Remote Sprinkler Water Shutoff After Verified Fire Extinction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Fire suppression systems in buildings often cause extensive water damage due to their inability to be remotely controlled after a fire has been extinguished, leading to continued water discharge until manually shut off, which can result in significant damage to property.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method and system that allows for remote monitoring and control of fire suppression systems, utilizing sensors to detect when a fire is extinguished and enabling a user to remotely shut off the water supply through a computing device, ensuring minimal damage by verifying the fire's extinction with redundant sensor data before allowing water supply deactivation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fire suppression systems use mechanically activated sprinkler heads that cannot be individually shut off, then the system can reliably extinguish fires, but extensive water damage occurs because the water supply cannot be turned off individually for each head
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the water supply control into individual segments by providing each sprinkler head with its own electromechanical valve and control circuitry. This allows each head to be independently controlled, enabling the system to maintain reliable fire extinguishing capability while preventing water damage by shutting off individual heads after fire extinction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback mechanisms where sprinkler heads transmit activation status and fire extinction detection information to a central control system. The control system monitors these signals and automatically activates/deactivates electromechanical valves based on real-time fire conditions, ensuring reliable fire suppression while minimizing water damage through automated control.
2Device complexity
If fire suppression systems rely on manual shutdown by firefighters, then the system structure remains simple, but significant water damage occurs during the response time before firefighters arrive
Solution Approach 1:
The fire suppression system performs self-service by automatically detecting fire extinction through sensors and autonomously controlling the electromechanical valves to shut off water supply. This eliminates the need for manual intervention by firefighters to stop water flow, significantly reducing water damage during response time while maintaining relatively simple system structure through automated self-control.
Solution Approach 2:
The system prepares for potential water damage by pre-installing electromechanical valves and control systems that can immediately shut off water supply upon detecting fire extinction. This preliminary preparation enables rapid automated shutdown without waiting for firefighter arrival, reducing water damage while keeping the overall system structure manageable.
3Reliability
If sprinkler heads continue dousing until water supply is manually turned off, then fire extinguishing is ensured, but property damage increases due to prolonged water discharge
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses feedback from fire detection sensors to monitor fire extinction status in real-time. When sensors detect that the fire has been extinguished, the feedback signal triggers the control system to automatically deactivate electromechanical valves, stopping water discharge. This ensures complete fire extinguishing while minimizing water loss and property damage by ending water supply promptly after fire extinction.
Solution Approach 2:
The system replaces the purely mechanical manual shutdown approach with an automated electromechanical control system. Electromechanical valves controlled by electronic circuits and sensors substitute for manual valve operation, enabling automatic termination of water supply based on fire extinction detection. This substitution maintains reliable fire extinguishing while significantly reducing water loss and property damage through automated control.
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 minimizes both fire and water damage by allowing timely shutdown of fire suppression systems once a fire is confirmed extinguished, reducing the risk of re-emergence and improving the system's reliability and safety.
Implementation Method 1
transmitting a control signal that causes an electromechanical device to close the water valve within the building
Implementation Method 2
glass bulbs that apply pressure to a cap that acts as a plug to prevent water from flowing out of the sprinkler head. Such glass bulbs are heat-sensitive, such as through the use of an internal liquid that expands in response to heat
Data Source
AI summary
In one implementation, a computer-implemented method includes receiving, at a computer system, information that indicates that a fire has been detected in a building and that a fire suppression system within the building has begun dousing the fire; monitoring sensor information from one or more sensors located within the building; determining, by the computer system and based on the sensor information, whether the fire has been extinguished; activating, in response to determining that the fire has been extinguished, a feature to turn off a water supply to the building, the feature being presented on a computing device for a user who is associated with the building; receiving, after activating the feature and from the computing device, a command to turn off the water supply; and transmitting, by the computer system, a control signal that causes an electromechanical device to close a water valve within the building.