Patent Issued for Radiation-Activated Sprinkler and Related Methods (USPTO 9452305)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Journal of Engineering -- Factory Mutual Insurance Company (Johnston, RI) has been issued patent number 9452305, according to news reporting originating out of Alexandria, Virginia, by VerticalNews editors.

The patent's inventors are De Vries, Jaap (South Easton, MA); Wieczorek, Christopher J. (Foxboro, MA); Ditch, Benjamin D. (Shrewsbury, MA); D'Aniello, Stephen P. (Franklin, MA); LeBlanc, John A. (Milford, MA).

This patent was filed on August 4, 2014 and was published online on September 27, 2016.

From the background information supplied by the inventors, news correspondents obtained the following quote: "Conventional fire protection sprinklers operate primarily due to convective flow of hot gasses past the sprinkler's fusible element. This can render conventional sprinklers ineffective in situations where hot gasses do not reach the fusible element. For example, conventional sprinklers may be ineffective in areas where hot ceiling layers are absent, such as, in installations under grated mezzanines. Similarly, conventional sprinklers may also be ineffective for protecting external, covered storage, and specific hazards such as lubrication oil systems and combustible walls."

Supplementing the background information on this patent, VerticalNews reporters also obtained the inventors' summary information for this patent: "Embodiments of the present invention provide a fire protection sprinkler that operates due to exposure to thermal radiation. Embodiments of the fire protection sprinkler can provide fire protection options where previously none existed, for example, in applications where no convective ceiling layer is formed.

"According to an embodiment, a radiation-activated sprinkler comprises: a sprinkler body defining a main orifice, the main orifice adapted to couple to a source of pressurized liquid; a deflector coupled to the body; a valve adapted to seat on the main orifice to block the source of pressurized liquid; a linkage mechanism adapted to retain the valve on the main orifice; and one or more fusible links coupled to the linkage mechanism, wherein the one or more fusible links are located substantially externally with respect to the sprinkler body, deflector, and linkage mechanism; wherein the one or more fusible links are adapted to release when exposed to an amount of radiation that exceeds a predetermined threshold, thereby releasing the linkage mechanism from the valve.

"According to an embodiment, a method of activating a sprinkler comprises: providing a sprinkler including a main orifice coupled to a supply of fluid, a valve seated on the main orifice, and one or more fusible links coupled to the valve; and subjecting the sprinkler to radiation, wherein exposure to external radiation that exceeds a predetermined threshold causes one or more of the fusible links to melt, whereby the valve displaces from the main orifice and the fluid expels from the main orifice."

For the URL and additional information on this patent, see: De Vries, Jaap; Wieczorek, Christopher J.; Ditch, Benjamin D.; D'Aniello, Stephen P.; LeBlanc, John A.. Radiation-Activated Sprinkler and Related Methods. U.S. Patent Number 9452305, filed August 4, 2014, and published online on September 27, 2016. Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=9452305.PN.&OS=PN/9452305RS=PN/9452305

Keywords for this news article include: Financial Companies, Insurance Companies, Insurance Broker Companies, Factory Mutual Insurance Company.

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