System for assembly of provisional horizontal lifelines

Abstract

A system for assembly of a lifeline of the type that uses an anchor post and retractable drum assembly to horizontally stretch the mentioned as a means to protect workers constructing buildings or other structures from falls; the anchor post is modular and can be coupled to complementary tube(s) with telescopic adjustment means; said modular anchor post being provided with (i) a structural base with a plane region and ribs welded to the side of the post so as to keep said plane slightly removed from said anchor post; a hole drilled in the ground of the building receives the tubular sector, arranged between the end and the plane region; (ii) by at least one safety guide, formed by three arched segments; (iii) by at least one transport handle in a single piece; and (iv) by at least two brackets for mounting and attaching the retractable lifeline drum assembly, optimizing the ways of holding the lifeline stretched horizontally.

Claims

1. A system for assembling a provisional horizontal lifeline, comprising: (a) a modular anchor post coupled to a complementary tube with telescopic adjustment means; said modular anchor post comprising: a structural base having a plane region comprising all peripheral border edges of the structural base, the structural base also having a multiplicity of angular ribs welded to a side of the anchor post and connected at a bottom end to the plane region such that said plane region is slightly distanced away from said anchor post; a hole drilled in a ground of a building that receives a tubular sector, arranged between an end and the plane region; at least one safety guide, comprising three arched segments, wherein a central arched segment has one outside arched segment and located on either side; at least one transport handle in a single piece; and at least two brackets for mounting and attachment of a retractable lifeline drum assembly.

2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the structural base is at least 30 cm above a bottom end of the anchor post.

3. The system according to claim 1, wherein in the structural base, the plane region is maintained orthogonal to an axis of the anchor post and rigidly stabilized by the angular ribs, wherein each angular rib comprises a vertical rib segment, the vertical rib segment welded on the side of the anchor post.

4. The system according to claim 1, wherein the three arched segments of the at least one safety guide each comprising: a first end welded to the side of the anchor post so that said arched segments remain parallel and closely spaced with each other; and a second end located at a distance from the side of said anchor post wherein the central arched segment is attached to the second end inverted in relation to the outside arched segments.

5. The system according to claim 1, wherein the provisional horizontal lifeline passes through each safety guide of the anchor post, lodging in a center of the arched segments.

6. The system according to claim 1, wherein an end hook of the provisional horizontal lifeline is anchored in the arched segments.

7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least one transport handle comprising a tubular rod bent into segments, wherein a first rectilinear segment passes through the anchor post through holes and is welded to them; said rectilinear segment is bent, forming a first arch, concordant with a second rectilinear segment, angular in relation to the first rectilinear segment and ending in another bend into a second arch, wherein a radius of the first arch is smaller than a radius of the second arch.

8. The system according to claim 1, wherein the complementary tube having a pair of holes drilled along the complementary tube, the tube having an external diameter equal to an internal diameter of the anchor post; wherein the adjustment of the height between the tube and the anchor post is performed by a locking pin particularly configured for a rectilinear segment of the at least one transport handle, passing through holes drilled in said anchor post and at least one of the pair of holes along the complementary tube.

9. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least two brackets and comprising members bent into a C-shape arranged lengthwise on the anchor post above the transport handle; each bracket's side ribs are welded on an outside wall of the anchor post, so as to compose a hollow cradle, especially dimensioned to receive two hooks arranged on a plane of the retractable drum assembly, keeping said drum assembly orthogonal in relation to the anchor post, and keeping a nozzle of said drum assembly from unwinding the lifeline.

10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the drum assembly comprising a first hook and a second hook, wherein the first hook is slightly higher than the second hook, while the two brackets have the same height.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1 illustrates a building under construction in a schematic view of three floors, each one equipped with the lifeline system improved hereby.

(2) FIG. 2 represents the modular anchor post with the improvements proposed by this invention.

(3) FIG. 3 shows the same modular anchor post with the extendable tube in exploded position.

(4) FIG. 4 is a cross-section side view of the modular anchor post coupled to the extendable tube.

(5) FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate the innovative safety guide, in which FIG. 5A shows the safety guide with the lifeline passing through and FIG. 5B shows the safety guide supporting the hook at the end of the lifeline.

(6) FIG. 6 represents a perspective of the modular anchor post, illustrating in highlight the transport handle and support brackets of the retractable lifeline drum.

(7) FIG. 7 contains a cutaway view of the anchor post to enable better visualization of the transport handle model.

(8) FIG. 8 illustrates the retractable lifeline drum assembly in a cross-sectional side view, attached to the brackets supporting the modular anchor post.

(9) FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate the retractable lifeline drum assembly in front and back views, in the latter case showing the pair of hooks corresponding to the support brackets of the anchor post.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(10) A system (1) for assembling a lifeline (LL) having an anchor post (10) and retractable drum assembly (20) for horizontal stretching of the mentioned lifeline (LL) as a means to protect workers who are engaged in construction of buildings (B) and other structures from falling.

(11) According to the present invention, the anchor post (10) is modular, i.e., is formed by a tube with length of approximately 2.50 m, provided with a structural base (11) at a distance of at least 30 cm (x) (FIG. 4) from the bottom end (10a) of the post (10). Said structural base (11) is formed by a plane region (11a), which is maintained orthogonal to the axis (A) of the post and rigidly stabilized by angular ribs (11b), whose vertical rib (11c), of each angular rib (11b), is welded to the side of the post (10) so as to keep said plane (11a) at a slight distance from said anchor post. The tubular sector (10b), arranged between the end (10a) and the plane region (11a), is inserted in the hole (H1) drilled in the ground (G) of the building (B).

(12) Said modular anchor post also includes at least one safety guide (12), one transport handle (13) and brackets (14) for assembly and attachment of the retractable lifeline drum assembly.

(13) Each safety guide (12) of the anchor post (10) serves both for passage of the lifeline (LL) (FIG. 5A) and for fastening the end coupling (30) of the lifeline (FIG. 5B). Each safety guide (12) is formed by three arched segments (12a), (12b) and (12c), each of whose ends (S1) is welded to the side of anchor post (10) so that said arched segments remain parallel, closely spaced between each other and with the other end (S2) at a distance from the side of said post. The central arch (12b) is attached with the end (S2) inverted in relation to the extreme arches (12a)/(12c), composing a passageway for passage of the lifeline (LL) or the end coupling (30) of said lifeline. Therefore, the conformation and position of the arches (12a), (12b) and (12c) that compose the safety guide (12) guarantees full safety of the lifeline (LL), preventing its involuntary unwinding, and at the same time, is simple to assemble by the worker.

(14) The transport handle (13) is configured by a tubular rod bent in segments, more precisely a rectilinear segment (13a) that passes through the anchor post (10) through holes (10e). Said rectilinear segment (13a) is bent into an arch (13b) with small radius, concordant with another rectilinear segment (13c), which is angular () in relation to segment (13a), which ends in another bend forming an arch (13d) with large radius. Said handle, with that configuration, is efficient, and takes up very little space, which avoids accidents involving the worker.

(15) The modular anchor post (10) can be extended by means of a coupling a complementary tube (40) with external diameter equal to the internal diameter of the anchor post (10). The assembly between the tube (40) and post (10) is telescopic and the adjustment between one and the other is accomplished by means of a locking pin or by the handle itself (13), more specifically the rectilinear segment (13a), which besides passing through the holes (10d) of the post (10), also passes through one of the pairs of holes (40a) drilled along and easy to assemble at the worksite.

(16) The modular anchor post (10) also has a pair of brackets (14) to support the attachment of the retractable lifeline drum assembly (20). Said brackets are composed of two C-shapes (14a) and (14b) aligned lengthwise on the anchor post above the transport handle (13); each bracket has lateral ribs welded to the outside wall of the anchor post (10), so as to compose a hollow cradle (14c), especially dimensioned to receive the hooks (20a) and (20b) arranged in the plane (20c) of the retractable drum assembly (20), keeping said drum in an orthogonal position in relation to the anchor post (10), while at the same time keeping the nozzle (B) of said drum assembly from unrolling the lifeline.

(17) In a preferential option, hook (20a) is slightly higher (y, not illustrated in Figures) than hook (20b), while the brackets (14a) and (14b) have the same height. This occurs so that the retractable drum assembly, even when subjected to forces and involuntary movements, does not become detached from the anchor post.

(18) It should be understood that the preferred embodiments mentioned here are merely illustrative of the present invention. Numerous variations in design and use of the present invention may be contemplated in view of the following claims without straying from the intended scope and field of the invention herein disclosed.