Retractable trolley escape capsule

A guided lift cage apparatus adaptable for use as a safety escape unit from the interior of a vertical shaft having a mouth opening, comprising

• a pair of overhead, spaced, side rail members, each mounted so that a first vertical section thereof extends in parallel vertical array at a spaced distance from the central vertical axis of said vertical shaft, each of said rails extending vertically above the mouth opening of the shaft and including a second curved section that extends tangent from said first rail section and a third rail section that extends a horizontal distance away from the mouth opening of said shaft,
• a lift cage of a size to freely fit between said spaced side rail members,
• a trolley beam assembly fitted at each end thereof with rotary means which each engage a said rail member so as to permit the trolley beam to freely move in the direction of the axis of the rail,
• swivel means for suspending said cage to said beam assembly to maintain said cage suspended on a vertical axis at all times,
• at least one hoisting cable fastened to said trolley assembly for raising or lowering said trolley assembly and cage in said shaft, above, and to a side of the shaft outside said shaft,
• whereby in a stored position of the shaft, said cage is outside of the offset by a horizontal distance from the mouth opening of the shaft,
• a hoist winch drum for actuating said cable;
• said drum being offset at a horizontal distance from said shaft mouth,
• a landing platform mounted at a horizontal distance from said shaft opening,
• an idler guide roller mounted adjacent an edge of the mouth of the shaft so as to permit a hoisting cable fastened to the trolley assembly to extend along an axis inclined to the vertical from said trolley assembly, when in the shaft, to said idler roller and to extend along a diagonal axis from said roller to said hoist winch.