U.S. patent application number 11/431445 was filed with the patent office on 2007-02-22 for fuel tank and filler packet for dispersing ballistic shock.
Invention is credited to Ronald L. Fenton.
Application Number | 20070039956 11/431445 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 46325478 |
Filed Date | 2007-02-22 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070039956 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Fenton; Ronald L. |
February 22, 2007 |
Fuel tank and filler packet for dispersing ballistic shock
Abstract
An improved tank design incorporates a new shock dispersing
filler packet insert. This filler packet is formed from a sheet of
foil and exhibits in its unformed shape an expanded foil center and
an unexpanded denser border. All of the edges of the foil sheet are
then folded inwardly and the filler insert is finally rolled and
secured to produce a cylindrical packet having a dense core. Once
the fuel tank is filled with these packets, the ballistic shock is
dissipated by the distributed dense portions within the tank.
Inventors: |
Fenton; Ronald L.; (Mt.
Prospect, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Douglas B. White
21 Carrol Lane
Cary
IL
60013
US
|
Family ID: |
46325478 |
Appl. No.: |
11/431445 |
Filed: |
May 10, 2006 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10367467 |
Feb 14, 2003 |
|
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11431445 |
May 10, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
220/88.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A62C 3/06 20130101; B65D
90/22 20130101; B60K 15/00 20130101; B60K 2015/03381 20130101; A62C
3/065 20130101; B60P 3/22 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
220/088.1 |
International
Class: |
B65D 90/22 20060101
B65D090/22 |
Claims
1. A filler packet for a fuel tank for dispersing ballistic shock
comprising: a fuel permeable body portion formed from a sheet of
metal foil material, said sheet being first expanded into a mesh
and then formed into said body portion; and a dense portion
exhibiting a higher density than said sheet of metal foil material
in its unexpanded state from which said body portion is formed.
2. The filler packet of claim 1 wherein said body portion comprises
said sheet of metal foil formed into a packet, wherein edges of
said sheet are positioned inwardly of said packet.
3. The filler packet of claim 1 wherein said filler packet is
formed from a sheet of metal foil material, wherein said sheet of
metal foil material comprises an expanded center region and an
unexpanded border region defined thereon, wherein said border
region exhibits a higher density than said sheet of metal foil
material in its unexpanded state used to form said center region,
and wherein said center region is formed to provide said body
portion of said filler packet and said border region is positioned
within said packet interior to provide said dense portion of said
filler packet.
4. The filler packet of claim 1 wherein said dense portion of said
packet comprises a member positioned within said packet.
5. The filler packet of claim 1 wherein said filler packet is
thermally conductive.
6. The filler packet of claim 5 wherein said body portion comprises
said sheet of metal foil formed into a packet, wherein edges of
said sheet are positioned inwardly of said packet.
7. The filler packet of claim 6 wherein said filler packet is
formed from a sheet of metal foil material, wherein said sheet of
metal foil material comprises an expanded center region and an
unexpanded border region defined thereon, wherein said border
region exhibits a higher density than said sheet of metal foil
material in its unexpanded state used to form said center region,
and wherein said center region is formed to provide said body
portion of said filler packet and said border region is positioned
within said packet interior to provide said dense portion of said
filler packet.
8. The filler packet of claim 5 wherein said dense portion of said
packet comprises a member positioned within said packet.
9. The filler packet of claim 3 wherein said border region defined
on said sheet of metal foil material comprises a plurality of
layers of metal foil sheet material.
10. The filler packet of claim 1 further comprising means for
securing said filler packet.
11. A fuel tank for dispersing ballistic shock comprising: an
enclosure for containing fuel; a plurality of filler packets for
dispersing ballistic shock positioned within said enclosure;
wherein said filler packets each comprise: a fuel permeable body
portion formed from a sheet of metal foil material, said sheet
being first expanded into a mesh and then formed into said body
portion; and a dense portion exhibiting a higher density than said
sheet of metal foil material in its unexpanded state from which
said body portion is formed.
12. The fuel tank of claim 11 wherein said body portion of each of
said respective filler packets comprises said sheet of metal foil
formed into a packet, wherein edges of said sheet are positioned
inwardly of said packet.
13. The fuel tank of claim 11 wherein each of said respective
filler packets is formed from a sheet of metal foil material,
wherein said sheet of metal foil material comprises an expanded
center region and an unexpanded border region defined thereon,
wherein said border region exhibits a higher density than said
sheet of metal foil material in its unexpanded state used to form
said center region, and wherein said center region is formed to
provide said body portion of said respective filler packet and said
border region is positioned within said respective packet interior
to provide said dense portion of said filler packet.
14. The fuel tank of claim 11 wherein said dense portion of said
filler packets comprises a member positioned within said packet
15. The fuel tank of claim 11 wherein said filler packets are
thermally conductive.
16. The tank of claim 15 wherein said body portion of said
respective filler packets comprises said sheet of metal foil formed
into a packet, wherein edges of said sheet are positioned inwardly
of said packet.
17. The fuel tank of claim 16 wherein each of said filler packets
is formed from a sheet of metal foil material, wherein said sheet
of metal foil material comprises an expanded center region and an
unexpanded border region defined thereon, wherein said border
region exhibits a higher density than said sheet of metal foil
material in its unexpanded state used to form said center region,
and wherein said center region is formed to provide said body
portion of said respective filler packet and said border region is
positioned within said respective packet interior to provide said
dense portion of said filler packet.
18. The fuel tank of claim 15 wherein said dense portion of said
filler packets comprises a member positioned within said
packet.
19. The fuel tank of claim 13 wherein said border region defined on
said sheet of metal foil material further comprises a plurality of
layers of metal foil sheet material.
20. The fuel tank of claim 11 further comprising means for securing
each of said filler packets.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This is a Continuation-in-Part of prior U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 10/367,467, now abandoned.
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
[0002] Not Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] 1. Field of the Invention
[0004] The present invention relates generally to receptacles, such
as fuel tanks, used to hold combustible liquid, and further relates
to explosion suppression devices for such tanks in the nature of
filler elements or filler packets positioned within the tank. More
particularly, this invention relates to a new design for such a
filler packet which improves its effectiveness in maintaining tank
integrity during the impact and subsequent penetration by a
ballistic body.
[0005] 2. Description of the Prior Art
[0006] It is well known in the prior art that a filler mass insert
or packet may be formed from expanded foil mesh and used as an
insert within a tank to suppress explosion. This "expanded" foil
mesh is formed from an "unexpanded" sheet of metal foil which is
slit and pulled to "expand" the sheet into a foil mesh (see U.S.
Pat. No. 5,000,336). These thermal inserts serve to absorb and
transmit the heat encountered during a fire or explosion, thereby
eliminating hot spots in the tank that could result in the ignition
of the tank contents. The typical prior art filler insert is formed
of multiple layers of an expanded metal foil, as described in U.S.
Pat. No. 3,356,256, U.S. Pat. No. 5,000,336, U.S. Pat. No.
6,604,644, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,921,118. The resulting filler mass
can also be rolled into a coil, cut into pieces and stacked, or
fan-folded, as described in U.S. patents U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,649
and No. 4,556,589, to produce a filler mass insert of the size and
shape of the tank.
[0007] In order to provide protection from the impact of a bomb
blast, there has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,364 that a
tank wall could be padded to absorb the shockwave of the blast.
This shockwave absorbing pad is described as two sheets of expanded
metal foil applied to the exterior of a tank wall and separated by
a layer of balls also formed from the expanded foil.
[0008] Although such a padded wall provides limited exterior
absorption of the shockwave from a bomb blast, when a tank is
struck with a ballistic body, such as a bullet, this shock
absorbing padding is easily penetrated. And in such a case, the
ballistic body carries with it into the tank a powerful
concentrated shockwave that can ultimately cause the tank to
disintegrate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0009] Accordingly, it is the principal objective of this invention
to present a new tank design which resists disintegration caused by
a projectile.
[0010] It is a further objective to present a new thermal insert
which serves to dissipate the thermal hot spots and suppress
explosion, yet also serves to dissipate the ballistic shockwave
accompanying a projectile.
[0011] It is yet another objective of the present invention to
provide an insert packet and its method of manufacture which is
both effective and economical.
[0012] The present invention provides a solution for the above
noted vulnerability to the ballistic effect on the tank by
providing a new filler packet insert and an improved tank design
incorporating the new filler packet insert. This filler packet
begins, in its unformed shape, with a foil sheet having an expanded
foil center and an unexpanded border region of denser material. All
of the edges of the foil sheet are then folded inwardly and this
folded packet is finally rolled to produce a cylindrical packet
having a defined dense portion within the packet. (Alternatively, a
separate dense portion or object may be inserted into a
packet.)
[0013] A tank interior is provided with these filler packets to
provide a fluid permeable tank volume having the dense portions of
the filler packets dispersed throughout the tank. These spaced
dense masses then serve to dissipate the ballistic shockwave
accompanying the projectile.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tank having within its
interior a plurality of filler packets in accordance with the
present invention.
[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a completed filler packet in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a sheet of partially
expanded foil sheet for the manufacture of the filler packet in
accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, showing an
unexpanded dense border region.
[0017] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a sheet of partially
expanded foil sheet for the manufacture of a filler packet, this
foil sheet being similar to the sheet of FIG. 3 but with a dense
border region on just two sides.
[0018] FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the sheet of FIG. 4
showing a folding technique for the manufacture of a filler packet
in accordance with the present invention.
[0019] FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view of the folded sheet of FIG.
5 showing further folding steps in the construction of a filler
packet.
[0020] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the folded sheet of FIG. 6
showing further folding steps in the construction of a filler
packet.
[0021] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the folded sheet of FIG. 7
showing the completion of the folding construction.
[0022] FIG. 8a is a perspective view of the folded filler packet of
FIG. 8, but showing an alternative construction of the filler
packet with the addition of a dense member.
[0023] FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view of the filler packet of
FIG. 8 rolled into a cylinder.
[0024] FIG. 9a is a cross sectional view of the filler packet of
FIG. 8a rolled into a cylinder, showing an alternate construction
of the filler packet.
[0025] While the invention will be described in connection with a
preferred embodiment, it will be understood that it is not the
intent to limit the invention to that embodiment. On the contrary,
it is the intent to cover all alternatives, modifications, and
equivalents as may be included within the spirit and scope of the
invention as defined by the appended claims.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0026] Turning first to FIG. 1 there is shown a tank 12 in
accordance with the present invention having filler packets 14
positioned within the interior thereof. These packets are
preferably thermally conductive and positioned in thermal contact
with the exterior walls 16 of the tank to thereby dissipate heat
from the tank wall, as is now well known in the art. In the
preferred embodiment, the individual filler packets 14 of the
present invention (one embodiment of which is shown in FIG. 2) each
exhibit a thermally conductive porous fuel permeable body portion
18 for accommodating fuel within the tank and suppressing explosion
by thermal conduction. However, for suppressing ballistic shock, a
denser portion or member 20 is provided within each packet 14,
which denser portion or member 20 has a greater mass density than
that of the sheet of foil material in its unexpanded state used for
the outer body portion 18, as more fully described below.
[0027] Formation of one embodiment of a filler packet in accordance
with the present invention begins with a sheet of unexpanded metal
foil. There is shown in FIG. 4 one embodiment of a sheet of metal
foil 26, having a defined center region 28 which has been expanded
into a mesh according to techniques well known to the art, and
further having a defined denser outer border region 30 (on at least
one side) of unexpanded foil. This denser border region is
comprised of foil material having a higher density than the density
of the sheet of foil material in its unexpanded state used to form
the center region 28. Similarly, in FIG. 3 there is shown a second
embodiment of a foil sheet 26a for construction of the filler
packet. In this second embodiment, the unexpanded higher density
border region 30a extends along all sides surrounding the expanded
lower density center region 28a. As equivalent alternatives, the
higher density border region (in whole or in part) may
comprise:
[0028] (a) a higher density material than that used for the center
region;
[0029] (b) multiple layers of the foil sheet or an added layer of
dense material, where the composite of layers in the border region
has a higher density the sheet of metal foil material in its
unexpanded state from which the center region is formed; or
[0030] (c) any other equivalent means which serves to increase the
mass density within that border region relative to the density of
the metal foil sheet (in its unexpanded state) used for the center
region 28, or ultimately increases the mass density in a defined
portion of the completed filler packet.
[0031] The construction of the filler element is shown in detail in
the sequence of steps depicted in FIGS. 5-8 and 8a, and will be
described with respect to the sheet of foil shown in FIG. 4; the
construction with the sheet of foil shown in FIG. 3, and variations
thereof being identical thereto. The sheet is first bent or folded
along lines 32 and 34 (FIGS. 5 and 6) to thereby cause the
peripheral edges 36 and 38 to be positioned inwardly toward the
center of the packet. This inward positioning of the peripheral
edges 36 and 38 is a safety measure, as it serves to place those
cut edges within the center of the filler packet to trap any pieces
of the sheet which might break off and enter the fuel in the tank.
In the embodiments where these edges carry dense border regions,
those dense regions will also be placed near the center of the
packet.
[0032] Next in the construction of the filler packet, the sides 30
bearing higher density border regions are bent or folded along
lines 40 and 42 (FIG. 7) to position those dense regions inwardly
of the packet, as shown in FIG. 8. Alternatively, the filler packet
at this stage of construction may have a dense member 52 placed
within the packet, as shown in FIG. 8a, to produce or enhance the
higher density portion of the packet. As a further alternative, the
addition of the dense member 52 may be employed in place of the
aforementioned dense border region of the foil sheet, allowing the
filler packet to be formed from a sheet of foil having a uniform
density. Such additional dense member 52 preferably presents a
higher density than said sheet of foil material from which said
body portion of said filler packet is formed, but it may be of a
lower density when used in conjunction with the aforementioned
dense border region. Finally, although the dense member 52 is shown
positioned near the center of the packet, such center positioning
is not required.
[0033] Finally, the flat intermediate folded member of FIG. 8 or
FIG. 8a is rolled or otherwise formed into the completed packet of
FIG. 9 and FIG. 9a respectively. Once the filler packet is
completely formed (FIG. 2), means for securing the packet, such as
a band 62, or other equivalent means for securing the packet, is
applied to secure the formed packet and to keep it in its final
shape during its insertion into the tank. The secured, completed
packet is shown in perspective in FIG. 2 and shown partially
filling the tank in FIG. 1.
[0034] When a fuel tank is provided with the filler packets (the
tank shown in FIG. 1 is partially filled), a multitude of dense
portions of the packets are broadly distributed throughout the
volume of the tank, thereby presenting a non-homogenous internal
volume with numerous distributed dense mass concentrations.
Alternatively, although it is preferred that all of these inserts
present dense portions, it is within the scope of the invention
that some, but not all, of the insert packets will present dense
portions. Further, it is also within the scope of this invention
that the filler packets could present dense portions of varying
degrees of mass concentrations, and thereby accomplish the same
purposes and objectives.
[0035] From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that
modifications can be made to the apparatus and method for using
same without departing from the teachings of the present invention.
Accordingly, the scope of the invention is only to be limited as
necessitated by the accompanying claims.
* * * * *