Patent Application
20140075983
None.
The invention relates to a device for dispensing dry ice, and more particularly, to a hand held device for dispensing dry ice.
Dry ice (also sometimes referred to as CO2 snow) is used for a variety of applications, for example in refrigeration, cooling, and freezing applications. Many of these different applications involve depositing dry ice onto an object for shipping before the object is packaged, or into a package containing an object. In either instance, the dry ice keeps the object cold during transportation or shipping.
Many conventional applications utilize dry ice dispensers (such as snow horns or devices with skirts) in fixed positions above a conveyor belt or other means for moving the object/packages. As the objects/packages pass underneath the dry ice dispensers, the dispensers deposit the dry ice onto the objects or into the packages.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,444,023 discloses a snow horn used in association with a conveyor belt in freezer. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,652,287 discloses a large hood that is used to create a large rectangular area under which dry ice can be deposited onto an object.
Presumably effective at creating and depositing dry ice, these devices, however, have fixed parameters relating to the plant dimensions, to the conveyor belt dimensions, and the dry ice dispenser dimensions. Moreover, problems may arise if the object or package is too large to be used on the conveyor belt. Further, additional problems may arise with a uniquely sized and or shaped object that may not allow such a device to fully coat the object or completely fill the package.
Some conventional applications utilize a canister or other chamber connected to a CO2 source to make dry ice. These devices allow for dry ice to be made and deposited into the canister or other chamber, and then manually applied onto objects, into packages, or used as needed.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,148,679 discloses an apparatus that can be connected to a CO2 tank to produce dry ice in a bag within a canister. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,020 discloses a valve that can be placed upon a CO2 tank and used, for example, with a hose to produce dry ice in a container.
While presumably effective for their intended purpose, these devices tend to require manual transportation of the dry ice from the canister or chamber to the object or package. Thus, while these devices would solve some of the problems that may arise in the conventional conveyor belt type applications, a manual transfer of the dry ice is very time consuming (which can result in higher operational costs) and includes a longer exposure of the dry ice to air (which can results in loss of dry ice and higher operational costs). Furthermore, these devices may not necessarily produce the appropriate amount of dry ice, which can lead to over production (which can also result in loss of dry ice and higher operational costs).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,447,377 discloses a gun shaped handle to be used for a dry ice blasting process for cleaning. The gun handle is intended to be gripped by only one hand. While this device is hand held, it is not contemplated to be used for applying dry ice for freezing and packaging applications. Furthermore, the device does not include any safety mechanism to prevent accidental discharge by a user.
In addition, some conventional devices do not allow for maximum production of dry ice from the gas flow within the dispensing devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,346 discloses a device that has a discharge valve with a plurality of apertures. The gas flow out of the apertures is directed downward by the hemispherical shape of the canister. It is believed that by changing the directional flow of gas as it exits the valve, the dry ice production efficiency can increase.
Thus, there remains a need for a device that allows for the rapid depositing of dry ice but is not constrained to set dimensions of the objects and the packages that receive the dry ice. Moreover, there remains a need for such a device that can provide accurate and stable depositing of dry ice, as well as prevent accidental discharge of same. Furthermore, there remains a need for a device that increases the efficiency of the dry ice production.
The present invention is directed to providing a device that can provide these benefits, as well as other benefits.
In one aspect of the present invention, the present invention is directed towards a dry ice dispensing device for use with a CO2 source, wherein the device includes a canister with a top end, an open bottom end, an exterior surface, and an interior chamber. The device also includes a handle associated with the exterior surface of the canister. The handle may include a first hand grip portion and a second hand grip portion. It is preferred that the first hand grip portion is fixed in relation to the second hand grip portion.
By “fixed in relation to” it is meant that the when the device is operating (i.e., producing dry ice) the first and second hand grip portions are at a fixed angle to each other—preferably 90 degrees. It is preferred in some embodiments that disposed on the first and/or second hand grip portions of the handle are hand grips.
The device also includes a dry ice dispensing mechanism that includes a connection tube and a discharge valve operatively associated with the connection tube. The connection tube has a first end for connection with the CO2 source and a second end associated with the discharge valve. The discharge valve includes an end having a plurality of apertures for creating a vortex discharge.
By “vortex discharge” it is meant that the CO2 gas flow out of the apertures of the discharge valve is directed in a circular motion downward. It is believed that the vortex discharge will allow for greater time within the canister in which the CO2 gas can under sublimation.
In some embodiments of the invention, each aperture of the discharge valve is disposed on a circumference of a circle. Further, the apertures may be disposed substantially equidistance to each other on the circumference of the circle.
In addition, in some of the embodiments of the present invention, each aperture includes a horizontal angle and/or a vertical angle. By “horizontal angle” it is meant that when viewed from the outside, the aperture transitions left or right. By “vertical angle” it is meant that when viewed from the outside, the aperture transitions up or down. The horizontal angle is preferably approximately 15 degrees and the vertical angle is preferably approximately 5 degrees. Further, the apertures may have a diameter of approximately 50/1000 of an inch (or approximately 1.25 mm).
In some embodiments of the invention, the valve includes a threaded shaft and the connection tube includes a threaded aperture for receiving the threaded shaft.
In certain embodiments the open bottom end of the canister has a circumference greater than a circumference of the top end. Alternatively, or in addition, the exterior surface of the canister in some embodiments includes a flat portion and a chamfered portion.
Furthermore, some embodiments of the present invention include a bag removably attached about the canister such that the chamfered portion cooperates with the bag to retain the bag on the dry ice dispensing device.
Additionally, some embodiments of the invention further include a removable insulated grip disposed about the canister.
Finally, it is contemplated that in some of the embodiments of the invention an actuating mechanism for controlling a flow of CO2 to the discharge valve is also included with the device.
A device according to one or more of these embodiments described herein has many benefits.
Since the device is hand held, it allows for an operator to coat an object having any dimension or fill a package having any dimension. Thus, unlike the conveyor belt type conventional applications, the present invention is not limited in the ability to deposit dry ice by the shape or the size of an object or package.
Additionally, the use of a hand held device avoids the need to manually transfer the dry ice from a canister or other container to the object or the package. Therefore, the present invention minimizes the operational costs and dry ice loss associated with conventional devices that create dry ice in a canister but still requires the manual transport of same from the canister to the object or package. Furthermore, a user can apply only the amount needed, thus, overflow, or excess dry ice, can be minimized. Notwithstanding same, such a device also can be used in association with a bag, for example, thus, allowing a user to produce dry ice in a movable bag as well.
Moreover, the two part hand grip portions allow for superior control and application of dry ice as it allows control of the device and stabilization of same.
Furthermore, the use of a valve which creates vortex discharge is believed to increase the efficiency of the device and allow it to produce more dry ice.
In addition, given the temperatures associated with the creation and discharge of dry ice, it is beneficial to have the handle, and more particularly, the hand grip portions, positioned in such a manner, away from the CO2 source and the canister so as to minimize any accidental contact between certain portions of the device (that are extremely cold) and a user's body. Moreover, the use of a removable insulated grip disposed about the canister provides further support and control of the device by providing another safe surface which can be gripped by the user.
These benefits as well as others will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the following detailed description and attached drawings.
It is to be understood that the aspects and objects of the present invention described above may be combinable and that other advantages and aspects of the present invention will become apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art upon reading the following description of the drawings and the detailed description thereof.
The present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Understanding that the accompanying drawings depict only typical embodiments, and is, therefore, not to be considered to be limiting of the scope of the present disclosure, the embodiments will be described and explained with specificity and detail in reference to the accompanying drawings as provided below.
a is a top view of a first side of the removable insulated hand grip side from
b is a top view of a second side of the removable insulated hand grip side from
While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail one or more embodiments with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiments illustrated.
Reference throughout this description to features, advantages, objects or similar language does not imply that all of the features and advantages that may be realized with the present invention should be or are in any single embodiment of the invention. Rather, language referring to the features and advantages is understood to mean that a specific feature, advantage, or characteristic described in connection with an embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, any discussion of the features and advantages, and similar language, throughout this specification may, but does not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment.
Device 10, as shown in
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In a preferred embodiment, first hand grip portion 26 has length that extends substantially perpendicular to length of canister 12. Second hand grip portion 28 has length that runs substantially parallel to length of canister 12. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that first and second hand grip portions 26, 28 need not be exactly parallel or perpendicular, and variations or deviations are contemplated by the present invention and considered as being encompassed by the terms “substantially perpendicularly” or “substantially parallel.”
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Discharge valve 38 is disposed within interior chamber 22 of canister 12 which produces a vortex discharge.
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Further, in a preferred embodiment, each of the apertures 40 includes a horizontal angle between approximately 5-20 degrees, preferably approximately 15 degrees, and/or a vertical angle between approximately 5-10 degrees, preferably approximately 5 degrees. It is most preferred that all of the apertures 40 have the same, or nearly identical configurations to produce a constant vortex discharge.
Further, it is preferred that apertures 40 have a size of approximately 50/1000 of an inch (or approximately 1.25 mm) It has been found that having too large of an aperture 40 (such as greater than approximately 70/1000 of an inch or 1.778 mm), allows the CO2 gas to discharge too quickly and freeze, thus, lowering the efficiency of the device. Accordingly, it is desired that the apertures 40 are relatively small to slow the exit of gas and allow for optimal sublimation.
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In order to further prevent accidental discharge, device 10 may include safety mechanism 66 that precludes actuating mechanism 60 from moving to an open position while safety mechanism 66 is in a locked position. As shown in
For the above examples of suitable materials, technologies, or properties, are merely illustrative and are not intended to be limiting to only those materials, technologies or properties listed above.
As previously mentioned, these embodiments of the present invention provide a device that can be used to deposit dry ice on a variety of objects and in a variety of packages since the device is operated by hand. Moreover, the use of two hand grip portions of a handle allows for superior control of the device and more accurate and better depositing of dry ice.
Further, in embodiments that include a safety mechanism, this prevents accidental discharge which can waste product (and increase production costs) as well as pose a risk of injury due the extreme temperatures associated with making dry ice.
As discussed above the valve that produces the vortex discharge is believed to increase the production efficiency of the device by allowing the gas to travel a path that allows for an increased production of dry ice.
It is to be understood that additional embodiments of the present invention described herein may be contemplated by one of ordinary skill in the art and that the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed. While specific embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described, numerous modifications come to mind without significantly departing from the spirit of the invention, and the scope of protection is only limited by the scope of the accompanying claims.
