1. Field
This application relates to coupling devices specifically to such coupling devices which are used with hose, pipe, valves, conduits, tanks, fittings and the like where the couplings have components which prevent interchangeability.
2. Prior Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,518,026 a coupling is disclosed that is commonly called a camlock coupling today. This camlock coupling is in general use today across a wide variety of industries. It is used for making quick release, fluid tight connections between hose, pipe, valves, conduits, tanks, fittings and the like to facilitate the transport of liquids, solids and slurries.
The delivery of fuel to gas stations is an example of an industry that makes extensive use of camlock style couplings for loading tanker trailers at fuel depots and unloading fuel from tanker trailers into storage tanks at gas stations. A typical tanker trailer will carry and unload a combination of diesel fuel, various grades of gasoline and ethanol based fuels. The camlock coupling used on the hose connections and related fittings is the same size and design regardless of the fuel being loaded or unloaded and this can result in cross contamination or accidental mixing of fuels in both the tanker trailer or more commonly in the storage tank at the gas station. For instance it is all too easy to connect a hose between the diesel compartment of the tanker trailer and the regular gasoline storage tank at the gas station since all the camlock coupling connections are identical. Even with procedures, color coding and dog tag systems in place these “crossovers” or “mixes”, as the industry refers to them, are all too common and costly to rectify. Diesel and gasoline mixes that end up in customer vehicles can result in expensive engine repairs and a serious loss of reputation in the marketplace for the oil company. Mixes can also result in motorist and boaters becoming stranded with engine failure which can be a serious safety issue and a potential liability concern for oil companies.
Our Canadian Patent No. 2800795 discloses a complex and expensive camlock coupling that requires non-standard castings or direct machining and permanent modification of standard camlock couplings to form recesses and add protrusions to prevent interchangeability.
Machining recesses in the male adapter permanently configures the adapter for that specific angular configuration or product and it cannot be returned to a standard or non-configured male adapter without rework far exceeding the value of a new male adapter. This does not allow any flexibility to reconfigure the adapter with a different configuration of recesses to suit another product. Machining recesses large enough to be effective will result in removing material on the leading seal face of the male adapter which will affect the seal between the male adapter and female coupler. If the recess is made shallow enough to avoid cutting through end seal face it will be so small that the coupling halves can easily bind or jam on each other when the equally small protrusions and recesses are misaligned. The recess also cuts through the curved annular groove where the cam portion of the camlock levers in the female coupler contact and push the male adapter to the sealing position. Recesses aligned with one or more camlock levers will reduce the contact area in the curved annular groove that the cam portion of the lever bears against. Concentrated clamping loads in these areas of reduced bearing area will lead to increased wear and deformation that will result in sealing failures. Machining permanent recesses in the male adapter means that rotation of the recesses around the male adapter to rotationally align the recesses prior to assembly with a female coupler with matching protrusions is not possible.
Machining mounting holes for protrusions in the female coupler permanently configures the female coupler for that specific angular configuration or product and it cannot easily be returned to a standard or non-configured female coupler without repairs far exceeding the value of a new female coupler. This does not allow any flexibility to reconfigure female couplers with a different configuration of protrusions to suit another product. Machining fixed mounting holes for protrusions in the female coupler or having nonstandard castings designed to accept fixed protrusions means that rotation of the protrusions relative to the female coupler prior to assembly is not possible.
Relative rotation of the male adapter and female coupler halves of the camlock coupling modified with recesses and protrusions can only take place after assembly of the coupling, but prior to activating the camlock levers, so there is no means of pre-aligning the protrusions or recesses prior to assembling the coupling. This makes hose connections to other hoses and fittings difficult if not impossible if the barbed hose end fittings are misaligned on a particular length of hose since the entire hose and it's end fittings must be rotated in order to align the protrusions and recesses prior to assembly. If one end of the hose is already clamped in place it will be difficult if not impossible to twist the hose to align the protrusions and recesses on the other end of the hose to make the next connection. This problem is further exasperated when two or more lengths of hose need to be connected together to make the required connections between the tanker trailer and the storage tank. Further, if the coupling halves are assembled with the protrusion and recesses rotated relative to each other so that they are not aligned they cannot be separated axially as the protrusions are trapped in the curved annular groove of the adapter so the coupling must rely on alignment marks to realign the protrusions and recesses before the coupling halves can be separated.
Our U.S. application Ser. No. 14/187,306 discloses an API flow valve having a replaceable flange or nose ring with recesses. The API valve can only be assembled to a mating female coupler configured with protrusions that match the recesses in the replaceable flange.
An API valve with an easily removable and replaceable nose ring is not as robust or solid as an API valve with a fixed, machined nose ring that is integral to the body of the API valve. An easily replaced nose ring will wear out more rapidly than a fixed nose ring after repeated use and this will lead to more frequent sealing problems. A fixed nose ring with no looseness or play is critical to achieving a proper seal between the API valve and the female coupler. A robust replaceable nose ring will be expensive to implement so moving the recesses from the nose ring to a location where it does not interfere with or compromise the standard sealing and clamping features when mating with a bottom loading head or drop adapter would be far better. With the recesses moved away from the nose ring the component carrying the recesses can be now be much simpler, lighter and less expensive in construction since it only needs to tag the API valve with the recess configuration (fuel) to be loaded and unloaded and no longer has to function as part of the sealing and clamping system. Moving the recesses away from the nose ring will result in a more robust design that the fuel delivery industry will accept.
Another disadvantage of the replaceable nose ring is that the mating bottom loading head and drop adapter female couplers that connect to the API valve will require machined mounting holes for the protrusions for each specific angular configuration or product and these configured female couplers cannot be easily returned to a non-configured female coupler without repairs far exceeding the value of a new female coupler. This does not allow any flexibility to reconfigure female couplers with a different configuration of protrusions to suit another product. Machining fixed mounting holes for protrusions in the couplers or having nonstandard castings designed to accept fixed protrusions means that rotation of the protrusions around the female coupler prior to assembly is not possible.
From the preceding discussion it is clear that the combination of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/187,306 and Canadian Patent No. 2800795 results in an expensive, cumbersome and inflexible coupling and system to tag, load and unload tanker trailers to prevent crossovers. The inherent problems will be a significant barrier to acceptance in the fuel delivery industry. A coupling that can be quickly, easily and cheaply configured for any configuration of the recesses and protrusions and just as easily be returned to a standard or non-configured coupling by simply removing these features will make for a far more flexible, cost effective and modular coupling. If the protrusions and recesses can be freely rotated independent of the coupling itself, both before and after assembly, assembly of the coupling halves will be easy. If the coupling can be separated axially without having to pre-align the protrusions and recesses this will save time and eliminate potential frustration. Thus a coupling that can be configured for a specific fuel that includes all the benefits noted above and that can be easily extended and adapted to all the couplings, fittings and valves that make up the entire system to load and unload tanker trailers, would eliminate the potential for crossovers without getting in the way of the operators using the system. This and other advantages will become apparent from a consideration of the ensuing description and accompanying drawings.
According to the invention there is provided a quick-disconnect coupling comprising:
a male plug member,
a female socket member defining an opening into which a leading end of the male plug member can be inserted so that the male plug member is moved longitudinally of an axis of the female socket member into the opening to a locking position;
the male plug member and female socket member defining a duct passing therethrough for communication of a fluid therebetween;
a locking arrangement for locking the male plug member in the female socket member at the locking position;
wherein the locking arrangement includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced locking members within a respective side opening of the female coupling member for movement radially inwardly of the axis of the female coupling member into locking engagement with a portion of the male plug member;
each locking member being pivotally connected to the female socket member for radially outward movement to disengage said locking members from said locking engagement with said portion of the male plug member;
cooperating components provided on an outside surface of said female socket member and on an outside surface of said male plug member
said cooperating components comprising at least one protrusion provided on either the female socket member or on the male plug member;
said cooperating components comprising at least one recess provided on either the female socket member or on the male plug member;
said cooperating components defined by said at least one recess and said at least one protrusion being cooperatively shaped and arranged to allow insertion of the male plug member into the female socket member to the locking position when said at least one recess and said at least one protrusion match;
said cooperating components defined by said at least one recess and said at least one protrusion being cooperatively shaped and arranged to prevent insertion of the male plug member into the female socket member to the locking position when said at least one recess and said at least one protrusion do not match or are not aligned. That is the user is prevented from activating the locking members when the protrusions and recesses do not match or are not aligned by virtue of the predetermined length of the protrusion which prevents axial assembly to the locking position.
Preferably the cooperating components are provided on a leading end of said female socket member and on a trailing end of said male plug member. Wherein said trailing end is located a predetermined distance from the leading end of said male plug member to allow insertion of the male plug member into the female socket member to the locking position.
Preferably there is provided a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of recesses at a predetermined spacing therebetween and wherein insertion of the male plug member into the female socket member to the locking position is allowed only when said predetermined spacing matches. However a single protrusion and associated recess can be used where they are set at a predetermined angle around the coupling and/or have a predetermined dimension and height.
Preferably the protrusions and recesses are visible when the male plug member and the female socket member are connected and when they are separated so as to ensure alignment when relative movement is undertaken. That is the user can see the location of the protrusions and recesses to ensure that they are aligned as the user tries to insert the components or to separate.
That is for example the rotational and axial alignment for assembly and disassembly of the coupling can be made evident by way of the protrusions and recesses themselves.
Preferably the male plug member has an external peripheral groove or flange for engagement with the locking arrangement of the female socket member and the protrusions and recesses are located to prevent movement of the groove or flange to the locking arrangement unless aligned. This allows that the female socket member and the male plug member can be rotated relative to each other before assembly. That is the recess and the protrusion do not cooperate with the locking arrangement, to hold the components connected but act as a restriction to allow the locking arrangement to engage only when the recess and protrusion match.
Preferably the protrusions are located on the female socket member and the recesses are located on the male plug member.
Preferably there is provided a sealing member for sealing between the male plug and the female socket in the locking position, the sealing member being located separate from the protrusions and the recesses so that they do not interfere with the action of the sealing member.
Preferably the recess and protrusion are provided on separate body portions to facilitate mounting of said recesses and protrusions.
Preferably the separate body portion on either the female socket member or male plug member can be rotated relative to said female socket member or said male plug member either before or after assembly.
Preferably the male plug member and the female socket member both have a circular cross-section. This allows rotation of the separate body portions as mentioned above.
Preferably an o-ring or other rotational restriction means is provided between the separate body portion and either of the female socket member or male plug member to act as a restriction to rotation to aid in retaining a preset rotational orientation of the separate body portion.
Preferably the separate body portion is easily mounted to or removed from the coupling, valve or fitting to permit changing the configuration or to return the coupling, valve or fitting to a non-configured coupling, valve or fitting.
That is the mounting of the separate body portions can be achieved by bonding, fastening with screws, bayonet mounting, use of an expandable and contractible ring, over center clamp ring or by any other method or device.
Preferably the separate body portions provide protection of the male plug member and the female socket member by virtue of the larger diameter of the separate body portions that help prevents contact of the male plug member and female socket member with the ground or other surface.
Preferably the separate body portion on the male plug member is further protected from contact with the ground or other surface by being completely contained within a larger separate body portion on the female socket member when assembled.
Preferably the separate body portion includes a text label or other identification means for indicating the name of the product or fluid corresponding to the specific configuration of the recesses and protrusions.
Preferably the separate body portion includes a lug for attachment of a protective cap with a lanyard. The protective cap is used to cover the leading end of the male plug member when it is not mated with a female socket member.
Preferably the separate body portions mounted to the male plug member and the female socket member when assembled can be separated axially without having to align the protrusions and recesses to permit separation.
Preferably the matched protrusions and recesses on the separate body portions are shaped and located so that they are not interchangeable with a coupling configured with a different configuration of protrusions and recesses.
Preferably the separate body portions are made from any metal or plastic that can be formed by casting, compression molding, injection molding, machining, fused deposition modeling, selective laser sintering or any other process or combination of such processes.
Preferably one separate body portion includes a sensor or switch to detect the presence of a mating separate body portion when the protrusions and recesses match.
Preferably a female socket member or bottom loading head without a separate body portion or cooperating components includes one or more sensors or switches capable of detecting the presence of a specific configuration of a separate body portion that is attached to the male plug member or API valve. That is the switch or sensor can determine the specific configuration of the separate body portion when the female socket member and male plug member are engaged with each other so as to signal or notify the control system of the specific separate body portion so that the control system only allows the discharge of the product associated with the configuration of said separate body portion.
Preferably the system allows for backwards compatibility with non-configured couplings. This can be achieved by the fact that either one of the standard female socket member or the male plug member which does not carry recesses or protrusions can be mated to a configured male plug member or configured female socket member having recesses or protrusions.
In particular the present invention is particularly designed for use with;
a camlock coupling of the type in which the locking arrangement includes a plurality of cam members each having a lever within a respective side opening of the female socket member and a cam portion passing through one of said side openings and engaging a portion of the male plug member and each being pivotally connected to the female socket member for outward movement of the levers away from the female socket member to disengage the cam portions from the said portion of the male plug member. Some examples of where such couplings are used include connections between two hoses, a hose and drop adapter, a hose and hose elbow, a hose and drop elbow, a drop elbow and top seal adapter;
a camlock drop adapter of the type in which the locking arrangement includes a plurality cam members each having a lever within a respective side opening of the female socket member and a cam portion passing through one of said side openings to engage a portion of the API valve annular flange member and each being pivotally connected to the female socket member for outward movement of the levers away from the female socket member to disengage the cam portions from the API valve annular flange member;
a bottom loading head of the type in which the locking arrangement includes a plurality of circumferentially spaced locking latches within a respective side opening of the female socket member which are actuated simultaneously by a separate hand lever for movement of the locking latches to engage or disengage the API valve annular flange member.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a method of loading and unloading a plurality of different fluids comprising:
providing for each fluid a respective delivery duct;
providing in each delivery duct a configured coupling, valve or fitting as defined above;
and arranging said at least one protrusion and said at least one recess of a first one delivery duct to have a different configuration from that of a second one of the delivery ducts to prevent interchangeability of the first and second delivery ducts at the couplings.
Embodiments of the invention will be described hereinafter in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:
One or more interlock recesses 101 in the female tag ring portions 100 interlock with one or more interlock protrusions 121 in the male tag ring 120.
Two female tag ring portions 100 each with an inner annular curved surface 106 with cutouts 104 and 105 are shaped and arranged to snuggly mount to male adapter 60 with an outer annular curved surface 69 with protruding lug 64 and embossed lettering 65. The protruding lug 64 is provided on male adapters 60 to facilitate connection of a lanyard with a protective end cap attached to keep dust and dirt out of an otherwise open male adapter (lanyard and end cap not shown). The embossed lettering 65 indicates the part number of the male adapter. The female tag ring portions 100 each include an alignment pin 102 and an alignment hole 103 that are used to align and bond the two female tag ring portions by application of an adhesive to the pins 102, holes 103 and mating surfaces 114 to form a single female tag ring. When two female tag ring portions are assembled together onto a male adapter so as to form a complete female tag ring it will simply be referred to as a female tag ring using the same reference number as the individual female tag ring portions. Should additional bonding strength be required adhesive can also be applied between the annular curved surfaces 106 and 69. Due to the snug tight fit of the female tag ring portions 100 to the male adapter 60 and rotational interference between the lug 64 and lug recess 104 no relative rotation of the assembled female tag 100 is possible on the male adapter 60.
The male tag ring 120 has an inner annular surface 123 and inner circular surface 124 that is shaped and arranged to snuggly mount to female coupler 80 with an annular end surface 82 and outer circular surface 83. Application of an adhesive between the annular surfaces 123 and 82 completes the assembly. Should additional bonding strength be required adhesive can also be applied between the circular surfaces 124 and 83.
The male tag ring 120 and the female tag ring portions 100 can be cast and machined from the same aluminum as the female coupling 80 and male adapter 60 or they could be cast, formed or injection molded from any number of other metals or plastics or be made directly using rapid manufacturing methods such as fused deposition modeling or selective laser sintering. The final material selection and method of manufacture will be based on the volume of parts to be produced and performance requirements such as impact strength, wear resistance, antistatic properties, weight, ease of assembly and disassembly, visual appearance and handling characteristics.
The angular separation of the two interlock recesses 101 and interlock protrusions 121 at the top of the tag rings as shown in
Where required any female coupler, without a male tag ring can still mate with any female tag ring configured male adapter. Conversely any male adapter, without a female tag ring can still mate with any male tag ring configured female coupler. This allows for backward compatibility with non-configured camlock fittings used in the fuel delivery industry where desired or required such as for non-critical maintenance procedures such as flushing and cleaning tanker trailer storage compartments.
The outside cylindrical surface 128 of the male tag ring 120 is the same diameter as the outside cylindrical surface 108 of the female tag ring 100 to ensure easy visibility of the interlock protrusions 121 mated with the interlock recesses 101 from any angle. This also facilitates easy reading of the embossed labels 109 and 129 next to each other when the coupling is assembled as show in
Each outer cylindrical surface of the interlock recess 101 has an angular opening width defined by radial surfaces 107 and each interlock protrusion 121 has a similar but slightly smaller angular width defined by radial surface 127. Each interlock protrusion has a cylindrical inner surface 125 which is slightly larger than the outer cylindrical surface of the interlock recess 101. An installation clearance gap of approximately 1.0 mm between these surfaces has been found to provide sufficient clearance to ensure easy assembly of the coupling which allows for slight axial misalignment of the coupling halves during assembly due to installation clearance between the circular plug surfaces 61 and 62 of the male adapter 60 and the circular passage 81 in the female coupler 80. This gap is clearly indicated by the visibility of the outer annular surface 122 around the interlock protrusion 121 of the male tag ring 120 as shown in
Additional features include chamfered edges 110 between the trailing surface 112 and outer cylindrical surface 108 on the female tag ring and chamfered edges 130 between the leading surface of the interlock protrusions 121 and the outer cylindrical surface 128 on the male tag ring. Chamfers 130 and 110 along with surfaces 121 and 112 are preferably flush and aligned with one another when the coupling is assembled as shown in
Advantages of this embodiment include;
Commercially available male adapters 60 with existing lugs and embossed lettering features can be configured with a fixed female tag ring 100 without modifying the male adapter in any way.
Commercially available female couplers 80 can be configured with a fixed male tag ring 120 without modifying the female coupler in any way.
Advantages of this embodiment include;
Male adapters 60 with existing lugs and embossed lettering features can be configured with a female tag ring which allows rotation where such rotation would normally be prevented by such features.
Once assembled the rotatable female outer tag ring 170 is free to rotate relative to the fixed inner ring 150 fixed to the male adapter 60. This allows the rotatable female outer tag ring 170 to be rotated prior to axial assembly with a female coupler 80 configured with a male tag ring 120 (not shown, see
Relative rotation of the rotatable female outer tag ring 170 can also be undertaken after engagement of the interlock protrusions 121 and interlock recesses 171 by rotating either the male adapter 60 or female coupler 80 when partially or fully assembled to each other but before the camlock levers 86 are engaged.
To reconfigure the male adapter 60 for different configuration of the recesses (i.e. for another fuel) only the rotatable female outer tag ring 170 needs to be replaced, the fixed inner ring 150 can be left in place permanently.
The rotatable female tag ring portions 200 also illustrate an alternate means to fasten the tag ring portions together using screws 210. Both tag ring portions 200 are identical and each includes a counterbored hole 202 and a threaded hole 203 sized to suit the screws 210. The two tag ring portions 200 are aligned for assembly onto male adapter 60A as shown in
Advantages of this embodiment include;
The rotatable female tag ring 200 is free to rotate relative to the male adapter 60A. This allows the rotatable female tag ring 200 to be manually rotated prior to axial assembly with a female coupler 80 configured with a male tag ring 120 (not shown, see
No separate fixed inner ring is required to permit rotation of the female tag ring. This permits rotation with fewer parts and assembly steps and will therefore be lower in cost.
Relative rotation of the rotatable female tag ring 200 can also be undertaken after engagement of the interlock protrusions 121 and interlock recesses 201 by rotating either the male adapter 60A or female coupler 80 when partially or fully assembled to each other but before the camlock levers 86 are engaged.
Simple two piece tag ring that is easily assembled and disassembled with screws to permit easy configuration and reconfiguration of a male coupler.
Light rotational resistance of the tag ring is provided by the o-ring to ensure the tag ring remains in place and does not rotate around the male adapter without a small manual twisting force being applied.
Advantages of this embodiment include;
The outer cylindrical surfaces 248 and 228 of the tag rings protect the interlock protrusions and recesses from damage when hoses and other fittings configured with these tag rings are dragged or dropped on the ground. The outer cylindrical surfaces 248 and 228 will take the majority of the wear and damage thereby protecting the interlock protrusions 241 and interlock recesses 221.
Advantages of this embodiment include;
Relative rotation of the coupling halves is possible after assembly but prior to engagement of the camlock levers when the male tag ring is bonded to the female coupler and the female tag ring bonded to the male adapter. This type of rotation after assembly can be used for drop elbows at service stations where it will be useful to rotate the drop elbow towards the tanker trailer to facilitate the required hose connections.
The female tag ring with reduced diameter fits inside of the male tag ring after assembly so that the female tag ring is protected from damage caused by dragging or dropping the assembled coupling.
The male tag ring 780 configured with interlock protrusions 781 is mounted with fasteners 785 to the leading surface 384 of the outer collar 386 which has been drilled and tapped with threaded holes 385. The inner cylindrical surface 783 of the male tag ring is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the inner collar 387 to permit relative movement of the inner and outer collars required for the bottom loading head locking members 388 located in side openings of the inner collar 387 to latch on to the API valve nose ring 301.
The female tag ring portions 700 configured with recesses 701 are first assembled around the API valve in front of the mounting surface 306 but behind the nose ring 301 by engaging the alignment pins and holes 702 and 703 and then mounting the assembled female tag ring 700 with fasteners 705 to the mounting surface 306 which is drilled and tapped with mounting holes 305. The female tag ring 700 must be split in two portions in this embodiment since the inner cylindrical surface 709 has a smaller diameter that the outside diameter of the nose ring 301. The female tag ring 700 is notched 704 to fit around the protruding surfaces 304 so that the front surface 710 of the female tag ring 700 is flush with the protruding surfaces 304 of the API valve 300.
Advantages of this embodiment include;
Semi-permanent and tamper resistant method of attaching the male and female tag rings using fasteners.
Fixed rotational orientation of both the male tag ring 780 and female tag ring 700 that prevents rotation of the tag rings relative to the bottom loading head 380 and API valve 300 they are fastened to. Rotation of the tag rings is not required since the API valve is fixed to the tanker trailer in a specific orientation and the bottom loading head is attached to a loading arm that permits rotation of the bottom loading head and attached male tag ring so that the interlock protrusions 781 can be easily aligned with the interlock recesses 701.
Protection of the leading surface 384 of the bottom loading head 380 from bumps or contact with other equipment or the API valve 300 with female tag ring 700 fastened in place.
Optional sensor 786 with sensor lead wire 787 is mounted on the male tag ring 780 to detect the presence of a contact or magnet 706 mounted on the female tag ring 700 so as to ensure both a mechanical and electrical interlock between the bottom loading head and the API valve before fuel can be dispensed through the assembly. That is the sensor will not permit fuel to be released unless the male tag ring and female tag rings are mated to each other.
The female tag ring 720 is a single one piece ring with interlock recesses 721 located and recessed into the outer cylindrical surface 728. The inner cylindrical surface 724 includes one or more bayonet positioning blocks 722 protruding radially inwards from the inner cylindrical surface 724.
The API valve 320 includes one or more concentric machined bayonet grooves 323 terminating with a mounting hole 324 shaped and arranged to accept spring plunger assembly 325 consisting of a cup 326, spring 327 and ball 328.
Advantages of this embodiment include;
A female tag ring that is easy to install and remove by hand that permits quick tagging of API valves prior to loading fuel.
Multiple female tag rings for each fuel configuration are easily carried by the tanker trailer so that trailer compartments communicating with their associated API valves are easily configured for a particular fuel or reconfigured for another fuel by simply removing and installing a tag ring configured and labelled for the desired fuel to be loaded.
Self-locking bayonet mounting holds the ring in position axially and rotationally when the spring plungers on the API valve are engaged.
Tag ring is symmetrical front to back so that it can be installed with the label 723 facing in either direction so there is no user confusion on which direction to install the tag ring.
Purposely alternating the installation of the tag ring helps distribute wear on the positioning blocks 722 by alternating initial engagement of the positioning block lead-in angled ramps 722A with the spring plunger assemblies 325.
The female tag ring 740 is a single one piece flexible and expandable ring with interlock recesses 741 located and recessed into the outer cylindrical surface 748. The inner cylindrical surface 745 includes an inner annual rib 744 protruding radially inwards from the inner cylindrical surface 745.
The API valve 340 includes an annual groove 342 machined into the outer cylindrical surface 344.
Advantages of this embodiment include;
A female tag ring that is easy to install and remove by hand that permits quick tagging of API valves prior to loading fuel.
The API valve only requires a very simple machined groove 342 to facilitate the mounting of the tag ring 740.
Multiple female tag rings for each fuel configuration are easily carried by the tanker trailer so that trailer compartments communicating with their associated API valves are easily configured for a particular fuel or reconfigured for another fuel by simply removing and installing a tag ring configured and labelled for the desired fuel to be loaded.
The tag ring can be installed and reoriented in any desired rotational orientation on the API valve by applying light pressure on the finger saddles 746 with thumb and forefinger while simultaneously rotating the tag ring.
Tag ring is symmetrical front to back so that it can be installed with the label 743 facing in either direction so there is no user confusion on which direction to install the tag ring.
The tanker trailer 600 or 601 will be parked near to the underground fuel storage tanks that each terminate in a top seal adapter 460. The tanker trailer 600 or 601 is divided into separate compartments that can each carry different fuels such as Diesel, Premium and Regular in a single delivery to a gas station. Similarly, a typical gas station has multiple underground fuel storage tanks that can receive any or all of these fuels from a single tanker trailer delivery.
The industry currently relies on procedures, manual dog tagging and color coding systems to help prevent incorrect connections between the tanker trailer and the underground storage tanks. Even with these procedures and systems in place it is not uncommon for fuel mixes or crossovers to occur. A premium gasoline and regular gasoline crossover will result in a costly downgrade of the premium fuel along with the time and expense to pump the downgrade into the regular grade storage tank. A diesel and gasoline mix is far more serious and expensive to rectify since the fuel is no longer useable as either gasoline or diesel and must be pumped out of the storage tank and disposed of. Diesel and gasoline crossovers that end up in vehicles can cause severe damage to fuel systems and engines and lead to expensive repairs along with a loss of reputation in the marketplace for the oil company that can result in further lost revenue. Mixes can also result in motorist and boaters becoming stranded with engine failure which can be a serious safety issue and a potential liability concern for oil companies.
After tagging all the tanker trailer API valves and loading the associated fuel into the tanker trailer compartments the tag rings on the API valves are left in place on the API valves until the tanker trailer returns from delivering its fuel at which time the tag rings can either be left in place if the tanker trailer compartment is to be reloaded with the same fuel in the same compartments or, one or more tag rings on empty compartments can be changed to a different fuel specific female tag ring so that the tanker trailer compartment can be loaded with that particular fuel. The direction of fuel flow from the loading arm, through the bottom loading head 380 and then through the API valve 360 communicating with the tanker trailer compartment is indicated by flow arrow 602.
To ensure that an API valve has been tagged for a particular fuel the API valve female tag rings can also include a magnetic or mechanical target that must be detected by a sensor or switch on the male tag ring attached to the bottom loading head before fuel is permitted to flow through the loading arm and bottom loading head into the tanker trailer compartment. The switch or sensor communicates with the loading arm control system to only allow discharge of Regular fuel when the interlock protrusions on the male tag ring 780Y match the interlock recesses on the female tag ring 740Y after assembly of the bottom loading head on to the API valve.
A sensor or switch can also be used on bottom loading heads that discharge more than one fuel from a common loading arm by having a switch or sensor uniquely configured or mounted to detect the presence of a fuel specific female tag ring and only discharge the fuel represented by that female tag ring when it is installed on the API valve 360. In this case the bottom loading head would not require a fuel specific male tag ring since the switch or sensor on the bottom loading head 380 representing Regular fuel and communicating with the female tag ring 740Y would only permit discharge of Regular fuel through the loading arm. Similarly if female tag ring 740X was installed on the API valve 360 it would only communicate with the switch or sensor on the bottom loading head representing Diesel and would only permit the release of Diesel fuel.
The API valve 360 is normally tagged with the desired fuel specific female tag ring 740Y prior to loading fuel into the tanker trailer and this tag is never removed and in fact can be locked to the API valve prior to loading fuel to prevent tampering or accidental removal after fuel is loaded. The female tag ring 740Y is shown separated in this view to illustrate that tagging of the API valve can also be undertaken immediately after loading fuel into the tanker trailer if tagging is only desired or required for delivering fuel. In this case previously established fuel loading procedures would remain in effect and the tagging ring would be an added step in the loading of each tanker trailer compartment.
It is important to note that the API valve tag ring 740Y is the only tag ring that is removable in normal use since it determines and labels the fuel contained in the tanker trailer compartments. The bottom loading head 380 in
The tanker trailer carries drop adapters 400, hoses 420 and drop elbows 440 preconfigured with tag rings as shown in
The top seal adapters 460 at the service station are permanently tagged with fuel specific female tag rings 200 representing the fuel that is to be stored in the underground storage tank. The top seal adapter 460 with the female tag ring 200 installed is backwards compatible with drop elbows that do not have male tag rings 120 attached. This allows service stations to install fuel specific female tag rings on all their top seal adapters without disrupting deliveries from tanker trailers which have not been changed over to the tag ring system. This allows fuel transport companies to gradually roll out this change with no disruption to deliveries.
The direction of fuel flow from the tanker trailer 600, through the API valve 360, drop adapter 400, hose 420, drop elbow 440 then through the top seal adapter 460 communicating with the underground storage tank is indicated by flow arrow 603.
The main difference with tanker trailer configuration 601 as compared to tanker trailer configuration 600 is the separate loading and unloading valves that both need to be tagged with a removable fuel specific female tag ring. The API valve 340 is tagged with a fuel specific female tag ring 740Y corresponding to Regular fuel and the hose elbow 480 is also tagged with a fuel specific female tag ring 750Y corresponding to Regular fuel. It is important that the API valve 340 and hose elbow 480 that both communicate with the same compartment through loading/unloading wye pipe 520 on the tanker trailer both have tag rings configured for the same fuel as shown. To ensure there is no mix up, the tag rings for each type of fuel are paired together permanently with a lanyard 800 and lanyard fasteners 801 so that tag rings 740Y and 750Y are paired together to ensure a mix matched set of tag rings such as 740Y and 750X cannot be used together on a single loading/unload wye pipe 520. The tanker trailer will carry multiple pairs of removable tag rings for each type of fuel so that more than one tanker trailer compartment can be tagged for the same fuel.
The X, Y, Z interlock recess and interlock protrusion configurations and any other required configurations would be standardized industry wide for particular fuels. With a standard in place the first step would be to replace gas station tank top seal adapters with top seal adapters configured for a particular fuel with a female tag ring permanently installed. Since the system is backwards compatible with standard or non-configured camlock fittings there will be no interruption in fuel delivery service if tanker trailers are still operating without configured fittings and accessories. Tanker trailers typically carry multiple sets of hoses and fittings, one set for each fuel delivered. Therefore the quantity of hose and fittings carried by the tanker trailer is the same, only now they are configured for a particular fuel. There is no appreciable change in procedures for loading and unloading fuel except that there is now positive feedback in the form of the coupling not being able to mate together when a connection is attempted between say a Diesel configured female coupler and a Premium configured male adapter. Since a coupling with mismatched tag rings will not physically fit together the potential for fuel mixes or crossovers is prevented.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/119,217, filed Feb. 22, 2015 by the present inventors, which is incorporated by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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62119217 | Feb 2015 | US |