This invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for combating a fire, and relates more particularly to fire fighting apparatuses and methods used to fight forest and grassland fires.
Forest and grass land fires in the western states are a constant concern because of the lack of moisture, the extremely short rainy season, regular high winds, and the generally long hot summers. Starting in the spring and continuing through the fall, the chance of serious fires is high because spring growth caused by winter rain and snow is dry and also because there is virtually no rain during the summer months. During the summer and fall, when a scrub brush or forest fire starts, it will generally spread rapidly and is extremely difficult to control. The result can be a loss of forest and buildings surrounding the area where the fire is burning.
Conventional methods for fighting fires under dry and windy conditions include the use of fire fighting vehicles for directing high pressure water or fire retardants at the fire. Fire fighters also use aircraft with water scoops to fight forest and brush fires.
However, fire fighters using these methods sometimes have only limited success in stopping the spread of the fire. For example, fire fighters can direct water at the fire from a nozzle, but this method results in the fire being controlled in only one extremely small area. Moreover, fire retardants are not safe to use in residential areas because they contain environmentally unsafe chemicals that are harmful to animals and humans. Use of aircraft with water scoops is very limited in that they cannot fly in high winds and that they take a significant amount of time to fill their scoops and return to the fire.
Accordingly, there is a need for an apparatus and method for combating forest and grass fires which is effective and efficient at fighting forest and brush fires.
To facilitate further description of the embodiments, the following drawings are provided in which:
For simplicity and clarity of illustration, the drawing figures illustrate the general manner of construction, and descriptions and details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention. Additionally, elements in the drawing figures are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention. The same reference numerals in different figures denote the same elements.
The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” “fourth,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for distinguishing between similar elements and not necessarily for describing a particular sequential or chronological order. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments described herein are, for example, capable of operation in sequences other than those illustrated or otherwise described herein. Furthermore, the terms “include,” and “have,” and any variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements is not necessarily limited to those elements, but may include other elements not expressly listed or inherent to such process, method, system, article, device, or apparatus.
The terms “left,” “right,” “front,” “back,” “top,” “bottom,” “over,” “under,” and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for describing permanent relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances such that the embodiments of the invention described herein are, for example, capable of operation in other orientations than those illustrated or otherwise described herein.
The terms “couple,” “coupled,” “couples,” “coupling,” and the like should be broadly understood and refer to connecting two or more elements or signals, electrically, mechanically and/or otherwise. Two or more electrical elements may be electrically coupled but not be mechanically or otherwise coupled; two or more mechanical elements may be mechanically coupled, but not be electrically or otherwise coupled; two or more electrical elements may be mechanically coupled, but not be electrically or otherwise coupled. Coupling may be for any length of time, e.g., permanent or semi permanent or only for an instant.
In some embodiments, a fire fighting device can include: (a) a blower portion with an air input region and an air output region; (b) at least one container configured to hold a fire suppressing solution; (c) first piping; (d) a first pump mechanically coupled to the at least one container and configured to at least partially pump the fire suppressing solution from the at least one container into the first piping at a first pressure; (e) a second pump coupled to the first piping, the second pump is configured such that the second pump increases a pressure in at least a part of the first piping from the first pressure to a second pressure, the second pressure is greater than the first pressure; and (f) two or more nozzles located at the blower portion and mechanically coupled to the first piping such that the two or more nozzles are configured to emit the fire suppressing solution.
In other embodiments, an apparatus for combating fires can include: (a) a fan portion; (b) a vehicle portion; and (c) a tank portion. The fan portion can include: (a) a fan; (b) at least one first nozzle section coupled to an external diameter of an outlet of the fan; and (c) at least one second nozzle section coupled to the external diameter of the outlet of the fan and adjacent to the first nozzle section.
In yet further embodiments, a method of providing an apparatus for combating fires, can include: providing at least one fan; providing a vehicle; providing at least one tank; coupling the vehicle to the at least one fan and the at least one tank; providing two or more nozzles; coupling the two or more nozzle to an output of the at least one fan; and coupling the two or more nozzles to the at least one tank such that a fire suppressing solution can be pumped from the at least one tank to the two or more nozzles.
In one embodiment, an apparatus for combating fires, particularly large fires, such as, for example, forest fires, structure fires, brush fires, and tire fires, includes a fan that is coupled to two or more nozzles, a tank, at least one pump, and a vehicle. The apparatus can also be used to fight structure fires, tire fires, cardboard fires, pallet fires, etc. In some examples, it also can be used to knock smoke and dust out of the air. The apparatus can be used for multiple purposes when combating fires. For example, the apparatus can be used to prevent the spread of fires in addition to assisting to extinguish fires. That is, it is useful also to prevent the spread of fires, such as spraying down areas to keep the fire from spreading to that area (e.g., house/structure protection).
Not to be taken in a limiting sense, a simple example of an embodiment, a fire suppressing solution is pumped from the tank using the at least one pump to the two or more nozzles. The two or more nozzles are located at an output of a fan. A fine mist or stream of the fire suppressing solution can exit the two or more nozzles and be blown out of the apparatus and into the fire by the wind created by the fan. An operator of the vehicle can move the two or more nozzles and the fan to direct the stream of fire suppressing solution at particular areas of the fire. Embodiments of this apparatus allow a larger area of a fire to be sprayed with a fire suppressing solution in a shorter time compared with out terrestrial fire suppression delivery apparatuses and methods.
Referring to
Blower portion 200 of fire fighting apparatus 100 can include a blowing device. Preferably, the blowing device is a fan, such as, for example fan 205 (
With reference to
Fan 205 can also comprise fan guide 225. Fan guide 225 is positioned between fan blades 208 and outlet 214 (
Fan 205 also has fan motor 230. Fan motor 230 is coupled to fan blades 208. Fan motor causes fan blades 208 to rotate, thereby causing a wind velocity. Fan motor 230 can be any type of motor, including, for example, a hydraulic motor. Fan motor 230 can cause fan blades 208 to rotate at a variety of rotations per minute (RPMs). In one example, fan blades 208 rotate at approximately 1015 RPM. In general, fan blades 208 can be rotated at approximately 500-3000 RPM. In another example, fan blades rotate at approximately 750 RPM. Fan 205 can be operated according to the purpose of fire fighting apparatus 100. For example, if fire fighting apparatus 100 is being used to extinguish a fire, a lower wind velocity may be desired. If fire fighting apparatus 100 is being used to prevent the expansion of a fire, a higher wind velocity may be desired.
The internal diameter of fan housing 210 can change along the length of fan housing 210 from inlet 212 to outlet 214. For example, the internal diameter of fan housing 210 may decrease along the length of fan housing 210 from inlet 212 to outlet 214 to create an increase in wind velocity. In one embodiment, the internal diameter of fan housing 210 is approximately 84 inches at inlet 212 and is approximately 72 inches at outlet 214.
As seem in
Nozzles 242 are positioned such that the fire suppressing solution is emitted into the stream of air produced from the rotation of fan blades 208. Nozzles 242 can be positioned at any angle relative to the plane of the external diameter of fan housing 210 so that the fire suppressing solution is emitted anywhere from directly away from fan 205 (parallel with the plane of fan housing 210) to directly towards the center of outlet 214 (perpendicular to the plane of fan housing 210). In one embodiment, nozzles 242 are directed slightly towards the center of outlet 214 (i.e., more towards being parallel with the plane of fan housing 210 than towards being perpendicular to the plane of fan housing 210).
Fan 205 can also comprise a second ring of nozzles 240. Nozzles 240 are also positioned around the diameter of outlet 214. Nozzles 240 are positioned adjacent to nozzles 242 in a position that is closer to the inlet 212. Nozzles 240 can be positioned so that the fire suppressing solution is emitted anywhere from directly away from fan 205 to directly towards the center of fan blades 208. In one embodiment, nozzles 240 are directed so that the fire suppressing solution is emitted towards the center of outlet 214 (i.e., perpendicular to the plane of fan housing 210). In addition, nozzles 240 and 242 can have different angles of emission with respect to the plane of the exterior diameter of fan housing 210. For example, nozzles 240 can be directed closer toward the center of outlet 214 than nozzles 242. In many embodiments, nozzles 240 and 242 can be turned on and off together. In other embodiments, nozzles 240 and 242 can be turned on and off independently.
Fan 205 can have any number of nozzles 240 and 242. The number of nozzles 240 and 242 can be adjusted according to the amount of fire suppressing solution needed for delivery to fan 205. For example, in one embodiment, the fire suppressing solution is emitted out of nozzles 240 and 242 at a rate of 1.2 gallons/second. In another embodiment, the rate is approximately 0.5-3.0 gallons/second. In one embodiment, there are more external nozzles 242 than internal nozzles 240. For example, there are approximately twice as may nozzles 242 than nozzles 240. In one particular example, there are approximately 165 nozzles 242 and approximately 85 nozzles 240 along the 72 inch diameter of outlet 214. Fan 205 can also have more than 2 rings of nozzles.
Fan 205 can also have drain valve 245, as seen in
The fire suppressing solution emitted from nozzles 240 and 242 is stored in tank 305 (
Tank 305 can be coupled to vehicle portion 400 (
In addition, fire fighting apparatus 100 can comprise more than one tank. For example, there may be a tank for water and a separate tank for additives. Such additives can comprise, for example, surfactants and chemical flame retardants. The contents of the two tanks can be combined at any time, such as, for example, in piping 320 (
Pump 302 can be any type of pump including, for example, a gas pump or hydraulic pump. In one particular example, pump 302 is a 3-inch pump. Pump 302 pulls the fire suppressing solution out of tank 305 and pushes the fire suppressing solution towards blower portion 200 (
With reference to
In other embodiments, pump 302 (
Upon leaving pump 270, the fire suppressing solution is forced into a pipe. The pipe can be contained within bottom bracket 275. Bottom bracket 275 is a portion of a base that supports fan 205 (
With continued reference to
As shown in
Returning to
Fire fighting apparatus 100 can be customized according to its specific purpose. For example, the wind velocity created by fan 205 can be adjusted. If fire fighting apparatus 100 is being used to extinguish a fire, a slower wind velocity may be desired to prevent a wind so strong that it would assist in spreading the fire. On the other hand, if fire fighting apparatus 100 is being used to prevent the spread of a fire, a higher wind velocity may be desired to spread the fire suppressing solution to a greater distance so a greater area is covered.
In addition, a variety of different fire suppressing solutions can be used. The fire suppressing solution can comprise 100% water, 100% of a chemical substance, or any combination of water and chemical substance. In addition, additives can be added to the fire suppressing solution. For example, a surfactant can be added to prevent the evaporation of the fire suppressing solution.
Referring to
Vehicle 930 can include: (a) a base portion 931; (b) an arm 932; and (c) an adjustable height portion 933 coupled to base portion 931 using arm 932. Piping 818 can extend from base portion 931 to adjustable height portion 933 via arm 932. In various examples, vehicle 930 is configured such that a height of adjustable height portion 933 relative to base portion 931 can be adjusted. In some examples, arm 932 can be considered part of adjustable height portion 933. In some examples, vehicle 930 can be similar or identical to vehicle portion 400 (
Blade 940 can be located at a front 946 of adjustable height portion 933. In some examples, blade 940 can be used in stirring a burning pile or pushing trees over to clear an area. In some examples, blade 940 can be removably coupled to adjustable height portion 933 using one or more supports 941. Blade 940 can be a 10 feet wide blade.
In various examples, container 810 can include: (a) a container 811 configured to hold water; and (b) a container 812 configured to hold surfactant. In some examples, container 811 can be designed to hold approximately 2,500 gallons of water, and container 812 can be designed to hold approximately 90 gallons of surfactant. In other examples, container 810 can be similar or identical to tank 305.
The fire suppressing solution comprises the water and the surfactant. In some examples, the fire suppressing solution can be a 0.1% to 1.0% surfactant solution. In other examples, the first suppression solution can include any of the formulations previously discussed. In some examples, the water and the surfactant can be mixed to form the fire suppressing solution at joint 829.
Container 810 can be located at and coupled to the base portion 931. For example, container 810 can be welded to base portion 931 or attached to base portion 931 using a support bracket. In some examples, container 811 and/or container 812 can be lined (e.g., epoxy lined) to limit the amount of particulates (e.g., rust particles) that detach from container 811 and/or 812 and enter the fire suppressing solution.
As illustrated in
Similarly, container 812 can include: (a) fill port 1054; and (b) a vent port 1055. In some examples, fill port 1054 can be used to fill container 812 with surfactant, and vent port 1055 can be used to vent the container 812 during the filling and extracting process. In various embodiments, fill port 1054 and vent port 1055 are interchangeable. In other examples, container 812 can also include a drain port.
Returning to
In some examples, pump 813 can be submersible and located near the lowest point in container 811. In some examples, pump 813 is located in container 811 to save space, help cool pump 813, and improve the efficiency (and lifetime) of pump 813 by having it push water from container 811 instead of pulling the water from container 811. In other examples, pump 813 can be located at other portions of container 811 or outside of container 811. Using pump 813, the water leaves container 811 at a first predetermined pressure (e.g., 80 psi).
Pump 814 can be mechanically coupled to container 812 and configured to pump the surfactant from container 812 into piping 818. In some examples, pump 814 can be a soap pump. In the example illustrated in
Filter 815 can be coupled to out water line of container 811. In some examples, filters 815 and 825 can be located in containers 811 and 812, respectively. In other examples, filters 815 and/or 825 are located outside of containers 811 and/or 812, respectively.
Filter 815 can filter out any large particulates in the water. In some examples, nozzles 823 can be easily clogged, so filter 815 can be used to remove the particulates from the water (and/or fire suppressing solution) before the fire suppressing solution enters nozzles 823. In some examples, to avoid the introduction of any particulates into the fire suppressing solution after filtering the water, all of the surfaces of fire fighting device 800 that contact the fire suppressing solution after the water passes through filter 815 can be made from stainless steel. In various embodiments, filter 815 can include five standard swimming pool cartridge filters. For example, the five standard swimming pool cartridge filters can be coupled in parallel to allow a predetermined volume of water to be filtered in a predetermined amount of time.
In other examples, fire fighting device 800 can include a second filter to filter the output of container 812. In still other examples, filter 815 can be coupled to piping 818 after the water and the surfactant are combined at joint 829.
In the example shown in
In some examples, holder portion 934 can be used to couple blower portion 935 and blade 940 to adjustable height portion 933. In some examples, air injection system 821 (
Returning to
Air injection system 821 can be used to in-line aerate the fire suppressing solution. In some examples, air injection system 821 can include a bell around a pressurized pipe. The pressurized pipe can include hundreds of small holes so that, when compressed air is introduced into the bell, the air is injected into the fire suppressing solution.
Referring to FIGS. 8 and 11-13, fan portion or blower portion 935 can include: (a) blowing device 824; (b) fan housing 1261; (c) nozzles 823; (d) screen 822; and (e) a misting ring 1262. In other examples, blower portion 935 can further include pump 820 and air injection system 821.
Blower portion 935 can have back end 1267 and front end 1268 opposite end 1267. In some examples, air can be drawn into blower portion 935 at back end 1267 by blowing device 824. The air can pass through fan housing 1261 into misting ring 1262. Nozzles 823 are position at front end 1268 and can emit the fire suppressing solution into the stream of air produced by blowing device 824.
In some examples, blowing device 824 can be similar or identical to fan 205 (
Fan housing 1261 can be similar or identical to fan housing 210 of
In some examples, misting ring 1262 can include nozzles 823. Nozzles 823 can be located at front end 1268 of blower portion 935 and mechanically coupled to piping 818 such that nozzles 823 can emit the fire suppressing solution, as shown in
In some examples, misting ring 1262 and nozzles 823 can be similar or identical to misting ring 248 and nozzles 242 of
Before the fire suppressing solution enters nozzles 823, the fire suppressing solution can pass through a screen 822. Screen 822 can be coupled to piping 818 after air injection system 821 and just before the fire suppressing solution enters misting ring 1262 and nozzles 823. In some examples, screen 822 can cavitate the fire suppressing solution. For example, screen 822 can turn soapy water into suds. As illustrated in
Method 1500 of
Method 1500 in
Subsequently, method 1500 of
Next, method 1500 of
Method 1500 in
Subsequently, method 1500 of
Next, method 1500 of
In some examples, activity 1570 can include providing one or more pumps coupled to the at least one tank and the two or more nozzles such that the one or more pumps can pump the fire suppression solution from the at least one tank to the two or more nozzles. In some examples, the one or more pumps can be similar or identical to pumps 302 and 270 of
Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes can be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, the disclosure of embodiments of the invention is intended to be illustrative of the scope of the invention and is not intended to be limiting. It is intended that the scope of the invention shall be limited only to the extent required by the appended claims. For example, to one of ordinary skill in the art, it will be readily apparent that any details provided in relation to one embodiment can also apply to other embodiments when appropriate and the methods discussed herein may be implemented in a variety of embodiments, and that the foregoing discussion of certain of these embodiments does not necessarily represent a complete description of all possible embodiments. Accordingly, the detailed description of the drawings, and the drawings themselves, disclose at least one preferred embodiment, and may disclose alternative embodiments.
All elements claimed in any particular claim are essential to the embodiment claimed in that particular claim. Consequently, replacement of one or more claimed elements constitutes reconstruction and not repair. Additionally, benefits, other advantages, and solutions to problems have been described with regard to specific embodiments. The benefits, advantages, solutions to problems, and any element or elements that may cause any benefit, advantage, or solution to occur or become more pronounced, however, are not to be construed as critical, required, or essential features or elements of any or all of the claims.
Moreover, embodiments and limitations disclosed herein are not dedicated to the public under the doctrine of dedication if the embodiments and/or limitations: (1) are not expressly claimed in the claims; and (2) are or are potentially equivalents of express elements and/or limitations in the claims under the doctrine of equivalents.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/166,601, filed Apr. 3, 2009. U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/166,601 is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61166601 | Apr 2009 | US |