US2461763A - Tank roof - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 15, 1949. P. OFFENHAUSER TANK ROOF Filed Feb. 12,- 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet, l

Feb. 15, 1949. R @F S 2,461,763

TANK ROOF s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 12, 1946 Feb. 15, 1949. QFFENHAUSER. 2,461,763

TANK ROOF Filed Feb. 12, 1946 s Sheets-Sheet s 7 l I: l7- I; ll 7 L & I8

in IL [-5 .5 M

Patented Feb. 15, 1949 Paul Ofienhauser, Houston, Tex.

Application February 12, 1946, Serial No. 645,105

, 1 This invention relates to a tank roof. An object of the invention is to provide a roof or cover of the character described .which has been specially designed for use in connection with large storage tanks, particularly tanks for storing oil.

' 'It is another object of the invention to provide a tank roof of such construction that it will float on the liquid in the tank and readily rise and fall with the liquid level without injuring the tank or room and while constantly maintaining a seal to prevent the escape of vapors from the oil in the tank.

' It is a further. objector the present invention to provide a floating tank "roof which will adjust itself to a tank out of plumb and at the same time maintain a perfect seal to prevent the escape of said vapors.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a tank roof of the character described which is very flexible.

Other advantages will be apparent from the following specification which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of a tank showing the roof in section.

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse sectional view taken on the line 22 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1'.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 5, and

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 3.

Referring now more particularly to the draw-.

, is welded to the outer wall.

The inner wall of the trough is of a frust'oconical contour. This trough is maintained entirely or partly filled with a suitable liquid, prefcrably a liquid that is unaffected by changes in temperature. Opposite the trough are the shoes 6 which extend entirely around the tank I and whose side margins overlap as shown in Figure 4.

2 Claims. (01. 220-26) These shoes are shaped to conform to the contour of the tank wall and surrounding the tank and located between it and the shoes there are the flexible upper and lower tubes 1 and 8 formed of rubber" or similar material and having relatively stifi walls so as to tend to maintain a shape which is circular in cross section contour.

When assembled with the roof and located within the tank the tubes are under pressure, as

in Figure 1, and are substantially elliptical in shape in cross section. The trough hereinab-ove referred to is connected to the shoes S'by links, as 9, there being, preferably, two links to each shoe. The ends of these links have eyes which are linked with similar eyes of the bracketslll, II. The brackets ID are secured to the outer wall 5 of the trough and the brackets H are secured to the corresponding shoes 6 so that the roof may sway back and forth depending on the'swaying movements of the tank.

Inside of the trough there are the roof sections I2, I3 which are alternately arranged and I which taper inwardly, as shown in Figure 3, that is the sides of the sections [2, l3 will extend radially relative to the tank; also the sides of the sections l2 converge upwardly and the sides of the sections [3 diverge upwardly so that the sides of the alternate sections will fit closely together. These sections are completely enclosed and are buoyant and the sections [3 are, preferably; weighted by being partly filled with water or similar liquid, so that they will be maintained closely seated between the sections l2, as illustrated in Figure 2.

The roof sections l2 and I3 do not extend entirely to the center thus leaving a substantially.

cylindrical openin M, which is closed by a correspondingly shaped section l5, which is completely enclosed and which has a central downspout Hi extending entirely therethrough and into the tank beneath.

The outer ends of the sections l2, I3 converge upwardly to conform to the shape of, and to fit closely against, the inner wall of the trough and the inner ends of said sections converge downwardly. The sides of the section 15 converge downwardly to conform to the contour of, and to fit closely against, the inner ends of the sections l2, l3, as shown in Figure 1.

The sections I2, 13 are somewhat narrower vertically than the outer ends thereof and the top and bottom walls of the section l5 are aligned with the corresponding top and bottom walls of the sections l2, l3, so that the section assembly, composed of the sections l2, l3, and I5 presents a slightly concaved upper and lower face, as clearly shown in Figure 1. The section I5 should be weighted, preferably by liquid therein, so that it will be held firmly in its seat.

The trough is covered by the overlapping plates l! which are fastened, at their outer ends, to the inwardly turned upper margins of the shoes 6, as shown more clearly in Figure 5, and the inner margins of these plates rest on the upper margin of the inner wall of the trough, as shown in Figures 1 and 5. Therefore water falling onto the roof will be deflected by the plates ll 'onto the roof section assembly and will drain'to the center and pass through the down spout 1'6 and, being heavier than the oil, will collect at the bottom of the tank and may be drained off.

If desired the roof sections 12 and itmay have th bottom surrounding flanges I8 and may be I inwardly beveled above the flanges to provide a v-groove around each section and a resilienttube, .as |9,:may be .fltted into each of said V- grooves. These tubes I9 should have relatively iii thick walls to normally maintain their shape but when the sections are assembled together and pressure'appliedto them, they will conform to the shown in Figures 1 and 5. The resilient tubes, or 1 gaskets 1, 8 and 19 thus seal the roof against the escape of vapors from the oil.

The gaskets 19 may, if desired, be dispensed with and the roof sections assembled as illustrated in Figure 2 and thus form substantially leak proof ,joints.

If the tank is out of plumb the roof hereinabove described may shift correspondingly and thelgaskets I and 8 correspondingly contract or expand to maintain leak proof joints between the roof and .the tank; or if the tank sways due to heavy winds the roof is so mounted that it will adjust itself correspondingly.

It is to be noted that the shoes 6 extend entirely around the tank and move up and down with .the roof so as to relieve the tubes, or gaskets 7 and 8 fromany frictional contact with the walls of the tank; also a constant outward pressure is exerted against the tank walls to maintain the tank round.

The drawings and descriptions are illustrative merely While thebroad principle of the invention willbe defined by the appended claims.

Vv hat I claim is:

1. A tank roof comprising, an annular trough within, and spaced from, the tank walls, the inner wall of the trough converging inwardly and upwardly, an external annular flange on the lower end of the trough, shoes spaced apart around the trough and in contact with and slidable along, thetank walls, an annular seal around the trough and between it and said shoes and supported on said flange, links flexibly connecting the shoes to the trough, buoyant roof sections assembled within the trough and fitted together and whose outer ends converge upwardly and fit, throughout the area of said outer ends, closely against the inner walls of the trough.

2. A tank roof comprising, an annular trough within, and spaced from, the tank walls, the inner wall of the trough converging inwardly and upwardly, an external annular flange on the lower end of the trough, shoes spaced apart around the trough and in contact with and slidable along, the tank walls, an annular seal around the trough and between it and said shoes and supported on said flange, links flexibly connecting the shoes to the trough, buoyant roof sections assembled within the trough and fitted together and whose outer ends converge upwardly and fit; throughout the area of said outer ends, closely against the inner walls'of the trough, said roof sections having grooves around their lower ends and resilient tubes in the grooves forming seals with the adjacent parts of the roof.

PAUL OFFENHAUSER.

.REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS France Apr. 25, 1933

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