Rope Fall Protection Brake Trigger Using a Breakable Retaining Ring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rope-based fall protection devices fail to prevent the rope from completely releasing during a worker's fall, leading to potential injury from the short free fall and pulling force.
Innovation Solution
A rope-based fall protection device with a retaining ring that breaks under external force to release a fixed rope section, causing the rotation unit to rotate and drive the brake unit, thereby slowing down the fall.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the rope is completely released by the rotation unit during worker movement, then the worker has full mobility, but the brake unit cannot be driven to slow down rotation during a fall, causing worker injury
Solution Approach 1:
The patent pre-winds a specific length of rope (first rope section) around the rotation unit before any fall occurs. This preliminary action ensures that when a fall happens, the brake unit is immediately driven by the pre-positioned rope to slow down rotation, preventing worker injury while maintaining mobility during normal operation
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a preliminary counterbalancing mechanism by winding the first rope section around the rotation unit and connecting it to the brake unit. This preliminary anti-action prepares the system to automatically resist and slow down any unintended rapid rotation caused by a fall, counteracting the harmful effect before it can cause injury
2Reliability
If a fixed length of rope is pre-wound around the rotation unit, then the brake unit can be driven during a fall, but the rope may completely release during normal worker movement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the rope into distinct functional sections: the first rope section (pre-wound around the rotation unit to drive the brake unit during falls) and the second rope section (remaining rope that can be freely released during normal worker movement). This segmentation allows the system to provide both fall protection reliability and worker mobility simultaneously
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different functional properties to different parts of the rope system. The first rope section has the property of being pre-wound and constrained to drive the brake unit during falls, while the second rope section has the property of being freely releasable to allow worker mobility. This local differentiation of properties resolves the contradiction between reliability and ease of operation
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
Prevents injury from short free falls and rope pulling forces by ensuring the rope does not fully release, allowing the brake unit to engage and slow down the fall.
Implementation Method 1
the brake unit is connected to the rotation unit for restricting the rotation of the rotation unit
Implementation Method 2
an inner end of the volute spring is connected to the rotation unit to retract the rope for keeping the rope being wound around the rotation unit
Implementation Method 3
If the worker accidentally falls from heights, the brake unit can immediately lock the rotation unit to slow down the rotation
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A
Figure 2B
AI summary
A rope based fall protection device (1) including a rotation unit (14), a brake unit (12), and a rope (20). A first end of the rope (20) is connected to the rotation unit (14). The rope (20) includes a first rope loop (20a) and a second rope loop (20b) that are wound around the rotation unit (14). A first retaining portion (30a) of a retaining ring (30) is sleeved on the first rope loop (20a) and a second retaining portion (30b) thereof is sleeved on the second rope loop (20b), such that the rope forms a rope section which has a fixed length between the second retaining portion (30b) and the first end and is wound around the rotation unit (14). When a free end of the rope (20) is pulled by an external force to release the rope (20) wound around the rotation unit (14) in a direction away from the rotation unit (14), the retaining ring (30) is broken to release the rope section of the rope (20). The external force is greater than or equal to a pulling force generated by a user's free fall. By releasing the rope section of the rope (20), the rotation unit (14) rotates and simultaneously drives the brake unit (12) to rotate to slow down or stop the rotation of the rotation unit (14).