Fuel gas tank filling system and method
First Claim
1. A refueling nozzle for filling a fuel gas storage tank, comprising:
- a housing and a fill pipe coupler carried by the housing to facilitate mating with a fill pipe of a fuel gas storage tank, the coupler of the refueling nozzle further comprising;
a nozzle body having an inflow passage arranged to communicate a fuel gas source with the storage tank and a separate outflow passage arranged to receive an outflow of fuel gas from the storage tank;
a retainer including multiple radially outwardly biased segments that are movable radially relative to the nozzle body between a first position in which the multiple segments are outwardly retracted relative to the nozzle body to permit the nozzle body to be coupled to or released from the fill pipe of the storage tank and a second position in which the multiple segments are radially inwardly advanced to releasably retain the nozzle body in engagement with the fill pipe of the storage tank, each of the multiple segments of the retainer comprising a radially outwardly extending portion having a drive surface; and
an actuator including a tubular sleeve located radially outwardly of the retainer and the nozzle body, the actuator comprising a recess that provides a larger inner diameter portion of the sleeve and being axially movable between a first position and a second position, wherein the radially outwardly extending portion of the multiple segments of the retainer are registered with the recess of the actuator and the multiple segments are radially outwardly biased to their first position when the actuator is in its first position, and wherein the radially outwardly extending portion of the multiple segments of the retainer are out of registry with the recess of the actuator and the multiple segments are displaced radially inwardly to their second position when the actuator is in its second position.
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Accused Products
Abstract
In at least some implementations, a device for filling a fuel gas storage tank includes a nozzle body having an inflow passage arranged to communicate a fuel gas source with the storage tank and an outflow passage arranged to receive an outflow of fuel gas from the storage tank. The inflow passage may be communicated with an inlet passage to admit fuel gas into the storage tank and the outflow passage may be communicated with an outlet passage through which fuel gas exits the storage tank. The outflow passage may be communicated with a downstream component for treatment of the outflow fuel gas, such as filtering, drying, and/or cooling. The outflow fuel gas may be rerouted into the fuel gas storage tank through the inflow passage and inlet passage, if desired. The disclosure also relates to a fitting for a storage tank and a method of filling a storage tank.
26 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A refueling nozzle for filling a fuel gas storage tank, comprising:
a housing and a fill pipe coupler carried by the housing to facilitate mating with a fill pipe of a fuel gas storage tank, the coupler of the refueling nozzle further comprising; a nozzle body having an inflow passage arranged to communicate a fuel gas source with the storage tank and a separate outflow passage arranged to receive an outflow of fuel gas from the storage tank; a retainer including multiple radially outwardly biased segments that are movable radially relative to the nozzle body between a first position in which the multiple segments are outwardly retracted relative to the nozzle body to permit the nozzle body to be coupled to or released from the fill pipe of the storage tank and a second position in which the multiple segments are radially inwardly advanced to releasably retain the nozzle body in engagement with the fill pipe of the storage tank, each of the multiple segments of the retainer comprising a radially outwardly extending portion having a drive surface; and an actuator including a tubular sleeve located radially outwardly of the retainer and the nozzle body, the actuator comprising a recess that provides a larger inner diameter portion of the sleeve and being axially movable between a first position and a second position, wherein the radially outwardly extending portion of the multiple segments of the retainer are registered with the recess of the actuator and the multiple segments are radially outwardly biased to their first position when the actuator is in its first position, and wherein the radially outwardly extending portion of the multiple segments of the retainer are out of registry with the recess of the actuator and the multiple segments are displaced radially inwardly to their second position when the actuator is in its second position. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A refueling nozzle for filling a fuel gas storage tank, comprising:
a housing and a fill pipe coupler carried by the housing to facilitate mating with a fill pipe of a fuel gas storage tank, the coupler of the refueling nozzle further comprising; a nozzle body having a tubular sidewall extending between an outer axial end and a trailing end and further defining an inflow passage and a separate outflow passage, the outer axial end of the nozzle body sidewall having a sealing surface and the trailing end being connected to an adapter that fluidly communicates a fuel gas inlet conduit with the fuel gas inflow passage and a fuel gas outlet conduit with the fuel gas outflow passage, and wherein the sealing surface of the outer axial end of the nozzle body sidewall circumferentially surrounds one of the fuel gas inflow passage or the fuel gas outflow passage and the other of the fuel gas inflow passage or the fuel gas outflow passage extends through and is open at the sealing surface of the nozzle body sidewall; a retainer including multiple segments that are movable radially relative to the nozzle body between a first position in which the multiple segments are outwardly retracted relative to the nozzle body to permit the nozzle body to be coupled to or released from the fill pipe of the storage tank and a second position in which the multiple segments are radially inwardly advanced to releasably retain the nozzle body in engagement with the fill pipe of the storage tank; and an actuator including a tubular sleeve located radially outwardly of the retainer and the nozzle body, the actuator being movable over the retainer between a first position and a second position to move the multiple segments of the retainer between their first position and second position, respectively, and wherein the tubular sleeve of the actuator includes a cam surface that engages a tapered drive surface of the multiple segments of the retainer to inwardly advance the multiple segments to their second position when the actuator is moved to its second position.
Specification