The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 18, 2003
Filed:
Apr. 13, 2001
Yatish J. Joshi, South Bend, IN (US);
Larry J. Costa, Mishawaka, IN (US);
Louise E. Addicott, South Bend, IN (US);
GTA Containers, Inc., South Bend, IN (US);
Abstract
A liquid storage tank and a method of fabricating and testing the liquid storage tank. The tank is collapsible for ease of transportation when not holding a liquid and includes a base portion and a top portion. The base portion has a bottom wall and a frusto-conical sidewall that is sealed to the bottom wall. The top portion is sealed to the sidewall, and has a flexible opening. The opening is linear in the preferred embodiment and is openable to draw liquid from the tank and closable to prevent contaminants from entering the tank. The bottom wall is substantially circular and the top portion includes two substantially semi-circular sections joined and overlapped along the straight edges to form an overlapped region. The sidewall includes generally triangular shaped sections, and the sections are joined to one another with seams that extend in a slightly helical fashion about the tank. The opening includes a slit in the overlapped region and two L-shaped members. Each L member has a horizontal leg and a vertical leg. The vertical legs are adjacent one another with the slit located therebetween. The horizontal legs are attached to the top portion. The vertical legs have sealed extended ends and include a releasable closing mechanism for opening and closing the opening. The liquid storage tank may be inverted through the opening for ease in cleaning the tank, and the tank may be placed on an incline of up to at least ten degrees with the tank being filled to capacity and wherein no liquid will spill from the opening. A method of pressure testing the tank is provided.