JP7536637B2 - Heat-sensitive release joint - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a heat-sensitive release joint, and more specifically, to a heat-sensitive release joint used to connect the secondary piping and an open-type sprinkler head in a negative pressure wet pre-action sprinkler system in which the secondary piping is filled with water and the secondary piping is kept under negative pressure by a vacuum pump except when a fire occurs, so that even if the secondary piping is damaged, the filled water (fire extinguishing agent) does not leak out and water damage does not occur.

In a non-negative pressure wet pre-action sprinkler system in which the secondary piping is normally filled with water, the secondary piping 100 is generally arranged between the ceiling surface W of the structure and an obstacle D such as a duct arranged below the ceiling surface W of the structure, as shown in FIG.

The secondary piping 100 is connected to closed sprinkler heads 101 between the ceiling surface W of the structure and an obstacle D such as a duct, and also below the obstacle D such as a duct.

In this case, however, a sprinkler head 101 that is between the ceiling surface W of the structure and an obstacle D such as a duct, and has an obstacle D such as a duct located below, can sense the heat and spray water, but the sprayed water will not fall effectively because it is blocked by the obstacle such as the duct below.

On the other hand, a sprinkler head 101 located below an obstacle D such as a duct cannot spray water because the hot air current caused by the fire flows onto the ceiling surface of the structure, so heat does not accumulate around the sprinkler head itself and the sprinkler head is therefore unable to detect the heat. For these reasons, it is not possible to spray sufficient water below an obstacle D such as a duct.

As a means to solve this problem, the use of heat-sensitive release joints for piping, as shown in Figure 9, has been considered and put to practical use. In Figure 9, 102 is a heat-sensitive release joint placed in the rising part of the secondary piping 100 between the ceiling surface W of the building frame and an obstacle D such as a duct. When the heat of a fire causes the heat-sensitive block to melt, deform or disappear and it no longer functions as a valve body deterrent, and when pressurized water for fire extinguishing flows in from the secondary piping, the valve body opens and water is discharged from an open-type sprinkler head 103 placed below the obstacle D such as a duct. 104 is a pipe connected to the open-type sprinkler head 103. In such a case, sufficient water can be discharged from the open-type sprinkler head 103 located below the obstacle D such as a duct in the event of a fire.

Figures 10 to 12 show the configuration of the heat-sensitive release joint 102 and show the case where it is implemented in a non-negative pressure wet sprinkler system.

The heat-sensitive open joint 102 has a primary side flow passage 102B connected to the secondary side piping 100 and a secondary side flow passage 102C connected to the piping 104 connected to the open type sprinkler head 103, which are arranged perpendicularly inside the joint body 102A. Between the primary side flow passage 102B and the secondary side flow passage 102C, a valve plate 102D' and a valve rod 102D" extending above the joint body 102A are arranged, and the valve plate 102D' arranges a valve body 102D that blocks the primary side flow passage 102B and the secondary side flow passage 102C, and a heat-sensitive block receiving opening 102A' is arranged on the upper part of the valve rod 102D" in the joint body 102A. A heat-sensitive block 102E is fitted into the heat-sensitive block receiving opening 102A'. The heat-sensitive block 102E melts, deforms or disappears due to the heat of the fire and no longer functions as a valve body inhibitor when it comes into contact with the upper end of the valve rod 102D'' and presses the valve rod 102D'' downward. As shown in FIG. 12, when the heat-sensitive block 102E no longer functions as an inhibitor due to the heat of the fire and pressurized water PW for extinguishing fire flows into the primary flow path 102B, the inflowing pressurized water PW pushes up the valve body 102D, and the primary flow path 102B and the secondary flow path 102C are connected.

As described above, such a heat-sensitive release joint 102 is effective when used in a non-negative pressure type wet sprinkler system. However, it cannot be used as is in a negative pressure type wet sprinkler system.

This is because, in the case of a negative pressure wet pre-action sprinkler system, the water filled in the secondary piping is in a state of negative pressure except when a fire occurs. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13, for example, during monitoring, if the heat-sensitive block 102E ceases to function as a valve body restrainer for some reason other than a fire, even though the valve rod 102D'' is no longer pressed from above by the heat-sensitive block 102E, the water in the primary flow path 102B is in a state of negative pressure lower than atmospheric pressure, so the valve plate 102D' of the valve body 102D remains stuck to the outlet of the primary flow path 102B.

In this case, the valve body 102D is not opened, so there is no water damage, but there is a risk that the failure of the heat-sensitive release joint will not be known and will be left as it is without being repaired. In addition, the area where the heat-sensitive release joint is used is difficult to see because it is hidden by obstacles such as ducts, making visual inspection difficult. And if it is not known that the valve plate 102D' of the valve body 102D remains attached to the outlet of the primary side flow path 102B when the heat-sensitive release joint is not held down by the heat-sensitive block 102E as described above, there is a risk that water will be mistakenly discharged from the open type sprinkler head to which the heat-sensitive release joint is connected if another closed type sprinkler head or heat-sensitive release joint installed in the same system is activated in the event of an actual fire, or if the water flow detection device is opened during inspection, etc.

For these reasons, there is a demand for a heat-sensitive release joint that can be used in the same position as the conventional heat-sensitive release joint in negative pressure wet pre-action sprinkler systems.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a heat-sensitive release joint that can be used in the same position as the conventional heat-sensitive release joint in a negative pressure wet pre-action sprinkler system.

The gist of the present invention is a heat-sensitive opening joint for use in a negative pressure wet pre-action sprinkler system, in which a primary flow passage connecting to a secondary piping of the sprinkler system and a secondary flow passage connecting to an open type sprinkler head are provided inside the joint body so as to be perpendicular to each other, and between the primary flow passage and the secondary flow passage, a valve plate and a valve rod extending above the joint body are provided, and the valve plate is provided with a valve body that blocks the primary flow passage and the secondary flow passage, and a spring is used to give the valve body a tendency to move in the valve opening direction, and further a heat-sensitive block receiving opening is provided on the upper part of the valve rod in the joint body. The heat-sensitive release joint has a mouth portion, and a heat-sensitive block receiving opening is fitted with a heat-sensitive block that abuts against the upper end of the valve rod and, when the movement of the valve rod in the valve opening direction is restricted, melts, deforms or disappears due to the heat of a fire and no longer functions as a restraining body for the valve body, so that when the heat-sensitive block no longer functions as a restraining body for the valve body, the primary side flow path and the secondary side flow path are connected, and further, the valve body is configured so that the valve plate and valve rod are separate bodies, and a protrusion provided on the lower end of the valve rod is fitted removably into an opening provided in the center of the valve plate .

Since the present invention is configured as described above, when the heat-sensitive block fails to function as a valve disc restrainer for some reason other than the heat of a fire during monitoring other than during a fire, the spring forcibly moves only the valve rod upward to connect the primary and secondary flow paths even if the water in the primary flow path is under negative pressure, and this allows air to be sucked from the secondary flow path to the primary flow path, so that it is possible to detect from the outside, through the operation of sucking in air, that the heat-sensitive block is not functioning as a valve disc restrainer for some reason other than the heat of a fire during monitoring and that the heat-sensitive release joint is broken. This makes it possible to use the negative pressure wet pre-action sprinkler system in the same position as a conventional heat-sensitive release joint.

In addition, since the valve body is made up of a valve plate and a valve rod, and a protrusion at the lower end of the valve rod is detachably fitted into an opening in the center of the valve plate, when the heat-sensitive block no longer functions as a valve body restraint, it is possible to move only the valve rod and use a weak spring, which is advantageous when the size of the heat-sensitive release joint becomes large and the flow rates of the primary and secondary flow paths become large, resulting in a large valve plate. In such a case, the primary and secondary flow paths are connected through the opening in the valve plate.

FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional side view of an example of the present invention in which the valve plate and the valve rod are integrated together . 13 is a central longitudinal sectional side view showing a state in which the heat-sensitive block no longer functions as a restraining body for the valve body during monitoring. FIG. FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional side view of the same in a state in which a fire has occurred. FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional side view of the heat-sensitive opening joint according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a central longitudinal sectional side view showing a state in which the heat-sensitive block no longer functions as a restraining body for the valve body during monitoring (before the water pump is activated). FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional side view of the same in the event of a fire (after the water pump is activated). FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a negative pressure wet pre-action sprinkler system incorporating a heat-sensitive release joint according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the arrangement of secondary piping and closed-type sprinkler heads in a wet pre-action sprinkler system. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the arrangement of a secondary piping, a heat-sensitive opening joint, and an open-type sprinkler head in a conventional non-negative pressure wet sprinkler system. FIG. 1 is a side view of a conventional heat-sensitive release joint. FIG. FIG. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional side view of the same in a state in which a fire has occurred. This is a central longitudinal side view showing a state in which the heat-sensitive block no longer functions as a valve body restraint during monitoring when the same heat-sensitive release joint is used in a negative pressure wet pre-action sprinkler system.

Below, the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, an embodiment of the present invention in which the valve plate and the valve rod are integrated together will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a heat-sensitive release joint. The heat-sensitive release joint 1 has a primary flow passage 3 connected to the secondary piping of a sprinkler system and a secondary flow passage 4 connected to an open-type sprinkler head, which are provided perpendicularly inside a joint body 2, and is made up of a valve plate 5A and a valve rod 5B extending above the joint body 2 between the primary flow passage 3 and the secondary flow passage 4. The valve plate 5A has a valve body 5 that blocks the primary flow passage 3 and the secondary flow passage 4, and a spring (coil spring) 6 is used to give the valve body 5 a tendency to move in the valve opening direction. A heat-sensitive block receiving opening 7 is provided on the upper part of the valve rod 5B in the fitting body 2, and a heat-sensitive block 8 is fitted into the heat-sensitive block receiving opening 7, which abuts the upper end of the valve rod 5B and restricts the movement of the valve rod 5B in the valve opening direction.The heat-sensitive block 8 melts, deforms or disappears due to the heat of a fire and no longer functions as a restraining body for the valve body, so that when the heat-sensitive block 8 no longer functions as a restraining body for the valve body, the primary side flow path 3 and the secondary side flow path 4 are connected.

In this embodiment , the valve body 5 is integral with a valve plate 5A and a valve rod 5B.

The strength of the spring 6 must be equal to or less than the assembly load at which the heat-sensitive block 8 does not fall off the heat-sensitive block receiving opening 7 due to the heat of a fire, and must have the force to reliably pull up the valve body 5 when the heat-sensitive block 8 falls off, even when the primary flow path 3 is in a negative pressure environment of -0.08 MPa or less.

The heat-sensitive block 8 may be any material that melts, deforms, or disappears due to the heat of a fire. For example, it may be made of a heat-soluble material (lead alloy, solder, etc.), or it may be a sealed glass tube filled with a liquid that vaporizes at low temperatures, such as alcohol. In the former case, it will melt or deform and fall off due to the heat of a fire, and in the latter case, the glass tube will burst and disappear due to the heat of a fire.

The heat-sensitive release joint 1 in this example is arranged in a negative pressure type wet sprinkler system as shown in Figure 7 at a position similar to the position of use of the heat-sensitive release joint in the conventional non-negative pressure type wet sprinkler system as shown in Figure 9.

FIG. 7 will now be briefly described.
In Fig. 7, reference numeral 200 denotes a negative pressure wet pre-action sprinkler system. Reference numeral 201 denotes a primary side pipe that rises from a fire extinguishing water tank 202 via a water pump 203. Reference numeral 204 denotes a secondary side pipe that is connected to the primary side pipe 201 and is piped to a closed type sprinkler head 205.

206 is a pre-activation water flow detection device that is installed between the primary pipe 201 and the secondary pipe 204 and is kept closed except when a fire occurs. 207 is a fire detector that is installed in the ceiling and detects a fire and sends a fire signal.

208 is a suction pipe whose one end 208A is connected to the secondary side piping 204, and whose other end 208B is connected to an intake pipe 210 that rises from a vacuum pump 209 and is piped, and a drain pipe 211 whose lower end hangs down to the fire extinguishing water tank 202.

212 is a flow control valve installed in the middle of the suction pipe 208, which allows a small amount of flow during normal monitoring of the negative pressure state in the secondary piping 204, and closes when water is discharged due to an abnormality such as pipe breakage or sprinkler head breakage. 213 is a vacuum switch that detects the pressure in the secondary piping 204, which is installed in the middle of the suction pipe 208 at a position closer to the secondary piping 204 than the flow control valve 212.

214 is a signal receiving panel that receives a fire signal from the fire detector 207 when a fire occurs and transmits the signal to a control panel described later. 215 is a control panel that receives a signal from the signal receiving panel 214, opens the pre-activation water flow detection device 206 to connect the primary side pipe 201 and the secondary side pipe 204, and operates the water pump 203. 216 is a water-air separator installed at the connection part of the intake pipe 210 to the suction pipe 208, and 217 is a check valve installed at the connection part of the suction pipe 208 between the intake pipe 210 and the drain pipe 211.

When there is no fire, both the primary pipe 201 and the secondary pipe 204 are filled with water, and the inside of the secondary pipe 204 is made negative pressure by the vacuum pump 209 via the suction pipe 208 and the intake pipe 210.

The heat-sensitive open joint 1 in this embodiment is arranged to join the rising pipe 204A of the secondary side pipe 204 toward the ceiling side and the downward hanging pipe 10 connected to the open type sprinkler head 9.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 1 shows the state of the heat-sensitive release joint 1 during monitoring, in which the primary flow path 3 and the secondary flow path 4 are blocked by the valve plate 5A of the valve body 5, and this state is maintained by pushing up the heat-sensitive block 8.

Figure 3 shows the state of the heat-sensitive release joint 1 during a fire. When the heat-sensitive block 8 melts, deforms, or disappears due to the heat of the fire and no longer functions as a valve restraining body, the valve body 5 is pulled up, and the primary flow path 3 and secondary flow path 4 are connected. Then, the pressurized water PW for fire extinguishing that flows into the primary flow path 3 flows into the secondary flow path 4.

Figure 2 also shows the state in which the heat-sensitive block 8 no longer functions as a valve body restraint when the heat-sensitive release joint 1 is monitored. In this case, the valve body 5, with the valve plate 5A stuck to the outlet of the primary flow path 3, is forcibly pulled up by the force of the spring 6, connecting the primary flow path 3 and the secondary flow path 4. This also makes it possible to draw air from the secondary flow path 4 to the primary flow path 3, so that the heat-sensitive block 8 no longer functions as a valve body restraint due to causes other than the heat of a fire during monitoring, and it is possible to detect from the outside through the operation of drawing in air that the heat-sensitive release joint is broken.

Next, an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 6 will be described.

1 to 3 in that the valve body 5 in the embodiment of the present invention is formed by separating the valve plate 5A and the valve rod 5B, and a protrusion 5B' provided at the lower end of the valve rod 5B is detachably fitted into an opening 5A' provided in the center of the valve plate 5A. Since the other configurations are the same as those in the example of Figures 1 to 3 , the same members are given the same reference numerals and detailed explanations are omitted.

Figure 4 shows the state of the heat-sensitive release joint 1 during monitoring, in which the primary flow path 3 and the secondary flow path 4 are blocked by the valve plate 5A of the valve body 5, and this state is maintained by pressing down the heat-sensitive block 8.

Figure 6 shows the state of the heat-sensitive release joint 1 during a fire. When the heat-sensitive block 8 melts, deforms, or disappears due to the heat of the fire and no longer functions as a valve restraint, the valve body 5 is pulled up, and at the same time, pressurized water PW for fire extinguishing flows into the primary flow path 3. This pressurized water PW pushes up the valve plate 5A of the valve body 5, connecting the primary flow path 3 and the secondary flow path 4. A part of the valve plate 5A is pivotally attached to the outlet of the primary flow path 3 so that it can be opened and closed without falling off.

Figure 5 also shows a state in which the heat-sensitive block 8 no longer functions as a valve body restraint when the heat-sensitive release joint 1 is monitored. In this case, when the valve plate 5A of the valve body 5 is stuck to the outlet of the primary flow path 3, only the valve rod 5B is pulled upward by the force of the spring 6. In this case, the primary flow path 3 and the secondary flow path 4 are in communication through the opening 5A' provided in the valve plate 5A. Furthermore, air can be sucked from the secondary flow path 4 to the primary flow path 3 through the opening 5A' of the valve plate 5A, so that the water (extinguishing agent) filled in the secondary piping does not flow into the open head and cause water damage.

Since the embodiment of the present invention is as described above, when the heat-sensitive block 8 fails to function as a valve disc restrainer due to some cause other than fire (such as an external force) during monitoring other than fire, even if the water in the primary flow path 3 is in a negative pressure state, the spring 6 forcibly moves only the valve rod 5B of the valve body 5 upward so that the primary flow path 3 and the secondary flow path 4 communicate with each other, and this also makes it possible to suck air from the secondary flow path 4 side to the primary flow path 3 side, so that it is possible to detect from the outside through the operation of sucking in air that the heat-sensitive block 8 has failed to function as a valve disc restrainer due to some cause other than fire heat during monitoring and that the heat-sensitive release joint 1 has failed. This makes it possible to use the negative pressure type wet pre-action sprinkler system in the same position as a conventional heat-sensitive release joint.

In addition, the valve body 5 is made up of a valve plate 5A and a valve rod 5B which are separate bodies, and a protrusion 5B' at the lower end of the valve rod 5B is detachably fitted into an opening 5A' at the center of the valve plate 5A, so that when the heat-sensitive block 8 no longer functions as a valve body restraining body, only the valve rod 5B can be moved, allowing a weak spring 6 to cope with this, which is advantageous when the size of the heat-sensitive release joint 1 becomes large, and the flow rates of the primary flow path 3 and the secondary flow path 4 increase, resulting in a large valve plate 5A. In such a case, the primary flow path 3 and the secondary flow path 4 are in communication through the opening 5A' provided in the valve plate 5A.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 heat-sensitive release joint 2 joint body 3 primary flow passage 4 secondary flow passage 5 valve body 5A valve plate 5A' opening 5B valve rod 5B' projection 6 spring 7 heat-sensitive block receiving opening 8 heat-sensitive block

Claims (1)

A heat-sensitive release joint for use in a negative pressure type wet pre-action sprinkler system, the joint body being provided with a primary flow passage connecting to a secondary piping of the sprinkler system and a secondary flow passage connecting to an open type sprinkler head, the primary flow passage and the secondary flow passage being perpendicular to each other, the primary flow passage and the secondary flow passage being provided with a valve plate and a valve rod extending above the joint body, the valve plate being provided with a valve body for blocking the primary flow passage and the secondary flow passage, and a spring is provided to give the valve body a tendency to move in the valve opening direction, and a heat-sensitive block receiving opening is provided above the valve rod in the joint body, A heat-sensitive block is fitted into the heat-sensitive block receiving opening, and when the heat-sensitive block abuts against the upper end of the valve rod and restricts the movement of the valve rod in the valve opening direction, the heat-sensitive block melts, deforms or disappears due to the heat of a fire and no longer functions as a restraining body for the valve body, so that when the heat-sensitive block no longer functions as a restraining body for the valve body, the primary side flow path and the secondary side flow path are connected, and further, the valve body is configured so that the valve plate and valve rod are separate bodies, and a protrusion provided on the lower end of the valve rod is fitted removably into an opening provided in the center of the valve plate .

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