| US20120017360A1 | 2012-01-26 | |||
| US20090023352A1 | 2009-01-22 | |||
| US7353572B2 | 2008-04-08 | |||
| US0641316A | 1900-01-16 |
| CLAIMS What is claimed is: 1. A safety harness, lanyard, and hook assembly to be used by a person for fall arrest purposes wherein the safety harness comprises a. one knitted piece or two knitted panels sewn together in front and back; b. a zipper in the front; c. a T-strap loop in the back to be used as a tie-off point and d. optional front or side tie-off points and wherein the lanyard and hook component comprises a. a knitted core made of two tubular or interlock straps that are sewn together; b. a weaved tubular outer strap; c. a top and a bottom portion hook, having an open orientation and a closed orientation wherein a closed orientation completes a closed ellipse shape; d. a pivot sleeve to join the said top and said bottom hook portions; e. a self-closing spring; f. a self-locking plunger mechanism. 2. The safety harness of claim 1 wherein the main body can be a one piece continuously knitted design with a tubular and interlock stitch. 3. The safety harness of claim 1 wherein the main body can be a two piece continuously knitted design with a tubular and interlock stitch. 4. The safety harness of claim 1 wherein one complete piece or two pieces are sewn together to construct a one piece half body suit that covers the torso and buttocks to three inches to just below the groin area. 5. The safety harness of claim 1 wherein the continuously knitted design consists of vertically and horizontally knitted straps that form rectangular holes. 6. The safety harness of claim 5 wherein the vertically and horizontally knitted straps that form the rectangular holes are made by a method of flat bed knitting of binding off and picking up at the bottom and top of holes. 7. The safety harness of claim 1 consisting of an inseam cuff and an outer seam cuff that is knitted in a tubular pattern on a 30 degree slope to fit around each leg. 8. The safety harness of claim 7 wherein the inseam cuff and outer seam cuff around each leg consists of tubular knitting used to insert a strap to aide in ease of wear. 9. The safety harness of claim 1 includes a horizontal band knitted just below the underarms around the entire garment body allowing for the same point of attachment for all sizes. 10. The safety harness of claim 9 wherein the horizontal band is to be used for placement of the back tie-off attachment point. 1 1. The safety harness of claim 1 wherein a woven T-shaped strap is used as a back tie-off point for fall protection. 5 12. The safety harness of claim 1 can include a knitted strap that is placed vertically, one strap on the right and one strap on left of the zipper on top portion or bottom portion of harness to be used as front tie-off points for repelling or extraction only. 13. The safety harness of claim 1 includes a vertical knitted band in the front of the main body used for placement of the zipper. 10 14. The safety harness of claim 13 wherein a coil zipper with locking slider is sewn on each side of the vertical band to secure the harness closed. 15. The safety harness of claim 14 wherein the locking slider feature on the zipper is used as the primary method to secure the zipper closed. 16. The safety harness of claim 1 wherein the half body suit will be made in four different sizes 15 and custom sizes. 17. The lanyard of claim 1 wherein the core consists of two tubular or two interlock straps knitted with elastic and nylon twisted yarns that are sewn together. 18. The lanyard of claim 17 wherein the knitted core is interlock stitched together in the middle along its length. 20 19. The lanyard of claim 18 wherein the knitted core is inserted into a woven tubular outer strap to create a secondary protection cover of the lanyard. 20. The safety hook of claim 1 wherein a top and a bottom portion lay together opposing each other to create a scissor action that can open and close at the pivot point. 21. The safety hook of claim 1 can be made of aluminum. 5 22. The safety hook of claim 1 when made of composite material makes the hook non- conductive. 23. The safety hook of claim 1 wherein the top and bottom portions are joined by a pivot sleeve. 24. The safety hook of claim 23 wherein the pivot sleeve is made of two pieces of plastic tube that are screwed and glued together to secure the hook. 25. The safety hook of claim 1 wherein the lanyard is looped into the pivot sleeve, doubled over and sewn together. 26. The safety hook of claim 1 wherein the opening of the two hooks is for the connection of a rope, cable or fall protection attachment. 27. The safety hook of claim 1 wherein a spring along the pivot point, allows for it to self-close. 28. The safety hook of claim 1 wherein the self-locking plunger when pulled away from the hook releases the lock. 29. The safety hook of claim 28 wherein the self-locking plunger automatically locks the hook once it is in the closed position. |
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates generally to personal fall arrest systems, in particular to lanyards with safety hooks and safety harnesses to be worn by a person to protect that person from injury in case of a fall. The harness and lanyard with safety hooks is designed to safely support a person being lifted or lowered as well as to sufficiently distribute fall arrest forces across the wearer's body and reduce injury if the harness is properly used as part of a fall arrest system.
BACKGROUND ART Safety harnesses and lanyards are widely used as part of a fall arrest system for persons working six feet or above and subjected to a fall from a height. While these harnesses and lanyards are generally used in the workplace, this system can be used in various other
applications in which total suspension and support of the body must be ensured. The safety concerns of fall protection systems include limiting the maximum arrest force, suspension trauma and restriction of the femoral artery in the leg. Fall protection systems are used to reduce arrest forces so that the impact of weight and distance of fall will not injure a person during a fall. Current harness systems do not significantly reduce forces to the body due to the limitation of its static straps. Suspension trauma occurs when a person is suspended in an upright position with legs dangling. Then the safety harness straps exert pressure on leg veins such as the femoral artery, compressing them and reducing blood flow back to the heart. Finally, the harness keeps the worker in an upright position, regardless of loss of consciousness, which is what can injury or kill the person. Comfort is also an issue because current systems can be heavy due to metal components, difficult to put on and uncomfortable to wear due to its straps.
Currently available full body safety harnesses typically are woven webbing material and include shoulder straps that are guided through a pad on the rear part of the harness worn on the person's back as described in U.S. Patent No. 6,804,830. The shoulder straps continue forward over the shoulders and after adjustment attach through buckles to a seat strap upon which the hindquarters of the wearer can rest and be supported. Adjustable leg straps attach to the seat strap through additional buckles to support the legs of the wearer. Although these harness types are well suited for fall protection, they cause discomfort to the user by, for example, impairing movement and digging into the body at the edges of the straps. During a fall arrest, the leg straps can also restrict blood flow in the femoral artery which can cause loss of consciousness, blood clots, and even death if the wearer hangs for an extended amount of time.
Lanyards as described in U.S. Patent No. 8,292,028, are a part of a fall arrest system that will aid in decelerating and arresting a user from impacting the ground after a fall. The need to minimize the arresting force is necessary so that the force of the fall is distributed to the harness and lanyard instead of the wearer's body.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The present invention is a fall arrest system comprising a safety harness and lanyard with safety hooks that is lightweight and uniquely designed as a half body suit comprising vertical and horizontal intersecting straps that create the body of the harness with a zipper front, a T-shaped loop on the back for a tie-off point, side and/or front tie-off points for the lanyard to attach.
The safety harness has elongation due to stitch design and by method of flat bed knitting which can minimize the arresting force. This design covers the body and the impact of the fall is distributed across the body and torso versus the stress to the shoulders, chest and leg straps. During a fall arrest, the present invention keeps the wearer in a 45 to 55 degree position and distributes fall arrest forces so there is less pressure and restriction to the leg veins, primarily the femoral artery. This can reduce the likelihood of suspension trauma.
Additionally, the present invention can be worn as a safety vest because there is enough area on the harness for reflective tape. The harness is designed to be easy to put on with minimal training, lightweight and comfortable due to its knitted structure and safe because there is minimal metal in the harness consisting of the zipper slider. The multiple tie-off points in front, back or sides can be used for lowering, repelling and extraction of the wearer.
The lanyard with safety hooks is constructed with a knitted core made of two tubular or interlock straps that are stitched together with a weaved tubular outer strap so that when a fall occurs, the stitching of the two core straps breaks allowing for elongation, gradual slow down and minimizing arresting forces. The safety hooks are aluminum or when made from hard composite material makes the lanyard non-conductive.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS FIG 1 A illustrates a front view of the safety half body suit under the present invention.
FIG I B illustrates a rear view of the safety half body suit under the present invention.
FIG 2 illustrates the image of the lanyard with safety hooks.
FIG 3A illustrates the image of the closed safety hook of which two are used in the lanyard. FIG 3B illustrates the images of the open safety hook. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
The fall arrest system harness should be unzipped and held open with both hands by the zipper then place one foot into appropriate leg of harness and repeat with the other foot. Harness is pulled up to groin then insert right elbow into right arm of harness followed by right hand and pull over the wearer's right shoulder. Insert left hand into left arm of harness and pull to left shoulder. Zip up the harness to the top and ensure the zipper slider is pressed down to lock. To attach the lanyard, one of the safety hooks should be unlocked by holding up the locking plunger cap and pushing the opposing hooks to slide apart. The open hook should then be secured onto the tie-off point of the harness and allowed to close to lock. The other safety hook to the lanyard shall be secured to a rope, cable or anchor point. The fall arrest system should be inspected before each use for tears or rips.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
According to OSHA's Safety and Health Regulations for Construction, Duty to have fall protection Standard Number: 1926.501, sets forth requirements for employers to provide fall protection systems. The invention shall be used as fall protection for work that is above six feet in the U.S. for commercial and residential construction and according to regulations set forth by regulations by each country. Other uses include fall protection with tree stands, repelling and rescue extraction.