US950246A - Fire-escape. - Google Patents

Description

T. SCHULZ.

PIRE ESCAPE.

APPLIUATION FILED rm. 21, 190e.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

3 IHHH (Simili wlTNEssEs: J)

AT RNEY THEODOR SCHULZ, OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

Application filed February 21,` 1908. Serial No. 416,967.

To all ati/rom it muy concern:

Be it known that I, THuonon SCHULZ, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newark, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful lmln'ovements in Fire-Escapes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the inA vention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to malte and use thc same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to a lire-escape, and is designed to provide a flexible ladder or rope or any other means of descent, and the arrangement of parts is such that the same lire-escape can be used on any side of a building.

The particular arrangement of ap aratus consists in the flexible ladder or simi ar element being installed on the roof of a building, and arranged so that it can be let down from any side of thc building and provide means for assembling the flexible ladder, or its equivalent, when it is not in use so that it docs not depend from the building.

The invention further consists of a reel on which the ladder is coiled, and the reel is arranged to be moved preferably by rotation so that if one side of the building is so filled with flame or smoke that descent on that side dangerous, the reel can be turned and the ladder let down on any of the four or more sides of the building, whereby descent from all Hoors on the ladder is insured, and on the side on which descent` is safest.

The invention is illustrated in the accom panying drawing, in which- Figure 1-is a front elevation of a building with the tire-escape in position to allow the occupants to escape. Fig. 2 is a section of the reel and the ladder, and Fig. 3 is a top View of the same. in

The invention is installed on any buildin and is arranged on the roof 11 therco and a spindle or stem 12 is set up on the roof extending through and referably passing through the beams 13 which are arranged in some buildings immediately beneath the roof and form a part thereof, the spindlehbeing secured by the nuts 14 which screw .n the end thereof. The spindle is braced part vyay up by the brace 15 which has the legs 1G fastened to the roof. The brace also acts to support the frame which holds up the reel on which the fire-escape is coiled. This frame rotates on the stein 12 and consists of a crossarn'i 1T which rotates on the spindle and has the parallel projecting arms 18, and between these arms 1S is journaled thc rcel 19 which is free to rotate, under normal conditions, and can be manually manipulated by means of a handle 20 secured to the spindle Q1 of the reel.

Secured to the spindle Q1 and coiled on the reel is the flexible ladder 2Q which can either be arranged as shown with the rangs 23, or it can consist of a rope down which the occu pants of the house may slide. The side frames 19 act to hold the ladder or other exible escaping means in alinement, when it is coiled up, by the rotation of the handle Q0.

A brace 24 extends from the cross-bar 25, on the outer end of the arms 18, and is secured preferably by the nuts 25 to the top of the spindle or stein 12, whereby the reel is steadied and the whole structure is made more solid.

One of the main objections heretofore made to fire-escapes, which have an escaping means adapted to unrccl, has been that the persons escaping are excited and sometimes in a panic and arc apt to load up the fire-escape while it is descending, and in consequence they descend nearly as hastily as if no escape were used, resulting sometimes in serious injury. Complicated brakes have been placed in the reel to overcome this, but when subjected to the atmosphere and not lubricated, they are found wanting when called on. They also have the disadvantage of being expensive. ever, by the location and design of the fireescapc the descent is not apt to be swift enough to cause injury to persons who mount the escape before it is completely unreeled. This is due to the friction on the edge of the roof, since the reel being approximately central, causes the vertical depending portion to forni an acute angle with approximately horizontal portion extending from the edge of the roof to the reel. To cause this acute angle the reel is mounted close to the roof. In the case of a tall building, the friction can be further increased by Winding the reel as in Fig. 1, so that the flexible escaping means is fixed around the bar 25, causing another bend in the ladder or its equivalent.

In my structure howi l do not Wish to be limited to the exact l construction for supporting the reel, since slight changes might be necessary on account of the character and location ot the building, or to suit individual tastes as to the best forni of structure. lt will be evi dent that when this rotating reel arranged in a rotatable frame is installed on the root' of a building, that the ladder or its equivalent can bc uncoiled and let down on any side of the building, the occupants of course picking out that side on which the llames have made the least progress, or which is least filled with smoke.

Having thus described my invention, what l claim is:-

l. A tire escape, comprising in combination, a vertically disposed stem reduced at its lower end to forni a shoulder, said shoulder adapted to rest upon the roof of a building, said reduced end passing through said roof and being further adapted to be secured to a beam thereunder, a brace compris ing a plate perforated to receive said vertically disposed stem, depending legs carried by said plate, said legs adapt-ed to rest upon and be secured to the roof of said building, a cross arm having bearings upon said vertically disposed stem and further resting upon the upper face of said plate, a pair of parallel projecting arms carried by said cross arm, a bar connecting the free ends of said arms, a` third arm secured at the termination l of the upper portion of said vertically disposed stein, said third arm being curved, the t'ree end of said third arin being secured to .said bar, a reel mounted between lsaid parallel projecting arms, and flexible escaping means arried by said reel.

2. In a tire escape, a stein adapted for vertical disposition, means to support said stein from the root' otl a building, a cross arm mounted on the stem, a pair of parallel horizontally arranged arms carried by the cross arm, a` bar connecting the free ends of the parallel arms, a reel mounted between the parallel arms, and a` third arm supported at one end from the top end of the stein and having its opposite end connected to said bar which connects the parallel arms.

ln a tire escape, a vertical stem adapted to be passed through the root of a building and having a shoulder thereon adapted. to seat on the roof, means to secure the inner end oi the stem rigidly to the building, a brace secured to the roof and to the stem, and a rotatable reel carrier on the stem sustained against downward movement by engagement with the brace.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing, l have hereunto set my hand this 19th day of February 1908.

THEODOR SCHULZ. Witnesses VWM. H. CAMFIELD, E. A. PELL.

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