A closure (1) for a beverage keg (90) is provided, the closure (1) comprising an inlet for admitting a pressurised gas into a headspace of the beverage keg (90) and a valve housing (20) defining at least a portion of the closure (1). The valve housing (20) has a housing wall (21) that defines at least a portion of the valve housing (20). The closure (1) is provided with a barrier (29), separate from the inlet, that is integrally formed with the housing wall (21) and configured to seal the closure (1) such that the closure (1) is able to retain the pressurised gas within the keg (90) in an unvented configuration. The barrier thickness is configured such that the barrier (29) ruptures by internal pressure from within the keg (90) in order to switch the closure (1) into a vented configuration in which fluid communication between the headspace of the keg (90) and an exterior of the closure (1) is possible, through the ruptured barrier (29).

Beverage container (1) and valve (6) for a beverage container (1). Valve (6), comprising a base element (26) and a snap ring or snap fingers (48) extending there from, positioned around an opening (27) through the base element (26), wherein within the snap ring or between the snap fingers (48) a valve housing (24) is provided, having at least one inlet opening (9) and a spring loaded valve body (29), biased towards the base element (26) and closing off the opening (27), wherein the valve body (29) is operable through the opening (27) for opening a fluid connection between the inlet opening (9) or openings and the opening (27) in the base element (26).

The present invention relates to a dispense head configured to be coupled to a beverage container above a container valve arranged in the beverage container in a dispensing system, the dispense head comprising a housing having a first end and a second end, a hollow piston arranged displaceably in an axial direction within the housing, the piston being connected to a handle so that upon activation of the handle, the piston will be displaced axially towards and beyond a second end of the housing in order to open the container valve, and a gas inlet arranged in the housing, which via a fluid channel is fluidly connected with a space extending along the piston and between the housing and the piston, wherein the housing comprises an opening extending through the housing and being in fluid communication with the fluid channel, and wherein a valve is arranged in the fluid channel opposite the opening, the valve having a first position in which the gas inlet is fluidly connected with an inside of the beverage container when the piston has opened the container valve, and a second position in which the gas inlet is closed and the inside of the beverage container is fluidly connected with the opening so that a gas present in the beverage container may be pressure equalised with the environment before the dispense head is decoupled from the beverage container. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a dispensing system for dispensing beverage and to a method for dispensing beverage.

The valve closure (e.g. an A-type closure) has a closure body (1) for attachment to a container, a gas inlet port (14), a liquid dispensing port (25), and a valve member (6) to sealably close the gas inlet and liquid dispensing ports. An over-pressure relief valve (40) is configured to release gas from within the container in the event that an internal pressure limit is exceeded, and a user-operable depressurising lever (50) is arranged to permit the over-pressure relief valve to be manually opened. The over-pressure relief valve (40) comprises a plunger (53) which is urged against a seat (52) by a spring (57), and the depressurising lever (50) incorporates an abutment (58) for the spring (57). The plunger (53) includes an arrowhead formation (59) by which the depressurising lever (50) engages the plunger to hold the valve open during manual operation. The depressurising lever (50) incorporates an integral hinge (62) which also forms a frangible connection so that the lever becomes detached from the closure body and permanently opens the over-pressure release valve when manually operated.

A closure (1) for a beverage keg (90), comprising an inlet for admitting a pressurised gas into a headspace of the beverage keg (90) and a venting aperture (27) separate from the inlet. The venting aperture (27) is configured to provide fluid communication between the headspace of the keg (90) and an exterior of the closure (1). The closure (1) is provided with a barrier (29) that is welded to the closure (1) and configured to seal the venting aperture such that the closure (1) is able to retain the pressurised gas within the keg (90) in an unvented configuration. The barrier (29) is configured to rupture and/or to become at least partially detached from the closure (1) by internal pressure from within the keg (90) in order to switch the closure (1) into a vented configuration in which the venting aperture (27) is no longer sealed by the barrier (29).

Holder for beverages, whereby the holder includes a rigid outer holder that is provided with a mouth for inserting a flexible inner holder, whereby the holder also includes an adapter, that is designed to be provided on the mouth and which is designed to be coupled to a coupling element of such an inner holder, so that in this way an inner holder, with a coupling element that is too small to be provided on the mouth directly, can nonetheless be provided on the mouth. The outer holder and the adapter are fitted with a complementary first unit to lock their mutual position when they are coupled, whereby the locking is repeatedly reversible.

The present invention relates to a dispense head configured to be coupled to a beverage container above a container valve arranged in the beverage container in a dispensing system, the dispense head comprising a housing having a first end and a second end, a hollow piston arranged displaceably in an axial direction within the housing, the piston being connected to a handle so that upon activation of the handle, the piston will be displaced axially towards and beyond a second end of the housing in order to open the container valve, and a gas inlet arranged in the housing, which via a fluid channel is fluidly connected with a space extending along the piston and between the housing and the piston, wherein the housing comprises an opening extending through the housing and being in fluid communication with the fluid channel, and wherein a valve is arranged in the fluid channel opposite the opening, the valve having a first position in which the gas inlet is fluidly connected with an inside of the beverage container when the piston has opened the container valve, and a second position in which the gas inlet is closed and the inside of the beverage container is fluidly connected with the opening so that a gas present in the beverage container may be pressure equalised with the environment before the dispense head is decoupled from the beverage container. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a dispensing system for dispensing beverage and to a method for dispensing beverage.

A device for dispensing liquid from a container includes a dispensing tube to dispense the liquid through a dispensing valve. A gas tube feeds pressurized gas into the container. The upstream end of the gas tube connects to a source of pressurized gas. A three way valve is coupled to the downstream end of the gas tube. The three way valve includes a keg duct in communication with the interior of the container, a gas duct connected to the downstream end of the gas tube, and a vent duct. The three way valve can switch from a dispensing position in which the keg duct is in communication with the gas duct, and out of communication with the vent duct, to a venting position in which the keg duct is in fluid communication with the vent duct and out of fluid communication with the gas duct.

A closure (1) for a beverage keg (90) is provided, comprising a valve housing (20) and a valve element (30), which is movable with respect to the valve housing (20) inwardly into an open state and outwardly into a closed state. A locking system comprises a locking element (50) that is movable with respect to the valve housing (20) and is capable of holding the valve element (30) in the open state. The locking element (50) comprises a body portion (51) located inside the valve housing (20) and a leg (56) that extends outwardly from the body portion (51) to the exterior of the valve housing (20). The leg (56) comprises an engagement element (57) that is configured to engage a stop formation fixed with respect to the valve housing (20) in order to limit the maximum extent of movement of the locking element (50) in an upward direction relative to the valve housing (20) after beverage has been dispensed from the keg (90).

The present invention provides a valve device (1) for a container (100) for supplying and dispensing gaseous beverages, comprising a main valve body (1) connected to said container (100) by means of a connecting member (101), said main valve body (1) comprising a supplying and 0 dispensing port (10) of said beverages to/from said container (100), sealing means (2) arranged onto said dispensing port (10), elastic means (3) cooperating with said sealing means (2), beverage dispensing means (4) arranged internally to said main body (1), and pressure controlling means (5,40,41) for controlling a pressure threshold value within said container (100), the valve device it is characterized in that said dispensing means (4) and said pressure threshold value control means (5,40,41) comprises a single member (4,40,41) mounted in a movable manner inside said valve device (1), the arrangement being such that said dispensing means (4) are movable from a first position wherein they cooperate with said sealing means (2) for sealing the gaseous beverage within said container (100), and a second position wherein the gas is spilled out from the container (100) upon exceeding a preset threshold pressure value of gas within said container (100).