Abstract:
A protective device for use in connection with a four-sided valve stem for gas bottles and having a gas port, comprised of a unitary molded tubular body comprising four sides and having opposing open ends; one or more projections extending from an interior surface of said protective device and adapted to physically engage with a portion of an opposing side of said valve stem, a tear strip provided within at least a portion of a side surface of the protective device, whereby at least a portion of the side surface of the protective device may be removed by tearing the tear strip to permit disengagement and removal of the protective device from the valve stem; and a housing for storage of a washer seal extending laterally outwardly along a plane transverse to a longitudinal axis of the unitary molded tubular body.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation application of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/996,729, filed Jan. 24, 2008, which is a 35 USC 371 application of PCT/US07/78502, filed Sep. 14, 2007, which claims priority of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/522,542, filed Sep. 15, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,681,587. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention is directed to a sleeve for use in connection with gas bottle post valves. 
         [0003]    Gas bottles have a variety of end uses. Such end uses range from various industrial applications, where a specified gas is required (ranging from inert gases, such as nitrogen, to oxygen gas), to medical uses where oxygen is to be administered to a patient in need of oxygen. Such bottles have a tubular valve stem extending from an end of the gas bottle for engagement with a gas delivery tube or pipe. 
         [0004]    To insure the purity of the bottle content, it is important that a dust cover (or protective cover) be employed to cover the valve orifice in order to prevent the entry of dust and/or debris therein. It is also important that the dust cover be easy to install, while being retained on the bottle post valve stem during shipment, storage, and handling. It is further important that the dust cover be easy to remove. 
         [0005]    Additionally, it is often uncertain if a gas bottle has been used, such that the bottle may be either full or empty. Such uncertainty would be a significant disadvantage in the instance where, for example, the bottle is an oxygen source for a person in need of administration of oxygen. 
         [0006]    Conventional devices to seal gas valves suffer many disadvantages, such as being difficult to install or to remove; require threading of small parts; require pre-soaking, drying time or heat guns; result in poor fit; are vulnerable to tampering; may become brittle when exposed to heat or cold; etc. 
         [0007]    A need accordingly exists for a method by which a gas bottle may be modified to clarify whether gas has been delivered by the bottle, or whether the bottle is unused, and which does not suffer from any of the disadvantages suffered by conventional devices. 
         [0008]    Washers/seals are also used on medical gas oxygen regulators to ensure that the seal between the oxygen bottle and the regulator is tight. A tight seal reduces the possibility of oxygen leaking from the bottle during use, thus avoiding a safety hazard from occurring. While a variety of washers/seals are available for use with such regulators, the users of such oxygen bottles have a tendency to reuse the washers/seals. Repeated reuse has been found to diminish the ability of the washer/seal to provide a tight seal, thus resulting in oxygen gas leakage. A safety hazard thus exists. 
         [0009]    A need accordingly exists to provide means to facilitate the use by the end user of fresh washers/seals during use of the oxygen bottle. 
       OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0010]    It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a protective sleeve for use with gas bottle post valve stems. 
         [0011]    It is further an object of the present invention to provide a protective sleeve that will serve to seal an orifice in a post valve stem of a gas bottle. 
         [0012]    It is further an object of the present invention to provide a protective sleeve that can be easily placed in locking engagement with a post valve stem of a gas bottle. 
         [0013]    It is further an object of the present invention to provide a protective sleeve that may be easily engaged and easy to remove, while remaining in secure protective engagement with the valve stem during use. 
         [0014]    It is still further an object of the present invention to provide a protective sleeve that includes a washer housing, which includes means for mounting a washer within the housing. 
         [0015]    Accordingly, there is thus provided a protective sleeve for use in connection with valve stems for gas bottles, with the protective sleeve comprised of an elongated tubular body of such length as to extend along at least a portion of the length of said valve stem, an outwardly extending projection extending from an interior surface of said protective sleeve and adapted to physically engage with an orifice in an opposing surface of said valve stem in locking engagement therewith whereby said protective sleeve is prevented from being easily removed from said valve stem upon being placed thereover due to engagement of said projection with said orifice; and a tear strip provided within at least a portion of a side surface of the protective sleeve, whereby at least a portion of the side surface of the protective sleeve may be removed by tearing the tear strip so as to permit disengagement and removal of the protective sleeve from the valve stem. The protective sleeve optionally may include a washer housing formed as an integral portion of a sidewall of the elongated body, with the washer housing including means to mount a washer within the housing. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]      FIG. 1  is a view of the protective sleeve of the present invention installed in protective position over a gas valve of a gas bottle. 
           [0017]      FIG. 2A  is a cross-sectional view of the protective sleeve of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0018]      FIG. 2B  is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the protective sleeve of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a view of one embodiment of the protective sleeve of the present invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a view of another embodiment of the protective sleeve of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a view in perspective of the interior of the protective sleeve of the present invention which depicts the washer housing and a washer mounted therein. 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is a view in perspective of the interior of the protective sleeve of the present invention which depicts another embodiment of the washing housing. 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  is a view in perspective of another embodiment of the protective sleeve of the present invention. 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  is a side view of the embodiment of the protective sleeve of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0025]      FIG. 9  is a bottom view of the embodiment of the protective sleeve of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0026]      FIG. 10  is another view in perspective of the protective sleeve of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0027]      FIGS. 11-18  are additional embodiments of the protective sleeve of the present invention having different washer storage housings. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0028]    The invention will be described in connection with the  FIGS. 1-18 . 
         [0029]    As shown in  FIGS. 1-4 , the present invention comprises a protective sleeve  1  for use in connection with valve stems for gas bottles  29 . The protective sleeve  1  is comprised of an elongated body  3  of such length as to extend along at least a portion of the length of the valve stem  5 . 
         [0030]    The cross-sectional dimension of the protective sleeve should be such that the sleeve snugly engages the valve stem to enhance the protective aspect of the sleeve, and particularly to enhance the engagement of the protective sleeve with the valve stem in the manner discussed below. 
         [0031]    The protective sleeve includes a locking mechanism to inhibit or prevent removal of the protective sleeve from the valve stem when placed thereover. The locking mechanism may, for example, comprise a ratchet-type projection  7  extending outwardly from an interior surface  9  of the protective sleeve which is adapted to physically engage with an orifice  11  in an opposing surface  13  of the valve stem. When so engaged, the protective sleeve is prevented from being removed from the valve stem upon being placed thereover due to engagement of said projection  7  with the orifice  11 . The outwardly extending projection may be of any suitable cross-sectional configuration. 
         [0032]    However, while the cross-sectional configuration of the outwardly extending projection is not critical, the cross-sectional configuration is preferably configured to fit snugly within the orifice in the valve stem. Multiple outwardly extending projections  7 ′ ( FIG. 3 ) may be provided to the extent that additional locking with a corresponding orifice is provided and/or believed necessary. 
         [0033]    The protective sleeve is preferably open-ended at each end. As shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the sleeve has an open end  15  adjacent the gas bottle, and an open end  17  through which the end of the valve stem extends. 
         [0034]    In order to assist in the locking of the outwardly extending projection in the orifice, the outwardly extending projection is shown in  FIG. 2A  as having a shoulder at one end thereof and ramp at the other end thereof. The shoulder serves to lock against an interior surface of an orifice, while the ramp serves to facilitate placing the sleeve in locking engagement with the valve stem. Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 2B , each end of the projection may include a shoulder to lock against adjacent sides of the orifice. In each instance, the dimension of the projection is preferably sized to fit snugly within the orifice. 
         [0035]    The protective sleeve also includes a tear strip  19  positioned along a side  21  of the protective sleeve. A portion of the protective sleeve may thus be removed by tearing so as to permit disengagement and removal of the protective sleeve from the valve stem. 
         [0036]    The tear strip extends longitudinally along at least a portion of a side  21  of the protective sleeve, and is defined laterally by parallel tear lines  23 ,  23 ′ formed in a side of the protective sleeve. The tear lines preferably extend along the entire longitudinal extent of the protective sleeve as shown in  FIG. 3 , but are not required to do so as shown in  FIG. 4 . The tear lines need only extend along a portion of a side of the protective sleeve to an extent sufficient to permit disengagement of the sleeve from the valve stem. 
         [0037]    In order to enhance the ease by which the tear strip may be torn and removed, a grip member  25  is preferably provided which is attached to a portion of the tear strip to facilitate tearing of the tear strip. The configuration of the grip member is not critical, and different configurations may be used as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . 
         [0038]    The protective sleeve may further include support flange members extending laterally outwardly from the bottom of said protective sleeve. The flange members  27  assist in providing support for the base of the protective sleeve on top of the gas bottle  29  upon engagement with the valve stem if the gas bottle has an upper surface which may provide suitable support for such flanges, and if the protective sleeve is of such dimension to extend to the top of the gas bottle. 
         [0039]      FIG. 5  depicts the interior of a typical protective sleeve (with only the bottom portion of the protective sleeve shown in the drawing to permit better viewing of the interior of the sleeve) having a housing  31  for storage of a washer  33  which may be used by the user of a gas bottle. The housing is integrally molded into one of the walls of the protective sleeve, with the walls of the housing extending a short distance outwardly from the protective sleeve a distance sufficient to account for the thickness of the washer  33 . The central hole of the washer is engaged with a protrusion  35  extending inwardly from a wall  37  of the housing to permit storage of the washer within the housing. While the protrusion  35  also serves to lockingly engage an orifice in the valve stem upon placement of the protective sleeve onto the valve stem, it is not required to do so. For instance, the washer housing may include a protrusion whose sole function is to engage the washer, with the protective sleeve including another protrusion which serves to lockingly engage an orifice in the valve stem. 
         [0040]    Once the at least one tear strip  39  of the protective housing is removed by application of force to ring tab  41 , and the protective sleeve removed from the gas bottle, the user is able to access the washer  33  and use it when attaching the regulator to the valve of the gas bottle. Such an arrangement thus encourages the user to always use a fresh washer when engaging the regulator and the gas bottle, as the washer is always easily at hand. 
         [0041]      FIG. 6  depicts another embodiment of the washer housing for use with the protective sleeve of the present invention. The Figure depicts a view from the bottom of a protective sleeve  43  according to the present invention having a housing  46  for storage of a washer (not shown) which may be used by the user of a gas bottle. The housing  46  is integrally molded into the walls of the protective sleeve  43 , with the walls of the housing extending a short distance outwardly from the protective sleeve a distance sufficient to account for the thickness of the washer. The central hole of the washer is engaged with a protrusion  47  extending inwardly from an innermost surface of the housing  46  to permit storage of the washer within the housing. The protrusion  47  also serves to lockingly engage an orifice in the valve stem of the gas bottle upon placement of the protective sleeve upon the valve stem. 
         [0042]    Once the at least one tear strip  49  of the protective housing is removed, and the protective sleeve removed from the gas bottle, the user is able to access the washer and remove the washer from engagement with protrusion  47  and use it when attaching the regulator to the valve of the gas bottle. Such an arrangement thus encourages the user to always use a fresh washer when engaging the regulator and the gas bottle, as the washer is always easily at hand. 
         [0043]      FIGS. 7-10  depict yet another embodiment of the present invention. The protective sleeve  51  of  FIGS. 7-10  has a pull tab  53  attached to the bottom of tear strip  55  in one of the sides of the protective sleeve defined by tear lines  56 . Side tab  59  extends from the bottom of the sleeve body opposite from the pull tab  53 . In use, the protective sleeve  51  is placed over the gas bottle valve stem, with the valve stem extending from the top  57  of the protective sleeve. Protrusion  61  lockingly engages with an orifice in the gas bottle valve stem to lock the protective sleeve in place on the valve stem. 
         [0044]      FIG. 11-18  depict alternate embodiments of the protective sleeve of the present invention having different types of washer housings. 
         [0045]      FIGS. 11 and 12  depict a protective sleeves having a top portion  57 , and washer housing  63  attached to one bottom side portion of the protective sleeve. The washer housing includes a base portion  63  and a hinged top of the base  65  containing a hub  67  upon which the washer (not shown) is placed for storage. The washer housing as shown is attached to tear strip  55  on the side of the protective sleeve housing, and can be used as a grip member to tear the tear strip along tear lines  81 . 
         [0046]      FIGS. 12 and 13  depict a protective sleeve having bottom tabs  53  and  69 , and housing  71  for storage of a washer. The housing  71  includes two tear strips  73  which, upon being removed, expose the washer placed inside. The interior of the sleeve includes protrusion  61 . 
         [0047]      FIGS. 15 and 16  depict a protective sleeve having a protrusion  75  upon which the washer may be placed within housing  77 , and ring tab  69  attached to tear strip  70  defined by tear lines  72  as previously discussed. 
         [0048]      FIGS. 17 and 18  depict a protective sleeve having a top portion  57 , protrusion  61  adapted to engage an orifice in the valve stem, and protrusion  75  adapted to store a washer thereon within housing  79 . Ring tab  69  is attached to a tear strip (no shown) on the side of the housing  79 . Upon removal of the tear strip, the washer may be removed and the protective sleeve removed from engagement with the valve stem. 
         [0049]    The protective sleeve may be formed of any suitable material which enables the protective sleeve to function in the manner discussed above. The protective sleeve is preferably comprised of a plastic resin material, and once formed, is sufficiently flexible to be placed over the valve stem and into engagement therewith, and sufficiently inflexible to remain engaged therewith absent removal of the tear strip. The protective sleeve may be comprised of a variety of plastic resin materials, such as low density polyethylene or filled flexible polyvinyl chloride. The selection of such materials and the molding method by which the sleeve may be formed are well known to those of ordinary skill in the art.