mcinnes patents AUSTRALIAN PATENTS ACT 1990 INNOVATION PATENT SPECIFICATION TITLE: Gas Bottle Support Kit APPLICANT: Greenline Industries Pty Ltd Lot 5 Harry Davies Drive Lockhart NSW 2656 INVENTOR: Darren Sander 196 Mary's Mount Road Goulburn NSW 2580 ADDRESS FOR SERVICE: HODGKINSON McINNES PATENTS Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys Level 21, 201 Elizabeth Street Sydney NSW 2000 HMcIP REFERENCE: P131005AU00 2 GAS BOTTLE SUPPORT KIT TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a kit for supporting substantially cylindrical objects in an upright position during transportation and in particular, for 5 supporting conventional gas bottles. BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION When transporting cylindrical objects, whether by road, sea or air, it is often unavoidable that if the transportation vehicle suffers turbulence or has to 10 make an evasive manoeuvre, such as heavy braking, that the object will fall over. This is a particular problem when transporting fuel, such as a liquid propane gas cylinder, where such an event may often lead to damage of other transported items or the vehicle and in the worst instances, damage to the gas cylinder, causing a gas leak and potentially leading to accidental 15 fire. In countries such as North America or Australia, where the use of propane gas as a fuel for barbeques is popular, this is a commonplace problem and a threat to the safety of many users when transporting gas bottles. Past attempts at resolving this issue include International PCT application 20 no. W01997039665A1, entitled "Supporting device", in the name of Jazzac International Ltd, which discloses a cylindrical container supporting device for supporting items, such as gas bottle, in an upright position during transportation. The disclosure includes a device having a substantial base portion with five radial limbs and an upright member attached to each limb, 25 wherein a gas bottle is placed in the centre of the base and the upright members, by way of brackets, are urged towards the walls of the bottle to maintain the upright position of the bottle. Whilst this may be an adequate solution to the problem, it suffers from a number of drawbacks including the substantial size of the base portion, the complexity of attaching and 3 adjusting the upright members in relation to the gas bottle and the small surface area of contact between each upright member and the bottle. Accordingly, it would be useful to provide a solution that avoids or alleviates any of the disadvantages present in the prior art, or which provides an 5 alternative solution to the prior art approaches. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a kit for supporting a gas bottle in an upright position comprising a plurality of bottle 10 supports, having a body including at least one aperture and having a base surface and a first bottle contact surface; and one or more straps adjustable in length. In use, two or more bottle supports are arranged substantially radially to the gas bottle, such that each base surface is substantially co planar with the bottom surface of the bottle and each bottle contact surface 15 is in contact with an external surface of the gas bottle. The strap is passed through the aperture of each bottle support and adjusted in length, urging each of the supports against the external surface of the gas bottle. Each bottle contact surface has a complimentary profile to at least a portion of the gas bottle. 20 The body preferably includes a second bottle contact surface arranged on an opposite side of the support body to the first bottle contact surface, the second bottle contact surface having a complimentary profile to a gas bottle of different size and/or shape to the gas bottle associated with the first bottle contact surface. 25 The first bottle contact preferably has a complimentary profile to a standard 9kg gas bottle, and the second bottle contact surface preferably has a complimentary profile to a standard 4kg gas bottle. It is preferred that at least one of the first and second bottle contact surfaces includes one or more permanent magnets.
4 In a preferred embodiment the body has at least two apertures, the first aperture located at or near the base surface and the second aperture distally located to the first aperture. In use, a first strap is passed through the first aperture and a second strap is passed through the second aperture 5 and both straps are then adjusted in length, urging each of the supports against the external surface of the gas bottle. Each base surface preferably includes a region having a high friction co efficient, and each bottle contact surface includes a resilient region. Most preferably, the edge region of the body includes a region of a high friction 10 co-efficient. Each body preferably includes a first engagement means located on a first transverse surface to the first bottle contact surface and a corresponding second engagement means located on an opposed second transverse surface to the first bottle contact surface, whereby when two bottle 15 supports are placed adjacent to each other, the first engagement means of the first support fits within the like second engagement means of the second support. It is preferred that the first engagement means is a lip and the second engagement means is a recess. 20 The term gas bottle throughout the remainder of this document refers to a conventional, standard liquid propane gas bottle of the type commonly used to transport and house fuel for barbeques. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 25 Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of two bottle supports in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention; 5 Figure 2 is a perspective view of a kit in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention in use, supporting two different gas bottles in an upright position; and Figure 3 is perspective view of the kit shown in figure 2 disassembled from 5 the gas bottles and configured for storage. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention relates to a kit of parts, configured to support substantially cylindrical objects in an upright position during transportation. 10 The kit is particularly directed towards supporting liquid propane gas cylinders, wherein each support member is shaped to be complimentary to the profile of one or more a conventional gas bottles in order to provide an improved fit with the bottle and increased stability than known solutions. The kit is compact when not in use and able to be conveniently stored. It is 15 also quick to assemble and attach to a gas bottle, having an installation procedure that requires only a few simple steps. Figure 1 is a perspective view of two identical support parts 1 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention. Each support has a base surface 2, arranged to be in contact with the surface the bottle being 20 supported is placed on, a first profiled bottle contact surface 3 substantially perpendicular to the base and a second profiled bottle contact surface 4 parallel to the first surface 3 and opposite thereto. Whilst it is preferred that the two opposing sides of the support 3, 4 have different profiles in order to mate with the profile of two different gas bottles as shown, the support may 25 include two identical, mirrored bottle contact surfaces or only a single profiled surface. In the preferred embodiment, the first bottle contact surface 3 is adapted to match the profile of a conventional 9kg gas bottle and the second surface 4 is adapted to closely follow the profile of a 4kg gas bottle, however those skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention 6 may be adapted to form other profiles according to the shape and size of the cylinder being supported. The support is shown with two apertures 5 arranged through the body of the part and substantially parallel to the bottle support surfaces 3, 4. When 5 the support is placed adjacent to a cylinder that requires support, it is through these apertures that a strap is passed and tightened, forcing the support towards the external surface of the cylinder and fixing the support in place to form a radial brace. In the preferred embodiment the support has two apertures 5 to allow for the strap to be placed at different heights 10 from the base surface 2, dependent on the size and shape of the cylinder being supported. The support may also include additional apertures 5, not shown in figure 1, located adjacent to the base surface 1 to provide an additional restraint around the base of the cylinder and fix the base portion of the support against the external surface of the cylinder. 15 The support 1 preferably has a grip 6 attached to the base surface 2, the grip being made from a material with a high friction co-efficient such as an elastomer or rubber compound. The grip 6 maybe formed as a separate part and attached to the support or may be formed as an integral part of the support by a dual-shot injection moulding process. Whilst not shown in 20 figure 1, the grip 6 may also be formed as a peripheral region around the entire support part, covering at least a portion of the base surface 1 and bottle contact surfaces 3, 4. The grip may also be formed of a range of materials adapted according to the requirements of the invention, for example, the grip may comprise a resilient material, able to deform and 25 increase the contact between the bottle contact surfaces and a bottle. The grip may be both resilient and have a high friction co-efficient to provide an optimum friction and contact surface area combination. In the preferred embodiment, the support 1 has one or more magnets 7 integrally formed in the bottle contacting surfaces 3, 4 such that a surface 30 of each magnet is parallel and co-planar or adjacent to the support surface to increase the gripping force between the support and the bottle. It is preferable that the magnets are affixed to the part 1 by an over-moulding 7 process such that the magnets are housed within the material of the support however the magnets may be attached by a number of other methods, including adhesives or mechanical fixings. Figure 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the invention in use, 5 attached to a standard 9kg gas bottle 8 and a standard 4 kg gas bottle 9. To secure the invention to a bottle, it can be seen in the figure that at least 3 or preferably 4 supports 1 are placed adjacent to the bottle, such that the corresponding bottle support surface 3 or 4 follows the profile of the bottle. The supports 1 are positioned at even intervals around the circumference of 10 the bottle and arranged substantially radially from the longitudinal axis of the bottle. A strap 10 is then passed through a corresponding aperture 5 of each support 1 and adjusted to the shortest length possible, urging each of the supports towards the centre of the bottle. The strap is fixed at this length by any one of a number of conventional means, such as Velcro, 15 buckles, and the like. When in position, the supports 1 contact the surface which the bottle is resting on and the walls of the bottle, forming a brace between the two and preventing the bottle from rocking or falling over when in transit. As mentioned above, an additional aperture may be added to allow an additional strap to be placed around the base of the bottle, 20 should further reinforcement be required. In figure 3, an alternative embodiment is shown wherein three identical supports 1 are shown stacked adjacent to each other and held in place by the strap 10, in a compact state prepared for storage. A lip 11 is shown which fits within the perimeter walls of the opposite side of the support, 25 providing a snug fit between stacked parts. In this specification, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term "comprising" has the non-exclusive meaning of the word, in the sense of "including at least" rather than the exclusive meaning in the sense of "consisting only of". The same applies with corresponding grammatical 30 changes to other forms of the word such as "comprise", "comprises" and so on.
8 It will be apparent that obvious variations or modifications may be made which are in accordance with the spirit of the invention and which are intended to be part of the invention. Although the invention is described above with reference to specific embodiments, it will be appreciated by 5 those skilled in the art that it is not limited to those embodiments, but may be embodied in many other forms. INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The invention can be utilised in transport and packaging industries. 10