DK2288417T3 - Co-capture device - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a blocking system (3) accompanying a person to be secured, said system being arranged on an essentially vertical safety rail (1) or an essentially vertical safety cable (1) for preventing automatic downward movement, and being able to be connected to a harness worn by the person to be secured by means of a first brake actuating element (5). When a downwards force (8') is applied to the first brake actuating element (5), said brake actuating element is stopped on the safety rail (1) or on the safety cable (1), while the blocking system (3) can be moved along the safety rail (1) or the safety cable (1) when an essentially horizontal force (8) is applied to the first brake actuating element (5). According to the invention, a second separate brake element (11) is provided for stopping the blocking system (3) at least when a horizontal force (8) is applied to the safety rail (1) or the safety cable (1).

Description

Description

The present invention relates to a fall arrester which accompanies a person to be secured, which fall arrester is arranged on a substantially vertical safety rail or a substantially vertical safety rope for preventing automatic downwards movement and is able to be connected to a harness worn by the person to be secured by means of a brake actuation member according to the preamble of claim 1.

For cleaning and maintenance work higher buildings often have climbing aids, in particular ladders, with a safety rail, on which a fall arrester can be guided displaceably or attached accordingly. The fall arrester can be connected to a harness worn by the person to be secured, so that the latter is secured against falling. When climbing up or down the ladder the fall arrester automatically follows the person to be secured. The harness worn by the person to be secured is connected either directly or indirectly via a safety line to a brake actuation member for activating a brake or an arresting device of the fall arrester. If a greater force is applied to the brake actuation member in downwards direction, which is the case for example if the person to be secured falls, the fall arrester is automatically arrested on the rail.

From DE 10 2004 019 714 A1 a fall arrester accompanying a person to be secured is known, which is arranged on a substantially vertical safety rail or a safety rope, in particular a tension cable, and which is automatically arrested on the safety rail or on the safety rope when a person falls.

From DE 102 24 681 A1 a further accompanying fall arrester is known.

Flowever dangerous situations may occur with conventional fall arresters, for example if a person becomes unconscious and tips over with their upper body and in this tipped state keeps the brake actuation member in its unengaged state.

The present invention relates to the problem, with a fall arrester of the generic kind, of providing an improved or at least different embodiment which provides particularly high functionality and thus a high degree of safety.

Said objective is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims, advantageous configurations are the subject matter of the dependent claims.

The invention is based on the general idea, with a fall arrester accompanying a person to be secured along a safety rail or along a safety rope, of providing two brake actuation members which can be activated independently of one another, which reliably obstruct the fall arrester in a downwards movement along the safety rail or along the safety rope, both with a downwards directed force on the first brake actuation member and also with a substantially horizontal force on a second, separate brake actuation member. The first brake actuation member is hereby held by a substantially horizontal force in its unengaged state, in which the fall arrester can be moved in a substantially vertical direction along the safety rail or along the safety rope. If the person to be secured then falls and generates a downwards force acting on the first brake actuation member, the latter is moved and clamped by a braking nose against the safety rail or against the safety rope, whereby an additional downwards movement of the fall arrester along the safety rail or along the rope can be reliably prevented. The first and the second brake actuation members are designed here as braking levers with a braking nose. The person to be secured is usually connected by a harness worn by the latter to the first brake actuation member and can then transfer the latter simply in its unengaged state, i.e. into its non-braking state, provided that it exerts a substantially horizontal force on the first brake actuation member. However, if the person to be secured in this state becomes unconscious the upper body may tip over, whereby the substantially horizontal force acting on the first brake actuation member is maintained and a downwards movement of the fall arrester cannot be reliably prevented. The second, separate brake actuation member takes this into account, the latter usually being connected by a connection which is tension-free in the normal state to the upper body part of the person to be secured. In the said tension-free state the second brake actuation member is in an unengaged state, whereby a vertical movement of the fall arrester along the safety rail or along the safety rope is not impaired. However, if the upper body of the person to be secured tips over, for example because the latter has become unconscious, the connecting element between the person to be secured and the second brake actuation member is under tension, which moves the second brake actuation member into its braking position and in this way prevents the unintentional downwards sliding of the fall arrester. By means of the fall arrester according to the invention the person to be secured is thus secured when sliding by the first brake actuation member, and also when in an unconscious state by the second brake actuation member which is activated in this case. In this way the second brake actuation member also prevents the unwanted tipping over of the (upper) body of the secured person, who is connected by a chest or arresting harness to the fall arrester for example. In this way in particular a disadvantageous and dangerous tipping position of the accident victim is reliably prevented. The accident victim thus remains in an upright position due to the fall arrester according to the invention. The second brake actuation memberthereby acts as a redundant safety device which is only required if the person to be secured has an accident and in the position of the accident still exerts a substantially horizontal force on the first brake actuation member and thus holds the latter in its unengaged position. By means of the fall arrester according to the invention there are thus no situations in which the person to be secured cannot be hindered effectively from unintentional rapid downwards movement, for example when falling. The second brake actuation member is used here simply as a redundant safety device and is not activated and also not needed in normal conditions.

In an advantageous development of the solution according to the invention, the second braking member, when the latter is charged with a downwards directed force, arrests the fall arrester on the safety rail or safety rope. Thus the second brake actuation member supports the first brake actuation member and thereby an arresting or braking process, as long as the accident victim is not simply unconscious and is hanging with a horizontal holding force on the first brake actuation member, but has slipped and thereby exerts a downwards directed force on the first and the second brake actuation member. The second brake actuation member in this case supports the braking effect of the first brake actuation member, whereby the braking effect achievable hereby can be increased.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the solution according to the invention, the first brake actuation member comprises a first spring device which pretensions the latter in its braking state, whereas the second brake actuation member comprises a second spring device which pretensions the latter in its unengaged state. In a fully unloaded state thus the first brake actuation member due to the first spring device is in an arresting position, whereas the second brake actuation member due to the second spring device remains in an unengaged position. For moving the fall arrester along the safety rail or along the safety rope by the person to be secured a substantially horizontal force has to be exerted on the first brake actuation member, which the spring force of the first spring device overcomes and thus transfers the first brake actuation member into its unengaged state. By means of the first brake actuation member pretensioned in its braking state, the fall arrester is arrested in the fully unloaded state with regard to its position relative to the safety rail or safety rope and can thus not slide accidentally.

Preferably the first brake actuation member and the second brake actuation member are arranged adjacent to one another inside a housing of the fall arrester, whereby on the one hand a very compact design can be achieved and on the other hand an already conventionally used safety rail or previously used safety rope can also be used without the latter having to be modified. At the same time the assembly of the fall arrester according to the invention is simplified, as the two brake actuation members can be positioned together in a slotted hole recess of the housing of the fall arrester and can be mounted by a common bolt pivotably on the housing of the fall arrester. A separate assembly or a separate bearing of the two brake actuation members can be avoided in this way, whereby on the one hand the range of different parts and associated with this and the associated bearing and logistical costs can be reduced and on the other hand an efficient assembly of the fall arrester according to the invention is made possible.

Further important features and advantages of the invention are given in the subclaims, the drawings and the associated description of the figures with reference to the drawings.

Of course, the features mentioned above and explained further in the following cannot only be used in the given combination, but also in other combinations or alone, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings and explained in more detail in the following description, wherein the same reference numerals relate to the same or functionally identical or similar components.

The latter show schematically:

Fig. 1 a fall arrester according to the invention with a deactivated first brake actuation member and activated second brake actuation member,

Fig. 2 a view as in Fig. 1, but with an activated first brake actuation member and deactivated second brake actuation member,

Fig. 3a-c different safety states of the fall arrester according to the invention.

On an external wall of a building or high-rise structure, which is not shown in detail, according to figures 1 to 3 a vertical safety rail 1 is secured which can be combined with a ladder, which is not shown in detail, or can be designed as a support for ladder rungs arranged on both sides of the safety rail 1. On the safety rail 1 a housing 2 of a fall arrester 3 is guided undetachably, for example by means of guide rollers 4, which are supported on the inner and outer side of the safety rail 1 and in this way enable the smooth running of the fall arrester 3 along the safety rail 1. In this way the fall arrester 3 has an essentially known restraint, represented in the form of a first braking actuation lever 5, which is pretensioned by means of a first, associated spring device 6 in its braking state. To transfer the first brake actuation member 5 into its unengaged state, a substantially horizontal force 8 has to be exerted onto the latter by a person to be secured, who is not shown, which rotates the first brake actuation member 5 anticlockwise about the axis 7, according to the view in figure 1, and thereby moves the latter into its unengaged state. When rotating the first brake actuation member 5 anticlockwise its braking nose 9 enters into an external contour of the housing 2 and thereby allows the fall arrester 2 to slide along the safety rail 1. It should be noted in particular that the safety rail 1 can also be designed as a safety rope.

The person to be secured is hereby connected via a harness worn by the latter to a connecting device 10 of the fall arrester 3, wherein the latter can be designed for example as a self-locking carabiner hook, which is pivotably mounted relative to the first brake actuation member 5 by two orthogonally arranged axes 7' and 7".

If the person secured by the fall arrester 2 onto the safety rail 1 slips or falls, the latter exerts a substantially downwards directed force 8' via the connecting device 10 (cf. figure 2) on the brake actuation member 5 and arrests the latter automatically in its braking position by means of an extended braking nose 9. Such a position is shown for example in figures 2 and 3. In particularly unfortunate situations it is possible that the person to be secured may become unconscious and in this way also exerts a substantially horizontally directed force 8 on the first brake actuation member 5, so that the fall arrester 3 is also arranged to be freely adjustable along the safety rail 1. In order to effectively prevent such critical situations according to the invention a second, separate brake actuation member 11 is provided, which when charged with horizontal force 8 arrests the fall arrester 3 on the safety rail 1 or on the safety rope. For this purpose the second brake actuation member 11 is usually connected to the upper body of the person to be secured so that if the person be secured becomes unconscious, in which case the upper body of the latter usually tips over, a horizontal force 8 is exerted on the second brake actuation member 11 and in this way the latter is moved into its braking position. At the same the person to be secured is effectively prevented from tipping over, whereby the latter also remains in an upright position in case of an accident. In the normal position the connection between the person to be secured and the second brake actuation member 11 is tension-free, whereby a second spring device 12 ensures that the second brake actuation member 11 is pretensioned in its unengaged state. Only when the upper body of the person to be secured tips over is the second brake actuation member 11 adjusted by the horizontal force 8 acting on the latter into its braking position and thus reliably secures the person to be secured from both unwanted falling and also disadvantageous tipping over.

Of course the second brake actuation member 11 can also be moved into it braking state by means of a force acting obliquely downwards or a vertically downwards acting force 8'. Generally the second brake actuation member 11 forms a redundant safety device for the first brake actuation member 5, so that from a current perspective there are no conceivable situations in which the person to be secured would not be protected reliably from falling. As with the first brake actuation member 5 the second brake actuation member 11 is also pivotably mounted about the axis 7 in the housing 2 of the fall arrester 3, wherein the two spring devices 6 and 12 pretension the first brake actuation member 5 and the second brake actuation member 11 in opposite directions about the common pivot axis 7.

Of course, it is possible for the safety rail 1 - as shown in Fig. 3a to 3c - to comprise engagement openings 14, in which the first and/or the second brake actuation member 5, 11 engages in the respective braking state via the respective braking nose 9.

The left cross-sectional view in figure 1 shows the two brake actuation members 5 and 11 arranged adjacent to one another in the housing 2 inside the fall arrester 3 and are secured in the latter by means of a bolt 13, which at the same time forms the pivot axis 7.

The fall arrester 3 like the connecting device 10 and additional essential parts are preferably made of metal and are thereby extremely robust and durable. In case of the guide rollers 4 is possible to use elastic plastic, for example rubber, in addition to metal rollers, to enable an easier adjustment movement. By means of the fall arrester 3 according to the invention it is possible for the first time to identify all conceivable accident situations of a person to be secured to a safety rail 1 and to reliably secure said person to be secured in all conceivable accident situations. In particular, a state where the accident victim become unconscious for example and continues to exert a horizontal force 8 on the first brake actuation member 5 could not be handled effectively by existing fall arresters on the market. As the second brake actuation member 11 does not exert any braking effect only in the fully unloaded state, by means of the latter a redundant safety is made possible which, responds immediately, when a horizontal force 8, an obliquely directed downwards force or a vertically downwards force 8' acts on the second brake actuation member 11.

Claims (8)

An interceptor (3) which accompanies a person to be secured, which interceptor is arranged on a substantially vertical safety rail (1) or a substantially vertical security leash (1) to prevent automatic downward movement and which can be connected via a first brake actuating element (5) to a belt harness worn by the person to be secured, whereby when the first brake actuating element (5) is actuated by a downward force (8 '), the brake actuating element assumes an arrested state on the safety rail (1) or on the safety rope (1), whereas the catching device (3) can be moved when the first brake actuating element (5) is actuated by a substantially horizontal force (8) along the safety rail (1) or along the safety rope (1), characterized in that - a second separate brake actuating element (11) is provided and which at least arrests the scavenging apparatus (3) by an action with a water the force (8) on the safety rail (1) or on the safety rope (1), - that the first and second brake actuating elements (5, 11) are formed as brake arms with a brake nose (9). Capture device according to claim 1, characterized in that the second brake actuating element (11) arranges the capture device (3) on the safety rail (1) or on the safety rope (1) by an impact with a downward force (8 ') · Capture device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the second brake actuating element (11) is connected via a securing element, in particular on a securing rope, to the upper body of the person to be secured. Capture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the first and second brake actuating elements (5, 11) are pivotally mounted about the same axis (7) on the capture apparatus (3). Capture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the first brake actuating element (5) comprises an associated first spring device (6) which biases the brake actuating element in its braking state, while the second brake actuating element (11) comprises an associated a second spring device (12) biasing the brake actuating member (5) in its free state. Capture apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, characterized in that the two brake actuating elements (5, 11) are biased in the opposite direction about the same pivot axis (7). Capture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the first brake actuating element (5) and the second brake actuating element (11) are arranged side by side within a housing (2) in the capturing apparatus (3). Capturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that at least on the first brake actuating element (5) a connecting device (10) is provided, for example a self-locking carabiner.