Safety Harness Strap Adjuster with Unidirectional Locking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Safety harnesses often experience strap loosening due to inadequate buckle designs, compromising the fit and safety of workers in precarious positions, leading to potential injuries during falls.
Innovation Solution
The introduction of an adjustable strap system featuring a base, shaft, and locking mechanism that allows rotation in one direction while preventing it in the opposite, ensuring secure and customizable strap lengths for shoulder, chest, waist, seat, and leg straps.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional buckles are used to interconnect straps, then the harness can be assembled, but the straps may loosen and compromise the proper fit
Solution Approach 1:
The adjuster assembly allows dynamic adjustment of strap length by rotating the shaft to wind or unwind the strap, while the locking mechanism provides static security once the desired fit is achieved. This combines adjustability with reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjuster assembly acts as an intermediary device between the strap ends, providing both adjustment capability and secure locking function that traditional buckles lack.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the shaft allows free rotation for adjustment, then strap length can be customized, but the shaft may rotate in the unwinding direction causing strap loosening
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is designed with asymmetric engagement features that allow rotation in one direction (winding) but prevent rotation in the opposite direction (unwinding), ensuring strap security while maintaining adjustability.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism automatically engages when the shaft is rotated to wind the strap, providing self-locking functionality without requiring additional user action to secure the strap.
3Reliability
If a locking mechanism is added to prevent shaft rotation, then strap security is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is designed to engage automatically through the natural rotation of the shaft during strap adjustment, eliminating the need for separate locking actions or complex control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism serves as an intermediary between the shaft rotation and strap security, providing a simple mechanical interface that translates rotational motion into secure locking without adding significant complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method of adjusting a length of at least one safety harness strap with an adjuster comprises positioning the adjuster at a desired location along the at least one strap, winding the at least one strap about the shaft, and locking the shaft with the locking mechanism to prevent rotation in an unwinding direction. The at least one strap is selected from the group consisting of at least one shoulder strap, at least one chest strap, at least one waist strap, at least one seat strap, and at least one leg strap. The adjuster includes a base, a shaft rotatably operatively connected to the shaft and defining a slot configured and arranged to receive the at least one strap, and a locking mechanism interconnecting the base and the shaft. The locking mechanism allows rotation of the shaft in one direction and prevents rotation of the shaft in an opposite direction.