US1675184A - Fire-extinguisher sprinkler system - Google Patents

Description

' June 26, 1928.

A. J. LOEPSINGER FIRE EXTINGUISHER SPRINKLER SYSTEM l///////////////// r 9 Km u Z m v 3 n .7 a A M n 4 9 my; z

Filed April 6, 1926 Patented June 26, 1928.

UNITED STATES ALBERT JOHN LOEPBING'ER, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOE .IIO

FIRE EXTINGUISEER COMPANY,

A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

FIRE-EXTINGUISHER SPRINKLER SYSTEM.

Application flied April 8,

Heretofore, in fire extinguisher systems for buildings, it has been customary to provide ipin leading from a source of water supp y an extendmg to various port1ons of the building by means of branch pipes and feed lines, the latter suspended from the ceilings and provided at mtervals along their length with automatic sprmklers which, under the action of heat, cause the systems to operate to supply water under pressure to the feed llnes and ultlmatel be released through the sprinklers in the o rm of spray for the purpose of extinguishing the fire, the sprinklers being attached to lateral outlets of reducing T fitt ngs wh ch are also the means of uniting adjacent p pe sections of different diameters constituting the feed lines aforesaid.

My invention has for its object the construction and installation of water dlstrlbuting piping for supplying sprinklers m a fire sprinkler system, whereby the mechanical installation is greatly simplified 1n respect to the number of parts and jolnts required, the supply of the water to the sprinklers is more uniformly d1stributed, the available effective pressure at the sprinklers is increased with a given initial pressure in the supply main, andthe weight of the plp- :0 ing carrying the sprinklers 1s considerably reduced.

With the above and other objects 1n view, the nature of which will be more fully understood from the description herinafter, the

invention consists in the novel construction of fire extinguisher sprinkler system, as hereinafter more fully described and defined in the claims. r

Referring to the drawlngsz Flg. 1 1s a plan view illustrating a portion of a fire extinguisher sprinkler system embody ng my invention; Fig. is a vertlcal section along one of the sprinkler support ng and water supplying feed mains; Fig. 3 1s a plan view of a modified closure for the terminal ipe of one of the branch malns shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a modification of the piping shown in Fig. 2, and more particularly in respect to the upsetting of the metal at the pipe end to thicken it; Fig. 5

is a sectional view illustrating the special manner of forming the threaded union between adjacent ipe ends; Fig. 6 is a plan view of one of t e pipe lines, modified as to as the place of attachment of the sprinklers;

1926. Serial No. 100,023.

and Fig. 7 is a vertical section showing the manner of heretofore forming the connection of the pipes and sprinklers by use of cast metal fittings.

The general p1 ing installation employed for fire extinguisher sprinkler systems consists of risers of large size leading from a source of water supply, horizontal cross mains receiving their water supply from the risers, and horizontal feed lines of piping which receive water from the cross mains and supply it to the sprinklers which are attached to said piping at intervals along the lengths thereof. This arrangement of piping is shown in Fig. 1, as it might apply to a small portion of a building, in which 2 is the riser, 3 the cross mains and 4 are the feed lines for the sprinklers 19.

As my invention is more particularly di rected to the feed lines 4 and their special construction, I have shown the same in 'de tail in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. In Fig. 2, I have only indicated three pipe sections of difierent diameters, by way of example, though there may be five such sections as shown in Fig. 1, or any other number, as the installation may require. The numbers and lengths of these feed lines 4 may be varied according to the requirements of the building and may ramify through it and be proportioned as to the diminishing diameters of their pipe sections, in accordance with the number and position of the sprinklers to be supplied. In respect to the particular example shown in Fig. 1, the cross mains 3 may be of two and one-half inch diameter, and the pipe sections 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 of the branch feed lines may respectivel have diameters of two inches, one an one-half inches, one and onequarter inches, one inch, and three-quarter inch, diminishing as they are arranged further from the cross main 3. Except for the difference in their diameters, the pipe sections 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 may be alike, that is to say, one end 11 may be straight of full diameter and externally screw threaded as usual in piping, but the other end 10 is reduced in diameter slightly and internally screw threaded, so that the end 11 of one pipe section makes a screw joint with the internal threaded end 10 of the next pipe section, as at 12. It will thus be seen that the pipe sections 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are directly screwed together in series and without any pipe fittings or couplings Y as heretofore required and as shown in Fig.

cross pi 'vided wit 7 by way of illustration. 7

As the internal diameters of ad'acent pipes, such as 8 and 9, differ only slightly more than the thickness of the metal of the smaller ofthe pipes, it will be seen that the contraction of the end 10 provides only a small curved enlargement as at 13 and no material pocket or obstruction to the flow of the water. Practice has shown that the compression of the pipe end to reduce its diameter at 10 provides some increased metal and that the screw joint formed is strong and durable. Where light weight piping is employed or where greater strength at the joint is required, the pipe end may be upset lon itudinally at the same time the diameter is being reduced, as indicated at 10" in Fi 4. Furthermore, as the joint 12 is required to be both air and water tight, it is desirable to cut the .internal thread on the end 10 of one pipe section at a sli htly greater angle than that givento the t read out on the end 11 of the adjacent pipe sections, as indicated in Fig. 5, so that the external threads on the end 11 first enga'the internal threads at a distance from the end of the part 10 to produce a tight joint; and it will be understood that a very tight joint may be made in this way, since a great deal more force may be exerted in completing the joint without stretching the pipe end 10 than would be the case if the stretching action. first came upon the extremity of the end part 10. 7

As shown, the pipe sections 5, 6, 7 and 8 are each laterall bored through at 16 near their ends 10 arthest removed from the s 3; and about these holes are respective y arranged steel nozzles which are electrically or otherwise Welded to the pipe sections at 17 and are internally screw threaded as at 18. The sprinklers 19 may be of an suitable construction and proscrew threaded inlet nipples 20 which screw into the threaded portions 18 of the nozzles 15. In Fig. 2, I' have only shown one sprinkler 19, but it is to be understood that a sprinkler is fitted to each nozzle 15. Pipe section 9 may be a straight length of tube with its terminal end closed by a cap 14 and with a threaded nozzle 15 welded to the pipe section, as in the case of the sections 5, 6, 7 and 8, before referred to. If desired, this section 9 may be reduced at 10 as in the other pipe sections and sealed with a plug 14 as s own in Fig. 3, but the special a vantages of the other joints not belng available at the terminal end of section 9,

y sealing'the end of said pipe.

I do not restrict myself as to the means of By comparing the construction of my improved pi ing with Fig. 7 showing the construction eretofore employed, it will be seen that the latter requires reducing Ts 23 into one opening of which the straight length of larger pipe 21 is screwed and into the other opening of which the straight length of the smaller pipe 22 is screwed, thus requiring two screwed joints. The third opening in the T receives the threaded nipple 20 of the s rinkler 19. The T 23 provides a hollow c iamber 24 which sets up objectionable eddy currents and increases the flow of water to the nozzles. It will also be understood that as the fittings 23 vary very considerably in size according to the different internal diameters of the pipe sections, it is evident that the hollow chambers 24 which produce the eddy currents very materially vary and consequently there is a lack of uniformit in the distrlbution of the water from t e sprinklers and a shortage of water to the distant nozzles when the piping extends to a great distance, as in large buildin s. 1

Some of the special advantages of my improved piping may be enumerated as follows: One threaded joint is eliminated in forming the union of two consecutive lengths of pipe, in that the pipe sections are united directly without the intervention of fittings; trouble due to breakage and leakage on account of orous castings, such the fittings hereto ore required, are avoided; lightness of construction is assured in that the heavy castings constituting fittings, such as reducing Ts, are-entirely eliminated; eddy currents in the water flow are largely eliminated and consequently the supply of water to the sprinklers is more uniform and constant and reaches to greater distances with adequate flow assured when the system is in operation; the sprinklers may be located along the length of piping wherever found desirable; there is less weight to the pipin than heretofore required, and consequenty less strain upon the ceiling structures of the building; and there is considerably less friction loss in the feed lines so that a greater proportion of the pressure at the supply or entrance to the feed lines is available to force the water from the sprinklers when opened. It will be understood that while there is, to a small extent, eddy currents produced adjacent to the reductions in internal diameters of the joined pipe sections, the effect of said eddy currents (in increasing the flow from the nozzles) maybe still further minimized, if desired, by providing nozzles on the piping adjacent to the end 11, as indicated at 15" in Fig. 6, since at those portions of the pipes there are no obstructions or interference with free flow of water.

It will be understood that the sections of piping which constitute the feed lines 4 need not vary greatly in length and may, therefore, be made up on shop orders and carried in stock. The simplicity of conllu struction would not only enable the cost to be reduced in the manufacture of the parts required, but the labor in installin my improved system is also considerably elow the cost of installation employing the reducing T fittings as heretofore required. Furthermore, if the pipe sections are made long for special work, a plurality of nozzles and 15 may be formed on each section, if so desired.

It will now be apparent that I have devised a novel and useful'construction which embodies the features of advantage enumerated as desirable, and while I have in the present instance shown and described the preferred embodiment thereof which has been found in practice to give satisfactory and reliable results, it is to be understood that I do not restrict myself to the details, as the same are susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A pipe section for a distributing feed a plurality of distributing pipe lines receiving water from a common source and adapted to supply water to a plurality of sprinkler nozzles arranged along their len th,

said pipe lines each comprising a plura ity of pipe sections of standard sizes and successively decreasing in internal diameters and directly connected end to end by single screw joints, said pipe sections each com-. prising a tubular pipe length having one end of the full diameter of the pipe and externally screw threaded and the other end reduced in diameter and internally screw threaded to receive the external screw threaded end of the next smaller pipe section, each pipe section further provided with a lateral aperture at a distance from the ends, combined with sprinklers attached to said lateral apertures of the pipe sections.

4. The invention according to claim 3, wherein further, the lateral openings in the pipe sections are formed with screw threaded nozzles welded to the outer walls of the pipe sections near their contracted and in-

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