EP3434963B1 - Valve protection device for pressurized gas containers - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a valve protection device for compressed gas cylinders, with a fastening section which is equipped with means for fastening to a neck thread of a compressed gas cylinder and has a central bore, and with a valve protection section which can be connected to the fastening section and which has a bottom side with a central bore for the passage of a cylinder valve and a protective structure fixedly connected to the bottom side with at least one access opening for operating the cylinder valve, wherein after the two sections are connected the central bores of the attachment section and the bottom side are arranged to form a common central axis.

Compressed gas bottles, in which gases are stored at a pressure of, for example, 200 to 300 bar, usually have a bottle neck into which a withdrawal valve (referred to here as bottle valve) is firmly screwed. In addition, the bottle neck is usually equipped with an external thread (referred to here as neck thread) onto which a valve protection device for protecting the bottle valve against impacts etc. can be screwed. A known valve protection device is, for example, a steel cap that protects the cylinder valve, in particular during transport of the compressed gas cylinder. If the cylinder valve should be accessible when the valve protection device is in place, the valve protection device is equipped with one or more access openings.

When screwing on a valve protection device, it is not possible to precisely define the angular position of the valve protection device, since it is screwed on to a greater or lesser extent and the beginning of the cut of the thread is not defined and there is therefore a clear residual uncertainty with regard to the angular position. The exact angular position is irrelevant for simple protective devices such as the steel cap mentioned. However, if the cylinder valve is to be accessible when the valve protection device is in place, the angular position of the access opening must correspond to the connection of the cylinder valve, which sometimes has to be traded off at the expense of the strength of the screw connection of the valve protection device on the bottle neck. It can This can be remedied by providing the valve protection device with multiple and/or oversized access openings, but this compromises the stability and protective function of the valve protection device.

In recent years, more and more complex valve arrangements have also come into use, so-called VIPRs ("Valves with Integrated Pressure Regulators"), which require equally complex valve protection devices. In the case of such valve arrangements, it is necessary to mount the protective device in a precisely defined angular position in order to ensure that all functionalities, such as extraction connections, reducing valves, display fittings, etc. in particular, are accessible. In the following, valves with and without such additional functionalities are subsumed under the term “cylinder valve”.

In order to be able to set the angular position of the valve protection device as precisely as possible, a common technical solution is for the protection device to be made up of two sections divided vertically, which are placed on the side of the neck thread at a fastening section and fixed to one another by means of a clamping device. The disadvantage of such an arrangement, however, consists in an increased assembly effort and in a mechanically weakened structure.

From the EP 2 873 908 B1 a valve protection device for gas cylinders that can be used universally is known, which consists of two sections that can be horizontally connected to one another. While the lower section, here called the fastening section, consists of an annular element with an internal thread, which is screwed onto the neck thread in the usual way, the upper section, here called the valve protection section, has one or more access openings for operating the cylinder valve and one with a central opening bottom side equipped for passage of the cylinder valve for connection with the fastening section. Furthermore, the mounting portion has a number of circumferentially equally spaced, vertically projecting ribs which cooperate with complementary projecting ribs on the underside of the bottom side of the valve protection section. The two sections are fixed against each other against rotation by the slats, at the same time a Numerous possible angular positions can be realized between the two sections. An axial fixation takes place by means of a counter nut, which is inserted from above into a circumferential groove of the valve protection section and screwed onto the neck thread. Counter nut and fastening section can be additionally secured by additional screw connections.

This arrangement makes it possible to adapt the angular position of the access openings of the protective device to the position of the respective extraction valve while the valve protective device is fixed in a consistently stable manner on the gas cylinder. However, the protective device is very expensive to construct and the assembly effort is very high. the EP18178283 refers to a gas cylinder that has a collar at each axial end of the gas cylinder.

The object of the present invention is therefore to create a securing element for cylinder valves for compressed gas cylinders that can be fixed in a plurality of angular positions relative to a longitudinal axis of the compressed gas cylinder and that is simple in construction and easy to assemble.

This problem is solved by the devices of claims 1 or 4.

For attachment to the neck thread of the compressed gas bottle, the central bore of the attachment section has an internal thread for screwing onto the Neck thread on, or the attachment portion is equipped with a clamping device for attachment to the neck thread. After assembly of the fastening section on the compressed gas cylinder and the subsequent installation of a cylinder valve, the valve protection section is fastened to the fastening section, the interacting connection sections enabling an axially fixed connection, i.e. a connection that secures against tensile loads along the central axis. The central axis here is understood to be the central axis through the central bore of the fastening section and the central axis through the central bore of the bottom side of the valve protection section, which coincides after the two sections of the valve protection device have been connected. In addition, a non-rotatable connection (against rotation about the central axis of the two sections relative to each other) is achieved by making two or more connections between connecting means in the permitted angular positions. An additional clamping device for axial fixation is not required.

At least the connecting means in one section are expediently arranged rotationally symmetrically around the central axis, so that the number of possible angular positions at which the two sections can be attached to one another according to the invention corresponds to the number of the respective rotational symmetry. There is thus a wide range of variation in the angular positions of the two sections relative to one another, and the access opening in the valve protection section can be adapted to the position of the cylinder valve.

Moreover, it is not necessary to provide the same number of connecting means in both sections. Rather, an advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that the number of connecting means is different, with either the number of connecting means in the fastening section being greater than the number of connecting means in the valve protection section or, conversely, the number of connecting means in the valve protection section being greater than the number of connecting means in the attachment section. However, in order to produce a reliable, axially and non-rotatably connected connection, there should be at least three connecting means on which an axially fixed connection can be produced with three connecting means of the other section.

A particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention is characterized in that the fastening section and the valve protection section are each equipped with a plurality of recesses arranged radially at equal distances from the central axis, the recesses of at least one section being arranged at equal angular distances and with the recesses of the other section correspond in such a way that during a rotation about the central axis against each other at least in two angular positions, a plurality of recesses of one section are aligned with a plurality of recesses of the other section and can be positively and firmly connected with fastening means.

Only bores according to claim 1, which are arranged in the fastening section or valve protection section (hereinafter referred to collectively as “sections”), can be understood here as recesses. Fastening means should generally be understood here to mean means with which an axial fixation of the two recesses can be produced, such as screws, spring bolts, protruding buttons, etc.

Both the attachment section and the bottom side of the valve protection section are each equipped with a plurality of recesses in the form of bores. To fix the two sections together, a number of bores in the fastening section and a number of bores in the bottom side are brought into an aligned position and fixed in each case by means of suitable fastening means, for example a screw connection. For this purpose, the bores of a section can expediently be equipped with internal threads.

In this configuration, too, it is by no means necessary within the scope of the invention for the same number of bores to be provided in each of the two sections. The number of holes in the section with the lower number of holes depends on the requirements for security and stability of the connection. To make a safe Connection should usually be present at least three holes where the sections can be attached to each other, with these Holes must be in the same angular distances.

The section with the greater number of bores, which necessarily have to be arranged at equal angular intervals, determines the desired variability with regard to the angular positions at which a secure connection between the sections can be established. The more holes there are, the more angular positions can be set.

The bores of a section are preferably equipped with threads.

The two parts are then connected in a particularly simple manner by passing a screw through the unthreaded bore and screwing it into the thread of the bore of the other section.

As an alternative to the aforementioned embodiment with bores in both sections, another advantageous embodiment of the invention provides that the recesses in one section are locking grooves and the connecting means in the respective other section are several locking hooks that correspond to the locking grooves and are made of a material with limited flexibility. In a particularly preferred embodiment, latching grooves arranged parallel to the central axis completely run through the outer wall of the fastening section; when the two sections are connected to one another, the latching hooks engage behind the entire fastening section in the area of the latching grooves and thus ensure that the two sections are fixed axially.

A further preferred embodiment of the invention, which can be used in addition to or instead of the above embodiments, is characterized in that the fastening section or the valve protection section is provided with a plurality of parallel and at the same radial distance from the central axis protruding bolt is equipped, which correspond with correspondingly arranged holes in the other section such that upon rotation about the central axis of the two sections against each other at least in two Angular positions, the bolts can be carried out through the bores and can then be secured axially against slipping out of the bores with securing elements. To secure the bolts, they can be equipped with a thread onto which a nut is screwed, which secures the bolt against slipping out of the bore and thus creates an axial fixation, or the bolts can be equipped with a split pin hole and the axial Fixation takes place with a corresponding cotter pin.

In order to be able to position the two sections of the valve protection device well in the axial direction before they are connected to one another, another advantageous embodiment of the invention provides a positioning aid for axial fixing. By means of the positioning aid, for example a protruding flange, the central axes of the central openings of the fastening section and the bottom side are brought into line before the two sections are connected.

Preferred materials for the fastening section and/or the valve protection section are metal, plastic or a combination of these two materials. Metal ensures high stability of the valve protection device, while plastic results in a comparatively low weight. The two sections can be made of the same material or of different materials, for example the fastening section is made of metal and the valve protection section is made of plastic.

• Fig. 1: Eine erste Ausführungsform einer erfindungsgemäßen Ventilschutzeinrichtung in einer Schrägansicht,
• Fig. 2: Eine andere Ausführungsform der Erfindung in einer Schrägansicht in einem Ausschnitt.

An embodiment of the invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawing. Show in schematic views:

• 1 : A first embodiment of a valve protection device according to the invention in an oblique view,
• 2 : Another embodiment of the invention in an oblique view in a section.

In the 1 The valve protection device 1 shown comprises two sections 2, 3 that can be connected to one another, namely a fastening section 2 for fastening to a compressed gas cylinder and a valve protection section 3 that can be connected to the fastening section 2.

The attachment section 2 in the form of an annular disk in the exemplary embodiment has a central bore 4 with an internal thread 5 for screwing onto the neck thread of a compressed gas bottle. The size of the central bore 4 is determined by the neck thread and is, for example, 80×2.309 (Whitworth) in conventional compressed gas cylinders.

The valve protection section 3 has a bottom side 6 which is equipped with a central bore 7 . The diameter of the central bore 7 is designed such that a cylinder valve (not shown here) can be passed through the bore 7 . As a rule, the diameter of the central bore is therefore larger than the diameter of the central bore 4. On the bottom side 6, the valve protection section 3 is connected to the fastening section 2 in the manner described in more detail below.

Radially spaced from a central axis 8 of the central bore 4 , a plurality of bores 10 , sixteen in the exemplary embodiment, are arranged in the fastening section 2 at equal angular spacings and the same radial spacing from the central axis 8 . At the same time, bores 11 are arranged in the bottom side 6 of the valve protection section 3 at a radial distance from the bore 7, the radial distance of the bores 11 from the central axis 12 of the central bore 7 being the same as the radial distance of the bores 10 from the central axis 8. In the exemplary embodiment, provided in the bottom side 6 three holes, but it can also be more or less. In particular, the number of bores 10 in the fastening section 2 can be the same as or different from the number of bores in the bottom side 6 . It is necessary that the angular distances of the bores 11 are dimensioned in such a way that when the two sections 2, 3 are connected to one another - described in more detail below - several bores 10 are present, which are aligned with one another with the bores 11 at a suitable angular position of the two sections 2, 3.

Furthermore, the valve protection section 3 includes a protective structure 14 for protecting a cylinder valve, not shown here, and any additional installations connected to the cylinder valve (likewise not shown here), such as pressure reducers, line connections or display instruments. The protective structure 14 has at least one access opening 15 through which the cylinder valve and/or the aforesaid internals are made accessible to an operator. In the exemplary embodiment shown here, the protective structure 14 is a hollow cylinder reduced by the cut-out access opening 15 and made of an impact-resistant material, in particular metal or plastic, which is firmly connected to the bottom side 6, for example by welding. However, the configurations of the protective structure and access opening that are possible according to the invention are not limited to this, but rather depend on the requirements with regard to the type, size and arrangement of the built-in components and the required protection.

To mount the valve protection device 1 on a gas cylinder, the fastening section 2 is first screwed onto the neck valve of the gas cylinder. A cylinder valve, such as a VIPR, is then screwed tightly into the neck of the gas cylinder. The bottom side 6 of the valve protection section 3 is then placed on the fastening section 2, the mounted cylinder valve being guided through the central bore 7 and the axes 8, 12 being brought into line. The angular position of the two sections 2 , 3 relative to one another is chosen such that the bores 11 in the bottom side 6 are aligned with the bores 10 or a corresponding number of bores 10 in the fastening section 2 . The sections are then connected to one another at the aligned bores 10, 11 by means of suitable connecting means, for example with a threaded rod (not shown here), which is guided through the two aligned bores 10, 11 and then fixed by means of nuts screwed onto both end faces. Alternatively, for example, the bores 10 or the bores 11 can be equipped with threads and the fastening takes place by means of Screws that pass through the bore 10, 11 of one section 2, 3 and are screwed into the threaded bore 11, 10 of the other section 3, 2.

Due to the same angular spacing of the bores 10 in the bottom side, the angular position of the two sections 2, 3 relative to one another, i.e. the angular position in a plane perpendicular to the axes 8, 10, can be selected according to the number of bores 10. An angular position is expediently selected which allows good accessibility of the cylinder valve and, if applicable, other built-in components connected to it through the access opening 15 .

2 shows a valve protection device 1′, shown only partially, with a fastening section 2′ and a valve protection section 3′ with an alternative possibility of connecting the sections 2′, 3′ to one another. Otherwise, the sections 2', 3' are similar to the sections 2, 3 from the exemplary embodiment according to FIG 1 constructed, ie the attachment portion 2' has a central bore with an internal thread for screwing onto the neck thread of a compressed gas cylinder, and the valve protection portion 3' has a bottom side 6' and a protective structure 14'. However, instead of or in addition to any bores 10 that may still be present, a plurality of latching grooves 18 are provided on the fastening section 2', which are arranged at equal angular intervals in the outer casing 19 of the fastening section 2'. A plurality of latching hooks 21 are arranged on the outer casing 20 of the bottom side 6', for example formed in one piece with the bottom side 6' or welded, glued or screwed to it. The latching hooks 21 are made of a material with limited flexibility, for example plastic, and their shape and size correspond to the latching grooves 19. When the valve protection section 3' is placed on the fastening section 2' in a suitable angular position, the latching hooks 21 latch in the latching grooves 19 on the from the valve protection section 3' opposite underside of the fastening section 2', as a result of which the two sections 2', 3' are fixed relative to one another both in an axial and in a radial respect. Due to the large number of locking grooves in the fastening section 2', a stable connection can also be achieved here with different angular positions of the sections 2', 3' (with a rotation about the common central axis of the central not shown here Holes of attachment section 2 'and bottom side 3') can be realized. Here, too, it is not necessary to select the same number of latching hooks 21 on the valve protection section 3' as the number of latching grooves 19 in the attachment section 2'. It is also possible within the scope of the invention to provide latching grooves in the valve protection section 3' and corresponding latching hooks in the fastening section 2'.

Reference List

1, 1'

valve protection device

2, 2'

attachment section

3, 3'

valve protection section

4.

Central hole

5.

inner thread

6, 6'

bottom side

7.

Central hole

8th.

central axis

9.

-

10

drilling

11.

drilling

12.

central axis

13.

-

14, 14'

protective structure

15

access opening

16

-

17

-

18

locking groove

19

outer jacket

20

outer jacket

21

latch hook

Claims (8)

1. Valve-protection device for pressurized-gas bottles, having a fastening section (2, 2') which is provided with means (5) for fastening to a neck thread of a pressurized-gas bottle and has a central bore (4), and having a valve-protection section (3, 3') which can be connected to the fastening section (2, 2') and has a base side (6, 6') with a central bore (7) for leading through a bottle valve and has a protective structure (14, 14'), connected fixedly to the base side (6, 6'), with at least one access opening (15) for operation of the bottle valve, wherein, after connection of the two sections (2, 2'; 3, 3'), the central bores (4, 7) of the fastening section (2 2') and the base side (6, 6') are in a state arranged so as to form a common central axis (8, 12),
   wherein

   the fastening section (2, 2') and the valve-protection section (3, 3') are provided with mutually corresponding connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) which are formed in such a way that an axially fixed connection can be produced between in each case one connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of the one section (2, 2'; 3, 3') and one connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of the other section (2, 2'; 3, 3'), wherein at least the connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of one section (2, 2'; 3, 3') are arranged rotationally symmetrically with respect to a rotation about the central axis (8, 12) and, if the two sections (2, 2'; 3, 3') are rotated about the central axis (8, 12) with respect to one another, there exist at least two angular positions in which multiple connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of the one section (2, 2'; 3, 3') can be connected to connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of the other section (2, 2'; 3, 3'),

   characterized

   in that the fastening section (2, 2') and the valve-protection section (3, 3') are each provided with a plurality of bores (10, 11) which are arranged at equal radial distances from the central axis, wherein the bores (10, 11) of at least one section (2, 2'; 3, 3') are arranged at uniform angular intervals and correspond to the bores (10, 11) of the other section in such a way that, if rotated about the central axis (8, 12) with respect to one another, at least in two angular positions, a plurality of bores (11, 11) of the one section (2, 2'; 3, 3') and a plurality of bores (10, 11) of the other section (2, 2'; 3, 3') are aligned with one another and can be connected to one another fixedly in a form-fitting manner by fastening means.
2. Valve-protection device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the number of connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of the one section (2, 2'; 3, 3') is greater than the number of connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of the other section (2, 2'; 3, 3').
3. Valve-protection device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the bores (10, 11) of one section (2, 2'; 3, 3') are provided with inner threads.
4. Valve-protection device for pressurized-gas bottles, having a fastening section (2, 2') which is provided with means (5) for fastening to a neck thread of a pressurized-gas bottle and has a central bore (4), and having a valve-protection section (3, 3') which can be connected to the fastening section (2, 2') and has a base side (6, 6') with a central bore (7) for leading through a bottle valve and has a protective structure (14, 14'), connected fixedly to the base side (6, 6'), with at least one access opening (15) for operation of the bottle valve, wherein, after connection of the two sections (2, 2'; 3, 3'), the central bores (4, 7) of the fastening section (2 2') and the base side (6, 6') are in a state arranged so as to form a common central axis (8, 12),
   wherein

   the fastening section (2, 2') and the valve-protection section (3, 3') are provided with mutually corresponding connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) which are formed in such a way that an axially fixed connection can be produced between in each case one connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of the one section (2, 2'; 3, 3') and one connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of the other section (2, 2'; 3, 3'), wherein at least the connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of one section (2, 2'; 3, 3') are arranged rotationally symmetrically with respect to a rotation about the central axis (8, 12) and, if the two sections (2, 2'; 3, 3') are rotated about the central axis (8, 12) with respect to one another, there exist at least two angular positions in which multiple connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of the one section (2, 2'; 3, 3') can be connected to connecting means (10, 18; 11, 21) of the other section (2, 2'; 3, 3'),

   characterized

   in that the fastening section (2, 2') or the valve-protection section (3, 3') is provided with a plurality of latching grooves (18) which in each case are arranged at equal distances from a central axis (8, 12) of the valve protection arrangement (1, 1') and are arranged at uniform angular intervals radially with respect to the central axis (8, 12) and correspond to latching hooks (21) of the other section (2, 2'; 3, 3') in such a way that, if the two sections (2, 2'; 3, 3') are rotated about the central axis (8, 12) with respect to one another, at least in two angular positions, a plurality of the latching grooves (18) interacts with a plurality of the latching hooks (21) for the purpose of producing an axial connection.
5. Valve-protection device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening section (2, 2') or the valve-protection section (3, 3') is provided with a plurality of bolts which project parallel to the central axis (8, 12) and at equal radial distances therefrom and at uniform angular intervals and which correspond to correspondingly arranged bores (10, 11) in the in each case other section (2, 2'; 3, 3') in such a way that, if the two sections (2, 2'; 3, 3') are rotated about the central axis (8, 12) with respect to one another, at least in two angular positions, the bolts can be passed through a plurality of bores (10, 11), wherein the bolts can be secured axially against sliding-out from the bores (10, 11) by securing elements.
6. Valve-protection device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that a positioning aid is provided for axial fixing of the two sections (2, 2'; 3, 3') with respect to one another.
7. Valve-protection device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening section (2, 2') and/or the valve protection section (3, 3') are/is manufactured at least partially from metal.
8. Valve-protection device according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the fastening section (2, 2') and/or the valve protection section (3, 3') are/is manufactured at least partially from plastic.

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