GB2035944A

GB2035944A - Improved fire escape apparatus

Info

Publication number: GB2035944A
Application number: GB7931626A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1978-05-31
Filing date: 1979-09-12
Publication date: 1980-06-25
Also published as: GB2035944B

Abstract

A fire escape apparatus comprises a channel member 1 defining a channel into which opens a slot formed between flanges 2. Rows of staggered projections within the channel are formed by bolts 4 extending between the flanges 2 and a rear wall 3 of the channel member. A harness for supporting a person escaping in the event of fire is suspended from a support including a cross-piece and an upright and a lug to which the harness is connected. In use, the cross piece and upright are introduced into the channel through the slot. The lug 8 projects through the slot and limits side-to-side movement as the harness support descends under the weight of the person escaping and co-operates with the bolt to perform a stepping movement. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improved fire escape apparatus.

This invention relates to a fire escape apparatus.

An object of this invention is to provide a fire escape apparatus which is simple to construct and to install in a building of any height, reliable in operation, and which can be used to remove persons who are unconscious or have such a fear of height that they might be incapable of descending by a conventional fire escape staircase.

The invention is defined in general terms in the claims which follow. A preferred embodiment of the invention which will be described by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawing includes a channel member extending down the external wall of a building and a harness support which may be introduced into the channel member and is used to support a person escaping from the building. In the drawing: Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the channel member in position, Figure 2 is a perspective view of the harness support Figure 3 is a front elevation of the channel member with the harness support in position and, Figure 4 is a section taken on the line 4-4 in Figure 3.

Referring to the drawing, there is fastened to the external wall of a building a vertically extending channel member 1 which may be made up from a number of sections. Each of the sections may consist of a "c" section rolled steel girder or it may be fabricated by bending sheet metal to shape. The channel member may be bolted in place to the wall of an existing building or it may be incorporated into the structure of a building under construction. In this case, it may be possible for the channel member to be recessed into the wall of buildings of suitable types. The channel member is located so as to extend adjacent to a window or balcony on each floor. Of course, any given building may incorporate several pieces of escape apparatus in accordance with the invention, some floors being served by one such apparatus, and other floors by another.The channel member defines a channel of rectangular cross-section into which opens a slot formed in the wider face of the member which faces away from the building. The major cross-sectional dimension of the channel ("a" in Figure 4) may be about six inches while the minor dimension ("b" in Figure 4) may be about three-quarters of an inch.

The channel member is therefore no more obtrusive than a drain pipe. The flanges 2 by which the slot is defined and the rear wall 3 of the channel member are drilled or otherwise formed with holes to receive two rows of bolts 4. As shown in Figures 1 and 3, the bolts in one row are staggered relative to those in the other. The holes in the flanges are counter-sunk to ensure that the heads of the bolt lie flush with the front faces of the flanges. Some of the bolts may extend beyond the rear wall 3 and be used to secure the channel member in place. Alternatively, other fixing means may be used for this purpose. In a modification, each bolt is provided with a sleeve located within the channel.

The apparatus also includes at least one harness support 5 in the form of a "T"-shaped bar with a cross-piece 6 and an upright 7 which terminates at its lower end in a lug or projection 8 which is adapted to support a harness diagrammatically indicated at 9. In practice, a suitable number of harness supports each with its harness is provided on each floor of the building adjacent to the window 10 or balcony nearest to the channel member. A suitable rack may be provided for this purpose.

The harness support is so dimensioned that it may be inserted into the channel of the channel member through the slot therein and twisted into the position shown in Figure 3. The person intending to escape may then don the harness (if he has not already done so) and climb out of the window or from the balcony. In its initial position, one of the arms of the cross-piece is lodged on a bolt in one of the rows. The weight of the person escaping causes the harness support to swing in the direction of the arrow in Figure 3. This movement is limited by contact of the lug or projection 8 with the edge of one of the flanges.

The other arm of the cross-piece comes to rest on a bolt in the other row, and the harness support progresses down the channel with a form of rocking motion in which the cross-piece steps from bolt to bolt under the weight of the person using the apparatus. Various factors control the speed at which the harness support descends.

These include the weight of the person escaping, the coefficient of friction between the harness support and the bolts and the spacing of the bolts in each row. The overall arrangement is such that the harness support descends at a speed less than that which could cause injury to the person escaping when he reaches the ground. Since the lug or projection 8 protrudes from the slot in the channel member, very little lateral movement of this part takes place. The vertical force applied by the weight of the person escaping is, as a result, never directly beneath a bolt and the resulting forces have a lateral component when the crosspiece is in contact with one of the bolts which prevents the harness support remaining stationary. Since the cross-piece of the harness support is sufficiently long to prevent either end coming into line with the slot, the cross-piece cannot escape from the channel.

The arrangement is such that the harness support will not begin to descend until the weight of the person escaping hangs vertically therefrom, ie. after he has jumped from the window or balcony.

In an alternative embodiment, not illustrated, the bolts are omitted and their function served by projections on the inner face of the shorter walls of the channel member. Although the apparatus provided by the invention is primarily intended for use as a fire escape apparatus, it may be used for permitting the descent of persons in other situations or for lowering loads generally.

Claims

1. A fire escape apparatus comprising a vertically extending channel member defining a channel into which opens a vertical slot, two vertical rows of projections within the channel, each row being disposed to a respective side of the slot and the projections in each row being staggered in respect to those in the other, and at least one harness support capable of being introduced into the channel through the slot and of co-operating with the projections so as to move step-wise down the channel member under the effect of the load applied to the harness support.

2. A fire escape apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 , wherein the slot is defined between flanges which form a front wall of the channel member and the projections are formed by bolts which pass through holes in the flanges and in a rear wall of the channel member.

3. A fire escape apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein the width of the channel in the plane of the slot is substantially greater than the width of the channel perpendicular to the plane of the slot.

4. A fire escape apparatus as claimed in any preceeding claim, wherein the harness support includes "T"-shape member having a cross-piece surmounting an upright, the upright having a projection to which the harness is attached.

5. A fire escape apparatus as claimed in Claim 4, wherein the projection of the harness support passes through the slot during operation of the apparatus and limits side-to-side movement of the harness support.

6. For use in a fire escape apparatus, a channel member defining a rectangular channel and having a front wall formed by flanges which define a longitudinal slot, a row of bolts extending between each flange and a rear wall of the apparatus, the bolts in each row being staggered with respect to those in the other row.

7. A harness support for use in a fire escape apparatus comprising a "T"-shaped member with a cross-piece, an upright from which projects a lug, and a harness adapted to support a person suspended from the lug.

8. Apparatus by means of which a load may be lowered comprising a channel member having a rear wall and a front wall defined by flanges between which is formed a slot, a row of projections disposed within the channel behind each flange, the projections in each row being staggered relative to those in the other, and a load support member of "T"-shape with a cross-piece for co-operation with the projections, an upright connected to the cross-piece and a lug projecting from the upright and adapted to co-operate with the edges of the flanges by which the slot is defined thereby to permit limited lateral movement of the load support whereby the load support may co-operate with the projections to form a stepping movement under the action of a load applied to said support.

9. Apparatus substantially in accordance with any embodiment (or modification thereof) of the invention claimed in any preceding claim, and described and/or illustrated herein.