US915431A - Apparatus for extinguishing fire and for destroying vermin. - Google Patents

Description

G. BARKER.

APYLIOATIOH FILED JUNE 16, 1907.

Patented Mar. '16, 1909.

-ie 74 %2A%m but Fire and for Destro A fication I call the purpose of extinguishing fire; and I 'do "sulfuric acid.-

OFFICE.

HARKER, OF PETERSHAM, NEAR SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA.

APPARATUS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRE AND FDR DESTROYIN G VERMIN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 16, 1909.

.. Application filed. June 15, 1907; Serial No. 379,186.

Tocll whom it mayconcem:

Be. it known that I, GEoRGE HARKJ'JR, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and residing at Petersham, -near Sydney, in the State of New South Wales, Commonwealth of Australia, have invented new and useful Apparatus for Extinguishing Vermin, of which the followmg is a specification.

My invention aims toflood ships holds, store' rooms, and other inclosed spaces enerally with certain gases, so as to disp ace airtherefrom and in place thereof fill such spaces with an atmosphere containing less oxygen than isrequired to sustain ordinary combustion and respiration. In this specigases forming such an atmosphere inert gases.

I am aware that sulfurous acid gas. and carbon dioxid have been used heretofore for not claim broadly the discovery of a process of preventing combustion or respiration by the employment of a wholly or partially inert atmosphere of gas or gases.

My object is rather to obtaina ra id. su

ply at nommal cost of inert gases w 'ch Wlll ave no harmful effects upon the structure in which same are used or on-the contents thereof. Sulfur fumes are more or less effective for the purposes I have in view, but they are injurious to certain goods,more partlcularly in the presence of water or aqueous vapor, and are-especially destructive to the metal work in the bilges of ships owing. to the presence of .water therein by which they are absorbed .and ultimately converted un-' der atmospheric influence more or less into,

I utilize the waste gaseous products of combustion from an ordina furnace in which fuel. isburned, prefer hi d1tions. which will give a gaseous product conta' a minimum proportion of free oxygen, but first coolandclean'said gases by;

. passlngthem through. a scrubber or through a water jet condenser, thereafter forcing.

them by means of a ump or .blower into the holds or other chamhiers upon which it is required to operate. Such gases contain too httle free oxygen to support ordinary combustion or respiration; particularly if the furnace is operated without an overplus airsupply. In order to-efiectcombustion with a view to obtain a suitablegaseous product, I may operate the furnace under normal or y under con' .pheric air feed,

factory ma be an ordinary are conveyed to the hold,

' and the forcing pum producing) 'extra draft-preferably the latter because then the proportion of free oxygen may be kept lowest. The other portions of the gaseous product are incapable of supporting ordinary combustion or respiration. I also fit to's'aid pump or blower a double intake, one

for the. inert gas feed and one for atmos- -fitting both" with stop valves, whereof the gas intake valve is o ened to supply inert as for the purpose of lling the chamber, an the airintake valveis opened when the chamber is to be cleared of gas by displacing the same withvair, and thus restoring it to normal habitable condition.

In practice I fit a gas'take off pipe from the funnel or Smokestack of the furnace, which in the case of a steamer or a boiler furnace; this take 0 pipe should be fitted below the funnel damper, and itself must be provided with a damper to cut ofl communication between the funnel and the blower, cooler and other parts unless when the ap aratus is ,in use. Ihrough this intake the fiirnace gases storeroom, or other chamber to be operated generating on, passing on their way thereto through the cooler and cleaner or. blower,an d being distributed through t e necessary number of ducts, one or more as circumstances may require, each fitted with a damper or valve of butterfly or other convenient pattern. A ship, building or other inclosed place in which the invention is to be used may be fitted with a permanent pipe system for purposes of effective distributi .1 of the gases.

The annexed sheet of drawings represents in diagrammatic form the apparatus requisite for working my said 'inventionin practice.

It is of course not necessary that the gas furnace should be associated with a steam oiler. A special furnace may be provided for the urpose this would be necessary particular-y 1n the case of a sailing ship as a donkey boiler furnace might not be large enough to produce'a suflicient volume of inert gases to effectively fill the holds rapidlyin the event of anoutbreak of fire. or the purpose of obtaining gaseous products containing a minimum found preferable to 0 erate the furnace 'under forced or induced draft. The presence pfcarbonic oxid gas is immaterial where the even be advantageous used to destroy vermin.

It is not practicable 10s of free oxygen it g s their temperature and foulness; in order to make said gases available for practical'use I cool and wash them before assing them into the ships hold and other p acesin whichthe process is to be 0 essary to provi exit of the air or gases which it is necessary to displace in operatin 'the process. In the case of ship cargoes 0 coal, wool, or other goods liable curity against outbreak of fire is obtained by periodically flooding the holds with inert gases or keeping the same flooded therewith so that the atmosphere thereinwill be made too poor inoxygen to support combustion produceor to promote free oxidatlonand consequent heating. It has been proven experimentally that flame is extinguished in an atmosphere whoseoxygen content has been substantially reduced by the addition of inert gas or gases;

;break of fire has occurred, flooding of the .hold or other chamber with furnace gases in v revent conflagration by sti 'ng the the manner described will at once extension of the flame. 1

, It is obviously necessary particularly in the case of a ship that due precaution be observed that living spaces in actual use while the rocess is in'operation should be amply ventilated to insure removal of inert'gas which may leak into such spaces.

In the case of steamships at sea the fuel used would be coal, and coal may be used in land installations in harbor fire boats and elsewhere generally with com lete effectiveness. In the case of special p ant for utilizcoIre as fuel owing to the relative cleanness of the gases produced and the conse uent saving of injury to vessels, rooms an the contents thereof.

A is a' steam boiler with furnace, and B funnel or smokestack with damper valve (3.

D is gas ofi'take with-damper valve E, leading to the suction of centnfugal'bloWer F, to which suction also an air intake pipeG is branched. 5

H is a damper valve in the air pi e G.

J is the gas .cleaner. and cooler w ich is interposed between the pump or blower F and the funnelB.

The main gas duct K leads from the blower delivery to the holds or chambers, being broken into as many branches, as .L L L etc. each provided with a damper valve M, as the local circumstances of each particular case may call'for. -The spindles of these erated. It is of course nece suitable vents to permitthe funnel damper to spontaneous combustion, se-

where therefore an out through the the invention I prefer howevei' to use valves should be carried outside the hold or building in order that the valves may be operated externally thereto.

.The cooler and cleaner J is shown as a vertical chamber with middle se tum N, water s raying head 0, water fee plpe P, and

rain R.

Inoperation,

C and the air damper H are wholly or artially closed and the dampers E o ene the water service P turned on, the b ower F started, and the d'rainR opened. Such of the dam ers M as control the gas service ducts L J, &c. are also opened to direct the gas where required. current of furnace gas will now pass from the "funnel B through the the blower F and the ucts L L &c. to the holds or chambers beingoperated on, flooding.the same and displacing the atmos here partially or wholly therefrom and ren er ing ipe D, the cooler J the furnacebeing in action,

ordinary combustion and respiration 1mpossible. When it is required to clear the chamber so operated upon to allow men to enter the same, the damper valves 0 and H are opened and the valve E closed, where- IFIPOH atmospheric air is drawn by the blower through ducts L L &c. into the chambers to which ing the'inert gases therefrom and restorlng a normal atmospheric condition within them.'

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters atent, is

Apparatus for extinguishing fire and destroymg vermin, comprising in combination with a furnace producing inert gases, a flue, a damper therein, a valved duct from said flue below said damper leading to a scrubber, a duct from said scrubber to a centrifugal blower, a gas trunk from said blower, and valved branches therefrom, for conductin the inert gasesto the desired places, a valve atmosphere inlet pipe connected with said duct between the said scrubber and the said centrifugal blower, the scrubber consisting of a vertical closed cylinder provided with a central partitlon extending nearly to the bottom thereof and with a water head having a perforated spraying plate therein and a water-pipe leading thereto, waste-trap arranged at the bottom of said cylinder.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEORGE HARKER. Witnesses:

N. RILEY, W. J. DAVIS.

the air intake G and forced same lead, gradually displacand a valved.

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