Rapid fill container system
AssigneeRolls-Royce North American Technologies Inc.
InventorMichael Karam
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A container may be supplied with an incompressible fluid. For example, the container may be partially or completely prefilled with the incompressible fluid. The container may be supplied with a flow of compressible gas via a first valve. The first valve may regulate the flow of the compressible gas supplied to the container based on a pressure setting of the first valve. A second valve may release the incompressible fluid from the container as the container is filled with the compressible gas and in response to a pressure of the container being greater than a pressure setting of the second valve. The pressure setting of the first valve may be greater than the pressure setting of the second valve.
Claims15
A method comprising:
- supplying a container with an incompressible fluid;
- supplying the container with a flow of compressible gas via a first valve;
- regulating the flow of the compressible gas supplied to the container based on a pressure setting of the first valve;
- releasing the incompressible fluid from the container into a reservoir via a second valve as the container is filled with the compressible gas in response to a pressure of the container being greater than a pressure setting of the second valve, the pressure setting of the second valve corresponding to a target pressure of the container;
- limiting heat generated when supplying the container with the flow of compressible gas by the pressure setting of the first valve being greater than the pressure setting of the second valve by a predetermined pressure offset;
- and
- pumping the released incompressible fluid from the reservoir back to the container.
A system comprising
- a container;
- a regulator valve in fluid communication with a first aperture of the container, the regulator valve configured to receive compressible gas and to regulate, based on a pressure setting of the regulator valve, a flow rate of the compressible gas supplied to the container;
- a check valve in fluid communication with a second aperture of the container, the check valve configured to release, as the container is filed with the compressible gas, an incompressible fluid from the container in response to a pressure of the container exceeding a pressure setting of the check valve, wherein the check valve and the regulator valve are configured to limit heat generated in the container from an expansion of the compressible gas supplied to the container by the pressure setting of the check valve, corresponding to a target pressure of the container, and the pressure setting of the regulator valve being greater than the pressure setting of the check valve by a predetermined pressure offset;
- a reservoir configured to store the incompressible fluid released from the container;
- a supply pump configured to pump the released incompressible fluid back from the reservoir to the container;
- and
- a supply line in fluid communication with the container and the supply pump.
A method, comprising:
- supplying a compressible gas to a container that is at least partially filled with an incompressible fluid via a regulator valve;
- regulating a flow of the compressible gas to the container;
- releasing the incompressible fluid from the container into a reservoir via a check valve as the container is filled with the compressible gas in response to a pressure of the container being greater than a pressure setting of the check valve, the pressure setting of the check valve corresponding to a target pressure of the container;
- limiting heat generated when supplying the container with the flow of the compressible gas by a pressure setting of the regulator valve being greater than the pressure setting of the check valve by a predetermined pressure offset;
- and
- pumping the released incompressible fluid from the reservoir back to the container.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.