A fall arrest device based on rigid guide rails

Abstract

This invention provides a fall arrest device based on a rigid guide rail, aiming to solve the problems of existing fall arrest devices lacking rapid locking, high impact load resistance, smooth movement, and automatic reset capabilities. Structurally, this invention mainly includes a rigid guide rail, a connecting plate, a reversing mechanism, and a fall arrestor. Through a linkage locking mechanism—an integrated linkage design of "handle-eccentric wheel-buckle"—the minute linear displacement of the handle during a fall is efficiently amplified and converted into positive pressure from the buckle on the guide rail surface via the eccentric wheel principle, resulting in a faster and more reliable response and higher load-bearing capacity. The lateral guide wheels on both sides of the base and the rollers at the front and rear ends ensure that the contact between the fall arrestor and the guide rail is rolling friction. Compared to the sliding friction of traditional solutions, this significantly reduces resistance, lessens physical burden, and avoids improper use due to operational inconvenience.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of safety protection equipment for high-altitude operations, and in particular to a fall protection device based on a rigid guide rail. Background Technology

[0002] In the modern power industry, high-altitude operations such as climbing, inspecting, and maintaining power towers are crucial for ensuring the safe and stable operation of the power grid. However, these operations involve challenging environments and high locations, posing a significant risk of fall for workers. An accidental fall not only severely threatens the lives of workers but can also disrupt the reliable power supply, causing substantial losses to related companies and society. Therefore, equipping power tower operations with reliable fall protection devices has become an indispensable part of safety protection.

[0003] For example, Chinese utility model patent with publication number CN216061732U discloses a device to prevent power transmission line towers from falling, as shown in the attached figure. Figure 1 As shown, this device provides basic fall protection for tower climbing operations through a structure including a connecting plate, guide rail clamps, and aluminum alloy guide rails with built-in steel cores. However, this existing technology still has the following main shortcomings: First, the impact load that the fall arrestor can withstand is limited, and the overall structural safety redundancy is low; second, the self-locking device itself is relatively heavy, and the friction between it and the rigid guide rail is large, resulting in significant resistance when workers move the self-locking device during climbing, which not only increases the workload but also reduces work efficiency.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need for a new type of fall arrest device to address the aforementioned pain points. Utility Model Content

[0005] This application addresses the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a fall arrest device based on a rigid guide rail. Through the integrated linkage design of the linkage locking mechanism, it achieves instant and reliable locking and can withstand higher impact loads. At the same time, through the rolling component, the resistance is significantly reduced, so that the operator can hardly feel the dragging sensation during the climbing process, and the movement is light and smooth.

[0006] The technical solution adopted in this utility model is as follows: A fall arrestor based on a rigid guide rail includes a rigid guide rail and a fall arrestor slidably mounted on the rigid guide rail, the fall arrestor comprising: A base and a housing fixed to the upper surface of the base to provide a structural and mounting foundation; The linkage locking mechanism includes an eccentric wheel rotatably disposed inside the housing, a handle connected to one end of the eccentric wheel and extending out of the housing, and a locking buckle connected to the other end of the eccentric wheel and facing the rigid guide rail below the base. An elastic reset element is connected between the handle and the outer upper surface of the housing; The handle is configured to drive the eccentric wheel to rotate when subjected to external force, thereby causing the locking buckle to tightly press against the rigid guide rail; when the external force disappears, the elastic reset member drives the handle to reset and drives the eccentric wheel and the locking buckle to reset, thereby causing the locking buckle to separate from the rigid guide rail.

[0007] Furthermore, the fall arrestor also includes a rolling assembly disposed on the base, the rolling assembly including at least a pair of lateral guide wheels and at least a set of rollers.

[0008] Furthermore, two pairs of lateral guide wheels are provided, symmetrically arranged on the horizontal sides of the base, and the lateral guide wheels are in rolling contact with the side of the rigid guide rail; the rollers are provided in two sets, front and rear, respectively located at the front and rear ends of the base, and are in rolling contact with the front surface of the rigid guide rail.

[0009] Furthermore, the outer casing is also provided with a handle groove for limiting the movement trajectory of the handle, and the handle groove is an arc-shaped groove.

[0010] Furthermore, the rigid guide rail has a T-shaped cross-section, and the front end of the rigid guide rail has a protrusion and the rear end has a concave part. The rigid guide rails are spliced ​​and fixed by connecting plates to form a track for the fall arrester to move up and down or left and right. The guide rail selection is switched at the intersection of the rigid guide rails in different degrees of freedom directions by configuring a commutator.

[0011] Furthermore, the locking buckle is a metal wedge block or a metal toothed block.

[0012] Furthermore, the elastic reset element is a tension spring, a compression spring, or a torsion spring.

[0013] The advantages of this utility model over the prior art are as follows: (i) Rapid and Reliable Locking: Through a linkage locking mechanism—an integrated design of "handle-eccentric wheel-buckle"—the minute linear displacement of the handle during a fall is efficiently amplified and converted into positive pressure from the buckle on the guide rail surface via the eccentric wheel principle. This mechanical triggering mechanism responds rapidly and instantly utilizes the falling force and the self-locking effect of the eccentric wheel to generate significant static friction between the buckle and the guide rail, thus achieving immediate and reliable locking. This structure can withstand higher impact loads, providing crucial safety for workers operating at heights. (ii) Automatic Reset: Utilizing the reset characteristic of the spring, after the danger has passed, the operator only needs to pull the rope upwards to drive the handle and eccentric wheel to rotate in the opposite direction, causing the buckle to automatically disengage from the guide rail surface. The spring then pulls the entire linkage locking mechanism back to its initial position. The entire unlocking and reset process is simple and quick, requiring no tools or complex operations. The fall arrestor can immediately resume its sliding function, ensuring the continuity of subsequent operations and improving work efficiency.

[0014] (iii) Smooth and Low-Resistance Movement: A stable rolling support system is constructed through lateral guide wheels on both sides of the base and rollers at the front and rear ends. During normal movement, the contact between the fall arrestor and the guide rail is through rolling friction, significantly reducing resistance compared to the sliding friction of traditional solutions. This makes the worker feel almost no drag during climbing, allowing for easy and smooth movement. It effectively reduces physical burden and avoids improper use due to operational inconvenience, thus improving safety from the outset. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the existing technology; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the rigid guide rail in this utility model; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the connecting plate in this utility model; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the commutator in this utility model; Figure 5 This is a first-view structural diagram of the fall arrestor in this utility model; Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the second-view structure of the fall arrestor in this utility model; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the fall arrestor in this utility model.

[0016] The components are as follows: 1. Rigid guide rail; 2. Connecting plate; 3. Reversing device; 4. Fall arrestor; 401. Housing; 402. Handle; 403. Base; 404. Elastic reset component; 405. Lateral guide wheel; 406. Roller; 407. Eccentric shaft; 408. Handle slot; 409. Eccentric wheel; 410. Movement channel; 411. Locking buckle. Detailed Implementation

[0017] The specific embodiments of this utility model are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0018] This utility model provides a fall arrest device based on a rigid guide rail, which aims to solve the problems of existing fall arrest devices not having the ability to lock quickly, withstand high impact loads, move smoothly, and automatically reset.

[0019] like Figures 2-7 As shown, the present invention mainly includes a rigid guide rail 1, a connecting plate 2, a commutator 3, and a fall arrestor 4 in terms of structure.

[0020] In one embodiment of this utility model, the rigid guide rail 1 preferably has a T-shaped cross-section, with a protrusion at the front end and a concave portion at the rear end. Multiple rigid guide rails 1 are joined together by the cooperation of the protrusions and concave portions, and fixed together using connecting plates 2 and bolts to form a continuous track for the fall arrester 4 to move up and down or left and right. A reversing device 3 is provided at the intersection of the track paths (such as the connection point between a vertical track and a horizontal crossarm track) to guide the fall arrester 4 to change its direction of movement.

[0021] In one embodiment of this utility model, the fall arrestor 4 is mounted on the rigid guide rail 1 via a movement channel 410 on its base 403. The fall arrestor 4 mainly includes a base 403, a housing 401, a linkage locking mechanism, an elastic reset member 404, and a rolling assembly.

[0022] In one embodiment of this utility model, the outer shell 401 is fixed to the base 403 by bolts, together forming the main frame of the fall arrester 4. The linkage locking mechanism includes an eccentric wheel 409, a handle 402, and a locking buckle 411. The eccentric wheel 409 is rotatably mounted in the inner cavity of the outer shell 401 via an eccentric shaft 407. One end of the handle 402 extends into the inner cavity of the outer shell 401 and is fixedly connected to the eccentric wheel 409, while the other end extends out of the outer shell 401. The locking buckle 411 is preferably a metal wedge-shaped block, directly fixedly mounted on the lower end of the eccentric wheel 409, facing the rigid guide rail 1. An arc-shaped groove for the handle 402 is provided on the outer shell 401 to constrain the movement trajectory and amplitude of the handle 402.

[0023] In one embodiment of this utility model, the elastic reset member 404 can be a tension spring, also called a reset spring; one end of it is connected to the handle 402, and the other end is connected to a fixed point on the upper surface of the outer shell 401; in its natural state, the spring is in its original length state, pulling the handle 402 to the initial position of the handle 402 groove. At this time, the eccentric wheel 409 maintains the initial angle, and the locking buckle 411 is in an inclined and raised state, not in contact with the rigid guide rail 1.

[0024] In one embodiment of this utility model, the rolling assembly includes two pairs of lateral guide wheels 405 and two sets of rollers 406. The two pairs of lateral guide wheels 405 are symmetrically installed on both sides of the base 403, and their rims roll in contact with the sides of the rigid guide rail 1 to limit the lateral displacement of the fall arrester 4. The two sets of rollers 406 are respectively installed at the front and rear ends of the base 403 along the guide rail direction, and roll in contact with the front surface of the rigid guide rail 1, serving as the main displacement contact guide and load-bearing component.

[0025] The working principle of this utility model is as follows: Normal sliding state: When workers climb, the fall arrestor 4 moves with them. At this time, the handle 402 is in the initial position of the handle 402 groove under the action of the elastic reset member 404, and the locking buckle 411 is tilted up and does not contact the rigid guide rail 1. The fall arrestor 4 moves forward entirely by rolling on the rigid guide rail 1 using the lateral guide wheel 405 and roller 406, with minimal frictional resistance and smooth movement.

[0026] Fall arrestor locking state: In the event of a fall, the worker descends, and under the acceleration of gravity, pulls the connected safety rope. The safety rope pulls the handle 402, causing it to overcome the tension of the return spring and move outward along the groove of the handle 402. The handle 402 drives the eccentric wheel 409 to rotate around the eccentric shaft 407, and the locking buckle 411 fixed on it rotates downward synchronously, quickly pressing against the surface of the rigid guide rail 1. Under the impact of the falling gravity, a huge static friction force is generated between the locking buckle 411 and the guide rail. At the same time, the eccentric wheel 409 generates a self-locking effect, instantly and reliably locking the fall arrestor 4 onto the guide rail, preventing the worker from falling further.

[0027] Unlocking and Reset Procedure: After the danger has passed, the operator pulls the safety rope upwards, causing the handle 402 to move in the opposite direction along the groove of the handle 402. The handle 402 drives the eccentric wheel 409 to reverse, causing the locking buckle 411 to rotate upwards and disengage from the guide rail surface. At the same time, the reset spring, under its own elastic force, pulls the handle 402 back to its initial position, and the eccentric wheel 409 and the locking buckle 411 also return to their initial non-working state, allowing the fall arrestor 4 to slide smoothly again.

[0028] The above description is an explanation of the present utility model and not a limitation thereof. The scope of the present utility model is defined by the claims. Within the protection scope of the present utility model, any form of modification may be made.

Claims

1. A rigid rail based fall arrest device characterised in that: Includes a rigid guide rail (1) and a fall arrester (4) slidably mounted on the rigid guide rail (1), the fall arrester (4) comprising: A base (403) and a housing (401) fixed to the upper surface of the base (403) to provide a structural and mounting foundation; The linkage locking mechanism includes an eccentric wheel (409) rotatably disposed inside the housing (401), a handle (402) connected to one end of the eccentric wheel (409) and extending out of the housing (401), and a locking buckle (411) connected to the other end of the eccentric wheel (409) and facing the rigid guide rail (1) below the base (403). An elastic reset member (404) is connected between the handle (402) and the outer upper surface of the housing (401); The handle (402) is configured to drive the eccentric wheel (409) to rotate when subjected to external force, thereby causing the locking buckle (411) to tightly press against the rigid guide rail (1); when the external force disappears, the elastic reset member (404) drives the handle (402) to reset and drives the eccentric wheel (409) and the locking buckle (411) to reset, thereby causing the locking buckle (411) to separate from the rigid guide rail (1).

2. The fall arrestor based on a rigid guide rail as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The fall arrestor (4) also includes a rolling assembly disposed on the base (403), the rolling assembly including at least a pair of lateral guide wheels (405) and at least a set of rollers (406).

3. The fall arrestor based on a rigid guide rail as described in claim 2, characterized in that: Two pairs of lateral guide wheels (405) are provided, symmetrically arranged on the horizontal sides of the base (403), and the lateral guide wheels (405) roll in contact with the side of the rigid guide rail (1); two sets of rollers (406) are provided, one in the front and one in the rear, respectively located at the front and rear ends of the base (403), and roll in contact with the front surface of the rigid guide rail (1).

4. The fall arrestor based on a rigid guide rail as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The outer shell (401) is also provided with a handle (402) groove for limiting the movement trajectory of the handle (402), and the handle (402) groove is an arc-shaped groove.

5. A fall arrestor based on a rigid guide rail as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The rigid guide rail (1) has a T-shaped cross section, and the front end of the rigid guide rail (1) has a protrusion and the rear end has a concave part. The rigid guide rails (1) are spliced ​​and fixed by the connecting plate (2) to form a track for the fall arrester (4) to move up and down or left and right. The rigid guide rails (1) in different degrees of freedom directions are switched by a reversing device (3) at the intersection.

6. The fall arrestor based on a rigid guide rail as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The locking buckle (411) is a metal wedge block or a metal toothed block.

7. A fall arrestor based on a rigid guide rail as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The elastic reset element (404) is a tension spring, a compression spring, or a torsion spring.

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