AU2015221479B2

AU2015221479B2 - Cable Bracket

Info

Publication number: AU2015221479B2
Application number: AU2015221479A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Robert Maher; Aleksandar Manojlovic
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-09-02
Filing date: 2015-09-02
Publication date: 2021-11-11
Anticipated expiration: 2035-09-02
Also published as: AU2015221479A1

Abstract

Doun-2/09/2015 ABSTRACT A bracket for holding a cable of a hoist including: an attachment fitting; a retainer section; 5 and a rigid gate to close an entry to the retainer section. The invention also relates to a hoist assembly including the bracket, supporting structure, a hoist that travels between different levels of the supporting structure and a boom that projects laterally of the hoist and suspends a cable from the hoist, wherein the bracket is attached to the supporting structure whereby the retainer section is across a path of the boom to receive and hold the 10 cable after the boom has travelled up through the bracket.

Description

CABLEBRACKET

Field The present invention relates to a bracket for a cable suspended from a hoist.

Background A hoist provides a working platform to move between different levels of a building or construction project. The hoist generally has a utilities cable to provide power to drive motors and the like.

The cable hangs vertically from a transverse support boom attached to the hoist and is constrained from lateral movement by a cable bracket.

The bracket is formed of an open-breach style guide that defines a gap to allow the supporting boom to travel through with the cable as the hoist moves between levels.

Resilient fingers close the gap to ensure the cable is held in the bracket when the supporting boom and hoist are located above the bracket. The fingers are forced apart and the cable is removed from the bracket by the boom travelling back down through the gap.

The resilient fingers are preferably formed of elastomeric material and are clamped or screwed to the bracket either side of the gap. The elastomeric fingers are prone to wear due to impact with the boom. The fingers are able to be replaced, however, replacement time and cost is an issue.

An alternative has been to provide the resilient fingers in the form of more durable steel springs however the spring fingers have also been found to be subject to fatigue and wear as a result of multiple impacts with the boom.

If the fingers fail to close the gap properly, the cable is able to escape the bracket, which could lead to potential damage and non-compliance with building codes.

Summary In accordance with one aspect, there is provided a bracket for holding a cable of a hoist including: an attachment fitting; a retainer section; and a rigid gate to close an entry to the retainer section.

In one embodiment, the gate is mounted to a pivot connection at one side of the entry.

In one embodiment, a biasing element is provided to urge the gate into a closed position.

In one embodiment, the biasing element is a torsion spring.

In one embodiment, the bracket includes a stop that projects into the entry from an opposite side of the entry to restrict movement of the cable out of the bracket.

In one embodiment, the stop and gate are arranged in overlapping relation when the gate is in a closed position.

In one embodiment, the retainer section is in the form of a hook and the entry is defined between a main arm and a free end of the hook.

In one embodiment, the pivot connection is mounted to the free end of the hook and the stop projects laterally of the arm.

In another aspect, there is provided a hoist assembly with supporting structure, a hoist that travels between different levels of the supporting structure, a boom that projects laterally of the hoist and suspends a cable from the hoist, and a bracket as described above attached to the structure whereby the retainer section is across a path of the boom to receive and hold the cable after the boom has travelled up through the bracket.

In one embodiment, multiple vertically spaced brackets are provided to capture the cable as the hoist travels upward to different levels and to release the cable as the boom opens the respective gate of each bracket as the hoist travels downward.

In accordance with another aspect, there is provided a bracket for holding a cable of a hoist including: an attachment fitting; a retainer section; and a rigid gate to close an entry to the retainer section, wherein the retainer section is in the form of a hook and the entry is defined between a main arm and a free end of the hook, and wherein the gate is mounted to a pivot connection at one side of the entry and a biasing element is provided to urge the gate into a closed position, whereby the gate is configured to swing in a clockwise direction about the pivot due to a force exerted against the biasing element, and the gate is able to swing in an anti-clockwise direction about the pivot due to a force exerted against the biasing element.

Brief Description of the Drawings The invention is described by way of non-limiting example only, with reference to the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a bracket;

Figure 2 is an end perspective view of the bracket;

Figure 3 is an end perspective view of the bracket with a gate in an open position;

Figure 4 is an end perspective view of the bracket with the gate in another open position;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a hoist assembly test rig;

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a cable storage bin;

Figure 7 illustrates the hoist moving up past a bracket;

Figure 8 illustrates the hoist at a level above the bracket;

Figure 9 illustrates the hoist moving down past the bracket.

Detailed Description

Figure 1 shows a bracket 1 with an attachment fitting 2 formed of two parallel plates 3 with aligned apertures 4, a retainer section 5 and a rigid gate 6 across an entry 7 to the retainer section 5.

The retainer section 5 is formed of a hook 8 that extends from a main arm 9 that connects the retainer section 5 to the attachment fitting 2. The hook 8 includes a return 10 that terminates at a free end 11. The entry 7 is defined between the free end 11 of the hook 8 and the main arm 9.

The rigid gate 6 is coupled to a pivot connection 12 at one side 13 of the entry 7. The pivot connection 12 is mounted to a lateral foot 14 that extends laterally of the free end 11 of the retainer section 5.

Figure 2 shows the pivot connection 12 more clearly as being formed of a post 15 bolted to the foot 14. The post 15 carries a biasing element 16 in the form of a torsion spring 17 to urge the gate 6 into a closed position, as shown. The post 15 has an axis 18 generally parallel to the arm 9 so that the gate 6 is substantially transverse to the arm 9.

Figure 2 also shows a stop 19 that projects into the entry 7 from an opposite side 20 of the hook 8. The stop 19 and an end 21 of the gate 6 overlap.

Figure 3 illustrates the gate 6 in an open position where a force is exerted against the biasing element 16 to swing the gate 6 in a clockwise direction, as viewed, to open the entry 7.

Figure 4 illustrates the gate 6 being opened in an opposite direction, where is a force is exerted against the biasing element 16 to swing the gate 6 open in an anti-clockwise direction, as viewed.

Figure 5 shows a test rig 22 of a hoist assembly 23. The hoist assembly 23 includes a hoist 24 and supporting structure 25 that includes a frame 26. The hoist 24 has a cabin 27 with motors 28, a control box 29, and a laterally projecting boom 30 that carries a cable 31 suspended above a bin 32. The motors 28 drive the hoist 24 up and down a track 33 of the frame.

Figure 6 shows the cable 31 in the bin 32. The cable 31 passes through a guide 34 that assists coiling and uncoiling of the cable 31 into the bin 32. Alternatively, the guide 34 could feed the cable directly onto a spool or the like (not shown), as required.

Figure 7 shows a bracket 1 fitted to the support structure 25. A bolt 35 is used to clamp the attachment fitting 2 to an upright 36 of the frame 26 so that the retainer section 5 is transverse to the hoist 24 and across a path of the boom 30.

When the hoist 24 moves past the frame 1 to a different level 37, the boom 30 forces the gate 6 clockwise into the open position, which opens the entry 7 and allows the cable 31 to be introduced into the retainer section 5.

In Figure 8, the hoist 24 has moved above to the bracket 1 and the gate 6 has closed back across the entry 7 to capture the cable 31 in the retainer section 5 so that the cable 31 is constrained against lateral movement and kept in alignment with the cable guide 34 beneath the hoist 24. The stop 19 provides additional security to prevent the cable 31 knocking against the end 21 of the gate 6.

Figure 9 shows the hoist 24 moving back down past the bracket 1, where the boom 30 opens the gate 6 in an anti-clockwise direction at the same time as carrying the cable 31 clear of the retainer section 5 to thereby free the cable 31 from the bracket 1.

It should be appreciated that although only one bracket 1 has been described above, the hoist assembly 23 can have multiple vertically spaced brackets 1, as required, in order to hold the cable 31 as the hoist 24 travels between different levels of the assembly 23.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", and variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference in this specification to any prior publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter which is known, is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication (or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the common general knowledge in the field of endeavour to which this specification relates.

List of Parts

1. Bracket 2. Attachment fitting 3. Plate 4. Aperture 5. Retainer section 6. Gate 7. Entry 8. Hook 9. Arm 10. Return 11. Free end 12. Pivot connection 13. Side 14. Foot 15. Post 16. Biasing element 17. Spring

18. Axis 19. Stop 20. Side 21. End 22. Test rig 23. Hoist assembly 24. Hoist 25. Supporting structure 26. Frame 27. Cabin 28. Motor 29. Control box 30. Boom 31. Cable 32. Bin 33. Track 34. Guide 35. Bolt 36. Upright 37. Level

Claims

1. A bracket for holding a cable of a hoist including: an attachment fitting; a retainer section; and a rigid gate to close an entry to the retainer section, wherein the retainer section is in the form of a hook and the entry is defined between a main arm and a free end of the hook, and wherein the gate is mounted to a pivot connection at one side of the entry and a biasing element is provided to urge the gate into a closed position, whereby the gate is configured to swing in a clockwise direction about the pivot due to a force exerted against the biasing element, and the gate is able to swing in an anti-clockwise direction about the pivot due to a force exerted against the biasing element.

2. The bracket of claim 1, wherein the biasing element is a torsion spring.

3. The bracket of claim 1 or claim 2, further including a stop that projects into the entry from an opposite side of the entry to restrict movement of the cable out of the bracket.

4. The bracket of claim 3, wherein the stop and gate are arranged in overlapping relation when the gate is in a closed position.

5. The bracket of any one of claims I to 4, wherein the pivot connection is mounted to the free end of the hook and the stop projects laterally of the arm.

6. A hoist assembly with the bracket of any one of claims 1 to 5, supporting structure, a hoist that travels between different levels of the supporting structure and a boom that projects laterally of the hoist and suspends a cable from the hoist, wherein the bracket is attached to the supporting structure whereby the retainer section is across a path of the boom to receive and hold the cable after the boom has travelled up through the bracket.

7. The hoist assembly of claim 6, including multiple vertically spaced brackets to capture the cable as the hoist travels upward to the different levels and to release the cable as the boom opens the respective gate of the brackets as the hoist travels downward.