AU623188B2

AU623188B2 - A carbonated drink dispenser

Info

Publication number: AU623188B2
Application number: AU43818/89A
Authority: AU
Inventors: George J. Anderson; Charles Minot Dole; Edward Lewis Jeans; Robert Gale Karlis; Gary Lawrence Webster
Original assignee: Cadbury Schweppes Ltd
Current assignee: Mondelez UK Holdings and Services Ltd
Priority date: 1985-11-20
Filing date: 1989-10-27
Publication date: 1992-05-07
Anticipated expiration: 2006-11-25
Also published as: JPS62208393A; DE3689028D1; LV11306A; EP0223204B1; DE3689378D1; ATE98202T1; ES2049392T3; LV11306B; ATE86943T1; ATE94506T1; ES2039060T3; EP0223204A2; JPH0786036B2; EP0223204A3; ES2043598T3; AU6567286A; DE3689378T2; EP0360302B1; AU593043B2; EP0428179B1

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

I

i f623188 Form COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA PATENTS ACT 1952-62 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION

(OPIIGIAL)

FOR OFFICE USE: Application Number: So o Lodged: CgDpjete Specification Lod, Accepted: Published: Prioity: Related Art: S 8 Class Int. Class Name nf Applicant: Adress of Applicant: Actual Inventor: Address for Service: TO BE COMPLETED BY APPLICANT CADBURY SCHWEPPES PLC 1-4 Connaught Place, London W2 2EX, United Kingdom Robert Gale KARLIS, Charles Minot DOLE, Gary Lawrence WEBSTER, Ueorge J. ANDERSON and Edward Lewis JEANS care of R.K. MADDERN ASSOCIATES, 345 King William Street, Adelaide, South Australia, 5000 Lt4 I Complete Specification for the invent- r entitled: "A CARBONATED DRINK DISPENSER" The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to mU.x us.

1~ 12 6. A dispenser according to claim 5, wherein the biasing force of said spring is such as to be effective to move said

I

ABSTRACT

A Carbonated Drink Dispenser A gas cylinder coupling and weighing mechanism useful in a carbonated drink dispenser having a gse cylinder. Supports the cylinder rotatably within a hood, the hood forming a lever which is biased upwardly by a spring. A full cylinder will pull the hood all the way down. As the cylinder is o(0 emptied, the hood will begin to move upward and when the 0, cylinder is empty the hood will be fully upward. Mounted o 0 oao00 inside the hood is a fitting engaging with a mating fitting o 0000 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.

0 00 0 00 00 o 0 0 0 0 00 0 us 0 i' A Carbonated Drink Dispenser This invention relates to apparatus useful in carbonated drink dispensers in general, and more particularly to a device for coupling a gas cylinder to a fitting with a preferred feature of a mechanism for weighing the contents of such a cylinder, the device and mechanism being particularly useful in a carbonated drink dispenser.

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 0 o dioxide tank for supplying carbon-dioxide to carbonate the oa *water in the tank. In such an in-home drink dispe',iser, 5 since the cylinders are being handled by people not used to such, there is a need to provide for ease of use, as well as ease of an insertion and removal of the cylinder from the drink dispenser. It is also important to know how much carbon dioxide is left. Knowing when one is about to run o°0 10 out of carbon dioxide is of great importance, particularly where a cylinder is not immediately on hand. The carbonator can be refilled with water and ice; however, if one runs out of carbon dioxide, at a time when the supplier is not open for business, it may be necessary to wait, pos;ibly over a weekend, to get a new cylinder. Thus, the need for an t, indication of this level is particularly important.

6i 9 S* The present invention provides a mechanism particularly useful in an in-home drink dispenser and which allows a consumer to easily install a CO 2 cylinder in a carbonated drink dispenser and preferably to monitor the CO 2 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 No. 0223209 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 a typical dispenser, it is necessary to connect the carbon dioxide cylinder to the system. This is done with a connection which, when the connection is made, opens a valve to allow a flow of carbon dioxide out of the gas cylinder.

(See for example U.S. Patents 4,408,701; 4,328,909; 4,363,424; 4,523,697; 4,520,580; 4,570,830; 4,564,483 and 799,201. In the connections disclosed in the aforementioned applications, a connecting means which provides a relatively high mechanical advantage is provided. This was thought necessary at the time because of the high pressure acting on the probe entering the cylinder, this pressure being too high for the average person to operate against when inserting the 0 cylinder. This, of course, made insertion of the cylinder more difficult.

00 0 According to the present invention there is provided a carbonated drink dispenser comprising a) a fitting having an elongated thin probe, and passage means for the passage of carbon dioxide gas through the *'fitting; 25 b) a carbon dioxide cylinder removably connectible to the fitting, said cylinder comprising a check valve in the neck thereof which is opened by the probe when the cylinder is connected to the fitting to enable carbon dioxide gas to pass from the cylinder through the fitting by means of said passage means characterised in that the probe is of such thinness that the cylinder is adapted to be suspended from the fitting by being pushed by hand in the direction of the length of the probe so that the probe opens the check valve and including cam means on the fitting and neck for holding the neck to the fitting.

I Preferably, the cylinder is connectible to the fitting by a simple connection forming the cam means and comprising bayonet pins which fit into appropriate bayonet slots on the neck of the cylinder. Preferably also, the fitting contains a pressure regulator. By so suspending the gas cylinder, it is possible to measure its weight by providing an upward bias to the probe fitting, using suitable springs.

In accordance with a preferred arrangement of the present invention, the fitting to which the gas cylinder is attached is supported rotatabuy within a hood, the hood forming a lever which is biased upwardly. The hood rotates on a shaft supported in a bracket which is attached to a wall of the dispenser. Springs act between the bracket and the hood to bias the hood upwardly. A mechanism, including a planar member, which is guided in a curved slot, maintains the probe vertical so that in any position the user can easily insert a 0gas cylinder as indicated above onto the probe without difficulty. The planar member which is guided and which maintains the pin vertical is also provided with indicators visible through a window to indicate the degree of the fullness of the cylinder. A full cylinder will act against the spring and pull the hood all the way down. As the cylinder is used up, the hood will begin to move upwardly until, when the cylinder is completely empty, the hood will be fully up. In accordance with a preferred feature of the present invention, the spring is adapted to begin moving the gas cylinder upward only over the last part of the supply, e.g. the last ten percent. Thus, as soon as movement starts the user knows that he is getting near the end of his supply.

J L~il The4 cylindrical member which engages the probe fitting is formed with a pair of arms. The arms are aligned with axial slots which are used for engaging the pins on the probe fitting when locking the two fittings together. By aligning the arms with the axial slots, the user is given a guide and knows exactly how to line up the gas cylinder to insert it onto the probe fitting. Preferably, on the hood, there are alignment markings and an arrow, indicating to the user the direction in which to rotate the handles or arms so as to lock the cylindrical member and, therefore, the CO 2 cylinder in place. In the illustrated embodiment, there are holes at 00 the ends of the arms through which a finger can be inserted a e to hold the gas cylinder. A cover is also placed over this o0.0, fitting for decorative and protective purposes. The cover has a tear-away tab on the top to allow access to the o cylindrical member and fitting when attaching to the probe fitting. The tab cover, however, provides protection during shipping and remains in place until the cylinder is to be used.

43 An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an in-home drink dispenser in which the mechanism of the present invention may be used.

t Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the door to the carbonator compartment and C0 2 compartment opened; Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the elements attached to the top of the CO 2 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 CO 2 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, AYC 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-e~i t mechanism with an empty cylinder and Fig. 8 showing the weighing mechanism with a full cylinder.

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 CO 2 compartment door 15 opened, and the CO 2 cartridge 17 and carbonator tank 18 removed. Also visible in Fig. 2 is the syrup cartridge 19. The CO 2 cylinder 17 has a cover 23 for ease in handling and also for mounting into the machine in A man-er 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 6 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. 3A, 3B and 3C 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 cooperates with member 705 has a probe 731A which operates the valve ball 709B and which is described hereinafter. The probe 731A which is slender and which, when the members 731 and 705 are brought together, enters the opening 709 as shown in Fig. 3B and unseats the ball 709B allowing carbon dioxide to flow from the carbon dioxide cylinder. An 0-ring seal 709D in the opening 709 engages the wall of the probe 731A to prevent escape of gas past the said seal 709B when the ball 0 *4 S: 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 o: 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 00 "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 3 a gas cylinder of which the internal pressure is of the order of A.0 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.

11o°°!0 Member 703 contains a central cylindrical portion 711 with two arms 713 at the ends of which rings 7".5 Lre formed as finger grips. As best seen from Fig. 5, on the inside of o the cylindrical portion 711 are formed two diametrically 4 opposed axially extending slots 719 which lead to ga 15 circumferentially extending locking slots 720. These are *44e also shown in Fig. 4. T4cover 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 %e 731A fitting 731. The fitting 731 includes 4 hollow probeA s zmg3 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 t t 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 ie aligned with the hole 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 position 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 iounting 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 walls of the cylinder compartment 00 04 0 5 which is adjacent to the planar member 739. Its purpose is #I 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 recognised that the locus of shaft 735 moving between the positions of Figs. 7 and 8 will exhibit curved motion and, 0 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 CO 2 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 CO 2 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 in 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 1, 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 0oo 10 essentially empty. Preferably, the biasing force of the springs 765 is such that they operate only over the last ten perce-.t of carbon dioxide in the bottle. That is to say: goon 0 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 o supply than would a linear system which would be difficult to calibrate.

o" 0 The applicant recognises that various features and inventive aspects are disclosed herein and also recognises that said features and aspects may be modified, varied and combined and o0°' reserves the right to claim as an invention in this appliction or in any divisional application filed from this application any feature, method or aspect disclosed herein or any combination of any feature, method or aspect as may be o o required.

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Claims

1. A carbonated drink dispenser comprising a) a fitting having an elongated thin probe, and passage 1 3 means for the passage of carbon dioxide gas through the fitting; b) a carbon dioxide cylinder removably connectible to the fitting, said cylinder comprising a check valve in the neck thereof which is opened by the probe when the J cylinder is connected to the fitting to enable carbon dioxide gas to pass from the cylinder through the fitting by means of said passage means characterised in that the probe is of such thinness that the -ylinder is adapted to be suspended from the fitting by being pushed by hand in the direction of the length of the probe so that the orobe opens the check valve and including cam means on the fitting and neck for holding the neck to the fitting. o ft

2. A dispenser according to claim 1, charactezised in that ro^' 0 said cim means comprises bayonet slots in said neck and beyonet pins on said fitting.

3. A dispenser according to any preceding claim, wherein said check valve is disposed along a vertical axis and said thin probe extends along said vertical axis.

4. A dispenser according to any preceding claim, and t further including a regulator, said fitting and thin probe extending from said regulator, and a spring biasing said regulator upwardly so that said cylinder moves upwardly as gas is used up. A dispenser according to claim 4, and further including indicating means for indicating the relative position of said regulator as said cylinder moves. I- r IYIC~ 12

6. A dispenser according to claim 5, wherein the biasing force of said spriig is such as to be effective to move said gas cylinder upwardly only over a fraction of its weight.

7. A dispenser according to claim i, characterised by a weighing mechanism to which said fitting is attached including: means forming a rotatable lever at the end of which said fitting is mounted; means for biasing said lever upwardly against the downwardly acting weight of said gas cylinder; and indicator means for indicating the relative position of said cylinder.

8. A dispenser according to claim 7, characterised by means for mounting said fitting to said lever in such a way that said probe is maintained vertical as said lever rotates. So9. A dispenser according to claim 8, characterised in that 00: said lever comprises: 0 00 a hood having a top and side walls, a rounded front wall Q 2and a brim extending therefrom, holes formed in said side i walls near said front wall; 0~00 a shaft extending from each side of said fitting passing through said holes in said side walls whereby said fitting is rotatable with respect to said hood; and means for maintaining said fitting such that said probe is vertical by bringing about relative rotation between said fitting and said hood as said hood rotates. A dispenser according to claim 9, characterised in that said means for biasing comprising: a U-shaped bracket having a baz and two extending arms, said base mounted to a vextical wall, a hole formed in each arm; a shaft passing through said holes, said side walls of said hood having holes at the rear thereof through which said -I I I- rr~- ~L 13 shaft passes, said hood thereby being rotatable on said shaft; and at least one spring acting between said arm of said bracket and said hood biasing said hood upwardly.

11. A dispenser according to claim 10, characterised in that the biasing force of said spring is such as to be effective to move said gas cylinder upwardly only over a fraction of its weight.

12. A dispenser accozr'ng to claim 11, characterised in that said fraction is about one-tenth.

13. A dispenser according to claim 12, characterised in that said means for maintaining comprises: a planar member rigidly coupled at one end to one end of said shaft extending from said fitting, said planar member having a curved slot therein; a wall formed parallel to said planar member; and a pin extending from said all and slidably engaging said plana- member curved slot, guidinc said planar member so that it remains vertical as said hood rotates, whereby said probe will also remain vertical.

14. A dispenser according to claim 3, characterised in that said wall contains a viewing hole and said planar member contains colour coded areas viewable through said viewing hole such that the position of said planar member and thus the weight of said gas cylinder will be indicated. A dispenser according to claim 14 characterised by a regulator formed integrally with said fitting. DATED this 17th day of February 1992 CADBURY SCHWEPPES PLC By its Patent Attorneys R K MADDERN ASSOCIATES vi