Fall arrest assembly.

The present invention relates to a fall arrest assembly.

in a typical fall arrest assembly or personal belay system, the user is fitted with a harness that may be removably clipped to a shuttle or glider. The shuttle is configured to slide easily along an array of belay lines in the form of suspended ropes or cables. Common forms of personal fall arrest assemblies are used in the construction and building maintenance industries where workers are performing tasks at dangerous heights, such as high-rise building construction, window washing and roof repairs. In these common systems, the runs are relatively short and often include a cable run dedicated to each worker. Moreover, the cable runs are usually fixed, stable and geometrically simple and predictable. For instance, in building constructions, the runs follow existing horizontal beams of the building and are anchored to the building vertical beams.

Fall arrest assemblies are also finding increasing use in the recreation and adventure market. Fall arrest assemblies are essential gear for mountain climbing, rock climbing and rappelling. More recently, fall arrest systems have been used in obstacle and adventure courses in which a participant must negotiate a hazardous and unstable course. Such a course may include an elevated "trail" formed by mostly horizontal ropes, suspended logs, rocks and the like. In these adventure courses, the fall arrest assembly must provide security against an accidental fall, without inhibiting the participant's freedom of movement.

Unlike the commercial and industrial uses described above, the fall arrest assembly in the adventure course typically involves long belay line runs and is aimed at an extremely active participant. In some adventure courses, the participants take part in a race and will be moving as fast as possible. The belay system must therefore not interfere with the rapid traverse of the adventurer and must be flexible enough to be set up wherever the adventure course may go. In some adventure courses, multiple participants may be traversing the same run at the same time, ^' so the belay system must be able to accommodate multiple safety cables/ropes and multiple shuttles/gliders.

As participants demand more and more excitement, the adventure course will increase in complexity and risk. Consequently, there is a need for a modular fall arrest assembly that can grow with the adventure course while providing the greatest degree of flexibility and usability possible.

Such a fall arrest assembly or personal belay system is disclosed by EP 1.733.763, wherein a modular system is described with components that can be used on a wide range of objects to form a wide range of belay line runs. The modular system is thereby composed of a mounting plate that is mounted to a support, such as a tree or a post, whereby the mounting plate is provided with several holes for receiving anchor elements therethrough. The mounting plate is also provided with an arrangement of slots configured to receive a band or strap that encircles the object.

The mounting plate also includes several slots for receiving adjustable spacers. The spacers are configured to contact the

object support when the mounting plate is mounted to the support by the anchor elements. The spacers can be adjusted to account for variations in the surface of the object to ensure that the mounting plate maintains a stable and accurate orientation.

Each mounting plate supports one or more support plates that each contain a shuttle guide. The shuttle guide is adapted for slidable passage of a shuttle that is part of the user's personal fall arrest system. The shuttle guide also forms part of the belay line run, and in particular is configured to engage segments of the line that are combined to form the entire run. The shuttle guides include a tubular body with internal threads at its opposite ends. A profile tip is provided for each end in which the profile tip includes a threaded stem for engagement with the internal threaded ends of the tubular body. The profile tip is hollow so that a portion of a segment of the belay line may extend through the tip with the end of the segment disposed within the body.

A ferrule or similar element is affixed to the end of the segment thereby trapping the belay line segment on the end of the profile tip. When the profile tip is threaded into the tubular body, the segment is fastened to the body, and ultimately to the support extension of the anchor system. A complete belay line run is then formed by coupling segments of the run to the ends of a shuttle guide.

A major disadvantage of such a fall arrest assembly is that the supports described therein are rather prone to metal fatigue because they are manufactured by a method that includes a folding step.

To this end, the invention concerns a fall arrest assembly having belay lines and anchor stations extending between objects which is adapted to slidably receiving a shuttle coupled to a person traversing the belay lines, the assembly comprising a mounting plate defining a plurality of openings therethrough, characterized in that the assembly further comprises : a support extension fixed rigidly to said mounting plate; - said support extension carrying a shuttle guide thereon; said shuttle guide configured for slidable passage of a shuttle thereover and further configured to be coupled to the belay lines; - a plurality of anchor elements having a section configured to extend through said plurality of openings in said mounting plate; - means of clamping the anchor elements around an object.

The advantage of a fall arrest assembly according to the invention is that it provides a stronger means of clamping a fall arrest system around poles or trees or other objects because the support extension is fixed rigidly to the mounting plate.

Furthermore, the support extension can be manufactured by a cheaper production process in that cut-off profiles can be used directly, which makes these profiles of the support extensions less prone to metal fatigue.

In a preferred embodiment, two shuttle guides are carried on the support extension in such a way that the same support

extension can be used, when the belay run crosses between two objects. Hereby the lower part of the support extension is a profile, preferably symmetrical in the line of the belay run in such a way that the "outside" shuttle guide is carried on the outer side of the support extension and the "inside" shuttle guide is located between the support extension and the object to which the support extension is mounted. In the known prior art two different support profiles had to be used, the first to be applied outside of the first object, the second to be applied inside the second object. The symmetrical profile proposed according to the invention can be used both inside and outside an object, which offers greater flexibility with less required parts for the fall arrest assembly.

With the intention of better showing the characteristics of the invention, hereafter, as an example without any limitative character, a preferred form of embodiment is described of an improved fall-arrest system according to the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

figure 1 shows a fall arrest assembly in perspective; figure 2 depicts a side view of figure 1 according to II-II; figure 3 shows a front view of figure 2 according to F3 ; figure 4 shows a top view of figure 2 according to F4; figure 5 shows a top view of a cable segment attachment feature according to F5 in figure 1; figure 6 shows the cable segment attachment feature according to figure 5 and a threaded stem around the belay line;

figure 7 shows a shuttle in perspective as an enlargement of F7 in figure 1; figure 8 shows a reverse view of figure 7; figure 9 shows a front view of figure 8 according to F9 ; figure 10 shows a side view of figure 8 according to

FlO; figure 11 shows an inside variant of the support extension; figure 12 shows a double-sided variant of the support extension; figure 13 shows another double-sided variant of the support extension; figure 14 shows a top view of the fall arrest assembly provided with spacers to clamp around the object; figure 15 shows a top view of the fall arrest assembly forming an outside corner around the object; figure 16 shows a top view of the fall arrest assembly forming an inside corner around the object; figure 17 shows a variant of the mounting plate and support extension; figure 18 shows a top view of a shuttle transfer station; figure 19 shows a side view of figure 18 according to line XVI-XVI; figure 20 shows an enlargement of figure 19 according to

F20; figure 21 shows a front view of figure 20 according to

F21; figure 22 shows a variant on figure 19; figure 23 shows another variant on figure 19; figure 24 schematically shows a side view of a variant of a shuttle transfer station;

figure 25 shows a top view of figure 24 according to line XXV-XXV; figure 26 shows a side view of a shuttle descend station; figure 27 shows a side view of a shuttle descend station whereby the shuttle is descending; figure 28 shows a top view of arrest means; figure 29 shows a side view of figure 28 according to line XXIX-XXIX; figure 30 shows an enlargement of figure 29 according to

F30; figures 31 to 35. show variants on figures 14 to 16; figures 36 and 37 show a variant of the mounting plate 6 of figure 1.

Figure 1 shows the schematics to attach a fall arrest assembly 1 around one of a plurality of objects 2 whereby the fall arrest assembly 1 has a belay line 3 extending between anchor stations 4 that are adapted to slidably receive a shuttle 5 coupled to a person traversing the belay lines 3.

Figure 2 shows that the anchor station 4 comprises a mounting plate 6 defining a plurality of openings 7 therethrough.

The anchor station 4 of the assembly 1 further comprises a support extension 8 which is fixed rigidly to the mounting plate 6 and carries a shuttle guide 9 thereon. The shuttle guide 9 is configured for slidable passage of a shuttle 10 thereover and is further configured to be coupled to the belay lines 3.

As shown in figures 2 and 3, each anchor station 4 of the fall arrest assembly 1 further comprises a plurality of

anchor elements 11 having a section configured to extend through the plurality of openings 7 in the mounting plate 6.

Figure 2 also shows that the anchor elements 11 protrude through the object 2 and are clamped to it on either side by means of a series of nuts 12.

In a preferred embodiment the anchor elements 11 are provided in the form of threaded rods which allow adjustment of the clamping force and a sufficient number of openings 7 are provided on each mounting plate 6 to allow for safe anchoring.

As shown in figures 4, 5 and 6, the shuttle guide 9 is provided with stoppers 13, and internally threaded ends 14 and profile tips 15. The threaded ends 14 provide another modular feature for the fall arrest assembly 1. In particular, the threaded ends 14 are configured to accept a tapered profile tip 15 that is used to fasten a belay line segment 3 to the corresponding end 14 of the guide tube 15.

In other words, rather than carrying a continuous belay line

3 throughout the entire length of the run of the fall arrest assembly 1, the run can be broken up into discrete belay line segments 3, with the segments 3 connected to each other through the shuttle guides 9. The belay line segments 3 can then be fixed behind the profile trip 15 with the stoppers 13 as shown in figures 5 and 6.

The profile tip 15 is tapered at the outside so that the shuttle 10 may transit smoothly from the belay line 3 onto the shuttle guide 9 as the participant traverses each anchor station 4 of the fall arrest assembly 1.

The profile tip 15 preferably is also tapered on the inside so that the belay run may enter the profile tip under a slight angle but is guided longitudinally by the tapering to be in a centered position within the stopper 13. In other words, the opening of the profile tip increases from the inner threaded part to the free extremity.

The anchor stations 4 are configured to accomodate a wide range of shuttle designs, one example of which is shown in figures 7 to 10.

The shuttle 10 is in the form of a generally C-shaped metal body 16 that defines a cable channel 17 through which the belay line 3 extends when the shuttle 10 is slidably mounted thereon. An entry slot 18 communicates with the channel 17 and provides a means for placing the shuttle 10 onto a belay line 3. Rollers 19 may advantageously be mounted within the cable channel 17 to facilitate the travel of the shuttle along the belay line 3.

The entry slot 18 is substantially closed by a gate 20 to prevent unanticipated release of the shuttle 10 from the belay line 3. Preferably the gate 20 is spring-biased relative to the shuttle body 16 to a position substantially closing the entry slot 18.

The gate 20 leaves enough of the entry slot 18 open so that the shuttle 10 can traverse the guide tube 13 of each shuttle guide 16. A portion of the gate 20 extends into a karabiner slot 21 formed in the body 16 so that the gate 20 cannot be moved from its closing position when a karabiner clip is positioned within the slot 21. When the karabiner slot 21 is

empty, the gate 20 may be moved against the spring bias to allow placement of the shuttle 10 over a cable or rope 3.

The shuttle 10 is preferably formed of a high strength material, such as steel, so that it does not deform or fracture under the weight of the user, even when the shuttle

10 and belay line 3 support the user entirely following an accidental fall. The cable channel 17 is sized to permit easy passage over the shuttle guides 9 of the fall arrest assembly 1. Additionally, a bumper (not shown in the figures)- may be mounted on the sides of the shuttle body 16 to prevent contact damage to the shuttle 10 along the belay line course.

In figure 1, the support extension 8 essentially consists of a support box 22 mounted perpendicularly on the mounting plate, the sides of which are preferably near-rectangular in shape and welded to the mounting plate 6 and the front of which is a support lid 23 which may be detachable by screws

24. This offers the advantage that the box 22 effectively forms a chamber over the anchor elements 11, protecting them from environmental or other possible outside impact.

The shuttle guide 9 is connected to the support box 22 of the support extension 8 by a support profile 25, which is preferably welded with a lower part 26 to the underside of the box 22. This profile 25 may or may not partly extend through the tubular part of the shuttle guide 9. The lower part 26 provides additional strength and resistance against metal fatigue.

In figure 1, the profile 25 points away from the object 2 in such a way that the shuttle guide 9 is situated in front and underneath of the support extension 8. It is a characteristic

of the assembly 1 that different orientations of the profile 25 are possible. Figure 11 shows that the profile 25 is pointed towards the object 2 such that the shuttle guide 9 is situated under the support extension 8. This will hereafter be referred to as the "inside" configuration, as opposed to the "outside" configuration depicted in figure 1.

In a preferred embodiment, shown in figure 12, two belay lines 3 pass through the anchor station 4, one "inside" and one "outside" of the support extension 8. In figure 12 this is represented by a moat-like profile 25 welded by the lower part 26 to the support box 22. This essentially provides a strong and compact structure, with the added advantage that an accidental fall can be arrested by two instead of one belay lines 3. Another possibility is that one belay line 3 is provided per person, implying that two participants can be one and the same element.

In all these cases the belay lines 3 run more or less parallel with the plane of the mounting plate 6, but other variants are possible. Figure 13 shows a variant where the belay lines 23 run more or less perpendicularly to the plane of the mounting plate 6. As will be explained below, these support extensions 8 can be employed to carry the support guides of transfer stations and descend stations.

As shown in figures 1 to 4 and figures 11 to 13 , the mounting plates 6 have the anchor openings 7 defined vertically along the centreline. It is not excluded however, as shown in figure 14, that the plates 6 further include wings with openings 7 at each side of the central portion and arranged at an angle relative to the central portion so that the plates 6 exhibit a flexibility to be accurately mounted to a

generally cylindrical vertical object 2, such as a tree or a post.

Particularly in the case of trees however, the object will be irregularly cylindrical and the mounting plates 6 are therefore unlikely to correspond exactly to the shape of the object 2. In these cases, the anchor stations are additionally provided with spacers 27 as shown in figure 14. The spacers 27 are preferably adjustably attached to the mounting plates so that the side-to-side position of the spacers 27 may be adjusted. Moreover, the spacers 27 are preferably configured to permit in and out adjustment to conform to irregularities in the surface of the object 2.

The spacers 27 preferably include an adjustable mounting bolt arrangement, akin to a height adjustment mechanism for a table or chair. Thus, the spacers 27 may include a head 28 with a threaded stem 29 projecting therefrom, as shown in figure 14. Nuts 30 are threaded onto the stem 29 on opposite sides of the plate 6 with the stem 29 extending through an opening 7 in the mounting plate 6. The anchor elements 11 can hereby pierce through the object 2, but in figure 14 the anchor elements 11 effectively are a couple of belts attached and tightened around the object 2. This set-up is suited for objects which are difficult or not suited at all for piercing through.

Thus, when the mounting plate 6 is initially mounted to the vertical support using the anchor elements 11, the position of the head 28 of each spacer 27 may be adjusted in and out and from side to side with the nuts 30 initially loose. When the spacer 27 is properly positioned it will place the anchor elements 11 under tension to strengthen the mounting of the

anchor station 4 to the object 2. The nuts 30 may then be fully tightened to firmly clamp the spacers 27 to the mounting plate 6.

It should be emphasized that the mounting plates 6 include a sufficient number of openings 7 to accommodate multiple anchor positions for the anchor station 4. Preferably four openings 7 are provided in a vertical row but it is possible that the anchor station 4 may be solidly anchored to the object 2 using only two anchor elements 11. Thus, only two of the four holes 7 may receive a corresponding anchor element 11. When only one anchor element 11 is used to anchor on a given object 2, the anchor elements 11 may extend through any of the openings 7. However, in other arrangements, at least two anchor elements 11 must be mounted to an object 2, like in the case when the belay line is travelling around or inside a corner and the anchor elements 11 pierce through the object 2.

Another possibility for travelling around a corner is shown in figure 15 where the anchor element is a belt which can be used to anchor multiple anchor stations 4. Here the use of a single anchor element 11 is possible, but in most cases multiple anchor elements 11 will be used for safety reasons .

Figure 16 shows a configuration wherein the fall arrest assembly 1 takes an inside corner. Multiple anchor elements 11 are employed here because they pierce through the object 2. It is also imperative here that the support extension 8 is essentially a cornerpiece. One could say that in this configuration the support box 22 is welded or fixed to an additional extension part 31 so that the belay lines can take the corner inside of the object 2.

While some preferred embodiments have been described above, it is not excluded that the mounting plate 6 and support extension 8 can vary in shape and interaction. For instance, in figure 17 two mounting plates 6 of different shape are used. Indeed, one would rather say they are profiles, and the support extension 8 is hereby restricted to a profile 25 and brackets 26 bolted directly onto the mounting plates 6 with bolts 31. This can be useful for anchor stations 4 where less support is required and where a simplified ad hoc solution suffices .

In a further embodiment of the invention, the ability to transfer a belay line shuttle 10 between unconnected belay lines 3 is proposed.

Figures 18 to 21 show a transfer station 32 attached to an object 2. The transfer station 32 is preferably accompanied by a platform (not shown in the figures) on which the participant stands while effecting the transfer of the shuttle 10 between the belay line runs. As shown in more detail in figure 20, the transfer station 32 includes a mounting plate 33 that is similar to the mounting plate 6 of the embodiment shown in figure 2. The mounting plate 33 includes a plurality of mounting openings 34 that accept anchor elements 35 such as the elements 11 shown in figure 2 and which are configured for strap mounting of the plate 33 to the object 2. Unlike the mounting plate 6, however, the mounting plate 33 is formed of multiple adjoining facets 36, composing a regular polygon around the object 2 when viewed from above as in figure 18. To each facet 36 a support flange 37 is mounted. Consequently, each facet 36 includes shuttle guides 38 disposed at relative angles to each other. In

particular, each shuttle guide 38 is essentially perpendicular to the facet 36 it faces.

The outboard end of each shuttle guide 38 includes a profile tip 39 that fixes a belay line 3 to the shuttle guide 39 in the same manner as to the shuttle guides 9 described.

In this way, each shuttle guide 38 interfaces with a different belay line run and different belay lines 3 unconnected with each other.

In order to transfer the safety shuttle 10 between these cable runs, the transfer station 32 further comprises a rotating barrel 40.

The barrel 40 includes segments 41 which define a pass- through slot 42 that permits passage of a shuttle 10 through the barrel 40. In one aspect of the invention, the rotating barrel 40 is provided with its own transfer shuttle guide 43 that is supported on the inside of the barrel by a flange 44. The transfer shuttle guide 43 is oriented so that its ends face the openings of the pass-through slot 42, as shown in figure 21.

It can be readily appreciated that when the barrel 40 is rotated to one position, the slot 42 will face a selected one of the shuttle guides 38 associated with one of the belay line runs. Consequently, the transfer shuttle guide 43 will also be aligned with the belay line shuttle guide 38 so that a shuttle 10 travelling on that line 3 may be . easily transferred onto the transfer shuttle guide 43. Once the shuttle 10 is positioned ' on the transfer shuttle guide 43, the barrel 40 may be rotated until one of the openings 42 and

transfer shuttle guide 43 are facing another outboard shuttle guide 38. The shuttle 10 may then be transferred onto another cable run line 3.

As with the variants given above for the mounting plate 6 and support extensions 8, similar variants can also be conceived to provide further support or to offer solutions to specific environments. In figure 22 an additional mounting frame 45 is employed. In figure 23 the mounting plate 33 is mounted underneath an object 2 rather than at its side. Optionally spacers 24 can also be included in the set-up of the transfer station 32.

Figures 20, 23 and 24 also show an optional pin and spring mechanism 46 that allows the rotating barrel 40 to be positioned in line with the respective shuttle guides 38 and prevents shuttle 10 from leaving the pass-through slot 42 once it has entered the rotating barrel 40 until the next shuttle guide 38 has been reached.

Optional features not shown in the figures are electrical locking mechanisms or computer chips provided with counters or timers in order to, for example, keep track of how many participants have passed the transfer station 32 or at what time.

Figures 24 and 25 show that the rotating barrel 40 may also include a pair of handles 47 at its lower end that may be grasped by the user to rotate the barrel 40.

The rotating barrel 40 can be a tube or plate meaning sizes and forms can be different.

In another aspect of the invention, the fall arrest assembly

1 can also comprise a descend station 48, as shown in figure 26.

The principle is the same as for a transfer station 32, namely allowing the uncoupling of a shuttle 10 from a belay line 3 by means of a shuttle guide 38 in order to transfer it to another position.

In the case of a descend station 48, however, the transfer takes place vertically, instead of horizontally, towards another shuttle guide 38 and belay line 3 or, in most cases, towards the ground where the participant can safely be uncoupled from the fall arrest assembly 1. This implies a descend shuttle guide 49 that is mounted vertically to an object 2 instead of a transfer shuttle guide 43 that is mounted horizontally around an object 2.

Since the principles for both stations are the same, figures

26 and 27 are not explained in further detail and the same optional elements, such as sensors, locking mechanisms or spacers can be included.

Another optional addition to the fall arrest assembly 1 is shown in figures 28 to 30 where is shown that on the belay lines 3 themselves arrest means 49 are provided.

These arrest means 50 can come in handy when the belay lines 3 do not run horizontally but under a vertical angle.

The arrest means can for instance be provided in the form of a body 51 with bolts 52 that can be screwed against the belay line 3 to fix the arrest means 50 to the belay line 3.

The arrest means are further provided with clips 53 which are spring-biased away from the belay line 3 so that the shuttle 10 can easily pass in one direction but is prevented from passing in the other direction.

It is clear that the present invention is not restricted to the exact form described above for the different components of the fall arrest assembly, but that the components can come in different shapes and sizes.

Figure 31, for example, shows an alternative to the spacers 27 used in figure 14, whereby a plastic attachment part 54 is used to attach the mounting plate 6 around an object 2. This alternative can be used in situations where spacers 27 prove to be unsuitable or undesirable. Figure 32 shows a front view according to F32 of figure 31.

A similar plastic corner attachment part 55 can be used as an alternative to the spacers 27 used in figure 14 to attach two mounting plates 6 in order to take a corner around an object 2, as shown in figure 33. This plastic corner attachment part 56 can come in different shapes, as shown in figure 34, wherein a corner of a different angle is taken around said object 2. Figure 35 shows a front view of figure 34 whereby the belay lines 3 have been omitted for the sake of clarity.

Figure 36 shows a variant of the mounting plate 6 wherein a groove 56, a slot 57 and extra screws 58 and 59 are provided in order to attach the support extension 8 to the mounting

plate 6. The groove 57 is in the form of a partial arch. Screws 58 are used to attach a lower part of the support extension 8 to the mounting plate 6. The slot 57 can then act as a hinge point to allow for vertical adjustment of the position of the top part of the support extension 8 in relation to the mounting plate 6 by means of the groove 56. The screws 59 can then be screwed to fit the support extension 8 into the desired position.

The present invention is in no way limited to the form of embodiment described by way of an example and represented in the figures, however, a fall arrest assembly 1 according to the invention, can be realized in various forms without leaving the scope of the invention.