WO2005113070A1

WO2005113070A1 - Emergency system comprising guide wires for rescue services

Info

Publication number: WO2005113070A1
Application number: PCT/EP2005/052195
Authority: WO
Inventors: Lodewijk Vanluffelen
Original assignee: Lodewijk Vanluffelen
Priority date: 2004-05-13
Filing date: 2005-05-12
Publication date: 2005-12-01

Abstract

The invention relates to an emergency system comprising at least one guide wire which is stored vertically along a façade of a building, each guide wire having a lower end which is detachably fixed near the bottom of the building façade and an upper end which is fixed at the top of the building façade or on an upper floor of the building, the system further comprising one or more fixing devices for reattaching one or more of the lower ends of the guide wires. The invention further relates to an emergency system comprising at least one guide wire which is substantially completely stored on a wire collector mounted on an upper floor or on a roof of a building, each wire collector being provided with a wire launching device for launching a free end of the guide wire towards a fixing device for attaching the free end of the guide wire, the emergency system further comprising a remote control unit for operating each of the wire launching devices.

Description

Emergency system comprising guide wires for rescue services

The present invention relates to an emergency system comprising one or more guide wires for rescue service, the guide wires being stored vertically along a facade of a multi-storey building and/or one or more launchable guide wires stored on a wire collector which is mounted on an upper floor or on a roof of a multi-storey building. For example from WO-A-03/097166 an emergency system is known which comprises a plurality of rescue wires provided on different floors of a building. Each wire is stored on a reel, which is provided with a retractable arm along which the wire can be brought outside the fagade of the building. In this way, persons can be evacuated by means of the rescue wire at a short distance in front of the facade. The emergency system known from WO-A-03/097166 however has the disadvantage that the safety of persons during evacuation cannot be ensured. It is an aim of the present invention to provide an emergency system with enhanced safety. This aim is achieved according to the invention with an emergency system showing the technical characteristics claim 1. This aim is also achieved according to the invention with an emergency system showing the technical characteristics of claim 8. A first embodiment of the emergency system according to the invention comprises at least one guide wire which is stored vertically along a facade of a multi-storey building. Each of these vertically stored guide wires has a lower end which is removably fixed near the bottom of the building fagade, an upper end which is fixed at the top of the building facade or above an upper floor of the building. The guide wire further comprises a section between the lower and upper ends which is releasably collected on a wire collector. These wire collectors can for example be mounted at the location of the upper ends of the wires, or can be provided on the fagade. The system further comprises one or more fixing devices for fixing the lower ends of the guide wires. Each of these fixing devices is located in a safe working area for rescue workers on the ground surrounding the building, at a predetermined distance from the building. This distance is chosen for creating a safe distance between the fagade and the guide wire whose lower end is fixed to the fixing device. When the lower end of the guide wire is removed from the building, brought to the fixing device and fixed there, the length between the lower end of the wire and the upper end of the wire increases. This increase is accommodated by releasing the section of the guide wire from the wire collector. Because of the predetermined distance, once fixed to the fixing devices, the guide wires can function for safely guiding intervention devices towards the building, such as for example evacuation devices or inspection devices. The storing of the guide wire in vertical orientation along the fagade of the building, with the lower end being fixed near the bottom, has the advantage that the guide wire is accessible on the ground for firemen or other rescue workers. This has the advantage that the overall circumstances of the emergency can be taken into account upon mounting the guide wires. For example, the use of guide wires whose upper end is fixed directly above a part of the building which is on fire can be avoided. This can further enhance the safety of the emergency system of the invention. Furthermore, in case of an emergency the lower end of the guide wire, being already accessible on the ground, can be quickly detached from its storage location on the building and brought to the fixing device at some distance of the building, where it is reattached. In this way, a safe guide wire for guiding intervention devices towards the building can be quickly installed. The first embodiment of the emergency system with guide wires of the invention preferably comprises one or more intervention devices which are movably connectable on one or more of the guide wires for being guided towards the building. The intervention devices may comprise evacuation devices for evacuating persons by movement along the guide wire, and/or inspection devices for inspecting the building by movement along the guide wire. This shows that the guide wires can be used for guiding different intervention devices: evacuation devices for persons, inspection devices for inspection of parts of the building by means of for example a camera which is moved in some way along one of the guide wires, oπ?any other intervention devices of intervention services such as fire brigade, police or others. An evacuation device which can be used in the first embodiment of the emergency system of the invention is an inflatable rescue device, for example the one described in WO-A-01/66192 in the name of the inventor. Such an inflatable rescue device can be movably connected on one of the guide wires and subsequently be moved up and down for evacuating persons. For enhancing stability, the inflatable rescue device can be provided with two suspension eyelets on the envelope, in which case the upper ends of two guide wires on the same floor of the building are located at a predetermined width from each other, corresponding to the distance between the suspension eyelets provided on the inflatable rescue device. The provision of the suspension eyelets has the advantage that the inflatable rescue device gains stability during use and can thus be used under turbulent weather conditions. Such suspension eyelets may also be provided on any other intervention device. Each of the guide wires of the first embodiment of the emergency system of the invention is preferably stored in a sleeve, which is provided in vertical direction on the fagade of the building and protects the guide wire against weather conditions and false usage. The sleeve can be opened by rescue workers on one side for releasing the guide wire from the sleeve. The opening of the sleeve is preferably secured with a lock, which can be operated by rescue workers only. The wire collector in which at least a section of the guide wire is collected can for example be formed by the sleeve, in which the guide wire is then folded up, or by a wire collecting reel on the roof or upper floor of the building. A second embodiment of the emergency system according to the invention comprises at least one guide wire, each guide wire being substantially completely stored on a wire collector which is mounted on an upper floor or on a roof of a building, such as for example a multi-storey building, a tower etc. In this embodiment, each wire collector is provided with a wire launching device for launching a free end of the guide wire towards a fixing device for the free end at a predetermined location in the surroundings of the building. In order to reach the fixing device, the free end of the guide wire can be launched in a predetermined direction and with a predetermined force. The fixing device is located in the most suitable working area for the rescue workers, which can for example be on the ground surrounding the building or on another building nearby. In this way, the fixing device is spaced from the building and creates a safe distance between the fagade of the building and the guide wire whose free end is attached to it. Once fixed to the fixing device, the guide wire can function for safely guiding intervention devices towards the building, such as for example evacuation devices or inspection devices or other intervention devices. This embodiment of the emergency system further comprises a remote control unit for operating each of the wire launching devices in the event of an emergency. The remote control unit is preferably user-operated, meaning that the intervention of a fireman or rescue worker is needed for operating the wire launching devices. This can avoid undesired launching of the guide wires. The remote control unit is preferably located on a suitable location in the surroundings of the building where it can be operated while having an overview of the situation. The remote control unit can for example be located in the safe working area of the fixing devices. Alternatively, it can also be located in an entrance hall of the building and/or on its roof, or on any floor of the building. Alternatively, a remote control unit may also be formed by a portable unit, which is carried along by the firemen or rescue workers when they are called to the scene of the emergency. The remote controlling of the launching of the guide wires has the advantage that the launching can be controlled by firemen or other rescue workers and false usage of the guide wires can be prevented. This has the advantage that the overall circumstances of the emergency can be taken into account before launching the guide wires. For example, the use of guide wires whose upper end is fixed directly above a part of the building which is on fire can be avoided. This can enhance the safety of the emergency system of the invention. Furthermore, in case of an emergency the free end of the guide wire can be quickly launched towards the fixing device at some distance of the building, where it is attached. In this way, a safe guide wire along which an intervention device can be guided towards the building can be quickly installed. The second embodiment of the emergency system with guide wires of the invention preferably comprises one or more intervention devices which are movably connectable on one or more of the guide wires for being guided towards the building. The intervention devices may comprise evacuation devices for evacuating persons by movement along the guide wire, and/or inspection devices for inspecting the building by movement along the guide wire. This shows that the guide wires can be used for guiding different intervention devices: evacuation devices for persons, inspection devices for inspection of parts of the building by means of for example a camera which is moved in some way along one of the guide wires, or any other intervention devices of intervention services such as fire brigade, police or others. An evacuation device which can be used in the second embodiment of the emergency system of the invention is an inflatable rescue device, for example the one described in WO-A-01/66192 in the name of the inventor. Such an inflatable rescue device can be movably connected on one of the guide wires and subsequently be moved up and down for evacuating persons. For enhancing stability, the inflatable rescue device can be provided with two suspension eyelets on the envelope, in which case the upper ends of two guide wires on the same floor of the building are located at a predetermined width from each other, corresponding to the distance between the suspension eyelets provided on the inflatable rescue device. The provision of the suspension eyelets has the advantage that the inflatable rescue device gains stability during use and can thus be used under turbulent weather conditions. Such suspension eyelets may also be provided on any other intervention device. The emergency system of the invention may comprise guide wires according to the first embodiment, i.e. vertically stored guide wires, as well as guide wires according to the second embodiment, i.e. launchable guide wires. Another aspect of the emergency system of the invention may be formed by one or more escape line batteries as an additional emergency exit of the building. These escape line batteries each comprise a plurality of escape lines, each being stored on a line collector and having a harness for carrying a person. Each of the batteries is preferably provided with a slide, by means of which a person, after having put on one of the harnesses, can slide to the outside of the building. This slide takes away the fear of the person for jumping towards the outside of the building. The escape lines are preferably guided over extensible arms, which extend towards the outside of the building under the influence of a person's weight. In this way, the person descends on a safe distance from the building. The batteries are preferably locked against false usage, the unlocking of the batteries being controlled by a fire alarm. The length of each of the escape lines preferably corresponds to the height at which the escape line battery is mounted on the building.

The descent of the persons is preferably slowed down by means of a braking system. The last few meters of the descent, the speed is preferably extra slowed down. The escape line batteries are preferably mounted laterally offset from each other, meaning that it is avoided that two escape line batteries are located above each other. In the event that escape line batteries have to be placed above each other, the extensible arms of the upper one are given a longer reach than those of the lower one to avoid collision of descending persons. Although the escape line battery has here been described as part of the emergency system, it is considered to be an invention in itself for which divisional patent applications may be filed. The invention will be further elucidated by means of the following description and the appended figures. Figures 1-5 consecutively show the operation of a first emergency system according to the invention. Figures 6-10 consecutively show the operation of a second emergency system according to the invention. Figure 11 shows a perspective view of a third emergency system according to the invention. Figures 12 and 13 show an embodiment of an escape line battery according to the invention. The first emergency system shown in figures 1-5 is a possible system according to the second embodiment of the invention described above. The first emergency system comprises a plurality of rescue units 1 , one of which is shown in figure 1 , each comprising a guide wire 2, a wire collector 3 and a wire launching device 4. Initially, the guide wire 2 is stored on the wire collector 3 with its free end 5 located in the wire launching device 4. The units 1 are located at regular distances from each other on most or all floors of the building 10 and preferably also at a level above the roof of the building 10. By means of a remote control unit 6, here provided in the entrance hall of the building 10, a fireman (or other rescue worker) can operate the wire launching devices 4. To this end, each rescue unit 1 is provided with a unique address. A user interface 7 of the remote control unit 6 enables the fireman to key in the addresses of the units 1 which need to be activated. In this process, the location of the part 11 of the building where the fire or other emergency is located can be taken into account. For example in the case of fire, it would be undesirable to activate the units 1 above the inferno 11. Upon activation of the unit 1 , the free end 5 of the guide wire 2 is launched with a predetermined force and direction towards a fixing device 12 on the ground. The desired force and direction is calculated and set beforehand for each unit 1 in accordance with the location where the fixing device 12 is or will be. In figure 4, this fixing device 12 is a movable fixing device, since it is provided on a vehicle of the fire brigade, but other fixing devices on fixed locations surrounding the building 10 are of course also possible. Important is that the fixing device 12, whether on a fixed location or on a vehicle, is located distant from the building to provide a safety gap between the guide wire and the fagade of the building 10. With a movable fixing device 12, this safety gap can be varied, for example to enable an intervention at a lower floor than where the launching device is located. In order to ensure that the free end 5 of the guide wire 2 ends up in the vicinity of the location of the fixing device 12, it is provided with a detachable weight 8. This weight is conveniently a weight which does not bounce back up upon impact with the ground, such as for example a sandbag, but other weights are of course also possible. A label 9 carrying the address of the unit 1 can be attached to the free end 5, so that the origin of each of the guide wires 4 can be easily identified on the ground. In the system shown in figures 1-5, use is made of an inflatable rescue device 13 for the evacuation. The weight 8 is detached from the free end 5 of the guide wire 2, the wire 2 is brought through the suspension 14 of the inflatable rescue device 13 and fixed to the fixing device 12 on the vehicle, after which the system is already ready for the intervention. This shows that the installation of the guide wire 2, including intervention device can be performed very quickly with the system of figures 1-5. The operation of the inflatable rescue device 13 itself has extensively been dealt with in WO-A-03/097166, which is incorporated herein by reference and will therefore not be repeated in detail here. The remote control unit 6 shown in figure 2 is a fixed unit mounted in the entrance hall. The unit 6 can also be mounted on the roof or on any other floor of the building, although the hall and the roof are preferred for reasons of accessibility. More preferred is a location in the surroundings of the building 10 where the rescue worker can have an overview of the situation upon operating the remote control unit 6. Alternatively, the remote control unit can also be a portable unit which is carried along by the rescue workers upon being called to the scene of the emergency. The second emergency system shown in figures 6-10 is a possible system according to the second embodiment of the invention described above. The figures show the use of the system in case of a terrorist act.

Since many features of the second system correspond to those of the first system of figures 1-5, the second system will be discussed more briefly. The second emergency system comprises a plurality of rescue units 21 , three of which are shown in figure 7, each comprising a guide wire 22, a wire collector (not shown) and a wire launching device 24. Initially, the guide wire 22 is stored on the wire collector with its free end 25 located in the wire launching device 24. The units 21 are located at regular distances from each other on the roof of the building 30. By means of a remote control unit 26, which here is a portable unit carried along by the rescue workers upon being called to the scene of the emergency, a policeman can operate the wire launching devices 24. To this end, each rescue unit 21 is provided with a unique address. A user interface 27 of the remote control unit 26 enables the policeman to key in the addresses of the units 21 which need to be activated. In this process, the location of the part of the building where the terrorist act takes place can be taken into account. Upon activation of the unit 21 , the free end 25 of the guide wire 24 is launched with a predetermined force and direction towards a fixing device (not shown) on the ground, which is located distant from the building to provide a safety gap between the guide wire and the fagade of the building 30. The free end 25 of the guide wire 24 can be provided with a detachable weight and a label carrying the address of the unit 21. In the system shown in figures 6-10, use is made of an inspection device 33 for inspecting the building and visualisation of the terrorist activity. The inspection device 33 is suspended on the guide wire 24 and comprises an inflatable part 34, a camera 35 and a pair of control wires 36 by means of which the inspection device can be moved up and down the guide wire 24 and rotated. The image which is captured by the camera 35 is wirelessly transmitted to the remote control unit 26, where it is displayed. Of course, other inspection or rescue devices, or generally any other intervention device, can be suspended on the guide wire 24. The third emergency system shown in figure 11 is a possible system according to the first embodiment of the invention described above. The third emergency system comprises a plurality of guide wires 42 which are stored vertically along the fagade of a multi-storey building 50. Each guide wire is stored in a sleeve 44 with an openable side for enabling removal of the guide wire 42 from the sleeve 44. Each guide wire 42 has a lower end 45 which is detachably fixed near the bottom of the building fagade and an upper end (not shown) which is fixed on a wire collecting reel 43. The wire collecting reels are mounted on the roof and releasably collect an upper section of the guide wire 42. The system further comprises fixing devices 52 for reattaching the lower ends 45 of the guide wires 42. The fixing devices 52 are located on the ground surrounding the building and are spaced from the building by a predetermined distance D1 for creating a safe distance between the fagade of the building and the guide wires 42 when their lower ends 45 are attached to them, which is shown by the dotted lines in figure 11. When the lower end 45 of a guide wire 42 is moved from the building to the fixing device 52, the upper section of the guide wire 42 is released from the wire collector 43 to accommodate for the increase in length. Instead of the wire collectors 43 shown in figure 11 , which comprise a reel on which the upper section is rolled up, alternative wire collectors (not shown) are also possible. Otherwise it is also possible to store the excess section along with the remainder of the guide wire 42 in the sleeve 44, which then functions as wire collector. The system shown in figure 11 can be used for suspending an inflatable rescue device such as the device 13 shown in figure 4, or an inspection device such as the device 33 shown in figure 9, or any other intervention device. The wire collectors 43 are spaced a predetermined width D2 from each other, which corresponds to the distance between two suspension eyelets of a suitable intervention device (not shown), so that this intervention device can be suspended with enhanced stability on two of the guide wires 42 and can be used even during turbulent weather conditions. The escape line battery 60 shown in figures 12 and 13 comprises a plurality of escape lines 62, each being stored on a line collector (not shown) and having a harness 63 for carrying a person. Each of the batteries 60 is provided with a slide 64, by means of which a person, after having put on one of the harnesses 63, can slide to the outside of the building. This slide 64 takes away the fear of the person for jumping towards the outside of the building. The escape lines 62 are preferably guided over extensible arms 61 , which extend towards the outside of the building under the influence of a person's weight. In this way, the person descends on a safe distance from the building. The battery 60 is locked against false usage, the unlocking of the batteries being controlled by a fire alarm. The length of each of the escape lines 62 corresponds to the height at which the escape line battery 60 is mounted on the building. The descent of the persons is slowed down by means of a braking system (not shown). The last few meters of the descent, the speed is preferably extra slowed down. Multiple escape line batteries 60 can be provided in a building, which are then mounted laterally offset from each other, meaning that it is avoided that two escape line batteries are located above each other. In the event that the number of escape line batteries 60 is such that some have to be placed above each other, the extensible arms 61 of the upper one are given a longer reach than those of the lower one to avoid collision of descending persons.

Claims

Claims 1. An emergency system comprising at least one guide wire (42) which is stored vertically along a fagade of a building (10; 30; 50), each guide wire having a lower end (45) which is detachably fixed near the bottom of the building fagade and an upper end which is fixed at the top of the building fagade or on an upper floor of the building, the guide wire (42) comprising a section between the lower and upper ends which is releasably collected on a wire collector (43, 44), the system further comprising one or more fixing devices (12; 52) for reattaching one or more of the lower ends (45) of the guide wires (42), each fixing device (12; 52) being located on the ground surrounding the building and being spaced from the building by a predetermined distance (D1) for creating a safe distance between the fagade of the building and the guide wire whose lower end is attached to it.

2. The emergency system according to claim 1 , further comprising one or more intervention devices (13; 33), movably connectable on one or more of the guide wires for being guided towards the building-.

3. The emergency system according to claim 2, characterised in that one of the intervention devices is formed by an inflatable rescue device (13).

4. The emergency system according to claim 2 or 3, characterised in that the upper ends of two or more of the guide wires (42) on the same floor of the building are located at a predetermined width (D2) from each other, said predetermined width corresponding to the distance between two suspension eyelets provided on one or more of the intervention devices (13; 33).

5. The emergency system according to any one of the claims 1-4, characterised in that each guide wire (42) is releasably stored in a sleeve (44).

6. The emergency system according to claim 5, characterised in that the wire collector is formed by the sleeve (44).

7. The emergency system according to any one of the claims 1-5, characterised in that the wire collector is a reel (43), mounted on an upper floor or on the roof of the building.

8. An emergency system comprising at least one guide wire (2; 22), each guide wire being substantially completely stored on a wire collector (3) which is mounted on an upper floor or on a roof of a building (10; 30; 50), each wire collector (3) being provided with a wire launching device (4; 24) for launching a free end (5; 25) of the guide wire (2; 22) in a predetermined direction and with a predetermined force towards a fixing device (12; 52) for attaching the free end of the guide wire, the fixing device being located in the surroundings of the building and being spaced from the building by a predetermined distance (D1) for creating a safe distance between the fagade of the building and the guide wire whose free end is attached to it, the emergency system further comprising a remote control unit (6; 26) for operating each of the wire launching devices in the event of an emergency.

9. The emergency system according to claim 8, characterised in that the remote control unit (6; 26) is located on a suitable location in the surroundings of the building where it can be operated while having an overview of the situation.

10. The emergency system according to claim 8, characterised in that the remote control unit (6; 26) is located in an entrance hall of the building and/or on a roof of the building.

11. The emergency system according to claim 8, characterised in that the remote control unit (6; 26) is a portable unit which is carried along by rescue workers.

12. The emergency system according to any one of the claims 8- 11, further comprising one or more intervention devices (13; 33), movably connectable on one or more of the guide wires (2; 22) for being guided towards the building.

13. The emergency system according to claim 12, characterised in that one of the intervention devices is formed by an inflatable rescue device (13).

14. The emergency system according to claim 12 or 13, characterised in that the wire launching devices (4; 24) of two or more of the guide wires on the same floor of the building are located at a predetermined width (D2) from each other, said predetermined width corresponding to the distance between two suspension eyelets provided on one or more of the intervention devices.

15. An emergency system according to any one of the previous claims, further comprising one or more escape line batteries (60) as an additional emergency exit of the building, each of the escape line batteries being mounted on an upper floor of the building and comprising a plurality of escape lines (62), each line being stored on a line collector and having a harness (63) for carrying a person.

16. The emergency system according to claim 15, characterised in that each of the escape line batteries (60) is provided with a slide (64) by means of which a person can slide towards the outside of the building.

17. The emergency system according to claim 15 or 16, characterised in that the escape lines (62) are guided over extensible arms (61), each extensible arm (61) carrying one or more of the escape lines (62) and being provided to extend towards the outside of the building under the influence of a person's weight.

18. The emergency system according to any one of the claims 15- 17, characterised in that each of the escape line batteries (60) is locked against false usage, the unlocking of the batteries being controlled by a fire alarm.

19. The emergency system according to any one of the claims 15-

18, characterised in that the length of each of the escape lines (62) corresponds to the height at which the escape line battery is mounted, that each escape line is provided with a braking system for slowing down the descent and that the braking system is provided for extra slowing down the last few meters of the descent.

20. The emergency system according to any one of the claims 17-

19, characterised in that most or all of the escape line batteries (60) are mounted laterally offset from each other on the building and that if any escape line batteries are located above each other, the extensible arms (61) of the upper one are given a longer reach than those of the lower one.