Fire extinguishing system

Abstract

To provide a fire-extinguishing system which can release fire-extinguishing gas while avoiding the occurrence of an accident by automatically determining the presence / absence of a person in a fire-extinguishing section with accuracy.SOLUTION: A fire-extinguishing system comprises: a fire-extinguishing agent release device; a starting device which starts the release operation of a fire-extinguishing agent; person detection means; sound collection means; and a control device which transmits a start signal to the starting device. The control device comprises: sound recognition means which has a function that at least determines whether or not the sound is the voice of the person by processing the sound collected by the sound collection means; clocking means which clocks the elapsed time from determination of the occurrence of fire in the fire-extinguishing section; release start time setting means which sets the release start time from the determination of the occurrence of fire to the transmission start of a start signal; and release decision means which decides transmission of the start signal when it is determined that the elapsed time has reached the release start time. When the person detection means detects the person and / or the sound recognition means determines that the sound is the voice of the person, the release start time setting means changes the release start time to the time longer than the predetermined length.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a fire extinguishing system that uses a fire extinguishing agent (including a fire extinguishing gas), and to a technology that is effective in preventing accidents in which the fire extinguishing agent is released while people are present in the fire extinguishing area. [Background technology]

[0002] Systems that extinguish fires that break out in enclosed spaces (protected areas), such as mechanical parking lots, by simultaneously releasing non-flammable gases such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide (hereafter referred to as fire extinguishing gases) are becoming widespread. Nitrogen gas and halon gas are used as fire extinguishing gases, taking into consideration the ease of piping installation and release time, but there are also some fire extinguishing systems that use carbon dioxide gas. In the past, in fire extinguishing systems that use fire extinguishing gas, in addition to human error of judgment, there have been reported accidents in which workers accidentally cut the signal line transmitting the fire detection signal while performing inspections within a protected area (fire extinguishing area), causing an unintended signal to be sent to the starting device (control device), leading to the system determining that a fire has occurred and resulting in the release of fire extinguishing gas.

[0003] From the viewpoint of preventing the occurrence of accidents such as those described above, Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which a gas-based fire extinguishing system that emits fire extinguishing gas is activated by an AND condition (logical product) between a detection signal from a fire detector, i.e., a fire occurrence signal, and a signal output from a human body sensor (human presence sensor) that detects people, indicating that the protected area is unoccupied. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-255117 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] According to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, even if the triggering device receives a fire signal, if the output of the human presence sensor indicates the presence of a person, the AND condition is not met, and therefore the release of extinguishing gas can be prevented. However, because the detection range of the human presence sensor is somewhat limited, there is a problem in that if a person is outside the detection range, including behind an object, the sensor may make an incorrect judgment and release extinguishing gas.

[0006] The present invention has been made in response to the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a fire extinguishing system that uses a fire extinguishing agent that can automatically and accurately determine whether or not there are people in the fire extinguishing area, thereby avoiding accidents and enabling the safe release of the fire extinguishing agent. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides: a fire extinguishing agent discharge device installed in the fire extinguishing area and configured to discharge a fire extinguishing agent; a starter that receives a start signal instructing the start of a discharge operation of the extinguishant and activates the extinguishant discharge device to start the discharge operation of the extinguishant; a person detection means installed in the fire extinguishing area for detecting the presence of a person; a sound collection means installed in the fire extinguishing area for collecting sounds within the fire extinguishing area; a control device that transmits the start signal to the activation device when a predetermined condition is satisfied; In a fire extinguishing system comprising: The control device a voice recognition means having a function of processing the sound collected by the sound collection means and determining at least whether the sound is a human voice; a timing means for timing the elapsed time since it was determined that a fire had occurred in the fire extinguishing area; a discharge start time setting means for setting a discharge start time from when the occurrence of a fire is determined to when the start signal is transmitted; a release determination means for determining transmission of a start signal when determining that the elapsed time has reached the release start time; and The emission start time setting means is configured to change the emission start time to a time longer than a specified length when the human detection means detects a human and / or the voice recognition means determines that the sound is a human voice.

[0008] According to a fire extinguishing system having the above-described configuration, when the human detection means detects the presence of a person within the fire extinguishing area or when the voice recognition means determines that the sound collected by the sound collection means is a human voice, the release start time is changed to a time longer than the default length, so that the start of the release of the fire extinguishing agent can be delayed when it is determined that a fire has occurred, thereby ensuring that people within the fire extinguishing area have time to exit, avoiding the occurrence of accidents and allowing the release of the fire extinguishing agent to be started safely.

[0009] Preferably, the fire extinguishing system further comprises an audio output means installed in the fire extinguishing area, the sound output means and the sound collection means are each installed near the human detection means, When the control device determines that a fire has occurred and the human detection means detects the presence of a person, the control device causes the voice output means to output a guidance voice requesting speech related to the content of a notice placed near the human detection means that detected the person, The emission start time setting means is configured to change the emission start time to a length of time proportional to the distance from the sound collection means to the exit of the fire extinguishing area when the result of processing by the voice recognition means of the sound collected by the sound collection means corresponds to the content of the notice.

[0010] Alternatively, the fire extinguishing system further comprises an audio output means installed in the fire extinguishing area, the sound output means and the sound collection means are each installed near the human detection means, When the control device determines that a fire has occurred but the human detection means does not detect the presence of a human, the control device causes the voice output means to output a guidance voice requesting the user to utter specific words, The emission start time setting means is configured to change the emission start time to a length of time proportional to the distance from the sound collection means to the exit of the fire extinguishing area when the result of processing by the voice recognition means of the sound collected by the sound collection means corresponds to the specific word.

[0011] According to the above-described configuration, when the human detection means detects the presence of a person within the fire extinguishing area and the audio requested in the audio guidance output by the audio output means is collected, the release start time is changed to a time longer than the default length, so that the start of release of the fire extinguishing agent can be delayed when it is determined that a fire has occurred. Moreover, since the release start time is changed to a time proportional to the distance from the sound collection means to the exit of the fire extinguishing area, even if a person is located far from the entrance or exit of the fire extinguishing area when a fire occurs, the person can have enough time to exit, and the release of the fire extinguishing agent can be started safely while avoiding the occurrence of an accident.

[0012] Furthermore, preferably, when the voice recognition means does not recognize that the sound collected by the sound collection means for a certain period of time is the voice of a person expressing the specific words, the control device outputting a guidance voice requesting a predetermined action from the voice output means; The emission start time setting means is configured to change the emission start time to a length of time proportional to the distance from the sound collection means that collected the sound to the exit of the fire extinguishing area when the result of processing the sound by the voice recognition means is a gesture sound resulting from the specified action.

[0013] According to the above-described configuration, when the human detection means detects the presence of a person within the fire extinguishing area and collects the sound of the person's movements associated with the actions requested by the voice guidance output by the voice output means, the discharge start time is changed to a time longer than the default length, so that the start of discharge of the fire extinguishing agent can be delayed when it is determined that a fire has occurred. Moreover, since the discharge start time is changed to a time proportional to the distance from the sound collection means to the exit of the fire extinguishing area, even if a person is located far from the entrance or exit of the fire extinguishing area when a fire occurs, the person can have enough time to exit and the discharge of the fire extinguishing agent can be started safely.

[0014] Also, preferably, the release decision means decides to send the start signal if the human detection means does not detect the presence of a human within the fire extinguishing area when the elapsed time reaches the release start time. With this configuration, when it is determined that a fire has broken out and it is determined that there are no people or that there are no people in the fire extinguishing area, the fire can be extinguished by quickly releasing the fire extinguishing agent.

[0015] Furthermore, it is desirable that the signal line group transmitting the signals relating to the detection of human presence output from the human detection means, the signals relating to sounds within the fire extinguishing area output from the sound collection means, and the signals relating to audio guidance output from the audio output means, and the signal line transmitting the detection signal of the occurrence of a fire, be laid apart from each other. With this configuration, the possibility of the signal lines transmitting signals from the human detection means, signals from the sound collection means, and signals related to voice guidance, and the signal line transmitting the fire detection signal being disconnected at the same time is reduced, thereby improving the reliability of the system. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] The fire extinguishing system according to the present invention has the advantage of being able to automatically and accurately determine whether or not there is a person in the fire extinguishing area, thereby avoiding the occurrence of an accident and safely releasing a fire extinguishing agent. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a fire extinguishing system according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing details of a fire extinguishing system according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a typical example of a situation within a fire extinguishing area in a fire extinguishing system according to an embodiment; [Figure 4] 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of a fire extinguishing start process in the fire extinguishing system of the embodiment. [Figure 5]5 is a flowchart showing a modified example of the fire extinguishing activation process of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] Hereinafter, an embodiment of a fire extinguishing system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a fire extinguishing system according to this embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the fire extinguishing system according to this embodiment includes fire detectors 11 installed at predetermined locations within a fire extinguishing area (protected area) PA, such as a mechanical parking lot having an enclosed space, extinguishing gas injection nozzles 12 installed at various locations within the fire extinguishing area, equipment sets 13 equipped with human sensors and the like also installed at various locations within the fire extinguishing area, gas cylinders 14 filled with extinguishing gas, and gas piping 15 connecting injection nozzles 12 and gas cylinders 14.

[0019] The fire extinguishing system of this embodiment also includes a control device 16 that determines whether a fire has occurred and whether it is necessary to release extinguishing gas based on signals from the fire detector 11 and the human presence sensor in the equipment set 13, a starting device 17 that opens a valve at the connection port of the gas cylinder 14 or the beginning end of the gas piping 15 to release extinguishing gas from the injection nozzle 12 when the control device 16 determines that extinguishing gas needs to be released, signal lines 18A and 18B that connect the fire detector 11 and the equipment set 13 to the control device 16, and a release indicator light 19 installed near the entrance and exit of the fire extinguishing area. In addition to the above-mentioned fire extinguishing system, a fire alarm system is provided which includes a fire detector 21 arranged at a predetermined location within the fire extinguishing area and a fire receiver 23 which receives a detection signal from the fire detector 21 via a signal line 22 and determines whether a fire has occurred, and the fire receiver 23 and the control device 16 of the above-mentioned fire extinguishing system are connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a signal line 24.

[0020] 2, the equipment set 13 includes a built-in human presence sensor 31, a speaker 32, and a microphone (hereinafter referred to as "mic") 33. The human presence sensor 31 is a device that has the function of detecting the human body using infrared rays, ultrasonic waves, microwaves, etc., and any existing human presence sensor can be used. Signal line 18A connecting fire detector 11 and control device 16 and signal line 18B connecting equipment set 13 and control device 16 are laid apart at a certain distance or more. This reduces the possibility of signal lines 18A and 18B being simultaneously disconnected, increasing the reliability of the system.

[0021] The control device 16 can be configured by a general-purpose data processing device including, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a non-volatile memory that stores programs executed by the CPU, and a working RAM (Random Access Memory). In this embodiment, the fire extinguishing system controlled by the control device 16 and the fire alarm system controlled by the fire receiver 23 are configured separately, but it is also possible to configure an integrated system having both fire alarm and fire extinguishing functions by, for example, having the fire receiver 23 also have the functions of the control device 16. In this case, all fire detectors (11, 21) installed within the fire extinguishing area are connected to the fire receiver 23.

[0022] In addition, the control device 16 may be configured to have a function of wirelessly notifying the fire receiver 23 or a mobile terminal held by a relevant person that the activation device 17 has been activated to start or complete the release of fire extinguishing gas. Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if the control device 16 does not determine that a fire has occurred based on a signal from the fire detector 11, if the fire receiver 23 determines that a fire has occurred based on a signal from the fire detector 21 in the fire extinguishing area and transmits information or a command to the control device 16, the activation device 17 may be activated to release extinguishing gas. Conversely, if the fire detector 11 detects a fire even if the fire detector 21 does not detect a fire, the control device 16 may transmit fire detection information and information to release extinguishing gas to the fire receiver 23.

[0023] FIG. 2 shows a specific example of the configuration of the control device 16. The control device 16 is equipped with a signal transmission / reception unit 61 that receives signals sent from the detector 11 via signal line 18A and signals from the human sensor 31 and microphone 33 in the equipment set 13 via signal line 18B, an arithmetic processing unit 62, a memory unit 63, a communication unit 64 that communicates with external devices such as a fire receiver 23, and an output unit 65 that outputs signals to the starting device 17 and release indicator light 19, and the memory unit 63 stores information on the basic gas release start time (default time), information on the increased time that delays the start of release, and multiple messages (voice guidance information) to be output from the speaker 32.

[0024] The arithmetic processing unit 62 includes a voice recognition means 62A that A / D converts the signal received from the microphone 33 via the signal line 18B by the signal transmitting / receiving unit 61 and performs voice recognition processing to determine the voice content, a gas release decision means 62B that determines the occurrence of a fire and decides to release fire-extinguishing gas based on the signal from the detector 11, a timing means (timer) 62C that measures time, a release start time setting means 62D that sets the release start time based on the recognition result of the voice recognition means 62A, a message selection means 62E, and other means, and these means are realized by a CPU (microprocessor) that constitutes the arithmetic processing unit 62 and a program executed by the CPU. The memory unit 63 is composed of a storage device such as a semiconductor memory or a hard disk. The arithmetic processing unit 62 can also be configured as an electronic circuit composed of multiple elements.

[0025] Next, the basic concept of the fire extinguishing system configured as described above when the control device 16 determines whether to activate the starting device 17 and start the release of fire extinguishing gas will be explained using Figure 3. In Figure 3, it is assumed that the entrance to the fire extinguishing area is on the right side of the drawing. In this embodiment, when the control device 16 determines that a fire has occurred based on a signal from the fire detector 11, it does not immediately start the release of extinguishing gas, but first determines whether or not there is a person in the extinguishing area by combining the signal from the human presence sensor 31 and the result of voice recognition based on the voice signal from the microphone 33. Then, if either the signal from the human presence sensor 31 or the result of voice recognition indicates the presence of a person, the injection (release) of extinguishing gas is delayed.

[0026] Here, the determination of a fire by the control device 16 based on the signal from the fire detector 11 includes not only cases where a fire actually occurs, but also cases where a signal equivalent to determining that a fire has occurred due to the disconnection of the signal line 18A is input to the control device or receiver. In addition, the law requires that there must be at least 20 seconds between the detection of a fire and the activation of the device and the release of the fire extinguishing agent (fire extinguishing gas), and there is no upper limit, so delaying the release of the fire extinguishing gas is not a problem from the viewpoint of compliance with the law and prioritizing human life.

[0027] Furthermore, while current voice recognition technology has established the technology to recognize voices uttered by specific individuals and specific terms, it is difficult to distinguish between general sounds and arbitrary words uttered by an unspecified number of people. Therefore, in the fire extinguishing system of this embodiment, a speaker 32 built into the equipment set 13 is used to output a voice so that a predetermined word (phrase) is spoken in the event of a fire, and words uttered by people within the fire extinguishing area are collected by a microphone 33, which performs voice recognition processing, and a determination is made based on the recognition processing results. This makes it possible to accurately determine whether or not there is someone within the fire extinguishing area.

[0028] However, judgments based on signals from the motion sensor 31 are not 100% accurate, for example, when a person is in the shade. Furthermore, as mentioned above, voice recognition also has low reliability. Therefore, a master-slave relationship may be established between the motion sensor and voice recognition, and a judgment based on the motion sensor may be made first. If the judgment result is unclear, the voice recognition result may also be taken into account when making a final judgment.

[0029] 3, number tags 34 are posted near the motion sensor 31 or the speaker 32, and when it is determined that a fire has occurred based on a signal from the fire detector 11, a message requesting that the number (number) written on the number tag 34 be read out is announced from the speaker 32 located near the motion sensor 31 that detected the person. Then, words uttered by the person in response to this announcement are collected by the microphone 33 and subjected to voice recognition processing, and the content of the voice is determined based on the results of the recognition processing. In this case, because the words (numbers) to be read out are specified, the reliability of the voice recognition processing results is higher than when random words are collected and judged. This makes it possible to accurately determine whether there is a person in the fire extinguishing area even when the judgment result based on the human presence sensor is ambiguous. As a result, it is possible to prevent workers who are working in the shadows and do not notice the fire from being late in escaping.

[0030] Furthermore, when determining that there is a person in the extinguishing area and delaying the time until the start of the release of extinguishing gas, the delay time may be changed depending on the position of the microphone that picked up the person's voice and the distance to the exit. As a result, in the case of the layout shown in Figure 3, for example, even if the time until the start of release is delayed based on the results of sound collection from the microphone near number 1 and it takes longer than expected to reach the area near number 3, by resetting the delay time according to the distance from the microphone near number 3 to the exit, it is possible to exit the fire extinguishing area in time for the release of extinguishing agent to begin, preventing an accident from occurring. Therefore, it is effective in preventing accidents caused by the accidental release of fire extinguishing gas due to incorrect operation during inspection work of fire extinguishing equipment. It is also effective in preventing people from being late in escaping when a fire actually occurs. Furthermore, if it is determined that people are still present in the fire extinguishing area even after several delays in the release, the release of fire extinguishing gas will basically be stopped.

[0031] In addition, when delaying the time until the release of fire extinguishing gas, an announcement such as "A fire has occurred. Fire extinguishing gas will be released. Please leave through the emergency exit within the next x minutes" will be made. Furthermore, it is possible that the motion sensor 31 may not be responding due to a malfunction or dead battery, and in such cases, it is important to confirm that the alarm is not a false alarm. Therefore, an announcement may be made from all speakers installed within the fire extinguishing area requesting that a specific phrase (such as "Please wait") be loudly uttered. Furthermore, such an announcement should be made so as not to overlap in time with the announcement announcing the start time of the release of the fire extinguishing gas.

[0032] Next, an example of a specific procedure for the fire extinguishing activation process by the control device 16 in the fire extinguishing system of this embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of Fig. 4. The fire extinguishing activation process according to this flowchart is started when the power of the control device 16 is turned on. 4, the control device 16 first checks the detection signal from the fire detector 11 and the information signal from the fire receiver 23 to determine whether or not a fire has occurred in the target fire extinguishing area (step S1). Then, the process proceeds to step S2 where it determines that a fire has occurred (Yes), starts timing by the timer 62C, and sets the discharge start time to a default value.

[0033] Thereafter, the control device 16 concurrently executes a voice guidance process (steps S11 and S12) using the speaker 32 and a safety confirmation discharge process (steps S21 to S31) that starts the discharge of fire extinguishing gas after checking for the presence or absence of people. The voice guidance process (S11 and S12) on the left side of the flowchart in Fig. 4 is repeatedly executed at a predetermined cycle until the system is reset by a timer interrupt or the stop button is operated. On the other hand, the safety confirmation discharge process (S21 to S31) on the right side of the flowchart in Fig. 4 is repeatedly executed at a time interval significant for achieving the purpose of the process (for example, half the time of the discharge start time) until the timer 62C started in step S2 finishes timing the discharge start time.

[0034] In the voice guidance process on the left, first in step S11, a legally prescribed announcement such as "Fire. Fire. Fire extinguishing agent will be released. It is dangerous, so please evacuate" is made once. Then, time is secured to make a voice guidance (once) request that may be set during the safety confirmation release process (step S12). In addition, when the voice guidance is executed at the time reserved in step S12, it is desirable to provide an interval of a few seconds between the announcement in step S11 and the announcement in step S12 to avoid the content being difficult to hear if it starts immediately after the announcement made in step S11.

[0035] Meanwhile, in the safety confirmation discharge process, first in step S21, the signal from the human sensor 31 is read to determine whether there is a reaction, i.e., whether there is a person in the fire extinguishing area. If it is determined that there is a person (Yes), the process proceeds to step S22, where an audio guide is given requesting the user to speak, for example, "Please read out the number on the number tag on the nearby ceiling." Next, the process proceeds to step S23, where the signal from microphone 33 is read for a predetermined time and subjected to voice recognition processing to determine whether a voice matching the request content has been obtained (step S24). If it is determined that a matching voice has not been obtained or there has been no voice response (No), the process proceeds to step S25, where the discharge start time set in step S2 is increased (extended) by a predetermined time. This is because even if it is determined in step S23 that there has been no voice response, it is determined that there is a person in the fire extinguishing area based on the signal from human presence sensor 31, and it is necessary to avoid the occurrence of an accident.

[0036] Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S30, where it is determined whether the time counted by the timer that started counting in step S2 has become longer than the set release start time. If it is determined that the time counted by the timer has become longer than the set release start time (Yes), the process proceeds to step S31, where a signal is sent to starting device 17 to start the release of fire extinguishing gas, and the process ends (symbol B). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S30 that the time counted by the timer has not yet reached the set release start time (No), the process is interrupted and restarted from step S21 after a predetermined time has passed. By repeatedly executing the above process, if the human sensor 31 detects a person even if there is no audio confirmation, the release start time can be extended, ensuring that people in the fire extinguishing area have time to leave before the extinguishing gas release begins.

[0037] Furthermore, if it is determined in step S24 above that a matching voice has been obtained (Yes), the process proceeds to step S29, where the release start time is changed to a predetermined time according to the distance from the location of the microphone that picked up the voice or the human sensor that reacted to the exit, and the process returns to step S21 (symbol A). On the other hand, if it is determined in step S21 based on the signal from the human sensor 31 that there is no one present (No), the process proceeds to step S26, and audio guidance is provided requesting the user to speak, for example, "Please say a specified phrase (such as 'wait')."

[0038] Next, the process proceeds to step S27, where the signal from the microphone 33 is read for a predetermined time and a voice recognition process is performed to determine whether a voice matching the request content has been obtained (step S28). If it is determined that a matching voice has been obtained (Yes), the process proceeds to step S29, where the release start time is changed to a predetermined time according to the distance from the location of the microphone that picked up the voice or the location of the human sensor that reacted to the voice to the exit, and the process returns to step S21.

[0039] If it is determined in step S28 that no matching voice has been obtained or that there has been no voice response (No), the process proceeds to step S30, where it is determined whether the time counted by the timer that started counting in step S2 has become longer than the set release start time. If it is determined that the time counted by the timer has become longer than the set release start time (Yes), the process proceeds to step S31, where a signal is sent to the activation device 17 to start the release of fire extinguishing gas, and the process ends.

[0040] By performing the above processing, when the human presence sensor 31 detects a person and the person is confirmed by voice, the release start time can be extended depending on the distance from the location where the person is expected to be to the exit. In the flowchart of FIG. 4, if it is determined in step S24 or step S28 that a matching voice has been obtained (Yes), the process proceeds to step S29, where the release start time is changed to a predetermined time according to the distance from the location of the microphone that picked up the voice or the human sensor that responded to it to the exit. However, as shown in FIG. 5, step S29 may be omitted, and the process may end without starting the release of fire extinguishing gas (symbol B).

[0041] (Variation) Next, a modified example of the fire extinguishing system of the above embodiment will be described. In the above embodiment, the sound collected by the microphone 33 is recognized by voice recognition processing, but depending on the acoustic conditions in the fire extinguishing area, it is possible that the accuracy of sound collection by the microphone 33 may decrease. Therefore, if voice recognition is unsuccessful for a certain period of time, the system may switch from voice recognition processing to sound recognition processing and request an announcement to make a gesture (for example, clapping) and, if the sound collected by the microphone 33 is recognized as the requested gesture, it may be determined that someone is present and the release of fire extinguishing gas may be delayed.

[0042] In addition, if the fire detector 11 malfunctions or the battery runs out, or if the signal line 18A that transmits the signal from the human sensor 31 is broken or short-circuited, a normal signal may not be transmitted to the control device 16, making it impossible to make an appropriate decision. Therefore, the detector may be provided with a fault detection function, or the control device 16 may be provided with a function for detecting breaks or short circuits in the signal line 18A. If the break or short circuit detection function is introduced and a break in the signal line 18A is detected, an announcement such as "An equipment malfunction has occurred, so please evacuate anyone inside immediately" is made. On the other hand, if a short circuit is detected, the device switches to a mode in which it operates as a conventional fire extinguishing device without using the motion sensor 31. It is also possible to make an announcement urging people to evacuate due to an equipment malfunction.

[0043] While the present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, it is not limited to the above embodiments and can be modified as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiments, the equipment set 13 installed in the fire extinguishing area is provided with the human sensor 31, speaker 32, and microphone 33. However, in cases where a microphone or software with high voice or sound recognition performance is provided, the speaker 32 may be omitted and only the human sensor 31 and microphone 33 may be provided. In addition, in the above embodiment, a system is shown in which a human presence sensor 31 is installed in the area to be monitored and a human body detection signal is transmitted to the control device 16, but instead of the human presence sensor, a video camera may be installed and the captured images may be transmitted to the control device 16, and the presence or absence of a person may be determined by image processing.

[0044] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the occurrence of a fire is determined based on the output of a fire detector, but this is not limited to this. For example, a person who visually confirms the presence of fire or smoke (such as a system or building manager, or a third party who happens to be present) may be configured to operate a receiver or transmitter to notify the control device 16 of the occurrence of a fire. In addition, if it is confirmed that no one is present after a fire breaks out, a function may be provided that allows the release of fire extinguishing gas to be started manually as appropriate. Furthermore, even if the system (control device 16) determines that no one is present, if it is confirmed by some means that someone is present, a function may be provided that prevents the release of fire extinguishing gas by manual operation input. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 11 Fire detector 12 Gas injection nozzle (fire extinguishing agent discharge device) 13 Equipment Set 14 Gas cylinder (fire extinguishing agent discharge device) 15 Gas piping 16 Control device 17 Starting device 18 Signal Line 19 Emission indicator light 21 Fire detector 22 Signal line 23 Fire alarm receiver 24 signal line 31 Human sensor (human detection means) 32 Speaker (audio output means) 33 Microphone (sound collection means) 34 Numbered tags (posters)

Claims

1. a fire extinguishing agent discharge device installed in the fire extinguishing area and configured to discharge a fire extinguishing agent; a starter that receives a start signal instructing the start of a discharge operation of the extinguishant and activates the extinguishant discharge device to start the discharge operation of the extinguishant; a person detection means installed in the fire extinguishing area for detecting the presence of a person; a sound collection means installed in the fire extinguishing area for collecting sounds within the fire extinguishing area; a control device that transmits the start signal to the activation device when a predetermined condition is satisfied; A fire extinguishing system comprising: The control device a voice recognition means having a function of processing the sound collected by the sound collection means and determining at least whether the sound is a human voice; a timing means for timing the elapsed time since it was determined that a fire had occurred in the fire extinguishing area; a discharge start time setting means for setting a discharge start time from when the occurrence of a fire is determined to when the start signal is transmitted; a release determination means for determining transmission of a start signal when determining that the elapsed time has reached the release start time; and The emission start time setting means changes the emission start time to a time longer than a predetermined time when the human detection means detects a human and / or the voice recognition means determines that the sound is a human voice. A fire extinguishing system characterized by:

2. The fire extinguishing system further includes an audio output means installed in the fire extinguishing area, the sound output means and the sound collection means are each installed near the human detection means, When the control device determines that a fire has occurred and the human detection means detects the presence of a person, the control device causes the voice output means to output a guidance voice requesting speech related to the content of a notice placed near the human detection means that detected the person, When the result of processing the sound collected by the sound collecting means by the voice recognition means corresponds to the content of the notice, the emission start time setting means changes the emission start time to a time period proportional to the distance from the sound collecting means to the exit of the fire extinguishing area.

2. The fire extinguishing system according to claim 1,

3. The fire extinguishing system further includes an audio output means installed in the fire extinguishing area, the sound output means and the sound collection means are each installed near the human detection means, When the control device determines that a fire has occurred but the human detection means does not detect the presence of a human, the control device causes the voice output means to output a guidance voice requesting the user to utter specific words, The emission start time setting means changes the emission start time to a time period proportional to the distance from the sound collection means to the exit of the fire extinguishing area when the result of processing the sound collected by the sound collection means by the voice recognition means corresponds to the specific word.

2. The fire extinguishing system according to claim 1,

4. When the voice recognition means does not recognize that the sound collected by the sound collection means for a certain period of time is the voice of a person expressing the specific words, outputting a guidance voice requesting a predetermined action from the voice output means; When the result of processing the sound by the voice recognition means is a gesture sound resulting from the predetermined action, the emission start time setting means changes the emission start time to a time period proportional to the distance from the sound collection means that collected the sound to the exit of the fire extinguishing area.

4. The fire extinguishing system according to claim 3,

5. A fire extinguishing system as described in any one of claims 2 to 4, characterized in that the release decision means decides to send the start signal if the human detection means does not detect the presence of a person within the fire extinguishing area when the elapsed time reaches the release start time.

6. a group of signal lines for transmitting signals relating to the detection of the presence of a person output from the human detection means, signals relating to the sound within the fire extinguishing area output from the sound collection means, and signals relating to the voice guidance output from the voice output means; 6. The fire extinguishing system according to claim 5, wherein the signal line for transmitting the fire detection signal is laid apart from the signal line for transmitting the fire detection signal.

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