Bag-in-keg container with fixed pressure PRV

Abstract

A bag-in-keg container for a carbonated beverage has a container body C, a flexible bag B within the container body, and a valve closure V attached to the container body. The valve closure includes a gas inlet port (11), a liquid dispensing port (12), and spring-loaded valve member (6) to sealably close the gas inlet and liquid dispensing ports. An adapter (20) sealingly attached to the flexible bag B incorporates a bag PRV (26) to vent gas pressure from within the flexible bag. A container PRV (40) vents gas pressure from between the container body C and the flexible bag B. The bag PRV has a valve shuttle with one side exposed to gas pressure within the flexible bag B and an opposite side exposed to gas pressure within a sealed plenum chamber (37). The bag PRV therefore operates at a fixed pressure independent of the differential pressure between the bag and the outer container. This solves the problem of venting excess pressure within the keg whilst still allowing the dispensing gas to achieve the equilibrium.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.