EP0584521B1 - Safety harness for persons working in exposed and/or high places - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a safety harness for a person working in exposed and/or high places, having means arranged in the region of the upper body for attaching a rope with a holding function like a mast securing rope. The safety harness comprises a back strap (6) and adjoining hip straps (5) with fasteners (34) at their ends, a pair of rear or front strap sections (31, 9) which start from the back, cross over at the level of the shoulder blades and are passed over the shoulders. The front strap sections (9a, 9b) merge into a seat strap (8) from whose middle region leg straps (36a, 36b) extend with connecting elements (35) arranged at their ends for attachment in each case to a rear strap section (31). To introduce and distribute forces onto the back strap (6) and the seat strap (8), it is proposed that the back strap (6) and the seat strap (8) have a connecting element (1a, 1b) in the strap region (4) towards the hip strap (5) on both sides of the body, which connecting element is designed as a means for attaching the rope with the holding function or comprises such an attachment means. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a safety harness for securing a person when working on exposed and / or high-altitude workplaces, with means arranged in the region of the upper body for attaching a rope with a holding function, such as a mast safety rope, comprising a back strap and adjoining abdominal straps with terminal closures, a pair of Back or front belt sections, starting at the back of the shoulder and crossing over the shoulders, the front belt sections merging into a seat belt, from the central region of which leg straps extend with connecting elements arranged at their ends for connection to the rear belt sections.

Safety harnesses are known and correspond in function and structure to the German industry standard DIN 7478. They can be used in different but similar embodiments as work belts, abseiling belts, safety belts or rescue belts. At workplaces where there is a risk of falling, the personnel can only be secured with safety harnesses of the type of work belt if other technical protective measures are inappropriate. Depending on the application, they consist of the full body harness in conjunction with a lanyard, e.g. rope, tape or devices such as rope shorteners or energy absorbers.

A full body harness according to DIN 7478 essentially consists of a number of belt parts, the task of which is to introduce forces acting on the body from the outside as gently as possible into the body, in such a way that as many parts of the body as possible when supported are subjected to a load distribution that is as uniform as possible, at least in such a way that unpleasant or fatigue-causing stresses are avoided. Furthermore, in the event of a fall, a body-appropriate, particularly favorable posture of the person when hanging in the safety harness is to be achieved, by means of which the physiological stresses are reduced as much as possible, at least to the extent that a critical condition with pressure complaints and pain from belt parts and in particular critical changes in the systolic and dyastolic blood pressure or critical changes in pulse rate and respiratory rate are largely avoided for as long as possible.

Harnesses of the type mentioned are known from DE-U-89 14 878. They have stop rings arranged at the transition points between the back belt and the abdominal belt, which are used to hook in a safety rope, e.g. B. are provided when working on vertical elements such as masts or beams. With these two-strand harnesses and seat belts, the forces required to maintain body balance were mainly introduced only into the abdominal belt or the back belt and thus into the back support. With this force application, which only supports the cross, under normal working conditions both signs of fatigue and compulsive postures resulted comparatively quickly, leading to cramping and thus to work disability. In addition, the body was constricted in the event of a fall due to the unfavorable points of attack on the safety rope, which could result in health impairments and critical conditions with a risk of shock after a relatively short period of time.

From AT-B-383 493 a safety harness is known, which has means arranged in the area of the upper body for attaching a rope with a holding function, as well as a lap belt and a pair of rear and front belt sections starting from the back, crossing at shoulder blade height and passing over the shoulders connected by leg tires. The rear belt sections are connected at the lower end by a web-like seat belt. The rear and front belt sections cross at the sides at waist level and means for attaching the rope with a holding function are formed at the crossing point.

The invention has for its object to reduce or overcome the aforementioned difficulties and disadvantages by improved equipment of a harness of the type mentioned in the preamble of claim 1.

• Der Auffanggurt soll den Träger in jeder Bewegungsphase wie z. B. das Ersteigen eines Mastes oder vertikalen Bauteils und das Ausführen von Arbeiten optimal sichern und unterstützen.
• Der Auffanggurt soll Mittel zum individuellen Einstellen möglichst günstig gelegener Krafteinleitungspunkte in das Gurtgeschirr und von diesem in den Körper aufweisen, um eine Ermüdung bei der Ausführung einer Tätigkeit an exponierten und mitunter hochgelegenen Arbeitsstellen weitgehend zu vermeiden.
• Der Auffanggurt soll im Falle eines Sturzes den Körper in Auffanglage in einer solchen Position halten und die auftretenden Kräfte auf eine Vielzahl von hierfür besonders geeigneten Körperpartien verteilen und abstützen, daß das Eintreten physiologischer Beeinträchtigungen bis hin zum Schockzustand möglichst weitgehend und möglichst über lange Zeiträume hinweg vermieden wird.

The object of the invention is to meet the following requirements:

• The full body harness should support the wearer in every phase of movement, e.g. B. optimally secure and support the climbing of a mast or vertical component and the execution of work.
• The full body harness should have means for individually setting force introduction points in the belt harness and from there into the body in a way that is as favorable as possible in order to largely avoid fatigue when carrying out an activity at exposed and sometimes high-altitude work places.
• In the event of a fall, the full body harness should hold the body in such a position in the fall position and distribute and support the forces that occur over a large number of particularly suitable parts of the body so that the occurrence of physiological impairments up to the state of shock is avoided as far as possible and as long as possible becomes.

To achieve the object is proposed with the invention for a harness to secure a person when working on exposed and / or high-altitude workplaces of the type mentioned in the preamble of the main claim that the back belt and seat belt in the belt area to the waist belt have a connecting element on both sides of the body, which as Means for attaching a rope with a holding function is formed or contains such an attachment means.

By means of this design according to the invention, the forces in the new safety harness are divided both when carrying out work and in the event of a fall on the buttocks and back. The forces introduced into the buttocks via the seat belt are also partially absorbed by the person's thighs because the leg straps are attached to the seat belt. The back belt and seat belt result in a force distribution in the interaction of the load absorption by the leg straps, in which the body is supported and held in a position which is perceived as pleasant, similar to the seat and back of an armchair (FIG. 1).

According to the invention it is further proposed that each connecting element preferably have connecting elements with adjusting means on both sides, to which a first longitudinally adjustable on the belt area between the abdominal belt and back belt and a second connecting element in each case longitudinally adjustable on the seat belt can be attached. This measure allows the distribution of the forces on the back belt and seat belt to be adjusted individually and very sensitively. A distribution of forces which is perceived as particularly pleasant is achieved if the means for attaching a rope with a holding function are designed as flexible eyelets, preferably consisting of a sewn, textile belt piece or a metal rope piece. It is expedient that the belt piece forming the textile eyelet and integral with the front belt section is turned over by 180 ° to form a loop receiving the connecting ring, and the area of the cover is held by a textile sleeve, the ring with the loop being held by a first slot as an adjusting means arranged buckle is inserted, and the seat belt is inserted through a second slot of the buckle and through the ring, is wrapped around the ring and is returned through the second slot of the buckle to form an adjustment mechanism. The stop eyelet advantageously has a stiffener made of different materials such as metal or plastic (FIG. 3).

A particularly wear-resistant lifting eye is obtained if the means for attaching a rope with a holding function are designed as a metallic ring release, which is preferably held in a belt piece connecting the connecting elements. The connecting belt piece is expediently driven into the ring eyelet at an approximately right angle, one end of which is guided around and returned to the outer web of an adjusting buckle arranged as an adjusting means and sewn in this area, preferably to the rear belt section, which comes from below the middle web of the buckle 41 is put around and fed to the seam area. The other end of the connecting belt piece is loosely wrapped around the seat belt to form a guide loop and is sewn to itself, both the connecting element to the leg belt being attached to the guide loop and the connecting element with an adjustment buckle as the adjusting means, and the seat belt coming from below, looped back over the middle bar of the adjustment buckle and pulled through the guide loop (FIG. 5).

On the other hand, the front shoulder belt sections, starting from the shoulders, run approximately parallel to the lateral body contours through the connection between the back and abdominal belts to the leg straps or to the seat belt and are connected to a horizontal belt web to which the safety rope is attached, the shoulder strap sections are drawn towards one another when they are loaded and thereby lift off the chest area of the body. As a result, the attachment point assumes a position that cannot be predetermined precisely, which causes the person to oscillate and, under certain circumstances, can lead to injuries in the neck and head area of the person.

According to a further embodiment of the invention, it is provided in the new safety harness that the front shoulder belt sections are sewn at an obtuse angle approximately at the level of the breastbone of the wearer and that the angular regions have stop eyelets for a connecting element or a rope at the locations of the smallest distance.

As a result of this measure, the catching forces acting in the chest area of the person are guided directly into the buttocks area of the person through a straight belt guide. As a result of the adjustable connections between the back belt and the seat belt created by the rope lifting eyes and their connecting elements, the forces go evenly when the person strikes the rope one-sidedly due to the adjustability of the lifting eyes with individually adjustable load components in the back belt and in the seat belt, thereby is caused that the secured person experiences a safe support even with one-sided attack. In contrast, in the previous belt designs, one-sided striking was only absorbed by the abdominal / back belt.

Further advantageous configurations are provided in accordance with the subclaims.

Figur 1

eine Ansicht des Auffanggurtes von vorne;

Figur 2

eine Teilansicht der in Trageposition rechten Seite des Gurtes mit Anschluß der flexiblen Anschlagöse mittels verstellbaren Anschlußelementen;

Figur 3

ebenfalls eine Detaildarstellung mit Ausbildung der flexiblen Anschlagöse am vorderen Gurtabschnitt unterhalb des Bauchgurtes mit angeschlagenem Sitzgurt;

Figur 4

im Detail in Seitenansicht und teilweise im Schnitt die Verbindung einen Endes der flexiblen Öse am Gurtbereich zwischen Rückengurt und Bauchgurt.

Figur 5

eine Teilansicht der in Trägerposition linken Seite des Gurtes mit Anschluß einer metallenen Ringöse und mit verstellbaren Anschlußelementen;

Figur 5a Figur 5b

Jeweils einen Schnitt entlang der Linie A-A' bzw. B-B' durch ein Anschlußelement,

Figur 6

eine Variante der Gurtausbildung nach Figur 5.

Details, features and advantages of the invention result from the following explanation of an exemplary embodiment schematically illustrated in the drawings. The drawings show:

Figure 1

a view of the harness from the front;

Figure 2

a partial view of the right side of the belt in the wearing position with connection of the flexible lifting eye by means of adjustable connecting elements;

Figure 3

likewise a detailed representation with the formation of the flexible lifting eye on the front belt section below the abdominal belt with the seat belt attached;

Figure 4

in detail in side view and partly in section the connection of one end of the flexible eyelet on the belt area between the back belt and the waist belt.

Figure 5

a partial view of the left side of the belt in the carrier position with connection of a metal ring eyelet and with adjustable connecting elements;

Figure 5a Figure 5b

In each case a section along the line AA 'or BB' through a connecting element,

Figure 6

a variant of the belt training according to Figure 5.

The full body harness shown in FIG. 1 comprises a back belt 6 arranged behind a back support 30, which integrally merges into two parts 5a, 5b of an abdominal belt. These have interlocking parts of a closure element 34 with which the waist belt is closed. Pulled between the back support 30 and the back belt 6 are a pair of rear belt sections 31a, 31b which intersect at the shoulder blade at the back of the wearer, then pass over the shoulders forward into the front belt sections 9a, 9b. The rear belt sections 31a, 31b have lower belt sections 32a, 32b below the back support 30, which have at their ends ring-shaped connecting elements 35a, 35b for connecting a leg belt 36a, 36b, each extending from the central region of the seat belt 8.

According to the invention, the means for attaching a rope with a holding function and distributing the holding forces to the back belt and seat belt are designed as flexible lifting eyes 1a which have connecting elements 2a, 2b on both sides with adjusting means 3a, 3b. Of these, a first connection element 2a is adjustable on a belt area 4 between the abdominal belt 5 and back belt 6 and a second connection element 2b is attached to a longitudinally adjustable end 7a, 7b, as shown in particular in FIG.

The front belt sections 9a, 9b are sewn running approximately at the height of the wearer's sternum at an obtuse angle .alpha., The angular regions having stop eyes 10a, 10b for a connecting element or a rope at the locations of the smallest distance.

As the summary of FIGS. 1 to 3 shows, the second connection element 2b of the flexible, textile lifting eye 1a is arranged at the connection point between a front belt section 9 and a longitudinally adjustable end 7 of the seat belt 8. 3, the second connection element 2b is preferably connected in one piece to the lower end 11 of a front belt section 9 crossing with the waist belt 5 and has a connecting element 17, for example a connecting ring, for the adjustable connection to the length-adjustable end 7 of the Seat belt 8 on. The front belt section 9 and the abdominal belt 5 intersect and are guided together by a buckle 37 in the intersection area. In this case, the belt piece 12, which forms the flexible, textile stop eyelet 1a and is integral with the front belt section 9, is turned over by 180 ° to form a loop 13 receiving the stop ring 17, and the turnover area is held by a textile sleeve 14, the ring 17 with the loop 13 through a first slot 15 arranged as an adjusting means 3b Buckle is inserted and the seat belt 8 is returned through a second slot 16 of the buckle to form an adjustment mechanism.

In FIG. 4 it is shown that the first connection element 2a of the flexible stop eye 1a for longitudinal adjustment on the belt area 4 between the abdominal belt 5 and the back belt 6 has a buckle 18 and is fastened to this with a sewn loop 20 which is wrapped around its outer buckle web 19, whereby the belt of the belt area 4 is guided from below into the buckle 18 and, via the central web 21, out of the buckle 18 in a longitudinally adjustable manner relative to the latter.

The two connection elements 2a, 2b are, as can best be seen from FIG. 2, integrally formed on a belt piece 12 sewn to the lifting eye 1a. Furthermore, the lifting eye 1 can have a stiffening 22 (FIG. 3) made of different materials such as metal or plastic. It can also be additionally provided that the adjustable stop, holding and catching system designed with the flexible eyelet is occasionally provided with brake energy-consuming braking means, which consist of textile friction surfaces. Alternatively, it can be provided that instead of the textile lifting eye 1a, a flexible eyelet is used, which consists of a metal piece of rope, the rope ends of which are spliced and are provided in a suitable manner, for example in lead casting, with flat connecting plates which can be connected to the textile belt ends are.

FIG. 5 shows a further embodiment of the invention, in which the means for attaching a rope with a holding function are designed as a metallic ring eyelet 1b, which is held in a belt piece 39 connecting the connecting elements 2a, 2b in such a way that the back belt 6 and seat belt 8 are connected on both sides of the body in such a way that a division of the initiated Forces on the back belt and seat belt occur. For this purpose, the connecting strap piece 39 is driven into the eyelet 1b at an approximately right angle. One end of the connecting belt piece is led around and back around the outer web 40 of an adjusting buckle 41 arranged as an adjusting means and is preferably sewn to the rear belt section 31 in this area. The belt section 31, coming from below, is placed around the central web 42 of the buckle 41 and is fed to the seam area (FIG. 5b). The back belt 6 can be seen laid under the lower belt section 31 and looped from below over the central web 42 of the belt buckle 41 and returned downward.

The other end of the connecting belt piece 39 is loosely wrapped around the seat belt 8 with a pocket-shaped doubling to form a guide loop 43 and is sewn to itself. On the guide loop 43, the connecting element 35 to the leg strap 36 is attached as well as the connecting element 2b with an adjusting buckle 44 as an adjusting means. Coming from below, the seat belt 8 is struck over the central web 45 of the adjusting buckle 44 and returned downward and is then pulled through the guide loop 43 (FIG. 5a). This embodiment for the new safety harness is particularly wear-resistant due to the use of a metal ring eyelet as a sling.

FIG. 6 shows a variant of the belt design according to FIG. 5, as a result of which the connecting belt piece 39 can be dispensed with and, nevertheless, the advantageous and adjustable division of the forces introduced into the back belt and seat belt takes place. For this purpose, the rear belt section 31 is guided in one piece through the adjusting buckle 41 which is longitudinally adjustable on the back belt 6. In this way, the adjustment buckle 41 - as indicated by the arrows - is adjustable both along the rear belt section 31 and along the back belt 6. Then the one-piece rear belt section 31 is through the stop eyelet 1b passed, wherein it is turned approximately at a right angle and is continued and is then connected to the adjustment buckle 44. The seat belt 8 is guided through the - as the arrow indicates - the longitudinally adjustable adjustment buckle 44 and merges in one piece into the front belt section 9, the one-piece belt section 8, 9 being passed through the stop eyelet 1b. The guide loop 43 comprises the belt section 31 and the seat belt 8 and receives the connecting element 35 to the leg belt 36.

The full body harness according to the invention has proven itself extremely well in practice and thus represents an optimal solution to the task at the beginning.

List of reference numbers

1

Lifting eye

2nd

Connector

3rd

Adjusting means

4th

Belt area belly / back

5

Waist belt

6

Back strap

7

longitudinally adjustable end of seat belt

8th

seat belt

9

front belt section

10th

Lifting eyes

11

lower end of the belt section

12th

Strap piece

13

loop

14

cuff

15

first slot

16

second slot

17th

Connecting ring

18th

buckle

19th

outer narrow bridge

20th

loop

21

Mittelsteg

22

stiffening

30th

Back support

31

rear belt section

32

lower section

33

pocket-shaped doubling

34

Closure element

35

annular connecting element

36

Leg strap

37

buckle

38

Seat support

39

Connection strap

40

outer web

41

Adjustable buckle

42

Mittelsteg

43

Guide loop

44

Adjustable buckle

45

Middle web of the adjustment buckle

Claims (20)

1. Safety harness for securing a person working in exposed and/or high-lying work places, having means (10) arranged in the region of the upper body for fastening a cable performing a holding function, such as a mast-securing cable, the harness having a back strap (6) and, leading on from that, ventral straps (5) having terminal closure means (34), and having a pair of rear (31) and front (9) strap sections extending from the back, crossing at shoulder blade height and passing over the shoulders, the front strap portions (9a, 9b) continuing to become a seat strap (8), from the middle region of which there extend leg straps (36a, 36b) having at their ends connecting elements (35) for attaching to the rear strap portions (31),
   characterised in that
   in the strap region (4) to the ventral strap (5), the back strap (6) and the seat strap (8) have on both sides of the body a connecting element (1a, 1b) which is constructed as a means for fastening the cable performing a holding function or contains such a fastening means (Figure 1 and Figure 5).
2. Safety harness according to claim 1, characterised in that each connecting element (1a, 1b) has, preferably at both ends, attaching elements (2a, 2b) with adjusting means (3a, 3b), of which a first attaching element (2a) in each case is to be fastened, so as to be longitudinally adjustable, to the strap region (4) between ventral strap (5) and back strap (6) and a second attaching element (2b) in each case is to be fastened, so as to be longitudinally adjustable, to the seat strap (8) (Figure 1 and Figure 5).
3. Safety harness according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the rear strap sections (31) are led through the back strap (6) provided with a back support (30) and in that the lower portions (32) thereof emerging in a downward direction from the back support (30) have pocket-like doublings (33) for a seat strap (8) passed transversely through them and at their ends have connecting elements (35) for attachment of a respective leg strap (36) coming from the middle region of the seat strap (8) (Figure 2).
4. Safety harness according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the rear strap sections (31a, 31b) are to be fastened to the attaching elements (2a) that are longitudinally adjustable on the back strap (6) (Figure 5).
5. Safety harness according to at least one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the means for fastening a cable performing a holding function are in the form of flexible fastening links (1a), preferably consisting of a sewn-up textile strap portion (12) or of a metal cable portion (Figure 2 and Figure 3).
6. Safety harness according to at least one of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the means for fastening a cable performing a holding function are in the form of a metal eye (1b) which is held preferably in a strap portion (39) connecting the attaching elements (2a, 2b) (Figure 5).
7. Safety harness according to claim 6, characterised in that the connecting strap portion (39) is threaded into the eye (1b) in an approximate right angle, one end thereof being taken right round the outer bar (40) of an adjusting buckle (41) provided as adjusting means and taken back and sewn up in that region, preferably with the rear strap portion (31) which, coming from below, is passed over the middle bar (42) of the buckle (41) and is led to the sewn region (Figure 5 and Figure 5a).
8. Safety harness according to claim 6 and 7, characterised in that the back strap (6) is positioned beneath the lower strap portion (31) and looped from below over the middle bar (42) of the buckle (41) and led back downwards (Figure 5b).
9. Safety harness according to claim 6 and 7, characterised in that the other end of the connecting strap portion (39) having a pocket-like doubling is passed loosely around the seat strap (8) to form a guide loop (43) and is sewn to itself, in that both the connecting element (35) to the leg strap (36) and the attaching element (2b) having an adjustable buckle (44) as adjusting means are fastened to the guide loop (43), wherein the seat strap (8), coming from below, is looped over the middle bar (45) of the adjusting buckle (44) and led back downwards and is pulled through the guide loop (Figure 5 and Figure 5a).
10. Safety harness according to at least one of claims 1 to 9, characterised in that the second attaching element (2b) is arranged approximately at the junction between a front strap section (9) and a longitudinally-adjustable end (7) of the seat strap (8).
11. Safety harness according to at least one of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that the second attaching element (2b) is joined preferably in one piece with the lower end (11) of a front strap section (9) crossing with the ventral strap (5) and has a connecting element (17), preferably a connecting ring, for adjustable connection with the longitudinally-adjustable end (7) of the seat strap (8) (Figure 3).
12. Safety harness according to one or more of claims 1 to 5 or to claim 11, characterised in that the strap portion (12) forming the flexible fastening link (1a) and which is integral with the front strap section (9) is turned over through 180° to form a loop (13) receiving the connecting ring (17) and the overlap region is held by a textile sleeve (14), wherein the ring (17) with the loop (13) is pushed through a first slot (15) of a buckle provided as adjusting means (3b) and the seat strap (8) is pushed through a second slot (16) of the buckle (3b) and through the ring (17), is taken right round the ring (17) and led back through the second slot (16) of the buckle to form an adjusting mechanism (Figure 3).
13. Safety harness according to one or more of claims 1 to 5 or 11, 12, characterised in that the first attaching element (2a) of the preferably flexible fastening link (1a) has a buckle (18) for longitudinal adjustment of the fastening link on the strap region (4) between ventral strap (5) and back strap (6), and is fixed to this buckle by a sewn-up loop (20) placed around the outer bar (19) of the buckle, the strap of the strap region (4) being guided from below into the buckle (18) and over the middle bar (21) thereof out of the buckle (18) again, such that is it longitudinally adjustable relative to the buckle (Figure 4).
14. Safety harness according to one or more of claims 1 to 5 or 11 to 13, characterised in that the two attaching elements (2a, 2b) are formed integrally with a strap portion (12) sewn to the fastening link (1a) (Figure 2).
15. Safety harness according to one or more of claims 1 to 5 or 11 to 14, characterised in that the fastening link (1a) has inside it a reinforcement (22) of a different material such as metal or plastics material (Figure 3).
16. Safety harness according to one or more of claims 1 to 15, characterised in that the adjustable fastening and holding system constructed with the attaching link (1a, 1b), and also the arresting system, is provided from case to case with braking means which absorb fall energy, preferably with textile friction surfaces.
17. Safety harness according to one or more of claims 1 to 16, characterised in that the seat strap (8) is provided with seat supports (38) (Figure 1).
18. Safety harness according to at least one of claims 1 to 17, characterised in that the front strap sections (9a, 9b) are sewn up, approximately at the level of the breastbone of the wearer, running at an obtuse angle α, and the angle regions at the points of least spacing have fastening eyes (10a, 10b) for a connecting element or a cable (Figure 1).
19. Safety harness according to at least one of claims 1 to 18, characterised in that the rear strap section (31) is led as one piece through the attaching element (2a) longitudinally adjustable on the back strap (6), especially through the adjusting buckle (41), then runs through the fastening eye (1b) and is folded over in this approximately at right angles and is connected to the adjustable attaching element (2b), especially to the adjusting buckle (44) (Figure 6).
20. Safety harness according to at least one of claims 1 to 19, characterised in that the seat strap (8) is led through the longitudinally adjustable attaching element (2b), especially through the adjusting buckle (44) and continues in one piece to become the front strap section (9), the one-piece strap section (8, 9) being led through the fastening eye (1b) (Figure 6).

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