Cable Hook Tracking System for Continuous Safety Attachment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing challenge course systems face inefficiencies in traffic flow and safety due to the frequent detachment and re-attachment of harness cables from moveable safety hooks when participants transition between elements, leading to potential falls and slowed participant flow.
Innovation Solution
A cable hook tracking system that allows the moveable member with a harness cable attachment to remain continuously secured by using a moveable member with an aperture and glide mechanism, allowing it to track along inner and outer tracks, enabling seamless transition between elements without releasing or re-attaching hooks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If participants detach and re-attach harness cables when changing elements, then they can switch between different elements, but the traffic flow speed decreases and safety is compromised due to intermittent attachment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous attachment of the safety hook to the harness cable through a cable tracking system. The safety hook travels along a cable from one element to another without detaching, maintaining continuous protective engagement while enabling element transitions. This eliminates the stop-and-go nature of traditional detachment/re-attachment systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary cable tracking mechanism that mediates between the safety hook and the elements. Instead of directly attaching/detaching from each element, the safety hook engages with the continuous cable that runs through multiple elements, allowing transitions while maintaining attachment.
2Adaptability or versatility
If participants detach and re-attach harness cables when changing elements, then they can switch between different elements, but safety is reduced due to potential falls during detachment
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous attachment system ensures the safety hook remains engaged with the harness cable throughout the entire transition process between elements. The hook travels along the cable without disengaging, eliminating the safety gap that exists during traditional detachment and re-attachment operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system provides continuous protective engagement before, during, and after element transitions. The safety hook maintains connection to the harness cable in advance of any potential fall hazard, ensuring protection is already in place before the participant reaches potentially dangerous transition zones.
3Adaptability or versatility
If participants detach and re-attach harness cables when changing elements, then they can switch between different elements, but the time required for each transition increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cable tracking system allows the safety hook to continuously follow the cable as it passes from one element to another. This eliminates the time-consuming steps of detaching the hook from one element and re-attaching it to the next element, significantly reducing transition time.
Solution Approach 2:
The system allows the safety hook to automatically track along the cable through the elements without requiring participant intervention for detachment and re-attachment. The mechanical design enables the hook to follow the cable's path naturally, reducing the manual operations required during transitions.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method of traversing across elements of a challenge course by use of a tracking system that can continuously retain the harness cable that descends to the participant, as the moveable member moves in a substantially horizontal direction along the safety cables, or along the tracks of the moveable member exchange frame.