US493574A

US493574A - Fire-escape

Info

Publication number: US493574A
Authority: US
Publication date: 1893-03-14
Anticipated expiration: 1910-03-14

Description

N0 Model.)

D. BECK & R. W. LEVITT. FIRE moms.

No. 493,574. Patented Mar. 14., 1893.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID BECK AND ROBERT W. LEVI'IT, OF MCLUNEY, OHIO.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION fQrming part of Letters Patent No. 493,574, dated March 14, 1893.

Application filed November 4, 1892. Serial No. 451,016. (No'modeL) To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, DAVID BECK and ROB- ERT W. LEVITT, citizens of the United States, residing at McLuney, in the county of Perry and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes; and we do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in fire escapes, and the object of our invention is the provision of a fire escape which can be applied to buildings and occupy but little space and not mar the appearance of the structure; which will when not in use be stored out of the way and which can be quickly and easily brought into use; which will be easy to operate and will safely land the passengers; which will be simple and durable and inexpensive in construction, thus embodying the features of merit calculated to commend the escape as practical, useful and economical.

To attain the desired objects the invention consists of a fire escape embodying novel features of construction and adaptation of parts substantially as disclosed herein.

In order that the peculiar construction and arrangementof parts of the escape maybe understood and the advantages and operation be made clear we have illustrated in the accompanying drawings in- Figure 1 a front elevation of a building or structure with our improved fire escape applied in position for use. Fig. 2 a side elevation of a building with the escape applied, and in Fig. 3 a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the basket or cage of the fire escape.

Referring by numerals to the drawingsthe numeral 1 designates a building or structure to which is secured the brackets orsupports 2 which are of right angle shape, and are braced by the inclined braces 3, and the lower ends of the right angle brackets pass through the vertical flange or web 4, of the track or rail 5, which track is secured to the brackets by nuts 6 engaging the ends of the brackets as clearly shown. This construction forms a strongly supported track on which the wheels 7 of the trolley consisting of the longitudinal side pieces 8 travels. The side pieces comprise the longitudinal straight pieces 8 and the segmental integral pieces 8, and the straight pieces carry the studs or journals 9 on which the trolley wheels are mounted. From this construction it will be seen that four wheels are journaled in the side pieces and they rest and travel easily upon the track, and the side pieces are connected by the transverse pieces 10, between which is mounted the transversely disposed pulley 11, which is grooved and receives the rope, chain or cable 12, having one end connected to the ring 13, which is connected to the bails or handles 14, of the basket or cage 15.

The basket or cage is of peculiar construction and is adapted to be folded or collapsed in order that it may be easily stored, and it consists of the bottom 16, the end section 17 adapted to fold and having the pivoted connecting links, the side and end sections 18 connected to the bottom by means of the strap and staple joints or hinges 19, and the said end and side sections 18 are secured in upright position by the hinged clamps 20 which have the lips or keepers 21 for engaging the ends of sections, as clearly shown, and the end section is secured in upright position by means of suitable catches 22.

It will be understood that when it is desired to open or unfold the parts of the basket or cage the sides are first elevated and then the ends having the pivoted connecting links are lifted and force the springs 22 down until they are closed when the said springs engage and hold the end sections, and to close the sections and collapse the cage it is only necessary to move the end sections up to release them when the basket or cage can be folded, as is evident.

When the escape is not in use the basket is collapsed and placed within a suitable casing either inside or outside of the building and when found necessary to use the escape it is removed from its housing and the sections of the basket opened and locked in position and then the basket is brought underthe window and the persons enter the carriage and descend to the ground in safety. The rope or cable may if desired be wound upon a drum or capstan and thus enable the same to be drawn in and out more readily.

It will thus be seen that we provide a fire escape which will not be unsightly in appearance, which will occupy but little space when not in use, which is thoroughly efficient in operation and can be applied at a small expense, thus rendering the improvement practical and useful.

We claim as our invention- 1. In a fire escape, the combination of the track supported from a building or structure, the trolley consisting of the longitudinal side pieces and wheels traveling on the track, the transverse pieces connecting the side pieces, the grooved pulley mounted in said pieces, the cord or cable passing over said pulley, and a basket or cage consisting of the bottom sec- DAVID BECK. R. W. LEVITT. Witnesses:

JOHN W. FREE, W. T. MELoY.