Improvements in Automatic Alarm valves and Apparatus to be Used in Connection with Fire Extinguishing Sprinklers. IN CONNECTION WITH FIRE EXTINGISHING
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Sept., 1887
Complete Left, 12th June, 1888
Complete Accepted, 13th July, 1888
Improvements in Automatic Alarm valves and Apparatus to be
Used in Connection with Fire Extinguishing Sprinklers.
We, JAMES HENRY LYNDE of 17 Cooper Street, Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, Civil Engineer, and SAMUEL WALKER, Machinist, and GEORGE MILLS,
Engineer, both of Radcliffe, in the said County, do hereby declare the nature of said
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN AUTOMATIC ALARM VALVES AND APPARATUS TO
BE USED IN CONNECTION WITH FIRE EXTINGUISHING SPRINKLERS"
to be as
follows:-
The objects of our Invention are first to improve the construction of automatic
alarm valves and render them more sensitive in their action and secondly to provide
means for the automatic indication of the locality of a fire in a building.
The first of these we effect by adding to an ordinary back pressure valve a pipe
extending from the exterior to the interior of the valve casing terminating in a chamber
in the centre of the valve casing which chamber is thus in communication with the
outer air. The central chamber is provided with a valve seating which is closed by
the central portion of the main valve lid or by means of a separate valve lid not rigidly
attached to or forming part of the main valve lid but actuated thereby or by the stem
thereof. This central valve is the alarm valve and may be situate at any convenient
position within the valve casing. In action the water escaping through the alarm
valve and pipe sets an alarm gong in motion by means of a turbine or water motor
and also turns steam into a steain whistle thus giving a double alarm.
By our improved construction of valve we are able to insure any required degree of
sensitiveness by varying the relative areas of the main and central valve seats and to
prevent the occurrence of false alarms of fire which ordinary alarm valves are liable to
cause, and also to reduce to a minimum the external leakage which occurs in valves of
this class through a small quantity of water finding its way past the valve which is in
communication with the outer air.
The second object of our Invention we effect by means of an automatic indicator
valve placed near the junction of each main feed pipe with the upright main at or near
the various ceiling levels. The automatic indicator valve is so constructed that any

page_text: movement of the water through it causes a flow of water through the indicator pipe
attached to it. The indicator pipe from each automatic indicator valve is led to one
convenient position where each pipe is labelled with the number of the floor with which
it communicates and thus indicates the locality of a fire by means of the flow of water
through it.
101 L
1
1007
H. B. BARLOW,
Agent for Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Automatic Alarm Valves and Apparatus to be
Used in Connection with Fire Extinguishing Sprinklers.
We JAMES HENRY LYNDE of 17 Cooper Street Manchester in the County of
Lancaster Civil Engineer and SAMUEL WALKER Machinist and GEORGE MILLS
Engineer both of Radcliffe in the said County 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:-
The objects of our Invention are first, to improve the construction of automatic
alarm valves and render them more sensitive in their action and secondly to provide
means for the automatic indication of the locality of a fire in a building.
The first of these we effect by adding to an ordinary back pressure valve a pipe
extending from the exterior to the interior of the valve casing terminating in a
chamber in the centre of the valve casing which chamber is thus in communication
with the outer air. The central chamber is provided with a valve seating which is
closed by the central portion of the main valve lid or by means of a separate valve lid
not rigidly attached to or forming part of the main valve lid but actuated thereby or
by the stem therof. This central valve is the alarm valve and may be situate at any
convenient position within the valve casing.
In action the water escaping through the alarm valve and pipe sets an alarm gong
in motion by means of a turbine or water motor and also turns steam into a steam
whistle thus giving a double alarm.
By our improved construction of valve we are able to insure any required degree of
sensitiveness by varying the relative areas of the main and central valve seats and to
prevent the occurrence of false alarms of fire which ordinary alarm valves are liable to
cause and also to reduce to a minimum the external leakage which occurs in valves of
this class through a small quantity of water finding its way past the valve which is in
communication with the outer air.

page_text: The second object of our Invention we effect by means of an automatic indicator
valve placed near the junction of each main feed pipe with the upright main at or near
the various ceiling levels.
The automatic indicator valve is so constructed that any movement of the water
through it causes a flow of water through the indicator pipe attached to it. The
indicator pipe from each automatic indicator valve is led to one convenient position
where each pipe is labelled with the number of the floor with which it communicates
and thus indicates the locality of a fire by means of the flow of water through it.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily carried into
effect we will describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings reference being had to the
figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 represents a section of our improved automatic alarm valve in which a is the
outer casing 6 the internal chamber supporting a valve seat c and communicating with
the outer air by means of the pipe d; e designates the valve lid which rests on a valve
seat and also the central valve seat c; g is the water supply pipe from the street main
and is the main pipe leading to the installation.
The operation of the valves is as follows:-
When a sprinkler opens in a building thus fitted the flow of water upwards through
the alarm valve raises the valve lid e and allows water to pass from the supply pipe g
to the main h; at the same time the central valve is opened and water passes into the
chamber b and along the pipe d and is discharged into the water motor j, see Fig. 3,
and causes it to revolve. By this motion the hammer k strikes the gong 7 (a portion
only of which is indicated in the Drawing). The water having passed through the
water motor is discharged at m into a balanced bucket n which is connected by means
of a chain o to the lever of a steam whistle p. When a flow of water operates the
water motor; the gong is at once sounded and the water which is discharged into the
balanced bucket n overcomes the balance weight q and causes the bucket to descend
and by means of the chain o to operate the steam whistle. The bucket n is provided
with a small hole at the base through which it is gradually emptied when the flow of
water ceases.
Fig. 2 represents another form of the alarm valve the only difference being that the
valve cover fits easily into the valve seat f instead of lying upon it. The same letters
apply to similar parts as in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 represents a section of the automatic indicator valves which is similar in
principle to the alarm valve.
It consists of an outer casing a¹ and a central chamber 6 connected to an outlet
pipe d'. A piston valve e¹ is mounted on a stem e the lower portion of which is
triangular. This automatic indicator valve is fixed at or near the junction of each
main feed pipe with the upright main as shown in Fig. 5, h being the upright main
and one of the main feed pipes and s the automatic indicator valve; t represents the
pipe leading from the central chamber of the indicator valve to an indicator board u
upon which the indicator pipes from each floor or various portions of the premises are
arranged and labelled. As an example two indicator pipes wo and are shown leading
from other portions of the installation.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-
When a sprinkler opens a flow of water takes place and opens the indicator valve on
the main feed pipe communicating with the open sprinkler. Water at once passes along
the indicator pipe to the indicator board and by this means it is at once evident in
which portion of the premises the flow of water is taking place.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said Invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what we claim is-
1. An alarm valve formed with a central chamber communicating with the atmosphere
and closed to the entrance of water from the interior of the main valve casing by means
of a valve lid in contact with a valve seat supported on the central chamber said valve
lid being either the central portion of the main valve lid or a separate valve lid operated
by or from the main valve lid.

page_text: 2. The combination with an alarm valve substantially as described in claim 1, of a
pipe leading from the central chamber to a water motor actuating an arm which strikes
agong when the valve opens and the motor is in operation.
3. The combination with the water motor and gong alarm, of a steam whistle
arranged to be actuated by the waste water from the motor operating a balanced bucket
which empties itself when the flow of water ceases and stops the steam whistle by
means of the operation of the balance weight.
4. The combination with an installation of automatic sprinklers, of an indicator valve
placed at or near the junction of each main feed pipe with the upright main and com-
municating by means of an indicator pipe to an indicator board substantially as herein
described and as illustrated by the annexed Drawings.
5. The several constructions combinations and arrangements of parts embodying our
improvements in automatic alarm valves and apparatus to be used in connection with
fire extinguishing sprinklers substantially as and for the purposes herein described and
as shown.
H. B. BARLOW,
17, St. Ann's Square, Manchester,
Agent for Applicants.