Fire escape – ladder – or scaffold – Torso harness
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-14
2001-03-27
Chin-Shue, Alvin (Department: 3634)
Fire escape, ladder, or scaffold
Torso harness
C182S036000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06206137
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for interconnecting two articles in series with one another.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Connectors are suitable for various purposes and in various applications. For example, fall-arresting safety devices require a reliable safety line and reliable connections to both the support structure and the person working in proximity to the support structure.
Typically, one or more deceleration devices is connected in series with the safety line. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,906 to Feathers discloses a safety anchorage device which controls pay-out of a safety line. This prior art anchorage device is selectively connected to a support structure, and the safety line is selectively connected to a person (via a body harness, for example). In the event of a fall, the safety line and the other parts of the anchorage device cooperate to safely bring the person to rest.
Another exemplary safety device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,110 to Wolner. This prior art safety device similarly controls pay-out of a safety line during normal work activity and/or in the event of a fall. In this patent, however, the device is shown anchored to the body harness, and the safety line is shown connected to the support structure. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved connector suitable for use in various applications, including fall-arrest systems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides connection methods and apparatus suitable for various purposes, including connecting a personal safety device in series between a person and a support structure. On a first embodiment of the present invention, the distal end of a bolt is inserted though one end of a U-shaped member and through spaced apart tabs on a safety device. The distal end of the bolt is then selectively threaded through an opposite end of the U-shaped member. A stop is rigidly secured to an intermediate portion of the bolt to retain one of the tabs between the stop and the end of the U-shaped member nearer the bolt. A spring is disposed between the stop and the head of the bolt to bias the bolt toward the other tab (and the threaded end of the U-shaped member).
On a second embodiment of the present invention, the distal end of the bolt is simply inserted through the opposite end of the U-shaped member. The spring biases a lever toward an orientation which prevents withdrawal of the bolt from the opposite end of the U-shaped member. When the lever is moved out of the way, and the bolt is withdrawn from the opposite end of the U-shaped member, the lever may be released to hold the bolt in this open configuration.
The connectors of the present invention are convenient to use and reliable in use. They are suitable for use with various sorts of existing devices and are believed to be particularly well-suited for incorporation into safety devices. Additional features and/or advantages of the present invention may become more apparent from the detailed description which follows.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4140205 (1979-02-01), Matson
patent: 4877110 (1989-10-01), Wolner
patent: 5156233 (1992-10-01), Olsen et al.
patent: 5351906 (1994-10-01), Feathers
Casebolt Scott C.
Wolner James T.
Chin-Shue Alvin
D B Industries, Inc.
Mau & Krull, P.A.
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