US3797412A

US3797412A - Apparatus for destruction of documents

Info

Publication number: US3797412A
Application number: US00184755A
Authority: US
Inventors: Paola V Di; R Allen
Original assignee: US Department of Army
Current assignee: US Department of Army
Priority date: 1971-09-29
Filing date: 1971-09-29
Publication date: 1974-03-19
Anticipated expiration: 1991-03-19

Abstract

Apparatus and a method for fully destroying papers, packaged paper and other documents or combustibles in a safe.

Description

Mar. 19, 1974 United States Patent 1191 EiPaola et al.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3/1944 Owen........ 8/1971 1 l/l97l i 1 APPARATUS FOR DESTRUCTION OF DOCUMENTS inventors: Vincent J. Dilaola, Elkton; Ralph 110/]8 R Kalkhof... 110/18 R x H. Allen, Churchville, both of Md.

The United States of America as Wm I e n w n me n ma LD 798 Pedersen....... 59! 2/1972 503 8/1972 Primary Examiner-Dennis L. Taylor Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Edward .J. Kelly; Herbert Berl [22] Filed:

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pparatus and a method for fully destroying papers,

(1 other documents or combustibles 4 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures APPARATUS FOR DESTRUCTION OF DOCUMENTS STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may be manufactured, used, and licensed by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

BRIEF SUMMARY Those in charge of classified or secret material sometimes must destroy combustible papers and documents as quickly as possible. Often these combustibles are stored in safes or cabinets. In emergency situations valuable time is required to unlock the safes. Sometimes combinations cannot be remembered, or the safes just seem to be impossible to open.

Even when the safes are open the material is slow to burn, books must be torn out page-by-page or shredded, and other bulky materials must be hand-fed pieceby-piece to the fire. They burn slowly and the ashes must be stirred and checked for unburned portions.

If a shredding machine is required it is expensive to buy, bulky to store, and expensive to maintain and check periodically to make sure it is in operating condition. Power failures could render. the shredder inoperable.

With the present apparatus and method combustibles can be destroyed much more rapidly. It is not necessary to remove the combustibles from the safe or other cabinet or container. It is not necessary to hand-feed the combustibles to a fire. It is not necessary to store large shreading apparatus nearby. And, it is not necessary to fumble for keys or try to remember lock combinations to open safes that just do not seem to open in an emergency with everyone excited.

IN THE DRAWING FIG. 1 diagrammatically illustrates part of the invention in one drawer of a file cabinet;

FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-sectional detail;

FIG. 3 illustrates an igniter and fusible plug;

FIG. 4 illustrates an oxygen bottle and igniter switch attached to the apparatus.

Cabinet 1 has drawers 2, 3 and 4 with handles 2a, 3a and 4a. Apparatus to assist in burning combustibles in drawer 3 is illustrated in detail. Similar apparatus could be incorporated for each drawer of the cabinet. A grid 5, of steel screen, for example, is supported by spacers 6 and a perforated oxygen tube 7 extends forwardly from opening 8 at the rear of the drawer and is preferably carried by the drawer. An oxygen supply tube 9 extends through the rear of the cabinet at hole 10 and substantially contacts igniter l1 behind fusible plug 12. Oxygen supply from pressurized bottle 13 is controlled by valve 14. Switch 15 sets off igniter 11.

In operation, one need only close igniter switch 15 and open oxygen valve 14. Igniter 11 and fusible plug 12 disintegrate and admit flaming fragments of igniter 11 to tube 7 which quickly sets fire to combustibles in the cabinet drawer. Such combustibles, in the presence of oxygen, are quickly destroyed. The carbon dioxide and other products of combustion escape through cracks around the cabinet drawer. However, if the cabinet is air tight then appropriate vents may be provided as illustrated at 16 as will be obvious to one skilled in the art.

In actual tests of the present apparatus and method, it was found, as exemplary, that approximately percent destruction was achieved in IS minutes. (Obviously this period could be shortened by simple changes such as increasing the rate of oxygen flow, or other.)

By way of comparison, the time would be approximately doubled for a person to destroy the material by many of the conventional methods.

The container remains hot and jammed closed making it very difficult for anyone to open it and giving additional time for the combustibles to burn completely.

One person can set off a multitude of containers very quickly instead of spending valuable time hand-feeding to a fire, or shredding and burning.

The drawings illustrate the equipment somewhat in detail, but are not precisely to scale. In an actual installation, the oxygen tube and steel screen may be very close to the bottom, utilizing very little of the cabinet space. Indeed the center trough customarily found in the bottom of a safe drawer may be adequate for one or more oxygen tubes. Or, the oxygen may be intr0- duced through holes in the steel bottom of the drawer, which rises abovethe center trough. Other details of design may be resorted to as will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

If desired, other gases, or liquids, could be introduced along with oxygen to facilitate the combustion process. However, such gases or liquids should remain outside of the container to conserve valuable space inside, to facilitate servicing and so on.

We claim:

1. In combination with a safe or storage container, means to introduce oxygen-bearing gas thereto, comprising a conduit leading from an external source of supply to a wall of said safe or container, passage means throughsaid wall and leading to the storage space therein, and passage means'adjacent to the bottom of a compartment in said safe or container to conduct and distribute said oxygen-bearing gas beneath the storage space to facilitate the burning of combustibles therein;

said apparatus further comprising ingiter means to initiate combustion, and a fusible plug adjacent to said igniter means, said igniter means acting to incapacitate said fusible plug upon ignition and to pass oxygen-bearing gas to said safe or container.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1 and a grid to support combustibles out of contact with the bottom of a compartment to permit free gaseous oxygen to flow beneath the combustibles to assist in the burning thereof.

3. Apparatus as in claim 2 wherein said passage means adjacent to the bottom of a compartment comprises a perforated conduit extending from said passage means through said wall into the space beneath said grid.

4. Apparatus as in claim 3 wherein said perforated conduit is carried by a drawer in said safe or container and is adapted to register with said passage means through said wall when the drawer is closed.

Claims

1. In combination with a safe or storage container, means to introduce oxygen-bearing gas thereto, comprising a conduit leading from an external source of supply to a wall of said safe or container, passage means through said wall and leading to the storage space therein, and passage means adjacent to the bottom of a compartment in said safe or container to conduct and distribute said oxygen-bearing gas beneath the storage space to facilitate the burning of combustibles therein; said apparatus further comprising ingiter means to initiate combustion, and a fusible plug adjacent to said igniter means, said igniter means acting to incapacitate said fusible plug upon ignition and to pass oxygen-bearing gas to said safe or container.