One piece pneumatic lockout device

Abstract

A one piece pneumatic lockout device is disclosed. The key feature of the device is the shape and size of a hole located within a piece of sheet or plate material. One end of the hole is an opening large enough to be placed over the first ridge of a male pneumatic fitting. The remainder of the hole is a slot with parallel sides which is wide enough to fit over the diameter of the groove behind the ridge but not wide enough to fit over the ridge of the fitting. A locking device is then placed through the large opening, thus preventing the lockout device from being removed from the pneumatic fitting. With the lockout device in place on the male pneumatic fitting, it is then impossible to connect the fitting to a female supply fitting.

Claims

1. A method of securing a male pneumatic fitting in a one piece pneumatic lockout device comprised of the following steps; providing a piece of sheet, plate or other thin, flat material with at least one elongated hole within its interior. the elongated hole will have a first end and a second end. the first end of the elongated hole will be large enough to allow the ridge of a male pneumatic fitting to pass through up to and over the groove of the pneumatic fitting. the remaining length of the elongated hole from the first end to the second end will have parallel sides and be wide enough to allow the groove of the male pneumatic fitting to pass freely to the second end but narrow enough that the ridge of the male pneumatic fitting cannot pass through the narrower second end of the elongated hole. with the male pneumatic fitting positioned in the narrow second end of the elongated hole, a locking device is inserted though the first end of the elongated hole and locked, thus preventing the removal of the male pneumatic fitting from the one piece lockout device. the first end of the elongated hole will be close enough to an outside edge of the sheet, plate, or other thin, flat material to allow a padlock, safety hasp ro other locking device to be secured through the hole. the size of the first end of the elongated hole will be such that, with a locking device secured through the first end of the elongated hole, the male pneumatic fitting will no longer be able to be positioned so that the ridge of the male pneumatic fitting can pass through the first end of the elongated hole. a male pneumatic fitting having a basic cylindrical shape and having a ridge and groove around its diameter to be retained by a female pneumatic fitting.

2. A one piece pneumatic lockout device comprised of; a piece of sheet, plate, or other thin, flat material containing at least one elongated hole wherein the elongated hole has a first end and a second end and; the first end of the elongated hole will be large enough to allow the ridge of a male pneumatic fitting to pass through up to and over the groove of a male pneumatic fitting and; the first end of the elongated hole will be close enough to at least one edge of the sheet, plate, or other thin, flat material to allow a padlock, hasp or other locking device to be secured through the first end of the elongated hole. the remaining length of the elongated hole from the first end to the second end will have parallel sides and be wide enough to allow the groove of the male pneumatic fitting to pass freely to the second end but narrow enough that the ridge of the male pneumatic fitting cannot pass through the narrower second end of the elongated hole.

3. A one piece pneumatic lockout device according to claim 2 with a stamp, etching or other marking designating the size of pneumatic fitting the device is intended to lock out.

4. A method of securing a male pneumatic fitting with the one piece pneumatic lockout device according to claim 2 comprised of the following steps; first, positioning a male pneumatic fitting having a basic cylindrical shape and having a ridge and groove around its diameter to be retained by a female pneumatic fitting, through the first end of the one piece pneumatic lockout device and; second, positioning the male pneumatic fitting into the second end of the onepiece pneumatic lockout device and; with the male pneumatic fitting positioned in the narrow second end of the elongated hole, a locking device is inserted though the first end of the elongated hole and locked, thus preventing the removal of the male pneumatic fitting from the one piece lockout device.

5. A one piece pneumatic lockout device according to claim 2 wherein the first end of the elongated hole has a circular shape with a diameter large enough allow the ridge of the male fitting to pass through.

6. A one piece pneumatic lockout device according to claim 2 which has a stamping, etching or other method of permanent marking which designates the size of the fittings that the one piece pneumatic lockout device is intended to lock out.

7. A method of securing a male pneumatic fitting in a one piece pneumatic lockout device comprised of the following steps; providing a piece of sheet, plate or other thin, flat material with an elongated hole having one end large enough to fit over the ridge of the male pneumatic fitting and the remaining length of the elongated hole being narrower than the diameter of the ridge of the male pneumatic fitting and wider than the diameter of the groove of the male pneumatic fitting; placing the first end of the hole over the ridge of the male pneumatic fitting perpendicular to the male pneumatic fitting and positioned over the groove of the male pneumatic fitting; positioning the elongated hole along the groove of the male pneumatic fitting so that the male pneumatic fitting is in the narrower end of the elongated hole; inserting a locking device or safety hasp through the wider end of the elongated hole so as to capture the fitting in the narrower portion of the elongated hole. a male pneumatic fitting having a basic cylindrical shape and having a ridge and groove around its diameter to be retained by a female pneumatic fitting.

8. A one piece pneumatic lockout device comprising: a piece of sheet, plate or other flat, thin material containing an elongated hole having a first end and a second end, the first end being large enough to fit over the ridge of a male pneumatic quick connect fitting and the remainder of the elongated hole having parallel sides and a width narrower than the diameter of the ridge of the male pneumatic fitting and wider than the diameter of the fitting groove of the male pneumatic fitting so the first end of the elongated hole can be placed over the ridge of the a male pneumatic fitting and positioned over the fitting groove, then moved perpendicular to the male pneumatic fitting and then being secured by placing a locking device through the first end of the elongated hole.

9. An opening in sheet, plate, or other flat, thin material, the opening having a first end and a second end, the first end being large enough to allow the outer ridge diameter of a male pneumatic connector to pass through with only enough clearance to allow easy, no contact passage and which is close enough to an outside edge of the material to allow a padlock, hasp, lockout tag, or other device to be inserted through the first end, the second end of the opening having parallel sides and being wider than the groove of the male pneumatic fitting and narrower than the outer ridge diameter of the male pneumatic fitting so as to not allow the male pneumatic fitting to be removed through the second end of the opening and not be allowed to be positioned in the first end of the opening when a padlock, hasp, lockout tag or other device is inserted through the first end of the opening, thus securing the male pneumatic fitting in the opening.

10. A method of securing a male pneumatic connector fitting with a device having an opening as described in claim 9 comprised of the following steps. Step 1) The first end of the opening is placed over the male pneumatic fitting ridge. Step 2) The second end of the opening having parallel sides is positioned in the groove of the male pneumatic fitting. Step 3) A padlock, hasp, lockout tag or other type of device is then inserted through the first end of the opening preventing the removal of the device from the male pneumatic fitting and thus preventing the male pneumatic fitting from being connected to a compressed air supply.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] FIG. 1 illustrates a male pneumatic fitting aligned with the one piece pneumatic lockout device.

[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates the larger hole end of the one piece pneumatic lockout device positioned on the male pneumatic fitting.

[0017] FIG. 3 illustrates the slotted hole of the one piece pneumatic lockout device positioned about the groove of the male pneumatic fitting.

[0018] FIG. 4 illustrates the one piece pneumatic lockout device positioned on the male pneumatic fitting and secured by a padlock. This illustration should be used as the front page drawing.

[0019] FIG. 5 illustrates a schematic view of the configuration and parts of the hole in the one piece pneumatic lockout device.

[0020] FIG. 6 gives a perspective view of the configuration of the hole in the one piece pneumatic lockout device.

[0021] FIG. 7 illustrates a side view of a typical male pneumatic fitting indicating the shape and locations of the ridge and groove.

[0022] FIG. 8 illustrates a side view of a male pneumatic fitting aligned with a female pneumatic coupler in a position ready for connection.

[0023] FIG. 9 illustrates a side view of a male pneumatic fitting connected with a female pneumatic coupler allowing air flow through the connected devices.

[0024] FIG. 10 illustrates a side view of the one piece pneumatic lockout device secured to a male pneumatic fitting by a padlock and aligned with a female pneumatic coupler.

[0025] FIG. 11 illustrates a side view of the one piece pneumatic lockout device secured to a male pneumatic fitting by a padlock and a female pneumatic coupler placed on the male pneumatic fitting against the one piece pneumatic lockout device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0026] Referring to the drawing sheets and particularly FIG. 1, there is disclosed a one piece pneumatic lockout device, indicated by reference number 20, that is used to fit over a male pneumatic fitting indicated by reference number 21 in a manner to prevent a female pneumatic coupler 23 to be connected to the male pneumatic fitting. Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 7, the one piece pneumatic lockout device has a slotted hole 24 (FIG. 5) of at least inch in length having a hole 25 (FIG. 5) with a larger diameter than the width of the slotted hole at one end of the slotted hole. The width of the slotted hole is narrower than the diameter of the ridge 27 (FIG. 7) of the male pneumatic fitting, but wider than the diameter of the groove 26 (FIG. 7) of the male pneumatic fitting. The shape and configuration of the hole in the one piece pneumatic lockout device are further illustrated in FIG. 6.

[0027] The disclosed one piece pneumatic lockout device is used as follows: The large hole 25 (FIG. 5) is place over the ridge (FIG. 7) and about the groove 26 (FIG. 7) as shown in FIG. 2. The slotted hole 24 (FIG. 5) is moved along the groove 26 (FIG. 5) to the end of the groove as shown in FIG. 3. The groove 26 (FIG. 5) will not fit over the ridge 27 (FIG. 7) of the male pneumatic fitting 21, thereby preventing the removal of the one piece pneumatic lockout device 20. A padlock 22, safety hasp or other locking device is then inserted through the large hole 25 (FIG. 5) of the device, thereby preventing the removal of the device from the male pneumatic fitting 21 as illustrated in FIG. 4.

[0028] The effect of the one piece pneumatic lockout device is illustrated in FIG. 8, FIG. 9, FIG. 10 and FIG. 11. FIG. 8 illustrates a male pneumatic fitting 21 aligned with a female pneumatic coupler 23. FIG. 9 illustrates the female pneumatic coupler 23 in place over the male pneumatic fitting 21 allowing air flow from the coupler to the male fitting. FIG. 10 shows the one piece pneumatic lockout device 20 installed on the male pneumatic fitting 21 with a padlock 22 as previously described. FIG. 11 shows a pneumatic female coupler 23 placed on the male pneumatic fitting 21 with the one piece pneumatic lockout device 20 installed as in FIG. 10.

[0029] FIG. 11 illustrates that the pneumatic female coupler 23 cannot be placed in the connected position when the one piece pneumatic lockout device 20 is installed on the male pneumatic fitting 21.