Patent Abstract:
An installation tool may include an extension member, a body portion disposed on the extension member, and a plurality of fingers flexibly protruding from the body portion. The plurality of fingers are adapted to releasably engage a cover assembly. The plurality of fingers and the body portion cooperate to retain the cover assembly in a first direction and allow disengagement of the cover assembly in a second direction.

Full Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/111,661, filed on Apr. 29, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,891,716, issued Feb. 22, 2011. The entire disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to an installation tool and in particular to an installation tool for installing a cover for a concealed fire protection sprinkler. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. 
     Fire protection sprinklers are commonly mounted to ceilings of residential and commercial buildings. Such sprinklers are often housed within an opening in the ceiling in such a manner that the sprinkler head does not protrude below the surface of the ceiling when not in use. A decorative cover plate may be installed over the opening in the ceiling to conceal the sprinkler, improving the aesthetic qualities of the sprinkler system. In response to heat, the solder holding the cover in place melts and the cover falls away from the sprinkler and the sprinkler trigger mechanism is then activated by the heat to release a plug device to allow the sprinkler to discharge water below the ceiling. 
     Typically, a worker must stand atop a ladder or scaffolding to reach the opening in the ceiling to install the cover plate. When installing cover plates over multiple sprinklers, the worker must then climb down from the ladder or scaffolding, move the ladder or scaffolding below the next sprinkler, and climb back up to install the next cover, repeating this process for each of the sprinklers in a given building. This process is time-consuming and costly. 
     SUMMARY 
     An installation tool may include an extension member, a body portion disposed on the extension member, and a plurality of fingers flexibly protruding from the body portion. The plurality of fingers may be adapted to releasably engage a cover assembly. The plurality of fingers and the body portion cooperate to retain the cover assembly in a first direction and allow disengagement of the cover assembly in a second direction. 
     A method for installing a cover assembly onto a sprinkler assembly may include pressing a first portion of the cover assembly into releasable engagement with an installation tool having an extension member, applying a force to the extension member in a first direction along a longitudinal axis of the extension member to remotely press a second portion of the cover assembly into engagement with the sprinkler assembly, and applying a force to the extension member in a second direction along the longitudinal axis of the extension member to disengage the cover assembly from the installation tool, the cover assembly maintaining engagement with the sprinkler assembly. 
     Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way. 
         FIG. 1  is a partial perspective view of an operator installing a cover assembly onto a sprinkler assembly according to the principles of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2  is a partial exploded view of the installation tool of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 3  is a partial cross-sectional view of the installation tool of  FIG. 1 ; 
         FIG. 4  is a partial perspective view of the installation tool engaging a cover assembly according to the principles of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  is a partial side view of the installation tool pressing the cover assembly onto the sprinkler assembly according to the principles of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 6  is a partial side view of the cover assembly installed onto the sprinkler assembly and disengaged from the installation tool; 
         FIG. 7  is a partial cross-sectional view of a finger of the installation tool flexing to engage the cover assembly according to the principles of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 8  is a partial cross-sectional view of the cover assembly fully engaged with the finger and a body portion of the installation tool according to the principles of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 9  is a partial cross-sectional view of the finger flexing to disengage the cover assembly according to the principles of the present disclosure; and 
         FIG. 10  is a partial cross-sectional view of the cover assembly fully disengaged from the finger according to the principles of the present disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The following description is merely exemplary in nature and is not intended to limit the present disclosure, application, or uses. It should be understood that throughout the drawings, corresponding reference numerals indicate like or corresponding parts and features. 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-10 , an installation tool  10  is provided and includes a body portion  12  and an extension member  14 . The installation tool  10  may releasably engage a sprinkler cover assembly  16  and extend the reach of an operator  18 , allowing the operator  18  to install the cover assembly  16  onto a sprinkler assembly  20 . The sprinkler assembly  20  may be installed above an opening  22  in a ceiling  24  of a building  26 , for example. It should be appreciated that the sprinkler assembly  20  may be installed in a sidewall of the building  26 , or any other location suited for an intended use of the sprinkler assembly  20 . 
     With reference to  FIG. 2 , the body portion  12  may include a head portion  28 , a plurality of fingers  30 , and a neck portion  32 . The head portion  28 , the plurality of fingers  30 , and the neck portion  32  may be integrally formed, glued, fastened, welded, or otherwise suitably joined together. The body portion  12  may be formed from a polymer, metal, wood, or other suitable material known in the art or combinations thereof. 
     The head portion  28  may be substantially cylindrical, and may include a front face  34  and a back face  36  disposed in a cavity  38  ( FIG. 3 ). It should be appreciated that the head portion  28  could include a solid cross-section and could be frusto-conical, a polygonal prism, or any other suitable shape. 
     The front face  34  may include a generally cylindrical recess  40 . The plurality of fingers  30  may protrude from the front face  34  and/or the recess  40 , and may be generally angled inward towards a longitudinal axis X of the installation tool  10 . The fingers  30  may be resiliently flexible and generally rectangular or any other suitable shape. The plurality of fingers  30  may be disposed in a circular pattern and each finger  30  may be equidistantly spaced relative to each other and the longitudinal axis X. 
     Each finger  30  may include a stem  42 , a leg portion  44  and a lip portion  46  ( FIGS. 7-10 ). The lip portion  46  may protrude from the leg portion  44  at an outward angle, away from the longitudinal axis X. It should be appreciated that the body portion  12  could include a single, continuous finger  30  protruding from the front face  34  and/or the circular recess  40  and extending 360 degrees about the longitudinal axis X, or any number of separately formed fingers. 
     The neck portion  32  may be generally cylindrical and may protrude from the back face  36  of the head portion  28  along the longitudinal axis X ( FIG. 3 ). The neck portion  32  may include a cavity  48  and an aperture  50  disposed through the neck portion  32  and the cavity  48 . 
     The extension member  14  may be an elongated rigid pole extending along the longitudinal axis X and may include an aperture  52  extending through a diameter  53  of the extension member  14  generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X. The extension member  14  may include one or more telescoping features  51 , whereby the length of the extension member  14  may be expanded and/or contracted in the longitudinal direction as illustrated by arrow A in  FIG. 1 , to allow use with ceilings of various heights. 
     The extension member  14  may be received within the cavity  48  of the body portion  12 , such that the apertures  50 ,  52  are disposed substantially concentric to each other. In this configuration, a fastener  54  may be disposed through the apertures  50 ,  52 , retaining the extension member  14  within the cavity  48 . The fastener  54  may be slidably engaged with the apertures  50 ,  52  and may threadably engage a nut  56 , for example, to retain the fastener  54  therein ( FIG. 3 ). Additionally or alternatively, the fastener  54  may be threadably engaged with the aperture  50  or glued, press fit, or otherwise fixed therein. The body portion  12  can also be permanently fixed to the extension member  14 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 4-6 , the cover assembly  16  may engage the sprinkler assembly  20  and cover the opening  22  in the ceiling  24 . The cover assembly  16  may include a hollow sleeve portion  58  and a cover plate  60  having an outer rim  61 . The cover plate  60  is attached to the sleeve portion  58  by a heat sensitive solder that releases the cover plate  60  at a predetermined temperature. An inner diameter  62  of the sleeve portion  58  may include one or more protuberances  64 . The sprinkler assembly  20  may include a neck portion  66 . One or more thread-like ribs  68  may be disposed around the neck portion  66 . The sleeve portion  58  may slide over the neck portion  66 . The protuberances  64  may be pressed into releasable engagement with the one or more ribs  68 . 
     With reference to  FIGS. 1-10 , operation of the installation tool  10  will be described in detail. The installation tool  10  may engage the cover plate  60  and extend the reach of the operator  18 , enabling the operator  18  to install the cover assembly  16  onto the sprinkler assembly  20  without a ladder, scaffolding, or the like. 
     The cover assembly  16  may be inserted into engagement with the fingers  30  by forcing the outer rim  61  against the lip portion  46 , thereby causing the fingers  30  to flex outward to receive the cover assembly  16  ( FIGS. 7 and 8 ). The generally inwardly angled fingers  30  allow the installation tool  10  to releasably engage different covers with a range of diameters. 
     In the fully engaged configuration ( FIGS. 4 ,  5 , and  8 ), the fingers  30  and the recess  40  may cooperate to releasably engage the outer rim  61  of the cover assembly  16 , whereby the cover plate  60  may be seated in the recess  40  and the fingers  30  may be biased against the outer rim  56 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 1 , the operator  18  may grasp the extension member  14  and raise the body portion  12  (with the cover assembly  16  releasably retained thereon) towards the sprinkler assembly  20  in the ceiling  24 . An upward force F 1  may be applied to the extension member  14  along the longitudinal axis X ( FIG. 5 ) to remotely press the sleeve  58  of the cover assembly  16  onto the neck portion  66  of the sprinkler assembly  20 . The force F 1  may be sufficient to press the protuberances  64  into engagement with the one or more ribs  68 , placing the cover assembly  16  in an installed position ( FIG. 5 ). A force can then be applied to the extension member in a rotary direction to remotely adjust the cover assembly into contact with the ceiling surface by threading the cover assembly further onto the neck portion  66 . 
     Once the cover assembly  16  is pressed into engagement with the sprinkler assembly  20 , a downward force F 2  may be applied to the extension member  14  along the longitudinal axis X to release the cover assembly  16  from engagement with the plurality of fingers  30  ( FIG. 6 ). It should be noted that the length of the fingers  30  can be chosen to prevent interference with the ceiling  24 . 
     As the downward force F 2  is applied to the extension member  14 , the biasing force of the fingers  30  against the outer rim  61  of the cover assembly  16  may be insufficient to retain the cover assembly  16  due to an engagement force between the protuberances  64  of the cover assembly  16  and the one or more ribs  68  of the sprinkler assembly  20 . Accordingly, the cover assembly  16  may be retained in the installed position ( FIGS. 5 and 6 ), as the installation tool  10  moves downward in response to the downward force F 2 , causing the fingers  30  to resiliently flex outward about the stems  42  to release the cover assembly  16  ( FIGS. 8-10 ), whereby the cover assembly  16  may maintain installed engagement with the sprinkler assembly  20 . 
     The description of the present disclosure is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the disclosure are intended to be within the scope of the disclosure. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

Technology Classification (CPC): 0