Thermal direction unit
a technology of heat source and direction unit, which is applied in the direction of optical radiation measurement, fire alarm radiation actuation, instruments, etc., can solve the problems of obstructing firefighter's vision, difficult to identify the source of smoke, and the inability of firefighters to loca
Inactive Publication Date: 2006-12-28
HACKNEY RONALD F +1
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Benefits of technology
"The present invention provides a thermal direction unit (TDU) that can be worn by a person to detect the direction of maximum or minimum infrared radiation intensity relative to the person. The TDU has a casing with multiple directional infrared sensors that detect the intensity of infrared radiation from various directions. The TDU can also provide a tactile indication of the direction of maximum or minimum infrared radiation intensity through a buzzer or other means. The invention can be used for locating a fire or a route away from it."
Problems solved by technology
A firefighter entering a burning building may be faced with a variety of impediments hindering the firefighter's ability to locate and fight the fire.
Smoke usually obstructs the firefighter's vision, making identification of the source of the smoke difficult.
Ambient noise from the site of the fire, or “fireground,” wind, and heavy protective firefighting equipment, such as breathing equipment, also may impede the firefighter's hearing, so that audible clues to the location of the fire are masked.
Unseen obstacles (furniture, doorways, debris, and the like) may impede the firefighter's progress and cause the firefighter to lose his sense of direction, which further hampers the search for the source of the fire.
To avoid smoke and heat, firefighters must often crawl upon the floor, making identification of the source of the fire yet even more problematic.
For example, flashover may occur in a compartment fire when total thermal radiation is sufficiently high that flammable products of pyrolysis are generated from all exposed combustible surfaces within the compartment.
Given a source of ignition, this results in the sudden (frequently explosive) and sustained transition of a growing fire to a fully developed fire.
Flashover is often fatal to a person remaining in the room or compartment.
A related phenomenon is smoke explosion in which the temperature reaches a level sufficient to ignite smoke particles forming an explosive and usually fatal fireball.
In addition, hot spots prone to flare-up may also be located.
From the perspective of a firefighter, this device suffers from the drawback that the device is handheld whereas the firefighter's hands are usually engaged in other tasks.
Thus, operating this device takes precious extra time.
While the apparatus of Akiba et al. may be suitable for automatic, slow fixed monitoring of a location, this approach is unsuited to the complex, dangerous and dynamic environment faced by a firefighter, where instantaneous, easily perceived, directional information is required that will constantly change as the firefighter moves in relation to the fire.
While well adapted to outdoor, static applications, the device is not suitable for the dynamic environment of indoor firefighting in which solar radiation plays an insignificant part.
The device is expensive and suitable only for use in fixed applications.
The approach is not advantageous to firefighters operating at close range in confined areas such as within a smoke-filled building.
Method used
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Embodiment Construction
[0024] The configuration of a preferred embodiment of the thermal direction unit (TDU) of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIGS. 1-6, in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout. The following preferred TDU embodiment is described for illustrative purposes only, and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the claims herein.
[0025] Referring now to FIG. 1, the construction of a preferred thermal direction unit 100 embodiment is illustrated, in which the TDU comprises an upper casing 101 affixed to a lower casing 102 to form an essentially toroidal structure having one or more interior cavities. The materials of the upper and lower casings may be any rigid, semi-rigid, or flexible material capable of withstanding the rigors of a firefighter's environment. A TDU within the scope of the present invention may be constructed from flexible materials and derive its rigidity in whole or in part from its attachment to a helmet. Preferably, the up...
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A device, and method for its use, which may be worn by a firefighter for detecting the source of a fire in a smoke-filled or noisy environment, the device having directional infrared sensors for detecting the direction of maximum or minimum intensity of infrared radiation in two or more directions relative to the wearer and reporting at least the direction of maximum or minimum intensity to the wearer by a tactile indicator contacting the skin of the wearer.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of co-pending International Application No. PCT / US2005 / 011980, filed Apr. 7, 2005, the benefit of priority of which is claimed, and which in turn claims the benefit of priority of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60 / 560,467, filed on Apr. 7, 2004, the benefit of priority of which is also claimed, the contents of both applications being incorporated herein in their respective entireties by reference, and which are not admitted to be prior art with respect to the present invention by their mention in the background.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a device for detecting the direction of a heat source. More particularly, the invention relates to a device that may be worn and used for detecting and indicating, preferably by a tactile indication to the wearer, the direction of maximum or minimum infrared radiation relative to the wearer. The present invention also relates to methods for u...
Claims
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IPC IPC(8): G01J5/00G01J5/16G08B17/12
CPCA62C99/009G01J5/14G01J5/16G08B17/12
Inventor HACKNEY, RONALDHACKNEY, DOUGLAS
Owner HACKNEY RONALD F
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