Leak protected vessel
First Claim
1. The method to detect leakage and prevent escape of fluid from the inner vessel of a double wall container having an annular space between the inner wall and the outer wall, said annular space being hermetically sealed from the interior of a vessel defined by said inner wall, said double wall vessel having means to provide compressed gas to said annular space, means to detect loss of compressed gas from said annular space and means to detect the presence of said compressed gas in said vessel, comprising:
- providing a compressed gas to said annular space at a controlled pressure higher than the highest pressure in said vessel and in sufficient volume to prevent leakage of said fluid through a leak site in said inner wall;
detecting the escape of said compressed gas from said annular space; and
detecting the presence of said compressed gas in said vessel, whereby leakage through the inner wall is established.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A double-walled vessel for containing fluid, the vessel having an annular space between the walls wherein a compressed gas at a pressure higher than any pressure in the inner vessel is maintained, the vessel including a monitoring device to sense the escape of gas from the annular space such as decrease in its pressure or flow of gas from a replenishing source and to sense the presence of the compressed gas in the inner vessel such as increase in pressure, sensing the composition of the compressed gas within the inner vessel or sensing an increase in flow through a vent, whereby leakage through either the inner vessel wall or the surrounding outer wall is detected and the escape of contained fluid from the inner vessel is prevented.
59 Citations
6 Claims
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1. The method to detect leakage and prevent escape of fluid from the inner vessel of a double wall container having an annular space between the inner wall and the outer wall, said annular space being hermetically sealed from the interior of a vessel defined by said inner wall, said double wall vessel having means to provide compressed gas to said annular space, means to detect loss of compressed gas from said annular space and means to detect the presence of said compressed gas in said vessel, comprising:
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providing a compressed gas to said annular space at a controlled pressure higher than the highest pressure in said vessel and in sufficient volume to prevent leakage of said fluid through a leak site in said inner wall; detecting the escape of said compressed gas from said annular space; and detecting the presence of said compressed gas in said vessel, whereby leakage through the inner wall is established. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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Specification
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- Resources
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Current AssigneeOmega Environmental, Inc.
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Original AssigneeOmega Environmental, Inc.
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InventorsZaim, Adil Z.
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Primary Examiner(s)Williams, Hezron E.
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Assistant Examiner(s)Miller, Craig
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Application NumberUS07/392,777Time in Patent Office893 DaysField of Search73/49.2, 73/40, 340/605US Class Current73/49.2CPC Class CodesG01M 3/226 for containers, e.g. radiatorsG01M 3/32 for containers, e.g. radiatorsG01M 3/3236 by monitoring the interior ...
