Improvements in Automatic-sprinklers.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 6th Feb., 1894-Accepted, 10th Mar., 1894.
עגעם VI
Improvements in Automatic-sprinklers.
I, ROBERT WILKINSON NEWTON, of 16 Diamond Street, in the City of
Providence, County of Providence, State of Rhode Island, United States of
America, Machinist, 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 automatic-sprinklers wherein.valves
are normally held against their seats by struts, or arms, which, being disrupted or
lisplaced, allow the valve to be moved from its seat, the water passing through the
orifice thus opened striking a deflector supported before the opening and deflected,
or distributed, thereby through the surrounding space in the form of spray...
The object of the invention is to produce a new and effective thrust, or support,.
for the valve which, under the normal conditions, will be stronger than those
heretofore used, while, when weakened by undue heat, the parts of the same will
readily separate.
Another object of the invention is to improve the construction of the deflector in:
order that the stream of water passing therethrough may be more effectively broken
up and distributed..
:
The invention consists in the peculiar construction of the strut, or valve-support,
and its combination with an automatic-sprinkler.
The invention also consists in the novel deflector and its combination with the
sprinkler-frame, as will hereinafter be more fully described and pointed out in.the.
claims.
Figure 1 represents a side view of an automatic-sprinkler provided with the
improved strut and deflector.
Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the same.
Figure 3 being a top view of the deflector removed from the sprinkler.
Figure 4 represents an enlarged view of the valve-supporting. strut.
Figure 5 representing a similar view in which the thrust-plates and securing-..
plates are shown as curved.
Figure 6 is a plan view of a modified form of the deflector.
Figures 7 and 8 representing modifications of the valve-supporting device:
constructed to secure an outward strain on the side plates without bending the
valve-support as in Figure 5.
Similar numbers of reférence designate corresponding parts throughout.
In the drawings 6 indicates the yoke of an automatic-sprinkler, 7 being the
the frame pendant
tubular shank by which it is secured to a pipe-fitting, and
from the yoke, at its lower end the frame is furnished with the perforated-
enlargement 9 through which the thrust-screw 10 extends and on this screw is
Below the yoke 6
carried the lock-nut 11 independently screwed on to the same.
extends the valve-seat 12 which, under normal conditions, is closed by the valve 13
provided with the transverse-slot, or groove, 14 to contain a spring 15, in this
lower surface of the valve is also formed a transverse-groove 16 at right angles
with that marked 14.
Revolvably secured on the thrust-screw 10 and supported by the lock-nut 11
is the deflector 17 having a central perforated-hub 18 and the concave-arms 19-19
extending from the hub, these arms have each a straight thick edge 20 from
which the surface slants towards the curved thin edge 21, the outer ends of. the

page_text: arms being considerably higher than the center to present a disk-shaped appearance,
while each of the arms is furnished with perforations 22, or slots 23, extending
through the thickness of the metal in such directions that when water passes
rapidly therethrough it will tend to revolve the deflector.
The upper end of the thrust-screw 10 is conical in shape and carried thereby
is the pillow-block 24 having a lower socket to fit the thrust-screw and a groove
in its upper surface in which the lower end of the valve-supporting strut, or
arm, rests.
The valve-supporting device consists of two arms, or plates, 25 and 26 portions
of the ends 27 and 28 of which are cut away to form recesses for the reception-
of solder 29 and to facilitate the turning of the arm when the solder is weakened.
The apexes of these ends 27 and 28, or that portion forming the extreme longest.
portion of the arms, may be located in the axial center, as in Figures 2 and 4, or
they may be slightly at one side of each block as in Figure 7, and interposed between
these ends is a rod 30 of any desired cross-sectional shape when the construction
of the arms 25 and 26 shown in Figure 4 is used, but is preferably of a rectangular
cross-section when the ends of the arms are cut away as shown in Figure 7,-
this rod 30, or block 301, is brought into intimate contact with the ends of the
arms 25 and 26 and the whole secured together by the side-plates 31 and 32
soldered thereto by solder fusible at a low temperature, the solder also filling up
the spaces left by cutting away the ends of the arms.
When the construction shown in Figure 7 is used the ends 27 and 28 are
located to bear at opposite sides of the rod 30, or block 30¹, to bring a rotative
strain on the same, when the solder becomes weakened the block is slightly
rotated by the pressure and tends to force the side-plates away from the arms.
The member 30, or 30', may, however, be dispensed with and the ends 27 and 28,
or 27 and 28', as the case may be, brought into intimate contact,-where thrust-
plates having the edges, or ends, 27¹ and 28' are used they are located as illustrated
in Figure 8 so that the thinnest portions of the edges will bear against each other
on a line slightly off the center of the valve-support,-when the member 30, or 30¹,
is dispensed with the thrust-plates and side-plates may be curved as in Figure 5.
The modified form of the deflector, shown in Figure 6, is constructed of sheet-
metal being first formed in the shape of a disk having circular perforations, this
disk is then shaped to form a shallow vessel by stamping, or pressing, and in this
process the circular perforations are elongated in. the direction in which strain is
exerted on the metal, thus forming a deflector having the bottom 33 provided with
the central opening 34 and having the flaring-edge 35 furnished with perforations 36.
The upper rounded edge of the thrust-block is seated in the groove 16 of the
valve 13, while the rounded edge of the arm forming the lower portion of the
thrust-block enters the groove in the upper surface of the pillow-block and
the screw 10 is tightened.
By this construction the valve is supported by a continuous line of metallic
members and no strain is brought to bear on the solder until it becomes
weakened.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
Claim 1. A device, for supporting the valves of automatic-sprinklers, consisting
of thrust-arms and a rod, or block, interposed between the arms and secured.
2. In an automatic-sprinkler, a valve-supporting device consisting of thrust-
plates having reduced edges, a member interposed between said edges and parallel
ihereto, and side plates, soldered to the thrust-plates and to the member, adapted
to be separated by the outward movement of the thrust-plates, as described.
3. In an automatic-sprinkler, a valve-supporting device consisting of thrust-arms
secured in a line, a member interposed between the arms, and side-plates soldered
to the arms.

page_text: 4. In an automatic-sprinkler, a valve-supporting device consisting of thrust-arms-
secured in a line, and a rotative member interposed between the arms and
secured.
5. In an automatic-sprinkler, a valve-supporting device consisting of thrust-arms
secured in line, the adjacent ends of the arms being thinner than the main body,
and a member secured between the thinner ends of the arms with which it is in
intimate contact.
6. In an automatic-sprinkler, a deflector consisting of a perforated hub and a
series of radial upwardly-curving perforated-arms extending therefrom, each arm
having a comparatively straight thick edge and a curved thinner edge, as
described.
7. In an automatic-sprinkler, a valve-support formed of separable parts the
strain-resisting members of which are held in intimate contact by solder fusible.
at a comparatively low temperature.
8. In an automatic-sprinkler, thrust-plates the rounded edges of which are held
in intimate contact by devices adapted to be acted upon by heat.
9. In an automatic-sprinkler a thrust-block or valve-support consisting of thrust-
plates the rounded edges of which are held in intimate contact by side-plates and
solder fusible at a low temperature.
10. In an automatic-sprinkler, a valve-supporting device consisting of curved
thrust-plates the edges of which are in intimate contact and curved side-plates.
secured to the thrust-plates by solder fusible at a low temperature.
11. In an automatic-sprinkler, a valve-supporting device consisting of curved
thrust-plates, a member interposed between the edges of the thrust-plates, and.
curved side-plates secured to the thrust-plates and member by solder.
12. In an automatic-sprinkler, a deflector having a centrally-perforated bottom 33.
furnished with the flaring edge 35 perforated as described.
13. The combination with an automatic-sprinkler, of the deflector 17 having the
perforated-hub 18 and the radial perforated-arms 19 each of which has a straight
thick edge 20 and a thin curved edge 21, as described.
14. In an automatic-sprinkler, a valve-supporting device consisting of the
arms 25 and 26 having the reduced edges 27 and 28, the member 30 interposed.
between these edges, and the side-plates 31 and 32 secured to the arms and
member by solder, as described.
15. The combination with the yoke 6 having the shank 7, the valve-seat 12 and
the frame 8 furnished with the perforated-enlargement 9, the thrust-screw 10-
secured in said enlargement, the nut 11 and the deflector 17 secured on the lower:
portion of the screw, and the pillow-block 24 supported on the upper end of the
same, of the valve 13 adapted to close the valve-seat, and a thrust-block consisting
of the arms 25 and 26, the member 30 and the side-plates 31 and 32 secured
together by solder and interposed between the valve and the pillow-block, as and.
for the purpose described.
Dated this 21st day of October A.D. 1893.
Signed in presence of:
ROBERT WILKINSON NEWTON.
JOSEPH A. MILLER, Jr.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.