Abstract: A controllable fluid damper 14 for a fluid-containing tank 10 in a space vehicle comprising a hollow sphere 14. The wall of the sphere 14 is a honeycomb structure of six-sided cells 24 arranged with respect to the sphere 14 so that the open ends of the cells 24 lie along the radii of the sphere 14. The flat sides of the cells 24 contain small holes 26 which present some resistance to the flow of fluid therethrough. The outer surface of the sphere 14 lies adjacent the inner surface of the tank wall 12. A number of spaced brake pads are located in the tank wall 12 so that the surfaces of the pads are co-planar with the inner surface of the tank wall 12. One of the brake pads, 16, is radially movable in the inward direction; the remainder, 18, are fixed in position. The sphere 10 can rotate with the fluid when a maneuver of the vehicle is started and, then, rotation of the damper 14 can be arrested by moving the movable brake pad 16 into pressure contact with the outer surface of the damper 14.

Abstract: A bulk material container comprising a shell made from suitable material, such as aluminum or stainless steel. Disposed within the shell is a floatable rigid follower. The vertical position of the floatable rigid follower varies with the level of flowable bulk material stored in the shell. The rigid follower comprises axially aligned, juxtaposed rigid sections with a flexible wiper secured therebetween. A permanent magnet is carried by the rigid follower for movement therewith and means responsive to a magnetic field are attached to the exterior of the shell to detect the height of the permanent magnet. Indicating means are responsive to the operation of the means responsive to a magnetic field for indicating the level of the rigid follower. In a modification of the bulk material container, the wiper is replaced by an inflatable seal and the floatable rigid follower provides a selectively positionable cover for the bulk material container.

Abstract: The filing case is particularly suitable for filing diskettes and has a plurality of divider plates spaced one behind the other, provided with projecting labelling tabs and, together with parts of the case bottom and sidewalls, bounding a filing compartment. Each divider plate has two mutually resilient legs, the free ends of which can be inserted in slots in the case bottom, the slots associated with the legs of an individual divider being disposed in a straight line. In order particularly to save on material, the divider plates are disposed in even numbers, are formed identically to one another, and are narrower than the distance between two sidewalls by at least approximately the width of a labelling tab.

Abstract: A floating roof-type oil-tank sealing device wherein an inclined connector extends between an upper portion of a seal shoe and the lower portion of outer rim of a floating pontoon, and in such a state that each end of the inclined connector is pivotally supported by means of an inserted pin. A compression spring applies pressure to the inclined connector, thereby causing the seal shoe to slidably contact the peripheral tank wall. A seal member is provided between the outer rim of the pontoon and seal shoe in contact with the level of a stored oil. One end of a weather hood is fixed to the upper portion of the seal shoe, and the other end of the weather hood is made to slide along the surface of an inclined guide provided at the edge of the upper plate of the pontoon.

Abstract: Storage apparatus for flexible discs or other articles (13) includes a housing (11) and a mechanism in the housing having a carrier or a series of carriers for holding the articles. The carrier comprises a slider (35) constrained within the housing to move rectilinearly relative thereto and a lever (37) pivotally connected with the housing and coupled with the slider for movement in conjunction therewith from a storage position to an access position. The carrier is adapted to displace articles differentially during movement to the access position. Retaining means such as a pin and slot coupling (90, 91) are provided on the carrier and the position of the carrier is maintained when in the access position by the weight of articles held therein acting on the retaining means.

Abstract: Heavy hydrocarbon oil having a pour point higher at least than the environmental temperature is loaded into a storage vessel in a state heated up to a temperature above its pour point and is cooled down to a temperature below the pour point to be stored in a solidified form in the vessel. In unloading the heavy hydrocarbon oil stored in the solidified form in the vessel, the upper portion of the oil in the vessel is heated up to a temperature above its pour point, and the successively fluidized oil portions are pumped out of the vessel.

Abstract: In an arrangment for removal of precipitation from the vertical inner wall 1 of a tank having a floating roof, a water stripping element 2 is provided which interrupts the water film 6, running down the inner wall, absorbs the water and removes it at a suitable point. For this purpose, the stripping element 2 consists of a layered unit of elastic materials which are constructed in the vertical direction alternately of water absorbing and water permeable layers 3 and of water impermeable layers 4. The upper and the lower layers consist of water impermeable layers. The unit forms in the cross-section a rhomboid so that the individual layers 3, 4 are pressed at an acute angle towards the tank wall and each individual layer comes with its end face in full contact with the tank wall. The stripping element is combined of individual pieces to a closed ring which is held by the receiving elements and is pressed against the tank wall by spring elements.

Abstract: A desk assembly is disclosed utilizing a framework for supporting side and back panels and file drawer slide assemblies. Adjacent frameworks may be clipped together to form a credenza; they may be spaced apart and joined together by a desk top slab; an extension may be added to form an L-shaped desk unit. An accessory-holding track assembly is included formed from an extruded track with exposed and internal channels. Accessories are positioned in the exposed channel; support members are positioned in the non-exposed channels. Identical slide drawers are utilized, with boxes therein of differing heights. Drawer fronts of differing heights corresponding to the different heights of the boxes are utilized. The entire framework is filled with file drawer boxes of differing heights, and the module is fronted by corresponding drawer fronts of differing heights. A file drawer compressor or follower is used, resiliently biased against the sides of a file drawer.

Abstract: A storage drawer is disclosed made of a rugged plastic material rather than metal and in which the removable partitions in the drawer are held in place by a wedging action provided by tapering slots on each side. The partitions will not fall out when the drawer is upside-down to remove the contents, but the partition may be easily removed by pulling it out without the necessity of overcoming latching or locking mechanisms.

Abstract: A lid is described for floating on the surface of a liquid in a storage tank. The lid spans the tank interior and includes an inflatable peripheral seal arrangement selectively operable to seal the liquid within the tank upon inflation and, on deflation, will allow the lid to float freely on the surface of the liquid. The lid is formed of two plates spaced apart by a circumferential rim defining a flotation cavity. Buoyance of the lid is such that the inflatable seal is carried above the liquid surface. The bottom plate is arched toward the top plate of the lid by a tension member extending between the two. The tension member is hollow and open to the area below the lid. The pressure relief valve is mounted in the hollow passageway to selectively allow escape of pressurized gas from below the lid. The seal arrangement is made so that the liquid level always remains below the sealed area between the lid and tank walls.

Abstract: An elastomeric composite strip, impermeable to petroleum vapor and useful as a seal in a floating roof tank, having thereon a layer of woven or nonwoven fabric or cloth of a polymeric material with a substantially lower coefficient of friction than the material otherwise comprising the surface of the elastomeric strip thereby providing a slick face adapted to essentially always contact a surface with which it has slidable contact with little or no sticking.

Abstract: A seal arrangement is provided in a floating roof type tank for slidably sealing between the roof and the tank walls. The seal comprises an expansible tube carrying a lip with the latter extending angularly with respect to the tank walls so that upon inflation of the tube, the lip is moved outwardly and its engagement with the tank walls causes it to be resiliently bent inwardly from its normal unstressed position so that the resiliency of the lip maintains it in contact with the tank walls.

Abstract: A sealing assembly comprising a flexible shield having one end rigidly connected to an upper rim portion of a floating roof movably disposed within a storage tank and having the opposite end thereof extending upwardly and outwardly toward the inner periphery of the tank, a flexible wiper blade connected to the outwardly extending end of the shield for engaging the inner surface of the tank wall, the combined shield and wiper blade being of a length greater than the average width of the rim space for assuring an efficient sealing engagement of the wiper blade with the inner periphery of the tank wall even during lateral movement of the floating roof within the tank, and a yieldable film or sheet interposed between the shield and the rim of the roof for assuring an efficient seal therebetween.

Abstract: A storage and serving dish particularly constructed to retain a foodstuff of a generally unstable consistency and more particularly camembert cheese. The dish includes a dam or holder for product which is articulated and adapted to engage the severed portions of a cheese block positioned on a base member of the dish. Such dam includes means to removably fix one portion thereof to the base while another portion is freely movable to alternative positions within the circumference of the base. In addition, the freely positionable dam portion is also fixedly positioned by engagement with the dish closure when such is placed thereon.

Abstract: A container for shipping and storing articles, particularly elongated articles such as (for example) snow skis, the container being defined by a preformed, elongated housing. Siidably disposed within the housing is an adjustable partition to provide various sizes of storage compartments, the size depending upon the length of the article being stored therein. The selective positioning of the partition will further provide a secondary storage compartment. This selective positioning is established by an elongated strap member attached to the partition and looped about the inner and outer surfaces of the housing passing through each end member, so as to be adjustably secured on the outer surface thereof, thereby securing the partition in place. The strap further defines a handle for carrying the container.

Abstract: A floating roof storage tank having an upstanding tank shell for containing liquid to be stored and having therein a floating roof floating on the surface of the stored liquid, a primary seal interconnecting the floating roof and the tank shell, and an annular secondary seal extending between the floating roof and the tank shell providing a gas tight seal and weather shield for the primary seal, sealant is used at the inner end of the secondary seal mounted to the floating tank to ensure the gas tight connection thereat, and a tapered and rounded flexible free or outer end of the secondary seal ensures that irregularities in the tank shell do not permit vapors to escape; support structures maintain the secondary seal in its desired configuration and a variety of structures are disclosed for maintaining adjacent arcuate sections of the secondary seal in fixed and sealed relation.

Abstract: In a dry seal gasholder cylindrical storage tank with a vertically-movable piston, an improved piston leveling system includes a vertically-movable weight outside the tank and connected by equal-length cables to spaced-apart support points on the piston at different distances from the weight. An array of guide sheaves on the tank define equal-length cable paths. The cables are pivotally coupled to spaced-apart points on a coupling plate to which a pair of attachment plates on the weight are also pivotally connected. Apertures in the attachment plates and the coupling plate are disposable in registry with one another for receiving a pin therethrough when the cable attachment points are in horizontal alignment, thereby to indicate equal tension in the cables.

Abstract: In a liquid storage tank having a floating roof, a plurality of shoes adapted to slidably contact the inner side wall of the tank, and means supported by the roof for pressing the shoes against the inner side wall, and a fabric vapor barrier extending from the roof to the shoes, the improvement comprising: an elastomeric strip, impermeable to vapor, in the form of an annulus connected at its bottom edge portion by an essentially vapor tight joint to the top circumference of the roof and with its top edge portion in movable sealing contact with the tank inner side wall above the top of the shoes, said strip being arced upwardly from the roof and movably supported intermediate its bottom and top edges by support means, mounted on the upper portion of the shoes, in contact with the lower surface of the elastomeric strip.

Abstract: An arrangement for sealing the space between the outer rim of a floating roof and the inner wall of a tank includes a primary seal coupled to and extending between the inner wall of the tank and the rim and a secondary seal mounted on the rim of the roof and extending upwardly and outwardly and into contact with the inner wall of the tank above the primary seal. The primary seal comprises a flexible vapor barrier element. The secondary seal is made highly flexible and readily able to conform to the inner wall of the tank by use of a support structure in the form of a plurality of support plates mounted on the rim of the roof in side-by-side relation with overlapping but unjoined edges. The support plates support and force a pair of wipers mounted on top of the plates into contact with the inner wall of the tank.

Abstract: A floating roof storage tank having an upstanding tank shell for containing liquid to be stored and having therein a floating roof floating on the surface of the stored liquid, a metal shoe carried by the floating roof and extending around the tank shell, a primary seal interconnecting the floating roof and the metal shoe, a plurality of seal support members shiftably mounted upon the metal shoe at the upper end thereof, a secondary seal extending between the upper rim of the floating roof and the seal support members and beyond the seal support members and against the inner surface of the tank shell; the seal support members are shiftable away from the tank shell a distance to permit inspection of the primary seal therebelow; limit structure acting between the metal shoe and the seal support members limit movement thereof to prevent the seal support members from contacting the tank shell.

Abstract: To protect the floor of a liquid containing tank from marring by the lower end of hollow supporting legs used with a floating cover for said liquid, there are provided resilient pad means for fixing to the lower end of such legs whereby to provide scratch-free contact of said legs with such floor when said cover is in a lowered position. Said pads have drainage means therein to permit liquid to drain out of said legs when the tank is emptied for cleaning.

Abstract: The closure of the rim space between the floating roof periphery and the tank shell is effected by a permanently magnetized circular strip and a circular curtain. The magnetized strip is held by magnetic pull against the shell.Linkage means between the floating roof and the magnetized strip cause the latter to follow the vertical displacements of the former.

Abstract: A sealing system for a liquid storage tank having a roof freely floating on the contents stored within the storage tank. The sealing system is in wiping contact with the tank shell and may utilize a primary and a secondary seal. As a primary seal, the system forms a seal above the liquid level and eliminates capillary action of the liquid between the seal and the tank shell. The sealing system also exerts a continuous pressure against the inner walls of the storage tank preventing the storage tank roof from shifting due to wind loading and effectively preventing vaporization of the liquid due to wind effected negative pressures. As a secondary seal, the system acts as a vapor barrier preventing vapors from escaping and preventing contaminants from entering into contact and deteriorating the primary seal which could result in contamination of the liquid contained within the storage tank.

Abstract: An apparatus for sealing floating roof tanks including a sealing element disposed around the circumference of the floating roof between the floating roof and the tank wall, and a plurality of baffles adapted to substantially inhibit or prevent the circumferential flow of vapors through a vapor space between the sealing element and the body of stored volatile liquid.

Abstract: A liquid such as crude oil or fuel is stored in a subterranean pool covered with a diaphram-like cover plate sealingly applied thereto. On the cover plate is superimposed a protective body consisting of sand, soil, stones, rubbish, rocks or mixtures thereof. The protective body may be level with the terrain or be projecting thereabove. Inside the pool a pressure is established hydraulically or pneumatically equal to that exerted by the protective body on the cover plate and in this way the protective body is sustained via the cover plate. For the hydraulic method a pressurized working liquid is used, e.g. water. For the pneumatic methic a compressed gas is used such as air, a combustion gas, an inert gas or a paraffin gas. Various methods for mounting the cover plate are disclosed.

Abstract: A floating cover for a tank is characterized by a pivotal interconnection between confronting ends of longitudinally adjacent flotation pontoons such that one pontoon is pivotally movable with respect to the longitudinal axis of the other pontoon when the deck of the cover flexes in response to turbulence in the liquid on which the cover is disposed or in response to any other non-uniform loading on the deck.

Abstract: Heavy hydrocarbon oil having a pour point higher at least than the environmental temperature is loaded into a storage vessel in a state heated up to a temperature above its pour point and is cooled down to a temperature below the pour point to be stored in a solidified form in the vessel. In unloading the heavy hydrocarbon oil stored in the solidified form in the vessel, the upper portion of the oil in the vessel is heated up to a temperature above its pour point, and the successively fluidized oil portions are pumped out of the vessel.

Abstract: A follower plate assembly for industrial drums includes an improved lip seal construction. The follower plate assembly has a projecting ledge to support a circumferential seal. The seal has a U-shaped cross section. The legs of the seal project radially into engagement with the container wall. The crown of the seal engages the follower plate. The ledge prevents axial movement of the seal. A circumferential band in combination with a ring or locking pins retain the seal on the follower plate.

Abstract: A sealing system for a liquid storage tank having a roof freely floating on the liquid contained within the storage tank wherein a plurality of shield sections are structurally interlocked to eliminate the need for a vapor-impermeable fabric annulus overlying the shield and interface between adjacent sections of the shield and effectively preventing vapor from escaping from the tank and contaminants from entering into the liquid. The structural interlocking of adjacent shield sections provides a uniform distribution of the forces and counter forces exerted between the floating roof and the inner wall of the tank shell due to wind loading.

Abstract: A seal for use in a floating roof storage tank. The seal closes the annular space defined between the floating roof and the wall of the storage tank. The seal includes a single, unitary length of pliable material which is folded about the longitudinal axis thereof to superpose the side edges thereof. The end edges are closed and the superposed side edges are attached to the floating roof. A scuffband is attached to the floating roof to be interposed between the envelope and the tank wall, and fluent material can be placed into the envelope when the seal is in situ. A method of forming the seal is disclosed, as is a secondary sealing means.

Abstract: An annulus of individual seal sections mounted in sealed end to end abutment is disposed between coextensive side wall portions of a liquid storage tank and a floating roof, the seal sections being individually removably mounted on the roof side wall.

Abstract: A variable-volume storage tank, or the like, of the type having a floating roof, including an upright cylindrical shell, a circular roof within the cylindrical shell and adapted to float on the surface of a liquid within the shell, a circular metallic-shoe seal ring encircling and spaced outwardly from the roof and slidably engaging the shell, circumferentially spaced, outwardly concave, bowed leaf spring hangers extending between the roof and the seal ring, means connecting each of the hangers to the roof intermediate the ends of the hanger, means permitting horizontally circumferential movement of the ends of each of the hangers relative to the seal ring for connecting the ends of the hanger to the seal ring, and a flexible annular seal extending between the roof and the seal ring and having its inner periphery secured to the roof and its outer periphery secured to the seal ring.

Abstract: A novel peripheral seal for sealing a liquid storage tank of the type having welded, riveted, or bolted, cylindrically shaped side walls includes a floatable pontoon, and a plurality of seal support arms successively and radially disposed about the pontoon periphery. Each support arm is pivotally connected to a pontoon side. A plurality of arcuately shaped primary seals span from one support arm to the next successive support arm and are biased raidally outwardly to sealingly engage the riveted sidewalls. A fabric membrane spans from support arm to support arm and extends from a primary seal to the pontoon to form an annular cover. The support arms are interconnected by flexible connection means to provide stability, and limited circumferential movement thereof. The flexible connection means also allows each support arm to move radially inwardly and outwardly, by itself, to a certain degree.

Abstract: A seal is described herein for covering the rim space of a cylindrical tank container having a floating roof laterally spaced from the interior wall of the tank. The seal includes a flexible shield, preferably of metal, having one end rigidly connected to an upper portion of the floating roof and a second end extending outwardly from the roof and toward the interior wall of the tank. A flexible wiper blade is connected to the extending end of the shield for engaging the inner surface of the tank wall. The combined shield and wiper blade extend from the upper portion of the roof toward the interior tank wall at an acute angle A with respect to the horizontal, with the length of the shield being greater than the average rim space dimension divided by the cosine of the angle A. Covering the shield is a flexible, light-reflective, gas impermeable fabric which extends continuously around the perimeter of the roof.

Abstract: Auxilliary seal for a floating roof tank is provided by a plurality of superposed flexible sheet members arranged above a primary seal about the periphery of the floating roof. The flexible sheet members have outer edges which distort as the assembly passes over rivet heads, butt straps or other protrusions from the inner surface of the tank wall and thus provide the desired seal. The flexible elements also readily accommodate to deviations of the wall from truly circular.

Abstract: A low emission multiple sealing system for a floating roof liquid hydrocarbon storage tank is provided. The sealing system utilizes a double sealing arrangement in addition to, in a preferred embodiment, a conventional weather seal. The double sealing arrangement includes two functionally independent generally toroidal shaped sealing elements positioned one above the other and filling the annular gap between the floating roof and the inner surface of the storage tank. In order to provide for increased sealing efficiency and to eliminate the deleterious effects of wind and other ambient conditions, the double sealing elements are configured having effective vapor sealing efficiencies and are separated from one another a distance which will maximize the runback, to the tank, of liquid left on the inner storage tank wall during diurnal contraction and/or on liquid hydrocarbon unloadings.

Abstract: A floating roof for a liquid storage tank has a lid structure comprising a plurality of fluid tight interconnected plates of fluid tight material and a plurality of buoys for imparting buoyancy to the lid structure arranged on the surface of the lid which is opposite the surface of the lid which faces the liquid body upon which the lid floats. Each buoy of at least a majority of the buoys has a base formed of one of said plates, and further includes structure attached to the base and having at least two sides inclined relative to a perpendicular plane through the lid structure and relative to each other.A similar floating roof for a liquid storage tank has again a lid structure and a plurality of buoys on the upper surface thereof.

Abstract: A safety locking cover assembly for the dome of a tank truck of the type adapted to carry inflammable liquids. A cover is hinged upon a base attachable to the tank dome, and is moved between opened and closed positions by upward pivotal movement of a semicircular handle. The opposite ends of the handle pivot upon a locking bar extending beneath the cover top. The ends of the bar project from opposite sides of the cover and extend into recesses in catches mounted to the base, thereby normally preventing upward movement of the cover relative to the catches. However, the catches are spring biased against the base and are upwardly movable against the spring bias by high internal tank pressures. This provides a relatively large vent opening to vent the tank despite the fact that the handle may be closed. The cover can be manually opened by pivoting the handle through a 180.degree. arc. This moves the locking bar downwardly relative to the catches on the base.

Abstract: The disclosure herein describes a floating deck for use in a liquid storage tank, which comprises a generally circular planar platform formed of a plurality of interconnected modular units made of cellular foam plastic; the modular units are of different shape and include at least: a first series of panels, each being in the form of a truncated triangle and a second series of panels, each having a shape that includes at least a parallelogram portion and a small triangular shaped portion outwardly projecting from one side of the parallelogram portion at the upper end thereof; the triangular-shaped portion has a dimension which corresponds to the truncated portion of the triangle of the first series of panels so as to form a continuous platform when both series of panels are interconnected to one another. Other shapes of panels are also disclosed.

Abstract: A floating roof for floating on and covering a liquid product stored in a tank, comprises a substantially flat, planar deck having a seal fixed to the periphery thereof and engaged with an inner wall surface of the tank, and a plurality of separate and independent buoy units secured on the deck to provide uniform buoyant support for the roof in the event of leakage of stored product onto the upper surface of the deck, said buoy units arranged such that lines drawn between the centers of any three adjacent units form a substantially equilateral triangle, and all of the buoy units together having a buoyancy at least as great as the total weight of the roof.

Abstract: In a floating cover for inside a tank a plurality of spaced parallel support bars extend across the tops of laterally spaced horizontal pontoons that support them. Metal sheets covering the spaces between the bars have edge portions resting on the bars and clamped against them by clamping bars to form a deck. The deck may be provided with vertical sleeves, in which posts of different lengths can be mounted for spacing the deck different distances from the bottom of a tank.