Abstract:
A cryogenic liquid cylinder pressure control manifold is disclosed. The manifold includes, in a unitary arrangement, a pressure build regulator, a pressure build inlet fitting, a pressure build regulator, NPT adapter fitting, a check valve, and a cylinder pressure gauge. The disclosed manifold eliminates various threaded connections associated with prior devices, thus providing a more reliable device having less likelihood to leak in service. The disclosed manifold also reduces labor costs associated with assembling prior systems which are composed of a plurality of different individual components. In one embodiment, the disclosed manifold is employed as a cryogenic CO 2  manifold for use in the beverage industry.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This is a non-provisional application of pending U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/241,726, filed Sep. 11, 2009, the entirety of which provisional application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    Embodiments of the invention generally relate to the field of cryogenic liquid cylinder pressure control manifolds, and more particularly to a CO 2  cryogenic liquid cylinder pressure control manifold for the beverage industry. 
         [0004]    2. Discussion of Related Art 
         [0005]    Cryogenic liquids, that is, liquids having a boiling point generally below −150° F. at atmospheric pressure, are used in a variety of applications. Such cryogens are typically stored as liquids, since one volume of liquid produces many volumes of gas (600-900 volumes of gas per one volume of liquid) when the liquid is permitted to vaporize and warm to ambient temperature. In one common use, cylinders filled with liquid carbon dioxide are used to dispense gaseous carbon dioxide for carbonation of beverages. 
         [0006]    Such cylinders typically carry a quantity of liquid along with a quantity of gas disposed in the headspace above the liquid. In order to extract the liquid from the cylinder and convert it to a desired gaseous state, a variety of components are typically connected to the cylinder. Such components can include valves, pressure regulators, pressure gauges, seals, and other similar fluid system elements. 
         [0007]    One problem with current arrangements is that each of these multiple individual components must each be fabricated, sourced, and assembled into a final operational unit. Each step in this process incurs an associated labor cost. Another problem is that such current arrangements include multiple joints between components. Often these joints are threaded connections, each of which represents a potential leak path. Leakage between components in operation results in a waste of liquid/gas, and also represents additional part and labor costs associated with component replacement and/or repair. 
         [0008]    Thus, there is a need for a simplified arrangement for dispensing gas from a cryogenic liquid cylinder. Such a simplified design should reduce the total number of parts required to provide a desired functionality without compromising such functionality. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    A manifold is disclosed for use in controlling liquid cylinder pressures for liquid or gaseous compositions. In one embodiment, a cryogenic liquid cylinder pressure control manifold is disclosed. In another embodiment, a CO 2  cryogenic liquid cylinder pressure control manifold is disclosed for use in the beverage industry. 
         [0010]    The disclosed manifold packages or unitizes a plurality of valves required for liquid cylinder operation into a single unit, thus eliminating the need for labor to purchase and pipe together all the needed valves and components separately. This eliminates typically high labor cost and/or long assembly time, reduces throughput, reduces the number of potential leak paths, and reduces the total number of components required to be assembled. 
         [0011]    One manifold body may accommodate a set of necessary valve components, or all valve components, needed for a given assembly. Using a core body component, connections between valves can be made through drilled passageways in this core body component, removing likely leak locations by eliminating multiple threaded connections. 
         [0012]    A cryogenic fluid manifold is disclosed. The manifold may comprise a unitary body including first and second pressure regulators, each of said first and second pressure regulators having an inlet and an outlet. The manifold may also include a storage cylinder adapter in fluid communication with the outlet of said first pressure regulator. The manifold may further include a pressure build inlet fitting in fluid communication with the inlet of said first pressure regulator; a final line inlet fitting in fluid communication with an inlet of said second pressure regulator; and a final line outlet fitting in fluid communication with an outlet of said second pressure regulator. 
         [0013]    A fluid manifold is further disclosed, comprising a unitary body including a pressure build regulator and a line pressure regulator. The manifold further comprises a pressure build inlet fitting and a pressure build outlet fitting in fluid communication with an inlet and an outlet, respectively, of said pressure build regulator. A final line inlet fitting and a final line outlet fitting are provided in fluid communication with an inlet and an outlet, respectively, of said line pressure regulator. In addition, a relief valve is provided in fluid communication with at least one of the pressure build outlet fitting and the final line inlet fitting. 
         [0014]    A method is also disclosed for processing a cryogenic composition, comprising the steps of: providing a cryogenic fluid manifold comprising a unitary body having first and second pressure regulators; receiving fluid from a cryogenic cylinder, regulating said received fluid using the first pressure regulator, and directing the fluid to a headspace region of the cryogenic cylinder to increase pressure in the cryogenic cylinder to a set point of the first pressure regulator; and receiving gas from the headspace of the cryogenic cylinder, regulating said received gas using the second pressure regulator, and directing the regulated gas to a downstream line at a final regulated line pressure. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0015]    The accompanying drawing illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the disclosed device so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which: 
           [0016]      FIG. 1  is an isometric illustration of the disclosed cylinder manifold; 
           [0017]      FIG. 2  is reverse isometric illustration of the disclosed cylinder manifold of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 3  is a cross-sectional illustration of the inside of the disclosed cylinder manifold taken along line  3 - 3  of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is an isometric illustration of an alternative arrangement of the disclosed cylinder manifold; and 
           [0020]      FIG. 5  is a reverse isometric illustration of the cylinder manifold of  FIG. 4 . 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0021]    A manifold is disclosed for the control of liquid cylinder pressures for liquid or gaseous compositions. In one embodiment, the manifold is a CO 2  cryogenic liquid cylinder pressure control manifold for use in the beverage industry. The manifold packages or unitizes together a plurality of valve components required for liquid cylinder operation into one unit, thus eliminating the need for labor to purchase and pipe together all of the needed valves separately. 
         [0022]    The manifold  1  generally comprises a unitary body  3  to which a plurality of fittings, valves and gauges are coupled. The fittings, valves and gauges are interconnected, as will be described in greater detail, via internal passageways that are machined or otherwise formed in the manifold. 
         [0023]    Referring to  FIGS. 1-3 , the manifold  1  includes a pressure build regulator  4  useful for building pressure in a liquid storage cylinder or tank (not shown). The storage cylinder is attached to the manifold through a pressure build inlet fitting  2 , which forms a conduit for the ingress of liquid or gas from the storage cylinder into the manifold. Such liquids or gases may include any cryogenic composition, including for example and without limitation, CO 2 , N 2 , O 2 , Argon, and other like elements or combinations of elements that are normally gaseous at room temperature and pressure, which have been cooled and/or compressed for liquefaction for convenient transport and storage. In one preferred embodiment, the liquid is CO 2 . 
         [0024]    Liquid or gas enters the manifold  1  through a pressure build inlet fitting  2 , which is connected to a line that runs to the liquid portion of the storage cylinder. In some embodiments the fluid is drawn from the bottom of the storage cylinder and provided directly to the manifold  1 . In other embodiments, liquid drawn from the cylinder may be passed through a vaporizer coil before entering the manifold. From the pressure build inlet fitting  2 , the fluid is directed to an inlet of the pressure build regulator  4  via an internal passageway formed in the body  3  of the manifold  1 . The pressure build regulator reduces the fluid pressure to the pressure build regulator set pressure. From the outlet of the pressure build regulator  4 , the gas enters a check valve  8  (see  FIG. 3 ), traveling in the direction shown as arrow “A.” The check valve  8  enables gas to flow through the body of the manifold, but ensures that fluid does not flow back into the pressure build regulator  4  during maintenance or other operational disconnections. 
         [0025]    In the illustrated embodiment, the check valve  8  is a ball-check valve which includes a ball element  8   a  and a spring  8   b  for holding the ball element against a valve seat  8   c . It will be appreciated that the check valve  8  could be any of a variety of types, and need not be limited to a ball-check valve. 
         [0026]    Once the gas passes the check valve  8 , it flows through a passage  5  formed in the body  3  until it enters into a space  9  adjacent to an adapter fitting  10  which is connected to the head space of the storage cylinder, where a top gaseous layer is present. In this way, the pressure build regulator  4  provides fluid at a controlled pressure to the storage cylinder&#39;s headspace, thus increasing pressure in the cylinder up to the pressure build regulator set point. 
         [0027]    The adaptor fitting  10  may have a threaded connection  11  at one end and a bolted connection at an opposite end. The threaded connection  11  is configured to engage a top threaded connection of the storage cylinder, while the bolted connection is configured to engage the manifold  1 . In one exemplary embodiment, the adapter fitting  10  is an NPT adapter, for example without limitation a ½″ NPT adapter fitting, with an o-ring face seal on its opposite side for connecting to the manifold  1 . By employing this adapter  10 , the user can thread and seal the adapter  10  onto the top of the storage cylinder, and then bolt the manifold  1  onto the adaptor  10 . 
         [0028]    Pressure differentials exist between the weight of the liquid coming in from the pressure build inlet  2  fitting and the pressure resident in the head space of the storage cylinder. A cylinder pressure gauge  6  is therefore provided to indicate the pressure in the storage cylinder. As previously noted, for an exemplary CO 2  cylinder, the normal operating pressure range can be from about 125-140 psig. 
         [0029]    The manifold  1  may further include a final line inlet fitting  12  for receiving gaseous CO 2  from the storage cylinder. The inlet fitting  12  connects to a line that runs to the headspace of the storage cylinder. The CO 2  enters the final line inlet fitting  12  and then a final line regulator  14  where pressure is reduced to a given pressure. The gas may then exit the final line regulator  14  through a final line outlet fitting  16  for use in, for example a beverage dispensing system. The outlet pressure of the final line regulator  14  is indicated by the final line pressure gauge  18 . 
         [0030]    As shown in  FIG. 2 , the manifold  1  may include primary and secondary safety relief valves  20 ,  22 . These two valves may be set at different pressures, thereby providing redundancy, to protect the storage cylinder from over-pressure and explosion. In one exemplary, non-limiting embodiment, the normal operating pressure range of a CO 2  storage cylinder is about 125 to 140 psig. The primary and secondary safety relief valves  20 ,  22  each may be set at a value above the high end of the normal operating pressure range. 
         [0031]    The inlets of the relief valves  20 ,  22  are connected, via internal passageways in the valve body, to the space  9  ( FIG. 3 ) adjacent to an adapter fitting  10  which is connected to the head space of the storage cylinder. The primary and secondary safety relief valves  20 ,  22  are connected to a common outlet hood  26 . The hood  26  is connected to a directed outlet fitting  24  which itself may be connected to piping or tubing suitable for directing the effluent to a remote location for discharge. It will be appreciated that two relief valves are not required, and thus a configuration is contemplated in which only a single relief valve is provided. Further, in alternative embodiments, the primary and secondary safety relief valves  20 ,  22  may be connected to individual hoods and/or individual directed outlet fittings. Alternatively, it is not critical that a hood  26  or a directed outlet fitting  24  be provided, and thus the relief valves may discharge locally. 
         [0032]    It will be appreciated that although the manifold  1  described in relation to  FIGS. 1-3  is illustrated as including a pressure build inlet fitting  2 , a final line inlet fitting  12  and a final line outlet fitting  16 , such fittings are not critical to the invention. These connections may instead be simple female ports. 
         [0033]    An exemplary manifold  100  incorporating such a female connection scheme is shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . As shown, manifold  100  includes a pressure build regulator  104  having an inlet port  102 , an outlet adapter  110  with threads  111 , and a line regulator  114  having a final line inlet port  112  and a final line outlet port  116 . Safety relief valves  120 ,  122  similar to valves  20  and  22  described in relation to  FIGS. 1-3  have outlets connected to hood  126  which terminates in a female port  124 . Cylinder pressure gauge  106  and final line pressure gauge  118  are similar to gauges  6  and  18  described in relation to  FIGS. 1-3 . The remaining features of manifold  100  may also be the same as those described in relation to the embodiment of  FIGS. 1-3 . 
         [0034]    In some embodiments, ports  102 ,  112 ,  115  and  124  comprise threaded female connections, such as female NPT connections. It will be appreciated, however, that these connections need not be threaded connections, but instead can be any of a variety of suitable connection types known in the art for liquid and gas delivery applications. 
         [0035]    The cryogenic liquid cylinder pressure control manifold  1  is particularly useful as a CO 2  cryogenic liquid cylinder pressure control manifold for use in the beverage industry. As described, the manifold packages or unitizes together a plurality of valves required for liquid cylinder operation into one unit. This eliminates the need for labor to purchase and pipe together all of the needed valves and components separately, which eliminates typically high labor cost and/or longer assembly time; reduced throughput; potential leak paths; and more components at assembly. CO 2  cryogenic liquid cylinder pressure control manifolds may also be used for a variety of medical and industrial applications, and other like uses. 
         [0036]    One valve manifold body may be designed to accommodate all the valve components needed. Connections between valves are preferably made through drilled passageways in the body. This eliminates most threaded connections, which are prone to leak. In this type of construction, the valve may be bolted on to the customer&#39;s system. The manifold can be configured to include additional fittings and pressure gages as desired. The manifold provides a regulator assembly that may be pre-set for immediate factory use. 
         [0037]    The manifold may be used on several types of liquid or gaseous pressure vessels. It may also be used on liquid cylinders using other types of media (nitrogen, oxygen, argon etc). Other functional components such as shut-off valves, solenoid valves may be added, as desired, to address specific operational requirements. 
         [0038]    From the foregoing description, it will be recognized by those skilled in the art that a manifold body designed to accommodate all the valve components required for a given functional need, eliminating most threaded connections which are prone to leaks, is particularly beneficial to the art. 
         [0039]    While certain embodiments of the disclosure have been described, it is not intended that the disclosure be limited thereto. Rather, it is intended that the disclosure be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. As such, the above description should not be construed as limiting, but merely as examples of particular embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other modifications within the scope and spirit of the claims appended hereto. Such alterations and changes to the described embodiments are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the described embodiments, but that it has the full scope defined by the language of the following claims, and equivalents thereof.