Patent Application
20240174415
The present disclosure relates to a device for storing, transporting, opening and closing a cartridge containing a beverage, in particular a carbonated beverage such as champagne. The present disclosure also concerns a cartridge intended to be mounted in such a device, as well as a method for mounting such a cartridge in such a device.
The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
In the field of prior art relating to the field of beverage bottles such as wine or champagne, the closure of a bottle is typically carried out using a cork stopper. In a classic champagne bottle, the bottle is made of glass and the cork stopper is generally held in place by a wire-cap which is unpinned before removing the stopper. The pressure present inside the bottle can sometimes naturally push the stopper out of the neck of the bottle, the stopper then emitting a characteristic noise. The serving of champagne into the guest glasses is then traditionally done by holding the bottle with the thumb placed in the base of the bottle. The fact that the bottle is made of glass, that the cork stopper emits a characteristic sound when the cork leaves the neck of the bottle, that the champagne is served by holding the bottle by the bottom are elements of a ritual which is at the heart of champagne service.
A classic bottle of champagne meeting the criteria for the controlled designation of origin (AOC) of Champagne, in other words made of glass and closed with a cork stopper as described above, cannot withstand the particular conditions of a pressurized passenger compartment of a machine carrying out a manned flight in space. Indeed, closing such a bottle with a cork stopper and the risk generated by the presence of glass do not meet the safety standards enforced in a spacecraft passenger compartment. Indeed, any object present in such a passenger compartment must meet precise standards in order to withstand the different pressures that the object may undergo in the passenger compartment, such as vibrations, temperature change and stresses exerted on the object by the effect of acceleration, during the different phases of transport, such as takeoff, flight, landing, etc. In addition, the absence of weightiness inhibits pouring or collecting the liquid in a glass. It is therefore not possible to serve champagne to people on a manned flight using a classic bottle of champagne.
Application WO2019/207234 describes a bottle intended to receive champagne. WO2019/207234 describes that the bottle can be opened in weightless conditions. To do this, the bottle described in this document comprises a piston and injection system passing through the body of the bottle. The presence of such a system makes it difficult to manufacture such a bottle on an industrial scale, as well as filling the bottle. In addition, the fact that this system passes through the entire bottle poses numerous mechanical alignment issues, and results in random reliability of the mechanism, hardly compatible with spatial conditions. The presence of such a system passing through the body of the bottle, in which the champagne is stored, does not allow the champagne to be preserved in desired conditions. Moreover, due to the presence of a piston system passing through the body of the bottle, the aesthetic appearance of the bottle is altered, distorting the classic ritual generally associated with serving champagne to guests wishing to celebrate an event. Finally, the system described in WO2019/207234 is poorly compatible with the spatial conditions in terms of transport of liquids in particular, these conditions recommending double confinement of liquids in the event of a barrier breaking, in particular in the presence of a glass container.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
The present disclosure provides a device that allows champagne to be stored and transported in a container meeting the conditions of the controlled designation of origin, in other words made of glass, in a secure manner within the pressurized passenger compartment of a space/atmospheric flight, capable, among other things, of withstanding the various stresses experienced during takeoff, flight and landing while being compatible with space safety conditions. The present disclosure provides a device allowing champagne to be served to guests in weightless conditions, the device allowing as far as possible to respect a ritual as close as possible to the classic ritual of opening the bottle of champagne and beverage service. Finally, the present disclosure provides such a device that could be manufactured on an industrial scale.
The present disclosure provides a device capable of authorizing the transport, storage, opening and closing in weightlessness of a cartridge capable of receiving a liquid, in particular a carbonated beverage such as champagne. The present disclosure also relates to a cartridge intended to be mounted on such a device and to the method for mounting such a cartridge in the device.
The present disclosure concerns a device intended to authorize the transport, storage, opening and closing, in particular in weightlessness, of a cartridge capable of receiving a liquid, said cartridge being formed of a wall defining a body, a bottom and an opening of said cartridge, said opening being closed by a valve. Said valve comprising a fixed part secured to said opening and a movable part, said movable part being able to slide with respect to said fixed part between an open position, in which the moveable part allows the passage of a liquid from the outside of the cartridge to the inside of the cartridge or from the inside of the cartridge to the outside of the cartridge, and a closed position, in which the moveable part inhibits the passage of the liquid, from the outside of the cartridge towards the inside of the cartridge, and from the inside of the cartridge towards the outside of the cartridge. Said valve being provided with elements for returning said movable part to the closed position, an upper end of the movable part of said valve projecting beyond the opening of the cartridge. Said device comprising: a shell, configured and dimensioned to receive the body of said cartridge, a lower end of the shell leaving free access to the bottom of the cartridge and an upper end of the shell leaving free access to the movable part of said valve, said cartridge being slidably mounted with respect to the shell, between a low position, in which the movable part of said valve is in a closed position, and a high position, in which the movable part of said valve is in an open position; a base, intended to be secured to the lower end of the shell, said base being dimensioned to close access to the bottom of the cartridge, said base comprising a pusher capable of transiting from a rest position, in which said pusher does not exert any constraint on said cartridge, to an activation position, in which the pusher has pressed on the bottom of said cartridge in order to slide said cartridge from the low position to the high position, said pusher being able to move from the rest position to the activation position under the action of pressure exerted by a user on said pusher; and a cap, intended to close the upper end of the shell and to control the opening and closing of the movable part of valve. Said cap comprising: a tubular body configured to receive the liquid leaving the cartridge via the valve, said tubular body comprising first coupling elements configured to secure said tubular body to said upper end of the movable part of said valve and second coupling elements configured to secure said tubular body to the upper end of said shell; a neck configured to receive said tubular body, said neck being secured to said tubular body, said neck comprising an open upper end; a stopper configured to close the upper end of said neck, said stopper being intended to be removed to allow the liquid coming from the cartridge to be evacuated from the device; a safety system, slidably mounted opposite the neck, said safety system being able to be displaced between a low position, in which said safety system inhibits the removal of said stopper and inhibits the activation of said pusher, and a high position, in which said stopper can be removed and said pusher can be activated; and a locking crown, mounted on the neck and rotating with respect to the neck, the locking crown being capable of rotating from a first position, in which said crown inhibits the displacement of said safety system from the low position to the high position, to a second position, in which said safety system is allowed to be displaced from the low position to the high position.
The present disclosure also concerns a cartridge intended to be mounted in such a device, said cartridge being formed of a wall defining a body, a bottom and an opening of said cartridge, said opening being closed by a valve, said valve comprising a fixed part secured to said opening and a movable part, said movable part being able to slide with respect to said fixed part between an open position, in which the movable part allows the passage of a liquid from the outside of the cartridge towards the inside of the cartridge or from the inside of the cartridge towards the outside of the cartridge, and a closed position, in which the movable part inhibits the passage of liquid, from the outside of the cartridge to the inside of the cartridge, and from the inside of the cartridge towards the outside of the cartridge, said valve being provided with elements for returning said movable part to the closed position, an upper end of the movable part of said valve projecting beyond the opening of the cartridge.
The present disclosure thus also concerns an assembly comprising the device described above and such a cartridge intended to be mounted in the device.
The cartridge according to the present disclosure is intended to serve as a reservoir for the liquid that the device, according to the present disclosure, will allow to be used, in particular in weightless conditions. As indicated above, this liquid can be any liquid that one wishes to carry during a human space flight. In particular, this liquid can be a beverage. This beverage can be a carbonated beverage, especially champagne.
The cartridge according to the present disclosure thus has a shape adapted to receive the liquid, and is formed of a wall defining a body, a bottom and an opening, through which the liquid enters and leaves the cartridge. The cartridge can thus have a substantially cylindrical shape, the opening generally having a narrowed diameter compared to the diameter of the body of the cartridge. For example, the body of the cartridge may have the general shape of the body of a bottle of wine with a capacity of approximately 37.5 cl. The wall can be made of any material compatible with the storage of a liquid. In one form, the wall of the cartridge is made of glass. Such a wall allows champagne to be stored within the cartridge while satisfying the conditions of the controlled designation of origin of champagne.
The opening of the cartridge according to the present disclosure is closed via a valve. The valve comprises a fixed part which is secured to the opening of the cartridge, this opening may for example have the shape of a neck. The valve also comprises a movable part, the movable part being able to slide with respect to the fixed part between an open position, in which the movable part allows the passage of a liquid from the outside of the cartridge towards the inside of the cartridge or from the inside of the cartridge to the outside of the cartridge, and a closed position, in which the movable part inhibits the passage of liquid, from the outside of the cartridge to the inside of the cartridge, and from the inside of the cartridge towards the outside of the cartridge. The valve further comprises an element for returning the movable part to the closed position.
For example, the fixed part of the valve may be in the form of a collar, fixed to the opening of the cartridge. The movable part of the valve can then be in the form of a conduit received within the collar, the wall of the conduit being provided with at least one lumen capable of being in contact with the liquid contained within the cartridge when the valve is open, said lumen being closed by the collar when the valve is closed. The elements for returning the movable part, for example the conduit, to the closed position can for example be a helical spring housed between the collar and the conduit.
In the cartridge according to the present disclosure, the upper end of the movable part of the valve, for example of the conduit, projects beyond the opening of the cartridge. It is thus possible to act on this upper end, for example by applying pressure on the upper end, to move the movable part of the valve from the closed position to the open position. The cartridge, according to the present disclosure, can thus be transported and handled on land, with the valve in the closed configuration. The cartridge can thus also be easily filled with a beverage, in particular a carbonated beverage such as champagne, via a filling device provided with a tool allowing the valve to be kept open during the filling. The filling of the cartridge, for example with champagne, can thus be carried out industrially within the champagne-producing farms themselves.
In one form, the valve of the cartridge comprises at a lower end a valve stop of conical shape intended to cause a wedge effect, in other words a rise of the liquid contained in the cartridge by capillary effect. In particular, such a valve stop is intended to cause a wedge effect when the liquid contained in the cartridge is a carbonated beverage, for example champagne. In one form, the cartridge contains a carbonated beverage. Such a valve stop can for example be provided near the lumen of the conduit forming the movable part of the valve. As will be seen below, such a stop is particularly advantageous when serving the champagne contained in the cartridge in weightless conditions, the valve stop favoring the presence of the champagne towards the valve and therefore towards the lumen authorizing the exit of the champagne from the cartridge. The valve stop can have a ribbed wall, accentuating the capillary effect, and thus further promoting the presence of liquid around the lumens. Such a valve stop can, for example, be made of stainless steel, which is a biocompatible material that can be in contact with champagne without denaturing the latter.
The device according to the present disclosure is intended to authorize the transport and storage of a cartridge as described above, in particular in the extreme conditions which constitute the conditions of a pressurized passenger compartment of a spacecraft. The device according to the present disclosure also aims to allow the control of the opening and closing of the cartridge in weightless conditions and the serving of the champagne contained in the cartridge according to the gestures of a ritual as close as possible to that which can be achieved in atmospheric conditions on land with a bottle of classic champagne.
The device according to the present disclosure comprises a shell intended to surround the cartridge and protect the cartridge from the outside. The shell can thus protect the cartridge from possible shocks. The shell is also intended to protect the external environment from possible solid or liquid debris that would be generated by accidental rupture of the cartridge. The shell is thus configured to confine the cartridge. In particular, when the cartridge is made of glass, for example to meet the conditions of the Champagne controlled designation of origin, the presence of the shell can contain any glass debris within the shell and to meet spatial conditions of “double confinement” of liquids in the event of a barrier breakage. For this purpose, the shell is configured and sized to receive the body of the cartridge. The shell may for example have a generally cylindrical shape with an upper part tapering towards the upper end, this upper end being dimensioned to allow free access to the movable part of the valve. The lower end of the shell is open and provides free access to the bottom of the cartridge.
As will appear from the description below, during operation of the device according to the present disclosure, when the cartridge is mounted on said device, the cartridge is intended to slide with respect to the shell over a certain distance along a revolution axis of the cartridge and the shell, in order to move from a low position, in which the movable part of the valve is in a closed position, to a high position, in which the movable part of the valve is in an open position. Thus, for example, the longitudinal dimension of the shell is greater than the longitudinal dimension of the cartridge in order to allow this displacement of the cartridge within the shell.
The shell can, for example, be formed from a plastic material or a metallic material, such as aluminum. In one form, the shell is made of aluminum and is provided with portholes made of transparent plastic material, such as polycarbonate. The user can see the cartridge and in particular the filling level. Such a form also preserves the integrity of the cartridge. Such visual inspection of the components of the device constitutes appreciable additional safety in the case of a space flight and reduces the risk of malfunction of the device.
As will appear from the description below, the upper end of the shell is provided with elements allowing the coupling of the upper end of the shell to the tubular body of the cap. These elements can for example be in the form of an internal thread. Likewise, the lower end of the shell is provided with elements allowing the securing of the lower end of the shell to the base. These elements can also be in the form of an internal thread.
Thus, in one form, the upper end of the shell being provided with an internal thread, said second coupling elements comprise an external thread intended to cooperate with said internal thread of the upper end of the shell in order to secure said tubular body to the shell.
In one form, the lower end of the shell being provided with an internal thread, the base is provided with an external thread intended to cooperate with the internal thread of the shell in order to secure the base to the shell.
In one form, the internal threads of the upper and lower ends of the shell are made of metal. This metal can for example be stainless steel, aluminum, or even titanium. The use of metal for such internal threads allows reliable coupling of the parts together, capable of withstanding the extreme conditions of a manned flight.
Thus, in one form, the shell is made of aluminum and is provided with portholes made of transparent plastic material, internal threads of the upper and lower ends of the shell being made of metal.
The device according to the present disclosure further comprises a base, intended to be secured to the lower end of the shell and to close this lower end, thus closing access to the bottom of the cartridge when the cartridge is received inside of the shell. The base, in one form, comprises a main body provided with an external thread intended to cooperate with the internal thread of the lower end of the shell in order to secure the base to the shell. Alternatively, the base could be secured to the lower end of the shell by any other conventional elements of securing two parts together, such as for example glue, the cooperation of surfaces snapping into each other, engagement by force, etc.
The base further comprises a pusher. The pusher is intended to allow the displacement of the cartridge from the low position to the high position, as described above, by exerting a pressure on the bottom of the cartridge, towards the upper end of the shell. The pusher is thus able to move from a rest position, in which the pusher does not exert any stress on the bottom of said cartridge, to an activation position, in which the pusher has pressed on the bottom of said cartridge in order to slide the latter from the low position to the high position. The pusher is intended to be activated under the action of pressure exerted by the user, for example with a finger. To do this a lower part of the pusher, forming a support surface for the user, projects from the main body of the base. An internal part of the pusher, intended to be in contact with the bottom of the cartridge, is in one form, dimensioned to receive the bottom of the cartridge. For this purpose, this internal part can be formed of a cup-shaped element comprising a plurality of fins distributed circumferentially, like petals, the plurality of fins allowing a dimensional tolerance at the contact points of the bottom of the cartridge. Such a dimensional tolerance is particularly advantageous when the cartridge is made of glass.
The device according to the present disclosure also comprises a cap, intended to close the upper end of the shell and to control the opening and closing of the movable part of the valve. The cap is also the place through which the liquid from inside the cartridge passes before being served, for example in glasses. The cap itself can be opened or closed and thus allow the liquid stored inside the cartridge to escape or not. Thus, the cap is intended to be coupled on the one hand to the movable part of the valve, and therefore to the cartridge, and on the other hand to the shell.
The cap comprises a tubular body configured to receive liquid leaving the cartridge via the valve. The tubular body is therefore hollow and forms a channel capable of conducting the liquid leaving the valve of the cartridge to an open upper end of the cap, said channel being aligned with the revolution axis of the cartridge and the shell. For example, when the movable part of the valve is a conduit, as seen above, the channel formed by the tubular body is aligned with the conduit of the valve.
The tubular body comprises first coupling elements configured to secure the tubular body to the upper end of the movable part of said valve. For example, a lower end of the tubular body may be provided with a first radial flange. For example, the first radial flange may be a metal plate. The upper end of the movable part of the valve can then comprise a second radial flange. For example, when the movable part of the valve is a conduit as seen above, the upper end of the conduit can be provided with said second radial flange. This second radial flange can also be made of metal. The first coupling elements can then comprise a plurality of screws and bolts intended to cooperate with a plurality of orifices provided in the first and second radial flanges and arranged facing each other in order to couple the two flanges together. For example, each of the two flanges may comprise several orifices distributed circumferentially. Such coupling of the two flanges together provides a solid attachment of the cap to the cartridge.
Thus, in one form, a lower end of said tubular body being provided with a first radial flange and the upper end of the movable part of the valve being provided with a second radial flange, said first coupling elements comprise a plurality of screws and bolts intended to cooperate with a plurality of orifices provided in the first and second radial flanges and arranged facing each other in order to couple the two flanges together.
In other forms, the first coupling elements could comprise any elements of fixing two parts together, such as glue, snapping surfaces together, engagement by force, etc.
The tubular body comprises second coupling elements configured to secure the tubular body to the upper end of the shell. When the upper end of the shell comprises an internal thread, the second coupling elements may comprise an external thread intended to cooperate with the internal thread of the upper end of said shell in order to secure said tubular body to said shell.
In other forms, the second coupling elements could comprise any elements of fixing two parts together, such as glue, snapping surfaces together, engagement by force, etc.
The tubular body can be made of any compatible material that can come into contact with beverages, such as champagne, without denaturing these beverages. For example, the tubular body is made of stainless steel.
The cap also comprises a neck configured to receive the tubular body. The neck is secured to the tubular body. For example, the neck surrounds the tubular body and has a lower part whose external wall is an extension of a narrowed upper region of the shell, so that the “base+shell+neck” assembly has a general external shape close to that of a classic bottle of champagne. In the upper part, the neck can extend beyond the upper end of the tubular body. Moreover, the neck comprises an open upper end. Thus, the upper part of the neck up to the open upper end can constitute a channel through which the liquid coming from the tubular body passes before this liquid definitively leaves the device according to the present disclosure. Like the tubular body, the neck is, in one form, formed of a compatible material which can be in contact with beverages, such as champagne, without denaturing these beverages, for example stainless steel.
The cap also comprises a stopper configured to close the upper end of said neck. The stopper can for example be made of cork and have the classic “mushroom stopper” shape of a champagne bottle stopper. The stopper can thus have a head, of substantially spherical shape, and a foot. When the stopper closes the upper end of the neck, the foot of the stopper can for example occupy the internal volume of the upper part of the neck, the head of the stopper projecting beyond the upper end of the neck. The stopper is intended to be removed to allow the liquid coming from the cartridge to be evacuated from the device, when the user decides to serve the beverage contained in the cartridge.
The cap also comprises a safety system, slidably mounted opposite the neck, the safety system being able to be displaced between a low position, in which this system inhibits the removal of the stopper and inhibits the activation of said pusher, and a high position, in which the stopper can be removed and the pusher can be activated. Thus, when the safety system is in the low position, the pressure exerted on the pusher by a user will not allow the pusher to move towards the activation position. The cartridge will therefore not be displaced to the high position and the movable part of the valve will remain in the closed position. The liquid contained inside the cartridge will therefore not be allowed to escape from the cartridge. Moreover, in the low position, the safety system maintains the stopper in the closing configuration of the upper end of the neck in the manner of a traditional wire-cap.
For example, the safety device may comprise two substantially parallel rods whose upper ends are connected together by a ring portion, said ring portion being dimensioned to at least partially cover said stopper, said two rods being capable of sliding in rails provided in a wall of said neck, said two rods being dimensioned so that their lower ends are in contact with the fixed part of the valve when the safety system is in the low position. Thus, in particular, when the device according to the present disclosure is in the cartridge storage configuration, said cartridge being mounted on the device, the fact that the lower ends of said two rods are in contact with the fixed part of the valve such that the two rods inhibit any movement of the fixed part of the valve, and therefore of the cartridge, the fixed part of the valve itself being fixed to the opening of the cartridge. The activation of the pusher is, therefore, inhibited. Moreover, the ring portion at least partially covering the stopper inhibits any displacement of the stopper outside the upper end of the neck.
The cap also comprises a locking crown, mounted on the neck and rotating with respect to the neck, said locking crown being able to rotate from a first position, in which said crown inhibits the displacement of said safety system from the low position to the high position, to a second position, in which said safety system is allowed to be displaced from the low position to the high position. Thus, for example, the locking crown comprises blocking elements capable of maintaining the safety system in the low position when the locking crown is in the first position. For example, when the safety system comprises two rods as described above, the blocking elements may comprise two cams provided on the crown, each cam accommodating a rod, each cam comprising a stop point in which the rod is engaged and inhibited to move when the locking crown is in the first position, the rod disengaging from the stop point and becoming free to be displaced when a user rotates the locking crown from the first position to the second position.
Thus, in one form, in the storage and transport configuration of the device according to the present disclosure, when a cartridge is mounted on the device, the following relationships can be observed between the different elements of the device: the tubular body is coupled to the movable part of the cartridge valve, the tubular body is secured to the upper end of the shell, the cartridge is in the low position, the base is secured to the lower end of the shell, the stopper closes the upper end of the neck, the safety system is in the low position, the locking crown is in the first position.
Thus, the device is safe and cannot be opened until a user unlocks the locking crown. In this locked configuration of the device, the storage and transport of a carbonated beverage such as champagne in the pressurized spaceflight passenger compartment is in accordance with the safety standards for such flights. In particular, the device according to the present disclosure, in the locked configuration, can support the acceleration conditions of a takeoff of a spacecraft for example.
The device according to the present disclosure can then be used to serve champagne, for example in weightless conditions.
To do this, the user unlocks the locking crown by rotating the locking crown from the first position to the second position. The safety system can then be grabbed to displace the latter to the high position. For example, the ring portion of this system can be grabbed and pulled upwards. This gesture is very close to that which a user would make unpinning the usual wire-cap covering a classic champagne bottle stopper. The user can then lock the safety system in the high position by rotating the locking crown to the initial position, in other words the first position, which no longer allows the translation of the safety system.
The displacement of the safety system upwards releases the stopper from the pressure that the ring portion was exerting on the stopper and the stopper pops under the effect of the internal pressure of the device. The travel of the stopper is stopped by the ring portion, and thus presents no danger, particularly in weightlessness, but the stopper may have emitted a noise similar to that made by a stopper from a classic champagne bottle. The stopper can then be removed from the device.
In this configuration, depending on whether the safety system is in the high position, the pusher can be activated. Indeed, for example, the passage of the safety system into the high position has displaced the lower ends of the two rods, which have slid in the rails of the neck, so that these lower ends of these two rods are no longer in contact with the fixed part of the cartridge valve, and that they no longer inhibit the displacement of the cartridge from the low position to the high position.
Thus, the user can exert pressure on the pusher in order to move the latter from the rest position to the activation position. To do this, the user can hold the device by the base, as they would with a classic bottle of champagne.
In the pusher activation position, the cartridge is in the high position and the movable part of the valve is in the open position. The liquid contained in the cartridge, for example champagne, can, under the effect of the internal pressure of the cartridge, exit the cartridge by passing firstly into the lumen of the valve conduit, then into the tubular body of the cap and finally in the upper portion of the neck. During this operation, the valve stop helps attract the liquid, such as champagne, towards the lumen of the valve conduit. When the liquid reaches the upper end of the neck, the liquid can be accumulated inside the space defined by the ring portion of the safety system. The user can then release the pressure exerted on the pusher. Under the effect of the return elements of the movable part of the valve which returns the latter to the closed position, the cartridge passes from the high position to the low position, and the pusher is returned to the rest position. The liquid is no longer allowed to come out of the cartridge and the user can serve the liquid, for example champagne, which has accumulated in the space defined by the ring portion of the safety system.
The user can then start the operation again by pressing the pusher again in order to serve champagne to another person.
During all of these steps, the user performed gestures very similar to those generally performed when opening a classic bottle of champagne in atmospheric conditions on land. Thus, the device according to the present disclosure makes it possible to serve champagne in conditions of weightlessness by carrying out a ritual very close to that carried out on land with a classic champagne bottle.
The user may need to close the device. In this case, he can, after releasing the pressure on the pusher in order to put the movable part of the valve in the closed position and the cartridge in the low position, displace the safety system in order to move the safety system to the low position. The locking crown can then be rotated from the second position to the first position, in order to lock the safety system in the low position. In this low position of the safety system, the lower ends of the rods are in contact and press on the fixed part of the valve, inhibiting any displacement of the cartridge towards the high position, even in the event of pressure exerted on the pusher.
The present disclosure also relates to a method for mounting a cartridge as described above in a device as described above, characterized in that the method comprises the following steps: A) the following elements are disposed, separated from each other: a cartridge filled with a liquid, the shell, the cap, the base; B) the cartridge is inserted into the shell through the lower end of the shell, until the opening of the cartridge abuts against a shoulder of the shell formed around the free access formed by the upper end of the shell, the upper end of the movable part of the valve projecting beyond the upper end of the shell; C) the tubular body of the cap is secured to the upper end of the movable part of the valve via the first coupling elements; D) the tubular body is secured to the shell via the second coupling elements; E) the base is secured to the lower end of the shell.
Such a mounting method is particularly simple to carry out and makes it possible to fill the cartridge on a first site, for example the site of the operation producing champagne, then to transport the filled cartridge to a second site, for example a site close to the takeoff of the spacecraft, in order to secure the filled cartridge to the cap and to the shell on the second site, and to assemble the device on this second site. The logistics chain is thus improved. Moreover, once the spacecraft returns to land, the device comprising the empty cartridge can be reused. In fact, all you have to do is separate the cartridge from the cap and the shell. The empty cartridge can be rerouted to the first site in order to be refilled and used again by mounting the cartridge again in a device according to the present disclosure.
The device according to the present disclosure thus makes it possible to recycle the cartridges intended for storing champagne, thus contributing to the preservation of the environment.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
In order that the disclosure may be well understood, there will now be described various forms thereof, given by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features.
With reference to
With reference to
The liquid intended to be received inside 107 of the cartridge 100 enters and leaves the cartridge 100 through the opening 104. This opening 104 is closed via a valve 110 mounted on the neck 106.
With reference to
The valve 110 further comprises a movable part with respect to the collar 111, in the form of a conduit 115 intended to form a transition channel for the liquid entering or leaving the cartridge 100. The conduit 115 is received within the collar 111 and is able to slide within the collar 111 between an open position (see
With reference to
The conduit 115 also comprises a radial flange 119 located at the upper end of the tubular element 116. As appears from
With reference to
In
As appears from
The cartridge 100 can thus be transported and handled on land, with the valve 110 in the closed configuration. The cartridge 100 can thus also be easily filled with a beverage, in particular a carbonated beverage such as champagne, via a filling device provided with a tool to put pressure on the radial flange 119 and to hold the valve 110 open during the filling. The filling of the cartridge 100, for example by champagne, can thus be carried out industrially within the farms producing champagne.
With reference to
As can be seen from
As will appear from the description below, during the operation of the device 1 according to the present disclosure, when the cartridge 100 is mounted on said device 1, the cartridge 100 is intended to slide with respect to the shell 2 on a certain distance along an axis of revolution A from the cartridge 100 and the shell 2, in order to move from a low position, in which the conduit 115 is in a closed position, to a high position, in which the conduit 115 is in an open position. Thus, for example, the longitudinal dimension of the shell 2 is greater than the longitudinal dimension of the cartridge 100 in order to authorize this displacement of the cartridge 100 within the shell 2.
The wall 3 of the shell 2 can be formed of a transparent plastic material, such as polycarbonate, for example, or of an opaque material, such as aluminum. In particular, the wall 3 of the shell 2 can be made of aluminum and be provided with transparent portholes, made for example on either side of the shell 2, in order to allow the user to check the filling level, the integrity of the glass cartridge 100 and the mechanism, before opening the device 1.
With reference to
In other forms not shown, the base 10 could be secured to the lower end 6 of the shell 2 by any other conventional elements for securing two parts together, such as for example glue, the cooperation of surfaces snapping into each other, engagement by force, etc.
The base 10 comprises a pusher 13 comprising a lower part in the form of a button 14 projecting outside the main body 11 and forming a support surface for a user's finger. The pusher 13 also comprises an upper part, located inside the main body 11 forming a cup 15 configured to be able to receive the bottom 103 of the cartridge 100. The cup 15 is provided with a plurality of fins 16, arranged in the manner of petals, the fins 16 being able to flex slightly to allow a dimensional tolerance at the contact points of the bottom 103 of the cartridge 100. Such dimensional tolerance accounts for variations in dimensions between one cartridge 100 made of glass to another.
The pusher 13 is slidably mounted within the main body 11, and is able to move from a rest position shown in
With reference to
In this regard, and with reference to
The radial flange 19 of the tubular body 18 is also provided with an external thread 21. The external thread 21 is configured to cooperate with the internal thread 8 of the open upper end 5 of the shell 2 in order to secure the tubular body 18 with the shell 2.
With reference to
With reference to
The stopper 26 may be made of cork. In the shown example, the stopper 26 has the classic shape of a champagne stopper, with a head 26a projecting outside the inner conduit 23 of the neck 22 and a foot 26b engaged in the upper part of the inner conduit 23 of the neck 22.
With reference to
With reference to
Thus, with reference to
All of the parts of the cap 17 intended to be in contact with the liquid are, in one form, made of compatible metal which can be in contact with food, such as stainless steel for example.
With reference to
Assembly of device 1 includes Disposing of the following elements described in
Once the device 1 is thus assembled, the stopper 26 is inserted into the upper end 23b of the inner conduit 23 of the neck 22.
Then, in order to pass the device 1 thus assembled into the locked configuration as shown in
During the displacement of the safety system 27 towards the low position, the ring portion 29 comes into contact with the stopper 26, as shown in
During the assembly described above, the radial flange 32 of the locking crown 30 was in the second position. The radial flange 32 of the locking crown is moved from the second position to the first position, in order to block the safety system 27 in the low position, thus locking the device 1. In this configuration of the device 1, as shown in
Thus, the valve 110 is closed and the displacement of the pusher 13 is inhibited by the pressure exerted by the rods 28 on the transverse wall 114 of the collar 111 of the valve 110, the rods 28 themselves being blocked in their low position thanks to the locking crown 30.
The operation of the device 1 according to the present disclosure will now be explained with reference to
The device 1 in
To do this, the user unlocks the locking crown 30 by rotating the radial flange 32 from a first position to a second position. This action releases the rods 28 which were previously engaged in the stop points 34 of the cams 33. The rods 28 find themselves in the enlarged spaces 35 of the cams 33 in which they are free to be displaced.
The user can then grasp the ring portion 29 to displace the safety system 27, and therefore the rods 28, towards their high position. This gesture is very close to that which a user would make unpinning the usual wire-cap covering a classic champagne bottle stopper.
The displacement of the ring portion 29 upwards causes the release of the stopper 26 which, under the internal pressure of the device 1, is pushed upwards, emitting a stopper sound that pops. The stopper 26 is stopped in course by the ring portion 29. The user can then remove the stopper 26 from the device 1, as shown in
In this configuration of the device 1 shown in
The user can thus press on the button 14 of the pusher 13 to move the pusher 13 from a rest position (shown in
The cartridge 100 is then displaced to a high position, the helical spring 122 of the valve 110 is compressed and the conduit 115 slides into an open position, as shown in
The user can then release the pressure exerted on the button 14 of the pusher 13. The helical spring 122 of the valve 110 then returns to the rest position and returns the conduit 115 to the closed position, the cartridge 100 thus passing from the high position at the low position, and the pusher 13 is returned to the rest position, as shown in
The user can then repeat the operation as many times as he wishes, by pressing the button 14 of the pusher 13 again. He can thus serve, for example, champagne to several people.
When the user wishes to close the device 1, he can, after releasing the pressure on the pusher 13 in order to close the valve 110 and place the cartridge 100 in the low position, displace the safety system 27 in order to place the safety system 27 in the low position, as shown in
During all of these steps, the user performed gestures very similar to those generally performed when opening a classic bottle of champagne in atmospheric conditions on land.
Thus, the device 1, according to the present disclosure, makes it possible on the one hand to store and transport under extreme conditions a carbonated beverage such as champagne in a cartridge 100 according to the present disclosure, and on the other hand to serve such a carbonated beverage, such as champagne, in weightless conditions by carrying out a ritual very close to that carried out on land with a classic bottle of champagne.
Unless otherwise expressly indicated herein, all numerical values indicating mechanical/thermal properties, compositional percentages, dimensions and/or tolerances, or other characteristics are to be understood as modified by the word “about” or “approximately” in describing the scope of the present disclosure. This modification is desired for various reasons including industrial practice, material, manufacturing, and assembly tolerances, and testing capability.
As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.”
The apparatuses and methods described in this application may be partially or fully implemented by a special purpose computer created by configuring a general-purpose computer to execute one or more particular functions embodied in computer programs. The functional blocks, flowchart components, and other elements described above serve as software specifications, which can be translated into the computer programs by the routine work of a skilled technician or programmer.
The description of the disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the substance of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21/08430 | Aug 2021 | FR | national |
This application is a continuation of International Application No. PCT/FR2022/051536, filed on Aug. 1, 2022, which claims priority to and the benefit of FR 21/08430 filed on Aug. 3, 2021. The disclosures of the above applications are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/FR2022/051536 | Aug 2022 | WO |
| Child | 18432771 | US |
