EP1311324A1

EP1311324A1 - Automatically activated fire extinguisher

Info

Publication number: EP1311324A1
Application number: EP00963152A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Vidar Simonsen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-08-22
Filing date: 2000-08-22
Publication date: 2003-05-21
Also published as: IL154584A0; AU2000274602A1; CN1454106A; JP2004506493A; IS6725A; KR20030034154A; BR0017323A; PL360134A1; WO2002015980A1; CA2424524A1

Abstract

Means by a first extinguisher apparatus with a supporting means (5) for the fire extinguisher apparatus in cooperation with an activation means which provide that the fire extinguisher apparatus being activated when it is removed from the supporting means. The supporting means may be provided with per se known fastening means for securing of the supporting means on a wall, post or the like. The activation means may be a release piston (17), whereby the release piston (17) is acting directly with a handle (4) of the fire extinguisher apparatus, the handle (4) being provided to act on the release piston (17) by pressing down the handle (4) and where the handle is provided to follow a guiding track by removing the fire extinguisher apparatus from the supporting means (5).

Description

ftutαnatically activated fire extingiiisri r

The present invention regards an arrangement at a fire extinguisher of the type described in the introduction to Claim 1.

In the case of a fire starting, it is important to begin extinguishing the fire immediately and without delay, in order to prevent the fire from getting out of control. Today, most homes, work places and public places have fire extinguishers. A disadvantage of such extinguishers is the fact that these have different types of release mechanisms that call for instructions to be read before the extinguishing can be initiated, thus causing valuable time to be lost. Often, the release mechanism requires the user to muster strength that some people may have problems effecting.

The present invention aims to avoid the above disadvantages, while also preventing theft of the fire extinguisher and preventing the fire extinguisher from being put back into its holder after use (after having been activated).

The above problems have long been known, but no satisfactory solution to the problems has been found until now. US patent no. 4482 123 describes a device for preventing a fire extinguisher from being hung back up again after use, but does not solve the main problem of such extinguishers. US patent no. 5 771 997 attempts to solve the above problems through the extinguisher being triggered automatically in the case of a fire, by a thermal fuse triggering a spring-actuated mechanism that triggers the fire extinguishing mechanism. This device solves the problem regarding the difficulties associated with triggering the extinguisher, but the advantage of being able to extinguish the site of origin of the fire is lost by the known device being unmanned, i.e. there is no user present who can aim the jet of fire extinguishing agent at the actual site of origin.

The present invention solves the above problems by a device of the type described by way of introduction, the characteristics of which appear from Claim 1. Further advantageous features of the invention appear from the remaining, dependent claims.

The fact that the release mechanism of the extinguisher is activated upon this being removed from its holder makes it unattractive to steal the extinguisher, as the propellant will seep out of the extinguisher within a few hours, and so the extinguisher will be useless without knowledge of and tools for deactivation of the release mechanism.

In the following, the device according to the invention will be described in greater detail by means of examples of embodiments and with reference to the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a holder for a fire extinguisher, with parts of the holder housing removed; Fig. 2a shows a section through the holder of Fig. 1, seen from the side and with a fire extinguisher;

Fig. 2b shows details of the release means of Fig. 2, on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment in section through the top part of the fire extinguisher with the release handle; Fig. 4a shows a release plunger for the embodiment shown in Fig. 3; Fig. 4b schematically shows details of the top part of the fire extinguisher shown in Fig. 3; and Fig.5 shows a side view of the holder for the extinguisher of Figs. 3-4b.

The following describes a possible embodiment of the invention with reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 2a.

A top part 1 designed so as to meet the requirements of the present invention is screwed onto an ordinary receptacle 6 for fire extinguishing agent. The top part 1 is designed in the same manner as top parts for fire extinguishers that are currently commercially available, with a manometer 7 for monitoring the gas pressure in the receptacle, an outlet 8 for a spray hose, and a handle 4, but in addition, the top part is provided with grooves 2 on opposite sides for co-operation with angular deflections 3 in a holder housing 5 for hanging up the fire extinguisher or fixing the fire extinguisher. Further, there is provided an activating plunger 17' that co-operates with a locking pin 11 that runs through an opening in the top part 1 of the fire extinguisher and fixes the activating plunger 17' in a deactivated position. The activating plunger 17' is loaded with a spring 13' that upon removal of the locking pin 11 causes the activating plunger 17' to be forced downward and depress opening means 30 that opens up for flow of fire extinguishing agent to the spray hose 8 in a manner that is known per se. The opening means depresses an opening/closing mechanism located in the receptacle 6, which is standard for fire extinguishers and which causes extinguishing agent to flow to the spray hose 8.

In order to avoid having to speculate about how to activate the extinguisher, the locking pin 11 is fixed in the holder housing 5, so that when a user pulls the handle 4 in order to remove the extinguisher from the housing 5, the locking pin 11 is held in the housing 5, and the fire extinguisher is activated. In order to avoid the extinguisher being activated through unintentional contact with the extinguisher, the handle 4 runs in a curved groove 10 on the sides of the housing 5, so that that the handle 4 must be turned downwards in order to be withdrawn from the housing 5.

The locking pin 11 can be attached to the housing in many ways that are known per se, but common to these attachment methods is the fact that whoever is responsible for maintenance etc. of the fire extinguisher must be able to remove the fire extinguisher from the holder housing 5 without activating it. A possibility for such maintenance is for the locking pin 11 to be secured to the housing by means of a padlock 9, the pin being angled at the end and provided with a hole through which the bow of the padlock 9 runs, as well as a corresponding deflected part 12 with a hole, attached to the housing 5, cf. Fig. 2.

The following describes a second embodiment of the invention with reference to Fig. 3 and the subsequent figures.

As opposed to the embodiment described previously, the users must themselves produce the force necessary to activate the fire extinguisher, i.e. the release plunger 17 is not spring actuated, but co-operates directly with the handle 4. Upon depression of the handle 4, the release plunger 17 with a ball 23 at its lower end is forced against the release means in the receptacle 6. In order to avoid having to keep the handle 4 depressed when using the extinguisher, the release plunger 17 is provided with a notch 18 that, upon depression, is flush with a passage 22 in the top part. Said passage holds a locking pin 19 biased by a spring 20, one end of which abuts the locking pin 19, and the other end of which abuts a screw 21 that has been screwed into the passage 22 by means of an appropriate tool, or that the screw 21 is equipped with a locking device (not shown in greater detail) that requires a special key to be used in order to fasten and loosen the screw 21 of the top part, cf. Fig. 4b. Thus, upon depression of the release plunger 17, the locking pin 19 will be forced into the notch 18 and lock the extinguisher in the activated position, also keeping it in this position when the handle 4 is released. The extinguisher can only be deactivated through the screw 21 being unscrewed by use of a special tool or special key, and the locking pin 19 being pulled out together with the spring 20. A spring 13 ensures that the handle 4 is held up in the position of influence.

The holder for this embodiment has been given a slightly different form from the previously described holder to allow the activation to take place when the fire extinguisher is removed from the holder. Fig. 5 shows a side view of the holder consisting of a lower part 28 and an upper part 25 that may be swung up about an axis 27 to allow the fire extinguisher to be mounted in the holder, and the upper part 25 is rotated down to abut the lower part 28, and is locked against this by means of a lock 26. The handle 4, which is shaped as a bow with a face 29 that abuts the upper end of the release plunger 17, protrudes from the side of the housing and is guided in an L-shaped groove 24 on the sides of the housing. In the non-activated position, the handle lies in the upper part of the L-shaped groove 24 due to the spring 13 forcing the handle upward.

Upon activation and removal of the fire extinguisher, the handle is depressed, and the fire extinguisher is removed while the release plunger 17 is depressed and locked in the active position, the bow of the handle then being in the lower part of the L-shaped groove 24 and no longer confined in the holder.

The suspension in the receptacle is the same for this embodiment as that described in connection with the first embodiment.

Claims

C l a i m s

1.

An arrangement at a fire extinguisher comprising a holder device (5) for the fire extinguisher which co-operates with activating means in the form of a release plunger (17) and a handle (4) for activation of the fire extinguisher, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that the release plunger (17) co-operates directly with the handle (4), as the handle (4) is designed to actuate the release plunger (17) upon depression of the handle, and that the depression is effected by the handle being designed to follow a guiding groove upon removal of the fire extinguisher from the holder device (5).

2.

An arrangement according to Claim 1, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that the handle (4) is shaped as a bow with a face (29) that abuts the upper end of the release plunger (17), and that the handle (4) protrudes from the side of the housing and is guided in said guiding groove, which is an L-shaped groove (24) on the sides of the housing.

3.

An arrangement according to Claims 1-2, c h a r a c t e r i s e d i n that release plunger (17) is equipped with a notch (18) that, upon depression, is flush with a passage (22) in the top part, and that said passage holds a biased locking pin (19) designed to create a locking of the release plunger (17) in the activated position when the notch (18) is flush with the passage (22).