Patent ID: 9744390
Date: 2017-08-29
CPC Classifications: A62C

Claim:
1. A dry sprinkler having an unactuated state and an actuated state, the sprinkler comprising: an inlet fitting having an inner fitting surface defining an inlet of the dry sprinkler and a sealing surface, and an outer fitting surface having fitting threads for coupling the dry sprinkler to a piping network; an outlet frame having an inner surface defining an outlet of the dry sprinkler; a casing tube having an inner casing tube surface, the casing tube coupling the inlet fitting to the outlet frame such that the inner fitting surface of the inlet fitting, the inner surface of the outlet frame and the inner casing tube surface of the casing tube define a passageway extending along a longitudinal axis between the inlet and the outlet of the dry sprinkler, the inner fitting surface of the inlet fitting defining a first diameter of the passageway about the longitudinal axis and the inner casing tube surface of the casing tube defining a second diameter different from the first diameter, the passageway defining a rated K-factor being an expected flow of fluid in gallons per minute from the outlet divided by the square root of the pressure of the flow of fluid fed into the inlet of the passageway in pounds per square inch gauge; a fluid deflecting structure located at a fixed axial distance from the outlet such that the axial distance is the same in both the unactuated state and the actuated state; a sealing member having a first metallic surface facing the inlet of the dry sprinkler and a second metallic surface axially spaced apart between an inner circumference and outer circumference of the sealing member, the inner and outer circumferences being centered about a sealing member axis; an inner assembly including a fluid tube; and a locator coupled to the inner assembly and disposed in the passageway to locate the sealing member along the longitudinal axis such that in the unactuated state the first metallic surface of the sealing member is engaged with the sealing surface with the inner circumference of the sealing member being circumscribed about the longitudinal axis, and in the actuated state the sealing member is located along a portion of the passageway spaced from the sealing surface, the locator further being fixed to the sealing member such that in the actuated state, the inner circumference of the sealing member remains circumscribed about the longitudinal axis, the locator having a frontal surface that diverts fluid flow into a generally symmetrical flow path so that a majority of flow does not impinge upon the first metallic surface, the frontal surface being located within the inlet fitting in the unactuated and actuated states of the dry sprinkler.