Patent Publication Number: US-2016228733-A1

Title: Extended Fire Hose System

Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
     This patent application claims priority under 35 USC 119 (e) (1) from U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/113,346 filed Feb. 6, 2015, of common inventorship herewith entitled, “Fire Hose System,” which is incorporated herein by reference as though the same were set forth in its entirety. 
    
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention pertains to the field of fire equipment, and more specifically to the field of fire hose attachments. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Firemen have used water hoses to fight fires for more than two thousand years, since hoses were made of oxen hide and filled with water from oxen hide bags. Pressure in the hose came from men stomping on the oxen hide bags thus forcing a stream of water through the hose. Firefighting next evolved into a bucket brigade technique although hand pumped fire engines equipped with nozzles soon allowed for using hoses that were constructed of leather strips stitched together and measured approximately fifty feet in length. In early years of the eighteen hundreds, members a fire hose company invented a way to rivet the seams of leather hoses which provided increased resistance against rupture. These hoses were approximately forty to fifty feet in length, contained metal couplings for long relaying capability and weighed approximately eighty five pounds apiece. Vulcanized rubber was invented subsequently, resulting in stronger, somewhat lighter and more flexible hoses. Firefighters discovered that rubber hoses performed better when sheathed in a cotton fabric webbing. In later years of the eighteen hundreds, vulcanized rubber was discarded entirely in favor of woven cotton fire hoses which were standardized at approximately seven thousand one hundred and two threads per seamed inch. The modern fire hose currently utilized by professional fire fighters is a result of continuous improvement by using newer and more lightweight weaves. 
     Standard firefighting hoses are approximately one and one half inches in diameter. The nozzles which control and direct a high pressure flow of water or foam are sophisticated instruments that deliver a stream, spray or fog at a pressure of approximately one hundred pounds per square inch. Even when using the best equipment, the fact remains that the hose nozzle is handled by a firefighter who is a human whose mobility is necessarily restricted by concern for his life. What firefighters need is a means of reaching a burning structure&#39;s interior and projecting the water or foam where it will do the most good while remaining as safe as possible. 
     The prior art has put forth several designs for fire hose attachments. Among these are: 
     U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,740 to Eugene W. Ivy describes a mist generating nozzle having a cylindrical bearing member in which a plurality of distribution slots are formed. A cylindrical sleeve member is concentrically disposed about the bearing member, with an annular chamber defined there between. The sleeve member has a plurality of orifices communicating with the annular chamber and extending transversely with respect to the radius of the sleeve member for imparting rotational motion to the sleeve member in response to the discharge of water through the orifices. The centrifugal force acting on the water discharged through the orifices particulates the water droplets into a fine mist or fog, in a substantially spiral pattern around the nozzle. In another aspect of the invention, the mist generating nozzle is incorporated into a firefighting tool, which includes a piercing member for penetrating a building structure. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 2,246,797 to John W. Geddes describes a fire fighting apparatus with an object to provide a device for attachment to a hose line whereby effective streams of water are instantaneously introduced into the interior spaces of building structures to combat fires therein. The provided nozzle which in itself constitutes a breaching tool adapted to be manhandled to force the discharge end of the pipe through obstructions into hollow spaces. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 674,343 to Elbridge W. Oakes describes a hose nozzle especially adapted for penetrating walls of buildings that are afire, driving through partitions for quenching fire in adjacent rooms or burrowing into debris, coal piles or bunkers of ships and extinguishing fires in them or in similar places situated so as to be inaccessible to an ordinary fire stream. One object of this invention is to provide a hose nozzle that is simple in construction and capable of being driven through partitions or into masses of burning fuel without danger of clogging the nozzle opening or throttling the stream. A further object is to provide a detachable driving point that protects the nozzle end while being driven and will automatically detach itself from the nozzle when the water is turned on, thus ensuring free discharge. The point remains embedded in the coal of a bunker that is afire and forms a protection for the nozzle end, while permitting unobstructed flow of water from the nozzle through the mass of coal. 
     None of these prior art references describe the present invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an object of the present invention to provide a set of special purpose nozzles and extender pipes to be connected to standard fire hoses by firefighters. 
     The present invention is an extended fire hose system for directing firefighting fluids to a fire from a fire hose. The extended fire hose system comprises a first pipe having an open first end and an open second end with the first end of the first pipe capable of being connected to the fire hose. A nozzle is connectable to the open second end of the first pipe. A motor is mounted adjacent the first end of the first pipe for moving the nozzle. The nozzle delivers firefighting fluids to a desired position for effective firefighting while minimizing risks to firefighters and saving fire lives. 
     In addition, the present invention includes a method for directing firefighting fluids to a fire from a fire hose. The method comprises providing a first pipe having an open first end and an open second end, connecting the first end of the first pipe to the fire hose, connecting a nozzle to the open second end of the first pipe, mounting a motor adjacent the first end of the first pipe for moving the nozzle, delivering firefighting fluids to a desired position for effective firefighting while minimizing risks to firefighters and saving fire lives. 
     The present invention further includes an extended fire hose system for directing firefighting fluids to a fire from a fire hose. The extended fire hose system comprises a first pipe having an open first end and an open second end with the first end of the first pipe capable of being connected to the fire hose. A nozzle is connectable to the open second end of the first pipe. A motor is mounted adjacent the first end of the first pipe for moving the nozzle. A camera is mounted to or nearingly adjacent the nozzle. A heat sensor mechanism is mounted to or nearingly adjacent the nozzle. The nozzle delivers firefighting fluids to a desired position for effective firefighting while minimizing risks to firefighters and saving fire lives. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an elevational side view illustrating an aluminum cylindrical rod of an extended fire hose system constructed in accordance with the present invention, containing an attached camera and heat sensor; 
         FIG. 1 a    is an elevational side view illustrating a diagrammed close up view of the pointed and piercing terminal end of the rod of the extended fire hose system constructed in accordance with the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view illustrating the extended fire hose system constructed in accordance with the present invention, with the fire hose system attached to a fire hose on a fire truck that contains a hydraulic motor which is operated by a firefighter on ground or truck level. 
         FIG. 3  is a top down perspective views illustrating an aluminum cylindrical rod of the extended fire hose system constructed in accordance with the present invention, with the cylindrical rod containing a pointed and piercing terminal end and is flanked by several aluminum cylindrical rods that are extra extensions available for creating more functional length. 
         FIG. 4  is a close up diagonal view illustrating a motor of the extended fire hose system constructed in accordance with the present invention, with the motor attached between a fire hose and aluminum rod with its purpose being to move the rod and any attached rods in or out the burning space. 
         FIG. 5  shows a perspective view illustrating a platform of the extended fire hose system constructed in accordance with the present invention, with the platform mountable to a side or rear of a fire truck wherein the platform comprises means for raising and lowering the extension rod and nozzle. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention, hereinafter referred to as an Extended Fire Hose System, indicated generally at  10 , is a set of special purpose nozzles  12  and extender pipes  14  to be used with standard fire hoses to provide a safer means for firefighter to direct high pressure water flow or foam into a burning structure. Additionally, the Extended Fire Hose System  10  can be mounted to the side or rear of the fire truck  16  and/or on a boom  18  with the pipes  14  and nozzle  12  raised on a rotatable platform  20  to access heretofore unreachable areas. 
     The Extended Fire Hose System  10  of the present invention motorized system enables firefighters to achieve a straight line extension of up to approximately forty five feet, the end of which is a spherical, high powered, sprinkler head nozzle. The aforementioned configuration permits firefighters to successfully reach and fight fires in the interiors of structures at far less risk to themselves. 
     In an embodiment, the Extended Fire Hose System  10  of the present invention can be mounted to a platform  20  mounted to a side or rear of a fire truck  16  wherein the platform  20  comprises means for raising and lowering the extension rod. Means for raising and lowering the extension rod  14  and nozzle  12  can be by any suitable means, such as a scissor jack  22 , or hydraulic lift, for example. 
     In an additional embodiment, the platform  20  onto which the Extended Fire Hose System  10  of the present invention is mounted can be rotated at least forty-five degrees by means of a turntable supporting the platform  20 . 
     The nozzle end  12  of the Extended Fire Hose System  10  of the present invention can pierce a structure to penetrate a wall for insertion of the hose nozzle  12  into a structure. Additionally, the Extended Fire Hose System  10  can include a camera  24  secured to either the extender pipe  14  or the nozzle  12  for remote viewing. 
     The hose attached to the nozzle  12  can be one inch diameter. The extended rod  14  can extend to forty feet or twenty feet and have a counter balance to balance the weight of the extended rod  14  and preserve the integrity of the device. 
     The Extended Fire Hose System  10  of the present invention includes a system of rigid high pressure aluminum pipes  14  engineered to extend a standard, approximately one and one half inch, firefighting hose in approximately twenty foot sections with the final section terminating in an extra wide angled, spherical spray head nozzle  12 . Each of the twenty foot sections is equipped with high pressure, twist and lock fittings. Also, the rods  14  can be telescopingly assembled allowing extension of the Extended Fire Hose System, as desired. The nozzle  12  and sprinkler head section, which is connected directly to a fire hose or to one of the other extender pipes  14 , preferably comprises a machined brass nozzle with a spherical spray head. 
     The Extended Fire Hose System  10  of the present invention is employable to reach the interior of a burning structure. To this end, the assembled apparatus is motorized using hydraulics and navigate into the structure by firefighters using a heat sensor  26  and the camera  24 . The heat sensor  26  and the camera  24  are mounted on the penetrating rod  14  and/or the nozzle  12  and controlled from the ground or fire truck  16 . Firefighters estimate the distance to be covered and using the motorized system, extend the rods  14  or sections of the Extended Fire Hose System  10  of the present invention as needed. Containing a rigid, pointed and piercing distal component, the end of the water nozzle  12  is sufficiently heavy duty and reinforced to be thrust through walls where necessary. 
     Once the Extended Fire Hose System  10  of the present invention is positioned in a highly functional and effective place where the terminal spray nozzle  12  provides maximum coverage, the apparatus is energized with water or foam. The water or foam sprays in all directions from the nozzle  12 , providing ample coverage in areas otherwise inaccessible to firefighters, at a dramatically reduced risk to the firefighters. The Extended Fire Hose  10  is specifically constructed to reach and fight fires extremely effectively while minimizing risks to firefighters and saving fire victim&#39;s lives. 
     Although the Extended Fire Hose System of the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments, it is not intended to be limited thereto and various modifications which will become apparent to the person of ordinary skill in the art are intended to fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as described herein taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claim.