Year: 1889

page_text: I, JOHN TAYLOR of the firm of Dowson, Taylor and Co. Limited of Blackfriars
Bridge, Manchester in the County of Lancaster, Fire Engineers, do hereby declare
the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed,
to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The object of this invention is to provide a very simple but valuable arrangement
whereby a door can be opened and closed without unfastening or in any way
disturbing the automatic appliance by which the door is held open, and is especially
applicable to fire-doors.
In order that these doors shall close automatically if a fire occurs on either side of
the opening, they are held open by means of a cord or chain which is jointed at one or
more places with a fusible soldered link.
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a fire-proof door open to allow of passage from one
room to another Fig. 2 is a sectional plan of a part of the door in the jamb when
the door is shut, showing how the door is held tight against the wall or face of the
door-way or opening-Fig. 3 is a front view of the fusible link-Fig. 4 is a plan
of same, and Fig. 5 is a section through line A' B' in Figs. 3 and 4, showing the
soldered key for relieving the solder from strain.
A is a door of wood constructed of two thicknesses of tongued and grooved boards
laid diagonally across each other and covered on the sides and edges with sheets of
tin fastened in any convenient manner. B is an inclined slide secured to the wall
by the bolts X; C, C, are rollers and guides or supports for carrying the door A on
the inclined slide B; K is the jamb (also shown in section in Fig. 2) bevelled on the
inside to receive the door and force it against the wall when shut, and N is a link
secured by fusible solder.
The fusible link N is composed of the plates S and T with the openings V, in which
is secured by solder the key W to relieve the fusible solder of all strain, this being
necessary owing to the fact that the fusible solder (155°) is of that peculiar character

page_text: that it will not permanently resist strain. It is well known that it is only a matter of
time when the flat surfaces of the plates S and T are soldered together with this
peculiar solder that they will yield to a comparatively slight strain and separate.
The cord or chain P to which the fusible link N is placed is attached to the back
edge of the door, and passes partially round and over the pulleys L and M. To
the other end of the cord or chain P is attached the weight O to counter-balance
the tendency of the door to run on the inclined slide B and close the doorway or
opening.
It will be manifest that this door can be easily opened and closed at will without
unfastening or disturbing the automatic attachment or fusible link N, as has been
necessary with all contrivances heretofore used.
When the fusible link N is released by the heat of a fire the door will be free to
run on the slide B and 'shut itself tight in the bevelled jamb K. The bevelled block F
receives the bottom edge of the door A when it closes and forces the latter tight against
the wall and the threshold G.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said Inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is: :-
The combination of a self-closing door with a counter-balancing weight tending to
hold the door open, a cord or chain connecting the said weight and door and passing
over a pulley and across the doorway the said cord or chain being joined opposite the
doorway with a device capable of being severed by heat.
Dated M
1 1009