Buckles – buttons – clasps – etc. – Bale and package ties – hose clamps – With tighteners
Patent
1987-12-24
1989-04-11
Sakran, Victor N.
Buckles, buttons, clasps, etc.
Bale and package ties, hose clamps
With tighteners
24115K, 403209, F16G 1100
Patent
active
048193046
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The invention concerns a snap hook, especially for mountain climbers, with a C-shaped element, the ends of which are connectable by a locking catch to form a closed elongate ring, to one narrow side of which a holding element is attached and to whose other narrow side a guide region is formed for a safety rope.
Snap hooks, of the kind indicated, are utilized by mountain climbers to secure the safety rope used during climbing to a more or less suitable cliff-side. For this purpose, snap hooks are secured in position to anchoring areas in the cliff-side by means of holding elements more or less elongate in shape and consisting of flat, woven ribbon-like material loops sewn together, such as hooks, clamp wedges or the like. The holding elements, which are of varying lengths, compensate for the divergent conditions of the anchoring areas along the rectilinear course of the rope so that the rope undergoes minimal twisting and so that the advancing mountain climber can easily pull the rope up.
The holding elements attach respectively to one narrow side of the snap. At the opposing narrow side of the snap hook there is a guide region for the safety rope around which the safety rope, in the event of a fall, is drawn with great force. For this reason, this guide region is generally rounded in profile so that the safety rope, in the event of fall, can be guide-turned around with the least possible frictional resistance and abrasion.
A drawback of the snap hook known in the state of the art, of the kind initially described, is that the safety rope, in the event of a fall, becomes trapped with relatively great force between the guide region and the cliff-side. This results in the safety cable's being abraded and damaged by the rough surface of the cliff, possibly causing tearing of the rope. The uncontrollable braking effects produced by the trapping of the safety rope further prevent timely response of the dynamic braking mechanism frequently employed of late at the beginning of the safety rope. The braking mechanism, therefore, is often unable to adequately absorb the energy generated by the fall, thus significantly increasing the risk of injury.
The task of the subject invention is to further develop the snap hook initially described such that the safety rope, in the event of a fall, does not become trapped between the cliff-side and the guide region of the snap hook.
In resolving this task, the invention, taking the snap hook of the kind initially described at its point of departure, proposes providing the elongate ring with projections, bends or a twist which, when the ring is applied against a plane, keep the guide region at a distance from this latter plane.
By virtue of the measures proposed in accordance with the invention, the snap hook according to the invention ensures that there is always a distance between the guide region and the surface of application (surface of the cliff). The dimensions of this distance are, of course, ample enough to enable the safety rope to pass unobstructed between the surface of the cliff and the guide region. The safety rope can, therefore, no longer become trapped between the surface of the cliff and the guide portion, being thereby damaged or abraded. Also, the uncontrollable braking effects caused by the trapping of the rope no longer occur. Thus, where a dynamic braking mechanism is employed, the correct operation of this braking mechanism is assured.
An initial embodiment of the invention provides that the flange of the C-shaped element is turned outward, in an upward and downward direction, vertical in relation to the principal extension plane of the ring. This ensures that the guide region is maintained at a distance from the cliff-side, independently of whichever side of the snap hook is applied against the cliff-side.
An alternate embodiment of the invention provides that the flange of the C-shaped element and/or the locking catch are vertically flared in relation to the principal extension plane of the ring. The addition of such flarings has the advantage that they c
REFERENCES:
patent: 608970 (1898-08-01), Wood
patent: 902844 (1908-11-01), Shisler
patent: 1661487 (1928-03-01), McCullar
patent: 2183546 (1939-12-01), Colgrove
patent: 2709438 (1955-05-01), Murray
patent: 4337554 (1982-07-01), Sevrence
patent: 4398336 (1983-08-01), Beuch
Sakran Victor N.
Stubai-Werkzeugindustrie RGenMBH
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