Improvement in Fire-escapes.
Year: 1889

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvement in Fire-escapes.
I, WILLIAM BRUCE, of Wellsville, in the County of Allegany, and State of New
York, United States of America, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this
invention and in what manner the same is to be perforined, to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
The invention relates to improvements in fire escapes, the object being to provide a
device of the kind which will be of simple and durable construction, and of such
dimensions as to be easily transported in an ordinary travelling sack or satchel and
which will be effective and certain in action, and it consists in the construction and
novel combination of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying
drawings and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.
It should be premised that the device, herein described is to be used in conjunction
with the rope usually kept in hotel rooms and provided with a hook, on one end, for
attachment to any proper support within the room the other end being thrown into
the 'street when in use.
The device is made in separable parts for convenience in transportation.
In the accompanying drawings
Figure 1 represents a perspective view of the whole device with a portion of the
rope in place therein.
Figure 2 represents a perspective view of the upper, or longitudinal, detachable
part of the escape from the side on which the rope enters.
Figure 3 represents a similar view of the lower or transverse détachable part thereof
with the supporting strap attached.
Figure 4 represents a view of said longitudinal part from the side opposite the rope.
Figure 5 represents a side view of the device in action, the rope stretching at an
angle from the window of a building and
Figure 6 is a detail view of the lower part of the device.
Referring to the drawings by letter. A designates the longitudinal or upper part of
the device from which the lower, transverse part is detachable.
The said longitudinal portion is composed of the rectangular frame B the hooked
bar C for attachment of the transverse part of the device, the brake for the rope and
the brake actuating lever and link.
The frame B consists of the baseplate & perforated, centrally for the passage of the
hooked har, hereinafter described, the head block 61, forming part of the rope brake
having its inner surface curved upward from front to rear and provided with a rope
groove in said surface, the side bars 63, 64, provided with the similar, opposite,
longitudinal slots 6 and the latch bar 6 pivoted to the side of the head block at its
upper end and having in the edge of its lower end a notch adapted to engage the
pin that stands outward from the upper end of the side bar ; the said pin
being preferably, headed to prevent the latch bar from swinging outward.
The booked bar C is preferably rectangular in cross-section, and fits in, and renders
through the perforation in the base plate of the frame B. At the lower end of the
booked bar is the hook e having the parallel edged notch e, between its point and shank.

page_text: The hooked bar is provided, near its upper end, with a transverse shaft of having its
ends reduced and formed into journals which enter and travel in the slots 65 of the
side bars, of the frame B.
c is a longitudinal slot in the hooked bar below said shaft which slot straddles a trans-
verse bar secured at its ends to the side bars 63, 4, and thereby limits the travel of
the hooked bar.
D is a link rod with its lower end pivoted to the upper end of the hooked bar C and
having its upper end pivoted to the double armed lever E that controls or actuates
the rope brake.
The said lever has, about centrally, a transverse shaft e journalled at it ends in the
side bars 63, near the upper end of the latter; the end of the front arm of the lever,
or the arm adjoining the rope, being enlarged, vertically and laterally, and provided
with a vertical rounded notehel for the reception of the rope.. The link rod is pivoted
to the lever E just to the inner side of said enlarged end.
The opposite arm of the lever E is straight and has the brake shoe attached to it.
Fis the brake shoe consisting of a metal block, the upper edge of which is carved
downward from front to rear and is provided with the longitudinal rope groove f
which stands below, and opposite, the groove 2 of the head block and forms the lower
portion of the rope brake.
It will be observed, from the above, that the groove and fare convex in opposite
directions and will bite on the rope that passes between them, only at their central
portions, so that too much friction can not be produced and the descent of the person
attached be stopped or too much retarded.
is an adjusting screw standing at right angles, from the lower surface of the brake
shoe near the front end thereof, and engaging in a threaded opening in the rear or
outer arm of the lever E and f is a set screw passing through an unthreaded opening
in the heel plate 3 of the brake shoe and engaging in a threaded opening in the rear
arm of said lever near the end thereof.
By means of the screw the brake-shoe f may he moved nearer to, or farther from
the head block of the frame A to thereby accommodate ropes of different diameters
and by means of the screw the brake shoe may be fixed in position when adjusted
by the screw".
The transverse detachable part G of the device consists of the straight-hand bar.g
the shank standing frontward centrally therefrom, and the double armed guard bar g
at the end of said shank, which guard bar has its end curved inward towards those of
the hand-bar.
In the shank g', adjoining the hand bar, is a vertical opening of proper size to
receive the point of the hook and immediately in rear of said opening, is the vertical
septum g that connects the opposite arms of the hand bar and enters the notch c¹ of
- the hook of the bar C and connects the longitudinal and transverse parts of the device
together.
The said parts can thus, obviously be separated and placed, side by side, in a traveling
bag or satchel, which might be inconvenient or impossible if the said parts are integral
and at right angles to each other.
Standing laterally from the shank g is a projection g' which serves a purpose
hereinafter explained.
His a strap, which is, in practice, an arm-pit belt and which has secured to its ends
the snap hooks, h of ordinary construction, that engage in suitable openings in. the
ends of the arms of the hand bar g. This strap is made of any suitable material, but
some slightly elastic material
preferable.
The securing of the rope at its lower end when the person is to slide on an angle, is
done by three four or more persons on the street who, grasping the rope, run it back
to an angle sufficient to protect it from the flames that might be belching from the
window below that from which it extends. The rope being first secured by means of
its hook or other device to a proper support, and thrown to the street and grasped by
three, or more persons, who run it out to an angle, the strap his passed by the
escaping person round his body, below his arm-pits, and by means of the snap-hooks

page_text: T
secured to the openings in the ends of the hand-bar. Then lifting the latch-bar b
he places the head of the device, on the rope, which is then passed over the notch e
and under the projecting guard of the hand bar, as seen in Figure 1 of the
drawing.
Replacing the latch bars, he swings off on the rope. His weight causes the brake
shoe by means of the link bar and lever to bite or bind upon the rope and on account
of the ensuing friction the rapidity of his descent is retarded and he easily and safely
glides to the ground.
When sliding down the rope vertically with no attachment nor person touching the
rope, at its lower end the rope being dropped vertically to the ground or side walk
the body strap is secured as in the other case, and lifting the latch as before the rope
is placed between the head of the device and the brake shoe and. the latch replaced.
Then passing the rope over the notch el it is also passed between the hand bar and its
projecting guard, on the side where is placed, and inside of the small shoulder pre-
venting the rope from rubbing against itself, then around the shank first passing
between the hand-bar and guard on the opposite side, and again through the first
opening but outside of the small shoulder thus forming a complete turn or hitch
around the projecting shank. Then grasping the rope with one or both hands a foot
or less below the device the person escaping lowers himself out of the window at a
speed voluntary and easily quickened or retarded by a greater or less pressure of the
hand upon
the горе. He can push himself away from any projection on the face of
the building in the way of his descent with one hand while grasping the rope and
controlling the speed of the same with the other and land himself easily and safely on
the ground.
When the rope stands at an angle as described held by persons in the street, the
weight of the person causes the angle of the device to become more and more obtuse
as he descends, and, consequently his descent will become less rapid as he approaches
the ground so that he will reach the latter without jar or injury.
In order to prevent the lower, detachable part of the device from becoming acci-
dentally disengaged, a turn button Z may be employed as illustrated in the detail
view Fig. 6 which it will be seen by bearing with its lower shoulder end against the
cross-bar will effectually lock the same in place, yet in such a manner that by
turning the button to one side the two parts may be separated or disengaged from
each other in a moment of time.
From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings it will be
seen that this device is exceedingly simple in its construction and operation; that it
is strong and durable in construction, and that by separating the parts it can be
carried conveniently in a traveling bag or satchel and put together ready for use in a
moment of time.
Having thus described my invention I claim―
1. In a fire escape, the combination of the frame having the head block grooved in
its lower side and forming the top of a rope brake the brake-shoe grooved in its
upper side and attached to the rear arm of a double-armed lever pivoted to and
between the side bars of the main frame, the link-rod pivoted at its upper end to the
front arm of said lever and the hooked bar pivoted to the lower end of the link rod,
sliding longitudinally in the frame and adapted to be attached to a proper support for
a person's body, substantially as specified.
2. In a fire escape the combination of the longitudinal frame having the head
block forming the upper part of a rope brake, the latch bar pivoted to the head-block,
and notched on its edge near its lower end to engage a pin on the shorter side bar of
the said frame the double-armed lever pivoted to and between the side bars of the
main frame and operated by means substantially as described, and the brake shoe
connected to the rear arm of said lever and forming the lower part of the rope brake,
as specified.
3. In a fire escape, the combination, with the frame B, baving the perforated base-
plate, the side bars and the head-block provided with the rope groove and

page_text: the pivoted latch bar & of the bar C, having the hook on.its lower end for the attach-
ment of a support, with its journals sliding in the slots of the frame B and provided
with the slot straddling the bar e of the frame B. the link rod D the double armed
lever E pivoted in the frame B and having the end of its front arm enlarged and
provided with the notch e, the adjustable brake-shoo F, provided with the rope
groove and the screws f¹&f, by means of which the brake shoe is adjusted and
set on the rear arm of the said lever E substantially as specified.
4. In a fire escape the combination with the upper longitudinal section comprising
the rope brake, the brake-operating lever and link and the sliding bar C having the
hook on its lower end, of the lower transverse section provided with the hand bar
having the septum to engage the hook c between its arms, and the strap engaged by
snap hooks at its end to openings in the ends of the hand bar, substantially as
specified.
C
5. The herein described fire-escape composed of the upper longitudinal section com-
prising the frame, the rope-brake, the link and lever, and the bar C, having the hook c
on its lower end the lower transverse section comprising the hand bar g the shank g¹
the curved har g² projection ; and the septum g³, and the strap H provided at its
ends with snap-hooks h to engage openings in the ends of the handbar substantially as
specified.
6. In a fire escape, the combination of the upper longitudinal section comprising
the rope-brake, the brake-operating lever and link, and the sliding bar having a hook
on its lower end, the turn-button Z, and the lower detachable transverse section pro-
vided with the hand-bar having the septum adapted to engage the hook below the
turn button and provided with a detachable strap substantially as specified.
Dated this 13th day of September 1889
HORN & SON,
Applicant's Agents.