Improvements in Fire-escapes.
Year: 1890

page_text: Date of Application. 16th Jan., 1890
Complete Specification Left, 16th Oct., 1890-Accepted, 22nd Nov., 1890
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fire-escapes.
I, HENRY TARBATH, of Broad Street, Bromyard, Worcestershire, Butcher and
Dealer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to an apparatus by which a person can lower himself
or herself from the windows or other part of a building in case of fire, the object
being to so construct the apparatus that it will at all times be ready for use and so
that the person using it will be lowered in safety without any care on his or
her part.
In carrying out this invention I provide a suitable case or framework which may
take the form of a chest or box which contains a drum mounted upon an axle
preferably arranged horizontally, and fixed to this drum and coiled thereon is a piece
of webbing or rope of suitable length. Mounted upon the said axle is a spur or
other toothed wheel (or more than one such wheel may be used) which gears with a
smaller pinion mounted on a suitable axle. Adjacent to the said drum and parallel
therewith are one or more guide rollers around which the free end of the webbing or
cord is led and out through a suitable opening in the case or framework. The free
end of the webbing or rope is made into a loop or furnished with a seat or otherwise
suitably formed for attachment to a person's body.
In using the apparatus above described the person to be lowered from the window
or other part of the building connects himself to the free end of the webbing or rope
and suspends himself thereby from the window when he will gradually descend, the
friction set up by the webbing passing round the rollers and by the pinion or pinions
gearing with the spur wheel or wheels on the drum axle being sufficient to prevent
the person descending too quickly. A suitable handle is provided on the drum axle
by which the webbing or rope can be recoiled thereon ready for use by another
person. The said webbing or rope is preferably covered with some well known fire
proof composition to prevent its burning.
Dated this 13th day of January 1890
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Fire-escapes.
I, HENRY TARBATH, of Broad Street, Bromyard, Worcestershire, Butcher and
Dealer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the
same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
This invention has reference to an apparatus by which a person can lower himself
or herself from the windows or other part of a building in case of fire, the object
being to so construct the apparatus that it will at all times be ready for use and
so that the person using it will be lowered in safety without any care on his or
her part.
I will describe my invention by referring to the accompanying drawings on
which
Fig. 1 illustrates in sectional side elevation a fire escape constructed according to
this invention ;
Fio 2 is a front sectional elevation of the same :

page_text: Fig. 3 is a plan and Figs. 4 and 5 shew details of the same and
Fig. 6 shews how the said fire escape is used.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in all the
figures of the drawings.
The said fire escape consists of a suitable outer case or framework a for containing
the mechanism and this case or framework may take the form of a box or a chest of
drawers or other article of furniture. Within the case a is a drum b mounted upon
a horizontal axle e turning in end bearings in the case a and fixed to this drum and
coiled thereon is a piece of webbing d or rope of suitable length preferably covered
with some well known fire proof composition to prevent its burning. The webbing d
is led from the drum 6 round one or more guide rollers such as fg and h and through
an opening a in the case a. At the free end of the webbing d is a hook e which can
be hitched on to the webbing as shewn in Fig. 6 so as to form a loop round a person's
body. Or the webbing may be furnished with a seat or sling for this purpose.
A spring band preferably lined with leather, fixed at one end to the case a carries
the guide roller at its outer end 2 so that when in use the tension on the
webbing d will cause the band i to clip the drum 6 and act as a break. The
spring pulls the band i away from the drum b when there is no tension on
the webbing d. The guide roller g is carried by the two arms k¹ k² which turn on
the axis of the roller as a centre so that when the fire escape is required to be
used these arms can be turned out over a window sill (see Fig. 6) to enable the
webbing d to clear the same, and when not in use the arms k¹ can be turned back
on to the top of the case a (see Fig. 1). The end c¹ of the axle c is squared or
otherwise formed to receive a handle for rewinding the webbing d on to the drum b
and this is also accomplished automatically by means of the coiled spring or springs o
which are mounted upon the axle n on which is the spur wheel m gearing with the
pinion on the drum axle c. is an ordinary break wheel as used in lowering hoists
mounted loosely on the drum axle 6 and held by the encircling break strap r the
grip of which on the break wheel can be adjusted by the nut s. An arm t fixed on
the shaft c carries a click or pawl u which engages with teeth on the boss of the
break wheel q and turns the break wheel when the webbing d is paying out from the
drum so as to prevent the person descending too quickly. When the drum 6 is
turning in the opposite direction so as to wind the webbing thereon the click u passes
over the teeth v and the break wheel remains stationary.
In using the apparatus above described the person to be lowered from the window
or other part of the building connects himself to the free end of the webbing d as by
the hook and loop above described (see Fig. 6) and suspends himself thereby when
he will gradually descend, his too rapid descent being prevented by the mechanism
above described. The webbing d is then recoiled on the drum b (either by the
springs o or by a handle as above described) ready for use by another person.
The accompanying drawings shew what I consider to be the best way of carrying
my said invention into practice but it is to be understood that the invention is not
limited to the precise details illustrated.
It will be evident that the spring band i and its roller and the lever arms k¹ k²
and the roller g may be dispensed with and the webbing d led directly from the
drum b to the roller h.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In a fire escape, the employment of the drum 6 and a length of cord or
webbing d arranged to be wound on said drum, in combination with the break
arranged as described to act only when the rope or webbing is paying out, and the
coiled spring or springs and gearing for rewinding the rope or webbing on to the
drum b; the whole being contained within an outer casing such as a and arranged
to operate in combination substantially as hereinbefore set forth.
2. The combination and arrangement of parts constituting the improved fire escape

page_text: substantially as herein before described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings
whether the spring band i and its roller f and the lever arm k¹³ and its roller g are,
or one or more of them is, used or not.
Dated this 15th day of September 1890.
CHARLES BOSWORTH KETLEY,
Agent for the Applicant.