Patent ID: 8708109

Claim:
Apparatus for braking a zipline rider traversing a main cable, the zipline rider suspended beneath a rider block moveably mountable to the main cable, the apparatus comprising: a brake line extending generally parallel to a substantial portion of the main cable, the brake line entrained around first and second reels respectively rotatably mounted near opposed ends of the main cable; a brake coupled to at least one of the reels and operable to slow and arrest rotation of the at least one of the reels; and a tether couplable between the zipline rider and the brake line; wherein: the brake line comprises an endless loop rotatably supported by the first and second reels; the brake is coupled to the second reel, the second reel located near a lower end of the main cable; the first reel comprises a first circumferential groove for receiving the brake line and the second reel comprises a second circumferential groove for receiving the brake line; the first reel is rotatably supported near an upper end of the main cable; and the second reel is rotatably supported near the lower end of the main cable; the apparatus further comprising: a first guide mounted near the second reel, the first guide for guiding the brake line into the second circumferential groove of the second reel and a second guide mounted near the first reel, the second guide for guiding the brake line into the first circumferential groove of the first reel; wherein: the first guide comprises a first vertical guide roller and a first horizontal guide roller; and the second guide comprises a second vertical guide roller and a second horizontal guide roller.