Fire Protection Systems and Methods Using Fire Protection Devices Installed in Pipe Fittings With an Internally Housed Seal Member
Fire protection systems and methods having piping interconnections for connecting a fire protection device to a fluid source. The piping interconnections include a branch connector connected to a pipe header. The branch connector includes a tubular member and an internal annular seal member housed in an internal gasket chamber of the tubular member. A tool includes a nozzle member and a plunger member is provided for inserting the annular seal member into the internal gasket chamber of the branch connector. The nozzle member has a guidance channel and a plunger member with a handle. With the nozzle member inserted into the branch connector, the handle of the plunger member is axially depressed to eject the annular seal member into the internal gasket chamber of the branch connector.
1 - 32 . (canceled)
33 . A fire protection system, comprising:
a pipe header having an internal fluid passageway extending along a longitudinal axis, the pipe header having an opening formed on a wall of the pipe header;
a branch connector having a first terminal end, a second terminal end, an internally threaded surface extending from the second terminal end towards the first terminal end, and a branch connector gasket chamber including a first annular seal member housed and supported therein;
a pipe assembly including:
a pipe having an inlet end, an outlet end, an external inlet thread extending from the inlet end towards the outlet end, an external outlet thread, a thread stop positioned between the external inlet thread and the external outlet thread and including a stop surface that contacts a corresponding surface at the terminal end of the branch connector to control a depth the pipe is inserted into the branch connector, the stop surface being disposed between a minor diameter of the external inlet thread and an outer diameter of the pipe, having a geometry different than the external inlet thread, and having a maximum diameter less than a maximum diameter of the pipe and greater than a maximum thread diameter of the external inlet thread, and an internal surface;
a fitting including an internal inlet thread coupled to the external outlet thread of the pipe, a fitting gasket chamber, an internal outlet thread extending from an outlet fitting end to the fitting gasket chamber, and a tapered internal surface positioned between the internal inlet thread and the fitting gasket chamber; and
a second annular seal member positioned in the fitting gasket chamber, and
a fire protection device comprising:
a fire protection device having a frame body with a frame inlet, a frame outlet, and a frame internal passageway extending from the frame inlet to the frame outlet along a device axis, the frame body coupled to the fitting to compress the second annular seal member and establish the frame internal passageway of the fire protection device in fluid communication with the fluid passageway of the pipe header; and
a fluid deflection member coupled to the frame.
34 . The fire protection system of claim 33 , wherein the fitting gasket chamber includes a backstop surface for sealing engagement with the second annular seal member, the backstop surface being a planar surface circumscribed about and perpendicular to a central axis of the fitting.
35 . The fire protection system of claim 34 , wherein the fitting gasket chamber surface includes a first restriction defining a first internal diameter of the fitting; a second restriction axially spaced from the first restriction, the second restriction defining a second internal diameter of the fitting, the first and second restriction engaging a peripheral surface of the second annular seal member to support the second annular member; and a relief wall between the first restriction and the second restriction, the relief wall defining a third internal diameter of the fitting greater than the first and second internal diameters.
36 . The fire protection system of claim 35 , wherein the first restriction includes a first portion disposed perpendicular to the central axis and a second portion adjacent and contiguous with the backstop surface, the second portion of the first restriction being skewed with respect to the central axis.
37 . The fire protection system of claim 36 , wherein the branch connector gasket chamber has an identical geometry as the fitting gasket chamber of the fitting.
38 . The fire protection system of claim 33 , wherein the stop surface is an external thread of a larger thread size compared to the external inlet thread of the pipe.
39 . The fire protection system of claim 33 , wherein the surface of the thread stop is circumscribed about an outer diameter wall of the inlet fitting and extends perpendicular to a central pipe axis.
40 . The fire protection system of claim 39 , wherein the surface of the thread stop is circumscribed about an outer diameter wall of the pipe and extends at an angle relative to a central pipe axis.
41 . The fire protection system of claim 33 , wherein the pipe is a tubular member and wherein the internal surface of the pipe is a stepless surface extending from the inlet end to the outlet end.
42 - 82 . (canceled)