ES2378684B1 - IMPROVEMENTS INTRODUCED IN THE INVENTION PATENT NUMBER 200930469 FOR "INTELLIGENT INDIVIDUAL PROTECTION EQUIPMENT AGAINST FALLS". - Google Patents

Abstract

Improvements introduced in the invention patent number 200930469, for:? Intelligent personal protection equipment against falls?. # The improvements consist of the elements that constitute the equipment, which are an inflatable vest (1) adaptable to the body of the operator and that it automatically inflates before an eventual fall of the vacuum operator, based on a gas cylinder whose instantaneous opening and emptying is produced by the corresponding signal generated by an electronic control unit integrated equally in the vest (1), receiving that control unit the information of a series of sensors located in some insoles (3) of the user's footwear (6), and a heart rate monitor (2) established on the thorax, all this when the operator separates his feet from the ground by fall and when the pulsations are increased of the same, in that this set of equipment is complemented with a high quality anti-fall harness (14), ensuring the suspension of the operator in the air and avoiding the to precipitation and shock of the same on fixed land.

Description

IMPROVEMENTS INTRODUCED IN THE PATENT OF INVENTION NUMBER 200930469 FOR "PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT SMART INDIVIDUAL FACING FALLS "

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to improvements introduced in the personal protection equipment against falls, claimed in the Main Invention Patent No. 200930469, provided for the equipment to act intelligently, that is to say automatically, and which allows the user full freedom against manipulations of the same while giving complete security both at the time of the fall and in its development until suspended in height.

The equipment is totally suitable for use in work at height, with a risk of falling, independent of the level of height on which one works and the sector of activity.

The invention is therefore in the field of occupational risk prevention as intelligent individual protection equipment against falls at different levels, whose purpose is to complement and increase the security currently reported by individual protection equipment for existing falls in height. Therefore it is not intended to replace existing equipment, just complement and increase user safety for work at height.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Obviously, when an operator must work at height, such as on a scaffold, the safest solution, in many cases mandatory, is to use a harness that relates the user's body to a fixed point and that in case of a possible fall leaves immediately suspended the user's body, avoiding any impact.

However, this solution, being perfectly valid from the point of view of security, presents a lack of protection for the user in the different main organs of the same as at the time of the fall and as a result of shocks or collisions that may suffer the user on his way, before being suspended in the air, may occur.

After an exhaustive search for patents and similar devices we have found two large groups that, although they work incorporating an action technology similar to ours, are not applicable to our field, the prevention of occupational hazards at work, nor have such advanced technology incorporated nor, technologically speaking, do they act the same way.

The use of clothing is also known, which can protect the user's body to a greater or lesser extent, and that incorporate one or more inflatable bags at the time of the accident, thus acting as shock absorbers against the possible impact.

In this regard, it is worth mentioning, among others, the following patents: UK1588919 (20), US-4059852 (21), US-5781936 (22), GB-1479733 (23), wo9530345 (24), US-4089065 (25) , US-3921944 (26), DE-2717234 (27), FR2499373 (28), GB-1588919 (29), US-4825469 (30), ES-2141686 (31) and ES1026108 (32). All these patents present as a common denominator, in addition to the aforementioned incorporation of inflatable bags, an "umbilical cord" activation system, that is, between the inflatable garment that the operator has incorporated and a fixed point. An increase in distancing brings the said activation.

It is also known that these inflatable garments incorporate a compressed gas cylinder, such as carbon dioxide or nitrogen, whose opening is carried out by explosion, extraordinarily quickly, so that the garment adopts the inflation position corresponding to its protection against impact, before it occurs.

These devices have strong limitations for the user and cannot be used as a complement to the harness given their lack of freedom in terms of movement and the complexities of their clothing. They are usually applied and marketed for motorcyclists as a safety airbag.

Solutions are also known in which the explosion of the gas cylinder is carried out at the expense of signals generated by sensors, such as the solutions shown in WO-9852433 (33), ES-2258104 (34), ES -2311800 (35), ES-228101O (36), DE-4009433 (37) and US5091992 (38). These devices are connected to motion detectors such as acceleration sensors, shock / shock and / or inclination sensors of the object with respect to the ground, so that a physical connection (umbilical cord) between the object and the user is not required .

These devices are not applicable to the field of safety in the case of operators working at heights, and no background has been found in this regard that allows their application to this specific work area.

To solve this problem, in the Main Invention Patent P 200930469 a personal protection equipment against falls is described, which is intelligent, which is based on an inflatable vest with certain specific characteristics and in which a couple of templates intended for stay in the operator's shoes, so that on said templates rest the feet of said user, resulting in those anatomical, and each of which houses a pair of sensors, one in the heel area and one in the metatarsal area, Both areas considered as unloading, given that they are the ones that generate the most pressure in static and dynamic positions, so that in the development of the operator's activity, some of these sensors will remain activated, providing information to an electronic control unit responsible for automatically activating the trip. of the gas cylinder implanted in the vest, when it receives information that the cuat ro sensors are deactivated because the user's two feet have separated from the ground.

To solve the situation of the lack of 100% reliability of the aforementioned equipment, when the operator separates both feet from the ground, but without having suffered a fall, it is foreseen that in addition to the sensors established in the templates, the equipment is complemented with a Heart rate monitor intended to count the pulsations (heart rate) of the person who uses it, a heart rate monitor associated with an elastic band that with its adjustable length can be adapted and conveniently fixed to the operator's chest, in the most suitable position so that the heart rate monitor captures the rhythm cardiac and in turn generate the corresponding signal when said rhythm is substantially accelerated, which obviously happens when faced with a situation such as falling into a vacuum.

In this way, for the automatic explosion of the gas bottle and the consequent instant inflation of the vest, two conditions must occur simultaneously, on the one hand that the two feet of the operator are distanced from the ground and that on the other hand the At that time, the blood pressure monitor captures a pulsation level substantially higher than normal.

The vest will be expandable at the expense of its exterior wall, so that the interior does not press the operator's body after its inflation, and will have both the gas cartridge and the electronic control unit incorporated, counting in its rear area with extreme expansions of protection of the Coxigea areas and the lumbar area of the colunma, leaving the operator's limbs fully free, both upper and lower, so that he can perform his work comfortably. It will also have a vertical and middle posterior opening, specifically in correspondence with the crest of the vertebral colunma to facilitate the arching of the latter in certain maneuvers, such as to take an object from the ground.

The two halves of the vest determined by that opening are interrelated by transverse and elastic strips.

As for the aforementioned templates, they will preferably be soft silicone, to achieve a high degree of damping in their use and to improve the working conditions of the sensors, preventing them from suffering any type of wear by absorption of liquids such as sweat, may be equipped with holes that facilitate foot perspiration.

Finally, in relation to that Main Invention Patent number 200930469, that the information generated by the sensors reaches the electronic control unit through wireless sensors to give the operator maximum freedom of movement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The improvements object of the invention focus on the fact that the intelligent individual fall protection equipment described in the Main Invention Patent number 200930469 is complemented by an anti-fall harness element forming a vest and harness assembly, allowing its application in all the scale of heights, as well as in all the sectors of activity that require obligatory use of harnesses, with the consequent advantage of not only protecting the user from the fall, but of all the blows or shocks that the same can suffer until its suspension in the air.

Therefore, by incorporating the harness it is about protecting and securing the most vital areas of the user's body that are bare and completely exposed at the time of a fall, which are highly vulnerable to obstacles at the same time, ensuring also the suspension of the operator in the air and avoiding the precipitation in shock of said operator on fixed or immobile ground, such as the ground.

On the other hand and also as an improvement, it can be said that the pulsometer that generates a wireless heart rate signal to the control unit can be incorporated around the individual's chest or on the wrist itself, without violating its information reliability.

For its part, the electronic control unit will be responsible for receiving all the information supplied by the pressure sensors and the heart rate monitor, analyzing the information and proceeding to activate the vest of the vest for swelling of the vest in case the reading is negative and produced the fall.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the characteristics of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, a set of drawings is attached as an integral part of said description. In an illustrative and non-limiting manner, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows, according to a schematic perspective representation, the body of a man on whom the pulsometer is installed, which constitutes one of the components of the intelligent individual protection equipment against falls, object of the present invention.

Figure 2.- It shows an elevation view and another plan view of the footwear-insole set which in turn constitutes another component, the insole only, of the equipment that is recommended.

Figure 3.- Shows a front elevation view of the vest that completes the equipment of the invention, duly implanted on the user's body.

Figure 4.- Shows a rear elevational view of the assembly shown in Figure 3. In this image, the open central band that facilitates user mobility and the elastic transverse bands that hold both parts together and fit the body of the body can be seen Operan

Figure 5.- Shows a profile of the same set of figures 3 and 4.

Figure 6.- Shows a side elevation view of the user with the vest in a sitting position on the floor, in which the sensors of their templates are all deactivated but the pulsemeter reading is lower than the heart rate at the time of freefall.

Figure 7.- Shows, finally, the final result of the vest-harness set. The user is now ready to work at height.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

As can be seen in the aforementioned figures, the individual protection equipment that the invention proposes in accordance with the improvements of the invention and as described in the Main Invention Patent, comprises a vest (1), the pulsometer (2), and templates with pressure sensors (3), as components or main elements of the equipment.

The pulsometer (2), which can be of any conventional type, is fixed to the operator's chest (4) in the most suitable working position, with the collaboration of an adjustable and elastic length band, to adapt to different body sizes, provided that said pulsometer (2) can be applied to another part of the body, such as the wrist of the user.

As for the insoles (3), these are made of silicone, of anatomical configuration suitable to adapt to the sole of the shoe (6) and the user's own foot, incorporating pressure sensors (7) conveniently located in the areas of the plant and the heel, on which the body weight is loaded both when standing and when walking, running, etc. In addition, the template (3) is expected to have a plurality of perforations (8) that facilitate perspiration and consequent sweat removal.

Finally, as for the vest (1), it will leave the upper and lower limbs of the operator completely free, the gas cylinder (9) will be integrated, which is responsible for inflating the vest (1) instantly, at the expense of of a signal received from an electronic control unit, not shown, and also integrated in the vest, which activates on the cylinder (9) when it receives relevant information regarding the sensors (7) and the heart rate monitor (2).

The vest (1) also has a posterior and superior extension (10) for protection of the coccygeal area and the operator's colunma, including the neck, and with posterior and inferior extensions (11), so that all the Vertebral colunma is conveniently protected, including the coccyx along with the entire frontal region.

As can be seen especially in Figure 4, the vest (1) has a slot or rear opening (12) that affects it mostly in height, with the exception of the upper end area, the edges of this slot (12) being related to each other by means of a plurality of transverse and elastic bands (13) that, on the one hand, facilitate the user's body flexions and, on the other, allow the vest to adapt to different body sizes.

For the four sensors (7) to generate signals of absence of pressure on the user's feet, one of these two circumstances must occur, either the operator has fallen into a vacuum, or adopts a position like the one shown in Figure 6, in which your body weight does not rest on your feet, while sitting or lying down.

Consequently, in this position of figure 6, the vest must not be activated, so it is necessary to check the corresponding signal from the heart rate monitor (2), a signal that is the evidence of the fall, given that when faced with a sudden danger situation , such as the aforementioned fall, the sympathetic nervous system causes the heart to pump faster than normal so that more blood reaches different parts of the body that may need it, being this heartbeat, with a very rapid rhythm, which generates the signal supplied to the electronic control unit, that there is such an emergency or danger situation, information that combined with that coming from the templates sensors, will give rise to the swelling of the vest, to cushion the impact on the different protrusions and / or obstacles that may exist in the route of the operator in his fall until his final rest in suspension.

The fundamental improvement introduced in the protective equipment described in this Main Invention Patent consists in the combination of said equipment with an anti-fall harness (14) which, as seen in Figure 7, is complemented with the vest (1 ) to form a set, allowing not only to dampen the impact on the different protuberances or obstacles that may exist in the operator's path in its fall until the end of the descent in suspension, but also ensures and protects the most vital areas of the user's body , being applicable to the entire scale of heights and in all sectors of activity that require the mandatory use of harnesses, with the advantage of not only protecting the user from the fall, but also from the bumps or shocks that he may suffer until his air suspension.

Claims (2)

la._ Improvements introduced in Invention Patent number 200930469, for: "Intelligent individual protection equipment against falls", where the equipment incorporates an inflatable protection element, such as a vest, at the expense of the gas contained in a cylinder integrated into it, when it receives the activation signal from an electronic control unit, where the inflatable protection element is, for example, a vest (1) with a gas cylinder (9), complemented by templates (3) provided with pressure sensors (7) that detect when the operator has his two feet separated from the floor or work surface, as well as a pulsometer (2) that in turn generates an activation signal before a strong acceleration of the heartbeat by a risk situation, warning the electronic switchboard of the signals of the sensors and the heart rate monitor to activate the gas cylinder when the circumstances corresponding to a c added to the vacuum, characterized in that a high quality anti-fall harness (14) participates in the set, ensuring the operator's suspension in the air and avoiding precipitation and collision of the same on immobile terrain such as the ground. 2a._ Improvements introduced in the Invention Patent number 200930469, for: "Intelligent personal protection equipment against falls" according to claim la, characterized in that the vest (1), which as such leaves the upper and lower limbs of the operator free , incorporates a superior protection (10) for the cervical and medullary area of the user's colunma, and a lower extension (11) for the lower extremity of said colunma, coccygeal area, and a posterior, vertical and middle section (12), in correspondence with which transverse elastic strips are established (13). 3a._ Improvements introduced in the Invention Patent number 200930469, for: "Intelligent personal protection equipment against falls", according to previous claims, characterized in that the vest (1) It is expandable at the expense of its external wall during the swelling maneuver, its internal wall being dimensionally stable to avoid damage and / or chest tightness for the user at the time of activation. 4a._ Improvements introduced in the Invention Patent number 200930469, for: "Intelligent personal protection equipment against falls", according to claim la, characterized in that the sensors (7) of the templates (3) are located in correspondence with the zones of load of the body of the user, specifically on the metatarsal and heel areas. 5a._ Improvements introduced in the Invention Patent number 200930469, for: "Intelligent personal protection equipment against falls", according to claims la and 4a, characterized in that the templates (3) they are made of silicone, they are anatomically configured for optimum adaptation to both the sole of the shoe (6) and the foot of the user, and incorporate a plurality of perforations (8) to facilitate perspiration. 6a._ Improvements introduced in the Invention Patent number 200930469, for: "Intelligent personal protection equipment against falls", according to claim la, characterized in that the pulsometer (2) that generates a wireless signal of the heart rate to the control unit, can be incorporated around the individual's chest or wristband without violating their information reliability. 7 ".- Improvements introduced in the Invention Patent number 200930469, for:" Intelligent individual protection equipment against falls ", according to claim la, characterized in that the electronic control unit is intended to receive all the information supplied by the pressure sensors ( 7) and the pulsimeter (2), analyzing the information and proceeding to the activation of the cylinder of the vest for the inflation of the vest, in the case of being affirmative the reading and taking place the fall.  FIG. one    _ HWHUH HiH    FIG. 2   8 7 3 7  FIG. 3 FIG. 4     FIG. 5 9 --itll one  FIG. 6  FIG. 7 SPANISH OFFICE OF PATENTS AND BRANDS o N.O request: 201030883 SPAIN @ Application submission date: 06.08.2010 ~ Priority date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE A41D13 / 018 (2006.01) RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

® Documents cited Claims Affected

Y

ES 1026108 U (H3 DESIGN, S.L.) 16.03.1994, claims 1-5; Figures 1-4. 1-7

Y

NL 1035904 A (LAAN JOHANNES WILHELMUS WILKO VAN DER) 16.10.2008, Summary of the EPODOC database. Recovered in EPOQUE; AN-2009-Q22482 (06). 1-7

Y

US 20022118109 A 1 (US. NAVY) 29.08.2002, pages 1-2; Figures 1-4. 1-7

TO

ES 22581 04 T3 (DAINESE S.PA) 16.08.2006, claims 1-3; Figure 1. one

TO

US 2008097263 A 1 (GRIGORIEV et al.) 04.04.2008, page 2; figures 1-2. 1.5

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance O: referred to unwritten disclosure Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the P: published between the priority date and the presentation date itself category of the A: reflects the prior art E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

The present report has been made [8] for all claims D for claims No:

Date of realization of the report 29.03.2012

Examiner J. Hemández Cerdán Page 1/4

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Application number: 201030883  Minimum documentation sought (classification system followed by classification symbols) M1D  Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, terms of search used) INVENES, EPODOC State of the Art Report Page 2/4 WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201030883 Date of Written Opinion: 29.03.2012 Statement

Novelty (Art. 6.1 LP 11/1986)

Claims Claims 1-7 IF NOT

Inventive activity (Art. 8.1 LPll / 1986)

Claims Claims 1-7 IF NOT

 The application is considered to comply with the industrial application requirement. This requirement was evaluated during the phase of formal and technical examination of the application (Article 31.2 Law 11/1986). Opinion Base.- This opinion has been made on the basis of the patent application as published. State of the Art Report Page 3/4 WRITTEN OPINION Application number: 201030883 1. Documents considered.- The documents belonging to the state of the art taken into consideration for the realization of this opinion are listed below.

Document

Publication or Identification Number publication date

D01

ES 1026108 U (H3 DESIGN, S.L.) 16.03.1994

D02

NL 1035904 DER) TO (LAAN JOHANNES WILHELMUS WILKO VAN 16.10.2008

D03

US 20022118109 A1 (US. NAVY) 29.08.2002

D04

ES 2258104 T3 (DAINESE S.P.A.) 08/16/2006

D05

US 2008097263 A1 (GRIGORIEV et al) 04/24/2008

2. Statement motivated according to articles 29.6 and 29.7 of the Regulations for the execution of Law 11/1986, of 20 of  March, of Patents on novelty and inventive activity; quotes and explanations in support of this statement The invention in its claims 1-3 describes intelligent individual protection equipment against falls, of the type that incorporate an inflatable protection element, such as a vest, at the expense of the gas contained in a gas cylinder integrated in the same (9). The vest receives activation signals from an electronic control unit from templates (3) provided with pressure sensors (7), which detect when the operator has his two feet separated from the ground or work surface, as well as a heart rate monitor ( 2) which in turn generates an activation signal due to the strong acceleration of the heartbeat due to a risk situation, the electronic control unit receiving the signals from the pressure sensors and the heart rate monitor and activating the gas cylinder when the corresponding circumstances occur to a vacuum fall. Said claims are characterized by the presence of a high quality anti-fall harness (14) ensures the operator's suspension in the air and prevents precipitation and collision on the ground and a vest (1), incorporates a superior protection ( 10) And in its back some transverse elastic strips (13). Claims 4 and 5, dependent on the first -one-independent one-, characterize the invention by the presence of pressure sensors that can be located in the heel area, in particular in silicone insoles with perforations for sweat removal. Claims 6 and 7 show us the possibility of using a switchboard that analyzes the information provided by the pressure sensors and a heart rate monitor that generates a heart rate signal, in order to activate the vest of the vest for inflation thereof. Document D01, considered as the closest to the invention, describes an inflatable protective vest that also ensures the operator's suspension in the air and prevents precipitation and collision thereof on the ground; said vest has an inflation system composed of a cylinder (9) containing pressurized gas and an activation system (10) that opens the passage of the gas from said tank (9) outwards. The vest also has transverse elastic straps (8) that join the different plates of the same. Document D02 describes an airbag device to dampen the falls of skiers that respond for activation to pressure sensors. Document D03 shows a pulsometer (11) that generates signals, which when analyzed by a control unit (21) activate a protection system (29), proceeding to the inflation of the airbag (41) located on the front of the vest. In the light of documents D01, D02, D03, it can be considered that the object of claims 1-7 does not imply inventive activity (Art 8.1, LP11 / 86). State of the Art Report Page 4/4