Patent Grant
7527056
This disclosure relates generally to the technical fields of safety systems and, in one example embodiment, to a method and/or a safety system of air distribution system and method having an air storage sub-system.
In a case of an emergency situation of a structure (e.g., a horizontal building structure such as a shopping mall, IKEA, Home Depot, a vertical building structure such as a high rise building, a mid rise building, and/or a low rise building, a mine, a subway, and/or a tunnel), emergency personnel (e.g., a fire fighter, a SWAT team, a law enforcer, and/or a medical worker, etc.) may be deployed on-site of the building structure to alleviate the emergency situation through mitigating a source of hazard as well as rescuing stranded civilians from the building structure. The emergency situation may include events such as a building fire, a chemical attack, terror attack, subway accident, mine collapse, and/or a biological agent attack.
In such situations, breathable air inside the building structure may be hazardously affected (e.g., depleted, absorbed, and/or contaminated). In addition, flow of fresh air into the building structure may be significantly hindered due to the building structure having enclosed regions, lack of windows, and/or high concentration of contaminants. As a result, inhaling air in the building structure may be extremely detrimental and may further result in death (e.g., within minutes). Furthermore, emergency work may often need to be performed from within the building structure (e.g., due to a limitation of emergency equipment able to be transported on a ground level).
The emergency personnel's ability to alleviate the emergency in an efficient manner may be significantly limited by the lack of breathable air and/or the abundance of contaminated air. A survival rate of stranded civilians in the building structure may substantially decreased due to a propagation of contaminated air throughout the building structure placing a large number of innocent lives at significant risk.
As such, the emergency personnel may utilize a portable breathable air apparatus (e.g., self-contained breathable air apparatus) as a source of breathable air during a rescue mission. However, the portable breathable air apparatus may be heavy (e.g., 20-30 pounds) and may only provide breathable air for a short while (e.g., approximately 15-30 minutes). In the emergency situation, the emergency personnel may need to walk and/or climb to a particular location within the building structure to perform rescuing work due to inoperable transport systems (e.g., obstructed walkway, elevators, moving sidewalks, and/or escalators, etc.). As such, by the time the emergency personnel reaches the particular location, his/her portable breathable air apparatus may have already depleted and may require running back to the ground floor for a new portable breathable air apparatus. As a result, precious lives may be lost due to precious time being lost.
An extra supply of portable breathable air apparatuses may be stored throughout the building structure so that emergency personnel can replace their portable breathable air apparatuses within the building structure. However, supplying structures with spare portable breathable air apparatuses may be expensive and take up space in the building structure severely handicapping the ability of emergency personnel to perform rescue tasks.
Furthermore, the building structure may not regularly inspect the spare portable breathable air apparatus. With time, the spare portable breathable air apparatuses may experience pressure loss placing the emergency personnel at significant risk when it is utilized in the emergency situation. The spare portable breathable air apparatuses may also be tampered with during storage. Contaminants may be introduced into the spare portable breathable air apparatus that are detrimental to the emergency personnel.
A safety system and method having an air storage sub-system is disclosed. In one aspect, a safety system of a building structure includes a supply unit of a building structure to facilitate delivery of breathable air from a source of compressed air to an air distribution system of the building structure, a valve to prevent leakage of the breathable air from the air distribution system potentially leading to loss of system pressure, a fill station interior to the building structure to provide the breathable air to a breathable air apparatus at multiple locations of the building structure, a secure chamber of the fill station as a safety shield that confines a possible rupture of an over-pressurized breathable air apparatus within the secure chamber, a distribution structure that is compatible with use with compressed air that facilitates dissemination of the breathable air of the source of compressed air to multiple locations of the building structure, and an air storage sub-system to provide an additional supply of air to the building structure in addition to the source of compressed air.
In addition, the system may include an air storage tank of the air storage sub-system to provide storage of air that is dispersible to multiple locations of the building structure. Air storage tanks of the air storage sub-system may be coupled to each other through tubes of a looped configuration to increase robustness of the tubes through preventing breakage due to stress. Further, a booster tank of the air storage sub-system may be coupled to the air storage tank to store compressed air of a higher pressure than the compressed air that is stored in the plurality of the air storage tanks. In addition, a driving air source of the air storage sub-system to pneumatically drive a piston of a pressure booster to maintain a higher pressure of the air distribution system such that a breathable air apparatus is reliably filled. Further, the driving air source may enables the breathable air to be optimally supplied to the building structure through allowing the breathable air to be isolated from driving the pressure booster.
The system may include an air monitoring system to automatically track and record any of impurities and contaminants in the breathable air of the air distribution system. In addition, the system may include a pressure monitoring system of the air storage sub-system to continuously track and record the system pressure of the air distribution system. The system may also include a pressure switch that is electrically coupled to an alarm system such that the alarm system is set of when the system pressure of the air distribution system is outside a safety range. Further, the pressure switch may electrically transmit a warning signal to an emergency supervising station when the system pressure of the air distribution system is outside the safety range.
The system may include at least one indicator panel of the air storage sub-system to provide status information of the air distribution system including storage pressure, booster pressure, pressure of the compressed air source, and the system pressure. The system may include a supply unit enclosure encompassing the supply unit having a weather resistant feature, ultraviolet and/or infrared solar radiation resistant feature to prevent corrosion and physical damage. The system may also include a locking mechanism of the supply unit enclosure to secure the supply unit from intrusions that potentially compromise safety and reliability of the air distribution system. Further, the system may include a robust metallic material of the supply unit enclosure to minimize a physical damage due to various hazards to protect the supply unit from any of an intrusion and damage. The robust metallic material may be at least substantially 18 gauge carbon steel.
The system may also include a valve of the supply unit to automatically suspend transfer of breathable air from the source of compressed air to the air distribution system when useful. The system may include a safety valve of any of the supply unit and the fill station to release breathable air when a system pressure of the air distribution system exceeds a threshold value beyond the design pressure to ensure reliability of the air distribution system through maintaining the system pressure such that it is within a pressure rating of each component of the air distribution system. Further any of a CGA connector and RIC/UAC connector of the supply unit may be included to facilitate a connection with the source of compressed air through ensuring compatibility with the source of compressed air. The system may include an adjustable pressure regulator of the supply unit that is used to adjust a fill pressure of the source of compressed air to ensure that the fill pressure does not exceed the design pressure of the air distribution system.
In addition, the system may include at least one pressure gauge of the supply unit enclosure to indicate any of the system pressure of the air distribution system and the fill pressure of the source of compressed air and a visible marking of the supply unit enclosure and the fill station enclosure to provide luminescence in a reduced light environment. The system may include another valve of the fill station to prevent leakage of air from the air distribution system potentially leading to pressure loss of the air distribution system through ensuring that the system pressure is maintained within a threshold range of the design pressure to reliably fill the breathable air apparatus. The system may include an isolation valve of the fill station to isolate a breathable fill station from a remaining portion of the air distribution system. In addition, the fill station may include the isolation valve that is automatically actuated based on an air pressure sensor of the air distribution system.
Further, the system may include at least one pressure regulator of each of the fill station to adjust a fill pressure to fill the breathable air apparatus and to ensure that the fill pressure does not exceed the pressure rating of the breathable air apparatus potentially resulting in a rupture of the breathable air apparatus. The system my include at least one pressure gauge of the fill station to indicate any of a fill pressure of the fill station and a system pressure of the air distribution system. Further, a fire rated material may enclose the distribution structure such that the distribution structure has the ability to withstand elevated temperatures for a prescribed period of time. A sleeve at least three times an outer diameter of each of a plurality of pipes of the distribution structure exterior to the fire rated material to further protect the fire rated material from any damage. Both ends of the sleeve are fitted with a fire rated material that is approved by an authority agency. Further, the system may include a robust solid casing of the distribution structure to prevent physical damage to the distribution structure potentially compromising the safety and integrity of the air distribution system.
In addition the system may include another sleeve at least three times an outer diameter of a pipe of the distribution structure exterior to the robust solid casing to further protect the robust solid casing from any damage. Both ends of the another sleeve may be fitted with a fire rated material that is approved by the authority agency. Further, the system may include a plurality of support structures of each pipe of the distribution structure at intervals no larger than five feet to provide adequate structural support for each pipe. In addition, the distribution structure comprises any of a stainless steel and a thermoplastic material that is compatible for use with compressed air. The system may also include an air monitoring system to automatically track and record any impurities and contaminants in the breathable air of the air distribution system. The air monitoring system may also include a pressure monitoring system to automatically track and record the system pressure of the air distribution system. In addition, the system may include an pressure switch that is electrically coupled to a fire alarm system of the building structure such that the fire alarm system is set off when the system pressure of the air distribution system is outside a safety range. The pressure switch electrically may transmit a warning signal to an emergency supervising station when the system pressure of the air distribution system is outside the safety range.
The fill station may have a physical capacity to enclose at least one breathable air apparatus and may include a RIC/UAC connector that expedites a filling process of the breathable air apparatus. Further, the supply unit enclosure may include a tamper switch of the locking mechanism such that a alarm is automatically triggered and a signal is electrically coupled to any of a relevant administrative personnel of the building structure and the emergency supervising station when an intrusion of the supply unit occurs. The secure chamber may be certified to be rupture containable according to approved standards. The system may include a selector valve that is accessible by emergency personnel to selectively utilize the source of compressed air to deliver breathable air to the air fill station. Further, the air storage sub-system may be housed in a fire rated enclosure that is certified to be rupture containable to withstand burning elevated temperatures for a prescribed amount of time.
In yet another aspect, a method of a building structure includes ensuring that a prescribed pressure of an emergency support system maintains within a threshold range of the prescribed pressure by including a valve of the emergency support system to prevent leakage of breathable air from the emergency support system, safeguarding a filling process of a breathable air apparatus by enclosing the breathable air apparatus in a secure chamber of a fill site of the emergency support system of the building structure to provide a safe placement to supply the breathable air to the breathable air apparatus, and providing a spare storage of breathable air through an air storage tank of a storage sub-system to store breathable air that is replenishable with a source of compressed air. In addition, corrosion and physical damage due to weather may be reduced by incorporating a supply unit enclosure that is weather resistant.
Further physical damage of various external hazards may be minimized to protect the supply unit and the fill site from any of an intrusion and damage through utilizing a robust metallic material to the supply unit enclosure. Leakage of air from the emergency support system leading to a potential pressure loss of the emergency support system may be prevented through utilizing a valve of the supply unit and the fill site. Transfer of breathable air may be discontinued from the source of compressed air to the emergency support system through utilizing a valve to the supply unit. Breathable air may be automatically released from the emergency support system when the system pressure of the emergency support system exceeds the prescribed pressure through triggering a safety valve of any of the supply unit and the fill site. Compatibility of the emergency support system and the source of compressed air of an authority agency may be ensured through any of a CGA connector and a RIC/UAC connector of the supply unit.
In addition, a fill pressure may be adjusted to ensure that the fill pressure of the source of compressed air does not exceed the prescribed pressure of the emergency support system through a pressure regulator of the supply unit. The system pressure of the emergency support system and the fill pressure may be monitored of the source of compressed air through the pressure gauge of the supply unit enclosure. Accessibility of the supply unit enclosure may be improved through providing luminescence in reduced light environments by incorporating a visible marking. A fill site may be isolated from a remaining portion of the emergency support system using an isolation valve of the fill site such that the remaining portion of the emergency support system is utilizable in an emergency situation. A fill pressure of the fill station may be adjusted to ensure that the fill pressure does not exceed the pressure rating of the breathable air apparatus through a pressure regulator of the fill site.
Further, the distribution structure may be enabled to withstand elevated temperatures for a period of time using a fire rated material to encase the distribution structure. The fire rated material may be prevented from any damage by incorporating a sleeve at least three times an outer diameter of each of a plurality of pipes of the distribution structure exterior to the fire rated material. Physical damage to the distribution structure potentially compromising the safety and integrity of the emergency support system may be prevented by utilizing a robust solid casing of the distribution structure. The robust solid casing may be protected from any damage using another sleeve at least three times an outer diameter of a pipe of the distribution structure exterior to the robust solid casing.
Impurities and contaminants in the breathable air of the breathing emergency support system may be automatically tracked and recorded through an air monitoring system. Air dissemination to the fill sites may be automatically suspended in a case that any of an impurity and contaminant concentration exceeds a safety threshold. The system pressure of the emergency support system may be tracked and recorded through a pressure monitoring system. The pressure monitoring system and the alarm system may be electrically coupled such that the alarm system is automatically triggered through a pressure switch when the system pressure of the emergency support system is outside a safety range. In addition, a warning signal may be electrically transmitted to an emergency supervising station when the system pressure of the emergency support system is outside the safety range through the pressure switch.
An alarm may be automatically triggered and a signal may be electrically coupled to any of a relevant administrative personnel of the building structure and the emergency supervising station when an intrusion of the supply unit occurs through a tamper switch of the locking mechanism of the supply unit enclosure. Pressure of the breathable air stored in the air tank may be increased through a pressure booster to increase a pressure of the breathable air compared to the pressure of the breathable air in the plurality of air storage tanks to ensure that the emergency support system constantly has a supply of breathable air that has enough pressure to fill the breathable air apparatus. A supply of breathable air in the plurality of air storage tanks may be conserved through utilizing a driving air source to drive the pressure booster. The prescribed pressure of the emergency support system may be designated base on a municipality code that specifies a pressure rating of the breathable air apparatus that is used in an authority agency of a particular geographical location.
In yet another aspect, a building structure may include a first set of walls extending vertically and horizontally enclosing an area of land such that the area of land is in the internal region of the building structure, a second set of walls that divide the internal region of the building structure in any of a horizontal and vertical direction into rooms displaced any of a horizontally and vertically from one another, a supply unit adjacent to a particular wall of the first set of walls to facilitate delivery of breathable air from a source of compressed air to an emergency support system of the building structure, a fill station of the internal region of the building structure to provide the breathable air to a breathable air apparatus at multiple locations of the building structure, a secure chamber of the fill station as a safety shield that confine a possible rupture of an over-pressurized breathable air apparatus within the secure chamber, a distribution structure that is compatible with use with compressed air that facilitates dissemination of the breathable air of the source of compressed air to multiple locations of the building structure, and an air storage sub-system to provide an additional supply of air to the building structure in addition to the source of compressed air.
The building structure may also include an air monitoring system to automatically track and record any impurities and contaminants in the breathable air of the air distribution system, an air pressure monitor that is electrically coupled to an alarm such that the alarm is set off when the system pressure of the air distribution system is outside a prescribed threshold range, and a physical enclosure of the fill station exterior to the secure chamber of the fill station that provides additional protection to the fill station from any of an elevated temperature or physical impact.
The methods, systems, and apparatuses disclosed herein may be implemented in any means for achieving various aspects, and may be executed in a form of a machine-readable medium embodying a set of instructions that, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform any of the operations disclosed herein. Other features will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.
Example embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:
Other features of the present embodiments will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.
A safety system and method having an air storage sub-system is disclosed. In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the various embodiments. It will be evident, however to one skilled in the art that the various embodiments may be practiced without these specific details.
In one embodiment, a safety system of a building structure includes a supply unit (e.g., a supply unit 100 of
In another embodiment, a method may include ensuring that a prescribed pressure of the emergency support system (e.g., the air distribution system 150, 250, 350 of
In yet another embodiment, a building structure (e.g., a horizontal building structure such as a shopping mall, IKEA, Home Depot, a vertical building structure such as a high rise building, a mid rise building, and/or a low rise building, a mine, a subway, and/or a tunnel, etc.) may include a first set of walls extending vertically and horizontally enclosing an area of land such that the area of land is in the internal region of the building structure, a second set of isolating walls that divide the internal region of the building structure in any of a horizontal and vertical direction into rooms displaced any of a horizontally and vertically from one another, a supply unit (e.g., the supply unit 100 of
The fill site 102 may also be placed at a number of locations of the building structure (e.g., a horizontal building structure such as a shopping mall, IKEA, Home Depot, a vertical building structure such as a high rise building, a mid rise building, and/or a low rise building, a mine, a subway, and/or a tunnel, etc.) to provide multiple access points to breathable air in the building structure. The building structure may have any number of fill sites 102 (e.g., a fill panel and/or a fill station, etc.) on each floor and/or have fill sites 102 (e.g., a fill panel and/or a fill station, etc.) on different floors. Each fill site 102 may be sequentially coupled to one another and to the supply units 100 through the distribution structure 104. The distribution structure 104 may include any number of pipes to expand an air carrying capacity of the air distribution system 150 such that breathable air may be replenished at a higher rate. In addition, the fill site 102 may include wireless capabilities (e.g., a wireless module 114) for communication with remote entities (e.g., the supply unit 100, building administration, and/or an authority agency, etc.).
The air monitoring system 110 may contain multiple sensors such as the CO/moisture sensor 106 and the pressure sensor 108 to track air quality of the breathable air in the air distribution system 150. Since emergency personnel (e.g., a fire fighter, a SWAT team, a law enforcer, and/or a medical worker, etc.) depend on the breathable air distributed via the air distribution system 150, it is crucial that air quality of the breathable air be constantly maintained. The air monitoring system 110 may also include other sensors that detect other hazardous substances (e.g., benzene, acetamide, acrylic acid, asbestos, mercury, phosphorous, propylene oxide, etc.) that may contaminate the breathable air.
In one embodiment, the distribution structure 104 may be compatible with use with compressed air facilitates dissemination of the breathable air of the source of compressed air to multiple locations of the building structure. A fire rated material may encase the distribution structure 104 such that the distribution structure has the ability to withstand elevated temperatures for a period of time. The pipes of the distribution structure 104 may include a sleeve exterior to the fire rated material to further protect the fire rated material from any damage. Both ends of the sleeve may be fitted with a fire rated material that is approved by an authority agency. In addition, the distribution structure 104 may include a robust solid casing to prevent physical damage to the distribution structure potentially compromising the safety and integrity of the air distribution system.
The distribution structure 104 may include support structures at intervals no larger than five feet to provide adequate structural support for each pipe of the distribution structure 104. The pipes and the fittings of the distribution structure 104 may include any of a stainless steel and a thermoplastic material that is compatible for use with compressed air.
In another embodiment, the air distribution system may include an air monitoring system (e.g., the air monitoring system 110) to automatically track and record any impurities and contaminants in the breathable air of the air distribution system. The air monitoring system (e.g., the air monitoring system 110) may have an automatic shut down feature to suspend air distribution to the fill sites 102 in a case that any of an impurity and contaminant concentration exceeds a safety threshold. For example, a pressure monitoring system (e.g., the pressure sensor 108) may automatically track and record the system pressure of the air distribution system. Further, a pressure switch may be electrically coupled to a alarm system such that the fire alarm system is set off when the system pressure of the air distribution system is outside a safety range.
The air distribution system 350 may include any number of supply units 100, any number of fill sites 102 (e.g., a fill panel and/or a fill station, etc.) that are coupled to the rest of the air distribution system 150 through a distribution structure 104. The air distribution system 150 may also include a air monitoring system 110 having a CO/Moisture sensor 106 and a pressure sensor 108. In the air distribution system 250, the distribution structure 104 may sequentially couple each fill site 102 (e.g., a fill panel and/or a fill station, etc.) displaced predominantly horizontally from a supply unit 100. Each air distribution system (e.g., the air distribution system 150, 250, 350) may be used in conjunction with one another depending on the particular architectural style of the building structure in a manner that provides most efficient access to the breathable air of the air distribution system reliably. The other system components (e.g., the fill site 102, the supply unit 100, and the air monitoring system 110 were described in detail in the previous section).
The supply unit 100 provides accessibility of a source of compressed air to supply air to an air distribution system (e.g., an air distribution system 150, 250, and/or 350). The supply unit may include a fill pressure indicator 400, a fill control knob 402, a system pressure indicator 404, and/or a connector 406. The fill pressure indicator 400 may indicate the pressure level at which breathable air is being delivered by the source of compressed air to the air distribution system (e.g., an air distribution system 150, 250, and/or 350 of
The supply unit 100 may include an adjustable pressure regulator of the supply unit 100 that is used to adjust a fill pressure of the source of compressed air to ensure that the fill pressure does not exceed the design pressure of the air distribution system. Further, the supply unit may also include at least one pressure gauge of the supply unit enclosure to indicate any of the system pressure (e.g., the system pressure indicator 404) of the air distribution system and the fill pressure (e.g., the fill pressure indicator 400) of the source of compressed air.
The supply unit also includes a series of valves 410 (e.g., a valve, an isolation valve, and/or a safety relief valve, etc.) to further ensure that system pressure is maintained within a safety threshold of the design pressure of the air distribution system.
The supply unit 100 of a building structure may facilitate delivery of breathable air from a source of compressed air to an air distribution system of the building structure. The supply unit 100 includes the series of valves 410 (e.g., the valve, and/or the safety relief valve, etc.) to prevent a leakage of the breathable air from the air distribution system potentially leading to loss of a system pressure. For example, the supply unit 100 may include the valve of the series of valves 410 to automatically suspend transfer of breathable air from the source of compressed air to the air distribution system when useful. The safety relief valve of the supply unit 100 and/or the fill site 102 may release breathable air when a system pressure of the air distribution system exceeds a threshold value beyond the design pressure to ensure reliability of the air distribution system through maintaining the system pressure such that it is within a pressure rating of each component of the air distribution system.
The supply unit enclosure 500 may include a locking mechanism 502 to secure the supply unit 100 from unauthorized access. Further, the supply unit enclosure 500 may also contain fire rated material such that the supply unit 100 is able to withstand burning elevated temperatures.
The supply unit enclosure 500 encompassing the supply unit 100 may have any of a weather resistant feature, ultraviolet and infrared solar radiation resistant feature to prevent corrosion and physical damage. The locking mechanism 502 may secure the supply unit from intrusions that potentially compromise safety and reliability of the air distribution system. In addition, the supply unit enclosure 500 may include a robust metallic material of the supply unit enclosure 500 to minimize a physical damage due to various hazards to protect the supply unit 100 from any of an intrusion and damage. The robust metallic material may be at least substantially 18 gauge carbon steel. The supply unit enclosure 500 may include a visible marking to provide luminescence in a reduced light environment. The locking mechanism 502 may also include a tamper switch such that a alarm is automatically triggered and a signal is electrically coupled to any of a relevant administrative personnel of the building structure and the emergency supervising station when an intrusion of any of the supply unit and the secure chamber occurs.
The fill station 102A may be a type of fill site 102 of
The multiple breathable air apparatus holders 612 can hold multiple compressed air cylinders to be filled simultaneously. In addition, the multiple breathable air apparatus holders 612 can be rotated such that additional compressed air cylinders may be loaded while the multiple compressed air cylinders are filled inside the fill station 102A. The fill station 102A may be a rupture containment chamber such that over-pressurized compressed air cylinders are shielded and contained to prevent injuries.
In one embodiment, the fill station 102A interior to the building structure may provide the breathable air to a breathable air apparatus at multiple locations of the building structure. A secure chamber of the fill station 102A may be a safety shield that confines a possible rupture of an over-pressurized breathable air apparatus within the secure chamber. The fill station 102A may include a valve to prevent leakage of air from the air distribution system potentially leading to pressure loss of the air distribution system through ensuring that the system pressure is maintained within a threshold range of the design pressure to reliably fill the breathable air apparatus. An isolation valve may be included to isolate a breathable fill station from a remaining portion of the air distribution system.
The isolation valve may be automatically actuated based on an air pressure sensor of the air distribution system. The fill station 102A may include at least one pressure regulator to adjust a fill pressure to fill the breathable air apparatus and to ensure that the fill pressure does not exceed the pressure rating of the breathable air apparatus potentially resulting in a rupture of the breathable air apparatus. The fill station 102A may include at least one pressure gauge to indicate any of a fill pressure (e.g., the fill pressure indicator 604, 606) of the fill station and a system pressure (e.g., the system pressure indicator 600) of the air distribution system. In one embodiment, the fill station 102A may have a physical capacity to enclose at least one breathable air apparatus and may include a RIC/UAC connector to facilitate a filling of the breathable air apparatus. The fill station may also include a securing mechanism of the secure chamber of the fill station having a locking function is automatically actuated via a coupling mechanism with a flow switch that indicates a status of air flow to the breathable air apparatus that is fillable in the fill station.
The fill site 102B (e.g., fill panel) includes a fill pressure indicator 614 (e.g., pressure gauge), a fill control knob 616 (e.g., pressure regulator), a system pressure indicator 618, a number of connector 620 (e.g., RIC/UAC connector), and/or fill hoses 622. The fill site 102B may also include a locking mechanism of a fill site enclosure 624 (e.g., a fill panel enclosure) to secure the fill panel from intrusions that potentially compromise safety and reliability of the air distribution system. The system pressure indicator 618 may indicate the current pressure level of the breathable air in the air distribution system. The fill control knob 616 (e.g., pressure regulator) may be used to adjust the fill pressure such that the fill pressure does not exceed a safety threshold that the air distribution system is designed for.
The connector 620 may facilitate direct coupling to emergency equipment to supply breathable air through a hose that is connected to the connector 620. In essence, precious time may be saved because the emergency personnel may not need to spend the time to remove the emergency equipment from their rescue attire before they can be supplied with breathable air. Further, the connector 620 connected with the fill hoses 622 may also directly couple to a face-piece of a respirator to supply breathable air to either emergency personnel (e.g., a fire fighter, a SWAT team, a law enforcer, and/or a medical worker, etc.) and/or stranded survivors in need of breathing assistance. Each of the fill hoses 622 may have different pressure rating of the fill site 102B is couple-able to any of a self-contained breathable air apparatus and respiratory mask having a compatible RIC/UAC connector. The fill panel enclosure may include a visible marking to provide luminescence in a reduced light environment.
The fill site 102B interior to the building structure may have the connector 620 (e.g., the RIC/UAC connector) to fill a breathable air apparatus to expedite a breathable air extraction process from the air distribution system and to provide the breathable air to the breathable air apparatus at multiple locations of the building structure. The fill site 102B may include a safety relief valve set to have an open pressure of at most approximately 10% more than a design pressure of the air distribution system to ensure reliability of the air distribution system through maintaining the system pressure such that it is within a threshold range of a pressure rating of each component of the air distribution system. The fill site enclosure 624 may comprise of at least 18 gauge carbon steel to minimize physical damage of various naturally occurring and man-imposed hazards through protecting the fill panel from any of an intrusion and damage. The fill site 102B may include an isolation valve to isolate a damaged fill panel from a remaining operable portion of the air distribution system.
The distribution structure 104 may be enclosed in the fire rated material 702. The fire rated material may prevent the distribution structure 104 from damage in a fire such that an air distribution system (e.g., the air distribution system 150, 250, 350 of
Section 700 is a cross section of the distribution structure 104 embedded in the fire rated material 702.
The air monitoring system 806 may include various sensors (e.g., CO/moisture sensor 106 of
The control panel 900 includes a fill pressure indicator 902, a storage pressure indicator 904, a booster pressure indicator 906, a system pressure indicator 908 and/or a storage bypass 910. The fill pressure indicator 902 may indicate the pressure level at which breathable air is being delivered by the source of compressed air to the air distribution system (e.g., an air distribution system 150, 250, and/or 350 of
The air storage sub-system 1050 may include a control panel 900, tubes 1000, a driver air source 1002, a pressure booster 1004, a booster tank 1006, and/or any number of air storage tanks 1008. The control panel 900 may provide status information regarding the various components of the air storage sub-system 1050. The tubes 1000 may couple each air storage tank 1008 to one another in a looped configuration to increase robustness of the tubes 1000. The driver air source 1002 may be used to pneumatically drive the pressure booster 1004 to maintain a higher pressure of the air distribution system such that a breathable air apparatus is reliably filled. The booster tank 1006 may store air at a higher pressure than the air stored in the air storage tanks 1008 to ensure that the air distribution system can be supplied with air that is sufficiently pressurized to fill a breathable air apparatus.
In one embodiment, the air storage sub-system 1050 may include an air storage tanks 1008 to provide a storage of air that is dispersible to multiple locations of the building structure. The number of air storage tanks 1008 of the air storage sub-system 1050 may be coupled to each other through tubes 1000 having a looped configuration to increase robustness of the tubes 1000 through preventing breakage due to stress. In addition, a booster tank (e.g., the booster tank 1006) of the air storage sub-system 1050 may be coupled to the plurality of air storage tanks to store compressed air of a higher pressure than the compressed air that is stored in the air storage tank 1008. A driver air source 1002 of the air storage sub-system 1050 may be coupled to a pressure booster (e.g., the pressure booster 1004) to pneumatically drive a piston of the pressure booster (e.g., the pressure booster 1004) to maintain a higher pressure of the air distribution system such that a breathable air apparatus is reliably filled.
Further, the driving air source may enable the breathable air to be optimally supplied to the building structure through allowing the breathable air to be isolated from driving the pressure booster 1004. The air storage sub-system 1050 may also include an air monitoring system (e.g., the carbon monoxide sensor and moisture sensor 106 of
The air storage sub-system 1050 may include at least one indicator unit to provide status information of the air distribution system (e.g., the air distribution system 150, 250, 350 of
The air distribution system 150 may include any number of supply units 100, any number of fill sites (e.g., the fill site 102B of
In operation 1206, a spare storage of breathable air may be provided through an air storage tank (e.g., the air storage tanks 1008 of
In operation 1308, a fill pressure may be adjusted to ensure that the fill pressure of the source of compressed air does not exceed the prescribed pressure of the emergency support system (e.g., the air distribution system 120, 250, 350 of
In operation 1410, the fire rated material may be prevented from damage by incorporating a sleeve at least three times an outer diameter of each pipe of the distribution structure (e.g., a distribution structure 104 of
In operation 1510, a warning signal to an emergency supervising station may be electrically transmitted when the system pressure of the emergency support system (e.g., the air distribution system 120, 250, 350 of
Although the present embodiments have been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments. For example, the various devices, modules, analyzers, generators, etc. described herein may be enabled and operated using hardware circuitry (e.g., CMOS based logic circuitry), firmware, software and/or any combination of hardware, firmware, and/or software (e.g., embodied in a machine readable medium). For example, the various electrical structure and methods may be embodied using transistors, logic gates, and electrical circuits (e.g., application specific integrated ASIC circuitry).
In addition, it will be appreciated that the various operations, processes, and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in a machine-readable medium and/or a machine accessible medium compatible with a data processing system (e.g., a computer system), and may be performed in any order. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense.
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| 20080041378 A1 | Feb 2008 | US |
