GB2115684A - Load bearing harness - Google Patents

Abstract

Harnesses worn during windsurfing to take most of the force from the sail can exert dangerously large compression forces on the wearer's rib cage. Accordingly the harness 10 is provided with a relatively rigid and stiff bar 18 across the front and/or rear so that forces on a hook 22 attached to the harness for temporary attachment to the sail or mast are transmitted to the sides 16 of the harness via 17 so reducing the tendency of the harness to contract width-wise. The invention also extends to the bar itself since it may be incorporated into an existing harness. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in harnesses This invention relates to harnesses to be worn during sailing. In particular the invention relates to those to be worn by persons sailing a windsurfer or sailboard or a crew member using a trapeze wire in say a racing dinghy or catamaran.

Although the average windsurfer sailor will hold onto and support the sail, for experienced windsurfer sailors, who may well be sailing in strong winds and for long distances on one tack, it is convenient to provide a harness which can be hooked into the sail and so take most of the force so leaving the hands to make fine adjustments to the sail. Normally such a harness is in the form of webbing or the like passing around the body at chest-height.

The force on the harness is mainly a pull directly outwardly from the chest. Because of this users of the harness often find some discomfort in wearing such a harness since the outward pull tends to cause the flexible harness to contract width-wise so compressing the chest cavity.

Indeed the forces encountered can be so sudden and large that there is the danger of a collapse of the rib case. Even increasing the width of the webbing or using a number of parallel lengths only spreads the compressive force without reducing it.

Similar problems, although often to a lesser extent, arise in harnesses worn for use with a trapeze wire.

The invention has therefore been made with these points in mind.

According to the invention there is provided a harness for use in sailing, and particularly when windsurfing, comprising a body fitting portion arranged to be worn around the chest and shoulders of a user, the harness being made of flexible material such as a textile or fabric, e.g.

webbing and/or cloth, and having a relatively rigid and stiff bar across the front and/or rear of the harness to which hook means are attached for temporary attachment of the harness, the bar transmitting pulling forces on the hook means to the harness at the sides of the harness so as to reduce the tendency of the flexible harness to contract width-wise.

We find that the provision of this rigid and stiff bar exerts a largely forward pull at the sides of the harness so that the tendency of the harness to contract width-wise in response to the pull is reduced and can be largely avoided. Thus the danger of a collapse of the ribs or fracturing of the ribs can be avoided.

The bar should be sufficiently stiff and rigid to resist the pull of the hook without significantly bending although some slight bending does not matter provided the resulting curvature of the bend is not much more than the curvature of the body of the wearer. In some circumstances some slight bending may be an advantage to help to absorb shock loads, provided the bar does not bend beyond its resilient range.

The bar can be metal such as a piece of sheet metal with stiffening ribs ridges or the like or could be a metal framework made up of small diameter tubing. Alternatively the bar could be a composite material such as glass reinforced plastics material or a rigid synthetic plastics material.

The bar can be permanently fixed in the harness and so sold with the harness or can be supplied separately from the harness and then webbing or the like to which the hook means are attached interwoven through holes along the length of the bar. The invention therefore extends to the rigid bar itself for use with the harness.

The harness can comprise a simple harness made up of one band of webbing to pass around the chest and straps extending one over each shoulder and joined at their ends to the band of webbing. Alternatively the harness can comprise a body shaped vest to be worn by the sailor with a band of webbing or the like around the lower end to which the bar and hook are attached. The bar may be used at the front or back or both.

An example of harnesses according to the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a front perspective view of the harness; Figure 2 is a side view showing the harness being worn by a user; Figure 3 is a plan view showing the wearing of the harness; Figure 4 is a perspective view of one form of metal bar for use in the harness; Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 4 of another form of metal bar; Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 4 of a form of rigid plastics material bar for use in the harness; Figures 7 and 8 are front perspective views of two further modified harnesses; Figure 9 is a view of one form of bar; and Figures 10 and 11 are front perspective views of further harnesses incorporating the bar shown in Figure 9.

The harness 10 shown in the drawings is designed to be worn over the shoulders and generally the top half of the body of the user. The harness includes two shoulders strap portions 12 passing over the top of the shoulders, a back encompassing portion 14 and two forwardly extending wing portions 1 6 which pass under the arm pits and around the chest of the body of the user. A band of webbing 1 7 is fixed into the and passes through the portion 1 4 and extends around the front of the wing portions 1 6. Thus as best shown in Figures 2 and 3, the harness encompasses the shoulder and upper back portions of the wearer.

The length of webbing 1 7 is associated with a rigid bar 1 8 which is designed to pass across the front of the chest of the user. The bar has appropriate cut-outs as will be described below so that the webbing can weave in and out of these cut-outs and so become associated with the bar. It is important however that the webbing extends over the bar to approximately the ends 1 9 of the bar. The bar has a clamp 20 for holding the webbing in the form of a band of adjusted circumference to fit the wearer.

The portions 12 terminate in straps 22 which are themselves adjustably attached either to the 18 bar or to the webbing 17.

For the comfort of the wearer, the portions 12, 14 and 16 are desirably made of some form of padded fabric or textile material and the webbing 1 7 can be attached to this by sewing or the like or simply pass freely through the body of the portion 14.

Attached either to the webbing or the bar itself is a hook 22 to enable the user to attach the harness to the sail of a windsurfer. Referring to Figures 2 and 3, the resulting force is in the direction of arrow A and is a pull outwardly from the chest of the user. As best seen when considered in the plan view of Figure 3, in the absence of the bar, the resulting pull applied to the webbing along will cause inward compression in the direction of the arrows B which has to be resisted by the chest of the wearer. By providing the bar however the pull in the direction of the arrow A is transferred to the webbing 1 7 along the lines of the arrows C at either side of the chest of the wearer with the result that there is a very much reduced tendency for the webbing to press inwardly in the direction of the arrows B.

The bar 1 7 can take many forms. Referring to Figure 4 this shows a metal plate 30, e.g. of stainless steel. The hook 22 is integrally riveted or arc-welded to the centre of this plate and the plate has pressed into it a pair of spaced reinforcing ridges 32 extending along its length. The plate will have some spring or resilience but most of the outward force on the hook will be transmitted to the webbing at the ends 30a of the bar. The bar also has a pair of cut-outs 34. This enables the webbing 1 7 to pass over the front of the bar except in the region of the hook where it passes behind so attaching the bar to the webbing and leaving the hook free for attachment to the sail or mast.

In addition for adjustment of the tightness of and for locking the webbing 1 7 the clamp 20 is integrally formed with the plate 30.

Figure 5 shows an alternative form 40 of metal bar. It consists of a plate which does not have the ridges but additional cut-outs 42 so as to reduce the weight of the bar.

Figure 6 shows a bar 50 made up of a rigid plastic material such as high density polypropylene. The hook 22 is not attached to the bar but instead is attached to a metal plate 52.

The latter has a pair of cut-out slots 54 whilst the bar 50 itself has integrally moulded with it four bridges 56 through which the webbing 1 7 can be threaded so as to attach the webbing and bar together. Additionally the webbing is threaded through the slots 54 in the metal plate so attaching the hook 22 directly to the webbing 1 7.

An entirely separate and conventional clamp 20 is provided for the adjustment of the webbing around the chest of the user and is designed to nestle snugly against the front of the bar in the region 58. The bar 50 also has thickened ridges 60 along its edges to increase its stiffness.

Figure 7A shows harness 70 having a bar 72 fitted at the back instead of the front but similarly acting to place the load at either side of the chest of the wearer and reducing the tendency for the load to press inwardly upon the rib cage. In the harness 74 shown in Figure 8 a separable back bar 76 is provided which is attached at its sides to a strap 78 carrying the hook 22.

Figure 9 shows a bar 80 e.g. of aluminium or aluminium alloy or fibreglass extended to form a contoured backplate performing the same function and Figures 10 and 11 show harnesses 84 and 86 respectively incorporating the bar 80, the bar 80 being attached to form back of the harness 86 by fabric zips 88.

Claims (9)

1. A harness for use in sailing, and particularly when windsurfing, comprising a flexible body fitting portion arranged to be worn around the chest and shoulders of a wearer, a relatively rigid and stiff bar extending across the front and/or rear of the harness, and hook means for temporary attachment of the harness to a sail, mast or the like, the bar transmitting pulling forces on the hook means to the harness at the sides thereof so as to reduce the tendency of the flexible harness to contract width-wise.

2. A harness as claimed in Claim 1 comprising a band of webbing to pass around the chest of the wearer and straps to extend one over each shoulder of the wearer and joined at their ends to the band of webbing.

3. A harness as claimed Claim 1 comprising a body shaped vest to be worn by the user with a band of webbing around the lower end to which the said bar and hook means are attached.

4. A harness as claimed in any preceding claim in which the hook means are attached to the said bar.

5. A harness as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 in which the hook means comprise a hook fixed to a plate having means for attachment to a band of webbing or the like forming part of the harness.

6. A harness as claimed in any preceding claim in which the said bar has a number of holes along its length through which a length of webbing forming part of the harness can be interwoven to attach the bar to the harness.

7. A relatively rigid and stiff bar for use in a harness as claimed in any preceding claim, the bar having a length approximating the width of the harness so as to be capable of extending across the front or rear of the harness, means for attaching the bar to the harness and for spreading the pulling forces from the hook means to the sides of the harness.

8. A harness for use in sailing, and particularly when windsurfing, substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 1 to 3, Figures 1 to 3 as modified by any of Figures 4 to 7, or any of Figures 8 to 11 , of the accompanying drawings.

9. A relatively rigid and stiff bar substantially as herein described and shown in any of Figures 4 to 7 and 9, of the accompanying drawings.