(2) United States Patent Groonwald et al. ‘USOOTS36964B2 US 7,836,964 B2 Nov. 23, 2010 (10) Patent No. 4s) Date of Patent: 6 os) om w ay @y ws) Gh (2) 638) 36) ALL-TERRAIN, DRIVE-BY-WIRE, HIGH-PRESSURE, FIRE FIGHTING APPARATUS, Inventors: Rory L. Groonwald, Fanesvlle, W1 (US); Keistofor S. Cozart, Panama Ci FL) Orbital Technologies Corporation, Madison, WI (US) Assignee: Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term ofthis patent is extended or adjusted under 35 USC. 154(b) by 240 days. Appl. Nos 12/191,934 Filed: Aug, 14, 2008, Prior Publication Data US 201010038098 A1 Feb. 18, 2010 Int.Cl A62C 27700 ‘BOOK 17/34 ‘BOK 17730 ‘BOOK 25/00 BOOK 11/04 ‘BORD HM (2006.01) S.C 169724; 169/13; 169/18; 18016-3; 1806.48: 180/53.4; 180/68.4 165/41 Fleld of Classification Search 169/13-15, 169124, $2; 230/146, 147, 172: 1806.26, 180/63, 648, 22, 53.4, 53.8, 68.4, 68.5, 1802333, 417, 442: 165/41, 43 See application ile for complete search history. References Cited (200601) (200601) (2006.01) (2006.01) (2006.01) U.S, PATENT DOCUMENTS SSM0074 A> 101974 Clark 924 4170264 1041979 Gibson SOS6S45 A 101991 Ghacmian SSB.661 A L/I998 Relyea (5029.75 8 22000 Carrier 6280995 BL 92001 Fuller 66586513 BL 122003 Brown (Continved) PORPIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS @ L192 A 111988 (Continued) OTHER PUBLICATIONS FOGTEC Mobile Systems, company pam, pp (Continued) Primary Esaminer-—Darea W Gorman (4) Atornes, Agent, or Firm—Sticanon & tenon on ABSTRACT An allterain fire fighting apparatus as a high power-to- ‘weight ratio, a hydraulic skid stove deve system, a drve-by- wire control system, a proportionally joystick controlled nozzle turret, and a 1500 psi foam injecting water supply system which supplies the nozzle turet and a high-presshre ‘hose mounted on a reel. To dissipate heat loa from the fire ‘ighling apparatus systems the fie fighting apparatus cooling system employs a cooling shroud in the form ofa box with ‘multiple system radiators sacked on one face of the box and the remaining faces containing exhaust fans mounted o dave air out of the box and through the sacked heat exchangers. ‘The fie fighting apparatus is capable of being operated remotely by means of onboard GPS, real-time imaging, and inputs to the joystick controller and fire fing apparatus rive-by-wire system, 16 Claims, 3 Drawing Sheets eyUS 7,836,964 B2 Page 2 USS. PATENT DOCUMENTS w 2oor-soassD A 9/2007 TATRSIT BL 12009 Carrier Is0648 OTHER PUBLICATIONS 20040003929 AL* 1/2008 Graf 16962 “Foam Fuetighing Systems feausing CAT PUMPS”, Cat Pumps 20080126631 AL* 62005. Gorman 157/128 SRA FMP 2p, dowaoaded Au. 8, 2008 20060284201 AL 11/2006 len ets 20070173987 AL 72007 Rowest al. 200910008108 AL 1/2009. Price ea 2009}0014186 AL* 1/2000 Collins FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS we 2001087408 A 4/2001 6024 IN DOOR: AL-1613-31 Dual Axi Controllor (Wit built-in motor divers Servo Ample)" ORBIT company pamphlet 4 “The History of FOGTEC Water Mist hs fogtsc-tnerae ional com sai fogtcienwater_mis History downloaded ul. 15, 2008 Eikhat Bras company pamphlet 3.9, International Search Report fox PCTS2009080932, ‘Written Opinion of the lvernaional Searching Authority for PCT {US20090050032, * cited by examinerU.S. Patent Nov. 23, 2010 Sheet 1 of 3 US 7,836,964 B2US 7,836,964 B2 Sheet 2 of 3 Noy. 23, 2010 U.S, Patent ejosuog jonuog owen} zp S = TOASOSUEIL an wayshg sao pueoquD [zat 731 ; og 7 weiss vonsinboy eed oz ge peer cpa a Bes crt 76 oc~ a =a = S||-0¢ k —J wg ] er) el aBseyooqn || ay ounespht lend ‘OIL l FZ oF ‘80r wm | ae | dura ¥IT- oI eusuz | x0g | Fe = ajehg [ou = aqeedeg oe S8zL 9zt~Jrauoypt L8~ dunes +8 ‘dung J8yey, J0}0/N weed! een 2010 aunssaig ySiH an une sp AE ¢ i946" Saez —09 ss 9g 7 08 98U.S. Patent Nov. 23, 2010 Sheet 3 of 3 US 7,836,964 B2 Convert Analog Joystick Voltage to Digital Position Value (X and Y axis) [ Convert Digital Position Value to Motor Speed Value (Left/Right and Up/Down Speed) Set Speed to ZERO (Stop) for that Direction Send Digital Speed Command to Motor Driver Fig. Motor Driver Converts Digital Value to Motor drive CurrentUS 7,836,964 B2 1 ALL-TERRAIN, DRIVE-BY-WIRE, HIGH-PRESSURE, FIRE FIGHTING "APPARATUS STATEMENT AS TO RIGHTS TO INVENTIONS MADE UNDER FEDERALLY SPONSORED. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT The U.S. Government has a paid-up license in this inven- tion and the right in limited circumstances to require the patent owner w license others on reasonable terms 38 pro- vided for by the terms of Agreement No. FA86S0-06-C-S910 avsarded by AF Research Laboratory on Jl. 27,2006. (CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED. "APPLICATIONS, [Not applicable BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION ‘The present invention relates firefighting apparatus in general and to off-road aller firefighting apparatus ia particular, Although fires are principally a problem for urban areas there are areas associated with transportation systems and natural resources whine fies can rest in substantial mon- ‘etary damages or loss of life. Airraft ies in particular ean result inthe Toss of fe and very valuable aireraf. Is also well ov that aireraft are exposed tothe greatest hazards ‘while taking off and landing, and are inherenty lightweight Stroctures containing relatively large amounts of flammable Figuids, While accidents involving airerat sometimes aceue ‘on the rinvay o taxi strips, often enough plane lands short ‘ofthe unsay,orunsolf the endot the runway: Ineither case the planes are often beyond access by over the road vehicles ‘Offeoad fire engines are well-known, both for fighting air- ‘raf ies and for fighting brushlies and forest ire. “The ff-oad fire engine has some unique requirements and «difficulties. Prineipal among these isthe difieulty ofall ter- rin navigation, which tends to limit the sizeof the vehicle and the amount of water that can be caged inthe fire engine. ‘One technology for dealing with limited water supply isthe use of @ foaming agent, another approach is to use high- pressure water atthe acighborhood of 1500 psi to ereate @ ‘water fog Joystick controlled water nozzles are also known provide beter control over the nozzle and to feclitate remote ‘operation of the nozzle, However, joystick controllers eur rently used f0 contol high pressure Water nozzles are rela- tively simple devices using limit switches to drive the nozzle in ovo directions ata constant rate and without advanced programming capabilities. Further, while water nozzles ean becontolled remotely, the fre engineitself must be manually ‘operated, What is necded is firefighting epparates suitable {or fighting off vad fires which incorporates the atest devel- ‘opments in fcfighting techniques with advanced control sys- ‘ems which allow flexibility in configuration and even remote ‘operation, SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION ‘The all-terrain firefighting apparatus of ths invention has ‘an engine frame which has forward endl and an at end. An ‘operator cab is mounted to the forward end of the engine ‘amend a rearcab covers the vehicle engine and equipment. Each side ofthe engine frame mounts fourall-terain traction wheels connected toa common drivetrain riven by aydrau- 0 o 2 lic drive motor, Bach drive motor is driven by a separate lbydraulic drive pomp. The hydraulic drive pumps are cone nected toa main gearbox mountedto the frontof 170-190 hp ios turbo charged engine, The gear box is arranged to be ‘riven by the engine crankshaft, The fie fighting apparatus is steered by diflerentially contolling the kydraulic motors using a so-called skid steer system. Mounted in froat of the cab isi high-pressure nozzle tare, which is proportionately controlled in two axes by a joystick. The joystick provides inputs to « programmable congoller which provides a pro- portional control and programmable functionality. Mounted ‘under the cab i a diesel fuel tank, followed by a hydraulic ‘vid tank, Mounted above a central portion of the engine ame isa 300 gallon water tank which also incomporates a 36 aallon foam additive tank. The foam additive tank supplies Tam additive to low pressure positive displacement piston ‘pump driven by an electrically controled motor which allows foam additive to be metered to the low-pressure side of high-pressure water pump. The high-pressure water pump ‘has a eapocty of about 60 gallons per minute a 1500 ps. The high-pressure water pump receives water fom the water tank ‘and foaming agen rom the Foaming agent tank and is driven bya Bydraulic motor The high-pressure pump drive motor is intun connected oa third hydraulic pump which is mounted to the main gearbox beneath the two deve motor pumps. The highspessure water pump supplies water to the forward ‘mounted nozzle tut, about 60 gallons per minute, and to a hose ree! mounted atthe rear ofthe Tire fighting apparatus, bout 20 gallons per minste. Ifthe hose is used atthe same time asthe nozzle the forward mounted nozzle tret is Him ited 0-40 gallons per minste ‘Operation ofthe fire fighting apparatus employs a deve byte control system witha single proportional pedal con- ‘wolf forward movement and braking, and a steting wheel ‘which provides a control signal to the firefighting apparatus controller. The engine controler in turn eonteols the flow of hydraulic dive fluid to the tration motors to control the speed and direeton ofthe firefighting apparatus, The use of the camputer-contrlled interface hetween inp sensors and the systems being driven allows the use of programmes fune- tions, both in the operation ofthe water nozzle turret mounted to the forward bumper and in the operation of the vehicle itsel Tis a feature of the present invention t provide an all. terran fire Highing apparatus of improved futionaliy Ttisanother feature of the present invention isto providean allterain fie fighting apparatus which can be operated remotely, or with one oF Wo operators, It's yet another feature ofthe present invention o provide anall-trrain re fighting apparatus of smal size but high fre suppression capability Funter features and advantages ofthe invention will be ‘apparent from the following detailed description when taken ‘in eonjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS. PIG. 1 isan isometric view of the all-terain fire fighting apparatus ofthis invention FIG. 2s a schematic view of the systems om the a fine Hahting apparatus of FIG. 1 FIG, 3s an isometic view ofthe cooling system shroud ‘ad the radiators mounted thereto employed by the fire fight- ing apparatus of FIG. 1 FIG. 4 a flow diagram ofthe proportional joystick con- troller use to control forward nozzle wre of tel fire Highting apparatus of FIG. 1US 7,836,964 B2 3 DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED. EMBODIMENTS, Referring more particularly to FIGS. 1-3, wherein like numbers refer to similar parts, an alteraia fire Aighting parts 2038 shown in FIG. 1, The firefighting apparats 20 has frame 22 which has forward end 28 to whicha forward ‘cab 24is mounted, and sn aft end 25 to which an aft eab27 is, ‘mounted and arranged to cover the aft end, As shown sche- ratically in FIG. 2, four action wheels 26 are on each side ‘of the frame, The tration wheels 26 are divided into two, troup, a group of four sarboard wheels 30 and a group oF four por wheels 32, The starboard wheels 30 are driven by 2 starboard drivetrain 34 and the port wheels 32 ae driven by port drivetrain 36. Bach drivetrain 4, 36 is comprised of 2 positive displacement hydraulic traction motor 38 which ‘drives shat 40 trough a geatbox 42, The shaft is formed by {our interconnected right angled gearboxes 44 connected by linking shafts 46. Bach right angled gearbox 44 drives one whee! 26, Because the port and starboard wheels are driven independently, the vehicle ean be ski steered, like a battle tank, such that it can spin in place. Further, because all the suhels ae driven together, al the drive power supplied bythe traction motor 38 of either the portor starboard side is applied to the wheel 26 with the most traction. Braking action is provided by reducing then completely shuting off, hydraulic flow through the traction motors 38. Without hydraulic flow 1o the taetion motors 38 the wheels aze effectively locked against rotation, ‘A drive engine $2 is mounted to the fie fighting apparams Prame 22 and provides power to all the vehicle systems. Each traction motor 38is in tm driven by hydraulic traction pup 448 mounted tow main gearbox S0 which in tum is mounted to the drive shaft of a turbo-charged 170 hp Commins diesel ‘engine which functions ae the drive engine $2. The msin, gearbox 80 also provides power toa pump $4 whieh supplies hydraulic fluid to drive a motor 86 which is connected to @ high-pressure water piston pump $8 which can supply 60 gallons per minute at a water pressure of 1500 psi. Such 3 high-pressure water pump is manufeetured by CAT PUMPS ‘of Minneapolis, Minn. A ite suppression system 60s comprised ofa main water tank 62 which is mounted behind! the cab 24 as shown i FIG. 1, The main water tank 62 is constructed of welded polyeth- ‘lene, and incorporates unt-slosh bales to minimize slosh ‘moments which are ereated by aeceleration-induced waves in the water tank, The tank 62 also incorporates a 36 gallon oaming agent tank 64 which, as shown in FIG. 2, is cone nected to a low-pressure metering pimp 66 driven by an ‘electric metering motor 68 which contols the addition of oaming agent tothe low-pressure inlet 70 of the high-pres- sure pup 88. The main Water tank 62 is also connected in ‘Water supplying relation tothe low-pressure input 70 on the high-pressure water pamp8. Theoutpatof the high-pressure pump $8 is connected toa two axis nozzle wet 72 mounted tothe forward bumper 740 the firefighting apparatus 20, and to ahigh-pressure hose 76 contained on a high-pressure hose reel T8 mounted to the all end 25 ofthe fie fighting apparatus 20, ‘The water tank 62 asa fill vent opening 80 which opens to thereof 81 ofthe fre ighting apparatus 202s shown in FIG. 1, the water tan also has afillvent opening 82 which opens Jo the foaming agent tank 64, The fillvent openings 80, 82 allow the water tank 62 and the foaming agent tank 64 to be rapidly filled from overhead. As shown in FIG. 2, the fre fighting epparatus 20 may also refill the water tank 62 using anonboard suction pump 84 which s driven by aillhydraulic 0 o 4 votor 86, The fll hydraulic motor 86 is driven by a drive ‘motor 87 mounted toa power takeoff on the diesel engine 82 ‘The svetion pump 84 can withdraw water from a pond oF stream in the il or can rete to pre-positioned water tanks positioned on improved roadways which can beresupplied by ‘conventional tankers. The suction pump 84 is sized sc that a fie fighting apparatus 20 can rei ts water tank in three ‘ites o less, The fice fighting apparatus 20 has a gross dey weight of approximately 7,600 bs or 10,000 Ibs wet weight and thus 2 povwer-o-dry- Weight ratio of over 40 hp per dry ton, which is ‘more than tWice hat of typical over-he-soad fire engines. The fire fighting apparatus 20 is a lightweight high-powered fre sighting apparatus which provides unique firefighting eapa- bility however the high-powered posser dissipation requices a specialized cooling system which can handle a heat load on the onier of 250,000 BTUs per hour. As shown in FIGS, 2and 3. the cooling system asa shroud 88 forming a trapezoidal Prismatic sixsced solid. An engine liquid cooling system ridiator 94 is mouated on the all-most face 92 of the shroud ‘88. An sto-air heat exchanger 96 is positioned aft of the engine radiator which serves to pre-coo ar from the engine turbocharger 90 before i is supplied tothe engine aie intake 98. The shroud 88 has seven exhaust fans 102 mounted tothe prismatic sides 104 the shroud which arenot covered by the beat exchangers 94,96, The shroud fans 102 daw ar rough the sirto-sir eat exchanger 96, the engine radiator 94, and a fuel pre-evoler 100 positioned below the airto-air heat ‘exchanger 96. The exhaust fans 102 dump the cooling air 30 it passes out below the vehicle and through the opening between the wheels 26. Cooling aireanalso he drven trough the air-to-air eat exchanger 96 and the engine radiator 94 by ‘seo fans 9 supplying 3,500 f° per mingteof cooling ar. As shown in FIG. 1, a double pass hydraulic radiator 103 is ‘mounted to the top of the all cab 25 beneath an aft shroud 106 and is open tothe at of the firefighting apparatus 20, The majority ofthe waste heat produced by the engines removed ‘with the engine exhaust through an exhaust pipe 105 extend- ing upwardly from the engine. The contro system employs a programmable controller 112 which receives sensor inputs froma stecring wheel 108, and foot-oporated acceleration/brake pedal 110 inthe for ‘ward cab 24 driver compartment, The control sytem wilizes fan IQAN-MDS3 master module and software from Parker Hanwifia Corporation which is a controller and software package designed fr the controlof hydraulic equipment. The Vehicle is driven with the simple inputs from the steering ‘whee! 108, the aeceleration/brake pedal 110, and a reversing switch which puts the fire fighting apparatus in a reverse ‘mote for hacking up. The fie fighting apparatus 20 has & ‘maximum speed of about 20 miles an hour and the inputs rom the steering wheel 108 and pedsl 110 sre used to control the hydraulic pressures supplied to the drive motors 38, suliciently large turning motion will reslt in the reversal oF ‘one othe drivetains 34,36 0 thatthe Veiele will sin tothe Fight or lef in place, The all hydraulic drive-by-wire control system is flexible and it can be programmed to change the ‘Way the vehicle responds to contr inputs. The vehielehas an ‘onboard GPS system 122 which provides GPS eoonlinates and map overlays allowing the vehicle to be operated in lowe visibility sueh as caused by smoke. The vehicle has a data fcguisiion system 120 which includes realtime imaging ‘equipment for documentation oe remote operation ofthe fre fighting epparats 20. Because the fire fighting spparais 20 employs a devesby-wire contol system, ie, there is no ‘mechanical connection between the controls inthe vehicle systems, a transeiver 118 which sends realtime imaging,US 7,836,964 B2 5 positon data, an situation awareness data, al rceives con trol ips from a emote control console 124 can be used. la ‘ther words the fire fighting apparatus design lends itsell (0 remote operation because it uses a drive-by-wire control scheme. ‘A separate microprocessor control systems 114 basedon an Atmel ATS9CSICCOI is utilized to provide programmable Jinetionality to dhe nozzle turret 72 hase of joystick 116 inputs as shown in FIG. 4. The joystick 116 provides analog ‘inputs which ere converted to digital position values whici ‘are then set to dive the X and Y control axes ofthe nozzle turret proportionately so that larger contol inputs to the joy- stick result in faster control motions inthe X and axes. The programmable contrller ean also provide additional fune- tions such as automatic yve-programmed spay patlerns as well as remembering aod repeating the last control move- ments entered by the operator. The joystick may incorporate a third axis of freedom such as rotation of the joystick to ‘contol the amount of foam additive which is supplied to the high-pressure water pump inlet 70. A suitable arrangement forthe water turet 72 is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,655,613 Which i incorporated herein by reference. “The forward cab 24 is normally scaled by doors (aot shovin) and the interior ofthe cabin supplied by an aie con- dlitioner 126 showin in phantom in FIG. 1. The aircondiion- ing unit provides cooling and removal of dust, smoke and ‘ther contaminants. The lorsard windshield 128 iscooled by misting bar 130 which is supplied by a small electie motor (not shown) which draws water from the main water tank 62 “The fire fighting apparatus 20 is operated asa rapid firs response vehicle, wich ean he operated by a driver with or without « second operator. The all hydraulic drive-by-wire ‘operating system provides «highly mancuverable tansmis= soa fe vehicle with an overland speed of approximately 20 miles an hour. The firefighting capabilites of the vehicle are realy increased by the use ofa high-pressure Water system ‘which produces a fine mist or fog of water droplets in the range of about 90% between 10 im and 50 um. Mist water systems provide fast removal of heat through rapid evapon- tion anda smothering effet by displacing oxygen with Water ‘vapor. The high surface arca of the water droplets extracts heat rapidly from the fre producing a trong cooling eflet. “This also serves a protective function protecting poople and property against the effects of radiant heat, for example iso- Jating« portion of an arerall which is buraing from the erew ‘cabin while personnel are being extracted, The rapid evapo~ ration ofthe extremely small Water droplets generates water ‘vapor, increasing the water volume by 1,640 times and pro- o 8 said plurality of hydraulic pumps where fire fighting apparatus can be skid stecred 4 ater tank mounted t the engine frames ‘high-pressure water pump connected in water receiving relation to the water tank and mounted to the engine frame and driven by one of ssid plurality of hydraulic ppompss and a nozzle turret driven in two degrees of freedom by a proportional joystick mounted to the engine frame, the hoz turret connected in water receiving relation to the high pressure water pump: 4 drive-by-wire control system having electronic contro inputs and arranged to provide control outputs to drive ‘the all-terrain firefighting apparatus firefighting apparatus cooling system mounted to the ‘engine frame having a cooling shroud in the form of @ box with « multiplicity of sides, and multiple system ridiatrs stacked on one side of said multiplicity of sides ‘nd a plurality of exhaust fans mounted to said multi- plicit ofsides which draw air outof he box and through Said multiple system radiators. 9. Theall-terain firefighting apparatus of elaim 8 wherein the water tank has an upwardly opening fill and vent port smonnted uppermost to the water tank and extending above surrounding firefighting apparatus structare 10, The all-errain fre fighting apparatus of claim 9 ‘wherein the water tank as portions defining 2 foaming agent ‘tank which also has an upwardly opening fill and vent port ‘mounted uppermost tothe water tank and extending above suerounding fire fighting apparatus struetire 11, Theaters fire fighting epparatsofelaim 9 further ‘comprising a forward cab mounted to the engine Frame and tenelosing an operator station, the forward cab having a for ‘Ward fing windshield, anda misting bar mounted above the ‘windshield and connected to the water tank to supply a cool- ing water mist an exterior ofthe windshield 12, Theall-tenin fie fighting epparats of elaim 8 further ‘comprising a high-pressure hose connected in Water eoceiv= {ng relation tothe high pressure water pump, and wound on a roel mounted tothe engine frame 13, The all-termin fre fighting apparatus of claim & ‘wherein the starboard divetrain comprises a gear box in riving relation to each tniction wheel and a drive shaft con- necting stid gear boxes through a further year box to the starboard hydraulie drive motor; and ‘wherein the port drivetrain comprises gear box in driving relation to cach traction wheel and a driveshaft eonnect- ing said gear boxes through a further gear box to the port, ydraule drive motor. 14, The allerrain fre fighting apparatus of claim ‘wherein the drive engine is a water cooled diesel engine with fan engine radiator, an air-to-air heat exchanger supplying ‘combustion arto suid diesel engine, and a fuel ovoing rdia- tor which form ssid multiple system radiators 18, Theallterain firefighting apparatus of claim 8 furher comprising a transceiver mounted fo the engine frame and connected to the drive-by-wire control system f0 provide control inputs 10 drive the all-tenrin fire fighting apparatus remotely 16, The all-terrain fre fighting apparatus of claim 8 wherein the drive engine has at least 40 hp for every ton of vehicle dry weight the alters