| 摘要 |
A method for delivering heating oil to homes and commercial establishments comprises a two-mode combination of (a) using a conventional large-tank delivery truck and (b) using a portable, self-contained apparatus which is carried on a lighter weight truck as cargo. The portable apparatus comprises a tank having just under 119 gallons capacity, a pump for flowing oil through a meter subsystem which measures the quantity of oil, to a hose; all mounted on a skid for portability. The apparatus is capable of dispensing oil quantities of 1, 5, or 25 gallons while meeting regulators' weights and measures approval requirements. When the small tank is filled with heating oil, preferred apparatus weighs less than 1500 pounds and is removably carried on the bed of an un-placarded truck (one that does not have to meet hazardous material requirements), and that may be driven by a driver having an ordinary driver's license, compared to the requirements and associated costs attending the conventional truck. |
| 主权项 |
1. A method for delivering home heating oil to one or more residential or commercial heating oil storage tanks at delivery points of a multiplicity of customers within a fuel oil dealer customer group, which comprises:
(a) providing a portable assembly comprised of a heating oil tank, an electric powered pump connected to the tank, a meter subsystem meeting NTEP certification requirements in fluid communication with the pump, and a dispensing conduit in fluid communication with the meter subsystem, wherein the tank has a capacity of about 119 gallons and wherein the tank contains heating oil; (b) carrying said portable assembly as removable cargo on a first truck by driving the first truck over public roads to one or more of said delivery points, the first truck having a first driver and a gross vehicle weight of less than 26,001 pounds; (c) powering the electric pump of said portable assembly, to cause flow of heating oil from the tank of the portable assembly to and through the meter subsystem and to the dispensing conduit thereof, to thereby flow a quantity of heating oil which is between 1 and 25 gallons through said dispensing conduit and into one or more of each of said residential or commercial storage tanks at said one or more delivery points, wherein the heating oil flow rate is between 2 and 29 gallons per minute; and, (d) measuring the quantity of heating oil as it is being flowed through the NTEP certified meter subsystem of the portable assembly in a weights and measures approved fashion; (e) providing a second truck having a permanently attached heating oil tank with a capacity of more than 1,000 gallons and containing more than 120 gallons of heating oil, a pump for pumping oil from said truck tank to a residential or commercial heating oil storage tank, and a meter subsystem for metering home heating oil pumped from the truck tank, the truck having a gross vehicle weight capacity of 26,001 pounds or more; (f) moving the second truck along a public road while operated by a second driver to one or more of points of delivery to one or more of said delivery points; and, (g) pumping more than 120 gallons of home heating oil into a multiplicity of each of said residential or commercial storage tanks at said one or more delivery points at a rate of more than 40 gallons per minute, from the heating oil tank of said second truck, in weights and measures approved fashion for custody transfer of home heating oil. |
