MENTS IN FIRE ESCAPES
Year: 1885

page_text: THOMAS HENRY WARD of the Firm of Lee Howl Ward & Howl Engineers
Tipton Staffordshire I do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVE-
MENTS IN FIRE ESCAPES to be as follows:-
My Invention relates to improvements in Fire Escapes as suitable more parti-
cularly as a household desideratum rather than that of a fire brigade.
The object of my Invention is to produce a handy, rough & ready, cheap,
portable & simple Fire Escape free from mechanical parts, which are so liable to
bewilder, especially the womenkind & again so liable by long negligence to be
found to have become useless by an accumulation of rust & dirt at the critical
moment required. It is an apparatus that will be found reliable at any moment
whether it be foul with rust or dirt on the one hand, or clean & bright on the
other.
According to one mode of carrying out my Invention I employ preferably, a short
link chain capable of being hooked, or otherwise attached, above, outside or inside
a bedroom window, or other elevated position which should be long enough to
reach conveniently to the ground or other place of safety below.
I employ also a small bracket or frame consisting preferably of two sides
connected together by several cross bars or lugs or even by pins fitted thereon
preferably this bracket together with its bars are of malleable cast iron.
These cross bars are arranged & disposed in such a manner that by threading
the chain within the bracket & embracing them alternately more or less so as to
deviate the chain from its normal straight path & then passing it out loosely
below, a series of frictional surfaces are obtained due to the chain rubbing round
these several bars.
The person escaping is suspended to this bracket preferably by a loop or sling
of chain provided thereon for that purpose whose weight causes it to slide down
the chain but at a speed of acceleration due to the retarding frictional resistance
brought to bear depending upon the tightness of the main chain below the bracket,
precisely as in the case of a man who pulling at a rope coiled more or less round a
stump is enabled by the gripping friction thereby imparted to arrest the pull
immensely greater of a vessel secured at the other end as witnessed daily at the
landing stages.
With such a bracket as described having say five bars a person of 156 lb weight
for example might be entirely arrested mid-air by a pull of about 25 lbs pressure

page_text: upon the main chain & as it matters not whether that pull is controlled by the
person escaping or by others below there is no difficulty or danger even though
Buch person should loose nerve or faint away mid-air provided he is secured
within the loop & here I should state that the safest mode is to pass that loop over
the head & shoulders & under the arm-pits it being much safer than sitting therein.
After a person bas descended others above may pull up the apparatus & may
draw the chain through ready for the next descent it being rapidly & readily
accomplished. Instead however if desirable other removeable brackets may be.
threaded onto the chain such brackets having one side cut away or else one side
removeable at pleasure or hinged for the purpose.
Again instead of the resultant are embraced by the chain being the aggregate of
several minor arcs answering to the several bars the chain may coil completely
round one bar or its equivelent in which case care must be taken to secure the
weight sufficiently low on the bracket as to prevent such bracket from tipping
sideways due to the line of pressure of the chains top & bottom of the bracket not
coinciding.
Another modification of my Invention is by fixing the bracket above instead of
the chain, thereby letting the chain slide through or over the bracket, instead of as
before mentioned, in which case the person escaping instead of being fixed to the
bracket will now be fixed to one end of the chain, whilst the tension necessary
will be imparted at the other end of chain, that is after it has passed the bracket,
in this case it will be observed the chain will be much longer.
By far the most useful & most practical & valuable is the one as first described
however.

page_text: Improvements in Fire Escapes.
THOMAS HENRY WARD, the firm of Lee Howl Ward & Howl, Engineers Tipton
Staffordshire I do hereby declare the nature of my invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
FIRE ESCAPES and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
My Invention relates to improvements in Fire Escapes as suiteable more parti-
cularly as a household desideratum rather than that of a Fire brigade.
The object of my Invention is to produce a handy rough & ready, cheap portable
& simple Fire Escape free from mechanical parts which are so liable to bewilder
especially the womankind & again so liable by long negligence to be found to have
become useless by an accumulation of rust & dirt at the critical moment required.
It is an apparatus that will be found reliable at any moment wether it be foul
with rust or dirt on the one hand or clean & bright on the other.
According to one mode of carrying out my Invention I employ preferably a
short link chain capable of being hooked or otherwise attached above, outside or
inside a bedroom window or other elevated position which should be long enough
to reach conveniently to the ground or other place of safety below.
I employ also a small bracket or frame consisting preferably of two sides
connected together by several cross bars or legs or even by pins fitted thereon
preferably this bracket together with its bars are of malleable cast iron.
These cross bars are arranged & disposed in such a manner that by threading the
chain within the bracket & embracing them alternately more or less so as to
deviate the chain from its normal straight path & then passing it out loosely
below a series of frictional surfaces are obtained due to the chain rubbing round
these several bars.
The person escaping is suspended to this bracket preferably by a loop or sling of
chain provided thereon for that purpose whose weight causes it to slide down the
chain but at a speed of acceleration due to the retarding frictional resistance
brought to bear depending upon the tightness of the main chain below the bracket
precisely as in the case of a man who pulling at a rope coiled more or less round a
stump is enabled by the gripping friction thereby imparted to arrest the pull
immensely greater of a vessel secured at the other end as witnessed daily at the
landing stages.
With such a bracket as described having say five bars a person of 156 lbs weight
for example might be entirely arrested mid-air by a pull of about 25 lbs presure
upon the main chain & as it matters not whether that pull is controlled by the
person escaping or others below ther is no difficulty or danger even though such
person should loose nerve or faint away mid-air provided be is secured within the
loops & here I should state that the safest mode is to pass that loop over the head
& shoulders & under the armpits it being much safer than sitting therein.
After a person has descended others above may pull up the apparatus & may
draw the chain through ready for the next descent it being rapidly & readily
accomplished Instead however if desireable other removeable brackets may be
threaded on to the chain such brackets having one side cut away or else one side
removeable at pleasure or hinged for the purpose.

page_text: Again instead of the resultant arc embraced by the chain being the aggregate of
several minor arca answering to the several bars the chain may coil completely
round one bar or its equivelent in which case care must be taken to secure the
weight sufficiently low on the bracket as to prevent such bracket from tipping
sideways due to the line of pressure of the chains top & bottom of the bracket not
coinciding.
Another modification of my Invention is by fixing the bracket above instead of
the chain thereby letting the chain slide through or over the bracket instead of as
before mentioned in which case the person escaping instead of being fixed to the
bracket will now be fixed to one end of the chain whilst the tension necessary will
be imparted at the other end of the chain, that is after it has passed the bracket in
this case it will be observed will be much longer.
By far the most useful & most practical & valuable is the one as first described
however.
The identity of parts are as follows, A is the chain preferably provided with a
book B for the purpose of fixing the apparatus above, C is the bracket D the staves
or bars The loop or sling chain which is provided for supporting the person but
is secured at E.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, & in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
(1.) In Metallic Fire Escapes the combination of a chain, retarded more or less
by friction when threaded in & out of the cross bars or staves & capable of sliding
through them more or less freely which bars are fixed to a running bracket, which
carries the person to be lowered at a speed depending upon & controlled by the
pull or pressure applied to the main chain below the bracket whether by the person
'escaping or by one or more persons below substantially as herein before described
& illustrated; & be it understood that the apparatus depends upon no mechanical
moving parts likely to be rusted or clogged at the urgent moment such as wheels
& axles & & further the presence of rust or dirt is no detriment whatever.
(2.) In Metallic Fire Escapes the mode of frictionizing the chain by passing it
in & out of the bars & obtaining thereby & collectively, friction more or less in
proportion to the equivelent or resulting arc of the circle embraced together with
the pull at the slack end substantially as herein described &. illustrated.
Dated this thirteenth day of January 1886.