The invention relates to apparatus and methods for providing a readily accessible fire escape ladder in the context of new construction and replacement window installations, including hidden and external locker retrofits.
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Today, externally applied fire exits are used to escape from large buildings. Most homes, however, do not have a means of escape, particularly from the second or higher floors. People located, for example, on the second floor of a private wood frame home, in the event of a fire in the house are left with the choice of attempting to face unknown dangers and obstacles in navigating an escape through the home or escaping by jumping through a window. This leaves a need for a safe, sturdy, easy to use escape device to allow for an easy exit from a second floor or higher window. It is also desirable to have a device that is not permanently exposed, like a conventional fire escape, as fire escapes typically have a substantial adverse impact on the aesthetic appearance of a home.
In accordance with the invention, a fire escape ladder device that can be anchored to a window, or permanently installed under a window and concealed within a wall cavity for quick and reliable deployment comprises a series of rigid rungs. The rungs are supported between a pair of flexible and bendable side supports. The rungs are provided with spring-loaded extendable arms. Alternatively, a spring hinge or other similar self opening mechanism may be used. The rungs can be treated with anti-slip tape, ribbed applications, or abrasive type paint or other material to prevent slipping. The arms are held proximate to their respective rung by locking pins, which are slidably mounted in holes in the rung and arms. The extendable arms may be coated, or capped with a PVC type material, or rubber type coating that protects the house from scratching or marring the house. The pins are connected to a common line secured to an anchor. The line is shorter than the corresponding portion of the flexible and bendable side supports.
Alternatively a stiff wire may be used in place of the pins. If such a stiff wire is used, it may be quite short, for example approximately the height of the box containing the fire escape ladder system. Alternatively a flexible wire which is perhaps twice the height of the box may be used.
When the fire escape ladder is tossed out the window during an emergency situation, the line pulls the pins from the holes in the rungs and arms. Removal of the locking pins releases the arms allowing the springs to cause them to extend from the rungs, leaving the rungs supported by flexible and bendable side supports. The arms may also be held proximate to their respective rung by stiff/rigid wire supports that extend upward from the bottom of the storage box through the corresponding holes in the rungs. In contrast, the flexible and bendable side supports are affixed to both sides of the rungs via metal clamps in such a fashion that the rungs remain in a fixed position with respect to the side supports. Accordingly, the rungs remain secure for a person to descend while being supported away from the side of the house to improve the ease and safety of climbing.
In use, due to the nature of the flexible and bendable side supports, the fire escape ladder can be rolled bunched up or stacked for compact storage and for easy unrolling out of a window and rapid deployment. As the fire escape ladder is being deployed out of a window, a the anchor line pulls the locking pins as the rungs fall to positions further from the anchor point than the length of the corresponding portion of the line. This pulls the locking pins from the holes and releases the arms to be moved by their respective springs, thus opening the extendable arms, or in the case of the stiff/rigid wire supports, once the rung is lifted off the wire support the extendable arms are released by their respective springs, thus opening the extendable arms. Due to the need of a rapid, safe escape from a burning home, the Fire Escape ladder overcomes the flaws of a traditional rope ladder due to the added safety of being supported away from the side of the home, thus allowing a faster and safer descent.
Furthermore the inventive system can be completely concealed within a wall cavity and extended upward through an opening in the window or the interior wood window sill, thus allowing furniture or other items to be used under the window overcoming the flaws of other permanently installed interior permanent fire escape ladders. Another benefit of the fire escape ladder is by using a U-channel rung to house the arm or standoff, a longer extendable arm is used thus providing a greater distance from the house to the rung allowing more room for hand and foot holds providing a safer decent down the ladder.
In accordance with a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, a ladder rung with a rigid aluminum, steel, rigid PVC or other material for the rung and stepping surface. The rung houses two extendable arms attached on either end to respective flexible and bendable side supports provides a climbing system. The flexible and bendable side supports allow for a small storage space and rapid deployment as the device is released out of a window. As the locking pins are pulled by the cord, automatically a series of extendable arms, driven by springs (or arms made off a springy material which are oriented to want to extend out), swing outward to support the ladder away from the exterior wall of a house, thus allowing a quick, safe decent from a second floor or higher window or in the case of the stiff/rigid wire supports, once the rung is lifted off the wire support the extendable arms are released by their respective springs, thus opening the extendable standoffs. Each device is balanced and mounted to the flexible and bendable side supports such that when the expandable arms are in their open position, the top of the rigid aluminum stepping surface will be perpendicular to the side supports. The stepping surface on the rungs is preferably flat, thus aligning the arms to extend substantially to the ladder and maximize the separation between the flexible and bendable side supports and the outer wall of the home or other building.
The operation of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:
a is an isometric view of a securement for the inventive fire escape ladder;
a is a front exploded isometric view of an alternative fire escape ladder device with an alternative chain link engaging loop structure;
Referring to
In the stowage position, as illustrated in
Locking pin assembly 22 is roughly U-shaped to allow a cord to be tied or otherwise secured to the yoke portion 23, thus allowing the locking pin to be removed with a single pull or automatically during ladder deployment, as more fully appears below.
As illustrated in
Alternatively, securement may be achieved a piece of flat steel stock formed into a loop that goes through the chain rung at each of its ends and is attached to the back of the rung. As illustrated in
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, rigid metal plate securement 24 has a pair of holes 29 at each of its ends and follows a path parallel to front 31 of rung 12, bends around the corner of rung 12 obliquely away from and then toward the end of rung 12 forming a V-shape (where it is spot welded at spot welds 27), after which it returns parallel to itself first in a V-shape and then around the corner of the back of the rung 12. Accordingly, in the bent configuration described above, both holes 29 overlie each other.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, prior to the installation of screw 25 or, alternatively, welding, flexible and bendable side supports 54 and 56, which comprise chains (or other flexible bendable material with sufficient structural integrity to hold the rung properly in place), may be secured by passing bent rigid metal plate 24 through a link of the chain, thus securing the chain to rung 12. Once the chain has been put in position, screw 25 may be passed through holes 29 to secure the ends of metal plate 24 to rung 12 which is provided with a hole for receiving sheet metal screw 25. Thus, chains 54 and 56 are reliably and securely held in position by metal plate 24 between sheet metal screw 25 and welds 27.
Referring to
Holes 26, 28, 30, and 32 are drilled proximate the outer ends of each rung 12. Pins 18 and 20, which may optionally have serrated ends, are friction fitted, welded or otherwise anchored in holes 28 and 30, respectively. Alternatively, nuts and bolts, or pop-rivets or other suitable members may be used in place of the pins. At the same time, pins 18 and 20 are loosely fitted in holes 40 and 42, respectively. Holes 40 and 42 in arms 14 and 16 are slightly larger in diameter than the diameter of pins 18 and 20, allowing arms 14 and 16 to freely rotate thereon.
Stop pins 34 and 36, which may optionally have serrated ends (or other suitable anchoring structure), are mounted and friction fitted in holes 32 and 26, respectively, and positioned to limit movement of arms 14 and 16 at a position which is substantially vertical to rung 12, or, if more stability is desired to a position about 10 degrees beyond the vertical, whereby arms 14 and 16 extend out from rung 12, to form a 90 degree or larger angle (e.g. 100 degrees).
Because top surface 37 of rungs 12 is flat, the force of a foot resting on the rung will tend to cause the top surface 37 and the extended arms 14 and 16 to extend substantially parallel to the ground, thus achieving a good separation from the outside wall of the building.
Two holes, 38, are drilled in the central portion of surface 37 of rungs 12 in order to receive locking pin assembly 22 (or a stiff/rigid wire). The expandable arms, 14 and 16, are made out of aluminum which is extruded, bent or cast with a roughly U-shaped cross-section. In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the locking pin assemblies 22 associated with each of the rungs 12 are all connected to, for example, a single anchor line 39, which pulls the pin assemblies out of all the rungs as the ladder 10 is deployed. In the case of the stiff/rigid wire, once the chain and rung assembly is pulled off the stiff/rigid wire, the expandable arms are released to their full open position to form a stand off from the building.
In accordance with a further preferred embodiment, the locking pin assemblies 22 associated with each of the rungs 12 are all connected at points along anchor line 39 which are separated by a distance equal to or less than the distance between adjacent rungs 12. This likely results in pulling the pin assemblies 22 out of the rungs one at a time as the ladder 10 is deployed, as a result of tossing or individual application of the feet to the rungs by the individual using the ladder. In connection with this, it is noted that the anchor line 39 is anchored to a point where the anchor line 39 restrains each respective pin assembly 22 from moving as low as its respective rung 12, thus ensuring the removal of the pin assembly no later than when foot pressure is applied by the individual escaping using the ladder.
Holes 44 and 46 are drilled into the ends of extendable arms 14 and 16 opposite holes 40 and 42, respectively. Locking pin 22 passes through and holds the extendable arms 14 and 16 in the closed position illustrated in
Conversely, metal springs 48 and 50 are mounted inside the extendable arms 14 and 16 on pins 18 and 20, respectively. Metal springs 48 and 50 exert an outward force on the swing arms, and against the rigid metal plate 24 located inside the stepping rung 12. Springs 48 and 50 are illustrated in the compressed position in the exploded perspective of
When the locking pin 22 is removed along the path described by arrow 13, the springs force out extendable arms 14 and 16. Extendable arms 14 and 16 continue to move out along the path defined by arrows 15 and 17 until extendable arms 14 and 16 are stopped by pins 36 and 34, respectively, and assume the position shown in
Referring to
Turning to
An alternative embodiment of the present invention, constructed much like the embodiment of
When it is desired to use the inventive ladder, the user opens the window and the sill 87 is removed from the remaining support portions 93 of the sill by grasping knobs 84 and pulling up. The ladder is then tossed out the window, pulling the pins from the rungs and deploying the standoff arms creating a gap between the ladder and the side of the building.
A particularly preferred embodiment of the invention in the context of a retrofit is illustrated in
Referring to
The extendable arms of the embodiment of
When it is desired to use the inventive fire escape, lid 505 is pulled by knobs 509 from the wall to which it is mounted by any suitable means, for example magnets, thus pulling chains 507 and rungs 12 out from the system and deploying them outside the side of the building. This results in removing wires 508 from rungs 12, after which the rungs that were tossed out the window forming an escape ladder. The window is typically positioned above fire escape assembly 510. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, weather-stripping may be used along the periphery of lid 505 to prevent cold air from entering the room from the cavity of the wall, as noted above.
Turning to
Box 612 is secured to the wood framing 616 by straps 618 which are held in place by sheet rock screws or any suitable fastener. In this manner the manufacture of a conventional window may be easily modified to accept the box 612 of the inventive fire escape system. In the embodiment of
When it is desired to use the window of
While illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described, it is noted that various modifications will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in view of the above description and drawings. Such modifications are within the scope of the invention which is limited and defined only by the following claims.