Deck/hall extended coverage horizontal sprinkler arrangement

[0001] This invention relates to horizontal sprinkler arrangements for protecting long, relatively narrow areas such as halls or decks.

[0002] Most conventional horizontal sprinklers are designed to direct water forwardly in the direction of the sprinkler axis to a greater extent than in directions on opposite sides of the sprinkler axis. Typical horizontal sprinklers of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,296,815; 4,296,816; 4,987,957; 5,722,599; 5,727,737; and 5,810,263. None of those sprinklers is effective to protect a long, relatively narrow space such as a hall or deck.

[0003] Accordingly, this is an object of the present invention to provide a horizontal sprinkler arrangement which is effective to distribute water over an area which has a greater dimension in the direction perpendicular to the sprinkler axis than in the direction parallel to the sprinkler axis.

[0004] Another object of the invention is to provide an extended coverage horizontal sprinkler arrangement for protection of a deck or hall space.

[0005] These and other objects of the invention are attained by providing a sprinkler arrangement which includes a sprinkler body with an outlet orifice and a deflector supported in spaced relation to the outlet orifice having two semi-conical sections disposed on opposite sides of the sprinkler axis which are open in the direction facing the orifice. In a preferred embodiment each of the semi-conical sections has a generally horizontal opening approximately in the plane of the sprinkler axis and laterally spaced from the sprinkler axis along with a generally horizontally extending vane located above each opening and extending away from the sprinkler orifice. Each semi-conical section opens outwardly in the direction away from the sprinkle axis with an included cone angle in a range from about 20° to about 60°, preferably in a range from about 30° to about 50°, and desirably about 40°, and the upper surface of each semi-conical section is flattened and extends laterally farther away from the sprinkler axis than the remainder of the semi-conical sections.

[0006] Preferably, the sprinkler has a K factor of about 8 and is designed for extended coverage, ordinary hazard occupancies providing protection to areas up to about 14 feet forwardly and 14 feet to each side of the sprinkler thereby permitting sprinklers to be placed along a side wall of a hall at about 28 foot intervals, for example.

[0013] In the typical embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, a horizontal sprinkler arrangement 10 includes a sprinkler body 12 having an internal axial opening terminating in an orifice 14 along with a pair of frame arms 16 and 18 extending forwardly from the sprinkler body on opposite sides and terminating in a boss 20 located on the sprinkler axis opposite the orifice 14. As seen in FIG. 2, the opening in the sprinkler body 12 is sealed by a plug 22 which is normally held in its sealing position by a thermally responsive device 24 extending between the plug 22 and a screw 26 projecting from the boss 20. The thermally responsive device 24 may be any conventional device such as a glass bulb or a linkage having a fusible element. For convenience of illustration, the plug 22 and the thermally responsive device 24 are not shown in FIG. 1.

[0014] In order to facilitate distribution of water passing through the orifice 14 in the desired manner, the frame arms 16 and 18 are oriented in a plane perpendicular to the lateral direction in which water is to be distributed, i.e., a vertical plane when the sprinkler is mounted horizontally in a side wall, for example, and a deflector 28 having two horizontally extending semi-conical sections 30 and 32 and a central section 34 surrounding the outer ends of the frame arms 16 and 18 is mounted on the boss 20.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 each semi-conical section 30 and 32 has an upper conical portion 36 and 38, respectively, and a lower conical portion 40 and 42, respectively, separated by a central horizontal opening 44 and 46, respectively, and the top surfaces 48 and 50 of the upper conical portions 36 and 38, respectively, are flattened so that they extend approximately in a horizontal plane. In addition, as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 5, each of the upper portions 36 and 38 has a forwardly extending vane 52 and 54, respectively, and horizontal slots 58 extend across the junctions of the three deflector sections 32, 34, and 36 above and below the axis of the sprinkler.

[0016] In a particular embodiment of the invention the sprinkler body 12 has an orifice 14 with a diameter of about 0.53 inch providing a K factor of about 8 and the sprinkler is arranged to protect an area extending about 14 feet forwardly and 14 feet to each side of the location of the sprinkler, providing extended coverage for ordinary hazard occupancies.

[0017] In the preferred embodiment the included angle of the conical surfaces 36, 38, 40 and 42 in the semi-conical sections 30 and 32 is in a range from about 20° to about 60°, preferably about 30° to about 50° and desirably about 40°, and the width of the deflector between opposite ends of the conical surfaces is in a range from about 1.7 inches to about 2.05 inches, preferably, about 1.8 to about 1.95 inches, and desirably about 1.87 inches, while the flattened horizontal top portions 48 and 50 extend beyond the edges of the conical surfaces by about 0.10 inch to about 0.40 inch, preferably about 0.20 inch to about 0.30 inch and desirably about 0.25 inch.

[0018] In addition, the width of the center section 34 is about 0.4 inch to about 0.6 inch, desirably about 0.5 inch and the height of the central openings 44 and 46 is about 0.2 inch to about 0.3 inch, desirably about 0.25 inch while the length of the vanes 52 and 54 in the forward direction is about 0.15 inch to about 0.25 inch, preferably about 0.2 inch.

[0019] With this arrangement effective extended coverage ordinary hazard protection for spaces extending about 14 feet forwardly and 14 feet to each side of each sprinkler is provided, thereby permitting such sprinklers to be spaced at about 28 foot intervals along a hall, for example.

[0020] Although the invention has been described herein with reference to specific embodiments, many modifications and variations therein will readily occur to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, all such variations and modifications are included within the intended scope of the invention.