US1059767A

US1059767A - Time-burning railway signal-fusee.

Info

Publication number: US1059767A
Application number: US72534312A
Authority: US
Inventors: Louis S Ross
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1912-10-11
Filing date: 1912-10-11
Publication date: 1913-04-22
Anticipated expiration: 1930-04-22

Description

LOUIS s. Ross, or ivnw'ronvinnn, MASSACHUSETTS.

TIME] 3UI TING RAILWAY SIGNAL-FUSEE.

wearer. No Drawing.

' Tall whom J1?may concern:

Be it known thatl, LOUIS S. Ross, a citizen oftheUnited States, and resident of Newtonv'ille, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Time-Burning Railway *Signal-Fusees, of which the following description is a specification.

. invention relates to improvements in time burning railway signal fusees, the primary ob ect thereof being to produce a fusee for such purpose "that will not spontaneously ignite underconditions to which it is necessarily subjected, which will not be extinguished whenthrown from a moving tram orotherwise sub ected. to severe.

"shock, which insures continuity and tenacity of the-flame after lighting, and which insuresdepth and intensity of color and a greater brillliancy and more'force of flame than any fusee heretofore produced containing either chlorate or perchlorate, or,

In most compositions for railway signal fusees produced -PII' to my invention,

"there have been certain recognized charac;

. teristicsof the ingredients contained in the fusees that render the latter extremely susceptible to spontaneous ignition, particuj tuted; for: the chlorate in a composit on containing sulfur. I

larly in the'presence ofheat or moisture.

The railways of the United States for' a mumber' of years past have maintained a bureau for the safe transportation of ,ex-

plosives and other dangerous articles. This i bureau employs chemists to investigate questions relating to the manufacture of explosives and other dangerous articles, and

rom time to time makes regulations and issues specifications prescribing the inherent 40-.

- nal 'fusees.

r'eau, railway signal fusees usually comprise a paper tube of heavy, tough fiber, in which "the'composi'tion is packed, carrying at one end a spike adapted to penetrate the-ra il-' Way ties or bed and having at its opposite end means for igniting the-fusee. .Railway sig nal'fusees are usually thrown from the rear of a 'movingtrain and are necessarilytherefore subjected to rough usage. It is. therefore necessary to have the papertube way signal. fusees heretofore employed have Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr, 22, 1913. Application filed October 11, 1912. Serial No. 725,343. I

usage withoutbreakage- These fusee paper tubes are thereforemade of. heavy, tough fiber, as stated, and the [railroads require" that the finished fusee 'must'stand a 'speci-* relatiyely heavy Weight at. its center when supported at its ends. One. o'fthe tests of the said bureau is that the fusee after burning a number of seconds in air must burn a specified time when completely submerged in water. Itis further required by the .saidbureau that the fusee must burn a predetermined specified length of time." It must burn with brilliancyv and; force-of" flame and it'must burn under either favorable or unfavorable weather conditions. In; other'words'. the: railway. signal fusee must 6f" sufficient strength to withstand this i i burn strong Winds or storms or even "pools of water or snowbanks.

'. By reasonzof the necessity of burning the 1 the composition burn with forcean d bril-. hancy, all successful compositions forrailtube in uniformity'with the burning of the "composition 'and also -of the necessity that contained sulfurfand potassium chlorate l as fundamental ingredients, with the single exception thatv e perchlorate, preferably perchlorate of' potassium, has been substiburning railway signal fuse'es containingsulv fur and potassium" chlorate as heretofore icprnbined were subject-t0 spontaneous igni- 9 .tion and combustion dueto climatic condi- .tions 'of heat and moisture. and age, because of the presence of said i'ngredient s in the composition, and attempts have been made for many .years by railwayfchemists and 9 others to overcome this serious defect. This.

objection has been overcome by me-by the use. of an acid neutralizing agent, as set forth in my PatentNo. l,O 19,190,' dated March 5, 1912. Such spontaneous ignition ha's'beenl attributed to. the production from sulfur in the presence of heatand moisture of sulfurone and sulfuric acids,"which in the presence of potassium chlorate'decompose the latter and-generate. chlorin peroxid- Th e 1 formation of sulfuric-acid from sulfur requires the presence of oxygen, which is readily obtained in the breaking up of the potassium chlorate, whereby heat ,is 1 gen'- erated, accelerating and helping to continue 1 the reaction until a condition is reached that produces spontaneous combustion. The so-called chlorate time burning railway signal fusee is composed of chlorate, sulfur,

carbohydrate and metallic nitrate in suit,- ableproportions. In order to overcome the tendency to spontaneous ignition character: istic of the chlorate fusee, a so-called perchlorate fusee has been made by'substit-uting perchlorate of potassium for the chlorate of potassium.

A fusee made of mixtures containing a taneous ignition or combustion, I have con-.

ducted a series of experiments in order to produce if possible a perchlorate fusee which will notbe readily extinguished :by sudden shock, and the flame of which will burn with increased depth and intensity of color and with greater .brilliancy and more force of flame than theso-called perchlorate fusee. I have as the result of said experiments discovered that. if in addition to a suitable quantity of potassium or other suitable perchlorate, such, for example, as barium, sodium or ammonium perchlorate, I employ a small quantity of peroxid, such, for example, as barium peroxid, strontium peroxid, sodium peroxid or any other suitable peroxid, I not only produce a time burning railway signal fusee not liable to spontaneous ignition or combustion, but. I obtain a fusee the temperature of ignition of which is maintained at. the desired high point of 250 C-. or high-er. In' addition I increase the inflammability .of the fusee compound, increase the tenacity and force of flame of the fusee composition and increase the depth and intensity of the color and the brilliancy of the flame. This fusee is not readily extinguished under adverse conditions. Moreover the stability of the perchlorate (by reason of the employment of which the so-called perchlorate fusee is readily extinguished when thrown from a train or upon receiving a sudden shock) is modified byv the peroxid. so that the modified fusee is not readily extinguished by sudden shock or when thrown from a train.

In addition to the ingredients enumerated, I may employ a small quantity of chlorate, preferably chlorate of potassium, barium, sodium or ammonium, not QXCGt-Zfing substantially five per cent. of the entire 1 Thesaid chlorate is advancomposition.

perchlorate [tageous when'combined with a in atime burning railway signal fusee, inasmuch as such modified perchlorate I fusee will not be readily extinguished by sudden shock and the flame thereof will burn with continuity. Chlorate when used as set forth with perchlorate in a perchlorate fusee will not, however, produce increased depth and intensity of color of the flame. Moreover, as far as possible mixtures of chlorate and sulfur should be avoided unless an acid neutralizing agent be employed. These characteristics, namely, the increased depth and intensity of color and the greater brilliancy and more force of flame are imparted thereto, as I have found by my experiments, by the employment of peroxid as described. Moreover, the-said peroxid not only imparts the said characteristics, but when combined with perchlorate the fusee is not'readily extinguishable by sudden shock, and imparts tfzontinuity and tenacity to the flame ofthe usee.

Perchlorate fusees as heretofore manutwenty per cent. of potassium or other perchlorate combined with which are nitrate, sulfur and carbohydrate with charcoal and antimony, if desired, in substantially the following proportions: metallic nitrate to 95%, sulfur 3 to 23%, carbohydrate 1 to 11%, charcoal 1%, antimony 1%.

In accordance with my invention, I preferably provide as customary in the so-called perchlorate fusee, a suitable mixture, of perchlorate (preferably perchlorate of potassium, though I may employ any suitable perchlorate, such for example as barium, sodium or ammonium perchlorate), sulfur, carbohydrate, hydrocarbon or any other suitable carbonaceous material, and a metallic salt, such as metallic nitrate or oxid to which if desired I may add charcoal and used'to furnish the principal supply of oxygen, the sulfur mainly to increase combuss tion, the carbohydrate and the hydrocarbons 'or carbonaceous material to furnish carbon. and hydrogen to aidcombustion and to smooth and deepen the flame, and the metallic salt, preferably that of strontium, barium or sodium, toconstitute the base or. col-or ingredient.- While the proportions of these ingredientsmay be varied, they may be those previously stated with the admixture of a suitable quantity of peroxid, such, for example, as barium peroxid, strontium' -peroxid or sodium peroxid or any other suitable peroxid, in a small quantity, preferably not exceeding substantially eight per cent. of the entire mixture. The carbonaceous material preferably employed by me consists of rosin or red gum. charcoal and I sawdust and grease in suitable proportions. iThe redvgu-m employed is the powdered 1 bark of the red gum (E ucalg ptus rostrum),

factured usually contain from five or six to antimony. The perchlorate of'potassium is is'isdditioa, :1 may a a small quantity of, chlorate, such, for example, a's' fchlorate I have obtained sulfur '10 to ffcarbohydrate 2' to 7%,

hydrccarbom such as petroleum, paraffin, naphthalene or benzene 1 to 3%, perchlorate of-.potassii1m,'-of barium, of sodium'or of in making a so;called red burning fusee I'- ammonium 5 to 20%. In addition may employ a: small quantity of chlorate (of potassium, of barium, of sodium?" or of, am-

monium) not exceeding substantially five.

per cent;. of thefentire mixture.

burning fusee, II employ barium p'roxid employ strontium peroxid and in making a i s c-called yellow sodium perox id'. 30.

Extensive experiments carried out by me have shown thata fusee-composed flS'llGI-Elll 7 disclosed Will sucessfully meet the high tem- '-'perature of ignition test prescribedby the bureau for the safe transportation cf ex.- 5

plosi-vesl' Moreover, such fusee is found to beim-mune from spontaneous ignition. If I employ a chlorate as previously stated, I

. preferably introduce the chlorate to the exv tntpf about two or two and a half per cent. 4o

'tained that the fusee containlng'such quanof the entire'composition, and I have ascertity of chloratecis not liable to spontaneous ignition, as previously set forth. It will be i observed that int-he formula alcove set forth the quantity or pro 'aortiori of metallic nitrate, of sulfur and ofperchlorate exceed 1 as essential lngredients a perchlorate and a that of theperoxid, andwitli such relative proportions I- have obtained the best results.

The time burning railway signal fusee compound embodying my invention contains peroxid (any suitable perchlorate and any l suitable peroxi d being used) together'with s1'1lfur.

To'this composition I preferably add one or more ,of-.the other ingredients specified byrne," and for the best results I add metallic nitrate' and some suitable car 'bonace'ous' material.

I employ the term carbonaceous material toinclude fhydrocarbons', carbohydrates, carbons and other suitable carbon containing material. I

'- Having thus described one embodiment of. my invention, I desire itjto lie understood" thatjalthmlgh specific terms areyemployed,

'peroxid.

Preferably-in making a so-call led green burning fusee l' employ -of perox1d1less in amount than the 'sulfur;

the-following claims.v I

irflClaims 1. A time burning material, sulfur, perchlorate, and peroxid.

v1 -Q'. A "time burning railway signal fusee comprising a. metallic n1trate,: carbonaceous railway signal fusee" I comprising a metallic nitrate, carbonaceous "sense and not for purposes of limitation, the-scope of the invention being setforthin material, sulfur, perchlorate and strontium 3. time burning railway signal fusee including sulfur, perchlorate and peroxid.

at. A; time burning railway signal fusee i'ncluding' sulfu'r, perchlorate, and peroxid, the said ingredients beingcombined in such proportionsfas to produce a time burning.

.railWay signal .1 fuse'e compound burning with brilliancy, tenacity, intensity and force of flame, and not liable to spontaneous igni tion or combustion.

comprising metallic nitrate, carbonaceous '5. A. time" burning railway signal.. fusee. including sulfur, perchlorate, canb'onaceou's zma terial and peroxid. v J6. A time burning railway signal fusee material, sulfur, perchlorate and a quantity .7. A time burning railway signal fusee comprising metallic nitrate, carbonaceous material, sulfur, perchlorate and a quantity of peroxid less in amount than the metallic nitrate. 8.' A time burningrailway signal fusee comprising metallic nitrate, sulfur, carbohydrate, hydrocarbon, perchlorate and peroxid.

"9. A time burning railway signal fusee comprising metallic nitrate, sulfur, carbonaceous material, perchlorate, and not to exceed eight per cent. of peroxid.

'' 10, time burning rallway signal fusee com'prising a metallic, nitrate, carbonaceous material, sulfur, perchlorate and a small quantity of peroxid,j not exceeding substantially eight'per cent. of the entire composition, the ingredients: being combined in such proportions as to produce a time burning railway jS-i-gnal fusee compound bu-rning with brilli ancy, tenacity, intensityand force of flame, and not liable to spontaneous ignition or combustion.

' 11. A time burning rail way signal 'fusee comprising fifty to eighty per cent. metallic nitrate, ten to fifteen per cehtsulfur, three to tenpercent. carbonaceous material, five to twenty per cent. perchlorate and a uantity of peroxid notexceeding substantially eight per cent. of the entire composition. v 1 v 12. A time. burning railway signal fusee including sulfur, perchlorate and a small quantity of peroxid notexceedi'ng substantiallyeight per cent, of the entire composiits tion, thereby produeingfaftimeburnmg ilmy signal fusee compound burning with rilliancy, tenacity, intensity of color and orce of flame, and not liable to spontaneous gnition or combustion.

13. A time burning railway signal fusee omprising a metallic nitrate, carbohydrate,

ulfur, perchlorate, a small quantity of hlorate, and peroxid',.producing a readily gnitible, free burning, railway signal com- -o'und having brilliancy and force of flame nd which is not subject to spontaneous ombustion.

14:. A time burning railway signal fusee omprising a metallic nitrate, carbohydrate,

ulfur, perchlorate, a small quantity of po-' :ompound having brilliancy and force 'of' .lame, and which is not subject to spontaieous combustion.

16. A time burning railway signal fusee comprising a metallic nitrate, a carbohydrate, sulfur, perchlorate, a percentage of potassium chlorate less than the percentage of either the nitrate, sulfur or perchlorate, and a small quantity of peroxid not exceeding substantially eight per cent. of the entire composition, thereby producing a readily ignitible and free burning railway signal fusee compound, having brilliancy and force of flame, and'which is not subject to spontaneous combustion.

17. A time burning railway signal fusee including sulfur, perchlorate, carbonaceous material and peroxid, the ingredients be? ing combined in such proportions as to produce a time burning railway signal fuseecompound burnlng with brllliancy, tenaclty,

intensity and force of flame, and not liable to spontaneous ignition or combustion.

In testimony whereof, I have signed-my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

LOUIS s. ROSS.

- \Vitnesses IRVING U. TOWNSEND, ROBERT H. KAMMLER.