Runner for guidance along a guide cable of an anchoring device

Abstract

A runner 7 has a housing 21 with two runner wheels 23 attached to the housing. The housing includes a sleeve 25 that can freely turn around the longitudinal axis 27 in a channel 29 present in the housing. The sleeve constitutes an elongated guide opening by which the runner can be moved over the guide cable. Longitudinal slots extending in axial direction are present in the walls 21A, 25A of the channel 29 and of the sleeve 25. Each slot has a middle section 31A, 33A. The width 34 of the middle section 33A of the longitudinal slot in the sleeve is smaller than the width 32 of the middle section 31A of the longitudinal slot in the housing, and, furthermore, the width 34 of the middle section 33A of the slot 33 in the sleeve is smaller than the diameter of the guide cable 3 the runner 7 is suitable for.

Claims

1. A runner which can be moved over a guide cable, said guide cable having a diameter which is the same over a length of the guide cable, where supporting brackets are fixed to the guide cable by which the guide cable is fixed to a wall or ceiling or to a roof structure of a building, the runner comprising: a housing that is provided with a channel, said channel accommodates a sleeve rotatable relative to the housing around a longitudinal axis of the sleeve, through said sleeve the guide cable extends during operation, a wall of the channel being provided with a longitudinal slot extending from an end to another end of the wall of the channel and configured to be parallel to the guide cable, said longitudinal slot in the wall of the channel has a middle section, and a wall of the sleeve being provided with a linear longitudinal slot extending from an end to another end of the wall of the sleeve along substantially the entire major length of the sleeve, and configured to be parallel to the guide cable, said linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve has a middle section, and said housing is provided with a fastening eyelet for a person's fall protection line, wherein a width of the linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve at the middle section of said linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve is smaller than a width of the longitudinal slot in the wall of the channel at the middle section of said longitudinal slot in the channel in the housing, while during operation when the runner is present around the guide cable and said fall protection line is coupled to the fastening eyelet, the sleeve which is freely rotatable relative to the housing around the longitudinal axis is present in the channel, and the width of the linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve at the middle section of the linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve is smaller than the diameter of the guide cable suited for said runner.

2. The runner of claim 1, wherein the linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve widens towards the ends of the sleeve.

3. The runner of claim 1, wherein the wall of the sleeve has a transverse slot that extends in an outer surface of the wall of the sleeve in a circumferential direction of the wall of the sleeve and transversely to the linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve, and a protuberance is fixed to the housing and is located on an inside of the wall of the channel in the housing, said protuberance sticks into the transverse slot, while ends of the transverse slot constitute stops that are configured to limit rotation of the sleeve around the longitudinal axis.

4. An anchoring device comprising: a guide cable which can be fixed to supporting brackets for anchoring the guide cable to a wall or ceiling or to a roof structure of a building, and a runner which can run over the guide cable and can be attached to a fall protection line, wherein the runner comprises: a housing that is provided with a channel, said channel accommodates a sleeve rotatable relative to the housing around a longitudinal axis of the sleeve, through said sleeve the guide cable extends during operation, a wall of the channel being provided with a longitudinal slot extending from an end to another end of the wall of the channel and the sleeve being provided with a linear longitudinal slot extending from an end to another end of a wall of the sleeve along substantially the entire major length of the sleeve, said linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve has a middle section, and said housing is provided with a fastening eyelet for a person's fall protection line, wherein a width of the linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve at the middle section of said linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve is smaller than a width of the longitudinal slot in the wall of the channel at a middle section of said longitudinal slot in the wall of the channel, while during operation when the runner is present around the guide cable and said fall protection line is coupled to the fastening eyelet, the sleeve which is freely rotatable relative to the housing around said longitudinal axis is present in the channel, and the width of the linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve at the middle section of the linear longitudinal slot in the sleeve is smaller than a diameter of the guide cable suited for said runner.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The invention will be described in more detail hereinbelow based on an example of embodiment of the anchoring device according to the invention while reference is made to the appended drawing figures, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 shows the anchoring device in the place of a coupling member;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a front elevation of the runner; and

(4) FIG. 3 shows a side elevation of the runner while a supporting bracket is being passed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(5) FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the anchoring device according to the invention in the place of a coupling member. The anchoring device 1 comprises a guide cable 3 to which are connected supporting brackets (see FIG. 3) by which the guide cable is fixed to a wall of a building, as well as a coupling member 5 via which a runner 7 can be slid onto the guide cable.

(6) The coupling member 5 is attached to an end of the guide cable 3 and fitted with an end 9 to a wall. The coupling member comprises two parallel arms 11 and 13, one of which is shorter than the other. Between the arms and parallel to the arms is present an end part of the guide cable 3. The arms are each fixed with an end to the guide cable 3 by means of a bridge element 15, 17. The distance 19 between the bridge elements exceeds the dimension 20 (see FIG. 2) of the runner 7 measured in the direction of the guide cable, so that the runner can be turned around the guide cable between the two bridge elements.

(7) The runner 7 (see FIG. 2) has a housing 21 with two runner wheels 23 attached to this housing. The housing includes a sleeve 25 which can freely turn around the longitudinal axis 27 in a channel 29 present in the housing. The sleeve 25 forms an elongated guide opening through which the runner can be slid over the guide cable. Longitudinal slots 31 and 33 are present in the walls 21A and 25A of the channel 29 and of the sleeve 25, which longitudinal slots extend in axial direction from one end to the other end of the walls.

(8) Each slot has a middle section 31A, 33A. The width 34 of the middle section 33A of the longitudinal slot in the sleeve is smaller than the width 32 of the middle section 31A of the longitudinal slot in the housing (see FIG. 3). Furthermore, the width 34 of the middle section 33A of the slot 33 in the sleeve is smaller than the diameter of the guide cable 3 the runner 7 is suitable for.

(9) The longitudinal slot 33 in the sleeve widens towards the ends 33B while the end of the longitudinal slot extends at a 180 degree angle 35.

(10) The housing 21 is further provided with a fastening eyelet 37 to which a person's fall protection line can be attached.

(11) The wall of the sleeve 25 has a transverse slot 39 that extends transversely to the longitudinal slot 33. A protuberance 41 projecting into the transverse slot is present on the inside of the wall 21A of the channel in the housing. The ends 43 of the transverse slot constitute stops that limit the turning of the sleeve around the longitudinal axis. The transverse slot 39 hereby extends at a 90 degree angle 36. The outermost positions of the transverse slot 33 in the sleeve are indicated by broken lines.

(12) FIG. 3 likewise shows a supporting bracket 45 by which the guide cable 3 can be fixed to a wall.

(13) Albeit the invention described above has been described in the foregoing with reference to the drawing figures, it should be established that the invention is not by any manner or means restricted to the embodiments shown in these drawing figures. The scope of the invention is also extended to any embodiments deviating from the embodiments shown in the drawing figures within the scope of the claims.