ES2345850T3 - A SYSTEM AND PROTECTION AGAINST FALLS FOR INDIVIDUALS THAT USE STAIRS. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a system for anti-fall protection of individuals during work on ladders with rungs. The system comprises an anti-fall protection with a first and a second side and a displaceable hinge that can be secured to an individual by means of safety line, harness or the like, and a rail for attachment in an essentially vertical position on or at the ladder. The anti-fall protection and the rail has co-operating locking means that are adapted to be such that the anti-fall protection can slide on the rail when the rail is displaced in one direction and is securely locked onto the rail when the hinge is displaced in another direction. Rail and anti-fall protection are also configured with complementary and asymmetrical engagement means to the effect that the anti-fall protection can be mounted on the rail with only one side upwards, and said first and second sides being mutually displaceable to the effect that the engagement means can be caused to disengage from the rail. Between the first and the second sides, the anti-fall protection also comprises connection means that cooperate with the hinge to the effect that the first and second sides of the anti-fall protection can be shifted out of engagement with the rail only when the hinge is displaced in one direction.

Description

A system and fall protection for individuals who use stairs.

The invention relates to a system for protection of individuals while working on stairs with crossbars, said system comprising a fall protection comprising a first and a second side and a joint movable that can be fixed to an individual using a cable safety, a safety harness or similar, and a guide for your fixation in essentially vertical position on the ladder or in the same; having said fall protection and said guide cooperative blocking means that are adapted in such a way that fall protection can slide through the guide when the joint moves in one direction and be fixed in the guide when the joint moves in another direction, being also configured said guide and said fall protection with complementary and asymmetric coupling means so that the fall protection can be mounted on the guide only with a side up, and being able to move each other said first and second side so that the coupling means can be coupled to guide and disengage from it.

When a job is carried out at high altitude, for example, during the maintenance of wind turbines, with often it is necessary for the person doing the work stay for long periods of time in structures of internal or external stairs. This is because, on the one hand, the person who performs these tasks should come up frequently long distances down the stairs and, on the other hand, part of the work must also be carried out while staying in the stairs. Because ascension and descent are associated specifically to physical fatigue, there is an increased risk of that errors due to fatigue occur, existing the need for equipment that is not only reliable, but also infallible and easy to handle, and allowing security against falls of individuals.

It is known a protective equipment against falls that, for example, are used in cases of work on stairs. Normally, this equipment includes a fall protection that It can slide through a guide designed for it. Usually, Fall protection comprises a support or joint that, for example, by one or more snap hooks and a safety harness, you can connect to the worker using the team. This type of fall protection works so that Fall protection slides through the guide at speeds and accelerations that occur in case of normal use of the ladder and instead is locked securely in the guide to the speeds and accelerations that normally occur In case of fall. Frequently, the fundamental mechanical principle of these fall protection systems is based on a eccentric mechanism arranged at the bottom of the support or joint, which is rotatably mounted. The mechanism eccentric works so that it is forced to engage and get locked in the guide when the support or joint is relatively subjected to a force directed downwards. When the Fall protection is worn by a person who climbs the ladder, the joint thus occupies a position in which the eccentric mechanism is released with respect to the guide, so that a fall will cause the support or joint to move in the direction in which the eccentric mechanism engages and remains locked in the guide.

Document DE 20314230 U1 shows a system according to the preamble of claim 1 and a protection against falls according to the preamble of claim 3.

United States patent application number US 2003/0217887 unveils a system to insure individuals Against falls The system includes a fall protection equipped with a support / joint that is mounted on a guide configured for it. Fall protection allows the individual who uses it up and down in case of normal use of the ladder, but in the case that an individual using the system will slips or falls, the slider is instantly locked in the guide. Fall protection works through a mechanism eccentric like the one described above that is connected to the joint or support and that, when the joint / support is subjected to a sufficient force directed downwards, it is forced to engage and be locked in the associated guide. To avoid a incorrect orientation of said fall protection in the guide so that, instead of avoiding a rapid movement directed towards below, allow it, guidance and fall protection are adapted to each other in such a way that protection against Falls can be oriented in the guide only one way.

U.S. Patent No. 6,725,969 B1 unveils another fall protection system from stairs. This system also includes protection against falls that, during the use of the ladder, must be mounted on a guide. Fall protection works through a pin / ratchet that is forced to engage holes designed for the same if the individual using protection against Falls falls.

None of these fall protections can be mounted or removed anywhere in the guide, but which must be mounted or removed on top or on the part bottom of the guide. This is inconvenient in the case of large and complex structures, such as, for example, wind turbines In fact, in such structures, it is often it is necessary to be able to leave the stairs during the journey, since wind turbines usually have rests and devices On several different levels.

Therefore, there is a need for a fall protection that allows disassembly and assembly in anywhere in the guide and at the same time it is safe against an unintended opening, so that the slider does not may fall from the guide

In addition, there is a need to ensure that the Fall protection does not disengage the guide while avoiding The fall of an individual.

Experience has shown that people tired can act irrationally, for example, by opening a unintentional fall protection. The experience It has also shown that, given that an individual should carry out three logical / conscious actions to obtain a specific effect, it is very likely that the individual gets said effect unintentionally. Therefore, the fact of providing the protection against falls of means to allow disassembly only after carrying out three conscious actions reduces considerably the risk of incorrect opening / use and, of in this way, a very high degree of reliability is obtained against the possibility that even a very tired user opens and / or disassembles unintentionally fall protection.

The object of the invention is obtained by a system according to claim 1.

According to one embodiment, protection against falls, the pin, the ladder and the guide are adapted to each other in such a way that the pin will contact the crossbars of the ladder when fall protection is mounted on the guide, and the pin occupies the position in which it allows movement of the stop means to allow them to occupy a position in which the joint can move to a position in which the first and second sides can be decoupled from the guide.

The fact of adapting each other in this way the Fall protection, pin, ladder and guide, avoid that the fall protection cannot slide through the guide, resulting in this way useless in practice if carried out Only one of the three necessary actions. This is a major degree of security, since the system is more or less self-controlling

The invention also relates to a protection against falls, as described in the claims 3-4.

It should be emphasized / emphasized that the term "articulation" comprises any type of mechanism movable to which an individual can fix a cable.

Next, the invention will be described in more detailed form, starting with the figures, in which

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a fall protection on which a guide is mounted;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a fall protection in a partially exploded view;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a fall protection as shown in figure 1, in a partially exploded view, from another angle;

Figure 4 shows a fall protection as shown in figure 1, with its pin in position introduced;

Figure 5 shows the fall protection shown in figure 4, with the pin mounted and inserted;

Figure 6 shows the fall protection shown in figure 3, with the pin mounted and inserted, with the joint turned forward to the position in which the sides can be separated from each other;

Figure 7 shows a pin seen from a side.

Next, an embodiment of the invention in more detail, referring to the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a 1 fall protection on which a guide (2) is mounted. The fall protection comprises a first and a second side 10, 11 and a movable joint 12 to which an individual can be fixed using a safety cable, a safety harness or similar (not shown). The system further comprises a guide 20 that it is fixed in an essentially vertical position on the ladder or in the same (also not shown). 1 fall protection and guidance 20 are configured with cooperative blocking means that are adapted in such a way that fall protection can slide along the guide 20 when the joint 12 moves in one direction and get locked in guide 20 when the Joint moves in another direction. In the case shown in Figure 1, the blocking means are constituted by a eccentric element 15 at the bottom of the joint 12 which can be forced down, towards the stairs 20, when the Fall protection is mounted on the guide and joint rotates around axis 18. Guide 20 and fall protection they are also configured with coupling means 13, 14 and 21, 22 complementary and asymmetric which, in the case shown, are constituted by flanges 21, 22 of the guide and cavities 13, 14 configured for them in fall protection. On one side of the guide itself an edge 23 is configured which is extends longitudinally and that fits into a recess corresponding in cavity 13 of the fall protection (shown more clearly in Figure 2). Said edge 23 and the associated recess 16 ensure that fall protection can Ride the guide only one way. Protection against falls is constructed so that both sides 10 and 11 can move with each other in such a way that cavities 13, 14 can separate from the flanges of the guide and thus the protection against falls can be mounted and removed anywhere in the guide. In the case shown, this functionality is obtained through the use of a guide 17 in which part 10 can be mounted so slidable through an opening 18 in correspondence with the guide.

To prevent fall protection from getting unintentionally disassemble the guide, the technical means that connect the first 10 and the second 11 side of the protection against falls are configured so that the side can uncouple guide 20 only when joint 12 is in a specific position.

This functionality will be explained below. in more detail, referring to figures 2 and 3.

In Figure 3, on the right side 10 of the fall protection, an opening 40 can be observed which, in the right side of the figure is round and, as it introduced on side 10, adopts a substantially square shape. The square part of the opening 40 extends such a distance in the side 10 that the corresponding head 41 of the axis 19 allows a relative and axial movement between axis 19 and side 10 when the head is located in the square part of the opening 40. When shaft 19 is mounted on fall protection, first its thin part is introduced through the opening 40 and subsequently through joint 12 (fixing it rotatably), in order to finally fix it to the other side 11 of Fall protection. This fixation is carried out by rivets 30, 31 (shown in figure 2) that can be coupled  to a corresponding recess at one end of the shaft when this last one is introduced on the other side 11 of the protection against falls, and rivets 30, 31 are mounted in holes configured for them (not shown) under the openings 31a and 32a (as shown in Figure 3). Shaft length 19 is adapted in such a way to fall protection that the head 41 is located in the round part of the hole 40 when the fall protection is mounted on the guide 20 and, of this mode, the rotation of the axis is possible and, therefore, also of the joint 12, when fall protection is used in the guide. Therefore, to disassemble or mount the protection against falls with respect to the guide, it is only necessary to turn the articulation to a position where the square head of the shaft can slide inside the square part corresponding hole 40, after which side 10 can move relatively with respect to side 11, being able to then slide the head inside the part square of hole 40. Also, in the examples shown in the figures, fall protection ensures that the sides are not completely disassembled, since the internal diameter 42 of the hole 40 (more clearly shown in figure 2) has a size and shape such that head 41 cannot pass through it.

Next, others will be explained embodiments of the invention, referring to figures 4 and 5.

Figure 4 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the joint is displaced to a position in which the eccentric mechanism 15 (not shown in the Figure 4) is not coupled to the guide, but in which the sides 10 and 11 can move each other to be able to disassemble the protection against falls of the guide 20 and mount it therein. Figure 5 schematically shows that fall protection also comprises a stop means which, in the position shown, allows that the joint moves to the position in which the Fall protection can slide along the guide and be removed of the guide or be mounted on it simultaneously. This means of stop 32 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 34 and the stop means it comprises an edge 32 (shown in figure 3) that can be coupled and lock with respect to a corresponding edge 33 (shown also in figure 3) of the joint. In one embodiment, the axis 34 of the stop means 32 is deflected by a spring, so that the stop means tend to the position in which it prevents the joint rotate to the position in which the protection against falls can be separated from the guide. Therefore, it present additional preventive measures to prevent the fall protection disassemble from guide 20 so that intentional

According to another embodiment, joint 12 it can also be locked and docked securely by the stop means 32, it being possible to fix the stop means on said position by a pin 50. In this embodiment of the invention, pin 50, shown in more detail in Figure 7 is mounted in such a way - on the second side 11 of fall protection, as shown in figures 1 and 3- that it can move in its longitudinal direction. Such as can be seen more clearly in figure 2, the pin it has an area that can be coupled to a piece 35 essentially plane of the shaft of the abutment means 32, and the length of the pin is adapted to be such that this occurs precisely when the pin is partially pressed into the protection against falls, as can be seen in figure 1. Of this mode, the stop means 32 is blocked, which in turn blocks the joint 12 in a position in which the protection against Falls cannot be opened. As can be seen in Figure 7, the pin also has a zone 51 of reduced diameter and said zone is adapted to the axis of the stop means to allow the stop means rotate when said part 51 of the pin is arranged in front of the axis 35 of the stop means. Thanks to the fact of configuring the pin in this way and with a length relationship between the head and narrowed part suitable for protection against falls, the pin allows the rotation only when the pin is Fully pressed into fall protection, as shown in figures 4 and 5. Also, as you can Observed, fall protection and pin may be adapted so that the lower end 52 of the pin protrudes out through the bottom of the protection against falls The objective of this is that the pin end 52 -when the pin allows the rotation of the stop means 32- can contact and contact the crossbars of a ladder (no shown in the figures) on which the guide 20 and the fall protection.

Claims (4)

1. A system for the protection of individuals during work on stairs with crossbars, said system comprising a fall protection (1) comprising a first (10) and a second (11) side and a movable joint (12) that can be fixed to an individual by means of a safety cable, harness or similar, and a guide (20) for its fixation in an essentially vertical position on the ladder or in the same; said protection (1) having falls and said guide (20) cooperative locking means which are adapted such that the protection (1) against falls can slide through the guide (20) when the joint (12) moves in one direction and remain locked in the guide (20) when the joint (12) moves in another direction, said guide (20) and said protection (1) also falling against coupling means (13, 14, 21, 22) complementary and asymmetrical so that the fall protection (1) can be mounted on the guide (20) only with one side up, and said first and second sides being mutually movable so that the coupling means can be coupled to the guide and decouple it, also including the protection against falls between the first (10) and second (11) side connection means (19, 41) that cooperate with the joint (12) so that the first (10) and second (11 ) side of the protection (1) against falls can be decoupled from the guide (20) only when the joint (12) is displaced in one direction and installed in a specific position, said connection means (19, 41) being configured such that the first (10) and second (11) side of the fall protection (1) can be disengaged from the guide (20) only when the joint (12) moves in the direction in which it does not block the fall protection in the guide; and also comprising the protection (1) against falls a stop means (32) that allows the movement of the joint (12) to a position in which the protection (1) against falls can slide along the guide (20) but which prevents movement of the joint (12) to said specific position in which the first (10) and second (11) side can be disengaged from the guide, characterized in that said stop means (32) cooperates with a pin (50) movable so that the pin (50) must be arranged in a predetermined position before the stop means (32) can move to a position where the first (10) and second (11) sides can be disengaged from the guide (20 ). 2. A system for the protection of individuals during work on stairs with crossbars according to claim 1, characterized in that the protection (1) against falls, the pin (50), the ladder and the guide (20) are adapted to each other in such a way that the pin (50) will contact the crossbars of the ladder when the fall protection (1) is mounted on the guide (20), and the pin (50) occupies the position in which it allows the movement of the medium stop (32) so that it can occupy a position in which the joint (12) can move to a position in which the first (10) and second (11) side can be disengaged from each other. 3. A fall protection (1) for use in a system with a guide (20) as defined in claims 1 or 2, comprising a first (10) and a second (11) side and a joint (12) movable that can be fixed to a person by means of a safety cable, harness or similar, comprising the protection against falls between the first (10) and second (11) side connection means (19, 41) that cooperate with the joint (12) so that the first (10) and second (11) side of the fall protection (1) can move each other only when the joint (12) is displaced in one direction and installed in a specific position; and also including the protection (1) against falls a stop means (32) that prevents the movement of the joint (12) to a position in which the first (10) and second (11) side can be disengaged from the guide, characterized in that said stop means (32) cooperates with a pin (50) so that the pin (50) must move to a specific position before the stop means (32) can move to a position in which the first (10) and second (11) side can be disengaged from the guide (20). 4. A fall protection (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the pin (50), the ladder and the guide (20) are adapted to each other such that the pin (50) will contact the crossbars of the ladder when the fall protection (1) is mounted on the guide (20), and the pin (50) occupies the position in which it allows the movement of the stop means (32) so that it can occupy a position in the that the joint (12) can move to a position where the first (10) and second (11) side can be disengaged from the guide (20).