Abstract:
A restraint system for restraining a prisoner or the like comprising a left belt which has a generally horizontally extending left hip belt and a generally vertically extending left shoulder strap, a right belt which has a generally horizontally extending right hip belt releasably securable to the left hip belt and a generally vertically extending right shoulder strap, and a shoulder strap spacer operable to maintain a selected spacing between the left and right shoulder straps. The free ends of the left hip belt and right hip belt and the shoulder strap spacer are adapted to be releasably attached to a fixed structure.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to restraint systems for law enforcement or medical personnel to use for restraining violent or potentially violent persons. More particularly, the present invention relates to a restraint harness particularly well suited for use in a police cruiser to safely transport a person in custody in an upright position without impairing the person&#39;s respiratory function. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    There is often a need for law enforcement officers to restrain individuals while they are being transported in a police cruiser or other automotive vehicle. Also, there is often a need for medical personnel to restrain violent, or potentially violent, patients. Sometimes it is necessary to restrain a person in order to protect the person from his or her self. Sometimes it is necessary to restrain a person in order to protect nearby personnel from being harmed by the person. 
         [0003]    Handcuffs are commonly used to restrict hand and arm movements of a person. But restraint systems may be used in addition to, or instead of, handcuffs to restrain a person&#39;s torso and/or legs. 
         [0004]    Efforts to provide restraint systems have been disclosed in several U.S. Patents, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,922,254 Apr. 12, 2011 to Squires et al. for SEAT SECURITY DEVICE, U.S. Pat. No. 5,651,375 Jul. 19, 1997 to James Cunningham for PRISONER IMMOBILIZATION DEVICE, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,583 Jan. 25, 1977 to David E. Johnson for RESTRAINING DEVICE. But there remains a need for improved restraint devices. 
         [0005]    Of course, it is desirable that the means of restraint be effective to restrain the person while at the same time the means of restraint should not be harmful to the person being restrained. Of particular concern with respect to restraints causing harm to the person being restrained, is the potential of the restraint itself being able to contribute to respiratory failure. It is generally desirable that the restraint be able to maintain the person in an upright seated position and be unable to itself contribute to choking or other respiratory difficulties. 
         [0006]    Another safety concern involves the consequences in a situation where the restraint must be quickly released, for example, if the vehicle has been involved in an accident and fire is imminent. An effective restraint must be designed so that the person being restrained is not able to release the restraint but the restraint should be able to be quickly released by others in the event of an emergency situation. 
         [0007]    In order for a restraint to be useful it must be available to the officer and be able to be applied relatively quickly. Also, the restraint should be designed to restrain persons of various sizes. 
         [0008]    In order to be available the restraint must be relatively inexpensive or few orgainizations will be able to purchase the restraint for use by their personnel. Also, it would be advantageous if the restraint were easily installed and also easily removed from the vehicle so that the vehicle can be used for other purposes without the restraint getting in the way. 
         [0009]    Furthermore, it would be desirable if the restraint operated in association with anchor points already provided in the vehicle by the vehicle manufacturer such as the anchor points for child seats. This requirement is described in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 225 and it is an advantage of the present invention that the restraint harness is anchored to the associated vehicle by the child seat anchorages. 
         [0010]    Accordingly, the restraint harness of the present invention is an effective, practical restraint system designed to safely protect both the person being restrained as well as others in the same vehicle. 
         [0011]    Further understanding of the present invention will be had from the following specification and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. As used in the following description, the terms “left” and “right” are with reference to the drawings. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0012]    The present invention is a restraint harness or system for restraining a prisoner or the like. The restraint harness comprises a left belt which has a generally horizontally extending left hip belt and a generally vertically extending left shoulder strap, a right belt which has a generally horizontally extending right hip belt releasably securable to the left hip belt and a generally vertically extending right shoulder strap, and a shoulder strap spacer operable to maintain a selected spacing between the left and right shoulder straps. The free ends of the left hip belt and right hip belt and the shoulder strap spacer are adapted to be releasably attached to a fixed structure such as the child seat anchor points of an automobile. The belts and straps are flexible but substantially inelastic so as to be effective in use as means for restraint restraining movement of a person. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view, with portions broken away, showing a preferred embodiment of a restraint harness of the present invention in use restraining a person in custody in a rear seat of a police car; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a plan view showing the preferred embodiment of  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view, with portions broken away, showing an alternative preferred embodiment of a restraint harness of the present invention in use restraining a person in a front seat of a police car; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a plan view showing the alternate preferred embodiment of  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a quick release latch lever device suitable for use in either of the preferred embodiments of the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a quick release receiver suitable for use with the quick release latch lever of  FIG. 4 ; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a releasable latch suitable for use to anchor the ends of straps and belts of either of the preferred embodiments of the present invention to fixed anchor points in a vehicle or the like. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0020]    Now referring to  FIG. 1 , a preferred embodiment of a restraint harness of the present invention is shown and indicated generally by the numeral  10 . In  FIG. 1  restraint harness  10  is shown in use to restrain prisoner  12  in the backseat  14  of police cruiser  16  behind a conventional police cruise partition (not shown in the Figure). Police lo cruisers are generally of conventional U.S. automotive manufacture and hence are equipped with child seat anchorages. The present invention takes advantage of the conventional child seat anchorages which provide points of securement for restraint harness  10 . Restraint harness  10  is anchored to cruiser  16  at child seat anchor points  18 ,  20 , and  22  of the vehicle. Child seat anchor points are not intended for use to provide crash protection for adults. Hence, it is intended that restraint harness  10  will be used in addition to, and not in replacement of, a conventional seat belt (not shown in the figures). It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that prisoner restraint harness  10  is particularly well adapted for use in a backseat of a police vehicle and that child seat anchor points are sufficiently strong for use to anchor restraint harness  10  for its use to restain movement of an adult person&#39;s torso. It will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that restraint of a person&#39;s torso in the Back seat of a typical police cruiser will also effectively restrain the person&#39;s legs from kicking since there is minimal “leg room” in the back seat of a typical police cruiser because of the location of the partition. Of course, should restraint harness  10  be anchored differently and found to meet the safety regulations for crash restraint means, such use is within the broad scope of the present invention. 
         [0000]    As is best shown in  FIG. 3 , restraint harness  10  generally comprises: 
         [0021]    (A) left belt  24  which has a generally horizontally extending left hip belt  26  and a generally vertically extending left shoulder strap  28 ; 
         [0022]    (B) right belt  30  which has a generally horizontally extending right hip belt  32  quick releasably secured to left hip belt  26  and a generally vertically extending right shoulder strap  34 ; 
         [0023]    (C) shoulder strap spacer  36  attached to and spacing left shoulder strap  28  and right shoulder strap  34 ; and 
         [0024]    (D) shoulder strap spacer tether  38  adjustably attached to shoulder strap spacer  36 . 
         [0025]    Left belt  24  comprises a generally horizontally extending left hip belt  26  and a generally vertically extending left shoulder strap  28  which belt and strap are flexible but substantially inelastic. Belt  26  and strap  28  can be made, for example, of 1¾ inch wide polyester webbing or the like such as is suitable for conventional or racing automotive seat belts. Left hip belt  26  and left shoulder strap  28  are sewn together by stitching  40 . Left hip belt  26  is inserted through conventional three bar adjuster  42  to provide means for adjusting its length. The left end of hip belt  26  is attached to anchor latch  46  which is adapted to releasably clip or attach to a conventional child seat anchor ring of an automotive vehicle. The right end of hip belt  26  is attached to a quick release latch member  48  which cooperates with quick release latch member  50  attached to the left end of right hip belt  32 . 
         [0026]    Generally vertically extending shoulder strap  28  is secured to left lap belt  26  by stitching  40  and is disposed at about a right angle thereto. Left shoulder strap  28  is of two piece construction, having an upper piece  52  and a lower piece  54  with ends inserted through self-tightening adjuster  56  and three bar adjuster  58 . Upper piece  52  of shoulder strap  28  is looped through aperture  60  in the left side of shoulder webbing spacer  32 . A two piece cross strap  37  is provided with metal ring  39  and hook and loop fastener means to maintain spacing between left shoulder strap  28  and right shoulder strap  34  in conjunction with shoulder webbing spacer  32 . While illustrated as a two piece construction, shoulder strap  28  may alternatively be of one piece construction. 
         [0027]    Right belt  30  has a construction analogous to left belt  24  but is the mirror image thereof and has quick release latch member  50  which cooperates with quick release latch member  48  of left hip belt  26 . 
         [0028]    Restraint harness  10  is designed to safely limit the mobility of a person, such as a prisoner, during his or her transport in a vehicle, such as a police cruiser, by securing the person&#39;s hips and shoulders, keeping him or her in an upright position. Restraint harness  10  uses a three anchor point system that anchors to all cars having child safety seat anchors. It is intended for use in conjunction with a conventional seat belt provided in the vehicle and which meets DOT standards for seat belts. Restraint harness  10  can be constructed of racing grade safety webbing and hardware or, less preferably, of consumer grade safety webbing and hardware. No tools are required for installation or removal of harness  10  from the vehicle. A person can be quickly secured in harness  10  and removal of his or her securement requires only the pull of lever  62  (which may have a strap attached to facilitate this procedure) of latch  48 . Proper use of harness  10  can reduce likelihood of officer or prisoner injury or destruction of property. 
         [0029]    Now referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , an alternative preferred embodiment of a restraint harness is shown and indicated generally by the numeral  100 .  FIG. 3  illustrates restraint harness  100  in use to restrain prisoner  112  in front seat  114  of police vehicle  116 . It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that child seat anchor points are not provided in the front seats of automobiles so restraint harness  100  differs from restraint harness  10  previously described in that restraint harness  100  is designed to be anchored by fixed anchor points which must be added to the vehicle by an installer. Thus, restraint harness  100  is anchored by anchor points  118 ,  119 ,  120 , and  122  which have been installed in vehicle  116  and which can be secured to seat belt anchors, seat anchors or other securements welded to the vehicle. 
         [0030]    As is best shown in  FIG. 3 , restraint harness  100  generally comprises: 
         [0031]    (A) left belt  124  which has a generally horizontally extending left hip belt  126  and a generally vertically extending left shoulder strap  128 ; 
         [0032]    (B) right belt  130  which has a generally horizontally extending right hip belt  132  releasably secured to left hip belt  126  and a generally vertically extending right shoulder strap  134 ; 
         [0033]    (C) shoulder strap spacer  136  attached to and spacing left shoulder strap  128  and right shoulder strap  134 ; and 
         [0034]    (D) shoulder strap spacer tethers  138  and  139  extending over the back of seat  114  and adjustably attached to shoulder strap spacer  136 . 
         [0035]    Left belt  124  comprises a generally horizontally extending left hip belt  126  and a generally vertically extending left shoulder strap  128  which are analogous to left hip belt  26  and left shoulder strap  28 . Thus, left hip belt  126  and left should strap  128  can be made of 1¾ A inch wide flexible but inelastic polyester webbing or the like such as is suitable for automotive seat belts. Left hip belt  126  is inserted through a conventional three bar adjuster  142  to provide means for adjusting its length. One end of hip belt  126  is attached to anchor latch  146  which is adapted to releasably clip or attach to a conventional child seat anchor ring of an automotive vehicle. The other end of hip belt  126  is attached to a quick release latch member  148  which cooperates with quick release latch member  150  attached to right hip belt  132 . 
         [0036]    Generally vertically extending shoulder strap  128  is secured to left lap belt  126  by stitching  140  and is disposed at a right angle thereto. Left shoulder strap  128  is of two piece construction, having an upper piece  152  and a lower piece  154  with ends inserted through self tightening adjuster  156  and three bar adjuster  158 . Upper piece  152  of shoulder strap  128  is looped through aperture  160  in the left side of shoulder strap spacer  136 . A two piece cross strap  137  is provided with metal ring  139  and hook and loop fastener means to maintain spacing between left shoulder strap  128  and right shoulder strap  134  in conjunction with shoulder webbing spacer  32 . While illustrated as a two piece construction, shoulder strap  128  may alternatively be of one piece construction. 
         [0037]    Shoulder strap spacer  136  is secured to anchor points  118  and  119  by tether straps  138  and  139  which extend over the seatback  113  of seat  114 . Anchor points  118  and  119  are preferably simply eyebolts or the like attached to seat bolts of seat  114 . 
         [0038]    Right belt  130  has a construction analogous to left belt  124  but is the mirror image thereof and has quick release latch member  150  which cooperates with quick release latch member  148  of left hip belt  126 . 
         [0039]    Restraint harness  100  is designed to safely limit the mobility of a person, such as a prisoner, during his or her transport in the front seat of a vehicle, such as a police cruiser, by securing the person&#39;s hips and shoulders, keeping him or her in an upright position. Restraint harness  100  uses a four anchor point system that can anchors to seat belt attachment points and seat bolts. Restraint harness  110  is intended for use in conjunction with a conventional seat belt provided in the vehicle so that DOT certification is not required for restraint harness  100 . However, restraint harness  10  can be constructed of webbing and hardware suitable to meet DOT requirements if desired. No tools are required for installation or removal of harness  10  from the vehicle. A person can be quickly secured in harness  10  and removal of his or her securement requires only the pull of a single strap. Proper use of harness  10  can reduce likelihood of officer or prisoner injury or destruction of property. 
         [0040]    While preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed in the foregoing disclosure, the present invention is subject to variation and modification within the broad scope of the invention. Therefore, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the present invention is intended to be limited only by the scope of the following claims.