Year: 1886

page_text: I HENRY DALE of 63 Worth Street in the City County and State of New York
United States of America Merchant 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 relates to the construction of an apparatus designed to prevent
the spreading of fire from floor to floor and to the end named the Invention consists
of a corrugated iron shutter that is housed or boxed beneath the stairs leading to
the floor above that in connection with which the shutter is arranged, the said
shutter being so constructed and mounted that it can be readily withdrawn from
its housing and drawn to a position to cover the well or opening formed for the
stairway leading to the floor of the compartment beneath the floor in connection
with which the shutter is arranged.
Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this
specification; in which figure 1 is a central vertical sectional view of two
stairways that are arranged in the ordinary manner, the view being taken from a
position within the store or hall-way. Figure 2 is a similar view looking in the
opposite direction; and figure 3 is a view of a portion of the extending end of the
shutter, the view being taken on line x-x of figure 1. Similar figures of reference
indicate corresponding parts in all the figures. Although the drawings illustrate
my shutter as arranged only in connection with the floor directly above the
basement of the store or dwelling in connection with which my Invention is
applied, it will, of course, be understood that the shutter could and would be
arranged in connection with all of the floors above the basement.
In the drawings 10 represents the basement floor and 11 the main-floor of the
building; 12, 12 are the treads of the stairs leading from the basement to the first
floor, and for the sake of convenience and clearness of description I will designate
these stairs as a whole by the numeral 20, while the stairs leading from the first to
the second floor I designate by the numeral 21, the treads of the stairs 21 being
shewn at 13-13. Beneath the second tread 13 of the stairs 21 I mount a shaft 14
the ends of which are supported in proper bearings fixed to the casing of the stairs.
One end of a spring corrugated metallic shutter 15 is secured to the shaft 14 while
the other end of said shutter is fixed to a rod or strip 16 the ends of which ride
in ways 17 that are formed just above the floor 11, as clearly shewn in the
drawings, the width of the shutter being equal to the length of the strip 16, 80

page_text: that the side edges of the shutter will extend within the grooves or ways 17 when
such shutter is drawn out to the position shewn in figure 1. After the shutter bas
been drawn to the position shewn in figure 1, it is held in place by bolts 9 that are
fixed to each end of the strip 16 and arranged to enter sockets 8 formed in the
newel post 7 and the base board 6. The shutter 15 is, as above stated, made of a
corrugated spring strip, the tendency of which is to assume the position shewn in
figure 2, so that when the bolts 9 are released from engagement with the sockets 8
the shutter 15 will be drawn within its housing 4 beneath the treads of the
stairs 21, but this inward movement of the shutter is limited by the combined stop
and handle 5 that is fixed to about the middle of the upper face of the strip 16, for
any continued movement of the shutter 15 after it has been drawn in the position
in which it is shewn in figure 2 will bring the stop or handle-5 against the outer
face of the hinged door or shutter 3 which, as clearly shewn in the drawings, closes
the entrance to the housing 4.
The shutter described can be drawn out at night, and being drawn out will
effectually close the passage from floor to floor, and will consequently bar the
progress of a fire and prevent the passage of smoke or other products of combustion
which would be likely to damage or injure the goods or furniture contained within
the store or dwelling.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed; I declare that what
I claim is
1. The combination with a well opening in a floor of a building of a shutter
normally housed beneath the stairs and arranged to slide across the well opening,
substantially as described.
2. The combination with a well opening in the floor of a building, of a
corrugated metallic shutter one end of which is fixed to a shaft mounted in a
housing beneath the stairs while the other end is fixed to a strip carrying bolts
that are arranged to engage with sockets located as described.
3. The combination with a well opening in the floor of a building, of a
.corrugated metallic shutter mounted on a shaft 14, ways 17, strip 16 to which the
extending end of the shutter is secured, bolts 9, and a bandle or stop 5, substantially
as described.