US283666A - Edward t - Google Patents

Description

(NoModeL) i E. T. ROWE.

I FIRE ESCAPE.

Patented Aug. 21,1883.

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EDWAR-D T. ROVE, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THE NEW ENGLAND PATENT FIRE-ESCAPE COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 283,666, dated August 21, 1883,

' Application filed May 14, 1883. (No model.)

To 62% whom it may concern:

'Be it known that I, EDWARD T. ROWE, of Boston, in the county of Sufiolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a Specification.

My improvement relates particularly to that class of fire-escapes described in Letters Patent of the United States No. 277,415, dated 10 May 8, 1883, to I-Iarlan Fairbanks, of Boston,

Massachusetts, and especially to improvements in the construction of the upper end or curved stay of the fire-escape therein described; and its object is to facilitate the operation and to r 5 improve the construction of such a fire-escape. i

I will now proceed to describe a fire-escape of that character, and especially the upper part thereof, embodying my invention, in the best form now known to me, reference'being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the iireescape; Fig. 2-, a top or plan view of the curved stay at the top; Figs. 3, at, 5, 6, 7, and 8 de tailed views in section and eleyation of my improvements as applied thereto.

In the practical use of fire-escapes constructed in accordance with the Letters Patent above mentioned it has been found that the strain to which the apparatus is exposed has the eii'ect 0 of causing the canvas or rope, or both, at the points where'they are exposed to contact with the ends of the curved stay, to be abraded or worn through. It has also been found that when the curved stay is made rigid, and of the size best adapted for practical use, that \it is frequently inconvenient or difficult, and

' sometimes impossible, toadj ust the-fire-escape for use, on account of the smallness or narrowness of the window or other place of escape 0 where it is to be used;

My present improvements are intended to obviate both of these difficulties, which I do in the following manner:

To meet the diificulty of abrasion or wearat .5 the ends of the curved stay, I form or insert at the ends thereof a projecting shoulder, whereby the parts of the rope are held at such a distance beyond the ends of the curved stay that neither they nor the canvas of the fire-escape will be inj uriously strained over and abraded by the ends of the said stay. This construction is illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 and S, in which A represents the upper end of the chute, B the curved stay, and C the projection or shoulder. I prefer, though it is not absolutely ncc- 5 5 essary, to form this part 0 by inserting into the ends of the curved stay B a piece in the form of an eyebolt, as shown in section at Figs. 4 and 8. The stem of the eyebolt, being made slightly smaller than the interior of the curved stay B, '60 allows play both in the direction of the normal strain upon the side ropes, D, of the fire escape, and also permits the fire-escape, when in use, to be twisted either to the right or left at its lower part, which is at the ground. The advantage of this is evident when the escape is made use of in the narrow street of a city, where, in order to get sufficient room for the suitable extension of the fire-escape, it might be necessary to carry its lower end along either .to one side or the other, instead of in a straight line.

The additional feature of making the projection or shoulder C detachable from the stay B has the advantage of cheapening the con- 7 struction of this part of the fire-escape by e11- abling the manufacturer to use eyebolts such as are for sale in the market, care only being taken to have sufiicient stock and thickness where the bolt joins the eye, (see Fig. 8,) to insure the rope which passes throughthe eye, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, being held up andkept clear from the end of the stay B. In this way the strain will be taken up by the eyebolt C and the stay B, and no injurious strain of either rope or canvas over the end of the stay B will result. The rope D, where it engages with the projection or shoulder C,

should be properly sewed with canvas or other suitable protecting material to prevent wear. 0

To further improve the construction and 0peration'of the curved stay when used or liableto be used with narrow windows, I make it collapsible when suitable pressure is applied to the ends of the stay, and I acconi- 5 plish this by making the stay in two parts and connecting them by a hinge, E, as shown at Figs. 6 and T. For this purpose I prefer,

on account of'its compactness, the compasshinge, so called, (shown in those figures,) which also illustrate convenient methods of introducing the hinge into the stay B or at taching it thereto. to be made of such a curvature that the strain upon its ends, when the fire-escape is in use, will not tend to collapse the part B, this operation being intended to take place only in order to allow the stay B to be passed out of a narrower window or other place of exit than would be possible or feasible if the stay B were I not made collapsible.

The construction of the fire-escape shown in the drawings, except in the particulars here- 'inabove set forth, is substantially as described and shown in the Letters Patent No. 27 7 ,415, above referred to, and for that reason no detailed description thereof is repeated.

1. In afire-escape of the character described, the combination of the curved stay-piece B This stay is, in practice,

.and projecting part or shoulder O, substan:

tially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

EDWARD T. ROWE.

' 'XVitnesses:

H. FAIRBANKS, ALEX. P. BROWNE.

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