Patent Application
20080112783
The present invention relates to a safety device for stabilizing and towing cylindrically shaped objects.
It is common practice in the industrial arts to pressurize various gaseous elements and compounds and then contain them in a cylindrically shaped pressure vessel or tank, normally called a cylinder. Typical contents of a cylinder include elements such as Argon (Ag), oxygen (O2), nitrogen (N2), chlorine (Cl2), fluorine (F), hydrogen (H2), helium (He), etc. and compounds such as acetylene (hydrocarbons having one or more carbon-carbon triple bonds), liquid petroleum gas (LPG, i.e., C3 or C4 such as propanes, butanes, etc.), carbon dioxide (CO2), compressed air, etc. There are two types of hazards associated with the use, storage and handling of these compressed gas cylinders: the chemical hazard associated with the cylinder's contents and the physical hazards represented by the presence of a high-pressure vessel proximate to people or property. The chemical hazard potential associated with the contents of these cylinders include corrosive, toxic, flammable, etc., while the physical hazard relates to the extremely high pressures at which the contents are contained. Compressed gas cylinders have extremely high potential energies due to the energy of their highly compressed contents.
Typically, these cylinders have a combination valve and port stem at the upper extent of the cylinder that penetrates the cylinder's wall to its inner cavity. Filling and unfilling the cylinder is accomplished through the valve and port stem. If the contents of a tank are released under controlled conditions, the corrosive, toxic, flammable and high energy attributes of the tank and its contents are of little consequence to a user. However, should an uncontrolled release occur, which may result from the tank toppling over and sheering its valve and port stem off, persons in the proximity of the release are in immediate danger. In fact, the potential energy contained in the fully 1.75 cu. ft. (ft3) pressurized cylinder of nitrogen gas, 1.74×106 ft. lb. (2.359×106 J), is comparable to the latent energy equivalent to about 0.5 lb. (0.25 kg) of TNT, the potential energy of TNT being 3.42×106 ft-lb. (4.63×106 J).
For any applications, these cylinders are transported to a location and installed at a station, typically by restraining compressed gas cylinders upright and securing them with a chain, strap, or cable to a stationary building support (i.e., a structural beam) or to a stabilization mechanism or cylinder cart to prevent cylinders from tipping or falling. Larger cylinders are moved from the transport vehicle to a storage area or usage station with a cylinder cart.
From the description above, it is apparent that any device for lessening the occurrence of uncontrolled releases from compressed gas cylinders and which further facilitates safely moving pressurized cylinders would be beneficial.
The present invention relates to a safety device for stabilizing cylindrically shaped objects to reduce the possibility of cylindrically shaped tanks toppling over and possibly shearing off the tank's valve assembly, while simultaneously providing the operator with a means for safely transporting the cylinder using the safety device. The mobility/safety device, therefore, reduces the occurrences of uncontrolled releases of the contents of a tank even during transport. With respect to an exemplary embodiment, a stabilization mechanism and cart are presented for stabilizing and transporting high pressure gas cylinders. The stabilization mechanism generally comprises a cylindrically shaped barrel, having a first open end and a second open end and which is fitted with a plurality of stabilization outriggers. Each of the plurality of outriggers extends from the exterior surface of the barrel, radially outward away from the barrel. The inner diameter of the barrel is sufficient to accept a pressurized cylinder or tank. The stabilization mechanism further comprises one or more fixtures for cooperating with and receiving a counterpart on a cart. The fixtures are securely fastened to various components of the stabilization mechanism at locations thereon which are accessible to the cart. The cart generally comprises a handle and wheel arrangement which may be suggestive of a warehouse (or appliance) hand truck or the like. The cart further comprises one or more fixtures which are disposed thereon at corresponding locations to the arrangement of the respective corresponding fixtures on the stabilization mechanism. In the event that a gas cylinder is to be moved from one location to another, an operator merely engages the cylinder cart to the stabilization mechanism and moves the cylinder. If desired, the operator merely disengages the cart from the stabilization mechanism. Thus, whenever a cylinder is at rest, the cart may be disengaged from a particular stabilization mechanism and used for transporting other cylinders. The aforementioned fixtures may take many forms, such as a pin and barrel coupler and/or a hub and fork type coupling mechanism. Furthermore, the couplers may be either horizontally or vertically oriented on the stabilization mechanism and cart.
The novel features believed characteristic of the present invention are set forth in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
Other features of the present invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the following detailed description.
Mechanisms for safely storing pressurized gas cylinders are well understood in the prior art and include devices for chaining, strapping, or cabling the canisters to a stationary building support. These types are permanently mounted devices, while safe, do not offer the operator any flexibility where the cylinders can be stored and/or used. Recently, other devices have been realized for stabilizing gas cylinders, which offer portability. Several types of portable stabilization mechanisms for gas cylinders are disclosed by the inventor of the present application in U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,244 entitled “Stabilization Mechanism for Cylinderically Shaped Objects,” and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. These stabilizers may be configured as a “slipover” type, and generally comprise a cylindrically shaped barrel, having a first open end and a second open end and which are fitted with a plurality of stabilization outriggers. Each of the plurality of outriggers extends from the exterior surface of the barrel, radially outward away from the barrel. The inner diameter of the barrel is sufficient to accept a pressurized cylinder or tank. Some include wheels for moving the tank from one location to the next without the need of a cylinder cart or dolly.
Another type of device known in the prior art for temporarily storing gas tanks in the upright position, which also offer added mobility, is a cylinder cart or welding cart.
What is needed in the art is a realistic understanding that present safety measures, with regard to compressed gas cylinders, are incongruous which results in a false sense of security, but which also offer a mechanism for safely transporting the cylinder.
Engagable slipover tank stabilizer 200 differs from other slipover stabilizers in that it may be selectively engaged with a cart for moving an onboard tank from one location to another. This is accomplished by placement of one or more fixtures on the various components of engagable slipover tank stabilizer 200, but at locations thereon which are accessible to a cart. As depicted in the present figure, a pin and barrel coupling mechanism is employed for selectively engaging slipover tank stabilizer 200 to a cart. Here, three barrel couplers (210, 212 and 214) are disposed on the stabilizer. Barrel couplers 210 and 212 are located proximate to the lower extremity of slipover tank stabilizer 200 on one or both of horizontal ring 204 and support members 206. Barrel couplers 210 and 212 are approximately horizontally coplanar and positioned symmetrically with stabilizer barrel 202 for increased the stability under tow. A third coupler, barrel coupler 214, is affixed to stabilizer barrel 202 above the horizontal plane defined by barrel couplers 210 and 212 but is also symmetrical with stabilizer barrel 202. Barrel coupler 214 may be fitted with a hole (hole 217 depicted in
It should be readily apparent that the present invention as embodied in cart 300, differs from prior art hand trucks in that the present cart lacks the nose plate typically employed for supporting the weight of the gas cylinders during towing. The mating couplers of the present invention eliminate the necessity of a nose plate on the cart, and more importantly, allow the operator to load a tank onboard cart 300 without tilting the tank. Essentially, the operator merely engages cart 300 with stabilizer 200, locks safety pin 216, and tows the tank with stabilizer 200 using cart 300.
Since exemplary stabilizer 200 is depicted with three barrel-type couplers, wheeled cart 300 should be fitted with three pin-type couplers at locations on the cart that correspond to the respective positions of the three barrel-type couplers. Hence, pin couplers 311 and 313 are formed on a horizontal plane corresponding to the respective locations of barrel couplers 210 and 212. In accordance with one exemplary embodiment, pin couplers 311 and 313 are formed by the lower extents of handle 302. It should be appreciated that the outer diameter of pin couplers 311 and 313 should correspond to the respective inner diameters of the barrel couplers 210 and 212, with, of course, some insertion clearance, therefore it may be necessary to increase or decrease the diameter of handle 302 to form barrel couplers 210 and 212. A third pin coupler, coupler pin 315, is connected to the rear-facing side of horizontal member 318 which correlates to the position of barrel coupler 214 on stabilizer barrel 202. Coupler pin 315 may be fitted with a hole for alignment with hole 217 on barrel coupler 214 and for receiving safety pin 216/316 once engaged in barrel coupler 214. As depicted in the figure, coupler pin 315 is approximately coplanar with the left and right portions of handle 302, and thus hidden by handle 302 in the side view. Coupler pin 315, or any of the couplers, may be fitted with a hole (not shown) for receiving safety pin 316. Safety pin 316 provides an extra measure of security, during towing, for engaging stabilizer 200 and cart 300.
Safety pin 216/316 can then be inserted into hole 217. With stabilizer 200 fully engaged with cart 300, the onboard compressed gas tank can be towed in a manner similar to using a conventional hand truck, by tilting handle 302 rearward and rolling cart 300 by either pulling or pushing on the handle (see
It should be appreciated that, although the present invention has been described with reference to vertically oriented pin and barrel type couplers, the orientation and type of the coupler can be altered without departing from the scope of the present invention. For instance, one or more of the barrel and pin couplers may be horizontally oriented as depicted in
In accordance with still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a hub and fork type coupling mechanism can be employed for mating stabilizer 1202 engaged with cart 1302, as shown in
In accordance with still another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, couplers on cart 300 are configured to cooperate with an existing structure on the tank stabilizer. Thus, the tank stabilizers need not be modified for engaging with cart 300. For instance, the coupler on cart 300 may be configured to cooperate with the geometry of horizontal ring 204 or outrigger 206, or to the cross-sectional shape of the tank. For instance,
The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or act for performing the function in combination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. The description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or limited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and the practical application, and to enable others of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
The present application claims the benefit of copending U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/859,125, filed Nov. 15, 2006 and entitled “STABILIZATION MECHANISM WITH COUPLER FOR ENGAGING WITH A CART AND TOWING CYLINDRICALLY SHAPED OBJECTS”, hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60859125 | Nov 2006 | US |
