IMPROVE- MENTS IN SAFES OR VESSELS FOR. CONTAINING GUNPOWDER AND FOR PRE- PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Roby, of Ince in Makerfield, in the
County of Lancaster, Dealer in Safes, for the Invention of "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN SAFES OR VESSELS FOR. CONTAINING GUNPOWDER AND FOR PRE-
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Roby at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
28th December 1875.
I, GEORGE ROBY, of Ince in Makerfield, in the County of Lancaster,
Dealer in Safes, do hereby declare the nature of my said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN SAFES OR VESSELS FOR CONTAINING GUNPOWDER AND FOR PRE-
SERVING AND Cooling other SubstANCES," to be as follows :-
My Invention has for its object-more particularly the production of a
cheap and handy safe for the protection of such quantities of gunpowder
as retail dealers are allowed to keep upon their premises, and it consists
in constructing and arranging the safe in such a manner that the
chamber for the gunpowder shall have a body of water beneath its

page_text: floor, at its sides, and above its roof, and also so that its roof may be
lifted off with the water which it contains; also in constructing and
arranging safes in such a manner that the said chamber shall have a
vessel of water for its floor, a vessel or a number of vessels for its side
walls, and a vessel for its roof, all water-tight at their bottoms and sides,
so that in case of fire the water contained in the vessels forming the
floor, sides, and roof will fill the safe with steam, and thus destroy the
explosive quality of the gunpowder.
In carrying out my Invention according to one modification, the
vessel which contains the gunpowder is allowed to float in another
vessel containing water, and having a lid or cover which also contains
water, and when it is required to insert gunpowder in or remove it from
the vessel, the lid or cover is taken off together with the water which it
contains. Or the vessel containing the gunpowder may be placed in
the inside of another vessel, having the sides and bottoms thereof made-
double, the space intervening being filled with water, and the lid which
also contains water being made so that its edges dip below the surface of
the water intervening between the double sides of the vessel. In order to
obtain access to the gunpowder the lid with the water it contains may
be raised, or before raising the lid the water contained therein may be
drawn off and supplied again, when the lid is replaced.
According to another modification the top, bottom, and the sides are
each formed of a separate vessel containing water, and having a small
opening in the upper part thereof communicating with the interior of
the safe where the gunpowder is placed, so that when subjected to heat
any steam formed may have access to the gunpowder and prevent its
explosion. The diffèrent vessels may be fitted together in any suitable
manner, so as to form a close safe. One of the vessels forming a side,
or the vessel forming the top may be used as a door by being hinged
or otherwise made so that it can be opened and closed in any con-
venient manner. This structure may be used as a refrigerator for pre-
serving and cooling other substances, and a stream of water may be
allowed to pass through the bottom of the roof into the vessels consti-
tuting the side walls and into the vessel constituting the floor, thus
maintaining the substances contained in the vessel in a cool condition.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Roby in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 28th June 1876.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
ROBY, of Ince in Makerfield, in the County of Lancaster, Dealer in
Safes, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-eighth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in tho
thirty-ninth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said George Roby, Her special license
that I, the said George Roby, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said George Roby, my executors,
administrators, or 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 SAFES OR VESSELS FOR CONTAINING GUNPOWDER AND FOR PRESERVING AND
COOLING OTHER SUBSTANCES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
I, the said George Roby, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my hand and seal, 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 six calendar months next and imme-
diately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Roby, do hereby declare
the nature of my 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 accompanying
Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to
|say :-

page_text: water which it contains may be raised, or if preferred, before raising
the lid of the water contained therein may be drawn off through any
suitable outlet, and a fresh quantity be supplied when the lid is
replaced.
According to another modification which is illustrated by Figures 3
and 4, the top C, bottom D, and the four sides E, F, G, H, are each
formed of a separate vessel containing water, the bottom and sides being
either enclosed in an outer casing B, as shown, or fitted together in any
other suitable manner so as to form a close safe. The vessel C forming
the top is used as a door, as in the arrangements, Figures 1 and 2, or
one of the sides may be utilized as a door when the construction and
mode of fitting the sides together admits of this arrangement.
In all the modifications the lid is provided with an opening ƒ commu-
nicating with the interior A of the safe where the gunpowder is placed,
which opening in the normal condition of the safe is covered by a
diaphragm consisting of a disc or plate 9 of gutta percha or other
suitable decomposing substance secured in position by a nut h, the
object being that on the occurrence of a fire the disc or plate g shall
be fused or decomposed under the action of the heat, and admit of the
water, and of any steam which may be generated gaining access to the
gunpowder so as to prevent its explosion. In a similar manner tho
bottom D and the sides E, F, G, H (Figures 3 and 4), may be provided
with openings covered with fusible discs or plates, if desired.
The structure, Figures 3 and 4, may be used as a refrigerator for pre-
serving and cooling other substances, and a constant circulation of the
refrigerating water may be obtained by causing a stream of water to
pass through the bottom of the roof into the vessels constituting the
side walls, and into and through the vessel constituting the floor, thus
maintaining the substances contained in the vessel in a cool condition.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my
said Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used
or carried into effect, I would observe in conclusion that what I consider
to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent is,-
First. The combination in a safe of an inner vessel containing the
substance to be protected, and of an outer vessel containing water, the

page_text: latter vessel being fitted with a lid or cover also containing water, which
is retained therein in such a manner that it shall be free to escape into
the inner vessel when the safe is subjected to the influence of an elevated
temperature, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before described
and illustrated by my Drawings.
Secondly. The combination in a safe of an inner vessel containing the
substance to be protected, and of an outer vessel having its sides and
bottom made double for containing water; the latter vessel being fitted
with a lid or cover dipping into the water of the main water chamber,
and also containing water which is retained therein in such a manner
that it shall be free to escape into the inner vessel when the safe is
subjected to the influence of an clevated temperature, substantially as
and for the purposes herein-before described and as illustrated by my
Drawings.
Thirdly. The combination in a safe of an inner vessel containing the
substance to be protected, and of an outer vessel built up or composed
of a series of independent water chambers, one or more of which is or
are provided with means for automatically discharging the water con-
tained therein into the inner vessel when the safe is subjected to the
influence of an elevated temperature, substantially as and for the pur-
poses herein-before described and as illustrated by my Drawings.
Fourthly. Constructing refrigerators with an inner vessel for con-
taining the substance or articles to be preserved or cooled and with an
outer vessel built up or composed of a series of water chambers in
intercommunication, substantially as and for the purposes herein-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Roby, have to this my
Specification set my hand and seal, the Twenty-sixth day of