Solar water tank and method of making same
OwnerRichard S. Steeleinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A solar water tank for use in solar heating systems includes an insulated tank with flow systems comprised of a plurality of inlet and outlet tubes, heat exchangers, level switch and supplemental heating element, all assembled together with the manway cover for the tank in a unitary embodiment. The tank also includes a layer of polyurethane foam insulation on its interior surface. Forming apparatus for placing the insulation layer in the tank includes a flexible synthetic membrane in the form of an enclosed bag adapted for positioning in the interior of the tank.
Claims26
A water tank adapted for solar heating systems, comprising:
- an insulated rigid shell enclosing a chamber therein adapted for containing a fluid medium, said shell having an access hole therein, including a flexible plastic liner positioned within said chamber around the periphery thereof a spaced distance inwardly from said shell, and a foam insulation material uniformly filling the space between said shell and said liner;
- an insulated cover for said access hole adapted to be positioned over said access hole and to be removably attached in that position to said shell;
- a flow systems assembly extending through and attached to said cover, said flow systems assembly including fluid inlet and outlet tubes and water inlet and outlet tubes for conducting the flow of fluids and water, respectively, into and out of said chamber, and heat exchanger means for facilitating heat transfer from the fluid to the water within said chamber;
- and
- attachment means on said cover and said shell for removably attaching said cover to said shell over said access hole with said flow systems assembly extending therethrough and positioned inside said shell.
Forming apparatus for use in insulating the inside surface of an enclosure, including:
- a substantially enclosed tank defining the enclosure;
- and
- a flexible, inflatable bag adapted for positioning in the interior of said tank, said bag including a plurality of bag support means connected to the tank and positioned in a plurality of locations spaced around the peripheral surface of said bag and adapted for retaining said bag in uniformly spaced-apart relation from the inside surface of the tank, said bag being a completely enclosed membrane and including a cylindrical boot attached to and extending upwardly from a portion of said membrane means for sealing said boat around the periphery of an opening in a wall of the tank.
The method of insulating a tank, comprising the steps of:
- positioning an inflatable flexible bag in the interior of the tank;
- attaching said bag in spaced-apart relation to the inside surface of said tank in a plurality of spaced-apart locations around the periphery of the bag to retain the bag in spaced-apart relation to the inside surface of said tank;
- inflating said bag until it substantially fills the interior of said tank while leaving a space between said bag and the inside surface of said tank;
- and
- injecting a foam forming, thermal setting liquid resin material into the bottom portion of said tank between the bag and the inside surface of the tank and allowing said resin to expand throughout the space between said bag and the inside surface of said tank and to set in the form of an insulating foam in said space.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.