JP7674744B2 - Fire extinguishing agent storage container and fire extinguishing equipment including same - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fire extinguishing agent storage container and a fire extinguishing system including the same.

In a fire extinguisher or other fire extinguishing agent storage container, the mouth of the container is sealed with a packing, which is mainly made of a rubber material.
Incidentally, the container is filled with a corrosive fire extinguishing agent, and since the container is generally made of a metal material such as iron, steel, or aluminum, the inner surface of the container is subjected to an anti-rust treatment, such as painting, in order to prevent corrosion (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-164539 A

When performing rust prevention treatment on the inside of a container, it is necessary to carry out a chemical conversion treatment (such as phosphate coating) of the iron, steel, or aluminum as a base treatment to improve the surface properties such as the adhesion of the paint. As such, there are many steps between the base treatment and the rust prevention treatment. Furthermore, if there are pinholes in the paint film attached to the inside of the container by the base treatment, there is a risk of corrosion progressing. For this reason, rust prevention treatment requires a lot of time and cost.

Therefore, the present invention aims to simplify the rust-proofing treatment of the inner surface of a fire extinguishing agent storage container and to eliminate the need for gaskets to seal the container.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides:
A main body having a bottomed cylindrical shape and a protruding piece protruding inward from an open end;
a bag made of a polymeric material, the bag having a bag body housed within the main body and a flange extending from an upper end of the bag body to cover an upper surface of the protruding piece;
A fire extinguishing agent filled in the bag;
a lid that covers the open end of the main body and sandwiches the flange between the lid and the protruding piece;
a valve attached to the lid for ejecting the extinguishing agent in the bag to the outside in response to a user operation;
The present invention provides a fire extinguishing agent storage container comprising:

In the fire extinguishing agent storage container of the present invention, it is preferable that the main body has a plurality of shaft portions protruding from the upper surface of the protruding piece, the flange portion has a plurality of holes corresponding to the plurality of shaft portions, and the bag is fixed onto the main body by the lid with the plurality of shaft portions inserted into the plurality of holes.

In addition, in the fire extinguishing agent storage container of the present invention, it is preferable that the flange portion has a raised portion formed along the circumferential direction on at least one of its upper and lower surfaces.

The present invention also provides a fire extinguishing system including any of the extinguishing agent storage containers described above.

According to the present invention, it is possible to simplify the rust-proofing treatment of the inner surface of the container and to omit the packing for sealing the container. This makes it possible to reduce the manufacturing costs of the fire extinguishing agent storage container.

1A to 1C are a front view showing an outline of a fire extinguishing system 1 according to a representative embodiment of the present invention, a front view in which the door of a storage box 6 is omitted, and a side view in which the side wall of the storage box 6 is omitted. 2A to 2C are a front view, a top view, and a cross-sectional view of a fire extinguishing agent storage container 2. 2A to 2C are a front view, a top view, and a cross-sectional view of a main body 11. 1A and 1B are a front view, a top view, and a cross-sectional view of a bag 12. 1A to 1C are a front view, a top view, and a cross-sectional view of a state in which a bag 12 is attached to a main body 11. 4A to 4C are diagrams showing the assembly procedure of the fire extinguishing agent storage container 2.

Below, a fire extinguishing agent storage container and a fire extinguishing system according to a representative embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these drawings. In addition, since the drawings are intended to conceptually explain the present invention, dimensions, ratios, or numbers may be exaggerated or simplified as necessary for ease of understanding.

In this embodiment, a packaged fire extinguishing system is assumed as the fire extinguishing system 1, but the present invention can also be applied to other types of fire extinguishing systems. Note that a packaged fire extinguishing system can be installed as a substitute for an indoor fire hydrant system.

As shown in Figures 1(A) to (C), the packaged fire extinguishing system 1 is composed of an extinguishing agent storage container 2, a pressurizing gas container 3, a hose 4, a nozzle 5, and a storage box 6. Although multiple extinguishing agent storage containers 2 are shown in the figure, only one may be used.

In this fire extinguishing system 1, gas filled in a pressurizing gas container 3 is introduced into a fire extinguishing agent storage container 2 through a pressure regulator (not shown), and the gas pressure causes the fire extinguishing agent to be sprayed from a nozzle 5 at the end of a hose 4. As ready-made products can be used for the pressurizing gas container 3, hose 4, nozzle 5, and storage box 6, detailed explanations are omitted.

The extinguishing agent storage container 2 will now be described in detail.
The extinguishing agent storage container 2 stores an extinguishing agent 13 and sprays the extinguishing agent 13 to the outside in response to a user operation. As shown in Figures 2(A) to (C), the extinguishing agent storage container 2 includes a main body 11, a bag 12, the extinguishing agent 13, a lid 14, and a valve 15.

As shown in Figures 3(A) to (C), the main body 11 is cylindrical with a bottom and is fixed to the storage box 6 via legs 112.

The main body 11 has a protruding piece 114 that protrudes inward from the opening end 113. From the viewpoint of sealing the main body 11, the protruding piece 114 is preferably formed around the entire circumference of the opening end 113, but may be formed on only a part of the opening end 113.

A number of shafts 115 protrude from the upper surface of the protruding piece 114. The shafts 115 are preferably arranged at equal intervals. A thread groove (not shown) is formed in the shafts 115, and engages with a nut 116 (see, for example, the enlarged view in FIG. 2(C)).

The main body 11 is made of metal, and may be made of, for example, iron, steel, aluminum, or an alloy thereof. The main body 11 is designed to withstand a predetermined internal pressure (for example, about 1 MPa).

The inner surface of the main body 11 may be subjected to an anti-rust treatment, or this may be omitted. Even if the inner surface of the main body 11 is treated to be anti-rust, the anti-rust treatment may be simplified since the fire extinguishing agent 13 does not come into direct contact with the inner surface of the main body 11, as described below.

The main body 11 contains a bag 12 made of a polymeric material (see Figs. 2(C) and 5(C)). This polymeric material may be resin (including elastomer resin) or rubber. The bag 12 is flexible or pliable enough to be inserted into the main body 11 from the open end 113 of the main body 11, and is resistant to corrosion by the extinguishing agent 13. The bag 12 has an overall balloon-like shape, and may be shaped to correspond to the inner surface of the main body 11, for example (see Fig. 4).

The bag 12 comprises a bag body 121, which is a generally cylindrical bag body with a bottom, stored in the main body 11, and a flange 122, which extends inward from the upper end of the bag body 121 and then folds back outward, and has an opening smaller than the diameter of the bag body 121. The flange 122 is annular with a predetermined width and covers the upper surface of the protruding piece 114 (see Figs. 4(A)-(C)). From the viewpoint of ensuring sealing performance and strength, it is preferable that the flange 122 is made thicker than the bag body 121 or is formed to have high strength by, for example, heat melting (see the enlarged view of Fig. 4(C)). For example, the thickness T1 of the bag body 121 is 0.5-1.5 mm, and the thickness T2 of the flange 122 is 2-4 mm.

The flange 122 has multiple holes 123 at positions corresponding to the multiple shafts 115 (see FIG. 4B). By inserting the multiple shafts 115 through the multiple holes 123, the bag 12 is appropriately positioned and fixed (prevented from rotating) to the main body 11, and the open end 113 of the main body 11 can be sealed evenly in the circumferential direction.

The flange 122 has an annular raised portion 124 formed along the circumferential direction on at least one of its upper and lower surfaces (see FIG. 4(B)). The raised portion 124 is provided to improve the sealing performance of the fire extinguishing agent storage container 2. Here, the raised portion 124 is formed on both the upper and lower surfaces of the flange 122 (see the enlarged view of FIG. 4(C)). For example, the raised portion 124 may protrude from the surface of the flange 122 by about 1 mm to 2 mm.
Therefore, with the multiple shafts 115 inserted through the multiple holes 123 , the bag 12 is fixed onto the main body 11 by the lid 14 .

As described above, the bag 12 can be made of a polymeric material such as resin or rubber, and is an integrally molded product having sufficient flexibility in the bag body 121 and a thickness sufficient to seal the open end 113 of the body 11 at the flange 122. In other words, the bag 12 has both the function of sealing the body 11 and the function of preventing rust on the inner surface of the body 11.
This eliminates the need for rust-proofing the inner surface of the container 11, and if not, a simplified rust-proofing treatment is sufficient, thus making it possible to reduce the number of manufacturing steps for the extinguishing agent storage container 2. This contributes to reducing the time and cost required for manufacturing the extinguishing agent storage container 2 and the fire extinguishing equipment 1.

The bag 12 is preferably made of rubber such as acrylonitrile butadiene rubber, but is not limited to this. Other resins or rubbers that can be used include polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, ethylene propylene rubber, styrene rubber, fluororubber, butyl rubber, etc.

The extinguishing agent 13 filled in the bag 12 may be a powder or liquid, but in this embodiment, water containing a third-class wetting agent is preferably used. In other words, in this embodiment, the bag 12 is interposed between the main body 11 and the extinguishing agent 13, and the main body 11 and the extinguishing agent 13 are designed not to come into direct contact with each other.

The lid 14 covers the open end 113 of the main body 11 (see Figures 2 (A) to (C)). That is, the lid 14 sandwiches the flange 122 between itself and the protruding piece 114, thereby sealing the main body 11. The lid 14 includes an annular portion 141 that is in close contact with the flange 122, and a convex portion 142 that protrudes upward from the inner edge of the annular portion 141.

The annular portion 141 has a plurality of holes 143 formed therein that correspond to the plurality of shaft portions 115 of the main body 11. Therefore, with the bag 12 attached to the main body 11 and the lid 14 further in place, the lid 14 can be fixed to the main body 11 by attaching nuts 116 to the plurality of shaft portions 115.
In addition, a hole (not shown) for attaching the valve 15 is formed in the center of the convex portion 142.

A valve 15 is attached to the convex portion 142 of the lid 14. The valve 15 seals the inside of the main body 11, and ejects the extinguishing agent 13 in the bag 12 to the outside in response to a user operation.
A siphon pipe 151 is connected to the valve 15 for guiding the extinguishing agent 13 in the main body 11 (bag 12) to the valve 15. In addition, the valve 15 is connected to a hose 4 having a nozzle 5 at its tip, and a tube connecting the pressurizing gas container 3.

Here, the assembly procedure of the fire extinguishing agent storage container 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, prepare the main body 11. The inner surface of the main body 11 may or may not be subjected to anti-rust treatment, but since the bag 12 is interposed between the fire extinguishing agent 13 and the main body 11, the anti-rust treatment may be simpler than in the past. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the time and cost required for the anti-rust treatment.

Next, the bag 12 is inserted from the open end 113 of the main body 11 (see FIG. 6(A)). Because the bag body 121 has sufficient flexibility and the open end 113 of the main body 11 is relatively wide, the bag body 121 can be smoothly inserted into the main body 11. At this time, the holes 123 of the flange 122 of the bag 12 are inserted onto the multiple shafts 115 of the main body 11, and the flange 122 covers the protruding pieces 114 of the main body 11.

Next, the extinguishing agent 13 is injected into the bag 12 from the open end 113 of the main body 11 (bag 12).
The integrated lid 14, valve 15 and siphon tube 151 are then inserted into the main body 11 (bag 12) (see FIG. 6B). Alternatively, the lid 14 may be attached to the main body 11, and the valve 15 and siphon tube 151 may be attached to the lid 14. In either case, the opening end 113 of the main body 11 (bag 12) is relatively wide, so that the tip of the siphon tube 151 can be prevented from damaging the bag 12. At this time, the holes 143 of the annular portion 141 of the lid 14 are inserted over the multiple shafts 115 of the protruding pieces 114 of the main body 11.

Then, nuts 116 are screwed onto the multiple shafts 115 protruding from the lid 14 to integrate the lid 14 and the body 11 (see FIG. 6C). At this time, the flange 122 of the bag 12 is sandwiched between the annular portion 141 of the lid 14 and the protruding piece 114 of the body 11, sealing the inside of the body 11. Therefore, a sealing material such as a packing can be omitted.
In this manner, the extinguishing agent storage container 2 is completed.

A method of operating the fire extinguishing system 1 will now be described.
First, the handle of the pressurizing gas container 3 is turned to fully open, whereby gas flows from the pressurizing gas container 3 into the extinguishing agent storage container 2, causing the pressure inside the extinguishing agent storage container 2 to rise.
Next, the operator holds the nozzle 5, removes the hose 4, and fully opens the cock of the nozzle 5. This causes the extinguishing agent 13 in the extinguishing agent storage container 2 to pass through the hose 4 and be sprayed from the nozzle 5 to the source of the fire.

After use, the following process is performed:
First, the handle of the pressurizing gas container 3 is turned to close it. Next, the cock of the nozzle 5 is opened to completely discharge the extinguishing agent 13 and the remaining pressure.
When refilling the extinguishing agent 13, the extinguishing agent storage container 2 is removed from the storage box 6, washed with water, and refilled with new extinguishing agent 13.
In addition, the hose 4, nozzle 5, etc. are washed with water, and the pressurizing gas container 3 is replaced with a new one.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to simplify the rust-proofing treatment of the inner surface of the body 11 of the extinguishing agent storage container 2 and to omit the packing for sealing the extinguishing agent storage container 2. This makes it possible to reduce the manufacturing costs of the extinguishing agent storage container 2.

The above describes typical embodiments of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to these, and various design modifications are possible, which are also included in the present invention.

Reference Signs List 1 Fire extinguishing equipment 2 Extinguishing agent storage container 3 Pressurizing gas container 4 Hose 5 Nozzle 6 Storage box 11 Body 12 Bag 13 Extinguishing agent 14 Lid 15 Valve 114 Projecting piece 122 Flange

Claims (5)

A main body having a bottomed cylindrical shape and a protruding piece protruding radially inward from an open end thereof;
a bag made of a polymeric material, the bag having a bag body housed within the main body and a flange extending from an upper end of the bag body to cover an upper surface of the protruding piece;
A fire extinguishing agent filled in the bag;
a lid that covers the open end of the main body and sandwiches the flange of the bag between the lid and the protruding piece of the main body ;
a valve attached to the lid for ejecting the extinguishing agent in the bag to the outside in response to a user operation;
A fire extinguishing agent storage container comprising: The flange portion extends inward from the upper end of the bag body, is folded back, and extends outward to cover the upper surface of the protruding piece of the body .
2. The fire extinguishing agent storage container according to claim 1 . The flange portion has a protruding portion formed along a circumferential direction on at least one of an upper surface and a lower surface thereof;
2. The fire extinguishing agent storage container according to claim 1 . The main body has a plurality of shaft portions protruding from an upper surface of the protruding piece,
The flange portion has a plurality of holes corresponding to the plurality of shaft portions,
the bag is fixed on the main body by the lid in a state in which the shaft portions are inserted through the holes;
2. The fire extinguishing agent storage container according to claim 1 . A fire extinguishing system comprising the fire extinguishing agent storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 4.