GB2441142A

GB2441142A - Carabiner with first and second hook sections

Info

Publication number: GB2441142A
Application number: GB0616804A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Christopher John Dale
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-08-25
Filing date: 2006-08-25
Publication date: 2008-02-27
Also published as: GB0616804D0

Abstract

A carabiner (1) comprising a body (2) and a gate (6). The body (3) comprises a first hook section (2) and a second hook section (4). The gate (6) is hinged to the first hook section (2), and has a hinged end and a free end. The first hook section (2) comprises a gate attachment end (12) to which the gate (6) is hinged, and a gate engaging end (8) for engaging with the free end of the gate (6). The second hook section (4) extends past the gate (6) from the gate engaging end (8) of the first hook section (2). The second hook section (4) enables one-handed operation; for example, it allows a climber to hook a rope onto the carabiner (1), and pull the rope into the carabiner (1), without the requirement to open the gate (6) by hand.

Description

-1-2441142

CARABINER

The present invention relates to a carabiner, and in particular to a carabiner having a secondary hook section for receiving a rope.

Carabiners are mechanical linking devices used to connect components in safety-critical systems, and are widely used in sports requiring rope work, such as rock climbing. A carabiner is essentially a snap-hook used, for example, to attach a climbers body harness to a climbing rope. A carabiner may also be used to link the climbing rope to anchors placed in or over the rock.

Carabiners may be broadly sub divided into two types: non-locking carabiners and locking carabiners, examples of which are shown in Figure la and lb. Non-locking carabiners are the simplest carabiners, and comprise a sprung gate which can be opened to insert or remove a rope, and which snaps shut under the force of the spring.

Rock climbers commonly employ carabiners in an arrangement known as a quickdraw. A quickdraw is a device comprising a pair of non-locking carabiners, interconnected by a sling.

One of the carabiners is attached to a fixed anchor on the climbing face, and the other is connected to the climber's harness, via a rope. The rope is fixed to the climber's harness, and passes through the second carabiner to an anchor point, which may be a second climber, or belayer.

Quickdraws are vertically spaced along the height of a climbing face, and as the climber ascends the climbing face they clip the climbing rope into every quickdraw they come to. This ensures that if the climber breaks contact with the climbing face, their fall will be arrested by the last -2-P353680GB quickdraw into which the rope was clipped.

To clip a climbing rope into a quickdraw, a climber must take hold of the climbing rope with one hand, and with the same hand grab the lower carabiner of the quickdraw, open the gate, and pass the climbing rope into the carabiner, allowing the gate to snap closed; the other hand being used by the climber to hold onto the wall. However, prolonged periods on a climbing face can lead to a climber's fingers becoming fatigued, and the climber therefore lacking the manual dexterity required to single handedly open a carabiner and pass the rope inside, particularly as this is often done at the extremity of the climber's reach.

It is therefore desirable to provide an improved carabiner which addresses the above described problems, allows easier attachment of the climbing rope, and/or which provides improvements generally.

In an embodiment of the invention there is provided a carabiner comprising a body and a gate. The body comprises a first hook section and a second hook section. The gate is hinged to the first hook section, and has a hinged end and a free end. The first hook section comprises a gate attachment end to which the gate is hinged, and a gate engaging end for engaging with the free end of the gate.

The second hook section extends past the gate from the gate engaging end of the first hook section. Therefore a rope receiving hook is provided either side of the gate.

The second hook section enables a climber to hook a rope onto the carabiner, and pull the rope into the carabiner, without the requirement to open the gate by hand, or indeed to take hold of the carabiner at all. Preferably, the P353680GB second hook section is integrally formed as part of the body.

The gate of the carabiner is moveable between an open and a closed position. A rope receiving section is defined by the second hook section, and the gate, when the gate is in the closed position. In use, the rope receiving section receives a rope and guides the rope against the gate, such that, when the rope is pulled downwards, it engages and opens the gate, to allow the rope to enter into the first hook section of the carabiner.

The carabiner may comprise a body, having a first end and a second end, and a first rope receiving section, and a gate. The gate is hinged to the first end of the body, and has a free end which engages the body proximate the second end. The second end of the body extends past the free end of the gate to form a second rope receiving section. The body is typically C-shaped, such that the gate and the body form a closed loop. The first rope receiving section is defined by the section of the body within the loop, and the second end of the body extends past the gate and outside of the loop to form the second rope receiving section.

The rope receiving section may comprise a base, located at the intersection between the gate and the second hook section. The second hook section carabiner comprises a rope engaging surface. The rope engaging surface is configured to guide a rope into the base of the rope receiving section, to engage and open the gate. Preferably, the rope engaging surface guides the rope to engage the free end of the gate.

Preferably, the second hook section comprises a tip. The P353680GB rope receiving section comprises an opening defined between the tip of the second hook section and the gate.

The carabiner may further comprise a resilient member to bias the gate to the closed position. Preferably, the resilient member is a spring member. The resilient member ensures that the gate returns to the closed position once the rope has entered into the first hook section, to retain the rope within the first hook section.

The first hook section may comprise a recess for receiving and engaging the gate. Alternatively, the first hook section may comprise a lug, which is received by a corresponding slot in the gate. The lug may be configured to allow a rope to pass over it, into the first hook section, when pulled downwards from the second hook section by a user.

An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following illustrative drawings, in which:-

Figure la shows a prior art locking carabiner;

Figure lb shows a prior art non-locking

carabiner; Figure 2 shows a carabiner according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a side view of the carabiner of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the carabiner _5_ P353680GB of Figure 2; Figure 5a shows the carabiner of Figure 2, without the gate; Figure 5b is a side view of the carabiner of Figure 5a; Figure 6a shows the gate of the carabiner of Figure 2; and Figure 6b is a side view of the gate of Figure 6a.

Referring to Figures la and lb, a conventional carabiner 1 comprises a generally c-shaped body 3 and a gate 6. The body 3 forms a hook section 2 for receiving a rope. The hook section 2 has a gate attachment end 12 and a gate engagement end 10. The gate 6 attaches to the first hook section 2 at the gate attachment end 12 at a hinge 11. The gate 6 is movable about the hinge 11 between an open position and a closed position.

In the open position, the gate 6 allows entry of a rope into the first hook section 2. In the closed position, the gate 6 engages with the body 3 at the gate engaging end 8, such that the gate 6 and the body 3 form a closed 1oop for retaining the rope, the gate 6 providing a barrier to retain the rope within the first hook section 2. The gate engaging end 8 of the body 3 terminates at the gate engagement point 15 and does not extend past the gate 6.

Referring now to Figures 2 to 6b, the carabiner 1 of the claimed invention comprises many of the features of the -6-P353680GB carabiners of the prior art, and the same reference numerals shall be used to reference corresponding features.

Specifically, the carab.iner of the claimed invention comprises a body 3, and a gate 6. The body 3 is formed from aluminium alloy, but of course may be formed from any material of suitable strength. The body 3 comprises a first hook section 2, and a second hook section 4. The first hook section 2 comprises a gate engagement end 8, and a gate attachment end 12. The gate 6 is hinged to the first hook section 2 at the gate attachment end 12 about the hinge 11.

Preferably, the gate 6 is sprung at the hinge 11, or some other resilient member is provided, to bias the gate 6 to the closed position, such that once a rope has been inserted into the first hook section 2, and the gate 6 is released, it automatically snaps shut to the closed position. Moreover, the gate 6 is held in the closed position by the spring, regardless of its orientation, thereby ensuring the rope is retained within the first hook section 2.

In the closed position, the gate 6 engages with the gate engaging portion 10 of the first hook section 2 at the gate engagement point 15. As shown in Figures 2 to 5b, the gate engaging portion 10 may comprise a recess 19 in the first hook section 2 at the hook engaging end 8. As the gate 6 closes, it is received by the recess of the gate engaging portion 10, which prevents further outward rotation of the gate 6, and stops the gate 6 from moving past the gate engaging end 8 of the first hook section 2. Other suitable gate engaging arrangements may be provided, for example the gate 6 and the first hook section 2 may be configured such that the gate engages the inner surface of the first hook section 2 to prevent further rotation. The first hook P353680GB section 2 may be provided with a lip, or ridge for engaging the gate 6.

Preferably, the gate comprises a pair of arms 18 and 19, interconnected at the free end and connected by a hinge section 24 at the hinged end, as shown in Figure 5a. The hinge bar 24 passes through, and pivots in, the aperture 26 in the gate attachment end 12 of the first hook section 2.

The arms 18 and 20 are bent at a point along their length as shown in Figure 5b, such that, when the gate 6 is hinged to the body 3, it bends inwardly into the first hook section 3. Alternatively, the gate 6 may be of any suitable configuration such as solid bar, or wire gate as are commonly known.

In the carabiners of the prior art, as the body 3 of the carabiner terminates at the gate engagement point 15, to operate the carabiner a climber must take hold of the carabiner with one hand, and hold the gate 6 in the open position, while using the same hand to pass a climbing rope into the hook section 2 of the carabiner. However, during a climb, when a climber has become both physically and mentally fatigued, this single handed operation of a carabiner can become extremely difficult, or even impossible, particularly when the climber is reaching large distances to take hold of the carabiner. Without taking hold of the carabiner by hand, the climber cannot open the gate 6 to insert the climbing rope, and if this cannot be done, the climber risks falling significant distances down the climbing face.

Therefore, in the claimed invention, the body 3 of the carabiner 1 comprises a second hook section 4, which enables a rope to be inserted into the first hook section -8-P353680GB 2, without the requirement to open the gate 6 by hand. The second hook section 4 extends past the gate 6, from the gate engaging end 8 of the first hook section 2, such that a hook section is provided either side of the gate 6.

The second hook section 4 is integrally formed as part of the body 3, for example during a forging process.

Alternatively, the second hook section could be a separate member attached to the gate engaging end 8 of the first hook section 2, but still forming part of the body 3. The second hook section 4 extends away from the first hook section 2 and curves upwardly towards its tip 9. The second hook section 4 has an inner rope engaging surface 7 adjacent to, and facing the gate 6.

Referring to Figures 2 and 4, when the gate 6 is in the closed position, a rope receiving section 16 is defined by the second hook section 4 and the gate 6. The second hook section 4 is configured such that the rope receiving section defined between the second hook section 4 and the gate 6 is suitable for receiving a climbing rope. The size of the second hook section 4 may be varied between carabiners, to accommodate different rope thicknesses. The rope receiving section 16 has an opening 17 defined between the tip 9 of the second hook section 4 and the gate 6, and a base 10 defined by the intersection between the gate 6 and the second hook section 4.

In use, a rope is passed over the tip 9 of the second hook section 4 and through the opening 17 into the rope receiving section 16. Once the rope has been hooked into the rope receiving section 16, the climber may pull on the rope, which engages with the rope engaging surface 7.

P353680GB The rope engaging surface 7 has a curved profile leading from the gate engaging end 4 to the tip 9. The rope engaging surface 7 of the second hook section 4 guides the rope into the base 10 of the rope receiving section 16, where it contacts the free end of the gate 6. As the rope is pulled against the free and of the gate 6 it causes the gate 6 to open by pivoting about the hinge 11, thereby allowing the rope access to the first hook section 2. The bent configuration of the gate 6 ensures that the direction of the contacts force between the gate 6 and the rope is in a direction which is approximately tangential to the radius of rotation of the gate 6, thereby maximising the force applied by the rope to open the gate.

The free end of the gate 6 engages the first hook section 2 in the recess 19, and as such there is no lug, as is commonly used to receive a gate, to obstruct the passage of the rope into the first hook section 2. As the rope passes downwards into the saddle section 5 of the first hook section 2, it disengages the gate 6, allowing it to return to the closed position. When the gate 6 in returned to the closed position, the rope is retained within the first hook section 2; to remove the rope the climber must open the gate 6 by hand.

The first hook section 2 is provided with a strap slot 14 proximate the gate attachment end 12. The strap slot 14 allows attachment of a strap or sling to connect the carabiner 1 to a second carabiner to form a quickdraw arrangement. The orientation of the slot 14 is selected such that, when the slot is horizontal, the saddle 5 of the first hook section 2 is directly below the slot 14. This prevents twisting of the strap within the slot 14 when a weight is hung from a rope held within the carabiner 1, as -10--P353680GB the weight will naturally be drawn to a point where it-is directly below the slot. If the saddle 5 were offset from slot 14, the slot 14 would twist out of the horizontal plane as the weight was drawn to a point directly below it, thereby twisting the strap. In addition, the orientation of the slot 14 is such that, when the carabiner 1 is suspended from a sling or strap, the centre of gravity of the carabiner 1 vertically aligned with, and directly below the slot 14. The orientation of the carabiner 1 when suspended from a sling or strap therefore such that the rope easily opens the gate when drawn down into the rope receiving section 16. Aligning the rope receiving section 16 in a suitable orientation prevents the rope from causing the carabiner 1 to swing when drawn into the rope receiving section 16, and ensures that the force applied by the rope in the direction of the gate 6 is maximised to cause the gate 6 to open.

Therefore, there is provided a carabiner which enables a climber to pass a rope into the carabiner without having to take hold of carabiner. The climber is able to simply hook a rope into the outer hook, and pull on the rope to snap it into the inner hook section. In this way, a climber may attach a rope to the carabiner, even if they cannot reach the carabiner itself, for example by forming a loop in the rope which they can extend higher than their reach.

It will be appreciated that in further embodiments various modifications to the specific arrangements described above and shown in the drawings may be made. For example, while the carabiner 1 is described as not having a lug to receive the gate, a lug could be provided having a profile which enables the rope to pass over into the first hook section.

In addition, while the rope engaging surface 7 is described -11-P353680GB as having a curved profile, it may be provided with a flat sloping profile to guide the rope into the base 10 of the rope receiving section 16.

Claims

-12-P353680GB

CLAIMS

1. A carabiner comprising: a body comprising a first hook section and a second hook section; and a gate, hinged to the first hook section, the gate having a hinged end and a free end; wherein the first hook section comprises a gate attachment end to which the gate is hinged, and a gate engaging end for engaging with the free end of the gate, the second hook section extending past the gate from the gate engaging end of the first hook section.

2. The carabiner of claim 1, wherein the gate is moveable between an open and a closed position, a rope receiving section being defined by the second hook section and the gate when the gate is in the closed position.

3. A carabiner, comprising: a body having a first end and a second end, and a first rope receiving section; a gate, hinged to the first end of the body, and having a free end which engages the body proximate the second end; wherein the second end of the body extends past the free end of the gate to form a second rope receiving section.

4. The carabiner of claim 3, wherein the body comprises a first hook section and a second hook section, the gate being hinged to the first hook section; wherein the first hook section comprises a gate attachment end to which the gate is hinged, and a gate engaging end for engaging with the free end of the gate, -13-P353680GB the second hook section extending past the gate from the gate engaging end of the first hook section, to form the gate receiving section.

5. The carabiner of claim 4, wherein the gate is rnoveable between an open and a closed position, the rope receiving section being defined by the second hook section and the gate when the gate is in the closed position.

6. The carabiner of any one of claims 2, 4 or 5, wherein the rope receiving section comprises a base, located at the intersection between the gate and the second hook section.

7. The carabiner of any one of claim 6, wherein the second hook section comprises a rope engaging surface.

8. The carabiner of claim 7, wherein the rope engaging surface is configured to guide a rope into the base of the rope receiving section, to engage and open the gate.

9. The carabiner of any one of claims 2, or 4 to 8, wherein the second hook section comprises a tip, the rope receiving section comprising an opening defined between the tip of the second hook section and the gate.

10. The carabiner of any one of claims 2, or 4 to 9, further comprising a resilient member to bias the gate to the closed position.

1].. The carabiner of claim 10, wherein the resilient member is a spring member.

-14-P353680GB 12. The carabiner of any one of claims, 1, 2, or 4 to 11, wherein the first hook section comprises a recess for receiving and engaging the gate.

13. The carabiner of any one of claims, 1, 2, or 4 to 12, wherein the second hook section is integrally formed as part of the body.

14. A carabiner substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and/or as shown in any one of figures 2 to 4,5a, 5b, 6a or 6b.