Patent Application
20140057246
The present invention relates to demonstration cases used for transporting and demonstrating specialized industrial products. More specifically, the present invention relates to a travel case used for transporting and demonstrating a burner management system.
Travel cases are commonly used for transporting and storing apparel and other personal items. Travel cases have also been used for transporting and storing portable electronic work stations, such as a portable computer work station or computer field kits.
Travel cases have also been used by businesses and sales persons for transporting items or products to be demonstrated to potential customers or to consumers. Such travel cases have often used brackets, fixed levers or basic barrel or folding arm hinges to open and close the travel case.
In the past, some travel cases have included a display assembly for displaying a product. A display assembly may have included an item to be displayed and basic hinges or fixed levers for securing the product to the travel case so that the display product could be stored in the travel case and then be folded out after the travel case was opened. In other instances, a manual lift with a stand has been used in a travel case for displaying an item or product.
One concern when displaying or demonstrating certain specialized products, such as heavy industrial equipment or components, is how to keep the product stable or in a fixed position while conducting a demonstration. Another concern is protecting the display product from damage during storage and transportation that can be caused from dropping the travel case or joggling the product inside the case—especially if the display product is costly or fragile. Protecting a display item can be particularly difficult when the item is heavy or comprised of a number of complex parts.
Various attempts have been used in the past to address such concerns. For example, some travel cases in the past have included a display assembly comprising a manual lift with a stand that could be used to display a product. Also, some travel cases in the past have included foam blocks in the travel case to provide shock resistance to protect against impact to display items stored in the travel case. Securing and pivoting of display assemblies was sometimes accomplished using brackets, fixed levers or basic barrel or folding arm hinges.
However, there are a number of problems and disadvantages to travel cases that have been used in the past for storing, transporting, or demonstrating products. For example, heavy specialized industrial products, such as burner management systems, are more difficult to portably secure in a travel case for demonstration purposes. Preventing such specialized display products from moving, bouncing, or being damaged while in transit poses challenges and could require additional measures to protect them, such as specially fitted foam blocks or securing straps. Such additional protection measures may increase the cost and personnel time required to safely store and transport the display products.
Also, industrial products such as burner management systems may be more difficult to configure for demonstration purposes. Likewise, disassembling and repacking industrial products such as a burner management system after conducting a demonstration can be time intensive and increases the risk of damage to the product each time it is disassembled and reassembled.
Thus it is desirable to have a travel case for demonstrating specialized industrial products such as burner management systems which allows the product to be portably stored, transported, and demonstrated without requiring the display product to be assembled and disassembled before and after each demonstration respectively. It is also desirable to have a travel case for demonstrating specialized industrial products that allows for the stable and secure storage, transport, and display of the display product without requiring substantial time to safely setup or secure the display product.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved travel case for display and demonstration of a product, such as industrial equipment. It is another object of the present invention to provide for an improved product display assembly for use in a demonstration case.
According to one aspect of the invention, a travel case is provided having a display assembly disposed therein, said display assembly comprising a display product configured on a display panel. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the display product is a burner management system. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the burner management system is configured for demonstration purposes. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a simulation switch box is provided to provide signals to a burner management system control box simulating conditions which may occur in a combustion system at an oil and gas well site.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the travel case has wheels and an extendable handle, so as to be easily transported.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the display assembly includes a tilt panel or a display unit that is secured along a first side to the inside of a travel case using one or more hinges. The one or more hinges for securing the first side of the tilt piano or display unit may comprise one or more piano hinges.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the display panel is secured to the travel case using at least two different types of hinges. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, at least one of the hinges is an eccentrically actuated hinge. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the tilt panel or display unit may be a hideaway eccentric tilt panel or hide away eccentric display unit. The tilt panel or display unit may be bi-stable and configured with a toggle point so that the tilt panel or display unit is stable in both the closed or “folded” position and in the open or “display” position.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the eccentrically actuated hinge provides inertia that helps prevent the display assembly from moving in the travel case during transport so that the display assembly remains in the closed or “folded” position. In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, the eccentric hinge allows the unit to be stabilized and maintained in the “demonstration” or “display” position after it is pulled up into the demonstration or display position.
According to another aspect of the invention, at least one of the hinges is configured with a pneumatic lift support. According to another aspect of the invention, at least one of the hinges is configured with a hydraulic lift support. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, the pneumatic lift support is a gas-assist, a gas charged lift support, or a gas spring.
These and other aspects of the present invention are realized in a demonstration case as shown and described in the following figures and related description.
Various embodiments of the present invention are shown and described in reference to the numbered drawings wherein:
It will be appreciated that the drawings are illustrative and not limiting of the scope of the invention which is defined by the appended claims. The embodiments shown accomplish various aspects and objects of the invention. It is appreciated that it is not possible to clearly show each element and aspect of the invention in a single figure, and as such, multiple figures are presented to separately illustrate the various details of the invention in greater clarity. Similarly, not every embodiment need accomplish all advantages of the present invention.
The invention and accompanying drawings will now be discussed so as to enable one skilled in the art to practice the present invention. The drawings and descriptions are exemplary of various aspects of the invention and are not intended to narrow the scope of the appended claims.
Turning now to
The travel case 12 may include a lid 13 also made of a durable material in which foam padding 15, such as an egg carton shaped foam padding, may be disposed. The foam padding 15 may provide shock resistance to assist in protecting display products or equipment stored or transported in the demonstration case 10. The foam padding 15 may also be disposed on one or more of the other interior sides of the travel case 12 to help protect the display panel 14 and any display product configured thereon and being stored or transported.
The travel case 12 may also have an extendible handle for carrying or towing the demonstration case. The travel case may also have one or more wheels or rollers to facilitate towing the demonstration case when transporting a display product.
The display panel 14 may be made of a light weight but sturdy material, such as a composite or a metal, such as aluminum or metal alloy, which may provide strong support for heavy industrial products being demonstrated or displayed on the display panel 14. The display panel 14 may also be configured for securing or mounting a display product thereon. The display product may be assembled on or mounted to the display panel 14 for demonstration purposes.
As shown in
The display panel 14 may also be bi-stably configured with one or more gas charged lift supports 22a, 22b eccentrically disposed at a first end to the product display panel 14 using one or more eccentrically actuated hinges 16a, 16b with the gas charged lift supports 22a, 22b being pivotally disposed at a second end to the travel case 12 using one or more pivot hinges 20a, 20b.
As shown in
The inertia from the eccentrically actuated hinges 16a, 16b and the gas charged lift supports 22a, 22b may also help prevent the display panel and any display product configured thereon from moving in the demonstration case 10 during transport so that the display panel 14 remains in the closed or “folded” position. The inertia from the eccentrically actuated hinges 16a, 16b and the gas charged lift supports 22a, 22b also helps support the display panel when it is configure with a display product to stably be maintained in the “demonstration” or “display” position.
Turning now to
The valve train may comprise a high flow regulator and pressure gauge 44, a low flow regulator and pressure gauge 46, a pilot regulator and pressure gauge 48, a high flow solenoid control valve 50, a low flow solenoid control valve 52, and a pilot solenoid control valve 54 all connected using fuel conduits.
The combustion assembly may comprise a mixer 58, a fuel nipple pipe 60, a pilot or burner nozzle 62, and a flame ignition electrode 56 and one or more flame sensor electrodes 64. Gas or other fuel for combustion may be stored in a fuel tank 66, such as a propane tank. The fuel tank 66 may be connected to a first end of the valve train using a fuel conduit such as rubber tubing; and, the mixer 58 end of the combustion assembly may be connected to a second end of the valve train. Fuel can then be channeled from the fuel tank 66 through the valve train and then to the burner assembly for delivery of fuel to the burner to provide fuel for combustion. Gas flow and combustion may be controlled by the combustion management control box 26.
The combustion assembly unit may be folded and stored behind the product display assembly 24 and unfolded and extended when the product display assembly 24 is in the open and full demonstration position as shown in
Switches on the simulation switch box 28 may be used to initiate signals that are sent to the burner management system control box 26 simulating various conditions which can occur in a burner management system at an oil and gas well site. The simulation switches on the simulation switch box 28 may include a process temperature slide switch 30, an auxiliary temperature slide switch 32, a flame simulation switch 34, a low pressure simulation switch 36, a high pressure simulations switch 38, an emergency shutdown (ESD) simulation switch 40, and a start switch 42.
The start switch 42 may be used to power on the burner management demonstration system. The means for delivering power to the burner management system control box 26 and the simulation switch box 28 may include a power cord with a standard AC plug, such as a standard male electrical plug for connecting with a standard 110 volt female electrical socket. As can be seen in
Of course, one may use any other means commonly used by those skilled in the art for delivering power from a power source to an electrically operated device.
When the start switch 42 is in the “on” position and the power is on, the switches on the simulated switch box 28 may be used to send signals to the burner management system control box 23 simulating various onsite conditions. Depending on the conditions simulated, the burner management system control box 23 may then send responsive signals to various components of the burner management demonstration system, such as, for example, to solenoid control valves for adjusting gas flow in response to the simulated conditions.
As with the display panel 14, the product display assembly 24 is bi-stable when the burner management demonstration system is configured therewith. Pressure from the one or more gas charged lift supports 22a, 22b help maintain the product display assembly 24 in the closed position once it has been tilted into the travel case, helping to hold the product display assembly 24 down. Pivot hinges 20a, 20b connected to the gas charged lift supports 22a, 22b may facilitate opening and closing of the product display assembly 24.
The eccentrically actuated hinges 16a, 16b provide an eccentric arc that provides outward pressure from the gas charged lift supports 22a, 22b when the product display assembly 24 is in the closed position to keep the product display assembly 24 down unless pressure is applied to overcome the eccentric arc. When such pressure is applied and the apex of the eccentric arc is overcome, the outward pressure from the gas charged lift support 22a, 22b biases the product display assembly 24 along the eccentric arc into the “open” position.
The piano hinge 18 facilitates folding of product display assembly 24 into and out of the travel case 12. Thus, a user may move the product display assembly 24 from the closed to the open position by pulling up on the product display assembly 24, including the burner management demonstration system, to overcome the initial inertia of the eccentric hinge in the “folded” or closed position. After the inertia is overcome, the product display assembly 24, including the burner management demonstration system, should easily move to the “display” or demonstration position. Similarly, a user may bias the product display assembly 24 into the closed position by folding the product display assembly 24 down until the initial inertia from the eccentric arc is overcome and upon which the eccentric forces will help hold the product display assembly 24 in the closed or storing position.
There is thus disclosed an improved demonstration travel case having an eccentric tilt display panel. It will be appreciated that numerous changes may be made to the present invention without departing from the scope of the claims.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/691,759 filed on Aug. 21, 2012, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61691759 | Aug 2012 | US |
