GB2117138A - Fire fighting systems - Google Patents

Abstract

In a fire detection and extinguishing system detectors (23) responsive to fumes, infra red radiation, and temperature and a nozzle (26) for an extinguishing material are mounted on a support (18) rotatable around vertical (20) and horizontal (27) axes respectively by crank drives (13, 15) and (14, 16) from separate motors (11) (12). The detectors are connected to a decoding system which operates each motor successively to move the support until the detectors and nozzle are pointing at a fire, and subsequently operates a further motor to open a flow control valve for the extinguishing material. An audible and/or visual signal may be included. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Firefighting systems The present invention relates to an autocontrolled and automatically activable firefighting system.

Everyone is aware of the need to protect all types of industrial installations against unexpected fire hazards. This fact becomes all the more important in cases where a possible fire might break out at night in commerical and industrial installations without the services of a night watchman.

For a closer surveillance of the aforementioned fire hazard, multiple systems, mainly electronic, have been developed, which do not solve the problem, since they are limited to triggering an alarm, either because the smoke emanating from the combustion reaches a detecting device which activates the alarm system, or because the rise in temperature is detected by a convenient sensor, which provokes the activation of said alarm system.

Another type of device is also known, based on the fact that when the room temperature reaches a certain value as a consequence of the fire, the fusion of certain sensors is produced, thereby opening the way for water pipelines provided to this end.

These aforementioned systems have various drawbacks which, so far, have not been corrected.

Thus, in the case of the alarm devices, it is evident that from the moment the alarm is activated until sufficient means have been collected to fight the fire, some time must necessarily elapse during which irreparable damage may have already been caused, whereas in the case of water extinguishing by the fusion of sensors which cover the outlets of pipe, it is likewise evident that this system has to be associated with another type of media such as a second alarm system; otherwise, there is a risk of flooding of the premises to be protected, which could occasion far greater damage than that caused by the fire itself.

The present invention relates to the creation of a fire protection system, capable of acting accurately and directly against the centre of the fire using to this end extinguishers or other adequate devices containing the most appropriate product for each particular case.

For this purpose, the present invention has provided for the activation of the firefighting system in several stages, which are as follows: 1) Detection of the fire conditions; 2) Checking of such conditions; 3) Detection of the centre of the fire; 4) Direction control of the outlet means of the extinguishing material, and 5) Activation of the operating system of the extinguishers.

Detection of the fire is carried out, in accordance with the invention, from the fumes produced, from the emitted infra red radiation, and from the rise in the room temperature. These three characteristics are verified in any fire and for its detection, the.invention has provided for the simultaneous or separate use thereof, as may be necessary.

The verification that a fire has been produced is absolutely necessary to avoid the possibility that the system might activate itself erroneously. To this end, timer means will be provided to delay activation of the outlet means of the extinguishing material used. This time delay will be very short (only a few seconds) and during the same, the system will check if the fire conditions, which prompted its start-up still persist.

In order to detect the centre of the fire, the system is provided with a set of photo-electric cells, sensitive to the infra red radiation emitted by the combustion, of which, at least one will be used to fix the position of the extinguisher outlet nozzle, prior to activation of the outlet means of the extinguishing material.

The direction control of the outlet means is performed by two low-powered motors. By means of one of these, rotation of the outlet nozzle is carried out in the horizontal plane, whereas the second motor is used to cause rotation in a vertical plane, so that the combination of both movements permits a wide sweep of all the areas of the space.

Lastly, the operation of the extinguisher outlet valve is carried out by a third motor, which is started up only after the corresponding detector means have spotted the centre of the fire, and after the aforementioned time delay.

The operation of the system is as a follows.

When a fire starts and the smoke, temperature and infra red radiation detector media are activated, either simultaneously or separately, said media send information to a decoding system where the incoming signals are then analyzed. The decoder starts a motor that causes the horizontal rotation of the system, until the aforesaid photoelectric cells are directly facing the fire. Then the vertical rotation motor is started up, in the corresponding direction, until the spotting and positioning device (consisting of at least one of the cells) is precisely in front of the fire. The decoder then sets in motion the motor that activates the outlet means, through a timer, at the same time that it triggers the alarm system.

The embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a block diagram relating to the electronic system provided for by the invention, and Figure 2 is a perspective view of the embodiment of the invention.

Referring initially to Figure 1, shown therein is a block diagram typical of the functions to be performed by part of the electronic circuit used by the invention. In said figure are shown smoke 1, temperature 2, and infra red radiation 3 detectors connected to a decoder 5. Also shown therein is a spotting device 4 for detecting the centre of the fire, and which is further used as a correct positioning means of the extinguisher outlet -nozzle. The decoder 5 is shown connected to motors 6 and 7 for horizontal and vertical rotation, respectively, as well as a motor 8 for operation of the outlet valve of the extinguisher, through a timer 9. Also shown is an alarm means 10.

Taking into consideration the illustration shown in Figure 1 it is very easy to understand the operation of this electronic system used by the invention. The detectors 1 to 3, when activated by the presence of fumes, infra red radiation or high temperatures caused by a fire, send timely signals to the decoder 5, which starts up the horizontal rotation motor 6 until the detector 3 is positioned in front of the centre of the fire, at which time said motor 6 stops. The decoder 5 then causes the start-up of the vertical rotation motor 7, with which the detector 3 is vertically displaced. When the spotting and positioning device 4 is finally located in front of the site of the fire, the decoder 5 stops the movement of the last mentioned motor and activates the motor 8 through the timer 9 simultaneously triggering the alarm system 10.

The timer 9 provokes a delay of several seconds in the start-up of the motor 8, and this delay is sufficient to allow the system to check the persistence of the fire.

The alarm device 10 may be an acoustic or optical type, or a combination of both, and in the event that an erroneous activation of the system is produced, it will act as a warning means for the deactivation of the system by anyone who is near it.

Figure 2 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention. Shown therein is a horizontal rotation motor 11 provided with reduction gearing for its rotation speed, which relays motion to an external disc 1 3 to which is linked the end of a rod 1 5 by means of a shaft 28 fixed together to the disc 13 at a distance from its rotation axis. The rod 15, at its opposite end, is linked to a lower extension 1 7 of a "U" shaped piece 1 9. Said piece 1 9 is mounted on a support for the system by a vertical shaft 20 on which it is rotatable, and the aforesaid lower extension 1 7 extends from a central position on the piece 1 9 and perpendicularly to the shaft 20.

The "U"-shaped piece 1 9 houses in its open area a member 18 which contains the outlet nozzle 26 of an extinguisher. The connection between the member 1 8 and the piece 1 9 is carried out by means of lateral pivot pins 21.

The vertical rotation motor 12, also provided with reduction gearing, relays movement to an external disc 14 to which is linked, at a distance from its rotation axis, to one end of a second rod 16, which, through its opposite end, is also linked to the member 1 8 through a shaft 27, in relation to which the rod 1 6 can rotate.

The member 18 has an upper elevated part 22 in which are placed a plurality of properly-aligned photo-electric cells. At least, one photo-electric cell 24 is used as a spotting and positioning device, whereas the rest of the cells 23 are used as a detection means of the infra red radiation emitted by a fire. The hose 25 proceeding from the extinguisher joins the member 18 from the rear side thereof, in a position coinciding with the outlet nozzle 26.

With the illustrated layout, the member 18 and therefore the outlet nozzle 26 and the set of photo-electric cells are subjected to two types of rotation movement, one horizontal and the other vertical. In fact, and according to the illustration shown in Figure 1, the two motors 11 and 12 will not be set in motion simultaneously, and the horizontal rotation motor 11 is the first to be actuated and, afterwards, the vertical rotation motor 12.

When the motor 11 is set in motion, the horizontal disc 13 moves the rod 15, which is simultaneously subjected to rotation and displacement movements. The end of the lower extension 1 7 is then forced to rotate in relation to the vertical shaft 20 as displacement of the rod 1 5 takes place, so that when the said extension 1 7 rotates, it forces the "U"-shaped piece 1 9 also to rotate, which moves the member 1 8 containing the outlet nozzle 26 and the set of photo-electric cells.

The rotational movement of the "U"-shaped piece 1 9 is produced in both directions between the ends limited by the displacement of the rod 1 5. As such, sweeping of the front area on both sides (right and left) by the outlet nozzle 26 is obtained. This horizontal sweeping movement will continue until the cells 23 receive infra red radiation, at which time the nozzle will be directed towards the site of the fire.

When the site of the fire has been so located, the vertical rotation motor 12 is set in motion, which relays movement to the disc 14 which, with its rotation, moves the rod 16, causing the displacement of the rod 1 6 simultaneously with the rotation thereof in regard to its coupling with the disc 14 and with the shaft 27. The displacement of the rod 1 6 causes rotation of the member 18 about the lateral pins 21 carrying out in this manner a vertical direction sweeping.

The vertical sweeping will continue until the spotting and positioning device precisely faces the site of the fire. This device consists of at least one photo-electric cell 24 conveniently situated in relation to the position and orientation of the nozzle 26.

The horizontal and vertical rotation movements of the piece 1 8 containing the nozzle may be carried out due to the flexibility of the hose 25. On the other hand, the discharge nozzle 26 will be orientated in such a manner that the discharge of the extinguishing material is at an angle to the imaginary line linking the photo-electric cell 24 with the site of the fire, so that the effect of gravity on the jet from the nozzle will not keep if from reaching the site of the fire.

In some particular case, for example in rapidlyspreading fires, it could be possible that the fire may have already affected an ample area when the system is activated. The system of the invention will be activated on finding the site of the fire, yet its operation is not limited to a specific area, but rather that the system will remain activated while the fire conditions persist.

Figure 2 shows an assignment provided with a single hose 25. However, in practice the extinguisher may be provided with two hoses for discharge of the product contained therein, of which one will be used with the system of the invention hereinabove described, and the other set aside as an alternative for its standard manual use in case the system should fail to operate, for some reason.

On the other hand, in this same figure only the detector means of the infra red radiation emitted by the combustion have been shown, omitting the smoke and temperature detectors. This is due to the fact that standard and known types that exist on the market will be used as smoke and temperatures detectors.

In the foregoining description, the invention has been described for its use with conventional fire extinguishers. However, this must not be construed as limitative, but rather that the use of the system is much more ample, and that it can be used with any known firefighting means, including water pipelines.

Likewise, the horizontal rotation of the "U"shaped piece 1 9 has been described as limited by the displacement of the rod 1 5. It is understood that with light modifications, said piece can rotate up to 360 , with which the system will be able to protect all the space surrounding it, thereby finding in this special case application in the fight against fires produced in open spaces, such as, for example, forest fires.

The electronic circuit comprised in the system and which schedules all the operations to be carried out, is constructed preferably of lowconsumption, logical components. Therefore, it can be power fed by means of a simple electric battery, the load of which is guaranteed for long periods of time. In any case, the system will include a diode type L.E.D., which will indicate at all times the load state of the battery in use.

Claims (8)

1. An autocontrolled and automatically activatable firefighting system, actuatabie by the detection of smoke and/or a rise in temperature caused by a fire and/or infra red radiation proceeding from the combustion comprising smoke, temperature, and infra red radiation detectors connected to a decoding system which activates motors, to cause both horizontal and vertical rotation of mounting means for the detectors, for the purpose of effecting sweeping in both horizontal and vertical directions, until a spotting detector faces the site of the fire, at which time the decoding system causes the time-controlled operation of a discharge motor which opens a flow valve for the extinguishing material.

2. A system according to claim 1 , wherein because the said timing control causes a delay in starting up the discharge motor, during which time the detectors verify the persistence of the fire conditions.

3. A system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein an outlet nozzle for the extinguishing material is attached to a support having an upper part wherein photo-electric cells are provided, of which at least one of said cells constitutes the spotting and positioning device and the rest are used as the infra red detector means, the support being housed between the arms of a "U"-shaped member and anchored to it for a vertical rotation by means of lateral pins.

4. A system according to any of the preceding claims wherein the motor for vertical rotation is provided with a crank disc to which is linked one end of a coupling rod of which the opposite end is coupled to the upper part of the support for the nozzle, for the purpose of causing the rotation thereof in a vertical direction.

5. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the horizontal rotation motor is provided with a crank disc to which is coupled one end of a coupling rod which, at its opposite end, is coupled to a lower extension provided to said "U"shaped member for the purpose of causing its rotation in relation to its vertical axis.

6. A system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the decoding system causes both aforesaid horizontal and vertical motors to be started up sequentially.

7. A system according to any of the preceding claims including an alarm device which is activable prior to starting up the discharge motor.

8. A fire detection and extinguishing system constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described and shown in the accompanying drawings.