US4107672A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Apparatus and method for detecting cracks in the heat-insulating lining of a container for cold liquids
Assignee: Shell Internationale Research Maatschappij BV
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Filing: 1976-01-15
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Granted: 1978-08-15
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Expires: 1996-01-15
Abstract
Abstract A new and improved apparatus for detecting cracks in the heat-insulating liner of a container for cold liquids, wherein a plurality of breakable or frangible electrical conductors and a barrier means having a woven mat of glass-fiber material are incorporated in the heat-insulating material and detector means is connected with the electrical conductors to detect breaks in the electrical conductors caused by cracks in the heat-insulating material attaining a critical length. The frangible electrical conductors may be frangible wires or stripes of conducting paint.
Inventors
- 👤 Arnoldus J. Van Riemsdijk
- 👤 Willem P. Hendal
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 00:51
CPC Classifications
F; F17; F17C; F17C13/00; F17C13/12; F17C13/126; F17C3/00; F17C3/02; F17C3/04; F17C3/06; G; G01; G01M; G01M3/00; G01M3/02; G01M3/04; G01M3/16; G01M3/18; G01M3/186; F17C2203/00; F17C2203/03; F17C2203/0304; F17C2203/0329; F17C2203/0333; F17C2223/00; F17C2223/01; F17C2223/0146; F17C2223/0153; F17C2223/0161; F17C2260/00; F17C2260/04; Y; Y10; Y10S; Y10S220/00; Y10S220/901; Y10T; Y10T137/00; Y10T137/8158
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 35
Claim 1
Independent Claim
68 words
A heat-insulated container apparatus for storage or transport of cold liquids having a rigid wall structure with a lining of heat-insulating material on the interior surface wall structure, wherein the improvement comprises: frangible electrical conductor means incorporated in the heat-insulating material; and detector means linked with the conductor means to detect breakage in the electrical conductor means caused by cracks in the heat-insulating material attaining a critical length.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
68 words
A heat-insulated container apparatus for storage or transport of cold liquids having a rigid wall structure with a lining of heat-insulating material on the interior surface wall structure, wherein the improvement comprises: frangible electrical conductor means incorporated in the heat-insulating material; and detector means linked with the conductor means to detect breakage in the electrical conductor means caused by cracks in the heat-insulating material attaining a critical length.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
39 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein: a barrier layer with increased strength relative to the heat-insulating lining which acts as a crack arrestor is incorporated in the heat-insulating material along with the frangible electrical conductor means.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
19 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein: the barrier layer comprises a woven mat of glass-fibre material.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein: the glass-fibre material has warp and weft threads.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
28 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein: the frangible electrical conductor means comprises a plurality of electrical conductor wires woven into the mat of glass-fibre materials.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
29 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 3, wherein: the frangible electrical conductor means comprises frangible stripes of conducting paint applied to the heat-insulating material adjacent the barrier layer.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein: the barrier layer comprises at least one layer of epoxy resin.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
27 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein: the frangible electrical conductor means comprises a plurality of frangible electrical conductor wires incorporated in the heat-insulating material.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 8, wherein: the rigid wall structure is prismatic; and the conductor wires of one wall are connected to their counterpart wires of an adjacent wall to reduce the number of connections required to the detector means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
39 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 9 wherein: the electrical conductor wires criss-cross each other at selected locations; and the criss-cross wires are linked with separate detectors to allow locating a break in either of the criss-cross wires.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein: the electrical conductor means extends parallel to the rigid wall structure of the container.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
46 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein: the electrical conductor means comprises first electrical conductors extending parallel to the rigid wall structure; and the electrical conductor means comprising second electrical conductors extending parallel to the rigid wall structure and crossing the first electrical conductors.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein: the frangible electrical conductor means consist of frangible stripes of conducting paint applied to the heat-insulating material.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
59 words
The apparatus as set forth in claim 13, wherein: a barrier layer in the lining with increased strength acting as a crack arrestor is incorporated in the heat-insulating material; and the frangible electrical conductor means comprises frangible stripes of conducting paint on one or more interfaces of the heat-insulating liner and a barrier and linked to the detector means.
Claim 16
Independent Claim
72 words
A method for detecting cracks in the heat-insulating material of a heat-insulating container apparatus for storage or transport of cold liquids having a rigid wall structure with a lining of heat-insulating material on the interior surface of the wall structure, wherein the improvement comprises: incorporating frangible electrical conductor means in the heat-insulating material; and detecting breakage in the electrical conductor means caused by cracks in the heat-insulating material attaining a critical length.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
72 words
A method for detecting cracks in the heat-insulating material of a heat-insulating container apparatus for storage or transport of cold liquids having a rigid wall structure with a lining of heat-insulating material on the interior surface of the wall structure, wherein the improvement comprises: incorporating frangible electrical conductor means in the heat-insulating material; and detecting breakage in the electrical conductor means caused by cracks in the heat-insulating material attaining a critical length.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
35 words
The method as set forth in claim 15, including: incorporating a barrier layer in the lining with increased strength acting as a crack arrestor in the heat-insulating material along with the frangible electrical conductor means.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method as set forth in claim 16, wherein: the step of incorporating a barrier layer includes incorporating a woven mat of glass-fibre material.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
25 words
The method as set forth in claim 17, including: the step of weaving a plurality of electrical conductor wires into the mat of glass-fibre materials.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method as set forth in claim 17, wherein: the step of incorporating the frangible electrical conductor means includes applying frangible stripes of conducting paint to the heat-insulating material adjacent the barrier means.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method as set forth in claim 16, wherein: the step of incorporating the barrier layer includes incorporating at least one layer of epoxy resin as part of the barrier layer.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein: the step of incorporating frangible electrical conductor means includes incorporating a plurality of frangible electrical conductor wires in the heat-insulating material.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method as set forth in claim 21, including: forming the rigid wall structure with a prismatic surface; and connecting the conductor wires in one wall to their counterpart wires of an adjacent wall to reduce the number of connections required to detect breakage.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method as set forth in claim 22, wherein: the step of incorporating the plurality of frangible electrical conductor wires includes criss-crossing the electrical conductor wires at selected locations; and linking the criss-cross wires with separate detectors to allow locating a break in either of the criss-cross wires.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein: the step of incorporating the frangible electrical conductor means includes extending the conductor means parallel to the rigid wall structure of the container.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein: the step of incorporating the frangible electrical conductor means includes incorporating first electrical conductors extending parallel to the rigid wall structure; and incorporating second electrical conductors extending parallel to the rigid wall structure and crossing the first electrical conductors.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method as set forth in claim 15, wherein: the step of incorporating the frangible electrical conductor means includes applying frangible stripes of conducting paint to the heat-insulating material.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method as set forth in claim 26, including: incorporating a barrier layer to act as a crack arrestor in the heat-insulating material; and forming the frangible electrical conductor means by applying frangible stripes of conducting paint on one or more interfaces of the heat-insulating liner and barrier.
Claim 30
Independent Claim
79 words
A method of detecting cracks in the heat-insulating material of a heat-insulating container apparatus for storage or transport of cold liquids having a rigid wall structure with a layer of insulating material on the interior surface of the wall structure and frangible electrical conductor means in the heat-insulating material, comprising: detecting breaks in the conductor means caused by cracks in the heat-insulating material attaining a critical length; and triggering an alarm to indicate that there is a potential danger.
Claim 31
Independent Claim
79 words
A method of detecting cracks in the heat-insulating material of a heat-insulating container apparatus for storage or transport of cold liquids having a rigid wall structure with a layer of insulating material on the interior surface of the wall structure and frangible electrical conductor means in the heat-insulating material, comprising: detecting breaks in the conductor means caused by cracks in the heat-insulating material attaining a critical length; and triggering an alarm to indicate that there is a potential danger.
Claim 32
Dependent Claim
48 words
The method as set forth in claim 28, wherein said step of detecting breaks in the conductor means comprises connecting the electrical conductor means to a source of electrical power and determining that the electrical resistance has increased considerably due to breakage of the frangible electrical conductor means.
Claim 33
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method as set forth in claim 28, wherein: the electrical conductor means has individual conductors and the step of detecting breaks in the conductor means includes detecting breakage of the individual electrical conductors with a scanner to check the electrical resistance of the various electrical conductors in rapid sequence.
Claim 34
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method as set forth in claim 28, wherein: the electrical conductor means has a network of criss-cross wires with two sets of wires running at an angle of 90° to each other and the step of detecting includes locating a crack by reference to the particular wires that have failed in each of the two sets.
Claim 35
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method as set forth in claim 28, wherein: the electrical conductor means is woven into a barrier layer comprising a mat of glass-fibre materials and the step of detecting including detecting a break in wires occurring with a break in the barrier layer.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1981-08-14 | 1982-02-13 | 1982-08-15 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1985-08-14 | 1986-02-13 | 1986-08-15 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1989-08-14 | 1990-02-13 | 1990-08-15 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |