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US-20260124626-A1 - UPRIGHT FIRE PROTECTION SPRINKLER

US20260124626A1US 20260124626 A1US20260124626 A1US 20260124626A1US-20260124626-A1

Abstract

A fire protection sprinkler including a frame body having an inlet, an outlet, defining an internal passageway extending between the inlet and the outlet along a sprinkler axis. A dome shaped deflector member is centered, axially aligned with the sprinkler axis, and spaced from the outlet. The deflector member has an outer surface and an inner surface that preferably includes: a peripheral region, a central region and an intermediate region. The intermediate region includes a primary deflecting surface, and a secondary deflecting surface that is surrounded by the primary deflecting surface. The deflector member provides for generation of a non-circular spray pattern defined by four zones of fluid density concentrically formed about the sprinkler axis.

Inventors

  • Manuel R. Silva, Jr.
  • Bernhard Abels
  • Kenneth Robert Brown
  • Stefan Vaeth

Assignees

  • TYCO FIRE PRODUCTS LP
  • FLN FEUERLOSCHGERATE NEURUPPIN VERTRIEBS GMBH

Dates

Publication Date
20260507
Application Date
20251230

Claims (20)

  1. 1 .- 63 . (canceled)
  2. 64 . A fire protection system, comprising: at least one sprinkler, comprising: a body comprising an inlet, an outlet, and an internal passageway extending between the inlet and the outlet along a sprinkler axis; and a deflector coupled with the body, the deflector comprising: a center aligned with the sprinkler axis; and a plurality of tines outward from the center, the deflector to output fluid from the outlet in a non-circular spray pattern.
  3. 65 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the non-circular spray pattern is rectangular.
  4. 66 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the non-circular spray pattern is defined by a perimeter with two or more linear edges centrally or equidistantly disposed about the sprinkler axis.
  5. 67 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the non-circular spray pattern comprises four concentric zones in a plane perpendicular to the sprinkler axis, each zone having a same width on a zone axis that is perpendicular to the sprinkler axis and in the plane, the deflector to output the fluid such that an outermost zone of the four concentric zones receives less than five percent of the fluid.
  6. 68 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the non-circular spray pattern comprises four concentric zones in a plane perpendicular to the sprinkler axis, each zone having a same width on a zone axis that is perpendicular to the sprinkler axis and in the plane, each zone corresponding to a plurality of collection pans to receive the fluid, the deflector to output the fluid such a plurality of pans in an innermost zones of the four concentric zones receive fluid at a density greater than any collection pan corresponding to any of the other zones of the four concentric zones.
  7. 69 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the deflector is to output the fluid in the non-circular spray pattern as a rectangular spray pattern having a ten foot by ten foot perimeter between three feet below the at least one sprinkler and five feet below the at least one sprinkler.
  8. 70 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the non-circular spray pattern comprises four concentric zones in a plane perpendicular to the sprinkler axis, each zone having a same width on a zone axis that is perpendicular to the sprinkler axis and in the plane, the deflector to output the fluid such thirty to thirty five percent of the fluid is received in an innermost zone of the four concentric zones.
  9. 71 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the at least one sprinkler comprises a nominal K-factor ranging from 14.0 gallons per minute (GPM)/((pounds per square inch) (PSI)){circumflex over ( )}(½) to 36.4 GPM/(PSI){circumflex over ( )}(½), and a response time index (RTI) less than 160 (m*s) 1/2 .
  10. 72 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the at least one sprinkler has a minimum working pressure of 30 PSI to 50 PSI given a flow rate of received fluid of 240 GPM.
  11. 73 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the at least one sprinkler is disposed over a storage commodity of at least three feet below the deflector.
  12. 74 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the deflector comprises a concave shape.
  13. 75 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the at least one sprinkler comprises an upright sprinkler.
  14. 76 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: a thermal trigger coupled with the outlet, the thermal trigger comprises a glass bulb or a link and lever assembly.
  15. 77 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: a thermal trigger coupled with the outlet, the thermal trigger has a temperature rating of ordinary 135° Fahrenheit (F.)-170° F.; (ii) intermediate 175° F.- 225° F.; (iii) high 250° F.-300° F.; (iv) extra high 325° F.- 375 ° F.; (v) very extra high 400° F.- 475° F.; or (vi) ultra high 500° F.- 575°F.
  16. 78 . The fire protection system of claim 64 , comprising: the deflector is spherical.
  17. 79 . A system, comprising: a supply pipe; and a plurality of sprinklers coupled with the supply pipe to receive fluid from the supply pipe, each sprinkler of the plurality of sprinklers having a sprinkler axis, each sprinkler of the plurality of sprinklers comprising: a K-factor greater than or equal to 16.8 and less than or equal to 36.4; a thermal trigger that has a response time index less than 160 (m*s) 1/2 ; a minimum working pressure of 30 PSI to 50 PSI; and a deflector structured to output the fluid in a rectangular spray pattern.
  18. 80 . The system of claim 79 , comprising: the deflector of each sprinkler comprises a concave shape facing an outlet of the sprinkler, and the rectangular spray pattern is a square spray pattern.
  19. 81 . The system of claim 79 , comprising: the plurality of sprinklers are disposed over a storage commodity of at least three feet below the deflector.
  20. 82 . The system of claim 79 , comprising: at least one sprinkler of the plurality of sprinklers comprises an outlet, a seal in the outlet, and the thermal trigger coupled with the seal.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/584,077, filed Feb. 22, 2024, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/893,516, filed Aug. 23, 2022, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/831,465, filed Mar. 26, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/574,380, filed Nov. 15, 2017, which is a national stage application of International Application No. PCT/US 2016/035579, filed Jun. 2, 2016, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 62/170,048, filed Jun. 2, 2015, and to U.S. Provisional Ser. No. 62/170,053, filed Jun. 2, 2015, each of which is incorporated by reference in its entirety. TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to fire protection sprinklers, and more particularly to fire protection sprinklers for an upright orientation installation. BACKGROUND An automatic fire protection sprinkler is a fire suppression or control device that operates automatically when its heat-activated element is heated to its thermal rating or above allowing water to discharge over a specified area to address a fire. Automatic sprinklers can be configured for a pendent or an upright installation. An “upright sprinkler” is defined by its installation orientation in which the sprinkler is installed in such a way that the water spray is directed upwards against a fluid deflector member for distribution below and about the sprinkler. An upright sprinkler generally includes a sprinkler frame body having an inlet, an outlet and internal passageway extending in between. Spaced from the outlet is the fluid deflector member, which for some upright sprinklers is generally domed shape or geometry. In an upright sprinkler installation, the inlet is connected to a firefighting fluid supply line of, for example water, for receipt of water at an operating pressure of the sprinkler. In an open or actuated state, the water flows from the inlet and is discharged out the outlet to impact the deflector member for distribution at some distance below the deflector in a spray pattern characterized by a defined area of coverage with a defined distribution density profile. Commercial examples of upright sprinklers include: (i) the Ultra K17-16.8 K-factor Upright Control Mode Specific Application Sprinkler; and (ii) the Model ESFR-17, 16.8 K-factor Upright Sprinkler Early Suppression, Fast Response from Tyco Fire Products; (iii) and the Victaulic K25.2 FireLock™ Standard Response, LP-46 Low Pressure Storage, Upright-Model 4603 from the Victaulic Company. Additional examples of Upright sprinklers are shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,862,994; 7,819,201; and 8,122,969 and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0073088. These known commercial upright sprinklers and upright sprinkler technology of the representative patent documents are used in a preferred manner for protection of stored commodities. The distributed spray pattern of the sprinkler is provided by one or more dimensional parameters of the sprinkler including, for example, the size of the sprinkler outlet or orifice, the geometry of the deflecting surface(s) of the deflector member, the distance between the deflecting surface(s) and the outlet, and other structure features of the sprinkler. For the upright domed deflector, a generally concave deflecting surface is presented to the outlet of the sprinkler which can be characterized by a maximum deflector diameter, a spherical radius and an overall deflector height. Applicant believes that the spray pattern of a sprinkler can be determined and/or evaluated by examining the spray pattern from the sprinkler in actual or simulated installation conditions. Industry accepted guidelines and standards for the installation of sprinklers, for example, those published by the National Fire Protection Association or FM Global, set installation guidelines and/or requirements for certain occupancies, such as for example, for the protection of storage occupancies and stored commodities of over twenty-five feet. In the case of storage, there are guideline requirements which require a minimum clearance of at least three feet between the deflector member and the top of the commodity. Accordingly, for storage type upright automatic fire protection sprinklers, the characteristics of a spray pattern at least three feet below an upright deflector is of interest to applicants because it is believed it can define how water distributed from the sprinkler wets the stored commodity and addresses a fire therebetween to further define the protection performance and/or limits of the upright sprinkler. It is believed that there are no known commercially available ceiling-only fire protection sprinklers or upright sprinkler technology that provide a spray pattern for storage protection at heights higher than currently commercially available. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of an upright fire