Fire extinguishers – Special applications – For cooking installation
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-11
2001-08-21
Ganey, Steven J. (Department: 3752)
Fire extinguishers
Special applications
For cooking installation
C169S026000, C169S052000, C169S057000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06276461
ABSTRACT:
This invention relates to a device for extinguishing a stovetop grease fire and to its means for mounting the device beneath the hood of a stove.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Grease fires originating at a cooking stove are well documented as a major cause of serious home fires. Insurance companies can testify to the dangers posed by fires originating from overheating and ignition of grease or oil during cooking. Many solutions have been proposed for extinguishing stove grease fires, but none prior to my above parent patent appears to have demonstrated the necessary effectiveness to put out such a fire and keep it out in the event the burner remains active after the fire has been extinguished. In the panic that usually ensues when a grease fire occurs, turning off the gas or electric burner is frequently overlooked, since greatest focus is on what to do about putting out the fire. Assuming a typical hand-held extinguisher is available and is used to cause the flame to die out, the grease can reignite if the burner is still on and the cooking utensil remains on the burner. If a one-shot extinguisher is mounted on the stove, it is no longer effective, having been spent in the initial flame-up. The most effective method of preventing reignition is to flood the cooking vessel with sufficient fire suppressant powder to cause the oil or grease to cake and solidify, as discussed in my aforementioned patent. That will prevent a second flare-up.
In contrast to extensively-used relatively inexpensive smoke alarms that are fairly simple for an average homeowner to install, stovetop fire extinguishers are believed to be only nominally used at the present time. They are either too complex for the average homeowner to install, are too cumbersome and bulky due to having to use activating cables extending around and above the cooking area, do not adequately fit above the cooking area without inconveniencing the cooking operation, are required to be mounted inside a relatively inaccessible cooking hood or are so costly that they are unaffordable to those persons at the lower end of the economic scale, the very persons who may have greatest need for an extinguisher.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Two embodiments of a swing-down type fire extinguisher are disclosed. In one embodiment, a single unit can extinguish either or both of two fires on a stove having front and back burners. This is accomplished by dispensing fire suppressant material toward both burners in the initial motion of swinging down upon activation by a fire and continuing with a pendulum action designed to distribute material to both the front burner and a back burner aligned in the direction of swinging. In a second embodiment, a single unit is provided for each burner. It is operated in two stages, first to respond to the heat or flame of a fire by unlatching the extinguisher to release from a horizontal inoperative or “at rest” position and enabling it to swing down to a fire extinguishing position directly over the pan with the burning grease. In the second stage, almost instantaneously after reaching the vertical position over a pan, a heat or flame responsive release mechanism enables dispensing of the material directly downwardly with a combined gravitational and spring force as a closure for the unit opens. The spring has one end anchored in the unit and its free end is designed to provide a slight orbital oscillation to assist in laterally distributing the material about the cooking vessel during dispensing.
Also provided is a novel mounting means in the form of a pair of parallel spring-loaded rods, for enabling the extinguisher to be installed and removed without the use of tools.
One principal object of the invention is to provide an elongated stovetop grease fire extinguisher that is mounted horizontally on the underside of a range hood and which swings down to a vertical position when called upon to dispense fire suppressant material in response to existence of a fire.
Ancillary thereto in one version of the apparatus of the invention is to provide a pendulum-type swinging action to the extinguisher when moving to and while in the active dispensing position, whereby to extinguish a grease fire at either of two closely-positioned burner locations that are aligned essentially with the pendulum swinging direction.
A second primary object of the invention is to provide an oscillating downwardly-extending spring for assisting in ejection of a fire suppressant powder and spreading it evenly over an area larger than the cross-sectional dimension of the extinguisher barrel, whereby a small diameter container can cover a large grease-containing pan or pans.
A still further object is to provide a support for a stovetop fire extinguisher which enables easy removal and replacement of an extinguisher without the use of tools and which has no connections to outside sources of power to activate the extinguishing function.
Another object is to provide a mounting structure for a stovetop fire extinguisher that enables installation and removal by simple compression of a pair of spring-loaded rods.
Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description, in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1063228 (1913-06-01), Thornton
patent: 3209837 (1965-10-01), Freedman
patent: 3918526 (1975-11-01), Hattori et al.
patent: 5063998 (1991-11-01), Quinn
patent: 5355026 (1994-10-01), Scofield
patent: 5518075 (1996-05-01), Williams
patent: 5868205 (1999-02-01), Cunningham et al.
Ganey Steven J.
Weigl William
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