Pressure containing/relieving cap for a liquified natural gas receptacle

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11807433-B2
Application number	US-202117326413-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 21, 2021
Priority date	May 28, 2020
Publication date	Nov 7, 2023
Grant date	Nov 7, 2023

Abstract

A cap for closing an opening of a receptacle such as for a liquefied natural gas container. The cap includes a main body and a sealing surface for sealing the opening of the receptacle. A lock/release mechanism is provided to lock the cap onto the receptacle, or enable the cap to be removed from the receptacle. A relief valve of the cap is activatable to relieve pressure within the receptacle. A grip overlies the main body and a relief valve actuator, enabling a user to activate the relief valve via the grip. The cap is configured to relieve pressure in a first stage of removal, and then unlock from the receptacle in a second stage of removal. A catch and secondary pressure relief features are provided to control removal of the cap. Magnets may be provided for proximity sensors to indicate proper closure of the cap on the receptacle.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cap for forming a closure in a receptacle of a container, the cap comprising:
a valve configured to relieve trapped gas in the receptacle; and
a catch configured to control movement of the cap during removal of the cap from the receptacle;
the cap being configured such that:
(i) in a first stage of removal of the cap from the receptacle, the valve is activatable to permit the trapped gas to vent from the receptacle while the cap remains secured to the receptacle; and
(ii) in a second stage of removal of the cap from the receptacle, the cap is movable to an intermediate removal position in which the catch intercepts part of the receptacle to control movement of the cap before further removal of the cap from the receptacle; and
further comprising a lock that is operative in at least (i) a locked state to secure the cap to the receptacle, and (ii) a release state to enable the cap to be removed from the receptacle;
wherein the cap is configured such that in the locked state: (i) the valve is activatable to vent trapped gas, and (ii) the lock prevents transition to the second stage of removal without first achieving the release state of the lock;
wherein the cap is configured such that axial movement of the cap by a predetermined axial amount and rotational movement by a predetermined rotational amount permits transition of the lock from the lock state to the release state at a release position;
wherein the lock interacts with part of the receptacle via a stop at a lock position to provide the lock state, and the part of the receptacle releases from the stop at a release position to provide the release state; and
wherein the catch is at the intermediate removal position which is circumferentially and axially offset from the lock position and axially offset from the release position, the cap being configured to freely move axially from the release position to the catch at the intermediate removal position without rotation of the cap, and wherein the catch is configured to hold the cap at the intermediate removal position; and
wherein the cap is configured such that at least rotational movement of the cap from the intermediate removal position by a predetermined amount enables removal of the cap from the receptacle.

2. The cap according to claim 1 ,
wherein the lock and catch are formed in a groove of the cap or by respective parts of a groove of the cap.

3. The cap according to claim 1 ,
wherein the valve includes a valve body having a vent passage, and a valve member movable in the valve body to open and close the vent passage, wherein the valve body is radially inwardly spaced from an internal surface of a main body portion of the cap to form an annulus therebetween, and wherein the receptacle is fittable within the annulus such that the valve body is disposed within an opening of the receptacle when the cap is in the locked state on the receptacle.

4. The cap according to claim 1 , wherein the cap further includes:
a valve actuator that is depressible to activate the valve; and
a grip overlying a main body portion and the valve actuator, the grip being supported by the valve actuator at least in a non-depressed state, and wherein depressing the grip with a force greater than a preset force causes the valve actuator to depress and activate the valve.

5. The cap according to claim 4 , wherein:
the part of the receptacle is a protrusion;
the grip is axially depressible to a first position to axially move the valve actuator and thereby axially move the valve to its open position; and
the grip is further axially depressible to a second position beyond the first position to axially move the main body portion relative to the receptacle such that the protrusion of the receptacle axially moves in a groove of the cap to release from a stop, thereby enabling the cap to be rotated whereby the protrusion can clear the stop during rotation and enable removal of the cap.

6. The cap according to claim 4 ,
wherein the grip forms a clutch mechanism with the main body portion, such that grip is freely rotatable about the main body portion when the grip is in a non-depressed state, and engages and transfers torque to the main body portion when the grip is in a depressed state.

7. The cap according to claim 6 , wherein the grip includes a plurality of grip lugs, the grip lugs being configured to interface with respective main body lugs on the main body portion when the grip is in the depressed state.

8. The cap according to claim 1 ,
wherein the cap further comprises a lock/release actuator configured to effect holding of the part of the receptacle by the lock in a locking state of the lock/release actuator, and configured to effect releasing of the part of the receptacle from the lock in a releasing state of the lock/release actuator;
wherein, in the first stage of removal, the lock/release actuator is in the locking state; and
wherein, in the second stage of removal, the lock/release actuator is in the releasing state.

9. The cap according to claim 8 ,
wherein the cap further includes a valve actuator that is depressible to activate the valve;
wherein the valve actuator includes a first biasing member having a first biasing force that constitutes at least a portion of a first preset force for activating the valve actuator and thereby actuation of the valve to the open position;
the lock/release actuator includes a second biasing member having a second biasing force that constitutes at least a portion of a second preset force for releasing the cap from the receptacle; and
the second preset force is greater than the first preset force.

10. The cap according to claim 1 ,
wherein a main body portion of the cap includes a plurality of grooves circumferentially spaced apart about the radially outer surface for receiving a respective plurality of protrusions of the receptacle, and a detent is located in each of the plurality of grooves for receiving and holding a corresponding protrusion of the plurality of protrusions;
wherein the cap further comprises a plurality of magnets located at a bottom portion of the main body portion for a proximity sensor, the plurality of magnets being circumferentially spaced apart between the plurality of grooves, and wherein each groove of the plurality of grooves has associated therewith at least one corresponding magnet of the plurality of magnets.

11. A container comprising:
the cap according to claim 1 ;
a receptacle including:
a tube portion having an opening and a main valve member for containing internal pressure within the container, and
a rim portion surrounding the tube portion to form an annular socket,
wherein the part of the receptacle is a protrusion that protrudes from the rim portion into the annular socket, the protrusion including a roller that is guidably received by a groove of the cap;
wherein the container is configured to contain a cryogenic fluid and the cap is configured to contain gas or liquid of the cryogenic fluid.

12. The cap according to claim 1 , the cap further comprising:
a main body portion having a radially outer surface including a groove for receiving a corresponding protrusion of the receptacle, and a detent located in the groove for holding the protrusion and restricting rotation of the main body portion relative to the receptacle when the cap is in a locked state;
a valve body portion within the main body portion, the valve body portion including a vent passage for relieving trapped gas in the receptacle;
a valve member movable within the valve body between an open position in which the valve member opens the vent passage, and a closed position in which the

Assignees

• Parker Hannifin Corp

Inventors

• Kaminski Benjamin D
• Mikulski Jason
• Lemay Paul E
• Nicolino Daniel T

Classifications

• B65D51/1688 Primary

  Venting occurring during initial closing or opening of the container, by means of a passage for the escape of gas between the closure and the lip of the container mouth, e.g. interrupted threads · CPC title

• F16K17/168

  combined with manually-controlled valves, e.g. a valve combined with a safety valve · CPC title

• F17C13/06 Primary

  Closures, e.g. cap, breakable member ({for autoclaves B01J3/03}; closures for {large} containers in general B65D {B65D90/54}; {for pressure vessels in general F16J13/00}) · CPC title

• B60K15/0409

  Provided with a lock · CPC title

• B60K2015/0432

  having a specific connection between the cap and the vehicle or tank opening · CPC title