Improvement in Fire Pails.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application, 24th Feb., 1890-Accepted, 17th May, 1890
JOB DEIN DIDIFICATION.
Improvement in Fire Pails.
I, ALFRED D. WARREN, of Worcester, in the County of Worcester, Commonwealth
of Massachusetts, United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for IMPROVEMENT IN FIRE PAILS and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
My invention relates to pails containing water, or a chemical fluid, to be used in
extinguishing fires, and has for its object, to provide a firepail which is securely sealed,
so as to prevent the evaporation which ordinarily occurs in cases where fire pails are
used without covers, as has heretofore been the common method on shipboard and
in buildings where such precautions against fire are taken, and which may be readily
and completely opened in case of fire, and my invention therefore consists in an
improved construction to more easily secure the cover in place, and in an improve-
ment in the means for conveniently and completely removing said cover, when the
pail is taken from its resting place, as will be hereafter more fully described and
pointed out.
Fire pails containing water or chemical liquids have been used in buildings and
vessels, and recently covers have been applied to the pails, for the purpose of closely
sealing the tops, and thus preventing the liquid from evaporating; but the means
employed for that purpose have been expensive, and to a great extent impracticable on
account of loss in time when opening, or perforating said cover.
In practice the difficulty in removing the parts of the old cover which have been
left on the pail, preparatory to recovering the pail for subsequent use have been found
to be objectionable, but all these objections are completely removed by my present
invention, which is fully illustrated in the drawings which accompany this specification
and make a part thereof.
Figure 1. is a side view of the pail partially broken away at the top to disclose the
interior.
Figure 2. is a top view of the pail, partially broken away.
Figure 3. represents an enlarged section on line figure 2.
Figure 4. is a similar section on line y y figure 2. and also shows a modified form
of the clamping ring, and
Figure 5. is a top view of the wire, as it lays in its groove in the pail.
In the drawings A. is the pail, preferably made of fibre, to ensure easy manipulation,
and to use non-porous material.
The rim of the pail is provided with an annular groove a, the inner side b of
which is slightly bevelled, and which is adapted to receive a wire B, one end c of
which is bent to pass through an opening d'in the side of the pail A, while its other
end is bent to form a loop c
D denotes a sheet of tin-foil, or other non-porous material stretched across the
top of the pail A, bent over the edge e and lapping over the bevelled portion f near
the top.
A ring E, preferably made convex at its inner side, serves to press the tin-foil D
tightly against the bevelled portion of the pail A, thus perfectly sealing the top of the
latter.
If desired, a band of rubber J or other elastic material may be secured to the inside
of the ring E, so that in case of any unevenness in the bevelled portion f, a close joint
may be obtained between the foil D and pail A.
As the foil D is stretched across the top of the pail A, the loop c¹ of the wire B is
passed through a small opening left in the foil, and the ring E is then slipped over
he whole, and wedged on, after which the hole through which the loop c¹ passes is
lugged by paint or cement I, thus making a perfect air-tight cover may be readily
proken.

page_text: The inner side of the annular groove a is slightly bevelled so that the wire B
may rest in the chamber formed by the sides of the groove a and the tin-foil, in such
a way as to allow the latter to come in close contact with the edge e.
In this way the foil is creased at the edge e and if the loop end c¹ of the wire B is
pulled upward, the latter will cut around the edge of the rim of the pail and thus
completely open the top, and the contents of the pail may be emptied as desired.
In order to cut the foil off complete I deem it advisable to allow the loop end c¹ of
the wire B to project through the foil at a point beyond the opening d in the pail, so
that the wire will cut around the edge for more than one full length of the periphery
of the pail, as will be readily understood.
If desired a hook or other fastening may be provided near where the pail is placed
in readiness for use, to which the loop c¹ may be caught, so that the removal of the
pail will cause the wire B to cut around the edge e thereby opening the foil, and the
wire will be released from its position in the annular groove a.
The pail may now be refilled and again covered by the simple removal of the ring E
and the parts of the foil left on the pail, and without any loss of the time employed
to either remove cement or to unscrew the top as must be done with the covered pails
in use heretofore.
•
The points which I gain by my fire pail are, cheapness and simplicity of construction
and repairing, and the easy and complete removal of the cover when the pail is used.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is,
1. The combination with a pail having a non-porous and easily cut cover, of a wire
lying loosely at the rim of the pail and underneath the cover, and having one end
removably attached to the pail, while its other end projects through the cover,
substantially as described.
2. The combination with a pail, having a non-porous and easily cut cover, of a wire
arranged near the rim of the pail and underneath said cover with a groove in the
rim of the pail, substantially as described, to loosely retain said wire in proper position,
as and for the purposes set forth.
3. The combination of a pail provided with a bevelled edge at the top, and having
a non-porous and easily cut cover and a wire arranged at the rim of the pail and
underneath the cover, with a ring adapted to press the cover against said bevelled
edge, substantially as set forth.
4. The combination of a pail provided with a bevelled edge at the top, a non-porous
and easily cut cover, tightly held in place by a ring, and a wire arranged at the rim
of the pail and underneath the cover, with a groove in the rim of the pail, substantially
as described, to loosely retain said wire, all substantially as and for the purpose set
forth.
Dated this Twelfth day of February A.D. 1890.