Abstract:
Improvements to a portable fire extinguisher are disclosed. The improvements allow for frequent and simplified inspection and maintenance of a fire extinguisher with minimal training and without need for custom equipment. The improvements include an anti-bridging mechanism that can be articulated from the exterior of the chamber to fluff, mix or stir the powder within the chamber to keep it in a liquefied state. Additional improvements include a larger opening to more quickly fill and inspect the powder within the chamber. Another improvement includes the use of a CO 2  cartridge located external to the chamber to allow easier servicing or replacement of just the CO 2  cartridge as well as the ability to maintain the chamber in an un-pressurized condition, allows for non-HASMAT shipping. These features will extend the service intervals while maintaining the fire extinguisher in a ready condition.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of applicant&#39;s co-pending application Ser. No. 14/313,761 filed Jun. 24, 2014 the entire contents of which is hereby expressly incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
       [0002]    Not Applicable 
       THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT 
       [0003]    Not Applicable 
       INCORPORATION-BY-REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC 
       [0004]    Not Applicable 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0006]    This invention relates to improvements in portable fire extinguishers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a fire extinguisher that uses a replaceable gas cartridge that provides a propellant to push fire extinguishing media outside of the fire extinguisher. 
         [0007]    2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98. 
         [0008]    Most portable fire extinguishers are of a similar design where the fire extinguishing powder is contained in a continuously pressurized chamber. Fire extinguishers of this type require scheduled maintenance by trained and certified technicians with certification issued by the fire marshal for each state. This maintenance involves discharging, cleaning, and refilling the extinguisher. If not done periodically, the powder within the chamber becomes compacted and/or the pressure within the chamber may leak and be insufficient to propel the powder out of the dispensing nozzle. If maintenance is not done correctly, moisture absorption by the extinguishing powder will cause caking and block the dispensing nozzle. The aforementioned conditions would prevent the proper dispensing of extinguishing powder when needed. 
         [0009]    Current extinguishers are open to wear and tear because of the constant pressure and tear down process. When serviced they are discharged into a recycling chamber and all the parts must be disassembled and cleaned. All the pressure rings must be replaced and every part must then be re-assembled with new powder being placed within the chamber prior to pressurizing the chamber. The servicing of current fire extinguishers often creates more wear and tear on the fire extinguisher than when it is used to extinguish a fire. 
         [0010]    U.S. Pat. No. 6,189,624 issued to James on Feb. 20, 2001 and Japan Patent Number JP 9,225,056 issued to Yamazaki Tomoki on Sep. 2, 1997 discloses fire extinguishing mechanisms where the chamber is not continuously pressurized, and the pressurized cartridge is a separate entity integrated within the chamber. While these patents disclose a separate pressurized cartridge, the cartridge is not located in a position that is easy to service, replace, or inspect. This minimizes the ability to determine the charge level of the pressurized cartridge. 
         [0011]    U.S. Pat. No. 2,541,554 (“US &#39;551”) issued to C H Smith on Feb. 13, 1951 and Russian Patent Number RU 2,209,101 (“RU &#39;101”) issued to Glavatski G. D. Et Al. Nov. 2, 2002 discloses a fire extinguisher with an external CO 2  gas cartridge. In the case of US &#39;554 the CO 2  gas cartridge sits on top of the fire extinguisher chamber and is not integrated within the handle of the fire extinguisher. In the case of RU &#39;101 the CO 2  gas cartridge is external to the extinguisher and is connected to the extinguisher with a pipe or hose. While both of these patents disclose a CO 2  cartridge that is external to the chamber, neither of them is placed in the handle to allow a configuration of the fire extinguisher that is simple to inspect and replace. 
         [0012]    U.S. Pat. No. 7,128,163 issued on Nov. 21, 2006, U.S. Pat. No. 7,318,484 issued on Jan. 15, 2008 and U.S. Pat. No. 7,793,737 issued Sep. 14, 2010, all to Hector Rousseau disclose a fire extinguisher with a gas cartridge in the handle and a fluffing mechanism. While these patents have similar features, the gas cartridge is oriented to discharge vertically upwards. When gas is discharged from a cartridge containing compressed liquefied gas, such as CO 2 , evaporation must occur from the contained liquid in order to maintain thermodynamic equilibrium with the cartridge. Heat is required to drive the evaporation, and if the available heat from the surrounding cartridge environment is insufficient, the compressed liquefied gas temperature and pressure will drop. For CO 2 , if the pressure drops below 75 psig, liquid CO 2  will solidify into dry ice. Since cartridge-style fire extinguishers are usually used immediately after puncturing the cartridge, any dry ice formed will not have time to absorb enough heat to phase change into gas and contribute to the effective discharge of the fire extinguisher. This effect is magnified at low environmental temperatures, where existing commercial cartridge-style fire extinguishers have been measured to waste 40% by mass of the CO 2  charge when conditioned at −40° C. However, even though this gas is unused during typical discharge, the extinguisher must be structurally designed based on the full pressurizing gas load, leading to less than optimal designs. In addition, based on the unique properties of CO 2 , torturous paths between the fire extinguisher main chamber and the cartridge must be avoided to minimize the risk of blocking the flow path with dry ice or freezing valves due to resulting low temperatures from CO 2  expansion. 
         [0013]    Due to the pressurized condition that exists with pressurized fire extinguishers, the opening where powder is placed into the extinguisher is limited due to the structural requirement to maintain pressure within the chamber at all times. The proposed application eliminates this need by providing an external gas cartridge, thus allowing the chamber to exist in a normally un-pressurized condition. Because the chamber is not under pressure the top opening of the extinguisher can be enlarged to allow easier filling of the fire extinguisher with powder, or checking the amount and or condition of the powder within the chamber. 
         [0014]    What is needed is a fire extinguisher with a replaceable gas cartridge where the gas cartridge is oriented to discharge only liquid propellant into the body of the extinguisher and the fire extinguisher further has a fluffer that is accessible from outside the chamber, and the chamber has an enlarged top opening for filling the extinguisher. The proposed fire extinguisher provides this solution by providing a fire extinguisher with an external gas cartridge oriented to discharge downward, external mechanism to actuate an internal fluffer, and a large opening. By discharging the compressed liquefied gas downward, liquid is discharged into the fire extinguisher, and as such, the cartridge does not need to absorb nearly as much heat to drive the necessary evaporation to maintain temperature and pressure within the cartridge above the triple point, and thus, solidification of the propellant is avoided. For compressed liquefied CO 2 , this concept has been experimentally demonstrated to discharge nearly 100% of the CO 2  from the cartridge, even with the fire extinguisher preconditioned to −40° C. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0015]    It is an object of the fire extinguisher to eliminate the need for service personnel to enter secure areas. The extinguisher can have a higher level of service; can be operated by automatic “self-service” and or manually serviced by the owner or end user. This eliminates the need for non-employees to enter the privacy of business and government areas. This extinguisher can be operated, maintained, refilled, and charged with minimal training and without need for custom equipment. 
         [0016]    The reduced outside servicing and maintenance of the fire extinguisher is ideal for placement of the fire extinguisher in secure areas. This will reduce or eliminate the possibility that a terrorist could utilize the fire extinguisher as a weapon, or use false identity as an extinguisher service person to gain access to a secure area. 
         [0017]    It is an object of the fire extinguisher to provide a fire extinguisher with an external gas cartridge. The inverted external gas cartridge allows the liquid within the gas cartridge to vent directly into the fire extinguisher. Well accepted gas cartridges, such as CO 2  or nitrogen cartridges, that are used in other applications can be adapted to operate with the fire extinguisher. Since the gas cartridge is external to the chamber it can be easily replaced or swapped without replacing the entire fire extinguisher. This provides a tremendous benefit when a large number of fire extinguishers need to be serviced at one time. 
         [0018]    It is another object of the fire extinguisher to provide a fire extinguisher with an optional externally accessible fluffing mechanism. The size, structure and necessity of the fluffing mechanism can be based upon the size of the fire extinguisher. The externally accessible fluffing mechanism promotes anti-bridging of the powder within the chamber to keep it fluffed, agitated, stirred or disturbed to prevent caking of the powder and keep the powder in a liquefied state to ensure proper discharge onto a fire. The fluffing is accomplished with paddles, flapper, chains rods or other mixing mechanisms located within the chamber. The mixing mechanism is accessed by a connection on the top, bottom or side of the chamber and can be either manually operated or operated with a tool of some type. 
         [0019]    It is still another object of the fire extinguisher to provide a fire extinguisher with an enlarged filling opening. The enlarged filling opening makes it easier and faster to fill and or empty the chamber. The top can also be easily removed to visually inspect the condition of the powder within the chamber. 
         [0020]    It is still another object of the fire extinguisher to provide a quick opening and closing top housing thereby allowing a user to quickly open and refill the fire extinguisher. This also allows a fire fighter the load the desired fire extinguishing media based upon the type of fire. 
         [0021]    Various objects, features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments of the invention, along with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals represent like components. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         [0022]      FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of the fire extinguisher. 
           [0023]      FIG. 2  shows a cross-sectional view of the fire extinguisher. 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  shows a detailed view of the dispensing valve. 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  shows a sectional view of the head of the fire extinguisher. 
           [0026]      FIGS. 5A ,  5 B and  5 C show stages of removing the safety device prior to discharging the fire extinguisher. 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  shows a detailed view of the pressurized gas cartridge puncturing mechanism. 
           [0028]      FIG. 7  shows a detail cross-sectional view of the puncture pin. 
           [0029]      FIG. 8  shows a graph of the amount of Dry Ice that is generated based upon the orientation of the pressurized gas. 
           [0030]      FIG. 9  shows the fluffing and siphon tube. 
           [0031]      FIG. 10  shows a detail of the multiple siphon intake holes and the fluffing arm. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0032]      FIG. 1  shows an exterior perspective view of the fire extinguisher  19 . The fire extinguisher  19  is substantially a cylindrical shape with a bottom housing  20  and top housing  30 . In the preferred embodiment the bottom housing  20  and top housing  30  is made from a lightweight resilient material such as plastic, but could also be made of other materials, including steel, brass, copper or aluminum. The bottom housing  20  may further be fabricated from a transparent material to allow for visual inspection within the fire extinguisher  19 . The top housing  30  is screwed onto the bottom housing  20 , but it could also be attached with a bayonet or latching mechanism. The bottom housing  20  has an enlarged opening to allow easier filling of the bottom housing  20  with fire suppressant materials. A wall hanging mechanism can be incorporated into the top housing  30  of the fire extinguisher  19 , or could wrap around the body of the bottom housing  20 , or could fork the top housing  30  of the fire extinguisher  19 . 
         [0033]    With reference to  FIGS. 1 &amp; 2 , a handle  40  allows the operator to hold the fire extinguisher  19  by placing a hand through the grip area  41 . This allows the fire extinguisher  19  to be held in an upright orientation when it is being transported or used. The fire extinguisher  19  can also be stored and or transported in the upright orientation, but the upright orientation is not critical for the storage or operation of the fire extinguisher  19 . Partially within the handle  40  and top housing  30  a replaceable pressurized gas cartridge  50  is located under a transparent portion  42  of handle  40 . The transparent portion  42  provides the ability to verify that the pressurized gas cartridge  50  is installed within the fire extinguisher  19 . While in the preferred embodiment the pressurized gas cartridge  50  is shown partially within the handle  40  and top housing  30  other locations are contemplated. 
         [0034]    The replaceable pressurized gas cartridge  50  consists essentially of a compressed gas cartridge of CO 2 , but cartridges of different types of gas are possible that do not promote spreading of a fire. Because the gas within the cartridge is under high pressure and possibly in a liquid state, a small cartridge of propellant is required to expel the internal fire suppressant material  99  of the fire extinguisher  19 . It is also contemplated that multiple gas cartridges can be used to accommodate a larger fire extinguisher without deviating from the inventive nature of the design. Pressurized gas cartridges are available and can be replaced or serviced without the need to service the entire fire extinguisher  19 . The handle  40  and its transparent portion  42  provides protection to the pressurized gas cartridge  50  in the event the fire extinguisher  19  is dropped or roughly handled. A trigger mechanism  60  activates the pressurized gas cartridge  50  to pressurize the chamber  22  and expel the fire suppressant material  99  into and out of the hose  81  and exit port  90 . 
         [0035]    While some figures in this document show and describe a flexible hose  81 , some contemplated embodiments may include a duct, hollow passage or nozzle  97  where the fire extinguishing media passes from the body of the fire extinguisher out of the nozzle  97  to extinguish a fire. A control valve lever  92  opens and closes the exit port  90  or to prevent fire suppressant material  99  from pouring out of the extinguisher when the chamber is pressurized. When a nozzle  97  is used, a control valve can be located near the nozzle to control the flow of fire extinguishing media out of the fire extinguisher. The puncturing mechanism of the pressurized gas cartridge and the path from the gas cartridge  50  into the chamber  22  is shown and described in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0036]      FIG. 2  shows a cross-sectional view of fire extinguisher  19 . An operator can place their hand or glove through the grip area  41  of the handle  40  to carry, transport or use the fire extinguisher  19  with either hand. Fire suppressant material  99  is placed into chamber  22  within the bottom housing  20  through an enlarged cylindrical opening  70  when the top housing  30  is disengaged from the bottom housing  20 . Over time the fire suppressant material  99  will become compressed and compacted in the bottom of the chamber  22 . When the fire suppressant material  99  is compacted, risk of improper discharge increases. Within the fire extinguisher  19  a plurality of fluffing arms  120  are arranged on a central shaft  110 . A fluffing wheel  100  can be accessed from the underside of the fire extinguisher  19 . Rotating the fluffing wheel  100  will re-fluff the fire suppressant material  99  to minimize risk of improper discharge of suppressant material  99  from the fire extinguisher  19 . Turning the fluffing wheel  100  will provide similar loosening of the fire suppressant material  99  as might be found in a food mixer. 
         [0037]    Polycarbonate is a cost effective candidate for providing a transparent bottom housing  20 , however when polycarbonate is in contact with ammonia gas that is the main constituent of ABC dry chemical, material degradation will occur, especially at elevated temperatures, there is a need to isolate or protect the polycarbonate from direct exposure. When using polycarbonate material, the interior of the bottom housing  20  is preferably coated with a transparent protection coating  21  with a Siloxane base, or equivalent. This coating  21  improves chemical and abrasion resistance as well as provides UV protection. The coating  21  can be applied in any number of methods to isolate the polycarbonate exposure to Monoammonium phosphate and any emitted ammonia gas. The coating  21  would provide necessary chemical resistance whereas the polycarbonate bottom housing  20  would provide necessary strength and impact resistance. 
         [0038]    In another contemplated embodiment, construct the bottom housing  20  as a transparent cylinder from two separate cylinders where the inner cylinder  21  is inserted into the outer cylinder  23  of bottom housing  20 . This could be accomplished by insert molding a transparent inner cylinder of tritan, acrylic, san or an equivalently performing other material into the polycarbonate outer cylinder  23 . The outer cylinder  23  of would be polycarbonate, and would serve to provide the assembly with necessary strength and impact resistance, whereas, the inner cylinder  21  would provide the necessary chemical resistance to Monoammonium phosphate. For these embodiments the strength of the inner cylinder  21  could be sufficient to ensure safe operation in the event outer cylinder  23  of bottom housing  20  is damaged from a severe environment or impact. 
         [0039]    To expel fire suppressant material  99  from within the fire extinguisher  19  an operator must puncture the pressurized gas cartridge  50 . The pressurized gas cartridge  50  is secured by threads  52  or otherwise secured into the top housing of the fire extinguisher  19 . Within the top housing  30  a replaceable pressurized gas cartridge  50  is located under a transparent portion  42  of handle  40 . The handle  40  and its transparent portion  42  provides protection to the pressurized gas cartridge  50  in the event of the fire extinguisher being dropped, and also allows the operator to verify that the pressurized gas cartridge  50  is installed within the fire extinguisher  19 . To puncture the pressurized gas cartridge  50  the operator lowers or rotates the trigger mechanism  60  that pushes the puncture pin  62  into the pressurized gas cartridge  50 . Details of the trigger mechanism  60  and the puncture pin  62  is shown and described in more detail in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . Once the pressurized gas cartridge  50  is punctured the gas and or liquid will be forced into the chamber  22 . 
         [0040]    When liquefied gas is discharged from pressurized gas cartridge  50 , evaporation must occur from the contained liquid in order to maintain thermodynamic equilibrium within the pressurized gas cartridge  50 . To maintain thermodynamic equilibrium heat is required to drive the evaporation. If the available heat from the surrounding cartridge environment is insufficient the compressed liquefied gas temperature and pressure will drop. For liquefied CO 2 , if the pressure drops below 75 psig, the liquid CO 2  will solidify into dry ice. If dry ice forms, the dry ice will not have time to absorb enough of the surrounding thermal mass to heat the dry ice to change phase into gas and contribute to the effective discharge of the fire extinguisher  19 . 
         [0041]    The forming of dry ice is exacerbated in low temperatures. Testing agencies such as UL, CSA, and others require operation of a fire extinguisher at temperatures down to −40° C. (−40° F.). If a pressurized gas cartridge with CO 2  is oriented with the discharge port vertical in an upright position (i.e., with threads  52  in the upper position), testing has shown that up to 40% of the CO 2  (by mass) can remain in the form of dry ice after completion of the fire extinguishers&#39; discharge. When the pressurized gas cartridge  50  contains CO 2  and is oriented in an inverted orientation (i.e., with threads  52  in the lower position), the cartridge does not need to absorb nearly as much heat to evaporate the liquid CO 2  from the pressurized gas cartridge  50  to maintain temperature and pressure above the triple point, and thus, creation of dry ice within the cartridge  50  is avoided. This concept has been experimentally demonstrated to discharge nearly 100% of the CO 2  from the cartridge, even with the fire extinguisher preconditioned to −40° C. (−40° F.). Once the CO 2  enters the chamber  22 , there is sufficient heat and surface area in the comparatively large volume to rapidly convert liquid CO 2  into gaseous CO 2 . 
         [0042]    The mixture of fire suppressant material  99  and gas are pushed through the central shaft  110  and then through the flow path  80  in the top housing  30  where they are pushed through hose  81  to a manually operable valve  95  and are expelled out of the exit port  90 . The central shaft  110  has an integral siphon tube  112  where fire suppressant material  99  is pushed into multiple holes in the bottom of the central shaft  110  through integral siphon tube  112 . The dispensing nozzle  96  has a valve  95  that is operated with a control rod  94  to open and close the valve  95 . The control rod  94  holds the valve  95  closed with a spring  93 . An operator depresses the control valve lever  92  to overcome the spring  93  and opens the valve  95 . The dispensing nozzle  96  can be operated by either hand. This is shown and described in more detail in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0043]      FIG. 3  shows a detailed view of the dispensing nozzle  96 . This view shows a portion of the handle  40  and the grip area  41 . The top housing  30  includes a flow path  80  from within the fire extinguisher  19 , through the top housing  30 . With the valve  95  in the closed position, the fire extinguisher  19  can remain in a pressurized condition after the pressurized gas cartridge  50  has been punctured. In this “primed” condition all of the pressure and fire suppressant material  99  within the fire extinguisher  19  is controlled by the valve  95 . The dispensing nozzle  96  has a valve  95  that is connected to a control rod  94 . The control rod  94  is pulled back to permit flow from the hose  81  to the exit port  90 . 
         [0044]    An operator can hold dispensing nozzle  96  of the fire extinguisher  19  in one hand and operate the lever  92  with the same hand. The operator can then direct the dispensing nozzle  96  at the fire. When the lever  92  is depressed, the lever will press against spring  93  and slide the control rod  94  to open the valve  95 . When the valve  95  is opened fire suppressant material  99  will flow out of the exit port  90 . When the lever  92  is released the spring  93  will close the valve  95  to prevent further dispensing of fire suppressant material  99 . This will retain pressure within the chamber  22  of fire extinguisher  19 . 
         [0045]      FIG. 4  shows a sectional view of the top housing  30  of the fire extinguisher  19 . The handle  40  allows the operator to hold the fire extinguisher  19  by placing a hand through the grip area  41 . Trigger mechanism  60  is connected to a lift plate  55  that lifts the puncture pin  62  into the sealed end of the pressurized gas cartridge  50  under the transparent portion  42  of handle  40 . The pressurized gas cartridge  50  is secured by threads  52  or otherwise secured into the top housing  30 . Detail of the trigger mechanism  60  and the puncture pin  62  is shown and described in more detail in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . When cartridge  50  is filled with compressed liquid CO 2 , the flow path between the pressurized gas cartridge  50  and the inside of the fire extinguisher  19  must be as smooth as possible to limit the risk of dry ice forming that can block or restrict the flow path. The bottom housing  20  is shown connected to the top housing  30 . When valve  95  is opened, static pressure from CO 2  or compressed gas from the gas cartridge  50  pushes the fire suppressant material  99  down into the openings of central shaft  110  and up through integral siphon tube  112  and then through the flow path  80  to the hose  81 . If seals  109  leak with respect to top housing  30 , gas from gas cartridge  50  will bypass suppressant material  99  and travel directly into flow path  80  and eventually out valve  95 , leading to reduced range and discharge amount of suppressant material  99 . To ensure proper assembly of seals  109  to top housing  30 , guide features of the top housing  30  capture central shaft  110  during installation of bottom housing  20  to top housing  30 . 
         [0046]      FIGS. 5A ,  5 B and  5 C show stages of repositioning the safety knob  72  prior to discharging the fire extinguisher  19 . The initial stage at  5 A is how the fire extinguisher  19  will exist prior to activation. In this position the safety knob  72  restricts the trigger mechanism  60  from moving. The safety knob  72  is essentially rectangular thereby locking or blocking the trigger mechanism  60  in one orientation and allowing the sides of the trigger mechanism  60  to pass by the safety knob  72  when the safety knob  72  is rotated 90 degrees. The opposing vertical sides of the trigger mechanism  60  are secured with flange portions  76  of safety knob  72 . To allow for activation, safety knob  72  is rotated  68 . Safety knob  72  can be operated by either hand. 
         [0047]    In  FIG. 5B  the safety knob  72  is shown in the vertical orientation to allow the trigger mechanism  60  to pass by the sides of the safety knob  72 . When the safety knob  72  is rotated, the rotation causes internal pins  74  to shear and release or eject the tamper indicator  73 . The release of the tamper indicator  73  identifies that the fire extinguisher  19  may have been discharged and requires service inspection. Also, when the safety knob  72  is in the vertical orientation, access to the gas cartridge  50  by opening transparent portion  42  of handle  40  has been blocked. The design prevents the insertion of a new pressurized gas cartridge  50  without the trigger mechanism  60  returned to an upright and locked orientation to prevent puncturing the new pressurized gas cartridge  50  upon insertion. 
         [0048]    In  FIG. 5C  an operator can then pull or push the trigger mechanism  60  downward  69  to where the trigger mechanism  60  is shown in a lower position  67  (as dashed lines). When the trigger mechanism  60  is rotated from the upper to the lower position  67  the puncture pin  62  is pushed into and punctures the pressurized gas cartridge  50 . The trigger mechanism  60  can be operated by either hand. 
         [0049]      FIG. 6  shows a detailed view of the pressurized gas cartridge  50  puncturing mechanism. The pressurized gas cartridge  50  is secured by threads  52  into a retainer  56  within the top housing  30 . The pressurized gas cartridge  50  and the threaded retainer  56  remain stationary as the end of the pressurized gas cartridge  50  is punctured. From this figure, one set of fasteners and duplicate parts has been removed for viewing. The trigger mechanism  60  pivots through an axis  58  to increase the mechanical advantage to puncture the end of the pressurized gas cartridge  50 . The free ends of the trigger mechanism  60  are connected to lift rods  53  and return springs  54  that maintain the trigger mechanism  60  in a normal condition where the puncture pin  62  is not in contact with the end of the pressurized gas cartridge  50 . Lift rods  53  (only one shown) are connected together and operate in unison to lift the lift plate  55  in a parallel relationship to raise the puncture pin  62  in a linear motion. 
         [0050]      FIG. 7  shows a detail cross-sectional view of the puncture pin  62 . The puncture pin  62  has a pointed end  61  to puncture the seal on the end of the pressurized gas cartridge  50 . A partially hollowed center  65  allows gas or liquid CO 2  to pass from the pressurized gas cartridge  50  into the chamber  22  of the fire extinguisher  19  even when pin  62  is held in the puncturing position within gas cartridge  50 . The puncture pin  62  has a taper  66  to increase the size of the hole as the pin is inserted into the pressurized gas cartridge  50  and the taper  66  provides draft for the pin to readily eject from cartridge  50  via force applies by springs  54 . One end of the puncture pin  62  has assembly feature  64  where the puncture pin  62  is retained onto the lift plate  55 . An enlarged shank  63  supports the puncture pin  62  between the assembly feature  64  and the partially hollowed center  65 . Since the puncture pin  62  is rigidly supported, inadvertent puncturing of gas cartridge  50  during drop event or rough usage is avoided. 
         [0051]    Fire extinguishers generally require approval from regulatory agencies such as Underwriters Laboratory (UL). For most fire extinguishers the housing is pressurized. The fire extinguisher disclosed in this document uses a separate pressurized cartridge  50  that is filled with liquefied gas that must exit the cartridge  50  and expand into the bottom housing  20 . 
         [0052]    For cartridge-operated extinguishers an interval of 5 seconds is able to elapse after the cartridge is punctured in order that pressure builds up before discharge of the agent is initiated. An extinguisher shall have duration of discharge not less than either 8 seconds, or the minimum duration specified in the Standard for Rating and Fire Testing of Fire Extinguishers. 
         [0053]    When the charged extinguisher is held in a vertical position, with the discharge nozzle in the horizontal position. The extinguisher then is to be discharged, and the duration to gas point and amount of dry chemical discharged recorded. 
         [0054]    Based upon the ambient temperature and the orientation of the gas canister, different amounts of dry ice (solid CO 2 ) is retained within a CO 2  cartridge when discharged vertically upward; conversely, a minimum amount of dry ice was retained when discharged vertically downward. 
         [0055]      FIG. 8  shows a graph of the amount of Dry Ice that is generated based upon the orientation of the pressurized gas. The graph shows the amount of Dry Ice at the temperatures of 70° F.  45  and −40° F.  46 . At 70° F. nearly all orientation positions show that very little Dry Ice is generated. At −40° F. the amount of Dry Ice can go from a high of over 40% when the cartridge is in a vertical orientation  47 , or about 15% when the cartridge  48  is in a horizontal  48  to almost 0% when the cartridge  50  is inverted  49 . The inverted cartridge  50  pushes liquid CO 2  out of the cartridge  50  as the liquid within the CO 2  cartridge  50  of the lighter weight vaporized gas pushes the heavier liquid within the CO 2  out of the opening of the cartridge  50  as the cartridge is engaged  52  into the fire extinguisher  19 . 
         [0056]    These results were measured when pressurized liquid CO 2  cartridges were conditioned at either 70° F. or −40° F. and then discharged in various orientations. Dry ice remaining within the cartridges was measured 30 seconds after puncturing the cartridge. 
         [0057]      FIG. 9  shows the fluffing arms  120  and integral siphon tube  112 . In this preferred embodiment the fluffing arms  120  and integral siphon tube  112  are fabricated as a single unit around a central shaft  110 . While this embodiment shows a siphon tube  112  with fluffing arms or blades  120 , some embodiments are contemplated that may not incorporated the fluffing arms or blades  120 . The inclusion of the fluffing arms or blades  120  is generally dictated by the capacity and rating of the fire extinguisher. The bottom cap  111  of the central shaft  110  fits into the bottom of the fire extinguisher  19 . Seals around the bottom cap  111  prevent pressurized gas from passing out of the bottom of the fire extinguisher  19 . Seals  109  on the upper end of the central shaft  110  prevent bypass of pressurized gas directly into flow path  80  and eventually out valve  95 , leading to reduced range and discharge amount of suppressant material  99 . The seals  109  and the seals around the bottom cap  111  allow for the central shaft  110  to be rotated within the fire extinguisher  19 . To aide in manufacturing, bottom cap  111 , integral siphon tube  112 , and/or fluffing arms  120  may be separate parts or combined in any efficient manner. 
         [0058]    The integral siphon tube  112  is constructed with an elongated tube member  119  having the blades  120  molded with the elongated tube. A bottom cap  111  is secured to the elongated tube  119  by ultrasonic welding or the like. 
         [0059]    Because the pressurized gas cartridge  50  is inverted, essentially only liquefied gas exits and expands into gas within the fire extinguisher  19  therefore essentially all of the gas within the cartridge is expelled. Because the liquid/gas is expelled at a rapid rate a pressure wave  113  traveling nearly the speed of sound pushes onto the top of the fluffing arms  120 . A gusset  116  supports the fluffing arm  120  and prevents the fluffing arm  120  from being sheared off by the pressure wave. In a short period of time, pressure within the fire extinguisher  19  stabilizes. Once valve  95  is opened, the static pressure within chamber  22  pushes the fire suppressant material  99  toward at least one intake hole  114  in the bottom of the central shaft  110  shown in the other figures herein. 
         [0060]      FIG. 10  shows a detail of the multiple intake holes  114  and the fluffing arm(s)  120 . The fluffing arms  120  are narrow, crowned, staggered, and tapered  115  to minimize turning resistance while maximizing mixing of packed fire suppressant material  99  and flow of pressurized suppressant material  99  during discharge. Holes  117  in the fluffing arms  120  allow fire suppressant material  99  to pass around the fluffing arms  120  and the support gusset  116 . The pressure wave  113  of liquefied gas is shown pushing down on the arm  120 . The bottom of the central shaft  110  shows the multiple intake holes  114  where the fire suppressant material  99  is pushed or siphoned into the intake holes  114  and through the integral siphon tube  112  where they can exit the fire extinguisher  19  through the hose  81  and dispensing nozzle  96 . The bottom seals exist in recesses in the bottom cap  111  of the central shaft  110 . The lower portion  118  of the bottom cap  111  is configured with a head for external gripping with a wheel that allows the central shaft  110  to be rotated externally. In this embodiment the drive is shaped like a “+”, but other shapes are contemplated that will provide essentially equivalent capability. 
         [0061]    Thus, specific embodiments of a portable fire extinguisher have been disclosed. It should be apparent, however, to those skilled in the art that many more modifications besides those described are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The inventive subject matter, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.