Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Autanatically activated fire ext~nrn~i~t
The present invention regards an arrangement at a fire extinguisher of the
type
described in the introduction to Claim 1.
In the case of a fire starting, it is important to begin extinguishing the
fire immediately
and without delay, in order to prevent the fire from getting out of control.
Today, most
homes, work places and public places have fire extinguishers. A disadvantage
of such
extinguishers is the fact that these have different types of release
mechanisms that call
to for instructions to be read before the extinguishing can be initiated, thus
causing
valuable time to be lost. Often, the release mechanism requires the user to
muster
strength that some people may have problems effecting.
The present invention aims to avoid the above disadvantages, while also
preventing
is theft of the fire extinguisher and preventing the fire extinguisher from
being put back
into its holder after use (after having been activated).
The above problems have long been known, but no satisfactory solution to the
problems
has been found until now. US patent no. 4 482 123 describes a device for
preventing a
zo fire extinguisher from being hung back up again after use, but does not
solve the main
problem of such extinguishers. US patent no. 5 771 997 attempts to solve the
above
problems through the extinguisher being triggered automatically in the case of
a fire, by
a thermal fuse triggering a spring-actuated mechanism that triggers the fire
extinguishing mechanism. This device solves the problem regarding the
difficulties
as associated with triggering the extinguisher, but the advantage of being
able to
extinguish the site of origin of the fire is lost by the known device being
unmanned, i.e.
there is no user present who can aim the jet of fire extinguishing agent at
the actual site
of origin.
so The present invention solves the above problems by a device of the type
described by
way of introduction, the characteristics of which appear from Claim 1. Further
advantageous features of the invention appear from the remaining, dependent
claims.
The fact that the release mechanism of the extinguisher is activated upon this
being
ss removed from its holder makes it unattractive to steal the extinguisher, as
the propellant
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will seep out of the extinguisher within a few hours, and so the extinguisher
will be
useless without knowledge of and tools for deactivation of the release
mechanism.
In the following, the device according to the invention will be described in
greater detail
s by means of examples of embodiments and with reference to the drawing, in
which:
Fig. 1 schematically shows a perspective view of a first embodiment of a
holder for a fire extinguisher, with parts of the holder housing removed;
Fig. 2a shows a section through the holder of Fig. 1, seen from the side and
io with a fire extinguisher;
Fig. 2b shows details of the release means of Fig. 2, on an enlarged scale;
Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment in section through the top part of the fire
extinguisher with the release handle;
Fig. 4a shows a release plunger for the embodiment shown in Fig. 3;
is Fig. 4b schematically shows details of the top part of the fire
extinguisher
shown in Fig. 3; and
Fig.S shows a side view of the holder for the extinguisher of Figs. 3-4b.
The following describes a possible embodiment of the invention with reference
to Figs.
ao 1, 2, and 2a.
A top part 1 designed so as to meet the requirements of the present invention
is screwed
onto an ordinary receptacle 6 for fire extinguishing agent. The top part 1 is
designed in
the same manner as top parts for fire extinguishers that are currently
commercially
as available, with a manometer 7 for monitoring the gas pressure in the
receptacle, an
outlet 8 for a spray hose, and a handle 4, but in addition, the top part is
provided with
grooves 2 on opposite sides for co-operation with angular deflections 3 in a
holder
housing 5 for hanging up the fire extinguisher or fixing the fire
extinguisher. Further,
there is provided an activating plunger 1T that co-operates with a locking pin
11 that
30 r11115 through an opening in the top part 1 of the fire extinguisher and
fixes the activating
plunger 1 T in a deactivated position. The activating plunger 1 T is loaded
with a spring
13' that upon removal of the locking pin 11 causes the activating plunger 1T
to be
forced downward and depress opening means 30 that opens up for flow of fire
extinguishing agent to the spray hose 8 in a manner that is known per se. The
opening
ss means depresses an opening/closing mechanism located in the receptacle 6,
which is
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standard for fire extinguishers and which causes extinguishing agent to flow
to the spray
hose 8.
In order to avoid having to speculate about how to activate the extinguisher,
the locking
s pin 11 is fixed in the holder housing S, so that when a user pulls the
handle 4 in order to
remove the extinguisher from the housing S, the locking pin 1 ~1 is held in
the housing S,
and the fire extinguisher is activated. In order to avoid the extinguisher
being activated
through unintentional contact with the extinguisher, the handle 4 runs in a
curved
groove 10 on the sides of the housing S, so that that the handle 4 must be
turned
io downwards in order to be withdrawn from the housing 5.
The locking pin 11 can be attached to the housing in many ways that are known
per se,
but common to these attachment methods is the fact that whoever is responsible
for
maintenance etc. of the fire extinguisher must be able to remove the fire
extinguisher
is from the holder housing S without activating it. A possibility for such
maintenance is
for the locking pin 11 to be secured to the housing by means of a padlock 9,
the pin
being angled at the end and provided with a hole through which the bow of the
padlock
9 runs, as well as a corresponding deflected part 12 with a hole, attached to
the housing
S, cf. Fig. 2.
The following describes a second embodiment of the invention with reference to
Fig. 3
and the subsequent figures.
As opposed to the embodiment described previously, the users must themselves
produce
2s the force necessary to activate the fire extinguisher, i.e. the release
plunger 17 is not
spring actuated, but co-operates directly with the handle 4. Upon depression
of the
handle 4, the release plunger 17 with a ball 23 at its lower end is forced
against the
release means in the receptacle 6. In order to avoid having to keep the handle
4
depressed when using the extinguisher, the release plunger 17 is provided with
a notch
18 that, upon depression, is flush with a passage 22 in the top part. Said
passage holds a
locking pin 19 biased by a spring 20, one end of which abuts the locking pin
19, and the
other end of which abuts a screw 21 that has been screwed into the passage 22
by means
of an appropriate tool, or that the screw 21 is equipped with a locking device
(not shown
in greater detail) that requires a special key to be used in order to fasten
and loosen the
ss screw 21 of the top part, cf. Fig. 4b. Thus, upon depression of the release
plunger 17,
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the locking pin 19 will be forced into the notch 18 and lock the extinguisher
in the
activated position, also keeping it in this position when the handle 4 is
released. The
extinguisher can only be deactivated through the screw 21 being unscrewed by
use of a
special tool or special key, and the locking pin 19 being pulled out together
with the
s spring 20. A spring 13 ensures that the handle 4 is held up in the position
of influence.
The holder for this embodiment has been given a slightly different form from
the
previously 'described holder to allow the activation to take place when the
fire
extinguisher is removed from the holder. Fig. 5 shows a side view of the
holder
io consisting of a lower part 28 and an upper part 25 that may be swung up
about an axis
27 to allow the fire extinguisher to be mounted in the holder, and the upper
part 25 is
rotated down to abut the lower part 28, and is locked against this by means of
a lock 26.
The handle 4, which is shaped as a bow with a face 29 that abuts the upper end
of the
release plunger 17, protrudes from the side of the housing and is guided in an
L-shaped
is groove 24 on the sides of the housing. In the non-activated position, the
handle lies in
the upper part of the L-shaped groove 24 due to the spring 13 forcing the
handle
upward.
Upon activation and removal of the fire extinguisher, the handle is depressed,
and the
zo fire extinguisher is removed while the release plunger 17 is depressed and
locked in the
active position, the bow of the handle then being in the lower part of the L-
shaped
groove 24 and no longer confined in the holder.
The suspension in the receptacle is the same for this embodiment as that
described in
zs connection with the first embodiment.
