DE29902810U1 - Fall protection - Google Patents

Description

The invention relates to a device for securing persons against falling. The device has a guide rail on which a runner can be guided, which acts as a movable anchor point.

Such fall protection devices are used when climbing ladders on radio masts or chimneys, on crane tracks, in the

&iacgr;&ogr; Shipping, for cleaning facades and in similar cases where there is a risk of falling. A ladder with such a fall protection device is known from DE-C-I 961 757. A fall protection device for ladders is known from EP-A-O 129 241, in which a device is installed halfway up

15 is provided for horizontally moving the anchor point. From DE-U-295 17 560 an anchor device for securing people against falls is known, in which the guide rail can run both horizontally and vertically. The guide rail for the slide or the

20 fishing gear has a profile longitudinal web, which is

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House address / Street address;..·

Poschingerstrasse 6 D-81679 Munich - Bogenhausen

+49-89-99 89 04-0

+49-89-98 40 37

eMail: info@abitz.de

a screw to a mounting bracket that is attached, for example, to a crane runway or a roof edge.

EP 0 622 091 discloses a fall protection device in which the carriage is guided along two parallel guide cables. When designing this fall protection device, the stretching of the guide cables must be taken into account. There is also the problem of the cables sagging, which impairs the overall visual impression, particularly on facades.

A fall protection device of the type mentioned above is also known, in which a guide rope of 8 mm diameter is pre-tensioned with 800 N.

The invention is based on the object of creating a fall protection device which, despite its comparatively light and delicate construction, offers complete safety against falls.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in that the guide rail is strongly prestressed in the longitudinal direction.

For example, the prestressing for a steel guide rail can be 400 N/mm ^2. The prestressing is preferably up to 50%, in particular up to 40%, of the stress that the material of the guide rail allows without risk of breakage.

This design means that a very small cross-section of the guide rail, for example 20 x 1 mm or 25 x 1 mm, is sufficient for bracket spacings of up to 20 m. If the bracket spacing is greater, the cross-section can be selected to be correspondingly larger.

The prestressing of the guide rail is applied by a terminal with a tensioning device at one or both ends of the guide rail and is carried away into the subsoil or the masonry.

The guide rail preferably has a layered structure, i.e. it is made up of several layers of a flat strip. The layers can be glued or riveted together. Compared to a fall protection system with a stiff, rigid guide rail, this simplifies transport, handling and assembly and reduces costs. The individual layers can also be arranged next to each other on one level.

&iacgr;&ogr; Compared to fall protection systems with a single guide rope, the fall protection system according to the invention has the advantage of being anti-twisting, i.e. the runner cannot rotate around the guide and is always centered on the holder in the entry position.

Compared to a guide rope, a guide rail has a longitudinal stiffness (modulus of elasticity) that is about 3 times higher and there is no reduction due to a stranding factor and no creeping of the material. Compared to a fall protection system with one or more guide ropes, the fall protection system according to the invention, which uses a guide rail, results in a much shorter fall path with the same bracket spacing or, conversely, a smaller number of brackets are sufficient for the same fall path. While in a guide rope sufficient tension to slow down the fall only builds up after "a considerable deflection and thus a certain fall path, in the fall protection system according to the invention the constant pre-tension ensures that even with small deflections of the guide rail, high restoring forces occur that stop a fall.

While guide ropes of fall protection systems stretch considerably due to the stranding, the stretching of a guide rail can be neglected. The guide rail acts as a tension rod. The impact force propagates over the entire length of the guide rail and is finally transmitted to a preferably

The force is also introduced via a terminal that functions as a travel force limiter and is provided at one or both ends of the guide rail. The design and construction of the travel force limiter or terminals can be used to control the forces that occur during a fall and the fall distance.

The terminal is arranged at the end of the guide rail and preferably consists of three components arranged one above the other in three levels and connected to each other: A. A guide block which can be screwed onto the substrate and which is located in the first or lowest level, the fastening level.

B. An intermediate component consisting of individual elements for clamping and preferably for temperature compensation and load limitation and located in the second or middle level.

C. A receiving head to which the guide rail is attached and which is slidably mounted in the guide block. It is located in the third or top level, the rail level.

The terminal can perform five functions:

1. Defined pre-tensioning of the guide rail, i.e. moving the mounting head relative to the guide block. Spindle/torque screw, clamping element/clamping cable and hydraulics/pump can be used as the tensioning element.

2. Load limitation when stressed, i.e. while maintaining the limiting force (F = constant), a displacement is produced and thus the maximum amount of energy is absorbed. The load limitation can be achieved by a friction system with a clamping element, by a converter with a sleeve, by a shearing system in which a thread, pins, etc. are sheared off, or by an overpressure system with a pressure relief valve.

3. Compensation of temperature fluctuation

(a) by connecting in series an elastic element in addition to the devices which provide the preload

the guide rail, whereby compression springs, coil springs, disc springs, gas springs and the like are suitable as compensators,

b) and/or an element whose length changes significantly with temperature fluctuations, e.g. a solid or liquid (hydraulic cylinder) thermocouple.

4. Force introduction vertically and horizontally, i.e. fixation of the guide rail with force introduction to the mounting head, force redirection via the intermediate components and

&iacgr;&ogr; Force dissipation via the guide block.

5. As a pure terminal without a subsequent curve belt as entry and exit for the runner.

One terminal can be provided at one or both ends of the guide rail. The guide rail can be supported in brackets between them. The guide rail is preferably fixed in the brackets so that it can move in the longitudinal direction, as is known from DE-U-297 19 485. The movable fixing of the guide rail results in a floating support of the guide rail, so that the guide rail cannot transfer large forces in the longitudinal direction to the brackets. Since the movable support of the guide rail in the bracket means that no forces pointing in the longitudinal direction of the guide rail act on the bracket, only small loads occur on the bracket and no damage is caused to the facade.

The floating or movable mounting of the guide rail in the holders is preferably achieved by the holders partially enclosing the guide rail and an insert made of friction-reducing material, such as PTFE, within the enclosing area. This simultaneously achieves electrical insulation of the guide rail from the holders and, for example, the boom of a crane and thermal insulation from a building facade (cold bridge).

The holders for absorbing high transverse forces can be made of stainless steel or aluminum. Such a conventional holder can be designed to introduce a load of at least 6 kN transverse force. The guide rail is guided but not fixed. The transition area to the guide rail is beveled as usual.

The holder can also be made of injected or extruded plastic and serve as a clip/adhesive holder. The holder serves to guide and dampen vibrations in the guide rail. Such a holder is designed to absorb, for example, only about 1 kN of transverse force. In the event of an overload, the rail will detach from the substrate.

The holder can also be designed like a pair of pliers so that it can be subsequently placed on the band and grips the band without play.

A subsequently attachable holder can also be designed in such a way that the eyelet or the head has a slanted opening when viewed from above and the holder grips one edge of the strap at one end and the other edge of the strap at its other end.

The holder can be designed as an energy-absorbing holder (energy absorber quality) with a holder head or eyelet and a holder foot or base. The holder head detaches from the holder foot at around 1 kN, which remains fixed to the ground. The holder head is connected to the holder foot by means of a band-fall-damping element and fall energy is dissipated over a large fall distance.

The guide rail is designed and pre-tensioned in such a way that it can withstand the basic transverse load without permanent deformation. The basic transverse load is the load that occurs in everyday operation, i.e. without a fall. The basic transverse load is, for example, the application of a force of 1 kN

assumed. Such a force is exerted on the guide rail by a secured person at maximum when the person supports himself against the guide rail. The pre-tension of the guide rail in the fall protection according to the invention is normally sufficient to absorb such transverse forces without deformation.

The guide rail preferably consists essentially of a high-strength flat band made of stainless steel, steel or synthetic fiber and with a cross-section of, for example, 20 x 1 mm to 25 x 1 mm. The material strength corresponds to that of stainless steel ropes. However, the degree of filling, i.e. material density in the direction of tension and the modulus of elasticity (little elasticity) is higher than with ropes. High-strength steel or stainless steel bands can only be produced up to a material thickness of around 1 mm by drawing or rolling with cold forming. At a thickness of 1 mm, the flat band can still be wound, which simplifies transport and handling. It can be adapted to different stresses by multi-layering. Individual bands are glued or riveted to the guide rail, which creates a dampening effect. The manufacturing costs of the band material are low. The band material can be cut to length using simple equipment or extended using impact elements.

The guide rail can optionally be provided with form-fitting recesses, e.g. punched-outs (holes), toothing or depressions. The recesses transfer the full tensile force. Terminals or intermediate connectors can therefore be easily assembled with the belt, which means that the runner can also drive over the terminal. The runner can optionally be fixed to the belt in a form-fitting manner using the holes or toothing, and the fall protection can therefore also be used as a fall protection device.

Preferably, the recesses or holes in the guide rail are provided with a specific spacing grid. In a layered structure, the individual layers can be

This spacing grid allows individual rail sections to be easily joined together by offsetting the joints of the individual layers. The layers are riveted together at the holes. The runner slides easily over such a connection point.

The runner, which acts as a stop point, grips the guide rail. It can be provided with a sliding coating or e.g. PTFE insert on the inside. To make it easier to navigate curved sections of the guide rail, the cheek of the runner is only provided with an insert at the front and rear ends of the runner. The insert is designed as a molded piece that has projections that snap into or are locked into corresponding openings in the runner body. The runner can also be coated with a sliding coating, also made of e.g. PTFE, using a known process.

In its simplest form, the slider can be made of slippery plastic or be constructed from two half-shells, each of which encloses one edge of the guide rail. The two half-shells are connected by a block that has a hole in which the snap hook of the safety harness is hooked.

If the holder grips the guide rail from the outside, the cross-section that the runner has to travel over is larger and the cross-section of the inner opening of the runner must be chosen to be correspondingly larger. The runner then preferably has internal centering elements that press against the edges of the guide rail in a spring-loaded manner, center the runner on the guide rail and enable the holder to travel over smoothly.

Such a rigid slider can only be placed at the end of the rail. The slider can also be of the design described in DE-U-297 19 485 or in DE-U-298 02 037, which has a

Allows the runner to be opened so that the runner can be placed on the guide rail at any point.

The device according to the invention can be used to protect people from falling on both vertical climbing routes and horizontal routes. On vertical climbing routes, the runner is designed in such a way that it blocks downward movement in the event of a fall.

An embodiment of the invention is explained below with reference to the drawing.

Fig. 1 the horizontal guide rail with the runner, the holder and the terminal;

Fig. 2 and 3 in section and in plan view the guide rail;

Fig. 4 and 5 show a rail joint of the guide rail in section and in plan view;

Fig. 6 and 7 from the side and in section the holder;

Fig. 8 and 9 show a holder for subsequent installation from the side and in section;

Fig. "10 and 11 from the side and in section a holder with energy absorber function;

Fig. 12 shows in longitudinal section the terminal for fixing the end of the guide rail and for applying the preload;

Fig. 13 the terminal from the front;

Fig. 14 the terminal in section with load limitation triggered;

Fig. 15 shows a section through an intermediate element for generating the prestressing, which reacts inelastically to an impact shock;

Fig. 16 and 17 in section and from the side the rotor;

Fig. 18 and 19 in two sections of a rotor with elastic centering elements; and

&iacgr;&ogr; Fig. 20 and 21 in a view and top view a holder for subsequent installation.

As shown in Fig. 1, a guide rail 10 is attached to a base by means of holders 12. A runner 14 with an eyelet 16 is guided on the guide rail 10, to which a person can be secured by means of a snap hook. The end of the guide rail 10 is held in a terminal which pre-tensions the guide rail 10 and acts as a path force limiter.

According to Fig. 2 and 3, the guide rail 10 has holes 20 along its center line and over the entire length at a distance of e.g. 1.5 cm and the guide rail 10 consists of three flat strips 22 which are riveted together. For example, a rivet 24 can be provided at every fifth or tenth hole 20. The flat strips 22 can also be glued together.

Individual sections of the guide rail 10 can be assembled to any length without limitation by means of the connector or abutment element shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The abutment element consists of a sleeve 28 into which the ends of the two sections are inserted from opposite sides and in which each of the two ends is fixed by connecting pins 30. The connecting pins 30 pass through the sleeve 28 and the ends of the rail sections arranged in it.

Fig. 6 and 7 show a holder 12 for securing the guide rail 10. The holder 12 has a delta-shaped base 32 or a delta-shaped foot and an elongated eyelet 34 or an elongated head. The base 32 is anchored to the masonry MW or other substrate by means of a screw. The eyelet 34 receives the guide rail 10. The eyelet 34 is closed and the guide rail 10 is pulled through the eyelet 34. Depending on the prestress and the cross-section of the guide rail 10, such holders 12 are attached at intervals of approximately 6 to 20 m. In the event of a fall, these holders 12 absorb the impact force. They are therefore designed for a load of 6 kN. At smaller intervals, similar holders 12 can simply be glued to the masonry MW. These holders 12 can only bear a load of approximately 1 kN and are only intended to absorb the basic load that occurs during work. In the event of a fall, the holders 12, which are only glued in place, may become detached from the masonry MW.

Fig. 8 and 9 show a holder 12 with a split eyelet and a base 32 split into two legs at the tip for subsequent installation. The eyelet 34 consists of two halves, each of which is attached to one of the base legs. To insert the guide rail 10, the base legs of the holder 12 are pressed apart. After inserting the guide rail 10, they are riveted or screwed 36 at the tip immediately below the eyelet 34.

Fig. 10 and 11 show a holder 12 with a fall-damping function. The eyelet 34 is closed and is attached to the tip of the split base 32 between the legs by pins 38, which form a predetermined breaking point. The eyelet 34 is connected to the base 32 by means of a tear-open damper or Velcro damper 40. In the event of a fall, the eyelet 34 detaches from the base 32 and the tear-open damper or Velcro damper is torn open, thereby slowing down the fall.

Fig. 20 and 21 show a holder 12 similar to that of Fig. 6 and 7, but for subsequent installation. The eyelet 34 is cut open to create an oblique opening 110, the width of which is slightly larger than that of the guide rail 10. From the front of the eyelet wall, only triangular tabs 112 remain at the two ends of the holder 12, which extend almost across the entire width of the eyelet 34. The holder 12 can be placed at an angle on the back of an already installed guide rail 10.

&iacgr;&ogr;. The holder 12 is then turned straight and glued to the facade. Such a holder 12 is used when it subsequently becomes apparent that additional holders 12 are necessary for an already installed guide rail 10, for example to prevent excessive swinging of the guide rail 10 during a storm.

Fig. 12, 13 and 14 show the terminal 18. It consists of a guide block 50, an intermediate component 70 and a receiving head 80 for the guide rail 10. The guide block 50 is fastened to the masonry MW by means of two screws 52 which are guided through an eccentric thrust tube 54. The guide block 50 can be positioned precisely by turning the eccentric thrust tube 54. The guide block 50 has a cylindrical cavity 56 which is open on one side towards the guide rail 10. The side of the guide block 50 facing away from the guide rail 10 is closed by a base 57. A longitudinal opening is cut in the wall of the cavity 56, in which the receiving head 80 is guided so as to be displaceable in the longitudinal direction. The receiving head 80 has on the outside of the guide block 50 an eyelet 82 with an axial opening in which the end of the guide rail 10 is fastened by connecting pins 84. Inside the cavity 56, the receiving head 80 has an axial bore 86 through which an adjusting spindle 72 extends, which sits in an axial bore 74 of the closed bottom 57 of the guide block 50 and whose head rests on the outside of this bottom 57. A clamping nut 76 is screwed onto the adjusting spindle 72. The receiving head 80

The receiving head 80 can be clamped axially against the base 57 of the guide block 50 by turning the adjusting spindle 72. This tension is transferred to the guide rail 10 by the receiving head 80.

A tubular intermediate element 70, which functions as a length compensator and load limiter, is seated on the adjusting spindle 72 between the clamping nut 76 and the receiving head 80. The intermediate element 70 can be a thermocouple with a high coefficient of thermal expansion, so that the increase in length of the guide rail 10 when the temperature increases is compensated by an increase in length of the intermediate element 70 and the tension applied to the guide rail 10 is essentially independent of the temperature.

The tension on the guide rail 10 can also be kept constant largely independent of the temperature by means of disc springs, helical compression springs or a gas spring.

The load limitation can be achieved by deforming the intermediate element 70 under a certain load. For example, the inner diameter of the tubular intermediate element 70 can be conical at the clamping nut 76, so that the clamping nut 76 is drawn into the intermediate element 70 under a certain load and in the process expands the intermediate element 70. The axial opening of the intermediate element 70 can also be provided with an internal thread and when the limit load is exceeded, the threads are sheared off by the clamping nut 76. Such a triggering of the load limitation is shown in Fig. 14.

Fig. 15 shows an intermediate element that reacts elastically to slow changes in length and tension, such as those caused by a change in temperature, and at least partially compensates for the change in length or keeps the tension constant. The intermediate element reacts to sudden changes in length and tension, such as those that occur during a fall,

against very inelastic. The intermediate element has a cylinder 60 which is part of the receiving head 80 and is located within the cavity 56. A shaft 61 runs axially in the cylinder 60, which is screwed into the bottom 57 of the guide block 50 and protrudes towards the guide rail 10. The axial position of the shaft 61 is adjustable. The cylinder 60 is filled with a liquid 65. A partition 63 is attached to the shaft 61 inside the cylinder 60, which divides the cylinder 60 into two chambers 66, 67. Between the

A helical compression spring 62 is arranged between the partition wall 63 and the cylinder base lying towards the end of the guide rail 10, which generates the pre-tension of the guide rail 10. The gap between the cylinder 60 and the partition wall 63 is very fine, so that the liquid can only flow very slowly from one chamber 66, 67 into the other chamber 67 or 66. The terminal 18 can therefore compensate for slow changes in the length or tension of the guide rail 10. Instead of using the helical compression spring 62, a temperature-related change in the length of the guide rail 10 can also be compensated for by the expansion of a liquid in it if the chamber 67 is well sealed. A pressure relief valve 64 is provided in the partition wall 63, which allows the liquid to pass from the chamber 67 into the chambers 66 when the load limitation force is reached. The terminal 18 therefore reacts to an impact shock in which a force exceeding the load limit occurs by opening the pressure relief valve 64 and reducing the falling energy while the force remains constant. Once the limiting value of the force is reached, the terminal 18 therefore behaves inelastically.

Although the guide rail 10 ends in the receiving head 80, the fall protection can be continued with a rail intermediate piece 90, which is held by means of a slot 92 on a pin 94 within the eyelet 82 of the receiving head 80. As shown in Figs. 12 and 14, the rail intermediate piece 90 is typically a curved strip, since the terminal is usually attached to a corner or an inner edge of a building.

outer wall. The rail intermediate piece 90 is as short as possible and its other end is also attached by means of an elongated hole in the eyelet of the receiving head of the next terminal. The curved belt 90 can be perforated like the guide rail 10 and screwed firmly to the receiving head or attached with several pins placed through the holes. In order to be able to accommodate displacements of the receiving head 80, the curved belt 90 is laid with a little excess length so that it runs on a slightly sweeping path.

The runner 14 consists of two half-shells 100 which are connected to one another on one side by a flat guide surface 101, while on the other side there is a free space 102. According to Fig. 16, the runner 14 encompasses the two narrow sides or edges of the guide rail 10 with a small gap. However, with the eyelets 34, 82 of the holder 12 and the receiving block 80, the effective cross-section of the guide rail is increased and the runner 14 must of course be dimensioned such that it can also travel over these eyelets 34 and 82, which means that the runner 12 sits very loosely on the guide rail 10 outside the eyelets 34, 82 and wobbles. The space 102 between the free ends of the half-shells 100 must be significantly smaller than the smallest width of the guide rail 10 so that the runner 12 cannot come loose from the guide rail 10 even under load.

The runner 12 shown in Fig. 18 and 19 has elastic centering elements 104 within the half-shells 100. The centering elements 104 are half-shells attached to the flat guide surface 101 with a smaller spacing than the half-shells 100 and only encompass the guide rail 10 to the extent that they rest against the narrow sides of the guide rail 10. The spacing of the centering elements 104 corresponds to the normal width of the guide rail 10. If the runner 12 hits an eyelet 34 or 82, the centering elements 104 are pressed apart.

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16

The runner 12 can be made entirely of slippery plastic.

List of reference symbols

10 Guide rail 82 Eyelets - - 12 holder 84 Connecting pins 14 runner 86 drilling 16 eyelet 90 Rail between 18 terminal piece/curve band 20 Holes 92 Long hole 22 Flatband 94 Pen 24 rivet 100 Half shell 28 Sleeve 101 Guide surface 30 Connecting pins 102 free space 32 Base 104 Centering elements 34 eyelet 110 opening 36 Riveting 112 Tabs 38 Pen MW Masonry 40 Belt tear damper 50 Guide block 52 screw 54 Eccentric thrust tube 56 cavity 57 cavity 58 opening 60 cylinder 61 shaft 62 Helical compression spring 63 partition wall 64 Overpressure valve i1 65 liquid 66.67 Chambers 70 Intermediate element 72 Adjusting spindle 74 drilling 76 Clamping nut 80 Recording head

Claims (11)

1. Device for securing persons against falls, with a guide rail ( 10 ), whereby a runner ( 14 ) can be guided on the guide rail ( 10 ), to which the person to be secured can attach himself, characterized in that the guide rail ( 10 ) is strongly pre-tensioned in the longitudinal direction. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the guide rail ( 10 ) consists of stainless steel and the prestress is approximately 400 N/mm ² . 3. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the prestress is approximately 40% of the breaking load. 4. Device according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the guide rail ( 10 ) is constructed from several layers of a flat strip ( 22 ). 5. Device according to claim 4, characterized in that the flat strip ( 22 ) is perforated ( 20 ) with a specific spacing grid and that the individual layers are riveted together at least at some of the holes ( 20 ). 6. Device according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the guide rail ( 10 ) is slidably fixed in holders ( 12 ). 7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that the holders ( 12 ) have friction-reducing inserts. 8. Device according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the guide rail ( 10 ) is held at one or both ends in a terminal ( 18 ) which applies the prestress to the guide rail ( 10 ). 9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the terminal ( 18 ) has a fixed guide block ( 50 ), a receiving head ( 80 ) which is slidably guided in the guide block ( 50 ) and to which the guide rail ( 10 ) is fixed, and an intermediate element ( 70 ) which clamps the receiving head ( 80 ) against the guide block ( 50 ). 10. Device according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the terminal ( 18 ) has a device for load limitation. 11. Device according to one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that at least one end of the guide rail ( 10 ) is held in a travel force limiter ( 16 ) which opposes a predetermined resistance to a movement of the guide rail ( 10 ).