Patent Issued for System for dispensing flame retardant foam on exterior of a structure (USPTO 11931608): United Services Automobile Association

2024 APR 05 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- From Alexandria, Virginia, NewsRx journalists report that a patent by the inventors Amann, Manfred (San Antonio, TX, US), Beveridge, Meredith (San Antonio, TX, US), Brown, Donnette Moncrief (San Antonio, TX, US), Gingrich, Jess W. (San Antonio, TX, US), Gray, Emily Margaret (San Antonio, TX, US), Haslam, Justin Dax (San Antonio, TX, US), Maciolek, Michael J. (Boerne, TX, US), Mohs, Bobby Lawrence (San Antonio, TX, US), Schroeder, Eric David (San Antonio, TX, US), Shipley, Brian Francisco (Plano, TX, US), Simpson, Robert Wiseman (Fair Oaks Ranch, TX, US), Tijerina, Rochelle Ann (San Antonio, TX, US), filed on January 24, 2023, was published online on March 19, 2024.

The patent’s assignee for patent number 11931608 is United Services Automobile Association (San Antonio, Texas, United States).

News editors obtained the following quote from the background information supplied by the inventors:

“1. Field of the Invention

“The present disclosure relates to a system for dispensing flame retardant to cover a structure. In particular, the disclosure relates to a system for distributing flame retardant material to exterior walls of a house.

“2. Description of Related Art

“Destruction of buildings by fire from the outside is becoming more prevalent. The number of wild fires per year is increasing as people make greater use of developed and undeveloped areas of natural spaces. Both business, such as forestry, and personal use, such as hunting and camping, contribute to the number of fires used in natural such outdoor spaces. With an increase in the number of users comes additional pressures upon the land, both in increased fire risk but also by increased numbers of less-well trained and inexperienced users makes even a small fire a dangerous one.

“Global warming also in contributes to the danger of fires in outdoor spaces by drying the fuel sources and strengthening of storm winds, thus increasing the intensity of a fire. Wild fires tend to burn hotter, sending embers high into the wind. Thus, embers are transported farther than they have been in the past, and are distributed into a larger area. As these hotter embers and smoke are carried further, they impinge upon more and more inhabited areas. Denser habitation means denser building, and more chance of building fires.

“Defense against wild fires is difficult. Many such fires burn in areas devoid of roads. Further, such natural spaces often are devoid of on-demand water sources, such as hydrants, and there often are but few people present to fight a fire. Many structures are uninhabited for months at a time. Also, such fires may burn undetected, and so become well-established and difficult to extinguish.

“The burning of buildings in wild fires is practically inevitable. Thus, there is a need in the art for a system and method that addresses the shortcomings of the prior art discussed above.”

As a supplement to the background information on this patent, NewsRx correspondents also obtained the inventors’ summary information for this patent: “In one aspect, the disclosure provides a system for retarding flame initiating outside of a structure having at least one roof, wherein the structure includes a foam chemical storage container, the foam chemical storage container in fluid communication with a roof plenum having at least one roof opening that enables distribution of flame retardant foam onto the outer surface of the roof.

“In particular, the disclosure provides a system for retarding flame initiating outside of a structure having a roof. The structure also may have at least one wall. The structure has an opening that enables distribution of flame retardant foam onto an outer surface of the roof. Each wall may have an opening associated with the wall that enables distribution of flame retardant foam onto an outer surface of that wall.

“The system includes a foam distribution system having a foam expansion chamber in fluid communication with a first roof plenum for delivery of flame retardant foam through the first roof opening to an outer surface of the roof. Similarly, the system may have a first wall conduit for carrying flame retardant foam from the foam expansion chamber to a first wall plenum for delivery of flame retardant foam through a first wall-associated opening.

“The system also includes a foam generation system. The foam generation system comprises a foam chemical storage container in fluid communication with a foam solution storage container, and a water supply to the foam solution container.

“The foam generation system also includes a system control module that controls a first compressed air line to the system control module. The system control module also controls a first foam solution conduit from the foam solution storage container to the system control module to control air flow in second compressed air line. The controlled air from the second compressed air is used to provide a first compressed air flow and to control foam solution flow in second foam solution conduit in response to an electrical control from an electrical control unit. The electrical control unit is controlled by a communication line and a power supply line.”

The claims supplied by the inventors are:

“1. A method for suppressing fire in a structure having at least one roof and at least one wall, the method comprising: combining a foam chemical and water to form a foam solution; introducing air into the foam solution; forming a flame retardant foam by introducing the foam solution and air into an expansion chamber; supplying the flame retardant foam to a roof plenum; distributing the flame retardant foam onto an outer surface of the roof through an opening from the roof plenum to the roof, the opening being located at a ridge of the roof; distributing the flame retardant foam onto an outer surface of the at least one wall through the opening from the roof plenum to the at least one wall; and spreading the flame retardant foam laterally across a width of the outer surface of the at least one wall by flowing the foam downward over a distributor, the distributor comprising a plurality of static divider structures.

“2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: supplying the flame retardant foam to a soffit plenum; and distributing the flame retardant foam onto an outer surface of the at least one wall through an opening from the plenum to the at least one wall.

“3. The method of claim 1, wherein the distributor is configured such that the foam is spread laterally across an entirety of the wall.

“4. The method of claim 1, further comprising spreading the flame retardant foam across a plurality of secondary dividers located away from the distributor on the outer surface of the wall.

“5. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: storing the foam chemical in a foam chemical storage container that is in fluid communication with a foam solution storage container; combing the foam chemical and the water to form the foam solution in the foam solution storage container; controlling a first compressed air line with a system control module, the first compressed air line being in fluid communication with the system control module; controlling a first foam solution conduit with the system control module, the first foam solution conduit being in fluid communication with the system control module and the foam solution storage container; wherein the step of introducing air into the dilute solution includes controlling a rate of air flow from the first compressed air line into the system control module and controlling a rate of flow of the foam solution from the first foam solution conduit.

“6. The method of claim 5, wherein the step of controlling the rate of air flow from the first compressed air line and the step of controlling the rate of flow of the foam solution from the first foam solution conduit includes the system control module receiving electronic instructions from an electrical control module.

“7. A method for suppressing fire in a structure having a plurality of surfaces to be protected from fire, the method comprising: supplying flame retardant foam to a plenum for each of the plurality of surfaces to be protected; gathering first information related to the fire; gathering second information related to activation of one or more neighboring fire suppression systems; gathering third information from system sensors; automatically generating a decision without human intervention to distribute the flame retardant foam onto one of the plurality of surfaces through an opening in the plenum associated with that surface in response to the first information, the second information, and the third information; and wherein the method further comprises: controlling a first compressed air line with a system control module, the first compressed air line being in fluid communication with the system control module; controlling a first foam solution conduit with the system control module, the first foam solution conduit being in fluid communication with the system control module and a foam solution storage container; and controlling a rate of air flow from the first compressed air line into the system control module and controlling a rate of flow of the foam solution from the first foam solution conduit based on electronic instructions received by the system control module from an electrical control module.

“8. The method of claim 7, wherein the system sensors collect environmental data.

“9. The method of claim 8, wherein the environmental data includes ambient temperature and temperature of a surface.

“10. The method of claim 9, wherein the environmental data further includes wind information.

“11. The method of claim 9, wherein the environmental data further includes ambient light level.

“12. The method of claim 7, wherein the electrical control module is controlled by a communication line and a power supply line.

“13. The method of claim 7, wherein the system control module further controls second foam solution flow in a second foam solution conduit, the second foam solution conduit being in fluid communication with the system control module and a foam expansion chamber; the system control module further controls second compressed air flow in a second compressed air line, the second compressed air line being in fluid communication with the system control module and a foam expansion chamber; and wherein the second foam solution flow and the second compressed air flow are supplied to the foam expansion chamber and combined therein.

“14. A method for suppressing a fire outside of a structure, the method comprising: storing a foam chemical in a foam chemical storage; mixing in a foam solution storage container the foam chemical with water from a water supply that is in fluid communication with the foam solution storage container to form a first foam solution; transferring the first foam solution from the foam solution storage container to a system control module; mixing the first foam solution with first compressed air in the system control module to form a second foam solution; transferring the second foam solution from the system control module to an expansion chamber; mixing the second foam solution with second compressed air in the expansion chamber to form a flame retardant foam; supplying the flame retardant foam from the expansion chamber to a plenum; and distributing the flame retardant foam onto an outer surface of the structure through the plenum.

“15. The method of claim 14, wherein the step of mixing the foam solution with compressed air in the system control module includes: the system control module receiving electronic instructions from an electrical control unit.

“16. The method of claim 15, wherein wherein the electrical control unit is controlled by a communication line and a power supply line.

“17. The method of claim 16, wherein the communication line delivers electronic information collected from one or more system sensors.

“18. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more system sensors collect at least one of environmental data, ambient temperature, temperature of a surface, wind information, and ambient light level.

“19. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more system sensors are located on-site at the structure.

“20. The method of claim 17, wherein the one or more system sensors and the electrical control unit are configured to activate the system control module to dispense the first foam solution from the system control module to the expansion chamber independent of human intervention.”

For additional information on this patent, see: Amann, Manfred. System for dispensing flame retardant foam on exterior of a structure. U.S. Patent Number 11931608, filed January 24, 2023, and published online on March 19, 2024. Patent URL (for desktop use only): https://ppubs.uspto.gov/pubwebapp/external.html?q=(11931608)&db=USPAT&type=ids

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