Fire escape – ladder – or scaffold – Torso harness – Attached to strand wound on reel – and means for retarding...
Patent
1989-04-05
1990-08-21
Machado, Reinaldo P.
Fire escape, ladder, or scaffold
Torso harness
Attached to strand wound on reel, and means for retarding...
182239, 188 654, A62B 114, B66D 516
Patent
active
049498126
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a device and a system to enable persons to descend from elevated locations, such as; from high rise building in emergency situations; from cliff faces in rescue operations; or for use by defence personnel when descending from helicopters; although the system is applicable to any situation where a person, or for that matter other loads, is to descent at a controlled rate from an elevation location.
BACKGROUND ART
The essence of the system of the present invention rests with descent down a cable or rope, and although descent systems utilizing cables or ropes are known, such require some degree of training and experience in controlling the rate of descent, and thus are not suitable for escape or rescue operations when, not only are the persons involved inexperienced, but are also in a severely stressful situation, involving a degree of panic and fear generated by the danger to which they are subjected, in the case, for example of the fire in a high rise building, coupled with the necessity to escape from a particularly high location which in itself presents its own fears. In addition, in cases where the persons concerned are injured or even unconscious or semi-conscious, and therefore not in a position to control the rate of descent, then they are totally reliant on the system to lower them to the ground and also control their rate of descent.
Other systems which have been proposed include the use of flexible chutes, but such systems have their limitations with regard to the height over which they can operate and other difficulties particularly with escape from high rise buildings where fires at lower levels within the building, not only involve the existence of flames, but also the creation of unstable conditions adjacent the faces of the building as a result of updrafts of hot air.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a lowering device and a descent system which in itself can control the rate of descent of a person or other load, and which is not unduly effected by the conditions in which it may be required to operate.
The invention therefore envisages a lowering device adapted in use to engage a cable or rope of a twisted configuration, and comprising an inner rotatable means surrounding and engaging said cable or rope to follow the twist therein and thereby rotate about the cable or rope as it descends down said cable or rope, said rotatable means being supported by, and rotatably within, an outer housing having means to support a load therefrom, and means for controlling the speed of rotation of said rotatable means and therefore the rate of descent of said lowering device down said cable or rope.
With such a lowering device, although the inner rotatable means is free to rotate about the cable or rope as it descends, the weight of the person hanging on the outer housing holds the outer housing against uncontrolled rotation about the cable or rope and thus the persons being lowered maintains a fixed position relative to, and supported by, the cable or rope as they descend.
The invention also envisages a system for descending for elevated locations, including a lowering device as defined above, and a cable or rope adapted to extend from the elevated location to an anchor point at ground level.
Preferably the means for controlling the speed of rotation of the inner rotatable means is a closed circuit gear pump driven by the inner means and forming part of a hydraulic circuit containing a constriction to control the speed of the pump and therefor the speed of rotation of the inner means and therefor the speed of descent.
Alternatively the means for controlling the speed of rotation of the inner rotatable means may be a centrifugal brake rotating with the inner means and engaging the outer housing with a force which increases and decreases with increasing and decreasing speed of rotation to maintain a relatively constant speed of rotation and therefore speed of descent.
Preferably said system includes means t
REFERENCES:
patent: 198649 (1877-12-01), McKee
patent: 300857 (1884-06-01), Evans
patent: 3880255 (1975-04-01), Huntley
patent: 4024927 (1977-05-01), Sheppard
patent: 4301892 (1981-11-01), Arce
patent: 4567962 (1986-02-01), Kladitis
patent: 4602699 (1986-07-01), Matt
Arthur Ronald W.
Huwald Edmund
Machado Reinaldo P.
Ullapara Holdings Pty. Ltd.
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