Breathable fire control system

RELATED APPLICATION

This patent application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/553,801, filed Apr. 21, 2000 now abn.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the prevention, control and extinguishing of fires in confined spaces and, more particularly, to the control and extinguishing of fires while facilitating safety for personnel activity during an emergency.

2. Discussion of the Prior Art

The prior art is replete with solving the problems of extinguishing fires in confined spaces where mammalian life, and in particular, human life is present. As is well known to those in the art, fires are supported by oxygen and that by using some means to deplete the surrounding area of oxygen or lowering the percentage of oxygen will result in the fire being extinguished. Therefore, the solutions, as taught by the prior art, revolve around producing a habitable, yet combustion suppressant atmosphere in the confined area.

Cohrt et al discloses the use of an inert fire fighting gas, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,284, (Nov. 28, 1999) for fighting fire in an enclosed space. Cohrt et al teach of producing this gas by a reaction of ammonia mixed with atmospheric air to produce nitrogen mixed with water vapor. The fire fighting mixture is produced in a small gas turbine having a combustion chamber into which the ammonia, in liquid form, is sprayed along with water. The resultant gas is used to fight fire.

Vasquez discloses a smoke removal apparatus, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,198, issued Jan. 19, 1982, with suction or blowing and directional discharge options. Respective first and second conduits are connected alternatively with the suction and discharge side of the suction-blower unit for removing the smoke. An inert gas injection mechanism is provided in conjunction with the suction-blower unit for replacing the smoke with an inert gas to squelch combustion.

Lambertsen et al discloses Breathable Fire Extinguishing Gas Mixtures in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,706, issued Feb. 28, 1989, for a process for safely preventing, controlling and/or extinguishing fires in confined spaces by introducing carbon dioxide and other inter gasses, such as nitrogen and helium to lower the oxygen content to a concentration in the range between 8% and 15% by volume while increasing the carbon dioxide content of the confined space to an amount in the range of 2% to 5% by volume. The combination of reducing oxygen concentration and increasing carbon dioxide concentration in the gaseous environment of the confined area works together to sustain human life while extinguishing flames.

The U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,514, to Carhart et al, issued Jul. 8, 1975, discloses a process for suppressing fires in confined spaces by adding nitrogen to the area to increase the total gaseous pressure of oxygen in the area at a level that will not support combustion.

The U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,667, issued to Huggett, Oct. 8, 1974 discloses an oxygen-containing atmospheres. Theses mixtures contain oxygen, polyatomic gases having a high heat capacity, and helium.

None of these patents either teaches or suggests the on-site breathable fire control system which can make an unlimited amount of cooled, oxygen-depleted air that can still be consumed by humans while extinguishing fire and reducing smoke.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention features a portable, modular, on-site, breathable fire control system which can make an unlimited amount of cooled, oxygen-depleted air that can still be consumed by humans while extinguishing fire and reducing smoke. This system may be incorporated into an already existing heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) unit for enhanced fire safety in a home or building. The system may also be used as a mobile unit attached to a fire safety vehicle wherein a transmission conduit transfers the processed air directly to the area on fire. Additionally, a fire-resistant tarp-like structure of sufficient size may be used to enclose a burning structure while the processed air is transmitted thereto via a transmission conduit.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a breathable fire control system and process for safely controlling and extinguishing fires in confined spaces without damage to equipment.

It is another object of the invention to provide a breathable fire control system and process for safely controlling and extinguishing fires in confined spaces without loss of habitability for personnel.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a a breathable fire control system and process for safely controlling and extinguishing fires in confined spaces without loss of consciousness for personnel or significant impact on the mental acuity of personnel in the confined space.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a breathable fire control system and process for safely controlling and extinguishing fires in confined spaces that is economical.

It is an additional object of the invention to provide a breathable fire control system and process for safely controlling and extinguishing fires in confined spaces utilizing pressurization of a building to prohibit further fire growth.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a breathable fire control system and process for safely controlling and extinguishing fires in confined spaces employing external pressurization techniques.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a breathable fire control system and process for safely controlling and extinguishing fires in confined spaces by creating habitable, extinguishing air in almost unlimited amounts at the scene of the fire.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a breathable fire control system and process that employs normal air leaving no room for harmful amounts of impurities, such as carbon monoxide.

These and other objects, features and advantages will be more apparent from a study of the enclosed text and the appended drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A complete understanding of the present invention may be obtained by reference to the accompanying drawings, when taken in conjunction with the detail description thereof and in which:

FIG. 1A

is a diagrammatic view of the inventive breathable fire control system employing external, continuous cooling features.

FIG. 1B

is a diagrammatic view of the inventive breathable fire control system employing internal, closed loop cooling features.

FIG. 1C

is a diagrammatic view of the inventive breathable fire control system with combined cooling features.

FIG. 2

is a building section illustrating operation of the inventive breathable fire control system incorporated into a climate control system of a house (or building), in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3

shows an alternate embodiment of the fire safety control system used in conjunction with a fire safety control vehicle and a transmission conduit, in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4

shows an alternate embodiment of the fire safety control system used in conjunction with a fire safety vehicle and an enclosing device for physically containing the fire, in accordance with the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

This disclosure of the invention is submitted in furtherance of the constitutional purposes of the U.S. Patent Laws “to promote the progress of science and useful arts” (Article 1, Section 8).

Generally speaking this invention relates to the prevention, control and extinguishing of fires in confined spaces. The disclosed breathable fire safety control device, shown as

1000

in the appended figures, facilitates safety during an emergency by reducing harmful smoke gases while aiding to extinguish fires in an enclosed space. Since it is known that the air we breath consists of two major types of gases, nitrogen (at about 78%) and Oxygen (at about 21%), a device and method that uses oxygen reduced air to extinguish fire is described herein.

As shown in

FIGS. 1A

,

1

B, and

1

C the inventive fire safety control system

1000

receives unprocessed air

10

from the atmosphere, treats the air

10

within the device

1000

and releases cooled, oxygen-reduced air

44

(termed CORA hereinafter). As can be gleaned from the above mentioned figures, unprocessed air

10

from the atmosphere enters the housing

100

of the system

100

with the aid of flow currents created by input fan

12

. Housing

1000

contains the major components of the system

1000

, including the input and output fans (

12

and

28

, respectively), the gas combustion chamber

22

, and a series of air cooling radiators

24

.

The input fan

12

then forces the air

10

into a gas combustion chamber

22

. The combustion chamber

22

receives a flammable gas contained in an external gas source such as a gas tank

14

. The flammable gas is delivered to the chamber

22

by way of a fuel line

16

coupled at one end to the chamber

22

and at the other end to the tank

14

. Once the gas enters the chamber

22

, a gas valve

18

creates a spark which in turn produces a controlled gas flame

20

within the chamber

22

.

Any suitable flammable gas known in the art such as propane, or methane, for example, may be stored inside tank

14

. The process of the burning flame

20

inside of chamber

22

reduces the oxygen {O

2

} content of the air

10

. The O

2

is consumed in the combustion process and lowers the oxygen content to within a range of 12% to 15% to thereby produce oxygen reduced air

23

. Although lowering the oxygen level of air below 12% would make it increasingly more effective for fire control, the air becomes less breathable which would not be desirable for fire-fighting personnel.

The oxygen reduced air

23

must then be cooled from about 1000° F. down to about 90° F. The process of cooling the oxygen reduced air

23

is performed by a series of air cooling radiators

24

. Oxygen reduced air

23

enters the radiators

24

and is forced through the radiators

24

by way of negative air pressure created by the flow from input fan

12

and the output fan

28

. The input and output fans,

12

and

28

, respectively, are configured such that 100,000 cubic feet of air per minute is forced in and out of the system

1000

. The average household room contains roughly one thousand cubic feet of air, thus this system

1000

can fill an average room with CORA

44

several times within a few minutes.

A cooling fluid is circulated through the air cooling radiators

24

by way of pipes

25

. The radiators

24

reduce the temperature of the oxygen reduced air

23

, thereby producing CORA

44

. Output fan

28

then forces this CORA

44

out of the system

1000

thereby providing breathable, cooled, oxygen-reduced air, CORA

44

for use against flames. Herein, over 99% of the extinguishing gas CORA

44

is normal air, leaving no room for harmful amounts of impurities such as carbon monoxide, thus enhancing the safety for any fire-fighting personnel. Several ways of cooling the fluid circulating through the radiators may be employed, as described below.

In

FIG. 1A

, the fire safety control system

1000

employs the use of an external cooling fluid, such as water. Piping

31

connected to an external water source

31

transfers water into an input duct

31

a

, which allows cooling fluid to enter the series of air cooling radiators

24

. As the oxygen-reduced air

23

is cooled within the radiators

24

, the cooling fluid exits the radiators

24

at an output duct

39

a

. The output duct

39

a

is coupled to piping

39

to allow cooling fluid to exit to an external drainage means

40

. Herein, pipings

31

and

39

along with water source

32

and drainage means

40

provide an open-ended provision for external cooling fluid circulation. Such open-ended cooling may be easily adapted for use with a home or building connected to public water supply or ground water supply.

FIG. 1B

illustrates a closed-loop circulation of cooling fluid that is transferred from a cooling unit

30

to air cooling radiators

24

. A coolant reservoir

36

houses a suitable coolant known in the art, such as but not limited to glycol alcohol or water, for example. The coolant fluid is then transferred by way of piping

34

to a fluid pump

35

. Fluid pump

35

pumps coolant fluid into the air cooling radiators

24

through input duct

31

a

. After circulating through the series of radiators

24

, the coolant fluid then exits through output duct

39

a

to piping

39

into a fluid cooling radiator device

38

.

This cooling radiator device

38

significantly cools the coolant fluid and this cooled fluid is transferred by way of piping

37

into the coolant reservoir

36

. The fluid pump

35

provides the appropriate force to circulate the coolant fluid throughout the cooling unit

30

.

FIG. 1C

shows an embodiment employing both a cooling unit

30

in conjunction with external water source

32

and drainage means

40

. In such an embodiment, the coolant fluid may be water taken from the external water source

32

that is cooled by the cooling unit

30

, as described above. After a fire control process is completed, the circulated water may be removed by way of piping

39

out to external drainage means

40

.

FIG. 2

illustrates the present invention as used within a housing structure

50

such as a home or building environment. Herein, the fire safety control device

1000

may be incorporated into a climate control system such as a heating and air conditioning unit. Herein, CORA

44

is circulated to cover every cubic inch of interior space traveling throughout the internal conduits between walls and exiting vents. At the onset of a fire or excessive smoke, the system

1000

can be configured to automatically turn on and begin the processing of air. The system may be hard-wired to a smoke detector (not shown) which may trigger the system

1000

to start. Such a smoke detector may be incorporated into a modified HVAC.

Upon prompted operation of the fire control system

1000

, external unprocessed air

10

from the atmosphere

10

is brought into the system

1000

and processed (as described above). The system

1000

outputs CORA

44

which is then circulated throughout the structure

50

by the HVAC system. An alternate power source, such as, for example, a battery or generator, may be used in the event that the normal power of the structure

50

becomes unavailable due to fire.

The HVAC unit also has provisions to output the dangerous, hot, smoke-filled air

48

out of the structure

50

. In the event of an inception of a fire, the modified HVAC is configured with appropriate hardware and/or software to begin circulating CORA

44

within structure

50

. These provisions may also include additional conduits and ducts (not shown) adapted to the structure

50

and incorporated into the HVAC system to expel the hot, smoke-filled air

48

away from structure

50

.

FIG. 3

shows an embodiment of the fire safety control system

2000

in use as a mobile unit. Herein, a fire safety vehicle

60

houses the system

2000

. The mobile system

2000

is connected to gas tank

14

and cooling means, such as a cooling unit

30

, or external water and drainage sources. Attached to the system

2000

is a CORA transmission conduit

80

which transfers CORA

44

to a housing structure

50

on fire.

In the instant embodiment, a hyper-powered output fan

28

A may be employed to sufficiently force CORA

44

through conduit

80

onto a burning structure

50

. The conduit

80

may be attached to any existing window or hole in the structure

50

. Or alternatively may be attached directly to a vent

55

to force CORA

44

through the heating and A/C conduits within a structure

50

in a strategic manner.

FIG. 4

shows another embodiment employing the fire control system

2000

as a mobile unit in conjunction with a fire safety vehicle

60

. However, in this embodiment, a fire-resistant tarp

85

is connected to CORA transmission conduit

80

to encircle a burning structure

50

. Tarp

85

may be fire-retarded in several ways, including having layers of internal materials coated or impregnated with substances which deter fire. However, tarp

85

is not intended to be a limiting, definite structure, but rather an exemplary device illustrating an enclosing means that can surround a burning structure

50

.

Since other modifications and changes varied to fit particular operating requirements and environment will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention is not considered limited to the example chosen for purposes of disclosure, and covers all changes and modifications which do not constitute a departure from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by Letters Patent is presented in the subsequent appended claims.