Cable sleeve for fall protection system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12582850-B2
Application number	US-202218283036-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 4, 2022
Priority date	Apr 2, 2021
Publication date	Mar 24, 2026
Grant date	Mar 24, 2026

Abstract

A cable sleeve for use with a safety cable of a fall protection system. The cable sleeve has a braking system that includes a constant-contact wheel, a rotor that is connected to the constant-contact wheel, a cam plate, and a braking shoe. The rotor may have a permanent magnet and a magnetically susceptible item that is held in a disengaged position by the permanent magnet. Rotation of the constant-contact wheel can overcome the magnetic force and cause the item to move so as to engage with the cam plate and actuate braking by the braking shoe.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A cable sleeve for use with a safety cable of a fall protection system, the cable sleeve comprising a chassis and a braking system comprising:
a constant-contact wheel that is rotatably mounted on the chassis, a rotor that is fixedly and coaxially connected to the constant-contact wheel; a cam plate that is rotatably mounted on the chassis so that the cam plate is independent of the rotor, the cam plate comprising a cam lobe and comprising a collar that is concentrically disposed about the rotor; and, a braking shoe that is movably mounted on the chassis and that is configured to reside in a first position in which a first gap is present between a braking surface of the braking shoe and an anvil surface of an anvil that is fixed to the chassis so that the safety cable can slide freely through the first gap between the braking surface and the anvil surface, and wherein the braking shoe is movable from the first position to a second position in which the braking surface is closer to the anvil surface than in the first position so that a second gap is present which is smaller than the first gap so that motion of the safety cable through the second gap is restricted by frictional forces imparted by the braking surface and the anvil surface,
wherein the rotor comprises at least one permanent magnet that is fixedly attached thereto, and wherein the braking system further comprises at least one magnetically susceptible engaging item that is movably disposed in a disengaged position on the rotor and is held in the disengaged position by magnetic attraction of the permanent magnet, and,
wherein the braking system is configured so that rotation of the constant-contact wheel above a predetermined threshold rotational velocity overcomes the magnetic attraction of the permanent magnet and urges the engaging item to move at least generally radially outward from the disengaged position into an engaged position in which the engaging item engages the collar of the cam plate causing the cam plate to rotate from a non-braking position to a braking position in which the cam lobe of the cam plate impinges on a cam follower that is connected to the braking shoe, causing the braking shoe to move from the first position to the second position.

2 . The cable sleeve of claim 1 wherein the at least one magnetically susceptible engaging item is an at least generally spherical item that comprises a density of at least 7.0 g/cc, that is not fixed to the rotor, and that, when in its disengaged position, resides in a generally radially-outward-facing open-ended cavity of the rotor.

3 . The cable sleeve of claim 2 wherein the engaged position of the at least one magnetically susceptible engaging item is circumferentially offset from the disengaged position, in an antirotation direction of the rotor.

4 . The cable sleeve of claim 3 wherein the generally radially-outward-facing open-ended cavity of the rotor is connected to a generally radially-outward-facing open-ended channel that extends circumferentially along the rotor in the antirotation direction of the rotor, the channel defining a path along which the magnetically susceptible engaging item can move to reach the engaged position.

5 . The cable sleeve of claim 4 wherein a radially-inward-facing surface of the collar of the cam plate comprises at least one radially-outwardly-recessed slot in which at least a radially-outward portion of the at least one magnetically susceptible item will reside when the item is in the engaged position.

6 . The cable sleeve of claim 4 wherein the braking system comprises first and second magnetically susceptible engaging items that are movably disposed in first and second disengaged positions on the rotor in first and second generally radially-outward-facing open-ended cavities and are held in their respective disengaged positions by first and second permanent magnets; and, wherein the first generally radially-outward-facing open-ended cavity of the rotor is connected to a first generally radially-outward-facing open-ended channel that extends circumferentially along the rotor in the antirotation direction, which first channel defines a first path along which the first magnetically susceptible engaging item can move to reach its engaged position, and wherein the second generally radially-outward-facing open-ended cavity of the rotor is connected to a second generally radially-outward-facing open-ended channel that extends circumferentially along the rotor in the antirotation direction, which second channel defines a second path along which the second magnetically susceptible engaging item can move to reach its engaged position; and,
wherein the second generally radially-outward-facing open-ended cavity and the second generally radially-outward-facing open-ended channel to which it is connected, are respectively circumferentially spaced away from the first generally radially-outward-facing open-ended cavity and the first generally radially-outward-facing open-ended channel to which it is connected, by an angular arc of at least 90 degrees.

7 . The cable sleeve of claim 6 wherein:
the first and second permanent magnets differ from each other,
and/or the first and second magnetically susceptible engaging items differ from each other,
and/or the first and second generally radially-outward-facing open-ended cavities differ from each other,
and/or the first and second generally radially-outward-facing open-ended channels differ from each other,
so that movement of the second magnetically susceptible engaging item at least generally radially outward in response to rotational velocity of the rotor differs from movement of the first magnetically susceptible engaging item at least generally radially outward in response to rotational velocity of the rotor.

8 . The cable sleeve of claim 1 wherein in ordinary use of the cable sleeve, the cam plate is gravitationally biased toward the non-braking position, in which position the cam lobe of the cam plate is not in contact with the cam follower.

9 . The cable sleeve of claim 1 wherein the cam follower comprises a bollard that is in a rotation path of the cam lobe, the bollard being rotatably mounted on a stem that is connected to the braking shoe.

10 . The cable sleeve of claim 1 wherein the braking shoe is pivotally mounted on the chassis so that the braking shoe is able to pivotally move about an axis of rotation from the first position to the second position, and wherein the braking surface of the braking shoe is an arcuate surface that is eccentrically disposed relative to the axis of rotation of the braking shoe so that as the braking shoe pivotally moves from the first position to the second position, the braking surface of the braking shoe moves closer to the anvil surface.

11 . The cable sleeve of claim 10 wherein in ordinary use of the cable sleeve, the braking shoe is an acceleration-actuatable braking shoe that is gravitationally biased toward the first position.

12 . The cable sleeve of claim 10 wherein the cable sleeve comprises a connecting arm, a proximal end of the connecting arm being rotatably coupled to the chassis and a distal end of the connecting arm comprising a connector that is configured to be connected, directly or indirectly, to a harness of a user of the cable sleeve.

13 . The cable sleeve of claim 12 wherein the rotatable coupling of the connecting arm to the chassis defines an axis of rotation of the connecting arm that is coaxial with the axis of rotation of the braking shoe.

14 . The cable sleeve of claim 13 wherein the connecting arm is rotatably movabl

Assignees

• 3M Innovative Properties Company

Inventors

• Pye Macaulay
• Wallace Jamie
• Scott Peter
• Hughes Ben
• Endle James P

Classifications

• F16D2127/02

  Release mechanisms · CPC title

• F16D2125/32

  acting on one cam follower · CPC title

• F16D63/006

  Positive locking brakes · CPC title

• F16D59/00

  Self-acting brakes, e.g. coming into operation at a predetermined speed · CPC title

• A62B35/0081

  Equipment which can travel along the length of a lifeline, e.g. travelers · CPC title