Energy storage cabinet active fire extinguishing safety protection retaining wall

Abstract

The application relates to the field of protective walls, in particular to an energy storage cabinet active fire extinguishing safety protective wall. The protective wall comprises a composite structure wall body, an integrated fire extinguishing assembly and a central control module, wherein the composite structure wall body adopts a multilayer composite structure and sequentially comprises an outer decoration layer, a structure support layer, a hollow water storage cavity layer, a fire-retardant heat insulation layer and a honeycomb sound absorption layer from the outside to the inside; the hollow water storage cavity layer is a four-side closed integrally formed pressure-bearing cavity which is connected with a municipal water supply pipeline through a water inlet interface and stores sufficient water to form a physical water wall structure under normal conditions, and has the dual functions of structure support and fire-fighting reserve. The protective wall realizes basic physical isolation, environmental noise reduction and urban landscape integration through the synergistic effect of the multilayer functional composite structure and the intelligent response system, and significantly improves the active protection capability of the energy storage equipment thermal runaway risk.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of protective walls, and in particular to an active fire-extinguishing safety protective barrier for an energy storage cabinet. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of clean energy and smart grids, large-scale energy storage systems are increasingly widely used in urban power grids for peak shaving and valley filling, and emergency backup power. Energy storage cabinets, as important carriers of these systems, are deployed extensively in urban public areas, commercial districts, and residential areas—places where people congregate. However, while bringing convenience, energy storage cabinets also pose potential safety risks. Energy storage batteries themselves are susceptible to thermal runaway. If a single battery or module experiences thermal runaway and is not controlled promptly and effectively, it could trigger a chain reaction, leading to a fire or even an explosion of the entire energy storage cabinet, with potentially disastrous consequences. Simultaneously, the continuous operating noise generated by energy storage cabinets during operation causes noise pollution to the surrounding environment; their industrial appearance may also clash with the modern urban landscape.

[0003] To address the aforementioned issues, existing technologies primarily focus on the following aspects: First, physical isolation methods are employed, such as setting up simple fences or barriers, to prevent personnel from approaching or touching the energy storage cabinets at will, establishing a basic safety distance. Second, traditional fire-fighting facilities are installed, such as deploying independent thermal detectors, smoke alarms, and sprinkler systems linked to the building's fire protection system inside or near the energy storage cabinets, or placing portable fire extinguishers for emergency response. Third, to improve aesthetics and partially reduce noise, some solutions utilize external decorative panels or independent sound barriers for aesthetic enhancement and sound absorption, or add simple landscape lighting fixtures to the enclosures.

[0004] However, these existing solutions generally have significant limitations and shortcomings. First, basic physical fences or barriers are too simplistic, primarily serving an isolation function, lacking proactive safety protection and emergency response capabilities. When abnormal heating or early-stage fire occurs inside the energy storage cabinet, the outer fences or decorative barriers themselves cannot detect the risk or take any proactive measures to intervene; they can only passively wait for the response of the internal fire protection system (if effective) or external fire-fighting forces, posing a significant risk of delayed response. Independently installed fire protection systems, with their sprinkler heads or extinguishing agent release points typically located inside or adjacent to the cabinet, may become ineffective in extreme cases due to damage or rapid fire spread. Furthermore, independent fire suppression systems in public areas are complex and require high maintenance. Second, the fragmentation of functional modules is another prominent issue. Physical isolation, fire suppression, noise control, and aesthetic enhancement are often separate systems or devices, leading to increased complexity in the overall solution, occupying valuable urban space, increasing construction and maintenance costs, and hindering the achievement of consistency and coordination in the overall design. For example, noise barriers and fencing used for isolation lack coordination with fire protection systems and may even interfere with each other in terms of physical layout. Furthermore, although flame-retardant materials or exterior panels are used, the existing retaining walls themselves need improvement in preventing the spread of flames, particularly their effectiveness in preventing the transfer of high-temperature heat or direct exposure to intense combustion impacts; these passive flame-retardant properties can only delay, not actively prevent, the spread of fire. Finally, existing solutions do not adequately address the rapid identification and targeted handling of early thermal runaway signals in the specific application scenario of energy storage devices, making it difficult to contain the escalation of accidents within the golden timeframe.

[0005] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a highly integrated safety protection solution specifically designed for urban energy storage cabinet applications. Utility Model Content

[0006] The purpose of this application is to overcome at least one deficiency of the existing technology and provide an active fire suppression safety barrier for energy storage cabinets. This barrier has the core capability of actively sensing the abnormal state of high temperature potential hazards in energy storage cabinets and implementing efficient emergency response at the first time. It integrates the active fire suppression function with the physical isolation barrier design, making the barrier itself an intelligent safety entity that can respond quickly, control the fire in its nascent stage or at critical points, prevent thermal runaway chain reactions to the greatest extent, and protect the safety of personnel and public property.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, this application discloses an active fire suppression safety protection barrier for energy storage cabinets, particularly suitable for the safety protection of energy storage equipment in densely populated urban areas. The protective barrier comprises a composite structure wall, an integrated fire suppression system, and a central control module. The composite structure wall employs a multi-layered composite structure, comprising, from the outside to the inside, an outer decorative layer, a structural support layer, a hollow water storage cavity layer, a flame-retardant and heat-insulating layer, and a honeycomb sound-absorbing layer.

[0008] The hollow water storage cavity layer is a one-piece molded pressure-bearing cavity with four closed sides. It is connected to the municipal water supply pipeline through the water inlet interface. Under normal conditions, it stores a sufficient amount of water to form a physical water wall structure, which has the dual functions of structural support and fire-fighting reserve.

[0009] At least one auxiliary functional component is integrated on the outer surface of the outer decorative layer. The auxiliary functional component is one of landscape lighting fixtures, functional lighting fixtures, and information display screens.

[0010] The sound-absorbing layer uses a honeycomb structured sound-absorbing sponge material with a high porosity to effectively absorb and attenuate the high-frequency noise generated during the operation of the energy storage cabinet.

[0011] The flame-retardant and heat-insulating layer is made of high-temperature resistant inorganic composite material, providing physical isolation and flame barrier.

[0012] The structural support layer is a metal frame, which ensures the overall structural stability and impact resistance.

[0013] The core of the fire extinguishing component includes distributed fire extinguishing nozzles, an infrared thermal imaging temperature monitoring unit, and an electrically controlled valve; the infrared thermal imaging temperature monitoring unit is fixed to the inside of the wall, with the monitoring direction aimed at the outer surface of the protected target energy storage cabinet, and collects temperature distribution data in real time.

[0014] The distributed fire extinguishing nozzles are connected to the hollow water storage cavity layer through high-pressure pipelines. Preferably, the distributed fire extinguishing nozzles are movable. The distributed fire extinguishing nozzles are installed at a preset position on the wall by rotating and adjusting the base connected to the central control module, so as to achieve precise multi-degree-of-freedom control of the spray angle and coverage area.

[0015] Furthermore, the distributed fire extinguishing nozzles are connected to a booster pump, and the opening and closing status of the electrically controlled valves and the operation of the booster pump are controlled by a central control module.

[0016] Furthermore, a mechanical explosion-proof pressure relief valve is provided on the top or side wall of the hollow water storage cavity layer to ensure the safety of the system operating pressure.

[0017] Furthermore, the central control module includes a data processing unit, a non-volatile memory, and a multi-protocol communication unit. The data processing unit receives real-time temperature information collected by the infrared thermal imaging temperature monitoring unit via a data bus. When an abnormal increase in the surface temperature of the energy storage cabinet is detected, or when local hot spots exceed a preset critical value, the electromagnetic valve of the corresponding fire extinguishing nozzle in the data processing unit opens and the booster pump starts, executing directional water spraying fire extinguishing operations. The communication unit supports remote status monitoring and command reception, realizing intelligent network management of the protective retaining wall.

[0018] Furthermore, the protective barrier is also equipped with at least one visible light camera connected to the central control module to enhance environmental situational awareness.

[0019] Furthermore, the structural support layer is a metal frame formed by connecting and fixing multiple metal tubes.

[0020] Furthermore, the inner wall of the hollow water storage cavity layer is coated with a food-grade epoxy resin anti-corrosion layer.

[0021] Compared with existing technologies, this protective barrier, through the synergistic effect of a multi-layered functional composite structure and an intelligent response system, significantly enhances the active protection capability against thermal runaway risks of energy storage devices while achieving basic physical isolation, environmental noise reduction, and integration with the urban landscape. Its integrated design effectively solves the problems of scattered functional modules, delayed response, and insufficient coverage in existing technologies, making it particularly suitable for application scenarios in densely populated urban areas with stringent public safety requirements.

[0022] The beneficial effects listed above are not exhaustive of all advantages. Other potential beneficial effects and detailed technical implementation methods will be further disclosed in the embodiments or other descriptive sections of this application. Attached Figure Description

[0023] A better understanding of various aspects of this disclosure will be achieved by reading the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The positions, dimensions, and extents of the structures shown in the drawings, etc., do not always represent actual positions, dimensions, and extents. In the drawings:

[0024] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment where an energy storage cabinet is surrounded by four retaining walls.

[0025] Figure 2 This is a frontal structural diagram of one embodiment, showing the components attached to the functional components.

[0026] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional structural diagram of one embodiment, which shows the internal layers of the protective retaining wall.

[0027] Figure 4 This is an electrical connection block diagram of one embodiment. Detailed Implementation

[0028] The present disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate several embodiments of the present disclosure. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure can be presented in many different ways and is not limited to the embodiments described below; in fact, the embodiments described below are intended to make the disclosure more complete and to fully illustrate the scope of protection of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. It should also be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein can be combined in various ways to provide further additional embodiments.

[0029] It should be understood that the same reference numerals denote the same elements in all the accompanying drawings. For clarity, the dimensions of certain features may be modified in the drawings.

[0030] It should be understood that the terminology used in this specification is for describing specific embodiments only and is not intended to limit this disclosure. All terms used in this specification (including technical and scientific terms) have the meanings commonly understood by those skilled in the art, unless otherwise defined. For the sake of brevity and / or clarity, techniques, methods, and devices known to those skilled in the art may not be discussed in detail; however, where appropriate, such techniques, methods, and devices should be considered part of this specification.

[0031] Unless otherwise specified, the singular forms “a,” “the,” and “the” used in this specification include the plural forms. The terms “comprising,” “including,” and “containing” used in this specification indicate the presence of the claimed feature but do not exclude the presence of one or more other features. The term “and / or” used in this specification includes any and all combinations of one or more of the relevant listed items.

[0032] See attached document Figures 1 to 4 This embodiment provides a preferred method for the deployment of an active fire suppression safety barrier for an energy storage cabinet. Taking a typical scenario where four protective barriers 1 enclose an energy storage cabinet 2 as an example, the four barriers are arranged in a "U" shape. Adjacent protective barriers 1 are quickly assembled and disassembled using a bolt-and-pin combination locking mechanism, forming an independent protective fence structure that maintains a 2-meter annular buffer distance from the outer contour of the energy storage cabinet. This fence structure achieves comprehensive functions of physical isolation, active fire suppression, noise suppression, and information interaction while taking into account urban landscape requirements.

[0033] The protective retaining wall 1 is a vertical panel with a height of 2.8 m, a width of 2.5 m, and a thickness of 0.18 m. Its layered structure consists of five parts from the outside to the inside: an outer decorative layer 101, a structural support layer 102, a water storage cavity layer 103, a flame-retardant and heat-insulating layer 104, and a honeycomb sound-absorbing layer 105. The layers are tightly stacked by mechanical connections or adhesives: the outer decorative layer 101 is made of anodized aluminum sheet bent into shape; the structural support layer 102 is a metal frame welded from galvanized square tubes, providing overall rigidity and lifting strength. For example, the metal frame uses 50 mm × 50 mm × 3 mm galvanized square tubes with a fluorocarbon coating, achieving a weather resistance rating of C5-M, meeting the requirement of 15 years of maintenance-free operation in coastal high-salt-spray environments.

[0034] A stainless steel sealed cavity is welded to one side of the metal frame to form a hollow water storage cavity layer 103. The top of the water storage cavity layer 103 is reserved with a water inlet interface and a pressure relief valve interface. The inner side of the cavity is covered with a flame-retardant heat insulation layer 104 and a honeycomb sound-absorbing layer 104 in sequence.

[0035] When arranging a single protective retaining wall, first use a laser rangefinder to verify the coordinates of the four corners of the energy storage cabinet 2, and then use expansion bolts to fix the metal embedded parts to the hardened ground. The metal frame of the structural support layer 102 is then calibrated for verticality based on this.

[0036] As an example of a specific connection structure, a pre-reserved groove is provided on the inner side of the metal frame for the subsequent sliding installation of the honeycomb sound-absorbing layer 105 and the flame-retardant heat insulation layer 104, ensuring a tight fit between the layers and facilitating maintenance and replacement. The outer side of the metal frame is formed by bending and welding a 2 mm thick aluminum plate to form an outer decorative layer 101. The surface of the aluminum plate is anodized and then coated with electrostatic powder. For example, the color can be customized to dark space gray or Morandi green according to the requirements of the municipal landscape. At the same time, a groove or mounting position for the embedded auxiliary functional component 3 is reserved. For example, LED light strips can be embedded along the upper or side edge of the outer decorative layer as landscape lighting fixtures to achieve nighttime floodlighting.

[0037] More specifically, in the selection and combination of auxiliary functional components 3, the outer decorative layer 101 can be used with three types of auxiliary functional components 3, namely: landscape lighting fixtures, functional lighting fixtures and information display screens.

[0038] Taking the information display screen as an example, it uses outdoor high-brightness LED modules, which can clearly display images under direct sunlight; when the protective wall is set up in a commercial pedestrian street, the screen plays brand advertisements during the day and switches to warm-colored light art animation at night, with the content updated in real time via the network.

[0039] If the wall is adjacent to a residential community, the content on the screen can be replaced with community announcements, weather warnings, or holiday greetings to avoid light pollution. The landscape lighting fixtures use 3000 K COB light sources and achieve stepless dimming through a dimming driver. They can switch to RGB dynamic mode during major holidays to synchronize with the floodlighting of surrounding buildings.

[0040] The functional lighting fixtures are 4000 K high CRI LED strip lights, which are arranged on the inner side of the top of the wall to provide vertical illumination for inspection personnel. In addition, in practical applications, corresponding sensors can be added to enable microwave sensing function, with the function of turning on the light when people are present and turning it off after a delay when people leave, taking into account both energy saving and safety.

[0041] It is important to understand that the three auxiliary functional components can be freely stacked: for example, in a commercial setting, the upper landscape lights illuminate the building facade, the middle information screen displays promotional content, and the bottom functional lights provide safe illumination for pedestrians at night; while in a hospital setting, only functional lighting and a silent information screen are retained to avoid dynamic advertisements disturbing patients.

[0042] See the appendix for details. Figure 2 Landscape lighting fixtures and information display screens are visible in the middle.

[0043] In this embodiment, the water storage chamber layer 103 is located between the structural support layer 102 and the flame-retardant and heat-insulating layer 104. It is formed by laser welding of 3mm thick 304 stainless steel plate to create a four-sided closed pressure-bearing chamber, designed to withstand a pressure of 0.8 MPa, corresponding to a static pressure of 8 m water column, which can meet the peak pressure at the moment of booster pump start-up. A water inlet is arranged on the top left side of the pressure-bearing chamber, which is connected to the municipal water supply network through a stainless steel corrugated hose. A filter and a normally open solenoid valve are connected in series on the pipeline. A drain interface is provided on the bottom right side of the chamber and a manual ball valve is installed for winter anti-freezing drainage.

[0044] A mechanical explosion-proof pressure relief valve is welded to the center of the top of the pressure chamber. This valve provides instantaneous pressure relief in case of pump failure or abnormal overpressure in the pipeline, preventing weld cracking. The inner wall of the pressure chamber is coated with a food-grade epoxy resin anti-corrosion layer to inhibit electrochemical corrosion caused by long-term water storage.

[0045] The flame-retardant and heat-insulating layer 104 is tightly attached to and bonded to one side of the water storage cavity 103. For example, a 25 mm thick aluminum silicate fiber blanket is selected, and its surface is covered with aluminum foil fiberglass cloth, which can maintain structural integrity for 30 minutes under the impact of a 1000 ℃ flame. This layer is connected and cooperated with the honeycomb sound-absorbing layer 105 by high-temperature adhesive dots to form a composite interface, which buffers the impact and reduces the thermal bridge effect.

[0046] In one specific structure, the honeycomb sound-absorbing layer 105 can be made of polyurethane foam with an open porosity of 95% and a pore size of 1.5 mm. The surface is impregnated with a flame retardant, and the layer thickness is 30 mm.

[0047] In this embodiment, the combination of the distributed fire extinguishing nozzles of the fire extinguishing component 4 and the rotating adjustment base, for example: the rotating adjustment base is a universal rotating mechanism driven by a DC stepper motor, which can realize horizontal rotation and pitch angle adjustment; the adjustable nozzles are connected to the bottom of the water storage chamber layer 103 via pressure-resistant hoses.

[0048] To prevent insufficient water pressure and increase the spray distance, the fire extinguishing component 4 is connected to a booster pump. The specific structure and model are as follows: the booster pump is a DC brushless centrifugal pump. The booster pump is connected to the water storage chamber layer 103. The outlet of the booster pump is connected to the distributed fire extinguishing nozzles after passing through a check valve to prevent the water column from falling back after the pump stops.

[0049] In this embodiment, the infrared thermal imaging temperature monitoring unit 5 uses an uncooled vanadium oxide focal plane detector; the unit is fixed to the top center of the inner side of the wall by a bracket, and the lens is aimed at the center of the front of the energy storage cabinet 2.

[0050] In this embodiment, the central control module 6 is encapsulated in a sealed housing, which is in close contact with the metal frame through a thermally conductive silicone pad to achieve passive heat dissipation; its core is a processor with built-in non-volatile memory, in which the working program is stored.

[0051] The central control module 6 is connected to the infrared thermal imaging unit 5 via a bus, and is also connected to the rotary adjustment base and each solenoid valve via a bus. At the same time, the communication unit is used for remote data transmission.

[0052] It should be noted that the central control module 6 can be either the city power grid or the energy storage cabinet 2.

[0053] To achieve security functions, as an optional component, the visible light camera 7 is a 4-megapixel starlight-level CMOS sensor, fixed on the outside or inside of the protective wall. The video is directly stored or the video stream is encoded and uploaded to the cloud via the communication unit for real-time review by maintenance personnel.

[0054] The operation process is as follows: When the temperature of the outer shell of the energy storage cabinet 2 rises to 90 ℃ due to thermal runaway of the internal battery cells, the infrared thermal imaging unit 5 detects the hot spot coordinates and reports them to the central control module 6; the central control module 6 immediately retrieves the corresponding nozzle and rotation angle parameters, controls the rotating adjustment base to align the distributed fire extinguishing nozzles with the hot spot, and at the same time opens the corresponding solenoid valve and starts the booster pump to form a water curtain to cover the target area.

[0055] It should be noted that the central control unit and its internal program logic used in this embodiment, including temperature threshold judgment, nozzle opening and closing sequence, booster pump drive and cloud communication protocol, are all within the scope of existing technology and can be fully implemented by embedded development toolchains, open source algorithm libraries or commercially available PLC / microcontroller firmware that are well known to those skilled in the art, without the need for additional creative labor; this application does not make any claims to the above software program itself.

[0056] Compared to existing technologies, its outer decorative layer 101 can make the originally obtrusive energy storage cabinet invisible in the streetscape, weakening the industrial presence of the cabinet. The honeycomb sound-absorbing layer 105 reduces the operating noise of the equipment, eliminating the psychological suggestion of a "humming" sound. Compared to an exposed energy storage cabinet, the sense of security is significantly improved, while effectively alleviating the psychological anxiety of surrounding residents regarding "flammability and explosiveness".

[0057] This specification provides sufficient information on the overall structure of the protective retaining wall, the interlayer fit, and the connection methods of key functional components. As for the details involved, such as conventional machining processes, standard fastener selection, metal welding and surface treatment parameters, LED driver circuit design, sensor calibration methods, booster pump control logic, and communication protocol stack implementation, these are all well-known and existing technologies that can be directly obtained and implemented by those skilled in the art based on current national standards, industry specifications, or open-source materials, and therefore need not be elaborated upon again.

[0058] While exemplary embodiments of this disclosure have been described, those skilled in the art will understand that various changes and modifications can be made to the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure without departing from the spirit and scope thereof. Therefore, all changes and modifications are included within the scope of protection of this disclosure as defined by the claims. This disclosure is defined by the appended claims, and equivalents of those claims are also included.

Claims

1. A fire-extinguishing safety protection barrier for an energy storage cabinet, characterized in that, The protective barrier includes a composite structure wall, an integrated fire extinguishing assembly, and a central control module. The composite structure wall adopts a multi-layer composite structure, which includes an outer decorative layer, a structural support layer, a hollow water storage cavity layer, a flame-retardant and heat-insulating layer, and a honeycomb sound-absorbing layer from the outside to the inside. The hollow water storage cavity layer is a one-piece molded pressure-bearing cavity with four closed sides, which is connected to the municipal water supply pipeline through the water inlet interface. At least one auxiliary functional component is integrated on the outer surface of the outer decorative layer. The auxiliary functional component is one of landscape lighting fixtures, functional lighting fixtures, and information display screens. The structural support layer is a metal frame. The core of the fire extinguishing component includes distributed fire extinguishing nozzles, an infrared thermal imaging temperature monitoring unit, and an electrically controlled valve; the infrared thermal imaging temperature monitoring unit is fixed to the inside of the wall, and the monitoring direction is aimed at the outer surface of the protected target energy storage cabinet. The distributed fire extinguishing nozzles are connected to the hollow water storage cavity layer via high-pressure pipelines. The distributed fire extinguishing nozzles are connected to the booster pump, and the opening and closing status of the electrically controlled valves and the operation of the booster pump are controlled by the central control module.

2. The active fire suppression safety protection barrier for the energy storage cabinet as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The distributed fire extinguishing nozzle is movable, and it is installed at a preset position on the wall by rotating and adjusting the base connected to the central control module.

3. The active fire suppression safety protection barrier for the energy storage cabinet as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The hollow water storage cavity is equipped with a mechanical explosion-proof pressure relief valve on the top or side wall to ensure the safety of the system's operating pressure.

4. The active fire suppression safety protection barrier for the energy storage cabinet as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The central control module includes a data processing unit, a non-volatile memory, and a multi-protocol communication unit; the data processing unit receives real-time temperature information collected by the infrared thermal imaging temperature monitoring unit via a data bus.

5. The active fire suppression safety protection barrier for the energy storage cabinet as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The protective barrier is also equipped with at least one visible light camera connected to the central control module.

6. The active fire suppression safety protection barrier for the energy storage cabinet as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The structural support layer is a metal frame formed by connecting and fixing multiple metal tubes.

7. The active fire suppression safety protection barrier for the energy storage cabinet as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The inner wall of the hollow water storage cavity is coated with a food-grade epoxy resin anti-corrosion layer.

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