System and method for monitoring and controlling fire suppression systems in commercial kitchens
AssigneeCaptive-Aire Systems, Inc.
InventorsWilliam Brian Griffin, William Earle Glaub, Brady Jay Ambrose, Jesse Beard
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Disclosed herein is a system and process for monitoring and controlling fire suppression systems in commercial kitchens. Repeatedly various components of the fire suppression systems are tested for faults. When a fault is detected in a particular component, the fault is communicated through a communications module associated with the commercial kitchen via the internet to one or more remote servers. Upon receiving information indicating a particular fault, the one or more remote servers acts to alert interested parties of the default.
Claims6
A method of detecting faults in a fire suppression systems situated in a commercial kitchen and shutting down a kitchen appliance in the kitchen in response to detecting selected faults, the method at each kitchen comprising:
- repeatedly testing the integrity of a first electric solenoid valve that controls the flow of a fire suppression solution to at least one sprinkler head disposed over an appliance in the kitchen and operative to spray the fire suppression solution onto the underlying appliance in response to the detection of a fire in the kitchen;
- repeatedly testing the integrity of a second electric solenoid valve that controls the flow of the fire suppression solution to at least one sprinkler head disposed in an exhaust hood disposed over the appliance and operative to spray the fire suppression solution into the hood in response to a fire being detected in the kitchen;
- repeatedly testing the integrity of a controller that controls the fire suppression system in the kitchen and which is operative to actuate the fire suppression system in response to a fire being detected in the kitchen;
- and
- wherein when a fault is detected in the first electric solenoid valve, the second electric solenoid valve, or the controller, the method includes disabling the appliance.
A method of remotely monitoring a plurality of fire suppression systems situated in commercial kitchens located at different geographic locations, detecting faults in selected components of the fire suppression systems, and issuing alerts to interested parties in response to the detection of selected faults, the method comprising:
- receiving, by one or more servers located on a remote site, information via the internet from a plurality of communication modules located on various sites where the commercial kitchens are located, and wherein there is at least one communications module located at each commercial kitchen site and associated with the commercial kitchen located at that site, the information received by the one or more servers from each communication module comprising:
- i. fault status information with respect to a first solenoid valve that controls the flow of a fire suppression solution to at least one sprinkler head disposed over an appliance in one of the kitchens and operative to spray the fire suppression solution onto the appliance in response to the detection of a fire in the one kitchen, and wherein the fault status report with respect to the first solenoid valve results from repeatedly testing the integrity of the first solenoid valve;
- ii. fault status information with respect to a second solenoid valve that controls the flow of the fire suppression solution to at least one sprinkler head disposed in an exhaust hood in the one kitchen and operative to spray the fire suppression solution into the exhaust hood in response to a fire being detected in the one kitchen, and wherein the fault status report with respect to the second solenoid valve results from repeatedly testing the integrity of the second solenoid valve;
- iii. fault status information with respect to a controller associated with the one kitchen that controls the fire suppression system in the one kitchen and which is operative to actuate the fire suppression system in the one kitchen in response to a fire detected in the one kitchen, and wherein the fault status report with respect to the controller results from repeatedly testing the integrity of the controller;
- iv. issuing an alert to at least one interested party in response to the information received by the one or more servers from the communications module indicating that a fault has been detected in the one kitchen with respect to the first solenoid valve, the solenoid valve or the controller.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.