WO2009001998A1

WO2009001998A1 - Automatic fire extinguisher

Info

Publication number: WO2009001998A1
Application number: PCT/KR2008/000453
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chang Ki Park
Original assignee: Chang Ki Park
Priority date: 2007-06-26
Filing date: 2008-01-24
Publication date: 2008-12-31

Abstract

The invention is an automatic fire extinguisher capable of being actuated according to the ambient temperature rising, and has mechanical heat sense system to actuate the inflator and open the passage of the fire extinguishing chemical. The invention comprises a body in which a chemical chamber and a pressure chamber are formed and these chambers being partitioned by the movable or elastically compressible pressing means, an inflator, an explosion mechanism to explode the inflator, a nozzle to eject the chemical exhausted from the chemical chamber, and a heat sense module to control operation of the explosion mechanism and opening of the passage between the chemical chamber and the nozzle.

Description

Description AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to an automatic fire extinguisher capable of being actuated according to the ambient temperature rising, and more particularly to an automatic fire extinguisher which has mechanical heat sense system to actuate the inflator and open the passage of the fire extinguishing chemical without any electronic sensor or electronic controller which may be erroneously actuated by fire heat and to enhance the reliability of the fire extinguisher.

[2]

Background Art

[3] Generally a fire extinguisher is preferably needed to be furnished in buildings in case for the fire. But the ordinary fire extinguisher is inconvenient in that one should buy and install it on the prepared space intentionally, and one should manually operate to actuate it in case of fire, which may be difficult or dangerous. And if there is no one to operate the fire extinguisher, it may be of no use.

[4] Considering the above, there is suggested an automatic fire extinguisher which can be actuated automatically in case of fire, but it has some drawbacks because it includes the electronic fire sensor or the electronic controller, which need a electric power supply, so it needs some maintenance and cost. Moreover, if the electric part of it is damaged by the fire and heat, it would not operate properly, which will reduce the reliability.

[5] And the fire extinguisher may be installed in the room, but it will occupy considerable space of the room and it causes the inconvenience to people and it may not be in harmony with the interior design.

[6]

Disclosure of Invention

Technical Problem

[7] The invention is suggested to solve the above problems, and the object of the invention is to provide an automatic fire extinguisher which could be actuated automatically by the change of the physical property and the mechanical operation system without need of the electronic sense, the electronic control and the electric power supply.

[8]

Technical Solution

[9] According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic fire extinguisher comprising a body in which a chemical chamber and a pressure chamber are formed and these chambers being partitioned by the movable or elastically compressible pressing means, an inflator provided in pressure chamber to instantly increase the pressure of the pressure chamber by chemical or physical change to exhaust the fire extinguishing chemical in the chemical chamber outwardly, an explosion mechanism to explode the inflator, a nozzle to eject the chemical exhausted from the chemical chamber, and a heat sense module to control operation of the explosion mechanism and opening of the passage between the chemical chamber and the nozzle, the heat sense module being comprised of module body having a stopper hole and valve hole which are connected to each other, a stopper movably provided within the stopper hole to keep the explosion mechanism in non operating position or move it to release position, a heat sense plug engaged on the outer opening of the stopper hole to support the stopper or melt down by fire heat to release the stopper support of the explosion mechanism, and a valve which may be integral with or separated with the stopper and block or open the passage of the valve hole between the chemical chamber and the nozzle.

[10] According to another aspect of the invention, the explosion mechanism includes the moving rod inserted in the module body through the shaft hole formed at one side of the stopper hole and movable axially and has the engaging portion in which the stopper is engaged, and a spring elastically supporting the moving rod toward the pressure chamber and moving the moving rod if the stopper is released to explode the inflator.

[11] A lever may be attached to the moving rod, and as the moving rod is moved, the lever may be rotated to actuate the inflator.

[12] The stopper may be provided to project from or retract into the stopper hole toward the pressure chamber and the fixing portion of the stopper projecting outside the stopper hole may support the explosion mechanism in non operation position.

[13] In this case, the explosion mechanism may comprise of the striker rotatably provided at the front end of the fixing portion of the stopper, and a spring to apply the rotation force to the striker toward the inflator.

[14] The heat sense plug may be engaged with the module body by releasable pin.

[15] The heat sense plug may be made of metal having higher heat conductivity than that of lead and a part of it engaged with the module body may be made of lead or lead alloy.

[16] The nozzle may be rotatably installed on the body or heat sense module and further include a driving means to rotate the nozzle in combination with the ejection of the fire extinguishing chemical.

[17] In this case, the driving means includes a coil spring and a ratchet which are coaxially attached on the same rotating shaft, a rod one end of which is connected to the rotating shaft on the eccentric position and the other end of which is connected to the nozzle to rotate the nozzle according to the release of the coil spring, a nozzle stopper installed in the nozzle stopper hole connected to the stopper hole of the heat sense module and between the stopper and the ratchet so as to rotate or stop the nozzle according to the position of the stopper.

Advantageous Effects

[18] The invention as described above has the following advantageous effects.

[19] (1) As the ambient temperature is rising, the support of the stopper by the heat sense plug may be released, and the mechanically connected explosion mechanism and the valve may operate the inflator and open the exhaust passage to eject the fire extinguishing chemical, which may be operated without electronic controller, electrical parts or electric power or battery. Therefore, the manufacturing cost and maintenance cost is low. In case of no fire, the non operation state of the inflator and the blockage of the fire extinguishing chemical are firmly maintained, and in case of fire, the secure and precise automatic ejection of the fire extinguishing chemical is achieved.

[20] (2) By combining the axially moving rod, the seesaw moving lever and the rotating striker to a various structure, a various size and form of the fire extinguisher in conformity with the various use conditions could be achieved.

[21] (3) As the stopper and the valve are formed in one body, the manufacturing cost and the product size could be reduced.

[22] (4) The pin may be manually removed and the support of the stopper by the heat sense plug may be manually released. Therefore, if necessary, one can use the fire extinguisher to extinguish the neighboring fire.

[23] (5) As the nozzle may be rotated, the fire extinguishing chemical may be ejected in wide direction to effectively extinguish the fire, and the rotation of nozzle is operated by the mechanical operation of the stopper, the operation reliability can be improved.

[24]

Brief Description of the Drawings

[25] The above and other objects or advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing the preferred embodiments thereof in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in which;

[26] FIG. 1 is an exploded view of first embodiment of the automatic fire extinguisher according to the invention,

[27] FIG. 2 is a section of the above first embodiment of the invention,

[28] FIG. 3 is a plan section of the heat sense module of the first embodiment,

[29] FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the second embodiment of the automatic extinguisher according to the invention, [30] FIG. 5 is a section of the above second embodiment of the invention,

[31] FIG. 6 is a perspective of the heat sense module of the second embodiment,

[32] FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the heat sense module of the second embodiment of the invention,

[33] FIG. 8 is a plan section of the heat sense module of the second embodiment of the invention,

[34] FIG. 9 is a section of the third embodiment of the automatic fire extinguisher according to the invention.

[35]

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[36] A preferred embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals denote like elements through the following embodiments.

[37] FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the first embodiment of the automatic fire extinguisher according to the invention. As shown, the invention includes a body 100 in which a pressing means 102 is movably installed and a chemical chamber 103 and pressure chamber 104 are formed on the upper or lower side of the press means 102 respectively, an inflator 108 provided in pressure chamber 104 to instantly increase the pressure of the pressure chamberlO4 by chemical or physical change to exhaust the fire extinguishing chemical in the chemical chamber 103 outwardly, an explosion mechanism to explode the inflator, a nozzle 150 to eject the chemical 10 exhausted from the chemical chamber 103, and a heat sense module 130 to control the operation of the explosion mechanism and opening the passage between the chemical chamber 103 and the nozzle 150.

[38] In the shown embodiment, the body 100 has the flat panel form to be easily accommodated inside the door 1, wall, ceiling or the floor, but it is only example, and may have various shapes in which the pressing means 102 of the various shape could press the chemical chamber 103 according to the expansion of the pressure chamber 104. The pressing means 102 is a movable plate, but it may be an elastic diaphragm or an elastic bag enclosing the chemical chamber.

[39] The inflator 108 may be the same as that of air bag of the ordinary safety device of car in which NaN3 and other chemicals are reacted to generate the gases rapidly or the compressed gases may be expanded or the liquefied gas may be evaporated to increase the gas pressure in the pressure chamber 104.

[40] FIG. 3 shows the detailed structure of the heat sense module. The heat sense module

130 includes a block shape module body 131 having a shaft hole 137, a stopper hole 133 and a valve hole 135 being interconnected to each other, and these holes preferably are intersected vertically to each other, and a explosion mechanism 108 having the moving rod 110 inserted in the module body 131 through the shaft hole 137 and operating the inflator according to the position of moving rod 110, s stopper 121 provided in the stopper hole 133 to keep the moving rod 110 in the upper position, a heat sense plug 138 provided on the outer part of the inlet of the stopper hole 133 to support the outer end of the stopper 121 and being melt down in case of fire to let the stopper 121 move, and a valve 140 supported by the stopper 121 in the valve hole 135 to block or open the passage 101a, 101b on both side of the valve hole 135.

[41] An engaging portion 111 in the shape of recess or projecting is formed on the moving rod 110 contacting with the stopper 110, and a fixing portion 121a is formed on the stopper contacting with the moving rod 110.

[42] Preferably, a spring 122 is provided to elastically support the stopper 121 against to the direction opposite of the moving rod 110. But, the spring 122 may be omitted. For example, without spring 122, as the support by the heat sense plug 138 is released, the external force applied to the moving rod 110 may shift the stopper 121. And, as described below in which the spring 118 applies downward force to the moving rod 110, an inclined guide surface may be formed on the engaging portion 111 and the fixing portion 121a, so a single spring 118 may incur the downward moving of the moving rod 110 and the outward moving of the stopper 121 at the same time.

[43] The explosion mechanism may have various structures according to the type of the inflator 108. The explosion mechanism of the illustrated embodiment includes a spring 118 downwardly pressing the moving rod 110 and a touch pin 119 positioned adjacent to the explosion part 109 of the inflator 108 and under the moving rod 110, so that, if the moving rod 110 is moved downwardly, then the touch pin 119 strikes the explosion part 109 of the inflator 108.

[44] The valve 140 may have various structures to block and open the both exhaust passage 101a, 101b connected through the valve hole 135 according to the position of the stopper 121. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the exhaust passages 101a, 101b connected to chemical chamber 103 and nozzle 150 respectively may be connected to the connecting holes 136a, 136b on both side of the valve hole 135, and a valve 140 may be installed between the both connecting holes 136a, 136b, and a valve stopper

128 may be installed between the stopper 121 and the valve 140. Preferably, a spring

129 elastically supporting the valve stopper 128 or valve 121 toward the stopper 121 may be provided. But, without this spring 129, if supporting of the valve stopper 128 by the stopper 121 is released, the pressure flowing into the valve hole 135 may move the valve body 140 into opened position.

[45] The heat sense plug 138 may be made of the materials such as lead or lead alloy which have low melting point, and it can be engaged to the module body 131 by way of thread engagement and so on. But in the illustrated embodiment, it is releasably engaged to the module body 131 by pin 147.

[46] In addition, the nozzle 150 may have the rotating structure and includes a driving means to rotate the nozzle to expand the ejecting direction and range. In the embodiment, a ball type nipple 153 is engaged at the end of the exhaust passage2 101a 101b, and the nozzle 150 is rotatably engaged to the nipple 153. The nozzle 150 preferably has a plurality of nozzle holes 151 with different direction.

[47] The driving means of the nozzle 150 includes a coil spring 161, a ratchet 163 and a disk 162 with the same rotary shaft 164, and a rod eccentrically attached on the disk 162 and connected to the nozzle 150 may rotate the nozzle 150 according to the release of the coil spring 161. And a nozzle stopper hole 133 is formed on the module body 131 in the direction vertical to the stopper hole 133, and a nozzle stopper 126 is installed in the nozzle stopper hole 133 between the stopper 121 and the ratchet 163. Preferably, a spring 127 may be provided to elastically support the nozzle stopper 126 toward the stopper 121.

[48] The invention as described above may keep the fixing portion 121a of the stopper

121 in the engaging portion 111 of the moving rod 110 by the heat sense plug 138 in case of no fire. So the moving rod 110, the valve stopper 128 and the nozzle stopper 126 may be stably kept in non operating state.

[49] If the fire bursts, and the ambient temperature rises to melt down the heat sense plug

138, or if the one removes the pin 147 of the heat sense plug 138, the stopper 121 may be shifted to the outward of the stopper hole 133, so the support of the stopper 121 against the moving rod 110, the valve stopper 128 and the nozzle stopper 126 may be released.

[50] Accordingly, the moving rod 110 is moved downwardly by the spring 118 and the touch pin 119 may strike the inflator 108 to be actuated, and the pressure in the pressure chamber 104 may rapidly increase to apply the strong exhausting pressure against the fire extinguishing chemical 10 in the chemical chamber 103 through the pressing means 102. At the same time, the valve 140 is retreated and the exhaust passages 101a, 101b on the opposite side of the valve hole 135 may be interconnected, so the pressured chemical may be transmitted to the nozzle 150 and ejected outwardly. And the fixing force applied to the ratchet 163 by the nozzle stopper 126 is released, and the rotating force by the coil spring 161 may be transmitted to the rod 169, so the nozzle 150 may be rotated.

[51] As described above, the fire extinguisher of the invention is automatically operated by the melting down of the heat sense plug 138 and the subsequent mechanical operation to strike the inflator 108 and open the exhaust passages 101a, 101b, and any electronic controller, electrical part or electrical power supply are not needed, which will result in the reduced manufacturing cost and easy maintenance. And in case of no fire, the non operation condition could be stably kept and the possibility of chemical leakage is very low, and there is no possibility of the failure or malfunction due to the damage of the electrical part by fire heat. Therefore, the reliability of the fire extinguisher is highly improved.

[52] And if the body 100 is made in the shape of flat box or panel as shown in the drawings, it could be embedded inside the door 1, wall or ceiling, therefore, any separated fire extinguisher need not to be furnished in the room, which may be convenient and space saving. Especially, if it is embedded in the door 1, it will effectively extinguish or block the fire at the very passage of the fire flames.

[53] In addition, as the nozzle 150 is released from the engagement of the nozzle stopper

126 in case of fire, and is rotated by the mechanical driving means such as the coil spring 161, the fire extinguishing chemical may be ejected to a wide direction to effectively extinguish the fire. And the rotation of the nozzle 150 is driven by the mechanical mechanism, which may not be damaged by the fire heat, so the operation reliability may be improved compared to the electrical mechanism.

[54] FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 show the second embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 6 to FIG.

8 show the heat sense module 130 of it.

[55] The shown second embodiment includes the body 100 having a pressure chamber

104 and a chemical chamber 103 separated by the pressing means 102, an inflator 108 in the body 100, and a heat sense module 130 and a nozzle 150 outside the body 100, while the structure of the heat sense module 130 is simplified. And, as shown in FIG. 4, the invention may be the picture frame structure, in which pores 3, 4 are formed on the frame 2 containing the picture, and the body 100 of the fire extinguisher and the heat sense module 130 may be disposed behind the picture of the frame 2 while the heat sense plug 138 and nozzle 150 being exposed through the pores 3, 4. According to this embodiment of the invention, the fire extinguisher may be easily installed by use of the picture frame at the desired position, it may increase the convenience to use the fire extinguisher at any time, and the indoor space may not be occupied or disturbed by the fire extinguisher, and the beautiful interior may be acquired in spite of the fire extinguisher.

[56] The heat sense module 130 comprises a module body 131 having a shaft hole 137, a stopper hole 133 and a valve hole 135 which are vertically extending to each other, a moving rod 110 the engaging part 111 of which is movably inserted in the module body 131 through the shaft hole 137, an explosion mechanism to actuate the inflator 108 according to the moving of the moving rod 110, a stopper 121 provided in the stopper hole 133 and biased by the spring 122 outwardly and having the fixing portion 121a in which the engaging portion 111 of the moving rod 110 is inserted, a heat sense plug 138 engaged on the inlet of the stopper hole 133 and supporting the stopper 121, and a valve 140 provided in the valve hole 135 and biased by the spring 129 toward the stopper 121 and supported by the stopper 121. The exhaust passages 101a 101b are connected on the both side of the connecting holes 136a, 136b of the valve hole 135, and the valve 140 is positioned between the connecting holes 136a, 136b and block or connect the both exhaust passages 101a, 101b.

[57] The entire heat sense plug 138 may be made of the low melting point metal, but only a part of it, such as the threading periphery engaged with the module body 131 may be made of low melting point metal for the sake of durability or light weight. Preferably other part except the engaging part may be made of the metal of high heat conductivity such as copper so that, in case of fire, the fire heat may be rapidly transmitted to the engaging part, and it may be rapidly melt down.

[58] The explosion mechanism comprises of a spring 118 downwardly supporting the moving rod 110, a touch pin 119 adjacent to the explosion part of the inflator 108, and a lever 117 one end of which is connected to the moving rod 110 and the other end of it is rotatable in a seesaw manner to strike the touch pin 119.

[59] According to the fire extinguisher as described above, if the engaging part of the heat sense plug 138 may be melt down as the fire bursts and the ambient temperature rises, and the stopper 121 may push the heat sense plug 138 by means of spring 122 and moves outwardly, so the fixing of the moving rod 110 is released. Accordingly, the moving rod 110 is moved downwardly by means of spring 118, and the opposite side of the lever connected to the moving rod 110 is lifted to strike the touch pin 119 and the inflator 108 is actuated, and the expansion of the pressure chamber 104 by the inflator 108 may push the fire extinguishing chemical 10 into the exhaust passages 101a, 101b to the heat sense module 130. At the same time, the support of valve 140 by the stopper 121 may be released, and the valve 140 may be retreated by the spring 129 and the both passages 101a, 101b may be interconnected, and the pressured chemical 101 may be ejected through the nozzle 150.

[60] According to the invention described above, as the supporting structure of the moving rod 110 and the valve 140 by the stopper 121 is simple and firm, it will be advantageous in making the product compact or minimized and in manufacturing cost. And as the operational security is improved, if any unwanted impact may be applied during the delivery and installing, the possibility of malfunction may be low. And as the lever type explosion is provided and the inflator 108 may be position on the upper side of the pressure chamber 104, the size of the fire extinguisher may be considerable reduced.

[61] FIG. 9 shows the third embodiment of the invention, wherein the stopper 121 and the valve 140 are formed in one body, and the explosion mechanism may be formed in rotating manner, which enables simpler and smaller heat sense module 130. The module body 131 of the heat sense module 130 is provided with a stopper hole 133, both end of which being connected to the pressure chamber 104 and the outside respectively, a stopper 121 provided in the stopper hole 133 being supported by the spring 122 to be biased outwardly, and a heat sense plug 138 inwardly supporting the stopper 121 is engaged on the inlet of the stopper hole 133. The stopper 121 is formed in one body with the valve 140, and on both side of the valve hole 135 formed coaxially with the stopper hole 133 is connected to the connecting holes 136a, 136b, which connect the chemical chamber 103 and nozzle (not shown) respectively. These connecting holes 136a, 136b may be interconnected or blocked according to the position of the valve 140. A fixing portion 121a projecting outside of the stopper hole 133 is formed at the end of the stopper 121 facing the pressure chamber 104.

[62] The explosion mechanism according to the embodiment of the invention comprises of a striker 149 rotatably attached at the end of the fixing portion 121a of the stopper 121, and a spring 118 applying the rotating force on the striker 149 toward the inflator 108, the striker 149 being supported by the fixing portion 121a of the stopper 121 and the rotation of it is restricted.

[63] According to the embodiment of the invention, if the supporting force of the heat sense plug 138 is released by the fire heat, then the stopper is moved outwardly by the spring 122, and the striker 149 is rotated by the spring 118 and may actuate the inflator 108. At the same time, the valve 140 on one side of the stopper 121 is moved to opening position, and the chemical 10 in the chemical chamber 103 is pressured to flow through the exhaust passages 101a, 101b and the connecting holes 136a, 136b.

[64] According the above mentioned structure, the stopper 121 and the valve 140 are formed in one body to achieve a simple structure, and the explosion mechanism is formed in rotating manner and the inflator 108 is installed horizontally, which will result in the compact structure, and the cost down and space saving.

[65] The above mentioned embodiments has been described for illustrative purpose, and many changes, modification or amendment can be added to the embodiment of the without departing the scope of the invention, which in only defined by the accompanied claims.

Claims

[1] An automatic fire extinguisher comprising a body in which a chemical chamber and a pressure chamber are formed and these chambers being partitioned by the movable or elastically compressible pressing means, an inflator provided in pressure chamber to instantly increase the pressure of the pressure chamber by chemical or physical change to exhaust the fire extinguishing chemical in the chemical chamber outwardly, an explosion mechanism to explode the inflator, a nozzle to eject the chemical exhausted from the chemical chamber, and a heat sense module to control operation of the explosion mechanism and opening of the passage between the chemical chamber and the nozzle, the heat sense module being comprised of module body having a stopper hole and valve hole which are connected to each other, a stopper movably provided within the stopper hole to keep the explosion mechanism in non operating position or move it to release position, a heat sense plug engaged on the outer opening of the stopper hole to support the stopper or melt down by fire heat to release the stopper s support of the explosion mechanism, and a valve which may be integral with or separated with the stopper and block or open the passage of the valve hole between the chemical chamber and the nozzle.

[2] An automatic fire extinguisher of claim 1, wherein the explosion mechanism includes the moving rod inserted in the module body through the shaft hole formed at one side of the stopper hole and movable axially and has the engaging portion in which the stopper is engaged, and a spring elastically supporting the moving rod toward the pressure chamber and moving the moving rod if the stopper is released to explode the inflator.

[3] An automatic fire extinguisher of claim 2, wherein a lever may be attached to the moving rod, and as the moving rod is moved, the lever may be rotated to actuate the inflator.

[4] An automatic fire extinguisher of claim 1, wherein the stopper may be provided to project from or retract into the stopper hole toward the pressure chamber and the fixing portion of the stopper projecting outside the stopper hole may support the explosion mechanism in non operation position.

[5] An automatic fire extinguisher of claim 4, wherein the explosion mechanism may comprise of the striker rotatably provided at the front end of the fixing portion of the stopper, and a spring to apply the rotation force to the striker toward the inflator.

[6] An automatic fire extinguisher of claim 1, wherein the heat sense plug may be engaged with the module body by releasable pin.

[7] An automatic fire extinguisher of claim 1, wherein the heat sense plug may be made of metal having higher heat conductivity than that of lead and a part of it engaged with the module body may be made of lead or lead alloy.

[8] An automatic fire extinguisher of claim 1 to 7, wherein the nozzle may be rotatably installed on the body or heat sense module and further include a driving means to rotate the nozzle in combination with the ejection of the fire extinguishing chemical.

[9] An automatic fire extinguisher of claim 8, wherein the driving means includes a coil spring and a ratchet which are coaxially attached on the same rotating shaft, a rod one end of which is connected to the rotating shaft on the eccentric position and the other end of which is connected to the nozzle to rotate the nozzle according to the release of the coil spring, a nozzle stopper installed in the nozzle stopper hole connected to the stopper hole of the heat sense module and between the stopper and the ratchet so as to rotate or stop the nozzle according to the position of the stopper.