Fire escape – ladder – or scaffold – Wall- or floor-attached – Wall-mounted platform – with ladder
Patent
1990-11-21
1992-07-21
Chin-Shue, Alvin C.
Fire escape, ladder, or scaffold
Wall- or floor-attached
Wall-mounted platform, with ladder
182 47, A62B 100
Patent
active
051314932
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to emergency stairs for mounting outside buildings, and comprising platforms at every floor of the building and ladders/staircases between the platforms.
A series of different emergency stair structures is known to ensure the possibility of evacuating higher building structures, e.g. blocks of flats, hotels, hospitals, homes for the aged, nursing homes, office blocks, schools, etc.
The classical design consisted of stationary ladders, e.g. between balconies of blocks of flats or external metal ladders on office blocks, hotels, etc. Problems in connection with said known approaches were above all that accessibility was difficult, also that the ladders often were too steep, and finally, that such ladders could also be used to provide illegal access to a building for persons not concerned. In order to prevent the last mentioned disadvantage such stationary ladders often ended at quite a distance from the ground, which resulted in further disadvantages. It was, especially, difficult for elderly people to escape, via the known escape devices, also from balconies where it was necessary to open trapdoors and climb down closely to a wall.
Efforts were made to solve these problems, e.g. by a structure as disclosed in German Patent 23 60 634. In said specification a very comprehensive escape route system is disclosed, which is apparently intended for mounting during house building, and which comprises a series of platforms with intermediate ladders. The platforms are intended to be lifted by the aid of a hoisting means and to be placed in the shape of a pack on roof level of the house. This is a very expensive and complicated structure which also necessitates special exits from the building, although it must be said to solve the most essential problems, viz. a safe and comfortable escape route in a critical situation, at the same time as the escape route can be stored at such a high level that there will be no access to the building, via said route under normal circumstances. As mentioned, this will be a most expensive structure, which requires a special design of the building, use of special hoisting and winch means which must be stored in a fire proof manner, and it will also require some maintenance to ensure a state of constant readiness. Such an escape route will, furthermore, require a special structure of the building or buildings and it may constitute quite a dominating factor as regards apperance.
It is an object of the present invention to provide emergency stairs which will represent an escape route as safe as the one disclosed in DE-PS 23 60 634, but with a considerably more simple design, which requires less maintenance, and does not form a dominating factor of a building when not in use. The emergency stairs should also form a safe and very readily utilizable escape route, and it should be safe in that, in case of an accident, a person can only fall a short distance. It is, furthermore, free of ice and snow in the cold season.
This object is achieved by emergency stairs which are characterized by the features appearing from the claims.
By the aid of the invention, emergency stairs are provided which will sit closely adjacent to a wall of a building when not in use and will, thus, be very little conspicuous, also, they cannot be used for climbing up and, furthermore, they will bar the entrances from single floors.
In order to ensure said effects and to make the stairs as inconspicuous as possible they may be provided with an external cover, which will prevent the stairs/rungs from being viewed in a retracted state, and prevent climbing on the outside. An esential, further feature when such a cover is used is that the staircase will also receive a protective shield towards outside environment, which will give the user, in case of an emergency, the impression of moving in a closed staircase. The cover may also be provided with banister means, e.g. chains, or tarpaulins or sheets, e.g. in pockets, to cover the lateral areas as well, if it is desirable to provide an escape stai
REFERENCES:
patent: 176457 (1876-06-01), Nevins
patent: 653442 (1900-07-01), Dunk
patent: 748305 (1903-12-01), Parvin et al.
patent: 1119802 (1914-12-01), Brown
patent: 3951232 (1976-04-01), Okada
patent: 4388982 (1983-06-01), Yonahara
Chin-Shue Alvin C.
Histi Development AS
LandOfFree
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