Patent US3738353A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US3738353A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Vaporizing apparatus
Assignee: T-Thermal Inc
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Filing: 1971-05-26
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Granted: 1973-06-12
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Expires: 1991-05-26
Abstract
Abstract Apparatus is disclosed for utilizing relatively low temperature heat sources such as the waste heat of thermally-polluted water for vaporizing liquid mediums such as liquefied natural gas. The apparatus comprises a tank in which is mounted a heat exchanger surrounded by a baffle plate and through which the aforementioned water is flowed. A series of sparger pipes are mounted in the tank below the heat exchanger and within the confines of the baffle plate for discharging air bubbles in an upward direction to increase the transfer of heat from the water and to the liquefied gas flowing through the heat exchanger. Means is provided to sense the temperature of the vapor leaving the heat exchanger for actuating control means associated with a valve which is connected to an inlet pipe of the tank and which is operated to increase the flow of water through the tank in response to a decrease in the temperature of the exiting vapor and to decrease the flow of water through the tank in response to an increase in the temperature of the exiting vapor.
Inventors
- 👤 J Santoleri
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 22:27
CPC Classifications
F; F28; F28F; F28F13/00; F17; F17C; F17C9/00; F17C9/02; F28D; F28D7/00; F28D7/08; F28D7/082; F28D7/085; F17C2205/00; F17C2205/03; F17C2205/0302; F17C2205/0323; F17C2205/0326; F17C2221/00; F17C2221/01; F17C2221/011; F17C2221/012; F17C2221/016; F17C2221/017; F17C2221/03; F17C2221/032; F17C2221/033; F17C2223/00; F17C2223/01; F17C2223/0146; F17C2223/0153; F17C2223/0161; F17C2223/03; F17C2223/033; F17C2225/00; F17C2225/01; F17C2225/0107; F17C2225/0123; F17C2227/00; F17C2227/03; F17C2227/0302; F17C2227/0309; F17C2227/0311; F17C2227/0327; F17C2227/0367; F17C2227/0369; F17C2227/0376; F17C2227/0379; F17C2250/00; F17C2250/04; F17C2250/0404; F17C2250/0439; F17C2250/06; F17C2250/0605; F17C2250/0631; F17C2250/0636; Y; Y02; Y02E; Y02E60/00; Y02E60/30; Y02E60/32
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 6
Claim 1
Independent Claim
246 words
Apparatus for converting a liquid medium to its gaseous state comprising: a tank for containing a heat transfer liquid, said tank having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit for said heat transfer liquid, a heat exchanger mounted in said tank, said heat exchanger including an inlet header and an outlet header and a series of closely spaced serpentine tubes interconnecting the inlet and outlet headers, means to supply the liquid medium to be treated to the inlet header and carry away the gaseous state of said medium from the outlet header, a baffle member positioned within and spaced from the walls of said tank and closely surrounding the tubes of said heat exchanger, the tubes of said heat exchanger being spaced substantially uniformly within said baffle means, air sparging means mounted in said tank below said heat exchanger to discharge quantities of bubbles of air upwardly under pressure uniformly below the tubes of said heat exchanger and within said baffle and cause said heat exchange liquid to rise within said baffle and swirl around said tubes, valve means connected to said tank inlet to control the flow of said heat exchange liquid into said tank, means mounted in the outlet header of said heat exchanger to sense the temperature of the medium flowing therefrom, and means interconnecting said temperature sensing means and said valve means to control the rate of flow of said heat exchange liquid into said tank in response to the sensed temperature.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
246 words
Apparatus for converting a liquid medium to its gaseous state comprising: a tank for containing a heat transfer liquid, said tank having an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit for said heat transfer liquid, a heat exchanger mounted in said tank, said heat exchanger including an inlet header and an outlet header and a series of closely spaced serpentine tubes interconnecting the inlet and outlet headers, means to supply the liquid medium to be treated to the inlet header and carry away the gaseous state of said medium from the outlet header, a baffle member positioned within and spaced from the walls of said tank and closely surrounding the tubes of said heat exchanger, the tubes of said heat exchanger being spaced substantially uniformly within said baffle means, air sparging means mounted in said tank below said heat exchanger to discharge quantities of bubbles of air upwardly under pressure uniformly below the tubes of said heat exchanger and within said baffle and cause said heat exchange liquid to rise within said baffle and swirl around said tubes, valve means connected to said tank inlet to control the flow of said heat exchange liquid into said tank, means mounted in the outlet header of said heat exchanger to sense the temperature of the medium flowing therefrom, and means interconnecting said temperature sensing means and said valve means to control the rate of flow of said heat exchange liquid into said tank in response to the sensed temperature.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
65 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said sparging means includes an array of pipes each having a plurality of upwardly open orifices for discharging air and a manifold mounting said pipes in spaced relation below said heat exchanger, so that sparging air is flowed upwardly across the tubes in said heat exchanger to increase the transfer of heat from said fluid and to said medium.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
32 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said baffle means depends below the level of said sparging means in said tank to ensure the flow of sparging air upwardly across the heat exchanger.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
70 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 including means forming a weir on said baffle means above the heat exchanger with the outlet conduit in said tank being located below said weir so that the level of the unsparged fluid in the tank is below the weir and the level of the sparged fluid is above the weir, whereby the sparged fluid flows over the weir after flowing across the heat exchanger.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
38 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the series of tubes are closely spaced adjacent one another with the spacing between adjacent tubes being in the range of approximately 1.5 to 3.0 times the diameter of the tube.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US3138150A
Cited
US3405759A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1976-06-11 | 1976-12-11 | 1977-06-12 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1980-06-11 | 1980-12-11 | 1981-06-12 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1984-06-11 | 1984-12-11 | 1985-06-12 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |