IBM Files Patent for Putting Fire Extinguisher in a Computer

[kyuuketsuki]

[citation][nom]spookyman[/nom]Most Server rooms now use a water suppression system. Yes I know water does not mesh well with an electrical fire but it will put the fire out.Halon is out as suppression methods do to the environmental hazards it poses to personnel and equipment.[/citation]
I may be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure this system releases a pretty damn small amount of halon/CO2 from that pressurized canister. You know, just enough to put out a very small electrical fire inside a blade server. Only problem I could see is if a large fire broke out and made a lot of these go off in a short period of time. Even then, I don't know if there'd be enough halon released to be a hazard to anyone.

 

[Guest]

I'm shocked at not finding any jokes about fermi

 

[djgene01]

Halon is a "Clean Agent." The National Fire Protection Association defines, a "Clean Agent" as "an electrically non-conducting, volatile, or gaseous fire extinguishant that does not leave a residue upon evaporation."

Halon is a liquefied, compressed gas that stops the spread of fire by chemically disrupting combustion. Halon 1211 (a liquid streaming agent) and Halon 1301 (a gaseous flooding agent) leave no residue and are remarkably safe for human exposure. Halon is rated for class "B" (flammable liquids) and "C" (electrical fires), but it is also effective on class "A" (common combustibles) fires. Halon 1211 and Halon 1301 are low-toxicity, chemically stable compounds that, as long as they remain contained in cylinders, are easily recyclable.

 

[ronch79]

How about a patent on technology that automatically sprays insecticide onto insects that somehow find themselves inside your computer?

 

[Benihana]

[citation][nom]ronch79[/nom]How about a patent on technology that automatically sprays insecticide onto insects that somehow find themselves inside your computer?[/citation]
Agree, bugs are all to frequent in the computing world. 😀

 

[dgingeri]

I once had an older server, 11 years old at the time and hadn't been used in >4 years, (I can't mention brand or model for fear of law suit) that had a full 6" flame jet out the back the moment I put the power cable in the first power supply, taking the hair off my arm in a nice 4" circle. Turned out the Rage XL video chip exploded. The fun part was that the first caught on the circuit board of the IPMI module, and it didn't go out when the power was pulled. I opened up the server and saw a small flame still licking the underside of the IPMI module, which was right over the video chip. I just blew it out.

Still, this idea has its merits. There is a possibility that a machine can catch fire, have the power pulled, and still have active fire inside. On top of that, cables outside the unit could have caught fire. It's possible this system could stop both from becoming a much more dangerous fire.

 

[molo9000]

[citation][nom]nieur[/nom]now thats lesson for applepatent the things which are really innovative[/citation]
If this was patented by Apple, you would probably argue that it's just a fire detector and a fire extinguisher put into a server rack and therefore not innovative and not worth patenting.

 

[Uberragen21]

This is NOT for the average Joe's computer. You will never be able to purchase this. Think about it for a minute; IBM deal with servers and databases. Halon requires a permit to own and use, because it has the potential to be toxic at high concentrations and destroys the ozone.
"a cartridge of extinguishing agents comprised of carbon dioxide and halon"

This is strictly for the server market. Halon and carbon dioxide leave no residue which would destroy millions of dollars worth of server equipment.

 

[Guest]

IBM patent trolling nvidia, such a shame such a shame...

 

[Uberragen21]

[citation][nom]spookyman[/nom]Most Server rooms now use a water suppression system. Yes I know water does not mesh well with an electrical fire but it will put the fire out.Halon is out as suppression methods do to the environmental hazards it poses to personnel and equipment.[/citation]
You are mistaken. No director or CEO at a database would ever permit a water based fire suppression system in a server room. A server room can have millions of dollars worth of equipment, which if water interacts with them they're toast, not to mention the massive amounts of electricity pumping through these facilities. It would be a death hazard for any employee working there. Time is money and if you fry all your server equipment, you'd lose millions of dollars a day in down-time. Think back to when Blackberry was down for a few days. They lost almost $200 million.

Carbon-dioxide fire suppression often mixed with an inert gas halon or nitrogen is used. They leave no residue and don't damage surrounding equipment.

 

[slabbo]

So IBM has the patent to put a fire extinguisher inside the PC, but Nvidia has the patent that puts fires in your PC...hahaha, I kid. reference old fermi getting too hot joke, and Nvidia drivers cooking your GPU.

 

[shqtth]

In the good old days, having bugs in your system/server was a real problem/hazord. I wonder if someone Patent the idea for a bug zapper in the server room?

ok someone beat me too it. auto insecticide spay would work, but then again if the bug chewed threw the wire it would be instant toasted 😉

 

[livebriand]

What is with these IBM patents lately?

 

[whysobluepandabear]

[citation][nom]nforce4max[/nom]That is correct, one can patent any thing and every thing except for a full birth human being.[/citation]
Um, I think Octo-mom filed a patient.....so looks like that basis is already covered.

 

[youssef 2010]

Next Headline, I'll patent the unique way I use to tie my shoe lace......,or wait, maybe I'll patent my unique cure for Autorun virus for the people who are still using XP

 

[eddieroolz]

I'd image something like this can very well happen in a huge server cluster, especially with the old days of Netburst-based Xeons