IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE ESCAPES
Year: 1874

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William J. Clayton, of Brushfield Avenue,
Dublin, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE ESCAPES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William J. Clayton at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on
the 5th May 1874.
I, WILLIAM J. CLAYTON, of Brushfield Avenue, Dublin, do hereby
3 declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE
ESCAPES," to be as follows:-
My Invention of improvements in fire cscapes relates to those that
are made on the "telescopic" principle, and consists of the following
arrangement and construction:-I use three ladders, the two upper
ladders sliding within the lower one, and they are connected or bound
together at the top of each by iron clips or bands.. These ladders I con-
struct of double the width of the ladder of the ordinary fire escape, so
as to enable the firemen to pass up or down in order to bring down
persons from the house on fire. The sides of the ladders are strengthened

page_text: by galvanised iron latticework, which also acts as a protection to persons
ascending or descending, and the intersections of the ironwork and
timber rails are bound together with brass bolts and nuts. All the
screws or bolts are either made of brass or of galvanised iron to prevent
oxidation.
The lower ladder rests on a strong frame having a portion thereof
hinged to fold out to give leverage as well as better control over the
machine. To this frame are attached wire stay ropes, which go to the
top of the main ladder.
The wheels are 6 feet 4 inches in height, and are attached to the
ladder by means of carriage springs and shackles, the axle of the wheels
working in bushes attached to the lower side of the springs and forming
a windlass. The handles, when the machine is to be worked, are attached
to the extremities of the axle, by which means the ladders are raised by
galvanised steel wire ropes.
To the windlass is attached a self-adjusting pawl for stopping the
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said William J. Clayton in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 5th November 1874.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
J. CLAYTON, of Brushfield Avenue, Dublin, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Fifth day of May, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, in the thirty-
seventh year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said William J. Clayton, Her special license,
'that I, the said William J. Clayton, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said William J. Clayton, my executors,
administrators, 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

page_text: Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE
ESCAPES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said William
J. Clayton, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing
under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, 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 I, the said William J. Clayton, 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 :-
My said Invention relates to improvements in fire escapes constructed
on the telescopic principle, and consists of a novel construction of the
ladders and mode of elevating and lowering the same.
In carrying out my Invention I employ three ladders, the two upper
ones sliding within the lower one, and connected or bound together by
iron clips or bands. I construct these ladders about double the width
of the ladders of ordinary fire escapes, so as to enable two or more
persons to pass up and down at the same time. The sides of the ladders
are strengthened by galvanized iron latticework, which also acts as a
protection and assistance to persons ascending or descending. The
intersections of the ironwork and timber rails are bound together with
brass bolts and nuts, and all the screws and bolts are made either of
brass or of galvanized iron to prevent oxidation.
The lower ladder rests on a strong frame, having a portion thereof
hinged so as to fold out to give leverage as well as a better control over
the machine. This frame is attached to the top of the main or lower
ladder by wire rope stays.
'
The main running wheels, which are about 6 feet 4 inches in diameter,
are attached to the lower ladder by means of carriage springs and
shackles. The axle of the wheels works in bearings attached to the
springs, and forms a windlass for raising and lowering the ladders, a self-
acting detent being employed for maintaining the ladders at any required
height.
And in order that my said Invention may be clearly understood I shall

page_text: accompanying Sheet of Drawings, in which the same letters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in all the Figures.
'
Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved fire escape with the ladders
partially elevated; Figure 2 is a back view of the same. Figure 3 is a
side elevation (drawn on an enlarged scale) of the lower portion of the
escape, shewing the mechanism for elevating the ladders; and Figure 4
is a detail shewing the mode of securing the ladders together.
A, A', A², are three ladders, the two upper ones A¹, A², being arranged
to slide within the lower one A, which is rigidly secured at its lower end
to the frame B, B¹. This frame is made in two parts hinged together
at a, the part B₁ being capable of being folded on to or turned up
against the ladder A¹, when not in use, but which when in use is opened
out as shewn in the Drawing, thereby affording (by reason of the
increased leverage obtained) greater facility for hoisting the escape from
a horizontal into a vertical position, and also for propelling it along roads.
b, b, are metal clips secured to the sides of the ladder A, and of such a
shape as to embrace the sides of the ladder A¹, similar clip pieces C, C,
being fitted to the ladder A', which embrace the sides of the ladder A²,
as shewn in Figure 4. These clip pieces b, b, and c, c, serve to hold the
ladders securely together, whilst at the same time they act as guides to
the upper ladders when they are being raised or lowered. a¹, a¹, are tie
rods and bracings for holding firmly in the extended position the hinged
portion B¹ of the frame B; C, C, are the main running wheels mounted
loosely on the axle D, which axle is carried in bearings E fixed on the
springs F. These springs are connected to the ladder A. by shackles d, d,
in a similar manner to ordinary carriage springs; G is a drum or windlass
fitted on to the axle D, to which drum one end of the steel wire rope e by
which the ladders are hoisted or elevated is attached. This rope passes
up behind the ladder A over a guide pulley fat or near the top thereof,
then round another guide pulley f' on the lower end of the ladder A¹,
from whence it passes over a similar pulley f' fitted at the upper end of
the same ladder, thence to the lower end of the ladder A², to which the
end of the rope is securely fixed.
It will thus be seen that by winding the rope e on to the drum or
windlass G by means of winch handles H fitted on the extremities of the
axle D, the ladders A', A², will be simultaneously raised to any desired

page_text: I is a ratchet wheel fitted on to the axle D or on to the drum G, into
the teeth of which ratchet wheel a self-acting detent J engages and
maintains the ladders A¹, A², at any desired elevation. To lower the
ladders the detent J is disengaged from the teeth of the ratchet wheel,
when the ladders will descend by their own gravity upon turning the
windlass in the opposite direction to that for raising them. The ladders
are made about double the width of ordinary fire-escape ladders in order
to admit of two or more persons passing up and down at the same time.
They are provided with sides K composed of iron latticework or trussing K
supporting a hand rail L, which affords protection and assistance to
persons passing up and down.
The centre rails of the ladders bear against each other, as is clearly
shewn in Figure 4, thereby affording great strength and rigidity.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, and the mode
of carrying the same into effect, I would observe in conclusion that
what I claim as my Invention is,―
1st. Constructing the ladders of fire escapes with sides composed of
iron latticework or trussing, substantially as and for the purpose herein-
before described and illustrated by my Drawing.
2ndly. The application to and use in telescopic fire escapes of steel
wire ropes for raising and lowering the ladders, arranged and operating
substantially in the manner herein-before described and illustrated by
my Drawing.
3rdly. Utilising the axle of the running wheels of fire escapes as a
windlass for hoisting or elevating the ladders, substantially in the manner
herein-before described and illustrated by my Drawing.
In witness whereof, I, the said William J. Clayton, have hereunto
set
my hand and seal, this Third day of November, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-four.
WILLIAM I CLAYTON (T. S)