Fire extinguishers – Special applications – For vehicles
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-30
2003-11-11
Ganey, Steven J. (Department: 3752)
Fire extinguishers
Special applications
For vehicles
C169S054000, C169S060000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06644415
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fire extinguishing systems and more particularly pertains to a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system for automatically detecting and extinguishing an engine fire of a vehicle permitting a user to exit the vehicle without having to worry about actuating the fire extinguishing system.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of fire extinguishing systems is known in the prior art. More specifically, fire extinguishing systems heretofore devised and utilized are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements.
Known prior art includes U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,315; U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,365; U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,564; U.S. Pat. No. 3,387,662; U.S. Pat. No. 3,515,218; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 315,970.
While these devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not disclose a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system. The inventive device includes at least one canister that is mountable to the vehicle and positionable adjacent to the engine. The canister has an interior for holding a fire extinguishant under pressure. A valve is mounted on the canister for controlling a flow of the fire extinguishant from the canister. A conduit is coupled to the valve for carrying the fire extinguishant flowing through the valve away from the canister. In one embodiment of the present invention, the conduit has at least one opening for emitting the fire extinguishant from the conduit. At least one fire detector is provided for detecting a fire and opening the valve permitting the fire extinguishant to flow through the conduit exiting the opening and extinguishing a fire.
In these respects, the automatic engine fire extinguishing system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of automatically detecting and extinguishing an engine fire of a vehicle permitting a user to exit the vehicle without having to worry about actuating the fire extinguishing system.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of fire extinguishing systems now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system construction wherein the same can be utilized for automatically detecting and extinguishing an engine fire of a vehicle permitting a user to exit the vehicle without having to worry about actuating the fire extinguishing system.
The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the fire extinguishing systems mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art fire extinguishing systems, either alone or in any combination thereof.
To attain this, the present invention generally comprises at least one canister that is mountable to the vehicle and positionable adjacent to the engine. The canister has an interior for holding a fire extinguishant under pressure. A valve is mounted on the canister for controlling a flow of the fire extinguishant from the canister. A conduit is coupled to the valve for carrying the fire extinguishant flowing through the valve away from the canister. In one embodiment of the present invention, the conduit has at least one opening for emitting the fire extinguishant from the conduit. At least one fire detector is provided for detecting a fire and opening the valve permitting the fire extinguishant to flow through the conduit exiting the opening and extinguishing a fire.
There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure of the application. The abstract is neither intended to define the invention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is it intended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system apparatus and method which has many of the advantages of the fire extinguishing systems mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art fire extinguishing systems, either alone or in any combination thereof.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system which is of a durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such automatic engine fire extinguishing system economically available to the buying public.
Still yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system which provides in the apparatuses and methods of the prior art some of the advantages thereof, while simultaneously overcoming some of the disadvantages normally associated therewith.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system for automatically detecting and extinguishing an engine fire of a vehicle permitting a user to exit the vehicle without having to worry about actuating the fire extinguishing system.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new automatic engine fire extinguishing system which includes at least one canister that is mountable to the vehicle and positionable adjacent to the engine. The
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