ES2349990A1 - Forecast fire extinction system (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding) - Google Patents

Abstract

System of early extinction of forest fires. From appropriate means for fire detection, such as turrets with watchmen, turrets with automatic infrared cameras, or automatic satellite surveillance, the invention consists in the use of missiles (8), which may be located in the vicinity of the forest area (9) to be protected with a base of missiles (7), or that can be approximated to said forest area by means of airplanes or other appropriate vehicles, missiles that in addition to their own means of mobilization and orientation towards the focus (10 ) of the fire, they incorporate a deposit of extinguishing material that surrounds a light load of explosive material, so that when the fuze is activated by impact on the ground, the expansion and diffusion of the extinguishing material takes place, with the consequent shutdown of the fire before it acquires large proportions. (Machine-translation by Google Translate, not legally binding)

Description

Early fire extinguishing system forestry

Object of the invention

The present invention relates to a new forest fire extinguishing system, which bases its functionality in an early or immediate action on the fire, is say immediately after the production of said fire, when it is still very small and in consequence is easily controllable.

Thus the object of the invention is to achieve attack the fire practically at the moment it has been produced, that is, when it is still small. Although the system can also be used for the extinction of extended fires.

The system presented in this invention can be apply also in firefighting where access is difficult, impossible or dangerous, either because of the characteristics of the place where it has been produced, due to the risk of explosion, due to existence of harmful or toxic gases, etc.

Background of the invention

The usual extinguishing systems of fires are effective when it comes to urban fires, and not always, since the teams to fight them They are usually available and in a relatively close situation.

The same does not happen in forest fires or similar, where no means of extinction are usually available for immediate use.

Thus, since a fire is detected until effective means of extinction such as airplanes are applicable, specialized helicopters, firefighters equipment, etc., passes great amount of time, during which the fire has taken some dimensions such that make the extinction, which sometimes becomes almost impossible.

In addition, these extinction tasks are carried out in high risk conditions for people participating in them, and they suppose an enormous cost in human lives, in addition to the very important economic costs and very serious ecological damages that such fires bring with them.

Description of the invention

The system proposed by the invention resolves the problem was fully satisfactory before exposed, so that from a surveillance system adequate, such as those that already exist today, through a rapid fire detection, it can be extinguished in a very short period of time, long before it has acquired some proportions that make it dangerous.

For this and more specifically the system It is based on the use of missiles, which can be of type ballistic or directed trajectory, as well as mixed, that in in any case they contain a deposit of adequate capacity for a fire extinguishing product, which can be water, dust, foam, etc., so that the missiles can be launched immediate on the objective, that is on the initial focus of the fire, when said fire still has minimal proportions, unloading on the target the material deposit of extinction and causing the fire to extinguish so early, before it has reached uncontrollable proportions.

The said missiles can be launched from earth, placing them in batteries placed so that they beat all the area to protect, but can also be launched from airplanes or specialized helicopters In the latter case and contrary to what happens with traditional deposit systems of water discharge, there is no risk for pilots, for how much these should not dangerously approach fire. Further, using an infrared missile guidance system, the extinction efficiency is maximum, with the minimum amount of performances and extinction material.

The system is specially aimed for your employment in large forest areas, although its use in other types of land or in other extinguishing applications of fires where access is difficult, impossible or dangerous, which there is a risk of explosion, that there are harmful or toxic gases, etc.

Surveillance can be carried out by observers, automatically using turrets equipped with infrared cameras or automatically via satellite. For his part of the missiles and as already mentioned before, they can be ballistic, that is to say, those that are launched on the target with a ballistic trajectory, predetermined from the origin, or they can be automatic guided, by infrared, looking the heat source of the fire to be extinguished, although it also exists the possibility that they are mixed, that is, using the ballistic trajectory at the origin, and once the fuel is finished with an infrared guided trajectory, as in the previous case. In any case, the missiles will have a propulsion section, a deposit of an extinguishing material, a fuze and the unavoidable fins that make up a section of guided.

Description of the drawings

To complement the description that is being performing and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical realization of it, is accompanied as an integral part of said description, a set of drawings where with character Illustrative and not limiting, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows, according to a representation schematic side elevation, a missile used in the system early extinction of forest fires that is the subject of the present invention, specifically of a ballistic missile.

Figure 2.- Shows, according to a representation similar to the previous figure, a mixed missile, ballistic-guided infrared.

Figure 3.- Shows, finally, three sequences of the process of extinguishing a forest fire after the due detection thereof.

Preferred Embodiment of the Invention

In Figure 1, as just said, it has been schematically depicted a ballistic missile used by the system of early extinction of forest fires that constitutes The object of the invention. Well, said missile is structured by means of a propellant section (1), which can be a simple rocket propeller, for which a solid fuel in order to keep it idle without problems and allow start-up immediately.

Prior to this propellant section (1) the deposit (2) of extinguishing material is established, which mostly occupies the body of the missile and is materialized in a simple cylindrical body in which the material destined for extinction is loaded, such as the aforementioned water, water treated with chemical retardants, foam, etc. This tank (2) carries inside it, surrounded by the extinguishing material (3), a light load of explosive material that is used to expel the exterior and extend the extinguishing material (3) in the fire zone. It is important to note that this expulsion is carried out at high pressure, which greatly increases the effectiveness of extinction. The manner in which the extinguishing material will be extended will depend on the shape of this charge, if it is cylindrical, spherical, conical, etc., and on its position in the tank, whether upper, lower, intermediate,
etc.

The missile is completed with the classic fuze (4) of impact drive when the missile collides with the ground, fuze that acts on the expansion load of the material of extinction.

The missile is completed with fins (5) that at being a ballistic missile have only function stabilizer

These missiles have great simplicity structurally and consequently they are economical, but they are less accurate and therefore less effective, so they are not suitable for great distances.

In this case a missile like the one is more interesting which shows figure 2, logically provided with conductive fins (5 ') and in which the deposit (3') of extinguishing material is something shorter, being placed between him and the fuze (4) the section of guided (6) by infrared. This guidance section (6) directs the missile to a heat source, so that in this case the missile reached an appropriate point in his ballistic trajectory, it becomes led by the guiding head and by infrared to center of focus of fire.

In this case and as the fins just said posterior (5 ') are conductive fins, while the fins previous (5) only have stabilizing function.

As for the fuze (4), being a missile more sophisticated than the previous one, it can be of two types; a Conventional impact driven fuze when the missile with the ground, or a laser fuze that can detonate the expansive load in the air at a certain distance from the ground, pre-programmed

In any case and as the figure shows 3, there will be a missile base (7) with the number of missiles (8) that deemed convenient, covering a forest area (9) default, and when at any point of the same occurs a fire (10) the missile or missiles (8) will be duly oriented towards said focus, either manually or in a way automatic, as soon as the signal is received as a result of also manual or automatic fire detection and will occur the missile launch, as the second sequence of the aforementioned figure 3, until it impacts the forest mass causing the expansion and diffusion of the extinguishing material, such as referenced with (11) in the corresponding sequence of said figure 3.

Logically the procedure is similar when instead of a fixed missile base (7) on the ground, the missile launch occurs with the aircraft contest appropriate, which will also take off after receiving the appropriate signal and they will launch the missile or missiles when they are at an appropriate distance from the focus (10) of the fire.

It only remains to point out finally that the system Ballistic is acceptable at distances equal to or less than 4-5 kilometers, while with the mixed system you they can protect much larger areas, with equal ranges or over 20 kilometers, so that with several platforms to missile base (7) territories of any extension.

Claims (10)

1. System of early extinction of forest fires, which being specially designed for the extinction of fires in their initial phase, that is, before they acquire dangerous dimensions, is characterized in that it consists in the combined use of fire detection means and of missiles carrying an adequate load of extinguishing material. 2. Early fire extinguishing system according to claim 1, characterized in that the fire detection means consist of strategically distributed turrets for surveillance by observers. 3. Early extinguishing system for forest fires, according to claim 1, characterized in that the surveillance means consist of turrets equipped with infrared cameras that detect the heat source at the beginning of the fire and allow the immediate and also automatic launch of the missiles . 4. System of early extinction of forest fires, characterized in that the surveillance is carried out automatically via satellite. 5. System of early extinction of forest fires, according to claim 1, characterized in that the missiles are ballistic. 6. Early forest fire extinguishing system, according to claim 1, characterized in that the missiles are of the type incorporated by an automatic guidance system. 7. System of early extinction of forest fires, according to claim 1, characterized in that the missiles are mixed, ballistic-guided. 8. Early extinguishing system of forest fires, according to claims 1 and 5, characterized in that the missiles have a propellant section, provided with stabilizing fins, with a deposit of extinguishing material that houses a load within said extinguishing material of explosive material for dispersion of said extinguishing material, stabilizing front wings and a front fuze that acts on the expansion load of the extinguishing material when activated by impact on the ground. 9. System of early extinction of forest fires, according to claims 1 and 7, characterized in that the missiles have a propellant section, provided with conductive fins, with a deposit of extinguishing material that houses a load within said extinguishing material of explosive material for dispersion of said extinguishing material, stabilizing front wings, an infrared guided section and a front fuze that acts on the expansion load of the extinguishing material when activated by impact on the ground. You can also use a laser fuze, or similar, that will detonate the expansive charge in the air at a certain height from the ground, which can be programmed. 10. System of early extinction of forest fires, according to previous claims, characterized in that the missiles are capable of being located in a base of missiles in the ground, conveniently located with respect to the forest area to be protected, or they can be transported by a airplane or other appropriate vehicle, towards the fire zone, at the time it occurs.