Patent ID: 8499890

Claim:
A personal escape device, comprising: A. a housing having a port, B. a primary spool extending along a central axis and disposed within said housing opposite said port, said primary spool being rotatably coupled to said housing to permit rotation of said primary spool about said central axis, C. an elongated cord having a proximal end and a distal and, said proximal end being affixed to said primary spool and said distal end extending through said port, said cord including a plurality of windings around said primary spool, D. a secondary spool coupled to a first idler shaft extending along an idler axis parallel to said central axis, said secondary spool being rotatably coupled to said housing to permit rotation of said secondary spool about said idler axis, and said secondary spool including an elongated, circular cross-section core extending along said idler axis, said core having a lateral surface disposed about said idler axis, and wherein said cord includes two or more mutually adjacent, single layer full windings around said secondary spool between said primary spool and said port, E. an anchor assembly extending from said distal end of said cord, including means for selectively coupling said distal end of said cord to an external object, F. a payload coupler affixed to said housing for receiving a harness assembly for supporting a payload, and G. an unwind control assembly including centrifugal assembly for controlling the rate of exit of said cord from said housing to be a predetermined function of time in response to a substantially constant pulling force on said distal end, and i. wherein said unwind control assembly includes a centrifugal brake connected by a coupling assembly between said secondary spool and said housing, and ii. wherein said centrifugal brake is disposed on a second idler shaft coupled to said housing and extending parallel to said central axis.