Abstract:
Device by means of which a supply container subjected to positive pressure is connected in a sealed manner to a consumer element with the aid of a sealing element, sealing in the direction of the surroundings taking place before an opening element opens the valve of the supply container. This is realized by a sealing element which, as measured in the longitudinal direction (L) from the base of the cutout, is wider than the opening element, and by an amount of play, which allows the sealing element to accommodate the full displacement.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    1. Field of Invention  
           [0002]    The invention relates to a device by means of which a supply container containing a medium subjected to positive pressure is connected in a sealed manner to a consumer element, and to a consumer element for such a device.  
           [0003]    2. Description of Related Art  
           [0004]    In the case of devices of this type, for example in the case of the so-called “Soda-Club®”, a device for carbonating drinks, a flat sealing ring butts against a base of a cutout of a consumer element. When a connection element arranged on a supply container is screwed into a thread of the consumer element, an end side of the connection element comes into abutment against the sealing ring and is forced against the same. This provides sealing between a valve of the supply container and the surroundings. It may be the case here that full sealing in the direction of the surroundings only takes place shortly after the valve of the supply container has been opened, by an opening pin fitted in the consumer element.  
           [0005]    The disadvantage of this device is that, during the screwing-in operation of the supply container, part of the medium located therein is lost if full sealing in the direction of the surroundings only takes place once the valve of the supply container has been opened. If the medium located in the supply container is, for example, a gas, the action of the gas flowing out rapidly into the surroundings produces a noise which may give individuals who are not prepared for it a fright. If the medium located in the supply container is a liquid, the latter contaminates the internal thread of the consumer element as it flows out.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0006]    The object of the present invention is to provide a device of the type mentioned in the introduction and a consumer element which reliably prevent the medium from escaping.  
           [0007]    The present invention has the advantage that opening of the valve takes place without any losses and more or less without any sound. This is achieved, in particular, by a specific form of sealing element. The sealing element is in fixed and dirt-impermeable abutment against a base of a cutout of the consumer element. The sealing element here is configured such that sealing between the valve of the supply container and the surroundings is produced before the valve of the supply container is opened.  
           [0008]    The invention can be used particularly advantageously for carbonating drinks. In this case, the supply container contains pressurized carbon dioxide and the consumer element has a pressure-reducing element which reduces the pressure of the gas flowing out into the drink.  
           [0009]    Further preferred embodiments are specified below. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    The invention is explained hereinbelow with reference to the drawings, wherein:  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment of the device according to the invention with a consumer element and a supply container in the not fully screwed-in state and in the fully screwed-in state, in cross section, the supply container only being cross-sectionally illustrated in part;  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 illustrates a scaling element of the device from FIG. 1 illustrated on an enlarged scale, in cross section; and  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 illustrates a second embodiment of the device according to the invention with a consumer element and a supply container in the not fully screwed-in state and in the fully screwed-in state, in cross section, the supply container only being cross-sectionally illustrated in part. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0014]    Parts which function in the same way are indicated in the figures by the same designations.  
         [0015]    Orientation of the figures is provided by the designations of the same. The terms left and right, and top and bottom, are to be understood in respect of this orientation.  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the device according to the invention, a supply container  12  in the left-hand part of the figure not being fully screwed into a consumer element  13 , and in the right-hand part of the figure being fully screwed into a consumer element  13 .  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 1 shows the supply container  12 , which is symmetrical about a longitudinal axis L, contains a pressurized medium  14  and has a connection element  16  with an external thread  18  on its neck. On its end side, the connection element  16  has an annular sealing surface  20 , and a valve  22  which is enclosed by the annular sealing surface  20 .  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 1 also shows a consumer-element body  24  which belongs to the consumer element  13 . This consumer-element body has, in its bottom part, a cutout  26  which is essentially cylindrical about the longitudinal axis L and has a base  27 . An internal thread  28  is located on the lateral surface of the cutout  26 . An encircling groove  30  is located between said internal thread  28  and the base  27 . A retaining bead  32  of a sealing element  33  is located in said groove, the retaining bead in the left-hand part of the figure butting against that side wall of the groove which is spaced apart by the greater distance from the base  27 . As measured in the direction of the longitudinal axis L, the width of the groove  30  is greater than the width of the retaining bead  32 . This provides an amount of play  36  for the retaining bead  32  in the groove  30 .  
         [0019]    The part of the sealing element  33  outside the groove  30  is, as can be seen in the left-hand part of FIG. 1, rectangular in cross section and has a top annular sealing surface  50 , which butts against the base  27 , and a bottom annular sealing surface  52 , which butts against the end-side sealing surface  20  of the connection element  16 . Arranged in the center of the cutout  26  is an opening element  34 , in the form of a pin, which extends from the base  27 .  
         [0020]    Located in the top part of the consumer element  13  is a generally known pressure-reducing element  38 , which is in flow connection with the cutout  26  via a connecting through-passage  40 . The pressure-reducing element  38  serves for reducing the pressure of the gas flowing out of the supply container  12 . An outlet valve through which the gas can flow out into the drink may be connected to the pressure-reducing element  38 .  
         [0021]    The fully screwed-in state of the supply container  12  is described hereinbelow with reference to the right-hand part of FIG. 1.  
         [0022]    The sealing element  33  is deformed and the retaining bead  32  is in contact with that side wall of the groove which is spaced apart by the smaller distance from the base  27  of the cutout  26 . In addition, the valve  22  is in the open state. The interior of the supply container  12  is thus connected fluid-dynamically to the interior  44 , the connecting through-passage  40  and the pressure-reducing element  38 .  
         [0023]    The operation of screwing the supply container  12  into the consumer-element body  24  is described hereinbelow.  
         [0024]    The external thread  18  of the connection element  16  is screwed into the internal thread  28  of the cutout  26 .  
         [0025]    In this case, the annular sealing surface  20  on the end side of the supply container  12  comes into abutment with the bottom annular sealing surface  50  of the sealing element  33  and subjects the same to a force in the longitudinal direction L, which deforms the sealing element  33 . In this case, the retaining bead  32  of the sealing element  33  moves upwards in the longitudinal Direction L in the encircling groove  30 . A displacement of approximately 0.8 mm, which is accommodated by the sealing element  33 , produces sealing between the valve  22  of the supply container  12  and the surroundings. The part of the cutout  26  which is in fluid-dynamic contact with the valve  22  at this point in time is referred to as interior  44 . As the operation of screwing in the connection element  16  continues, the valve  22  is opened by the opening element  34 . The displacement required for this purpose likewise corresponds to approximately 0.8 mm. Following a full displacement, calculated as beginning with the sealing surface  20  of the connection element  16  butting against the sealing element  33 , of approximately 1.6 mm, the supply container  12  is screwed into the full extent.  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 2 illustrates the sealing element  33 , as can be seen in FIG. 1, in cross section. Typical dimensions are: A1=21 mm, A2=12 mm, A3=6 mm, A4=3 mm, A5=2 mm. It is quite possible here to deviate from these values.  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 3 illustrates a second embodiment of the device according to the invention. It differs from FIG. 1 in respect of the form of the sealing element  33  and in that there is no amount of play  36  provided for the retaining bead  32  in the encircling groove  30 . In the left-hand part of the figure, the supply container  12  is not screwed into the full extent, and in the right-hand part of the figure the supply container  12  is screwed into the full extent. In the case of this embodiment, the sealing element  33  has sealing lips  46 ,  48  which are V-shaped in cross section.  
         [0028]    During the screwing-in operation, the bottom sealing lip  46  comes into contact with the annular sealing surface  20  on the end side of the supply container  12 . As the screwing-in operation continues, the bottom sealing lip  46  is moved in the direction of the top sealing lip  48 , which is always in contact with the base  27  of the cutout  26 . Once the valve  22  of the supply container  12  has been opened, there is a higher pressure in the interior  44  than in the surroundings. This pressure difference induces a force which forces the bottom sealing lip  46  onto the annular sealing surface  20  on the inside of the supply container  12  and the top sealing lip  48  against the base  27 , and thus produces full sealing between the interior  44  and the surroundings. In the fully screwed-in state of the supply container  12 , the bottom sealing lip  46  rests on the sealing surface  20  such that the normal vector of that part of the surface of the bottom sealing lip which butts against the sealing surface  20  is parallel to the longitudinal axis L.  
         [0029]    When the supply container  12  is unscrewed from the consumer element  13 , the valve  22  closes before the sealing between the valve  22  and the surroundings is eliminated.  
         [0030]    The consumer element  13  may also be, for example, a faucet, a slide or the like. Of course, it is also conceivable for the connection element  16  to be connected to the supply container  12  by means of a line or a tube.