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  Full body harnessUSPTO Application #: 20060195962Title: Full body harness Abstract: A full-body harness, with or without an integral support line, with the harness being adaptable for class I, class II, and/or class III service, and for use by safety personnel (such as firefighters, military personnel, rescue workers etc.) or others for situations that call for emergency activity in areas where falls from an unsafe height are possible, or for use for entertainment purposes such as climbing, rappelling, or skydiving, for example, or for use with a parachute, such as for military or recreational applications, for example. (end of abstract) Agent: Pearne & Gordon LLP - Cleveland, OH, US Inventor: Omar P. Jordan USPTO Applicaton #: 20060195962 - Class: 002069000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Apparel, Body Garments The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060195962. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/332,518, filed on Jan. 13, 2006, which was itself a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 10/740,993 filed on Dec. 19, 2003. These applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. [0002] U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/740,993, and thereby this application, claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 60/434,933 filed on Dec. 19, 2002 and provisional application Ser. No. 60/495,985, filed on Aug. 18, 2003, both documents incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0003] This application relates generally to a body harness, and also to a full body harness with integral support line for emergency crews or for general safety use. [0004] More specifically, this application relates to a harness adaptable for class I, class II, and/or class III service for use by safety personnel (such as firefighters, for example) for situations that call for emergency activity in areas where falls from an unsafe height are possible (such as rescues from skyscrapers, cliffs, or other raised locations, for example). BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0005] Firefighters traditionally wear outer clothing that is known in the art as turnout gear. Turnout gear includes a large coat and pants that typically have an inner liner and an outer layer. The outer layer or shell is usually constructed from materials that are resistant to abrasion, flame, heat, and water. [0006] In addition to the turnout gear coat and pants, firefighters also wear a helmet, thick gloves, and a large oxygen tank. As can be appreciated, the equipment is heavy and bulky, and there is understandably a great resistance by firefighters to add any further equipment to what is already in use. [0007] Unfortunately, for firefighters entering a burning building, especially a high-rise building, the conventional equipment typically does not include means to facilitate escape from a window or roof of the building. Moreover, for a firefighter who is injured and incapable of escaping from the building, the conventional equipment does not include means to facilitate lifting, lowering, or dragging the injured firefighter from the building. [0008] In the past, an unsatisfactory solution to this problem has been to carry lengths of rope in a coat pocket (which can be lost or difficult to retrieve) or a coil of rope over-the-shoulder (which can get snagged on things in the building, be dropped, or is otherwise inconvenient for the firefighter to carry). Alternatively, firefighters may utilize bulky and complex body harnesses that may be easily entangled and difficult to put on properly, leading to excessive dress time and delays. Therefore, it is common for firefighters to enter tall buildings during a fire either without a support line or harness, or with an unreliable support line or a harness improperly fitted or fastened together, which can lead to failure of the rescue equipment when it is needed most. Further, when a firefighter is incapacitated, he must be physically lifted and carried, or dragged by his coat by a rescuer, which can greatly burden another rescuer. [0009] Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a means to facilitate escape from upper floors of a building which incorporates a full-body harness that meets or exceeds current safety requirements, is easily adjustable for individual firefighters, and is easy to put on and take off. There also exists a need in the art for a means and method for rescuing incapacitated people from buildings. Finally, there exists a need in the art for firefighter turnout gear that incorporates such escape and rescue means. [0010] A number of harnesses have been developed in an attempt to satisfy some of the above determined needs. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,970,517 and 6,487,725 to the present inventor, both incorporated herein by reference, disclose a harness with an integrated support line. [0011] Many of the harness units that currently exist have a number of problems and shortcomings. For example, the connecting ends of current harnesses, when unbuckled, may lead to the harness device getting separated and spread out, such that it can be difficult for the wearer to easily find the ends to strap the harness together, or the harness might get tangled up in firefighting clothing or in the support lines. Further, many currently available harnesses are limited in their ability to be adjusted to closely fit the individual, and thus can be uncomfortable when worn, or even maladjusted, preventing their proper functioning. Even further, many existing harnesses may become entangled or are difficult to properly adjust and are difficult to put on and/or take off, leading to delays in getting the firefighter to the rescue. [0012] Furthermore, there are three basic types of harnesses for emergency work defined by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) as defined in the NFPA 1983: Standard on Fire Service Life Safety Rope and System Components, incorporated herein by reference. [0013] A class I harness is primarily a positioning belt to catch the wearer if he slips, and is for personal egress. A Class I harness fastens around the waist and around thighs or under buttocks, and is designed to be used for emergency escape with a design load of about three hundred lbf or more. A class II harness is suitable for rappelling work and is one that fastens around the waist and around the thighs or under the buttocks, and is designed for rescue with a design load of six hundred lbf or more. Finally, a class III harness is a full-body harness that fastens around the waist or chest, around the thighs or under the buttocks, and over the shoulders, and is designed for rescue with a design load of six hundred Ibf or more and which provides maximum fall protection. [0014] It would be beneficial to have a single design that could satisfy all of these needs, and be adjustable to be utilized as a Class I, Class II, or a Class III harness. [0015] Finally, current system configurations of various personnel lowering devices (PLDs) utilize nylon webbing, antiquated descending devices and small snap hooks and rings. Such a system requires two hands to deploy and operate. Several problems are that they are bulky and difficult to operate, may melt if the user descends is too fast, and become tangled easily. The user must pull out the system, connect the descending device to the parachute harness, and finally wrap the nylon webbing with the ring around the riser. Without being able to see the connection, the user must connect the snap hook to the small ring. This is very difficult even when you able to see the connection point. The snap hook and ring are very small and difficult to use with gloved hands. The tensile strength of the hardware and webbing is questionable. Too many steps are needed to deploy and use. Once the steps are completed, the user must feed the Nylon webbing through the descending device perfectly straight. If not, the webbing could tangle. The user must descend at a slow rate to prevent heat build up and melting the Nylon webbing. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0016] Provided is a harness comprising: a first configuration for making the harness a class I harness; a second configuration for making the harness a class II harness; and a third configuration for making the harness a class III harness. Each of the configurations can be implemented by a user configuring the harness while putting it on. [0017] Also provided is a harness comprising: a harness body portion and one or more of a leg strap, a chest strap, a back strap, and a shoulder strap (with the shoulder strap having a shoulder pull handle for adjusting the shoulder strap). The harness also comprising a support line module including a support line with the support line module and the harness body portion being secured to one another. [0018] Further provided is a harness comprising a harness body portion including: a first configuration for making the harness a class I harness; a second configuration for making the harness a class II harness; and a third configuration for making the harness a class III harness. Each of the configurations can be implemented by a user configuring the harness while putting it on. [0019] The above harness also comprises a support line module including a support line. The support line module and the harness body portion are secured to one another in the above harness. [0020] Also provided is a harness comprising: a harness body portion having a first end and a second end; a fastener for releasably securing the first end to the second end to releasably secure the harness body portion around a user; and a support line module containing a support line. Continue reading... Full patent description for Full body harness Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Full body harness patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Full body harness or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Next Patent Application: Protective method using reversible garment for military or paramilitary firefighter Industry Class: Apparel ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Full body harness patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.94197 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Tyco , Unilever , Warner-lambert , 3m |
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