Abstract:
A safety catch connector includes a catch member, first and second sleeves at two ends of the catch member to define a notch, a locking shaft slidably coupled at the first and second sleeves to selectively open and close the notch, a first controlling unit provided at the first sleeve to releasably lock up the locking shaft at the first sleeve, and a second controlling unit provided at the locking shaft to releasably lock up the locking shaft at the first sleeve, such that the first and second controlling units serves as two safety mechanisms to avoid an unintentional unlocking operation of the locking shaft. The locking shaft is quickly slid to open and close the notch for easy accessing.

Description:
NOTICE OF COPYRIGHT 
     A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to any reproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent files or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention is a safety equipment, and more particular to a safety catch connector, which can be quickly accessed to couple with a plurality of tools with the safety catch and to separately decouple each tool without accidentally dropping the rest of the tools from the safety catch. 
     2. Description of Related Arts 
     Catch devices are widely used in construction sites, chimney and roof repairs, or other operation constructions at height to mitigate the effects of gravity and falling. Accordingly, the catch device comprises a lifting lug hooked and fastens with different tools, such as a safety belt, via a catch connector. The connector is illustrated, with a reference character 91, in Taiwan Patent No. 098204798. 
     However, the prior invention has the following drawbacks. 
     Firstly, the connector generally comprises an arc-shaped ring member having a notch, and a sleeve member rotatably coupled at the ring member to selectively close or open the notch for holding the tools. Accordingly, if the notch is too big, the operation time for rotating the sleeve member to close or open the notch will be significantly increased. It the notch is too small, it is difficult for the user to quickly couple the tool with the connector through the notch. Therefore, it is always arguable to configure the opening size of the notch to enhance the operation of the sleeve member and to enable the quick access of the connector. 
     Secondly, the connector of the prior invention cannot sort out different tools, such as the lifting lug of the catch device and a safety belt, so that the lifting lug will unavoidably contact with the safety belt which will wear the safety belt and shorten the life span thereof. 
     Regarding to the above mentioned issues, the present invention has been carefully researched and developed to address the existing problems of the catch device, so as to eventually come out with the present invention as an improvement of the conventional catch device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
     The present invention provides a safety catch connector which comprises the following components. 
     An elongated catch member, having a generally U-shaped configuration, comprises an elongated retention arm thereof to define a hanging space and a notch which forms at the hanging space, wherein the retention arm has a first sleeve at one end of the retention arm and a second sleeve at an opposed end of the retention arm, such that the first sleeve is coaxially aligned with the second sleeve to define the notch between the first sleeve and the second sleeve. The first sleeve has a first sleeve hole formed at an axial direction of the first sleeve as a through hole, and a locking groove which is radially formed at a bottom side of the first sleeve. The second sleeve has a second sleeve hole formed at an axial direction of the second sleeve to coaxially align with the first sleeve hole of the first sleeve. 
     An elongated locking shaft has a first end slidably passing through the first sleeve hole of the first sleeve and a second end slidably inserting into the second sleeve hole of the second sleeve, wherein the locking shaft is extended between the first sleeve and the second sleeve to close the notch. The locking shaft has a first engaging slot radially formed at the first end of the locking shaft to align with the first sleeve. The locking shaft further has a manipulating portion, wherein a controlling channel is formed at an end of the manipulating portion at an axial direction thereof. A shaft locking hole is radially formed at the locking shaft between the first end and the second end, wherein the shaft locking hole is a through hole to communicate with the controlling channel and is positioned close to the first sleeve when the locking shaft is coupled between the first sleeve and the second sleeve at a closed position to close the notch. 
     A first controlling unit comprises a first locking element slidably coupled at the locking groove to slidably dispose at the first sleeve hole, wherein the first locking element has a locking channel formed therewithin. The first controlling unit further comprises a first resilient element disposed in the receiving hole to ensure the top edge of the locking channel being engaged with the first engaging slot of the locking shaft to lock up the locking shaft. 
     A second controlling unit comprises an elongated controlling latch, a second locking element, and a second resilient element. The controlling latch is slidably coupled at the controlling channel. The second locking element is disposed at each opening end of the shaft locking hole to slidably bias against the outer circumferential surface of the controlling latch. The second resilient element is disposed in the controlling channel to ensure the second locking element to be biased against an inner wall of the first sleeve hole of the first sleeve. In order to open up the notch, the first locking element and the controlling latch must be pressed at the same time to unlock with the locking channel and the second locking element respectively, so as to allow the sliding movement of the locking shaft. 
     Therefore, the size of the notch of the present invention can be enlarged at the distance between the first sleeve and the second sleeve, such that the safety belt and the lifting lug of the catch device can be easily accessed through the enlarged notch via the coupling and decoupling operations. It further controls the sliding movement of the locking shaft at the first sleeve hole and the second sleeve hole through the first controlling unit and the second controlling unit to save the operational time of locking and unlocking operation of the present invention. Besides, the locking shaft is long enough that the safety belt can be directly wound around the locking shaft while the lifting lug of the catch device is held at the retention arm, such that the safety belt will not be directly contacted with the lifting lug of the catch device. In other words, the metal lifting lug will keep away from the safety belt to prevent the safety belt from being worn or hit by the lifting lug, so as to greatly prolong the life span of the safety belt. 
     These and other objectives, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the appended claims. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded perspective view of a safety catch connector according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the locking latch of the safety catch connector according to above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the safety catch connector according to above preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the closed position of the safety catch connector. 
         FIG. 4  is a bottom view of the safety catch connector according to above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a sectional view of the safety catch connector according to above preferred embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a side sectional view of the safety catch connector according to above preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the unlocked position of the safety catch connector. 
         FIG. 7  is a bottom sectional view of the safety catch connector according to above preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the unlocked position of the safety catch connector. 
         FIG. 8  is a sectional view of the safety catch connector according to above preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the opened position of the safety catch connector. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the safety catch connector according to above preferred embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the safety catch connector securely coupling with different tools. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The following description is disclosed to enable any person skilled in the art to make and use the present invention. Preferred embodiments are provided in the following description only as examples and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The general principles defined in the following description would be applied to other embodiments, alternatives, modifications, equivalents, and applications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. 
     Please refer to  FIGS. 1 to 5 , a safety catch connector according to the present invention comprises the following components. 
     An elongated catch member  10 , having a generally U-shaped configuration, comprises an elongated retention arm  11  thereof to define a hanging space  12  below the retention arm and a notch  120  which forms at the hanging space  12  and faces downward with respect to the retention arm  11 . The retention arm  11  has a first sleeve  13  (right sleeve) at one end of the retention arm  11  to align with one side of the notch  120  and a second sleeve  14  (a left sleeve) at an opposed end of the retention arm  11  to align with another side of the notch  120 , such that the first sleeve  13  is coaxially aligned with the second sleeve  14  to define the notch  120  between the first sleeve  13  and the second sleeve  14 . The first sleeve  13  has a first sleeve hole  130  formed at an axial direction of the first sleeve as a through hole, and a locking groove  131  which is radially formed at a bottom side of the first sleeve  13  and is upwardly extended to communicate with the first sleeve hole  130 . The catch member  10  further has a receiving hole  1310  formed at the retention arm  11  to align with the locking groove  131 . A fastener hole  132  is formed at the first sleeve  13  at a position adjacent to the locking groove  131  to communicate with the first sleeve hole  130 , wherein a fastener  133 , such as a screw, is detachably engaged with the fastener hole  132  at a position that a head portion of the fastener  133  is extended through the fastener hole  132  to protrude within the first sleeve hole  130 . The second sleeve  14  has a second sleeve hole  140  formed at an axial direction of the second sleeve  14  to coaxially align with the first sleeve hole  130  of the first sleeve  13 . 
     An elongated locking shaft  20  has a first end (right end) slidably passing through the first sleeve hole  130  of the first sleeve  13  and a second end (left end) slidably inserting into the second sleeve hole  140  of the second sleeve  14 , wherein the locking shaft  20  is extended between the first sleeve  13  and the second sleeve  14  to close the notch  120 . Preferably, the locking shaft  20  has a uniform diameter between the first end and the second end. The locking shaft  20  has a first engaging slot  21  radially formed at the first end of the locking shaft  20  to align with the first sleeve  13  and a second engaging slot  22  radially formed at the second end of the locking shaft  20  to align with the second sleeve  14 . Accordingly, the locking shaft  20  further has a shoulder portion  23  integrally and coaxially extended from the first end, wherein a diameter of the shoulder portion  23  is larger than that of the first end. The locking shaft  20  further has a manipulating portion  24  integrally and coaxially extended from the shoulder portion  23 , wherein a diameter of the manipulating portion  24  is gradually increased from the shoulder portion  23 . A controlling channel  25  is formed at an end of the manipulating portion  24  at an axial direction thereof. A shaft locking hole  26  is radially formed at the locking shaft  20  between the first end and the second end, wherein the shaft locking hole  26  is a through hole to communicate with the controlling channel  25  and is positioned close to the first sleeve  13  when the locking shaft  20  is coupled between the first sleeve  13  and the second sleeve  14  at a closed position to close the notch  120 . Two opening ends of the shaft locking hole  26 , i.e. formed on an outer circumferential surface of the locking shaft  20 , are riveted to form a narrowed neck  261  with a reduced diameter size. The locking shaft  20  further has an elongated keyway  27  extended between the first end and the second end at the bottom side of the locking shaft  20 . In particular, the keyway  27  is extended from the fastener hole  132 , such that the head portion of the fastener  133  is slidably engaged with the keyway  27 . 
     A first controlling unit  30  comprises a first locking element  31  slidably coupled at the locking groove  131  to slidably disposed at the first sleeve hole  130 , wherein the first locking element  31  has a locking channel  310  formed therewithin. Accordingly, the locking channel  310  is big enough for the locking shaft  20  passing therethrough. The first controlling unit  30  further comprises a first resilient element  32 , such as a compression spring, disposed in the receiving hole  1310 , wherein a bottom end of the resilient element  32  is biased against a top side of the first locking element  31  to push a bottom side of the first locking element  31  out of the first sleeve hole  130  of the first sleeve  13  while the top edge of the locking channel  310  is engaged with the first engaging slot  21  of the locking shaft  20  to lock up the locking shaft  20  as a first safety mechanism. 
     A second controlling unit  40  comprises an elongated controlling latch  41 , a second locking element  42 , and a second resilient element  43 , such as another compression spring. The controlling latch  41  is slidably coupled at the controlling channel  25 , wherein a wedging groove  411 , having a slanted surface, is radially indented at one end portion of the controlling latch  41 . The second locking element  42 , having a ball shape, is disposed at each opening end of the shaft locking hole  26  to slidably bias against the outer circumferential surface of the controlling latch  41 . In particular, a diameter of the second locking element  42  is larger than the diameter of the narrowed neck  261  of the shaft locking hole  26  and is smaller than the diameter of the shaft locking hole  26 , such that the second locking element  42  is securely retained at the narrowed neck  261  of the shaft locking hole  26  and is pushed outwardly by the controlling latch  41 . The second resilient element  43  is disposed in the controlling channel  25  to bias against an inner end of the controlling latch  41  at a position that an outer end of the controlling latch  41  is pushed out of the manipulating portion  24  of the locking shaft  20 . It is worth mentioning that the second locking element  42  is slidably biased against the outer circumferential surface of the controlling latch  41  to restrict the position of the second locking element  42  at the narrowed neck  261  of the shaft locking hole  26 , such that the second locking elements  42  are radially and outwardly pushed to protrude at the outer circumferential surface of the locking shaft  20  to bias against the inner wall of the first sleeve hole  130  of the first sleeve  13  as a second safety mechanism. 
     According to the above structural descriptions, it is appreciated that the present invention provides the first controlling unit  30  and the second controlling unit  40  to form a double safety configuration to close the notch  120  by the locking shaft  20  so as to avoid any unintentional unlocking operation of the locking shaft  20 . In order to unlock the locking shaft  20  to open up the notch  120 , as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , a user is able to reach and press the bottom side of the first locking element  31  and the outer end of the controlling latch  41  by one hand or both hands. When the bottom side of the first locking element  31  is pressed to lift up the first locking element  31  in order to overcome the resilient force, i.e. the spring force, of the first resilient element  32 , the top edge of the locking channel  310  is disengaged with the first engaging slot  21  of the locking shaft  20 . At the same time, when the outer end of the controlling latch  41  is pressed to push the controlling latch  41  into the controlling channel  25  in order to overcome the resilient force, i.e. the spring force, of the second resilient element  42 , the second locking elements  42  are guided at the wedging groove  411  of the controlling latch  41  at the slanted surface thereof to radially and inwardly move away from the inner wall of the first sleeve hole  130 . As a result, the locking shaft  20  is unlocked and is adapted to slide at the first sleeve  13  and the second sleeve  14 , as shown in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , so as to open up the notch  120 . In other words, the second end of the locking latch  20  is slid out of the second sleeve hole  140  and is slid toward the first sleeve hole  130  of the first sleeve hole  130  to open up the notch  120 . It is worth mentioning that the head portion of the fastener  133  is slidably engaged with the keyway  27  such that when the locking shaft  20  is slid between the opened position and the closed position, the head portion of the fastener  133  is located along the keyway  27  to prevent an unwanted rotatable movement of the locking shaft  20  during the axially sliding movement thereof. When the locking shaft  20  is slid to locate the second engaging slot  22  at the first sleeve hole  130  of the first sleeve  13 , the pressing force at the bottom side of the first locking element  31  can be released. Therefore, the first locking element  31  is pushed to return back to its original position by the first resilient element  32 , such that the top edge of the locking channel  310  is engaged with the second engaging slot  22  of the locking shaft  20  to lock up the locking shaft  20  at the first sleeve  13  so as to prevent the locking shaft  20  from being entirely detached from the catch member  10 . As shown in  FIG. 9 , the retention arm  11  of the present invention is able to hold the lifting lugs  91  of the safety catch devices  90 , wherein the safety belt can be wound around the locking shaft  20  of the present invention. 
     Hence, the present invention has the following advantages. 
     Firstly, the size of the notch  120  of the present invention can be enlarged at the distance between the first sleeve  13  and the second sleeve  14 , such that the safety belt and the lifting lug  91  of the catch device can be easily accessed through the enlarged notch  120  via the coupling and decoupling operations. It further controls the sliding movement of the locking shaft  20  at the first sleeve hole  130  and the second sleeve hole  140  through the first controlling unit  30  and the second controlling unit  40  to save the operational time of locking and unlocking operation of the present invention in comparison with the rotational locking and unlocking operation of the prior art. 
     Secondly, a safety belt can be directly wound around the locking shaft  20  while the lifting lug  91  of the catch device  90  is held at the retention arm  11 , such that the safety belt will not be directly contacted with the lifting lug  91  of the catch device  90 . In other words, the metal lifting lug will keep away from the safety belt to prevent the safety belt from being worn or hit by the lifting lug, so as to greatly prolong the life span of the safety belt. 
     All in all, the overall structural characteristic of the present invention can be unprecedented in all current structures, which is also an excellent and outstanding design that similar invention or publish have both never been found in the same category. Therefore the present invention meets the application requirements of patent of an invention, and is lawfully submitted to apply for the patent accordingly. 
     However, the above descriptions are only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but not to be used to confine the scope of embodying the present invention, which means all equivalent varieties and modifications based on the appended claims of the present invention are within the scope of the present invention. 
     One skilled in the art will understand that the embodiment of the present invention as shown in the drawings and described above is exemplary only and not intended to be limiting. 
     It will thus be seen that the objects of the present invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. The embodiments have been shown and described for the purposes of illustrating the functional and structural principles of the present invention and is subject to change without departure from such principles. Therefore, this invention includes all modifications encompassed within the spirit and scope of the following claims.