AN IMPROVED FIRE ESCAPE OR MACHINE FOR SAVING Jinn
Year: 1883

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Bott of Birmingham in the County of Warwick
for an Invention of "AN IMPROVED FIRE ESCAPE OR MACHINE FOR SAVING
Jinn"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Bott at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents on the 15th March 1883.
SAMUEL BOTT of Birmingham in the County of Warwick.
FIRE ESCAPE OR MACHINE FOR SAVING life."
"AN IMPROVED
My invention is for an improved fire escape or machine for saving life which
will meet the need of the public in its widest sense by placing within the reach of
nearly all, small apparatus to be kept at the upper portions of dwelling houses and
other buildings so that the inmates may at very short notice let themselves down
from the highest buildings with safety and comparative ease.
No doubt many
previous attempts have been made to attain this desirable object but hitherto with
more or less failure in meeting the largely varying conditions under which such
apparatus might be called upon to work Now one of the great features of my
new apparatus is the perfect control of the apparatus afforded to the person or
persons using the escape while in the act of escaping from fire and indeed during
the whole of the descent from any building under varying conditions.
I will now describe one of my machines or apparatus as adapted for the escape
of one two or more persons weighing say from 100 to 600 lbs weight the machines
varying a little according to the work likely to be placed upon them. For instance
the above mentioned machine might weight 10 lbs to be suitable for a building
80 feet high, and it would be somewhat heavier for higher buildings and lighter for
lower ones.
The first part of my machine consists in a drum or barrel hung upon suitable
pivots in circular or other side plates around which an iron wire, or steel or other
rope or cord or connection is wound. The spindle of this drum projects through
the pivot plates at each side. The left side is fitted with a rack and paul for
locking and liberating the drum while to the spindle projecting at the right hand
side is attached a handle or hand friction wheel which would be controlled by the
.

page_text: right hand.
To the front of the drum is secured a plate connecting the two ends
or pivot plates to which a body strap and cushion is most securely attached.
The drum may be protected nearly all round by a distance plate or casing or
by distance pillars or by both but leaving a sufficient opening at the upper part to
allow the rope to pass upwards from the drum. A short distance above the drum
is a very important portion of my apparatus which may be connected to the lower
portion by a suitable single, or double or other.sling or by connecting rods which
are cranked or set outwards when necessary to allow the rope to travel the full
length of the drum without hindrance. This upper portion or speed controller
may be of circular or other outward form according to design and consists of two
disc plates between which are hung several; friction pulleys. In the one I am now
explaining there are five pulleys viz one at the centre between the plates one at
the top and bottom and one at each side. There are also between these pulleys'
suitable distance pieces to keep the plates a constant distance apart so that the
pulleys may revolve freely without hindrance. The wire or other rope passes
upwards between the plates and past and partly around the lower pulley (1) to
and under the side pulley (2) furthest away from the part it entered around the
outer portion of this side pulley (2) and turning over it passes over the centre
pulley (3) and downwards and under the other side pulley (4) turning around and
over pulley (4) and then under and partly around the upper pulley (5) passing out
of the controller upwards finishing in a safety or other hook or attachment.
The working of the apparatus is as follows The body strap is unbuckled and
passed and secured around the body about the waist with the drum immediately at
the front of the body and the safety hook or other fastening is secured to a bedstead
or hook or ring near any window fixed for the purpose. One or two other persons
may be fixed by supplemental straps to the drum or back of the first mentioned
strap. The persons then slip over the window sill keeping the apparatus by
preference towards the building. Immediately the weight comes upon the rope
the paul on the left side may be thrown out when the person or persons will be
lowered to the ground with more or less velocity according to the amount of
resistance or assistance produced by the right hand of the person upon the
apparatus.
In adapting new or present buildings such as Hotels so as to be still more con-
veniently arranged for such apparatus a small bracket may be fixed convenient to
the hand outside any window with a little trailing hanger to run out from the
building so as to escape any projections or other impediments. This bracket may
be slightly inclined downwards at the outer end with 'a guard so that immediately
the persons slipped out of the window the trailer would run out to the end of the
bracket and thus clear all projections. The apparatus will how ever work
admirably without any such special arrangement. For the sake of lightness and
strength the parts will be made of the toughest and most reliable metal and other
material such for instauce as steel.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed by
the said Samuel Bott in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 15th September
1883.
SAMUEL BOTT of Birmingham in the County of Warwick. "AN IMPROVED FIRE
ESCAPE OR MACHINE FOR SAVING LIFE
"
My invention is for an improved fire escape or machine for saving life which will
meet the need of the public in its widest sense by placing within the reach of
nearly all a small appliance to be kept at the upper portions of dwelling houses
and other buildings so that the inmates inay at a very short notice let themselves
down from the highest buildings with safety and comparative ease. No doubt
many previous attempts have been made to attain this desirable object but hitherto
with more or less failure in meeting the largely varying conditions under which
such apparatus might be called upon to work.
One of the first features of my apparatus is the perfect control of the apparatus
afforded to the person or persons using the escape while in the act of escaping fire
and indeed during the whole of the descent from any building.
I will now describe one of my machines or apparatus as adapted for the escape
of one two or more persons weighing say from 100 to 600 lbs weight. I do
no confine myself to any particular weight as the machine may be made suitable
for any weight, the machines would vary a little also according to the work likely
to be placed upon them. For instance the above mentioned machine might weigh
10 lbs to be suitable for a building 80 feet high and it would be somewhat heavier
for higher buildings and lighter for lower ones.
The
The first part of my machine consists in a drum or barrel A Figure 1 hung upon
suitable pivots b in the side plates C around which an iron wire, or steel rope or
cord or connection is wound. The spindle b of this drum A projects through the
side plates C on both sides, the left side of the pivot being fitted with the ratchet
wheel D and paul e and handle F or other equivalent for locking and liberating
the drum as more clearly seen in Figure 3 left side part elevation. To the spindle b
projecting at the right side of the machine is attached a handle H or hand friction
wheel or brake which is controlled by the right hand or this handle may be fitted
to a secondary spindle s with pinions to increase resistance or vary speed as per
Figure 4. To the front of the drum a suitable pad or cushion J is attached, as
also the stout body strap K to the side plates C in the most secure manner.
drum may have when desired a protecting or guard plate partly encasing it the
upper part only being open for the wire or other rope m to pass freely through.
In other cases I use distance pillars n to keep the plates C a proper distance apart
of which there may be two, three or more around the outer circle of the plate C.
A short distance above the drum is a very important portion of my apparatus
which may be connected to the lower portion by either slings or connecting rods
cranked outwards or the plates C may continue upwards sufficiently to form
complete sides for the top and bottom as is the case in the machine illustrated on
the accompanying drawings. This upper portion C³ connected by the neck or
cranked portion C' to the lower portion C is stamped out of one plate for the sake
of stability and strength and carries in this particular case five friction rollers
R, R' R2 R³ and R* as seen more clearly at Figure 5 where the plate C2 is removed
from one side thus showing how the wire rope passes upwards bearing upon
pulley R then partly round R¹ and over R³ and under and partly round R³ and
also partly round R and out of the upper part C or controller where the rope is
securely fastened to an eye and safety or other hook or other suitable attachment.

page_text: These friction wheels R in the controller or upper part are carried on suitable
spindles in the side plates C2 or the cord may be lapped around a plain or grooved
barrel several times to act as a controller. These plates may also have distance
bars when necessary to keep the plates firmly a set distance apart.
The working of the machine is as follows:-The body strap K is buckled around
the waist with the drum immediately at the front of the body and the handle H
on the right hand. The safety book or other connection is made fast to a bedstead
or to a ring or other fastening fixed near a window for the purpose. One or two
other persons may be fixed by supplimental straps to the drum or back of the first
mentioned strap K. The person or persons wishing to escape slip over the window
sill keeping the machine by preference towards the building. Immediately the
weight comes upon the rope the paul on the left side may be thrown out of the
wheel by the handle F with the left hand when the person or persons will be
lowered with more or less velocity according to the amount of extra resistance
produced over and above the controller C2 by the handle H or other extra brake or
friction arrangement by the right hand of the person upon the machine.
In adapting buildings specially to this machine such as Hotels and other public
buildings small brackets may be placed outside the upper windows convenient to
hand to which the machine may be quickly attached and thus any projections in
the building would be more easily passed in descending. A little trailing hanger
may be fitted to the bracket to run outwards when the weight comes on, but
without any special arrangement the apparatus will work admirably.
For the purpose of lightness the machine and its parts are made of the best and
strongest metals.
Having therefore now described my said invention of An improved fire escape or
'machine for saving life I would have it understood that what I claim is:-
The fire escape substantially as herein set forth having a drum near the body
upon which the rope or cord is wound with a controller through or over which the
cord passes in combination with a handle or other equivalent for still further
controlling the speed of descent.
In witness whereof I the said Samuel Bott have hereunto set my hand and
seal this thirteenth day of September in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and eighty three.