Pipe joints or couplings – End to side or plate – Sput
Reexamination Certificate
1999-02-23
2001-01-30
Browne, Lynne H. (Department: 3629)
Pipe joints or couplings
End to side or plate
Sput
C285S364000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179344
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to apparatus for aiding in the off-loading of bulk raw materials, particularly solid resins, or materials for making solid resins, from a railroad hopper car.
2. Description of Related Art
It is often necessary to off-load bulk raw materials such as solid resins, materials for making solid resins, wheat, flour, etc., from a railroad hopper car into a receptacle such as a silo or other storage container. This is usually done by connecting a flexible hose to an outlet of the hopper car (which outlet is standard equipment and has been incorporated for that purpose) and emptying the hopper car of its contents. It will be appreciated that for materials which pose a threat for explosion, the hoses/conduits used for off-loading are preferably pressurized by an inert gas, such as dry nitrogen, to ensure that oxygen does not enter the system. For materials which do not pose an explosion problem, ambient air may be used. As shown in
FIG. 1
, which is a greatly simplified schematic of a typical setup for such a prior art transfer operation, a flexible metal hose
11
is connected to the outlet of a hopper car
10
fitting
20
(shown in more detail in FIGS.
2
A and
2
B). For simplicity, the return air path and associated hardware are not shown or discussed at this point. The hose
11
is, in turn, connected to the inlet side of a blower
12
either directly or by intermediate tubing
11
a
. It will be appreciated that the blower is usually placed in the “return” air line. The outlet of blower
12
is connected by outlet tubing
11
b
to the top of a silo
14
. When it is desired to off-load the cargo from hopper car
10
, a valve (not shown) operated by handle
23
at the hopper car
10
outlet fitting
20
(see
FIG. 2A
) is opened and the blower
12
is energized thereby forcing the gaseous transporting fluid (and cargo) through the tubing
11
,
11
a
,
11
b
. The raw material is thus withdrawn from the hopper car
10
through outlet fitting
20
, and transported into the silo
14
in a manner which is well known to those skilled in the art.
FIG. 2A
shows a typical hopper car
10
outlet fitting generally designated at
20
which is standard equipment on hopper cars. Generally, there are two such fittings located on opposing sides of each compartment of a hopper car
10
, one (an inlet
20
a
) for supplying a fluidizing medium such as air
itrogen, and one (an outlet
20
) for removing the raw material from the hopper car
10
. For ease of illustration, only the outlet side fitting
20
is described in detail since they are interchangeable. The outlet fitting
20
(shown in more detail in
FIG. 2B
) comprises a trough tube
21
which is press-fit into a collar
22
which is, in turn, permanently affixed to the hopper car
10
. A handle
23
is readily accessible for opening and closing a valve (not shown) connected thereto and which, in its open position, allows the outflow of material from the hopper car
10
and through the hose
11
.
An adapter was required to connect the hose
11
to the outlet fitting
20
. A typical prior art adapter previously used by Assignee herein is shown in
FIGS. 3A
,
3
B wherein a rubber slip tube adapter
30
is installed around the trough tube
21
of the hopper car
10
outlet fitting
20
. The rubber slip tube adapter
30
may be, e.g., a standard 6¾ inch O.D. ×¼ inch thick rubber tube. The trough tube
21
is used to adapt the steel flexible “product” hose
11
(
FIG. 1
) to the outlet fitting
20
of the hopper car
10
,
FIGS. 2A
,
2
B. The hose
11
is connected to a blower
12
for the purpose of conveying the bulk product into and through a product-conveying loop comprising conduits
11
,
11
a
,
11
b
and thence into silo
14
as shown in FIG.
1
. The rubber slip tube adapter
30
is secured to the trough tube
21
and hose adapter
19
by tightening the bolts of split clamps
32
,
34
, thereby compressing and sealing the rubber tube
30
against the trough tube
21
and hose adapter
19
. A camlock fitting
31
is provided for mating attachment to hose
11
. The trough tube
21
, as noted above, is press-fit into the collar
22
(and thereby into hopper outlet fitting
20
itself, as described above) and, due to this press-fit, the slip tube adapter
30
and the trough tube
21
have a tendency to loosen with respect to collar
22
and, in turn, the outlet fitting
20
, during the transfer process. The trough tube
21
has been known to completely separate from the hopper outlet
20
, thereby causing a breach in the system. This is unsafe, due to the introduction of air into an inerted (such as by dry nitrogen) system which is conveying a dusty powder and because of the exposure of personnel thereto at the time of the release. It also has a negative environmental impact due to the release of product to the environment. Other problems are encountered due to the material of construction, i.e., the slip tube
30
is constructed entirely of a rubber material which is an electrical insulator. This is not desirable because of the need to bond, i.e., to electrically ground the entire system in order to dissipate the electrostatic charge created during the transfer of product, thereby reducing the chance of an explosion. This has heretofore generally necessitated a grounding wire system connecting the hopper car
10
to the downstream transfer system.
The prior art discloses systems which are primarily hopper car
10
product and trough control devices, which would require a complete reconstruction of the hopper car
10
outlet fitting
20
in order to solve the noted problems. In contrast, the hopper car
10
adapter
40
, i.e., the invention disclosed herein, can be installed without any modification to the existing design/configuration of hopper cars and addresses issues not identified in existing designs.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An adapter for interconnecting a compartment of a railroad hopper car to a product off-loading system provides a positive fluid, mechanical and electrical interface thereby preventing an accidental mechanical disconnect (or loosening) in the off-loading collar of a hopper car, even during the off-loading process. The adapter is all metal and, with flexible metal and embedded metal spiral wire hoses, provides a continuous electrical connection between the hopper car and the storage facility. The adapter also greatly reduces or eliminates the possibility of product blow-by which would create environmental contamination and product loss. The introduction of oxygen into the system is also greatly reduced or eliminated thereby reducing the risk of an explosion or fire. The adapter is made from a single piece of metal, one end of which attaches to the standard fixed collar of the outlet fitting of a hopper car. Mechanical and electrical connection of the adapter is made by the use of “dog-ears”, which are an integral part of the mating flange which connects to the collar of the standard outlet fitting. The other end of the adapter is fitted with a standard camlock fitting designed to mate with a mating camlock fitting attached to the “product” and “return” air hoses which are connected to the storage facility and to a blower system respectively. The blower system provides the fluidization medium for moving the product from the hopper car to the storage facility. The flexible metal and embedded metal spiral wire hoses include metal from end to end thereby providing electrical continuity throughout the entire closed-loop system.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2950143 (1960-08-01), Koranda et al.
patent: 3020092 (1962-02-01), Dorey
patent: 3020093 (1962-02-01), Dorey
patent: 3195961 (1965-07-01), Borger et al.
patent: 4268071 (1981-05-01), Hanchen et al.
patent: 4867615 (1989-09-01), Fritz
patent: 5195851 (1993-03-01), Shepard et al.
patent: 5774816 (1998-06-01), Fontenot et al.
patent: 5878767 (1999-03-01), Etling et al.
Browne Lynne H.
Dunwoody Aaron
Shell Oil Company
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