Abstract: A life saving implement includes a prime motor assembly, a winding drum installing in the prime motor assembly to wind a wire rope, a braking drum installed on a side of the winding drum to control an RPM of the winding drum, a braking unit installed on a lower portion of the braking drum to control an RPM of the braking drum, a speed reduction unit installed on an upper portion of the braking drum to gradually reduce the RPM of the winding drum until the winding drum stops, and a passenger vehicle moving by the rotations of the winding drum and the braking drum.

Abstract: An escape and rescue device used in a multistory building during a terrorist threat or a fire to: a) evacuate a person or persons attached to an expandable disc support with an attachment that is lowered from an upper level of a building through a vertical tube, by using a lesser pressure at the top of the tube and a higher pressure at the bottom of the tube, using a door at the top or a door at the bottom to maintain pressure or by artificial air pressure, thereby permitting the fast evacuation of many people in a short time, b) it can be used by firemen in training in its use and benefits, c) also at amusement parks, where there would be a ride that would teach the users about its reliability and safety, and d) to transport firemen in a fast way from the ground to the upper floors without interfering with the evacuation in process at the congested stairways of the building.

Abstract: A belaying device for a rope comprises a cam able to rotate between a securing position corresponding to securing the rope by jamming effect against the stud and a separated position allowing the rope to run freely in the gap between the cam and the stud. The cam is associated with a triggering ratchet able to occupy either a locked position blocking the cam in the separated position or an unlocked position following a deliberate control action releasing said cam.

Abstract: A fire escape device includes a housing having a top wall, a first end wall, a second end wall, a front wall and a rear wall. A spindle is rotatably mounted to and extends between the first and second end walls. A pair of gripping members each has a bottom side, an upper side, and a pair of lateral sides. The spindle extends through each of the lateral sides such that the bottom sides are positioned nearer the spindle than the upper sides. A spool with a tether is rotatably mounted on the spindle. The tether has a free end extending through an aperture in the top wall. A fastening assembly is attached to the free end for selectively attaching the free end to a dwelling. Hands positioned on the gripping member are secured within the housing by a compressing action between the gripping member and the front wall.

Abstract: The present invention provides an apparatus for refuge from high building capable of being mounted on a rope and facilitating the use for refugee as well as cost inexpensive, and its method for refuge.

Abstract: An escape device including a woven fabric shaped rope installed in the inner space of a housing board, a braking member including a resistant frame, a handle, and a plurality of resistant rods spaced apart by compressing springs between the rods, the braking member provided to reduce the lowering speed of the device and a harness consisting of a waist belt and a bottom belt is provided. The device is used for safely lowering a person from high altitudes, such as a hotel, apartment, hospital or commercial building, onto the ground. The outside surface of the housing board may be configured to install a painting, picture or clock so that the housing board can be used as a displaying flame when the device is hung on the wall of room. The housing may be in the shape of any type of animal or cartoon character so that a user is familiar with it. The woven fabric rope defines one rope and is released by pulling one end of the rope.

Abstract: A controlled descent apparatus includes a cable which is wound on a spool and is unwound from the spool by the weight of a person to effect the descent. To limit the rate of descent, the spool turns as the cable is unwound and drives a positive displacement pump the output of which is through a flow control valve. A secondary braking system is designed to provide a smooth transition between the systems. The cable is guided through an opening, such as a window, by an arm which is formed by inner and outer sections pivotally connected to each other with the inner arm pivotally connected relative to the wall so that the arm may be placed in a compact stored condition. The release of a latch permits the arm to self-deploy into an active position.

Abstract: An externally concealable modular high-rise emergency evacuation apparatus that enables people, including the injured, the elder or drabled persons to escape entrapment from or to bypass the levels of a high-rise building that is impassable due to flame, smoke or heavy damage, with very little effort or assistance, comprising a slanted cylindrical booth with a trap door bottom, elongated poles with trusses, expandable reinforced descent tubes with fire-proof skin, stabilizer webbings, an inflatable slide, and active components comprised of sensors, switches, latches and relays that coordinates, prequalifies and controls access then egress through the apparatus, with emphasis on checking the integrity of a complete escape path and approximating free space for each evacuee within said descent tubes, thereby enhancing supported evacuee volume and safety.

Abstract: The method of providing for escape from a building, that includes providing a safety door extending between a passage in the building, and the building exterior, the door extending upwardly from a location proximate the passage floor, supporting the door to open outwardly away from the passage, thereby opening the passage to the building exterior; and providing descent equipment including a cable or cables, for support by the door, and to move outwardly with the door so as to become located above the void below the opened door at the building exterior, whereby a person in the passage may access the descent equipment to be controllably lowered downwardly into the void at the building exterior while supported by the door.

Abstract: A fire escape device includes first and second cable drums rotatably mounted on a mounting shaft and spaced apart from each other axially, first and second support cables respectively wound around hub portions of the cable drums, and a coupling mechanism disposed between the cable drums to interconnect releasably the same. The first support cable is unreeled to generate a jerking force to permit rotation of the second cable drum with the first cable drum. Unreeling of the second support cable can rotate the first and second cable drums to reel the first support cable. Thus, alternately lowering people one after another from an elevated floor to a safe location can be achieved.

Abstract: A new multi-purpose portable davit anchoring system is provided, having a sectional vertical support mast which comes apart for compact stowage and is easily reassembled. The support mast incorporates a screw jack assembly which adjusts the height of the mast and biases the support mast between two opposing surfaces, such as a floor and ceiling. The biasing action enables it to be firmly yet removably attached to a building wherein the exterior walls are not load-bearing but merely sheathing, and to provide support for a damaged ceiling that might otherwise collapse. A boom member is removably fastened to the support mast, for deploying a lifting and lowering cable away from the side of the building. A mounting plate is provided for a winch assembly that can wind up the cable or release it at a controlled rate of speed.

Abstract: The invention provides improved climbing devices and structures for use in mobile and fixed climbing installations. Modular climbing towers are generally assembled from panels having lateral curves by fastening upper and lower flanges of the panels together. The panels and flanges are integrally molded from fiberglass, and act as a monocoque structure. The climbing surface is on the radially outward portion of the partially or fully enclosed tower, thereby increasing the number of climbers that can safely be accommodated on a climbing surface of a given width. The invention also provides belaying devices for safely supporting a climber at the end of a flexible member such as a cable, rope, or the like. These belaying devices generally draw in the flexible member as the climber climbs. When the climber falls or completes the climbing route, the belay device supports the climber's weight, slowly and safely lowering the climber down to the ground.

Abstract: A fire escape device for lowering people from a high-rise, including a casing having a hanger for hanging on a support in a high-rise from which the user is going to escape, a driving pulley mounted inside the casing, a cable wound round the driving pulley and having an outer end extended out of the casing, a harness adapted for securing the user to the outer end of the cable, a friction disk having a corrugated track, a chain transmission turned by the driving pulley to rotate the friction disk, and spring-supported damping means installed in the casing and pressed on the corrugated track of the friction disk to impart a damping resistance to the driving pulley through the friction disk when the user goes down from the high-rise.

Abstract: An abseil rescue system with a velocity control system, allowing a user to descend on a rope, comprising two holders, two brakes, two retarders, and a frame. The retarder and the brake grip the rope of the abseil rescue system simultaneously, allowing to control the velocity of descent accurately. The weight of the user helps to grip the rope, such that for a tight grip the user is not required to apply much force.

Abstract: A single rope descending device, especially a portable descending device for use of a single person, comprises a receiving housing, a cap, an adjusting nut, and a rope windlass. The receiving housing is made up of a left and a right semi-circular hollow halves within which the rope windlass having a rope wound and raveled thereon is housed. Each half of the receiving housing is provided with a tapered protruding end wherein corresponding serrated clamping edges define the assembling part thereof to boost up the resistant force of the rope passed through the twist and turn formed thereby. The cap is screwed up to conic outer threads of the tapered protruding ends to clamp tight the tapered protruding ends against the rope.

Abstract: A device for lowering a load along a metal band (2) comprises a brake housing (4) accommodating a brake mechanism with at least one brake shoe (14, 16, 34, 36, 54, 56 74, 76) which acts on the metal band (2). The brake shoe (14, 16, 34, 36, 54, 56, 74, 76) is pressed against the metal band (2) by a force which depends on the mass or load. The load is suspended from a load wedge (17, 37, 57, 77) which, in the brake mechanism converts a pull substantially in the longitudinal direction of the metal band (2) to a pressure acting on the metal band (2) through said brake shoe (14, 16, 34, 36, 54, 56, 74, 76).

Abstract: An emergency escape device for buildings in accordance with the present invention comprises a rotatably supported axle, a reel mounted on the shaft to rotate therewith, a string wound around the axle and having a first end securely attached to the axle and a second end, a weight means securely attached to the second end of the string, a cable wound around the reel and having a free end, the cable having a winding direction opposite to that of the string, a basket securely attached to the free end of the cable and having a weight smaller than that of the weight means, a hydraulic pump including a fluid path and an output shaft, a control valve mounted to the fluid path for controlling opening and closing of the fluid path to thereby control rotational movement of the output shaft, a transmission member for transmitting rotational movement of the output shaft to the axle, a rod mounted to the control valve for actuating the control valve, and a pull string having an end attached to the rod and a second end loca

Abstract: A power-free descending device for emergent escape from a building which comprises a frame having a hook engaged on the top thereof for hanging on fixed objects and having an opening on central bottom thereof, two partition boards vertically positioned in the frame to divide the frame into three sections, a principal shaft with a central spiral part for the winding of ropes, several friction plates separately positioned underneath the principal shaft and respectively supported by a spring, two plates with one hole in each plate for coupling with one end of the principal shaft to position the shaft, and a rope winding on the central spiral part of the shaft with both ends stretching from the opening of the frame. When escaping from a high building, people grasp one end of the rope and the shaft rolls intermittently and slowly under the influence of the spring and the resistance of friction plates. The descending speed is therefore slow and the people can safely escape from the building.

Abstract: A device for safely lowering persons from upright structures such as buildings during an emergency at a safe, predetermined speed of no more than about four feet per second irrespective of the weight of the person being lowered. The device has a drum about which a cable is wound, a gear pump driven by the drum via a reduction gear train, and a hydraulic circuit which includes the gear pump and a flow control valve which maintains a constant hydraulic fluid flow through the circuit irrespective of the weight of the person being lowered and, therefore, also irrespective of the fluid pressure generated by the pump during operation. The hydraulic circuit is in fluid communication with a hydraulic fluid tank having an exterior surface dimensioned to cool the hydraulic fluid and prevent its temperature from rising by more than about 200.degree. F. above the ambient temperature during operation of the device.

Abstract: An emergency cable descent system for lowering a person from a building in an emergency situation. The system includes a boom which may be pivoted outside a window of a building to support a cable away from an exterior of the building. The cable is contained upon a spool which rotates against a force of a friction brake to provide a constant rate of descent. The friction brake is actuated by a solenoid system to control the rate of descent according to the body weight of the person. Alternate embodiments of the present invention include both a mechanical siren for alerting other occupants of the building to a use of the system and a mechanical brake assembly which may be utilized to control the rate of descent in an absence of electrical power.

Abstract: An assembly for lowering a person to safety from a building under a descent operation that is controlled by the person without requiring such person to manipulate a hand operated device, such as a lever. The assembly includes a rope which is connected to a storage drum via guide rollers and which passes through a gap defined by a cam element. The cam element is biased to rotate, and when in a first position jams the rope element against further movement off of the storage drum. The cam element automatically moves into the first position and is moved out of that position when the person jumps upwardly.

Abstract: This invention relates to a device for automatically securing a climber climbing a wall, wherein it comprises:a shaft guided in rotation,at least one drum comprising a groove for receiving a line wound around the drum at least once,an irreversible control member interposed between each drum and the shaft preventing a relative rotation between the drum and the shaft in a first direction and allowing rotation of the drum in a direction opposite the first direction,a system for continuously taking-up the slack of the line,and a means for controlling rotation of the shaft in a direction opposite that allowed by the irreversible control member, enabling the climber, who has fallen, to descend.

Abstract: The invention provides an escape system that enables automatic and unmonitored lowering of a body from a building or other height. The system includes a frame portion installed in a building so that it can be placed in or moved to a window in an emergency, and includes a track or slide portion extendable through the window a short distance from the exterior surface of the building. A length of special fire-resistant cord or rope is fed from a supply reel on the frame, along the track, through the window, and to the ground below. A descent regulator device incorporating an escapement mechanism is attached to the rope, and the user is secured to the descent regulator by a harness. The user then steps (or is placed) out the window, and the descent regulator incrementally moves down the rope, serving to lower the user to the ground. Once on the ground, the descent regulator is disconnected from the rope, and the user is removed from the harness, making way for other users similarly descending the rope from above.

Abstract: An emergency escape apparatus allows safe escape from a tall building on fire. It includes a case carried by a user on his back. A wire wound around a reel mounted in the case has one end secured to the case. With the other end of the wire secured to the building, the user jumps down. The wire is drawn out of the case, and a brake device in the case applies a braking force to the wire, allowing the user land softly.

Abstract: A high rise fire escape mechanism uses a flat cable having notches to lower the victim. The cable is wound around a notched sprocket mounted inside a housing on a first axle. A second axle and an escapement mechanism mesh with the first axle to mechanically control the rate of descent of a victim to about four (4) feet per second.

Abstract: A controlled descent apparatus for lowering a person from an elevated place includes a cable which is wound on a drum and is unwound from the drum by the weight of the person to effect the descent. To limit the rate of descent, the drum turns as the cable is unwound and drives a positive displacement pump the output of which is through a flow control valve. The latter is set to permit a preselected maximum rate of flow so that the drum turns at a correlated maximum speed and thus limits the rate at which the cable is paid out during the descent. In the unlikely event that the valve fails to limit the speed of the drum, a centrifugally operated brake is automatically energized at a somewhat higher speed of the drum whereby the descent continues at a faster but still a safe rate.

Abstract: A descent apparatus to control the descent of people or materials from physical heights, for example, buildings, aircraft, ships, trees or mountains and may be used for business, pleasure, and military purposes, under routine or emergency circumstances. The apparatus employs a movable lever arm spring bias toward the braking disposition which influences the amount of friction between various sections of the cable used for lowering as the various sections of the cable interactively contact one another in opposed directions about multiple rollers.

Abstract: A fire escape device is disclosed for use in lowering persons from high-rise structures. The device comprises a frame having a spool rotatably mounted thereon, with a cable being wound around the spool. There is a first sprocket wheel fixed to the spool and a second sprocket wheel disposed on a fluid pump adjacent the spool. The first sprocket rotates as the cable is dispensed from the spool, thereby driving the small sprocket wheel on the fluid pump. The small sprocket wheel is provided with means for moving fluid through a fluid circuit in which a pressure compensated flow control valve is disposed for maintaining a constant speed of revolution of the spool independently of the weight of a person being lowered to the ground by the cable being unwound from the spool. In some embodiments a fluid reservoir is provided in the fluid reservoir for cushioning shock waves and breaking up bubbles.

Abstract: A grip device for mounting along a horizontal line, such as a rope or cable, to prevent a load from falling when one end of the line is no longer supported in its horizontal position. The device consists of a shell in which is mounted by means of a pin, a clamping wedge arranged such that when the handle of the wedge is moved in either direction, the wedge becomes clamped against the rope or cable to prevent movement of the rope through the device, and therefore prevent falling of a person attached to the device by means of an approved belt, harness or lanyard.

Abstract: A full length and protected body harness attached by cable wire to an apparatus with a controlled pay out for use in escaping mortal danger in high-rise buildings.