Apparatus for protecting a gas pressure system from over pressure

Claim 2

Apparatus for protecting a fluid pressure system from over-pressure comprising an assembly of a reverse acting rupture disk means, knife means, a spacer ring, and a prebulged rupture disk means adapted to be sealingly mounted in an outlet of said system between inner and outer companion flanges of the outlet, said reverse acting rupture disk means having a part spherical, thin rupturable dome and a generally flat annular flange surrounding the dome and integral therewith, the flange of the reverse acting dome fitting on the inner flange of the said outlet with said dome being directed upstream in said outlet for exposure of the convex face of the reverse acting rupture dome to the system fluid pressure, said reverse acting dome being adapted to snap over center from a convex to a concave configuration upon said system fluid pressure exceeding a predetermined pressure level, said spacer ring fitting on the face of said flange of said reverse acting dome opposite said inner flange of said outlet, said knife means being carried by said spacer ring for cutting said reverse acting dome as the latter snaps over center, said prebulged rupture disk means comprising a part spherical, thin rupturable dome and an annular flange surrounding said prebulged dome and being integral therewith, one face of said annular flange of said prebulged dome fitting on the other face of said spacer ring and the other face of the last-said annular flange fitting on the outer flange of said outlet with the concave face of said prebulged dome facing the concave face of said reverse acting dome whereby said prebulged dome is adapted to burst upon its concave face being subjected to said system fluid pressure as occassioned by the rupture of said reverse acting dome, said outlet having a circular bore, and said apparatus further comprising guide means for alignment of said dome of said reverse acting rupture disk means with respect to the bore of said outlet, said guide means comprising a tubular sleeve of somewhat smaller diameter than the diameter of said bore of said outlet, said sleeve being secured to said annular flange of said reverse acting dome and extending into said bore whereby said sleeve centers said reverse acting dome with respect to said bore.

Claim 3

Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said sleeve has an annular flange at one end thereof constituting a first sealing ring for said reverse acting dome engaging the face of said annular flange of said reverse acting dome on the convex side thereof, and wherein said reverse acting rupture disk means further comprises a second sealing ring engageable with the other face of said annular flange of said reverse acting dome, said sealing rings being centered relative to said reverse acting dome and being substantially stiffer than the annular flange of said reverse acting dome, said sealing rings and the annular flange of said reverse acting dome being sealingly secured together whereby said sealing rings uniformly support said reverse acting dome so that it will reliably snap over center when subjected to said predetermined pressure level.

Claim 4

Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein the outer diameters of said sealing rings and of said annular flange of said reverse acting dome are substantially equal, and wherein the outer peripheral edges of said sealing rings and said annular flange of said reverse acting dome are welded together by a continuous seal weld around the outer edges of the sealing rings.

Claim 5

Apparatus for protecting a fluid pressure system from over-pressure comprising an assembly of a reverse acting rupture disk means, knife means, a spacer ring, and a prebulged rupture disk means adapted to be sealingly mounted in an outlet of said system between inner and outer companion flanges of the outlet, said reverse acting rupture disk means having a part spherical, thin rupturable dome and a generally flat annular flange surrounding the dome and integral therewith, the flange of the reverse acting dome fitting on the inner flange of the said outlet with said dome being directed upstream in said outlet for exposure of the convex face of the reverse acting rupture dome to the system fluid pressure, said reverse acting dome being adapted to snap over center from a convex to a concave configuration upon said system fluid pressure exceeding a predetermined pressure level, said spacer ring fitting on the face of said flange of said reverse acting dome opposite said inner flange of said outlet, said knife means being carried by said spacer ring for cutting said reverse acting dome as the latter snaps over center, said prebulged rupture disk means comprising a part spherical, thin rupturable dome and an annular flange surrounding said prebulged dome and being integral therewith, one face of said annular flange of said prebulged dome fitting on the other face of said other spacer ring and the other face of the last-said annular flange fitting on the outer flange of said outlet with the concave face of said prebulged dome facing the concave face of said reverse acting dome whereby said prebulged dome is adapted to burst upon its concave face being subjected to said system fluid pressure as occassioned by the rupture of said reverse acting dome, said outlet having a bore, and said apparatus further comprising guide means for alignment of said dome of said reverse acting rupture disk means with respect to the bore of said outlet, said apparatus further having means for aligning said spacer ring with respect to said reverse acting rupture disk means.

Claim 6

Apparatus for protecting a fluid pressure system from over-pressure comprising an assembly of a reverse acting rupture disk means, knife means, a spacer ring, and a prebulged rupture disk means adapted to be sealingly mounted in an outlet of said system between inner and outer companion flanges of the outlet, said reverse acting rupture disk means having a part spherical, thin rupturable dome and a generally flat annular flange surrounding the dome and integral therewith, the flange of the reverse acting dome fitting on the inner flange of the said outlet with said dome being directed upstream in said outlet for exposure of the convex face of the reverse acting rupture dome to the system fluid pressure, said reverse acting dome being adapted to snap over center from a convex to a concave configuration upon said system fluid pressure exceeding a predetermined pressure level, said spacer ring fitting on the face of said flange of said reverse acting dome opposite said inner flange of said outlet, said knife means being carried by said spacer ring for cutting said reverse acting dome as the latter snaps over center, said prebulged rupture disk means comprising a part spherical, thin rupturable dome and an annular flange surrounding said prebulged dome and being integral therewith, one face of said annular flange of said prebulged dome fitting on the other face of said other spacer ring and the other face of the last-said annular flange fitting on the outer flange of said outlet with the concave face of said prebulged dome facing the concave face of said reverse acting dome whereby said prebulged dome is adapted to burst upon its concave face being subjected to said system fluid pressure as occassioned by the rupture of said reverse acting dome, said outlet having a bore, and said apparatus further comprising guide means for alignment of said dome of said reverse acting rupture disk means with respect to the bore of said outlet, said apparatus further having means for aligning said spacer ring with respect to said reverse acting rupture disk means.

Claim 7

Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said knife means is secured to said spacer ring.

Claim 8

Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said prebulged rupture disk means entraps any of said fluid which escapes past said reverse acting rupture disk means, and wherein said spacer ring has a radial port therethrough for the outflow of said entrapped fluid from between said reverse acting and said prebulged rupture disk means.

Claim 9

Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 wherein said knife means comprises at least two diametric blades secured to said spacer ring, each of said blades having a portion adjacent their ends constituting said alignment means and extending outwardly beyond the surface of said spacer ring for engagement with said reverse acting rupture disk means so as to center the spacer ring and said knife blades with respect to said reverse acting rupture disk means.

Claim 10

Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 further comprising a shut-off valve interposed between said reverse acting rupture disk means and said outlet, said valve being normally open to permit the system pressure to act against said reverse acting rupture disk means and being selectively operable to isolate said rupture disk means from said system pressure.

Claim 11

Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 wherein said shut-off valve is a butterfly valve.

Claim 12

Apparatus for protecting a fluid pressure system from over-pressure comprising an assembly of a reverse acting rupture disk means, knife means, a spacer ring, and a prebulged rupture disk means adapted to be sealingly mounted in an outlet of said system between inner and outer companion flanges of the outlet, said reverse acting rupture disk means having a part spherical, thin rupturable dome and a generally flat annular flange surrounding the dome and integral therewith, the flange of the reverse acting dome fitting on the inner flange of the said outlet with said dome being directed upstream in said outlet for exposure of the convex face of the reverse acting rupture dome to the system fluid pressure, said reverse acting dome being adapted to snap over center from a convex to a concave configuration upon said system fluid pressure exceeding a predetermined pressure level, said spacer ring fitting on the face of said flange of said reverse acting dome opposite said inner flange of said outlet, said knife means being carried by said spacer ring for cutting said reverse acting dome as the latter snaps over center, said prebulged rupture disk means comprising a part spherical, thin rupturable dome and an annular flange surrounding said prebulged dome and being integral therewith, one face of said annular flange of said prebulged dome fitting on the other face of said spacer ring and the other face of the last said annular flange fitting on the outer flange of said outlet with the concave face of said prebulged dome facing the concave face of said reverse acting dome whereby said prebulged dome is adapted to burst upon its concave face being subjected to said system fluid pressure as occassioned by the rupture of said reverse acting dome, said pressure system further including discharge piping connected to said outer outlet flange to direct the flow of fluid from said outlet in the event said reverse acting and prebulged rupture disk means are ruptured, said discharge piping having a circular bore, said apparatus further including means for aligning the prebulged dome with respect to said discharge piping bore.

Claim 13

Apparatus for protecting a fluid pressure system from over-pressure comprising an assembly of a reverse acting rupture disk means, knife means, a spacer ring, and a prebulged rupture disk means adapted to be sealingly mounted in an outlet of said system between inner and outer companion flanges of the outlet, said reverse acting rupture disk means having a part spherical, thin rupturable dome and a generally flat annular flange surrounding the dome and integral therewith, the flange of the reverse acting dome fitting on the inner flange of the said outlet with said dome being directed upstream in said outlet for exposure of the convex face of the reverse acting rupture dome to the system fluid pressure, said reverse acting dome being adapted to snap over center from a convex to a concave configuration upon said system fluid pressure exceeding a predetermined pressure level, said spacer ring fitting on the face of said flange of said reverse acting dome opposite said inner flange of said outlet, said knife means being carried by said spacer ring for cutting said reverse acting dome as the latter snaps over center, said prebulged rupture disk means comprising a part spherical, thin rupturable dome and an annular flange surrounding said prebulged dome and being integral therewith, one face of said annular flange of said prebulged dome fitting on the other face of said spacer ring and the other face of the last said annular flange fitting on the outer flange of said outlet with the concave face of said prebulged dome facing the concave face of said reverse acting dome whereby said prebulged dome is adapted to burst upon its concave face being subjected to said system fluid pressure as occassioned by the rupture of said reverse acting dome, said pressure system further including discharge piping connected to said outer outlet flange to direct the flow of fluid from said outlet in the event said reverse acting and prebulged rupture disk means are ruptured, said discharge piping having a circular bore, said apparatus further including means for aligning the prebulged dome with respect to said discharge piping bore.

Claim 14

Apparatus as set forth in claim 10 wherein said aligning means comprises a tubular sleeve of somewhat smaller diameter than the bore of said discharge piping, said sleeve being secured to said annular flange of said prebulged dome and extending into said discharge piping bore whereby the sleeve centers the prebulged dome with respect to the discharge piping bore.

Claim 15

Apparatus as set forth in claim 11 wherein said sleeve has an annular flange at one end thereof constituting a first sealing ring for said prebulged dome engaging the face of said annular flange of said prebulged dome on the convex side thereof, and wherein said prebulged rupture disk means comprises a second sealing ring engageable with the other face of said annular flange of said prebulged dome, said sealing rings being centered relative to said prebulged dome and being substantially stiffer than said annular flange of said prebulged dome, said sealing rings and said annular flange of said prebulged dome being sealingly secured together whereby said sealing rings uniformly support said prebulged dome so that it reliably bursts when it is subjected to said predetermined pressure levels as occasioned by the rupture of said reverse acting rupture disk means.

Claim 16

Apparatus as set forth in claim 12 wherein the outer diameters of said sealing rings and of said annular flange of said prebulged dome are substantially equal, and wherein the outer peripheral edges of said sealing rings and said annular flange of said prebulged dome are welded together by a continuous seal weld around outer edges of the sealing rings.

Claim 17

Apparatus for protecting a fluid pressure system for over-pressurization, the pressure system having a flanged outlet with a bore therein in communication with said system pressure, said apparatus comprising: a normally open butterfly valve sealingly seated on said outlet flange; a connector having a bore therethrough, a first flange at one end thereof sealingly seated on the other side of said butterfly valve, and a second flange at the other end of the connector; a plurality of bolts interconnecting said outlet flange and said first connector flange for sealingly securing the butterfly valve between said outlet flange and said first connector flange; said rutpure disk means secured to said second connector flange adapted to rupture when subjected to a predetermined system pressure level thereby to protect said fluid pressure system from over-pressurization, said rupture disk means comprising reverse acting rupture disk means having a part-spherical dome of thin rupturable material adapted to abruptly snap over center when its convex face is subjected to a predetermined fluid pressure level, a generally flat annular flange surrounding said dome and integral therewith, a pair of sealing rings sealingly secured to said annular ring, one of said sealing rings being disposed on each side of said annular flange, and a tubular sleeve secured to one of said sealing rings and extending from said one sealing ring in the same direction as said dome, said sleeve having a diameter somewhat smaller than the diameter of the bore of said connector and thereby to center said reverse acting rupture disk means with respect to the bore of said connector, said dome being oriented so that it extends into the bore of said connector and into said sleeve so that the system pressure acts against its convex face, said rupture disk means further comprising a spacer ring sealingly seated on the other of said sealing rings on the concave side of said reverse acting rupture disk, knife blade means carried by said spacer ring for cutting said reverse acting rupture disk upon the latter snapping over center when subjected to said predetermined pressure level, and prebulged rupture disk means having a part spherical dome of thin rupturable material, an annular flange integral with said prebulged spherical dome, and sealing rings sealingly secured to opposite faces of the annular flange of said prebulged dome, said prebulged dome being oriented so that its concave face is toward said reverse acting rupture disk means and being adapted to burst when its concave face is subjected to a pressure level less than or equal to said predetermined pressure level, said apparatus further comprising an outlet mounting flange sealingly seated against one of said sealing rings of said prebulged rupture dome on the convex side thereof and a plurality of bolts interconnecting said second connector mounting flange and said outlet mounting flange for sealingly securing together said reverse acting rupture disk means, said spacer ring, and said prebulge rupture disk means.

Claim 18

Apparatus for protecting a fluid pressure system for over-pressurization, the pressure system having a flanged outlet with a bore therein in communication with said system pressure, said apparatus comprising: a normally open butterfly valve sealingly seated on said outlet flange; a connector having a bore therethrough, a first flange at one end thereof sealingly seated on the other side of said butterfly valve, and a second flange at the other end of the connector; a plurality of bolts interconnecting said outlet flange and said first connector flange for sealingly securing the butterfly valve between said outlet flange and said first connector flange; said rutpure disk means secured to said second connector flange adapted to rupture when subjected to a predetermined system pressure level thereby to protect said fluid pressure system from over-pressurization, said rupture disk means comprising reverse acting rupture disk means having a part-spherical dome of thin rupturable material adapted to abruptly snap over center when its convex face is subjected to a predetermined fluid pressure level, a generally flat annular flange surrounding said dome and integral therewith, a pair of sealing rings sealingly secured to said annular ring, one of said sealing rings being disposed on each side of said annular flange, and a tubular sleeve secured to one of said sealing rings and extending from said one sealing ring in the same direction as said dome, said sleeve having a diameter somewhat smaller than the diameter of the bore of said connector and thereby to center said reverse acting rupture disk means with respect to the bore of said connector, said dome being oriented so that it extends into the bore of said connector and into said sleeve so that the system pressure acts against its convex face, said rupture disk means further comprising a spacer ring sealingly seated on the other of said sealing rings on the concave side of said reverse acting rupture disk, knife blade means carried by said spacer ring for cutting said reverse acting rupture disk upon the latter snapping over center when subjected to said predetermined pressure level, and prebulged rupture disk means having a part spherical dome of thin rupturable material, an annular flange integral with said prebulged spherical dome, and sealing rings sealingly secured to opposite faces of the annular flange of said prebulged dome, said prebulged dome being oriented so that its concave face is toward said reverse acting rupture disk means and being adapted to burst when its concave face is subjected to a pressure level less than or equal to said predetermined pressure level, said apparatus further comprising an outlet mounting flange sealingly seated against one of said sealing rings of said prebulged rupture dome on the convex side thereof and a plurality of bolts interconnecting said second connector mounting flange and said outlet mounting flange for sealingly securing together said reverse acting rupture disk means, said spacer ring, and said prebulge rupture disk means.