Apparatus for saturating liquids with gas

The invention relates to a device for gassing a liquid, and in particular to a portable device for the preparation of carbonated drinks. The invention relates in particular to such devices that are intended for domestic use and are adapted to be actuated manually.

In known gassing devices, a bottle containing a liquid for gassing is loaded into the device and the gas is introduced into the device and passes through the liquid contained in the bottle. The bottle is then removed once the gassing is complete.

The gas used for gassing is supplied from a cylinder specific to the device, which is replaced when exhausted. A valve is provided to regulate the gas flow from the cylinder, which may be part of the cylinder in the case of rechargeable cylinders or may be part of the device in the case of disposable cylinders. Upon actuation of the valve, gas can enter the device and through the fluid, creating a pressure within the device and the bottle that is limited to a given maximum level by the bleed-off and safety valve. Upon completion of gassing, the pressure inside the device and the bottle is lowered to atmospheric levels by opening the valve.

When using plastic bottles, an undesirable and often dangerous phenomenon may appear. Thus, if the bleed and safety valves malfunction during operation of the device, gas pressure may continue to build up inside the bottle until the bottle material begins to flow and the bottle plastically expands. The expansion of the bottle will take place at its outer diameter, which will become the most stressed area. In prior art devices, this expansion can take place until the bottle surface reaches the internal shape of the surrounding recess and the increase in pressure continues until the bottle or device is damaged. This often causes the bottle to explode and may injure the user. Prior art devices are unable to prevent or control such harmful phenomena.

Even though the valves are working perfectly and no malfunction occurs, the bottle may be defective or may become defective due to misuse. Then a distortion of the body edge or the shape of the base may occur, combined with a change in material properties. This can cause the bottle to break when subjected to stress from an increase in internal pressure. The devices of the prior art make it possible to load the deformed bottles in the usual way and load them with pressure.

The object of the invention is to provide a device for the preparation of carbonated drinks which is completely safe even when using plastic bottles. In particular, it is an object of the invention to provide such a device that will prevent a dimensionally defective bottle from being subjected to pressure, in particular if it is not of the correct shape and is, for example, larger or smaller than it should be.

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Another object of the invention is to provide such a device which prevents the bottle from exploding or destroying the device itself if the bottle is flowing and expanding during pressurization.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a device of the type described which prevents undesirable and / or dangerous gas discharge.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the type described, the safety features of which are effective even when the user actuates a gassing regulation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear later in the description.

Device for gassing liquids in bottles according to the invention, comprising a body for receiving a bottle containing a gassed liquid, a gassing head assembly, an assembly in the body for embedding a gas bottle, with a valve for allowing gas to flow from the gas bottle to the bottle through the gassing head of the liquid contained in the bottle , an outlet valve assembly for relieving excess pressure from a bottle and a pressure relief valve assembly for relieving pressure from the bottle after the gassing has finished and the bottle has been removed from the body, further comprising an assembly for gas-tight connection of the bottle to the gassing head and touching the resistance. a surface formed from the body portion and in contact with the bottle when the bottle is inserted into the body. The actuator of the pressure relief valve assembly to relieve pressure and prevent pressure build-up when the bottle is not in contact with the stop surface and in the correct predetermined position corresponding to the correct shape and dimensions of the bottle, or displaced out of position due to expansion during gassing.

Preferably, the assembly for connecting the bottle to the gas-tight gassing head has a hinge that allows the bottle to swing about and come into contact with the abutment surface, and the actuator valve assembly for actuating the pressure relief valve assembly has a cam and a plunger, the cam with is fixedly supported by the body of the device and shaped to actuate the spindle when the bottle axis and hence the receiving unit, are angularly displaced from each correct position. It is also preferred that the minimum displacement angle that the cam will cause the cam to actuate the plunger is of the order of 2 degrees and corresponds to a misalignment of the plunger contact point with the cam by 1.7-3 millimeters, and that the minimum displacement angle required and the corresponding offset are less by about one. the third, when the bottle diameter is smaller than the norm than when it is larger than the norm.

In a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention, it comprises two valves, one of which acts as an outlet valve to release pressure, even if the bottle is in its correct position when the pressure has reached the first threshold and the gassing is complete, while the second valve operates in a similar manner at the higher value. the second threshold to provide additional protection in the event of a malfunction of the first valve. In such an embodiment, the device has means to actuate the second valve to relieve pressure when the bottle is moved from the correct position, even though the second pressure threshold value has not been reached. As stated above, the valve actuation assembly for actuating the pressure relief valve assembly preferably includes a cam and a spindle.

The cam has a contour that extends to both sides of the position of the shank corresponding to the correct shape and dimensions of the bottle, which actuates the plunger to open the pressure relief valve assembly when the axis of the bottle is moved in the other direction from the position corresponding to the correct shape and dimensions of the bottle, the bottles being too thin or excessively thin portions of the outline will also not be inflated under pressure.

In an embodiment of the invention the abutment surface is located in front of the vertical center of gravity of the bottle and the part of the gassing head that oscillates therewith, the bottle will swing into contact with the surface under the influence of gravity when

167 522 the bottle is attached to the gassing head, moreover, the gassing head assembly is rotatable relative to the body around a hinge transversely shifted from the cumulative center of gravity of the head and the filled bottle attached thereto, and the abutment surface is so positioned that the bottle attached to the head will tilt into contact therewith. under the influence of gravity. It is also advantageous that the bumper assembly protecting the lever that opens the valve that allows flow from the gas cylinder to the bottle from the open valve when the bottle attached to the gassing head is not in the correct position and the bumper assembly is only active when the gassing head is in position. shifted from its proper position by an angle greater than that required to cause the pressure relief valve assembly to open.

The invention will be shown in an embodiment in the drawing, in which fig. 1 shows a device according to an embodiment of the invention in a vertical view with a partial cross-section, fig. 2 - a part of the device in fig. 1 enlarged in a vertical cross-section, fig. 3 - detail from 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane III-III in FIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrow, and FIG. 4 (a), (b) and (c) schematically illustrate, in an enlarged view with detail, how a pressure release valve according to an embodiment of the invention is actuated to release pressure or prevent it from being built up when a bottle that is in the device is not in operation. correct position.

The device of the invention comprises a main body generally indicated by 10. A bottle mounting system is mounted in the body 10, namely a gassing head assembly 11 suspended from a hinge 12 of the body 10, which can swing outward (counterclockwise as seen in Fig. 1) for bottle insertion 13. After the bottle has been seated in the head assembly and released, it will rotate back up under its own weight as it pivots around the hinge 12 until it contacts a surface 14 hereinafter referred to as a counter surface. This will occur because the center of gravity of the bottle 13 together with the gassing unit is shifted outwardly with respect to the axis of the hinge 12. If the profile of the bottle 13 does not match the assumed profile, then only its parts, especially the parts protruding outwards in relation to the assumed profile, will touch the surface 14. To compare the profile of the bottle with the profile of the supporting surface, other direct or indirect systems are provided, which can be installed in the device in different positions and in different ways to detect any discrepancy between them.

The bottle 13 containing the gassing liquid is connected to the head 11 and is held in connection therewith by an external thread 15 existing on the bottle which engages with an internal thread 16 existing in the head 11, or some other suitable arrangement, flange 17 or similar arrangement on the bottle. the neck of the bottle to limit the distance at the most, the bottle 13 is screwed into the gassing head assembly 11. When fully screwed in, the open top end of the bottle 13 rests against a resilient gasket 18, preferably made of rubber and provided with a rigid reinforcement sleeve 19, or the like, with sufficient pressure to form a gas and liquid tight seal. Of course, if the bottle 13 does not fit properly against the gasket 18, the gas and liquid tight sealing will not be effective and the bottle will not be subjected to pressurization.

The gassing head assembly 11 has a tube 20 that passes through a gasket 18 connected to the bottle neck opening 13 down into the interior of the bottle 13. The tube 20 is threaded at its lower end for engagement with the threads of the nozzle 21, which has a small opening 22 adapted to fit. tube 20 hole at plug 23.

The gas head 11 comprises an upper part 24 and a lower part 25 which is connected to the upper part in a known manner, for example by screws 26. The seal is achieved by means of a ring 27 which is part of the gasket 18 and provides a liquid and gas tight seal. between the two parts 24, 25 of the gas head 11.

The upper end of the tube 20 is screwed onto a thread 28 into the upper part 24 of the gas head 11. The upper end of the tube 20 connects to a passage or opening 29 which is connected by a fitting 31 to a flexible tube 30 which ends in an opening 32 of the gas cylinder holder 33 and is fixed there by a coupling 34. The opening 32 in turn communicates with the chamber 36 of the cylinder holder 33.

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The cylinder holder 33 is internally threaded at 37 to thread an externally threaded sleeve 38 of the valve body 39 which is threaded at 40 onto the neck 41 of a small gas cylinder 42. The valve body 39 is part of a valve assembly 45 that fits each gas cylinder 42 so that the used gas cylinder can be removed together with the valve assembly from the cylinder holder 33 and a fully charged cylinder with its own valve assembly 45 can fit into its place.

The valve body 39 has a valve chamber 44 which houses a spring 43. The valve assembly 45 further includes a valve needle 46 connected to a seal 47, and the needle is biased by a spring 43 against a seat formed in the lower end of an insert 49 which is provided with a bore. through which the projection 50 of the pin 46 passes.

The cylinder holder 33 is provided with a plunger 51 pressed by an outer, manually operated, finger-operated swing lever 52 rotating about a pin 53 on the cylinder holder 33. Pressing on the lever 52 causes the plunger 51 to move downward, and depressing the projection 50 of the valve needle 46 downwards overcomes the response of the spring 43, thereby allowing gas from the cylinder 42 to pass through the opening in the liner 49 into the chamber 36 of the cylinder holder 33, from where via the flexible conduit 30 and then a tube 20 that passes down into the bottle 13 containing the carbonated liquid. When the lever 52 is released, the spring 43 again pushes the valve needle 46 up against its seat and closes the valve 45 while simultaneously bringing the plunger 51 up to its original position. The valve body 39 may be provided with an additional safety device, such as a blown diaphragm 55, which acts to relieve excess pressure in the gas cylinder 42.

The finger-actuated lever 52 can be depressed when the gassing head 11 is integral with the plate 56 which, as seen in Figure 1, interferes with actuation of the lever 52 when it is twisted away from the gassing position by an angle greater than a predetermined angular deviation as will follow. explained in this specification to prevent undesirable or dangerous gas discharge.

The gassing head assembly 11 includes an upper gassing head 24 assembled with a pressure relief valve suspension assembly 57 and a safety valve suspension assembly 58, both attached to the upper gassing head 24 by bolts 59, and shown in greater detail in FIG. 3. The inner chamber 70 of the upper gassing head 24 connects to the pressure relief valve suspension assembly 57 via a bore hole 60 and to the safety valve suspension assembly 58 via a bore hole 61.

The pressure relief valve suspension assembly 57 includes a body 62 mated to the pressure exhaust valve 63 and a plunger 64 with a ring 65 that seals against the seat 66 of the suspension body 62 upon an increase in internal pressure. In the absence of pressure, plunger 64 falls back under gravity until its lower end rests gently on the valve plug 67, which is biased against the seat by spring 68. After pressure is applied to the system with the proper positioning of the gassing head, plunger 64 is pushed upward until a seal made of ring 65 in seat 66 is gas tight. Gdv the pressure in the system will reach a predetermined threshold value, for example 7.4 kgf / cm² and the gassing is complete, spring 68 will give way and gas will be released into the atmosphere.

Additionally, regardless of the degree of pressure in the bottle, when the gassing head 11 is twisted away from the correct position, plunger 64 will be depressed by cam 69 and will push ring 65 away from its seat allowing the pressure to drop as gas from chamber 70 will pass through or between plunger and plunger and plunger. a hole in the valve body 62. This is illustrated schematically in Fig. 4, which also shows the cam and plunger as enlarged detail. Fig. 4 (a) shows the bottle 13 having the correct standard profile so that the bottle is in the correct position when loaded into the machine. In this case, the plunger 64 of the suspension assembly 57 of the pressure relief valve assembly 57.65, 66 is close to the area 78 of the cam 69, which represents the recess in the profile of the cam and remains therebetween.

167 522 a small gap so that the plunger 64 is in its highest position, the poppet 67 rests against its seat, and the pressure relief valve is closed (if the pressure is below its threshold value, of course). If the bottle 13 'is bloated under pressure or has a diameter that is from the outset above the correct value at any point on the contour, as shown in Fig. 4 (b), the bottle will be shifted (counterclockwise when looking at the drawing) from its correct position. The point of contact of plunger 64 with cam 69, as shown in Fig. 4 (b), will move to the left as shown in the drawing and will now be on the cam surface 79 which is inclined outwardly relative to area 78 whereby plunger 64 will be depressed. , move ring 65 away from the face of its seat at 66 and relieve pressure. The same plunger actuation is when the bottle is below the correct standard diameter as shown in Fig. 4 (c). The contact point of plunger 64 with cam 69 will now be in portion 80 of the cam arc to the right (looking at the drawing) of area 78. The portion 80 is inclined more sharply than the portion 79 so that less angular displacement of the gassing head and less linear displacement of the plunger contact point with the cam will now be sufficient to move the ring 65 away from its face in seat 66 to relieve pressure. The plunger 75 of the safety valve 72 will similarly cooperate with the cam 77.

Actuation of the pressure relief valve in the situation of Fig. 4 (b) when plunger 64 has traveled a few millimeters, preferably not more than 3 mm, and more preferably about 1.7 mm, along the arc arc portion 78 of the cam. . In the described embodiment, the initial distance of axis 12 from the top of cam region 78 69 is 87mm, and a 3mm linear displacement of the plunger corresponds to an angular displacement of approximately 2 °. This zither indicates the order of magnitude of the angular displacement which actuates the plunger 64, and thus the sensitivity of the safety device represented by the ring 65 and its seat 66. Of course, the angular displacement may vary depending on the dimensions of the device and, for example, on the distance of an axis of displacement such as 12, from the correct contact point of plunger 64 and cam (which is the radius of angular displacement), from the distance from said axis to areas of the bottle where expansion may take place, and the size to which such expansion may be tolerated. The smallest linear displacement of plunger 64 relative to the axis that will move the ring 65 away from its seat 66 as described may also vary depending on these various dimensions mentioned, but can be easily determined by those skilled at any given point in time based on the value. the typical ones indicated in this description.

The plunger 64 will be actuated in the same manner to move the ring 65 away from its seat if a bottle is loaded into the machine the diameter of which is greater than that assumed at any point in its contour. The gassing head 11 will move angularly away from the correct position due to the enlarged diameter, exactly as a bottle 13 of the correct size and shape is loaded and expanded by increasing pressure, and the plunger 64 will move in the same way along the cam 69 and will therefore be depressed, thereby sliding the ring 65 away from its seat. The same values ​​of linear and angular displacement previously reported in this description for the inflated bottle case apply to this case.

On the other hand, if the diameter of the bottle 13 is below the normal value, the situation which will arise is as in Fig. 4 (c) and the smallest displacement which causes the ring 65 to move away from its seat to release pressure will be of the same order, but preferably smaller, on the other hand. an example of about one third of that which causes such actuation in the case of Fig. 4 (b). For example, this smallest value should preferably be no more than 2mm, and even more preferably around 1mm.

When gassing a liquid in a correctly sized bottle, the pressure is lowered once the gassing is complete and the pressure threshold has been reached, and the 13 "bottle is deflected out of the gassing head 11 in the direction required for the gassing.

167 522 to discharge a 13 "bottle counterclockwise as shown in the figure. The twisting of the gassing head 11 continues past the angle that actuates the valve 63, and at this time and before the position where the bottle can be removed from the device is reached, plunger 64 will be pressed downward by cam 69 and move the plug 67 away from its seat. This will not lower any pressure as the pressure should already be lowered normally, but provides additional safety in the event of any malfunction which may result in some pressure remaining in the system. Additionally, in the event that the plug sticks to its seat due to the device not being used for some time or for some other reason, it will be released when the plunger 64 is pressed by the cam 69 when the gassing head 11 is tilted forward to insert the bottle and this will ensure that the valve will function properly as the system pressure is increased.

The safety valve assembly 58 includes a safety valve suspension body 71 provided with a pressure relief valve 72 which includes a ball valve 73 and a spring 74 for pushing the ball 73 into its seat. A plunger 75 provided with a rubber ring 76 is slid-mounted in the body 71. When a predetermined threshold pressure slightly higher than the pressure threshold of the outlet valve, for example 9.1 kg / cm, is reached.² since the exhaust valve will not drop it for some reason, the spring 74 will yield, the valve ball 73 will move away from its seat, and pressure will be released from the bottle through the chamber 70 and the opening 61 to the atmosphere. The safety valve 72 will also be actuated whenever the gassing head assembly is deflected forward (counterclockwise in the figure) in a manner similar to the exhaust valve, as noted, since plunger 75 will abut and be pressed against cam 77. thereby moving the ball 73 away from its seat. However, the profile of the cam 77 and its relationship to the plunger 75 are such that the angular displacement required to actuate the safety valve 72 is greater than that required to actuate the valve 63, although less than that required to remove the bottle from the device. The above-mentioned action of the plunger 75 on the ball 73 will also occur when the gassing head is tilted from the front to insert the bottle 13 and thus guarantees the correct operation of the valve during the gassing procedure and thereafter, even if the ball 73 sticks to its seat due to insufficient use. device or for some other reason.

The abutment surface 14 is shaped so that when the bottle 13 has the correct shape and size and is correctly screwed into the gassing head 11, it rests on it, and the cams 69 and 77 do not actuate the plungers 64 and 75 and the bleed and safety valves will not be therethrough. Open. The interior of the bottle 13 and the associated parts of the device will be sealed from the atmosphere and actuation of the lever 52 will cause gas to pass from the bottle 42 to the bottle 13 until a predetermined maximum pressure is reached.

Accordingly, the surface of the bottle 13 comes into contact with the counter surface 14, which defines the position of the axis of the bottle 13, and since it is necessarily aligned with the axis of the gassing head, it defines the position of the gassing head. The correct positions for both are those where the bottle of the correct shape and size contacts the bearing surface 14. However, there is some tolerance in the shapes and sizes of the bottles, and therefore slight deviations from the theoretical position, ideally more closely related to the bottle, are tolerated, so that the expression correct position should be understood to include all positions deviating from the ideal position only by a tolerance amount. The size of the tolerance is expressed by the angle of the tolerance, namely by the angle by which the bottle and gassing head 11 must deviate from the ideal position in order to cause the cams 69 and 787 to actuate the relief and safety valves and thus prevent a damaged bottle from increasing pressure or interrupt the pressurization. bottle that has expanded beyond the tolerance size as previously set out in this specification.

Of course, when the gassing of the liquid in the bottle is complete and the bottle is tilted up to remove it from the device, the rotation will cause the spindles 64 and 75 to mate with the cams 69 and 77 and the pressure in the bottle and device is reduced. At the same time, plate 56 will assume a position which prevents lever 52 from being depressed and thus prevents gas from entering the device. However, the angle by which the gassing head 11 must be tilted from the correct position in order for the plate 56 to completely prevent actuation of the lever 52 is actually greater than the angle it must be tilted for the cam 69 to actuate the plunger 64, e.g. it should be not less than 5 °. Therefore, the plungers and their valves can be actuated by, for example, tilting the bottle 13, even though the lever 52 is still pressed to create an increase in pressure. This is important because the operator will most often not realize that the bottle is tilted during the gassing process and will keep lever 52 depressed and if the latter would engage the plate 56 at too small an angle from the correct position of the gassing head, mechanical operation would be impeded. which causes the pressure to drop as previously described.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been described by way of example, it will be understood that the invention may be put into practice in various ways, for example by using mechanically equivalent elements or combinations of elements described, or with many other changes, adaptations and variations that are within the scope of the invention. capabilities of those skilled in the art and do not depart from the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims.