AU3915401A

AU3915401A - Pilot burner, especially for a fire-fighting training installation

Info

Publication number: AU3915401A
Application number: AU39154/01A
Authority: AU
Inventors: George Aslanian; Richard Bell; Robert Giguere; Sasha Honsl; Armin Spaniol; Jakob Spiegel
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-02-04
Filing date: 2001-01-31
Publication date: 2001-08-14
Also published as: CA2399021A1; DE10005046C2; EP1255589A1; WO2001056659A1; DE10005046A1

Description

A pilot burner, particularly for a fire drill installation Description The invention relates to a pilot burner, particularly for a fire drill installation, comprising an air supply, a gas supply, an electric current supply, a mixing chamber for generating an air-gas mixture, AND an ignition element comprising a spark plug or the like and in operative connection with the current supply, and a flame outlet. Fire drill installations are essential for training firemen, who are constantly in life-threatening situations while on duty. Numerous fire drill installations are known in the prior art. For example EP 0 388 447 B1 discloses a conventional fire drill installation comprising a pilot burner according to the preamble. In the said pilot burner according to the preamble, the air supply, the gas supply and the spark plug are disposed relatively near the flame tip, which results in considerable restrictions regarding the material and the relative construction and also makes the complete system less flexible. High flexibility, however, is precisely what needs to be aimed at when training for a wide variety of dangerous situations in fire drill installations.

2 Many efforts to imitate real-life conditions have already been made recently, particularly in connection with simulation of a "flashover" (see the not previously published DE 199 59 640.9-22) or the control and monitoring of training of firemen in burning rooms (see the not previously published DE 100 02 349.5). The object of the invention therefore is to improve the pilot burner according to the preamble so that it overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art and more particularly is of versatile use and can realistically simulate flame aspects. According to the invention this problem is solved by an outer jacket and an inner jacket, wherein the air supply opens into a space between the outer jacket and the inner jacket and the gas supply opens into the interior of the inner jacket, the mixing chamber is disposed at least partly in the space between the outer jacket and the inner jacket, the inner jacket in the region of the mixing chamber has openings for gas to enter the mixing chamber, an ignition electrode extends at least partly inside the inner jacket and from the spark plug at least as far as an earth electrode disposed in the outer jacket in the end region of the flame outlet of the outer jacket, and the air supply, the gas supply and the current supply are disposed in the end region of the outer jacket opposite the flame outlet.

3 Optionally, a device can be provided for mixing the air-gas mixture, preferably downstream of the mixing chamber and e.g. in the form of a diffuser plate at the end of the mixing chamber facing the flame outlet. A preferred embodiment of the invention is characterised in that the outer jacket, the inner jacket and the ignition electrode are made of flexible material at least partly, preferably between the air supply, the gas supply and/or the current supply on the one hand and the mixing chamber on the other hand. Optionally the flexible material is heat-resistant. The invention is thus based on the surprising discovery that the flexibility of a conventional pilot burner can be increased if the space between an air supply, a gas supply and a current supply on the one hand and the actual flame generation on the other hand can be varied in dimensions and/or shape by use of an outer jacket, an inner jacket and an ignition electrode inside the inner jacket. More particularly the length of the outer jacket, the inner jacket and the ignition electrode can be chosen so that owing to their distance from the actual flame, the elements essential for producing it, e.g. the spark plug, the air supply and the gas supply, are exposed to less stress, can be made more cheaply and last longer. Another important advantage when using the pilot burner according to 4 the invention is that the outer jacket, the inner jacket and the ignition electrode can at least partly be made flexible, so that the pilot burner is easier to install and any flame aspects can be simulated. This is particularly important when simulating a fire on a staircase, the flame propagation from a ruptured gas pipe, the flame aspect at a window or the like. Other features and advantages of the invention will be clear from the following description in which two exemplified embodiments of the invention are explained in detail by way of example and with reference to diagrammatic drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a sectional view through a first pilot burner according to the invention and Fig. 2 is a sectional view through a second pilot burner according to the invention. Fig. 1 shows a pilot burner 1 according to the invention comprising a substantially tubular outer jacket 10 in which a likewise tubular inner jacket 12 extends concentrically. Air can be introduced into the space between the outer jacket 10 and the inner jacket 12, e.g. by using a fan 14 or a tank of compressed air (not shown). Gas can be supplied to the interior of the inner jacket 12 through a fuel line 16. The gas can flow through the inner jacket 12 into the space between the outer jacket 10 and the inner jacket 12 via a number of openings 13 in 5 the inner jacket 12 in the region of a mixing chamber 18. Air and gas then mix in the mixing chamber 18 and the resulting air-gas mixture flows to a diffuser plate 19 and a flame is ignitable downstream thereof. To this end an ignition electrode 22 is disposed concentrically inside the inner jacket 12 and is in operative connection to a spark plug 20 at one end whereas its other end co operates with an earth electrode 24 for igniting the air-gas mixture, so that a flame can come out of a flame outlet 30. According to an essential feature of the invention the fan 14, i.e. the air supply, the fuel line 16 and the spark plug 20, which is connected to a power supply (not shown), are disposed at one end of the pilot burner 1 and the flame ignition region is at the other end of the pilot burner 1. The pilot burner 1 according to the invention can thus be given a variety of constructions, by choosing the shape and dimensions of the outer jacket 10, the inner jacket 12 and the ignition electrode 22. Fig. 2 shows a preferred development of the pilot burner 1 shown in Fig. 1, like parts being given like reference numbers in the two drawings. The difference between the pilot burner 1 in Fig. 1 and the pilot burner la in Fig. 2 is that the outer jacket 10a, 10b, the inner jacket 12a, 12b and the ignition electrode 22a, 22b are divided into two portions. A first portion 10a, 12a, 22a is 6 constructed as in the case of the pilot burner 1 in Fig. 1, with a mixing chamber 18a disposed between the outer jacket 10a and the inner jacket 12a. The second portion of the outer jacket 10b, the inner jacket 12b and the ignition electrode 22b differ, however, in the case of the pilot burner la in Fig. 2, from the pilot burner 1 in Fig. 1 in that a different geometrical configuration is chosen, as easily obtainable by use of a flexible material for the outer jacket 10b, the inner jacket 12b and the ignition electrode 22b. Owing to the flexibility of the pilot burner la via choice of the material for the outer jacket 10b, the inner jacket 12b and the ignition electrode 22b, the range of uses of the pilot burner according to the invention is considerably extended. The features disclosed in the preceding description, claims and drawings, either alone or in any desired combination, are essential for working the invention in its various embodiments.

Claims

1. A pilot burner, particularly for a fire drill installation, comprising an air supply, a gas supply, an electric current supply, a mixing chamber for generating an air-gas mixture, and an ignition element comprising a spark plug or the like and inoperative connection with the current supply, and a flame outlet, characterised by an outer jacket (10, 10a, 10b) and an inner jacket (12, 12a, 12b), wherein the air supply (14) opens into a space between the outer jacket (10, 10a, 10b) and the inner jacket (12, 12a, 12b) and the gas supply (16) opens into the interior of the inner jacket (12, 12a, 12b), the mixing chamber (18, 18a) is disposed at least partly in the space between the outer jacket (10, 10a, 10b) and the inner jacket (12, 12a, 12b), the inner jacket (12, 12a, 12b) in the region of the mixing chamber (18, 18a) has openings (13) for gas to enter the mixing chamber (18, 18a), an ignition electrode (22, 22a, 22b) extends at least partly inside the inner jacket (12, 12a, 12b) and from the spark plug (20) at least as far as an earth electrode (24) disposed in the outer jacket (10, 10a, 10b) in the end region of the flame outlet (30) of the outer jacket (10, 10a, 10b), and the air supply (14), the gas supply (16) and the current supply are disposed in the end region of the outer jacket (10, 10a, 10b) opposite the flame outlet (30). 8

2. An ignition burner according to claim 1, characterised by a device for mixing the air-gas mixture, preferably downstream of the mixing chamber (18, 18a) and e.g. in the form of a diffuser plate (19) at the end of the mixing chamber (18, 18a) facing the flame outlet (30).

3. A pilot burner according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the outer jacket (10b), the inner jacket (12b) and the ignition electrode (22b) are made of flexible material at least partly, preferably between the air supply (14), the gas supply (16) and/or the current supply on the one hand and the mixing chamber (18a) on the other hand.

4. A pilot burner according to claim 3, characterised in that the flexible material is heat resistant.