VALVE ASSEMBLIES

1 . A valve assembly for releasably coupling to a container, the valve assembly being operable to fill and/or refill the container with a liquid while venting excess vapor from the container associated with the liquid to relieve pressure in the container created by the liquid, the valve assembly also being operable to introduce a carrier gas into the container for use in retrieving a vapor product from the liquid within the container, the valve assembly comprising:

a housing;

two or more valve spools disposed at least partly within the housing;

wherein the two or more valve spools are independently moveable relative to the housing to control movement of a liquid, excess vapor associated with the liquid, a carrier gas, and a vapor product retrieved by the carrier gas through the housing and past at least one or more valve spools.

2 . The valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing includes means for releasably coupling the housing to a container.

3 . The valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein each of the two or more valve spools includes an outer surface and first and second annular grooves disposed in the outer surface and positioned axially along the respective valve spool.

4 . The valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the two or more valve spools include a first valve spool and a second valve spool, the first valve spool being moveable relative to the second valve spool to control movement of the liquid through the housing and to control movement of the excess vapor through the housing, the second valve spool being moveable relative to the first valve spool to control movement of the carrier gas through the housing and to control movement of the vapor product through the housing.

5 . The valve assembly of claim 4 , wherein the housing defines a first bore and a second bore, the first valve spool being received within the first bore and being axially movable generally along a longitudinal axis of the first bore, and the second valve spool being received within the second bore and being axially movable generally along a longitudinal axis of the second bore.

6 . The valve assembly of claim 5 , wherein the housing defines first and second ports in fluid communication with the first bore, the first port being configured to receive the liquid into the housing and transport the liquid to the first bore, the second port being configured to transport the excess vapor associated with the liquid away from the first bore for discharge from the housing.

7 . The valve assembly of claim 6 , wherein the housing defines third and fourth ports in fluid communication with the second bore, the third port being configured to receive the carrier gas into the housing and transport the carrier gas to the second bore, the fourth port being configured to transport the vapor product retrieved by the carrier gas away from the second bore for discharge from the housing.

8 . The valve assembly of claim 7 , wherein the first and second valve spools each include an outer surface, and first and second annular grooves disposed in the outer surface and positioned axially along each of the valve spools.

9 . The valve assembly of claim 8 , wherein the first valve spool is moveable between an open position and a closed position, and wherein:

when the first valve spool is in the open position, the first port communicates with a corresponding first lower port through the first valve spool's first annular groove such that the liquid can move from the first port, through the first bore, and to the first lower port, and the second port communicates with a corresponding second lower port through the first valve spool's second annular groove such that the excess vapor associated with the liquid can move from the second lower port, through the first bore, and to the second port for discharge from the housing; and

when the first valve spool is in the closed position, the first valve spool substantially inhibits movement of the liquid from the first port to the first lower port, and substantially inhibits movement of the excess vapor from the second lower port to the second port.

10 . The valve assembly of claim 9 , wherein the first valve spool defines a bypass extending at least partly through the first valve spool; and

wherein when the first valve spool is in the closed position, the liquid can move from the first port, through the first valve spool's bypass, to the second port for discharge from the housing.

11 . The valve assembly of claim 9 , wherein the second valve spool is moveable between an open position and a closed position, and wherein:

when the second valve spool is in the open position, the third port communicates with a corresponding third lower port through the second valve spool's first annular groove such that the carrier gas can move from the third port, through the second bore, and to the third lower port, and the fourth port communicates with a corresponding fourth lower port through the second valve spool's second annular groove such that the vapor product retrieved by the carrier gas can move from the fourth lower port, through the second bore, and to the fourth port for discharge from the housing; and

when the second valve spool is in the closed position, the second valve spool substantially inhibits movement of the carrier gas from the third port to the third lower port, and substantially inhibits movement of the vapor product from the fourth lower port to the fourth port.

12 . The valve assembly of claim 11 , wherein the second valve spool defines a bypass extending at least partly through the second valve spool; and

wherein when the second valve spool is in the closed position, the carrier gas can move from the third port, through the second valve spool's bypass, to the fourth port for discharge from the housing.

13 . The valve assembly of claim 4 , in combination with a container, wherein the first valve spool is moveable to control movement of the liquid through the housing and into the container to fill and/or refill the container with the liquid and to control movement of the excess vapor associated with the liquid out of the container and through the housing for discharge from the housing, and wherein the second valve spool is moveable to control movement of the carrier gas through the housing and into the container for use in retrieving the vapor product from the liquid in the container and to control movement of the vapor product retrieved by the carrier gas out of the container and through the housing for discharge from the housing.

14 . The valve assembly of claim 4 , wherein the first and second valve spools each include an outer surface, and first and second annular grooves disposed in the outer surface and positioned axially along each of the valve spools.

15 . The valve assembly of claim 14 , wherein the first and second valve spools each include a longitudinal channel extending at least partly through the respective valve spool.

16 . The valve assembly of claim 4 , wherein the first and second valve spools are each generally elongate and generally cylindrical in shape, and wherein the first and second bores in which the first and second valve spools are respectively received are each generally tubular in shape.

17 . The valve assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a valve structure coupled to an upper surface of the housing for transporting liquid into the housing.

18 . The valve assembly of claim 1 , further comprising four or more valve structures coupled to the housing for receiving fluid into and/or discharging fluid from the housing.

19 . The valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the two or more valve spools each include a longitudinal axis, and wherein the two or more valve spools are disposed at least partly within the housing such that the longitudinal axes of the two or more valve spools are generally parallel.

20 . The valve assembly of claim 1 , wherein the housing includes a molded plastic material.

21 . A valve assembly for coupling to a container and controlling movement of fluids into and/or out of the container, the valve assembly comprising:

a housing;

means for removably coupling the housing to a container;

first and second longitudinal bores defined by the housing, each of the bores having a longitudinal axis;

first and second liquid ports defined by the housing and in communication with the first bore;

first and second excess vapor ports defined by the housing and in communication with the first bore;

first and second carrier gas ports defined by the housing and in communication with the second bore;

first and second vapor product ports defined by the housing and in communication with the second bore;

a first valve spool disposed at least partly within the first bore for use in controlling movement of fluids through the first bore;

a second valve spool disposed at least partly within the second bore for use in controlling movement of fluids through the second bore;

a first actuator coupled to the first valve spool for sliding the first valve spool within the first bore in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the first bore; and

a second actuator coupled to the second valve spool for sliding the second valve spool within the second bore in a direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the second bore.

22 . The valve assembly of claim 21 , wherein the first liquid port is defined at least partly by an upper surface of the housing, and wherein the first excess vapor port, the first carrier gas port, and the first vapor product port are each defined at least partly by a side surface of the housing.

23 . The valve assembly of claim 21 , wherein the first valve spool controls movement of a liquid through the housing from the first liquid port, through the first bore, and to the second liquid port for discharge from the housing into a container, and controls movement of excess vapor associated with the liquid through the housing from the second excess vapor port, through the first bore, and to the first excess vapor port for discharge from the housing; and

wherein the second valve spool controls movement of a carrier gas through the housing from the first carrier gas port, through the second bore, and to the second carrier gas port for discharge from the housing into the container, and controls movement of a vapor product retrieved by the carrier gas through the housing from the second vapor product port, through the second bore, and to the second vapor product port for discharge from the housing.

24 . The valve assembly of claim 21 , wherein the first and second valve spools each include an outer surface, and first and second annular grooves disposed in the outer surface and positioned axially along each of the valve spools.

25 . The valve assembly of claim 24 , wherein the first valve spool is moveable between an open position and a closed position, and wherein:

when the first valve spool is in the open position, the first and second liquid ports communicate through the first valve spool's first annular groove such that the liquid can move from the first liquid port, through the first bore, and to the second liquid port for discharge from the housing into the container, and the first and second excess vapor ports communicate through the first valve spool's second annular groove such that the excess vapor associated with the liquid can move from the second excess vapor port, through the first bore, and to the first excess vapor port for discharge from the housing; and

when the first valve spool is in the closed position, the first valve spool substantially inhibits movement of the liquid from the first liquid port to the second liquid port, and substantially inhibits movement of the excess vapor from the second excess vapor port to the first excess vapor port.

26 . The valve assembly of claim 25 , wherein the second valve spool is moveable between an open position and a closed position, and wherein:

when the second valve spool is in the open position, the first and second carrier gas ports communicate through the second valve spool's first annular groove such that the carrier gas can move from the first charier gas port, through the second bore, and to the second carrier gas port, and the first and second vapor product ports communicate through the second valve spool's second annular groove such that the vapor product retrieved by the carrier gas can move from the second vapor product port, through the second bore, and to the first vapor product port for discharge from the housing; and

when the second valve spool is in the closed position, the second valve spool substantially inhibits movement of the carrier gas from the first carrier gas port to the second carrier gas port, and substantially inhibits movement of the vapor product from the second vapor product port to the first vapor product port.

27 . The valve assembly of claim 21 , in combination with the container.

28 . A method for filling and/or refilling liquid into a container and transporting vapor products retrieved from the liquid out of the container while reducing risks of contaminating the liquid and/or exposing the liquid to the atmosphere during operation, the method comprising:

removably coupling a valve assembly to the container;

filling and/or refilling liquid into the container through the valve assembly;

transporting vapor products retrieved from the liquid in the container through the valve assembly for discharge from the valve assembly;

wherein the actions of filling and/or refilling liquid into the container and transporting vapor products retrieved from the liquid in the container can be sequentially done without uncoupling the valve assembly from the container between said actions.

29 . The method of claim 28 , wherein filling and/or refilling liquid into the container includes moving a first valve spool of the valve assembly to an open position to allow liquid to flow into the container and to allow excess vapor within the container associated with the liquid to flow out of the container for relieving pressure within the container.

30 . The method of claim 29 , wherein transporting vapor products retrieved from the liquid in the container includes moving a second valve spool of the valve assembly to an open position to allow carrier gas to flow into the container to retrieve vapor products from the liquid in the container and to allow the carrier gas and vapor products flow out of the container for subsequent discharge.

31 . The method of claim 28 , wherein filling and/or refilling liquid into the container can be done independently of transporting vapor products retrieved from the liquid in the container.