Abstract:
The present invention relates generally to a casualty recovery device that allows for a hands free recovery or extraction, either in a combat theatre or any other emergency rescue operation where hands free operation is of significant benefit and time is of the essence.

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     1. Field of Invention 
     The present invention relates generally to a casualty recovery device that allows for a hands free recovery or extraction of a casualty in a law enforcement, military or other emergency rescue operation where hands free withdrawal of the casualty is of significant benefit and time is of the essence. 
     2. Prior Art 
     Current methods of casualty extraction systems or devices suffer form several deficiencies. Four man teams often operate in combat zones much of the time away from their vehicles. If a member of a team is injured, or injured under fire, the best option is often extraction to a covered zone where he can be treated out of the line of fire. 
     The litter is a conventional device for extraction of casualties that requires taking the litter to the casualty, placing the litter on the ground, placing the casualty on the litter and one or two men to pick up the litter and carry or drag the casualty to safety. All the while the rescuers are not in a hands-free, defensive posture with their weapons ready or firing. 
     Harnesses with pull handles or straps need to be worn in anticipation of becoming a casualty and are therefore not always available when needed. Sometimes the casualties are either civilians or even members of an enemy force that require treatment and may not be wearing anticipatory rescue gear. 
     Straps that can be wrapped around a casualty&#39;s feet or attached to the back ring of the vest worn by most soldiers in a combat zone are not a standard part of the soldier&#39;s gear at ready. They must be removed from a back pack; fastened around the waist of the rescuer; the end stuffed into his pocket; the casualty approached, sometimes under fire; the rescuer&#39;s weapon set aside; the strap pulled from his pocket and fastened to the casualty&#39;s vest or wrapped around his feet; the weapon retrieved and backing away dragging the casualty to a covered location while returning fire. 
     All three of the above mentioned methods require excessive time that the rescuer is not able to return fire. Studies have shown that the key to successful extractions is maintaining fire superiority during the rescue. The few seconds difference in time to approach, attach and drag away can be a life and death matter in an emergency or under fire condition. Currently a major topic in the tactical world is care under fire. Not being able to return fire during the complete rescue operation is a major drawback. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One of the objectives of the RACE Belt is to provide an extraction system that is a standard part of every rescuers uniform, not taking up valuable real estate on the soldier&#39;s uniform or space and weight in his backpack. 
     Another objective of the RACE Belt is for it to be a modification to an existing platform, i.e., the riggers/CQB (Close Quarter Combat) belt that is already known and trusted by the tactical community without adding weight or requiring additional space. 
     Another objective of the RACE Belt is for a drag strap to attach at a triangular load bearing coupling on a riggers belt. 
     Another objective of the RACE Belt is for the attached drag strap to be readily disconnectable from the riggers belt. 
     Another objective of the RACE Belt is for the quick disconnect mechanism to be shielded from accidental release. 
     Another objective of the RACE Belt is for a drag strap to have several different available lengths to adjust for the height of the operator and the desired drag angle for the casualty. 
     Another objective of the RACE Belt is for a drag strap to be easily refolded and stored in an open ended pocket mounted on the side opposite the rescuer&#39;s dominant hand on the outside of a riggers belt. 
     Another objective of the RACE Belt is for a drag strap to be at the ready, easy to deploy and attach with one hand while holding and/or firing a weapon with the dominant hand. 
     Another objective of the RACE Belt is to be utilizable to strap a soldier in transport to an open door aircraft preventing accidental fallouts during flight. 
     The RACE Belt, or Rapid Access Casualty Extraction Belt provides the operator with the ability to maintain the full use of his weapon while rapidly attaching a drag strap to a casualty via the existing drag handle that is standard on the back of all tactical vests (varieties of which are worn by every operator) or wrapping a drag strap around the casualties feet or other attachment point. The RACE Belt builds on an existing platform, i.e., the riggers/CQB belt, which is used extensively in the tactical community. The RACE Belt integrates a low profile carabiner attached at the distal end of a drag strap, a distal end of a quick release shackle attached to the proximal end of a drag strap, a proximal end of a quick release shackle attached to a triangular load bearing coupling on a riggers belt and a storage pouch mounted on the side of a riggers belt. The distal end of a drag strap is folded and it and the carabiner are then stowed in the open-ended elastic storage pouch which is attached to a riggers belt. The storage pouch encases about two thirds of the folded strap and carabiner, allowing for easy and rapid operator deployment. The drag strap can be quickly dropped by pulling on a release strap, opening the quick release shackle, freeing the rescuer from the casualty if necessary. The carabiner can also be used to attach to a structure in an open door aircraft thus securing the soldier in transit. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
       In order that the invention is fully understood it will now be described with reference to the following drawings in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a riggers belt. 
         FIG. 1A  is an enlarged partial front view of the distal end of a riggers belt. 
         FIG. 1B  is a partial section view taken along cutting plain  1 B- 1 B in  FIG. 1A . 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of a riggers belt. 
         FIG. 2A  is an enlarged partial side view of the distal end of a riggers belt. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of a drag strap. 
         FIG. 3A  is an enlarged partial front view of a drag strap showing attached carabiner closed in solid lines and opened in broken lines. 
         FIG. 3B  is an enlarged partial front view of the proximal end of a drag strap showing the quick release shackle closed in solid lines and opened in broken lines. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of a drag strap. 
         FIG. 4A  is an enlarged partial side view of a drag strap showing an alternate attachment loop. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of RACE Belt with its drag strap in a stored position with keeper/silencer open. 
         FIG. 5A  is a perspective view of RACE Belt with its drag strap in a stored position with keeper/silencer closed. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of RACE Belt in its extended position. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     In order that RACE Belt  10  is fully understood it will now be described by way of the following examples. This new invention is a rapid access casualty extraction device. It is built on the standard riggers/CQB belt  12  that most soldiers in combat wear as part of their uniform. RACE Belt  10  is comprised of riggers belt  12  with a forward opening pouch  26  attached to one side and triangular load bearing coupling  18  connected at the rear of buckle  20  as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  1 A,  2  and  2 A. The proximal end of Drag strap  22  is connected to triangular load bearing coupling  18  with a quick disconnect shackle  28 . Drag strap  22  is folded on marked-in-red fold lines  32 , and inserted into pouch  26  as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 5A . Pouch  26  is deep enough to encapsulate approximately ⅔ the length of the folded sections of drag strap  22 . The distal end of drag strap  22  has a quick connect carabiner  24  attached for connecting to the ring on the back of the vest that soldiers wear as part of their uniform or wrapped around the feet or other lift points of the casualty and hooked back over drag strap  22 . 
     Drag strap  22  also has two alternate attachment loops  34  at intermediate points along its length. Connecting carabiner  24  to one of these loops  34  in essence shortens drag strap  22 , allowing for adjustment for the height of the rescuer or the desired drag angle of the casualty. When drag strap  22  with distal ended carabiner  24  attached is folded and inserted into pouch  26 , approximately ⅓ of the length of carabiner  24  is exposed as shown in  FIG. 5A , making for an easy grasp and pull motion with one hand. Carabiner  24  can be attached to a casualty with one hand while maintaining the rescuer&#39;s weapon at the ready or actually laying down a covering fire. If required to quickly disconnect from the casualty to maintain the safety of the rescuer or the casualty, the quick release shackle  28  is activated by pulling quick release strap  36 , immediately disconnecting the rescuer from the casualty. 
       FIGS. 1 ,  1 A,  2 , and  2 A describe a preferred embodiment of riggers belt  12  that is approximately 48 inches long×1¾ inches wide. It has male hooks  14  on the outside of approximately the first 5 inches of the proximal end of riggers belt followed by approximately 25 inches of female loops  16 . Approximately 1½ inches from the distal end of riggers belt  12 , keeper/silencer  46  for quick release shackle  28  is formed with an approximately 1¾ inch wide by 6 inches long section of riggers belt  12  material that is attached to the outside of riggers belt  12 , approximately centered with its 6 inch axis perpendicular to the length of riggers belt  12 . The front side of the material that extends below the bottom edge of riggers belt  12  has a strip of male hooks  14  and the back side of the portion that extends above the top edge of riggers belt  12  has a strip of female loops  16 . When drag belt  22 , carabiner  24  and quick release strap  36  proximal end are stowed in pouch  26 , quick release shackle  28  lays across the center of this section with quick release strap  36 . The top section is brought down over quick release shackle  28  and quick release strap  36 , the bottom section lifted up firmly against the top section, engaging male hooks  14  with female loops  16  as shown in  FIG. 5A . Unwanted activation of the quick release shackle  28  by catching quick release strap  36  inadvertently is thus prevented and potential rattling noises between quick release shackle  28  and triangular load bearing coupling  18  are also silenced that might give away a soldier&#39;s position or alert the enemy as to his presence. The distal end of riggers belt  12  is looped through triangular load bearing coupling  18  and buckle  20  and an approximately 6½ inch section of the distal end of riggers belt  12  is folded back on itself and attached o itself with reinforced stitching  30  on all but the last 1½ inches, allowing freedom of rotation of buckle  20  and triangular load bearing coupling  18 . The proximal end of riggers belt  12  is slipped through buckle  20 , over belt gripper slide  38  and back through buckle  20 , cinching against rescuer&#39;s waist. Placing proximal end male hooks  14  against female loops  16  secures loose end of riggers belt  12  as shown in  FIGS. 5 ,  5 A and  6 . Pouch  26  can be formed from the elastomeric materials and is approximately 2¾ inches deep by 2 inches high and the width of riggers belt  12 . It is open on buckle  20  side and the opening of pouch  26  begins approximately 3 inches from distal end of riggers belt  12 . 
       FIGS. 3 ,  3 A,  3 B,  4  and  4 A describe a preferred embodiment of drag strap  22  that is formed from lighter weight materials to facilitate folding and is approximately 46 inches long. The proximal end of drag strap  22  has an approximately 5 inch long section threaded through the distal end of quick release shackle  28  and folded back on itself and attached to itself with reinforced stitching  30  on all but the last 1½ inches, allowing freedom of rotation for quick release shackle  28 . The proximal end of quick release shackle  28  is hooked into triangular load bearing coupling  18  at the distal end of riggers belt  12 . The distal end of drag strap  22  has an approximately 5 inch long section threaded through carabiner  24  and folded back on itself and attached to itself with reinforced stitching  30  on all but the last 1½ inches, allowing freedom of rotation of carabiner  24 . A red fold line  32  is printed every 4 inches on the outside of drag strap  22  indicating the fold points which will allow the folded strap package to slip fit into pouch  26 . Alternate attachment loops  34  are attached at approximately 17 and 29 inches from the proximal end of drag strap  22 . Alternate attachment loops  34  can be formed by folding drag strap  22  material back over itself for 6 inches, back under itself for six inches, back under itself again and using reinforced stitching  30  for the first 4 inches through the three layers of drag strap  22  material, producing 2 inch loops as shown in  FIGS. 3 ,  4 , and  4 A. 
     Riggers belt  12  is made from standard rigger belt material. Drag belt  22  is made from a lighter weight material with sufficient tensile strength to drag a casualty over rough ground but enough flexibility to allow for multiple folds and insertion of folded drag strap  22  with carabiner  24  attached into pouch  26 . Quick release shackle  28  has a fixed loop on its distal end that drag strap  22  is connected through and a proximal end that can connects to triangular load bearing coupling  18  on riggers belt  12 . This proximal end of quick release shackle  28  is comprised of latch  42  which is pivotally attached to proximal loop and retained by a spring loaded retention pin  44 . The proximal end of retention pin  44  is connected to quick release strap  36  by release pin connector  40 . Quick release strap  36  is approximately 6 inches long. When quick release strap  36  is pulled, release pin  44  is retracted and latch  42  opens, allowing separation of riggers belt  12  from drag strap  22 . 
     The descriptions in the above specification are not intended to limit this invention to a 48 inch long riggers belt  12  and 46 inch long drag strap  22 , but rather show them for illustration purposes only. One skilled in these arts could easily scale the invention&#39;s dimensions and materials to work with any length belt  12 , strap  22  and pouch  26 . They are also not limited to the widths or thicknesses shown here. RACE Belt  10  may be configured using any or all of the features disclosed here in any combination without diverging from the design intent of this disclosure. 
     Operation: 
     When a casualty occurs either in a combat circumstance or an emergency rescue operation and recovery of the casualty requires or is benefited by a quick rescue in a hands free mode, RACE Belt  10  is of significant advantage. RACE Belt  10  recovery or extraction device is ready at hand as a standard part of the rescuer&#39;s uniform. A right handed person would have pouch  26  on the left side of his riggers belt  12  with drag strap  22  folded and partially inserted into pouch  26 . The rescuer can advance toward the casualty while holding or firing his weapon with his right hand while grabbing carabiner  24  with his left hand. As he approaches the casualty he can pull drag strap  22  out of pouch  26  by carabiner  24 . He can either clip carabiner  24  to the back of a vest in one motion or make a quick loop around the casualty&#39;s feet, clipping carabiner  24  back over drag strap  22  or clipping it on to alternate attachment loops  34  shortening drag strap  22  for adjustment for the rescuer&#39;s height or the preferred drag angle of the casualty. As soon as the connection to the casualty is made the rescuer can begin backing away, dragging the casualty to a safer zone. When the force of dragging a casualty begins, it overcomes the strength of hook  14  and loop  16  seal on keeper/silencer  46 , opening keeper/silencer  46  and exposing quick release shackle  28  and quick release strap  36  for activation if required during the extraction. During the dragging part of this rescue, both of his hands are free to either lay down a covering fire or at least have his weapons at the ready in a defensive posture. If it should become necessary to detach from the casualty, for his safety or that of the rescuer, activating the quick release shackle  28  pulling on release strap  36  immediately drops drag strap  22 , separating casualty from rescuer. 
     Many rescuers are flown into rescue sights or soldiers are transported into combat zones in open door aircraft. An additional benefit to RACE Belt  10  is that carabiner  24  at the distal end of drag strap  22  can be attached to any fixed structure on the aircraft or looped over a projection on the aircraft and clipped back onto drag strap  22  thus securing the soldier against accidental fall outs.