JPH04259473A - Automatic fire extinguishing facility for computer room of double floor construction - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To ensure more effective fire extinguishing for the space of a cubicle and a double floor by automatically discharging a fire extinguishing agent from the first gas fire extinguishing facility to each cubicle, and enabling a fire extinguishing agent to be automatically discharged from the second fire extinguishing facility to the double floor as well. CONSTITUTION:Fire sensors 23-1 to 23-N for detecting smoke, heat and flame due to a fire are provided within cubicles 9, and fire signals detected in each of cubicles 9-1 to 9-N are thereby sent to a control panel 25. Drive signals from smoke sensors 22 or a pushbutton switch 25 in a computer room 1 actuates solenoids 13-1 to 13-N for releasing vessel valves of each cubicle fire extinguishing facility, and a vessel releasing solenoid 19 for releasing the storage vessel 17 of a fire extinguishing facility for double floor space 4.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to fixed gas fire extinguishing equipment. More specifically, this is an automatic fire extinguishing system for a computer room with a double floor structure where multiple cubicles containing computers and related equipment such as data processing units, disk drives, power supplies, etc. are installed on the floor of the double floor structure. It is related to.

0002

[Background Art] When constructing a large-scale computer system, a dedicated computer room is set up in one section of a building, and the computer and related equipment such as data processing units, disk drives, and power supplies are installed in the room. A plurality of cubicles are installed, and all of the cubicles are electrically and organically connected and operated. Expensive equipment and valuable software are concentrated in computer rooms, so
Disaster prevention requires extremely high levels of reliability, certainty, and safety. Therefore, computer rooms are equipped with fixed fire extinguishing equipment to minimize damage in the event of a fire; A halide extinguishing agent was used, which was safe for human life, and was arranged to radiate it throughout the computer room, including the inside of the double floor.

0003

[Problem to be solved by the invention] However, in recent years, due to the problem of ozone layer depletion caused by fluorocarbon gases, the use of halide extinguishing agents, which are useful extinguishing agents, is subject to extremely severe restrictions, and they are considered essential uses. ,
Even when halide fire extinguishing agents are used in electronic computers, significant restrictions have been placed on the overall amount used. Therefore, fire extinguishing equipment for computer rooms must use no or very small amounts of halide extinguishing agents, or must use other gaseous extinguishing agents, such as carbon dioxide. However, using a small amount of extinguishing agent has no effect on extinguishing the fire, while using carbon dioxide poses safety problems for people in the event that it is released accidentally.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a first gas system using carbon dioxide, a halide, or other gaseous extinguishing agent in each of a plurality of cubicles installed in a computer room with a double floor structure. A second gas-based fire extinguishing system that uses carbon dioxide, a halide, or other gas-based fire extinguishing agent and protects the entire space within the double floor, which is separate from the first gas-based fire extinguishing system. If a fire occurs, extinguishing agent will be automatically released from the first gas fire extinguishing equipment to each cubicle, and at the same time,
Alternatively, prior to this, the structure is such that extinguishing agent can be automatically discharged from the second gas fire extinguishing equipment into the double floor. The second invention of the present application is based on the first invention of the present application, in which each cubicle is provided with a means for closing the ventilation hole of the cubicle when the extinguishing agent is released. more effectively extinguish fires.

[0005]

[Example] First, the basic principle of the present invention will be explained. A general computer room has a structure with a double floor and so-called free access. Cooling air is sent into this double floor from an external air conditioner, and ventilation is provided at key points in the double floor. Install individual cubicles directly above the opening of the A small ventilation fan corresponding to the size of the cubicle is installed on the ceiling of the cubicle, and the cooling air introduced into the cubicle from the double floor is discharged into the computer room outside the cubicle. do. Air in the computer room is sucked in by a ventilation duct installed near the ceiling, returned to the air conditioner, cooled, and sent into the double floor again, creating a cooling circulation cycle. In the above configuration, the risk of fire is limited to the inside of the cubicle that houses electronic computers and related equipment such as data processing devices, disk drives, power supplies, etc., and the ventilation system that connects these cubicles. This is particularly noticeable in distribution cables that are routed through the openings and into the double floor. Therefore, the initial purpose of the fire extinguishing equipment can be achieved by configuring the cubicle where the fire occurred and the entire double floor to be filled with extinguishing agent at the same time. In addition, the automatic activation of fire extinguishing equipment uses a smoke detection sensor installed in the computer room to detect a fire signal.
A with signals from fire sensors in individual cubicles
The ND condition prevents malfunctions that tend to occur when signals from only the smoke sensor are used. In this case, when the fire extinguishing equipment is activated, the extinguishing agent is released from the underside of the double floor, and then, either at the same time or with a slight delay, the extinguishing agent is released only to the cubicle where the fire is actually occurring, and the other The structure is configured so that it will not be released into cubicles. In addition, if it is undesirable for the extinguishing agent to be released unexpectedly, such as when there are people in the computer room, a switch should be installed to prevent the extinguishing agent from being released automatically in conjunction with the fire sensor. The interlocking of the system is removed so that it can be started automatically using the start pushbutton switch. This results in
In the event of a fire and the room is filled with smoke,
Alternatively, if the cubicle where the fire broke out cannot be identified because the room is large, you can operate the activation pushbutton switch installed in a safe place away from the cubicle, and the signal will be connected to the signal from the fire sensor inside the cubicle.
Depending on the D conditions, the extinguishing agent will be automatically released.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. 1 showing an embodiment of the present invention. The computer room 1 has a structure in which the floor surface has a double floor 2. Openings 3 are opened at important points in the double floor 2, through which air can circulate in the interior space 4 of the double floor. The adjacent room 5 also has a double floor structure, shares the double floor internal space 4 with the computer room 1, and also has an opening 3A in the floor surface. An air conditioner 6 is installed directly above the opening 3A.
Cooling air is blown out from the bottom of the unit. A ventilation duct 7 is connected to the air intake port side of the air conditioner 6, and this is extended near the ceiling of the computer room 1, with air intake ports 8, 8, . . . opening toward the room at key points. There is. Openings 3, 3, 3, in the double floor 2 of the computer room 1
A plurality of cubicles 9 each housing electronic computers and related equipment such as a data processing device, a disk drive device, and a power supply device are installed directly above the cubicles 9-1, 9-2, and 9-3. , . . 9-N, cooling air can be taken in from the bottom of each of them. In addition, fans 10-1, 10-2, 10-3, ... 10-N are attached to the upper part of the cubicle 9, and the air inside the cubicle is constantly exhausted to the outside of the cubicle 9.
It is constructed so that the cooling air taken in from the bottom is constantly replaced. According to the above explanation, the air flow in the computer cooling system is as shown by the arrows in FIG. Individual cubicles 9-1, 9-2, 9-
3,...9-N's fire extinguishing equipment includes storage containers 11-1, 11-2, 11-3,...11-N filled with carbon dioxide, halides, and other gaseous extinguishing agents. At the top, container valves 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, ... 12
-N, and the container valve opening solenoid 1 is attached to the container valve.
3-1, 13-2, 13-3, ... 13-N are installed, cases 14-1, 14-2, 14-3, ...
・Incorporate it into 14-N and fix it to the cubicle, and use short piping to connect cubicles 9-1, 9-2, 9-3,...
Injection heads 16-1, 16-2, 16-3,
...Construct a cubicle fire extinguishing system (first gas fire extinguishing equipment) by exposing 16-N. As for the fire extinguishing equipment for the double-floor internal space 4, a container valve 18 is attached to the top of a storage container 17 filled with carbon dioxide, halides, or other gas-based fire extinguishing agent, and a container valve 18 is used to open the container valve, similar to that for cubicles. Attach the pipe 19 and close the container valve 18.
A double-floor internal space 4 is created by extending the piping 20 connected to the outlet of the
A fire extinguishing system for double floor interior space (No. 2 gas-based fire extinguishing equipment) will be constructed.

Next, an automatic fire extinguishing system will be explained. Computer room 1 as equipment for detecting fire.
smoke sensors 22, 22, . Connect to. Further, the push button switch 25 is connected to the control panel 24 by an electric wire (not shown) so that an activation signal from the push button switch 25, which is also installed in a safe place outside the computer room 1, can be received. Inside the cubicle 9 are fire sensors 23-1, 23-2, 23-3, . . . 23- that detect smoke, heat, flames, etc. associated with a fire.
N, and the fire sensor 23 is connected to the control panel 25 via an electric wire (not shown), and each cubicle 9-
1, 9-2, 9-3, . . . 9-N are sent to the control panel 25. Smoke sensors 22, 22, ... or push button switches 25 in the computer room 1
The start signal is sent via the same electric wire (not shown).
Solenoids 13-1, 13-2, 13-3, ... 13-N for opening container valves of individual cubicle fire extinguishing equipment and fire extinguishing equipment for double floor internal space 4 (second gas fire extinguishing equipment)
It is connected to the solenoid 19 for opening the container valve of the storage container 17.

[0008] Next, Fig. 2 shows the operation procedure of the fire extinguishing equipment.
This will be explained with reference to the wiring diagram. When a fire occurs in the double-floor interior space 4 or any cubicle, for example cubicle 9-1, the smoke or flames from the fire will pass through the cubicle 9-1 and reach the computer room 1 through the fan 10-1. This causes cubicle 9-
The fire sensor 23-1 in the computer room 1 and one of the fire sensors 22 in the computer room 1 are activated. fire sensor 2
2 is activated, relay F0 is activated, and fire sensor 23-
1 is activated, the relay F1 is energized, and the respective contacts f0 and f1 are closed, thereby closing the cubicle 9.
-1 container valve opening solenoid 13-1 and the double bed internal space 4 container valve opening solenoid 19 are activated. Storage container 11-1 and storage container 1 are activated by the operation of the solenoid.
The extinguishing agent released from 7 is pipe 15-1 and pipe 18
and ejection head 16-1 and ejection head 21, 2
1, . . . to fill the cubicle 9-1 and the double-floor internal space 4, respectively, and extinguish the fire. Further, due to the closing of relay contacts f0 and f1, the air conditioner is stopped at the same time as the fire extinguishing equipment is activated, and the flow of air within the computer room 1 is eliminated. The above is an explanation of automatic activation by a fire sensor, but in case there are people in the room and it is undesirable for the extinguishing agent to be released unexpectedly, move the selector switch 26 to a safe place outside. It is installed in advance so that automatic activation by interlocking with a fire sensor and manual activation by a push button switch 25 can be switched as appropriate. As shown in FIG. 2, when the switch 26 is switched to the fire sensor side, the fire interlocking lamp 27 lights up and the relay contacts f0, f1, f2, f3, . 1, 11-2, 1
1-3, .
f3, . . . fN are separated so that only activation by a push button is possible, and the fire interlocking lamp 27 and the push button activation lamp 28 are configured so that it is possible to know which state the fire extinguishing equipment is currently in. If a fire occurs while the selector switch 26 is switched to the push button side, such as when there are people in the room, the fire sensor 2 is activated in the same manner as above.
2 and 23-1 operate, relay contacts f0 and f1
is energized and relay contacts f0 and f1 are closed, but the fire extinguishing equipment is not activated, and in this case, by pressing the push button switch 25, the container valve opening solenoids 13-1 and 19 are activated. . Thereafter, the extinguishing agent is released to extinguish the fire in the same manner as described above.

Next, the reason why the first gas-based fire extinguishing equipment for the cubicle 9 is activated at the same time as the second gas-based fire extinguishing equipment for the double-floor interior space 4, or after a little delay, will be explained. The first is that there is a combustible material called computer wiring cable inside the cubicle, which is connected to the double-floor interior space 4, so if a fire breaks out on the cable side, there is a high possibility that the fire will spread to both sides. It is. The second is
Even if there is a fire only on the cubicle side, it is extremely advantageous to release extinguishing agent into the double-floor interior space 4, apart from the preventive measures described in point 1 above. I will explain the reason below. Generally, data processing equipment,
The flow of air in a cubicle housing electronic computers and related equipment such as disk drives and power supplies can be modeled as shown in FIG. 4. The cubicle housing 30 has a gap 29 for the ventilation fan 10 at the top, an opening 31 at the bottom opposite to the opening 3 in the double floor, and a side wall for the equipment inside the cubicle (not shown). There are small holes 32 such as an inspection door and a heat dissipation mesh, and the overall degree of airtightness is low. If carbon dioxide, halides, or other gaseous extinguishing agents heavier than air are used in compartments of this type, a large amount of extinguishing agent will flow downwards, especially through the opening 31 at the bottom, even when released at a considerably high release rate. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve the required concentration of extinguishing agent. That is, when the extinguishing agent is discharged from the injection head 16 in FIG. 4, the extinguishing agent flows out from the bottom opening 31 of the housing 30 and the opening 3 of the double floor in a flow shown by the arrow in the figure, and the flow is It does not stop until the floor interior space 4 is filled with the extinguishing agent. On the other hand, if the extinguishing agent is released into the double-floor internal space 4 at the same time as in the present system or prior to the cubicle 9, the extinguishing agent leaking from the cubicle 9 to the outside will be only that from the small hole 32. Moreover, since these are located well above the bottom, the amount of leakage is minimal compared to the leakage from the bottom 31.

If the gap 29 of the upper opening fan 10 is considerably larger than the other openings, the inflow of outside air into the cubicle 9 cannot be ignored, so in this case, as shown in FIG. A ventilation hole closing device 33 is provided to block air flow. The ventilation hole closing device 33 is based on a known example, and in the example shown in FIG.
The structure is such that it rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure around the center and contacts the frame 36 to shut off ventilation.The ventilation hole closing device 33 is operated electrically or by gas pressure, so it is always closed as shown in the figure. It is open to the public. In the case of electricity, fire sensor 22
In the case of a gas pressure type, it shall close in response to the pressure of the extinguishing agent being released. Next, the first
Each cubicle 9-1, 9-2 of gas fire extinguishing equipment,
9-3, . . . 9-N, a method of discharging the extinguishing agent to the double-floor internal space 4 of the second gas fire extinguishing equipment in advance will be explained. In this case, the fire extinguishing equipment is controlled using a wiring diagram as shown in FIG. When a fire occurs, any one of the fire sensors 22, 22... and the fire sensors 23-1, 23-2, 23-3,...23-
One of the relays F0 and F1, F2, F3...FN is energized. When the relay is energized, relay contacts f0 and f1, f
2, f3, . . . fN are closed, so the timer TM starts operating. Due to the operation of the timer TM, the relay contact tm closes after a delay of the set timing, and the container valve opening solenoids 13-1, 13-2 of the first gas fire extinguishing equipment are activated.
Among 13-3,...13-N, relay contacts f1, f
2, f3, . . . fN are closed, and the container valve opening solenoid 13 is activated to release the extinguishing agent. That is, for the container valve opening solenoid 19 of the second gas fire extinguishing equipment, the container valve opening solenoids 13-1, 13-2, 13-3...
・13-N operates with a delay of the set timing due to the operation of the timer TM, so that the second gas fire extinguishing equipment for the double floor internal space 4 is the same as the first gas fire extinguishing equipment for the cubicle 9 and the timer TM. Extinguishing agent is released in advance by the set timing.

[0011]

Effects of the Invention In the present invention, since the extinguishing agent fills a limited area inside the cubicle and double floor, the amount of extinguishing agent required to extinguish the fire is extremely small compared to conventional methods, for example, within 10 minutes. It can be reduced to about 1, and
Even in the unlikely event that the extinguishing equipment malfunctions and the extinguishing agent is released and leaks into the computer room, the extinguishing agent will be safe for humans because of its low concentration, and the extinguishing agent will be accurately located in the cubicle where the fire started. Complete fire extinguishment can be achieved by discharging into the double floor. In the second invention of the present application, when extinguishing a fire, by closing the ventilation hole of the cubicle to be extinguished, the extinguishing agent can be used effectively and complete extinguishment can be achieved more quickly.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

[Fig. 1] A vertical cross-sectional view showing an overview of automatic fire extinguishing equipment for a double-floor electronic computer room in which the present invention is implemented.

[Figure 2] Wiring diagram showing the operation control circuit of the fire extinguishing equipment with the changeover switch in the automatic state

[Figure 3] Wiring diagram showing the operation control circuit of the fire extinguishing equipment with the changeover switch in the manual state

[Figure 4] Vertical cross-sectional view showing the flow of airflow inside the cubicle

[
Figure 5: Vertical sectional view of the ventilation hole closing device

[Fig. 6] Wiring diagram of the operation control circuit of the fire extinguishing equipment, which is equipped with a timer to operate the second gas fire extinguishing equipment before the first gas fire extinguishing equipment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Computer room 2 Double floor 9 Cubicle 13 Solenoid for opening container valves (first gas fire extinguishing equipment) 19 Solenoid for opening container valves (second gas fire extinguishing equipment) 33 Ventilation hole closing device

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] [Claim 1] A double-floor structure in which a plurality of cubicles housing electronic computers and related equipment such as data processing devices, disk drives, and power supplies are installed on the floor of the double-floor structure. In the computer room, a first gas fire extinguishing system using carbon dioxide, a halide, or other gas fire extinguishing agent is installed in each of the cubicles; A secondary gas extinguishing system using carbon dioxide, halides, or other gaseous extinguishing agents will be installed to protect the entire floor space, and in the event of a fire, the primary gas will be automatically turned on to each cubicle. It is characterized by being configured so that the extinguishing agent is discharged from the system fire extinguishing equipment, and at the same time or prior to this, the extinguishing agent can also be automatically discharged from the second gas fire extinguishing equipment into the double floor. automatic fire extinguishing equipment in a double-floor computer room. Claim 2: Means for automatically discharging extinguishing agent comprises:
2. A double-floor structure such as a computer room according to claim 1, which is activated by an AND condition of a signal from a smoke sensor that detects smoke in the computer room and a signal from a sensor that detects fire in each cubicle. Automatic fire extinguishing equipment [
3. The means for automatically discharging the extinguishing agent is activated by an AND condition of a signal from a starting switch located away from the cubicle and a signal from a sensor that detects a fire in each cubicle. [Claim 4] An automatic fire extinguishing system for a double floor structure such as a computer room as claimed in claim 1. [Claim 4] An automatic fire extinguishing system for a double floor structure such as a computer room as claimed in claim 4. In a computer room with a double floor structure in which a plurality of cubicles storing equipment are installed, a first gas fire extinguishing equipment using carbon dioxide, a halide, or other gas fire extinguishing agent is installed in each of the cubicles, and the In the event that a fire occurs when a second gas fire extinguishing system is installed that uses carbon dioxide, halides, or other gas fire extinguishing agents to protect the entire space within the double floor, which is separate from the first gas fire extinguishing system. In addition to automatically discharging extinguishing agent from the first gas fire extinguishing equipment into each cubicle, at the same time, or prior to this, extinguishing agent is also discharged into the double floor from the second gas fire extinguishing equipment. In addition to configuring it so that it can be released automatically,
An automatic fire extinguishing system for a computer room with a double floor structure, characterized in that each cubicle is provided with a means for closing the ventilation hole of the cubicle when extinguishing agent is released.