Fire extinguisherIn 1872, a fire extinguisher was patented by its black American inventor, Thomas J. Martin of Dowagiac, Michigan (U.S. No. 125,063). The patent describes installing piping and pumps in dwellings, mills, factories, or cities. The pipes may also be used for warming, ventilating and washing buildings, and for washing pavements and sprinkling streets. The discharge nozzles are designed to be mounted on vertical pipes, and have globe valves seated in them, all enclosed in a cage. The cage is made sufficiently high to allow the rise of the globe valve when pressed up by a jet of water through the nozzle. In use, the water jet would spread by the concave underside of the globe to spray an annular sheet or spray and wet a large surface.[Image: detail of discharge nozzle. Click image for full patent drawing] |
