Patent Application
20220169110
The present disclosure relates to a valve assembly for use with a container such as a fuel tank.
Typical fuel and liquid re-fuelling technology fills and refills diesel tanks at a comparatively slow rate. In many industries, for example: mines, quarries, construction sites, and rail or marine applications, the downtime associated with re-fuelling is costly. Accordingly, if the time required for refuelling can be reduced, substantial cost and time savings can be achieved.
The time required for refuelling is limited by the ability of the tank to vent the air contained within it as it is filled. When the flow rate exceeds the capacity of the tank to vent air, the fuel tank will pressurise. This is undesirable as it can lead to damage, rupture of the fuel tank and/or environmental release of the contents of the tank. Pressurisation may also occur if the tank includes a float valve to prevent spillage. If the tank is overfilled, this valve will act to seal and pressurise the tank. Shut off mechanisms are thus required to close the filling nozzle when a tank is filled to a predetermined level below that which would cause pressurisation.
Breather valves, which allow the tank to vent air during filling and/or serve part of a level control system, are known in the art. One example is known in US2016288640, which discloses a valve assembly featuring a level control system and breather valve for attachment to a fuel tank. As the tank fills, air is allowed to leave the tank through the breather valve. Similarly, as fuel is consumed, the breather valve allows the flow of air into the tank. In both cases, the breather valve serves to prevent the tank pressurising. Otherwise stated, these valves act to regulate pressure between an exterior and an interior of a container such as a fuel tank. The assembly further includes a relief valve in the form of a spring and relief plate that rises under pressure to reveal relief holes, allowing the contents of the tank to be expelled if overfilled or in the event that the breather valve malfunctions. As protection against fuel being expelled if the tank is overturned, a rollover protection valve is also supplied in line with the central axis of the assembly which will close if the tank is rotated past a threshold angle, preventing fuel from being released from the tank.
This assembly however is unable to sufficiently vent the tank for higher filling rates, desirably between 1500 and 2000 L/min or greater. This is partially due to the flow path which air takes when leaving the tank, in which it must pass around the rollover and relief valves. Further, the assembly is unsuited for applications where there is only a small amount of clearance around the tank.
Accordingly, the present invention seeks to at least partially overcome these issues, providing a valve assembly which allows higher filling rates and providing a reduced profile above the tank.
In a first aspect, there is provided a valve assembly for use with a container, the assembly comprising; at least one conduit in fluid communication with the interior of the container, at least one outlet in fluid communication with the exterior of the container, at least one inlet in fluid communication with the exterior of the container, wherein the inlet allows one way fluid communication from the exterior of the container to the at least one conduit, a housing containing a channel allowing fluid communication between the at least one conduit and the at least one outlet; and an outlet valve located within the channel adapted to allow movement between an open and a closed position; an open position which allows one way fluid communication from the at least one conduit to the at least one outlet; and a closed position which prevents fluid communication from the at least one conduit to the at least one outlet, wherein the outlet valve moves to the open position when the pressure of the interior of the container is greater than the pressure of the exterior of the container and moves to the closed position when the pressure of the interior of the container is less than the pressure of the exterior of the container; wherein when the outlet valve is in the open position, a substantially unobstructed flow path is defined from the interior of the container through the conduit, channel, outlet valve and outlet to the exterior of the container, wherein the housing includes a central axis and comprises an outlet side containing the at least one outlet and the outlet valve, and an inlet side containing the at least one inlet, the outlet side and the inlet side being adjacent in the housing on a plane substantially transverse to the central axis.
In certain embodiments, the outlet way valve is hinged to allow movement between the open and closed positions.
In certain embodiments, the outlet valve is hinged at a location proximate a central axis of the housing.
In certain embodiments, the outlet valve is positioned substantially horizontally when in a closed position.
In certain embodiments, the assembly further comprises a rollover protection device located within the housing which prevents fluid communication through the channel if the container is rotated past a threshold angle which would otherwise cause fluid to flow through the channel due to gravity.
In certain embodiments, the rollover protection device is located substantially outside of the flow path when the container is not rotated past the threshold angle.
In certain embodiments, the rollover protection device is offset from the central axis.
In certain embodiments, the rollover protection device comprises a float disposed on a shaft so that it is movable along a long axis of the shaft.
In certain embodiments, the shaft is a cantilevered shaft.
In certain embodiments, the rollover protection device further comprises a weight disposed on the shaft, wherein the weight is movable along a long axis of the shaft and wherein the weight is not connected to the float.
In certain embodiments, the weight is disposed on the shaft on top of the float.
In certain embodiments, the weight is disposed on the shaft below the float.
In certain embodiments, the weight is disposed on the shaft in a cavity of the float.
In certain embodiments, the rollover protection device further comprises a weight movable along a long axis of the shaft and the weight is connected to the float.
In certain embodiments, a spring is located at the base of the shaft, underneath the float.
In certain embodiments, the rollover protection device comprises an air shield adapted to prevent premature engagement of the float from air escaping during air pressure relief from the interior of the container to the outlet valve.
In certain embodiments, the air shield redirects the air above or around the float.
In certain embodiments, the housing is substantially cylindrical.
In certain embodiments, the assembly further comprises a machined insert located on the housing suitable for attaching a high pressure relief valve or similar device which allows fluid communication with the exterior of the container when the pressure of the interior of the container exceeds a set threshold value.
In certain embodiments, the high pressure relief valve or similar device is provided in the form of a bursting disc.
In certain embodiments, the assembly further comprises a filter located within the housing between the at least one inlet and the at least one conduit such that any fluid that passes from the at least one inlet is filtered prior to entering the at least one conduit.
In certain embodiments, the assembly further comprises; a pilot line located within and which extends substantially along the length of the conduit; and a float valve located within the conduit offset from a main axis of the conduit, wherein; the float valve moves from a first position where fluid communication is possible through the pilot line to a second position where fluid is prevented passing through the pilot line, the float moving to the second position when the container is filled to a set level.
In certain embodiments, the central conduit includes a first set of openings located towards an end distal to the housing and a second set of openings located proximal to the housing wherein the second set of openings is sized to have a greater area than the first set.
In certain embodiments, the assembly further comprises an attachment point in the housing for an elbow or similar conduit such that fluid can enter into the channel of the housing from a location remote to the assembly.
In certain embodiments, a filter is located within a conduit remote to the assembly, said conduit being attached at the attachment point to the housing.
In certain embodiments, the conduit is attached to the container by means of a seal.
In certain embodiments, the seal is retained by at least one clip such that orientation of the conduit and housing relative to the container can be changed.
In certain embodiments, the assembly further comprises a visual failure indicator including a pressure-activated valve and a chamber containing a visual indicator, wherein the valve only permits liquid to enter the chamber when a predetermined pressure is reached; and the visual indicator allows a user to determine when liquid has entered the chamber.
In certain embodiments, the container is a fuel tank.
In certain embodiments, the conduit is sized to fit a standard 2″ NPT thread.
According to a second aspect, there is provided a container containing a valve assembly according to the first aspect.
In certain embodiments of the second aspect, the container is a fuel tank.
When fuel is consumed, air must be allowed to enter the tank in order to prevent pressurization of the fuel tank. Air is able to enter the fuel tank through inlets 13, filter through air filtering element 17 then pass through inlet check valve 15 into the container by the central conduit 11. Inlet check valve 15 only permits fluid flow in one direction from inlet 13 to the central conduit 11 and only opens when the pressure inside the fuel tank is less than the pressure outside the fuel tank. By contrast, when the fuel tank is being refilled, air must leave the tank to avoid pressurization. Air is allowed to exit the tank through central conduit 11, outlet valve 16 and through outlet 14. Outlet valve 16 only permits fluid flow out of the tank and only opens when the pressure within the tank is greater than the pressure outside of the tank. The housing can be considered to be divided into two halves; a first half (an inlet side) for incoming air consisting of inlets 13 located in an upper side surface of the housing, air filtering element 17 and inlet check valve 15, and a second half (an outlet side) for outgoing air consisting of outlet 14 located in an upper side surface of the housing and outlet valve 16. The rollover protection device 18 is also located in the second half as it is used to allow or prevent fluid from leaving the apparatus. The rollover protection device 18 is located in a lower portion of the housing offset from the central axis such that it lies in the second half and is located substantially out of the flow path of outgoing air when in its normal condition. The first half and the second half may be positioned adjacent and transverse to the central axis of the housing, as shown in the FIGs.
The outlet valve 16 is configured so that it lies substantially horizontally when in a closed position, that is to say substantially normal to the central axis of the assembly. This is advantageous as in many practical situations, the fuel tank (and accordingly, the assembly) will operate at a range of angles deviating from the horizontal. For example, a fuel tank mounted in a truck will change angles as the truck travels down a haul road decline. The horizontal mounting of the valve prevents it from being opened due to gravity when the tank is operating at angles off the horizontal, stopping unfiltered air from entering from the outlet 14. As shown in
The assembly shown in
The rollover protection device 18 comprises a float attached to a shaft such that it can move along the shaft's long axis. The float may be shaped substantially cylindrically as in
During refilling, fuel enters the tank through a filling valve (not shown). A portion of the fuel being added is in communication with the pilot line port 19 so that fuel travels through the pilot line conduit 20 and enters the tank through the liquid chamber 21 and apertures 25. Inside the liquid chamber 21 is seal 22, attached by shaft 23 to float valve 24. As the fuel level in the tank rises, float valve 24 rises from a first position where fuel can pass into the tank from the liquid chamber 21, to a second position where seal 22 prevents fuel from leaving the liquid chamber. This causes the direction of the flow of fuel through pilot line conduit to reverse, providing a pressure which causes the filling valve to close, preventing overfilling and pressurisation of the tank. During this time, air is able to pass through a second, larger set of apertures 30 which are located such that they are located above the maximum fuel level of the tank so that air is always able to pass through them into the central conduit 11. The second set of apertures 30 are larger than the first set 25 to allow maximal airflow into the assembly and hence enable faster filling rates of the tank.
The embodiment shown in
The machining insert 26 allows the relief valve or similar to be distal from the main body. This is advantageous in that the spilled fuel may be channelled to a safer location. For example, the main body of the valve may be situated near hot objects such as turbos, which pose a fire risk if fuel is expelled in their vicinity.
In other embodiments, the operator may prefer the tank to pressurise rather than risk release of the contents of the tank to the environment. To satisfy the operator's preference, the machining insert 26 may not be present or may be sealed so that in the event of malfunction, the tank pressurizes rather than expelling the contents of the tank. In some of these embodiments, a visual indicator may be located within the assembly to indicate that the tank is pressurizing, as shown in
The assembly is designed to fit onto existing fuel tanks and similar. Accordingly, the base of the main body may be sized to fit a standard 2″ NPT connection.
The assembly allows air to be vented from the tank through a less torturous path than in prior art such as US2016288640 where air must pass around a relief valve. The flow path is further improved by the location of the rollover protection valve eccentrically in the housing, allowing a gentle S-bend path for the air to take as opposed to the more complex path when locating the valve centrally. Further, air is able to pass through the assembly without encountering any substantial obstructions or requiring the air to split into multiple flow paths. This flow path allows the present invention to achieve flow rates of up to 2000 L/min or higher, surpassing the current filling flow rates achievable by the prior art.
A diagram illustrating the flow path during filling the tank and during fuel consumption is shown in
Also during the fuel filling phase, fuel enters the assembly from a filling valve and travels through the pilot line 20 to enter the container through the smaller set of apertures 25 located towards the distal end of the central conduit.
As the fuel level rises to a predetermined level, the float valve 24 rises as well. The float valve 24 is attached to a shaft and seal which prevents fuel from entering the central conduit 11 and the smaller set of apertures 25. This causes the fuel in the pilot line 20 to reverse direction and provide a pressure on the filling valve, preventing further filling of the tank. It can be seen that the larger set of apertures 30 are located above this predetermined level to allow air to continue to enter the central conduit through the same flow path as during filling.
During the fuel consumption phase, air must be added to the container to prevent the container from pressurising from internal vacuum. As shown in the diagram, a second flow path is utilized during this time as the outlet valve 16 is in the closed position and the flap is substantially horizontal, blocking airflow through this pathway. Air is able to enter the container through the inlet into an air filtering element. From there, the air is able to pass through a check valve into the central conduit of the assembly and into the container through the larger set of apertures.
Otherwise stated,
In alternative embodiments, the shaft 34 may instead be a cantilevered shaft with a dimensioned length. This may provide a number of functions such as to: (i) facilitate the float 31 sealing the outlet passage in a rollover position, (ii) guide the float 31 toward a normal position when the assembly is moved from the rollover position to the normal condition, and (iii) not penetrate the top surface of the float and hence provide a continuous top surface of the float. Example embodiments are illustrated in
Additionally, the embodiments of
Advantageously, as the housing does not have to fit a relief valve, the height of the main body can be reduced relative to existing valve assemblies. This allows the present invention to be used in applications where there is insufficient clearance above a tank to install valve assemblies of the prior art.
In other embodiments, it may be advantageous to receive air into the assembly from an area remote to the main body. The housing may be provided with a means of attaching an elbow or conduit in fluid communication with the inside of the tank, such as a gate or socket. This elbow or conduit may further be in fluid communication with an air filtering element and intake remote from the main body of the assembly, and may take the place of the air filtering element and intake in the housing. An embodiment with this consideration is shown in
A number of elements contribute to allow faster fuelling rates compared with existing designs. The arrangement of the rollover device 18 offset from the central axis of the main body provides for a single unobstructed flow path for exiting air through the assembly, as does the configuration of the outlet valve 16 and the mass-dampening achieved with weight 33. The faster fuelling rates are also enabled by the relative sizing of the second set of apertures 30 (used for airflow) compared to the first set 25 (used for fuel). The larger sizing allows air to flow into the central conduit at a faster rate than a smaller sized aperture would allow.
In the foregoing description of certain embodiments, specific terminology has been resorted to for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the specific terms so selected, and it is to be understood that each specific term includes other technical equivalents which operate in a similar manner to accomplish a similar technical purpose.
In this specification, the word “comprising” is to be understood in its “open” sense, that is, in the sense of “including”, and thus not limited to its “closed” sense, that is the sense of “consisting only of”. A corresponding meaning is to be attributed to the corresponding words “comprise”, “comprised” and “comprises” where they appear.
In addition, the foregoing describes only some embodiments of the invention(s), and alterations, modifications, additions and/or changes can be made thereto without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosed embodiments, the embodiments being illustrative and not restrictive.
Furthermore, invention(s) have described in connection with what are presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, is intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the invention(s). Also, the various embodiments described above may be implemented in conjunction with other embodiments, e.g., aspects of one embodiment may be combined with aspects of another embodiment to realize yet other embodiments. Further, each independent feature or component of any given assembly may constitute an additional embodiment.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019900961 | Mar 2019 | AU | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AU2020/050253 | 3/17/2020 | WO | 00 |
