Method of and Apparatus for Saving Life from Fire.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 16th Jan., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 17th Nov., 1890-Accepted, 16th Jan., 1891
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A Method of and Apparatus for Saving Life from Fire.
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN, of Norfolk House, Norfolk Street, Strand, London,
W.C., Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
In the Complete Specification filed in pursuance of my application for Letters
Patent, No. 3031 of the year 1888, I describe automatic apparatus for saving life
from fire which is actuated by electricity. My present invention is intended to
effect the same objects as my previous invention just cited but it differs therefrom
in that instead of employing electricity 1 utilise the heat produced by the fire to
operate releasing or other devices by means either of the fusion of a suitable body
or the change of a suitable body produced by its combustion or chemical combina-
tion with another body. As examples I may mention the operation of the releasing
or other devices by means of the combustion of a sustaining cord and by the fusion
of a link composed of a suitable metal or alloy.
1000
J. G. LORRAIN.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A Method of and Apparatus for Saving Life from Fire.
I, JAMES GRIEVE LORRAIN, of Norfolk House, Norfolk Street, Strand, London,
W.C., Consulting Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
In the Complete Specification filed in pursuance of my application for Letters
Patent, No. 3031 of the year 1888, I describe automatic apparatus for saving life
from fire which is actuated by electricity. My present invention, like that described
in my prior Specification just cited, is intended to cause the operation of animal
releasing devices; but it differs in that instead of employing electricity I utilise the
heat produced by the fire to operate animal releasing devices by means either of the
fusion of a suitable body or of the change of a suitable body produced by its com-
bustion or chemical combination with another body.
Having thus described in general language the nature and object of my invention,
and so defined its scope, I shall now proceed to explain in detail, and as types or
examples merely, two ways in which it is to be or may be performed or carried into
effect.
One way of carrying my invention into effect is by means of a sustaining cord of
readily inflamable material. A reference to my prior Specification above cited will
explain the action in this case. Let us assume that the lever L of the apparatus
shown in Figure 1 of my said prior Specification instead of being sustained by the
armature lever is sustained by an inflamable cerd one end of which is attached to
the lever Land the other end to a suitable point of support, say a hook in the ceiling
or in a rafter. If now a fire breaks out and the cord is ignited, the latter on being
burned through will allow the weighted lever L to drop and turn on its fulcrum,
and so release the animal as explained in my said prior Specification. The cord is
made of sufficient strength for the weight it has to sustain. To prevent its being
broken by an accidental knock I prefer to attach it to the weighted lever by means
of a short spiral spring or short length of india-rubber cord so that should the
inflamable cord be struck the spring will yield slightly and the inflamable cord be
saved. Instead of attaching the cord to a fixed point of support vertically over the
lever L or its equivalent. I prefer to pass the cord through a ring or over a

page_text: pulley above the lever, and then continue it across the ceiling, or to any part where
it will be likely to be ignited by any flames that may arise. The fixed point of
support may thus be at a considerable distance from the weighted lever; and the
cord may pass in a winding direction through many rings. Soft cotton cord
impregnated with nitre is what I have found most suitable for the purpose, as it
ignites easily and burns through without flame. Cords of gun cotton may also be
employed if in a stable, byre or shed fitted with sprinklers or other automatic fire
extinguishing devices.
Another convenient way of carrying my invention into effect is as follows. Let us
assume that the lever L instead of being sustained by a combustible cord is sustained
by a link, pin, projection or chain or the like the whole or part of which is fusible at
a suitable temperature. The fusible matter will melt under the heat of the fire, allow
the lever L to turn, and so release the animal as in the case wherein a combustible
cord is employed. The use of a pin or projection on which the lever L for example
may rest is as a rule less advantageous than the use of a sustaining device by which
the lever may hang; for the reason that it is generally inconvenient to have the lever,
unless for example it be long and curved upwards, in such a situation as to be readily
influenced by the currents of heated air produced on the outbreak of a fire. In
practice I find it most convenient to suspend lever L by a thin wire, say of galvanised
iron, arranged in the same way as the combustible cord. At intervals along this
wire I interpose rings or links of suitable fusible metal, such for example as those
employed in many forms of automatic sprinkler; or instead of interposing such rings
or links I cut the wire at intervals and then solder the adjacent ends together by
means of a fusible solder which will give way on a sufficient rise of temperature.
With the said wire I generally employ a spring for the purpose of relieving the
apparatus from shock or concussion as in the case of the combustible cord.
I have hitherto in my present Specification spoken of the sustaining device as
sustaining the lever L. Of course it could sustain any other similar or equivalent
device, such for example as a weight arranged to turn L as the weight jº in Figure 6
of my prior Specification above referred to is arranged to turn the lever j³.
I have now described the best way of carrying my invention into effect by means
of the fusion of a suitable body and also the best way of carrying it into effect by
means of the chemical combination of a suitable body with another body, or in other
words its combustion-in the case mentioned the combination taking place between
the combustible cord and the oxygen of the air. There are however many other ways
by which my method may he carried into effect and which will readily occur to any
competent engineer. For example, instead of using a combustible cord, an incom-
bustible cord with a combustible bomb (with or without a combustible fuse) interposed
in its length might be employed. Or such a bomb might sustain the lever and blow
or force it round on exploding. Or to the weighted lever L for example a piston
might be attached, the said piston working in a cylinder filled with solid paraffin, so that
when the paraffin melted the piston would be free to drop or descend through it and
so permit of the lever L turning and releasing the animal.
It is however unnecessary
to enumerate all the means by which my method can be utilised as in my opinion
none are so simple or give such good results as those in the two typical cases
described.
I desire it to be understood that I do not limit myself to any particular form of
animal releasing device. In practice I prefer to use the form of animal releasing
device, shown in Figures 2 and 3 of my said prior Specification with a lever similar
to that shown in Figure 1 but which instead of having a weight fixed thereon has a
weight attached to it by a chain, as the weight is attached to the lever in
Figure 6 of my said prior Specification.
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
1. The herein before described method of saving life from fire consisting in utilising

page_text: the heat produced by the fire to operate an animal releasing device by means of
(a) the fusion of a suitable body or (b) the combustion of a suitable body.
2. The apparatus for saving life from fire consisting in the combination of lan
animal releasing device and a fusible sustaining device.
3. The apparatus for saving life from fire consisting in the combination of an
anima releasing device and a combustible sustaining device.
Dated this 17th day of November 1890.
J. G. LORRAIN.