The device pertains to the field of design and operation of fire-fighting equipment for life support of people, who live and work on high floors of buildings, in case of extreme fire conditions. The technical solution allows the possibility of stationary and compact placing of the device inside the building along the facade of the building on each floor. The technical solution is achieved due to the fact that the device for emergency evacuation of people from high-rise buildings forms a stair-well with an exit from each floor to a smoke-free outdoor air zone. The device is placed along the facade of the building; it contains a framework made of channel sections, with the ring with support rollers placed around its circumference installed inside of it. The framework of the ladder consists of four parts: the central frame, the left side frame, the right side frame and the closing frame, which are designed to be screwed together after transportation. The support rollers are placed on the support plate mounted on the building slab and rest on the inner surface of the holes of the plates welded to the framework. The framework is connected to the ladder landing platform through the upper span and the pantograph, which, is transformed into two power trusses, providing horizontal direction of the ladder landing platform, and the direction of steps of the lower span is set by two folding rods, consisting of the upper and lower parts, while the upper parts of the rods are attached to the framework and the lower parts of the rods are attached to the bottom of the lower span. The ladder railings have counterweights, which are designed to be lifted automatically after the removal of locking pins operating from pneumatic drives, at that, the railings are fixed in a vertical position with the help of plain bars that come out under their own weight. Railings between the bars are filled with handrails made of sheet profile with stiffeners. The railing of the ladder landing platform consists of three independent from each other railings — left, right and back railing, The left railing is composite and consists of two interconnected parts. The ladder is held in a horizontal position by the upper and lower rollers, which create a pair of forces; moreover, the turn and the stop of the ladder are ensured through the help of triggering and breaking loads, which are connected to the framework with the help of groups of ropes and rope connectors, which move along the guides. After making a turn, the triggering load is separated into the main and supporting parts. The device contains a locking pin, that stops the main part of the triggering load at the top dead center position, and a central locking pin, that falls out of the framework after turning and ensures that the ladder stops perpendicularly to the initial position together with the breaking load.
18 illustrations.
The device pertains to the field of design and operation of fire-fighting equipment for life support of people, who live and work on high floors of buildings, in case of extreme fire conditions.
Fire protection is one of the most important factors for ensuring safety of people inside a high-rise building. The requirements for fire protection of high-rise buildings may vary depending on its functional purpose, overall height, structures used, means and equipment used during a fire emergency.
Characteristic property of fire safety inside a high-rise building is the significant difficulty in evacuating people in the event of a fire, as well as difficulties in fighting the fire itself. One of the escape routes in high-rise buildings is stairs, where the smoke hazard increases together with the number of floors in the building. To ensure stair wells’ safety, they are made smoke-free. For this purpose, flights of stairs and exits are designed taking into account the inadmissibility of fire and smoke entering there and its rapid removal when it enters the flights of stairs during floor-to-floor evacuation.
Another escape route in high-rise buildings may be fire elevators, which must remain smoke-free in the event of fire. This can be ensured by a ventilation system that creates overpressure in the elevator shafts and prevents smoke and fire from spreading through the elevator shafts to the floors.
Flat roofs of high-rise buildings, which must be accessed from stair-wells, provide certain opportunities for rescuing people. When equipping roofs for helipads, it is possible to organize evacuation of people from roofs during a fire emergency. However, the use of helipads is difficult or impossible in case of strong winds or heavy smoke.
Nowadays, there is no reliable system that provides fast and safe evacuation of a large number of people in the event of an emergency situation, especially if these people are the elderly, children, disabled people, pregnant women, sick and wounded people and accompanying persons (hereinafter referred to as “limited mobility groups”).
One of the known devices is the multifunctional self-evacuator (RF patent No. 2319525, IPC A62 B 1/00, published on 20.03.2008, bulletin No. 8), which contains a rope ladder made of refractory material with rigid steps. The ladder is fastened to window openings and has a plumb bob to ensure its stable position. The harness has carbines for fastening to the backpack for alternating connection with the ladder ropes. The fire containment curtain is fixed in a rolled up position on the sides of the backpack.
The disadvantage of this device is that its use requires great skill when descending, especially when helping limited mobility groups.
Another device for evacuation of people from high-rise buildings (RF patent No. 2305577, IPC A62 B 1/02, published on 10.09.2007, bulletin No. 25) contains a cabin made in the shape of a pivotally folding platform with an elastic, closed, self-inflating railing alongside its perimeter. The non-operating cabin is located in the pocket of the lower part of the window opening.
Telescopic supporting elements, pivotally connected to the supporting beams and the platform, with a limited action radius are installed at the ends of the platform. Ropes are fixed along the supporting beams; they are connected through blocks, which are installed in the upper part of the window opening, with self-braking winches located in the lower part of the window opening. A mounting wrench which detaches the platform is fixed on the surface of the platform.
The disadvantages of this design are its complexity and limited number of passenger seats for evacuation.
There is another device that serves for evacuating people from high-rise buildings (RF patent No. 2311934, IPC A62 B 1/02, published on 10.12.2007, bulletin No. 34). It contains a cabin fixed on a rope, a winch for lifting it, an electric motor with an autonomous drive, a pull rope connected to the winch, block stops, a control panel connected to the electric motor. The device is equipped with a horizontal monorail attached to the supporting elements under the roof of a high-rise structure, a frame, installed with the ability to move along the monorail using supporting and guide rollers, with a block, an auxiliary winch is installed in the same housing with the winch, and is rigidly fixed to the monorail, for lifting the cabin. The auxiliary winch is connected to the frame through an auxiliary block, fixed by an auxiliary rope at the monorail end opposite to the winch housing. Cabin block stops are located on its roof and are designed as bars with rollers. The non-operating cabin is located in a shelter room in a niche in the ground near the foundation of a high-rise structure; its upper part is protected by an easily destroyed cover. The control panel is connected to the winches via radio communication. The winches are equipped with a pneumatic drive connected by air ducts to a compressor located in the niche of the shelter room.
The disadvantages of this device are its cumbersome structure, high manufacturing costs and limited number of people that can be saved.
Another known device is the self-propelled fire-fighting shielded ladder designed by N. R. Yansufin (RF patent No. 2326226, IPC E06C 9/06, published on 10.06.2008, bulletin No. 16), that contains a supporting frame, end-type supporting lattice fences, front lattice fence, a shielded railing made of heat-resistant steel sheets, which are washed and cooled by a stream of water from a perforated U-shaped pipe, and located between the building and the ladder, flights with half-platforms, forming in the assembly a double-large stair-well equipped on the end sides with water risers with nozzles and valves, as well as a Rota half nut / Bogdanov type connective half nut / with fire hoses and water cannons attached to them. Beckets with two pairs of monorail wheels, combined with electric motors and planetary gearboxes, are attached to the supporting frame on the longitudinal axis of symmetry on the vertical axes equidistantly from the ends of the frame. A cable layer is attached on the transverse axis of symmetry of the supporting frame; it contains a drum, slip rings, hydraulic coupling and electric motor rotating in one direction, regardless of which side the ladder moves along the monorail. Brackets ( to avoid cable sagging) are attached to the wall of the building along the perimeter equidistantly from each other in the space between the cable layer drum and the supporting frame. Semi-cylindrical cable safeguards are attached with hooks at the bottom and at the end of the brackets, turned 180 degrees towards the building, on the protruding corners of the building between the levels of the clamped cantilever I-beams and brackets. There is a button located on the ladder control panel, which can be taken out to the lower platform, to call the ladder to approach the window and cover all windows along the vertical of the building.
The disadvantage of self-propelled fire-fighting shielded ladder is the complexity of its manufacture and use in emergency situations.
Another one of the known devices is the fire-rescue complex with a lift that can be used outside high-rise buildings (RF patent No. 2442621, IPC A62 B 1/00, B66F 11/00. Published on 20.02.2012, bulletin No. 5), which is formed by a modular framework. Its modules are attached to the building one above the other and form a single structure, ensuring that buildings of any height are equipped with a device that ensures the performance of three tasks – lifting firefighters and rescuers with their equipment, rescuing people and extinguishing the fire – with the help of three components (removable portable lifts on rigid and/or flexible guides, removable and/or non-removable platforms for equipment and vertical and/or flight ladders). All components are used simultaneously, complement each other and do not interfere with each other, and if any of them fails, the remaining ones allow to complete all tasks.
The disadvantage of this device is complexity of its design and use.
The closest to the proposed device is the device for emergency evacuation of people from high-rise buildings (RF Patent No. 2651656, IPC E06C 9/06, published on 23.04.2018, bulletin No. 12), which forms a stair-well with an exit from each floor to a smoke-free outdoor air zone. The device is placed along the face of the building and contains a framework made of channels with a counterweight, inside of which a ring with support rollers placed around its circumference is installed. The support rollers lean on the lower ring, installed on a base plate that is a building element. The device contains the following elements: upper and lower platforms with a railing, which are made of stamped squares welded to the framework; pantographs of the upper and lower ladder flights with guy wires and a railing; a rope running along the circumference of the framework ring through the upper and lower blocks with a load attached to it, which is a beam that can rotate around the axis of the load. In addition, the ladder is equipped with a locking pin that keeps it from turning and a control panel, as well as a front panel placed in one plane with the rest of the building face elements.
The disadvantages of the prototype are insufficient structural strength, high cost of components and inconvenience during transportation of the disassembled device.
The technical task of the invention is to create a compact, simple and reliable device for emergency evacuation of a large number of people into a smoke-free outdoor air zone. This device must possess maximum resistance and transportability over any distance, as it can be separated into four modules.
The resulting technical solutions are the possibility of a stationary and compact positioning of the device inside the building along the facade of the building on each floor; high resistance of the structure as a result of replacing ropes with a truss; replacement of the lower pantographs with a folding structure; high transportability of the disassembled device over any distance due to the separation of the supporting frame (framework) into four modules.
The problem can be solved by a device for emergency evacuation of people from high-rise buildings, that forms a stair-well with an exit from each floor to a smoke-free outside air zone; it is placed along the facade of the building and contains the following elements: a framework made of channels, with a ring with support rollers placed around its circumference installed inside of it; upper platform with railings, which is made of stamped squares welded to the framework and an upper span with railings; a ladder landing platform with railings, which is made of stamped squares; a lower span with railings. The framework is connected to the ladder landing platform through the upper span and the upper pantograph. The lower span is connected to the ladder landing platform through the lower pantograph. The horizontal position of the ladder landing platform is set by the upper guy ropes and the direction of the steps of the lower span is set by the lower guy ropes. Ladder railings are lifted with pneumatic drives, the railing bars are fixed in a vertical position with latches, the railings between the bars are filled with handrails made of ropes. The railing of the ladder landing platform is composite and is made of three parts, which are connected to each other. In addition, the device contains a locking pin retaining the ladder from turning, a control panel and a beam with protective panels placed in the same plane with the rest of the building face elements. The ladder is held in a horizontal position by the upper and lower rollers, creating a pair of forces, and by the counterweight. A load rotating around its axis ensures the rotation of the ladder using a rope and a system of blocks. A damper ensures that the stop of the ladder is perpendicular to its initial position. The damper also ensures the stop of the load; the specific trait of the ladder framework, which consists of four parts (i.e. central frame, left side frame, right side frames and closing frame), all of which are screwed together after transportation. Support rollers are placed on a support plate installed on the building slab and rest on the inner surface of the holes of the plates welded to the framework. The device also contains the following elements: upper platform with railings, which is made of stamped squares welded to the framework; upper span with railings; ladder landing platform with railings, which is made of stamped squares; lower span with railings. In addition, the framework is connected to the ladder landing platform through the upper span and a pantograph, which, during transformation, is transformed into two trusses ensuring horizontal direction of the ladder landing platform, and the direction of the steps of the lower span is set by two folding rods, consisting of upper and lower parts. The upper parts of the rods are attached to the framework, while the lower parts of the rods are attached to the bottom of the lower span. Ladder railings have counterweights and rise automatically after removing the locking pins operated by pneumatic drives, and the railings are fixed in a vertical position using plain bars that fall out under their own weight. Railings between the bars are filled with handrails made of sheet profile with stiffeners. The railing of the ladder landing platform is equipped with three independent railings – left, right and back ones – while the left railing is composite and is made of two parts connected to each other. The ladder is held in a horizontal position by the upper and lower rollers, which create a pair of forces; in addition, the turn and stop of the ladder are ensured by triggering and breaking loads, which are connected to the framework with the help of groups of ropes and rope connectors, which move along the guides. After making a turn, the triggering load is separated into the main and supporting parts. The device also contains a locking pin, that stops the main part of the triggering load at the top dead center position, and a central locking pin, that comes out of the framework after turning and ensures that the ladder stops perpendicularly to the initial position together with the breaking load.
Technical drawings show sample design of the device. Figure 1 shows the device for emergency evacuation of people from high-rise buildings in a storage state, when the device is folded and lies inside a storage room of the building; figure 2 shows the device with unfolded pantographs and raised railings; figure 3 shows the triggering load in a storage state; figure 4 shows the transformable flight in a storage state; figure 5 shows the transformable flight in an operable state; figure 6 shows fastening of the support rollers; figure 7 shows the rotation mechanism in a storage state; figure 8 shows the rotation mechanism in an operable state; figure 9 shows the supporting frame in an operable state; figure 10 shows the ladder landing platform in an operable state; figure 11 shows the pantograph in a storage state; figure 12 shows the pantograph in an operable state; figure 13 shows the rope connector for the triggering load; figure 14 shows the composite railing in an operable state; figure 15 shows the central frame of the framework; figure 16 shows the left side frame of the framework; figure 17 shows the right side frame of the framework; figure 18 shows the closing frame of the framework.
The device operates as follows.
In the initial state, the ladder transformable flight 1 is folded and lies inside the storage room of the building 2. Framework 3, which is made of channels and plates with holes 4, which are welded on the axis of rotation of the framework, of the ladder flight 1 rests in the horizontal direction on the support rollers 5, which are placed around the circumference and are installed on the support plate 6 fixed on the building slab; in the vertical direction the framework 3 rests on the upper rollers 7, lower central rollers 8 and lower front rollers 9. The framework 3 consists of four parts: the central frame 10, the left side frame 11, the right side frame 12, the closing frame 13, all of which are screwed together after transportation. The upper platform 14 is welded to the framework 3; the framework 3 is connected to the ladder landing platform 17 through the pantograph 15 and the upper span 16; the lower span 18 is connected to the ladder landing platform 17 through the axis of rotation and to the framework 3 through two folding rods 19. The upper platform 14, upper span 16, ladder landing platform 17 and lower span 18 have railings, and the ladder landing platform has three independent railings – left 20, right 21 and back 22 ones. The left railing 20 is composite and is made of two interconnected parts. The ladder flight 1 is protected by the beam 23 with protective panels 24, placed in the same plane with the rest of the face elements, from the effects of atmospheric factors. The device is held by a safeguard 25 from turning and drawing away from the building; the framework 3 of the ladder flight 1 has a turning center, which is ensured by the support rollers 5; the device is drawn away from the building using the turning mechanism, which has two loads – the triggering 26 and breaking 27 ones. Both loads are connected to each other as follows: the first group of ropes 28 is fixed on the dead-end support of the rope eyes 29 and passes through the block of ropes 30 and through the intermediate block of ropes 31 and is fixed on the rope connector 32; the second group of ropes 33 is fixed on the rope connector 32, passes through the rope stopper 34 and the drum 35 and is fixed by the group of the rope eyes 36; the third group of ropes 37 is fixed by the group of rope eyes 38, passes through the rope stopper 39 and is fixed on the rope connector 40; the fourth group of ropes 41 is fixed on the rope connector 40, passes through the intermediate block 42 and is attached to the breaking load 27 by the group of rope eyes 43. The rope connector 32 can move along the guide 44. The rope connector 40 can move along the guide 45. The triggering load 26 can rotate around the axis 46 and is fixed by the locking pin 47, and the breaking load 27 can be rotated around the axis 48. In turn, the beam 23 with the protective panels 24 can be rotated around the support 49. The ladder landing platform 17 of the ladder flight 1 is fixed by the locking pins 50; the lower span 18 of the ladder flight 1 is fixed with the help of locking pins 51 similar to locking pins 50. Control panel 52 controls the device’s mechanisms.
When control panel 52 receives the “Fire” signal, the device control algorithm is launched. First of all, the pneumatic cylinder of the safeguard 25 is triggered. The rollers of the safeguard move off the stop 53, the locking pin 47 is triggered, the triggering load 26 begins to rotate around its axis 46. The triggering load 26 begins to lift the breaking load 27 through the groups of ropes 28, 33, 37, 41. Under the influence of the loads, the ladder flight 1 turns relative to the center of the support plate 6, while the support rollers 5 rest on the edges of the holes in the plates 4; the beam 23 with the protective panels 24 rotates relative to support 49, and the second end of the beam 23 rests on the support with the wheel 54, which is installed at the corner of the framework 3. The triggering load 26 continues to move down until the load tongue piece 55 touches the stop 56. The load tongue piece 55 moves and the triggering load 26 is separated into two parts – the supporting part 57 and the main part 58. The main part of the load 58 continues to move by inertia until its speed drops to zero; at this moment it stops at the top dead center position of the locker pin 59. The supporting part of the load 57 remains connected to the rope system, to the framework 3 and to the breaking load 27. Due to the loss of weight, the breaking load 27 begins to play the dominant role in the system, the direction of forces changes, and the inertia forces, accumulated during the first phase of movement, begin to decrease. At this time, the central locking pin 60 falls out of the framework 3. The breaking load 27 decreases the speed of the system to zero, changes the direction of rotation of the ladder flight 1 and at this moment, at low speeds, presses the central locking pin 60 against the stop of the building slab. The ladder flight 1 stops in a fixed position perpendicularly to the original one, then the locking pins 51 of the lower span 18 are triggered. The lower span rotates downward under the action of its own weight for a distance set by the length of the two folding rods 19, and then the locking pins 50 of the ladder landing platform 17 are triggered. The ladder landing platform 17 moves down to a height set by the plates of the pantographs 15, the pantographs are transformed into power trusses and set the horizontal direction of the ladder landing platform 17, after which the pneumatic drives of the railings 61 are triggered. All the railings of the ladder flight 1 have counterweights 62, therefore, after removing fixation, the left and right railings of the upper platform 14, the left and right railings of the upper span 16, the left composite 20, the right 21 and the back 22 railings of the ladder landing platform 17 and the left and right railings of the lower span 18 unfold. In all railing bars there are fixing plain bars 63, which, after unfolding the railing, fall down under the influence of their own weight and fix the railings in a vertical position. Each railing has a counterweight bar 62, a bar with a bracket for the railing locking pin 64 and handrails 65. In the left composite railing 20 of the ladder landing platform 17, there is additionally a perforated plate with handrails 66. The space between the bars of the railings is filled with handrails 67, which are made in the form of z-shaped profile and have lower and upper ribs located on the right and left sides of the handrail. In the middle part of the handrail 67 there are both ribs, and in the upper and lower parts of the handrail 67 only one of the ribs remains. This ensures the rigidity of this element of the railing along the entire length. Both ribs of the handrail 67 are made at an angle different from 90°, they enter each other, forming a herringbone structure, that allows folding the railing during storage.
The device for emergency evacuation of people from high-rise buildings, that forms a stair-well with an exit from each floor to a smoke-free outside air zone, is placed along the facade of the building and contains the following elements: a framework made of channels, with a ring with support rollers placed around its circumference installed inside of it; upper platform with railings, which is made of stamped squares welded to the framework and an upper span with railings; a ladder landing platform with railings, which is made of stamped squares; a lower span with railings. The framework is connected to the ladder landing platform through the upper span and the upper pantograph. The lower span is connected to the ladder landing platform through the lower pantograph. The horizontal position of the ladder landing platform is set by the upper guy ropes and the direction of steps of the lower span is set by the lower guy ropes. Ladder railings can be lifted using pneumatic drives, the railing bars are fixed in a vertical position with latches, the railings between the bars are filled with handrails made of ropes. The railing of the ladder landing platform is composite and made of three parts that are connected to each other. In addition, the device contains a locking pin retaining the ladder from turning, a control panel and a beam with protective panels placed in the same plane with the rest of the building facade elements. The ladder can be held in a horizontal position by the upper and lower rollers, creating a pair of forces, and by a counterweight. The device also has a load rotating around its axis that ensures the rotation of the ladder using a rope and a system of blocks and a damper that ensures that the ladder stops perpendicularly to its initial position. The damper also ensures the stop of the load, which is characterized in that the ladder framework consists of four parts: a central frame, a left side frame, a right side frame and a closing frame, all of which are screwed together after transportation. Support rollers are placed on the support plate installed on the building slab and rest on the inner surface of the holes of the plates welded to the framework. In addition, the framework is connected to the ladder landing platform through the upper span and a pantograph, which, during transformation, is transformed into two power trusses ensuring the horizontal direction of the ladder landing platform, and the direction of the steps of the lower span is set by two folding rods, that consist of upper and lower parts. The upper parts of the rods are attached to the framework and the lower parts of the rods are attached to the bottom of the lower span. Ladder railings have counterweights and can be risen automatically after removing the locking pins operated by pneumatic drives, and the railings are fixed in a vertical position using plain bars that come out under their own weight. Railings between the bars are filled with handrails made of sheet profile with stiffeners. The railing of the ladder landing platform is ensured by three independent railings – the left, right and back ones – while the left railing is composite and is made of two interconnected parts. The ladder is held in a horizontal position by the upper and lower rollers, which create a pair of forces; in addition, the turn and stop of the ladder are ensured by triggering and breaking loads, which are connected to the framework with the help of groups of ropes and rope connectors, which move along the guides. After making a turn, the triggering load is separated into the main and supporting parts. The device also contains a locking pin, that stops the main part of the triggering load at the top dead center position, and a central locking pin, that falls out of the framework after turning and ensures that the ladder stops perpendicularly to the initial position together with the breaking load.
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