LPG tankers have a bottom flap underneath the tanker where it is filled (in addition to an isolation valve) to ensure safety during transport. The flap prevents any flow of liquid during transport.

 The flap must be open when the tanker is filled. It is opened by a pneumatic cylinder using the tanker’s compressed air network.

 As this air network belongs entirely to the tanker, no depot safety device can activate the bottom flap.

 If the filling centre is evacuated, the flap will only be closed if the driver cuts off the compressed air network before evacuating the loading station. Without this action, the tanker is left at the loading station with the flap open.

LARCO has come up with an innovative solution to correct this flaw in site safety :

Instead of being connected directly to the bottom flap, the pneumatic circuit is connected to a stainless steel box installed in the loading bay.
This box has a three-way solenoid valve among other things.
The solenoid valve is driven directly by the site’s loading PLC and is used to :

Inject pressurised air at the flap in normal loading conditions

Discharge the air outwards in an alarm

Thus, the Smart Tanker Safety Coupler allows the site to incorporate the tanker’s bottom flap opening circuit directly into the filling centre’s safety loop.