CA1037818A - Fire protection apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT
Fire protection apparatus having a conduit formed internally with longitudinally continuous compartments for conveying water or fire-extinguishing gas or foam, and spray nozzles spaced along the conduit and each connected to a different compartment thereof. Combustion detectors are arranged in each of the areas adjacent to the conduit which are covered by the spray from the nozzles and operate a control system selectively supplying fluid to a compartment of the conduit when a fire hazard is detected, so as to supply the particular nozzle or nozzles covering the area where the fire hazard has arisen. An extensive network of piping is avoided and the apparatus can be installed incon-spicuously and without the need for robust jointing, sealing and supporting fittings.

Description

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This invention relates to fire protection apparatus and re particularly to apparatus for installation in a building and intended for distributing fire-extinguishing fluid selectively from a central source there~f to the areas where a fire hazard has arisen. The apparatus of the invon-tion is re especially aavantageous, alth~ugh not exclusively 80, when applied to fire-protection in small or mediumrsized premises such as residential apartments and office premisesO
The form of fire protection system most comm~nly met with is the convontional sprinkler system, having an e tensive network of piping permanently filled with water and being equipped with heat-fusible water-releasing and ~prinkling devices.
HDwever, quite commDnly in existing pre~ises the ~ -~prinkler system ext~hds only to the oo D n accoss areas of the building such a~ the corridors and staircases, l aving private areas such a8 private residential apartments or office pre~ises within the building unprotocted, and in many buildings, particularly older premises, there is no prinkler system at all.
Sy~t-m~ following the principle~ of the known prinkler sy-tom ofton cannot be conveniently installed in existing premises or privat- areas theroof bec~use of the difficultieJ and oo~t involved in in~talling the xtensive length- of piping required, and the need for providing elaborate supporting structure for carrying the w d ght of the water-filled piping. FurthermDre, the obtru~iveness of the Qxposod piping and its sprinkling dovice~ is 80 _ hat undesirable, and ooncealment of the - 1 - ~ ' .

-- 1037t~1~
system above overhead panelling or by embedding it in the material of the c~iling may be unacceptable or impractical.
In the present invention, the fire protoction apparatus comprises one or m~re conduits each divided into a plurality of longitudinally continuous compartments, along which watsr or other fire-extinguishing fluid can be conveyed For applying the fluid to the area or area~ where a fire danger is present, there i~ provided a plurality of nozzles couering different area~ to be protected, each connected to a different comp~rtment of the cDnduit. SmDke detectors, heat detectora, or other forms of fire hazard detectorQ ar-arranged in or adjacent the areas cov red by the nozzl-~, and these ~erve to aDntrol the operation of mean~ which solectively upply fluid to a oDmpartment or oDmpartment~ of the conduit a~ to direct the fluid to nozzles cov ring the ar as where hoat or smDke is detected ~ -Thi- ~ytt~ has the advantag- that a single conduit having the nozzlos at spaced region- along it- length can s-rve to offer fir-,prot-ction to a number of rooms or oth-r area-within pr-mi--- wh~r- th- apparatu- i- installed, whil- th-nozzl-s th _ lvo~ need not bo po-itioned centrally ovor the roomJ to be protected. The aDnduit may b- installed u~obtrusively in the fashion of oornicing along th- uppor edg-s of the walls of th pr-Dis-s, and wil~ extend fnDm a contral sourco of the firor xtinguishing fluid and through th- various areas to be protocted, with th nozzlo~ b-ing dir-ct d towards thd in-t rior of the room~ or other ar-as and with tho ~mDke, h at, or other firo hazard detectors being arranged centrally within th- rooms. A- th conduit i~ nDt perman ntly filled or

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pressurized, relatively lightweight and simple jointing arrangements and supporting fittings can be used. In a preferred embodiment, the conduit is of rectangular external profile and can thus be readily and inconspicuously received ~ -in the angle between the ceiling and the wall of the room.
The invention will now be more fully described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which~
Fig. 1 shows a plan of an apartment having the apparatus of the invention installed;
Fig. 2 shows a pers?ective partly fragmentary view of a four compartment conduit employed in the apparatus of -~ ~
the invention; ~ ~ -Fig. 2A shows an alternative embodiment having two compartments Figs. 3 and 4 show longitudinal sections through the conduit, illustrating alternative forms of ~ointing between sections of the conduit, respectively Fig. 5 is a side view of the valving and supply manifold of the apparatus; and Figs. 6 and 7 which are on the same sheet as Figs. 2 and 2A show respectively alternative forms of connection between the manifold and the conduit.
She drawings illustrate a fire protection system installed in a typical two bedroom residential apartment.
As shown in Fig. 1, the apparatus comprises two lengths of multi-compartmental conduit 11 and 12, which extend from a common water-supply manifold 13 horizontally through the rooms of the apartment. Nozzles 14 are connected at inter-vals along the conduit, these nozzles each being directed _ 3 _ .. " '~' ', '. '' ' . :
': . ' ' ' . .' . ' " . ', . ~ ., '. ~ : ' . . '. ' ~037~8 into the interior of a different respective area o~ room of the apartment.
Associated with each nozzle 14 there ia a fire hazard detector 16, which is arranged centrally in the room or area toward which the nozzle 14 is directed.
Referring to Fig. 2, this shows the construction of the conduit in greater detail. The cDnduit comprises adjoining sec-tions 17, each of which in the form shown in the drawings has four longitudinally continuous internal cDmpartments 18. The 1~ individual sections 17 can be manufactured by any one of a number of alternative manufacturing techniques, for example by inserting appropriate internal longitudinally-extending partitioning within a tubular conduit in leak-tight fashion, or by uniting together in side-by-side relationship a plurality of individual tubes to form a compo~ite multi-compartmented structure. However, in the mDst advantageous form, each ~ection of the cDnduit 17 is a unitary xtrusion having longitudinally extending internal pa~sageways formed using an extrusion die equipped with an appropriately ~ ;
configured pider or multiple mandrel which provides the ext-20 ru-ion internally with the desired cDntinuous v~Dids. In the preferred form, the aDnduit is formed of aluminum, but it will ~ -be appreciated that other metals may be employed, and that the conduit may be formed of plastics materials. sy way of example it may be mentioned tha~ the external dimensions of the conduit may ~uitably be approximately 2 inche~ on each side, each com-partment 18 being approximat d y one inch ~quare. x The aDnduit may include angled aDrner pieces as illustrated at 19 in Fig. 2 formed by mitre jointing two 8 ctions of hhe conduit together. sranches or tee junctions ~-- 103781~9 can also be formed through appropriate jointing of section~ of ths conduit along inclining faces, as illustrated at 2~ in Fig. 2, giving communication between tw~ of the compartments 18a and 18b with corresponding compartments 18c and 18d of tho side branch 21, In Fig 2A there i8 shown a two compartment conduit, which can be manufactured in a manner similar to that used for the four compartment conduit The two compartment conduit may likewise comprise individual section~ 22 which may be join~ together end -to end, and can include mitre jointed cornerpieces 23 At the ends of the conduit, th- compartment- 18 are closed by individual plugs 24 fitting into the compartments, or by the adlaition of a clo~ed ended end cap 26 The nozzles 14, which as noted above are each conn-cted into a different compartment of the conduit, are fitt-d into -apertures 27 form d through the exterior walls of the conduit 11 and are provided with a screw fitting 28 or other arrangement giving a leakproof seal between the body of the nozzle 14 and the wall of the conduit 11 Each nozzle 14 i~ formed with an array of fin- outlet holes 30, 80 a~ to deliver a fine water ~pray to the interior of the adjacent area As can b- ~e-n from Fig 1, th- conduits 11 and 12 are ~unt-d fluJh with th- walls of the building, and will normally be support-d at the upper edge of the walls, The rectangular xt rnal profile of th Iconduits permits them to be fitt-d nugly in the angl- b tw~n the wall and the c-iling Conventional clip and brack-t- are ~ployed to affix th a~nduits 11 and 12 to th- wall~. Relativ-ly lightw-ight fixing ,'" ' . .

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devices can be employed, since the conduits are normally completely empty and the fixing devices aro therefore not continuously under load Where a connection is to be made to a oompartment ~ ~ -18 of the conduit lying directly adjacent the wall of the building, the connection can conveniently be made through an extension tube 29 which i~ passed through an ap-rture 31 in the exterior of the eonduit, and through a corresponding aligned aperture in the partition wall 32 within the conduit 11. The tube 29 is sealed in leak-tight fashion to the ext-erior wall of the eDnduit and to the internal wall 3? by re-ilient ~ealing washers 33 fitted over the tube 29.
Figs. 3 and 4 ~how arrangem nts for joining together - i-the ends of the section~ of the conduit 11. In the preferred form, a~ shown in Figs.2, 2A and 3, eaeh end of eaeh seetion i~ rabboted a~ shown at 34, and the aligned ends of the adjoining ~ection- are secured together in a leak-tight joint by applying adhe-ive tap 36 around the rabbeted portion-.
Caulking material ean be applied on the end surfaces of the ~-etion- before bringing the end~ together. Alternativoly, a- ~hown in Fig. 4, tho ~eetion- of the eonduit 11 may be butt-~ointed and eeured together with a film of adhe-ive ~ppli-d on tho ~nd urfaco- of the conduit eetbn~. Since the compartment~ 18 ~ the conduit are normally ompty and not under pre-rure, it i~ merely neee~ary to aehieve a rtr-ngth of ~oint eapable of with-tanding the relativ-ly low baek pre--ure that re-ult- for the p~riod that fluid i8 ~upplied to the nozzle~ 14~
Fig. 5 shows the manifold arrangement 13 which : . . , . ...
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supplies fire extinguishing fluid selectively to tho indiv-idual compartments 18 of the conduits 11 and 12 In tho pre~ent instance, water is used as the fire extinguishing fluid and is supplied through a main upply pipe 37 quipped with a manually operable stopcock 38 and connected to an adjacent cold water main supply 39, for example the cDld water supply to a faucet in the kitchen of the apartment.
The manifold 13 is equippod with six outldts 42 each connected through piping 43 to a respective compartment 18 of the 10 conduits 11 and 12, thus connecting each of tho si~ noszl~
14 to a separate outlot 42 Fig 6 shows one form of connection between the conduit 11 and the pipe~ 43, whoroin the end of tho conduit 11 is sealed off with a closure plate 44 having apertures to which the pipo~ 43 are connocted. Fig. 7 show~
un alternative form in which the conduit 11 is closed at its nd by a closure plate 46, and the pipes 43 enter through ap rtures formed in the side wall~ of the conduit 11.
A- hown in Fig. 5, each of the manifold outlets :: . .. . .
i~ equipped with an on-off valve 47. Th -e valves 47 aro 2~ l ctrically oporatod, and can bo conv-ntional solonoid-oporatod valv--. Each of th v~vo- i- op-rativoly linked through a control y to~ to a re~pective firo hazard dotector 16, 90 that whon a d tector 16 i- activated through dotection of flame, h ~t, mDko or other oDmbu-tion product, the particular ~ol noid valve 4~ op~rativoly linkod th r-to i~ opened to -allow flow of wat-r ~ ctivd y to the compartment 18 of tho conduit which communicato- with the ro-pectivo nozzle 14 a- ciat-d with tho det-ctor 16 which ha- been activated.
A- tho dot-ctors 16 there may bo employed any " . ' '.

- ~o378~3 conventional form of fire hazard detector ~uch a~ a photo-electric or ther electric flame or heat detector or an ionization chamber type of oombustion product~ dotector. Each detector 16 includes a transmitter which omits a distinctivo and individually endoded signal when the dotoctor i8 activated.
r The control ~ystem, as shown schematically in Fig 5, includes a control panel 47 located adjacent tho manifold 13 and indluding a ignal receiver and decoder 48, which is responsive ~- -to the ignals emitted by the detector- 16, a pilot light 55 10 which is illuminated when the control ~y-tem i8 connected to a source of electrical power and indicate- that the control ~y~tem i~ oporational, a warning light 51 which becomo~
illuminatod when a ~ignal is received by the receiver and dea~der 48, and a pu~hbutton switch 52, which when pre~sed aeactuates th control syst-m. The warning light 51 may bo conn-cted to an audible warning devic- e.g. a buzzer or bell which unds an audiblo alarm wh-n a ignal i8 received from a detector 16. The receiver and decoder 48 i8 connoct-d lectrically as indicatod at 53 to a plurality of rolay 54 ach conn-cted to a r- pectivo valv- 47, and a timing device 56 i~
conn-ct-d in co ~ n to the relay~ 54, and erves to pr-vont ~ -th- r-lay- 54 from actuating the valves 47 until a predetermined period of time, Og. of tho order of thirty seoDnd~, has elapsed.
The d-tail- ofi uitable tran~mitter-receivor and d coder arrang~mont- and of the electrical circuitry as~ociat-d with tho warning lightJ 49 and 51, the relay 54, timer 56 and pu-h-button d actuating ~witch 52 will be readily under~tood by tho~e familiar with the techniguos of electronic rem~te controlO Merely by way of example, it may be mentioned that . . :' , : . :
.:

03781~3 the signal emitted by each transmitter of the detoctors 16 may be individually di~tinguished and encodod through each transmitter emitting a different frequency ultrasonic or radio frequency ~ignal, or each tran~mitter can operate on the ame frequency but emits a signal which is individually encoded through amplitude or pulse modulation e.g pulse code dulation, pulse width modulation, or pulse frequency m~d-ulation In operation, when a signal i8 receivod from a detector 16, the receiver and decoder 48 generates an output curr-nt which is fed to the individual relay 54 which i~
oonnected to the valve 47 controlling tho water flow to the re-pective nozzle 14 associated with the detector 16 which ha- been activated. At the same timeJ the warning light 51 i- illuminated, and any audible warning alarm activatea, 80 ' a~ to give a warning of the fire hazard, and the timer 56 is tartod. When the predeterminod poriod of time as m asured by the timer ha~ elapsed, the output from the r-lay~ 54 beeome~ leetrieally connected with the ~olenoid valves 47, ~o that th valv- 47 oonnoeted with an actuated relay 54 beeomo- op n-d, thu~ ~-lectivoly allowing flow of water to th- nozzle 14 which will direct water to the area where a ~ ~ -.j . . .
fir- hazard ha- ari-en. The relays 54 can be deactuat-d by d-pr---ing th pu~h butt~n switch 52, thus closing th-olenoid valve~ 47 and intorrupting the water flow Theoporation of the timer 56 allows for the predetermined d-lay . ~ . . . .
betw~ n the activation of a dotector 16 and th- commoneement of the water flow, thu~ giving an opportunity ~r d-activating the control ~ystom by pressing the pushbutton 52 when a detector _ g _ .'~
~' , . , 1037~18 16 is activated for test purposes or beeomes activated accidentally.
It will be under~tood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is a preferred example, and that various m~difications can be ~arried out without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims. Thus, for example, instead of using water as the fire extinguishing fluid, the above described control sy~tem may instead serve to direct a flow of a fire extinguishing gas, e~g. carbon dioxide, or other conventional fire extinguishing fluid e.g. a foam to the area of the fire hazardO Instead of employing the valves 47 connecting the compartments of the eDnduits 11 and 12 to a comm~n source of the fire extingui~hing fluid, there can be employed a plurality of fire extinguishing fluid sources, for example foam generators, which are activated under control of the relay- 54.

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Claims (8)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. Fire protection apparatus comprising a conduit providing a plurality of internal longitudinally continuous compartments and having spaced at intervals along its length a plurality of fluid directing nozzles each connected to a respective compartment of the conduit, said nozzles being arranged to direct fluid to different respective localised areas adjacent the conduit, a plurality of fire hazard detectors, one detector being associated with each of said areas, and means for supplying fire-extinguishing fluid selectively to the compartments of the conduit, said means so operating under the control of the detectors as to supply the fluid to the compartment and nozzle connected thereto which directs the fluid to the area where a fire hazard is detected.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said conduit extends along the upper edge of an interior wall of a building.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said conduit is of rectangular external profile.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said conduit comprises a unitary extrusion having longitudinally extending internal passageways.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said supplying means comprise a plurality of independently operating valves connected to said conduit.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5 wherein said valves are connected between said conduit and a manifold adapted to be connected to a fluid source.

7. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein said nozzles deliver a fine water spray.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, 2, or 3 wherein the conduit passes horizontally through a plurality of rooms in a building and is supported on the surfaces of walls of the rooms, a plurality of the rooms each having at least one nozzle therein.