Automotive vehicle with fire suppression system

A method for operating a fire suppression system installed in an automotive vehicle, comprising the steps of:

• sensing an impact upon the vehicle;
• sensing the vehicle's speed following the impact;
• and
• discharging a fire suppression agent from an onboard reservoir in the event that the vehicle's speed crosses a predetermined speed threshold following sensing of an impact.

An onboard fire suppression system for an automotive vehicle, comprising:

• at least one reservoir containing a fire suppressant agent and a propellant for evacuating the fire suppressant agent from the reservoir, with said reservoir adapted for mounting to a vehicle;
• a distribution system for receiving the fire suppressant agent from said reservoir, with said distribution system comprising at least one fixed geometry nozzle for discharging the fire suppressant agent in at least one location external to a vehicle;
• a sensor system for determining not only whether a vehicle has been subjected to a trigger impact having a magnitude in excess of a predetermined impact threshold, but also whether the vehicle has been moving subsequent to such an impact;
• a manually activatable switch, for use by an occupant of a vehicle, to indicate a desire to discharge fire suppressant agent from the reservoir;
• a controller, operatively connected with said sensor system, said reservoir, and said manually activatable switch, for causing said propellant to initiate delivery of the fire suppressant agent from the reservoir to the distribution system in the event that:
• i) either the manually activatable switch has been activated, or ii) the sensor system has determined that a trigger impact has occurred and that either the vehicle's speed has crossed a predetermined threshold following the trigger impact, or that a predetermined period of time has passed following sensing of the trigger impact.

An automotive vehicle, comprising:

• a vehicle body;
• a reservoir containing a fire suppressant agent, with said reservoir being mounted in proximity to said body;
• a distribution system for receiving the fire suppressant agent from said reservoir and for conducting the fire suppressant agent to at least one location about said body;
• at least one occupant restraint airbag;
• a sensor system for determining whether the vehicle has been subjected to a trigger impact having a severity in excess of a predetermined threshold impact value and whether the vehicle is moving subsequent to such an impact;
• and
• a controller, operatively connected with said sensor system, said reservoir, and said occupant restraint airbag, for causing said airbag to deploy and for causing said reservoir to initiate delivery of the fire suppressant agent from the reservoir to the distribution system, in the event that said sensor system determines that a trigger impact has occurred.

A method for operating a fire suppression system installed in an automotive vehicle, comprising the steps of:

• sensing an impact upon the vehicle;
• sensing the vehicle's speed following the impact;
• and
• discharging a fire suppression agent from an onboard reservoir in the event that both the vehicle's speed crosses a predetermined speed threshold following sensing of an impact and the acceleration of the vehicle crosses a predetermined acceleration threshold.

28 An automotive vehicle, comprising:

• a vehicle body;
• a reservoir comprising a tank containing both a fire suppressant agent and a pyrotechnic propellant, with said reservoir being mounted in proximity to said body;
• a distribution system for receiving the fire suppressant agent from said reservoir and for conducting the fire suppressant agent to at least one location about said body;
• a sensor system for determining whether the vehicle has been subjected to an impact and whether the vehicle is moving subsequent to such an impact;
• and
• a controller, operatively connected with said sensor system and said reservoir, for causing said propellant to initiate delivery of the fire suppressant agent from the reservoir to the distribution system.