Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
7~1 5~
~ he i~vention relates to arrangeme~t~ ~or manu~acturing
spherical reservoir3 from a plurality o~ mexidional p~tal-
like ~laps.
~ he arra~gem~t o~ the pre~ent inve~tio~ ca~ be e~icient-
b utilized ~or manufacturl~g ~pherioal re~ervolrs from pre-
cut meridional ~lap~, either relatively thin a~d originall~
flat, or el~e relatively th~c~ and ~hapad by pre~ing, ~ollow~
iug thoir cuttin~ out, to a double ~urvatur~.
There are known arran~eme~ts ~or welding ~pherical reser-
voir~, w~erei~ a ba~e has mo~nted thereon a ~upporting ~rame ~or
a reservo~r to be walded, made up o~ two portions, viZo of a
~tationar~ ona and o~ a movable on~
~ e movable porbion of ~he ~upporting ~rame of the know~ ~ -
arrangement a3 a~ arcuate member ha~g the e~d~ thereoi inter- : -
connected by a ~ha~t adapted to ac¢ommodate the lid3 a~d the
bod~ of tb~ reSerYoir~ pre-a~embl~d in anot~sr arra~gem3nb
and requirinæ ~in~l welding.
~ ou~ted to overlie t~e ~upporti~g ~rame i~ a welding
u~it immovably mounted on a ~upport b~am con~ected wit~ the
base.
~ hs movable portioQ supporti~g the re~ervoir pre-a~sembl-
ed from the flaps i~ mounted 4~ the ~tationary portion o~ t~e
supporti~ frame for rotation in a vertical ~la~e, ~o a~ to
prov~de fsr the weldl~g o~ t~e ~ntire le~gth of a ~oint de;
.. . . .. ., .,., . , . . .. .. . - - .. . - -. . -, . .. .. . ..
-- . : - . -. ~ .. : . .
. ~ , ,.. ,,, .- - . ~-
- - ~ - .:
-- - . ; .
1~8~S'~
-2-
~ined by th~ ad~ac~nt ~laps o~ t~e re~er~oir~
~ he shait i5 operative~y oouplad with a drive adap~ed to
rotate it about a horizontal aæi~, and thus to rotate the r~-
s~rvoir, whereby the joi~t~ b~tween th~ ad~ao~nt :~laps o~ the
reservoir are successively brought ~ the weldi~g un~t.
~ he known arrangeme~ts are sol~ly~Gapabl~ o~ al weld-
i~g o~ a reservoir pre aæ~embled in other arrang~me~t~.
T~er0~0re, -the antir~ proc~ss o~ manu~acturing a reser~
voir r~quir~s several arrangeme~ts, whiGh impair~ the. ~fici-
e~cy o~ the manufacturing process, i~vo1ves greater production
~pace and inorea~e3 the amount o~ metal in the production ~a-
cilitie~.
~ urt~ermora, w~en a re~ervoir as3embled from ~eridional
petal-like ~laps ~ust provisionall~ æeeured tog~th~r b~ spot
welding i~ tr~ns~rred ~rom one arrangement i~to a~other o~e,
mor~ o~te~ tha~ ~ot additio~al work i~ required to make good it~
local de~ormatlon, whic~ ~urther af~ct~ th~ ~ficiency of the
ma~u~acturing process.
It is a~ ~bject o~ the pre~e~t invention to provide a~ ar-
rangeme~t for ma~u~acturing spheri~al re~ervoirs7 which ~hould
have expand~d production capacitie~ and ~herei~ the supporting
fram~ ~or the re~rvo~r and the ~upp~rt beam ~or accommodat-
i~g the ~eldi~g u~it should be o~ a ~tructure which~ while rela- -
.
- - - . - . - . ~ . .- . .. . .
: - . - .. -~ :. . . . .. .. ,
,- : - . . ~ -- - .
- . - - . - . . - ~ . .. . . ~ . -
. - - . , . ,, - - - ~ . . - .
.
~7~
-3~;
tively simple, should provide ~or per~orming i~ a single arrange
ment the a~s~mbling and welding of a compl~ted reservoir made
o~ indiYidual ~lement~ . o~ meridional petal-like .~lap~.
It is another object o~ the pre~ent inve~tion to ~tep up
the e~ici~ncy o~ the production process of ma~u~actur~ng sphe-
rical reservoirs r
It is a ~urther ob~ect o~ the pr~ent i~vention to ~impli-
the production proca~s of manu~acturing ~pherioal r~servoir~
It is still another object o~ the present invention to re-
duce the amount o~ the production ~pace r~quired for the manu-
facture o~ spherical reservoirs.
It is yet another obje¢t o~ the present inventio~ to
reduce the amou~t o~ metal in a pla~t for manufacturing 3p~eric-
al ~es~rvoirs.
It is a ~till iurther object o~ the pre~ent i~e~tion
to provide for manu~acture o~ req~rvoirs havi~g ~nhanced ope-
rational properties, ~uch as their iluldtig~tness and strengt~.
With the~e and other obaects i~ view~ there i~ herein
disclosed an arrangement for manufacturing spherical re~ervoirs
~rom meridional petal-like flaps~ wha.rein a ba~ has ~ou~t8d
t~ereo~ a supporti~g ~rame ~or a reservoir and, successivel~
overlying this ~rame, a s~a~t for accommodatio~ o~ the lid~
o~ the re~er~oir a~d ~or rotati~g t~e latter i~ the process
of its man~acture, and a welding unit supported by a suppQrt :~
.. . . - ~ - - -
-- -: , . , : : :
- - , . .
.
: -: . . . -
- : , . . . . . . .
~ ~7~ ~ 5 ~
beam, i~ which arrangement, i~ accordance with the prese~t
inventio~, the s~a~t is journalled on posts secured to t~e
base~ ~or rotation about a horizontal a~is, while the support-
ing ~rame has a curvilinear surface shaped to correspond to
ths shape o~ the curv.ilinear surface of the maridional ~laps
and i9 carrled by vertical guid~s~ for motion ~herealo~g~ to
bring t~e m~ridional flaps to the lids of khe reservo.ir, the
~uppor~ beam having arcuate guideways of a radius somewhat
greater than the radius o~ the sphere o~ the reservoi~, for
accommodatio~ o~ the welding u~it adapted to move alo~g these
guidaways in the course o~ weldi~g the resarvoir.
It is expedient that o~e of the vertical guides o~ the
~upporting frame should have mount~d thereon a member limiting
the travel of t~e supporting fra~e, spaced ~rom the sha~t by
a di~ta~ce substantially equal to the radius of t~ lid o~ the
reservoir bei~g manufactured.
~ his would enhance exa¢t positioni~g o~ a meridional flap
on the curvili~e~r sur~ace of th~ supporting ~rame, while the
former ~as its e~ds welded to the lids o~ the reserYoir.
It is ~ot less e~pedient that ths support beam wik~ the
arcuate guidawa~s should be mou~ted on one of the posts sup_ -
porti~g the s~a~t9 $or rotation relative thereto in a ~ori-
zont~l plan~
- . . - - . . . . . . - - . . - . .. . ..
- . ~ . .. . . , . . ,.: : -, .
- . - . - . , . - : ~ . :: .. .
.. :: ~. :
- . .- - . - . - . . . : . , ~ -
- . . . - .- .. .. - .
~ 5'~
This would enable to hav~ su~fieie~t ~pa~e ~or removing
a completed reservoir from the arrangement.
- It is further expedie~t that the other one of the po~t~
supp~rting the sha~t ~hould have mountad ~h~r~on ~or rotation
in a horizontal plana a cantilever beam having guidewa~ ~or
accommodation of a driven troll3y carrying a loadHhandling me-
cha~i~m adapted to li~t meridional ~laps and ~o place them on-
to the curYilinear su~ ace of the ~upporting :erame ~ and also
ko remove a completed re~ervoir~
~ ha incorporation in the arrangement o~ a load-handling
mec~a~i~m weuld enabl~ to bring machinisatio~ i~to th~ opera-
tio~s of placing t~e meridional ~laps and o~ removing a com
pleted re~ervoir, and alæo to reduce the production space re-
quirement~ and to cut dow~ the ~ me of m~aking a ressr~oir.
It i~ al~o e~pedient that t~e driven trolley ~hould be
operatively co~nected tbrough a ~le~ible eleme~t with the weld-
ing unit, for moving sama along t~e arcuat~ guideways.
~ his would ~bviate the ~esd in an i~dividual drive ~or
the welding unit and enable to simplify t~e structure o~ the
e~tire arran~ement 9 and al90 to r~duca it~ weight and energy
co~sumption.
~ n arra~ge~ent ~or ma~u~acturi~g spherical reservoirs
in aocordance with the pre~e~t i~vention, althoug~ of a relati~a~ ~
ly ~imple struGture, provides for per~orming both as~embling o~ -
~ . . -, . : - . ~ -
.: : - . .
- - . .. . -:
.
- . : - . . ..
6--
a reservoir ~rom indiYidual flap~, with provisio~al welding o~
the joint3 therebatwee~ in localized area9, and fi~al welding
`to a ~inal ~luid-tight condition.
~ he arrangeme~t o~fer~ a high e~ici~ncy, occupie~ a re-
la~ively ~mall amount o~ productio~ 9pRCe and ~gni~icantly
simpli~ies the process o~ manufaoturi~g a raservoir.
~ ollowing her~i~below iæ a de~cription o~ an embodiment
o~ the pr~s~nt ~v~t:i.on9 with reference b01~ had to the ac-
oompa4yi~g drawings, whereln:
Fig. 1 is a gen~ral front view o~ an arran~sement for ma-
~u~acturi~g spherical reservoir~g in accorda~ce with tha inve~-
tion; : :
~ ig. 2 i8 a sectio~al view taken on li~ II of ~ig. l;
Fig. ~ ~hows the arrangament for manu~acturing ~phericalre3ervoiræ i~ t~e initial positio~ o~ a~ operatin~ cycleS
~ ig. 4 ~how~ ~h~ arra~gement for manufacturi~g ~p~erical
re~erYoirs i~ the po~ition of its components, corre~po~ding to
removi~g a manufactured ~pherical reservoir.
Re~erring n~w in particular to the appe~d~d drawin~;s,
the arra~gem~t ~or manu~ac~uri~g ~pherical reservsirs comprise~
a ba~e 1 ~:~?ig. 1~ having moullted thereon posts 2 and 2a and
a supportin~ ~rame 3 herei~a~ter re~srred to a3 "the ~rame". :
The îrame 3 has a curviliniaar surfac~ 4 ~Fig~ 1 and 2) shaped
to correspond to the curvili~lear ~ ace ~ the meridio~ial ~laps
.. ~ , .. ..~ . , . ... -
.
'3Lla~ 7 8 ;~ 5 L~
--7--
5 o~ a completed reservoir, i.e. having double curvatura (in
the longitudinal and transv~rse directions).
~ he base 1 has ~ecured thereto vertical guides 6, 6a
(Fig. 1) carr~ing thereon the frame 3 reciprocable ther~along
in a verti~al direction. :Reciprocatio~ o~ th~ ~rame 3 alo~g
the vertical guide~ 6 and 6a is effec~ed by two d.riving mea~
7 and 7a whioh in ~he pre~antl~ described embodiment~ are i~
the form o~ ~luid cylinder~ desi~nated, respe~tively~ 7 and 7a~
The re~pective movable member ~ (8a) o~ each ~uid cy-
li~dar 7 (7a) i9 oonnected with the ~rame 3; and the stationar~ . "
element 9 (9a) is connected with the post 2 ~2a)0
B~tendlng between the posts 2 and 2~ abo~e the ~rame 3
is a horizo~tal sha~t 10 made up o~ a long or main span 11 and
two shorter ter~inal portions 12 and 12a, the shorter terminal
portions 12 and 12a being coupled with t~e main span 11 by res- ~-
pectiYe couplings 13, 13a and being aournalled ~or rotatio~ in
beari~ 14 ~nd 14a supported by the respe¢tiv~ vertical guides
6 a~d 6a.
~ e main ~Pan 11 o~ the ~haft is adapted to accommodate
thereon the opposite lid~ 15 of a spherical reservolr 16 be-
ing manu~actureda to be hereina~ter re~erred to as ~'the reser-
voir~7 a~d ~or rotation of tha latter in tbe proces~ o~ it3 ma- ~
nufaoturi~g~ :
The multicompo~ent sha~t 10 is associated wi~h a drive
.
.
. ~ ,. . . . - . .
including a~ electric motor 17, a coupli~g 18 and a reduc~r 19,
and a mea~s 20 for tra~smitting incremental rotation througl:l
successive an~les 360:n, where "n'l is -~he number o~ the meri-
dional ~laps in the reservoir being manu~actured, the means 20
b~in~ i~ the ~orm o~ a Ge~eva cros~, or else itl any other suit-
able known per se form~
To tr~mit the rota~ion o~ the sha~t 10 to the l~d~ 15
o~ th~ reservoir, there can b~ employed either a key-and-slot
con~ection 21 (schem~tically indicated in the drawi~ or any
other suitable mea~ designed ~or thi~ purposeO
~ he vertical guide~ 6a of the ~rame 3 has mounted thereon, : .
spaced ~rom the sha~t 10 by a distance s~b~tantially ~ualli~g
the radiu~ of the lid 15 of t~e res~r~oir9 a travel-limiting
member 22 which i~ the presentl~ described embodime~t is a li- ~;
mit switch ~onnected with the dri~e mea~s 7 and 7a and thu~ adap
ted to limit the vertical travel o~ the ~rame 3 toward the lid~
15 of the reservoir.
~ he post 2a ha~ mou~ted thereon a suppnr~ beam 23 ~ig.l)
~ith arouate guiaeways 24 adapted to acoommodate a welding
unit 25. The radius of the arcuate guideways 2~ is somewhat
greater than th t of the sphere o~ the reserYoir 16. The weld-
ing u~it 25 is adapted to travel along thsse guidewa~s 24, e~
o~ rollers ~whic~ are ~ot shown in the drawing~ ~or Glari~y sake
~ he ~upport beam 23 tto be hereinafter referred to as
.
- ' . ., . ' . ~ ~-
- , - ~
~7~3~5~
g_
"the beam") is also o~ an areuate shape. The beam 23 is pivot-
able o~ the post 2a in a horizontal plane, about a pivot a~le
26 mounted on the post 2a. The a~le 26 ha~ mou~ted thereon ~ree-
ly rotatable bushes 27 a~d 28 associated with a drive 29 (~che
matically show~ in the drawings) ~or ~f~ecting their rotation.
~he drive a~d the drivi~g connection ean be of any ~uitable
known structure. Ths bushes 27.a~d 28 are coupled with th0 beam
23 via bracket~ 30 and 31, respectively.
The post 2 ha~ mounted thereon a stem 3~ having pivotably
mou~ted thereo~ with aid of ~ rotatable bush 33~ a horizo~tal
oantilever beAm 34 rotatable i~ a horizo~tal plane by being
operatively co~eat~d with a drive 35 (~Ghematlcally indicated
in the drawings) of any sui~able known ~tructure~ :
The cantilever beam 34 has guideways 36 accommodati~g
a reciprocabl~ drive~ -trolley 37 remotely controlled from gro-
und level.
The driven trolley 37 carries a ~i~ch 38 with a ~le~ible
element 39 ~onneo~d with a load-~a~dling or load-e~gagi~g
mechanism ~0 ~ig. 3) which i~ the pre~ently described embodi-
ment i9 in t~e form of a hoo~.
The load-e~g~ging mec~ani~m 40 mounted with aid o~ the
trolley 37 o~ the cantilever beam 34 rotatable i~ a horizontal
plane is inte~ded to engage meridio~al ïlap~ 5 outside the ar-
r~n~;ement and to pla~e them onto the curvilinear su~ace 4 o~ t~e
9 ~ .
,
:' ~ ' ~ ' . ' '
~7~
--10--
~rame 3, a~d also to remove a completed reservoir ~rom the ar-
rangement.
To ensure that the end~ o~ a meridio~al ~lap 5 snu~ly ~it
the curvilinear sur~ace 4 o~ the ~rame 3 9 the latter haq mounted
thereon pivoted retaining member~ 41 permitti~l~ limibed d~-
placem~t o~ a meridio~al ~lap 5 along the curvili~ear ~ur~ao~ 4
when one o~ the edges o~ the meridional ~lap 5 e~gage~ the li-
m~tin~ member 22 durin~ the vertical up~ard trav~l of the frame
3~
To re¢iprocate the welding unit 25 along the arcuate guide
w~y9 24, the presantlg-described arrangement u~e~ the same
driven trolley 37 and the wi~ch 38 of which the ~le~ible ela-
ment 39 is connected with the weldi~g unit 25.
~ he drive ~f~eoting reciprocation of the weldi~g unit 25
along t~e guideway~ 24 may be, howevar, of any other know~ per
se ~tructure,~uitable for the purpo~e.
The her~in described arra~gement ~or manu~aoturing ~ph~
rical resarvoirs i9 operated, as follow~.
Let us ~irst de~cribe the operation o~ manu~acturi~g a
~pheri~al re~er~oir from pre-cut originally flat meridio~al
petal-like ~laps.
~ he ~upport beam 2~ with ~he welding unit 25 carried
thereby a~d the beam 34 carr~ing the load-engagî~g mechani~m 40
are initiall~ piYoted a3ide~ outsid~ the arrange~e~t.
:.
- - . . . - . . - - .. - - .. . . -
. - . . -- ~ , . - - , - -: :
. . . ~ . . . -. . . . .
: . ' . , ,' ' . ~: ~ . , ... . ~
1~ 8i
A flat meridional ~lap 5 is suspended ~rom the hook o~
the load-engaging mechanism 40 so that it bends under its own
weight, and in this bent state the beam 34 with the load~e~-
gaging mechanism 40 is operated to hoist the flap 5 ana to place
it o~to the curvilinear surface 4 of the suppoxting ~rame o~
the arrangement 9 by engaging and dise~Kaging at appropriate
moments the drive 35 rotating the beam 34.
In thi~ case, th~ meridional flap 5 b~oome~ ben ~ong-
itudinally, ~ollowing the curvature o~ the ~ur~ace 4 o~ the
supporting frame 3 i~ the same direction.
5hould the edges o~ ~he meri~ional ~lap 5 be deformad by
a stress residing from the be~ding, while suspended, to a de
gree that they would ~ot hug the curvili~ear ~urface 4 o~ tha
~upporting ~rame 3, the memb~r3 41 are pivoted to e~gage these
edges or end portions, and thu~ to en~ura that the meridional
flap 5 snugly fits the curvili~ear sur~ace 4 along the e~tire
length thereof ~
~ he supporting frame ~ with t~e meridio~al ~lap 5 firmly
engaging it is li~ted by the dxive~ 7 a~d 7a bei~g engaged~ -
Wl~ile movi~; ulpwardly, o~e o~ the edges o~ the meridioaalflap 5 a~ the first to encou~ter the r~spective lid 15 o~ the
spherical resorvoir toDbe 9 b~r engagi~ either directly the bot~
tommo~t point o~ the lid 15~ or el~e the travel limiting member
~2. I~ the ~irst case, t~e drives 7 a~d 7a are overloaded by
, - - .: . ~ . .
:
. , - , ~, ~ .
~37 ~ ~ 5
~12~
the en~u~ng rasista~ce, so that they are automatically di3en-
gaged i~ any suitable k~own man~er 9 and the ~upporti~g frame
is halted. I~ the second ca~e~ it is the travel~ iting member
22 whic~ se~ds a command to disenga~e the drivss 7 and 7a and
th~s to halt ~he frame 3.
When the either end og the meridional ~lap 5 ~nga~ea the
edge of the respective lid 15, the meridio~al ~lap 5 become~
ali~ned on ~he curvilinear ~ur~ac~ 4 oi ~he ~upporting ~rame
in the longitudinal dire¢tio~ ~; and it~ other e~d or edge en-
gage~ tha edge o~ the other lid 15.
In this position the ends o~ t~e meridional ~lap 5 aré
provisionally locally w~lded ma~ually to the lid~ 15.
The~ the dri~es 7 and 7a are e~ga~ed to louer the now
empty ~rame 3 along the vertical guidss 6 a~d 6a into its lower- .
ms~t i~itial position.
Simultan~ously, the dri~ 17 o~ t~e ~ha~t 10 i8 engaged
to drive the lattar thr~u$h ~ an~le 360:~ wh~re 'ln", as
it has bea~ already e~plai~d9 is the ~umb~r o~ ~he meridional
~laps m ~i~g up the re~ervoir.
~ h~ the abovedescribed cycle of placing the succes~ive
maridio~al ~lap 5 i9 repeated.
~ he c~cl~ enas:with thi~ successive meridio~al flap 5
being brought against t~e lid~ 15 and provisionally ~ecured
thereto by ma~ual~welding, Be~ides, thi~ SUGCe~iVe Plap 5 i~
, ~ . .. ... ... . , . . . , . . .. , . . ..... . , . . . . . . .. . . . .. , . . , . . . . . ~ . . . .
.. :- :- . - . .- . . . ... . - ~, ;.- - .. - . .. . .. : , . . .
.: : , ., . .,.. ' ' ,-, ' . ''~ , : - : ' ' . . .
., - - - . - .-
- . -, . . .. ,- - . . : . ... . - ...
- . ; . . , . . , . . ..... . ~ . . .. .
. .- . " ....... . . .- :
. . .. . - : . : . - - . .
- . : ,. ': ' .. -,: ,:; , .. . . :
7~ 5
-13-
provisionally secured at several point~ therealong to th~ pre-
vious meridional ~lap by manual welding9 either internally or
extsrnally o~ the reservoir.
Should t~fl tWo meridional ~lap~ ~ail ~o 3nugly engage
each ot~er ~hroug~hout th~ir le~gth9 th~ ~haft 10 i~ rotated thro~
ugh a ¢orresponding small angle to e~sure their ~nug engag~ment~
~ he cycle~ of positioninK and provisionally ~ecuri~ the
m~rid~onal ~laps by manual welding are repeated, wi~h pla~in~
the successive ~lap~ onto the curvilinear surface 47 until ths
corltour o~ ~he reservoir ls closed in the t:ra~sver~e dire¢tion.
~ ollo~ing the placin~ o~ the la~t meridional ~lap, the
cantilever beam 34 i9 le~t to overlie the ~ram0, whereas the
supporting ~rame 3 itsel~ i8 lowered i~to its initial po~ition.
~e~ the ~upport b~am 23 with tha welding u~it 25 is rotated
from i t9 initial positio~ outside the arrangeme~t to overlie t~e
frame 3~ b~ its drive 29 being op~rated .
~ he welding unit 25 i~ driven alo~g the arcuate gu~deways
~4 into the o~tre~ le~t (in t~e drawing~) po~itio~ b~ co~-
ns~ti~g it wit~ aid of the ~lesible el~m~t 39 to t~e remotely
~ontrolled trolle~ 37 o~ the ~antilever beam 34~ In tbi~ way
~he weldi~g unit 25 i5 prepar0d for t~e weldin~ operatio~.
~ hen t~e drive 17 o~ t~e ~ha~t lO i~ eagaged to bring
on~ o~ t~ ~oi~t o~ the semi;fl~ished reser~olr agai~t the
w~lding member of the ~sldi~ unit 25 occupyi~g it~ i~itlal po- -
' '; "'~
-.
~- ,.
-- .- -. - - - . . . ~ . - .
--14--
~itio~ at the lePt ~in the drawing8) o~ the support beam 23.
~ he welding u~it 25 is started. Simulta~eously the drive~
trolley 37 is operated to drive the ~elding u~it 25 thro~gh the
fle~ible elem~nt 39 along the arcuat3 guidaw~ys 24 of t~e beam
23. In this manner the weldin~; o~ one e:~terP~al joint o~ the re-
sexvoir i~ per:eormed.
~ }le~, t~e sha:et 10 i~ rotated tbrough 360:n whsre "n"
i~ the ~umber o~ the meridional ~lap~ m~kin~; up t~e re~rvoir,
so t~at the successiv~ jo~nt o~ the sami~in:i~hed reservoir i~
brou~;~t agai~st the weldi~ unit 25 which i~ r~ow at the ~ig~t
(in the dra~in4g~) end o~ the 9upport beam 230 T~e drive OI the
remotaly controlled trolley 37 is enga~;ed in the rever~ direo- - -
tio~9 a~d the welding unit 25 is driven throug~ ~t~ working
tr~vel along tha arcuate guidewa;rs 24 Irom right to le;ft, to -
w~ld the ~ucce~ive joint o~ t~a re~ervoir~
~ ollowin~3 the completio~ of the welding o:e the ~eco~d
joi~t9 tha ~eldin~; unit ~5 i~ once more at tha left e:gtremit~y
of the ar~uate ~;uideways 24, wherea:eter the ~haft 10 i~ rotat~d
oncs more through 360~n9 by e~gagî~g it~ drive 17. In t~
way~ by reciprocating ~he ~elding ualt 25 tbrou~;~L sUcc~ive
Rrorki~g travels from righi; to lef~ and from le~b to right, all
the a:zter~al joints o~ the resarvoir a:re ~inally welded~
~ ?ollowi~g tha completion of the automatically perrormed .
~velding sequence ~, the ~upport beam 23 with the weldi~g unit 25
; '; ' . .
.,.. , , . .. . ~ -
~7~
~1~
is pivot~d outside t~e arrang~ment. The ~upporting frame ~ i9
lifted against the reservoir, and liquid under pressure is fed
into the latter~ w~ereby the meridional flaps 5 are deformed tra
~sversely, in which way the ~pherical reservoir is finally shap-
ed, which is mani~ested by the meridional flap e~gaging the ¢ur-
vilinear surface 4 of the frame ~ during thi~ hydraulic expa~
sion hugging thi~ 9ur~ac~ in both dir~ction~ . aoquiri~g
doubl e ourvature.
~ he hydraulic expansion i9 al~o the mean~ o~ ~e9ting the
guality o~ ~he w~ldin~.
~ I!h3n the supporting frame 3 i~ lowered to clear t~e re-
~ervoir.
~ he reservoir is attached with ropeq to the hook of the
load-0ngaging me~hani~m 40, as show~ i~ Fi~. 4. ~he coupl~ng~
13 and 13a ara undone,
Then the beam 34 with ~he load-engagi~g ~echani~m 40 and
the reservoir suspended there~rom is p~voted outsid~ th~ arrange
ment. ~he~ the maill qpa~ 11 of the sha~t 10, oonnected wlth aid
o~ ths ke~-a~d-~lot con~eG~ion 21 wlth the l~dæ 15 o~ the r~
ervoir, i~ driven of~ the res rvoir by applylng a ~UffiGiant
s~foxt to this mai~ ~pan 11 at one of it~ ends. ~ha ope~ing~ in
the lids 15, leit a~ter the removal o~ t~e mai~ ~pan 11 o~ - -
the ~ha~t 109 are welded, a~d th~ reser~oir is fit ~or service.
A spherical resarv4ir mad~ ~rom relatively thi~g origi~
:~ '
,.. . .. . .. ~ . , .. . -. .- ... . : - - - . ....... . . :.......... ..
.. . - . . . -. . - .
-, - - - . . . . . :. . , . . - , ,
-16-
nally ~lat meridional flaps can b~ made integral with a hollow
central post enhancing the rigidit~y OI the thin~wall reservoir.
I~ thi~ case the abovementioned ~ha~t is hollow to serva a~
this hollow post, and at the end of ~ha manufacturing seque~oe
it 1~ not removed ~rom the reservoir, its end~ protruding beyond
th~ reservoir being cut o~, eDg~ by flame cutting- ..
A ~ph~rical r~s~rvoir is man~fa¢tured from relatively
thick petal-like ~lap~ in a ssquenc~ o~ operatio~s basically
similar to tha one described hereinabove. However~ t~e proces~
o~ manu~acturing a ra~rvoir ~rom meridional t~lck-wall ~laps
pre-~haped by pressi~g in other arrangema~ts i~ more labour-co~-
suming i~ compariso~ with the process of manu~aGturing a reser-
voir from thin-~all flaps with subse~ue~t hgdraulic ~pan~ion.
T~u~, the abovedescrib~d arra~geme~t ca~ bs used ~or ma:
nu~acturing spherical re~arvoirs from both rel~ively thic~
meridio~al ~laps o~ double ~urvature ~pr~-~hap~d ~ither ~y
~ammari~g or by pre~sicg) a~d tbi~ origl~lly ~lat meridio~al
ilaps with ~ubsequent ~ydraulic ~pansio~ and ~e~ti~g the ~luid=.
tight~es~ of the welded joi~ts.
T~ rein disclosed arra~gement ~or maki~g spherical : -
reservoir~ ~rom i~dividual meridional flaps i8 e~icie~t and
performs a relatively simple production proces~ ~-ccompa~ied
by a fluid-tightn0s~ te~t~ It occupies relativelg small ~loor
... ..
178~
--17--
spac~ and ha~ a modera-te amount o~ metal in its ~tructure,
whereb;y it i9 operable both under factor~ conditio~ a~d di-
rectl;~ in sitU~ on a~ i~stallation site.
- - . :
... .. . . ..
