Fiberwound tanks
AssigneeAmtrol Licensing Inc.
InventorsChristopher A. Van Haaren, Joseph Jeannotte, Christopher Kampf, Alexander Goudas
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fluid tank includes polymeric liner comprising an upper wall and a lower wall. The upper wall and the lower wall define a cavity therebetween. A weld joint joins the upper and lower walls together. A method for assembling a fluid tank includes overlapping surfaces of an upper wall and a lower wall to form a liner defining a cavity. The method includes joining the surface of the upper wall and the surface of the lower wall together by welding to form a weld joint between the upper wall and the lower wall. The method can include cooling the weld joint to control warpage of the liner at the weld joint.
Claims19
A fluid tank, comprising:
- a polymeric liner including an upper wall having an opening and a lower wall, the upper wall and the lower wall defining a cavity therebetween, a portion of the upper wall being inboard the lower wall forming overlapping surfaces;
- a connector positioned in the opening, the connector including a connector housing having a central collar that defines a longitudinal axis and a skirt inboard from the upper wall that extends radially outward from the central collar;
- an infared (IR) weld joint that joins the overlapping surfaces of the upper wall and lower wall;
- a spin weld joint that joins an interface surface of the skirt to an interior surface of the upper wall, wherein the interface surface of the skirt extends radially outward from the central collar, and wherein the interface surface of the skirt includes axially facing and concentrically spaced annular grooves defined therein configured to be spin welded to an interior surface of a fluid tank;
- and
- a fiber winding layer around an outer surface of the polymeric liner.
A fluid tank, comprising:
- a polymeric liner comprising an upper wall and a lower wall, the upper wall and the lower wall defining a cavity therebetween, and the polymeric liner including an opening;
- a weld joint that joins the upper wall to the lower wall;
- and
- a connector positioned within the opening in the polymeric liner, the connector including:
- a connector housing having a central collar that defines a longitudinal axis and a skirt that extends radially outward therefrom, wherein the central collar defines an axial passage, and wherein the central collar includes a circumferential groove around its periphery for receiving fiber windings during assembly into the liner;
- a threaded member in the axial passage, wherein the threaded member projects outward from a first side of the connector housing;
- and
- an annular ring operatively connected to a second side of the connector housing opposite from the threaded member.
A fluid tank, comprising:
- a polymeric liner including an upper wall having an opening and a lower wall, the upper wall and the lower wall defining a cavity therebetween, a portion of the upper wall being inboard the lower wall forming overlapping surfaces;
- a connector positioned within the opening in the polymeric liner, the connector including a connector housing having a central collar that defines a longitudinal axis and a skirt inboard from the upper wall that extends radially outward from the central collar, wherein the central collar defines an axial passage;
- an infared (IR) weld joint that joins the overlapping surfaces of the upper wall and lower wall;
- a spin weld joint that joins an interface surface of the skirt to an interior surface of the upper wall, wherein the interface surface includes axially facing and concentrically spaced annular grooves defined therein configured to be spin welded to an interior surface of a fluid tank;
- and
- a fiber winding layer around an outer surface of the polymeric liner.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.