Sprinkler Head Guide Ring Deflector Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fire-extinguishing sprinkler heads face challenges in ensuring smooth movement of the deflector within the frame during activation, leading to potential misalignment and reduced effectiveness in dispersing fire-extinguishing liquid.
Innovation Solution
The sprinkler head design incorporates a guide ring that moves along the strut and between the strut tips and vanes, restricting lateral misalignment and inclination, along with a support ring to enhance strength and stability, allowing the deflector to move to a predetermined position for effective sprinkling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the deflector is designed to move within the frame during activation, then the sprinkler head can disperse fire-extinguishing liquid effectively, but the deflector may become misaligned or inclined causing reduced effectiveness
Solution Approach 1:
The guide ring serves as an intermediary component between the deflector and the frame. It moves along the struts during activation, guiding the deflector's movement while restricting lateral misalignment and inclination. This mediator enables smooth deflector movement while maintaining proper alignment, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and reliability.
2Area of stationary object
If the components are closely packed to reduce radial dimension, then the outside diameter is minimized, but the deflector requires more space to move during activation
Solution Approach 1:
The guide ring utilizes the axial dimension by moving along the struts in the axial direction during activation. This allows the deflector to achieve the necessary movement space without increasing the radial dimension, effectively resolving the contradiction between minimizing outside diameter and providing sufficient movement space.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide ring is designed to be movable along the struts, transitioning from a static constraint to a dynamic guide. This dynamic structure allows the deflector to move smoothly during activation while maintaining close packing of components, enabling both compact radial dimension and adequate movement space.
3Reliability
If the guide ring restricts lateral misalignment of the deflector, then alignment reliability is improved, but the guide ring may interfere with the movement of the strut
Solution Approach 1:
The guide ring is segmented with guide recessed portions that correspond to the strut positions. This segmentation allows the guide ring to restrict lateral misalignment while providing clear paths for the struts to move along, eliminating interference between the guide ring and strut movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide ring has different local properties: the guide recessed portions allow free movement in the axial direction for the struts, while the solid portions restrict lateral misalignment of the deflector. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction between alignment reliability and component interaction.
Data Source
AI summary
A sprinkler head includes a main body, a valve element, a heat-sensitive disassembling unit, a deflector, at least one strut, and a guide ring. The body includes a nozzle from which fire-extinguishing liquid is discharged. The disassembling unit keeps the nozzle closed with the valve element and opens the nozzle through a breakdown action during activation. The deflector has a receiving surface (valve-element supporting portion) and vanes extending from the receiving surface toward the body. The deflector scatters, outward in axis crossing directions of the nozzle, the fire-extinguishing liquid discharged from the nozzle and received by the receiving surface. The least one strut holds the deflector scattering the fire-extinguishing liquid. The guide ring is movable along the at least one strut and between a tip (main-body-side end portion) of the at least one strut and tips of the vanes.