Anti-skipping sprinkler shield blocks water droplets
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Solution Overview
Problem
Automatic sprinklers in fire protection systems can experience 'skipping' where water from an open sprinkler cools nearby closed sprinklers, delaying or preventing them from activating, due to water droplets carried by fire gases or smoke.
Innovation Solution
An anti-skipping sprinkler design featuring a circumferential shield around the heat-sensitive element that blocks water droplets while allowing airflow, preventing cooling and maintaining temperature sensitivity without interfering with the sprinkler's operation or spray pattern.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If sprinklers are installed at a certain distance from one another, then the possibility of skipping is reduced, but the coverage area and response effectiveness decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a shield as an intermediary component between the heat-sensitive element and water droplets. The shield blocks water droplets from reaching the heat-sensitive element while allowing heat transfer, thereby preventing skipping without requiring increased sprinkler spacing. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining both reliable activation and adequate coverage area.
2Reliability
If a shield is added to block water droplets, then skipping is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a thin shield structure that is simple in form but effective in function. The shield is designed as a thin component that blocks water droplets while minimizing interference with airflow and heat transfer. This approach prevents skipping without significantly increasing structural complexity, as the shield can be integrated into the existing sprinkler housing.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the shield is closed completely, then water droplet protection is maximized, but airflow to the heat sensitive element is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by creating selective permeability in the shield structure. The shield is designed with specific characteristics: it blocks water droplets (liquid phase) while allowing air flow (gas phase) and heat transfer (thermal energy). This is achieved through the shield's geometry, material properties, or opening patterns that differentiate between liquid and gas flow paths, enabling simultaneous protection and thermal response.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The anti-skipping shield effectively prevents water droplets from impinging on the heat-sensitive element, ensuring timely activation of sprinklers and maintaining their temperature sensitivity, thus reducing the occurrence of 'skipping' and ensuring effective fire suppression.
Implementation Method 1
a shield that extends circumferentially around the sprinkler's heat sensitive element and protects the heat sensitive element from impingement by water droplets
Implementation Method 2
The shield allows airflow to reach the heat sensitive element from above and below the shield, so as not to interfere with the heat sensitive element's ability to respond to temperature changes
Implementation Method 3
The trigger causes the sprinkler to automatically open and dispense water when the heat sensitive element reaches a predetermined temperature
Data Source
AI summary
An anti-skipping sprinkler includes a frame defining a central longitudinal axis, the frame including a base portion defining an orifice, and first and second arms extending away from the base portion and joining at a lower end of the frame; a deflector located at the lower end of the frame; an orifice plug held over the orifice by a trigger element including a heat sensitive element; and an anti-skipping shield extending circumferentially around the heat sensitive element. The anti-skipping shield has an upper end and a lower end. The anti-skipping shield is open at the upper end and at the lower end to permit airflow to the heat sensitive element around the upper end and the lower end of the anti-skipping shield.