U.S. patent number 3,888,045 [Application Number 05/474,311] was granted by the patent office on 1975-06-10 for construction for mounting a door of a pit mounted pressure vessel.
This patent grant is currently assigned to WSF Industries Inc.. Invention is credited to Henry J. Piegza.
United States Patent |
3,888,045 |
Piegza |
June 10, 1975 |
Construction for mounting a door of a pit mounted pressure
vessel
Abstract
A hinge arrangement is provided for supporting the door of a pit
mounted pressure vessel for vertically reciprocating and
horizontally swinging opening-closing movements, whereby to
minimize the "bridging" distance between the vessel and the front
of the pit.
Inventors: |
Piegza; Henry J. (Clarence,
NY) |
Assignee: |
WSF Industries Inc. (Tonawanda,
NY)
|
Family
ID: |
23882975 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/474,311 |
Filed: |
May 30, 1974 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
49/255; 49/334;
49/280; 49/340 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16J
10/00 (20130101); E05F 15/53 (20150115); F16J
13/20 (20130101); E05Y 2900/60 (20130101); E05Y
2900/00 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
F16J
10/00 (20060101); E05F 15/04 (20060101); E05F
15/00 (20060101); F16J 13/20 (20060101); F16J
13/00 (20060101); E05f 007/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;49/255,256,333,334,338-340,344,280 ;109/70,69,87 ;214/17-18.2 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Downey; Kenneth
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Bean & Bean
Claims
I claim:
1. A door mounting mechanism for use with a horizontally disposed
pressure vessel of the type having a shell defining access opening
closeable by said door and a rotatable locking ring mechanism for
releasably locking said door in access opening closed position,
said shell being mounted within a pit of a depth sufficient to
permit a material carrier to be moved essentially horizontally into
and out of said shell when said door is in an open position over a
bridge removably positioned to bridge between said shell and a
floor surface in front of said pit, said mounting mechanism serving
to mount said door for both vertical reciprocating and horizontal
swinging opening-closing movements between open and closed
positions, whereby the "bridging" distance between said shell and
said floor surface is less than that required to accommodate solely
for horizontally directed swinging movements of said door between
said positions, and said mounting mechanism comprising:
a vertically extending bearing shaft;
a first hinge part for mounting said bearing shaft for both
horizontally directed rotary and vertically directed reciprocating
movements;
a second hinge part having one end thereof affixed to said bearing
shaft for movement therewith and an opposite end thereof connected
to said door;
a lift control cylinder for imparting vertical reciprocating
movements to said bearing shaft, whereby to effect vertical
reciprocating movements of said door;
a swing control cylinder for imparting rotary movements to said
bearing shaft; whereby to effect horizontal swinging movements of
said door; and
circuit means for sequentially controlling operation of said lift
and swing control cylinders, whereby in succession to swing said
door horizontally from closed position sufficiently to clear said
locking ring mechanism, to lift said door vertically sufficiently
to clear said floor surface and to swing said door horizontally
into said open position.
2. A mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said circuit means
includes means for releasably locking said lift control cylinder in
all door lifting positions thereof.
3. A mechanism according to claim 2, wherein said circuit means
includes means for releasably locking said swing control cylinder
in all conditions thereof.
4. A mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said lift control
cylinder includes a vertically extending piston rod having its
upper end supportingly coupled to a lower end of said bearing shaft
by a rotatable thrust bearing; and said circuit means includes
conduits connected into lower and upper ends of said lift control
cylinder, valve means for selectively connecting said conduits to a
source of fluid under pressure whereby to extend and retract said
piston rod to lift and lower said bearing shaft, respectively, and
means for releasably locking said piston rod in all extended
positions thereof until operation of said valve means to place said
source of fluid under pressure in communication with said upper end
of said cylinder, said locking means including a check valve
arranged in the conduit connected in said lower end of said
cylinder for permitting passage of fluid therethrough only in a
direction towards said lower end of said cylinder, a bypass valve
connected into said conduit across said check valve and a control
for opening said bypass valve only in response to the operation of
said valve means placing said upper end of said cylinder in
communication with said source through the other of said
conduits.
5. A mechanism according to claim 1, wherein said circuit means
includes conduits connected into opposite ends of said swing
control cylinder, valve means for selectively connecting said
conduits to a source of fluid under pressure whereby to retract and
extend said swing control cylinder to effect horizontal swinging
movement of said door, and additional valve means in each of said
conduits for permitting flow of fluid from an associated end of
said lift control cylinder only upon operation of said valve means
to connect an opposite end of said cylinder to said source of fluid
under pressure.
6. A pressure vessel comprising in combination:
a pressure vessel shell having a horizontally open access opening
and mounting therewithin material support means accessible through
said access opening, said shell being mounted within a pit for
positioning said material support means in substantially horizontal
alignment with a floor surface in front of said pit;
a door for removably closing said access opening;
locking means carried by said shell for releasably locking said
door in access opening closed position, said door when in said
closed position being partially within the confines of both said
pit and said locking means;
hinge means for supporting said door for both horizontally directed
swinging and vertically directed reciprocating movements between
said closed position and an access opening open position, wherein
said door is removed from within the confines of both said pit and
said locking means and disposed above said floor surface;
control means for effecting movement of said door between said
closed and open positions successively through a first intermediate
position effected by a horizontally swinging displacement of said
door from said closed position to remove said door from within the
confines of said locking means and a second intermediate position
effected by a vertical displacement of said door from said first
intermediate position to remove said door vertically from within
the confines of said pit, said door being swung horizontally from
said second intermediate position into said fully open position;
and
a bridge for removably bridging the distance between said floor
surface and said material support means when said door is in said
open position.
7. A pressure vessel according to claim 6, wherein said bridge is
pivotally supported by said material support means and dimensioned
to permit upwardly directed swinging movement thereof to assume a
bridge stored position within the confines of said shell.
8. A pressure vessel according to claim 6, wherein said hinge means
includes a vertically extending bearing shaft, a first hinge part
for mounting said bearing shaft for both horizontally directed
rotary and vertically directed reciprocating movements, a second
hinge part having one end thereof fixed to said bearing shaft for
movement therewith and an opposite end thereof connected to said
door; and said control means includes independent means for
effecting rotary and reciprocating movements of said bearing shaft
and corresponding horizontal swinging and vertical reciprocating
movements of said door.
9. A pressure vessel according to claim 6, wherein said hinge means
includes a vertically extending bearing shaft, a first hinge part
fixed to said shell and carrying vertically aligned upper and lower
bearing devices for supporting said bearing shaft for both
horizontally directed rotary and vertically directed reciprocating
movements, a second hinge part having one end thereof fixed to said
bearing shaft for movement therewith and an opposite end thereof
connected to said door; and said control means includes a lift
control cylinder for imparting vertical reciprocating movements to
said bearing shaft, said lift control cylinder having a cylinder
portion fixed within said pit and a vertically displaceable piston
rod arranged in vertical alignment with said bearing shaft, said
piston rod having an upper end thereof connected to a lower end of
said bearing shaft by a rotatable thrust bearing, a swing control
cylinder for imparting rotary movements to said bearing shaft, said
swing control cylinder having cylinder and piston rod portions
thereof connected one to each of said shell and said second hinge
part for relative universal movements, and fluid circuit means for
sequentially controlling operation of said lift and swing control
cylinders.
10. A pressure vessel according to claim 9, wherein said circuit
means includes conduits connected into upper and lower ends of said
lift control cylinder portion, valve means for selectively
connecting said conduits to a source of fluid under pressure
whereby to extend and retract its associated piston rod to lift and
lower said bearing shaft, respectively, and means for releasably
locking said associated piston rod in all extended positions
thereof until operation of said valve means to place said source of
fluid under pressure in communication with said upper end of said
cylinder portion, said locking means including a check valve
arranged within the conduit connected into said lower end of said
cylinder portion for permitting passage of fluid therethrough only
in a direction towards said lower end of said cylinder portion, a
bypass valve connected into said conduit across said check valve
and a control for opening said bypass valve only in response to the
operation of said valve means placing said upper end of said
cylinder portion in flow communication with said source of fluid
under pressure through the other of said conduits.
11. A pressure vessel according to claim 10, wherein said circuit
means additionally includes conduits connected into opposite ends
of said swing control cylinder portion, valve means for selectively
connecting the last said conduits to said source of fluid under
pressure whereby to retract and extend said swing control cylinder
piston rod to effect horizontal swinging movements of said door,
and additional valve means in each of the last said conduits for
permitting flow of fluid from an associated end of said lift
control cylinder portion only open operation of the last said valve
means to connect an opposite end of said swing control cylinder
portion to said source of fluid under pressure.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is conventional to mount a horizontally disposed pressure vessel
within a pit of a depth sufficient to permit a dolly or other
material carrier to be rolled horizontally into the vessel over a
removable bridge when the vessel door is in open position.
Most installations employ vessels having conventional horizontally
swinging doors and thus require the front wall of the pit to be
spaced from the front of the vessel through a distance
approximating the diameter of the door in order to permit the
latter to be swung into a fully open position. The disadvantages of
this type of installation is that the bridge, which must have a
length sufficient to bridge between the vessel and the floor in
front of the pit, is necessarily heavy and cumbersome to position
and remove when the vessel door is opened and closed.
The "bridging" distance between the vessel and the front of the pit
and thus the length of the bridge may be minimized by employing a
vessel door supported for vertical swinging or reciprocating
movements. However, this type of construction is expensive,
ofttimes creates a serious head room problem and may present a
serious safety problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a hinge arrangement for supporting
the door of a pit mounted pressure vessel for both vertically
reciprocating and horizontally swinging opening-closing movements
in order to minimize the bridging distance between the vessel and
the front wall of the pit without creating a safety hazard when the
door is in open position.
More specifically, the present hinge construction features a door
mounting bearing shaft which is rotatably and slideably supported
by a pair of vertically spaced vessel wall mounted bearings; a
non-rotatable lift control cylinder which is connected to the lower
end of the bearing shaft by a rotatable thrust bearing for
effecting vertical reciprocating movements of the bearing shaft and
door; and a swing control cylinder, which is end connected to the
door and vessel wall for universal movement and is operable to
effect horizontal swinging movements of the door about the axis of
the bearing shaft. The door may be opened by first operating the
swing control cylinder to swing the door sufficiently to clear the
door-vessel locking arrangement, by then operating the lift control
cylinder to lift the door sufficiently to clear the floor in front
of the pit, and finally by again operating the swing control
cylinder to swing the door into its fully open position. The
savings in "bridging" distance between the vessel and the floor in
front of the pit achieved by employing the present hinge
construction permits the bridge to be formed as a permanent part of
the pressure vessel and be of sufficiently light weight to permit
it to be manually pivoted between stored and "bridging" positions
when the vessel door is in open position. As by way of example,
pressure vessels employing the present invention and having door
diameters of 51/2 feet, 9 feet and 15 feet would require bridges
having lengths of approximately 11/2 feet, 2 feet and 3 feet,
respectively.
DRAWINGS
The nature and mode of operation of the present invention will now
be more fully described in the following detailed description taken
with the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pit mounted pressure vessel
employing the present hinge construction with the vessel door shown
in open position.
FIG. 2 is a front elevational view showing the door in closed
position;
FIG. 3 is a side elevational view showing the door in closed
position;
FIG. 4 is a top plan view showing the door in closed position, as
well as various stages of opening; and
FIG. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the control system employed in the
present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
In FIGS. 1-4 of the drawings, a pressure vessel modified in
accordance with the present invention is designated as 10 and shown
as being partially received within a pit 12 having bottom, side and
front walls 14, 15 and 16, respectively. Vessel 10 generally
includes a horizontally disposed, generally cylindrical shell 18,
which may be suitably supported on pit bottom wall 14, as by a
stand 20; a door 22 for normally closing shell access opening 24; a
door locking mechanism 26; a door mounting and operating mechanism
28; and a bridge device 30 adapted to removably bridge the space or
distance between a shell interior mounted material support, such as
tracks 32, and the floor surface 34 in front of pit front wall 16.
As in conventional vessel installations of this type, the depth of
pit 12 is sufficient to permit a dolly or other material carrier,
not shown, to be rolled horizontally from floor 34 across bridge
device 30 and onto tracks 32.
Door locking mechanism 26 is preferably of the type disclosed for
example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,488,883, wherein a locking ring 40 of
essentially U-shaped cross section is mounted for rotation about an
axis extending coaxially of shell 18 and in straddling association
with an annularly extending flange 42, which bounds access opening
24 and defines a radially extending annular surface 44 against
which a corresponding radially extending annular surface 46 of door
22 is adapted to seat in a pressure fluid sealed relationship when
the door is locked in closed position. A forwardly facing leg
portion 40a of locking ring 40 is provided with a plurality of
circumferentially spaced through slot openings 48, which define
intermediate portions 50 having tapered wedge elements, not shown,
fixed to their relatively inwardly disposed surfaces. In a like
fashion door 22 is provided with a plurality of circumferentially
spaced through slot openings 52, which define intermediate portions
54 on which are mounted wedge elements, not shown. It will be
understood that when door 22 is moved into a closed position in the
manner to be described, intermediate portions 54 are adapted to
pass through locking ring slot openings 48 to place surfaces 44 and
46 in juxtaposition with the surfaces of the wedge elements being
disposed in a facing, circumferentially spaced relationship.
Thereafter, when the locking ring is rotated in the direction
indicated by arrow 60 into its locked position illustrated in FIG.
2, as by operation of one or more fluid cylinders 62, the surfaces
of the wedge elements cooperate to force the door into tight fluid
pressure sealing relationship with flange 42. A suitable safety
interlock or latch device 64, such as that disclosed in my
copending application Ser. No. 312,186, filed Dec. 4, 1972, may be
used to releasably retain locking ring 40 in its locked
position.
The pressure vessel of the present invention departs from
conventional pit mounted pressure vessels of which I am aware in
the novel construction of door mounting and operating mechanism 28,
which serves to substantially reduce the spacing between the front
end of shell 18 and pit front wall 16 necessary to accommodate for
opening movements of door 22. More specifically, mechanism 28
comprises a shell side wall mounted or first hinge part 70, which
serves to mount vertically aligned upper and lower sleeve bearing
devices 72 and 74; a vertically extending bearing shaft 76, which
is rotatably and slideably supported by sleeve bearings 72 and 74;
a door mounting or second hinge part 78, which has one end thereof
suitably keyed for movement with bearing shaft 76 and has an
opposite end fixed to door 22; a nonrotatable pit mounted lift
control cylinder 80, which is movably connected or coupled to the
lower end of bearing shaft 76 by a rotatable thrust bearing 82; and
a swing control cylinder 84, which is opposite end connected to the
wall of shell 18 and second hinge part 78 as by suitable universal
couplings 86 and 88, respectively. Alternatively, lift control
cylinder 80 may be directly connected to the second hinge part, and
coupling 88 may be directly connected to the bearing shaft.
Preferably, second hinge 78 would be coupled to door 22 via a third
hinge part and adjustable bearing mechanism 90 of the type
described in above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,488,883. By this
construction, door 22 is carried by shaft 76 for horizontal
swinging movements under the control of swing control cylinder 84
and for vertical reciprocating movements under the control of lift
control cylinder 80.
To facilitate understanding of the mode of operation of mechanism
28, specific reference is made to FIGS. 3 and 4, wherein D-1, D-2,
D-3 and D-4 designate the positions assumed by universal coupling
88 when door 22 is in its fully closed, first intermediate, second
intermediate and fully open positions, respectively.
Cylinders 80 and 84 are part of a control system including
electrical and fluid circuits shown in part in FIG. 5. This system
includes lift control cylinder limit switches LS-3, LS-5 and LS-9,
which are arranged within control box 92 for cooperation with an
operator 94 fixed for vertical movements with piston rod 96 of
control cylinder 80; microswitches LS-2, LS-4, LS-6 and LS-7, which
are arranged within control box 100 and cooperate with operator 102
fixed for movement with piston rod 104 of swing control cylinder
84; shell wall mounted microswitches LS-1 and LS-8, which are
responsive to movements of locking ring 40 into its locked and
unlocked conditions, respectively; and microswitch LS-10, which is
located on safety interlock 64 and responsive to the condition
thereof. These microswitches serve to control pairs of solenoids
SV-1A and SV-1B, SV-2A and SV-2B, and SV-3A and SV-3B, which
control the condition of valves 110, 112 and 114, which in turn
serve to connect locking ring control circuit 120, swing cylinder
control circuit 122 and lift cylinder control circuit 124,
respectively, with a source of fluid under pressure, such as pump
126.
Again referring to FIg. 5, it will be seen that swing cylinder
control circuit 122 includes a first counterbalance valve 130,
which is arranged in conduit 122a connected into the front end of
the cylinder portion 131 of cylinder 84 to apply fluid for the
purpose of driving piston 104 towards a contracted or door open
condition and a second counterbalance valve 132, which is arranged
in conduit 122b connected into the rear end of cylinder portion 131
to apply fluid for the purpose of driving piston 104 towards door
closed condition; valves 130 and 132 including check valves 130a
and 132a, bypass valves 130b and 132b, and bypass valve controllers
130c and 132c, which are arranged in flow communication with and
responsive only to the presence of pump pressure in conduits 122b
and 122a, respectively. Also, it will be seen that lift cylinder
control circuit 124 includes a third counterbalance valve 134,
which is arranged in conduit 124a connected into the lower end of
the cylinder portion 135 of cylinder 80 to apply fluid for the
purpose of driving piston 96 towards an extended or door elevated
position; valve 134 including a check valve 134a, a bypass valve
134b, and a bypass valve controller 134c, which is arranged in flow
communication with conduit 124b connected into the upper end of
cylinder portion 135. It will be understood that the check valves
of valves 130, 132 and 134 serve to prevent exhausting of fluid
from cylinders 80 and 84 through their associated conduits until
positive operating or pump pressure is applied to their associated
bypass valve controllers. By this arrangement piston 104 of swing
cylinder 84 is releasably locked against both door opening and
closing movements whenever control valve 112 is in its closed or
inoperative condition illustrated in FIG. 5. In a like manner,
piston 96 of lift cylinder 80 is releasably locked against door
lowering movement until control valve 114 is operated to connect
conduit 124b to pump 126. This is a particularly desirable feature
of the present invention in that it affords precise control of
intended vertically reciprocating and horizontal swinging opening
and closing movements of door 22 in the manner to be described, as
well as serving to prevent uncontrolled and potentially dangerous
movements of the door in the event of a failure in the control
system.
To facilitate understanding of the mode of operation of the present
invention, it will be assumed that door 22 is in its fully closed
condition, i.e., coupling 88 is in its D-1 position, locking ring
40 is in its locked condition and safety interlock 64 is operable
to prevent unlocking rotations of the locking ring. Thus, lift
control cylinder 80 is in its fully retracted position, which is
sensed by switch LS-5 and swing control cylinder 84 is in its fully
extended position, which is sensed by switch LS-6. Preferably,
safety interlock switch LS-10 is arranged in series circuit with a
switch, not shown responsive to the pressure within shell 18, such
as to require that vessel pressure be essentially zero and the
safety interlock to be in a locking ring releasing condition before
the solenoid operators of any of valves 110, 112 and 114 can be
energized.
Now assuming that the pressure within the vessel has been reduced
to zero and safety interlock 64 has been manually opened, unlocking
movements of locking ring 40 and subsequent opening movements of
door 22 may be automatically controlled, if desired, by simply
depressing an "open" push button type switch, not shown, of an
electrical control circuit, also not shown, in which the previously
described solenoids and microswitches are suitably arranged. The
operation of this electrical control circuit is such that when the
"open" push button switch is depressed, solenoid SV-1A is operated
to open valve 110 to effect extension of cylinders 62 and resultant
rotation of locking ring 40 into its unlocked condition, which is
sensed by switch LS-1. The closing of switch LS-1 serves to
deenergize solenoid SV-1A and to energize solenoid SV-2B, which
serves to operate valve 112, whereby to place cylinder 84 in flow
communication with pump 126 via valve 130 to effect contraction of
cylinder 84 until operator 102 engages switches LS-2 and LS-4 at
which point solenoid SV-2B is deenergized. During this initial
contraction of cylinder 84, coupling 88 is moved from its D-1
position into its D-2 position and door 22 is swung horizontally
about the axis of shaft 76 from its fully closed position into its
first intermediate position, shown in phantom line as 22a in FIG.
4. The extent of horizontal swinging movement of door 22 is chiefly
determined by the requirement that it fully clear or be removed
from within the confines of locking ring 40, whereas the required
spacing between the front of shell 18 and pit front wall 16 is
determined by both the extent of this initial horizontal swinging
momvement of the door and its diameter.
Further, upon operation of switches LS-2 and LS-4, solenoid SV-3A
is energized to operate valve 114 and place cylinder 80 in flow
communication with pump 126 via valve 134, whereby to extend piston
96 and elevate bearing shaft 76 until operator 94 engages switches
LS-3 and LS-9 at which point solenoid SV-3A is deenergized. During
extension of cylinder 80, coupling 88 is moved from its D-2
position into its D-3 position and door 22 is moved vertically from
its first intermediate position into its second intermediate
position. The extent of vertical movement of door 22 is determined
by the requirement that it be moved vertically from within the
confines of the pit, so that it will fully clear floor surface 34
during its subsequent opening movement to be described. During
extension of cylinder 80, piston rod 104 is locked in its
intermediate or partially contracted position described above by
operation of valves 130 and 132, such that coupling 88 moves
vertically along an arc about the center of coupling 86, as
indicated in FIG. 3. Although door 22 is subject to a back and
forth horizontal swinging movement during this vertical movement of
coupling 88, the extent thereof is so slight in view of the
geometry of mechanism 28, as to produce a negligible increase in
the required distance between shell 18 and pit front wall 16.
Further, upon operation of switches LS-3 and LS-9, solenoid SV-2B
is again energized to effect continued contraction of cylinder 84
until operator 102 engages switch LS-7 at which point solenoid
SV-2B is deenergized. During this final contraction of cylinder 84,
coupling 88 is moved horizontally from its D-3 position into its
D-4 position and door 22 is again swung horizontally about the axis
of shaft 76 from its second intermediate position into its fully
open position designated as 22b in FIG. 4. The extent of horizontal
swinging movement of door 22 is this time determined by the
requirement that it be opened sufficiently to afford desired access
to the interior of shell 18. Also, during and upon completion of
this final contraction of cylinder 84, piston rod 96 of cylinder 80
is locked in its extended position by operation of valve 134, and
when contraction of cylinder 84 is completed its piston rod is
locked in its fully contracted position by operation of valves 130
and 132.
When desired, door 22 may be automatically returned to its fully
closed position and locking ring 40 then returned to its locked
position by depressing a "close" push button type switch, not
shown, provided in the electrical control circuit. During the door
closing and locking operation, the above described movements of
door 22 and coupling 88 are merely reversed, but in this instance
solenoids SV-1B, SV-2A and SV-3B are energized to control operation
of valves 110, 112 and 114.
As indicated above the required spacing or distance between the
front end of shell 18 and pit front wall 16 is chiefly determined
by the extent of horizontal swinging movement of the door required
to clear locking ring 40, i.e., remove the door from within the
confines of the locking ring. However, this spacing is also to a
degree proportional to the diameter of door 22. As for instance,
with the present construction, the length of bridge 30 required to
span between tracks 32 and floor 34 will be approximately 11/2
feet, 2 feet and 3 feet for doors having diameters of 51/2 feet, 9
feet and 15 feet, respectively. This is, however, a substantial
reduction in the length of bridge 30, as compared to conventional
pressure vessel installations, and thus permits the bridge to be of
a relatively light weight and inexpensive construction. Also, this
short bridge length, as compared to door diameter, permits the
bridge to be hingedly connected to the forward ends of tracks 32,
as by hinge pins 140 shown only in FIG. 1, whereby to permit the
bridge to be folded upwardly for storage within the front of the
pressure vessel when it is in use and then be manually lowered into
the operative position shown in FIG. 1 after door 22 has been
opened and it is desired to insert or remove material from the
vessel.
* * * * *