Emergency escape slide incorporated into exit
An emergency escape mechanism is disclosed. A deployable and inflatable slide is located proximate the exit door of a building. When the alarm switch on the alarm box next to the door is set to unlock the door may be opened and a chute or slide falls out to the exterior of the building. A mercury switch or the like is activated as the uninflated slide tilts out which activates an inflation means, preferably a compressed gas cylinder or the like. The slide or chute is anchored to the building by a girt bar anchored in the floor and a plurality of chute support straps. This allows for rapid evacuation of the building. Additionally, the alarm box switch may operate a silent alarm to alert the police of a potentially hazardous situation.
1. An emergency escape mechanism for a building having an exit door located within a doorway on an exterior of the building and elevated above ground level, the exit door having an interior side and an exterior side, said emergency escape mechanism comprising:
an inflatable emergency escape slide having a portion coupled at an interior location of said building adjacent the interior side of the exit door, said escape slide comprising:
a collapsed state wherein said escape slide is collapsed and resides against the interior side of the exit door when the door is closed; and
an inflated state wherein said escape slide is inflated and extends through the doorway and downward outside of the building when the door is opened;
an inertially-activated switch mounted on said inflatable emergency escape slide, said inertially-activated switch being activatable by gravity in automatic response to a dropping of said inertially-activated switch to thereby produce an electrical signal;
a gas release device in fluid communication with said inflatable emergency escape slide and configured to inflate said inflatable emergency escape slide from collapsed state to said inflated state in automatic response to said electrical signal; and
an alarm box configured to be located proximate the exit door, said alarm box including a locking/unlocking bar movable between a locked position and an unlocked position, said locking/unlocking bar engaging the exit door when said locking/unlocking bar is in said locked position to hold said exit door in a closed position, said locking/unlocking bar being movable in an emergency to move to said unlocked position to unlock the exit door, thereby enabling the exit door to be opened to extend out of the building, whereupon when said exit door is opened said emergency escape slide in said collapsed state passes through said open door and out of the building and drops under the influence of gravity, with the dropping of said emergency escape slide causing said inertially-activated switch to automatically operate to produce said electrical signal and to provide said electrical signal to said gas release device to automatically inflate said emergency escape slide to said inflated state.
2. The emergency escape mechanism according to claim 1 said portion of said escape slide is coupled to a girt bar that is positioned underneath a floor of the building.
3. The emergency escape mechanism according to claim 2 wherein a plurality of support straps couple said portion of said escape slide to said girt bar.
4. The emergency escape mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said gas release device comprises a compressed gas tank.
5. The emergency escape mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said alarm box further includes an alarm switch.
6. The emergency escape mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said locking/unlocking bar forms a latch extending between the exit door and the building.
7. The emergency escape mechanism according to claim 1 , wherein said inertially-activated switch is a mercury switch.
8. The emergency escape mechanism according to claim 1 wherein said alarm switch further includes a silent alarm.