Year: 1887

page_text: [Communicated from abroad by WILLIAM CASS SHAFFER, of Milwaukee, State -
of Wisconsin, United States of America, Electrical Engineer.]
I, ALFRED JULIUS BOULT of 323 High Holborn, in the County of Middlesex,
M.I.M.E. 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 apparatus for applying the expansive power of heat and
has special reference to such apparatus in which the motion is produced by the
thermal expansion of a confined fusible solid.
The object of this invention is to produce such an apparatus the parts of which shall
be positively inert and fixed or inotionless under all disturbances or conditions
excepting only when it is exposed to a certain chosen temperature to the end that
it may be adapted to operate and control mechanism which is required to be operated
only at times when the apparatus is by design or as a matter of course exposed to the
chosen temperature.
Among the uses to which this improved apparatus may be applied are the operation
of automatic fire alarms and automatic fire extinguishing and controlling apparatus.
By the term "fusible solid" as herein used is meant a material which is under
normal temperature solid or so nearly solid that it is devoid of mobility but which
when heated becomes mobile or so nearly so as that when it is subjected to pressure it
will conform itself to the shape of a vessel and follow passages after the manner of
liquids.
In the following description is shown said apparatus applied to a fire alarm or for
the purpose of closing or opening the electric circuit of the fire alarm system; also to
operate an automatic fire proof curtain used to separate the auditorium of a theatre

page_text: from the stage in case of re; so to open the pipes of an automatic spinning
system such as has been heretofore applied to the ceilings of rooms.
In the accompanying drawings:
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of the apparatus.
Fig. 2 is a similar section of the apparatus applied to an electric circuit for the
purpose of closing said circuit in case of abnormal heat.
Fig. 3 shows it applied to lift a pawl to release a drum upon which is rolled a fire
proof curtain or the ropes or cables sustaining such fire proof curtain.
Figs. 4 and 5 show the apparatus applied to a sprinkling system and a fire alarm
system.
Referring to figure 1, A is a metallic chamber preferably broadened below so as to
hold a larger quantity of material and so as to expose a larger area to the fire or heat
below. On the upper side of said chamber A is seated a neck or sleeve A' which is of
uniform bore from top to bottom and communicates with the chamber A below while
at its upper end it is open. In said sleeve A' is seated a piston B which closely fits
said sleeve so as to prevent the passage of liquid. The space within the chamber A is
completely filled with paraffine, resin, pitch or any of the oils or other materials which
are solid under ordinary temperatures but which liquify or soften and expand under
higher temperatures. The apparatus is placed in such position as to be exposed to the
heat by which it is to be operated. Until such heat is reached or produced the
apparatus is entirely inactive under all circumstances no matter how much said
apparatus may be jarred shaken or otherwise disturbed. The fusible material itself
is fixed as much as are the walls of the chamber itself and the piston B fits the
sleeve A¹ so closely that it will not move unless considerable force is applied.
Thus any accidental action is entirely avoided which is quite essential for the
objects to which this apparatus is to be applied. Where it is used to close the
electric circuit of a fire alarm system it is absolutely imperative that the circuit
be in no case closed excepting when there is an abnormal heat which demands
the attention of the attendants of the building or the fire department. When such
circuit is closed accidentally without the presence of fire or undue heat the persons
who are expected to respond soon lose confidence in the system and the calls and
neglect to respond unless informed of a fire through some other channel. Systems
operated by other devices, lacking this certainty of action have proved a source of
great annoyance to fire departments and have compelled them to make many runs to no
purpose.
When a system of sprinkling pipes is placed within a building it is essential that
the pipes be opened only when there is a fire beneath the pipes. If they are opened
accidentally at other times annoyance and damage will result. And in the use of a
fire proof curtain in a theatre it is essential that the curtain be controlled by
mechanism which will not release the curtain and allow it to descend during a
performance in consequence of shaking or jarring or anything which may be done
upon the stage excepting the actual presence of fire on the stage. The accidental and
unwarranted descent of such a curtain during the course of a performance aside from
interfering with the performance itself may also create alarm in the audience and
cause the emptying of the auditorium possibly with a stampede.
In figure 2 the apparatus has secured upon the sleeve A¹ a wooden or equivalent
nonconducting sleeve A2 upon this wooden sleeve is seated a metal strip All which
is bent inward at its upper end to rest above the upper end of the piston B and almost
in contact with the latter. The strip A³ is thus insulated from the piston B and
chamber A. A wire A leads from the strip A³ to the battery, and a wire A leads
from the wall of the chamber A to the battery thus forming a circuit which is broken
between the end of the strip A3 and the end of the piston B. Now when the lower
face of the chamber A is exposed to abnormal heat the fusible material within such
chamber liquifies or softens and expands driving the piston B slowly upward until the
contact is made with the end of the strip A³. The end or upper portion of the
piston B is preferably grooved transversely so that as it passes upwardly it makes
several contacts and breaks with the end of the strip A³ in order to ensure a complete

page_text: contact in case any dust or other foreign material should tend to hinder the closing of
the circuit.
In figure 3 C is a drum upon which is rolled the fire proof curtain above mentioned
or the cables which support said curtain. At the end of said drum is the ratchet
wheel C. D is a pawl hinged at one end and engaging the ratchet wheel C¹ at the
other end thus holding the drum against rotation and holding the curtain in its
elevated position. The apparatus is placed a suitable distance beneath the paw! D and
the piston B extended upwardly to the pawl D and connected with the latter at D¹.
The curtain and the parts connected therewith will remain in this position until the
piston B is pushed upward. This occurs when a fire beneath heats the chamber A
whereupon the pawl D is raised out of engagement with the ratchet wheel C" and the
drum rotates and the curtain descends.
This apparatus may be used similarly to operate ventilators and fans in theatres and
other situations.
In figure 4 E is a horizontal water pipe conducted along the ceiling of a room in
which water is supplied under pressure. At suitable points said pipe has short
downwardly directed branches E³. Into said branch is threaded or soldered the
pipe G to the lower end of which latter pipe is attached preferably by threading
a sprinkler H. Transversely to the pipe G is attached or formed a branch G
Opposite the pipe G₁ the pipe G is cut with an opening large enough to receive a
shaft of sufficient diameter to completely close said pipe. To the outer end of the
pipe G¹ is attached the chamber A with its side facing downwards. The piston B is
made of such diameter as to fill the opening in the pipe G and is made long enough
to extend through said pipe a short distance. Between the pipe G and the chamber A
said piston has the vertical hole B'. At the side of the pipe G a piece of insulating
material is mounted and upon this is secured a metal strip A³ which extends over the
end of the piston B and is almost in contact with the latter. From the base of said
strip a circuit wire A leads to the battery and from the wall of said pipe G a wire A'
leads to the battery as already explained in reference to figure 2. The water in the
pipe E now rests in the upper end of the pipe G and upon the piston B by which
latter it is prevented from rushing into the room. When a fire in the room heats the
chamber A the piston B is driven forward until the hole B' is in line with the opening
through the pipe G when the stream of water is allowed to flow downward and be
distributed over the room by the sprinkler H. At the same time the outer end of the
piston B makes the contact with the strip A³ and transmits an alarm through the
electric circuit. In case of a fire of short duration it is desirable to have the flow of
water stop as soon as the fire has ceased. For this provision is made.
As soon as
the material within the chamber A is cooled somewhat it may be compressed again
into smaller space. Therefore the piston B may be returned by the application of
power and the flow of water again cut off.
Upon the upper side of the chamber A is mounted a coiled spring I, attaching it by
its outer end to the post h. and by its inner end to a link or yoke 1' which surrounds
the pipe G and is attached to the outer end of the piston B. This may be done in
several ways. The drawings show a notch cut transversely into the end of said piston
in which said link rests. The spring I is so adjusted as to hold the link in engage-
ment when the piston B is in its normal position. When the piston B is driven
forward said spring extends until the fusible material in the chamber A cools and
yields to the power of the spring the piston being then drawn back again into its
former position and the water cut off and the fusible material cooling and leaving the
apparatus ready for future use. The spring 1 may, obviously, be placed in other
positions so as to act equally well upon the piston B.
In the use of this apparatus for controlling the fire proof curtain the piston B or
the pawl D may have the weight to compress the fusible material upon cooling.
In the foregoing applications the apparatus operates automatically. It may also be
used non-automatically for various purposes particularly as a substitute for lifting
jacks or to furnish power for presses. By increasing the size and strength of its parts
enormous power may be developed.

page_text: No claim is made for the fire apparatus shown herein.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention
as communicated to me by my foreign correspondent and in what manner the same is
to be performed, I declare that what I claim is
1. The chamber A provided with the piston B and filled behind said piston with a
material which is solid and fixed under ordinary temperatures but which softens and
expands under heat and drives said piston forward substantially as herein shown and
for the purposes set forth.
2. The chamber A provided with the piston B and filled behind said piston with
paraffine whereby the piston is driven forward when said chamber is heated but does
not move in response to other agencies so long as said chamber is not subjected to
abnormal heat substantially as shown and described.
3. The combination of a piston B and chamber A filled with a fusible solid said
chamber being broadened below or behind the piston in order that it may expose a
relatively greater surface to the heat, substantially as herein described.
4. The combination of a piston B and chamber A filled with paraffine said chamber
being broadened below or behind the piston in order that it may expose a relatively
greater surface to the heat substantially as herein described.
5. The combination with the piston B and chamber a filled with a fusible solid of a
spring or weight to return the piston to its normal position after it has been driven
forward substantially as shown and described.
6. The combination with the piston B and chamber A filled with a fusible solid of a
spring I and yoke I' connecting said spring and piston substantially as shown and for
the purposes specified.
7. The method of applying the expansive power of heat which method consists in
confining an easily conformable substance by fixed walls and a 'movable solid part and
then imparting heat to said easily conformable substance whereby it expands and
moves said movable part substantially as shown and described.
8. The method of applying the expansive power of heat which method consists in
confining a "fusible solid" by fixed walls and a movable solid part and then imparting
heat to said fusible solid whereby it expands and moves said movable part, sub-
stantially as shown and described.
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