US1980727A - Chemical container - Google Patents

Description

NOV. 13, E. A. HULTS CHEMICAL CONTAINER Filed May l2, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR -qyene bla/f6,

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CHEMICAL CONTAINER Filed May 12. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 f k /7 /5 /6 INVENTOR fl/gene //U//5,

@M5 @EL MQW AWORNEIYS Patented Nov. 13, 1934 PATENT i OFFICE 1.980.121 y CHEMICAL commen Eugene A. Hults, Saltvllle, Va., assignor to The 1 Mathieson Alkali Works, Inc., New York, N. Y.,

a corporation of Virginia Application my 12, 1931, serial No. 536,740

` 9 claim.` (ci. sz-91.5)

This invention relates to vehicles for transporting cold substances which it is desired to protect against admission of heat and also against mechanical vibration or shock and is concerned more particularly with a vehicle, for example a railroad car, in which large quantities of cold substances such as solid carbon dioxide may be transported with little loss.

Solid carbon dioxide is now coming into wide 10 use as a. refrigerant and as is well known, it has many qualities which make it especially suitable for that purpose. Its temperature is much lower than water ice so that it has a greater refrigerating effect, and upon exposure to heat it is converted directly into the gaseous form and has no existence as a liquid except under pressure. 'I'he solid CO2 is commonly produced in the form of blocks of ice at places where the gas is available in considerable quantities, for example, as byproducts of other chemical processes. The ice is then distributed to users, such as ice cream manufacturers, and in this transportation care must be taken to protect the substance against heat and also against mechanical shock and vibration since the material is inclined to be fragile.

My invention is accordingly directed to the provision of an improved vehicle for transporting solid carbon dioxide and in this vehicle, I provide means for protecting the material against shock and vibration, enclose the material in insulating walls, and also make use of the 'cold heavy gas given offwhen the material sublimes as an insulating medium. I also construct the vehicle in such manner that a portion of the contents thereof may be readily removed without exposing the remainder to atmospheric temperatures.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the vehicle body is provided with a plurality of containers, each of which is provided with air- 40 tight insulated walls and has a suitable closure which prevents free circulation of air in the container while permitting escape of any excess of gases which may be evolved from the contents. Each container is mounted on cushioning means on the body and is protected from direct contact with the vehicle structure and with adjacent containers by cushioning material so that shocks and vibration to which the vehicle is subjected in travel are to a substantial extent prevented from being transmitted to the contents of the containers. As a convenient means for lling and emptying the containers, the vehicle for railroad purposes, which is somewhat similar to an ordinary box car, is provided with an overhead rail within the body which extends above the containers to permit a hoist truck to be run into the car to pick up trays or receptacles used for conveying the solid carbon dioxide to and from the storage containers therein.

For a better understanding of the invention in 00 a form suitable'for railroad use,. reference may be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a horizontal section of a railroad car constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the g5 same car;

Figl 3 is a diagrammatic sketch showing the position of the overhead rail in the car;

Fig. 4 is an end view of the car taken in section and showing the hand operated hoist in a position adjacent one of the containers;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the containers with a section thereof removed to show the construction of the walls of the inside of the container; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevation view of a hand operable hoist and truckl showing the manner in which it is operated. In the drawings the vehicle. is illustrated in the form of a railroad car 10 having insulated so walls 11, side doors 13 on opposite sides and a series, six as shown in the drawings, of separate insulated containers 14.

Each of the containers is slightly shorter than the width of the car and the containers are mounted in the car 10 with a layer of material 15 between them and the car body and also between adjacent containers. The material used is selected for its cushioning and insulating qualities and the layer may be of asphalt, pitch, rubber, iibrous material, or other suitable substance. It is preferably about one to one and one half inches thick.

'I'he containers are each made up of two box like shells, preferably of a. metal such as steel. The outer shell 16, comprises four sides and the bottom of a rectangular box, joined together by welding or brazing to form an hermetically sealed box except for the top'. The inner shell 17 likewise comprises four sides and a bottom welded or brazed together, but the inner shell is somewhat smaller than the outer shell and the top of the inner shell is ared at an angle of about 45 and extends outwardly until it is the same size as the top of the outer shell. 'I'he two shells are nested 105 together with an insulating material 18 between them and their top edges are welded together so that the insulating material is enclosed in an hermetically sealed compartment formed between the two shells. This. insulating material may be 'no the shells and having a bent edge portion whichl hooks over edges of the outside shell to hold it in position and a second sheet of metal which is spaced below the rst sheet and has its edges bent upwardly at an angle of about 45 so that it ts against the ared edges of the inner shell. This second sheet is welded or brazed to the top sheet and insulating material is sealed between the sheets as between the shells.

In order to provide access to the containers, each container is provided with an opening closed by'a pair of doors 19. The opening is rectangular in shape but decreases in size from the outside towards the inside so that the edges of the opening are not vertical but slant at an angle of about 45. 'Ihe edges of the opening are covered with metal welded or brazed to the metal sheets forming the top of the container. The doors are in the form of two hermetically sealed sheet metal boxes, lled with insulation material, and shaped to fit the opening. They are hinged to the top at opposite ends of the 'opening and are swung upwardly so as to permit access to the containers from the top.

- The containers lie in the car with the tops exposed and a workman loading or unloading the contents may enter the car and walk across the containers from one end of the car to the-other. Each container'holds a large quantity of the carbon dioxide ice, the blocks being indicated in dotted lines on the drawings, and since the containers are independent of one another, each container may be iilled or emptied while the others remain closed.

In order to facilitate the loading and unloading, the car may be provided with a rail 21 suspended from the roof in any convenient manner and serving as a track for a hoist truck 22 having wheels 23 on which the truck runs. 'I'he rail extends from end to end of the car and preferably to both doors, as indicated in Fig. 3. 'I'he truck is provided with a lever 24 pivoted near one end on the truck and having a cable or chain 25 with a. hook 26 connected to its short arm. A cable or chain 27 with a hook 28 is also connected to the long arm of the lever.

A receptacle, such as a tray 30 with suspending cables connected to a single ring 32, provides a convenient carrier for the material being loaded into or unloaded from the containers, and in utilizing the truck, the hook 26 is inserted into the ring 32, after which the lever is swung to raise the tray until hook 28 may be engaged in ring 32. The tray may thus be suspended a convenient distance above the tops of the containers and the truck moved along to the desired point. It is contemplated that the loading and unloading platforms will also be provided with rails which will serve as continuations ofthe rail 21, so that the truck, with its tray, may be moved not only to any convenient location within the car, but also to the desired point on the platform.

In constructing the containers, I insulate the walls to reduce heat transmissions therethrough and I also make the shells constituting the body of the containers air-tight so that the cold gas cannot escape except through the top. Preferably the insulated doors iit fairly tightly, so that free admission of air into the containers is prevented, but the gas may escape slowly as it is evolved without the generation of pressure.

I claim:

1. In a vehicle, the combination of a body having a floor and side and end walls, a plurality of independent closedcontainers mounted within said body on said iloor and forming a continuous series from end to end of the body, said containers being provided with close iittingdoors and having walls containing heat insulation, and cushioning and insulating material lling the spaces between adjacent containers and between said containers and the walls and floor of the vehicle.

2. In a vehicle, the combination of a body having a floor, side and end walls and a top, a plurality of separate containers having heat insulation in the walls thereof and forming a continuous series from end to end of the body, said containers having tops lying below the top of the vehicle and having top openings provided with close-tting doors, and cushioning and insulating material engaging all but one wall of each container.

3. In a vehicle, the combination of a plurality of independent containers each capable o1' being independently closed and comprising a pair of air-tight metallic shells one within the other with insulating material between them,-and cushioning and insulating material supporting `said con-- tainers and separating adjacent containers.

4. In a vehicle, the combination of a plurality of independent'containers each capable of being independently closed and comprising a pain-of air-tight shells placed one within the other with insulating material between them, a rmanent closure for the space between said con ers, and cushioning and insulating material supporting said containers and separating adjacent containers.

5. In a vehicle, a plurality of independent containers on said vehicle arranged in a row extending from end to end of said vehicle, said containers extending across said vehicle from side to side thereof and forming a deck therein, and cushioning means spacing said containers from said vehicle and from each other and forming a solid but non-rigid mass across the vehicle.

6. In a vehicle, the combination of a body havm ing a iloor and side and end walls, a plurality o1 separate-heat-insulated containers mounted on said floor and arranged in a row extending lengthwise of said vehicle, said containers having top openings and doors for closing said openings, the tops of said containers lying substantially in a plane and forming a deck within the body, and cushioning and insulating .material disposed between the containers and between each container of the walls 'and iloor of the body.

7. In a vehicle, the combination oi' a body having a floor, a top, and side and end walls, a plurality of separate 'heat-insulated containers mounted on the -fioor and arranged in a row extending lengthwise of the body, each container having a top opening of less size than the top of said container and closure means for said opening. and cushioning and insulating material disposed between adjacent containers and between each container and the walls and oor of the vehicle.

8. In a vehicle, the combination of a body having a floor, a top, and side and end walls, aplurality of separate heat-insulated containers mounted on the floor in a row extending lengthwise of the vehicle, the tops of said containers 144 lying a substantial distance below the top of the body and each container top having an opening of less size than the top and being provided with closure means for tightly closing said opening, and cushioning and insulating means disposed 15 and each container having a' top opening provided with a pair of doors mounted to swing on hinges at the remote ends of the opening, said doors being capable of being tightly closed, and cushioning and insulating means disposed between adjacent containers and between each container and the oor and walls of the body.

EUGENE A. HULTS.

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