This application claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a) and (b) to French Patent Application No. 2100101, filed Jan. 7, 2021, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a pressurized gas container, in particular a pressurized gas cylinder; comprising a gas distribution valve equipped with an electronic measurement device, preferably protected by a protective covering, the electronic measurement device comprising a digital display which is preferably housed in an opening made in the body of the protective covering.
Pressurized fluid containers, such as pressurized gas tanks or cylinders, are commonly equipped with a valve for distributing fluid, with or without an integrated pressure-regulating system, and with a protective covering, also called a cap, which serves to protect the valve for distributing gas from impacts, falls, soiling, etc.
Thus, document EP-A-2918893 proposes a gas cylinder equipped with a valve with an integrated pressure regulator or IPR protected by a rigid covering comprising a plurality of openings providing access to various members or elements of the valve located in the internal volume of the covering, for example to one or more or gas inlet or outlet end fittings or connectors of use when filling the cylinder when it is empty or, conversely, when drawing gas when a user is using the gas. A pressure gauge is arranged in the upper half, or upper portion, of the covering so as to provide the user with an indication of the pressure of the gas.
Additionally, EP-A-2918892 proposes a covering similar to the above except that the pressure gauge has been replaced with an electronic device with a digital (i.e. electronic) display screen, commonly called an electronic display screen. According to EP-A-3002498, the electronic display screen may be a touchscreen.
Such an electronic display screen is supplied with power by one or more electric batteries or cells.
Additionally, the electronic display screen is connected to a circuit board with microprocessor, used in particular to perform calculations and to control what is displayed on the electronic display screen. Typically, the electrical connection from the electronic display screen to the circuit board is made via a ribbon, i.e. a flat electrical connection strip comprising several tens of electrical wires arranged in parallel, for example 40 or 80 wires, and with its free ends ending in connectors.
However, an electrical connection ribbon is quite bulky due to its strip structure and the presence of the two connectors at its ends, while the space available within an electronic measurement device with electronic display screen including a circuit board with microprocessor and fitted to a gas container, in particular a pressurized gas cylinder, is limited.
The problem is therefore that of being able to electrically connect the electronic display screen to the circuit board of a gas container electronic measurement device without using a ribbon.
The solution of the invention thus pertains to a gas container, in particular a pressurized gas cylinder, comprising a gas distribution valve and an electronic measurement device arranged on said gas distribution valve, said electronic measurement device comprising an electronic display screen, also called a digital display, which is electrically connected, via an electrical connecting connector, to a circuit board comprising at least one microprocessor, i.e. a circuit board with one or more microprocessors, characterized in that the electrical connecting connector comprises a connector body in the shape of an elongate bar through which a plurality of electrically conductive elements passes extending between two opposite faces of said connector body, said electrically conductive elements being separated from one another by regions, or spacer zones, made of insulating material.
Depending on the embodiment in question, the container of the invention can comprise one or more of the following features:
The invention also relates to the use of a gas container, in particular a gas cylinder, according to the invention, to store or supply a pressurized gas, in particular a gas or a mixture of gases, for example oxygen, an NO/N2, O2/N2O or He/O2 mixture, argon, air or any other gas, in particular any other medical gas, the gas preferably being oxygen.
The invention will now be better understood by virtue of the following detailed description, which is given by way of non-limiting illustration, and with reference to the appended figures, in which:
More precisely, as illustrated in
A fluid distribution valve 21 preferably a valve with an integrated pressure regulator or IPR, visible in
The electronic device 3 is secured to the fluid distribution valve 21, as illustrated in
A protective covering 1, also called a “cap”, is arranged around the gas distribution valve 21 in order to protect it from impacts, dropping, dirt or the like. The protective covering 1 comprises a rigid body 2 which bears against and/or is attached to the gas distribution valve 21 and/or to the gas container 20.
In the embodiment of
The gas distribution end fitting 27 and the rotary handwheel 22 arranged around the end fitting 27 are housed in a second opening 23 also made in the rigid protective covering 1 body 2 so as to emerge at the external surface of said covering 1. The gas distribution end fitting 27 protrudes at the centre of the rotary handwheel 22 and projects outwards from the covering 1. Of course, the gas distribution end fitting 27 could be arranged elsewhere, i.e. independently of the rotary handwheel 22.
As visible in
The body 2 of the protective covering 1, in particular its two sub-shells 2a, 2b, may be made of polymer or of metal or metal alloy, or both.
The protective covering 1 is arranged coaxially with the gas cylinder 20. It is provided with a carrying handle 7 connected to the covering body 2 by support uprights 8. The carrying handle 7 surmounts the covering body 2 and faces the front panel 33 of the electronic device 3, as visible in
It is also provided with a movable, preferably pivoting, securing device or system 10 (partially visible in
Additionally, the electronic device 3 is housed in the first opening 25 of the covering 1 body 2, comprises a rigid and sealtight casing 34, for example made of plastic, provided with the front panel 33 bearing the digital display 4, such as a digital screen, for example a liquid crystal display (LCD), etc., comprising a window and supplied with power by an electrical power source (not visible) arranged in the covering 1, for example one or more batteries or cells placed in a cell compartment made in the wall of the covering body 2 and closed by a removable flap or the like.
In the embodiment illustrated in
Such a configuration allows the ergonomics of the assembly of the display 4 to be enhanced while limiting its size and still not negatively affecting the ease of reading of the information that it displays for the user, and does so even when the casing 34 with the display 4 is integrated into the body 2 of the protective covering 1 fitted to the fluid container 20, e.g. a gas cylinder.
Advantageously, the digital display screen or digital display 4 comprises a digital screen, the height of which is preferably between 2.9 and 3.7 cm, and the width of which is between 3.9 and 4.3 cm. Generally, the digital display 4 allows all of the information of use to the user to be displayed, in particular a remaining content (in hours and minutes), a gas flow rate value (in L/min), an arc-shaped graphic bar showing the remaining amount of gas, pictograms, e.g. alarms, electric battery level, whether or not wireless communication is active, etc.
According to the invention, the front panel 33 of the casing 34 of the electronic measurement device 3 comprises, in addition to the display 4, a button 5 that is activated when a user presses it using their finger, such as their index finger, and an indicator light 6, such as an LED, which is also supplied with power by the electrical power source.
This assembly comprising the digital display 4, the button 5 and the indicator light 6 forms an HMI of the electronic measurement device which is housed in the upper portion of the covering 1, i.e. beneath the carrying handle 7 which surmounts the covering body 2, for better visibility for the user using the gas cylinder 20.
The external surface of the front panel 33, the digital display 4, typically its window, the button 5 and the indicator light 6 are preferably arranged in one and the same plane, i.e. they are substantially coplanar, in such a way as to be completely integrated into the body 2 of the covering 1, i.e. without any protruding shapes, and also both to facilitate the visibility and to enhance the comfort of use of the HMI for the user. For the same reasons, the plane of the front panel 33 preferably forms an angle of between 30 and 80° with the vertical axis (AA) of the covering body 2 and of the cylinder 20.
In the embodiment illustrated in
As can be seen in
Provision is additionally made for control means 60, 61 comprising a circuit board 60 on which is arranged one or more microprocessors 61, in particular a microcontroller, implementing one or more calculation algorithms or the like and preferably a data storage memory, which are supplied with power by the electrical power source, e.g. cells or batteries. This electrical power source may also supply power to other components that require electrical power to operate.
The control means 60, 61, in particular the circuit board 60 with one or more microprocessors 61, are arranged in the casing 34 of the electronic measurement device 3. As such, the casing 34 is preferably sealtight.
The control means 60, 61, in particular the microprocessor 61, make it possible to perform calculations, to control what is displayed on the digital display 4, to manage sound and/or visual (LED) alarms, including turning on the indicator light, etc.
Thus, the control means 60, 61 calculate, continuously or when they are called upon to do so by the user, certain monitoring parameters, such as the remaining amount of gas or the remaining pressure in the container 20 or else the remaining content (i.e. the time for which the device can continue to deliver gas before all of the stored gas is consumed), on the basis of measurements or through a determination of pressure and/or ambient temperature and/or of gas, etc., which are obtained, for example, by means of sensors arranged on or in the IPR (these are not shown) and/or from the draw rate set by the user by means of the rotary handwheel 22 and its position sensor 62, as explained above.
The actuation of the button 5 allows parameters of use to the user to be displayed on the digital display 4, for example flow rate/remaining time pairs or an amount of gas expressed in units of pressure or of volume. Pressing multiple times in succession makes it possible to scroll through different data, information or parameters on the digital display 4. The button 5 may also be used to stop the alarms.
In general, a fluid container 20, in particular a gas cylinder, equipped with a valve, such as an IPR, protected by a covering 1 according to the invention, is suitable for storing and supplying gas under pressure, in particular a medical gas or mixture of gases, such as oxygen, an NO/N2, O2/N2O or He/O2 mixture, air, etc.
According to the invention, as illustrated in
More specifically, the electrical connecting connector 40 comprises a connector body 41 in the shape of an elongate bar, here in shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, through which a plurality of electrically conductive elements 42 passes, typically more than 10 electrically conductive elements 42, for example from 20 to 40 electrically conductive elements 42, for example of the order of 30 electrically conductive elements 42, which are aligned and extend between two opposite faces 41a, 41b of the connector body 41, i.e. they pass through the connector body 41.
The electrically conductive elements 42 are separated from one another by spacer zones or regions 43 made of insulating material, for example a non-conductive polymer, for example of elastomer type.
The electrically conductive elements 42 are themselves formed of an electrically conductive material, typically a metal or metal alloy, for example of copper or another metal or metal alloy which is suitable.
Preferably, the connector 40 is a connector of Zebra™ type.
As illustrated in
In order to ensure good contact at any operating temperature, care is taken to ensure that the compression ratio for the connector 40 between display screen 4 and circuit board 60 is correct and sufficient, via a suitable mechanical support.
The advantages of such an electrical connecting connector with respect to a conventional connector of ribbon type are that it is much more compact and less bulky and, in addition, that it does away with one of the two connectors present at the opposite ends of a ribbon, while still providing an easy and effective electrical connection.
In the embodiment of
In other words, the support element 50 comprises a frame 51 surrounding the periphery of the electronic display screen 4.
Securing means arranged on the support element 50 serve to secure and hold the electronic display screen 4, for example one or more stops, so as to prevent it from moving, in particular in translation or by pivoting/rotating.
As schematically shown in
More specifically, the circuit board 60 comprises a microprocessor 61, typically a microcontroller, with pins or outputs which are aligned on the circuit board 60 and which then cooperate with the row of electrically conductive elements 42 of the connector 40 so that they are electrically connected to one another. These pins of the microcontroller 61 make it possible to control the display of the segments on the screen 4. The connector 40 of Zebra™ type provides the electrical connections between board 60 and screen 4, and therefore allows the display commands to be conveyed correctly to the segments of the display screen 4.
Preferably, the circuit board 60 comprises recesses for accommodating the attachment lugs, such as dips, borne by the support element 50, i.e. the support frame, which serve to attach, in particular by clipping, the circuit board 60 and the support element 50 to one another.
The obtained assembly may then be arranged in the casing 34 (not shown) of the electronic measurement device 3.
Such an assembly process is reliable and repeatable, which makes it possible to ensure the operational reliability of the electronic measurement device 3, i.e. continuous operation, in particular of the display screen 4, without electrical connection problems.
It should be noted that the circuit board 60 also bears other electronic components and/or elements that are essential to the operation of the electronic device 3, in particular a position sensor 62 for determining the position of the rotary handwheel 22 of the valve 21 in order to make it possible to determine the flow rate selected by the user, and a connection 63 for connecting the circuit board 60 to the cell or battery, and also for communication with the circuit board 6.
The circuit board 60 may also bear one or more data storage memories, and a communication module allowing transmission or exchange of data (i.e. transmission and/or reception), for example a module of BLE (i.e. Bluetooth™ Low Energy) type, or other components, such as one or more LEDs, a buzzer, a pressure sensor, a push-button as a user interface, in particular for acknowledging alerts, making selections, etc.
Generally, a pressurized gas cylinder according to the invention comprising a gas distribution valve equipped with an electronic measurement device and a protective covering is particularly well suited to the pressurized storage of medical oxygen.
It will be understood that many additional changes in the details, materials, steps and arrangement of parts, which have been herein described in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments in the examples given above.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2100101 | Jan 2021 | FR | national |