Year: 1886

page_text: I, HERBERT JOHN ALLISON, of 52 Chancery Lane, London, in the County of
Middlesex, Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of this invention which
has been communicated to me from abroad by Peter Lloyd Palmer of White Cloud,
Kansas United States of America, Gentleman, 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 improvements in apparatus for extinguishing fires
either in buildings or in vessels, and particularly to vessels built in compartments,
by means of steam flowing from the boiler of a steam engine located in the building
or vessel, and it consists in the construction and novel arrangement of the parts,
hereinafter described and pointed out in the appended claims.
In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical longitudinal
section of the hull of a vessel through the line of the longest indicating tubes of the
invention, the plane of the numbered caps of said tubes being shown above the
side view of the same, and the numbers of the steam tubes, being marked adjacent
thereto.
Figure 2, is a vertical transverse section of the same through any line of
compartments.
A designates the hull of a vessel divided into compartments by the bulkheads B B.
C, C are the decks, forming, with the bulkheads, the compartments C¹. D is the
boiler, situated amidships, and E, is a vertical steam chamber, or receiver secured
between decks and receiving steam from the boiler, through the pipe F, as shown.
f is a throttle valve on the pipe F by which the flow of steam and consequent
pressure, is regulated in the receiver E.
G G are steam pipes going out of the receiver E, and having their outer ends
bent downward and running through the decks into the compartments below the
same.
gg are valves on the sides of the pipes G by means of which the engineer
can admit steam from the receiver through any one of the said pipes, to the com-
partment with which it communicates. The bent down ends of the pipes G pass
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page_text: through the decks immediately after passing through the bulkheads above and on
the inner side of the compartment to which it runs. By this arrangement the
pipes will not interfere with the storing of the cargo.
H H are pipes running from the receiver E to the set of compartments lying
below the upper deck. These pipes run through the inner bulkheads of the
compartments with which they communicate and do not have their ends bent
downward as they do not penetrate the deck.
I I are vertical tubes running from the upper deck down into the compart-
ments C into which their lower ends open as shown. The said tubes run down
along the outer bulkheads of the compartments with which they communicate so as
not to be in the way of the cargo, and have fitted to their upper ends above the
upper deck, the caps i, which may screw therein, or be fitted thereto, in any
suitable manner. The cap of each tube I has marked upon it a number, and the
same number is marked upon the pipe G that communicates with the same com-
partment as the said tube; the number is marked on the pipe near its valve g or
upon the head of the valve as is most convenient. The caps i are intended to be as
near flush with the upper deck as is practicable, so as not to interfere with the
handling of the vessel.
The lower end of each tube I communicates with the centre of a transverse
tube J, which runs immediately below the deck that forms the roof of its compart-
ment, and is provided at proper points with perforations j, for a purpose hereinafter
explained.
The tubes G and H run both forward and aft from the receiver E which is
situated near the boiler.
The method of operating the apparatus is as follows:-
Any one of the watch on deck, suspecting fire in a certain compartment, removes
the cap from the tube I communicating therewith. Smoke from the fire, (if any
exists), will then pass into the perforations j of the transverse tube J from either
side of the compartment and will rise with the up draft of air, through the tube I,
and will be seen above deck. The cap I is then replaced on the tube I and the
engineer, being notified, opens the valve g of the pipe G bearing the same number
as the cap, and consequently connecting with the compartment to which the
indicating tube, corresponding to the cap, runs. The steam going into the com-
partment under pressure from the boiler, fills every part thereof and will even
penetrate the woodwork, and as it condenses into water, will effectually extinguish
the fire.
By removing the cap i at proper intervals of time, it can be easily ascertained
when the fire is extinguished, as steam only will then escape. Should the steam
pressure be too great, it will be necessary to remove the cap until the same is
reduced.
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
First. In an apparatus to extinguish fires on steam vessels built in compartments,
the combination with the boiler of the engine, a steam drum or receiver commu-
nicating with the boiler by a pipe controlled by a throttle valve, and steam
delivering pipes running from the receiver to the compartments, each pipe being
provided with a throttle valve, or a cock near the receiver, having a separate
number marked on it near said cock, and opening into a separate compartment;-
of fire indicating tubes, each running from a compartment, to above the upper deck,
and having on its end, above the upper deck, a removable cap marked with a
number corresponding with the number of the steam pipe communicating with the
compartment to which the indicating tube, that it covers, runs, substantially as
specified.
Second. In an apparatus to extinguish fires in steam vessels built in compart-
ments, the combination with the boiler D, the receiver E communicating with the

page_text: boiler by the pipe F controlled by the valve f, and the pipes G and H controlled by
the valves g, and each marked with a separate number near said valves, and opening
into a separate compartment, of the fire-indicating pipes I, the transverse perforated
pipes J, and the screw caps i each marked on top with a number corresponding to
the number on the steam pipe opening into the compartment from which its pipe I
ascends, substantially as described.
Third. The herein described apparatus for extinguishing fires in vessels consisting
of the steam receiver E, fed from the boiler, the steam pipes G and H, each running
from the said receiver to a compartment of the vessel marked with a number and
commanded by a throttle valve g, and the fire indicating pipes I each running from
a compartment to a suitable point above the upper deck and marked with the same
number above decks that is marked on the steam pipe communicating with the
same compartment.
Fourth. In an apparatus to extinguish fire in a vessel built in compartments,
the combination with the steam receiver E fed from the boiler, and the steam
tubes G and H of unequal length and each marked with a number and communicating
with a compartment of the vessel; of the fire-indicating tubes I of unequal length
and each marked with a number and communicating with a compartment and the
removable caps i each fitting on the upper end of an indicating tube, substantially
as specified.
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