Cooling Tower Sprinkler Nozzle

Abstract

A cooling tower sprinkler nozzle adapted to discharge water over a comparatively narrow and relatively long path is disclosed in which a pair of arcuate splitter elements are positioned in spaced relation to the discharge orifice of the nozzle to create oppositely disposed divergent streams which conform generally with the discharge pattern of the sprinkler nozzle.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to fire protection sprinkler systems and more particularly to a novel cooling tower sprinkler nozzle useful in controlling fires in cooling towers used with air conditioning refrigerating equipment.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Prior structures of this type have employed water discharge nozzles capable of directing a stream of water on a substantial horizontal path and for example between the respective horizontal sections of a water cooling tower. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,208,534 in which a nozzle with an angularly disposed discharge bore is provided with a single off center splitter element relative to the stream discharged thereby.

Other constructions in the prior art include the nozzles of U.S. Pat. No. 517,411 which provides a splitter element adjustably mounted with respect to a discharge orifice and U.S. Pat. No. 1,288,123, 1,234,959, and 864,630 provide nozzles with fixed splitter elements. U.S. Pat. No. 1,862,396 discloses a nozzle with a conical splitter element.

This invention eliminates the problems inherent in installing and orienting the nozzles of the prior art in order to obtain a satisfactory discharge pattern in an elongated area of relative low height such as found in cooling tower constructions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A cooling tower sprinkler nozzle comprises a nozzle body having a flow passageway therethrough and a pair of arcuate splitter elements positioned in spaced relation to the orifice of the flow passageway and arranged to split off relatively smaller portions of a stream of fluid directed therebetween. The cooling tower sprinkler nozzle locates the pair of arcuate splitter elements in spaced relation to one another and in oppositely disposed relation to the center line of an extension of the flow passageway in the sprinkler nozzle. The splitter elements are part of a cylindrical pintle carried on the arms of the sprinkler frame which extends from the opposite sides of the sprinkler nozzle body.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the cooling tower sprinkler nozzle.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section on line 2--2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a bottom elevation of the cooling tower sprinkler nozzle of FIG. 1 and

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the cooling tower sprinkler nozzle mounted on a fluid supply pipe and illustrating the manner of water distribution therefrom.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

In its simplest form the cooling tower sprinkler nozzle comprises a nozzle body 10 having an exterior thread pattern 11 thereon, the nozzle body 10 defining a flow passageway 12 longitudinally thereof. As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings the nozzle body 10 has an inlet orifice 13 at its lower end and a discharge orifice 14 at its upper end. A pair of oppositely disposed arms 15 extend from the opposite sides of the nozzle body 10 in a semicircular pattern and are joined at their outermost ends by a pintle 16 the outer and inner surfaces of which are angularly disposed with respect to one another. The pintle 16 is cylindrical with a secondary flow passageway 17 axially thereof and the areas of the pintle 16 extending between the upper ends of the arms 15 of the sprinkler nozzle define arcuate, tapered splitter elements 18.

By referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings in particular it will be seen that a broken line has been positioned on the axial center line of the flow passageway 12 and that it extends through the pintle 16 and between the arcuate splitter elements 18 and thereby on the axial center line of the spaced pair of splitter elements 18. Thus a column of fluid directed through the discharge orifice 14 of the nozzle will generally pass through the secondary flow passageway 17 formed by the spaced splitter elements 18. The lower ends of the splitter elements 18 which are pointed toward the discharge orifice 14 are very narrow and the splitter elements 18 widen progressively upwardly therefrom.

It will thus be observed, by still referring to FIG. 2 of the drawings, that portions of a fluid stream emerging from the discharge orifice 14 will be split off by the pair of arcuate splitter elements 18 thus widening the discharge pattern of the sprinkler nozzle.

In FIG. 3 of the drawings, a bottom elevation of the sprinkler nozzle may be seen and the arcuate configuration of the splitter elements 18 may be clearly seen.

In FIG. 4 of the drawings, the cooling tower sprinkler nozzle body 10 is shown threadably engaged in a fitting F on a fluid supply pipe P and a column of fluid is illustrated with its central portion C flowing through the pintle 16 between the arcuate splitter elements 18 and outwardly in a desired long, narrow discharge pattern. A pair of split off discharge streams S will also be seen as occasioned by the conical splitter elements 18. The discharge pattern illustrated is particularly suitable for directing fire extinguishing fluids between the several sections of a cooling tower and/or into any other relatively elongated limited height area where fire protection sprinklers are indicated.

It will thus be seen that the cooling tower sprinkler nozzle disclosed herein provides an efficient and novel construction in that it may be largely formed from a conventional sprinkler head by the modification of the flow passageway therethrough and the alteration of the pintle area thereof to form the secondary flow passageway 17 of the invention and the spaced arcuate splitter members which are particularly suitable for splitting off desired portions of a main fluid stream to provide a desirable and improved discharge pattern. A particular advantage of the construction is its ability to shape the split off discharge patterns as illustrated at S in FIG. 4 of the drawings into spray patterns that are generally arcuate and thus conform desirably to the main cylindrical column of fluid directed from the nozzle.

Claims

Having thus described my invention, what I clam is:

1. A fire extinguishing sprinkler nozzle comprising a hollow nozzle body having a passageway therethrough with an inlet end and a discharge end, an attachment means at said inlet end thereof for connecting the nozzle body to a source of liquid and a discharge opening at the discharge end, a pair of diametrically opposed, arcuate, outwardly curved support arms integral with said body at one of their ends and terminating at their outer ends in a stream splitter comprising a pair of diametrically opposed splitter elements each having an outwardly tapered surface and each having a pointed edge toward the nozzle body and a relatively wide edge away from the nozzle body, said outwardly tapered surfaces curving outwardly and then inwardly from the pointed edge toward the wide edge, said stream splitter having a passageway therethrough in alignment with the discharge opening, the diameter of the discharge opening being substantially greater than the diameter of the passageway through the stream splitter so that a central portion of the liquid discharged from the discharge end of the body passes between the support arms and through the opening in the stream splitter, and the curved, outwardly tapered surfaces of the splitter elements diverting opposite portions of the liquid discharged from the discharge end of the body into separate, curved streams which conform substantially to the central portion.

2. The sprinkler nozzle of claim 1 and wherein the members splitter elements for splitting said stream of fluid are curved on their outer surfaces both circumferentially and longitudinally.

3. The sprinkler nozzle of claim 1 and wherein the nozzle body configuration adjacent its discharge end has converging walls reducing the diameter of the discharge opening with respect to the inlet of said nozzle body.

4. The sprinkler nozzle of claim 1 and wherein the inner cross sectional shape of said stream splitter is cylindrical.

5. The sprinkler nozzle of claim 1 and wherein the inner cross sectional shape of said stream splitter is cylindrical and the length thereof is greater than its diameter.