US1253019A - Automatic sprinkler-head. - Google Patents

Description

F. J. FEE.

AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER HEAD.

APPLICAT1ON men FEB. 21. l9l6.

1,253,019. Patented Jan. 8,1918.

WITNESSES omvm UNITED sTATEs'PA'rENT oFFIoE.

FRANCIS JOSEPH FEE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER-HEAD.

To all-whom it may concern: Be it known that I, FRANCIS J FEE, a c|t1-' zen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York,

have invented a new and Improved Automatic Sprinkler-Head, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to automatic sprin kling devices for buildings and has particu' lar reference to means for reliably initiating the flow of water in the event of sufficient heat being generated in the vicinity of the device to melt an easily fusible metal.

'Among the objects of the invention is to improve the means for insuring that the parts normally held from relative separation by the fusible metal shall separate bodily or substantially one from the other at all points when the fusion takes place, whereby a softer and weaker fusible metal may'be employed for the purpose than may be used in the ordinary devices now onthe market.

Another object of the invention is to improve the tension means for sprinkling heads so as to make available in a superior manner ameans whereby the principal tension is sustamed by non-fusible metals or by metals of such a nature and form as to resist any. 80 tendency of what is known in the art as cold flow with a corresponding release of the valve mechanism, prematurely.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention consists in the, arrange- 85 ment and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodi- .40 ment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the,-several views, and in which- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the invention in toward the left in Fig. I;

ig. '3 is a view corresponding to Fig-1 but indicating the releasing action under the influence of heat; Fi 4 is a transverse sectional det 'l on 85 the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 showing particu arly o the crosssectional rm of the yoke arms:

Specification of Letters Patent.

.1n manipulation.

Patented Jan. 8, 1918.

Application filed February 21, 1916. Serial No. 79,561.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the tension member;

Fig. 6 is a bottom .plan view of the spreader;

Fig. 7 and i Fig. 8 is a cross sectional detail of one of the toggle link arms showing the shape providing a point contact with the side edge of the yoke arm whereby the possibility of a sluggish collapsing actiondue to corrosion, calcimine or the like is avoided.

The general principles and construction of this invention are similar in the main to many devices heretofore proposed and on the market, the same including a body 10 constituting a delivery nozzle and tapped'into the water pipe connection 11. Said nozzle is provided with a slightly contracted throat surrounded by a rim or seat 12. Thisbody is provided with flat faces for convenience A yoke comprising upwardly and inwardly. curved arms 13 is connected to thebody and this yoke provides asupport 14. having an axis in alinement with the axis of the nozzle opening, said support' being internally threaded for the accommodation of a compression member in the form of a screw 15 acting downwardly toward the nozzle seat 12.

At 16 is indicated the cap for normally is a bottom plan view of the cap";

closing the nozzle and preventing the escape or leakage of water.' This cap comprises preferably two parts; first, a disk -17.of copper, German silver, or some other -noncorrodible metal and adapted to make direct intimate contact with the edge or rim 12. The other part of the cap is' of brass or some "other suitable,'strong, rigid material. The

two parts 17 and 18 are permanently and rigidly united by any suitable means making practically a single member. Any suitable number or form of projections 19 may be provided on the lower face of the disk 17 to prevent lateral displacement of the cap from the nozzle seat. The upper portion of the capis provided with anupwardly projecting, central, round-pointed post or stud 20. 1'

The compression member complete. includes not only the screw 15, but also'a head or spreader 21 into which the head 22 of the screw is countersunk and locked by means of a key 23.- The periphery of the spreader constitutes in efi'ect a downwardl ing circular rim broken to provi e a. series for proj e'ct- -of said hub but of a length stopping short of contact with said hub. I also provide aplurality of vertical holes 27 through the spreader for delivering a portion of the water therethrough. The inner end of the compression member is provided with a central spherical seat for a ball 28.

Between the cap and the compression memher I provide a strut comprising two toggle links 29 and 30, one having. a spherical cavity at its lower end to receive the point of the stud 20 and the other having a spherical cavity at its upper end to receive the ball 28. The lower link 29 has a concavity 31 to receive the lower edge of the link 30. The concavity 31 and edge of the other link c0- operating therewith extend horizontally or at right angles to the line of compression between the center of the ball and the center of the point 20, said line of contact, however, between the toggle links being spaced laterally from the plane coinciding with said line of compression and parallel thereto. In other words, the line of contact between the two links 29 and 30 constitutes in effect a hinge and the toggle members are so ar ranged that the axis of said hinge shall never come within the aforesaid line of compression. Each of the toggle links or members 29 and 30 is provided with an arm 32, each of said arms with -the link to which it is connected constituting substantially a right angled bell crank. The outer end of each arm is provided with a book 33 projecting in the opposite direction from the hook of the other member. Since the longitudinal or compression axes of the links29 and 30 form-an obtuse angle approximating 180 degrees in practice, the two arms projecting laterally from the same side of the device are arranged divergent from each other at their hook-shaped ends, the amount of divergence being proportional to the amount of angula-rity between the two compression axes of the toggle links. \Vith the toggle links arranged as shown in Fig. 1, and with ing normally between the hooks 33 of the arms and resisting said force of compression tending to break the toggle and increase the divergence of the arms. This tension mem her is shown in the form of a link 34 comprising a pair of plates and 36 each having a hole 37 therethrough for engagement with one of the hooks Each of these plates is substantially flat except for a depression formed in the central portion of each. The plate 35 is provided with a depression 38 on its inner face, said depression providing a shoulder 39 at its upper end but having its lower end without a shoulder. In other words, this depression in vertical transverse section is substantially wedge-shaped, or in the form of a right angled triangle whose hypotenuse coincides with the inner face of the plate. The other plate 36 is provided with a depression 40 having substantially square shoulders 4-1 and 42 at its top and bottom. These two depressions are so formed as to lie opposite each other when the plates are connected in operative position, or, in other words, with the shoulders 39 and 41 lying in the same or substantially the same horizontal plane. From what has been stated, I would have it plainly understood that each of the plates on its inner face has direct contact against all of that portion of the other plate surrounding said recesses; that is to say, the two recesses communicating with each other so far as the structure of the plates and depressions is concerned form a cavity within the central portion of the link, all of said recesses; being remote from all or any exposed edges of both link plates.

Said cavity formed by the recesses of the opposing plates is designed to receive and hold a metal or other strong rigid key 43 practically of wedge shape or of right angled triangular form in vertical cross section, the base of the triangle lying in the bottom of the recess 40 and the right angle ofthe key fitting into the angle at 41. In other words, the hypotenuse of the triangular key structure extends diagonally across the "plane joining the two plates, the key having one edge at one end of said hypotenuse lying in the angle at 42 and the opposite end of the hypotenuse in or against the angle at 39 of the opposite plate. This key, therefore, lies in direct contact with the metal of the plates 35 and 36 and serves under normal conditions to sustainnearly all of the tension applied to the link by the tendency of the toggle devices to spread the I arms 32. Since, however, the active edges of With the rocker 43 in lace in the cavity in the central portion 0? the tension link, and the flat portions of the plates lying flatl against each other, the meeting edges of t e two plates are soldered together by a soft solder or fusible metal indicatedat 44, said fusible metal extending all the way around said meeting.edges, thereby serving two purposes; first, to lock the plates together forming the tension link, and, secondly, the solder thus applied constitutes a seal excluding all moisture from the cavity in which the rocker is housed. It will thus be seen that the rocker and plate parts encorrosion or other conditions which would tend to cause the rocker to stick and defeat or retard the action of the plates for separation when required.

As .in other devices previously proposed for this purpose, the toggle mechanismand the tension device serve as a means to lock the cap in closing position under ordinary conditlons, sufficient compression being" created through the screw to set up ahigh degree ofstrain upon the toggle link to instantly collapse the compression and tension devices upon the weakening of the connection between the tension link plates. Even though the pressure of the water within the pipe and nozzle may be enormous, there is no danger ofleakage due to the fact that the compression is. almost all applied directly upon the cap. a A comparatively small proportlon of the strainis exerted laterally, owever, due to the angularity of the toggle links, but the fraction ofthe strain thus defiected laterally is again resisted mainly by the direct draft from one link plate to the other-'through the, direct contact with the rocker 43. .It will thus be appreciated that finally but a comparatively small amount of ;the compression originally p by the compression member requires to be resisted by the solder or fusible metal 44. It is possible, therefore, by this constructipn to employ a solder having a very low melting point, and yet possessed of ample strength or the purpose. Furthermore, eventhough the solder employed may have an exceedingly low melting point, there is no likelihood of premature or accidental separation of the plates 35 and 36 due to cold fiow or other conditions, since it must be appreciated that the action of the ,rocker is such.

that the turning moment thereof aroundthe' two-contacting fulcrum edges at the corners 42 and 39 is resisted all the way around the rocker cavity and with practically uniform strength. In other words, the action of the rocker as herein set forth insures that the plates may separate bodily or in practically parallel planes atthe moment that theseparation is initiated and that practically all of v 6|! the solder must melt atthe same time. In rect contact with the plates at the ends oflafl other words, 'until the heat is suflicient to L melt practically all of the solder, there can be no separationof the plates. By forming the'plates, howevenof copper or of some .other metal having high conductivity of heat, the melting of all of the solder Wlll be insured promptly when occasion requires.

When the solder melts, however, there is practically no resistance to the rolling or rocking of the rocker around its points of support, and the strut or toggle devices collapse immediately, setting the cap free to be thrown from its place and out of the way by the force of the water. The water then dashes forcibly against the under face of the spreader, a portion ofwhich is projected laterally therefrom along the fins 26, j

the tangential arrangement of which has a tendency to compress the streams of water causing a portion of it to be delivered farther than by other means similar to the ac-' tion of. a hose nozzle, other portions of the water passing upwardly through the holes 27. In this-connection, however, I call special attention to the novel shape of the arms 13 of the yoke, the same having knife edges 45 which set up the least possible resistance to the water being thrown laterally from the vertical axis of the device."

The form of the cap is such as to reduce the likelihood of collection and retention of moisture or other conditions which would tend to destroy its effectiveness by corrosion or otherwise. Itisto be noted also that the link 34'includes two plates of different-identity, making it practically impossible for the device to be improperly assembled.

I claim 1. The herein described tension member for an automatic sprinkler head, the same tions lying squarely againsteach other and comprising a pair of plates having flat poralso having oppositely arranged depressions I forming a cavity in the central portion only of the member, a wedge-shaped rocker member housed entirely within said cavity and rio spaced inwardly from all edges of the] plates, said rocker member having its active faces lying on opposite sides of the plane of contact between the flat portions of the plates, and solder extending entirely around and spaced from said cavity and rocker and sealing all the meeting edges of theplatesf t 2. The herein described tension member for an automatic sprinkler head, the same comprising a pair of plates having flat pertions in direct contact with each other, one

of the plates having a depression whose bot- 'tom is parallel to the plane of contact between the plates, the other plate also having a depression comm unicating with the v -first mentioned depression formmg a cavity, a rocker fitted in said cavity and having disaid cavity, said rocker being of substantially right angled triangular form in vertical cross section andhaving its base fitted squarely in the bottom of the first mentioned cavity, and fusible metal serving to normally lock the plates together.

3. The herein described tension device for an automatic sprinkler head, the same comprisinga pair of plates each having a depression formed at its middle portion, said depressions being of different vertical cross sectional form but one registering with the other forming a cavity, a rocker having greater thickness at one end than at the other fitted within said cavity and having 5 parallel fulcrum edges engaging directly with the opposite plates on opposite sides of the plane .of connection between the two plates, and fusible metal sealing the meetmg edges of the plates entirely around but 20 spaced from said cavity and rocker.

FRANCIS JOSEPH FEE.

Witnesses:

HENRY W. ARCHIBALD, HENRY J. Sonoomm.

Images