Anchoring Device Weakened Line Fall Stress
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing anchoring devices for life lines lack sufficient resistance to stresses from falls and are cumbersome in design and installation, requiring improvements for enhanced safety and ease of use.
Innovation Solution
An anchoring device with a first body and a second body connected via a hinge, featuring a weakened line that allows controlled plastic deformation to reduce stress and facilitate detachment from a building structure, enabling precise control over stress absorption and rotation to align with cable tension, thus enhancing safety and structural integrity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the anchoring device uses a rigid structure to ensure resistance against fall stresses, then the strength and reliability are improved, but the device complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The anchoring device is divided into two distinct bodies: a first body that remains rigid and is firmly fixed to the building structure, and a second body that is plastically deformable and absorbs fall stresses through controlled deformation. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized for its specific function, maintaining strength while reducing overall complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The second body is designed as a sacrificial, plastically deformable component that absorbs energy through controlled deformation and can be replaced after use. This allows the majority of the device to be simple and replaceable, reducing the complexity of the permanent installation while maintaining high strength requirements
2Strength
If the anchoring device is designed with larger dimensions to ensure structural integrity, then the strength and stability are improved, but the ease of installation and removal deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the device into a first body (firmly fixed, maintains structural integrity) and a second body (plastically deformable, absorbs stresses), the design achieves high strength without requiring overly large dimensions. The segmented structure allows for compact yet effective stress absorption
Solution Approach 2:
The second body is designed to dynamically respond to fall stresses through plastic deformation, allowing the device to adapt its structural response rather than relying solely on static, oversized components. This dynamic behavior enables smaller, more manageable dimensions while maintaining integrity
3Ease of operation
If the anchoring device uses a simple structure for easy installation, then the ease of operation is improved, but the resistance against fall stresses deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The device separates installation simplicity (first body with simple fastening portion) from stress resistance (second body with controlled plastic deformation capability), allowing each function to be optimized independently without compromising the other
Solution Approach 2:
The second body is designed with specific material properties and geometric features (weakened lines, housing cavity) that enable controlled plastic deformation at predetermined stress thresholds. This parameter optimization allows simple structure to achieve high stress resistance through intelligent design rather than complex construction
4Ease of repair
If the anchoring device is designed to be removable for maintenance, then the ease of repair is improved, but the reliability and firmness of attachment deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The device is segmented into a first body that remains firmly attached to the building structure and a second body that can be easily removed and replaced. This segmentation maintains reliable attachment of the permanent portion while enabling easy maintenance of the deformable portion
Solution Approach 2:
The second body is designed as a replaceable component that can be discarded after absorbing fall stresses or undergoing deformation. The simple fastening portion of the first body allows for easy recovery and replacement of the second body, maintaining system reliability through component renewal rather than complete replacement
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The device effectively reduces stress from falls, ensures high safety standards, and allows for simpler, more compact design with reduced dimensions, enabling easy and non-destructive removal and installation, while maintaining structural integrity during high-tension tests.
Implementation Method 1
at least one weakened line having overall (that is, considering the entire weakened line) a resistance to tearing (that is, to complete breakage of the lateral wall through its whole thickness along the weakened line) that is smaller than the resistance to tearing of the lateral wall portions adjacent to the line
Implementation Method 2
a hinge by means of which the second body is fixed to the first body in a pivoting manner about a rotation axis that is transversal (more preferably perpendicular) to the longitudinal direction
Implementation Method 3
the lateral wall opens (by breaking) along said weakened line, enabling the rotation of the second body relative to the first about the rotation axis, at a predetermined threshold value of a force applied on the engaging portion
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
An anchoring device (1) for a life line (100) comprising a first body (3) and a second body (4), where the first body comprises a fastening portion (5) intended to be fixed to a building structure and a connecting element (7) rigidly connected with the fastening portion, wherein the second body comprises an engaging portion (10) intended to be engaged by a cable (50) of the life line and a coupling portion (11) comprising a lateral wall (12) which delimits a housing cavity (13) conformed such as to at least partially receive the connecting element (7), where the second body is fixed in a pivoting manner to the first body and where the lateral wall of the coupling portion has a weakened line (20) structured in such a way that the lateral wall opens along the weakened line at a predetermined threshold value of a force applied on the engaging portion.