摘要 |
A gas cylinder transport cap is described. The cap has a bottom opening adapted for reversible attachment to a gas cylinder, where the attached cap surrounds a cylinder valve coupled to the gas cylinder. The cap also has a side surface which at least in part defines the perimeter of the bottom opening, where the side surface include a plurality of side openings; and a top surface formed on an opposite side of the cap from the bottom surface, where the top surface includes a top opening. The side openings and top opening improve transmissions of radio-frequency signals from a RFID device positioned inside the cylinder cap when the cap is attached to the gas cylinder. A method of tracking a gas cylinder transported between a first and second location is also described. The method may include the steps of coupling the gas cylinder to a RFID device, loading the gas cylinder on a transportation vehicle, and reading a gas cylinder identification signal transmitted by the RFID device with an RFID signal reader that translates the signal into gas cylinder identification data. The gas cylinder identification data may be associated with location data provided by a GPS device located in the transportation vehicle. The identification and location data may be communicated to gas cylinder tracking system that is remote from the transportation vehicle.
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