US2727811A - Gas guard - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 20, 1955 F. H. BUNNELL GAS GUARD 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 6, 1951 SEUR- Dec. 20, 1955 F. H. BUNNELL GAS GUARD 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Eiled April 6, 1951 INVENTOR /5' FrecZHBunneZZ 6 ANDRA/5v5 United States Patent GAS GUARD Fred H. Bunnell, Jackson, Mich.

Application April 6, 1951, Serial No. 219,718

1 Claim. (Cl. 48-193) lThis invention relates to a vented gas trap.

In gas conduits which are buried in the ground and are extended through a wall into a building, it frequently happens that gas leaks from the pipe and collects in the ground forming a pressure area which causes the gas to enter the building rather than to escape through some opening to the atmosphere. lIt is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a trap which is adapted to substantially encompass the gas conduit adjacent the building wall and includes means for conducting the gas to the ground surface for venting the gas to the atmosphere.

Another object of this invention is to provide in a gas trap of this kind a perforated collector plate within the trap which will prevent dirt or other material from entering the collector chamber and thereby reducing the capacity of this chamber.

A further object of this invention is the construction of a perforated collector plate which supports the guard and the weight of the earth above it, thereby not transmitting this load to the pipe. The collector plate is laid just over the gas pipe, and the bearing area on both sides of the pipe is the support for the structure, not the pipe itself.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention consists in the arrangement, combination and details of construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a detailed side elevation partly broken away of a gas trap constructed according to an embodiment of this invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary plan view of the device.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5 5 of Figure 2.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary plan view partly broken away of the outer end of the trap.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 7 7 of Figure 6.

Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional View taken on the line 8 3 of Fig-ure 6.

Referring to the drawings the numeral 10 designates generally an inverted U-shaped housing which is adapted to engage over a gas service pipe 11 which is extended through a building wall 12 and projects horizontally from the wall 12 through the ground 13 within which the pipe 11 is embedded. The housing 10 is formed of an upper flat horizontal wall 14 and vertically disposed side walls 15. The side walls 15 at a point upwardly from the lower edges thereof are each formed with a horizontally disposed shoulder 16 against which a gas collector plate 17 is adapted to engage.

The collector plate 17 is provided with a plurality of ICC openings or perforatons 18, and in the applied position of the housing 10 about the gas pipe 11 the plate 17 is adapted to rest on the top of pipe 11. Thel plate 17 provides with the top wall 14 a gas collecting chamber 19 within which any gas leaking from the pipe 11 or travelling therealong is adapted to be collected.

One end of the chamber 19 is closed by means of an end plate 20 secured to the top and side Walls of the housing 10 by means of fastening devices 21. The top wall 14 of the housing 10 terminates outwardly from the inner ends of the side walls 15 so as to form an opening 22 whereby the chamber 19 may be communicated with a vertically disposed tubular Vent member generally designated as 23. The vent member 23 is formed of inner and outer walls 24 and 25 and opposite side walls 26.

The inner wall 24 is substantially longer than the outer wall 25 as shown in Figure 5 and projects downwardly against the inner end of the housing 10 and closes the inner end of the gas collecting chamber 19. The tubular member 23 is rectangular in horizontal section and an upper extension tubular member 23a telescopes over the lower tubular member 23. The upper tubular member 23a may be limited in its telescoping of the lower member 23 by means of the back-fill of earth.

The upper tubular member 23a has a cap or top plate 28 secured to the upper end thereof by fastening devices 29. The outer wall 30 of the upper tubular member 23a is formed with a T-shaped opening 31 ha'ving the horizontal slot or opening 32 extending transversely across the upper end of the tubular member 23a and the stem or vertical slot portion 33 extending downwardly from the horizontal slot 32. The closure plate 24 as shown in Figure 3 projects at its outer edge beyond the outer wall 3ft as indicated at 34, and the projecting top portion or cap 34 is formed with an elongated opening 35 through which a testing device or instrument may be extended and then extended through the vertical slot portion 33 into the vent tube formed by the telescoping tube sections 23 and 23a.

An extension housing member 10a is adapted to be coupled to the outer end of the housing 14) being of the same inverted U-shape as the housing 10, and a perforate extension plate f 17 bears against inner shoulders 16a formed in the side walls 15a of the extension housing 10a. The extension housing 16a is frictionally connected or coupled to the inner housing 10 by means of an inverted U -shaped coupling member 36 which is of inverted U-shape and is formed with a pair of oppositely extending and laterally spaced apart slots 37.

The coupling member 36 is adapted to be substantially friction tight within the collecting chamber 19a formed in the extension member 10a and also to be friction tight within the inner collecting chamber 19. By means of the resilient or friction coupling 36 the horizontal pipe encompassing housing 10 may be extended to any desired distance along the length of pipe 11.

in the use of this gas trap the housing 1t) is applied over the gas pipe 11, and the telescoping vent members 23 and 23a are mounted on the inner end of the housing 10. The side walls 26 of the lower vent member 23 project downwardly over the side walls 15 of the housing 10, and the lower end of the inner wall 24 which projects downwardly below the chamber 19 is formed with a slot 38, and a pair of spacer bars 39 are secured to the outer sides of the extensions of the inner Wall 24 With their outer faces aligned with the outer face of the member 23a so that the inner wall 24 will be vertically disposed, and the upper vent member 23a may also be vertically disposed and in substantial contacting relation with the outer side of the building wall 12. With the housing 10 in substantial encompassing relation over the gas pipe 11 and the vent members or sections 23 and 23a projecting upwardly from the housing 10, any gas which might escape from the pipe 11 within the area of the housing 10 or the extension housing 10a will be collected within the collecting chamber 19, and this gas will then rise upwardly through the vent members 23 and 23a until the gases are discharged from the upper vent member 23a through the T-shaped opening 31.

The perforated plate 17 within the housing 10 provides a means whereby dirt or other clogging material will be prevented from entering the upper collecting chamber 19 of the housing so that this housing will be kept open and unobstructed for the reception of any gas or gases which may creep along the pipe 11 or may be discharged from this pipe 11 by reason of a leaky connection, crack or the like.

What is claimed is:

A gas trap for mounting about a gas pipe, said trap comprising a housing having a hoiizontal top wall and spaced vertical depending walls, the inner sides of each vertical wall having a horizontal shoulder, a perforated plate in said housing bearing against said shoulder and forming with the top wall of said housing a gas collecting chamber; said plate adapted to overlie the top of said pipe, an end wall secured to said housing between said plate and the top wall of said housing, a vertically disposed vent tube having front and rear Walls rising from the end of said housing, said rear wall comprising an eX- tension of said end wall, said vent tube having a closed upper end and a T-shaped slot in the upper end of said front wall adjacent said closed end, said vent tube communicating at its lower end with said gas collecting charnber, said T-shaped slot permitting the insertion of an instrument into said chamber and the escape of gas therefrom.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 315,082 Stutz Apr. 7, 1885 315,363 Westinghouse Apr. 7, 1885 315,443 Randol Apr. 7, 1885 320,002 Ricketts June 16, 1885 321,637 Pew July 7, 1885 342,143 Smith May 18, 1886 1,804,896 Sullivan May 12, 1931 2,160,748 Maynard May 30, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS 337,879 Great Britain Nov. 13, 1930

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