An Improved Fire Escape, the same being applicable for other purposes.
Year: 1893

page_text: Date of Application, 5th July, 1893
Complete Specification Left, 31st July, 1893-Accepted. 2nd Sept., 1893
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Fire Escape, the same being applicable for other
purposes.
I, CHARLES PARKER MITCHELL of 49 Darley Street, Bradford in the County"
of York, Draper, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows,
that is to say:
It consists of an improved fire escape which may be readily placed into use for
allowing persons to descend from the upper rooms of dwellings or other buildings
into the street or unto the ground beneath and outside the walls of said dwellings.
or buildings and which may also be used for lowering bulky articles from similarly
elevated positions.
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In accordance with my invention I make use of a clamp or sheath in which a
pulley is mounted, and this clamp I arrange to be readily thrown over or caused to
lay hold of a hook permanently secured in a convenient position preferably on the
outside of the outer walls of the building as also above the window or door openings
in such building. One or more of these hooks being fixed in the wall for cach.
storey or floor of the building to which they are applied.
Around the pulley carried by the sheath above described I arrange to pass, a rope,
one end of which is loose to be thrown into the street beneath where it may be held by:
any person in that position or it may be held by the person using it in the manner.
hereinafter described, while the other end is attached to bearings in which is
mounted another pulley fornied and arranged to run on said rope.
To the bearings in which the latter pulley is mounted, I attach a suitable bag-
shaped receptacle which I preferably form of some heat resisting material, so that
on the person, wishing to descend getting into this receptacle, by allowing the loose
end of the rope to slide through their hands or by the person who has hold of this
loose end of the rope in the street thus allowing it to slide, the running pulley will.
travel thereon and descend to the street below or to that part of it where the person
therein may guide them.
Provided this running pulley is found to descend too quickly to allow the persons
descending to have full control over it when they alone have hold of the loose
end of the rope, supplementary gripping means are attached to the bearings in
which this pulley is mounted, and these means are arranged by suitable lever
formations to grip said loose rope and so act as a brake to relieve the user of any
excessive strain caused' by their descent.
!.
The bearings in which the running pulley are mounted are either straight or are:
Bent or curved to suit the position best fitted to answer the requirements of those
using same.
:

page_text: An Improved Fire Escape, the same being applicable for other
purposes.
I, CHARLES PARKER MITCHELL of 49 Darley Street, Bradford in the County
of York, Draper, 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, that is to say :-
It consists of an improved fire-escape which may be readily placed into use for
allowing and enabling persons to descend from the upper rooms of dwellings or
other buildings, into the street or unto the ground beneath and outside the walls of
said dwellings or buildings, and which may also be used for lowering bulky articles
from similarly elevated positions.
In the accompanying sheet of drawings illustrative of my invention-
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the outer wall of a building and shows my
improved fire-escape as in use.
Fig. 2 is side elevation, enlarged scale showing more clearly the method of
constructing and arranging the parts forming my improved mechanism.
Fig. 3, 4 and 5 are similar views to Fig. 2 but show modifications hereinafter.
described.
Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are sectional detail drawings of parts hereinafter referred to.
In accordance with my invention, I make use of a clamp or sheath a in which a
pulley b is mounted, and this clamp a I arrange to be readily thrown over or caused,
to lay hold of a hook e permanently secured in a convenient position preferably on.
the outside of the outer walls d of the building, as also above the window or door
openings e in said building. One or more of these hooks c being fixed in the wall d
for each storey or floor of the building to which they are applied.
с
A rope e is arranged to pass around this pulley so that its end e', which is
loose, may be thrown into the street beneath where it may be held by any person, :
in that position as shown by Fig. 1, or it may be held by the person using it, in the
manner hereinafter described, while its other end e² is attached to bearings fin
which is mounted another pulley g formed and arranged to run on said rope e..
To these bearings I attach a suitable bag-shaped receptacle h which I
preferably form of some heat resisting or incombustible material, as asbestos clotb,
or cloth painted with asbestos, so that on the person, wishing to descend, getting
into it, by allowing the loose end e¹ of the rope è to slide through their hands or by
the person who has hold of this loose end of the rope in the street thus allowing it
to slide, the running pulley g will travel thereon and descend to the street below or
to that part of it where the person in such street may guide it. As an alternative
means for guiding this pulley an additional rope k (see Fig. 3) may be employed
for it to run upon in which case the pulley g is mounted in bearings f¹ as shown by
said Fig. 3. Or again these bearings may be further modified in shape as shown
at ff by Figs. 4 and 5.
Attached by a cord to this receptacle h or arranged in any convenient position 4
in connection therewith, is a whistle so that those persons about to descend may
signal by it to those beneath or otherwise give an alarm to secure aid.
Provided the pulley g is found to travel too quickly to allow the persons
descending to have full control over it when they alone have hold of the loose
end e¹ of the rope e, supplementary gripping means as the brake piece m are 4
mounted upon the bearings (see Fig. 6) by the arm m' spanning the axial pin gl
loosely in order that when the rope e travels in the direction indicated by the
arrow n this brake piece m is brought into the position shown by Fig. 8 in which it
firmly grips said rope e while when in the other position it allows same to travel
freely through it.

page_text: Instead of this piece m gripping the rope e as above described, it may be made
of the shape shown at m³ Figure 7 when it will merely act as a brake on said rope
or again the ratchet p (Fig. 5) may be mounted to act in connection with ratchet
teeth formed on the pulley 93 so that by the employment of any one of these devices
or their mechanical equivalent the otherwise excessive strain on the user is entirely
avoided.
0
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 :-
1. The combination and arrangement of parts forming my improved fire-escape
substantially as herein specified.
Doted th: 001
CHARLES P. MITCHELL,
Per Samuel Hey,
Agent.