The Evolution of an Invention

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jomoco

jomoco

Tree Freak
Joined
Oct 4, 2006
Messages
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Location
San Diego CA
As soon as I saw a vid of the wraptor powered rope ascending device dragging a climber up a single rope, something started in my head that led to this pathetic self powered contraption.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDHkcqTY4CM

But like many inventions will do, it led in turn to a little lightbulb in my mind lighting up telling me to look at the objective from an entirely new angle, while saving the essential mechanically advantaged aspects of the system, I repackaged those aspects, shrank it down to a quasi backpack configuration to be worn behind me, with an unimpeded ability to either work or ascend in front of me. You will have a choice of engaging either one or two legs to power up the rope with mechanical advantage, engagement occurs via a simple lever position on either side behind you at waist level.

The paradigm change from having your rope and it's functional support from in front of you, to behind you, will be hard to get accustomed to at first, but once you realise the advantage of all that stuff being behind you and providing an unobstructed work area in front of you?

You'll be hanging face down like a spider, nothing in front of you, everything behind you, with the ability to engage one or both legs at the touch of a lever, and pump them up and down in the air to ascend. Or you can disengage legs, and reach behind your waist to engage the descension lever on the backpack unit.

I see the whole backpack unit weighing less than 20 pounds.

When you think about it, in a traditional climber's rope and saddle configuration for pruning, the actual work you need to accomplish is generally behind you, which is why floating D ring saddle's are so popular for pruners.

Maybe I am crazy. I certainly intend to find out the degree of my madness.

jomoco
 
Ha! That's awesome Jomoco!!! I was hoping I would be able to see it in use. Have you actually tried it yet?

A tree bicycle... What will they think of next??? That's crazy!
 
tree md said:
Ha! That's awesome Jomoco!!! I was hoping I would be able to see it in use. Have you actually tried it yet?

A tree bicycle... What will they think of next??? That's crazy!
Click to expand...

The JB Weld is makin me noivous see!

Yeah that's it, noives.

With a 10 inch OD drive drum, it should go up at a pretty good clip depending on your fitness level, which in my case is as pathetic as my contraption's!

Atleast I'm tryin tu keep up with you young whipper snappers!

jomoco
 
I like the concept, but I am not convinced of the backpack approach. If it is attached behind you, that would make it rather difficult to fix or inspect if something goes wrong midflight.

Perhaps a "swing it out of the way" approach?
 
pdqdl said:
I like the concept, but I am not convinced of the backpack approach. If it is attached behind you, that would make it rather difficult to fix or inspect if something goes wrong midflight.

Perhaps a "swing it out of the way" approach?
Click to expand...

No the backpack approach is the ticket, flexible active support from the waist and thighs. You could basically assume the TV superman flying position, engage both leg ratchets, and raise yourself straight up by pretending to jog in mid-air.

This device could be used all the time, rather than just reaching your TIP with it.

It will be a radical paradigm shift for an old school climbing dog like me, but something about approaching suspended treework like a spider has always appealed to me on a purely logical basis. Nothing in front of me has a lateral limbwalking potential using both arms and legs that may prove hard to match.

It should be an interesting arboreal project. Maybe I've found my missing prehensile tail!

jomoco
 
jomoco said:
No the backpack approach is the ticket, flexible active support from the waist and thighs. You could basically assume the TV superman flying position, engage both leg ratchets, and raise yourself straight up by pretending to jog in mid-air.
Click to expand...

I would think something more in line with the Rope Walker concept.

ell2.jpg


onrope.jpg
 
You obviously didn't watch enough buck rogers, the jetsons or jonny quest as a child JPS!

Have you put away childish things?

jomoco
 
Think of it like a turtle shell backpack with a gearbox inside allowing you 4 choices of engagement means to operate, one leg, two legs, one arm, two arms, or if you really want to get engaged, switch on both arms and legs and haul butt straight up that rope by just going through the motions of jogging in mid air touching absolutely nothing.

It would not be very large or heavy, the unit itself can be entirely shielded in a tear drop shell withnothing but flexible rope entrance and exit feeds at the top and bottom.

Kind of a teenage mutant tree climbing turtle?

Remember the drive wheel axis even with a 10 inch OD drive wheel, can be turned 90 degrees on the backpack frame, giving your backpack a thickness of 4-6 inches from your back, the 14 inch width from shoulder to shoulder is a perfect fit.

It will be both novel and strange, perhaps even dangerous, further testing is called for.

Imagine 4 pivoting ratchets coming out of this backpack, two attaching to your rear thighs just above the knee, with a simple padded pivotal belt, these two ratchets attach to the pack at your hip level. The other two ratchets
attach to the pack at shoulder level, and to your rear arms behind your lower triceps, just above your elbow.

With none of the ratchets engaged, you should be able to do jumping jacks hanging in mid air with no resistence until you engage one or all of the ratcheting arms.

jomoco
 
Last edited:
Well I took my prototype rope climber out to Harbison Canyon today for a field test in some big trees.

And while originally I intended to test in my nephews oaks at his home there, that gut instinct told me to make a fool of myself in a secluded area, in a euc grove across the street, alone, which I did.

Single true blue line installed in a big euc over 50 feet up, prototype attached to the line, bottom weights on the rope below the device.
Climb onto the device, tie my taughtline hitch above on the rope, get comfortable in harness, and started pedal ratcheting up the line using both legs.

At 25 feet up my left ratcheting pedal's JB weld failed at the crank and fell to the ground. Determined to go higher I kept on going using the right pedaling ratchet alone, at a little over 30 feet it too failed at the crank junction and fell to the ground.

Thankful that I was alone and not on video, I worked both taught line hitches, the unit's and mine, and returned slowly to the ground safely.

Putting the pieces of the unit away in my truck, I then decided to experiment a bit with the hanging rope from the euc to support me in my saddle, from behind. Using two short nylon loops and biners, I cinched off each of my lower D rings with a nylon loop. Running my right lower D ring loop in front of me through my left waist D ring, and vice versa with the other loop, then clipping both loops together behind me with a biner, then clipping into the rope about 10 feet off the ground, allowed me to step off truck's toolboxes, and assume the TV superman position in mid-air for the first time.

A bit uncomfortable no doubt, but with a few more loops and biners cinched just below my knees and clipped to the highest biner on the rope, I was able to stand upright and relieve most of the weight from my waist very effectively.

I even took a few test jumps off my toolboxes, catching most of my weight with my legs rather than waist. Very comfortable and secure using the knee straps for weight distribution, and the upper waist D rings as a stable pivoting point.

I think I'm going to use this failed prototype one more time just to determine the optimum crank rope drum size, which I think will be a 12 inch OD drum rather than a 5 inch OD drum.

I also know how to do away with the lower rope weight now, and replace it with a one way clutched wheel assembly at the bottom of the unit's main rope drive drum, with simple spring pressure on a swing arm, rather like a trailing belt tensioner.

From the ashes of embarrassing failure, valuable insights and knowledge are sometimes gleaned.

jomoco
 
Last edited:

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