Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR DISTRIBUTING FUEL
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to refueling systems and in particular
to a system and method for distributing fuel to a plurality of continuously
running vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
Many industrial processes require the use of multiple vehicles to be operated
continuously at a worksite. One example of such environments is at a
hydraulic fracturing or fracking site. In such locations, multiple pump trucks
are required to provide the fracking site with sufficient fracking fluid. Such
trucks are disadvantageously required to be operated continuously during
such fracking operations and therefore will also be required to be refueled
during operation.
One common difficulty with such fracking operations is the need to refuel the
multiple trucks to ensure continued operation. One common method of
refueling such trucks is to provide a fuel tank and personnel to monitor and
refill the tank on each truck as needed. It will be appreciated that such
methods are time consuming and prone to error if sufficient personnel are not
present. Additionally, the fuel lines required for filling each truck may pose
a
safety hazard when distributed around the worksite.
Other methods have attempted to provide a system of automatically
distributing fuel to such trucks by providing sensors in each truck with a
valve
and manifold assembly at the common source tank. Such systems,
disadvantageously however require the use of electrical sensors which may
pose spark risk at the work site and also disadvantageously depressurize
each of the fuel lines to each truck reducing the responsiveness of supply
each truck. Examples of such systems may be found in US Patent
Application Publication No. 2011/0197988 to Van Vliet et al.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first embodiment of the present invention there is disclosed a
system for delivering fuel to a plurality of vehicles comprising a
distribution
manifold having a plurality of outlets, said distribution manifold in fluidic
communication with a fuel source, each of said plurality of outlets having an
associated control valve for controlling fluid flow therethrough and a
plurality of
tank valve assemblies in fluidic communication with one of said plurality of
fuel
lines each located at an inlet to a tank of one of said plurality of vehicles,
each of
said tank valve assembly being operable to shut off flow of fuel therethrough
when said tank is filled to a predetermined level. The system further
comprises
a plurality of fuel lines, each of said plurality of fuel lines extending
between an
outlet of said distribution manifold and a tank valve assembly and a
controller
operably coupled to said plurality of control valves wherein said adapted to
sequentially open at least one of said plurality of control valves at a time.
The system may further comprise a pressure sensor on said distribution
manifold. The controller may be adapted to receive a pressure measurement
from said pressure sensor wherein said controller is further configured to
close
said at least one of said plurality of control valves and open a different
control
valve when said pressure measurement is greater predetermined amount
indicating said tank valve is closed.
The controller may be operable to open a single control valve at a time. The
controller may be operable to open two or more of said plurality of control
valves
at a time. The system may further comprise a temperature sensor adapted to
measure a temperature of said fuel flowing through said manifold.
The system may further comprise a pump operable to draw fuel from said fuel
source and provide said fuel to said distribution manifold. The pump may
include a flow mater adapted to output a signal to said controller
representing
rate of flow of said fluid through said pump. The control circuit may be
adapted
to disable a control valve and provide an alert when said pressure sensor
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detects a pressure drop greater than a predetermined level. Each of said valve
assemblies may comprise a mechanical valve.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention there is disclosed
a
method for delivering fuel to a plurality of vehicles comprising providing a
distribution manifold in fluidic communication with a fuel source and having a
plurality of outlets, each of said plurality of outlets having an associated
control valve for controlling fluid flow therethrough and locating a tank
valve
assembly at an inlet to a tank of one of said plurality of vehicles, each of
said
valve assembly being operable to independently shut off flow of fuel
therethrough when said tank is filled to a predetermined level. The method
may further comprise connecting a plurality of fuel lines between an outlet of
said distribution manifold and a tank valve assembly and utilizing a
controller,
sequentially opening at least one of said plurality of control valves at a
time.
The method may further comprise a measuring a pressure within said
distribution manifold with a pressure sensor. The controller may be adapted to
receive a pressure measurement from said pressure sensor wherein said
controller is further configured to close said at least one of said plurality
of
control valves and open a different control valve when said pressure
measurement is greater predetermined amount indicating said tank valve is
closed.
The controller may be operable to open a single control valve at a time. The
controller may be operable to open two or more of said plurality of control
valves
at a time. The method may further comprise measuring the temperature of said
fuel through said distribution manifold with a temperature sensor.
The method may further comprise pumping with a pump fuel from said fuel
source and providing said fuel to said distribution manifold. The pump may
include a flow mater adapted to output a signal to said controller
representing
rate of flow of said fluid through said pump. The control circuit may be
adapted
to disable a control valve and provide an alert when said pressure sensor
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detects a pressure drop greater than a predetermined level. Each of said valve
assemblies may comprise a mechanical valve.
Other aspects and features of the present invention will become apparent to
those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description
of
specific embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying
figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In drawings which illustrate embodiments of the invention wherein similar
characters of reference denote corresponding parts in each view,
Figure 1 is a schematic view of a fuel delivery system according
to a first
embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a schematic illustration of a controller for use in
the system of
Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a graphical representation of a flow rate and pressure
through to
a single control valve to a single vehicle in the system of Figure 1.
Figure 4 is a graphical representation of the pressure as measured
within
the manifold during operation of the system of Figure 1.
Figure 5 is a graphical representation of the flow delivered to each tank
valve during operation of the system of Figure 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Referring to Figure 1, a system for refuelling a plurality of continuously
operating vehicles according to a first embodiment of the invention is shown
generally at 10. The system draws fuel from a fuel tank 12 containing a
quantity of a fuel source 14 and includes a pump 16 operable to draw the fuel
source out of the tank and a distribution manifold 20 to distribute the pumped
fuel to a plurality of fuel supply lines 60a, 60b, 60c through 60n to a
plurality of
vehicles 70a, 70b, 70c through 70n wherein n denotes the total quantity of
trucks to be supplied with fuel. For the sake of clarity of Figure 1, only a
single vehicle 70a is illustrated.
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As further illustrated in Figure 1, each branch of the distribution manifold
20
includes a control valve 30a, 30b, 30c through 30n and shut off valves 32a,
32b, 32c through 32n as are commonly known and terminates at a connector
34a, 34b, 34c through 34n. Each connector 34a through 34n may be utilized
to connect a fuel supply line 60a, 60b, 60c through 60n which extends to a
tank valve 74a, 74b, 74c through 74n in the tank 72a, 72b, 72c through 72n
each vehicle 70a through 70n.
Each tank valve 74a through 74n is adapted to shut off flow of fuel into the
vehicle mounted tank 72a through 72n when the fuel level in that tank is at a
predetermined level. It will be appreciated that any valve types may be
utilized in which the flow of fuel through the valve is adapted to be stopped
when the tank 72a through 72n is determined to be full without any
intervention or involvement from the controller such as, by way of non-
limiting
example, mechanical, electromechanical or electrically, pneumatic or
hydraulically controlled. In particular, automatically closing valves such as
set
out in US Patent Nos. 6,311,723 and 9,725,295, may be utilized the entirety of
each of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
Optionally, the system may include a pressure sensor 22 adapted to measure
the pressure within the distribution manifold 20 as well as a temperature
sensor 24 adapted to measure the temperature of the manifold 20or the fuel
flowing therethrough. A flow meter 26 may also be incorporated into the
manifold to measure the flow rate of fuel therethrough. It will be appreciated
that the flow meter 26 may be separate from or incorporated into the pump
16.
The control module 40 includes a processor 42 operable to start and stop the
pump 16 and open and close the control valves 30a through 30n according to
predetermined parameters. In particular, the control module 40 is adapted to
cause the pump 16 to run and open the control valves 30a through 30n in
sequence for an amount of time sufficient to fill the each of the vehicle
mounted tanks 32 to a predetermined level and also to close each of the
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control valves when the associated tank valve 72a through 72n closes as will
be more fully described below. In such manner, the vehicle mounted tanks 32
will be filled sequentially either in singles or multiples thereby reducing
required size and flow rate of the pump as well as reducing down time of the
pump while flow is switched to successive tanks.
More generally, in this specification, the term "processor " is intended to
broadly encompass any type of device or combination of devices capable of
performing the functions described herein, including (without limitation)
other
types of microprocessors, microcontrollers, other integrated circuits, either
alone or in combination with other such devices located at the same location
or remotely from each other across a network or the like. Additional types of
processors will be apparent to those of ordinarily skilled in the art upon
review
of this specification, and substitution of any such other types of processor
is
considered not to depart from the scope of the present invention as defined by
the claims appended hereto. In various embodiments, the processor 42 can be
implemented as a single-chip, multiple chips and/or other electrical
components
including one or more integrated circuits and printed circuit boards. The
processor 42 together with a suitable operating system may operate to execute
instructions in the form of computer code and produce and use data. By way of
example and not by way of limitation, the operating system may be Windows-
based, Mac-based, or Unix or Linux-based, among other suitable operating
systems. Operating systems are generally well known and will not be described
in further detail here.
Computer code comprising instructions for the processor 42 to carry out the
various embodiments, aspects, features, etc. of the present disclosure may
reside in the memory 44. Memory 44 encompasses one or more storage
mediums and generally provides a place to store computer code (e.g., software
and/or firmware) and data that are used by the processor 42. The memory 44
may comprise, for example, electronic, optical, magnetic, or any other storage
or
transmission device capable of providing the processor 42 with program
instructions. Memory 44 may further include a floppy disk, CD-ROM, DVD,
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magnetic disk, memory chip, ASIC, FPGA, EEPROM, EPROM, flash memory,
optical media, or any other suitable memory from which processor 42 can read
instructions in computer programming languages. Memory 44 may include
various other tangible, non-transitory computer-readable media including Read-
Only Memory (ROM) and/or Random-Access Memory (RAM).
The control module 40 further includes a data storage 46 of any conventional
type operable to store data representing operation of the various components
of
the system 10 as set out below for retrieval and analyses by a user. The data
storage may be of any conventional type including magnetic disk, memory
chips, flash memory or any other suitable computer readable memory type from
which the processor can store and access data therefrom.
Processor 42 is generally coupled to at least one of variety of interfaces
such as
graphics interface such as, by way of non-limiting example, an input and
display
unit 48 as are commonly known. The input control 34 and user input interface
36. The input and display unit 48 may receive user input commands via
touchscreen, a physical keyboard, virtual keyboard, etc. and display current
status or other analytical information on a screen, led or other output device
as
are commonly known. Processor 42 may also be coupled to a network interface
50 that allows the processor to be coupled to another computer or
telecommunications network (e.g., internet). More particularly, the network
interface generally allows processor 42 to receive information from and to
output
information to the network in the course of performing various method steps
described in the embodiments herein. It will be appreciated that the input and
display unit 48 may be integrated into the control module 40 or ay optionally
be
remote therefrom and in communication through a wireless, wired or other
communication medium as are commonly known.
In operation, a user may program and activate the sequence of operation for
the
pump 16 and control valves 30a though 30n after connection of the system 10 to
a plurality of vehicles 70a through 70n as well as a fuel tank 12. In
particular,
the user may enter variables to the system including the number of vehicles,
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type of fuel as well as identification or particulars of the vehicles for
later analysis
of vehicle performance. The processor 42, once initiated by the users,
thereafter activates the pump and opens one or more control valves 30a through
30n. to begin fuel flow to these vehicles. Thereafter the processor will
continue
to control the operation of the pump 16 and control valves 30a through 30n to
sequentially deliver fuel to the vehicles. It will be appreciated that such
sequential operation will optionally deliver fuel to a single vehicle at a
time
although the processor may also be configured to deliver fuel to a multiple
(eg. 2
or more of the total number) at a time as permitted depending upon the sizing
of
the pump 16 and needs of the vehicles. The processor 42 through the pressure
sensor 22 and flow meter 26 may be operable to track and record the
continuous pressure 90 and flow rate 92 when each control valve is open for
display to an operator for future analysis. The input and display unit 48 may
also indicate the current status for that particular valve 94 and a total fuel
delivered 96 to that tank valve. It will be appreciated that such total fuel
delivered to each vehicle may be useful for troubleshooting individual
vehicles or
balancing the overall system. It will be appreciated that the display may be
configured or customized to be operable to show such details and or
information
for one or a plurality of control valves as is commonly known.
Turning now to Figure 4, during operation, the processor 42 monitors the
pressure 100 in the manifold 20 as outputted by the pressure sensor 22. For
illustrative purposes, which is not intended to be limiting, the in the
example
shown in Figure 4, the processor 42 has been programmed to sequentially open
a single control valve at a time starting at 74a and continuing through to 74n
whereupon the sequence may begin again at 74a. In particular, as illustrated,
initially control valve 30a is opened until a pressure spike is detected upon
which
control valve 30a is closed and the next valve 30b is opened. Valve 30b is
also
then kept open until full at which the processor switches the fuel to valve
30c.
This process is repeated until the sequence is completed at which time it may
be repeated. The pressure sensor 22 may also be utilized to measure a
reduction in pressure when a particular control valve 30a through 30n is
opened
to indicate a leak or disconnection of the fuel line 60a through 60n. The
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processor may thereafter be programmed to indicate an alert or fault to a user
or
may also optionally be programmed to turn off that particular control valve
and
disable it during subsequent sequences until the fault or error is indicated
by a
user to be corrected.
The processor may also utilize an output signal produced by the temperature
sensor 24 to determine the temperature of the fuel being delivered to each
vehicle. It will be appreciated that the actual quantity of fuel being
delivered to
each vehicle may therefore be volume corrected from this temperature
measurement. It will furthermore be appreciated that the temperature
measurement may also be utilized to adjust the pressure tables utilized as set
out above to determine when a vehicle tank is full due to the changes in the
viscosity of the fuel at that temperature.
With reference to Figure 5, the processor 42 may store within the data storage
46 record of any information concerning the operation of the system 10 as
desired by a user. In particular, the total volume of fuel supplied to by each
control valve 30a through 30n (and thereby the volume supplied to each
vehicle)
may be stored. This and provided in as illustrated in Figure 5, this total
volume
may be outputted and/or displayed to a user in graphical form 110 wherein the
volume supplied through each of the control valves 30a, 30b and 30c is
illustrated as 102, 104 and 106, respectively, it will be appreciated that
such
information may be utilized for assessing performance and operation of the
overall location.
While specific embodiments of the invention have been described and
illustrated, such embodiments should be considered illustrative of the
invention only and not as limiting the invention as construed in accordance
with the accompanying claims.
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