Pressure stabilizing apparatus

Claim 1

A PRESSURE STABLIZING APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING A GAS SYSTEM AGAINST HIGH OR LOW PRESSURE SURGES COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY CLOSED CHAMBER HAVING TOP, BOTTOM, AND SPACED LATERAL WALLS, A PARTITION DEPENDING FROM SAID TOP WALL BETWEEN SAID LATERAL WALLS AND DIVIDING THE CHAMBER INTO TWO COMPARTMENTS IN FLOW COMMUNICATION AT THEIR LOWER PORTIONS BELOW SAID PARTITION, A WEIR EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID BOTTOM WALL INTO EACH OF SAID COMPARTMENTS BETWEEN SAID PARTITION AND AN ADJACENT SPACED LATERAL WALL, SAID WEIRS EXTENDING ABOVE THE LOWER END OF SAID PARTITION AND DEFINING A LIQUID SEAL ZONE THEREBETWEEN, A LIQUID INLET FOR SUPPLYING A SEALING LIQUID SOLELY TO SAID LIQUID SEAL ZONE OF SAID CHAMBER FOR PROVIDING A LIQUID SEAL ABOVE THE LOWER END OF SAID PARTITION, A LIQUID OUTLET IN EACH OF SAID COMPARTMENTS BETWEEN EACH OF SAID WEIRS AND THE ADJACENT LATERAL WALL FOR WITHDRAWING LIQUID OVERFLOWING SAID WEIRS, GAS CONDUIT MEANS COMMUNICATING WITH ONE OF SAID COMPARTMENTS FOR CONNECTING SAID ONE COMPARTMENT SOLELY TO THE GAS SYSTEM BEING PROTECTED, AND GAS CONDUIT MEANS COMMUNICATING WITH THE OTHER OF SAID COMPARTMENTS FOR CONNECTING SAID OTHER COMPARTMENT SOLELY TO AN EXTERNAL ATMOSPHERE AT SUBSTANTIALLY CONSTANT PRESSURE, SAID LIQUID INLET CONSTITUTING THE SOLE LIQUID INLET CONNECTION TO SAID CHAMBER AND SAID GAS CONDUIT MEANS CONSTITUTING THE SOLE GAS FLOW CONNECTIONS TO SAID CHAMBER, WHEREBY GAS FLOW THROUGH SAID CHAMBER FROM ONE OF SAID GAS CONDUIT MEANS TO THE OTHER IS NORMALLY PREVENTED BY SAID LIQUID SEAL BUT IS AUTOMATICALLY PERMITTED IN RESPONSE TO A PREDETERMINED PRESSURE INCREASE OR DECREASE IN SAID GAS SYSTEM BEING PROTECTED.