A DECORATIVE QUICK RESPONSE SPRINKLER

Abstract: The sprinkler (10) has a follow body (11) normally sealed at its outer end by a valve (13) which is retained in position by a valve-retaining assembly (26). The valve-retaining assembly has locking balls (36) which are held in engagement with a groove (21) in the sprinkler body by a bevelled locking disc (31) with a push rod (33) engaging a eutectic material (37) in a tubular temperature-sensing element (38).

Description: Description A Decorative Quick Response Sprinkler Technical Field This invention relates to fire extinguishing sprinklers and, more particularly, to a new and im¬ proved sprinkler, having a decorative appearance and adapted to respond quickly to elevated temperature conditions indicative of a fire. Background Art Sprinkler systems are widely used for automatic fire protection in residential, commercial and public buildings. Heretofore, many sprinklers have been made with a frame structure having a temperature-responsive element located within the frame structure. In order to expose the temperature-responsive element to ambi¬ ent conditions, such sprinklers must be mounted so that the entire frame structure, with a deflector affixed at its outer end, projects downwardly from the ceiling, providing an unattractive appearance. Some conventional sprinklers have a slidable valve and deflector arrangement which is held in retracted con¬ dition by a complex captive locking mechanism which moves with valve from the closed to the open position. Disclosure of Invention Accordingly, it is an object of the present in¬ vention to provide a new and improved sprinkler which can be mounted close to a ceiling so as to be unob¬ trusive but at the same time, is capable of responding rapidly to elevated ambient temperature conditions resulting from a fire. Another object of the invention is to provide a sprinkler of the foregoing type having a simple and compact structure which permits extension upon acti¬ vation of the temperature-responsive element. These and other objects of the invention are attained in accordance with the invention by providing a sprinkler with a valve member which is normally retained in closed position by a valve-retaining as¬ sembly which is separable from the sprinkler upon activation of a temperature-responsive element. More particularly, the valve-retaining assembly includes a plurality of locking balls retained in corresponding openings in a hollow support member disposed with the sprinkler housing so as to be received in an internal groove in the housing and thereby prevent motion of the valve member away from the closed position. Within the hollow support member a ball retainer is held in a ball-locking position by a temperature- responsive element which is disposed at the outer ex- tremity of the sprinkler so that, upon activation of the temperature-responsive element, the valve-retain¬ ing assembly is separated from the sprinkler, permit¬ ting the valve to open. Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a reading of the following de¬ scription in conjunction with the accompanying draw¬ ings, in which: Brief Description of Drawings Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view illus- trating a representative quick response decorative sprinkler according to the present invention; and Fig. 2 is a view similar to that of Fig. 1 , showing the sprinkler components following activation of the temperature-responsive element. Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention In the typical embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1, a sprinkler 10 includes a hollow body 11 threaded at one end 12 for attachment to a water sup- ply pipe and normally closed at the other end by a valve plug 13 provided with an O-ring 14 which fits in sealing engagement with the bore 15 of the sprinkler body 11. At its outer end, the valve plug 13 carries a deflector 16 which serves to distribute the stream of water emerging from the bore 15 after the valve is opened. The deflector. 16 and the attached valve plug 13 are supported for motion between the closed position of the valve, shown in Fig. 1 , and the open position of the valve, shown in Fig. 2, by a plurality of guide pins 17, only one of which is illustrated in the drawings. The guide pins are distributed uniformly around the axis of the sprinkler and each guide pin passes through a corresponding opening 18 in a flange 19 extending outwardly from the open end of the sprinkler body 11 and terminating in an annular pro- jection 20 formed with an internal annular groove 21. The guide pins are formed with enlarged heads to prevent them from passing through the openings 18. A compression spring 22, enclosed in a spring housing 23 mounted in the flange 19, urges the de¬ flector 16 along with the valve plug 13 in downward direction as shown in the drawings, tending to open the valve. A cover 24 engaging the threaded end of the sprinkler body encloses the guide pins and spring housing and an escutcheon plate 25 is frictionally supported on the outer surface of the sprinkler body projection 20. In order to releasably retain the valve plug 13 in the closed position, a separable valve retaining assembly 26 is provided. The retaining assembly in¬ cludes a retaining housing 27 having a cover 28 at one end abutting the valve plug 13 and deflector 16 and a support bushing 29 for a temperature sensitive element 30 at the opposite end. Within the retainer housing 27 a locking disc 31 having a bevelled outer edge 32 is slidably supported for axial motion by a central push rod 33 which extends through the locking disc 31 into an axial bore 34 in the valve plug 13 at one end and into the temperature-sensitive element 30 at the opposite end. The retainer housing 27 has a number of circular apertures 35 in its peripheral surface and within each aperture is a locking ball 36 which pro¬ jects into the internal groove 21 in the valve body projection 20 so as to hold the valve retaining as¬ sembly locked in its valve-retaining position. The locking balls 36 are held in engagement with the internal groove 21 by the bevelled rim 32 of the locking disc 31 as long as the push rod 33 is in the uppermost position as viewed in the drawings. The push rod is normally retained in its .uppermost posi¬ tion by a cylindrical plug 37 of a eutectic material such as solder by which the end of the push rod is held in spaced relation from the bottom of a central opening in a tubular heat sensor 38. The heat sensor 38, which is the only exposed part of the sprinkler, has three spaced disc-shaped fins 39 through which changes in the ambient temperature are communicated rapidly to the solder plug 37 to assure a quick re¬ sponse of the sprinkler when the ambient temperature reaches a predetermined level, such as 74°C, at which the solder plug is designed to melt. At its inner end, the tubular heat sensor carries a retaining ring 40 and a heat insulating washer 41 transmits an upward force on the ring 40 from a threaded ring 42 which is received in internal threads in the bushing 29. Thus, as long as the solder plug 37 remains solid, the push rod 33 will be urged up¬ wardly by the threaded ring acting through the heat insulating washer, the retaining ring and the tubular heat sensor. A.cover plate 44, affixed to the bushing 29, blends with the escutcheon plate 25, providing a decorative appearance to the sprinkler when it is mounted in the ceiling. In operation, when the ambient temperature is increased by a fire or the like to a predetermined level, such as 74°C, the solder plug 37 melts, per¬ mitting the push rod 33 and locking disc 31 to move downwardly. The compression spring 22, together with the pressure of the water in the sprinkler which is applied to the valve plug 13, urges the valve-retain¬ ing assembly 26 downwardly as viewed in the drawings, forcing the balls 36 inwardly in the apertures 35. Since the locking disc 31 is now free to move down¬ wardly, the locking balls 36 can move into the valve retaining assembly, releasing that assembly from the sprinkler body and permitting it to be separated as illustrated in Fig. 2. At the same time, the valve plug 13 and the deflector 16 move downwardly until heads of the guide pins 17 engage the flange 19. In this condition, the water emerging under pressure from the sprinkler is distributed uniformly about the ad¬ jacent area by the deflector 16. Although the invention has been described herein with reference to a specific embodiment, many modifi- cations and variations therein will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, all such var¬ iations and modifications are included within the intended scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims: Claims 1. A quick-response sprinkler comprising a hollow body member having an inlet end and an outlet end; valve means supported from the hollow body 5 member for limited motion between a closed posi¬ tion wherein the valve means forms a fluid-tight seal with the outlet end of the hollow body mem¬ ber and an open position; the hollow body member having an internal groove adjacent to the outlet 0 end; locking means for holding the valve means in the closed position and for releasing the valve means in response to elevated temperature; the locking means having a surface normally retained in fixed abutting relation to a surface of the 5 valve means to normally retain the valve means in the closed position and being completely separa¬ ble from the hollow body member and the valve means and comprising a housing, a plurality of locking balls supported in the housing for motion 0 toward and away from the internal groove in the body member; locking disc means movable in the axial direction within the housing and having an inclined surface engaging the locking balls; and temperature-responsive means at the extremity of 25 the sprinkler adjacent the outlet end, the tem¬ perature-responsive means normally supporting the locking disc means in a position holding the locking balls in the internal groove so as to retain the locking means housing in position with 30 said surface in fixed abutting relation to the valve means surface but separable therefrom to hold the valve means in closed position and re¬ sponsive to an elevated temperature to release the locking disc means and the locking balls and 3.5 permit the locking means to be separated from the sprinkler body and the valve means, thereby re¬ leasing the valve means from its closed position. 2. A sprinkler according to claim 1 including a deflector affixed to and movable with the valve means to distribute liquid emerging from the outlet end of the body member when the valve means is open, and spring means engaging the deflector to urge the deflector and the valve means toward the open position. 3. A sprinkler according to claim 1 wherein the temperature-responsive means includes a tubular member retained by the locking means housing and containing a plug of eutectic material at its external end and the locking disc means includes a push rod engaging the plug of eutectic mate¬ rial. 4. A sprinkler according to claim 3 wherein the tubular member has a plurality of disc-shaped fins at its external end and including insulating washer means interposed between the tubular mem¬ ber and the locking means housing. 5. A sprinkler according to claim 3 wherein the locking means housing is internally threaded and including thread means engageable with the in¬ ternally threaded housing for retaining the tub¬ ular member in the locking means housing. 6. A sprinkler according to claim 3 including an axial recess in the valve means and wherein the locking disc means push rod extends into the axial recess in the valve means.

Inventors: MACIE WALTER R, MACIE, WALTER, R.
Applicants: RELIABLE AUTO SPRINKLER CO, THE RELIABLE AUTOMATIC SPRINKLER CO., INC.
Application year: 1987
Main classification: A62C37
IPC codes: A62C37