# US 2019/0314657 A1 · Unmanned Vehicle, System and Method for Initiating a Fire Extinguishing Action > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0314657 A1 - Document ID: US20190314657A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/317,165 - Filed: 2017-06-30 - Published: 2019-10-17 - Earliest claimed: 2016-07-12 - Assignees: Minimax GmbH & Co. KG - Applicants: Minimax GmbH & Co. KG - Inventors: Klaus HOFMANN; Joachim BOEKE; Kurt LENKEIT; Ingo KUHLENKAMP - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190314657A1 ## CPC - G05D 1/648: Performing a task within a working area or space, e.g. cleaning - A62C 3/002: {for warehouses, storage areas or other installations for storing goods} - A62C 3/0221: {for tunnels} - A62C 3/0242: {by spraying extinguishants from the aircraft (spraying from aircraft in general B64D1/16)} - A62C 3/0292: {by spraying extinguishants directly into the fire (A62C3/0242 takes precedence)} - A62C 27/00: Fire-fighting land vehicles - A62C 31/005: {using nozzles} - A62C 31/02: Nozzles specially adapted for fire-extinguishing - G05D 1/0212: {with means for defining a desired trajectory (involving a plurality of land vehicles G05D1/0287)} - G05D 1/225: operated by off-board computers - G05D 1/689: Pointing payloads towards fixed or moving targets (positioning towed, pushed or suspended implements G05D1/672) - G05D 2105/55: for emergency activities, e.g. search and rescue, traffic accidents or fire fighting - G05D 2107/60: Open buildings, e.g. offices, hospitals, shopping areas or universities - G05D 2109/10: Land vehicles - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES - A62C: FIRE-FIGHTING (fire-extinguishing compositions, use of chemical substances in extinguishing fires A62D1/00; spraying, applying liquids or other fluent materials to surfaces in general B05; alarm arrangements G08B, e.g. fire alarms actuated by smoke or gases G08B17/10) ## Abstract The invention relates to an unmanned vehicle (2) for initiating a fire extinguishing action, comprising a vehicle sensor unit (6) for detecting a fire parameter KF of a vehicle monitoring region (8), a signal receiving unit (10) for receiving an instruction signal SI representing a reference fire status ZR for a fire detector monitoring region (12) of a stationary fire detector (14) and a target location (16), and a navigation control unit (18) for navigating the vehicle (2) to the target location (16) based on the instruction signal SI, such that the vehicle monitoring region (8) and the fire detector monitoring region (12) overlap, wherein the vehicle (2) is configured to detect the fire parameter KF at the target location (16) by means of the vehicle sensor unit (6) as a verification fire parameter KV of the fire detector monitoring region (12), wherein the vehicle (2) is configured for determining a verification fire status ZV by evaluating the verification fire parameter KV, wherein the vehicle (2) is configured to determine the reference fire status ZR as a verified reference fire status ZVR, if the reference fire status ZR and the verification fire status ZV sufficiently correspond, and to initiate a fire extinguishing action in the event of a verified reference fire status ZVR. The invention also relates to a system (20) having a vehicle (2) of this type, as well as a corresponding method. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An unmanned vehicle (2) for initiating a fire extinguishing action, comprising: a vehicle sensor unit (6) that is designed for detecting a fire parameter KF of a vehicle monitoring region (8), a signal receiving unit (10) for receiving an instruction signal SI, which represents a reference fire status ZR for a fire detector monitoring region (12) of a stationary fire detector (14) and a target location (16), and a navigation control unit (18), wherein the vehicle monitoring region (8) sufficiently overlaps with the fire detector monitoring region (12) when the vehicle (2) is at the target location (16), wherein the navigation control unit (18) is designed for navigating the vehicle (2) to the target location (16), in an autonomous manner, based on the received instruction signal SI such that the vehicle monitoring region (8) and the fire detector monitoring region (12) sufficiently overlap, wherein the vehicle (2) is configured for detecting the fire parameter KF in the form of a verification fire parameter KV of the fire detector region (12) at the target location (16) by means of the vehicle sensor unit (6), wherein the vehicle (2) is configured for determining a verification fire status ZV by evaluating the verification fire parameter KV, wherein the vehicle (2) is configured for determining the reference fire status ZR in the form of a verified reference fire status ZVR if the reference fire status ZR and the verification fire status ZV at least sufficiently match, and wherein the vehicle (2) is designed and/or configured for initiating a fire extinguishing action if the reference fire status ZR was determined in the form of a verified reference fire status ZVR. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The vehicle (2) according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle (2) is realized in the form of a land craft, a robotic vehicle, an aircraft, or a drone. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The vehicle (2) according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle (2) comprises a fire extinguishing unit (100) for extinguishing a fire, wherein the vehicle (2) is designed for carrying out a fire extinguishing action with the aid of the fire extinguishing unit (100). ### Claim 4 (depends on 3) The vehicle (2) according to claim 3, wherein the fire extinguishing unit (100) comprises a nozzle (102), which is designed for discharging, and spraying an extinguishing medium for extinguishing a fire. ### Claim 5 (depends on 3) The vehicle (2) according to claim 3, wherein the fire extinguishing unit (100) comprises an externally accessible output connector (128) for making available extinguishing medium, wherein said output connector can be coupled to a mating connector (130) of a stationary extinguishing device (132) in order to make available extinguishing medium to the stationary extinguishing device (132). ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The vehicle (2) according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle (2) is designed for determining the location (84) of a fire by means of the vehicle sensor unit (6) at the target location (16). ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The vehicle (2) according to claim 6, wherein the vehicle (2) is designed for orienting the nozzle (102) in such a way that the extinguishing medium to be sprayed by the nozzle (102) flows in the direction of the location (84) of a fire in order to extinguish the fire (4). ### Claim 8 (depends on 6) The vehicle (2) according to claim 6, wherein the vehicle (2) is designed for autonomously navigating to an optimal location for discharging extinguishing medium based on the location (84) of the fire. ### Claim 9 (depends on 3) The vehicle (2) according to claim 3, wherein the fire extinguishing unit (100) comprises a detachable extinguishing medium container (104), in which extinguishing medium is stored. ### Claim 10 (depends on 3) The vehicle (2) according to claim 3, wherein the fire extinguishing unit (100) comprises an extinguishing medium production device for producing extinguishing medium. ### Claim 11 (depends on 3) The vehicle (2) according to claim 3, wherein the fire extinguishing unit (100) comprises an externally accessible input connector, which can be coupled to a mating connector of a stationary extinguishing medium source, such that extinguishing medium can be conveyed from the extinguishing medium source to the vehicle (2) and to the corresponding fire extinguishing unit (100). ### Claim 12 (depends on 4) The vehicle (2) according to claim 4, wherein the corresponding fire extinguishing unit (100) comprises a controllable triggering unit (106) having a controllable valve, which is designed for controlling an extinguishing medium flow to the nozzle (102) and/or the output connector (128). ### Claim 13 (depends on 4) The vehicle (2) according to claim 4, wherein the fire extinguishing unit (100) comprises a first rotatable, pivotable and/or length-adjustable orientation device (116), on which the nozzle (102) is mounted, wherein the vehicle (2) is designed for controlling the first orientation device (116) in order to orient the nozzle (102). ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The vehicle (2) according to claim 11, wherein the navigation control unit (18) is designed for navigating the vehicle (2) to the mating connector of the stationary extinguishing medium source based on navigation data such that the input connector of the vehicle (2) is coupled to the mating connector of the extinguishing medium source. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The vehicle (2) according to claim 1, wherein the navigation control unit (18) is designed for navigating the vehicle (2) to an extinguishing medium container depot (126), in which at least one extinguishing medium container (104) that can be coupled to the vehicle by means of a coupling device (124) is held available, in a controlled manner based on navigation data. ### Claim 16 (depends on 1) The vehicle (2) according to claim 1, wherein the signal receiving unit (10) is designed for receiving an instruction signal SI, from a central unit (22). ### Claim 17 (depends on 12) The vehicle (2) according to claim 12, wherein the vehicle (2) is designed for generating a triggering signal for a triggering unit (106) and for controlling the triggering unit (106) based on the triggering signal such that the triggering unit (106) releases an extinguishing medium flow to the nozzle (102) and/or the output connector (128) when the triggering unit (106) is activated by means of the triggering signal, wherein the vehicle (2) is designed for transmitting a signal, which represents the triggering time, at which the triggering unit (106) releases the extinguishing medium flow, and/or a triggering period of the released extinguishing medium flow, to the central unit (22). ### Claim 18 (depends on 17) The vehicle (2) according to claim 17, wherein the vehicle (2) is designed for re-detecting the fire parameter KF by means of the vehicle sensor unit (6) after the triggering time, while the extinguishing medium flow is released and/or after the expiration of the extinguishing period, and in that the vehicle (2) is designed for determining an extinguished status based on the re-detected fire parameter KF if the re-detected fire parameter KF represents an extinguished fire (4). ### Claim 19 (depends on 17) The vehicle (2) according to claim 17, wherein the vehicle (2) is designed for re-generating the triggering signal such that the triggering unit (106) once again releases an extinguishing medium flow to the nozzle (102) or the output connector (128) if the re-detected fire parameter KF represents a fire, a preliminary fire stage and/or a smoldering fire. ### Claim 20 (depends on 19) The vehicle (2) according to claim 19, wherein the re-generated triggering signal is generated by the vehicle (2) in such a way that the triggering unit (106) releases an extinguishing medium, which differs from the previously released extinguishing medium, to the nozzle (102) or the output connector (128). ### Claim 21 (depends on 1) A system (20) for initiating a fire extinguishing action, comprising: a central unit (22) having a central fire alarm system, and a vehicle (2) according to claim 1, wherein the vehicle comprises a first signal communication unit that contains the signal receiving unit (10) of the vehicle (2), wherein the central unit (22) comprises a second signal communication unit that is designed for producing a wireless signal link to the first signal communication unit of the vehicle (2), and wherein the central unit (22) is designed for transmitting the corresponding instruction signal SI to the vehicle (2). ### Claim 22 (depends on 21) The system (20) according to claim 21, wherein the central unit (22) is designed for transmitting navigation control signals from the central unit (22) to the vehicle (2), in that the vehicle (2) is designed and/or configured for navigating based on the transmitted navigation control signals, and in that the central unit (22) is designed for navigating the vehicle (2) in a remote-controlled manner by transmitting navigation control signals to the vehicle (2). ### Claim 23 (depends on 21) The system (20) according to claim 21, further comprising a stationary extinguishing device (132), which is designed for being coupled to an output connector (128) of the vehicle (2), wherein the stationary extinguishing device (132) comprises a mating connector (130), at least one extinguishing nozzle (70) and a pipe network, which extends between the mating connector (130) of the stationary extinguishing device (132) and the at least one extinguishing nozzle (70) of the stationary extinguishing device (132), and wherein the stationary extinguishing device (132) is designed for extinguishing a fire (4) in the fire detector monitoring region (12) in that extinguishing medium can be transported from the output connector (128) of the vehicle (2) to the mating connector (130) of the stationary extinguishing device (132) and to the at least one extinguishing nozzle (70) of the stationary extinguishing device (132) via the pipe network. ### Claim 24 (depends on 21) A system (20) according to claim 21, further comprising a stationary fire detector (14), wherein the fire detector (14) comprises a fire detector sensor unit (28) that is designed for detecting a reference fire parameter KR of a predefined fire detector monitoring region (12), wherein the fire detector (14) is designed for determining a reference fire status ZR by evaluating the reference fire parameter KR, wherein the fire detector (14) is designed for transmitting a fire detector signal SB, which represents the reference fire status ZR, to the central unit (22), wherein the central unit (22) is configured for transmitting an instruction signal SI to the vehicle (2) if the fire detector signal SB transmitted by the fire detector (14) represents a reference fire status ZR that requires verification, wherein the instruction signal SI represents the least a target location (16) for the vehicle (2), wherein the vehicle monitoring region (8) sufficiently overlaps with the fire detector monitoring region (12) when the vehicle (2) is at the target location (16), and wherein a measuring principle of the fire detector sensor unit (28) and a measuring principle of the vehicle sensor unit (6) differ. ### Claim 25 A method for initiating a fire extinguishing action, comprising the following steps: receiving an instruction signal SI by means of a signal receiving unit (10) of an unmanned vehicle (2), wherein a vehicle sensor unit (6) of the vehicle (2) is designed for detecting a fire parameter KF of a vehicle monitoring region (8), wherein the instruction signal SI represents a reference fire status ZR for a fire detector monitoring region (12) of a stationary fire detector (14) and a target location (16), and wherein the vehicle monitoring region (8) sufficiently overlaps with a fire detector monitoring region (12) when the vehicle (2) is at the target location (16); navigating the vehicle (2) to the target location (16), in an autonomous manner, based on the instruction signal SI received by the vehicle (2) such that the vehicle monitoring region (8) and the fire detector monitoring region (12) sufficiently overlap; detecting the fire parameter KF in the form of a verification fire parameter KV of the fire detector monitoring region (12) by means of the vehicle sensor unit (6); determining a verification fire status ZV by evaluating the verification fire parameter KV by means of the vehicle (2); determining the reference fire status ZR in the form of a verified reference fire status ZVR by means of the vehicle (2) if the reference fire status ZR and the verification fire status ZV at least sufficiently match; and initiating a fire extinguishing action by means of the vehicle (2) if the reference fire status ZR was determined in the form of a verified reference fire status ZVR. ### Claim 26 (depends on 25) The method according to claim 25, including the following additional step, which is carried out prior to the reception of the instruction signal SI: transmitting the corresponding instruction signal SI to the signal receiving unit (10) of the vehicle (2) by means of a signal transmitting unit (44) of a central unit (22). ### Claim 27 (depends on 25) The method according to claim 25, including the following additional steps, which are carried out prior to the transmission of the instruction signal SI: detecting a reference fire parameter KR of the fire detector monitoring region (12) by means of a fire detector sensor unit (28) of a fire detector (14); determining the reference fire status ZR by evaluating the reference fire parameter KR by means of the fire detector (14); transmitting a fire detector signal SB representing the reference fire status ZR from the fire detector (14) to a central unit (22); and transmitting the instruction signal SI to the vehicle (2) if the fire detector signal SB transmitted by the fire detector (14) represents a reference fire status ZR that requires verification. ### Claim 28 (depends on 25) The method according to claim 25, wherein the fire extinguishing action is carried out by means of a fire extinguishing unit (100) of the vehicle (2). ### Claim 29 (depends on 25) The method according to claim 25, including the following additional step: determining a location (84) of the fire by means of the vehicle sensor unit (6) of the vehicle (2) when the vehicle (2) is at the target location (16). ### Claim 30 (depends on 29) The method according to claim 29, including the following additional step: navigating the vehicle (2) to an optimal location for discharging extinguishing medium based on the location (84) of the fire, wherein the fire extinguishing action is initiated when the vehicle (2) is at the location for discharging extinguishing medium. ### Claim 31 (depends on 28) The method according to claim 28, including the following additional step: discharging extinguishing medium for extinguishing a fire by means of the fire extinguishing unit (100), by means of a nozzle (102) of the fire extinguishing unit (100) and for a predefined extinguishing period. ### Claim 32 (depends on 28) The method according to claim 28, including the following additional steps: coupling an externally accessible output connector (128) of the fire extinguishing unit (100) to a mating connector (130) of a stationary extinguishing device (132); and transferring extinguishing medium from the vehicle (2) to the stationary extinguishing device (132) in order to extinguish a fire. ### Claim 33 (depends on 31) The method according to claim 31, wherein the fire extinguishing unit (100) comprises a first rotatable, pivotable and/or length-adjustable orientation device (116), on which the nozzle (102) is mounted, and wherein the method furthermore including the following step: orienting the nozzle (102) by means of the first orientation device (116) based on the location (84) of the fire such that extinguishing medium discharged by the nozzle (102) flows to the location (84) of the fire. ### Claim 34 (depends on 31) The method according to claim 31, including the following additional steps: re-detecting a fire parameter KF by means of the vehicle sensor unit (6) during or after the discharge or transfer of the extinguishing medium; and determining an extinguished status if the re-detected fire parameter KF represents an extinguished fire (4), wherein the extinguished status is determined based on the re-detected fire parameter KF. ### Claim 35 (depends on 31) The method according to claim 31, including the following additional steps: re-detecting a fire parameter KF by means of the vehicle sensor unit (6) after the predefined extinguishing period and once again discharging extinguishing medium if the re-detected fire parameter KF represents a fire, a preliminary fire stage and/or a smoldering fire.