# US 2024/0200725 A1 · Liquid delivery system

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- Number: US 2024/0200725 A1
- Document ID: US20240200725A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 18/539,699
- Filed: 2023-12-14
- Published: 2024-06-20
- Earliest claimed: 2022-12-16
- Assignees: Eaton Intelligent Power Limited
- Applicants: Eaton Intelligent Power Limited
- Inventors: Steven Charles RILEY
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20240200725A1

## CPC

- F17C 3/02: with provision for thermal insulation (thermal insulation in general F16L59/00 {; refrigerators F25D; insulation specially adapted for cryogenic vessels F17C13/001; tank vehicles B60P3/22; railway tank wagons B61D5/00})
- F17C 7/04: with change of state, e.g. vaporisation
- F17C 9/00: Methods or apparatus for discharging liquefied or solidified gases from vessels not under pressure
- F17C 9/02: with change of state, e.g. vaporisation
- F17C 2203/03: Thermal insulations
- F17C 2205/0323: Valves
- F17C 2205/0335: Check-valves or non-return valves
- F17C 2221/012: Hydrogen
- F17C 2223/0161: cryogenic, e.g. LNG, GNL, PLNG
- F17C 2223/033: Small pressure, e.g. for liquefied gas
- F17C 2225/0123: gaseous, e.g. CNG, GNC
- F17C 2225/036: Very high pressure, i.e. above 80 bars
- F17C 2227/0107: by pressurising the ullage
- F17C 2227/0135: Pumps
- F17C 2227/0302: by heating
- F17C 2227/0304: using an electric heater
- F17C 2227/0311: Air heating
- F17C 2227/0337: by cooling
- F17C 2227/0393: using a vaporiser
- F17C 2227/04: Methods for emptying or filling
- F17C 2250/01: Intermediate tanks
- F17C 2250/03: Control means
- F17C 2250/032: using computers
- F17C 2250/043: Pressure
- F17C 2250/0439: Temperature
- F17C 2250/0626: Pressure
- F17C 2250/0631: Temperature
- F17C 2265/066: for feeding engines for propulsion
- F17C 2270/0168: by vehicles
- F17C 2270/0189: Planes
- F17C: VESSELS FOR CONTAINING OR STORING COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED OR SOLIDIFIED GASES; FIXED-CAPACITY GAS-HOLDERS; FILLING VESSELS WITH, OR DISCHARGING FROM VESSELS, COMPRESSED, LIQUEFIED, OR SOLIDIFIED GASES (storing fluids in natural or artificial cavities or chambers in the earth B65G5/00; construction or assembling of bulk storage containers employing civil-engineering techniques E04H7/00; variable-capacity gas-holders F17B; liquefaction or refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25)

## Abstract

A liquid delivery system is configured to pump a liquid (e.g., a cryogenic liquid) without a mechanical pump. The system includes a storage tank to store the liquid at low pressure; a transition tank configured to transition the low pressure liquid to a high pressure gas; and a pumping tank configured to first receive part of the low pressure liquid from the source tank and then to receive the pressurized gas from the transition tank to expel the low pressure liquid from the pumping tank. The liquid delivery system can be used to deliver fuel to an engine (e.g., on an aircraft).

## Claims

### Claim 1

A liquid delivery system comprising:
a source tank having a first internal pressure, the source tank being configured to hold a cryogenic liquid at the first internal pressure;
a transition tank including a heat supply region, a liquid receiving region, and a gas holding region, the transition tank being configured to use the heat supply region to heat the cryogenic liquid disposed at the liquid receiving region to a gas, which collects in the gas holding region, thereby pressurizing the gas above the first internal pressure;
a pumping tank including a liquid region and a gaseous region, the pumping tank having an outlet;
a first low pressure line configured to selectively supply a first portion of the cryogenic liquid from the source tank to the liquid region of the pumping tank;
a second low pressure line configured to selectively supply a second portion of the cryogenic liquid from the source tank to the liquid receiving region of the transition tank; and
a high pressure line configured to selectively supply the pressurized gas collected within the gas holding region of the transition tank to the gaseous region of the pumping tank, whereby the pressurized gas expels the first portion of the cryogenic liquid out of the pumping tank through the outlet.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The liquid delivery system of claim 1, further comprising:
a dump tank having a second internal pressure that is lower than the first internal pressure;
a first dump line configured to supply gas from the gaseous region of the pumping tank to the dump tank; and
a second dump line configured to supply gas from the gas holding region of the transition tank to the dump tank.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The liquid delivery system of claim 1, wherein the transition tank is a first transition tank and the pumping tank is a first pumping tank; and wherein the liquid delivery system further comprises:
a second transition tank including a heat supply region, a liquid receiving region, and a gas holding region, the second transition tank being configured to use the respective heat supply region to heat liquid disposed at the respective liquid receiving region to a gas, which collects in the respective gas holding region, thereby pressurizing the gas above the first internal pressure;
a second pumping tank including a liquid region and a gaseous region, the second pumping tank having an outlet;
a third low pressure line configured to selectively supply a third portion of the cryogenic liquid from the source tank to the liquid region of the second pumping tank;
a fourth low pressure line configured to selectively supply a fourth portion of the cryogenic liquid from the source tank to the liquid receiving region of the second transition tank, the fourth portion being less than the third portion; and
a second high pressure line configured to selectively supply the pressurized gas collected within the gas holding region of the second transition tank to the gaseous region of the second pumping tank, whereby the pressurized gas expels the third portion of the liquid out of the second pumping tank through the outlet of the second pumping tank.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The liquid delivery system of claim 3, wherein the outlets of the first and second pumping tanks output to a common output line.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The liquid delivery system of claim 1, further comprising a return line extending between the dump tank and the source tank, the return line extending through a heat exchanger configured to transition gas from the dump tank back into a cryogenic liquid to be returned to the source tank.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The liquid delivery system of claim 5, wherein an output from the pumping tank is routed past or through the heat exchanger to provide cooling to the gas.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The liquid delivery system of claim 1, further comprising a heat exchanger to replenish the pumping tank.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The liquid delivery system of claim 1, further comprising a fill line extending between the liquid region of the pumping tank and the liquid receiving region of the transition tank to enable at least some of the liquid from the pumping tank to be supplied to the transition tank.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The liquid delivery system of claim 8, wherein the fill line is separate from the outlet of the pumping tank.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The liquid delivery system of claim 1, wherein the heat supply region of the transition tank includes a heating element.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The liquid delivery system of claim 1, wherein the heat supply region of the transition tank includes a passage leading to atmosphere.

### Claim 12 (depends on 1)

The liquid delivery system of claim 1, further comprising a supply line extending between the dump tank and the heat supply region of the transition tank.

### Claim 13 (depends on 2)

The liquid delivery system of claim 2, wherein the dump tank is vented to atmosphere.

### Claim 14 (depends on 1)

The liquid delivery system of claim 1, wherein cryogenic liquid is liquid hydrogen.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The liquid delivery system of claim 1, wherein the liquid delivery system is disposed onboard an aircraft to delivery fuel to one or more engines of the aircraft.

### Claim 16

A method of delivering a fuel to an engine comprising:
delivering a first portion of the fuel from a fuel tank to a pumping tank using a pressure differential between the fuel tank and the pumping tank;
delivering a second portion of the fuel from the fuel tank to a transition tank using a pressure differential between the fuel tank and the transition tank;
heating the second portion of the fuel within the transition tank to transition at least some of the second portion of the fuel into a gas and continuing to the heat the second portion of the fuel to pressurize the gas; and
delivering the pressurized gas from the transition tank to the pumping tank so that the pressurized gas acts on the first portion of the fuel to expel the fuel from the pumping tank.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, further comprising:
depressurizing the pumping tank after the first portion of the fuel has been expelled from the pumping tank by opening a connection between the pumping tank and a dump tank.

### Claim 18 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, further comprising:
depressurizing the transition tank after the first portion of the fuel has been expelled from the pumping tank by opening a connection between the transition tank and the dump tank.

### Claim 19 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the first portion of the fuel from the fuel tank is delivered to the pumping tank by a first low pressure line.

### Claim 20 (depends on 16)

The method of claim 16, wherein the second portion of the fuel from the fuel tank is delivered to the transition tank by a second low pressure line.