WO2000024472A1

WO2000024472A1 - Fire-fighting system utilising air-suspended aircraft

Info

Publication number: WO2000024472A1
Application number: PCT/HR1999/000021
Authority: WO
Inventors: Miroslav BORIĆ
Original assignee: Boric Miroslav
Priority date: 1998-10-26
Filing date: 1999-09-14
Publication date: 2000-05-04
Also published as: HRP980564A2; AU5527799A

Abstract

Fire-fighting system utilising air-suspended aircraft is a new technical solution for fighting large scale fires on land and on water, especially on unapproachable grounds. The system enables continuous supply of large quantities of water to large distances, from water catchment to fire site, within short periods of time. The system consists of two fire-fighting subsystems: land based and airborne. The land subsystem consists of mobile assembled reusable waterline consisting of a pontoon-located pumping station and several land-located low pressure pumping stations mutually connected with hoses. At the end of the hose there is a dividing manifold to which several low-pressure pumping stations or nozzles for fire-fighting from the ground are connected. Fire is fought by air-suspended aircraft (helicopters, VTOL aeroplanes or flying balloons) carrying high-pressure pumps that drive high-pressured water through water nozzles into the fire. Below the aircraft, while airborne, there hangs reinforced high-pressure hose, connected to the land based high-pressure pumping station. For the aircraft and the pilot safety, the high-pressure hose is equipped with safety mechanic and electromagnetic hose-couplings. All the land subsystem elements are transported to the site, depending on the ground relief, by helicopters or motor vehicles. The system enables partial or total automation of operations, from air or land.

Description

FIRE-FIGHTING SYSTEM UTILISING AIR-SUSPENDED AIRCRAFT

INVENTION DESCRIPTION

1. FIELD OF APPLICATION

The invention relates to methods, equipment and devices intended for fighting large, especially forest, fires and other fires jeopardising human goods, located far from water, by utilising air-suspended aircraft (helicopters, VTOL aeroplanes and balloons).

According to the International Patent Classification, the patent belongs to the Field

A, Subfield A 62 - Fire-Fighting, Class A 62 C, and to the Field B, Subfield B 64 -

Aircraft and B 64 C - Aeroplanes and Helicopters.

2. TECHNICAL PROBLEM

The present problem of fighting large-scale fires, especially forest fires, is that the present fire-fighting equipment supplies small quantities of water, usually from large distances; that such water supply is slow and often insufficient, resulting in hard and slow fire-fighting. This is particularly so when fire is at inaccessible areas.

3. BACKGROUND ART

The present technology of fighting forest and other fires is mostly based on tank trucks. Local and regional water lines are not equipped with fire-fighting hydrants or these are rare, which requires using large numbers of tank trucks equipped with pumps and other necessary devices Lately, fighting large, especially forest, fires is based on helicopters and fire-fighting aeroplanes that carry water in tanks from a water catchment site to the fire site This is an expensive way of fire-fighting, with limited quantities of water

4 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The essence of the patent is in an aircraft carrying a hose with nozzle through which continuously run large quantities of water that is thrown out onto the fire

The purpose of the hereby claimed system is delivering of large quantities of water from the water catchment site to the fire site, by means of a mobile water line, to large distances and quickly

A fire can be fought by several aircraft at the same time because the land based fire-fighting subsystem constantly delivers large quantities of water

5 DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the fire-fighting system utilising air-suspended aircraft - helicopters

Figure 2 Pontoon-located low-pressure pumping station

Figure 3 Land-located low-pressure pumping station

Figure 4 Air-suspended aircraft - helicopter

Figure 5 Air-suspended aircraft - VTOL aeroplane

Figure 6 Air-suspended aircraft - flying balloon

Figure 7 High-pressure hose

Figure 8 Schematic diagram of fighting a ship fire by helicopter

The fire-fighting system utilising air-suspended aircraft in line with the patent consists of two subsystems

- land fire-fighting subsystem, and

- airborne fire-fighting subsystem The land fire-fighting subsystem comprises:

- pontoon-located low-pressure pumping station,

- land-located low-pressure pumping stations,

- low-pressure hoses,

- dividing manifold,

- butterfly stop valves,

- low-pressure flexible intake hoses

- land-located high-pressure pumping stations,

- high-pressure hoses.

The airborne fire-fighting subsystem comprises:

- air-suspended aircraft (helicopter, flying balloon, VTOL aeroplane),

- high-pressure pumping station on board the aircraft,

- water nozzles,

- safety automatic mechanical hose-coupling activated by lesser disconnecting force,

- safety automatic mechanical hose-coupling activated by larger disconnecting force,

- safety electromagnetic hose-coupling,

- high-pressure hose.

The land and the airborne fire-fighting subsystems continuously supply large quantities of low- and high pressured water from the catchment site (sea, river, lake or local or regional hydrants) to the airborne aircraft (helicopters, VTOL aeroplanes, flying balloons). The pontoon-located pumping station pumps water through mobile, reusable, assembled water-pipeline that comprises low-pressure hoses, land-located low-pressure pumping stations and dividing manifolds with butterfly stop valves where land-located high-pressure pumping stations with high-pressure hoses are connected. To these hoses there are connected high-pressure hoses hanging from the airborne fire-fighting subsystem carried by the air-suspended aircraft and through which high pressurised water flows to the aircraft carried high-pressure pumping station. Fire is extinguished with water jet from nozzle that is fit at the underside of the aircraft body while the aircraft is airborne and the high-pressure water supply hose hangs from it The aircraft is air-suspended and the pilot, by manoeuvring the aircraft, directs the abundant water jet to the centre of the fire All low- and high-pressure pumping stations are independent and automated The aircraft safety is provided with mechanical and electromagnetic hose couplings fit on the high-pressure hoses that connect the aircraft with the land-located high-pressure pumping station In case of emergency, the couplings enable automatic disconnecting of the aircraft from the high-pressure hose on the land or in

6 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION EMBODIMENT

In order to prepare the fire-fighting system utilising air-suspended aircraft, as shown in Figure 1 , the land-located fire-fighting subsystem, consisting of a reusable assembled water-pipeline, is assembled first The aircraft - helicopter 80, transports and fits the independent pontoon-located pumping station 20, Fig 2, onto the sea, river or lake surface 26 The pumping station is anchored in points 23 and 27 The pontoon consists of the body 21 , the base 22, the basket strainer 25 which takes the water in, and the low-pressure pumping station 30 The pontoon has the transport lug 24 The remaining parts of the land-located fire-fighting subsystem is fit by vehicles along roads and by aircraft where there are no roads available If the local or the regional water-piping is equipped with hydrants 28 the land-located fire-fighting subsystem is connected to them

After this, the number of land-located low-pressure pumping stations 30 required to bring water as close to the fire site as possible are connected in a sequence The land low-pressure pumping stations 30, Fig 3, consist of the casing 31 , the double bottom 32 the rubber base 33, the powering engine 35, the electromagnetic shaft coupling 36 that enables continuous water flow through the low-pressure pump 37 regardless of whether the powering engine is on or off At the intake side of the pump 37 there is valve 38, and at the outlet side there is the valve 39 The casing houses the fuel tank 40, the battery 41 and the control unit 42 At the upper side of the casing there are transport lugs 34

Next, the pontoon-located pumping station 20 is connected with the first in the sequence of land-located low-pressure pumping stations 30 with the hose 50, the outlet valve 39 on the pontoon pump being connected with the intake valve 38 on the land low-pressure pump 30 All land-located low-pressure pumping stations are connected with hoses the same way At the end of the low-pressure hose, connected to the outlet valve 39 of the last land-located low-pressure pumping station, there is fit a distribution manifold 52, Fig 1 , with butterfly stop valves 52, that enable connecting of several aircraft at the same time

To the butterfly stop valve 52, there are connected further low-pressure hoses 50 that take water to the land-located high-pressure pumps 60 At the high-pressure output there are connected land-surface high-pressure hoses 62, to which there are connected high-pressure hoses 70 hung below each aircraft while airborn

In the same way, to the high-pressure pump 60 there may be connected hose with nozzle 53 for direct fire-fighting from the ground

The high-pressure hose 70, Fig 7, is provided along its outer side and its entire length with two ropes 71 made of strong fibbers The ropes 71 are fixed to the hose at certain distances along the entire hose with clips 72 At the ends of the hoses, of required length, there are standard fast-fitting fire-hose couplings 73 The high-pressure hose 62, Fig 1 , is made the same way

Simultaneously with laying the land fire-fighting subsystem, fitting preparations of the airborne fire-fighting subsystem are being made, too While still at the airport the air-suspended aircraft - helicopter 80, VTOL aeroplane 90 or flying balloon 95 - is mounted the high-pressure hose 70, connected to the intake of the high-pressure pump 81 situated in the aircraft, Fig 4 Before connecting of the high-pressure hose 70 to the aircraft, safety couplings are fit on both its ends At the bottom end of the hose 70, there is fit the safety automatic mechanical hose-coupling activated by lesser disconnecting force 74 At the upper end, there is fit the safety automatic mechanical hose-coupling activated by greater disconnecting force 76 and at the very bottom end there is also fit the safety electromagnetic hose-coupling 78 The high-pressure hoses of required length, equipped with safety hose-couplings henging below the airborne aircraft, Fig 1 When the aircraft reaches the fire site, the hose 70, henging below the aircraft, is connected to the land-surface high-pressure hose 62 At proper places at the aircraft underside there are water nozzles 83, connected to the water outlet 84, Fig 4 The fire-fighting subsystems are connected this way, and fire-fighting may be started

Once both fire-fighting subsystems are prepared as shown in the Figure 1 , the fire-fighting is performed automatically The low-pressure pump 30, located on the pontoon 20, Fig 2, takes water from the sea, lake or river, as the case may be, pressures it through the low-pressure hoses 50 to the first land-located low-pressure pump 30, and on through hoses to the second pump, etc After the last low-pressure pump there is fit the distributing manifold 51 to which, through butterfly stop valves 52 there are connected low-pressure hoses that take water to the land high-pressure pumps 60, to which land surface high-pressure hoses 62 are connected To these hoses there are connected high-pressure hoses 70 hanging from below helicopters 80, Fig 4, VTOL aeroplanes 90, Fig 5, or flying balloons 96, Fig 6 This way, water is supplied to the high-pressure pump 81 on board the aircraft, Figs 1 and 4, which drives high-pressured water through the high-pressure hose 82 to the nozzle 83 and disperses the water jet over the fire site

The airborne fire-fighting subsystem also enables extinguishing fire on vessels, Fig 8 The aircraft is equipped with an independent pontoon pump 20 that is positioned on the water surface near the vessel on fire For this purpose, the pontoon pump is suspended on the reinforced hose 70 below the aircraft - helicopter 80, VTOL aeroplane or flying balloon The high-pressure pump 81 on board the aircraft drives high pressured water through the high-pressure hose 82 and the water nozzle 83 to the fire on board the vessel 100

Fitting of the automatic safety mechanical and electromagnetic hose-couplings provides absolute aircraft operational safety and eliminates any danger for the pilot If, for any reason, there occurs over-strain of the high-pressure hose 70, the safety automatic mechanical hose-coupling activated by lesser disconnecting force 74 will disconnect the hose 70 from the land high-pressure hose 62 After this, water is drained from the hoses 70 and the aircraft is free to fly safely in the desired direction If automatic disconnecting of the coupling 74 does not occur, the increased^' strain on the hose 70 will cause disconnecting of the safety automatic mechanical hose-coupling activated by greater disconnecting force 76 In this case, the high-pressure hose 70 falls, together with water in it, to the land and the aircraft is free However, if both mechanical safety couplings 74 and 76 fail to disconnect, the pilot can activate the safety electromagnetic hose-coupling 78, by switching off the power supply of the electromagnets This will disconnect the high-pressure hose 70 from the aircraft, enabling the pilot to fly the aircraft as he wishes, with no danger to

If water flow through any hose is prevented for any reason, the electric power supplying the electromagnetic shaft coupling 36 magnets will be switched off automatically, pump will stop and water will be able to flow in the opposite direction, too

Automatic controls are possible with remote controls located on the land or in the commanding aircraft

Low-pressure hoses are transported to the site wound on drums equipped with centrifugal breaks and electromotors for automatic winding of the hose Depending on the land relief, the hose drums are delivered by helicopters or land vehicles The hoses are at their ends provided with standard fire-hose fast-fitting couplings They can be wound on drums or folded in containers or can be transported tied in bundles This enables easy transport, unwinding and winding of the hoses The high-pressure hoses are prepared in the similar way On their ends, besides the standard fire-hose couplings, there are also fit safety mechanic and electromagnetic couplings The hoses prepared in the above manner and of certain lengths are stored at air-suspended aircraft airports Before taking off for the fire site the prepared hoses are hang below the aircraft, transported that way to the fire site and connected there to the land surface high-pressure hose.

7. APPLICATION OF THE INVENTION

The fire-fighting system utilising air-suspended aircraft is a new solution for fighting large, especially forest, fires, on land and on water.

The system enables timely preparation of both subsystem parts and assemblies, which enables fast acting and fighting the fire with large quantities of water, especially in unapproachable regions, which is of the primary importance for the action success.

Experts will note possibilities of making other embodiments and amendments to the system elements, as well, still remaining within the scope and the nature of the invention.

The fire-fighting system utilising air-suspended aircraft, connected to a mobile land fire-fighting subsystem, delivers large quantities of water to large distances. Besides for fighting large-scale fires, the system can be used for protection from other natural disasters, when the government is to intervene in the best and quickest possible way, in order:

• to deliver large quantity of water for watering cultivated land in drought affected areas;

• to deliver water from mainland to islands, including distant ones, if underwater water installations stop functioning;

• to provide emergency replacement waterline where the main waterline is destroyed by a natural disaster or war operations;

• to provide temporary waterline until new water installations are built;

• to drain flood water;

• to transport other fluids whose viscosity enables easy flow.

Claims

PATENT CLAIMS

1. Fire-fighting system utilising air-suspended aircraft, as shown in Fig 1 , w h e r e i n it comprises land-located fire-fighting subsystem consisting of mobile reusable assembled waterline made of pontoon-located low-pressure pumping station large-diameter hose of large length for connecting of several lined low-pressure pumping stations for driving low-pressured water to distributing manifold with butterfly stop valves low-pressure intake hose from the manifold to high-pressure pumping stations high-pressure hose for supplying high-pressured water to

airborne fire-fighting subsystem consisting of high-pressure hose connected to high-pressure pumping station on board the aircraft air-suspended aircraft such as helicopter, VTOL aeroplane or flying balloon high-pressure hose from the pumping station to water nozzle fit to the aircraft underside for creating large water jet hitting the fire.

2. System, as claimed in the Claim 1 , w h e r e a s nozzles for fighting fire on the land can be connected to any one of the high-pressure pumps.

3. System, as claimed in the Claims 1 and 2, w h e r e a s the mobile assembled waterline elements are transported by road vehicles or by helicopters where there are no roads available.

4 System, as claimed in the Claims 1 to 3, w h e r e a s extinguishing fire on vessels is performed from air, Fig. 8, where air-suspended aircraft carry, hang from below, independent pontoon high-pressure pumping station that is located on surface of the water pumped, which pumps water and takes it high-pressured through reinforced high-pressured hoses to high-pressure pumping stations mounted on board the aircraft which high-pressured water is taken through nozzle and powerful water jet is pointed into the fire on the vessel.

5. System, as claimed in the Claims 1 to 4, w h e r e a s it consists of an independent pontoon-located pumping station (20) where a low-pressure pump (30) is mounted, Fig. 2.

6. System, as claimed in the Claims 1 to 5, w h e r e a s it consists of several mobile low-pressure pumping-stations (30), Fig. 3, connected in a sequence, mutually connected with hoses.

7. System, as claimed in the Claims 1 to 6, w h e r e a s it consists of an independent high-pressure pumping station with a larger number of stages (60), Fig. 1.

8. System, as claimed in the Claims 1 to 7, w h e r e a s it consists of a distributing manifold with butterfly stop valves for distribution of low-pressured water into particular high-pressure pumping stations.

9. System, as claimed in the Claims 1 to 8, w h e r e a s it consists of reinforced high-pressure hose with automatic quick-fitting hose couplings automatic safety mechanical hose-coupling activated by lesser disconnecting force automatic safety mechanical hose-coupling activated by greater disconnecting force automatic safety electromagnetic hose-coupling for disconnecting the hose by switching the magnetisation electricity off in case of emergency.

10. System, as claimed in the Claims 1 to 9, w h e r e a s the air-suspended aircraft, in its cargo compartment, carries a high-pressure pumping station and has high-pressure hose connected to the water nozzle, Fig. 4.

11. System, as claimed in the Claims 1 to 10, w h e r e a s the high-pressure pumping station located on unapproachable land region or a vessel may take cargo into the aircraft cargo compartment while the aircraft is airborne may recharge the aircraft fuel tanks, enabling thus unlimited flying capacity with no landing.

12. System, as claimed in the Claims 1 to 11 , w h e r e a s it consists of automatic device for controlling and operating every particular assembly and the whole system.

13. System, as claimed in the Claims 1 to 12, w h e r e a s the low-pressure land located subsystem may be used for protection in case of natural disasters: droughts, floods, earthquakes, wars when large regional waterline systems are damaged, for watering of large cultivated land areas, for transporting other fluids.

14. System, as claimed in the Claims 1 to , w h e r e a s the entire system is yellow painted.