Safety Harness Dorsal Closure for Accidental Detachment Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety harnesses are not suitable for inexperienced users or children, as they can inadvertently detach from the lifeline, and attempts to improve safety by fixing the lanyard lead to complex and tedious operations for putting on or taking off the harness.
Innovation Solution
A safety harness design with a permanently closed ventral attachment zone and dorsal opening/closing means that require maneuvering force and agility to access, combined with safety locking mechanisms only accessible by an outside party, and a lanyard with locking means inaccessible to the user, ensuring the harness cannot be detached from the lifeline without proper authorization.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the opening/closing means are arranged in the ventral attachment zone for easy accessibility, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to risk of accidental opening
Solution Approach 1:
The harness is divided into two functional zones: a ventral attachment zone permanently dedicated to connecting the lanyard, and a dorsal opening/closing zone for donning and doffing. This spatial segmentation prevents the user from accidentally opening the harness while maintaining easy access to the attachment means.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of placing the opening/closing means in the ventral attachment zone as in conventional harnesses, the invention inverts the arrangement by positioning the opening/closing means dorsally and permanently closing the ventral attachment zone. This inversion eliminates the risk of accidental opening while preserving operational ease.
2Reliability
If the lanyard is fixed in a permanent manner to the ventral attachment zone, then the reliability is improved by preventing detachment, but the device complexity increases due to permanent closure requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The harness structure is segmented into a permanently closed ventral attachment zone for lanyard connection and a separately accessible dorsal opening/closing zone. This segmentation allows the lanyard to be permanently fixed while maintaining simple donning and doffing operations through the dorsal means.
Solution Approach 2:
The dorsal opening/closing means act as an intermediary mechanism that mediates between the user's need to don/doff the harness and the requirement for permanent closure of the ventral attachment zone. This intermediary allows easy operation without compromising the permanent closure.
3Reliability
If the opening/closing means are made inaccessible to prevent accidental opening, then the reliability is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Different parts of the harness have different accessibility qualities: the ventral attachment zone is permanently closed and inaccessible for opening, while the dorsal opening/closing zone is specifically designed to be accessible to the user for donning and doffing operations. This local differentiation of accessibility resolves the contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
The harness is segmented into zones with different accessibility characteristics, allowing the ventral zone to be permanently protected while the dorsal zone remains easily accessible for operational purposes.
Data Source
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AI summary
Safety harness (1), made from flexible, high-strength webbing, comprising at its upper part a chest harness (2), at its lower part a leg loop (3), a ventral attachment point (10) with an attachment point (11) for securing the user, and opening/closing means (9) allowing, in the open position, the lateral expansion of the harness (1) away from a vertical median plane (1-1) for donning or doffing, and allowing, in the closed position, the harness (1) to be secured around the user's body. The chest harness (2) comprises two shoulder straps (7, 8). The leg loop (3) comprises a pair of leg loops (4, 5) on either side of the vertical median plane (1-1). The ventral attachment zone (10) is permanently closed, formed by the junction of the ventral ends of the two straps (7, 8) and the attachment means (11).The respective dorsal parts (7a, 8a) of the two straps are arranged entirely on either side of the vertical median plane (1-1) and are connected to each other by a dorsal closure (9) forming said opening/closing means.