GB2519098A

GB2519098A - Bottle and method for the introduction of an additive into a central heating radiator

Info

Publication number: GB2519098A
Application number: GB1317835.5A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Shahzad Kareem
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2013-10-09
Filing date: 2013-10-09
Publication date: 2015-04-15
Anticipated expiration: 2033-10-09
Also published as: GB2519098B; GB201317835D0

Abstract

A bottle 1 for the introduction of an additive into a central heating system, said bottle comprising a hollow body 2 with an elongate outlet spout 3. One end of the spout is attached to the body adjacent one end of the body via a swivel joint 4, such that the spout is manually rotatable with respect to the body, the other end of the spout is externally threaded 6 such that the spout diameter and threads will enable that end of the spout to be screwed into a tapped hole of a central heating radiator (fig 2, 7) or towel heater, with a removable closure cap 8 screwed onto the tapped end of the spout. The bottle may comprise a carry handle and the top wall may be inclined such that, when the bottle is inverted, the contents move downwards to the spout. A method of use is also claimed, where the bottle body is located below the tapped hole whilst the spout is threadably secured to said tapped hole. Once secure, the bottle body is manual rotated about the swivel joint so the body is inverted and the contents may be dispensed.

Description

TITLE OF THE INVENTION

Bottle and method for the introduction of an additive into a central heating radiator etc.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a bottle and method for the introduction of an additive, such as a rust inhibitor, to a central heating radiator or towel heater of a central heating system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A regular requirement in the installation, repair or maintenance of a central heating system is the introduction into the system of an additive, such as an inhibitor, to reduce the propensity for rusting of the steel radiators by the water flow of the system.

Such introduction needs of course to be effected in situ and most radiators are provided with a horizontal axis, tapped hole at each upper end, each normally closed off by a plug, with one plug being provided with an air bleed valve. One of the plugs needs to be removed so that additive may be introduced through the then exposed tapped hole and a standard technique is to push one end of a short length of flexible plastics piping into the hole, to push the outlet spout of a funnel into the other end of the piping, to bend the piping through approximately 90 degrees and to pour the contents of a bottle of additive into the funnel.

Apart from being an awkward operation, the additives are corrosive so that spillage frequently causes damage to existing floor coverings, whilst gloves and goggles should ideally be worn by the operative to avoid if possible skin contact with the additive. An alternative technique is to draw additive from the bottle into an oil gun or other syringe type article with a view to squirting the additive into the radiator via the exposed tapped hole. This system is easier if the tapped hole has a vertical axis e.g.on a towel heater, but the vast majority are horizontal axis, whilst not all the contents of the bottle can be drawn into the gun, such that some wastage of additive is unavoidable.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

A basic object of the present invention is the provision of an improved baffle and method for additive introduction, which avoids the need for piping, funnels, oil guns, Sc, which also avoids the installer being unduly exposed to the additive such that protective gloves or other precautions are largely unnecessary, and which also ensures that the full contents of the bottle are transferred to the system avoiding any wastage or shortfall of recommended additive volume for a given system.

SUMMARY OF A FIRST ASPECT OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bottle for the introduction of an additive into a central heating system, comprising a hollow body having an elongate outlet spout, with one end of the spout being attached to the body adjacent one end of the body via a swivel joint, such that the spout and body are mutually rotatable with respect to one another, the other end of the spout being externally threaded such that the spout diameter and threads will enable that end of the spout to be screwed into, and out of, a tapped hole of a central heating radiator or towel heater, whilst the body remains stationary with a removable closure cap screwed onto the tapped end of the spout.

SUMMARY OF A SECOND ASPECT OF THE INVENTION

According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of introducing an additive into a central hearing radiator or towel heater which has a horizontal axis, tapped access hole normally closed by a plug, from an additive containing bothe in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, comprising removing the plug, removing the closure cap of the bottle spout, screwing the spout into the tapped hole by manually rotating the spout about its swivel joint whilst the bottle body is located below the tapped access hole, inverting the bottle body by rotating it about the swivel joint through 90 degrees or thereabouts to commence transfer of the additive from the body to the radiator or towel heater, and after completion of transfer, unscrewing the nozzle from the tapped ho!e and re-fitting the closure plug.

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTiON It will be apparentthat, afte a plug has been unscrewed and removed from a radiator etc., the operative unscrews the nozzle closure cap of the bottle and with the bottle body held below the exposed tapped hole, the spout is presented to the hole and the nozzle rotated to screw the nozzle into the tapped hole. When the spout has been fully screwed home, and hence the bottle has been attached to the radiator etc., transfer of the additive is commenced by the body then being inverted by simple rotation upwardly through 90 degrees or approximately so about the swivel joint, to re-locate the body above the hole. In this position, additive commences flow from the bottle to the radiator etc. Thus, no ancillary components such as funnels are required, there is no, or minimal, risk of either an operative coming into contact with the additive or spillage causing consequential damage, and the entire contents of the bottle may be transferred to the radiator. It follows that after completion of transfer of the additive to the radiator, the spout is unscrewed from the radiator, the closure cap re-attached to the spout and the closure plug inserted into the tapped hole.

PREFERRED OR OPTIONAL FEATURES OF THE FIRST ASPECT OF THE INVENTION

The bottle is of synthetic plastics material.

The body of the synthetic plastics bottle is blow moulded.

The nozzle components are injection moulded.

The bottle is generally of rectangular parallelepiped configuration, having two spaced apart,, parallel, mutually opposed, major side walls, joined by two spaced apart, parallel, mutually opposed end walls, with both the side walls and end walls joined by a single or multiple top wall and also by a bottom wall.

The spout is located at. or adjacent, the top wall,.

The spout, between the swivel joint and the threaded end, is provided externally with an interrupted surface to aid gripping by the operative.

The interrupted surface is provided by a plurality of spaced apart ribs running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spout.

The top wall, or at least its inner surface, is slightly inclined from the zone of connection of the spout to the bottle, to ensure that, when the bottle is inverted, the last of the additive has a downhill run towards the spout, thereby ensuring that the entire contents of the bottle may be readily and successfully transferred to the radiator without any specific intervention from the operative, once the bottle spout has been screwed into the exposed radiator hole and the bottle inverted.

The top wall is provided externally with an integral carrying handle.

The carrying handle comprises an elongated aperture for insertion of fingers of the operative.

The carrying handle is hollow such that it may itself contain additive.

The carrying handle is formed behind two mutually inclined wall portions one extending upwardly from each sidewall to an apex, the two mutually inclined wall portions having at one end a common triangular closure wall to which the spout is attached, and at the other end being integral, and in fluid flow communication, with the handle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF ThE DRAWINGS

Figs 1,2 and 3, show diagrammatically a first embodiment bottle in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, and its manner of use in accordance with the second aspect of the invention, in introducing an additive into a central heating radiator with a horizontal axis tapped hole; and Figs 4 to 8 show, in detail, a second embodiment of bottle in accordance with the first aspect of the invention, and are respectively a perspective view, a side elevation, a front elevation, an underneath plan, and a top plan of the detailed bottle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In all Figures, like components are accorded like reference numerals.

In the drawings, a bottle 1 comprises a hollow body 2 to which is attached an elongate spout 3 via a swivel joint 4. Beyond the joint 4 the spout 3 is provided externally with a plurality of finger grip ribs 5, and beyond the ribs 5 the spout is provided with external threads S matching those of a tapped hole of a standard radiator 7, the end of the spout 3 distal from the swivel joint 4 being provided with a screw on/off closure cap 8.

Fig 1 shows an additive containing bottle as delivered to site. Fig 2 shows the bottle initially attached to the radiator 7 after removal, by unscrewing, of the conventionally provided closure plug (not shown), so that the threads S of the spout 3 may be screwed into the then exposed tapped hole, with the body 2 located below the tapped hole so that no additive can yet flow from the body 2. After the spout 3 has been fully screwed home by rotation of the spout 3 about the swivel joint 4 by the operative gripping the ribs 5, further use of the swivel joint 4 is made to invert the body 2 by rotation through approximately 90 degrees, to re-locate the body 2 above the tapped hole and hence to commence transfer of the additive from the bottle I to the radiator 7 via the spout 3.

The body 2 is blow moulded in synthetic plastics material, whilst the various components of the spout 3 are injection moulded in synthetic plastics material.

As best shown in Figure 4, the body 2 is generally of rectangular parallelepiped configuration, comprising two spaced apart, parallel, major side walls 9 attached ay opposed ends to two opposed, parallel, minor end walls 10, with these four walls integral with a bottom wall 11.

In the first, diagrammatic embodiment of Figs 1 to 3, the side walls 9 and end walls 10 are integral with a single component top wall 12, whilst in the second detailed embodiment of bottle illUstrated in Figs 4 to 8, the. top wall 12 is a multiple component top wall incorporating mutually inclined wall portions 12A extending to an apex 12B and having a common and generally triangular closure wall 12C to which the spout 3 is attached via the swivel joint 4.

The top wall 12 is also formed with a hollow carrying handle 13 having an elongated finger slot 14.

The transverse width of each end wall 10 needs to be relatively short, and hence the body 2 reasonably thin, such that the body 2 will not, in most circumstances, foul a wall (not shown) to which the radiator 7 is attached via the usual brackets,(not shown) and hence will not impede the attachment of a bottle 1 to a radiator 7.

Although both the two sidewalls 9 and the two end walls 10 are parallel to one another, the top waIl 12 is slightly angled e.g. at 3 degrees, with respect to the bottom wall 11, at least along its interior additive-contacting surface 15, whereby when the bottle 1 is inverted as shown in Fig 3, the last of the additive will be encouraged to flow down the inclined surface which in the inverted position now constitutes the bottom of the bottle 1, with a view to transfening the entire contents of the bottle ito the radiator 7.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A bottle for the introduction of an additive into a central heating system, comprising a hollow body having an elongate outlet spout, with one end of the spout being attached to the body adjacent one end of the body via a swivel joint, such that the spout and body are mutually rotatable with respect to one another, the other end of the spout being externally threaded such that the spout diameter and threads will enable that end of the spout to be screwed into, and out of, a tapped hole of a central heating radiator or towel heater, whilst the body remains stationary, with a removable closure cap screwed onto the tapped end of the spout.
2. A bottle as claimed in Claim 1, of synthetic plastics material.
3. A bottle as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the body of the synthetic plastics bottle is blow moulded.
4. A bottle as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the nozzle components are injection moulded.
5. A bottle as claimed in any preceding claim generally of rectangular parallelepiped configuration, having two spaced apart, parallel, mutually opposed, major side walls, joined by two spaced apart, parallel, mutually opposed end walls, with both the side walls and end walls joined by a single or multiple top wall and also by a bottom wall.
6. A bottle as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the spout is located at, or adjacent, the top wall.
7. A bottle as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the spout, between the swivel joint and the threaded end, is provided externally with an interrupted surface to aid gripping by the operative.
8. A bottle as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the interrupted surface is provided by a plurality of spaced apart ribs running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spout.
9. A bottle as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the top wall, or at least its inner surface is slightly inclined from the zone of connection of the spout to the bottle, to ensure that, when the bottle is inverted, the last of the additive has a downhill run towards the spout, thereby ensuring that the entire contents of the bottle may be readily and successfully transferred to the radiator without any specific intervention from the operative, once the bottle spout has been screwed into the exposed radiator hole and the bottle inverted.
10. A bottle as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the top wall is provided externally with an integral carrying handle.
11. A bottle as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the carrying handle comprises an elongated aperture for insertion of fingers of the operative.
12. A bottle as claimed in Claim 10 or 11, wherein the carrying handle is hollow.
13. A bottle as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the carrying handle is formed behind two mutually inclined wall portions, one extending upwardly from each sidewall to an apex, the two mutually inclined wall portions having at one end a common triangular closure wall to which the spout is attached, and at the other end being integral, and in fluid flow communication, with the handle.
14. A bottle, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.
15. A bottle, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to ligures 4 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.
16. A method of introducing an additive into a central hearing radiator or towel heater which has a horizontal axis, tapped access hole normally closed by a plug, from an additive containing bottle as defined in any preceding claim, comprising removing the plug, removing the closure cap of the bottle spout, screwing the spout into the tapped hole by manually rotating the spout about its swivel joint whilst the bottle body is located below the tapped access hole, inverting the bottle body by rotating it about the swivel joint through 90 degrees or thereabouts to commence transfer of the additive from the body to the radiator or towel heater, and after completion of transfer, unscrewing the nozzle from the tapped hole and re-fitting the closure plug.Amendments to the Claims have been filed as followsCLAIMS1. A bottle for the introduction of an additive into a central heating system, comprising a hollow body having an elongate outlet spout, with one end of the spout being attached to the body adjacent one end of the body via a swivel joint, such that the spout and body are mutually rotatable with respect to one another, the other end of the spout being externally threaded such that the spout diameter and threads will enable that end of the spout to be screwed into, and out of, a tapped hole of a central heating radiator or towel heater, whilst the body remains stationary, with a removable closure cap screwed onto the externally threaded end of the spout.2. A bottle as claimed in Claim 1, of synthetic plastics material.3. A bottle as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the body of the synthetic plastics bottle is blow moulded.4. A bottle as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the spout components are injection moulded.5. A bottle as claimed in any preceding claim generally of rectangular parallelepiped configuration, having two spaced apart, parallel, mutually opposed, major side walls, joined by two spaced apart, parallel, mutually opposed minor end walls, with both the side walls *:*. and end walls joined by a top wall and also by a bottom wall.* . 6. A bottle as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the spout is located at, or adjacent, the top wall.7. A bottle as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the spout, between the swivel joint and the threaded end, is provided externally with an interrupted surface to aid gripping by the operative.8. A bottle as claimed in Claim 7, wherein the interrupted surface is provided by a plurality of spaced apart ribs running parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spout.9. A bottle as claimed in Claim 5 at least, wherein the top wall, or at least its inner surface is slightly inclined from an area of connection of the spout to the bottle, to ensure that, when the bottle is inverted, the last of the additive has a downhill run towards the spout, thereby ensuring that the entire contents of the bottle may be readily and successfully transferred to the radiator without any specific intervention from the operative, once the bottle spout has been screwed into the exposed radiator hole and the bottle inverted.10. A bottle as claimed in Claim 5 at least, wherein the top wall is provided externally with an integral carrying handle.11. A bottle as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the carrying handle comprises an elongated aperture for insertion of fingers of the operative.12. A bottle as claimed in Claim 10 or 11, wherein the carrying handle is hollow.13. A bottle as claimed in any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the carrying handle is formed behind two mutually inclined wall portions, one extending upwardly from each sidewall to an apex, the two mutually inclined wall portions having at one end a common triangular closure wall to which the spout is attached, and at the other end being integral, and in fluid flow communication, with the handle.* . .: 14. A bottle, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.15. A bottle, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 4 to 8 of the accompanying drawings.16. A method of introducing an additive into a central hearing radiator or towel heater which has a horizontal axis, tapped access hole normally dosed by a plug, from an additive containing bottle as defined in any preceding claim, comprising removing the plug, removing the closure cap of the bottle spout, screwing the spout into the tapped hole by manually rotating the spout about its swivel joint whilst the bottle body is located below the tapped access hole, inverting the bottle body by rotating it about the swivel joint through 90 degrees or thereabouts to commence transfer of the additive from the body to the radiator or towel heater, and after completion of transfer, unscrewing the spout from the tapped hole and re-fitting the plug to the radiator or towel heater.. S. t*s* 0 * S * ** * . S * 0 *S * * S * S*S * S