GAS CYLINDER COUPLING AND WEIGHING MECHANISM FOR A CARBONATED DRINK DISPENSER

Abstract: A mechanism (740) useful in a dispenser (11) having a gas cylinder (17). Supports the cylinder rotatably within a hood (741), the hood forming a lever which is biased upwardly by a spring (765). A full cylinder will pull the hood all the way down. As the cylinder is emptied, the hood will begin to move upward and when the cylinder is empty the hood will be fully upward. Mounted inside the hood is a fitting (731) engaging with a mating fitting (709) on the gas cylinder. The mating fitting is equipped with a pair of arms which are aligned with locking slots contained within the mating fitting which are used to engage pins on the fitting inside the hood when mounting the gas cylinder.

Description: This invention relates to apparatus useful in a carbonated drink dispenser in general, and more particularly to a device for coupling a gas cylinder to a fitting and a mechanism for weighing the contents of such a cylinder, the device and mechanism being particularly useful in a carbonated drink dispenser. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION U.S. Patent 4,520,950 discloses an in-home drink dispenser which includes a source of concentrate, e.g. syrup, a carbonator which is filled with ice and water and a carbon dioxide tank for supplying carbon-dioxide to carbonate the water in the tank. In such an in-home drink dispenser, since the cylinders are being handled by people not used to such, there is a need to take measures to protect the cylinders and to provide for ease of use, as well as ease of insertion and removal of the cylinder from the drink dispenser. U.S. Patent 2,309,869 discloses a self-service system for storage and utilisation of fuel gases wherein a fuel gas canister can be connected to and disconnected from a fitting mounted on a domestic wall, but that fitting arrangement involves simply screwing the canister to a regulator. There is also disclosed in European Patent Application 0193873 that a carbon dioxide cylinder engages with a regulator by means of a quick disconnect fitting but no further particulars are given. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a mechanism particularly useful in an in-home drink dispenser and which allows a consumer to easily install a CO₂ cylinder in a carbonated drink dispenser and monitor the CO₂ usage. The mechanism of the present invention is useful in most drink dispensers but is most opportunely used in a drink dispenser such as the one disclosed in European Patent Application 0 223 209 claiming priority from USA Patent Application Serial No. 799,911, entitled "In Home Drink Dispenser" assigned to the same assignee as the present invention. In accordance with the present invention there is provided a gas cylinder coupling device for a gas cylinder with an axial threaded bore formed in the top thereof, comprising a screw threaded first fitting which has one axial end threaded to mate with the threads in the said bore, an enlarged portion outwardly of the threads, a hollow cylindrical member having an annular wall at the axial inner end thereof, said screw threaded fitting engaging said bore so that the enlarged portion traps the said annular wall between the enlarged portion and the top of the gas cylinder, and wherein (a) an O-ring seal surrounds the bore in said cylinder; (b) the hollow cylindrical member has diametrically opposed arms extending therefrom, with openings formed in the ends of each of said arms; and (c) the said fitting seals against said O-ring; characterised in that (d) the hollow cylindrical member has at the other axial end thereof a locking slot arrangement comprising axial slots and circumferential slots for lockingly engaging but in a quick release manner with a second fitting adapted to mate with said first fitting, and in that said arms are aligned with the axial slots. In the preferred embodiment, there are holes at the ends of the arms through which a finger can be inserted to hold the gas cylinder. A cover is also placed over this fitting for decorative and protective purposes. The cover has a tear-away tab on the top to allow access to the cylindrical member and fitting when attaching to the cylinder. The tab cover, however, provides protection during shipping and remains in place until the cylinder is to be used. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG 1 is a perspective view of an in-home drink dispenser in which the mechanism of the present invention may be used. FIG 2 is a view similar to FIG 1 showing the door to the carbonator compartment and CO₂ compartment opened. FIG 3 is an exploded view of the elements attached to the top of the CO₂ cylinder. FIGS 3A, 3B and 3C are views to illustrate the operation of the thin probe. FIG 4 is an elevation view partially in cross section showing the manner in which the CO₂ assembly is attached to a probe fitting in which is incorporated a regulator and also shows part of the weighing mechanism. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the cylindrical member which permits attachment to the probe fitting of FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is an exploded view of the weighing mechanism of the present invention. FIGS. 7 and 8 are elevation views, partially in cross section and partially in phantom showing the operation of the weighing mechanism, FIG. 7 showing the weight mechanism with an empty cylinder and FIG. 8 showing the weighing mechanism with a full cylinder. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views of the in-home drink dispenser in which the mechanism of the present invention may be used. FIG. 1 shows the drink dispenser 11 with its doors closed. FIG. 2 shows the dispenser 11 with its carbonator door 13 and CO₂ compartment door 15 opened, and the CO₂ cartridge 17 and carbonator tank 18 removed. Also visible in FIG. 2 is the syrup cartridge 19. The CO₂ cylinder 17 has a cover 23 for ease in handling and also for mounting into the machine in a manner to be described below. FIGS. 3-5 illustrate the cover assembly for the carbon dioxide cylinder 17 and its connection to a regulator which also acts as a weighing mechanism. Referring to FIG. 3, over the end of the gas cylinder 17 there is placed an O-ring seal 701. Next a member 703, which has an inner washer-like portion, is placed over the neck section 704 of cylinder 17, and held in place by a flange on threaded fitting 705 threaded into the threads 707 in the neck section of the cylinder 17. The fitting 705 contains a check valve which is operated when an appropriate pin or probe is inserted into its opening 709. The pin and valve opening arrangement are shown in Figs. 30A, 30B and 30C, and referring to these figures, the fitting 705 is shown as having the opening 709 which leads to a chamber 709A containing a valve ball 709B which is urged by a spring 709C against a seat at the end of opening 709. The ball 709B therefore prevents the escape of carbon dioxide through the opening 709. The member 713 which operates the valve ball 709B and which is described hereinafter is also shown, and this member is provided with a slender probe 731A which, when the members 731 and 705 are brought together, enters the opening 709 as shown in Fig. 30B and unseats the ball 709B allowing carbon dioxide to flow from the carbon dioxide cylinder. An O-ring seal 709D in the opening 709 engages the wall of the probe 731A to prevent escape of gas passed the said seal 709B when the ball 709B is unseated as shown. As shown in Fig. 3C, the probe 731A is provided with a small bore 731B which is offset relative to the centre line of the probe so that the ball 709B will not in fact block the bore 731B through which the gas has to escape in order to enter the dispenser. The characteristic of the probe 731A is that it is of small diameter compared to conventional probe connections as used for carbon dioxide cylinders. Usually these probe connections require the assistance of a mechanical advantage device to enable the cylinders to be connected to the dispensers, whereas in the case of the present arrangement, the probe is of such small diameter that connection can take place by the application of manual force. Typically, the probe diameter may be of the order of 1/8th inch for use with a gas cylinder of which the internal pressure is of the order of 800 lbs per square inch. With this arrangement, a force of only 10 lbs is required in order to connect the gas cylinder to the fitting 731, but it is within the scope of this invention to use cylinder probes of different diameter depending upon the internal pressure of the gas cylinder, but optimally one should aim for providing an arrangement wherein a coupling force of the order of 10 lbs is all that is required in order to couple the cylinder to the fitting. Member 703 contains a central cylindrical portion 711 with two arms 713 at the ends of which rings 715 are formed as finger grips. As best seen from FIG. 5, on the inside of the cylindrical portion 711 are formed two diametrically opposed axially extending slots 719 which lead to circumferentially extending locking slots 720. These are also shown in FIG. 4. A cover 23 is snapped over the member 703 to give the cylinder the finished appearance illustrated in FIG. 2. The cover is snapped so as to enclose the top of the cylinder 17 as well as the member 703 and includes side parts 721 with openings 723 which align with the openings 715 formed in the arms 713 of member 703. These openings permit a finger grip for ease in handling of the cylinder. The cover 23 contains a tear-away top portion 725 with a tab 727 provided to tear off the cover to permit ease of access to the fitting 709. The handles 713 or 721 also act as an alignment means. As can be seen from FIG. 5, the axial slots 719 are aligned with the handle 721. Thus, when inserting the gas cylinder on to regulator assembly 729 which has a mating fitting 731 with projections 733 thereon, for engaging in the slots 719 and 720, the handles can be used for alignment purposes. The user simply lines up the handles with the pins 733 and then rotates the handles 721 until they are in a predetermined position in which the cylinder is locked in place against the fitting 731. The fitting 731 includes a hollow probe (not shown) which fits in and seals within the opening 709 and opens the valve therein to permit the flow of carbon dioxide through the regulator and into the rest of the system. The regulator is also shown in FIG. 6 which is an exploded view of the regulator and weighing assembly. The fitting 731 of the regulator 729 with its pins 733 is visible at the bottom of FIG. 6. A shaft 735 extends out from both ends of the regulator. Shaft 735 on the left hand side contains a flat 737. A member 739 to be described in more detail below is placed over this end of the shaft 735. The whole assembly, generally indicated as 740 is inserted into a hood 741 containing holes 743 on each side thereof for accepting the shaft 735. The shaft 735 on the left hand side is held in place in a cylindrical recess 745 attached to the regulator 729 by means of a cotter or split pin 747. Thus, after the shaft 735 on the right hand side is inserted through its hole 743, the recess 745 is aligned with the hold 743 on the left and the shaft 735 on the left hand side inserted and secured in place with cotter or split pin 747. Thereafter the member 739 can be placed over the end of the shaft 735. The hood 741 has a brim 749 containing thereon indicia 751 and 753 along with arrows 755. The indicia indicate to the user the proper alignment for the handles 721 in the position where the bottle is inserted and the positiion where it is locked in place. The hood 741 is held in an assembly 757. This assembly includes a U-shaped bracket 759 having holes 761 in its base for mounting within the gas cylinder compartment of the dispenser. Extending through the two legs of this U-shaped bracket 759 is a shaft 763. At each end of the shaft is a spring 765. This is a coil spring containing arms 767 and 769 each of which are bent at their ends so as to have a portion parallel to the axis of the spring. The portion 767 contains an axially extending portion 771 and portion 769 contains an axially extending portion 773. Portion 771 engages in one of a plurality of holes 775 in the arm of the bracket 759. The bracket 759 encloses the rear portion of the hood 741 with the shaft 763 extending through the opening 777 and the inwardly extending portion 773 engaging in holes 779. Thus, hood 741 rotates on shaft 763 and is biased upwardly by springs 765. FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate manner in which the weighing mechanism operates. The previously mentioned member 739 comprises a planar member containing an arcuate slot 781 therein. The slot 781 slidably engages a pin 782 provided on the inside of one of the wall of the cylinder compartment which is adjacent to the planar member 739. Its purpose is to maintain the axis of the fitting 731 vertical irrespective of the rotation of the hood 741. FIG. 7 shows the hood 741 rotated upwardly, corresponding to an empty bottle or no bottle in place. FIG. 8 illustrates the hood 741 rotated downwardly with a full bottle in place. It will be recognized, that the locus of shaft 735 moving between the positions of FIGS. 8 and 9 will exhibit curved motion and, were it not for the slot 781 and pin 782 and the rigid connection of the member 739 to the shaft 735, which in turn is rigidly connected to the regulator 729 and thus to the fitting 731, rotation of the regulator 729 and fitting 731 would take place. It is important that the axis of the fitting 731 be maintained vertical so that CO₂ bottles can be easily removed and inserted. The springs 765, thus, tend to bias the cover 741 upwardly into the position shown in FIG. 7. The weight of a full CO₂ cylinder acts against this biasing action to bring the cover downward to the position shown in FIG. 8. The biasing force of the spring 765 may be changed based on the users selection of the various holes 775 is bracket 759. The member 739 performs a second function, the function of an indicator. At the bottom of the member 739 are painted two areas 783 and 785. Area 783 is painted green, for example, and area 785 is painted red. A viewing window 787 is provided in the drink dispenser housing through which the painted areas 783 and 785 can be observed. With a full bottle, one looks through the viewing window 787 and sees the green area 783. As the bottle begins to empty, the red area 785 begins to appear until, when all red, the bottle is essentially empty. Preferably, the biasing force of the springs 765 is such that they operate only over the last ten percent of carbon dioxide in the bottle. That is to say, only when the bottle is, for example, 10 percent full will the bottle become light enough so that the spring begins to move the cover 741 upwardly. This gives a better indication at the end of supply than would a linear system which would be difficult to calibrate.

Claims: A gas cylinder coupling device for a gas cylinder (17) with an axial threaded bore (707) formed in the top thereof, comprising a screw threaded first fitting (705) which has one axial end threaded to mate with the threads in the said bore (707), an enlarged portion outwardly of the threads, a hollow cylindrical member (703) having an annular wall at the axial inner end thereof, said screw threaded fitting (705) engaging said bore (707) so that the enlarged portion traps the said annular wall between the enlarged portion and the top (704) of the gas cylinder (17), and wherein (a) an O-ring seal (701) surrounds the bore (707) in said cylinder (17); (b) the hollow cylindrical member (703) has diametrically opposed arms (713) extending therefrom, with openings (715) formed in the ends of each of said arms (713); and (c) the said fitting (705) seals against said O-ring (701); characterised in that (d) the hollow cylindrical member (703) has at the other axial end thereof a locking slot arrangement comprising axial slots (719) and circumferential slots (720) for lockingly engaging in a quick release manner with a second fitting (731) adapted to mate with said first fitting (705), and in that said arms (713) are aligned with the axial slots (719). A device according to claim 1 characterised by a cover (23) placed over said hollow cylindrical member (703), said cover (23) enclosing said hollow cylindrical member (703) and having a handle (721) for fitting over the arms (713) thereof, with holes (723) therein mating with the holes (715) in said arms (713). A device according to claim 2 characterised by a removable tab (727) on the top of said cover (23). A device according to claim 1, 2 or 3 in combination with a second fitting (731), characterised in that said second fitting (731) comprising a cylndrical member having projecting from the centre thereof a probe (731A) containing a passage (731B) for conducting gas and having on the outside surface thereof diametrically opposed pins (733) engaging in the slots (719, 720) in said cylindrical member (703) so as to lock said first and second fittings (705, 731) together. A device according to claim 4 characterised by a regulator (729) formed integrally with said second fitting (731). A device according to claim 5 characterised by a weighing mechanism from which said regulator (729) is suspended. A device according to claim 6, characterised in that said weighing mechanism comprises means (765) biasing said regulator (729) upwardly against the downwardly acting weight of said gas cylinder (17) and indicator means (739) for indicating the relative position of said second fitting (731). A device according to claim 7, characterised in that said means biasing (765) comprise means forming a rotatable lever (741) at the end of which said regulator (729) is mounted; and means (765) for biasing said lever (741) upwardly. A device according to claim 8, characterised by means for mounting said regulator (729) to said lever (741) in such a way that said probe (731A) is maintained vertical as said lever (741) rotates. A device according to claim 9, characterised in that said lever (741) comprises: a hood (741) having a top and side walls, a rounded front wall and a brim (749) extending therefrom, holes (743) formed in said side walls near said front wall; a shaft (735) extending from each side of said regulator (729) passing through said holes in said side walls whereby said regulator (729) is rotatable with respect to said hood (741); means (737) for maintaining said regulator (729) such that said probe (731A) is vertical by bringing about relative rotation between said regulator (729) and said hood (741) as said hood (741) rotates. A device according to claim 10, characterised in that said means biasing comprises: a U-shaped bracket (759) having a base and two extending arms, said base mounted to a vertical wall, a hole formed in each arm; a shaft (763) passing through said holes, said side wall of said hood having a hole (777) at the rear thereof through which said shaft (763) passes, said hood (777) thereby being rotatable on said shaft; and at least one spring (765) acting between said arm of said bracket and said hood (741) biasing said hood (741) upwardly. A device according to claim 11, characterised in that the biasing force of said spring (765) is such as to be effective to move said gas cylinder (17) upwardly only over a fraction of its weight. A device according to claim 12, characterised in that said fraction is one-tenth. A device according to claim 10, characterised in that said means maintaining said probe (731A) verticle comprise: a planar member (739) rigidly coupled at one end to one end of said shaft (735) extending from said regulator (729) said planar member (739) having a curved slot (781) therein; a wall formed parallel to said planar member; a pin (782) extending from said wall and slidably engaging said planar member curved slot (781), guiding said planar member (739) so that it remains vertical as said hood rotates, whereby said probe (731A) will also remain vertical. A device according to claim 14, characterised in that said wall contains a viewing hole (787) and said planar member contains colour coded areas (783, 785) viewable through said viewing hole (787) such that the position of said planar member (739) and thus the weight of said gas cylinder (17) will be indicated.

Inventors: ANDERSON, GEORGE J., DOLE, CHARLES MINOT, JEANS, EDWARD LEWIS, KARLIS, ROBERT GALE, WEBSTER, GARY LAWRENCE
Applicants: CADBURY SCHWEPPES PLC
Application year: 1986
Main classification: B67D1
IPC codes: B67D1