Essef Industries, Inc.

Essef Corporation

Arthur M Kepler

Edward T LeBreton

Clyde W Groves

Michel Liekens

Method and apparatus for attaching an insert in a hollow body

A filament-wound vessel for containing corrosive and pressurized fluids is disclosed. The vessel comprises a thermoplastic resin inner liner having a cylindrical sidewall and integral oblate, ellipsoidal end sections, and axially aligned access openings at each end of the vessel. One of the openings has a relatively wide diameter compared to the other opening, and a tank fitting is mounted in the wide diameter opening. The tank fitting comprises a fiber-reinforced plastic female member having a cylindrical end projecting into the wide diameter opening of the inner liner and a cylindrical neck portion projecting from the opening. An annular boss is provided between the cylindrical end and the cylindrical neck and rests on an exteriorly facing annular portion of the end section. A sealing ribbon, which comprises a substantially uniform mixture of a thermoplastic material and ferromagnetic particles, seals the boss to the annular portion upon the application of electromagnetic energy. The sidewall of the vessel is provided with a circumferential winding, and the entire sidewall of the vessel is provided with a helical winding which extends over the end sections to provide further reinforcement for the annular bosses. A circumferential winding is provided around the neck section to ensure the dimensional stability of the neck section upon the application of internal pressure to the tank.

Tank fitting for a filament-wound vessel

A split tank closure and diaphragm assembly for a hydropneumatic filament wound pressure vessel is disclosed. The assembly includes first and second cup shaped plastic tank liners having oblate ellipsoidal end portions and cylindrical sidewall portions terminating in cylindrical open mouth portions. A ring is provided for joining and sealing the open mouth portions together to form a sealed container and to mount a diaphragm within the tank to divide the interior of the tank into variable volume chambers. The ring has a cylindrical outer surface corresponding to the outside diameter of the cylindrical sidewall portions of the liners. The liners form a dovetail joint with the ring and respectively trap an O-ring and a bulbous portion of the diaphragm between recessed portions of the liner and a surface of the ring to seal the interior of the tank. The assembly is wound with a resin impregnated continuous roving to reinforce the tank and resist internal pressures.

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Atwater, OH, United States of America

Arthur M Kepler