Patent ID: 7021488

Claim:
An apparatus for storing a fluid, comprising: a vessel body including rigid walls with inner surfaces defining a chamber for storing the fluid and including an inlet for allowing a fluid to enter the chamber; and a liner formed of flexible material positioned within the chamber and connected to the inlet to receive the fluid entering the chamber, wherein the fluid received by the liner contacts an inner surface of the liner and forces the liner to expand until an outer surface of the liner contacts the inner surfaces of vessel body, whereby the vessel body provides resistive forces to contain the fluid; wherein the liner comprises a contiguous sheet with the inner surface on a first side and the outer surface on a second side and wherein the inner surface of the sheet defines an inner volume of the liner, the inner volume in an unrestrained and inflated state being greater than about a volume of the vessel body chamber; wherein the sheet is formed of a first layer including the inner surface formed of elastic material end a second layer abutting the first layer including the outer surface formed of material with low permeability to at least one gas; and wherein the second layer material comprises a metallic foil.