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US 5,103,934 AGranted
Method and apparatus for providing a fire escape for a multi-story building
OwnerVan L. Brooksinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An emergency escape system for multistory buildings in which stair units are stored in recesses in the floor of each above grade level of the building. The stair units are released for gravity depolyment to the next below balcony in an emergency, and a cover panel is opened to enable egress by building occupants through the recess, down the deployed stairs to the next balcony and so on until ground level is reached.
Claims7
An escape system for a multi-story building comprising:
- an external balcony at each above grade level of said building, each balcony including a balcony floor;
- a generally rectangular recess in each of said balcony floors;
- an extendable stair unit mounted within each of said recesses;
- each stair unit including a perimeter frame fit within said recess and a plurality of set of stair sections stored in a stack one atop the other and lying horizontally within said frame;
- latch means for releasably holding each of said stair unit sections in its respective frame;
- a removable cover panel including in each stair unit overlying said recess and substantially flush with the surface of said associated balcony floor;
- means interconnecting and mounting said stair sections so as to allow the top most section in said stack to move downwardly and to an end to end relationship with the next below stair section in said stack upon release of said latch means, the next below stair section in said stack connected to said frame to become the upper stair section while the topmost stair section in said stack becomes the lower stair section in an extended set of stair sections;
- said means interconnecting said stair sections including parallel links, each pivotally mounted at one end to the upper end of the lower stair section, said links being pivotally mounted at their other end to a respective one of a pair of slider elements, a lengthwise slot in each of the upper and lower side of said upper stair section receiving a respective slider element, said lower section able to move lengthwise to the end of said upper stair section during deployment by sliding of said slider elements, a fixed stop in each slot, each of said stair sections formed with angled end faces moving into abutment after said slider elements reach said fixed stops and cause swinging of said parallel links;
- control means for selectively releasing all of said latch means upon determination that an emergency situation exists.
6 more elements
An escape system for a multi-story building having exterior vertical walls and window openings comprising:
- a retractable floor at each grade level of said building below each window, each floor recessed within an exterior wall of said building but able to be extended to project from said exterior vertical wall of said building;
- a generally rectangular recess in each of said retractable floors;
- an extendible stair unit mounted within each of said recesses;
- each stair unit including a perimeter frame fit within said recess and a set of stair sections stored in a stack one atop the other and lying horizontally within said frame;
- latch means for releasably holding each of said stair unit sections in its respective frame;
- means interconnecting and mounting said stair sections so as to allow the top most section in said stack to move downwardly and to an end to end relationship with the next below stair section in said stack upon release of said latch means, the next below stair section connected to said frame to become the upper stair section in an extended set of stair sections;
- control means for selectively releasing all of said latch means after extending of said retractable floors when an emergency situation exists.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.