US1666416A - Floating deck - Google Patents

Description

April 17. 1928.

' A. M. GRIFFIN FLOATING DECK Filed Sept. 2'7. 1926 Patented Apr. 17, 1928.

UNITED STATES 1,666,416 PATENT OFFICE.

ALVAH M. GRIFFIN, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORTO UNIVERSAL HOLD- ING COMPANY, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

FLOATING DECK.

Application filed September 27, 1926. Serial No. 137,940.

This invention relates to a floating deck, and refers particularly to a seal for a floating deck of the kind employed upon oil tanks.

An object of the present invention is to provide a floating deck with an exceptionally etficient and satisfactory seal.

In the use of floating decks upon oil tanks, it is desirable toseal the space between the tank wall and the outer periphery of the floating deck. Hitherto, various seals hay e been employed for this purpose but none of said seals have entirely eliminated the escape of oil vapors around the seal. In accordance with the present invention, I provide the floating deck with curved sealing plates pivoted at their upper ends to the floating deck and extending outwardly into engagement with the tank walls. Said sealing plates thus have their lower swinging end extending down within the oil supporting the deck. Moreover, the seals of the present invention have their edges interfitting and packed together so as to effectively eliminate any leakage. In order to secure positive engagement between the seals and the tank wall and also in order that .the seals ma assist in centering the floating deck of t e tank, the seals are provided with,

spring means urging the seals into engagement with the tank walls.

' Various further features of the present invention will appear from a description of a preferred form of seal for a floating deck embodying the invention. For this purpose, reference is made to the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevation of vided with a floating deck,

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmental vertical section of the floating deck and tank disclosing the seal construction and its engagement with the tank wall,

Figure 3 is a developed view of part of the seal construction, I

Figure 4. is a section on the line H of Figure 3,

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of a modified form of seal construction, and,

Figure 6 is a fragmentary horizontal section of the sealing plates.

Referring to the drawings, 2 indicates a tank provided with a floating deck 3. The

a tank profloating deck may be of any desired form of construction, the particular form of the floating deck not being an essential feature of the present invention. The floating deck 3 is provided with a plurality of sealing plates and 5, of which 4 are termed inside plates and 5 outside plates. Said sealing plates are supported at their upper ends 6 by the outer wall of the floating deck 3, having their upper end bent at right angles as indicated at 7 to provide for engagement therewith. Over thevupper ends of the sealing plates are placed caps 8 for reenforcing such portion of the seal. The sealing plates are bowed outwardly in position to engage with the side walls of the tank v2,

and are normally held in firm engagement with the wall of the tank 2 by suitable means such, for example, as the coil springs 9. The coil springs 9 are indicated as mounted between the sealing plates and the outer walls of the floating deck 3 with their inner ends supported by spring supportingplates 10 which, in turn, are pivotally supported as indicated at 11 by the inside sealing plates 4 near their upper ends.

The outside plates 5 are made straight in cross section whereas the inside plates 4 are indicated as having offset ends 12 so that the inside and outside sealing plates 4c and 5 may overlap while retaining their outer walls substantially flush. Around the offset ends 12 of the inside scaling plates 4 is provided packing means 13 for sealing the plates together and for retaining said packing means in position, there is secured cleats 14 to the outside sealing plates 5, said cleats 14 having offset ends 15 extending over the offset ends 12 of the inside and engaging the packing 13.

A deck provided with the seal in accord ance with the present invention is adapted to positively prevent the escape of vapors between the sealing deck and wall of the tank 2. Moreover, the free ends of the sealing plates extending down into the liquid supportingthe deck causes the liquid to assist in forming the seal and in lubricating the seal while it engages the tank wall. The sealing plates are yieldingly urged outward by the springs 9 which, in turn, are supported by the sealing plates and thus protected from being excessively worn.

Part of'the features of the seal of the present invention may be embodied in a simsealing plates ing plates 4 and 5 curve outwardly and.

downwardly to engage the side walls of the tank 2. The sealing plates are yieldingly urged outwardly by springs 9 which, in this embodiment oi the invention, have their inner ends supported by the floating deck 3 and their outer ends engaging the rear sides of the sealing plates.

The outside sealing plates l are provided with oli'setends 15 while the inside sealing plates 5" are in turn provided with doublebacked ends 12 which curve around the 05- set ends 15 oi the outside sealing plates at. \Vith this construction, the sealing plates 4 and 5 have their outer surfaces substan tially flush and have their ends interfitted as well as overlapped to eiiieiently seal against escape of vapors from the oil tank.

While the particular forms of the invention herein described are well adapted to carry out the objects oi the invention, various modifications may be made without departing from the invention and the invention includes all such modifications and -ehanges as come within the scope of the 'cireular series of sealing plates surrounding and pivotally mounted on the deck, the sealing plates being adapted to swing outwardly into engagement with the tank wall, springs normally urging said sealing plates into an outer position, andspring supporting bars engaging the inner ends of said springs, said. spring supporting bars being secured to said sealing plates at one end and depending therefrom the other end of the spring supporting bars engaging and supporting said springs.

2. A floating deck for oil tanks having a circular series of sealing plates surrounding and pivotally mounted on the deck, the sealing plates being adapted to pivot outwardly into engagement with a tank wall, spring means normally urging the plates outwardpacking between the overlapping edges of the sealing plates, spring means normally urging the sealing plates outwardly, and spring supports supported by the sealing plates at one end and depending therefrom and having the opposite end supporting said spring means.

4:. A floating deck for an oil tank having a circular series of sealing plates surrounding and pivotally mounted on the deck and adapted to swing upwardly into engagement with the tank wall, part of said sealing plates having offset edges, the edges of adjacent sealing plates overlapping, spring means normally urging the sealing plates outwardly, and spring supports pivotally supported by said sealing plates at their upper ends and having their lower ends depending downwardly in contact with the side wall of the floating deck at one side and at the opposite side engaging and sup porting said spring means. i

5. A floating deck for an oil tank having a circular series of sealing plates surrounding and pivotally mounted on the deck and having their free ends extending downwardly into position to be immersed in a iluid supporting the deck, spring means normally urging the plates outwardly, spring supports carried by the sealing plates, and packing means between adjacent edges of the sealing plates and disposed between the sealing plates and side walls of the oil tank, said spring means being disposed be tween said spring supports and said sealing plates.

Signed at Los Angeles, California, this 16 day of September, 1926.

ALVAH M. GRIFFIN.

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