Patent ID: 6467575
Filing Date: 2002-10-22
Classification: A62B

Abstract:
A collapsible spiral-tube escape way structured to be lowered from a roof of a building for use through operation of a crane equipment mounted on the roof of the building, comprising a spiral tube, a plurality of slide passages, a plurality of tube-supporting frames, a plurality of vertical suspension lines, a plurality of horizontal suspension lines, a plurality of hoist steel cables, a plurality of groups of stay cables, and a plurality of movable exits;said spiral tube being formed from a plurality of serially connected spiral-tube units, each of which including one or more turns; each turn of said spiral-tube unit being formed from an upper, a lower, an inner, and an outer panel made of a fireproof fabric; said spiral tube being connected at each of said spiral-tube units to said plurality of tube-supporting frames via said plurality of vertical and horizontal suspension lines, such that said spiral tube could be fully pulled open to provide a spirally extended way when said escape way has been fully lowered; each of said plurality of slide passages being formed from an upper, a lower, an inner, and an outer panel made of a fireproof fabric, and being connected at a first open-end to one side of one of said turns of each said spiral-tube unit to communicate with an internal space of said spiral tube, and at a second open end to one of said plurality of movable exits; each of said plurality of tube-supporting frames being provided at a respective one of said plurality of movable exits, and including an inner round frame, an outer round frame, a plurality of inner-round-frame braces, and an outer rectangular frame; each of said tube-supporting frames being connected to said spiral tube via said vertical and said horizontal suspension lines, such that said spiral tube is pulled open between said inner and said outer round frames of said plurality of tube-supporting frames to spirally extend in a vertical direction; said plurality of hoist steel cables being connected at upper ends to said crane equipment mounted on the roof and at lower ends to a lowest one of said plurality of tube-supporting frames for lowering and elevating said collapsible spiral-tube escape way; each group of said plurality of stay cables being provided for a respective one of said spiral-tube units, and being connected at upper ends to a rear end of said outer rectangular frame of a tube-supporting frame above said respective one of spiral-tube unit, and at lower ends to spaced points on two lateral sides of said rectangular frame of said tube-supporting frame of said respective spiral-tube unit, so as to aid said hoist steel cables, and said vertical and said horizontal suspension lines in supporting weight of said tube-supporting frames and users; said plurality of vertical suspension lines being connected to said inner and said outer round frames of said tube-supporting frames, and each of said plurality of horizontal suspension lines being connected at a head end to one of said vertical suspension lines and at a tail end to a seam of said spiral tube to sidewardly pull open said spiral tube; and each of said plurality of movable exits including an outer frame that is adapted to tightly hold L-shaped flanges of each of said slide passages thereto and to move toward and firmly connect to a fixed exit mounted on each floor of the building, so that a user may enter into said slide passage and accordingly said spiral tube via said fixed and said movable exits; and said collapsible spiral-tube escape way being normally elevated to the roof of the building and collapsed into a standby state for sitting on said crane equipment, and being quickly lowered from said crane equipment in an emergency to locate said plurality of movable exits in front of said fixed exits on the building, allowing users on different floors of the building to enter into said slide passages and accordingly said spiral tube via said fixed and said movable exits, and slide all the way down to the ground.