Relevant Field of Art

The present invention relates to cylinders wherein fuels in the form of fluid are stored. Background Art

Gaseous fuels such as natural gas, propane, butane and LPG, a mixture thereof, and the like are liquefied under high pressure and stored in cylinders so as to be delivered to the users. The purchased cylinders are used by the users by connecting them to ovens, heating boilers, water heaters and similar devices. When the fuel in the cylinder is consumed, the users change the empty cylinder with a filled one. The empty cylinder is returned by the sales dealer to a filling facility so as to be refilled, and delivered back to the users after it is filled.

Filling such refillable cylinders, returning them back from the filling facilities to the sales dealers, selling of same to the users by means of the sales dealers and tracking the delivery of empty cylinders received from the users to the filling facilities, again by means of the sales dealers, is of utmost importance for security. If a cylinder is not tracked, the distributor may be subjected to penal sanctions in accordance with the legislation, and serious problems may be encountered in terms of security, including the re-filling of the cylinder by unauthorized parties and selling of same to the users. Furthermore, in such unauthorized filling, different additives may be introduced into the cylinder and the quality of the fuel may be reduced. This not only poses a danger for the safety of the users but also decreases the brand value of the original cylinder. Additionally, if the cylinders are not tracked, in case of a security-threatening incident that may occur (e.g. an accident, explosion etc.), sufficient information cannot be obtained as to the reasons of the incident or those responsible. Furthermore, if the cylinders cannot be tracked, inventory follow-up for the cylinders cannot be performed in an effective manner. In the state-of-art, as disclosed in US2012187197A1 , RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) elements may be used to track the cylinders. However, said RFID elements are expensive and also said elements may easily get damaged since they are influenced by the magnetic field. Given the number of the filling of cylinders and the movements experienced during the transport of same, RFID elements are not preferred for tracking cylinders.

Brief Description of the Invention With the present invention, there is provided a cylinder wherein fuels in the form of fluid are stored. Said cylinder comprises at least one body wherein a fuel in the form of fluid is stored; at least one valve that is positioned on the body and supplies the fuel in the form of fluid from or into the body; at least one handle positioned on the body; at least one collar connecting the said handle to the body; at least one identifier provided inside the said collar and having thereon at least one visual code specific to the cylinder to which it is connected.

In the cylinder according to the present invention, since the identifier is provided inside the collar, the visual code on the identifier is prevented from being damaged. Thus, the identifier is prevented from being damaged due to external factors so that it is made long- lasting.

Object of the Invention An object of the present invention is to provide:

a cylinder that is being tracked,

- a cylinder comprising an identifier that is varied for each cylinder, - a cylinder, the identifier of which is durable and long-lasting.

Description of the Drawings The illustrative embodiments of the cylinder according to the present invention are illustrated in the enclosed drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the cylinder according to the present invention. Figure 2 is a detailed view of an identifier used in the cylinder according to the present invention.

All the parts illustrated in the drawings are individually assigned a reference numeral and the corresponding terms of these numbers are listed as follows:

Cylinder (T)

Body (1)

Valve (2)

Handle (3)

Collar (4)

Identifier (5)

Visual code (6)

Serial number (7)

Brand (8)

Hole (9)

Description of the Invention

Fuels in the form of fluid (e.g. liquefied gaseous fuels such as LPG) are stored in cylinders so as to be delivered to the users. The cylinders wherein gaseous fuels are stored may have various shapes and sizes based on the area of usage and intended purpose (for example, 2 kg camping cylinder, 12 kg domestic cylinder, 24 and 45 kg industrial cylinder etc.). After the fuel inside the said cylinders is consumed, the cylinders are delivered to the filling facilities so as to be re-filled. Tracking of the cylinders during their movements between the filling facility, the sales dealer and the user is of utmost importance for security and inventory follow-up. Therefore, with the present invention, there is provided a cylinder that can be tracked. The cylinder (T) according to the present invention, as illustrated in Figure 1 , comprises at least one body (1) wherein a fuel in the form of fluid is stored; at least one valve (2) that is positioned on the body (1) and supplies the fuel in the form of fluid from or into the body (1); at least one handle (3) positioned on the body (1), preferably on the periphery of the said valve (2); at least one collar (4) connecting the said handle (3) to the body (1); at least one identifier (5) preferably provided inside the said collar (4) (i.e. on that part facing the valve (2)) and having thereon at least one visual code (6) specific to the cylinder (T) to which it is connected. The visual code (6) illustrated in Figure 2 serves as the identity of the cylinder (T), and such information as the serial number, date of manufacture, tare, refill date and testing dates of the cylinder (T) is able to be obtained by means of the visual code (6).

In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, since the visual code (6) in the said identifier (5) is read by a reader during the filling of the cylinder (T) according to the present invention, sending it to the sales dealer, selling it to the users and sending it to the refilling facility, the cylinder (T) may be tracked in an easy and effective manner. Due to the fact that said identifier (5) is provided inside the collar (4), the visual code (6) on the identifier (5) is prevented from being damaged from the outer environment so that the identifier (5) is made durable and long-lasting.

In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, said visual code (6) is in the form of a barcode. However, since the number of the barcodes that may be produced specific to the cylinder (T) is limited and the barcodes do not contain error correction data, it may not be preferred to use barcodes as a visual code (6). Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the visual code (6) is in the form of a two-dimensional code. Since the number of the two-dimensional codes that may be produced specific to the cylinder (T) is higher than that of the barcodes and the two-dimensional codes may contain error correction data (e.g. even if a portion of the two-dimensional code is damaged, the content of the two-dimensional code may be properly deciphered by means of the error correction data), use of the two-dimensional codes is more advantageous than using barcodes. Furthermore, by using a barcode or a two-dimensional code as a visual code (6), the visual code (6) may, for example, be read by a mobile phone with a camera. In this way, the users are allowed to read the visual code (6) using their phones so as to reach to the information about the cylinder (T), when necessary. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, said identifier (5) is in the form of a plate (i.e. a sheet) connected to the collar (4). In this embodiment, the identifier (5) comprises at least one hole (9) for connection with the collar (4). Said hole (9) is preferably located at the center of the identifier (5). In this embodiment, the identifier (5) in the form of a plate is preferably connected to the collar (4) by means of a rivet. In this way, the identifier (5) is connected to the collar (4) in a practical and reliable manner. Furthermore, thanks to the riveted connection, if the said identifier (5) is damaged, the identifier (5) may be changed in an easy manner.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, said identifier (5) includes at least two visual codes (6). In this embodiment, in the event that one of the visual codes (6) is damaged or not read properly, the other visual code (6) may be read. In another preferred embodiment of the invention, said identifier (5) includes at least one serial number (7). In case the visual codes on the identifier are completely damaged, the serial number is entered into the system manually or by an OCR (optical character recognition) method in order to identify the cylinder. In another preferred embodiment, the identifier (5) includes at least one brand (8) information.

In the cylinder (T) according to the present invention, since the identifier (5) is positioned inside the collar (4), the visual code (6) on the identifier is prevented from being damaged and thus the identifier (5) is made long-lasting.