Description SPRINKLER HEAD

Technical Field

[1] The present invention relates to a sprinkler head, and more particularly, to a sprinkler head that is provided with a fuse having an F-shaped lever and a P-shaped lever, thereby performing a water spray operation rapidly and accurately, while preventing the leakage of water from the sprinkler head and the malfunction of the sprinkler head.

[2]

Background Art

[3] Generally, so as to extinguish a fire as soon as possible when the fire breaks out a plurality of sprinklers are located on high-storied buildings or factory buildings of a predetermined size. The fire-extinguishing sprinklers are used for various purposes in accordance with the installing methods thereof and the purposes of the use of sprinkler heads, but there occur some problems that the height of the ceiling of the structure is restricted and the sprinkler head is malfunctioned in accordance with the shapes of the sprinkler head.

[4] FIG.1 is a sectional view showing a conventional fuse-type sprinkler head using a fusible metal.

[5] The conventional fuse-type sprinkler head includes a nozzle part 120 connected to a water supply pipe, a head part 140 coupled to the nozzle part 120 and having valve means adapted to be opened and closed to permit and stop the supply of water from the nozzle part 120; and a water spray plate 150 connected to one side of the head part 140 so as to spray the water supplied from the nozzle part 120 by the opening of the valve means. The valve means is connected to a sealing cap 130 adapted to close a water drain outlet 110 and has a plurality of levers 141, 142 and 143 supported by means of a support rod 145 in such a manner as to allow the sealing cap 130 to be pressurized against the water drain outlet 110 thus to keep the sealing state between the sealing cap 130 and the front distal end of the nozzle part 120 and has a heat fusible metal 144 disposed and connected to the plurality of levers 141, 142 and 143.

[6] According to the conventional sprinkler head under the above-mentioned configuration, when a fire occurs to raise a room temperature over a reference value, the fusible metal 144 is melted such that the balancing among the levers 141, 142 and 143 is broken to make the sealing cap 130 fall down, which allows the water drain outlet 110 to be opened thus to expel fire-extinguishing water therefrom.

[7] According to the conventional practices, however, the structure of the levers becomes complicated, thereby making it hard to install the levers. The water pressure applied from the upper side of the sprinkler head and the force pushing from the lower side of the sprinkler head become strong, and therefore, if the sprinkler head is not used for a long period of time, the levers are pushed and inserted into the fusible metal, so that the sealing cap is not brought into close contact with the water drain outlet, thereby causing water leakage therefrom. Also, the levers may be bent by the pressures of the upper and lower sides of the sprinkler head.

[8]

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem

[9] Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a sprinkler head including a fuse having an F-shaped lever and a P-shaped lever.

[10] It is another object of the present invention to provide a sprinkler head including reinforcements attached on each of an F-shaped lever and a P-shaped lever.

[H]

Technical Solution

[12] To accomplish the above objects, according to the present invention, there is pr ovided a sprinkler head including: a frame coupled to a water drain passageway; a water spray plate coupled to the distal end of the frame; a fuse having a first lever and a second lever disposed supportedly by a height-adjusting means disposed at the center of the water spray plate; and a sealing cap adapted to close a water drain outlet of the water drain passageway in such a manner as to be supported by means of the fuse.

[13] According to the present invention, desirably, the first lever is of an approximately F- like shape in such a manner as to be bent to an approximately π -like shape at one end thereof and to support the sealing cap at the other end thereof.

[14] According to the present invention, desirably, the first lever has a support stand formed protrudedly from the middle portion thereof and reinforcements attached at the both sides of the middle portion thereof.

[15] According to the present invention, desirably, the second lever is of an approximately P- like shape in such a manner as to be bent to an approximately τ= -like shape at one end thereof and to be supported by means of a support stand at the other

end thereof, and has reinforcements attached at the both sides thereof. [16] According to the present invention, desirably, the second lever has a groove formed at one end thereof in such a manner as to insert the height-adjusting means protruded from the center of the water spray plate thereinto. [17] According to the present invention, desirably, the first lever and the second lever are coupled to each other by means of a fusible metal.

Advantageous Effects

[18] As set forth in the foregoing, the sprinkler head according to the present invention is provided with the fuse having the F-shaped lever and the P-shaped lever, such that the structure of the sprinkler head is simplified to allow the installation to be very ease. [19] In addition, the sprinkler head according to the present invention is provided with the reinforcements attached on each of the F-shaped lever and the P-shaped lever, so as to prevent the levers from being further bent and deformed, thereby keeping water from being leaked. [20]

Brief Description of the Drawings [21] FIG.1 is a sectional view showing a conventional fuse-type sprinkler head using a fusible metal; [22] FIG.2 is a sectional view showing a sprinkler head according to the present invention, which is ready to operate; [23] FIG.3 is a sectional view showing the sprinkler head according to the present invention, which is in an operating state; [24] FIG.4 is a perspective view showing an F-shaped lever of the sprinkler head according to the present invention; [25] FIG.5 is a perspective view showing a P-shaped lever of the sprinkler head according to the present invention; and [26] FIG.6 is a sectional view showing a fuse of the sprinkler head according to the present invention. [27]

[28] <Description on main reference numerals>

[29] 200: head 210: sealing cap

[30] 220: frame 230: fuse

[31] 231 : F-shaped lever 236: P-shaped lever

[32] 240: fusible metal 250: height-adjusting means

[33] 260: water spray plate 300: water drain passageway

[34] 310: water drain outlet

[35]

Mode for the Invention

[36] The terms and the words used in the specification and the claims should not be limitedly construed with ordinary or lexical meaning. Rather, they should be construed with the meanings and the conceptions according to the idea of the present invention, abiding by the principle that an inventor can properly define the conception of terms so as to describe his or her own invention with the best manner.

[37] While the present invention has been described with reference to particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention.

[38] Hereinafter, the preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[39] FIG.2 is a sectional view showing a sprinkler head according to the present invention, which is ready to operate. According to the present invention, the sprinkler head 200 includes: a frame 220 coupled to a water drain passageway 300; a water spray plate 260 coupled to the distal end of the frame 220; a fuse 230 supported by a height-adjusting means 250 disposed at the center of the water spray plate 260; and a sealing cap 210 adapted to close a water drain outlet 310 of the water drain passageway 300 in such a manner as to be supported by means of the fuse 230.

[40] According to the present invention, the frame 220 is coupled to the water drain outlet

310 of the water drain passageway 300, and the water spray plate 260 is rivet-coupled to the distal end of the frame 220. The water drain outlet 310 is connected to the water drain passageway 300 and is adapted to drain water from the frame 220 in such a manner as to be closed by means of the sealing cap 210. The fuse 230 is disposed in the space between the sealing cap 210 and the water spray plate 260 and is supported by means of the height-adjusting means 250 disposed at the center of the water spray plate 260.

[41] In this case, the height- adjusting means 250 is desirably formed of a male screw. As the height-adjusting means 250 is fastened, the fuse 230 is moved upwardly so that the sealing cap 210 and the water drain outlet 310 are in a firm sealing state.

[42] The fuse 230 is composed of an F-shaped lever 231 and a P-shaped lever 236 in such

a manner as to be coupled to each other by means of a fusible metal 240. The F-shaped and P- shaped levers 231 and 236 have reinforcements adapted to prevent them from being bent, and the formation of the reinforcements on the F-shaped and P-shaped levers and the shapes of the F-shaped and P-shaped levers enable the fusible metal 240 to be disposed in the space therebetween, without any movement.

[43] According to the present invention, the fusible metal 240 is formed of low- temperature lead that has a melting temperature lower than a melting temperature (about 327 ⁰ C) of general lead, such that it can be rapidly responsive to the generation of a fire. Of course, the fusible metal may be formed of general lead, fusible alloy, solder, or an alloy made by mixing lead with thallium (Ti), polonium (Po), and bismuth (Bi) having a lower melting point than lead.

[44] FIG.3 is a sectional view showing the sprinkler head according to the present invention, which is at an operating state, wherein if a room temperature is raised over a reference value at the time of a fire occurrence, the fusible metal 240 is melted such that the F-shaped lever 231 and the P-shaped lever 236 are separated from each other to permit the sealing cap 210 to open the water drain outlet 310, thereby expelling water from the sprinkler head.

[45] FIG.4 is a perspective view showing the F-shaped lever of the sprinkler head according to the present invention. The F-shaped lever 231 is bent to an approximately π -like shape at one end thereof and has a support stand 233 formed protrudedly from the middle portion thereof in such a manner as to support the P-shaped lever 236. The F-shaped lever 231 has reinforcements 234 fixedly attached at the both sides of the middle portion thereof so as to prevent the F-shaped lever 231 from being bent by means of the pressures applied from the upper and lower portions thereof. Of course, the reinforcements 234 may have a higher thickness than the middle portion of the F- shaped lever 231 in such a manner as to be formed integrally with the F-shaped lever 231. The F-shaped lever 231 is adapted to support the sealing cap 210 at the other end thereof. In this case, the internal angle of the π -like bent portion of the F-shaped lever 231 includes the ranges of acute and obtuse angles.

[46] FIG.5 is a perspective view showing the P-shaped lever of the sprinkler head according to the present invention. The P-shaped lever 236 is supported by means of the support stand 233 of the F-shaped lever 231 at one end thereof and is bent to an approximately τ= -like shape at the other end thereof. The P-shaped lever 236 has a groove 238 formed on the top end member 237 in such a manner as to insert the height-adjusting means 250 protruded from the center of the water spray plate 260

thereinto. The P-shaped lever 236 has opposing reinforcements 239 fixedly attached on the τ= -like bent both sides thereof in such a manner as to be extended longitudinally from the top end member 237, such that even though a relatively strong pressure is applied from the upper and lower portions of the P-shaped lever 236, the τ= -like bent portion of the P-shaped lever 236 can be maintained at its original state.

[47] FIG.6 is a sectional view showing the fuse of the sprinkler head according to the present invention. The F-shaped lever 231 and the P-shaped lever 236 are coupled by means of the fusible metal 236, thereby forming the fuse 230. In more detail, the P- shaped lever 236 is supported at one end thereof by means of the support stand 232 of the F-shaped lever 231, and a top end member 232 of the F-shaped lever 231 is coupled to the top end member 237 of the P-shaped lever 236 by means of the fusible metal 240, thereby forming the fuse 230. At this time, the space where the fusible metal 240 is positioned has a width in a range of 1 mm to 1.5 mm, which is maintained until the sprinkler head is really operated.

[48] The fuse 230 that is configured by the coupling of the F-shaped lever 231 and the P- shaped lever 236 supports the sealing cap 210 at one end thereof and is supported at the other end thereof by means of the height-adjusting means 250 disposed at the center of the water spray plate 260. As the height-adjusting means 250 is fastened, the fuse 230 is moved upwardly so that the sealing cap 210 is more firmly closed, and further, so as to prevent the fuse 230 from being bent and deformed by the lower side pressure applied from the height-adjusting means 250, the reinforcements 233 and 238 are provided on the both sides of the F-shaped lever 231 and the P-shaped lever 236. The formation of the reinforcements 233 and 238 keeps the fuse 230 from being deformed even on the application of the pressure from the sealing cap 210 and the height-adjusting means 250, such that the space where the fusible metal 240 is located can be always maintained.

[49] Although the present invention has been described with reference to several preferred embodiments, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications and variations may occur to those skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

[50]