Solvent tube management
A bottle cap includes a lower cap body that is threaded for attachment about an opening in a solvent bottle and an upper cap body attached to the lower cap body. A liner disposed inside the lower cap body includes at least one opening to pass a solvent tube while limiting evaporation of the solvent in the bottle. Features in the upper cap body permit identification flags to be attached. Each flag has an opening to pass a corresponding tube and includes one or more characters or symbols, color-coding and/or shape-coding to identify the corresponding solvent and/or a system inlet to which the tube is connected at its other end. The upper and lower cap bodies are independently rotatable about a cap axis and allow the bottle cap to be removed from or attached to the bottle without the need to remove any tubes passing through the bottle cap.
1 . A bottle cap for identification of tubing coupled to a solvent container, comprising:
a lower cap body having an axial opening and a cylindrical wall with threads thereon to engage a threaded portion of a solvent container about an opening in the solvent container,
wherein the lower cap body is securable to the solvent container;
an upper cap body attached to the lower cap body and having a cap wall and a base with an opening therein to pass one or more solvent tubes, the upper cap body having at least one attachment feature to secure an identification flag; and
at least one identification flag having an identifier to indicate a solvent conducted through one of the one or more solvent tubes and being removably attachable to the upper cap body at one of the at least one attachment features and having an opening to pass the one of the one or more solvent tubes; and
a liner disposed in the lower cap body and having one or more openings,
wherein each opening in the liner is configured to pass one of the solvent tubes passed through the opening in the base of the upper cap body.
2 . The bottle cap of claim 1 wherein the upper cap body is configured to rotate independent of the lower cap body about a cap axis.
3 . The bottle cap of claim 2 wherein the lower cap body is securable to a threaded neck of the solvent container by rotation about the cap axis.
4 . The bottle cap of claim 1 wherein at least one of the lower cap body and the upper cap body is formed of high density polyethylene.
5 . The bottle cap of claim 1 wherein the identification flag is configured to maintain a position of a portion of the solvent tube passed through the opening in the identification flag with respect to the solvent container.
6 . The bottle cap of claim 5 wherein the identification flag is a tab configured to extend from the upper cap body.
7 . The bottle cap of claim 1 wherein the identification flag includes at least one alphanumeric symbol.
8 . The bottle cap of claim 1 wherein the identification flag is color-coded.
9 . The bottle cap of claim 1 wherein the identification flag is shape-coded.
10 . The bottle cap of claim 1 wherein the attachment feature includes a slot in the cap wall that extends from an upper rim of the upper cap body.
11 . The bottle cap of claim 10 wherein the upper cap body includes a pair of tabs adjacent to an upper end of the slot, each tab extending radially inward from the cap wall at the upper rim and being adjacent to a side of the slot that is opposite to the other tab.
12 . The bottle cap of claim 1 wherein the identification flag includes an attachment clip and wherein the attachment feature includes a rim to receive the attachment clip.