US2544399A

US2544399A - Harness release

Info

Publication number: US2544399A
Application number: US528003A
Authority: US
Inventors: John H Schneider
Original assignee: Mine Safety Appliances Co
Current assignee: MSA Safety Inc
Priority date: 1944-03-24
Filing date: 1944-03-24
Publication date: 1951-03-06
Anticipated expiration: 1968-03-06

Description

March 6, 1951 J. H. SCHNEIDER HARNESS RELEASE Filed March 24, 1944 V INVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,544,399 HARNESS RELEASE John H. Schneider, Irwin, Pa., assignor to Mine Safety Appliances Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application March 24, 1944, Serial No. 528,003

'7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to harness for supporting articles on the human body, and more particularly to the means by which the harness straps are detachably connected in'pace.

The air purifying canisters, oxygen bottles, breathing bags'and the'like which are connected to the face pieces of breathing apparatus are generally supported on the body of the wearer by means of harness in the form of straps crossing the shoulders and also extending around the waist orunder the arms. Under ordinary circumstances there is no difficulty in removing the harness from the body when the breathing apparatus is no longer needed. However, an emergency occasionally arises in which a delay of a few seconds in removing the breathing apparatus may be critical. Such a delay may result from having to unfasten bucklesor the like, or in having to pull the arms through the loops of the harness. There are also other cases in which it is desirable to support an article on the body by harness which can be quickly removed. An example is parachutes where it may be necessary to remove the harness the moment the jumper strikes the ground.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide body harness which can be removed almost instantaneously, which is securely retained on the body at other times, which snugly and comfortably fits the body, and which does not require buckles-or other usual types of fasteners for holding it in place.

These and other objects are attainedby providing harness straps that are connected at one end to the article being supported, with the other ends of the straps detachably connected to one another by means from which quick separation is assured'upon the release of manualy releasable means. More specifically, the free ends of the straps preferably are loosely anchored between a pair of members one of which is movable away from the other. Manually releasable means, such as a pin that can be pulled by a line attached to it, normally holds the two members in operative position. When the pin is pul ed out of place, the two members spread apart and thereby permit the straps to escape from them. If desired, a spring may be used to positively force the two members apart when the pin is released. I

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. l is a fragmentary view of a man wearing my harness; Fig. 2 is an enlarged rear view of the means by which the rear ends of the harness. straps are connected;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line III-III of Fig. 2; and Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modified embodiment shown on a smaller scale than Fig. 2.

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, a man is shown wearing a facepiece I, such as a gas mask, that is connected by a breathing tube 2 to airpurifying apparatus 3 supported on his chest by harness straps 4. The two upper straps cross the wearers shoulders, and the two lower ones pass around his bod beneath his arms The front ends of these four straps are secured to the breathing apparatus in any suitable manner, either permanently or by means of buckles or snaps (not shown). The rear or free ends of the straps are all located close together at the center of the upper part of the wearers back.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the rear ends of three of the straps carry metal links 5 each having a narrow outer end provided with an opening 6 through it. These openings fit loosely over outwardly tapered bosses I pressed out of or otherwise formed on a circular back plate 8. This plate is permanently attached in any suitable manner to a leather disc 9 having a radial projection sewed to the fourth strap. The leather disc ends of; the bosses.

rests fiat against the back of the wearer. To normally hold the links on the bosses, a circular retaining plate I0 is disposed adjacent the outer This front plate is provided withfa central opening through which extends a post I I that is rigidly mounted at its inner end at the center of the back plate. The front plate is held in operative position by a pin i2 slidably mounted in a transverse opening l3 through the outer end of the post. Connected to the upper end of this pin is a line M, such as a cord or a small wire or cable, which extends upwardly along one of the upper straps and over the adjacent shouder. This line is slidably connected to the strap in any suitable manner, and its front end may be provided with a pull ring or the like (not shown). To prevent the pin from accid'entally working out of the post opening, the lower end of the pin is provided with an annular groove in which a snap ring !5 is mounted.

It will be seen when it becomes desirable to quick y remove the harness, a pull on the front end of line I l will cause pin E2 to strike snap ring [5 against post H. This will knock the ring from the pin so that the pin can be pulled out of the post to release front retaining plate It). The outward pull of the straps radially of the back plate will then cause the links 5 to slip on the outer ends of the tapered bosses 1, because the front plate is no longer held in operative position by the pin. Therefore, three of the straps will separate from the connecting back plate and permit the harness to drop from the bod of the wearer. The back plate will remain fastened to the fourth strap so that it will not become lost.

To prevent any tendency of the released front plate ID to bind on the post and to thereby keep one or more of the straps from slipping off bosses I, post H may be encircled by a coil Spring I! compressed between the two plates when they are together in operative position. The spring is held in centered position by a socket formed in the central portion of the front plate, as shown in Fig. 3. When the pin is pulled from the post, however, the spring immediately expands and pushes the front plate forward on the post so that links 5 can quickly leave the back plate. The front plate is prevented from being entirely separated from the post by means of a washer l8 rigidly mounted on the outer end of the post, such as by riveting over the post end.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 a different type of retaining pin is disclosed. This pin 20 has no snap ring for preventing it from accidentally working out of the post. Instead, the pin is formed from a piece of spring wire doubled upon itself and twisted at one end to form an eye 2| for attachment to the pull line l4. Both legs of the pin extend through the opening in the center post, and one leg is bent to provide a hump 22 that prevents the pin from accidentally escaping from the post. When the pin is pulled, its two legs are sprung toward each other sufficiently to permit them to pass through the post.

Although this invention has been described in connection with breathing apparatus, it will be understood that it is not restricted thereto, but is applicable to parachute harness and other cases. Also, the article being supported may'be carried on the back with the strap connecting device resting against the chest.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and construction of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. A harness release for use with a plurality of harness straps adapted to be connected to an article and having free ends, a pair of separable retaining members adapted to, receive said free ends between them, said free ends and one of said members being provided with registering detents and openings for normally retaining the straps between said members, manually releasable means normally holding said members together, and a spring norm-ally compressed between said retaining members for separating them when said holding means is released.

2. A harness release for use with a plurality of harness straps adapted to be connected to an article and having free ends with openings thereh h, a k pl a p st rigidly mounted at the center of said plate and projecting therefrom, a front plate spaced from the back plate and provided with a central opening for receiving said post which projects through it, one of said plates being provided with projections extending substantially across the space between the two plates and loosely through the strap openings, manually releasable means normally connected to the outer end of said post for holding said front plate adjacent the back plate, and a coil spring encircling said post and compressed between said plates for moving the front plate away from the back plate upon release of said means, whereby to release said straps from said projections.

3. A harness release for use with a plurality of harness straps adapted to be connected to an article and having free ends, a pair of separable retaining members adapted to retain said free ends between them, a post projecting from one of said members outwardly through an opening in the other member and provided outside of said other member with a transverse opening, a pin slidably mounted in said transverse opening for normally holding said members together, a line connected to one end of the pin for pulling the pin out of the post, the other end of the pin being provided with an annular groove, and a split spring washer mounted in said groove and adapted to be forced therefrom by the post when said line is pulled.

4. A harness release for use with a plurality of harness straps adapted to be connected to an article having free ends, a pair of separable retaining members adapted to retain said free ends between them, a post projecting from one of said members outwardly through an opening in the other member and provided outside of said other member with a transverse opening, a forked spring pin slidably mounted in said transverse opening with the free end of one of its forks provided with a lateral projection for resisting withdrawal of the pin from said opening, and manually operable means for withdrawing said pin from the post.

5. A harness release for use with a plurality of harness straps adapted to be connected to an article and having free ends, a pair of separable retaining members adapted to retain said free ends between them, a post rigidly mounted on one of said members and projecting outwardly through an opening in the other member, a coil spring encircling said post between said members for urging them apart, and manually releasable means connected to said post outside of said other member for normally holding said members together.

6. A harness release for use with a plurality of harness straps adapted to be connected to an article and having free ends, a pair of separable retaining members adapted to retain said free ends between them, a post rigidly mounted on one of said members and projecting outwardly through an opening in the other member, stop means on the outer end of the post holding said other member thereon, means connected to said post between said other member and said stop means for normally holding said members together, and means for separating said holding means from said post to permit said members to separate.

'7. A harness release for use with a plurality of harness straps adapted to be connected to an article and having free ends all but one of which has an opening therethrough, a back plate, a post rigid y mounted on said plate and pro ecting therefrom, a front plate spaced from said back plate and provided with an opening for slidably receiving said post which projects through it, one of said plates being provided with projections extending substantially across REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date Wigley et a1 Feb. 28, 1933 Waite et a1 Aug. 29, 1939 Jahant Nov. 14, 1939 Lethern et a1 Sept. 9, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Mar. 27, 1936 France May 23, 1924 Germany Mar. 20, 1939