Patent Application
20090266203
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.
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.
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.
The drawings described herein are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure in any way.
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
With reference to
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 (
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 (
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 (
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
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 (
With reference to
With reference to
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 (
In the fully engaged configuration (
As shown in
Once the cover assembly 16 is pressed into engagement with the sprinkler assembly 20, a downward force F2 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 (
As the downward force F2 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 (
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.
