Fluent material handling – with receiver or receiver coacting mea – Miscellaneous
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-02
2001-04-17
Maust, Timothy L. (Department: 3751)
Fluent material handling, with receiver or receiver coacting mea
Miscellaneous
C141S009000, C141S059000, C141S100000, C141S237000, C141S285000, C141S292000, C141S382000, C137S256000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06216755
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for filling two containers of a system, in particular for filling a fuel tank and a reducing-agent tank surrounded by the latter. The invention also relates to a device for carrying out the method.
Exhaust-gas purification systems operated with a reducing agent have been developed in the course of the development of ever more environmentally friendly internal combustion engines. A system of that kind is known, for example, from a Siemens Company Prospectus entitled “SiNOx Nitrogen Oxide Reduction for Stationary Diesel Engines”, Order No. A96001-U91-A232, Siemens AG, Berlin and Munich. That document relates to a system which is based on an SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) method. That method makes use of the effect whereby nitrogen oxides or urea are converted into nitrogen and water through the use of suitable catalysts. For that purpose, exhaust gases are led through the SCR catalyst, which is integrated into an exhaust-gas line, at the same time as an accurately metered addition of a reducing agent.
In an exhaust-gas purification system which is operated with a reducing agent and which cooperates with an internal combustion system supplying exhaust gas, for example with a diesel engine in a motor vehicle, it is necessary for the reducing agent to be stored in a storage container, tank or reducing-agent space. That space has heretofore been disposed at some distance and separately from the fuel space, which is provided for storing the fuel for the internal combustion system. In that case, a solid reducing agent such as urea, for example, is dissolved in a liquid, for example in water, inter alia, for reasons of good meterability. Reducing agent solutions of that kind crystallize and solidify at temperatures below which those prevailing in the vehicle, and if the reducing-agent tank is installed externally, may fall. For example, a 32.5% urea/water solution solidifies at −11° C. A frozen or solidified solution can no longer be conveyed, and in such a case the exhaust gas is not purified.
Particularly in the case of a vehicle in which such an exhaust-gas purification system operated by reducing agent is employed, there is a need to accommodate the storage container for the reducing agent. German Published, Non-Prosecuted Patent Application DE 197 29 003 A1 recently proposed to place the storage container for the reducing agent within a fuel tank belonging to the internal combustion system. In that case, spatially separated filler orifices which are independent of one another are provided for filling the storage container and the fuel tank. Storage tanks from which fuel and reducing agent are pumped are normally installed spatially at a distance from one another. Two refueling operations that are independent of one another are therefore necessary in order to refuel an internal combustion system of the above-mentioned type.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a method and a device for filling containers, which overcome the hereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known methods and devices of this general type and which are made more acceptable by reducing time spent in filling or refueling.
With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a method for filling two containers, in particular for filling a fuel tank and a reducing-agent tank surrounded by the fuel tank, in a system, which comprises simultaneously filling the two containers with a single pump nozzle having two outlet pipes.
In accordance with another mode of the invention, the filling of at least one of the two containers is carried out through a liquid-tight and/or gas-tight connection and venting is carried out, during a filling operation, through a vent opening parallel to a connection provided for filling, with gases emerging from the vent opening being filtered. Moreover, at the same time, gases possibly displaced out of one of the containers and emerging through a filler neck are received by a suction-extraction device.
With the objects of the invention in view there is also provided a filling device, comprising two containers and two filler necks each associated with a respective one of the containers, the filler necks combined to form a subassembly; and a single pump nozzle having two outlet pipes each assigned to a respective one of the filler necks for simultaneously filling the two containers, the outlet pipes combined to form a subassembly.
In accordance with another feature of the invention, the connections have line cross sections of different sizes, the connection having the smaller line cross section is constructed to be liquid-tight and/or gas-tight, the outlet pipes in the pump nozzle have different lengths, and the shorter outlet pipe has the smaller line cross section.
In accordance with a further feature of the invention, the containers respectively serve as a fuel tank and as a reducing-agent tank in a motor vehicle, with the longer outlet pipe serving for filling the fuel tank, for example with diesel fuel, and the shorter outlet pipe serving for filling the reducing-agent tank, for example with a urea solution.
In accordance with an a concomitant feature of the invention, both the shorter outlet pipe in the pump nozzle and the associated container-side filler neck are provided in each case with a self-closing device opening only when the outlet pipe is introduced in the filler neck. In this case, the self-closing devices are constructed in the manner of a bayonet fastening, and the container-side filler neck having the smaller line cross section is disposed at the bottom of a guide cone. Moreover, the pump nozzle, together with its two outlet pipes, is surrounded by a suction bell.
The advantages achieved through the use of the invention are, in particular, that the simultaneous filling of the two containers (tanks) markedly reduces the amount of time required for filling both containers, and that associated drawbacks, for example the user getting dirty, are reduced to a tolerable or even negligible minimum.
Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.
Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a method and a device for filling containers, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.
The construction and method of operation of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3324905 (1967-06-01), Paulo
patent: 3502117 (1970-03-01), Nebelsiek et al.
patent: 3871422 (1975-03-01), Elson et al.
patent: 5123458 (1992-06-01), Collard
patent: 5775386 (1998-07-01), Connan
“SINOx Stickoxidminderung für stationäre Dieselmotoren”, Order No. A96001-U91-A232, Siemens AG, Berlin and Munich.
Greenberg Laurence A.
Infineon - Technologies AG
Lerner Herbert L.
Maust Timothy L.
Stemer Werner H.
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