|
(11) | EP 1 563 873 A2 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||
| (54) | Modular fire-fighting unit for vehicles |
| (57) A fire-fighting unit (1) for vehicles, especially for lightweight vehicles having
a deck with fixed side walls, wherein said unit essentially comprises a tank (3) for
water or other fire-extinguishing liquid, and a tool container (5) arranged on top
of said tank (3), said unit (1) being mountable on the bed (7) of a vehicle. |
[0001] The present invention relates to a modular fire-fighting unit for vehicles, especially for lightweight vehicles having a deck with fixed side walls.
[0002] Lightweight vehicles intended for carrying goods and having a cargo space or deck lacking overturning walls are known. Such vehicles may be two-wheel or four-wheel drive vehicles and they are generally referred to as "pickups".
[0003] In such vehicles, loading of goods onto the deck generally occurs through the rear wall, which can be overturned.
[0004] On the contrary, the side walls are generally fixed, in that they are part of the body structure. Moreover, the deck of such vehicles is generally occupied in part by the rear wheel wings, which project out of the deck level, thereby making the provision of overturning walls useless.
[0005] Said vehicles are particularly advantageous for carrying equipment for agriculture, industry, etc., and they have recently found application in the field of rescue, civil protection and fire-fighting services, thanks to their manoeuvrability and rapidity of intervention,
[0006] Moreover, some of such vehicles are manufactured in a model suitable for mixed service, in that they have a double cab and thus allow carrying a small team of rescue people along with the equipment needed for the team operation.
[0007] Such equipment is generally located in the vehicle deck and is often randomly arranged or, at most, is organised according to amateurish expedients.
[0008] Some known solutions provide for stowing the equipment in suitable containers or in specific compartments obtained by modifying the vehicle body or by manufacturing an additional body part.
[0009] Examples of fire-fighting vehicles are disclosed in US Patents No. 4,593,855 to Forsyth, No. 6,571,882 to Yen and No. 6,029,750 to Carrier, which are referred to for documentation purposes.
[0010] The known solutions and the solutions disclosed in the above patents are generally expensive, since they require interventions on the structure of the vehicle, which is modified. Thus, a specific type approval is needed and the vehicle cannot be used for other purposes or for carrying other kinds of equipment, for instance for other kinds of interventions or simply for carrying the rescue team.
[0011] Therefore, there is a need in the field for lightweight and manoeuvrable vehicles for quick and cheap interventions, which vehicles allow carrying the equipment required for the rescue intervention.
[0012] Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fire-fighting unit for vehicles, which is suitable for vehicles having a deck and also lacking overturning side walls and which is cheap to be produced and easy to be mounted on and removed from the vehicle itself.
[0013] Note that, by such a unit, the vehicle structure is not modified, the vehicle being a fire-fighting vehicle when the unit is mounted and being a conventional pickup when the unit is removed.
[0014] The above and other objects are achieved by the present unit as claimed in the claims that follow.
[0015] The invention will now be described in detail with particular reference to the accompanying drawings, given by way of non-limiting example, in which:
- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a unit according to the invention applied on the rear bed of a pickup;
- Fig. 2 is a rear view of the unit applied to the vehicle shown in Fig. 1;
- Fig. 3 is an exploded view showing the step of applying the unit onto the vehicle bed; and
- Fig. 4 is a partial view showing the means for fastening the unit to the vehicle bed.
[0016] As it is clearly apparent in the drawings, fire-fighting unit 1 of the invention essentially comprises a tank 3 for water or other fire-extinguishing liquid, and a tool container 5 arranged on top of said tank 3, said unit 1 being mountable on bed 7 of a suitable motor vehicle.
[0017] Water tank 3 has substantially the same height as motor vehicle side walls 9, whereas container 5 projects above said tank 3 up to a height exceeding the height of motor vehicle roof 11 and laterally extends so as to rest on said side walls 9.
[0018] Said container 5 has side openings 13 equipped with shutters 15, preferably rolling shutters, and arranged to contain the tools necessary for the purpose the unit is intended to.
[0019] Unit 1 is fastened on motor vehicle bed 7 through corner seats 17 formed on bed 7 and corner stops 19 formed onto the front side or the cab wall of deck 21 on which unit 1 is mounted.
[0020] Said corner seats 17 and corner stops 19 prevent any longitudinal and transversal displacement of tank 3 and container 5 relative to motor vehicle bed 7 because of vehicle movements during travel.
[0021] In order to prevent vertical displacements of unit 1, due to jerks or to ground unevenness during the vehicle travel, unit 1 is fastened to vehicle side walls 9 through at least two fastening brackets 23 resting, one at each side, on two longitudinal members 25, integral with container 5.
[0022] In this manner, unit 1 is firmly fastened to bed 7 of the vehicle, which can move without problems where needed, without any possibility of displacement of container 5 and/or tank from the mounting location.
[0023] Unit 1 is equipped, at the back, with a compartment 27 in which e.g. a motor pump 29 can be located, said compartment 27 being closed by a cover 31 which is slidingly movable in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
[0024] Due to the peculiar structure of the decks of said pickups, which do not have overturning side walls, unit 1 is mounted onto vehicle bed 7 by means of two trolleys 33, which are movable on castors and can be adjusted in height. Said two trolleys 33 are introduced into suitable side seats 35 formed in unit 1 (see Fig. 3), and subsequently are raised to the height required to transfer unit 1 onto bed 7 and then to lower the unit in position in the proper seat.
[0025] It is clear that said two trolleys also serve to remove unit 1 from bed 7, both said mounting and removal operations being preferably performed from the back of the vehicle, with the rear wall lowered.
1. A fire-fighting unit (1) for vehicles, especially for lightweight vehicles having
a deck with fixed side walls, characterised in that it essentially comprises a tank (3) for water or other fire-extinguishing liquid,
and a tool container (5) arranged on top of said tank (3), said unit (1) being mountable
on the bed (7) of a vehicle.
2. The fire-fighting unit (1) as claimed in claim 1, characterised in that said tank (3) for water or other fire-extinguishing liquid has substantially the
same height as the vehicle side walls (9), whereas said tool container (5) projects
above said tank (3) up to a height exceeding the height of the vehicle roof (11) and
laterally extends so as to rest on said side walls (9).
3. The fire-fighting unit (1) as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that said container (5) has side openings (13) equipped with shutters (15), preferably
rolling shutters, and arranged to contain the tools necessary for the intended purpose.
4. The fire-fighting unit (1) as claimed in claims 1 and 2, characterised in that for fastening said unit (1) to vehicle bed (7) there are provided corner seats (17)
on said bed (7) and corner stops (19) onto the front side of the deck (21) on which
the unit (1) is mounted, said corner seats (17) and said corner stops (19) preventing
any longitudinal and transversal displacement of the tank (3) of the unit (1).
5. The fire-fighting unit (1) as claimed in the preceding claims, characterised in that, in order to prevent vertical displacements of said unit (1), due to jerks or to
ground unevenness while the vehicle is travelling, said unit (1) is fastened to the
vehicle walls (9) through at least two fastening brackets (23) which rest, one at
each side, onto two longitudinal members (25), integral with the container (5).
6. The fire-fighting unit (1) as claimed in the preceding claims, characterised in that said unit (1) is equipped, at the back, with a compartment (27) in which e.g. a motor
pump (29) can be located, said compartment (27) being closed by a cover (31) which
is slidingly movable in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
7. The fire-fighting unit (1) as claimed in the preceding claims, characterised in that, due to the peculiar structure of the decks of said pickups, lacking overturning
side walls, said unit (1) is mounted onto the vehicle bed (7) by means of two trolleys
(33), which are movable on castors and can be adjusted in height; said trolleys (33)
being arranged to be introduced into suitable side seats (35) formed in the unit (1),
and thereafter to be raised to the height required to transfer said unit (1) onto
the deck and then to lower the unit in position in the proper seat, said two trolleys
(33) also serving to remove said unit (1) from the bed (7), both said mounting and
removal operations being preferably performed from the back of the vehicle, with the
rear wall lowered.
8. The fire-fighting unit (1) as claimed in the preceding claims, characterised in that, due to its structure, it allows mounting two fire-fighting hoses (37) behind the
tank (5), which hoses are wound on the proper trestles, fastened to the base of the
container (5), in such a manner that such a fastening does not hinder the movement
of said cover (31).