MXPA01010507A - Device for protecting a container and container equipped therewith - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention concerns a container (1) in particular a container made of composite material, and having a cylindrical side wall (1a) and round-shaped ends (1b), commonly called domes . The device (2) comprises a shell (10) made of a puncture-resistant material, shaped to enclose at least the container (1) dome assembly (1b), by delimiting a space between its inner surface and the outer surface of the container (1);and a compressible material (11) for absorbing shock or impact, filling entirely said space.

Description

DEVICE TO PROTECT A RECIPIENT AND RECIPIENT EQUIPPED WITH THE SAME FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for protecting a container and a container equipped with this device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION At present, the use of composite materials in order to produce containers that have the purpose of containing a fluid under pressure is very common. These containers can be tubs, tanks or bottles and can be made in particular of glass, aramid or carbon fibers embedded in a matrix. This type of container generally comprises a cylindrical side wall and rounded ends, commonly known as "domes" and a connection piece located on the top of one and / or the other of the domes. These composite materials have many advantages for this application, however, they also have the disadvantage of having a highly variable resistance against knocks and drops of the containers, REF: 132750 depending on the nature of the fibers used. In particular, the containers produced from filaments of carbon fibers are highly sensitive to such impacts or falls. The bases of the domes are the thinnest parts of the wall of the container and therefore are the weakest. A bump or fall on one of these domes results in the de-amining of the inner layers of the composite material, which leads to a drop in the mechanical ability of the container to withstand fluid pressure, and therefore leads to risk of container t. To solve this problem, it has been contemplated for a container obtained from rolled fibers, to place a protective insert made of an absorbing material of impact or shock absorbing, particularly of polyurethane foam in each dome of this container, then the insert is covered with an external winding of reinforcement fibers embedded in the matrix. This method is satisfactory overall, but has several disadvantages, namely: increased winding time; layers that cover the insert, which constitute additional material that does not take part in the capacity of the container to withstand the pressure of the fluid and that add weight to the container; a thinning at the ends of the insert, that is, on the one hand, towards the side wall of the container, and on the other hand, towards the upper part of the dome to allow this insert to be covered without the covering layers that experience breaks to that level, therefore this insert protects the container essentially against "oblique" falls, that is to say falls where the axis of the container forms an angle of approximately 45 ° with the impact surface, but does not offer the container practically no protection against blows in the upper part of the dome, in the case of a "vertical" fall, that is to say a fall where the axis of the container is approximately perpendicular to the impact surface, or against blows in the portion of the side wall of the container adjacent to the base of the dome, in the case of the "horizontal" fall, that is to say a fall in which the axis of the container does not form an angle or form a zero angle with this same impact surface. Therefore, any of these two types of falls entails the risk of provoking the aforementioned internal s1 amination in the base of the dome.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention establishes the way to overcome these disadvantages, by providing a protective device that is simple and inexpensive to install, does not produce a much heavier container and offers the container perfect protection in case of falls, without Import the angle formed by the axis of this container with the impact surface. Up to this point, this protective device comprises: a helmet formed of a material resistant to perforation, with a shape for wrapping at least the entire dome of the container, which delimits a space between its inner face and the outer face of the wall of the container (1); and a compressible material capable of cushioning a blow or impact, which fills the entire space mentioned above. Therefore, this device is produced independently of the container, ie without adjusting the protective insert and winding fibers around at the time of its manufacture. As a result of this form, which envelops at least the entire dome, and as a result of the space between the hull and the container wall to be completely filled, the device distributes perfectly uniform the impacts that the container can experience, with the compressible material possibly compressed in order to cushion the blow at the moment of impact.

This means that the device allows the dome of the container to be efficiently protected regardless of the angle formed between the axis of the container and the surface of the impact, at the moment of impact. The hull can be in particular of a synthetic resin, particularly of a thermoplastic resin such as acrylonitrile 1 o-but ad i eno-is pull no or polycarbonate, while the compressible material can be expanded as expanded polystyrene, a polyurethane or polyethylene foam, or any other expanded synthetic material. With certain advantages, the device has the shape to cover not only the entire dome of the container, but also the portion of the side wall of the container that is adjacent to the base of this dome. The wrapping of this portion improves the protection of the container against "horizontal" drops. The device can have an approximately constant thickness, that is to say that the helmet must "follow" the wall of the container; however, it is preferred that this case have at one end corresponding to the side wall of the container, a wall approximately parallel to the axis of the container and at the end corresponding to the upper part of the container dome, a wall perpendicular to this axis, these two walls coincide in the shape of a round area. With this shape, the device has a thickness that is markedly increased where it confronts the thinnest part of the dome, this also improves the protection offered to the container against "oblique" drops. Advantageously, when the device has the purpose of equipping a container comprising a connecting piece located in the upper part of the dome, it comprises an annular projection, whose height is such that it extends beyond the free end of the connecting piece when The device is placed in this dome. In case of a "vertical" fall, this projection makes it possible to perfectly protect the connection piece against any direct impact. The device can be fixed to the container, non-removable by any appropriate means, for example by joining, it can also be removably mounted in this container, so that the wall of the latter can be inspected periodically. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, which can be used in containers comprising a connection piece, this connection piece is screwed on its free end and the device has the shape to surround this connection piece, so that the outer face of the helmet is adjusted towards back from the threaded free end of the connection piece, and comprises a ring with internal thread that can be screwed onto the connecting piece and bears against the helmet in order to mount the device in the dome.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order to achieve a good understanding thereof, the invention will be described once again, hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which, by way of example, a preferred embodiment of the device to which it is shown is illustrated. relates the invention. Figure 1 is a half view of the same when mounted in a tank, in longitudinal section; and Figures 2 to 4 are views thereof in a longitudinal section on a smaller scale, in the case of respectively: (1) a "vertical" fall, ie when the axis of the tank is approximately perpendicular to the impact surface. at the moment of impact; (ii) an "oblique" fall, that is, when the axis forms an angle of approximately 45 ° with the surface of the impact, at the moment of impact, and (iii) a "horizontal" fall, that is when the axis forms a small angle or zero angle with the surface at the moment of impact.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Figure 1 illustrates part of the side wall and the round Ib end, known as "dome" of a tank 1, made of a composite material, this tank is fitted with a device 2 to protect your wall from bumps or falls. The tank 1 is of the type that has the purpose of containing a fluid under pressure and comprises a wall 5 made of composite material, a wall with internal coating 6 and a piece 7 of metal connection to connect tank 1, with the necessary installation to be supplied with fluid. The connection piece 7 comprises a tubular part 7a, which is threaded and with internal thread at its free end and a circular base 7b. The internal thread in the part 7a allows the aforementioned connection, while the thread allows the screwing of a ring 8 with internal thread, to removably mount the device 2 in the tank 1. The base 7b is sandwiched between the walls 5 and 6 to ensure that the connection piece 7 is mounted firmly in e 1 tank 1. The device 2 comprises an external hull 10 that surrounds the entire dome Ib and a portion of the wall the against the base of this dome Ib, and a filling 11 made of compressible material, which occupies all the space delimited by the outer face of the wall 5, the part 7a of the connection piece 7 and the inner face of the helmet 10. The latter is made of a puncture resistant material, particularly a thermoplastic resin such as acri 1 on itri 1 o -bu t adi e no - stretch ene or polycarbonate. At the corresponding end of the wall la, there is a wall 10a approximately parallel to the axis of the tank 1, and at the corresponding end of the upper part of the dome Ib, has a wall 10b perpendicular to the same axis, these walls 10a and 10b coincide in a round 10c region. The result of this structure is that the filling 11 is thick where it is confronted with the part of the dome Ib, at the end corresponding to the wall the, in whose part this dome Ib has its smaller thickness. The helmet 10 also comprises an annular projection 12, whose height is such that it extends beyond the free end of the connection plate 7 and the ring 8 when the device is mounted in the tank 1.

The material from which the filling 11 is made is capable of cushioning a blow or an impact due to compression capacity, it is possible that this material is expanded polystyrene, polyurethane foam, any other expanded synthetic material. Due to its shape, which involves not only the dome Ib, but also the portion of the wall and because the filling 11, which occupies the entire space between the hull 10 and the wall of the tank 1, the device It perfectly distributes any impact that this tank may suffer. More particularly, Figure 2 shows that the projection 12 perfectly protects the connecting piece 7 and the ring 8, and therefore the wall of the tank 1, against any direct impact in the case of a "vertical" fall. Figure 3 shows that the round wall 10c and the maximum thickness of the filling 11 facing this wall 10c, perfectly protects the part of the dome Ib that lies at the corresponding end of the wall la.

Figure 4, meanwhile, shows that the wall 10a provides the dome Ib and the wall with perfect protection in the case of a "horizontal" fall. The connection piece 7 and the ring 8 allow the device 2 to be mounted removably in the tank 1, so that the device 2 does not represent no impediment to the inspection of the wall of this tank 1. The invention also provides a device that makes it possible to overcome the disadvantages of the corresponding devices of the prior art, and its use is simple and inexpensive, does not make the container much heavier and offers the container perfect protection in the event of a fall, regardless of the angle formed between the container axis and the impact surface. It should be mentioned that the invention is not limited to the modality described above by way of example, but on the contrary, it covers all alternative forms of the modality thereof. Thus, in the case of smaller containers such as bottles, the outer side face of the projection 12 can be in the continuation of the wall 10a. It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known to the applicant to carry out the aforementioned invention, is the conventional one for the manufacture of the objects or products to which it refers.

Claims (9)

1. A device for protecting a container, particularly a container made of a composite material, which has the purpose of containing a fluid under pressure, and has a cylindrical side wall and rounded ends, commonly known as "domes", the device is characterized in that it comprises : a helmet made of a material resistant to perforations, with the shape for wrapping at least the entire dome of the container, which delimits a space between its inner face and the outer face of the wall of the container; and a compressible material capable of cushioning a blow or impact, which fills the entire space mentioned above.

2. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the hull is made of a synthetic resin, particularly of thermoplastic resin such as cri 1 oni t r i 1 o-but adi eno-styrene or polycarbonate.

3. The device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized because the compressible material is expanded polystyrene, a polyurethane or polyethylene foam or any other expanded synthetic material.

4. The device according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it has the shape to cover not only the entire dome of the container, but also the portion of the side wall of the container, which is adjacent to the base of this dome .

5. The device according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the hull has, at the end corresponding to the side wall of the container, a wall approximately parallel to the axis of the container and at the end corresponding to the upper part of the dome of the container. container, a wall perpendicular to this axis, these two walls coincide in the shape of a round area.

6. The device according to any of the rei indications 1 to 5, which has the purpose of equipping a container comprising a connecting piece located in the upper part of the dome, characterized in that it comprises a projection annular, whose height is such that it extends beyond the free end of the connecting piece when the device is placed in this dome.

7. The device according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that it is mounted removably in the container.

8. The device according to claim 7, the connection piece is screwed on its free end, characterized in that it has the shape to surround this connection piece, so that the outer face of the helmet is adjusted backwards from the threaded free end of the connection piece and because it comprises a ring with internal thread that can be screwed onto the connection piece and bears against the helmet in order to mount the device on the dome.

9. The container equipped with the device according to any of claims 1 to