US1671398A - Fire extinguisher - Google Patents

Description

May 29, 1928.

J. BOYD FIRE EXTINGUISHER' Filedv Ja.A 1,9, 1927 Patented May .29, 19,28.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN R. BOYD, OF-GALENA, O HIO, ASSIGN-OB OF ONE-FOURTH TO GUSTAV MEYER, 01? WESTERVILLE, OHIO; ONE-FOURTH TO MICHAEL B. DBISCOLL, 0F WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; AND ONE-HALF TO CURA B. BOYD. i

FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

Applicatipn led January 19, 1927. Serial No. 162,115.

This invention has to do with fire extinguishers, .and particularly' with fire extinguishers in which the lire damping me- -dium is carbon tetra chloride.

It is well known that chemically pure carbon tetra chloride has no aflinlty for metals and will not injure wood or fabrics. In other words, it may be said to'bea neutral compound'. Itis, therefore, the ideal agent for use in fire extinguishers.

It is non-explosive and is a poor conductor of electricity. Because of these qualities it is especially valuable and safe in the case of fires involving explosive chemicals and those where live electric conductors are exposed. l

The reason it has not come into more common use is the fact'that it is not generally known, that, while it has la decided tendency to undergo a deteriorating change when for any considerable time subjected to air under pressure, it has. no such tendency with air at atmospheric pressure. As a result of this lack of' information, fire extinguishers. designed to discharge carbon tetra chloride under pressure have uniformly failed to make proper provision for relief of the air pressure as soon as the flow of the carbon tetra chloride was stopped. The primary object of this invention is to do this. It consists of providing means whereby, when air under pressure is cut off from the carbon tetra chloride chamber, the compression is relieved and atmospheric pressure is quickly restored to said chamber. It is among the objects of the invention that such relief of pressure shall be effected automatically, and positively. It is also among the objects ot' this invention to provide a selffcontained structure free from awkward joints, and of sulciently strong material to withstand heavy pressure, and of such thickness as to reduce to a minimum any tendency. for in. filtration of air through the .walls of the containingchambers. Still further it is of the objects of this invention to close the passage from the compressed air chamber -to the carbon 'tetra chloride chamber with a non-leakable air valve, suchas a Kero test valve, so that pressure may be retained indefinitely. l Y

The structure whereby the above objects are. attained will be fully set forth and de scrlbed later and in connection with lthe accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is .a top plan view of my' extinguisher while Figure 2 is a longitudinal section 'of my extinguisher taken online 2-2 of Fig. 1', showing parts of the device in elevation. j Y

Referring 4more specifically to the structure shown in the drawing it will be seen that my extinguisher is made as a compact unitary structure having a head 5 formed of -is bi'azed thereto. The o posite end of tank 8 is' closed with a forge steel cup or dome 10 swaged and brazed thereinand at'the same end of my device Atank 9`is closed by a cup or dome 11 alsol swaged andbrazed Y in place. l y

On head 5 are located the va-rious operatinparts of, my invention. hese parts comprise a needle point valve 12 in communication with tank 9, a Kero test air control valve 13, and an air pipe 14 connecting these two valves. Mounted on the air pipe 14 is an air filler valve 15 for charging tank 8. Operatively conaected withv air control valve 13 by means of accurately cut gears 16 and 17 is a Kero Itest relief valve 18 mounted on the chloride tank 9. Valve 13 is provided with a handle 19.`

Gears 16 and 17 are so adjusted that valve.

-13 is opened and"valve 18 is closed automatically, and vice versa. The port in relief valve 18 is relatively small. In actual practiceit is about 31E inch in diameter.

' Carbon tetra chloride tank 9 is provided 4with a suitably capped filler opening 20,

sure ( gauges 29 and 30 are mounted on tanks 8 an 9 respectivel v It has been found7 byeexperiment that better results are obtained by surrounding* the air tank with the carbon tetra chloride'tank. As is very desirable in a device of this character .the mode of o eration is very simple. The device being c arged with both carbon tetra chloride and compressed air the operator opens needle valve 12, then turns handle 19 thereby openinv valve 13 and simultaneously closing relief valve 18. Pressure now being on the carbon tetra chloride, a stream is pla ed on the iire through either or both pieces of hose 27 and 28the stream being controlled by valves 23 and 24 respectively.

As soon as the fire is under control, han! dle 19 is turned in a reverse direction, thereby closing valve y13. This shuts off the pressure from the carbon tetra chloride tank. At the same time relief valve 18'is opened, thereby permitting the pressure on the carbon tetra chloride to escape, thus restoring atmospheric pressure to the carbon tetra chloride tank. It will be seen, therefore, that the one great objection to the use of carbon tetra chloride as a fire extinguishing medium has been removed, so that now this valuable, though relatively inexpensive agent is available to all. `'Ihe function o needle valve 12 is to control the pressure on the carbon tetrachloride independently of valve 13.

tinguishing of fires, even though early dis-v covered, because plug 31 will melt first, then plug 32, whereupon explosion of either the air tank or'carbon .tetra chloride, or both, will be avoided.

Having accurately described my invention,

what I claim as newv and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A fire extinguisher for using carbon tetra-chloride comprising, invcombination, a solution tank, a valve-controlled discharge therefor, an air compression tank,` means providing a assage between said tanks, plural means or controlling air in said passage, and means operatively connected with` one of said passage air controlling means connecting said tanks, a reliefvalve mount-l ed on the solution tank, and means automat- .ically operated by said control valve for opening said reliefl valve when said control valve is closed and vice versa.

3.,A lire extinguisher for using carbon tetra-chloride comprising, in combination, a solution tank, a discharge hose therefor, a compressed air tank, a head for said tanks frolried with integral brazingltlanges secured to their respective tanks, means mounted on said head providing avpassage between` said tanks, means for controlling air in said passage, and means mounted on the solution tank operatively connected vwith the means for controlling air in the air passage whereby opening the means for controlling air in the air passage will automatically close the means mounted on the solution tank and vice versa.

4. A fire extinguisher for using carbon tetra-chloride comprising, in combination. a solution tank,- an air compression tank', a valve-controlled passage between said tanks and a relief valve for the solution tank operatively connected with the control valve and so constructed that opening and closing the passage valve closes and opens, respectively, the relief valve.

5. A fire extinguisher for using carbon tetra-chloride comprising, in combination, a solution tank, a valve-controlled discharge therefor, an air compression tank, means providing a passage between said tanks,

lmeans for controlling air in said passage. and

means operativel connected with said air control means whereby closing said means for controlling air automatically establishes latmospheric pressure in the solution tank.

6. A fire-extinguisher for using carbon `tetra-chloride comprising, in combination, a

solution tank normally under atmospheric ressure, a valve-controlled discharge thereor, an an" compression tank, means providinga 'passage between said tanks, means for l controlling pressure in said passage, and means on said solution tank operatively connected with said means for controlling pressure whereby closing of said pressure controlling means automatically re-establishes atmospheric pressure in the solution tank.

JOHN R. BOYI).

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