SAFETY HARNESS

The present invention relates to a safety harness.

When suspended in known types of safety harness, the majority of the person's weight is supported on the groin straps which is uncomfortable and can lead to venous pooling and other medical complications.

The provision of a footloop located at the end of an additional strap connectable to the harness allows a person who is suspended in a harness to stand up and therefore reduce the pressure on the groin and other parts of the body.

Such footloops are known but these are separate units which must be attached to the harness. They therefore have the risk of being left behind or incorrectly attached. They also add extra bulk and clutter to a harness causing further inconvenience to the wearer.

The invention seeks to remove these risks by incorporating a footloop into a harness and providing a stowed position within an existing component of the harness.

According to the present invention there is provided a safety harness provided with at least one user support means for supporting a foot or leg of the wearer, said at least one user support means being selectively configurable between a stowed configuration, wherein the user support means is retained on or in the remaining structure of the harness, and an active configuration, wherein the user support means hangs down so that it may provide support for one or more of the user's legs.

Preferably the user support means is permanently attached to the remainder of the harness.

When in the stowed configuration, the user support means may be retained within the existing structure of the harness.

In a preferred embodiment, the user support means comprises a support loop attached at either end to the remaining structure of the harness. Preferably the support loop, when in its stowed configuration, is located beneath a flap covering a strap portion of the harness or within a pocket provided on a portion of the harness. The flap may be provided with releasable securing means, such as a hook and loop fastener, to releasably secure the flap over the support loop when in its stowed configuration.

In one embodiment means may be provided to automatically deploy the user support means from its stowed configuration to its active configuration in the event of a fall. Alternatively, the user support means may be manually deployable from its stowed configuration to its active configuration in the event of a fall.

Figure 1 is a front view of a safety harness according to an embodiment of the present invention with the support loop in the stowed configuration;

Figure 2 is a front view of the harness of Fig. 1 with the support loop in the active configuration; and

Figure 3 is a front view of the harness of Fig. 1 with the support loop in the stowed configuration with the covering flap open.

As illustrated in the drawings, a safety harness according to embodiment of the present invention comprising a pair of leg straps 1 , arranged to extend around the wearer's thighs, and a pair of shoulder straps 2, arranged to pass over the user's shoulders. A sit strap 3 extends between the leg straps 1. A dorsal lanyard connection point 4 is provided at the intersection of the shoulder straps for connection to a lanyard whereby the wearer can be suspended by the harness in the event of a fall.

In the event of a fall, the wearer's weight is mostly supported by the leg straps 1 , causing a constriction around the wearer's thighs that can greatly increase venous pooling in the legs, increasing the risk of suspension trauma. To mitigate this, a length of webbing, tape, cord or similar material is attached to each side of the harness so as to form a loop 5 extending beneath the strap which can be used to support the wearer's weight by placing the wearers feet or knees in the loop, thus relieving a proportion of the user's weight from the leg straps 1.

Adjustment means 6 may be provided so that the length of the loop 5 may be altered to fit different users.

The loop 5 is adapted to be selectively configurable between a stowed position, whereby it is retained within an existing part of the harness, such as the sit strap 3, and an active position wherein the loop 5 extends below the remainder of the harness, as shown in Fig. 2.

When in its stowed configuration, the loop 5 is covered by a releasable flap 7. When the loop is required to be moved to its active configuration, the flap 7 can be released allowing the loop 5 to drop down to the user's feet. The user may then stand in the loop 5 or alternatively if the user is unconscious a second person may fit the loop 5 under the user's knees.

The releasable flap 7 may be retained over the loop 5 by means of a releasable fastening means, such as hook and loop fastening. The flap 7 may be provided with a rip cord or similar means for quickly opening the flap to release the loop 5 in the event of a fall.

In an alternative embodiment, not shown, the loop 5 may be retained within a pouch or pocket provided on a portion of the harness when in its stowed configuration.

The loop may be arranged to automatically move from its stowed to its active configuration in the event of a fall. Such may be achieved by locating the loop within a pocket provided on a strap portion of the harness, preferably a vertical portion, and folding the strap portion back upon itself (possibly triple thickness) and securing the folds of the strap to one another by weak stitching, such stitching being arranged to be ruptured in the event of a fall such that the strap portion elongates and pulls the loop 3 out of the pocket and into its active configuration. Alternatively the rupturable stitching may merely release the loop without actively pulling the loop from the pocket.

Various modifications and variations to the described embodiment of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Although the invention has been described in connection with a specific preferred embodiment, it should be understood that the invention as claimed should not be unduly limited to such specific embodiment.

For example, rather than a loop as described above, one or more strap portions may be provided, each strap portion being attached at one end to

the harness, preferably one on each side of the harness, and each strap portion being provided with a loop at a distal end thereof into which the user may insert their foot or knee to enable the user's weight to be borne by said strap portions.