Abstract:
An apparatus that is usable with an inlet port to a storage system includes a cover and a locking mechanism. The cover is adapted to, in a first state, engage the inlet port to prevent access to the inlet port and in a second state, be disengaged to release the cover from the inlet port. The locking mechanism is adapted to secure the cover in the first state.

Description:
[0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Serial No. 60/340,398, entitled “LET FILL CONNECTION PROTECTOR,” filed on Dec. 7, 2001. 
     
    
     
       BACKGROUND  
         [0002]    The invention generally relates to an inlet fill connection protector.  
           [0003]    Cryogenic gas tanks typically are used for purposes of transporting and storing liquid gas for large facilities, such as hospitals, nursing homes, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and food and beverage production plants. Each tank typically has an inlet fill connection, a port through which gas may be introduced to fill the gas tank. In this manner, the inlet fill connection typically includes a conduit, or pipe, that has an open end for receiving the gas. The open end of the pipe typically receives a dust cap that is threadably connected to the end of the pipe to close the open end when the tank is not being filled. Typically, no special tools are required to remove the dust cap, as the cap may be simply removed in most cases by hand.  
           [0004]    A difficulty with the above-described arrangement is that contaminants, such as biological or chemical contaminants, may be easily introduced into the inlet fill connection without detection or any indication of unauthorized entry. In this manner, if the dust cap is removed and these biological or chemical contaminants are placed in the inlet fill connection, a driver filling the tank may be unaware of their presence. Thus, the driver filling the tank may unknowingly pump the contaminants into the tank. Therefore, the ease at which one may access the inlet fill connection may present a direct health and/or safety risk. Furthermore, the entire gas piping system at an affected facility may be condemned due to the introduction of such contaminants through the inlet fill connection.  
           [0005]    Thus, there is a continuing need for an arrangement that addresses one or more of the problems that are stated above.  
         SUMMARY  
         [0006]    In an embodiment of the invention, an apparatus that is usable with an inlet port to a storage system includes a cover and a locking mechanism. The cover is adapted to, in a first state, engage the inlet port to prevent access to the inlet port and in a second state, be disengaged to release the cover from the inlet port. The locking mechanism is adapted to secure the cover in the first state.  
           [0007]    Advantages and other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description, drawing and claims. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING  
       [0008]    [0008]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an inlet fill connection protector and a gas supply system according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0009]    [0009]FIGS. 2 and 3 are perspective views of the protector of FIG. 1 in a closed state according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is an end view of the protector in an open state according to an embodiment of the invention.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the protector in a closed state according to an embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0012]    Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of an inlet fill connection protector  20  in accordance with the invention is adapted to be locked to an inlet port, or inlet fill connection, of a gas supply storage and/or supply system  10  for purposes of preventing unauthorized access to the inlet fill connection. As examples, the system  10  may store and/or supply one of more of the following gases: oxygen, nitrogen, argon, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.  
         [0013]    The advantages that are associated with the protector  20  may include one or more of the following. The protector  20  prevents the introduction of contaminants into the gas storage and supply system. The protector  20  is not easily removed without the application of extreme force. Therefore, the destruction of or an attempt to destroy the protector  20  would easily be detected and flag system fillers of a potential problem. The protector  20  is easily installed onto the inlet fill connection and removed from the fill connection by authorized personnel. The protector  20  is a low cost alternative to reduce potential health risks associated with an easily accessible inlet fill connection. The protector  20  is relatively easy to manufacture.  
         [0014]    In general, the protector  20  may be useful to prevent unfettered access to the inlet fill connection so that gas is not introduced into the system  10  at the wrong time. In this regard, the inlet fill connection may be used to fill a storage tank of the system  10 , and this storage tank, in turn, may be used to fill various gas bottles inside a particular facility. The storage tank should not be filled while bottles are being filled with gas from the tank. Therefore, the use of the protector  20  on the inlet fill connection may prevent the filling of the storage tank at an inappropriate time.  
         [0015]    Other and different advantages may be possible.  
         [0016]    In some embodiments of the invention, in its closed state (depicted in FIG. 1), the protector  20  is constructed to extend around and be secured to features of the inlet fill connection. More specifically, these features may include, for example, an inlet conduit  12  that extends to the gas supply system  10  and a dust cap  14  that is threaded onto an otherwise open access end of the inlet conduit  12 . As described below, in its closed state the protector  20  includes an open end  50  through which the conduit  12  extends. The access end of the conduit  12  and the dust cap  14  extend inside of the protector  20 , and as described below, the open end  50  is sized to prevent the dust cap  14  from passing through the opening  50  when the protector  20  is in the closed state should someone attempt to pull the protector  20  off of the conduit  12 . With the protector  20  in its closed state, access to the dust cap  14  is prevented, as the protector  20  fully encloses the access end of the conduit  12 .  
         [0017]    In some embodiments of the invention, a lock  30  (a padlock or a combination lock, as examples) secures the protector  20  so that the protector  20  remains in its closed state, a state in which the lock  30  prevents the protector  20  from being removed (and thus, prevents access to the inlet fill connection). When the lock  30  is unlocked, the protector  20  may be transitioned to its open state, a state in which the protector  20  may be removed from the inlet fill connection.  
         [0018]    Referring also to FIG. 2, in some embodiments of the invention, the protector  20  includes two shells  40  and  42 . Each shell  40 ,  42  has a C-shaped cross-section. When the protector  20  is closed about the conduit of the inlet fill connection, the protector  20  forms a generally circularly cylindrical cover, or collar, that circumscribes the conduit  23  and the dust cap  14 . Thus, each shell  40 ,  42  forms one half of a generally circularly cylindrical collar that circumscribes the dust cap  14  and the access end of the conduit  12 . For purposes of locking the protector  20  closed, the shell  40  includes a tab  54  that extends in a radially outward direction, and the shell  42  includes a tab  56  that extends in a radially outward direction. In this manner, the tabs  54  and  56  are slightly offset from each other when the shells  40  and  42  are united in the protector&#39;s  20  closed state so that in this closed state an opening  73  in the tab  54  aligns with an opening  75  in the tab  56 . A locking bar of the lock  30  (see FIG. 1) may be inserted through these aligned openings  73  and  75  to secure the shells  40  and  42  together and lock the protector  20  in its closed state. In other embodiments, the tabs  54  and  56  may be replaced by a variety of other locking tabs, hardware or devices.  
         [0019]    In the protector&#39;s closed state, the shells  40  and  42  form an annular obstruction that defines the size of the opening  50 . Referring also to FIG. 5, in this manner, near the end of the protector  20  closest to the gas storage and supply system  10 , the shell  40  extends in a radially inward direction to form a half ring  80  that forms one half of the obstruction  82 , and the shell  42  extends in a radially inward direction to form an opposing half ring  82  that forms the other half of the obstruction  82 . The diameter of the opening  50  is slightly greater than the outer diameter of the conduit  12  but less than the outer diameter of the dust cap  14 . Therefore, when the shells  40  and  42  unite in the protector&#39;s closed state, the protector  20  cannot be pulled away from the inlet fill connection, as the inner annular shoulder  15  of the dust cap  14  abuts the annular obstruction that is formed from the half rings  80  and  82 . As depicted in FIG. 5, the inner diameter of the collar formed from the shells  40  and  42  is sufficient to accommodate the outer diameter of the dust cap  14 .  
         [0020]    As depicted in FIG. 5, the protector  20  includes a closed end  52  that prevents access to the dust cap  14  from the protector&#39;s far end (i.e., the end of the protector  20  farthest from the gas supply system  10 ). The closed end  52  also prevents an unauthorized person from sliding the protector  20  along the conduit  12  toward the gas supply system  10  and over the dust cap  14  for purposes of gaining access to the inlet fill connection. In some embodiments of the invention, the closed end  52  is formed from a circular end cap of the shell  40 . In this manner, this circular end cap has approximately the same diameter as the outer diameter of the circularly cylindrical collar that is formed from the united shells  40  and  42 . The end cap extends from the shell  40  near the outer end of the protector  20  to close off this end from access.  
         [0021]    Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, in some embodiments of the invention, the shells  40  and  42  may be joined together via a hinge  70  that pivotably connects two longitudinal edges of the shells  40  and  42  together. In this manner, the shells  40  and  42  may be pivoted between the closed state (of the protector  20 ) that is depicted in FIGS. 1, 2,  3  and  5 , and the open state (of the protector  20 ) that is depicted in FIG. 4.  
         [0022]    As can be seen from FIG. 4, the protector  20  is assembled onto the inlet fill connection in the following manner. In its open state, the protector  20  is placed near the end of the conduit  12  so that the dust cap  14  resides in one of the shells  40  and  42 . The other shell  40  or  42  may then be pivoted to unite the shells  40  and  42  around the dust cap  14  to place the protector  20  in its closed state. The locking bar of the lock  30  (FIG. 1) is inserted through the aligned holes  73  and  75  to lock the protector  20  in its closed state. The protector  20  may be removed by following this procedure in reverse order. I.e., the lock  30  is opened so that the locking bar of the lock  30  may be removed, and the shells  40  and  42  are rotated with respect to each other to open and remove the protector  20  from the inlet fill connection.  
         [0023]    Thus, to summarize, the protector  20 , in its closed state, engages the inlet fill connection to prevent access to the inlet fill connection. In this state, the dust cap  14  prevents removal of the protector  20  from the inlet fill connection. When the lock  30  is removed, the protector  20  may be transitioned to an open state so that the protector  20  may be disengaged from the inlet fill connection. The lock  30  secures the protector  20  in the closed state.  
         [0024]    In some embodiments of the invention, the protector  20  may be formed from a metal, such as stainless steel, for example. Other metals and other materials may alternatively be used in other embodiments of the invention.  
         [0025]    Other embodiments of and uses for the protector are possible. For example, the above-described arrangement may be applied to tanks other than cryogenic tanks. For example, the protector may be used to prevent access to an inlet fill connection of a chemical storage tank. Furthermore, the protector may be used to guard inlet fill connections of transport storage tanks, as well as fixed storage tanks.  
         [0026]    In some embodiments of the invention, the protector may be made from sheet metal that is cut at the appropriate places and formed into the appropriate places to create the shells  40  and  42  and other parts of the protector. In some embodiments of the invention, the cylinder that is formed from the closed shells  40  and  42  may be a hexagonal cylinder instead of a circular cylinder. Thus, each shell  40 ,  42  may form one half of this hexagonal cylinder. Such a shape may be advantageous for purposes of making the protector from formed sheet metal. Other shapes for the protector and/or shells are possible.  
         [0027]    Other variations on the design of the protector as well as other applications of use of the protector are possible.  
         [0028]    While the invention has been disclosed with respect to a limited number of embodiments, those skilled in the art, having the benefit of this disclosure, will appreciate numerous modifications and variations therefrom.