Tearable Webbing Shoulder Straps for Fall Protection Harnesses
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing fall protection harnesses with integrated energy absorbers are often bulky and add weight, compromising user mobility and safety compliance, especially when falls occur over edges, as they concentrate force on a single point.
Innovation Solution
A fall protection harness with integrated energy-absorbing elements in the shoulder straps made from tearable webbing material, encased in tubular webbing, allowing for adjustable and removable attachment points, and a connector system for adjustable leg and chest straps, providing effective energy absorption without adding bulk or weight.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If an energy absorbing element is permanently attached to the D-ring on the user's back, then fall protection is provided, but the harness becomes bulky and interferes with user mobility
Solution Approach 1:
The energy absorbing element is segmented into discrete webbing components that can be independently attached to specific harness straps rather than being permanently fixed to the D-ring. This allows the energy absorption function to be distributed across multiple attachment points, reducing bulk at any single location while maintaining protective function.
Solution Approach 2:
The energy absorbing webbing components are designed to be dynamically attachable and detachable from the harness straps, allowing users to adjust or remove them based on task requirements. This dynamic configuration enables the harness to adapt between providing maximum protection and allowing maximum mobility.
2Reliability
If an energy absorbing element is permanently attached to the D-ring on the user's back, then fall protection is provided, but additional weight is added that the user must carry at all times
Solution Approach 1:
The energy absorbing element is divided into separate webbing components that can be attached only when needed, rather than being permanently integrated into the harness structure. This segmentation allows the harness to maintain its base weight without the additional energy absorption weight during normal use.
Solution Approach 2:
The energy absorbing webbing components are extracted from the permanent harness structure and presented as separate attachable elements. Users can attach these components to specific straps when fall protection is required, removing them when not needed to reduce carried weight.
3Reliability
If the line of the SRL bends over the edge of a working surface, then the line is not moved relative to the edge, but the entire force of a fall is imparted on a single point in the line at the edge
Solution Approach 1:
The energy absorbing webbing components are attached to multiple different straps throughout the harness, distributing the energy absorption function across several attachment points. When a fall occurs, this segmentation ensures that forces are distributed across multiple straps and attachment points rather than concentrating on a single point.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the harness straps have different properties - some portions have energy absorbing webbing components attached while others do not. This local variation in properties allows the harness to provide energy absorption where needed while maintaining the integrity of the overall structure and distributing forces appropriately.
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
Enhances user safety and mobility by distributing fall forces more evenly, reducing the risk of injury from sudden deceleration and maintaining safety compliance in various work environments.
Implementation Method 1
energy-absorbing elements in the shoulder straps made from tearable webbing material
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3B
AI summary
A fall protection harness (100) for being removably worn by a user comprising a first shoulder strap (126a) and a second shoulder strap (126b), each strap (126) comprising a tearable webbing material (146) having a first webbing component (146a) bound to a second webbing component (146b), and an anchor element (138) connected to the first webbing component (146a) of each of the first shoulder strap (126a) and the second shoulder strap (126b) at an unbound portion between the first webbing component (146a) and the second webbing component (146b), wherein the first webbing component (146a) of each of the first shoulder strap (126a) and the second shoulder strap (126b) is configured to tear away from the second webbing component (146b) upon exposure to a force in excess of a predetermined threshold.