Gas filling apparatus

摘要

A gas filling apparatus comprising a lance and control unit remote from the lance is disclosed. The lance has a dispensing nozzle for dispensing gas through an aperture. The lance additionally has a manually operable switch for sending a signal to the control unit to commence dispensing of gas. The provision of the manually operable switch on the lance should result in less errors being made during the filling process, particularly where a plurality of lances are simultaneously operated by a single operator. The lance may additionally comprise a visual indicator indicating the state reached in the dispensing cycle.

主权项

1. A gas filling apparatus, comprising:
a lance having a dispensing nozzle for dispensing gas through an aperture; a control unit remote from the lance; and a gas supply line extending from the control unit to the lance, wherein the lance comprises a manually operable switch for sending a signal to the control unit and the control unit is arranged to dispense gas through the lance in response to a signal received from the manually operable switch, wherein the control unit further comprises a vacuum port and a gas sensor for determining the concentration of the dispensed gas type received at the vacuum port, the unit being arranged to terminate the dispensing of gas in response to the gas received at the vacuum port exceeding a predetermined concentration.