Dual stage fire extinguisher
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method for inerting a fire in a confined area, comprising the steps of:
- a) delivering a first inerting agent to said area at a first mass flow rate for a time effective to extinguish said fire; and
b) delivering a second inerting agent to said area at a second mass flow rate, less than one fifth of the first mass flow rate, for a time effective to maintain an inerting agent concentration within the area to prevent re-ignition of said fire.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A fire is inerted, extinguished and suppressed, by a dual stage fire extinguisher. In a first stage, a sufficient volume percentage of an inerting agent is delivered to extinguish the fire. Once the fire is extinguished, in the second stage, a different amount of inerting agent is delivered to the fire to suppress it and prevent re-ignition. Since suppression typically requires less of the inerting agent than extinguishing, a reduction in the weight of the inerting media is achieved with the dual stage process making the system particularly amenable to aircraft applications such as in an engine nacelle or cargo dry bay.
59 Citations
15 Claims
-
1. A method for inerting a fire in a confined area, comprising the steps of:
-
a) delivering a first inerting agent to said area at a first mass flow rate for a time effective to extinguish said fire; and b) delivering a second inerting agent to said area at a second mass flow rate, less than one fifth of the first mass flow rate, for a time effective to maintain an inerting agent concentration within the area to prevent re-ignition of said fire. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
-
-
10. A method for inerting a fire in a confined area, comprising the steps of:
-
storing a first inerting agent in a first vessel; storing a second inerting agent in a second vessel; providing a common discharge conduit for the first and second vessels; delivering the first inerting agent to said area through the common discharge conduit at a first mass flow rate for a time effective to extinguish said fire; and delivering a second inerting agent to said area through the common discharge conduit at a second mass flow rate, substantially less than the first mass flow rate, for a time effective to maintain an inerting agent concentration within the area to prevent re-ignition of said fire. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
-
-
13. With fire extinguishing/suppressing system for delivering inerting agent from a storage location to a fire location in a confined area, a method for rebuilding the system from original to rebuilt conditions comprising the steps of:
-
removing a single first vessel containing or previously containing a first inerting agent from the storage location, which first agent is or was Halon 1301; thereafter installing in the storage location at least a second vessel containing at least a second inerting agent, which second inerting agent is an HFC which is a less effective inerting agent than Halon 1301, wherein, relative to the original condition, the system in the rebuilt condition discharges inerting agent so as to maintain a concentration of inerting agent in the area effective to prevent fire re-ignition for at least as long, while providing a substantially lower peak concentration of inerting agent in the area. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15)
-
Specification