Fire Hose Breathable Air Supply Integration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Firefighters face challenges in simultaneously extinguishing fires and accessing breathable air through Self-Contained Breathing Apparatuses (SCBAs) due to inconvenient setups that require them to rely on separate air fill sites, which can be time-consuming and impractical, especially in large or complex structures.
Innovation Solution
Integration of a fire hose with a breathable air supply system, where a fixed piping system within the structure provides a source of breathable air, and an emergency air fill site is communicatively coupled to the fire hose, allowing regulated, pressurized air to be supplied through a separate channel within the fire hose to the SCBA, enabling firefighters to refill canisters and breathe safely while fighting fires.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If firefighters use separate air fill sites to refill SCBA canisters, then they can access breathable air, but the setup becomes time-consuming and impractical during fire suppression operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the fire suppression function and breathable air supply function into a single integrated fire hose system. The fire hose contains both a first channel for fire suppression agent and a second channel for breathable air, eliminating the need for separate air fill sites and equipment. This merging allows firefighters to perform both fire suppression and air refilling through one unified device, significantly improving ease of operation and reducing time loss.
2Reliability
If firefighters rely on separate air fill sites for SCBA refilling, then breathable air can be supplied, but the process becomes inconvenient during simultaneous fire extinguishing operations
Solution Approach 1:
The fire hose is designed with multi-functionality, serving both as a fire suppression delivery system and a breathable air supply system. The connector at the first end of the fire hose can receive either a fire suppression agent source or a breathable air source, allowing the same device to perform multiple functions. This universality ensures reliable breathable air supply while maintaining convenience during fire suppression operations, as firefighters do not need to switch between different equipment.
3Productivity
If a fixed piping system is used for breathable air supply, then air can be delivered to emergency air fill sites, but the system complexity increases when integrating with fire suppression infrastructure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the fixed piping system for breathable air with the fire suppression infrastructure by integrating both air supply and fire suppression channels into the fire hose assembly. This consolidation reduces the number of separate systems and components that need to be installed and maintained, thereby reducing overall system complexity while maintaining efficient breathable air delivery through the integrated second channel of the fire hose.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution allows firefighters to rapidly refill SCBA canisters and maintain a safe air supply while fighting fires, reducing the time and effort required to access breathable air, even in large or complex structures, by integrating the air supply directly into the fire hose used for fire suppression.
Implementation Method 1
a regulated, pressurized volume of the breathable air may be supplied through a separate channel within the fire hose to a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)
Data Source
AI summary
A breathable air supply system within a structure includes a fixed piping system permanently installed therewithin serving as a source of breathable air, and an emergency air fill site communicatively coupled to the fixed piping system to port a regulated, pressurized volume of the breathable air out through a first connector thereof. The first connector is connectably complementary to a second connector of a fire hose configured to carry a fire suppression agent through a first channel thereof. The second connector is communicatively coupled to a second channel of the fire hose separate from the first channel and configured to carry the regulated, pressurized volume of the breathable air therethrough to an SCBA of a user. Connection of the first connector to the second connector supplies the regulated, pressurized volume of the breathable air through the second channel to an end of the fire hose couplable to the SCBA.