IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONTAINING AND DISCHARGING WATER OR OTHER FLUID FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT
to William Henry Phillips, of Nunhead, in the
County of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR CONTAINING AND DISCHARGING WATER OR OTHER FLUID FOR
EXTINGUISHING FIRES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES."
Sealed the 3rd August 1869, and dated the 22nd March 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Phillips
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 22nd March 1869.
1. WILLIAM HENRY PHILLIPS, of Nunhead, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONTAINING AND DISCHARGING WATER OR
OTHER FLUID FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES," to be as
follows:-
My Invention relates to improvements in apparatus for containing and
discharging water or other liquid for the purpose of extinguishing fires,
and for other purposes.

page_text: The description of apparatus to which my present improvements are
applicable consists of a chamber or reservoir for containing a supply of
water or other fluid which is introduced through suitable passages. The
chamber or reservoir is provided with the means or apparatus, by means of
which the space above the water in the chamber is charged with air or
gas at a sufficient pressure to discharge the water from the chamber
through a suitable outlet when a tap or valve is opened.
According to one of my present improvements I combine with the
chamber or reservoir of apparatus of the above description a chamber or
compartment within which the air or gas is compressed or generated and
confined, and prevented from acting upon the water or liquid within the
ordinary reservoir until the apparatus is required for use. When or
before the water or liquid is to be discharged the air or gas is allowed to
escape by means of a valve or otherwise from the chamber or com-
partment within which it has been confined, into the chamber or
reservoir containing the water or liquid, the compressed air so admitted
into the water reservoir acting as a propelling force to eject the liquid as
required.
Apparatus may be constructed and arranged in a great variety of
forms in accordance with my Invention, and the chamber or compart-
ment within which the air or gas is confined or generated may be either
exterior or interior to the chamber or reservoir for the water or liquid, or
it may be so formed as to be attached and detached from the apparatus.
According to one part of my Invention I combine the above described
air compartment or chamber with a water or fluid chamber or reservoir
provided with a pump. Water (or air and water) is pumped into the
chamber, and as the water rises in the chamber the air within the
chamber is compressed and forced into the air chamber or compartment
combined with the apparatus. When a sufficient pressure is attained
the communication between the water chamber and the air chamber
is closed until the apparatus is required for use. After the air
compartment or chamber is closed the air remaining above the water
in the reservoir may be allowed to escape through a suitable tap or
valve so as to relieve this chamber from pressure, a valve connected to
a float may be employed in the interior of the water chamber by which
the amount of water introduced into the vessel may be regulated.
Where a separate air chamber is employed a pressure of gas may be

page_text: produced within the air chamber by the action of chemical substances
upon one another in solution or otherwise, or by the combustion of
suitable substances or compounds, care being taken not to introduce
more than such a quantity of such substances or compounds than is
sufficient to produce the required pressure.
According to another part of my Invention I produce the requisite
pressure within the water or liquid chamber or reservoir itself of portable
apparatus of the description above referred to by means of the com-
bustion of suitable substances or compounds within the space above the
water within such chamber, or within a chamber or compartment in
communication therewith, the charge of combustible substance or com-
pound and the space above the water or liquid being so regulated that
after the combustion of the charge only the requisite pressure of gas
or gases is produced to effectually expel the liquid contents of the
chamber.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William Henry Phillips in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 21st September 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY PHILLIPS,, of Nunhead, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-second day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the
thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give and grant unto me, the said William Henry Phillips,
Her special licence that I, the said William Henry Phillips, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Henry Phillips, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR CONTAINING AND DISCHARGING WATER OR

page_text: OTHER FLUID FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES AND FOR
upon the
OTHER PURPOSES,"
condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Henry Phillips,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the
Great Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Henry Phillips, do
hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in
and by the following statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention relates to improvements in apparatus for containing and
discharging water or other liquid for the purpose of extinguishing fires,
and for other purposes.
The description of apparatus to which my present improvements are
applicable consists of a chamber or reservoir for containing a supply of
water or other liquid which is introduced through suitable passages.
The chamber or reservoir is provided with means or apparatus by means
of which the space above the water in the chamber is charged with air
or gas at a sufficient pressure to discharge the water from the chamber
through a suitable outlet when a tap or valve is opened.
According to one of my present improvements I combine with the
chamber or reservoir of apparatus of the above description a chamber
or compartment within which the air or gas is compressed or generated
and confined, and prevented from acting upon the water or liquid within
the ordinary reservoir until the apparatus is required for use. When
or before the water or liquid is to be discharged the air or gas is allowed
to escape by means of a valve or otherwise, from the chamber or
compartment within which it has been confined into the chamber or
reservoir containing the water or liquid, the compressed air so admitted
into the water reservoir acting as a propelling force to eject the water or
other liquid as may be required.
Apparatus may be constructed and arranged in a great variety of fornis
in accordance with my Invention, and the chamber or compartment
within which the air or gas is confined or generated may be either exterior.

page_text: or interior to the chamber or reservoir for the water or liquid, or it
may be so formed as to be attached to and detached from the apparatus.
According to one part of my Invention I combine the above described
air compartment or chamber with a water or fluid chamber or reservoir
provided with a pump. Water (or air and water) is pumped into the
chamber, and as the water rises in the chamber the air within the
chamber is compressed and forced into the air chamber or compartment
combined with the apparatus. When a suflicient pressure is attained
the communication between the water chamber and the air chamber is
closed until the apparatus is required for use. After the air compart-
ment or chamber is closed the air remaining above the water in the
reservoir may be allowed to escape through a suitable tap or valve so
as to relieve this chamber from pressure. A valve connected to a float
may be employed in the interior of the water chamber by which the
amount of water introduced into the vessel may be regulated. Where
a separate air chamber is employed a pressure of gas may be produced
within the air chamber by the action of chemical substances upon one
another in solution or otherwise, or by the combustion of suitable sub-
stances or compounds care being taken not to introduce more than such
a quantity of such substances or compounds than is sufficient to produce
the required pressure.
According to another part of my Invention I produce the requisite
pressure within the water or liquid chamber or reservoir itself of portable
apparatus of the description above referred to by means of the com
bustion of suitable substances or compounds within the space above the
water within such chamber, or within a chamber or compartment in
communication therewith, the charge of combustible substance or
compound and the space above the water or liquid being so regulated
that after the combustion of the charge only the requisite pressure of
gas or gases is produced to effectually expel the liquid contents of the
chamber.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 shows a side view; Figure 2 a vertical section; Figure 3 a
plan, and Figure 4 a horizontal section of apparatus constructed
according to my Invention; a, a, is a vessel suitably constructed for
resisting the elastic force of a considerable internal pressure of air or

page_text: water; b, b, is a second chamber or compartment, also of sufficient
strength to resist the elastic force of compressed air, communication is
formed between the vessels a and b, by means of the pipe c, and such
communication can be closed by means of the valve d; e is a tube or
cylinder within which the piston e' can be moved up and down by means
of the piston rod e² and handle e; e' is a valve which will allow the
air or water to enter the tube e when the piston e¹ is raised, but which
closes when such piston is lowered; e is a tubular piece of india-rubber
or other flexible material secured to the tube e at es. The tube e is
perforated at e, and when the piston e' is forced downwards the air or
liquid within the tube is forced out through the perforations at e', and
escapes between the flexible tube or valve e, and the exterior of the
tube e into the vessel a, but upon the piston e' being raised the pressure
of air or liquid within the vessel closes the flexible tube upon the perfora-
tions in the tube e and acts as a valve to prevent the return of the liquid
or air from the vessel a into the tube e; f is a tap by which the contents
of the chamber a can be discharged when required through the flexible
hose f, or otherwise. In order to prepare the apparatus for use I
first open the valve d so as to open the communication between the
vessels a and b. I then place the lower part of the apparatus in a vessel
containing water which enters the apparatus below the valve e by
means of the perforations a', the piston e' is then raised and lowered
until the vessel a is charged with water to a level above the perforations
in the tube e or thereabouts, the supply of water to the apparatus is
then discontinued and the piston e¹ raised and lowered so as to force air
into the apparatus until a pressure above that of the atmosphere is
produced within the chambers a and b, (or the air may be pumped in
first) water is then pumped into the apparatus by raising and lowering
the piston e' until the chamber a is filled with water or thereabouts, and
the air which was in the chamber a being forced into the chamber b,
and thus composed so as to occupy a much smaller space than the
capacity of the chamber a. The valve d is then closed and so cuts off
the communication between the chambers a and b; c¹ is a screw plug
or valve, and after the valve d is closed the screw plug c¹ may be with-
drawn so as to allow any compressed air which may remain in the
chamber a to escape, when the chamber a will contain water which is
no longer under pressure, the screw plug c¹ is then replaced and the
apparatus is then in readiness for use at any time. In order to eject

page_text: the water from the apparatus when required, the valve d is opened so
as to allow the compressed air within the chamber d to escape through
the pipe c into the vessel a, and thus exert pressure upon the water
contained therein, the tap or valve f is then opened and the water
ejected from the apparatus. The pipe communicates with the upper
part of the chamber a and is carried down to the lower part of the
chamber b, in order that any liquid which may find its way into the
chamber b may be ejected from the chamber b into the vessel a when
the valve d is opened. I would have it understood that the form and
arrangement of the vessels a and b may be greatly varied and the
vessel b may be so formed as to be exterior to the vessel a, and in place
of the apparatus being charged by a pump combined with the apparatus
such pump may separate therefrom and be connected to the apparatus
when charging it and afterwards removed, or the chamber a may be
filled with water by pouring it in through a suitable aperture which can
be afterwards closed by a screw plug or otherwise, and the chamber b
charged with air at a suitable pressure by means of an air pump, as is
well understood.
A great variety of forms and arrangements of the valves d, e, e",
and may be employed when carrying my Invention into operation, but
for closing the passage between the chambers a and b I find the form of
valve to answer, shewn in section at Figure 5. In this valve c² is the
tube communicating with the chamber b, and c is the tube communi-
cating with the chamber a. The india-rubber or flexible diaphragm c
is secured above openings formed in the tubes c, c, as shown, co is a
plate which can be screwed down upon the flexible diaphragm c' over the
opening into the tube so as to close all communication between the
tubes and c³, but when the surface c is raised the pressure of air or
liquid will raise the flexible diaphragm c and open a communication
between pipes and c
1.
Figure 6 is a vertical section, and Figure 7 a plan of apparatus con-
structed with a pressure chamber wherein the pressure is generated by
combustion, similar or corresponding parts to those previously described
are marked with the same letters of reference. The chamber bis
provided with a screw cap or plug which can be removed so as to
introduce the charge of combustible material 62 (enclosed in a perforated
metal tube or case) into a perforated metal chamber 3 attached to the

page_text: screw cap or plug '; is a pin passing through the cap b', the pin +
is provided with a collar and washer of lead or other soft metal, or of
flexible material b, and the pin is held up by a spring b. When it
is desired to ignite the charge of combustible material the pin b' is
forced downwards so as to crush the small glass bottle containing
sulphuric acid, which coming in contact with a mixture of chlorate of
potash and sugar produces combustion, which is communicated to the
charge of combustible materials b². The combustion of the charge ba
is effected when the valve d'is closed so as to cut off the communication
between the vessels a and b, and the charge of combustible material is
so regulated in quantity that its combustion will generate no more gas
than is sufficient to eject the water from the chamber a with the
required force when the valve d is opened. The pressure of gas within
the chamber b will press the collar upon the pin against the cap
and so prevent escape of gas. If desired a thumbscrew may. be applied
to the pin b so as to hold the collar & tightly against the cap b' after
the charge is ignited is ignited. The chamber a is filled with water by
removing the screw cap a², such cap being afterwards replaced. A charge
is introduced into the chamber b, as above described, the valve & being
closed the charge can then be ignited so as to produce the requisite
pressure within the chamber b and the apparatus is then ready for use,
it being only necessary to open the valve d and so place the chambers a
and in communication in order that the pressure in the chamber b
may be exerted upon the water in the chamber a. It will be understood.
that in place of the charge of combustible materials carbonic acid or
other gas may be generated within the chamber by introducing
carbonate of soda and tartaric acid or other chemical agents, such gas
being prevented by the valve d from exerting its force upon the liquid
in the vessel a until it is required to eject the liquid from such vessel.
When I employ combustible materials I regulate the quantity introduced
into the chamber b so that the combustion of such material will produce
the requisite pressure of gas in the chamber and no more. I have
found the following composition to answer:-Twenty-five parts by weight
of charcoal, seventy-five parts by weight of refined saltpetre, and ten
parts by weight of lime, and I find that one cubic inch or thereabouts
of this material will produce by its combustion three hundred and fifty
cubic inches or thereabouts of gas at a pressure and temperature equa!
or nearly so to that of the atmosphere. I dissolve the saltpetre in a

page_text: vessel with water and apply heat to the vessel. When the solution is
at boiling point or thereabouts I add the pulverized charcoal and lime
and stir them into the liquid, I then continue the stirring and boiling
until the mass is reduced to a suitable consistence when it can be
transferred to moulds and allowed to cool into convenient forms for
future use. After the forms have set in the moulds they must be dried
so as to drive off any superfluous moisture.
The apparatus above described is so constructed as to be portable and
may be provided with straps, so that it can be carried, upon a man's
back as is well understood, but stationary apparatus may be arranged
in accordance with my Invention, and at Figure 8 I have shown a
side elevation of such stationary apparatus, a, a, are pipes or chambers
for containing water and b, b, are the compressed air vessels. Though I
have shown only two pairs of vessels a and b, and one pump at g, such
vessels and pump may be arranged in other convenient numbers without
departing from the nature of this part of my Invention. The vessels a, a,
are connected by a pipe and the communication between them can
be closed by a tap or valve at a'; c, c, are pipes connecting the vessels a
and b, and the communication, between the vessels and b
can be
closed by the valves d; g is a vessel provided with a pump, and this
pump can draw either air or water respectively from a chamber below
the foot valve of the pump through the pipes g¹ and g² provided with
laps, and inject such air or water through the pipe ginto the vessels a,
so as to charge the vessels a with water and the vessels with com-
pressed air in a similar manner to that before described.
The pump
chamber g may be constructed in a similar manner to that shewn at
Figures 1 to 5 of the Drawings and provided with suitable connections,
by which it can be connected to the chambers a and b when required,
and afterwards disconnected therefrom -if desired. The valves à can
then be closed so as to cut off communication between the vessels a
and b, and confine the compressed air within the chambers b. After the
valves d have been closed the screw plugs c¹ may be removed so as to
relieve the vessels a from all pressure until the apparatus is required
for use.
When it is required to eject the water contained in the vessels a
the valves must be opened, when the air confined in the chambers
will press upon the water in the vessels a, and so eject water through
the taps or valves f, to which flexible hose may be connected.

page_text: definite volume of gas, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Phillips, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Thirteenth day of September,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
nine..
.
WILLIAM HENRY PHILLIPS. (L.S.)
Witness,
WILLIAM TONGUE,
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, W.C.