Patent ID: 8061479

Claim:
In a fall protection system, a descender which attaches at a first end to an elevated structure, and at a second end to the terminal end of the tether of a safety harness, to provide a controlled safe descent for a user of the fall protection system in the event of a fall; the descender comprising: a housing; said housing formed of first and second halves removably and sealably connected to one another; a stored quantity of descent line contained in said housing, wherein a first free end of said line extends through an opening in a side wall of the housing and a second free end of said line is in the housing; such first free end having attachment means for attaching such first free end of the descent line to the terminal end of the tether of the safety harness of such system, a braking mechanism, further comprising: an array of generally cylindrical friction inducing members, which array includes at least four such members, each of which members has at least one friction inducing surface; which friction inducing members are non-rotatably secured between said first and second halves of the housing; said friction inducing members being spaced apart and positioned to define a convoluted path through which the descent line travels when said descent line is paid out from the housing as a result of a fall experienced by a user of the system; wherein such descent line rubs against such friction inducing members, resulting in frictional resistance to the movement of said descent line as it is pulled through said convoluted path of friction inducing members during a fall or descent of a user, thereby restricting a rate of payout of the descent line, and consequently a rate of the user's descent; a pair of load-supporting and load-insulating mounting plates, each having a first end and a second end, which first ends are connected to and directly support at least two of such friction inducing members of said array within the walls of said housing; which at least two friction inducing members serve as load-absorbing, load-insulating members as well as friction inducing members; such pair of plates having second ends; said pair of plates being fitted at said second ends with connecting means for connecting said second ends of the plates to an elevated structure; whereby, upon occurrence of a fall by a user of the system, a majority portion of loads imposed on the descent line by the weight of the user during a drop or descent are transferred to and absorbed by the at least two load-insulating, load-absorbing friction inducing members attached to the two plates, thence to the plates themselves, then to the connecting means, and ultimately to the elevated structure, thereby insulating and protecting the housing and the remaining friction inducing members from damage imposed by such drop or descent loads, as the fall victim/user is provided with a slow and gradual descent back to the ground.