GB2297995A - Escape apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

An escape apparatus (2) comprising escape means to enable an occupant of a dwelling to lower themselves or to be lowered to the ground from an upper storey. The apparatus comprises a housing (4) anchored to a wall (6) of a dwelling such as a house, office or public building. Within the housing (4) is located a flexible ladder (8) also anchored to the wall (6). The housing has a door (12) which is released by a handle (25) from inside the building. The lower end of the ladder may be weighted by weights or sand pouches.

Description

ESCAPE APPARATUS Field of the Invention The present invention relates to escape apparatus and, in particular, such apparatus suitable for mounting on the exterior of a dwelling.

Bac-karound to the Invention Fire-safety in the home has become a subject of growing concern which has resulted in the provision of more fire and/or smoke alarms in dwellings and a growing awareness of the higher-risk areas around the home.

While it is appreciated that the detection of fires and warning of occupants in dwellings is of utmost importance, there appears to have been less attention paid to how those occupants might then make their escape from the dwelling in order to avoid the fire. In particular, in the situation in which occupants of a dwelling are trapped above ground level by a fire, problems can arise in their subsequent evacuation. In fact, there have been well-publicised instances in which children have had to have been thrown from upper storeys or serious injuries have been incurred from people jumping from higher floors in order to escape a fire.

GB 2096225 discloses a flexible fire escape apparatus to be mounted inside a building in a cupboard or in the cavity of a cavity wall beneath a hinged window cill. The ladder must be lowered out of a window in the event of an emergency to facilitate an escape. Such an apparatus is space-consuming in an area in which space is at a premium and could be difficult to use in an emergency by panicked escapees. The apparatus is confined to be fitted at a restricted number of locations.

US 654,415 discloses a fire escape apparatus suitable for mounting outside a window of a building. The apparatus comprises an escape rope wound on a roller in a housing. To deploy the rope, a handle is turned to drive the roller. Such an apparatus is cumbersome and obstructs escape from the window. Furthermore, its method of deployment would be difficult to use in an emergency and may be prone to vandalism or weathering.

It is an object of embodiments of the present invention to obviate or overcome disadvantages encountered with the prior art apparatus, whether referred to herein or otherwise.

Summary of the Invention According to the present invention, there is provided an escape apparatus comprising escape means to enable an occupant of a dwelling to lower themselves or be lowered to the ground from an upper storey, means for mounting the escape means on an exterior wall of a dwelling, means for maintaining the escape means in a non-deployed position and deployment means operable in use from inside the dwelling, whereby operation of the deployment means, in use, from inside the dwelling effects the deployment of the escape means mounted, in use, on the outside of the dwelling.

A dwelling can include a house, office, flat, public building or any other structure used or intended to be used by people.

Suitably, the escape means comprises a flexible ladder which may be a rope ladder.

Suitably, the mounting means comprises a housing within which the escape means can be maintained in its non-deployed position.

Suitably, the deployment means comprises a singleaction release apparatus.

Suitably, the means for maintaining the escape means is a non-deployed position comprises a housing.

Suitably, the deployment means comprises a rod which, in the closed position, engages with the housing and which can be released from the housing to release the escape means.

Suitably, the housing includes a door which, when opened, allows the deployment of the escape means.

Conveniently, the door is located in use, towards the bottom of the housing.

Suitably, the escape means is deployed substantially by gravity.

Suitably, the escape means is releasably attached to the wall, in use.

Suitably, the escape means is weighted at its end distant from the mounting means.

In accordance with the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a structural assembly comprising a dwelling having at least one wall to which is attached an escape apparatus in accordance with the first aspect of the present invention.

Methods of deployment of the escape apparatus of the first aspect of the invention are also within the scope of the present invention.

Brief Description of the Drawings The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings that follow; in which: Figure 1 is a schematic partly sectional side elevation showing an embodiment of the present invention mounted on the exterior of a dwelling.

Figure 2 is a schematic perspective illustration of the housing shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged schematic side elevation illustrating the release mechanism of the door of the housing show in Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 4 is a schematic front elevation of the embodiment of the present invention shown in Figure 1, in a deployed configuration.

Figure 5 is a schematic front elevation of an anchor bolt.

Figure 6 is a schematic front elevation of a clip.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings that follow, there is shown an escape apparatus, indicated generally at 2, which apparatus comprises a housing 4 anchored to a wall 6 of a dwelling such as a house, office or public building. Within the housing 4 is located a rope ladder 8 also anchored to the wall 6.

Referring to Figure 2 of the drawings of the follow, the housing 4 is shown in more detail. The housing 4 comprises, generally, a cuboidal metallic (e.g. steel plate) box 10, one face of which forms a door 12 attached by hinges 14a and 14b to the rest of the box 10. The box 10 is secured to the wall 6 at four anchor points comprising flanges 16a-16d at the four corners of one face of the box 10. Each flange 16a-16d has a hole therethrough to allow the housing 4 to be secured to the wall 6 by bolts (not shown) of well known type. Also in the side of the box 10 carrying the flanges 16a-16d are two further holes 18a and 18b the purpose of which is described below.

In the face of the box 10 opposite that carrying the flanges 16a-16d, there is a generally U-shaped groove located at its lower edge. The interior facing surface of the door 12 includes a tube 22 affixed to its surface.

The groove 20 and tube 22 form part of the release mechanism of the door 12 as is described in more detail below.

Referring now to Figure 3 of the drawings that follow, the release mechanism will be described in more detail.

A rod 24 having a handle 25 is provided with the apparatus and, as shown in Figure 1, projects from the inside of the dwelling through the wall 6 into the housing 4. A casing (not shown) is provided through the wall 6 about the rod 24 to ensure its reliable and smooth operation. The handle 25 is located on the end of the rod 24 inside the dwelling. The rod 24 projects through the tube 22 and into the groove 20 (see Figure 3). In this position, the door 12 is secured shut.

In practical applications of this embodiment, the location of the handle 25 can be highlighted and/or indicated by signs, lights and/or tracks.

If the rod 24 is retracted from inside the dwelling, once it passes through the tube 22, the door 12 is released and will fall open to its deployed position as shown, by dashed lines, in Figure2.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 4 of the drawings that follow, the rope ladder 8 is anchored to the wall 6 by anchor bolts 26, shown in more detail in Figure 5 of the drawings that follow. The anchor bolts 26 are ring-ended to enable convenient securement of the rope ladder thereto.

The rope ladder 8 is attached to the anchor bolts 26 by snap fit clips 28 shown in more detail in Figure 6 of the drawings that follow.

At the end of the rope ladder 8 distant from the anchor bolts 26, weights, such as sand pouches 30, are provided to encourage its deployment.

The operation of the escape apparatus 2 will now be described in more detail.

The apparatus 2 is mounted, conveniently, above an upper storey window on the exterior of a building, the housing 4 being secured thereto using flanges 16a-16d and the rope ladder 8 being secured thereto by bolts 26 through holes 18a and 18b in the housing 4.

The rope ladder 8 will, normally, be stored in the housing 4 rolled up ready for deployment as shown in Figure 1. In this case, the rod 24 is secured in the groove 20 through tube 22 to hold closed the door 12 of the housing 4.

In the event of an emergency, the handle 25 of the rod 24 is pulled, from inside the building, to release the rod from the groove 20 and tube 22. The door 12 then falls to its open position allowing the rope ladder 8 to unfurl rapidly to its deployed configuration shown schematically in Figure 4. Escapees can then climb out from the window and use the ladder 8 to escape rapidly from the emergency situation.

It is noted, in particular, that the rope ladder 8 can be deployed from inside the building using a single simple action.

The housing 4 can be manufactured from a plastics material. The housing 4 will be weatherproof to protect the rope ladder 8.

It will be appreciated that the apparatus 2 can, if desired, be mounted beneath or to one side of a window.

The reader's attention is directed to all papers and documents which are filed concurrently with or previous to this specification in connection with this application and which are open to public inspection with this specification, and the contents of all such papers and documents are incorporated herein by reference.

All of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and/or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at least some of such features and/or steps are mutually exclusive.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) , may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise, each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series of equivalent or similar features.

The invention is not restricted to the details of the foregoing embodiment(s) . The invention extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) , or to any novel one, or any novel combination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

Claims (18)

1. An escape apparatus comprising escape means to enable an occupant of a dwelling to lower themselves or to be lowered to the ground from an upper storey, means for mounting the escape means on an exterior wall of a dwelling, means for maintaining the escape means in a non-deployed position and deployment means operable in use from inside the dwelling, whereby operation of the deployment means, in use, from inside the dwelling effects the deployment of the escape means mounted, in use, on the outside of the dwelling.

2. An escape apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dwelling is a house, office, flat, public building or any other structure used or intended to be used by people.

3. An escape apparatus according to claim 1, in which the escape means comprises a flexible ladder.

4. An escape apparatus according to claim 3 in which the flexible ladder is a rope ladder.

5. An escape apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the mounting means comprises a housing within which the escape means can be maintained in its non-deployed position.

6. An escape apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the deployment means comprises a single-action release apparatus.

7. An escape apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the means for maintaining the escape means in a non-deployed position comprises a housing.

8. An escape apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the deployment means comprises a rod which, in the closed position, engages with the housing and which can be released from the housing to release the escape means.

9. An escape apparatus according to claim 5 or any one of claims 6 to 8 when dependent on claim 5 in which the housing includes a door which, when opened, allows the deployment of the escape means.

10. An escape apparatus according to claim 9 in which the door is located in use, towards the bottom of the housing.

11. An escape means according to any one of the preceding claims in which the escape means is deployed substantially by gravity.

12. An escape apparatus according to claim 11 in which the escape means is weighted at its end distant from the mounting means.

13. An escape apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims in which the escape means is releasibly attached to the wall, in use.

14. A structural assembly comprising a dwelling having at least one wall to which is attached an escape apparatus in accordance with any one of the preceding claims.

15. A method of deployment of the escape apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims.

16. An escape apparatus substantially as described herein with reference to and as shown in the accompanying figures.

17. A structural assembly including an escape apparatus of claim 16.

18. A method of deployment of the escape apparatus, which method is substantially as described herein.