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A fire sprinkler system is an active fire protection measure, consisting of a water supply system, providing adequate pressure and flowrate to a water distribution piping system, onto which fire sprinklers are connected. Although historically only used in factories and large commercial buildings, systems for homes and small buildings are now available at a cost-effective price.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Industrial Fire sprinklers )〕 Fire sprinkler systems are extensively used worldwide, with over 40 million sprinkler heads fitted each year. In buildings completely protected by fire sprinkler systems, over 99% of fires were controlled by fire sprinklers alone.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Fire Sprinklers )〕 == History == Leonardo da Vinci designed a sprinkler system in the 15th century. Da Vinci automated his patron's kitchen with a super-oven and a system of conveyor belts. In a comedy of errors, everything went wrong during a huge banquet, and a fire broke out. "The sprinkler system worked all too well, causing a flood that washed away all the food and a good part of the kitchen." 〔Gelb, Michael J. How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. New York, New York: Dell Publishing, 1998. 〕 Ambrose Godfrey created the first successful automated sprinkler system in 1723.〔 He used gunpowder to release a tank of extinguishing fluid.〔"History of Sprinkler Systems." Associated Fire Protection.〕 The world’s first modern recognizable sprinkler system was installed in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in the United Kingdom in 1812 by its architect, William Congreve, and was covered by patent No 3606 dated the same year.〔; http://incendiaconsulting.com/History%20of%20Sprinkler%20Development.pdf.〕 The apparatus consisted of a cylindrical airtight reservoir of 400 hogsheads (~95,000 litres) fed by a water main which branched to all parts of the theatre. A series of smaller pipes fed from the distribution pipe were pierced with a series of holes which pour water in the event of a fire. From 1852 to 1885, perforated pipe systems were used in textile mills throughout New England as a means of fire protection. However, they were not automatic systems; a person had to operate the system. Inventors first began experimenting with automatic sprinklers around 1860. The first automatic sprinkler system was patented by Philip W. Pratt of Abington, MA, in 1872.〔(Sprinkler History ) Merit Sprinkler Company〕 Henry S. Parmalee of New Haven, Connecticut is considered the inventor of the first automatic sprinkler head. Parmalee improved upon the Pratt patent and created a better sprinkler system. In 1874, he installed his fire sprinkler system into the piano factory that he owned. Frederick Grinnell improved Parmalee's design and in 1881 patented the automatic sprinkler that bears his name. He continued to improve the device and in 1890 invented the glass disc sprinkler, essentially the same as that in use today.〔Casey Cavanaugh Grant, PE (The Birth of NFPA )NFPA1996〕 Until the 1940s, sprinklers were installed almost exclusively for the protection of commercial buildings, whose owners were generally able to recoup their expenses with savings in insurance costs. Over the years, fire sprinklers have become mandatory safety equipment in some parts of North America, in certain occupancies, including, but not limited to newly constructed hospitals, schools, hotels and other public buildings, subject to the local building codes and enforcement. However, outside of the US and Canada, sprinklers are rarely mandated by building codes for normal hazard occupancies which do not have large numbers of occupants (e.g. factories, process lines, retail outlets, petrol stations, etc.) Sprinklers are now commonly installed in other buildings including schools and residential premises. This is largely as a result of lobbying by the National Fire Sprinkler Network, the European Fire Sprinkler Network and the British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association. Building Regulations in Scotland and England often require fire sprinkler systems to be installed in certain types of properties to ensure safety of occupants. In Scotland, all new schools are sprinkler protected, as are new care homes, sheltered housing and high rise flats. In England all high rise buildings over 30m must have sprinkler protection. In 2011 Wales became the first country in the world to make installation of fire sprinklers in new homes compulsory. The law will apply to newly built houses and blocks of flats, as well as care homes and university halls of residence. This law will be enforced from September 2013. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fire sprinkler system」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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