WO2016030776A1

WO2016030776A1 - A tool lanyard pouch

Info

Publication number: WO2016030776A1
Application number: PCT/IB2015/054496
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kevin William NAUGHTON; Edward Michael HARNEY
Original assignee: Naughton Kevin William; Harney Edward Michael
Priority date: 2014-08-29
Filing date: 2015-06-13
Publication date: 2016-03-03

Abstract

A tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation comprises a base medium having a top portion and a bottom portion, a plurality of pockets attached to the base medium and a plurality of fasteners attached to the base medium wherein the top portion of the base medium is used as a flap and the base medium is removably fastened with the plurality of fasteners to a structure associated with the workstation and each of the plurality of pockets of the base medium securely receives one or more tools with the help of lanyards.

Description

A TOOL LANYARD POUCH

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This Patent Application claims the benefit of the filing date of Australian Provisional Patent Application No. 2014903441 filed August 29, 2014 titled ''TOOL LANYARD POUCH'', the entire content of which is herein incorporated by reference.

The present invention relates to an improved tool pouch that uses lanyards for securing tools to the pouch. More particularly, the present invention relates though not exclusively, to such a pouch that can be used on construction sites when working at heights.

When tradespeople work on a construction site the dangers associated with dropping objects from height are a constant problem. This is a major problem with mobile Elevating Work Platforms (EWP) where there is limited room for movement and storage of tools. Prior art solutions to this problem include the use of wrist lanyards, in which selected tools are secured to the trades-person’s wrists. This means that the tools are in easy reach. However there is a limit to the number of tools that can be easily secured to each wrist. There is also a substantial danger that if a tool gets accidentally snagged on something and the EWP starts to move away, the person can lose his hand.

Another solution is to secure the tools by lanyards to the tradesperson’s tool belt. This is a better solution, but the tool belt can become very cumbersome and heavy, and makes manoeuvrability awkward, especially in a EWP.

The present invention was developed with a view to providing a tool pouch in which the tools are secured to the pouch by lanyards. This is less susceptible to above-noted the problems with the prior art solutions and provides improved occupational health and safety as the tools are kept off the tradesperson’s body altogether.

References to prior art in this specification are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not to be taken as an admission that such prior art is part of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a tool lanyard pouch which eliminates the danger of objects being dropped from height by tradespeople working on a construction site.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a tool lanyard pouch which keeps the tools off the tradesperson's body working on a construction site unlike in prior art systems.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tool lanyard pouch which provides improved occupational health and safety to tradespeople working on a construction site.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a tool lanyard pouch which holds tools securely and the tools are safely in reach of the tradesperson working at the workstation of a construction site.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a tool lanyard pouch which enables each tradesperson to have his own tool lanyard pouch.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a tool lanyard pouch which can be modified to suit different types of workstations and jobs.

Details of the foregoing objects and of the invention, as well as additional objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosed invention. This summary is not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identify key/critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation, the pouch comprising:

a generally planar base medium having a plurality of pockets provided on a front face thereof for receiving a corresponding plurality of tools therein, the base medium being adapted to be removably fastened to a structure associated with the workstation; and,

each pocket having a lanyard provided adjacent thereto and mechanically coupled to the front face of the base medium whereby, in use, each tool received in one of the pockets can be secured to the pouch by a lanyard and therefore is always safely in reach of the tradesperson at the workstation.

Preferably the tool lanyard pouch further comprises a plurality of loops provided on the front face of the base medium, at least one loop being provided adjacent to each pocket whereby, in use, a lanyard can be attached to each loop. Typically the loops are formed by a substantially linear elongate flexible member affixed to the front face of the base medium at spaced apart intervals along its length so that the loops are formed between each interval.

In a preferred embodiment the base medium is made from a flexible material and is of generally rectangular shape.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certain illustrative aspects of the disclosed invention are described herein in connection with the following description and the annexed drawings. These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which the principles disclosed herein can be employed and is intended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Other advantages and novel features will become apparent from the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

In order to describe the manner in which features and other aspects of the present disclosure can be obtained, a more particular description of certain subject matter will be rendered by reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the appended drawings. Understanding that these drawings depict only typical embodiments and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting in scope, nor drawn to scale for all embodiments, various embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG.1

[FIG.1] is a front elevation view of a first embodiment of a tool lanyard pouch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG.2

[FIG. 2] is a rear elevation view of the tool lanyard pouch of FIG.1 in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG.3

[FIG.3] is a front perspective view of the tool lanyard pouch of FIG.1 showing how it can be fastened to a structure associated with a workstation in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG.4

[FIG.4] is a rear perspective view of the tool lanyard pouch showing how it can be fastened to a structure associated with a workstation in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG.5

[FIG.5] is a front elevation view of the tool lanyard pouch showing it fastened to a structure associated with a workstation with tools removably attached to the tool lanyard pouch in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG.6

FIG.6 shows the tool lanyard pouch in use in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known methods, procedures and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention are described herein in the context of a tool pouch. Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following detailed description of the present invention is illustrative only and is not intended to be in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the present invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure. Reference will now be made in detail to implementations of the present invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The same reference indicators will be used throughout the drawings and the following detailed description to refer to the same or like parts.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are shown and described. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with application- and business-related constraints, and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention a tool lanyard pouch 10 for a tradesperson (not shown in the figures) working from a workstation (not shown in the figures), is illustrated in FIG.1 through FIG.6. The tool lanyard pouch 10 comprises a generally planar base medium 12 having a plurality of pockets 14 provided on a front face 16 thereof. The pockets 14 are designed to receive a corresponding plurality of tools therein, as best illustrated in FIG.5 and FIG.6.

The base medium 12 is adapted to be fastened to a structure associated with the workstation such as, for example, the framework 18 of a safety fence (see -FIG.3, FIG.4 and FIG.5) of an Elevating Work Platform (EWP) (not shown in figures). In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG.1, FIG.2, FIG.3 and FIG.4, the top portion of the base medium 12 is used as a flap 13. Preferably, the flap 13 and the bottom portion 19 of the base medium 12 are provided with a plurality of separable fasteners having parts adapted repeatedly to be released from one another and repeatedly to be connected again by simple manual manipulations and without use of tools. Examples of separable fasteners provided in the flap 13 include, but not limited to, snap fasteners or stud and socket or press buttons 25 and hook and loop fasteners 15 as shown in FIG.1, FIG.2, FIG.3 and FIG.4. The flap 13 can be taken over a framework 18 and, with the help of the press buttons 25 and hook and loop fastener 15, the flap 13 is removably attached to the back part 17 of the base medium 12. Example of separable fastener provided in the bottom portion 19 includes, but not limited to, strap and buckle fastener 27. The plurality of straps of the strap and buckle fastener 27 are preferably affixed to the back part 17 by any method like stitching known in the art and the buckles are affixed to the front face 16. The separable fasteners enable each tradesperson to have their own tool lanyard pouch 10 in the form of the base medium 12 and its associated features, which can be attached to the framework 18 of a workstation structure at the beginning of the workday, and later detached and rolled-up when the tradesperson is finished for the day.

The pockets can be of various dimensions. For example, as compared to the embodiment shown in FIG.5, the embodiment shown in FIG.6, has less number of larger sized pockets 14. Each pocket 14 provided on the base medium 12 has a lanyard 20 provided adjacent thereto and mechanically coupled to the front face 16 of the base medium 12. In use, each tool received in one of the pockets 14 can be secured to the tool lanyard pouch 10 by a lanyard 20, as shown in FIG.5 and FIG.6, and therefore, is always safely in reach of the tradesperson at the workstation.

Preferably, the tool lanyard pouch 10 further comprises a plurality of loops 22 also provided on the front face 16 of the base medium 12, at least one loop 22 being provided adjacent to each pocket 14 whereby, in use, a lanyard 20 can be attached to each loop 22. Typically the loops 22 are formed by a substantially linear elongate flexible member 24 affixed to the front face 16 of the base medium 12 at spaced apart intervals along its length so that the loops 22 are formed between each interval. In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the substantially linear elongate flexible member is a strap 24 of synthetic material which is sewn to the front face 16 at spaced intervals, above a row of pockets 14 of various sizes. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention the strap 24 is made of any other suitable material known in the art and is attached to the front face 16 at spaced intervals by any other suitable attaching means known in the art. Although, in the accompanying figures only one lanyard 20 is shown attached to each of the loop 22, it would be obvious to any person skilled in the art that more than one lanyard 20 can be attached to each loop 22.

In the illustrated embodiment of the present invention, the base medium 12 is made from a flexible material, such as leather or heavy-duty canvas, and is of generally rectangular shape. This ensures that the base medium 12 is not only strong enough to support the weight of the tools in the pockets 14 when it is fully laden, but also permits the base medium 12 to be rolled-up in a similar manner to a conventional tradesperson’s tool pouch. In other embodiments of the present invention the base medium 12 can be made from any suitable material known in the art and is of any geometrical shape. Typically the base medium 12 is also provided with a plurality of additional pockets 26 on the front face 16 thereof. These additional pockets 26 may be used for storing fasteners, drill bits, etc. or in the case of an electrician, various electrical items.

Now that a preferred embodiment of the tool lanyard pouch has been described in detail, it will be apparent that the described embodiment provides a number of advantages over the prior art, including the following:

It ensures that tools are always available to a tradesperson within safe reach and cannot be accidentally dropped.

By keeping all tools and lanyards separate from the body of the tradesperson it avoids the occupational health and safety issues associated with prior art lanyards.

The problem of a messy workstation can also be overcome as only those tools and materials required for the job are placed in the tool lanyard pouch, rather than carrying the whole tool bag and placing it on the floor in the workstation where it becomes a trip hazard.

The tool lanyard pouch can be made from flame-retardant materials to minimise any fire hazard in the workstation.

The shape and configuration of the tool lanyard pouch can be easily modified to suit different types of workstations and jobs.

Additionally, other variations are within the spirit of the present invention. For example, the number, size and arrangement of the pockets 14 on the front face 16 of the base medium 12 may differ significantly from that shown in the illustrated embodiment. Thus, while the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof are shown in the drawings and has been described above in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention, as defined in the appended claims.

The use of the terms "a" and "an" and "the" and similar referents in the context of describing the invention (especially in the context of the following claims) are to be construed to cover both the singular and the plural, unless otherwise indicated herein or clearly contradicted by context. The terms "comprising," "having," "including," and "containing" are to be construed as open-ended terms (i.e., meaning "including, but not limited to,") unless otherwise noted. The terms "connected", ''fitted'' are to be construed as partly or wholly contained within, attached to, or joined together, even if there is something intervening. Likewise the word “preferably” or variations such as “preferred”, will be understood to imply that a stated integer or group of integers is desirable but not essential to the working of the invention. All methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context. The use of any and all examples, or exemplary language (e.g., "such as") provided herein, is intended merely to better illuminate embodiments of the invention and does not pose a limitation on the scope of the invention unless otherwise claimed. No language in the specification should be construed as indicating any non-claimed element as essential to the practice of the invention.

Preferred embodiments of this invention are described herein. Variations of those preferred embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading the foregoing description. The inventor expects skilled artisans to employ such variations as appropriate, and the inventor intends for the invention to be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein. Accordingly, this invention includes all modifications and equivalents of the subject matter recited in the claims appended hereto as permitted by applicable law. Moreover, any combination of the above-described elements in all possible variations thereof is encompassed by the invention unless otherwise indicated herein or otherwise clearly contradicted by context.

Claims

A tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation, said tool lanyard pouch comprising:
a base medium having a top portion and a bottom portion;
a plurality of pockets attached to said base medium; and
a plurality of fasteners attached to said base medium;
wherein said top portion of said base medium is used as a flap and said base medium is removably fastened with said plurality of fasteners to a structure associated with said workstation and each of said plurality of pockets of said base medium securely receives one or more tools.
The tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation as in claim 1, wherein said base medium is planar.
The tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation as in claim 1, wherein said plurality of pockets are mechanically coupled to a front face of said base medium.
The tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation as in claim 3, wherein said plurality of pockets can be of any size.
The tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation as in claim 1, wherein said plurality of fasteners are separable fasteners having parts adapted repeatedly to be released from one another and repeatedly to be connected again by simple manual manipulations and without use of tools.
The tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation as in claim 3, wherein said tool lanyard pouch further comprises of a plurality of loops on said front face of said base medium.
The tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation as in claim 6, wherein at least one loop of said plurality of loops is provided adjacent to each of said plurality of pockets.
The tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation as in claim 6, wherein one or more lanyards is attached to each of said plurality of loops.
The tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation as in claim 8, wherein said plurality of tools are each secured to said plurality of pockets of said base medium by at least one of said one or more lanyards.
The tool lanyard pouch for a tradesperson working from a workstation as in claim 1, wherein said tool lanyard pouch is rolled up to be carried by said tradesperson.