Abstract:
A reconditioned used propane gas tank or cylinder having (1) aluminum mesh inserts formed from a sheet of aluminum mesh and positioned into the propane cylinder/tank to provide a large wetted surface area inside the tank for increasing the efficiency of vaporization, (2) a replaced relief valve with a higher CFM rating, (3) a coating of a corrosive resistant adhesive material on the outer surface of the cylinder, and (4) a sheath of fire resistant composite fiber affixed to the outer surface of the cylinder.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/867,365, filed May 29, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,751,835, which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/689,919 filed Oct. 13, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,644, which is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/318,277, filed May 25, 1999 now abandoned. 
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT  
     Not Applicable 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to reconditioned, retrofitted or upgraded used propane gas cylinders from a standard unprotected plain cylinder to a substantially explosion resistant cylinder that is safer in all threat situations. Generally, the present invention relates to fuel tanks used for flammable or explosive fluids such as gasoline, diesel fuel, butane and LP-Gas; and, more particularly, to upgrading used tanks or cylinders by (a) employing rolled aluminum inserts to fill substantially the cylindrical interior with minimal flaking of the aluminum inserts, and providing with such inserts additional internal wetted surface areas within the tank to increase the efficiency discharge rate of explosive vapors in the tank, (b) changing a relief valve for the tank to a higher CFM (cubic feet per minute) discharge rate thereby to eliminate heated vapors faster, (c) applying a coating to the outside of the cylinder of calcium carbonate/calcium sulfonate complex and (d) adding an outer sheet, sheath, sleeve or wrapper of composite fiber fire resistant material having projections or bumps on its outer periphery around the tank and in this way address the problem that occurs with aluminum tanks which tend to lose structural integrity when exposed to high heat. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     There are millions of used LP-Gas cylinders, both steel and aluminum, that are in use today in the United States. They do not have any type of internal protection from explosions other than a relief valve to relieve vapor over-pressures when they are exposed to fires, punctures, ballistics and other such threats. These aluminum cylinders are getting old and can possibly be a major explosion hazard within the next few years. However, if they can be upgraded and re-certified without any major changes, then the metal of the tank or cylinder may be able to withstand over-pressures caused by faulty relief valves. Many people are injured or killed because of malfunctioning clogged, stuck and/or faulty relief valves. In a typical LP-Gas application there is generally provided a metallic tank wall designed to contain the fuel under pressure. This tank is typically of steel or aluminum composition for portable applications (motor fuel, portable LP-Gas applications) and further includes associated valves and connections at one end for gaining access to the contents of the tank or cylinder. There is also a pressure relief valve at the same end as the access connection. When the tank is in a heated environment, such as a fire, the fluid or liquid proximate a hot spot on the wall of the tank will boil and eventually ignite, with a resulting explosion. Prior attempts to neutralize the explosion tendencies of the tank have included providing at the initial point of manufacture of the tank, an expanded aluminum foil mesh as a filler mass insert. Such a system is described in Canadian Patent No. 736,802. The container is filled with the mesh, which divides the container into many small cell-like compartments, and through the mesh the fuel transfers the heat away from the “hot spot” to delay the local rise in temperature and a deadly explosion. 
     Improvements in tank design have recently been directed to preventing nesting of the mesh insert by reversing alternate layers in a roll. This is done when the tank is newly manufactured. Nesting occurs where the mesh pattern of adjacent layers settle against each other in a mating relationship. 
     A recent anti-nesting system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,649. Even with the anti-nesting pattern of the prior art, the lightweight foil in the mesh tends to collapse and compress and its effectiveness diminished during use; this is particularly true for transportable containers, motor fuel containers and vehicular fuel tanks. 
     Recently a new technique was developed for heat transfer from aluminum mesh inserts to the wall of a fuel tank, which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,098 issued to Fenton et al., and which dramatically improved the thermal conductivity to the tank wall and which reduced the compression effect. 
     In the vehicle and lift truck tank industry, where weight is of a high importance, tanks of aluminum composition are extremely popular and have been in service for over 20 years. 
     Unfortunately, the aluminum tank wall tends to melt at a lower temperature than steel tanks such that its structural integrity is quickly lost in a fire. Adding to this is the fact that existing relief valves are often clogged and dirty and will not always open as designed which causes the wall to fail sooner than its designed fail point, causing catastrophic explosions. 
     Attempts to insulate or coat the outer surface of such tanks have proved unsatisfactory inasmuch as the coating does not remain sufficiently intact to produce consistent reliable results. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     According to the present invention, the old relief valve is first removed from the cylinder and aluminum foil inserts are pushed into the cylinder until they are fully packed to the top of the valve opening. The inserts provide the additional wetted surface area required to initiate additional efficient vaporization within the tank. The aluminum filler mass inserts are impervious to propane and take up less than 3% of the liquid volume of the tank. Aluminum foil filler masses in large sheet form have been used in propane cylinders since 1991 without a single incident of injury or death, although they were exposed to fires and other types of threats. 
     It is a further feature of the invention, when the cylinder is reconditioned, to provide a new relief valve rated at a higher CFM discharge rate than is presently being installed on newly manufactured aluminum cylinders. This new higher CFM rated valve will allow a greater rate of discharge from the pressurized overheated tank. 
     Propane vapor is more readily created by the added aluminum foil filler mass inserts. These filler mass inserts provide additional wetted surface area within the tank and create more efficient vaporization rates when heat is being applied to the container. This will reduce the chance of the tank wall failing in the used container that has been subjected to heat and will allow more time for persons to evacuate the immediate area. 
     Another feature of the present invention is to install a fiber/resin composite outer wrapper on the tank that slips over the outer wall of the tank. This will provide a fire resistant shield to reduce any heat applied to the outer wall and will further strengthen the outer wall of the cylinder. This wrapper is molded to fit the outer wall of the container and it will snap into place when it is installed over the top of the cylinder. The wrapper has raised ribs and/or bumps to help keep the wall of the cylinder free from dents and scratches. If desired, the wrapper may be glued to the outer wall of the cylinder with a fire resistant adhesive (e.g., 3M EC776). 
     Finally, the added wetted surface of the internal filler mass established by the aluminum inserts provides additional pressure for opening the relief valve when the cylinder is exposed to heat. This will help unclog and open the relief valve which has been subjected to dirt and other contaminants that would otherwise cause the relief valve to become stuck and malfunction. Since a clogged relief valve will not normally open fully, the added pressure from the added wetted surface within the tank will help to unclog the relief valve, thus relieving the over-pressure within the tank and thereby avoiding an explosion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a prior art used propane tank/cylinder. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a prior art relief valve. 
         FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of a folded sheet of mesh aluminum. 
         FIG. 3B  is a perspective view of the folded sheet shown in  FIG. 3A  as it is being rolled up from opposite sides. 
         FIG. 3C  is a perspective view of the rolled up folded sheet with two clips juxtaposed to the rolled up folded sheet. 
         FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the propane tank/cylinder shown in  FIG. 1  with the old relief valve removed and with a clipped rolled up folded sheet or mesh insert positioned for insertion through the relief valve opening. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view with portions broken away of a retrofitted propane tank/cylinder with a new, larger relief valve installed, with the interior packed with clipped rolled up folded sheets or mesh inserts, with a coating of calcium carbonate/calcium sulfonate complex adhesive material on the exterior of the tank and with a wrapper or sheath of composite fiber fire resistant material having exterior bumps. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the tank/cylinder with the wrapper or sheath of composite fiber fire resistant material cut in half and separated from the tank or cylinder. 
         FIG. 7  is a perspective view of the cylindrical sheath or wrapper positioned above the reconditioned tank/cylinder. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of a completely reconditioned propane tank/cylinder. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is illustrated in  FIG. 1  a prior art propane tank or cylinder  10  which has an aluminum cylindrical body  12 , an upper protective collar  14 , a relief valve  16  and an input/output fixture  18 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the relief valve  16  includes a threaded cylindrical body  20 , a hexagonal head  22  and a spring biased valve mechanism  24 . 
     Such a prior art propane tank or cylinder  10 , when subjected to fire and heat, can explode and cause damage to property and injury or death to people in the area. 
     An object of the present invention is to delay such an explosion of a propane tank or cylinder to allow people in the area of a fire where a propane tank assembly is located to have sufficient time to vacate the area and to inhibit, if not prevent, explosion of the tank. 
     According to the teachings of the present invention, this is achieved by (1) removing the old relief valve  16 , (2) inserting specially formed aluminum mesh inserts  26  into the tank  10 , (3) replacing the relief valve with a new relief valve having a higher CFM rate than is now standard in the lift truck propane gas tank industry, (4) coating the tank with a corrosion and fire resistant adhesive material having a high softening or dropping point temperature, such as a calcium carbonate/calcium sulfonate complex material, and (5) placing a sleeve, sheath, shield or wrapper made of fire resistant composite fiber material, composed of natural and or synthetic fibers and thermoplastic materials, and having bumps, projections or ribs on the outer peripheral surface thereof to provide further protection to the wall of the propane cylinder. 
     The inserts for the cylinder are formed from a sheet of aluminum mesh, as shown in  FIGS. 3A–3B . Referring now to  FIG. 3A , there is illustrated therein a sheet  28  of aluminum mesh material with two side portions  29  and  30  folded over. Then, as shown in  FIG. 3B , transverse to the two side portions  29  and  30 , ends of the folded sheet  28  are rolled toward each other. 
     Next, as shown in  FIG. 3C , the rolled portions  32  and  33  are secured together with two clips  34  and  35  to form an aluminum mesh insert  26 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , a plurality of mesh inserts  26  are then inserted through an opening  36 , for mounting the relief valve  16 , and into the interior  38  (see  FIG. 5 ) of the body  12  of the tank  10 . 
       FIG. 5  shows a plurality of mesh inserts  26  which have been inserted into the tank  10  to substantially fill the interior  38  of the body  12  of the tank  10 . 
     Then, the outer peripheral surface  40  of the body  12  is cleaned and a coating  41  of a calcium carbonate/calcium sulfonate complex (inorganic/organic complex) adhesive material is placed on the outer peripheral surface  40  of the body  12  of the tank  10 . Such a coating can be a compound sold under the trademark ARMOR-SHIELD by Watson Coatings, Inc., of Ferguson, Mo. 
     Then, after the coating  41  has been applied to the outer surface  40  of the body  12  of the propane cylinder or tank  10 , a sleeve, sheath or wrapper  27  of fire resistant composite fiber material having projections, bumps or ribs  46  on an outer periphery thereof is fixed around the tank body  12  to provide further protection to the wall of the propane tank  10 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 6 , the sheath can be formed in two sections  51  and  52  and then placed around the tank  10 . Alternatively, and as shown in  FIG. 7 , the sleeve, sheath or wrapper can be formed as a single piece and slipped over the outer peripheral surface  40  of the tank body  12 . 
     Finally, a new relief valve  56 , having a higher CFM rate than is now standard in the lift truck propane gas tank industry for newly manufactured propane cylinders, is mounted in the opening  36  in the top of the tank body  12  to provide a retrofitted, reconditioned propane tank or cylinder  60  which is highly resistant to explosion. 
     In this respect, the aluminum mesh inserts  26  provide added wetted surface areas to facilitate vaporization and provide additional heat transfer material. Then, the new pressure relief valve  56  allows gas to escape faster from the tank when it is heated. Finally, the coating  41  and the sleeve  27  slow the heating of the cylinder and melting of the cylinder from the high heat of a fire. 
     Additionally, the aluminum tank body is subject to pitting and electrolysis from the ambient weather conditions and the coating  41  of calcium carbonate/calcium sulfonate complex protects the tank body from the ambient weather conditions. The sleeve  27  provides added protection against heat and provides additional physical protection to the tank with the bumps or ribs  46  which allow the tank to be bounced around without incurring damage to the tank body  12 . 
     In this way, the retrofitted and reconditioned propane cylinder tank  60  shown in  FIG. 8  provides an increased margin of safety in the event of a fire in an area where the tank  60  is located. 
     It will be understood that modifications can be made to the reconditioned cylinder  60  of the present invention without departing from the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is only to be limited as necessitated by the accompanying claims.