US733962A - Automatic fire-extinguisher. - Google Patents

Description

N0 MODEL.

PATENTED JULY 2l, 1'903.

G. E. HIBBARD.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLIQATION FILED Nov. 25. 1901,

' 3 sums-SHEET 1.

IL; .Li l x l 5/ ih MII] l l d. f ik "h hu 50 O 5L iM96 l WIUESEEE- :uummlmllllllllll No. 733,962. PN'ENTEDJULY 21, 1903.

- G. E. HIBBARD.

AUTOMATIC FIRE EX'IINGrUISHERI APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25. 1901.

N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WLUEEEEE- PATENTED JULY- 21 G. E. HIBBARD.v y AUTOMATIC PIRE EXTINGUISHER.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 25, 1901 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

N0 MODEL'.

UNITED STATES Patented July 21, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

AUTOMATIC FlR-EXTINGUISHER.-

SFECIFICATION forming' part 0f Letters Patent NO. 733,962, dated July' 21, 1903.

Application filed November 25, 1901. Serial No. 83,589. (No models) To @ZZ whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. HIBBARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of- Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Fire-Extinguishers, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to automatic fire-extinguishers of the stationary type in which there is a system of distributing-pipes extending over the area to be protected and provided at intervals with sprinkler-heads of some suitable type.v Some of these systems are known as dry-pipe systems and others as Wet-pipe systems, while still others may be used either as wet-pipe or as dry-pipe systems.

The invention relates in part to the system as a whole; and the object of this part of the invention is to provide a Valve device and an.

alarm device adapted for use in systems that may be used either wet or dry.

The invention relates in part also to the main valve device; and the object of this part of the invention is to provide a valve device of such construction that it will not be iniiuenced by a sudden reduction of the pressure in the main or other source ot' watersupply. This part of the invention relates more particularly to that class of valves intended more especially fordry-pipe systems, an example oi' which is shown in United States Letters Patent No. 531,119, granted to me December 18, 1894.

The invention relates in part also to the construction of a cut-oit or valve proper, adapted for use in that class of valve devices in which two cut-offs or valves are connected bya rigid stem; and the Object of this part of the invention is to insure the proper seating of both valves. This object I accomplish by providing the valve with a yielding part carrying the seating-surface.

The invention relates in part also to an alarm device and the object of this part of the invention is to provide an alarm device which is adapted for use with either a drypipe or a wet-pipe system. This object is accomplished by providing the system with what is herein called aneXcess-pressure chamber, the interior of which is in communication with the system through the medium of a suitable passage in which is a valve oi' other movable device Vsuitably connected with an alarm mechanism, said movable device being of such construction that it will be moved by the pressu re of the fluid (whether Wateror air) against it upon a reduction of the pressure in the distributing system and cause an alarm to be given.

To these ends the invention consists in features of novelty that are herein described.

In the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a vertical section of an automatic iire-eXtinguisher embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical section of the main Valve on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the alarm mechanism on the line 3 3, Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a vertical section thereof on the line 4 4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section thereof on the line 5 5, Figs.- 3 and 4. Fig. 6 is a detail.

The main-valve casing is preferably made f up of three parts l, 2, and 3. The part 8 is connected with the street main or other sources of water-supply through a branch 4, communicating with a chamber Y within the valve-casing, the inlet-port 5 being surrounded by a valve-seat 6. The part 1 of the valvecasing communicates with the riser of the distributing system through an outlet-port 7. The lower portion of the riser is shown; but the balance of the system, including sprinkler-heads, is omitted from the drawings, for the reason that it forms no part of the present invention and is well understood in the art. Within the casing is also a chamber X, which communicates with the chamber Y through an opening or port surrounded by a valveseatS. WithinthechamberYisathirdchamber Z, which communicates with the chamber Y at the top through a port 45 and at the bottom through a port 29, formed through a spider 30. Communication between thechambers X and Y is controlled by a valve 15, which is carried by a swinging arm 9, fulcrumed at 10 and provided with a counterweight 11, arranged within the chamber X. At itsunder side the valve l5 bears upon the upper end of a vertically-movable stem l2, carrying a valve 44, which controls the port 45. Communication between the bottom of the chamber Z and of the chamber Y is conf When the valve is set and the system is in normal condition, the parts are in the positions shown in the drawings. The pressure of the air within the system acts downward upon the valve 15, and this valve, through the medium of the stem 12, holds the valve 44 seated. This confines the water in the chamber Z, and this chamber being in normal communication with the water-supply through the passage in the valve-stem 40 the water will exert a downward pressure upon the valve 39, tending to hold it to its seat. This valve 39 is slightly larger in area than is that portion of the valve 41 which is exposed to the pressure of the water in branch 4, so that by reason of the differential the valve 41 is held seated until the valve 39 is relieved of water-pressure. This takes place upon a reduction ot' the pressure in the system to such a point that it is no longer effective in holding the valve 44 seated. Upon the unseating of the valve 44 the water will escape from the chamber Z through the port 45, and the pressure being thus'removed from the top side of the valve 39 the water acting upon the valve 41 will unseat it.

It was discovered in actual practice that upon a sudden reduction of the pressure in the water-main a corresponding reduction would take place in chamber Z, with the result that valves 39 and 41 would be unseated, allowing water to pass through the port 5 into the chamber Y. In order to prevent this, a check-valve 13 is arranged to control the passage 48, through which the chamber Z communicates with the inlet-port 5, so that while said check-valve will respond to and be unseated by pressure from the water-main it will remain seated, so as to prevent the flow of water from chamber Z back to the main, should the pressure against its under side be reduced. Preferably this check-valve has its seat upon the upper end of the stein 40 and is carried by arm 14, pivotally connected to the valve 39.

The valve is made up of a heavy iiange 16, radiating from stern 40, an anu ular disk 17, screwed onto the upper end of stem 40, a ring 18, surroundingand located-in the same plane as disk 17, and a Hexible diaphragm 19, connected to the disk 17 and to the ring 18 by some suitable means. As shown in the drawings, the disk 17 is provided with an annular flange 20, which projects upward, and the diaphragm is provided withacorrespouding flange 21, which is forced onto the llange 20, said ange being permanently united by brazing or some other suitable process. The

outer margin of the' diaphragm is preferably connected to the ring 18 by screws 22. 23 is a disk of Jenkins or other suitable packing material, clamped between the flange 16 and the disk 17 and extending outward, so as to underlie the ring 18 and have contact with the valve-seat 38. As thus constructed the valve 39, or at least its inner or body portion, may follow the valve-stem 40 downward far enough to enable the valve 41 to reach its seat, although its outer portion (the ring 18) may previously have come to its seat. The adjacent edges of the disk 17 and ring 18 are preferably beveled in order to provide a slight space wider at the top than at the bot-tom for permitting the two parts to move out of plane relatively to each other.

The valve 15 is made up of parts constructed and arranged substantially the same as those going to make up the valve 39.

The excess-pressure tank 24 is connected with the pipe system ata point above the valve 15 by a passage 25, made up of suitable pipes and fittings. Preferably the passage 25 enters the excess-pressure tank at the bottom, the top of the tank being connected by means of pipe 26 with the air-pump 27. One ot the ittings of the passage 25 is in the form of a valve-casing 28, within which is disposed a valve 31, carried by an arm 32,rigidly mounted upon a shaft 33,which isjournaled in the valvecasing and passes out through a stuffing-box 34. The seat ot the check-valve 3l is formed on the lower end of a short valve-ring or cylinder 35, within which is arranged a piston 36, jointed to one end of a link 37, the other end ot which is jointed to the check-valve 31. This piston is made up of two parts in the nature of concavo-convex disks which clamp between them a packing-ring 42, having a piston tit in cylinder 35. The shaft 33 projects beyond the gland of the stuffing-box 34 and into a box 43, containing a lever 46, the lower end of which is secured to the shaft 33 by means of a set-screw. This lever projects upward from shaft 33 and carries a weight 47 so disposed that it preponderates in the direction which tends to hold the valve seated. The upper end of this lever when moved from -normal position is adapted to enter between a pair oli' metallic contact- plates 49 and 50, the near one of which is broken away. These plates are normally insulated from each other, and with each of them is connected one side of an electric circuit 51, which includes an alarm device and a suitable source of electricity.

Normally whether used in a dry-pipe or a wet-pipe system the parts occupy the positions shown in the drawings. When used in a dry-pipe system, in order to charge the system with compressed air the gate-valve (not shown in drawings) is closed and the parts are placed. as shown, with the exception that check-valve 31 is unseated and its accompanying piston 36 withdrawn from the cylinder 35. By means of the pump 27 the sys- ICO IZO

tem is then charged with compressed air until the desired pressure is reached, the pressure being shown on gagein pipe 26. The piston 36 is then replaced in thecylinder 35 and the valve 31 reseated, this being done by the application of a suitable key to the non-circular extremity on. shaft 33. The gate-valve is then opened, and the system is ready for use. Uponthe reduction of the pressure in the system, due either to leakage or to the ring of the sprinkler-head, the pressure upon opposite sides of the check-valve 3l will become unequal with the excess above it. This excess pressure will open it, and this in turn will move the lever 46 into the space between the contact - plates 49 and 50, and thereby close the circuit, causing an alarm to be sounded. Vhen the lever 46 is once moved far enough to shift the center of gravity of -weight 47 past the vertical line on shaft 33, the weight will hold the lever in position to close the circuit, so that the alarm will sound continuously until the device is reset manually. Vhen used in a wet system with the parts in the initial positions above described, the gate-valve is opened and allowed to remain open. The water then enters and iills the system until the pressure within the system equals that in the main. The force of the entering water will lift the valve 41 and hold it unseated until the pressure above and below it becomes equal, whereupon it will reseat by gravity. The air-pump is then set in operation and air pumped into the excesspressure tank until the desired pressure within it and within the system is reached. The valve 3l is then set, as above described, and the system is ready for use.

The advantage in using the piston 36 in addition to the check-valve 3l is that even with a slow reduction of pressure in the system the alarm will inevitably be sounded when the predetermined low pressure is reached, whereas if the check-valve alone were used it might under a slow reduction unseat far enough to compensate for this slow reduction without causing an alarm to be sounded, and in this way allow the pressure within the system to become reduced to the ineffectual point.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent: 1

l. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, the combination with a valve-chamber having an opening for the outlet of water, of a valve controlling said opening, a passage connecting the chamber with a water-supply, and a check-valve sea ting outward from said chamber for controlling said passage, whereby water is permitted to enter the chamber in order to maintain normal pressure therein and is prevented from leaving the chamber upon a reduction of the supply-pressure, substantially as described.

2. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, the

combination with a valve-chamber having an opening for the outlet of water, of a valveseat surrounding said opening, an outwardseating valve for controlling said opening, a stem carrying said valve and having through it a passage through which the chamber communicates with the water-supply, and a checkvalve seating outward from the chamber for controlling said passage whereby water is permitted to enter the chamber and prevented from leaving the chamber upon a reduction of the supply-pressure, substantially as described. i

3. In an automatic fire-extinguisher, the combination with a valve-chamber having an opening for the outlet of water, of a valve for cont-rolling said opening, a passage through which the interior of the chamber is in normal communication with awater-supply, and an outward-seating check-valve carried by the valve lirst aforesaid and adapted to close said passage and thereby prevent the backward flow of water from the chamber, substantially as described.

4. In an automatic ure-extinguisher, the combination with a valve-chamber having an opening for the outlet of water and a watersupply, of diiterential valves for controlling said outlet and water-supply, a stem connecting said valves, a passage through said stein normally connecting the interior of the chamber with the water-supply, and an outwardseating check-valve for controlling said passage, substantially as described.

5. In an automatic fire-extinguisher the combination of a casing having an inlet for water, a chamber into which said inlet opens, a valve for controlling said inlet, a second chamber having an outlet for water into the chamber iirst aforesaid, a second valve for controlling said outlet, a hollow stem connecting said valves, and a check-valvefor controlling the passage through the said hollow stem, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a valve-casing having a port and a valve-seat surrounding said port, of a valve having a stem, a flange carried by said stem, a disk secured to the stem, a ring surrounding the disk, a packing IIO clamped between the flan ge and disk and projecting beneath the ring and a iiexible diaphragm connecting the disk and ring, substantially as described.

'7. In an automatic tire-extinguisher the combination with the pipe system, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them, a movable device located in said passage, an alarm device, and means for connecting the said movable device with the alarm device, substantially as described.

8. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination with the pipe system, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting it with the pipe system, a movable device l0- cated in said passage, an alarm device, means connecting said movable device with the IZO l alarm device and means for producing pressure Within the excess-pressure chamber,sub stantially as described.l

9. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination with the pipe system, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting the said chamber with the pipe system, a valve located in the said passage and seating toward the excess-pressure chamber, an alarm device, and means connecting said Valve -With the alarm device, substantially as described.

10. In an automatic fire-extinguisher the combination with the pipe system, of an eX- cess-pressure chamber, apassage connecting it With the pipe system, a movable device located in the said passage, an alarm device, means for connecting the two devices last aforesaid, a pump, and a connection between the said pump and the excess-pressure chamber, substantially as described.

11. In an automatic fire-extinguisher the combination With the pipe system, of an eX- cess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them, a movable device located in the said passage, means including a Weight for holding said device in a normal position, an alarm device, and means for conditioning the alarm to operate When the Weight is shifted, substantially as described.

l2. In an automatic fire-extinguisher the combination with the pipe system, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them, a movable device located in the said passage, a shaft carrying the said device, an arm carried by the shaft, and an electrical alarm device having normally opened con- .tacts adapted to be closed by the said arm when shifted, substantially as described.

13. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination with the pipe system, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them, a valve located in the said passage, a shaft carrying the valve, an arm carried by the said shaft and adapted to close an electrical circuit, and an electrical alarm device having contact-plates, 49 and 50, adapted to receive the said arm between them, substantially as described.

14. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination with the pipe system, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them, a piston located in the said passage, an alarm device, and means connecting the piston with the alarm device, substantially as described.

15. In an automatic fire-extinguisher the combination With the pipe system, of an eX- cess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them and including a cylinder, 35, a piston ittingin the said cylinder, a shaft, means connecting the piston with the shaft, an alarm device, and means connecting the shaft with the alarm device, substantially as described.

16. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination with the pipe system, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them and including a cylinder, 35, a piston located within the said cylinder, a check-valve adapted to seat against the end of the said cylinder, means connecting the piston and check-valve, anl alarm device, and means connecting the check-valve and the alarm device, substantially as described.

17. In an automatic lire-extinguisher the combination With the pipe system, of an excess-pressure chamber, a passage connecting them and including the cylinder, 35, a piston located in the said cylinder, a check-valve adapted to seat against the end of the cylinder, a link pivoted to the pist-on and check- Valve and connecting them, an alarm device, and means for connecting the check-valve with the alarm device, substantially as described.

GEORGE E. I'IIBBARD.

Witnesses:

L. M. HOPKINS, E. D. WATTS.

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