Patent Application
20160244252
The present disclosure relates to fuel tanks and, more particularly, to a transportable fuel tank that may be used to refuel engines at remote locations such as construction sites and the like.
This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
In some instances, it is impractical for a vehicle to travel to a gas station or the like to be refueled. Construction sites are an example. These sites are often remotely located and employ numerous pieces of construction equipment such as trucks, bulldozers, and other vehicles having engines that need to be refueled periodically. Since it is not practical for these pieces of construction equipment to travel very far, it is preferable to bring a refueling option to the construction site so that the equipment can be refueled without having to travel very far.
One example of a typical refueling option is a single-walled spherical tank that contains fuel. Precautions are often mandated for ecological reasons to minimize contamination of the environment in the event of a leak in the tank. Typical of such precautions are berms and/or bladders that surround the tank to contain any fuel that may leak from the tank. Unfortunately, these precautions are expensive, are not easy to maintain, and may not totally be effective.
This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features.
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a mobile vessel for refueling engines at remote refueling sites is provided. The vessel has a tank with sidewalls and a rectangular bottom portion. The bottom portion is configured to rest on the ground. The bottom portion includes an inner wall, a lower plate and spacer elements between the inner wall and lower plate that define a gap there between for collecting fuel that may leak from the tank.
Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. The description and specific examples in this summary are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring now to
Returning now to
In
Returning now to
The vessel 10, especially the tank section 14a that rests on the ground, is constructed so that potential leaks from the tank are collected to ensure that the leaking fuel does not drip onto the ground to contaminate the environment. With particular reference to
A lower main frame 74 in the bottom portion 60 may be provided to increase the strength of the vessel 10. The main frame 74 is preferably constructed of larger rectangular tubing. Upper portions of the tubing of frame 74 are connected to peripheral portions of the lower plate 64 whereas the lower portion of frame 74 rests on the ground and raises the lower plate 64 above ground level.
The sides of the vessel 10 are also preferably of a double walled construction. As seen best in
In accordance with an aspect of this invention, a foldable docking station 90 is provided at the rear of the vessel 10. Referring to
When in use, the ladder section 92a is folded outwardly towards the ground so that a user can climb onto the deck 94 and then onto platform 96 as shown in
When the vessel 10 is transported as shown in
As will be appreciated the docking station 90 can be used separately on a wide variety of different refueling tanks and other vehicles.
Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.
When an element or layer is referred to as being “on”, “engaged to”, “connected to” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to”, “directly connected to” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.
Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath”, “below”, “lower”, “above”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.
The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure.
