PROTECTION SYSTEM

• US 3,788,666 A
• Filed: 07/27/1971
• Issued: 01/29/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 07/27/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Abdul N. Sitabkhan, Jack M. Kramer
• Original Assignee: Abdul N. Sitabkhan, Jack M. Kramer
• Inventors: Kramer, Jack M., Sitabkhan, Abdul N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Betts, Kenneth H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Silverstrim, John P.
• Application Number:
  US05/166,528
• Time in Patent Office: 917 Days
• Field of Search: 280/15AB 180/103,91 169/2A
• US Class Current: 280/739
• CPC Class Codes: A62C 3/07 in vehicles, e.g. in road vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/16 Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags protective garments with automatically inflatable shock-absorbing means A41D13/018; connection of valves to inflatable elastic bodies B60C29/00

Abstract

Covers an arrangement for protecting people and property carried by a vehicle, such as an automobile or aircraft. The arrangement may include an impact switch, a control valve mechanism, a tank filled with fluid, one component of which may be a fire extinguishing agent, and an inflatable bag, the arrangement being so organized that, upon impact with another vehicle or a stationary body, the switch will complete a circuit to operate the control valve mechanism to release the fluid contents of the tank into the bag and thereby inflate it to enable it to act as a cushion. Then the bag may be deflated and the fluid released to protect the vehicle and its people and property against fire.

Claims

1. Apparatus for protecting the passengers and property of a multi-compartment vehicle upon collision, which comprises an inflatable receptacle which, when inflated, acts as a shock protective cushion, a source of superatmospherically pressurized fluid having a fire extinguishing agent additive, means responsive to a collision for feeding said fluid to said inflatable receptacle to raise the pressure theRein to a predetermined value, and means responsive to the pressure within said receptacle reaching said predetermined value to simultaneously discharge the fluid therein into a plurality of compartments of the vehicle.

2. Protective apparatus for a multi-compartment vehicle, comprising an impulse sensor supported externally by the vehicle and actuated in response to the pressure accompanying a collision, an inflatable shock-absorbing container, and a tank containing super-atmospherically pressurized fluid having a fire extinguishing additive, said tank being coupled to said container, means responsive to the actuation of said sensor to release the fluid of said tank into said container and means for subsequently releasing the fluid from said container into a plurality of compartments of the vehicle simultaneously.

3. Protective apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 2 including also means to discharge the fluid from the container upon the pressure within the container reaching a predetermined value.

4. Protective apparatus for a multi-compartment vehicle, comprising a plurality of impulse sensors carried by and exposed from the vehicle, any one of which may be actuated in response to the abnormal physical pressure accompanying a collision, a tank containing super-atmospherically pressurized fluid having a fire extinguishing additive, an inflatable flexible container coupled to the tank to receive fluid from said tank, and means coupling all of said sensors to said tank, said means including mechanism responsive to the actuation of any of said sensors to discharge fluid from said tank into said container to inflate said container to render it shock-absorbent and means for subsequently releasing the fluid from said container into a plurality of compartments of the vehicle to minimize the possibility of fire.

5. Protective apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 4, in which the inflatable container includes a discharge port, and means responsive to a predetermined pressure within said container to discharge the fluid within said container into said vehicle compartments.

6. Protective apparatus according to claim 4 in which the inflatable container includes a plurality of discharge ports, and means responsive to a predetermined pressure within said container to simultaneously discharge the fluid within said container through said discharge ports simultaneously into separate compartments of the vehicle.

7. Protective apparatus for a vehicle, comprising a plurality of impulse sensors carried by and exposed from the vehicle and each movable in response to the pressure accompanying a collision, a tank containing super-atmospherically nitrogen pressurized fluid including about 7 percent concentration of bromotrifluoromethane, a plurality of flexible inflatable containers all of which are fluidically coupled to said tank to receive fluid from said tank, means responsive to the actuation of any of said sensors to release the fluid within said tank to said inflatable containers to render said containers shock absorbers and means for releasing the fluid into the vehicle to prevent fire.

8. Protective apparatus according to claim 7 including means responsive to a predetermined pressure within said inflatable containers to simultaneously discharge the fluid from said containers in different directions within said vehicle.

9. Protective apparatus for a multi-compartment vehicle, comprising a plurality of flexible inflatable containers which, when inflated, act as shock absorbing cushions, means for simultaneously filling said containers with nitrogen fluid having a fire extinguishing additive to inflate said containers, and means thereafter responsive to a predetermined pressure within said flexible inflated containers to discharge all of said flexible containers into the various vehicle compartment for fire protection.

10. Protective apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 9 including sensor mechanism carried by the vehicle and exposed to physical contaCt with other bodies and actuated by the pressure accompanying a collision with any other body to actuate the fluid filling means.

11. Apparatus protecting passengers of a vehicle according to claim 9 in which the flexible containers have discharge valves which release the fluid from said containers upon the fluid pressure therein reaching a predetermined value.

12. Protective apparatus for a multi-compartment vehicle comprising an impulse sensor affixed to the vehicle and responsive to the physical pressure accompanying a collision, a tank filled with pressurized fluid having a fire extinguishing additive, a container which is inflatable when fluid from said tank is inserted therein, a valve mechanism coupling said sensor to said tank, said valve mechanism including a first valve for receiving fluid to be fed to said tank and a second valve through which fluid from said tank may be discharged into said container to inflate said container to render it shock absorbing, means responsive to the actuation of said sensor to render the second valve operative to discharge fluid from said tank into said container, and means responsive to the rise of pressure within said container to a predetermined value to deflate the container and discharge the fluid from said container into a plurality of compartments in said vehicle to minimize the possibility of fire.

13. Protective apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 12 in which said valve mechanism includes a plug to block the discharge of fluid from said tank, and a solenoid valve which, when actuated, will displace said plug so that the second valve may allow the tank to discharge fluid into said container.

14. Protective apparatus for a vehicle according to claim 12 in which said valve mechanism includes a plug to block the discharge of fluid from said tank, a solenoid valve, and a collapsible member coupling said plug to the plunger of said solenoid valve so that, when the solenoid valve is operated, the plunger of the solenoid valve will be moved to collapse the member so as to displace said plug and allow fluid within the tank to be discharged into said container.

15. A method of protecting a multi-compartment vehicle against the adverse effects of a collision comprising the steps of:

sensing the impact of the collision;

discharging a super-atmospherically pressurized fire extinguishing fluid into a single inflatable container to cushion the physical effect of the impact; and

subsequently discharging the fluid from the single inflatable container into a plurality of compartments of the vehicle to minimize the occurrence of fire in any of said compartments or to extinguish fire that may have occurred in any of said compartments.

16. A method of protecting a multi-compartment vehicle and occupants against the adverse effects of a collision comprising the steps of:

sensing the impact of a collision and producing a corresponding impact signal;

discharging a super-atmospherically pressurized fire extinguishing fluid in response to the impact signal into at least one inflatable container positioned adjacent at least one occupant to cushion the occupant against the physical effect of the impact; and

subsequently discharging the fluid from the inflatable container into a plurality of compartments of the vehicle to minimize the occurrence of fire in any of said compartments or to extinguish fire that may have occurred in any of said compartments.

17. Apparatus for protecting a multi-compartment vehicle and occupants against the adverse effects of a collision comprising:

means for sensing the impact of a collision and producing a corresponding impact signal;

at least one inflatable container positioned adjacent at least one occupant to cushion the occupant against the effect of the impact when the container is inflated;

means for discharging a pressurized fire extinguishing fluid in response to the impact signal into the inflatable container to inflate the container; and

means for subsequently discharging the fluid from the inflatable container into a plurality of compartments of the vehicle to minimize the occurrence of fire in any of the compartments.

18. Apparatus for protecting an automobile and occupants against physical impact and fire resulting from a collision comprising:

means for sensing the impact of a collision and producing a corresponding impact signal;

at least one inflatable container positioned adjacent at least one occupant to cushion the occupant against the physical effect of the impact when the container is inflated;

a source of non-toxic freon pressurized fire extinguishing fluid;

means for discharging the non-toxic freon pressurized fire extinguishing fluid in response to the impact signal into the inflatable container to inflate the container; and

means for subsequently discharging the non-toxic freon pressurized fire extinguishing fluid from the inflated container into the automobile to minimize the possibility of fire.

19. Apparatus as in claim 18 where the non-toxic fire extinguishing fluid includes bromotrifluoromethane.

20. Apparatus as in claim 19 where the amount of bromotrifluoromethane is approximately 7 percent, and the remainder of the fluid is nitrogen.

21. Protective apparatus for a multi-compartment vehicle, comprising a plurality of sensors, a tank filled with super-atmospheric pressurized fluid having a fire extinguishing additive, a plurality of expandable and inflatable containers, valve means coupling all of said sensors to said tank and to said containers, said valve means including an input port which is fluidically coupled to said tank to receive fluid from said tank and which also includes a plug to prevent the flow of fluid out of said tank, said valve means also including a solenoid valve together with means controlled by the solenoid valve to unseat the plug so that said tank may discharge fluid to said containers to be inflated, said valve means also including a plurality of output ports each respectively fluidically coupled to one of said containers and each discharging fluid from the tank to its corresponding container, and means to deflate all of said containers so as to discharge the fluid from said containers into a plurality of predetermined compartments of the vehicle to minimize the possibility of fire.