Patent Application
20240198154
The present disclosure relates to fire suppression sprinkler heads.
A sprinkler head is automatically actuated to sprinkle water in the event of fire. A nozzle is normally closed by a valve. The valve is supported at the lower end of a body by a heat-sensitive actuator. The heat-sensitive actuator is decomposed and actuated when a heat-sensitive element incorporated in the heat-sensitive actuator is operated by the heat of fire. Although the valve is pressed toward the nozzle by the heat-sensitive actuator, the valve is separated from the nozzle to open the nozzle. The water discharged from the nozzle collides with a plate-like deflector provided in the extension direction of the axis of the nozzle and is sprinkled in all directions to extinguish the fire.
Examples of such sprinkler heads include flush-type sprinkler heads. In a flush-type sprinkler head, the body connected to a water supply pipe is embedded in a ceiling, and only the lower part of the heat-sensitive actuator projects indoors from the ceiling surface. The deflector is accommodated in the sprinkler head. In the event of fire, the deflector moves by a predetermined distance into a room after the heat-sensitive actuator is decomposed and actuated. The deflector is connected to the body with a plurality of pins.
The water discharged from the nozzle collides with the center of the deflector, flows radially, and is sprinkled from the edge of the deflector. At this time, around the pins, the water flowing from the center of the deflector toward the edge is blocked by the pins. Thus, the amount of water sprinkled in the directions in which the pins are disposed tends to be small.
Therefore, smaller number of pins realizes a more uniform water sprinkle pattern. However, reducing the number of pins requires increasing the thickness of the pins to ensure strength capable of withstanding the momentum of water flow. Increasing the thickness of the pins increases the influence on the water flow, making it difficult to obtain a uniform water sprinkle pattern.
PTL 1 describes means for solving this problem, in which the deflector is provided with recesses at positions around pins, and bottoms of the recesses extend to the outer circumference of the deflector. In the sprinkler head in PTL 1, the water flow is guided into the recesses, so that a certain amount of water flows in the directions in which the pins are provided.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a sprinkler head in which the amount of water sprinkled in directions in which pins supporting a deflector are provided in the sprinkler head can be increased.
In order to achieve the above-described object, the present disclosure provides a sprinkler head described below. Specifically, an aspect of the present disclosure is a sprinkler head including: a body having a nozzle that discharges a fire-extinguishing liquid; a valve cap that closes the nozzle; a heat-sensitive actuator that holds the valve cap in a state of closing the nozzle and that releases the closed state when decomposed and actuated; a disk-like deflector that sprinkles the fire-extinguishing liquid discharged from the nozzle outward in a direction intersecting an axis of the nozzle; and a support that supports the deflector. A nozzle-side surface of the deflector has a recess extending from a portion around the support toward an outer edge of the deflector and recessed into the nozzle-side surface of the deflector. First slits are provided on both sides of the recess in the width direction such that open ends thereof are adjacent to an outer edge of the recess.
According to the aspect of the present disclosure, the water flowing into the recess is straightened, so that a large amount of water is sprinkled in a direction orthogonal to the outer edge of the recess, and the water is sprinkled from the first slits toward the extension of a virtual line.
Thus, it is possible to increase the amount of water sprinkled in the direction in which the pin is disposed.
According to the present disclosure, it is possible to increase the amount of water sprinkled in the direction in which the pin supporting the deflector is disposed in the sprinkler head.
Hereinbelow, an aspect of the present disclosure will be described in detail. The description is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure, but should be understood as the description of illustrative embodiments. The following description should not unduly limit the claims, and not all of the configurations described in the embodiments are necessarily essential as solving means.
In the following description, terms indicating directions, such as “top”, “bottom”, “left”, and “right” are used for convenience of description, and are not intended to limit the method of use or the mode of use. The terms such as “the first” and “the n-th” (n is an integer) following “the first” in the description and claims are used as distinguishing terms for distinguishing between different elements, and do not denote any particular order, superiority, or inferiority.
The terminology used in the following description is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. The components of the aspect described and claimed herein are intended to include plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
The term “and/or” is intended to refer to and include any and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed elements. The terms “includes”, “including”, “comprises”, and/or “comprising” as used in the specification and claims specify the presence of features, operations, elements, or steps. However, these terms are used as the terms that do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, operations, elements, steps, and/or groups thereof.
An embodiment of a “sprinkler head” of the present disclosure will be described with reference to
The body 1 has a hollow tubular shape, and the inside thereof serves as a nozzle 11. The nozzle 11 is tubular and extends in a tube-axis direction (height direction, vertical direction) between one end and the other end of the body 1. In the present specification and claims, the “axial direction” of the nozzle 11 is also referred to as a “tube-axis direction”. The body 1 is provided with, at one end thereof, a male screw 12 to be connected to a water supply pipe P. The body 1 has, at the other end thereof, a flange 13 extending outward. A tubular frame 14 is screw-connected to the flange 13.
The frame 14 is provided on the outer circumferential side of an outlet end of the nozzle 11. A step 15 extending radially inward is provided at the lower end (the end of the frame 14 on the side opposite to the side connected to the flange 13) inside the frame 14.
Levers 41 of the heat-sensitive actuator 4 (described below) are engaged with the step 15.
The deflector unit 2 illustrated in
The deflector 21 has a hole (center hole) penetrating in the plate thickness direction (the tube-axis direction of the body 1) at the center thereof, and the valve cap 3 is rotatably provided in the hole. Closed ends 24b of the slits 24, which are the ends adjacent to the center of the deflector 21, are configured to overlap the outer edge of the valve cap 3.
Multiple pins 22 are provided between the deflector 21 and the guide ring 23. The sprinkler head S according to this embodiment has two pins 22. The pins 22 are inserted through holes 21C (pin insertion holes) formed in the vicinity of the circumferential edge of the deflector 21 so as to penetrate through the deflector 21 in the thickness direction thereof (the tube-axis direction of the body 1). The pins 22 are disposed adjacent to an outer edge 3a of the valve cap 3 disposed on the deflector 21. Ends on one side (i.e., the ends near the guide ring) of the pins 22 are fixedly connected to the annular guide ring 23, and the other ends (the ends near the deflector) of the pins 22 have flanges 25. With this configuration, the deflector 21 is held so as to be slidable between the guide ring 23 and the flanges 25.
A nozzle-11-side planar surface 21a of the deflector 21 has recesses 26 extending from portions around the holes 21C, through which the pins 22 are inserted, toward the outer edge 21b of the deflector 21 and recessed into the nozzle-11-side planar surface 21a of the deflector 21 toward the heat-sensitive actuator 4. Steps between bottom surfaces 26f of the recesses 26 and the planar surface 21a, which is a general surface of the deflector 21, are side walls 26a. The water (fire-extinguishing liquid) flowing into the recesses 26 is straightened by the side walls 26a and sprinkled from outer edges 26b of the recesses 26. The steps of the recesses 26 have a function of guiding the fire-extinguishing liquid discharged from the nozzle 11 to the recesses 26. In this embodiment, although an example has been illustrated in which the bottom surfaces 26f of the recesses 26 are recessed into the planar surface 21a of the deflector 21 so as to protrude downward, for example, the recesses may be formed by squeezing a metal material forming the deflector 21. In that case, the thickness of the recesses (the bottom surface portions of the recesses) in the thickness direction of the deflector 21 is smaller than the thickness of portions around the recesses.
The outer edges 26b of the recesses 26 are formed linearly and positioned on the inner side of the virtual outer circumferential circle of the deflector 21 indicated by a dashed line in
Thus, it is possible to sprinkle water over an area close to the place where the sprinkler head S is installed. Inner edges 26d of the recesses 26 are positioned to overlap the outer edge 3a of the valve cap 3. Although the outer edges 26b of the recesses 26 are formed linearly in this embodiment, the shape of the outer edges 26b is not limited to a linear shape as long as the outer edges 26b are positioned on the inner side of the virtual outer circumferential circle of the deflector 21.
As illustrated in
First slits 27 are provided on both sides of the recess 26 in the width direction. As illustrated in
Specifically, in each first slit 27, the second side 27b is inclined with respect to the virtual line Lx so as to intersect with the virtual line Lx when the second side 27b is extended in the direction of the open end 27c of the first slit 27. Because the width of the first slits 27 decreases toward the outer edge of the deflector 21, it is possible to sprinkle water from the first slits 27 toward the extension of the virtual line LX, in the directions in which the pins 22 are disposed, while increasing the flow rate of the water flowing therein. In this embodiment, because the first slits 27 are provided on both sides of the recesses 26 in the width direction, the amount of water sprinkled in the directions in which the pins 22 are disposed can be increased.
The water flowing into the first slits 27 flows along the second sides 27b and then flows in the direction perpendicular to the straight line connecting the open ends 27c. As a result, the water flows toward the extension of the virtual line Lx behind the pin 22. Furthermore, by cutting corners between the outer edges 26b of the recesses 26 and the first slits 27 at an angle to provide inclined surfaces 26c, the water flowing through the first slits 27 is guided in the direction of the virtual line Lx by the inclined surfaces 26c.
As illustrated in
As described above, the ends on one side of the pins 22 are fixedly connected to the guide ring 23. The outer diameter of the guide ring 23 is smaller than the inner diameter of the frame 14 and larger than the inner diameter of the step 15. Thus, the guide ring 23 is configured to be engaged with the step 15 after being detached by the actuation of the heat-sensitive actuator 4.
Arms 23a are provided on the outer edge of the guide ring 23. The arms 23a are provided parallel to the pins 22 and are disposed adjacent to the pins 22. More specifically, the arms 23a are disposed on a virtual plane (not illustrated) where the virtual line Lx and the axis of the nozzle 11 intersect with each other. The length of the arms 23a is shorter than the length of the pins 22. The arms 23a are accommodated in grooves 15a provided in the step 15 of the frame 14. The grooves 15a are parallel to the axis of the nozzle 11 and act as guides when the guide ring 23 slides in the frame 14.
While the nozzle 11 is opened to discharge water, the side surfaces of the arms 23a are held by the grooves 15a. This allows the planar surface 21a of the deflector 21 to be perpendicular to the central axis of the nozzle 11 even when the water flow is unstable, preventing movements of the deflector 21. Furthermore, because the arms 23a are accommodated in the grooves 15a, the guide ring 23 and the deflector 21 are prevented from moving in the circumferential direction. As illustrated in
The valve cap 3 is formed in a disk shape having a protrusion on the side adjacent to the nozzle 11. A plate-like saddle 31 is provided between the valve cap 3 and the levers 41. The levers 41 engaged with the step 15 press the valve cap 3 through the saddle 31, so that the valve cap 3 is held at the outlet position of the nozzle 11 and closes the outlet end of the nozzle 11.
A seal member 32 is provided between the valve cap 3 and the outlet end of the nozzle 11. The seal member 32 is made of, for example, fluororesin. Although the seal member 32 is provided at the outlet end of the nozzle 11 in this embodiment, the seal member 32 may be provided at the valve cap 3. In this state, the deflector 21 with the valve cap 3 thereon is disposed in the frame 14, at a position near the guide ring 23. A biased spring 33 is disposed between the guide ring 23 and the flange 13. When the heat-sensitive actuator 4 is actuated, the spring 33 facilitates the movement of the guide ring 23, the deflector 21, and the valve cap 3 to the outside of the frame 14. The load of the spring 33 is lower than the load of pressing the valve cap 3 against the outlet end of the nozzle 11.
As illustrated in
The outer edge 3a of the valve cap 3 is positioned to overlap the inner edges 26d of the recesses 26. Thus, the water flows on the inclined surface 34d of the valve cap 3 and flows into the recesses 26 without reducing its momentum. In addition, the outer edge 3a of the valve cap 3 is positioned to overlap the closed ends 24b of the slits 24, so that the water flowing on the inclined surface 34d of the valve cap 3 is sprinkled downward from the slits 24 while maintaining its momentum.
In this embodiment, the pins 22 are disposed adjacent to the outer edge 3a of the valve cap 3. More specifically, because the deflector 21 slides along the pins 22 when the heat-sensitive actuator 4 is actuated, the pins 22 are disposed adjacent to the outer edge 3a of the valve cap 3 with slight clearances between the valve cap 3 and the pins 22. By disposing the pins 22 adjacent to the outer edge 3a of the valve cap 3 like this, the water discharged from the nozzle 11 directly flows from the valve cap 3 into the recesses 26, where the pins 22 are disposed. Thus, the water is sprinkled from the outer edges 26b of the recesses 26 while maintaining its momentum.
The heat-sensitive actuator 4 illustrated in
The cylinder 45 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape, and a male screw protrudes from the bottom surface thereof. The inside of the cylinder 45 is filled with the fusible alloy 47, and the plunger 46 is placed on the fusible alloy 47, that is, on the side opposite to the bottom surface of the cylinder 45. These members constitute a heat-sensitive element of the heat-sensitive actuator 4. As illustrated in
The heat collector 5 has a bowl shape with a nut 51 attached to the center thereof. The nut 51 is screwed with the male screw 45a of the cylinder 45. The nut 51 is formed to have a large diameter at the end on the heat collector 5 side and a small diameter at the end on the cylinder 45 side. Thus, a step 54 is formed in the middle of the nut 51. After the nut 51 is connected to the cylinder 45, an adhesive is poured into the screw-connected portion between the nut 51 and the male screw 45a and cured.
The nut 51 is in direct contact with the bottom surface of the cylinder 45 at the heat-collector-5-side end. The heat-collector-5-side end of the nut 51 has a larger diameter than the cylinder-45-side end. Because this increases the contact area between the heat collector 5 and the nut 51, a stable bonding strength is obtained between the heat collector 5 and the nut 51. Furthermore, because the contact area between the heat collector 5 and the nut 51 is larger than the cylinder-side end, the heat absorbed by the heat collector 5 can be efficiently transmitted to the nut 51.
The outer diameter of the end of the nut 51 is set to be smaller than or equal to the diameter of the bottom surface of the cylinder 45. More preferably, the outer diameter of the end of the nut 51 is set to be smaller than or equal to the inner diameter of the cylinder 45. By setting so, the heat absorbed by the heat collector 5 is transmitted to the fusible alloy 47 through the nut 51 and the bottom surface of the cylinder 45 and not through, for example, the side surface of the cylinder 45. Thus, the loss during heat transmission is suppressed.
The heat collector 5 has a plurality of openings 55 in a side surface thereof. The openings 55 have equal lengths and are arranged at equal intervals over the entire circumference of the side surface of the heat collector 5. In the embodiment illustrated in
An escutcheon E has a dish part E1 for covering a hole H between a ceiling C and the sprinkler head S, and a tube part E2 extending from the inner edge of the dish part E1 and engaged with the frame 14. The dish part E1 is configured such that an outer circumferential edge thereof extending outward from the lower end of the tube part E2 can be in contact with the ceiling C1.
Next, the process of how the sprinkler head S according to the embodiment of the present disclosure is actuated in the event of fire will be described.
As illustrated in
When a fire occurs, the indoor air is heated by the heat of the fire, an ascending air current is generated, and the heated air accumulates under the ceiling C. The air driven by the ascending air current flows along the dish part E1 of the escutcheon E and flows into a clearance E3 between the tube part E2 and the heat collector 5. Then, the airflow passes through the openings 55 and reaches the inside of the heat collector 5. The heat of the airflow is absorbed from the surfaces of the heat collector 5, the nut 51, and the cylinder 45 and is transmitted to the fusible alloy 47, promoting melting of the fusible alloy 47.
Once the fusible alloy 47 melts, the plunger 46 moves toward the bottom surface of the cylinder 45, loosening the engagement between the balancer 43 and the levers 41. Then, the lower ends of the levers 41 rotate and are disengaged from the balancer 43. The levers 41 further rotate and are dropped off the step 15 of the frame 14. The saddle 31 and the valve cap 3 placed on the levers 41 also drop to the outside of the frame 14.
The deflector unit 2 incorporated with the valve cap 3 slides through the frame 14 toward the step 15 under the action of the spring 33, so that the outer-edge side of the guide ring 23 is engaged with the step 15. The deflector 21 and the valve cap 3 move downward in the drawing along the pins 22 and are engaged with the flanges 25.
As a result, the deflector 21 and the valve cap 3 are suspended below the frame 14 by the pins 22. When the valve cap 3 is separated from the outlet end of the nozzle 11, the water in the water supply pipe P is discharged from the nozzle 11 and collides with the valve cap 3 and the deflector 21.
The water colliding with the valve cap 3 flows on the surface thereof, passes through the surface of the deflector 21, and is sprinkled over the floor. The water flowing around the pins 22 flows from the inclined surface 34d near the outer edge 3a of the valve cap 3 into the recesses 26 without passing through the deflector 21. The water flowing into the recesses 26 increases in flow rate and is straightened by the side walls 26a when passing through the narrow portions 26e between the pins 22 and the side walls 26a of the recesses 26, and is sprinkled from the outer edges 26b of the recesses 26. At this time, the water is sprinkled in the directions orthogonal to the linear outer edges 26b of the recesses 26, and the water is scattered at a position closer to the sprinkler head S than the water scattered from the outer edge 21b of the deflector 21. Furthermore, the water passing through the first slits 27 adjacent to the recesses 26 flows toward the extension of the virtual line Lx with increased flow rate, increasing the amount of water sprinkled behind the pins 22.
As described above, in this embodiment, the deflector 21 is provided with the recesses 26 extending from the portions around the pins 22 toward the outer edge 21b and is provided with the first slits 27 on both sides of the recesses 26 in the width direction. The thus-configured deflector 21 can increase the amount of water sprinkled in the directions in which the pins 22 are disposed. In particular, the smaller the distance between the first slits 27, the smaller the angle between the water sprinkled to the left side and the water sprinkled to the right side of the pins 22. Thus, the amount of water sprinkled in the directions of the pins 22 increases. For this reason, in this embodiment, the width of the recesses 26 is reduced as much as possible, so that the first slits 27 are close to each other.
Meanwhile, the water flowing from the valve cap 3 to the slits 24 is sprinkled over the floor in the area close to the position where the sprinkler head S is installed. As described above, because the slits 24 increase in width, i.e., tapered, toward the open ends 24a, the water flowing to the slits 24 is sprinkled while expanding along the taper. This increases the amount of water sprinkled in the area close to the sprinkler head S and achieves a water sprinkle pattern in which unevenness in the amount of sprinkled water is further suppressed. The water sprinkled from the outer edge 21b of the deflector 21 is sprinkled over the floor in an area far from the position where the sprinkler head S is installed.
Accordingly, the water colliding with the deflector 21 is sprinkled in all directions evenly over the floor to suppress and extinguish fire.
Advantages of the present disclosure that have not been described above will be described below.
The closed ends 24b of the slits 24 are positioned to overlap the outer edge 3a of the valve cap 3, and the water flowing on the surface of the valve cap 3 directly flows into the slits 24 from the inclined surface 34d.
Furthermore, as the height of the inner protrusion 34b of the valve cap 3 increases, the water sprinkled from the slits 24 is sprinkled near the sprinkler head S. The height from the planar portion 34a to the top of the inner protrusion 34b is preferably 2 to 3 times the height from the back surface of the planar portion 34a facing the deflector 21 to the planar portion 34a, and is set to 2.5 to 2.8 times in this embodiment.
Furthermore, because the outer edges 26b of the recesses 26 are positioned on the inner side of the virtual outer circumferential circle of the deflector 21, the water sprinkled from the outer edges 26b of the recesses 26 is sprinkled near the sprinkler head S. By setting the positions of the outer edges 26b closer to the outer circumferential diameter of the deflector 21, water can be sprinkled to a farther position.
By combining the above-described configurations, the amount of water sprinkled near the sprinkler head S can be increased.
The shape of the deflector of the sprinkler head is not limited to the aspect illustrated in
For example, as illustrated in
Furthermore, as illustrated in
Furthermore, as illustrated in
Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, it will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that many modifications can be made without substantially departing from the new matter and effects of the present disclosure. Therefore, all such modifications are included in the scope of the present disclosure.
For example, a term described at least once in specification or drawings with a different term having a broader meaning or the same meaning can be replaced with that different term in anywhere in specification or drawings. In addition, the configurations and operations of the sprinkler head and the deflector are not limited to those described in the embodiments of the present disclosure, and various modifications are possible.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-068870 | Apr 2021 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2022/016142 | 3/30/2022 | WO |
