US3840074A

US3840074A - Three way remote controlled dual agent fire fighting turret

Info

Publication number: US3840074A
Application number: US00397573A
Authority: US
Inventors: L Clark
Original assignee: Rockwood Systems Corp
Current assignee: Rockwood Systems Corp; American LaFrance LLC; Ansul Inc
Priority date: 1973-09-17
Filing date: 1973-09-17
Publication date: 1974-10-08
Anticipated expiration: 1991-10-08
Also published as: NO743327L; DE2444462A1; FI248374A; FR2243710B3; AU7217474A; FR2243710A1; JPS5056797A; JPS5731909B2; CA998599A

Abstract

A dual-agent fire fighting turret has an annular first conduit for a first fire extinguishing agent concentrically positioned around a second conduit for a second fire extinguishing agent. The first and second conduits are contained within a rotating outer jacket. The first conduit is connected in flow communication to a first, dual-arm, yoke outlet conduit, which in turn is pivotably connected in flow communication with a first delivery tube. The second conduit is connected in flow communication with a second outlet conduit which is in turn pivotably connected in flow communication with a second delivery tube. A hollow elevation shaft is slidably mounted within and extends through the first and second conduits, the upper end being pivotably connected to the delivery tubes and the lower end having a control handle attached thereto. The control handle is also connected to the base of the rotating jacket so that vertical adjustment of the control handle adjusts the elevation of the delivery tubes, and rotation of the control handle orients the delivery tubes along a selected azimuth. Control cables are threaded through the elevation shaft and may be operated by control cable levers to operate cable actuated flow control devices located in the delivery tubes.

Description

m1 3 3,840,074 [451 Oct. 1974 THREE WAY REMOTE CONTROLLED DUAL AGENT FIRE FIGHTING TURRET [75] Inventor: Langdon S. Clark, Cape Elizabeth,

Maine [73] Assignee: Rockwood Systems Corporation,

South Portland, Maine 22 Filed: Sept. 17, 1973 21 Appl. No.: 397,573

[52] U.S. Cl 169/24, 239/396, 239/587 [51] Int. Cl B05b 1/16 [58] Field of Search 169/24, 2 R, 15; 239/396,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,567,136 3/1971 Garrett 239/587 3,764,075 10/1973 Gagliardo 239/587 X Primary Examiner-Robert S. Ward, Jr. Assistant Examiner-Michael Y. Mar

[57] ABSTRACT A dual-agent fire fighting turret has an annular first conduit for a first fire extinguishing agent concentrically positioned around a second conduit for a second fire extinguishing agent. The first, and second conduits are contained within a rotating outer jacket. The first conduit is connected in flow communication to a first, dual-arm, yoke outlet conduit, which in turn is pivotably connected in flow communication with a first delivery tube. The second conduit is connected in flow communication with a second outlet conduit which is in turn pivotably connected in flow communication with a second delivery tube.

A hollow elevation shaft is slidably mounted within and extends through the first and second conduits, the upper end being pivotably connected to the delivery tubes and the lower end having a control handle attached thereto. The control handle is also connected to the base of the rotating jacket so that vertical adjustment of the control handle adjusts the elevation of the delivery tubes, and rotation of the control handle orients the delivery tubes along a selected azimuth. Control cables are threaded through the elevation shaft and may be operated by control cable levers to operate cable actuated flow control devices located in the delivery tubes.

19 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEU 31574 3.840.074

SHEET 20F 7 mml our aim 3 PATENItD I SHE" W T 3.840.074

PATENTED BET 1374 SHEET 8 OF 7 THREE WAY REMOTE CONTROLLED DUAL AGENT FIRE FIGHTING TURRET The present invention relates to the art of fire fighting turrets, and more particularly to dual agent fire fighting turrets, i.e., those which simultaneously or alternately, at the option of the operator, deliver two different fire extinguishing agents upon a fire. Dual agent fire fighting turrets are known, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,567,136 issued Mar. 21, 1971 to G. A. Garrett.

This patent shows a rotating conduit positioned within a stationary jacket to permit full rotating of the turret without entangling the fire extinguishing agent feed conduits. Other patents of interest which attempt to deal with problems similar to those dealt with by the present invention, are U.S. Pat. No. 2,698,664 and 2,698,665, both issued Jan. 4, 1955 to H. G. Freeman, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,729,296 issued Jan. 3, 1956 to G. T. Gurney. All these prior art embodiments suffer from one or more shortcomings which are overcome by the novel design of the present invention, as will become apparent in the following description.

Fire fighting turrets are normally mounted on the roof or deck of a fire fighting truck. The truck normally carries storage tanks, one or more of which may be pressurized, containing the fire extinguishing agents and, if one of the fire extinguishing agents is water, suitable connection means to a source of water under pressure, such as a fire hydrant.

While dual fire extinguishing agent turrets are highly desirable because their ability to bring to bear two different types of fire extinguishing agents makes them more effective in fighting various types of fires, there are certain problems associated with such turrets.

One of these is the difficulty of providing remote manual control of the delivery tubes of a dual agent turret. Remote manual operation of the turret is highly desirable since it permits operation of the turret from inside the vehicle enclosure. Thisaffords the operator protection from the heat and smoke of the fire and permits operation closer to the fire than would otherwise be the case.

Another disadvantage of prior art dual agent fire turrets is that the conventional concentric tube construction of such turrets reduces the cross-sectional flow area for a turret of given diameter, thereby increasing the presure drop of the fire extinguishing agents passing therethrough.

Yet another shortcoming with the prior art fire turret designs is that when it is desired to provide remote flow control of the extinguishing agent delivery tubes, as by connecting suitable flow control devices or nozzles located in the tubes to control cables which lead to the operators station, such cables impede free rotation of the turret and require either a reversal of direction after 360 of rotation, or the provision of some means to avoid twisting of the cable by rotation of the turret.

Finally, the delivery tubes of prior art dual agent fire turrets are offset one from the other in the azimuth plane, so that upon switching from one agent to another, reorientation of the azimuth alignment of the turret may be required to place the second agent at the desired point.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome the foregoing and other shortcomings of prior art dual ery tube azimuth orientation, elevation, and individual delivery tube nozzle adjustment, are all capable of remote manual control.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a dual agent fire fighting turret of low pressure drop characteristics capable of simultaneously or alternately delivering two separate fire fighting agents through their respective delivery tubes free of crosscontamination one with the other.

It is another object of the invention to provide a dual agent remote controlled fire fighting turret having separate delivery tubes located along a common centerline in the azimuth plane, and having nozzle control cables running from the delivery tubes to a remote control station, which cables do not impede rotation of the turret.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a dual fire extinguishing agent fire fighting turret providing an annular first conduit (for a first fire extinguishing agent) concentrically positioned around a second conduit (for a second fire extinguishing agent).

Both the first and second conduits are contained within and in part formed by a rotating outer jacket mounted within a fixed base, and extending to the bottom thereof. The rotating jacket and fixed base together comprise the main body portion of the turret, which is closed off at either end by an upper and a lower cap. The first conduit leads to a first outlet .conduit formed in the shape of a dual-arm yoke, and then to a first delivery tube which is connected in flow communication to the dual-arm yoke by a pivot mounting means. The second conduit is connected to a second outlet conduit which in turn is pivotably connected to a second delivery tube. An elevation shaft is concentrically positioned within said main body portion and passes entirely therethrough, extendingbeyond the upper and lower ends thereof.

In one aspect of the invention, the rotating outer jacket is closed at its upper end by an upper cap and the fixed base is closed at its lower end by a lower cap, and the elevation shaft extends through these upper and lower caps. The elevation shaft is slidably mounted in the main body portion of the turret with the top portion of the elevation shaft pivotally engaged with the delivery tubes so that vertical movement of the elevation shaft relative to the main body portion of the turret adjusts the elevation of the delivery tubes by rotating them about their pivot mounting means. ln this specification and in the claims, description of the elevation shaft as being pivotably engaged with" the delivery tubes means that the shaft is so connected to the tubes that movement of the shaft will pivot the delivery tubes so as to adjust the elevation thereof. The elevation shaft need not necessarily be directly connected to both tubes but, as shown with reference to the specific embodiments described in more detail below, the shaft may be connected to one delivery tube, and the other delivery'tube may be connected to the shaft-connected tube so that the other tube is constrained to pivot with the shaft-connected tube.

Reference in this specification and in the claims to delivery tubes being adjustably connected to another component of the turret means that the delivery tubes have pivot or any other suitable connections which permit the delivery tubes to traverse in a substantially vertical plane so that the elevation of the discharge ends of the delivery tubes may be adjusted.

A preferred means in accordance with the invention for slidably seating the elevation shaft within said main body portion of the turret is to provide a guide sleeve through said main body portion, and to slidably mount the elevation shaft within said sleeve.

Another aspect of the invention provides for one or more control cables to pass through the elevation shaft, which is made hollow for this purpose, from the lower portion thereof through and out the upper portion thereof, thence to suitable cable-actuated delivery tube control devices such as nozzles, valves or the like located in the delivery tubes.

In another aspect of the invention, a handle is affixed to the lower end of the elevation shaft, and cable control handles, such as, e.g., levers, are affixed to the ends of the control cables extending from the lower portion of the elevation shaft.

The cable control levers and the elevation shaft handle are thus located near each other for the convenience of the operator.

In yet another aspect of the invention, the two delivery tubes are connected, one to the other, and at least one of the tubes is adjustably connected, as more fully described hereinbelow, so as to permit the interconnected tubes to stay at the same elevation nozzle as they traverse in a vertical plane.

The lower portion of the rotating jacket is provided with a suitable handle to permit easy rotation of the jacket within the fixed base, thereby orienting the delivery tubes along any selected azimuth line. In accordance with a preferred aspect of the invention, the elevation shaft control handle may be connected by suitable linkage to the lower portion of the rotating jacket whereby the one handle serves both to adjust azimuth orientation of the delivery tubes (by rotating the rotating jacket within the fixed base) and elevation of the delivery tubes by vertically moving the elevation shaft relative to the main body portion of the turret.

In another aspect of the invention, the elevation shaft is directly connected to one only of the delivery tubes, preferably to the first delivery tube, and the first and second delivery tubes are connected to each other by delivery tube connecting means, whereby movement of the first delivery tube carries the second delivery tube with it.

The advantages of a dual agent fire turret in accordance with the present invention, which include overcoming the shortcomings of the prior art discussed above, will be more readily appreciated by considering the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, including the attached drawings.

In the following detailed description, the components of the structure through which the first fire extinguishing agent passes are described as liquid foam" or simply liquid components; the components through which the second fire extinguishing agent passes are described as powder components. It will be appreciated that the use of a liquid foam extinguisher and a dry powder extinguisher is only one possible combination of fire extinguishing agents. Any other combination of agents may be employed with the turret of the present invention, such as water and a liquid foam, water and a powder, or any other fire extinguishing agents in any desired combination. Further, it is conceivable that the fire turret of the invention could be mounted in an upside down position relative to the embodiments illustrated in the Figures. This type of mounting might be called for if the turret were placed on a platform mounted at the end of an hydraulically operated boom. In such case, the operator would stand on control handle side of the mounting panel (e.g., the bottom side of mounting panel 14 as viewed in FIG. 3).. Accordingly, reference in the claims to upper and uppermost and lower" and lowermost portions of the apparatus and its components is made relative to the conventional mounting position shown in FIG. 1. As used in the claims therefore, the terms upper and uppermost" as applied to the apparatus and/or its component parts shall means that portion of the apparatus or components at or nearest the location of the delivery tubes (

items

46 and 60 in the drawings), and the terms lower" and lowermost similarly applied shall mean that portion of the apparatus or components at or nearest the operators control handles (

items

68, 78 and in the drawings).

The fire turret of the present invention may of course be affixed to any suitable fire extinguishing apparatus, such as, for example, a fire truck, a fire boat, a stationary or a moveable platform, e.g., a platform at the end of a hydraulically operated boom, etc.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic view in elevation, of a fire truck equipped with a dual agent fire turret in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view in elevation of the dual agent fire turret shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partially broken-away rear view in elevation of the dual agent fire turret shown in FIGS. I and 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional plan view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a sectional plan view taken along line 5-5 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention, with arrows showing the flow path of fire fighting agents therethrough;

FIG. 7 is a partially broken-away rear view in elevation of the dual agent fire turret shown in FIG. 6',

FIG. 8 is a sectional plan view taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional plan view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a partially broken-away side view in elevation of the turret of FIG. 6; and

FIG. 11 is an outline, broken-away side view in elevation of the turret of FIG. 6, showing the arrangement of control cablesand levers to remotely operate cable actuated control devices on the discharge tubes;

FIG. 12 is a partially broken-away side view in elevation of a third embodiment of the invention, one which is provided with hydraulic control means.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a fire truck generally indicated at 10 having a dual agent fire.turret generally indicated at 12 mounted on the mounting panel 14 of body enclosure 20 of truck 10. A first, liquid foam fire extinguishing agent tank 16 and a second, powder fire extinguishing agent tank 18 are located within the body enclosure 20 of fire truck 10. A compressed gas canister 22 is connected to tank 18 via

line

24 and 26.

Liquid inlet conduits

28 and 28a lead from tank 18 to fire turret 12. By suitable operation of the valves V28, V28a and V30 by control means (not shown) liquid and/or powder fire fighting agents are delivered under pressure to fire fighting turret 12.

An operators station generally shown at 32 is provided within body enclosure 20. The operator may observe the fire and the direction of the stream of fire fighting agents discharged from fire turret 12 through windows 34 located in body enclosure 20 and in the door 24 provided therein. Obviously, fire fighting turret 12 may alternatively be mounted atop the cab portion, generally designated at 36, of fire truck in which case fire turret 12 would be operated by an operator seated within the cab 36 of truck 10. As described in detail below, fire turret 12 has a control handle 68 to permit remote operation of fire turret 12 from operators station 32; fire turret 12 also has a direct control handle 15 to permit direct operation. For this purpose, an operators deck 17 and handrails 19 are provided atop body enclosure 20.

Referring now to FIGS. 2, 3, 4 and 5, fire turret I2 is shown in greater detail.

Liquid inlet conduits

28 and 28a (FIG. 3) enter fixed base 38 from opposite sides thereof. Powder inlet conduit 30 enters the lower portion 38a of fixed base 38. Flange portion 38b of fixed base 38 is positioned above and secured to mounting panel 14 by bolts 37. As best seen in FIG. 3,

liquid inlet conduits

28 and 28a are in liquid flow communication through an annular conduit 88, with a'dual arm, yokeshaped first outlet conduit 40, the individual arms of which are designated, respectively, 400 and 40b.

Arms

40a and 40b are each in flow communication with a pivot box 42. Pivot box 42 is in turn connected in flow communication with first (liquid) delivery tube 46 (FIG. 2). First delivery tube 46 is fitted with a breech 45 in which are formed air entry holes 43. Pivot box 42 and first delivery tube 46 are supported on a pivot shaft 44 (best seen in FIG. 3)'which is journaled in

bosses

48a and 48b located, respectively, in first outlet con duit

arms

40a and 40b.

The lower portion of first

outlet conduit arms

40a and 40b each terminate in outer jacket 50, which is rotatably mounted within fixed base 38 as described in greater detail hereinbelow. The uppermost portion of outer jacket 50 is closed by an upper cap 52. The lower portion 38a of fixed base 38 is closed by a lower cap 54.

Powder inlet conduit 30 is in flow communication through a second annular conduit 90 with a second outlet conduit 56, and then with a second (powder) delivery tube 60. Second outlet conduit 56 is connected to outer jacket 50 via upper cap 52. Second outlet conduit 56 may be made of any suitable flexible tubing or hose so that it can freely flex and deflect to accomodate changes in the relative positions of first delivery tube 46 and second delivery tube 60.

Delivery tube connecting means is provided by a connecting clamp 62 which connects first delivery tube 46 to second delivery tube 60.

A hollow elevation shaft 66 extends through the main body portion of fire turret 12, the main body portion consisting of fixed base 38 and outer jacket 50, enclosed at either end by, respectively, upper cap 52 and lower cap 54. As best seen with reference to both FIGS. 2 and 3, the upper end of elevation shaft 66 is connected by elevation shaft linkage 82 and pins 84 to bosses 83 formed at the rear-most portion of pivot box 42. A control handle 68 is 'pivotally attached to 'the lower end of elevation shaft 66 by connector pins 70 and control handle linkage 72 mounted on lower cap 54.

A liquid foam control cable 76 is threaded through elevation shaft 66 and cable sheath 76A. The lower end of liquid foam control cable 76 is connected to cable control knob 88a which may be rotated to advance or withdraw control cable 76. Although in the embodiment of FIG. 3 only a single control cable is shown threaded through shaft 66, it is apparent that two or more such cables may be employed to operate nozzles or other devices on the delivery tubes and in general to provide cables for remote operation, 'i.e., operation from the operators station, of any devices provided on fire turret 12. For example, an arrangement of two control cables is shown in the embodiment of FIG. 10, wherein the control cables are shown to better advantage. Accordingly, operation of the control cables is explained in detail in connection with the description of FIG. 10. It suffices here to state that cable 76 is connected to a nozzle control lever 64 (FIG. 2) which operates a flow discharge nozzle 64a by adjusting the opening provided between the upper and lower jaws thereof.

A support bar III) is connected at one end via a coil spring 112 to a shoulder lug I14 bolted to the top of arm 40b of first outlet conduit 40. At its other end, support bar 110 is fastened to connecting clamp 62. This arrangement provides additional support for

delivery tubes

46 and 60. I

Reference should now be made to FIG. 10 wherein the internal construction of fire turret 12 is more clearly shown. FIGS. 6-11 show a different embodiment of the invention from that shown in FIGS. 2-5, but the internal structure is similar, and similar parts are identically numbered to those shown in the FIGS. 2-5 embodiment. Although the following description pertains to FIG. lit), reference can also be made to FIG. 3 in connection therewith, because of the similarity of internal structure.

A guide sleeve 65 extends within the main body portion of turret 12 through second conduit downwardly to and through lower cap 54 at the bottom of fire turret l2, and upwardly to and through upper cap 52 at the top of fire turret 12. Guide sleeve 65 is affixed in leak proof relationship to upper cap 52 and to lower cap 54 so that fire extinguishing agents which pass through second conduit 90 of turret 12 do not leak therefrom. As shown, elevation shaft 66 is slidably received within guide sleeve 65 and extends beyond both ends thereof.

At its upper end, elevation shaft 66'is connected by linkage 82 to delivery tube 46 by means of a boss 83 at the rear of pivot box 42.

Outer jacket 50 is mounted within fixed base 38 by means of upper thrust bearings 33 and lower thrust bearings 35, so that outer jacket 50 rotates relative to fixed base 38.

Thrust bearings

33 and 35 provided lateral support for rotating outer jacket 50, and facilitate rotation thereof within fixed base 38. A plurality of 0- rings 51 help to provide sealing between first conduit 88and second conduit 90, and to prevent any crossleakage of fire extinguishing agents between the first and second conduits. j

An inner sleeve 86 is'concentrically positioned within the main body'portion of turret l2, and extends within outer jacket 50 downwardly into fixed base 38. First (liquid foam) conduit 88 is formed between the outer walls of inner sleeve 86 and the inner walls of outer jacket 50. Second (powder) conduit 90 is formed between the inner walls of inner sleeve 86 and the outer walls of guide sleeve 65.

AS best seen with respect to FIGS. 9 and 10,

liquid inlet conduits

28 and 28a are in liquid flow communication with the lower portion of first conduit 88. A series of gates 49 (FIG. 9) formed along the periphery of the lower portion 50a of outer jacket 50 are adjacent the entry area of liquid from

conduit

28 and 28a. Liquid flows in the direction shown by the arrows in FIGS. 9 and 10 from

liquid conduits

28 and 28a through race 47 and gates 49, thence into first (liquid) conduit 88. As best seen with respect to FIGS. 7 and 10 jointly, first conduit 88 is in liquid flow communication through

outlet openings

89a and 8% with, respectively,

arms

40a and 40b of first (liquid) outlet conduit 40, then with pivot box 42 and delivery tube 46.

Referring jointly to FIGS. 8 and 10, powder inlet conduit 30 is in flow communication with the lower portion of powder conduit 90. A series of gates 29 (FIG. 8) are formed along the periphery of the lower portion 50b of rotating jacket 50 adjacent the entry area of powder conduit 30. As shwon by the arrows in FIGS. 8 and 10, the powder enters from powder conduit 30 through race 27 and gates 29, thence into second (powder) conduit 90. As best seen with respect to FIGS. 7 and 10 jointly, second conduit 90 is in flow communication through outlet opening 92 with second (powder) outlet conduit 56. Both first outlet conduit 40 and second outlet conduit 56 are rigidly affixed to outer rotating jacket 50, directly so, in the case of first outlet conduit 40 and through upper cap 52 in the case of second outlet conduit 56, so that

discharge tubes

46 and 60 are constrained to rotate with outer jacket 50.

Operation of fire turret 12 to adjust the elevation and azimuth orientation of

discharge tubes

46 and 60 by means of control handle 68 is as follows.

Rotation of outerjacket 50 within fixed base 38 is obtained manually by rotating control handle 68 about the vertical longitudinal axis of fixed base 38. Control handle 68 being connected by linkage 72 to lower cap 54, it serves to rotate outer jacket 50 relative to fixed base 38.

First outlet conduit 40 and second outlet conduit 56, being affixed to outer jacket 50, are carried, together with their associated

delivery tubes

46 and 60, into any desired azimuth orientation by rotation of outer jacket 50.

Vertical movement of control handle 68 operates linkage 72 to move elevation shaft 66 in a vertical direction relative to guide shaft 65; this movement pivots first delivery tube 46 about pivot shaft 44, to adjust the elevation of first delivery tube 46. Upward movement of elevation shaft 66 lowers the elevation of delivery tube 46, and downward movement of elevation shaft 65 raises the elevation of delivery tube 46. Second delivery tube 60 is constrained to move with first delivery tube 46 by connecting clamp 62, so that the movement of elevation shaft 66 by control handle 68 simultaneously and correspondingly adjusts the elevation of both delivery tubes. Since second (powder) outlet conduit 56 is adjustably connected to outer jacket 50, it can accomodate the elevation changes of first delivery tube 46.

One respect in which the FIGS. 6-11 embodiment differs from that of FIGS. 25 is that the adjustable connection of outlet conduit 56 is here obtained by the use of swivel

joint connections

58 and 58a. The lower portion 56a of second outlet conduit 56 is connected by a swivel connection 58 to second outlet conduit 56; received outlet conduit 56 is connected by a second swivel connection 580 to discharge tube 60. These swivel connections permit changes in the angle formed between the longitudinal axes of second outlet conduit 56 and discharge tube 60, which is necessary to accomodate elevation changes of the discharge tubes.

Referring now generally to FIGS. 2-5 inclusively, the main features of the embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 2-5 are seen to generally correspond to the FIGS. 6ll embodiment described above.

The following differences should however be noted. In the FIGS. 25 embodiment, second outlet conduit 56 is of a different type in that instead of employing swivel joints so that discharge tube 60 can follow changes in elevation with discharge tube 46, second outlet conduit 56 is here made of a flexible tube material. Any suitable rubber or plastic material tube or a tube of corrugated construction would be suitable, so long as second outlet conduit 56 may flex and change its shape to accomodate changes in elevation of the delivery tubes. Thus, the two different embodiments of second outlet conduit 56 are each seen to provide an adjustable connection, in the one case by the employment of swivel mountings to connect a rigid tube which forms the second outlet conduit 56, and in the other case by providing second outlet conduit 56 in the form of a flexible, deformable tube.

It is also to be noted that in the FIGS. 2-5 embodiment, the longitudinal axis of powder inlet conduit 30 is substantially perpendicular to the common longitudinal axis of-

liquid inlet conduit

28, 28a as compared to the FIGS. 6-11 embodiment wherein the respective longitudinal axes are substantially parallel. It will be apparent from the construction of the fire turret ofthe invention, that the respective first and second fire extinguishing agent, eg, powder and liquid, inlet conduits may be arranged in any desired convenient manner insofar as relation of their respective longitudinal axes is concerned. This is an advantageous feature, since the operators station may be contained within confined quarters within the truck cab or body enclosure, and a selection of arrangements of the respective powder and liquid inlet conduits may be essential to making most efficient use of the available space.

The different design details of the two described embodiments should not obscure the fact that the basic concept of design is identical in that a rotatable yoke outlet is provided for one of the fire extinguishing agents, a hollow elevation shaft is provided which permits remote control simultaneously of azimuth orientation and elevation of the discharge tubes, and that one or more control cables may be threaded through the elevation shaft to provide remote control of cable actuated devices on the discharge tubes.

FIG. 6 shows, by means of continuous line arrows passing through a phanthom (with respective to the arrows) perspective view of the turret, the flow path of fire extinguishing agents through the turret. A dual flow path is provided for one of the agents at a point where there would otherwise be a bottleneck.

As hereinabove stated, the FIGS. 6-11 embodiment well illustrates the provision of a plurality of control cables.

Referring now particularly to FIGS. 11, in which many of the details of construction shown in FIG. 10 have been omitted for clarity, two

control cables

74 and 76 are provided, each sheathed, respectively, in cable sheathes 74a and 76a. Control cable 74 is connected at its lower end to a cable lever 78, and control cable 76 is connected at its lower end to a cable lever 80.

Control cables

74, 76 are threaded through hollow elevation shaft 66, as is well shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. At its upper end, control cable 74 is connected to a flow control lever 81. Flow control lever 81 is connected to a suitable cable-actuated device 112 located within second delivery tube 60 which device controls the dispersal pattern and flow of powder passing therethrough. Such devices and means for controlling them by cables are well known in the art and need not be further described herein.

Similarly, control cable 76 is connected to flow control lever 64, which operates a suitable cableactuated foam dispersal nozzle 114 located at the discharge end of deliverly tube 60. The control cables, as described herein above, may also be employed, as is known in the art, to align a selected one of two or more pivot mounted nozzles with the outlet of the delivery tube and to perform any other desired control function with respect to the delivery tubes. All such delivery tubes, dispersal flow control nozzles or other devices which are remote controlled by cable are referred to in the claims as cable actuated delivery tube control device(s).

Referring now to FIG. 12, there is shown an embodiment of the invention substantially similar to that shown in the previous two embodiments and, in fact, identical to that shown in the FIGS. 6-11 embodiment except that in place of the manually operated control handles 68, hydraulic motor means are provided to control the elevation and azimuth orientation of

delivery tubes

46 and 60. The components of the FIG. 12

embodiment which are identical or similar to those of the FIGS. 6-10 embodiment have the same designating numeral.

As shown in FIG. 12, the lower portion 38a of fixed base 38 has affixed thereto a driven gear 94. A drive gear 96 is affixed to a drive shaft 98 of a motor 100. Obviously any suitable motor, hydraulically or electrically operated, may be employed. Motor 100 and associated

gears

94 and 96 are contained within an enclosure box 102. By suitable and well known controls (not shown) motor 100 may be operated to rotate shaft 98 and thereby to drive

gears

94 and 96 so that a desired azimuth orientation of first delivery tube 46 and second delivery tube 60 may be selected and maintained.

The lower portion of elevation shaft 66 is connected by a linkage 104 to a piston shaft l06..Pis,ton shaft 106 is contained within an hydraulic cylinder 108 and upon operation of a suitable control mechanism (not shown) piston shaft 106 may be adjusted upwardly or downwardly as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 7 to raise or lower elevation shaft 66, thereby adjusting the elevation of first delivery tube 46 and second delivery tube 60 in the manner earlier described with reference to the manually operated embodiment of the invention.

It will be seen that the novel structure of the invention has the advantage of providing a dual fire extin- "10 guishing turret which may conveniently be remotely operated by either manual or motor driven means, which provides two delivery tubes along the same centerline in the azimuth plane, and in which elevation and azimuth orientation of both delivery tubes may be simultaneously controlled by a single operator.

In general, one of the two delivery tubes may simply be pivot mounted to accomodate changes in elevation and the second tube may be connected to the first tube by any suitable delivery tube connecting means' and adapted to follow the elevation changes of the first delivery tube by being provided with an adjustable connection to outer jacket 50. The adjustable connection may take the form, as in the embodiment specifically described, of a flexible tube or hose connection such as a corrugated flexible tubing, by providing a series of swivel joint connections or by a suitable telescoping connection (not specifically illustrated). All such adaptable oradjustable connections are intended to be included within the phrase adjustable connection as used in the specification and the claims.

For clarity of description, numerous valves, controls and gauges whose construction and use is well-known, have been omitted from this specification and the drawings.

While the invention has been described in some detail in relation to specific embodiments thereof it will be apparent that upon a reading and understanding of the foregoing description many modifications and alterations which are nonetheless within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is intended to include all such modifications and alterations within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A dual fire extinguishing agent fire turret having a main body portion comprising a fixed base containing a rotatable outer jacket mounted therein;

first and second conduits within said main body portion, said first and second conduits each having respective outlets from said main body portion, said outlets being located in said outer jacket,

a first delivery tube connected in flow communication with the outlet of said first conduit, and a second delivery tube connected in flow communication with the outlet of said second conduit,

an elevation shaft slidably positioned within said main body portion, the upper end of said elevation shaft extending through an upper part of said main body portion and being pivotably engaged with said first and second delivery tubes, and the lower end of said elevation shaft extending through a lower part of said main body portion.

means to permit said elevation shaft to be slidably moved relative to said main body portion, and

means to permit rotation of said outer jacket relative to said fixed base.

2 The fire turret of claim -1 wherein said elevation shaft is hollow and at least one of said delivery tubes contains a cable actuated delivery tube control device, a control cable is threaded through said elevation shaft, and one end of said cable is connected to said delivery tube control device.

3. The fire turret of claim 2 wherein said first delivery tube and said second delivery tube each contain at least one cable actuated delivery tube control device, at least two control cables are threaded through said hollow elevation shaft and connected, respectively, to said cable actuated delivery tube control devices.

4. The fire turret of claim 2 wherein said control cables are connected to cable control handles at the end of said cables opposite from the end which is connected to said cable actuated delivery tube control device.

5. The fire turret of claim 1 wherein said rotatable outer jacket contains two outlets for said first conduit, said two outlets are connected respectively to one each of the arms of a dual-arm yoke outlet conduit, and said first delivery tube is pivotably mounted upon said dualarm yoke outlet conduit.

6. The fire turret of claim 5 wherein said elevation shaft is pivotably connected to said first delivery tube and said first and second delivery tubes are connected to each other by delivery tube connecting means.

7. The fire turret of claim 1 wherein the upper end of said elevation shaft is connected to one of said delivery tubes and said first and second delivery tubes are connected to each other by delivery tube connecting means.

8. The fire turret of claim 1 wherein said means to permit said elevation shaft to be slidably moved with respect to said main body portion is a control handle affixed to the lower end of said elevation shaft, said control handle also being affixed to said outer jacket to constitute said means to permit rotation of said outer jacket relative to said fixed base.

9. The fire turret of claim 1 wherein said first and said second conduits are concentrically positioned with respect to one another and with respect to said elevation shaft, and said elevation shaft is located at the center of concentricity.

10. The fire turret of claim 1 wherein said first conduit is annularly disposed about said second conduit.

11. The fire turret of claim 1 wherein a delivery tube is adjustably connected to said turret.

12. The fire turret of claim 11 wherein the adjustable connection of said delivery tube is provided by connecting said delivery tube to one end of an outlet conduit by a swivel mounting, and connecting the other end of said outlet conduit to said turret by a swivel mounting.

13. The fire turret of claim 11 wherein the adjustable connection of said delivery tube is provided by connecting said delivery tube to one end of a flexible outlet conduit, the other end of which is connected to said turret.

14. A dual fire extinguishing agent fire turret comprising a first conduit connected in flow communication with a dual arm outlet conduit, thence with a first delivery tube pivotably connected to said dual arm outlet conduit,

a second conduit connected in flow communication 4 with a second delivery tube which is adjustably connected to said turret, said first conduit being annularly disposed about said second conduit,

connecting means connecting said first delivery tube to said second delivery tube, an elevation shaft slidably mounted in said first conduit and extending therethrough, the upper end of said elevation shaft being pivotably engaged with said first delivery tube and the lower end of said delivery shaft extending through and below the lower end of said first conduit, said first and second conduits being rotatably mounted in a fixed base whereby rotation of said first and second conduits rotates their associated delivery tubes in an azimuth plane, and

said elevation shaft being slidable relative to said first and second conduits so that sliding movement of said elevation shaft relative to said first and second conduits adjusts the elevation of said delivery tubes.

15. The fire turret of claim 14 wherein said elevation shaft is mounted in a guide sleeve which extends through said second conduit and is sealed to respectively, the upper and lower ends thereof.

16. The fire turret of claim 14 wherein said elevation shaft is a hollow tube and at least one control cable is threaded through said elevation shaft, with an upper end of said at least one control cable connected to a cable actuated flow control device, and the lower end of said at least one control cable is connected to a cable control handle.

17. The fire turret of claim 14 wherein a control handle is connected both to the lower end of said elevation shaft and to the lower end of at least one of said first and second conduits whereby rotation of said control handle effects rotation of said first and second conduits and vertical movement of said control handle effects sliding movement of said elevation shaft relative to said first and second conduits.

18. The fire turret of claim 14 wherein said elevation shaft and said first and second conduits are connected to motors, the operation of which effects adjustment of the elevation of said elevation shaft and rotation of said first and second conduits.

19. The fire turret of claim 18 wherein said first and second conduits are contained within an outer jacket which is rotatable with respect to said fixed base and said outer jacket is connected to said motors.

Patent No.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Dated October 8, 1974 Inventor(s) line line line Col. 7, line Col. 9, line line (SEAL) Attest:

RUTH C. MASON Attesting Officer change change cancel change change change Langdon S. Clark It is certified that error appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Col. 4, line 5, change "placed" to --em p1aced--;

"means" to -mean--;

"24'and".

"shwon" to --shown--.

"deliverly" to "delivery- Signed and sealed this 27th day of May 1975.

C. MARSHALL DANN Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks F ORM PO-IOSO (10-69) USCOMM-DC 60375-P59 W US. GOVERNMENI PRINTING OFFICE: I959 O-365334.

Claims

1. A dual fire extinguishing agent fire turret having a main body portion comprising a fixed base containing a rotatable outer jacket mounted therein; first and second conduits within said main body portion, said first and second conduits each having respective outlets from said main body portion, said outlets being located in said outer jacket, a first delivery tube connected in flow communication with the outlet of said first conduit, and a second delivery tube connected in flow communication with the outlet of said second conduit, an elevation shaft slidably positioned within said main body portion, the upper end of said elevation shaft extending through an upper part of said main body portion and being pivotably engaged with said first and second delivery tubes, and the lower end of said elevation shaft extending through a lower part of said main body portion. means to permit said elevation shaft to be slidably moved relative to said main body portion, and means to permit rotation of said outer jacket relative to said fixed base.

2. The fire turret of claim 1 wherein said elevation shaft is hollow and at least one of said delivery tubes contains a cable actuated delivery tube control device, a control cable is threaded through said elevation shaft, and one end of said cable is connected to said delivery tube control device.

5. The fire turret of claim 1 wherein said rotatable outer jacket contains two outlets for said first conduit, said two outlets are connected respectively to one each of the arms of a dual-arm yoke outlet conduit, and said first delivery tube is pivotably mounted upon said dual-arm yoke outlet conduit.

14. A dual fire extinguishing agent fire turret comprising a first conduit connected in flow communication with a dual arm outlet conduit, thence with a first delivery tube pivotably connected to said dual arm outlet conduit, a second conduit connected in flow communication with a second delivery tube which is adjustably connected to said turret, said first conduit being annularly disposed about said second conduit, connecting means connecting said first delivery tube to said second delivery tube, an elevation shaft slidably mounted in said first conduit and extending therethrough, the upper end of said elevation shaft being pivotably engaged with said first delivery tube and the lower end of said delivery shaft extending through and below the lower end of said first conduit, said first and second conduits being rotatably mounted in a fixed base whereby rotation of said first and second conduits rotates their associated delivery tubes in an azimuth plane, and said elevation shaft being slidable relative to said first and second conduits so that sliding movement of said elevation shaft relative to said first and second conduits adjusts the elevation of said delivery tubes.