IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND MEANS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES, PART OF SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PUBPOSES
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Henry Phillips, of Nunhead, in the County
of Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS
AND MEANS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES, PART OF SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING
APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PUBPOSES."
Sealed the 3rd April 1866, and dated the 5th October 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Henry Phillips
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
5th October 1865.
I, WILLIAM HENRY PHILLIPS, of Nunhead, in the County of Surrey,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN APPARATUS AND MEANS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES, PART OF SUCH
IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus and means for
extinguishing fires, part of which is applicable for other purposes, as herein-
after described. Experience has shown that in cases where fires are discovered
[Price 8d.]

page_text: soon after their outbreak, if a ready means is at hand for discharging a jet of
water (by preference in the form of "spray") thereon, they are in most cases
readily extinguished. Carbonic acid and other gases which are not capable
of supporting combustion in combination with vapour and water have also
been employed for extinguishing fires at their outbreak, and Patents were
granted to me, dated June 4th, 1844, No. 10,212, and April 16th, 1849,
No. 12,570, for apparatus and means for generating and discharging
carbonic acid and other gases and water for the purpose of extinguishing
fires.
In the Specifications of the Patents above referred to apparatus is described
for generating carbonic and other gases by the combustion of certain chemical
compounds in a closed vessel or chamber, the pressure of the gases so generated
in some cases being employed for the purpose of forcing or discharging a
column of water when required. Portable apparatus was also described in
the said Specification, which in practice has been found very advantageous for
the purpose of extinguishing fires at their outbreak, and I have referred to
the above Patents in order to show that it is not new to discharge jets of
water by means of the pressure of gas for the purpose of extinguishing fires.
I am also aware that it is not new to force carbonic acid gas under pressure
into vessels containing water in order to discharge the same when required
for the purpose of extinguishing fires, a Patent having been granted for this
purpose to Alphere Vignon, dated July 23rd, 1862, No. 2096, but the cost
of generating and employing carbonic acid gas for this purpose is such as
greatly to retard its adoption.
Now the object of my present improvements is, first, the arrangement, and
construction of portable apparatus containing water, which may be discharged
therefrom when required by means of compressed air. For this purpose 1
construct a vessel of any suitable form capable of resisting the requisite
pressure, and of a size so that when charged it may be readily carried or
moved from place to place as required. The vessel is first partly filled with
water, by preference through a tube furnished with a valve, which closes from
within when sufficient water has been introduced. A plunger furnished with
a valve is then placed in the charging tube; and by moving it up and down
therein air is forced into the vessel until the requisite pressure is obtained for
forcing a jet of water through the discharge pipe, which is furnished with a
stop-cock and flexible hose for directing the jet of water in any direction
when required for extinguishing fire. The upper part of the vessel is fur-
nished with a pressure valve of very simple construction, consisting of a round

page_text: .
rod, the upper end of which rests on a valve seat, the lower end within the
vessel being weighted to the requisite pressure. Just below the valve seat
the rod or stem of the valve is made of triangular or other suitable form, so
that when the rod rises the form of the rod within the outlet admits of the.
escape of the compressed air. In place of forcing the air into the vessel by
means of the plunger combined therewith as previously described, it may be
taken to a stationary or portable force pump and charged.
A number of
such portable vessels may be thus charged in succession without cost for
materials, and kept ready for use, or the vessels may be charged in quick
succession when required for the purpose of extinguishing fire.
The portable apparatus previously described may be employed for the
purpose of watering gardens or for throwing water for other purposes.
By the use of the portable apparatus previously described an incipient fire
taken in time may be easily subdued, and when a fire has gained head by the
use of several of the apparatus large fires may be extinguished. Fires some-
times become extensive before engines arrive, or even before an alarm is given,
in which case, according to the second part of my improvements, I employ
means, hereafter described, of drawing and discharging water by manual or
steam power, thus producing great force in one machine, whereby powerful
gushes or discharges of water, equal to half a ton or more, in a few seconds,
can be delivered in the form of spray, or in compact currents ejected to the
required height. For this purpose I mount a circular chamber upon a
stationary hollow axis, the chamber being caused to revolve with great speed
by any suitable mechanical means. Upon the stationary hollow axis and
within the revolving chamber a cylindrical drum is fixed, having one or more
passages formed around its circumference; orifices are formed through the
hollow axis, forming communications the interior of the chamber and
the interior of the fixed drum, a division being placed in a hollow axis
between such orifices. One end of the hollow axis is connected by a pipe or
hose with a reservoir, or water supply, the opposite end having a dischage
pipe or hose attached thereto, an air chamber being introduced if desired
between the hollow axis and the discharge pipe. When the chamber, partly
filled with water, is caused to revolve water will be drawn through the supply
pipe into the hollow axis and through the first set of orifices into the revolving
chamber, and by the centrifugal force the water will be driven against its inner
periphery, and in its continued revolution will be forced through the passages
into the interior of the stationary, and from thence through the orifices in the
hollow axis towards the discharge pipe or passage.
The apparatus previously described may be fixed in a stationary position or

page_text: of transporting it from place to place as may be required:
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Henry Phillips in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 5th April 1866.
.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
HENRY PHILLIPS, of Nunhead, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send
greeting.
.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of October, in the year of
One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of Her reign,
did for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the sai.]
William Henry Phillips, Her special licence that I, the said William Henry
Phillips, executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said William Henry Phillips, 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 Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS AND MEANS FOR EXTINGUISHING FIRES, PART OF
SUCH IMPROVEMENTS BEING APPLICABLE FOR OIHER PURPOSES," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Henry Phillips, 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 Scal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Henry Phillips, 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 thereof, that is to say:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in apparatus and means
for extinguishing fires, part of which is applicable for other purposes, as
herein-after described. Experience has shewn that in cases were fires are
discovered soon after their outbreak, if a ready means is at hand for discharging
a jet of water (by preference in the form of "spray") thereon, that they are
in most cases readily extinguished. Carbonic acid and other gases which

page_text: are not capable of supporting combustion in combination with vapour and
water have also been employed for extinguishing fires at their outbreak, and
Patents were granted to me, dated June 4th, 1844, No. 10,212, and April 16th,
1849, No. 12,570, for apparatus and means for generating and discharging
carbonic acid and other gases and water for the purpose of extinguishing fires.
In the Specifications of the Patents above referred to apparatus is described
for generating carbonic and other gases by the combustion of certain chemical
compounds in a closed vessel or chamber, the pressure of the gases so gene-
rated in some cases being employed for the purpose of forcing or discharging
a column of water when required. Portable apparatus was also described
in the said Specifications, which in practice has been found very advantageous
for the purpose of extinguishing fires at their outbreak, and I have referred
to the above Patents in order to shew that it is not new to discharge jets of
water by means of the pressure of gas for the purpose of extinguishing fires.
I am also aware that it is not new to force carbonic acid gas under pressure
into vessels containing water, in order to discharge the same when required,
for the purpose of extinguishing fires, a Patent having been granted for this
purpose to Alphonce Vignon, dated July 23rd, 1862, No. 2096, but the cost
of generating and employing carbonic acid gas for this purpose is such as
greatly to retard its adoption.
Now the object of my present improvements is, first, the arrangement and
construction of portable apparatus containing water, which may be discharged
therefrom when required by means of compressed air. For this purpose I
construct a vessel of any suitable form capable of resisting the requisite
pressure, and of a size so that when charged it may be readily carried or
moved from place to place as required. The vessel is first partly filled with
water, by preference through a tube furnished with a valve, which closes from
within when sufficient water has been introduced. A plunger furnished with
a valve is then placed in the charging tube, and by moving it up and down
therein air is forced into the vessel until the requisite pressure is obtained
for forcing a jet of water through the discharge pipe, which is furnished with
a stop-cock and flexible hose for directing the jet of water in any direction
when required for extinguishing fire. The upper part of the vessel is fur-
nished with a pressure valve of very simple construction, consisting of a round
rod, the upper end of which rests in a valve seat, the lower end within the
vessel being weighted to the requisite pressure. Just below the valve seat
the rod or stem of the valve is made of triangular or other suitable form, so
that when the rod rises the form of the rod within the outlet admits of the

page_text: escape of the compressed air. In place of forcing the air into the vessel by
means of the plunger combined therewith, as previously described, it may
be taken to a stationary or portable force pump and charged thereby. A
number of such portable vessels may be thus charged in succession without
cost for materials and kept ready for use, or the vessels may be charged in
quick succession when required for the purpose of extinguishing fire.
And in order that this part of my Invention may be fully understood and
readily carried into practice, I will proceed to describe the Drawing, Sheet 1,
hereunto annexed, Figure 1 of which shows a vertical section of a portable
vessel containing water and compressed air, with apparatus arranged and con-
structed as previously described according to this part of my Invention.
a is a metallic vessel of sufficient strength to support an internal pressure,
equal to about five or six atmospheres (or more if desired), this pressure being
considerably in excess of that required for forcing a jet of water or spray to a
suitable distance; b is a tube fixed in the top of the vessel a. The lower end
of the tube is furnished with a suitable valve b', and when water is introduced
into the vessel through the tube. until it rises above its lower end the valve b¹
will close, and thus determine the quantity of water the vessel a is intended to
receive. (Or the vessel may be charged with water by means of the inde-
pendent charging tube 6* furnished with a valve at the lower end, as
shewn.) The plunger c, furnished with an air inlet valve, as shewn, is then
introduced into the tube b, which acts as an air pump when the plunger is
moved up and down to force air into the interior of the vessel until the
requisite pressure is obtained. d is the discharge pipe furnished with a stop-
cock d', to which a flexible hose pipe d is connected for directing the jet of
water forced through the discharge pipe by the compressed air within the vessel;
e is a pressure or safety valve to prevent or counteract any undue pressure
within the vesel a. This valve consists of a rod e*, the upper end of which is,
by preference, of conical form, resting on a valve seat of corresponding form, the
rod just below the valve being so formed as to admit of the escape of air when
the valve is raised above its seat. The valve rod is surrounded by and moves
freely up and down in a fixed tube e', the main body of the rod being of much
larger diameter than the upper and lower ends, in order to impart weight to
the valve. The lower end of the valve rod passes through the bottom of the
tube e¹, any excess of pressure arising within the tube acting in the smaller
diameter of the lower end of the valve rod to raise the valve from its seat,
and by allowing an escape of air or water thus reduce the pressure. Figure 2
shows a similar portable vessel a, furnished with a discharge pipe d and safety

page_text: valve e, as in the arrangement previously described; but in place of first par-
tially filling the vessel a with water, and then forcing air into the vessel, as
previously described, a force pump b is combined with the vessel, which is
charged with water and compressed air in the following manner:-The
bottom of the vessel being placed in water, or connected by hose with a
water supply, when the plunger c of the force pump is drawn up the water
will rise through the inlet valve b¹ and fill the pump barrel, the descent of the
plunger c closing the inlet valve b³, and forcing the contents of the pump
barrel through the valve bs into the interior of the vessel a, and as the vessel a
is thus charged with water, the air contained therein may be compressed to
any desired extent, according to the quantity of water forced into the vessel.
Figure 3 shews a portable vessel a suitable for being charged with water and
compressed air by connecting it with the vessel a, Figure 2, last described,
which is of larger dimensions, and constructed to support à much greater
pressure than the vessel a shewn in Figure 3, in which the air or force pump
is dispensed with. . When the vessel and apparatus shewn by Figure 2 is
fully charged; the discharge pipe is connected by a screw coupling or "union
joint" d to the discharge pipe of the vessel a shewn in Figure 3, and then
by opening the stop-cocks of the discharge pipes the water will be forced
by compressed air from the vessel a of Figure 2 into the vessel a* of
Figure 3 until it becomes charged, when the cocks are closed and the parts
separated. The apparatus, Figure 2, may thus serve to charge any number
of vessels a* in succession by maintaining an adequate pressure by means of
the force pump in the vessel a, Figure 2.
The portable apparatus previously described may be employed for the
purpose of watering gardens, or for throwing water for other purposes.
By the use of the portable apparatus previously described an incipient fire taken
in time may be easily subdued, and when a fire has gained head, by the use of
several of the apparatus large fires may be extinguished. Apparatus such as
previously described may be constructed of a size and strength suitable for
being mounted upon wheels, or upon a truck or carriage, in order that the
same may be readily moved from place to place as required.
Fires sometimes become extensive before engines arrive, or even before an
alarm. is given, in which case, according to the second part of my improve-
ments, I employ means and apparatus, herein-after described, of drawing
and discharging water by manual or steam power, thus producing great force
in one machine, whereby powerful gushes or discharges of water equal to half
a ton or more in a few seconds can be delivered in the form of spray, or in

page_text: compact currents ejected to the required height. For this purpose I mount
a circular drum or chamber a (as shewn in Figures 4 and 5, Sheet 2 of the
Drawings hereunto annexed) upon a stationary hollow axis b, the drum or
chamber a being caused to revolve with great speed by means of endless bands
around the pulleys a¹, a¹, fixed on the sides of the drum a, or the drum may
be driven by any other suitable mechanical means. Upon the stationary
hollow axis b, and within the revolving drum or chamber a, a cylindrical drum
or chamber c is fixed, having one or more passages c¹. c¹, formed around its
circumference. Orifices are formed through the hollow axis b, forming
communications between the interior of the revolving drum or chamber a,
other orifices c being formed through the axis a communicating with the
interior of the fixed drum c, a division b being placed in the hollow axis b
between such orifices b and c. One end of the hollow axis b is connected
by a pipe or hose 63 with a reservoir or water supply d, the opposite end
having a discharge pipe or hose e. attached thereto, an air chamber f being
introduced if desired, as shewn, between the hollow axis b and the discharge
pipe e. When the drum or chamber a partly filled with water is caused to
revolve, water will be drawn through the supply pipe d into the hollow axis,
and through the first set of orifices b* into the revolving drum or chamber a,
and by the centrifugal force the water will be driven against its inner peri-
phery (which may have division plates or vanes a placed therein if desired),
and in its continued revolution the water will be forced by its momentum
through the passages c¹, c', into the interior of the stationary drum c, and from
thence through the orifices c* in the hollow axis b towards the discharge pipe
or passage e.
The apparatus previously described may be driven by manual, steam, or
other motive power, and may be fixed in a stationary position, or be mounted
upon wheels, or upon a separate truck or carriage, for the purpose of
transporting it from place to place as may be required.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner of
carrying the same into practice, I would have it understood that I do not
confine myself to the exact details herein described, so long as the peculiar
character of my Invention is retained; but what I claim is,-
First, the apparatus and means herein described and shewn by reference to
Figures. 1, 2, and 3 of the Drawings for discharging water by means of com-
pressed air from portable vessels for the purpose of extinguishing fires, or
for throwing or discharging water from such vessels for other purposes.
Secondly, I claim the arrangement and construction of rotating apparatus,

page_text: as herein described in reference to Figures 4 and 5 of the Drawings, for raising,
forcing, and discharging water for the purpose of extinguishing fires.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Henry Phillips, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-eighth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
Witness,
J. G. TONGUE,
Patent Agent,
WILLIAM HENRY PHILLIPS. (L.S.)
34, Southampton Buildings,
Chancery Lane, W.C.