Secondary containment leak prevention and detection system and method
First Claim
1. A system for detecting a leak, comprising:
- a riser pipe formed from a length of double-walled piping, said riser pipe comprising;
an inner space adapted to draw fuel from a storage tank; and
an interstitial space between walls of the double-walled piping;
a pressure sensor coupled to the interstitial space to detect a vacuum level in the interstitial space; and
a sensing unit controller that is coupled to said pressure sensor to determine the vacuum level in the interstitial space; and
a submersible turbine pump coupled to said riser pipe to couple the submersible turbine pump to the storage tank, said submersible turbine pump fluidly coupled to the fuel in the storage tank to draw the fuel out of the storage tank through the inner space of the riser pipea vacuum-generating source coupled to the interstitial space;
said vacuum-generating source draws the vacuum level in in the interstitial space; and
said sensing unit controller determines the vacuum level in the interstitial space using said pressure sensor.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A pump housing contains a pump that draws fuel from an underground storage tank to deliver fuel to fuel dispensers in a service station environment. The pump is coupled to a double-walled riser pipe that carries the fuel from the underground storage tank to the pump. The double-walled fuel piping contains an inner space that carries the fuel and an outer annular space that captures any leaked fuel from the inner space. The outer annular space is coupled to a vacuum created by the pump to determine if a leak exists in the outer annular space. An alternate submersible turbine pump has a double-walled housing with a pressure sensor disposed in the interstitial space of the double-walled housing. A vacuum may be created therein to determine if leaks are present in the housing of the submersible turbine pump.
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Citations
60 Claims
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1. A system for detecting a leak, comprising:
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a riser pipe formed from a length of double-walled piping, said riser pipe comprising; an inner space adapted to draw fuel from a storage tank; and an interstitial space between walls of the double-walled piping; a pressure sensor coupled to the interstitial space to detect a vacuum level in the interstitial space; and a sensing unit controller that is coupled to said pressure sensor to determine the vacuum level in the interstitial space; and a submersible turbine pump coupled to said riser pipe to couple the submersible turbine pump to the storage tank, said submersible turbine pump fluidly coupled to the fuel in the storage tank to draw the fuel out of the storage tank through the inner space of the riser pipe a vacuum-generating source coupled to the interstitial space; said vacuum-generating source draws the vacuum level in in the interstitial space; and said sensing unit controller determines the vacuum level in the interstitial space using said pressure sensor. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36)
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37. A method for detecting a leak in a double-walled riser pipe having an interstitial space, comprising:
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creating a vacuum level in the interstitial space of the riser pipe coupling fuel in a storage tank to a submersible turbine pump that draws fuel out of the storage tank, using a vacuum-generating source drawing the fuel out of the storage tank using the submersible turbine pump; sensing a vacuum level in the interstitial space of the riser pipe using a pressure sensor; and monitoring the vacuum level in the interstitial space of the riser pipe to determine if a leak exists in the riser pipe. - View Dependent Claims (38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
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41. The method of chum 38, further comprising verifying a leak in the interstitial space by closing an isolation valve in said vacuum tubing that isolates the interstitial space from said vacuum-generating source.
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59. A method for detecting a leak in a double-walled riser pipe having an interstitial space, comprising:
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creating a vacuum level in the interstitial space of the riser pipe coupling fuel in a storage tank to a submersible turbine pump that draws fuel out of the storage tunic, using the submersible turbine pump as a vacuum-generating source; drawing die fuel out of the storage tank using the submersible turbine pump; sensing a vacuum level in the interstitial space of the riser pipe using a pressure sensor; and monitoring the vacuum level in the interstitial space of the riser pipe to determine if a leak exists in the riser pipe. - View Dependent Claims (60)
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Specification