Rope blocker having a rotating cam, and a corresponding rope blocking method

Abstract

Proposed is a rope blocker (1) having a rotatable cam (13) and appropriate method for securing a user (4) to an anchoring point (52) in conjunction with a rope (3). The rope blocker (1) comprises a device body (11) with a carabiner hole (12) for the attachment of a carabiner (2) or another attachment mean as a sling 5 securing the rope blocker (1) to a climbing harness (41) of the user (4) or the anchoring point (52). The rope (3) is going through the device body (11) and sliding between the inside wall and the cam (13). The cam (13) can rotate between a blocking position (136) and a free sliding position (135). The blocking position (136) is where the rotatable cam (13) is pushing the rope (3) against the inside wall and therefore blocking the rope 10 (3). The free sliding position is where the rope (3) is not touching a groove (13321) of the cam (13) and therefore slides freely inside the device body (11). Any type of carabiner (2) or sling can be used to connect the rope blocker (1) to the harness (41) or the wall (5) and the anchoring point (51), respectively.

Description

[0001] Rope blocker having a rotating cam, and a corresponding rope blocking method

[0002] Field of the Invention

[0003] The present invention relates to a rope blocker for multipurpose use in mountaineering, climbing, caving or when working in high positions, e.g. also in work industry. The aim of the device is to be used in conjunction with a rope and secure the user to anchoring point. Further, the invention also refers to rope blockers used in crevasse rescue, hauling, belaying, self-ascension or the like. The present invention relates to a belay lanyards, and corresponding belay methods. The aim of these devices is to secure the user to an anchoring point on a wall. In general, the invention relates to the field of mountain and rock climbing, and more particularly, the invention relates to belay devices and systems for controlling the ascent or descent of a climber, and methods for using the same.

[0004] Background of the Invention

[0005] Mountain and rock climbing can be challenging in which an individual can ascend or descend a rock face that is often close to vertical. At the start of such a climb, the individual chooses a path that will be taken to ascend or descend the face. Particularly for ascending a rock face, the individual must use his entire body, as well as various pieces of specialized equipment. For example, the individual may use specially designed ropes, harnesses, carabiners, specially designed shoes, and the like.

[0006] Frequently, the climber is not alone when climbing the rock. The safety of the climber can be enhanced by climbing in teams. When climbing as a team, the climber may tie a special climbing rope to a harness worn by the climber, while the other team member belays the climber. As a climber ascends the rock, for example, the belaying partner controls the tension. The belaying partner can control this tension either by letting out rope or taking rope up to maintain a proper tension in the rope. This tension is important if a climber falls as the greater the tautness or tension in the rope, the less of a distance the climber can fall.

[0007] Belay devices, e.g. used in mountaineering, sport climbing or work industry, are devices by which a person providing belay (i.e. the belayer) controls the rope during fall arrest of the climber. It increases the friction rate of the rope resulting in reducing the amount of total force which the belayer has to hold by the strength of his or her arms. Therefore, belay devices are used to facilitate the fall arrest of the climber. With the modern development of belay devices, the belaying and fall arrest of the climber could be facilitated compared to the past. With the today's belaying technology, belaying can be done by almost anybody, even by an older child, providing that everything is done correctly. During the belaying, the belay device must be anchored, either to some fixed point (e.g. a belay station with anchoring in the terrain) or to a belayer's harness (typically the belay device connects in this case to a belay loop of the seat harness) . Basically, there are two main type of devices: (i) belay devices without blocking function, and (ii) belay devices with blocking functions.

[0008] Regarding the type (i), i.e. belay devices without blocking function, these belay devices allow a dynamic belay with slip of the rope. It is important to note, that one disadvantage of the belay devices without blocking function is, that typically the breaking done with these belay devices is very low. For a complete stop, there is a vigorous effort required by the belayer. Therefore, the belayer should never let go off the rope while belaying with these devices. Examples of the belay devices without blocking function are HMS carabiner with half hitch, 8-shaped rappel devices, and tube style (Sticht plate) devices. HMS, i.e. Halbmastwurf-Sicherung, is a belay technique in which only the HMS carabiner and the rope is used, since HMS carabiners are simple and effective belay devices. The rope is connected to the HMS carabiner by its half hitch and is sometimes also referred to as UIAA belay method based on the recommendation of the UIAA (International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation) concerning this device. HMS carabiner used for protection must have a safety lock of the gate, as e.g. shows the HMS carabiner Belay Master manufactured by DMM (UK) . 8- sahped rappel devices were primarily designed as rappelling equipment, but can also be used for protection and belay. One of the disadvantages of 8-shaped rappel devices, when used as belay devices, are their small braking effect. This is due to the fact that the 8-shape, which is intended for rappelling, has dimensions adapted for two strands of rope, because that is used for rappelling the most. However, during belaying there is only one strand in the 8-shape, and thus the strand is relatively thin compared to the size of the eight and radiuses of the rope's bend are higher, so the friction of the rope on the 8-shape is lower. As a rule, the bigger the 8-shape is, the lower braking effects are provided, and on the contrary, smaller the 8-shapes have a bigger breaking effect, because the rope is bent more. However, the trade-off is, that the rappelling on smaller 8-shapes is stiffer. Finally, tube style devices, which are also referred to as Sticht plate after its inventor and mountaineer Franz Sticht, require to have added a carabiner, as an HMS carabiner or oval carabiner. In this type of belay devices, the rope is inserted into the opening by bending. Through the top of the bending, the carabiner is clipped to prevent slipping of the rope from the belay device. The shape of the original Sticht plate was very simple and its options were limited. In the latest styles, the basic body is a tube style device specifically profiled, thereby providing the possibility to variably change the amount of braking effect of the belay device. However, one disadvantage of tube style devices is that they, in general, have relatively little braking effect in arresting the fall directly on the belay station (i.e. in case that the fall is arrested directly into the belay device.

[0009] Regarding the type (ii), i.e. belay devices with blocking function, this type can be divided into further sub-groups according to the type of design or purpose for which they serve. The blocking function can operate either in a specific direction, or the belay device is designed in a way that ensures the blocking in any direction. For example, these belay devices can be divided in categories (a) belay devices with blocking function for top rope belay, (b) semi-automatic belay devices, and (c) belay devices for solo climbing. For the present application, in particular category (a) devices are relevant. For category (a) devices, the blocking function is achieved by a mechanism where the strand of a rope strung by the weight of suspended person will be in the belay device pressed onto the free end of the rope, and thus prevent it in sliding motion. The suspended person thus blocks the rope by its own weight. Such protection is usually referred to as static.

[0010] Independent of the belay device used, when reaching an anchoring point, climbers will frequently connect themselves to said anchoring point in a secure manner. To do so, climbers may use a piece of dynamic rope, a sling, a specific belay lanyard or the like. This allows them to disconnect from the partner belaying to bring said partner up or carry various maneuver around the anchoring point. Various such belaying systems are known in the prior art. For example, a top-roping belay system uses an anchor that is placed at the top of the rock. The climber's rope extends through the anchor, and the anchor acts as a pulley. The belaying partner may stand at the top of the cliff to belay the climber, although the partner typically stands at the foot of the rock. In either case, the anchor remains at the top of the rock and the rope extends downward toward the climber from above while the partner controls the tension to ensure that the climber will not fall any great distance if he loses his footing or grip on the mountain. Another belaying system is a lead climbing system in which the climber drags the rope up the mountain and the rope is fed to the climber from below. During the ascent, the climber may clip the rope into carabiners which are secured to the rock at various points up the mountain. Whether the rope is being fed to the climber in a top-rope or lead climbing system, when the climber falls, the belaying partner uses the belay device to grasp and secure the rope. In this manner, the fall of the climber is stopped, and the climber is suspended above the ground. The belaying partner can then lower the climber to the ground by gradually allowing rope to extend through the belay device.

[0011] Self-belay lanyard using a sling or a stitched rope are not convenient as they do not allow the user to adjust their distance to the wall easily and fluidly, devices like the Petzl Connect Adjust (see US 9'227'092 B2) or the Edelrid Switch Adjust or Double Adjust allow to adjust the distance but feature thick ropes and adjusting the distance requires a lot of force due to the friction in the device. This type of device is especially hard to adjust using only one hand, during ascents, climbers may need to reach an anchoring point located at the maximum of their reach and therefore need to extend the device using one hand to secure themselves to the anchor. In contrast, the present invention allows effortless adjustment of the device using only one hand. Devices from prior art also frequently rely on a carabiner to create friction on the rope, making it dependent on the type and size of the carabiner used. The invention described in this patent is independent from the carabiner and leave the user free to choose the type, shape and size of carabiner used.

[0012] Further, the invention also refers to rope blockers used in crevasse rescue, hauling, belaying, self-ascension or the like. Devices like the Petzl Micro Traxion (see FR 2'962'724 Bl ) or other rope blockers allows to grip the rope with high forces but at the cost of high stress on the rope. Such high stress, especially when exerted on the sheath of a kernmantle rope can lead to the failure of the rope, resulting on a climber being stuck on the wall or injuries. Such devices are used by climbers for their low friction making it effortless to belay the climber from above. Users usually know the risks but still proceed with such device for the time and energy the device allows them to save. The invention also allows to belay a partner from above with minimal friction but the inventive blocking method exerts less stress on the sheath of the rope making it safer to use. Other belay devices, as e.g. described in US 10'245'452 B2, feature a similar cam and a body comprising a hole for a carabiner but are intended for different use. Furthermore, this type of device features a rotating lever and is a lot bulkier than the present invention described in this patent. Other belay devices are used similarly like US 8'464'832 B, but have the carabiner attached to the cam which can rotate around the body. This type of solution is also more aggressive on the rope and could lead to severe damage in the event of a fall.

[0013] Further, all of these prior art types of belay devices are commonly frictional devices that allow large forces applied to a rope to be held by the belaying partner with little effort. In most cases, the large forces are reduced by belay devices based on the Capstan effect. In such a system, the rope is wrapped around a pin to dramatically reduce the required holding force. However, belay devices of this type generally do not allow the climber to adjust the distance to the wall. This is, since in the past, ropes were used along with a carabiner and knots or stitching to secure a climber directly to the wall. Such setup is not convenient, as mentioned above, as they do not allow the climber to adjust the distance to the wall. Devices such as the Petzl Connect adjust or the Edelrid switch allow to adjust this distance but features thick ropes and adjusting the distance requires a lot of force due to the friction in the device.

[0014] In summary, belay devices or rope blocker, referred to as adjustable lanyard, are used in sport climbing and mountaineering but also in the work industry. This kind of device is used to connect safely a climber to a fixe anchor on a wall while being able to adjust the distance between the user and the wall easily. In the prior art, belay lanyards are usually made of one or multiple metal parts along with a dynamic rope and a carabiner. One end of the rope is meant to stop the device from slipping in case of high load and the other is meant to attach the device to the harness of the climber. In the prior art, there are 3 types of patents, general belay lanyards, prior art around earning devices and prior art related to the means to connect the lanyards to a harness. This last type of prior art is relevant for the sling stitched on the rope, and other solutions to link the device to the harness. Most prior art devices use a lark's foot knot to do so. Examples of such patent literature are US9227092B2, ES1048305U, ESI 286135U, US20200271 192A, or WO2022254410A1, showing prior art adjustable lanyards; US20130219671 Al , EP2301631A1, or US1 1878191 B2 showing earning solutions; and ESI 299816U showing means to link the lanyard and a harness.

[0015] Summary of the Invention

[0016] It is one object of the present invention to provide rope blocker with reduced friction for easier handling. Further, it is an object of the present invention to provide a rope blocker allowing the user or climber to adjust the distance to the wall or an anchoring point, which is not or not easily possible with prior art methods using ropes along with a carabiner and knots or stitching to secure a climber directly to the wall. A further object of the invention is to provide a rope blocker which, while fulfilling the requirements from EN 17520, provides a reduced slippage of the rope and is able to withstand high factor falls with an appropriate large mass. Furthermore, the rope blocker should allow for reduced friction when adjusting the length of the rope or pulling the rope through the device.

[0017] According to the present invention, these objects are achieved, particularly, with the features of the independent claims. In addition, further advantageous embodiments can be derived from the dependent claims and the related descriptions.

[0018] According to the present invention, the above-mentioned objects for a rope blocker, and corresponding rope blocking method are achieved, particularly, in that, a rope blocker for securing a user to an anchoring point in conjunction with a rope, the rope blocker comprising a device body with a carabiner hole for the attachment of a carabiner or another attachment mean securing the rope blocker to a climbing harness of the user or the anchoring point, in that the device body comprises a first plate region and a second plate region, the first and second plate regions spaced apart defining an internal space of the device body between the two plate regions, wherein the device body has a first and second open portion to the internal space forming a continuous channel for the passage of a rope, and wherein a rope end exiting the first open portion is connected to the anchoring point or the climbing harness of the user forming a loading strand of the rope and the rope end exiting the second open portion is forming a dead strand of the rope, in that the device body comprises a rotatable cam with a cam hole for a pin holding the cam between the first and second plate regions in the internal space rotatable between a blocking and a non-blocking position, the cam comprising a section to increase friction on contact with the rope in the blocking position, the non-blocking position enabling movement of the rope and the blocking position blocking movement of the rope, and in that applying a pulling force to the dead strand of the rope causing rotation of the rotatable cam to the non-blocking position by the pulling force, the non-blocking position enabling movement of the rope, while applying a pulling force to the loading strand of the rope causing the rotation of the rotatable cam to the blocking position by the applied pulling force thereby blocking movement of the rope. The invention has, inter alia, the advantage that they provide a safe usage to connect safely a climber to a fixe anchor on a wall while being able to adjust the distance between the user and the wall easily. The inventive rope blocker can be used equally in in sport climbing and mountaineering but also in the work industry. The climbing harness can e.g. be a sit harness or chest harness or a full body harness. Said other attachment means can e.g. comprise a rope or a sling. As mentioned, the rope blocker, as personal belay lanyard, comprises a device body and a rotatable cam rotating around an axis inside the body. The rope is going through the body and sliding between the inside wall and the cam. The cam can rotate between a blocking position and a free sliding position. The blocking position is where the cam is pushing the rope against the inside wall and therefore blocking the rope. The free sliding position is where the rope is not touching the groove of the cam and therefore slides freely inside the body. The body also comprises a hole for the attachment of a carabiner or sling. Any type of carabiner or sling can be used to connect the device to the wall and is the free choice of the user. When the climber is exerting force on the climber's strand of the rope the cam is rotated into the blocking position. When pulling on the dead strand of the rope the cam is no longer blocking the rope and therefore the rope is sliding freely inside the body, allowing the climber to get closer to the wall. To increase the distance between the climber and the wall, the climber must rotate the body which decrease the friction between the groove and the rope, therefore the rope is sliding freely inside the body. The present invention further has, inter alia, the advantage that a rope blocker is provided with reduced friction for easier handling is provided. Further, the inventive rope blocker or belay device and blocking or belay method allows the climber to adjust easily and exactly the distance to the wall to a desired range. The further advantage of the invention is that the rope blocker 1 , while fulfilling the requirements from EN 17520, provides a reduced slippage of the rope and is able to withstand 3 factor 2 fall with an 80kg mass when used in conjunction with a dynamic rope,. Furthermore, the rope blocker 1 allows reduced friction when adjusting the length of the rope or pulling the rope through the device.

[0019] In an embodiment variant, a rotation of the device body by the user may cause rotation of the rotatable cam to the non-blocking position enabling the movement of the rope under applied pulling force to the loading strand.

[0020] In another embodiment variant, the device body can e.g. comprise a device body lever on the device body or a cam lever on the rotatable cam to rotate manually the device body and the cam, respectively. The cam can e.g. be rotatable by the user using the cam lever to disengage the rope blocker.

[0021] In a further embodiment variant, the device body can e.g. comprise an end stopper to block further rotation in direction of the end stopper.

[0022] In an embodiment variant, the device body can e.g. comprise a spring acting on the rotatable cam by pushing the cam toward the blocking position. This has, inter alia, the advantage that the rope blocker provides an improved and safe rope blocking independent of the rope being bend or not. Further, it allows to decrease the slippage and / or time needed for the cam to rotate in the blocked position.

[0023] In an embodiment variant, the rotatable cam can e.g. be realized having a first flat top section, a second section to increase the friction with the rope and a third section to pinch the rope in the blocking position. This has, inter alia, the advantage that a most efficient cam can be provided. Around the pin hole, the cam can e.g. be constructed skeleton-like, as shown in figure 5, thereby minimizing the weight of the rope blocker. Further, the second section can e.g. comprise a groove to increase the friction with the rope, and thus improve the efficiency of the rope blocker. The groove can e.g. have a textured or structured surface to further increase friction to the rope when in contact with the groove.

[0024] In another embodiment variant, the device body can e.g. be made out of one single part, or two side plates riveted or screwed together. This has, inter alia, the advantage that it facilitates the manufacturing process of the rope blocker in terms of assemblable parts. The pin defining axis of rotation of the rotatable cam can e.g. be realized by a screw or a rivet.

[0025] In a further embodiment variant, the rope end exiting the second open portion and forming the dead strand of the rope can e.g. be realized having at the end an enlarged detaching prevention section. The enlarged detaching prevention section can e.g. be realized as a stopper knot or stitched section. This has, inter alia, the advantage that the detaching prevention section prevents the device body from unintentionally detaching from the rope.

[0026] In an embodiment variant, the rope end exiting the first open portion and forming the loading strand of the rope can e.g. be realized having at the end a loop to secure the device body to the climbing harness of the user or to an anchoring point. Further, the rope end forming the loading strand of the rope can e.g. be realized having an additional sling or a feed blocker or the same attached to the lower part of the loading strand of the rope to provide an extra attachment point e.g. using a carabiner. The sling has, inter alia, the advantage that it provides a loop to secure a carabiner or any other attachment means.

[0027] In an even further embodiment variant, the cam can e.g. comprise a rotatable roller either the flat top section and / or at the section for pinching the rope 3. The roller can e.g. comprise a groove guiding the rope in case of being in touch with the rope. The rotatable roller can e.g. be rotatable around an axis of rotation, wherein the roller is mounted at its the axis of rotation on the cam by a rivet or a brass busher or a bearing or a pin. The rotatable roller can e.g. be realized in aluminum and / or steel and / or plastic or any other suitable material or combination of materials. This embodiment variant as e.g. shown in figures 26 and 28 has various technical advantages as e.g. a more compact construction of the device body and / or a realization of the rope blocker 1 with less weight and used material. Another important advantage of these embodiment variants is, for example, that the rope blocker can easily be provided without an end stop or with an end stop. The end stop can be used to prevent to rotatable cam from biting when pulling in direction of the dead strand. The end stop can e.g. also be realized in the way of figure 1 or with one or two end stops, the second to further prevent the cam to pinch the rope to strong by the third section in the blocking position. However, in these embodiment variants, the end stop can be omitted due to the realization of the roller at the cam (or the device body), since the roller prevents the cam from pinching the rope to strongly by the third section in the blocking position. Finally, the end stop can e.g. be realized to be activatable by a user, i.e. by pushing or releasing an end stop pin by the user. Thus, the rope blocker can, in this embodiment variant, be used with or without an end stop. This has the advantage, that, for example, the rope blocker can be user-specific adapted by the user e.g. to different weights of the climber, as for example without end stop allowing the cam to pinch the rope stronger for climber with e.g. a weight more than 60 kg, while with an activated end stop, preventing the cam to pinch the rope too strong for climber with a weight below 60 kg. It is to be noted, that the weight values, as given above are just exemplary values and depend on the realization of the rope blocker. This embodiment variant with an activatable end stop can e.g. also be used to allow adapting the rope blocker 1 to different rope diameters. Again, goal of the roller is to reduce the friction when pulling the rope through the device.

[0028] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0029] The present invention will be explained in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the drawings in which:

[0030] Figure 1 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of a rope blocker 1 in the free sliding position 135. The rope blocker 1 allows to secure a user 4 to an anchoring point 51 in conjunction with a rope 3, the rope blocker 1 comprising a device body 1 1 with a carabiner hole 12 for the attachment of a carabiner 2 or another attachment mean securing the rope blocker 1 to a climbing harness 41 of the user 4.

[0031] Figure 2 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of a rope blocker 1 in the blocked position 136.

[0032] Figure 3 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of a rope blocker 1 in the open position 135 with a rope 3

[0033] Figure 4 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of a rope blocker 1 in the blocked position 136 for the rope 3.

[0034] Figure 5 and Figures 6a, 6b, and 6c show diagrams schematically illustrating different embodiment variants of the rotatable cam 13. The rotatable cam 13 can be realized having a first flat top section 133 / 1331 , a second section 133 / 1332 to increase the friction with the rope 3, and a third section 133 / 1333 to pinch the rope 3 in the blocking position 136. The second section 133 / 1332 can be realized to increase the friction with the rope 3 using a groove 13321 . The groove 13321 can have a textured or structured surface 13322 to further increase friction to the rope 3 by the friction-intense, textured or structured surface 13322 when applied to the groove 13321 . The groove 13321 can also e.g. comprise a series of teeth to further increase the friction with the rope 3.

[0035] Figures 7 and 8 show diagrams schematically illustrating different embodiment variants of the rope 3 allowing to secure a user 4 to an anchoring point 5 in conjunction with the rope 3, or to connect the rope blocker 1 to a harness 41 . These embodiment variants show solutions such as a sling 31 1 stitched 31 1 1 on the rope 3 (see figures 8 showing a stitched sling 31 1 used to link a carabiner 2 to a user 4). There are also other solutions possible to link the device body 11 to the harness 41 such as a lark's foot knot to do so.

[0036] Figures 9a, 9b and 9c show diagrams schematically illustrating different embodiment variants of dead strand of the rope 3, which can e.g. be comprise a detaching prevention 321 realized as a knotted detaching prevention 321 l as e.g. a stopper knot or double fisherman knot, or as a stitched detaching prevention 3212 as e.g. a stitched section, or any other detaching prevention means 3213

[0037] Figures 10a and 10b show diagrams schematically illustrating exemplary rubber rings 231 as stoppers 23 for holding the rope blocker 1 in the correct position at the carabiner 2.

[0038] Figure 1 1 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant, where the rotatable cam 13 can be acted by the user. Figure 1 1 shows an inside view of the device body 1 1 featuring the rotatable cam 13 rotating around the pin 13 and comprising a cam section 134 of the cam 13 designed to be acted on as cam lever 134 by the user 4. By pulling on this section 134 the user 4 can decrease the tension on the rope 3 from the rotatable cam 13 and adjust the distance 42 between said user 4 and the wall, rock face or rock wall 5, respectively, i.e. the distance 52 between the rope blocker 1 and the anchoring point 51 .

[0039] Figure 12 shows a diagram schematically illustrating another embodiment variant of the invention attached on a carabiner 2. The rope blocker 1 features a device body 1 1 attached to the carabiner 41 . In this embodiment variant, in contrast to the embodiment variant shown in figure 1 1 , the device body 1 1 comprises a device body lever 1 1 1 allowing the user 4 to rotate the device body 1 1 and therefore adjust the distance 52 between the user 4 and the anchoring point 51 in a controlled manner. On the other side in figure 1 1 , the rotatable cam 13 rotating around the pin 14 comprises a section 134, i.e. the cam lever 134 of the cam 13 designed to be acted on by the user 4. By pulling on this section 134 the user 4 can decrease the tension on the rope 3 from the cam 13 and adjust the distance 52 between said user 3and the wall 5.

[0040] Figure 13 shows a diagram schematically illustrating a further embodiment variant of an inventive rope blocker 1 or adjustable belay lanyard comprising the rotatable cam 13 allowing to pinch the rope 3 and therefore block the rope 3. The rotatable cam 13 can also comprise a groove 13321 for better friction with the rope 3. As in all embodiment variants, the rope 3 is passing inside the device body 1 1 and against the rotatable cam 13. When the rope 3 is loaded at the loading strand side 31 , i.e. in direction 1 1621 , the rotatable cam 13 rotates and blocks the rope 3 against the body. By pulling on the dead strand 32, one can take up slack. The rope blocker 1 can e.g. be provided with an end stop 1 13 to prevent to rotatable cam 13 from biting when pulling in direction 1 161 1 of the dead strand 32. The end stop 1 13 can e.g. also be realized in the way of figure 1 or as to and stop 1 13 to further prevent the cam 13 to pinch the rope 3 to strong by the third section 133 / 1333 in the blocking position 136 allowing to optimize the rope blocker 1 to the used ropes 3 and / or to the weight of possible climbers 4. It is to be noted that the end stop 1 13 can be omitted with a suitable realization of the rope blocker 1 , as for example shown in the figures 26 to 29. To increase the distance 52 between the climber 4 and the wall 5, the climber 4 needs to rotate the device body 1 1 (or pull manually at the cam lever 134 or at the device body lever 1 1 1 ) and therefore the rotatable cam 13 does not engage anymore. In figure 13, the rotatable cam 13 is in a non-blocking position 135, i.e. the cam 13 is not engaged.

[0041] Figure 14 shows a diagram schematically illustrating the same embodiment variant of figure 13 where the rotatable cam 13 is in a blocking position 136, i.e. the cam 13 is engaged.

[0042] Figure 15 shows a diagram schematically illustrating a supervision of the same embodiment variant of figure 13 and figure 14.

[0043] Figure 16 shows a diagram schematically illustrating 2D view of the inside of another embodiment variant comprising a device body 1 1 attached to a carabiner 2 passing through the carabiner hole 12. The rotatable cam 13 is able to rotate around the pin 14 between a blocked position 136 shown in figure 16 and a free sliding position shown in figure 17 for this embodiment variant.

[0044] Figure 17 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an inside view of the same embodiment variant of figure 16, where the rotatable cam 13 is in the free sliding position 135, i.e. the non-blocking position. The non-blocking position 135 is achieved when no tension is applied on the system or when pulling on the dead strand 32 of the rope 3. When pulling on the dead strand 32 of the rope 3, the rotatable cam 13 is rotating around the pin 14 and allows the rope 3 to slide inside the device body 1 1 and decrease the distance 52 between the climber 4 and the anchoring point 52. Figure 18 shows a diagram schematically illustrating a side view of the rope blocker 1 . The rope 3 is passing through the device body 1 1 and the device body lever 1 1 1 allows the user 4 to rotate the device body 1 1 1 around the carabiner 2 passing through the carabiner hole 3 and therefore decrease the tension from the rope 3 on the rotatable cam 13, thus allowing the rope 3 to slide freely in the device body 1 1 .

[0045] Figure 19 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of the rotatable cam 13. The rotatable cam 13 can be realized having a first flat top section 133 / 1331 , a second section 133 / 1332 to increase the friction with the rope 3, and a third section 133 / 1333 to pinch the rope 3 in the blocking position 136. The second section 133 / 1332 can be realized to increase the friction with the rope 3 using a groove 13321 . The device body 1 1 or the rotatable cam 13 can e.g. comprise a spring 132 acting on the rotatable cam 13. The spring 132 can e.g. be realized acting on the rotatable cam 13 respective to the device body 1 1 by pushing the rotatable cam 13 toward the blocking position 136. This way, for example, the rope blocker 1 provides an improved and saver rope blocking independent of the rope 3 being bend or not.

[0046] Figure 20 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of a rotatable cam 13 featuring a torsion spring 132. The spring 132 can be mounted around the pin 14, one arm pushing on an internal space of the cam 13 on one side and the other side pushing on the device body 1 1 (shown in figure 21 ) .

[0047] Figure 21 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of a device body 1 1 to the rotatable cam 13 of figure 20, the device body 1 1 featuring the torsion spring 132 of the previous figure 21 . One arm is pushing on an internal space of the device body 1 1 and the other arm on the rotatable cam 13 (shown in figure 20) . For both drawings, figure 20 and 21 , the torsion spring 132 allows the rotatable cam 13 to be pushed towards the blocking position 136 in order to reduce the slippage before the rotatable cam 13 moves into the blocking position 136.

[0048] Figure 22 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of a lanyard setup using the inventive rope blocker 1 . Figure 21 shows the lanyard attached to the harness 41 of the user 4 with a lark's foot knot 31 13 and the inventive rope blocker device 1 linked to the rope 3 used with a carabiner 2 to secure the user 4 to an anchor point 51 . Figure 23 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of a lanyard, for example, used for work at height. Figure 23 shows the lanyard as in figure 22, but where the inventive rope blocker device 1 is attached on the side of the user 4 by means of a carabiner 2. The carabiner 2 is shown in the drawing but it could also be attached using a rope or a sling or a metallic link to the user 4 or even permanently installed on the harness 41 or the user or climber 4. The other side is then attached to an anchoring point 51 at the wall 5. Such setup is useful for work positioning where workers 4 need longer lanyards to position themselves precisely in a vertical environment.

[0049] Figure 24 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of a rope blocker 1 used, for example, for rope soloing or progress capture. Figure 24 above shows the rope blocker device 1 linked to the harness 41 with a carabiner 2 (could also be a sling, rope, metal link, or permanently attached to the harness 41 ) . Whereby feeding a rope 3 through the rope blocker device 1 allows the user 4 to ascend following the rope 3. In this set-up, the rope blocker device 1 follows the climber 4, allowing to safely catch the climber 4 in the event of a fall. This is convenient for rope soloing where a climber 4 alone on the wall uses a rope 3 and such a progress capture device sliding freely on the rope 3 until he falls.

[0050] Figure 25 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of a rope blocker 1 used to belay from above. Figure 25 shows the rope blocker device 1 used to belay a climber 4 from above, where climbers 6 act as belayers by using the inventive rope blocker 1 instead of a belay device to belay a partner 4. This method and setup provide efficiency benefits but may be also more dangerous. The inventive rope blocker device 1 allows to belay a climber 4 from above in a safer manner. Figure 25 shows the climber 4 attached to the rope 3, the rope 3 is running through the rope blocker device 1 attached to an anchoring point 51 . The dead strand 32 of the rope 3 is pulled by a user 6, i.e. the belayer 6, to catch the slack while the climber 4 ascend.

[0051] Figure 26 shows a cut view schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of the device body 1 1 with the roller 137 at the back of the rotatable cam 13, i.e. at the section 1333 of the cam sections 133 for pinching the rope 3. The schematic cut view of the device body 1 1 is realized with the roller 137 at the back of the cam 13, i.e. at the section 1333 of the cam sections 133 for pinching the rope 3. In this embodiment variant, the rotatable cam 13 comprises a rolling part 137, e.g. realized as a rotatable wheel or defection roller, in aluminum, steel, plastic, or any other suitable material. The roller 137 is rotatably mounted around an axle 1371 , e.g. using a rivet 1371 1 or a brass busher 13712 or a bearing 13713 or a pin 13714, located at the pinching section 1333 of the caml 3. The roller 137 can e.g. be mounted directly for example on the rivet 1371 1 or for example on the brass busher 13712 or the bearing 13713 or on the pin 13714 of the cam 13. The roller 137 allows reduced friction while running the rope 3 through the device body 1 1 as the rope 3 runs primarily on the roller 137 in that embodiment variant. When the rope 3 is touching the groove 13321 at the front of the rotatable cam 13, i.e. at the section 1332 increasing the friction with the rope 3, the cam 13 rotates and blocks the rope 3. It is important to note, that the roller 137 can e.g. be realized the same way also at the device body 1 1 at the location, where the section 1333 of the cam 13 pinches the rope 3 against the device body 1 1 . However, the realization shown in figures 26 and 28 have various technical advantages as e.g. a more compact construction of the device body 1 1 and / or a realization of the rope blocker 1 with less weight and used material.

[0052] Figure 27 shows a diagram schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of rotatable cam 13 according to figure 26, as a 3D view of the cam 3 with the roller 137 at the back of the cam 13, i.e. at the section 1333 for pinching the rope 3. Further it shows the rivet 1371 / 1371 1 for the roller 137. Figure 27 shows a more detailed view of this embodiment variant of the rotatable cam 13. The cam 13 is provided with an opening 1372 to accommodate the roller 137. The cam 13 extends on each side of the roller 137 to hold a rivet 1371 1 , a brass busher 13712, a bearing 13713 or a pin 13714 or the like to attach the roller 13 rotatably to the cam 13. As a further embodiment variant, the roller 13 can e.g. comprise a groove 1373 providing a proper guidance for the rope 3 on the roller 137 and / or to apply or reduce a possible friction in a controlled way.

[0053] Figure 28 shows a cut view schematically illustrating an embodiment variant of the device body 1 1 with the roller 137 at the center of the rotatable cam 13, i.e. at the flat top section 1331 . As the embodiment variants of figures 26 and 28, the rotatable cam 13 comprises a rolling part 137 realized in a suitable material as e.g. in aluminum, steel, plastic, or any other suitable material. The roller 137 is allowed to rotate around an axle 1371 located around the center of the cam 13, i.e. at the flat top section 1331 . The roller 137 can be mounted, for example, directly on a rivet 1371 1 or for example on a brass busher 13712 or bearing 13713 or a pin 13714 suitable to attach the roller 137 rotatably to the cam 13. This roller 137 allows reduced friction while running the rope 3 through the device body 1 1 as the rope 3 runs primarily on the roller 137 in that case. When the rope 3 is touching the groove 13321 at the front of the cam 13, i.e. at the flat top section 1331 , the cam 13 rotates and blocks the rope 3. It is important to note, that the roller 137 can e.g. be realized the same way also at the device body 1 1 at the location, where the section 1333 of the cam 13 pinches the rope 3 against the device body 1 1 . However, the realization shown in figures 26 and 28 have various technical advantages as e.g. a more compact construction of the device body 1 1 and / or a realization of the rope blocker 1 with less weight and used material. Another important advantage of the embodiment variants illustrated and described by figures 26 to 29 is, that the rope blocker 1 can easily be provided without an end stop 1 13 or with an end stop 1 13. The end stop 1 13 can be used to prevent to rotatable cam 13 from biting when pulling in direction 1 161 1 of the dead strand 32. The end stop 1 13 can e.g. also be realized in the way of figure 1 or with a second end stop 1 13 to further prevent the cam 13 to pinch the rope 3 to strong by the third section 133 / 1333 in the blocking position 136. However, the end stop 1 13 can be omitted e.g. with the realization of the rope blocker 1 shown in the figures 26 to 29, due to the realization of the roller 137 at the cam 13 (or the device body 1 1 ), since the roller 1 13 prevents the cam 13 from pinching the rope 3 to strongly by the third section 133 / 1333 in the blocking position 136. As an even further embodiment variant, the end stop 1 13 can e.g. be realized to be activatable by a user 4, i.e. by pushing or releasing an end stop 1 13 pin by the user 4. Thus, the rope blocker 1 can, in this embodiment variant, be used with or without an end stop 1 13. This has the advantage, that, for example, the rope blocker 1 can be user-specific adapted by the user 4 e.g. to different weights of the climber 4, as for example without end stop 1 13 allowing the cam 13 to pinch the rope 3 stronger for climber with e.g. a weight more than 60 kg, while with an activated end stop 1 13, preventing the cam 13 to pinch the rope 3 too strong for climber 4 with a weight below 60 kg. It is to be noted, that the weight values, as given above are just exemplary values and depend on the realization of the rope blocker 1 .

[0054] Figure 29 shows a diagram schematically illustrating a more detailed view of the embodiment variant of the rotatable cam 13 according to figure 28, as a 3D view of the cam 3 with the roller 137 at the center of the cam 13, i.e. at the flat top section 1331 . The rotatable cam 13 is provided with an opening 1372 to accommodate the roller 13. As a further embodiment variant, the roller 13 can e.g. comprise a groove 1373 providing a proper guidance for the rope 3 on the roller 137 and / or to apply or reduce a possible friction in a controlled way.

[0055] Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments

[0056] Figures 1 to 4 schematically illustrate an architecture for a possible implementation of an embodiment of the rope blocker 1 or personal belay lanyard with a rotatable cam 13 for securing a user 4 or climber 4 to an anchoring point 51 at a wall or rock face or rock wall 5 in conjunction with a rope 3, and a corresponding rope blocking method. The rotatable cam 13 is able to rotate around a pin 14 between a blocked position 136 e.g. shown in figure 4 and a free sliding position 135, i.e. a nonblocking position 135, e.g. shown in figure 3. The pin 14 defining axis of rotation of the rotatable cam 13 can e.g. be realized by a screw or a rivet.

[0057] The rope blocker 1 comprising a device body 1 1 with a carabiner hole 12 for the attachment of a carabiner 2 or another attachment mean to the carabiner hole 12 allowing to secure the rope blocker 1 to a climbing harness 41 of the user 4 or the anchoring point 51 (rope solo or progression capture use) . Said other attachment means can e.g. comprise a rope or a sling. The climbing harness 41 can e.g. be a sit harness 41 1 or chest harness 412 or a full body harness 413. The carabiner 2 can e.g. be equipped with or comprises a rubber ring 231 as stopper 23 for holding the rope blocker 1 in the correct position at the carabiner 2.

[0058] The device body 1 1 comprises a first plate region 1 14 and a second plate region 1 15, the first and second plate regions 1 14 / 1 15 spaced apart defining an internal space 1 16 of the device body 1 1 between the two plate regions 1 14 / 1 15. The device body 1 1 has a first and second open portion 1 161 / 1 162 to the internal space 1 16 forming a continuous channel for the passage of a rope 3. A rope end 31 exiting the first open portion 1 1 61 is connected to the anchoring point 51 or the climbing harness 41 of the user 4 forming a loading strand of the rope 3 and the rope end 32 exiting the second open portion 1 162 is forming a dead strand of the rope 3. The device body 1 1 can e.g. be made out of one single part, or two side plates riveted or screwed together.

[0059] The device body 1 1 comprises a rotatable cam 13 with a cam hole 131 for a pin 14 holding the cam 13 between the first and second plate regions 1 14 / 1 15 in the internal space 1 16 rotatable between a blocking 136 and a non-blocking 135 position. The cam 13 comprises a section 1332 to increase friction on contact with the rope 3 in the blocking position 136, the non-blocking position 135 enabling movement of the rope 3 and the blocking position 136 blocking movement of the rope 3. The rotatable cam 13 can e.g. be realized having a first flat top section 133 / 1331 , a second section 133 / 1332 to increase the friction with the rope 3 and a third section 133 / 1333 to pinch the rope 3 in the blocking position 136 (cf. figures 5, 6, and 19) . The second section 133 / 1332 can e.g. further comprise a groove 13321 to increase the friction with the rope 3. The groove 13321 can e.g. have a textured or structured surface or teeth 13322 to further increase friction to the rope 3 by the textured or structured surface or teeth 13322 when the rope 3 is applied to the groove 13321 . The device body 1 1 can e.g. comprise an end stopper 1 13 to block further rotation of the rotatable cam 13 in direction of the end stopper 1 13, as shown e.g. in figure 1 , 3, and 13-15. However, the device body 1 1 can also be realized without such an end stopper 1 13, since its movement is anyway limited by the rope 3 (cf. e.g. figure 3, 4, 17) . To increase the friction at the point, where the third section 133 / 1333 pinches the rope 3 in the blocking position 136, the device body can e.g. comprise a further groove or texture or the like at the place, against which the third section 133 / 1333 pinches the rope 3. As an additional variant, this place (i.e. the place of the device body 1 1 , where the third section 133 / 1333 pinches the rope 3 against), if realized with a groove or the like, can be also realized as a rotatable wheel or deflection roller of the device body 1 1 (reducing the friction when running the rope 3 through the device body 1 1 ), in particular, if the rotatable wheel or deflection roller is realized with a groove to increase the friction to the rope 3 when the third section 133 / 1333 pinches the rope 3 in the blocking position 136.

[0060] Further, the device body 1 1 and / or the cam 13 can e.g. comprise a spring 132 acting on the rotatable cam 13 by pushing the rotatable cam 13 toward the blocking position 136. Applying a pulling force to the dead strand 32 of the rope 3 causing rotation of the rotatable cam 13 to the non-blocking position 135 by the pulling force, the non-blocking position 135 enabling movement of the rope 3. In contrast, applying a pulling force to the loading strand 32 of the rope 3 causing the rotation of the rotatable cam 13 to the blocking position 135 by the applied pulling force thereby blocking movement of the rope 3. Further, the device body 1 1 can e.g. realized that a rotation of the device body 1 1 by the user 4 will cause rotation of the rotatable cam 13 to the non-blocking position 135 enabling the movement of the rope 3 under applied pulling force to the loading strand 32, as e.g. shown in figures 12 and 16 to 18. The device body 1 1 can comprise a device body lever 1 1 1 on the device body 1 1 (see e.g. figures 12 and 16 to 18) or a cam lever 134 on the rotatable cam 13 (see figure 1 1 ) to rotate manually the device body 1 1 or the cam 13, respectively, enabling the free sliding position 136. As mentioned and as an embodiment variant, the cam 13 can e.g. be rotatable manually by the user 4 using a cam lever 134 to disengage the rope blocker 1 . Thus, the cam 13 is designed to comprise the cam lever 134, which can be manually actuated by the user 4. The same applies as another embodiment variant to the device body 1 1 , itself, which can be formed to comprise a device body lever 1 1 1 to allow the user 4 to easily rotate the whole device body 1 1 1 around the carabiner 2. Both embodiment variants allow for a user 4 to easily and manually bring the rotatable cam 13 in the non-blocking position 135, also if a pulling force is applied to the loading strand 31 of the rope 3. Thus, as an embodiment variant, the cam 13 can be designed that it can be acted on by the user 4. Figure 1 1 shows an inside view of the device body 1 1 featuring the rotatable cam 13 rotating around the pin 14 and comprising a section 134 of the cam 13 designed to be acted on by the user 4. By pulling on this section 134 the user 4 can decrease the tension on the rope 3 from the cam 13 and adjust the distance 52 between the user 4and the wall 5. Thus, the rope blocker 1 can e.g. comprise a lever to rotate the cam. In contrast, figure 12 illustrates a device body 1 1 attached to the carabiner 2 with a lever 1 1 1 , i.e. the device body lever 1 1 1 , which allows the user to rotate the device body 1 1 and therefore adjust the distance 52 between the user 4 and wall 5 with the rope 3 in a controlled manner.

[0061] The rope end 32 exiting the second open portion 1 162 and forming a dead strand of the rope 3 can e.g. be realized having at the end an enlarged detaching prevention section 321 preventing the device body 1 1 from detaching from the rope 3. The enlarged detaching prevention section 321 can e.g. be realized as a stopper knot 321 1 or stitched section 3212. Further the rope end 31 exiting the first open portion 1 161 and forming the loading strand of the rope 3 can e.g. be realized having at the end a loop 31 12 to secure the device body 1 1 to the climbing harness 41 of the user 4 or to an anchoring point 51 .

[0062] The rope end 31 forming the loading strand of the rope 3 can e.g. be realized having an additional feed blocker 312 or a sling 312 attached to the lower part of the loading strand of the rope 3, the sling providing a loop to secure a carabiner.

[0063] Further, the invention relates to a method for blocking a rope 3 using a rope blocker 1 by securing a user 4 to an anchoring point 51 in conjunction with the rope 3, wherein the rope blocker 1 comprises a device body 1 1 with a carabiner hole 12, wherein a carabiner 2 or another attachment mean is entered in the carabiner hole 12 securing the device body 1 1 to a harness 41 of the user 4 or to an anchoring point 51 . The method comprises the steps of (i) forming an internal space 1 16 of the device body 1 1 by a first plate region 1 14 and a second plate region 1 15 being spaced apart to form the internal space 1 16 between the two plate regions 1 14 / 1 15, (ii) forming a continuous channel for the passage of a rope 3 by a first and second open portion 1 161 / 1 162 to the internal space 1 16, wherein a rope end 31 exiting the first open portion 1 161 is connected to the anchoring point 5 forming a loading strand of the rope 3 and the rope end 32 exiting the second open portion 1 162 is forming a dead strand of the rope 3, (iii) placing a rotatable cam 13 within the internal space 1 16, the rotatable cam 13 having a cam hole 131 for a pin 14 holding the cam 13 between the first and second plate regions 1 14 / 1 15 in the internal space 1 16, and the cam 13 being rotatable between a blocking 136 and a non-blocking 135 position, (iv) providing the cam 13 with a section 1332 to increase friction on contact with the rope 3 in the blocking position 136, the non-blocking position 135 enabling movement of the rope 3 and the blocking position 136 blocking movement of the rope3, and (v) if a pulling force is applied to the dead strand 32 of the rope 3, the rotatable cam 13 is rotated to the non-blocking position 135 by the applied pulling force to the rope 3 and the cam 13, respectively, thereby enabling the movement of the rope 3, and if a pulling force is applied to the loading strand 136 of the rope 3, the rotatable cam 13 is rotated to the blocking position 136 by the applied pulling force to the rope 3 and the cam 13, respectively, thereby blocking the movement of the rope 3. As figure 1 to 4, figure 16 to 18 schematically illustrate an architecture for a possible implementation of an embodiment variant of the rope blocker 1 and personal belay lanyard 1 having a rotatable cam 13, and a corresponding blocking or belay method presented by a 2D view of the inside of the invention comprising a device body 1 with a carabiner hole 12. The rotatable cam 13 is able to rotate around the rivet 14 between a blocked position shown in figure 2 and a free sliding position shown in figure 1 .

[0064] As in figures 1 to 4, the inventive device 1 can be realized as an adjustable belay lanyard or rope blocker 1 comprising said rotatable cam 13 allowing to pinch the rope 3 and therefore block it (see figure 4) . The cam also comprises a groove 7 for better friction with the rope. The rope is passing inside the body and against the cam, when the rope is loaded, the cam rotates and blocks the dead stand of the rope against the body (figure 4, figure 16 or figure 14) . By pulling on the dead strand 32, one can take up slack, the rope blocker 1 is provided with an end stop 1 13 to prevent to rotatable cam 13 from biting when pulling in that direction. To increase the distance 52 between the climber 4 and the wall 5, the climber 4 needs to rotate the device body 1 1 and therefore the cam 13 does not engage anymore. In this case the rope 3 is going parallel to the cam as shown in figure 3 and figure 17. Again, the rotatable cam 13 illustrated in figure 5 features a groove 13321 made to increase the friction with the rope 3. Said groove 13321 can be flat or features teeth to further increase the friction. The rotatable cam 13 also features a section 1333 pinching the rope 3, when in the blocking position 136. The invention can also be used in conjunction with a rope stitched (figure 9b), knotted (figure 9a) or secured in any other way (e.g. figure 9c) . The rope 3 can feature a loop 31 12 on one side to secure the belay lanyard or rope blocker 1 to the harness 41 using a larks foot knot 31 13 or any other methods. The other side of the rope may feature a stitched section 3212 or a knot 321 1 secured to prevent the rope blocker 1 from detaching from the rope 3. Said rope 3 can also feature a sling 312 attached to the lower part of the rope (figure 6) to create a loop suitable to secure a carabiner 3. Adjusting the rope blocker and adjustable lanyard 1 works by changing the angle of the rope 3 coming at the front of the rope blocker 1 . When the rope 3 is going straight through the device body 1 1 as shown in figure 3, said rope 3 runs freely. When the angle of the rope 3 makes it touch the groove 13321 of the cam 13, the rotatable cam 13 rotates and blocks the rope 3 as shown in Figure 4. In another embodiment variant, the inventive rope blocker and belay device 1 can, for example, also be used for multi-pitch climbing. Multi-pitch climbing is a type of climbing that typically takes place on routes that are more than a single rope length (circa 50 to 70 meters) in height (or distance), and thus where the lead climber cannot complete the climb as a single pitch. Where the number of pitches exceeds 6- 10 (300-500 meters), it can become big wall climbing, or where the pitches are in a mixed rock and ice mountain environment, it can become alpine climbing. Multi-pitch rock climbs can have traditional, sport, and aid formats. Some have free soloed multipitch routes. Multi-pitch climbing is more complex and riskier than single-pitch climbing as the climbers will remain exposed on the route (e.g. a rock-climbing route, an ice climbing, or a mixed climbing route) for longer, and it will often involve the use of hanging belays, long abseils, and the creation of belay anchors. Rescues from multipitch climbs are far more serious, and climbers will use additional protection to avoid this. Multi-pitch climbing requires greater communication between climbers; advanced climbers can use the riskier - but faster - simul climbing. It has to be mentioned, that in the prior art, such devices are sometimes referred to as an "ATC in guide mode" solution. Such type of belaying a second from above is sometimes performed using rope blockers such as the Petzl micro traxion mentioned above. The geometry of the present rope blocker 1 is then used to slide the loaded strand 31 of the rope 3 and pinch the dead strand 32 which blocks the rope 3.

[0065] As shown in figures 26 to 29, the cam 13 can be e.g. realized with the roller 137 at the back of the rotatable cam 13, i.e. at the section 1333 of the cam sections 133 for pinching the rope 3 (figure 26). Alternatively or in combination, the roller 137 can e.g. be realized at the center of the rotatable cam 13, i.e. at the flat top section 1331 (figure 28) The rotatable cam 13 can e.g. comprise a rolling part 137, e.g. realized as a rotatable wheel or defection roller, in aluminum, steel, plastic, or any other suitable material. The roller 137 is rotatably mounted around an axle 1371 , e.g. using a rivet 1371 1 or a brass busher 13712 or a bearing 13713 or a pin 13714, located at the pinching section 1333 of the caml3. The roller 137 can e.g. be mounted directly for example on the rivet 1371 1 or for example on the brass busher 13712 or the bearing 13713 or on the pin 13714 of the cam 13. The roller 137 allows reduced friction while running the rope 3 through the device body 1 1 as the rope 3 runs primarily on the roller 137. When the rope 3 is touching the groove 13321 at the front of the rotatable cam 13, i.e. at the section 1332 increasing the friction with the rope 3, the cam 13 rotates and blocks the rope 3. It is important to note, that the roller 137 can e.g. be realized also at the device body 1 1 at the location, where the section 1333 of the cam 13 pinches the rope 3 against the device body 1 1 . However, the realization shown in figures 26 and 28 have various technical advantages as e.g. a more compact construction of the device body 1 1 and / or a realization of the rope blocker 1 with less weight and used material. Another important advantage of the embodiment variants illustrated and described by figures 26 to 29 is, that the rope blocker 1 can easily be provided without an end stop 1 13 or with an end stop 1 13. The end stop 1 13 can be used to prevent to rotatable cam 13 from biting when pulling in direction 1 161 1 of the dead strand 32. The end stop 1 13 can e.g. also be realized in the way of figure 1 or with a second end stop 1 13 to further prevent the cam 13 to pinch the rope 3 to strong by the third section 133 / 1333 in the blocking position 136. However, the end stop 1 13 can be omitted e.g. with the realization of the rope blocker 1 shown in the figures 26 to 29, due to the realization of the roller 137 at the cam 13 (or the device body 1 1 ), since the roller 1 13 prevents the cam 13 from pinching the rope 3 to strongly by the third section 133 / 1333 in the blocking position 136. As an even further embodiment variant, the end stop 1 13 can e.g. be realized to be activatable by a user 4, i.e. by pushing or releasing an end stop 1 13 pin by the user 4. Thus, the rope blocker 1 can, in this embodiment variant, be used with or without an end stop 1 13. This has the advantage, that, for example, the rope blocker 1 can be user-specific adapted by the user 4 e.g. to different wights of the climber 4, as for example without end stop 1 13 allowing the cam 13 to pinch the rope 3 stronger for climber with e.g. a weight more than 60 kg, while with an activated end stop 1 13, preventing the cam 13 to pinch the rope 3 too strong for climber 4 with a weight below 60 kg. It is to be noted, that the weight values, as given above are just exemplary values and depend on the realization of the rope blocker 1 .

[0066] List of reference signs Rope blocker

[0067] 11 Device Body

[0068] 1 1 1 Device Body Lever

[0069] 1 12 Screw / Spacer Screw

[0070] 1 13 End Stopper for the Cam

[0071] 1 14 First Plate Region

[0072] 1 15 Second Plate Region

[0073] 1 16 Internal Space

[0074] 1 161 First Open Portion

[0075] 1 161 1 Non-Blocking Direction of the Rope

[0076] 1 162 Second Open Portion

[0077] 1 1621 Blocking Direction of the Rope

[0078] 12 Carabiner Hole / Eyelet for Carabiner

[0079] 13 Rotatable Cam

[0080] 131 Pin Hole

[0081] 132 Spring

[0082] 133 Cam Sections

[0083] 1331 Flat Top Section

[0084] 1332 Section Increasing Friction with the Rope 3

[0085] 13321 Groove Increasing Friction by Pinching

[0086] 13322 Textured or Structured Surface or Teeth Increasing Friction

[0087] 1333 Section for Pinching the Rope 3

[0088] 134 Cam Lever

[0089] 135 Non-blocking Position

[0090] 136 Blocking Position

[0091] 137 Rotatable Wheel / Deflection Roller / Roller

[0092] 1371 Axis of Rotation of the Roller

[0093] 1371 1 Rivet

[0094] 13712 Brass Busher

[0095] 13713 Bearing

[0096] 13714 Pin

[0097] 1372 Opening to Accommodate the Roller to the Cam / Attachment

[0098] Hole of Roller 1373 Groove of the roller

[0099] 14 Pin / Axis of Rotation of the Cam Carabiner

[0100] 21 Flange part

[0101] 22 Opening / Closing Element

[0102] 221 Lock

[0103] 221 1 Screw Lock

[0104] 23 Stopper

[0105] 231 Rubber Ring Rope

[0106] 31 Loading Strand of the Rope

[0107] 31 1 Mean to Attach the Device To The Harness or The Anchoring Point

[0108] 31 1 1 Stitched Section

[0109] 31 12 Loop

[0110] 31 13 Larks foot knot

[0111] 31 14 Knot for Creating a Loop as e.g. Figure-eight Knot, the Bowline, the Bulin (especially Double Bulin) or the Weaving Line Knot etc.

[0112] 312 Feed Blocker or Sling

[0113] 32 Dead Strand of the Rope

[0114] 321 Detaching Prevention Section

[0115] 321 1 Stopper Knot

[0116] 3212 Stitched Section

[0117] 3213 Other Stopper Means User / Climber

[0118] 41 Harness

[0119] 41 1 Sit harness

[0120] 412 Chest harness

[0121] 413 Full body harness Wall / Rock Face / Rock Wall

[0122] 51 Anchoring point

[0123] 52 Distance between Anchoring Point / Wall 51 and User 4 Belayer / Securing Person

Claims

Claims1. Rope blocker (1) for securing a user (4) to an anchoring point (5) in conjunction with a rope (3), the rope blocker (1) comprising a device body (11) with a carabiner hole (12) for the attachment of a carabiner (2) or another attachment mean securing the rope blocker (1) to a climbing harness (41) of the user (4) or the anchoring point (51), characterized, in that the device body (11) comprises a first plate region (114) and a second plate region (115), the first and second plate regions (114 / 115) spaced apart defining an internal space (116) of the device body (11) between the two plate regions (114 / 115), wherein the device body (11) has a first and second open portion (1161 / 1162) to the internal space (116) forming a continuous channel for the passage of a rope (3), and wherein a rope end (31) exiting the first open portion (1161) is connected to the anchoring point (51) or the climbing harness (41) of the user (4) forming a loading strand of the rope (3) and the rope end (32) exiting the second open portion (1162) is forming a dead strand of the rope (3), in that the device body (11) comprises a rotatable cam (13) with a cam hole (131) for a pin (14) holding the cam (13) between the first and second plate regions (114 / 115) in the internal space (116) rotatable between a blocking ( 136) and a non-blocking (135) position, the cam (13) comprising a front section (1332) entering in contact with the rope (3) in the blocking position (136), the non-blocking position (135) enabling movement of the rope (3) and the blocking position (136) blocking movement of the rope(3), and in that applying a pulling force to the dead strand (32) of the rope (3) causing rotation of the rotatable cam (13) to the non-blocking position (135) by the pulling force, the non-blocking position (135) enabling movement of the rope (3), while applying a pulling force to the loading strand (31) of the rope (3) causing the rotation of the rotatable cam (13) to the blocking position (135) by the applied pulling force thereby blocking movement of the rope (3).

2. Rope blocker (1) according to claim 1, wherein a rotation of the device body (11) by the user (4) causes rotation of the rotatable cam (13) to the non-blockingposition (135) enabling the movement of the rope (3) under applied pulling force to the loading strand (32) .

3. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 1 or 2, wherein the device body (1 1) comprises a device body lever (1 1 1 ) on the device body (1 1 ) or a cam lever (134) on the rotatable cam (13) to rotate manually the device body (1 1 ) and the cam (13), respectively.

4. Rope blocker (1 ) according to claim 3, wherein the cam (13) is rotatable by the user (4) using the cam lever (134) to disengage the rope blocker (1 ) .

5. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 1 to 4, wherein the device body (1 1 ) comprises an end stopper (1 13) to block further rotation of the rotatable cam (13) in direction of the non-blocking position 135 or the blocking position 136 or end stoppers (1 13) limiting the rotation of the rotatable cam (13) in each of the respective directions.

6. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 1 to 5, wherein the device body (1 1 ) comprises a spring (132) acting on the rotatable cam (13) by pushing the cam (13) toward the blocking position (136) or the non-blocking position (135) .

7. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 1 to 6, wherein the rotatable cam (13) is realized having a first flat top section (133 / 1331 ), the second section (133 / 1332) to increase the friction with the rope (3) and a third section (133 / 1333) to pinch the rope (3) in the blocking position (136).

8. Rope blocker (1 ) according to claim 7, wherein the second section (133 / 1332) comprises a groove (13321 ) to increase the friction with the rope (3).

9. Rope blocker (1 ) according to claim 8, wherein the groove (13321 ) has a textured or structured surface (13322) to further increase friction to the rope (3) by the textured or structured surface (13322) when applied to the groove (13321 )1910. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 1 to 9, wherein the device body (1 1 ) is made out of one single part, or two side plates riveted or screwed together.11 . Rope blocker ( 1 ) according to one of the claims 1 to 10, wherein said pin (14) defining axis of rotation of the rotatable cam (13) is realized by a screw or a rivet.

12. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 1 to 1 1 , wherein the climbing harness (41 ) is a sit harness (41 1 ) or chest harness (412) or a full body harness (413).

13. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 1 to 12, wherein said other attachment means comprise a rope or a sling.

14. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 1 to 13, wherein the rope end (32) exiting the second open portion (1 162) and forming a dead strand of the rope (3) is realized having at the end an enlarged detaching prevention section (321 ) preventing the device body (1 1 ) from detaching from the rope (3).

15. Rope blocker (1 ) according to claim 14, wherein the enlarged detaching prevention section (321 ) is realized as a stopper knot (321 1 ) or stitched section (3212) .

16. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 1 to 15, wherein the rope end (31 ) exiting the first open portion (1 161 ) and forming the loading strand of the rope (3) is realized having at the end a loop (31 12) to secure the device body (1 1 ) to the climbing harness (41 ) of the user (4) or to an anchoring point (51 ) .

17. Rope blocker (1 ) according to claim 16, wherein the rope end (31 ) forming the loading strand of the rope (3) is realized having an additional feed blocker (312) or a sling (312) attached to the lower part of the loading strand of the rope (3), the sling providing a loop to secure a carabiner.

18. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 1 to 17, wherein the carabiner (2) is equipped with or comprises a rubber ring (231 ) as stopper (23) for holding the rope blocker (1 ) in the correct position at the carabiner (2) .

19. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 1 to 18, wherein the cam (13) comprises a rotatable roller 137 either the flat top section 1331 and / or at the section 1333 for pinching the rope 3.

20. Rope blocker (1 ) according to claim 1 , wherein the roller 137 comprises a groove 1373 guiding the rope 13 in case of being in touch with the rope 3.

21. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 19 or 20, wherein the rotatable roller 137 is rotatable around an axis of rotation 1371 , wherein the roller 13 is mounted on the cam 13 by a rivet 1371 1 or a brass busher 13712 or a bearing 13713 or a pin 1371422. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 19 to 21 , wherein the rotatable roller 137 is realized in aluminum and / or steel and / or plastic.

23. Rope blocker (1 ) according to one of the claims 19 to 22, wherein the end stop (1 13) is realized to be activatable by the user (4) allowing two modi of use, a first modus with and a second modus without an end stop 1 13.

24. Rope blocker (1 ) according to claim 23, wherein the activation of the end stop (1 13) by the user (4) is given by the weight of the user (4) d of the rope blocker (1).

25. Method for blocking a rope (3) using a rope blocker (1 ) by securing a user (4) to an anchoring point (51 ) in conjunction with the rope (3), wherein the rope blocker (1 ) comprises a device body (1 1 ) with a carabiner hole (12), wherein a carabiner (2) or another attachment mean is entered in the carabiner hole (12) securing the device body (1 1 ) to a harness (41 ) of the user (4) or to an anchoring point (51 ), characterized byforming an internal space (1 16) of the device body ( 1 1 ) by a first plate region ( 1 14) and a second plate region (1 15) being spaced apart to form the internal space ( 1 16) between the two plate regions ( 1 14 / 1 15), forming a continuous channel for the passage of a rope (3) by a first and second open portion ( 1 161 / 1 162) to the internal space (1 16), wherein a rope end (31 ) exiting the first open portion (1 161 ) is connected to the anchoring point (51 ) or the harness (41 ) of the user (4) forming a loading strand of the rope (3) and the rope end (32) exiting the second open portion ( 1 162) is forming a dead strand of the rope (3), placing a rotatable cam ( 13) within the internal space (1 16), the rotatable cam (13) having a cam hole (131 ) for a pin ( 14) holding the cam ( 13) between the first and second plate regions ( 1 14 / 1 15) in the internal space (1 16), and the cam ( 13) being rotatable between a blocking (136) and a non-blocking ( 135) position, providing the cam ( 13) with a front section ( 1332) to enter in contact with the rope (3) in the blocking position (136), the non-blocking position ( 135) enabling movement of the rope (3) and the blocking position ( 136) blocking movement of the rope(3) by the front section ( 1332) of the cam (13), and if a pulling force is applied to the dead strand (32) of the rope (3), the rotatable cam ( 13) is rotated to the non-blocking position (135) by the applied pulling force to the rope (3) and the cam ( 13), respectively, thereby enabling the movement of the rope (3), and if a pulling force is applied to the loading strand (136) of the rope (3), the rotatable cam ( 13) is rotated to the blocking position (136) by the applied pulling force to the rope (3) and the cam (13), respectively, thereby blocking the movement of the rope (3) .

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