EP4060219A1 - Adapter assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to an adapter arrangement (1) with an adapter (3) and a CO ₂ container (2), the CO ₂ container (2) having a connection head (4) with a valve (5). The connection head (4) forms a first interface, by means of which the connection head (4) can be connected to a first conveyor unit (9), by means of which carbon dioxide can be removed from or supplied to the CO ₂ container (2). The adapter (3) has an interface that corresponds to the first interface and by means of which the adapter (3) can be attached to the connection head (4). The adapter (3) forms a second interface which is designed for connection to a second conveyor unit (9) and which is designed differently from the first interface.

Description

The invention relates to an adapter arrangement according to the preamble of claim 1.

CO ₂ containers, ie containers in which carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ) is stored, are used to enrich liquids with carbonic acid. Carbon dioxide is preferably stored in liquid form in the CO ₂ containers, which can in particular be in the form of bottles. The liquids can be water or other beverages.

The enrichment of liquids with carbonic acid takes place in carbonation machines, which can be used in particular as compact table devices in private households, offices and the like. The liquid to be carbonated is stored in a liquid container which can be connected to a connection of the carbonation machine, the interface between the connection and the liquid container being sealed.

The carbonation machine also has a conveyor unit to which a CO ₂ container can be connected. For this purpose, the CO ₂ container has a connection head with a valve.

The carbonation machine is operated in such a way that the CO ₂ container is first connected to the conveyor unit with its connection head. The delivery unit is actuated via an actuating mechanism and thereby the valve in the connection head of the CO ₂ container, so that carbon dioxide is discharged from the CO ₂ container and fed to the liquid container, whereby the enrichment of the liquid with carbonic acid takes place.

The CO ₂ containers advantageously form reusable units such that empty CO ₂ containers can be refilled with carbon dioxide in filling devices in order to then be able to be used again for a carbonation machine. To fill a CO ₂ container, carbon dioxide is introduced via the valve in the connection head. For this purpose, the filling device typically has filling heads that are placed on the connection head of the respective CO ₂ container.

A problem with such systems is that the conveying units of the carbonization machines do not have a standardized, uniform interface for connecting the connection heads of the CO ₂ containers. Accordingly, there are also different types of connection heads for containers.

This leads to an undesired increase in the logistical effort in such systems. In particular, it is disadvantageous for the users of carbonization machines that they cannot use any CO ₂ container for their carbonization machine. Rather, the user must ensure that he has the right CO ₂ canister available for the respective carbonation machine. This is particularly disadvantageous when a user has stored a larger number of one type of CO ₂ canisters that do not match another type of carbonation machine to be used by him. This means that the CO ₂ canisters cannot be used for this type of carbonation machine.

The object of the invention is to provide a system that enables flexible use of CO ₂ containers.

To solve this problem, the features of claim 1 are provided. Advantageous embodiments and expedient developments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

The invention relates to an adapter arrangement with an adapter and a CO ₂ container, the CO ₂ container having a connection head with a valve. The connection head forms a first interface, by means of which the connection head can be connected to a first conveyor unit, by means of which carbon dioxide can be removed from or fed to the CO ₂ container. The adapter has an interface that corresponds to the first interface and by means of which the adapter can be attached to the connection head. The adapter forms a second interface which is designed for connection to a second conveyor unit and which is designed differently from the first interface.

The adapter arrangement according to the invention forms a modular system that enables a more flexible, extensive use of CO ₂ containers.

The CO ₂ containers are generally used to store carbon dioxide, especially in liquid form. In general, the CO ₂ containers have a connection head with a valve. A conveyor unit can be connected to this connection head, which is in particular a component of a carbonization machine. Carbon dioxide can be discharged from the CO ₂ container in a known manner via the connection head with the valve and the delivery unit connected to it and fed to a liquid container which is connected to the carbonation machine. This allows liquid in the container to be enriched with carbonic acid.

The connection head of a CO ₂ container can only be connected to a specific type of conveyor unit of a carbonation machine, which limits its possible use.

This limitation is eliminated by the adapter of the adapter arrangement according to the invention. Using the adapter, the CO ₂ tank can be used to connect another type of delivery unit.

For this purpose, the adapter has an interface that corresponds to a first interface of the connection head and a second interface that differs from the first interface. If a CO ₂ container is to be used for a first conveyor unit, the CO ₂ container can be connected directly to this first conveyor unit with a first interface. According to the invention, the CO ₂ container can also be used for a second delivery unit that differs from the first delivery unit. For this purpose, the adapter is attached with its corresponding interface to the first interface. Then the conveyor unit can be connected to the second interface of the adapter.

With the adapter, the usability of the CO ₂ containers is extended for different conveyor units.

In general, the adapter arrangement according to the invention can also be expanded to the effect that a modular system of several different adapters is used, which differ from one another in terms of the designs of their corresponding interface and/or second interface, so that a large number of different CO ₂ containers are combined with different conveyor units can be.

The conveyor unit, which can be connected to a CO ₂ container directly or via an adapter depending on the design, can be designed as a component of a carbonation machine as a removal unit, by means of which carbon dioxide is removed from the CO ₂ container.

In principle, the or each conveyor unit can also be part of a filling device. Carbon dioxide is then supplied to the respective container by means of the conveyor unit.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the first and second interfaces have different mechanical interface elements.

This enables adaptation to the mechanical constructions of different conveyor units.

The mechanical interface element of the first interface of the connection head is particularly advantageously designed in the form of an external thread and the mechanical interface element of the corresponding interface of the adapter is designed in the form of an internal thread into which the external thread can be screwed. The mechanical interface element of the second interface of the adapter is advantageously formed by a cylindrical lateral surface of the adapter.

In general, the connection head can also have an internal thread. Then the mechanical interface element of the corresponding interface of the adapter has an external thread.

In these embodiments, the adapter converts threaded connections to unthreaded connections.

This embodiment is of great relevance because in the past carbonization machines with conveyor units in the form of threaded connections were used almost exclusively. Therefore, a large number of CO ₂ canisters have been and are in circulation that have male-threaded connection heads as the mechanical interface element.

Carbonation machines have recently been increasingly used, the conveyor units of which have unthreaded connections for coupling CO ₂ containers. As a result, only CO ₂ containers can be used for this purpose whose connection head has unthreaded mechanical interface elements. Consequently, CO ₂ containers with connection heads that have an external thread as a mechanical interface element cannot be connected directly to such carbonization machines. With the adapter according to the invention, which causes a conversion from a threaded connection to a threadless connection, the large number of CO ₂ containers in circulation with mechanical interface elements in the form of external threads can now also be made available for these new types of carbonation machines.

According to a structurally advantageous embodiment, the adapter has a cavity which opens out on its underside and in which the internal thread is provided. The mechanical interface element of the second interface of the adapter is provided on its upper side.

The adapter can then be placed with the cavity on the connection head. The adapter has only a small overall height. This means that a CO ₂ container with an adapter is only slightly larger than a CO ₂ container without an adapter. This is an important prerequisite for using CO ₂ canisters with adapters in carbonation machines that are conceptually designed for CO ₂ canisters without adapters.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the adapter has a valve connection means which, when the adapter is mounted on the connection head of a CO ₂ container, is in operative connection with a valve connection element in the connection head.

The valve connection means is expediently formed by a pressure pin running in the axial direction of the adapter. The valve connection element is formed by a release pin running in the axial direction of the connection head.

The valve connection means converts an actuation of an actuation mechanism of the carbonation machine to the valve connection element, so that carbon dioxide can escape from the CO ₂ container and can be fed to a liquid container on the carbonation machine, whereby a liquid stored there is enriched with carbonic acid.

The routing of the carbon dioxide escaping from the CO ₂ container is advantageously accomplished in that at least one channel runs in the adapter, via which carbon dioxide flowing out of the valve of the connection head is fed to an outlet opening.

The or each outlet opening expediently opens out on the cylindrical lateral surface of the adapter.

The or each outlet opening is particularly advantageously located in a groove running around in the circumferential direction of the adapter and opening out on the lateral surface.

The circumferential groove distributes the carbon dioxide flowing out via the outlet opening in the circumferential direction of the adapter. This has the advantage that an opening in the delivery unit via which the carbon dioxide is passed on does not have to be positioned exactly at the point of the outlet opening.

According to a structurally advantageous embodiment, the adapter has an actuation section.

The actuating section expediently has a polygonal lateral surface.

A user can attach the adapter to the connection head by means of the actuating section without using tools, in particular screwing the internal thread on the adapter onto the external thread of the connection head. Due to the polygonal cross-section of the actuation section, the user has a good grip and can therefore easily attach the adapter to the connection head.

Figur 1:

Ausführungsbeispiel der erfindungsgemäßen Adapteranordnung mit einem CO₂-Behälter und einem Adapter.

Figur 2:

Schnittdarstellung des CO₂-Behälters mit aufgesetztem Adapter der Austrittsöffnung gemäß Figur 1.

Figur 3:

Anordnung gemäß Figur 2 mit einem auf dem Adapter aufgesetzten Förderkopf.

Figur 4:

Darstellung des CO₂-Behälters mit aufgesetztem Adapter gemäß Figur 3 und eines weiteren CO₂-Behälters.

Figur 5:

Schematische Darstellung einer Karbonisierungsmaschine.

The invention is explained below with reference to the drawings. Show it:

Figure 1:

Embodiment of the adapter arrangement according to the invention with a CO ₂ container and an adapter.

Figure 2:

Sectional view of the CO ₂ container with attached adapter according to the outlet opening figure 1 .

Figure 3:

Arrangement according to figure 2 with a delivery head placed on the adapter.

Figure 4:

Representation of the CO ₂ container with attached adapter according to FIG. 3 and another CO ₂ container.

Figure 5:

Schematic representation of a carbonation machine.

figure 1 shows an example of the adapter arrangement 1 according to the invention with a CO ₂ container 2 and an adapter 3 assigned to it. figure 2 shows the adapter 3 mounted on the CO ₂ container 2 in a sectional view.

The CO ₂ container 2 is bottle-shaped and is used to store carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ), the carbon dioxide advantageously being stored in liquid form in the CO ₂ container 2 .

The CO ₂ container 2 has a connection head 4 on its upper side, in which a valve 5 is provided ( figures 2 and 3 ). By actuating the valve 5 carbon dioxide can be discharged from the CO ₂ tank 2 . If the container is empty, carbon dioxide can be refilled into the CO ₂ container 2 via the connection head 4 .

Such CO ₂ containers 2, of which different embodiments exist ( figure 4 ) can be used in carbonization machines 6.

Such a carbonization machine 6 is shown schematically in figure 5 shown. The carbonization machine 6 has a receptacle 7 on which a liquid container 8 is mounted, with the seams between the liquid container 8 and the receptacle 7 being sealed. Furthermore, a CO ₂ container 2 is mounted on a conveyor unit 9 . By actuating an actuating mechanism, carbon dioxide is discharged from the CO ₂ container 2 by means of the conveyor unit 9 and fed to the liquid in the liquid container 8, as a result of which the liquid is enriched with carbonic acid. The liquid can be water or a drink in general.

figure 1 shows a CO ₂ container 2, which has a first interface, which has an external thread 10 as a mechanical interface element. This first interface is for a connection to the conveyor unit 9 of the carbonization machine 6 according to figure 5 not suitable.

So that the CO ₂ tank 2 according figure 1 can be connected to the conveyor unit 9 of the carbonization machine 6, the adapter 3 according to the invention is provided. This ensures that the first interface is converted into a second interface that can be connected to the conveyor unit 9 of the carbonization machine 6 . As the figures 2 and 3 show, the adapter 3 has a lower area with a cavity which opens out on the underside of the adapter 3 . An internal thread 11 is provided on the side walls delimiting the cavity. This internal thread 11 can be screwed onto the external thread 10 so that the adapter 3 on the connection head 4 is seated, with the longitudinal axis of the adapter 3 coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the connection head 4 and the CO ₂ container 2 .

In the upper area of the adapter 3 there is a second interface. This second interface is formed by a cylindrical lateral surface 12 of the adapter 3. A groove 13 that runs radially around in the circumferential direction is worked into this lateral surface 12 . Two outlet openings 14 open out there.

The CO ₂ container 2 can be connected to the conveyor unit 9 of the carbonization machine 6 with this second interface of the adapter 3 .

figure 4 shows another type of CO ₂ container 2a. The connection head 4 of this CO ₂ container 2a already has the first interface with the cylindrical lateral surface 12 and can therefore be connected directly to the conveyor unit 9 of the carbonization machine 6 . In contrast, the CO ₂ container 2 according to FIG. 1 can only be connected to the delivery unit 9 with the adapter 3 seated thereon. These two configurations shows figure 4 .

As figure 1 shows, on the outside of the adapter 3, an operating portion 15 is provided which has a polygonal cross section. There, a user can grip the adapter 3 and screw it onto the connection head 4 of the CO ₂ container 2 .

Like the sectional views of the figures 2 and 3 show, the adapter 3 is screwed with the internal thread 11 onto the external thread 10 of the connection head 4 of the CO ₂ container 2 .

In the adapter 3, ducts 16 run from the ceiling of the cavity to the outlet openings 14. In the present case, two ducts 16 are provided, each leading to an outlet opening 14, although this is not mandatory. A seal 17 is provided in the area of the ceiling.

Each channel 16 runs in the vertical direction in the adapter 3 and has a horizontal branch which leads to the respective outlet opening 14 . The outflow directions of the carbon dioxide discharged via the outlet openings 14 are in figure 2 denoted by arrows I.

A pressure pin 18 is provided in the center of the adapter 3 as a valve connection means and runs along the longitudinal axis of the adapter 3 . The lower end of the pressure pin 18 is guided onto a release pin 19 which forms a valve connection element of the valve 5 of the connection head 4 . The pressure pin 18 is mounted in a bore of the adapter 3 in a sealed manner by means of a sealing ring 20 . In addition, the pressure pin 18 is secured against falling out.

figure 3 shows the arrangement according to figure 2 at a conveyor head 21 mounted at the second interface of the adapter 3, which is part of the conveyor unit 9 of the carbonization machine 6.

The delivery head 21 has a central cavity into which the upper part of the adapter 3 with the second interface is inserted. In this way, the adapter 3 is connected to the conveyor unit 9 of the carbonization machine 6 .

Sealing means 22 are introduced into the cavity, which delimit and seal channel structures 23 and line structures 23a. The carbon dioxide discharged from the CO ₂ container 2 via the adapter 3 is guided in the channel structures 23 and line structures 23a until it is discharged via a discharge opening 24 and from there it is fed to the liquid in the liquid container 8 via further lines. The exit direction of the carbon dioxide in the discharge opening 24 is in figure 3 indicated by the arrow II.

The carbon dioxide is discharged from the CO ₂ container 2 via the adapter 3 with an actuating mechanism in the form of a push button 25 which is part of the delivery unit 9 . By pressing the push button 25 the pressure pin 18 is pressed down, whereby the release pin 19 is also pressed down. This opens the valve 5 of the connection head 4 so that carbon dioxide flows out via the channels 16 of the adapter 3 and reaches the delivery head 21 . From there, the carbon dioxide is fed to the liquid container 8 .

R eference list

(1)

adapter assembly

(2)

CO ₂ canister

(2a)

CO ₂ canister

(3)

adapter

(4)

connection head

(5)

Valve

(6)

carbonation machine

(7)

recording

(8th)

liquid container

(9)

conveyor unit

(10)

external thread

(11)

inner thread

(12)

lateral surface

(13)

groove

(14)

exit port

(15)

operating section

(16)

channel

(17)

poetry

(18)

pressure pin

(19)

release pin

(20)

sealing ring

(21)

conveyor head

(22)

sealant

(23)

channel structure

(23a)

management structure

(24)

dispensing opening

(25)

push button

I,II

exit direction

Claims (14)

Adapter arrangement (1) with an adapter (3) and a CO ₂ container (2), wherein the CO ₂ container (2) has a connection head (4) with a valve (5), and wherein the connection head (4) has a forms the first interface, by means of which the connection head (4) can be connected to a first conveyor unit (9), by means of which carbon dioxide can be removed from or fed to the CO ₂ container (2), characterized in that the adapter (3) has a has an interface corresponding to the first interface, by means of which the adapter (3) can be attached to the connection head (4), and that the adapter (3) forms a second interface which is designed for connection to a second conveyor unit (9) and which is different from the first interface is formed. Adapter arrangement (1) according to Claim 1, characterized in that the first and second interfaces have different mechanical interface elements. Adapter arrangement (1) according to Claim 2, characterized in that the mechanical interface element of the first interface of the connection head (4) is in the form of an external thread (10), and that the mechanical interface element of the corresponding interface of the adapter (3) is in the form of an internal thread (11) is formed, into which the external thread (10) can be screwed. Adapter arrangement (1) according to Claim 3, characterized in that the adapter (3) has a cavity which opens out on its underside and in which the internal thread (11) is provided. Adapter arrangement (1) according to one of Claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the mechanical interface element of the second interface of the adapter (3) is formed by a cylindrical lateral surface (12) of the adapter (3). Adapter arrangement (1) according to Claim 5, characterized in that the cylindrical outer surface (12) is provided on the upper side of the adapter (3). Adapter arrangement (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the adapter (3) has a valve connection means which, when the adapter (3) is mounted on the connection head (4) of a CO ₂ container (2), is in operative connection with a Valve connection element in the connection head (4). Adapter arrangement (1) according to Claim 7, characterized in that the valve connection means is formed by a pressure pin (18) running in the axial direction of the adapter (3), and in that the valve connection element is formed by a release pin (19 ) is formed. Adapter arrangement (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that at least one channel (16) runs in the adapter (3), via which carbon dioxide flowing out of the valve (5) of the connection head (4) is fed to an outlet opening (14). becomes. Adapter arrangement (1) according to Claim 9, characterized in that the or each outlet opening (14) opens out on the cylindrical lateral surface (12) of the adapter (3). Adapter arrangement (1) according to claim 10, characterized in that the or each outlet opening (14) in a circumferential direction of the Adapter (3) radially circumferential groove (13), which opens out on the lateral surface (12), is located. Adapter arrangement (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the adapter (3) has an actuating section (15). Adapter arrangement (1) according to Claim 12, characterized in that the actuating section (15) has a polygonal lateral surface (12). Adapter arrangement (1) according to one of Claims 1 to 13, characterized in that the or each conveyor unit (9) is part of a carbonization machine (6) or a filling device.

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