Aerial fire suppression system

Abstract

An embodiment of a fire suppression apparatus for fighting fires from an aerial vehicle is disclosed having a foam and water held in separate containers that when mixed forms a fire retardant in the separate water container, a pump driven by a first electric motor, the pump including an air induction valve positioned at the pump inlet where air and the fire retardant are drawn into the inlet and pressurized simultaneously by the pump, a primer pump driven by a second electric motor to prime the inlet with the fire retardant before starting the pump, an inverter to control startup of the first electric motor, and an aimable boom connected to the pump by a conduit, the boom including a nozzle on a distal end of the boom from which the pressurized water/foam/air fire retardant is dispensed toward a target. Vertical mount plates can attach the apparatus to opposite sides of the helicopter.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A fire suppression apparatus for fighting fires from a helicopter, comprising:
 a tank assembly configured for attachment to an underside of the helicopter, comprising
 a water tank for housing water, the water tank configured for attachment to the helicopter; 
 a foam tank for housing a foam, the foam tank positioned inside the water tank, wherein the water tank is configured to receive the foam from the foam tank that when mixed with the water in the water tank forms a liquid fire retardant in the water tank; and 
 a tank assembly housing that encloses the foam tank and the water tank; 
   a liquid fire retardant pump configured to pump the liquid fire retardant comprising the foam and the water, the liquid fire retardant pump driven by a first electric motor, the liquid fire retardant pump including a pump inlet and an air induction valve positioned at the pump inlet, the air induction valve including an electrically variable valve opening, wherein air and the liquid fire retardant are drawn together into the pump inlet and pressurized by the liquid fire retardant pump to pressurize and aerate the liquid fire retardant;   a liquid primer pump driven by a second electric motor, the liquid primer pump configured to prime the pump inlet with the liquid fire retardant from the water tank; and   an aimable boom connected to the liquid fire retardant pump by a conduit that extends through the water tank, the boom including a nozzle on a distal end of the boom from which the aerated liquid fire retardant is dispensed toward a target.   
     
     
         2 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the liquid fire retardant pump and the liquid primer pump are supported by a pump base and the pump base is supported by a pair of brackets cantileverly extending from a repositionable pump vertical mount plate that is configured to attach to a first side of a fuselage of the helicopter. 
     
     
         3 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 2 , including a first pair of adjustable length connecting members including a clevis on respective opposing ends of the first pair of adjustable length connecting members for directly attaching the repositionable pump vertical mount plate to a first pair of structural hardpoints located on a bottom surface of the fuselage of the helicopter. 
     
     
         4 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the aimable boom is supported by a boom base and the boom base is supported by a pair of brackets cantileverly extending from a repositionable boom vertical mount plate that is configured to attach to a second side of a fuselage of the helicopter opposite the first side of the fuselage of the helicopter. 
     
     
         5 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 4 , including a second pair of adjustable length connecting members including a clevis on respective opposing ends of the second pair of adjustable length connecting members for directly attaching the repositionable boom vertical mount plate to a second pair of structural hardpoints located on a bottom surface of the fuselage of the helicopter. 
     
     
         6 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the liquid fire retardant pump and the liquid primer pump are each supported on a flat upper surface of a horizontal base. 
     
     
         7 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the foam is a foam concentrate. 
     
     
         8 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the foam tank is defined by a bladder for housing the foam. 
     
     
         9 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , including a foam pump configured to pump the foam from the foam tank to the water tank. 
     
     
         10 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the foam tank and the water tank each have an interior volume for holding fluid and the interior volume of the foam tank is five to ten percent of the interior volume of the water tank. 
     
     
         11 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , including a ball valve positioned downstream and adjacent a discharge opening of the liquid fire retardant pump. 
     
     
         12 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , including a second conduit extending from an inlet of the liquid primer pump to a sump area of the water tank. 
     
     
         13 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the air induction valve includes an inlet that directly receives unpressurized ambient air. 
     
     
         14 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , including one or more electronic controllers in operative communication with the first electric motor and the air induction valve, wherein the one or more electronic controllers are configured to automatically open the air induction valve upon activation of the liquid fire retardant pump. 
     
     
         15 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the conduit extends from a first sidewall of the water tank to a second sidewall of the water tank opposite the first sidewall. 
     
     
         16 . A fire suppression apparatus for fighting fires from a helicopter, comprising:
 a tank assembly configured for attachment to an underside of the helicopter, comprising
 a water tank for housing water, the water tank configured for attachment to the helicopter; 
 a foam tank for housing a foam, the foam tank positioned inside the water tank, wherein the water tank is configured to receive the foam from the foam tank that when mixed with the water in the water tank forms a liquid fire retardant in the water tank; and 
 a tank assembly housing that encloses the foam tank and the water tank; 
   a liquid fire retardant pump configured to pump the liquid fire retardant comprising the foam and the water, the liquid fire retardant pump driven by a first electric motor, the liquid fire retardant pump including a pump inlet and an air induction valve positioned at the pump inlet, the air induction valve including an electrically variable valve opening, wherein air and the liquid fire retardant are drawn together into the pump inlet and pressurized by the liquid fire retardant pump to pressurize and aerate the liquid fire retardant;   a liquid primer pump driven by a second electric motor, the liquid primer pump configured to prime the pump inlet with the liquid fire retardant from the water tank; and   an aimable boom connected to the liquid fire retardant pump by a conduit that extends through the water tank from a first sidewall of the water tank to a second sidewall of the water tank opposite the first sidewall, the boom including a nozzle on a distal end of the boom from which the aerated liquid fire retardant is dispensed toward a target.   
     
     
         17 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the liquid fire retardant pump and the liquid primer pump are supported by a pump base and the pump base is supported by a pair of brackets cantileverly extending from a repositionable pump vertical mount plate that is configured to attach to a first side of a fuselage of the helicopter. 
     
     
         18 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 17 , wherein the repositionable pump vertical mount plate includes a pivot mount at respective opposite upper corners of the repositionable pump vertical mount plate and each pivot mount is configured to attach to respective upper structural hardpoints on the fuselage of the helicopter. 
     
     
         19 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 17 , including a first pair of adjustable length connecting members including a clevis on respective opposite ends of the first pair of adjustable length connecting members for directly attaching the repositionable pump vertical mount plate to a first pair of structural hardpoints located on a bottom surface of the fuselage of the helicopter. 
     
     
         20 . The fire suppression apparatus of  claim 16 , including a purge manifold positioned on top of the liquid fire retardant pump and configured to function in combination with the liquid primer pump to vent air to the atmosphere from a suction conduit that is positioned upstream of the pump inlet of the liquid fire retardant pump.