GB2163953A - Fire protective sprinkler head - Google Patents

Abstract

A fire protective sprinkler head has a deflector supporting base accommodated in an opening provided in a water pipe forming part of a sprinkler system. The base and the pipe openings are smooth and non-threaded. A seal encircles the base and the pipe opening and is maintained in sealing engagement between the base and the pipe by a retainer and a clamp. The body and the retainer and the seal have cooperative, confronting surfaces which ensure proper orientation of the sprinkler head relative to the water pipe. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Sprinkler head construction It is common to equip the interior of a building with overhead water pipes provided at intervals with sprinkler heads through which water may pass in the event of a fire's occurring in the vicinity of such sprinkler heads. The sprinkler heads are fitted into openings formed in the water pipe and each opening in the latter conventionally is threaded for the accommodation of a correspondingly threaded base or fitting. The base or fitting has a passage therein through which water may flow when the sprinkler head is activated.

A conventional sprinkler head also includes a pair of support arms forming an integral part of the base and which support a deflector. A thermally sensitive strut extends between the distributor and a closure for the water passage and maintains the closure in sealing relation with the passage until such time as an increase in ambient temperature causes the strut to collapse, whereupon the closure will be dislodged and water will be enabled to pass through the passage for distribution by the deflector.

The provision of threads in the openings of the water pipe, and in the fitting or base, is expensive.

Further, the necessity of threading the base into a water pipe opening or a fitting risks the possibility of leakage and consequent damage to the premises or its contents, particularly if the sprinkler head is installed carelessly.

The need for threading the sprinkler head into a threaded water pipe opening has disadvantages other than those mentioned above. For example, the deflector support arms constitute barriers to the passage of water diverted by the deflector. That is, no water can pass through the deflector supporting arms. If the sprinkler head is mounted at a level above that of the water pipe to which it is connected, water discharged from the sprinkler head cannot pass through the water pipe. Thus, below the water pipe will be an area that may not be saturated by water issuing from the sprinkler head. If the sprinkler head is mounted on the water pipe in such manner that the deflector supporting arms are aligned with the axis of the water pipe, the obstruction to water flow caused by the deflector supporting arms is of no consequence.Should the sprinkler head be mounted on the water pipe in such manner that the deflector supporting arms are athwart the axis of the water pipe, however, then the area below the sprinkler head will have multiple zones that are not saturated. One of these zones will be that attributable to the water pipe itself, and the others will be the zones attributable to water's being obstructed by the deflector support arms. Sprinkler head constructions proposed heretofore do not include any known provisions to guard against improper orientation of a sprinkler head on a water pipe.

Other problems associated with conventional sprinkler heads include that of removing a sprinkler head from a water pipe for replacement by another.

In many installations adjacent pipe lengths must be disconnected from one another to enable the substitution to be achieved.

Apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention overcomes all of the aforementioned difficulties.

A sprinkler head constructed in accordance with the invention comprises a base that is adapted to have one end thereof inserted in an opening formed in a water pipe. Neither the base nor the opening is threaded. The base has a passage therein through which water may flow from the pipe. One or more sides of the base has a preferably flat external surface.

The base has a peripheral flange between its ends.

A substantially annular seal or gasket encircles the base and is interposed between the flange and the water pipe in engagement with both. A generally U-shaped retainer has a collar which overlies the flange on the base and has parallel legs which straddle the water pipe. The edges of the collar correspond to the external configuration of the base.

A clamp bar spans the retainer legs and supports a force applying screw which bears against the pipe to exert a force on the base causing the seal to be compressed between the flange and the pipe.

The base terminates at its other end in an annular groove in which inwardly turned feet formed at the ends of a pair of arms may be inserted and rotated to a desired position circumferentially of the base. The arms support a deflector and also provide an abutment for one end of a thermally sensitive strut that normally extends between such abutment and a closure carried by the base in a position to seal the water passage.

The seal that is interposed between the pipe and the flange of the base is so configured as to occupy a predetermined position on the pipe, and the seal also preferably has a pair of diametrically opposed enlargements which are accommodated in correspondingly positioned recesses formed in the legs of the retainer. The configuration of the seal and the enlargements, together with the matching configuration of the sides of the base and the edges of the collar, makes possible the fitting together of the component parts of the sprinkler head at the site of manufacture and in such manner as to ensure that, when the sprinkler head is mounted on a pipe, the deflector support arms will be aligned with the longitudinal axis of the pipe.

Apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention is disclosed in the following description and in the accompanying drawings, wherein; Figure 1 is an elevational view of the sprinkler head clamped on a water pipe; Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2, but omitting the water pipe; Figure 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 3, but omitting all parts other than the retainer; Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 4; Figure 6 is an elevational view of a seal; and Figure 7 is a top plan view of the seal.

A sprinkler head constructed in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention is designated generally by the reference character 1 and is adapted to be mounted on a cylindrical water pipe P forming part of a fire protective system. The sprinkler head 1 comprises a tubular base 2formed of bronze or other suitable material having a tubular body 3 provided with a peripheral flange 4 between its ends.

Projecting from one side of the flange 4 is a smooth, non-threaded, cylindrical shank 5 and extending from the opposite side of the flange is a smooth, somewhat larger diameter, cylindrical stem 6 that is provided with a pair of axially spaced annular grooves 7 and 8 adjacent its free end. There is thus formed between the grooves a flange 9. The base 2 has an axial passage 10 extending completely therethrough and which normally is closed by a disc-like closure 11 fitted into the passage 10 and having a flange 12 which seats on the stem 6. An O-ring 13 or other suitable seal is carried by the closure 11 to seal the passage 10. The stem 6 of the body 3 has at least one, and preferably two, flattened surfaces 6a.

The sprinkler head includes a frame 14 having a conical deflector 15 terminating at its larger diameter end in circumferentially spaced fingers 16. The frame 14 also includes two pairs of integrai support legs 17 and 18 spaced from one another by an elongate opening 19. Each pair of legs 17 and 18 terminates in an arcuate band 20 having its free end inwardly turned to form a foot 21 that is accommodated in the annular groove 8. The frame 14thus may be secured in any selected position circumferentially of the base 2 by crimping the flange 9 into engagement with the bands 20 as is shown at 22 in Figure 1.

Atthe apex of the conical deflector 15 is a threaded opening in which is accommodated a correspondingly threaded adjusting screw 23 that is adapted to bear against one end of a thermally sensitive strut 24, the opposite end of which seats on the closure 11 so as normally to maintain the latter in a position in which it seals the passage 10. A U-shaped spring S reacts between the closure 11 and the strut 24 and urges the latter in a direction outwardly of the frame 14. The strut 24 includes a thermally sensitive, eutectic material which melts in response to an increase in its temperature to a predetermined level and enabies the strut to collapse, whereupon the closure 11 may be unseated from the base 2.The construction and operation of the frame 14, the strut 24, and the associated parts are like the construction and operation of the corresponding members disclosed in U.S. patent No. 4,343,364 issued August 10, 1982.

An annular seal 25 formed of rubber or rubbery material encircles the shank 5 of the base 2 and bears againstthe lower side of the flange 4. The seal 25 hes a body 26 having a planar upper surface 27, an arcuate lower surface 28, and a cylindrical bore 29 corresponding substantially to the diameter of the shank 5, but preferably having a friction fit therewith.

The curvature ofthe arcuate surface 28 preferably corresponds to that of the pipe.P. The body 26 has at least one arcuate projection 30, and preferably a pair thereof, extending in prolongation of the arcuate surface 28 and terminating short of the planar surface 27. The significance of the projections 30 will be explained hereinafter.

Mounting means 31 for securing the sprinkler head 1 on the pipe P includes a retainer 32 formed of steel or other suitable material and having an annular collar 33 provided with an opening 34 corresponding to the cross-sectional configuration of the stem 6 for the accommodation of the latter.

The opening 34 in the collar thus has flats 34a and the collar includes a shoulder 35 which may seat on the upper surface of the flange 4. See Figures 2 and 3. The collar 33 of the retainer includes a skirt 36 which is annular except for two diametrically opposite deformations 37 which form arcuate recesses 38 for the accommodation of the projections 30 of the seal 25. From the skirt 36 extends a pair of legs 39 spaced from one another a distance to straddle the pipe P. Each leg 39 has an opening 40 adjacent its free end.

The mounting means 31 also includes a clamp bar 41 formed of steel or other suitable material and of such length as to span the retainer legs 39 and terminating at its opposite ends in inclined fingers 42 which extend through the openings 40. Between its ends the bar 42 is provided with a threaded opening 43 through which extends a correspondingly threaded force applying screw 44 for engagement with the pipe P.

To condition the apparatus for use, the frame 14 may be assembled with the base 2, the closure 11, the strut 24, and the spring S at the factory at which they are manufactured. The seal 25 then may be placed in encircling relation with the shank 5 of the base body 3. The assembly of the base 2 and the frame 14 then may be thrust through the opening 34 of the retainer collar 33 and the base 2 and the retainer 32 rotated relatively to one another to enable the flattened surfaces 6a and 34a to confront one another and the projections 30 of the seal 25 to be accommodated in the recesses 38 of the retainer.

Unless the flattened surfaces confront one another it will not be possible to fit the stem 6 into the opening 34 of the collar 33, and unless the projections 30 are accommodated in the recesses 38, it will not be possible for the shoulder 35 to seat on the flange 4 of the base 2. Once these conditions are satisfied, however, the flange 35 may be seated on the flange 4 and relative rotation between the body 2 and the retainer 32 is impossible.

Following assembly of the base, the seal, and the retainer, the frame 14 may be rotated relative to the base 2 so as to ensure that the legs 17 and 18 of the frame 14 extend along lines which are normal to the line along which the projections 30 extend. The flange 9 then may be bent to form the deformations 22 that engage the bands 20 of the frame 14 and lock the latter against rotation relative to the base 2. All of the foregoing operations may be accomplished at the factory at which the parts are manufactured or assembled.

When it is desired to fit the sprinkler head 1 to the pipe P, the latter is accommodated between the retainer legs 39 and the shank 5 is introduced into one of a series of openings 45 formed in the pipe Pat intervals along the length of the latter. The diameter of the opening 45 is slightly larger than the diameter of the shank 5 of the body 3 and the opening is non-threaded so as to enable the shank freely to be accommodated in the opening 45. Following the introduction of the shank 5 to the opening 45, the clamp bar 41 may have its ends 42 fitted into the openings 40, following which the screw 44 may be turned in a direction to move it toward the pipe P.

Engagement between the screw 44 and the pipe P will enable the flange 4 of the body 3 to be moved toward the pipe, thereby compressing the seal 25 and deforming it into sealing relation about the opening 45 so as positively to preclude any leakage through that opening.

Because it is possible to assemble the base 2, the frame 14, the seal 25, and the retainer 32 priorto shipment of the sprinkler head to a customer, and with relative rotation among the base, the retainer, and the seal positively precluded, it is possible to mount the sprinkler head in only one way on the pipe P, that is, with the legs 17 and 18 of the frame aligned with the longitudinal axis of the pipe P. Thus, improper orientation of the sprinkler head relative to the longitudinal axis of the pipe P is impossible.

To replace one sprinkler head with another is a simple operation necessitating only the withdrawal of the screw 44, the removal of the clamp bar 41, and separation of the retainer 32 from the pipe P, followed by the fitting of a substitute sprinkler head on the pipe P in the same manner as has been described.

When the sprinkler head is activated, by collapse of the strut 24 and the removal of the closure 11, water from the pipe P may pass through the passage 10, impinge on the conical deflector 15, and be deflected outwardly in a diverging spray. The openings 19 between the legs 17 and 18 permit water to be discharged between the legs, and the location of the legs 17 and 18 is such that the area of nonsaturation caused by the inability of the water from the sprinkler head to pass through the pipe P is not enlarged by the blockage of water by the legs 17 and 18.

The disclosed embodiment is representative of a presently preferred form of the invention, but is intended to be illustrative rather than definitive thereof. The invention is defined in the claims.

Claims (10)

1. A sprinkler head for attachment to an elongate water pipe having an opening therein, said head having a base of such size at one end thereof as freely to be accommodated in said opening, said base having a passage therethrough, a closure for said passage, and thermally sensitive means for maintaining said closure on said base in sealing relation with said passage, said thermally sensitive means being responsive to a predetermined increase in its temperature to collapse and enable said closure to be unseated from said base, characterized in that said base has an external peripheral flange between its ends; an annular seal encircling said base in a position to be interposed between one side of said flange and said pipe; retaining means engaging said flange on its other side and straddling said base; and means for removably securing said retaining means to said water pipe with said seal clamped between said flange and said water pipe.

2. The construction according to claim 1 wherein said water pipe is cylindrical and said seal has at one side thereof an arcuate surface corresponding in curvature substantially to that of said pipe.

3. The construction according to claim 1 wherein said seal has at least one projection extending therefrom and accommodated in a recess formed in said retaining means.

4. The construction according to claim 1 wherein said seal has a pair of diametrally opposed projections extending outwardly therefrom.

5. The construction according to claim 4wherein said retaining means has a pair of recesses in which said projections are accommodated.

6. The construction according to claim 1 wherein said retaining means comprises a pair of spaced, parallel legs and wherein said clamping means comprises a bar spanning said legs and supported thereby.

7. The construction according to claim 6 wherein said clamping means includes force applying means carried by said bar and being forcibly engageable with said pipe.

8. The construction according to claim 1 wherein said one end of said base has a smooth, nonthreaded outer surface.

9. The construction according to claim 8 wherein said opening in said pipe is smooth and nonthreaded.

10. The construction according to claim 1 wherein said base and said retaining means have confronting surfaces precluding relative rotation therebetween.