Hydrocarbon gas delivery system
View Patent ↗Embodiments of the invention include a system and method for controllably delivering hydrocarbon gas to a hydrocarbon gas-fueled device. According to one embodiment, a valve having an open state and a closed state is used to control the flow of hydrocarbon gas from a pressure vessel to a supply line. A hydrocarbon gas sensor detects airborne hydrocarbon gas and generates a signal in response. A controller automatically moves the valve to the closed state in response to the signal from the hydrocarbon gas sensor while the valve is in the open state. The controller automatically releases liquid sealant to the supply line in response to a continued signal from the hydrocarbon gas sensor after at least attempting to move the valve to the closed state.
1. A system for controllably delivering hydrocarbon gas to a hydrocarbon gas-fueled device, the system comprising:
a pressure vessel for containing a pressurized hydrocarbon gas;
a valve selectively movable between an open state and a closed state for controlling the flow of the hydrocarbon gas from the pressure vessel to a supply line in fluid communication with the pressure vessel;
a liquid sealant in a sealant container, the liquid sealant configured for hardening if released from the sealant container;
a hydrocarbon gas sensor for detecting airborne hydrocarbon gas and generating a signal in response; and
a controller in communication with the hydrocarbon gas sensor and the valve, the controller including a prime mover configured for automatically moving the valve to the closed state in response to the signal from the hydrocarbon gas sensor if the valve is in the open state and for releasing the liquid sealant to the supply line in response to the signal from the hydrocarbon gas sensor if the valve is in the closed state.
2. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the valve comprises a mechanical valve actuator configured for manually moving the valve between the open and closed states by hand, and wherein the prime mover is removably coupled to the mechanical valve actuator.
3. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 2 , wherein the mechanical valve actuator comprises a knob rotatable in a first direction for moving the valve to the open state and in a second direction for moving the valve to the closed state.
4. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a rigid adapter body holding the prime mover, the sensor, the sealant container and sealant, wherein the adapter body is configured for removably securing to the valve with the prime mover operably coupled to the mechanical valve actuator.
5. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the signal generated by the sensor includes a detected level of hydrocarbon gas, and wherein the controller is configured to automatically move the valve to the closed state in response to the level reaching a first threshold while the valve is in the open state and to release the liquid sealant to the supply line in response to the level reaching a second threshold.
6. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 5 , wherein the second threshold is less than the first threshold.
7. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 5 , wherein each threshold includes a concentration threshold and a corresponding time threshold, whereby a corrective action is taken only if the concentration threshold is continuously sensed for the full duration of the corresponding time threshold.
8. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 4 , further comprising:
an electronic user interface on the rigid adapter body for communicating scheduling parameters from a user to the controller, wherein the controller configures a schedule for closing the valve according to the scheduling parameters.
9. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the controller further comprises:
a timer, wherein the controller is configured for closing the valve according to a preprogrammed schedule.
10. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 9 , wherein the preprogrammed schedule is user-configurable.
11. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 9 , wherein the prime mover biases the valve to a default closed-valve state, and the timer is configured to provide a finite time period during which the default closed-valve state may be overridden, after which the prime mover automatically powers the valve back to the default closed-valve state.
12. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 1 , wherein the liquid sealant is pressurized within the sealant container under sufficient pressure to move the liquid sealant into the supply line in response to releasing the liquid sealant from the sealant container.
13. The hydrocarbon gas delivery system of claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured for puncturing the sealant container to release the sealant to the supply line.