Abstract: An industrial hopper and support system includes a hopper having a plurality of receivers complementally configured to receive the top ends of legs of a support. The hopper is particularly designed to receive and discharge both solid and liquid material by the mounting of a selected valve, and the receivers include recesses therein which inhibit the spread of the legs and provide a structural connection between the legs of the support when the hopper is mounted thereon. The hopper may be mounted to the legs without the use of tools, but a separate fastener may be used when it is desired to lift both the hopper and its support from above. The support is provided with openings through primary tubular members which align with crossmembers so that forks inserted into the openings pass longitudinally through the crossmembers.

Abstract: A hopper bin assembly with a slide discharge gate comprises a hopper section, a slide gate housing, and a pallet. The hopper stores a volume of dry material and includes an outlet. The slide gate housing couples with the hopper and includes a discharge opening that aligns with the outlet of the hopper. A slidable gate that is coupled with the discharge opening controls the flow of material through the discharge opening. The pallet supports the slide gate housing and the hopper and includes openings that receive the forks of a forklift. A method of making at least a portion of the hopper bin assembly includes rotating a resin in a mold along two or more axes within a heated room or chamber. The mold is cooled and the part formed therein is separated into one or more sections.

Abstract: A flexible synthetic resin coupling is provided which is substantially self-sustaining in an initial configuration but provides sufficient resiliency and flexibility to absorb substantial loading, thereby accommodating relative movement between pipes and/or tanks to which it is connected. The coupling includes a conduit having two ends with a coupling positioned at at least one of the ends. The conduit is configured to have a total curvature of at least 270°, and may be configured to have a central axis of the flowpath defined by the passage within the conduit lie in a serpentine configuration in a single plane or alternatively to loop and lie in more than one plane.

Abstract: An industrial hopper and support system includes a hopper having a plurality of receivers complementally configured to receive the top ends of legs of a support. The hopper is particularly designed to receive and discharge both solid and liquid material by the mounting of a selected valve, and the receivers include recesses therein which inhibit the spread of the legs and provide a structural connection between the legs of the support when the hopper is mounted thereon. The hopper may be mounted to the legs without the use of tools, but a separate fastener may be used when it is desired to lift both the hopper and its support from above. The support is provided with openings through primary tubular members which align with crossmembers so that forks inserted into the openings pass longitudinally through the crossmembers.

Abstract: An industrial tank support includes a platform and multiple supporting legs positioned around the platform with the platform located between the top end and bottom end of the legs. The platform has first and second surfaces thereon which have different configurations, whereby the tank support can be positioned in two different orientations with either the first surface or the second surface uppermost in a tank receiving position to alternatively support tanks having two different bottom configurations. A central opening is provided in the platform whereby a dispensing outlet or other projection from the bottom wall of the supported tank may extend through the central opening. The legs and platform are preferably hollow and in fluidic communication by passages, and the tank support is preferably molded as a unitary member of synthetic resin.

Abstract: A flexible synthetic resin coupling is provided which is substantially self-sustaining in an initial configuration but provides sufficient resiliency and flexibility to absorb substantial loading, thereby accommodating relative movement between pipes and/or tanks to which it is connected. The coupling includes a conduit having two ends with a coupling positioned at at least one of the ends. The conduit is configured to have a total curvature of at least 270°, and may be configured to have a central axis of the flowpath defined by the passage within the conduit lie in a serpentine configuration in a single plane or alternatively to loop and lie in more than one plane.

Abstract: An industrial tank support includes a platform and multiple supporting legs positioned around the platform with the platform located between the top end and bottom end of the legs. The platform has first and second surfaces thereon which have different configurations, whereby the tank support can be positioned in two different orientations with either the first surface or the second surface uppermost in a tank receiving position to alternatively support tanks having two different bottom configurations. A central opening is provided in the platform whereby a dispensing outlet or other projection from the bottom wall of the supported tank may extend through the central opening. The legs and platform are preferably hollow and in fluidic communication by passages, and the tank support is preferably molded as a unitary member of synthetic resin.

Abstract: A fluid storage tank assembly is provided which includes a tank having sidewalls, a bottom wall and a top wall, and a support columns positioned between the sidewalls. The support columns blend into the sidewalls to avoid sharp corners and the sidewalls join with the bottom wall and the top wall along rounded edges to avoid stress concentrations in the tank. The tank is rotationally molded of synthetic resin, and is provided with a plurality of detachably mounted discrete legs which thread into recesses in the bottom wall. The top wall includes an indentation, and the indentation and the reception surfaces atop the support columns receive the legs of a second fluid storage tank stacked thereon. A bottom protector provided as a relatively thin sheet of synthetic resin material has a plurality of holes therethrough to permit insertion of the threaded shanks of the legs to pass therethrough for coupling the protector to the bottom of the tank.

Abstract: A containment tank assembly is provided which includes an inner tank, and an outer vessel with a containment area therebetween. Discharge from the inner tank is provided through a discharge outlet preferably located adjacent the bottom wall of the inner tank, the discharge outlet extending through the outer vessel. Anchor assemblies are provided to tie down the roof of the inner tank and to abut the outside of the outer vessel. The outer vessel is preferably configured with substantially flat, vertical chord sections which are tangential to the cylindrical sidewall of the lower section of the inner tank. The inner tank is preferably provided with chutes which fit into notches along the upper margin of the outer vessel to permit liquid to flow from an internal trough back into the lower section of the inner tank and to resist relative rotational movement between the inner tank and the outer vessel.

Abstract: A discharge outlet is provided for attachment to a double wall containment tank assembly having an inner tank and an outer containment vessel. The discharge outlet includes a conduit fluidically connected to the fluid receiving chamber of the inner tank and extending exteriorly of the outer containment vessel, a flexible annular sealing member positioned between the inner tank and the outer containment vessel, and couplers for attaching the sealing member to the inner tank and the outer vessel in surrounding relationship to the conduit. The containment area between the two tanks which is designed fro containing spills from the inner tank is thereby fluidically isolated form the access opening through which the conduit passes.

Abstract: A fluid tank assembly is designed for stacking with similar assemblies. The fluid tank assembly includes a base having a plurality of upright stacking legs, a tank having a liquid-receiving chamber received on and supported by the base, and couplers for connecting the tank to the stacking legs adjacent the upper ends of the latter. The couplers away be provided as fasteners such as bolts and receivers whereby the tank prevents the legs from spreading outwardly. Alternatively, the couplers may be provided as bosses molded into the tank which interfit with corresponding slots on the stacking legs. The tank is preferably permitted to shift relative to the base to accommodate movement during filling and emptying and shifting during transport. The couplers avoid the necessity of separate protective tops or other structure which joins the tops of the legs together, but rather uses the tank as a structural component without imparting significant vertical loads thereto.

Abstract: A method of rotationally molding a part to include a platform therein is provided. The method includes providing a mold and mounting the platform adjacent to, and preferably connected to the wall of the mold. Resin is deposited in the mold and the mold is closed. The mold is heated and rotated around at least two axes. The molten resin substantially covers the interior wall of the mold and the portion of the platform exposed therein. Rotation continues as the mold is cooled whereby the resin solidifies into a self-sustaining configuration. The resulting part is removed with the platform receiving resin thereon incorporated in the part resulting in a reinforcement oriented in spanning relationship to an interval defined by spaced-apart regions on the mold wall. The placement of the platform may be selected, whereby the resin and platform provide structural reinforcements for the part, lifting points incorporated into the part, or electrical grounding sites which are formed during molding.

Abstract: A discharge outlet is provided for attachment to a double wall containment tank assembly having an inner tank and an outer containment vessel. The discharge outlet includes a conduit fluidically connected to the fluid receiving chamber of the inner tank and extending exteriorly of the outer containment vessel, a flexible annular sealing member positioned between the inner tank and the outer containment vessel, and couplers for attaching the sealing member to the inner tank and the outer vessel in surrounding relationship to the conduit. The containment area between the two tanks which is designed fro containing spills from the inner tank is thereby fluidically isolated form the access opening through which the conduit passes.