US876840A

US876840A - Fire-escape.

Info

Publication number: US876840A
Application number: US37784507A
Authority: US
Inventors: August Reuter
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1907-06-08
Filing date: 1907-06-08
Publication date: 1908-01-14
Anticipated expiration: 1925-01-14

Description

'ifm I 7 16 A. RBUTER. FIRE ESCAPE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 8,1907.

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Tz 2 X I f 5 l l i J I @maar PATBNTED JAN. 14, 1908.

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A TTU/NVE YS' UNITED STATES AUGUST BEUTER, OF NEW YORK, N'. 'YS-R FIRE-E SCAPE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14, 1908.

Application filed .Tune 8. 1907. Serial No. 377.845.

To all 'whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, AUGUST REUTER, asubject of the German Emperor, and a resident of the city of New York, borough'of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Fire-Escape, of which the following is afull, clear and exact description.

This invention relates to fire escapes such as are attached near the windows of dwellings toenable persons to escape. It belongs to the class of these devices which operate frictionally to allow a rope or cord to run down under the weight of the body.

The object of the invention is to construct a device of this kind which is simple, and which will operate effectively to increase the resistance automatically with an increase of weight, so that any unusually heavy person will descend at substantially the same speed as a light one.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more Ifully described hereinafter and particularly set -forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of -this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device partly 'shown in section and illustrating the manner-in which it is applied in practice; Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is a cross section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents the frame of the device, which frame is formed of tee irons which are bent so as to present oppositely disposed parallel bars 2 which depend from an integral loop 3 connecting them. These bars are arranged so that their flanges 4 come' opposite to each other in such a way that between each pair of bars a guideway or guide is formed. The bars 2 are held at a distance apart atu't'he upper end by a cross head or cross plate 5, and at the lower end are held apart by similar cross heads or cross plates 6.

At the u per end of the frame oppositely dis osed p ates 7 are provided, between which there is supported a pulley 8 mounted upon a suitable pin 9 as shown. In the space between the flanges 4 and on each side of the frame, long bolts or stems 10 are provided, and the upper ends of these stems pass through the cross head 5 and are threaded to receive nuts 11 which support the stems in fixed position. The lower ends of these stems are provided with heads 12 which are disposed below cross plates 13 connecting thelower ends of the guide bars as shown most clearly in Fig. 1.

Slidably mounted on the stems at the u per ends thereof, sleeves 14 are respective y provided, and the'portions' of the stems below the sleeves are provided with a plurality of slidably mounted thimbles or smaller sleeves 15. Between the thimbles 15 helical s rings 17 are provided, which separate the owermost thimble' from the lower end of the sleeve 14.

Between the bars 2 I provide'aO plurality of transveresly disposed pins or spools 18; these spools have enlarged heads 19 at the ends thereof, with concave faces adapted to form guides for the rope 20 which passes through the device.

Through the bodies of the spools or pins, longitudinally disposed fingers 2 1 are provided, the ends of which project beyond the spools as indicated in Fig. 3. These projecting ends of the fingers extend into the guideway between the fianges of the bars 2 so that they operate to guide the spools in a vertical direction. The fingers 21 are disposed apart so as to form a space'through which the stems 10 pass, and this construction is also most clearly shown in Fig. 3. In this way the fingers 21 are received between the sleeves 15 and are normally held in a certain position by theforce of the helical springs 17. There may be as many of the spools 18 as desired, but in the drawings I have shown five. Above the uppermostspool I provide a pair of transversely disposed rollers 22, which are rotatably mounted upon a small cross bar 23, as indicated, the ends of this bar being rigidly attached to the bars 2 by suitable screws 24 as shown.

The rope 20 which has 'been referred to above, is passed upwardly over the spools 18 at one end thereof, lying upon the alining faces 'of the heads. At its upper portion it forms a loop around the pulley 8, and is wound downwardly over the other end of the spools as shown. As indicated in Fig. 1, it passes on the same sides of the spools, but passes from side to side of the frame, being alternately on the forward side of the spools, 's will appear most clearly from inspection of gIothe endsof the rope,

belts

25 and 26 are attached, which are indicated in Fig. 1 as broken away` These belts are provided with buckles, such as the buckles 27, which enable the belts to be fastened around the waist or under the arms in a well understood manner. With this arrangement when one of the belts descends to carry a body to the earth, the other belt ascends.

Attention is called to the fact that in its course through the device, the cord going up passes on the same side of the spool as the cord coming down. From this arrangement, there is no tendency exerted to rotate the spool, as the friction of one rope will be substantially the same as the friction of the other.

The rollers 22 operate as guide rollers to bring the cord or rope into theplane of the guide pulley 8.

At the upper end of the frame a bail 28 is provided, of substantially triangular form, which is adapted to be attached to a hook or other means for fastening the same outside of a window 29.

The ends of the plates 7 are disposed between the bars 2, and are attached together by bolts 16 and rest upon the sleeves 14.

Special attention is called to the zig-Zag course of the rope through the device. In the operation of the device, the weight of the 30 body carried in the belt is borne directly by the pulley 8. This weight is supported on the sleeves 14 which slide down on the stems and compress the springs. The amount of compression of the springs depends upon the weight of the body supported, and consequently the heavier the body is, the nearer the spools will come together. As the spools approach nearer together, the course of the rope across thc spools becomes more acutely angular or circuitous, and this increases the resistance which the rope offers to being bent around its turns. By this means the nre escape regulates itself automatically so that a heavy person will descend at substantially the same speed as a light one.

.claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent: 1

1. In a re escape, in combination, a guide frame a plurality of members mounted to slide therein, means for resiliently holding said members apart, a ropepassing around said members and passing from side to side thereof in a Zig-zag course whereby resist-v ance is oered to the passing of said rope, and means for supporting the Weight carried by said rope upon said nrst means.

2. In a fire escape, in combination, a guide frame, a pulley supported thereupon, a rope passing over said pulley adapted to support a weight, a plurality of friction members, springs separating said friction members and adapted to be compressed by the weight upon said pulley, whereby the resistance to said rope increases with the increase of weight on said pulley.

3. In a fire escape, in combination, a guide frame, a plurality of non-rotatable spools supported in said frame, springs between said spools and tending to hold the same apart, a pulley supported on said springs,

- and a rope passing 1n a zig-zag path around said spools crossing the axes of said springs between said spools and passing over said pulley. 75

4. In a fire escape, in combination, a guide frame, guide stems supported therein, a plurality of sleeves slidably mounted in said stems, springs disposed around said stems between said sleeves, spools having their ends supported upon said sleeves, and a rope passing around said spools and supported by said springs whereby an increase of weight on said rope may press said spools toward each other. In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

AUGUST REUTER. Witnesses:

F. D. AMMEN, JOHN P. DAvrs.

Having thus described my invention, I