Foam concentrate proportioning system and methods for rescue and fire fighting vehicles
AssigneePierce Manufacturing Company
InventorsRobert P. Juidici, Clarence A. Grady, Andrew P. Klein, Brian D. Piller, Michael R. Moore
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A system and method of maintaining a desired additive to water ration in a fire-fighting system including a water flow sensor configured to measure the water flow rate, a water pump, a hydraulic pump, a linear hydraulic cylinder driven by the hydraulic pump, an additive pump mechanically coupled to the linear hydraulic cylinder; and a pump displacement sensor configured to sense the position of the additive pump, the pump displacement sensor being in communication with the water flow sensor to maintain a pre-determined ratio of additive to water.
Claims38
An additive proportioning system for a firefighting vehicle comprising:
- a source of pressurized water;
- a source of additive;
- a water flow sensor responsive to the source of pressurized water and configured to measure a water flow rate;
- a hydraulic pump;
- an actuator fluidly connected to and driven by the hydraulic pump;
- an additive pump mechanically coupled to the actuator and fluidly connected to the source of additive;
- and
- a pump displacement sensor configured to sense the position of the additive pump, said pump displacement sensor being in communication with the water flow sensor to maintain a pre-determined ratio of additive to water.
An apparatus for mixing water and an additive in a firefighting vehicle, the apparatus comprising:
- a programmable logic controller;
- a water flow sensor responsive to a source of pressurized water and electronically coupled to the controller;
- a hydraulic pump;
- an actuator fluidly connected to and driven by the hydraulic pump;
- an additive pump mechanically coupled to the actuator and fluidly connected to a source of additive;
- and
- an additive pump displacement sensor configured to sense the position of the additive pump, the pump displacement sensor being in communication with the controller.
An additive proportioning apparatus comprising:
- an actuator;
- an additive pump coupled to and driven by the actuator;
- wherein the actuator is coupled to a linear variable displacement transducer that senses the position of the additive pump.
A method of maintaining a desired additive to water ratio in a fire-fighting system comprising the steps of:
- inputting into a controller a pre-determined additive to water ratio;
- sensing the water flow rate;
- computing the additive flow rate by determining the position of a positive displacement piston pump at at least two defined intervals;
- computing the actual additive to water ratio based on the sensed water flow and additive flow rates;
- comparing the computed ratio with the input ratio;
- and
- adjusting the output of the positive displacement pump to substantially match the input ratio.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.