EP0018302B1 - Safety device for a solitary mountaineer and method of its operation - Google Patents

Abstract

1. Safety apparatus for solo climber, adapted to be suspended from an individual gripping device for protection against drops from a height and to be fastened to a smooth safety rope, characterised in that it comprises an oblong casing (1) constituted on one side by a first cheek element (2), on the other side by a second cheek element (3), the opposite faces of said cheek elements being flat, parallel to each other and connected : - at the top of the casing by means of a suspension bridge (4), - on the sides of the median part of the casing on the right by means of a first bridge (5), on the left by means of a second bridge (6), said bridges being opposite each other, converging towards the lower part of the casing, - on the sides of the lower part, on the right by means of a third bridge (7), on the left by means of a fourth bridge (8) and in the interior of said part by means of a fifth bridge (9) converging in the direction ot the median part of the casing with the third bridge (7), forming therewith a first sliding element (10) and with the fourth bridge (8) a second sliding element (11), the first sliding element (10) being partially obturated at the separative limit of said median and lower parts of the casing by means of a fixed stop (12) in relief on the inner face of the second cheek element (2) and opposite said separative limit by means of a block (13) fixed between the first and the second cheek element against the fifth bridge (9) and forming with the lower end of the third bridge (7) an orifice for guiding the safety rope, an idle pulley (15) suspended from the casing between the first and the second cheek element at the separative limit of the upper and median parts of the casing via an articulated mechanical system (17, 18) maintaining it in fixed position on said limit by the effect of the stresses of elastic connection means (20, 21, 24) acting on said articulated mechanical system and allowing said pulley in one direction to be extracted from the casing and in the opposite direction to be driven in a mobile path between the first and second bridges until it touches the fixed stop then exerting in this position a pressure on the rope against said bridges, the diametrical median plane of said pulley remaining substantially merged with the median plane of the casing, a straight cylinder (16), of free axial rotation, adapted to move inside the space defined in the casing by the third (7) and fifth (9) bridges, the stop (12) and the block (13), and of which the diametrical median plane remains substantially merged with the median plane of the casing.

Description

The invention relates to a safety device relating to the field of various accessories, used in the practice of climbing, capable of being suspended from an individual gripping device for protection against falls from a height and of being subject to a smooth safety rope to allow the user either to climb or park, in which case the accessory is called ascender-blocker, or to descend and possibly park, in which case the accessory is called descender, these two accessories cannot be used, by their functions, only along a smooth rope previously fixed to an anchor point greater than the movement of the user. A third type of accessory provides the head climber, who risks falling from height (- his uphill movements lying above the last anchor point of the rope -) with the security of a dynamic belay, to say to be braked before stopping his fall; this accessory is called a brake if it is made to be used by the head climber's insurance teammate, and autobelayer when it is designed to hang directly on the latter's gripping device (from English to belaye, relay).

There are already known multiple embodiments of ascenders-blockers mainly consisting of a metal plate provided with a groove in the form of a gutter serving as a guide for a smooth rope. The plate is equipped with a notched cam with an engaging trajectory, a cam which tends with the help of a spring to crush the rope in the gutter causing the device to lock on the smooth rope as soon as a pull on said device is carried out from top to bottom, on the other hand, a reverse force causes the disengagement of the cam and allows the device to be mounted along the rope, the lower end of the latter being fixed or slightly stretched downwards. As an example, we can cite French patent n ° 2 334 380, as well as French patent n ° 2 339 566 which describes a similar device but where the addition of a pulley on the body of the device facilitates certain load lifting operations. There are also many embodiments of descenders having significant differences in shape between them but retaining the same operating principle, which consists in forcing the rope to travel through the apparatus several windings, the deflection surfaces of which are fixed, causing by friction on the rope braking controlled manually by the user; as an example, we can cite French patent n ° 2 371 375. We also know some brake realizations for dynamic belay; they consist of a pierced plate through which passes, in the form of a loop, the rope held by the insurance teammate, the keyed loop by means of a carabiner hooked either to the gripping device of the insurance teammate, or to a fixed point independent. We also know an autobelayer accessory, but it is not widespread because its use requires a great experience and does not facilitate rope maneuvers; it consists of a plate pierced with five holes, two of which are reserved for hanging on the climber's gripping device by means of carabiners, the rope being wound in a spiral through the three other holes, and a screw pressing on the rope adjusts the braking intensity; these last two accessories are described in the review Mountain and Alpinism Club Alpin Français of February 1973 number 92 page 59. We even know of achievements bringing together the two functions of ascender-ascender and descender; the one covered by French Utility Certificate No. 2318561 combines an ascender-ascender and a descender, both of known type; we can also cite French patent n ° 2,304,564 where the body of the device is formed by two branches forming between them an angle of 90 °, and where are arranged several elements including two fixed pulleys in rotation serving as guidance and friction surfaces for the smooth rope, a fixed jaw cooperating with a movable jaw carried by a pivoting lever on which is exerted the clamping force transmitted by a mooring lever cooperating with a locking plate and on which the load to be raised or lowered; depending on the attachment or separation of the jaw and mooring levers, the device responds either to the function of ascender-blocker, or to that of descender.

The climber therefore currently only has devices allowing him either to go up or down along a smooth rope previously fixed to an upper anchor point, or to have the backup of a dynamic belay in the event of a fall ; no known device allows it to have the freedom to progress uphill, the safety rope fixed by one of its ends to a lower starting anchor point, while being safeguarded in the event of a fall by a dynamic belay. In the practice of climbing safety and freedom of action are currently given to the climber not by an appropriate linkage system between him and the rope which secures him, but by a team member who lets the rope slip on demand movements of the insured and retains it in the event of the latter falling. In the case of a solitary climber, this one can climb certainly, but with a very relative safety and to the detriment of his freedom of action; after having estimated the distance to travel to reach a next anchor point, he attaches himself to the rope, which he previously fixed at the starting anchor point, reserving a length of slack corresponding to the estimated distance , then having reached the next anchor point, new estimate of the distance to travel and new length of slack to take, forcing him to hang on to the anchor point to undo and redo the knot attaching the rope to his device gripping, and so on until the next relay station required by the length of the rope used; a descender then allows him to descend quickly to detach the end of the latter from the lower starting anchor point, an ascender-blocker makes it easier for him to ascend and dismantle the intermediate anchor points. Although used worldwide, these climbing methods have significant drawbacks. The fact that the rope is attached to the climber and thus follows it in its movements, in the case of a rope of two climbers, obliges the head climber to place at each intermediate anchoring point a device sufficiently long and flexible so that the sliding rope there avoids contact at too sharp an angle with the wall. Despite the precautions taken in this direction, it is frequent that the traction to be exerted on the rope to overcome the friction generated by the sinuosities of the course considerably increases the own weight of the rope, even at the limit, opposes the insured resistance to its progress, which is difficult to overcome. An unexpected fall of a climber can cause serious trauma for the insurance teammate and endanger the rope. The frequent fact of being unable to follow the eyes or hear the climber's requests can give rise to anxiety on the part of the insurance teammate, risking him to carry out maneuvers contrary to those necessary for the insured. For a solo sailor the free fall height can never be less than the estimated length to allow him to reach the next anchor point and, in case of underestimation of this length, the climber risks being brutally stopped in his progression without being in a situation allowing it to give the rope the new slack necessary to reach, failing the identified anchor point, a sufficient rest station.

The object of the present invention is to remedy these drawbacks. The invention, as characterized in the claims, solves the problem of creating a safety device for a solitary climber, capable of being suspended from the gripping device thereof and being subjected to a smooth rope safety, device assuming, on the one hand the new function of spinner doubled that of auto-belayer, functions allowing the climber complete freedom of progression while climbing above the anchor point of the rope, with in case of fall, the safeguard of a dynamic belay, on the other hand the functions of descender and ascender-ascender allowing said climber to carry out the maneuvers necessary to detach the lower end of the smooth rope and unequip the anchor points posed during its progression, the passage from one to the other of these four functions, for reasons of safety and speed of maneuver, being assumed by the device fully automatically and this in order l ogic progression of a lone climber during a climb, that is to say from his ascent to uneven the length of departure to the first relay and continue its ascent, namely in the succession of ascender- ascender, spinner, auto-belayer and descender, only manual intervention becoming necessary so that the device having assumed the descender function responds to that of ascender-ascender; to solve the aforementioned problem, the device is essentially composed of a casing which can be suspended by its top from the climber's gripping device, a mad pulley for returning the smooth rope, said pulley suspended in this casing, by the intermediary of an articulated mechanical system subjected to the stresses of elastic connection means, between the sides of the median part of said casing converging towards the lower part thereof and not parallel to the plane of rotation of the pulley, of a cylinder free to rotate and move by gravity inside a flow internal to said lower part of the housing, the opposite sides of said flow, not parallel to the plane of rotation and movement of the cylinder, converging towards the top of said housing; all these elements cooperate closely to meet the needs of the climber and this according to the direction of flow of the smooth rope in its crossing of the device according to the strand of said rope fixed to the anchor point and the position that takes from it -even the device, either below its top of suspension when the climber climbs above the anchor point, or above this top when the tension of the rope causes it to tip due to the position of the climber below the anchor point when he climbs or descends along the rope, or a possible fall.

The advantages obtained thanks to this invention go beyond the framework of the solitary climber alone; they consist mainly in giving this climber the freedom to progress in complete safety by facilitating the execution of the various maneuvers that he is required to perform during climbing, a single device responding to it himself in their logical continuation, and secondarily, in the case of ropes made up of several climbers, to cancel all possibilities of untimely maneuvers on the part of the insuring teammate, maneuvers risking going against the action initiated by the insured, as well that all possibilities of trauma on this insurer teammate caused by an unexpected fall of the insured, risking endangering the rope. The device removes the role of insurer assigned to each teammate, and generally reduce the number of accessories required and, from there, the weight to be transported for the practice of this sport.

• La figure 1 représente, à échelle grandeur, une vue en élévation d'un appareil réalisé conformément à la présente invention et suspendu au dispositif de préhension du grimpeur; ni ce dispositif, ni l'élément de liaison de l'appareil à ce dispositif, ni la corde lisse, ne sont représentés.
• La figure 2 représente l'appareil coupé suivant AA de la figure 1; les éléments mobiles internes composant l'appareil ne sont pas représentés.
• La figure 3 représente l'appareil coupé suivant BB de la figure 2; les éléments mobiles internes composant l'appareil sont représentés non coupés.
• La figure 4 repésente, à échelle double-grandeur, la poulie folle et une partie de son système mécanique articulé de suspension, cet ensemble coupé suivant le plan axial de la poulie passant également par l'axe de l'articulation dudit système mécanique.
• La figure 5 représente, à échelle double-grandeur, une vue partielle de la base de l'appareil.
• La figure 6 représente un schéma explicatif du procédé d'armement de l'appareil au moyen d'une corde lisse de sécurité.
• La figure 7 représente un schéma explicatif du procédé grâce auquel l'appareil permet au grimpeur de progresser librement au-dessus du point d'ancrage de la corde lisse de sécurité.
• La figure 8 représente un schéma explicatif du procédé grâce auquel le grimpeur est sauvegarde en cas de chute par un assurage dynamique.
• La figure 9 représente un schéma explicatif du procédé permettant au grimpeur le contrôle de sa propre descente le long de la corde de sécurité.

The invention is set out below in more detail with the aid of drawings representing only one embodiment.

• FIG. 1 represents, on a large scale, an elevation view of an apparatus produced in accordance with the present invention and suspended from the climber's gripping device; neither this device, nor the connecting element of the device to this device, nor the smooth rope, are shown.
• 2 shows the device cut along AA of Figure 1; the internal mobile elements making up the device are not shown.
• FIG. 3 represents the device cut along BB of FIG. 2; the internal mobile elements making up the device are shown uncut.
• Figure 4 shows, on a double-size scale, the idler pulley and part of its articulated mechanical suspension system, this assembly cut along the axial plane of the pulley also passing through the axis of the articulation of said mechanical system.
• FIG. 5 represents, on a double-size scale, a partial view of the base of the device.
• FIG. 6 represents an explanatory diagram of the method of arming the apparatus by means of a smooth safety rope.
• FIG. 7 represents an explanatory diagram of the process by which the apparatus allows the climber to progress freely above the anchor point of the safety rope.
• FIG. 8 represents an explanatory diagram of the process by which the climber is safeguarded in the event of a fall by a dynamic belay.
• FIG. 9 represents an explanatory diagram of the process allowing the climber to control his own descent along the lifeline.

The figures represent a safety device for a solitary climber, capable of being suspended from an individual gripping device for protection against falls from a height and of being subject to a smooth safety rope; in accordance with the present invention it comprises an oblong casing 1 formed at the location of a first cheek 2, upside down of a second cheek 3, the opposite faces of said cheeks being plane, parallel to one another and connected: - at the top of the casing 1 by means of a suspension bridge 4, - on the sides of the middle part of the casing 1 on the right by means of a first bridge 5, on the left by means of a second bridge 6, said bridges facing each other by converging towards the lower part of the casing 1, - on the sides of the said lower part on the right by means of a third bridge 7, on the left by means of a fourth bridge 8 and inside said part by means of a fifth bridge 9 converging in the direction of the middle part of the casing 1 with the third bridge 7 forming with it a first runner 10 and with the fourth bridge 8 a second runner 11, the first runner 10 being partially closed, at the separating limit of said middle and lower parts of the casing a u by means of a fixed stop 12 in relief on the internal face of the second cheek 3, and opposite to said separating limit by means of a removable block 13 fixed between the first and the second cheek against the fifth bridge 9 and forming with the lower end of the third bridge 7 a guide hole 14 of the safety rope; a return pulley 15 is an idler pulley suspended from the casing 1 between the first and the second cheek at the limit separating the upper and middle parts of the casing 1 by means of an articulated mechanical system keeping it stationary on said limit by the effect of the stresses of elastic connection means acting on said articulated mechanical system and allowing said pulley 15 in one direction to be extracted from the casing 1 and in the opposite direction to be driven in a mobile position between the first 5 and second 6 bridges until it touches the fixed stop 12, the diametral median plane of said pulley remaining substantially coincident with the median plane of casing 1; a right cylinder 16, of free axial rotation, capable of moving inside the first slide 10 and whose diametral median plane remains substantially coincident with the median plane of the casing.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the articulated mechanical system for connecting the pulley 15 to the casing 1 is composed of a half-caliper 17 serving to support said pulley 15 and of an arm 18 capable of pivoting in the median plane of the casing 1 by means of an axis 19 integral with the casing 1, passing through the said arm 18 near one of its ends, the other end serving for the suspension of the half-caliper 17; the elastic connection means of the articulated mechanical system are composed of a first 20 and a second spring 21 urging said arm 18, by actions of opposite directions on the same piece 22 integral with said first 2 and second 3 cheeks, to be kept an equilibrium position allowing the idler pulley 15 to be suspended in a fixed position, a safety member 23 being interposed between said first spring 20 and the safety rope, not shown in the figures from 1 to 5, in protection of said rope of possible deterioration due to a rupture of said first spring 20, and of a third spring 24 urging the half-caliper 17 to be placed in the extension of the arm 18 thereby maintaining the pulley 15 in contact with the 'upper end of the second bridge 6, or, the stresses of the second spring 21 having been canceled by means of a foreign action, by ejecting by the same effect the pulley 15 outside the casing 1.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the part 22 receiving the opposite stresses from the first 20 and second 21 springs is an axial rotation roller held at each of its ends by means bearings 25 screwed into - threaded openings through each of the first and second cheek of the casing 1; said opposing directions of the first 20 and second 21 springs on said roller 22 take effect only for a rotation of said arm 18 from the equilibrium position in the direct direction + for the first spring 20, - for the second spring 21, by the fact that each of said stresses is calibrated by constant arming of the corresponding spring on the same piece 26 of said arm 18.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the first cheek 2 of the casing 1 is traversed right through by a groove having a width substantially equal to the diameter of the safety rope to be placed on the pulley 15 and a shape of inverted U whose first branch 27 joins the lower end of the third bridge 7 to the upper end of the fifth bridge 9 and the second branch 28 the upper end of the fourth bridge 8 to the lower end of the fifth bridge 9, said first and second branches meeting at the dividing limit of the lower and middle parts of the casing 1 along a curve forming the base of the U, the end of the first branch 27 opposite said curve being able to be permanently closed by means of a member 29 subjected to the action of an elastic connection means, said member 29 being able to be held in the opening position of the groove by a controlled action of the user.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the shutter member 29 is a finger contained in the thickness of the first cheek 2, flush with the base 30 of the casing 1 and capable of pivoting outwards from said base 30 along a plane of rotation parallel to the median plane of the casing 1.

In the preferred embodiment given by way of example, and explained with reference to the appended schematic drawings, the casing 1 is in one piece, the suspension bridge 4 is of semi-annular shape of circular section, the bridges 5, 6 and 7 are in the form of a rectilinear groove of straight section in a portion of a circular ring, and in the form of a curved groove of the same section for the fourth bridge 8; the fifth bridge 9 has its internal face to the second flow 10 plane and orthogonal to the median plane of the casing 1 and its internal face to the second flow 11 in the form of a rectilinear groove of cross section in a portion of a circle; the first 5 and the second bridge 6 have an inclination oc relative to each other of between twenty five and twenty nine degrees, the first 5 and the third bridge 7 are extended according to an inclination fl close to one hundred and ninety-one degrees, the third 7 and the fourth bridge 8 have an inclination y relative to each other of between nineteen and twenty-three degrees. The internal surfaces of the first 5 and second bridge 6 are extended respectively by the internal surfaces of the third 7 and fourth bridge 8 by means of portions of annular surfaces; a sixth bridge 31 in the form of an angle iron with wings orthogonal to the median plane of the casing 1 adjoins the upper end of the first bridge 5; a boss 32 externally reinforces the lower end of the third bridge 7. The removable block 13 has on its internal face to the first runner 10 for wedging the right cylinder 16 a facet 33 having with the third bridge 7 an inclination 6 close to forty-five degrees. The removable block 13 is made integral with the casing 1 by means of two screws 34, one passing through the first cheek 2, the other the second cheek 3, said screws being screwed into the removable block 13 tapped for this purpose. The idler pulley 15 is in axial section of rectangular section, and its lateral faces each have a slight annular knockout 35, radial slots 36 for lightening the pulley 15 connecting said lateral faces; the free rotation of the pulley 15 is ensured by means of a needle bearing 37, a circular flange 38 of diameter slightly less than the diameter of the pulley 15 is integral with the fixed axis of said pulley on the side of the first cheek 2 , said axis being integral by its other end with the half-caliper 17; the flange 38 and the half-caliper 17 are perforated by identical radial slots 39 for lightening, and the thickness of the flange assembly 38, pulley 15 and half-caliper 17 allows said assembly to move without appreciable friction between the faces internal of the first 2 and second cheek 3. The half-caliper 17 opposite the axis of the pulley 15 is pierced with an eye 40 allowing said half-caliper a very free suspension on the arm 18 by the intermediate a cylindrical rod 41 passing through the lateral wings 42 of the arm 17 without exceeding the external faces of said wings 42; the rod 41 is held in position by two identical stop pieces 43, placed by force on the rod 41 against the internal surfaces of the adults 42; on one or the other of said parts 43 is placed the third spring 24 which has a circular section and is of helical winding; one end of said spring 24 bears on the half-caliper 17 by means of an opening 44 of small diameter near the eye 40, and the other end of the spring 24 bears on the arm 18 by means a partial return 45 of the corresponding wing 42. The arm 18 is U-shaped with identical wings 42 parallel to each other and orthogonal to the base 46 of the U, the spacing of the external faces of said wings 42 allowing the movement of the arm 18 between the first 2 and the second cheek 3 of the casing 1 without appreciable friction; a cylindrical sleeve 47 is fixed orthogonally to the wings 42 which it crosses without exceeding the external faces of the said wings, about four-fifths of the length of the base 46 of the arm 18 opposite the rod 41 and about one-eighth of the said length relative to the external face of said base 46, said sleeve 47 serving for connection in free rotation of the arm 18 with the axis 19 secured to the casing 1; said axis 19 crossing the first 2 and the second cheek 3 is fixed to one of said cheeks by one of its ends widened in a truncated cone and to the other of said cheeks by a means such as a nut with a frustoconical external surface, said nut being screwed onto the other end of said axis 19 threaded for this purpose, both of said ends flush with the external surfaces of the casing 1 by means of a local reinforcement thickness of said first and second cheek of the casing 1. The first spring 20 is a leaf spring, contained between the wings 42 of the arm 18 and hooked by the 'one of its ends against the base 46 on the same side of said arm 18 as the rod 41 for suspending the half-caliper 17; in contrast, the part 26, forming a support for the constant arming of the first spring 20 and second spring 21, consists of a partial return of the two wings 42; a wedge 48 fixed to the wings 42 keeps the first spring 20 armed; the safety member 23 for protecting the rope is formed from the last blade of the first spring 20, said blade having no other utility than being able to withstand because of its small thickness and its great flexibility, without the possibility of rupture, flexions that the direct direction rotation of the arm 18 cannot make it reach. The second spring 21 is contained between the wings 42 of the arm 18, the sleeve 47 and the part 26; it is of circular section and comprises two helical windings in opposite directions, axially opposite and parallel to the sleeve 47; its constant arming against said sleeve and the part 26 maintains it by pressure against the internal face of the base 46 of the arm 18. A fourth spring 49 of circular section with helical winding constitutes the elastic connection means of the finger 29 closing off the first branch 27 U-shaped tapping; the action of the spring 49 is exerted on the finger 29 by means of a pivot 50 allowing the rotation of the said finger and of which an enlarged end at the frustoconical head 51 crosses and is mechanically linked to the finger 29 by means of a stud 52; the spring 49 housed in a cavity 53 of the boss 32 is positioned axially around the pivot 50 passing orthogonally to the median plane of the casing 1 said boss 32; one end of the spring 49 is in tension against the external surface of the casing 1 in a protective groove 54, and the other end 55 passes diametrically through the pivot 50, the end opposite to the frustoconical head 51 is split and tapped axially to allow a self-locking threaded rod 56 to be screwed against the end 55 of the spring 49; the end of the finger 29 opposite the pivot 50 forms a bayonet 57 which engages, in the closed position of the first branch 27, between the cheek 2 and the removable block 13 in a notch formed in the thickness of said block.

To arm the device with the safety rope after having formed a loop with said rope, place, Figure 6, the strand 58 of the loop in the guide hole 14 and on the first branch 27; a slight lateral push causes said strand to penetrate said branch into the first runner 10, the cylinder 16 resting on the removable block 13; an axial rotation of retrograde direction on the strand 59 causes the top of the loop to penetrate through the base of the U and said strand 59 into the second runner 11 through the second branch 28. It suffices to push said strand 59 towards the trigger guard 4 to through the casing 1 to eject the pulley 15 on which it becomes easy to position said loop, and a traction in the opposite direction on the strand 59 makes it possible to complete the arming of the apparatus by bringing the pulley 15 to its fixed position . Disarmament is obtained by reversing said operations.

FIG. 7 shows the device suspended by the trigger guard 4 from the gripping equipment of a climber progressing above the starting anchor point, said device armed in automatic belay, the strand 59 being fixed to said point of anchoring; the device naturally took the low position under the effect of its own mass and the slight tension of the strand 59, the flow of the strand 58 is free in the first flow 10, the cylinder 16 resting on the removable block 13 ; the mass of said strand 58 is insufficient for the traction exerted on the pulley 15 due to the return of the rope opposing the action of the first spring 20 to cause said pulley to leave its fixed position, said return of the rope takes place said cord having free passage between the first 5 and the second bridge 6. The tension of the strand 59 at the end of free fall, FIG. 8, caused the device to tip around the trigger guard 4 causing said device to assume the high position, the cylinder 16, under the effect of gravity causing it in the same direction as the direction of flow of the strand 58 in the first runner 10 and that the convergence of the third 7 and fifth bridge 9, then exerts increasing pressure on said strand 58, driving it until it touches the fixed stop 12; the primary resistance on the flow of the strand 58 resulting from said pressure takes a substantially constant value and causes traction on the pulley 15 due to the return of the rope, sufficient traction, by opposing the action of the first spring 20 , to drive said pulley in a movable path and this until it touches the fixed stop 12 causing, by the pressure effect of the pulley on said rope against the first 5 and the second bridge 6, a secondary resistance to the return of said rope; the flow of the safety rope will stop only after a braking time corresponding to the time necessary for the absorption of part of the kinetic energy acquired by the mass of the user during the falling time free returns by transformation into heat energy said kinetic energy to the value of the mass which can be blocked without shock by the structure, the pulley 15 being stopped against the fixed stop 12, said mass being the maximum mass admitted for a climber and his equipment.

Figure 8 also shows how stopping the flow of the lifeline in one direction through the device, allowing the climber to climb or park along said rope fixed to an upper anchor point is obtained, the natural tilting in the high position of the structure being caused as soon as the climber applies to the trigger guard 4 his own mass; the cylinder 16 comes to stop against the fixed stop 12 but the pulley 15 takes an intermediate position between the fixed station and the situation against said stop 12 because said mass applied without appreciable shock is necessarily less than the maximum mass allowed to be blocked, the pulley 15 being against the fixed stop 12; by the fact that the climber releases its mass from the suspension bridge thanks to an independent support of the structure and exerts an external traction on the first runner 10 on the strand 58 in the direction opposite to the convergence of the third bridge 7 and fifth bridge 9, the action of the cylinder 16 is canceled as well as the succession of effects resulting therefrom, and the stresses of the first spring 20 bring the pulley 15 back to the fixed position position releasing the flow of the rope in its return to the pulley; the device is driven in an upward movement along said rope as long as the climber again applies its mass to the trigger guard 4, thus finding itself in a suspended parking lot in order to seek new external supports.

In the case of a descent along a safety rope attached to an upper anchor point the flow of said rope through the device, which naturally takes the high position due to the tension of the strand attached to said anchor point, FIG. 9, can be placed under the control of the climber by the prior arming of said device in manual control, the strand 59 attached to the anchor point thereby passing through the first runner 10; the flow of the cord in said first flow 10 is in the opposite direction to the effect of gravity on the cylinder 16 and to the convergence of the third 7 and fifth bridge 9, making it impossible for the action of the cylinder 16 on said flow and the succession of effects resulting therefrom, and the primary resistance action necessary for said succession of effects is exerted manually by the climber on the strand 58, which passes through the second runner 11, with the difference that said primary resistance can be modulated by the more or less pronounced return of said strand 58 against the curved wall of the fourth bridge 8 resulting in a modulation of the secondary resistance; the climber therefore has control over his own descent. A rotation of one hundred and eighty degrees in FIG. 9 makes it easier to understand that by hooking the device by the trigger guard 4 to an upper anchoring point and by hanging an object or a wounded person at the end of the strand 59 passing through. the first runner 10, due to the low position naturally taken by the device, the cylinder 16 resting on the removable block 13 while allowing free passage to said strand 59, the braking process and possible blocking of said rope in the device cannot be obtained only by the controlled action of an operator on the strand 58 passing through the second runner 11 by means of the more or less pronounced return of said strand 58 on the wall of the fourth bridge 8.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described and shown in the accompanying drawings. Modifications remain possible, in particular from the point of view of the constitution of the various elements, without however departing from the scope of protection of the invention.

The device, object of the invention, can be used in cooperation with a smooth safety rope in all cases where individuals are exposed to the danger of falling. It is particularly suitable for the practice of sports such as mountaineering and speleology, even in the case of several climbers, and also in the industrial field for the protection of workers performing works such as metal constructions, scaffolding, pylons, maintenance or repair of building facades, giant tanks, and in general work of any kind in elevation above the ground.

Claims (12)

1. Safety apparatus for solo climber, adapted to be suspended from an individual gripping device for protection against drops from a height and to be fastened to a smooth safety rope, characterised in that it comprises an oblong casing (1) constituted on one side by a first cheek element (2), on the other side by a second cheek element (3), the opposite faces of said cheek elements being flat, parallel to each other and connected: - at the top of the casing by means of a suspension bridge (4), - on the sides of the median part of the casing on the right by means of a first bridge (5), on the left by means of a second bridge (6), said bridges being opposite each other, converging towards the lower part of the casing, - on the sides of the lower part, on the right by means of a third bridge (7), on the left by means of a fourth bridge (8) and in the interior of said part by means of a fifth bridge (9) converging in the direction ot the median part of the casing with the third bridge (7), forming therewith a first sliding element (10) and with the fourth bridge (8) a second sliding element (11), the first sliding element (10) being partially obturated at the separative limit of said median and lower parts of the casing by means of a fixed stop (12) in relief on the inner face of the second cheek element (2) and opposite said separative limit by means of a block (13) fixed between the first and the second cheek element against the fifth bridge (9) and forming with the lower end of the third bridge (7) an orifice for guiding the safety rope, an idle pulley (15) suspended from the casing between the first and the second cheek element at the separative limit of the upper and median parts of the casing via an articulated mechanical system (17, 18) maintaining it in fixed position on said limit by the effect of the stresses of elastic connection means (20, 21, 24) acting on said articulated mechanical system and allowing said pulley in one direction to be extracted from the casing and in the opposite direction to be driven in a mobile path between the first and second bridges until it touches the fixed stop then exerting in this position a pressure on the rope against said bridges, the diametrical median plane of said pulley remaining substantially merged with the median plane of the casing, a straight cylinder (16), of free axial rotation, adapted to move inside the space defined in the casing by the third (7) and fifth (9) bridges, the stop (12) and the block (13), and of which the diametrical median plane remains substantially merged with the median plane of the casing.

2. Apparatus according to 1, characterised in that the articulated mechanical system for connecting the pulley to the casing is composed of a half-stirrup (17) serving as support for said pulley and of an arm (18) adapted to pivot in the median plane of the casing by means of a pin (19) fast with the casing passing through said arm near one of its ends, the other end serving as suspension for the half-stirrup (17).

3. Apparatus according to 1 and 2, characterised in that the elastic connection means of the articulated mechanical system are composed of a first (20) and of a second (21) spring urging said arm (18), by actions in opposite directions on the same piece (22) fast with said first (2) and second (3) cheek elements, to conserve a position of equilibrium allowing the idle pulley (15) to be suspended in fixed position, a safety member (23) being interposed between said first spring (20) and the safety rope for protecting said rope against possible deterioration due to breakage of said first spring (20), and of a third spring (24) urging the half-stirrup (18) to be placed in line with the arm (18), consequently maintaining the pulley (15) in contact with the upper end of the second bridge (6), or, the stresses of the second spring (21) having been cancelled by means of an outside action, by ejecting the pulley (15) outside the casing (1), by the same effect.

4. Apparatus according to 3, characterised in that the piece receiving the contrary stresses of the first and second springs is a roller (22), of free axial rotation at right angles to the median plane of the casing and maintained at each of its ends by means of bearings (25) screwed in openings tapped through each of the first and second cheek elements of the casing (1).

5. Apparatus according to 4, characterised in that the stresses of opposite directions of the first (20) and second (21) springs on said roller (22) take effect only for a rotation of said arm (18) from the position of equilibrium in the direct direction for the first spring (20) and in the retrograde direction for the second spring (21) by the fact that each of said stresses is calibrated by a constant setting of the corresponding spring on the same piece (26) of said arm (18).

6. Apparatus according to 1, characterised in that the first cheek element (2) of the casing has a groove passing completely therethrough, said groove having a width substantially equal to the diameter of the safety rope to be guided in position on the pulley and an upturned U-form of which the first arm (27) joins the lower end of the third bridge (7) to the upper end of the fifth bridge (9) and the second arm (28) the upper end of the fourth bridge (8) to the lower end of the fifth bridge (9), said first and second arms being joined to the separative limit of the lower and median parts of the casing (1) along a curve forming the base of the U, the end of the first arm (27) opposite said curve being able to be permanently obturated by means of a member (29) subjected to the action of an elastic connecting means, said member (29) being able to be held in position of opening of the groove by controlled action by the user.

7. Apparatus according to 6, characterised in that the obturation member (29) is a finger contained in the thickness of the first cheek element (2), flush with the base of the casing (1) and adapted to pivot towards the outside of said base (30) along a plane of rotation parallel to the median plane of the casing (1).

8. Process for operation of the apparatus according to 1 to 7, characterised in that the rope guided on the pulley (15) passes through the structure along a loop-shaped path, making it possible to modify the direction of run of said rope along said path depending on whether the strand whose end is attached to an anchoring point passes through one or the other of said sliding elements (10, 11) and to obtain in this manner different settings, the apparatus being set in automatic belaying when the strand attached to said anchoring point passes through the second sliding member (11) and in manual control when said strand passes through the first sliding member (10), moreover the fact that the rope passes through the apparatus in the form of a loop enables the inlet and outlet orifices of the two strands of the loop to be located at the base (30) of the casing causing the apparatus hooked by the bridge (4) to the user's gripping device naturally to take under the effect of gravity, combining with or opposing the tension of the strand fixed to the anchoring point and depending on the relation of the levels of the bridge and of said anchoring point, a low position below the bridge or a high position above, said low or high positions, depending on the prior setting given to the apparatus, being determining for the actions exerted by the apparatus on the safety rope in response to the needs of the user of free progress above the anchoring point, of life-saving by dynamic automatic belaying in the event of a drop, of progress or halt along the safety rope fixed to a higher anchoring point, for controlling his own descent made by means of said rope, or the descent of an object or of another person, with possible stop at any point of the path.

9. Process according to 8, characterised in that it consists, to set the apparatus, in forming a loop with the safety rope, placing said loop inside the lower part of the casing through the upturned-U groove, then in pushing it.in the direction of the bridge (4) to cause it to emerge with the idle pulley (15) which the third spring (24) ejects from the upper part of the casing, in guiding it in position on said pulley (15) returned to fixed position to complete setting by a pull in the direction opposite to bridge (4) on the strand emerging from the second sliding member (11), the release being obtained by reversing said operations.

10. Process according to 8, characterised in that it consists, to give the safety rope a free run through the apparatus in the course of progress of the user above the starting anchoring point, in leaving said apparatus hooked to the user's gripping device by the suspension bridge (4) and, previously set in automatic belaying, in naturally taking the low position, in said position, the cylinder (16) resting on the block (13), allowing free passage to the rope through the first sliding member (10), the downward traction effect on the articulated mechanical system (17, 18), - said effect due to the guide of the rope on the pulley (15) equaling only double the mass of the free strand (58) -, cannot counterbalance the stresses of the first spring (20) and the pulley (15), consequently remaining in fixed position, leaves the safety rope free passage between it and the said first (5) and second (6) bridges.

11. Process according to 8, characterised in that it consists, - in order to subject the run of the safety rope through the apparatus, for saving the user in the event of a drop in the course of progress above the starting anchoring point, to an action of braking followed by stop -, in allowing said apparatus, previously set to said progress in automatic belaying and hooked by the bridge (4) to the user's prehension device, naturally to take the high end of free drop position due to the tension of the strand (59) fixed to the anchoring point; in said position and with said setting, the direction of run of the rope combining with the direction of displacement of the cylinder (16) under the effect of gravity and the convergence of the third (7) and fifth (9), said cylinder (16) exerts on the rope sliding against the inner face of the third bridge (7) a pressure in auto-progress whose increase is limited by the stop of the displacement of the cylinder against the fixed stop (12) to a substantially constant value provoking a primary resistance to the run of the rope through the first sliding element (10), sufficient for the traction effect resulting therefrom on the idle pulley (15) due to the guide of the rope, of value double the value of said resistance due to the reaction of the starting anchoring point transmitted by the attached strand (59), to counterbalance the stresses of the first spring (20) on the articulated mechanical system and to drive said pulley (15) between the first (5) and second bridges (6) in the direction of their convergence, causing it to exert on the rope sliding against the inner faces of said bridges a pressure in auto-progress of which the increase is limited by the stop of the displacement of the pulley (15) against the fixed stop (12) to a substantially constant value provoking a secondary resistance to the run of the rope sufficient for the association of said primary and secondary resistances to block a mass having the maximum value which may be admitted for a user and his equipment, said mass applied without shock to the suspension bridge (4); the stop of the run of the safety rope through the apparatus being obtained in this manner only after the braking time necessary for the absorption of part of the kinetic energy acquired by the user's mass during the time of free drop to return, by calorific conversion of said kinetic energy to the value of the mass which may be blocked by the apparatus, the stopped idle pulley (15) against the fixed stop (12); said process also enables the user to climb or halt along the safety rope fixed to a higher anchoring point, the run of said rope in the apparatus, previously set in automatic belaying and hooked by the suspension bridge (4) to the user's gripping device, being stopped without braking by the successive, cooperating actions of the cylinder (16) and of the pulley (15), said apparatus naturally taking the high position as soon as the user partially or totally applies his own mass on said bridge (4), said mass having aquired no kinetic energy and consequently having a value at the most equal to the value of the maximum mass allowed for a user and his equipment; on the contrary, as soon as the user disengages his mass from the suspension bridge (4) due to a support independent of the apparatus and exerts on the strand of the rope passing through the first sliding element (10) an upward traction, direction opposite the convergence of the third (7) and fifth bridges (9) consequently cancelling the action of the cylinder (16) and the succession of effects resulting therefrom and thus allowing the stresses of the first spring (20) on the articulated mechanical system (17, 18) to return the pulley (15) into the fixed position releasing the guide of the rope, the apparatus takes an ascending movement along said rope as long as the user does not apply his mass again to the suspension bridge (4) to be in suspended halt position nd seek new supports outsidethe apparatus.

12. Process according to 8 and 11, characterised in that it consists, to allow the control of the run of the safety rope through the apparatus during descent along said rope fixed to a higher anchoring point, in setting to manual control said apparatus, attached by the suspension bridge (4) to the user's gripping device and naturally taking the high position as soon as the user applies his own mass to said suspension (4), and in replacing the action of the cylinder (16) and the succession of effects resulting therefrom, - rendered impossible by inversion of the direction of run of the strand passing through the first sliding element (10) due to said setting -, by an action of primary resistance exerted manually by the user outside the apparatus on the run of the strand passing through the second sliding element (11), said action provoking by the effects resulting therefrom on the articulated mechanical system (17, 18) and the pulley (15) a controlled secondary resistance due to the possible modulation of said primary resistance by means of the more or less marked guiding of said strand against the wall of the forth bridge (8); the descent in vertical terrain of an object or an injured person uses the same process, the control of the run of the safety rope being obtained by the manual action of an operator on the strand passing through the second sliding element (11), the object or the injured person being fixed to the end of the strand passing through the first sliding element (10) and the apparatus being fastened by the bridge (4) to the higher anchoring point.

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