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US 5,922,158 AGranted
Method for reconditioning a propane gas tank
AssigneeBlue Rhino Corporation
InventorsJoseph T. Culp, Richard Belmont
Life of this patent
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AssigneeBlue Rhino Corporation
InventorsJoseph T. Culp, Richard Belmont
Estimating the term…
A propane fuel storage tank having a fuel-containing tank body with an outer printed sleeve made of linear heat-shrink plastic material heat-shrunk in tight fitting encircling relation about the tank for preventing viewing of surface imperfections in the tank beneath the sleeve. A method of making and reconditioning propane fuel tanks is disclosed which includes loosely positioning a sleeve of such linear heat-shrinkable plastic material about the tank body and exposing the plastic sleeve to a temperature above its heat-shrink temperature to cause it to contract and tightly conform about the outer perimeter of the tank. The sleeve preferably encompasses a central cylindrical side wall of the tank, portions of the upper and lower semi-spherical end walls of the tank, and the lower foot ring, which results in a like-new reconditioned tank without the necessity for complete removal of surface imperfections and prior adhesively applied labels, or the need for complete repainting of the tank.
A method of reconditioning a propane fuel storage tank having a fuel containing body defined by a cylindrical side wall and generally semi-spherical top and bottom end walls, a foot ring secured to the bottom end wall, and an annular collar secured to the top end wall, comprising the steps of accepting and taking possession of the tank after the tank has been used, fuel from the tank has been released, and the cylindrical side wall has incurred surface markings during usage that did not exist when the tank was originally produced;
A method of reconditioning a propane fuel storage tank having a fuel containing body defined by a cylindrical side wall and generally semi-spherical top and bottom end walls, comprising the steps of accepting and taking possession of the tank after the tank has been used, fuel from the tank has been released, and the cylindrical side wall has incurred surface markings during usage that did not exist when the tank was originally produced;
A method of reconditioning a propane fuel storage tank having a fuel containing tank body with a cylindrical side wall having an adhesively applied label thereon, comprising the steps of accepting and taking possession of the tank after the tank has been used and fuel has been released from the tank, cleaning the tank body without completely removing the adhesively applied label, loosely positioning a sheet of no-transparent linear heat-shrinkable plastic material about the cylindrical side wall of the tank in overlying relation to the remaining adhesively applied label to cover and hide the remaining adhesively applied label, and exposing said plastic sheet to a temperature above its heat-shrink temperature to cause the plastic sheet to contract and tightly conform to the outer perimeter of the tank and conceal the remaining adhesively applied label.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.