FR2799711A1 - ROPE COMPRISING ADDITIONAL GRIPPING MEANS - Google Patents

Abstract

Rope (1) comprising a main cord (2) as well as additional attached gripping means (5), which comprise at least one gripping member (6) associated with said cord (2) along a portion (7) of the latter, forming a bead (8) on the cord (2) to locally increase the diameter of the cord (1).

Description

The invention relates to a rope and a dragging device for

skiers

including such a rope.

  The invention applies in particular to ski lift installations, comprising a device for dragging skiers along small slopes. This type of device comprises an endless rope looped on itself, driven in movement and guided by a set of pulleys. In order to go back up the slope, the skiers grab and hold the rope that tows them up

destination.

  This type of installation, described in document FR-A-2 742 400, usually includes a smooth rope, which has disadvantages in this type

of application in particular.

  Indeed, skiers, who wear mittens or gloves, experience difficulties in keeping the smooth rope tight without it slipping between their

  hands, especially if the slope has areas of steep drop.

  A priori, a solution could consist in making regularly spaced knots on the rope, so as to form bulges on the rope which

  facilitate handling and maintenance during the towing period.

  However, the knots cannot pass correctly through the pulleys, which

  makes a knotted rope unusable in this type of application.

  Another solution could be to fix handles on the rope, regularly spaced. However, the handles have a volume such that they also do not pass through the pulleys, and are susceptible

  hang obstacles when the rope is dragging on the ground.

  The invention aims to solve in particular the aforementioned drawbacks, by proposing a rope which has complementary gripping means able on the one hand to facilitate the gripping of the rope by a user such as a skier, and on the other hand the passage of the rope in a driving pulley and / or

  guidance, while exhibiting good resistance over time.

  To this end, a first object of the invention is a cord comprising a main cord, which also comprises additional reported gripping means. These gripping means comprise at least one gripping member associated with said cord along a portion of it, forming a bead on the

  cord to locally increase the diameter of the cord.

  This rope thus has increased ergonomics compared to conventional ropes. Its grip is better than that of a classic smooth rope, while it can also, just like a smooth rope, and unlike ropes

  with handles or knots, pass through guide pulleys.

  According to one embodiment, the main cord is produced by interlacing of fibers called primary strands, the gripping member comprising additional strands called secondary strands, incorporated into the cord by interlacing

between the primary strands.

  For example, the secondary strands are braided between the primary strands, these

  the latter being themselves braided together to form the cord.

  According to one embodiment, the secondary strands are made at least in part from a flexible and elastic material such as an elastomer, and / or at least

  partly in a semi-rigid material such as a polymer.

  According to one embodiment, the complementary gripping means comprise a plurality of gripping members associated with the cord and

  regularly spaced on it.

  A second object of the invention is a device for dragging skiers by a rope traveling continuously following a closed loop trajectory between

  departure and arrival locations.

  Each of the sites is equipped with at least one end pulley, the rope comprising a strand of dragging at the level of the snow so that it can be gripped by the skier, as well as a return strand supported in height by pylons at the above skiers, the rope being a rope like the one that comes

to be described.

  Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the

  description which follows of embodiments, description given with reference

  in the accompanying drawings, in which: - Figure 1 is a partial top plan view of a rope according to the invention, which comprises a main bead produced by an interlacing of fibers called primary strands, as well as a gripping member made from additional strands called secondary strands, this member being associated with the main cord of the cord by interlacing the secondary strands in the primary strands of the cord, and forming a bead on this cord; - Figure 2 is a schematic elevational view of a dragging device for skiers, which comprises a rope according to the invention, for example the rope

  of Figure 1, continuously scrolling along a closed loop path.

  In Figure 1 is shown a rope 1, including in particular a main cord 2 which, according to one embodiment, is produced by interlacing

fibers 3 called primary strands.

  In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1, the bead 2 is produced from eight primary strands 3, produced from a synthetic material such as polyamide or

  polyester, KEVLAR, or equivalent, and braided together.

  In this way, the cord has a low coefficient of elongation and a

  good resistance, on the one hand to ultraviolet rays, and on the other hand to twisting.

  This embodiment of the cord 2 is given by way of example, the invention being applicable to any type of cord 2, for example of the mountaineer's cord type which comprises an inner braid covered with braided fibers, or of the cord caver, which includes a core of parallel fibers covered with braided fibers. The primary strands 3 can also be stranded, that is to say interlaced

so as to form a helix.

  For example, the cord thus obtained has a diameter of the order of approximately 16 millimeters, which allows good grip of the cord 1 by

4 users of all ages.

  In one of its applications, the rope 1 is in fact intended to be gripped by users 4 such as skiers. In order to improve its hold by users 4, the rope 1 also comprises gripping means

complementary 5.

  These gripping means 5 comprise at least one gripping member 6, associated with the cord 2 along a portion 7 thereof, this portion 7

  having a length substantially equal to the width of a hand.

  The gripping member 6 forms a bead 8 on the cord 2, to locally increase, along the portion 7, the diameter of the cord 1 so as to facilitate

the grip of it.

  According to a first embodiment, illustrated in FIG. 1, the gripping member 6 comprises additional strands 9 called secondary strands, of finite length, substantially equal to the length of the portion 7, and incorporated into the

  cord 2 by interlacing between the primary strands 3.

  For example, the secondary strands 9 are braided between the primary strands 3, by a process known as over-braiding. This embodiment has the advantage of great ease of implementation, the braiding of the secondary strands 9

can be done by hand.

  This braiding can be achieved by locally relaxing the cord 2 so as to create between the primary strands 3 sufficient spaces to allow

  the insertion of the secondary strands 9.

  Each secondary strand 9 is inserted into the cord 2 in a direction indicated by the arrow F in FIG. 1, from a first end 10 of the secondary strand 9, buried in the heart of the cord, to a second end 11, free, of

secondary strand 9.

  Once the overstressing has been completed, the secondary strand 9 is for example cut,

  so that its free end 11 is flush with the outer surface 12 of the cord.

  The secondary strands 9 can be made from the same materials as the primary strands 3, for example from polyamide fibers or

  polyester, KEVLAR, or equivalent.

  According to a variant, the secondary strands 9 are made at least in part from a flexible and elastic material such as an elastomer, which offers good adhesion properties, so as to facilitate handling by the user 4 of

the gripping member 6.

  According to another variant, the secondary strands 9 are made at least in

  part in a semi-rigid material such as a polymer.

  The production of the gripping member 6 by a combination of secondary strands 9 made of elastomer, polymer or made from synthetic fibers can also be provided, so as to combine the properties

materials.

  In addition, the secondary strands 9 can be of a color different from that of the primary strands 3, in order to allow easy localization of the organ of

  gripping 6 by user 4 (Figure 1).

  In order to allow the grip of the rope 1 by several users 4, the rope 1 comprises a plurality of gripping members 6 such as those which

  have just been described, associated with the cord 2 and regularly spaced thereon

  ci, for example substantially every three meters, or every four meters.

  The rope 1 thus produced can be used in a towing device 14 of

  skiers 4, illustrated in figure 2.

  In this device 14, the rope 1 runs continuously along a trajectory, in a closed loop between start and end locations 16, in a single direction F ′ chosen so that it is opposite to the direction of braiding F of

strands 9 secondary.

  In this way, the free ends 11 of the secondary strands 9 do not catch on

  the pulleys 17, 18 during the passage of the gripping member 6 therein.

  The life of the rope 1 is thereby increased.

  Each of the locations 15, 16 is equipped with at least one end pulley 17, 18, which guide the rope 1. This includes a strand 19 in the snow so that it can be gripped by the skier 4, as well as a bit of

  return 20 supported in height by pylons 21 above the skiers.

  This type of device, which is the subject of patent application FR-2 742 400 in the name of the applicant, is already described in detail in this document; he is

  therefore needless to describe it further here.

  The use of the rope 1, which includes complementary gripping means 5, allows users 4 to better hold the rope 1 by gripping the

  gripping members 6, and not to slip on the rope 1.

  Thus, users 4 can, on the one hand, climb steeper slopes than those on which the known rope towing devices are installed.

  smooth, and on the other hand travel longer distances.

Claims (7)

  1. Rope (1) comprising a main cord (2), characterized in that it comprises additional gripping means (5) attached, which comprise at least one gripping member (6) associated with said cord (2) along a portion (7) thereof, forming a bead (8) on the cord (2) for   locally increase the diameter of the rope (1).   2. Cord (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the main cord (2) is produced by interlacing fibers (3) called primary strands, the gripping member (6) comprising additional strands (9) called secondary strands, incorporated in the cord (2) by interlacing between the strands primary (3).   3. Rope (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that the said secondary strands (9) are braided between the said primary strands (3), the latter being   themselves braided together to form the cord (2).   4. Rope (1) according to one of claims 2 or 3, characterized in that   said secondary strands (9) are made at least in part from a material   flexible and elastic such as an elastomer.   5. Rope (1) according to claim one of claims 2 to 4,   characterized in that the said secondary strands (9) are made at least in   part in a semi-rigid material such as a polymer.   6. Rope (1) according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the   complementary gripping means (5) comprise a plurality of gripping members (6) associated with the cord (2) and regularly spaced on this one.   7. Device (14) for dragging skiers (4) by a rope (1) continuously scrolling along a closed-loop trajectory between starting (15) and ending (16) locations, each equipped with at least an end pulley (17, 18), the rope (1) comprising a towing strand (19) at the level of the snow so that it can be gripped by the skier (4), as well as a return strand (20) supported in height by pylons (21) above the skiers (4), characterized   in that the rope (1) is a rope (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6.