Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
The present inYention rel~tes to a cont~iner for storing. transporting and
unloading fire hose.
BACK~UN~ OFTHE INVEN TION
Effe~the ~re~`lghting requlre~ em~lently ~toring, tr~n~porting ~nd unlo~dlng
~ir~ hose in a variety of ~ire ~ituations ~o that it is free of kinks and spirals, in
or :ler to aYoià di~nishec~ nozsle pres~ure upon eharging. One su~h situ~tion
in~olYes a high rise apartment fire where firefighters ~ommonly must operate
in poor or no ~isibili~y
l~o types of deYices for ~torlrlg, tran~porting and ur~loadlng flre ho~e ln thl~~itu~tion, ~re kno~n in the prior art. One comprises a can~7asbagwith a flap
closure equippedwith a claspwhich is secured to a ring on thebag's~ody To
load thehag, the fire hose is laid flat on the ground along side it~elf in t~o
equal len~ths, Beginning at the mid point of the fïre hose, a double dou~hnut ' ~ ~ '
is cre~ted by rolling the ho~.e upon itself. The doughnut is then strappe~
placed ln thebag, and the clasp fastened. A~econd de~ice known comprises .;
a straight plastic strap attached towhich are three perpendicular straps. To :.
load this de~ice, the fire hose is accordion loaded in one or two columns
rising from the ~round and thenboundby the three perpendicular straps,
which arewrapped ~round the fire ho~e and fastened to their opposite ends'. -"" . '-
The clasp mechanism on thebag is difficult to open. After rem4Yin~ the
doughnut and locating and releasing the strap, the nozzle and the female
coupling mustbe found at an unknown lo~ation on the doughnut's -~
clrcumference. The doughnut's unrolllng, often takln~ seYeral attempts.
lnvaria~ly creates hose spiralswhlch mustbe found and clearedbefore
char~in~
O
The strap i~ awkward to carrybecause of its size and does not protect the fire ~ ~
hosewhile stored, At the stand pipe cabinet, the ends of the perpendicular ~ -
straps must be lo~a~ed ~nd the fasteners released
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The nozzle and ~he Xem~le coupling rnust he l~c~ted at ~n unknown po~ition,
All of the~e procedures, requiredby using thebag or the str~p, are e~en more
diffi~ult and time consuming in poor or no visi~ility conditions.
A se~ond ~ommon ~ituation where efficiently storing, transporting and
unloading fire hose is required in~ol~es a flre ln ~n open ~rea One ex~mple
would he a highway vehicle fire. ~e~ices for this situation are not known in theprior art. F~re hose, stored in ~ tiered accordion load, is dragged off the fïretruck and extended mar~ually prior to charging, This sometimes results in
more th~n one tier falling to the ground with the result th~t the fire hose
becomes tangled,
SUMMARY OFT~IE INVENTION - -
1. An o~ect of the pre~ent In~,~ention 1~ to efflcientl~ tore~ tr~nsport ~nd
unlo~d fire hose for use at hi~h rise apartment and open area fires~
2. A further object is to unload fire ho~e under poor or no ~isibility
conditions by elimin~tin~ unkno~ns ~uch as nozzle~ female couplin~ or
fa~t~ner locations,
3. A further object is to store, transport and unload fire hose so that hose
spirals and kinks are a~Foided in the interests of optimum noæzle pressure.
4, A further object is to proYide ia container which is simple an~ easy to use,
l~e l~entlon ~onsl~its o~ a contialner ~or e~fl~lently ~itorlng, tra~sporting an~
unlo~ding fire hose. The container comprises top,hottomJ front,baek, and
side panels. When the top and front panels are opened, thebaek.bottom, and
side panels for m a trough. The panels,when the container is fully opened,
~n be made to lie in a single plane. When the ~ontainer i~ fully clo~sed the
panels for m a rectangular ~ompartment. The top and front panels employ a
reu~able ~lo~ure means. Thie container has a means for ~arrying it. T'here is~ ameans for manually extending the fire hose from the container. The panels
maybe made from a double layer of material.
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The panels may be integr~l to one. another, The side, top, ~ottom, front and
bac~s panels ~ontain a foam insert and are seurn into small comp~rtment~ to
achieTe a semi-rigid quality, The flaps integralwith the side and top panel and
projections on the top panel flap cont~in a foam insert to resist deformation,
The fabric may be fire resistant, water resistant and rot and mildew resistant,
The means for carrying the container maybe a shoulder strap anchored to
tab~ e2tending from the ends of the bottom p~nel. The shoulder strap passes
freely through a tunnel guide strap anchored to each side panel and parallel to ;'
the shoulder strap, The tunnel guide strap may be parallel to or at a slight
angle with the ctide panel's long edge, AlternatiTely to the tunnel guide ~trap,on each side panel there maybe ~ross straps perp~icul~r to or at a slight
~ngle with the side panel's long edge. The shoulder strap may ha~e a
contoured cushioned pad. The method of anchoring the shoulder strap to the
bottom panel tabs and the tunnel guide straps to the side panels may be
ri~rets or stitching. The reusable closure means for the top and front panels is - '
el~ro f~stener, The Imderside of'the top panel may ha~re atta~hments
throughwhich a hand may freely pas~. Theback panel may havewear
resistant ~kid ~trip~
SUMrMRY 0~ RAWIN(~S
The in~7ention as exemplifiedby a preferred embodiment is describedwith
reference to the dra~ings inwhi~h:
Figure 1 is ~ perspecti~e ~ieu~ of the ~ontainerwhile ~losed and resting on it~
hottom panel. - .'~
Figure 2 i~ a top~7iew of the ~ntainerwhen fully opened and lyin~, in a ~ingle
plane.
~igure 3 is a si~e~riew of the containerwrhen openedwith the top panel, ~ide ::
panel and tab extending from thebottom panel, not haTingbeen made to lie in
single plane.
Figure 4 ic. a cross section of a douhle layer panel with a foam insert.
* Trad~mark
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F~gure 5 i~ a per~pe~tl~e ~ oi` the rei71e~ti~e extension flag.
~igur~ n Intern~ w of the ~ont~iner lo~ded with ~ire ho~e.
ILE~ 121~BIPTION
P~efcrring to the drawings, th~ pref~rred embodiment of the irl~ention, a
~ont~iner ~or storing, tr~nsporting and unloading fire hose, is shown in
F~gure~ 1,Z and 3,
As shown in Figure 2, the container comprises panels 12, 14, 16,18, 20 and
22 integr~l to one another. The panels 12, 14, 1~ 0 and 22 are defined
by stitching ~lon~ their ~butting edges, 24, 2~, 2~, 30 and 32. As shown in
E~gure 4, panels 1~, 14,16,1~ and 22 are made semi-rlgldby means of a
foam insert 33 ,Thepanels 1~,14,1~ ,20and 2~alsohavelinessewn 3~for
rigidity, Integralwith the top panel 22 is a flap 34. The flap 34 has a foam
insert 33. ProJections 3~ arld 3~ on the flap 34 contain a foam insert 33 and
~rwide an easy means of ~rabbing the fla~ 32 for the ~urpose of opening the
~op panel ~, Attached to the flap 34 on the inside, a3~acent to its edge, is a
strip of *Velcro fastener 40. '~JJhen the container ic closed as is shovm in
E igure 1, the strip of *Velcro fastener 40 on the flap 3~ ecured to a strip of
- *Velcro fastener 42 on the outside of theback panel 14, adJacent to i~s edge,
The selection of ~Velcro f~steners ~0 and 42 mustbe such that theback panel
14 v~ill not f~sten to a carpeted ~urfaee when th~ container i restjng on it
:~ back panel 14 as sho~n in Figure 2 and 3.
attached to the in~ide o~ the front panel 20 a~ shown in Figure ~, adJacent to
its ed~es, ~r~ strip of ~Yelcro fa~stener~ 44 and 46. PLttached to the i~aps 4
and ~ lntegralwlth the slde panels 12 and 1~ are strlps of *llrel~ro fa~tener~
2 ~nd 54, The flaps 4~ ~d ~0 ha~e a ~oam insert 33. VJhen the ~ontainer is
resting on its~a~ panel as sho~n in ESgure 3, the strips of *Velcro fasteners
2 arld 54 face upward~. Accordingly,when the eont~iner is doæd the
~elcro fa~teners 44 and 46 on the front panel 20 are ~ecured to ~he ~felcro
fa~teners ~2 and ~4, on the flap~ 48 and 50.
~Tr~demark
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~ ~hawr~ ig~re ~, when ~he corlt~lner is fully ~pened ~nd re~ting on its
back panel 14. it eanbe made to lie in a single plane. As shown in Figure 1, : . '
the container when closed, for ms a reetangul~r comp~rtr~ent with par~llel
opposite sides, As shown in Figure 1, attaehed to the ta~s ~6 and ~ at the
ends of thebottom panel 1~ is a shoulder strap 60 for earrying the eonWner.
The shoulder ~rap 60 ls attached to the tabs ~6 and ~ by stltchln~. The
force ~reated hy the mass of the container and the fire hose contained therein
is transmitted directly to the shoulder strap 60. Attached to thc outside of
e~ch side panel 1~ and 16 is a tunnel guide strap 62, parallel to the ~houlder
C~tr~p ~nd to the long ed,~,e of the c~ide panel. In the alternative, the tunel guide - :-
strap mayhe positione~so that it is at an an, ~lewith the lo ,n~ ed~of ,the sidepanel. The tunnel guide str~p ~2 is attached l~y me~ns of stitehing and is ~ ~ -
positioned down from the side panel 16 short edge. The shoulder strap 60 ~ '
passes freely through the tunnel guide strap 62. The shoulder strap has a ~ ~ .
hard nsertbetween,a~e"çond l,~er o~f ~naterial 6g i ,n,t~h,e~a,re,a,of t,he tunnel ~ ::
guide strap~. These two aspect~ of the ~ontainer allow it to lie flat when it isopen~d as shoY~n in Eigures 2and 3. In the alternati~e, the shoulder strap
~0 may p~ss freely through cross straps attached to each side panel and :
perpendicular to or at a ~!ight an~lewith the side panel's long edge. Attached
~o the shoulder strap ~0 is a con~oured cushioned pad 66. The container
maybe made of f~ric, preferably fabricwhich is fire re~istant,water
resistant and rot and mildew res~stant. As shown in Eigure ~, an extension
fla~ 7~, throu~hwhose loop the fire hose pa~ses,bears a reflecti~e strip ~0 on
both sides and has a hard insert for rigidity. Reflecti~e tape i~ al~o stitched to
theback panel 14, the top panel flap 34, and the tunnel guide strap 6Z.
An~hored to the underside of the top panel Z2 may be an attachment for
grasping, ~ttached to the outside of the back panel 14 may be wear resistant
skid strips .
To load the ~ontalner lt Is posltloned a~ ~ho~.~un ln E~gure S. The front panel 20
secured for a short distance to the flaps 4~ and 50 integral with the side
panels 1~ and 1~ so thatbottom pancl 1~,back p~nel 14 and side panels 1~
1~ form a trough, This is facilit~tedby the semi-rigid quality of these panels.
While facing the trough and kneeling on the top p~nel 22 at the b~se of the
back panel, the midpoint of the fïre hose is located and the extension flag 7~,
is pla~ed ~t this point . 1~e half length of the fïre hose with the noz~le end, .-
begirlning in the right corner of the trough, is then made irlto an accordion
*Trademarl~
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tler which re~ts on theback panel 14, As sh~wn iA Figure e~) the half length of
the fire hosewith the female coupling is then made into a sewnd accordion
tier which rests nn top of the first. The extension flag 78, is positioned on top
oi` the second tier, Its head is folded 90 degrees and inserted in between the
accordion folds. ~AJhen the container is closed, the nozzle and the female
couplin~ will be located next to the top panel ~2 with the nozzle closest to the~ack panel 14 and thc fem~le coupling closest to the front panel ~0.
In a high ri~e ~partment fir~ the ~on~iner is pl~ced on its3 bot~om 18 with the
front p~nel facin~ the fïrefighter. The shoulder strap ~0 is allowed to f'all
~gain~t the outside of theback panel 14, The flap 34 is released from theh~ck
p~nel 14by grasping the projections 36 and 3~, and pulling open the top p~nel
22. The female coupling is giYen to a firefighterworking the standpipe cabinet
for connection to the water supply. T~e container is made to rest on its back
panel 14, The front panel ~0 is fully opened so that the container lies flat as
shown in Figure ~. The extension flag is u~ed to extend the ho~:e down the
hallway.
The container efficiently stores, transports, protects, ~nd unloads fire hose
for use at high rise apartment and open area fires. The firefighter always
knows the noz~le and female coupling locations. The opening means for the
container is simple and easy. These ad~antages persist eYen in poor or no
ibility conditions. l~e eontainer also aYoids the possi~ility of generating
hose ~pirals and k.inks. The ~ontainer is simply and ~a~ loaded and
contains the hose in a neat~ompact and comforta~ly portable manner.
Plthough only ~ single embodiment of the present in~ention hasbeen detailed
and illustrated, the present in~7erLtion i~ not limited to the fe~tures of the
embodlmerltb~lt lneludes all~ariations ~nd modificationswithin the scope of
the cl~ims and the spirit of the in~ention.
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