GB2120208A - Dry hose liquid fuel delivery system - Google Patents

Dry hose liquid fuel delivery system Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2120208A
GB2120208A GB08214454A GB8214454A GB2120208A GB 2120208 A GB2120208 A GB 2120208A GB 08214454 A GB08214454 A GB 08214454A GB 8214454 A GB8214454 A GB 8214454A GB 2120208 A GB2120208 A GB 2120208A
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United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
fuel
air
liquid fuel
valve
hose
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Granted
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GB08214454A
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GB2120208B (en
Inventor
John Heidt
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Individual
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Individual
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Priority to GB08214454A priority Critical patent/GB2120208B/en
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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B67—OPENING, CLOSING OR CLEANING BOTTLES, JARS OR SIMILAR CONTAINERS; LIQUID HANDLING
    • B67D—DISPENSING, DELIVERING OR TRANSFERRING LIQUIDS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B67D7/00—Apparatus or devices for transferring liquids from bulk storage containers or reservoirs into vehicles or into portable containers, e.g. for retail sale purposes
    • B67D7/06—Details or accessories
    • B67D7/76—Arrangements of devices for purifying liquids to be transferred, e.g. of filters, of air or water separators
    • B67D7/763—Arrangements of devices for purifying liquids to be transferred, e.g. of filters, of air or water separators of air separators
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B01—PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL PROCESSES OR APPARATUS IN GENERAL
    • B01D—SEPARATION
    • B01D19/00—Degasification of liquids
    • B01D19/0068—General arrangements, e.g. flowsheets

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  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Loading And Unloading Of Fuel Tanks Or Ships (AREA)

Abstract

A system, designed primarily for fitting to a road tanker for the transport and delivery of liquid fuel(s) to customers' storage facilities comprises a pump, a gas eliminator (extractor) 50, a meter and pipework which includes an empty reel of hose. Liquid fuel pumped is firstly degassed by said eliminator and is then measured and passes on to the storage facility. The gas removed is stored in an expansion chamber 57 which is connected by tubing to the outlet of the eliminator and also to said pipework at a location immediately downstream of a stop valve/automatic trip mechanism 55, the latter shutting off the pump when a predetermined quantity of fuel has been measured. Scavenging of all remaining fuel in said pipework is effected automatically, once the pump has stopped, by the gas stored in the tubing/expansion chamber. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Dry hose liquid fuel delivery system This invention relates to a dry hose liquid fuel delivery system.
Such a system is known by means of which liquid fuel is transferred from a tank or compartment in a road tanker to a customer's storage tank by means of a pump whose output is connected to an air eliminator (or gas separator) whose outlet is connected to the inlet of a meter whose outlet is connected to a stop valve which is mounted in a conduit leading to said storage tank; the liquid fuel is pumped through the eliminator and any air or gas is removed from the fuel in the eliminator, the fuel then passing through the meter and the stop valve to the storage tank. When the stop valve has closed, the fuel remaining in the conduit downstream of the stop valve is displaced from the conduit into the storage tank by pumped air.
A system as described in th preceding paragraph will hereinafter be referred to as "a dry hose liquid fuel delivery system of the type described".
One known layout of a dry hose liquid fuel delivery system of the type described (as defined above) is illustrated in Figure 1 which illustrated a pipe 10 which is connected to a fuel delivery pump (not illustrated) provided on the road tanker. The pipe 10 provides access to an air eliminator 11 which in turn is connected to a measuring device 12 which measures all of the liquid fuel pumped through it by the pump. Liquid fuel emerging from the measuring device passes through a stop valve into a pipe 13 and thence into a hose 14 which is of a length sufficient to enable the road tanker to be connected to any storage tank into which the fuel is being pumped. The pipe 10 and the hose 14 are connected to one another through a manually operable ball valve 15.Another manually operable ball valve 16 is provided in the pipe 10 upstream of the air eliminator and yet another manually operable ball valve 17 is provided in the pipe 13 downstream of the stop valve.
In order to deliver a quantity of liquid fuel to a storage tank and assuming appropriate connection of the hose 14 to the storage tank, the road tanker operator closes the valve 15 and opens both of the valves 16 and 17. The stop valve is also provided with an automatic trip mechanism which is indicated generally by the reference numeral 18 and by means of which the driver ensures that the pump is automatically shut off by the stop valve when the measuring device 12 has, for example, measured 3000 gallons. The fuel delivery pump is then started and liquid fuel is pumped along the route indicated by the red arrows 30, any air which has been pumped along with the liquid fuel being allowed to vent to atmosphere by way of the pipe 19 of the air eliminator in known manner.Having passed through the air eliminator, the liquid fuel passes through the measuring device and then through the stop valve and the valve 17 and the pipe 13 into the hose 14 and so into the storage tank. When the pump is shut off by the automatic trip mechanism 18, the operator will know that 3000 gallons have been measured by the measuring device but, because road tankers are typically provided with 200 feet of hose 14, there is still quite a considerable quantity of fuel in that the hose which the customer will have to pay for and which should therefore be delivered to his storage tank.Consequently, after the pump has been turned off by the trip mechanism 18, the driver will close the valves 16 and 17 and will open the valve 15; air is then pumped along the route indicated by the black arrows 31 through the pipe 10 and into the hose 14 in order to clear that pipe system of all of the fuel therein.
Fradulent use of the system described in the two preceding paragraphs is possible. One fraudulent practice consists in adjusting the three valves 15, 16 and 17 to cause the measuring device 12 to measure air being pumped through it instead of liquid fuel.
Another fraudulent practice consists in causing a temporary blockage of the pipe 19 (for example, by squeezing it shut with a pair of pliers) in order to cause air and liquid fuel to pass to the storage tank.
The principal object of the present invention is to provide a liquid fuel delivery system which is free from these defects.
Accordingly, the present invention consists in a dry hose liquid fuel delivery system of the type described (as defined above) which is mounted on a road tanker, wherein a first check valve is mounted in said conduit downstream of said stop valve, wherein the outlet of the air eliminator (gas separator) is connected by way of pipework and an expansion chamber to a point in said conduit which is downstream of said first check valve, and wherein a second check valve is disposed in said pipework downstream of said expansion chamber; said first check valve permitting the flow of liquid fuel along said conduit when said fuel is being pumped but not permitting air to flow past it towards the stop valve when said fuel is not being pumped; and said second check valve permitting the flow of air from the expansion chamber into said conduit when said fuel is not being pumped but not permitting fuel to flow past it towards the expansion chamber when said fuel is being pumped.
Preferably, said pipework connecting the outlet of the air eliminator to the conduit by way of said expansion chamber is rigid.
Alternatively, said pipework connecting the outlet of the air eliminator to the conduit by way of said expansion chamber may be flexible but armoured.
One embodiment of a dry hose liquid fuel delivery system of the type described (as defined above) according to the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to another accompanying diagrammatic drawing in which there is illustrated an air eliminator (or gas separator) 50, a meter 51 adapted to measure the quantity of liquid fuel being pumped, a first pipe 52 of which one end is connected to a pump (not illustrated) and of which the other end is connected to the air eliminator. The fuel outlet of the air eliminator is directly connected in known manner to the inlet of the meter.
The outlet of the meter is connected to a stop valve/automatic trip mechanism 53 of known design and which operates to shut off the pump when a preset quantity of liquid fuel has been measured by the meter, as already described. The stop valve is connected to a conduit 54 by way of a first spring biased check valve 55. The air outlet of the air eliminator 50 is connected by pipework 56 and an expansion chamber 57 to said conduit 54 at a position which is downstream of the check valve 55.
A second spring biased check valve 58 is provided in the pipework 56 downstream of the expansion chamber 57.
The installation described above works in the following manner: The automatic trip mechanism is set to operate when the meter 51 has measured, for example, 1000 gallons. The pump is then activated and fuel is pumped through the pipe 52 into the air eliminator which gets rid of any occluded air which may be in the liquid fuel. The liquid fuel then flows through the meter and then through the stop valve and into the conduit 54 by way of the check valve 55. The pressure at which the liquid fuel is pumped is sufficient to open the valve 55, and the pressurised fuel together with the force exerted by the spring of said valve 58 ensure that said valve 58 is kept tightly closed.When the pump is de-activated the stop valve shuts and the check valve 55 is closed by its spring and, when air is pumped through the eliminator into the pipe work 56, the valve 58 is opened by said air which then scavenges all of the fuel out of the conduit 54 into the customer's storage tank. The air so pumped assists the spring of the valve 55 is keeping said valve 55 tightly shut. After the fuel has been cleared out of the conduit 54, the pumping of air will be discontinued, whereupon the valve 58 will close automatically under the influence of its spring.
The above description of Figure 2 is clearly depicted in the more diagrammatic Figures 3 and 4.
It is, at present, considered to be desirable to provide spring biased check valves 55, 58 but it may well prove to be desirable or necessary to use other fcrms of check valve.
It will be preferred for all pipes (namely, the pipe 52, the conduit 54, the pipework 56 and any other small pipe-like connections which may be neces sary) to be rigid. If e certain degree of flexibility is desirable or necessary, flexible pipes could be used but, in such a case, said flexible pipes should be armoured. With rigid of flexible pipes, the fraudulent practice of squeezing the relevant pipe with a pair of pliers or with some other appropriate instrument is made impossible or, at the very least, much more difficult to carry out without detection. Any attempt by a road tanker operator to pump air through the meter 51 in order to falsify a delivery will be completely foiled because the air (whether by itself or with liquid fuel) will always be ducted off via the pipework 56 to the expansion chamber 57.If air alone were being pumped, said air would simply open the valve 58 but none of said air would have been measured; if air and liquid fuel were being pumped, the fuel would be measured and passed by the valve 55 and said fuel would keep the valve 58 shut, the air being separated off by the eliminator and stored in the pipework 56 and chamber 57.
The elimination of valves which are required to be controlled by the road tanker operator (namely, valves like the valves 15, 16, 17 which were illustrated by way of Example in Figure 1) get rid of the other possibility of fraud being perpetrated on the customer. The valves 55, 58 operate automatically and, if enclosed within rigid/armoured pipes or within other rigid/armoured parts of the installation, cannot be illegally interfered with. Indeed, said valves, which may well need maintenance or replacement from time to time, can be sealed by inspectors appointed by the relevant Government department.
A dry hose liquid fuel delivery system has certain advantages which are not possessed by a wet hose liquid fuel delivery system. Firstly, delivery (without contamination) of different products by one road tanker is possible because the hose is emptied at each delivery; thus, gas oil can be delivered by the tanker operator at one location and paraffin can be delivered at the next location, the two liquid fuels being stored in separate compartments in the tanker.
With a wet hose system, the hose is full at the end of the previous (e.g. gas oil) delivery and the quantity of that fuel (e.g. approximately 20 gallons) must be removed from the hose into containers by careful displacement thereof by the next fuel (e.g. paraffin) until the hose is full of paraffin. Secondly, the wet hose system is such that the hose must be full before and after delivery; this means that the hose is heavy to carry and the tanker operators frequently have to delivery into elevated fuel tanks.
The present invention further consists in any features of novelty, taken singly or in combination, of the embodiments of the invention hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2,3 and 4 of the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.
CLAIMS (Filed on 3 May 1983) 1. A dry hose liquid fuel delivery system of the type described (as defined above) which is mounted on a road tanker, wherein a first check valve is mounted in said conduit downstream of said stop valve, wherein the outlet of the air eliminator (gas separator) is connected by way of pipework and an expansion chamber to a point in said conduit which is downstream of said first check valve, and wherein a second check valve is disposed in said pipework downstream of said expansion chamber; said first check valve permitting the flow of liquid fuel along said conduit when said fuel is being pumped but not permitting air to flow past it towards the stop valve when said fuel is not being pumped; and said second check valve permitting the flow of air from the expansion chamber into said conduit when said fuel is not, being pumped but not permitting fuel to flow past it towards the expansion chamber when said fuel is being pumped.
2. A system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said pipework connecting the outlet of the air eliminator to the conduit by way of said expansion chamber is rigid.
3. A system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said
**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (9)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. valve/automatic trip mechanism 53 of known design and which operates to shut off the pump when a preset quantity of liquid fuel has been measured by the meter, as already described. The stop valve is connected to a conduit 54 by way of a first spring biased check valve 55. The air outlet of the air eliminator 50 is connected by pipework 56 and an expansion chamber 57 to said conduit 54 at a position which is downstream of the check valve 55. A second spring biased check valve 58 is provided in the pipework 56 downstream of the expansion chamber 57. The installation described above works in the following manner: The automatic trip mechanism is set to operate when the meter 51 has measured, for example, 1000 gallons. The pump is then activated and fuel is pumped through the pipe 52 into the air eliminator which gets rid of any occluded air which may be in the liquid fuel. The liquid fuel then flows through the meter and then through the stop valve and into the conduit 54 by way of the check valve 55. The pressure at which the liquid fuel is pumped is sufficient to open the valve 55, and the pressurised fuel together with the force exerted by the spring of said valve 58 ensure that said valve 58 is kept tightly closed.When the pump is de-activated the stop valve shuts and the check valve 55 is closed by its spring and, when air is pumped through the eliminator into the pipe work 56, the valve 58 is opened by said air which then scavenges all of the fuel out of the conduit 54 into the customer's storage tank. The air so pumped assists the spring of the valve 55 is keeping said valve 55 tightly shut. After the fuel has been cleared out of the conduit 54, the pumping of air will be discontinued, whereupon the valve 58 will close automatically under the influence of its spring. The above description of Figure 2 is clearly depicted in the more diagrammatic Figures 3 and 4. It is, at present, considered to be desirable to provide spring biased check valves 55, 58 but it may well prove to be desirable or necessary to use other fcrms of check valve. It will be preferred for all pipes (namely, the pipe 52, the conduit 54, the pipework 56 and any other small pipe-like connections which may be neces sary) to be rigid. If e certain degree of flexibility is desirable or necessary, flexible pipes could be used but, in such a case, said flexible pipes should be armoured. With rigid of flexible pipes, the fraudulent practice of squeezing the relevant pipe with a pair of pliers or with some other appropriate instrument is made impossible or, at the very least, much more difficult to carry out without detection. Any attempt by a road tanker operator to pump air through the meter 51 in order to falsify a delivery will be completely foiled because the air (whether by itself or with liquid fuel) will always be ducted off via the pipework 56 to the expansion chamber 57.If air alone were being pumped, said air would simply open the valve 58 but none of said air would have been measured; if air and liquid fuel were being pumped, the fuel would be measured and passed by the valve 55 and said fuel would keep the valve 58 shut, the air being separated off by the eliminator and stored in the pipework 56 and chamber 57. The elimination of valves which are required to be controlled by the road tanker operator (namely, valves like the valves 15, 16, 17 which were illustrated by way of Example in Figure 1) get rid of the other possibility of fraud being perpetrated on the customer. The valves 55, 58 operate automatically and, if enclosed within rigid/armoured pipes or within other rigid/armoured parts of the installation, cannot be illegally interfered with. Indeed, said valves, which may well need maintenance or replacement from time to time, can be sealed by inspectors appointed by the relevant Government department. A dry hose liquid fuel delivery system has certain advantages which are not possessed by a wet hose liquid fuel delivery system. Firstly, delivery (without contamination) of different products by one road tanker is possible because the hose is emptied at each delivery; thus, gas oil can be delivered by the tanker operator at one location and paraffin can be delivered at the next location, the two liquid fuels being stored in separate compartments in the tanker. With a wet hose system, the hose is full at the end of the previous (e.g. gas oil) delivery and the quantity of that fuel (e.g. approximately 20 gallons) must be removed from the hose into containers by careful displacement thereof by the next fuel (e.g. paraffin) until the hose is full of paraffin. Secondly, the wet hose system is such that the hose must be full before and after delivery; this means that the hose is heavy to carry and the tanker operators frequently have to delivery into elevated fuel tanks. The present invention further consists in any features of novelty, taken singly or in combination, of the embodiments of the invention hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2,3 and 4 of the accompanying diagrammatic drawings. CLAIMS (Filed on 3 May 1983)
1. A dry hose liquid fuel delivery system of the type described (as defined above) which is mounted on a road tanker, wherein a first check valve is mounted in said conduit downstream of said stop valve, wherein the outlet of the air eliminator (gas separator) is connected by way of pipework and an expansion chamber to a point in said conduit which is downstream of said first check valve, and wherein a second check valve is disposed in said pipework downstream of said expansion chamber; said first check valve permitting the flow of liquid fuel along said conduit when said fuel is being pumped but not permitting air to flow past it towards the stop valve when said fuel is not being pumped; and said second check valve permitting the flow of air from the expansion chamber into said conduit when said fuel is not, being pumped but not permitting fuel to flow past it towards the expansion chamber when said fuel is being pumped.
2. A system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said pipework connecting the outlet of the air eliminator to the conduit by way of said expansion chamber is rigid.
3. A system as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said
pipework connecting the outlet of the air eliminator to the conduit by way of said expansion chamber is flexible but armoured.
4. A system as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein said first and second check valves are spring-biased into their closed conditions.
5. A dry hose liquid fuel delivery system comprising a pump, a meter, and a hose connected to one another to form a circuit by pipework which is substantially incapable of local deformation without subsequent detection; a gas eliminator connected in said circuit for the removal of any gas occluded in or entrained by liquid fuel pumped through the circuit by said pump; means including a stop valve/ automatic trip mechanism in said circuit downstream of said meter, said means being operable to shut off the pump when a predetermined quantity of liquid fuel has passed through said meter; said gas eliminator having an outlet connected to a point in said circuit downstream of said stop valve in order to permit the displacement from the respective part of said pipework and from said hose of all measured liquid fuel to a customer's storage facility by means of the gas removed from the fuel while said fuel was being pumped and measured.
6. A system as claimed in Claim 5, wherein said outlet is connected to said point in said circuit by tubing and an expansion chamber, a check valve being inserted in said tubing downstream of the expansion chamber near to the location at which said tubing is connected to said circuit, whereby when pumping of the liquid fuel ceases said check valve is opened automatically by the pressure of the gas stored in said tubing and in said expansion chamber and all of the liquid fuel downstream of said stop valve is displaced into said storage facility.
7. A dry hose liquid fuel delivery system constructed, arranged and adapted to operate substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in Figures 2,3 and 4 of the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.
8. A method of delivering measured quantities of liquid fuel substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2,3 and 4 of the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.
9. Any features of novelty, taken singly or in combination, of the embodiments of the invention hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 2,3 and 4 of the accompanying diagrammatic drawings.
GB08214454A 1982-05-18 1982-05-18 Dry hose liquid fuel delivery system Expired GB2120208B (en)

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GB08214454A GB2120208B (en) 1982-05-18 1982-05-18 Dry hose liquid fuel delivery system

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Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB08214454A GB2120208B (en) 1982-05-18 1982-05-18 Dry hose liquid fuel delivery system

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GB2120208A true GB2120208A (en) 1983-11-30
GB2120208B GB2120208B (en) 1985-07-17

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Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2157657A (en) * 1984-04-17 1985-10-30 Hartburn Road Tanker Services Dry-line liquid delivery system
GB2433249A (en) * 2005-12-16 2007-06-20 Mechtronic Ltd Liquid delivery system comprising a manifold

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2157657A (en) * 1984-04-17 1985-10-30 Hartburn Road Tanker Services Dry-line liquid delivery system
GB2433249A (en) * 2005-12-16 2007-06-20 Mechtronic Ltd Liquid delivery system comprising a manifold
GB2433249B (en) * 2005-12-16 2010-10-27 Mechtronic Ltd Pumping system
US8113238B2 (en) 2005-12-16 2012-02-14 Mechtronic Ltd. Pumping system with manifold vent

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Publication number Publication date
GB2120208B (en) 1985-07-17

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PCNP Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee

Effective date: 19950518