Apparel – Body garments – Union type
Reexamination Certificate
2000-07-14
2001-10-30
Mohanty, Bibhu (Department: 3765)
Apparel
Body garments
Union type
C182S006000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06308335
ABSTRACT:
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
Not applicable.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to firefighters' turnout suits, more particularly, to turnout pants into which is integrated a self-adjusting climber's harness.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Firefighters may become entrapped in the upper floors of a multistory building with no internal means of escape. Many tragically have become severely burned, or even killed, as a result. On such occasions, it is known to use a rope and an emergency climbing harness to rappel down to the ground, or at least to a lower floor which is not burning or is otherwise safe. However, such equipment is bulky and therefore not always brought by the firefighter into the building. Even when it is available, in an emergency situation it can be difficult and time consuming to put on, because the firefighter may be running low on oxygen, and smoke and the lack of electric light may be obscuring his or her vision.
Prior developments in this field may be generally illustrated by reference to the following information disclosure statement:
U.S. Patent Documents
U.S. Pat. No.
Patentee
Issue Date
5,136,724
W. Grilliot et al.
Aug. 11, 1992
5,036,548
W. Grilliot et al.
Aug. 6, 1991
3,973,643
J. Hutchinson
Aug. 10, 1976
2,979,153
E. Hoagland et al.
Apr. 11, 1961
4,076,101
L. Himmelrich
Feb. 28, 1978
1,574,529
S. Abrahma
Feb. 23, 1926
4,645,033
H. Oselsclager
Feb. 24, 1987
3,176,793
R. Hlacia
Apr. 6, 1965
112,552
J. Conley
Mar. 14, 1871
416,550
J. Betten
Dec. 3, 1889
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,036,548 and 5,136,724 teach forms of combined firefighters' turnout pants and safety harness.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,643 teaches a firefighters' safety coat with detachable harness.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,153 teaches a safety suit with built-in harness.
There continues to be a need for a new and improved extrication harness apparatus which addresses the problems of construction, effectiveness and ease of use that are attendant in the prior art. In this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the disadvantages inherent in the known art, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to teach a new and improved extrication harness apparatus which has all of the important advantages of the prior art and few, if any, of the disadvantages.
Firefighters wear a special turnout suit, the turnout pants of which comprise a fireproof outer shell and a separate thermal-barrier liner. The present invention is a harness strap assembly (hereinafter also referred to as the “harness strap”), similar in function to a climbing harness, that may be suspended from the liner of the pants of a turnout suit. The suit liner, which in the prior art typically has no belt-loops, preferably is modified by the addition of a suspender assembly that supports the harness strap assembly. The suspender assembly may incorporate snaps, suspender-type alligator clips, or hook and loop fastener patches for attachment to the waist area of the suit liner without requiring any structural, invasive or other permanent modification of said thermal-barrier liner. The suspender assembly, or “suspender,” provides belt-loops through which the harness strap may be threaded. In this way, the harness strap may be suspended from the liner without violating the integrity of the thermal barrier incorporated therein.
It is to be noted in this regard that the suspender belt-loops do not ever bear the weight of the firefighter, but merely are for positioning the harness around the waist, thighs and crotch of the user during normal wearing of the turnout suit—prior to the need for emergency use.
The suspender assembly comprises a matched pair of front waist and thigh belt-loops straps and a rear yoke. Each front waist and thigh belt-loops strap bears or forms a pair of loops for the harness strap assembly (upper for the waist portion thereof and lower for the thigh portion). The rear yoke forms a pair of upper waist belt-loops and a pair of lower buttock/crotch area belt-loops, again for positioning, holding and supporting the harness strap. The suspender assembly contains non-invasive means for attaching itself to the liner of a turnout suit. “Non-invasive” means, in this context, attaching means which does not itself puncture or otherwise violate the integrity of the thermal-barrier liner.
The harness strap assembly comprises a single length of webbed strap (or, preferably, a securely interconnected bifurcated length having a single common longitudinal centerline) that is wound forward around the user's waist through the four suspended waist belt-loops; thence down through the crotch and back around under the user's buttocks; then through the suspended crotch belt-loops; then back around outside and through the suspended thigh loops on the lower ends of both front waist and thigh belt-loops straps; and finally back forward to the fly area of the liner where it terminates in two looped ends. Adjacent to the fly, on their way first down through the crotch, the crotch portions of the harness strap pass through a pair of carabiner-holding rings, which rings are not stitched or otherwise affixed to the liner. Instead, the two looped ends of the harness strap hold the two rings. The carabiner-holding rings, in turn, may be interlinked with a metal carabiner of conventional design. Preferably, the carabiner will be suspended from a carabiner strap that passes from one ring to the other.
A pair of belt members may be affixed to the waist portion of the harness strap and fastened together into a belt that may be used for cinching the harness strap up at the liner pant waist. The belt is supplied chiefly to keep the apparatus comfortably in place during normal wear. The belt performs the secondary function of keeping the turnout pants up without the need for suspenders. During normal emergency use the belt members do not have to support any of the user's weight. Therefore, they might be made of lightweight, non load-bearing material, and any buckle or other belt fastener means used to keep them together does not have to meet load-bearing safety standards. Alternatively, the belt and its buckle may be strengthened so as to be able to bear some portion of the weight should the user become inverted during a rappel.
There preferably is a load-bearing safety-grade adjustment buckle on the waist portion of a bifurcated harness strap, or other means for adjusting the overall length of the harness strap relative to the girth of the wearer. This typically only needs to be done once, during the very first fitting thereof. It never has to be done during an emergency, or even during normal firefighting operations. In some embodiments of this invention, the belt and the adjustment buckle functions (above) can in effect be combined in a single clasp, such as a double D-ring clasp at the front of the device.
To escape out of a window in a burning building, one need only secure a rope to a suitable fixed structure. Next, the climbing rope is wound through the carabiner (or carabiners) in the normal fashion. The firefighter immediately may rappel down to safety.
There is no need to put the harness on during the time of the emergency, because one automatically encases one's waist and legs in the harness when the turnout pants are put on.
Importantly, as noted above, there is also no need to adjust or tighten the harness during the emergency—when the firefighter may have only precious moments to exit the building. The use of a free-moving single (or interconnected bifurcated) harness strap threaded loosely through strategically placed loops suspended from the pant liner allows the harness to be self-adjusting. Unlike known emergency harnesses, the present harness apparatus automatically tightens up upon receiving the user's weight without binding.
The harness adds little weight to the turnout pants, and, during normal wear, the crotch portions of the harness strap h
Mohanty Bibhu
White Douglas E.
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