Improvements in Apparatus for Fire Escape and the like.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 1st Mar., 1898-Accepted, 30th Apr., 1898
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Fire Escape and the like.
I, STEPHEN EBENEZER DOUGHTY, of 34, Durham Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne,
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:—
My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for effecting or facilitating
escape in cases of fire and other causes and emergencies from houses and other
buildings and structures and is as follows.―
There is a wheel or drum of suitable proportions and design, projecting from
the house or building, at or near a window or opening, or this drum may be
placed in any other suitable position outside or inside the building, and if necessary
guides, may be arranged, to give the proper lead to the rope. Attached to the
drum is a cord or rope of hemp or steel or other suitable material, wound round
the drum and of a suitable length to reach from the window or opening to the
ground or other safe landing place, and upon this rope or cord there are suitable
attachments to which person's or weights may be safely suspended. To regulate
and render safe the decent by means of this cord or rope, I have the following
apparatus, connected with the drum on the drum shaft. There is a spur wheel
which is driven by the power of the decending body which is suspended on the
cord wound round the drum, this spur wheel is geared into a spur pinion and on
the shaft of this spur pinion there is a spur wheel which gear's into a spur pinion
and on the shaft of this spur pinion there is a worm wheel of suitable proportions
and pitch gearing into a worm or screw, so that as the body decends on the cord
the friction of the worm wheel by its friction on the worm retards the too rapid
decent of the person body or weight. It will thus be seen that the retardation
of the decending body adapts itself to a certain extent to the ammount of the
weight of the body, as the resistance is a frictional one depending on the ammount
of the weight so that the velocity of the decent will be approximately the same
for a child or mature person. If desired there may be in addition to the above
mentioned or in substitution thereof a suitable strap or other brake having a
weight or spring or other adjustable mean's to act on this brake, or a suitable
brake drum on the worm shaft, or on the worm wheel shaft, or on the drum shaft,
or otherwise as may be desired. Having made a decent by this means on the
rope, the rope is brought up again by being coiled on the drum by the following
contrivance. The spur wheel on the drum shaft through which the decending
body operates on the worm run's loose on the drum shaft, and is made to act in
one direction only, namely when the body is decending this is done by having
ratchet or catch or spring catch or a series of these attached to the aforsaid
spur wheel, and working into a ratchet wheel fixed on the drum shaft, or this may
be arranged in the opposite way, namely, the ratchet fixed on the drum shaft, and
a

page_text: the ratchet wheel fixed on the spur wheel, I also have a spur pinion fixed on the
drum shatt gearing into a spur wheel, on the shaft of this spur wheel there is a
drum or box or other contrivance having one end of a coiled spring or other form
of spring attached to it and having the opposite end attached to a fixed point, or
there may be a weight acting through suitable gearing. Thus the body or weight
in decending is not only retarded by the friction of the worm or brake or both
but also winds up the coiled or other spring or weight, and when the body or
weight is removed from the rope the spring or weight acting through its gearing
on the drum shaft winds up the rope ready for another decent and by mean's of
the aforsaid catch or ratchet moves freely over the teeth of the ratchet wheel.
The spring or weight thus operates freely and without the resistance of the worm
or brake, consequently this spring or weight has only the work of bringing up
the rope.
This operation may be repeated as often as desired. To render the
apparatus more effectual and to ensure any required limitation of the speed of the
decending person weight or body; in addition to the above arrangment, I attach
or connect the following arrangment and device of gearing. The spindle or
shaft of the screw or worm already mentioned, is prolonged, or connected to another
spindle, on this spindle or on the prolonged part of the worm spindle, there is
a governor, rotating with this spindle and having on its pendulous or other arm's
two or more suitable vanes and as the governor rotates the vanes on the arm's
move outwards from the centre of the spindle, and offer a resistance to the air,
this resistance being in a greater ratio than the increaccing velosity of this spindle,
would beyond a certain velosity prevent any more acceleration of speed, whatever
the weight of the decending body may be. The vanes on the governor arms being
brought back to, or towards their normal position as the speed decreases by a
suitable spring or other mean's, and as an additonal safegaurd, the governor as
its vanes move outwards acts on a suitable brake by moving a collar along the
spindle in such a way as to act on or towards the end of a lever, working on a
fulcrum. This lever being attached to the brake strap, tightens or slackens the
brake strap on the brake wheel as the speed increases or decrease's. This brake
wheel is on the same axle as a worm wheel which is driven by the worm before
mentioned. The design and proportions of the gearing may be modified according
to the nature of the work and the situation of the apparatus as may be desired
and the material of construction of any suitable kind.
The working parts of the apparatus are shewn on the drawings Sheet 1 and 2
in which Sheet 1 Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus and Sheet 2 Fig. 2
is a plan of the same.
In these figures A, is the cord rope or chain for descending weights, attached
to and wound round the drum b, which is keyed or fixed on the spindle or shaft C,
and having pawl's or ratchets d, attached working into a ratchet wheel E, which
is attached to a spur wheel f running loose on the drum 'spindle C. This spur
wheel gear's into a spur pinion g, which is fixed on to a spindle h, and on the
spindle h, there is likewise a spur wheel i, similarly fixed on this spindle h. This
spur wheel i, gears into a spur pinion j, fixed on a spindle k, and on this spindle k,
there is also a worm wheel of suitable design l, driving a worm or screw M, fixed
on a spindle N, on the prolonged part of this spindle N, the rotating governor ()
is attached with its arm's P, and vanes q, whilst r, is the governor spring tending
to bring the governor O towards its normal position, S is the collar sliding on the
same spindle N, and actuating the lever t which tightens or slacken's the brake
strap U, on the brake wheel V, which is fixed on the same shaft V; as the worm
wheel V2, which is driven by the worm M, W is the coiled or other spring which
when the load or weight has decended re-coils the rope A on the drum b. This
coiled spring is attached at one end to the fixed shaft and at the other end to
the spring drum y, which is attached to the spur wheel z gearing into the spur
pinion which is keyed or fixed on to the drum shaft or spindle C.
This mechanism to drive the governor and its brake may be modified as desired.

page_text: Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:-
The method of retarding the velocity of descending persons or bodies for fire
escape by mean's of mechanism and a rotary governor acting on a brake, and of
re-coiling the rope, substantially as described in the specification and drawings.
Dated this oth T
1000
J. A. G. ROSS,
Agent for the Applicant,
S. E. Doughty.
J. A. G. ROSS,
Agent for the Applicant,
S. E. Doughty.