A storage tank

Abstract

This utility model relates to a storage tank, including a tank body, an air bladder disposed within the tank body, and an air pump for inflating and deflating the air bladder. Compared to existing technologies, the storage tank of this utility model can be used for the transportation of bulk, fine materials such as feed and cement raw materials, and for the automatic distribution of these materials during loading. During loading, the air pump periodically inflates and deflates the air bladder, causing it to continuously expand and contract, breaking the stable material accumulation state within the tank and redistributing the material to fill the gaps between the tank body and the material. This increases the tank's filling rate, allowing the storage tank to replace manual material handling, achieving automatic material distribution, improving loading efficiency, and avoiding the safety hazards and efficiency fluctuations associated with manual operation. Furthermore, in the transportation of bulk feed, using the storage tank of this utility model eliminates the need for additional disinfection of transport vehicles and ordinary storage tanks due to manual material handling, thereby reducing labor and disinfection costs during the material loading process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of bulk material transportation technology, and in particular to a storage tank. Background Technology

[0002] Compared to bagged material transportation, bulk material transportation offers advantages such as labor savings, lower costs, and higher loading and unloading efficiency, and is gradually replacing bagged material transportation. Bulk material transport vehicles are specialized logistics equipment for transporting bulk materials. They are equipped with dedicated storage tanks for storing materials. The top of the tank has an opening for loading materials, and the bottom has a discharge port for unloading. Taking the actual transportation process of bulk feed as an example, feed mill workers typically load feed into the tank through a feeding device, then use a bulk feed transport vehicle to transport the feed to the farm, where it is unloaded into the farm's storage room through the discharge port. However, during the loading process, the feed naturally accumulates in the tank, forming a cone-shaped structure, preventing the tank from being completely filled. This results in a lower loading capacity, i.e., a lower tank fill rate.

[0003] To improve the filling rate of feed storage tanks, feed mills commonly use manual feeding with a shovel. However, this manual feeding method has significant drawbacks. Firstly, manual feeding is inefficient, and as workers work for extended periods, their physical strength gradually declines, further reducing efficiency and limiting the overall loading efficiency of the feed. Secondly, due to the size of the tank opening, the shovel forms an angle with the top of the tank during operation. This means the shovel primarily pushes the material downwards at an angle to reduce the angle of repose, but cannot push the material horizontally to the top corner of the tank. Consequently, the top space of the tank cannot be fully utilized, further limiting the improvement of the feed storage tank's filling rate. Utility Model Content

[0004] Therefore, the purpose of this utility model is to provide a storage tank with high loading efficiency and high filling rate.

[0005] This utility model can be achieved through the following technical solution: a storage tank, including a tank body, including at least one air bladder and an air pump for inflating and deflating the air bladder, wherein the air bladder is suspended in the tank body and / or at least one end of the air bladder is in contact with the inner wall of the tank body.

[0006] Compared to existing technologies, the storage tank of this invention can be used for transporting bulk, fine materials such as feed and cement raw materials. During the loading process, the storage tank uses an air pump to periodically inflate and deflate the air bladders inside the tank. This continuous expansion and contraction of the air bladders breaks up the previously stable material accumulation within the tank, causing the material to redistribute and fill the gaps between the tank and the original material accumulation. This significantly improves the tank's filling rate, allowing it to replace traditional manual material handling. The periodic inflation and deflation of the air bladders automatically guides the material, improving loading efficiency and avoiding safety hazards and efficiency fluctuations that can occur with manual operation. Furthermore, in the transportation of bulk feed, using the storage tank of this invention eliminates the need for additional disinfection of traditional transport vehicles and storage tanks required by manual material handling, thus reducing labor and disinfection costs during the loading process.

[0007] Furthermore, the airbag is configured as one, and the airbag is positioned at the center of the tank in the horizontal direction, directly opposite the opening at the top of the tank; or, the airbag is configured as at least two, and the at least two airbags are evenly distributed along the horizontal direction of the tank.

[0008] Furthermore, the airbag is positioned at the center of the tank in the horizontal direction, directly opposite the opening at the top of the tank, and its distance from the top of the tank is less than or equal to its distance from the bottom of the tank.

[0009] Furthermore, the storage tank also includes a controller. During the process of loading materials into the tank, the controller controls the air pump to alternately fill and deflate according to a first preset time or a first preset gas quantity, and then alternately fill and deflate according to a second preset time or a second preset gas quantity; wherein, the second preset time is less than the first preset time, and the second preset gas quantity is less than the first preset gas quantity.

[0010] Furthermore, the storage tank also includes a material height detection sensor, which is installed on the side wall of the tank body and at a distance of 5%-15% of the height of the side wall from the top of the tank; when the material height detection sensor detects that the material has reached its detection height, it triggers the controller to control the air pump to switch the airbag from alternating inflation and deflation according to a first preset time or a first preset gas volume to alternating inflation and deflation according to a second preset time or a second preset gas volume.

[0011] Furthermore, the top of the airbag is provided with a conical or arc-shaped airbag cover.

[0012] Furthermore, the airbag is mounted inside the tank via a fixing rod, with one end of the fixing rod positioned at the top of the airbag and the other end positioned at the top or bottom of the tank.

[0013] Furthermore, the airbag is installed inside the tank via a flange and a first cable. The bottom of the flange is fixedly connected to the top of the airbag, and the two ends of the first cable are respectively connected to the top of the flange and the top of the tank.

[0014] Furthermore, an anchoring component is provided at the bottom of the airbag.

[0015] Furthermore, the storage tank also includes a support rod and a second cable. The support rod is fixed inside the tank and its height is between the top and bottom of the airbag. One end of the second cable is fixed to the flange or the outside of the airbag, and the other end is fixed to the support rod. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the storage tank described in this utility model.

[0017] Figure 2 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of an airbag.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an airbag according to another embodiment.

[0019] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the flange assembly.

[0020] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the airbag in the third embodiment.

[0021] Figure 6 for Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the structure of an airbag.

[0022] In the diagram: 10-Tank body; 12-Tank opening; 14-Tank cover; 20-Airbag; 22-Airbag cover; 24-Flange assembly; 241-Upper flange; 242-Lower flange; 30-Fixing rod; 31-First cable; 32-First lifting lug; 33-Second lifting lug; 40-Anchoring assembly; 52-Support rod; 54-Second cable; 60-Material sensor. Detailed Implementation

[0023] This invention incorporates a structure within the storage tank that automatically guides materials. Please refer to the details below. Figure 1-2This utility model provides a storage tank, which includes a tank body 10, at least one air bladder 20 disposed within the tank body 10, and an air pump (not shown) for inflating and deflating the air bladder 20. During the loading of materials into the storage tank, the air pump alternately inflates and deflates the air bladder 20, causing it to continuously expand and contract, thus pushing the materials towards the side wall of the tank and replacing manual material handling. During the unloading of materials from the storage tank, the air pump alternately inflates and deflates the air bladder 20, causing it to shake off the material above it, preventing material residue from causing cross-contamination between different batches of materials.

[0024] Specifically, the tank 10 is mounted on a transport vehicle and is a horizontally placed hollow cylinder. It has a tank opening 12 at the top, with a tank cover 14 hinged to the outside of the opening 12. A discharge port is located at the bottom or on the bottom side wall, allowing it to load bulk, small materials such as feed and cement raw materials. The maximum volume of the airbag 20 is 1 / 20 to 1 / 50 of the volume of the tank 10. In this embodiment, the tank 10 is designed to have a full load capacity of 2 to 6 tons. The discharge port protrudes from the tank 10 to a depth of 30 cm. The airbag 20 has a size of 150L ± 50L, and its shape is preferably spherical or ellipsoidal, with a pipe diameter of 400 to 600 mm and a length of 400 to 1000 mm.

[0025] The airbag 20 is a rubber airbag or a three-layer thickened airbag. The rubber airbag has a high contraction rate and its shape is close to spherical when fully inflated; the three-layer thickened airbag has high pressure resistance and high strength. The airbag 20 is suspended inside the tank 10, or one or both ends of the airbag 20 are in contact with the inner wall of the tank 10.

[0026] In one embodiment, one airbag 20 is provided, preferably positioned at the center of the can body 10 in the horizontal direction and directly opposite the can opening 12 at the top of the can body 10. In other embodiments, at least two airbags 20 are provided, preferably evenly distributed along the horizontal direction of the can body 10. This embodiment uses one airbag 20 as an example to illustrate the implementation of this utility model.

[0027] Furthermore, several fixing rods 30 are evenly spaced around the top of the airbag 20. The two ends of each fixing rod 30 are fixed to the top of the airbag 20 and the side wall of the can opening 12, respectively, to facilitate subsequent removal of the airbag 20 through the can opening 12 for replacement and maintenance. In other embodiments, the airbag 20 is installed upside down, and the two ends of each fixing rod 30 are fixed to the bottom of the airbag 20 and the bottom or side wall of the can body 10, respectively.

[0028] When the airbag 20 is placed at the bottom of the tank 10, a large amount of material accumulates above it as material is continuously added, especially in the later stages of loading. This accumulated material exerts significant pressure on the airbag 20, reducing its expansion efficiency. Furthermore, as material accumulates, the distance between the airbag 20 and the surface material within the tank 10 gradually increases. This weakens the thrust exerted by the airbag 20 on the surface material, resulting in a significant decrease in the airbag 20's automatic material guidance function in the later stages of loading, and a reduced material filling rate in the storage tank. Additionally, placing the airbag 20 too low can affect material discharge, reducing discharge efficiency. Therefore, in this invention, the airbag 20 is positioned in the upper middle part of the tank body 10, that is, the distance between the airbag 20 and the top of the tank body 10 is less than or equal to the distance between the airbag 20 and the bottom of the tank body 10. In this embodiment, the distance between the airbag 20 and the top of the tank is between 20% and 45% of the height of the side wall, and the distance between the airbag 20 and the bottom of the tank is between 20% and 45% of the height of the side wall. The bottom of the tank refers to the bottom of the hollow column, that is, the distance from the bottom of the tank does not include the depth of the discharge port.

[0029] Preferably, the top of the airbag 20 is provided with a conical or arc-shaped airbag cover 22, which is connected to the airbag nozzle of the airbag 20 by threads, and its top is fixed to the fixing rod 30 to prevent material from accumulating on the top of the airbag 20, thereby reducing the energy consumption generated by the use of the air pump during the unloading process. Preferably, the airbag cover 22 is made of carbon steel, with a diameter equal to the tube diameter of the airbag 20, and its shape is conical with a cone angle of 30° to 60°, more preferably 45°.

[0030] The air pump is a dual-purpose pump for both suction and exhaust, and it is connected to the airbag 20 via an air pipe. In this embodiment, the air pump is located on the outside of the tank 10, and an air pipe connection port is provided on the side wall of the tank opening 12. The air pipe is sealed to the air pipe connection port via an air pipe connector. In other embodiments, the air pump can be located inside the tank 10 or at the material loading point in a feed mill or similar facility, and is detachably connected to the airbag 20. During material loading, the air pump and airbag 20 are connected; after loading, the air pump and airbag 20 are disassembled. Furthermore, the function of the air pump can be achieved through a combination of a compressed air source and an air valve provided by the transport vehicle.

[0031] The working principle of this storage tank is as follows: During the loading of materials into the storage tank, an air pump inflates the air bladder 20. The continuous expansion of the air bladder 20 exerts a force on the materials inside the tank, disrupting the original angle of repose of the accumulated materials. This causes the materials to move downwards or towards the edge of the tank under the influence of gravity and thrust. Then, the air pump deflates the air bladder 20, causing it to shrink. The materials above the air bladder 20 collapse downwards due to loss of support, thus optimizing the distribution of materials within the tank. This inflation and deflation process is repeated until the material loading is complete, allowing the air bladder 20 to continuously disrupt the stable accumulation of materials, promoting redistribution within the tank 10 and filling the gaps at the edge of the tank, thereby increasing the filling rate of the storage tank.

[0032] Compared with existing technologies, this invention has the following advantages and effects: It achieves automatic material handling by periodically inflating and deflating the air bladder inside the tank using an air pump, replacing manual material handling and improving loading efficiency. By placing the air bladder at the center of the tank's horizontal direction and directly opposite the tank opening, it ensures a uniform distribution of force on the material during air bladder inflation, preventing large gaps from forming on the tank's sidewalls away from the air bladder, thereby increasing the material filling rate of the storage tank. In the transportation of bulk feed, using this storage tank instead of the traditional manually handled storage tank avoids the additional disinfection requirements of manual handling, thus reducing labor and disinfection costs during the material loading process.

[0033] In the process of using this storage tank, it was found that the material filling rate of the tank often fluctuates between 85% and 95%. The reason for this fluctuation is likely due to the manual control of the air pump to inflate and deflate the airbag 20, resulting in a lack of stability in the entire control process. Furthermore, at different stages of material loading, the material's requirements for the degree of inflation and the frequency of inflation and deflation of the airbag 20 vary. The current manual control process directly controls the air pump to inflate and deflate the airbag 20 at the same time, failing to precisely match the needs of different stages. When the manual control process can precisely match the needs of different stages, the material filling rate of the storage tank will increase; conversely, if the control process is out of sync with actual needs, the filling rate will decrease. To further explore the impact of airbag 20 inflation and deflation on the material filling rate, this invention provides a detailed analysis of the mechanism of action of the airbag 20 at different loading stages. In the early to mid-stages of loading, the material is mainly located around and below the airbag 20, with less accumulation above it. The airbag 20 primarily pushes the material around it horizontally against the side wall of the tank. At this time, the longer the inflation time, the greater the expansion of the airbag 20, the more material it pushes, and the farther it pushes the material. However, in the later stages of loading, the material accumulation above the airbag 20 gradually increases, and the plane containing the airbag 20 is basically filled with material. At this point, the airbag 20 first expands to compress the material around and below it, causing it to move laterally and upwards to fill the space on the side wall of the tank. Subsequently, the airbag 20 contracts, causing the material above it to move downwards to fill the space where the airbag 20 collapses. However, as the material accumulation above the airbag 20 gradually increases, the pressure of the material on the airbag 20 also gradually increases. This causes the amount of gas and time required for the airbag 20 to expand to the same volume to continuously increase, meaning the frequency of expansion and contraction slows down. At the same time, the gap between the material and the storage tank is constantly shrinking. Under the premise that the material loading rate remains unchanged, the slower the frequency of expansion and contraction of the airbag 20, the higher the material piled up on it, and the easier it is to overflow from the tank opening.

[0034] Based on the above analysis, it can be seen that in the early and middle stages of material loading, to enhance the pushing effect of the airbag 20 on the material, the inflation time per inflation can be appropriately extended or the amount of gas per inflation can be increased; while in the later stages of loading, to avoid material overflow, the inflation time per inflation should be shortened or the amount of gas per inflation should be reduced. To further clarify the influence of specific parameters of the control process on the filling rate of the storage tank, this utility model uses a 1 / 10 scaled-down version of the above-mentioned storage tank (the design full load capacity of the tank body 10 is 5 tons, and the diameter and length of the airbag are 600 mm and 600 mm respectively) for testing. The specific test process is as follows: While loading material, the air bladder 20 is inflated at a pressure of 0.5 MPa until the inflation time reaches t1. Then, the air bladder 20 is deflated until all the gas is expelled. This inflation and deflation process is repeated n times. Subsequently, the air bladder 20 is inflated again at a pressure of 0.5 MPa, but the inflation time is shortened to t2. Then, deflation begins until all the gas is expelled. This process is repeated m times. The test results show that when t1 is 10 s and n is 5 times, after repeating the inflation and deflation process n times, the material filling rate of the storage tank can reach over 95%. When t2 is 5 s and m is 3 times, the final material filling rate of the storage tank can be stably maintained at over 98%.

[0035] To better control the flow of material guided by the air pump and avoid fluctuations in the filling rate caused by instability in the manual control process, the storage tank is further equipped with a controller. This controller controls the air pump to alternately inflate and deflate the air bladder 20 according to a preset time or preset gas volume, thereby improving the stability of the material filling rate of the storage tank. Preferably, the deflation time is the time when the gas in the air bladder 20 is basically exhausted, and the deflation time is shorter than the inflation time, so as to achieve slow expansion and rapid contraction of the air bladder 20. The slow expansion of the air bladder 20 ensures that the force applied by the air bladder 20 to the material is uniform and continuous, fully disrupting the original angle of repose of the accumulated material, so that the material is displaced more stably and orderly under the combined action of gravity and the thrust of the air bladder 20, ensuring the uniformity of material distribution. The rapid contraction of the air bladder 20 accelerates the downward collapse of the material above the air bladder 20, accelerates the redistribution of the material in the tank, helps the material to fill the gaps at the edge of the tank more quickly, improves the material distribution efficiency, and at the same time avoids the material from piling up too high due to the slow movement of the air bladder 20.

[0036] To ensure the control process precisely meets the needs of different stages of material loading, in one embodiment, during the loading of material into the tank, the controller controls the air pump to alternately inflate and deflate according to a first preset gas quantity until the tank's filling rate reaches 85%–95%, preferably above 95%. Then, the controller controls the air pump to alternately inflate and deflate according to a second preset gas quantity less than the first preset gas quantity until the tank's filling rate reaches 96% or above, preferably above 98%. At this point, the controller controls the air pump to deflate the airbag 20 to a completely deflated state and then stops operating, minimizing the space occupied by the airbag 20 in the tank and preventing the airbag 20 from affecting the tank's filling rate. The second preset gas quantity is preferably 0.3–0.7 times the first preset gas quantity to avoid the airbag 20 being inflated for too long or over-expanded during the later stages of loading, which could lead to material overflow.

[0037] In one embodiment, during the loading of materials into the tank, the controller controls the air pump to alternately inflate and deflate at a first preset time until the tank is filled to 85%–95%, preferably above 95%. Then, the controller controls the air pump to alternately inflate and deflate at a second preset time, less than the first preset time, until the tank is filled to 96%, preferably above 98%. At this point, the controller controls the air pump to deflate the airbag 20 to a fully deflated state and then stop working. This enhances the pushing effect of the airbag 20 on the materials in the early and middle stages of loading, and prevents the airbag 20 from being over-inflated and causing material overflow in the later stages of loading. At the same time, by accelerating the inflation and deflation of the airbag 20, the balance of material accumulation is disrupted, thereby increasing the tank filling rate. In this embodiment, the inflation pressure of the air pump is constant, that is, the inflation time according to the first preset time is equal to the inflation time according to the first preset gas quantity; the inflation time according to the second preset time is equal to the inflation time according to the second preset gas quantity, and preferably it is 0.3 to 0.7 times the inflation time according to the first preset time.

[0038] Furthermore, the controller can control the air pump to inflate and deflate the airbag 20 at the same time as the material begins to be loaded (i.e., in the early stage of loading) to disrupt the stable accumulation state of the material in a timely manner, promote the material to be distributed more evenly in the tank, reduce the time of local accumulation of material in the tank, thereby speeding up the loading speed, improving the overall loading efficiency, and ensuring the safety and stability of the loading process; the controller can also control the air pump to inflate and deflate the airbag 20 when the material is loaded to the point where it naturally accumulates to the tank opening (i.e., in the middle stage of loading) to reduce the working time and intensity of the air pump, reduce the energy consumption of the air pump, and extend the service life of the air pump.

[0039] To determine when the storage tank reaches the later stage of loading and when to stop inflation and deflation, experiments can be conducted to determine the number of times the air pump performs inflation and deflation according to a first preset gas volume or a first preset time, and the number of times the air pump performs inflation and deflation according to a second preset gas volume or a second preset time, when the material filling rate of the storage tank reaches 98% or more. When the number of inflation and deflation times reaches n, the controller is triggered to switch the air pump to alternately inflate and deflate the airbag 20 according to the first preset gas volume and alternately inflate and deflate according to the second preset gas volume. When the total number of inflation and deflation times reaches n+m, the controller is triggered to deflate the airbag 20 to a completely deflated state and then stop working.

[0040] In practical applications, the storage tanks of transport vehicles come in various sizes (i.e., different designed full-load capacities). The required number of inflation / deflation cycles and other control parameters to achieve a material filling rate of over 98% for different storage tanks vary. Determining the corresponding control parameters experimentally for each type of storage tank is not only cumbersome but also consumes significant time and resources. Therefore, this invention uses a material height detection sensor (not shown in the figure) to quickly and accurately determine when the storage tank enters the later stages of loading. The material height detection sensor is located on the side wall of the tank body 10, preferably on the vertical side wall at the end of the tank body 10, at a distance of 5%-15% of the side wall height from the top of the tank body 10. When the material height detection sensor detects that the material has reached its detection height, it triggers the controller to control the air pump to switch the inflation and deflation of the airbag 20 from alternating according to a first preset time or a first preset gas volume to alternating according to a second preset time or a second preset gas volume. The material height detection sensor can be selected from limit switches, ultrasonic ranging sensors, radar, etc.

[0041] Furthermore, this invention also uses a material fullness detection sensor (not shown) to determine when the storage tank stops filling and deflating. This sensor is located on the side wall of the tank 10, preferably on the vertical side wall at the end of the tank 10, and at a distance from the top of the tank 10 that is within 5% of the side wall height. When the sensor detects that the material has reached its detection height, it triggers the controller to control the air pump to deflate the airbag 20 until it is completely deflated, after which the system stops operating. The material fullness detection sensor can be selected from limit switches, ultrasonic ranging sensors, radar, etc. Preferably, the sensor is located at the top corner inside the tank 10.

[0042] The current feeding device includes a hopper and a feeding pipe that works with the storage tank. The outlet of the hopper is connected to the inlet of the feeding pipe and is equipped with a valve. The outlet of the feeding pipe is directly opposite the tank opening during material loading. This means that even after the valve of the feeding device is closed during feeding, a certain amount of material remains in the feeding pipe. Therefore, to prevent material overflow, the valve of the feeding device is usually closed prematurely. The inconsistent timing of valve closure leads to unstable material filling rates in the storage tank. To determine when to close the valve, this embodiment uses a material sensor 60 and an alarm (not shown) to determine when to close the valve. The height of the material sensor 60 is determined based on the amount of residual material in the feeding pipe and the designed full-load material capacity of the tank 10. When the amount of residual material is large and / or the designed full-load material capacity is small, the distance between the material sensor 60 and the top of the tank 10 is large; when the amount of residual material is small and / or the designed full-load material capacity is large, the distance between the material sensor 60 and the top of the tank 10 is small.

[0043] In this embodiment, the amount of residual material in the discharge pipe is 80 kg. The material sensor 60 is located close to the side wall of the tank 10, and the distance from the top of the tank 10 is 20% ± 2% of the side wall height. That is, the angle between the line connecting the material sensor 60 to the edge of the tank opening 12 and the top of the tank 10 is 60° ± 20°, preferably 60°. When the material sensor 60 detects that the material has reached its detection height, it triggers the controller to control the alarm to remind the operator to close the valve of the discharge device. The material sensor is selected from limit switches, ultrasonic ranging sensors, radar, etc. In one embodiment, the material sensor 60 is fixed to the side wall of the tank opening 12 by a sensor bracket. One end of the sensor bracket is fixed to the side wall of the tank opening 12, and the other end is fixed with the material sensor 60. The angle between the sensor bracket and the top of the tank 10 is 60° ± 20°.

[0044] Compared with existing technologies, the above-mentioned storage tank achieves precise control of material flow through a controller, effectively avoiding fluctuations in the filling rate caused by the instability of manual control. Secondly, by designing a control process that precisely meets the needs of different stages of material loading, the material filling rate is further improved, and waste caused by material overflow is avoided. By setting material height detection sensors and material fullness detection sensors to determine the nodes of different stages of material loading, the storage tank of this invention can flexibly adapt to tanks of different sizes without the need for tedious experiments to determine control parameters for each size of tank. In addition, to verify the actual effect of this invention, the storage tank of this embodiment (the tank 10 is designed to have a full load capacity of 5 tons, and the airbag 20 has a diameter of 600 mm and a length of 600 mm) was tested. The results show that the material filling rate of the storage tank of this embodiment is stably maintained above 98%, which fully demonstrates the effectiveness and reliability of this invention in improving the material filling rate, stabilizing the control process, and adapting to tanks of different sizes.

[0045] In the aforementioned storage tank, the airbag 20 is fixedly connected to the side wall of the tank opening 12 by a fixing rod 30. Due to the limited number and fixed length of the fixing rods 30, the pressure on the top area of ​​the airbag 20 may be relatively concentrated when under stress, easily leading to stress concentration or fatigue fracture. Furthermore, when the airbag 20 inflates, it may directly or indirectly apply pressure to the fixing rod 30 through the airbag cover 22, affecting the service life of the fixing rod 30. In addition, if the airbag 20 and fixing rod 30 are damaged, maintenance personnel need to first remove all the fixing rods 30 from the tank opening 12 one by one before they can remove the airbag 20 from the tank body 10 for replacement or repair, which is cumbersome and time-consuming. Therefore, this invention optimizes the airbag 20 and its connection structure with the tank body 10 based on the aforementioned storage tank, using a flexible cable 31 to replace the original fixing rod 30.

[0046] Specifically, please refer to Figure 3-4 The top wall of the tank body 10 is provided with a plurality of first lifting rings 32 evenly spaced along the circumference of the tank opening 12. The top of the airbag 20 is fixedly connected to a flange assembly 24. The top of the flange assembly 24 is provided with a plurality of second lifting rings 33 evenly spaced along the circumference of the flange assembly 24. One end of the cable 31 is connected to the first lifting lug 32 and the other end is connected to the second lifting lug 33. The number of the first lifting lug 32, the second lifting lug 33 and the cable 31 are the same, and the plurality of cables 31 do not cross each other.

[0047] The flange assembly 24 includes a detachably connected upper flange 241 and a lower flange 242. The upper surface of the upper flange 241 is provided with the second lifting lug 33, and the upper flange 241 has an air inlet and an exhaust outlet. The lower flange 242 has a through hole in its middle, and the through hole communicates with the air inlet and exhaust outlet. The opening at the top of the airbag 20 passes through the through hole and is sealed between the upper flange 241 and the lower flange 242, so that the airbag 20 communicates with the air inlet and exhaust outlet. The total length of the flange assembly 24 is less than or equal to the diameter of the airbag 20, and the shape of the top periphery of the airbag 20 is arc-shaped. The air pipe includes an air inlet pipe and an air outlet pipe, which are respectively sealed to the air inlet and exhaust outlet through an air pipe connector. Preferably, the diameter of the exhaust pipe is larger than the diameter of the air inlet pipe to achieve rapid exhaust, accelerate the contraction of the airbag 20 and the downward collapse of the material.

[0048] This embodiment absorbs the impact load during the inflation and deflation of the airbag through the elastic deformation of the cable, converting the airbag expansion force into a uniform tensile force along the cable axis. This avoids stress concentration caused by rigid constraints, thereby extending the service life of the fixed structure. Simultaneously, the elastic deformation of the cable allows the airbag to expand in the direction of the cable (i.e., upwards), thereby moving the material above the airbag and improving material redistribution, especially in the later stages of loading. Furthermore, when maintaining the airbag, it can be directly lifted out of the tank via the flexible cable without unnecessary disassembly and reassembly. When replacing with new and / or different sized airbags, the flange assembly and airbag can be replaced directly, or only the airbag and lower flange can be replaced, which is convenient, fast, and cost-effective.

[0049] While using the first cable 31 to fix the airbag 20 facilitates its disassembly and installation and extends the lifespan of the fixing structure, the flexible first cable 31 cannot fix the position of the airbag 20. This means that during material loading, the material accumulated in the storage tank can push the airbag 20 away from the center of the tank. For example, the material may push the airbag 20 upwards, or push the bottom of the airbag 20 towards the sides of the tank opening, or even cause the airbag 20 to flip over, thus affecting the airbag 20's ability to guide the material. Therefore, in this embodiment, an anchoring component 40 is added to the bottom of the airbag 20. Please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 5 The anchoring component 40 is preferably a circular cover plate, which is concave in the direction of approaching or away from the airbag 20.

[0050] Even after the bottom of the airbag 20 is secured using the anchoring component 40, the central axis of the airbag 20 will still deviate from the central axis of the storage tank opening under the influence of the material. For example, the top of the airbag 20 may drift towards the periphery of the tank opening, thus affecting the material guiding effect of the airbag 20. Please refer to [link / reference]. Figure 6In this embodiment, a support rod 52 is fixed inside the storage tank, and the airbag 20 is connected to the support rod 52 via a second cable 54. Preferably, a support rod 52 is provided on each of the top two sides of the airbag 20. One end of the second cable 54 is fixed to the support rod 52, and the other end is connected to the second lifting ring 33 on the flange assembly 24. Through the synergistic action of the first cable 31, the second cable 54, and the anchoring assembly 40, the airbag 20 is fixed, preventing the airbag 20 from floating, flipping, or drifting and affecting the material flow, thereby ensuring that the material filling rate of the storage tank is stable at over 98%.

[0051] This utility model is not limited to the above-described embodiments. If any modifications or variations to this utility model do not depart from the spirit and scope of this utility model, and if such modifications and variations fall within the scope of the claims and equivalent technologies of this utility model, then this utility model also intends to include such modifications and variations.

Claims

1. A storage tank comprising a tank body, characterised in that, It also includes at least one airbag and an air pump for inflating and deflating the airbag, wherein the airbag is suspended inside the tank and / or at least one end of the airbag is in contact with the inner wall of the tank.

2. The storage tank of claim 1, wherein, The airbag is configured as one, located at the center of the tank in the horizontal direction, directly opposite the opening at the top of the tank; or, the airbag is configured as at least two, with the at least two airbags evenly distributed along the horizontal direction of the tank.

3. The storage tank of claim 2, wherein, The distance between the airbag and the top of the tank is less than or equal to the distance between the airbag and the bottom of the tank.

4. The storage tank of claim 1, wherein, It also includes a controller, which controls the air pump to alternately fill and deflate according to a first preset time or a first preset gas quantity during the process of loading materials into the tank. Then, it alternately fills and deflates according to a second preset time or a second preset gas quantity. The second preset time is less than the first preset time, and the second preset gas quantity is less than the first preset gas quantity.

5. The storage tank of claim 4, wherein, It also includes a material height detection sensor, which is installed on the side wall of the tank and at a distance of 5%-15% of the height of the side wall from the top of the tank; when the material height detection sensor detects that the material has reached its detection height, it triggers the controller to control the air pump to switch the airbag from alternating inflation and deflation according to a first preset time or a first preset gas volume to alternating inflation and deflation according to a second preset time or a second preset gas volume.

6. A storage tank according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that The airbag has a conical or arc-shaped airbag cover at the top.

7. The storage tank of claim 6, wherein, The airbag is mounted inside the tank via a fixing rod, with one end of the fixing rod positioned at the top of the airbag and the other end positioned at the top or bottom of the tank.

8. The storage tank of claim 6, wherein, The airbag is installed inside the tank via a flange and a first cable. The bottom of the flange is fixedly connected to the top of the airbag, and the two ends of the first cable are connected to the top of the flange and the top of the tank, respectively.

9. The storage tank of claim 8, wherein, An anchoring component is provided at the bottom of the airbag.

10. The storage tank of claim 9, wherein, It also includes a support rod and a second cable. The support rod is fixed inside the tank and its height is between the top and bottom of the airbag. One end of the second cable is fixed to the flange or the outside of the airbag, and the other end is fixed to the support rod.

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