RESCUE SYSTEM FOR HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS

Abstract: A system for the evacuation of individuals trapped in multiple storey buildings by gliding down a rescue sleeve. The sleeve (12) is composed of sections (20), each section being made of a sheet material strengthened by a circumferential rigid support member (22), the sections are connected to each other to form a continuous envelope. At least a pair of cables (26; 27) are provided, thread along the sleeve, one (26) at the bottom and one (27) at the top generatrix thereof. A pair of winch systems (52; 54) are provided for winding the cables (26; 27) into a dedicated location (50) at the building storey from which rescue is requested, so that the sleeve (12) becomes folded into a compact package. Coil Springs (60; 62) are used for selectively ejecting and unfolding the sleeve down to ground level where it becomes tied to stationary objects (16; 17).

Description: RESCUE SYSTEM FOR HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to rescue systems for evacuating individuals trapped in high-rise buildings in case of emergency situation, typically a fire More specifically the invention concerns fire escapes using chutes or tubes through which the individuals glide down off the building BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Numerous solutions in this direction have already been proposed Thus, for example U S Patent No 4,240,520 (1980) discloses a fire escape tunnel for use in exiting high-rise buildings The tunnel includes an extendable, accordian-pleated tubing made of nylon or canvas fabric padded on its inner side, a ring at its upper end attachable to an escape opening of a building, a lower end of the tubing having a soft landing pad, and an exit doorway so that a person sliding or being lowered down the tunnel can step out onto the ground at the exit Yet another example is U S Pat No 4,099,596 (1978) disclosing a device including a normally-folded flexible tube with a landing pad at its lower end that unfolds into a vertical chute condition, the interior of the tube being slippery to protect against snagging and the like, the unfolded tube being formed with elastic restrictions at successive vertical levels that snub the descent of a person descending inside from free fall to an alleged safe speed Other less relevant examples are U S Patents Nos 4,398,621 (1983) and 4,580,659 (1986), which have suggested mesh tubes so that the escaping users can let themselves gradually down None of these matured into a practicable system, mainly due to inherent design dificiencies Hence, the teachings of the '520 Patent offered no solution to the problem of re-installing the tunnel after use, as well as for the storage space consumption in case of sky-scraper buildings The '596 Patent proposed system is operatively installed in a vertical position, which makes the escape real dangerous in spite of the anti-snagging measures that were proposed It is therefore the object of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art sliding tubes, or chute-based fire escape systems It is a further object of the invention to provide a system wherein the folding-back of the tube into a stand-by position is accomplished in an orderly, re-usable fashion It is a still further object of the invention to provide mechanically operated ejecting means that will ensure quick and reliable deployment of the tube from the stand-by position when needed under emergency conditions SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Thus provided according to the present invention is a system for the evacuation of individuals trapped in multiple storey buildings by gliding down a rescue sleeve, comprising a sleeve made of sections, each section being made of a sheet material strengthened by a circumferential rigid support member, the sections being connected to each other to form a continuous envelope, at least a pair of cables thread along the sleeve, one at the bottom and one at the top generatrix thereof, a winch system for winding the cables into a dedicated location at the building storey from which rescue is requested, so that the sleeve becomes folded into a compact package, spring operated means for selectively ejecting and unfolding the sleeve down to ground level where it becomes tied to stationary object(s). Further novel features and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, discussion and the appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the emergency rescue system in the operative position thereof; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the down-stream end of the rescue sleeve; Fig. 2a is a side view, showing the end side of the sleeve; Figs. 3a-3d are details of construction relating to the rings interposed between successive sections of the sleeve; Fig. 4a illustrates the connection between adjacent sleeve sections; Fig. 4b is a partial side view of Fig. 4a; Fig. 5 shows a knee-forming arrangement; Fig. 6 is a detail of construction relating to the attachment of auxiliary cables; Fig. 7 is a partly sectional side view of the sleeve-storing compartment, taken along line VII-VII of Fig. 8; Fig. 8 is a view taken along line VIII-VIII of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 is a view taken along line IX-IX of Fig. 7; Fig. 9a is a detail of construction relating to Fig. 9; Fig. 10 is a view taken along line X-X of Fig. 7; Fig. 11 is a view taken along line XI-XI of Fig. 7; Fig. 12 is a view taken along line XII-XII of Fig. 8; Fig. 13 is a sectional view similar to that of Fig. 7, following the ejection of the sleeve from the standby position; and Fig. 14 shows the system in the sleeve deployed position prior to the anchoring as depicted in Fig. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In Fig 1 there is illustrated a multiple storey building 10 (residential or a hotel) where a fire has started Rescue sleeve or chute 12 has been ejected as will be described in greater detail below, and anchored by cables 14 and 15 to any kind of stable objects such as nearly parking automobiles, trees, street lamp posts and the like, schematically represented by poles 16 and 17 Preferably though, for the sake of better support and greater safety, a number of auxiliary anchor cables 18 should be available and used as shown and will be described further below It will be further noted (see Fig 2) that the sleeve 12 is mostly made of tapeworm-like structure, namely a chain of sections 20, which are made of strong sheet material such as nylon, canvas fabric and the like, sewn to each other and strengthened by rigid rings generally denoted 22 (see Fig 4) At the lowermost portion, however, the structure of the sleeve 12 is half-open (sections 20'), and provided with preferably self-inflated cushions 24, intended to brake and absorb the gliding movement of the rescued persons (shown in phantom lines) using the sleeve In addition there are provided (at-least) a pair of tension cables 26, 27, running all along the sleeve 12 Cable 26 runs at the bottom side, threaded through eyelets 28 mounted to every second one of the rings 22 Every eyelet is preferably pivotally connected (Figs 3a-3d) via a U-shaped bracket 30 which is welded to the respective ring 22 A plug 26a is affixed to the end of the cable 26 The same arrangement exists for the top running cable 27, which is thread through eyelets 28 in a staggered fashion with respect to cable 26. Yet another detail of construction is shown in Figs. 4a and 4b. This relates to the manner the sleeve sections 20 are sewn to each other and to the rings 22. Hence, the margins of each section are bent radially outwards, fold about themselves and fastened by stitches S1 and S2, leaving an extended portion directed backwards. The ring 22 is then assembled by a circular wrapping 32 of cloth which envelops the ring and is fastened to the said extended portions by stitches S3 and S4. The brackets 30 for the eyelets 28 will of course penetrate outwards of the envelope 32 (Fig. 4b). For attaining the arcuate shape of the sleeve 12 when left to fall down from the building 10, the arrangement of Fig. 5 may be adopted. When in the folded-back state (see below), between every few eyelets of the top cable 27, a stretch of an additional, delimiting cable 34 is fixedly connected, restricting the distance between the respective rings at their upper points to a pre-set length. This will compel the sleeve 12 to form an arcuate, knee-like section 12a when unfolded. The number of such knees 12a will be determined according to the overall height of the upstream side of the sleeve (i.e. the respective building storey) and the amount of the final desired curvature of the sleeve as a whole. As already mentioned, auxiliary anchor cables 18 (Fig. 1 ) may be requested. For that purpose, a second series of swivable eyelets 40 are employed (Fig 6), diametrically located in a horizontal plane, deployed along the sleeve and mounted to several, distanced rings 22 As further seen in Fig 6, the eyelet configuration is advantageous, allowing the auxiliary anchor cables 18 be constituted by loops, the idea being that after use, the cables can be cut and completely removed from the sleeve This is important for facilitating a smooth folding back of the sleeve for re-use (see below), without need to look also after an orderly collection of the cables The re-installment of the cables 18 will take place at a later stage, in the folded-back state of the sleeve, through a service opening (slide doors 74 and 75), as will be described later on Reference shall now be made to Figs 7-12 At every storey of the building 10, next to an external wall 10a, there will be installed a compartment generally denoted 50, associated with a dedicated oval opening 10b and funnel-like extension 10c (Fig 13) The rescue sleeve 12 is shown in the folded, stand-by state, after the cables 26 and 27 have been fully rewound by respective electrically powered winch systems 52 and 54 Cable 26 passes through a guiding tube 56, having for that purpose a somewhat flared opening portion 56a The same applies with respect to tube 58 for cable 27 Coil springs 60 and 62 are installed, both acting against a common backup plate 64 (see Fig. 9) defining the surface against which the sleeve 12 is folded, in an accordion-like fashion. The backup plate 64 has an entering opening 64a, equal to or larger than the diameter of the sleeve 12. Since the distance between the tubes 56 and 58 is greater than the diameter of sleeve 12, and in view of the alternate order of the eyelet 28 relative to the lower cable 26 and the upper cable 27, the sleeve sections 20 will become folded not overlapping but in a staggered, zig-zag fashion, to save storing space. The compartment 50 is made of metal construction, and is provided with a first, weather-proof sliding door 70 (see Fig.10), a second sliding door 72, facing the interior of the building, and two pairs of third service sliding door systems 74a, 74b and 75a, 75b (see Figs. 8 and 12) at both sides of the compartment 50, serving to allow access from the side for re-connecting the auxiliary anchor cables 18 after the use of the rescue sleeve and the cable having been cut and removed to facilitate smooth and trouble-free folding-back of the sleeve into its stand-by position. The operation of the rescue-sleeve system is illustrated in Fig. 13. Hence, in case of emergency, the door 70 is pulled aside (see Fig. 10) and the winch systems 52 and 54 released for free wheel rotation of their drums. Consequently, under the force of the springs 60 and 62, the plate 64 will shoot (to the left in Fig. 7) and cause the folded sleeve to become ejected out through the opening 10b and paid down over the funnel shaped section 10c provided for that purpose. Now, the position of Fig. 14 is reached, where the sleeve 12 freely hangs down, except for the knee section(s) 34 that start shaping the sleeve towards the operative position of Fig. 1. The auxiliary cables 18 (having been attached and prepared in the folded position of the sleeve as already explained) hang freely down as shown, ready to be picked up by the rescue team and tied to any available stationary object. The free end of the sleeve is tied as already explained with reference to Fig. 1 and the system is ready for its life saving target. While the above description contains many specificities, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, but rather as exemplification of the preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art will envision other possible variations that are within its scope. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiment illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims: WHAT IS CLAIMED IS: 1. A system for the evacuation of individuals trapped in multiple storey buildings by gliding down a rescue sleeve, comprising: - a sleeve made of sections, each section being made of a sheet material strengthened by a circumferential support member, the sections being connected to each other to form a continuous envelope; - at least a pair of cables thread along the sleeve, one at the bottom and one at the top generatrix thereof; - a winch system for winding the cables into a dedicated location at the building storey from which rescue is requested, so that the sleeve becomes folded into a compact package; - spring operated means for selectively ejecting and unfolding the sleeve down to ground level where it becomes tied to stationary object(s). 2. The system as claimed in Claim 1 wherein the cables are thread through eyelets mounted to the rigid support members. 3. The system as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the top and the bottom cables are thread through every second eyelet, in a staggered order. 4. The system as claimed in Claim 3 wherein the cables are each wound through a guide tube, the vertical distance between the guide tubes exceeding the distance between the top and the bottom eyelets, so that the sleeve becomes folded in a zig-zag, space-saving order. 5. The system as claimed in Claim 4 wherein coil springs are located in each guide tube around their respective cables. 6. The system as claimed in Claim 5 wherein a pair of winch systems are provided, each comprising a drum around which the cables are wound. 7. The system as claimed in Claim 6 wherein the winch systems comprise means for releasing their drums to enable the said ejecting and unfolding of the sleeve. 8. The system as claimed in Claim 7 wherein a backup plate is provided against which the sleeve becomes folded upon winding of the cables. 9. The system as claimed in Claim 8 further comprising a slidable door adapted to close an opening in the building through which the sleeve is folded by the winch system(s). 10. The system as claimed in Claim 2 wherein the eyelets are swivably mounted to their respective rigid support members. 11. The system as claimed in Claim 1 further comprising means for forming at least one knee at the sleeve in the unfolded state thereof. 12. The system as claimed in Claim 11 wherein the knee forming means comprise a stretch of cable tied between selected eyelets located at the top of the sleeve, the length of the cable being less than the distance between the eyelets when the sleeve is freely unfolded. 13. The system as claimed in Claim 1 further comprising auxiliary cables adapted to be anchored to stationary objects at ground level for stabilizing the sleeve in its unfolded state. 14. The system as claimed in Claim 13 wherein the auxiliary cables are connected to selected ones of the rigid support members, at two diametrically opposite sides thereof in a horizontal plane. 15. The system as claimed in Claim 14 wherein the auxiliary cables are constituted by loops passed through respective rings mounted to the rigid support member(s).

Inventors: NIR ELIYAHU, NIR, ELIYAHU
Applicants: NIR ELIYAHU, NIR, ELIYAHU
Application year: 2000
Main classification: A61B1
IPC codes: A62B1