ITMI20130091A1 - METHOD OF AUTOMATIC DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL GAS CYLINDERS FOR DOMESTIC, SEMI-PROFESSIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL USE AND ITS APPROPRIATE PACKAGED TANK - Google Patents

Description

â € œMETHOD OF AUTOMATIC DISPENSING OF TECHNICAL GAS CYLINDERS FOR DOMESTIC, SEMIPROFESSIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL USE AND RELATED BOTTLE PROPERLY PACKAGEDâ €

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a method of automatic dispensing of technical gas cylinders for domestic, semi-professional and professional use, and to the relative cylinder suitably made and packaged so that it can be dispensed with this method.

It is known to use technical gases in various industrial applications, for example in welding, refrigeration, laboratory and scientific applications, in the food sector (packaging in a protective atmosphere) and in the carbonation (carbonation) of beverages, and the like.

Equally well known is the use of some of these gases (eg helium, carbon dioxide, Ar / CO2 mix, pure gases and special mixtures) in domestic, semi-professional and professional applications, for example in the inflation of balloons, in the carbonation of tap water and / or aquariums, in the welding of small objects in the case of hobby, in the calibration of analysis instruments and the like.

The technical gases for these domestic, semi-professional and professional applications are supplied in low capacity portable cylinders (also called cylinders), typically less than 5 geometric liters, here also defined as â € œbomboletteâ €, which are available at specialized stores and / o in Shopping Centers and / or on online sales channels (WEB), but their diffusion currently remains rather limited.

This limitation is mainly due to the fact that their storage, transport and use is subject to specific dangers, if handled without following the specific instructions, given the high internal pressure (for example about 100 bar in the case of helium , Ar / CO2 mixtures and other compressed gases; 50-60 bar in the case of carbon dioxide), for which it is necessary to qualify the sales centers and specialize them.

In fact, these cans are dispensed and distributed to the public in some specialized stores of products for the home (for the carbonation of water) and / or for hobby (aquarium, welding) and / or for leisure (for inflation. balloons) upon payment of a deposit, or through some internet sites from which they can be purchased online.

These cans can be refillable, especially those sold in stores, or disposable as in the case of online purchases.

The disadvantage of these cans and their method of distribution to the public lies in the fact that it is necessary to stock well in advance before use, especially in the case of online purchases, given the delivery times generally around 7 days.

Furthermore, very often the need to use these cans is felt in free time and in any case in moments outside the opening hours of the specialized shop (not always easily reachable). Furthermore, other sectors of use such as that of pure and special gases, used for example for the calibration of analysis systems, are affected by these limitations, especially in the case of portable scientific instruments, whose calibration is necessary in the field and therefore outside. of an equipped laboratory.

Therefore, these dispensing methods, which require provisioning in advance, do not make it possible to have cylinders for domestic, semi-professional and professional use of technical gases, such as helium, welding Ar / CO2 mixtures, food gases such as carbon dioxide, special pure gases. for particular uses, for example for the calibration of portable analytical instruments, at any time and place if needed.

Therefore, in the sector of cylinders with low capacity of technical gases for domestic, semi-professional and professional use, it is highly desirable to have portable cylinders of said technical gases, even in public places and / or at the open without the limitation of opening hours and easy to access.

A method to always and continuously have a product is that which provides for the delivery of the product through the use of vending machines.

It is known to automatically dispense medium capacity LPG cylinders (from 5 kg to 30 kg approx.) Through special vending machines such as â € œself Serviceâ €, which consist of a series of storage compartments whose accessibility (at single containment compartment) is regulated by a respective door that opens after product selection and payment.

However, these vending machines have found a limited use only to the Fuel Refueling Stations, in the face of the criticalities of the treated product: the fact that the G.P.L. contained in these cylinders is a combustible gas subject to particular taxes and excise duties requires that the installation of said â € œvending machineâ € is carried out to a limited extent in areas authorized also from the point of view of safety (CPI, etc.), as well as the management of the same is carried out by a Legal Entity Authorized for the sale of hydrocarbons.

To date, it is not known to supply cylinders of low capacity technical gases for domestic, semi-professional and professional use, normally sold by specialized shops or through the WEB, by means of automatic dispensers: in fact, the conventional cylinder falls due to gravity in the unloading and sampling compartment. product, as occurs for any product distributed by common â € œvending machinesâ €, for example those with the spiral distribution method, could damage the dispensing valve causing a gas leak and / or explosions, given the high pressure at where the gas contained in the can is found.

The purpose of the present invention is to overcome, at least in part, the disadvantages of the known art by supplying cans with a low capacity of technical gases, for example helium, Ar / CO2 welding mixtures, food gases such as carbon dioxide, pure and special gases for uses. details, for example for the calibration of portable analytical instruments, which can be supplied safely at any time and place if needed, especially in public places, without however incurring any danger for the consumer.

This and other purposes are achieved by the method and the cylinder packaged in accordance with the invention having the characteristics listed in the respective independent claims 1 and 3 annexed to the present application.

Advantageous embodiments of the invention appear from the dependent claims.

An object of the present invention relates to a system for supplying and dispensing, with greater diffusion to the public, refillable or disposable, portable and low capacity (i.e. up to 5 liters) cans containing helium, or technical gases, for example welding gases such as Argon and its mixtures, food gases such as carbon dioxide, pure and special gases for example for the calibration of portable analytical instruments and the like, respectively for domestic, semi-professional and professional use, for example for inflating balloons, for gassing water, for hobbies, for calibration of measuring instrumentation and / or scientific applications and the like, said system comprising

the loading with the aforementioned low capacity cans, suitably reinforced and packaged, of an appropriate automatic dispensing equipment equipped with a movable tray for collection and accompanying towards the unloading and withdrawal compartment (with hatch), and

the continuous supply on site (in public areas such as gardens, squares, commercial galleries, common areas of Universities and / or Research Centers, etc.) of these cans suitably reinforced and in packaged form, in association with a automatic dispensing equipment located in said site, each of said packaged cans being equipped with an ergonomic external packaging (packaging) in the form of a parallelepiped having, on at least one side, an opening capable of displaying the safety information of said can and the The label thereof, and at least one handle to make said packaged cans portable and facilitate their transport, said package of said can furthermore include balloons, fittings, reducers, valves and the like.

With â € œbombolettaâ € we intend to identify a cylinder of technical gas of low capacity or capacity, containing at most 5 liters, preferably with a capacity of 0.5-3 liters, more preferably 0.5-2.5 liters, which stands out from traditional industrial cylinders of technical gas due to their dimensional, structural and safety characteristics as will be explained in detail below.

Contrary to the known low capacity canisters, which mount metric threaded valves - both on the cylinder side and on the dispensing side - and therefore do not meet any international standard (with the consequent disadvantage of not having certainty of compatibility with the equipment / equipment of the users such as reducers, valves, etc., which may have different types of threads / connections) this portable canister provides, as a gas supply valve, a valve with metric thread, on the user side, among the most used on the non-professional market ( type 10x1, etc.) as well as, on the cylinder side, with thread in accordance with international standards and reinforced (reinforced thread) in analogy to the refillable industrial cylinders for compressed and / or liquefied gas, which however have a much greater capacity.

This expedient allows to increase the safety standard of the cans during dispensing as they are much more resistant to possible impacts during handling than known ones with similar geometric volume.

In fact, it should be noted that the current valves for low capacity technical gas cylinders do not have to meet any specific safety regulations as they are required to correctly observe the specific instructions for transport, use and management of the cylinder, shown on the can.

This reinforced valve is mounted on the respective seat which is also reinforced with respect to the seats provided in conventional cylinders (e.g. threaded bushing with thread according to international standards and optionally with increased thickness).

This can is also made of material suitable for containing the various gases mentioned above (for example steel, light aluminum alloys) having a greater thickness than conventional cylinders of the same geometric volume and / or dimensions.

Said thickness is generally increased by at least 15%, preferably by at least 20%, so as to increase the pressure resistance of the container.

In a preferred embodiment, the thickness of the cans with a capacity up to 5 liters, the thickness is 2.5 mm instead of 2 mm as in the known art, with the same geometric volume.

<1> This allows to increase the loading pressure (given the greater thickness and greater mechanical resistance) thus increasing the quantity of compressed gas (for example helium, argon, nitrogen, etc.) that can be contained in these cylinders in according to the present invention with respect to the known ones having the same geometric volume.

This can is also packaged with a package of such shape and consistency (e.g. reinforced packaging cardboard) that it can be distributed through a â € œvending machineâ € equipped with storage cells and a collection tray to accompany the package towards the compartment (with hatch) for unloading and withdrawing the product, such as the â € œvending machineâ € described in the patent application WO2007 / 009714 incorporated herein by reference, which allows to avoid the need to fall due to gravity of the product which could damage the cylinder itself or the machine.

This package, for example in the form of a box, therefore also covers the weaker upper part of the cylinder where the reinforced dispensing valve and / or the connection for the user is located, thus protecting this valve against any knocks. during handling.

Furthermore, inside this package there is preferably a reinforced collar, made with the same material as the package, designed to further protect the valve group of the cylinder, similar to what happens in an industrial cylinder protected by a metal collar (cap) surrounding the valve body and on which the handles are obtained, in the case of capacities greater than 1 liter.

Said collar can be integral with the package or obtained on a parallelepiped element to be inserted in the package in correspondence with the valve, which abuts in correspondence with the curvilinear portion of the cylinder below the valve.

In addition to said collar, it is also possible to provide a bubble film to be placed on the valve body in correspondence with said collar.

Further characteristics of the invention will become clearer from the detailed description that follows, referring to a purely exemplary and therefore non-limiting embodiment illustrated in the attached drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front front view of a machine for dispensing technical gas canisters according to the invention;

Figure 2 is a front view of a conventional canister of technical gas illustrating the conventional dispensing valve;

figure 3 is a front view of the can of the invention packaged to be dispensed through a vending machine;

Figures 4 a) -c) illustrate three different embodiments of the canister packaging according to the invention;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the reinforced dispensing valve.

Figure 1 illustrates a vending machine 100 operating in the `` X-Y coordinate '' type, equipped with a collection and accompanying tray, which is suitable for working with a wide range of products with the most different shapes. , measures and weights, such as for example that described in the aforementioned patent application WO2007 / 009714 incorporated herein by reference.

It comprises a product warehouse consisting of a shelf formed by a plurality of shelves 1, manually removable, in which the dividing walls (not shown) that delimit the containment cells on each shelf 1 are manually removable so as to form cells on each shelf of different sizes depending on the shape of the objects to contain and distribute.

On the sides of this shelf there are guides along which a frame slides vertically on which a pusher is mounted which pushes the chosen product out of the shelf 1.

A tray is fixed to this frame, and placed on the opposite side to the pusher, which collects the product selected by the pusher.

The pusher and the tray move vertically integrally with the frame so that the pusher and the tray can be positioned in line with the shelf 1 on which the selected product is placed; moreover, the pusher also moves horizontally along the frame, so as to position itself in the rear part of the row (cell) of the selected product.

The stroke of this pusher along the row of the selected product is determined by a position detector placed on the collection tray, which controls the falling phase of the product from the shelf, and when the product is completely deposited on the tray it sends a stop signal to the pusher so that the product immediately following the fallen one remains on the shelf 1.

The frame and the shelf are furthermore surrounded by a casing provided with a front door 2, generally in the form of a window, and with a rear door (not shown) for loading the product magazine.

A push-button panel 3 for product selection and activation of the distribution mechanism is provided on this casing, which also includes openings for inserting coins / ATMs and for dispensing change.

The tray is laterally equipped with a detector device, such as a laser or photocell, which detects the presence or absence of the product being unloaded.

In practice, after the user has selected the product on the push-button panel 3, the frame moves from the rest position, at the bottom, to the position of the shelf 1 of the selected product, and then the pusher moves horizontally on the frame in correspondence with the cell containing the product.

Subsequently, the pusher pushes forward the row of products arranged on the surface while the photocell detects the protrusion of the product from the shelf, then continues with the thrust until the product falls on the collection tray, by overturning.

When the product is totally contained in the tray, the photocell no longer detects the product protruding from the shelf 1 and therefore blocks the pushing action of the pusher. Then the frame moves downwards bringing the tray in correspondence with the opening 4 of the product unloading and withdrawal compartment (with hatch) that allows you to take the requested product.

Therefore, in said machine 100, the stroke of the pusher is not determined by the thickness of the product nor is it directly dependent on this thickness, as it happens instead in the spiral vending machine.

With regard to the packaging of the cylinder object of the present invention, it consists of a box 21, made of cardboard or other similar material, substantially in the shape of a parallelepiped, which is capable of being subjected to the pushing action of the pusher in the cell warehouse described above.

Said package 21 has at least one opening 23 on at least one side, which can also partially extend on the side of the box as illustrated in figs. 4b) and 4c).

Said opening 23 has the purpose of displaying the type of gas, the standard instructions for placing a product on the market and the safety regulations of the can, avoiding reporting them also on the package as happens instead in the packaged known cans (closed box), with evident time savings in the cans production cycle.

On at least one side of said box 21 there is also at least one handle 22, integral with said box (fig. 4a)) since it is made of the same material, or said handle 22 can be a separate element which is then mounted on said package 21 (figs. 3 and c)). Furthermore, it is possible to provide two handles 22 on the package 21, instead of one, as illustrated in fig. 4a), without leaving the scope of the invention.

As previously mentioned, according to the invention, the cylinder 20 can be a disposable low capacity helium cylinder (disposable) for balloons, a disposable or refillable low capacity cylinder for domestic carbonation of water. and / or for aquariums; a disposable low capacity cylinder of LPG, O2, N2, Ar, Ar / CO2 mixture, refrigerant fluids, etc. for semi-professional uses, (cutting and welding microkit, small repairs to air conditioning and refrigeration systems, car tire inflation kits, softgun, hobbystics, etc.), a disposable or refillable low capacity cylinder of pure gases and / or special calibration mixtures analytical instrumentation or for scientific applications.

It should be understood that in the present dispensing system the aforementioned cans 20 in accordance with the present invention may occupy even only a part of the product warehouse of the vending machine described above, leaving the remaining space for other products, in particular those that can represent a complement of the previous ones such as gel bags for transport at controlled temperature, etc.

Similarly to the known cans, the can 20 of the invention is equipped with a support support 11, which covers its rounded bottom.

Said cylinder 20 also provides a reinforced dispensing valve 30 for the supply of gas, which is mounted on a threaded bushing 31 (for example with 17E UNI EN ISO 11116-1 gas thread), also reinforced ( for example with increased thickness) and welded to the cylinder, in analogy to industrial cylinders for compressed and liquefied gases.

The use of a thread for the connection of the dispensing valve to the standard cylinder in accordance with an international standard is advantageous as it guarantees greater safety of use by a non-professional user. In fact, in known cylinders the connection of the valve on the cylinder side is not regulated.

The user-side thread of this cylinder may preferably be of the metric type "10x1" which is currently the most used for non-professional, semi-professional applications, etc., and which therefore has the greatest compatibility with equipment that uses gas cylinders. .

As regards the reinforcement carried out on the dispensing valve 30 (reinforced thread, for example conical gas thread) as well as the excess thickness of the cylinder, they are such as to increase the permissible filling pressure by 25-30%: for example in the specific case of a 2,2 lt capacity cylinder, where the cylinder and relative valve are normally designed to withstand 80 bar (permitted filling pressure), the reinforcement is such as to bring the filling pressure to 97 bar.

Contrary to the cylinders known in the art, the dispensing valve 30 is also equipped with a safety valve or rupture disk (in the case of liquefied gases such as LPG, CO2, etc.) 32 suitably calibrated according to the gas contained therein .

In fact, the presence, on the can 20, of a safety system 32 allows to guarantee a higher safety standard - beyond the minimum required by current legislation - which is particularly advantageous in light of the fact that the user profile of the said spray 20 is not necessarily "professional".

In the case of refillable cans, in order to reduce the weight thus making transport cheaper (see shipping by courier in the case of online sales on the WEB) and easy handling, they can be advantageously made of light aluminum alloy.

In practice, the present method of dispensing portable, low-capacity cylinders of technical gases provides for a first phase of loading the cells of the warehouse produced with the aforementioned low-capacity cylinders of technical gas (equipped with a reinforced delivery valve, safety and increased thickness, and thread according to international standards) packaged with a suitable package, in the form of a parallelepiped, having an opening on at least one side of said package and at least one handle to make said packaged cylinders portable; and a subsequent step of dispensing said cylinders packaged through said automatic apparatus by operating the push-button panel, placed on board said apparatus, which activates said tray as described above.

In fact, the Applicant has found that the new cylinder, with seat / valve / thickness reinforced with respect to those commonly on the market of equal geometric volume, and equipped with an appropriate protective casing, makes it possible to distribute small cylinders of technical gas through a vending machine of the â € œX-Yâ € type with tray accompanying the compartment (with hatch) for unloading and picking up the product.

In particular, the combination of the characteristics of the new cylinder with those of the casing (packaging) makes it possible to distribute small cylinders for technical gases by means of a â € œvending machineâ €.

However, it is to be understood that the present packaged cylinder can also be dispensed by conventional methods such as specialized shops and WEB sites, without departing from the present invention.

The cylinder according to the present invention (equipped with a reinforced dispensing valve, safety means, increased thickness and reinforced thread according to international standards), which is packaged with the appropriate packaging as described above, has a series of advantages both in terms of greater safety during its handling, it is of greater compatibility with the equipment / equipment placed at the userâ € ™ s site.

Furthermore, the use of this cylinder suitably made and packaged in combination with the vending machine described above entails a series of advantages which can be summarized as follows:

- Ease of manipulation in the â € œvending machinesâ €;

- Appropriate protection even in the case of shipment by courier or transport by the user;

- Appropriate visibility of the label;

- Ergonomicity and greater ease of transport to destination (home, office, construction site, etc.);

- Low cost and environmentally sustainable packaging (i.e. recycled paper).

The vending machine equipped with these cylinders, suitably made and packaged, can be installed in any place, for example a shopping mall, large-scale retail outlet, DO, public parking with high traffic, public square / garden in the town, 24-hour shops, service areas (petrol stations) and / or motorway parking areas, common areas of Universities and Research Centers.

The present invention is not limited to the particular embodiments previously described and illustrated in the annexed drawings, but numerous detailed modifications can be made to it, within the reach of the person skilled in the art, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention. itself, as defined in the appended claims.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS 1. System for automatically dispensing, in public places, portable low capacity cylinders (20) of technical gases intended for domestic, semi-professional and professional use including - Loading, of one or more cells of a product warehouse with an automatic dispensing device (100), of the â € œX-Y coordinateâ € type and equipped with a movable collection tray and accompanying it to a pick-up door, with said low capacity cylinders (20) of technical gas packaged with a package (21), in the form of a parallelepiped, having an opening (23) on at least one side of said package (21) and at least one handle (22) to make portable said packaged cylinders, said cylinders (20) comprising at least one reinforced dispensing valve (30) for supplying gas and safety means; - Dispensing of said packaged cylinders through said automatic dispensing apparatus (100) by activating a push-button panel (3), placed on board of said apparatus (100), which activates said tray to bring said cylinder to said withdrawal door of said machine (100). 2. System according to claim 1 in which the operation of said push-button panel (3) is associated with the vertical sliding of a frame on which said tray is mounted and a pusher that pushes out said cylinder packaged by said corresponding cell product magazine which contains it, the stroke of said pusher being stopped by a position detector placed on said collection tray. 3. Cylinder packaged as defined in claim 1 or 2, in which the reinforced gas dispensing valve (30) is mounted on a threaded bushing (31) which is also reinforced and welded to the cylinder, said cylinder being constructed with increased thickness and optionally equipped with a support support (11) arranged around the convex bottom of said cylinder. 4. Packaged cylinder according to claim 3, wherein said safety means are a safety valve or rupture disk in the case of liquefied gases (i.e. LPG, CO2, etc.) (32). 5. Packaged cylinder according to any one of the preceding claims 3 and / or 4, having a capacity of up to 5 liters, preferably 0.5-3 liters, more preferably 0.5-2.5 liters. Packaged cylinder according to any one of the preceding claims 3-5, wherein the package (21) is made of reinforced packaging cardboard, optionally including balloons, fittings, reducers, valves and the like. 7. Cylinder packaged according to any one of the preceding claims 3-6, in which a reinforced protective collar is included inside said package (21), integral with said package (21) or in the form of a box-like element to be inserted in said package (21) in correspondence with the delivery valve (30). 8. Cylinder packaged as defined in any one of the preceding claims 3-7, in the form of a refillable or disposable cylinder, preferably made of steel or light aluminum alloy. 9. Cylinder packaged as defined in any one of the preceding claims 3-8, wherein said technical gas is helium for balloons, C02 for domestic carbonation of water or for aquariums; LPG, O2, N2, Ar, Ar / C02 mixture, refrigerant fluids, for semi-professional uses, (cutting and welding microkits, small repairs to air conditioning and refrigeration systems, car tire inflation kits, softgun, hobby, etc.); pure gases and / or special calibration mixtures analytical instrumentation or for scientific applications, or other products to complement the previous ones such as gel bags for transport at controlled temperature, etc .. Cylinder (20) of technical gases as defined in any one of the preceding claims, in the form of a refillable or disposable cylinder.