CA2389700A1

CA2389700A1 - An integrated full body harness personal flotation device

Info

Publication number: CA2389700A1
Application number: CA 2389700
Authority: CA
Inventors: Kevin Alan England
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-07-02
Filing date: 2002-07-02
Publication date: 2004-01-02

Abstract

The currently available Personal Flotation Devices (PFD's) commonly include a chest harness and shoulder straps which can be used for rope attachment for underwater entrapment extraction purposes. This invention utilizes a load bearing waist harness in conjunction with the standard chest harness. The shoulder straps extend via a sleeve to the chest and waist harnesses such that any load applied to the shoulders will be transferred to these harnesses with an equal distribution of force. This greatly decreases the chance that the PFD will be pulled off the victim in an entrapment rescue situation.

Description

Specification:
This invention relates to a Personal Flotation Device (I'FD) to be used in the sports of whitewater kayaking, canoeing, and rafting.
It is generally accepted that any PDF, that is to be used in a whitevvater rescue operation where ropes are also involved, will have an integrated chest harness system.
When operating a rescue on a victim of an underwater entrapment a rope is usually attached to the shoulder strap of the PFD that the victim is w~:arin~, as this is the most easily available attachment point. ()fter~ when a force is al~pii~ud to the rope attached to a shoulder strap the shoulder strap will simply fail and the victim will remain entrapped.
This situation has been addressed by most of the reputaible 1'FL) manufacturers, and PED's that are designed to be used in conditions where this type o!Fentrapment is a considerable danger now commonly have load bearing shoulder straps which extend to the chest harness. 'This does increase the safety of these devices, however when considerable force is applied to the shoulder straps of such I'FD's the force is transferred directly to the chest harness, which (as the chest is the widest point on the torso of most people) can subsequently be pulled off the body of the victim, especially if the victim is unconscious.
To remedy this problem and ensure a securely fitted PFD I have utilized a load bearing waist harness in conjunction with the standard chest harness. Load bearing shoulder straps extend from the waist harness (rear) over the shoulders and down through sleeves on the front of the body of the PFD to the chest and waist harnesses. The attachment point which joins the shoulder straps to the chest harness allow a certain amount of movement before the chest harness takes up the load. 'I"his allows the load to be transferred directly to the waist harness for a limited degree of~ movement, at which point the load is taken in approximately equal amounts by the chest and waist harnesses. This prevents the PFD from Iaeing pul ied off the victim far more successfully than any previous design.

In drawings which illustrate this invention figure 1 is a front view, figure 2 is a rear view and figures 3 and 4 are front and side views of the front portion of strap 6 of figures 1 and 2.
The PFD has 2 buoyancy chambers, 1 and 2, which are constructed from 45mm thick sheets of Airex foam. These are covered on the outer side by 1000 denier Cordura cloth, and on the inside by a cargo mesh type material to allow water drainage.
The chest harness 3 is 45mm nylon car seat belt type webbing, secured at the front with a 45mm Fixlock hinge buckle for adjustablity and a secure fastening.
The waist harness 4 is 45mm nylon car seat belt type webbing and 25mm tubular nylon webbing, secured by a 25mm polished aluminium alloy buckle 10 which is adjustable and secure.
The guides 9 are 1000 denier Cordura cloth and allow the waist harness 9 to pass freely through, for adjustability and a snug Via.
The shoulder straps 6 are 25mm tubular nylon webbing with 25mm polished aluminium alloy buckles ? which are adjustable and secure. The shoulder straps are sewn onto the PFD on the back, except where (point I 1 ) the chest harness 3 passes under them. The shoulder straps pass through sleeves 8 on the front of the PFD where the chest harness 3 passes through loops created by stitched areas 14 , 15 anti extending down to the waist harness 4 where the waist harness passes through a loop in the shoulder strap b created by stitching 15.
When shoulder strap 6 is loaded in an upward direction., it will slide freely through sleeves 8 and thus load the waist harness. This sliding movement is permitted by the loop created by stitching 14 and 15. When the shoulder strap 6 slides in an upward direction to such a point as the chest harness encounters stitching 15 at point 13 the chest harness will also take up the load. This creates a spread of load between the chest harness 3 and the waist harness 4.

Claims

1. A personal flotation device for increased safety in whitewater rescue situations, where the chest and waist harnesses are attached to the shoulder straps in such a way as to allow even distribution of load between these two harnesses.

2. A personal flotation device as described in claim 1 where the shoulder straps pass through sleeves to allow free movement in an upward direction, thus facilitating the loading of the waist harness before tension is taken on the chest harness.