This invention relates to a descender device for permitting a person or object to safely descend or ascend a rope. A descender device (1 ) for manually raising and lowering an object or person on a rope (12) has a housing (9) having opposing first and second ends (17, 19) and opposing side walls (21, 23) extending between the first and second ends. An attachment means (4) is provided at the first end of the housing and is configured for attachment to an anchor point or to the object or person to be raised or lowered. Rope entry and exit ports (63, 65) are provided at the second end of the housing. A drive pulley (8) around which the rope may be engaged is corrected to a centrifugal brake (14) configured to limit the speed of rotation of the drive pulley by a gear assembly (40, 46). The centrifugal brake and gear assembly are mounted within the housing. A wheel arranged to be gripped by a user of the device, the wheel being connected to the gear assembly. A rope retaining means (24) is provided on an outside of the housing. This retaining means comprises a projection (86) on at least one of the side walls (21, 23) of the housing and at least one groove (76) in an external surface of the housing. The groove extending across the side wall corresponding with the projection, and the projection is configured to redirect the rope from one of the ports when the rope is looped around the hook so that the rope is aligned to enter the groove on the side wall, the groove including gripping features (82) for gripping a portion of the rope inside said groove.
Descender
2018-05-10
Patent
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch