IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE EXTINCTEURS
Year: 1880

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Ernest Dutry
Belgium, but at present residing at
Bruneel, of Ghent, in the Kingdom of
Sheffield, in the County of York, for an
Invention of IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE EXTINCTEURS." A communication
"
from abroad by Heinrich Gübler, of Thurbenthal, Switzerland.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Ernest Dutry Bruneel at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 20th December 1880.
ERNEST DUTRY BRUNEEL, of Ghent, in the Kingdom of Belgium, but at present
residing at Sheffield, in the County of York. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE
EXTINCTEURS." A communication from abroad by Heinrich Gübler, of Thurbenthal,
Switzerland.
This Invention relates to improvements in the construction of extincteurs, or
apparatus used for extinguishing fires by means of carbonic acid gas, and it consists
chiefly in the arrangement of that portion of the apparatus used for supporting
the bottle of sulphuric acid, and in the method of releasing and discharging the
contents of the same when required.
In carrying out this Invention, a case made of sheet steel is provided of the
ordinary cylindrical shape, with the usual hose and jet.
A circular opening provided with a screw thread is formed in the centre of the
top of the case which is made concave or dished, so that water may be more readily
poured into it without the use of a funnel.
A screwed cap of any suitable anticorrosive metal (such as gunmetal) is made to
fit and securely close up the centre hole, and from the underside of the cap depend
two arms, to the ends of which a spring clip is attached by means of pivots. The
spring clip is made with an open side being shaped like the letter C, and is free to
revolve on its pivots between the beforementioned arms, and it is intended to carry
the bottle containing the acid.
The bottle or vessel to contain the sulphuric acid is of an elongated form, and is
made of glass, porcelain, lead, or any suitable material, and an annular groove

page_text: is made round its circumference below the centre of gravity, so that when the
bottle is supported by the spring clip in the annular groove, it turns over with its
mouth downwards by reason of its own gravitation.
The mouths of the bottles are secured by a leaden capsule, and they may be
further secured by wax or other similar substance.
Through the centre of the metallic cap, which is provided with a stuffing box, is
a short piston rod, the outer end having a suitable knob, and the inner end having
a pointed leaden cone; there are also handles to enable the operator to more
rapidly unscrew and replace the cap when required than can be done by means of a
spanner or wrench. The method of charging and working the extincteur is as
follows: Fill up the case with a solution of water and bicarbonate of soda to the
desired height, take a bottle of sulphuric acid, which is secured at the mouth by a
leaden capsule, and press it into the spring clip, retain it in an upright position and
force down the piston, pressing the point of the lead cone through the capsule,
which is easily pierced, the cone effectually stopping up the opening, and retaining
the bottle in its vertical position, pass the bottle of acid through the opening into
the case and screw down the cap tightly. To prevent any accidental movement
of the piston, holes are provided in the piston knob, through which a light cord may
be passed and secured to the cap handles and sealed. To bring the extincteur into
action all that is necessary is to draw out the piston.
The result being that the leaden plug is withdrawn from the hole pierced through
the capsule of the acid bottle, gravitation causes the bottle to swing round or
capsize with its mouth downwards and discharge the acid into the solution of
bicarbonate of soda, carbonic acid gas is at once liberated, attains a high pressure,
and the apparatus is ready for use.
According to this Invention the bottles, which have not to be broken as they have
in the ordinary extincteurs, may be refilled and used repeatedly at a trifling cost,
and there is not the danger of the hose being stopped up by pieces of broken glass.
These improvements render the action of charging and operating the extincteur
very simple and rapid, and there is great economy in bottles.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Ernest Dutry Bruneel in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 19th
March 1881.
ERNEST DUTRY BRUNEEL, of Ghent, in the Kingdom of Belgium, at present
residing in Sheffield, in the County of York. "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE
EXTINCTEURS." [A communication from abroad.]
The Invention communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, relates to
improvements in the apparatus used for extinguishing fires, and known by the
term "extincteurs," and it consists chiefly in the peculiar construction of that part
of the extincteur used for supporting the bottle or vessel of sulphuric acid, and in
the method of supporting and releasing the same, and discharging the contents
when the extincteur is required for action. The advantage claimed for this
Invention are, great simplicity in recharging and working the extincteur, certainty
of action when required for use, economy in acid bottles, and avoidance of risk to
the hose by fragments of broken glass, as in those of the usual construction where
the bottles require to be broken to discharge the contents.
The case of the improved extincteur may be of the usual cylindrical shape, and
be composed of tinned sheet steel, or other suitable metal, and provided with the
usual hose and jet, and shoulder straps or other means of transport.
I make the top cover of the case dished or concave on the outside, with a
circular hole or inlet in the centre, so that it may be readily filled with water
without the use of a funnel, and also concave in the inside, so that it can be easily
emptied of water when washing it out, and also to strengthen the apparatus, the
circular inlet being provided with a screw thread, into which is screwed the
apparatus for supporting and discharging the bottle of acid.
The principle of the Invention may be briefly described as suspending a bottle
or vessel, charged with the acid required for the purposes of an extincteur, at a
point below its centre of gravity, in such a manner that when released it will
instantly turn over or capsize and discharge its contents, in combination with the
method of piercing and closing the orifice in the capsule of the bottle by means of
a lead cone which at the same time retains the bottle in a vertical position till it is
withdrawn.
The way in which the above objects are accomplished will be understood from
the following description:
-
The portion of the apparatus which is screwed into the centre hole of the case as
before described, somewhat resembles a cap or plug provided with a screwthread,
and this and the other parts of the apparatus are made of gunmetal or other
anticorrosive metal.
From the underside of what I will hereafter call the cap or plug depend two
arms, between the lower ends of which is pivotted an open sided spring clip, in
shape like the letter C, and which can revolve freely between the pendent arms.
The bottle, which can be made of any suitable material, but by preference of glass,
is of an elongated form, having an annular groove or recess formed round its,
periphery below its centre of gravity to receive the spring clip, into which it is
pressed by the operator; the mouth of the bottle is secured by a thin leaden capsule,
and a coating of beeswax or similar material. A vertical piston rod passes through
the cap or plug, terminated at the top (outside) by a knob and at the inside end by
a leaden cone, the point of which is over the centre of the capsule, and through

page_text: which it may be forced by the pressure of the hand, thus making a hole in the
capsule and closing it at the same time, it also retains the bottle in a vertical
position till it is withdrawn for use in case of fire, and in order to prevent its
withdrawal inadvertently, as also to indicate that the extincteur has not been
tampered with, a thin cord may be passed through holes prepared in the knob of
the piston rod, and the ends fastened to the sides of the extincteur or other suitable
place. Two handles project from the cap for the purpose of screwing it quickly
and securely into the circular inlet, thus being always at hand, and doing away with
the necessity for a separate and disconnected wrench, which may be missing at the
moment of need.
It is usual in other extincteurs to break the acid bottle that the contents may
be discharged, but by simply piercing the capsule it is obvious that the same
bottles may be recharged and used repeatedly; and in order that the Invention
may be more fully understood I will now proceed to more particularly describe
the same, and for that purpose shall refer to the letters and figures on the annexed
Sheet of Drawings.
Figure 1 is an elevation of the improved apparatus, part being shown in section,
so that it may be more clearly understood, and is indicated by the usual diagonal
lines.
Figure 2 represents the knob of the piston and the holes for the cord.
Figure 3 is a plan of the spring clip.
A is the cap with the screw thread a, a; B, B, are the arms to screw the cap into
the case; C, C, are the pendent arms; D is the spring clip; E is the bottle; d, d,
are the pivots of the revolving clip D; F, the capsule; G the vertical piston rod;
H, a stuffing box through which the rod passes; I, the leaden cone; K, the knob of
the piston; L, L, the holes for the cord; M, the concave top of the case; N, the
concave inside of cover.
The method of charging the extincteur and bringing it into action is as follows:-
Unscrew and withdraw the apparatus from the case, and fill through the centre
hole to the desired height with a solution of water and bicarbonate of soda. Take
a previously filled and capsuled bottle of acid E and pass it into the spring clip D,
retaining it in its upright position; then force down the piston G till the cone I
has pierced through the capsule F, which will keep it in a vertical position, and
finally secure it by means of a thin cord passed through the holes L, L, and tie to
the handle B, B, pass the bottle into the case, and screw the cap A tightly down to
the shoulder by the handles B, B. To prepare for action in case of fire break the
cord and drawn out the piston G, thereby withdrawing the lead cone from the hole
in the capsule and releasing the bottle, which instantly turns mouth downwards
and discharges the acid, which mixing with the solution of bicarbonate of soda
carbonic acid gas is liberated and at once attains a high pressure; the extincteur
is then ready for use.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said Inven-
tion, as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner in
which it may be carried into effect, I wish to observe in conclusion that I do not
confine myself to the precise details or configuration of the apparatus as herein
described and illustrated; but what I do consider to be novel and therefore
claim as the Invention secured to me by the hereinbefore in part recited Letters
Patent is,--
First. The use of bottles (in extincteurs) suspended by revolving clips or other
equivalent means from or at a point or position below the centre of gravity, so that
when released the bottle will turn over or capsize and discharge the contents,
substantially as described and illustrated.
Second. The use in extincteurs of a dished or concave lid or cover, provided with
the supply opening, substantially as described and illustrated.
Third. The construction and combination of the various parts composing an
apparatus for supporting and discharging the contents of the acid bottle used in

page_text: extincteurs, or any mere modifications of such apparatus, substantially as described
and illustrated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Ernest Dutry Bruneel, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and eighty-one.
ERNEST DUTRY BRUNEEL. (L.S.)