Rolling diaphragms for expelling liquids
AssigneeThiokol Corporation
InventorMilton Gershon
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The disclosure relates to a rolling cylindrical diaphragm having one end connected to the peripheral wall of a tank and its opposite end connected to the periphery of a piston for expelling a liquid, such as a propellant for a rocket engine, and more especially to a construction in which the diaphragm is tack welded at spaced points around its periphery to weakened sections of a lining in the tank so that the diaphragm will tear the weakened sections from the remainder of the lining to prevent radial collapse of the diaphragm and control its longitudinal movement along the tank when an activating pressure fluid is applied to one side thereof.
Claims8
In a tank for storing liquids having a rolling diaphragm for positively expelling liquid of the type comprising a sleeve conforming to the contour of a surrounding wall of the tank with one end attached thereto and its opposite end attached to a piston and which rolls back on itself upon the application of a pressurizing fluid against the piston to expel liquid from the tank, that improvement which comprises attaching the sleeve of the rolling diaphragm to a surrounding wall by a plurality of spot welds constructed to tear loose from the surrounding wall and of a number and spaced arrangement to resist radial buckling and release successively during rolling of the diaphragm sleeve.
A rolling diaphragm for positively expelling liquid from a tank comprising a diaphragm sleeve having one end attached to a surrounding wall to form a seal therebetween, a piston connected to the opposite end of the sleeve, a plurality of spot welds between said diaphragm sleeve and surrounding wall and so located as to resist radial buckling of the sleeve by the application of fluid pressure on the piston sufficient to roll the diaphragm back on itself to positively expel the liquid from the tank, and each of said welds having a construction to break away from the surrounding wall at a pressure less than that which will tear the diaphragm sleeve so that the latter will peel away from the surrounding wall as it rolls.
A rolling diaphragm for positively expelling liquid from a tank comprising a lining in said tank, a diaphragm sleeve of a flexible material in said tank and having a contour conforming to said lining, a piston at one end of said diaphragm sleeve, the opposite end of said diaphragm sleeve being permanently attached to said lining, a plurality of spot welds between said diaphragm sleeve and tank lining of sufficient number and so located as to resist radial buckling of the sleeve by the application of fluid pressure on the piston sufficient to roll the diaphragm back on itself to positively expel the liquid from the tank, and said tank lining, at least at the location of the welds, having less resistance to tearing than the diaphragm sleeve so that the latter will peel away from the lining as it rolls.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.