EP3999192B1 - Apparatus and method for extinguishing a vehicle - Google Patents

Description

• einen Aufnahmeraum;
• eine Beförderungseinrichtung zum Befördern des Fahrzeugs in den Aufnahmeraum und
• eine Löschvorrichtung zum Einbringen eines Löschmittels in den Aufnahmeraum,

wobei der Aufnahmeraum durch eine Wanne gebildet ist und die Beförderungseinrichtung als Absenkvorrichtung mit einer Aufstandsfläche für das Fahrzeug, insbesondere als Hebebühne, ausgebildet ist.The invention relates to a device for extinguishing a burning vehicle, which device has the following:

• a recording room;
• a conveyor for conveying the vehicle into the accommodation space and
• an extinguishing device for introducing an extinguishing agent into the receiving space,

wherein the receiving space is formed by a trough and the transport device is designed as a lowering device with a contact area for the vehicle, in particular as a lifting platform.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for extinguishing a burning vehicle.

In the case of vehicle tests on test benches, precautions must be taken in the event that vehicles catch fire during the test.

In order to protect the test equipment and the personnel in the event of a fire, extinguishing devices are known from the prior art which allow a vehicle that has caught fire to be pulled into a secured area and extinguished there. It is important to extinguish burning vehicles immediately, as toxic fumes and smoke gases can develop as soon as the fire breaks out, which can pose a significant health risk to those present. In the case of electric vehicles, rapid heat dissipation is also a priority, as otherwise the batteries could be further damaged by the heat and thus contribute to further fires.

From the EP 3 263 402 B1 an extinguishing device is known with which a burning vehicle can be pulled into the receiving space of a container by means of a winch. The container is then closed and the vehicle in the container is removed.

A disadvantage of the erasing device EP 3 263 402 B1 is, however, that the burning vehicle must first be drawn into the container and the opening sealed before the extinguishing process can begin can be initiated. During this time, noxious fumes and toxic fumes can spread. It would therefore be desirable to have an extinguishing device available which makes it possible to initiate the extinguishing process more quickly in the event of a fire and thereby stop the development of smoke and gas at an earlier stage.

Another extinguishing device for vehicles is off DE 10 2017 216 210 A1 known.

CN 110 017 045 A discloses a garage assembly having a lift, a platform, a pit, and a water inlet and outlet. Vehicles can be parked in storage boxes. Sensors are provided which can detect fires. In the event of a fire, a parked vehicle is transported into the pit with the lift and extinguished there.

WO 01/66883 A1 relates to a garage arrangement which has a vertical conveyor with a carrying rake and spray heads in the parking stalls.

In view of the above statements, it is the object of the present invention to alleviate or even completely eliminate the disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, the object of the present invention is to provide a device and a method that enable burning vehicles, in particular electric vehicles, to be quickly extinguished on test benches.

This object is achieved by a device according to claim 1 and a method according to claim 12.

According to the invention it is provided that the pan is fully embedded in a floor of a test stand and the extinguishing device has at least one spray head which is designed to spray the extinguishing agent into the pan and in particular onto the lowered vehicle. The receiving space is formed by the trough and the transport device is designed as a lowering device with a contact area for the vehicle, in particular as a lifting platform. Thus, in the event of a fire, the vehicle only has to be lowered into the trough with the help of the lowering device, which can be arranged below the test bench, to extinguish the fire. Advantageously, the way that the burning vehicle has to be transported to the extinguishing process is very short, so that the vehicle can be quickly extinguished in the event of a fire. At the same time, the vehicle is positioned outside the tub during the test on the test bench and is therefore easily accessible from all sides - except for the underside. In order to promote the extinguishing process, it can be provided that the trough is at least partially filled with extinguishing agent. To facilitate immersion in extinguishing agent when lowering the contact area or to allow extinguishing agent to flow off when raising the contact area, the contact area can have an opening or a lateral recess through which the extinguishing agent can pass. Another advantage of the lowering device is that lowering heavy objects, such as vehicles, compared to shifting operations (cf EP 3 263 402 B1 ) is safer, ie less error-prone, since the vehicle can block or jam during a shifting process. Blockages or wedging occur less frequently with subsidence. In order to enable a particularly quick and safe lowering, the lowering device is designed as a lifting platform in a preferred embodiment. It is particularly preferred if the lowering device is designed as a scissor lift or column lift. Both types of lifts have the advantage that they can be lowered quickly, safely and even in the event of a power failure or other technical problems. Several lifting platforms can also be connected to form a common lowering device. The trough is preferably designed to be liquid-tight. It is favorable if the tub is made of steel (stainless or coated). The interior space delimited by the tub can have the shape of a cuboid. In particular, it can be provided that the trough has a wall with four essentially vertical side walls and an essentially horizontal bottom surface. In any case, the tub is open on one side. The opening is at the top of the tub and faces the bottom surface. The opening is preferably rectangular in plan view educated. The tub can have a closable drain for draining off extinguishing agents and other liquids. Water, optionally with additives, is preferably used as the extinguishing agent. The shape of the opening can essentially correspond to the shape of an outer edge of the footprint. A clearance can be provided between the contact area and the wall of the trough in order not to block the contact area from lowering.

In a preferred embodiment, it is provided that the lowering device can be transferred between a working position and a lowered position, wherein in the working position the contact surface is essentially on a level with an upper edge area of a wall of the trough and in the lowered position the contact surface is in the Tub, in particular on a bottom surface of the tub, is lowered. Accordingly, the vehicle located on the contact area is arranged in the working position outside of the trough and is therefore easily accessible. In the lowered position, the vehicle is at least partially, in particular completely, within the tub. When the tub is at least partially filled with extinguishing agent, the vehicle is already immersed in extinguishing agent when the lowering device is moved into the lowered position, which promotes the extinguishing process.

For example, in order to expand an existing test bench without restricting its accessibility, it is provided that the trough is inserted into a floor of the test bench. An upper edge area of a wall of the tub preferably ends essentially flush with the floor. The floor can be, for example, a foundation, a screed or another floor covering. In particular, the floor can be part of a building. The floor can also be the floor of a test stand. Accordingly, the pan can be arranged under a test bench.

So that a burning vehicle can be extinguished in a short time, it can be provided that the extinguishing device has at least one inflow line with an inflow opening assigned to the pan having. To control the inflow of extinguishing agent, the inflow line preferably has a shut-off valve, in particular a cock that can be shut off. Thus, if necessary, the tub can be filled relatively quickly with extinguishing agent and a vehicle with a defective/burning battery can be at least partially immersed in the extinguishing agent. In the case of a vehicle with a defective/burning battery, rapid heat dissipation is advantageous, since otherwise the battery would be further destroyed by the heat and further chemically stored energy would be released accordingly.

The extinguishing device has at least one spray head, preferably at least two spray heads, which is/are set up to spray the extinguishing agent into the pan and in particular onto the lowered vehicle. It is preferred if the spray head(s) atomizes the extinguishing agent.

It is favorable if the spray head/spray heads is/are arranged inside the tub, preferably on or in a wall of the tub. Alternatively or additionally, the spray head/spray heads can be attached to a holding device inside the tub and/or to the lowering device.

In a space-saving embodiment, it is provided that the lowering device is preferably arranged essentially completely in the trough.

If the pan is (permanently) at least partially filled with extinguishing agent, it is favorable if the lowering device has at least one electric and/or hydraulic drive unit, in particular, which is arranged outside the pan and set up to project the contact area into the pan, preferably on a Bottom surface of the tub to lower. In this embodiment, the sensitive elements of the lowering device are arranged outside the trough and therefore come into little or no contact with the extinguishing agent.

In order to enable a uniform lowering, it is favorable if at least two or at least four drive units are provided are arranged on two opposite sides of the tub. The drive units can be formed by hydraulic and/or electric actuators, for example.

The trough preferably has a depth of at least 100 cm, a width of at least 250 cm and/or a length of at least 600 cm.

The lowering device is preferably set up to lift and/or lower a weight of at least 3000 kg, preferably at least 5000 kg.

• Platzieren eines Fahrzeugs auf einer Aufstandsfläche einer Absenkvorrichtung, insbesondere während eines Testvorgangs auf einem Prüfstand;
• Absenken das Fahrzeug im Brandfall in einen durch eine Wanne gebildeten Aufnahmeraum mit Hilfe der Absenkvorrichtung; und
• Einbringen von Löschmittel in die Wanne zum Löschen des brennenden Fahrzeugs mittels einer Löschvorrichtung, wobei das Löschmittel mittels zumindest eines Sprühkopfes auf das abgesenkte Fahrzeug gesprüht wird.

The task formulated above is also solved by a method with the following steps:

• Placing a vehicle on a contact area of a lowering device, in particular during a test process on a test bench;
• In the event of a fire, lower the vehicle into a receiving space formed by a trough using the lowering device; and
• Introduction of extinguishing agent into the pan for extinguishing the burning vehicle by means of an extinguishing device, the extinguishing agent being sprayed onto the lowered vehicle by means of at least one spray head.

With regard to the advantages and features of the method, reference is made to the above statements on the device according to the invention.

In order to promote the extinguishing process, it is preferably provided that extinguishing agent has already been introduced into the pan before the vehicle is lowered. The trough is therefore at least partially filled with extinguishing agent before the contact area is lowered. The vehicle can thus advantageously be immersed in the extinguishing agent.

The method provides for the extinguishing agent to be sprayed onto the lowered vehicle by means of at least one spray head. Provision can also be made for extinguishing agent to be sprayed onto the vehicle while the lowering device is in the lowered position is transferred.

• Fig. 1 zeigt eine schematische Seitenansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung gemäß einer ersten Ausführungsform, wobei sich die Absenkvorrichtung in einer Arbeitsstellung befindet;
• Fig. 2 zeigt eine schematische Seitenansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung gemäß der ersten Ausführungsform, wobei sich die Absenkvorrichtung in einer abgesenkten Stellung befindet;
• Fig. 3 zeigt eine schematische Seitenansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung gemäß einer zweiten Ausführungsform, wobei sich die Absenkvorrichtung in einer Arbeitsstellung befindet;
• Fig. 4 zeigt eine schematische Seitenansicht der erfindungsgemäßen Vorrichtung gemäß der zweiten Ausführungsform, wobei sich die Absenkvorrichtung in einer abgesenkten Stellung befindet; und
• Fig. 5 zeigt die erfindungsgemäße Vorrichtung gemäß der zweiten Ausführungsform in einer Schrägansicht, wobei sich die Absenkvorrichtung in einer Arbeitsstellung befindet.

The invention is explained in more detail below using exemplary embodiments, to which, however, it should not be restricted.

• 1 shows a schematic side view of the device according to the invention according to a first embodiment, the lowering device being in a working position;
• 2 shows a schematic side view of the device according to the invention according to the first embodiment, with the lowering device being in a lowered position;
• 3 shows a schematic side view of the device according to the invention according to a second embodiment, with the lowering device being in a working position;
• 4 shows a schematic side view of the device according to the invention according to the second embodiment, with the lowering device being in a lowered position; and
• figure 5 shows the device according to the invention according to the second embodiment in an oblique view, with the lowering device being in a working position.

1 shows a device 1 for extinguishing a burning vehicle 2, in particular an electric vehicle. The device 1 has a receiving space 4 formed by a trough 3 and a conveying device 30 in the form of a lowering device 5 with a contact area 6 for the vehicle 2 . The footprint 6 can be a platform, for example. In the first embodiment shown, the lowering device 5 is in the form of a scissor lift 7 and is arranged essentially completely (including the drive unit 15 ) within the trough 3 . In the embodiment shown, the trough 3 has four essentially vertical side walls 8 and a bottom surface 9 . The height of the side walls 8 is at least 100 cm. The trough 3 is fully embedded in a floor 10 with an upper floor surface 10a, for example a test stand. Opposite the bottom surface 9, the trough 3 has an opening 11 which, in a working position ( 1 ) of the lowering device 5 is essentially covered by the contact area 6 or the vehicle 2.

In the illustration shown, the scissor lift 7 has two scissor elements 12 , both of which are connected to the contact area 6 . Each scissor element 12 has at least two struts 13, which are connected to each other in their middle 14. The scissor lift 7 can also consist of more than two scissor elements 12 or just a single scissor element 12 . The drive unit 15 of the scissor lift 7 is arranged on the bottom surface 9 of the tub.

The lowering device 5 or the scissor lift 7 is set up to move the contact area 6 between the working position ( 1 ) and a lowered position ( 2 ) to transfer. In the working position, the contact area 6 is on a level with an upper edge area 16 of the wall 17 which is formed by the side walls 8 of the trough 3 . In the working position, the vehicle 2 is accessible from all sides, except for its underside, so that vehicle tests can easily be carried out on a test bench. The contact surface 6 is transferred from the working position to the lowered position by pushing apart the ends 18 of the struts 13 of a scissor element 12.

In the event of a fire, the scissor lift 7 can be brought into the lowered position immediately, in which the contact area 6 is lowered onto the floor surface 9 . In the lowered position, the contact area 6 is essentially in contact with the floor area 9 . this is in 2 shown. The vehicle 2 is arranged completely within the tub 3 in the lowered position. In this position, but possibly also before and during the transfer of the lowering device 5 into the lowered position, an extinguishing agent 19, in particular water, can be introduced into the trough 3 with the aid of an extinguishing device 20 will. In the embodiment shown, the extinguishing device 20 has an inflow line 20' with an inflow opening 20" arranged in the wall 17 of the trough 3. The trough 3 can be quickly filled with extinguishing agent 19 via this inflow opening 20". In addition, the extinguishing device 20 has a plurality of spray heads 21 which are attached to the wall 17 of the trough 3 . The spray heads 21 spray the extinguishing agent 19 onto the burning vehicle 2.

In order to promote the extinguishing process, it can be provided that the trough 3 is already at least partially filled with extinguishing agent 19 (not shown). Lateral recesses and/or passage openings for extinguishing agent 19 to flow off can also be provided in the contact area 6 .

Figure 3, Figure 4 and figure 5 show the device 1 according to the invention in a second embodiment. 3 shows a working position and 4 shows a lowered position of the device 1. In this embodiment, too, a trough 3 and a lowering device 5 with a contact area 6 for the vehicle 2 are provided. In contrast to the first embodiment, however, the lowering device 5 is designed as a column lifting platform 22 . The column lifting platform 22 has four column-like, hydraulic and/or drive units 23 which are arranged outside the trough 3 . The drive units 23 are set up to lower the contact area 6 into the trough 3 and thus to convert the lowering device 5 into the lowered position. In this embodiment, the sensitive elements of the lowering device 5, ie the drive units 23, are advantageously arranged outside the trough 3 and therefore come into little or no contact with the extinguishing agent 19.

In the second embodiment, the contact area 6 is connected to the drive units 22 via four connecting elements 24 . The connecting elements 24 have an L-shape in cross section with a short 25 and a long leg 26. One end of the long leg 26 is connected to the contact area 6 and is arranged essentially perpendicularly thereto. The short leg 25 is connected to the other end of the long leg 26 and connected to one of the drive units 23. The short leg 25 is arranged essentially parallel to the contact area 6 . The long leg 26 is arranged essentially parallel to the side walls 8 . The length of the long leg 26 essentially corresponds to the height of the side walls 8. In the lowered position, the contact area 6 is essentially in contact with the floor area 9. FIG.

Claims (13)

1. An apparatus (1) for extinguishing a burning vehicle (2), comprising:

   - a receiving space (4);

   - a conveying device (30) for conveying the vehicle (2) into the receiving space (4) and

   - an extinguishing apparatus (20) for introducing an extinguishing agent (19) into the receiving space (4),

   the receiving space (4) being formed by a well (3) and the conveying device (30) being designed as a lowering apparatus (5) having a support surface (6) for the vehicle (2), in particular as a lifting platform (7, 22), characterized in that the well (3) is set completely into a floor (10) of a test bench and the extinguishing apparatus (20) has at least one spray head (21) which is designed to spray the extinguishing agent (19) into the well (3) and in particular onto the lowered vehicle (2).
2. The apparatus (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the lowering apparatus (5) can be moved between a working position and a lowered position, in the working position the support surface (6) being located substantially on a plane with an upper edge region (16) of a wall (17) of the well (3), and in the lowered position the contact surface (6) being lowered into the well (3), in particular onto a base surface (9) of the well (3).
3. The apparatus (1) according to either claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in that the well (3) is inserted into a base (10), an upper edge region (16) of a wall (17) of the well (3) being preferably substantially flush with an upper base surface (10a).
4. The apparatus (1) according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the extinguishing apparatus (20) has at least one inflow line (20') having an inflow opening (20") associated with the well (3).
5. The apparatus (1) according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the extinguishing apparatus (20) has at least two spray heads (21) which are designed to spray the extinguishing agent (19) into the well (3) and in particular onto the lowered vehicle (2).
6. The apparatus (1) according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the at least one spray head is arranged in the well (3), preferably on or in a wall (17) of the well (3).
7. The apparatus (1) according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the lowering apparatus (5) is preferably arranged substantially completely in the well (3).
8. The apparatus (1) according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the lowering apparatus (5) has at least one, in particular hydraulic and/or electric, drive unit (23) which is arranged outside the well (3) and is designed to lower the support surface (6) into the well (3), preferably onto a base surface (9) of the well (3).
9. The apparatus (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that at least two or at least four drive units (23) are provided, which are arranged on two opposite sides of the well (3).
10. The apparatus (1) according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the well (3) has a depth of at least 100 cm, a width of at least 250 cm and/or a length of at least 600 cm.
11. The apparatus (1) according to any of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the lowering apparatus (5) is designed to raise and/or lower a weight of at least 3000 kg, preferably of at least 5000 kg.
12. A method for extinguishing a burning vehicle (2), comprising the steps of:

    - placing a vehicle (2) on a support surface (6) of a lowering apparatus (5) during a testing operation on a test bench;

    - lowering the vehicle (2) in the event of a fire into a receiving space (4) formed by a well (3) with the aid of the lowering apparatus (5); and

    - introducing extinguishing agent (19) into the well (3) in order to extinguish the burning vehicle (2) by means of an extinguishing apparatus (20), wherein the extinguishing agent (19) is sprayed onto the lowered vehicle (2) by means of at least one spray head (21).
13. The method according to claim 12, characterized in that extinguishing agent (19) has already been introduced into the well (3) before the vehicle (2) is lowered.

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