Dry sprinkler with non-load-transmitting sealing arrangement
AssigneeThe Reliable Automatic Sprinkler Co., Inc.
InventorJoseph R. Sclafani
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In the representative embodiments of the invention described herein a dry sprinkler for a fire protection system has a pair of coaxial tubes arranged one inside the other and a plug which seals a fluid passageway formed in a cap at the inlet end of the outer tube to prevent fluid in a supply pipe of the fire protection system from flowing into the sprinkler when the plug is in the passageway. The plug is retained in the passageway against fluid pressure in the supply pipe by a retaining mechanism which releases the plug for automatic expulsion from the passageway by the fluid pressure in the supply pipe when the inner tube moves longitudinally from a first position to a second position.
Claims23
A dry sprinkler comprising an outer tube adapted for connection at one end to a fluid supply pipe in a fire protection system;
- an inlet member at said one end of the outer tube;
- a cap member at the other end of the outer tube;
- heat-responsive means normally holding the cap member in position at the other end of the outer tube but responsive to an elevated temperature condition to release the cap member therefrom;
- an inner member disposed in engagement with the cap member and within the outer tube for longitudinal movement relative thereto;
- said inlet member including means providing a fluid passageway at the end of the outer tube adapted for connection to the fluid supply pipe;
- sealing means slidably disposed in the fluid passageway for sealing the passageway and capable of passing the inner member when released from the fluid passageway;
- and seal retaining means responsive to the position of the inner member and cooperating with the sealing means for releasably retaining the sealing means in the passageway against fluid pressure in the fluid supply pipe when the inner member is disposed in one position in engagement with the cap member and permitting release of the sealing means from the passageway to permit ejection from the sprinkler when the cap member is released from the other end of the outer tube and the inner member is in a second position spaced from the sealing means, the seal-retaining means including a plurality of locking members and means supporting the locking members for lateral motion toward and away from the sealing means, the inner member being spaced from the inlet member so as to permit longitudinal motion of the inner member toward and away from the inlet member while the sealing means is retained by the seal-retaining means, thereby preventing transmittal of a load to the cap member by the inner member.
A dry sprinkler comprising an outer tube adapted for connection at one end to a fluid supply pipe in a fire protection system;
- a cap member at the other end of the outer tube;
- heat-responsive means normally holding the cap member in position at the other end of the outer tube but responsive to an elevated temperature condition to release the cap member therefrom;
- an inner tube disposed in engagement with the cap member and coaxially within the outer tube for longitudinal movement relative thereto;
- an inlet cap at the end of the outer tube adapted for connection to the fluid supply pipe, the inlet cap having a fluid passageway extending axially therethrough;
- sealing means slidably disposed in the fluid passageway for sealing the passageway from fluid flow from the supply pipe when the sealing means is positioned within the passageway and capable of passing through the inner tube when released from the passageway;
- seal-retaining means mounted in the inlet cap and responsive to the position of the inlet tube for releasably retaining the sealing means in the passageway against fluid pressure in the supply pipe when the inner tube is disposed in one position in engagement with the cap member and permitting release of the sealing means from the passageway to permit ejection from the sprinkler when the inner tube is in a second position spaced from the sealing means, the sealing-retaining means including a plurality of balls, each of which is disposed for lateral motion in a corresponding generally laterally extending aperture in one of the sealing means and the inlet cap, a portion of each of the balls being temporarily seated in a laterally depressed portion of the other of the sealing means and the inlet;
- and ball-retaining means releasably engaging the balls for preventing them from being completely unseated from the laterally depressed portion until the inner tube moves a predetermined longitudinal distance from the one position toward the second position, the inner tube being spaced from the inlet cap so as to permit longitudinal motion of the inner tube toward and away from the inlet cap while the sealing means is retained by the seal-retaining means, thereby preventing transmittal of a load to the cap member by the inner tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.