Breathable air safety system and method having an air storage sub-system

• US 7,527,056 B2
• Filed: 08/16/2006
• Issued: 05/05/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/16/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Rescue Air Systems, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Rescue Air Systems, Inc.
• Inventors: Turiello, Anthony J
• Primary Examiner(s): Yu; Justine R
• Assistant Examiner(s): DIXON, ANNETTE FREDRICKA
• Application Number:
  US11/505,597
• Publication Number:
  US 20080041378A1
• Time in Patent Office: 993 Days
• Field of Search: 128/200.24, 128/201.24, 128/203.27, 128/204.18, 128/204.21, 128/205.26, 128/897, 128/898
• US Class Current: 128/205.26
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 13/00 Special devices for ventilating gasproof shelters ventilating in general F24F
• CPC Class Codes: A62B 15/00 Installations affording protection against poisonous or injurious substances, e.g. with separate breathing apparatus preventing escape of dirt or fumes from the area where they are produced B08B15/00; building aspects E04H9/00 ; use of air currents for screening F24F9/00

Abstract

A safety system and method of an air distribution system having an air storage sub-system is disclosed. In one embodiment, the air distribution includes a supply unit of a building structure to facilitate delivery of breathable air from a source of compressed air to an air distribution system of the building structure, a valve to prevent leakage of the breathable air from the air distribution system potentially leading to loss of system pressure, a fill station interior to the building structure to provide the breathable air to a breathable air apparatus at multiple locations of the building structure, a secure chamber of the fill station as a safety shield that confines a possible rupture of an over-pressurized breathable air apparatus within the secure chamber, a distribution structure, and an air storage sub-system to provide an additional supply of air to the building structure in addition to the source of compressed air.

Claims

1. A safety system of a building structure, comprising:

a supply unit of a building structure to facilitate delivery of breathable air from a source of compressed air to an air distribution system of the building structure;

a valve to prevent leakage of the breathable air from the air distribution system potentially leading to loss of system pressure;

a fill station interior to the building structure to provide the breathable air to a breathable air apparatus at multiple locations of the building structure;

a secure chamber of the fill station as a safety shield that confines a possible rupture of an over-pressurized breathable air apparatus within the secure chamber;

a distribution structure that is compatible with use with compressed air that facilitates dissemination of the breathable air of the source of compressed air to multiple locations of the building structure; and

an air storage sub-system to provide an additional supply of air to the building structure in addition to the source of compressed air, and wherein a driving air source enables the breathable air to be optimally supplied to the building structure through allowing the breathable air to be isolated from driving a pressure booster.

2. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising an air storage tank of the air storage sub-system to provide a storage of air that is dispersible to multiple locations of the building structure.

3. The safety system of claim 2 further comprising a plurality of air storage tanks of the air storage sub-system that are coupled to each other through tubes having a looped configuration to increase robustness of the tubes through preventing breakage due to stress.

4. The safety system of claim 2 further comprising a booster tank of the air storage sub-system coupled to the air storage tank to store compressed air of a higher pressure than the compressed air that is stored in the air storage tank.

5. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising the driving air source of the air storage sub-system to pneumatically drive a piston of the pressure booster to maintain a higher pressure of the air distribution system such that a breathable air apparatus is reliably filled.

6. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising an air monitoring system to automatically track and record any of impurities and contaminants in the breathable air of the air distribution system.

7. The safety system of claim 6 wherein the air monitoring system includes an automatic shut down feature to suspend air dissemination to the building structure in a case that any of impurity levels and contaminant levels exceed a safety threshold.

8. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising a pressure monitoring system to continuously track and record the system pressure of the air distribution system.

9. The safety system of claim 8 further comprising a pressure switch that is electrically coupled to an alarm system such that the alarm system is set off when the system pressure of the air distribution system is outside a safety range.

10. The safety system of claim 9 wherein the pressure switch electrically transmits a warning signal to an emergency supervising station when the system pressure of the air distribution system is outside the safety range.

11. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising at least one indicator unit of the air storage sub-system to provide status information of the air distribution system including storage pressure, booster pressure, pressure of the compressed air source, and the system pressure.

12. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising a supply unit enclosure encompassing the supply unit having any of a weather resistant feature, ultraviolet and infrared solar radiation resistant feature to prevent corrosion and physical damage.

13. The safety system of claim 12 further comprising a robust metallic material of the supply unit enclosure to minimize a physical damage due to various hazards to protect the supply unit from any of an intrusion and damage.

14. The safety system of claim 13 wherein the robust metallic material is at least substantially 18 gauge carbon steel.

15. The safety system of claim 12 further comprising any of a safety relief valve of the supply unit and the fill station to release breathable air when a system pressure of the air distribution system exceeds a threshold value beyond the design pressure to ensure reliability of the air distribution system through maintaining the system pressure such that it is within a pressure rating of each component of the air distribution system.

16. The system of claim 12 further comprising an adjustable pressure regulator of the supply unit that is used to adjust a fill pressure of the source of compressed air to ensure that the fill pressure does not exceed the design pressure of the air distribution system.

17. The safety system of claim 12 further comprising a visible marking of the supply unit enclosure and the fill station enclosure to provide luminescence in a reduced light environment.

18. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising a locking mechanism of the supply unit enclosure to secure the supply unit from intrusions that potentially compromise safety and reliability of the air distribution system.

19. The safety system of claim 18 further comprising a tamper switch of the locking mechanism of the supply unit enclosure such that an alarm is automatically triggered and a signal is electrically coupled to any of a relevant administrative personnel of the building structure and the emergency supervising station when an intrusion of the supply unit occurs.

20. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising a valve of the supply unit to automatically suspend transfer of breathable air from the source of compressed air to the air distribution system when useful.

21. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising any of a CGA connector and RIC/UAC connector of the supply unit to facilitate a connection with the source of compressed air through ensuring compatibility with the source of compressed air.

22. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising at least one pressure gauge of the supply unit enclosure to indicate any of the system pressure of the air distribution system and the fill pressure of the source of compressed air.

23. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising another valve of the fill station to prevent leakage of air from the air distribution system potentially leading to pressure loss of the air distribution system through ensuring that the system pressure is maintained within a threshold range of the design pressure to reliably fill the breathable air apparatus.

24. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising an isolation valve of the fill station to isolate a fill station from a remaining portion of the air distribution system.

25. The safety system of claim 24 wherein the isolation valve is automatically actuated based on an air pressure sensor of the air distribution system.

26. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising at least one pressure regulator of each of the fill station to adjust a fill pressure to fill the breathable air apparatus and to ensure that the fill pressure does not exceed the pressure rating of the breathable air apparatus potentially resulting in a rupture of the breathable air apparatus.

27. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising at least one pressure gauge of the fill station to indicate any of a fill pressure of the fill station and a system pressure of the air distribution system.

28. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising at least one of a fire rated material and a fire rated assembly to enclose the distribution structure such that the distribution structure has the ability to withstand elevated temperatures for a prescribed period of time.

29. The safety system of claim 28 further comprising a sleeve that is at least three times an outer diameter of each of a plurality of pipes of the distribution structure exterior to the fire rated material to further protect the fire rated material from any damage.

30. The safety system of claim 29 wherein both ends of the sleeve are fitted with a fire rated material that is approved by an authority agency.

31. The safety system of claim 30 further comprising an another sleeve at least three times an outer diameter of a pipe of the distribution structure exterior to the robust solid casing to further protect the robust solid casing from any damage.

32. The safety system of claim 31 wherein both ends of the another sleeve is fitted with a fire rated material that is approved by the authority agency.

33. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising a robust solid casing of the distribution structure to prevent physical damage to the distribution structure potentially compromising the safety and integrity of the air distribution system.

34. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of support structures of each pipe of the distribution structure at intervals no larger than five feet to provide adequate structural support for each pipe.

35. The safety system of claim 1 wherein the distribution structure comprises any of a stainless steel and a thermoplastic material that is compatible for use with compressed air.

36. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising an air monitoring system to automatically track and record any of impurities and contaminants in the breathable air of the air distribution system.

37. The safety system of claim 36 wherein the air monitoring system includes an automatic shut down feature to suspend air distribution to the fill stations in a case that any of an impurity and contaminant concentration exceeds a safety threshold.

38. The safety system of claim 36 further comprising a pressure monitoring system to automatically track and record the system pressure of the air distribution system.

39. The safety system of claim 38 further comprising a pressure switch that is electrically coupled to a fire alarm system of the building structure such that the fire alarm system is set off when the system pressure of the air distribution system is outside a safety range.

40. The safety system of claim 39 wherein the pressure switch electrically transmits a warning signal to an emergency supervising station when the system pressure of the air distribution system is outside the safety range.

41. The safety system of claim 1 wherein the fill station has a physical capacity to enclose at least one breathable air apparatus and includes a RIC/UAC connector that expedites a filling process of the breathable air apparatus.

42. The safety system of claim 1 wherein the secure chamber is certified to be rupture containable according to approved standards.

43. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising a selector valve that is accessible by an emergency personnel to selectively utilize the source of compressed air to deliver breathable air to the air fill station.

44. The safety system of claim 1 wherein the air storage sub-system is housed in a fire rated enclosure that is certified to be rupture containable to withstand elevated temperatures for a prescribed amount of time.

45. The safety system of claim 1 further comprising a securing mechanism of the secure chamber of the fill station having a locking function is automatically actuated via a coupling mechanism with a flow switch that indicates a status of air flow to the breathable air apparatus that is fillable in the fill station.

46. A method of safety of a building structure, comprising:

ensuring that a prescribed pressure of an emergency support system maintains within a threshold range of the prescribed pressure by including a valve of the emergency support system to prevent leakage of breathable air from the emergency support system;

safeguarding a filling process of a breathable air apparatus by enclosing the breathable air apparatus in a secure chamber of a fill site of the emergency support system of the building structure to provide a safe placement to supply the breathable air to the breathable air apparatus;

providing a spare storage of breathable air through an air storage tank of a storage sub-system to store breathable air that is replenishable with a source of compressed air; and

conserving a supply of breathable air in the air storage tank through utilizing a driving air source to drive a pressure booster.

47. The method of claim 46 further comprising preventing corrosion and physical damage due to weather by incorporating a supply unit enclosure that is weather resistant.

48. The method of claim 47 further comprising preventing intrusion of the supply unit potentially compromising the safety and reliability of the breathing emergency support system by incorporating a locking mechanism of the supply unit enclosure.

49. The method of claim 46 further comprising minimizing physical damage of various external hazards to protect the supply unit and the fill site from any of an intrusion and damage through utilizing a robust metallic material to the supply unit enclosure.

50. The method of claim 46 further comprising preventing leakage of air from the emergency support system leading to a potential pressure loss of the emergency support system through utilizing a valve of any of the supply unit and the fill site.

51. The method of claim 46 further comprising discontinuing transfer of breathable air from the source of compressed air to the emergency support system through utilizing a valve of the emergency support system.

52. The method of claim 46 further comprising automatically releasing breathable air from the emergency support system when the system pressure of the emergency support system exceeds the prescribed pressure through triggering a safety relief valve of any of the supply unit and the fill site.

53. The method of claim 46 further comprising ensuring compatibility of the emergency support system and the source of compressed air of an authority agency through any of a CGA connector and a RIC/UAC connector of the supply unit.

54. The method of claim 46 further comprising adjusting a fill pressure to ensure that the fill pressure of the source of compressed air does not exceed the prescribed pressure of the emergency support system through a pressure regulator of the supply unit.

55. The method of claim 46 further comprising monitoring any of the system pressure of the emergency support system and the fill pressure of the source of compressed air through the pressure gauge of the supply unit enclosure.

56. The method of claim 46 further comprising improving accessibility of the supply unit enclosure through providing luminescence in reduced light environments by incorporating a visible marking.

57. The method of claim 46 further comprising isolating a fill site from a remaining portion of the emergency support system using an isolation valve of the fill site such that the remaining portion of the emergency support system is utilizable in an emergency situation.

58. The method of claim 57 further comprising automatically actuating the isolation valve based on an air pressure sensor of the emergency support system.

59. The method of claim 46 further comprising adjusting a fill pressure of the fill site to ensure that the fill pressure does not exceed the pressure rating of the breathable air apparatus through a pressure regulator of the fill site.

60. The method of claim 59 further comprising monitoring any of the fill pressure of the fill site and the system pressure of the emergency support system by incorporating a pressure gauge to the fill site.

61. The method of claim 46 further comprising enabling the distribution structure to withstand elevated temperatures for a period of time using a fire rated material to encase the distribution structure.

62. The method of claim 46 further comprising preventing the fire rated material from damage by incorporating a sleeve at least three times an outer diameter of each pipe of the distribution structure exterior to the fire rated material.

63. The method of claim 62 further comprising preventing physical damage to the distribution structure potentially compromising the safety and integrity of the emergency support system by utilizing a robust solid casing of the distribution structure.

64. The method of claim 63 further comprising protecting the robust solid casing from any damage using another sleeve at least three times an outer diameter of a pipe of the distribution structure exterior to the robust solid casing.

65. The method of claim 46 further comprising automatically tracking and recording any impurities and contaminants in the breathable air of the breathing emergency support system through an air monitoring system.

66. The method of claim 46 further comprising automatically suspending air dissemination to the fill sites in a case that any of an impurity and contaminant concentration exceeds a safety threshold.

67. The method of claim 46 further comprising tracking and recording the system pressure of the emergency support system through a pressure monitoring system.

68. The method of claim 67 further comprising electrically coupling the pressure monitoring system and the fire alarm system of the building structure such that the fire alarm system is automatically triggered through a pressure switch when the system pressure of the emergency support system is outside a safety range.

69. The method of claim 68 further comprising electrically transmitting a warning signal to an emergency supervising station when the system pressure of the emergency support system is below the prescribed level through the pressure switch.

70. The method of claim 46 further comprising automatically triggering an alarm and electrically coupling a signal to any of a relevant administrative personnel of the building structure and the emergency supervising station when an intrusion of the supply unit occurs through a tamper switch of the locking mechanism of the supply unit enclosure.

71. The method of claim 46 further comprising increasing pressure of the breathable air stored in the air tank through the pressure booster to increase a pressure of the breathable air compared to the pressure of the breathable air in the plurality of air storage tanks to ensure that the emergency support system constantly has a supply of breathable air that has enough pressure to fill the breathable air apparatus.

72. The method of claim 46 wherein the prescribed pressure of the emergency support system is designated base on a municipality code that specifies a pressure rating of the breathable air apparatus that is used in an authority agency of a particular geographical location.

73. A building structure, comprising:

a first set of walls extending vertically and horizontally enclosing an area of land such that the area of land is in the internal region of the building structure;

a second set of walls that divide the internal region of the building structure in any of a horizontal and vertical direction into rooms displaced any of a horizontally and vertically from one another;

a supply unit adjacent to a particular wall of the first set of walls to facilitate delivery of breathable air from a source of compressed air to an emergency support system of the building structure;

a fill station of the internal region of the building structure to provide the breathable air to a breathable air apparatus at multiple locations of the building structure;

a secure chamber of the fill station as a safety shield that confine a possible rupture of an over-pressurized breathable air apparatus within the secure chamber;

a distribution structure that is compatible with use with compressed air that facilitates dissemination of the breathable air of the source of compressed air to multiple locations of the building structure;

an air storage sub-system to provide an additional supply of air to the building structure in addition to the source of compressed air, and wherein a driving air source enables the breathable air to be optimally supplied to the building structure through allowing the breathable air to be isolated from driving a pressure booster.

74. The building structure of claim 73 further comprising an air monitoring system to automatically track and record any impurities and contaminants in the breathable air of the air distribution system.

75. The building structure of claim 74 further comprising air pressure monitor that is electrically coupled to an alarm such that the alarm is set off when the system pressure of the air distribution system is outside a prescribed threshold range.

76. The building structure of claim 73 further comprising a physical enclosure of the fill station exterior to the secure chamber of the fill station that provides additional protection to the fill station from any of an elevated temperature or physical impact.