Fire detection system
The fire detection system addresses the challenge of early fire detection and response in dark environments by using imaging and extinguishing systems, ensuring timely detection and suppression of fires on car carriers, especially for electric vehicles.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- JP2024084675
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-05-24
- Publication Date
- 2025-12-05
AI Technical Summary
Existing fire detection systems struggle to detect fires early in special environments like car carriers where the space can be completely dark due to lack of natural light and reliance on smoke detection, which is inadequate for electric vehicles that can sustain fires and are difficult to extinguish if not detected promptly.
A fire detection system using imaging devices to capture images in a completely dark environment after turning off lighting, determining fire presence by extracting areas of high brightness, and integrating fire extinguishing and spread prevention mechanisms.
Enables early fire detection and appropriate response in special environments, including car carriers, with the capability to extinguish fires and prevent their spread, particularly effective for electric vehicles.
Smart Images
Figure 2025177647000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
[Technical Field]
[0001] The present disclosure relates to a fire detection system suitable for detecting fires that occur in special environments such as those found on car carriers. [Background technology]
[0002] There is an automatic fire alarm system that is configured with a receiver, a transmitter, a repeater, an acoustic device, a sensor, etc., and protects people inside buildings and other facilities that are fire-prevention targets from fires (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). In an automatic fire alarm system, the sensor detects heat or smoke and sends a fire signal to the receiver. The receiver that receives the fire signal issues an alarm and activates the acoustic device depending on the location of the fire, thereby notifying people inside the fire-prevention target target facility that a fire has occurred. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]
[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] Nohmi Bosai Co., Ltd. website, Automatic Fire Alarm System (URL: https: / / www.nohmi.co.jp / product / materiel / fid.html) [Non-patent document 2] Eastern Car Liner Co., Ltd. website, car carrier (https: / / www.ecl.co.jp / service / car / ) [Non-patent document 3] PCC / PCTC SHIP for Everyone - Information site for learning about and enjoying the world of ships (https: / / www.ship4everyone.com / archives / 1344#google_vignette) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]
[0004] In many cases, fires tend to generate smoke from combustible materials before flames or heat are generated, so smoke detectors are generally used as fire detection systems when car carriers are designated as fire prevention facilities.
[0005] However, in recent years, there have been cases where electric vehicles caught fire while being transported on car carriers, causing large-scale fires. In particular, in electric vehicles, once a fire breaks out, the fire tends to continue, and if the fire is not detected in time, it may become difficult to extinguish. Therefore, early fire detection is important. Therefore, a system that can be used in conjunction with smoke detectors and is specialized for early fire detection on car carriers is desired.
[0006] The "car loading space," which corresponds to the fire monitoring area on a car carrier, has no windows and is a special environment in which the entire space can be made completely dark by turning off all the lights. This special environment is not limited to car carriers, but is common to other carriers such as cargo carriers, dimly lit places where only emergency lights are normally on (such as hazardous materials warehouses), and fire monitoring areas inside tunnels.
[0007] Therefore, if a system suitable for early detection of fires occurring in such special environments, where the entire space can be rendered completely dark by turning off all the lights, can be constructed, the scope of application can be expanded beyond car carriers.
[0008] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a fire detection system suitable for early detection of fires that occur in special environments such as those found on car carriers. [Means for solving the problem]
[0009] The fire detection system disclosed herein comprises an imaging device that captures images of a fire monitoring area, lighting equipment installed in the fire monitoring area, and a control unit that determines whether a fire has occurred in the fire monitoring area based on the image capture results from the imaging device, and the control unit turns off lighting systems in the lighting equipment at a predetermined timing that may affect the determination result made by the control unit as to whether a fire has occurred, obtains the image capture results from the imaging device in the turned-off state as an image for determination, extracts areas with a brightness greater than a predetermined value from the image for determination, and determines whether a fire has occurred in the fire monitoring area based on the extraction results. [Effects of the Invention]
[0010] According to the present disclosure, a fire detection system suitable for early detection of fires occurring in special environments such as those found on car carriers can be obtained. [Brief explanation of the drawings]
[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of a car carrier to which a fire detection system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure is applied; [Figure 2] 1 is a functional block diagram of a fire detection system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram of a fire detection system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram relating to a fire extinguishing function and a fire spread prevention function executed by a linked activation control unit according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0012] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the fire detection system of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The fire detection system disclosed herein has a technical feature of detecting fires early by extracting areas with a predetermined brightness or higher from images captured after turning off the lighting systems of the lighting equipment installed in the fire monitoring area, which may affect the results of fire detection, and setting the fire monitoring area to a special environment in which the entire space can be made completely dark if all lights are turned off.
[0013] The fire detection system disclosed herein can be applied to various fire monitoring areas, but in the following embodiments 1 and 2, we will explain the case where the vehicle loading space on a car carrier is used as a specific example of a fire monitoring area.
[0014] Embodiment 1 In a car carrier, which is a specific example of an application of the fire detection system according to the present disclosure, the loading space where cars are loaded is the fire monitoring area. Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of a car carrier to which the fire detection system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure is applied.
[0015] Fig. 1(A) shows an overall view of a car carrier 1, and also shows the loading space 2 in which the cars to be transported are loaded. Fig. 1(B) shows the state in which the cars to be transported are loaded in the loading space 2 inside the car carrier 1.
[0016] The source of FIG. 1(A) is Non-Patent Document 2, and the source of FIG. 1(B) is Non-Patent Document 3.
[0017] The loading space 2, which is the fire monitoring area, has the following characteristics as shown in Figures 1(A) and 1(B).
[0018] <Characteristics of Loading Space 2> In loading space 2, vehicles carrying a small amount of fuel will drive themselves and then park so closely together that there is almost no space between them. Loading space 2 has no windows that allow natural light to stream in, so if all the lights are turned off, the entire space will be completely dark.
[0019] A portion of the loading space 2, the area 2a, is equipped with a liftable deck structure that allows the roof to be raised when loading a tall vehicle. Loading space 2 is divided into multiple floors, each of which is configured as one or more fire compartments.
[0020] The fire detection system of this embodiment 1, which uses the loading space 2 having these characteristics as a fire monitoring area under special circumstances, is configured to perform early fire detection based on images captured after turning off all lights in the loading space 2 to create a completely dark environment.
[0021] It is not an essential requirement to turn off all lighting equipment installed in the fire monitoring area. If it is possible to turn off the lighting systems of the lighting equipment installed in the fire monitoring area that affect the fire detection results based on brightness, it is possible to realize a configuration that enables early fire detection even when the other lighting systems are not turned off and the loading space 2 is not left in complete darkness and is based on images captured.
[0022] However, in the following embodiment 1, in order to simplify the explanation, we will explain as a representative example that images are taken in complete darkness by turning off all the lighting equipment installed in the loading space 2.
[0023] Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram of a fire detection system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. The fire detection system according to the first embodiment shown in Fig. 2 is configured to include a control unit 10, an imaging device 20, and lighting equipment 30 in order to detect a fire that occurs on a car carrier.
[0024] The imaging device 20 captures an image of the loading space 2 of the automobile to be transported. If a surveillance camera capable of capturing images of the loading space 2 inside the automobile carrier 1 is installed for security purposes, such an existing surveillance camera can be used as the imaging device 20.
[0025] Furthermore, by installing one or more imaging devices 20 on each floor, it is possible to acquire images of all of the loading spaces. Furthermore, the imaging devices 20 can be configured as multiple imaging devices 20 that can capture images of one fire compartment from different directions, or adjacent imaging devices 20 can be configured to capture images of some areas in an overlapping manner.
[0026] The lighting equipment 30 is installed in the loading space 2 and is configured to include all lighting systems such as emergency lights, guide lights, etc. in addition to a plurality of lights that illuminate the loading space 2.
[0027] The control unit 10 is a controller that controls the imaging device 20 and the lighting equipment 30, and determines whether or not a fire has occurred in the loading space 2 based on the imaging results obtained by the imaging device 20. Specifically, the control unit 10 is configured to include a fire determination unit 11, an imaging control unit 12, and a lights-out control unit 13.
[0028] The lights-off control unit 13 has a function of turning off all of the lighting equipment 30 at a predetermined timing. That is, the lights-off control unit 13 has a function of collectively controlling ON / OFF of all lighting systems, such as multiple lights, emergency lights, and guide lights, that illuminate the loading space 2, and can keep the loading space 2 in a completely turned-off state for a desired period of time.
[0029] In addition, if the loading space is divided into multiple floors or multiple fire compartments, the lights-out control unit 13 can perform ON / OFF control of the lighting system so that each floor or each fire compartment is turned off sequentially, instead of turning off the lights in the entire loading space at the same time.
[0030] As an example of the timing of turning off the lights, the lights-off control unit 13 may perform ON / OFF control so that all lights are turned off for one second every minute. As another example of the timing of turning off the lights, a time period (0.1 seconds, etc.) that does not interfere with people's activities such as firefighting and evacuation activities may be adopted.
[0031] The imaging control unit 12 has a function of acquiring, for each fire compartment that has been turned off by the lights-off control unit 13, the imaging results of the imaging device 20 as an image for determination.
[0032] Here, the all lights out state by the lights-out control unit 13 is a concept that includes not only the case where all lighting equipment 30 installed in the fire compartment from which the judgment image is to be acquired is turned off, but also the case where a lighting system among the lighting equipment 30 installed in the fire compartment that may affect the fire judgment result based on brightness is turned off, or the case where a lighting system among the lighting equipment 30 installed in the fire compartment and the lighting equipment 30 installed in the fire compartment adjacent to the fire compartment that may affect the fire judgment result based on brightness is turned off.
[0033] The fire determination unit 11 acquires the determination image captured by the imaging control unit 12. Then, the fire determination unit 11 extracts an area in the determination image that has a predetermined brightness or higher as an area where a flame is assumed to have occurred, and determines whether or not a fire has occurred in the loading space 2 based on the extraction result.
[0034] The fire determination unit 11 can apply various known fire detection algorithms when determining whether or not a fire has occurred in the loading space 2 based on the brightness state in the determination image.
[0035] Furthermore, various types of automobiles may be loaded into the loading space, such as gasoline engine automobiles, diesel engine automobiles, electric automobiles, hydrogen-powered automobiles, etc. Therefore, when automobiles of the same type are loaded in each fire compartment, the fire determination unit 11 can determine whether a fire has occurred by applying a fire detection algorithm suitable for each type of automobile to each fire compartment.
[0036] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the vehicle loading environment on a car carrier is taken into consideration, and a configuration is provided in which the presence or absence of a fire can be determined based on images captured in a completely dark state by turning off all the lights in the loading space. As a result, a fire detection system suitable for early detection of a fire occurring on a car carrier can be realized.
[0037] The imaging device can be a surveillance camera capable of capturing images of the loading space 2 inside a car carrier for security purposes. The fire detection unit only needs to be able to perform simple processing to extract areas with a predetermined brightness or higher from the image for detection, and does not require advanced image processing.
[0038] Therefore, the fire detection system according to the first embodiment can be used in conjunction with existing smoke detectors at a relatively low cost, and a system specialized for early detection of fires on car carriers can be realized.
[0039] The fire detection system according to the first embodiment can be applied to various fire monitoring areas that have special environments in which it is possible to determine whether or not a fire has occurred based on a determination image acquired by turning off the lighting equipment installed in the fire monitoring area that affects the results of fire determination based on brightness.
[0040] Embodiment 2 In the first embodiment, a fire detection system specialized for a special environment was described, which can determine whether or not a fire has occurred based on a determination image acquired with lighting systems installed in a fire monitoring area in an off state that affect the results of a fire determination based on brightness. In the second embodiment, a fire detection system will be described that is further equipped with a configuration for immediately extinguishing a fire or preventing the spread of a fire after early detection of a fire in such a special environment.
[0041] In the second embodiment, too, a specific example will be described in which the vehicle loading space on a car carrier is used as a fire monitoring area.
[0042] Furthermore, as in the previous embodiment 1, it is not an essential requirement to turn off all lighting systems installed in the fire monitoring area, and as long as it is possible to turn off lighting systems installed in the fire monitoring area that may affect the fire detection results based on brightness, it is possible to realize a configuration that enables early fire detection even when using images captured without making the loading space 2 completely dark.
[0043] However, in the following embodiment 2, as in the previous embodiment 1, in order to simplify the explanation, we will explain as a representative example that we will use images taken in complete darkness by turning off all the lighting equipment installed in the loading space 2.
[0044] Fig. 3 is a functional block diagram of a fire detection system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. The fire detection system according to the second embodiment shown in Fig. 3 includes a control unit 10, an imaging device 20, and lighting equipment 30 to detect a fire that occurs on a car carrier, and further includes a fire extinguishing device 40 and terminal equipment 50 to extinguish the fire or prevent the fire from spreading.
[0045] Moreover, the control unit 10 according to the second embodiment is configured to include a fire determination unit 11, an imaging control unit 12, a light-off control unit 13, and further a linked activation control unit .
[0046] The imaging device 20 and the lighting equipment 30 have the same functions as those in the previous embodiment 1. Therefore, the following description will focus on the configuration that is newly added in the present embodiment 2.
[0047] The fire extinguishing equipment 40 corresponds to equipment installed in each fire compartment of the loading space to extinguish a fire. The fire extinguishing equipment 40 may be any equipment that sprays or discharges a fire extinguishing agent, fire water, fire prevention agent, or other agent that contributes to fire extinguishing. For example, sprinkler heads, foam heads, high-expansion foam fire extinguishing devices, water cannons, water guns, and sprinkler heads are applicable as the fire extinguishing equipment 40.
[0048] The terminal equipment 50 corresponds to equipment installed in each fire compartment of the loading space to prevent the spread of fire. The terminal equipment 50 operates in conjunction with the fire detection result and functions to prevent the spread of fire, smoke, etc. For example, fire doors, smoke exhausters, shutters, hanging walls, fire curtains, etc. are applied as the terminal equipment 50.
[0049] When the fire detection unit 11 determines that a fire has occurred in the loading space 2 based on the extraction results of an area in the detection image that has a predetermined brightness or higher, the linked start-up control unit 14 in the control unit 10 identifies the fire compartment in the loading space 2 where the fire has occurred.
[0050] Furthermore, the interlocking activation control unit 14 has the function of selecting a fire extinguishing device 40 suitable for extinguishing the fire in the identified fire compartment and activating the selected fire extinguishing device 40 to extinguish the fire.
[0051] In addition, the interlocking activation control unit 14 has the function of selecting a terminal equipment 50 suitable for preventing the spread of a fire that has occurred in a specified fire compartment, and activating the selected terminal equipment 50, thereby preventing the spread of the fire.
[0052] 4 is an explanatory diagram relating to the fire extinguishing function and the fire spread prevention function executed by the interlocking activation control unit 14 in the second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 illustrates a case where the loading space 2 on one floor of a car carrier is divided into 25 fire compartments indicated by Z11 to Z55.
[0053] Although not shown in Fig. 4, each of the fire compartments Z11 to Z55 is provided with a fire extinguishing device 40 and a terminal equipment 50. It is also possible to provide one fire extinguishing device 40 and one terminal equipment 50 for a plurality of adjacent fire compartments.
[0054] 4 illustrates an example in which a fire 3 has broken out in the fire compartment Z33. In such a case, the fire determination unit 11 identifies that a fire has broken out in the fire compartment Z33 by extracting an area with a predetermined brightness or higher from the determination image captured with all the lights in the loading space 2 turned off.
[0055] Then, when it is determined that a fire has broken out in fire compartment Z33, the interlocking activation control unit 14 selects the fire extinguishing equipment 40 that is suitable for extinguishing the fire in fire compartment Z33. Here, the interlocking activation control unit 14 can select the fire extinguishing equipment 40 installed in fire compartment Z33 as the fire extinguishing equipment 40 that is suitable for extinguishing the fire in fire compartment Z33.
[0056] In addition, the interlocking start-up control unit 14 can also select fire extinguishing equipment 40 installed in a total of nine fire compartments, including fire compartments Z22 to Z24, Z32, Z34, and Z42 to Z44 adjacent to fire compartment Z33, in addition to fire compartment Z33, as fire extinguishing equipment 40 suitable for extinguishing the fire in fire compartment Z33.
[0057] The interlocking activation control unit 14 activates the selected fire extinguishing device 40 to perform the fire extinguishing work on the fire 3.
[0058] Furthermore, by identifying that a fire has broken out in fire compartment Z33, the interlocking activation control unit 14 selects terminal equipment 50 suitable for preventing the spread of fire 3 that has broken out in fire compartment Z33. Here, the interlocking activation control unit 14 can select terminal equipment 50A installed around fire compartment Z33 as terminal equipment 50 suitable for preventing the spread of fire 3 that has broken out in fire compartment Z33.
[0059] In addition, the interlocking start-up control unit 14 can also select terminal equipment 50B installed around fire compartment Z33, as well as around a total of nine fire compartments Z22 to Z24, Z32, Z34, and Z42 to Z44 adjacent to fire compartment Z33, as terminal equipment 50 suitable for preventing the spread of fire 3 that has occurred in fire compartment Z33.
[0060] 4, the terminal equipment 50A and terminal equipment 50B selected by the interlocking activation control unit 14 are indicated by thick lines. As an example, if the terminal equipment 50A and terminal equipment 50B are shutters, the interlocking activation control unit 14 can activate either or both of the terminal equipment 50A and terminal equipment 50B to close the shutters so as to enclose the perimeter of the fire 3, thereby preventing the spread of the fire 3.
[0061] In addition to activating the terminal equipment 50 so as to surround the fire 3, it is also possible to activate the terminal equipment 50 in a portion surrounding a specific fire compartment so as to prevent the fire from spreading to a specific fire compartment where the fire 3 has not occurred.
[0062] Furthermore, various types of automobiles may be loaded into the loading space 2, such as gasoline engine vehicles, diesel engine vehicles, electric vehicles, and hydrogen-powered vehicles. Therefore, if each fire compartment can be divided so that the same type of automobiles are loaded, fire extinguishing equipment 40 and terminal equipment 50 suitable for each type of automobile can be provided in each fire compartment.
[0063] As a result, the interlocking activation control unit 14 can carry out appropriate fire-fighting operations and appropriate fire-spread prevention operations according to the vehicle model.
[0064] As described above, according to the second embodiment, a system can be realized that can implement appropriate fire extinguishing operations and appropriate operations to prevent the fire from spreading in conjunction with the fire detection result. As a result, a system can be constructed that can implement appropriate fire extinguishing operations and appropriate operations to prevent the fire from spreading in conjunction with the early detection of a fire that has occurred in a special environment such as a car carrier.
[0065] The fire detection systems according to the first and second embodiments can realize a system suitable for detecting fires occurring on car carriers, particularly when transporting electric vehicles, which tend to sustain a fire once it breaks out and can be difficult to extinguish if the fire is detected late, by limiting the fire compartments in which the electric vehicles are loaded, using an algorithm suitable for detecting fires in electric vehicles, and deploying fire-extinguishing equipment suitable for extinguishing fires in electric vehicles and terminal equipment suitable for preventing the spread of fires caused by electric vehicles. [Explanation of symbols]
[0066] 1 car carrier, 2 loading space, 2a part of the vehicle space, 3 fire, 10 control unit, 11 fire detection unit, 12 imaging control unit, 13 lights-out control unit, 14 interlocking start control unit, 20 imaging device, 30 lighting equipment, 40 fire extinguishing equipment, 50, 50A, 50B terminal equipment, Z11-Z15, Z21-Z25, Z31-Z35, Z41-Z45, Z51-Z55 fire compartments.
Claims
1. an imaging device for imaging a fire monitoring area; a lighting facility installed in the fire monitoring area; a control unit that determines whether or not a fire has occurred in the fire monitoring area based on the image pickup result of the image pickup device; Equipped with The control unit At a predetermined timing, a lighting system of the lighting equipment that may affect the determination result of the control unit as to whether or not a fire has occurred is turned off; The imaging result by the imaging device in the light-off state is acquired as a determination image; An area having a brightness equal to or greater than a predetermined value is extracted from the image for determination, and it is determined whether or not a fire has occurred in the fire monitoring area based on the extraction result. Fire detection system.
2. The fire monitoring area is a loading space on a car carrier where cars to be transported are loaded. The fire detection system of claim 1 .
3. The fire monitoring area further includes fire extinguishing equipment installed for extinguishing fires in each fire compartment, The control unit Identifying a fire compartment in which a fire has occurred within the fire monitoring area based on the extraction result; A fire extinguishing device suitable for extinguishing the fire in the identified fire compartment is selected, and the selected fire extinguishing device is activated to perform the fire extinguishing work.
3. The fire detection system according to claim 1 or 2.
4. The fire monitoring area further includes terminal equipment installed in each fire compartment to prevent the spread of fire, The control unit Identifying a fire compartment in which a fire has occurred within the fire monitoring area based on the extraction result; A terminal device suitable for preventing the spread of the fire occurring in the identified fire compartment is selected, and the selected terminal device is activated to prevent the fire from spreading.
3. The fire detection system according to claim 1 or 2.