object is to provide a device that is actuated exclusively by hot water under normal city pressure.

A still further object is to provide a tap cleaning device, into which chemicals can be easily inserted, which is automatically flushed during the cleaning operation.

In keeping with an aspect of the invention, an elongated housing is adapted to receive the tap or pump used for dispensing beer from a keg. Whenever the tap needs flushing and cleaning, it is placed in a device that may be back flushed with hot water applied under city pressure. A chemical, such as sal soda, or the like, may be forced through the dispensing tube and pump or tap. The device is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, yet highly efficient for the purpose intended.

Other and further objects of our invention will become more apparent as the description proceeds, when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the device constituting our invention having a conventional beer keg adapter associated therewith; and

FIG. 2 is a lateral cross-sectional view of the inner tube of the beer keg tap and the outer tube of the cleaning device at the line 2--2, in FIG. 1.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts and features throughout the views. More particularly, the character 10 identifies a conventional fitting for applying a beer keg tap to the keg. The beer keg is not shown. The collar or fitting 10 is equipped with a shut-off valve 11 which has an outlet tube 12 and an operating lever 13. Or, the part 11 may be a pump operated by a handle 13 for drawing beer from a keg. The bottom of the fitting 10 supports an intake pipe or tubular member 14 which extends downwardly into the keg when the device is employed as a beer tap. Thus, by operating handle 13, the beer is caused to flow up the pipe 14, through pump or valve 11 and out the pipe 12.

The device constituting our invention includes a housing 15 designed to receive and threadedly engage the collar 10 at 16. An inlet tube 17 threadedly engages the housing 15 at an inlet 18. The bottom of the housing 15 threadedly supports an outer tubular member 19 having an inside diameter which is larger than the outside diameter of the intake tube 14 and longer than the intake tube 14.

The lower end of the outer tube 19 is provided with a cap 20 and a gasket 21 for sealing the tube 19. The gasket 21 is here shown as being disposed between the cap 20 and the extreme lower end of the outer tube 19. Obviously the method of attaching the tube 19 to the housing 15 and the cap 20 may be in any conventional and efficient means, such as the threaded means shown.

In operation, the device functions as follows:

The fitting 10 is first removed from a beer keg (not shown). The shut-off valve or pump 11, the outlet tube 12, and the intake tubular member 14 are removed as a unit. The entire assembly is then inserted into the housing 15 with the intake tube 14 extending downwardly into the outer tube 19. A predetermined amount of a chemical, such as sal soda, is deposited in the bottom of tube 19, as shown at 22. Hot water is applied under pressure into the tube 17, the housing 15, tube 19, tube 14, member 11, and tube 12, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 1. As the water flows downwardly, it comes into contact with the chemicals 22, which forms a mixture that is forced upwardly through the tube 14 and the valve or pump 11 and out the tube 12. This flow is disposed into a conventional drain.

From the above description it should be apparent that the device performs efficiently. Although we have shown a specific construction of the parts and features, we are fully cognizant that many changes may be made without effecting the operativeness of the invention. Accordingly, we reserve the right to make such changes as we may deem necessary or convenient. The appended claims are to be construed to cover all equivalents which do not depart from the spirit or the scope of our invention.

Claims

We claim:

1. A device for cleaning a beer keg tap rod fitting,

said fitting comprising an elongated tap rod intake tube which is open at its bottom end and which terminates at its upper end in a threaded collar, a valve or pump, and an outlet tube,

said cleaning device comprising an elongated tubular housing surrounding and enclosing said elongated tap rod intake tube and terminating at one end in a threaded opening for receiving said threaded collar and at the other end in a clean-out cap,

and means in said threaded collar for introducing a cleaning fluid into said housing under pressure sufficient to force said fluid around the underside of said valve or pump, downwardly through said housing, around the outside of said elongated intake tube, and then upwardly, then through said intake tube, threaded collar, valve or pump, and outlet tube.

2. The device of claim 1 and means in said housing for dispensing a chemical into said cleaning fluid flowing through said housing.

3. The device of claim 2 wherein said housing is a cylindrical pipe which is co-axial with said intake tube,

said threaded collar being attached to the top of said cylindrical pipe,

said intake tube depending from said threaded collar and downwardly into said housing.

4. The device of claim 3 and means in the bottom of said housing for dispensing said chemical.

5. The device of claim 4 wherein said cleaning fluid is water and said chemical is sal soda.