Patent Application
20080073895
While the invention is claimed in the concluding portions hereof, preferred embodiments are provided in the accompanying detailed description which may be best understood in conjunction with the accompanying diagrams where like parts in each of the several diagrams are labeled with like numbers, and where:
Interior walls 9 divide an interior of the tank shell 3 into first, second, and third compartments A, B, C such that air is prevented from moving between the compartments. The compartments each have a pair of hoppers 11 and an outlet opening 13 at the bottom of each hopper. A gate 15, provided by a butterfly valve or like mechanism, in each opening 13 is operative to selectively discharge stored granular material through the outlet opening 13.
Similarly, a first rear loading conduit 17AR has an interior end 19 located at a top portion of the first compartment A and an exterior end 21 located in proximity to the rear end 3R of the tank shell 3. A second rear loading conduit 17BR has an interior end 19 located at a top portion of the second compartment B and an exterior end 21 located in proximity to the rear end 3F of the tank shell 3. A third rear loading conduit 17CR has an interior end 19 located at a top portion of the third compartment C and an exterior end 21 located in proximity to the rear end 3R of the tank shell 3.
The exterior ends 21 of the loading conduits are adapted for connection to a discharge pipe of a pneumatic conveyor to receive an air stream carrying granular material from the discharge pipe. The discharge pipe of a pneumatic conveyor carrying granular material from a transport vehicle can be connected to any one of the loading conduits 17 to convey the granular material into the desired compartment. Thus the compartments may be filled from a transport vehicle located at either the front end 3F or the rear end 3R of the tank shell 3. The compartments are sealed with respect to each other so there is no possibility that granular material from one compartment will contaminate a different material in an adjacent compartment.
For example to fill compartment C from a transport vehicle that conveniently has access to the front end 3F of the tank shell 3, the discharge pipe from the vehicle is connected to the exterior end 21 of the third front loading conduit 17CF which has an interior end 19 located at a top portion of the third compartment C. Thus the granular material discharged from the pipe will flow through the conduit 17CF and into compartment C. During this process air from compartment C will vent out through the rear loading conduit 17CR. A similar arrangement of loading conduits 17 can be provided for a tank shell with a single compartment, or a large plurality of compartments.
It may be that granular material will be removed from the apparatus 1 by belt or auger conveyors with an intake end that can simply be placed under the outlet openings 13 to receive material. Often however it will be desired to remove material with a pneumatic conveyor as well, and the illustrated apparatus 1 therefore also includes a material removal circuit 30, schematically illustrated in
To further increase the versatility of the apparatus 1, the apparatus 1 is configured such that a discharge pipe connected to the circuit 30 in proximity to either end of the tank shell 3 can be connected to an external end 21 of a loading conduit 17 such that granular material flowing out of the outlet opening 13 of one of the compartments can be conveyed into another one of the compartments. Granular material from two of the compartments can be drawn into the circuit 30 and mixed together, and the blended granular material can then be directed into the third compartment.
The illustrated material removal circuit 30 comprises a pressure conduit 31 having a front pressure port 32F at a front end thereof located in proximity to the front end 3F of the tank shell 3, and a rear pressure port 32R at a rear end thereof located in proximity to the rear end 3R of the tank shell 3. The pressure ports 32 are adapted for connection to a pressure pipe from a pneumatic conveyor to receive the air stream. Each pressure port 32 is operative to prevent air in the pressure conduit from exiting through the pressure port 32. In the illustrated apparatus 1, a one-way valve 33 is provided at each pressure port 32 such that air can enter the port 32 but cannot exit the port 32. Similarly a manual valve or a cap could be provided.
A discharge conduit 35 has a front discharge port 36F at a front end thereof located in proximity to the front end 3F of the tank shell 3, and a rear discharge port 36R at a rear end thereof located in proximity to the rear end 3F of the tank shell 3. The discharge ports 36 are adapted for connection to a discharge pipe to direct an air stream carrying granular material out of the circuit 30 and into the discharge pipe to be conveyed as desired. Each discharge port 36 can be selectively open or closed with a manual valve, cap, or the like. The outlet openings 13 from the compartments A, B, C are connected to mid portions of the discharge conduit 35 such that granular material discharged from the openings 13 enters the discharge conduit 35.
To complete the circuit, a front flow conduit 37 connects a front portion of the pressure conduit 31 to a front portion of the discharge conduit 35, and a rear flow conduit 39 connects a rear portion of the pressure conduit 31 to a rear portion of the discharge conduit 35. Front and rear flow valves 40F, 40R are operative to open and close the corresponding front and rear flow conduits 37, 39.
Considerable versatility is provided by the illustrated network of conduits on the apparatus 1. By connecting a pressure pipe to the front pressure port 32F, and connecting a discharge pipe to the front discharge port 36F, closing front flow valve 40F, opening rear flow valve 40R, closing rear discharge port 36R, the air stream from the pressure pipe will pass along the pressure conduit 31 to the rear end, then through the rear flow conduit 39 to the discharge conduit 35, forward along the discharge conduit 35, picking up any granular material discharged from any compartment, and then out through the front discharge port 36F into the discharge pipe which has its opposite end located to discharge the granular material where desired.
Alternatively by connecting a pressure pipe to the front pressure port 32F, and connecting a discharge pipe to the rear discharge port 36R, opening front flow valve 40F, closing rear flow valve 40R, closing front discharge port 36F, the air stream from the pressure pipe will pass through the front flow conduit 37 to the discharge conduit 35, rearward along the discharge conduit 35, picking up any granular material discharged from any compartment, and then out through the rear discharge port 36R into the discharge pipe which again has its opposite end located to discharge the granular material where desired.
Similar options are available when the pressure pipe is connected to the rear pressure port 32R. Also it can be seen that with a relatively short connector pipe, each front and rear discharge port 36F, 36R can be connected to a corresponding exterior end 21 of one of the front and rear loading pipes 17F, 17R to direct granular material from one or two compartments into a third of the compartments. For example where the material removal circuit 30 is connected to discharge the air stream carrying granular material out through the rear discharge port 36R, that rear discharge port can be connected to the exterior end 21 of the rear loading conduit 17BR. The air stream carrying granular material will be directed into compartment B and the air will vent from compartment B out through the front loading conduit 17BF.
The illustrated apparatus also includes top air conduits 45A, 45B, 45C connecting the pressure conduit 31 to a top portion of the corresponding first, second, and third compartments A, B, C. Valves 47 operate to selectively open and close each of top air conduits. Closure mechanisms, such as loading conduit valves 48 or caps or the like, are provided so that the loading conduits may be closed to allow pressure to build up in a selected compartment.
Thus where it is desired to withdraw granular material from compartment A, the loading conduits 17AF, 17AR are closed, the valve 47 in top air conduit 45A is opened to equalize pressure above the granular material in compartment A, and the gate 15 in the bottom of compartment A is opened, allowing granular material to enter the discharge conduit 35 and be carried away. When the desired amount of granular material has been removed, the gate 15 and valve 47 in top air conduit 45A will be closed. A bleed off valve 49 in the top air conduit 45A can be opened to connect the compartment A to the atmosphere exterior to the tank shell 3 and bleed off any pressure remaining therein, or where convenient one of the loading conduits 17AF, 17AR can be opened. A pressure relief valve 51 can be provided connected to each compartment to release pressure inside should the pressure rise to an unacceptable level.
The interior walls 9 must be designed to withstand the force developed by the pressure differential when the compartment on one side of the wall 9 is pressurized and the compartment on the other side is not. As seen in
The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous changes and modifications will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all such suitable changes or modifications in structure or operation which may be resorted to are intended to fall within the scope of the claimed invention.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,560,109 | Sep 2006 | CA | national |
