ALEXANDRIA, Va., April 15 -- United States Patent no. 12,599,788, issued on April 14, was assigned to Sherrill Inc. (Greensboro, N.C.).
"Rope grab" was invented by Alexander P Stroshane (Gorham, Maine) and Caitlin J Wood (Westbrook, Maine).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The rope grab uses friction to control movement along the rope. A brake has an eye at one end and a foot at the other that extends away at an angle to a rounded toe. Optionally, the eye and foot are attached so as to swivel. A cam has an oval rocker and a lever that extends from the rocker opposite the rocker surface. The rocker surface curves eccentrically about an axis, so the rocker behaves like a cam to modulate friction on...