Firefighter's safety device

Details Firefighter's safety device Firefighter's safety device

2000-04-28

2001-11-13

Hofsass, Jeffery (Department: 2632)

Communications: electrical

Condition responsive indicating system

Specific condition

C340S298000, C340S321000, C340S326000, C340S577000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06317047

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to firefighter's safety device for use in burning buildings. In particular, the invention relates to a device that props a door open and indicates via light and sound the exit to a room during a fire.
2. The Prior Art
When fighting fires, it is often difficult to find one's way out of a room if the fire has generated a large amount of smoke. This is very dangerous to firefighters, who must exit burning buildings as quickly as possible when conditions become too dangerous to remain inside. In addition, doors through which the firefighters have entered a building may close, thus further obscuring the exit.
It is therefore desirable to provide a means for indicating the exit route during a fire. One device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,042,613 to Hermann. This device comprises a means for attaching a cord to a doorway. The firefighter walks with the cord throughout the building. To exit, the firefighter follows the cord back to the doorway. There is also a light source on the device and a pager to alert other firefighters of danger. While this might be useful in some situations, it would be desirable to provide a way that indicates the exit to several firefighters at once, and which does not require the use of a cumbersome cord.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a safety device that indicates to the exit to anyone in the area.
It is another object of the invention to provide a safety device that keeps the door open for proper ventilation of the area.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a safety device that indicates the temperature of the room and sounds an alarm if the temperature reaches a preset limit.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a safety device that records the time and date of activation and alarm soundings and relays the information to a remote location.
These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by a fire fighter's safety device comprising a hollow body having a sidewall, a top end and a bottom end and an arm connected to the top end and extending parallel to the sidewall. There is a light source disposed at one end and an audible signal disposed within the body. There is a heat sensor disposed at the top end for sensing the temperature in the surrounding area, and a power source such as a battery disposed with the hollow body and connected to the light source, audible signal and heat sensor. The device keeps a door open when the arm is inserted between a door and a door frame to rest on a door hinge. The audible signal and light indicate the exit during a fire. This is necessary especially when there is a lot of smoke in the room, because the exit can not easily be seen. In addition, it is important to keep the doors open to ventilate the rooms and to facilitate evacuation of the building.
There is a controller connected to the power source, light source, audible signal and heat sensor, for activating the light source, audible signal and heat sensor when the user presses a button on the device. The controller causes the audible signal to change when the heat sensor senses a temperature that exceeds a preset temperature, thus indicating a dangerous condition in the room. For example, the preset temperature could be set at 300° F.
The controller also records the time and date upon activation of the heat sensor, audible signal and light source. The controller also preferably records the time and date each time the heat sensor registers a temperature above a preset temperature. Controllers of this type are readily available and programmable to achieve this feature. There is a transmitter connected to the controller for transmitting the time and date recorded upon each activation to a remote receiver. This is a useful feature because it keeps track of the use of the device over a period of time, and allows fire fighters to track conditions in fires over time to further refine fire fighting procedures. The time and date information is preferably sent directly to a remote computer where the data can be tabulated and stored. The technology used to operate the controller, transmitter and receiver are well known in the art and are not discussed in detail here.
The light source is preferably a strobe light, which emits a bright pulsating light that can be seen through smoke. The audible signal is preferably a beeping noise that changes to a constant tone when the preset temperature is exceeded.
The heat sensor is preferably an infrared heat sensor that sends an infrared beam and measures the temperature of a surface hit by the beam. Generally, this will be the temperature of the ceiling at which the beam is aimed. The heat sensor can be any commercially available heat sensor. The heat sensor is preferably pivotally mounted, so that it can be aimed at the ceiling in either of the two rooms connected by the doorway. There is also a magnet attached to the sidewall for attaching the device to a metallic surface if no doorway is present.


REFERENCES:
patent: 4468656 (1984-08-01), Clifford et al.
patent: 5042613 (1991-08-01), Hermann
patent: 5216418 (1993-06-01), Lenz et al.
patent: 5808541 (1998-09-01), Golden
patent: 5825280 (1998-10-01), Merendini et al.
patent: 5839829 (1998-11-01), Litvin et al.
patent: 5898363 (1999-04-01), Altilio
patent: 6144309 (2000-11-01), Fagence

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