Safety Harness Damping Unit for Fall Impact Mitigation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing safety harnesses do not adequately reduce stress on the wearer during a fall, as they fail to effectively absorb the impact energy, potentially leading to excessive load on the body and risk of an upper body-back overhang position due to high flexibility or elasticity in straps.
Innovation Solution
A safety harness design featuring a damping unit between the chest and waist straps, which includes multiple layers that tear open to absorb energy, reducing the maximum load on the wearer, and a runner that can be attached to a rail to distribute impact, thereby limiting the force at the transition point during a fall.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If high flexibility or elasticity is used in straps, then comfort and mobility are improved, but the load on the wearer's body during a fall increases
Solution Approach 1:
The harness is divided into multiple functional segments: flexible straps for comfort, a rigid waist belt for structural support, and a shock-absorbing unit with energy-absorbing element for impact mitigation. Each segment performs a specific function, allowing the flexible straps to provide comfort while the rigid and energy-absorbing segments handle the fall load.
Solution Approach 2:
The shock-absorbing unit acts as an intermediary between the flexible straps and the wearer's body during a fall. It absorbs and dissipates impact energy through the energy-absorbing element, preventing the full force from being transmitted to the wearer while allowing the straps to remain flexible for comfort.
2Device complexity
If traditional harness design without shock-absorbing unit is used, then device complexity is reduced, but the maximum load on the wearer during a fall increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shock-absorbing unit with energy-absorbing element is pre-installed in the harness between the waist belt and chest strap. Before a fall occurs, this unit is ready to absorb impact energy, reducing the maximum load on the wearer during the fall event without requiring complex additional mechanisms.
3Force
If shock-absorbing unit is added between chest strap and waist belt, then the maximum load on the wearer is reduced, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shock-absorbing unit combines multiple functions into a single integrated component: it includes a shock-absorbing element for impact mitigation, an energy-absorbing element for dissipating fall energy, and attachment points for integration with the waist belt and chest strap. This merging reduces the need for separate complex mechanisms while achieving load reduction.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively reduces the impact force on the wearer to a maximum of 6 kN, preventing excessive stress and potential overhanging positions by transferring energy to the damping unit, which partially tears to absorb fall energy, ensuring safer falls and preventing reuse of a torn harness.
Implementation Method 1
The shock-absorbing unit is designed to at least partially tear open in the event of a fall in order to absorb at least some of the energy of the fall. The shock-absorbing unit consists of several layers that are designed to at least partially tear open in the event of a fall.
Implementation Method 2
The shock-absorbing unit is designed to limit the maximum load acting on the wearer of the full-body harness in the event of a fall.
Data Source
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AI summary
Provision is made for a safety harness with a chest strap (20), an abdominal strap (30) and a damping unit (50) between the chest strap and the abdominal strap (20, 30). The damping unit (50) is designed to limit the maximum force of the safety harness exerted on the wearer in the case of a fall. The damping unit (50) has a connector (51) for connection to an external runner (110).