IMPROVEMENTS IN DOMESTIC FIRE ESCAPES, AND IN RECEPTACLES
Year: 1862

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Johnson, of Great Charlotte Street,
Landport, Portsmouth, in the County of Hants, French Polisher, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN DOMESTIC FIRE ESCAPES, AND IN RECEPTACLES
Sealed the 27th March 1863, and dated the 4th October 1862.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
4th October 1862.
I, FREDERICK JOHNSON, of Great Charlotte Street, Landport, Portsmouth,
in the County of Hants, French Polisher, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DOMESTIC FIRE ESCAPES, AND IN
RECEPTACLES FOR THE SAME," to be as follows:-
My improvements in fire escapes consist in constructing the ladder of links.
of round iron (say, half inch), each of a length equal to the height of the steps,
each link having an eye at each end. Pieces of iron tubing are used for the
steps or rings, in the ends of which are screwed pins, which pass through the
eyes and connect the hooks of the chain ladder. In this way a light flexible
ladder is formed, which may be folded and stowed in a small space. I place
this fire escape on a receptacle placed close to any or all the windows of a
house, which receptacle may be used as an ottoman or piece of furniture.
This receptacle I construct so that when the lid or cover is lifted off, the sides,
being hinged at bottom, fall down flat on the floor, and so expose the
ladder, which may then be readily thrown out of the window to prevent any

page_text: mistake; I keep the upper end of the ladder or fire escape always fixed by a
chain to a strong wall hook or eye fixed inside and below the window, which
may be hid from view by the ottoman or receptacle. By this means not a
moment need be lost on an alarm of fire occurring, as all that is necessary to
be done is to take off the lid of the receptacle and throw the ladder out of the
window, the upper end being held by its fixture before mentioned.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Frederick Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 4th April 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, FREDERICK
JOHNSON, of 'Great Charlotte Street, Landport, Portsmouth, in the County of
Hants, French Polisher, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fourth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-two, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Frederick Johnson, Her special licence, that I, the said Frederick
Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
I, the said Frederick Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all
times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully
might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN DOMESTIC FIRE ESCAPES, AND IN RECEPTACLES FOR THE
SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Frederick
Johnson, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under
my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal
Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the
date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Frederick Johnson, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement, that is to say!-
This Invention has for its object an improved portable apparatus for

page_text: facilitating escapes from buildings on fire, and for affording instantaneous
communication between the upper portions of the building and the ground
below or between floor and floor, the said apparatus being capable of being
folded into a small space when not in use and enclosed in a folding receptacle,
the sides and ends of which fall back and lay flat upon the floor on the lid
being raised, thus instantly removing all obstruction and allowing the folding
escape to run out through any contiguous opening perfectly free. The
folding case or cover is mounted upon casters or runners, and is fitted with
handles at the sides so that it can be easily run or carried from one room to
another, and for containing an escape and appliances complete for a five-story
building only occupies a space about 30 inches in length by about 20 inches in
width and height.
For facilitating the escape of children or invalids, in addition to the folding
ladder there is an invalid bag, the back and floor of which are made to fold,.
and when opened out for use are rigid. The back is attached to the ladder so
as to run up and down upon it by means of a rope containing a wire strand,
and of sufficient strength to support two adults. This rope is attached to the
bag by a spring hook, and the bag secured upon the ladder by projecting
flanges at each side, the two ends of which flanges are connected by a chain
At each end of the ladder I fit a
which passes at the back of the ladder.
length of tested block chain or wire rope terminating with a ring or spring
snatch hook; the bottom chain is intended for securing the ladder at the
level of the ground at a suitable distance from the building or at any required
angle vertically; while the chain at the top of the ladder is intended for
securing it to the wall of the room or apartment, between which and the
ground or between which and any other floor the establishment of a communi-
cation is required. The wall hook which forms part of the apparatus consists
of a bolt, at one end of which a spring hook is formed, the other end being
These wall hooks I
screwed and fitted with a plate and tightening nut.
propose to fix in the wall inside the building immediately under the windows
or openings of the
upper
floors.
The general form and dimensions, mode of constructing the apparatus and
case, and fitting and using the same, are shewn upon the accompanying
Drawings.
EXPLANATION OF DRAWINGS.
Fig. 1 shews the folding case with the apparatus enclosed in its closed and
home the come case with the sides and lid opened and

page_text: apparatus, bag, chains, &c., as folded when contained in the receptacle; Fig. 4
represents the mode of using the apparatus. A is the folding ladder; B, the
invalid bag; C, the metal-stranded rope.
Fig. 5 shews the wall hook in its common form, such as I propose to fix
under each opening; Fig. 6 shews a jointed hook, the limb a of which opens
by a spring or otherwise upon the joint 6, which is held in the required
position by the small hook c, which is lifted by the wire or string d; the
object of this hook is to enable the escape apparatus to be released from the
outside or from the ground when the last individual from the interior of the
building has descended by it; by pulling the wire d, the drop hook c is raised,
and the limb a of the wall hook being then liberated, the ring at the end of the
upper chain is released and allows the escape ladder to fall or be otherwise
removed.
Fig. 7 shews a section of the folding ladder on an enlarged scale, and gives
a front view; Fig. 8 shews the same with side view, and the following reference
applies to both Figures. a, a, are the rounds or treads, which I make hollow,
and into each end of which I insert the hollow bearers b, b, which are screwed
into the ends of the tubes or otherwise secured thereto. The treads I prefer
to make about 15 inches in length. The said treads are connected by the
metal links c, c, which I prefer to make of wrought iron, each about 12 inches
long with an eye d at each end, either by welding or otherwise. Washers are
inserted upon the screw bearing pieces b, between the ends of the tubes and
the links, and also between the eyes of the upper and lower links at the end of
each tread. The bearings pieces terminate with a solid head on the outside or
in a screw and nut.
Fig. 9 shows the mode of securing the head chain, and Fig. 10 shews an
enlarged view of the invalid bag. a is the rigid back which rests against the
folding ladder; b, the bottom or folding platform which lets down upon the
hinge c, supported by the tie d; e, the canvass bag in which the invalid or
children descend. The material of which this bag is composed I propose shall
be chemically prepared so as to be non-combustible, and the manilla or the
material of which the rope is formed for raising or lowering the said bag I
also propose to have similarly treated. g, g, the guide flanges which pass
from the front to the back of the ladder, where two short chains connect
the ends of the flanges on one side with those on the other. This bag
is also intended to be used for lowering valuables, and by making the
skeleton frame to the separate from the bag, the said frame is also available
for lowering any article from the burning building which it is capable of
supporting.

page_text: Having thus described and ascertained the nature of my said Invention, and
illustrated the manner in which the same may be carried into effect in practice,
I hereby further declare that I do not restrict myself absolutely to the precise
forms and dimensions shewn upon the Drawings and herein specified, as the
5 apparatus is capable of being modified both in design and capacity in its
several details as circumstances may require.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Johnson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Fourth day of April, One thousand eight
hundred and sixty-three.
FREDERICK JOHNSON. (LS.)