Engagement of gas cylinder with gas dispenser

#This invention relates generally to engaging a pressurized gas cylinder with a gas dispenser, such as a beverage extractor used in dispensing of wine from a wine bottle.

#A wide range of devices employ pressurized gas cylinders, including beverage extractors like that described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,225,959, cork removers like that in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,395, beverage carbonators like that in U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,209, medical fluid delivery systems as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,909, as well as others including tire inflation devices, pellet guns, etc. Gas cylinders are engaged with a receiver of these devices in different ways to deliver pressurized gas to the device. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,395, the gas cylinder has a threaded neck that is screwed into a threaded hole of a receiver. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,209, the gas cylinder is placed in a cap which is threaded onto a body to engage the cylinder with a receiver. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,163,909, a lever operated toggle mechanism forces a cylinder held in a cradle into engagement with a receiver.

#The inventors have appreciated that cylinder engagement approaches like those above can present difficulties in some circumstances. For example, some systems are not tolerant of cylinders that vary in size, e.g., in length and/or diameter, and may not properly seat a cylinder that is outside of an expected size range. In some systems, such as those where a user is required to turn a cylinder or cap to engage the cylinder with a receiver, users may not appreciate exactly how much to tighten the cylinder or cap, resulting in a loose, connection (which may leak) or overtightening (which may cause damage to seal and/or thread components).

#Aspects of the invention are described with reference to various embodiments, and to the figures, which include:

#FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a gas delivery system in an illustrative embodiment;

#FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a gas delivery system including a holder threadedly engaged with a system body to engage a gas cylinder with a receiver;

#Aspects of the invention are described below with reference to illustrative embodiments, but it should be understood that aspects of the invention are not to be construed narrowly in view of the specific embodiments described. Thus, aspects of the invention are not limited to the embodiments described herein. It should also be understood that various aspects of the invention may be used alone and/or in any suitable combination with each other, and thus various embodiments should not be interpreted as requiring any particular combination or combinations of features. Instead, one or more features of the embodiments described may be combined with any other suitable features of other embodiments.

#FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a gas delivery device 1 that incorporates one or more aspects of the invention. In this illustrative embodiment, the gas delivery device 1 includes a body 3 that has a gas dispensing outlet 37, which may take a variety of different forms depending on the purpose of the gas delivery device 1. For example, if the device 1 is intended to inflate tires, the gas dispensing outlet 37 may be arranged to couple with a tire valve stem to deliver pressurized gas to the tire. In another embodiment, the device 1 may be arranged to pressurize the inside of a cork-stoppered bottle to remove the cork. In this case, a needle (not shown) may be attached at the gas dispensing outlet 37 so that gas can be delivered to an internal lumen of the needle. The needle may be inserted through the bottle cork so gas is delivered via the needle lumen to the bottle interior to expel the cork. Other gas delivery devices are possible, such as for use in pellet guns, medical fluid delivery devices, beverage carbonation devices, etc. Thus, the dispensing outlet 37 need not necessarily be exposed at an exterior of the device 1, but rather may lead to other components of the device, such as a needle, valve, conduit, reservoir, etc.

#In this embodiment, the device 1 includes a receiver 34 attached to the body 3 that is arranged to couple with a gas cylinder 100 to receive gas from the cylinder 100. In this example, the receiver 34 includes a piercing element 35 arranged to pierce a gas outlet 102 of the cylinder 100 as the neck 101 of the cylinder 100 is moved toward the receiver 34. That is, as the neck 101 of the cylinder 100 is moved into an opening of the receiver 34, the piercing element 35 may penetrate the gas outlet 102, which may be a metal cap that seals the cylinder closed, containing relatively high pressure gas, e.g., 3000 psi or less. A gasket 36 may be used to create a gas-tight seal between the neck 101 and the receiver 34, e.g., so that gas does not leak from the cylinder 100 in an unwanted way. When properly mated with the receiver 34, the cylinder 100 may deliver pressurized gas to a passageway through or near the piercing element 35. Although in this embodiment the piercing element 35 and gasket 36 are shown assembled with the receiver 34, either or both of the piercing element 35 and the gasket 36 may be assembled with the cylinder 100, or be separate components from both the receiver 34 and the cylinder 100. Also, while the receiver 34 in this embodiment has an opening that receives the neck 101 of the cylinder 100, such an arrangement is not necessary. Instead, the receiver 34 may be arranged at a flat surface or protrusion of the body 3, for example.