LIQUEFIED FUEL GAS CONTAINER

• US 3,659,742 A
• Filed: 12/22/1970
• Issued: 05/02/1972
• Est. Priority Date: 12/30/1969
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Katuhiro Tagawa
• Original Assignee: Katuhiro Tagawa
• Inventors: Tagawa, Katuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): Wood, Jr., M. Henson
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mar, Michael Y.
• Application Number:
  US05/100,601
• Time in Patent Office: 497 Days
• Field of Search: 220/86R 222/3,130 137/240,574,576
• US Class Current: 220/86.1
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 1/00 Pressure vessels, e.g. gas cylinder, gas tank, replaceable cartridge pressurised apparatus for purposes other than storage, see the relevant subclasses such as A62C, B05B; associated with vehicles, see the appropriate subclass of classes B60 - B64; pressure vessels in general F16J12/00 ; autoclaves B01J3/04; tank vehicles B60P3/22; railway tank wagons for carrying fluent materials B61D5/00; accumulators for supplying fluid under pressure F15B1/04; liquefied gas stoves F24C3/00
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 13/123 for gas bottles, cylinders or reservoirs for tank vehicles or for railway tank wagons
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2201/0109 with exteriorly curved end-piece
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2201/0166 divided in several chambers
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2201/0171 comprising a communication hole between chambers
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2201/035 with substantially horizontal main axis
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2201/056 Small (<1 m3)
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2203/0617 with one layer
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2205/0329 manually actuated
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2205/0382 Constructional details of valves, regulators
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2205/0394 in direct contact with the pressure vessel
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2221/03 Mixtures
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2221/033 Methane, e.g. natural gas, CNG, LNG, GNL, GNC, PLNG
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2223/0153 Liquefied gas, e.g. LPG, GPL
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2223/033 Small pressure, e.g. for liquefied gas
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2223/042 Localisation of the removal point
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2225/0153 Liquefied gas, e.g. LPG, GPL
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2225/045 with a dip tube
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2250/03 Control means
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2250/0408 Level of content in the vessel
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2260/021 : Avoiding over pressurising
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 2260/042 : Reducing risk of explosion
• CPC Class Codes: F17C 5/02 : for filling with liquefied gases
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 137/86228 : With communicating opening in common walls of tanks or compartments

Abstract

A container for a liquefied fuel gas, constructed to be prevented from being filled with excess liquefied fuel gas which would otherwise lead to unexpected blasting due to thermal expansion of the stored liquefied fuel gas, the container having main and auxiliary compartments which are completely isolated when the liquefied fuel gas is fed into the main compartment and which are permitted to communicate with each other so as to provide an unoccupied space in the main compartment.

Claims

1. A container for storing a liquefied fuel gas, comprising a main compartment, an auxiliary compartment isolated from said main compartment, a fuel charging unit mounted on said main compartment, and means providing communication between said main and auxiliary compartments, said fuel charging unit including a first valve means for controlling the supply of said liquefied fuel gas into said unit and a second valve means for providing communication between said unit and said main compartment and providing selective communication between said unit and said auxiliary compartment, said second valve being in a position to block said communication between said unit and said auxiliary compartment when said main valve is in a position to permit supply of said liquefied fuel gas into said unit and being in a position to establish said communication between said unit and said auxiliary compartment when said main valve is in a position to stop said supply of the liquefied fuel gas into said unit.

2. A container according to claim 1, wherein said auxiliary compartment is sized relative to said main compartment for providing an unoccupied space in said main compartment upon completion of replenishment of the main compartment.

3. A container according to claim 1, wherein said main and auxiliary compartments are independent units connected by said means.

4. A container according to claim 1, wherein said main and auxiliary compartments are integral with each other and separated from each other by a partition having formed therein a hole through which said means provides said communication between said main and auxiliary compartments.

5. A container according to claim 4, wherein said partition is positioned to slant toward said hole relative to a horizontal plane.

6. A container according to claim 4, wherein said unit has formed at its lowermost portion a drain port through which said unit communicates with said main compartment.

7. A container according to claim 4, wherein said partition has formed therein a pressure equalizer port of a limited size.