This disclosure relates generally to certain pipe, pipeline and hose termination fittings known as dust caps or end caps used in hose lines, pipelines, and pipeline termination racks. More specifically, this disclosure relates to an end cap that can be utilized for the immediate, visual identification of the contents of the pipeline or hose system when connecting or disconnecting from, or to, that pipeline system.
The function of an end cap is to close off the end of a line in a piping system or an industrial hose. This is achieved by placing the end cap over the open line or hose end. End caps are designed to prevent leakage or drips of liquids from the end of the hose or pipe. End caps are typically used in conventional pipe equipment in the chemical industry, the petroleum industry, the marine industry, irrigation systems, water treatment works, sanitary systems, and power generation facilities.
A wide variety of pipe end caps have been developed in the art. End caps may include welded fittings, screw-type fittings, cam and groove lock- type fittings, and quick release fittings. Quick release type pipe fittings are designed to quickly and easily connect pipelines or any other line with a complementary end connection. Quick release or quick connect end caps and dust caps are not used in pressure applications for safety and environmental reasons.
All pipe and hose end caps are designed to prevent fluid leakage, primarily liquids, from dripping to the ground or floor. To prevent leakage or capture drips, the end points of pipelines and the hose lines must be capped or sealed. Several methods have been developed to prevent leakage at the end of pipes and hose line terminations. Some end caps require tools to complete the closure. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,713,463 to Bywater, Jr. discloses a closure member for pipes and the like. The Bywater, Jr. patent requires tools to operate a latching mechanism on the closure member. Also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,707 to Lundgren discloses a pipe protector that covers a pipe end. Similarly, the Lundgren patent also requires the use of tools to align teeth employed in the pipe protector.
Some end caps incorporate a “quick release” feature that does not require tools to effect closure. Generally, the quick release pipe end caps have a cap that covers the end of a pipeline and a quick release mechanism that removably secures the cap to the pipeline. U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,430 issued to Shafer describes quick-release pipe end cap that does not require the use of other pipefitting tools. However, the Shafer patent employs an external latching mechanism with a band that is integral to the end cap.
End caps have also been employed simply as a protective safety cover. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,687,772 issued to Underwood describes a protective end cap for covering the ends of exposed bars and, in particular but not limited to, a protective end cap for covering the ends of starter bars on construction sites.
In addition to requiring either pipefitting tools or an external latching mechanism, another shortcoming identified with virtually all conventional end caps is that they do not provide a means to identify the content of the pipelines. Identification of the content of the pipelines is required for filling or removing fluids from a pipeline. It is especially critical when all the end connections are situated in a common bank of multiple pipeline terminations all fitted with end caps. Identification of the contents of the pipeline is important to prevent opening the wrong pipeline to either fill or remove liquid product from the pipeline. There have been few attempts to make the identification of the contents of a pipeline easier.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,644,734 issued to Palmer describes a male and female safety cap. The safety cap has a loop handle to protect the hands of the operator. The loop handle is formed as a continuous arcuate structure to provide protection to the operator's hand. These safety caps are color-coded or affixed with labels designed to fit within the handle structure. However, this particular end cap design requires a handle that is integral to the end cap in order to affix a label. This end cap also employs a latching mechanism
The end cap devices referenced above provide some desirable features and benefits within the limited scope of their designs. Each has certain drawbacks, as well, with respect to the fact that they require tools or external latching mechanisms, and they are not effective to identify the contents of a pipeline system or hose line.
Based on the foregoing, it is desirable to have an end cap that provides drip protection, can be easily applied without the use of tools or an external latching mechanism, and can identify hose line or pipeline system contents. This type of end cap would also be available in different sizes and different materials, thereby allowing it to be easily applied to a variety of pipeline systems, hose lines, or pipeline termination banks.
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of end caps for pipes and the like now present in the prior art, the present invention provides an improved quick release pipe end cap, and overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages and drawbacks of the prior art. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new and improved quick release pipe end cap which has all the advantages of the prior art mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a quick release pipe end cap which are not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by the prior art, either alone or in any combination thereof. Heretofore, there has not been an end cap for quickly identifying the contents of a pipeline system, hose line, or multiple terminations in a bank of pipeline terminations, while at the same time protecting the pipeline system from fluid leakage and cross-contamination (i.e., contamination caused by putting a fluid into a pipeline that is incompatible with the other fluid contents contained in that pipeline).
The disclosure herein is directed to an end cap designed for quick placement or removal without the use of tools or external latching mechanisms. It is also an end cap that is useful as well for identification of the contents of hose lines or liquid transport systems while either filling or removing fluids from or to those systems. When several end connections are situated in a common bank of hose line terminations fitted with end caps, it would relatively easy to fill or empty the wrong system when there is no identification of the pipeline that the operator is connecting to for performing the fill or empty operation. There is also disclosed a unique method for providing identification of a pipeline system by applying an identification card into a an end cap that has been designed and fabricated to receive such identification card. Because the identification card is removable, the card can be removed and a new card inserted when the end cap is to be used on a different pipeline.
While the various embodiments of the disclosure are described with reference to a device for identifying the contents of a pipeline system quickly using an end cap with an identification feature, it is to be understood that there may be combinations of equipment and other methods that could be used to identify the pipeline system. There is no device or apparatus or method with the disclosed features for use in pipeline systems. Other applications and advantages of such an end cap will become immediately obvious to one skilled in the art. It is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.
What is being disclosed is an end cap designed and fabricated to be manually applied without the use of tools or external latching mechanisms and to provide visual identification information of hose and pipeline system contents. Other objects, advantages and applications will be best understood and become apparent from the following description of the various embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
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In one embodiment, the housing further comprises at least one support gusset 19 that is configured to permanently engage the outer lateral surface 16 and the at least one lateral extension 15. In the preferred embodiment shown with reference to
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The housing 12 comprises an outer lateral surface 16 and an inner lateral surface 18. In one embodiment of the invention, the housing comprises at least one flexible locking tab 32 comprising an inner face 34 located on the inner lateral surface 18 and an outer face 36 located on the outer lateral surface 16. In the preferred embodiment as shown in
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The foregoing descriptions provide illustration of the inventive concepts. It should be understood that the foregoing is illustrative of particular embodiments of the invention, and particular applications thereof The descriptions are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosed invention to the precise form disclosed. Modifications or variations are also possible in light of the above teachings. In view of the disclosures presented herein, yet other variations of the invention being disclosed will be apparent to one of skill in the art. The embodiments described above were chosen to provide the best application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All such modifications and variations are within the scope of the invention. Any such modifications or variations which fall within the purview of the descriptions contained herein are intended to be included therein, as well. It is the following claims, including all equivalents, which define the scope of the invention.