To those who are reading this message
My name is Kwon-Woo Kim and I am currently living in California, U.S.A. I have no idea at all about who you are, but I am penning this letter, simply following the lead of my heart in the hope of sending out a message to you. As I am writing this letter, my heart is focused on only one thing, that is, saving people from tragic incidents that might strike them any time, even at this moment, in any part of the world. If you agree, after having read this message that this idea of mine can contribute in any way to reducing the chances of potential tragedies in this world and also if you think that you are involved in this field, would you please lend me your helping hand? On the other hand, if this happens to be a totally different area from what you are now involved in, would you pass this message on to someone else who is involved in this field?
Based on my invention of an emergency elevator system, I filed my application for patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (the Patent No. US 7,416,056B2 was issued and registered on August 26, 2008). The system can be activated in times of emergency, such as a fire or a terrorist attack, involving high-rise building structures and it does not rely on electric power for its operation. What motivated me toward making this invention was my wholehearted desire to see no more of these horrible disasters in which many innocent people perish helplessly, burning alive in the high-rise buildings. Consequently my fervent wish was to see the theory of my idea in this invention being shared with others and spread throughout the world for this cause. However, there are some important aspects of this theory that need validation before such an idea is made public and I realize at the same time that I am not capable of doing such a corroboration myself. This is the reason why I am sending this message to you, even without knowing who you are. I do hope that you can understand the dilemma I am in now. I simply cannot make it public and proactively share this idea with the outside world until I have the answers to these questions. I would deeply appreciate if you could be gracious to me by spending some of your time and offering any help.
I witnessed on the TV screen what happened to the World Trade Center buildings in New York on September 11, 2001. I saw the airplanes crashing into the building and creating a huge ball of flame that ran and shot through the opposite side of the structure. I also had watched the 110-story (413 meter high) building collapse without any resistance and my heart sank when my eyes caught sight of those people who were dangling near the edges of the building windows and desperately hanging on to survive, but in the end, dropping one by one like falling leaves. Chances are, you and I might have been watching the same scene on the TV screen at the same time on that fateful day. The images of those two mammoth buildings caught in flames kept coming back to my mind again and again and I could not erase from my memory the glaring picture of human instinct that was blindly driving them to do anything to survive despite the gripping fear that seized them. I felt sadness and despair, wondering whether there could be found any way or idea of getting those people in those circumstances out of those buildings in a speedy and safe manner. Finally after a lot of study, I came to submit my idea to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. In accordance with the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty), I filed the primary application for a patent with most countries, but I decided not to file the secondary applications, because my reasoning was that those patents, if applied for, would certainly be granted by those countries, but whenever someone is making use of my idea, he or she would have to go through all the hassles and inconveniences of getting my permission and be required to pay a fee for the patent use.
This would mean that my idea would be less utilized, and as a result, all the more reduced opportunities to avoid these types of tragic incidents. I am the original inventor of this idea; now it can be freely embraced and used by anyone in any country in the world (except in the United States) without obtaining any permission from me or any prior notice to me. It also means that everyone is encouraged and free to make use of this idea and develop products of improved quality. It is my sincere hope that in the near future, you may see your country’s tall buildings, both new and old, become equipped with the system of this idea and that no innocent citizens have to die tragically or suffer terrible injuries. Once again, I have no sure answer to the following questions and without first being reassured on these points, I do not have the confidence to announce to the world that they can take up this idea and use it. I am sure that you will understand the underlying principles to this idea if you visit my website www.escapeelevator.com and see the video clip, drawings, explanations, and the U.S. Patent. Please kindly note that the video clip was not made by an expert and the video explanations are not detailed enough, so just use it for your reference only.
Situation A: Assuming that a 110-story building (with the height of 413 meters) equipped with the emergency elevators of my invention has one descending elevator car that carries 30 persons, each one weighing 90 kilograms (200 lbs) and the other ascending car remains unoccupied, in terms of physics and mechanical engineering…..
Question 1.
In your opinion, approximately how long will it take for the descending elevator car to hit the surface of the water reservoir? (Is it going to be close to the estimated length of time indicated in diagram 4?)
Question 2.
In order to secure the safety of the passengers as well as the elevator cars, how much time should pass from when the elevator car hits the surface of the water until when it reaches to the bottom of the water reservoir? How deep should the reservoir approximately be? (Are they going to be close to the estimated length of time and depth as seen in diagram 4?)
Question 3.
The main body and the lower section of the elevator cars are made of steel plates. Do you think the impact of hitting the water in the reservoir will cause damage to the elevator cars? What about the passengers inside the cars? Are they going to be safely protected?
Situation B: Assuming that 30 passengers, each one weighing about 90 kilograms (200 lbs), board an emergency elevator car and descend from the 110-story (413 meter) building to the ground and 15 rescue crew members get on board in the other elevator car to ascend to the same floor of the building at the same time (also assuming the weight of each crew member to be about 90 kilograms (200 lbs) including the equipment)…..
Question 4.
Approximately how long will it take, in your estimation, for the elevator car to reach the surface of the water reservoir? Is it likely that both the passengers in the descending elevator cars and the rescue crews ascending in the other cars would reach their destinations safely?
(Two elevator cars operate simultaneously, one descending and the other ascending. These two cars are interconnected by two hoist cables. One cable is connected to the top of the two elevator cars and is hanging on the pulleys at the upper portion of each elevator shaft. As the heavier elevator car carrying the passengers moves down by gravity, the other elevator car which is either lighter in weight or unoccupied is pulled up. Another cable is connected to the wall or the bottom portion of the two elevator cars and that cable hangs on the pulley at the lower portion of the elevator shafts. As the heavier elevator car descends by gravity, it will cause the other elevator car to move up at the same speed and by the same distance, stopping exactly at the designated floor; this is made possible because the cable underneath each elevator car makes sure that the ascending elevator car arrives to the designated floor. In diagram 1, there is a depiction of these two hoist cables connecting the top and bottom of the elevator cars, but no such explanation is presented in the video clip. please refer to diagram 1’s descriptions of the cable and secondary cable.)
Question 5.
With regard to the [Proposal for the Building Safety Code] that I tried to submit to ICC (International Code Council), an organization which is responsible for setting up rules and codes for building fire safety in the United States: if I add the new shock-absorbing devices (the spring and the sheet metal), what kind of shock-absorbing effect can be expected when the descending elevator car hits the water in the reservoir? And if these devices are added, do you believe that the safety of the people and the elevator cars can be assured? (Please refer to the two images in the [Proposal for the Building Safety Code])
Question 6.
Do you find any flaws or drawbacks in this idea? Please let me know if you do, because if this idea does not lead to saving people’s lives, making it public is no longer necessary or worthwhile.
Question 7.
If you believe, however, that this idea contains the precious value that can save the lives of those people who are facing the dire situation of life and death, could you pass this idea, along with your written opinion, to the responsible organization or institution who regulates the building safety code in your country?
I want to thank you for taking your precious time to read this letter and I am very sorry if my request has placed too much of a burden on you, but once again my earnest desire is to see this idea being spread and embraced far and wide in the world by those who cherish the same longing to save human beings from this kind of awful tragedy. I am fully convinced that whatever help you can offer would greatly contribute to saving a countless number of peoples’ lives and surely bring joy and happiness to the hearts of many people. I look forward to hearing from you and I would like to thank you in advance for your generosity and cooperation.
Kwon Woo Kim
Inventor of Emergency Elevator
E-mail: kwkimk@gmail.com
Fax : 1-619-476-0382
KWON WOO KIM
669 PALOMAR ST. #F
CHULA VISTA, CA 91911
U S A