Cap For Oxygen And Similar Containers

Abstract

A cap for oxygen cylinders having an annular first portion threaded to the neck of the cylinder and a second portion telescopically engageable with the first portion and pivotally movable from a normal closed position in which the valve mechanism of the cylinder is enclosed to an open position wherein access is had to such valve mechanism.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to protective cap devices for use with storage cylinders or tanks in which oxygen, acetylene or other gases under pressure may be stored, transported and dispensed.

The conventional cylinder of this nature is provided with a valve at its upper end, by means of which the pressurized contents may be controllably discharged through a flexible line to the apparatus using the gas, e.g. welding equipment, hospital oxygen supply units, etc. The valve is protected during storage or transport by means of a cap, which is threaded onto the upper threaded neck portion of the cylinder, and which must be removed when access to the valve is required.

The presently available caps are not satisfactory in several respects. By way of example, large numbers of caps are lost, due to the failure of the workmen to promptly replace the cap when through with a particular job. This, of course, leaves the cylinder in an extremely dangerous condition since the valve is exposed, and can be struck and possibly discharged, converting the cylinder into an effective rocket device. Further, the cylinder neck threads are frequently damaged, making it difficult or impossible to replace the cap. Another severe problem resides in the fact that the caps frequently rust or otherwise freeze on the cylinders, completely resisting known methods of removal. Such cylinders must be destroyed since they cannot be used if full, and cannot be refilled if empty. It will also be understood that a great deal of time and energy is wasted in removing, storing and replacing the conventional cap for each successive use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a two piece cap is provided. A lower portion is of generally annular form, and is adapted to be threaded onto the cylinder neck. This lower portion is intended to remain fixed in position on the cylinder as a relatively permanent element, and the threads thereof can be suitably coated to resist corrosion or other thread damage to the cylinder or cap threads. The upper portion of the cap is telescopically slidable over the lower portion and is normally latched in an overlapping relation to the lower cap portion. Access to the cylinder valve is attained by releasing the latch, axially raising the upper portion relative to the lower portion, and then pivotally swinging the same away about a horizontal pivot axis of the lower portion.

The foregoing arrangement overcomes the above mentioned difficulties of the prior art by providing a cap which is connected or attached at all times to the cylinder, thus avoiding lost or misplaced caps. The arrangement also provides minimum time and effort to open the cap for valve access and close the same for transport, storage, etc. Since it is substantially impossible for the interconnecting threads between the cylinder and lower cap portion to rust or become damaged, a far longer cylinder life is insured. Furthermore, as will be later made clear, the cylinder valve and valve threads are protected to some degree at all times, even when the upper cap portion is in its open position, and when it is in its closed position, the valve is fully protected from damage. The ease in opening and closing the cap also serves to reduce injuries now occasioned due to the difficulty of removing conventional threaded caps.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cap of the present invention operatively installed on a cylinder or tank containing a gas under pressure;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cap in the open position;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view in which the solid lines indicate the relative positions of the parts when the upper cap portion has been raised upwardly, and the phantom lines illustrate the position of the parts after the upper cap portion has been pivoted to its open position;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane indicated by line 4--4 of FIG. 1 and illustrating the latch mechanism;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a modified embodiment of the cap in its closed position;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cap of FIG. 5 in its open position;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, vertical sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of line 7--7 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 8--8 in FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a horizontal sectional view, taken substantially in the plane of the line 9--9 in FIG. 7.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

As herein illustrated the closure cap construction of this invention is adapted for use with a tank or container 12, in which oxygen, acetylene or other gas under pressure is stored, transported and controllably dispensed. The upper end of the tank 12 is conventionally provided with a reduced diameter threaded neck 13, and discharge of the contents is made through a valve (not shown) extending axially above the neck, within the perimeter thereof. A fitting 16 and a flexible line 17 may be operatively connected to the valve so that opening of the latter will permit flow of gas from the tank to the hose or line 17.

As shown in FIGS. 1-4 inclusive, the instant cap primarily consists of a lower section 18 and an upper section 19. The portion 18 is of generally annular form having a short internally threaded skirt 21 at its lower end, and a diametrically enlarged cylindrical body 22 extending upwardly from the skirt. The skirt is threadedly engaged with the tank neck 13 in order to mount the cap on the tank, but since the lower portion 18 is intended to constitute a relatively fixed element on the tank, the same may be further connected thereto by providing an inwardly directed tongue 23 formed in the body 22, with a set screw 24 extending through the tongue for locking engagement with the tank neck. The height of the body 22 is sufficient to afford some radial protection to the tank valve, while providing easy access to open and close the same. To facilitate valve manipulation, and to provide an opening for the hose 17, the body 22 is provided with an axially extending opening 26 from the upper end 27 of the body to adjacent the skirt 21, terminating in a restricted opening 28, extending axially to the skirt. The circumferential extent of the opening permits ease in valve access and control.

For a purpose presently to be explained, the body 22 is also provided with a circumferential slot 31 subjacent the bottom 32 of the opening 26 and adjacent a side wall of opening 28, as well as an axial slot 33 opposite the opening 26 and extending from adjacent the top 27 of the body to adjacent the skirt. The tongue 23 may comprise the bottom of slot and is formed from part of the material which was otherwise removed in cutting the slot.

The upper cap portion 19 is formed of a generally cylindrical body 41 having a domed top wall 42. The diameter of body 41 is such that it may be telescopically engageable with the body 22 of the lower cap. Extending downwardly from the lower edge 43 of body 41 at circumferentially spaced portions are a pair of ears 44. The ears 44 are spaced apart to define an axial slot 46 therebetween of a lateral extent substantially the same as and adapted to be aligned with the slot or opening 28 of the lower cap. The upper cap may be slid downwardly in the lower cap until the upper edge 27 of the latter engages projections or lances 47 struck inwardly from cap body 41 intermediate the upper and lower edges thereof. In such position, a substantial portion of the lower cap body 22 will be embraced and reinforced by upper cap body 41, with the lower edges 48 of ears 44 extending to the skirt 21. It will also be noted that the upper end 49 of slot 46 extends to above the level of the lower edge 43, so that the fitting and hose 17 may pass through the caps, even when the upper cap is fully seated on the lower cap.

Means are provided to normally maintain the upper cap in its seated protective closing position on the lower cap. As here shown, a resilient latch strip 51 of material is secured at its upper end to the inner surface of one ear 44. The distal end of the strip is turned outwardly as shown at 52, and is adapted to be normally seated in the lower cap slot 31 when the upper cap is seated. The strip 51 is generally resilient and may be deformed inwardly in the area of the opening 26 to release the flange 52 from the slot 31 and permit axial separation of the cap sections. This inward flexing may be readily effected by providing a manually engageable button 54 secured to the strip 51 and extending through an opening 56 in the ear 44. Depression of the button coupled with lifting of the cap section 19 will permit axial separation of the latter. Upon lowering of the cap, the resiliency of the strip 51 will result in a snapping in position of the latch portion 52 in slot 31.

If the upper cap were permitted to be completely removed with the aforesaid axial separation, some of the difficulties encountered with presently available caps would also be present such as loss of caps, etc. Accordingly, as an important feature of the invention, after the upper cap 19 has been raised to where the lower edge 43 of the upper cap has cleared the upper edge 27 of the lower cap (as shown in FIG. 3), the upper cap is adapted to be pivotally swung with the inoperative open position shown in FIG. 2 and in the dot-dash lines of FIG. 3.

The aforesaid motion is effected by means of a pivot member 61 extending inwardly from body 41 and operatively engaged with the slot 33. The member 61 consists of a tongue 62 having the side walls 63 bent at right angles to the tongue permitting insertion of the member through the slot. After the insertion, the outermost portion of each wall is bent laterally outwardly to provide tongue 64 which prevents withdrawal of the member. As will be understood, when the caps are axially aligned, the upper cap may be moved upwardly with the member 61 sliding to the upper end of the slot. The walls 63 engaging the sides of the slot prevents lateral displacement of the upper cap during raising and lowering thereof. Then, the cap 19 may be pivoted into its inoperative position against the upper end of the slot which provides fulcrum means with the member backing out of the slot until the tongues 64 engage the inner surface of body 22 adjacent the slot 33.

Upon pivoting the cap 19 from the dot-dash position shown in FIG. 3 to the solid line position, the cap may then be lowered, with the latch mechanism being engaged to releasably lock the cap sections together.

FIGS. 5-9 illustrate a modified embodiment of the invention wherein the cap consists of a lower or inner section 75 and an upper or outer section 76. The lower section 75 is substantially tubular and its lower edge portion is welded as at 77 to the inside of an adapter 78 which is screw-threaded as at 79 for more-or-less permanent mounting on the screw-threaded neck of the gas tank. The adapter may also be provided with a plurality of laterally extending, screw-threaded bores 80 to receive set screws (not shown) for further securing the adapter to the neck of the tank.

The upper cap section 76, which preferably is of the same diameter as the maximum diameter of the adapter 78, has a closed upper end 81 and, if desired, the intermediate portion of the section 76 may be formed with an annular stiffening bead 82. The upper section 76 is slidably telescoped over the lower or inner section 75, and means are provided for guiding the sliding movement of the upper section and preventing rotation thereof relative to the lower section. Such guiding means involves the formation of a laterally outwardly open channel 83 in one side of the lower section 75, such channel being formed by deformation of the side wall of the lower section and extending longitudinally therein, as will be apparent from FIG. 7.

A guide member in the form of a hook 84 is secured to the lower edge portion of the upper section 76 and projects inwardly into the channel 83 in the inner section 75, the hook-shaped guide member having only a slightly lesser width than the channel so that it may slide in the channel when the cap section 76 is slid upwardly or downwardly on the section 75, thus producing the desired guiding action and also preventing rotation of the section 76 relative to the section 75.

The channel 83 stops short of the upper edge of the inner section 75 and the upper edge portion of the section 75 above the channel is open between a pair of transversely spaced, inwardly struck ears 85. A fulcrum bar 86 is secured, by welding or the like, to and extends between the ears 85, transversely above the upper end of the channel 83, this being best shown in FIGS. 7 and 9.

When the upper section 76 is slid upwardly from its lowered position on the lower section 75, the hook 84 slides upwardly in the channel 83 until it comes into engagement with the underside of the fulcrum bar 86, by which time the lower end of the upper section 76 has cleared the upper end of the lower section 75. The upper section 76 may then be bodily swung out of the way in the direction of the arrow 87 in FIGS. 6 and 7 to the open position shown in FIG. 6, wherein the section 76 is disposed in an inverted position, laterally outside of the section 75. During this swinging action the hook 84 rotates about the fulcrum bar 86, and when the section 76 is open, access may be had to the valve (not shown) which is disposed inside the section 75, so that such valve may be opened or closed.

Also, when the cap section 76 is open, a gas delivery line (not shown) from the valve may extend laterally outwardly from the inner section 75 through a relatively large, lateral opening 88 provided in the side of the section 75 opposite from the channel 83, the opening 88 being covered by the section 76 when the latter is in its closed position.

Latch means are provided for releasably locking the upper section 76 in its downwardly slid, closed position on the lower section 75. This latch means comprises a latch 89 which is pivotally mounted by a horizontal pivot pin 90 between a pair of brackets 91 secured to the inside of the upper section 76 above the upper edge of the lower section 75. The latch 89 is engaged at the inside thereof by a leaf spring 92 which biases the lower end portion of the latch radially outwardly. The lower portion of the latch projects downwardly into the section 75 when the section 76 is in its closed position, and as will be apparent from FIG. 7, the latch is formed with a detent 93 which hooks under the upper edge of the opening 88 in the section 75 and thereby prevents the section 76 from sliding upwardly until the latch 89 is manually pressed inwardly against the action of the spring 92, as indicated by the arrow 94 in FIG. 7. For this purpose the cap section 76 is provided with a recess 95, so that access to the lower end portion of the latch 89 may be had. The leaf spring 92 is held against the latch 89 by a keeper plate 96 on the brackets 91.

It will be noted that the engagement of the hook 84 with the fulcrum bar 86 retains the upper section 76 connected to the lower section 75 even when the cap is open, thus preventing possible loss of the openable section 76. When a hose connection is made to the valve inside the section 75, the section 76 may be swung onto the section 75 and slid downwardly thereon to a partially closed position wherein the lower end of the section 76 comes in contact with the hose connection. The tubular inner section 75 always remains around the valve to protect the same, even when the cap is open. When closed, a small annular clearance, on the order of one thirty-second inch or so, remains between the outer section 76 and the inner section 75 in order to absorb external shock, and the stiffening bead 82 of the outer section 76 also serves the same purpose.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A closure cap construction for cylinders containing oxygen or other gases under pressure comprising a lower cap section of annular form, means on said section for attaching the same to the upper end of a cylinder, an upper cap section having a tubular body provided with a top wall, said upper section being telescopically axially slidable over said lower section, means for guiding said upper section during said sliding movement, and means for releasably latching said sections against relative axial displacelment when said upper section is in a downward position on said lower section, said lower cap section being provided with an axially and radially extending slot, and the body of said upper cap section being provided with an aligned slot extending to the bottom edge of the body.

2. A closure cap construction according to claim 1 in which guiding means includes an axial slot provided in said lower cap section and extending radially therethrough and a portion of the body of said upper cap section extending through said axial slot, said axial slot terminating subjacent the upper end of said lower section, and said body portion being deformed to prevent withdrawal thereof through said slot.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said latching means includes a deformable element secured to said upper section body, a circumferentially and radially extending slot in said lower section, said element having a tab engageable in said slot, and manually engageable means on said element extending through said upper section body and displaceable radially inwardly to disengage said tab from said circumferential slot.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which the lower end portion of said lower cap section is internally threaded for attaching the same to said cylinder, and means are provided independently of said threads for locking said lower cap section to said cylinder.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said latching means comprises a spring-pressed latch pivotally mounted at the inside of said upper section and releasably engaging an edge of an opening formed in said lower section.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lower section is substantially tubular and is provided in the side thereof opposite said guiding means with an opening for gaining access laterally to the inside of the tubular lower section, said latching means comprising a spring-pressed latch pivotally mounted at the inside of said upper section above the lower section, said latch releasably engaging the upper edge of said opening.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said upper section is provided with a recess having a portion of said latch exposed therethrough.

8. A closure cap construction for cylinders containing oxygen or other gases under pressure comprising a lower cap section of annular form, means on said section for attaching the same to the upper end of a cylinder, an upper cap section having a tubular body provided with a top wall, said upper section being telescopically axially slidable over said lower section, means for guiding said upper section during said sliding movement, and means for releasably latching said sections against relative axial movement displacement when said upper section is in a downward position on said lower section, said guiding means including a laterally outwardly open channel extending longitudinally in one side of said lower section, and a guide member provided at the lower edge of said upper section, said guide member being slidable in said channel.

9. Apparatus as set in claim 8 together with fulcrum means on said lower section engageable by said guide member, when the latter is slid upwardly in the channel, for swingably connecting the upper section to the lower section and permitting the upper section to be swung laterally to an open position outside of the lower section while still retaining the two sections connected together.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9 wherein said fulcrum means comprises a fulcrum bar provided on said lower section adjacent the upper end of said channel and extending transversely of the channel, said guide member being hook-shaped and rotatably engageable with said fulcrum bar.

11. A closure cap construction for cylinders comprising a lower cap section of tubular form and of substantial height to protect a valve mechanism, means on said lower cap section for attaching the same to the upper end of a cylinder, an upper cap section having a tubular body provided with a top wall, said upper section being telescopically axially slidable over said lower section, the lower section and the upper section having cooperating surfaces for guiding said upper section during telescopic sliding movement, said lower section having an opening of substantial size therein extending from adjacent the means for attaching the lower section to the upper end of the cylinder to substantially the top of the lower section for accommodating a hose, said lower section being provided with a pivot receiving slot opposite said hose accommodating opening and extending radially through said lower section from substantially the top of the lower section to the means for attaching the lower section to the cylinder, said pivot receiving slot being closed at its upper end providing fulcrum means, said upper section having a tongue extending radially inwardly therefrom and received in said pivot receiving slot whereby said upper section may pivot about said fulcrum means of said lower section when said upper section is raised to its uppermost position, and means for releasably latching said sections against relative axial displacement when said upper section is in a downward position on said lower section.