US289318A

US289318A - smith

Info

Publication number: US289318A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1883-11-27
Anticipated expiration: 1900-11-27

Description

(No Model.)

T.` B. SMITH.

` FIRE ESCAPE. I

8 l L w N my. 7 ,w V 2 n V. .wd l M f ,am 1% 1 wmlf/ J f U .m ,n B e Lm 2 B .w n@ a N Afm-Waag,

to elevate the car or basket.

of the parts and their operation will rst be` i UNiTii)y .STATES` PATENT Tirion..

THOMAS B. SMITH, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO BENJ. WEBER, OF SAME PLAGE.

` FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPIECI1 "ICA'.[ION forming part of Letters atent No. 289,318, dated November 27, 1883. Application filed July 31, 1883. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern/.-

Be it known that I, THOMAS B. SMITH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification. My invention relates to a nre-escape or apparatus for lowering, having a spring adapted The construction described, Aand the invention then designated in the claim.

In the annexed drawings, which illustrate the improvements, Figure l is a side View, in which the parts are shown mostly in vertical section, the carl or basket being inclosed, as when not in use. Fig. 2 is a side view, but showing the car or basketin position for use. Fig. 3 is a view of the stop device. Fig. 4 is a side view of the fan which checks the car when descending.

fof the inclosure; C, the winding-drum, andl) the car, suspended by a rope, e, from the drum. A frame, F, preferably of metal, is securely fixed in the wall, or may be attached on the inner side of the wall within the building, and all the mechanism is secured in this frame. The drum C projects outward from the wall, and is mounted on a shaft, C', the inner end of which has bearing in the frame, while the outer end is supported by the hanger-bar G, which inclines down from the top of the frame. Thus the rope which suspends theV car passes directly to the ground without having to pass over or under rollers, as would be the case if the drum were on the inner side or within the wall, and the liability of the -rope getting caught is avoided. A coiled spring, h, has one end fastened to the shaft O and the other end to a box, t', which incloses the spring, the

boX being rmly attached to the frame. When the car is lowered, the unwinding of the drum causes this spring to be wound up on the shaft, and the reaction of the spring serves to elevate the car when the load has been removed therefrom.

Means to check the loaded car when descending, so as to prevent its too rapid descent, consist of a fan, J, mounted loosely on a shaft, k, so that the latter may turn one way (when the car is being elevated) without rotating the fan, and thereby not hinder the elevation; while a ratchet-wheel, l, fixed to the saine shaft, is engaged by a pawl, n, attached to the fan, so that when the shaft turns the opposite way (as when the car is being lowered) the fan will rotate, and thereby resist a too rapid descent of the car. There may be two such fans on the same shaft, as shown at p. The fan is inclosed by a case, J', and the fan-shaft is connected with the drum-shaft by suitable gear- 113g, Q-

Means to hold the car at any desired point between its inclosure B and the ground, or to stop it when descending, consist of a brakeband, r, applied to a flange or face, b, on one end of the drum, and a cord or wire, r', attached to the brake-band, passes through an eye, r2, on the ear. When the apparatus is in use, this cord hangs down to the ground, and is within reach of a person in the car, or of a person at a window of building. lThe earinclosure B, at its bottom, is provided with a trap or door, s, hinged at one side of the inclosure, and supported at the other side by a spring-bolt, t. By this arrangement the hinged trap-door s serves as a support, on which the car D sits, as shown in Fig. l. The brakerope o" may also be coiled up and supported upon this trap-door; also, a rope, D, which is attached to the bottom of the car, is in like manner supported upon the trap-door. It will be seen that when the spring-bolt t is with-- drawn the trap-door will fall to the position shown in Fig. 2, and thereupon the ca r will hang suspended from the drum, and the drawrope D will hang down to the ground, and 4may be used by any one on the ground or at a window to draw the car down. The trapdoor is released by the withdrawal of the spring-bolt, and this iseffected by a cord or wire, a, running down the wall and connected to the spring-bolt by a bell-crank lever, o. It is only necessary to draw on the cord -u to place the entire apparatus in position for use.

Having described my invention, IeIa-im and In testimony whereof I :Lfx my signature 1o desire to secure byLetters Patent ofthe United in presence of two Witnesses. States-l In aline-escape, the combination of a sns- TI-IOS. B. SMITH. 5 pended oar having a draw-rope, D7 attached t0 its bottom, a coiled spring to elevate the Vtnesses:

can', and a ea-r-i1iolosure, B, provided with a. JNO. ED. MORRIS, bottom dooi` hinged at one side and supportedv JNO. T. MADDOX.

at the other by a draw-bolt, as set forth.