US-12623105-B2 - Artificial intelligence guided fire sprinkler apparatus and method

US12623105B2US 12623105 B2US12623105 B2US 12623105B2US-12623105-B2

Abstract

An artificial intelligence guided, flame tracking fire suppression liquid spray nozzle on a pan and tilt turret base is recessed into a niche of wall mounted fire suppressant tank with a hinged flip door panel. A built-in smoke detector flush with the tank, senses for smoke and in an event fire breaks out, the door panel flips down and drops the pan and tilt turret base to search and lock on and track the flame. The spray nozzle splashes the flame with fire suppressant from its limited volume wall mounted suppressant tank via a high pressure spray pump. The wall tank is backed up to a high volume refill tank located remotely. The system shuts down when the fire is extinguished. Additionally, a hand gesture signal on site or a remote command via Wi-Fi in an emergency provides a fail-safe shutdown to assure premises will not suffer destruction.

Inventors

Simon Siu-Chi Yu

Assignees

Simon Siu-Chi Yu

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20250514

Claims (15)

1 . A fire sprinkler system comprising: an internal fire suppressant tank with a hinged flip door panel mounted on a wall comprising a fire suppressant spray pump, a smoke and heat detection sensor, a fire suppressant supply hose, a fluid shutoff valve, a stirring pump and a fill inlet, wherein the fire suppressant spray pump is configured to draw a fire suppressant from the internal fire suppressant tank through the fire suppressant supply hose to a fire suppressant spray nozzle; an AI guidance flame tracking turret fire sprinkler with rollers riding on a set of slide rails anchored on a back side of the hinged flip door panel stowed in a turret recessed niche area of the internal fire suppressant tank against a spring tension and secured with an electromechanical release latch wherein the AI guidance flame tracking turret fire sprinkler is free to move in pan and tilt motions and slide downward and clear the hinged flip door panel in a rotated and open position when deployed to fight a fire; and a control panel comprising a rechargeable battery with low battery level warning indicator, a wireless communication device, a low fire suppressant level warning indicator and an audio sounder attached on a front surface of the control panel to provide visual and audio warning to an occupant to maintain the health of the fire sprinkler system to assure readiness for an erupted fire.
2 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 1 , wherein the AI guidance flame tracking turret fire sprinkler further comprises a turret head assembly, wherein the fire suppressant spray nozzle, a turret pan servo motor, a turret tilt servo motor, an optical video camera, a thermal image tracking camera and a laser distance sensor are housed in the turret head assembly, and wherein movement of the turret head assembly follows a flame movement.
3 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 1 , further comprising a remotely located external supplemental fire suppressant storage tank comprising a rectangular shaped shell, a built-in fire suppressant top off pump, a fill inlet, a stirring pump, a fluid shutoff valve, and a top off hose attached on an outlet adapter for top off of the internal fire suppressant tank.
4 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 1 , further comprising a remotely located external supplemental fire suppressant storage tank configured to supply fire suppressant to top off the internal fire suppressant tank.
5 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 1 , wherein the internal fire suppressant tank fluid shutoff valve shuts off a built-in fire suppressant top off pump in a remotely located external supplemental fire suppressant storage tank based on a fluid pressure in a top off hose exceeding a set pressure limit due to the internal fire suppressant tank being full.
6 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 1 , wherein the AI guidance flame tracking turret fire sprinkler further comprises enhanced re-purpose face tracking, object tracking computer vision and machine vision and machine learning software and hardware configured to track movement in flame temperature, flame size and flame shape in real time to decide to extinguish a fire before it spreads by directing aqueous fire suppressant precisely on a flame of the fire.
7 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 1 , wherein the fire suppressant spray pump further comprises a PPM technique (Pulse-Period Modulation) configured to reduce the fire suppressant consumption while maintaining a maximum shooting distance and wherein the PPM technique intermittently switches power on the fire suppressant spray pump for a maximum pressure and a maximum fire suppressant spray duration.
8 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 1 , wherein the fire suppressant spray pump further switches into a PPM technique to conserve fire suppressant and an extended spray duration during no occupancy and reverts back to normal operating parameters when occupancy is determined.
9 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 1 , further comprising a vibration damping magnet configured to smooth out pulsing and shaking due to the fire suppressant spray pump cycling intermittently in on-off operation and to stabilize the turret head assembly.
10 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 1 , further comprising an optical video camera configured to recognize a hand gesture including a five fingers palm signal signifying a “STOP” and de-energize the fire suppressant spray pump in an emergency event, and recognize a three fingers “OK” hand gesture signifying a resume of a fire suppressant spray.
11 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 1 , further comprising a fire sprinkler self test system configured to share the fire suppressant spray pump, wherein the fire sprinkler self test system comprises: a Tee pipe diverter fitting, a check valve, a fire suppressant inlet hose connected to the Tee pipe diverter fitting, an electric normally closed valve connected to the fire suppressant inlet hose, and a drip catcher tray configured to collect a dispensed fire suppressant during a self test action.
12 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 11 , wherein the check valve is pre-loaded with a crack pressure to prevent dripping when the fire sprinkler system is not in a deployed position and wherein the check valve cracks open to allow fire suppressant to pass through to the fire suppressant spray nozzle when a fire suppressant pressure is higher than the built-in crack pressure of the check valve.
13 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 11 , wherein a lower than nominal operating voltage across the fire suppressant spray pump energizes the electric normally closed valve to an open position and effectively blocks the fire suppressant from passing through the check valve to reach the fire suppressant spray nozzle and wherein fire suppressant is continuously forced to return to the internal fire suppressant tank effectively exercising the fire suppressant spray pump.
14 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 13 , wherein the electric normally closed valve is rapidly intermittently switched on-off causing the check valve to partially open and allowing a minimal flow of fire suppressant to escape and cleanse the fire suppressant spray nozzle and collect spent fire suppressant in the drip catcher tray.
15 . The fire sprinkler system of claim 11 , wherein the shared fire suppressant spray pump, the Tee pipe diverter fitting, the check valve, the electric normally closed valve and the drip catcher tray are configured to perform a self test of fire fighting without wetting the premises.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE Applicant files this Continuation In Part and claims priority to the pending non-provisional patent application Ser. No. 18/648,248, filed Apr. 26, 2024 titled Non Destructive Fire Sprinkler System which itself claims priority to the Provisional patent application 63/630,058 filed Dec. 26, 2023 titled Non Property Destructive Fire Sprinkler System for New Home Construction and Existing Home Retrofit by Simon Siu-Chi Yu. BACKGROUND The disclosed invention is directed to a multi-purpose and multi-configuration apparatus used for indoor fire fighting for new and existing residential homes and commercial structures. The disclosure is a cost effective alternative for fire safety and prevention over traditional passive fire sprinklers that cause secondary damage due to water and flooding of the affected areas. When it comes to fire safety and prevention in a home, there is no room for error with other alternatives. It is costly to install a traditional passive system which requires fire department and local city building permits and inspector approval. Each year, house fires cause thousands of civilian deaths, hundreds of thousands are treated for burns resulting in billions of dollars in direct property damage and medical costs. In recent years, many state and local city officials have mandated new residential construction and existing homes install or retrofit automatic fire prevention systems. Installing fire sprinklers in new homes costs tens of thousands of dollars and often cost more in existing homes requiring retrofitting for a better chance of survival when a house catches fire. Additionally, fire sprinklers installed in a residential home require a much larger water supply feed line increasing the cost. In general, a single family home requires a 1.5 inch water meter to meet the sprinkler flow and water pressure demands cost more than the fire sprinkler installation itself. The legacy water based fire sprinkler system has been the gold standard for centuries because of its proven record. However this traditional fire prevention technology creates massive destruction to property through flooding and pollution and subsequent toxic mold cleanup. Because insurance companies pick up the damage, water damage claims drive up monthly premiums. The present disclosure provides current artificial intelligence technology and is more affordable than what is heretofore available on the market to consumers. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present disclosure benefits from years of residential construction over decades including the design and installation of numerous fire sprinkler systems for new homes. Since fire sprinklers provide a comfort and sense of safety for occupants, it is good practice to have a fire sprinkler installed even at a hefty cost. There are numerous considerations in planning a sprinkler system including nearest fire hydrant flow rate and pressure. In some areas which have low pressure will often require an onsite large capacity storage tank with compressed air tank to deliver water for the sprinklers. Periodic testing of each sprinkler for proper function is not possible without heating the heat sensitive glass bulb to 155 degree in Fahrenheit and flooding the premises at 14 gallon per minute rate until someone shuts off the water meter. When a room catches fire, the traditional passive overhead sprinkler relies on the room temperature to rupture the sprinkler's glass bulb, whereupon it blindly sprinkles water into a room already engulfed in flame. Oftentimes, it is too late to prevent fire damage. The present disclosure drastically reduces the cost of sprinkler installation and damage compared to the traditional water based fire sprinklers. It does so without the concerns of low water flow and pressure and contaminating sprinkler back flows into domestic water supplies. Installation of the disclosure is as simple as installing a recessed light on a ceiling or mounting an audio sound bar on a wall. The present disclosure also addresses the personal privacy concern that occupants don't want to be watched on camera in their bedroom. Therefore, when the sprinkler system is not in a deployed position, the disclosure conceals its cameras from open view filming. The present disclosure makes use of enhanced re-purpose face tracking, object tracking computer vision, machine vision and machine learning software and hardware. The disclosure therefore tracks movement in flame temperature, flame size and flame shape in real time to decide to extinguish a fire before it spreads by directing aqueous fire suppressant precisely on the flame. The present disclosure works through a novel system of software and residential and commercial wireless communications devices and conventional WiFi connections and controls for a rechargeable battery, fire suppressant, smoke and heat detection sensor, an optical video and a thermal image tracking cameras, MCU (Micro Controller Unit) pan tilt mechanical structu