Refrigeration – Cryogenic treatment of gas or gas mixture – Separation of gas mixture
Reexamination Certificate
2000-04-17
2001-11-13
Capossela, Ronald (Department: 3744)
Refrigeration
Cryogenic treatment of gas or gas mixture
Separation of gas mixture
C062S091000, C169S045000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06314754
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a process and equipment for providing low-oxygen (hypoxic) environments in computer rooms and other human occupied facilities in order to prevent and suppress fire before it starts.
The demand in reliable fire prevention and suppression systems for industrial applications has been growing extensively in last years, especially with the explosive development of Internet, computerized equipment and communication systems. The invented Fire Prevention And Suppression System (later called FirePASS) can be used in any possible application where a human occupied environment requires protection from fire hazard or explosion.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
At the present time there are no products on the market that would allow to prevent fire from igniting in computer rooms or other human-occupied facilities. Multiple computers and servers stocked in one room produce a lot of heat mainly due to friction and overheating of electronic components. At any time a malfunction of an electronic component or short circuit may cause fire and extensive damage. The only measures that being taken in the direction of may cause fire and extensive damage. The only measures that being taken in the direction of fire prevention is extensive cooling of the computer room environment, which doesn't help when a fire starts. It means, that there is no technology to provide a reliable fire preventive environment in a computer room or whole building filled with computerized equipment or combustible materials.
Current fire suppression systems are destructive for computerized equipment and hazardous for human operators. Even in a case of a small fire such systems start spraying water or foam that completely destroy computers or produce gases or chemicals that may suppress fire for a limited time but may be toxic and environmentally destructive.
There are many thousands such computer rooms in the U.S. only, owned by large corporations, banks, communication companies, military and government agencies, many of them loosing millions of dollars in just one such fire. And none of these facilities would be guaranteed from such destruction, until the invented Hypoxic FirePASS will be implemented.
Most usable fire fighting systems employ water, dry or liquid chemicals and gaseous agents, such as Halon 1301, carbon dioxide or heptafluoropropane, and mixtures of different gases, most of them are ozone depleting, toxic and environmentally unfriendly.
However, the real problem is that all known fire protection systems can be deployed only when fire already starts and can last for a limited time. Even the latest Fire Master 200 (FM 200) fire suppression system allows only to slowing down a fire by chemically preventing combustion for several minutes. After all gas is released a sprinkler system starts spraying water destroying all computer equipment or other goods permanently.
None of current fire fighting systems in human occupied facilities can prevent fire from starting. The process and equipment described in this invention can guarantee that no fire will be able to start in normbaric hypoxic environments with oxygen content of 15% or lower.
The invention described in this document will revolutionize the whole fire fighting industry worldwide and will make obsolete all current environmentally hazardous chemical systems.
This invention will prevent huge financial and environmental losses from industrial fires and will save many lives of fire fighters and general public.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A principal object of this invention is to provide a method for producing a fire safe hypoxic environment inside a room or facility containing computerized equipment or any combustible, inflammable or explosive materials.
Further object of the present invention is the provision of an oxygen-depletion process and equipment for producing a low-oxygen environment inside a computer room or whole facility building, such equipment employing molecular-sieve adsorption or membrane-separation technologies.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for producing a fire-retarding environment inside a computer room or facility, accessible and safe for human operators without special respiratory support equipment.
A still further object of the invention is to provide a fire-retarding oxygen-depleted environment inside a computer room or industrial facility at standard or slightly increased atmospheric pressure and having oxygen content ranging from 12% to 18%.
Still another object of the present invention is the provision of a hypoxic fire-retarding environment with controllable temperature and humidity.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an easily accessible human occupied hypoxic environment that provides efficient protection from fire ignition, but does not need to be sealed from the surrounding environment.
A still another object of the invention is to provide normbaric hypoxic environments for people to work in safely without respiratory-support means, such environments having oxygen content in a range from 15.5 to 14.5%, which corresponds to the partial pressure of oxygen in the air at altitudes from 8,000 to 10,000 feet.
Another object of the invention is a provision of fire-extinguishing composition for continues use in human occupied environments.
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patent: 5388413 (1995-02-01), Major et al.
patent: 5472480 (1995-12-01), Barbe
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patent: 5799495 (1998-09-01), Gast, Jr.
patent: 5921091 (1999-07-01), Foss et al.
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