EP2059715A2

EP2059715A2 - Protective cap for a pressurized tank

Info

Publication number: EP2059715A2
Application number: EP07803996A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Philippe Andreani; Gilles Cannet; Renaud Ligonesche; Alessandro Moretti
Original assignee: Air Liquide SA; LAir Liquide SA pour lEtude et lExploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
Current assignee: Air Liquide SA; LAir Liquide SA pour lEtude et lExploitation des Procedes Georges Claude
Priority date: 2006-09-01
Filing date: 2007-07-09
Publication date: 2009-05-20
Also published as: EP2261547A2; FR2905447A1; FR2905447B1; WO2008025907A2; WO2008025907A3; JP2010501814A; CA2661675A1; CN101548130A; US20100012663A1

Abstract

Protective cap for a pressurized tank, in particular, for the protection of an air pressure regulator device (2) mounted on a cylinder of pressurized gas (3, 4, comprising at least two components (5, 6) (10) to be mounted together and on the tank (4) so as to form a pressure enclosure, with at least two of the components (5, 6; 15, 16) being mechanically connected by at least one connecting system (7), allowing at least one limited relative displacement between the components (5, 6; 15, 16), with at least two components (5, 6) forming the covering, complementary and distinct portions of the cap (15) in the assembled position.

Description

Protective cap for fluid container

The present invention relates to a protective cap for a fluid container. The invention relates more particularly to a protective cap for a fluid container, in particular for the protection of a valve / expander device mounted on a pressurized gas cylinder, comprising at least two parts intended to be assembled together. other on the container so as to form a cowling. The protection against shocks and various attacks of valves or pressure-reducing valves fitted to pressurized fluid cylinders is generally performed by an accessory called a cap which can be "open" or "closed" (see NF E29-640 standard).

A closed cap provides complete valve protection when in place but must be removed to provide access to the faucet. Thus, the closed cap no longer protects the valve when the bottle is in use.

Open hats are relatively simple when designed to protect conventional faucets. In general, the caps are more sophisticated for valves with integrated regulators (RDI) because of their clearances allowing access to the controls and the visibility of manometers (see for example the document FR 2 774 452 A1).

A removable cap is interesting for the maintenance of the tap but also for the maintenance of the hat itself (painting, cleaning, repair or replacement operations). However, the installation and removal of the cap must be relatively simple and the attachment must be sufficiently reliable to prevent loosening or loss of the cap during handling and transport. To allow access to the controls and the visibility of pressure gauges or other components, the cap must be positioned precisely in height as angularly relative to the valve. Finally, the hat must accommodate the type of fastener available on the bottle it equips (such as for example a "collar" according to standard NF EN 962). However, there are different types of fasteners for protective caps: plain collars, threaded collars with different diameters. The collars generally have an outer diameter greater than the space envelope of most conventional faucets. This allows to mount the cap on a tap already mounted on the container. However, a large number of valves, and in particular integrated regulator valves (RDI), have a spatial envelope greater than the outer diameter of the flanges.

A known solution is to provide a removable cap that can be assembled on the bottle without disassembling the valve, that is to say a cap that can be mounted on the bottle after the tap.

For example, the cap consists of two substantially symmetrical wraparound half-caps or a single wrap-around piece intended to cooperate with a non-wrap-around connecting piece such as a fastening flange. The two parts forming the cap are for example assembled by screwing.

The assembly of these hats is generally complex for an operator. Indeed, an operator must relatively position the two independent parts forming the cap and screw them to one another by means of fixing pins. This assembly can be particularly tedious in the case of metal cap and if the center of gravity of each part is located outside the vertical plane containing the flange of the container (half-hats have indeed tend not to hold in position mounting when screwing).

A known solution is to provide a second operator to maintain the parts of the cap during their assembly by the first operator. This solution is however expensive on an industrial scale.

Another solution is to provide means for temporarily holding the two parts of the cap, for example an adhesive tape or a link, during the screwing and then remove them. This solution is also neither economical nor appropriate on an industrial scale.

Another solution is to provide means for maintaining conjugate on the two parts, for example elastic clip fastening systems, sized sufficiently to hold the two parts together during the actual assembly (screwing for example). This solution is however not suitable for hats made of metal. In the event that the means of Mating retention located on both parts are magnetization type, this can penalize the weight and cost of the cap.

An object of the present invention is to overcome all or part of the disadvantages of the prior art noted above. To this end, the protective cap for a fluid container according to the invention, moreover in conformity with the generic definition given in the preamble above, is essentially characterized in that the two parts are mechanically linked by at least one linking system allowing limited relative movement between the parts. Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following features:

in the mounted position, said cap comprises a lower portion and an upper portion aligned in a so-called elevation direction, and in that the linking system comprises a hinge axis common to both parts; the linking system comprises a single hinge axis common to both parts and substantially parallel or substantially perpendicular to the elevation direction,

the linking system comprises two joints that are common to both parts; the geometric axis of the two common joints is substantially perpendicular to the elevation direction,

at least one of the parts of the cap comprises at least one member able to temporarily urge and / or hold the parts in their assembled position to one another, the organ or parts capable of soliciting / maintaining the parts in their assembled position to one another comprise one or more of the following: an elastic connection, a magnetization,

the at least two parts intended to be assembled comprise two half-enveloping caps having substantially identical overall volumes or shapes.

at least two parts intended to be assembled comprise an enveloping cap and a non-enveloping connecting piece such as a flange. Other particularities and advantages will appear on reading the following description, made with reference to the figures in which:

- Figure 1 shows a side view of a protective cap according to a first embodiment of the invention, in the unmounted position, - Figure 2 shows a top view of the cap of Figure 1 in partially mounted position on a fluid bottle provided with an expansion valve and in which the top wall of the cap is not shown,

FIG. 3 represents a view from above of a protective cap according to a second exemplary embodiment of the invention, illustrating its mounting around an expansion valve,

FIG. 4 shows a side view of a protective cap according to a third exemplary embodiment of the invention, illustrating its mounting on a fluid bottle provided with an expansion valve,

FIG. 5 represents a view from above of the hat of FIG. 4 in position mounted on a fluid bottle provided with an expansion valve and with an enlarged detail,

In the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, the cap 1 has the general shape of a cylinder comprising a lower zone forming a base to be mounted on the neck of a bottle 4 (directly or via a fixing means intermediate such as a fixing ring not shown) and an upper zone in the form of a housing or shell intended to house a regulator valve 2.

The shell may comprise one or more lateral ports 12 to access the valve 2 and has an upper wall comprising a central handling knob 11. The housing or protective shell is formed by a first portion 15 of the cap 1 connected by a hinge 7 to a second cap portion 16 forming a fastening flange in the form of a half-ring. The second part 16 is intended to cooperate with the base of the first part 15 to grip the neck of the bottle 4. Thus, only the first part 15 of the cap 1 provides an enveloping protective function of a valve 2, the second part being provided for fastening the assembly to a bottle 4. For this purpose, and in a manner known per se, the first 15 and second part 16 may comprise threaded orifices. adapted to coincide to allow their attachment to one another and the tightening of the assembly around the neck of the bottle 4.

According to an advantageous feature, the two parts forming the cap 1 are rigidly connected (and preferably non-releasably) by a hinge 7. The hinge 7 is for example located between one end of the flange 16 (second part) and a lower zone of the first part 15. For example, the axis of rotation of the joint is substantially parallel to the vertical direction D of the cap. In this way, the movement of the second part 16 relative to the first part is carried out in a direction perpendicular to the neck of the bottle 4. That is to say that by first positioning the first part on the neck of the bottle 4 (for example laterally in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the cap 1), the operator can then easily move the second portion 16 in the direction of tightening the neck of the bottle 4 (rotation R). In this way, the introduction of the hat 1 on a bottle is facilitated for an operator. The articulated connection allows a positioning and a maintenance facilitated during the fixing proper (screwing). In particular, the rigid articulated connection 7 participates in fixing and holding the assembly. The same advantages are obtained when disassembling the hat 1. Figure 3 shows an alternative embodiment in which the cap has two parts 5, 6 forming half-hats. That is to say that the two parts 5, 6 are enveloping and substantially symmetrical (in the manner of half-shells). As previously, the two parts 5, 6 are linked by a hinge 7 whose axis of rotation is parallel to the vertical axis D (so-called elevation axis) of the hat 1. For the sake of brevity, the elements identical to those described above are designated by the same reference numerals and are not described a second time. As shown, the two parts may comprise members adapted to urge or strengthen the maintenance of the two parts 5, 6 in their assembly position. For example the two parts 5, 6 may comprise magnets, ferromagnetic inserts or similar conjugates intended to come face to face in the assembly position.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cap 1 comprises two parts 5, 6 of substantially symmetrical general shapes (or two semi- wraparound shell-shaped shells) articulated to one another at their upper parts. More precisely, the two parts 5, 6 are connected at the level of two distinct joints 7 located respectively at two ends of the cap 1. The axes of rotation of the two joints 7 are merged. As shown in Figure 4, for its mounting on a bottle, the two parts 5, 6 of the cap 1 can be moved away in the manner of a clamp (rotation R) to allow mounting from the top around the neck 3 of the bottle around a tap 2 (translation T).

Again, the introduction of the hat 1 on a bottle is facilitated for an operator. The articulated connection 7 allows a positioning and a natural maintenance of the two parts 5, 6 in the assembly position (the position of the articulation axes 7 above the centers of gravity of the parts 5, 6 naturally tends to close the two parts 5, 6 in the assembly position (in particular when the cap 1 is held in the upper part, for example at a knob 11).

To further facilitate the assembly and assembly, the two parts 5, 6 may comprise members adapted to urge or strengthen the maintenance of the two parts 5, 6 in their assembly position. For example the two parts 5, 6 may comprise elastic holding systems such as clips 9 or the like conjugate intended to cooperate in the assembly position.

The parts forming the cap 1 may be made of plastic and / or metal and / or any other suitable material or mixture.

The invention is not limited to the examples described above, in particular, the equivalents of all the elements described above can be used. In addition, all or part of the constituents and / or functions of the various embodiments above can be combined. Similarly, the cap 1 may have more than two parts mechanically linked by at least one linking system allowing limited relative movement. In addition, the cap can use for its attachment a ring forming a mounting interface intended to be interposed between the neck of the bottle and the parts forming the cowling. Advantageously, the ring may have an opening or cut on its circumference provided for its establishment or its withdrawal relative to the bottle (so as to form an open ring). The opening of the ring can thus form, during an introduction or withdrawal of the ring, a passage for a portion or section of a bottle or a valve 2 mounted on the bottle.

Claims

Protective cap for a fluid container, in particular for protecting a valve / expander device (2) mounted on a bottle (3, 4) of pressurized gas, comprising at least two parts (5,

6) intended to be assembled to one another and to the container (4) so as to form a cowling, the at least two parts (5, 6; 15, 16) being mechanically connected by at least one link (7) allowing limited relative movement between the parts (5, 6; 15, 16), the at least two parts (5, 6) forming in the assembled position portions of the wrap-around cap, complementary and distinct.

2. Hat according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises two parts (5, 6;) intended to form respectively two half-caps (5, 6) enveloping in the assembled position.

3. Hat according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least two of the parts (5, 6) to be assembled each comprise a base portion intended to be mounted on the neck of a container, directly or via an intermediate fixing means such as a ring.

4. Hat according to claim 3, characterized in that it comprises two parts (5, 6) respectively forming two half-cap envelopes having volumes or general shapes substantially identical or symmetrical.

5. Hat according to claims 3 and 4 taken by combining the base portions of the two parts (5, 6) being each constituted by a fastening flange in the form of a half-ring.

6. Hat according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that, in the mounted position, said cap (1) comprises a lower portion and an upper portion aligned in a direction (D) called elevation, and the connecting system comprises a hinge pin (7) common to the parts (5, 6; 15, 16).

Hat according to claim 6, characterized in that the connecting system comprises a single hinge pin (7) common to the two parts (5, 6; 15, 16) and substantially parallel or substantially perpendicular to the direction (D) of elevation.

8. Hat according to claim 6, characterized in that the connecting system comprises two joints (7) common to both parts (5, 6; 15, 16).

9. Hat according to claim 7, characterized in that the geometric axis of the two joints (7) common is substantially perpendicular to the direction (D) of elevation.

10. Hat according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that at least one of the parts of the cap (1) comprises at least one member (9, 10) adapted to solicit and / or temporarily maintain the parts (5, 6; 15, 16) in their assembled position to each other.

11. Hat according to claim 10, characterized in that the member or members (9, 10) capable of biasing / holding the parts (5, 6; 15, 16) in their assembled position to each other comprise one or more of the following: an elastic connection (9), a magnetization (10).

12. Hat according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that at least two parts intended to be assembled comprise a cap (15) enveloping and a connecting piece (16) non-enveloping such as a flange.

13. Fluid container, in particular for a pressurized gas cylinder comprising a valve (2), in particular a tap with integrated expansion device and a protective cap (1), characterized in that the cap conforms to one any of claims 1 to 9.