[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/936,194, filed November 15, 2019, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0002] This specification relates to the field ofbeverage dispensing apparatus. More specifically, this application is directed toward systems and methods of an O-ring retaining apparatus for use in a bar gun.

BACKGROUND

[0003] Various systems exist to dispense beverages in retail establishments, bars, or restaurants. Included among these are what are termed in the industry various bar-gun apparatus. These systems dispense a beverage by transporting it from a storage location where it may be under pressure, to a flow control manifold rigidly attached to a bar or countertop, into a flexible tubing system to a dispenser apparatus or assembly, which may be called a bar gun. A user may actuate a control, for example a depressible button, on the bar gun to dispense one or more beverages or fluids into a container for consumption. Such bar guns include O-rings to limit leakage of the various fluids out of the bar gun.

[0004] Bar-gun apparatus are well-known in the art. U.S. Pat. 8,770,442 to Santy et. al shows an exemplary apparatus and method with approaches for the design of a valve stem to retain an O-ring in a bar gun for dispensing, which is incorporated by reference.

[0005] U.S. Pat. 8,418,888 to Schroeder et. al, shows an exemplary bar gun apparatus with approaches for the design of a backing plate that guides a valve stem for a valve in a bar gun, which is incorporated by.

[0006] U.S. Pat. 8,387,829 to Schroeder et. al, shows an exemplary bar gun apparatus with approaches for the design of a nozzle assembly to be attached to the end of a bar gun, which is incorporated by reference. SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE

[0007] The present disclosure describes improved systems and methods directed toward the use of an 0-ring retaining apparatus for use in a beverage di spensing apparatus such as a bar gun. The novel systems and methods in this disclosure enable a user of a bar gun to increase reliability of the O-ring seals in a bar gun, reducing leakage, reducing maintenance, and increasing service life of the bar gun.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0008] Fig. 1 is a partial exploded perspective view of a bar gun handle in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0009] Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of a bar gun handle in accordance with a first embodiment of the present di sclosure.

[0010] Fig. 3 is a top down image of a partially-assembled bar gun handle in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] Fig. 4 is a top down image of a parti ally -assembled bar gun handle with a butterfly actuation plate in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] Fig. 5 is a partial exploded perspective view of a bar gun handle in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0013] Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a retaining clip in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0014] Fig. 7 is an enlarged top perspective view of a bar gun handle showing retaining clip slots in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] Various embodiments of improved systems and methods of using an O-ring retaining apparatus in a beverage dispensing apparatus such as a bar gun will now be described with more particular reference to the attached figures. Hereafter, details are set forth by way of example to facilitate discussion of the disclosed subject matter. It should be apparent to a person of ordinary skill in the art, however, that the disclosed embodiments are exemplary and not exhaustive of all possible embodiments.

[0016] A first embodiment of a system and method of using an O-ring retaining apparatus in a bar gun is shown in Figs. 1-4. The apparatus comprises at least one plate rigidly fixed to the body of the bar gun handle to hold the O-rings in place when the bar gun is in operation and contains fluids under pressure. Persons of ordinary skill will recognize that the disclosed embodiment is exemplary only, and that the plate may be made of various metals, may be of different shapes, or that there may be a plurality of plates to retain the O-rings in place, or the means to hold the plate rigidly fixed to the body may vary.

[0017] Fig. 1 shows a partial exploded perspective view of a bar gun handle 100, which is a six-valve bar gun configured for a five-button control panel (not shown). The handle 100 is configured to accept six O-rings 102 with corresponding valve stems that proceed through holes in two retaining plates 103 as shown. The O-ring retaining plates 103 may be constructed of any suitable material, such as metal, plastic, food-grade plastic, other material. The retaining plates 103 are rigidly attached to the body 101 of the bar gun handle 100 by screws 104. In Fig. 1, retaining plates 103 are shown to be installed in a corresponding indentation in the exterior of body 101, but such configuration is not required. For example, there may be no indentation in body 101, or the indentation may be of different dimensions than of the retaining plates 103.

[0018] Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the bar gun handle 100 of Fig. 1, showing the vertical plane passing through the valve stems (again, the bar gun’s control panel is not shown). As illustrated by Fig. 2, in this embodiment, the installed retaining plate 103 sits on the surface of body 101 and is rigidly attached by screws 104 received in threaded holes or openings 104a in the body 101. A user may actuate a button on the control panel to open a valve, which in turns moves one or more valve stems up and down to dispense the desired liquid from the bar gun nozzle. When a user depresses or releases the buttons, O-rings 102 are held in place in their respective indentations in body 101 by retaining plate 103 as the valve stems move up and down shown in Fig. 2. Thus, the O-rings are retained in place.

[0019] Fig. 3 shows a top view of a parti ally -assembled embodiment of bar gun handle 100. Each of the O-rings 102 is shown installed in an indentation or cavity on the top of body 101, the cavity having roughly the same size as the O-rings. As such, the top of the O-ring may be in close proximity or approximately level with the top surface of the bar gun handle’s body 101. The installation of the O-rings 102 inside cavities on the top of body 101 is also shown in Fig. 2. Referring to Fig. 3 again, the four threaded holes 104a may be situated adjacent to the outermost O-ring indentations so as to receive the screws 104 for attaching the O-ring retaining plates 103, which are not shown in Fig. 3.

[0020] Fig. 4 shows a top view of a partially-assembled embodiment ofbar gun 100 with two butterfly plates 105, which are affixed by a washer 106 and screw 107, installed over the top of the O-ring retaining plates 103, which are affixed retain by screws 104. When a user depresses a button (not shown in Fig. 4), the button depresses one or both sides of the butterfly plate, which in turn actuates the valve stems shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.

[0021] As an additional feature, it may be possible to permanently or semipermanently affix or prevent tampering or removal of the retaining plates 103 by various means. For example, the screws 104 shown in Fig. 1 may be installed with thread locker, to inhibit their removal, or high adhesion stickers or caps may be affixed on top of them to inhibit access to the screws 104.

[0022] Other means of rigidly attaching, permanently or semi-permanently affixing, or preventing tampering or removal of the O-ring retaining plates 103 are possible. For example, instead of screws being used to hold down the retaining plates, a portion of the body of the bar gun handle may protrude up through the screw holes in the retaining plates 103. These protrusions may comprise posts of the material of construction of the body of the bar gun handle, such as food grade plastic. During manufacture, once the retaining plate is installed, the posts may permanently deformed, such as by high heat, thus making it difficult to remove the retaining plate. If a retaining plate is removed, it cannot be permanently reinstalled, and its prior removal will be evidence during subsequent inspection. In this embodiment, the retaining plates serve an anti-tamper feature in addition to retaining the O-rings in place during operation.

[0023] A second embodiment of a system and method of using an O-ring retaining apparatus in a bar gun is shown in Figs. 5-7. The apparatus comprises at least one retaining clip inserted into the body of the bar gun handle to hold the O-rings in place when the bar gun is in operation and contains fluids under pressure. The O-ring retaining clip may be made of a semi- flexible material. As used in this disclosure, “semi-flexible” refers to a material that is sufficiently flexible to be deformed by a stainless-steel tool, such as a flat-head screwdriver, but not manually by fingertips or fingernails. The O-ring retaining clip may be of different shapes and there may be a plurality of clips to retain the O-rings in place.

[0024] Fig. 5 shows a partial exploded perspective view of a bar gun handle 200, which is a six-valve bar gun configured for a five-button control panel (not shown). The handle 200 is configured to accept six toric joints or O-rings 202 with corresponding valve stems that proceed through holes in two retaining clips 203. The six O-rings 202 may have D-shaped cross sections or other cross-sectional shapes known in the art. The O-ring retaining clips 203 may be constructed of any suitable semi-flexible material, such as plastic, food-grade plastic, or other material. The retaining clips 203 may be inserted into one or more openings located in the body 201 of the bar gun handle 200 to restrain the O-rings 202.

[0025] Fig. 6 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of an O-ring retaining clip 203. As illustrated, the O-ring retaining claim 203 comprises an internal tab or flange 203a and an external tab or flange 203b.

[0026] Fig. 7 shows an enlarged top perspective view of bar gun handle 200 having slots or openings in the body 201 adapted to accept an O-ring retaining clip 203. As shown in Fig. 7, the body 201 may include an internal opening 204a and an external opening 204b to accommodate an O-ring retaining clip 203. The internal opening 204a is shaped to accept the corresponding internal tab 203a of an O-ring retaining clip 203, and the external opening 204b is shaped to accept the corresponding external tab 203b of O-ring retaining clip 203. Thus, the bar gun handle 200 includes two symmetric pairs of openings — an internal opening 204a and an external openings 204b for each of the two O-ring retaining clips 203. Once inserted into bar gun handle 200, the semi -flexible O-ring retaining clips 203 may be removed with a suitable stainless-steel tool or instrument.

[0027] A person of ordinary skill will recognize that the semi-flexible O-ring retaining clips 203 may additionally be permanently or semi-permanently affixed to the body 201 of bar gun handle 200. For example, after installation the O-ring retaining clips 203 may be affixed to the body 101 of the bar gun handle 100 by heat welding or by glue, epoxies, or other by chemical adhesi ves.

[0028] A person of ordinary skill will further recognize that the disclosed O-ring retaining plate 103 and O-ring retaining clip 203 are not restricted to bar gun handles with only six valves, but that many alternatives are possible, including the number of valves. Similarly, a person of ordinary skill will recognize that the disclosed O-ring retaining plates and O-ring retaining clips are not restricted to a bar gun handle with a control panel with only five buttons. Possible alternatives may include a control panel of any multiplicity of buttons.

[0029] While the subject of this specification has been described in connection with one or more exemplary embodiments, it is not intended to limit the claims to the particular forms set forth. On the contrary, the appended claims are intended to cover such alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may be included within their spirit and scope.