Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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-- 1 --
CARBONATED BEVERAGE MARING APPARATUS AND M
~ackqround of the Invention
a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus
and method for carbonating water, more
particularly to such an apparatus and method where
the carbonating is carried on in a manner that
after carbonating, a syrup or other additive can
be promptly mixed in with the carbonated water to
rapidly provide the carbonated beverage.
b) Background Art
Most often, carbonated beverages are placed
in a bottle or can at the place of manufacture.
When it is desired to drink the beverage, the
person simply opens the can or bottle and then
drinks the beverage directly from the can or
bottle or from a glass into which it is poured.
However, storing these beverage containers in any
quantity can be something of an inconvenience for
a family, particularly where the beverage is
stored in a refrigerator or the like.
2~ Accordingly, there have been designs to
provide an apparatus where the water for the
carbonated beverage could be carbonized away from
the manufacturing location of the beverage. The
beverage that is so carbonated could be either
stored for later use, or immediately mixed with a
syrup to make a flavored beverage, such as a soft
drink or a beer, at the time the car~onated
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beverage is made. Further, some of these designs
have been proposed for home use.
A search of the patent literature has
disclosed the following:
U.S. 4,548,828 and U.S. 4,4~1,986 (both
issued to Meyers) show a car~onization apparatus
where there is a container 18 of water which is
placed upside down onto a base 12 so that the end
cap on the water container is facing downwardly.
A bottle 22 of compressed carbon dioxide is also
placed upside down on the container, and
positioned upside down on the base, and there is a
mechanism for opening the valve on the bottle of
carbon dioxide to cause the pressurized carbon
dioxide to flow through a passage in the base and
through a stem into the container 18. The gas
bubbles separately upwardly in the container, and
at the base portion of the container (which is now
in an upward position~, there is a release valve
where carbon dioxide can be selectively vented,
thus causing more carbon dioxide to flow upwardly
through the water, agitating the water and causing
yet further carbonization of the water. When the
bottle is removed from its position on the base,
the cap closes to stop water from leaking. Also,
a control valve 56 automatically moves to a closed
position to stop further flow of carbon dioxide.
U.S. 4,526,730 (Cochran et al) shows a home
carbonating apparatus where a block-like apparatus
10 is threaded onto the top of a beverage
container, and a container of carbon dioxide is
connected to a passageway in the apparatus 10 to
lead to a tube and into the beverage container.
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In one embodiment, there is a small cartridge
whlch is pierced as it is moved into the block.
There is an alternative embodiment where a valve
lever opens the pressurized carbon dioxide
container.
U.S. 4,399,081 (Mabb) shows an apparatus for
aerating liquids where there is a bottle of a
compressed gas 7 positioned in a housing. A
liquid container is positioned in the housing, and
raised by a platform 15 upwardly where it comes
into engagement with a seal 16. There is an
operating button 9 at the top of the housing which
is depressed to open the valve of the pressurized
container of gas, causing it to flow through the
hollow rod 12 to deliver gas into the liquid
contained in the bottle. To remove the bottle
from the apparatus there is a cam member 22 which
is moved to lower the platform 15, thus permitting
the upper part 4 of the housing to be rotated so
that the bottle can be removed.
U.S. 4,391,762 (child et al) shows an aerated
drink machine where a bottle 10 is positioned in
the machine, and there is a member 13 which is
inserted downwardly in the neck of the bottle to
raise the liquid level in the bottle. A lever 31
is operated to open the valve 29 to cause a gas
flow through the member 13 into the liquid so that
it bubbles up and escapes through an annular space
between the nozzle and an aperture 15a in the
stopper. With the member 13 in the bottle
containing the liquid, there is very little air
left in the bottle, and less of the carbon dioxide
is not dissipated.
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U.S. 4,342,710 (Adolfsson et al~ shows an
apparatus for aerating beverages where there is a
stand 2 with a space to receive a glass bottle 4.
Positioned above the bottle 4 is a bursting
protection member 15 which is moved downwardly to
enclose the bottle 4, position a dispensing pipe
in the bottle, and also to cause a rubber cone
seal 20 to close the top of the bottle. There is
positioned alongside the bottle a container of
carbon dioxide. A valve 11 is operated by an arm
12 to actuate a pin to permit carbon dioxide to
flow through the hose 10 into a cylinder space 14
from which the gas flows through the pipe 9 into
the container 4.
U.S. 4,304,741 (Abison et al) shows what is
called a "gas injection apparatus" for injecting
carbon dioxide gas into a bottle 5 to make "fizzy"
drin~s in the home or other small establishments.
There is a platform 4 to support the bottle and a
housing member 2 which is pivoted to a base member
so that when the apparatus is open, the bottle can
be placed upon, or removed from the platfonm.
When the platform is closed, a dip tube 9
penetrates through the opening at the top of the
bottle to permit the injection of gas from the
cylinder containing the pressurized carbon
dioxide. There is a control lever 11 to open the
valve of the cylinder and cause the carbon dioxide
to flow into the bottle containing the beverage.
U.S. 4,298,551 (Adolfsson et al) shows an
apparatus for aerating a beverage where there is
positioned within a housing a pressurized bottle
containing carbon dioxide and a beverage
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container. The upper part of the beverage
container is closed by a stopper, and there is a
flexible diaphragm surrounding the stopper. A
space formed above the diaphragm comm~ni cates with
the interior of the bottle when the bottle has the
stopper in its neck. Thus, the pressure of the
carbon dioxide in the bottle urges the stopper
into the engagement with the neck of the bottle.
There is an overpressure safety valve in
comml1n1cation with the space above the diaphragm.
It's an object of the present invention to
provide such an apparatus and method which has a
desirable balance of features, relative to
effectively accomplishing the carbonating,
enabling the mixing of the carbonated water with a
syrup or other flavoring agent to be accomplished
conveniently, and also providing a system that is
both safe and reliable.
Summary of the Invention
The apparatus of the present invention is
particularly adapted for making a carbonated
beverage. This apparatus comprises a housing
structure having a first section at which a
pressurized carbon dioxide container can be
positioned, and a second section defining a
chamber to receive a container with a liquid which
is to be carbonated.
There is a pressurized valve means comprising
pressure control means to receive pressurized
carbon dioxide at a higher pressure level from the
source, and reduce the pressure of the carbon
dioxide to a predetermined lower level. The
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pressurized valve means also comprises
pressurizing valve means having a closed position
and an open position to deliver the carbon dioxide
at the predetermined lower level to the second
section of the housing structure.
There is a pressurizing nozzle means arranged
to be positioned in the second section to receive
the pressurized carbon dioxide form the
pressurizing valve means and discharge the
pressurized carbon dioxide into the liquid in a
container in the second housing section.
Then vent valve means are provided, having a
closed position and an open position. The vent
valve means is arranged to be connected to the
liquid container to receive pressurized carbon
dioxide form the liquid container.
Also, there is valve actuating means arranged
to be moveable between a pressurizing position to
open the pressurizing valve to deliver carbon
dioxide through the nozzle means, and also a
venting position to open the vent valve means to
enable pressurized carbon dioxide in the container
to flow to a lower pressure area.
In a preferred embodiment, the nozzle means
comprises a pressurizing orifice means through
which pressurized carbon dioxide is transmitted
into the container. There is also vent orifice
means defining a vent orifice arranged to be
operably connected to the liquid container to
receive pressurized carbon dioxide from the liquid
container and discharge the carbon dioxide to a
lower pressure area. Thus, pressurized carbon
dioxide flows through the pressurized orifice
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means and through the liquid in the container, and
at the same time through the vent orifice means.
In one arrangement, the vent orifice means
has an effective orifice discharge opening area
smaller than an effective orifice discharge
opening area of the pressurizing orifice. Thus,
the gaseous flow through the vent orifice means is
more restricted than the gaseous flow through the
pressurizing orifice means, thus causing a
relatively greater pressure drop across the vent
orifice means and causing pressure in the bottle
to rise to a relatively higher level.
In alternative configuration, the effective
orifice discharge opening area of the vent orifice
means is at least approximately equal to the
effective orifice discharge opening area of the
pressurizing orifice.
Also, in two embodiments, there is pressure
relief check valve means which is operably
connected to a passageway interconnecting the vent
orifice means with the liquid container. In one
arrangement, the pressure relief valve means is
connected to carbon dioxide flow from the
container to the vent orifice means and in
parallel with the vent orifice means to maintain
pressure of the carbon dioxide upstream of the
vent orifice means below a predetermined upper
level. In another arrangement, the pressure
relief valve means is operably connected to
receive a flow of carbon dioxide from said vent
orifice means to maintain a predetermined pressure
level of carbon dioxide above atmospheric pressure
upstream of the vent orifice means.
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Also, in a preferred form, the pressurizing
valve portion of the pressurizing valve means, the
vent valve means and the valve actuating means are
mounted to the housing structure, and the valve
actuating means has a first interlock means
mounted thereto so as to be moveable with movement
of the valve actuating means between the
pressurizing position and the venting position.
The apparatus is further provided with a door
which is moveable to an open position to permit
access to the chamber and a closed position
closing the chamber. The door has second
interlock means which is in an interlock position
when the door is closed. The first interlock
means is arranged in a manner that when the valve
actuating means is in the venting position, the
first interlock means and the door interlock means
are out of interlocking engagement. When the
valve actuating means is moved to the pressurizing
position, the first interlock means and the door
interlock means come into locking engagement.
Also, there is a valve actuating stop means
having a blocking position to prevent movement of
the valve actuating means to the pressurizing
position. The door is provided with valve
actuating release means to remove the stop means
from its blocking position to permit the valve
actuating means to move to the pressurizing
position when the door is closed.
The door has an edge portion which is
arranged so that when the door is moved into the
closed position, the door edge portion is adjacent
to a housing structure portion. The first
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g
interlock means and the door interlock means are
positioned operably adjacent to the housing
structure edge portion and the door edge portion
so as to come into interlocking relationship when
the door is closed and the valve actuating means
is moved to the pressurizing position.
Further, in the preferred form, there is a
receptacle block means mounted at the second
section of the housing structure. Also, there is
a mounting plug means adapted to be removably
connected to the liquid container. The receptacle
block means has operative connections to the
pressurizing valve means and the vent valve means.
The mounting plug means is arranged to be moved
into operative engagement with the receptacle
block means, and the plug means has passageway
means interconnecting with the pressurizing valve
means and the vent valve means when in the engaged
position with the receptacle block means. Thus,
the pressurizing valve means and the vent valve
means can be in operative engagement with the
liquid container when the liquid container is
positioned in the chamber and the plug member,
connected to the liquid container, is in
interconnecting engagement with the receptacle
block means.
The receptacle block means is connected to
the pressurizing valve means through a
pressurizing tube means, and the vent valve means
is connected through a venting tube means to the
receptacle block means. The mounting plug means
has an injection tube means extending from the
mounting plug means so as to be positioned at a
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- 10
lower location in the container when the mounting
plug means i9 in interconnecting reiationship with
the container. The mounting plug means and the
receptacle block means have interconnecting
passageway connecting means which come into
engagement when the mounting plug means is
interconnected with the receptacle block means.
Thus, pressurized gas can flow from the
pressurizing tube means to the receptacle block
means and mounting plug means and through the
injection tube means to discharge carbon dioxide
into the container, and gas in the liquid
container can flow through the interconnecting
passageway and to the vent valve means. Also, as
a further improvement, the valve actuating means
has liquid container interlock means arranged so
that when the valve actuating means is in the
pressurizing position, the container interloc~
means comes into operative engagement with the
container, with the mounting plug means mounted
thereto, to retain the liquid container in the
chamber.
In the method of the present invention, there
is provided a housing structure such as indicated
above. The pressurizing nozzle means is
positioned in the liquid container in the chamber.
Then the pressurizing valve means is operated to
deliver the carbon dioxide at the predetermined
lower level to the nozzle means and into the
liquid container. The vent valve means is then
moved to an open position to enable pressurized
carbon dioxide in the container to flow to a lower
pressure area.
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Other features of the present inventlon will
become apparent from the following detailed
description.
Brief Description of the Drawinqs
Figure 1 is an isometric view of the
apparatus of the present invention;
Figures 2A, 2B and 2C are somewhat schematic
drawings, showing the sequence of operation of the
present invention;
Figure 3 is a front isometric view of the
apparatus of the present invention;
Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line
4-4 of Figure 3;
Figure 5 is a sectional view taken along line
5-5 of Figure 3;
Figures 6A and 6B are two sectional views
showing the door of the apparatus in first its
open position and then in it closed position, this
view being taken along the line 6B-6B of Figure 3;
Figures 7A and 7B are longitllAl n~l sectional
views showing the valve actuating mechanism and
door interlock mechanism in two different
positions;
Figures 8A, 8B and 8C are sectional views
taken along a vertical plane parallel to and just
behind the front of the housing of the apparatus,
showing in sequence the operation of the valve
actuating mechanism;
Figure 9 is an exploded view showing the
water container, the venting and injection lid
assembly, and the lid mounting assembly, and
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- 12 -
illustrating in broken lines the manner in which
these can be assembled;
Figure 10 is a sectional view taken along a
vertical plane and showing the injection lid
S assembly and the lid mounting assembly;
Figure 11 is a top view looking down on the
lid mounting assembly;
Figure 12 is a side elevational view showing
the water container with the injection lid
assembly mounted thereon;
Figure 13 is a rear ele~ational view of the
apparatus;
Pigures 14 through 17 are similar to Figure
2C, and these show, respectively, a second, third,
fourth and fifth embodiment of the present
invention, all of which provide venting orifice
means.
Description of the Preferred Embodiment
It is believed that a clearer understanding
of the invention will be obtained if there is
first described the main components cf the present
invention and its mode of operation. This will
then be followed by a more detailed description of
the present invention.
The apparatus 10 of the present invention
comprises an outer housing 12, a pressurized
carbon dioxide container 14, a water container 16,
a valve assembly 18, and a carbon dioxide lid and
injector assembly 20. In Figure 1, the water
container 16 is shown mounted within the ho~sing
12, with the door 22 of the housing 12 being open.
Figures 2A through 2C show the main components
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listed above in somewhat schematic fashion, and
show the sequence of operation.
To describe the overall operation of the
present invention, the container 16 is filled with
water up to a predetermined level, and the
container is then placed in an injecting chamber
24 where the injection of the pressurized carbon
dioxide is to take place. The door 22 is then
closed, and an actuating knob 26 of the valve
assembly 18 is raised to start the carbon dioxide
injection process. As will be disclosed more
fully later herein, this raising of the actuating
knob 26 and the subsequent lowering of the same
performs a number of functions. More
specifically, it provides for the pressured
carbonating to take place, the subsequent venting
of the bottle to reduce its pressure, and also
provides interlock and safety features which will
be described more fully later herein.
After the carbonating process is completed
(this could take, for example, about 10 to 20
seconds), the knob 26 is lowered, the door 22 is
opened, and the container 16 is removed from the
injection chamber 24. Then the carbon dioxide lid
and injector assembly 20 is unscrewed from the
container 16, and at that time a conventional cap
can be screwed onto the container 16.
Alternatively, a syrup (e.g. a soft drink syrup or
a beer syrup) can be poured into the upper part of
the container after which the conventional cap is
screwed onto the container 16. The container 16
can then be gently inverted and returned to the
upright position several times to mix the syrup
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- 14 -
with the carbonated water, and the carbonated
beverage is ready to be consumed.
The obvious advantage of this apparatus is
that a carbonated beverage can be made in a very
short time (in the matter of a half a minute or
so), and it is not necessary to store the full
liquid containers. Rather the syrup alone (the
volume of which is only a small fraction of the
water in which it is mixed) can be stored in syrup
containers and used as desired.
To describe in more detail the operation of
the present invention, reference is now made to
2A, 2B and 2C. As indicated previously, these are
schematic drawings showing sequentially the mode
of operation.
Figure 2A shows the situation where the
container 16 has been placed in the in]ection
chamber 24, and the door 22 has been closed.
There is a pressure control valve 28 which is
connected to the cap 30 of the pressurized carbon
dioxide container 14. The pressure in the
container 14 could be as high as, for example,
1800 to 2000 PSI. The pressure regulating valve
28 reduces the pressure flow from the container 14
to a constant 200 PSI.
The valve assembly la comprises the
aforementioned pressure control valve 28, a
pressurizing valve 32 having an actuating ball
element 34, also a venting valve 36 having its
related actuating ball member 38, and a valve
actuating means 39. The valve actuating means 39
comprises the aforementioned actuating knob 26 and
an actuating cam 40 which is connected to a
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vertically moveable actuating member 42 (shown
only schematically). The aforementioned actuating
knob 26 is fixedly connected to the actuating
member 42. Also, in terms of function the
pressure control valve 18 and the pressurizing
valve 32 can be considered to comprise a
pressurizing and pressure control valve means,
while the pressurizing valve 32 and the vent valve
36 can be considered as a pressurizing and venting
valve means.
In the position of Figure 2A, the actuating
knob 26 is in its lower position so that the cam
member 40 is positioned so that it bears only
against the venting valve member element 38 so
that the valve element 36 is in its venting
position. The cam member 40, in its lower
position, is not in engagement with the
pressurizing valve element 34, so that this
pressurizing valve 32 remains closed.
The venting valve 36 connects through a line
44 to a vent opening 46 in the lid portion of the
aforementioned carbon dioxide lid and injector
assembly 20. The line 44 in turn connects through
a branch line 48 to a pressure gauge 50. In this
condition, with the pressurizing valve 32 being
closed, and with the venting valve 36 being open,
pressure in the container interior 52 remains at
atmospheric. It will be noted that the water 54
in the chamber 52 is at a level 56 that is a short
distance below the lid 20 so that there is an
upper liquid free area 58. In the position of
Figure 2A, the apparatus 10 is ready to have the
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- 16 -
pressurized carbon dioxide from the container 14
injected into the water 54.
The initiating of the carbonating step is
accomplished simply by raising the actuating knob
26 upwardly which in turn raises the actuating
member 42 with its cam 40 upwardly. Figure 2B
shows the actuating member 42 in an intermediate
position where the cam member 40 is mo~ing
upwardly to a position where the flat cam surface
60 has depressed both of the valve actuating
members 34 and 38. At this instant, the venting
valve 36 remains open (as it was in the position
of Figure 2A), but in addition the pressurizing
valve 32 also moves to its open position.
As indicated previously, the pressurized
carbon dioxide in the container 14 first passes
through a pressure reduction valve 28 to regulate
the pressure at a constant 200 PSI. The
pressurized carbon dioxide flows through the line
62 through the pressurizing valve 32 which is now
open, thence through the line 64 to pass into the
pressurizing opening 66 in the lid and injector
assembly 20. The pressurized carbon dioxide moves
through the pressurizing opening 66 downwardly
through an injection tube 68 which is fixedly
connected to the lid and injection assembly 20.
The carbon dioxide exits from the tube 68 through
a lower end nozzle 70 which is spaced a short
distance upwardly from the bottom 72 of the
container 16. The nozzle 70 has a single
discharge orifice of a relatively small diameter,
so that the carbon dioxide is discharged as a very
fine gaseous spray. The carbon dioxide bubbles
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flow upwardly in the water 54 to give the water a
somewhat milky appearance.
It was noted that in this intermediate
position of Figure 2B, both the pressurizing valve
32 and the venting valve 36 remain open for a very
short time. Thus, as the carbon dioxide flows
into the container 16, thus pressurizing the
interior, the increase in pressure causes some of
the air that is in the upper part 58 of the
chamber upwardly through the vent opening 46. In
actual practice, the knob 26 would be raised
rather rapidly in one motion, so that the position
of Figure 2B occurs in just a fraction of a
second.
When the actuating member 42 reaches its
upper limit of travel, as shown in Figure 4C, the
actuating surface 60 of the cam member 40 has
moved out of engagement with the actuating member
38 of the venting valve 36 to permit the actuating
venting valve member 38 to move out to its
position to close the vent valve 36. With this
occurring, the pressurizing carbon dioxide
continues to flow through the line 64 through the
nozzle 70 into the beverage container chamber 52
so that the carbon dioxide continues to be
discharged into the water 54, with the pressure
inside the container 16 continuing to rise.
In about fifteen seconds or so sufficient
carbon dioxide has been injected into the water 54
in the container 16 so that the pressure inside
the container is at the 200 PSI level to balance
the pressure at the outlet end of the pressure
control valve 28 on the carbon dioxide container
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14. At this time, the flow of carbon dioxide into
the container 16 has stopped. This is reflected
at the pressure gauge 50 which is connected to the
vent opening 46. The person operatlng the
apparatus 10 could either observe the pressure
gauge 50 to recognize that the pressure is
balanced and the carbon dioxide has stopped
flowing, or possibly a signal device, such as a
chime or buzzer, could be actuated by the pressure
gauge 50 to signal that the desired pressure has
been reached, with the carbonating of the water 54
being completed.
When the desired amount of carbon dioxide has
been injected into the container 16 which is now
at about 200 PSI, the actuating member 40 is moved
downwardly. Thus, the cam member 40 will first
move downwardly to the position of Figure 2B. At
this time, the venting valve 36 opens r by its
actuating member 38 being depressed, and when the
actuating member continues to be moved further
downwardly to the position of Figure 2A, the
venting valve 36 remains open, while the
pressurizing valve 30 is closed. The result of
this is that the carbon dioxide that is in the
upper empty container portion 58 and whatever air
might remain simply vent out through the
passageway 44 and outwardly through the venting
valve 36 to atmosphere. Then the door 22 is
opened, and the container 16 (still connected to
the lid and injector assembly 20) is removed from
the injecting chamber 24. The lid and injector
assembly 20 is unscrewed from the container 16.
As indicated previously, a conventional cap could
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19
then be placed over the opening of the container
16 to maintain the water 54 as carbonated.
Alternatively, a syrup cou~d first be poured into
the container opening and then mixed with the
5 carbonated water 54 by turning the container 16 to
an inverted position and back to its upright
position several times. The carbonated beverage
in the container 16 could then be stored or
consumed.
As indicated previously, one of ~he ob~ects
of the present invention is to provide for the
reliable and safe operation of the apparatus 10.
This is accomplished by an interlock system 74
which is incorporated with the actuating member 42
15 of the valve assembly 18 and also in the door 22.
This interlock system 74 is arranged so that with
the door 22 open, the valve actuating member 42
cannot be raised to open the pressurizing valve
32. But when the door 22 is closed, the valve
20 actuating 42 can be raised, and at the same time
the door 22 is locked shut until the valve
actuating member 42 is lowered. These will now be
described with reference to Figure 3 through 7A-B.
Reference is first made to Figure 4 which
25 shows the door 22 in its closed position, with the
container 16 and lid assembly 20 attached thereto
being positioned within the injecting chamber 24.
The door 22 is hinge mounted at 76 to the housing
12. The swing end 78 of the door 22 has a 'IJ"
30 shaped loc3~ing and release arm 80 mounted at the
swing end. This arm 80 accomplishes two
functions. First, it moves a release arm 82 a
short distance rearwardly to a release position to
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- 20 -
permit the upward movement of the valve actuating
member 42, so that the release arm 82 is able to
pass by a stationary stop member 83 mounted to the
housing ~2. Also, an end finger 84 of the arm 80
causes the door 22 to be locked in its closed
position when the actuating member 42 is raised so
that a laterally extending locking finger 86 that
is mounted to the actuating member 42 moves
upwardly into engagement with the flnger 84.
Also, when the actuating member 42 is moved
upwardly, the interlocking member 86 comes into
abutting engagement with the member 83 to limit
the upward travel of the actuating member 42.
It can be seen in Figure 5 that the actuating
knob 26 is connected by two or more screw members
88 to a U shaped frame member 90 of the actuating
member 42 which in turn is constrained to move
against inwardly extending walls g2 of the valve
housing 12.
To review briefly how this interlocking and
release mechanism works, reference is now made to
Figure 7A and 7B. In Figure 7A, the actuating
member 42 is in its down position. The door 22
has not been closed. Thus, the retaining and
release finger 82 remains in its forward position
where its finger portion 94 is immediately below
the stop member 83. In this position, the
actuating member 42 cannot be raised. This,
therefore, prevents the inadvertent raising of the
actuating member 42 when the door 22 is open, so
as to prevent the actuating member 42
inadvertently being lifted to open the
pressurizing valve 32.
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When the door is closed, then the release
finger 82 is moved rearwardly. Thus, when the
actuating member 42 is raised, as shown in Figure
7B, the finger portion 94 passes behind the stop
member 83.
Also, it will be noted that when the
actuating member is raised to the position of
Figure 7B, the two interlocking members 86 come
into engagement with the two stop members 83 that
are attached to stationary structure so as to stop
further upward movement of the actuating member
42. As indicated previously, in the position of
Figure 7B, the interlocking members 86 come into
engagement with the finger 84 of the arm 82 to
prevent opening of the door 22. Thus, when the
actuating member 44 is in its up position so that
the pressurizing valve 82 is open, the door cannot
be opened. The actuating member 42 must be moved
to its down position, thus closing the
pressurizing valve 32 before the door 22 can be
opened.
The operation of this interlocking mechanism
can further be seen in Figures 8A, 8B and 8C,
where in the lower position of Figure 8A, the stop
members 86 are disengaged from the lips 84 of the
two ~IJII arms 80. In the position of Figure 8B,
the interlocking members 86 are coming into
locking engagement, and this engagement is
complete in Figure 8C.
Another locking mechanism is shown with
reference to Figure 8A, 8B and 8C. It can be seen
that there is an upper locking arm 95 which is
pivotally mounted at 96 to the housing 12. The
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left end of the arm 95 has a pivot connection at
98 to the upper end of the actuator 42, and the
opposite end of the arm 95 has a downwardly
extending locking finger 100. This finger 100
reaches through an opening in an upper housing
wall portion 102 that defines the upper part of
the chamber 24.
With the actuating member 42 in its down
position as shown in Figure 8A, the finger 100 is
positioned upwardly to ~e in its non-engaging
position. Then, when the actuating member 42 is
raised by moving the knob 26 upwardly, the arm 95
swings in a clockwise direction to move the finger
100 into engagement with a matching recess 104 in
the lid portion of the lid and injector assembly
20. This is another safety factor in that when
the actuator 42 is raised so as to open the
pressurizing valve 32, the lid assemb:ly 20 and the
container 16 remain in place so that the flow path
of the pressurized carbon dioxide is compelled to
flow through the assembly 20 and into the
container 16.
The carbon dioxide lid and injector assembly
20 can be seen more clearly in Figures 9 through
11. This assembly 20 comprises a mounting plug
108 which has a pair of side flanges '10 so that
this plug 108 can be slid into a receptacle block
112, having a top wall 114 and two side walls 116,
with the side walls 116 having two longitudinally
extending lips 118 to engage the flanges 110 of
the block 108.
The pressurizing line 66 and the venting line
46 connect to related fittings 120 and 122,
CA 02241868 1998-06-30
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respectively, which in turn lead into male
elements 124 and 126 that interfit with related
receptacles 128 and 130 in the block 110. As can
be seen in Figure 11 the receptacle 128 leads
through a line 132 to discharye pressurized carbon
dioxide through an opening 134 into the discharge
tube 68. The receptacle 130 connects to a
passageway 136 which connects to the vent opening
138. The lower part of the plus member 108 is
formed with a closure cap portion 140 which is
interiorly threaded at 142 so that this can be
screwed onto matching threads 144 at the top of
the container 16.
Reference is made to Figure 12 which shows
the container 16 in side elevation. It will be
noted that an upper portion 142 of the container
16 tapers upwardly in the form of a truncated
cone. There are lateral marking lines 144 on the
side of the upper container portion 142 to
indicate ~he level to which the water should be
poured into the container 16, depending upon the
syrup or other additive which is to be added to
the water in the container 16 after it has been
carbonated.
Figure 13 is a rear view of the apparatus 10.
There is a rear door 146 through which the
pressurized carbon dioxide container can be placed
and removed. Also, there are a plurality of plug
members 148 mounted to a back wall 150 of the
housing 12. In case there is some malfunction,
where the interior injecting chamber 24 has become
overpressurized, one or more of these doors 148
will blow out to relieve the over pressure.
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- 24 -
A second embodiment of the present invention
is shown in Figure 14. Components of the second
embodiment which are similar to the first
embodiment will be given like numerical
designations, with an "a" suffix distinguishing
those of this second embodiment.
All of the apparatus disclosed in the
description of the first embodiment in Figures 1
through 13 is also present in this second
embodiment, but for convenience of iliustration,
all of the components of the first embodiment are
not shown in Figure 14. Rather Figure 14 shows
the apparatus of the second embodiment somewhat
schematically as the Figure 2C, with the addition
of the new components of the second embodiment.
Thus, it can ~e seen that in Figure 14
there is the pressurized carbon dioxide container
14a, the water container 16a, the pressure control
valve 28a, the carbon dioxide lid and injector
assemb~y 20a, the pressurizing valve 3?a, the
venting valve 36a and the actuating ball elements
34a and 38a.
This second embodiment has (in addition to
all of the other components of the first
embodiment) a venting orifice member 160 which is
connected to the vent line 44a at a location
between the vent valve 36a and the lid and
injection assembly 20a. A tube 162 is shown
connecting the orifice member 160 with the line
44a, and the vent orifice itself is indicated at
164. The effective size of the discharge
passageway in the orifice 164 is about the same
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- 25 -
size as, or moderately smaller than the effective
size of the orifice in the injection nozzle 70a.
In one arrangement which has been proven to be
satisfactory, the diameter of the orifice of the
discharge nozzle 70a is 0.020 inches in diameter,
while the venting orifice 164 in the vent orifice
member 160 is 0.0147 inch in diameter. In another
arrangement, the size of the vent orifice is
somewhat larger and specifically is 0.0160 inch in
diameter. In yet another arrangement the orifice
sizes are nearly equal, or the vent orifice 64
could actually be made moderately larger.
The overall operation of this second
embodiment of Figure 14 is substantially the same
as described in the first embodiment, in that the
bottle 16a is filled with liquid, and the mounting
plug 108 of the lid and injector assembly 20 is
connected to the top of the bottle 16 and placed
in the injection chamber 24.
The door is closed, and the actuating cam
member 42a is raised to open the pressurizing
valve 32a and cause carbon dioxide to flow through
the line 68a and through the orifice of the
discharge nozzle 70a. At this time, the vent
valve 36a is closed.
As described in the first embodiment, the
pressure regulating valve 28a reduces the pressure
of the carbon dioxide flowing from the container
14a to a suitable level, which has been indicated
herein as 200 psi. There is possibly an initial
10 psi pressure drop as the carbon dioxide flows
through the pressurizing control valve 32a, and
with the pressure inside the liquid container 16a
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- 26 -
being atmospheric, there is initially a pressure
drop of about 190 psi across the orifice in the
discharge nozzle 70a. The flow rate of the carbon
dioxide through the discharge nozzle 70a will be
dependant upon the pressure level immediately
upstream of the orifice in the nozzle 70a, and
downstream of the orifice in the nozzle 70a (i.e.
the pressure in the container interior 52). For a
gas such as carbon dioxide, if the absolute
pressure differential upstream of the nozzle is
about twice as great (or moderately greater than
twice as great) as the absolute pressure
downstream of the nozzle, the flow across the
nozzle would be supersonic, and thus rate of flow
through the orifice would be dependent solely on
the absolute pressure upstream of the orifice in
the nozzle 70a.
With the pressure regulating valve 28a
admitting carbon dioxide at a gauge pressure of
approximately 200 psi, and with there being a
possibly 10 psi pressure drop through the valve
32a, the absolute pressure in the line 64a and
through the tube 68a would be approximately 205
psi. Accordingly, the initial flow through the
orifice in the nozzle 70a would be at its maximum,
and would remain substantially constant until the
absolute pressure level within the container 16a
reaches an absolute pressure level possibly in the
range of 80 to 110 psi absolute. Then the flow
through the orifice of the discharge nozzle 70a
will become subsonic, and the flow thereafter will
be in accordance with the Bernouli's law and
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WO97125130 PCT~B97/00100
- 27 -
continue to decrease as the pressure :level rises
further in the liquid container 16a.
During this time, the vent valve 36a is
closed. However, as soon as the pressure in the
liquid container 16a begins to rise above
atmospheric, there will be an outflow of carbon
dioxide through the line 44a and out through the
vent orifice 164a which leads into an area of
atmospheric pressure in the housing 12. Initial
flow through this orifice 164 would be in
accordance with Bernouli's law, but at: the time
the pressure of the line 44a rises to
approximately 15 psi or possibly somewhat
moderately higher, the absolute pressure ratio
across the orifice 164 would be sufficiently high
so that the flow through the orifice 164 becomes
supersonic. After that, the magnitude of this
flow would be generally in proportion with the
pressure in the line 44a and the connecting line
162.
During this time period of pressurization,
the volumetric flow of the carbon dioxide out of
the orifice of the nozzle 70a is greater than the
outflow through the vent orifice 164, so that the
pressure inside the container 16a continues to
rise. As the pressure in the container continues
to rise, the volumetric flow through the orifice
in the nozzle 70a remains constant, while the
pressure in the line in the lines 44a and 162
increases so that the flow out the vent orifice
164 increases. As indicated previously, during
this time, the vent valve 36a is closed. When a
predetermined pressure level is reached in the
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- 28 -
container 16a, the pressure differential across
the orifice 70a has dropped to a sufficiently low
level and the pressure drop across the vent
orifice 164a has risen to a sufficiently high
level, so that the volumetric flow through the
vent orifice 164 equals (or nearly equals) the
volumetric flow through the nozzle 70.
In one preferred design constructed in
accordance with the present invention, as shown in
Figure 14, this balance of carbon dioxide flow
into the container 16a and out the vent orifice
140 is reached when the pressure leve:l in the
lines 44a has reached 150 psi gauge pressure, as
indicated in the pressure gauge 5Oa connected to
the line 44a. Alternatively, the size of the
orifice 164 could be made greater relative to the
size of the orifice in the nozzle 70a so that the
flow through the orifice 164 would be equal to the
flow through the orifice in the nozzle at a lower
pressure level in the container, so that the water
would be pressurized to a lower level (e.g. 80 to
100 psi) to complete the carbonization process.
When this occurs, the actuating cam 42a is lowered
to disengage the pressurizing valve 32a (thus
closing off further flow of carbon dioxide to the
container 16a) and the valve control ball member
38a is engaged to open the vent valve 36a. This
causes the pressure ln the line 44a and in the
container 16a to drop rather quickly. After this,
the container 16a is removed from the injection
chamber in the apparatus lOa, and the lid and
injector assembly 20a is removed ~rom the bottle
16a as in the first embodiment, and the further
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- 29 -
steps are taken as described with regard to the
first embodiment.
A third embodiment of the present invention
is shown in Figure 15. Components of this third
embodiment which are similar to components of the
second and first embodiment will be given like
numerical designations, with a "b" su fix
distinguishing those of the third embodiment.
This third embodiment is the same as the second
embodiment, except that the vent valve 36a has
been eliminated. Thus, when the carbonization of
the liquid in the container 16b has been completed
to the extent that the outflow through the vent
orifice 164 balances (or nearly balances) the flow
of the carbon dioxide through the pressurizing
nozz~e 70b, the actuating cam 40b is moved
downwardly to close the pressurizing valve 32b.
With the pressurizing valve 32b being closed, the
further pressure drop in the container 16b would
depend solely on the rate of discharge through the
vent orifice 164b.
This arrangement of the third embodiment is,
from an operational view, less desirable than that
of the second embodiment, because of the delay in
reducing the pressure within the container 16b.
Also, with this arrangement of the third
embodiment of Figure 15, when the valve actuating
member 42b is lowered to unlock the door, the
container 16b would not become immediately
depressurized. Accordingly, an alternative
interlock mechanism should possibly be provided.
A fourth e~bodiment is shown in Figure 16.
Components of this fourth embodiment which are
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- 30 -
similar to components of the first three
embodiments will be given like numerical
designations, with a "c" suffix distinguishing
those of this fourth embodiment. This fourth
S embodiment is substantially the same as the second
embodiment, and thus in addition to the components
of the first embodiment, also comprises the vent
orifice member 160c, a connecting tube 162c, and
the vent orifice 164c. In addition, there is
provided a pressure relief valve 166 connecting to
the line 162c, so as to be in paralle: with the
vent orifice 164c.
This pressure relief valve 166c operates, as
its name implies, to provide pressure relief in
the event of an overpressure in the line 162c. In
addition, this pressure relief valve 166 can be
provided with an audible signal mechanism
(indicated schematically at 168) which is
activated when the pressure relief valve 166 moves
to its open position. Thus, when the pressure in
the container 16c reaches the desired level, the
pressure relief valve 166 opens to cause
pressurized flow of carbon dioxide through the
valve 166 to activate the audible signal mechanism
168.
A fifth embodiment is illustrated in Figure
17. Components of this fifth embodiment which are
similar to components previously described herein
will be given like numerical designations, with a
"d" suffix distinguishing those of the fifth
embodiment.
As with the second, third and fourth
embodiments, there is provided a vent orifice
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member 160d with a connecting tube 162d and the
vent orifice 164d. As in the fourth embodiment,
there is also provided a pressure relief valve
166d.
However, in this fifth embodiment of this
Figure 17, the pressure relief valve 166d is
connected in series with the vent orifice member
160d. As shown schematically herein, the vent
orifice member 160d discharges the carbon dioxide
into the chamber 170 which is defined by an
expanded tubular portion 172, having an inlet at
which the vent orifice member 160d is positioned,
and an outlet at which the pressure relief valve
166d is positioned.
Providing the pressure relief valve 166d in
series modifies the operation from what is
disclosed in the second, third and fourth
embodiments. In this fifth embodiment, the
pressure relief valve 166d would be selected so
that it opens to atmospheric pressure at a
pressure level between atmospheric pressure and
the desired end pressure at which the
carbonization of the liquid in the container 16d
would stop. Thus, for example, if the apparatus
lOd is arranged so that the carbonization is to
cease when the pressure in the container 16d is
150 psi, the pressure valve 166d could be caused
to open at a pressure level of, for example, 75
psi. In this instance, it is surmised that the
effective flow area of the vent orifice 164d would
be enlarged slightly relative to the effective
flow area of the orifice in the pressurizing valve
CA 02241868 1998-06-30
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70d. This will be explained below relating to the
operation of this fifth embodiment.
~ et it be assumed that the container 16d has
been placed in its operating position, and the
valve actuating member 42d has been raised to its
position to open the pressurizing valve 32d. The
carbon dioxide from the container 14d begins to
flow into the container 16d, and as the pressure
rises in the container 16d, there is ~low of
carbon dioxide through the line 44d in the
connecting line 162d to cause a certain amount of
flow through the vent orifice 164d, into the
chamber 170d. The chamber 170d is, in Figure 16,
shown much larger than it would actually be, and
in an actual operation, the volume of the chamber
170 would be a very small fraction of the volume
of the entire container 16, ~and actually a small
fraction of the volume of the interior chamber of
the container that is above the level of the
liquid). The effect of this is that the pressure
differential across the vent orifice 164d would
not need to be very large to cause a sufficient
volumetric flow through the orifice 164d to
maintain the pressure within the chamber 170
reasonably close to the pressure level in the
container 16d.
Let it further be assumed that the vent
orifice 14d and the volume of the chamber 170 is
such that with the vent relief valve 166d closed,
the pressure in the chamber 170d rises to 75 psi
gauge pressure at such time as the pressure in the
container 16b rises to, for example, 80 or 85 psi.
At this time, the pressure relief valve 166d would
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W O 97/2~130 PCT/IB97/00100 -
open, and provide a flow discharge passage having
an effective cross sectional flow area many times
greater than that of the orifice 164d.
The effect of this is that as the pressure in
the container 16d keeps rising, and the pressure
drop across the vent orifice 164d keeps rising,
the pressure in the chamber 170 rises very little.
From this point on, the apparatus of this fifth
embodiment of Figure 17 is operating :in
substantially the same manner as the second
embodiment of Figure 14, except that instead of
venting the orifice 164 of the second embodiment
to atmosphere, the present embodiment vents the
orifice 164d to a chamber at an intermediate level
between atmospheric and the pressure in the
container 16d.
It is to be recognized that various
modification could be made without depar_ing from
the basic teachings of the present invention.
