DE20115668U1 - Rescue rope with integrated brake and brake shoe - Google Patents

Description

»

Feg 39 a

Heinrich Schmid

Lindbergmühle 30

94227 Lindberg

Rescue or transport rope with integrated brake and integrated guide and brake shoe on the rope.

Description

The invention relates to a rope that is manufactured in a single strand and thus has two ends. Such ropes are used, for example, for mountain climbing, for rescuing or abseiling people from an indeterminate height, or they are also used for transporting gondolas or loads from a certain height or to a certain height.

These ropes can be made from a wide variety of materials, with the material requirements depending on the task the rope is to perform.

The invention is based on the object of designing a rescue rope or load transport rope in such a way that it is equipped with an integrated fully automatic load or person brake, whereby this fully automatic brake is located mainly inside the rope in order to ensure that it is extremely quick and easy to clip in and out of the rope. A further task of the rope is to transport several people at the same time and to ensure the braking effect of people or loads that are falling.

The fully automatic brake in the rescue rope is fully automatically activated at the end of the rescue rope when a load is to be transported quickly, such as when a person is to be rescued from a certain height. The transported load, i.e. the person to be rescued, is braked fully automatically before hitting the ground, regardless of the weight of the load or the person, in a targeted and safe manner during rapid abseiling, without external intervention in the suspension system on the rescue rope.

A particularly preferred feature of the invention is the integrated brake in the rescue rope.

This integrated brake in the rescue rope is also able to ensure targeted and safe braking during the secured fall down the rope in good time before impact with the ground, regardless of the height from which the person is to be rescued or from which the load is to be transported. All that is required is that the rope is of the appropriate length for the height from which the person is to be rescued or the load is to be transported.

• ··· &phgr;

To achieve this object, the invention provides that the interior of the rope (1) is formed with a flexible hose (2) or flexible tube that is compatible with and adapted to the rope material. In this flexible hose (2) or flexible tube there is atmospheric air (3) with a certain volume, with a pressure-controlled discharge valve (4) for compressed air being located at the lower end of the rope and at least one opening (5) for the access of atmospheric air (3) being provided at the upper end of the rope.

At the upper end of the rope, a so-called rope shoe or guide and brake shoe (6) is attached, which with its inner diameter reduces the entire cross-section of the rope (1) and at the same time fulfils the function of attaching the person or load (7) to be transported to the rope (1) in order to allow them to slide safely and guided downwards on the rope (1).

If the upper end of the rope (1) is now securely fastened to a fixed object (8) to prevent it from breaking off or being damaged, the person to be rescued or the load (7) to be transported is clipped onto the guide and brake shoe (6) using a rope carabiner (9). If this clipped person or the load (7) being transported downwards on the rope (1) is now exposed to free fall, the guide and brake shoe (6) slides downwards with the person or the load (7) being loaded onto it.

During the downward slide, and due to the reduced cross-section of the guide and brake shoe (6) to the rope (1), the flexible hose (2) located inside or the flexible pipe located inside the rope is narrowed. This prevents atmospheric air (3) from flowing upwards inside the flexible hose (2) or flexible pipe, and this effect causes the air (3) in front of the guide and brake shoe (6) to be compressed more and more in the sliding direction. As a result of this compression of air (12), the cross-section or diameter of the rope (1) is increased along the entire length of the rope (1) in the falling direction (10) and in front of the guide and brake shoe (6), and the guide and brake shoe (6) is braked more and more by the increased friction on the inner guide surfaces (11) which lie against the rope (1).

If the compression of the air (3) inside the flexible hose (2) or flexible pipe is increased by the further downward sliding of the load (7) or the person to such an extent that this could possibly lead to a premature stop of the guide and brake shoe (6) due to excessive expansion on the rope (1), the pressure-dependent compressed air valve (4) at the lower end of the rope will then enable the controlled release of compressed air (12) fully automatically and the person or load (7) to be transported will slide slowly and safely to the ground (13).

• · « t ·

Feg 39 a

Since the flexible hose or flexible tube inside the rope is designed in such a way that it is always returned to its hollow original state, atmospheric air is automatically sucked in from the outside via the hole at the top of the rope and the rope is immediately available for further transport. This solution has the considerable advantage that a person to be rescued from an undetermined height can use this rescue rope immediately and without any help from rescue workers. On the other hand, to date no rescue rope is known that is equipped with an internal, integrated, fully automatic brake. Further features and advantages of the invention can be found in the patent claims and the exemplary embodiments shown in the accompanying drawing. They show:

Figure 1 is a schematic representation of a first embodiment of the invention with load.

Figure 2 is an enlarged schematic sectional view of a first embodiment of the invention with guide and brake shoes.

Claims (3)

1. Rescue or transport rope with an integrated brake and manufactured with at least one strand and designed with at least two ends, characterized in that there is at least one flexible and airtight hose ( 2 ) inside the rope ( 1 ) which is incorporated into the rope ( 1 ) over the entire length thereof and is equipped with at least one guide and brake shoe ( 6 ) guided around the rope ( 1 ), the inner cross section of the guide and brake shoe ( 6 ) through which the rope ( 1 ) is guided having a smaller diameter than that of the rope ( 1 ) so that when sliding downwards ( 10 ) here via this constriction ( 14 ) the airtight hose ( 2 ) located in the rope ( 1 ) is sealed so airtight that the amount of air ( 3 ) in the airtight hose ( 2 ) increases, whereby the entire rope ( 1 ) located below the guide and brake shoe ( 6 ) expands in cross-section and thus an increased friction on the inner surfaces ( 21 ) of the guide and brake shoe ( 6 ) achieves a braking effect, whereby in the event of an excessive pressure load due to the resulting compressed air ( 12 ) inside the airtight hose ( 2 ), a compressed air valve ( 4 ) located at the lower end of the rope vents this airtight hose ( 2 ) depending on the excess pressure ( 12 ). 2. Rope according to claim 1, characterized in that the rope ( 1 ) and the airtight and flexible hose ( 2 ) can be made of a wide variety of materials, whereby this material requirement depends on the task to be accomplished by the rope. 3. Rope according to claim 1, characterized in that inside the rope ( 1 ) there is at least one airtight and flexible tube instead of a hose ( 2 ).