Filament wound vessel with improved polar fitting

Claim 2

In a filament wound pressure vessel which has a generally spherical portion including a polar opening defined by a fitting, a composite comprising a plurality of layers of filaments forming part of the thickness of the vessel and wound about the fitting, said fitting comprising a polar boss having shoulder means defining a stepped configuration of decreasing diameters in a direction outwardly of the vessel whereby sequential layers of filaments lay against sequentially smaller diameters of said fitting, the wind angle of each layer being such as to lay adjacent to the largest unwound step diameter until the composite thickness reaches the extremity of the step where the wind angle of the wind pattern is changed such that the layers lay adjacent the next smaller unwound step diameter.

Claim 3

In a filament wound pressure vessel as set forth in claim 1, wherein said polar boss comprises part of a liner for said vessel about which said layers of filaments are wound.

Claim 4

In a filament wound pressure vessel as set forth in claim 1, wherein said shoulder means defines a plurality of generally uniformly dimensioned steps of decreasing diameters.

Claim 5

A fitting for use in a filament wound vessel which has a generally spherical portion including a polar opening defined by said fitting, and a plurality of layers of filaments forming a part of the thickness of the vessel and wound about the fitting, the improvement wherein said fitting comprises a polar boss having shoulder means defining a stepped configuration of decreasing diameters in a direction outwardly of the vessel whereby sequential layers of filaments lay against sequentially smaller diameters of said fitting, the wind angle of each layer being such as to lay adjacent to the largest unwound step diameter until the composite thickness reaches the extremity of the step where the wind angle of the wind pattern is changed such that the layers lay adjacent the next smaller unwound step diameter.

Claim 6

A fitting for use in a filament wound vessel which has a generally spherical portion including a polar opening defined by said fitting, and a plurality of layers of filaments forming a part of the thickness of the vessel and wound about the fitting, the improvement wherein said fitting comprises a polar boss having shoulder means defining a stepped configuration of decreasing diameters in a direction outwardly of the vessel whereby sequential layers of filaments lay against sequentially smaller diameters of said fitting, the wind angle of each layer being such as to lay adjacent to the largest unwound step diameter until the composite thickness reaches the extremity of the step where the wind angle of the wind pattern is changed such that the layers lay adjacent the next smaller unwound step diameter.

Claim 7

The fitting of claim 4, wherein said polar boss comprises part of a liner for said vessel about which said layers of filaments are wound.

Claim 8

The fitting of claim 5, wherein said shoulder means defines a plurality of generally uniformly dimensioned steps of decreasing diameters.

Claim 9

In a filament wound pressure vessel which has a generally spherical portion including a polar opening defined by a fitting, a composite comprising a plurality of layers of filaments forming part of the thickness of the vessel and wound about the fitting, each layer comprising a sequence of winding patterns with increasing wind angles away from the polar opening, said fitting comprising a polar boss having shoulder means defining a stepped configuration of decreasing diameters in a direction outwardly of the vessel whereby sequential layers of filaments lay against sequentially smaller diameters of said fitting, and wherein the wind angle of each layer is such as to lay adjacent to the largest unwound step diameter until the composite thickness reaches the extremity of the step where the wind angle of the wind pattern is changed such that the layers lay adjacent the next smaller unwound step diameter.

Claim 10

In a filament wound pressure vessel which has a generally spherical portion including a polar opening defined by a fitting, a composite comprising a plurality of layers of filaments forming part of the thickness of the vessel and wound about the fitting, each layer comprising a sequence of winding patterns with increasing wind angles away from the polar opening, said fitting comprising a polar boss having shoulder means defining a stepped configuration of decreasing diameters in a direction outwardly of the vessel whereby sequential layers of filaments lay against sequentially smaller diameters of said fitting, and wherein the wind angle of each layer is such as to lay adjacent to the largest unwound step diameter until the composite thickness reaches the extremity of the step where the wind angle of the wind pattern is changed such that the layers lay adjacent the next smaller unwound step diameter.

Claim 11

In a filament wound pressure vessel as set forth in claim 7, wherein said polar boss comprises part of a liner for said vessel about which said layers of filaments are wound.

Claim 12

In a filament wound pressure vessel as set forth in claim 8, wherein said shoulder means defines a plurality of generally uniformly dimensioned steps of decreasing diameters.