US1280168A

US1280168A - Chemical fire-extinguishing apparatus.

Info

Publication number: US1280168A
Application number: US8996116A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles B Connely
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1916-04-08
Filing date: 1916-04-08
Publication date: 1918-10-01
Anticipated expiration: 1935-10-01

Description

C. B. CONNELY.

CHEMICAL FIRE ExTIAIGuIsHING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED APR.8, I9I6.

1,280, 16.8. Patented Oct. 1,1918.

CHARLES' B. CONNELY, OF SCOTIA, NEW YORK.

CHEMICAL FIRE-EXTINGUISHING APPARATUS.

Application filed April 8, 1916. Serial No. 89,961.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES B. CONNELY,

p a citizen of the United States, residing at Scotia, county of Schenectady, State of New .York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Chemical Fire-Extinguishing Apparatus, of which the following 1s a specification.

My inventionl relates to chemical fire extinguishing apparatus and has for its ob]ect the provision of means whereby the production of fire extinguishing fluid is rendered continuous and readily controllable. In chemical fire extinguishing apparatus heretofore constructed, it is customary to have a definite amount of acid which is emptied into a mixing chamber containing the chemical compound which reacts with the acid to form the extinguishing tiuid. Frequently there is no demand for all of the fluid so formed and it is therefore necessary to waste a large part of the materials since the lmixing chamber must be cleaned out each time it is used. One of the objects of my invention is tolovercome this objection and produce only the amount of fluid desired without wasting any substantial amount of materials.

In carrying out my invention, I provide a relatively large supply of both the acid and chemical' compound and control. the discharge of these materials into the mixing chamber so that the fluid will be produced only as it is used and when the use of the iiud ceases the supply of the acid and compound is automatically cut off and the production of fluid stopped. I preferably have the container for thematerials in duplicate so that one container may be replenished while the other is in use. In this way the production of fluid goes on continually as long as necessary or desired. In one form of my invention, the supply of fiuid to the mixing chamber is controlled by the pressure in the chamber so that as soon as a definite pressure is reached in the mixing chamber, the supply ceases and immediately starts again when the pressurefalls. A pump, which may be electrically operated, forces the chemical solution into the mixing chamber, and when the supply is shut off by reason of the pressure attaining a predetermined maximum, a by-pass is automatically opened around the pump so that the latter may continue to operate without doing any work until the pressure drops, whereupon Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 1, 1918.

' the by-pass is closed and the pump takes up the load once more. I also provide means whereby water under pressure takes up the extinguishing gas when desired. Other ob- .jects and purposes of my invention will appear in the course of the following specification in which I have described my invention embodied in concrete form for purposes of illustration.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating one form of my invention, Figure 1 is a diagrannnatic view of my improved apparatus; Fig. 2 is a` plan view of the same partly in section; Fig. 3 is a detail of one of the pressure governors; and Fig. 4 is a View of my apparatus located upon an automobile.

Referring to the drawing, 10 and 11 represent two tanks for holding the chemical fluid which would ordinarily be solution of bicarbonate of soda in water. These tanks are arranged in duplicate so that one will be filled while the other is in use. 12 is the mixing chamber which will have its interior protected by a lead lining in the usual way. 13 and 14 are lead lined acid chambers which are also in duplicate for the purpose of re filling while the apparatus is in operation. As `shown the two acid chambers are attached to the mixing chamber and the latter is on trunnions so that by turning it throu l1 an'angle of 90o one or the other of the acid chambers will be set into action. As shown in Fig. 1 the acid chamber 13 is in a vertical position so that the acid therein will flow into the mixing chamber. Connection vis made from the tanks 10y and 11 in parallel to the mixing chamber through a pipe l5 so that the chemical fluid may pass from either one of the chemical tanks into the mixing chamber, the

valves

17, 18, 19 and 20 being supplied for cutting off the tank which is not in use. Pipe 16 carries the water from the source of supply to the tanks.

The chemical fluid is forced from the tanks into the mixing chamber by a pump 21 which may be of any standard design,

preferably electrically operated.

In order to control the generation of gas, I provide a valve between each 'acid chamber and the mixing chamber and a similar valve between the chemical tanks and the mixing chamber. These valves are controlled by Ithe pressure in the mixing chamber so that when the pressure reaches a predetermined maximum, tlie supply of acid and chemical fiuid is cut off. The valve 22 which controls the passage. from the acidV chamber to the mixing` chamber may be of any suitable type. As shown it comprises a valve plug 22 which engages a valve seat 23 to close the passage. This valve is carried by a lever 2l pivoted at The valve is pivoted to the lever intermediate its ends and the free end is connected to a dia phragm QG which operates to close the valve when the pressure in the chamber reaches a predetermined point. ysav jfor instance one hundred pounds per square inch. When t-he pressure falls below this point, a spring 27 opens the valve in a manner well understood in the art. Valve 28 controlling the passage from the tanks to the mixing chamber is similar in construction to valve Q2 but is provided with an additional valve plug Q9 controlling a by-pass `around the pump E21. lVhen the pressurel is below the predetermined point at which the valves are` set to close, the valve being open, the chemical fluid will be pumped from the pipe 15 through the valve 30, and pipe 31 to the mixing chamber. -iWhen the pressure valve closes the by-pass will beopened around the pump at valve plug tl'so that the pump may continue to operatel without load. The pa.,- sages for the acid and chemical fluid are so proportioned with reference to each other that a complete chemical reaction ensues in the mixine chamber. A pressure gage 32 indicates the pressure in the chamber when the pump is pumping fluid into the chamber. The water supply is connected to pipe 33 and a valve 3l is supplied for controlling the admission of water direct to the mixing chamber as hereinafter described.

A detail of the pressure valve is shown in Fig. 3. This shows a hand wheel 35 for adjusting the diaphragm through stem 36 and a second hand wheel for adjusting the spring. The discharge of the gas from the mixing chamber is through pipe 37 which may be provided with connections for more than one hose 38. The chemical tanks are each provided with an opening 39 having a cover l0 for filling and a similar opening 41 and cover 42 are provided in the acid chamber.

AsL thus constructed and arranged, the operation is as follows: The `

tanks

10 and 11 4being supplied with a suitable charge of lchemical material which will ordinarily be bicarbonate of soda, the valves 1S and 2O will be opened to supply water to these tanks to make aA proper solution. The acid chambersl I3 and l being also filled with acid. ordinarily sulfuric acid, the valve 30 will be opened and the pump Q1 started. There heilig no pressure at starting in the mixing chamber. the valve 2S is in open position. that is, in position to admit fluid through the, pipe 8l and valve '32 is likewise open to admit acid into the. mixing chamber. The pump will now pump chemical Huid into the mixing chamber and by'` reason of the acid admitted from the acid chamber, gas will be rapidly generated which may be discharged through the hose in a manner well understood. lVhen the pressure in the mixing chamber rises to, say for instance, one hundred pounds per square inch, both of' the pressure valves close, thereby cutting off the acid and also the chemi-v cal fluid. The closing ot the valve 28 opens the bypass around the pump so that the pump may continue to operate without load. lVhen the 'pressure falls due to the gas being consumed, the valves will again open and supply the acid and chemical fluid as before. These valves will continue to open and close as thel pressure rises and falls although the pressure will never vary to any considerable extent. lVhen the supply ot chemical fluid in one tank is exhausted, the valves controlling it may be closed and the supply renewed. In the meantime the other tank will be utilized. The same is `true ot the acid chambers, it only being necessary to turn the acid chamber on its axis to bring the full chamber into action and place the empty one in position to be filled. When the operation is sto ped, there will be substantially no materia in the chemical chamber and there will therefore be no l waste.

It will be noted that I provide means whereby the water supply may be charged with gas for fire extinguishing purposes. In order to do this, it is only `necessary to adjust the pressure valves so that the pressure as indicated at the gage will be substantially equal to the water pressure. The water from the supply pipe may therefore enter the mixing chamber by the openin of valve 3st and be discharged through the ose just as the gas is discharged.

It will be seen that I have supplied means' whereby the generation `of gas will go on 'ontinuously and indefinitely and when the operation is over, there `are no materials to be wasted. The supply of material may be replenished without interfering with the operation of the apparatus and the pump need never be stopped when the apparatus is m use.

While I have described my invention as embodied in concrete form and as operating in aspecific manner in accordance with the v)rovisions of the patent statutes, it should e understood that I do not limit my invention thereto, since various modifications thereof' will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, without departing from the `spirit of. my invention, thc scope ot which is lset forth in the annexed claims.

W hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters latent ot' the United States, is

l. A chemical fire extinguishing apparatus comprising a mixing chamber, chamber arranged to feed acid to the mixing chamber, a tank for the chemical fluid, means for delivering the fluid into the mixing chamber and means for automatically controlling the discharge of acid and fluid to the mixin chamber in accordance with the pressure in said chamber.

2. A chemical re extinguishing apparatus comprising a mixing chamber, an acid chamber arranged to feed acid to the mixing chamber, a tank for mixing chamber to generate gas and means for automatically controlling the generation of gas in accordance with the pressure in the mixing chamber.

3. A chemical fire extingu'ishing apparatus comprising a mixing chamber, an acid chamber arranged to feed acid to the mixin chamber, a plurality of tanks for the chemical fluid, means for delivering fluid 4. A chemical re extinguishing apparatus comprising a mixing chamber, an acid chamber arranged to feed acid to the mixinga byand means whereby when the pressure in reaches a predeteracid chambe comprising a mixing chamber, an acid chamber arranged to feed acid to the mixing chamber, a tank for the chemical fluid, a pump for f chemical fiuid into the mixing chamber to generate gas, a bypass around the pump, and means whereby the bypass is opened and the discharge of acid and fluid to th off When the pressure in the mixing chamber reaches a predetermined value.

6.- A chemical fire extinguishing apparatus comprising a mixin chamber arranged to chamber, a tank for the chemical source of supply of water connected to said tank, means for delivering chemical fluid .d to the mixing chamber in accordance With the pressure in said chamber, and means for admitting Water from the source of supply direct to the mixing chamber.

chemical fire extinguishing apparatus comprising a mixing chamber for generat' 8. chemical fire extinguishing apparatus comprising a rotatable mixing chamber, two rs at right angles to each other mounted thereon so that W en one is in vertical position for use, the other will be horizontal position for charging.

In Witness whereof, I have hereunto my hand this 6th day of April 1916.

' CHARLES B. CONNELY.

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