Welded full contact floating roof and method

Abstract

A sealed floating roof for a storage tank, comprising a frame and roof panels, in which the frame provides a guide for directing an automatic welder along said structure to allow for automated welding of the roof panels to the frame, and a method of forming such a roof.

1 . A method of forming a sealed floating roof for a storage tank, comprising the steps of
 forming roof panels,   forming a roof by interconnecting said roof panels,   guiding an automatic welder essentially parallel to the interconnections of said roof panels, and   welding said roof panels together with said automatic welder.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of providing roofpanels additionally comprises the steps of extruding formed frame segments, and assembling said roof panels using said frame segments. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step of extruding formed frame segments additionally comprises the step of forming a depression in an upper surface of said frame segments. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the step of guiding an automatic welder essentially parallel to the edges of the roof panels additionally comprises the step of guiding said automatic welder by tracking said automatic welder in said depression. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the step of forming a depression in an upper surface of at least some of said frame segments additionally comprises the step of forming said depression along an upper edge of said frame segments. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the step of interconnecting said roof panels additionally comprises the step of forming a walled trough along an upper surface of said roof by joining said frame segments with said depressions adjacent. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the step of guiding a automatic welder essentially parallel to the edges of the roof panels additionally comprises the step of guiding said automatic welder by tracking said automatic welder in said trough. 
   
   
       8 . A sealed floating roof for a storage tank, comprising
 a plurality of coupled frame segments comprising an upper surface, and   a plurality of roof sheets welded to said frame segments to form a sealed surface,   wherein said frame segments comprise a guide for controlling the movement of a automatic welder.   
   
   
       9 . The sealed floating roof for a storage tank of  claim 8 , wherein said frame segments are extrusions. 
   
   
       10 . The sealed floating roof for a storage tank of  claim 8 , wherein said frame segments are aluminum extrusions. 
   
   
       11 . The sealed floating roof for a storage tank of  claim 8 , wherein at least some of said frame segments comprise a depression in said upper surface. 
   
   
       12 . The sealed floating roof for a storage tank of  claim 11 , wherein at least some of said frame segments are shaped so that coupling of adjacent frame segments forms a walled trough in said upper surface.