Sprinkler system

Abstract

To provide a sprinkler system capable of preventing spread of a fire.SOLUTION: A sprinkler system includes a target area sprinkler that sprinkles water on lawn or ground of a golf course, being the target area, and a control unit that controls water sprinkling of the target area sprinkler device. When receiving, from outside the control unit, a fire occurrence signal representing that a fire has occurred in the target area or a forest area, being the adjacent area adjacent to the target area, the control unit controls the target area sprinkler device to perform fire sprinkling, being the water sprinkling to deal with the fire.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a sprinkler system that uses a sprinkler device to sprinkle water on a lawn, the ground, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as lawn) to sprinkle water to deal with a fire. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Golf courses, parks, and other areas where grass grows are provided with sprinklers for periodically watering the grass.

[0003] The following has been disclosed as a device for controlling such a sprinkler system (see, for example, Patent Document 1): The sprinkler control device in Patent Document 1 measures the moisture content of the lawn with a moisture meter and the temperature in the soil with a thermometer, and controls the sprinkler system's watering based on this information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-271730 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] When a fire breaks out, it is necessary to prevent the fire from spreading. In particular, in golf courses, parks, and other areas surrounded by forests, there is a risk of extensive damage if a forest fire spreads, so how to stop the flames from spreading is a major issue.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a sprinkling system that can prevent the spread of fire. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The watering system of the present disclosure comprises a target area watering device that sprinkles water on grass or ground within a target area, and a control unit that controls the watering of the target area watering device, and when the control unit receives a fire occurrence signal from outside the control unit indicating that a fire has occurred in the target area or an adjacent area adjacent to the target area, the control unit controls the target area watering device to perform fire watering, which is watering to deal with a fire. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present disclosure, a sprinkler system that can prevent the spread of fire can be obtained. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a water sprinkling system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 is a bird's-eye view showing an example of the arrangement of devices constituting the sprinkler system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a location where a fire occurs in the bird's-eye view shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 4] 2 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control unit shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 5] This flowchart adds processing to the flowchart shown in FIG. 4 when a fire outbreak is detected based on information from the Internet. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Preferred embodiments of the watering system of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The watering system of the present disclosure has a technical feature of utilizing a sprinkler device for sprinkling water on lawns to extinguish fires and prevent the spread of fires. That is, the watering system of the present disclosure has a technical feature of controlling the sprinkler device to perform fire sprinkling, which is sprinkling water to deal with fires, when a fire breaks out in a target area such as a golf course or park or in an adjacent area adjacent to the target area.

[0011] Embodiment 1 Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a schematic configuration of a water sprinkling system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, and Fig. 2 is a bird's-eye view illustrating an example of the arrangement of devices constituting the water sprinkling system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0012] 1, watering system 100 is a system that sprinkles water on the lawn of target area C. Here, target area C is a golf course in the first embodiment, but it may be any area, such as a park, where a watering device is installed to grow grass or plants.

[0013] The sprinkler system 100 includes a target area sprinkler device 10, a target area valve 11, a pump 30, piping 31, an adjacent area sprinkler device 20, an adjacent area valve 21, a flame detector 60, and a control unit 50. Of these pieces of equipment, the target area sprinkler device 10, the target area valve 11, the pump 30, and the piping 31 may be existing equipment that can be reused.

[0014] In the bird's-eye view of FIG. 2, the target area sprinkler device 10 is indicated by a white circle, the adjacent area sprinkler device 20 is indicated by a black circle, and the flame detector 60 is indicated by a white square.

[0015] In Figure 1, one each of the target area sprinkler device 10, target area valve 11, adjacent area sprinkler device 20, adjacent area valve 21, and flame detector 60 is shown, but in reality, they are installed in various locations as needed, as shown in the bird's-eye view of Figure 2.

[0016] The target area sprinkler device 10 is a device that sprinkles water on the grass of a golf course, which is the target area C, and is, for example, a sprinkler installed at various locations in the target area C.

[0017] Pump 30 pumps water for sprinkling from a water source and supplies it to target area sprinkler device 10 through piping 31. In the first embodiment, the water source is public water such as tap water, but filtered water that can be used within the facility, such as water from reservoir W shown in Figure 2, may also be used.

[0018] The pump 30 can also adjust the amount of water pumped, thereby adjusting the water pressure in the pipe 31. If the water source is at the top of a mountain and head pressure is used, the pump can be omitted from the watering system.

[0019] The target area valve 11 is an electromagnetic valve that opens and closes to directly control the sprinkling of water from the target area sprinkler system 10. The target area valve 11 can also adjust the amount of water supplied to the target area sprinkler system 10.

[0020] The adjacent area sprinkler device 20 is, for example, a sprinkler provided in the adjacent area R. Here, the adjacent area R is assumed to be a forest area adjacent to the target area C and densely wooded.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 2, adjacent area sprinkler devices 20 are installed in various locations in adjacent area R. In the event of a fire, adjacent area sprinkler devices 20 sprinkle water on trees and other objects in adjacent area R, and are installed primarily as a measure against forest fires.

[0022] The adjacent area valve 21 is an electromagnetic valve that opens and closes to directly control the sprinkling of water from the adjacent area sprinkler system 20. The adjacent area valve 21 can also adjust the amount of water supplied to the adjacent area sprinkler system 20. Note that an electric valve may be used as the adjacent area valve 21 instead of a solenoid valve.

[0023] In addition, the adjacent area sprinkler system 20 is connected to the target area sprinkler system 10 via piping. Depending on the target area C, the adjacent area sprinkler system 20 may be installed very far from the target area sprinkler system 10, in which case the length of the piping connecting the two sprinkler systems will be long. Therefore, a booster pump may be installed in the piping to prevent a drop in water supply pressure.

[0024] The flame detector 60 is a dustproof and waterproof detector that can be installed outdoors, and is an example of a fire detection means. When the flame detector 60 detects a flame, it includes its address in a fire occurrence signal and transmits it to the control unit 50. Here, the address is information that is assigned in advance as identification information for the flame detector 60.

[0025] The fire occurrence signal may be transmitted from flame detector 60 to control unit 50 wirelessly or via a wired connection. Here, flame detector 60 is used as the fire detection means, but the fire detection means is not limited to this. In particular, when the area to be monitored for fires is wide, such as a golf course, it is preferable to use a so-called distributed heat detector, such as an optical fiber or heat-sensitive wire, which can monitor fires within a predetermined area, rather than a spot detector such as flame detector 60, which detects fires only in specific locations.

[0026] In the first embodiment, the flame detectors 60 are installed in locations where the occurrence rate of fires is high, that is, in various locations in the adjacent area R, which is a forest area as shown in Fig. 2. The flame detectors 60 may also be installed within the target area C.

[0027] The control unit 50 is a device that controls the entire sprinkling system 100, and includes a fire receiver, a sprinkling control panel, a computer system, etc.

[0028] The control unit 50 controls the sprinkling of water by the target area sprinkler device 10 by controlling the opening and closing of the target area valve 11 and adjusting the water volume. The control unit 50 also controls the sprinkling of water by the adjacent area sprinkler device 20 by controlling the opening and closing of the adjacent area valve 21 and adjusting the water volume. The control unit 50 also controls the pumping of the pump 30.

[0029] Under normal circumstances, the control unit 50 controls the target area sprinkler device 10 to only periodically sprinkle water on the lawn. On the other hand, when the control unit 50 receives a fire signal from the flame detector 60 or when manual operation is performed by the golf course manager or the like, the control unit 50 controls the adjacent area sprinkler device 20 to also sprinkle water.

[0030] Furthermore, in the event of a fire, the control unit 50 controls the pump 30 to increase the water pressure in the pipe 31 compared to normal lawn watering. This increases the amount of water released from the target area sprinkler device 10 and the adjacent area sprinkler device 20.

[0031] In the event of a fire, water can be sprinkled from the sprinkler that is most suitable for extinguishing the fire or preventing the fire from spreading, and water may be sprinkled from only one of the target area sprinkler device 10 and the adjacent area sprinkler device 20.

[0032] This type of water spraying, which uses increased water pressure to combat fires, is called a "fire water spray" to distinguish it from regular lawn watering. In other words, the volume of water used for fire water spraying is greater than the volume used for regular lawn watering. Also, the water pressure used for fire water spraying is higher than the water pressure used for regular lawn watering.

[0033] Furthermore, trees are also included in the targets of water sprinklers of the adjacent area sprinkler system 20. For this reason, the adjacent area sprinkler system 20 needs to sprinkle water higher in the vertical direction than the target area sprinkler system 10. In other words, fire sprinklers also sprinkle water higher than normal sprinklers.

[0034] For this reason, the outlet of the adjacent area sprinkler system 20 is positioned so that it faces upward relative to the outlet of the target area sprinkler system 10. This allows the adjacent area sprinkler system 20 to sprinkle water on the entire tree, including its branches and leaves.

[0035] Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the location of a fire when it breaks out in the bird's-eye view shown in Figure 2. Specifically, Figure 3 assumes that a fire breaks out in a forest area between two golf courses.

[0036] The control unit 50 can select the target area sprinkler device 10 and the adjacent area sprinkler device 20 that are installed near the location of the fire, and can cause only the selected sprinkler devices to sprinkle fire water. The selected sprinkler devices include the target area sprinkler device 10 and the adjacent area sprinkler device 20.

[0037] 3, when a fire F has broken out in the center of the bird's-eye view, the control unit 50 receives a fire occurrence signal from the flame detector 60A that has detected the fire F. The control unit 50 then extracts the address of the flame detector 60A from the received fire occurrence signal to identify the location of the fire.

[0038] Then, the control unit 50 selects the target area sprinkler system 10 and the adjacent area sprinkler system 20 installed near the location where the fire F has occurred, and controls these selected sprinkler systems to perform fire sprinkler operation.

[0039] In the example of Fig. 3, target area sprinkler devices 10A and 10B and adjacent area sprinkler devices 20A, 20B, and 20C installed near the location of fire F are selected as the selected sprinkler devices. Then, control unit 50 controls only these selected sprinkler devices to perform fire sprinkler operation.

[0040] In the above explanation, when a fire occurs, the target area sprinkler device 10 and the adjacent area sprinkler device 20 are controlled separately to sprinkle water from both sprinkler devices 10, 20. However, as mentioned above, it is also possible to control the sprinkler device so that water is sprinkled from only one of the sprinkler devices, for example, the adjacent area sprinkler device 20.

[0041] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control unit 50 shown in FIG.

[0042] In step S101, the control unit 50 determines whether or not a fire outbreak signal has been received. If the control unit 50 has not received a fire outbreak signal, the process proceeds to step S103, where it controls the system to perform normal water sprinkling. Note that, in normal water sprinkling, as described above, only the target area watering device 10 periodically sprinkles water on the lawn, and the adjacent area watering device 20 does not sprinkle water.

[0043] The control unit 50 repeats steps S101 and S103 until a fire occurrence signal is received. On the other hand, if the control unit 50 receives a fire occurrence signal in step S101, the process proceeds to step S102.

[0044] In step S102, the control unit 50 extracts from the fire occurrence signal the address of the flame detector 60 that transmitted the fire occurrence signal. This address information also functions as information indicating the location where the fire occurred, and therefore, hereinafter, the address will be referred to as "occurrence location information."

[0045] In step S104, the control unit 50 selects a sprinkler system according to the occurrence location information. The control unit 50 stores a correspondence table that associates occurrence location information with sprinkler systems installed near the occurrence location. The control unit 50 searches the correspondence table using the occurrence location information extracted from the fire occurrence signal as a key, and selects the sprinkler system to be activated as the selected sprinkler system.

[0046] Then, in step S105, the control unit 50 controls the pump 30 to increase the water pressure in the pipe 31 and controls only the selected sprinkler device to perform fire sprinkling. In this way, by limiting the sprinkler devices that perform fire sprinkling to only the selected sprinkler device, the amount of water released from each selected sprinkler device can be increased compared to sprinkling water from all sprinkler devices.

[0047] In other words, in order to prevent sprinkling water from being emitted by sprinkler devices located at a location away from the fire site, the target area valve 11 and adjacent area valve 21 are controlled to close as necessary, thereby stopping sprinkling water during normal times.

[0048] Up to this point, it has been explained that fire detection is performed by the flame detector 60, but in addition to this, the control unit 50 may detect fires by monitoring information published on the Internet. That is, when information that a fire has broken out in the target area C or the adjacent area R is published on the Internet, the control unit 50 may capture this as a fire occurrence signal and perform fire water sprinkling.

[0049] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a process to be performed when a fire outbreak is detected based on information from the Internet, in addition to the flowchart shown in FIG.

[0050] In FIG. 5, steps S101 to S105 are the same as the processes described in FIG. 4, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0051] In step S120, the control unit 50 determines whether or not the process in step S102 has succeeded in extracting the fire occurrence location information from the fire occurrence signal.

[0052] If the fire is detected by the flame detector 60, the control unit 50 can identify the location of the fire as described above, and therefore the process proceeds to step S104.

[0053] On the other hand, when the control unit 50 detects a fire by acquiring information published on the Internet, it may not be possible to identify the location of the fire in the target area. In this case, the control unit 50 determines that it was not able to extract the location information, and proceeds to step S121.

[0054] Since the control unit 50 was unable to identify the location of the fire, in step S121, it causes all sprinkler devices to perform fire sprinkling. That is, the control unit 50 controls the pump 30 to increase the water pressure in the piping 31, and causes all target area sprinkler devices 10 and adjacent area sprinkler devices 20 to perform fire sprinkling.

[0055] This makes it possible to extinguish the fire or prevent the flames from spreading even when the location of the fire cannot be identified.

[0056] In the above explanation, a fire signal indicating that a fire has occurred is obtained by supplementing information published on the Internet. However, even if this information does not refer to a fire in a specific area, if information is obtained that a specific area has a much higher temperature than neighboring areas, the high temperature information can be treated as a fire signal, and control can be performed to start sprinkling water from the sprinkler system based on that information.

[0057] It should be noted that, due to land rights, it may not be possible to install the adjacent area sprinkler device 20 in the adjacent area R. In this case, the adjacent area sprinkler device 20 may be installed inside the target area C and in a position where it can sprinkle water onto the adjacent area R. In other words, the adjacent area sprinkler device 20 may be installed either in the target area C or the adjacent area R as long as it is able to sprinkle water onto the adjacent area R.

[0058] Similarly, with regard to the flame detector 60, there is a possibility that it may not be possible to install the flame detector 60 in the adjacent area R. To deal with this situation, the flame detector 60 may be installed in the target area C, or a fire detection means such as a flame detector may be provided on a cart that travels on the golf course, which is the target area C. Furthermore, as a fire detection means, a heat-sensitive wire that detects heat in the event of a fire may be stretched around the target area C.

[0059] Alternatively, the system may be configured to detect fires only by acquiring the information published on the Internet, without installing devices such as flame detectors, or to manually spray water on fires by an administrator.

[0060] That is, the control unit 50 may be configured to control the sprinkling of fire water when a fire occurrence signal is received from outside the control unit 50. In this case, various signals function as the fire occurrence signal, such as the address of the flame detector, publicly available information on the Internet, the electrical resistance value of the heat-sensitive wire, and signals from the keyboard or mouse operated by the administrator.

[0061] Furthermore, the adjacent area sprinkler system 20 may be mounted on a long, erect member such as an iron pipe, with the adjacent area sprinkler system 20 attached to the top end. Alternatively, the adjacent area sprinkler system 20 itself may be popped up and lifted upward when sprinkling fire water. These configurations allow fire water to be sprinkled from a higher position.

[0062] 5, even if the control unit 50 cannot identify the location of the fire, the manager may be able to identify the location of the fire. In this case, the manager may select the sprinkler device that should perform fire sprinkling and manually cause the selected sprinkler device to perform fire sprinkling.

[0063] In addition, in the flowcharts of Figures 4 and 5, even if the control unit 50 is able to identify the location of the fire, the administrator may arbitrarily select a sprinkler device that should perform fire sprinkler, and manually cause the selected sprinkler device to perform fire sprinkler.

[0064] The features of such a watering system 100 can be summarized as follows: it has the following configuration and can achieve the following effects.

[0065] The watering system 100 includes a target area watering device 10 that sprinkles water on a lawn within a target area C, and a control unit 50 that controls the watering of the target area watering device 10. When the control unit 50 receives a fire occurrence signal from outside the control unit 50 indicating that a fire has occurred in the target area C or an adjacent area R adjacent to the target area C, the control unit 50 controls the target area watering device 10 to perform fire watering, which is watering to deal with the fire.

[0066] This can prevent the spread of fire.

[0067] The sprinkling system 100 further includes an adjacent area sprinkler device 20 that sprinkles water on the adjacent area R. When a fire outbreak signal is received, the control unit 50 controls the adjacent area sprinkler device 20 to also perform fire sprinkling.

[0068] This makes it possible to prevent the fire from spreading to the adjacent area R as well.

[0069] The fire occurrence signal also includes occurrence location information that identifies the location of the fire. Based on the occurrence location information, the control unit 50 selects a sprinkler device to perform fire sprinkling from the target area sprinkler device 10 and the adjacent area sprinkler device 20, and controls the selected sprinkler device to perform fire sprinkling.

[0070] This allows fire water to be sprayed only at the location where the fire has occurred.

[0071] Furthermore, the target area C is a golf course, and the adjacent area R is a forest area adjacent to the golf course. The control unit 50 controls the fire water sprinkler by the adjacent area sprinkler device 20 so that water is sprinkled upward relative to the fire water sprinkler by the target area sprinkler device 10.

[0072] This allows fire prevention water to be sprayed on trees around the golf course, and also on the entire tree, including its branches and leaves. It also prevents the fire from spreading to the golf course, protecting buildings such as the clubhouse.

[0073] The control unit 50 also controls the amount of water sprayed on the fire so that it is greater than the amount of water sprayed on the lawn during normal times when no fire is occurring. The control unit 50 also controls the water pressure of the fire water spray so that it is greater than the water pressure of the lawn during normal times when no fire is occurring.

[0074] This allows water to be sprayed more vigorously than usual in the event of a fire. Note that, although the present embodiment has been described with reference to a sprinkler system that mainly sprays water on the grass of a golf course, the sprinkler system may also be a sprinkler system that is installed in a schoolyard and sprays water on dry ground. [Explanation of symbols]

[0075] 10 Target area sprinkler system, 11 Target area valve, 20 Adjacent area sprinkler system, 21 Adjacent area valve, 30 Pump, 31 Piping, 50 Control unit, 60 Flame detector, 100 Sprinkler system, C Target area, F Fire, R Adjacent area.

Claims

1. a target area watering device for sprinkling water on the lawn or ground within the target area; A control unit that controls the sprinkling of water by the target area sprinkler device; Equipped with When the control unit receives a fire occurrence signal from outside the control unit indicating that a fire has occurred in the target area or an adjacent area adjacent to the target area, the control unit controls the target area water sprinkler device to perform fire sprinkler, which is sprinkler for dealing with the fire. Watering system.

2. Further provided is an adjacent area sprinkler device for sprinkling water on the adjacent area, When the control unit receives the fire occurrence signal, the control unit controls the adjacent area sprinkler device to also sprinkle fire water. The watering system of claim 1 .

3. A watering system including a target area watering device that sprinkles water on a lawn or ground within a target area, and a control unit that controls the watering of the target area watering device, Further provided is an adjacent area sprinkler device connected to the target area sprinkler device via a pipe and sprinkling water on an adjacent area; When the control unit receives a fire occurrence signal from outside the control unit indicating that a fire has occurred in the target area or an adjacent area adjacent to the target area, the control unit controls at least one of the target area water sprinkler device or the adjacent area water sprinkler device to perform fire sprinkler, which is water sprinkler for dealing with the fire. Watering system.

4. the fire occurrence signal includes occurrence location information that identifies a location where a fire is occurring, The control unit selects a sprinkler device to perform the fire sprinkler from among the target area sprinkler device and the adjacent area sprinkler device based on the occurrence location information, and controls the selected sprinkler device to perform the fire sprinkler. The watering system of claim 3.

5. the target area is a golf course, the adjacent area is a forest area adjacent to the golf course, The control unit controls the adjacent area sprinkler system to sprinkle fire water upward relative to the target area sprinkler system. The watering system according to claim 3 or 4.

6. The control unit controls the amount of water sprayed on the fire so that it is greater than the amount of water sprayed on the lawn under normal circumstances when no fire has occurred. The watering system according to claim 1 or 3.

7. The control unit controls the water pressure of the fire water spray so that it is higher than the water pressure when watering a lawn under normal circumstances when no fire is occurring. The watering system according to claim 1 or 3.

8. The fire occurrence signal is detected by supplementing information published on the Internet. The watering system according to claim 1 or 3.

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