Apparatus for dispensing a pressurized liquid

Apparatus for dispensing pressurized liquid from a container having a top end, said apparatus comprising:

• a cap closing and sealing the top of said container;
• a siphon tube having inlet and outlet ends, said inlet end extending through said cap and into the liquid in said container;
• and
• a manually actuable throttling, and diffusing valve connected to the outlet end of said siphon tube above said cap, said valve including a restricted flow passage for throttling liquid flowing out from said siphon tube and into said valve, said flow passage having a gradually increasing flow cross-section in a downstream direction to diffuse flow therethrough by gradually reducing the pressure of the flowing liquid from the container interior pressure to ambient pressure;
• wherein said throttling and diffusing valve comprises:
• a valve chamber having an inlet port connected to the outlet end of said siphon tube;
• a valve member disposed in said chamber and movable over a range of positions from a closed position to an open position, said valve in said closed position blocking flow of liquid into said chamber;
• wherein, in each position of said range of positions, said valve member and said chamber define said restricted flow passage having a cross-section presented transversely to the flowing liquid that gradually increases in area as the flow proceeds downstream;
• wherein said valve chamber has a generally conical configuration diverging in a downstream direction with said inlet port axially disposed at its upstream end, and wherein said valve member has a generally conical configuration and is disposed substantially coaxially in said chamber, wherein said restricted flow passage is defined by space between said valve member and a wall of said chamber and presents a substantially annular cross-section transverse to flow at all points along said restricted flow passage, said annular cross-section increasing in circumference at successive downstream locations in said flow passage;
• and
• wherein said valve member includes a rounded forward end for establishing a pressure stagnation point in liquid flowing into said valve chamber via said inlet port, and for guiding flowing liquid around said forward end and into said restricted flow passage, said rounded forward end being disposed to seal said inlet port in said closed position of said valve member.

A manually actuable throttling and diffusing valve adapted for connection to the outlet end of a flow path for throttling and diffusing pressurized liquid flowing through the flow path to thereby gradually reduce the pressure of the flowing liquid to ambient pressure, said throttling and diffusing valve comprising:

• a valve chamber having an inlet port connected to the outlet end of said flow path;
• and
• a valve member disposed in said chamber and movable over a range of positions from a closed position to an open position, said valve in said closed position blocking flow of liquid into said chamber;
• wherein, in each position of said range of positions, said valve member and said chamber define a restricted flow passage having a cross-section presented transversely to the flowing liquid that restricts and thereby throttles flow entering said inlet port, and wherein said restricted flow passage gradually increases in area as flow proceeds downstream in said chamber to thereby diffuse the flowing liquid and reduce the pressure thereof to ambient pressure;
• wherein said valve chamber has a generally conical configuration diverging in a downstream direction with said inlet port axially disposed at its upstream end, and wherein said valve chamber has a generally conical configuration and is disposed substantially coaxially in said chamber, wherein said restricted flow passage is defined by space between said valve member and a wall of said chamber and presents a substantially annular cross-section transverse to flow at all points along said restricted flow passage, said annular cross-section increasing in circumference at successive downstream locations in said restricted flow passage;
• wherein said valve member includes a rounded forward end for establishing a pressure stagnation point in the liquid flowing into said valve chamber via said inlet port, and for guiding flowing liquid around said forward end and into said restricted flow passage, said rounded forward end being disposed to seal said inlet port in said closed position of said valve member.