US1642911A

US1642911A - Workman's saddle belt

Info

Publication number: US1642911A
Application number: US79955A
Authority: US
Inventors: Carl G Thurnau
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1926-01-08
Filing date: 1926-01-08
Publication date: 1927-09-20
Anticipated expiration: 1944-09-20

Description

Patented Sept. 20, 1927.

UNITED STATESl CARL Gr. THURNAU, OF NEW HARTFORD, yNEW YORK.

WORKMANS SADDLE BELT.

Application led January My present invention relates to workmens saddle belts meaning thereby' saddle and belt--likedevces whereby workmen are suspended at the end of a rope. The purpose of my invention is to provide a new and improved saddle belt and one which is capable of being safely and conveniently used by many classes of workmen.

' Heretofore workmen have been suspended in dangerous places by beingsimply seated upon a board or chair seat attached to the supporting rope. Such devices were unsafe as they required the man to keep fairly balanced in the swing or chair seat and required the constant use of one hand to keep him from sliding or falling from-the seat. Such devices furthermore were very inefficient as far as the amount of work that could be done by workmen was concerned in that the man had to hang on tothe supporting rope with one hand and so had only one hand to work with. The attempt to use even temporarily the second hand in the real work might readilyresult in injury or fatal accident to the workman.

The purpose of my invention is to provide a saddle belt which entirely obviates the dangers above mentioned and enables the workman to have thefree and` unrestricted use of both hands and furthermore even allows him to fairly use his body in the work or to lean backward or to either side without possibility of danger.

A further purpose of my invention is to provide a saddle belt which normally supports the person in a sitting position comfortably and without strain, but which saddle belt is of such construction that the workman may safely and comfortably lean back or to either side as he wishes.

A further purpose is to provide a device f of the character described which can be The main supporting ring 5 is preferably S, 1926. Serial N0. 79,955.

formed as indicated in the drawing with three upwardly projecting separate eyes namely eye 8 at the center and eye 9 at the right and eye 10 at the left as the ring is seen from the front in Fig. 1. It will be understood that the ring and its three eyes are conveniently made from a single piece of strong iron providing a very rigid ring and a group of supporting eyes. One or more ofthe eyes may be attached to the hook of lthe block through which the suspending vrope or cable passes or the rope may be fastened direct to one or more of the eyes. The plurality of eyes is aconvenient arrangement when ask often happens the workman is suspended from the lower end of two ropes which are separately adjusted as when a painter is working upon a diagonally arranged brace of a bridge or gas tank. The extra eyes also enable the'workmanto safely change from one suspending rope to another by hooking on to the newv rope kbefore he disconnects from the old rope. he belt 6 is made of flexible material preferably leather and has its opposite ends detachably secured to the opposite sides vof ring 5. lSuch detachable connection is pref'- erably effected by means of strong hooks 11 havingl their hook openings normally closed by spring tension keepers 12. The base or strapends of these hooks are forked or provided with two spaced ears 13 connected near their ends by a strong rivet or bolt 14.

An end of the belt is led through -the opening between the shank of the rivet 14 and the opposing base of the hook and then bent back upon the body of the belt and strongly sewed or riveted thereto. In this way the hook as a unit can freely swing upon its end of the beltl enabling the workman to readily attach or detach the hook to or from the ring 5.

Preferably as shown in the drawing the central portion of the belt will be made much wider thanits ends in order to more comfortably support the back of the workman and also to prevent any tendency of the belt to turn over or become twisted.

Depending from the belt there may be i carrying tools or material for the workman.

Each of the twol leg-supporting straps 7 preferably has its inner end secured to the ring 5 by means of a common shackle 17. This is loosely, that is swingingly, but permanently mounted upon the ring with the said inner ends of the straps 7 going about the pin 18 of the shackle 17 and comingl below said shackle pin where the different layers of leather are securely fastened as by stitching.

The other ends of these straps 7, that is the outer ends, are loosely that is swingingly,'but detachably connected to the ring 5 preferably by hooks 20 having spring keepers 21 and forked bases composed of spaced ears 22 connected by pins 23 all as described in connection with the belt hooks 11 and similar parts thereof. Through the space between the pin 23, the ears 22 and the base of the hook 2O is led the extremity of one of the straps 7 with said extremity bent back upon the adjacent portion of the belt and securely fastened thereto as by a series of stitches or rivets or both.

It will be understood that the loop of leather at the outer end of the leg strap 7 encircling the pin 23 of the hook 2O is larger in inside diameter than the pin and is a little narrower in width than the space between the ears 22 so that the hooks can be very readily swung about on the straps enabling the workman to readily attach or detach said hook and generally providing a free joint at either point for freedom of motion in various ways. In the same way the inner ends of the leg straps are mounted for free movement upon Ithecommon shackle 17 and the hooks 11 for free movement upon the opposite ends of the belt.

Preferably about the middle half of each leg strap 7 may be appreciably widened say to a width twice that of the ends of the straps. This wider portion of the leg strap is the part on the lower half of the leg and so provides a larger seat as it were for the person using the device. These two wide straps of say five or six inches at least in width below each leg in conjunction with the increased width of the belt provide a very comfortable and convenient seat for the workman when he is suspended in midair on with one'of these devices. As the belt and leg straps are not directly attached to each other it will be seen that the user of the device can lean to one side or the other to almost a horizontal position and still be well supported in the device. Also it will be seen that the user can leanv backward as far as needed to carry on work. In these different positions and many intermediate ones to which a painter or a similar workman may move his body the saddle belt here shown supports the user so comfortably and so securely that he can do much more work in a day and particularly is free from any nervous strain. I-Ie does not have to worry for fear that he may inadvertently let go of the suspending rope and so lose his balance. What I claim as new and-desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In aworkmans saddle beltthe combination of a rigid ring for the attachmentv of a supporting rope, a waist belt detachabl secured to said ring and two legstraps eac adapted to separately pass below and support one leg between the crotch and the knee, each of said straps having an end swingingly secured to the said ring and its other end detachably secured to the said ring. 1

2. In a workmans saddle belt the 'combination of a rigid ring having an' upwardly projecting eye thereon for the attachment of a supporting rope, a waist belt detachably secured to said ring and two leg straps each adapted to separately pass below and support one leg between the crotch and the knee,

each of said straps having an end swingingly secured to the said ring and its other end detachably secured to the said ring.

3. In a workmans saddle -belt the combination of a rigid` ring having a Yplurality Aof upwardly projecting eyes thereon for the attachm-ent of a supporting rope,roneof said eyes being located laterally of the other eye,

a waist belt detachably secured to said ring and two leg straps each adapted to separately pass below and support one leg between the crotch and the knee, each of .said straps havingvan end swingingly securedto the said ring and its other end-detachably secured to the said ring.

4l. In a workmans saddle belt the combination of a rigid 'ring for the attachment of a supporting rope, ajvaist belt having its opposite ends detachably secured to said ring and two leg straps each adapted to separately pass below and support one legbetween the crotch and the knee, each of said straps having an end swingingly secured to the said ring and'its other `end detachably secured to the said ring.

In witness whereof I have vaffixed Amy signature, this 18th day of May, 1925.

CARL G. THURNAU.