Patent ID: 8167090

Claim:
An apparatus for safely lowering a user from a structure, comprising: a frame or housing; a spool rotatably mounted on the frame or housing, wherein the spool includes an associated cable or rope; a securing device attached to the cable or rope, wherein the securing device is adapted to securely attach to the structure; a user support adapted to support the user, wherein the user support is securely coupled to the frame or housing; and at least one brake system adapted to slow a rotation of the spool to cause the user support to descend at a safe rate of descent for the user, wherein the at least one of the brake system comprises: a tube or bore rotatably coupled to the spool; a piston situated longitudinally within the tube or bore; a brake pad situated at an end of the tube or bore, wherein the brake pad is adapted to make frictional contact to an internal surface of a ring member rotatably coupled to the spool; and hydraulic fluid situated within the tube or bore between the brake pad and the piston, wherein the brake pad is forced against the ring member due to centrifugal force acting against the piston and hydraulic fluid during the rotation of the tube or bore.