EP-4741024-A1 - SYSTEMS, DEVICES, AND METHODS FOR A WATER CANNON

EP4741024A1EP 4741024 A1EP4741024 A1EP 4741024A1EP-4741024-A1

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a cannon system (400) and method, the system (400) comprising: a tank (200) comprising at least one baffle (210, 220a, 220b, 220c, 220d) extending from an interior surface of the tank (200); at least one pump each comprising bearings supporting a shaft of the pump, the at least one pump configured to pump fluid into the tank (200) from a fluid source and configured to disperse fluid from the tank (200); and a suction system (300) comprising at least one float (320) positioned above a suction screen (310), the at least one float (320) configured to hold the suction screen (310) below an intake fluid level of the fluid source, the suction screen (310) in fluid connection with the at least one pump.

Inventors

FAWCETT, Ronald Ross

Assignees

White River Contracting Ltd

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20251106

Claims (15)

A cannon system, comprising: a tank comprising at least one baffle extending from an interior surface of the tank; at least one pump each comprising bearings supporting a shaft of the pump, the at least one pump configured to pump fluid into the tank from a fluid source and configured to disperse fluid from the tank; and a suction system comprising at least one float positioned above a suction screen, the at least one float configured to hold the suction screen below an intake fluid level of the fluid source, the suction screen in fluid connection with the at least one pump.
The cannon of claim 1, the at least one baffle comprising a longitudinal baffle extending along a longitudinal axis of the tank and at least two side baffles each extending from the longitudinal baffle towards a side surface of the interior surface of the tank.
The cannon of claim 2, the longitudinal baffle extending from a bottom surface of the interior surface of the tank.
The cannon of any one of claims 2 or 3, the at least two side baffles comprising at least two sets of V-shaped baffles.
The cannon of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the suction screen comprises a length selected to reduce cavitation in fluid from the fluid source, and/or wherein the suction screen is about two feet long.
The cannon of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the at least one float is configured to hold the suction screen about six inches below an intake fluid level of the fluid source, and/or further comprising a configurable throttle valve through which the fluid dispersed from the tank is dispersed.
The cannon of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one pump comprises at least one hydraulic pump.
The cannon of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the at least one pump is connectible to at least one cannon.
The cannon of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the at least one pump is connectible to at least one hose.
The cannon of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the at least one pump is configured to pump fluid into the tank under pressurized conditions, and/or wherein the at least one pump is configured to disperse fluid from the tank at a rate of about 628 gallons per minute.
A skidder, comprising: the cannon system of any one of claims 1 to 10; a cab configured to house at least one control for the configurable throttle valve; and at least one camera configured to provide a video feed in the cab, the video feed covering a radius about the cab.
A method for providing a cannon, the method comprising: suctioning fluid at a depth beneath and near a surface of a fluid source; hydraulically pumping the fluid from the fluid source by providing axially rotatable support; retaining pumped fluid; impeding movement of the pumped fluid forward and backward and side to side while retained; and hydraulically dispersing retained pumped fluid.
The method of claim 12, further comprising pressurizing the hydraulic pumping of the fluid.
The method of claims 12 or 13, the suctioning fluid is across an about two feet screened distance.
The method of any one of claims 12 to 14, further comprising providing a video feed covering an about 340° radius, and/or further comprising controlling a throttle pressure of the hydraulic dispersion of the retained pumped fluid.

Description

FIELD The present disclosure relates to the field of apparatuses for firefighting and, in particular, to water cannons. BACKGROUND Forest fires can be a deadly threat to people, animals, vegetation, and the infrastructure. Firefighting is manual and dangerous. Firefighting personnel are limited by physical exhaustion and the ability to access difficult or remote terrain affected by fires. Furthermore, firefighting is time-consuming and typically endangers the safety of the many firefighting personnel in ground crews. Firefighting vehicles can carry water tanks to help combat fires away from accessible sources of water, but these water tanks are depleted quickly and can take a long time to fill, necessitating multiple trips to the water source and reducing the speed at which fires can be controlled and mitigated. Large firefighting crews are deployed on the ground, close to raging and potentially uncontrollable fires, with simple equipment such as hoses and water tanks with limited capacity and pumps that can only refill the tanks at a slow rate. A lack of fine-tuned control of the firefighting vehicle can lead to wasted water and further delayed mitigation of the many risks caused by fires. Furthermore, firefighting efforts are limited by the visibility in the region being consumed by fire. For example, firefighting efforts are often limited to natural daylight hours. Existing strategies include use of standard firetrucks, fire pumps, robotic water cannons, and firefighting drones. However, these strategies do not adequately solve all of the foregoing difficulties with fighting fire. For example, while Chinese patent application no. 111317940 for a Forest Automatic Fire Extinguishing Method, Device, Equipment, and Storage Medium provides an unmanned aerial vehicle to detect and monitor a forest fire and place fire extinguishants to the position of the fire, the method provided still relies on then notifying a command centre to distribute firefighting ground crews. As another example, U.S. patent no. 11986690 for Fire Fighting Systems and Methods provides a standard fire truck with an improved fluid delivery system that enables management of the flow rate and pressure generated by a pump for delivering the flow rate, but does not address any of the foregoing challenges. This background information is provided for the purpose of making known information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present disclosure. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present disclosure. SUMMARY In accordance with an aspect, there is provided a cannon system, including: a tank comprising at least one baffle extending from an interior surface of the tank; at least one pump each comprising bearings supporting a shaft of the pump, the at least one pump configured to pump fluid into the tank from a fluid source and configured to disperse fluid from the tank; and a suction system comprising at least one float positioned above a suction screen, the at least one float configured to hold the suction screen below an intake fluid level of the fluid source, the suction screen in fluid connection with the at least one pump. In some embodiments, the at least one baffle includes a longitudinal baffle extending along a longitudinal axis of the tank and at least two side baffles each extending from the longitudinal baffle towards a side surface of the interior surface of the tank. In some embodiments, the longitudinal baffle extends from a bottom surface of the interior surface of the tank. In some embodiments, the at least two side baffles include at least two sets of V-shaped baffles. In some embodiments, the suction screen comprises a length selected to reduce cavitation in fluid from the fluid source. In some embodiments, the suction screen is about two feet long. In some embodiments, the at least one float is configured to hold the suction screen about six inches below an intake fluid level of the fluid source. In some embodiments, the fluid cannon further includes a configurable throttle valve through which the fluid dispersed from the tank is dispersed. In some embodiments, the at least one pump includes at least one hydraulic pump. In some embodiments, the at least one pump is connectible to at least one cannon. In some embodiments, the at least one pump is connectible to at least one hose. In some embodiments, the at least one pump is configured to pump fluid into the tank under pressurized conditions. In some embodiments, the at least one pump is configured to disperse fluid from the tank at a rate of about 628 gallons per minute. In some embodiments, a skidder, includes the cannon system; a cab configured to house at least one control for the configurable throttle valve; and at least one camera configured to provide a video feed in the cab, the video feed covering a radius about the cab. In accordance with an aspect,