AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING BUILDINGS AGAINST FIRE, AND FOR VENTILATING THEM AND SUPPLYING THEM WITH STEAM FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES, WHICH INVENTION IS ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE PROTECTION AND VENTILATION OF SHIPS
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Robert Lake, of the Firm of Haseltine,
Lake, & Co., Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London,
for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR
PROTECTING BUILDINGS AGAINST FIRE, AND FOR VENTILATING THEM AND
SUPPLYING THEM WITH STEAM FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES, WHICH INVENTION IS
ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE PROTECTION AND VENTILATION OF SHIPS."-A com-
munication from abroad by John A. Coleman, of Providence,
Rhode Island, United States of America.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Robert Lake
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 9th December 1874.
I, WILLIAM ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co.,
Patent Agents, Southampton Buildings, London, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS
FOR PROTECTING BUILDINGS AGAINST FIRE, AND FOR VENTILATING. ⚫ THEM AND
[Price 8d.]
:
;

page_text: SUPPLYING THEM WITH STEAM FOR VARIOUS PURPOSES, WHICH INVENTION IS ALSO
APPLICABLE TO THE PROTECTION AND VENTILATION OF SHIPS," a communication,
to be as follows :-
:—
One object of this Invention is the protection of all of the buildings
in a town or district, or a portion of the same, and another object is
the supplying of such buildings with steam for motive power and for
heating purposes.
Another object of the said Invention is the ventilation of warehouses,
stores, and other buildings, and steam ships and other vessels.
In practising the said Invention I place in the centre of the district
to be protected a sufficient number of boilers, and with these boilers I
connect a series of main pipes which extend through the streets, roads,
or passages of the said district. The buildings to be provided or supplied
with steam are provided with pipes extending in various directions, and
communicating with the street mains; those pipes are provided at
various points with means for attaching hose thereto, or with a series
of perforated pipes or sprinklers through which steam can be forced
into any room or portion of a building to extinguish a fire therein,
Branch pipes are also provided for supplying steam for motive power
and heating purposes. The aforesaid pipes, provided with means for
attaching bose or with sprinklers, also communicate with street pipes
or mains supplied with water at the desired pressure so that water
instead of steain may be supplied when necessary for extinguishing
a fire.
The aforesaid boilers or generators may be located in the basement
of any suitable building occupying a central position with regard to the
district to be supplied with steam. The steam pipes from these boilers
or generators are connected by one or more pipes with a main or
principal steam pipe placed within a brick conduit or tunnel built under
the street. This main extends through the various streets of the district,
and is intended to be covered with felt or other suitable material to
retain the heat and prevent the condensation of the steam and con-
sequent reduction of pressure. Each building throughout the district
is supplied with steam from the main through a pipe which communi-
cates with a short horizontal pipe or chamber placed inside of the front
wall of the building. The admission of steam is controlled by a valve
in the said pipes immediately below the said chamber. Vertical pipes,

page_text: one for each story, and one for the roof, rise from the said horizontal.
pipe or chamber, and the upper end of each vertical pipe has connected
therewith perforated pipes or sprinklers fastened to any desirable part
of the ceilings. The sprinklers attached to the longest vertical pipe are
secured upon the roof. The outside of the building is also provided with
sprinklers connected with the vertical pipes. Each of the said vertical
pipes is provided at or near its lower end with a valve or stop-cock, the
stem of which projects through the front wall, and is accessible from the
outside of the building.
The handles of these valves should be enclosed
within an iron box or casing provided with a lock and key. By means
of these pipes and sprinklers and their valves steam can be admitted
into any portion of a building where a fire may break out, and if this
portion is closed to confine the steam it will smother the flame without
material damage to the goods therein.
If the windows of the building have been broken, or if the fire has
made too much progress before its discovery water may be admitted
to the vertical pipes and ejected through the sprinklers instead of steam
by simply opening another valve in a water pipe leading from the said
horizontal pipe to a water main placed in the conduit or tunnel under
the steam main, the required degree of pressure being maintained within
the water main by one or more steam pumps which are operated
when occasion requires. Should however the head or pressure of
water in the ordinary city service pipes be sufficient the water pipe
may be connected therewith, and the main pipe and steam pumps
will not be used.
For ventilating factories, warehouses, and other buildings the said
pipes are connected with air pumps arranged at the central station.
The same series of pipes may be used for the supply of either water,
steam, or air by having valves or stop-cocks properly arranged to connect
or disconnect the said pipes with the water, air,, or steam supply, as
required.
In warehouses or stores containing grain or other substances which
suffer deterioration from want of ventilation, I may arrange the per-
forated pipes to discharge the air into the mass or body of the said grain
or other substance.
By the employment of one set of pipes only for the steam, air, and
water instead of separate and independent sets of pipes, one for water,

page_text: one for air, and one for steam, I am enabled to effect a very considerable
saving in the cost of construction, repairs, and otherwise, and also to
economize space.
⚫ In connection with the above-described arrangement of pipes I
intend to establish telegraphic communication between each building
and the central office or boiler station, whereby the engineer may
be notified to start the pumps to produce the required water pressure
in the main.
Instead of a series of perforated pipes or sprinklers leading to various
places in the interior and on the exterior of the building, a stand pipe
suitably connected with the water, air, and steam mains, and at the
outside or inside of the building may be employed; the said stand pipe
must have short branches at various heights for the attachment of hose
for directing water upon a fire in any part of the building. The com-
munication with the supply of water in the stand pipe is controlled by
valves, one in each fork or branch. When the fire is in an incipient
state steam may be forced through the ends of the branch pipes to fill
the room or apartment and smother the fire in the same manner as where
the sprinklers above described are employed.
"
An elevator and any other machinery within the building may be
operated by an engine driven by steam from the supply pipe conducted
through an auxiliary pipe.
Steam for heating the building is introduced from the street main
by means of suitable pipes provided with branches leading to radiators
on the different floors. In practice however I intend to dispense with
these pipes and take the steam for heating, cooking, and the like from
the supply pipe. The water of condensation from the steam heating
or cooking apparatus passes down a pipe into a main waste pipe placed
in the conduit or tunnel under the main, the water flowing into a tank
at the central station from which it is returned to the boilers.
In applying the said Invention to steam ships and other vessels the
pipes are so arranged as to connect all parts of the vessel to be supplied
with water, air, or steam with pumps or engines for forcing air or
liquid. The said pipes are provided with valves whereby they may
be connected with either the water, air, or steam supply as required.
The pipes are extended into the cabins and state rooms, and into the
hold, and between the timbers, and into other portions of the ship

page_text: wherein it is desirable to obtain fresh air, or to displace and drive out
foul air. And in ships carrying cargoes of grain or other substance
which requires ventilation during transport, I introduce the perforated
pipes into and among the said substances, so that all parts of the same
shall be plentifully supplied with fresh air.
SPECIFICATION filed in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
and of an Order of the Lord Chancellor, by the said William Robert
Lake in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 9th July 1875.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROBERT LAKE, of the Firm of Haseltine, Lake, & Co., Patent Agents,
Southampton Buildings, London, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Ninth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the
thirty-eighth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto me, the said William Robert Lake, Her
special licence that I, the said William Robert Lake, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Robert Lake, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times
thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might
make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR PROTECTING BUILDINGS
AGAINST FIRE, AND FOR VENTILATING THEM AND SUPPLYING THEM WITH STEAM FOR
ALSO APPLICABLE TO THE..
VARIOUS PURPOSES, WHICH INVENTION IS
PROTECTION
AND VENTILATION OF SHIPS," a communication to me from abroad by John
A. Coleman, of Providence, Rhode Island, United States of America,
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William Robert
Lake, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed
in the Great Seal Patent Office within seven calendar months next and
immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
-

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Robert Lake, do hereby
declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement, reference being had to the accom-
panying Drawing forming a part of this Specification:-
One object of this Invention is the protection from fire of the buildings
in a town or city, or a district, or a portion of the same; and another
object is the supplying of such buildings with steam for motive power
and for heating purposes.
Another object of the said Invention is the ventilation of warehouses,
stores, and other buildings, and another object is the protection and
ventilation of steam ships and other vessels.
In practising the said Invention I place in a convenient position, pre-
ferably in or near the centre of the district, or portion of the town or
city to be protected, a sufficient number of boilers, and with these boilers
I connect a series of main pipes or street maius, which extend through
the streets, roads, or passages, of the said district or portion the buildings
to be supplied with steam are provided with pipes extending in various
directions and communicating with the said street mains. These pipes
are provided at various points with means for attaching hose to them, or
with a series of perforated pipes or sprinklers through which steam can
be forced into any room or portion of a building to extinguish a fire
therein. Branch pipes are also arranged to supply steam for motive
power and heating purposes. The aforesaid pipes, provided with means
for attaching hose or with sprinklers, also communicate with street
pipes or mains supplied with water, so that water instead of steam may
be supplied when necessary for extinguishing a fire.
The aforesaid boilers or generators may be located in the basement of
any suitable building occupying a central or other convenient position
with regard to the district to be supplied with steam. The steam pipes
from these boilers or generators are connected by a pipe or pipes with a
main or principal steam pipe placed within a brick conduit or tunnel
built under the street. This main extends through the various streets of
the district, and is intended to be covered with felt or other suitable
material to retain the heat and prevent the condensation of the steam,
and consequent reduction of pressure. Each building throughout the
district is supplied with steam from the main through a pipe which
communicates with a short horizontal pipe or chamber placed inside of

page_text: the front wall of the building. The admission of steam is controlled by
a valve in the said pipes immediately below the said chamber. Vertical
pipes, one for each story and one for the roof, rise from the said hori-
zontal pipe or chamber, and the upper end of each vertical pipe has con-
nected therewith perforated pipes or sprinklers fastened to any desirable
part of the ceiling; the sprinklers attached to the longest vertical pipe
are secured upon the roof. The outside of the building is also provided
with sprinklers connected with the vertical pipes. Each of the said
vertical pipes is provided at or near its lower end with a valve or stop-
cock, the stem of which projects through the front wall and is accessible
from the outside of the building. The handles of these valves should
be enclosed within an iron box or casing provided with a lock and key.
By means of these pipes and sprinklers and their valves steam can be
admitted into any portion of a building where a fire may break out, and
if this portion is closed to confine the steam it will smother the flame
without material damage to the furniture, fittings, or goods therein.
If the windows of the building have been broken, or if the fire has
made too much progress before its discovery to be extinguished by steam,
water may be admitted to the vertical pipes, and ejected through the
sprinklers instead of steam by simply opening another valve in a water
pipe leading from the said horizontal pipe to a water main placed in the
conduit or tunnel under the steam main, the required degree of pressure
being maintained within the water main by one or more steam pumps,
which are operated when occasion requires. Should however the head
or pressure of water in the ordinary service pipes be sufficient the said
water pipe may be connected therewith, and the said water main and
steam pumps will not be used.
For ventilating factories, warehouses, and other buildings, the pipes
are connected with air pumps arranged at the central station, so that the
same series of pipes may be used for the supply of either water, steam,
or air, by having valves or stop-cocks properly arranged to connect or
disconnect the said pipes with the water, air, or steam supply as
required.
In warehouses or stores containing grain or other substances which
suffer deterioration from want of ventilation I may arrange the per-
forated pipes to discharge the air into the mass or body of the said grain
or other substance.

page_text: By the employment of one set of pipes only for the steam, air, and
water, instead of separate and independent sets of pipes, one for water,
one for air, and one for steam, I am enabled to effect a very considerable
saving in the cost of construction, repairs, and otherwise, and also to
economize space.
In the accompanying Drawing I have shown one arrangement of арра-
ratus, whereby my Invention may be advantageously carried into practise
for the protection of a district or a portion of a town or city from fire.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING.
Figure 1 is a perspective view; Figure 2 is a transverse vertical
section of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a longitudinal vertical section on the
line x, x, of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional on the
line y, y, of Figure 3; Figure 5 shews detached portions of the said
Invention.
A represents the roadway of a street forming part of the district to be
protected, and B is a block of buildings thereon; C, C, are the boilers or
generators; c is the main steam pipe enclosed within the tunnel D, and b, b
are pipes connecting the boilers with the said main pipe; d, d, are pipes
for supplying the steam from the main c to the building to be protected;
e, e, are the chambers with which these pipes & communicate; f, f, are
the valves in the said pipes; g, g, are the vertical pipes extending from
the chambers or pipes e, to the various floors and to the roof, the said
pipes being provided with sprinklers p inside the building, and connected
with sprinklers p' outside of the building; i, i, are valves or cocks in the
pipes g, the stems of which valves extend through the wall and are. pro-
vided with handles as shewn in Figure 1; 1, 1, are the valves in the water
pipes m leading from the horizontal pipes e to the water main n; E, E,
are the steam pumps for maintaining the pressure in the water main
when required; G is an elevator operated by an engine H, driven by
steam from the supply pipe d, conducted through an auxiliary pipe g';
q, r, are pipes connected with the radiators I on the various floors.
practice however I intend to dispense with these pipes 9, and take the
steam for heating, cooking, and the like from the supply pipe d. The
water of condensation from the steam heating or cooking apparatus
passes down a pipe t into a main waste pipe a placed in the conduit or
tunnel D, under the main n, the water flowing into a tank at the central
station, from which it is returned to the boilers.
In

page_text: By concentrating a large number of boilers in one place under the
control of competent engineers, all risk of fire will be removed, and great
economy and efficiency secured as well as a saving of all care and trouble
to the occupants of the buildings to be protected. Steam for motive
power and other purposes will be constantly maintained in the boilers,
and will therefore be ready for instant use night and day throughout
the year.
By the introduction of the above described arrangement for supplying
steam and water to the buildings within a town or city, or a district or a
portion of the same, fires can be promptly suppressed before gaining the
dangerous ascendancy so often a consequence of the unavoidable delays
of the ordinary fire extinguishing apparatus. My apparatus being
always ready, will be at work and the fire extinguished with the use of
the smallest possible quantity of water before the ordinary engines could
get to work, and the injuries to the contents of the burning buildings
from flooding the same from misdirected volumes of water will be
avoided.
In applying my Invention to steam ships and other vessels, the pipes
are so arranged as to connect any or all parts of the vessel to be supplied
with water, air, or steam, with steam boilers, or with pumps, or engines
for forcing air or liquid. The said pipes are provided with valves,
whereby they may be connected with either the water, air, or steam
supply, as required. The pipes are extended into the cabins and state
rooms, and into the hold, and between the timbers, and into other portiong
of the ship where a fire might arise, and wherein it is desirable to obtain
fresh air or to displace and drive out foul air. And in ships carrying
cargoes of grain or other substances, which require ventilation during
transport, I introduce the perforated pipes into and among the said
substances, so that all parts of the same shall be plentifully supplied with
fresh air.
Having thus fully described the said Invention as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondent, and the manner of performing the
the same, I wish it understood that I claim,-
First. The herein described mode of affording protection against fire,
consisting in the arrangement and employment of a series of street
meins or pipes extending through a city, or town, or district, or portion
of the same, and connected with steam boilers located at a station or

page_text: position convenient for connection with all parts of the district to be
protected and provided with pipes which enter the buildings, which
pipes are connected with the water mains, and provided with valves or
cocks, whereby the said pipes may be supplied with either steam or
water, as herein set forth.
Second. Providing means for supplying either steam, water, or air to
the said buildings by means of the same set or arrangement of pipes as
herein set forth and for the purposes specified.
Third. Providing a ship or vessel with perforated pipes or tubes
connected with steam boilers, or with pumps, or forcing apparatus in the
engine rooni or in any other convenient position, and extended therefrom
through the vessel, and so provided with valves or cocks, and arranged
that steam or water may be conducted to any part or parts of the vessel,
as herein set forth, and for the purpose specified.
Fourth. The means whereby the same set or arrangement of pipes
and connections may be used for supplying steam or water to any part
of a ship or vessel, and for ventilating the vessel or its cargo, as herein
set forth.
Iu witness whereof, I, the said William Robert Lake, have here-
unto set my band and seal, this Ninth day of July, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
five
Witness,
JAMES EDWARDE,
8, Southampton Buildings,
London.
W. ROBT. LAKE. (L.s.)