Transport container flame arrestor

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9707422-B2
Application number	US-201514638229-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 4, 2015
Priority date	Mar 5, 2014
Publication date	Jul 18, 2017
Grant date	Jul 18, 2017

Abstract

A volatile liquid storage container has combustion resistance properties from a flexible sock or tube constructed of fire resistant fibers coupled to a neck of the storage container to prevent flame flash-back into the storage container. The storage container defines an enclosed volume having an orifice in the container material leading to a neck for pouring and filling the enclosed volume for exchanging the contents therein. The tube is elongated and surrounds a circumference of the orifice for engaging any ignition source entering through the orifice. The flexible nature of the tube or sock allows it to extend to an opposed interior surface of the enclosed volume, and ensures that the tube or sock is immersed in the fluid for encircling any ignition path to the volatile liquid without interfering with an ability to pour or refill the container.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An enclosed fluidic storage vessel, comprising:
an interior volume defined by an enclosure adapted to contain a stored fluid;
an orifice through the enclosure for communication with the stored fluid;
a continuous, elongated permeable medium in a sealing engagement to the orifice for directing fluids passing through the orifice to the permeable medium for passage therethrough,
the permeable medium defining a deformable sock of flexible material, the flexible material having porosity sufficient to quench a flame from passage through the permeable medium and sufficient to allow fluidic ingress and egress through the permeable medium,
the permeable medium defined by a continuous sheet material affixed around a circumference of the orifice for directing dispensed fluid through the continuous sheet, and
the sock attached to a side of the enclosure at a closed end of the sock by an attachment, the attachment maintaining the permeable medium in an elongated shape for preventing compression of the permeable medium from impeding fluid flow, the elongated shape supported at a proximate end by a sealing engagement at the orifice and by a fused closure at a distal end, wherein the attachment tethers the fused end of the elongated shape to the side of the enclosure.

2. The storage vessel of claim 1 wherein the permeable medium defines a network of perforations, the perforations sufficiently small to quench a flame from passage through the permeable medium.

3. The storage vessel of claim 2 wherein the continuous, elongated permeable medium is a closed end tubular shape forming the sealing engagement with the orifice, the tubular shape including a distal end having a closure and a proximate end sealing around the orifice for directing the fluid through the permeable medium.

4. The storage vessel of claim 1 wherein the permeable medium is a flexible mesh having perforations sufficiently small to prevent passage of a flame, the flexible mesh having a permeability for allowing fluid ingress and egress therethrough, a length of the elongated permeable medium having sufficient perforations to permit unimpeded fluid flow therethrough.

5. The storage vessel of claim 1 wherein the permeable medium is formed from a planar material into an elongated tubular shape engaging the orifice at a proximate end and closed at a distal end for directing fluid passing through the orifice through the permeable medium.

6. The storage vessel of claim 5 wherein the orifice and closed end are configured for directing all fluid passing through the orifice through the continuous sheet.

7. The storage vessel of claim 6 wherein the orifice provides a sole point of ingress or egress from the interior volume.

8. The storage vessel of claim 5 further comprising a removable rim surrounding the orifice, the removable rim defining a continuous engagement of a perforated material defining the permeable medium to the orifice, the perforated material having a perforation density sufficient to prevent flame passage while allowing controlled fluidic flow therethrough.

9. The storage vessel of claim 1 wherein the porosity is based on a gap defining perforations between fibers and is smaller than a minimum explosive safe gap (MESG) for gasoline vapor flame mitigation.

10. The storage vessel of claim 9 wherein the perforations are between 0.1 mm and 0.2 mm.

11. The storage vessel of claim 9 wherein the permeable medium is a deformable mesh fabric.

Assignees

• Worcester Polytech Inst

Inventors

• Elias Brian E
• Zalosh Robert G
• Rangwala Ali S

Classifications

• A62C4/00

  Flame traps allowing passage of gas but not of flame or explosion wave · CPC title

• A62C3/065 Primary

  for containers filled with inflammable liquids · CPC title