GB2479863A

GB2479863A - Hose reel unit

Info

Publication number: GB2479863A
Application number: GB1006737A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kevin Alan Lesley Musk; Andrew James Cook
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-04-22
Filing date: 2010-04-22
Publication date: 2011-11-02
Also published as: GB201006737D0

Abstract

A hose reel unit which is primarily intended to be used in extinguishing fires, comprises a hose 11 to deliver water, the hose being wound about a reel 12. The reel has a rotational axis which is horizontally mounted, enabling the hose to be unrolled. The unit further comprises a pump 19 which has an inlet means to receive water from a supply, and an outlet means operably connected to a first end of the hose to deliver water under increased pressure to the hose. A DC motor 20 drives the pump. The reel and hose are mounted to a framework 17, and the framework is movable between a compact storage configuration and an in-use configuration. The DC motor is battery powered and the batteries 21 are housed in the lower portion of the assembly. The unit may be wall mounted or include wheels and the hose may further include a roller guide mechanism.

Description

AN IMPROVED FIRE HOSE SYSTEM

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an improved fire hose to be installed and maintained within a building. The hose is designed in particular to be able to work in the absence of mains electricity and can be fitted retrospectiveJy to already existing locations.

Background to the Invention

The provision, in buildings, of a fire hose which is connected to the mains or other stable water supply and which is capable of delivering sufficient water to extinguish a fire is increasingly required in order to fulfil Statutory Fire Regulations. In particular, larger public buildings need to have a fire hose installed, especially on the ground floor within a stited distance of the entrance to the building. The hose, having a nozzle already fitted, is installed rolled around a mounted wheel or reel, allowing the hose to be extended and bringing the water to the optimum position to put out the fire.

It is advantageous however to be able to utilise a more efficient type of nozzle which converts the stream of water into a cone of fine water droplets. Such nozzles are capable of putting out fires more quickly and utilising less water: thereby reducing damage to property through fire and water. However, in order to function properly these nozzles require the water to be at a greater pressure than that at which the mains water is supplied. In addition to the hose and reel assembly therefore, a pump is provided to increase the water pressure. In order to power the pump, a connection to the mains electricity is usually provided. This is clearly undesirable as in situations where a fire is burning the mains electricity cannot be safely relied upon by the operator.

It is therefore an object of the invention to address the above problems and provide a fire-hose system which can operate independently of the mains electricity supply.

Summary of the Invention

According to the invention there is provided a hose reel unit for use in extinguishing fires, the unit comprising, a hose to deliver water, the hose being wound about a reel, which reel has a rotational axis which is horizontally mounted, enabling the hose to be unrolled, a pump having inlet means to receive water from a supply, and outlet means operably connected to a first end of the hose to deliver water under increased pressure to the hose; the unit further including a DC motor to drive the pump, a DC power supply to power said motor, the reel and hose being mounted to a framework, said framework being movable between a compact storage configuration and an in-use configuration.

The unit defined is typically sufficiently compact for fitment into already existing fire hose installations and enables more effective water delivery even in the event of no mains electric power being available.

The DC power supply preferably comprises one or more batteries. The batteries are further preferably located at the base of the unit to give a more compact structure and an ergonomic arrangement of the remaining components of the unit.

The framework is advantageously pivotally mounted for movement between a raised and lowered position with the pivotally mounting further advantageously being at the base of the unit. The centre of gravity of the unit, when the hose and reel are in the in-use position is thereby kept as low as possible.

This unit conveniently includes guide rollers incorporated in the framework, the hose passing through the guide rollers when in use. Said rollers provide faster and simpler deployment of the hose.

The unit is optionally mounted on wheels to enable the unit to be more easily moved to different locations.

Preferably the unit is so mounted to a wall or other vertical surface such that the axis of the reel is parallel to said surface.

A handle/castellated shaft is preferably included to aid roll up of the hose after use.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The invention is now described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show by way of example only, one embodiment of a fire hose unit. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a front view of a unit; Figure 2 is a perspective view of a unit with with the hose reel in the deployed position; and Figure 3 is a perspective view of a unit in the stowed position.

Detailed Description of the Invention

In large public buildings, fire regulations require that one or more fire hoses be installed in the building to enable internal fires to be dealt with more rapidly.

Typically, the hose is connected at one end to a mains or other large supply of water and bears a nozzle at the other end. Due to the pressure of the water in the mains' supply, the types of nozzles which are available for use are limited. Some of the more efficient nozzles currently in use require the use of higher-than-mains pressures in order to operate effectively. One means of achieving this is to incorporate a pump operated by mains electricity supply. It is however not always possible to ensure a stable supply of electricity, particularly given that the hose is only to find use in emergency conditions, when the electricity supply is cut. The hose is, when not in use, rolled about a rotatable reel which is secured to the wall such that the axis of the reel is perpendicular to the wall.

In order to improve upon the presently available systems, the present invention contemplates the provision of a fire hose unit which has an independent power supply and which, in certain embodiments is able to be moved from a storage location, to a location closer to the fire to deliver water more effectively. The difficulties are however to design a system which includes the extra elements required but which remains compact in form so that the unit does not interfere with normal operation of the buildings. The system is designed to fit inside the Norsen Hose reel cabinet which is a well known system.

Accordingly, as illustrated in Figures 1-3, the unit generally referenced 10, comprises a hose 11 of conventional construction. The hose 11 is wound about a horizontally rotatable reel 12, mounted to rotate in both directions about its axis to deploy and wind up the hose 11. A typical length for the hose 11 is from around 30-50m, although other lengths can be used depending on the intended use. To assist in the deployment and guidance of the hose 11, by keeping the hose 11 away from the large edge discs 13 of the reel 12, the hose 11 passes through a rectangular frame 14 having along each edge a roller 15. The rollers 15 act to assist motion of the hose 11 when the hose 11 comes into contact with the frame 14.

An input swivel 16 joins the hose 11 to the supply of water and maintains that connection even as the reel 12 rotates. The reel 12, along with the rectangular frame 13 is mounted to a framework 17.

The main body of the unit comprises a mounting plate 18 of typical height 67cm and width 44cm. To the plate 18 is mounted a 15 litre pump 19 which is limited to 30-50 bar of pressure and includes a thermal bypass. The pump 19 is powered by a motor 20 and has a filter 1 9a to improve efficient running especially where the water being used is not from the mains. The motor 20 is set to run off 20V but can be 24V and indeed can be chosen to run at from 18-30V. When in use, the motor 20 has an output current of 75A, although at start up the motor 20 can run at around 90A. A transformer (not illustrated) is included to convert the a/c mains supply to the required voltage. In addition, the unit 10 has a 24V power pack 21 to provide energy to the pump 19 when required. The risk of the user is therefore minimised due to the low voltages employed. Where a power pack 21 is used, a management system can be included which illustrates the status of the power pack 21 and warns if power storage is becoming dangerously low. The power pack 21 can comprise, for example a plurality of batteries.

The motor 20 is stopped and started by an external single pole switch connected to the controller by flying leads. At start up the motor 2d is ramped up from 0 to maximum speed when the start switch is closed. A ramp time of 3 seconds is typical. The motor current is continuously monitored and is held within overload limits and allowed to change only continuously to protect the motor and related equipment. The motor running is controlled to constant speed while the battery voltage is dropping, when the supply voltage is greater than the rated motor voltage (the minimum value for this voltage difference is determined on test).

Parameters such as ramp time, overload current, rated current and maximum speed are programmed on manufacture and can be adjusted as required.

The compact nature of the unit 10 is enhanced by the framework 17 being pivotly mounted to the base of the unit 10 via a hinged pivot 22. The framework 17 along with the reel 12 and the hose 11 can thus be moved from the upright compact position as shown in Figure 3 to the in-use position shown in Figure 2. A chain 23 supports the framework 17 when in the in-use position. The depth of the unit is thereby reduced from 70cm to 3 0cm. Moreover it has been found advantageous to store the power pack on the base of the unit rather than closer to the pump, as that location enables the reel and hose to be fitted more economically with regard to space utilisation and also keeps the centre of gravity of the unit relatively low.

In addition, it has been found that this location allows servicing requirements such as battery replacement, filter replacement, oil removal and top-up to be carried out more easily.

To replace the hose on the reel it is a simple case of fitting the stored away handle (right-hand side option). This fits to a castellated shaft and is turned clockwise.

The rollers also aid this operation. Once completed, the handle can be removed and placed in its specially mounted holder. The reel can then be pushed up and back to its dormant resting position.

It will of course be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details described herein, which are given by way of example only, and that various modifications and alterations are possible within the scope of the invention.

Claims

-CLAIMS1. A hose reel unit for use in extinguishing fires, the unit comprising, a hose to deliver water, the hose being wound about a reel, which reel has a rotational axis which is horizontally mounted, enabling the hose to be unrolled, a pump having inlet means to receive water from a supply, and outlet means operably connected to a first end of the hose to deliver water under increased pressure to the hose; * ..* the unit further including a DC motor to drive the pump, *SSs * * a DC power supply to power said motor, * the reel and hose being mounted to a framework, said framework being * movable between a compact storage configuration and an in-use configuration. * * * ***

* 20
2. A hose reel unit according to claim 1, wherein the DC power supply comprises one or more batteries.
3. A hose reel unit according to claim 2, wherein the batteries are located at the base of the unit to give a more compact structure.
4. A hose reel unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the framework is pivotally mounted for movement between a raised and lowered position.A -
5. A hose reel unit according to claim 4, wherein the pivotal mounting is at the base of the unit.
6. A hose reel unit according to any preceding claim, including guide rollers incorporated in the framework, the hose passing through the guide rollers
7. A hose reel unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the unit is mounted on wheels.
8. A hose reel unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the unit is so mounted to a wall or other vertical surface such that the axis of the reel is parallel to said surface.
9. A hose reel unit according to any preceding claim, wherein the unit * * * * includes a handle or castellated shaft. ******. * *10. A hose reel unit substantially as herein described with reference to and as * illustrated in the accompanying drawings. ***.S*. * *S