ROPE WRENCH TETHER

Abstract

A tether includes a length of rope with a primary loop at a midpoint for connection to a rope wrench, a pair of secondary loops remote from the primary loop, and a generally stiff but partially flexible rope cover between the primary and secondary loops, the rope cover being pre-curved along its length, the tether also including a tail-portion of the rope between the secondary loops and the rope cover, providing unrestricted 360 flexibility for the secondary loops, the rope cover sufficiently rigid to permit the handle end of the rope wrench to be pushed or pulled by hand and the rope cover retaining its curve to minimise the risk of a user's hand interfering with a hitch cord, and the tail portion of the tether is sufficiently flexible to withstand side-loads.

Claims

1. A rope wrench tether comprising or including a length of rope formed into a primary loop at a midpoint of the rope by which to permit connection to a rope wrench, the free ends of the rope being formed into a pair of secondary loops remote from the primary loop, and a generally stiff but partially flexible rope cover overlaying a mid-portion of the rope between the primary loop and the secondary loops, the rope cover being pre-curved along its length, the tether also including a tail-portion of the rope between the secondary loops and the rope cover, the tail portion providing unrestricted 360 flexibility for the secondary loops, the arrangement being such that the rope cover part of the tether is sufficiently rigid to permit the handle end of a rope wrench to be pushed or pulled by hand and for the rope cover to retain its curve whereby to minimise the risk of the hand of a user of the tether interfering with a hitch cord, and the tail portion of the tether is sufficiently flexible to withstand side-loads due to the inherent flexibility and strength of the rope.

2. The rope wrench tether according to claim 1 wherein the rope cover includes finger grips, which may be integral or provided separately by an elastomeric sheath, whereby to increase grip.

3. The rope wrench tether according to claim 1 wherein the rope cover also includes one or more eyelet formations defining utility apertures for receiving carabiners.

4. The rope wrench tether according to claim 1 wherein the tail portion includes one or more protective sleeves, such as a shrink-wrapped sleeve for each end of the rope adjacent a secondary loop.

5. The rope wrench tether according to claim 4 wherein made from a transparent or partially transparent material such as adhesive-lined polyolefin shrink-tube.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

[0013] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a tether made in accordance with the invention,

[0014] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the tether of FIG. 1, and

[0015] FIG. 3 shows the tether of FIG. 1 attached at each end to rope-climbing equipment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] In FIG. 1 there is shown a rope wrench tether 1 having a primary loop 2 at one end and a pair of secondary loops 3 at the other end, between which is a semi-rigid but flexible pre-curved rope outer cover 4 which includes a pair of utility apertures 5, 6 for optionally receiving carabiners (not shown). Between the rope cover 4 and the pair of secondary loops 3 are a pair of transparent shrink-wrapped generally straight sleeves 7 of adhesive-lined polyolefin serving primarily to protect the rope of the tether in this region but also permitting inspection of the rope for wear. The ends of the sleeves 7 remote from the secondary loops 3 are enclosed by a collar 8 at the lower end of the rope cover 4 which provides a smoothly contiguous surface over which a hand or rope can glide without snagging the shrink-wrap sleeves 7 and also serving to prevent or inhibit the ingress of debris between the sleeves and the looped rope ends.

[0017] FIG. 2 shows an exploded view of the tether of FIG. 1 in which it will be seen that a mid-portion 9 of the looped rope between the utility apertures 5, 6 in the rope cover 4 is shaped by shrink-tube or by staples to be received in rope-receiving grooves (shown in broken outline) on the inside of the front part 4a of the rope cover 4, and a mid-portion 10 between the utility aperture 6 and the sleeves 7 is also shaped to be held in rope-receiving grooves on the inside of the front part 4a of the rope cover in the same manner, thereby creating therebetween another mid-portion 11 coincident with the is aperture 6 in the cover 4. Similarly, an upper unstitched area 12 is provided coincident with the aperture 5 in the cover 4.

[0018] The front part 4a of the rope cover 4 is adapted for attachment to the rear part 4b, the latter including the whole of the collar 8 such that when assembling the tether 1, the two ends of the rope are threaded through apertures in the collar 8 and the secondary loops 3 are then stitched and covered with the shrink-wrapped sleeves 7 such that the collar 8 completely surrounds the end of the sleeves 7 next to the rope cover 4 whereafter the front part 4a is moulded over the rear part 4b to form the complete rope cover 4 as shown in FIG. 1.

[0019] FIG. 3 shows the complete tether 1 releasably secured at its upper end by the primary loop 2 to a rope wrench 13 and releasably secured at its lower end by the secondary loops 3 to a carabiner 14 to which is attached a pulley block 15.

[0020] In operation, the carabiner 14 is connected to a hitch cord (not shown) and the lower end of the carabiner 14 is also connected to e.g. the climbing harness (not shown) of a climber, with the pulley block 15 being used as necessary to assist the climber in ascending and descending. When carrying out these tasks and when moving is from side to side by e.g. an arborist swinging from branch to branch in a tree, the pre-curved shape of the rope cover 4 minimises the risk of the hand of the arborist accidentally rubbing against a hitch cord or any rigid ascenders or descenders. In addition, the rope cover 4 is not only sufficiently rigid so as to retain its curved shape but there is little or no risk of it breaking or bending catastrophically as in the case of rigid aluminium tethers because it is never under tension, the tension being solely in the rope itself. However, even if the cover 4 breaks it does not affect the integrity of the tether 1 due to the fact that its tensile strength derives from the rope itself and not the rope cover 4. Also, because the cover 4 is non-metallic it will be appreciated that in cold weather there is little danger of the hands of the user becoming so cold as to impede function, an important consideration during inclement weather.

[0021] The invention therefore combines the best features of rigid tethers that are curved to fit the hand of a climber and the best features of non-rigid tethers that are not prone to catastrophic breakage, in a way that also adds the ability for the tail of the tether to easily flex in any direction, a distinct advantage over known rope wrench tethers.