Patent ID: 11964177
Assignee: MINIMAX VIKING RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT GMBH
Field: Chemical engineering (Chemistry)
Classification: CPC A  B | IPC A  B

Claim 0:
1. An automatic institutional sprinkler having an actuated state and an unactuated state, the sprinkler comprising:
an elongate housing having an inlet end surface, a terminal end surface, and an internal surface defining an internal conduit extending along a sprinkler axis between the inlet end surface and the terminal end surface, and a discharge orifice between the inlet end surface and the terminal end surface centered along the sprinkler axis, the internal surface of the housing defining an internal chamber formed along the internal conduit and axially located between the discharge orifice and the terminal end surface, the internal surface of the housing including a first flange and a second flange spaced apart from one another to define the internal chamber;
a deflector assembly including a fluid deflection member, the deflector assembly locating the fluid deflection member in the internal chamber in the unactuated state of the sprinkler and locating the fluid deflection member outside of the internal conduit in the actuated state of the sprinkler;
a seal assembly supported within the discharge orifice by the deflector assembly in the unactuated state of the sprinkler; and
a single thermally responsive actuator to control the unactuated and actuated state of the sprinkler, the thermally responsive actuator including a shielding trigger having an insertion end, a thermal detection end and an annular wall extending axially between the insertion and thermal detection ends, the insertion end of the shielding trigger in the unactuated state of the sprinkler being inserted into the internal conduit so that the thermal detection end of the shielding trigger is proximate the terminal end surface of the housing with the annular wall of the shielding trigger located within the internal conduit;
wherein the thermal detection end of the shielding trigger is located within the internal conduit so as to be axially located between the internal chamber of the internal conduit and the terminal end surface of the housing,
wherein the internal surface of the housing radially surrounds the shielding trigger to define an annular buffering air gap between the shielding trigger and the internal surface of the housing,
wherein the second flange radially surrounds a first portion of the insertion end of the shielding trigger to define a minimum width of the annular buffering gap,
wherein the internal surface tapers away from the second flange to the terminal end surface of the housing and surrounds a second portion of the insertion end and the thermal detection end of the shielding trigger, and
wherein, in the unactuated state of the automatic institutional sprinkler, the annular buffering air gap provides fluid communication between an environment external to the automatic institutional sprinkler and the internal chamber of the housing.