TWI910047B - Fall arrestor - Google Patents

Abstract

A fall arrestor includes a shell with a fixing seat and fixing surface on the inner side of the top of the shell, an outlet at the bottom of the shell, a hanging ring assembly connected to the top of the shell, a toothed stop element formed by the fixing surface and the bottom, a main shaft fixed in the installation space, a hub fitted on the main shaft, and a rope wound around the hub multiple times, extending outward from the outlet. A coiled spring connects the hub and the main shaft. A braking assembly consisting of multiple pawl blocks is provided on one side of the hub, around the engagement area. When the hub rotates at a speed exceeding a predetermined speed, one of the pawl blocks engages with a locking tooth to prevent the rope from releasing and to prevent a fall. Since this invention eliminates the need for a ratchet to brake the hub on the main shaft, the length of the main shaft and the size of the fall arrestor can be reduced.

Description

Fall arrestor

This invention relates to equipment for safety protection; in particular, it refers to a fall arrestor for preventing people from falling.

Existing fall arrestors consist of a main shaft fixed inside a housing, a hub rotatably connected to the main shaft and a ratchet fixed thereon, a braking component connected to one side of the hub, and a rope wrapped around the hub multiple times.

When using the aforementioned existing fall arrestor, the outer shell is fixed in one place, and one end of the rope passing through the outer shell is attached to the harness worn by the person. When the person wearing the harness falls from the air, the rope is pulled, causing the hub inside the fall arrestor to rotate rapidly. Due to the centrifugal force of the rapid rotation, the braking components connected to the hub change from a state where they would not engage with the ratchet to a state where they can engage with the ratchet, thereby preventing the hub from continuing to rotate and releasing the rope, thus preventing the person from continuing to fall.

While the existing fall arrestors do prevent people from falling, the ratchet and hub inside are both mounted on a main shaft fixed inside the outer shell. In order to fix the ratchet inside the outer shell, it is unavoidable to increase the length of the main shaft. This configuration makes it impossible to reduce the length of the main shaft and the volume of the outer shell, thus failing to effectively miniaturize the fall arrestor.

In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a fall arrestor in which a stopping element having a stopping braking component is disposed in the longitudinal direction of the braking component, thereby reducing the length of the main shaft and the volume of the housing, and miniaturizing the size of the fall arrestor.

To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides a fall arrestor having a rotating shaft and including a shell, a ring assembly, a stop element, and a core device. The shell has an internal mounting space with a side wall on each side along the axial direction of the rotating shaft, and a perimeter wall connecting the two side walls. A fixing seat is formed at the top of the perimeter wall, and an insertion groove is formed between the fixing seat and one of the side walls. A fixing surface is formed on the fixing seat, facing the insertion groove. An outlet is formed at the bottom of the perimeter wall, communicating with the mounting space. The ring assembly is attached to the top of the shell. The stop element is attached to the fixing surface and protrudes downward from the fixing seat at the bottom, forming a retaining tooth at the bottom of the stop element.

The core device includes a main shaft, a hub, a vortex spring, a rope, and a braking component. The main shaft is fixed within the mounting space, and the rotation axis is the center line of the main shaft. The hub is rotatably fitted around the main shaft, and one side of the hub has a mounting portion with a vortex spring chamber inside. The vortex spring is disposed in the vortex spring chamber and connected to the main shaft and the hub. Between; one end of the rope is connected to the hub and the rope is wound around the hub in a loose manner in multiple turns, and the other end of the rope passes through the outlet; the braking component is connected to the device, and the peripheral portion of the braking component is provided with a plurality of pawl blocks; when the rotational speed of the pawl blocks as the hub rotates exceeds a predetermined speed, one of the pawl blocks engages with the chuck.

The advantage of this invention is that, by attaching the stop element to the mounting base within the housing, the bottom of the stop element forms a locking tooth that allows one of the ratchet blocks to engage, and the stop element is generally located in the longitudinal direction of the braking assembly. This eliminates the need for a ratchet or similar braking mechanism to be provided axially on the main shaft for engagement with the braking assembly, thus reducing the length of the main shaft and the volume of the anti-fall device.

To more clearly illustrate the present invention, preferred embodiments are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Referring to Figures 1 to 6, a preferred embodiment of the fall arrestor 100 of the present invention is shown. The following description of the structure of the fall arrestor 100 will depict its relative positions in the up-down, left-right, and front-back directions in the manner of use. The fall arrestor 100 has a rotating shaft L extending in the left-right direction and includes a housing 10, a hanging ring assembly 20, a stop element 30, and a core device 40, wherein:

The outer casing 10 includes a peripheral wall panel 12 and two side panels 14. Each of the left and right edges of the peripheral wall panel 12 forms an end edge 121, and the periphery of each side panel 14 is connected to each end edge 121, such that the peripheral wall panel 12 and the two side panels 14 together enclose an installation space S. The inner surface of the peripheral wall panel 12 forms a peripheral wall 122, and the inner surface of each side panel 14 forms a side wall 141. The two side walls 141 are formed on both sides of the installation space S along the axial direction of the rotation axis L, and the peripheral wall 122 is connected between the two side walls 141.

A fixing seat 16 is formed on the bottom side of the top of the peripheral wall plate 12. The fixing seat 16 is located at the top of the installation space S, and the length of the fixing seat 16 along the axial direction of the rotation axis L is less than the length of the peripheral wall plate 12 along the axial direction of the rotation axis L. An insertion groove S1 is formed between the fixing seat 16 and one of the side walls 141, and a fixing surface 161 is formed on the side of the fixing seat 16 facing the corresponding side wall 141. In this preferred embodiment, the fixing surface 161 is perpendicular to the axial direction of the rotation axis L. The fixing seat 16 has a through hole 162 on both the front and rear sides, and the extending direction of each through hole 162 is parallel to the axial direction of the rotation axis L.

A positioning pin 163 is provided in the middle of the fixing base 16, and the positioning pin 163 protrudes from the fixing surface 161. A slot 164 is formed at the bottom of the fixing base 16, and a vertical hole 165 is formed at the top of the peripheral wall plate 12 and the fixing base 16. The vertical hole 165 extends vertically through the top of the peripheral wall plate 12 and the middle of the fixing base 16, and the bottom end of the vertical hole 165 communicates with the slot 164. A plurality of tube seats 123 are formed on the peripheral wall 122, and each tube seat 123 has a through hole 124. The direction in which each through hole 124 extends is parallel to the axial direction of the rotating shaft L. An outlet 125 is formed at the bottom of the peripheral wall plate 12, and the outlet 125 communicates with the installation space S.

Each side plate 14 has a side hole 142 in the center. The side hole 142 of the left side plate 14 is a circular hole, and the side hole 142 of the right side plate 14 is a non-circular hole. Each side plate 14 has two first assembly through holes 143 on its top. The two first assembly through holes 143 are located at the front and rear positions of the top of the side plate 14. Each first assembly through hole 143 is directly opposite to each through hole 162 along the axial direction of the rotation axis L. A second assembly through hole 144 is formed on the peripheral portion of each side plate 14 corresponding to each through hole 124. Each second assembly through hole 144 is directly opposite to each through hole 124 along the axial direction of the rotation axis L.

A first fixing element 18 is inserted through each of the through holes 162 and each of the first assembly through holes 143 on both sides, with a portion of each first fixing element 18 protruding from the fixing surface 161. A second fixing element 19 is inserted through each of the through holes 124 and each of the second assembly through holes 144 on both sides, with each first fixing element 18 and each second fixing element 19 having a rivet structure. The two side plates 14 are riveted together to the left and right sides of the peripheral wall plate 12 through each of the first fixing elements 18 and each of the second fixing elements 19. In other preferred embodiments, each of the first fixing elements 18 and each of the second fixing elements 19 can also be configured as a combination of bolts and nuts to fasten the two side plates 14 to the left and right sides of the peripheral wall plate 12.

The lifting ring assembly 20 includes a support plate 22, a lifting rod 24, and a lifting ring 26. The support plate 22 is a rectangular plate that is inserted into the slot 164 for fixation. The support plate 22 has a lifting rod through hole 221 in the middle, which is located directly below the vertical hole 165. The rod 24 is a vertically mounted straight rod. The lower half of the rod 24 passes through the vertical hole 165, and the lower end of the rod 24 extends downward through the rod through hole 221 of the support plate 22. A hook 241 is connected to the lower periphery of the rod 24. The hook 241 is a circular plate and engages with the lower periphery of the rod through hole 221. The upper end of the rod 24 extends upward through the top of the peripheral wall plate 12, and the ring 26 is attached to the upper end of the rod 24.

The blocking element 30 includes a fixing plate 32, a retaining tooth 34, and two protruding plates 36. The fixing plate 32 has a positioning hole 321 in the middle, which is fitted with the positioning pin 163. The fixing plate 32 has a fixing hole 322 on the front and rear sides respectively. Each fixing hole 322 is aligned with the through hole 162 along the axis of rotation L. Each fixing hole 322 is fitted with the portion of the first fixing element 18 that protrudes from the fixing surface 161, so that the blocking element 30 is connected to the fixing surface 161 through the fixing plate 32. The two protruding plates 36 are respectively connected to the front and rear edges of the fixing plate 32. Each protruding plate 36 protrudes from the fixing plate 32 toward the corresponding side wall 141 and abuts against the corresponding side wall 141 so that the fixing plate 32 is kept in a state of abutting against the fixing surface 161. The fixing seat 16 protrudes downward from the bottom of the fixing plate 32, and the snap tooth 34 is integrally connected to the bottom of the fixing plate 32.

Referring to Figures 2 and 5 through 8, the core device 40 includes a main shaft 42, a hub 44, a coiled spring 46, a rope 48, and a braking component 49. The two ends of the main shaft 42 are respectively inserted into the side holes 142, fixing the main shaft 42 within the mounting space S. The rotation axis L is the center line of the main shaft 42. The hub 44 is rotatably fitted around the main shaft 42. One side of the hub 44 has a mounting portion 441, and the interior of the hub 44 has a coiled spring chamber 442. The vortex spring 46 is disposed in the vortex spring chamber 442, and the two ends of the vortex spring 46 are respectively connected to the main shaft 42 and the hub 44.

One end of the rope 48 is connected to the hub 44, and the rope 48 is wound around the hub 44 in a loosely wound manner. The other end of the rope 48 extends out of the outlet 125 of the outer shell 10. The braking assembly 49 is connected to the mounting portion 441 and includes a plurality of pawl blocks 491. In this preferred embodiment, the braking assembly 49 includes a mounting plate 492 and two pawl blocks 491. The mounting plate 492 is connected to the mounting portion 441 of the hub 44, and the mounting plate 492 has a pawl groove 4921 on each of its two opposite circumferential sides. Each pawl block 491 is housed within its respective pawl groove 4921. Each pawl block 491 includes a base 491A and a pawl portion 491B connected to the base 491A. The base 491A of each pawl block 491 is rotatably coupled to the mounting plate 492. A compression spring 493 is abutted between the base 491A of each pawl block 491 and the wall of each pawl groove 4921. Each compression spring 493 applies a biasing elastic force to each pawl block 491, causing each pawl block 491 to be in a closed state when no external force is applied. At this time, the pawl portion 491B of the pawl block 491 is housed within the corresponding pawl groove 4921.

When the rope 48 is pulled outward from the outlet 125 by an external force, the rope 48 will drive the hub 44 to rotate around the main shaft 42 as the rotation center. The rotation direction of the hub 44 at this time is defined as forward rotation. Conversely, when the pulling force that pulls the rope 48 outward no longer exists, the vortex spring 46 provides the restoring force for the hub 44 to rotate back to its original position. At this time, the hub 44 will rotate in the opposite direction and roll the outward rope 48 back into the outer shell 10.

When the rope 48 is pulled outward and the speed at which the rope 48 drives the hub 44 to rotate continuously in the forward direction exceeds a predetermined speed, the centrifugal force experienced by the pawl blocks 491 as the hub 44 rotates exceeds the elastic force of the compression springs 493 biasing each pawl block 491. At this time, the pawl portion 491B of each pawl block 491 will open outward, causing the trajectory of the pawl blocks 491 rotating with the hub 44 to interfere with the position of the locking teeth 34, so that the pawl portion 491B of one of the pawl blocks 491 that has rotated to the top engages with the locking teeth 34. At this time, the hub 44 immediately stops rotating. When the hub 44 stops rotating, it also stops releasing the rope 48 outward. Since there is no centrifugal force, the pawl block 491 below will be pushed by the corresponding compression spring 493, returning from the outward opening state to the closed state.

Conversely, when the rope 48 is pulled outward at a slow rotational speed lower than the predetermined speed, the pawls 491B of the pawl blocks 491 will not open to engage with the clasp 34. In this way, when the outer shell 10 is suspended at a fixed point by the hanging ring 26, and the other end of the rope 48 is passed through the outlet 125 and connected to the back-mounted safety belt worn by the person, the fall arrestor 100 can prevent the person from falling continuously when falling from the air. However, under normal circumstances, the rope 48 of the fall arrestor 100 can be pulled out by the movement of the hand or body. When the user does not continuously pull the rope 48 outward, the hub 44 can roll the rope 48 back, so as to prevent the excessively long rope 48 from hindering the user's work.

The advantage of this invention lies in the fact that, since the stop element 30 is coupled to the fixing seat 16 inside the housing 10, and the bottom of the stop element 30 forms the retaining tooth 34 for one of the pawl blocks 491 to engage, this invention eliminates the need for a ratchet or similar braking structure to be provided on the axial direction of the main shaft 42 for the braking assembly 49 to engage. Therefore, compared to a structure that requires a ratchet to be provided on the main shaft 42, this invention can reduce the length of the main shaft 42 and the volume of the housing 10 along the axis of rotation L. In this way, the size of the fall arrestor 100 can be reduced, and the weight of the fall arrestor 100 can also be reduced.

The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Any equivalent changes made in accordance with the present invention and the scope of the patent application should be included within the scope of the present invention.

100: Fall arrestor; 10: Shell; 12: Peripheral wall plate; 121: End edge; 122: Peripheral wall; 123: Pipe base; 124: Through hole; 125: Outlet; 14: Side plate; 141: Side wall; 142: Side hole; 143: First assembly through hole; 144: Second assembly through hole; 16: Fixing base; 161: Fixing surface; 162: Through hole; 163: Positioning pin; 164: Slot; 165: Vertical hole; 18: First fixing element; 19: Second fixing element; 20: Lifting ring assembly; 22: Support plate; 221: Lifting rod through hole; 2 4: Lifting rod 241: Hook 26: Lifting ring 30: Stopping element 32: Fixing plate 321: Positioning hole 322: Fixing hole 34: Clamping tooth 36: Protruding plate 40: Core device 42: Main shaft 44: Hub 441: Mounting part 442: Vortex spring chamber 46: Vortex spring 48: Rope 49: Braking component 491: Pawl block 491A: Base 491B: Pawl part 492: Mounting plate 4921: Pawl groove 493: Compression spring L: Rotating shaft S: Mounting space S1: Insertion groove

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is an exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2A is an enlarged view of the area marked 2A in Figure 2. Figure 3 is an exploded view of the right side panel of the preferred embodiment of the present invention with the casing removed. Figure 4 is a side view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view along direction 5-5 in Figure 4. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view along direction 6-6 in Figure 4. Figure 7 is a top view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view along direction 8-8 in Figure 7.

100: Fall arrestor

10: Shell

12: Perimeter wall panel

14:Side panel

26: Rings

48: Rope

L: Rotation axis

Claims (9)

A fall arrestor includes a rotating shaft and comprises: a housing having an interior space for mounting, the mounting space having a side wall on each side along the axial direction of the rotating shaft, and a perimeter wall connecting the two side walls; a fixing seat formed at the top of the perimeter wall, the fixing seat forming an insertion groove with one of the side walls, a fixing surface formed on the fixing seat facing the insertion groove; an outlet formed at the bottom of the perimeter wall communicating with the mounting space; a lifting ring assembly attached to the top of the housing; a stop element attached to the fixing surface and protruding downward from the fixing seat at its bottom, a retaining tooth formed at the bottom of the stop element; and a core device including a main shaft, a hub, and a... A vortex spring, a rope, and a braking assembly; a main shaft is fixed within the mounting space, and the rotation axis is the center line of the main shaft; a hub is rotatably fitted around the main shaft, and one side of the hub has a mounting portion with a vortex spring chamber inside; the vortex spring is disposed in the vortex spring chamber and connected between the main shaft and the hub; one side of the rope... The end is connected to the hub and the rope is wound around the hub in a loose manner in multiple turns, with the other end of the rope passing through the outlet; the braking component is connected to the device, and the peripheral portion of the braking component is provided with a plurality of pawl blocks; when the rotational speed of the pawl blocks as the hub rotates exceeds a predetermined speed, one of the pawl blocks engages with the chuck. The fall arrestor as described in claim 1, wherein the stop element has a fixing plate coupled to the fixing surface, and the snap teeth are integrally connected to the fixing plate. As described in claim 2, the anti-fall device has a through hole on each side of the fixing base, the direction of each through hole extending parallel to the axial direction of the rotation axis, a first fixing element passing through each through hole, and a portion of each first fixing element protruding from the fixing surface; the fixing plate has a fixing hole on each side, each fixing hole being directly opposite the through hole along the axial direction of the rotation axis, and each fixing hole fitting the portion of each first fixing element protruding from the fixing surface. As described in claim 3, the anti-fall device has a positioning pin on the fixed surface and the fixed plate has a positioning hole that fits into the positioning pin. As described in claim 2, the anti-fall device has a protruding plate connected to each side of the fixing plate, each protruding plate protruding from the fixing plate toward the corresponding side wall, and each protruding plate abutting against the corresponding side wall so that the fixing plate is kept in a state of abutting against the fixing surface. As described in claim 1, the fall arrestor has an outer shell comprising a peripheral wall panel and two side panels; a fixing seat is formed on the bottom side of the top portion of the peripheral wall panel, the peripheral wall is formed on the inner surface of the peripheral wall panel, each of the two edges of the peripheral wall panel has an end edge, and the peripheral edges of the two side panels are connected to the respective end edges; each side wall is formed on the inner surface of each side panel, each side panel has a side hole in the middle, and the two ends of the main shaft are respectively fixed to each side hole; the mounting space is formed by the peripheral wall panel and the two side panels. As described in claim 6, the fall arrestor has a slot formed at the bottom of the mounting base, and a vertical hole formed at the top of the peripheral wall plate and the mounting base, the vertical hole communicating with the slot; the ring assembly includes a support plate, a rod and a ring, wherein the support plate is inserted into the slot and has a rod through hole in the middle of the support plate, the rod passes through the vertical hole and its lower end extends out of the rod through hole, a hook is connected to the periphery of the lower end of the rod, the hook engages with the periphery of the lower end of the rod through hole, and the ring is attached to the upper end of the rod. As described in claim 6, the anti-fall device has a through hole on each of the front and rear sides of the fixing base, and the direction of extension of each through hole is parallel to the axial direction of the rotation axis; the top of each side plate has two first assembly through holes, each first assembly through hole is directly opposite to each through hole along the axial direction of the rotation axis, and a first fixing element is inserted through each through hole and each of the first assembly through holes on both sides, with a portion of each first fixing element protruding from the fixing surface; the stop element has a fixing hole on each of the front and rear sides, and each fixing hole fits into the portion of each first fixing element protruding from the fixing surface. As described in claim 6, the fall arrestor comprises a plurality of tube seats formed on the peripheral wall, each tube seat having a through hole, and a second assembly through hole formed on the peripheral portion of each side plate corresponding to each through hole. A second fixing element is inserted through each through hole and each of the second assembly through holes on both sides thereon, and the two side plates are joined to the two sides of the peripheral wall plate through each of the second fixing elements.