US3520345A - Storage rack and sprinkler arrangement - Google Patents

Description

y 1970 D. J. LILLIBRIDG E ET AL 3,520,345

STORAGE BACK AND SPRINKLER ARRANGEMENT Filed May 24.

INVENTORS 0. a. L/LL/BR/DGE LAWRENCE 6. PECK 92wm V WW/fr TOR/VEYS 3,520,345 STORAGE RACK AND SPRINKLER ARRANGEMENT Duane J. Lillibridge, St. Charles, and Lawrence G. Peck, Tinley Park, Ill., assignors to Unarco Industries, Inc., of the State of Illinois Filed May 24, 1968, Ser. No. 731,782 Int. Cl. E041) 1/92; A62c 31/24, 37/10 US. Cl. 159-2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A storage rack and sprinkler arrangement wherein vertical tubular supports, having alternately spaced sprinkler heads thereon, vertically support the racks while simultaneously conveying fire extinguishing liquid to the sprinkler heads. The vertical tubular supports and/ or other vertical rack supports may also support a roof and wall panels to provide a structure for enclosing the racks.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a storage rack and sprinkler arrangement and, more particularly, to a new and improved arrangement where the sprinkler fluid conveying conduits are arranged to act as support members themselves.

Fire sprinkler systems are usually required, by local law, to be installed in warehouse and other article storage areas. Previous sprinkler systems were installed as separate building accessories and were related to the articles stored and the racks that they were stored upon only to the extent that the sprinkler heads were generally located in the same building space as the articles and racks. Such prior arrangements necessitated the extensive repetitive use of separate structural construction materials to support the article storage racks, the roof and walls of the building and the sprinkler system itself. Such repetitive use of structural materials was wasteful of both time and materials. Moreover, the sprinkler heads were frequently located a substantial distance from the stored articles and their storage racks, thereby substantially reducing the systems effectiveness in the event of fire.

It is accordingly a principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved storage rack and sprinkler arrangement which substantially reduces the expenditure of both time and materials and in which the sprinkling assembly is itself utilized as a support structure.

It is also a principal object of the invention to provide a new and improved storage rack and sprinkler arrangement wherein the sprinkler heads are arranged in close proximity to the stored articles to provide an effective extinguishing arrangement in the event of fire.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a principal aspect, the invention takes the form of a new and improved interrelationship of a fire extinguishing assembly with the storage racks and the building structure which the system is designed to protect. Sprinkler heads are vertically arranged, proximate to the storage racks, upon an extinguishing fiuid carrying tubular support. The tubular support is positioned to support the storage racks and/ or the roof and side panels of a building structure which houses the storage racks.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood when considering the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the course of the description, reference will frequently be made to the attached drawings, in which:

United States Patent 0 FIG. 1 is an elevation view of a preferred embodiment of the storage rack, building structure and sprinkler arrangement of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of said embodiment of the invention taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevation view of the sprinkler and rack arrangement of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is an elevation view of the sprinkler and rack arrangement of FIG. 4 rotated DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, one or more metal storage racks 10 are provided for the storage of articles. Each of the storage racks 10 includes a plurality of vertical supports 12 and a plurality of horizontal supports 14 and 15 extending along the depth and length, respectively, of the racks 10. Additional ancillary supports 16 may be provided, if necessary, to provide a stable, rigid storage rack assembly. All of the horizontal supports 14 support storage shelves 18 which, in turn, carry either the articles themselves or pallets filled with the articles, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The storage racks 10 are further vertically supported by vertical tubular supports 20 which are an integral part of the racks and which are interspersed between the vertical supports 12, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. These tubular supports 20 perform both the latter mentioned support function as Well as operate to deliver fire extinguishing fluid, such as water, to the storage racks 10 and the articles stored thereon. To provide for ease in attaching the horizontal supports 14 to the tubular supports 20, the tubular supports are preferably square or rectangular in cross-section. Each of the tubular supports 20 is constructed of suitable materials and is of suitable thickness to withstand the pressure of the water therein and also the stresses produced by the structures which they support. More specifically, each of the tubular conduits, when finally installed, is adapted to pass the particular fire code test requirements of the locality for fire sprinkler systems which, for example in some localities, is 200 p.s.i. for two hours. The tubular supports 20 include a plurality of branch conduits 22 spaced along their length and extending angularly therefrom. Disposed at the end of each of the branch conduits 22, is a conventional heat actuated sprinkler head 24. Preferably, each of the branch conduits and sprinkler heads is disposed upon alternating sides of its tubular support 20. Hence, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper branch conduit 22 and sprinkler head 24 extend to the right of the tubular support 20 while the next adjacent lower branch conduit 22 and sprinkler head 24 extend to the left of its tubular support 20. The alternating vertical disposition of the sprinkler heads along its tubular support 20 avoids the possible situation from arising where the spray produced upon the initiation of one sprinkler head would cool the adjacent sprinkler head to the extent that its sprinkling action would not be initiated. However, the sprinkler heads 24 may, in the alternative, be located on one or all sides of the tubular support, if desired.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a suitable main 26, which is connected to a water supply under pressure, is connected to, and operates to supply, each of the tubular supports by connecting branch conduits 28. The point of connection of the branch conduits 28 to the tubular supports 20 is spaced a short distance above the lowest extending portion of the tubular supports. Such displacement provides a sump 34 at the very bottom of the tubular supports 20. The sump acts to collect dirt, scale and other foreign matter which might plug the sprinkler heads 24 during their operation. The foreign matter tends to settle in sump 34 where it may be periodically withdrawn by a valved tap 36 which is located at the bottom of the sump. The main 26 may be located at the top of the tubular supports, if desired, the sump still being provided at the bottom of the tubular supports.

As shown in FIG. 1, each of the tubular supports 20 preferably includes at its top, a pressure relief valve 30. The purpose of pressure relief valve 30 is to relieve any steam which might be generated in the water within the tubular support, by transfer of heat thereto through the support in the event of fire. Such steam, if generated, would impede the continuous flow of water to the sprinkler heads 24. Also disposed at the top of each of the tubular supports 20 is a valved tap 32 for bleeding trapped air from each tubular support when the system is initially charged with water.

In one embodiment of the invention, the tubular supports 20, in addition to vertically supporting the storage racks 10, also support the building structure which houses the storage racks. As shown in FIGS. 1 and .2, a roof 38 is provided having a plurality of generally horizontal trusses 40. The tops of the storage racks may be adjacent the trusses 40 or they may be disposed a short distance below the trusses as shown in FIG. 1. In either instance, the tops of the tubular supports are arranged in supporting relationship with their associated trusses 40 such that the supports also support the trusses and their associated roof. The tubular supports 20 of the storage racks about the outer periphery of the storage area, may also include suitable fasteners 44 for attaching building wall panels 42. Thus, a complete building structure may be provided wherein the tubular supports 20, not only deliver water to the fire extinguishing sprinkler heads, but also support the storage racks as well as the building structure surrounding the storage racks. Preferably, the fasteners 44 are afiixed to the tubular supports by a method which avoids puncturing the tubular supports, e.g. welding.

Another embodiment is shown in FIG. 3, wherein the tubular supports 20 which deliver the fire extinguishing water only support the storage racks 10. The roof truss 40 and/or building wall panels 42 are supported by at least some of the vertical supports 12 of the storage racks. This embodiment is desirable where it is sought to minimize the stresses which bear upon the pressurized water carrying tubular supports 20. Each of the embodiments shown in FIGS. .2 and 3, eliminates the necessity of additional structural materials solely for support of the building structure.

By utilizing the vertical water carrying tubular support 20 for the vertical support of the storage racks 10, location of the sprinkler heads closely adjacent to the stored articles themselves is made possible rather than merely locating the sprinkler system in the same space as the articles. Thus, while minimizing the amount of construction materials necessary, optimum fire protection capabilities within the storage space may be realized. Moreover, the arrangement wherein either the tubular supports 20 or the vertical supports 12 support the storage racks 10, the roof 38, and/or the wall panels 42, a substantial reduction in the amount of construction material necessary to complete the entire storage assembly is made possible. The arrangement of the present invention is particularly suited for use with prefab or preconstruction techniques.

It is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention which have been described are merely illustrative of a few applications of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An article storage arrangement having at least one fire protected rack which includes a plurality of tiers for the storage of articles, said arrangement comprising;

tubular support means both supporting tiers of said rack and constructed to convey a pressurized fire extinguishing liquid therethrough,

a supply main communicating with the interior of said tubular support means to supply the interior of said support means with said pressurized fire extinguishing liquid, and

a plurality of sprinkler means communicating with the interior of said tubular support means at spaced intervals along its length and positioned adjacent tiers of the rack, said sprinkler means including means to actuate said sprinkler means in response to heat in the event of fire to initiate a substantial flow of said pressurized extinguishing liquid through said tubular support means and to discharge said flowing liquid to said tiers.

2. The article storage arrangement of claim 1, further including;

a roof structure disposed over said rack, and

at least some of said tubular support means which convey said fire extinguishing liquid also helping to support said roof structure.

3. The article storage arrangement of claim 1 wherein said rack includes fastening means for attaching and supporting a wall structure whereby an enclosure may be provided to enclose said rack.

4. The article storage arrangement of claim 3 wherein said fastening means are disposed on at least some of said tubular support means of said racks.

5. The article storage arrangement of claim 1, wherein each tubular support of the tubular support means includes pressure relief means adjacent its uppermost end.

6. The article storage arrangement of claim 1, wherein said tubular support is of rectangular cross-section.

7. A construction as in claim 1 wherein the sprinkler means includes a plurality of heat actuated sprinkler heads each positioned and arranged so as not to be inhibited in operation by spray from another sprinkler head.

8. A construction as in claim 1 wherein a portion of each tubular support of said tubular support means includes a tubular portion located lower than the point of communication of the tubular support to the supply main, thereby providing a sump for the tubular support.

9. A construction as in claim 8 including means for selectively withdrawing liquid from the sump for the tubular support.

10. A construction as in claim 1 wherein pressure relief means are provided for the tubular support means, for venting such steam as is generated by the fire extinguishing liquid that is within, or which flows through, said tubular support means and which absorbs heat transmitted thereto through the tubular support means in the event of fire.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Groneman et a1. 5.2731 X HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner S. D. BURKE, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R.

5236, 168; 2lll83; 182-52; 239209

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