Abstract:
A fog or mist generating nozzle assembly produces a swirling fog pattern having a forward thrust component that permits an operator, stationed safely at a remote location relative to a fire source, to exercise directional control and positioning of a relatively large mist cloud on or about the fire source. The discharge nozzle includes a cylindrical bearing member and a cylindrical rotor member with multiple water discharge orifices that extend at a forward projection angle α relative to the nozzle axis. A pair of fog producing nozzles are configured with counter-rotating rotors, producing counter-rotating clouds that merge along a common vortex. This generates a composite mist cloud having a magnified forward thrust component, enabling remote directional control of the mist cloud.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This is a divisional application of application Ser. No. 10/919,862, filed Aug. 17, 2004. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to fluid discharge nozzles, and in particular to a fire fighting tool for producing a swirling (rotating) fog pattern that has a forward thrust component. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Spray discharge nozzles have many applications, and fire fighting is one of particular interest. It is well known that water absorbs not only heat but also many of the toxic gases of a fire and tends to clear away the smoke and does so most effectively when broken up into a fine spray or mist. Spray generating nozzles distribute the water discharge over a larger volume than do conventional fluid discharge nozzles in which water is discharged in a converging pattern of diffused solid streams. Spray generating nozzles are particularly useful in combating interior fires and are often used to provide protection for firefighting personnel by creating a water spray shield around the firefighters. 
     Conventional spray generating nozzles typically include a housing, a passageway for conducting water from a water supply source such as a fire hose from the inlet to the discharge end of the nozzle and a device for particulating the water to break it up into a fine stream. Multiple openings intersect the discharge end of the nozzle for directly diffusing the discharge spray outwardly from the nozzle. A commonly used device for particulating water is an internal impeller, which turns in response to the flow of water across obliquely inclined impeller surfaces inside the housing. 
     One limitation of conventional spray generating nozzles is that a high pressure source of water must be available to provide sufficient projection for the discharge spray. Because the discharge nozzle outlet is substantially smaller than the supply hose in order to produce a diffused spray, a back pressure builds up within the nozzle housing, thereby limiting the discharge flow rate. The use of an internal impeller to particulate the water also requires mechanical bearings and the like, which increases the cost and mechanical complexity of the nozzle. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,891 to Hansen and others show a fixed, non-rotatable spray head in which discharge orifices project a focused, converging jet spray discharge pattern. 
     The nozzle disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,740 to Ivy is a substantial improvement over conventional spray nozzles by virtue of its ability to generate a large cloud of fog or fine mist that is particularly effective for smothering a blaze. This is made possible by a rotary nozzle in which the discharge orifices project water droplets radially outwardly thereby producing a static fog pattern. Because the cloud remains static or centered relative to the nozzle, it is necessary for fire fighting personnel to position the rotary nozzle in close proximity to the blaze in order for it to have effective coverage. Moreover, by placing the nozzle close to the fire source, the mist cloud becomes caught in the updraft and is pulled away from the fire. Because the static cloud is not controllable in direction, it is necessary for the nozzle to be attended by an observer so that it can be repositioned from time to time to maintain the protective thermal shield around the fire source. 
     A limitation of conventional fog-cloud or mist-cloud generator nozzles is that the movement of the fog cloud or mist pattern is not controllable in any particular direction, and tends to remain centered on the nozzle or to drift randomly. It is often necessary for fire fighter personnel to approach dangerously close to a very hot fire in order to establish a mist cloud and hold it centered on the fire, to establish a thermal shield that allows the fire fighting personnel to work safely, and to smother the fire until it is extinguished or brought under control. This exposes the fire fighters to risk of serious burn injury and smoke inhalation, particularly where chemical fuel source fires are involved. 
     For these reasons, there is a continuing interest in improving fire fighting equipment generally, and water spray projection equipment in particular, especially for use around intense blaze situations. Improvements are needed in water projection equipment that will extend the safe operational limits of standard protective clothing and respiration equipment, and allow fire fighting personnel to work safely and effectively in close proximity to a fire source. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     An improved fog-cloud or mist-cloud generator nozzle according to the present invention produces a fog pattern having a forward thrust component that permits an operator, stationed safely at a remote location relative to a fire source, to exercise directional control and positioning of a relatively large volume of fog or mist on or about a fire source. The discharge nozzle includes a cylindrical bearing member closed at one end and open at the opposite end; means for connecting the bearing member to a fluid source; and a cylindrical sleeve member disposed concentric with and surrounding at least a portion of the bearing member and cooperating with the bearing member to form an annular chamber there between. The bearing member has a fluid passageway between the open and closed ends and a plurality of slots for allowing fluid entering the passageway to flow outwardly through the slots. 
     The sleeve member has a plurality of orifices communicating between the annular chamber and the exterior of the sleeve member. According to an important feature of the invention, the orifices extend at an acute forward projection angle relative to the nozzle axis, thus imparting a forward directional movement component to the water droplets as they are discharged. Additionally, the discharge orifices extend transversely to the radii of the sleeve member for imparting rotational torque to the sleeve member, thus producing a swirling (rotating) fog pattern that has a forward thrust component. As the rotor sleeve rotates in response to reaction forces imparted by the outward flow of fluid through the orifices, the fluid is particulated into a finely divided fog or mist and discharged along a swirling trajectory with a forward component of directional movement. When the annular chamber is pressurized, the fluid in the chamber serves as a bearing to support the sleeve member as it rotates about the bearing member. 
     According to one preferred embodiment, a pair of the fog producing nozzles of the invention are configured with counter-rotating rotors. The nozzles are positioned at laterally separated projection stations and are aimed at the fire source. Each nozzle generates a swirling (rotating) fog pattern or cloud that has a forward thrust component, swirling in counter-rotation relation to the other nozzle. The counter-rotating clouds intersect and intermix along a common vortex, thus reinforcing each other along the vortex, and producing a common rotating fog cloud pattern having a magnified forward vector thrust component, enabling directional control of the mist cloud for remote positioning. 
     According to another embodiment, dual counter-rotating nozzles are attached to a self-contained, portable tank unit with an internal pump and onboard power unit. The portable tank unit is skid mounted and capable of stand-alone operation, or can be slung below a helicopter for remote aerial stand-off operation, or truck-mounted for transport and set-up where road access is available. 
     According to yet another embodiment of the invention, dual counter-rotating nozzles are attached to portable, freestanding tripod units, each equipped with counter-rotating nozzles for set-up at safe, remote locations. The outputs of the counter-rotating nozzles combine along a common vortex to project a protective fog curtain or cloud onto or about a fire source for fire suppression and thermal shielding purposes. This allows fire fighting personnel to quickly set up the tripod units to gain initial control with protection of a thermal shield, and then reposition the tripod units and move progressively closer as the fire is contained, and then work safely in close proximity to the fire source. 
     According to a hand-held embodiment of the invention, the nozzle assembly is equipped with a handle shaft and a blunt (dome-shaped) bumper cap for manual application of fog or mist in industrial fire situations where penetration of plant infrastructure is to be avoided, for example around pressurized piping and tank containers holding caustic chemicals. In this embodiment, the nozzle is incorporated into a hand-held firefighting tool. The nozzle is mounted on a tubular shaft member having an open end; hose connection means for connecting the shaft member to a supply hose so that pressurized fluid is supplied to the nozzle; and the bumper cap is attached to the closed end of the bearing member. The bumper cap protects the rotor and prevents penetration damage to tubing and other plant equipment. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is an elevational view of a fog generating nozzle constructed according to the present invention; 
         FIG. 2  is a sectional view of the nozzle of  FIG. 1 , taken along the line  2 - 2 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a rotor sleeve component of the fog generating nozzle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a sectional view of the rotor sleeve component, taken along the line  4 - 4  of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a bearing member component of the fog generating nozzle shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 6  is a sectional view of the bearing member component, taken along the line  6 - 6  of  FIG. 5 ; 
         FIG. 7  is a side elevational view, partially broken away, of a fire fighting tool constructed according to the present invention, having a bumper cap and fog generating nozzle disposed thereon; 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the bearing member component of the nozzle as removed from the fire fighting tool shown in  FIG. 7 ; 
         FIG. 9  is a plan view of a dual, counter-rotating nozzle installation for generating a swirling (rotating) fog pattern or cloud that has a forward thrust component, swirling in counter-rotation relation to the other nozzle; 
         FIG. 10  is a perspective view of portable, freestanding tripod units, each equipped with counter-rotating nozzles set-up for generating mist clouds that merge, thereby producing a thermal mist curtain adjacent a chemical fire source; 
         FIG. 11  is a side elevation view of a self-contained, portable tank unit with an internal pump, onboard power unit and dual counter-rotating nozzles; 
         FIG. 12  is a front elevational view thereof; and 
         FIG. 13  is a simplified schematic view showing the interconnection of intake conduit, pump, drive motor, manifold and dual mist generating nozzles on the portable tank unit of  FIG. 11 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In the description which follows, like parts are marked throughout the specification and drawings, respectively. The drawings are not necessarily to scale and in some instances, proportions have been exaggerated in order to move clearly depict certain features of the invention. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a fog generating nozzle  10  according to present invention is threadedly connected to a coupling member  12 , which in turn is threadedly connected to a fluid conduit  14 , such as a water pipe or hose. Water conduit  14  is adapted for connection to a supply main (not shown) for pressurizing the nozzle  10 . 
     As can be seen in  FIGS. 2 ,  5  and  6 , the nozzle  10  includes a cylindrical bearing member  16 , having a fluid passageway  18  extending along a longitudinal axis  20  from a threaded base member  22  to a closed top member  24 . A reduced diameter sidewall portion  26  of bearing member  16  has a plurality of axially extending distribution openings in the form of elongated slots  28  disposed at angularly spaced intervals thereon. The combined discharge area of the slots  28  exceeds the cross sectional area of the supply conduit  14 , thereby admitting pressurized water  30  into passage  18 , virtually without imposing back pressure. 
     The base portion  22  is threaded at  32  and functions as a male member for mating with corresponding threads  34  on a female end of coupling  12 , as best seen in  FIG. 2 , to connect bearing member  16  to the supply conduit  14 . The corresponding male end  36  of coupling  12  is threadedly connected at  38  to the corresponding female end of fluid conduit  14 , as also shown in  FIG. 2 . The threaded base member  22  is open to admit water flow and is provided with a cylindrical shoulder extension  22 A which connects the threaded base portion to the reduced diameter sidewall portion. Likewise, closed top member  24  is provided with a cylindrical shoulder extension  24 A, connecting it to the reduced diameter sidewall portion. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  3  and  4 , a rotor sleeve  40  is coupled for rotation on the bearing member  16  to form the nozzle  10 . The rotor sleeve  40  is a hollow, cylindrical member intersected by a plurality of orifices  42  which preferably are equally spaced along respective parallel lines of circumference around the rotor sleeve  40 . According to an important feature of the invention, the discharge orifices  42  intersect through the rotor sidewall  46  transversely at an acute pitch angle α with respect to the rotary axis  20 , thus giving the mist particles a forward component of directional movement as they are discharged. 
     The pitch angle α is preferably in the range of from about 30-45 degrees, and more preferably in the range of about 35-42 degrees, as shown in  FIG. 2 . This is in contrast with the arrangement shown in my U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,740 in which the apertures  42  project at a right angle relative to the rotational axis  20 . That arrangement produces a static cloud centered about the nozzle rotary axis and does not develop a forward directional cloud movement component in line with the rotary axis. 
     The orifices  42  also extend transversely at an acute angle Φ with respect to corresponding lines of radius R of rotor sleeve  40  so that a turning force is imparted to sleeve  40  when water is discharged through orifices  42 . The angle Φ is preferably equal to about 30 degrees as measured from the orifice axis A to the principal radius line R, as shown in  FIG. 4 . This measurement is taken with the orifice  42  offset from the radius R by an offset spacing K (K=¼ inch for R=1 inch). 
     The rotor sleeve  40  is positioned concentric with bearing member  16  and is rotatable with respect to bearing member  16 . As best shown in  FIG. 2 , rotor sleeve  40  surrounds central portion  26  and slots  28  in their entirety and partially overlaps base member  22  and top member  24 . Rotor sleeve  40  includes radial flange portions  40 A,  40 B which maintain sleeve  40  in generally concentric alignment with bearing member  16 . Flange portions  40 A,  40 B are dimensioned to permit a slight amount of radial as well as axial end play. 
     An annular chamber  44  is defined between bearing member  16  and rotor sleeve  40 . When water  30  flows into passageway  18  under pressure, annular chamber  44  is pressurized with water to provide a water cushion upon which rotor sleeve  40  rides during rotation. Water flowing into passageway  18  will flow through slots  28  into annular chamber  44  and outwardly through orifices  42 , thereby causing rotor sleeve  40  to rotate around bearing member  16 . 
     The discharge of water  30  through the orifices  42  creates a reaction force having a component which is tangential to the curved surface  46  of the rotor sleeve  40 , as well as a component which is normal thereto. The tangential component imparts rotational motion to sleeve  40  in much the same manner that a jet engine turbine is turned by the reaction force produced by the flow of combustion gases through the engine nozzles. The centrifugal force associated with the rotation of rotor sleeve  40  breaks up the water particles into a fine mist or fog. The water particles travel outwardly in a substantially spiral pattern. Thus, the water particles are carried a sufficient distance to enable the nozzle  10  to be effectively used for firefighting purposes. 
     The nozzle  10  discharges a greater volume of water than conventional nozzles (1260 gallons per minute as compared to 65 gallons per minute for conventional convergent nozzles) and distributes the fog or mist discharge over a larger area. The improved G.P.M. delivery is obtained because of the unusually low back pressure presented by operation of the cylindrical bearing and rotatable sleeve, and due to the absence of frictional loading associated with conventional mechanical roller bearing structures. 
     According to another aspect of the invention, a hand-held firefighting tool  50  is depicted in  FIGS. 7 and 8 . The tool  50  includes a tubular shaft  52  having an end cap  54  sealing one end thereof and a fitting  56  extending outwardly from shaft  52  for coupling engagement with a fire hose  58  or the like. Mounted on the opposite end of shaft  52  are the nozzle  10  and a bumper cap  60 , having a rounded face  62  to provide a relatively smooth surface on the forward end for opposing penetration when working around building structure such as machinery, flow conduits, tubing, tanks and the like. The bumper cap  60  is preferably machined from stainless steel stock. The means for connecting the tool  50  to the fluid supply hose  58  is a Y-branch connector fitting  56  integrally formed on the shaft member and having a longitudinal axis that extends transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the shaft member. The fluid discharge device, shaft member and connector fitting are also preferably formed of stainless steel stock material. 
     The forward end of shaft  52  is equipped with female threads  66  for engaging corresponding threads  32  on bearing member  16 , to couple the nozzle  10  to the shaft  52 . In one embodiment, the bumper cap  60  is integrally formed on the forward end of the bearing member  16 . In an alternate embodiment, the bearing member  16  is equipped with male threads on or adjacent to the top portion  24  for engaging corresponding female threads on the bumper cap  60 . In both embodiments, the nozzle  10  is disposed immediately behind the bumper cap  60  and flush with tubular shaft  52 . According to this arrangement, the nozzle  10  is protected from damage resulting from inadvertent engagement of the nozzle against building structure and equipment. 
     Referring again to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , safety rings  67 ,  69  are formed on the external surface of the bumper cap  60  and the tubular shaft  52 , respectively. The safety rings  67 ,  69  are annular weld beads located immediately forward and aft of the rotor sleeve  40 . The safety ring  67  minimizes scraping engagement of the building structure against the rotor sleeve  40 . The safety ring  69  serves the same purpose. According to this arrangement, the rotor sleeve  40  is protected against damaging impact force which might bend it and cause it to become unbalanced. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 9  and  FIG. 10 , free-standing tripod units  70 ,  72  are equipped with counter-rotating nozzles  10  and high pressure water conduits  71 ,  73  for set-up at safe, remote locations away from a fire source of intense heat, for example a burning portion of a petrochemical processing plant  74  s shown in  FIG. 10 . Swirling mist particles are discharged from the counter-rotating nozzles and are represented by the spiral lines  76 ,  78 . These swirling mist clouds have a forward thrust component that projects the mist forward along the nozzle axis  20 . The swirling mist particles move forward and merge along a common vortex  80  to project a protective fog curtain or cloud onto or about the fire source  74  for fire suppression and thermal shielding purposes. This allows fire fighting personnel to quickly set up the tripod units to gain initial control with protection of a thermal shield, and then repositing the tripod units. 
     The centrifugal force associated with the rotation of the sleeve member  40  particulates the water into finely divided mist particles and discharges the mist forwardly in a swirling, spiral pattern  76 ,  78 . Extended coverage is obtained from available high pressure supply mains, and because of the substantially reduced back pressure, a large delivery rate approaching the supply conduit flow rate is obtained, thus enabling it to extinguish a fire and cool down the source prior to approach by firefighting personnel. 
     Because of the finely particulated nature of the discharged water droplets, heat from the fire source  74  will cause approximately 80% of the water droplets to flash to steam, thereby removing heat from the fire by increasing the temperature of the discharged water droplets to the flash point and by latent heat of vaporization which causes the water droplets to make the transition to the vapor state. For example, one cubic foot of water will produce approximately 1700 cubic feet of steam. The resulting steam forms a blanket around the fire source  74 , which reduces the amount of oxygen available so as to “choke off” the fire. Moreover, the fog and steam propagate throughout the structure surrounding the fire source and into spaces that otherwise could not be reached. Even if the fire cannot be completely extinguished, the fire source will be cooled down sufficiently to allow firemen to work and move about in close proximity with additional hoses and fire fighting equipment to extinguish the fire. 
     One skilled in the art will recognize that the fog generating nozzle  10  of the present invention has many applications in addition to portable fire fighting equipment. For example, the nozzle  10  may be coupled to a rigid water pipe or flexible water hose and installed in a central location within a greenhouse or other enclosure in which humidity control is desired. The nozzle  10  can be pressurized periodically, as desired, to discharge a large volume of fog or mist which will propagate throughout the enclosure to maintain a desired humidity level. Moreover, a system of nozzles  10  can be installed in a building structure as an integral part of an automatic fire extinguishing system. 
     Preferred specifications for the nozzle  10 :
     nozzle net weight—24 lbs.   rotor material—carbon-filled Teflon   angle of discharge apertures in rotor—35°-42°, bore size 3/16 in. diameter   barrel of nozzle material—Schedule 40 stainless steel seamless pipe   nozzle water connection—1.5 in. National (Fire Thpe) or 1.5 in. shutoff valve   nozzle flow rating GPM at 175psi-1260 G.P.M.   

     The nozzle  10  constructed with the preferred dimensions given above offers more protection for firefighters and also provides a higher GPM flow. Specifically, the protection this improved design offers is a more dense fog pattern. This dense fog pattern provides a very high reduction in temperatures that firefighters are subjected to while approaching a burning structure or chemical fire. 
     In an industrial setting, i.e. chemical, petroleum and the like, there are piping, electrical, water, etc. systems running throughout the plant. A sharp, pointed tip is not always needed in a more open industrial plant environment which is often congested with vital supply lines that maintain the operation of the plant. In an industrial setting, most of the fires are related to the product that the plant produces, i.e. LPG, gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, etc. The improved nozzle  10  offers firefighters an option to any given fire situation. The blunt bumper cap poses no risk of penetration damage to surrounding infrastructure. 
     Referring now to  FIGS. 11 ,  12  and  13 , a portable tank unit  82  makes use of the improved nozzle  10  for fighting wildfires. The portable tank unit  82  is skid mounted and capable of stand-alone operation, supplying high pressure water to tripod-mounted or hand-held nozzle operation, or can be slung below a helicopter for remote aerial stand-off operation, or truck-mounted for transport and set-up to supply a hand-held fire fighting nozzle or a tripod-mounted nozzle for operations where road access is available. 
     The tank unit  82  includes a 1500-gallon stainless steel tank  84  with dished ends, two skids  86 ,  88 , a self-contained submersible pump  90 , an electric drive motor  92 , intake conduit  94 , one-way fill valves  96 ,  98 ,  100  located on the bottom side of the tank, a distribution manifold  102 , and internal interconnect piping. Discharge conduits  104 ,  106  extend from the manifold through one dished end  108  the tank at a 50° angle downward. There are two 3-inch diameter stainless steel conduits that form the working end of the tank system. Two mist generators  10  are mounted on the end of the discharge conduits. The rotor orifices of these nozzles are drilled at an angle that provides a forward thrust of the fog pattern, and counter-rotation rotor movement relative to each other. 
     With both mist generator patterns  76 ,  78  intersecting or converging on one another, rotating in opposite directions creates a thrust vortex  80  between the two nozzles, as shown in  FIG. 9 . This vortex adds a push to the fog cloud. 
     In a wildfire operation, the portable tank unit  82  is brought to the site of the wildfire via helicopter. The tank unit  82  is slung via a tether line below the helicopter loitering at a stand off position adjacent a burning forest canopy, and the fog cloud is projected from the dual nozzles onto the burning canopy. As the fog cloud contacts the burning canopy it is turned into steam almost instantly, thus cooling the ambient temperature and removing a significant amount of heat from the area. It also blankets the area with a thick fog that removes a significant amount of oxygen from the burning canopy. The tank system  82  provides a fog pattern approximately 120 feet wide, and when loaded with 1500 gallons of water covers a path of approximately one-quarter mile in length. 
     The electrical power supply for the tank unit&#39;s self-contained drive motor  92  is located in the helicopter and is operated by one of the crew. The tank unit can also be mounted on a truck or off-road vehicle that can be deployed ahead of the fire. The tank system creates a dense fog cover at lower elevations beneath the canopy. This dense fog cools the ambient temperature and at the same time soaks the forest floor vegetation, thus reducing the fuel element of the fire triangle. 
     Although the invention has been described with reference to certain exemplary arrangements, it is to be understood that the forms of the invention shown and described are to be treated as preferred embodiments. Various changes, substitutions and modifications can be realized without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.