BATTERY-OPERATED FOG GENERATOR WITH INSTANTANEOUS HEATING

Abstract

A battery-operated fog generator with instantaneous heating is described, comprising a support and containment structure (1) containing: at least one power supply battery (3); at least one container (5) of fog fluid; at least one pump (11) designed to pump the fog fluid out of the container (5); at least one electronic board (9) for controlling, feeding and heating the generator components; and at least one hermetic or non-hermetic thermal insulation device (7) designed to contain and isolate at least one heat exchanger (12) inside which the fog fluid passes before its firing outside the generator.

Description

The present invention refers to a battery-operated fog generator with instantaneous heating, and therefore not of the storage type.

Various types of accumulation-type battery-powered fog generators are known in the art, which perform the function of preventing theft in closed places by firing a fog-generating fluid into the environment to be protected, a fluid which, when adequately heated, releases a dense fog, inside which it is not possible to carry out any unauthorized action (for example theft by malicious people).

These known fog generators, however, are bulky and heavy, equipped with numerous expensive components and therefore difficult and lengthy to produce, and with a high final cost for end users.

Documents U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,422,869 B2, 4,764,660, 4,818,843, WO-A1-2017/179080 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,917,980 B2 describe battery-powered fog generators with instant heating according to the prior art.

Object of the present invention is solving the aforementioned prior art problems by providing a battery-powered fog generator with instantaneous heating that is compact, very efficient, with a configuration that is simple to make in production, but optimal from the point of view of operational yield, built with a reduced number of components, joined together by compact connection elements and effectively protected from the high heat generated by the heat exchanger that transforms the fog fluid into fog.

The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will emerge from the following description, are achieved with a battery-powered fog generator with instantaneous heating such as that described in claim 1. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variants of the present invention form the subject of dependent claims.

It is understood that all attached claims form an integral part of the present description.

It will be immediately obvious that innumerable variations and modifications (for example relating to shape, dimensions, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionality) can be made to what is described, without departing from the scope of the invention as appears from the attached claims.

The present invention will be better described by some preferred embodiments, provided by way of non-limiting example, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the fog generator according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a top view of the generator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows a partially cut-away view of the generator of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 shows another perspective view of the generator of FIG. 1.

Referring to the Figures, the battery-powered fog generator with instantaneous heating of the present invention substantially comprises:

• • a support and containment structure 1;
  • at least one supply battery 3 contained in the structure 1;
  • at least one container 5 of fog fluid contained in the structure 1;
  • at least one pump 11 contained in the structure 1 and designed to pump the fog fluid out of the container 5 towards the heat exchanger 12;
  • at least one electronic board 9 for controlling, feeding and heating the components of the generator, where the electronic board 9 can be contained in the structure 1;
  • at least one hermetic or non-hermetic insulation device 11, contained in the structure 1 and designed to contain and thermally insulate at least one heat exchanger 12 inside which the fog fluid passes before its firing outside the generator; and
  • at least one hydraulic connection and support element 14 contained in the structure 1, the hydraulic connection and support element 14 being designed to support and hydraulically connect the container 5, pump 11 and exchanger 12 contained in the hermetic insulation device 7.

Preferably, in the fog generator of the invention, the supply batteries 3 are one or more than one, of the lead type (or other type) and are designed to power the components of the generator and to heat the fog fluid pumped into the exchanger 12.

Furthermore, the thermal insulation device 7, realized as illustrated in box-like form, could be replaced by at least one shielding wall (not shown) of the heat generated by the exchanger 12, and preferably by a number of shielding walls sufficient to completely surround the exchanger 12, preventing the heat generated by it from damaging the internal components of the fog generator, for example and in particular the electronic control board 9.

As illustrated, the thermal insulation device 7 can be made in a box-like shape (from which only the two ends of the exchanger 12 protrude) and in a material which is at the same time insulating and has a low thermal capacity, preferably calcium silicate.

Preferably, the exchanger 12 consists of at least one spiral-wound tube, designed to receive on one side the fog fluid taken from the container 5 and pushed by the pump 11, and to shoot the fog fluid heated inside it on the other side.

Furthermore, the exchanger 12 has the function of resistance and is optionally equipped with a non-resettable or resettable fuse thermal protection, the thermal insulation device 7 being operatively connected to the electronic board 9, preferably by means of at least one electrical conductor.

Furthermore, to achieve the function for which it was designed, the support and hydraulic connection element 14 contains a plurality of connection channels and at least one sealing valve 18 for the fog fluid.

Claims

1. A battery-operated fog generator with instantaneous heating comprising: a support and containment structure;at least one supply battery (3) contained in the support and containment structure;at least one container of fog fluid contained in the support and containment structure;at least one pump contained in the support and containment structure and designed to pump the fog fluid out of the container;at least one electronic board for controlling, feeding and heating the components of the generator, the electronic board being contained in the support and containment structure;at least one hermetic or non-hermetic thermal insulation device contained in the support and containment structure and designed to contain and insulate at least one heat exchanger inside which the fog fluid passes before its firing outside the generator;at least one hydraulic support and connection element contained in the support and containment structure, the hydraulic support and connection element being designed to support and mutually hydraulically connect the container, the pump and the exchanger contained in the insulation device, the hydraulic support and connection element containing inside it a plurality of connection channels and at least one sealing valve for the fog fluid.

2. A battery-operated fog generator with instantaneous heating comprising: a support and containment structure;at least one supply battery contained in the support and containment structure;at least one container of fog fluid contained in the support and containment structure;at least one pump contained in the support and containment structure and designed to pump the fog fluid out of the container;at least one electronic board for controlling, feeding and heating the components of the generator, the electronic board being contained in the support and containment structure;at least one wall for shielding the heat generated by the exchanger, the wall being contained in the support and containment structure and designed to isolate at least one heat exchanger inside which the fog fluid passes before its firing outside the generator;at least one hydraulic support and connection element contained in the support and containment structure, the hydraulic support and connection element being designed to support and mutually hydraulically connect the container, the pump and the exchanger contained in the insulation device, the hydraulic support and connection element containing inside it a plurality of connection channels and at least one sealing valve for the fog fluid.

3. The battery-operated fog generator of claim 1, wherein the supply batteries are two, they are of the lead type and are designed to power the components of the generator and to heat the fog fluid contained in the exchanger.

4. The battery-operated fog generator of claim 1, wherein the thermal insulation device is made of both insulating and low thermal capacity material, preferably calcium silicate.

5. The battery-operated fog generator of claim 1, wherein the exchanger consists of at least one spiral-wound tube, designed to receive on one side the fog fluid taken from the container and pushed by the pump, and to shoot the fog fluid heated inside it on the other side.

6. The battery-operated fog generator of claim 1, wherein the exchanger has also the function of resistance and is equipped with at least one protection fuse, the thermal insulation device being operatively connected to the electronic board, preferably by means of at least one electrical conductor with low thermal conductivity.

7. The battery-operated fog generator of claim 1, wherein the hydraulic support and connection element is made up of several separate components, each of which performs a support or hydraulic connection function or both.