US 6,202,667 B1 · Apparatus and method for stopping the propagation of ignited flammable gas in a conduit

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for stopping the propagation of an ignited flammable gas in a conduit used in semiconductor processing are proposed and described. In the apparatus, a mounting mechanism and a bullet are provided inside an elongated conduit body wherein the bullet is detachably mounted to the mounting means, while the mounting mechanism is fixedly attached to an inside wall of the elongated conduit body. The bullet is equipped with an explosive pack in a body portion and a bullet head in a head portion. When a flame from an ignited flammable gas enters the conduit and ignites the explosive pack, the bullet is propelled into and frictionally engaging the inlet end of the conduit body such that an internal passageway in the inlet end is substantially blocked to prevent the further propagation of flame upstream into the conduit. The bullet utilized in the present invention novel apparatus may be suitably supplied with a tapered body such that the tapered surface advantageously engages the internal passageway in the inlet end of the conduit body when the bullet is by the explosion of an explosive pack toward the inlet end.

Claims20

Dependent claims

An apparatus for stopping the propagation of an ignited flammable gas in a conduit comprising:

an elongated conduit body having an inlet end and an outlet end,
a mounting means fixedly attached to an inside wall of said elongated conduit body between said inlet end and said outlet end, and
a bullet means comprising a head portion and a body portion, said body portion being detachably mounted to said mounting means such that the body portion is suspended in a cavity of said elongated conduit body with said head portion pointed toward said inlet end, said body portion being equipped with an explosive pack having an ignition means exposed to and facing said outlet end of the conduit body, said body portion further having an outside diameter larger than an inside diameter of the inlet end of the conduit body such that when said explosive pack is ignited by a flame entering said cavity of the conduit body from said outlet end, the bullet means severs from said mounting means and propels toward said inlet end such that the outside perimeter of said body portion of the bullet means frictionally engages said inside diameter of inlet end of said conduit body substantially blocking a passage in said inlet end and stopping propagation of said flame.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Apparatus and method for stopping the propagation of ignited flammable gas in a conduit

Life of this patent

Apparatus and method for stopping the propagation of ignited flammable gas in a conduit

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims20