INSTALLED FIRE EXTINGUISHING EQUIPMENT WITH IMPROVED CHARACTERISTICS

Abstract

A fire extinguishing equipment with improved characteristics which includes a pressure-resistant storage body with an internal space that houses a fire extinguishing composition. A monitoring unit is connected to the storage body to measure and regulate one or more physical characteristics. At least one discharge outlet is in communication with the internal space of the storage body and is configured to discharge the fire-extinguishing composition from the internal space to a use location. A charging inlet is disposed within the storage body and is configured to fill the internal space with the fire-extinguishing composition. An extinguishing-launching part-unit is inserted into a pipe section between the use location and the discharge outlet.

Claims

1. A tire extinguishing equipment comprising: a pressure-resistant storage body including an internal space configured to house a fire extinguishing composition therein, with a circulation outlet disposed within the storage body and forming a channel to the internal space, and with a charging inlet disposed within the storage body and forming a channel to the internal space, the circulation outlet configured for removing the fire extinguishing composition from the internal space, and the charging inlet configured for filling the internal space of the storage body with the fire extinguishing composition; a monitoring unit connected to the storage body, the monitoring unit configured to measure and regulate one or more physical characteristics; at least one discharge outlet in communication with the internal space of the storage body and configured to discharge the fire-extinguishing material composition from the internal space of the storage body to a use location; an extinguishing-launching part-unit disposed within a pipe section between the use location and the discharge outlet; and a pressure-proof circulation unit coupled to the storage body, the pressure-proof circulation unit configured to verify a working pressure of the storage body and including: a feed stub, a return stub, and a circulation pipe disposed therebetween, with a circulation pump and a gas inlet fitting disposed within the circulation pipe; a gas tank connected to the gas inlet fitting, the gas tank configured to contain at least the gas phase component of the fire extinguishing composition, wherein the feed stub of the circulation unit is connected to the charging inlet of the storage body, and wherein the return stub of the circulation unit is connected to the circulation outlet of the storage body.

2. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 1, wherein the charging inlet of the storage body is located on the upper part of a boundary of the storage body, and wherein the circulation outlet of the storage body is located on a lower part of the boundary of the storage body.

3. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 2, wherein the charging inlet of t storage body is located on a top of the boundary.

4. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 2, wherein the circulation outlet of the storage body is located on a base of the boundary.

5. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 2, wherein the feed stub of the circulation unit is connected to the internal space of the storage body via the upper part of the boundary.

6. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 1, further comprising a manometer part-unit disposed within the circulation pipe of the circulation unit.

7. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 1, wherein the gas tank is connected to the gas inlet fitting via the interposition of a pressure regulation part-unit or a shut-off fitting.

8. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 1, wherein the storage body is established as a tank.

9. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 1, wherein the storage body is established as an elongated pipeline containing at least two pipe sections oriented at a non-zero angle with respect to each other, wherein each end of the pipeline is sealed off with an end member, wherein the charging inlet of the storage body is disposed proximate to a first end of the pipeline, and wherein the circulation outlet is disposed opposite the charging inlet at a second end of the pipeline.

10. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 1, wherein the storage body is formed by a closed pipeline returning to itself, where the charging inlet and the circulation outlet are disposed adjacent to one another but separated by a distance in the pipeline, further comprising a separation fitting disposed within the storage body between the charging inlet and the circulation outlet, wherein the internal space of the storage body is divided between the charging inlet and the circulation outlet.

11. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 10, further comprising one or more space-dividing fittings disposed within the pipeline, wherein the internal space of the pipeline is divided into one or more space-parts.

12. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 1, wherein the gas inlet fitting includes a nozzle that distributes the gas component of the fire extinguishing composition into the other components of the fire extinguishing composition.

13. The fire extinguishing equipment of claim 1, further comprising a supply stub fitted with a closing fitting that is connected to the circulation pipe of the circulation unit, wherein at least one component of the fire extinguishing composition that is not the gas component is introduced into the circulation pipe of the circulation unit through the supply stub.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] For a fuller understanding of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0020] FIG. 1 shows a schematic picture of a possible version of the installed fire extinguishing equipment supplied with a circulation unit according to the invention.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows a schematic picture of another version of the installed fire extinguishing equipment supplied with a circulation unit according to the invention.

[0022] FIG. 3 shows a schematic picture of yet another different embodiment of the installed fire extinguishing equipment supplied with a circulation unit according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0023] FIG. 1 presents a version of the installed fire extinguishing equipment according to the invention in the case of which the storage body 10 is a tank established as a commonly shaped pressure vessel. It can be seen that the fire extinguishing material composition 1 is located in the internal space 11 of the storage body 10, which does not completely fill the internal space 11 of the storage body 10. The monitoring unit 20 serving for measuring and displaying the physical and, optionally, chemical properties related to the operation of the storage body 10 is connected to the external surface of the boundary 12 of the storage body 10, here to its top 12a.

[0024] The charging inlet 15 is also located on the top 12a of the boundary 12 of the storage body 10, which is fitted with a charging flow regulation body 30, such as a regulation valve. However, the discharge outlet 14 that is connected to the pipe section 3 leading to the use location 2 is located on the base 12b of the boundary 12 of the storage body 10. The extinguishing-launching part-unit 3a is interposed in the pipe section 3 in the interest of being able to transport the fire extinguishing material composition 1 to the use location 2 through the pipe section 3 in the case of a fire occurring at the use location 2. It is obvious that the storage body 10 does not only have to have one single discharge outlet 14. Preferably the number of discharge outlets 14 may be equal to the number of use locations 2 to be protected.

[0025] The circulation outlet 16 may also be found on the base 12b of the boundary 12 of the storage body 10, which is fitted with a circulation flow regulation body 50, such as a shut-off valve. It must be mentioned here that the positioning of the charging inlet 15 and the circulation outlet 16 on the storage body 10 is preferable from the point of view of operation but, but in the case of the observance of safe operation requirements, other arrangements are also conceivable.

[0026] With the help of the circulation pipe 43, the circulation unit 40 forming the essence of the invention is interposed between the charging inlet 15 and circulation outlet 16 belonging to the storage body 10. The circulation unit 40 has a feed stub 41 and a return stub 42. With the help of a section of the circulation pipe 43 in a way that allows flow, the feed stub 41 is connected to the charging inlet 15 of the storage body 10, while the return stub 42 is connected to the circulation outlet 16 of the storage body 10 through another piece of the circulation pipe 43.

[0027] The circulation pump 44 and the nozzle 45a of the gas inlet fitting 45 are connected to the section of the circulation pipe 43 between the feed stub 41 and return stub 42 of the circulation unit 40, as is the manometer part-unit 47 in the case of this embodiment. The gas tank 46, which is filled with the gaseous medium required for the production of the extinguishing foam forming the fire extinguishing material composition 1, is connected to the nozzle 45a of the gas inlet fitting 45 with the interposition of the pressure regulation part-unit 48 and the shut-off fitting 49. The task of the manometer part-unit 47, the pressure regulation part-unit 48, and the shut-off fitting 49 is to regulate the introduction of the gaseous material stored in the gas tank 46 into the circulation pipe 43 in the desired way.

[0028] However, it must be mentioned here that the feed stub 41 and the return stub 42 do not necessarily each form an independent component. A structural arrangement is also conceivable where, for example, where the feed stub 41 is a connection piece of the gas inlet fitting 45, while the return stub 42 is the inlet of the circulation pump 44. Accordingly, the interpretation of the feed stub 41 and the return stub 42 may vary between wide limits in the case of the given invention and rather a theoretical borderline should be indicated as a concrete structural element.

[0029] Moving over now to FIG. 2, it illustrates an embodiment of the installed fire extinguishing equipment according to the invention in the case of which the storage body 10 is established as a pipeline 13 installed along a desired route, and the given pipeline is preferably embedded in the ground along its route between the use locations 2. The pipeline 13 comprises pipe sections 13a and pipe sections 13b, which are at a wide range of angles to each other deviating from 0, but the one end 13c and the other end 13d of the pipeline 13 are preferably located close to one another. The one end 13c of the pipeline 13 and the other end 13d of the pipeline 13 are each sealed with a gas-tight seal with an end member lie, and so the one end 13c and the other end 13d of the pipeline 13 are completely separated from each other.

[0030] Here also the pipeline 13 has discharge outlets 14, which are connected to the pipe sections 3 fitted with extinguishing-launching part-units 3a. The task of the pipe section 3 is to transport the fire extinguishing material composition 1 located in the internal space 11 of the pipeline 13 to the use locations 2.

[0031] The pipeline 13 seen in FIG. 2 is connected to the circulation unit 40 in such a way that via individual sections of the circulation pipe 43, the feed stub 41 of the circulation unit 40 is connected to the charging inlet 15 provided with a charging flow regulation body 30, while the return stub 42 of the circulation unit 40 is connected to the circulation outlet 16 that has a circulation flow regulation body 50. In the given embodiment, the charging input 15 is built into the boundary 12 of the pipeline 13 on the top 12a of the boundary 12 at the one end 13c of the storage body 10 established as a pipeline 13, while the circulation outlet 16 is built into the boundary 12 of the pipeline 13 on the base 12b of the boundary 12 at the other end 13d of the pipeline 13.

[0032] In the case of the embodiment according to FIG. 2, the circulation unit 40 also has a circulation pump 44 and gas inlet fitting 45 installed in the circulation pipe 41 Here, however, a supply stub 80 fitted with a shut-off fitting 81 is also installed in the circulation pipe 43. It is the task of this supply stub 80 to make it possible for at least one component that is not the gas component of the fire extinguishing material composition 1 to be introduced into the circulation pipe 43 of the circulation unit 40 through the supply stub 80.

[0033] Naturally, here also the gas inlet fitting 45 of the circulation unit 40 is connected to the gas tank 46. Also, the pressure regulation part-unit 48 and the shut-off fitting 49 serving the appropriate and safe operation of the gas tank 46 are installed in the pipe between the gas inlet fitting 45 and the gas tank 46.

[0034] FIG. 3 presents a schematic view of the installed fire extinguishing equipment with a version of the storage body 10 where the pipeline 13 of the storage body 10 forms a single closed channel returning to itself. Here also the pipeline 13 has a charging inlet 15 and circulation outlet 16, but here the charging inlet 15 and the circulation outlet 16 are located in the boundary 12 of the pipeline 13 at a small distance T from each other. In the interest of appropriate operation, the separation fitting 60 is built into the pipeline 13 between the charging inlet 15 and the circulation outlet 16. The separation fitting 60 is a shut-off valve that is capable of forming a gas-tight seal in the pipe section between the charging inlet 15 and circulation outlet 16 for the entire cross-section of the internal space 11 of the pipeline 13.

[0035] In the case of the given embodiment the pipeline 13 also has a space-dividing fitting 70, which, similarly to the separation fitting 60, makes a gas-tight seal possible between two separated parts of the internal space 11 of the pipeline 13.

[0036] During the operation of the installed fire extinguishing equipment according to the invention illustrated in FIG. 1, the internal space 11 of the storage body 10 may be filled using a known extinguishing material production device with the liquid component of the ready fire extinguishing material 1 through the charging inlet 15 of the storage body. Then, using the presented unit, the liquid component of the fire extinguishing material may be mixed much more evenly with the propellant gas that may be dissolved in it than in the case of previous versions. Following this, the status of the pressure of the fire extinguishing material composition 1 and the internal space 11 may be monitored using the monitoring unit 20 displaying the physical and chemical characteristics of the fire extinguishing material composition 1 in the internal space 11.

[0037] In the course of monitoring at prescribed intervals, with the charging flow regulation body 30 of the charging inlet 15 and the circulation flow regulation body 50 of the circulation outlet 16 being open, and with the circulation pump 44 of the circulation unit 40 being started, the fire extinguishing material composition 1 located in the internal space 11 of the storage body 10 may be transported via the circulation outlet 16 of the storage body 10 through the return stub 42 of the circulation unit 40 into the circulation pipe 43 of the circulation unit 40.

[0038] Also, with the help of the gas introduced into the gas inlet fitting 45 through the nozzle 45a of the gas inlet fitting 45 of the circulation unit 40, while the fire extinguishing material composition 1 is being moved, with the appropriate adjustment of the pressure regulation part-unit 48 and the shut-off fitting 49, it may be saturated with the gas phase component, and so the content and condition of the fire extinguishing material composition 1 is suitable at all times for being transported from the internal space 11 of the storage body 10 through the pipe section 3 to the use location 2 for the purpose of extinguishing a fire.

[0039] The fire extinguishing material composition 1 introduced through the return stub 42 into the circulation pump 44 mixed with the gas phase component introduced into the circulation pipe 43 with the nozzle 45a of the gas inlet fitting 45 leaves the gas inlet fitting 45 in the direction of the feed stub 41 of the circulation unit 40. Then, progressing in the circulation pipe 43 through the feed stub 41 towards the charging inlet 15 of the storage body 10, it leaves the circulation unit 40. Finally, the conditioned fire extinguishing material composition 1 returns to the internal space 11 of the storage body 10 through the charging inlet 15.

[0040] The operation of the installed fire extinguishing equipment presented in FIG. 2 is largely similar to that presented in connection with FIG. 1. The only difference is that because of the given embodiment of the circulation unit 40, here the pipeline 13 performing the task of the storage body 10 may be filled with the fire extinguishing material composition 1 with the help of the circulation unit 40. In the interest of this, with the charging flow regulation body 30 of the charging inlet 15 of the pipeline 13 and the circulation flow regulation body 50 of the circulation outlet 16 being in open state, and the shut-off fitting 81 of the supply stub 80 connected to the circulation pipe 43 of the circulation unit 40 also being open and with the circulation pump 44 being started, the non-gas phase component of the fire extinguishing material composition 1 may be fed through the supply stub 80 into the circulation pipe 43.

[0041] The gas phase component of the fire extinguishing material composition 1 may be added from the gas tank 46 to the component flowing from the circulation pump 44 in the direction of the gas inlet fitting 45 with the help of the nozzle 45a of the gas inlet fitting 45, so that the non-gas phase component absorbs the gas phase component to the desired extent, and so in this way the fire extinguishing material composition 1 leaves the gas inlet fitting 45 in the circulation pipe 43 progressing towards the charging inlet 15.

[0042] The given circulation must be continued until the internal space 11 of the pipeline 13 is filled with the desired amount and consistency of the fire extinguishing material composition 1. Following this, with the charging flow regulation body 30 of the charging inlet 15 and the circulation flow regulation body 50 of the circulation outlet 16, as well as the shut-off fitting 81 and the shut-off fitting 49 being closed, the installed fire extinguishing equipment is ready to transport the fire extinguishing material composition 1 through the discharge outlets 14 to the use location 2.

[0043] During the conditioning of the fire extinguishing material composition 1 stored in the internal space 11 of the pipeline 13, in the way presented previously, with the charging flow regulation body 30 of the charging inlet 15 and the circulation flow regulation body 50 of the circulation outlet 16 being open, and the circulation pump 44 of the circulation unit 40 switched on, the fire extinguishing material composition 1 in the internal space 11 of the pipeline 13 may be transported through the circulation pipe 43 of the circulation unit 40, and, optionally, the fire extinguishing material composition 1 may be mixed with more gas phase component from the gas tank 46 with the help of the gas inlet fitting 45.

[0044] The physical and chemical characteristics of the fire extinguishing material composition 1 in the internal space 11 of the pipeline 13 and of the internal space 11 may be checked at all times using the monitoring unit 20, and so the conditioning of the fire extinguishing material composition 1 can always be carried out in the necessary time period.

[0045] With the installed fire extinguishing equipment in the arrangement according to FIG. 3, the conditioning of the fire extinguishing material composition 1, or, optionally, also the first filling of the pipeline 13 of the storage body 10 with fire extinguishing material composition 1 may be performed depending on the part-units of the circulation unit 40. For these operations, the separation fitting 60 interposed between the charging inlet 15 and the circulation outlet 16 must be closed, while the space-dividing fittings 70 installed in the pipeline 13 must be kept open. With the separation fitting 60 in closed status, a pipeline 13 is created, as essentially illustrated in FIG. 2, that is sealed off at the one end 13c and at the other end 13d, as with respect to the effect of a closed status separation fitting 60 it is equivalent to the end member 13e sealing off the one end 13c and the other end 13d of the pipeline 13 according to FIG. 2.

[0046] When the installed fire extinguishing equipment according to FIG. 3 is operated by using the space-dividing fitting 70 individual sections of the pipeline 13 filled with fire extinguishing material composition 1 may be isolated, and so in the case of extinguishing a fire the stock of fire extinguishing material composition 1 may be more economically handled. After the fire has been extinguished, the amount used may be more easily replaced at a lower cost. Replacement is an operation substantially equivalent to filling, the presentation of which has already been carried out when presenting the previous figures.

[0047] The installed fire extinguishing equipment fitted with a circulation unit according to the invention may be used to good effect in all cases when a large amount of ready fire extinguishing material composition comprising several components that is susceptible to settling and outgassing must be continuously kept in a condition ready for extinguishing in such a way so that the installed fire extinguishing equipment may be reliably, economically and very efficiently operated.