The present invention relates to improved roping devices and in particular, to devices which are suitable for use by a person who wishes to safely descend a shear face of a building, cliff or the like.
If a person needs to descend from a height, by for example, climbing down a ladder, cliff face or the like, for safety reasons, it is often necessary for the person to be attached in some way to the ladder or to a convenient securing point, so that in the event that the person slips and falls, he or she will be prevented from falling to the ground. Clearly, any device for this purpose should preferably be as small and unobtrusive as possible in use, to allow the user to make the decent without significant interference. Such roping devices are often used by workers such as window cleaners and other workers maintaining the exteriors of sky scrapers and the like.
Any discussion of documents, acts, materials, devices, articles or the like which have been included in the present specification are solely for the purpose of providing a context for the present invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any or all of these matters form part of the prior art base or were common general knowledge in the field relevant to the present invention as it existed before the priority date of each claim of this application.
The above-mentioned problems of current systems are addressed by embodiments of the present invention and will be understood by reading and studying the following specification. The following summary is made by way of example and not by way of limitation. It is merely provided to aid the reader in understanding some of the aspects of the invention.
In one embodiment a roping device for operating on a rope is provided. The device includes a first plate, a first attachment point, a first rotatable sheave, a braking mechanism and a second plate. The first plate has a front face and a reverse face. The first attachment point is used for attachment of one end of the rope. The first rotatable sheave is operationally connected to the reverse face of the first plate. The front face of the first plate defines a generally straight guide path for an opposite and free end of the rope. The braking mechanism is operationally connected to the front face of the first plate proximate the guide path. The braking mechanism is configured and arranged for selectively braking the free end of the rope. The second plate is connected to the first plate and is angularly offset at an acute angle relative to the first plate. The second plate has a second attachment point proximate the braking mechanism and positioned generally towards a center of the roping device. The rope is at the said one end, attached to the first attachment point. The rope is further in a block and tackle arrangement that passes around the first sheave. The second attachment point generally aligns vertically with the first sheave whereby loading of the roping device proximate the first and the second attachment points substantially balances the roping device.
In another embodiment, another roping device for use with a rope is provided. The roping device includes a first plate, a second plate, a first rotatable sheave and a third plate. The first plate has a first face and an opposed second face. The second plate has a first face and an opposed second face. The first rotatable sheave is rotatably coupled between the second face of the first plate and the first face of the second plate. The first rotatable sheave is configured and arranged to engage the rope in at least a partial block and tackle arrangement to increase a mechanical advantage. The third plate extends from the first plate at a select angle in a direction toward the second plate proximate the first rotatable sheave. The third plate has an attachment point that is positioned proximate a center of the roping device.
In still another embodiment, a safety rope apparatus is provided. The safety rope apparatus includes a sheave block and a roping device. The sheave block includes at least one block sheave. The sheave block has a sheave block attachment point that is configured and arranged for use in coupling the sheave block to a secure support structure. The roping device has a first end and a second end. The roping device also includes at least one roping sheave. The at least one roping sheave and the at least one block sheave are configured and arranged to engage a rope in a block and tackle fashion to achieve a mechanical advantage. The roping device has a first roping attachment point proximate the first end of the roping device. The first roping attachment point is configured and arranged to couple an end of the rope to the roping device. The roping device further including a second roping attachment point proximate the second end of the roping device. The second roping attachment point is positioned proximate a balancing center of the roping device to provide balance and stability to the safety rope apparatus when in use.
A specific embodiment of the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
a is a diagram of the roping device of
In accordance with common practice, the various described features are not drawn to scale but are drawn to emphasize specific features relevant to the present invention. Reference characters denote like elements throughout Figures and text.
In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the inventions may be practiced. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention, and it is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and that changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the claims and equivalents thereof.
Embodiments described herein are typically used with a sheave block defining one or more sheaves. A second sheave, coaxial with the first sheave may be provided. In use, a rope is attached to the first attachment means on the roping device passes up and around a sheave of the sheave block and back to the roping device then passes along the path adjacent the braking mechanism. The sheave block includes attachment means for attaching a sheave block to a secure attachment point. A person descending from a height attaches themselves to the second attachment means on the roping device and being adjacent the braking mechanism of the rope can easily adjust and control the mechanism to control their descent without assistance from a second person.
Referring to the drawings,
As is best seen in
The device 10 includes first and second attachment points 34, 32 in the form of holes in the first and second plates, respectively. Hole 34 is intended to allow the user to connect the device by way of a carabiner 1 to a rung of a ladder or other convenient fixing point. As shown in
As illustrated in
As shown in
A second embodiment of a roping device 100 is shown in
Roping device 100 is shown in more detail in
A second attachment point 124 is defined at the base of the roping device in use. This is defined in a plate 126 which extends from the longitudinal edge 106a away from the front plate at an acute angle to the same of approximately 20-25°. In this way, the attachment point defined at the lower end of the device in use, is located generally towards the center of the roping device and this improves the balance and stability of the apparatus, in use.
In use as shown in
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2004901507 | Mar 2004 | AU | national |
This application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/592,637, filed Mar. 7, 2008, and entitled ROPING DEVICES, which is a National Stage entry under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Patent Application Serial No. PCT/AU2005/000385, filed Mar. 17, 2005, entitled IMPROVED ROPING DEVICE and which claims priority from Australian Patent Application No. 2004901507, filed Mar. 22, 2004.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 10592637 | Mar 2008 | US |
Child | 13152563 | US |