ROPE PRE-FAILURE WARNING INDICATOR SYSTEM AND METHOD

• US 20150197408A1
• Filed: 12/18/2014
• Published: 07/16/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 01/15/2014
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Slingmax Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Slingmax Incorporated
• Inventors: ST. GERMAIN, Scott, D'ELIA, Gregory
• Application Number:
  US14/575,539
• Publication Number:
  US 20150197408A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 63/02 responsive to reduction in material tension, failure of supply, or breakage, of material
• CPC Class Codes: D07B 1/145 comprising elements for indicating or detecting the rope or cable status
• CPC Class Codes: D07B 1/148 comprising marks or luminous elements
• CPC Class Codes: D07B 1/24 Ropes or cables with a prematurely failing element
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 11/086 Details about the embedment of the optical fiber within the DUT
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 5/0025 of elongated objects, e.g. pipes, masts, towers or railways G01M5/0058 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01M 5/0033 by determining damage, crack or wear
• CPC Class Codes: G01N 2203/0664 using witness specimens

Abstract

A pre-failure indicator system for determining a degradation or failure condition includes a rope having an elongated structural strand and a pre-failure indicator strand. The pre-failure indicator strand has a tensile strength less than a tensile strength of the structural strand. The pre-failure indicator strand constructed of a conductive wire. The pre-failure indicator strand is configured to fail when the rope is subject to tension that exceeds the tensile strength of the structural strand. An indicator generates a detectable signal when the pre-failure indicator strand fails. A transceiver detects the detectable signal. The transceiver is configured to transmit a warning upon receipt of the detectable signal.

Claims

1. A pre-failure indicator system for determining a degradation or failure condition, the pre-failure indicator system comprising:

a rope having an elongated structural strand and a pre-failure indicator strand, the pre-failure indicator strand comprised of a conductive wire and configured to fail when the rope is subject to tension that is less than the tensile strength of the structural strand;

an indicator that generates a detectable signal when the pre-failure indicator strand fails; and

a transceiver that detects the detectable signal, the transceiver configured to transmit a warning upon receipt of the detectable signal.

2. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 1, wherein the structural strand is comprised of a plurality of structural strands.

3. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 1, wherein the conductive wire is comprised of a multiple conductive wires.

4. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 1, wherein the conductive wire is constructed of a metal.

5. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 4, wherein the metal is comprised of one of copper and silver.

6. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 1, wherein the indicator includes an electrical signal generator and the detectable signal comprises an electrical signal.

7. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 1, wherein the conductive wire is constructed one of carbon fibers and a conductive polymeric material.

8. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 1, wherein the conductive wire includes a first end and a second end, a first terminal connected to the first end and a second terminal connected to the second end.

9. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 8, wherein the first terminal includes a first electronic signal transmitter, a first electronic signal receiver and a first electronic signal transceiver.

10. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 1, wherein the conductive wire is constructed of a material designed and configured to degrade at a faster rate than the structural strand based on exposure an environmental factor, the environmental factor selected from the group consisting of ultraviolet radiation, abrasion and dry rot.

11. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 1, further comprising:

a time-domain reflectometry (“

TDR”

) device associated with a first terminal of the rope, the TDR device configured to send a pulse signal into the pre-failure indicator strand and sense a time until a return pulse is received at the TDR device, the time being recorded.

12. A pre-failure indicator system for determining a degradation or failure condition, the pre-failure indicator system comprising:

a multiple rope unit including a plurality of ropes, a first rope of the plurality of ropes including a pre-failure indicator strand having a tensile strength less than a tensile strength of the multiple rope unit such that the pre-failure indicator strand fails when the multiple rope unit is subject to tension that exceeds the tensile strength of the pre-failure indicator strand before the multiple rope unit fails, the pre-failure indicator strand comprised of a conductive wire;

an indicator that generates a detectable signal associated with the pre-failure indicator strand; and

a transceiver that detects the detectable signal and transmits a warning upon receipt of the detectable signal.

13. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 12, wherein the plurality of ropes also includes a second rope and a third rope.

14. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 12, wherein each of the plurality of ropes is constructed of a material selected from the group consisting of synthetic fibers, natural fibers and a combination of synthetic and natural fibers, each of the plurality of ropes including a plurality of structural strands.

15. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 12, wherein the conductive wire is constructed of a metallic material.

16. A pre-failure indicator system for determining a degradation or failure condition, the pre-failure indicator system comprising:

a rope including a plurality of structural strands and a pre-failure indicator strand, the pre-failure indicator strand having a tensile strength less than a tensile strength of the structural strands such that the pre-failure indicator strand fails when the rope is subject to tension that exceeds the tensile strength of the pre-failure indicator strand, the pre-failure indicator strand comprised of a conductive wire having a first end and a second end;

a first signal source connected to the first end and configured to impart a signal into the conductive wire;

a signal detector connected to the conductive wire and configured to detect the signal and convert the signal; and

a signal transmitter in communication with the signal detector, the signal transmitter configured to transmit the converted signal.

17. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 16, wherein the structural strands are constructed from a material selected from the group consisting of natural fibers, synthetic fibers and a combination of natural and synthetic fibers.

18. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 16, wherein the conductive wire is constructed of a metallic material.

19. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 16, wherein the signal is comprised of an electric current.

20. The pre-failure indicator system of claim 16, wherein the signal source is selected from the group consisting of signal generator, an analog signal generator, a function generator, a microwave signal generator, a pitch generator, an arbitrary waveform generator and a frequency generator.