US361179A - Automatic fire-extinguisher - Google Patents

Description

(K0 Modei.) I

- W. NERAOHER.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

No. 361,179. Patented Apr. 12, 1887'.

N. Pains mmmm mr. Wishinglon. n a" UNITED STATEs PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM NERAGHER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

AUTOMATIC FIRE-EXTINGUISHER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 361,179, dated April 12, 1887.

I Application filed March 3, 1886. Serial No. 193,851. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

- Be it known that 1, WILLIAM N ERAOHER, of Cleveland, in the county of Guyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Automatic Fire-Extinguishers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to automatic firesprinkling apparatus; and it consists of improvements in the distributing-valve and of improvements in the mechanism for holding and releasing the distributervalve, all as hereinafter particularly set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows the mechanism partly in side elevation and partly in section. Fig. 2 shows a face view of the distributer-valve. Fig. 3 shows a vertical transverse section of the valve on line a; a: of Fig. 2, the section of said valve shown in Fig. 1 being upon line y y of Fig. 2. Figs. 5 and 4 are vertical transverse sections of the link, formed of two parts, and connected by easily-fusible solder. Fig. 6isa modified form of the valve-center. Fig. 7 is a like view to Fig. 1, with the parts free as they appear in action. Fig. 8'is a section on the line 2 z of Fig. 1. Fig. 9 is a modified form of link.

The frame A is substantially the same as that shown in Letters Patent of the United States granted to me on the 22d of April,

between which and the seat may be interposed the valve is released it can drop upon studs 13, by which it is held directly under the discharge-opening. The valve is formed with inwardly-turned spurs 16 and 17, for .cutting up.and spraying the water rebounding from the face of the distributer-valve.

Instead of the central core shown in my previous patents, I provide in the central part of the valve an annular serrated flange, 8, by which the central part of the stream of water is cut up and sprayed. This central part may consist of a single annular flange, or of several,

the inner being higher, forming a conical center; or the whole central cone may be solid,

I with the serrations over its entire surface, as

of the way of the valve and distributer when the water is turned on are new.

A bell-crank lever, 5, is pivoted at one end of one arm at 11' in the frame, a little to one side of the center, and it has a spur, 18, directly opposite to the pivoted arm of the bellcrank lever, adapted to bear in the notched lower end of the post 7. Preferably, this bearing of the spur in the notched end is a little out of line from the center of the upper bearing-point of the post, and the pivot of the bellcrank lever below this notched bearing-point being on the side of the longer arm of the bellcrank lever, as hereinafter explained. This longer arm of the bell-crank lever is made, preferably, of elastic brass or steel wire, as at 6, bent to form two prongs, which are fixed in the end of the horizontal arm or arms of the bell-crank lever 5. The post 7 is inserted in place under the valve, while the arm 6 is lowered, and when this arm is raised the lever and the post 7 act as a toggle-joint and force the valve to its seat and hold it securely in place. The arm is held up byalink, D. This is composed of two parts, 0 d. These parts are joined by slipping the legs of the upperpart over the outside of those of the lower part, the legs of the upper part being spread and the legs of the lower part being correspondingly contracted, so that the lower part wedges into the upper part. The two parts are connected by easily-fusible solder between the lapping portions.

Fig. 4 shows the link with the parts united, and Fig. 5 with the lower part dropping away from the upper; and from the latter figure it will be understood that as soon as the solder begins to melt, the upper part being held and pressure put upon the lower part to draw it down, the lapping parts will not slide upon each other, but the lower will be drawn away from the upper, and thus will be released more promptly. This link is supported, in the man ner shown, on the arm 4, cast with or secured to the frame A. The lower end of the link sustains the arm 6. The link is put in place under some strain, caused by the elasticity of the arm 6, the parts being adjusted so that the arm 6 must be sprung slightly upward after the distributerwalve is forced to its seat and before the link I) can be slipped into place. On the frame I set stop-pins 12, to limit the upward movement of the arm 6. When it is released, its weight swings the bell-crank lever 011 its pivot 11, throws aside the post 7, and allows the distributer-valve to drop freely. As these valves may remain in place a long time before any accidental fire causes their removal, and as the water-contained therein always contains more or less of elements of oxidation, the valves are liable to become rusted to their seats, so as not to be removable by the pressure of water, and therefore to fail in action at the proper time. In order to prevent this, and also to form a secure joint, I have provided a seal of some substance, such as wax, (indicated in Fig. l at 15,) which may be melted and poured or otherwise forced into place between the distributer or sprinkler valve and its seat, in order to exclude the water from the parts in contact and to prevent any oxidation. \Vhile I prefer wax or paraffine for this purpose, I do not confine myself to these, as there are many equivalents well known. The wax or paraffine may be interposed between the upper surface of the distributer-valve and the thin copper washer b, which bears directly in the Valve-seat; or it may be applied in any convenient way to form a water-tight joint about the distributer-valve, in order to exclude the water from contact with the joint between the valve and its seat. The wax or paraffine will melt by the heat, which will releasethe fusible link, and will thus lubricate the parts which it previously served to cover.

In Fig. 7 I have shown a modified form of the connecting-link. In this figure, instead of the two parts of bent metal, one part may be made solid of approximately wedge shape,

with ledges a for the support of the arm 6. The other part of the link may be made V- shaped, so that it may fit the wedge part b, to which it is secured by the fusible solder, the part c of the link having an eye adapted to fit over the arm 4.

The distributer may be used in an inverted position whenever desired, and, in order that the water may be directed to the portion of the room directly above the place where the distributer is secured, I have formed open ings in the upper rim of the valve, as shown at 19, with the side walls of said openings formed on an angle, so that the water will be deflected in all directions immediately above the valve.

I am aware that prior to my invention it had been proposed to use two hollow conical sleeves, one connected to the shank of the valve and the other mounted on the frame, held together by fusible solder, the pressure upon the valve being adapted to separate the cones when the solder is melted by heat. Further, I am aware that it is not new to secure a disk within a pipe by fusible solder and place a core of fusible material in front of the same, so as to protect the disk from contact with the water, and I do not broadly claim such as my invention.

I claim as my invention 1. A distributingvalve combined with the seat on the end of the discharge-pipe and a frame attached to the end of the discharge pipe in which the distributer-valve may fall, said valve having a central part provided with projections of varying heights to disperse the water, substantially as described.

2. A distributing-valve combined with the seat on the end of the discharge-pipe and a frame attached to the end of the dischargepipe in which the distributer-valve may fall, said valve having a central post, 14, and a serrated flange, 8, surrounding said post, but of a less height, substantially as described.

3. In a fire-extinguisher, the discharge-pipe and frame connected thereto, a valve supported within said frame, a bell-crank lever having one arm supported upon the frame and the other extending laterally at right angles thereto, in combination with a post intermediate between the bell-crank lever and the valve, and an easily-fusible link connecting the lateral arm to the frame, substantially as described.

4.. In combination with a distributer-valve, the discharge-pipe,the frame on the dischargepipe containing the valve, the intermediate post, and the bell-crank lever having a short vertical arm, 18, and the supporting-arm 6, extendinglaterally therefrom and at right angles thereto, and the easily-fusible link connecting said arm with the arm 4,substantially as described.

5. The combination, with a distributer-valve having suitable supporting mechanism, of independent metal link adapted to place the In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name parts under tension and to hold them in place, to this specification in the presence of two subsaid link being composed of an upper part scribing witnesses.

having diverging legs, a lower part having WILLIAM NERACHER. 5 contracted legs, the two parts being held to- Witnesses:

gether by easily-fusible solder, substantially M. ROGERS,

as described. RULNER STRAUSS.

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