An Improved Appliance Ior Use as Fire Escape, Goods, and for like purposes.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Oct., 1895
Complete Specification Loft Oth Mar 1896 Accented. 11th Apr.. 1896
An Improved Appliance Ior Use as Fire Escape,
Goods, and for like purposes.
A communication from GEORGE BUCKELEW, of Arequipa, Peru.
1, THOMAS PRESCOTT of 53 Arcade Chambers, St. Mary's Gate, Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Patent Agent and Mechanical Engineer, do bereby
declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention relates to an improved appliance intended primarily for use as a
means of escape from a building that is on fire, but which may also be employed
for loading merchan lise from warehouses and for like uses.
The objects of this invention are to obtain a regular and gradual descent of a
person or articles of varying weights by means of the weight of said person or
articles independently of any other action, and to provide means for supporting
the descending object
The accompanying drawing to which I hereinafter refer shows a vertical section
of my invention.
construct a case as a preferably in two parts forming chambers b and c which
are firmly connected together by bolts or equivalents in such a manner as to leave
a space d between said chambers
I enclose within each of the chambers b and c a cylinder e constructed with
trunnions el that are fitted into bearings formed in said chambers so as to oscillate
therein. Each cylinder is supplied with a retarding agent consisting preferably of
ol, but other liquids or gas may be employed. Each of said cylinders is provided
with a piston e in which are apertures through which to allow the retarding agent
to pass from one side of the piston to the other as the pistons move or are caused
to be moved within the cylinder, the size of the apertures being varied according to
the speed at which an object of a given weight should descend. The piston, 1ods €³
pass through stufling boxes and have their outer ends connected to cranks and c³
that are secured to or form part of a horizontal shaft f that is placed between the two
parts of the case a and is journalled in the interior walls and e' of said case.
The aforesaid cranks are arranged at an angle to each other so as to aid in passing
the dead centies. I fit a grooved pulley g on the shaft to which said pulley is
keyed or otherwise firmly secured. I place a rope or cable g¹ over the pulley g
and said rope is prevented from slipping by inequalities formed in the groove of
the pulley. As an additional means of preventing the cable g' from slipping
I provide a brake arranged between the aforesaid chambers. Secured to or
retained with apertures of a block in the biake are springs oppositely arranged
with shoes fitted thereon said shoes will yield sufficiently to allow the rope to
pass but will bind the 1ope against end pieces in the block by which the rope 18
kept taut.
In applying my invention, the case a being attached to a suitable support by a
hook as a and the person or article secured to the tope, the pulley g will be thereby
caused to rotate and by these means cause a reciprocating movement of the pistons
which oscillate the cylinders e. the retaiding agent passes from one side of the
piston to the other by means of the aforesaid apertures.
Datel this 17th day of October 1895.
THOMAS PRESCOTT,
53 Arcade Chambers, St. Mary's Gate, Manchester, Applicant.

page_text: An improved Appliance for Use as a Fire Escape, or for Loading
Goods, and for like purposes.
A communication from GEORGE BUCKELEW, of Arequipa, Peru
I, THOMAS PRESCOTT of 53 Arcade Chambers, St. Mary's Gate, Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, Patent Agent and Mechanical Engineer, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement :-
This invention relates to an improved appliance intended pumarily for use as a
meaus of escape from a building that is on fire but which may also be employed
for loading merchandise from warehouses and for like purposes.
The objects of this invention are to obtain a regular and gradual descent of a
person or articles of varying weights, by means of the weight of said person or
articles, independently of any other action, and to provide means for supporting
the descending object.
I attain these results by the means hereinafter described, and as shown in the
accompanying sheet of drawings in which
Fig. 1 is a front view of my invention, and
Fig. 2a sentional elevation drawn through line A A of the same.
Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation drawn through line B B in Fig. 2, and
Fig. 4 shows the application of my invention as a means of escape from a building
that is on fire
In the several views shown on the drawing, similar letters refer to similar parts.
In this invention I construct a case as a preferably in two parts forming
chambers b and c which are firmly connected together by bolts or equivalents in
such a manner as to leave a space d between said chambers.
I enclose within each of the chambers and c a cylinder e constructed with
truumions e¹ that are fitted into bearings formed in said chambers, so as to oscillate
therein. Each cylinder is supplied with a retarding agent consisting preferably of
oil, but other liquids and in some cases gas, may be employed Each of Baid
cylinders is provided with a piston e in which are apertures 3 through which to
allow the retarding agent to pass from one side of the piston to the other as the
pistons move or are caused to be moved within the cylinder, the size of the apertures
being varied according to the speed at which an object of a given weight should
desceud.
The piston rods e pass through stuffing boxes and have their outer ends
connected to cranks and that are secured to, or form part of a horizontal
shaft that is placed between the two parts of the case a and journalled in the
interior walls c and c¹ of said case. The aforesaid cranks are aanged at angles to
each other so as to aid in passing the dead centres. I fit a grooved pulley
on the
shaft to which said pulley is keyed or otherwise firmly secured, and may be
protected by a guard as g².
I place a tope or cable g over the pulley g and said rope is prevented from
slipping by inequalities formed in the groove of the pulley. As an additional
means of preventing the cable g from slipping on the pulley, I provide a brako
arranged between and near the lower portion of the aforesaid chambers as shown
an Fig. 3. Sand brake has abutting end pieces and a block n' centrally located
therein. Secured to or retained within apertures of the block are spings n²
oppositely arranged and carrying on their ends a shoe or plate n³ which may be
secured to the spings or slidingly held between the sections. The shoes will

page_text: The
yield sufficiently to allow the rope or cable to pass but at the same time will bind
the rope against the end pieces n for the purpose of keeping the rope taut.
rope is preferably endless and of sufficient length to nearly reach the ground so
that the object descending may be pulled away from the building by a person on
the ground. Said rope may have arranged thereon loops as q' whereby a person
by placing the same under his arms as shown in Fig. 4 may materially aid in
retaining and supporting himself on the rope while descending.
In the application of my invention it will be seen that the case a being attached
to a suitable support by the hook a' and the person or article secuted to the rope
as in Fig. 4 the rope will cause the pulley to rotate thereby imparting rotary
motion to the shaft and a reciprocating movement of the pistons in the cylinders e:
during the movements of the pistons the retarding liquid passes fiom one side of
the piston to the other by means of the apertures e³, said apertures heing of a size
to permit the liquid to pass through from one side to the other in such quantity as
to prevent sudden descent of the object.
It is obvious that in lieu of the aperte & the upper and lower portion of the
cylinder may be connected by a pipe for the passage of the liquid. I may in some
instances use only one cylinder, and eyes or suitable hooks may be provided at
intervals along the rope or chain so that a person may retain a hold ou said rope
during the time of descent. If the cylinders are constructed so as to be stationary
a cross head would be employed to connect the piston rod to the clank.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
In, an appliance for use as a fire escape or for loading goods and for like
purposes,
1st. The combination with a case or suitable support such as a comprising two
sections, of a cylinder pivotally arranged to each section, and having a piston, a
ietaiding agent, and a passage for said retarding agent ai ranged within the cylinder,
a main or driving shaft jounalled in the casing and having its ends passed into the
sections of the casing, a pulley secured to the shaft between the sections of said
casing and with a guard placed above and partly around the same, cranks arranged
on the driving shafts and placed at angles to each other, rods connecting the pistons
and the cranks, and an endless rope or chain passed around the pulley all
substantially as herein before described.
2nd. A brake comprising stationary end pieces, a fixed block with oppositely
arranged springe, together with plates or shoes, pressed outwardly by said springs
for the purpose and in the manner substantially as herein before described.
Dated this 6th day of March 1896.
THOMAS PRESCOTT,
53 Arcade Chambers, St. Mary's Gate, Manchester.