IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE ESCAPES, WHICH IMPROVE- MENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1841

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, PIERRE
JOURNET, of Dean Street, Soho, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her present most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain, bearing date at
Westminster, the Nineteenth day of May, in the fourth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Pierre Journet, Her especial licence, full power, sole privilege and authority,
that I, the said Pierre Journet, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Pierre Journet, my exors, admors, or assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times, during
the term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-
Tweed, my Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE ESCAPES, WHICH IMPROVE-
MENTS ARE APPLICABLE TO OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES;" in which said Letters
Patent is contained a proviso that I, the said Pierre Journet, should cause a
particular description of the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner
the same is to be performed, to be inrolled in Her said Majesty's High Court.

page_text: thereto, according to one part of my Invention.
Figure 2 shows the section of part of the house, taken through the window,.
at which the apparatus is applied, the apparatus being contained in a recess
below the window.
Figure 3 shows another section where the parts are in a position for use;
Figures 2 and 3 showing the parts on a larger scale than those in Figure 1,
but the same letters of reference are used to indicate the same parts in each
of the Figures.
a, a, is the apparatus by which one or several persons may descend from
a room in a house. The apparatus consists of the platform a, a, which is
composed of two parts hinged together, as is shown, there being four cords
affixed thereto (one to each corner), which respectively pass through the ends
of the rails a', and the four cords a² are joined together at their upper ends.
a³, a³, are two blocks and tackle by which the apparatus is suspended from the
crane 6, as is shown. a' is the end of the cord, which is either held by a
person down below or may be held by a person in the apparatus a, in order
gradually to lower the apparatus a, and again raise it up to the window, in
case other persons may require to descend. c is a cord which is held by some
person below when thrown down, in order to guide the apparatus a away from
the house, and also from any flames which may be coming from windows
below the one from which the apparatus a is descending. The crane b,
when not in use, lies within a recess under a window of a house, and it is so
arranged that it is capable of being raised on the fixed bar & when required
for use; and when up, it will be retained from again descending, by means of
a spring catch which shoots out so soon as the crane is raised to its highest
position. At the right-hand side of the window there is a sliding spring bolt d²,
which is prevented coming out so long as the other sliding bolt de is down;

page_text: but the raising of the crane d causes the bolt d³ to be raised by a projection
from the lower end of the crane coming against a projection d³ on the sliding
bolt d; thus raising it from the front of the bolt d', when the spring will
force out the bolt d', and cause it to come under the crane b, and thus
support it. The crane 6 is raised in the following manner:-e is a cord
or chain attached to the lower end of the crane, as is shown, and it passes
over the pulley f and also over the pulley g, and is attached to the
weight h. And, this weight being at all times at its highest position, when
the apparatus is packed away in the recess below the window, it will at
all times be in a position, by its falling, when permitted to do so, to
raise the crane to its highest position. Below the window there is a con-
siderable space, as shown, which is enclosed by means of the woodwork i
and j, the woodwork i being within the room, and the woodwork; being out-
side of the house, the parts being formed and hinged, as is shewn in the
Drawing. By this arrangement the parts i and j are capable of folding down,
one out from the room and the other into the room, as is shown; and the
same act which releases the fastenings of these parts also releases the crane,
and the weight draws up the crane and other apparatus and places it into
a proper position for use. The parts i and j are kept closed by means of the
spring catches k, k, and the parts are separated by the spring 1, when the
catches are released, the spring m being for the purpose of directing off the
crane from the window, which might otherwise interfere with its ascending.
The spring catches / are released in the following manner:-n is a handle
affixed on the axis o; on this axis is fixed the projecting finger p; which,
when the handle is moved, acts on one end of the lever q. The other end of
this lever q rests against the bolt r, which takes hold of the catches k, k. The
lever q is affixed to the axis q'; on this axis q¹ is affixed the finger q², which
acts on the projections on the axis s'; on this axis s' is a catch t, which
takes hold of the lower end of the crane when down, and holds it down, as is
shown.
Figure 4 sehws another arrangement of platform a for cleaning windows,
as shewn at Figure 5, by substituting the bar a for the bars a', and
applying the bar G to rest against the inside of the window, such bar G
bearing the outer end of the platform a by cords and hooks; it also
being capable of being lengthened to adapt it to windows of different width,
as shown.
Having thus described the apparatus shewn, it will readily become evident
how quickly it may be brought into a position for use; for a person has
only to turn the handlen and the parts i, j, will be released, and so will

page_text: the crane, which, in rising, will open out the apparatus a, and the whole
will instantly be ready for receiving one or several persons into the appa-
ratus, and that apparatus may be immediately lowered either with or without
the aid of persons below.
The second part of my Invention relates to an apparatus to be applied to
the outside of a row of houses, and it is so arranged that a moveable balcony
may move from one house to another in the case of a fire. And this appa-
ratus may also be used to facilitate the cleaning of windows or such like
purposes.
Figure 6 shows the section of part of a house, with a moveable balcony
applied thereto, according to this part of my Invention.
Figure 7 is a plan of the balcony separately. A is a rail affixed in the
front of the houses, from one end to the other of a row of houses. B is
another rail also affixed in the front of the houses from one end to the
other of a row of houses. C is the moveable balcony, having wheels D, D,
moving on axes, as shewn. These wheels run on the rail A, and here are
friction rollers E at the lower part of the balcony, which rest against the lower
rail B, as is shown. And it will be evident that, if the balcony be moved by
a rope or otherwise opposite the window of a house which is on fire, the persons
in the house may enter the balcony and be moved to the window of another
house and thus escape; or it may be moved from house to house by the
person entering the balcony taking hold and pulling the endless rope C', which
runs over pulleys placed at each end of the row of houses.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and the manner in
which the same is to be performed, I would have it understood that, although I
have been particular in describing the various details as used by me, I do not
confine myself thereto, provided the peculiar character of either part of my
Invention be retained. And I do declare that what I claim is,-
First, the mode of combining apparatus described in respect of Figures 1, 2,
3, and 4, whereby a crane and other apparatus are contained in a recess under
the window ready for use in case of fire, and as applied to cleaning windows,
as shown at Figure 5; and,
Secondly, I claim the mode of applying a moveable balcony to houses, as
above described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Pierre Journet, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and forty-one.
PIERRE (L.s.) JOURNET.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Nineteenth day of November,
in the year of our Lord 1841, the aforesaid Pierre Journet came before our
said Lady the Queen in Her Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form above
written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according to the
tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Nineteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
Inrolled the Nineteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and forty-one.