IMPROVEMENTS IN Means on Apparatus to HE EMPLOYED AS A PROTECTION FOR THE OPERATIVE WHEN CLEANING AND PAINTING WINDOWS AND BUILDINGS, WHICH MAY ALSO BE EMPLOYED AS A SUN BLIND, A FIRE ESCAPE, AND FOR SCAFFOLDING AND FOR OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES
Year: 1875

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by John James Kennedy at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
24th September 1875.
I, JOHN JAMES KENNEDY, of Great Brunswick Street, in the City of
Dublin, Ireland, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN Means on Apparatus to HE EMPLOYED AS A PROTECTION FOR
THE OPERATIVE WHEN CLEANING AND PAINTING WINDOWS AND BUILDINGS, WHICH
MAY ALSO BE EMPLOYED AS A SUN BLIND, A FIRE ESCAPE, AND FOR SCAFFOLDING
AND FOR OTHER USEFUL PURPOSES," to be as follows:
-
In carrying my Invention into practical effect I make two holes, one
in each corner of the frame or woodwork above the sash through to the
inside of room; or the holes may be made in the wall or any convenient
part above said window, or I may use suitable fastenings in lieu of said
holes; I then make a hole in each corner of the frame or woodwork
at the bottom sash and fit in a piece of metal tube in each corner
aforesaid the desired length; or I may dispense with the tubes and use
a board, or wooden supports, or hooks, or fastenings, or lead' the ends of
the rope herein-after mentioned into the window sill.

page_text: For the sun blind or protection herein-after described the rope runs
from top to bottom of the window on the outside of the said window
and at each side thereof. The end of a piece of rope is passed through
to the inside of the house or through eyes or loops or over hooks, and is
fastened off in the following manner:-The rope is passed through a
hole in the centre of a metal disc, which diso has a groove or channel
cut at each side thereof and a screw thread cut thereon. After being
passed through the centre of this disc the rope is split into two parts at the
end, and each part is turned up into one of the said channels or grooves,
after which a cap is screwed over the whole to keep the rope firmly in
its place in the grooves or channels.
This fastening is applicable to other useful purposes where rope is
required to be fastened off. This knob or fastening prevents the rope
drawing out of an eye or loop or through the holes as aforesaid.
In one form of sun blind or protection for the operative I attach a
frame or frames in which is glass, canvas, or other suitable material, so
that such frame is capable of sliding up and down on the aforesaid ropes
at each side of the window, and of being projected from the house in the
form of a verandah by means of a lever.
When a protection which enables the operative to lower himself from
one window to another is required, or when the protection is required to
be used as a fire escape I employ a long length of wire or other rope,
one end of which may be passed through a centre hole into the house
and there secured; or it may have a loop to pass over a hook, whilst the
bulk of the rope may be wound upon a reel or pulley. Capable of
sliding upon this rope is a metal tube to which a kind of yoke is con-
nected, and to this yoke a seat is slung as also a piece of canvas or other
material to support the operative under the arms when sitting upon the
seat, and the aforesaid reel or pulley may be attached to said scat so as
to bo within reach of the operative.
The metal tube before referred to, which forms the centro or body of
the yoke, is mado to act as a break in the following manner:-In the
upper part of the tube or yoke body is a chamber in which I place one,
two, or more pieces of leather or other suitable material, which pieces of
leather are kept in their place by a metal plate or plates, and these
metal plates are acted upon from the outside of the tube by means of
one or more set screws passing through to the inside of such chamber to

page_text: cause the leather to bind with the rope and thereby act as an efficient
break. After passing through this break the rope passes through a
further break or stopping means also forming part of the yoke body.
This break consists of a round piece of wood or metal having a spiral
groove cut in the outer surface thereof into which the rope fits, and is
confined and guided by means of a slotted metal collar and loose ring
placed at the bottom of such wooden piece, and through which collar
the rope is passed after leaving the spiral groove. This metal collar
contains a suitable packing over which the operative bends the rope to
form a break when descending.
When a cheaper protection is required I stretch a piece of rope or
other suitable material the length of the window, and fasten it by means
of hooks and loops at the top and bottom. Over this rope is passed a
metal tube which causes the rope to form a rigid support, and running
loosely on this tube is a loop attached to a piece of rope or other
material which is fastened to the waist of the operative, whereby he can
move about freely without fear of falling; or the metal tube may be
dispensed with.
In some cases I place the above-mentioned tube or a bar in a hori-
zontal position across from side to side near the top of the window, and
to this bar or tube I connect a piece of rope by means of a loop so that
it can travel on said bar; the other end of this rope is by a suitable
fastening fixed rigidly in or near the window sill or in any other con-
venient place, so that it runs vertically from top to bottom of the
window. One end of another piece of rope is looped around the afore-
said vertical piece so that it can move freely up and down thereon, and
the other end of this piece is fastened to the waist of the operative.