Claims
- 1. A linear fire extinguisher for aircraft and other similar applications where a linear uniform distribution of a fire extinguishing agent is necessary along a long linear distance comprising:
- a closed, elongated high strength metal tubular container having an axis along which it is elongated and having its interior volume substantially totally filled with a fire extinguishant and pressurized, means for explosively cutting said container along a pair of substantially opposed lines extending the length of said container as measured along said axis, said opposition providing a net reaction force of substantially zero on said tube when cut, said cutting means including a pair of linear shaped explosive charges in substantial respective contact with said container along substantially all of said pair of lines to thereby provide a uniform radial distribution of extinguishant with a pair of fan-like spreadings along the length of said container within a time period of less than ten (10) milliseconds of explosively cutting said container.
- 2. A linear fire extinguisher as in claim 1 where said shaped charges are internal to said container.
- 3. A linear fire extinguisher as in claim 1 where said pair of linear shaped charges lies in a common plane which also includes said axis of said container.
- 4. A linear fire extinguisher for aircraft and other similar applications where a linear uniform distribution of a fire extinguishing agent is necessary along a long linear distance comprising:
- a closed, elongated high strength metal tubular container having an axis along which it is elongated and having its interior volume substantially totally filled with a fire extinguishant and pressurized, means for explosively cutting said container along a line extending the length of said container as measured along said axis, and arranged in a helical-like pattern to provide a substantially reduced net reaction force on said tube when cut compared to the use of a single line parallel to said axis, said cutting means including a linear shaped explosive charge in substantial respective contact with said container along substantially all of said line to thereby provide a uniform radial distribution of extinguishant with a fan-like spreading along the length of said container within a time period of less than ten (10) milliseconds of explosively cutting said container.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This is a continuation-in-part application of application Ser. No. 043,928 filed April 29, 1987, entitled "Linear Fire Extinguisher" and now patent 4,854,389. The present invention is directed to a linear fire extinguisher and more specifically to a fire extinguisher especially useful for the dry bays and fuel tanks in airplane wings and fuselages.
High pressure bottles or canister type powder suppressors have been used in the wing areas of aircraft. These are explosively actuated to provide a quick opening valve, such as illustrated in Tyler patent 4,003,395, assigned to the present assignee. In addition to the relatively high weight of the system it has a distribution of the point source type. A linear type distribution of flame-quenching agent has been proposed in Mitchell patent 3,482,637, using a detonator cord along a tube containing the fire extinguishing agent. Here the application is in coal mines using tubing such as acrylic plastic materials. It has a distribution time of the flame quenching agent of about 40 milliseconds. Both the material and distribution time are unsuitable for aircraft use. Another similar fire extinguisher of either molded plastic or very light weight metal which is easily rupturable is shown in Finnerty invention registration H141, published Oct. 7, 1986. The Finnerty device is useful for ammunition fires or vehicular fires, but because of the lack of pressure and the material used it is unsuitable for aircraft use.
It is the general object of the present invention to provide an improved linear fire extinguisher.
In accordance with the above invention there is provided a linear fire extinguisher comprising a closed elongated high strength metal tubular container having an axis along which it is elongated and having its interior volume substantially filled with a fire extinguishant. The container is pressurized so that when it is cut the extinguishant is substantially distributed within a time period of less than 10 milliseconds. Explosive means are provided for cutting the container along a single line or pair of lines substantially parallel to the axis and extending substantially the length of the container as measured along the axis to provide a net reaction force which is relatively low.
US Referenced Citations (11)
Foreign Referenced Citations (3)
| Number |
Date |
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| 2305763 |
Aug 1973 |
DEX |
| 467899 |
Dec 1951 |
ITX |
| 262697 |
Dec 1926 |
GBX |
Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
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| Parent |
43928 |
Apr 1987 |
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Patent Grant
4938293
