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(11) | EP 1 611 925 A1 |
| (12) | EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION |
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| (54) | Systems for spraying liquids for fire fighting in railway carriages |
| (57) It is disclosed a fire fighting system for the use in railway carriages. The system
is made-up of a series of drinkable and/or demineralized water bombs (1A), nitrogen
bombs (2A) for pressurizing, a special automatic device or a device that can be remotely
controlled for spraying water in zones in which it is required its delivery, a pipe
network (4A) and finally a series of final delivery nozzles (6A).
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STATUS OF PRIOR ART
[0002] Actually the fire fighting safety in railway carriages is not fulfilled by any fixed extinguishing system. This situation, joined to the situation related to practical lack of fixed systems installed along the circulation railway, owing to its extension, can cause the obligation of using alternative safety systems that are greatly onerous for the collectivity such as, for example and not limited to this situation, the legal obligation of making a second parallel gallery used for emergency cases in tunnels having great lengths.
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
[0003] The system forming the object of this description is a fixed system for fire fighting protection based on the delivery of nebulized water, specifically projected for the control, cutting off or extinguishing of fire in the field of railway carriages.
[0004] For a better comprehension of this invention and for showing how the same can be applied, it shall be made reference, as an example, to the annexed drawings, in which:
Figure 1 shows a functional scheme of the various parts of the system and of its various components;
Figure 2 shows a typical layout of a real installation, that can be made economically.
[0005] The Figure 1 shows schematically the layout of the various parts of fire fighting system in a railway carriage, joined by quick coupling flexible pipes to the adjacent carriages, so that the systems normally used in these carriages can be employed.
[0006] With reference to the typical scheme (see Figure 1) and to the typical layout scheme (see Figure 2), the system is made-up of a series of bombs 1 holding drinkable and/or demineralized water, a nitrogen bomb for pressurizing and delivering water into the line 2, a special device 3, that can be remotely controlled, for spraying water in the zones in which it is required the delivery, a pipe network 4 and finally a series of delivery nozzles 5. The delivery nozzles 5 are normally concealed into the internal bulkheads for the carriage completing and, during the intervention, they are automatically extracted from the bulkheads using a telescopic mechanism. The nozzles are made in different types: some thereof have the aim of suppressing and extinguishing fires, other ones, located in suitable positions, have the aim of separating smoke zones and shielding the heat transmitted by thermal irradiation and convection. Using a series of 3-way shunting valves 3, it is possible to select the delivery zone, as in the front side of the carriage, in the rear side or in one of the two carriage halves, in which the bombs are installed, or in a third half of adjacent carriage using a high pressure flexible pipe quick coupling. In this manner it is possible to avoid the water delivery where it is not necessary, but delivering it only in the whished fire zone and then being able to double the autonomy in each carriage half and, then, to reduce to a half the weights and overall dimensions of the bomb series keeping constant the autonomy and costs related to it.
[0007] The nozzles 5 cannot be removed, as they are concealed by a control inside the internal carriage wall. A hydraulic telescopic mechanism allows the ejection of nozzles for operation and return to rest position after having used the system.
[0008] The control mechanisms for the nitrogen bomb and water bombs are well-known, and then they are not discussed in further details.
[0009] The carriage ceiling has a double bottom with thermosensitive cable that detects the presence of excessive temperature higher than a certain danger threshold and with control circuits that, in relation to this temperature signal, control automatically the delivery start-up in the fire zone. As an alternative the control can be started manually by other controls, under the control of chief conductor or other service controller.
[0010] Figure 2 shows a typical layout of a real installation, that can be made economically. This figure shows the water bombs 1 A and nitrogen bombs 2A, the distribution valves 3A that shunt the water in the carriage holding the bomb series or in the adjacent carriage joined by the quick coupling 7A. The line 4A distributes the water into the nozzles 5A and in detail also in the central carriage zone into the nozzles 6A for generating an anti-smoke curtain.
RUNNING DESCRIPTION
[0011] The fire fighting system can be operated by remote control in the inside of railway train or by the manual control from the carriage. The remote control, on its turn, can be piloted in automatic manner by a suitable detection system (e.g., but not solely, thermal detection systems, smoke, flame detection systems, etc...) or in manual manner by an operator, eventually after that he has received an alarm signal using proper pushbuttons, by closed circuit television (TVCC) or by automatic detectors. The action of fire fighting system is to deliver thin water particles, no dangerous for the people or for things, which cuts off or extinguish รก fire by the following mechanisms:
- Thermal absorption and following temperature reduction,
- Dilution of oxygen percentage near the flame by steaming and following production of water steam,
- Reduction of energy irradiation heat transmission owing to the numerous water drops that are produced.
[0012] These fire fighting systems are normally offered on the market, but they are not provided on railway carriages owing to various problems, mainly to related costs.
PROPOSED SYSTEM ADVANTAGES
[0013] The system advantages with respect to the actual solution applied in railway carriages are the following ones:
1. Safety for persons. The carriage is supplied with a fire extinguishing system that is not dangerous for persons and can increase notably the survival probability in the case of this event;
2. Safety for things;
3. Localized and immediate protection, that is to say it is present where it occurs,
on the train, and not externally to it on the circulation railway.
This causes a spare in the costs of safety systems;
4. Further spare applying the passive structural safety rules (e.g. in tunnel parallel to the one of normal use for traffic).
[0014] The main advantages of the invention system with respect to normal known systems are:
1. Separation of zones holding smokes and zones at high temperatures, made-up in the middle of carriage owing to innovative water blade spraying nozzles.
2. "Selective" delivery system in many zones. Thanks to a new shunting three-way valve it is possible to select the delivery zone, or one of the two halves of carriage, in which bombs are contained or a third half of adjacent carriage owing to a high pressure flexible pipe quick coupling. In this manner it is possible to double the autonomy of each half carriage and, then, to reduce to a half the weights and overall dimensions of bomb series, keeping constant the autonomy and costs thereof.
3. The nozzles cannot be tampered as they disappear in the inside of internal carriage
wall. A new hydraulic telescopic mechanism allows its ejection for the operation and
return to the rest position after operation.
Although this invention was described with reference to its particular embodiments,
many other variants and modifications and other uses shall be evident to the people
skilled in the technics.
1. A liquid spraying system for fire fighting protection of railway carriages, in which
the system is made-up of a series of drinkable and/or demineralized water bomb series,
nitrogen bomb for pressurizing, a special automatic device or a device that can be
remotely controlled for spraying water in zones in which it is required the delivery,
a pipe network and finally a series of final delivery nozzles.
2. A liquid spraying system for fire fighting protection of railway carriages, which
is made-up of a series of drinkable and/or demineralized water bomb series, nitrogen
bomb/s for pressurizing and delivery line, a special device that can be remotely controlled
for spraying water in zones in which it is required the delivery, a pipe network and
finally a series of final delivery nozzles.
3. A liquid spraying system for fire fighting protection of railway carriages according
to preceding claim, in which the delivery nozzles are concealed by the internal walls
of the carriage completing and, during the operation, they are ejected automatically
by a telescopic mechanism that can be remotely controlled or can be of automatic type.
4. A liquid spraying system for fire fighting protection of railway carriages, in which
the nozzles are of different types, that is to say some ones have the aim of cutting
off and extinguishing the fire, other ones, located in proper positions and being
in blade form, have smoke locking means and heat shielding against the heat transmitted
by irradiation and convection forming a central curtain of separation in the carriage.
5. A liquid spraying system for fire fighting protection of railway carriages, in which,
using a series of 3-way shunting valves, it is possible to select the delivery zone,
that is to say in the front carriage side, in rear carriage side or in one of the
two carriage halves, in which there are provided the bombs or in a third half of adjacent
carriage through a flexible high pressure quick connection, so that it is possible
to deliver water where it is necessary or in the zone interested by fire and then
being able to double the autonomy of each half carriage and to reduce to a half weights
and overall dimensions of bomb series, although with equal autonomy and costs thereof.
6. A liquid spraying system for fire fighting protection of railway carriages, in which
the nozzles cannot be removed as they disappear into the inside of the internal carriage
wall, a hydraulic telescopic mechanism allowing its ejection for the operation and
return to the rest position after the operation.
7. A liquid spraying system for fire fighting protection of railway carriages, in which
the carriage ceiling has a double bottom with thermosensitive cable having double
sensibility threshold that detects the presence of excessive temperature higher than
a certain danger threshold and with control circuits that, in relation to this temperature
signal, control automatically the delivery start-up in the fire zone.
8. A liquid spraying system for fire fighting protection of railway carriages, according
to claim 7. in which, as an alternative, the delivery control can be manually started
by other controls, under the control of chief conductor or other service controller.
9. A liquid spraying system, in particular but not exclusively of normal or demineralized
water, according to what was described, shown and claimed.