JPH0534238B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Background of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a flange passing through a tank wall;
A novel system for connecting a plastic tank lining to a tank having a preformed shape enclosing fittings and other inserts.

It is well known that metal tanks, vessels, and the like suffer from corrosion and other problems with long-term use. Tanks, such as those used for water conditioning, may include (1) a painted interior, (2) rubber lined in the field for a full rubber lining, or (3) a lining formed from a sheet of vinyl material. Has a liner. Typically, water conditioning tanks have numerous flanged openings and hand holds, whether with a painted or rubberized interior.
Vinyl linings were only used for containers that had an outlet. Typically, vinyl linings are formed from sheet material, cut, and shaped to match the interior of the container. The seams are then sealed by any known technique, such as high frequency heat sealing techniques, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 3,159,306, or solvent, or impulse sealing. The vinyl is attached by a near vacuum created between the liner and the container wall. In some cases adhesives are used to aid or provide adhesion.

Irregularities in openings, such as manholes, do not fit well with the sheet material liner without excessive wrinkles. During use, tank liner wrinkles are subject to damage and tearing when pressure is applied. Therefore, the beneficial existence of vinyl liners could not be realized where the tank has the numerous inserts that are normally present.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to allow the use of protective linings for tanks and containers with one or more openings or inserts.

Another object of the invention is to install a highly conformable shape over the flanges or other structural parts of openings passing through their sidewalls.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide compatible members;
The object is to provide a fit that is highly conformable to the geometry of the opening through the tank or container wall.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved attachment with a mating configuration to a flange or other portion of an insert that passes through a container.

These and other objects are achieved by the present invention, which provides a plastic tank lining having one or more fittings shaped to fit flanged openings, manholes, and the like. The preformed shape fits snugly over the bayonet structure passing through the container wall and forms a smooth continuity with the vinyl lining without wrinkles or such non-smooth contact with the tank. made from vinyl and similar materials such as plastisol and others.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Other objects of the invention and additional features contributing thereto and the advantages derived therefrom will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container with a vinyl-lined interior and a matching collar of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the collar of the present invention taken along plane 2--2 of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, partially cut away and partially in section, of the collar of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the invention having a mechanical connection of the collar to the flange of the container.

5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the collar of FIG. 2 with sealing means; FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a container similar to FIG. 1 with a collar that can match the top.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along plane 7-7 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a similar cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, a typical pressure gauge shown generally at 2 and having one or more insets forming a manhole opening and the like passing through the tank outer wall 6 A container or tank is shown. The insert 4 consists of a sleeve member or cylinder which can constitute any regular or irregular shape with a novel, cylindrical or other cross-section. The interior walls of tank 2 are lined with a vinyl plastic liner for protection against corrosion and other problems during storage of various liquids. As is well known, liner seams can be sealed using high frequency heat sealing techniques, solvent or other adhesive techniques, or impulse sealing. The liner adheres to the container wall by the near vacuum pressure that exists between the sheet material and the container interior surface. An adhesive can also be used to form a bond if desired. Although the lining 8 is described as a vinyl material, it is within the scope of the present invention to use other suitable liners in conjunction with the present invention.

1 and 2, the opening of the insert 4 passing through the side wall of the tank 2 is covered with a conventional cover 10.
can be attached and the cover is held within the tank by bolt assemblies 12. Bolt assembly 12 has a threaded end that cooperates with spider 14. The inner end of the bolt assembly includes an enlarged end 16 which is retained by a capture bracket member 18 for retaining the cover 10.

As can be seen in Figure 2, the cylinder 4 forming the insert forms an effective extension of the liner 8 on the insert. It is generally surrounded by a prefabricated highly matchable collar. As seen in FIG. 3, the collar 20 can be made of any vinyl or similar elastomeric material, such as plastisol, into a circular, oval or other similar cross-sectional shape closely approximating the shape of the container fitting. It is formed as a highly conformable member. Collar 20 can be made by known methods such as dip molding, slip molding, injection molding, transfer molding, and the like. In some molding methods, collar 20 is molded with a continuous cross section and portion 21 is peripherally cut from the collar.

The design of the collar 20 is configured as a tight-fitting overlay that conforms to any irregular shape of the structure forming the opening through the tank. As further shown in FIG. 3, the collar 20 has a hollow interior defined by a U-shaped portion 22 formed by annular walls 22a and 22b and a top wall 22c. In its hemmed state, it will be appreciated that the outer edge of the collar 20 projects outwardly from the wall 22c to form a flange 24 which is connected to the vinyl lining 8. The outer end of the collar projects from the wall 22a in the fringed configuration and forms an outer flange 26.

In FIG. 2, the collar 20 is connected to the cylindrical insert 4.
is attached in an encircling relationship to the The U-shaped portion of the collar is arranged such that the wall 22a covers the annular inner wall of the insert 4 and the walls 22b and 22c cover the interior of the insert and over its outer surface within the container 2, respectively. The flange 24 is bonded to the liner 8 using high frequency heat sealing techniques or a solvent and becomes an integral part of the liner. The outer flange 26 is held in close fit with the outer surface of the bayonet cylinder 4. An end surface 28 of spider 14 is pressed against a portion of flange 26 to retain cover 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, the collar may cover only part of the plug-in structure 4. In addition, in FIG. 4, a continuous or segmented male protrusion 29 is provided on the wall 22b of the collar 20, inserted into a corresponding groove 29' formed in the insert, for example on the inner end wall of the flange structure. You may. such color 2
0 mechanical adhesion is particularly advantageous for securing the vinyl liner during application to the wall.

In FIG. 5, a plastic gasket 30, such as an elastomeric material, is optionally located between the wall 22b and the cover member 10 to prevent the undesirable effects of the vinyl on the pressure within the container 2 and the forces applied to the cover 10. Prevent cold flow. The presence of gasket 30 has been found to be effective in preventing such cold flow problems and increases the thickness of the material between the cover and flange.

Referring to FIG. 6, the tank 2 has a top opening 34 in the tank wall 6, as also clearly seen in FIGS. 7 and 8. In FIG. 7, a metal ring 36 is secured to the top wall 6 of the metal tank 2 by suitable fastening means 38, such as solder. A metal ring 36 can be seen extending outwardly from the tank 2 at the opening-forming portion of the wall 6 . In the embodiment of FIG. 7, the collar 22 includes a flange 24, a first wall 40 continuous with and extending substantially perpendicular thereto, and a first wall 40 continuous with and substantially perpendicular thereto. and a second wall 42 extending to. Flange 24 is connected to vinyl liner 8 in the embodiment of FIG. 7 in the same manner as flange 24 is connected to vinyl liner 8 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-4. A first wall 40 extends outwardly from the tank in the axial direction of the opening 34 and the first collar wall is substantially parallel to the axis of the tank opening 34 . The second collar wall 42 is substantially parallel to the collar flange 24 and the flange 24, the first wall 40
and second wall 42 is seen to have a generally U-shaped cross-sectional shape. The second wall 42 is inserted into the metal ring 36 by a bolt 44 extending through a spacer 46, through a circular opening in the second wall 42, and into a threaded hole 50 in the metal ring 36. connected. In the illustrated embodiment, there are six bolts 44, all connected in the manner just described.

In the manner described above, the flange 24 is connected to the vinyl liner 8 and the first wall 40 and the second wall 42
fits snugly with metal ring 36, thereby providing a snug fit between vinyl liner 8 and metal ring 36.

A similar but modified assembly is shown in FIG. Referring to FIG. 8, the metal member 36' therein consists of an outward extension of the tank wall 6 extending at right angles to the tank wall 6 and parallel to the axis of the opening 34. A metal ring 52 is secured to metal member 36' with bolts 44 attached to ring 52.
A number of screw holes 54 are provided to accommodate the. 8th
In the illustrated embodiment, collar 22 is similar to collar 22 of FIG.
wall 40 and a second wall 42. Second
Wall 42 is provided with a number of openings for receiving bolts 44, which extend through spacers 46 as in the embodiment of FIG. 7, and flanges 24 are secured to the vinyl liner in the same manner as described above. The collar 22 of the embodiment of FIG.
and the metal member having the ring extension 52.

Although the invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications can be made and elements thereof can be replaced by equivalents without departing from the scope of the invention. be. In addition, numerous modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation and material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the scope of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode of the invention, but the invention includes all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an internally lined tank having a collar of the invention; FIG.
3 is a perspective view of the collar of the invention, FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of the mechanical connection of the collar according to another embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the collar of FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a tank similar to FIG. 1 with an opening in the top; FIG. 7 is a sectional view along line 7--7 of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a similar cross-sectional view of another embodiment. 2 is a tank, 6 is a tank wall, 8 is a seat lining, 20 is a collar, 22 is a U-shaped portion, 24 is a flange, and 26 is an outside flange.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A tank having a wall with an opening; a sheet lining adhered to an inner surface of the tank wall and having an opening aligned with the opening in the tank wall; and the opening in the tank wall. a cylindrical metal member extending outward from the tank opening, and a flange surrounding the tank opening;
an elastomeric or plastic collar having a first wall extending substantially perpendicular to the flange and a second wall extending substantially perpendicular to the first wall; means for connecting adjacent to an opening in the seat lining; and means for positively connecting the second collar wall to the metal member; A tank lining arranged in close fit with a metal member, thereby forming a tight fit between said seat lining and the metal member. 2 the metal member extends outwardly from the tank in an axial direction of the tank opening, the first collar wall being substantially parallel to the axis of the tank opening and the second collar wall being substantially parallel to the collar flange; 2. The tank lining of claim 1, wherein the collar flanges, the first and second collar walls have a generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration. 3. The tank lining of claim 1 or 2, wherein said positive connection means comprises a bolt securing the second wall to a metal member. 4. A tank having a wall with an aperture; a seat lining adhered to the inner surface of the tank wall and having an aperture aligned with the aperture in the tank wall; and a lining having a similar shape to the tank aperture. a cylindrical bayonet fitting extending through the tank opening into the interior of the tank and having an outer surface, an end surface and an inner surface; a flange surrounding the tank opening; and a flange surrounding the outer surface of the bayonet fitting. and a first wall extending generally perpendicular to the flange toward the interior of the tank, and a first wall extending generally perpendicular to the first wall toward the center of the tank opening and covering the bayonet fitting end surface. an elastomeric or plastic collar having two walls and thus having a generally Z-shaped cross-sectional shape; and means for connecting said collar flange to said seat lining adjacent to an opening thereof; a first wall and a second wall are disposed in close conformity to an outer surface and an end surface of the bayonet fitting, respectively, thereby forming a tight fit between the seat lining and the bayonet fitting; Tank linings are becoming popular. 5. The tank lining of clause 4, wherein the second wall of the collar is also connected to a third wall extending generally parallel to the first wall and closely matching the inner surface of the bayonet fitting. . 6. A tank lining according to claim 4 or claim 5, wherein the bayonet fitting end surface and the second wall of the collar are positively connected by positive connection means. 7. The tank lining of clause 6, wherein said positive connection means comprises a protrusion and a complementary shaped groove structure. 8. The tank lining of clause 6, wherein the positive connection means is within the tank and comprises a cover member provided on the tank wall. 9. The tank lining of claim 8, wherein said positive connection means includes a gasket disposed between said cover member and a second wall of the collar.