Abstract

A Modular Bottle-Mounted Gas Management System (10) that overcomes the problems encountered by previous gas cabinet equipment is disclosed. The present invention comprises a complete gas manifold (22) that includes computer-controlled valves, actuators, regulators and transducers. The entire system resides within a housing (11) that sits atop a conventional gas bottle (12) that would normally be enclosed within a gas cabinet (25) that is many times the volume of the Modular Bottle-Mounted Gas Management System 10. Outside the housing (11), an upper control panel (13) contains an LCD display (14) and a lower control panel (15) holds a keypad control (16), a removable data pack (17), LED indicator lights (18), and an emergency shut-off switch (19). Inside the housing (11), a bottle neck (20) protrudes up from the gas bottle (12) and provides a connection for a supply of gas within it to a gas manifold (22). The gas manifold (22) is an assembly of valves, actuators, pressure regulators, welded fittings, and transducers. The top of the housing (11) is fitted with a process gas outlet (21a), a vent connection (21b), a nitrogen inlet (21c), and a bottle access cover (21d). The top portion of the hinged housing (11) may be swung open to provide access to the gas manifold (22). The present invention provides safe handling of toxic, corrosive, and pyrophoric gases in a double-containment vessel. It utilizes component-to-component welds (65) to allow for the absolute reduction of the size of the manifold (22) while simultaneously reducing the number of mechanical connections. This advanced design delivers unprecedented levels of cleanliness by minimizing the number of particulate traps within the manifold (22).