Apparatus for exterior evacuation from buildings

An evacuation apparatus for enabling a person to descend from an origin at a predetermined height in a multistory building to a lower supporting surface at a sufficiently slow speed to land injury-free, the apparatus comprising:

• a housing means for containing a cable and a speed slowing means a harness means for securely affixing the housing to the person;
• a cable of predetermined length sufficient to reach from the origin to the lower supporting surface, the cable having a free end which includes a means for securing the free end to a fixed anchorage proximate the origin;
• and an energy-dissipating means driven by the playout of the cable from the housing means as the person descends, the energy-dissipating means having the characteristic that the slope of the rate of energy dissipated exceeds the slope of the rate of potential energy released as a function of the descent speed at their point of intersection, and the characteristic that the intersection occurs at the sufficiently slow descent speed without the person's control.

An evacuation apparatus for enabling a person to descend from an origin at a predetermined height in a multistory building to a lower supporting surface, the apparatus including a cable in combination with a cable-retracting mechanism to eliminate any slack in the cable, thereby reducing free-falls during initial and possible subsequent descents.

An evacuation apparatus for enabling a person to descend from an origin at a predetermined height in a multistory building to a lower supporting surface, the apparatus including a cable in combination with a mechanism to protect the cable during the descent from transient overloads beyond its capability, the mechanism comprising at least one of:

• an in-line energy-absorbing web, a torque-limiting mechanism, the reduced effective spring constant of the played-out cable.

An evacuation apparatus for enabling a person to descend from an origin at a predetermined height in a multistory building to a lower supporting surface, in combination with an air filtration system capable of filtering out smoke and other combustion products to enable the person to breathe safe air during the period before exiting the building.

An evacuation apparatus for enabling a person to descend from an origin at a predetermined height in a multistory building to a lower supporting surface, in combination with a device to protect against heat exposure injury, the device comprising at least one of:

• a deployable heat-deflecting shield, a heat-deflecting body suit, a thermal mechanism to increase the descent rate of the apparatus through hot zones.

An evacuation apparatus for enabling a person to descend from an origin at a predetermined height in a multistory building to a lower supporting surface, in combination with a full-head protection helmet protecting against falling debris and incidental contact with obstacles during the descent.