GB2176994A - Safety harness and parts thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

A safety harness includes a waist belt provided by an abrasion resistant strap 10, a buckle 11 for securing the strap 10 around a user's waist and a resilient, non-absorbent foam pad 12 slidably mounted on the strap 10 inwardly thereof. A suspension web 14 is adjustably attached to the strap 10 by an element 15 and carries a snap hook 16 for engaging an attachment element (not shown) at a location on the strap 10 generally opposite the element 15. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Safety harness and parts thereof This invention relates to safety harness and parts thereof.

It is known to provide a safety harness in the form of a belt which is secured around the waist of a user and to attach a loop at two places on the belt. The loop extends, in use, around an upright close to which the user is working, whereby the user can lean back against the support provided by the belt and loop. In such harness a substantial proportion of the user's weight thus acts on the belt, which may have to be worn for a considerable time. It is a disadvantage of existing harnesses of the foregoing type that they are very uncomfortable and can cause at least minor injuries to an operator, even in normal use. It is one object of the invention to provide a harness waist belt in which the above disadvantages are reduced or overcome.

Since the aforesaid loop must be passed around the upright it is usual to provide at least one end of the loop with a snap hook for engagement with a ring at one of the aforesaid locations on the belt. It is necessary that the snap hook shall be such as to prevent accidental disengagement and preferably also that it shall engage the ring on the belt without causing discomfort to a user. It is an object of a further aspect of the invention to provide a snap hook in which the foregoing requirements are met without any reduction in the strength of the hook.

According to one aspect of the invention a waist belt for a safety harness comprises an abrasion resistant webbing strap, a buckle for securing said strap around the waist of a user, two attachment elements for a suspension web, at spaced locations on said strap, and a resilient foam pad mounted on said strap for sliding movement lengthwise thereof, said pad lying inwardly of said strap relative to the body of a user.

Preferably said pad has a width of not less than 100 mm.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a hook for attaching an end of said suspension web to an attaching element on the aforesaid belt, said hook comprising an integral part formed at one end with a hook portion and at the other end with an elongate aperture for receiving said suspension web, said integral part being formed so that said ends are in mutually perpendicular planes, a spring-loaded closure for said hook portion and a spring-loaded latch for retaining said closure in its closed position, whereby said latch must be operated against its spring to enabie the closure to be opened.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a safety harness comprising a waist belt as aforesaid, a loop having one end adjustably secured to said belt at one location thereon, and a snap hook as aforesaid secured to the other end of said loop for engagement with an attachment element at a second location on said belt.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a pictorial view of a safety harness, Figure 2 is a pictorial view, to an enlarged scale, of a snap hook forming part of the harness of Figure 1, and Figure 3 is an enlarged section on line 3--3 in Figure 1.

The harness shown in Figure 1 comprises a waist belt 10 of lightweight abrasion resistant webbing 50 mm of a type obtainable from A.S.E. Kangol of Carlisle, England and conforming to British Standard 3254. One end of the belt 10 is provided with a slide buckle of a known type for securing the belt 10 around the body of a user. A resilient foam pad assembly 12 is mounted on the belt 10 inwardly thereof relative to the body of a user and is provided with loops 13 secured to the pad 12 and through which the belt 10 is freely slidable. Secured to the belt 10 at two locations are attachment elements for a suspension web 14 which is of the same material as the belt 10. One of the attachment elements is indicated at 15 and comprises a slide buckle having its centre bar secured to the belt 10 and providing a secure adjustable engagement for one end of the web 14.The other end of the web 14 is provided with a snap hook 16, shown in more detail in Figure 2, the hook 16 being engageable with a D ring (not shown) secured to the belt 10 at a location thereon opposite to that of the element 15.

As shown in Figure 2 the hook 16 comprises an integral steel plate 17 machined at one end to provide a hook portion 18 and having its other end twisted through 90 and having a slot 19 formed therein for receiving a loop on the web 14. A closure 20 for the hook portion 18 is pivotally mounted on the plate 17 and is biased into engagement with an extremity of the hook portion by means of a spring 21. A latch 22 is also pivotally mounted on the plate 17 and is biased by a spring 23 into a position (shown) in which a stud 24 on the closure 20 is engaged, to prevent movement of the closure 20 to an open position. Depression of the latch 22 against the spring 23 allows the stud 24to move into a cut away portion 25 of the latch 22 and the closure 20 to be depressed against the spring 21.The use of a formed plate 17 as described above gives a considerable improvement in strength over a cast or forged part of generally corresponding form.

The foam pad assembly 12 is 710 mm long and 100 mm wide. As shown in Figure 3 the assembly 12 comprises an 8.0 mm thick pad 26 of closed cell polyurethane foam, our similar non-absorbant foam.

Two strips 27, 28, of the same material as the belt 10 extend side by side along the whole length of the pad 26. A knitted cotton cover 29 extends over the pad 26 and strips 27, 28. The join in the cover 29 is covered by a strong tape 30, and the pad 26, strips 27, 28, cover 29 and tape 30 are secured together by stitching, indicated at 31, in two places.

As shown in Figure 1 the belt 10 may have tool loops 32 stitched thereon and a carrying ring 33 preferably secured to the belt 10 by means of a further transverse loop 34 so that the ring 33 may hang downwardly even if the harness is worn inverted from the orientation shown in Figure 1.

Preferably the web 14 carries a broad webbing reinforcement 34 which is freely slidable lengthwise of the web 14, being supported thereon by transverse straps 35.

It has been found that a harness as described above may be worn for long periods without discomfort. This arises largely from the nature and construction of the pad assembly 12 and is contributed to by the hook 16 which does not exert iocal pressure on a user's body.

In alternative embodiments the belt 10 and web 14 may be of commercially available safety harness webbing to British Standard 5750, available from Marling Mills, Leek, England under the designation Albertson specification.

Claims (6)

1. A waist belt for a safety harness, comprising an abrasion resistant webbing strap, a buckle for securing said strap around the waist of a user, two attachment elements for a suspension web/ art spaced locations on said strap, and a resilient foam pad mounted on said strap for sliding movement lengthwise thereof, said pad lying inwardly of said strap relative to the body of a user.

2. A belt as claimed in Claim 1 in which said pad comprises a core of non-absorbent plastics foam enclosed in a fabric cover.

3. A belt as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2 in which said pad is provided with loops through which said strap passes, whereby said pad is captive on said strap.

4. A hook for use in a safety harness, comprising an integral part formed at one end with a hook portion and at the other end with an elongate aperture for receiving said suspension web, said integral part being formed so that said ends are in mutually perpendicular planes, a spring-loaded closure for said hook portion and a spring-loaded latch for retaining said closure in its closed position, whereby said latch must be operated against its spring to enable the closure to be opened.

5. A waist belt substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6. A hook for use in a safety harness, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.