US548741A - Operating mechanisms by explosives - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.) 2 Shet's-Sheet 1 G. E; BUELL. OPERATINGMEGHANISMS BY EXPLOSIVES.

.No. 548,741. Patentd mvrmon:

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

. G.E.BUELL. OPERATING MECHANISMS BY EXPLOSIVE S.

No. 548,741. Patented Oct. 29, 1895.

Q Q Y L i.

gfifsi z v 4 WIT Es: INVBNTOR: (AIM WW UNITED STATES PATENT O rien CHARLES E. BUELL, OF NORTH PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY.

OPERATING MECHANISMS BY EXPLOSIVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No 548,741, dated October 29, 1895.

Application filed May 31, 1388- $ericl No. 275,576. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. BUELL, of

North Plainfield, Somerset county, State of New Jersey, have invented Improvements in Operating Mechanisms by Explosives, of which the following is a specification.

My invention consists, primarily, in the combination, with a pipe or pipes provided with pressure-actuated apparatus, of one or more inlet-ports in said pipe that contain an explo: sive cartridge or cartridges that will explode by heat, whereby an abnormal increase of temperature around the said pipes will develop pressure within said pipes and operate said pressure-actuated apparatus, substantially as hereinafter described.

My invention further consists in the combinations and sub-combinations to be hereinafter described.

By the term cartridge I mean a suitable quantity of a substance or materialwhich contains within itself the elements of chemical change for liberating mechanical energy when acted upon by heat and which will remain inert until so acted upon, the said substance, material, or compound being preferably incased in a shell and comprising a primer and an explosive that is not as easily ignited as, the said primer, as will be hereinafter-explained.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 shows a tube and apparatus arranged for carrying out my invention. Figs. 2, 3, and 4'show details of my invention. Fig. 5 shows a dry pipe system of automatic sprinklers that embodies my invention.

Referring to Fig. 1, there is shown a pipe or tube T T, with connection D D and speaking-tube mouthpieces F F, that are normally closed by valves that can be turned out of the way by their handles hh when desired to use said tube for oral communication.

At the lower terminus of tube T T a disk or valve (1 covers the mouth of the tube, and to this disk is attached a pivoted lever or latch b, that interlocks with lever L of a wound-up train 0, the said lover or detent Lbeing so arranged that When in the position shown it will be interposed in the Way of the fly-Wheel f of said train, but when the latch b is removed from supporting the long arm of lever L the said lever will swing away from fan f, releasingthe train O, which in running down will sound an alarm on gong G and make operative an electric circuit d d by the circuit-controlling wheel D and contact-spring 8.

To make operative the valve or disk 0. to release the alarm mechanism 0, I insertan explosive cartridge E in each of the chambers D D and secure it therein by the screw-cap 0, (shown in Fig. 2,) thescrew-cap being perforated to expose a portion of the cartridge to the exterior atmosphere, the chamber thus formed being an adjunct to the pipe T T.

A cartridge E,"that will explode by the heat of an incipient fire, is placed in each of the chambers D, and when fired by the action of heat into the tubeT T throws back the disk at, making operative the alarm mechanism (3, as described. The cartridge E comprises a primer of phosphorous compound or an easily fired fulminate or explosive and a charge of a less easily fired material, as common gunpowder. i

The known fulminates in the form of the ordinary percussion-caps and gunpowder do not deteriorate when kept for a long time, as

most of the high explosives do.

Percussion-caps that were put into an ordinary leather cap-pouch before the battle of Fair Oaks, Virginia, May 31, 1862, are at the present time as good as new.

In the Report on Gunpowder, by the Ordnance Department, Washington, D. 0., 1844, pages 9 and 275, it states that gunpowder which has been kept without special care for thirty-three years gave satisfactory results in tests made by the Government.

Because of the fact that properly-prepared cartridges employing a fulminate and gunpowder Will not deteriorate, I prefer to make use of such; but I may use any of the explosive compounds that will, under the action of the heat of a small fire, develop mechanical energy to perform the work required. Referring to Fig. 2, there is shown the branch pipe T joined to pipe T T at D, the

These tubes or pipes are. preferably secured upon the ceilings of apartments and: provided with explodingcartridges at intervals of ten feet and the lines of pipe placed at like intervals.

Fig. 3 shows a series of pipes T T T entering an annunciator, which comprises the drops g (1 as in the well-known form of annunciators used with speaking-tubes. A rod of metal R is placed so that when a drop falls it will rest on said rod, and a battery B is connected to the rod R and dropsq g g by wires g g g. In the circuit thus formed are included a gong G an'd signal-transmitting box D thatis provided with connections to an-outside circuit dd.

The battery 13,.gong G, an'dewbox. D aare well-known devices. 1

Thewmode of operating -thei'drops;q';-q g is shown in Fig. 4 in cross-section view, in which T represents a tube having a disk 0. covering its outlet. Movableiwith the disk a'is'alatch b,-'which normally holds a drop q in theposition shown. WVhen thediska is forced back by pressure in thepipe T, the;latch:b islifted and the drop q falls-against the rod R,:dis-, playinga number or-word to designate-a'lo-I cality,:an(1 by its contact with the rod R, the drop being of metal or faced-"with metal,connects the wires g g, said wires beingr'electri: cally connectedto said drop and. saidrod, and by connecting said circuit-wires the;gong Gr and box D are operated to give the desired alarm.

In'Fig. 5 there is shown the automatic sprinkler-pipe P, with connections D, comprising an exploding-chamber, into which thewcar-i tridge E is inserted and fits tightly to prevent-'water pressure in the. pipe P from:caus-} ingadrip. A sprinklers is shown. connected therewith. Said sprinklerS- consists-of the nozzle n, closedby avalve-plate thatlis held to its seat by a cartridge that :willbe' shattered and'dislodged by the explosion of its contents, which is preferably a charge. of gunpowder with a sensitive primer J, that will ignite at alower temperature than gunpowder, as previously explained.

When the cartridge is removed by the-ac tion of heat, the sprinkler is opened. j

From the pipe P a branch pipe extends to a valve A, into which the main Mand pipes Pand 20 enter. The main M is a water-supply pipe. The openings of these several'pipes' are normally closed by the metal'plate. valve V, which is held tightly over the several pipes by water-pressure upon its upper surface, the water entering through the orificeiand the top of the plateVbeing of larger-area than the surface exposed to the pressure from the main M, the vent i) being 'normailyclosed by the platoon the lever L. When an exploemptying the pipe P when desired. When water has entered the pipe P, it chills the unexplodedcartridges that may be in the pipe or its branches and prevents them from exploding unless the heat increases considerably.

The cartridge E for operating the watersupply valve'can be made to explode at a slightly-lower temperature than the cap J of the sprinkler S with'advantages in the operatingof the valve mechanism. -As thecap J is not-chilled by the-water in the .pipe P, the

:sprinklerS will.o-penafter the water has entered the; :pipe P.

Intermural cond-uits or otherinclosures may be em-ployedto-gnide andconfine the explo- -si0ns instead of the pipe or tubedescribed.

. Ldo claim herein :the;car-tridge shown and described, and'whieh-is an essentialelement inthe: carrying out of the inveutiomas the :same has been claimed in my subsequent'ap- -plication,--Serial No. 359,698, filed July-23,

I claim- 1. The combination with -api-pe, or pipes, and an apparatus operated by pressures I causedby explosions in said pipe of one or more cartridges connected to said pipe to. ex- .plode therein, substantiallyas described.

:2. ."The'combinationwith a pipe or. pipes, and an apparatus operated bya-explosions therein, of oneor more thermally exploded cartridges in said .-pipe,-substantial1y.as described.

The-combination with *ai pipe,or pipes, and-.anapparatus. operated by explosions in said' pipe, ofone or.-more thermally exploded cartridges connected to said: pipe to explode therein each of which cartridges comprises a primer that is easily -ignited,.and acharge :thatis less'easily ignited, substantially as described.

4.. The combination with a-pipe'and' apparatus operated by pressures caused byexplosions in said pipe, of a thermally exploded cartridge connected tosaid pipe to explode therein, and an automatic sprinkler connected .to said pipe that is held closed bya cartridge that explodes at a higher temperature than the first named cartridge, substantially as described.

GHARLES' E. BUELL.

Witnesses:

W. (J. BUELL, A. O. BUELL.

ICO

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