Escape Chute with Hinge Rollers and Pulleys for High-Rise Evacuation
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-rise evacuation during disasters is challenging due to stairways being filled with fumes and water, leading to hazards and crowding, making traditional evacuation methods unsafe and inefficient.
Innovation Solution
A mechanical escape chute system comprising straight and turning chutes with a mechanical linkage, sprinkler pipes, and a fire-proof ventilation device, allowing for safe, orderly, and rapid descent from high floors while protecting users from fumes and flames.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If stairway evacuation is used, then people can evacuate from high-rise buildings, but the stairway is filled with fume and water, causing hazards and crowding
Solution Approach 1:
The escape chute is divided into multiple sections (upper straight chute, turning chute, lower straight chute) that can be independently deployed and folded. Each section can be selectively activated based on the fire location, creating separate safe pathways that avoid contaminated stairways while maintaining evacuation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The escape chute acts as an intermediary structure between the fire source and the safe zone. It provides a protected pathway that mediates the evacuation process, shielding occupants from fumes and water hazards while maintaining a controlled descent route from upper floors to the ground.
2Productivity
If escape chute is deployed from top floor to ground floor, then rapid evacuation is enabled, but space is occupied when not in use
Solution Approach 1:
The escape chute transitions from a static structure to a dynamic one through the folding mechanism. When not in use, the chute folds upward against the middle wall, transforming from a space-occupying structure into a compact, wall-mounted configuration. When needed, it deploys dynamically to form a continuous evacuation pathway from top to ground floor.
Solution Approach 2:
The escape chute sections are designed to nest against the middle wall when folded, with the upper straight chute, turning chute, and lower straight chute arranging in a compact configuration. This nesting allows the entire evacuation structure to be stored in a small space during normal operation while maintaining full evacuation capability when deployed.
3Reliability
If continuous chute is formed from top to ground floor, then safe evacuation pathway is created, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous escape chute is segmented into three main sections: upper straight chute, turning chute, and lower straight chute. Each section is independently constructed and connected through hinge joints, allowing for simplified manufacturing and assembly while maintaining the overall continuous safety pathway from top floor to ground floor.
Solution Approach 2:
The turning chute incorporates curved connecting pieces that provide smooth transitions between the upper straight chute and lower straight chute. These curved sections reduce structural complexity by eliminating sharp angles and corners, while maintaining the continuous protective pathway and improving occupant safety during evacuation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The escape chute system enables safe, efficient, and rapid evacuation by forming a continuous chute from top to ground floor, reducing casualties and facilitating firefighter access, while also saving space when not in use.
Implementation Method 1
The bottom of the guard rail is in hinge joint with the chute base via the first rotating axle
Implementation Method 2
An inner end of the chute base is connected to the second rotating axle, and the second rotating axle is further connected to a fixed plate arranged on a middle wall along with a direction of the stairway
Implementation Method 3
The folding chute comprises a curved connecting piece and a spring pin arranged on an end of each chute
Implementation Method 4
One end of the curved connecting piece is in hinged joint with the chute base
Data Source
AI summary
An escape chute, including: an upper straight chute, a lower straight chute, a turning chute, a first rotating axle, and a second rotating axle. The turning chute includes a front section, a middle section, and a rear section. The upper straight chute and the lower straight chute are connected via the turning chute. Each chute includes: a chute base; a guard rail including a top and a bottom; and a handrail. The chute base of the upper straight chute and the chute base of the lower straight chute are connected through the chute bases of the front, the middle, and the rear sections of the turning chute. Each hinge joint between the chute bases of the corresponding chutes is provided with a hinge roller. Each butt joint is provided with a combined pulley.