US3587745A - Roof mounted foam generator with automatically opening ventilator - Google Patents

Abstract

A WATER POWERED FOAM GENERATOR SUSPENDED FROM THE ROOF OF A BUILDING AND HAVING ITS AIR INLET AILGNED WITH AN OPENING IN THE ROOF IS INTERCONNECTED WITH A VENTILATOR WHICH COVERS THE OPENING AND IS PROVIDED WITH DOORS THAT ATOMATICALLY OPEN WHEN THE GENERATOR STARTS TO OPERATE. THE VENTILATOR IS PROVIDED WITH SPRINGS URGING THE DOORS TO OPEN, A LATCH HOLDING THE DOORS CLOSED, AND A DEVICE FOR RELEASING THE LATCH. THE FOAM GENERATOR HAS A WATER DRIVEN VERTICAL SHAFT WHICH CARRIES A MEMBER THAT OPERATES THE LATCH RELEASE DEVICE WHEN THE SHAFT ROTATES IN RESPONSE TO THE FLOW OF WATER TO THE GENERATOR.

Description

United States Patent [72] inventors Charlesw. Perry Belleville; Benjamin Wendroii, Teaneck, NJ. [2!] Appl. No. 812,235 [22] Filed Apr. 1, 1969 [45] Patented June 28, 1971 [73] Assigriee Walter Kidde & Company, Inc.

Belleville, NJ.

[54] ROOF MOUNTED FOAM GENERATOR WITH AUTOMATICALLY OPENING VENTILATOR 2 Clalms, 3 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 169/15, 98/85 [5|] Int. Cl. A62c 35/00 [50] Fieldofsearch 169/15, 14, 2:49/3 l; 98/85, 86; 415/41 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,884,847 5/1959 Otto 98/86 3,004,485 10/1961 Bristol 98/86X 3,323,438 6/1967 Korff 98/86X 3,441,086 4/1969 Barnes 169/15 Primary Examiner-- Lloyd L. King Assistant Examiner-Thomas C. Culp, Jr. Attorney-Darby & Darby ABSTRACT: A water powered foam generator suspended from the roof of a building and having its air inlet aligned with an opening in the roof is interconnected with a ventilator which covers the opening and is provided with doors that automatically open when the generator starts to operate. The ventilator is provided with springs urging the doors to open, a latch holding the doors closed, and a device for releasing the latch. The foam generator has a water driven vertical shaft' which carries a member that operates the latch release device when the shaft rotates in response to the flow of water to the generator.

PATENTEU JUH28I97I 1745 INV NTORS CHARL S W. PERRY BENJAMIN wsuonorp BY v M AGENT PATENTEUJUNZBIHYI 3587,7145

' SHEET 2 OF 2 i ll F l G 3 INVENTORS ARLES W. PER NDR NJAMIN WE ROOF MOUNTED FOAM GENERATOR WITH AUTOMATICALLY OPENING VENTILATOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to high expansion foam fire extinguishing apparatus and more particularly to foam generators which are suspended from the roof of an enclosure and utilize outside air drawn through an opening in the roof.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the past, horizontally oriented high expansion foam generators such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,340 have been installed in buildings either by mounting them in openings in the vertical outside walls of the building or by mounting them on the roof and utilizing duct work to conduct the foam into the building.

In many instances, particularly in buildings of the warehouse type it is advantageous to employ water powered foam generators, of the type shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,393,745 and 3,441,086, which can be vertically oriented and suspended beneath the roof of the building.

In such installations, it is desirable that the generators be positioned at regularly spaced intervals in alignment with openings in the roof so that outside air, free of smoke contamination, is used in producing the foam.

In order to prevent rain and snow from entering the building and heat escaping from the building, it is highly desirable to utilize ventilators which seal the openings when the generators are not in operation.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a ventilator and foam generator arrangement wherein the ventilator normally seals the roof opening and is automatically and quickly opened to admit air in response to the operation of the foam generator associated therewith.

Another object is to provide such an arrangement wherein the ventilator is latched in the closed position and is unlatched by the operation of the generator.

Another object is to provide such an arrangement which is simple and inexpensive to construct and install.

In accordance with the present invention the foregoing objects are accomplished by providing in a fire extinguishing system for an enclosure including a vertically oriented water powered foam generator within the enclosure having a water driven shaft carrying an air fan and having an air inlet, means providing an opening in the enclosure, the generator being mounted with its air inlet adjacent the opening to draw inlet air through the opening, and a water supply system for the generator including a valve for controlling the flow of water to the generator, the combination of a ventilator mounted at the opening having door means for normally closing the opening, means for biasing the door means in the opening direction, latch means for holding the door means closed, means for releasing the latch means to allow the door means to open, and means carried by the shaft for actuating the latch releasing means when the shaft rotates in response to opening of the valve.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the invention has, been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal view partly in section of a ventilator and foam generator positioned at an opening in the roof of a building.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a portion of the arrangement shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the ventilator latching and latch releasing mechanisms.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the latching mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings in detail there is shown the roof 10 of a building having an opening 11 therein, a ventilator assembly 12 positioned over the opening 11 and including a metal plate member 14 resting on the roof l0 and having an opening 15 therein concentric with the opening 11, a water powered foam generator 16 suspended from the plate member 14 and having an air inlet 17 aligned with the opening 15, and a supply 19 of water and foaming solution mixture under pressure.

The ventilator assembly 12 also includes a pair of angle irons 20 and 21 extending along the edge of the plate member 14, a pair of doors 22 and 24 pivoted on the angle irons by means of pins 25, triangular end walls 26 and 27, and springs 29 at each of the pivot points for opening the doors.

A channel member 30 secured to the plate member extends across the opening 15 and a pair of channel members 31 and 32 extend vertically upward from the center of the channel member 30.

The doors 22 and 24 are held in the closed position against the action of the springs 29 by a latching arrangement including a latching bar 34 mounted on a rotatable rod 35 extending through the channel members 31 and 32, and a pair of coil springs 36 and 37. The spring 36 is provided with a loop 39 on one end thereof which loosely engages a pin 40 extending upwardly from the bar 34. The other end of the spring 36 is permanently connected to the door 22. The spring 37 has one end permanently connected to the door 24 and its other end is provided with a loop 41 which loosely engages a pin 42 extending downwardly from the bar 34. The rod 35 extends past the channel member 32 and is provided with an arm 44 which extends horizontally at right angles to the rod 35.

A latch release arrangement is provided which includes a vertical rod member 45 and a spring 46 connected between the arm 44 and a point near the bottom of the channel member 32. The rod member 45 is pivotally mounted on the edge of the channel member 32 by means of a pair of sleeves 47 and is provided with a short horizontally extending arm 49 on the upper end thereof and a longer horizontally extending arm 50 on the lower end thereof. The short upper arm 49 is normally positioned under the arm 44 of the latch rod 35 to hold the latching bar 34 in a horizontal position against the action of spring 46. The rod member 45 is provided with horizontal pins (not shown) extending therethrough above the sleeves 47 to prevent the rod member 45 from sliding vertically downward under the pressure of spring 46.

The foam generator 16 is of the type shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,086. The generator includes a fan 51 mounted on the upper end of a shaft 52 which is driven in the direction of the arrow (FIG. 2) by a water spray arrangement (not shown) positioned within a perforated cylindrical foam forming wall 54 provided at the lower end of the generator. The construction and operation of the water spray arrangement is shown and described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,441,086 except that the rotary coupling 53 is positioned at the bottom of the generator to prevent interference between the inlet water piping and the latch release members.

The fan 51 includes blades 55 extending radially outwardly from a hub 56. The hub 56 is secured to the shaft 52 by means of a nut 57 threaded onto the end of the shaft.

A plate 59 is secured to the top of the hub 56 and has an upwardly extending arm 60 for engaging the arm 50 of the rod member 45 to actuate the latch releasing arrangement.

The supply I9 of foaming solution mixture includes piping 61 connected to a source of water under pressure, a valve 62, a source of foaming solution 64, and a mixing device 65 for adding the proper amount of foaming solution to the water flowing through piping 61 to the generator.

In operation, when a fire occurs in the building, the valve 62 is opened, (either manually or by a tire detecting mechanism) and water flows through the piping 61 to the foam generator 16. As the water flows through the mixing device 65, foaming solution is drawn from the supply 64 and added to the water flow at a predetermined rate. The mixture of water and foaming solution enters the generator 16 and flows through the water spray arrangement driving the shaft 52 and the fanl in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 2. As the fan starts to rotate, the arm 60 of the plate 59 strikes the arm 50 of the rod member 45 and rotates the rod member 45 to move the arm 49 out from under the arm 44. The spring 46 then rotates the arm 44 downwardly placing the latching bar 34 in a vertical position. As the bar 34 moves toward the vertical position, the loops 40 and 41 slide off the pins 40 and 42. The doors 22 and 24 are now released, and springs 29 cause them to pivot about the pins 25 into the open position.

The opening of the doors is completed within one revolution of the fan 51, and, as the fan continues to rotate, it draws outside air through the open doors and forces this air through the perforations in the wall 54. The water spray arrangement driving the fan also sprays the mixture of water and foam forming solution onto the inner surface of the wall 54 where it becomes entrained with the air to form high expansion fire fighting foam.

it will be seen from the foregoing that the present invention provides a simple and inexpensive ventilator and foam generator arrangement wherein the ventilator normally is latched in the closed position to seal the roof opening and is automatically unlatched by the operation of the generator and quickly opens to admit outside air.

We claim: I

l. The combination with a roof having an opening extending therethrough, structure overlying said opening and a vertically oriented foam generator suspended from said structure and a shaft having an encircling hub at the upper end thereof provided with a projection; said structure comprising a plate member having anopening concentrically arranged with respect to said first-mentioned opening and having said foam generator secured to the underside thereof with said shaft and said hub centrally positioned with respect to said openings, an upright member extending along opposite edges of said plate member, a pair of doors each pivoted between said upright members at opposite ends for urging said doors into an open position, a member secured to the upper side of said plate member extending radially across said opening, a pair of upright members secured to opposite sides of said last-mentioned member and facing each other, a rotatably mounted, horizontally disposed rod extending through said last-mentioned members having an arm at one end thereof, a latch member secured to said rod for rotation therewith having pin means at each end thereof, a spring member releasably connected to each of said pin means and each secured to one of said doors to maintain said doors in closed position, a vertical rod rotatably mounted on one of said last-mentioned upright members having an upper arm and having a lower arm, said upper arm engaging said first-mentioned arm to prevent said horizontal shaft from turning and thereby maintaining said latch member in position, and a spring for urging said firstmentioned arm against said upper arm, said lower arm being inthe path of said projection so that upon rotation of said foam generator shaft, said projection will turn said vertical rod and move said upper arm away from said first-mentioned arm whereby said last-mentioned spring will rotate said horizontal rod to move latch members into a position to release said spring members and cause said doors to be opened by said first-mentioned springs.

2. Structure according to claim 1 wherein said first-mentioned upright members are angle irons each having a horizontal pin adjacent both ends thereof, said doors each being pivoted on a pair of pins, and said first-mentioned springs include a spring curled around each of said horizontal pins with one end of each spring being biased against the base of said angle irons and the other end of each spring being biased against doors.

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