IMPROVEMENTS FOR THEATRES, WAREHOUSES AND OTHER SAFETY ELECTRIC STRUCTURES MADE APPLICABLE AUTOMATICALLY IN CASE OF FIRE
Year: 1882

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Peter Jensen of 33 Chancery Lane in the County of
Middlesex for
APPARATUS
IN
an invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
FOR THEATRES, WAREHOUSES
AND
OTHER
SAFETY
ELECTRIC
STRUCTURES MADE
APPLICABLE AUTOMATICALLY IN CASE OF FIRE." A communication from
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION filed by the said Peter Jensen at the Office of
the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th May 1882.
" IMPROVE-
PETER JENSEN of 33 Chancery Lane in the County of Middlesex
MENTS IN ELECTRIC SAFETY APPARATUS FOR THEATRES, WAREHOUSES AND OTHER
A communi-
STRUCTURES MADE APPLICABLE AUTOMATICALLY IN CASE OF FIRE."
cation from abroad by Robert Joseph Langstaff Haviland of Vienna, Austria.
This invention consists in an arrangement of apparatus for automatically or at
will and by electrical means to cause a stream of water to be thrown into any part
of a theatre warehouse or other structure in case of a fire breaking out therein
and to cause doors trapdoors shutters and other closing appliances to be opened and
the curtain to drop.
The accompanying drawing shows the apparatus applied to a theatre figure 1
shewing a contact appliance figure 2 a cord stretcher figure 3 a fire extinguisher,
the curtain figure 6 a key
figure 4 an appliance connected to the curtain figure
appliance figure 7 an appliance for opening doors figure 8 a battery and figure 9 a
trap door in the ceiling and appliances connected therewith.
Contact appliances of the kind presently to be described with reference to
figure 1 are placed in any suitable number in the walls or floors of the structure
The closer together they
or where room and circumstances permit or require it.
are placed the greater will be the security obtained. Each such contact maker
consists of a spring A which is held in tension by a cord B made easily combustible
that is stretched across the space to be rendered safe against fire and passes over a
pulley C figure 2 and is loaded by a weight d. The spring A is by this means
kept away from the contact a and pressed against the stop or staple b.

page_text: If now in any part of the theatre (or warehouse or other structure) one such
cord B (and these cords should be stretched across in all directions) should be
burnt by a flame rising up to it then the following action takes place. As contact
is made between the spring A and the piece a the electrical circuit will be closed
by means of the wires a2 and 62 which are held in the terminals a' and 6'; the
wire be leads directly to the battery figure 8 in which latter C and D are the two
poles of same and which contains the required number of elements according to
the requirements of the case.
The current passes off in various directions from the contact appliances figure 1
thus one branch leads from each end to the Fire Indicator Station; the wire a³
leads to the trap door appliance F figure 9 where in consequence of the current
passing around the electro magnets E. E. these latter are magnetized and attract
the keeper e withdrawing the hook or catch f from the nose g; so that the trap
door G resting thereon drops down by its own weight and thus opens entirely
allowing the smoke and gases in the building to escape R, R, figures 8 and 9 is the
return wire to the battery. A branch wire a leads to the electro magnets H H
figure 3 and by wire R back to the battery. When the current is on the magnets
HH attract the keeper h whereby the upper end i of the latter is drawn away
from the extreme end of the lever j which then assisted by the helical spring k
falls down the projection j¹ on the lever jis thereby withdrawn from under the
peg on the chain pulley K, and the weight L suspended in a chain from the
pulley K will now pull that side of the pulley down or over thereby opening a
cock on the plug of which it is fixed and causing a stream of water to rush out
from the water pipe M to the outlet nipple N the stream is directed as required by
turning the guide O. The same appliance but without the guide O may be used
for automatically shutting off the gas supply.
The electric current also magnetizes the electro magnets P P figure 7 causing
the keeper lever m to be raised and released from the catch n on the door which
latter then opens of itself but of course the door is so hung as to open outwards.
The wire R also in this case indicates the return wire to the battery.
In the curtain opt
appliance figure 4 the current magnetizes the electro-
magnets QQ and passes back by the wire R, When the keeper p is attracted
against the pull of the helical spring o its upper end q is withdrawn from the
support of the end of the lever S which drops down and while pressing on a peg,
projecting laterally from the back end of the stop hook lever s the other or hook end
of that lever will be raised out of gear with a groove in the stop wheel X ; a projec-
tion t on the lever a will simultaneously depress the back end of the pawl lever u
causing the other or pawl end of same to be pulled out of gear with the pawl
wheel the lever u is shown in dotted lines. By this means the whole of the clock
work will be set in motion and the cord V leading therefrom to the pulley U
figure 5 will cause the curtain to descend, W is an intermediate wheel of tho
clockwork.
8
Figure 6 shows the key appliance to be worked by the officials of the theatre.
In order to test the action of the curtain appliance for instance the key Y is
depressed; the current will then pass from the pole C of the battery figure 8 by
the fulcrum and wire a¹ to the electro magnets Q, Q figure 4 causing the clock-
work to be released and set going and the curtain to drop without affecting the
other apparatus. If it is required to actuate them all the key Z is depressed.
These auto-electric safety appliances work automatically in all cases where local
circumstances permit the use of contact appliances, in consequence of the burning
through of the restraining cords, which are impregnated with substances of an
easily combustible nature. Where such cords are inadmissable the apparatus may
be put into action at the operator's will by means of key appliances placed in
numerous parts of the structure. The apparatus are also always easily kept under
control and in working order by depressing the key Y, and the conducting wires
may be built into the walls and thus be protected against accidental or wilful injury.
The appliances are not costly and can be adapted to all circumstances.

page_text: I claim as the invention communicated to me and substantially as and for the
purpose herein before described.
First: The combination of the parts ab A B & forming the electric contact
maker, Figures 1 and 2 which does not come into action except the contact
preventing impregnated cord B is burnt away.
Second-The automatic water inlet cock Figure 3 which is opened by the
electrical releasing appliance and consequently by the weight L also applicable for
turning off gas.
Third-The electro-mechanical curtain dropping appliance figure 4, which holds
the safety curtain up until by the electrical releasing appliance it is caused to drop.
Fourth-The combination of keys with two and three contacts for repeated
testing of the apparatus and so arranged, as described with reference to Figure 6
that although all the apparatus are metallically connected together yet by the
depression of the key Y the curtain only is dropped while the other apparatus
remain inactive
Fifth The electro-mechanical opening of the exit doors by means of the
automatically produced contact as described with reference to Figure 7.
Sixth-The electro-mechanical opening of the trap doors or shutters as described
with reference to Figure 9.
In witness whereof I the said Peter Jensen have hereunto set my hand and
seal this Fourth day of May in the year of our Lord One thousand eight
hundred and eighty two.