Fluid sprinkling – spraying – and diffusing – With solid means as guard or protector
Reexamination Certificate
2002-03-14
2003-12-30
Evans, Robin O. (Department: 3752)
Fluid sprinkling, spraying, and diffusing
With solid means as guard or protector
C239S288300, C239S288500, C169S037000, C169S038000, C169S041000, C169S042000, C169S056000, C169S057000, C169S058000, C206S349000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06669111
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
This invention relates to protectors for protecting thermally responsive members of thermally operated sprinkler heads, and more particularly, to removable protectors for protecting thermally responsive members of sprinkler heads when a thermally responsive member is capable of making contact with an object external to the sprinkler head.
Thermally operated sprinklers are often installed in environments such as the walls or ceilings of commercial or residential buildings to reduce the possibility of fire, chemical reaction, or other high temperature or analogous condition. These types of sprinklers are normally fitted with at least one thermally responsive member such as a liquid tube or bimetallic strip which mechanically reacts to heat such as through breakage or thermal expansion to actuate other operating elements of the sprinkler during operation.
Most thermally responsive members are fragile and are subject to breakage during storage, transportation, mishandling, or installation. This is especially true when portions of a thermally responsive member are exposed to the environment and are likely to come into contact with objects that are external to the sprinkler head. The danger of dislodging or breaking a thermally responsive member can continue even after installation of a sprinkler head as additional items, such as wallboards, ceiling tiles/boards, escutcheon plates, lighting, or other fixtures or building materials, are installed in areas that are local to an installed sprinkler head. In most cases, damage or dislodging of the thermally responsive member requires the entire sprinkler head to be discarded and/or replaced, resulting in significant costs to the manufacturer, distributor, or installer.
A number of previous protectors have been designed to provide permanent, long-term protection for the thermally responsive members of mounted sprinkler heads. However, such designs have been limited in that they cannot be attached to a sprinkler head or provide protection for a thermally responsive member until after the sprinkler head has been installed. Generally, such designs do not permit an installation tool to engage the gripping surfaces of the sprinkler head while a protector is attached to the sprinkler head. Such previous designs have also been limited in that easy or single handed protector removal is either difficult or impossible.
Other previous protectors have been designed to protect thermally responsive elements prior to the installation of a sprinkler head.
FIGS. 1A and 1B
of the drawings depict a sprinkler
20
having a prior art protector
22
.
FIG. 1A
is an exploded view of the sprinkler
20
which includes a sprinkler head
24
, mounting plate
26
, and escutcheon plate
28
. The prior art protector
22
is cup-shaped to accommodate the sprinkler head
24
. When the sprinkler
20
is assembled, the prior art protector
22
can be attached to the sprinkler head
24
by being inserted into the escutcheon plate
28
, as shown in FIG.
1
B. The outside surface of the prior art protector
22
is too large to fit within the inside diameter
84
of the escutcheon plate
28
, requiring the installer to compress the outside surface
23
of the prior art protector
22
during installation. When inserted, the outside surface
23
of the prior art protector
22
locks against the inside diameter
84
of the escutcheon plate
28
, allowing the prior art protector
22
to entirely conceal and thereby protect the sprinkler head
24
and its thermally responsive
30
member from damage.
There are multiple disadvantages to such existing protectors. As shown, the prior art protector
22
of
FIGS. 1A and 1B
requires the presence of an escutcheon plate
28
for the protector
22
to attach to the assembled sprinkler
20
, making the design unsuitable for protecting the thermally responsive members of sprinklers having no similar escutcheon plate. Such protectors also require a relatively large amount of structural material to provide both concealment of the sprinkler head
24
and sufficient structural form to remain rigid while extending from an inserted position, such as from within the inside diameter
84
of the escutcheon plate
28
.
In addition, such protectors are often incapable of providing continuous protection of a thermally responsive member up to and including the time of installation. For example, it is possible that the prior art protector
22
, when inserted into the inside diameter
84
of the escutcheon plate
28
, will slide out of the escutcheon plate
28
during transportation, handling, or storage, leaving the thermally responsive element
30
of the sprinkler head
24
unprotected. Since an escutcheon plate
28
must be mounted on the sprinkler
20
for the protector
22
to remain in place, the protector
22
cannot protect the sprinkler head
24
in circumstances where the escutcheon plate
28
must be omitted prior to the installation of other locally positioned building materials such as wall or ceiling boards. The entire sprinkler head
24
is concealed by such protectors, as best demonstrated in FIG.
1
B. This makes it impossible for an installer to gain access to the sprinkler head
24
as required during installation without first removing the protector
22
. For example, during installation of a sprinkler
20
, it is normally necessary for the installer to rotate or “screw” the threads
34
of the sprinkler head
24
into the threads of a connecting pipe. To do so requires the installer to rotate the sprinkler head
24
by hand, or, as demonstrated in
FIG. 4C
, to use an installation tool to engage the gripping surfaces
32
at base
33
of the sprinkler head
24
. Since the prior art protector
22
must be removed to permit access to any part of the sprinkler head
24
, the resulting lack of a protector allows the thermally responsive element
30
to be broken during installation from accidental contact with the installer or with an installation tool.
SUMMARY
The invention is a removable protector for protecting a thermally responsive member of a sprinkler head from damage while the protector is attached to the sprinkler head. The protector includes first and second shields each having protective surfaces. The protective surfaces are positioned to protect portions of the thermally responsive member that are exposed to potential contact with objects that are external to the sprinkler head and which could potentially come into contact with the sprinkler head during storage, transportation, mishandling, or installation. Each of the shields has a receiving end which slides over the sprinkler head during attachment of the protector. Each of the shields also has a connecting end attached to a cross member which connects the two shields and which provides an appropriate amount of spacing between the shields to permit clearance for accommodating various sprinkler head components when the protector is attached to the sprinkler head.
A releasable fastener attaches the protector to the sprinkler head and secures the major protective surfaces of the first and second shields proximate the exposed portion of the thermally responsive member of the sprinkler head while the protector is attached to the sprinkler head. The fastener is easily released by the installer and enables the protector to provide continuous protection of the thermally responsive member from external objects as long as the protector remains attached to the sprinkler head.
In some embodiments of this invention, the cross member of the protector has a width that is significantly less than the width of the sprinkler head at the deflector and base of the sprinkler head. As a result, the first and second shields are spaced apart from each other by an attachment clearance that, when attached to the sprinkler head, prevents the protector from slipping off of the protector. The shields and cross member can be constructed to have a variety of shapes and configurations to accommodate numerous variations in the shapes of sprinkler heads, including shapes and/or configurations
Dorich Thomas E.
Vinson Chris A.
Evans Robin O.
Goebel, Jr. Edward W.
MacDonald Illig Jones & Britton LLP
Polymer Molding, Inc.
Woodard, Esq. Jon L.
LandOfFree
Protector for thermally responsive member of sprinkler head does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Protector for thermally responsive member of sprinkler head, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Protector for thermally responsive member of sprinkler head will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3133720