Abstract:
The system disclosed herein relates to a tank tag system. The system comprising, a mounting member fixedly attachable to a tank spill containment, at least one rigid member being slidably engaged with the mounting member, and a plate pivotally attached to the at least one rigid member with indicia applied thereon.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. provisional application 60/781,411, filed Mar. 10, 2006, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    It is common for gasoline storage tanks to be labeled with information about the tank itself such as, diameter, capacity, manufacturer and date of installation. Some municipalities have laws requiring such information be attached to the tank; for example, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) requires the information above be printed on a label that is permanently attached to a spill bucket or a spill containment of a tank fill port. 
         [0003]    Labels such as those printed on adhesive medium, for example, and stuck to the tank spill containment may have difficulty remaining stuck to the spill containment of the tank after fuel spills loosen the adhesive. It can also be difficult to read labels that are flush against a wall of the tank spill containment in a location that may not have adequate lighting to read the label. A more robust attachment mechanism and a label that can be articulated to take advantage of available light may therefore be desirous in the market place. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The system disclosed herein relates to a tank tag system. The system comprising, a mounting member fixedly attachable to a tank spill containment, at least one rigid member being slidably engaged with the mounting member, and a plate pivotally attached to the at least one rigid member with indicia applied thereon. 
         [0005]    Further disclosed herein is a method of labeling a tank. The method comprising, applying indicia to a plate, pivotally attaching the plate to at least one rigid member being slidably engagable with a tank mounting member, and fixedly mounting the tank mounting member to a tank spill containment. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0006]    The following descriptions should not be considered limiting in any way. With reference to the accompanying drawings, like elements are numbered alike: 
           [0007]      FIG. 1  depicts a top view of a tank tag system disclosed herein; 
           [0008]      FIG. 2  depicts a front view of the tank tag system of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0009]      FIG. 3  depicts a left side view of the tank tag system of  FIG. 2 ; 
           [0010]      FIG. 4  depicts a front view of the tank tag system of  FIG. 1  with the plate shown in a closed position; 
           [0011]      FIG. 5  depicts an increased magnification of the hinged portion of  FIG. 2 ; and 
           [0012]      FIG. 6  depicts a partial section view of an interface of the tank tag system to a tank. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0013]    A detailed description of several embodiments of the disclosed apparatus and method are presented herein by way of exemplification and not limitation with reference to the Figures. 
         [0014]    Referring to  FIG. 1  a tank tag system for a tank such as an underground gasoline storage tank, for example, is shown generally at  10 . The tank tag system  10  includes a plate  14  pivotally attached to a slidable member  18  that is slidably engaged to a mounting member  22  that is attached to a tank spill containment portion  30  (see  FIG. 6 ) installed at the tank. The plate  14  has indicia  24  applied thereon that may include information about the tank such as tank diameter, tank material, tank capacity, tank manufacturer, and date of installation, for example. Such information may be helpful to a fuel delivery person that refills the tank with fuel. Additionally, laws in certain locations may require such information be permanently attached to specific tanks. A logical choice for locating such information is in a spill bucket that surrounds the fill opening of the tank and contains any spillage that may occur during filling of the tank. 
         [0015]    In one embodiment the plate  14  is made of a non-sparking metal, such as aluminum or brass, for example, to minimize spark generation that could ignite fuel or fuel vapor in the spill bucket area. The indicia  24  may be applied by any number of means including printing with ink, scribing, and stamping, for example, while still remaining within the spirit and scope of the present invention. The indicia  24  may be applied to either a first surface  28  or a second surface  32  (see  FIG. 2 ), that is opposite the first surface  28 , although, the first surface  28  may have an advantage over the second surface  32  in terms of ease of viewing by an operator. 
         [0016]    Referring to  FIGS. 2-4 , a hinge assembly  36  pivotally attaches the plate  14  to a slidable member  18  that includes a pair of rigid members depicted herein as slidable rods  42 . A pair of rivets  38  attaches the plate  14  to a first portion  37  of the hinge assembly  36 , although this attachment could also be achieved by other methods, such as welding or screwing them together with a nut and bolt, for example. The hinge assembly  36  allows the plate  14  to pivot between an open position  40  and a closed position  44 . In the open position  40  the plate  14  is substantially perpendicular to the slide rods  42  of the slidable member  22 , whereas in the closed position  44  the plate  14  is substantially parallel to the slide rods  42 . Each of the slide rods  42  is attached to a second portion  48  of the hinge assembly  36  at an end thereof. 
         [0017]    Referring to  FIG. 5  a reduced diameter portion  52  or each slide rod  42  extends through a hole  56  in the second portion  48  and a head  60  is formed thereon to prevent the slide rod  42  from disassembly from the second portion  48 . Alternate embodiments of attaching the slide rods  42 , such as screws threadably engaging threaded holes (not shown) in the ends of the rods  42 , could also be employed. 
         [0018]    Referring to  FIG. 6  the slide rods  42  slidably extend through holes  64  in the mounting member  22  and have threaded ends  68  to which nuts  72  threadably attach. It may be desirable for the nuts  72  to be of the locking type to prevent them from loosening from the rods  42 . The nuts  72  have a larger outer diameter than the holes  64  to prevent the threaded ends  68  of the rods  42  from passing back through the holes  64 . Thus, the nuts allow the rods  42  to move over the full length of the rods  42  through the holes  64  of the mounting member  22  while preventing their detachment therefrom. 
         [0019]    The mounting member  22  has another hole  76  bored therethrough receptive of a screw  80  for attachment of the mounting member  22  to the tank portion  30 . The tank portion  30  has a hole  88  bored therethrough that is also receptive of the screw  80 . A nut  92  threadably engaged with the screw  80  completes the attachment of the mounting member  22  to the tank portion  30 . The nut  92  may also be of the locking type to resist removal that would allow the mounting member  22  to become detached from the tank portion  30 . 
         [0020]    Through the above described construction the plate  14  containing indicia  24  may be attached to a tank spill containment until intentionally removed. The plate  14  can be articulated to two preferred positions, the open position  40  and the closed position  44 . The open position  40 , preferred for viewing of the indicia  24  on the plate  14 , is shown in  FIG. 2 . The plate  14  is substantially perpendicular to the rods  42  and the slidable member  18  is at the fully extended travel position of the rods  42  relative to the mounting member  22 , according to arrow  100 . In the open position  40  the plate  14  is as far from the tank as the tank tag system  10  will permit. The closed position  44 , preferred for storage of the plate  14 , is shown in  FIG. 4 . The plate  14  is substantially parallel to the rods  42  and the slidable member  18  is at the fully retracted travel position of the rods  42  relative to the mounting member  22 , according to arrow  102 . In the closed position  44  the plate  14  is as near to the tank as the tank tag system  10  will permit. 
         [0021]    Referring again to  FIG. 1 , the mounting member  22  has a third hole  104  receptive of a chain  108 . The other end of the chain is connected to any other component in the spill bucket area that is made of an electrically conductive material such as metal. The chain  108  electrically grounds the metal of the tank tag system  10  to the other conductive member (not shown) to prevent a differential electrical static charge from accumulating between the tank tag system  10  and the other conductor that, if allowed to develop, could result in an electrical arc and possible ignition of fuel or fuel vapor. 
         [0022]    It should be noted that alternate materials, such as polymer resins, could also be used for the components of the tank tag system while still remaining within the spirit and scope of the invention. The use of polymer resins allow for alternate means of applying the indicia to a plate such as by melting the indicia into surfaces of the plate. Additionally, the use of polymer resins allow components of the system to be welded to one another and for a mounting member to be welded to a tank spill containment if the tank spill containment is also made of resin. Heat for such welds may be applied to the interface of the attaching surfaces by hot plates, lasers or ultrasonics, for example. 
         [0023]    While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment or embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention, but that the invention will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the claims.