Overhead Trolley Fall Arrestor for Controlled Action Sports Descent
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fall protection systems for action and extreme sports do not adequately prevent athletes from impacting the sporting course or reduce the force of impact during falls, limiting the confidence and safety of athletes performing difficult maneuvers.
Innovation Solution
A fall protection system comprising an overhead support structure, a trolley, and a self-retracting fall arrestor with a lanyard, featuring electromagnetic, centripetal force, or hydraulic braking systems to control the athlete's descent and minimize impact, integrated with the sporting course to provide enhanced safety and control.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional protective gear (helmets, knee pads, wrist guards) and foam pits are used, then basic protection is provided, but athletes cannot quickly and confidently develop particular skills while mitigating risk of injury
Solution Approach 1:
The fall protection system is segmented into multiple functional components: overhead support structure (cables/trusses), trolleys for movement, self-retracting fall arrestors for force control, and braking systems. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently while working together to provide comprehensive protection that traditional single-component systems cannot achieve.
Solution Approach 2:
The system employs dynamic elements including trolleys that can move along overhead cables to track athlete position, self-retracting lanyards that adjust length based on fall conditions, and braking systems that activate dynamically during falls. This dynamic adaptability provides superior protection compared to static traditional protective gear while managing complexity through modular design.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If fall protection systems are added to action sports venues, then athlete safety is improved, but the system complexity and infrastructure requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system replaces purely mechanical traditional protective elements (foam pits, passive padding) with an active mechanical-electromagnetic-hydraulic system. The braking systems (electromagnetic, hydraulic, or centripetal force) provide controlled force reduction that is more effective and predictable than passive impact absorption, achieving better harm reduction while the modular infrastructure reduces overall system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The overhead support structure with trolleys and self-retracting arrestors acts as an intermediary between the athlete and the ground impact. This intermediate system controlledly manages the fall energy through multiple stages (lanyard extension, arrestor activation, braking), reducing peak impact force more effectively than direct impact absorption while providing a manageable infrastructure framework.
3Force
If self-retracting fall arrestors with braking systems are implemented, then fall force is controlled, but the device complexity and maintenance requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The braking systems allow dynamic change of force parameters during fall events. Electromagnetic brakes can adjust magnetic field strength, hydraulic brakes can modulate fluid pressure, and centripetal force brakes can vary friction based on rotational speed. This parameter adjustability provides superior force control while the standardized component designs facilitate easier maintenance compared to custom-engineered solutions.
Solution Approach 2:
The self-retracting fall arrestors incorporate automatic mechanisms that activate without external intervention during falls. The braking systems engage automatically based on detected fall conditions, and the systems are designed with self-diagnostic and self-reset capabilities where applicable. This self-service operation reduces maintenance complexity by minimizing manual adjustment requirements and enabling predictive maintenance through integrated sensors.
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 system effectively reduces the likelihood and force of impact with the sporting course, enhances athlete control during falls, and increases confidence by providing robust support and controlled descent, supplementing traditional protective gear.
Implementation Method 1
The braking system includes at least one of an electronic brake, an electromagnetic brake, a centripetal force brake, or a hydraulic brake; the electromagnetic brake uses eddy current braking
Implementation Method 2
The braking system includes at least one of an electronic brake, an electromagnetic brake, a centripetal force brake, or a hydraulic brake; the centripetal force brake uses friction braking
Implementation Method 3
The braking system includes at least one of an electronic brake, an electromagnetic brake, a centripetal force brake, or a hydraulic brake; the hydraulic brake uses flow of a fluid for braking
Data Source
AI summary
A sporting venue includes a sporting course having a first topography over which an athlete traverses and a fall protection system. The fall protection system includes an overhead support structure having one or more cables or trusses extending over the sporting course and configured to support the weight of the athlete, a trolley slidably engaged with the overhead support structure and configured to travel with the athlete while traversing the sporting course, a self-retracting fall arrestor comprising a lanyard operably coupled to a braking system configured to prevent or slow a fall of the athlete, and a lanyard extending from the self-retracting fall arrestor and configured to couple to a harness of the athlete.