REMOTELY ACTIVATED ENGINE SHUTDOWN

SYSTEME D'ARRET DE MOTEUR ACTIONNE A DISTANCE

English Abstract

A remotely activated engine shutdown includes an engine having an air intake and a normally open shutdown valve on the air intake of the engine. The shutdown valve blocks the flow of air through the air intake when placed in the closed position. An actuator is provided for moving the shutdown valve from the open to the closed position. A portable transmitter is provided which is adapted to send a shutdown signal. A receiver is provided which is adapted to receive the shutdown signal from the transmitter. A relay is provided from the receiver to the actuator, such that the actuator moves the shutdown valve to the closed position upon a signal being received by the receiver.

French Abstract

Un système d'arrêt de moteur actionné à distance comprend un moteur ayant une admission d'air et une valve d'arrêt normalement ouverte aménagée sur l'admission d'air du moteur. La valve d'arrêt interrompt l'écoulement d'air dans le dispositif d'admission d'air lorsqu'elle est placée à la position fermée. Un actionneur permet de déplacer la valve d'arrêt de la position ouverte à la position fermée. Un émetteur portatif conçu pour envoyer un signal d'arrêt et un récepteur conçu pour recevoir le signal d'arrêt de l'émetteur sont également fournis. Un relais est installé entre le récepteur et l'actionneur de sorte que l'actionneur déplace la valve d'arrêt à la position fermée lorsqu'un signal est reçu par le récepteur.

Claims

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THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A remotely activated engine shutdown, comprising in
combination:
an engine having an air intake;
a normally open shutdown valve on the air intake of the
engine, the shutdown valve blocking the flow of air through
the air intake when placed in the closed position;
an actuator for moving the shutdown valve from the open
to the closed position;
a portable transmitter adapted to send a shutdown
signal;
a receiver adapted to receive the shutdown signal from
the transmitter;
a relay from the receiver to the actuator, such that the
actuator moves the shutdown valve to the closed position upon
a signal being received by the receiver.
2. The remotely activated engine shutdown as defined in Claim
1, wherein the receiver is a receiver component of a remote
car starter.
3. The remotely activated engine shutdown as defined in Claim
1, wherein the transmitter is a transmitter component of a
remote car starter.



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4. A remotely activated engine shutdown, comprising in
combination:
an engine having an air intake;
a normally open shutdown valve on the air intake of the
engine, the shutdown valve blocking the flow of air through
the air intake when placed in the closed position;
an actuator for moving the shutdown valve from the open
to the closed position;
a portable transmitter from a remote car starter adapted
to send a shutdown signal;
a receiver from a remote car starter adapted to receive
the shutdown signal from the transmitter;
a relay from the receiver to the actuator, such that the
actuator moves the shutdown valve to the closed position upon
a signal being received by the receiver

Description

CA 02409540 2002-10-24
1
TITLE OF THE INVENTION:
Remotely Activated Engine Shutdown
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an engine shutdown
which can be remotely activated.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is essential that all engines working in environments
which may periodically experience a release of explosive
gases have positive air engine shutdowns. An example of such
an environment is a natural gas well. When explosive gases
reach an air intake of an engine, the engine begins to race
uncontrollably. An explosion can occur within the racing if
the explosive gas mixes with oxygen and ignites. One form of
engine shutdown presently in use, blocks the air intake to
the engine. With the air intake to the engine blocked, no
further explosive gases or air can enter the engine and the
engine immediately stalls. The engine shutdowns generally
have a shutdown switch mounted adjacent the engine. When the
engine is in a vehicle, the shutdown switch is usually
located in the cab of the vehicle. In order to activate the
switch, workers must run toward the engine. In view of the
danger of imminent explosion, it would be preferable if the
workers could remotely activate the engine shutdown while
running to safety away from the engine.

SUNMARY OF THE INVENTION
What is required is an engine shutdown which can be
remotely activated.

According to the present invention there is provided a
remotely activated engine shutdown which includes an engine


CA 02409540 2009-09-25
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having an air intake and a normally open shutdown valve on
the air intake of the engine. The shutdown valve blocks the
flow of air through the air intake when placed in the closed
position. An actuator is provided for moving the shutdown
valve from the open to the closed position. A portable
transmitter is provided which is adapted to send a shutdown
signal. A receiver is provided which is adapted to receive
the shutdown signal from the transmitter. A relay is provided
from the receiver to the actuator, such that the actuator
moves the shutdown valve to the closed position upon a signal
being received by the receiver.

With the remote engine shutdown, as described above, a
worker in charge of an engine can remotely send a shutdown
signal using the transmitter while running to safety.

In endeavouring to find a cost effective manner to place
the present invention into effect, it was determined that a
remote car starter could be modified to permit remote engine
shutdown. A receiver unit of the remote car starter is
connected to the actuator. A portable transmitter unit of the
remote car starter can then send a shutdown signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
These and other features of the invention will become
more apparent from the following description in which
reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are
for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to
in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particular
embodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a remotely activated
engine shutdown constructed in accordance with the teachings
of the present invention.


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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED ENIDODIMENT
The preferred embodiment, a remotely activated engine
shutdown generally identified by reference numeral 10, will
now be described with reference to FIG. 1.

Structure and Relationship of Parts:
Referring to FIG. 1, an engine 12 has an air intake 14.
Air intake 14 is adapted with a shutdown valve 16. Shutdown
valve 16 is, in turn, adapted with an actuator 18. A
receiver 20, adapted to receive wireless signals, is
electrically connected to a relay 22. Relay 22 electrically
connects to a power source 24 and then to actuator 18.
Portable transmitter 26 transmits wireless signals to
receiver 20.

Operation:
The use and operation of remotely activated engine
shutdown generally identified by reference number 10 will now
be described with reference to the FIG. 1. Where remote
engine shutdown is selected by an operator, a wireless signal
is transmitted from portable transmitter 26 to receiver 20.
Receiver 20 signals relay 22 to provide power from the power
source 24 to actuator 18. Actuator 18 causes shutdown valve
16 to close, cutting of the supply of air through air intake
14, effectively shutting down engine 12. With the remote
engine shutdown, as described above, a worker in charge of an
engine can remotely send a shutdown signal using the portable
transmitter 26 while running to safety in the opposite
direction.

In endeavouring to find a cost effective manner to place
the present invention into effect, it was determined that a
remote car starter could be modified to permit remote engine


CA 02409540 2002-10-24
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shutdown. In building an initial prototype, receiver 20 was
a modified receiver unit from a remote car starter and
portable transmitter 26 was a portable transmitter unit from
the remote car starter.
In this patent document, the word "comprising" is used
in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the
word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are
not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite
article "a" does not exclude the possibility that more than
one of the element is present, unless the context clearly
requires that there be one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that
modifications may be made to the illustrated embodiment
without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention
as hereinafter defined in the Claims.

Representative Drawing