RALAH Attachment for Portable Fire Extinguishers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current portable fire extinguishers require two hands and adequate grip strength to operate, making them inaccessible to individuals with arm or hand limitations, thereby denying them equal fire protection and survival chances during emergencies.
Innovation Solution
A ring and lever with an adjustable harness (RALAH) is installed on portable hose-equipped fire extinguishers, allowing operation with a single finger or thumb, featuring a rigid lever attached to the handle and hose, and an adjustable harness that can be secured around the user's neck or shoulder, enabling discharge and hose manipulation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a portable fire extinguisher is designed with standard handles and hose, then it can be effectively used by persons with two functioning hands, but it becomes unusable for persons with arm or hand limitations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces intermediary devices (adhesive straps and rigid levers) that mediate between the user's limited physical capability and the fire extinguisher's operational requirements. The adhesive strap serves as a mediator to secure the lever to the user's body, while the rigid lever acts as a mediator to convert minimal user input into the force needed to operate the handles, thereby resolving the contradiction between accessibility and operational design
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive strap system enables self-service attachment and adjustment by users with limited mobility. The strap can be independently secured to the user's body using adhesive, and the rigid lever can be positioned and secured without requiring assistance from another person, allowing users to prepare and operate the extinguisher independently
2Ease of operation
If a fire extinguisher requires two hands to operate, then it provides adequate control for effective fire suppression, but it excludes persons with limited grip strength or dexterity
Solution Approach 1:
The rigid lever acts as a mechanical intermediary that amplifies the user's limited input force into sufficient operating force on the handles. By positioning the lever to engage with the handles at optimal points, it provides mechanical advantage, allowing users with limited grip strength to reliably operate the extinguisher while maintaining adequate control
Solution Approach 2:
The operation of the fire extinguisher is segmented into independent control points. Instead of requiring simultaneous two-handed operation, the system allows one hand (or even one finger) to control the lever which in turn operates the handles, while the hose can be directed independently, dividing the operational tasks into manageable segments that can be performed with limited physical ability
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention provides methods and apparatus for use with common portable hose-equipped fire extinguishers that make the fire extinguishers usable and operable by persons having limited physical abilities. Embodiments of the apparatus include two aspects: a rigid lever lever, which may be provided in the shape of an “L”, and an adjustable harness with ring. The ring and lever with adjusting harness (RALAH) is intended to be installed on portable hose-equipped fire extinguishers. Embodiments of the invention include at least one harness strap attached to the fire extinguisher that may be released using a ring, and then wrapped over the head or shoulder of a user to support the fire extinguisher; a rigid (sometimes L-shaped) lever attached to both the handle and hose of the fire extinguisher; and at least one ring attached to the fire extinguisher hose that enables a person having limited physical abilities to manipulate the hose and discharge the contents of the extinguisher.