Rappelling apparatus and method

摘要

A rappelling apparatus and method are provided, for controlling the rate of movement of a person along a safety line away from an anchored end of the safety line, through use of a control bar having an attachment at one end thereof for a harness safety belt, or the like connected to the person, an operating handle at an opposite end thereof, and provisions between the opposite ends of the control bar for passage of the safety line through the control bar in serpentine pattern. The operating handle is pivoted away from the safety line to reduce the severity of the serpentine pattern and allow controlled movement of the safety line through the control bar. Some forms of the control bar include a one-way clutching arrangement. Some forms of the control bar also include a hand-actuated braking arrangement.

主权项

1. A rappelling apparatus for controlling a descent of a person wearing a harness attached along a safety line anchored at a proximal end of the safety line and having a length of the safety line extending vertically away from the proximal end and terminating in a distal end of the safety line, the rappelling apparatus comprising:
a control bar having a body defining a fixed major length of the control bar extending along a major longitudinal axis of the control bar between first and second ends of the control bar; the body of the control bar also defining a width of the control bar extending substantially orthogonally to the longitudinal axis, and the body defining a thickness of the control bar extending substantially orthogonally to both of the longitudinal axis and the width of the control bar; the first end of the control bar having an aperture passing through the thickness of the control bar for attachment thereto of the harness; the body of the control bar defining first, second and third through holes extending through the thickness of the body of the control bar, with the through holes being sequentially aligned along the longitudinal axis with the first through hole being disposed closer to the first end of the control bar than the second and third through holes, the third through hole being disposed farther from the first end of the control bar than the first and second through holes, and the second through hole being disposed between the first and third through holes; the through holes sequentially configured to allow the distal end and length of the safety line to slidingly and sequentially pass through the thickness of the control bar a first time through the first through hole, then back through the thickness of the control bar a second time through the second through hole, and then pass through and exit the thickness of the control bar a third time through the third through hole such that the safety line follows a substantially S-shaped path through the through holes; a control bar pivot axle extending across the width of the body of the control bar and disposed between the first through hole and the second through hole, wherein the control bar pivot axle is disposed closer to the first end of the control bar than to the second end of the control bar; a cam eccentrically and pivotally mounted onto said axle, the cam configured to removably clamp the safety line against the control bar and configured to form the first and second through holes; a portion of the body of the control bar extending between the third through hole and the second end of the control bar, the portion of the body forming an operating handle of the control bar for a hand of the person to grasp; the operating handle is configured to be urged to rotate upwards toward a safety position while the cam is configured to be urged to pivot and clamp the safety line against the control bar when the safety line follows the S-shaped path and tension is applied to the safety line by a load of the person acting on the harness which acts onto the first end of the control bar, when in the safety position the second end of the control bar is pointing generally toward the proximal end of the safety line and the control bar and cam retard passage of the safety line through the through holes; and the operating handle is configured to be actively operated by the hand of the person directly pivoting the second end of the control bar away from the safety position, while the load is being applied to the first end of the control bar, to cause the safety line to pivot with respect to the axle against clamping to release pressure on the safety line through the through holes along the S-shaped path to cause the person to descend from a stopped position on the safety line.