WO2022054109A1

WO2022054109A1 - Portable forest fire extingushing apparutus using soil

Info

Publication number: WO2022054109A1
Application number: PCT/IR2021/050021
Authority: WO
Inventors: Amirmohammad BAKHTIARI
Original assignee: Bakhtiari Amirmohammad
Priority date: 2020-09-13
Filing date: 2021-09-13
Publication date: 2022-03-17

Abstract

The portable forest fire extinguishing apparatus is used in order for a user to enter a site of fire and this apparatus on the back of the user, by storing the soil collected from the site, sprays the collected soil so as to extinguish the fire and to remove flames latent under the ashes. Simultaneous use of air, soil and combustion products of the power generator provides a good combination to extinguish the fire. The filter mesh is used as the entrance of the storage container to filter out large particles of soil. A soil feeding control unit controlling the amount of soil expelled from the storage container. The mixing unit and transition and spray unit are the other parts of this apparatus.

Description

[PORTABLE FOREST FIRE EXTINGUSHING APPARUTUS USING SOIL]

Sample Application

The present invention relates to portable fire extinguishing apparatus and, more specifically, to equipment which sprays soil to extinguish a forest fire or to remove a flame latent in the ash.

With regard to the increasing number of forest fires and the destruction of forests due to increasing global warming and the presence of humans in these areas and due to the nature of the fire occurring in the mountains, it is difficult to quickly send fire extinguishing equipment and personnel into the fire site, and most of the initial efforts for suppression will fail. If initial suppression fails, forest fires will spread along the wind and damage will become uncontrollable.

For these and other reasons, human intervention is often necessary for fire suppression or extinguishing. A variety of approaches to fire suppression have been developed. Many approaches involve deploying a plurality of trained firefighters, specialized equipment (e.g., fire trucks, helicopters and/or other aircrafts), and extinguishing chemicals and/or water. As such, the monetary and logistical cost of firefighting can be staggering.

[0004] Transporting fire extinguishing agents (water, sodium hydrogen carbonate, carbon tetrachloride etc.) to the scene of fire and spraying them to extinguish the fire is only possible if a large number of equipment and personnel are mobilized.

[0005] As such, there exists a need for a firefighting system that can reduce the cost, complexity, challenges, and risks associated with the abovementioned firefighting methods.

[0006] Meanwhile, since a large number of personnel and equipment are required to transport and use the fire extinguishing agents to the scene of the fire, the soil collected at the scene of the fire is often used as the fire extinguishing agent.

[0007] The prior art teaches the use of shovels and the like to dig into the soil and fling it into the fire. This poses great risk for the fire fighter and the small quantity of soil moved by a shovel is usually not adequate. However, this requires large equipment which normally cannot be transported to an inaccessible fire site and their effectiveness is thus limited to accessible areas.

[0008] Some attempts have been made heretofore to haul nonflammable material by wagons and dumping it onto the fire. For example, a shovel, an iron pick, a soil spray gun, a bulldozer, and a splitter on the existing soil spray gun, an apparatus for pulverizing and hurling soil are used to put out fires.

The individual portable wildfire extinguishing equipment is used in order for a user to enter a site of fire and this equipment on the back of the user can collect soil from the site, and spray the collected soil so as to extinguish the fire and remove flames latent under the ashes.

Usually, this kind of portable apparatus is comprised of a frame with a shoulder strap, a collecting container with an outer and an inner case for collecting and storing soil, a power generator, a power distributor, a soil spraying unit, a soil transfer unit, a soil collector, and a power transfer cable.

This apparatus with relatively complex mechanism requires different mechanical parts. By using simple mechanisms, to improve the efficiency of these devices, it is possible to reduce energy consumption, depreciation, as well as maintenance costs and ultimately achieve low weight.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the forest fire extinguishing apparatus is used by a user to enter a scene of a fire with the equipment on his back. Simultaneous use of air, soil and combustion products of the power generator provides a good combination to extinguish the fire. After the outlet of the power generator shaft, the only moving part is the blower.

In this invention, considering the complexities and problems of previous patents, solutions to increase the efficiency of a portable fire extinguisher, user comfort, and lightness are presented.

For filling the storage container with soil, there is no need to separate the container and put it on the ground. It saves the time required to fill the container with soil. The soil storage container has been tried to have the largest possible volume. This will also increase productivity and save time.

The volumetric location of the soil storage container is such that the power generation system, blower, the fuel tank, the mixing unit, and the transition and spray unit are mounted on the collecting container.

In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, a blower produces air flow as an accelerator fluid to soil particles.

There is no need for power transmission cable for different parts, clutch units, transfer screw, spiral wing, power distributor including more shafts, coupled with driven gears, worms and worm wheels and etc.

[0018] is a perspective top view of the embodiment of the present invention

[0019] is a rear view of the present invention;

[0020] is a perspective side view of the present invention;

[0021] represents a cross - sectional view of the present invention;

[0022] represents a cross - sectional view of the mixer unit;

[0023] is a perspective front view of the embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Referring to , a portable forest fire extinguishing apparatus 1is comprised of five main parts: a storage container 2, a power generator 3, a blower 4, a soil feeding control unit 5, a mixing unit 6 and a transition and spray unit 7.

[0025] According to the , the storage container 2 in the shape of a rectangular cube is comprised ofa storage container body 8, a cap 9 mounted on the top of the storage container body 8, a filter mesh 10 provided on the upper portion of the storage container body 8, a discharge hole 11 and a pyramid-shaped box 12 for storing tools needed to maintain the device.

[0026] According to the present embodiment, a power generator 3, which is in the form of a small-sized gasoline or diesel engine and may be a gas engine, or an electric motor, is provided at the lower portion on the back of the blower 4. The power generator 3 applies rotational force to an output shaft (not shown) in a state of being fixed to the shaft.

[0027] The filter mesh10 with an open top space mounted on four springs 15, as an entrance, mounted on the upper portion of the storage container 2, is used to filter out large particles of soil. The hopper-type lower plate 16 is in the form of a funnel that slopes toward the discharge hole 11 such that soil is fallen into the mixing unit 6.

[0028] Referring to a fuel tank 13 for supplying fuel to the power generator 3, through the fuel pipe 14, is fixed on the blower 4.

[0029] Filtration Chamber 6 is attached to the garment with some bolts 15 and nuts 16 through the stabilizing frame 11 and it is a part of it. Easy removal of the filtration chamber with all the elements inside, from the suit, is one of its characteristics.

[0030] According to the and , as the power generator 3 starts to operate, the blower 4, connected to the generator output shaft (not shown), starts to rotate and expels air through the outlet pipe of the blower 18. The expelled air, passing through the elbow pipe 19, changes direction and enters the mixing unit 6. As shown in , the storage container 2 is filled by pouring soil on the filter mesh 10 after filtering out large particles. The vibration of the operating power generator 3 is transferred to the filter mesh 10 and also connected to the inner surface of storage container, increase filter mesh through the blower 4, attached to the storage container 2 through the connection points defined by four springs 20; therefore, whenever the device is operating, the filter mesh constantly works by receiving the vibration. The springs 15 connected the vibration frequency received.

[0031] Referring to and , Soil collected in the storage container 2 is discharged through the discharge hole 11 at the lower portion of the storage container 2. An inner pipe 21 for guiding soil is introduced through the discharge hole 11 and connected to the mixing unit 6. The inner pipe 21 has a half-elbow piece 22 at its end. The soil is transmitted to the mixing unit 6 through the inner pipe 21 and mixed with the air coming through the blower 4. The 45-degree angle, formed in half-elbow piece 22, increases the alignment of soil particles with the air.

[0032] In addition to air and soil, the combustion products also enter the outer pipe 23, connected to the mixing unit 6, through an output, exhaust pipe 24. This mixture then enters the transition and spray unit7.

[0033] As shown in , the soil feeding control unit 5 is comprised of a control spring 25, two rod holders 26, a rod 27, a conical cap 28 with a spiral blade 29 attached to its end, and a soil control lever 30 with its cable 31.

[0034] Mode A is when the discharge hole 11 is closed and the soil is prevented from expelling. The soil control lever 30 is held up, until the storage container 2 is completely filled with soil, and the control spring 25, which is in the free position, puts pressure down on the perimeter of the discharge hole 11 through the rod 27 and the conical cap 28. This will be achieved through the cable 31 movement by holding up the soil control lever 30.

[0035] In Mode B, the soil control lever 30 is pressed down and the control spring 25 is compressed, the rod 27 is pulled upwards and the soil is expelled through the discharge hole 11. This will be achieved through the cable 31 movement by holding down the soil control lever 30.

[0036] According to , If the soil gets stuck, by moving and changing the position of the soil control lever 30 up and down, and as a result, moving rod 27and the conical cap 28, the spiral blade 29 will be moved by 2 to 3 cm in up and down direction repeatedly and the path will be opened.

[0037] The transition and spray unit 7 in consists of three sections: reducer 32, transmission pipe 33 and nozzle 34. Mixture of soil, air and combustion products achieve more speed before entering the transmission pipe 33 by the reducer 32. Nozzle 34, which has a surface with a downward slope, increases the fire extinguishing efficiency by reducing the accumulation of soil particles in the floor of the transmission pipe 33 and increasing the homogeneity of the output mixture.

[0038] A shoulder strap 35 attached to the storage container 2, for carrying the apparatus by the user, such that the user can wrap the apparatus around his/her back like a bag.

[0039] To adjust the amount of output mixture of the apparatus, in addition to the soil control lever 30, which controls the amount of exhaust soil, the amount of air and, consequently, the combustion products will be added to the required amount of output by the air control lever 36. The command is issued by wire 37 to the power generation unit.

[0040] According to , removable sunshade 17 mounted on top of the storage container 2, that covers the user's head, is comprised of two sections of opaque roof 17-a and transparent cover 17-b. Roof 17-ahelps protect against sunlight.

[Example 1]

Claims

A portable forest fire extinguishing apparatus using soil comprising:
A storage container in the shape of a rectangular cube which includes a container body, a cap mounted on the container body, a filter mesh, a discharge hole, and a pyramid-shaped box for storing tools needed to maintains the device;
A blower to produce air flow;
A power generator which is in the form of a small-sized gasoline or diesel engine to generate the power required to run the blower;
A soil feeding control unit;
A mixing unit for combining air, soil and combustion products;
A transition and spray unit;
A shoulder strap attached to the storage container for carrying by the user and a removable sunshade mounted on top of the storage container that covers the user's head.
According to Claim 1, the filter mesh, provided on the upper portion of the storage container, mounted on four springs connected to the inner surface of storage container, is used as the entrance of the storage container to filter out large particles of soil;
According to Claim 1 and Claim 2, the springs connected under the filter mesh increase the vibration frequency received from the power generator, which reaches the filter mesh after passing through the blower connected to the body of the storage container, and filtration is performed;
According to Claim 1, the soil feeding control unit is comprised of a rod, a control spring, a conical cap with a spiral blade attached to its end and a soil control lever with its cable.
According to Claims 1 and 4, the soil feeding control unit has three functions:
Preventing soil from expelling through the storage container by keeping the control spring in the free position and putting pressure down on the perimeter of the discharge hole through the rod and the conical cap. This will be achieved through the cable movement by holding up the soil control lever.
The soil from the storage container will be sent into the mixing unit by compressing the control spring and pulling the rod upward, and as a result, removing the conical cap from the discharge hole. This will be achieved through the cable movement by holding down the soil control lever.
When the pipe is blocked by soil, moving and changing the position of the soil control lever up and down, and as a result, moving the rod and the conical cap, the spiral blade will be moved upward and downward by 2 to 3 cm and the path will be opened.
according to claim 1, the mixing unit in the shape of a three- way pipe wherein:
One way is a two-walled pipe, one inner pipe for entering the soil from the storage container and the other is the outer pipe into which the combustion products enter through an exhaust pipe from the power generator.
The second way is connected to the outlet of the blower.
And the third way is the exit of soil, air and combustion gases altogether, which is connected to the inlet of the transition and spray unit.
According to Claim 6, the inner guide pipe has a half-elbow piece at its end to create 45-degree angle. This increases the alignment of soil particles with the air coming through the blower.
According to Claim 1, the transition and spray unit consists of three sections: reducing piece, transmission pipe, and spray nozzle.
According to Claim 8, mixture of soil, air and combustion products achieve more speed before entering the transmission pipe by the reducer. Nozzle which has a surface with a downward slope, reduces the accumulation of soil particles in the floor of the transmission pipe and increases the homogeneity of the output mixture.
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