Improvements in or relating to Fire Sprinklers.
Year: 1897

page_text: This Print is in accordance with the Original Specification as it stands after
Amendment (under Section 18 of the Patents, &c. Act, 1883) as allowed by
the decision of the Chief Examiner of the 20th day of September, 1898.
Date of Application, 19th Mar., 1897
Complete Specification Left, 20th Dec., 1897-Accepted, 18th June, 1898
Improvements in or relating to Fire Sprinklers.
I, FREDERICK WILLIAM GREW, of 15, Seething Lane, in the City of London,
Milling Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:
This invention relates to automatic fire sprinklers employed for the protection
from fire of an area below or adjacent to them, and caused to act by the raising
of the temperature to a predetermined point.
Fire sprinklers as hitherto usually constructed possess certain disadvantages;
in some of them there are working parts or projections in the water-way which
impede the delivery of liquid, and the working parts are exposed to atmospheric
influence or to the danger of becoming clogged with dirt and dust, or corroded.
According to the present invention a sprinkler is constructed with a clear water-
way, at the end of which is a valve, preferably having a wood pulp or other non-
corrosive facing; this valve is normally retained in position to close the end of
the water way by preferably a spring, bearing at one end upon the valve and at
the opposite end upon the interior of a casing which may be of a material which is
a non-conductor of heat, such for instance as wood pulp, or may be coated with
such a material. This casing encloses the valve and the operative parts of the
sprinkler, and is conveniently made in two or more parts engaged or interlocked
with a stationary portion of the same and so formed and combined with the spring
or other device by which the valve is held against its seat that the action of the
spring, or of the water pressure on the valve acting through such spring or other
connection, tends always to separate them and cause them to fly off the sprinkler,
and in so doing to permit the valve to open and the water to be delivered from
the sprinkler, which may have the usual deflector or other spreading device.
The parts of the casing are engaged with each other by fusible or other locking
devices adapted to operate automatically by variation of their temperature, such
as a bar secured at its opposite ends to the casing by solder joints which soften or
fuse at a predetermined temperature or otherwise operate upon the attainment of
a certain temperature to release the parts of the case, and allow the latter to
separate, the valve to open and the sprinkler to come into operation.
Conveniently the spreader may be so constructed and held in position as to con-
stitute a guide for the valve.
The casing may be divided in the plane of the axis of the sprinkler and the
valve may be upheld by a spring provided with a coned or wedge-shaped head,
the reaction set up by the spring between the head and the cone tending to open
out the parts of the casing which are held together by the thermal locking device.

page_text: The combination of a non-conducting casing and of a bar locking-device is
advantageous, but the invention is not limited to this particular construction.
Dated this 19th day of March 1807
BOULT & WADE,
Agents for the Applicant.
improvements in or relating to Fire Sprinklers.
I, FREDERICK WILLIAM GREW, of 15, Seething Lane, in the City of London,
Milling Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention. and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement; -
This invention relates to automatic fire sprinklers employed for the protection
from fire of an area below or adjacent to them, and caused to act by the raising
of the temperature to a predetermined point.
Fire sprinklers as hitherto usually constructed possess certain disadvantages;
in some of them there are working parts or projections in the water-way which
impede the delivery of liquid, and the working parts are exposed to atmospheric
influence or to the danger of becoming clogged with dirt and dust, or corroded.
According to the present invention a sprinkler is constructed with a clear water-
way, at the end of which is a valve, preferably having a facing of non-corrosive
metal or other material; this valve is normally retained in position to close the
end of the water-way by preferably a spring, bearing at one end upon the valve
and at the opposite end upon the interior of the casing which may be of a material
which is a non-conductor of heat, such for instance as wood-pulp, or may be
coated with such a material. This casing encloses the valve and the operative
parts of the sprinkler, and is conveniently made in two or more parts engaged or
interlocked with a stationary portion of the same and so formed and combined
with the spring or other device by which the valve is held against its seat that the
action of the spring, or of the water pressure on the valve acting through such
opening or other connection, tends always to separate them and cause them to
fly off the sprinkler, and in so doing to permit the valve to open and the water
to be delivered from the sprinkler, which may have the usual deflector or other
spreading device.
The parts of the casing are engaged with each other by fusible or other locking
devices adapted to operate automatically by variation of their temperature, such
as a bar secured at its opposite ends to the casing by solder joints which soften or
fuse at a predetermined temperature or otherwise operate upon the attainment of
a certain temperature to release the parts of the case, and allow the latter to
separate, the valve to open and the sprinkler to come into operation.
Conveniently the spreader may be so constructed and held in position as to con-
stitute a guide for the valve.
The casing may be divided in the plane of the axis of the sprinkler and the
valve may be upheld by a spring provided with a coned or wedge-shaped head,
the reaction set up by the spring between the head and the cone tending to open
out the parts of the casing which are held together by the thermal locking device.
The combination of a non-conducting casing and of a bar locking-device is
advantageous, but the invention is not limited to this particular construction.
In the accompanying drawings,

page_text: Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of one construction of sprinkler accou
this invention,
Fig. 2 is a sectional plan on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.
Figs. 3 and 4 are each sectional elevations of alternative constructions of
sprinkler also according to this invention,
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one half of a cover for a sprinkler according to
this invention.
Fig. 6 shows a modification of the construction of valve illustrated in Fig. 3.
Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.
A is the nozzle or stem of the sprinkler, screwed as at A₁ so that it may engage
with a suitable fitting in the water pipe or other fluid containing vessel, and hav-
ing its lower edge rounded as at A³. The nozzle A is provided with two
flanges A2, A and two tongues or projections A³ for purposes hereinafter described.
With reference first to Fig. 1, B is a tube of metal or other suitable material
having a flanged end B which is countersunk upon its upper surface as at B2.
This countersunk recess B2 is filled with some non-corrodible material metallic or
otherwise. The bottom end of the tube B extends down nearly into contact with
the base of an inverted cone D which is recessed as at D'. A spiral spring H is
provided, the upper end of which presses against the under side of the flange B¹,
its lower end bearing in the recess D¹ in the base of the conical piece D. The
whole arrangement B, B, D and H may be looked upon as constituting the valve,
which by closing the end A5 of the nozzle A prevents the water from Howing out.
E is a casing or cover made preferably of woodite or other material, which is
a bad conductor of heat. It is conveniently made in two halves, separable in a
vertical plane, in which is the axis of the sprinkler. As'illustrated the division
is shown by the dotted line E¹. The top of the cover E is in the form of a neck E³,
the upper end of which fits into a groove A in the flange A².
The cover is sup-
ported upon the before-mentioned tongues A³. In the centre of the bottom of
the cover E a countersunk conical recess E³ (Fig. 5) is formed which receives the
point or apex of the conical piece D. At the opposite ends of a diameter upon
the lower portion of the casing E two recesses are formed into each of which an
angle piece F, preferably of metal, fits. In Figs. 1 and 4 these angle pieces àre
shown extending outwards from the base of the cover, but if preferred they may
as illustrated in Fig. 3 extend inwards towards the centre of the sprinkler.
A bar of metal or other suitable material G extends across the bottom of the
cover E and is fastened to the casing by suitable material, such as soft solder,
which will fuse when the temperature is raised to the requisite amount.
The various parts of the sprinkler are so proportioned that when the cover E
is placed in position, the lower end of the tube B is just clear of the top of the
conical piece D, the spring H being then compressed so that it exerts a consider-
able pressure upon the cone 1. This ensures that the valve facing B2 is always
in close contact with the end A5 of the nozzle A.
Dependent from the flange A4 by three pins J or equivalent is a deflector or
spreader K, comprising an annular ring with teeth K' projecting vertically from
its outer edge, and having a flanged recess K².
When the sprinkler is fixed ready for use, the pressure of water upon the valve
face B2 is transmitted to the conical piece D. It will therefore under the joint
action of this fluid pressure and the effort exerted by the spring H act as a wedge
in its seating E³ and tend to force the parts of the cover E apart. This tendency
is counterbalanced by the bar G, as long as the soft solder joints between it and the
angle pieces F, hold. As soon as either or both of these joints give way, through
the increase of their temperature, the parts of the cover are separated and being
forced apart by the conical wedge I slips off the tongues A³ and fall away. The
wedge D and spring H also drop away, as they are no longer supported by the
cover. The valve B is then free to fall which it immediately does, until the
flange B is caught by the flanged recess K2 in the deflector K. There is now a

page_text: clear way for the water through the nozzle A, and consequently it descends with
great force upon the top of the flange B' which is now level with the base of the
teeth K¹ of the deflector K, and splashes up being spread by these teeth, and is
distributed in every direction.
It will be seen that this construction of sprinkler is applicable to either the
"wet" or "dry" pipe system, as it does not necessarily depend for its operation
upon the pressure of fluid in the pipe A. The spring H tending to throw the
cover off, whatever position the sprinkler may occupy on the pipe.
The foregoing description of the construction of the improved sprinkler. will
also apply to the construction illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, with the exception of
certain modifications in the valves which are as follows; -
In the construction illustrated in Fig. 3, the spring H is dispensed with, the
bottom of the tube B resting upon the upper face of the conical piece D. The
recess D¹ is in this case preferably filled with a non-corrodible material, a portion
of which extends for a short distance up into the interior of the tube B, as at D³,
or the face of the non-corrodible material may be formed into an approximately
spherical shape as shown in Fig. 6.
In this construction the tube B acts as a strut connecting the flange B¹ with
the conical piece D.
If it be desired that there should be provision for positive adjustment for length
between the conical recess E³ in the cover E and the bottom end A5 of the nozzle A,
without employing a spring, it can be obtained as in the further example illus-
trated in Fig. 4, by means of a screw L which passes through a hole in the cover E
and screws into a hole D³ tapped to receive it in the conical plug D. There is
clearance round the screw L, where it passes through the cover E, but such clear-
ance is so slight that dust, dirt etc. are excluded from the interior of the sprinkler.
The point of the screw L bears against the upper end of the interior of the tube B,
so that by screwing it in or out the distance between the valve face B³ and the
conical piece D is altered. In this construction the vertical parts of the angle
pieces Fare preferably made longer, so that there may be space provided between
the bottom of the casing E and the bar G for the head of the screw L.
Although the cover E is preferably made of some material which is a bad con-
ductor of heat, it is obvious that if desired it may be made of metal, each half-
cover with its angle piece being in one piece.
The advantages of sprinklers made according to this invention are chiefly as
follows:
No working parts can possibly come into contact with the water until the
sprinkler is in action, because until the device operates the water cannot come
beyond the valve-face 132.
There is no part which is at all likely to get out of order, and there is no me-
chanism between the conical wedge D, which may be looked upon as part of the
valve, and the cover E. The valve is acted upon positively by the pressure of
the water, and the valve-face B2 is large and of non-corrodible material.
The cover E does not enclose or shield any device depending for its action upon
the temperature; the only device of this nature is the bar G, which is outside the
cover E.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said in-
vention. and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. In an automatic fire sprinkler the combination with a separable enclosing
cover of a wedge substantially as described, for separating the parts of the cover
when the joint is melted.
2. In an automatic fire sprinkler the combination with a nozzle A and separable
cover such as E of a valve such as B B¹ D, substantially as described.

page_text: 3. In an automatic fire sprinkler the combination with a separable cover such
as E having angle pieces F of a bar or plate G substantially as and for the pur-
pose described.
4. In an automatic fire sprinkler the combination with a separable cover such
as E, conical wedge 1) and tube such as B, of an adjusting screw L, substantially
as and for the purpose described.
5. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the complete auto-
matic fire sprinkler substantially as described and illustrated in Figures 1 and 2,
or 3 or 4 of the accompanying drawings.
FREDERICK WILLIAM GREW.
Boult & Wade,
Agents for the Applicant.