A lifting equipment includes a guide rail; a climbing assistant, suitable for ascending and descending along the rail, said climbing assistant having a carriage and a first anti-fall device installed between the said carriage and the said guide rail, and the said first anti-fall device being capable of locking onto the said guide rail when the said carriage experiences weightlessness; a second anti-fall device for installation between the said guide rail and the personnel working on the said carriage, and the said second anti-fall device being capable of locking onto the same guide rail as the said climbing assistant when the personnel on the said carriage become weightless. The first anti-fall device used for the climbing assistant and the second anti-fall device for the personnel are installed on the same guide rail, and allowing the guide rail to be installed in the most optimal position.

A hoist system for hoisting a conveyance from a mineshaft, comprising: a head frame mounted over the mineshaft; a hoist connected to the conveyance by an elongate flexible hoisting element so as to be operable to hoist the conveyance from the mineshaft by winding the hoisting element; an upper crash barrier located on the head frame so as to be engageable by the conveyance to prevent upward movement of the conveyance beyond the crash barrier in an overwind condition; and an upper conveyance retarder to retard upward movement of the conveyance as it approaches the crash barrier.

A hoist system for hoisting a conveyance from a mineshaft, comprising: a head frame mounted over the mineshaft; a hoist connected to the conveyance by an elongate flexible hoisting element so as to be operable to hoist the conveyance from the mineshaft by winding the hoisting element; an upper crash barrier located on the head frame so as to be engageable by the conveyance to prevent upward movement of the conveyance beyond the crash barrier in an overwind condition; and an upper conveyance retarder to retard upward movement of the conveyance as it approaches the crash barrier.

An overspeed governor for a stairlift includes a governor frame mountable to a carriage of a stairlift. A wheel is engageable with a rail of the stairlift along which the carriage is moveable. Translation of the carriage along the rail is transformed into rotation of the wheel or vice versa. A safety braking device has a braking surface movable between a first position and a third position. In the first position the braking surface is not allowed to engage the rail. A braking member is coupled to the wheel such that when said wheel rotates at a speed at or above a predetermined threshold, the braking member is moved from the first position to the third position. In the third position the braking surface engages said rail with a braking force to stop movement of the carriage along the rail. A soft landing means gradually slows movement of the carriage.

An overspeed governor for a stairlift includes a governor frame mountable to a carriage of a stairlift. A wheel is engageable with a rail of the stairlift along which the carriage is moveable. Translation of the carriage along the rail is transformed into rotation of the wheel or vice versa. A safety braking device has a braking surface movable between a first position and a third position. In the first position the braking surface is not allowed to engage the rail. A braking member is coupled to the wheel such that when said wheel rotates at a speed at or above a predetermined threshold, the braking member is moved from the first position to the third position. In the third position the braking surface engages said rail with a braking force to stop movement of the carriage along the rail. A soft landing means gradually slows movement of the carriage.

A linear actuator assembly having a flexible tether that runs along a guide track. The flexible tether has a first segment and a second segment, wherein a predetermined tension exists in the flexible tether. A restraining mechanism is coupled to the flexible tether that automatically engages the guide track when the tension in the flexible tether drops below a predetermined threshold. Accordingly, if the flexible tether were to break, the load carried by the linear actuator would lock in place and would not fall under the force of its weight.

A linear actuator assembly having a flexible tether that runs along a guide track. The flexible tether has a first segment and a second segment, wherein a predetermined tension exists in the flexible tether. A restraining mechanism is coupled to the flexible tether that automatically engages the guide track when the tension in the flexible tether drops below a predetermined threshold. Accordingly, if the flexible tether were to break, the load carried by the linear actuator would lock in place and would not fall under the force of its weight.

An exemplary device for preventing travel of an elevator car when a car door is open includes a receiver that remains in a fixed position relative to a hoistway wall. A stop member moves responsive to the car door moving toward an open position such that the stop member engages the receiver to prevent movement of the elevator car when the door is open.

A safety mechanism for a lift system, the safety mechanism including a first motion retarder which operates frictionally between a load-carrying platform and a hoistway and a second motion retarder which operates by breaking a frangible element. The two motion retarders may act together so that when the frictionally engaging element is depleted, the frangible elements are then broken. In an embodiment, the frictional element is disengaged to engage the breaking of the frangible elements when the car is a predetermined distance above a floor of the hoistway, thereby ensuring that the load-carrying platform can be stopped prior to a collision with the floor or ceiling of the hoistway.

A safety mechanism for a lift system, the safety mechanism including a first motion retarder which operates frictionally between a load-carrying platform and a hoistway and a second motion retarder which operates by breaking a frangible element. The two motion retarders may act together so that when the frictionally engaging element is depleted, the frangible elements are then broken. In an embodiment, the frictional element is disengaged to engage the breaking of the frangible elements when the car is a predetermined distance above a floor of the hoistway, thereby ensuring that the load-carrying platform can be stopped prior to a collision with the floor or ceiling of the hoistway.