The present invention relates to the field of fire suppression and more particularly to a system for dropping packages of fire extinguisher materials which are designed to burst and spray fire suppressant over a limited target area upon impact.
Currently fire suppressant or retardant is dropped on or in front of established fires by aerial tanker, which can be either a fixed wing aircraft (e.g. what is popularly known as a xe2x80x9csuperscooperxe2x80x9d) or a helicopter. The tanker includes a tank with bottom opening doors. In fixed wing aircraft, the tank is filled with fire retardant or suppressant solution while the doors are closed. Then the tanker is flown to a strategically selected location over the fire. Finally, the doors are opened which allows the fire retardant or suppressant solution to fall under the influence of gravity. Helicopters carry a bucket suspended underneath by a cable with the ability to spill the suppressant, upon command from the cockpit, onto the area near the fire.
Newly developed wildland fire fighting systems will allow these fires to be detected at inception. See U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/271,626. Then fire suppression must be administered with great accuracy. This new method of fighting small wildland fires will require a fire suppressant capability which: 1) can contain a droppable suppression package, 2) can be rapidly replenished, 3) can be easily loaded into or suspended from an aerial fire suppression vehicle, 4) has a refillable suppression package that is droppable at will from the fire suppression vehicle, and 5) is able to target fire suppressant onto an identified, limited area.
Development of a fire suppressant system which: 1) can contain a droppable suppression package, 2) can be rapidly replenished, 3) can be easily loaded into or suspended from an aerial fire suppression vehicle, 4) has a refillable suppression package that is droppable at will from the fire suppression vehicle, and 5) is able to target fire suppressant onto an identified, limited area represents a great improvement in the field of fire suppression and satisfies a long felt need of wildland fire fighting services.
The present invention is a fire suppressant droppable package/package dispenser which: 1) can contain a droppable suppression package, 2) can be rapidly replenished, 3) can be easily loaded into or suspended from an aerial fire suppression vehicle, 4) has a refillable suppression package that is droppable at will from the fire suppression vehicle, and 5) is able to target fire suppressant onto an identified, limited area.
The basic invention is a remotely controllable extinguisher dispenser that can be refilled with a droppable extinguisher package. One embodiment of his invention comprises: a housing; a top plate with a central hole across the top of the housing; a bag, with a neck made to fit inside the hole, made of pliable material, designed to contain fire suppressant solution, fit snugly yet freely inside the housing when full, and burst when it hits the ground and dropped from a height; a quantity of fire suppressant solution inside the bag; a bottom plate, hingeably attached to the bottom of the housing; a suspending mechanism for suspending the housing; a latch for releasably latching the bottom plate in a closed position; a latch release moveably attached to the latch and the housing; a lid, sized to fit inside the neck, with a handle and a threaded loading port through it firmly assembled inside the neck; a threaded closure, adapted to be inserted into and removed from the threaded loading port; and a securing mechanism, attached to the top plate adjacent the hole, designed to hold the neck/lid assembly when the first bag is full of fire suppressant solution and the bottom plate is latched closed and to release the neck/lid assembly when the bag is full of fire suppressant solution and the bottom plate is open.
In this first embodiment, the extinguisher package comprises: the bag, filled with a quantity of fire suppressant solution; the lid; and the threaded closure; and the package dispenser comprises: the housing; the top plate; the bottom plate; the suspending mechanism; the latch; the latch release; and the securing mechanism.
A second embodiment of this invention also includes: a first valved port, passing through the lid and pressurized gas inside the bag.
A second embodiment of this invention also includes: a second valved port passing through the lid; a second bag having a neck and made of pliable material, smaller than the first bag, located inside the first bag; the neck of the second bag being attached to the interior portion of the second valve; pressurized gas inside the second bag; and sharp point(s) attached to the interior of the first bag.
Also provided with this invention may be a stirrer adapted to be inserted into the first bag through the threaded opening. The threaded opening may be canted to allow the stirrer to clear the second bag.