This patent application claims priority from
The present invention relates to a gas bottle, in particular of portable-type and designed to be used to supply gas to an external user device, such as barbecues, stoves, lamps and similar devices, including a safety valve for limiting outflows of gas following the disconnection of the bottle itself, when not yet empty, from the external user device.
Gas bottles of the type indicated above are known, essentially comprising:
In particular, the valve is usually fixed inside the container of the bottle by means of a support structure wedged between the upper wall of the container itself and its lateral wall, on which it rests at a specific internal annular shoulder. This solution is somewhat complex and above all costly in relation to the total cost for marketing bottles of this type.
Therefore the need to find alternative valve fixing systems, which are simpler and less costly than those currently available, is keenly felt.
In particular, the valve is made entirely of an elastically flexible material and comprises a fixed part, connected in one piece, in use, to the upper wall of the container with the exception of a plurality of gas passages, and a cap-like movable part, which is normally concave towards the pierceable portion of the container and is thrust downwards, in use, by a portion of the external user device after piercing of the pierceable portion of the gas bottle so as to widen the gas passages.
In the case of detachment of the external user device from the bottle, the movable part, thrust by the pressure of the gas, tends to bend upwards changing its concavity into convexity and closing the hole made in the pierceable portion of the bottle. However, it has been found that the pressure of the gas inside the container of the bottle is not generally sufficient to cause the movable part to obstruct the hole of the pierceable portion, as the movement required of the movable part is considerable.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to make a gas bottle, which satisfies the aforesaid requirements and at the same time overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art solutions specified above, in particular allowing, in use, an effective and reliable closing following the detachment of the external user device.
The aforesaid object is achieved by the present invention, as it relates to a gas bottle, as defined in claim 1.
For a better understanding of the present invention, a preferred embodiment thereof is described below, purely by way of non-limiting example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
With reference to
As can be seen in
The upper wall 3 is slightly convex outwardly and has a central circular impression, convex towards the inside of the container 2 and defining the pierceable portion 4.
The bottle 1 further comprises a safety valve 10 (visible in all of the accompanying figures), made according to the dictates of the present invention and positioned inside the container 2 so as to limit at least the outflow of gas in the case in which the pierceable portion 4 has been pierced and the bottle 1 itself is not connected to the user device 5.
The valve 10 is fixed, solely by means of an adhesive substance (not visible in the accompanying figures), to the wall 3 of the container 2 around the pierceable portion 4.
It should be noted that in the present description and in the claims the term "around" is used both to indicate the peripheral edge of the pierceable portion 4 and the annular area immediately surrounding the pierceable portion 4 itself.
In the embodiment illustrated in
The adhesive substance used is preferably an acrylic glue that, following various experiments conducted by the Applicant, has proved suitable to create a particularly long-lasting connection in the dry environment defined by the butane gas or by the mixture of butane and propane gas.
The valve 10 is made entirely of an elastically deformable material, such as rubber, and is fixed to the container 2 with its central axis coaxial to the axis A (
The following description of the valve 10 will be made, for reasons of simplicity and clarity, with reference to the position of mounting of the valve 10 itself inside the container 2, but this should not be considered as limiting.
With reference to the accompanying figures, the valve 10 comprises a fixed part 11 and a movable part 12 both being together a single component.
The fixed part 11 comprises an annular flange 13 with an axis A fixed in use to the inside of the container 2 around the pierceable portion 4. In the example illustrated, the flange 13 extends substantially along a plane orthogonal to the axis A.
The movable part 12 of the valve 10 extends in a cantilever fashion from the flange 13 and is elastically mobile with respect thereto along the axis A.
Advantageously, the movable part 12 comprises a sealing portion 14, which is arranged in a radially innermost position with respect to the flange 13 with reference to the axis A and is elastically loaded in a first direction R along the axis A itself for cooperating, in use, against the wall 3 of the container 2 around the pierceable portion 4 so as to define a normal sealing condition (
The movable part 12 further comprises a plurality of petals 15 equally spaced angularly from one another around the axis A, delimiting respective through windows 16 between one another and connecting the flange 13 to the sealing portion 14.
In particular, the sealing portion 14 comprises a solid central region 18, in the embodiment illustrated consisting of a flat disc orthogonal to the axis A, and a tubular element 19 protruding in a cantilever fashion from the periphery of the central region 18 along the axis A and configured to cooperate in contact, at its free end portion 20, with the wall 3 of the container 2.
It should be noted that, in the present description and in the claims, the terms "annular" and "tubular" are intended in their broadest sense, i.e., to designate endless elements or portions, not necessarily circular but also oval, polygonal, etc.
As can be seen in particular in
In practice, each petal 15 extends starting from an area of the sealing portion 14, which is spaced from the free end portion 20 along the axis A.
In detail, each petal 15 connects a peripheral edge 21 of the central region 18 with a peripheral radially innermost edge 22 of the flange 13.
Each petal 15 further comprises an end section 23, protruding in a cantilever fashion from the opposite side of the central region 18 with respect to the tubular element 19 and having a curvilinear configuration, and a substantially rectilinear main section 24, having an oblique trend with respect to the axis A.
In use, the bottle 1 must be pierced at the pierceable portion 4 to be able to supply the user device 5 with gas; this device has a tubular end spout 8 that penetrates inside the container 2 after piercing and has a thrust action along the axis A in the direction T on the central region 18 of the valve 10. In this way, the movable part 12 translates along the axis A towards the inside of the container 2 in the direction T causing the detachment of the free end portion 20 of the tubular element 19 from the wall 3; at the same time, the petals 15 tend to open with respect to one another widening the windows 16. The gas inside the container 2 can then flow towards the tubular spout 8 of the user device 5 passing first through the windows 16 and then into the space between the free end portion 20 of the tubular element 19 and the wall 3.
In the case in which the container 2, already pierced but still at least partially full of gas, is detached from the user device 5, the valve 10 allows to at least limit the outflow of gas from the bottle 1.
In fact, in this case the movable part 12, no longer maintained in the condition of opening by the tubular spout 8, returns towards the wall 3 along the direction R by the effect of its elasticity and under the thrust of the residual pressure of the gas inside the container 2, greater with respect to the atmospheric pressure.
From an examination of the characteristics of the valve 10 and of the bottle 1, made according to the present invention, the advantages that can be obtained therewith are evident.
In particular, the fixing of the valve 10 to the upper wall 3 of the container 2 of the bottle 1 can take place through the simple application of traces of adhesive substance on the flange 13, without the need for additional devices to be inserted inside the container 2 itself. Moreover, as the gas sealing function is implemented by the tubular element 19, arranged in a radially innermost position with respect to the flange 13 with respect to the axis A, it is not necessary to apply an endless ring of adhesive substance on the flange 13 itself.
Finally, due to the structure of the valve 10, the passing from the condition of opening to the normal sealing condition requires a small movement of the movable part 12, and in particular of the tubular element 19, along the axis A; as this small movement can be guaranteed solely by the intrinsic elasticity of the material forming the movable part 12, the presence of a residual pressure inside the container 2, greater than the atmospheric pressure, has the sole effect of furthermore increasing the effectiveness of the seal.
Therefore, in the case of detachment of the bottle 1 from the user device 5 when it is still full, the valve 10, is able to effectively and reliably control the outflow of the residual gas from the container 2.
It is clear that modifications and variants can be made to the valve 10 and to the bottle 1 described and illustrated herein without departing from the scope defined by the claims.
This list of references cited by the applicant is for the reader's convenience only. It does not form part of the European patent document. Even though great care has been taken in compiling the references, errors or omissions cannot be excluded and the EPO disclaims all liability in this regard.