No emission tank gauge
OwnerJeff Ray Schunkinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A no emission tank gauge has a housing having a valve connection extending from a bottom side of the housing, a gauge line within the housing, the gauge line having a plumb bob attached at a free end, a pulley attached within the housing and supporting the gauge line, the pulley configured to allow extension and retraction of the gauge line, and an actuator connected to the pulley and extending exterior to the housing and configured to actuate the extension and retraction of the gauge line via rotation of the pulley. The housing has a window in a wall of the housing facing a marked side of the gauge line. The valve connection has an opening sized to allow for passage of the plumb bob and the gauge line. The housing is sealed when the valve connection is connected to a valve to prevent escape of fluid.
Claims14
A no emission tank gauge, comprising:
- a. a housing configured to connect with an upper surface of a storage tank at a valve connection;
- b. a pulley system disposed within the housing, comprising:
- i. gauge line;
- ii. a plumb bob connected with a distal end of the gauge line;
- and
- iii. a sampling tube connected with the gauge line and configured to move with the gauge line as the plumb bob is lowered into the storage tank;
- and
- c. a sampling device configured to remove a fluid sample from the storage tank through the sampling tube
- wherein the gauge line and the sampling tube are positioned on a first pulley and a second pulley, respectively, and
- the first pulley comprises an actuator configured to move the gauge line into the storage tank, and wherein the second pulley is spring-loaded so that the sample tube remains taut as the actuator rotates the first pulley and simultaneously moves the gauge line and the sampling tube into the storage tank.
A no emission tank gauge, comprising:
- a. a housing that is sealed and comprises a valve connection that is configured to connect with a storage tank;
- b. a first pulley comprising a gauge line and a plumb bob connected with the gauge line at a distal end of the gauge line, the plumb bob configured to be lowered into the storage tank through the connection valve;
- c. a second pulley comprising a sampling tube that is spooled around the second pulley and connected with the distal end of the gauge line or the plumb bob;
- and
- d. a third pulley comprising a sampling device connected with a distal end of the sampling tube and a wire spooled around the third pulley, wherein the wire connects the sampling device and a power source.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.