Cover for C02 cylinders

Abstract

An envelope for a CO.sub.2 cylinder, that includes a shell that forms a cavity for accommodating the CO.sub.2 cylinder. The envelope can be accepted by an empty-container machine for taking back reusable bottles. The shell includes at least one guide rail for guiding the CO.sub.2 cylinder into the cavity in a first direction.

Claims

1) An envelope for a CO.sub.2 cylinder, comprising: a shell, wherein the shell forms a cavity for accommodating the CO.sub.2 cylinder, the envelope can be accepted by an empty-container machine for taking back reusable bottles, wherein the shell comprises at least one guide rail for guiding the CO.sub.2 cylinder in the cavity in a first direction.

2) The envelope as claimed in claim 1, wherein the envelope comprises a fixing device for fixing the CO.sub.2 cylinder in the cavity of the shell.

3) The envelope as claimed in claim 2, wherein the fixing device comprises at least one fixing hook, or at least two fixing hooks, or exactly two fixing hooks, for fixing the CO.sub.2 cylinder in the cavity.

4) The envelope as claimed in one claim 1, wherein the envelope comprises an insertion opening connected to the cavity of the shell for inserting of the CO.sub.2 cylinder into the cavity.

5) The envelope as claimed in claim 4, wherein the envelope comprises at least one fixing hook for fixing the CO.sub.2 cylinder in the cavity, wherein the at least one fixing hook is arranged on the insertion opening.

6) (canceled)

7) The envelope as claimed in claim 1, wherein the envelope comprises an outlet opening connected to the cavity of the shell for allowing a cylinder head of the CO.sub.2 cylinder to exit out of the cavity.

8) The envelope as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shell comprises a first shell part and a second shell part, wherein the first shell part and the second shell part are connected to one another, or are releasably connected to one another.

9) The envelope as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first shell part comprises at least one arresting hook and the second shell part comprises at least one corresponding accommodating opening for accommodating the at least one arresting hook of the first shell part to connect the first shell part to the second shell part.

10) The envelope as claimed in claim 8, wherein the first shell part and the second shell part are identical.

11) The envelope as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shell has substantially an outer shape of a reusable bottle.

12) The envelope as claimed in claim 1, wherein the envelope is composed of a plastic or of polypropylene.

13) A device comprising the envelope of claim 1 and the CO.sub.2 cylinder, wherein the CO.sub.2 cylinder is accommodated in the envelope.

14) A method for recycling a CO.sub.2 cylinder, comprising the following steps of: introducing the CO.sub.2 cylinder into an insertion opening of an envelope with a shell, wherein the shell forms a cavity connected to the insertion opening; accommodating the CO.sub.2 cylinder in the cavity; fixing the CO.sub.2 cylinder in the cavity; and wherein the envelope with the accommodated CO.sub.2 cylinder being accepted by an empty-container machine for taking back reusable bottles.

15) The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the envelope comprises at least one fixing device that is elastically deformed from a first position to a second position as a result of the introducing step, and the at least one fixing device returns to the first position in to fix the CO.sub.2 cylinder when the CO.sub.2 cylinder has been accommodated in the cavity.

16) The envelope as claimed in claim 8, wherein an inner surface of the first shell part and/or the second shell part comprises two rail bodies, wherein a distance defined between the two rail bodies corresponds to an outer diameter of the CO.sub.2 cylinder.

17) The envelope as claimed in claim 3, wherein the at least one fixing device is elastically deformed from a first position to a second position during insertion of the CO.sub.2 cylinder into the envelope, wherein the at least one fixing device returns to the first position after the CO.sub.2 cylinder has been positioned inside of the cavity.

18) The envelope as claimed in claim 17, wherein at least one fixing hook comprises an L-shaped tab against which a base surface of the CO.sub.2 cylinder bears when the CO.sub.2 cylinder is in the envelope.

19) The envelope as claimed in claim 1, wherein the envelope comprises two fixing hooks, each having an L-shaped tab against a surface of the CO.sub.2 cylinder bears when the CO.sub.2 cylinder is in the envelope, wherein the two fixing hooks generally oppose one another.

20) The envelope as claimed in claim 19, wherein the envelope comprises an insertion opening at a bottom end of the envelope, the two fixing hooks each extend from an inner wall defining the insertion opening and are angled towards a top end of the envelope.

21) The envelope as claimed in claim 1, wherein the envelope comprises a bottom end and an opposing top end, the bottom end comprises an insertion opening through which the CO.sub.2 cylinder is inserted into the envelope, the top end of the envelope comprises an outlet opening through which a top end of the CO.sub.2 cylinder protrudes when the CO.sub.2 cylinder is in the cavity.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] The invention is further explained below on the basis of the non-limiting exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings:

[0036] FIG. 1 schematically shows an envelope according to the invention for CO.sub.2 cylinders;

[0037] FIG. 2 schematically shows the envelope as per FIG. 1 with shell parts detached from one another;

[0038] FIG. 3 schematically shows the envelope as per FIG. 1 when a cylinder head of a CO.sub.2 cylinder is being inserted into the insertion opening;

[0039] FIG. 4 schematically shows the envelope as per FIG. 1 when a cylinder body of the CO.sub.2 cylinder as per FIG. 3 is being inserted into the insertion opening;

[0040] FIG. 5 schematically shows the device according to the invention with an envelope as per FIG. 1 and a CO.sub.2 cylinder, as per FIG. 3, which is accommodated in the envelope;

[0041] FIG. 6 shows a detail of the device as per FIG. 5;

[0042] FIG. 7 shows a side view of the envelope and of the CO.sub.2 cylinder as per FIG. 3;

[0043] FIG. 8 shows a side view of the device as per FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0044] FIG. 1 shows an envelope 1 according to the invention for CO.sub.2 cylinders 2 (see FIGS. 3-5), which comprises a shell 3. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the envelope 1 is composed of polypropylene. The shell 3 comprises a first shell part 4 and a second shell part 5, which are releasably connected to one another, wherein the shell 3 has the outer shape of a reusable bottle so that the envelope 1 can be accepted by an empty-container machine for taking back reusable bottles. When the first shell part 4 has been connected to the second shell part 5, the shell 3 forms a cavity 6 in which a CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 can be accommodated. At the bottle base of the substantially reusable bottle-shaped shell 3, the envelope 1 comprises a substantially circular insertion opening 7 (see FIG. 3) which is connected to the cavity 6 such that the cavity 6 is open in the direction of the bottle base of the substantially reusable bottle-shaped shell 3. On an opposite side of the shell 3, at the bottle head of the substantially reusable bottle-shaped shell 3, the envelope comprises a circular outlet opening 8 which is arranged so as to be parallel to the insertion opening 7. Adjacent to the insertion opening 7, the shell 3 comprises a substantially cylindrical section 9, which is adjoined by a substantially conically converging section 10. This substantially conically converging section 10 is adjoined in the direction of the outlet opening 8 by a further substantially cylindrical section 11 and a further substantially conically converging section 12, which form the bottle neck or the bottle head of the substantially reusable bottle-shaped shell 3. The axes of rotation of the insertion opening 7, the substantially cylindrical section 9, the substantially conically converging section 10, the further substantially cylindrical section 11, the further substantially conically converging section 12 and the outlet opening 8 are identical. The shell 3 comprises four inscription surfaces 13 on the outer surface of the substantially cylindrical section 9, which have a smoother surface than the rest of the surface of the shell 3. As a result, labels, which for example show the logo of the marketer of the envelope 1, can be attached to the inscription surfaces 13. Furthermore, on the outer surface of the substantially cylindrical section 11, the shell 3 comprises a further ring-shaped inscription surface 14 with a surface which is also smoother than the rest of the surface of the shell 3, in order to attach labels.

[0045] FIG. 2 shows the envelope 1 as per FIG. 1, in which the first shell part 4 has been detached from the second shell part 5. The first shell part 4 and the second shell part 5 are identical injection-molded parts made of polypropylene. The connecting surface between the first shell part 4 and the second shell part 5 runs vertically through the substantially reusable bottle-shaped shell 3 and perpendicularly with respect to the insertion opening 7 and the outlet opening 8. The first shell part 4 and the second shell part 5 comprise, in each case on the vertical connecting surface for connection to the respectively other shell part, two arresting hooks 15 which are arranged directly one above the other and two corresponding accommodating openings 16 which are arranged directly one above the other and which are intended to accommodate the arresting hooks 15. Here, in each case an arresting hook 15 and an accommodating opening 16 are arranged at a distance from one another on the vertical connecting surface, in the same horizontal plane which is parallel to the insertion opening 7, wherein this distance corresponds to the outer diameter of a commercially available CO.sub.2 cylinder made of aluminum with a capacity of 425 g CO.sub.2. In order to arrange the arresting hooks 15 at this distance from the accommodating openings 16 in each case, the arresting hooks 15 and the accommodating openings 16 are arranged in shell-like indentations 17 on the substantially cylindrical section 9 and in further shell-like indentations 18 on the substantially conically converging section 10. When the first shell part 4 is being connected to the second shell part 5, a respective accommodating opening 16 accommodates an arresting hook 15 in a releasable manner, such that in each case two connections of an arresting hook 15 to an accommodating opening 16 are arranged at two different distances from the insertion opening 7.

[0046] A guide rail 19, which in each case comprises two parallel rail bodies 20, is arranged on an inner surface of the first shell part 4 and of the second shell part 5 so as to in each case be parallel to the vertical connecting surface and perpendicular to the insertion opening 7. The distance between the guide rail 19 of the first shell part 4 and the guide rail 19 of the second shell part 5 also corresponds to the outer diameter of a commercially available CO.sub.2 cylinder with a capacity of 425 g CO.sub.2. With the aid of the mutually spaced-apart connections of the arresting hooks 15 to the accommodating openings 16 and the mutually spaced-apart guide rails 19, a commercially available CO.sub.2 cylinder can be arranged in the cavity 8 of the shell 3 in such a way that it is delimited by the arresting hooks 15, the accommodating openings 16 and the guide rails 19 and cannot be displaced in a horizontal direction parallel to the insertion opening 7.

[0047] On a lower side of the shell 3 facing the insertion opening 7, the first shell part 4 and the second shell part 5 each have two connecting devices 21 in the vertical connecting plane, which are releasably connected to the two connecting devices of the respectively other shell part. Also on the lower side of the shell facing the insertion opening 7, the first shell part 4 and the second shell part 5 each have a fixing hook 22 which is arranged in the plane of the insertion opening 7 and protrudes into the insertion opening 7. The two fixing hooks 22 are elastically deformable and are arranged on the first shell part 4 and the second shell part 5 in such a way that, in the connected state of the two shell parts, the fixing hooks 22 are arranged on two opposite sides of the substantially circular insertion opening 7, the protrusion of the fixing hooks 22 into the insertion opening 7 having the effect that the distance between the two fixing hooks 22 is smaller than the diameter of the insertion opening 7.

[0048] On an upper side of the shell 3 facing the outlet opening 8, the first shell part 4 and the second shell part 5 have a curvature 23 which delimits the outlet opening 8 when the two shell parts are connected. When the first shell part 4 is connected to the second shell part 5, the curvatures 23 form a ring with an inner diameter that corresponds to the outer diameter of a cylinder head of a commercially available CO.sub.2 cylinder.

[0049] FIGS. 3 and 4 show the envelope 1 as per FIG. 1 when a CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 is being inserted into the insertion opening 7. The CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 is guided into the insertion opening 7 of the envelope 1 with the cylinder head 24 of the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 in front and is guided into the cavity 6 of the shell 3 in a first direction 25 with the aid of the guide rails 19. In this case, the first direction 25 is parallel to the rail bodies 20 of the guide rails 19 and perpendicular to the insertion opening 7. Upon further insertion of the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2, after the cylinder head 24, the cylinder body 26 reaches the insertion opening 7, wherein when the cylinder body 26 is being inserted into the insertion opening 7, the cylinder body 26 causes the two elastically deformable fixing hooks 22 protruding into the insertion opening 7 to deform in the first direction 25 from a first position to a second position. During the insertion of the cylinder body 26 of the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 into the insertion opening 7 of the envelope 1, as shown in FIG. 4, in the second position the fixing hooks 22 bear against the cylinder body 26 until the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 has been completely inserted into the insertion opening 7 and accommodated in the cavity 6 of the shell 3. After the cylinder body 26 of the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 has been guided past the fixing hooks 22, the elastically deformable fixing hooks 22 return to the first position, as shown in FIG. 5. The CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 is thus accommodated in the envelope 1, such that a device according to the invention has been formed.

[0050] FIG. 6 shows a detail of the envelope 1 with the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 accommodated therein, as per FIG. 5, in the region of the insertion opening 7. A base surface 27 of the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 lying opposite the cylinder head 24 bears in each case against an L-shaped tab of the two fixing hooks 22. By virtue of the fact that elastic deformation of the fixing hooks 22 in a second direction 28 opposite the first direction 25 is possible only with considerable expenditure of force, the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 is prevented from slipping out of the cavity 6 of the shell 3 by the fixing hooks 22.

[0051] In order to remove the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 from the envelope 1, the fixing hooks 22 are deformed in the first direction 25 from a first position to a second position with the aid of a tool provided for this purpose or by hand in order to release the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 from the fixing hooks 22. The CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 can then be moved out of the cavity 6 in the second direction 28 via the insertion opening 7. After the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 has exited the cavity 6, the fixing hooks 22 return from the second position to the first position, such that a CO.sub.2 cylinder can once again be accommodated in the envelope 1.

[0052] FIGS. 7 and 8 show the envelope 1 and the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 as per FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, respectively. As shown in FIG. 7, the shell-like indentations 17 and the further shell-like indentations 18, together with the arresting hooks 15 and accommodating openings 16 arranged on these indentations, serve to delimit the cavity 6 of the shell 3 in order to position the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 accommodated in the cavity 6. As shown in FIG. 8, the height of the envelope 1 is smaller than the height of the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2, with the result that the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 protrudes out of the outlet opening 8 when the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 is fixed in the cavity 6 of the envelope 1. In this case, the height of the envelope 1 is selected such that the CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 is fixed in the cavity 6 on the one hand between the guide rails 19, the arresting hooks 15 and the accommodating openings 16, and on the other hand between the curvature 23 and the fixing hooks 22. The CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 arranged in the envelope 1 in this way can be accepted together with the envelope 1, due to the shape of the envelope 1, by an empty-container machine for taking back reusable bottles. By virtue of the fact that the cylinder head 24 protrudes out of the envelope 1, an empty-container machine can detect whether a CO.sub.2 cylinder 2 is arranged in the envelope 1 and thus an improper return of empty envelopes 1 or envelopes 1 filled with other articles can be avoided.