Hook Block Finger Guard With Rope Slots for Pinch Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a safety risk of users' fingers being caught between the rope pulley and hoisting rope in a hook block of a crane, leading to potential injury.
Innovation Solution
A finger guard is designed to fit over the rope pulley, featuring slots that allow free movement of the hoisting rope while preventing finger contact, with protrusions ensuring a safe distance and a shoulder for secure attachment to the casing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a finger guard is installed over the rope pulley to prevent finger injuries, then safety is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The finger guard is divided into two separate halves that can be independently positioned and attached to the rope pulley. This segmentation allows the guard to be installed without disassembling the rope pulley, maintaining simplicity while providing comprehensive safety coverage around the critical area where fingers could be pinched.
Solution Approach 2:
The finger guard acts as an intermediary protective element between the user's fingers and the dangerous moving parts (rope and pulley). This intermediate barrier prevents direct contact with hazardous components while allowing the mechanical system to continue operating normally, thus improving safety without complicating the core lifting mechanism.
2Ease of operation
If slots are provided in the finger guard to allow rope movement, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The finger guard features localized slots positioned precisely where the rope needs to pass through, while the remaining portions maintain solid protective coverage. This local differentiation allows operational functionality in critical areas while preserving safety in other areas, achieving a balance between ease of operation and manufacturing feasibility through targeted feature placement rather than uniform design complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~6
AI summary
A finger guard (3) arranged to at least partly surround a casing (4) of a rope pulley (2) of a hook block (1) of a crane. Two slots (10) are arranged in the finger guard (3), wherein each slot (10) comprises a slot angle (a) which is 35 to 120 degrees, when a vertex of the slot angle (a) is the centre point (K) of the finger guard (3).