Patent ID: 8636075

Claim:
A dry sprinkler assembly comprising: a housing having an inlet end, an outlet end, a fluid flow passage extending from said inlet end to said outlet end, and a central longitudinal axis along said fluid flow passage, and said inlet end being adapted for mounting to a fluid supply pipe and having an inlet port for fluid communication with the fluid supply pipe; a sprinkler head assembly having a sprinkler head and a trigger assembly, said sprinkler head being in fluid communication with said fluid flow passage and having an outlet opening, and said trigger assembly substantially closing said outlet opening and releasing said closure during a fire condition; and an actuator assembly, said actuator assembly having a sealing subassembly sealing said inlet port, said actuator assembly being operatively coupled to said trigger assembly such that said sealing subassembly releases said sealing of said inlet port in response to said trigger assembly releasing said closure at said outlet opening, and said sealing subassembly moving in a linear path substantially parallel with said central longitudinal axis when releasing said sealing of said inlet port; and wherein said sealing subassembly comprises a concave spring plate having a concave surface facing said inlet port and a spring plate support, said spring plate support being fixedly attached to and compressively loading said spring plate axially against a surface of said inlet end surrounding said inlet port so as to flatten said spring plate toward a generally planar orientation when assembled, said spring plate support and said spring plate being fixed for movement along said central longitudinal axis so as to be disposed along said central longitudinal axis both prior to and after said trigger assembly releases, so that water flowing through said housing flows around said spring plate fixed along said central longitudinal axis.