U.S. patent application number 15/946485 was filed with the patent office on 2018-10-11 for grease tank with anti-tipping follower.
The applicant listed for this patent is C.H.& I. Technologies, Inc.. Invention is credited to Michael Nicholls, Eric A. Williams.
Application Number | 20180290817 15/946485 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 63710185 |
Filed Date | 2018-10-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180290817 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Williams; Eric A. ; et
al. |
October 11, 2018 |
GREASE TANK WITH ANTI-TIPPING FOLLOWER
Abstract
A tank for transporting, storing, and dispensing viscous
materials is disclosed having a cylindrical body, and spherical
ends. The tank further comprises an ellipsoidal follower device
used to force the viscous material through the tank, the follower
device having an upper half, and lower half, and a centerline. A
plurality of stabilizing fins are rigidly connected to the
ellipsoidal follower device at the centerline and extending axially
along the tank's inner wall, the stabilizing fins disposed between
a periphery of the ellipsoidal follower device and an inner wall of
the cylindrical body. The fins serve as an anti-tipping device to
maintain the follower in the proper orientation even upon rested in
a horizontal position.
Inventors: |
Williams; Eric A.; (Ojai,
CA) ; Nicholls; Michael; (Ventura, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
C.H.& I. Technologies, Inc. |
Santa Paula |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
63710185 |
Appl. No.: |
15/946485 |
Filed: |
April 5, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62484250 |
Apr 11, 2017 |
|
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|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D 88/544 20130101;
B65D 88/748 20130101; B05B 9/047 20130101; B65D 83/0083 20130101;
B65D 88/128 20130101; B65D 88/00 20130101; B65D 83/0033 20130101;
B67D 7/0238 20130101; B65D 88/08 20130101 |
International
Class: |
B65D 83/00 20060101
B65D083/00 |
Claims
1. A tank for transporting, storing, and dispensing viscous
materials having a cylindrical body, and spherical ends, the tank
further comprising: an ellipsoidal follower device having an upper
half, and lower half, and a centerline; a plurality of stabilizing
fins rigidly connected to the ellipsoidal follower device at the
centerline and extending axially, the stabilizing fins disposed
between a periphery of the ellipsoidal follower device and an inner
wall of the cylindrical body; whereby a length of the stabilizing
fins is equal to a height of the upper half and quarter depth of
the lower half of the ellipsoidal follower device.
2. The tank of claim 1, wherein the stabilizing fins number four
and are equally spaced around a perimeter of the ellipsoidal
follower device.
3. The tank of claim 2, wherein the stabilizing fins have a depth
that is four times less than a width.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional
Patent Application No. 62/484,250, filed Apr. 11, 2017, the content
of which is fully incorporated by reference herein.
BACKGROUND
[0002] This invention relates generally to a system for
transporting or storing viscous materials, such as greases, oils,
and non-Newtonian fluids, as well as liquid materials, such as
inks, etc., in bulk quantities, and more particularly to a tank
adapted to quickly and efficiently unload or dispense the material
contained therein.
[0003] Vast amounts of viscous materials are used in transportation
and industry. Thick, lubricating greases are used to lubricate
vehicles and machinery, and thick, viscous chemicals are used in
industry. In the food processing arts, cheeses, cream, food pastes
and the like must be moved from point to point without excessively
degrading the food's quality and freshness. In the manufacture of
fine chemicals and pharmaceutical products, viscous materials are
often used, and maintaining the quality of these viscous materials
is of vital importance.
[0004] Delivering and dispensing viscous materials has always
presented a challenge to manufacturers because these materials tend
to adhere to their containers and through repeated refills
eventually coat the pumping machinery used to deliver the viscous
materials. Prior art methods of delivery viscous fluids have
concentrated on establishing and maintaining a fluid tight seal
between pushing pistons or follower plates, and sidewalls of the
containers of viscous materials. The devices of U.S. Pat. No.
5,248,069 to Consaga et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,702 to Crosby, et
al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,028 to Hume are all directed to
establishing a close seal.
[0005] These prior art devices, however, are highly susceptible to
disruption if the sidewalls of the viscous material container
becomes even slightly out of round or are dented. Moreover, the
systems of Consaga et al. and Hume in particular, require high
precision in all its parts, and require relatively bulky and
expensive equipment.
[0006] To overcome this obstacles, reusable tanks were developed
for dispensing thick viscous materials, from a sealed pressure
container having sidewalls of generally cylindrical shape, having
an inert gas inlet at a top region, and a viscous material ingress
and egress opening at a bottom region, wherein a pressurizing
follower device is located inside the sealed pressure container,
said pressurizing follower device having a lower body portion and
an upper body portion. The lower body portion and upper body
portion are preferably connected in a circular interface region
which is smaller in diameter than the internal cross-sectional
diameter of the cylindrical sealed pressure container and said
pressurizing follower device having means to prevent the circular
interface region from directly contacting the inside of the
sidewall of the cylindrical container. Such a tank is disclosed in
U.S. Pat. No. 5,435,468 to Clark II, the contents of which are
fully incorporated herein by reference.
[0007] In use of the system the container, when filled with viscous
material through its ingress and egress opening, raises the
pressurizing follower device in the sealed pressure container and
forms a viscous material seal between the interface region of the
pressurizing follower device and the inside of the sidewall of the
container. By applying inert gas pressure to the pressurizing
follower device from above, the pressurizing follower device will
force the viscous material out of the container through the viscous
material ingress and egress opening. The apparatus of the invention
can be repeatedly refilled and reused without any intermediate
cleaning or reconditioning of the container.
[0008] The pressurizing follower device is contained inside the
sealed pressure cylinder and the pressurizing follower device has a
lower body portion which is generally rounded in shape to conform
to the shape of the generally hemispherical lower end of the
pressure cylinder and an upper body portion which is generally
rounded in shape to conform to the shape of the generally
hemispherical upper end of the pressure cylinder. The upper body
portion of the follower device has a small orifice formed in a top
portion thereof and said upper body portion and lower body portion
are preferably connected together along a circular interface region
which is smaller in diameter than the internal cross-sectional
diameter of the cylindrical pressure container. The follower device
is weighted in its lower body portion so that the weight of the
viscous material displaced by its lower body portion is about equal
to the total weight of the follower device. In this way, the
pressurizing follower device resides in the viscous material with
the viscous material coming up to about its interface region. The
follower device preferably has a plurality of fins extending
radially outwardly from the vicinity of the interface region. These
fins have narrow terminating points or edges which generally do not
make contact with the inside surface of the sidewalls of the
cylinder, and if they do, only make a slight scrape line of the
viscous material on the insides of the sidewalls of the cylinder,
which scrape lines are readily filled in.
[0009] In the use of the system, the pressure cylinder is filled
with viscous material through a common ingress and egress opening
near the bottom of the tank, which raises the pressurizing follower
device in the pressure cylinder and forms a viscous material seal
between the interface region (and the fins) and the inside of the
sidewalls of cylinders. By applying inert gas pressure to the
pressurizing follower device from above, the pressurizing follower
device will force the viscous material out of the container through
the viscous material ingress and egress opening, all the while
maintaining the seal between the pressuring follower device and the
inside of the sealed pressure cylinder.
[0010] The problem with the prior art system is demonstrated in
FIGS. 1 and 2. When the tanks are being transported, it has been
discovered that the tanks are sometimes laid horizontal for brief
periods against expressed instructions forbidding this practice
during unloading, exchanging vehicles, storage, and the like. Since
the follower device has a radial dimension that is smaller than the
inner diameter of the tank, when the tank is laid on its side the
follower device can tip or tilt when compared with the longitudinal
axis of the tank. When tank is returned to the horizontal position,
the follower device remains tilted/offset in the tank and this
causes the tank to become inoperable or ineffective and dispensing
the material therein. The present invention is directed to
remedying this shortcoming.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] The present invention is a modified tank having a
pressurizing follower device inside the sealed pressure cylinder,
said pressurizing follower device having a lower, body portion, an
upper, body portion, the upper body portion and lower body portion
being preferably connected together along a circular interface
region which is smaller in diameter than the internal
cross-sectional diameter of the cylindrical pressure container.
Along the interface are four elongate fins that project axially
away from the circular interface by approximately the height of the
upper body portion of the follower device. These four fins
cooperate with the sides of the container to maintain the follower
device in a proper orientation when the tank is horizontal and
prevents the follower device from tilting when the tank is returned
to its vertical orientation. The length of the fins will have a
minimum value that will prevent the tipping of the follower device,
below which the follower device will still tilt based on the
dimensions of the tank and the difference between the follower
device's diameter and the tank's diameter.
[0012] The invention will best be understood with respect to the
figures described below along with the detailed description of the
preferred embodiment of the invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG. 1 is a side view, partially in shadow, of a prior art
system;
[0014] FIG. 2 is a side view, partially in shadow, of a prior art
system;
[0015] FIG. 3 is a side view, partially in shadow, of the present
invention;
[0016] FIG. 4 is a top view of the follower device of FIG. 3;
[0017] FIG. 5 is an enlarged, side view of the follower device of
FIG. 3; and
[0018] FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the follower device of FIG.
3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0019] FIG. 3 illustrates a tank 10 designed to store, transport,
and dispense viscous materials, having a tank body 100 that rests
upon a stand or base 102. The tank has semi-spherical upper and
lower ends 104,106 that are joined to the cylindrical body 100 by
annular rings 108. A material ingress/egress port 110 is located at
the bottom of the tank 10, and a cap 112 and pressure valve 114 are
located on the spherical upper end 104.
[0020] FIG. 3 further illustrates an improved ellipsoidal follower
device in a grease tank 10 having stabilizing fins 20 that extend
longitudinally away from a centerline joining the upper body 30
from the lower body 40 of the follower device 50. The stabilizing
fins 20 extend both above and below the centerline 25, although in
a preferred embodiment they extend substantially to a height of the
upper body 30, but extend only one fourth of that distance below
the centerline 25. The presence of the stabilizing fins 20 prevent
the follower device 50 from tipping when the tank is laid sideways
because the fins 20 keep in contact with the inside wall 60 of the
tank 10 and maintain a parallel relationship with the inside wall
at all times, no matter what position or angle the tank 10 is
placed. There is a critical length L' of the stabilizing fin 20
that is related to the distance between the diameter D.sub.D of the
follower device 50 and the diameter D.sub.T of the tank 10, whereby
the angle that the follower device 50 may lean given the tolerance
before it will not return to its original position is a function of
the weight of the follower device 50, the number of fins 20, the
surface roughness R.sub.S of the inner wall 60 of the tank 10, and
the internal pressure P.sub.i in the tank. However, it has been
found that in most cases a length L that extends to the height of
the upper body 30 and twenty five percent (25%) of the depth of the
lower body 40 will preserve the orientation of the follower device
50 in virtually all cases and prevent the condition where tipping
leads to a non-operational condition.
[0021] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the stabilizing fins 20 are thin
blade like members (i.e., a depth four times less than a width)
that do not interfere with the follower device's function of
forcing the material through the tank 10, and further operate as
spacers that keep the follower device 50 centered within the tank
10 to protect the tank from marring and damage due to contact with
the follower device. The number of stabilizing fins 20 can be
increased from four to further stabilize the follower device,
although it has been found that four will meet the conditions for
stability required in most applications. The fins 20 can be
attached by welding in a preferred embodiment, but a small bracket
can also be used to fasten the fins 20 to the follower device's
centerline 25. It is important that the attachment of the
stabilizing fins 20 result in a rigid connection, as any flexure
can lead back to the original problem where the follower device
tilts excessively and cannot return to its intended orientation.
For that reason, the connection of the fins 20 to the follower
device 50 must maintain the fins 20 in a tangential relationship
with sufficient rigidity to resist bending. To this end, the
thickness of the fins must also be of a value to prevent
appreciable bending as the tank is laid horizontal, to prevent the
follower device from tilting or tipping from the parallel
relationship with the longitudinal axis of the tank.
[0022] While a preferred embodiment has been described and depicted
in the drawings, it is to be understood that the scope of the
present invention is not to be limited to the description of the
preferred embodiments or the depictions in the drawings. One of
ordinary skill in the art would readily appreciate that
modifications and substitutions would be available to such
described embodiments, and the invention in intended to incorporate
and include all such modifications and substitutions. Accordingly,
nothing in this specification should be taken as limiting the
invention to anything characterized herein unless expressly
stated.
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