Background of the Invention Various occupations place people in precarious positions at relatively dangerous heights, thereby creating a need for fall-arresting safety apparatus.

Among other things, such apparatus usually include a safety line interconnected between a support structure and a person working in proximity to the support structure. The safety line is typically secured to a full-body harness worn by the worker. Obviously, such a harness must be designed to remain secure about the worker in the event of a fall. In addition, the harness should arrest a person's fall in as safe a manner as possible, placing a minimal amount of strain on the person's body. Yet another design consideration is to minimize the extent to which people may consider the harness uncomfortable and/or cumbersome.

Fall-arresting harnesses have been made with elastic straps to enhance user comfort and/or more evenly absorb or distribute impact associated with a fall. However, concerns exist about the effectiveness of these known elastic harnesses. In particular, if a conventional harness is modified simply by substituting elastic straps for inelastic straps, the containment capability of the harness may be compromised, and a person may slip from the harness during a fall and/or rebound. In other words, there remains a need for a harness which strikes an appropriate balance between user safety and user comfort.

Summarv of the Invention One aspect of the present invention is the provision of a full-body safety harness having relatively more elastic shoulder straps and relatively less elastic other straps. Another aspect of the present invention is the provision of

a full-body safety harness having shoulder straps which are secured to a D- ring and back pad assembly in such a manner that the D-ring changes position relative to the back pad in the event of a fall and thereby shortens the effective length of the shoulder straps. These two aspects are combined on a preferred embodiment harness constructed according to the principles of the present invention. The resulting combination makes the harness more comfortable during ordinary use while also ensuring user safety in the event of a fall.

Additional features and/or advantages of the present invention may become more apparent from the detailed description which follows.

Brief Description of the Drawing With reference to the Figures of the Drawing, wherein like numerals represent like parts and assemblies throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a front view of a preferred embodiment harness constructed according to the principles of the present invention; Figure 2 is a rear view of a rear suspension assembly on the harness of Figure 1 showing a D-ring in a downward disposition; Figure 3 is a rear view of a back pad on the rear suspension assembly of Figure 2; Figure 4 is a rear view of the rear suspension assembly of Figure 2 showing a D-ring in an upward disposition; and Figure 5 is a perspective view of the harness of Figure 1 secured to a person and connected to a support structure by means of a safety line and an energy absorbing member.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiment A preferred embodiment safety harness constructed according to the principles of the present invention is designated as 10 in Figures 1 and 5. The harness 10 is a full-body harness suitable for arresting the fall of a person.

Figure 5 shows a preferred application of the present invention, wherein the harness 10 is worn by a person and secured to a support structure 100 by means of a safety line 101 and an optional energy absorber 102.

The harness 10 may be described in terms of left and right shoulder straps 12 and 13, left and right back straps 15 and 16, left and right chest straps 17 and 18, a seat strap 21, and left and right leg straps 22 and 23. The shoulder straps 12 and 13 are integral portions of a single, continuous strap 11 of elasticized webbing which is preferably made by interweaving taut latex rubber cords with slack fibers of nylon and/or polyester. The weave is such that the webbing stretches between nine percent and twenty percent in length under a tensile load of less than fifty pounds. In other words, the slack in the relatively less elastic fibers is sufficient to allow the rubber cords to stretch at least twenty percent in length before the less elastic fibers become taut. The other straps on the harness are made from conventional harness webbing which is significantly less elastic (stretches less than two percent in length under a tensile load of less than fifty pounds).

A first end of the left chest strap 17 is formed into a closed loop about the left shoulder strap 12, and a second, opposite end of the left chest strap 17 is formed into a closed loop about a female buckle 28. A first end of the right chest strap 18 is formed into a closed loop about the right shoulder strap 13, and a second, opposite end of the right chest strap 18 is inserted through a male buckle 27 and retained in place by a keeper 34 on an intermediate portion of the strap 18. The male buckle 27 selectively interengages the female buckle 28 to interconnect the chest straps 17 and 18 across a person's chest. The length of the right chest strap 18 may be adjusted to accommodate people of different sizes.

A distal end segment 35 of the left shoulder strap 12 is inserted through a buckle 29 and adjustably secured thereto in a manner known in the art. Similarly, a distal end segment 36 of the right shoulder strap 13 is inserted through an opposite side buckle 29 and adjustably secured thereto. Keepers 24 are mounted on the distal end segments 35 and 36 to retain distal ends of the straps extending beyond the buckles 29. Each of the buckles 29 is secured to a respective"looped over"end segment 19 or 20 of the seat strap 21 by stitching or other suitable means known in the art.

The back straps 15 and 16 are integral portions of a single, continuous strap 14 of conventional, relatively inelastic webbing. A female buckle 33 is secured to a"looped over"end of the left back strap 15 by stitching or other suitable means known in the art. A similar female buckle 31 is similarly secured to a"looped over"end of the right back strap 16. Intermediate portions of the left back strap 15 and the left end segment 19 of the seat strap 21 are formed into closed loops about one another, and intermediate portions of the right back strap 16 and the right end segment 20 of the seat strap 21 are similarly formed into closed loops about one another. This sort of arrangement is disclosed in U. S. Pat. No. Re 35,028 to Casebolt et al, which is incorporated herein by reference.

The leg straps 22 and 23 and the seat strap 21 are integral portions of a single, continuous strap. The leg straps 22 and 23 are fastened to respective intermediate portions of the seat strap 21 via both direct stitching and respective spacing tabs 37. Male buckles 32 and 30 are adjustably secured to respective leg straps 22 and 23, with the distal ends of the leg straps 22 and 23 retained in place by respective keepers 34. The male buckle 32 on the left leg strap 22 is sized and configured to interengage the female buckle 33 on the left back strap 15. Similarly, the male buckle 30 on the right leg strap 23 is sized and configured to interengage the female buckle 31 on the right back strap 16.

An intermediate portion of the shoulder strap 11 is routed through the back pad designated as 26 in Figures 2,3, and 4 and about the D-ring designated as 25 shown in Figures 2 and 4. More specifically, the strap 11 enters the pad 26 through slot 41; then passes through slot 45, about an outer rung 38 on the D-ring 25, and back through the slot 45; then exits the pad 26 through slot 42. As a result of this arrangement, the rung 38 on the D-ring 25 is captured between the strap 11 and the back pad 26.

An intermediate portion of the back strap 14 is also routed through the back pad 26 and about the D-ring 25. More specifically, the strap 14 enters the pad 26 through slot 43; then passes through slot 46, about an inner rung 39 on the D-ring 25, and back through the slot 46; then exits the pad 26 through

slot 44. As a result of this arrangement, the rung 39 on the D-ring 25 is captured between the strap 14 and the back pad 26.

When the D-ring 25 occupies the orientation shown in Figure 2, with the ring portion 40 downwardly disposed, the looped portion of the shoulder strap 11 is disposed entirely above the looped portion of the back strap 14. In typical use of the harness 10, a safety line (such as that designated as 101 in Figure 5) is secured between the ring 40 and a support structure (such as that designated as 100 in Figure 5). As a result of the configuration of the harness 10, as well as the weight of the D-ring 25 and the safety line, the D-ring 25 tends to remain in the orientation shown in Figure 2. However, in the event of a fall, the safety line pulls upward on the D-ring 25 and flips the ring 40 to an upwardly disposed orientation relative to the back pad 26, shown in Figure 4.

As a result of this flipping action, the shoulder strap 11 and the back strap 14 are pulled toward one another and into an overlapping relationship, thereby reducing both the effective size of the harness 10 and the likelihood that a person wearing the harness 10 will not be adequately supported. This self- cinching aspect of the harness 10 is particularly significant when used in conjunction with elastic shoulder straps 12 and 13, since the shoulder straps 12 and 13 are designed to stretch to a greater extent than conventional harness straps.

To don the safety harness 10, a person lifts the harness 10 by the D- ring 25 and ensures that none of the straps is twisted. The person places the shoulder straps 12 and 13 on his/her respective shoulders with the back pad assembly 24 draped across his/her back. The chest straps 17 and 18 are interconnected across the person's chest, and each leg strap 22 and 23 are secured to a respective back strap 15 or 16. The straps should be adjusted to the extent necessary to arrive at a snug, comfortable fit.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment and a particular application, this disclosure will enable those skilled in the art to recognize additional embodiments and/or applications which fall within the scope of the present invention.

Accordingly, the scope of the present invention should be limited only to the extent of the following claims.