US3750843A

US3750843A - Fire escapes

Info

Publication number: US3750843A
Application number: US00202159A
Authority: US
Inventors: J Wilhelm
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-11-26
Filing date: 1971-11-26
Publication date: 1973-08-07
Anticipated expiration: 1990-08-07

Abstract

A fire escape which is inexpensively constructed, esthetically acceptable for an interior installation above an upper floor window, rapidly deployable, and easily operated. It consists of a rope with two leg loops which is loosely wrapped around a small circular spool whose axis is perpendicular to the wall above the window. The descent is controlled by varying the friction of the rope on the spool surface using a gravity actuated jam cleat. Unsupported, gravitational forces rotate the jam cleat to the closed position, i.e., a fail safe mode. The descent is initiated and controlled by the escapee with a lanyard which counteracts the gravitational forces. The device features a hook appropriately placed on the rope to assist in holding a blanket during descent as a measure of protection against flame from lower levels. It also includes a diverting rope which allows a ground observer to alter the downward path if necessary to avoid such flames.

Description

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Wilhelm WIRE Efi'CAPES [76] inventor: John Raymond Wilhelm, 11605 Split Rail CL, Rockville, Md. 20852 [22] Filed: Nov. 26, 19711 [2!] Appl. No.: 202,,1159

Primary Examiner-Reinaldo P. Machado A fire escape which is inexpensively constructed, esthetically acceptable for an interior installation above an upper floor window, rapidly deployable, and easily operated. It consists of a rope with two leg loops which is loosely wrapped around a small circular spool whose axis is perpendicular to the wall above the window. The descent is controlled by varying the friction of the rope on the spool surface using a gravity actuated jam cleat. Unsupported, gravitational forces rotate the jam cleat to the closed position, i.e., a fail safe mode. The descent is initiated and controlled by the escapee with a lanyard which counteracts the gravitational forces. The device features a hook appropriately placed on the rope to assist in holding a blanket during descent as a measure of protection against flame from lower levels. It also includes a diverting rope which allows a ground observer to alter the downward path if necessary to avoid such flames.

4 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures SHEET 2 (If 3 PAIENIEB AUG 7 I975 WOC M l fig INVENTOR PAIENTEIJ 3.150.843

SHEET 3 0f 3 FIG. VIII Q INVENTOR FIRE ESCAPES The basic object of my invention is to provide a fire escape which can, within 30 seconds, be' made ready to safely carry out the sequential evacuation tothe ground of one or more persons trapped in an upper story room, be they small children, agile adults, or invalids.

It is another object of this invention to accomplish this with equipment that can be permanently installed above a bedroom window by a purchaser of reasonable intelligence and dexterity using tools which are commmonly found around a home.

It is another object of this invention that the installation be made esthetically acceptable to the decor of the room in which installed.

It is another object of this invention that if installed during the construction of the residence, it can be used to replace the upper portion of the window trim without detracting from the. general appearance of the window.

It is a very basic object of this invention that it be of sound principles but very simple construction such that it can be retailed successfully at a price comfortably within the reachof the general public. A sensible installation in a residence should include a fire escape in every bedroom on upper floors.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a means of controlling the descent of a person either by a second person in the room beingevacuated, by an observer on the ground, both in the event that the escapee is an invalid, or by the escapee himself during descent.

'It is another object of this invention to provide an-escape capability with controls which, if released inadvertently in panic or any other reason, will function immediately and positively to arrest the descent in a fail safe mode, avoiding the use of springs by employing gravitational forces.

It is another object of this invention to provide a means whereby a ground observer can divert the downward path of the escapee away from a lower window should the severity of the fire on a lower floor make it desirable.

It is another object of this invention to facilitate the attachment of a blanket or similar object slightly above the position of the escapee which he then can hold about himself offering some measure of protection from heat which may be issuing from windows or openings below.

In FIG. I I show a general interior view of the upper portion of a bedroom window showing my invention in the installed and stored position immediately above the trim of the window. Were this device to be installed by a building contractor during construction, it could replace the horizontal portion of the trim and be painted to match the remainder of it.

FIG. II is a similar, though smaller, view showing the device fully deployed ready foruse.

FIG. III shows the device in the stored and installed position above the bedroom window but with the' FIG. VIII shows the blanket hook attached to the descent rope.

The principle of the descent control mechanism depicted in FIG. IV is that of varying the friction of turns of a soft descent rope 9 around a fixed, non-smooth and non-rotating spool 2. As the descent rope 9 plays out in a clockwise action under the weight of the escapee, the amount of friction and therefore the speed of descent is varied by altering the ease of supply of the rope to the spool 2 from the left. The greater the back drag, the greater the frictional resistance, and the slower the rate of descent. The back drag of the descent rope 9 on the spool 2 is controlled by the position of the serrated surface 4 on the rotary wedging device or jam cleat 6 as it rotates around the jam cleat pivot 5 under the influence of the position of the jam cleat lever arm 6. The jam cleat surface 4 is so designed and positioned relative to the strong back 3 that when the jam cleat lever arm 6 is horizontal, the distance between the tips of the serrations of the jam cleat surface 4 and the surface of the strong back 3 is slightly greater than the diameter of the descent rope which feeds thru this opening, completely defined to the approximate size of the descent rope by the strong back cover 18.. When the jam cleat lever arm 6 is completely unrestrained it is caused to rotate counter clockwise while supported on its washer 37 under the combined resultant of its own weight and that of the weight of the bitter end of the descent rope 9 attached at the end of the jam cleat lever arm 6 at 34. This action causes the serrated teeth of the jam cleat surface 4 to contact the surface of the descent rope which is moving upward thru the opening under the influence of the weight of the escapee, the descent rope 9 being held in proximity to these teeth by the guide pin 42. This accentuates the counter clockwise rotation of the jam cleat surface 4 about the jam cleat pivot 5 rapidly reducing the space between the teeth and the strongback 3 causing the rope to jam and stop. The action of the jam cleat can better be understood when the jam cleat surface 4 is compared to the circular construction line 36 in FIG. IV drawn as a radius from the pivot 5 for this purpose. The descent rope, confined to the spool surface by the spool support bracket 1 and the spool cover 19, passes an appropriate number of turns around the spool moving outward from the surface of the spool support bracket 1 where it is played off over a platform 8 of such height to prevent jamming of the turns on the spool. Lateral movement of the descent rope 9 on this platform 8 is restrained by a rope guide 35. The platform 8 is beveled to reduce drag as the rope slides to pass through the opened upper sash of the escape window.

The forces which are causing the counter clockwise rotation of the jam cleat lever arm 6 are counteracted by a lanyard 16 whose downward pull acts thru an eye 15 mounted in the spool support bracket 1 and imparts a clockwise rotation to the jam cleat lever arm and serrated surface 4. Applying a downward thrust on the lanyard opposing the gravitational forces on the jam cleat lever arm and the frictional pull of the descent rope on the serrated teeth varies the opening between the cleat surface 4 and the strong back 3 and thereby changes the back drag of the descent rope on the surface of the spool, and accordingly controls the rate of descent. It is most significant that if for any reason the lanyard 16 is released during descent, prevailing gravitational forces act in a counter clockwise direction to jam the rope against the strongback, stopping the descent in a fail safe mode.

Turning attention to FIG. III we see my invention in a stored configuration with the spool support bracket cover 30 removed. This cover is supported in place by the cover supports 22 at each end and the spool cover 19 in the middle. At each end we find two slots 7 which facilitate attachment to the structure of the house by the use of lag bolts 43 and washers 44 into the centers of the studs 33 which support the window. These are to be accurately located by drilling small holes into the area of the wall that will be covered by the spool support bracket.

On the left side of the spool 2 we find the supply of the descent rope 9 carefully folded back and forth beside the jam cleat lever arm 6. The bitter end of the descent rope is attached to the lever arm at 34. There is to be found on the upper portion of either end of the left side storage area a nail 23 securely driven into the spool support bracket 1. Stretched between these two nails is a light piece of support string 40. The jam cleat lever arm and the stored descent rope are restrained by loops of a very light, easily broken restraint thread 25 which also encompass the support string 40. Laid within all of these loops of the restraint thread 25 there is a strong, flexible release wire 26 securely fastened at the outer end to the release wire attachment point 45 and terminating by the spool 2 in a release ring 27 hanging freely and exposed below the total device. Materials and arrangements are to be such that a strong downward pull to the left will positively break all of the restraining threads 25 to allow the stored material to fall free. The lanyard 16 of very light but strong fire resistant material is attached to the jam cleat lever arm 6 at the lanyard attachment point 14, routed up thru the lanyard eye mounted appropriately in the upper portion of the spool support bracket 1 and then routed thru the wrist loop 21 and then to the lanyard dowel 17 for storage.

The storage arrangement on the right side of the spool 2 is identical with nails 23, support string 40, restraint thread 24, release wire 26 and release ring 28. Contained for storage on this side are found the nine feet of descent rope 9, two canvas leg loops 10, the lanyard 16 stored on the lanyard dowel 17, and the diversion rope 12 on the diversion rope dowel 13.

FIG. II is a general view of the interior of the bedroom window with the invention mounted directly above the window trim 38 shown in a deployed condition. It is best understood by tracing the sequence of placing the device into operation. The upper sash 29 of the window is lowered. The left release ring 27 is pulled down and to the left, pulling against the release wire attachment point 45, to break or otherwise remove the restraint thread 25. The descent rope falls to the floor 32 and the jam cleat lever arm 6 rotates under its own weight as well as that of the bitter end of the descent rope attached at the attachment point 34 until the jam cleat surface engages the descent rope. The right release ring 28 is pulled down and to the right against its attachment to the diversion rope attachment point 11 causing the release wire 26 on this side to break the restraint thread 24 and permit the nine feet of descent rope 9 stored on this side of the spool 2, the two canvas leg loops 10, the lanyard 16 wrapped around the lanyard dowel 17, and the diversion rope 12 wrapped around the diversion rope dowel 13, all to fall free. All

of the items released by the pull of the right release ring 28 are immediately thrown out of the upper opening of the window. Brushing aside all of these ropes to the left side of the opening a pillow 31 or other available object is then placed along the right side of the window frame and both the upper sash 29 and the lower sash 39 are raised to a point where they are in contact with the pillow. The pillow functions to assure that the motion of the ropes is not impeded by the windows in the full up position. The lanyard 16 unwinds from the lanyard dowel 17 until the dowel strikes the ground. It is imperative that the lanyard length be greater than the installed height above the ground in order that the dowel will rest on it and not act gravitationally to negate the fail safe action of the jam cleat lever arm. The diversion rope l2 unwinds in a similar manner from its dowel 13 and being routed thru the wrist loop 21 and the leg loop eye 41 is available to permit a ground observer to divert the path of descent of the rescue away from lower openings should that be necessary. For this reason the diversion rope should be at least 15 feet longer than the anticipated installation height above the ground. The 9 feet of descent rope and the leg loops are immediately retrieved thru the lower window opening. There is 9 feet to permit the escapee to easily and comfortably place his legs into the loops 10, one in each loop, pulling them snugly up to the crotch. These loops are to be made of soft one inch wide canvas to facilitate stowage and allow a degree of comfort in the descent process. About three feet above the leg loops in the descent rope there is found a wrist loop 21. The escapee puts one hand thru this loop and seats himself on the window sill, head and body outside facing inward. The slack portion of the nine feet of the descent rope originally available is taken up by pulling down on the descent rope hanging just inside the window. When the slack is taken up the person lifts himself out of the window. The first motion downward locks the cam cleat surface 4 against the descent rope. Descent is initiated by pulling down on the lanyard 16. In order that the lanyard be always accessible it is threaded thru the wrist loop 21 and can be operated by the hand passed thru the wrist loop. The diversion rope 12 is anchored to an attachment point 11 on the spool support bracket 1 and is passed thru the wrist loop 21 as well as a leg loop eye 41 in the leg loops 10 in order to divert the descent route from below.

Attached to the descent rope about l8 inches above the wrist loop is found a spring closed hook 20 such that it will not become entangled with the ropes in the stowage mode but at the same time would easily permit a blanket or other large area cloth material to be forced down onto it. This is shown more clearly in FIG. VIII. If there is intense heat below, a blanket so attached and held about the head and body would offer some measure of protection from the flames and radiant heat during descent.

I claim:

1. A flat elongated structural element permanently installable on the inside wall surface of a room above a window, having its major axis parallel to the top of said window, and which mounts on its plane surface which is essentially parallel to said wall,

a. a non rotatable spool attached to said structural element at one end thereof with the major axis of said spool perpendicular to said surface of the mounting structural element,

b. a fixed block member adjacent to said spool whose plane surface which faces away from the spool is perpendicular to the major axis of said structural element,

c. an opening which is defined on three sides by the plane surface of said fixed block member, the surface of the mounting structural element, and a movable surface which is perpendicular to the plane of said mounting structural element,

d. a means to selectably vary the location of said movable surface relative to said fixed block member thereby controlling the size of the said opening between the surfaces,

and a flexible support means of a length sufficient to reach from its installation point to the ground which is reaved thru said variable opening, thense as several turns around the non-rotating spool and terminating in a flexible means for supporting a person during descent.

2. A fire escape in accordance with claim 1 wherein the controllable means for varying the opening between said movable and fixed surfaces consists of a device which is pivoted about a circular stud affixed to the elongated mounting structure on the opposite side of the fixed block member from the spool, the end of said device facing said fixed block member being terminated in a non-circular, serrated surface, the shape of which being such that rotation of the device which move said serrated surface upward reduces the space between said surfaces and the form of the serrations being such that contact with the flexible support means moving upward thru the opening causes the serrated surface to engage and move with it while downward motion of the flexible support means takes place with no interaction with said serrations, the other end of said device being of such length and mass that the total balance around the pivot under the influence of gravity alone would create a rotation which would reduce the size of said opening, but with an opposite rotation of the device being introducible by means of a lanyard being attached to it and operated thru an eye on the elongated structural element above the device.

3. A fire escape in accordance with claim 1 wherein means are provided to vary the descent path of the escape comprising a second flexible support means of greater than sufficient length to reach the ground when installed firmly secured at one end to a point on the flat elongated structural element and the other end being threaded thru an eye or other suitable restraint attached to the basic fire escape in the vicinity of the device for supporting the escapee.

4. A first escape in accordance with claim 1 wherein the flexible support means has secured to it about 6 feet above the device for supporting the escapee, means for rapidly and positively attaching a blanket or other protective material'as an element of protection from danger during descent, said means consisting of a hook device with a spring closure over its opening to preclude entanglement with associated elements during storage. I! i l! l

Claims

1. A flat elongated structural element permanently installable on the inside wall surface of a room above a window, having its major axis parallel to the top of said window, and which mounts on its plane surface which is essentially parallel to said wall, a. a non rotatable spool attached to said structural element at one end thereof with the major axis of said spool perpendicular to said surface of the mounting structural element, b. a fixed block member adjacent to said spool whose plane surface which faces away from the spool is perpendicular to the major axis of said structural element, c. an opening which is defined on three sides by the plane surface of said fixed block member, the surface of the mounting structural element, and a movable surface which is perpendicular to the plane of said mounting structural element, d. a means to selectably vary the location of said movable surface relative to said fixed block member thereby controlling the size of the said opening between the surfaces, and a flexible support means of a length sufficient to reach from its installation point to the ground which is reaved thru said variable opening, thense as several turns around the nonrotating spool and terminating in a fLexible means for supporting a person during descent.

4. A first escape in accordance with claim 1 wherein the flexible support means has secured to it about 6 feet above the device for supporting the escapee, means for rapidly and positively attaching a blanket or other protective material as an element of protection from danger during descent, said means consisting of a hook device with a spring closure over its opening to preclude entanglement with associated elements during storage.