US1958877A

US1958877A - Emergency slide

Info

Publication number: US1958877A
Application number: US445283A
Authority: US
Inventors: David H Yake
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1930-04-18
Filing date: 1930-04-18
Publication date: 1934-05-15
Anticipated expiration: 1951-05-15

Description

May 15, 1934. D. H. YAKE 1,958,877

EMERGENCY SLIDE Filed April 18, 1930 INVENT R Day/d ff be Patented May 15, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application April 18,

2 Claims.

lhis invention relates to improvements in emergency slides or escapes, such as are used on derricks or other high structures to enable the workmen to slide down a cable to safety, thereby escaping from danger. Such emergency slides are used considerably on oil well derricks as a means of escape for the derrick men in event of danger from fire or explosion. Although derricks are provided with ladders or stairs, when a fire breaks out, such means of escape are almost always enveloped in flames, which cut off the escape of men on the derrick. For this reason resort is had to an emergency slide to enable the man or men on the derrick to slide down the cable to the ground. The slide is in the form of a carriage that runs down the cable, but such slides are not generally satisfactory. They are provided with means for resisting the passage of the cable through the carriage so as to prevent the carriage from carrying its burden at too great a speed. In

other words, they are provided with means for preventing too great an acceleration as the carriage moves toward the ground. Sometimes the means on the carriage for resisting the movement of the carriage causes the carriage to jam and throw the man off of the carriage.

One of the objections to such carriages or emergency slides as now constructed is that they cannot be quickly applied to the cable. In some cases the men provided with such slides are careless in regard to them and do not mount them on the cable before the emergency occurs, and when it does occur there is insufficient time to place the slide on the cable.

The general object of this invention is to overcome these difiiculties and to provide an emergency slide of simple construction which can be quickly attached to the cable without necessitating passing the cable endwise through the carriage; also to provide an emergency slide for this purpose having simple means for preventing too great an acceleration as the carriage descends on the cable.

Further objects of the invention will appear hereinafter.

The invention consists of the novel parts and combination of parts to be described hereinafter, all of which contribute to produce an eificient emergency slide.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is described in the following specification, while the broad scope of the invention is pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a side elevation of an emergency 1930, Serial No. 445,283

slide embodying my invention and representing the same mounted on a cable, indicated as attached to the side of a derrick.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the slide from its lower end, and this view may be considered a section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing the slide in an open position enabling same to be applied to the cable by a lateral movement.

Before proceeding to .a more detailed description of the invention, it should be stated that in applying an emergency slide as commonly constructed, to a cable, it is necessary to pass the cable longitudinally through the slide. According to my invention, I construct the slide in the form of a carriage which is capable of being opened so as to enable it to be applied by a lateral movement to the cable.

I also provide the carriage with rollers to run on the cable and guide the carriage on it. In addition to this, I provide a brake for engaging the side of the cable, and this brake is hand-controlled so that the man riding the slide can control his speed of descent. The brake preferably operates by forming a slight kink in the cable as it passes through the carriage. This enables the resistance to movement of the carriage along the cable to be nicely controlled, and without causing injury to the cable by abrading it. Such injury is sometimes caused by the emergency slides as now constructed.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents an inclined cable, the upper end of which is attached to an I-bolt 2 on the side of a derrick or other structure, the side of which is indicated at 3. The emergency slide 4 is in the form of a carriage consisting of an elongated body having an upper body section 411 and a lower body section 4?). These body sections are hingedly connected so as to enable the carriage to be opened up as indicated in Fig. 3, to apply to the cable by lateral movement.

The body section 4a is preferably formed of a pair of oppositely disposed plates 5 (see Fig. 3) which are bolted together by bolts 6 and held at a fixed distance from each other by spacers '7, said spacers being in the form of sleeves received over the bolts and carrying a pair of rollers 8 to seat against the upper side of the cable. The lower section 427 of the carriage similarly comprises two spaced plates 9 connected by bolts 10, carrying between them spacers 11 carrying rollers 12 for engaging the under side of the cable. The rollers 8 of the upper section are preferably disposed nearer together than the other rollers and collO operate with them to guide the cable in a substantially straight line through the carriage. The plates 5 and the plates 9 are substantially the same distance apart, so that when the carriage is in its closed position (see Fig. 2), the plates on each side of the carriage will lie in the same plane. The body sections are connected together by one or more hinges 13 which enable the carriage to be opened up readily as indicated.

The carriage is provided with means for latching it in its closed position, and this means is preferably constructed so that it can be very quickly applied. For this purpose one of the body sections, for example, the lower body section 41), is provided with a latch plate 14 that is secured to the outer side of one of the side plates 9, and this plate projects across the outer face of the adjacent plate 5 (see Fig. 1). The two plates 5 have alining bolt holes 15 which aline with a corresponding bolt hole 16 formed in the projecting portion of the latch plate 14. The carriage is secured in its closed position by a latch pin or bolt 17 which fits into these alining holes 15 and 16, being secured at its butt end to a ring 18 carried on a chain 19. The inner end of the pin has a tapered tip 20 that facilitates its being passed through the alined openings, and this tip is pivotally attached to the body of the bolt by across pin 21. This cross pin permits the tip 20 of the bolt to swing sidewise after the pin has been put in position (see Fig. 2), thereby locking the parts in position.

The carriage is provided with means for supporting the body of the person who uses the slide to escape on the cable. Any suitable means may be provided for this purpose. In the present instance, I provide ahanger including a link 22 suspended on a suitable bolt 23 on the carriageattached to one of the body sections, so that the hanger can swing on the bolt substantially in the plane of the cable; and this link 22 supports a large ring 2 4 which is of sufiiciently large diameter to enable the man that rides the slide to stick his leg through the same up to his thigh. V

In order to enable the speed of the carriage to be controlled as it descends on the cable, I prefer to provide a hand-operated brake 25 consisting of a lever pivoted on a bolt 26 mounted between the side plates of the lower bodysection and provided with a handle 27 which can be seized by the man riding the slide. This lever has a short arm 28 carrying a roller 29 which engages the under side of the'cable in such a way that it can press the cableup'wardly, as indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 1. In other words, the roller 29 may form a'kink in the cable between the rollers 8 of the upper body section.

If desired, the emergency slide can be set up on the cable '1 ready for use. For this purpose it maybe supported on a chain 30 anchored at its upper end on an I-bolt 31 attached in the side of the derrick, the lower end of the chain being provided with a hook 32 which can be readily cast loose from a ring 33 on the upper end of the carriage.

The mode of operation of the slide will now be briefly restated. By swinging the body sections 4a and 4b on their hinge connection 13, the carriage can be opened up as indicated in Fig. 3, so as to enable it to be passed laterally onto the cable. After the body sections have been moved into their closed positions as indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, the latch pin 17 is thrust through the alining holes 15 and 16, thereby latching the carriage in its closed position. In using the slide, before the rider gets on it, he should pull it up slightly so as to develop a little slack in the chain 30. He can then get into the ring 24, while holding the lever 25 pulled down hard, sothat the slide will bear his weight without starting to descend. After he is safely in the ring, the rider can cast off the chain and then ease up on the lever to enable the slide to gravitate down the cable.

If the speed'of the slide becomes too great for safety the rider on the slide can pull down on the lever 25 to apply the braking effect more forcibly to the cable.

It is understood that the embodiment of the invention described herein is only one of the many embodiments this invention may take, and I do not wish to be limited in the practice of the invention, nor in the claims, to the particular embodiment set forth.

I claim:

1. In an emergency slide for use on an inclined cable, the combination of a carriage having a pair of guide rollers riding respectively above and below the cable, a second pair of guide rollers riding respectively above and below the cable, and longitudinally spaced from said first pair of rollers, means for supporting a person on the carriage, 'and rneans for controlling the speed of descent of the carriagedown the cable comprising a single roller, a lever pivoted on the carriage for supporting the roller in a position to engage the underside of the cable between the said pairs of longitudinally spaced rollers and deflect the same so that the resistance to bending of the cable resists the descent of the carriage, said lever having a handle arm extending in a general horizontal direction and project'mg toward the elevated end of the cable.

2. In an emergency slide for use on an inclined cable, the combination of a carriage having a pair of guide rollers riding respectively above and'below the cable, a second'pair of guide rollers the carriage'down the cable comprising a'single I roller, a lever pivoted'on the carriage for supporting the roller in a position to engage the underside of the cable between the said pairs of longitudinally spaced rollers and deflect thesame so that the resistance to bending of the cable 'resists'the descent of the carriage, said-lever having a'handle arm extending in a general horizontal direction so as to enable the rider to support a part of his weight onthe lever.

DAVID H. YAKE.