IL44466A - Containers for fluids and the like - Google Patents

Claims (12)

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1. • 1. A discharge assembly for a fluid container which contains a fluid under pressure and which includes a fluid exit closable by a frangible diaphragm, the assembly comprising a housing for s;ecuring adjacent the fluid exit,, a support member in the housing for abutting the diaphragm and thereby preventing rupturing of the diaphragm by pressure within the container, releasable locking means for holding the support member in a diaphragm abutting position, a control member constrained for linear movement between a first position in which it holds the locking means locked and a second position in which it releases the locking means so as to remove the support for the diaphragm provided by the support member and thereby allow the diaphragm to rupture, manually operable means connected to the control member for moving it into the second position and means for applying gas pressure to the said control member, to move it into the second position, in response to detonation of an explosive charge. - *

2. An assembly' according to claim "1, including spring means for r'esiliently holding the control member in the said first position,

3. · An assembly according to claim 1 or 2, in which the support member is a first piston slidably mounted in a cylindrical guide, and the control member is a second piston mounted for sliding movement within the skirt of the first piston. ..' ■....'·.

4. An assembly according to claim 3, in which the skirt of the first piston has at least one aperture, in which the releasable locking means comprises a locking member sized to fit the aperture loosely and to extend therethrough into a recess in the cylindrical guide so as to lock the first piston in the diaphragm abutting position while the locking member is held in the recess, and in which the second piston is arranged to contact the locking member when the second piston is in its said first position so as to hold the locking member in the recess . .

5. .5· An assembly according to claim 4·, in which the •locking member is a ball and the recess defines an inclined surface along which the ball tends to. roll, into the interior of the first piston, in response to the pressure exerted thereon through the first piston.

6. An assembly according to any one of claims 3 to 5» in which the means for applying the said gaseous pressure to the control member comprises a gas chamber within the first piston and defined in part by the inside surface of the first piston and in part by the crown of the second piston, and means defining a gas passage into the gas chamber through the skirt of the first piston and the said cylindrical guide, the gas passage leading from means for receiving the explosive charge.

7. · An assembly accordin to any one of claims 3 to 6, in which, the manually operable means comprises a flexible pull line attached to the second piston.

8. "8. An assembly according to any one of claims 3 to 7» including an outlet in the side wall of the cylindrical guide for allowing egress of the said fluid, the cylindrical guide extending downstream of the said outlet to receive the two pistons in response to the pressure exerted thereon by the said fluid through the burst diaphragm when the locking means is released.

9. · An assembly according to claim 8, including locking means in the said cylindrical guide for locking the two pistons in a position downstream of the said outlet.

10. A fluid container for containing a fluid under pressure and having a fluid exit, in combination with a frangible diaphragm for closing off the fluid exit, means defining a cylindrical surface coaxial with and downstream of the fluid exit and leading to a discharge outlet, a first piston slidable along the cylindrical surface between a first position in which it abuts and supports the diaphragm and thereby prevents the bursting of the diaphragm by pressure within the container and a second position downstream of the discharge outlet, at least one aperture in the skirt of the first piston, means defining a recess in the cylindrical surface which recess is aligned with the aperture when the first piston is in the first position, a ball loosely fitting in the aperture and extending into the recess when the first piston is in the first position so as to lock the first piston in the first position for so long as the ball is held ¾n the aperture and recess, a second piston slidable within the skirt of the first piston "between a first position in which it holds the ball in the said aperture and recess and a second position in which it allows the ball to drop into the interior of the first piston, and thereby releases the first piston from its diaphragm abutting position so that the diaphragm is ruptured by the pressure within the container and the first piston, carrying the second piston with it, is driven into its said second position, allowing the fluid to discharge through the discharge outlet,means for manually exerting a force on the second piston from externally of the container to move the second piston into its second position, a gas chamber defined within the first piston partly by the interior surface thereof and partly by the crown of the second piston, and a gas passage connecting the gas chamber via openings in the skirt of the first piston and in the cylindrical surface to means for receiving a detonatable explosive charge which, when detonated, creates an increased gas pressure within the gas chamber to move the second piston into its second position. 4-4466/2

11. A fluid container according to claim 10, including means for locking the first piston, with the second piston, in its said second position.

12. A fluid container for containing a fluid under pressure, substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawing.