Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Detecting and Locating Outbreaks of Fire in Warehouses, Dwelling Houses, or other Structures.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Feb., 1893
Complete Specification Left, 14th Nov., 1893-Accepted, 16th Dec., 1893!
•
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Detecting and
Locating Outbreaks of Fire in Warehouses, Dwelling Houses,
or other Structures.
We, JOSEPH SHAW GILL of 77 King Street, Southport, and WALTER BOLTON
of 15 Verulam Street, Liverpool, both in the County of Lancaster, Agent and
Telegraphist respectively, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention has for its object to enable an outbreak of fire to be promptly
detected and located at a very early stage, which, in all conflagrations and
especially those occurring in large warehouses and buildings, is of the utmost
importance. The invention is applicable for warehouses, store-rooms, private
dwellings, or in fact any structure in which an outbreak of fire is liable to occur.
In carrying our invention into effect, the plan we prefer is to arrange tubes or
conduits from the various rooms or floors of the building to a common centre or
receiver. Through these tubes, a continual current of air is drawn into the
receiver by means of an exhaust fan, pump or air suction apparatus, showing, in
the case of an outbreak of fire, a jet or column of smoke visible in the receiver, and
indicating in which particular floor or room the outbreak of fire has occurred. To
enable the outbreak of fire to be more readily located, each tube may be provided,
if desired, at one central point, with transparent tubes or globes, which enable the
watchman to immediately detect at a glance through which tube and from what
part of the building the smoke is coming.
The orifice of the tubes or conduits may be bell mouthed, if desired, to enable
the smoke to more readily enter them.
The invention is particularly applicable for blocks of cotton warehouses or other
large store centres, where the interests involved would warrant the continual
presence of an attendant whose duty it is to watch the apparatus, and communicate
by telephone or other means with the fire station.
We have herein mentioned the plan which we at present prefer in carrying our
invention into practical effect, but it is obvious that, once given the general idea,
various alterations may be made in its arrangement without departing from the
principle of the invention.
Dated this 13th day of February 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, Patent Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in or relating to Apparatus for Detecting and
Locating Outbreaks of Fire in Warehouses, Dwelling Houses,
or other Structures.
We, JOSEPH SHAW GILL of 77 King Street, Southport, and WALTER BOLTON
of 15 Verulam Street, Liverpool, both in the County of Lancaster, Agent and
Telegraphist, respectively, 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 :-
This invention has for its object the prompt detection of an outbreak of fire and
[ Dia, ᎡᏗ

page_text: the location of it at a very early stage. This, in conflagrations, especially those
occurring in large warehouses and buildings, is a very important desideratum. The
invention is applicable for warehouses, store rooms, ships' holds, coal bunkers,
private dwelling houses, mines, or in fact any structure or situation in which an
outbreak of fire is liable to occur.
The invention is best described by aid of the accompanying drawings, in
which :-
Figure 1 shows diagrammatically a warehouse of 5 floors;
Figure 2, a side view of the pipes communicating with said floors.
Figures 3, 4 and 5 are three slightly different variations of the receiving portion
of the apparatus.
In these drawings
:-
A B C D, etcetera, are a series of collecting pipes having either an open end or a
bell mouth such as L near their end. These pipes are all brought to a central
point and open out preferably by separate orifices, as in Figures 4 and 5, into a
central chamber or receiver H having a large glass side or sides, or made almost
entirely of glass. I is a pump, fan, steam jet, or other appliance for drawing the
air in a constant stream from H through the pipe P. This pipe is preferably of
larger diameter than the entire set of pipes A B C D, etcetera.
Where the pipes
enter into a common pipe instead of directly into the glass chamber as in Figure 3,
the pipes can themselves be made of glass or of glass globes in their course. They
can be fitted with taps or not as is desired, but it is preferable that the pipes should
be always open into the chamber H except when, a fire having occurred, the taps
can be severally closed in order to test exactly where the fire is. Its tube should
be labelled with its locality.
The mode of action is as follows:-
A fire having broken out, say in the top room of Figure 1, smoke enters the bell
mouth L, and, traversing the pipe A, appears at the entrance of pipe A in
chamber H, and can be immediately detected by sight, the air in this case being
drawn off preferably into the watchroom; the watchman also has his attention
directed to the chamber by the smell of smoke. By this time the chamber H is
full of smoke, he shuts off the pipes and opens them severally, until he finds which
one is producing the smoke.
Several of these centres of observation can, if desired, be connected to one air
pump or other means of exhaustion.
The invention is particularly applicable for blocks of cotton warehouses or other
large store centres, where the interests involved would warrant the continual
presence of an attendant whose duty it is to watch the apparatus, and communicate
by telephone or other means with the fire station.
We have spoken in this Specification of detecting the existence of a conflagration
by the sight of the smoke appearing through one of the tubes, but it is obvious
that, in many cases, an abnormal increase in the temperature of the air delivered
through any one pipe would indicate the existence of fire. This increase in
temperature could be indicated by a thermometer and caused to actuate an
alarm.
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. The improvements in apparatus for detecting and locating outbreaks of fire
in warehouses or other structures, which consist in the combination of a series of
collecting pipes, one from each of the various parts of the structure, an exhausting
device for causing the air to be sucked along each of these tubes and a glass
window, sight hole or globe in the tube or at its end, through which any strong
amount of smoke or hot air passing through the tube can be detected.
2. The process for locating outbreaks of fire in warehouses and the like, which

page_text: consists in causing a continuous current of air to be brought from each of the
various parts of the building in a separate tube to a given point, with arrangements
for observing the same at that point.
Dated this 11th day of November 1893.
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, and London, Patent Agents.