Patent ID: 8584798

Claim:
A safety apparatus for arresting a fall of a worker from a surface, comprising, in combination: a frame unit adapted to be placed on the surface; a pulley rotatably mounted to the frame unit about a rotation axis spaced from the surface; a cable mounted around the pulley and including first and second ends, with the second end of the cable adapted to be connected to the worker, with the pulley located intermediate the first and second ends of the cable; a slide slideably mounted to the frame unit along a slide axis at a non-parallel angle to the rotation axis and movable between upper and lower positions, with the first end of the cable attached to the slide, with force resulting from the fall of the worker from the surface transmitted to the slide via the cable; a biasing member mounted between the slide and the frame unit, with the biasing member biasing the slide from the lower position to the upper position; and an engaging member mounted to the slide to move therewith, with the engaging member being above the surface when the slide is in the upper position, with the engaging member gripping the surface when the slide is in the lower position, preventing further falling of the worker.