WO2009036747A2

WO2009036747A2 - Rappel device having fire-resistant traction mechanism

Info

Publication number: WO2009036747A2
Application number: PCT/DE2008/001552
Authority: WO
Inventors: Guido Rogge
Original assignee: Mittelmann Sicherheitstechnik Gmbh & Co. Kg
Priority date: 2007-09-18
Filing date: 2008-09-18
Publication date: 2009-03-26
Also published as: DE112008003161A5; WO2009036747A3; DE202007013135U1

Abstract

The invention relates to a rappelling device, comprising a traction mechanism made of a plastic material, a guide roller for the non-slip guidance of the traction mechanism, and a brake device. A rappelling device, which can also be reliably actuated when exposed to high heat, is created according to the invention in that the plastic material comprises at least one fire-resistant material.

Description

Descender with fire-resistant traction device

The invention relates to a descender according to the preamble of claim 1.

Abseil devices for the rescue of persons from elevated places are known from practice, in which the person to be rescued is secured to a traction device, such as a rope, which is guided slip-proof in the descender device. Such abseiling devices include a guide roller on which the traction means is guided slip-proof, and a braking device. If the descender is loaded by the weight of the person, then the traction means runs over the guide roller, wherein the abseiling speed is limited by the braking device. As a result, it is possible for a person without help and without the use of their own physical strength to descend in a controlled manner from an elevated place.

Likewise, with such descender devices, it is easily possible to lower objects safely from elevated places without the intervention of an operator.

In the abseiling devices known from practice, the traction means is usually designed as a rope made of a plastic material, such as polyamide. The plastic materials used here usually have a high tensile strength, but have only a low fire resistance and a low melting point. In particular, when used as a rescue means but a descender is often exposed to high temperatures, for example, when people are to rescue from burning buildings.

From practice are also trained as fall arrester Abseilgeräte known, which have as a traction means guided on a guide roller Stahltrosse and a brake.

German Offenlegungsschrift DE 10 2005 010 767 A1, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference, describes a Abseiling device for abseiling people or objects from an elevated location. The descender comprises a guide pulley for a rope which is mounted in a housing of the abseiling device on a first shaft. On the first shaft, a large gear is further mounted non-rotatably, which is in engagement with a small gear which is arranged on a second, rotatably mounted in the housing shaft, wherein the large gear and the small gear together form a transmission gear. On the second shaft, a centrifugal brake is also arranged, which limits the rotational speed of the waves upon actuation of the abseiling device. On an outside of the housing, a hand crank is arranged on the first shaft, with which the first shaft can be set in rotation, whereby a winch function of the abseiling device is formed. Furthermore, blocking means are provided with which the first shaft can be locked in a direction of rotation. This makes it possible to lock the transmission gear in Abseilrichtung, but at the same time the descender can be used by operating the hand crank as a winch in the direction opposite to the Abseilrichtung.

EP 1 430 176 B1 describes a core-sheath rope made of a fiber material, which has at least one core region and a sheath region, each of which is formed from a multiplicity of core fibers or sheath fibers. The core region and the cladding region of the rope are connected to one another by at least a part of the fibers of the core region also being present in the cladding region and being connected to the cladding fibers there, or by at least a part of the cladding fibers also being present in the core region where it is bonded to the core fibers. In one of the embodiments described, the core fibers are aramid fibers and the sheath fibers are heat-resistant Nomex fibers. A disadvantage of the described type of ropes is that they are very expensive and therefore expensive to produce. In addition, the subsequent disposal of a kernmantel rope thus formed is problematic due to the interwoven fibers of different materials. It is the object of the invention to provide a descender, which can be safely operated even under strong heat.

This object is achieved in a abseiling device according to the invention with the characterizing features of claim 1.

An abseiling device according to the invention comprises a traction means, a guide roller for the slip-proof guidance of the traction means and a braking device, wherein the traction means comprises a fire-resistant material. By providing a traction device, which comprises a fire-resistant material, a descender is advantageously provided, which is also used when the descender and / or the traction means is exposed to a strong heat from the outside or an open flame. This advantageously makes it possible to use the abseiling device according to the invention also for rescuing persons from burning buildings or in the vicinity of highly heated materials. In this case, there is no softening or stretching of the traction device or mechanical damage to the traction device as a result of contact with an open flame.

Preferably, the traction means is formed of a fiber material, which advantageously achieves that the traction means on the one hand by a mobility of the individual fibers against each other has a high flexibility and thus in particular in a region of the guide roller low bending radii and on the other hand by an interlacing of the fibers with each other a high Having tensile strength.

Preferably, the traction means is formed of a material comprising at least 50% aramid. The material aramid, especially if it is in the form of flavored polyamide base fibers, has a number of advantageous properties, for example a high heat resistance, a very good tensile strength of the individual fibers and a sufficiently good Pressure resistance of the fibers. Particularly preferably, the traction means is designed as a flexible rope, which is made of a fiber material comprising at least 50% aramid fibers.

In a further embodiment of a descender according to the invention the traction means is formed of a material comprising at least 80% aramid. Particularly preferably, the traction means is even formed entirely of aramid. As a result, it is advantageously ensured that the traction means exhibits sufficient fire resistance in order to ensure safe operation of the descender even when very high temperatures occur.

Preferably, the traction means is formed as a rope having a core portion and a cladding region. Such so-called core-shell braids have the advantage over conventional twisted cables that they do not twist even at high cable lengths and have a high tensile strength. In addition, by the use of a Kernmantelgeflechts advantageous tearing of the traction device in a prismatic guide, as it is preferably used for a slip-proof guidance of the traction means, safely avoided.

The jacket region of the traction means preferably consists of a densely braided fiber material and the core region consists of a fiber material which is less densely braided in comparison. This has the advantage that the fire resistance of the traction means is further increased by the very dense shell region, while the necessary flexibility of the traction means is improved by the deformability of the less densely braided core region. In order to further increase the tensile strength and flexibility of the traction means and to improve the fire resistance of the material, the fiber material may be coated with a high temperature resistant material. Preferably, the high-temperature-resistant material is selected so that friction properties of the fiber material are improved so that the fiber-fiber friction is increased. This leads to the advantage that the Core area and the jacket portion of the traction means do not slide against each other and ensures a slip-proof leadership of the traction device in the leadership further.

Preferably, the guide roller is formed substantially disc-shaped and has along its edge a circumferential recess which is formed for receiving the traction means. Particularly preferably, the recess has a cross-section to a V-shape or the like, so that the traction means is secured against slipping off the guide roller.

Preferably, the guide roller of the descender is rotatably mounted in a housing. By arranging the guide roller in a housing, it is advantageously possible to ensure the slip-proof guidance of the traction device and at the same time to secure the guide roller against external intervention, which reduces the risk of injury to a person to be rescued. Preferably, the braking device is disposed within the housing.

Particularly preferably, at least one first shaft with a first gear and a second shaft with a second gear is arranged in the housing, wherein the first gear and the second gear together form a transmission gear. In particular, when the guide roller is arranged on the first shaft and the brake device is arranged on the second shaft can be selected by the choice of the transmission ratio, a desired maximum abseiling speed.

In a preferred embodiment of the abseiling device according to the invention, at least one of the first shaft and the second shaft can be driven in a driveable manner. Particularly preferably, a hand crank is arranged on the slowly rotating shaft, by means of which the descender can be used against the lowering direction as a winch. This advantageously allows the user to first use the winch function To reach elevated place to do there work or to provide assistance to an injured person in order to then safely leave the elevated site again using the abseiling functions.

Preferably, the transmission gear can be locked in at least one direction of rotation. Particularly preferably, the transmission gear is released in the locked state in one of the locked direction of rotation opposite direction of rotation. Due to the lockability of the transmission, it is advantageous at any time for the user of the abseiling device to interrupt a rappelling process. In particular, when the transmission gear is given in the locked state in a direction opposite to the locked directions of rotation, it is also still advantageously possible to use the descender using a winch in winch function without an automatic rappelling occurs when releasing the hand crank.

The nature and advantages of the device according to the invention will be clarified by the embodiment shown in the accompanying drawing. It shows

Fig. 1, the descender in a partially sectioned view and Fig. 2, the descender in a side view on the side facing away from the drive.

In Fig. 1, a locking device in the form of a ratchet torque on a common shaft 3 of guide roller 2 and large gear 4 is fixed on the left side of the descender 1. The transmission gear with large gear 4 and small gear 5, which has the shape of a pinion in the illustrated embodiment, are located in the right part of the housing. Flanged on the right side is located on the drive shaft 6, a centrifugal brake. 7 On the far right side of a hand crank 8 is shown, which is fixed torque on the emerging from the housing drive shaft 6. In the lower part of the hand crank 8, a handle 9 can be seen in flattened position. The handle 9 can be folded into the housing of the hand crank 8, so that in the Abseilunktion the handle does not protrude from the contour of the hand wheel, whereby a risk of injury or relevant in view of the possible high speeds danger of causing an imbalance is turned off.

In Fig. 2, the ratchet shaft 11 is clearly visible, the torque safe on the common shaft 3 of guide roller 2 and large gear 4 is fixed. On the ratchet shaft 11, a sprocket 16 is fixed, can engage in the spring-loaded pawls 12 and 14. In this case, the pawl 12 acts on a counterclockwise rotation, while the pawl 14 acts on a clockwise rotation. Due to the spring load, the pawls automatically pivot into the teeth of the ring gear 16 when they are not deflected by the switch 13 from the engaged position.

As can be seen in particular in FIG. 1, the guide roller 2 has a circumferential recess (without reference numeral) which has a substantially V-shaped cross-section. The traction means 15, which is shown in Fig. 1 only on one side of the guide roller 2 is bounded on two sides by the legs of the V-shaped recess, wherein the legs are arranged at an angle to each other, in the direction of the axis of rotation of the guide roller converges. By a load of the traction means 15 by the weight of a person to be abzuseilenden or an object, the traction means 15 is pressed in the direction of the axis of rotation of the guide roller 2, which ensures a secure guidance of the traction means by the rubbing contact with the legs of the recess. By the automatic clamping of the traction means 15 ensures that the traction means 15th slip-free on the circumference of the guide roller 2 due to the rotation is displaced,

The traction means 15 is formed of a fiber material consisting of aramid base fibers, and comprises a core portion and a

A cladding region, wherein the cladding region consists of densely woven fibers, and wherein the core region is formed of relatively less densely interwoven fibers. The jacket region completely surrounds the core region circumferentially, without the fibers of the core region being interwoven with those of the jacket region. By the less densely woven

Core region of the traction means 15, the traction means 15 is compressible to a certain extent, resulting in a good guidance of the traction means 15 in the recess of the guide roller 2. The use of the traction means 15 at high temperature or open flame is thus possible for a longer duration than in the prior art, in particular when the traction means 15 rotates.

The invention has been described above with reference to an embodiment in which the descender is designed as a winch. It is understood that training as a fall arrester is also possible.

Claims

1. abseiling device comprising a traction means made of a plastic material, a guide roller for slip-proof guidance of the traction means, and a braking device, characterized in that the plastic material comprises at least one fire-resistant material.

2. abseiling device according to claim 1, characterized in that the traction means comprises a fiber material.

3. abseiling device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the traction means is formed of aramid.

4. abseiling device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that at least parts of the traction means have a coating of a high temperature resistant material.

5. abseiling device according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the traction means is designed as a rope having a core region and a cladding region.

6 descender according to claim 5, characterized in that the

Mantle region of the rope consists of a densely braided fiber material, and that the core region consists of a comparatively less densely braided fiber material.

7. abseiling device according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the guide roller has a circumferential recess and that the circumferential recess is formed for receiving the traction means.

8. abseiling device according to claim 7, characterized in that the circumferential recess has a V-shape in cross section.

9. abseiling device according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the guide roller is rotatably arranged in a housing.

10. descender according to claim 9, characterized in that in the housing at least a first shaft with a first gear and a second shaft are arranged with a second gear, and that the first gear and the second gear form a transmission gear.

11. abseiling device according to claim 10, characterized in that the guide roller is arranged on the first shaft, and that the braking device is arranged on the second shaft.

12. abseiling device according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that one of the first shaft and the second shaft is driven to move.

13. abseiling device according to one of claims 10 to 12, characterized in that the transmission gear can be locked in at least one direction of rotation.

14. abseiling device according to claim 13, characterized in that the transmission gear in the locked state in one of the locked

Rotation directions opposite direction of rotation is released.

in

15. abseiling device according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the braking device is designed as a centrifugal brake.

16. abseiling device according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the descender is part of a fall arrester.

17. Abeilgerät according to one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the traction means is a jacket region of densely braided

Aramid fibers and a core region of comparatively less densely braided aramid fibers, wherein the core region is enclosed within an inner circumference of the cladding region, without the regions being interwoven with each other.

18. traction means for use in a descender according to one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the traction means comprises a sheath region of dense braided aramid-based fibers and a core region of compared less dense braided aramid-based fibers, wherein the core region is enclosed within an inner circumference of the cladding region without the interweaving of the regions.

19. traction means according to claim 18, characterized in that the aramid-based fibers to at least 95 wt .-% consist of aramid.