Patent Publication Number: US-2006005975-A1

Title: Firefighting system

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
      This invention relates to the field of devices for fighting fires and in particular to an improved system for transporting and deploying an array of water sprinklers.  
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      It is known in the prior art such as International Patent Application No. PCT/FR90/00971 having an International Publication No. W091/09649 published Jul. 11, 1991, for an Automatic Device for Fighting Forrest Fires, to provide a supply of pressurized water through conduits such as buried pipes to supply a plurality of columns on top of which are mounted water diffusers.  
      It is also known in the prior art to use water sprinklers as a defensive measure to protect buildings and property from the encroachment of fire for example as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,576,212 which issued Apr. 27, 1971 to Siler for a Fire-Shielding Device, U.S. Pat. No. 5, 165,482 which issued Nov. 24, 1992 to Smagac et al. for A Fire Deterrent System For Structures in a Wildfire Hazard Area, U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,571 which issued Dec. 2, 1997 to Jackson for a Building Exterior Fire Prevention System, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,968 which issued Mar. 26,2002 to Orrange et al. for A Wildfire Protection System  
      What is not addressed in the prior art is the need to be able to manually transport firefighting sprinklers and the corresponding hoses and couplings from a crew access point such as a helicopter landing zone through the brush to the location of the fire break along which fire suppression sprinklers may be employed. In the prior art of which applicant is aware in the field of manually transportable fire suppression devices, applicant is only aware of the fire suppressor, which basically comprises a tank containing fire suppressant configured to be worn by a user as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,0180,584 which issued May 28, 1991 to Tomlinson for a Fire Suppressor.  
      In the prior art relating to carrying devices, applicant is aware of U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,414 which issued Jul. 2, 1995 to Jones for a Foldable Carrying Device, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,914 which issued Oct. 25, 1988 to Friedline for a Display and Carrying Rack for Fishing Equipment, neither of which devices are adapted for carrying fire suppression equipment in the manner disclosed herein.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      In summary, the fire fighting system of the present invention includes a rack having open sides for carrying sprinklers on the outsides and hoses within. The rack has a generally enclosed pair of rigid ends, a lower rigid floor and an upper rigid brace, wherein the pair of rigid ends are mounted in spaced apart relation on opposite ends of the floor and the brace. Releasable mounting means are mounted on the pair of rigid ends for releasably mounting a plurality of elongate sprinklers across spaced apart sides of the open sides of die rack so as to form, when the sprinklers are mounted thereon, rigid side walls covering the spaced apart sides of the open sides.  
      This defines an enclosed storage cavity within the rack bounded by the ends, the side walls, the floor and the brace. The storage cavity is sized for storage of the coiled hoses therein In one embodiment the rigid ends are each generally planar and are substantially parallel to one another. Oppositely disposed pairs of cantilevered members may be mounted to and extend from the pair of rigid ends for releasable mounting of water-flow diverting T-couplers thereon. The pairs of cantilevered members may be parallel elongate prongs.  
      The releasable mounting means may include a plurality of resilient clamps mounted in oppositely disposed relation to opposite edges of the ends. The clamps may include a spaced apart array of clamps mounted along each side edge of the edges of the ends. Each end may be generally triangular. The brace may be mounted at a vertex of each end. The brace may be adapted to form a carrying handle. A flexible shoulder strap may be mounted at its ends to the rigid ends, for example at the vertex of each end.  
      The floor may form a concave shelf and may be a mesh.  
      The ends may be spaced apart a distance so that, advantageously, distal ends of the pairs of cantilevered members, distal from the rigid ends, do not extend beyond the opposite ends of the sprinklers when mounted in the releasable mounting means. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is, in partially exploded view, the firefighting system according to the present invention.  
       FIG. 2  is, in non exploded side view, the firefighting system of  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3   a  is, in side elevation view, the rack of the firefighting system according to  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 3   b  is, in end elevation view, the rack of  FIG. 3   a    FIG. 4   a  is, in side elevation view, a stack of the racks according to  FIG. 3   a.    
       FIG. 4   b  is, in end elevation view, the stack of lacks of  FIG. 4   a.    
       FIG. 5   a  is, in front elevation view, one of the water sprinklers of the firefighting system according to  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 5   b  is, in side elevation view, the water sprinkler of  FIG. 5   a.    
       FIG. 6   a  is, in front elevation view, a hose T-coupling of the firefighting system according to  FIG. 1 .  
       FIG. 6   b  is, in side elevation view, the T-coupling of  FIG. 6   a.   
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION  
      As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the fire fighting system  10  according to the present invention includes a rack  12  for carrying water sprinklers  14 , hoses  16 , T-couplers  18  so called “water thieves”, and tools such as wrench  20 .  
      Rack  12  has generally triangular plates  22  disposed vertically at opposite ends of an upper rigid carrying member  24  having a handle  26  mounted thereon, and a lower basket channel  28  mounted to, so as to extend between a pair of rigid supporting struts  30  mounted to end plates  22  so as to extend therebetween parallel to carrying member  24 . End plates  22  are disposed so that their wider ends  22   a  form a base and feet for the rack when resting on the ground, and where the pointed or vertex ends  22   b  of their triangular shape are at the upper end of the rack corresponding to carrying member  24 . Side edges  22   c  extend along the perimeter of the triangular shape of end plates  22  so as to extend between vertex ends  22   b  and wider ends  22   a  Resilient clips  32  are mounted in spaced apart array along side edges  22   c  aligned so as to releasably secure the tubular posts of sprinklers  14  when resiliently clipped in parallel array into opposite pairs of clips  32  on opposite end plates  22 . Thus in the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , rack  12  may hold up to eight sprinklers  14  clipped into clips  32 , it being understood that in  FIG. 1  only two sprinklers  14  are shown for mounting in clips  32 , and in  FIG. 2 ,only four sprinklers  14  are shown mounted along one side of rack  12  so as to not clutter the views. However, with four sprinklers  14  mounted on each side of end plates  22 , a central storage cavity is defined bounded by the sprinklers  14 , end plates  22 , basket channel  28 , and carrying member  24 .  
      As seen in  FIG. 2 , rolled up hoses  16  may be stored in basket channel  28  as also may be other items such as small container  34 . Although not intended to be limiting, it is not necessary that T-couplers  18  be stored for transport and storage within basket channel  28  as cantilevered members  36  pairs of cantilevered members are mounted to end plates  22  so that each pair extends horizontally from each end plate  22  between the ends of sprinklers  14  extending from clips  32 . In the embodiment illustrated, members  36  are long enough so as to support thereon two T-couplers  18  in sliding engagement between and on each pair of cantilevered members  36 .  
      Consequently, in the embodiment illustrated because two pairs of cantilevered members extend from each end plate  22 , in oppositely disposed relation, a total of eight T-couplers  18  may be mounted thereon. As illustrated, each cantilevered member  36  may have an upturned end so as to inhibit T-couplers  18  from sliding off the cantilevered members.  
      As also seen in  FIGS. 3   a  and  3   b , a flexible and releasably mounted shoulder strap  38  may be clipped to securing points  22   d  mounted to vertex ends  22   b  of end plates  22 . An aperture  22   e  may be provided in end plates  22  for example for carrying journalled therethrough a spare sprinkler tube  14   a.    
      As seen in  FIGS. 4   a  and  4   b , racks  12  may be stacked for storage of the fire fighting systems of the present invention by, in the illustrated embodiment, mounting a pair of racks  12  onto a supporting platform  40  so as to vertically stack pairs of racks  12  on top of each other. Such vertical stacks may be stabilized by interlocking securing points  22   d , which in the illustrated embodiments are oval rings rigidly mounted to vertex ends  22   b  so as to protrude upwardly therefrom, with corresponding apertures or grooves formed in the underside of platforms  40 .  
      As seen in  FIGS. 5   a  and  5   b , each sprinkler  14  includes a cylindrical tube  14   a  having removably mounted on one end a sprinkler head  14   b  and at an opposite end a ground mounting device such as bayonet  14   c . An auxiliary anchor bayonet  14   d  may be rigidly mounted to, spaced from, bayonet  14   c  so as to prevent rotation of sprinkler  14  about its longitudinal axis A when mounted in the ground. Hose couplers  14   e  provide for mounting sprinklers  14  between lengths of water supply hose  16 . T-couplers  18  such as better seen in  FIGS. 6   a  and  6   b , may be employed to divert water along branch lines so as to supply water to a spaced apart pattern of a plurality of water sprinklers  14 .  
      As will be apparent to those skilled in the art in the light of the foregoing disclosure, many alterations and modifications are possible in the practice of this invention without departing from the spirit or scope thereof. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is to be construed in accordance with the substance defined by the following claims.