MXPA97009968A - Tanta lined tester - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electronic tester assembly having a tester for introduction into a container, which container has a corrosion resistant liner. The assembly comprises a ring having a body, wherein the body is defined by a circumferential outer surface, a top sealing surface, a lower sealing surface and a central surface defining a central hole. The body also has a tester access hole that passes through the body from the outer surface to the central hole. The upper surface, the lower surface and the surfaces defining the central hole are covered by a contiguous layer of a corrosion resistant metal, which is preferably tantalum. A tester is mounted in the access hole to the tester so that one end of a sensor portion of the tester is integral with the liner on the central surface and so that the tester can be connected with an electrical conductor through the access hole of the tester. fitting room. The sensor end preferably comprises platinum which is welded to the tantalum to become integral with it. The assembly is easily mounted to a container on a flange surface by placing a first corrosion-resistant package between the lower sealing surface and the flange surface and a second corrosion-resistant package between the upper sealing surface and a cover and adjusting the cover to the flange by compressing and thus holding the gaskets and allowing the sensor to access the interior of the container and electrically insulating the assembly from the inside of the container.

Description

TANTALIO FORKED TESTER Background of the Invention This invention relates to testers or detectors for containers resistant to corrosion. Historically it has been dcult to provide access to detectors or testers inside corrosion-resistant containers including tanks and ducts, especially when such containers are lined with a contiguous, often brittle material such as glass or ceramic. This is true for many reasons. It is dcult to provide small access holes through a glass or ceramic liner since such holes provide stress points that are often subject to failure. In addition, even after the access hole is provided it is dcult to provide a reliable seal around the detector or probe passing through the access hole. This is especially true since such seals are frequently required to be resistant to corrosion, pressure, heat and electricity. Such seals are usually made from corrosion-resistant thermoplastic material such as polytetrafluoroethylene, commonly sold under the trademark TEFLON. The reliability of the seal is therefore dependent on the properties of the sealing material, the sealing surface and the pressure applicable to the seal.

Numerous attempts have been made to overcome these problems although all of them require complex sealing mechanisms that are not reliable. One such example is shown in U.S. Patent 4,200,834, incorporated herein by reference. This patent illustrates the problems associated with the provision of access to glass lined containers by testers or detectors. In the patent, access is not only complex. , but provides very little sealing surface area to avoid failure, for example, packing 31 or seal 19 Another complex construction is shown in U.S. Patent 4,595,487, incorporated herein by reference. small access hole that is encircled by a flange 15 Short bends around the small hole result in stress points that subject the glass lining to failure Also sealing gasket 21 has very little sealing surface area that creates potential for failure of the packaging The United States Patent 4,617,511, incorporated herein by reference , shows an electrode for introduction into the glass-lined container The assembly has a protruding electrode 1 sealed by means of a small packing 7 A unique and interesting approach to the problem is presented in Data Sheet DS33-101-2, Fault Finder System 125 of Pfaudler US INC, August 1991 The tester illustrated in Figure 3 of the data sheet is essentially shown in Figure 3 hereof as the prior art. This prior art tester has a ring having a glass coating 40 having sealing surfaces 44 for coupling with the flange surfaces of a container with intermediate sealing packages. A tester 10 passes through the body to a central hole 18 in the ring. The tester is recessed to allow the area of a full circle within the central hole to allow full access through the central hole to a container. As a result the surface area 44 has a restricted area 46 which is a weak area to hold a sealing pack. In addition, the tester 10 is sealed within the access hole 22 through Teflon 42 sealing ring means. The tester rests on this ring seal for resistance to the contents and conditions within the container and the electrical resistance to isolate the fitting room. The small nature of the ring seal 42, the small surface area and the dculty in applying direct pressure to retain the ring seal, cause the ring seal to be subject to more faults than are desirable.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figure 1 shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a tester in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the tester of Fig. 1 taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 illustrates a tester of the prior art.

Brief Description of the Invention The invention comprises an electronic tester assembly having a tester for introduction into the container, which container has a corrosion resistant liner. The assembly comprises a ring having a body wherein the body is defined by a circumferential outer surface, an upper sealing surface, a lower sealing surface and a central surface defining a central hole. The body also has a probe access hole that passes through the body from the outer surface to the central surface. The upper surface, the lower surface and the surfaces defining the central hole are covered by a continuous layer of a corrosion resistant metal, which is preferably tantalum. A tester is mounted in the tester access hole so that one end of a portion of the tester is integral with the liner on the central surface and so that the tester can be connected with a conductor through the tester access hole. The end of the detector comprises platinum that is welded to the tantalum to become integral with it. The assembly is easily mounted to a container on a flange surface by placing a first corrosion-resistant package between the lower sealing surface and a first flange surface and a second corrosion-resistant package between the upper sealing surface and a second one. flange surface and adjusting the flange surfaces toward each other by compressing and holding the gaskets and allowing the sensor access to the interior of the container and electrically insulating the assembly from the interior of the container. At least one of the flange surfaces encloses a hole in the container. The remaining flange surface may surround another hole within a container or may be part of a cover. The assembly may further include a coupling connected to the external surface at the location of the access hole of the tester. The coupling comprises an electrically resistant material and is hollow to allow passage of the electrical conductor connected to the tester.

Detailed description of the invention The electronic tester assembly of the invention is suitable for many purposes. For example, the tester can be used in a fault detector to detect spills in a corrosion resistant layer by means of a current flow that occurs between the tester and the spill. A number of such testers can be used in the same container and even stacked one on top of the other to provide a series of isolated sensors. Such an arrangement can be used to determine the properties of the container contents, for example conductivity or pH. The upper and lower sealing surfaces, as used herein, represent upper and lower means only as illustrated. It is understood that the orientation can be varied without departing from the scope of the invention. The body of the assembly can be made from any suitable material such as stainless steel or even mild steel; provided that the desired corrosion resistant layer can be applied thereto. The invention can be more fully understood by reference to the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings. As seen in Figures 1 and 2, a preferred embodiment of the invention of a tester assembly 10 comprising a ring having a body 12. The ring is defined by an upper sealing surface 14, a lower sealing surface, a circumferential outer surface 24 and a central surface defining a central hole 18. The upper surface, the lower surface and the central surface are covered by the adjoining layer 20 of a corrosion resistant material.

The body 12 further has a tester access hole 22 which passes through the body from the outer surface 24 towards the central hole 18. A tester 26 is mounted in the tester access hole 22 so that one end of a sensor portion 28 of the tester is integral with the corrosion-resistant metal on the surface of the central hole 18 and so that a portion of the tester leaves from the access hole of the tester 22 on the external surface 24 so that the tester can connecting with the electrical conductor 36. A conduit 30, is attached to the body 122, so as to encircle the access hole 22 and protect the tester 26 and the conductor 36. One end of an electrically non-conductive coupling 30 for electrically insulating the tester and the other end of the coupling is connected to a junction box 34 landed to a container (not shown) by means of the ground cable 38. The conductor 36 passes through s of the junction box 34 to the electronic circuit to analyze the signals from the tester. When the assembly is mounted on a container, the corrosion resistant and electrically resistant packages are placed on surfaces 16 and 14 and interspersed between flanges. In that way the complete assembly is electrically isolated and large sealing surfaces are employed which are more resistant to the conditions of abrupt corrosion, pressure and temperature.

Claims (5)

1. An electronic tester assembly having a tester for introduction into a container, which container has a corrosion resistant liner, the assembly comprising a ring having a body, the body being defined by an outer circumferential surface, a surface of top sealing, a lower sealing surface and a central surface defining a central hole; the upper surface, the lower surface and the surfaces defining the central hole are covered by a contiguous layer of a corrosion-resistant metal; the body further having a tester access hole passing through the body from the outer surface towards the central hole; and a tester mounted in the tester access hole so that the tester can be connected with an electrical conductor through the access hole of the tester; characterized in that one end of a portion of the tester is integral with said corrosion-resistant metal of the central surface said assembly being easily mounted to a container on a flange surface thereof by placing a first corrosion-resistant package between the surface lower seal and a first flange surface and a second corrosion-resistant package between the upper sealing surface and a second flange surface and adjusting the flange surfaces towards one another thereby compressing and holding the packages and allowing the sensor to communicate with the container and electrically isolating the assembly from the inside of the container. The assembly of claim 1, characterized in that the corrosion resistant metal is tantalum. The assembly of claim 1, characterized in that the sensor end is platinum. The assembly of claim 1, characterized in that the sensor end is platinum and is welded to the tantalum to become integral therewith. The assembly of claim 1, characterized in that it further includes a coupling connected to the external surface at the location of the tester access hole said coupling comprising an electrically resistant material and being hollow to allow the passage of the electrical conductor connected to the fitting room. SUMMARY An electronic tester assembly having a tester for introduction into a container, which container has a corrosion resistant liner. The assembly comprises a ring having a body, wherein the body is defined by a circumferential outer surface, an upper sealing surface, a lower sealing surface and a central surface defining a central hole. The body also has a tester access hole that passes through the body from the outer surface to the central hole. The upper surface, the lower surface and the surfaces defining the central hole are covered by a contiguous layer of a corrosion resistant metal, which is preferably tantalum. A tester is mounted in the tester access hole so that one end of a sensor portion of the tester is integral with the liner on the central surface and so that the tester can be connected with an electrical conductor through the access hole of the tester. The end of the sensor preferably comprises platinum which is welded to the tantalum to become integral with it. The assembly is easily mounted to a container on a flange surface by placing a first corrosion-resistant package between the lower sealing surface and the flange surface and a second corrosion-resistant package between the upper sealing surface and a cover and adjusting the cover to the flange by compressing and thus holding the gaskets and allowing the sensor to access the interior of the container and electrically insulating the assembly from the interior of the container in another way.