US972426A - Fire-resisting shutter - Google Patents

Description

L. e, 'WILSONRK: P. MQMANUS FIRE BESISI'ING SHUTTER Arrmoumn rnzn nov. 30, 1 908 Patented 00b. 11, 1910.

2 BHEETB-SHEET 1.

r v I M II I I II I II I I II WITNESSES ATTORNEYS L.. G. WILSON &, P MbMANUS. FIRE RESISTING SHUTTER.

APPLIOATION FILED HOW-80, 1908.-

Patentad 0015.11, 1910.

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ATTORNEYS l6 1 VENTURE WITNESSES v m v UNITED srn rns PATENT OFFICE. LESTER G. WILSON, or LARCHMONT, NEWTHTREND rnnnn llllcMANUS, or sooner NORFOLK, VIRGINIA; SAID MGMANUS ASSIGNQQRJIOSAIDL Wilson. I

rmn-nnsrsrme snu rrna Specification of Letters Patent,

Patented Oct. 11, 1910.

Application filed November 30, 1908. Serial No. 465,094.

a citizen of South Norfolk, Princess Anne county, State of Virginia, have jointly invented cert'ain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Resisting Shutters, of which the following is a full, true, and eXact specification.

Our invention. relates to rolling shutters made of fire resisting material and adapted to automatically close over the opening that 1s to be protected whenever the temperature I in the immediate vicinity of the shutter shall reach a definite and predetermined maximum.

Our invention has reference to automaticterference with the automatic releasing de vice; and comprises certain special constructions and arrangements ofparts as will more fully appear as the specification proceeds.

The object of our invention. is to provide a means by wh1ch,*in case of fire, the shutter may be released automatically, positively,

and certainly, yvithout rislrof failure and wlt-hout entalhng damage to structural or functional parts of thecurtain.

A further object is to enable theshutter to be quickly andeasily reset in operative posi tion without the aid of special tools or labor.

A further object of our invention is to enable the shutter to be set in' operative position at practically any opening less than its full extent.

Still further objects of our invention will hereafter appear. 40

Referring to the drawings which show a preferred embodiment of our improved shutter', Figure 1 IS a perspective view with the shutter in operative position. Fig.2is an axial elevation, part section, of the shutter roller and its mount. Fig, an end elevation of the shutter rollermount (vlewed from the left of Fi 2) showing the releasing device. Fig. 4 is an end elevation (taken from the rightof Fig. 1) showing the li1nit-stop Fig. 5 is a plan, part section, taken from above and along the l ne 5-5 of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the fusible link which controls the releasing device.

are given, by independent rotation of the shaft, '3, in a suitable direction, a further uplifting tendency of any desired degree. They serve, therefore, as counterbalancing springs against which the shutter is always loweredand if the springs, l, besuitably selected as to length and stiffness and the runways in which the curtain edges travel be properly fitted to. such edges, the curtain will remain in any particular place in which it is put. v Shaft 3 is journaled at one end in a casing head 5, and at the other end in a lug, 6,

forming a part of the other casing head, 7..

Upon the shaft end outside of easing 5, is a. pulley, 8, rigidlyattachedthereto and pro-H vided with radial holes, 9, uniformly spaced about its circumference. Pivoted at.10 is a flat lever, 11, provided with a pin, 12, adapt ed to engage any of the peripheral holes, 9. This bar at its outer end passes through a slot, 1-3, formed in th; length of a weight bar 14. I V a Attached to the bottom of theweight bar is center of this chain is placed a fusible link,

18". This may be the ordinary fusiblelink of commerce consisting essentiallyof two thin, flat pieces of metal with their flats held togethei by solder of suitable meltingpoi'nt and with eyes, 19, for fastening the chain.

As shown in Fig. 1v the'shutter is raised and supposed to be in operative position.' If properly set the spring tension in springs 4.- should be such as to assist in lifting the shutter no matter where it may be in its opening. As shown in the drawings, the curtain may be raised or lowered and will stay at any desired point. Theweight bar, 14, has been raised by the chain, 15, to its topmost position in which it is steadied by the slot, 20, slipping over the pin 21.

a chain, 15, which passes over-a small idler pulley, 16, and thence around the corner of this very I f, for any reason, the temperature in the vicinity of the fusible link 18 should rise to the predetermined limit, the solder in this fuse will melt and the chain break apart. This will release the weight bar 14 which will instantly drop and knock away by its impact the pivoted bar, 11, thus freeing the pulley 8 from the pin 12. Shaft .3 will then fly around, thereby relaxing the springs 4:, and the shutter, having now lost the uplift of the springs and having nothing'but the friction of its edges in the grooves to sustain it, will instantly fall its full course from whatever position it may have had.

Owing to the fact that the weight'of the shutter becomes more and more effective as it unrolls it is clear that the shutter will fall, when released, with rapidly accelerated velocity and that some means for checking excessive speed and preventing the curtain from reaching its limit suddenly is required if permanent damage to the shutter and its mounting is to be avoided. We accomplish simply by the use of a square nut 22 threaded upon that end of the shaft 3 remote from the pulley 8. .In the .shutter illustrated, the thread must be a left hand thread; by suitably choosing the pitch of this thread and regulating the distance of the nut from the squared end of the shaft, we may cause the nut to be drawn up and screwed home against said squared end as the curtain nears the limit of its fall. For a part of the last revolution or so of the shaft, the nut will work very hard owing to its Wedging effect with the shaft end so that the shaft will be slowed radually but firmly'and will finally stop wit liout jar after \\'hi 'l1, further fall of the shutter will operate to wind upthesprings, 4, thus bring.- ing the shutter. gently to rest.

In the absence of excessive temperature, 2'. e., under normal conditions, the springs, l, are, of course, always set; and the weight bar, 14, always in its uppermost position being held there by the chain, 15, and link 18.

Under these circumstances the shutter operates as an ordinary counterbalanced shutter and may be raised or lowered or placed in any desired position.

After an emergency release, as just described, the shutter if small and light may usually be readily reset by first lifting it up to its full or any preferred limit and then grasping the pulley, 8, and rotating 1t until the springs, 4, have the desired tension; the bar 11 is then raised so as to engage pin, 12, with one\of the pulley holes after which the weight bar may easily be lifted and the two ends of the chain be brought together and fastened with a new link 18 or by resoldering the elements of the old link.

When the shutter is large and heavy it will generally be best to raise it and to wind up the springs at the same time, an operation which will usually require two people. To wind the springs a couple of short bars are inserted in the holes, 9, and used as hand-spikes, the bars being alternately removed and reinserted farther back as the pulley is turned. The lever, weight bar, chain, and link are then fixed as before.

We may make many alterations of mechanical detail in carrying out our invention without departing from 1ts spirit or going outside its scope.

e are aware that counterbalanced fire resi'stingshutters have been hitherto made to fall automatically through the intermediation of means fusible by excess of temperature and we do not broadly claim this idea, but only the embodiment and means which have been disclosed and which we particularly set forth in the following claim.

We claim In combination with a fire resistant shutter comprisin a flexible fire resistant material fastene to and adapted to be coiled upon bands elastically secured to a shaft a pulley at the end'of said shaft provided with spaced peripheral recesses, a lever pivoted to the shutter casing provided with a pin to engage said recesses, a weight provided with an elongated slot surrounding the end of said lever, said weight being adapted to be raised or to fall so as to engage the lever with the bottom of said slot when in its upper position and with the top of said slot when in its lower position, means to prevent said. weight from slipping off said lever, and means attached to the bottom of said weight for raising it to its topmost position, said raising means being adapted to be held taut by' fusible means, substantially as and for the'purpose described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses.

LESTER G. WILSON.

FRANK McMANUS.

Witnesses asto Lester G. Wilson:

ELMER SHIRLYONN, ERNST DOSCHER.

Witnesses as to Frank McManus:

T. Y. IDAVIS, H. E. D. WILSON.

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