WO2005080149A1

WO2005080149A1 - Restraint means

Info

Publication number: WO2005080149A1
Application number: PCT/GB2005/000606
Authority: WO
Inventors: Alex Connell
Original assignee: Univate Limited
Priority date: 2004-02-21
Filing date: 2005-02-21
Publication date: 2005-09-01
Also published as: GB0404009D0; EP1716024A1

Abstract

A restraint means for restricting the relative movement of two persons is described. The restraint means has a body (10) which is attached to a first person. The body (10) has a rotating drum (32) from which a connecting cad e (60) is fed. The remote end of the came (60) has an attachment member (12) for attaching the cable (60) to a second person, such as a child, for example. The body (10) can include a trigger (16), which can be pushed in order to contact pawls (52) on the trigger with detent portions (46) on the drum (32), thus locking the drum (32) and preventing further movement away from the first person by the second person. Automated locking means for the drum (32) is also provided and can be used alongside, or instead of, the trigger (16) The attachment member (12) can be supplemented by a belt and fastener (100) which are attached around the second person. The attachment member (12) covers the fastener (100), thereby preventing direct access to the fastener (100) when in use.

Description

Restraint Means

The present invention relates to a restraint means or apparatus, and more specifically a restraint means that is suitable for safely restraining a child or animal whilst walking under competent supervision.

Accidents involving children are most common and can present a serious problem, particularly with active children who are not competently supervised when out walking. Even the most conscientious of persons can be momentarily distracted whilst supervising a child, at it is at such times that the child is vulnerable.

A variety of means have been previously proposed to safely restrain children in such instances. These include upper body straps that attach via buckles and clasps to a tethered line. Such restraints have a number of disadvantages, such as the time taken to fit the straps as each vertical upper body strap as well as each horizontal upper body strap has to be individually adjusted. In addition, it can be relatively straightforward in some instances for the child to undo the buckle or clasp securing the straps. Furthermore, when not in use such restraints can be problematic with regards to stowage, especially when travelling, and are consequently difficult to unravel when the restraint is next to be fitted to the child.

Another common fault with known restraint means can occur during shopping trips when parents require their hands to be free in order to pick up goods in stores or personal possessions such as purses and handbags to enable payment to be made at a point of purchase. At such times, a parent may have to momentarily let go of the straps, also known as reins, with which the parent is connected to the child. Again, such moments can lead to the unrestrained child wandering away from the parent, making them more vulnerable and also increasing the likelihood of accident or injury. The aforementioned problems are equally applicable to known restraint means used with animals, such as dog leads, for example.

It is an aim of the present invention to obviate or mitigate one or more of the aforementioned disadvantages with known restraint means.

According to the present invention, there is provided a restraint means adapted to restrict the relative movement between a first person and a second person, the restraint means comprising: a body adapted to be removab?Ly attached to the first person; a rotatable drum located on the body; a cable having a first end connected to the drum and a second end having an attachment means thereon, the attachment means being adapted to be secured to the second person; and a locking means adapted to selectively lock the rotating drum so as to prevent rotation thereof.

Preferably, the locking means comprises a trigger pivotably attached to the body and adapted to selectively engage the rotating drum. Preferably, the drum has a rotational axis and a face of the drum includes at least one first detent portion extending radially outwardly from the rotational axis, and the trigger includes at least one first pawl adapted to engage the first detent portion when the trigger is operated.

Preferably, the trigger is provided with a means for disengaging from the drum. Preferably, the disengagement means is a biasing means adapted to bias the trigger away from the drum. Alternatively, the disengagement means is a button formed on the trigger for manual operation thereof. 005/080149

In a preferred embodiment, the trigger is provided with a projecting portion, wherein a portion of the cable is threaded around the projecting portion such that a predetermined force applied to the cable will bring the trigger into engagement with the drum. Preferably, the trigger has a longitudinally extending channel and the projecting portion is a bar extending laterally across the channel.

In an alternative preferred embodiment, the locking means further comprises: at least one second detent portion provided on the body adjacent the circumference of the drum and extending radially inwardly towards the drum; at least one second pawl member pivotably attached to a face of the drum and adapted to engage the second detent portion of the body; and a biasing means adapted to bias the second pawl member towards the rotational axis of the drum.

Preferably, the locking means further includes an abutment member positioned on the face of the drum between the second pawl member and the circumference of the drum face, the abutment member limiting the radially outward movement of the second pawl .

Most preferably, the locking means further comprises: a plurality of second detent portions provided on the body adjacent the circumference of the drum and extending radially inwardly towards the drum; a pair of second pawl members pivotably attached to a face of the drum at substantially diametrically opposite locations, and adapted to engage the plurality of second detent portions of the body; and each second pawl member having a biasing means adapted to bias the second pawl member towards the rotational axis of the drum. The locking means further includes a pair of abutment members, each abutment member positioned on the face of the drum between a respective second pawl member and the circumference of the drum face, the abutment members limiting the radially outward movement of the respective second pawls.

Preferably, the drum includes a biasing means adapted to apply a substantially constant recoil force to the drum in a first rotational direction.

Preferably, the body and attachment means are adapted such that the attachment means can be located on the body when not in use.

Preferably, the attachment means comprises a cover member having a recess in which the second end of the cable is attached. Preferably, the attachment means further comprises a belt adapted to be fitted about the second person, the belt having a catch adjacent one end thereof and a catch housing adjacent the opposite end thereof, the catch housing being adapted to receive both the catch and the cover member thereon. Preferably, the cover member substantially covers the catch housing when received thereon, thereby preventing direct access to the catch and catch housing.

Preferably, the second person is a child and the restraint means is a child restraint means.

Alternatively, the second person is an animal and the restraint means is an animal restraint means.

The present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a right side view of a restraint means; Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the body of the restraint means of Figure 1 ; Figure 3 shows a part-assembled view of the body of Figure 2; Figure 4 shows a projected view of the fully assembled body of Figure 2; Figure 5 shows a right side view of the body of Figures 2-4 with a first embodiment of locking means, the cover of the body removed; Figure 6 shows a right side view of the body of Figures 2-4 with a second embodiment of locking means, the cover of the body removed; Figure 7 shows a right side view of the body of Figures 2-4 with a third embodiment of locking means, the cover of the body removed; Figure 8 shows a left side sectional view of the body of Figure 7; Figure 9 shows an exploded view of an attachment means of the restraint means; Figures 10 (a) - (e) show front, rear, top, side and projected views, respectively, of the attachment means of Figure 9; and Figure 11 shows a schematic view of the restraint means in use.

Figure 1 shows a restraint means in accordance with the present invention, generally designated 1. The restraint means 1 comprises a body 10, and an attachment member, or cover member, 12 received in an aperture 14 at one end of the main body 10 and connected to the main body by a cable (not shown) . The main body 10 includes a locking means in the form of a hand-operated trigger 16 including a manual trigger release switch 18 integrally formed with the trigger 16. Operation of the trigger 16 and release switch 18 will be described in more detail below.

Figure 2 shows an exploded view of the components located on the body 10 of the restraint means 1. The body 10 comprises a pair of shell, or cover, members 20,22 formed from a suitable plastics material and adapted to be fitted together in a snap-fit arrangement. A first of the cover members, here designated 22, acts as a base member to which the remaining components are fitted, whilst the second cover member, here designated 20, is simply fitted over the components once they are all assembled on the first cover member 22.

The first cover member 22 is divided into front and rear compartments by a divider 36. The rear compartment 21 includes a number of attachment points 24 formed on the inner surface thereof for receiving corresponding attachment projections or the like (not shown) formed on the inside of the second cover member 20. Also formed in the rear compartment 21 of the first cover member 22 is a spindle 26 which projects substantially perpendicular to the first cover member 22. The spindle is provided with a groove 28 into which one end of a torsion spring 30 is fixed. The torsion spring 30 of the preferred embodiment described here is a leaf-type spring formed from a tightly coiled metal band, one end of which is fixed in the spindle groove 28 as described whilst the other end is fixed into a groove (not shown) in the inner bore of a cable drum 32. The spring 30 imparts a substantially constant rotational recoil force on the drum 32, and hence the cable on the drum 32. Abutment members 34 are also formed in the rear compartments 21 of the cover members 20,22 to limit the amount of travel available to the trigger 16. Pivot members 35 also project from the inner surface of each cover member 20,22 in order to receive the end of the trigger 16. In the front compartment 23 of the first cover member 22 are one or more longitudinally extending guides 38 which project into the front compartment 23 from the cover member 22. In addition to the guide (s) 38, the front compartment 23 of the first cover member 22 also includes one or more resilient clips 40. The guide (s) 38 and clip(s) 40 are both adapted to engage and hold the cover member 12 when it is located in ' the body 10. The cable drum 32 holds a coiled cable (not shown) which connects the main body 10 and the cover member 12. The cable is held on the outer surface of the drum 32 between a pair of radially projecting flanges 44. One end of the cable is secured to the drum 32 via holes 42 provided in one of the radially projecting flanges 44. The outer face of each flange 44 is provided with a number of detent portions, in this example ratchet teeth 46, which themselves project radially outwardly from the axis of rotation of the drum 32. A drum cover 48 fits over the end of the spline 26, holding the spring 30 in place in the drum 32. The trigger 16 is an elongate member which has a release switch 18 formed at one end thereof, and a pair of pivot apertures 50 formed at the opposite end thereof for receiving the pivot members 35 of the cover members 20,22. Also formed on the trigger 16 are a pair of upwardly projecting pawls 52 which are adapted to engage the ratchet teeth 46 of the drum 32, as will be described below.

The outer surface of the first cover member 22, which cannot be seen in Figure 1, is adapted to receive a clip member 54. The clip member 54 operates in a substantially conventional manner, having a resilient tongue 56 adapted to removably attach the clip 54, and main body 10, onto the belt or other suitable attachment point of a person. The clip 54 has a pair of outwardly extending projections 58 which are received in corresponding guides (not shown) formed on the outer surface of the cover member 22.

Figure 3 shows the aforementioned components once fitted to the first cover member 22, with the second cover member 20 awaiting fitting to the first cover member 22. Figure 4 shows the first and second cover members once they have been fixed together to form the body 10.

The preferred, though not exclusive, application of the present invention is as a child restraint means. The body 10 of the restraint means is provided with a locking means to ensure that the cable stored on the drum 32 will not continuously run off the drum 32 when pulled. Figure 5 shows a first embodiment of the locking means in which manual locking of the drum is provided for. In normal circumstances, once the cover member 12 has been removed from the main body 10 and attached to a child, the cable 60 will feed out from the drum 32 via a cable aperture 62 provided in the divider 36. In order to stop the cable 60 feeding out from the drum 32, the person to which the body 10 is attached can squeeze the trigger 16, which will bring the pawls 52 of the trigger 16 into contact with the ratchet teeth 46 of the drum 32. Each of the ratchet teeth 46 is provided with an abutment face 64 facing anti-clockwise and a sloping face 66 facing in the opposite, clockwise, direction. Thus, as the drum 32 rotates anti-clockwise in feeding the cable 60 out, the pawls 52 of the trigger 16 will contact an abutment face 64 of a ratchet tooth 46, thereby preventing any further rotation of the drum 32 in the anti-clockwise direction. This will prevent the cable 60 from being pulled out any further. The sloping faces 66 of the teeth 46 ensure that clockwise rotation of the drum 32 under the recoil action of the spring 30 to retrieve the cable 60 is not inhibited by the pawls 52. A further spring (not shown) can be provided in the main body at the pivot end of the trigger 16 as a disengagement means. The spring would disengage the trigger 16 from the drum 32 and push the trigger 16 back to its unlocked position. Alternatively, the release switch 18 can be used to push the trigger back to the unlocked position manually. Figure 6 shows a second embodiment of the locking means for the cable, where locking of the cable can be affected automatically. The second embodiment of the locking means shares the majority of the components used in the first embodiment, and so the same reference signs are used in Figure 6 as in Figure 5 for those shared components. Where the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment is that the trigger 16 includes a projecting portion which projects from the trigger 16. The projecting portion could take various forms but here it is shown as a bar 70 which extends laterally across a longitudinal channel formed in the trigger 16 between the pawls 52. In the second embodiment, the path of the cable 60 is arranged so that the cable 60 runs underneath the bar 70 on its passage between the cable drum 32 and the cable aperture 62. In other words, the cable 60 is threaded around the bar 70. As a result, when a sufficiently large force is applied to the cable 60 whilst running off- the drum 32, the cable 60 will contact the bar 70, thereby lifting the trigger 16 towards the drum 32. This lifting of the trigger 16 by the cable 60 will bring the pawls 52 of the trigger 16 into contact with the ratchet teeth 46 of the drum 32, thereby halting the anti-clockwise rotation of the drum 32 and preventing the cable 60 from feeding out any further. The trigger 16 will then remain in the locking position until the release 18 is operated or, if present, the biasing spring is allowed to push the trigger 16 back to its rest position. In this way, excessive and sudden feeding out of the cable 60 can be automatically stopped.

Figures 8 and 9 show a third embodiment of the locking means for locking the cable, where again the locking of the cable can be done automatically if there is a sudden force applied to the cable whilst feeding out. As a number of components in the third embodiment are shared with the first and second embodiments, they are assigned the same reference numbers and will not be described further here. The third embodiment uses the centrifugal force of the rotating drum 32 to lock the drum 32 if the centrifugal force becomes too great as a result of sudden acceleration of the cable 60 during use. This third locking means can be present by itself or else the trigger 16 can also be present for a manual override facility, as shown in Figure 7.

As shown in Figure 8, the rear of the drum 32 (when viewed in Figure 7) is provided with a pair of pivoting pawls, or arms, 80 which are fixed to projecting pivot points 82 formed on the drum 32. Each arm 80 is also connected to the drum 32 by a tension spring 84 or similar biasing means. As can also be best seen in Figure 8, the drum 32 has a bore 86 through which the spindle 26 is received. One end of each tension spring 84 is attached to an arm 80, whilst the opposite end of each spring 84 is attached to the drum 32 adjacent the bore 86 of the drum 32. Abutment members 88 are also provided upon the drum 32. Under the action of the springs 84, the arms 80 are biased towards the centre, or rotational axis, of the drum 32 and will ordinarily rest on the abutment members 88 until a sufficiently large centrifugal force is applied during the rotation of the drum 32. A final modification to the drum 32 of this third embodiment is the provision of brace, or abutment, members 90 on the outer circumference of the drum 32. The brace members 90 are raised members formed on, or ^■ affixed to, the surface of the drum 32. The brace members 90 are positioned so that they restrict the radial movement of the arms 80. Thus the pivoting movement of the arms 80 is restricted inwardly by the abutment members 88 and outwardly by the brace members 90.

For illustrative purposes, one of the arms 80 shown in Figure 8 is in the rest position against the abutment member 88, whilst the other of the arms 80' is in the locking position against the brace member 90. It will be understood that the illustrated situation would not arise during actual operation of the restraint means, as both arms 80,80' would be subjected to the same forces at the same time.

In order to lock the drum 32 in this third embodiment, the first cover member 22 is provided with a set of detent portions, or ratchet teeth, 92 positioned adjacent the circumference of the drum 32 and projecting radially inwardly towards the drum 32. The ratchet teeth 92 can be fixed inside the first cover member 22, or else they can be integrally formed with the first cover member 22. As previously stated, the drum 32 is subjected to a rotational acceleration which is caused by a linear acceleration of the cable 60. This rotational acceleration creates a centrifugal force which acts upon the arms 80. If this centrifugal force surpasses a predetermined level, which is defined by the tension of the springs 84, the arms 80 will pivot outwardly about pivot points 82. This outward pivoting of the arms 80 will take the end of each arm 80 outside the circumference of the drum 32 and into engagement with one of the inwardly projecting ratchet teeth 92, as illustrated by arm 80' in Figure 8. This engagement of the arm 80 and the ratchet teeth 92 will lock the drum in place. The brace members 90 ensure that excessive shear forces are not placed on either the arm 80 or the teeth 92 during this locking engagement. Once the drum 32 has locked, there will no longer be any centrifugal force acting on the arms 80, and they will return to their rest position under the action of the springs 84, thereby freeing the drum 32 to rotate again. Although shown in Figures 7 and 8, the trigger 16 need not be present unless a manual override for the locking means is also desired. Figures 9 and 10 (a) - (e) show various views of the attachment means of the restraint means, the attachment means being used to connect the restraint means to a child in this example. The attachment means may simply comprise the attachment member, or cover member, 12 with a suitable means for attaching itself to a second person, such as a clip (not shown) . However, as seen in the exploded view of Figure 9, the attachment means may alternatively comprise not only the cover member 12 of the main body 10, but also a belt (not shown) and a fastener, generally designated 100, for attachment to a second person. The fastener 100 comprises a housing 102 and a catch 104. The catch 104 is adapted to be detachably held within the housing 102 and includes a pair of resilient prongs 106 for this purpose. The upper and lower edges 108,110 of the housing 102 each have a cut away portion 112 which gives the housing 102 a substantially H-shaped appearance. When attaching the housing 102 and catch 104 together, the catch 104 is moved towards the housing 102 in the direction of arrow A. The relative dimensions of the two components means that as the catch 104 enters the housing 102, the resilient prongs 106 come into contact with the inner surfaces of the edges 108,110 of the housing. This contact deforms and bends the prongs 106 towards one another. Once the prongs 106 reach the cut away portion 112, they are no longer in contact with the inner surfaces of the edges 108,110 and thus spring back outwards. The prongs 106 are then engaged with the cut away portions 112 of the housing, thereby ensuring that the housing 102 and catch 104 are fixed together. To undo the fastener 100, the prongs 106 are compressed by hand through the cut away portions 112 and the catch 104 is slid from the housing in the opposite direction to arrow A. Each of the housing 102 and the catch 104 is provided with an aperture 114,116 through which the ends of an adjustable belt (not shown) are secured to each respective component, the belt adapted to be placed around the waist of the second person.

The cover member 12 comprises a cover 120 which has a front face 122 and a rear face 124. The rear face 124 is provided with a recess or cable housing 126 for receiving the end of the cable 60, which passes through the body portion 120 from the front face 122 to the rear face 124 via a cable aperture 123. The recess or housing 126 has a secondary cover 128 which is secured over the housing 126. At either side of the body portion 120 are two substantially U-shaped guides 130 which are arranged such that they face one another across the rear face 124 of the body portion 120. The guides are each provided with a cut away portion 132.

The fastener housing 102 has a pair of resilient, upwardly extending, prongs 134 adapted to engage with the guides 130 of the cover member 12. Once the belt around the second person has been adjusted to ^'the correct girth and the fastener housing 102 and catch 104 have been attached together, the cover member 12 can be attached to the fastener 100, thereby attaching the wearer of the belt to the main body 10 of the restraint means. The cover member 12 slides onto the fastener 100 by moving in the direction of arrow B shown in Figure 9. The prongs 134 on the housing 102 and the guides 130 of the cover member 12 are dimensioned such that the resilient prongs 134 will be compressed towards one another when the guides 130 engage them. Once the guides 130 have passed over the prongs 134 to the point where the prongs 134 reach the cut away portions 132 of the guides 130, the prongs will spring outwardly away from one another, thereby engaging on the cut away portions 132 of the guides 130. The cover member 12 will then be secured to the fastener in the manner shown in the various views of Figure 10.

By fitting the cover member 12 over the fastener 100 in this manner, direct access cannot be gained to either the end of the cable 60 or the connection between the fastener housing 102 and catch 104. Thus, it is difficult for a child, for example, to themselves disconnect either (i) the cable from the cover member 12 or (ii) the catch 104 from the fastener housing 102. By fastening the belt around the child and then attaching the cover member 12 to the fastener 100, the child is thereby connected to the main body 10 of the restraint means, which will be attached to the individual supervising the child. Thus, if the child makes any sudden movements away from the supervising individual, or wanders too far from the individual , either the locking means in the main body, or else the cable reaching its full extent, will prevent the child from moving any further away, as illustrated schematically in Figure 11.

Although the pair of cover members are preferably fitted together using a snap-fit arrangement, any other suitable fixing means may be used, such as screws or adhesive, for example. In addition, it is to be understood that although a leaf-type torsion spring has been described as the preferred means of imparting a recoil force on the cable drum, any other suitable spring or biasing means may be used instead. Furthermore, although a cable is described as the preferred way of attaching the main body and the attachment member together, any other suitable means for attachment could be used instead, such as cord or the like.

The preferred embodiments described above illustrate a plurality of detent portions, or ratchet teeth, provided on both the drum and the body. It should be appreciated that so long as there is at least one detent portion provided along with at least one respective pawl in the described embodiments, the invention will still work. Thus, the invention is not limited to the use of pluralities of detent portions and pawls.

Although the present invention has been described for use with persons, and in particular a child, there is no reason why the restraint means could not also be applied in other areas, such as with suitably sized domestic pets and other animals, for example.

Furthermore, it is envisaged that the majority of the main components of the present invention will be manufactured from a durable and strong plastics material, such as nylon. However, it will be appreciated that other suitable materials may also be used for the manufacture of the invention, and thus the invention is not limited to this particular material.

These and other modifications and improvements may be incorporated without departing from the scope of the invention.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. A restraint means adapted to restrict the relative movement between a first person and a second person, the restraint means comprising: a body adapted to be removably attached to the first person; a rotatable drum located on the body; a cable having a first end connected to the drum and a second end having an attachment means thereon, the attachment means being adapted to be secured to the second person; and a locking means adapted to selectively lock the rotating drum so as to prevent rotation thereof.

2. The restraint means of Claim 1, wherein the locking means comprises a trigger pivotably attached to the body and adapted to selectively engage the rotating drum.

3. The restraint means of Claim 2 , wherein the drum has a rotational axis and a face of the drum includes at least one first detent portion extending radially outwardly from the rotational axis, and the trigger includes at least one first pawl adapted to engage the first detent portion when the trigger is operated.

4. The restraint means of either Claim 2 or Claim 3, wherein the trigger is provided with a means for disengaging from the drum.

5. The restraint means of Claim 4, wherein the disengagement means is a biasing means adapted to bias the trigger away from the drum.

6. The restraint means of Claim 4, wherein the disengagement means is a button formed on the trigger for manual operation thereof.

7. The restraint means of any of Claims 2 to 6, wherein the trigger is provided with a projecting portion, wherein a portion of the cable is threaded around the projecting portion such that a predetermined force applied to the cable will bring the trigger into engagement with the drum.

8. T e restraint means of Claim 7, wherein the trigger has a longitudinally extending channel and the projecting portion is a bar extending laterally across the channel.

9. The restraint means of Claim 1, wherein the locking means comprises: at least one detent portion provided on the body adjacent the circumference of the drum and extending radially inwardly towards the drum; at least one pawl member pivotably attached to a face of the drum and adapted to engage the detent portion of the body; and a biasing means adapted to bias the pawl member towards the rotational axis of the drum.

10. The restraint means of any of Claims 2 to 6, wherein the locking means further comprises: at least one second detent portion provided on the body adjacent the circumference of the drum and extending radially inwardly towards the drum; at least one second pawl member pivotably attached to a face of the drum and adapted to engage the second detent portion of the body; and a biasing means adapted to bias the second pawl member towards the rotational axis of the drum.

11. The restraint means of Claim 10, wherein the locking means further includes an abutment member positioned on the face of the drum between the second pawl member and the circumference of the drum face, the abutment member limiting the radially outward movement of the second pawl.

12. The restraint means of any of Claims 2 to 6 , wherein the locking means further comprises: a plurality of second detent portions provided on the body adjacent the circumference of the drum and extending radially inwardly towards the drum; a pair of second pawl members pivotably attached to a face of the drum at substantially diametrically opposite locations, and adapted to engage the plurality of second detent portions of the body; and each second pawl member having a biasing means adapted to bias the second pawl member towards the rotational axis of the drum.

13. The restraint means of Claim 12, wherein the locking means further includes a pair of abutment members, each abutment member positioned on the face of the drum between a respective second pawl member and the circumference of the drum face, the abutment members limiting the radially outward movement of the respective second pawls.

14. The restraint means of any preceding claim, wherein the drum includes a biasing means adapted to apply a substantially constant recoil force to the drum in a first rotational direction.

15. The restraint means of any preceding claim, wherein the body and attachment means are adapted such that the attachment means can be located on the body when not in use.

16. The restraint means of any preceding claim, wherein the attachment means comprises a cover member having a recess in which the second end of the cable is attached.

17. The restraint means of Claim 16, wherein the attachment means further comprises a belt adapted to be fitted about the second person, the belt having a catch adjacent one end thereof and a catch housing adjacent the opposite end thereof, the catch housing being adapted to receive both the catch and the cover member thereon.

18. The restraint means of Claim 17, wherein the cover member substantially covers the catch housing when received thereon, thereby preventing direct • access to the catch and catch housing.

19. The restraint means of any preceding claim, wherein the second person is a child and the restraint means is a child restraint means .

20. The restraint means of any of Claims 1 to 18, wherein the second person is an animal and the restraint means is an animal restraint means.