Automatic Fire Extinguishing System with Modular Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Manual fire extinguishers may not be available or activated quickly enough to prevent significant damage from fires that occur unexpectedly or when a person is not present, as they require manual activation and may not be readily accessible.
Innovation Solution
An automatic fire extinguishing system that includes a monitoring system to detect environmental status and an automatic control unit capable of activating an agent dispenser to dispense aerosol fire extinguishing agent when a fire is detected, ensuring rapid and automated response.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If manual fire extinguishers are used, then the device is simple and easy to operate, but the response time is slow and may not be available quickly enough
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary detection by continuously monitoring environmental parameters (temperature, smoke, flame) before a fire fully develops. The monitoring system is pre-positioned and ready to detect early signs of fire, enabling proactive response rather than reactive response. This preliminary detection capability significantly reduces response time while maintaining automated operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an automatic control unit as an intermediary between the monitoring system and the agent dispenser. This intermediary processes detection data, determines fire conditions, and automatically triggers the appropriate response. The intermediary enables automated decision-making, eliminating the need for human intervention while maintaining system reliability and reducing response time.
2Extent of automation
If manual fire extinguishers are used, then the device structure is simple, but the system requires human presence and manual activation
Solution Approach 1:
The fire suppression system is designed to be self-service by automatically detecting fire conditions and activating the appropriate agent dispenser without human intervention. The monitoring system continuously assesses environmental parameters, and when fire conditions are detected, the system automatically initiates suppression. This self-service capability ensures protection even when no persons are present, eliminating the limitation of manual extinguishers.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the monitoring system continuously provides information about environmental conditions to the automatic control unit. This feedback loop enables the system to detect changes in real-time and automatically adjust its response. The feedback mechanism ensures the system remains automated while maintaining simplicity through standardized sensor and controller integration.
3Reliability
If automatic detection and activation systems are implemented, then the response speed improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The fire suppression system is segmented into distinct functional modules: monitoring system (with separate sensors for temperature, smoke, and flame detection), automatic control unit, and agent dispenser system. This segmentation allows each module to be optimized independently and facilitates easier installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting. The modular architecture reduces overall system complexity while maintaining high reliability through specialized functionality in each segment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system monitors multiple environmental parameters (temperature, smoke concentration, flame presence) and uses changes in these parameters to detect fire conditions. By tracking parameter changes rather than relying on a single threshold, the system achieves high reliability in fire detection. The automatic control unit analyzes parameter trends and patterns to distinguish actual fire conditions from false alarm sources, improving reliability while using standardized sensing technology.
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic fire extinguishing system includes an automatic control unit and one or more fire protection units. The automatic control unit monitors one or more protected zones associated with the fire protection units, and automatically activates one or more agent dispensers when a fire is detected.