CLAMP FOR A WATER STORAGE TANK
A clamp for securing a flexible sheet to the upper portion of a wall of a water tank includes a pair of thin, flexible strips spaced apart by a plurality of spacers near a top portion of the strips. At least one rod or threaded bolt extends through holes provided in the strips below the spacers. Nuts carried by the rod or bolt can be moved inwardly so as to deflect the flexible sheets inwardly thereby clamping the flexible sheet between the clamp and the tank wall.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a water storage tank that can be assembled on a work site where there is a need for storing water. Also disclosed is a plurality of subcombinations that can be used in conjunction with known water storage tanks including a hydraulic hold down, a spout, a clamp, and wall joint structure as more fully disclosed herein.
2. Description of Related Art
In the oil and gas industry, water storage has become an issue due to the large amount of barrels of water required to perform drilling operations. Cost of transporting a large number of tanks to location, and logistical problems of having enough space at the well site to accommodate their positioning has forced the oil and gas industry to find a solution. The solution that has developed is the use of a single mobile erecting tank. These tanks eliminate a large fleet of storage vessels and the cost of transporting them to location.
These large capacity tanks normally comprise 16 single panels that connect together side by side, forming in one embodiment a 122 ft. diameter tank with a height of 12 ft. After they are assembled a rubber sheet, plastic, or polypropylene sheet is positioned in the inside and the edges are laid over the top rail of the tank. These edges of the sheet are secured to the top rail by the use of c-clamps.
The suction lines are then hung over into the tank and the tank is then filled with water. As the tank is filled, water forces the sheet into the lower inside corners of the tank. This can allow the sheet to be pinched or protrude under the wall of the tank causing a leak or tear of the rubber sheet.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention disclosed and claimed in this divisional application is a clamp specifically designed to secure the top layer sheet to the upper portion of the wall forming the tank which is the subject matter of the parent application.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the clamp is formed by two thin strips of flexible material that are spaced apart by a plurality of spacers located at a top-portion of the strips. At least one threaded rod extends through apertures in the strips and carries nuts that can be moved inwardly against the strips and thereby deflecting the strips toward each other to create a clamping effect.
While this discussion of a summary of the invention has been provided, it is understood that the invention of the present invention is defined by the claims included at the end of this specification.
An embodiment of the invention will now be discussed with reference to the figures. As shown in
Pins 39 may be secured within apertures 37 by a suitable fastening device such as a pin extending through a bore in pins 39. Also a sealing gasket 12 may be placed over the vertically extending joint to prevent the final layer from being forced into the joint as will be described below.
Channels 51 may be formed in the ground within the area defined by the circular wall to provide a drainage ditch.
Prior to the wall sections being placed on the ground 101, a circular ground mat of flexible water impermeable material 2 is positioned over the ground which has been leveled and cleared of debris to the extent necessary as shown in
A protective mat 3, which can be made of felt, polypropylene, rubber, or various types of padding, may be laid on top of ground mat 2 within the wall of the tank as shown in
By way of example, horizontal portion 41 may be about twelve inches in width and portion 42 may be two inches in height. The hydraulic hold downs also help to stabilize the side walls.
Once the hold downs have been placed around the entire inner periphery of the tank wall, a protective strip 5 of material which may be felt, rubber, polypropylene, or any other protective material is placed on top of the hydraulic hold downs as shown in
The next step in constructing the water tank is to position a flexible, circular floor sheet over the wall assembly so that it will cover the ground within the tank wall and extend upwardly and over the top portion of the tank wall as shown in
A plurality of threaded bolts or rods 64 extend through apertures formed in strips 61 and 62 at a position below where the spacers are located. Nuts 65 are positioned on each end of threaded bolts 64. As the nuts are threaded inwardly, they will engage strips 61 and 62 which will cause the strips to flex inwardly and thus clamp sheet 8 to the upper portion of wall 8 when the clamps are positioned as shown in
Clamps 60 may be spaced around the top of tank wall 4 or they may completely cover the top portion of the wall.
As shown in
In order to form a water tight seal, a rubber seal 79 is positioned between the flange 4 and the inside surface of tank 4. The rubber seal may consist of the portion of the floor sheet that extends upwardly along the inner tank wall or may be a separate circular ring member. A wall stiffening ring 99 is welded to the outside surface of the wall. Next a pair of split rings as shown in
Rubber seal 79 may be a conventional circular seal.
Wall stiffening ring 99 is a circular washer of stiff material and has a hole diameter so that it sits on outer surface 76 of the fitting 70.
The keeper ring 80 is illustrated in
A split ring is shown in
Two split rings are placed within the groove 75 of fitting 70 as shown in
Although the present invention has been described with respect to specific details, it is not intended that such details should be regarded as limitations on the scope of the invention, except to the extent that they are included in the accompanying claims.
Although an embodiment of the invention has been described, it is clear that other embodiments can be envisioned that fall within the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.
Claims
1. A clamp for securing a flexible sheet extending over a top portion of a tank wall comprising:
- a first strip of flexible material,
- a second strip of flexible material spaced from the first strip by a plurality of spacers positioned between the strips at an upper portion thereof,
- the first strip, second strip and spacers forming an assembly having an open top and open bottom; and
- means for causing at least one of the strips to flex inwardly thereby clamping the sheet to an upper portion of the tank.
2. A clamp as claimed in claim 1 wherein the first and second strips are curved to conform to the curvature of the tank wall.
3. A clamp as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for causing at least one of the strips to flex inwardly comprises at least one threaded rod extending through the strips and a nut threaded on the rod whereby as the nut is threaded inwardly on the rod, it will engage one of the strips and deflect it inwardly.
4. A clamp as claimed in claim 1 wherein the means for causing at least one of the strips to flex inwardly comprises at least one threaded rod extending through the strips and first and second nuts threadedly positioned on opposite ends of the rod whereby as the nuts are rotated inwardly they will engage the first and second strips and deflect them inwardly.
5. A clamp as claimed in claim 3 wherein at least one rod extends through the strips at a position below the spacers.
6. A clamp as claimed in claim 1 wherein the spaces are V-shaped.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 4, 2012
Publication Date: Feb 20, 2014
Inventors: Jerry W. Noles, JR. (Blanchard, OK), Dudley J. Perio, JR. (Austin, TX), Colton P. Bruegman (Cheyenne, WY)
Application Number: 13/693,156
International Classification: B65D 90/08 (20060101);