WO2003068322A1

WO2003068322A1 - A pug assembly for water sprinkler of a fire fighting installation

Info

Publication number: WO2003068322A1
Application number: PCT/IT2003/000072
Authority: WO
Inventors: Domenico Piatti
Original assignee: Domenico Piatti
Priority date: 2002-02-15
Filing date: 2003-02-12
Publication date: 2003-08-21
Also published as: AU2003209703A1; EP1474208A1; ITNA20020009A1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a plug assembly to be applied to the water supply means, known as sprinkler, of a rain fire fighting installation in order to plug the orifice of the sprinkler after its opening. It seeks to prevent water from coming out of the sprinkler after the fire has been extinguished or in case of accidental opening, thus avoiding the damages caused by water. It is characterized in that it can be operated after the opening of the sprinkler without prejudice of the safety and the operational capability of the latter. It is operated by pushing a slider or rotating a lever. It has a supporting plate for the connection to the sprinkler when the latter is operated. The plug is located above the plate of the sprinkler so that it cannot modify the rain umbrella produced by the latter when it is opened.

Description

A plug assembly for water sprinkler of a fire fighting installation

The present invention relates to a plug assembly to be applied to the water supply means or sprinkler of a rain fire fighting installation in order to plug the orifice of the sprinkler after its opening. Rain fire fighting installation (sprinkler) may not be provided with throttle valves in the supply piping according to the rules .

The only way allowed to deliver water from the piping system is to open the valve of the control and alarm station which is placed at the lowest point of the system.

Once a sprinkler is opened because of a fire or any other accidental -cause, it will continue to deliver water until the pressure in that point is fallen down. Thus, if a sprinkler for_. example at the fifth floor of a 10-floor building serviced by sprinklers is opened and water should be prevented from being dispensed, it is necessary to throttle the delivery and to open the drain pipe at the bottom of the system, i.e. at the ground level.

However, after such opening water will continue to be supplied until all of the piping of the superior floors are drained. The time during which the sprinkler will continue to deliver water depends on the extension of the waterworks of the floor, the height of the floor, the whole height of the water system, and the static pressure of the system.

The present industrial invention seeks to overcome such problem by providing a plug that can be applied to the sprinkler and operated only after the opening of the same by only pushing or rotating a lever located near the sprinkler.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device that does not interfere with the normal operation of the sprinkler.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device that does not change the shape of the water umbrella delivered by the sprinkler. A non-last object of the invention is to provide a device that can also be applied to already existing installations without modifying the construction. These and other advantages are achieved by the solution of the invention consisting of a plug that is placed near the sprinkler and can be operated by a manual control.

Such a solution will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings where an exemplary, not limiting embodiment is shown.

Fig. 1 shows a section of the device under closed conditions .

Fig. 2 still shows a section with the device brought in two positions, i.e. opened and closed positions, by linear, manual control. Figs. 3, 4 and 5 show details of the device and its supporting brackets.

Figs. 6 and 7 show the device which can be operatd by a rotating control lever.

Fig. 8 shows a tridimensional exploded view of the device and the relative supporting base.

Figs. 9, 10 and 11 still show a tridimensional view of the device under rest conditions during the closure movement and in closed position.

With reference to the figures the device consists of a gummed plug (1) provided with a piston (2) connected to the supporting lever (3) by a limit stop (4) . The plug can move along the rod of the piston, thus overcoming the resistance of spring (5) so that it can plug the hole (6) for example with a straight motion controlled by lever (3) .

According to an alternative embodiment as shown in Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11, plug (1) can be connected to a lever (7) which can be rotated by a further lever (8) to plug hole (6) .

In order to facilitate the linear or rotating motion to the orifice to be plugged, the plug can be provided with a small spherical cap (9) on its head so as to reduce the friction with the contact surface. In case of a linear closure motion, the plug is housed in the lowered portion of a shaped plate (10) so that it is pushed by spring (3) upon operating lever (5) to the orifice, and once arrived near hole (6) it enters and plugs the latter.

In the case of Figs. 8, 9, 10 and 11, the supporting plate (10) is provided with a hinge (11) about which lever ,(7) pushed by further lever (8) can rotate. Such kinematic mechanism allows plug (1) to carry out an angular shift and to be positioned in hole (6) .

From what described and illustrated above it is evident that under rest conditions (Fig. 9) the plug is far from orifice (6) of sprinkler (12) and is compressed by spring (5) against the surface of plate (10) . The plug approaches the orifice of the sprinkler, as described, by a linear or rotating motion according to the construction.

The device is absolutely safe as it does not interfere with the operation of the sprinkler. In fact the plug cannot approach the hole when the sprinkler is not operating as it is prevented from doing so by the presence of the fuse of the sprinkler.

Because of its construction, the plug can only move when the sprinkler is in operation and only if it is manually pushed.

The device is located above the plate of the sprinkler and then does not interfere with the water jet of the sprinkler and does not change the shape of the rain umbrella. According to an alternative embodiment, the system can also have a kinematic mechanism for the remote closure of the plug so that the latter can be carried out by a switch hook.

Claims

1. A device that can be applied to fire fighting installation of sprinkler type, characterized in that it consists of a plug which is moved by a suitable lever and pushed by a spring so as to be positioned in the delivery orifice and to plug it after its opening in case of fire or any other accidental cause.

2. The device of the preceding claim, characterized in that its location is such as to absolutely prevent it from being moved when the sprinkler is closed by its fuse valve.

3. The device of the preceding claims, characterized in that it can be only operated by manual control when the sprinkler is opened.

4. The device of the preceding claims, characterized in that its location is such as not to interfere with the water jet coming out of the sprinkler when it is operated.

5. The device of the preceding claims, characterized in that the plug is provided with a spring which pushes it against the hole of the sprinkler under closed conditions.

6. The device of the preceding claims, characterized in that it can be operated by pushing a slider, by rotating a lever or by a suitable tie-rod mechanism.

7. The device of the preceding claims, characterized in that it can be manually remote operated alone by a suitable switch hook.