Aerosol gas ejector and inspection method therefor

Abstract

In order to provide an aerosol gas ejector in which it is possible to inspect a fire extinguishing agent with a simple method, and an inspection method for the aerosol gas ejector, this aerosol gas ejector comprises: a fire extinguishing agent that generates an aerosol through thermal decomposition; a housing that accommodates the fire extinguishing agent; an ejection port from which the generated aerosol is jetted outside the housing; and an inspection port including a recess provided to the housing, a fire extinguishing agent that is for inspection and that is stored in the recess, and a plug for sealing the recess.

Description

Aerosol gas emitter and its inspection method

[0001] The present invention relates to an aerosol gas emitter and a method for inspecting the same.

[0002] The applicant disclosed in Patent Document 1 (International Publication No. WO2017 / 134703) a fire extinguishing composition that can extinguish and suppress fires by generating an aerosol through combustion.

[0003] International Publication No. WO2017 / 134703

[0004] The applicant has continued to develop a fire extinguishing system incorporating a fire extinguishing composition, and has created an aerosol gas dispenser. It is desirable that the aerosol gas dispenser as fire extinguishing system can be easily inspected for fire extinguishing agents on a regular or irregular basis.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an aerosol gas dispenser and an inspection method thereof that allow inspection of the fire extinguishing agent to be carried out in a simple manner.

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one embodiment of the present invention provides an aerosol gas emitter comprising: a fire extinguishing agent that generates an aerosol by thermal decomposition; a housing that contains the fire extinguishing agent; a discharge port that sprays the generated aerosol outside the housing; and an inspection port that includes a recess provided in the housing, a fire extinguishing agent for inspection stored in the recess, and a plug that seals the recess.

[0007] In the aerosol gas emitter of the present invention, it is preferable that the inspection hatch includes a plurality of inspection hatches arranged on the outer surface of the housing.

[0008] In the aerosol gas emitter of the present invention, it is preferable that the plurality of inspection hatches are arranged in a substantially concentric pattern.

[0009] In the aerosol gas emitter of the present invention, it is preferable that the plurality of inspection hatches are arranged at approximately equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

[0010] In the aerosol gas emitter of the present invention, it is preferable that the inside of the inspection hatch communicates with the inside of the housing.

[0011] Another embodiment of the present invention provides a method for inspecting the above-mentioned aerosol gas sprayer, the inspection method including the steps of opening the inspection hatch to remove the fire extinguishing agent for inspection, and inspecting the fire extinguishing agent for inspection.

[0012] According to the present invention, an inspection hatch is provided in the housing of the aerosol gas dispenser, so that inspection of the fire extinguishing agent can be carried out by a simple method of opening the inspection hatch and removing and examining the fire extinguishing agent for inspection.

[0013] 1 is an exploded view showing the overall configuration of an aerosol gas emitter 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view, a side view, and a top view showing an outline of the emitter main body 10. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the emitter main body 10. FIG. 4 is a front view, a partial cross-sectional side view, and a top view showing an outline of the housing 15. FIG. 5 is a front view, a side view, and a cross-sectional view along line A-A showing the emission port 17 and the inspection hatch 19. FIG. 6 is a front view and a partial cross-sectional side view showing an outline of the inspection hatch 19. FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining the arrangement of the fire extinguishing agent 13. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the shapes of agents 131 to 134. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an outline of the emission of aerosol gas.

[0014] Representative embodiments of the aerosol gas emitter and its method of use according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to these drawings. Furthermore, since the drawings are intended to conceptually explain the present invention, the dimensions, ratios, and numbers may be exaggerated or simplified as necessary to facilitate understanding.

[0015] The aerosol gas dispenser 1 is installed in a section (protected section) of a building that is to be the target of fire extinguishing, and sprays aerosol into the protected section in the event of a fire. For example, the aerosol gas dispenser 1 is attached to the ceiling or wall of the structure.

[0016] As shown in Figure 1, the aerosol gas emitter 1 has an emitter body 10. The material of the emitter body 10 can be a metal or its alloy, and stainless steel is particularly suitable. In this embodiment, the dimensions of the emitter body 10 are approximately 500 mm in outer diameter and 150 mm in thickness, but the present invention is not limited to these.

[0017] 2 and 3, the emitter body 10 may include, as components, an initiation part 11, a fire extinguishing agent 13, a housing 15, an emission port 17, and an inspection port 19. These components will be described below in order.

[0018] The starting component 11 is a component that initiates the reaction of the fire extinguishing agent 13, and may also be called an ignition device. The starting component 11 mainly consists of an electric heater and an ignition agent (ignition agent) (neither of which are shown). The starting agent generates heat in response to heat generated by the electric heater, thereby initiating the thermal decomposition reaction of the fire extinguishing agent 13.

[0019] The extinguishing agent 13 generates an aerosol by thermal decomposition. The extinguishing agent 13 may be packaged in a protective film such as aluminum to prevent moisture absorption and protect the surface. In this embodiment, the total weight of the extinguishing agent 13 loaded in one aerosol gas emitter 1 can be approximately 2.0 to 2.2 kg, but is not limited to this.

[0020] The fire extinguishing agent 13 will be described in more detail below. However, the fire extinguishing agent may have any composition as long as it generates a fire-extinguishing aerosol (for example, potassium radicals).

[0021] The fire extinguisher composition preferably contains 20 to 50 mass % of a fuel (component A) and 80 to 50 mass % of a chlorate (component B), and further contains 6 to 1,000 mass parts of a potassium salt (component C) per 100 mass parts of the total amount of the fuel and the chlorate, and has a thermal decomposition initiation temperature in the range of more than 90°C to 260°C.

[0022] The fuel, which is the component A, generates thermal energy by combustion together with the chlorate, which is the component B, and generates an aerosol (potassium radical) derived from the potassium salt, which is the component C.

[0023] The fuel for component A is preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of dicyandiamide, nitroguanidine, guanidine nitrate, urea, melamine, melamine cyanurate, Avicel, guar gum, sodium carboxymethylcellulose, potassium carboxymethylcellulose, ammonium carboxymethylcellulose, nitrocellulose, aluminum, boron, magnesium, magnalium, zirconium, titanium, titanium hydride, tungsten, and silicon.

[0024] The chlorate salt of component B is a strong oxidizing agent that generates thermal energy when burned together with the fuel of component A, and is a component that generates an aerosol (potassium radical) derived from the potassium salt of component C.

[0025] The chlorate of component B is preferably at least one selected from the group consisting of potassium chlorate, sodium chlorate, strontium chlorate, ammonium chlorate and magnesium chlorate.

[0026] The content ratios of the fuel of component A and the chlorate of component B in a total of 100% by mass are as follows: Component A: 20 to 50% by mass, preferably 25 to 40% by mass, more preferably 25 to 35% by mass Component B: 80 to 50% by mass, preferably 75 to 60% by mass, more preferably 75 to 65% by mass

[0027] Next, the potassium salt of the C component is a component for generating an aerosol (potassium radical) by the thermal energy generated by the combustion of the A and B components.

[0028] The potassium salt of component C is preferably selected from at least one of potassium acetate, potassium propionate, monopotassium citrate, dipotassium citrate, tripotassium citrate, monopotassium trihydrogen ethylenediaminetetraacetate, dipotassium dihydrogen ethylenediaminetetraacetate, tripotassium monohydrogen ethylenediaminetetraacetate, tetrapotassium ethylenediaminetetraacetate, potassium hydrogen phthalate, dipotassium phthalate, potassium hydrogen oxalate, dipotassium oxalate, and potassium bicarbonate.

[0029] The content of component C is preferably 6 to 1,000 parts by mass, and more preferably 10 to 900 parts by mass, per 100 parts by mass of the total amount of components A and B.

[0030] Furthermore, the fire extinguisher composition has a thermal decomposition initiation temperature in the range of more than 90° C. to 260° C., preferably more than 150° C. to 260° C. Such a range of the thermal decomposition initiation temperature can be adjusted by combining the above-mentioned Components A, B, and C in the above-mentioned ratios.

[0031] In the fire extinguishing composition, components A and B are automatically ignited and burned upon receiving heat from an ignition device, generating an aerosol (potassium radical) derived from component C.

[0032] In this embodiment, the fire extinguisher composition is used as a molded body. The molded body has an apparent density of 1.0 g / cm ３ The above-mentioned materials are preferred, and they can be formed into the shape of, for example, granules, pellets of a desired shape (cylindrical or the like), tablets, spheres, discs, or the like.

[0033] In the illustrated example, four shapes of medicines 131 to 134 are used. That is, as shown in Fig. 8, medicine 131 (used as the first medicine) and medicine 134 (used as the inspection medicine) are approximately cylindrical. Medicines 132 and 133 (used as the second and third medicines) are approximately rectangular.

[0034] 3, the agent 131 is disposed substantially in the center of the radiator body 10, facing the activation component 11. The agent 131 may have a recess for inserting the tip of the activation component 11. The agent 131 has a larger outer diameter and thickness (height) than the agent 134. The agent 134 has an outer diameter and height smaller than the inner diameter and height of the recess 191 for insertion into the inspection hatch 19.

[0035] The drugs 132 and 133 are arranged in a substantially concentric pattern within the radiator body 10. In this embodiment, the drugs 132 and 133 are arranged in a double layer to surround the drug 131, but the drug arrangement is not limited to this. In the example of FIG. 7 , two types of drugs 132 and 133 with different circumferential widths are arranged in the inner ring. The drugs 132 and 133 constituting the inner ring are arranged at a distance from the drug 131. This is to ensure sufficient time from the start of reaction of the drug 131 to the start of reaction of the drugs 132 and 133. The drugs 132 constituting the outer ring are evenly arranged at wider intervals than the inner ring. This is to make the amounts of drugs in the inner and outer rings approximately equal, making the internal pressure of the radiator body 10 approximately uniform over time when aerosol is generated, and thereby stably and continuously emitting aerosol gas.

[0036] 7 and 8(B) and (C), the circumferential width of the surface of the drugs 132 and 133 facing the center of the housing 15 (or the drug 131) is narrower than the circumferential width of the opposite surface (i.e., the surface facing the peripheral wall of the housing 15). Therefore, the drugs 132 and 133 can be said to be roughly fan-shaped. This shape allows the drugs 132 and 133 to be stored efficiently (i.e., in a space-saving manner) in the housing 15.

[0037] Therefore, by arranging the chemicals 131, 132, and 133 in a substantially concentric pattern, the pyrolysis reaction initiated by the chemical 131 can be distributed as evenly as possible to the chemicals 132 and 133, and the reaction time of the chemicals can be sufficiently extended. This ensures that a sufficient amount of aerosol is ejected for a sufficient period of time. Furthermore, as shown in Figures 8(B) and 8(C), the chemical 132 has a larger width (circumferential length) than the chemical 133. By using different chemicals 132 and 133 in this manner, it is possible to adequately and appropriately arrange the fire extinguishing chemical 13 to match the dimensions of the housing 15.

[0038] Next, the housing 15 will be described. The housing 15 stores the fire extinguishing agent 13 in isolation from the outside air. The housing 15 is substantially cylindrical and has an internal storage space for the fire extinguishing agent 13. In this embodiment, the outer diameter of the housing 15 is approximately 500 mm, but is not limited to this.

[0039] 4A and 4B, for example, a plurality of pins 153 are provided inside the housing 15. The plurality of pins 153 may be arranged, for example, in a substantially concentric pattern. As shown in FIG. 7, the plurality of pins 153 are arranged so that the four peripheral surfaces of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped drugs 132, 133 (excluding the surface of the drug 132 constituting the outer ring that faces the peripheral wall of the housing 15) face the pins 153. This restricts the movement of the drugs 132, 133, and the drugs 132, 133 are arranged in desired positions.

[0040] For example, as shown in FIG. 5A, a radiation port 17 and an inspection hatch 19 are arranged on a front surface 151 of the housing 15 (the surface on the protected compartment side, or it may be called a lid).

[0041] The emission port 17 is an opening for releasing the aerosol gas inside the housing 15 to the outside. The emission port 17 is, for example, a substantially circular hole. It is preferable to provide multiple emission ports 17, but a single emission port 17 is also acceptable. The emission port 17 may have a protrusion 172 protruding from the inner edge of the emission port 17 toward the center of the hole. Forming the protrusion 172 on the emission port 17 allows the emission port 17 to open evenly, improving the diffusion of the aerosol gas. The protrusion 172 is also useful for suppressing noise associated with the rupture of the emission port 17, which is advantageous when the aerosol gas emitter 1 is installed in, for example, a server room. In the illustrated example, all emission ports 17 have the protrusion 172, but some emission ports 17 may not have the protrusion 172.

[0042] For example, the protrusions 172 are fan-shaped. The angle α of the protrusions 172 shown in FIG. 5 is less than 180 degrees, more preferably an acute angle, and even more preferably 30 to 40 degrees. In the illustrated example, all of the protrusions 172 have the same angle α, but each protrusion 172 may have a different angle. The dimensions of the protrusions 172 may be designed appropriately depending on, for example, the dimensions of the aerosol gas emitter 1 and the emission port 17, the aerosol gas injection conditions, etc. In the illustrated example, the protrusions 172 have approximately the same dimensions, and their tips face radially (i.e., outward) from the front surface 151, but are not limited thereto.

[0043] From the viewpoint of spraying the aerosol gas evenly into the protected area, it is preferable that the outlets 17 are arranged concentrically and at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the front surface 151 of the housing 15. For example, one outlet 17 has an inner diameter of 40 mm, and 16 outlets 17 are arranged on the front surface 151 of the housing 15, with a total area of ​​about 20,000 mm. ２ ], but is not limited to this.

[0044] The emission port 17 is normally sealed with a sheet material 171 to seal the radiator main body 10. As the internal pressure in the housing 15 increases, the sheet material 171 is pressed against the emission port 17 and breaks upon contact with the protrusion 172. This opens the emission port 17, and the aerosol gas is released to the outside through the emission port 17. A sheet or film made of a metal such as aluminum can be suitably used as the sheet material 171, but is not limited to this.

[0045] The inspection hatch 19 is a component for checking the storage status of the fire extinguishing agent 13. In the illustrated example, the inspection hatch 19 is provided on the front surface 151 from the viewpoint of ease of inspection work, but the inspection hatch 19 may be provided anywhere on the housing 15 as long as the environment inside the inspection hatch 19 is equivalent to that inside the housing 15.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 6 , the inspection hatch 19 can be configured as a recess 191 formed in the front surface 151 of the housing 15, and a plug 193 that seals the opening of the recess 191. A predetermined amount of inspection agent 134 is contained within the recess 191. The inspection agent 134 is sealed from the outside air by the plug 193 and a sealing material 195 such as an O-ring. The plug 193 can be configured, for example, as a bolt that engages with a groove formed on the inner surface of the recess 191. The inspection agent 134 is smaller in amount than the other agents 131 to 133, and a weight of, for example, about 2 g is sufficient.

[0047] The interior of inspection hatch 19 communicates with the interior (storage space) of housing 15 via a hole formed in the bottom or peripheral wall of inspection hatch 19. In other words, inspection agent 134 can be said to be in the same environment as fire extinguishing agent 13. Therefore, by examining inspection agent 134, the state of fire extinguishing agent 13 can be ascertained.

[0048] The inspection agent 134 is removed when inspecting the aerosol gas emitter 1. In this embodiment, nine inspection hatches 19 may be attached to one aerosol gas emitter 1, but there is no limit to the number of inspection hatches 19 that can be installed.

[0049] Returning to the description of the aerosol gas emitter 1, as shown in Fig. 1, the emitter body 10 is housed in a storage box 20 for protection and for attachment to an installation surface. The storage box 20 includes a substantially plate-shaped back plate 21, a storage box housing 23 that opens toward the front (the protected compartment side) and the rear (the side opposite the front), and a storage box cover 25.

[0050] The back plate 21 is a substantially square plate material. One side of the back plate 21 is fixed to the installation surface, and the radiator body 10 is attached to the other side. The material of the back plate 21 is a metal or its alloy, such as stainless steel. The storage box housing 23 is a substantially square frame that surrounds and protects the radiator body 10 and is attached to the back plate 21. The material of the storage box housing 23 is a metal or its alloy, such as stainless steel. The storage box cover 25 is a substantially rectangular plate material made of punched metal 251. The material of the storage box cover 25 is a metal or its alloy, such as stainless steel. It is preferable that the diameter of each hole formed in the punched metal 251 is larger than the diameter of the radiation port 17 and that they are regularly arranged at predetermined intervals.

[0051] The aerosol gas emitter 1 is installed in the following manner: the back plate 21 is attached to the installation surface. Next, the emitter body 10 is fixed to the back plate 21, and the storage box housing 23 is fixed to the back plate 21. Then, the storage box cover 25 is fixed to the front of the storage box housing 23.

[0052] The operation flow of the aerosol gas emitter 1 will be described below with reference to Figure 9. When a flame occurs in the protected area, a control signal from a control panel (not shown) causes an initiation current to flow through the electric wire of the initiation component 11. This causes an electric heater (not shown) to generate heat, causing the initiation agent to react.

[0053] The reaction heat of the initiator (not shown) is the starting point, and the reaction begins first in the central extinguishing agent 13, i.e., agent 131. The reaction then spreads to the surrounding extinguishing agents 13 (i.e., agents 132 and 133), and the entire amount of extinguishing agent 13 loaded in the aerosol gas dispenser 1 reacts. By devising the arrangement of the extinguishing agents 13 in this way, it is possible to generate aerosols stably and continuously.

[0054] Aerosol gas is generated by the reaction of the fire extinguishing agent 13, and the aerosol gas fills the housing 15 of the sprayer main body 10. This increases the internal pressure of the housing 15. When the internal pressure of the housing 15 exceeds a predetermined threshold, the sheet material 171 of the spray port 17 is torn, opening the spray port 17. This causes the aerosol gas to be sprayed from the spray port 17 through the storage box cover 25 into the protected compartment, extinguishing or suppressing the flames in the protected compartment.

[0055] Next, there will be described a procedure for inspecting the aerosol gas emitter 1. Inspection may be carried out periodically, for example, once every six months or once a year, or may be carried out irregularly.

[0056] An inspector opens one of the inspection hatches 19, removes the inspection agent 134, and checks or inspects its condition by analysis, visual inspection, or the like. The inspection hatch 19 is located on the front surface 151 of the housing 15, so the inspector can easily remove it. The removed plug 193 may be returned to the inspection hatch 19, but the inspection agent 134, once removed, is not replaced. Inspection items for the agent 134 may be, for example, any one or any combination of the following: measurement of dimensions and weight; visual confirmation of the presence or absence of cracks, deformation, scratches, etc.; measurement of water content; measurement of potassium element content; aerosol gas generation performance; and measurement of potassium element concentration in the aerosol gas, but are not limited to these.

[0057] If the removed inspection agent 134 is in a good condition, it can be said that the inspection agent 134 and the fire extinguishing agent 13 in the housing 15 are in substantially the same environment, and therefore it can be determined that there is no defect in the fire extinguishing agent 13. Conversely, if the removed inspection agent 134 is in a bad condition, it can be determined that there is a possibility that there is a defect in the fire extinguishing agent 13 in the housing 15, and the aerosol gas sprayer 1 can be replaced, or the fire extinguishing agent 13 in the housing 15 can be replaced.

[0058] In this way, since an inspection hatch 19 is provided on the front surface 151 of the radiator body 10, inspection of the fire extinguishing agent 13 can be carried out by the simple method of opening the inspection hatch 19, removing the fire extinguishing agent 13 for inspection, and examining it.

[0059] The above describes an aerosol gas dispenser and its method of use according to one embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these. Various design modifications are possible as long as the technical concept of the present invention is maintained, and all such design modifications are included in the technical scope of the present invention. In this embodiment, different shaped agents 131 to 133 are used, but it is also possible to use only one shaped fire extinguishing agent (e.g., agent 131).

[0060] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 aerosol gas emitter 10 emitter body 11 starting part 13 fire extinguishing agent 131 to 134 agent 15 housing 17 outlet 19 inspection hatch 191 recess 193 plug 20 storage box 21 back plate 23 storage box housing 25 storage box cover

Claims

1. An aerosol gas emitter comprising: an extinguishing agent that generates an aerosol by thermal decomposition; a housing that contains the extinguishing agent; a discharge port that sprays the generated aerosol to the outside of the housing; and an inspection port that includes a recess provided in the housing, an extinguishing agent for inspection stored in the recess, and a plug that seals the recess.

2. The aerosol gas emitter according to claim 1, wherein the inspection opening includes a plurality of inspection openings arranged on an exterior surface of the housing.

3. The aerosol gas emitter according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of inspection openings are arranged in a substantially concentric pattern.

4. The aerosol gas emitter according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of inspection openings are arranged at approximately equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

5. The aerosol gas emitter according to claim 1, wherein the inside of the access hole is in communication with the inside of the housing.

6. A method for inspecting the aerosol gas emitter according to claim 1, comprising the steps of opening the inspection hatch to remove the fire extinguishing agent for inspection, and inspecting the fire extinguishing agent for inspection.

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