US4136493A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Supporting structure for containers used in storing liquefied gas
Assignee: Nrg Inc
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Filing: 1976-09-20
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Granted: 1979-01-30
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Expires: 1996-09-20
Abstract
Abstract Liquefied gas is stored in a large rigid or semirigid cylindrical container. Between the walls and floor of this container and the walls and floor of an outer container, which may be an earthen cavity in which the container rests, is distributed a continuous layer of insulating material such as perlite or vermiculite in granular form. This insulating material serves as the sole means of support for the rigid or semirigid container and the liquefied gas stored therein. An impediment is included in the construction near the intersection of the floor and side wall of the rigid or semirigid container, the impediment completely encircling the container to substantially limit the cross-sectional area through which the granular insulation material may flow upward. By confining this cross-sectional area, the creep or migration of insulation material from beneath the container during initial filling, repeated filling and emptying of the liquefied gas contents of said container is substantially reduced or eliminated.
Inventors
- 👤 Rolland H. Bradford
- 👤 Paul V. Laylander
- 👤 Anthony J. Baranyi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-29 21:32
CPC Classifications
F; F17; F17C; F17C3/00; F17C3/005; F17C13/00; F17C13/08; F17C13/081; F17C2201/00; F17C2201/01; F17C2201/0104; F17C2201/0119; F17C2201/03; F17C2201/032; F17C2201/05; F17C2201/052; F17C2203/00; F17C2203/03; F17C2203/0304; F17C2203/0329; F17C2203/0337; F17C2203/0341; F17C2203/0345; F17C2203/0375; F17C2203/0379; F17C2203/06; F17C2203/0602; F17C2203/0604; F17C2203/0612; F17C2203/0626; F17C2203/0629; F17C2203/0634; F17C2203/0636; F17C2203/0678; F17C2205/00; F17C2205/01; F17C2205/0153; F17C2205/0184; F17C2209/00; F17C2209/22; F17C2209/228; F17C2221/00; F17C2221/03; F17C2221/032; F17C2221/033; F17C2223/00; F17C2223/01; F17C2223/0146; F17C2223/0153; F17C2223/0161; F17C2223/03; F17C2223/033; F17C2260/00; F17C2260/01; F17C2260/011; F17C2260/03; F17C2260/031; F17C2260/033
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
82 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid comprising: an outer structural vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet; an inner structural vessel spaced from said outer structural vessel throughout its entire perimeter and bottom; granulated compressible insulation material filling the void between said inner and outer vessels, said insulation being the sole means of support of said inner vessel; and means for prohibiting migration of said granulated insulation material from beneath said inner structural vessel to the sides thereof.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
82 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid comprising: an outer structural vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet; an inner structural vessel spaced from said outer structural vessel throughout its entire perimeter and bottom; granulated compressible insulation material filling the void between said inner and outer vessels, said insulation being the sole means of support of said inner vessel; and means for prohibiting migration of said granulated insulation material from beneath said inner structural vessel to the sides thereof.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
44 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for prohibiting migration comprises: a platform beneath said inner vessel resting on said granulated compressible insulation material, said platform extending horizontally beyond said inner vessel substantially throughout the perimeter thereof.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
27 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid as defined in claim 2 wherein said platform extends to within ten inches of said outer vessel throughout the perimeter thereof.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
149 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid comprising: an outer structural vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet; an inner structural vessel spaced from said outer structural vessel throughout its entire perimeter and bottom; granulated insulation material filling the void between said inner and outer vessels, said insulation being the sole means of support of said inner vessel; and means for prohibiting migration of said granulated insulation material from beneath said inner structural vessel to the sides thereof, said means for prohibiting migration comprising: a platform beneath said inner vessel resting on said granulated insulation material, said platform extending horizontally beyond said inner vessel substantially throughout the perimeter thereof; and a rigid cylindrical ring spaced by padding above the bottom of said outer structural vessel, said ring extending above said platform and horizontally spaced from said platform by less than ten inches throughout the perimeter thereof.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
149 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid comprising: an outer structural vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet; an inner structural vessel spaced from said outer structural vessel throughout its entire perimeter and bottom; granulated insulation material filling the void between said inner and outer vessels, said insulation being the sole means of support of said inner vessel; and means for prohibiting migration of said granulated insulation material from beneath said inner structural vessel to the sides thereof, said means for prohibiting migration comprising: a platform beneath said inner vessel resting on said granulated insulation material, said platform extending horizontally beyond said inner vessel substantially throughout the perimeter thereof; and a rigid cylindrical ring spaced by padding above the bottom of said outer structural vessel, said ring extending above said platform and horizontally spaced from said platform by less than ten inches throughout the perimeter thereof.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid as defined in claim 1 wherein said outer structural vessel comprises an excavation in the earth's surface having frozen walls.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid as defined in claim 1 wherein said outer structural vessel comprises a cylindrical structure fabricated above the earth's surface.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
57 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for prohibiting migration comprises: an impediment spaced from said outer vessel, said impediment reducing the area between said inner and outer vessels at the junction of the bottom and side walls of said inner vessel to impede the movement of said insulation material.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
143 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid comprising: an outer structural vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet; an inner structural vessel spaced from said outer structural vessel throughout its entire perimeter and bottom; granulated insulation material filling the void between said inner and outer vessels, said insulation being the sole means of support of said inner vessel; and means for prohibiting migration of said granulated insulation material from beneath said inner structural vessel to the sides thereof, said means for prohibiting migration comprising: an impediment spaced from said outer vessel, said impediment reducing the area between said inner and outer vessels at the junction of the bottom and side walls of said inner vessel to impede the movement of said insulation material; and spacer means for holding said impediment equally spaced from said inner vessel throughout the perimeter thereof.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
143 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid comprising: an outer structural vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet; an inner structural vessel spaced from said outer structural vessel throughout its entire perimeter and bottom; granulated insulation material filling the void between said inner and outer vessels, said insulation being the sole means of support of said inner vessel; and means for prohibiting migration of said granulated insulation material from beneath said inner structural vessel to the sides thereof, said means for prohibiting migration comprising: an impediment spaced from said outer vessel, said impediment reducing the area between said inner and outer vessels at the junction of the bottom and side walls of said inner vessel to impede the movement of said insulation material; and spacer means for holding said impediment equally spaced from said inner vessel throughout the perimeter thereof.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
18 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid as defined in claim 1 wherein said granulated insulation material is perlite.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
111 words
A method of fabricating a storage vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet for the storage of a liquefied gas, comprising: forming an outer structural vessel having a bottom and side walls; placing granulated compressible insulation material on the bottom of said structural vessel; resting a platform solely on said granulated insulation material; resting an inner structural vessel which is smaller in height and width than said outer structural vessel solely on said platform spaced from the side walls of said outer structural vessel; and filling the area between said inner structural vessel and the side walls of said outer structural vessel with granulated compressible insulation material.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
111 words
A method of fabricating a storage vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet for the storage of a liquefied gas, comprising: forming an outer structural vessel having a bottom and side walls; placing granulated compressible insulation material on the bottom of said structural vessel; resting a platform solely on said granulated insulation material; resting an inner structural vessel which is smaller in height and width than said outer structural vessel solely on said platform spaced from the side walls of said outer structural vessel; and filling the area between said inner structural vessel and the side walls of said outer structural vessel with granulated compressible insulation material.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
37 words
A method of fabricating a storage vessel as defined in claim 10 wherein said outer structural vessel forming step comprises: freezing a cylindrical wall beneath the earth's surface; and excavating the earth within said cylindrical frozen wall.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
27 words
A method of fabricating a storage vessel as defined in claim 10 wherein said outer structural vessel forming step comprises: constructing said vessel above the earth's surface.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
143 words
A method of fabricating a storage vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet for the storage of a liquefied gas, comprising: forming an outer structural vessel having a bottom and side walls; placing granulated insulation material on the bottom of said structural vessel; resting a platform solely on said granulated insulation material; placing an inner structural vessel which is smaller in height and width than said outer structural vessel on said platform spaced from the side walls of said outer structural vessel; filling the area between said inner structural vessel and the side walls of said outer structural vessel with granulated insulation material; and resting a ring surrounding the bottom of said inner structural vessel but spaced from said inner vessel on the floor of said outer vessel to act as a migration impediment for said granulated insulation material.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
143 words
A method of fabricating a storage vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet for the storage of a liquefied gas, comprising: forming an outer structural vessel having a bottom and side walls; placing granulated insulation material on the bottom of said structural vessel; resting a platform solely on said granulated insulation material; placing an inner structural vessel which is smaller in height and width than said outer structural vessel on said platform spaced from the side walls of said outer structural vessel; filling the area between said inner structural vessel and the side walls of said outer structural vessel with granulated insulation material; and resting a ring surrounding the bottom of said inner structural vessel but spaced from said inner vessel on the floor of said outer vessel to act as a migration impediment for said granulated insulation material.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
68 words
A method of fabricating a storage vessel as defined in claim 10 additionally comprising: preloading said inner structural vessel; measuring the relative positions of said inner and outer vessels during said preloading step to measure uneven settling of said inner vessel and uneven compression of said granulated compressible insulation material; and temporarily supporring one side of said inner vessel during said preloading step to assure even settling thereof.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
50 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid comprising: an inner structural vessel spaced from said outer structural vessel throughout its entire perimeter and bottom; and bulk granulated compressible insulation material filling the void between said inner and outer vessels, said insulation being the sole means of support of said inner vessel.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
50 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid comprising: an inner structural vessel spaced from said outer structural vessel throughout its entire perimeter and bottom; and bulk granulated compressible insulation material filling the void between said inner and outer vessels, said insulation being the sole means of support of said inner vessel.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
64 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid comprising: an outer structural vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet; an inner structural vessel spaced from said outer structural vessel throughout its entire perimeter and bottom; and bulk granulated compressible insulation material filling the void between said inner and outer vessels, said insulation being the principal means of support of said inner vessel.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
64 words
Apparatus for storing a cryogenic liquid comprising: an outer structural vessel having a height and width in excess of 10 feet; an inner structural vessel spaced from said outer structural vessel throughout its entire perimeter and bottom; and bulk granulated compressible insulation material filling the void between said inner and outer vessels, said insulation being the principal means of support of said inner vessel.
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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) | 1982-01-29 | 1982-07-31 | 1983-01-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1986-01-29 | 1986-07-31 | 1987-01-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1990-01-29 | 1990-07-31 | 1991-01-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |