WO2008004865A1

WO2008004865A1 - Buffer vessel

Info

Publication number: WO2008004865A1
Application number: PCT/NL2007/050324
Authority: WO
Inventors: Sebastiaan Martinus Emanuel Ten Broeke; Petrus Maria Van Eijck; Leendert Rens Groen; Cornelis Hendrik Tankens; Bob Alexander Beem; Servatius Alfons Maria Jaasma
Original assignee: Vialle Alternative Fuel Systems B.V.
Priority date: 2006-07-03
Filing date: 2007-07-02
Publication date: 2008-01-10
Also published as: ES2355195T3; CN101668941A; EP2035684B1; AU2007270170B2; CN101668941B; ATE487873T1; DE602007010461D1; PL2035684T3; AU2007270170A1; NL2000122C2; EP2035684A1

Abstract

In a tank (2) for containing liquidized fuel such as LPG, a fuel pump (3) is provided for pumpmg fuel to a user. This fuel pump (3) is incorporated ina buffer vessel (5) which is positioned near the bottom of the tank. The bottom of the buffer vessel (5) is made from flexible material which is able to adapt to the shape of the bottom. The buffer vessel (5) is pushed against said bottom, as a result of which the volume of the tank (2) is used as efficiently as possible. A flexible bottom can be obtained by producing it from a rubber-like material. Preferably, a stance is created between the bottom of the buffer vessel (5) and the bottom of the tank (2) with three or more legs. A filter (9) is provided in the buffer vessel (5) and the buffer vessel (5) is connected to an accessories plate (15) on which various connections are provided and which can be introduced into the tank (2) as a unit.

Description

Buffer vessel

The present invention relates to a buffer vessel for a pump to be fitted in a pressure vessel for vapour which is liquid under pressure, said buffer vessel comprising a bottom having an inlet for vapour which is liquid under pressure, a peripheral wall adjoining the bottom for delimiting a buffer, a mounting for a pump and attachment means for attachment to a pressure vessel.

Such a buffer vessel is known from WO 98/20247 in the name of Vialle Beheer B.V. which describes a fuel tank for a liquefied gas, such as LPG, in which an opening has been provided in the tank for receiving an accessories plate. On the accessories plate, a structure is provided which consists of a fuel pump accommodated inside a buffer. This buffer is moved into a certain position with respect to the accessories plate by means of spacers, such as silent blocks. Therein, the length of the spacers is chosen such that the underside of the buffer is always as close as possible to the underside of the tank in order to be able to empty the latter as often as possible.

This buffer is embodied as a bellows which rests on the bottom of the tank on a number of legs.

It is important that the tank is emptied as much as possible in order to use the volume of the tank as efficiently as possible. In addition, with applications in vehicles and more particularly with applications where two fuels are used for propulsion, it is becoming increasingly important that the switch-over moment can be determined accurately. With certain applications, the switch-over in principle takes place automatically and therein it is important that the tank can reliably supply an optimum amount of fuel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a buffer vessel which makes it possible to use the volume of a tank in an optimum manner.

This object is achieved in an above-described buffer vessel in that the bottom and peripheral wall of the buffer vessel are embodied in such a manner that this bottom is elastically deformable in order to adapt to the shape of the boundary of this pressure vessel.

According to the present invention, the bottom is elastically deformable. That is to say that the bottom of the buffer vessel adapts to the shape of the bottom of the tank. As the tank is a pressure vessel, it will often be of a slightly curved shape. As has now been found, an unnecessarily large volume is lost by placing a flat bottom of the buffer vessel therein. By now adapting the bottom of the buffer vessel to the shape of the bottom of the vessel, the volume of the pressure vessel can be used more efficiently. All this is entirely reproducible.

Due to the fact that, in addition, the bottom of the buffer vessel adjoins the bottom of the pressure vessel more effectively, movements between the two which might lead to vibrations, noises and the like can be prevented.

According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention, the bottom is made from a rubber-like material which is designed to be flexible under pressure. More particularly, the rubber-like material comprises a nitrile rubber.

According to a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, the bottom of the buffer vessel is provided with three or more legs which, during use, rest on the bottom of the pressure vessel.

Although the pump may be attached outside the buffer vessel, it is preferred if the former is fitted in an accommodation in the buffer vessel. This results in a compact unit which can be handled in a simple manner and facilitates assembly of the structure.

The buffer vessel is embodied for containing the relevant fluid therein and for compensating for temporary variations in the fluid level inside the pressure vessel, as occur, for example, when a vehicle provided with the pressure vessel negotiates a bend. Preferably, a filter is provided on the inlet of the buffer vessel which is near the bottom of the pressure vessel. If desired, it is also possible to provide a filter downstream of the fuel pump. Of course, it is possible to provide several filters. According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the attachment means for the buffer vessel are spring-loaded attachment means which force the buffer vessel in the direction of the bottom of the tank and deform the bottom of the buffer vessel upon contact therewith in the above-described manner. Preferably, the bottom and the peripheral wall of the buffer vessel are made from the same material.

Preferably, the above-described buffer vessel is used in combination with a fuel pump and this unit is combined with an accessories plate which can be introduced into a pressure vessel through an opening.

The invention will be described below in more detail with reference to an exemplary embodiment which is illustrated in the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 diagraramatically shows a pressure vessel provided with the buffer vessel according to the invention;

Fig. 2 diagrammatically shows details of the buffer vessel in combination with an accessories plate fitted in a pressure vessel; and

Fig. 3 shows various relevant parts contained in the buffer vessel in exploded view.

In Fig. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a pressure vessel for a gas which is liquid under pressure, such as LPG, propane, etc. This pressure vessel comprises a buffer vessel 5 according to the present invention, which receives a fuel pump 3 which is connected to an accessories plate 15 via a duct 14.

As can be seen in Figs 2 and 3, the buffer vessel 5 comprises a bottom 6 and an adjoining w,all 7. The bottom 6 contains an inlet opening 8 to which a one-way valve 9 is connected in such a manner that liquid can flow into the buffer vessel via opening 8, but cannot flow out, as a result of which the buffer vessel will not empty when a vehicle travels through a bend or the like. The buffer vessel contains the fuel pump 3 which is accommodated in an attachment block 10 which is securely held in the buffer vessel in an accommodation. Two attachment pins 11 are provided which are spring-loaded due to the presence of a spring 13 and extend between the accessories plate 15 and the buffer vessel and are embodied to push the buffer vessel 5 against the bottom 18 of the tank.

The bottom 6 of the buffer vessel is provided with three legs 12.

The accessories plate 15 is provided with a shut-off valve 4 which operates between the duct 14 and the discharge opening 16 for product which has been pumped by the pump. Reference numeral 17 denotes a fill opening.

Both the bottom 6 and the peripheral wall 7 are made of an elastically deformable material, such as a nitrile rubber.

The structure, comprising pressure vessel 2 and buffer vessel 5, is assembled by introducing the accessories plate, attachment pins and buffer vessel incorporating the connected fuel pump 3 as a unit into an opening 19 in the fuel vessel. Therein, the length of the attachment pins 11 is chosen such that the bottom 6 of the buffer vessel 5 already touches the bottom 18 of the pressure vessel when the accessories plate 15 is secured to the outside of the pressure vessel. By placing the accessories plate 15 against the pressure vessel 2 and attaching it thereto, the bottom 6 will elastically deform as a result of the pressure of springs 13 of attachment pins 11, as is shown in Fig. 2. This means that the bottom adapts to the shape of the underside of the fuel tank, as a result of which the inlet opening 8 ends up in an optimum low position in the tank and the volume of the latter can be used to an optimum degree. This inlet opening can also be provided in the bottom 6 of the buffer vessel 5. hi addition, the positioning of the buffer vessel with respect to the pressure vessel 2 is optimized by at least two of the three legs 12 acting on the bottom 18 of the pressure vessel. By using rubber material, the noise generated by the pump is attenuated as much as possible. Further measures may be taken in order to attenuate the noise of the pump as much as possible. These may comprise, inter alia, making the attachment block 10 from rubber or another sound- insulating material. Also, the latter may be produced integrally with the remainder of the wall 7. After reading the above, those skilled in the art will immediately be able to think of variants of the inventive idea, which variants are obvious after reading the above description and are covered by the scope of the appended claims, in which rights are expressly requested for the subject matter defined in the subclaims independent of the main claim.

Claims

1. Buffer vessel (5) for a pump (3) to be fitted in a pressure vessel (2) for vapour which is liquid under pressure, said buffer vessel comprising a bottom (6) having

5 an inlet (8) for vapour which is liquid under pressure, a peripheral wall (7) adjoining the bottom for delimiting a buffer, a mounting (10) for a pump and attachment means (11) for attachment to a pressure vessel, characterized in that the bottom (6) and peripheral wall (7) of the buffer vessel are embodied in such that this bottom (6) is elasticatly deformable in order to adapt to the shape of the 10 boundary of this pressure vessel.

2. Buffer vessel according to Claim 1, in which said bottom is made from rubber- like material.

15.

3. Buffer vessel according to Claim 2, in which said rubber-like material comprises a nitrile rubber.

4. Buffer vessel according to one of the preceding claims, in which said attachment comprises a clamping part for the pump, which clamping part is integrally formed 0 with the peripheral wall.

5. Buffer vessel according to one of the preceding claims, in which said bottom comprises three legs (12).

25 6. Buffer vessel according to one of the preceding claims, in which said mounting of said pump comprises an accommodation space in said buffer vessel.

7. Buffer vessel according to one of the preceding claims, in which a filter (9) is provided on Hie inlet (8) of the buffer vessel.

30

8. Buffer vessel according to one of the preceding claims, in which said attachment means (11) comprise spring-mounted attachment means which are designed to push the bottom (6) of said buffer vessel away.

9. Buffer vessel according to one of the preceding claims, in which said bottom (6) and said peripheral wall (7) are made from the same material.

10. Pressure vessel assembly for fuel which is liquid under pressure, comprising a buffer vessel (5) according to one of the preceding claims, a pump (3) fitted therein (3) and a flexible duct (14) connecting the pump and a discharge opening (16) of the vessel.

11. Assembly according to Claim 10, in which said discharge opening (16) is provided in an accessories plate (15), which accessories plate comprises a refill opening (17).