Aircraft fire fighting trainer having a mixture of liquid and aggregate particles as a fuel diffuser

• US 5,411,397 A
• Filed: 01/22/1993
• Issued: 05/02/1995
• Est. Priority Date: 01/22/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Kidde Fire Trainers, Inc. (Kidde Fire Trainer Holdings LLC)
• Original Assignee: Symtron Systems, Inc. (Carrier Global Corporation)
• Inventors: Ernst, James J., Rogers, William, Williamson, Steven, Musto, Dominick J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Mancene, Gene
• Assistant Examiner(s): Smith, Jeffrey A.
• Application Number:
  US08/007,474
• Time in Patent Office: 830 Days
• Field of Search: 434/226
• US Class Current: 434/226
• CPC Class Codes: A62C 99/0081 Training methods or equipment for fire-fighting
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 9/00 Simulators for teaching or training purposes for the use of weapons F41; computing aspects G06; protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality H04L67/131

Abstract

A fire fighting trainer for use in training fire fighters to extinguish jet crash fuel fires and the like, the trainer includes a supply pipe and control valve, a distribution pipe with holes, an open tank with a diffuser being a mixture of water and gravel within which the distribution pipe is disposed, so that liquid propane jets out from the holes, then passes as vapor bubbles to the diffuser surface, then collects as propane vapor on the surface, and a gas pilot flame device for lighting the propane vapor to form flames on the diffuser surface. The simulated flames look very similar to jet crash liquid fuel flames.

Claims

1. In a fire fighting trainer comprising supply means for supplying a pressurized liquid fuel, distribution means connected to the supply means for distributing the liquid fuel into liquid fuel jets, a diffuser means having an upper surface and ignition means for igniting the liquid fuel vapor on the diffuser means upper surface to simulate a gasoline or similar fire, the improvement which comprises utilizing as said diffuser means a mixture of liquid and aggregate particles.

2. The trainer of claim 1, wherein the diffuser means liquid is water.

3. The trainer of claim 1, wherein the aggregate particles are gravel.

4. The trainer of claim 1, wherein the aggregate particles are gravel and the diffuser means liquid is water.

5. The trainer of claim 1, wherein the diffuser means liquid is present in 25 to 75% by volume of the aggregate particles.

6. The trainer of claim 5, wherein the diffuser means liquid is water and the aggregate particles are gravel.

7. The trainer of claim 5 wherein the aggregate particles are selected from the group consisting of bluestone and granite chips having a diameter of 0.5 to 2.5 inches.

8. The trainer of claim 5 wherein the aggregate particles are bluestone chips having a diameter of 1.5 to 2.0 inches.

9. The trainer of claim 1 wherein the diffuser has a depth of about 4 to 6 inches.

10. The trainer of claim 1 further comprising a container means for containing the diffuser means, wherein said container means has a diameter of from 50 to 150 feet.