IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATIC FIRE EXTINGUISHERS
Year: 1885

page_text: I JAMES ALFORD HOUSE, residing at 88 William Street Bridgeport in the County
of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, in the United States of America, gentleman,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATIC
FIRE EXTINGUISHERS" 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 certain novel and useful improvements in devices for
suspending fire grenades and has for its object to provide such a device as shall
furnish under ordinary circumstances, a convenient support for the grenade and
which will in case of fire automatically break the grenade and cause its contents to
be scattered, and with these ends in view my invention consists in the details of
construction and combination of elements hereinafter fully and in detail explained
and then specifically designated by the claims.
In order that those skilled in the art to which my invention appertains may
more fully understand its construction and operation I will proceed to describe the
same in detail referring by letter to the accompanying drawing forming a part of
this specification in which.
Fig is a side elevation of my improvement having suspended thereby a fire
grenade of the kind ordinarily in use.
Fig. 2 a modification of the device illustrated by Fig 1 and Fig 3 a still further
modification.
Similar letters denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing.
A is any hand grenade of glass or other fragile material such as is used for fire
extinguishing purposes and provided upon either side thereof with depressions B
opposite to one another.
C is a link made from some metal fusible at a low temperature by means of
which the grenade is suspended from a hook X or other convenient support as seen
at Fig 1. D are grapples pivoted together after the manner of tongs and whose
claws are adapted to rest within the depressions B in the sides of the grenade.
Encircling the handle portions of the grapples, is a link E adapted to slide upon
said handles and when moved toward their free ends to draw the claws together.
F is a chain one end of which is attached to link E and the other to hook X or
other point of attachment at a proper height above the floor.
The operation of my improvement is as follows When hung as shown at Fig 1
and any rise of temperature sufficient to fuse the suspending link occurs, the

page_text: grenade falls until the end of the chain is reached when the link E to which said
chain is attached, slides along the handle portions of the grapples towards their
free ends and draws the claws together breaking the grenade between their points
and scattering its contents upon the floor beneath the point of suspension.
In Fig 2 I have shown a modification of my improvement in which the grenade
is suspended by a chain C¹ composed of fusible links and in which a hammer G
pivoted at the top portion of the grenade as seen at H and having the chain F
attached to its shank end, takes the place of the grapples just described as a
breaking mechanism. By the fusing of the chain C₁ the grenade is caused to
fall and its weight coming upon the sbank end of the hammer turns the latter
upon its pivot and dashes its head against the side of the grenade in this way
accomplishing its fracture.
Fig 3 represents a still further modification which differs from Fig 2 simply in
that the hammer head is dispensed with and a second grenade J of less capacity
than the first substituted in its place.
In this my invention I do not wish to be confined to the exact construction of
breaking mechanism shown and described, as the breakage may with equal facility
be accomplished in various ways. The gist of my invention rests in the broad
idea of suspending a fire extinguisher of the character described by means of a
fusible connection which will part upon any rise of temperature higher than its
fusing point.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. In a device of the character described a receptacle containing a fire
extinguishing fluid and suspended by a fusible connection, in combination with
a breaker substantially as described attached to said receptacle, whereby upon
the fusing of the connection the receptacle is caused to fall and be crushed
substantially as set forth.
2. An automatic fire extinguisher, the same consisting of a receptacle, containing :
a fire extinguishing fluid a connection of metal fusible at a low temperature for
suspending the same and a breaker substantially as described attached to said
receptacle whereby upon the fusing of the connection the breaking of the receptacle
may be accomplished substantially as set forth.
3. In a fire extinguisher, the receptacle containing the fluid suspended by a s
fusible connection in combination with a breaker substantially as described
connected to the receptacle and also connected independently with the support
for the receptacle whereby when the fusible connection is destroyed the receptacle
falls and operates the breaker to destroy the same.