EP1028783B1 - Falling safeguard device - Google Patents

Abstract

The device for securing people against a fall has a rail which is fastened by means of holders, and a runner which is guided along the rail. The rail is held movable in its longitudinal direction in the holders. The rail preferably has a closed hollow profile with roughly square cross-section and with flanges pointing away from each other on each of two opposite-facing side surfaces of the cross-section profile, the cross-section profile of the rail being symmetrical about the horizontal and the vertical axis. At least one end of the rail is preferably held in a path force limiter, which opposes a pre-set resistance to a movement of the rail.

Description

The invention relates to a device for securing people against falling. For this purpose, the device has a rail, which is fixed by means of holders, and a runner, which is guided on the rail and acts as a movable attachment point.

Such fall protection devices are required when climbing ladders on radio masts or chimneys, on crane tracks, in shipping, for cleaning facades and in similar cases where there is a risk of falling. From DE-C-1 961 757 a ladder with such a fall protection is known. From EP-A-0 129 241 a fall protection for ladders is known, in which a device for horizontally moving the anchor point is provided halfway up. From DE-U-295 17 560 a stop device for securing people against falling is known, in which the rail can run both horizontally and vertically. The guide rail for the carriage or the fall arrester has a longitudinal profile web which is clamped to a mounting bracket by means of a screw and which is fastened, for example, to a crane runway or a roof edge. Fall protection devices are also known in which the fall arrester is guided along a rope. With such fall protection, difficulties can arise due to uncontrolled stretching of the guide rope. In addition, there is the visual problem of sagging of the rope, whereby the overall visual impression is impaired, particularly in the case of facades.

From WO 98/35724, which is deemed to be state of the art for DE, FR and GB in accordance with Article 54 (3) EPC, a device for securing people against falling is known, which has a rail and a has runners guided on the rail, the rail being fixed displaceably in its longitudinal direction by means of holders. The rail is a semi-rigid component that is stretched between anchors so that the rail has a prestress.

The invention has for its object to provide a fall protection that despite comparatively lighter and more delicate Construction offers full security against a fall.

According to the invention this object is achieved in that the guide rail is fixed in the holders in its longitudinal direction.

The sliding fixing of the guide rail results in a floating mounting of the rail, so that the rail cannot transmit large forces in the longitudinal direction to the holder. In the event of a crash, the rail is deflected at the anchor point and the overall length of the rail is shortened. The elongation of the rail is negligible and the rail acts as a tension rod. The impact force propagates over the entire length of the rail and is finally introduced into a travel force limiter, which is provided at one or both ends of the rail. The design and construction of the displacement force limiter (s) can control the forces that occur in the event of a crash and the fall path.

The floating or displaceable mounting of the rail in the holders is preferably achieved in that the holders partially encompass the rail and an insert made of friction-reducing material, for example PTFE, is located within the encapsulation. As a result, electrical insulation of the rail from the brackets and, for example, the jib of a crane and thermal insulation from a building facade (cold bridge) is achieved at the same time.

The rail is designed so that it can withstand the basic load without permanent deformation. The basic load is the load that occurs in everyday operation, ie without a crash. For example, the application of a force of 1 kN is assumed as the basic load. Such a force is maximally exerted on the rail by a secured person when the person is supported against the rail. So yourself the rail does not deform at such a basic load from restraining forces and does not evade the forces by tilting to its soft side and then only the lower section modulus is effective, the rail itself preferably has a closed, approximately square box profile with the same horizontal and vertical section modulus , Two opposite sides of the box section each have flanges lying in the plane of the relevant side and pointing in the opposite direction. This page is referred to below as the "flange side". A groove is formed between the flanges and this side is hereinafter referred to as the "groove side" of the rail. The profile is symmetrical about its vertical as well as horizontal axis. One pair of flanges is used to guide the runner, while the other pair of flanges is used to float the rail in the holders.

An advantage of the box profile of the rail is also that individual rail pieces can be easily joined together by inserting a connecting piece into the rail ends to be connected and fixing it by means of transverse bolts. The flanges are preferably hollow, ie the inner cavity of the rail also extends into the flanges. The connector is designed so that it fills the cross section of the entire cavity and accordingly also has flanges. The flanges of the rail are therefore also stiffened by the connecting piece. The runner glides easily over such a connection point. By pulling such a solid element of greater length into the hollow box section, the section modulus of the rail can also be increased. This can be useful, for example, in the middle between two holders that are far apart. The rail can also be reinforced by doubling the rail. This can be done by screwing two rails together, in which case one pair of flanges on one rail rests on a pair of flanges on the other rail.

The box profile with two pairs of flanges can also be formed into stable arches. Preferably, however, arches are made in such a way that rings are rotated with a profile that corresponds to the outer profile of the rail. Arc angles are then cut out of these rings as required. These arches are made of solid material. At the front or cut surfaces of these rings, connectors are placed with a central screw. These connectors correspond to the connectors, but are only about half as long. The connection pieces can be rotated about this central screw under higher load in order to cancel the resistance to rotation, in that they are screwed on with a central, tangential screw. As a result, forces are also absorbed in the event of a crash, with the screwing of the connecting piece on the curved or curved piece creating a desired point for the rotation, so that the plastic deformation of the adjoining rail piece is largely avoided.

In order to improve the curve running behavior, the flanges of the arches or curve pieces, if the curvature lies in the plane of the groove side of the rail, are preferably somewhat thinner than those of straight rail pieces. If, on the other hand, the curvature lies in the plane of the flange side of the rail, the flanges may have to be selected a little lower to improve the cornering behavior of the curve pieces. The double symmetrical profile of the rail also has the advantage that all rail courses can be realized with a vertical and a horizontal arch. Since the slippage and thus the running behavior of the runner are easily restricted in the case of curved sections, the curved sections can also be completely covered with a plastic which improves the slidability, e.g. PTFE, can be coated.

In order to avoid contact corrosion at the interface between the stainless steel rail and the aluminum curve piece, the curve piece is preferably a whole anodized or coated with a plastic, whereby this function can also be fulfilled by the previously mentioned PTFE coating.

Another advantage of the rail's symmetrical profile about the horizontal and vertical axes is that when several people are secured to a rail, two people can walk past one another by the one person briefly touching their runner on the opposite side of the rail who attack the holder, strikes.

It may be necessary to provide expansion joints at intervals, especially for larger rail lengths or tight wraps. In such expansion joints, butt pieces are used, which are similar to the above-mentioned connecting pieces, but on which only one rail piece is fixedly mounted. The other rail section, however, can walk a certain distance on the bumper. For this purpose, two opposite recesses are milled into the butt plate, in which sliding blocks slide, which are screwed onto the sliding rail section. This design is advantageous compared to an elongated hole milled through the full profile of the butt piece, since this could cause an excessive weakening of the material cross section.

The holders are preferably in the form of U-brackets, the closed end of which points downward, one U-leg being fastened to the supporting structure, for example the masonry, while a claw, which is a pair of flanges, is fastened to the other U-leg clutched the rail. The claw is preferably screwed or welded in the center of the U-leg, so that the direction of force points through the middle of the rail and no tilting moment is exerted on the rail. The fact that the closed side of the U-bracket points downwards, the U-bracket of the holder is opened in the event of a crash and can thus absorb fall energy and itself deform at the same time in the direction of pull. This deformation is promoted by a vertical slot. Since, due to the displaceable mounting of the rail in the holder, no forces acting in the longitudinal direction of the rail act on the holder, in the event of a fall, only slight loads occur on the holder and no damage to the facade.

In the case of larger distances between the individual holders, it may be expedient to fasten the rail between two holders with simple fastening clips on the facade, the holders e.g. be glued to the facade. The fastening clips are designed as holders with a defined release or release function and have no safety function, but only serve to prevent the rail from sagging and to initiate low retention forces. They are intended to withstand the basic load mentioned above and hold the rail up to a load of, for example, 1 kN. Instead, a holder with a corresponding release force can also be attached to the facade. In the event of a crash, the rail releases from the fastening clip or the entire holder from the fastening clip, so that no damage to the facade occurs.

The rotor, which acts as an attachment point, engages around a pair of flanges and slides on this pair of flanges. To do this, it can be glued on the inside with e.g. PTFE insert or coating. In order to be able to better drive through curve sections of the rail, the runner's cheek is only provided with an insert at the front and rear end of the runner. The insert is designed as a shaped piece which has projections which snap into corresponding openings in the rotor body or are locked therein. The runner can also be fitted with a slip cover, e.g. made of PTFE by a known method.

If there is no sliding insert or coating, the runner is at its front and rear end towards the rail with an inwardly projecting, reinforced edge Mistake. These reinforced edges lie against the rail. Precise machining of these edges can improve the running properties of the runner, especially on curved sections. These reinforced edges mean that, moreover, the inside of the runner is undercut and therefore does not attack the rail, at least in the case of straight rail sections.

The device according to the invention can be used to secure people against falling both on vertical climbing paths and on horizontal routes. In the case of vertical climbing paths, the runner is designed such that it blocks against a downward movement in the event of a fall.

In its simplest form, the runner can be constructed from two half-shells, each of which engages around a flange of the rail. The two half-shells are connected by a block that has a hole in which the snap hook of the safety harness is suspended. Such a rigid runner can only be attached to the end of the rail.

In another embodiment, the two half-shells of the rotor are provided with pipe sleeves with which the half-shells can be pushed onto an axis. In their closed position, in which they grip tightly around the flanges of the rail, the half-shells are secured by a knurled nut that can be screwed onto the end of the axis and a locking bracket. A swiveling locking lever sits on the piece of axle lying between the half-shells. The lever has two lever arms of different lengths. On the longer lever arm there is an opening for hooking the snap hook of the safety harness, while the length of the shorter lever arm is selected so that it presses against the rail and thereby blocks the runner by frictional engagement on the rail with a vertical climb, if on the longer one Lever arm a downward force is exerted. The axis can be in the area in which the lever arm is mounted on it be deflected or cranked in the form of an eccentric. By turning the axis, the distance of the pivot point of the lever arm can be shifted towards the rail and away from the rail. If the pivot point is shifted towards the rail, the blocking function is given. If, on the other hand, the pivot point is shifted away from the rail, the shorter lever arm does not hit the rail during a pivoting movement and the blocking function is therefore not provided. The axis can be fixed in both positions by means of a link-guided safety bracket. The backdrop guide ensures that the safety bracket can only be pivoted into its fixing position when the shaft is actually fixed. A runner designed in this way with a locking function that can be switched on and off and / or that can be opened and closed for attachment at any point on a rail can also be used with other types of rails and safety systems and is therefore an independent invention.

The runner can also be locked or blocked on the rail in the case of a vertical climbing path by positive locking. For this purpose catch catches are formed at regular intervals against which a locking hook formed on the lever arm of the runner runs. Because of the details of such a positive locking device, reference is made to DE-C-1 961 757.

Fig. 1

die horizontale Schiene mit dem Läufer, einem Halter und einen Weg-Kraftbegrenzer;

Fig. 2

in einer Schnittdarstellung die horizontale Schiene mit dem Läufer und dem Halter;

Fig. 3

in einer Schnittdarstellung einen zweiteiligen Halter, der für eine Befestigung der Schiene sowohl an einer vertikalen Wand als auch auf einer horizontalen Fläche geeignet ist;

Fig. 4

die horizontale Schiene in dem verformten Zustand nach dem Auffangen einer Person;

Fig. 5

in Draufsicht einen Weg-Kraftbegrenzer am Ende der Schiene;

Fig. 6

in einer perspektivischen Darstellung einen Dehnstoß;

Fig. 7

die Befestigung einer Ersatzführung im Bereich des Dehnstoßes;

Fig. 8

im Teilschnitt die verschiebliche Befestigung des einen Schienenstücks am Dehnstoß;

Fig. 9

im Schnitt eine durch eine zweite parallel laufende Schiene verstärkte Schiene;

Fig. 10

die Anordnung von Heizbändern innerhalb des Kastenprofils der Schiene;

Fig. 11

in perspektivischer Darstellung einen Schienenbogen mit einem Ansatzstück;

Fig. 12

einen Schienenbogen in Draufsicht mit zwei Ansatzstükken;

Fig. 13

eine Schienenweiche in Draufsicht;

Fig. 14

die Schienenweiche von Fig. 13 in einer Ansicht von vorne;

Fig. 15

ein Verstärkungselement der Schiene;

Fig. 16

einen Läufer mit Arretierfunktion, der außerdem geöffnet werden kann;

Fig. 17

die Exzenterachse des Läufers von Fig. 16;

Fig. 18

den Arretierhebel des Läufers nach Fig. 16;

Fig. 19

in einer schematischen Darstellung die Wirkungsweise des Arretierhebels von Fig. 18; und

Fig. 20

die Kulisse des Läufers nach Fig. 16.

An embodiment of the invention is explained below with reference to the drawing. Show it:

Fig. 1

the horizontal rail with the runner, a holder and a travel force limiter;

Fig. 2

in a sectional view the horizontal rail with the runner and the holder;

Fig. 3

in a sectional view a two-part holder, which is suitable for fastening the rail both on a vertical wall and on a horizontal surface;

Fig. 4

the horizontal rail in the deformed state after catching a person;

Fig. 5

in plan view a travel force limiter at the end of the rail;

Fig. 6

an expansion joint in a perspective view;

Fig. 7

the attachment of a replacement guide in the area of the expansion joint;

Fig. 8

in partial section the slidable fastening of a rail piece on the expansion joint;

Fig. 9

on average a rail reinforced by a second parallel rail;

Fig. 10

the arrangement of heating tapes within the box profile of the rail;

Fig. 11

a perspective view of a rail arch with an extension piece;

Fig. 12

a rail arch in plan view with two lugs;

Fig. 13

a rail switch in plan view;

Fig. 14

the rail switch of Figure 13 in a view from the front.

Fig. 15

a rail reinforcement member;

Fig. 16

a runner with a locking function that can also be opened;

Fig. 17

the eccentric axis of the rotor of Fig. 16;

Fig. 18

the locking lever of the rotor according to Fig. 16;

Fig. 19

the operation of the locking lever of Fig. 18 in a schematic representation; and

Fig. 20

the backdrop of the runner according to FIG. 16.

As shown in FIG. 1, a rail 10 is fastened to a facade F by means of holders 12. A runner 14 is guided on the rail 10, on which a person can be secured by means of a snap hook 15. The end of the rail 10 is held in a displacement force limiter 16.

The approximately square box profile of the rail 10 is shown in the sectional view of FIG. 2. Two opposite sides of the box section are each widened by two internally hollow flanges 18, 20 and 22, 24. The profile of the rail is therefore symmetrical to both the horizontal and the vertical center line. Since the rail 10 also has a closed box profile, the section modulus in the vertical and horizontal is approximately the same. At lower loads, the box profile of the rail 10 can also be left open. In the illustrated embodiment, the rail has 10 outer dimensions of 35 x 45 mm, a flange height of 9 mm and a flange width of 8 mm, so that the width of the groove between the flanges is 19 mm and the outer dimension of the rail, measured in these grooves, is 27 mm , The rail has a wall thickness of 2 mm and is made of stainless steel. The rail 10 is formed by cold rolling in several steps, one in particular in the flange areas due to the small bending radii present there high material strengthening results. With such a rail 10, holder distances of about 6 m can be achieved.

The holder 12 has a claw 30 which engages around the pair of flanges 22, 24. The inside of the claw 30 has a PTFE insert 32, whereby the rail 10 is displaceable in the claw 30 when loaded. The rail 10 is thereby floating. The claw 30 is welded in the middle to the end of the leg of an upwardly open U-bracket 34. The other leg of the U-bracket 34 is anchored to the facade F.

Fig. 3 shows a holder 12 which is formed in two parts and is suitable for fastening the rail 10 on both vertical and horizontal surfaces. For this purpose, a small base 31 is welded to the claw 30, which has two bores 33 on the underside and on its vertical rear side, so that it can be screwed to a simple angle bracket 35 and thereby permits two positions of the angle bracket. The second position, which the angle bracket 35 has when fastened to a horizontal surface, is shown in dashed lines in FIG. 3.

The rotor 14 is guided on the other pair of flanges 18, 20. The rotor 14 has PTFE inserts or inwardly projecting edges at the ends and encompasses the pair of flanges 18, 20. To fix the PTFE insert 36, a nose is expressed in the rotor 14 so that the inserts can be clipped on at this point. The PTFE inserts 36 are therefore easily interchangeable. This is advantageous because the PTFE inserts 36 are subject to wear during use. The runner 14 represents the attachment point of the safety system and has a fastening eyelet, on which a safety belt for securing a person can be hung by means of the snap hook 15.

FIG. 4 shows the deformation of the rail 10 in the event of a load, the rail 10 being deflected by approximately 1 m in the event of an extreme crash. The deflection leads to a longitudinal tension within the rail and, since the rail 10 is displaceably or floatingly mounted in the holders 12, to a longitudinal movement of the rail 10 by the amount X. Because of the floating mounting of the rail 10, the longitudinal tension also does not lead to one Deformation of the holder 12 in the direction of the rail 10, in the present case thus horizontally, but the holder 12 closest to the crash site are merely bent downwards. These holders 12 must of course be replaced, with such a bending of the holder 12 the facade F is not damaged. The longitudinal movement of the rail 10 is absorbed by the travel force limiter 16, which is arranged at the end of the rail 10. The distance between the holder 12, the section modulus of the rail 10 and the characteristic of the travel force limiter can be set so that the catching force acting on the person and the fall distance are minimized.

The travel force limiter 16 is shown in FIG. 5. The displacement force limiter 16 contains a base 44 which is fastened to the building, the construction crane or the like and in the present case to the facade F. The base 44 corresponds to the holder 12 of FIG. 2. Through a bore in the base 44, a bolt 48 extends with two transverse bores 50 at the ends of the bolt, through which one end of friction elements 52, which resemble threaded rods, extend. The other ends of the friction elements 52 are fixed to an end plate 54 which closes the rail 10 and is fastened to the end thereof. The base 44 has an elongated hole 46 in its center, as a result of which the base 44 becomes softer, which contributes to the deformability of the notes and damping of the impact impact. A corresponding elongated hole is expediently also present in the holders 12, but is not shown in the drawing. The deformability of the rail 10 is thereby facilitated.

During a longitudinal movement of the rail 10 in the direction of arrow 56, the friction elements 52 are pressed through the transverse bores 50 of the bolt 48. The threads 53 of the friction elements 52 are deformed and flattened, as a result of which the longitudinal movement of the rail 10, which was triggered by a person falling thereon from falling, is opposed to considerable resistance and the falling energy is consumed. Due to the height of the threads 53, their spacing and their width, a certain frictional force for the movement of the friction elements 52 through the transverse bores 50 can be set. By changing these values along the friction elements 52, a desired displacement / force characteristic can also be set. Thus, in accordance with the smaller deflection angle at the beginning of a deformation of the rail 10 in the event of a crash, the frictional force of the friction elements 52 in the transverse bores 50 can initially be selected to be higher.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 5, on the end plate 54, in a recess 58, which is aligned with the groove 21 between the pairs of flanges, a securing bracket 60 is slidably mounted transversely to the rail 10. By helical compression springs 62 within the end plate 54, the securing bracket is pressed against the pair of flanges 18, 20, so that the runner 14 cannot fall out of the end of the rail 10 in the normal position of the securing bracket 60. In order to detach the rotor 14 from the rail 10, the securing bracket 60 must first be pushed away from the flange pair 18, 20 by hand, as indicated by the arrow 64 in FIG. 1.

6, 7 and 8 show details of the expansion joint. Expansion joints may be necessary at intervals with several narrow deflections to compensate for temperature-related changes in length. At an expansion joint, two rail pieces 11 are connected by means of a joint piece 70. The butt piece 70 is a solid material profile piece similar to an extension piece and an extension piece, the outer contour of the inner contour of the Rail 10 corresponds. Since the flanges 18, 20, 22, 24 are hollow, the butt piece 70 has corresponding flanges which, however, are narrower and lower by the material thickness of the rail 10. In the one rail piece 11, the butt piece is pushed in about 10 cm and fixed by means of countersunk screws. The other rail section 11 should be able to move on the butt piece 70 to compensate for temperature-related differences in length. For this purpose, there are elongated cutouts 72 in the flat outer sides of the butt piece 70, in which a slot nut 74 is guided, which is also fastened in the interior of the other rail piece 11 by countersunk screws. The maximum permissible relative movement of the two rail pieces 11 is limited by the length of the cutout 72.

In order to prevent the rotor 14 from getting caught on such an expansion joint, replacement guides 76 are provided in the two grooves 21 between the pairs of flanges. The replacement guides 76 have a profile made of two parallel channels. You are screwed 7 to the butt 70 and lie in the grooves 21 of the rail 10 close to the inside of the flanges 18, 22 and 20, 24. The replacement guides 76 are pressed with a little bias in the grooves of the rail pieces 11, so that they lie closely against the inside of the flanges 18, 22 or 20, 24 and can be run over smoothly by the rotor. The ends of the grasping of the rotor 14 running there are guided in the grooves of the replacement guides 76. These replacement guides 76 ensure that the rotor 14 slides largely smoothly over an expansion joint. Because the butt piece 70 also has flanges, safety against falling is also guaranteed when the expansion joint is passed over.

FIG. 9 shows how the rail 10 can be reinforced by an identical rail 80 running parallel to it. The two rails 10, 80 are clamped together by means of clamps 82, which encompass the flange pairs of the two rails 10, 80 which are directed towards one another and are clamped together by a screw 84. Such reinforcement can be used as a bypass particularly large distances between the holders 12 may be appropriate. The reinforcement rail 80 generally extends only over the central region of the rail 10 between two holders 12.

10 shows the arrangement of heating tapes 86 within the hollow flanges 18, 20. Such heating tapes made of carbon-filled plastic matrix have PTC properties and are generally known. The heating of the rail 10 can be prevented by means of such heating tapes 86.

11 and 12 show curve pieces 90, each of which represents a 90 ° bend. The curve pieces 90 are manufactured by first, e.g. a solid material ring made of aluminum is rotated with a profile corresponding to the rail 10. Individual curve pieces 90 can then be cut out of this ring with the desired arc angle. Threaded bores 92 are cut in the end faces of the curve pieces 90. Attachments 96 with a profile equal to the inner contour of the rail 10 and made of solid material with a central bore are clamped by means of a central screw 94 which is screwed into the threaded bore 92. As shown in FIG. 12, in use 90 extensions 96 are clamped on both end faces of the curve piece. The flange height or width can be slightly reduced within the curve piece 90 in order to enable the runner 14 to pass through the curve piece 90 without problems.

13 to 15 show a rail switch 100. The rail switch 100 consists of two converging curve pieces 102, 104. The rail switch 100 is milled from solid aluminum and in an area 105 of approximately 2 cm along the flange of the one curve piece 102, 104 the other curve piece 104 or 102 is milled out. The depth of the milling corresponds to half the dimension of the rail 10 transversely to the flange sides (FIG. 14). To compensate for this weakening of the material, there is 100 on the underside of the rail switch a reinforcement plate 108 is screwed on. At the three end points of the rail switch 100 there are attachment pieces 110 to which rail pieces 11 can be screwed. Full safety against falling is always guaranteed when passing through the rail switch 100. When the rail switch 100 is traversed, the runner 14 always engages around a flange over the full length of one side and also at least at one point on the other side also around a flange. Due to this three-point bracket, the runner 14 cannot fall out of the rail switch 100. An advantage of this switch is that it has no moving parts. The direction is selected by appropriate contact pressure by hand. A single switch type enables all changes of direction and merging and separation of rails.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the rotor 14 contains two half-shells 26, 27 which are welded to a block 28 located between them. Each of the half-shells 26, 27 engages around a flange 18 or 20 of the rail 10. In the block 28, a bore 29 is provided, into which the snap hook of a safety harness can be hung.

As indicated in FIG. 2 by the dashed line 112, the half-shells 26, 27 are undercut, so that they only have contact with the flanges 18, 20 of the rail 10 at their front and rear ends. This on the one hand makes driving through curves easier and on the other hand the ends of the half-shells 18, 20 can be machined more precisely, as a result of which the runner 14 slides more easily on the rail 10. In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the half-shells 26, 27 are welded firmly to the block 28, so that the runner 14 can only be detached from the rail 10 or pushed onto it at the rail end.

16 to 20 show an embodiment of the runner 14 in which the half-shells 26, 27 can be opened so that the runner 14 can be placed on the rail 10 at any point can be set, and on the other hand the rotor 14 can perform a locking function and can therefore also be used on vertical climbing paths. The locking function is sometimes also desired when the rail is horizontal or inclined, for example in order to be able to lean away from the rail 10. The two half-shells 26, 27 are rotatably and displaceably mounted on an eccentric axis 114 (FIG. 17). For this purpose, bushings 118, 120 are provided on both sides of bearing sections 116 of each half-shell 26, 27. With these bushings, the half-shells 26, 27 are pushed onto the eccentric axis 114. The inner sleeves 118 have a larger inner diameter than the outer sleeves 120 and the eccentric axis 114 is provided with a corresponding diameter gradation 122. One half shell 26 is rotatably held on the eccentric axis 114 by a knurled nut 124 and the other half shell 27 by a lever handle 136 attached to the end of the eccentric axis 114. The eccentric axis 114 is cranked in the middle, so that an eccentric section 128 is formed. A locking lever 130 is mounted on the eccentric section 128 and has a longer lever arm 132 with an eyelet for hanging the snap hook 15 of the safety harness and a shorter lever arm 134 for locking the runner 14 on the rail 10. The eccentric axis 114 can be rotated by the lever handle 136, so that the distance of the eccentric 128 from the rail 10 changes. The arrangement is such that the shorter lever arm 134 cannot be pivoted past the rail when the eccentric 128 is in its position close to the rail 10. The shorter lever arm 134, on the other hand, can be freely pivoted past the rail 10 when the eccentric axis 114 is rotated into the position in which the eccentric 128 is at its greatest distance from the rail 10. If the eccentric 128 is in its position close to the rail, the runner 14 can only be moved in one direction along the rail 10, the longer lever arm 132 then pointing in the direction of movement, while the shorter lever arm 134 points counter to the direction of movement. With a vertical climb, the rotor 14 is used so that the short Lever arm 134 shows obliquely downwards towards the rail 10, so that the runner 14 is locked on the rail 10 in the event of a crash.

The eccentric axis 114 can be fixed both in its locking position, in which the eccentric 128 is pivoted towards the rail 10, and in the freewheeling position, in which the eccentric 128 is pivoted away from the rail 10. For this purpose, a transverse bore 138 is provided in the lower bush 120 in FIG. 16, which overlaps with an aligned transverse bore 140 in the eccentric axis 114 in the locking position and in the release position. The eccentric axis 114 is fixed in the half-shell 26 by means of a fixing bracket 142, the ends of which in the fixed state penetrate the transverse bores 138 of the sleeve 120 and partially engage in the transverse bore 140 of the eccentric axis 114 from both sides. The fixing bracket 142 engages in a groove 144 on the roof of the knurled nut 124. To release the fixation, the fixing bracket 142 is pivoted about the transverse bores 138, 140. In the vicinity of the transverse bores 138, 140, the two legs of the fixing bracket 142 are guided in a link 146 which is formed in an edge flange 148 of the bush 120 in the form of two incisions 150 which diverge from one another. When the fixing bracket 142 is pivoted laterally, its ends are spread so far by the link guide that they release the eccentric axis 114 and the eccentric axis 114 can be rotated by 180 ° by means of the lever handle 136. In this rotational position, the eccentric axis 114 can then be fixed by pivoting the fixing bracket 142 back.

By a leg spring, not shown, which sits between the lever 130 and the bearing section 116 of the half-shell 26 and / or 27 on the large bushing 118 or the lever 130 is pressed into a rest position in which the shorter lever arm 134 to the rail 10 and the longer lever arm 132 points away from the rail. If the locking function is switched on, the runner 14 is thereby turned on without load the rail 10 locked. 19, a path limiter in the form of a nose 152 can be provided on the large bushes 118 and a pin 154 protrude from the lever 130, so that the lever 130 can assume a defined maximum angle to the rail 10 of less than 90 °. This travel limiter also defines the maximum braking force when the runner 14 is locked on the rail 10. The nose 152 is formed on the side of the bush 118 facing away from the rail, so that the pin 154 only abuts against this nose 122 when the locking function is switched on. When the locking function is switched off, however, it can be moved over the nose 152.

The lever 130 is expediently constructed from a plurality of thin lamellae or sheets which are riveted together. In addition, the eccentric 128 has approximately the same diameter as the adjacent large-diameter sections of the eccentric axis 114. The slats can thereby be pushed individually from these sections onto the eccentric 128 by slight tilting. Only then are the slats riveted together. This also has the advantage that when pulling on the longer lever arm 132 in the direction of the eccentric axis 114, the individual lamellas can be slightly offset from one another and away, and the tilting moment on the eccentric 128 is thereby reduced.

To open the rotor 14, the fixing bracket 142 is first pivoted away from the knurled nut 124 so that its ends no longer lie in the transverse bore 140 in the eccentric axis 114, and the knurled nut 124 is unscrewed to such an extent that the two half-shells 26 and 27 move away from one another the eccentric axis 114 can be moved and thereby the runner 14 can be placed on the rail 10 or removed from it. In its closed position, the runner 14 is secured by the knurled nut 124 and additionally by the fixing bracket 142, the fixing bracket 142 simultaneously preventing the knurled nut 124 from being unscrewed.

Claims (14)

1. Device for securing a people against a fall, with a rail (10) which is fastened by means of holders (12) and with a runner (14), which is guided along the rail (10), characterized in that

- the rail (10) is held movable in its longitudinal direction in the holders (12),

excluding devices in which the rail is substantially pre-tensioned.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the holders (12) have friction-reducing inserts (32).

3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that the friction-reducing insert (32) is made from PTFE.

4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the holders (12) have a claw (30) and a U-bracket (34) open to the top, the one leg of the U-bracket (34) being fastened to the claw (30) at approximately the height of the centre line of the rail (10).

5. Device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the rail (10) has a closed hollow profile with roughly square cross-section and with flanges (18, 20; 22, 24) which point away from each other on each of two opposite-facing side surfaces of the cross-section profile.

6. Device according to claim 5, characterized in that the cross-section profile of the rail (10) is symmetrical about the horizontal and the vertical axis.

7. Device according to claim 4 and 5 or 6, characterized in that the claw (30) encloses the one flange pair (22, 24).

8. Device according to one of claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the runner (14) grasps around the other flange pair (18, 20).

9. Device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that at least one end of the rail (10) is held in a path force limiter (16), which opposes a pre-set resistance to a movement of the rail (10).

10. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that the pre-set resistance is produced by pressing friction elements (52), fastened to the end of the rail (10), through bores (50) of a component (48) fastened to a support (44).

11. Device according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the running surfaces (26, 27) of the runner (14) are undercut.

12. Device according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that an arrester lever (130) is housed swivellable in the runner (14) which lever engages with the rail (10) in friction- or form-locking manner because of the force occurring in the event of a fall.

13. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the arrester lever (130) is housed on an eccentric axis (114), and that the fulcrum of the arrester lever (130), in order to engage or disengage the arrester function, can be shifted towards the rail (10) and away from it by rotating the eccentric axis (114).

14. Device according to claim 13, characterized in that the runner (14) has half-shells (26, 27) which enclose the flanges (18, 20) and are housed on the eccentric axis (114), the half-shells (26, 27) being secured by a milled nut (124) and additionally by a fixing rod (142) which can be inserted into aligned bores (138, 140) in a bush (118) on one half-shell (26) and in the eccentric axis (114) and is sliding-block guided.