Float Gauge Assembly for Small Tank Ports
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing float gauges cannot fit into small openings of storage tanks, such as those used for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and anhydrous ammonia (NH3), making it difficult to replace rotary gauges with float gauges.
Innovation Solution
A float gauge assembly that includes a body attachable to the storage tank's port, a gauge for indicating material level, a float mechanism with a tube for insertion through the opening, and an alignment element to rotationally fix the assembly, allowing accurate level indication without the float needing to be inserted into the tank.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a float gauge is designed with a float large enough to accurately measure material levels, then measurement precision is improved, but the gauge cannot be inserted through small openings in storage tanks
Solution Approach 1:
The float gauge assembly is divided into two distinct parts: a small tube assembly that fits through the opening and a separate float mechanism that remains outside the tank. The tube serves as the insertion component while the float is the measurement component, allowing each to be optimized independently for its specific function.
Solution Approach 2:
The tube acts as an intermediary component that transmits the level indication from the float (which cannot fit through the opening) to the observer. The tube connects the float mechanism outside the tank to the gauge face, enabling accurate level measurement without requiring the float itself to pass through the small opening.
2Ease of operation
If the float mechanism is positioned outside the tank to fit through small openings, then ease of installation is improved, but alignment accuracy with the gauge face deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Alignment elements are pre-positioned on both the tube assembly and the float mechanism before installation. These elements ensure that when the components are assembled, the gauge face is automatically aligned with the float mechanism's indication point, eliminating the need for complex alignment procedures during installation.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment function is achieved through simple mechanical features (alignment elements such as keys, slots, or positioned protrusions) rather than complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms. This substitution provides reliable alignment while maintaining ease of installation.
Data Source
AI summary
A float gauge assembly for a storage tank having a port with an opening includes a body for attachment to the port of the storage tank and a gauge mountable to the body, the gauge having a gauge face for indicating a level or amount of material present in the storage tank, a float mechanism mounted to the body and cooperating with the gauge, the float mechanism including a float movable relative to the body in an operating position, the float being sized so that the float is unable to be inserted into the storage tank though the opening in the port, and a tube coupled to the float and having a dimension sized for inserting through the opening in the port, and an alignment element configured to rotationally fix the tube to the body when the float is in the operating position so that the gauge face accurately indicates the level of material in the storage tank when mounted to the body.