Abstract:
A bracket assembly for securing a fitting to a liquid cylinder within the Compressed Gas Association standards for the industrial gas industry. The tamper resistant bracket prevents a fitting from being removed from and an incorrect fitting from being attached to a liquid cylinder so as to not to provide the wrong product for a given application.

Description:
PRIORITY CLAIM  
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 60/266,579 filed on Feb. 5, 2001, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present disclosure relates to a safety improvement for use in connection with fittings, and more specifically, a fitting restraint device for a liquid cylinder.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    The improvement relates to the industrial gas industry. The Compressed Gas Association (CGA) publishes a wide variety of standards for the industrial gas industry. The publications provide standards for compressed gas cylinder valve outlet and inlet connections. The primary services for liquid cylinders are liquid nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, which are very dangerous when mishandled.  
           [0004]    Hoses for filling and discharging a product are frequently attached to and removed from the CGA fittings. It is possible for an untrained or uninformed user to change valve connections by simply unthreading the exit fitting and threading in a different fitting. For example, it is possible to remove an oxygen service fitting and replace it with an nitrogen service fitting. The consequence of this incorrect fitting replacement is the supply of oxygen to an nitrogen application.  
           [0005]    The CGA has revised Safety Bulletin  26  (SB-26-2001) so that tamper-resistant devices are required on medical gas cylinders and tamper-evident devices are required on industrial gas cylinders. Tamper-resistant devices can be silver brazed, welded or attached by other methods in a manner that prevents removal or would render the connection or valve body outlet unusable if removal was attempted. The current industry standard fitting restraint device is a cable that wraps around the valve body and attaches to a ring with a plastic clasp. This device is more tamper-evident and not tamper-resistant as required by the CGA.  
           [0006]    As compared to the prior art, a significant difference between the present invention and the prior art is the type of attachment to the valve body. The present invention device is installed in a secure manner and includes devices such as rivets which allow disassembly of the invention, but only with a great degree of effort.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0007]    The present invention is directed to a safety bracket system involving fittings and liquid cylinders that satisfies the need to prevent against mixing gases.  
           [0008]    In one aspect, the invention provides a bracket for preventing undesired movement of a storage cylinder fitting which includes a lower section permanently mounted to a storage cylinder, an upper section affixed to the lower section where the upper section defines an interference surface for abutting against the storage cylinder fitting to prevent rotational movement thereof.  
           [0009]    In another aspect, the invention provides a bracket for preventing undesired manipulation of a storage cylinder fitting attached to a storage cylinder valve, the bracket including a horizontal section defining an opening through which a valve body of the storage cylinder valve extends, a vertical section including an interference surface for abutting against the storage cylinder fitting to prevent rotational movement thereof; and locking means for restraining lateral movement of the vertical section.  
           [0010]    In yet another aspect, the invention provides a bracket for preventing undesired manipulation of a storage cylinder fitting attached to a storage cylinder valve, the bracket includes a vertical section with an exterior plate and an interior plate and means for attaching the two. The exterior plate includes an interference surface for abutting against the storage cylinder fitting to prevent rotational movement thereof, and a horizontal section integrally formed with the interior plate wherein the horizontal section circumscribes a valve body of the storage cylinder valve.  
           [0011]    The present invention provides may advantages over what is known. The bracket described is difficult to tamper with, but may be removed with the right tools and patience. The bracket described is also reusable by installing new locking devices into the existing bracket pieces. The invention is provided in both an original equipment version where a weld joint to a storage cylinder is used and a retrofit version where contact with the storage cylinder is not required. The invention provides a bracket which minimizes the ability tamper with a storage cylinder by removing its fitting, and also prevents normal loosening and/or unthreading of the fitting which may occur in normal usage. Thus, the potential for leaks is minimized.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]    [0012]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the first embodiment;  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a variation of the first embodiment;  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 4 is a front view of a portion of the first embodiment;  
         [0016]    [0016]FIG. 5 is an exploded view of a fitting and a valve;  
         [0017]    [0017]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0018]    [0018]FIG. 7 is a side view of the second embodiment;  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a part of the second embodiment; and  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a part of the second embodiment. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0021]    The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a piping connection  15  for a tank or cylinder  11  with a bracket  40  which protects the piping connection from undesired manipulation. The piping connection  15  has a first pipe  13  with one end attached to the cylinder  11 . The opposite end of the first pipe  13  is attached to a valve  25 . The valve contains a removable handle  27  to open and close the valve  25 .  
         [0022]    Referring to FIG. 5, a fitting  30  with external threads  34  fits into the valve  25  with internal threads  26 . The fitting  30  is specific as to the type of gas or liquid which is to be transferred in or out of the cylinder. The fitting  30  is cylindrical in shape with a first end  31 , a second end  32 , and a midsection  33 . The first end  31  is externally threaded in order to attach to the valve  25 . This first end  31  has the same thread type for all the different fittings. The midsection  33  is preferably shaped like a hexagonal nut, including wrench flats, in order for a wrench to grasp the fitting  30  and twist the fitting  30  on or off the valve  25 . The second end  32  is externally threaded, but the type varies depending upon which type of gas is distributed from the cylinder.  
         [0023]    Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a first embodiment of the bracket  40  comprises a lower section  42  and an upper section  46 . The lower section  42  contains slotted holes  44  and is welded to the top of the cylinder  11  in order to prevent easy removal of the bracket  40  and manipulation of the storage cylinder fitting  30 . The holes  44  may also be circular as opposed to slotted.  
         [0024]    The upper section  46  includes two holes  48  to facilitate attachment to the lower section  42 . Rivets  50  or a other fastening devices which are not easily removed secure the upper section  46  to the lower section  42  by penetrating the holes  48  which are aligned with the slotted holes  44 . As a result easily manipulation of the storage cylinder fitting  30  by removal of the upper section  46  of the bracket  40  is not possible. However, the upper section  46  of the bracket  40  may be removed by a time-consuming process of drilling out the rivets  50 . Bolts may also be used to hold the upper section  46  and lower section  42  together.  
         [0025]    The upper section  46  defines an interference surface  54 . The interference surface  54  abuts against the midsection  33  or wrench flats of the storage cylinder fitting  30  to prevent rotational movement of the fitting  30 . The interference surface  54  may be a single face abutting a single flat portion of the midsection of the fitting  30 . Alternatively, the interference surface  54  may be two or more surfaces. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the upper section  46  is a plate and the interference surface  54  is multiple surfaces, defining an aperture, which completely circumscribes the midsection  33  of the fitting  30 .  
         [0026]    Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a variation of the first embodiment is shown where the lower section  42  has an extended height. The upper section  46  is shortened. The lower section  42  defines an aperture which circumscribes the cylinder fitting. The aperture in the lower section does not restrict rotation of the fitting  30 . An advantage to this variation is the ability to use a common upper plate in both the first embodiment of the invention and the second embodiment described below.  
         [0027]    A second embodiment of the bracket  60  is shown in FIGS. 6, 7,  8  and  9 . The second embodiment of the bracket  60  does not require attachment to a cylinder itself. The bracket  60  includes a generally vertical section  62  and a generally horizontal section  74 . The generally vertical section comprises two vertical plates, an exterior plate  64  and an interior plate  66 . The exterior plate  64  and interior plate  66  may have substantially equal heights and widths. The exterior plate  64  includes one or more interference surfaces  68 , similar to those in the first embodiment of the bracket. These surface(s)  68  prevent rotational movement of the fitting  30 . The exterior plate  64  abuts and is attached to the interior plate  66 . The interior plate defines an aperture  78  through which the fitting  30  may pass, but does not interfere with the rotational movement of the fitting  30 . The interior plate  66  is attached to the exterior plate  64  using a locking device which is difficult to remove such as rivets  70  or a lock. As a result, lateral movement of the vertical section  62  is restrained. It is difficult for an unauthorized person to detach the exterior plate  64  and manipulate or remove the fitting  30 . If rotation of the fitting  30  is not prevented, the fitting  30  may leak and result in lost product. However, it is possible to remove the exterior plate  64  by drilling out the rivets  70  or unlocking the lock. As shown in FIG. 7, the interior plate  66  may be positioned along the lengthwise axis of the piping connection in a position which is beyond the valve body. Thus, upon removal of the exterior plate  64 , unscrewing the fitting  30 , and removal of the handle  27  the interior plate  66  and horizontal section  74  can be easily removed. The interior plate  66  may be part of a common piece which includes the horizontal section  74 .  
         [0028]    Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8, the horizontal section  74  of the bracket  60  defines an opening  76  through which the valve body  25  may protrude before a handle  27  is attached to the valve body  25 . In an embodiment of the invention the horizontal section  74  fully circumscribes the valve body  25 . The interference caused by the horizontal section  74  against the valve body  25 , in combination with the means of locking the bracket  60  results in a system which cannot be easily disengaged from the valve  25 . As a result this bracket  60  prevents fitting  30  removal in addition to locking the fitting  30  in place and preventing rotation.