IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE ESCAPES, APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1875

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Louis Fremion and Alfred. Lazon, Mechanicians,
both of 10, Cité Beauharnais, Paris, France, for the Invention of
"Tunne
-
Bean Ba
ADDETALDEH HAR ABWED DUS "
Sealed the 10th March 1876, and dated the 18th September 1875.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Louis Fremion and
Alfred Lazon at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 18th September 1875.
We, LOUIS FREMION and ALFRED LAZON, Mechanicians, both of
10, Cité Beauharnais, Paris, France, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE ESCAPES, APPLICABLE FOR OTHER
PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in fire escapes suitable
for rescuing persons from buildings on fire, being also applicable for
rescuing persons in case of inundations or for other raising or lowering
purposes. For this purpose a ladder is constructed by means of side
chains connected by cross bars to form the steps or "rounds," which for .
strength and lightness are advantageously made tubular or of angle iron.

page_text: One end of the ladder is attached to a drum or cylinder, the axes of which
are supported so as to revolve in bearings fixed-to-the-side-of-a-house-or
other building or over a vertical line_of_windows.—Or-the-drum-may-be
-mounted upon an axis so as to slide along it to any suitable position in
front of the building where the fire-escape-is-required. The ladder being
flexible admits of being rolled up when out of use upon the drum, which
is then protected by means of a metal or other cover fixed over it.
Upon one end of the axis of the drum a bevil wheel is fixed which gears
into another bevil wheel fixed on the upper end of a vertical axis, upon
the lower end of which another bevil wheel is fixed which gears with a
bevil wheel upon a horizontal axis on which a crank handle is mounted.
In place of the bevil wheels pulleys and endless bands or chains may
be employed to raise and lower the ladder. By this means the ladder
can be readily lowered when required for use, the links at the lower
ends of the side chains being fixed to cramp irons or brackets attached
to the supports of the windows or balconies; or the bottom end of the
ladder may be otherwise fixed so as to retain it at a suitable angle from
the face of the building.
Sick or infirm persons may be rescued by means of a basket or recep-
tacle attached to the end of the chain ladder, their descent being offected
by unwinding the latter from the drum.
A break is applied to the apparatus so that the operator can stop or
regulate its descent as required, and the mechanism for raising and
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, LOUIS
FREMION and ALFRED LAZON, Mechanicians, both of 10, Oité Beau-
harnais, Paris, France, send greeting.

page_text: year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-five, in 'the
thirty-ninth. year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her. heirs and suc-
cessors, give and grant unto us, the said Louis Fremion and Alfred
Lazon, Her special license that we, the said Louis Fremion and Alfred
Lazon, our executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as
we, the said Louis Fremion and Alfred Lazon, our executors, adminis-
trators, 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 FIRE
ESCAPES, APPLICABLE FOR OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst
others) that we, the said Louis Fremion and Alfred Lazon, our exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our- or
their hands and seals, or under the hand and seal of one of us or them,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, 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 we, the said Louis Fremion and Alfred
Lazon, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention, and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement thereof, that is to
say :-
This Invention has for its object improvements in fire escapes suitable
for rescuing persons from buildings on fire, being also applicable for
rescuing persons in case of inundations or for other raising or lowering
purposes. For this purpose a ladder is constructed by means of side
chains connected by brass or metal bars to form the steps or "rounds,”
which for strength and lightness are advantageously made tubular or of
angle iron. One end of the ladder is attached to a drum or cylinder,
the axes of which are supported so as to revolve in bearings fixed to the
side of a house or other building or over a vertical line of windows. Or
the drum may be. mounted upon an axis so as to slide along it to any
suitable position in front of the building where the fire escape is required.
The ladder being flexible admits of being rolled up when out of use
upon the drum, which is then protected by means of a metal or other
.

page_text: cover fixed over it. Upon one end of the axis of the drum a bevil
wheel is fixed which gears into another-bevil-wheel-fixed-on-the-upper.
end of a vertical axis, upon the lower end of wliichi another bevil wheel
is fixed which gears with a bevil wheel upon a horizontal axis on which
a crank handle is mounted.
In place of the bevil wheels pulleys and endless bands or chains may
be employed to raise and lower the ladder. By this means the ladder
can be readily lowered when required for use, the links at the lower
'ends of the side chains being fixed to cramp irons or brackets attached
to the supports of the windows or balconies; or the bottom end of the
ladder may be otherwise fixed so as to retain it at a suitable angle from
the face of the building.
Sick or infirm persons may be rescued by means of a baskets or
receptacle attached to the end of the chain ladder, their descent being
effected by unwinding the ladder from the drum.
A brake is applied to the apparatus so that the operator can stop or
regulate its descent, as required, and the mechanism for raising and
lowering it may be varied in carrying out our Invention.
The whole of the ladder and apparatus may be galvanized.
And in order that our Invention may be clearly understood and
readily carried into practice. we will now describe the Drawings
Figure 1 represents a front view, and Figure 2 a side view of this
improved safety ladder or fire escape as applied to the front of a house; a
Figure 3 shows the apparatus employed in combination with the ladder
for raising and lowering the same; Figure 4 shows a side view of the
same.
The ladder consists of a chain composed of small rings or links a,
whose positions are maintained by a series of hollow iron or other metal
ladder steps b. A groove is made for the links, hollow iron being
advantageously employed for the ladder steps so as to reduce the weight
-of-the-apparatus--as-much-as- possible. Under ordinary circumstances
the ladder when out of use is wound upon the drum or cylinder c; which
revolves on axes in the supports or bearings d, d¹, fixed to the front of

page_text: the house or building. At the extremity of the axle e of the drum c a
bevil wheel fis fixed which gears with a bevil wheel I fixed upon a
vertical hollow axis h. At the lower extremity of the axle h another
pair of bevil wheels are mounted by which the ladder is unwound from
the drum c. The ladder is advantageously placed in such manner as to
descend in front of a vertical line of windows upon any side of the
house. The ladder once unrolled (which is readily effected) is fixed by
means of rings at the lower end. To give the ladder more rigidity it is
supported at about a yard from the front by means of stays or bars j
which catch the supports of the windows or balconies.
'
The ladder is made of galvanized iron, and the whole apparatus is
enclosed or protected by a cover of zinc or other metal plates k. By
this means at the first alarm the apparatus can be readily lowered into
position by means of the crank handle attached to the apparatus.
In order to save sick persons to one extremity free of the chain, a
basket can be attached either of iron or other material to receive them,
and then their safe descent is effected by unrolling the chain until the
basket reaches the ground.
.
For the purpose of stopping the ladder at any point of its ascent or
descent a pawl and ratchet is applied to arrest its movement so that
the apparatus can be employed to effect the purpose desired at any
particular storey (higher or lower) where it may be required.
The descent can be effected by means of a series of wheels, a brake
being employed arranged to work by hand. Mechanism may also be
arranged to cause the roller c to travel, and thereby place the ladder
before all the stories of the same side of the house.
B shows a portable ladder adapted for lodgers occupying any of the
floors, and in case of fire can be fixed to a window and used to descend
without danger.
O is a portable ladder wound on a drum so as to be readily fixed to an
open window for descending. When rolled up it may be put into a bag
or case and form part of the equipment of a fire escape without adding
considerably to the weight.
These ladders in case of fire and the burning or partly burning down
of the stairs of a house may be easily lowered from the windows, the

page_text: lower part may de furnished with a.basket in. order to rescue aged anu
infirm persons..
These ladders may also be advantageously used for roofing or repairing
of houses, for chimney sweeps and other uses.
Having thus described the nature of-our-Invention, and the manner
of performing or carrying the same into practice, we would have it
understood that we do not confine ourselves to the exact details herein
described so long as the novel features of our Invention are retained;
but what we claim is,―
The improved arrangement and construction of fire escape ladders
and apparatus combined therewith, substantially in the manner herein-
before described and represented in the Drawings annexed.
We also claim the use and application of the apparatus herein-
before described for rescuing persons in case of inundations, and for
other raising or lowering and other purposes.
In witness whereof, we, the said Louis Fremion and Alfred Lazon,
have hereunto set our hand and seal, this Tenth day of March,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
six.