US1878063A

US1878063A - Protective envelope for liquid fuel containers

Info

Publication number: US1878063A
Application number: US465354A
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph A Todd
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1930-07-02
Filing date: 1930-07-02
Publication date: 1932-09-20
Anticipated expiration: 1949-09-20

Description

Sept. ZG, 1932. Y J. A. TODD 1,878,063v

f PROTECTIVE ENVELOP'E FOR LIQUID FUEL CONTAINERS Filed July 2, 1930 against the calamity of Patente' .su 20,1932

PATENT f oFFlcE Josera a. ronn, or sioux crrY, Iowa PBOTCTIVE ENVELOPELFOR LIQUID FUEL CONTAINERS Application led J'uly 2, .1930. Serial No. 465,354.

My invention relates to fuel containers that. are used on vehicles subject to the danger of being smashed in accidents such as the gasoline tanks of aeroplanes or of automobiles.

The purpose of m invention is to provide protection against t e spraying of the contents of such a tank in the event of a smashup violent enough to rend the seams of the lo allow the contents to be sprayed out in quantities.

The invention is aimed particularly at the protection of the occu nts of aeroplanes, re in the event of an accident to the plane.

More deaths are caused by the burning of wrecked planes than by the collision with the earth in falls of planes.

With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more and illustrated in the accompanying draw- 'in in which:

ig. 1 is a longitudinal, sectional vievr through a gasoline tank embodying my invention. Y

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, sectional view through the filling neck of the tank.

Fi 3 is a similar view 'showing a modiiied crm of the invention and Fi 4 is a detail, sectional view taken o the line of Fig. 2.

y l have used the reference character 10 to indicate the sheet metal walls of a fuel tank such as the gasoline'tank ot an aeroplane.

u The illing neck is shown at 11 and the cap therefor at 12.

The discharge pipe 13 is provided with a valve 14 by means of which the pipe line may be cut olf at the tank. The pipe 13 communicates with the carburetor of the plane engine, The valve 14 is adapted to he manipulated vfrom the cockpit by means of a control rod 15.

When a plane falls, the pipe line will or tank or to open the tank in any way that will fully set forth, pointed ont in my claims,

dinarily be broken but the greatest danger is notgcaused by the breaking of the pipe line but rather by the rending of the seams, the

Vtank splitting open and spraying the gasoline in lar e quantities in all directions. The opening o the tank is very seldom caused by 55 piercing of the walls thereof but rather by the breaking open of the seams. If the seams are so strongly welded as to prevent this, the tank will burst under the terrific impact of a falling collision with the earth. In' any o0 event the usual result in a plane crack-up is for the tank to rip open so as to spray gasoline in all directions.

The present invention remedies this condition providing a protective envelope for 05 the tank which will have suilicient resiliency so that itwill. not burst with thehursting of the tank and adapted to retain the liquid which escapes from the tank Within its en-. closure. go

The envelope is illustrated at 16 and forms a complete enclosure around vall sides of the tank.l Openings are left only for the filling neck l1 and the feed line 13 and air vent pipe 17.

The envelope 16 is constructed of substan ,tially pure para rubber having maximum stretching qualities such as the rubber that is used in inner tubes, toy balloons and the like. The thickness of the envelope wall will be a@ sucient so that piercing of the envelope by the tank will be a rare occurrence. To this end the envelope is upwards of one-fourth of an inch in thickness for the usual aeroplane fuel tank.

envelope however will tend to stretch closed around any cuts that may be produced in it and the amount of gasoline which can be sprayed through said cuts under the force of a collision will be quite small compared with the amount of gasoline which can escape through the gaping openings in thevtank.

Although all of the gasoline may escape from the tank, the larger portion of it will e retained within the rubber envelope Jfor a sufiicient length of time to very greatly retard'the fire hazard and to give the passenger an opportunity toescape from the plane b efore being burned. Y

In the usual case of burning of a fallen plane, the plane bursts into Haines immediately upon striking the earth. This gives the passenger practically no opportunity for escape. The present invention will in many instances prevent the occurrence of a fire and inl many more instances retard the fire to such an extent that opportunity will be given for escape. In either case, it serves the purpose of saving human lives. l

The envelope 16 fits loosely around the tank l() in order that it may more readily adapt itself to any shape; the tank may be twisted in two under the force of the collision.' The loose condition of the envelope reduced the frictional engagement between the tank and the envelope to a minimum. Consequently the tank may be distorted within the envelope very rapidly and the envelope may yet slide around the tank to adapt itself to the change in form thereof.

The preferred form of construction of the envelope at the filling neck is as shown in Fig. 2. A collar 18 of rigid material such as hard rubber is secured to the neck portion 19 ofthe envelope by any suitable means such as by vulcanizing or by wrapping with binding wire 20.

The diameter of the collar 18 is considerably greater than that ofthe neck 11. A cover 21 is threadedy onto thevcollar 18. It will now be seen that although the envelope is provided with an opening to allow access to the filling neck that it is not rigidly attached to the filling neck and consequently that there will be very little tendency for the filling neck'to vtax the envelope.

lThe collar 18 is attached to the neck 11 by means of a resilient diaphragm 22 of the same material as the envelope, the diaphragm being secured, around the periphery of the collar 18 and around the neck 411. The diaphragm 22 serves to seal the envelope against spillmg of gasoline into the envelope while t e tank is being lled. The same type of connection as that described in Fig. 2 may beemployed to seal' the envelope along the pipe line 13 and the vent pipe 17. The cover 21 would of course be omitted in this case and the diaphragm 22 employed to close the envelope.' In the form shown, the envelope is attached rigidly to the pi e line 13 and the vent pipe 17.

Suc a rigid attachment isshownin Fig. 3 in conjunction with the neck 11. The neck 19 ofthe envelope. is secured directly to the tank neck 11 by means of binding 20.

, It will be understood thatany of the rub-- ber substitutes having substantially 'equal properties of electricity, toughness and nonporosity may be employed in the envelope.

Some changes may be made inthe construction and arrangement of the partsof my invention without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modlfied forms of structure 'or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination with a rigid container for highly infiammable liquid fuel for use in connection with a vehicle subject to the danger of very serious collisions,a protective envelope of thick, highly stretchable rubber or material having properties of elasticity, toughness or non-porosity substantially equal to those of rubber, substantially completely inclosing the tank and fitting loosely thereover, and means for snugly securing the envelope about the filling neck and-pipe line of the, container, said means including substantially cylindrical openings in the envelope, said orifices shaped to follow the Icontour of the said filling neck and pipe line` and securely bound thereto.

2. In combination with a rigid container for highly inflammable liquid fuel for use in connection with a vehicle and the inlet neck of the container, a protective 'envelope of thick, highlystretchable rubber or material having properties of elasticity, toughness or non-porosity substantially equal to those of rubber, and means including cylindrical openings in the envelope securely bound to the said inlet neck to prevent inlet of the fluid to the envelope.

3. In combination with ay rigid container for highly infiammable liquid fuel for use in connection with a vehicle andtheinlet neck of the container, a protective envelope of thick, -highly stretchable rubber or material having properties of elasticity, toughness or non-porpsity substantially equal to those of rubber, and means including cylindrical openings. in the envelope securely bound to' the said inlet neck to prevent inlet ofthe fiuid to the envelope, and additional means .for ,protecting the said inlet neck comprising av cylindrical semi-resilient member threade at its upper end and snugly secured to said' envelope by suitable securing means, and a protecting cap threadably received on said upser portion of the semi-resilientmember. igned this 3rd day of June, 1930, in the county of Woodbury and State of Iowa.

Y `[JOSEPH: aroma.

,nev