Portable emergency fire fighting and rescue elevator

Claim 2

In a portable emergency rescue and evacuation elevator suitable for a high rise building the combination of: a. portable elevator prime mover means including elevator cable storage means with sufficient elevator cable to accomodate the height of the building; self contained motor power means operatively coupled to said elevator cable storage means for selectively holding in fixed stop position, for paying out, and winding in said elevator cable; and a base to which said elevator cable storage means and self contained motor power means are mounted to form a portable unitary structure transportable by helicopter to the roof of said high rise building and for positioning to pay out said elevator cable over the side of said building; and b. a portable elevator passenger cab transportable by truck to said building, said passenger cab having a wall between two caterpillar means each having an endless belt carried on a plurality of support wheels, fastening means for suspending said passenger cab on said elevator cable in position with the endless belts of said caterpillar means touching the side of said building, and a door in said passenger cab wall between the two caterpillar means facing and alignable with windows at respective storey levels of said building side as said cab is moved vertically by said elevator cable on said building side in response to motor power from said prime mover means on said roof.

Claim 3

The combination as in claim 1 wherein said passenger cab has a plank means with a moveable plank member at cab floor level beneath said door and moveable in the plane of said floor and outwardly from said cab wall to forcibly break through closed window obstructions and to form a walkway between the building and the passenger cab.

Claim 4

The combination as in claim 1 wherein said passenger cab has a height covering two stories of said building to form an upper and lower passenger compartments with a door between the two caterpillar means in each of said compartments and alignable with the windows of respective adjacent upper and lower stories of said building.

Claim 5

The combination as in claim 3 wherein said upper and lower passenger compartments each has a plank means with a moveable plank member at the floor level of the respective compartment, each plank member being moveable in the plane of the respective floor and outwardly from said cab wall to forcibly break through closed window obstructions at the respective building stories and to form a walkway between the building and the respective passenger compartment.

Claim 6

The combination as in claim 1 wherein said motor power means includes electric control means responsive to command signals for effecting said selective elevator cable paying out, winding in and holding in fixed stop postion.

Claim 7

The combination as in claim 5 wherein said passenger cab includes means for selectively providing said command signals, and means for transmitting said command signals to said control means.

Claim 8

The combination as in claim 6 wherein the signal transmission means includes an electric cable coupled to said means for selectively providing said command signals in said passenger cab and said control means; and the primer mover means includes a means for storing, paying out, winding in and holding said electric cable stationary in stop position in synchronism with the elevator cable.

Claim 9

The combination as in claim 1 wherein the endless belts on support wheels of said caterpillar means extend a distance above said passenger cab and a distance below said passenger cab such that said caterpillar means will guide the passenger cab over outwardly projecting members as cornices, porches and bay windows on said building side in the path of said passenger cab.

Claim 10

The combination as in claim 1 wherein said passenger cab has side walls and a top and bottom walls insulated with fire brick for protection of passengers from fire heat and flames.

Claim 11

The combination as in claim 1 including fastening means on the roof of said high rise building responsive to placement of said prime mover means in cooperative relation to said fastening means for automatically fastening said portable unitary structure firmly in place on said roof in position to pay out said elevator cable over the side of said building.

Claim 12

The combination as in claim 10 wherein said fastening means includes a plurality of L shaped hook members fastened to said roof in position to pivot into holding engagement with the base of said unitary structure in response to said placement of said prime mover means in cooperative relation to said fastening means.

Claim 13

The combination as in claim 11 wherein said base has two ends and two sides and there are two of said hook members positioned for said engagement of said base at one of said base ends, and one of said hook members positioned for said engagement of said base at each of said base sides.

Claim 14

The combination as in claim 12 wherein each of said L shaped hook members is pivotally carried on a pivot pin fixed to brackets fastened to the roof of said building in position such that when said base is lowered into said position on said roof said hook members are cause to automatically swing into fastening engagement with said base.

Claim 15

In a portable emergency rescue and evacuation elevator suitable for a high rise building the combination of: a. elevator prime mover means including elevator cable storage means with sufficient elevator cable to accomodate the height of the building; self contained motor power means operatively coupled to said elevator cable storage means for selectively holding in fixed stop position, for paying out, and winding in said elevator cable; and a base to which said elevator cable storage means and self contained motor power means are mounted to form a portable unitary structure transportable by helicopter to the roof of said high rise building and for positioning to pay out said elevator cable over the side of said building; and b. a portable elevator passenger cab transportable by truck to said building, said passenger cab having a wall between two caterpillar means each having an endless belt carried on a plurality of support wheels, fastening means for suspending said passenger cab on said elevator cable in position with the endless belts of said caterpillar means touching the side of said building, each of said endless belts includes cup shaped members thereon tending to provide vacuum cup engagement with said building side, said endless belts on said support wheels also extend a distance above said passenger cab and a distance below said passenger cab such that said caterpillar means will guide the passenger cab over outwardly projecting members as cornices, porches and bay windows on said building side in the path of said passenger cab, and a door in said passenger cab wall between the two caterpillar means facing and alignable with windows at respective storey levels of said building side as said cab is moved vertically by said elevator cable on said building side in response to motor power from said prime mover means on said roof.

Claim 16

In a portable emergency rescue and evacuation elevator suitable for a high rise building the combination of: a. elevator prime mover means including elevator cable storage means with sufficient elevator cable to accomodate the height of the building; self contained motor power means operatively coupled to said elevator cable storage means for selectively holding in fixed stop position, for paying out, and winding in said elevator cable; and a base to which said elevator cable storage means and self contained motor power means are mounted to form a portable unitary structure transportable by helicopter to the roof of said high rise building and for positioning to pay out said elevator cable over the side of said building; and b. a portable elevator passenger cab transportable by truck to said building, said passenger cab having a wall between two caterpillar means each having an endless belt carried on a plurality of support wheels, fastening means for suspending said passenger cab on said elevator cable in position with the endless belts of said caterpillar means touching the side of said building, each of said endless belts includes cup shaped members thereon tending to provide vacuum cup engagement with said building side, said endless belts on said support wheels also extend a distance above said passenger cab and a distance below said passenger cab such that said caterpillar means will guide the passenger cab over outwardly projecting members as cornices, porches and bay windows on said building side in the path of said passenger cab, and a door in said passenger cab wall between the two caterpillar means facing and alignable with windows at respective storey levels of said building side as said cab is moved vertically by said elevator cable on said building side in response to motor power from said prime mover means on said roof.

Claim 17

The combination as in claim 14 wherein said passenger cab has two side walls and a back wall in addition to said wall between the caterpillar means, and said passenger cab has a smaller width as said back wall than at said caterpillar structures so that the side walls make obtuse angles with said building side to reduce cross wind force effects on said passenger cab.