Patent Publication Number: US-6910552-B2

Title: Rescue system for high-rise buildings

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to rescue systems for evacuating individuals trapped in high rise buildings in case of emergency situations such as fire or earthquake of the type disclosed in PCT/IL00/00477 Patent Application published as WO 01/62138 on Aug. 30, 2001 (hereinafter called “the WO Patent”), the contents of which being hereby incorporated by reference. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   As clearly follows in light of the description contained in the WO Patent, it has been relied upon that the rescue sleeve, ejected from its storage compartment, becomes unfolded along at least two guiding and supporting cables which are anchored to stationary object(s) located at the ground (street) level, in front of the building in question. 
   This, however, may not always be practicable due, among other reasons, to the particular environmental conditions prevailing in the immediate surrounding of the building. This is particularly true since a certain minimum distance between the building and the anchoring point must be preserved in order to attain a suitable inclination angle of the sleeve (say 45°), which distance enlarges in proportion to the height of the story from which the evacuation is requested. 
   It is therefore the prime object of the present invention to overcome this pre-requisite of the WO Patent system. 
   It is a further object of the invention to provide a rescue sleeve that will be deployed sidewise, parallel to and diagonally along-side a building wall. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   Thus provided according to the invention is a system for the evacuation of individuals trapped in multiple story 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 pair of winch systems for winding the cables into a dedicated location at the building story from which rescue is requested, so that the sleeve becomes folded into a compact package within a storage compartment; coil spring operated means for selectively ejecting and unfolding the sleeve down to ground level where it becomes tied to stationary object(s), characterized in that the axis of the storage compartment extends in parallel to the building wall, the compartment being slidably mounted enabling its extraction outside the building so that unfolding the sleeve down to ground level is directed in parallel to and diagonally alongside the exterior wall of the building. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Further constructional features and advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood in the light of the ensuing description of a preferred embodiment thereof, given by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein— 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of the rescue system in the sleeve deployed, operative position enabled according to the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a partly sectional view of the sleeve-storage compartment taken along line II—II of  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a sectional view taken along line III—III of  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a view taken along line IV—IV of  FIG. 2 ; and 
       FIG. 5  shows the sleeve-storage compartment in its out-doors extracted, ready to activate position. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   In the attached drawings, numerals with the prefix “1” will be used to designate parts and components corresponding to those of WO Patent; other parts will bear “2” as a prefix. 
   As seen in  FIG. 1 , there exists a second building  210  in front of a rescue exit  110   b  of the building  110 . Therefore, the deployment of the sleeve  112  straight ahead is obstructed and only possible side-wise, in one or the other directions parallel to the wall  110   a.    
     FIGS. 2 and 3  do not materially differ from those of the WO Patent. However, rather than extending normal to the building wall  110   a  (as seen in  FIG. 8  of the WO Patent), the housing defining compartment  150  is parallel to the exterior wall. More particularly, as shown in  FIG. 1 , and especially in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , the housing defining compartment  150  is mounted to the building on rails  200  which permit the housing to move linearly from a stored position within the exit opening formed in exterior wall  110   a , to an operative position, shown in  FIG. 1 , projecting outwardly from the exterior wall. 
   Thus, as shown particularly in  FIG. 1 , flexible sleeve  112  is constructed so as to be foldable into a compact form for storage within compartment  150 , and is unfoldable into an operative form extending outwardly from that compartment to permit individuals to exit through the flexible sleeve from the building. As described in the above-cited WO Patent, the flexible sleeve has an entry end secured within compartment  150 , and an exit end to be secured to a stable object at a lower level in the extended operative form of the flexible sleeve. In addition, the flexible sleeve is supported in its extended operative form by an upper tension cable, shown at  127  in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , engageable with an upper portion of each of the rigid rings of the flexible sleeve, and by a lower tension cable  126  ( FIGS. 2 ,  3 ) engageable with a lower portion of each rigid ring. As described in the WO Patent, the flexible sleeve is constructed of a plurality of rigid annular rings joined together by flexible sheet material; and the tension cables pass through eyelets carried at the upper and lower portions of the respective rigid rings. 
   Housing defining compartment  150  includes a pair of sliding doors  170   a ,  170   b  ( FIGS. 2 ,  4 ) defining an inner or rear wall adjacent to the exit opening of the building exterior wall  110   a , and a pair of sliding doors  174   a ,  174   b , defining an outer or front wall. Both such walls are located vertically and substantially parallel to the building exterior wall and in alignment with the exit opening when the housing is mounted to the building. 
   The housing defining compartment  150  further includes a pair of lateral walls, shown at  175  in FIG.  1  and at  176  in  FIG. 2 , respectively, extending vertically on opposite sides of the front and rear walls, and substantially perpendicular to the building exterior wall  110   a , when the housing defining compartment  150  is mounted to the building. 
   According to the present invention, one of the lateral walls, namely lateral wall  175  shown in  FIG. 1 , is formed with an opening through which the entry end of the flexible sleeve  120  extends in the extended operative form of the flexible sleeve. The arrangement is such that, when the sleeve is in its operative form, it extends at an incline diagonally alongside, and substantially parallel to, the building exterior wall  110   a . Such an arrangement greatly facilitates the securing of the exit end of the flexible sleeve to a stable object located relatively close to the building, while at the same time facilitating the evacuation of individuals entering the flexible sleeve in a sitting position at the entry end of the sleeve. 
   As seen particularly in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , compartment  150  further includes first and second winches  152 ,  154 , coupled to the lower tension cable  126  and upper tension cable  127 , respectively, for drawing the flexible sleeve into compartment  150 . Compartment  150  further includes a backing plate  164  extending parallel to lateral wall  175  ( FIG. 1 ) and formed with an opening  164   a  ( FIG. 2 ) aligned with, and joined to, the entry end of the flexible sleeve  112 , providing access into its entry end. Backing plate  164  is movable away from lateral wall  175  to accommodate the flexible sleeve in a folded condition when drawn into the compartment by the winches  152 ,  154 . 
   As described in the WO Patent, compartment  150  further includes a guide tube  160 ,  162  ( FIG. 3 ) for each of the tension cables  126 ,  127  located between the respective winch  152 ,  154  and the backing plate  164 . Such tubes guide the linear displacement of the backing plate. These tubes are spaced apart within compartment  150  a greater distance than the transverse dimension of the entry end of the flexible sleeve  112 , such that the flexible sleeve is folded in a zig-zag space-saving fashion when drawn into the compartment, as shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , and as described more particularly in the WO Patent. 
   The operation of the rescue system remains the same ( FIG. 1 ) after the compartment  150  as a whole has been pushed on the rail systems  200  out of the building wall  110   a  as seen in FIG.  5 . 
   The foregoing example has been shown as a left-hand side directed unit, but the same design principles are of course applicable with respect to oppositely directed rescue system. 
   Various changes and modifications of the invention will be apparent.