Improvements in Electric Fire Alarms.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Sept., 1895-Accepted, 12th Oct., 1895
Improvements in Electric Fire Alarms.
We, CHARLES DARWIN TISDALE, of 124 Trenton Street East Boston, Boston,
Suffolk County, State of Massachusetts, Electrician, and JOHN DUNKLEE GOULD,
of 399 Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, County of Kings, State of New York,
Broker, both in the United States of America, 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 :-
The object of the present invention is to provide a simple, cheap and efficient
electrical fire alarm system for use more particularly in apartment houses,
dwellings, buildings and the like, also applicable to stores, warehouses, factories
and the like, and the invention consists in combination with a room or other
apartment, place, building or the like, of a wire made of any suitable fusible
material, that will fuse at the desired degree of heat, which is located and run
around a room, building or the like as desired, an electric circuit and a sounding
device all constructed and arranged for operation substantially as hereinafter
described.
The invention also consists in combination with a room, or other apartment,
place, building or the like, of a wire made of any suitable fusible material that
will fuse at the desired degree of heat, which is located and run around a room,
building or the like, as desired, an electric circuit, an electric motor and an
incandescent lamp, all constructed and arranged for operation substantially as
hereinafter fully described.
The invention further consists in combination with a room, or other apartment,
place, building or the like, of a wire made of any suitable fusible material that
will fuse at the desired degree of heat, which is located and run around a room,
building or the like, as desired, an electric circuit, a sounding device, an electric
motor and incandescent lamp, all constructed and arranged for operation sub-
stantially as hereinafter fully described.
The said invention is illustrated in the drawing in which
Figure 1 represents the side of a room with the invention applied thereto, and
Figure 2 is a diagram representing the fusible wire extending around as if in a
series of rooms or buildings and the manner of making the electric circuit.
In the drawings A represents the side wall of a room, and B its mop or skirting
board. C is a wire, which is made of metal, and one that will fuse at any desired
heat; as shown, this wire extends from a point D on the wall down and then along
the mop or skirting board at E having a return bend at a, and then runs along the
skirting board at F, above its other portion E thence upward at G and to the right
at H and upward to and is electrically connected with one pole of a magnet J
secured to the wall.
This fusible wire with the magnet is an electric circuit made by a wire K from
the terminal D with one pole of an electric battery L and from the other pole of
the battery by a wire M with the electro magnet J which makes the circuit
complete through the fusible wire back to the commencement D closing the same,
which attracts the armature N and mores it toward itself, but to rest and bear
upon an insulated block B which is located so that the armature will be just free
of and not touch the magnet.

page_text: Another electric circuit is made as follows:-From the battery a wire 6 runs to
and connects with an electro motor Q from thence a wired connects with a bell R
and from the bell another wire e connects with a block or terminal S; another
wire connects at the point D of the fusible wire and runs from thence to and
connects with the armature N.
T is an incandescent lamp, and its thumb piece U has a crank arm V attached
to it, which at its end is connected by a cord W with the shaft Y of the electric
motor, so that if the motor is operated its shaft as it turns will wind up the cord,
pulling down the crank arm V and cause the thumb piece to turn sufficiently to
turn on the electric current in connection therewith, and light the lamp.
In practical use the fusible wire C can be run round the room at any and all
places desired, along the mop or skirting board, up the sides, along the ceiling,
cornices or the like, but should be of one continuous length or at least so that the
electric current will flow through its whole length.
The electric apparatus, the bell and lamp can be placed in another room, or in
any part of the building, or the bell and lamp could be placed outside of the
building as desired, but the electric wires should connect with the fusible wire as
at D and the fusible wire with the magnet, or if the magnet was located in another
room, an electric wire could connect the two.
With an electrical fire alarm device arranged for operation as described and
shown, if a fire occurs in any part of the room wherever the fusible wire is
located, the wire at such place will become heated, and will soon melt and run
down, breaking or separating at such place, and breaking the electric circuit
demagnetizing the magnet, which releases the armature, when instantly the spring g
connected to the armature N pulls it away from contact with the insulated point P
over to and in contact with the terminal S which then makes the electric circuit
through the battery, motor, bell and armature as described.
The instant, the electric motor is operated it winds up the cord and turns the
thumb piece u of the incandescent lamp which is then lighted, and the bell is
caused to ring giving an alarm by light and sound, which continues until some one
comes to shut off the current or the battery runs down.
The fusible wire can be of any size, preferably quite small, and it can be of a
metal or compound, to fuse at any desired or very low degree of heat; it can
extend round the room, along the mop or skirting, in one of its grooves or at any
desired place and height in the room along the sides of the room or in the corners,
into closets or the like, and being small wire as is evident, it can be laid easily and
conveniently in nearly all places about the room, or building it being necessary
however to keep the fusible wire electrically continuous and have its two ends
connected with the electrical circuit to be complete at all times through the fusible
wire so that when the fusible wire is broken, the clectric circuit will be broken and
the bell sounded as described.
(r
The bell and battery can be located in any place in or out of the building,
outside of the room, or on the outside of the building, and in some cases it might
be well to have the electric lamp outside of the building, so that on the sounding of
the bell, calling attention to it, any person in the street could quickly tell in which
building the fire had occurred by the light, which in such cases should preferably
have a red glass globe.
The great advantage of this system of electrical fire alarm is, that the fusible
wire can extend round the room or building indefinitely, and in to all places
connected therewith making what may be called a continuous fusible electric
circuit so that the instant a flame, or extreme and dangerous heat, touches or warms
up any part of the continuous wire, it will melt and break or separate at such
place, and break the electric circuit in connection therewith, which electric circuit
is then made through the hell, sounding the same, and if the motor and electric lamp
are in the circuit causing the electric motor to turn and the electricity to light the
lamp, which continues to sound and the light to burn, respectively until some one
comes.

page_text: The bell or sounding device can be used alone without the electric lamp in a
great many places, also the lamp can be used without the bell, and sometimes the
two can be used in combination.
This extensive use and arrangement of the fusible wire in a room or other place
ensures that an alarm will be given immediately at the start of the fire, and at all
places in the room or building before it is spread, or becomes dangerous or of any
magnitude, as is obvious and this is very important. As this fusible wire can be
made at a very small cost, it makes a very cheap device, and also being so cheap
is very effectual in that, plenty of the wire can be used at a small cost, and thus
every place, corner or the like in the room or building will be protected by it.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is :-
1. In an electric fire alarm, the combination with an electric motor, electric
battery and electric magnet, of a continuous wire C of uniformly fusible material
connected at one end to said magnet, a wire K connecting one end of said fusible
wire to one pole of the battery, a wire M connecting said magnet with the other
pole of the battery, a wire 6 from the battery to the motor, a sounding device, a
wire connecting said sounding device to the motor, a terminal or block S,
and a wire e running from said sounding device to said block, substantially as
described.
2. In an electric fire alarm, the combination with an electric motor, electric
battery and electric magnet, of a continuous wire C of uniformly fusible material
connected at one end to said magnet, a wire K connecting one end of said fusible
wire to one pole of the battery, a wire M connecting said magnet with the other
pole of the battery, a wire from the battery to the motor, a sounding device, a
wire d connecting said sounding device to the motor, a terminal or block S, a
wire e, running from said sounding device to said block, an incandescent lamp
provided with a crank arm V, and a cord W connecting said crank arm with the
shaft Y of the motor, substantially as described.
1
1
cambo 1905
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, Loudon, W.C., Agents for the Applicants.