DESC:TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to the field of automobile engineering. Particularly but not exclusively, the present disclosure relates to safety system employed in a vehicle. Further embodiments of the present disclosure disclose an arrangement for extinguishing fire in the vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE

Vehicles are provided with an internal combustion engine which produces the reciprocating mechanical energy due to combustion of fuel and air mixture in one or more cylinders of the engine. This reciprocating mechanical energy is converted into rotary mechanical energy with help of crank and a crank shaft, and is delivered to wheels for maneuvering. To supply fuel to the engine a fuel tank is provided in the vehicle, the fuel tank stores the fuel in fluid state and delivers to the engine through a fuel supply unit through supply lines. Generally, the fuel tank is configured in the vehicle at a distance to the engine to get best packaging arrangement and is connected to the engine through at least one fuel supply line. Further, an exhaust valve is provided in all internal combustion engines to expel burnt gases from the engine to the atmosphere. The exhaust valve is connected to an exhaust conduit which generally extends from the engine to rear end of the vehicle to channelize the exhaust gas from the engine to atmosphere. In recent past such exhaust conduits are fitted with at least one catalytic converter to reduce the emission of harmful gases into the atmosphere. In addition to the above, the vehicles are provided with electric circuitry to supply power to various electrical sources such as but not limiting to head lamps, injectors, spark plug, entertainment systems and like.

It is commonly observed that vehicles would catch fire while running and the entire vehicle may burnout, this would result in loss of life or permanent disability to the passengers and driver of the vehicle. Fire in the vehicle is mainly caused due to one or more following reasons - increase in temperature of the fuel in the fuel tank, excessive heating of the engine due to insufficiency or lack of engine coolant, excessive pressure of the exhaust gas at the catalytic converter, and short circuit of electrical circuits for example relays. Hence, it is necessary for the vehicle manufacturers to consider the issue, and provide a solution for the same.
Conventionally, few attempts were made to develop an apparatus/system for extinguishing of fire. The conventional apparatus comprises of an elongated tubular structure formed of a thermoplastic material. The elongated tubular structures are formed with closed first and second ends and side walls together define a closed, interior, elongate chamber. In the elongated tubular structure a fire extinguisher composition is deposited under super-atmospheric pressure. The elongated tubular structure containing fire extinguishing component is mounted in fire prone regions of the vehicle such as fuel tank and engine compartment, with the help of suitable mounting members such as brackets and the like. In the event of fire, the elongated tubular structure ruptures and allows the fire extinguishing composition to fall on the region of fire, thereby prevents the fire from spreading. However, the conventional apparatus was never implemented in the vehicles due to various reasons such as packaging constraints, complexity in assembly, requirement of additional components and the like. Hence, the problem of fire associated with the vehicles is not solved yet.

In light of the foregoing discussion, it is necessary to develop an arrangement for extinguishing fire in a vehicle to overcome one or more limitations stated above.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

One or more shortcomings of the prior art are overcome by an arrangement as disclosed and additional advantages are provided through the provision of arrangement as described in the present disclosure.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniques of the present disclosure. Other embodiments and aspects of the disclosure are described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimed disclosure.

In one non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure there is provided an arrangement for extinguishing fire in a vehicle. The arrangement comprises a plurality of provisions provided in at least one of a plurality of reinforced members configured in pre-determined locations of the vehicle. At least one of the plurality of reinforced members is adapted to store a fire extinguishing agent. Further, the arrangement comprises at least one barrier configured on the at least one of a plurality of reinforced members to enclose the plurality of provisions. The at least one barrier melts when temperature at pre-determined locations of the vehicle exceeds pre-defined temperature. The fire extinguishing agent drops from the plurality of provisions when the at least one barrier melts.
In an embodiment of the disclosure, the pre-determined locations of the vehicle are fire generating regions of the vehicle. The pre-determined locations of the vehicle include engine compartment, exhaust manifold, fuel tanks, fuel lines and electric circuitries.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the fire extinguishing material includes sodium bicarbonate and potassium bicarbonate.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the at least one barrier is configured in the form of a plug. Further, the at least one plug is arranged to enclose each of the plurality of provisions provided in at least one of the plurality of reinforced members.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the at least one barrier is configured in the form of a sheet and material of the sheet includes polymeric material.

In an embodiment of the disclosure, the pre-defined temperature is in a range of 300ºF to 350ºF.

In another non-limiting embodiment of the disclosure, the vehicle comprises an arrangement for extinguishing fire as disclosed above.

It is to be understood that the aspects and embodiments of the disclosure described above may be used in any combination with each other. Several of the aspects and embodiments may be combined together to form a further embodiment of the disclosure.

The foregoing summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. In addition to the illustrative aspects, embodiments, and features described above, further aspects, embodiments, and features will become apparent by reference to the drawings and the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING FIGURES

The novel features and characteristic of the disclosure are set forth in the appended description. The disclosure itself, however, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objectives and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying figures. One or more embodiments are now described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein like reference numerals represent like elements and in which:

FIG.1 illustrates perspective view of a passenger vehicle depicting pre-determined locations at which fire extinguishing arrangement may be provisioned, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG.2A illustrates perspective view of a reinforcement member configured with plugs in the provisions provided in the vehicle, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG.2B illustrates perspective view of the reinforcement member wherein provisions of the member enclosed by a barrier, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG.3 illustrates schematic perspective view of an exhaust manifold provisioned with a fire extinguishing arrangement, according to an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure.

The figures depict embodiments of the disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art will readily recognize from the following description that alternative embodiments of the structures and methods illustrated herein may be employed without departing from the principles of the disclosure described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The foregoing has broadly outlined the features and technical advantages of the present disclosure in order that the detailed description of the disclosure that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the disclosure will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the description of the disclosure. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other arrangement for carrying out the same purposes of the present disclosure. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the scope of the disclosure. The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the disclosure, both as to its organization and method of operation, together with further objects and advantages will be better understood from the following description when considered in connection with the accompanying figures. It is to be expressly understood, however, that each of the figures is provided for the purpose of illustration and description only and is not intended as a definition of the limits of the present disclosure.

In the present document, the word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment or implementation of the present subject matter described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments.

While the disclosure is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiment thereof has been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail below. It should be understood, however that it is not intended to limit the disclosure to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the disclosure is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternative falling within the spirit and the scope of the disclosure.

The terms “comprises”, “comprising”, or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that an arrangement or method that comprises a list of components or steps does not include only those components or steps but may include other components or steps not expressly listed or inherent to such setup or device or method. In other words, one or more elements in a system or apparatus proceeded by “comprises… a” does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of other elements or additional elements in the system or apparatus.

To overcome one or more drawbacks mentioned in the background, the present disclosure discloses an arrangement for extinguishing fire in a vehicle. The arrangement disclosed in the present disclosure is provided in one or more pre-determined locations of the vehicle which are prone to fire. Further, the present disclosure utilizes a plurality of reinforced members of the vehicle to extinguish fire and does not require any additional or separate fire extinguishing apparatus to be configured in the vehicle unlike the conventional systems for extinguishing fire. In addition, with the usage of existing reinforced members of the vehicle the present disclosure does not pose issues of space or position constraint in the vehicle. In the present disclosure, the reinforced members configured one or more pre-determined locations of the vehicle are provided with a plurality of provisions and are configured to store fire extinguishing agent. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the fire extinguishing agent includes but is not limited to Sodium bicarbonate and Potassium bicarbonate. Further, the plurality of provisions provided in the reinforcement member is covered by at least one barrier. In an embodiment of the disclosure the barrier is a polymeric sheet and in another embodiment, the barrier is configured in the form of a plug to cover each of the plurality of provisions. The barrier being made of a polymeric material has a melting point in the range of 300ºF to 350ºF. At initial stages of fire in the vehicle, the temperature would be around 310ºF and when there is a fire in the vehicle at any of the pre-determined locations such as engine compartment, exhaust conduit, fuel tank, fuel lines and an electric circuitry, the barrier made of polymeric material melts and the fire extinguishing agent drops form the plurality of provisions to extinguish fire. Therefore, when the fire is put off at the initial or incipient stages itself, further damages are prevented by implementing the arrangement of the present disclosure.

Henceforth, the present disclosure is explained with the help of figures of a passenger vehicle. However, such exemplary embodiments should not be construed as limitations of the present disclosure, since the fire extinguisher arrangement may be used in any type of automotive vehicle. A person skilled in the art can envisage various such embodiments without deviating from scope of the present disclosure.

FIG.1 is an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure which illustrates perspective view of a passenger vehicle (100) depicting pre-determined locations at which fire extinguishing arrangement is provisioned. In the present disclosure, the fire extinguishing arrangement is configured in one or more locations which are prone to fire accidents, i.e. the chances of occurrence or initiation of fire is high. These regions of the vehicle (100) are identified as pre-determined locations which include but are not limited to engine compartment (103a), exhaust manifold (103c), electrical circuitry including fuses and relays (not shown), fuel tank (103d) and fuel lines (103b). However, one should not construe these pre-determined locations as limitation to the present disclosure as there may be other regions in the vehicle (100) that is prone to fire and such regions are considered to be within the scope of present disclosure.

It is understood that the fire usually develops in three states: First stage - beginning or incipient, Second stage - free burning and third stage - Smoldering.

In the incipient stage of an accidental fire, smoldering combustion occurs with temperatures often reaching up-to 400°F. Depending on the vintage of the vehicle, this stage can last up to 15 minutes. A fire accelerated by gasoline or other flammable liquid will progress through this stage much faster. The best opportunity to determine the fire's origin and cause, assuming the fire can be stopped, is at this point. In the second stage of free burning stage, there is a rapid rise in temperature up to 1700°F or more. Modern vehicles contain hundreds of pounds of plastic material, the majority of which are thermoplastics containing flame retardant. Thermoplastic melting temperatures are approximately 340°F and up. It is not until these plastics begin to melt that the fire retardant gets driven out. At this point, the material becomes virgin plastic and burn intensely and within 45 to 60 minutes, most vehicles burn completely, without any accelerants added to assist. With combustible plastics, the temperatures reached can readily melt glass, sag roofs and crystallize seat springs, putting to rest the myth that these signs are evidence of the use of accelerants. Smoldering is the final stage, occurring after most combustibles have been consumed. Smoldering combustion may continue for upwards of 90 minutes. Thus, to avoid such fire accidents, the present disclosure, proposes a fire extinguishing arrangement which make the fire extinguishing agent to fall or drop on the fire prone zones if the temperature in such zones goes beyond a predefined temperature, and thereby prevents the fire to spread.

As shown in FIG. 1, the fire extinguishing arrangement is configured in a plurality of pre-determined locations in the vehicle (100) which are more prone for fire, for example engine compartment (103a), exhaust manifold (103c), electrical circuitry including fuses and relays (not shown), fuel tank (103d) and fuel lines (103b).

Referring now to FIG.2A and FIG.2B, which is an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure illustrating perspective view of a reinforcement members (102) configured in the vehicle (100). FIG.2A is an exemplary embodiment of the disclosure, which illustrates reinforcement member (102) of the vehicle (100) wherein each of the plurality of provisions (101) is enclosed by plugs. FIG.2B illustrates reinforcement member (102), wherein plurality of provisions (101) are enclosed by a single barrier (105) such as sheet.

As described above, plurality of locations are pre-determined in the vehicle (100) that is prone to fire accidents, and reinforced members (102) at these pre-determined locations are used in the arrangement for extinguishing fire in the vehicle (100). The one or more reinforcement members (102) are used to reinforce the structural components in the vehicle to improve the strength of the vehicle body. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the reinforcement member (102) is a hollow reinforcement member (102). The reinforcement member (102) is configured to store fire extinguishing agent (104). The fire extinguishing agent (104) may be in any state, i.e. in the form of a solid as powder or it could be in the form of a fluid as liquid or gas. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the fire extinguishing agent (104) is at least one of potassium bicarbonate and sodium bicarbonate. One should not consider these fire extinguishing agents as limitation to the present disclosure, as one can use any conventionally available fire extinguishing agents such as carbon dioxide, water, foam, halogenated agents etc.

The fire extinguishing arrangement comprises of a plurality of provisions (101) configured in the hollow reinforced members (102). The plurality of provisions (101) is provided for dropping or spilling of fire extinguishing agent (104) on the fire prone regions. The fire prone regions of the vehicle (100) are pre-determined and these regions include but are not limited to engine compartment (103a), exhaust manifold (103c), electrical circuitry including fuses and relays (not shown), fuel tank (103d) and fuel lines (103b). Further, the fire extinguishing arrangement comprises a barrier (105) configured to enclose the plurality of provisions (101). The barrier (105) [as shown in FIG.2B] is configured to enclose the plurality of provisions (101), such that fire extinguishing agent (104) does not spill or drop out of the plurality of provisions (101) when not necessary. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the barrier (105) is configured in the form of a sheet to cover each of the plurality of provisions (101). In an alternative embodiment of the present disclosure, the barrier (105) is configured in the form of plugs [as shown in FIG.2A], wherein each of the plurality of provisions (101) is covered with plug. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the barrier (105) is made of polymeric material such as thermoplastics or similar material. The barrier (105) provided in the fire extinguishing arrangement is configured to melt at a pre-defined temperature and the pre-defined temperature ranges from about 300°F to 350°F. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the barrier (105) is connected to the reinforced member (102) through fasteners, in yet another embodiment of the disclosure, the barrier (105) in the form of sheet is glued to the reinforcement member (102) to enclose the plurality of provisions (101). Further, the barrier (105) in the form of plugs is inserted in each of the plurality of provisions (101) and plug is made of material such as but not limited to polymer material.

In operation, when there is fire in any location such as engine compartment (103a), exhaust manifold (103c), electrical circuitry including fuses and relays (not shown), fuel tank (103d) and fuel lines (103b) of the vehicle (100), the temperature in the vehicle (100) reaches to about 310°F i.e. when the vehicle temperature reaches close to melting point of the barrier (105). During increase in the temperature the polymeric material of barrier (105) begins to melt. As the barrier (105) material melts, plurality of provisions (101) tend to open up and the fire extinguishing agent (104) falls or drops on the fire generating locations and extinguishes the fire. In an embodiment of the disclosure, the fire extinguishing arrangement may be configured in any other hollow member in the vehicle apart from the hollow reinforcement member (102) without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG.3, which is an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure illustrating schematic view of the exhaust conduit (103c) provisioned with a fire extinguishing arrangement. The exhaust manifold (103c) which comprises a catalytic converter is a vehicle emission control device that converts toxic pollutants in exhaust gas to less toxic pollutants by catalyzing a redox reaction oxidation or reduction. The exhaust manifold (103c) is prone to fire due to high temperatures of the exhaust gas. As shown in FIG.3 the fire extinguishing arrangement is configured on the catalytic converter to prevent the fire. The catalytic converter is provided with one or more hollow reinforcement members (102) to provide structural rigidity to the catalytic converter. In the one or more hollow reinforcement members (102) a plurality of provisions (101) are configured and are enclosed by a polymeric barrier (105). Further, the fire extinguishing agent (104) including but not limiting to Sodium bicarbonate and Potassium bicarbonate is filled in the reinforcement members (102) provided on the catalytic converter. When, temperature in the catalytic converter reaches to about 310°F, the polymeric barrier (105) melts and the fire extinguisher agent (104) fall on the catalytic converter and extinguish the fire at the beginning. It is to be noted that a similar arrangement to extinguish fire is configured in other regions such as fuel tank (103d), fuel lines (103b) and the engine compartment (103a). For example, the fire extinguishing arrangement is configured under a bonnet portion for preventing the fire in the engine compartment (103a). Also, the fire extinguishing arrangement could be configured in chassis frame above the fuel tank (103d) and fuel line (103b) to prevent the accidental fire hazards in the vehicle (100). Such arrangements and configurations are not illustrated in the figures for the purpose of simplicity. The arrangement of the present disclosure by allowing fire to be put off at the initial or incipient stages itself, further damages in subsequent stages is prevented.

It is to be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art would design the fire extinguishing apparatus of any shape and configuration without deviating from the scope of the present disclosure. Also, various modifications and variations may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure covers such modifications and variations provided.

Advantages:

The present disclosure provides a fire extinguishing arrangement for a vehicle in which the fire extinguishing agent is deposited in the hollow reinforcement members provided in critical fire prone zones in the vehicle. Thereby, the present disclosure eliminates the need for additional components for holding the fire extinguishing agent. This reduces complexity in the vehicle and also simplifies space and packaging constraints.

The present disclosure provides a fire extinguishing arrangement wherein fire is put off at the initial or incipient stages of fire, thereby further damages that could be caused in subsequent stages of fire is prevented.

Equivalents:

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended description are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,” etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following description may contain usage of the introductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to inventions containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases “one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or “an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number (e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without other modifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following description.

Referral Numerals:

Reference Number Description
100 Vehicle
101 Provisions in a reinforced member
102 Reinforced member
103a Engine compartment
103b Fuel lines
103c Exhaust manifold
103d Fuel tank
104 Fire extinguishing agent
105 Barrier

,CLAIMS:We claim:

1. An arrangement for extinguishing fire in a vehicle (100), the arrangement comprising:
a plurality of provisions (101) provided in at least one of a plurality of reinforced members (102) configured in pre-determined locations of the vehicle (100), wherein the at least one of the plurality of reinforced members (102) is adapted to store a fire extinguishing agent (104); and
at least one barrier (105) configured on the at least one of the plurality of reinforced members (102) to enclose the plurality of provisions (101), wherein the at least one barrier (105) melts when temperature at pre-determined locations of the vehicle (100) exceeds pre-defined temperature;
wherein, the fire extinguishing agent (104) drops from the plurality of provisions (101) when the at least one barrier (105) melts.

2. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pre-determined locations of the vehicle (100) are fire generating regions of the vehicle (100).

3. The arrangement as claimed in claim 2, wherein the pre-determined locations of the vehicle (100) includes engine compartment (103a), exhaust manifold (103c), fuel tanks (103d), fuel lines (103b) and electric circuitries.

4. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fire extinguishing agent (104) includes sodium bicarbonate and potassium bicarbonate.

5. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one barrier (105) is configured in the form of a plug.

6. The arrangement as claimed in claim 5, wherein the at least one plug is arranged to enclose each of the plurality of provisions (101) provided in at least one of the plurality of reinforced members (102).

7. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the at least one barrier (105) is configured in the form of a sheet.

8. The arrangement as claimed in claim 7, wherein material of the sheet includes polymeric material.
9. The arrangement as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pre-defined temperature is in a range of 300ºF to 350ºF.

10. A vehicle (100) comprising an arrangement for extinguishing fire as claimed in claim 1.