Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 20th Aug., 1887
Complete Left, 22nd May, 1888
Complete Accepted, 22nd June, 1888
I, AUGUSTE DE WAELE of Ghent, in the Kingdom of Belgium, do hereby declare
the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention embraces a movable step ladder applied to the front of a house
between two windows or better their balconies. The two string boards of this ladder
form a folding frame with the hand-rails in the form of a parallelogram turning on
two fixed pivots with which it is connected by means of rods.
This step ladder when folded against the wall and fastened suitably thereto forms
but a very small projection and when the fastening is undone it is easily folded out
and presents then an easy and secure exit from the interior of the building.
When the escape ladder is placed between two balconies a landing place of a width
equal to the height of the balconies is preferably placed between the rods which
connect the upper part of the ladder to the wall; to the sides of this landing place
are attached the movable side, balusters of the balconies in such a manner that when
the ladder is opened out these side balusters will be lowered and will bear against the
wall thus forming a strong bracket support for the landing place and the ladder.
When the ladder is folded up against the wall, the side balusters return into their
original position relative to the balconies.
The hand rails of the ladder are connected with the string boards by pivoted rods
one of which extends to the bottom of the wall and is pivoted here; this latter
supports the hand rails in their position when the ladder is drawn out.
In case there is only a balcony on one side of the landing place at the top of the
ladder the side opposite the balcony is protected by rods suitably pivoted to the wall
and the landing place.
When no balconies at all are outside the windows which is generally the case in
factories and the like, the landing place is constructed of a length sufficient to extend
under one or both the adjacent windows and protected by the above mentioned.
rods pivoted to the wall and the landing place.
To prevent people from scaling the ladders when folded up against the wall it is
covered with any suitable shutter counter. steps or the like which is suitably fastened.
In case the rungs of the ladder are very narrow the ladder may fit against a piece of
sheet iron indented in such a manner that it does not leave any support for either feet
or hands completely filling the space between the rungs.
The ladders may be let down or drawn out by means of a crank and a mechanism
similar to that used to let down shop blinds or shutters.
Dotad this 50th day of Avgust 1887

page_text: openca ous,
Fig. 5 illustrates the application to the front of a house with one balcony only.
Figs. 6 and 7 represent in front and side elevation a perfectly vertical ladder
provided with platforms which form balconies for the windows of each story on both
sides of the ladder.
Figs. 1 to 4 represent the step ladder placed between two existing balconies A B, A'B'.
A movable landing place a b, a' b of a width a a¹ about equal to the space between
the balconies and a length ab equal to the height of the balustrades swings round
its axis a a¹. To the sides of this landing place are attached the 'movable side
balustrades A B C D of the balconies which when the ladder is folded against the
wall as in Fig. 1 will be in their normal position i.e., complete the balconies.
If on the contrary the ladder is opened out as in Fig. 2 these side balustrades will be
lowered and will bear against the wall thus forming two strong bracket-supports.
At bare pivotted the two stringboards bc, b' c¹ which may be either iron rods or
angle irons and to which are fixed the steps d.
The handrails ef, el " of the ladder are connected with the stringboards by pivotted
rods g g and with the wall by the pivotted rods G H and G' H', pivotted to the wall
in H H and to the stringboard in J J.
An apparatus described further on fastens the ladder against the wall.
When this fastening is undone the ladder can be opened out by a slight effort, the
rods a b, a turn round their pivots a a¹, the landing place ab, abis lowered
bringing with it the top of the ladder.
At the same time the points G G¹ and J J' describe an arc of a circle round the
points. H. H', the handrails are removed from the stringboards but remain parallel with
the latter and the lower end of the ladder will rest on the ground.
The landing place a b, a b' having lowered with it the two movable side balustrades
is now in free communication with the two balconies and a complete step ladder has
been established, provided with two handrails leading to a complete landing.

page_text: The inclination of the ladder depends upon the length of the stringboards and this
latter depends on the width of the streets in which the ladders are used. It may be
increased at will by increasing the width of the balcony i.e., its dimension perpendicular
to the front of the building, always provided that the length of the stringboards can
be equal to the sum of the length of the landing place and of the height at which it
is placed.
The projection formed by the ladder when folded against the wall depends on the
width of the steps but seldom exceeds 20 centimetres, and the position in which
the apparatus is placed permits to give the ladder an appearance which will not be
unsightly.
In case there is only a balcony on one side of the landing place as the top of the
ladder, the side of the landing place opposite the balcony is protected by the rods L L₁
pivotted respectively to the wall and the handrail and to the landing stage and the
handrail as in Fig. 5.
When no balconies at all are outside the windows, which is generally the case in
factories and the like, the landing is constructed of a length sufficient to extend under
one or both of the adjacent windows and in this case both sides are protected and
completed with pivotted rods similar to those L L represented in Fig. 5 thus forming
so to say a balcony the bottom of which is formed by the movable landing stage.
The fastening I which holds the ladder against the wall may be a simple bolt,
engaging in a socket formed in the ladder and locked therein and the key of the lock
may be placed in a box with a glass placed by the side of the ladder and it is then
in case of need only necessary to instruct competent person to have the ladder lowered
as the only manipulation is to open the lock and slide the ends of the stringboards
over the ground, these lower ends of the stringboards may be provided with sinull
wheels or rollers to facilitate this manipulation. Similar keys may be deposited with
the neighbours.
The ladders may also be let down or drawn out by means of a crank and a mechanism
similar to that used to let down shop blinds or shutters, the cranks may then be
placed in boxes or deposited with the neighbours.
These ladders may be used for elevated stories and may also be arranged in such a
manner that for one building several ladders are used in combination forming together
one ladder with several landings.
To prevent people from scaling the ladders when folded up against the wall it may
be covered with a sheet iron or any other suitable shutter or the like which is suitably
attached and may serve to fasten the ladder against the wall.
In case the rungs of the ladder are very narrow the ladder may fit against a piece
of sheet iron indented in such a manner that the rungs fit exactly in the recesses of
this sheet iron so as not to leave any support for either feet or hands, the sheet iron
completely filling the spaces between the rungs.
Figs. 6 and 7 represent a modification consisting essentially in constructing the
ladders perfectly vertical and with movable balconies or landings.
The two ladder poles are supported by the rods g pivotted to the wall and by the
rods m m³, the rod m is connected with the. rod m¹ by a pivotted rod n and with
the wall by a pivotied rod n¹. A landing stage or balcony P is pivotted on one side
to the wall and on the other to the rod m¹. The rods m and m¹ pass through
the ladder poles and serve as rungs and extend on each side of the ladder before one
or more windows. In this manner on each side of the ladder is formed a balcony or
landing stage which opens and shuts with the ladder and contributes to the rigidity
thereof. In the case of existing balconies the ladder may be attached to the movable
side balustrades of the balconies as described above.
Fig. 6 represents the vertical ladder as fastened to the wall and the balconies
folded up against the wall.
Fig. 7 represents the ladder drawn out with lowered balconies. A counterweight
placed in the interior of the building and attached by cords to the ladder polos
balances the ladder and facilitates the drawing out and folding up and keeps it in
its folded up position.

page_text: To prevent the ladder from projecting too far when folded up, a suitable recess
may be formed in the wall for its reception and to prevent people from scaling the
ladder when fastened against the wall a sheet iron covering is preferably employed
which is pivotted to the projecting ends 2 of the rods g.
This vertical ladder has the advantage that it can be descended from behind that
it can be reached from the windows of all stories of a building and facilitates the
combination with the above described movable balconies thus completing the means
and facilities of escaping.
This vertical ladder has further the important advantage that because of the poles
being supported vertically on the ground and of the simple and easy mode of
attaching it to the wall, it may be carried to a great height without any danger of
bending.
In case of standard ladders such as are fixed rigidly to the outside of the walls
the poles of these ladders may have pivotted to them rods such as g and g¹ projecting
outwardly into the street.
To the ends of these rods a sheet iron cover may be attached of such a length that
when folded against the face of the ladder it will cover the whole of the rungs and
the sides of the ladder poles and including the space between the latter and the wall &
thus prevent any one from descending or ascending the ladder.
the rods outwardly will vary according to the distance existing between the wall and
The length of
the ladder poles. Should this distance not be sufficient to allow a person to ascend
behind the ladder the rods y g¹ should be made long enough to afford sufficient space
between the ladder poles and the sheet iron cover to admit of a person ascending or
descending in front the cover will then serve as a sort of shield and will disguise the
height and so prevent persons using the ladder from being seized with giddiness.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. An inclined fire escape ladder or step ladder, applied to the outside of a building
either on one side of a balcony or window or between two balconies or windows the
stringboards of which ladder form with the handrails pivotted parallelograms pivotally
attached to a landing which is pivotted to the wall and gives access to the ladder
when the latter is opened out and is folded up against the wall when the ladder is
folded up substantially as described.
2. A vertical fire escape ladder applied against the wall of a building and attached
to the wall by rods pivotted at one end to the wall, at about their middle to the ladder
poles and at their outer ends to a sheet iron covering in such a manner that when the
ladder is folded up this covering will bear against and perfectly cover the ladder
substantially as and for the purpose described.
3. A. vertical fire escape ladder placed against a building and provided opposite
the windows or doors with horizontal bars which pass through the ladder-poles, with
pivotted rods connecting these horizontal bars, with each other and with the wall, and
with landing stages pivotted to the wall, the whole forming a balcony which is
lowered and folded up with the ladder together, substantially as and for the purpose
described.