Improvements in Fire Escapes.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 17th Jan., 1899-Accepted, 18th Mar., 1899
Improvements in Fire Escapes.
I, CHARLES ROBERT HARRIS, of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States of
America, Manufacturer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention, and in
what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascer-
tained in and by the following statement:-
My invention relates to an improvement in fire escapes and more particularly
to such as employ flexible ladders, the object of the invention being to construct
a fire escape in such manner that it can be wound in compact form and readily
released from any floor of the building to which it may be applied.
A further object is to so construct a fire escape employing a flexible ladder that
said ladder can be compactly wound within an ornamental casing secured at the
top of a building, and be released and started from its normal position by means
of devices adapted to be operated from any floor of a building.
A further object is to provide simple and efficient means for controlling the
operation of a flexible ladder.
A further object is to provide a fire escape which shall be simple in construc-
tion; cheap to manufacture; ornamental in appearance; sure in operation; easy
to manipulate and which shall be effective, in all respects, in the performance of
its functions.
A further object is to provide a securing device for the rungs of a flexible ladder,
which shall be simple and cheap in construction; which shall be strong and
durable; which shall be protected from the effects of exposure and which shall be
effectual, in all respects, in the performance of its functions.
With these objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of
construction and combinations and arrangements of parts as hereinafter set forth
and pointed out in the claims.
In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view illustrating a section of a
building and showing the application of my improvements thereto. Figure 2
is an end view of my improvements. Figure 3 is a face view, partly broken away
and partly in section. Figure 4 is a detail view illustrating the bottom rung of
the ladder. Figures 5, 6 and 7 are detail views of the ladder and Figure 8 is a
view showing the ladder wound.
A represents a portion of a building and B the casing of my improved fire escape,
said casing being made ornamental in appearance and secured to the front of the
building at or near the top thereof so as to form a part of the cornice of the build-
ing or take the place of metal or other ornamentations usually employed as a
finish to the architectural appearance of a building. The casing B comprises two
end frames a, a, and an outer wall or covering of sheet metal b secured at its
respective ends to said end frames a, a. A reel or shaft C is mounted in the
ends of the casing preferably at or near points located centrally in said ends,
for the reception of a flexible ladder D, which is adapted to be wound thereon and
has one end secured thereto. The casing B is provided with an elongated open-
ing 1, below and outwardly removed from the reel C, for the passage of the
ladder D, and at one edge of this opening, a fixed bar 2 is disposed and secured at

page_text: its ends to the end frames of the casing. Over this fixed bar, the ladder is
adapted to pass, and, on account of its frictional contact therewith, be retarded
somewhat in its descent. It will be observed that when the entire ladder is
wound within the casing B, the roll will be of such diameter as to extend out-
wardly to a point in line with or approximately in line with the elongated opening
in the casing and that consequently, when the ladder first commences to unwind,
the frictional contact of said ladder with said fixed bar will be very slight and that
little or no resistance will be offered to the descent of the ladder, but as the ladder
descends and the angle between the rolled ladder and the elongated opening
increases, the frictional resistance offered by the fixed bar will also increase and
thus tend to prevent the ladder from descending too rapidly as the preponderance
of the weight thereof accumulates below the casing. In this way the descent of
the ladder will be not only gradual, but practically uniform. The shaft or reel C
is provided near its respective ends with heads or disks 5-6 and one of the
journals of said shaft or drum is extended beyond its bearing and has secured
thereto, a sprocket wheel 7, over which a sprocket chain 7" may be made to pass
for the purpose of winding the ladder.
The chain 7 may be conveniently placed over the sprocket wheel when it is
necessary to wind the ladder by means of a pole from an upper window of the
building. A pawl 8 is pivotally attached to the head or disk 5 and adapted to
engage a ratchet wheel 9 mounted loosely on the shaft C. A pinion 10 is secured
to the ratchet wheel 9 and at a point in proximity to said wheels 9 and 10, a
lever 11 is pivotally supported between its ends within the casing B and adapted
to be limited in its movements by means of stops g, h. A pinion 12 and a drum 13
are mounted in the lower end of the lever 11 and adapted to rotate together, the
lever 11 being so disposed normally, that the pinion 12 will be in proximity to
but out of mesh with the pinion 10. A pulley 14 is mounted in the upper end
of the lever 11 and over this pulley, a cord 15 passes. The cord 15 extends down
through the rooms on the various floors of the building in proximity to the window
casing or at other place where it can be conveniently reached by the occupants
of the rooms, and the upper end of said cord, after passing over the pulley 14 on
the lever 11, is passed (preferably two or more times) around the drum 13 which
revolves with the pinion 12. After passing about the drum 13 the cord is passed
over a pulley 16 in the casing and then extended to the opposite end of the casing,
where it is attached to a spring 17. It will be observed that the spring 17 acts
to normally retain the lever in such position as to maintain the pinion 12 out of
mesh with the pinion 10.
From the construction and arrangement of parts above described, it will be
seen that when an occupant of one of the rooms of a building pulls the cord 15,
the first result will be to turn the lever 11 on its fulcrum and cause the pinion 12
to be moved into mesh with the pinion 10. As the pull upon the cord continues,
the drum 13 will be turned and with it, the pinion 12 and thus motion will be
imparted to the pinion 10 and consequently the shaft or reel C (through the
medium of the ratchet devices), and cause the unwinding of the ladder to be
started. After the ladder has been thus started to unwind, its own weight will,
in most cases, be sufficient to cause it to continue to descend until its lower end
reaches the ground, but should the ladder not descend sufficiently rapid after
a single pull on the cord, the operator (after having released the cord) may again
pull it and cause motion to be again imparted to the shaft or reel to further assist
the unwinding of the ladder. It will be observed that each time the cord is
released by the operator, the lever 11 will be made to turn and move the pinion 12
away from the pinion 10 and the pinion 12 made to rotate backwardly by the
action of the spring 17, so that the operator can, by a succession of pulls on the
cord, cause the unwinding of the shaft or reel C until the ladder descends freely,
or if necessary, he may continue to operate the cord until the ladder is wholly
unwound.
A gong 18 is secured to the casing C and adapted to be operated by means of an

page_text: arm 18 secured to rotate with the pinion 10 so that as the ladder descends, the
alarm will be given and the steel cables of the ladder will serve as transmitters
of the vibrations of the gong to the rooms of the building.
Each rung D of the ladder D) is made of gas pipe or similar tubular construction.
Each tubular rung is provided near its ends and also at a point centrally between
its ends, with holes 19 for the passage of the steel cables 20, 20, 21 of the ladder.
In securing the rung to the central cable 21, a key or wedge 22 is inserted into
one end of the rung and forced to the center thereof, the body portion 23 of said
key being of such diameter as to fit tightly within the rung so as to avoid any
possibility of its displacement after having been driven thereinto. The forward
end of the key is pointed, as at 24, and the portion 25 is made smaller in diameter
than the body portion 23. Thus, as the key is being driven through the rung,
it will, upon reaching the central cable 21, penetrate the same, the portion 25
passing therethrough. The cable will be expanded where the portion 25 of the
key passes through and made to completely fill the tubular rung at that point so
as to prevent the possibility of any movement of the rung on the cable, the en-
largement on the cable formed by passing the key through it, forming a stop for
the rung and assisting the key in securing the rung to the cable. The ends of the
rung are secured in a similar manner to the cables 20, 20, by means of keys or
wedges 26. The keys or wedges 26 are similar in construction to the keys 22,
but their body portions are preferably made shorter and adapted to close the
ends of the rung. The outer ends of the keys 26 are preferably rounded and the
ends of the rung may be slightly upset and made to embrace the rounded ends
of the keys so as to prevent any possibility of their escape.
By constructing a flexible ladder as above described, it will be seen that the
fastening devices of the rungs are entirely within the rung, and hence the ladder
can be compactly wound, there being no exterior coupling devices employed,
which, with such ladders as heretofore constructed, have prevented their being
wound closely and compactly. Much difficulty has been encountered on account
of the cables of flexible ladders becoming caught or entangled by couplings or
protuberances employed in securing the rungs to said cables. All danger of such
entanglement of the ladder will be obviated by my improvements, there being
no obstruction whatever beyond the rungs in any direction where said rungs are
secured to the cables.
The lower rung 3 of the ladder (which is tubular) is made larger than the
others and is secured to the cables of the ladder by means of keys 4, the ends of
the cables being inserted through suitable holes in the rung and held in place by
being wedged between the inner face of the rung and said key.
When the ladder is wound within the casing B, the lower rung 3 will serve to
close the elongated opening in the casing and thus exclude all dust.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is:-
1. The combination with a casing and a reel mounted therein, of a flexible
ladder adapted to be wound on said reel, a cord to pass through the building,
and gearing connected with said cord and adapted to transmit motion inter-
mittingly to said reel when a succession of pulls are given to the cord, substantially
as set forth
2. In a fire escape, the combination with a reel and a flexible ladder to wind
thereon, of gearing connected with the reel and means under the control of persons
in the building on which the apparatus is located for throwing said gearing into
mesh and simultaneously imparting motion positively thereto, substantially as
set forth.
3. In a fire escape, the combination with a reel and a flexible ladder to wind
thereon, of gearing for assisting the unwinding of the reel, a cord connected with
said gearing for throwing the gearing into mesh and simultaneously rotating it,

page_text: and means for disengaging said gearing when the cord shall have been released by
the operator, substantially as set forth.
4. In a fire escape, the combination with a reel and a flexible ladder to wind
thereon, of a pinion connected with said reel, a pivoted lever, a pinion and a drum
carried by said lever, a pulley mounted on the lever, a spring and a cord adapted
to extend through the building and pass over the pulley on the lever whereby to
move the pinion on the lever into mesh with the pinion on the reel and rotate it,
the end of the cord being attached to said spring, substantially as set forth.
5. In a fire escape, the combination with a casing, a reel and a flexible ladder to
be wound thereon, of a pinion connected with the reel, a lever pivotally supported
between its ends, a pinion mounted at one end of said lever and a pulley at the
other end, a drum secured to said pinion on the lever, a spring secured in the
casing, a pulley mounted in the casing and a cord passing over the pulley and drum
on the lever, the pulley in the casing and attached to said spring, substantially
as set forth.
6. In a fire escape, the combination with rigid end frames and a covering secured
at the ends to said end frames whereby to form a closed casing, said covering
having an elongated slot in its lower portion, of a fixed bar forming the inner wall
of said slot, a reel mounted in the casing and supported by said end frames, the
axis of the reel being disposed inwardly from said fixed bar and the periphery of
said reel adapted to extend to a point over said elongated slot in the casing, and
a ladder adapted to wind on said reel and pass through said elongated slot, sub-
stantially as set forth.
7. In a fire escape, the combination with a casing, of a reel mounted therein, a
flexible ladder to wind on said reel, a sprocket wheel secured to one journal of
said reel at a point outside the casing, a ratchet wheel mounted loosely on the
reel, a pawl attached to the head of the reel and adapted to engage said ratchet
wheel, gearing connected with said ratchet wheel, means for operating said gearing
to unwind the ladder from the reel and a sprocket chain to pass over the sprocket
wheel to wind the ladder on the reel, substantially as set forth.
8. A flexible ladder comprising a cable, a rung and an expanding device inserted
in the rung and passing through the cable so as to force strands of the cable
against opposing inner faces of the rung, substantially as set forth.
9. A flexible ladder comprising cables, a rung having holes near its ends for
the passage of said cables and keys inserted in the ends of said rung and having
portions passing through the cables and expanding the same against the inner
face of the rung, the ends of said rung being bent inwardly so as to embrace the
outer ends of said keys, substantially as set forth.
10. A flexible ladder comprising a cable, a tubular rung and a key having a
body portion fitting tightly against the inner faces of the rung and having a
pointed shank passing through the cable and expanding strands of the same against
the inner opposing walls of the rung where said cable passes through the same,
substantially as set forth.
1
HERBERT HADDAN & Co.,
Agents to Applicant,
18. Buckingham Street, Strand, W.C., London.