US891038A - Emergency-stopper for automatic sprinklers. - Google Patents

Description

PATENTED JUNE 16 J. P. CASEY &.W. W. THOMPSON. EMERGENCY STOPPBR FOR AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS.

APPLIUATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1907 LINE Of' c lfll EIIIHIIIHHIII mus Ps'nu so. lnsnmarqu, b. c.

JAMES P. CASEY AND WILLIAM W. THOMPSON, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI; SAID THOMPSON ASSIGNOR TO SAID oAsEY.

EMERGENCY-STOPPER FOR AUTOMATIC SPRINKLERS.

Application filed September 12, 1907.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, J AMES P. CAsEY and WILLIAM W. THOMPSON, citizens of the United States, and residents of the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Emergency-Stoppers for Automatic Sprinklers, of which the following is a spec1-.

' inafter more fully appearing.

The invention consists in the parts and in the arrangements and combinations of parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings which form part of this specification and wherein like symbols refer to like parts wherever they occur, Figure 1 is a perspective view of our device, with the intermediate portion of the handle and connecting wire broken away, arranged as an emergency stopper for upright sprinkler heads; Fig. 2 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in cross-section, showing the stop applied to an upright sprinkler head; Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the stop applied to an inverted or pendent sprinkler head; and, Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the plug or closure.

The device illustrated in the drawings comprises an elongated handle member 1 having an angular member 2 secured thereon near one end. The member 2 has a laterally projecting arm 3. The outer end portion of this arm 3 is flattened and perforated for the reception of a screw or other securing device 4 for a plug or closure 5. The plug illustrated has a substantially hemispherical base portion and a teat or protuberance 6. The plug may be made of any suitable material, but preferably of hard rubber and molded or otherwise secured upon a metal base-plate 7. As shown in Fig. 4, the baseplate is provided with an annular retaining flange 8 and a central boss 9 which has a threaded opening for the securing screw 4.

Pivoted to the arm 3 is arock-arm 10. One end portion of the rock-arm 10 is flattened and perforated similarly to said arm 3, and the flattened portions of both arms are notched Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 16, 1908.

Serial No. 392,448.

at their side edges as at 11 for a purpose hereinafter set forth. The opposite end of the pivoted arm 10 is provided with an eye 12 through the end of which a wire 13 is looped. The opposite end of the wire 13 is looped through an eye 14 in the end of arackbar 15. This rack-bar is arranged to slide through a yoke member 16. Preferably, the yoke member is shaped of sheet metal and has its under intermediate portion beveled or bent inwardly as at 17 to provide a proj ection or edge adapted to engage the ratchet teeth 18 on the rack-bar 15. The looped intermediate portion of the yoke member 16 is of a sufficient depth to permit the rackbar to be moved backward to disengage its teeth from the edge 17 of the yoke member when it is desired to release the rack-bar or adjust the same. The lower end ortion 19 of the rack-bar is bent at right-ang es to provide a handle or grasping portion, and preferably the extreme end is provided with a hook or knob 20. to prevent the operators fingers from accidentally slipping therefrom.

In Fig. 2 an automatic sprinkler system pipe 21 is shown in cross-section and has mounted thereon an upright sprinkler head which is provided with the usual centrallyperforated diaphragm or plate 22 and yoke 23 for the spreader 24. In Fig. 3 a similarly constructed head is shown in inverted or pendent style.

The operation of the device is as follows: For upright heads the device is arranged as shown in Fig. 1. When a sprinkler head accidentally opens, as they frequently do, it is only necessary to grasp the handle member 1 and place the stopper or plug with its projection 6 in the opening of the head and pull down upon the hand e until the hemispherical portion 5 closes said opening, as shown in Fig. 2. The handle of the rack-bar 15 is then grasped and pulled downward and the arm 10 is rocked through the medium of the connecting wire 13 until the notched portions 11 of said arm engage the side members of the sprinkler head yoke 23.

ulled until the wire is drawn taut and the flattened portions of the arms 3 and 10 are spread apart and the plug 5 is pressed tightly upon the diaphragm plate or circular seat formed by the outlet opening in the sprinkler head. The angular position of the connecting wire when under tension is such that the rack-bar 15 is held with its upper The rack-bar 1s end away from the handle member 1 with its teeth in engagement with the inwardly projecting edge 17 of the yoke member 16. Thus, in case of an emergency when a sprinkler head opens, the flow of water may be quickly and effectually stopped until it is con venient to place a new fusible closure upon said head.

In order to adapt the device to inverted or pendent sprinkler heads the plug or closure 5 is made to be detachable andinterchangeable, and both the stationary arm and the rock arm are similarly prepared for .the attach: ment of the plug thereto. As shown in Fig. 3, the plug is mounted on the rock-arm of the device and the notched portions of the stationary arm are in engagement with side members of the yoke of a pendent head. It will thus be seen that the device may be applied to various styles and sizes of sprinkler heads, and the handle member may be made of any desirable length according to the height of the system pipes from the floor.

Obviously, our device admits of considerable modification within the scope of our invention, and therefore we do not wish to be limited to the specific construction shown and described.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A stopper comprising an elongated handle member, a pair of relatively movable members on one end thereof, means adjacent to the other end. of said handle member for manipulating one of said pair of members, a latch for said manipulating means, and an interchangeable closure detachably mounted on either of said pair of members. 2. A stopper comprising an elongated handle member, a stationary member and a pivotal member thereon, an interchangeable closure adapted to be detachably mounted on movable member, a latch for said manipulating means, and an interchangeable c osure adapted to be mounted on either of said mem bers.

4. A stopper comprising an elongated handle member, a stationary member and a movable member thereon, the adjacent end portion of said members bein notched on each side, an interchangeable c osure detachably mounted on either of said members, means for manipulating said movable member, and a latch for said manipulating means.

5. A stopper comprising an elongated handle member, a stationary member and a pivotal member thereon, the adjacent end portions of said members being notched and arranged for the attachment of a closure thereon, an interchangeable closure mounted on one of said members, and manipulating means comprising a rack-bar arranged to slide on said handle member in cooperative relation to a stop thereon, and a connecting member between said pivotal member and said rack-bar.

Signed at St. Louis, Missouri, this 9th day of September, 1907.

JAMES P. CASEY. WILLIAM W. THOMPSO N. Witnesses:

G. A. PENNINGTON, J. B. MEGowN.

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