EP-4735374-A1 - SUPPORT UNIT

Abstract

A support unit (300) comprising a shackle unit (700) and a support member (400). The shackle unit (700) is provided with an anchor coupling (702) for coupling with an anchor (10), a support member engagement feature (704), and a housing (706) which defines a tether guide feature (228). The support member (400) is provided with a shackle unit engagement feature (402), and an apparatus coupling (404) configured for coupling with an apparatus (500) to be supported from the support unit (300). The support unit (300) further comprises a tether (600) which extends from a free end (602) through the tether guide feature (228) in the shackle unit housing (706) to the support member (400). The support unit (300) is operable to have a disengaged configuration in which the support member (400) and the shackle unit (700) are disengaged from one another. The support unit (300) is operable to have an engaged configuration in which the support member (400) is locked to the shackle unit (700). The guide feature (228) is configured such that when the support unit (300) is in the disengaged configuration and the free end (602) of the tether (600) is drawn away from the guide feature (228), the support member (400) is drawn into engagement with, and locked to, the shackle unit (700) such that the support unit (300) is in the engaged configuration.

Inventors

• WEBSTER, Paul Daniel

Assignees

• BAE SYSTEMS plc

Dates

Publication Date

20260506

Application Date

20240529

Claims (1)

1. CLAIMS 1 A support unit comprising: a shackle unit provided with: an anchor coupling for coupling with an anchor, a support member engagement feature, and a housing which defines a tether guide feature; a support member provided with: a shackle unit engagement feature, and an apparatus coupling configured for coupling with an apparatus to be supported from the support unit; wherein the support unit further comprises a tether which extends from a free end through the tether guide feature through the shackle unit housing to the support member; the support unit operable to have: a disengaged configuration in which the support member and the shackle unit are disengaged from one another; and an engaged configuration in which the support member is locked to the shackle unit; the guide feature being configured such that when the support unit is in the disengaged configuration and the free end of the tether is drawn away from the guide feature, the support member is drawn into engagement with, and locked to, the shackle unit such that the support unit is in the engaged configuration. 2 A support unit as claimed in claim 1 wherein the guide feature further comprises a roller, the tether engaged with the roller. 3 A support unit as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the support member engagement feature of the shackle unit housing is defined by a support member receiving passage having an opening configured for receiving the support member when the support unit is in the engaged configuration. A support unit as claimed in claim 3 further comprising a locking mechanism which comprises: a locking lever pivotably mounted on and biased to pivot into the support member receiving passage; a locking lever engagement feature provided on the support member; the locking mechanism operable such that the locking lever engages with the locking lever engagement feature when the support member extends along the support member receiving passage to thereby prevent the support member from being disengaged and removed from the shackle unit housing. A support unit as claimed in claim 4 wherein the shackle unit engagement feature defines a leading edge of the support member, which extends from a point and increases in diameter along a part of the length of the support member towards the apparatus coupling, and then reduces in diameter to define provide a shoulder which defines the locking lever engagement feature. A support unit as claimed in any one of claims 4, 5 wherein a stop feature is provided in the shackle unit housing to engage with the support member and is positioned such that it engages with the support member when the support member has travelled along the support member receiving passage at least as far as is required to engage with the locking lever. A support unit as claimed in any one of claims 4 to 6 wherein the locking mechanism comprises a release mechanism operable to pivot the locking lever away from engagement with the locking lever engagement feature provided on the support member. A support unit as claimed in claim 7 wherein the locking lever is pivotably mounted to the shackle unit housing at a pivot point, and the locking lever comprises: a first end part, on one side of the pivot point, for engagement with the locking lever engagement feature provided on the support member, and a second end part, on the other side of the pivot point, that extends radially outwards of the shackle unit housing, the release mechanism being mounted and operable to act on the second end part of the locking lever to pivot the locking lever away from engagement with the locking lever engagement feature provided on the support member. 9 A support unit as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein a brake unit is provided on the shackle unit housing to engage with the tether, the brake unit configured to engage with the tether if tension in the tether between the brake unit and the free end of the tether is below a predetermined value and/or the free end of the tether is released. 10 A support unit as claimed in claim 9 wherein the brake unit is provided as a drop catch mechanism which defines: a tapered passage through which the tether extends; a catch member mounted in, and moveable along, a slot which extends along the tapered passage; the tether being located between the catch member and a wall of the tapered passage; the drop catch mechanism configured such that: if the tension in the tether is sufficient to maintain a distance between the catch member and the tether, then the tether is free to travel past the catch member; and if the tension in the tether is below a predetermined value and/or the free end of the tether is released, the tether will engage with the catch member to draw it along the tapered passage with the tether locked against the wall of the drop catch mechanism to thereby lock the tether against the wall of the drop catch mechanism. 1 1 A support unit as claimed in claim 9 or claim 10 wherein the tether guide feature, the brake unit and the free end of the tether are provided in series.

Description

SUPPORT UNIT FIELD The present disclosure relates to a support unit. In particular the disclosure is concerned with a support unit having a shackle unit and a support member. BACKGROUND It is a requirement common to many industries to support and position heavy loads. For example, in manufacturing it may be necessary to lift parts of an assembly to move them into or out of position relative to another part of an assembly, for example to lift an engine from a vehicle body, or lift plates of metal from a delivery point to a machining station for it to be worked on. The equipment used to do the lifting may be a hoist of some kind. A hoist is a device used for lifting or lowering a load, which may be manually operated, electrically or pneumatically driven. The hoist may be connected to an anchor, for example a mounting point on another structure (e.g. a building or scaffolding), which by necessity must be higher than the article to be lifted. Commonly the anchor may be several metres above working height, and hence to mount the hoist to the anchor a ladder, scaffolding or cherry picker type device must be deployed so a user can reach the mount point. All of these options pose a problem for a user as they may introduce unnecessary risk, delay and expense to the mounting of the hoist to the anchor. Although this may be acceptable in processes where the hoist may occupy a fixed position for a long time, in other examples it may be necessary to frequently move the hoist position, for example in assembly plants of large and/or bespoke equipment. This may be because the hoist needs to be moved out of position while other equipment or assemblies are moved past it, or because the hoist is needed at a different workstation position. Hence it is required that the hoist can be disengaged from the anchor so it may be connected to a different anchor. Additionally, hoists are typically heavy pieces of equipment, so even if a user is able to use a ladder, scaffolding or cherry picker to get themselves into position, the act of carrying the hoist while connecting it to, or disconnecting it from, the anchor, may not be possible without putting a user at risk of injury. Hence apparatus which enables a user to mount equipment to a high anchor point (for example at a height above themselves), or dismount equipment from a high anchor point, without needing to use a ladder, scaffolding or cherry picker type device to get close to the anchor, and/or which avoids the need for the user to personally support or carry the weight of the equipment at any point in the mounting/dismounting process, is highly desirable. SUMMARY According to the present disclosure there is provided an apparatus, system and method as set forth in the appended claims. Other features of the invention will be apparent from the dependent claims, and the description which follows. Accordingly there may be provided a mount assembly (100) for carrying and positioning an engagement unit (200) of a support unit (300) on an anchor (10). The mount assembly (100) may extend between a first end (102) and a second end (104) along an operational axis (20), the first end (102) spaced apart from the second end (104) along the operational axis (20). A cradle (106) may be provided at the first end (102) for receiving the engagement unit (200). A coupling unit (120) comprising a coupling member (122) for coupling with an engagement element (202) may be provided on the engagement unit (200). The mount assembly (100) may have a first configuration and a second configuration. In the first configuration the coupling unit (120) may be operable to receive the engagement unit (200) into the cradle (106) and the coupling member (122) is in a first position in which it is engageable with the engagement element (202) of the engagement unit (200). In the second configuration the coupling member (122) may be in a second position spaced apart from the first position in a first direction (D1 ) along the operational axis (20) to thereby draw the engagement element (202) in the first direction (D1 ) along the operational axis (20) towards the second end (104) to thereby lock the engagement unit (200) against the cradle (106). The mount assembly (100) may have a third configuration in which the coupling unit (120) is operable to release the engagement unit (200) from the cradle (106) and the coupling member (122) is at a third position spaced apart from the first position in a second direction (D2) along the operational axis (20) such that the coupling unit (120) is dis-engageable from the engagement element (202) of the engagement unit (200), the first position being between the second position and the third position. The mount assembly (100) may further comprise an actuator (130), the actuator (130) configured to control the coupling unit (120) to switch between the different configurations. The coupling member (122) may be a hook member (124) configured for coupling with the engagement ele