Manway cover with integrally formed vent

Abstract

A venting solution to large storage tanks is disclosed wherein a manway cover is formed with a vent, eliminating the need to affix a vent to the wall of the tank and allowing standardized manway covers with different vent sizes to be applied either in a retrofit or in new tanks. The covers can be formed two at a time to increase production, and can be fitted with a larger vent than would otherwise be practical with some tank diameters.

Description

BACKGROUND[0001]In many industries such as chemical, waste water, food processing, and the like, large tanks are used to store liquid materials until they are needed or until they can be disposed. These storage tanks may be made of fiberglass, polyethylene, polypropylene, PVC, stainless steel, bolted steel, or a dual laminate, depending upon the application and requirements of the various industries. The tanks are typically stored in groups, as shown generally in FIG. 1, and can range in size from one hundred gallons to four hundred and fifty thousand gallons. Such tanks can be obtain from distributors such as Core-Rosion Products of Signal Hill, Calif.[0002]While it was customary in the past to fill these tanks using gravity (i.e., simply pouring material into the tanks), newer technology has allowed these tanks to be filled by pressurized tankers using pneumatic or hydraulic pressure to move the fluid. While increasing the efficiency in which the tanks are filled, these pressure d...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0004]The problems of tank venting discussed above are overcome by the present invention, in which a manway cover having standard sizes and dimensions for tanks of this kind is formed with a vent therein, ensuring that the vent will mate with and easily attach to the tank in a reliable manner. Further, enhanced cost savings are realized when the vent is integrally formed with the manway cover in a single molding process. A single piece mold of a multi-diameter manway cover and vent can reliable fit existing and new tanks and eliminate the need for tank specific venting solutions.

Problems solved by technology

Over-pressurization can quickly lead to cracks or even rupture of the tanks, which can be problematic in the best case and disastrous when toxic or caustic chemicals are involved.

While these vents have become commonplace on the storage tanks described above, the difficulty with the prior art vents is that there is often a challenge to mount the vents to the tanks in a safe and efficient manner.

Mismatch between materials, particularly with difficult materials such as fiberglass or polypropylene, make mounting and securing a vent to the tank both costly and unreliable.

This problem is exacerbated by tanks that have different contours and shapes, preventing a “one-size-fits-all” solution.

For these reasons, the vents for these tanks tend to be expensive and difficult to install.

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