US1966384A - Beer barrel bung - Google Patents

Description

July 10, 1934. 5 GABEL T A 1,966,384

BEER BARREL BUNG Filed Oct. 28, 1933 Patented July 10, 193

ISamuelGab'eI; G m v gjmry i lptnatotlemm 28, 1933, Serial- No.':;695,670 g This invention relates. tofa bung especially intended for use on'beerb'arrels, and has for an object to provide a bung which will have all the strength of the normal bung and yet at the same J time wherein the spigot may be driven into the barrel through the bung with much less difliculty.

A further object of this invention is to provide a beer barrel bung which will allow the stopper portion to be easily driven therefrom by the spigt without exerting more than the minimum strain on the annulus of the bung, thus eliminating the possibility of splitting the annulus.

A further object of this invention is to provide a beer bung which is an improvement over the 1. bung disclosed in the pending application, Serial No. 689,626, filed September 15, 1933, by the same inventors.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, as will hereinafter become apparent, this invention comprises the constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts, hereinafter set forth, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical portion of a beer keg or 5 barrel showing this improved bung mounted thereon.

Fig. 2 is a front view of the improved bung.

Fig. 3 is a rear view of the same.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4-4 39 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view showing the stopper portion in the process of dropping away from the bung as the spigot is being driven therethrough. There is shown at a fragmentary portion of the beer barrel having a bung hole 11 closed by the bung 12, through which the spigot 13 is to be driven. The bung 12 includes the annulus portion 14 which fits within the bung'hole 11 and the stopper portion 15, which closes the opening 16 through the annulus portion 14.

One great defect of beer bungs as conventionally made is that the spigot 13, when driven through the bung 12, is very apt to split the 4 annulus portion 14 as it knocks the stopper portion away therefrom. This is highly undesirable for obvious reasons in that it allows the contents of the barrel to escape through the split and further allows the gas pressure within @Q the contents to be reduced, due to the escape through the split annulus. The purpose of this improvement is to eliminate this undesirable feature.

In the front of the stopper portion 15 a cir- ;cular groove 17 is countersunk on the front wall 18" of'thestoppenportion 15. This groove I' 7 is circular, corresponding to the shape of the inside of the aperture 16, and is of slightly lesser diameter than the diameter of the aperture 16 but concentric therewith, thereby providing a shoulder 18 between the groove 1'7 and the side walls of the annulus portion 16.

An annular groove 19 is cut into the rear wall 20 of the stopper portion 15, it being observed that the diameter of the groove 19 is greater both than the diameter of the groove 17 and of the annulus aperture 16.

It will be observed that the added depth of the grooves 17 and 19 is less than the thickness of the stopper portion 15.

In operation the spigot 13 is driven through the bung 12 in the conventional manner, the end of the spigot 13 being placed against the front Wall 18' of the stopper portion 15 and being driven thereagainst by a sharp blow, thereby forcing the stopper portion 15 away from the annulus 14. Due to the presence of the grooves 17 and 19, the stopper 15 breaks away between the bottom of the grooves 17 and 19, as shown at 21 in Figure 5, the thickness of the material joining the bottom of these two grooves 17 and 19 being substantially less than the thickness of the annulus 14.

As a result of this, the stopper portion 15 breaks away much more quickly and easily than with the conventional bung and gives way before any substantial strain can be transmitted to the annulus portion 14, thereby eliminating the possibility of splitting the annulus. Furthermore, the annulus 14 is reinforced by the greater thickness thereof, due to the presence of the shoulder 18 between the groove 17 and the walls of the aperture annulus 16.

On the other hand, in so far as serving as an effective closure member, the bung of this invention is just as strong as the conventional bung, for the pressure exerted on the back face 20 of the stopper portion 15 is transmitted through the joining section to the annulus 14. The bung is, therefore, just as strong as the conventional bung in so far as sealing the contents of the barrel is concerned, but is much more easily opened due to the presence of these concentric grooves at the opposite sides of the stopper portion 15.

The novel features and the operation of this device will be apparent from the foregoing description. While the device has been shown and the structure described in detail, it is obvious that this is not to be considered limited to the exact form disclosed and that any changes may be made therein within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Having thus set forth and disclosed the nature of this invention, what is claimed is:

1. A bung comprising an annulus portion, a stopper portion, said annulus portion having an aperture leading to said stopper portion, and an annular groove cut into the face of said stopper portion, the diameter of said annular groove being slightly less than the diameter of said annulus portion, thereby providing a shoulder between the groove and the annulus aperture.

2. A beer barrel bung comprising an annulus portion, a stopper portion, said annulus portion having an aperture leading to said stopper portion, a groove concentric with said annulus aperture and of lesser diameter cut into the face of said stopper portion, and an annular groove of greater diameter than the diameter of said annulus portion cut into the rear face of said stopper portion.

3. A beer barrel bung comprising an annulus portion, a stopper portion, said annulus portion having an aperture leading to said stopper portion, a groove concentric with said annulus aperture and of lesser diameter cut into the face of said stopper portion, and an annular groove cut into the rear face of said stopper portion, the added depth as of said grooves being less than the thickness of the stopper portion.

4. A beer barrel bung comprising an annulus portion, a stopper portion, said annulus portion having an aperture leading to said stopper portion, a groove concentric with said annulus aperture and of lesser diameter cut into the face of said stopper portion, and an annular groove of greater diameter than the diameter of said annulus portion cut into the rear face of said stopper portion, the added depth as of said grooves being less than the thickness of the stopper portion.

SAMUEL GABEL. DAVID A. FENICHELL.

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