"IMPROVEMENTS INTRODUCED IN SAFETY BELT FOR INDIVIDUAL PROTECTION IN THE USE OF LADDERS IN GENERAL".

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention refers to the improvements introduced in safety belt for individual protection in the use of ladders in general, more particularly used in safety equipment for professionals who perform services at heights, such as installation and/or maintenance of electric wires and' cables and others, cable TV installers, civil construction workers, workers who prune trees, among others; said safety belt has means of tying or safety belt applied to the upper ends of a ladder, preferentially those of the extensible type, and when it is still on the ground, that is, without being assembled in the work site; when the safety belt has already been installed, the ladder is positioned vertically and extended up to the support point; the belt, duly tied to the ladder, allows greater stability and safety for the user, as it configures an anchoring element for the fall arrester guide, known as "lifeline"; the safety belt also has visual means to indicate its wear after much use, thus preventing future accidents. FUNDAMENTS OF THE TECHNIQUE

As is generally known, companies from the telecommunication, light, cable TV and other sectors are undergoing great technological development and productivity. This development therefore intensifies the supply and installation of cables in general, usually overhead cables, as is common in the big cities, increasing the need for safety standards and equipment inspection by the professionals involved in the installations and services performed in electric poles, trees and vertical structures.

There are several types of individual protection equipment for services at heights that are mandatory. Their use, according to Regulatory Standard 6, includes the use of fall arrester installed in the "lifeline" that is attached to an anchoring point with a resistance of at least 15KN, applied to the activities where there is risk of fall from heights. Many accidents, even fatal ones or that cause illness, occur due to failure to use these safety equipment or due to their precariousness.

Currently, despite recent technical standards, there are still not adequate means of anchor the "lifeline" in overhead services, such as in

'ι electric poles and equivalent. The current means of tying the "lifeline" to the ladder or support structure of the professional are precarious and improvised, making a safe tying for conduction of the work impossible. The most convention way of tying the lifeline to the ladder is to place the ladder on the pole, tie the end of the rope, through knots, at the end of the ladder and then to climb up to the work point; thus, the operator can fasten the fall arrester to said rope or "lifeline" and work. If the knots come loose or the operator loses his balance, the knots are too weak to arrest the fall.

During researches to elaborate this report, a way of tying the lifeline was found, in the form of a reinforced band, synthetic rubber, for example, having a central coating made of friction-causing material to come in contact with the surface of the pole or tree, band whose ends have two loops. Said band, to be used by the professional as a safety element, must have its ends tied to the "lifeline" and must be thrown manually at a certain height of the pole so as to envelop it. The loops of the band are then turned to face the operator, who must climb the ladder, throw the other end of the band so as to

configure the tying of the "lifeline", thus being able to install the fall arrester in said rope. Thus stretched, the ends of thfe band force the friction-causing central part to remain stationary in the pole, trying to keep the body of the professional stabilized while he works supporting himself on the ladder. This band, as you can see, besides being difficult to install, as it depends on the operator's skill, has as its greatest inconvenience the fact that the operator must climb up to the tying point without any safety, that is, he climbs at the end of the ladder, already positioned to finish installing the lifeline. If there is any sliding during installation, there are no means to support the operator. Another inconvenience of this conventional means is its weakness because if the professional loses balance or forces his body forward, the band becomes slack, causing the professional to lose the desired stability during the work. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE OBJECT With the aim of making improvements in the market in question, the applicant developed improvements introduced in safety belt for individual protection.more particularly used in safety equipment during use of ladders in general, such as extensible portable or conventional ladders by professionals of overhead services, such as application and/or maintenance of cabling in general, cable TV installers, civil construction workers who prune trees, among others.

Said safety belt is preferentially made of thick straps of polyester, polyamide wefts or similar, having means of tying to the ladder and to the professional, more precisely, such means of tying being applied to the free upper ends of the ladder, at the original bar of the ladder.

Tying is done with the ladder still retracted because, once suspended on the support location on the pole or other similar structure, the safety belt, duly tied to the ladder, immediately configures an anchorage point for the operator, allowing greater stability and safety, as it configures means of anchoring for installation of the fall arrester assembly.

The main configuration of the safety belt comprises a main strap with a pair of extreme main loops formed by the folding of the free ends of the main strap that, όrice fόTded are sewn and glued, in addition to containing, at these sewn points, Velcro straps, arranged orthogonally to the main strap, so as to form elements of final tying, detailed further on.

The median part of the belt is folded once or more times so as to form a central folding, configuririg an appendix, whose contact surfaces, during folding, are joined by the sewing and glue, forming the anchoring point of the fall arrester assembly. The main strap allows for, on the surface opposite the appendix, application by sewing or gluing of a secondary strap of structural reinforcement, which extends laterally and symmetrically in relation to the appendix, with folds at the free ends that, joined by sewing and glue, forming another pair of secondary reinforcement loops. The main loops, secondary reinforcement loops and anchoring appendix are coated with tubular bands, made of fabric different from that which makes up the main strap and reinforcement strap, also of a contrasting color, forming elements liable to indicate wear of the safety belt due to friction between it and the tying points, that is, when the professional is able to view the color of the main strap and/or secondary strap of the safety belt, it is

time to recover the belt, thus preventing future accidents, allowing quick identification that the equipment's material is worn out.

The means of tying the safety belt to the ladder are through the following stages: a) fit the main loops of the safety belt to the upper ends of the extensible ladder, when the ladder is still on the ground, such that the anchoring appendix faces the operator; b) enlace, with ^" each one of the ends of the main ^" strap, the vicinities of the main loops; c) fit the secondary reinforcement loobs, which remained after the enlaces of the ends of the main strap, at the upper ends of the ladder such that they overlap the main loops; d) connect the spring hook to the anchoring appendix of the belt, tying the rope of the fall arrester to the spring hook; e) connect the rope from the appendix of the safety belt to the fall arrester of the professional's belt, thus forming the safety element during the service;

! f) climb the ladder and tie it to the pole; g) enlace each pair formed by the main and secondary straps, with the corresponding orthogonal Velcro strap, enlacing, together, the ends of the metal bar of the extensible ladder;

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

To complement this description in order to obtain better understanding of this invention's characteristics and according to a preferential practical embodiment, a set of drawings are included herein, in annex, to

accompany the description, representing in exemplified but not limitative manner the following: figure 1 is a perspective view of the safety belt, according to the preferential version, that is, two rrjaϊn loops, two secondary loops and the anchoring appendix; figure 2 shows an exploded section of the coated safety belt portion with the contrasting fabric; figures 3; 4, 5 and 6 are exploded views of the safety belt in the extensible ladder; figure 7 shows the position of the safety belt on the ladder and the ladder in front of the pole and the entire assembly applied in relation to the professional; figure 8 shows a perspective view of a second embodiment of the safety belt, in a simplified composition, that is, with two main loops arid an ^• anchoring appendix; and figure 9 shows a perspective view of a third embodiment of the safety belt, showing the impact absorber. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE OBJECT

With references to the illustrated drawings, this invention refers to the "IMPROVEMENTS INTRODUCED IN SAFETY BELT FOR INDIVIDUAL PROTECTION USED IN LADDERS IN GENERAL", more precisely a safety belt (1) particularly used as anchoring system for safety equipment for professionals (O) of overhead services, such as installation and/or maintenance of cables in electric poles (P) and towers, installers of cable TV cabling, civil construction workers, workers who prune trees, among others.

Said safety belt (1) is preferentially made of thick straps (T) of polyester, polyamide wefts or similar provided with rubber filaments configuring an elastic fabric, which has means of tying (MA) to the ladder (E) and to the professional (O), more precisely, said means of tying being applied at the free upper ends (E1) and (E2) of the extensible or conventional ladder (E), at the original bar (B) of the ladder, configuring means of anchoring (MG) for installation of the lifeline, where the fall arrester (Q) assembly is installed, in addition to having coating elements (G) of parts of the belt (1) that allow viewing the wear of the safety belt (1). The belt (1) is tied with the ladder (E) still retracted because, once it is suspended on the support location on the pole (P) or other similar structure, the safety belt (1) duly tied to the ladder immediately configures an anchoring point for the professional (O).

According to a main embodiment of the safety belt (1) (see figure 1), it includes a main strap (2) with a pair of extreme main loops (2a), formed by folding (D1) the free ends of the main strap that, once folded, are

I sewn (C) and glued (L), in addition to containing in these sewing points Velcro straps (3a), arranged orthogonally to the main strap (2) in order to form final tying elements, detailed further on herein. The median part of the belt (1) is folded one or more times in order to form a central folding (D2), configuring an anchoring appendix (4), whose contact surfaces, during the folding (D2) are joined through the sewing (C) and glue (L), forming the anchoring point of the fall arrester assembly (Q).

The main strap (2) foresees on the side opposite the

I appendix (4) application by sewing (C) and glue (L) of a secondary strap for

structural reinforcement (5), which is extended laterally and symmetrically in relation to the appendix (4), having folds (D3) in the free ends that, joined by sewing (C) and glue (L), form another pair of secondary reinforcement loops (5a). The main loops (2a), secondary reinforcement loops (5a) and the anchoring appendix (4) are coated by tubular tapes (6), made of fabric different from that which makes up the main strap and reinforcement strap, also of a contrasting color, forming elementis liable to indicate wear of the safety belt due to friction between it and the tying points, that is, when the professional is able to view the color of the main strap and/or secondary strap of the safety belt, it is time to recover the belt, thus preventing future accidents.

In a second and simplified embodiment of the safety belt (1 ') (see figure 8), the main strap (2 ¹ ) develops a pair of main loops (2a ¹ ) and (2b ¹ ), which have in the sewing points (C) a pair of Velcro straps (3') and (3a ¹ ), arranged orthogonally in order to conforrpe tying elements.

In a third embodiment, the median part of the belt (T) is elongated, being folded several times longitudinally (DL), forming multiple juxtaposed layers joined by sewing (C) configuring an impact absorber (Al), so that in case of a possible fall, the multiple juxtaposed layers are unstitched, absorbing the impact of the fall.

The means of tying (MA) of the safety belt (1) on the ladder (E) is through the following stages: a) fit the extreme main loops (2a) of the safety belt (1) in the upper ends (E1) and (E2) of the ladder (E) when it is on the ground, such that the anchoring appendix (4) faces the operator (O);

b) enlace the main straps (2a) through the secondary reinforcement straps (5a); c) fit the secondary reinforcement loops (5a) in the upper ends (E1)/(E2) of ladder (E) such that they overlap the main loops (2a); d) connect the spring hook (M) to the anchoring appendix (4) of the belt (1), tying the rope (D) to the spring hook (M); e) connect the rope (C) to the fall arrester (Q), forming the user's anchoring (O). f) climb the ladder (E) and tie it to the poje (P); g) enlace the main straps (2a) arid secondary straps (5a) through the orthogonal Velcro straps (3a), together with the metal bar (B) of the extensible ladder (E).

It is certain that when this invention is put into practice, modifications may be introduced with regard to certain constructive details and form, without this implying leaving the fundamental principles that are clearly substantiated in the claims, it thus being understood that the terminology used had the purpose of describing and not of limiting.