Self-braking dower for rope with lever actuation

Abstract

The invention comprises disconnecting the actuating lever (6) of the device from its body such that the actuating lever is no longer firmly attached and becomes tiltable by means of the axis of rotation (7) such that the actuating lever is associated with the head (2) by means of a transmission mechanism, which allows the effort required to actuate said lever to be reduced and the effective angular range of the lever to be varied, thereby reducing the amount of time required to actuate said lever. Therefore, the device is more comfortable, easier and more accurate to use. The device has means for disengaging the transmission device between the lever and the head beyond the degree of inclination of the body that may be dangerous, the mechanism can be disabled by a through pin passing through a hole (10) made in the lever (6).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to a self-braking descender for a rope, actuated by lever-head interaction, wherein actuation of the lever causes unlocking of the rope due to a rotation of the body of the device relative to the pulling direction of the rope in tension.

[0002] The object of the present invention is to provide a self-braking descent device in which the manipulation of adjusting the degree of release of the rope is simpler, more comfortable and more precise.

[0003] Another object of the invention is to provide a device comprising means which can be disabled, thereby preventing the extent of release of the rope from being exceeded, beyond which the descent speed could become dangerous for untrained personnel.

[0004] The invention therefore belongs to the field of safety devices for descent using ropes or rappels. Background Art

[0005] Within the scope of practical application of the invention, self-braking descending devices are known which consist of a body obtained from two parallel plates between which a pair of shafts are arranged through which the rope passes, causing it to change direction several times.

[0006] The body is connected to a tilting head which is connected by a loop to the user's harness or safety equipment, and a lever is integral to the body, the pulling of which causes the body to rotate relative to the head, whereby the relative position of the rope relative to the head also changes, thereby reducing the degree of friction of the rope within the body, thereby allowing a controlled descent by the user.

[0007] The problem with this type of device is that the lever is rigidly attached to the body, which creates a twofold problem:

[0008] On the one hand, actuating the lever requires considerable effort, to which must be added the fact that the point at which the rope begins to release is very specific, coinciding with the precise inclination of the lever firmly attached to the body, providing very little room for maneuvering.

[0009] The fact that the lever is firmly attached to the body of the device makes it relatively easy to exceed the release point or degree of the rope where the lever stops being braked, with the risk of an accident in an emergency situation if the user goes into a mental block and does not stop actuating the lever. Summary of the invention

[0010] The self-braking descender for a rope proposed by the invention, actuated by lever-head interaction, fully satisfactorily solves the problems described in each of the previously mentioned aspects, based on a simple but extremely effective solution.

[0011] To this end, more specifically, it has been provided that the lever controlling the relative angular position of the body of the device is not firmly attached to the body, but is tiltable relative to the body, so that the lever is connected to a transmission mechanism that connects the head to the lever, thus controlling the relative angular position of the body of the device.

[0012] The transmission can be implemented in many different ways, either with complementary teeth built into the head and lever, or a crown gear transmission, etc.

[0013] Thanks to the possibility of choosing the transmission ratio between these elements, the device can be designed with different degrees of multiplication of the action of the lever on the head, which allows reducing the effort used to actuate the lever, as well as varying the limits or range of the angle at which the lever releases the rope, thus providing greater precision when controlling the degree of release of the rope.

[0014] According to another characteristic of the invention, it is foreseen that the transmission between the head and the lever is interrupted once a predetermined lever actuation angle is exceeded, so that the body does not exceed a predetermined inclination, beyond which the extent of rope release could become dangerous.

[0015] This purpose can be achieved by making the teeth associated with the head and the lever appropriately designed so that they cease to contact each other once the safety angle has been passed, or simply removing the toothed portion of the transmission pinion / crown connecting the two elements.

[0016] This arrangement thus defines an "anti-panic" mechanism, which prevents excessive release of the rope which could be dangerous to untrained personnel.

[0017] However, it has been foreseen that the mechanism can be easily disabled by including a hole in the lever through which a pin or bolt can pass, and when the lever is actuated and passes through its specific actuation angle (less than the disengagement angle at which the lever disengages from the head), the pin comes into contact with the body and thus acts directly on the body as if the lever were firmly attached to the body.

[0018] This solution is of interest to qualified and trained personnel when fast action maneuvers are required and when assisting a parallel descent of a person suspended in the same type of mechanism.

[0019] Finally, just note that as a safety measure during descent, the lower portion of the rope must be held at all times during descent.

[0020] Furthermore, the particular arrangement of the internal shaft and the construction of the body and arrangement of the head allow the transmission mechanism connecting the head to the lever to be configured so that in order for them to engage and the device to operate, the user must be forced to apply some tension on the bottom of the rope to unlock the device and begin a descent.

[0021] For this function, starting from the hanging position, with a design that does not provide a lever-head gear in the hanging position, if the free rope is held with a certain tension, this tension in the free rope causes the body to perform a small rotation that puts the head-lever transmission element into contact position, allowing the rope to be unlocked from this moment.

[0022] Therefore, based on this structure, the device of the present invention enables it to provide the following advantages and features:

[0023] Allows to increase / decrease rotation of the body relative to rotation of the lever (increases torque on the lever).

[0024] - Depending on the geometry of the interacting teeth / cams, it allows to vary (increase / decrease) the rotation of the lever to release the rope depending on its position, with the possibility that in some positions the lever has one rotation ratio relative to the head and in other positions the lever has a different rotation ratio.

[0025] Reduce the force required on the lever in order to rotate the body.

[0026] More precise control of the rotation of the body of the descender and greater possibility of such control in strategic locations.

[0027] • Allows the device to be designed by choosing the angle and range of motion of the lever resting on the head.

[0028] Allows to establish a gear point from which the lever rests on the head, thus causing the body to rotate.

[0029] • Allows to establish a disengagement point from which the lever stops resting on the head, thus the body returns to its initial position.

[0030] Allows a new safety feature to be used for this type of equipment (free rope lock) which prevents the user from starting a descent by activating a control lever if the user has not previously taken control of the free descent rope. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] As a supplement to the description that will be provided herein, and in order to help make the features of the invention more easily understood, this specification is accompanied by a set of drawings forming an integral part thereof, according to a preferred practical exemplary embodiment thereof, in which, by way of illustration and not limitation, the following are shown:

[0032] Figure 1 A side view of a self-braking descender for a rope actuated by lever-head interaction is shown, according to the object of the invention, in an initial assembly position in which the lever is inactive.

[0033] Figure 2 Shows something like Figure 1 , but corresponds to the extreme release position of the rope.

[0034] Figure 3 Shows something like Figure 1 , but corresponds to a variant embodiment in which the transmission mechanism between the lever and the head is initially not engaged, so that in order to make the device operable, it is necessary to apply a certain tension at the lower end of the rope.

[0035] Figure 4 Shows something like Figure 3 , but corresponds to the moment after pulling the lower end of the rope, allowing the rope to be unlocked from this moment by causing a small rotation of the body by placing the head-lever transmission element in contact.

[0036] Figure 5 Shown is a cross-sectional detail of the device of the invention at the level of the body on which the safety rope is arranged and in which position the rope is locked by means of the relative angular position between said body and the head to which it is connected.

[0037] Figure 6 Shows something like Figure 5 view, but corresponds to a relative tilted position between the body and the head exceeding the "anti-panic" point, i.e. the position in which the rope is completely released, with the attendant risk that this would create a position that cannot be reached using an "anti-panic" system comprising the device of the invention unless said system is disabled. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0038] Considering the figures outlined, it can be seen how the device of the invention is constituted by a body (1) in which two parallel plates have their respective spacers (9) and to which a head (2) is connected by a joint (5).

[0039] The head (2) has a loop-like configuration to which the user's safety belt or safety equipment is intended to be attached by means of the complementary snap hooks or safety elements in question.

[0040] There is a pair of shafts (3-3') between the plates of the body (1), through which the safety rope (4) passes. Figure 3 As shown, with the user suspended at the head (2), the cord tends to clamp itself between the shafts, preventing it from moving.

[0041] According to the essence of the present invention, and Figure 1 and Figure 2 It can be seen that it is provided that a lever (6) having an axis of rotation (7) is connected to the body, which is connected to the head (2) via a transmission mechanism, which in the exemplary embodiment is chosen from complementary teeth (8-8') respectively established in the head (2) and the lever (6), but in the case of a pinion-crown transmission mechanism, the transmission mechanism may include more than one tooth on each element.

[0042] This allows the device to be designed by choosing the transmission ratio between these elements, thus choosing the multiplication factor depending on the rotation radius of the teeth and the distance between the head and the hinge point of the lever, so that, for example, in order to rotate the body by 15° relative to the head, we must rotate the lever by 30°, which gives the user greater control in managing the unlocking and less effort to perform said maneuver.

[0043] If available Figure 2 As can be seen in FIG. 1 , the transmission mechanism between the lever (6) and the head (2) will have a limit point, which is the same as that in the Figure 2 The limit point indicated in coincides with that from which the tooth (8) ceases to be in contact with the tooth (8'), so that beyond said point the lever (6) ceases to be operable.

[0044] This ensures that the body never exceeds a tilt that could over-release the rope, Figure 6 The situation shown.

[0045] By rotating the lever in the direction opposite to the actuation direction, reengaging the teeth (8-8"), the device can be easily reassembled and becomes perfectly operational again.

[0046] As previously mentioned, this "anti-panic" system can be easily disabled in those situations where it is desired, for example in Figure 1 As can be seen, the lever (6) includes a hole (10) through which a pin or bolt can pass, and on which the pin or bolt will be screwed, and when the lever is actuated and passes through a certain actuation angle (less than the disengagement angle of the lever from the head), the pin comes into contact with the body and thus acts directly on the body, just as if the lever were firmly attached to the body.

[0047] Finally, it is only necessary to point out that according to Figure 3 and Figure 4 In a variant embodiment, by changing the shape and size of the teeth, or changing the angle formed by the tooth (8')-joint (5) assembly relative to the longitudinal axis of the head (2), a starting position can be obtained, wherein the teeth (8-8') do not engage with each other, such as Figure 3As shown, this means that in order for the device to work, the user is forced to apply a certain tension to the lower part of the rope (4), since in the initial suspended position, if the body is too tilted, there will be no contact between the teeth (8-8'), so that when assembling the device, the free rope must be tightened with a certain tension that causes the body to perform a small rotation, thereby placing the head-lever transmission element in contact, allowing the rope to be unlocked from that moment on.

[0048] In this way, a disengagement zone is defined between the head (2) and the lever (6) prior to a pre-established minimum tilt of the body (1), which is achieved by the required pulling of the cord.

Claims

1. A self-braking descender for a rope with lever actuation, the self-braking descender being of the type consisting of a body (1) containing two parallel plates between which a pair of shafts (3-3") is arranged through which a safety rope (4) passes, the body being connected in an articulated manner to a head (2) to which the user's safety belt or safety equipment is intended to be attached by means of a loop, having a lever (6) for actuating and controlling the inclination of the body of the device, characterized in that The lever (6) is connected to the body in an articulated manner via its rotation axis (7), and is characterized in that the lever (6) is associated with the head (2) via a mechanism with a corresponding transmission ratio.

2. A self-braking descender for a rope with lever actuation according to claim 1, characterized in that The transmission mechanism between the head (2) and the lever (6) is implemented as corresponding complementary teeth (8-8') respectively established in the head (2) and the lever (6).

3. The self-braking descender for a rope with lever actuation according to claim 1, characterized in that The transmission mechanism between the head (2) and the lever (6) is implemented as a pinion crown mechanism.

4. The self-braking descender for a rope with lever actuation according to claim 1, characterized in that The transmission mechanism between the head (2) and the lever (6) has a disengagement area between the head (2) and the lever (6) that exceeds a predetermined inclination of the main body.

5. The self-braking descender for a rope with lever actuation according to claim 1, characterized in that The lever (6) comprises a hole (10) through which a pin or a bolt provided on the hole (10) can pass, and in an actuation operation of the lever (6), the pin or the bolt comes into contact with the body of the descender exceeding a predetermined angle.

6. The self-braking descender for a rope with lever actuation according to claim 1, characterized in that The transmission mechanism between the head (2) and the lever (6) has a disengagement zone between the head (2) and the lever (6) before a pre-established minimum inclination of the body (1).

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