Fall Arrest Apparatus With Pivotable Weight Pan
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety apparatuses for fall protection often require movement of elements during actuation, which can damage the surface and complicate transportation, as seen in U.S. Pat. No. 8,584,798, where a slide with teeth digs into the surface to arrest a fall, necessitating a solution that allows easy transportation without surface damage.
Innovation Solution
A safety apparatus with mobility elements on its frame sides, a pivotable front assembly, and a weight pan with high friction material for actuated and transport positions, enabling frictional engagement with the surface for fall arrest while allowing easy movement by pivoting and steering mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a slide with teeth is used to grip the surface during fall arrest, then fall protection reliability is improved, but surface damage occurs and device mobility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the interaction parameter from mechanical penetration (teeth digging into surface) to friction-based contact (weight pan resting on surface). This allows the same fall arrest function while eliminating surface damage, as the weight pan uses friction rather than penetration to generate anchoring force.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different functional qualities to different parts of the device: the weight pan has a high-friction surface for surface engagement, while the front assembly has mobility elements (wheels) for transportation. This local differentiation allows the device to simultaneously achieve reliable fall arrest and easy mobility without compromising either function.
2Reliability
If a slide with teeth is used for fall arrest, then fall protection is achieved, but device complexity and transportation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the front assembly dynamically reconfigurable, allowing it to pivot between a transport position (with wheels on the ground) and an actuated position (with weight pan on the ground). This dynamic reconfiguration enables the device to optimize its configuration for either transportation or fall arrest as needed, resolving the contradiction between mobility and reliability.
3Reliability
If the weight pan is positioned on the surface for fall arrest, then frictional engagement is achieved, but mobility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a pivotable front assembly that can dynamically switch between two configurations: in the transport position, the mobility elements (wheels) contact the surface enabling easy movement; in the actuated position, the weight pan contacts the surface providing frictional engagement for fall arrest. This dynamic reconfiguration resolves the contradiction by allowing the device to have only the necessary element engaged at any given time.
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
Enables safe and efficient fall arrest without surface damage, allowing easy transportation and deployment of the safety apparatus by transitioning between actuated and transport positions through pivoting and steering functions.
Implementation Method 1
In the actuated position, the weight pan is supported on the surface for frictional engagement therewith
Data Source
AI summary
A safety apparatus (10) includes a weight pan (18) removably receiving a plurality of weights (W) pivotably mounted about a pan axis (A) between frame sides (12). Wheels are rotatably mounted to the first ends of the frame sides (12). An I-shaped main frame (40) is pivotably mounted to the frame about a first frame axis (J) generally perpendicular to the pan axis (A) and also a second frame axis (E) generally parallel to the pan axis (A). By pivoting the main frame (40) about the first frame axis (J), a steering function is provided to the frame. By pivoting the main frame (40) about the second frame axis (E), the frame is pivoted between an actuated position with the weight pan (18) resting upon a surface and a transport position with the weight pan (18) spaced from the surface and with the frame moveable on the surface (102).