Digital interface for a manual counterweight hoist

A method of operating a manually operated counterweight hoist that includes an arbor and a hand line manually operable to move the arbor, the method comprising:

• sensing, with a sensor, a movement of the arbor;
• receiving, by a controller, a measurement signal associated with the movement from the sensor;
• determining, by the controller, whether a speed of the arbor exceeds a threshold based on the measurement signal;
• activating, by the controller, an electronic brake actuator for a brake when the speed of the arbor exceeds the threshold;
• and
• constricting, by the brake, the hand line in response to activating the brake actuator.

A rigging control system comprising:

• a manually operated counterweight hoist including:
• a batten operable to support a load;
• an arbor connected to the batten by at least one lift line and operable to support one or more counterweights;
• a hand line coupled to the arbor and manually operable to move the batten or the arbor;
• a brake operable to prevent movement of the arbor and the batten by constricting movement of the hand line;
• a brake actuator operable to activate the brake;
• a sensor configured to sense a movement associated with a speed of the arbor;
• and
• a controller including an electronic processor, the controller operatively coupled
• to the sensor and the brake actuator, the controller configured to receive a measurement
• signal from the sensor;
• and
• a system control device including a second electronic processor, the system control device operatively coupled to the controller of the manually operated counterweight hoist, the system control device configured to:
• receive the measurement signal from the controller;
• determine whether the speed of the arbor exceeds a threshold based on the measurement signal;
• and
• instruct the controller to activate the brake actuator when the speed of the arbor exceeds the threshold.