Resilient Shock-Absorbing Member for Fall-Arresting Harness
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional safety harnesses lack resilience, leading to sudden and severe jolting impacts when arresting a fall from elevated structures, potentially injuring the wearer.
Innovation Solution
A fall-arresting safety harness assembly featuring a lanyard with a pair of lanyard straps, a strap breakaway area, and at least one resilient shock-absorbing member that engages a lanyard ring to absorb the energy of a falling person's motion, preventing abrupt stops.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional safety harness is used to support the worker's weight during a fall, then the worker is prevented from falling to the ground, but the worker is subjected to a sudden and severe jolting impact that may potentially injure the worker
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates a resilient construction into the safety harness that acts as a cushioning element. This resilient construction is designed to deform and absorb impact energy during a fall, thereby cushioning the worker from the sudden jolting impact while still preventing the fall itself. The cushioning effect is built into the harness structure beforehand, ready to activate when needed.
2Strength
If a tough material such as nylon webbing or leather is used to construct the harness, then the harness can support the worker's weight, but the harness lacks resilience and cannot absorb the energy of the falling motion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs composite materials in the harness construction, combining tough materials like nylon webbing or leather with resilient materials. This composite approach allows the harness to maintain its strength and weight-bearing capability while simultaneously gaining the ability to deform and absorb impact energy during a fall. The resilient portion of the composite construction acts as an energy-dissipating element.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes materials or structural elements whose physical parameters change during the fall event. The resilient construction changes its stiffness or elasticity parameters dynamically - remaining relatively rigid during normal use to support weight, but becoming more compliant and deformable during impact to absorb energy. This parameter change allows the same structure to provide both strength and energy absorption.
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 assembly effectively absorbs the energy of a falling person's motion, reducing the risk of injury by stopping the fall in a non-abrupt manner, ensuring a safer descent and minimizing the risk of severe impact.
Implementation Method 1
at least one resilient shock-absorbing member carried by the harness and engaging the lanyard ring
Implementation Method 2
absorbs the energy of a person's falling motion and stops the fall in a non-abrupt manner
Data Source
AI summary
A fall-arresting safety harness assembly includes a lanyard including a pair of lanyard straps, at least one strap breakaway area attaching the lanyard straps to each other and a strap separation area generally adjacent to the at least one strap breakaway area; a lanyard ring extending between the lanyard straps at the strap separation area of the lanyard; a harness carried by the lanyard; and at least one resilient shock-absorbing member carried by the harness and engaging the lanyard ring.