Fire extinguisher

Abstract

To further improve efficiency of inspection work in a facility including a flowing water system, a pump, and an alarm valve.SOLUTION: A fire extinguisher includes: a pump for supplying fire-extinguishing water; a motor-operated valve capable of executing opening and closing control to flow fire extinguishing water to a desired flowing water path; a sensor for detecting inspection information; and a control part. The motor-operated valve includes a third motor-operated valve group provided to set a state of a shutoff operation in which the fire-extinguishing water is not forcibly fed when the pump is activated in the inspection mode. The sensor includes various instruments that output measurement values when the pump is driven to enable quantitative inspection on whether or not the pump is functioning normally. The control unit switches the third motor-operated valve group to a closed state in the inspection mode, activates the pump, and stores the measurement values by the various instruments as inspection information, thereby executing automatic inspection of the pump in the shutoff operation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a fire extinguishing system having a water flow system, a pump, and an alarm valve, and more particularly to a fire extinguishing system having an automatic inspection function. [Background technology]

[0002] In a fire extinguishing system equipped with a sprinkler head, an alarm valve, and a pump, there is a conventional technique that allows the primary pressure value and secondary pressure value of the alarm valve to be remotely acquired (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In an area monitored by fire extinguishing equipment, when the heat of a fire causes a sprinkler head to open, water that has been filled in the secondary piping on the sprinkler head side of the alarm valve is sprayed. As water is sprayed, the pressure in the secondary piping drops, opening the alarm valve and allowing fire extinguishing water to flow from the primary piping on the water source side of the alarm valve.

[0004] Furthermore, when a flow detection signal is output from the alarm valve, the pump is started, and fire extinguishing water is supplied from the water source through the primary piping, alarm valve, and secondary piping to the sprinkler head, allowing the watering operation to continue.

[0005] Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that can remotely acquire the pressure values ​​of the primary and secondary piping of an alarm valve. As a result, inspectors can check the pressure values ​​without going to the location where the alarm valve is installed, thereby reducing inspection costs. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-85914 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] However, the conventional technology has the following problems: According to Patent Document 1, although it is possible to remotely inspect the function of the pressure value related to the alarm valve, when inspecting the function of the pump, an inspector still needs to go to the installation site and perform the inspection work.

[0008] Inspection work for fire extinguishing equipment, which involves operating pumps, is often done on holidays. Furthermore, the valves to be inspected are opened and closed manually, and the operation of each valve is judged by visually checking the instruments each time. Therefore, in order to ensure a healthy working environment for inspectors and reduce overtime, it is highly desirable to reduce the amount of work done at night and on holidays.

[0009] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide fire extinguishing equipment that achieves further efficiency in inspection work compared to conventional technology in equipment that includes a water flow system, a pump, and an alarm valve. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The fire extinguishing equipment disclosed herein comprises a pump for supplying fire extinguishing water, an electric valve that can be controlled to open and close to cause the fire extinguishing water to flow through a desired water flow path, a sensor for detecting inspection information, and a control unit, wherein the electric valve is composed of a third group of electric valves that are provided to put the pump into a closed operation state in which fire extinguishing water is not forcibly supplied when the pump is started in inspection mode, and the sensor is composed of various instruments that output measurement values ​​when the pump is operated so that it can be quantitatively inspected whether the pump is functioning normally, and the control unit switches the third group of electric valves to a closed state in inspection mode and then starts the pump, and stores the measurement values ​​from the various instruments as inspection information, thereby performing automatic inspection of the pump in closed operation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to obtain a fire extinguishing system that achieves greater efficiency in inspection work compared to conventional technology in a system including a water flow system, a pump, and an alarm valve. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a fire extinguishing system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a pump according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a desired water flow path when performance inspection is automated in the fire extinguishing equipment according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 4] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a desired water flow path when priming tank inspection is automated in the fire extinguishing system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 5] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a desired water flow path when inspection related to an alarm valve is automated in the fire extinguishing system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0013] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the fire extinguishing system of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The fire extinguishing equipment disclosed herein has a technical feature of being equipped with an automatic inspection function that uses an externally controllable electric valve to control the opening and closing of the electric valve and the operation of the pump according to the inspection item, and can store the detection results from each sensor at that time as inspection information.

[0014] Embodiment 1 First, the overall system will be described. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a fire extinguishing system according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The fire extinguishing system according to the first embodiment is configured to include a control panel 10, a pressure tank 20, a pump 30, an alarm valve 40, a sprinkler 50, a water source 60, and a priming tank 70.

[0015] Additionally, the various piping paths are provided with valves V101 to V106, V110, V111, and V120 that switch the open / closed states of the flow paths. In Fig. 1, the valves V102, V103, V105, V110, and V111, which are indicated by solid black symbols, are normally closed valves, and the valves V100, V101, V104, V106, and V120, which are indicated by white symbols, are normally open valves.

[0016] 1 illustrates a case where a water source 60 is located underground, and a priming tank 70 is provided to fill the piping connecting the pump 30 and the water source 60 with water. The sprinkler 50 has a closed sprinkler head, and when the sprinkler head opens due to the heat of a fire, water that has been filled in the secondary piping on the sprinkler head side is sprayed and used for firefighting.

[0017] The alarm valve 40 is equipped with a primary pressure measuring unit 41, a secondary pressure measuring unit 42, and a water flow detector 43. When water spraying begins, the pressure in the secondary piping drops, causing a clapper installed in the flow path within the alarm valve 40 to switch to an open state, and fire extinguishing water flows from the primary piping on the water source side to the secondary piping via the alarm valve 40.

[0018] As a result, during fire monitoring, the control unit, which is the controller within the control panel 10, starts the pump 30 upon receiving a flow detection signal output from the flow detector 43, and fire extinguishing water is supplied from the water source 60 to the sprinkler 50 via the primary piping, alarm valve 40, and secondary piping, allowing the watering operation to continue.

[0019] 2 is a diagram showing the internal configuration of pump 30, which is the target of automatic inspection according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. Pump 30 sends fire extinguishing water stored in water source 60 to the primary piping when drive unit 302 is driven in accordance with the rotation of motor 301 based on a command from the control unit.

[0020] Whether the pump 30 is functioning normally can be quantitatively checked by monitoring the measurement values ​​of various instruments, such as the voltmeter 303, ammeter 304, compound meter 305, and pressure meter 306, when the pump 30 is operated.

[0021] In the fire extinguishing equipment according to the first embodiment, various valves on the piping system are replaced with motor-operated valves that can be controlled to open and close in response to commands from a control unit, and the motor-operated valves are controlled to open and close and the pump is controlled to operate according to the inspection item, and the detection results from each sensor at that time are stored as inspection information, thereby automating the inspection of the water flow system, pump 30, and alarm valve 40. The automatic inspection function possessed by the fire extinguishing equipment according to the first embodiment will now be described in detail.

[0022] First, we will explain the automatic inspection function related to the pump 30 that is executed in the inspection mode. The function inspection of the pump 30 includes inspection during shut-off operation, performance inspection, and priming tank inspection, and different valves are opened and closed depending on the inspection.

[0023] (1) Inspection during shut-off operation Inspection during shut-off operation involves starting the pump 30, but closing all valves to stop water flow, and monitoring the measurements of the various instruments shown in Fig. 2. Therefore, in the configuration shown in Fig. 1, to automate inspection during shut-off operation, the valves V100, V101, and V104 are motor-operated valves.

[0024] In inspection mode, the control unit switches the electrically operated valves V100, V101, and V104 to a closed state, then starts the pump 30 and stores the measured values ​​of the various meters, namely the voltmeter 303, ammeter 304, compound gauge 305, and pressure gauge 306, as inspection information, thereby automatically performing inspection during shut-off operation. After the inspection during shut-off operation is completed, the control unit stops the pump 30 and returns the valves V100, V101, and V104 to an open state, thereby restoring the state to the state before inspection.

[0025] (2) Performance inspection The performance inspection is an inspection in which the valves in the path that returns water drawn from the water source 60 by the pump 30 to the water source 60 are opened to allow water to flow, and the measured values ​​of the various instruments shown in Fig. 2 are monitored. Therefore, in the configuration shown in Fig. 1, in order to automate the performance inspection, the valves V100, V101, V102, V103, and V104 are made motor-operated valves.

[0026] 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a desired water flow path when a performance inspection is automated in the fire extinguishing equipment according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 3, the desired water flow path when a performance inspection is performed is added as a thick arrow line to FIG. 1.

[0027] In the inspection mode, the control unit switches the motor-operated valves V100, V101, and V104 to a closed state, and switches the motor-operated valves V102 and V103 to an open state. That is, the control unit controls the opening and closing of the first motor-operated valve group made up of valves V100 to V104 so as to circulate the fire extinguishing water from the water source 60 by driving the pump 30, and not to supply the fire extinguishing water to the alarm valve 40 side.

[0028] Furthermore, the control unit starts the pump 30 and stores the measurement values ​​of the flow meter 31 and the measurement values ​​of various instruments such as the voltmeter 303, ammeter 304, compound meter 305, and pressure meter 306 as inspection information in order to quantitatively evaluate the operating performance of the pump 30, thereby automatically performing a performance inspection while running water through the path shown in Figure 3.

[0029] After the performance inspection is completed, the control unit stops the pump 30, and returns the valves V100, V101, and V104 to the open state and the valves V102 and V103 to the closed state, thereby restoring the state to that before the inspection.

[0030] (3) Priming tank inspection Priming tank inspection is an inspection in which water from priming tank 70 is drained into water source 60, and it is confirmed that the water level in priming tank 70 drops to a low water level causing a low water level alarm to sound, and then the valve on the drainage path to water source 60 is closed and the valve on the water supply path is opened to confirm that priming tank 70 is filled with water and the water supply stops. Therefore, in the configuration shown in Figure 1, valves V105 and V106 are made motor-operated valves in order to automate priming tank inspection.

[0031] 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a desired water flow path when priming tank inspection is automated in the fire extinguishing system according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 4, the desired water flow path when inspecting the priming tank is added as a thick arrow line to FIG. 1.

[0032] In inspection mode, the control unit switches the electrically operated valve V106 to a closed state and switches the electrically operated valve V105 to an open state for a predetermined period of time to forcibly reduce the water volume in the priming tank 70, thereby checking whether a low water level alarm is issued, and after the predetermined period of time has elapsed, returns valve V106 to an open state and valve V105 to a closed state, and checks whether the priming tank 70 is full, and stores the confirmation result as inspection information, thereby automatically performing a priming tank inspection involving drainage operation via the route shown in Figure 4.

[0033] The priming tank 70 is provided with a level switch 71, and the control unit can detect whether a low water level alarm has been issued or whether the tank is full based on the output from the level switch 71.

[0034] Next, the automatic inspection function related to the alarm valve 40 will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a desired water flow path when inspection related to the alarm valve 40 is automated in the fire extinguishing equipment according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 5, the desired water flow path when inspecting the alarm valve 40 is added as a thick arrow line to FIG. 1. Note that FIG. 5 illustrates an example in which automatic inspection is performed on one of the two alarm valves 40.

[0035] In order to automate inspections related to the alarm valve 40, the valves V110 and V111 are electrified, and by opening the valves V110 and V111, it becomes possible to simulate the state in which water is sprayed from a sprinkler.

[0036] In the inspection mode, the control unit controls the opening and closing of the second group of electric valves, valves V110 and V111, to open them, simulating the state of water being sprayed from a sprinkler and creating a state in which the pressure in the secondary piping decreases.

[0037] The control unit stores whether or not a flowing water detection signal is output from the flowing water detector 43 as inspection information, thereby automatically performing inspections related to the alarm valve 40 that involve flowing water operation along the path shown in Figure 5.

[0038] The control unit can further store the results of pressure measurement by the primary pressure measurement unit 41 and the secondary pressure measurement unit 42 as inspection information.

[0039] After the inspection of the alarm valve 40 is completed, the control unit returns the valves V110 and V111 to the closed state, thereby restoring the state to the state before the inspection.

[0040] The various inspection information described above can be stored as a data history in the control unit. In addition, the control unit can store the data history and inspection information on a server or the like as needed, or can notify the customer by email or the like.

[0041] In addition, the manufacturer of the fire extinguishing equipment can access the control unit or the server from outside to obtain the inspection results. Alternatively, the manufacturer of the fire extinguishing equipment can access the control unit from outside as needed, execute the automatic inspection function at the desired timing, and then obtain the inspection results.

[0042] The automatic inspection function may be started by operating the control panel 10 on-site, or may be started manually or automatically at regular intervals remotely via a network, in the same manner as in the case of a statutory inspection.

[0043] In addition to electrifying the valves, it is also possible to further improve the efficiency of inspection work by adding new sensors. For example, by installing a vibration sensor in the pump 30, the control unit can detect abnormal shaft vibration of the pump 30 by monitoring the vibration value when the pump is driven during inspection work.

[0044] In addition, by attaching a sensor to the clapper provided in the alarm valve 40 and monitoring the open and closed states using the sensor output, it is possible to detect whether the clapper in the alarm valve 40 is functioning normally.

[0045] As described above, according to the first embodiment, valves that were previously manually opened and closed are now electrically operated, enabling open / close control to allow fire extinguishing water to flow only to desired piping routes. In the inspection mode, the motorized valves are controlled to open / close and the pumps are driven according to the inspection items, and the detection results from each sensor at that time are stored as inspection information, thereby realizing an automatic inspection function for the water flow system, pump, and alarm valve.

[0046] With this functionality, inspectors can efficiently inspect equipment including water systems, pumps, and alarm valves at the time of their choice.

[0047] In addition, the automatic inspection function can be used at any desired time before the statutory inspection, allowing the status of the water flow system, pump, and alarm valve to be quantitatively monitored before the statutory inspection, making it possible to prepare for repairs before or during the statutory inspection. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 10 Control panel, 20 Pressure tank, 30 Pump, 40 Alarm valve, 43 Flow detector, 50 Sprinkler, 60 Water source, 70 Priming tank, 71 Level switch, 301 Motor, 302 Drive unit, 303 Voltmeter, 304 Ammeter, 305 Compound gauge, 306 Pressure gauge, V100~V106, V110, V111, V120 Valves.

Claims

1. A pump for supplying fire extinguishing water; an electric valve capable of controlling opening and closing to allow the fire extinguishing water to flow through a desired water flow path; A sensor that detects inspection information; Control unit and Equipped with the motor-operated valves are configured by a third group of motor-operated valves provided to set the pump in a shut-off operation state in which the fire extinguishing water is not forcibly fed when the pump is started in the inspection mode, The sensor is composed of various instruments that output measured values ​​when the pump is driven, in order to enable quantitative inspection of whether the pump is functioning normally, The control unit In the inspection mode, the third motor-operated valve group is switched to a closed state, and then the pump is started; The measured values ​​from the various instruments are stored as the inspection information, and an automatic inspection of the pump is performed during the shut-off operation. Fire extinguishing equipment.

2. the sensor further includes a vibration sensor that outputs a vibration value when the pump is driven, The control unit By storing the vibration value when the pump is driven in the inspection mode as the inspection information, it is possible to detect abnormal shaft vibration of the pump and to perform automatic inspection of the pump. The fire extinguishing system according to claim 1.

Images