Construction hoist's height adjustment and load Anti-fall system

Abstract

This invention is about a height-adjusting system for hoists used in all the construction sites to lift the load cabin and requires materials at different altitudes because it prevents falling. The claimed method can be applied to all the hoists with various engines. This system, by using a mechanical arm through which the lifting cable is attached, can notify the technician if the load exceeds the permissible limit by creating an alarm and if the technician is not available, the system will stop itself to prevent the load from entering the scope of the winch operation and the load falling and causing physical damage to the device and importantly the danger to the lives of people working under the hoist, It comprises steering box, a siren alarm and many sensors for a good function.

Description

Construction Hoist’s Height Adjustment and Load Anti-Fall System

[0001] This invention is an anti-falling system of construction hoists with the ability to fix the height of the load and also a suitable method that can be used to prevent human errors and avoid systematic problems. It aims to prevent the load from falling, adjust the height of the hoist, protect the hoist against electrical faults such as short circuits, fall of the load, or amputation, and increase the useful function of the hoist with a simple design and present it to the market. Reasonable cost and economic justification of this system is another feature that made this invention unique and encouraged more people to use it for industrial safety.

[0002] B63B 27 / 16

[0003] US4241838

[0004] Height-adjustable hoist

[0005] A height-adjustable hoist having an upright post, a tip member extensible therefrom, and a sleeve swivelable about the axis of the post. A hoist arm is pivotally mounted at one of its ends on the sleeve for pivoting in a substantially upright plane between raised and lowered positions. A nonextensible chain extending from the other end of the hoist arm to the tip member is adjustably anchored to the tip member by a chain-engaging lock. To set the hoist arm at a desired raised position, the tip member is extended and the chain is selectively anchored to the tip member, with the chain stretched between the hoist arm and tip member.

[0006] The mentioned invention is a fixated hoist while our patent is a system that can be applied to any hoist, their similarities are height adjustment and arm, although our arm is mechanical and has safety features too.

[0007] CN215210890

[0008] Hoisting machine height adjusting and monitoring mechanism

[0009] The utility model discloses a hoist height adjusting and monitoring mechanism, which relates to the technical field of hoists, and comprises an opening degree sensor, a height sensor and a height sensor, one end of the pull rope is fixed on the opening degree sensor, and the other end of the pull rope is fixed on a rack of the hoist; when the rack of the hoist is lifted, the opening degree sensor can synchronously display numerical values through the pulling force of the pulling rope. The opening degree sensor and the rack of the hoist are connected through the pull rope, and the rack moves to drive the pull rope to stretch, so that the opening degree sensor displays a corresponding lifting numerical value.

[0010] The mentioned patent is a mechanism like our design but its focus is on the hoist function while our claimed patent also pays attention to the safety of workers, load, and the hoist itself. Also, our patent is electric and has automatic features like a mechanical arm and sensor to detect and notify errors, the mentioned patent only has an opening degree sensor.

[0011] CN220223369

[0012] Electric hoist anti-falling device

[0013] The utility model discloses an electric hoist anti-falling device, which relates to the field of hoisting equipment, and adopts the technical scheme that the electric hoist anti-falling device comprises a circular tubular cross beam, a lifting lug is fixedly arranged below the middle section of the cross beam, an electric hoist is hung on the lifting lug, an anti-falling mechanism is arranged on the cross beam, and the anti-falling mechanism comprises two movable sleeves which are arranged on the cross beam in a sliding manner; the two movable sleeves are located on the two sides of the lifting lug correspondingly and connected through the two buffers, and the two buffers are located on the two sides of the cross beam correspondingly. A movable groove is formed in the lower portion of the movable sleeve, an anti-falling belt is arranged in the movable groove, one end of the anti-falling belt is fixedly connected with the electric hoist, and an anti-disengaging rod is fixedly arranged at the other end of the anti-falling belt. And an anti-falling tray is also fixedly arranged on the cross beam. The anti-falling device has the beneficial effects that the electric hoist can be prevented from falling off when the lifting hook falls off, the electric hoist can be instantly pulled when the electric hoist falls off, so that the electric hoist cannot fall off, safety accidents are avoided, and the personal safety of staff in a workshop is ensured.

[0014] The mentioned device cares about the worker’s safety and it is electric, but does not utilize the sensors we designed, also it can not adjust the height.

[0015] CN210710486

[0016] Anti-falling hoist

[0017] The utility model discloses an anti-falling hoist. The device comprises a chain, a plurality of sprockets and lifting points, at least one anti-falling chain wheel exists in the multiple chain wheels,the anti-falling chain wheel stops rotating when the chain falls, further, the anti-falling chain wheel comprises a rotating wheel body, a rotating wheel shaft and an anti-falling sliding key, the anti-falling sliding key is inserted into the rotating wheel shaft, the top end of the anti-falling sliding key is contained in the rotating wheel shaft, and the bottom end of the anti-falling sliding key extends out of the rotating wheel shaft; a plurality of bosses are arranged in the rotating wheel body, the rotating wheel shaft is attached to the bosses, and when the bosses collide with the bottom end of the anti-falling sliding key, the anti-falling sliding key can be jacked to the top end of the anti-falling sliding key to extend out of the rotating wheel shaft. When the boss is separatedfrom the bottom end of the anti-falling sliding key, the anti-falling sliding key begins to fall off due to the action of gravity; when the rotating speed of the rotating wheel body is too high, the bosses collide and are engaged with one another when the top end of the anti-falling sliding key does not completely fall off and is stored in the rotating wheel shaft, and the rotating wheel body is prevented from continuing to rotate.

[0018] The mentioned patent is able to prevent the load from falling like our claimed design but it is their only similarity, because our patent is an electric system and its anti-fall method works differently through a mechanical arm.

[0019] FR2359064

[0020] Automatic fall prevention device for hoist - has rotary device triggering safety rope self-locking grip on detection of excessive rope speed

[0021] The automatic fall-prevention device is for a motor-driven hoist, having a self-tightening jaw block sustaining the load on a safety rope. A movable frame is accommodated in a housing, and a rotary device detects the unwinding speed of the safety rope in a given direction. This is coupled to the safety rope grip mechanism by a cocked mechanism which it triggers when the rope speed exceeds a pre-set value. The cocked mechanism can also be triggered by the anchoring link, where the load applied to the latter is less than a given minimum value.

[0022] This invention is efficient for safety and it is electric like our patent but it does not work with an automatic arm through which the hoist’s cable went through, so their method is different

[0023] A height-adjustment system for construction hoists includes a mechanical arm that stops the hoist if the load falls. The hoist's cable passes through the arm, and if the load strikes it, the system shuts off the power. The arm is connected to a limit switch box placed near the winch. It also has audio and optical alarms for errors and safety. The hoist's height can be adjusted, and there are safety features to prevent physical damage and electrocution.

[0024] The use of special construction hoists is always associated with risks. Especially since these hoists are used for digging wells for different purposes in different conditions apart from building construction. The place of installation of these hoists is at the maximum possible height in the floors of the building or the well, which is used to move the load from inside the well to the outside and vice versa, as well as moving the load in the floors.

[0025] These hoists include the base, winch, and electric motor, which often do not use special protection or cover in any of its parts. The simplicity of the parts of these hoists, the ability to carry and move easily, as well as different applications and the ability to be used in other spaces, are the features that have increased its users to such an extent.

[0026] As mentioned, working with these hoists is very simple and the users of these devices are mostly simple people. Although the lack of complexity of these systems is considered an advantage, it should not be forgotten that the lack of a sufficient safety system for these hoists and the lack of a system to adjust the height of the load can be mentioned as a major problem for these hoists; Especially considering the lack of sufficient knowledge of construction and construction workers about industrial safety issues, the injuries caused by working with these hoists have doubled.

[0027] Short circuits and electrocution of workers, amputation of the fingers of hoist operators while working with these hoists due to the inability to install proper protection and the lack of a warning system regarding this issue, electric motor failure due to short circuit of the system, and also the load falling due to an error human and the delay in turning off the hoist and the resulting life risks, as well as cable breakage and gearbox and winch failure, are among the causes, consequences and events that these hoists face, which can be easily included in all risk assessments. construction hoists that are carried out by the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) management of construction projects; jointly observed; Because each of them causes a lot of direct and indirect costs to the worker, the project and the insurance companies, and finally the government and the society.Solution of Problem

[0028] The safety and anti-fall system of construction hoists with the ability to adjust the height of the load is a low-cost method with easy installation and without the need for industrial electrical knowledge for civil technicians, which, while preventing life hazards that often cause limb amputation or loss people, it also prevents the failure of hoists in case of human error or electrical short circuit and electrocution. This system, which includes a steering box, a mechanical arm, and a limit switch, can adjust the height of the load, and by creating an alarm, it notifies the user in time of an error in the work process.

[0029] Hoists include base, winch, gearbox, and electric motor, which often do not use special protection or cover in any of its parts. The simplicity of the parts of these hoists, the ability to carry and move easily, as well as different applications and the ability to be used in different spaces, are the features that have increased its users to such an extent.

[0030] This system includes two main parts the steering box and mechanical and optical sensors.

[0031] The steering box includes the following:

[0032] A- Fuse and safety key: this system has two types of fuses according to the type of engine; For single-phase motors, RCBO fuses are used to protect against electric shock and short circuits, and a non-metal fuse is used to prevent motor overload, and for three-phase motors, RCCB (leakage current protection switch) and motor thermal protection switch are used to protect against electric shock, short circuits, and overload.

[0033] B- Contactor

[0034] C- To increase the reliability level of the system and considering that most of the civil environments are environments with a sound above 90dB, signal lights have been used as a visual warning to ensure better functioning of the system in addition to audible warnings. A yellow signal light with a buzzer is used to warn of the approach of the load to the mechanical arm, and a red signal light shows the system's disconnection and the mechanical arm's rising.

[0035] Sensors section:

[0036] The anti-fall safety system of construction hoists, which can adjust the height of the load, consists of two mechanical and optical sensors. The mechanical sensor is a kind of limit switch which due to the impact of the L-shaped metal piece on the mechanical arm through which the towing wire passes and its rise, performs the electrical cut-off operation by the contactor command circuit assembly, and at the same time, the warning siren and the red signal lights start working. To prevent unnecessary operation of the mechanical arm, we have connected this arm to the body of the sensor box with a spring. Also, the mechanical arm is designed in a ring shape so that there is a height difference of 10 cm between its sides and minimal contact between the arm and the towing wire. In addition, the mechanical arm and the sensor box are connected to the hoist’s body through a flexible connection to control the tensions that happen to the mechanical arm and the limit switch during the connecting and disconnecting the load from the hook and towing wire and protect the system from any harm.

[0037] The optical sensor is a reflector type and if the reflector reaches the sensing area, the sensor is activated and the yellow-beaded lamp starts working. This action happens before the L-shaped metal piece reaches the mechanical arm.Advantage Effects of the Invention

[0038] 1- Preventing injuries like amputation to workers and increasing their safety.

[0039] 3- The ability to install on all types of hoists and engines.

[0040] 4- The high flexibility of the system to be used in different modes of using the hoist (1- drive system mounted on the base, 2- drive system separate from the base) which is the product of different working conditions. The meaning of the drive system separate from the base is that it is used when drilling a well in tight and closed environments, such as working in a tunnel, where it is not possible to mount the drive system for example the motor-gearbox-winch assembly, on the base, in this case, the drive system is placed on the ground and a pulley is used above the well.

[0041] 5- New features can be added to this system such as the angle sensor and displacement sensor or other sensors according to the type of performance expected from the system.

[0042] 6- Thermal resistant, waterproof, and safe against short circuits.

[0043] 7- Can be used for lifters with different engine conditions (motor on or off the base).

[0044] 8- Alarm before cutting off the electric current of the hoist (before the mechanical arm works).

[0045] 9- High resistance of the body of the device against possible blows.

[0046] 10- Fully standard electrical connections

[0047] 11- Height adjustment

[0048] 12- Increase the engine's well-functioning

[0049] 13- Low cost

[0050] 14- Simple installation

[0051] Shows a general view of the anti-fall hoist with its parts from a side view:

[0052] 1-1: Steering box

[0053] 1-2: Signal lamp

[0054] 1-3: Signal lamp

[0055] 1-4: Fuse

[0056] 1-5: Pressure key

[0057] 1-6: Cable

[0058] 1-7: Control key

[0059] 1-8: Sensor

[0060] 1-9: Connecting piece

[0061] 1-10: The arm

[0062] 1-11: Optical sensor

[0063] 1-12: Reflector

[0064] 1-13: Metal piece

[0065] 1-14: Motor

[0066] 1-15: Gearbox

[0067] 1-16: Winch

[0068] 1-17: Boxel

[0069] 1-18: Fastener

[0070] Presents the circuit plan for single-phase motors

[0071] Displays the circuit map for the 3-phase motors

[0072] Shows a general view of the safety construction hoist device and all its components which are:

[0073] 1-1: The steering box to convert rotatory motion.

[0074] 1-2: The yellow signal alarm containing a buzzer.

[0075] 1-3: The red signal alarm.

[0076] 1-4: A fuse considering the single-phase, 3-phase, and motor power.

[0077] 1-5: The buzz contact pressing key.

[0078] 1-6: The cable within the mechanical arm.

[0079] 1-7: The control key of the lifting hoist device.

[0080] 1-8: The mechanical sensor.

[0081] 1-9: The connecting joint for the sensor box.

[0082] 1-10: The mechanical arm.

[0083] 1-11: The optical reflective sensor.

[0084] 1-12: The reflector on the other side.

[0085] 1-13: The L-shaped metal piece.

[0086] 1-14: The device's motor converts electrical energy to mechanical power.

[0087] 1-15: The gearbox alternates the energy to control the speed and directions.

[0088] 1-16: The winch to lift the loads.

[0089] 1-17: The boxel wire used in the winch.

[0090] 1-18: The fastener to join the hoist and the lifting piece.

[0091] Shows the industrial map of the circuit and the steering circuit suitable for the single-phase motor.

[0092] Displays the industrial circuit map and steering circuit decent for three-phase motors.Examples

[0093] To start the system, it is enough to connect the device's input cable to the three-phase or single-phase power source (according to the engine) and the output cable to the device's key, and connect the sensor box and optical sensor under the winch to the lifting chassis, the control box is designed in such a way that there is no need to open the control box to connect the cable from the power source to the system. Then we connect the L-shaped metal piece and the reflectors to the towing wire a little above the hook; by properly closing the L-shaped metal piece and the reflectors, the hoist can be set at a specific height. If the load rises too much for any reason (about 1 meter), first the system starts creating a visual and audible signal, and then when the L-shaped piece hits the mechanical arm of the hoist system, it cuts off the electricity and with a visual warning and Audible informs the operator. After the hoist power cut, a system is provided to move the load and restart the hoist, so that the operator first puts the key of the device in the low position and then presses the open contact switch, which is a push type, so that the L-shaped part is separated from the mechanical arm and the mechanical arm returns to its original position, in this case, the person can remove his hand from the switch. Also, according to the type of engine, this system has two types of fuses, For single-phase motors, RCBO fuses are used to protect against electric shock and short circuits, and a bimetal fuse is used to prevent motor overload, and for three-phase motors, RCCB (leakage current circuit breaker) and motor thermal protection switch are used for protection because it benefits from electric shock, short circuit, and overload. For example, in the case of a single-phase system, the RCBO fuse detects the leakage current of the system and immediately cuts off the power flow. Also, in case of any short circuit, these fuses will act like MCB switches and cut off the power flow. Considering the working conditions of construction environments and the lack of standard electrical connections, these keys provide relatively high electrical safety for both the user and the electric motors.

[0094] This invention can be widely used in the field of construction of any kind of building in all geographical locations, in restaurants and hotels for transferring foods and supplies between the floors, and in any industry that requires a strong lifting system.

Claims

A height-adjustment system for preventing load fall of construction hoists due to errors and maintaining safety.According to claim 1, this electric system comprises a mechanical arm that automatically stops the hoist from working when the load can fall if the user is not available to turn the hoist off.According to claim 1, the hoist’s cable is passed through the mechanical arm and when the load strikes the arm, the system will shut the electric power and the hoist will stop.According to claim 1, the system’s mechanical arm is connected to the limit switch box winch is placed near the winch to prevent the load from getting close to the winch’s area.According to claim 1, if any user’s hand touches the hoist’s cable, the mechanical arm will stop the hoist to maintain the worker’s safety.According to claim 1, there are audio and optical alarms to notify the technician about the hoist errors.According to claim 1, the optical and audio alarms inform if the load is getting close to the mechanical arm by an optical sensor from a reflector installed in a certain area that senses the movements.According to claim 1, the height of the hoist can be changed according to the needs.According to claim 1, to prevent its physical damage in case of short circuits, an automatic electric fuse in the system is created in the path of the main current of electricity entering the hoist to cut off the entire electric power of the hoist.According to claim 1, to prevent electrocution of the workers, the current leakage protection switches will cut off the power to the system.

Images