Patent Publication Number: US-8973672-B2

Title: Device for triggering a fire extinguishing system by means of a sprinkler

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit and priority of German Application No. DE 10 2011 076 798.3, filed May 31, 2011. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to a device for triggering a fire extinguishing system by means of a sprinkler. 
     The device of the present disclosure can be used wherever sprinkler systems, in particular sprinkler dry pipe systems, are present. This is the case in areas at risk of frost or in areas with very high temperatures. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Pipes of sprinkler dry pipe systems are filled with compressed air or inert gas. Water does not get into the pipe network until after a sprinkler has been opened. 
     Suspended sprinklers, in particular for areas of a sprinkler system at risk of frost, are for example known from DE 28 26 141 A1. So that water can leave the open sprinkler even at low temperatures, filling materials such as granules, liquid, alcohol or brine can be fed into the pipe network upstream from the sprinkler so as to ensure that the water for firefighting can exit without any problems. In the document mentioned above, a solution is described where loose granules are arranged in the drop pipe of the sprinkler and discharged with the extinguishing water after the sprinkler has been triggered. 
     DE 10 2005 043213 B4 describes a sprinkler system for areas at risk of frost or cooled areas where water for firefighting and antifreeze are present in the pipes to the sprinkler, antifreeze being arranged in the lower part of the drop pipe upstream from the sprinkler in the area at risk of frost. 
     It is also common to use dry pipe sprinklers whose feed pipes are empty and without pressure. The water port is sealed mechanically by means of a rod or a pipe directly by the glass bulb arranged opposite that bursts at a certain temperature. The mechanically operated dry pipe sprinklers are preferred in practice since here there is no danger that water enters without being noticed which could lead the dry pipe sprinkler to fail at low temperatures. 
     Lever mechanisms in the context of fire extinguishing systems are basically known for dry alarm valves for sprinkler pipe networks and described for example in DE 43 20 443 C2 and DE 699 003 64 T2. Dry alarm valves in a sprinkler pipe network serve to separate the low air/gas pressure of the pipe network from the high pressure of the water supply and to release the valve to the water supply by means of a lever mechanism when the pressure in the sprinkler pipe network drops after opening a sprinkler, thus allowing extinguishing water to flow to the sprinklers. 
     A lever mechanism is also known for triggering a sprinkler. CH 662281 A for example describes a sprinkler where a lever arrangement serves as a triggering mechanism for a sprinkler. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 7,802,628 B1 reveals a lever mechanism at the upper end of a drop pipe that releases an opening in the extinguishing-water pipe when the sprinkler glass bulb is triggered. 
     US 2010/0038099 describes and illustrates a device for triggering a fire extinguishing system by means of a sprinkler, the device being arranged between the pipe for the extinguishing agent and the sprinkler. The device consists of a multiple-armed joint that deflects a force over the axis of a disk. However, the joint that has been described and illustrated is not a toggle-lever joint since the effects of a toggle lever (translation of a force or a distance)are not fulfilled by this device. Rather, the motion or the force is simply directed into a different direction by the device. 
     Although SU 1025435A shows a toggle lever joint that is arranged between a sprinkler and the associated deflector, this toggle-lever joint, too, is not a toggle-lever joint that is arranged between a sprinkler and a pipe for the extinguishing agent. 
     SUMMARY 
     In recent developments, sprinkler glass bulbs or triggering elements only have a small diameter. The openings, to the pipes are always increasing in size in favor of the desired higher flow rates which results in the triggering elements having a small diameter that can no longer be used as they could burst due to the pressure in the pipe before reaching their triggering temperature. 
     The solutions that have been mentioned do not show any possibilities of fitting a dry sprinkler in a pipe network having a large entry cross-section to a sprinkler with a glass bulb having a small diameter. 
     It is therefore the object of the present disclosure to develop a device for triggering a fire extinguishing system by means of a sprinkler, wherein the force that results from the pressure in the extinguishing system and is above the load capacity of the supporting heat-sensitive element can be reduced so that the load to be supported that acts on the heat sensitive element does not prematurely trigger the heat-sensitive element. 
     The present disclosure provides a device for triggering a fire extinguishing system by means of a sprinkler, the device being arranged between the pipe for the extinguishing agent and the sprinkler. According to the disclosure, this is a multiple-armed toggle-lever joint that is arranged between the load axis of the triggering element and a sealing element and at an angle of between 100° and 80°, preferably at approximately right angles. 
     The load axis of the triggering element approximately corresponds to the axis of symmetry of the perpendicularly suspended sprinkler. 
     A multiple-armed toggle-lever joint is to be understood to mean a multiple-armed joint that translates a force or a distance, that is to say, that a change in the acting force or the distance is achieved by means of the toggle-lever joint. In this way, the acting force can be increased or reduced or a distance can be shortened or lengthened by means of the toggle-lever joint. 
     The sealing element closes the pipe for the extinguishing agent in a gas-tight manner. This can be a valve plate against which the multiple-armed toggle-lever joint acts. 
     It is advantageous to arrange a setting unit opposite the sealing element or the valve plate. This can be a setting screw at the opposite end wall. Other suitable units that serve to set the pressure on the valve plate can be envisaged. 
     The toggle-lever joint can be a multiple-armed joint such as a twin- or four-armed toggle-lever joint. The four-armed toggle-lever joint consists of four articulated arms and four articulated connections. The articulated arms and the articulated connections are in each case arranged opposite each other so that the toggle-lever joint forms a type of parallelogram. 
     It is advantageous to design the joint connections as punctiform connections that in each case act centrally against their supports. It is also conceivable to have hinge-like joints or a combination of hinge-like and/or punctiform joint connections. The hinge connections can be arranged horizontally or at right angles on the supports or supporting surfaces. The articulated arms can be rods or pipes constructed from steel, plastic or a light metal. 
     In each case arranged opposite are the articulated connections that act on the closure of the sprinkler and on the body, and the articulated connections that act on the sealing element or the valve plate and the setting unit or the body wall. 
     It is advantageous to arrange a drop pipe and a support pipe between the sprinkler and the toggle-lever joint. As a result, the sprinkler can be arranged for example on a side of a wall and the pipe on the other side of a wall. 
     It is furthermore advantageous to arrange the multiple-armed toggle-lever joint in a T-shaped body. 
     In addition, it is regarded as being advantageous to arrange an adapter at the pipe for the extinguishing agent. 
     The present disclosure has the advantage that dry pipe sprinklers whose glass bulbs can absorb only low mechanical forces can also be arranged for use with pipes that exhibit large entry cross sections, large volume flows and high pressures, as the forces from the pipe that arise have to be absorbed only in part by the sprinkler glass bulb. It is also advantageous that the sealing force of the sealing element can be adjusted by an actuator. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure is to be explained below in more detail using an exemplary embodiment and two figures. In the figures: 
         FIG. 1  is a device for triggering a fire extinguishing system where a sprinkler is directly screwed into the device, in a schematic sectional representation; and 
         FIG. 2  is an illustration of the device of  FIG. 1  having a drop pipe and a supporting pipe between the sprinkler and the triggering device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 1  shows the device for triggering a fire extinguishing system at an adapter  3  onto which the T-shaped body  1  is screwed. The body  1  with the valve seat  9  at the adapter  3  is closed by the valve plate  8  against which the toggle-lever joint  6  is acting. A seal ring can be disposed between the valve plate  8  and the valve seat  9 . The toggle-lever joint  6  consists of four oppositely lying articulated rigid arms  6 . 1  having pivoting articulated connections  6 . 2  that interact in the shape of a parallelogram. Each of the pivoting connections  6 . 2  are restrained to pivot in a single plane so as to provide a rigid structure when all four connections  6 . 2  are restrained from moving outward. The articulated connections  6 . 2  act against the respective supports  11 ,  12 ,  13 ,  14 ,  15  that are arranged at the body  1 , the disk  10 , the valve plate  8  and the closure  17  at the sprinkler  5  (see also  FIG. 2 ). As the triggering element, the sprinkler  5  possesses a glass bulb  16  that bursts as a result of the expansion of the liquid in it when a certain temperature is reached allowing the opening of the closure  17  so that the toggle lever joint  6  releases the valve plate  8  so that extinguishing agent can flow out. It should be understood that other known heat sensitive trigger mechanisms could be used. The load axis  19  of the glass bulb  16  and the horizontal centerline of the body  1  are at an angle of approximately 90° to each other. It should be understood that other angles from 80° to 120° could also be used. 
     Advantageous designs are illustrated in  FIG. 2  that show a setting unit  7  that can be used to set the force acting on the valve plate. Otherwise, the threaded connection of the disk  10  on the threaded connection of the sprinkler  5  and/or a set screw disposed against the glass bulb  16  can be used to apply a desired load force on the valve plate  8 . A further advantageous design is illustrated by the drop pipe  2  in which the support pipe  4  is situated. Due to the support pipe  4 , the force from the support  15  of the articulated connection  6 . 2  of the toggle-lever joint  6  is transmitted to the closure  17  at the sprinkler. By means of the support and drop pipes  3 ,  2  a distance between the body  1  and the sprinkler  5  can be set which may be necessary when installing an intermediate wall or for other reasons. A centering ring  18  is arranged at the end of the drop pipe  2  between the drop pipe  2  and the body  1 . 
     LIST OF USED REFERENCE SYMBOLS 
     
         
           1  body 
           2  drop pipe 
           3  adapter 
           4  support pipe 
           5  sprinkler 
           6 . 1  articulated arm 
           6 . 2  articulated connection 
           6  toggle-lever joint 
           7  setting unit 
           8  valve plate 
           9  valve seat 
           10  disk 
           11  support of the toggle-lever joint at the valve plate  8   
           12  support of the toggle-lever joint at the body  1   
           13  support of the toggle-lever joint at the sprinkler  5   
           14  support of the toggle-lever joint at the setting unit  7   
           15  support of the toggle-lever joint at the support pipe  4   
           16  glass bulb 
           17  closure at the sprinkler 
           18  centering ring 
           19  load axis of the triggering element