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Automatic sprinkler systems put fires out with an umbrella of cascading water that causes millions of dollars in unnecessary damage each year. In 1975, I invented a semi-automatic remote-controlled extinguishing system designed to put out most fires within one to three minutes of detection using little more than a few gallons of water or semi-liquid foam. ( U.S. Patent 4,112,486 ). It consists of a ceiling-mounted motorized pointing device fitted with a video camera and a motorized nozzle connected by a semi-flexible hose to adjacent supplies of appropriate liquid. Video picture, direction drive and nozzle motor are connected electronically to a remote video monitor and controller connected by telephone lines. Upon zoned smoke warning, the screen at monitor control flashes the correct video picture. An operator scans the area operating a pan/tilt controller, locates the source, sets the correct nozzle opening electronically, adjusts for gravity, then releases an appropriate stream of lquid to extinguish the fire. If that doesn't work, the operator can maximize the nozzle opening electronically and inundate the area. This system utilizes a unique device that maintains liquid and electrical integrity between the pointing device and supplies of liquid and power. In conventional motorized pointing devices, reversing direction of a payload requires horizontal drive rotation of 180 degrees ( illustration A ). Thus, a horizontal drive range of 0-355 degrees combined with a vertical drive range of 0-90 degrees is needed for effective hemispherical range. A loss of 5 degrees is usually necessary for switching, etc. In my invention, a payload reverses direction by 180 degree Vertical rotation. Thus a horizontal drive range of 0-180 degrees combined with a vertical drive range of 0-180 degrees gives effective hemispherical range without any loss in coverage. The benefits of this approach lie in the unrestricted freedom of connecting conduits and the near uniform distances between conduit connects irrespective of pointing mode (a necessary condition for maintaining liquid integrity between drives). This device has other potential applications in lighting, energy collection, security and weaponry.
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