Patent Publication Number: US-9850119-B2

Title: Automatic truck tank fill system

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to equipment for filling mobile tanks, and in particular, to an automatic truck tank fill system. 
     Description of Related Art 
     Many industrial vehicles that use water often have water storage tanks attached to them. Such industrial vehicles include water trucks for street cleaning, fire trucks, and cement concrete trucks. Typically, these trucks are filled manually by an operator, usually the driver of the truck. The operator must remain at the truck while the truck is being filled with water in order to stop the water flow whenever the operator sees that the tank is full. Oftentimes, that individual will become distracted and allow the tank to overflow. The water used to fill these tanks is usually classified as processed water and, thus, any runoff is not cost effective. Also, processed water running off into the ground is usually considered an environmental risk. Reducing the amount of processed water runoff will, in turn, reduce treatment costs associated with clean-up of the runoff water, thereby lowering water contaminant volumes and, thus, the possibility of EPA-generated questions concerning water runoff. 
     Typically, automatic truck tank fill systems are not used because the truck is movable. Also, filling a truck tank may take a considerable amount of time. If an operator does not monitor the filling of the truck tank, it is very common in the industry that movable trucks will take off with the hose attachments still in place, thereby damaging the water refill system and/or truck. This usually occurs when the operator of the fill system is not the driver of the truck. 
     Another problem with the automatic fill type system occurs when the tank is full. Generally speaking, if the tank is full and the fill system keeps pumping water, the tank pressure could become dangerously high and cause the tank to fail. Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a safety mechanism to the system to prevent such a dangerous situation. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,815 is directed to an automatic truck tank fill system that includes an arrangement to automatically shut off the flow of material to a truck tank. The entire contents of U.S. Pat. No. 6,681,815 are incorporated herein by reference. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one embodiment, an automatic truck tank fill system includes a conduit adapted to be in fluid communication with a fluid supply source. An electrically controlled valve is in fluid communication with the conduit, the valve having a first open position and a second closed position. A fill spout is in fluid communication with the conduit. The fill spout including an outer chamber. A controller is in electrical communication with the valve. A first signal opens the valve from a closed position, permitting fluid flow through the conduit, and a second signal causes the valve to close, preventing fluid to flow through the conduit. A tubing is in fluid communication with the fill spout. A pressure transducer is in fluid communication with the tubing. The controller is in electrical communication with the pressure transducer. When a pressure in the tube reaches or exceeds an activation pressure (P 1 ), the controller sends a signal to close the valve in the conduit. A tubing breakaway connector may be provided for placing the controller and the fill spout releasably in fluid communication. The conduit may include a pipe having a first end and a second end and a flexible hose having a first hose end and a second hose end, wherein the second end of the pipe is coupled to the first hose end of the hose. The second end of the pipe may be releasably coupled to the first hose end of the hose using a hose breakaway connector. The tubing may be a 0.25 inch diameter ultraviolet resistant poly tubing. 
     In another embodiment, a method for filling a truck tank using an automatic truck tank fill system includes the steps of: a) placing a truck tank adjacent a filling system; b) providing a fill spout in fluid communication with a conduit, the conduit in fluid communication with a fluid supply source; c) inserting a portion of the fill spout including the outer chamber into an opening in the truck tank; d) filling the truck tank with fluid material flowing from the fluid supply source; and e) stopping the material flow via a controller when an air pressure in the truck tank has reached or exceeded an activation pressure (P 1 ). 
     In another embodiment, an automatic truck tank fill system includes a pipe in fluid communication with a fluid supply source. A flexible hose is detachably in fluid communication with the pipe. A valve is defined in the pipe. A fill spout is in fluid communication with the hose, the fill spout including an outer chamber. A controller has a start control and a stop control. The controller is in fluid communication with the fill spout by a tubing. The controller is in electrical communication with the valve. The controller causes the valve to open when the start control is activated. The controller causes the valve to close when an air pressure in the truck tank reaches or exceeds an activation pressure (P 1 ) or the stop control is activated. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front elevation view of an automatic truck tank fill system having a fill spout and a level sensor inserted into a truck tank; 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a control scheme of the automatic truck tank fill system shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial front elevation view of a second embodiment of an automatic truck tank fill system that is similar to that shown in  FIG. 1 , having radio frequency units; 
         FIG. 4  is a front elevation view of an automatic truck tank fill system made in accordance with the present invention having a fill spout with an outer chamber; 
         FIG. 5  is a front elevation view of an automatic truck tank fill system made in accordance with the present invention having a pressure sensor in electrical communication with a controller; and 
         FIG. 6  is a partial front elevation view of an automatic truck tank fill system made in accordance with the present invention, similar to that shown in  FIG. 5 , having radio frequency units. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  shows an automatic truck tank fill system  10  made in accordance with the present invention. The fill system  10  includes a conduit  11  in fluid communication with a fluid supply source  38 ,  38 ′. The conduit  11  includes a pipe  12  having a first end  14  and a second end  16  and a flexible hose  18  having a first hose end  20  and second hose end  22 . The first end  14  of the pipe  12  is coupled to the first hose end  20  of the hose  18 . A hose breakaway connector  26  is used to releasably couple the first end  14  of the pipe  12  to the first hose end  20  of the hose  18 . Breakaway connectors are well known in the art and therefore will not be discussed herein. The second hose end  22  is connected to a fill spout  28 . The fill spout  28  is adapted to fit inside an opening  24  of a truck tank  30 . The fill spout  28  can also be adapted to fit inside other types of tanks, including other types of mobile tanks. The fill spout  28  also has an attached level sensor  32  for determining the presence of a fluid material, such as water whenever the material comes in contact with the sensor  32 . Typically, this occurs when the truck tank  30  is full. The level sensor  32  is capable of being in a first state and a second state and can be operated through optics, electrical resistance, and/or electrical capacitance. The sensor  32  is electrically connected to a controller  42  via a sensor wire  34 . The sensor wire  34  can include an electronic breakaway connector  36  positioned therebetween for electrically and releasably connecting the sensor  32  to the controller  42 . Adjacent the second end  16  of the pipe  12  is a control solenoid valve  40  that opens and closes, thereby starting and stopping the material flow to the truck tank  30 . The controller  42  having a start control  44  and a stop control  46  is electrically connected to the valve  40 . The controller  42 , which is powered by a power supply  48 , causes the valve  40  to open and close. A supply line  52  is attached to the second end  16  of the pipe  12  and is used to supply material from a fluid supply source through the conduit  11  to the truck tank  30 . 
     Shown in phantom in  FIG. 1  is a pump  54  in fluid communication with the pipe  12 . A pump line  52 ′ is attached to the second end  16  at the pipe  12  and is used to supply material from a fluid supply source  38 ′ through the pump  54  and the conduit  11  to the truck tank  30 . The pump  54  is also electrically connected to the controller  42 . The pump  54  can have a pump controller  55 . Also shown phantom in  FIG. 1  is an alarm  50  electrically connected to the controller  42 . The alarm  50  can be an audible or visible display. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a control scheme  60  for the automatic truck tank fill system  10 . The power supply  48  is used to supply power to the controller  42 . The controller  42  having the start control  44  and the stop control  46  is used to operate the fill system  10 . When the start control  44  is activated, a signal is transmitted to the controller  42  causing the valve  40  to open. If the pump  54  (shown in phantom) is used, activating the start control  44  will transmit a signal to the controller  42  causing the pump  54  to start and the valve  40  to open. When the stop control  46  is subsequently activated, a signal is transmitted to the controller  42  causing the valve  40  to close and/or the pump  54  to stop. 
     The sensor  32  is in the first state when the sensor  32  is not in contact with the fluid material in the truck tank  30 . No signal is transmitted to the controller  42  when the sensor  32  is in the first state. When the sensor  32  is activated from the first state to the second state by the material in the truck tank  30  contacting the sensor  32 , shown in  FIG. 1 , a signal is transmitted to the controller  42  causing the valve  40  to close and/or the pump  54  to stop. The controller  42  also has a potentiometer that is capable of compensating for the relative resistance of the fluid, such as water contacting the sensor  32 . An adjustable timer can be used to delay the closing of the valve  40  and/or the stopping of the pump  54  after the sensor  32  or the stop control  46  is activated in order to effectively fill the truck tank  30  to the maximum desired level. In addition, the controller  42  causes the alarm  50  (shown in phantom) to activate when the valve  40  closes. Activation of the alarm  50  will produce either an audible sound or visual display, thus alerting the operator that the truck tank  30  is full and/or material flow to the truck tank  30  has stopped. 
     The control scheme  60  also has a fail safe mode. If there is an electrical power interruption where the power supply  48  ceases to supply power to the controller  42 , the controller  42  will cause the valve  40  to close and/or the pump  54  to shut off. The valve  40  is normally in the closed position when there is no electrical power. When power is subsequently restored to the controller  42 , the valve  40  remains closed and/or the pump  54  remains shut off. This fail safe arrangement requires the user to activate the start control  44  to continue the filling process. 
       FIG. 3  shows a second embodiment of an automatic truck tank fill system  70  that is similar to the fill system shown in  FIG. 1 , except that the sensor wire  34  and the electronic breakaway connector  36  are eliminated and replaced with radio frequency units  72 ,  74 . A level sensor  32 ′ is electrically connected to a controller  42 ′ by way of radio frequency waves. A first radio frequency unit  72  is attached to the sensor  32 ′ and a second radio frequency unit  74  is attached to the controller  42 ′. The first radio frequency unit  72  is used to transmit a signal from the sensor  32 ′ to the second radio frequency unit  74 . The second radio frequency unit  74  is used to receive the signal from the first radio frequency unit  72  and transmit the received signal to the controller  42 ′. 
     In operation, the driver of the truck tank places the truck tank  30  adjacent to the automatic truck tank fill system  10 . The fill spout  28  and the attached level sensor  32  in a first state is inserted into the opening  24  of the truck tank  30  by the operator. The operator then activates the start control  44  thereby opening the valve  40  and/or starting the pump  54 . Fluid material from the fluid supply source  38 ,  38 ′, starts to flow to the truck tank  30 . The operator does not need to watch the filling of the truck tank  30 . When the material in the truck tank  30  contacts the level sensor  32 , thus indicating that the truck tank  30  is full, the sensor  32  will activate to a second state, thereby causing the controller  42  to close the valve  40  and/or shut off the pump  54 . The alarm  50  will activate when the valve  40  closes, thus alerting the operator that the truck tank  30  is full. The operator then removes the fill spout  28  from the opening  24  in the truck tank  30 . Next, the operator then shuts off the alarm  50  by activating the stop control  46 . If the operator is inattentive to the alarm  50 , or if the automatic truck tank system  10  does not have the alarm  50 , it is possible that the operator could move his truck with the fill spout  28  still inside the opening  24  of the truck tank  30 . If this occurs, the hose breakaway connector  26  will cause hose  18  to disconnect from the pipe  12  and the electronic breakaway connector  36  will cause the sensor wire  34  to disconnect from the controller  42 , thereby reducing the damage to the fill system  10 . 
       FIG. 4  shows an embodiment of an automatic truck tank fill system  100  according to the present invention. The fill system  100  is the same as the fill system  10  from  FIG. 1 , except for the below noted differences. Specifically, this embodiment eliminates the level sensor  32  and replaces it with a pressure sensing arrangement discussed below. 
     A fill spout  28  is adapted to fit inside an opening  24  of a truck tank  30  or other type of tank or mobile tank. The fill spout  28  includes an outer chamber  102 . The fill spout  28 , and, in particular, the outer chamber  102  of the fill spout  28 , is in fluid communication with the controller  42  via a tubing  35 . In one embodiment, the tubing  35  is a 0.25 inch diameter ultraviolet resistant poly tubing, but the tubing can be made of any other suitable material. The tubing  35  can include a tubing breakaway connector  37  positioned therebetween for making the fill spout  28  and the controller  42  releasably in fluid communication with each other to prevent damage to the fill system  100 . A pressure transducer  103  is also in fluid communication with the tubing  35 . The pressure transducer  103  is in electrical communication with the controller  42 . The pressure transducer  103  is configured to read the pressure of the air in the tubing  35  and relay that pressure reading to the controller  42 . 
     With continued reference to  FIG. 4 , the fill spout  28 , including the outer chamber  102 , is inserted into the opening  24  and remains in the truck tank  30  while the system is filling. The fill spout  28  delivers fluid material, such as water, to the truck tank  30 . As water fills the truck tank  30 , air pressure in the truck tank  30  increases due to the air being compressed in the truck tank  30  as the truck tank  30  fills with water or other liquid. When the air pressure in the tubing  35 , which is the same as the air pressure in the truck tank  30 , reaches an activation pressure (P 1 ), the controller  42  causes the fluid supply delivered to the truck tank  30  to shut down (i.e., closes the valve  40 ). 
     The controller  42  includes a start control  44 , which starts the #ill cycle, and a stop control  46  which stops the fill cycle at any time. The stop control  46  also serves as an emergency shut off. The controller  42 , having the start control  44  and the stop control  46 , is in electrical communication with the valve  40 , such as a solenoid valve, adjacent to the second end  16  of the pipe  12 . The valve  40  has a first open position and a second closed position. The controller  42 , which is powered by a power supply  48 , sends a first signal that opens the valve  40  from a closed position, permitting fluid flow through the conduit  11 . A second signal causes the valve  40  to close, preventing fluid flow to the conduit  11 . 
     As the fluid level in the truck tank  30  rises, air from the truck tank  30  flows through the tubing  35 , and the air pressure in the tubing  35  has an air pressure substantially identical to the air pressure in the truck tank  30 . The pressure transducer  103  reads the air pressure of the air in the tubing  35  and relays that pressure reading to the controller  42 . The controller  42  is set to shut off the fluid supply after a pressure reading at or exceeding the activation pressure (P 1 ). The activation pressure (P 1 ) can be changed by a user so that the truck tank  30  is filled to a desired level. In one embodiment, the predetermined pressure is set to a level that allows the truck tank  30  to be filled to a maximum level without spillage. The predetermined pressure may also be set so that the fluid level fills the truck tank  30  to a lower level. 
     The truck tank  30  is filled according to the present invention by inserting the fill spout  28 , including the outer chamber  102 , into the truck tank  30 . The start control  44  is activated to open the valve  40 , such as electrically energizing a solenoid valve, which starts the delivery of the fluid supply to the fill spout  28 , and, ultimately, the truck tank  30 . While filling, the air from the truck tank  30  flows through the tubing  35  to the pressure transducer  103 . The pressure transducer  103  reads the pressure of the air in the tubing  35  and sends that reading to the controller  42 . When the air pressure has reached or exceeded an activation pressure (P 1 ), the controller  42  automatically closes the valve  40 , such as by de-energizing a solenoid valve. This stops the fluid supply flow to the truck tank  30 . At any time during filling, the stop control  46  can be activated to stop the fluid supply to the truck tank  30 . 
       FIG. 5  shows an embodiment of an automatic truck tank fill system  110  according to the present invention. The fill system  110  is the same as the fill system  10  from  FIG. 1 , except for the below noted differences. In the embodiment in  FIG. 5 , the level sensor  32  is eliminated and replaced with a pressure sensor  104 . The pressure sensor  104  is configured to read the air pressure in the truck tank  30 . The pressure sensor  104  is in electrical communication with the controller  42  via the sensor wire  34 . While the truck tank  30  is filling, the pressure sensor  104  reads the air pressure in the truck tank  30  and sends this pressure reading to the controller  42  through the sensor wire  34 . When the air pressure in the truck tank  30  reaches or exceeds the activation pressure (P 1 ), the controller  42  sends a signal to close the valve  40 . 
       FIG. 6  shows an embodiment of an automatic truck tank fill system  170  according to the present invention. The fill system  170  is the same as the fill system  70  from  FIG. 3  except for the below noted differences. In the embodiment in  FIG. 6 , the level sensor  32 ′ is eliminated and replaced by a pressure sensor  104  in electrical communication with the controller  42  by way of radio frequency waves. The pressure sensor  104  is in electrical communication with the first radio frequency unit  72 . The controller  42  is in electrical communication with the second radio frequency unit  74 . While the truck tank  30  is filling, the pressure sensor  104  reads the air pressure in the truck tank  30  and sends that reading to the first radio frequency unit  72 . The first radio frequency unit  72  then sends the air pressure reading to the second radio frequency unit  74  via radio waves, which sends the air pressure reading to the controller  42 . When the air pressure in the truck tank  30  reaches or exceeds the activation pressure (P 1 ), the controller  42  sends a signal to close the valve  40 . 
     While specific embodiments of the invention have been described in detail, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various modifications and alternatives to those details could be developed in light of the overall teachings of the disclosure. The presently preferred embodiments described herein are meant to be illustrative only and not limited as to the scope of the invention which is to be given the full breath of the appended claims and any and all equivalence thereof.