Valve and arrangement for fire suppression water sprinkler system

Claim 1

An arrangement for testing and draining a fire suppression water sprinkler system, comprising: conduit means for supplying water to a plurality of sprinklers; means for sensing a flow of water in said conduit means; valve means provided downstream of said means for sensing and in communication with said conduit means, said valve means comprising a housing defining an interior chamber having an inlet and first and second outlets, a valve member having a turning axis and first, second and third ports arranged about a circumference of the valve member which is perpendicular to the turning axis, said first and second ports including central axis which are generally perpendicular to one another and said third port having a central axis which is generally perpendicular to the axis of the second port, said first port having a size which is smaller than either of the second and third ports, said valve member being selectively positionable within the interior chamber in either one of a first and a second orientation with respect to the turning axis, the first position being substantially inverted with respect to the second position whereby the valve means may be selectively oriented in a right-handed or a left-handed manner, seat means for selectively sealingly receiving a surface of the valve member adjacent one of the outlets; plug means for closing off one of the first and second outlets; and moving means for selectively moving said valve member while in either of the two positions within said interior chamber whereby communication between said inlet and the other of the first and second outlets may be sequentially closed, opened to a first preselected flow rate and then opened to a second preselected flow rate, the second preselected flow rate being greater than the first preselected flow rate, said plug means closing said one of the first and second outlets during all of the sequential movements of said valve member.