IMPROVEMENTS IN BALCONIES
Year: 1884

page_text: _PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
I, ARTHUR ST GEORGE CUFF of 5 Culworth Street, Regents Park, in the County
of Middlesex, late Captain in Her Majesty's Army, do hereby declare the nature
of said invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN BALCONIES, to be as follows:--
The improvements relate to balconies more particularly intended as escapes from
fire or means of access for repairing and cleaning houses.
The invention consists in making the floors of balconies as at present constructed,
or to be specially constructed for the purpose, with a trap door, gate or exit way
and combining therewith a ladder or ladders in such manner that on opening the
trap or equivalent the ladder or ladders shall depend from the balcony and on
shutting the trap or equivalent the ladder or ladders shall ascend and lie alongside
or underneath the floor of the balcony-For convenience the trap door and ladder
may be opened and actuated by a bolt or rod combined with an alarm, such bolt or
rod being connected with a draw handle or other convenient device in the house,
or outside the house or both-and when outside easily accessible to passers by-The
ladder as also the trap or equivalent may be furnished with a handrail made to fold
and lie flat when the trap or equivalent is closed, the ladder may be made in one
piece, or of two or more sections arranged to slide one over the other telescopically
so to speak, or hinged one section on the other and to fold and lie one section over
the other, when in its closed or shut position-The length and width of the ladder
or sections being proportioned to the length and width of the balcony they are
intended to serve.
The balcony may be made as at present of iron, or of stono, brick &c. or partly of
one and partly of the other-When the bottom is of stone or brick I prefer to use
a metal trap, or door.
•
Also the invention consists in so constructing the floor of balconies that they
may in themselves serve as ladders, by hinging the floor at one end of the balcony
and putting a catch and draw bolt fastening at the other the floor being constructed
as a ladder.
In some cases the ladder need not be liberated by movement from the street of
the release rod; only an aların may be given, and the occupant of the chamber to
which the balcony is applied can open the trap &c. release the ladder himself either
by a rod or wire within the chamber, or a lever fitted to the balcony itself.
Dated this 9th day of October 1884

page_text: I, ARTHUR ST GEORGE CUFF, of 67, Strand, in the City of Westminster, London,
do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN BALCONIES,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described
and ascertained, in and by the following statement :-
The improvements relate to balconies, more particularly intended as escapes from
fire, or means of access for repairing & cleaning houses.
The invention consists in making the floors of balconies, as at present constructed,
or to be specially constructed for the purpose, with a trap door, gate or exit way,
and combining therewith a ladder or ladders in such manner, that, on-opening the.
trap or equivalent, the ladder or ladders shall depend from the balcony, and, on
shutting the trap or equivalent, the ladder or ladders shall ascend and lie alongside
or underneath the floor of the balcony.-For convenience the trap door and ladder
may be opened and actuated by a bolt or rod, combined with an alarm, such bolt
or rod being connected with a draw handle or other convenient device in the house;
or outside the house, or both, and when outside, easily accessible to passers by-
The ladder, as also the trap or equivalent may be furnished with a hand rail, made
to fold flat, when the trap or equivalent is closed; the ladder may be made in one
piece, or of two or more sections arranged to slide one over the other telescopically;
so to speak, or hinged one section on the other and to fold and lie one section over
the other, when in closed or shut position; the length and width of the ladder or
sections being proportioned to the length and width of the balcony, they are
intended to serve.
The balcony may be made as at present, of iron or of stone, brick wood etc, or
partly of one, and partly of the other; when the bottom is of stone or brick,
I prefer to use a metal trap or door-Also the invention consists in so constructing
the floor of balconies, that they may in themselves serve as ladders, by hinging the
floor at one end of the balcony and putting a catch and draw bolt fastening at the
other, the floor being constructed as a ladder.
In some cases, the ladder need not be liberated, by movement from the street of
the release rod, only an alarm may be given; and the occupant of the chamber, to
which the balcony is applied, can open the trap and release the ladder himself
either by a rod or wire within the chamber, or a lever, fitted to the balcony
itself.
The accompanying drawing illustrates a convenient mode of performing the
invention, but I do not restrict myself to the exact details shewn, as they can be
varied without departing from the nature of my invention.
In the drawing Fig. 1-is a front sectional elevation-Fig. 2 a plan-in both
the figures like letters are intended to indicate like or corresponding parts. A is
the balcony, B trap door, C ladder, C' sliding or extension ladder, D operating cam,
E lever thereof, Flinks.
The cam apparatus can be operated from the street, or from the interior of the
house by appropriate adjuncts to the lever E, which can be furnished with an
alarm, if desired, or the cam bo worked from the balcony.

page_text: To release the ladder the lever E is depressed, the cam D thrown up or released,
and the ladder held by the cam, falling of its own weight, throws up the trap B,
linked to it.
"
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
Constructing or adapting balconies for buildings with traps or equivalents com-
bined with ladders or balcony floors capable of use as ladders, to serve as fire
escapes, or as accesses for repairs, or other purposes, all substantially as described
and illustrated and for the purposes set forth.