AU2004100194A4 - Bushfire Protection System - Google Patents

Description

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 INNOVATION PATENT SPECIFICATION

APPLICANT:

INVENTION TITLE: FRANZ ROZENKRANZ BUSHFIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM The invention is described in the following statement: BUSHFIRE PROTECTION SYSTEM Field of the Invention The present innovation relates to systems for protecting properties, in particular, buildings against fires, in particular, bushfires.

Background Bushfires occur in many parts of the world. In Australia, bushfires are particularly severe, due to the high numbers of eucalyptus trees, which contain large amounts of oil, which burns very fast and hot. Bushfires may be started naturally, for example by a lightning strike, or may be artificially started by deliberate or accidental ignition.

The high heat and fast burning of a bushfire mean that bushfires can travel very quickly. While this may mean that an area is only exposed to the centre of a fire for a few minutes, the intense heat causes much destruction even in that short time.

Changing conditions can make the direction of movement of a fire extremely unpredictable. Therefore, fire fighters typically have to work very fast in order to react to the movement of fires and to try to protect homes and other buildings in the path of-the fire. Additionally, fire fighters encounter problems where the local water pressure is insufficient to provide adequate water coverage to fight the fire.

Certain precautions can be taken in order to reduce the risk of bushfires burning homes. These precautions include planting deciduous rather than eucalyptus trees close to the home, clearing away dead brush from the region of the home, and clearing guttering of dry vegetation. However, even with these precautions taken, wind can carry flying embers from a fire to a property (a house and surrounding land), which settle on or near the house causing spot fires, which can destroy the house or other buildings on the property.

W:11RN\708249\SPECI FORMAT 5.3.04.doc Summary of the Invention The invention provides a bushfire protection system that is completely selfcontained, that is to say it does not rely on any resources outside the property to be protected while it is protecting the property. The bushfire protection system provides a dedicated source of flame and/or heat retardant fluid and a delivery system to at least partially cover the property to be protected with fluid from the source. The flame and/or heat retardation fluid used in the invention may be water, and the components of the invention may be designed for use with water. The system may be activated by a simple remote action of a user, and, the system may be activated automatically, in response to heat or fire detection methods.

Therefore, according to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a self contained bushfire protection system, the system including at least one dedicated fluid storage tank, a fluid delivery system connected to the storage tank, for dispersing fluid over at least a part of a property to be protected, and at least one fluid pump system for pumping fluid from the storage tank, through the fluid delivery system and over said at least part of the property. Self-contained is used here to mean that the bushfire protection system can operate independently of any resource outside a property during a fire.

Instead of a fluid tank, any other dedicated local fluid storage source may be used to store the fluid to be used in the system. In particular, the source is immediately available when required. The fluid supply should be dedicated to this purpose, and should be able to operate independently of any other sources of fluid during the fire.

In an embodiment, the fluid pump system includes a fluid pump and a diesel engine. The diesel engine is sufficiently powerful to power the pump to pump sufficient fluid through the fluid delivery system and onto the property to be protected to fight the fire.

W:\IRN708249%SPECI FORMAT 5.3.04.doc In an embodiment, the fluid delivery system includes a plurality of outlets for spraying a property with the fluid. In an embodiment the outlets are sprinklers connected to the fluid pump system by underground pipes. The pipes and sprinklers may be made of metal. The pipes may be made of material that is resistant to heat. The pipes may be buried to protect them from the intense heat of a bushfire. The sprinklers are preferably made from material resistant to heat. The sprinklers are positioned around the property so that when fluid is pumped out of the fluid delivery system, at least part of the property to be protected receives fluid from the delivery system. Preferably, the fluid from the sprinklers covers the whole property.

Preferably, the sprinklers are arranged in an inner ring and outer ring, the inner ring being disposed closer to a house on the property than the outer ring. This can provide two layers of defence. The outer ring of sprinklers can be directed to spray fluid over the land of the property around a house or other building on the property. The inner ring of sprinklers can then be directed to spray the house. In an embodiment, the inner ring of sprinklers is supplied with fluid from an inner pipe ring, and the outer ring of sprinklers is supplied with water from an outer pipe ring.

The two rings could be activated separately, for example, with the outer ring being activated first, and the inner ring being activated only if necessary.

Alternatively, both rings could be activated together. In one embodiment, a separate pump and engine is provided for each ring of sprinklers. In an embodiment, a separate dedicated local fluid source is provided for each ring of sprinklers. In an embodiment, the fluid from each independent source can be diverted to the other of the rings. Further rings, for example, three, four, five, or more, may be provided if necessary, in the same ways as described above.

Brief Description of the Drawings An embodiment of the invention will now be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: WAIRNM708249%SPECI FORMAT 5.3.04.doc Figure 1 shows a schematic diagram of the system of an embodiment of the invention; and Figure 2 shows a plan view of a system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of Embodiments of the Invention In the present exemplary embodiments, the fluid described will be water.

However, other flame and/or heat retardant fluids could also be used.

The system of an embodiment of the invention includes a water tank 20, a pump 30, driven by a petrol engine 40, a connecting pipe 50 supplying a first, inner pipe of ring 60 to which are attached sprinklers 65. The pipe 50 is also connected to a second pipe of ring 70, to which are attached further sprinklers The water tank 20 is elevated and is made from concrete. In the present embodiment, the water tank is mounted on the ground. In the present embodiment, the tank has a capacity of between 20,000 litres and 30,000 litres.

The tank 20 is connected to an external water source for filling. The external water source may be mains water, may be river or stream water or may be collected rainwater from guttering or the like. The water tank 20 supplies water to the pump 30 via a tank pipe 22. The tank pipe 22 is made from metal and has a sufficient diameter to supply water. The pump 30 in the present embodiment is a Dowey Firefighter@ Plus pump. The pump 30 is capable of supplying 450 litres of water from the tank 20 per minute.

The water tank 20 is a dedicated water source, i.e. it is not used for any other purpose than in the bushfire protection system. In particular, it is not a source of water for the house or for any other such use.

W:AIRNM708249SPECI FORMAT 5.3.04.doc 6 The pump 30 is driven by a diesel engine 40. The diesel engine 40 may be of any type. In the present embodiment, the diesel engine is a Yanmar L100E generating 9 h.p. In an alternative embodiment, a petrol engine can also be used. Additionally, electric motors could be used.

The fuel engine 20 is connected to a fuel tank 45. The fuel tank is insulated from heat, and the connection from the fuel tank 45 to the fuel engine 40 is also insulated from heat, as is the fuel engine 40 itself.

The pump 30 supplies both the inner pipe ring 60 and outer pipe ring 70 via the connecting pipe 50. The connecting pipe 50 and the pipe rings 60, 70 are buried underground and are made from metal. In the present embodiment, the diameter of the connecting pipe 50 is 500 mm, and the diameter of the pipe rings 60, 70 is 35 mm, reducing to 20 mm at the join to the sprinklers.

Sprinklers 65, 75 attached to each of the pipe rings 60, 70 extend from the buried ring 60, 70 to a position above ground, from which they can spray water onto the property. In the present embodiment, the sprinklers are Nelson F33S full circle single nozzle sprinklers. The water passing through the connecting pipe 50 splits to pass into the inner and outer pipe rings 60, 70. The proportion of water travelling into each can be controlled by the relative diameters of each of the pipe rings 60, 70. However, in the present embodiment, both are the same diameter. The water is pumped through the pipe rings 60, 70 and out of the sprinklers 65, 75, in order to cover at least part of the property with water.

Referring now to figure 2, a property is shown, which has a house 12 and surrounding land 14. The water tank 20 is located adjacent to the house and the pump 30, petrol engine 40 and fuel tank 45 are enclosed in a concrete cubicle 80, also adjacent the house. The connecting pipe 50 extends underground from the concrete cubicle 80 to each of the inner and outer pipe rings 60, 70. The inner and outer pipe rings 60, 70 are arranged concentrically around the house and are also underground. The area covered by each sprinkler is shown by a circle 90. Eighteen sprinklers are provided, four connected to the inner pipe ring 60, and fourteen to the outer pipe ring W:1IRN\708249%SPECI FORMAT 5.3.04.doc As can be seen from figure 2, the sprinklers 75 connected to the outer ring cover an area of the property around the house 12. The sprinklers connected to the inner ring 60 protect the house itself and the area of land immediately surrounding it.

The method of operation of the system according to an embodiment of the invention will now be described. In the present embodiment, the system is activated by a user activated remote control. When the system is not activated, the pump 30 prevents water from passing from the water tank 20 and pipe 22 to the connecting pipe 50. Alternatively, a separate valve maybe provided. When the system is activated, the petrol engine 40 is started and the petrol engine drives the pump 30. As the pump 30 is driven, water is sucked from the water tank 20 through the tank pipe 22 and into the connecting pipe 50. The pump provides a lead (water pressure) of ten to fifteen metres. The sprinklers can reach to a height of around eight metres, which is sufficient to cover a two storey building.

As stated above the pump 30 pumps water at a rate of 450 litres per minute. As the water tank is 20,000 litres in size, the pump can supply water to the sprinkler 65, 75 for around 45 minutes when the system has been activated.

Where the water tank 20 is 30, 000, the pump 30 can supply water to the sprinklers for more than one hour. This can be achieved without any external water source. Therefore, the system is self-contained during operation.

In an alternative embodiment, two separate connecting pipes can replace connecting pipe 50, with one connecting pipe leading to each of the inner and outer rings 60, 70. A valve can be included before either inner ring 60 or outer ring 70 or both, in order to control the water flow as required. The valves could be operated remotely and/or could be operated automatically.

In a further embodiment, a second pump and engine can be provided as a back-up should the main pump or engine fail. These could be provided in parallel to the pump 30 and engine 40 being supplied by water from an offshoot of pipe 22 and connecting pipe W:,IRN\708249,SPECI FORMAT 5.3.04.doc The sprinklers of the inner ring 65 are preferably arranged so that water pumped through the sprinklers 65 covers substantially the whole house to be protected.

The pumping rate of the pump depends in general on the number of sprinklers provided, together with the flow rate through each sprinkler.

The pressure generated should be sufficient to ensure water flows through each sprinkler and is ejected with sufficient speed to cover the desired area with water.

The size of tank required will generally depend on the flow rate required though the pump to the sprinklers.

These integers will ideally be decided on a location by location basis, depending on the property to the protected.

The present embodiment has been described purely by way of example and various modifications will present themselves to one skilled in the art, such modifications being within the scope and spirit of the invention. The invention also extends to individual integers and groups of integers described above.

W:\IRN\7082491SPECI FORMAT 5.3.04.doc

Claims (4)

1. A self-contained bushfire protection system for protecting a property, the system including: at least one dedicated fluid storage tank; a fluid delivery system connected to the storage tank, for dispersing fluid over at least a part of a property to be protected; and at least one fluid pump system for pumping fluid from the fluid storage tank, through the fluid delivery system, and over said at least part of the property.

2. A self-contained bushfire protection system according to claim 1, wherein the fluid pump system includes a water pump and a diesel engine.

3. A self-contained bushfire protection system according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the fluid delivery system includes a plurality of sprinklers connected to the fluid pump system by underground pipes.

4. A self-contained bushfire protection system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the plurality of sprinklers are arranged in an inner ring and outer ring, the inner ring being disposed closer to a building on the property than the outer ring. A self-contained bushfire protection system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the fluid is water. W:\IRN\708249\SPECI FORMAT 5.3.04.doc