Patent Publication Number: US-2012024548-A1

Title: Atomized Fire Apparatus that is Driven by a Single Power

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a fire system and, more particularly, to a fire apparatus that injects atomized water or bubbles to extinguish fires in an atomizing manner. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     A conventional fire apparatus is mounted on the ceiling and comprises a smoke detector and a water sprinkler. When the smoke detector detects that the fires happen, the water sprinkler is activated by the smoke detector to sprinkle water outward automatically so as to extinguish the fires. However, the conventional fire apparatus fails when the smoke detector is inoperative, thereby causing danger to the user. In addition, the water sprinkler sprays water to the whole house so that the water will wet the electric appliances in the house, thereby easily causing an electric shock to the user. A conventional fire extinguisher can also to be used to extinguish the fires. However, the conventional fire extinguisher has a smaller volume and cannot extinguish the fires successively. 
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a fire apparatus, comprising a main body, a water tank mounted in the main body, a spray gun removably mounted on the main body, a hose having a first end connected with the water tank and a second end connected with the spray gun, a drive pump mounted on the main body and connected with the spray gun to pressurize the spray gun, a power source mounted on the main body, and a transmission unit mounted on the main body and connected between the power source and the drive pump so that the drive pump is driven by the power source through transmission of the transmission unit. 
     The primary objective of the present invention is to provide an atomized fire apparatus that is driven by a single power. 
     According to the primary advantage of the present invention, the drive pump is driven by a single power of the power source without needing aid of an external power supply, thereby facilitating the user operating the fire apparatus. 
     According to another advantage of the present invention, the spray gun injects atomized water or bubbles so as to extinguish the fires easily and quickly. 
     According to a further advantage of the present invention, the spray gun is portable and movable to extinguish immediately the fires at a determined location without wetting the other place in the house so as to prevent from causing damage to the electric appliances in the house. 
     According to a further advantage of the present invention, when the power source is disposed at a slow running state during a neutral position, the power of the power source is transmitted by the transmission unit to the drive pump so that the drive pump is driven to pressurize the water tank and the spray gun, and the spraying nozzle of the spray gun sprays atomized water or bubbles outward to extinguish the fire easily and quickly. 
     According to a further advantage of the present invention, the lamps of the illuminating unit are rotatable freely so as to provide an illuminating effect to the user. 
     Further benefits and advantages of the present invention will become apparent after a careful reading of the detailed description with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a fire apparatus in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a locally perspective enlarged view of the fire apparatus as shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is anther perspective view of the fire apparatus as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is a top view of the fire apparatus as shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 5  is a schematic operational view of an illuminating unit of the fire apparatus as shown in  FIG. 1  in use. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1-5 , a fire apparatus in accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a main body  1 , a water tank  12  mounted in the main body  1  and containing water therein, a spray gun  15  removably mounted on the main body  1 , a support bracket  16  mounted on the main body  1  to support the spray gun  15 , a hose  14  having a first end connected with the water tank  12  and a second end connected with the spray gun  15 , a drive pump  11  mounted on the main body  1  and connected with the spray gun  15  to pressurize the spray gun  15 , a power source  4  mounted on the main body  1 , a transmission unit  2  mounted on the main body  1  and connected between the power source  4  and the drive pump  11  so that the drive pump  11  is driven by the power source  4  through transmission of the transmission unit  2 , an illuminating unit  3  mounted on the main body  1  and connected with the power source  4 , a spare water tank  123  mounted on a front end of the main body  1  and containing water therein, a spare hose  140  connected with the spare water tank  123 , and a plurality of wheels  5  mounted on a bottom of the main body  1 . 
     The fire apparatus further comprises a bubble tank  13  mounted in the main body  1  and containing bubbles therein, and the first end of the hose  14  is selectively connected with the bubble tank  13 . The bubble tank  13  has a top provided with a bubble inlet port  131 . 
     The water tank  12  has a top provided with a water inlet port  121 . The spare water tank  123  has a top provided with a spare water inlet port  124 . Each of the water tank  12  and the spare water tank  123  has a side provided with a level indicator  122  to indicate the water level of each of the water tank  12  and the spare water tank  123 . 
     The hose  14  is mounted on the main body  1  and is extendable outward from the main body  1 . The hose  14  is made of a material (such as stainless steel) that can withstand a weight of at least sixty kilograms (60 kg). The hose  14  has a length of about ten to thirty meters (10-30 m). The spare hose  140  has a first end connected with the spare water tank  123  and a second end connected with an external water source (not shown) to deliver spare water into the spare water tank  123 . 
     The power source  4  includes a power output shaft  41 . In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the power source  4  is a car engine. The power output shaft  41  of the power source  4  is connected with the wheels  5  to rotate the wheels  5 . 
     The transmission unit  2  includes a clutch  21  engaging the power output shaft  41  of the power source  4  and a power connection  22  engaging the clutch  21 . The power connection  22  of the transmission unit  2  engages the drive pump  11 . In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the power connection  22  of the transmission unit  2  is a belt gear train or a sprocket train. 
     The fire apparatus further comprises a control switch  6  mounted on the main body  1  and connected with the power source  4  and the drive pump  11 . In practice, when the control switch  6  is pressed, the power source  4  is disposed at a slow running state during a neutral position, and the drive pump  11  is started only when the power source  4  is disposed at a slow running state during a neutral position. Thus, when the power source  4  is disposed at a slow running state during a neutral position, the power output shaft  41  of the power source  4  drives the clutch  21  which drives the power connection  22  which drives the drive pump  11  so that the drive pump  11  is started to pressurize the water tank  12  and the hose  14  and to deliver the pressurized water in the water tank  12  through the hose  14  into the spray gun  15 . 
     The illuminating unit  3  is mounted on the top of the main body  1  and is electrically connected with the power source  4  so that the electric power of the illuminating unit  3  is supplied by the power source  4 . The illuminating unit  3  includes a plurality of lamps  31  and an alarm  32 . The lamps  31  of the illuminating unit  3  are rotatable through three hundred and sixty degrees (360°) as shown in  FIG. 5  to provide an illuminating effect to the user. 
     The spray gun  15  is removably mounted on the support bracket  16 . 
     The spray gun  15  is provided with a trigger  151  and a spraying nozzle  152 . The trigger  151  of the spray gun  15  is used to open or close the spray gun  15 . The spraying nozzle  152  of the spray gun  15  is used to spray atomized liquid outward. Thus, the liquid contained in the spray gun  15  is pressurized by the drive pump  11  to form a high pressure liquid that is injected outward from the spraying nozzle  152  in an atomized manner. 
     The drive pump  11  is connected with the water tank  12  to pressurize the water tank  12  and the hose  14  and to deliver the pressurized water in the water tank  12  through the hose  14  into the spray gun  15 . The drive pump  11  is selectively connected with the bubble tank  13  to pressurize the bubble tank  13  and the hose  14  and to deliver the pressurized bubbles in the bubble tank  13  through the hose  14  into the spray gun  15 . The drive pump  11  is provided with an automatic speed controller  111 . The automatic speed controller  111  of the drive pump  11  is connected with the trigger  151  of the spray gun  15  and is connected with the power source  4 . 
     In practice, when the control switch  6  is pressed, the power source  4  is disposed at a slow running state during a neutral position, and the drive pump  11  is started to pressurize the water tank  12  and the hose  14  and to deliver the pressurized water in the water tank  12  through the hose  14  into the spray gun  15 . In such a manner, when the trigger  151  of the spray gun  15  is pulled, the automatic speed controller  111  of the drive pump  11  is connected with the power source  4  so that the power source  4  is driven by the automatic speed controller  111  of the drive pump  11  to operate automatically at a higher speed to pressurize the water in the spray gun  15  to form a high pressure water. Thus, the high pressure water in the spray gun  15  is injected and sprayed outward from the spraying nozzle  152  of the spray gun  15  in an atomized manner so that the spraying nozzle  152  of the spray gun  15  sprays atomized water outward to extinguish the fire. On the contrary, when the trigger  151  of the spray gun  15  is released, the spray gun  15  stops spraying the atomized water, and the automatic speed controller  111  of the drive pump  11  stops operating. At this time, the power source  4  is still disposed at a slow running state during a neutral position. 
     In operation, when the power source  4  is disposed at a starting position, the power output shaft  41  of the power source  4  is connected with the wheels  5  to rotate the wheels  5 . At this time, the clutch  21  of the transmission unit  2  disengages the power output shaft  41  of the power source  4  so that the power connection  22  of the transmission unit  2  is not driven by the clutch  21 , and the drive pump  11  is inoperative. 
     On the contrary, when the control switch  6  is pressed, the power source  4  is disposed at a slow running state during a neutral position, and the drive pump  11  is started to pressurize the water tank  12  and the hose  14  and to deliver the pressurized water in the water tank  12  through the hose  14  into the spray gun  15 . In such a manner, when the trigger  151  of the spray gun  15  is pulled, the automatic speed controller  111  of the drive pump  11  is connected with the power source  4  so that the power source  4  is driven by the automatic speed controller  111  of the drive pump  11  to operate automatically at a higher speed to pressurize the water in the spray gun  15  to form a high pressure water. Thus, the high pressure water in the spray gun  15  is injected and sprayed outward from the spraying nozzle  152  of the spray gun  15  in an atomized manner so that the spraying nozzle  152  of the spray gun  15  sprays atomized water outward to extinguish the fire. 
     Thus, when the trigger  151  of the spray gun  15  is pressed, the high pressure water in the spray gun  15  is injected and sprayed outward from the spraying nozzle  152  of the spray gun  15  in an atomized manner so as to extinguish the fires. At this time, the atomized water injected from the spray gun  15  has smaller size. Thus, when the atomized water touches the fires, the atomized water is heated and vaporized into vapors so that the whole volume of the vapors is expanded largely to isolate the oxygen in the air from the fires so as to extinguish the fires easily and quickly. In addition, the atomized water will not conduct the electricity to prevent from causing an electric shock to the user. Further, the spray gun  15  is movable to extinguish the fires at the determined location only without wetting the other place in the house to prevent from causing damage to the electric appliances in the house. 
     Accordingly, the spray gun  15  injects atomized water or bubbles so as to extinguish the fires easily and quickly. In addition, the spray gun  15  is portable and movable to extinguish immediately the fires at a determined location without wetting the other place in the house so as to prevent from causing damage to the electric appliances in the house. Further, when the power source  4  is disposed at a slow running state during a neutral position, the power of the power source  4  is transmitted by the transmission unit  2  to the drive pump  11  so that the drive pump  11  is driven to pressurize the water tank  12  and the spray gun  15 , and the spraying nozzle  152  of the spray gun  15  sprays atomized water or bubbles outward to extinguish the fire easily and quickly. Further, the drive pump  11  is driven by a single power of the power source  4  without needing aid of an external power supply, thereby facilitating the user operating the fire apparatus. Further, the lamps  31  of the illuminating unit  3  are rotatable freely so as to provide an illuminating effect to the user. 
     Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment(s) as mentioned above, it is to be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is, therefore, contemplated that the appended claim or claims will cover such modifications and variations that fall within the true scope of the invention.