WO1997036126B1

WO1997036126B1 - Device for storing and discharging viscous liquids

Info

Publication number: WO1997036126B1
Application number: PCT/US1997/006244
Authority: WO
Filing date: 1997-03-13
Publication date: 1997-11-20

Abstract

A device for storing and discharging viscous liquid for a storage unit which is adapted to accommodate a viscous liquid, the device has an outer tubular element (2) adapted to be arranged inside the storage unit and open into its interior so that the viscous liquid fills a space inside the outer element (2). An inner tubular element is located inside an inner chamber (3) of the outer tubular element (2) and is substantially closed. An element (5) for supplying a heating medium into the inner element to heat the viscous liquid to reduce its viscosity is provided.

Claims

AMENDED CLAIMS[received by the International Bureau on 8 October 1997 (08.10.97); original claim 1 amended; remaining claims unchanged (2 pages)]

1. A device for storing and discharging a viscous liquid for a tank which is adapted to accommodate a viscous liquid, the device comprising an outer tubular element adapted to be arranged inside the tank

and open into its interior so that the viscous liquid fills a space inside said outer tubular element; an inner tubular element located inside an inner

chamber of said outer tubular element and being substantially closed, said inner tubular element having a wall surrounded by said inner chamber of said outer tubular element; means for supplying the viscous liquid into said outer tubular element and discharging liquid from said outer tubular element;

means for supplying a heat medium into said inner tubular element so that the heating medium inside said inner tubular element gives out heat through said wall of said inner tubular element into the inner chamber of said outer tubular element and therefore to the viscous liquid so as to heat the viscous

liquid and to reduce its viscosity, and for discharging the heating medium which has been cooled as a result of giving off the heat.

2, A device as defined in claim 1, wherein said means for discharging the liquid from said outer tubular element including pump means

having a suction inlet which is directly connected with a space between said outer tubular element and said inner tubular element so as to suck the viscous liquid from said space, said pump means being lowerable together

with said outlet tubular element and said inner tubular element substantially to a bottom of the tank.

3. A device as defined in claim 2, wherein said means for discharging the liquid from said outer tubular element include a discharge pipe, said pump means having an outlet connected with said discharge pipe.

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STATEMENT UNDER ARTICLE 19

In the International Search Report the Examiner cited U.S. patent 4,926,830 to McNθlley as a document of particular relevance.

Claim 1 has been amended and it clearly and patentably distinguishes from the constructions disclosed in the patent to McNelley.

Claim 1 as amended defines a device for storing and discharging a viscous liquid for a tank accommodating a viscous liquid, which has an outer element which is arranged inside the tank and is open into its interior so that the viscous liquid fills the outer tubular element, and an inner tubular element located inside the outer tubular element and substantially closed and its wall is surrounded by the runner chamber by the outer tubular element. Viscous liquid flows into the outer tubular element from the tank and discharges from the outer tubular element to a consumer. A heating medium is supplied into the closed inner tubular element, heats its wall so that the heat is transmitted to the viscous liquid in the outer tubular element and reduces its viscosity.

In contrast in McNelly patent the inner element 32 accommodates a fluid to be heated, in particular a fuel, while the outer element 12 accommodates a heated fluid to transfer heat through the inner wall of the outer element 12 into the interior of the inner element 32. Then the fuel which is heated inside the inner element 32 under the action of the heat supplied from the outer element 12 is fed to an internal combustion engine. While in the applicant's invention the outer element is opened and the inner element is closed, in the patent to McNelley the outer element is _2Q_

closed and the inner element is open. While in the applicant's invention the fluid whose viscosity must be reduced is located in the outer element and the heating fluid is located in the inner element, in the patent to McNelley the heating medium is located in the outer element, while the medium to be heated is located in the inner element. These differences in the applicant's invention and in the device disclosed in the patent to McNelley are substantial, unobvious, and highly advantageous.

In the applicant's invention, the element which receives a viscous medium to be thermally treated is an outer element, and therefore it can accommodate a substantial volume of the viscous medium. In contrast, in the McNelley invention the medium to be thermally treated is located in the inner element which is much smaller than the outer element of the applicant's invention, and therefore only a very small quantity of the medium to be thermally treated can be subjected to the action of heat.

Another very important difference between the applicant's device and the McNelley device is the following. In the applicant's device the heating medium is confined inside the inner element, its heat is transmitted through its outer wall into the viscous liquid confined in the outer element and is completely used for heating the viscous liquid to reduce its viscosity. In contrast, in the McNelley device the heating medium is located in the outer element outside the inner element. The inner wall of the outer element is in contact with the medium to be heated, while the outer wall of the outer element is in contact with a bulk of medium in the tank. Therefore when the heating medium is supplied to the outer element, the part of its heat and in particular a much greater part of its heat is transmitted outwardly through the outer wall into the bulk of the medium located in the tank, which is completely unnecessary for the heating of the medium inside the inner element. Only a part of heat of the heating medium of the outer element, and in particular a smaller part, is transmitted through the inner wall of the outer element to the medium to be heated. Thus, the device in accordance with the present invention is not only different, but provides for the highly advantageous results including a lower energy consumption and a higher efficiency, which results can not be obtained from the device of McNelley reference.