Patent Publication Number: US-11024153-B2

Title: Fall detection alert/alarm device and method

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/543,804, filed on Aug. 19, 2019, entitled “Fall Detection Alert/Alarm Device and Method,” which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/251,613, filed on Jan. 18, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/067,441, filed on Jun. 29, 2018, which is a National Phase Entry of International Patent Application Serial No. PCT/US/2016/064332, filed Dec. 1, 2016, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/273,853, filed Dec. 31, 2015, the entire contents of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     This disclosure relates to personal protective equipment (PPE) and more particularly to fall protection equipment (FPE), and even more particularly to fall indicators/fall detection devices as used in connection with fall harnesses and other fall protection equipment. 
     BACKGROUND 
     Fall harnesses are an example of a critical piece of fall protection safety equipment that are integral to preventing accidents on the job site. They provide a reliable restraint system worn by the worker that is connected to a fixed anchor point on a supporting structure. Fall harnesses are designed to arrest the fall of a worker quickly and safely but result in the worker being suspended in the fall harness. If there is no ladder or scaffolding for the worker to climb back up, the worker will remain suspended until additional rescue help can be rendered. Being suspended in the fall harness for an extended period of time can lead to serious injury or death. Consequently, rapid response is critical. 
     It is known to provide a fall indicator in a fall harness to provide notice that a fall harness has experienced a arrested fall while worn by worker, with the fall indicator being formed by a folded length of one of the straps that forms the fall harness that is secured in the folded condition by a breakable connection that breaks when the harness experiences an arrested fall while worn by a worker. Typically, such fall indicators have a label or other indicia that is exposed when the breakable connection is broken and the folded length of strap unfolds, with the now exposed label or other indicia providing notice that the harness has experienced an arrested fall. While the notice provided by the label/indicia is useful for preventing future use of the harness without understanding that the harnesses already experienced an arrested fall, the label/indicia does nothing to alert other personnel that a worker has experienced an arrested fall and may be suspended in the fall harness. 
     SUMMARY 
     A fall detection/fall indicator device is provided that automatically senses when a user of fall protection equipment, such as a fall harness, has experienced an arrested fall and capable of providing an alarm/alert to other personnel so that they may provide assistance to the user in a timely fashion. 
     In accordance with one feature of this disclosure, a fall harness is provided for use in fall protection. The fall harness includes a plurality of straps configured to attach the harness to a user and to other fall protection equipment. The harness further includes a fall indicator having a first state wherein the harness has not experienced an arrested fall, and a second state wherein the harness has experienced an arrested fall while worn by a user. The fall indicator includes a length of one of the straps, the length having a folded condition in the first state wherein the length is folded upon itself and maintained in the folded condition by a connection that breaks in response to the harness experiencing an arrested fall while worn by a user, and an unfolded condition in the second state wherein the connection is broken and the length unfolded in response to an arrested fall experienced by the harness while worn by a user. The fall indicator further includes an electrical connection having a pair of electrical contacts that are contacted together to form a closed circuit in the first state and that are spaced from each other in the second state to form an open circuit. The contacts are mounted on the length of strap so that the contacts face each other in adjacent portions of the length of strap in the folded condition and are contacted together to form the closed circuit, and so that the contacts are spaced from each other with the length of strap in the unfolded condition to form the open circuit. The fall indicator further includes an alert device operably connected to the electrical connection and responsive to the open circuit to provide an alert to other personnel that the fall indicator is in the second state after the harness experiences an arrested fall while worn by a user. 
     As one feature, the electrical connection includes a snap fastener having a post component defining one of the contacts, and a socket component defining the other contact and configured to releasably receive the post component. 
     In one feature, a processing unit is operably connected to the electrical connection to detect the open circuit and to the alarm device to initiate the alert in response to detection of the open circuit. According to a further feature, the processing unit is a microprocessor unit. As one feature, a housing mounts at least one of the processing unit and the alert device to the harness. In a further feature, the housing is fixed on the length of strap. 
     According to one feature, the alert device is configured to emit an audible acoustic alert. As a further feature, the alert device includes a siren device. 
     In one feature, the alert device is configured to emit a visual alert. According to a further feature, the alert device includes a strobe light device. 
     As one feature, the alert device is configured to emit a wireless signal that can be detected by a device remote from the harness to alert the device that the fall indicator is in the second state. In a further feature, the alert device includes a wireless transmitter. 
     According to one feature, the harness includes at least one more fall indicator. 
     As one feature, a method of providing an alert that a piece of fall protection equipment has experienced an arrested fall while worn or used by a user is provided. The piece of fall protection equipment including a fall indicator having a first state wherein the piece of fall protection equipment has not experienced an arrested fall, and a second state wherein the piece of fall protection equipment has experienced an arrested fall while worn or used by a user. The method includes the steps of electronically detecting a change of the fall indicator from the first state to the second state, and automatically initiating an alert in response to the step of electronically detecting. 
     In one feature, the step of electronically detecting includes creating an open circuit in response to the change of the fall indicator from the first state to the second state. 
     According to one feature, a method of providing an alert that a piece of fall protection equipment has experienced an arrested fall while worn or used by a user is provided. The method includes the steps of providing the piece of fall protection equipment with an electrical circuit that is closed in a first state wherein the piece of fall protection equipment has not experienced an arrested fall, and that is open in a second state wherein the piece of fall protection equipment has experienced an arrested fall while worn or used by a user, and automatically initiating an alert in response to the open circuit. 
     As one feature, a fall indicator is provided for use on a piece of fall protection equipment to provide an alert to other personnel that a worker using or wearing the piece of fall protection equipment has experienced an arrested fall. The fall indicator has a first state wherein the piece of fall protection equipment has not experienced an arrested fall, and a second state wherein the harness has experienced an arrested fall while worn or used by a worker. The fall indicator includes a length of strap, the length having a folded condition in the first state wherein the length is folded upon itself and maintained in the folded condition by a connection that breaks in response to the piece of fall protection equipment experiencing an arrested fall, and an unfolded condition in the second state wherein the connection is broken and the length unfolded in response to an arrested fall. The fall indicator further includes an electrical connection having a pair of electrical contacts that are contacted together to form a closed circuit in the first date and that our spaced from each other in the second state to form an open circuit. The contacts are mounted on the length of strap so that the contacts face each other in adjacent portions of the length of strap in the folded condition and are contacted together to form the closed circuit, and so that the contacts are spaced from each other with the length of strap in the unfolded condition to form the open circuit. The fall indicator further includes an alert device operably connected to the electrical connection and responsive to the open circuit to provide an alert to other personnel that the fall indicator is in the second state after the piece of fall protection equipment experiences an arrested fall. 
     Other features and advantages will become apparent from a review of the entire specification, including the appended claims and drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a somewhat diagrammatic representation of a fall harness employing a fall detection/fall indicator device according to this disclosure; 
         FIGS. 2A and 2B  are enlarged, somewhat diagrammatical, section views take him along line  2 - 2  in  FIG. 1  and showing details of the fall detection/fall indicator device according to this disclosure, with  FIG. 2A  showing the fall indicator device in a first state/folded condition and  FIG. 2B  showing the fall indicator device in a second state/unfolded condition; 
         FIGS. 3 and 4  are diagrammatic representations of a method for providing an alert that a user of fall protection equipment has experienced and arrested fall according to this disclosure. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     With reference to  FIG. 1 , an item of personal protective equipment (PPE) for providing fall protection is shown as a piece of fall protection equipment (FPE) in the form of a safety/fall harness  10  for use in fall protection. The safety harness includes a plurality of straps  12  configured to attach the harness  10  to a worker/user  14  and to other fall protection equipment, such as, for example, an anchor, a fall protection lanyard, or a self retracting lifeline. It should be understood that many types and configurations of safety/fall harnesses are known in the PPE and FPE industry, including full body harnesses and partial or hip/waist fall harnesses, all, or most, of which are suitable for use with the concepts disclosed herein, accordingly, the harness depicted in  FIG. 1  is for purposes of illustration and further specific details of the fall harness  10  will not be discussed herein except for those required for an understanding of the disclosed concepts, and that the appended claims are not limited to any specific details of a fall harness unless expressly recited in the claims. 
     One or more fall protection/fall indicator devices  20  are provided at one or more corresponding key locations on the harness  10  where the harness  10  will experience a shock load when a user  14  of the harness  10  experiences an arrested fall. Each of the fall indicators  20  has a first state wherein the user  14  and the harness  10  have not experienced an arrested fall, and a second state wherein the user  14  and the harness  10  have experienced an arrested fall. In the second state, each of the fall indicators  20  provide an alarm/alert to other personnel that the user  14  has experienced an arrested fall, thereby enabling such personnel to provide assistance to the user  14  in a timely fashion. Because fall harnesses are well known and because they can be, and are, provided in a number of different configurations with different details that are compatible with the concepts of this disclosure, and further because the details of the safety harness  10  outside of the fall indicator  20  are not critical to understanding the fall indicator  20  and the method according to this disclosure, further details of the harness  10  outside of the fall indicator  20  will not be provided herein. 
       FIGS. 2A and 2B  show the details of one of the fall indicators  20 , and it should be understood that these details are consistent for all of the fall indicators  20  provided on the harness  10 . The fall indicator  20  includes a length  22  of one of the straps  12 , the length  22  having a folded condition in the first state shown in  FIG. 2A  wherein the length  22  is folded upon itself and maintained in the folded condition by a breakable or releasable connection  24  that breaks or releases in response to the harness  10  and the user  14  experiencing an arrested fall, and an unfolded condition in the second state shown in  FIG. 2B  wherein the connection  24  is broken and the length  22  unfolded in response to an arrested fall experienced by the harness  10  in the user  14 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the connection  24  is provided in the form of two spaced lines of stitching  26  that extend through and connect adjacent portions  28 ,  30 , and  32  of the length  22  at folds  34  of the fall indicator  20  in the folded condition. As is known, proper selection of materials and stitch configuration will allow the lines of stitching  26  to break when the length  22  of strapping  12  experiences a predetermined tensile shock load F that corresponds to the expected load that will be experienced during an arrested fall. It should be appreciated that while the illustrated embodiment shows the connection  24  in the form of the pair of spaced lines of stitching  26  other suitable forms of the connection  24  are contemplated within the scope of this disclosure, such as, for example, a single line of stitching, bonding agents or adhesive, and/or one or more breakable/releasable rivet connections. 
     The fall indicator  20  includes an electrical connection  40  having a pair of electrical contacts  42  and  44  that are part of an electrical circuit, shown schematically at  45  in  FIGS. 2A and 2B . The electrical contacts  42  and  44  are connected together to form a closed circuit, shown schematically at  46  in  FIG. 2A , in the first state and folded condition, and that are spaced from each other in the second state and unfolded condition to form an open circuit, shown schematically at  48  in  FIG. 2B . The contacts  42  and  44  are mounted on the length  22  of strap  12  so that the contacts  42  and  44  face each other in adjacent portions  28  and  30  of the length  22  in the folded condition and are contacted together to form the closed circuit  46 , as shown in  FIG. 2A , and so that the contacts  42  and  44  will be spaced from each other to form the open circuit  48  when the length  22  of strap  12  is in the unfolded condition, as shown in  FIG. 2B . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the electrical connection  40  is provided in the form of an electrically conductive snap fastener  50  having an electrically conductive post component  52  defining one of the contacts  42  and an electrically conductive socket component  54  defining the other of the contacts  44  and configured to releasably receive a post  56  of the post component  52 , with the engagement of the post  56  and the socket component  54  forming an electrically conductive connection. Although it is not known for such snap fasteners to be used as an electrical connection, the garment industry is replete with many known suitable, electrically conductive configurations and types of such snap fasteners, any of which may be utilized in the fall indicator  20  according to this disclosure depending upon the particular requirements of each application and, accordingly, the details of the illustrated snap fastener  50  are not important to an understanding of the concepts disclosed and claimed herein and the claims are not limited to any particular detail unless expressly stated in the claims. Having said that, as best seen in  FIG. 2B , in the illustrated embodiment of the snap fastener  50 , the post  56  includes a detent  57  that is movable past a detent  58  in the socket component  54  due to the resiliency of either the remainder of the post  56  or the remainder of the socket component  54 . 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the fall indicator  20  further includes an electronics module  60  that at least includes an alert device  62  operably connected to the electrical connection  40  and responsive to the open circuit  48  to automatically provide an alert that the fall indicator  20  is in the second state after the harness  10  and the user  14  have experienced an arrested fall. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the electronics module  60  further includes a processing unit provided in the form of a microprocessor unit (MPU)  64  operably connected to the electrical connection  40  to automatically detect the open circuit  48  and operably connected to the alert device  62  to automatically initiate the alert in response to detection of the open circuit  48 . In this regard, in some embodiments, it will be desirable for the MPU  64  to be a very low power consumption MPU that is configured to wake up periodically to sense the condition of the fall indicator  20 . In the illustrated embodiment, the open circuit  48  is detected as a change in voltage at DI in the MPU  64  relative to the closed circuit  46  voltage at DI. In the illustrated embodiment, a housing  66  is fixed on the length  22  of strap  12  and mounts and encloses the alert device  62  and the processing unit  64 . 
     In some embodiments, the alert device  62  is configured to emit an audible acoustic alert/alarm that is detectable by personnel remote from the user  14 . In some embodiments, the alert device  62  is configured to emit a visual alert that is detectable by personnel remote from the user  14 . In some embodiments, the alert device  62  is configured to emit a wireless signal that can be detected by a device or devices (not shown) remote from the harness  10  and the user  14  to alert the remote device(s) that the fall indicator  20  is in the second state and that the user  14  has experienced an arrested fall. The remote device(s) may be in the form of one or more wireless phones (cell phones) that have a fall detection application software and that are carried by remote personnel, by a receiver that has an embedded acoustic alert device/generator, or/and a relay device that will relay the wireless signal to a cloud server or similar device configured to distribute the wireless signal, including the identification of the fallen user to the fallen user&#39;s supervisor and/or rescuers. In some embodiments, the alert device  62  is configured to emit at least two of the visual alert, audible acoustic alert, and wireless signal. In some embodiments, the alert device is configured to emit just one of the visual alert, audible acoustic alert, and wireless signal. In some embodiments, the alert device  62  is configured to emit all three of the visual alert, audible acoustic alert, and wireless signal. In some embodiments wherein the alert device  62  is configured to emit an audible acoustic alert, the alert device  62  will include a siren device  68 , of which many suitable types and configurations are known, with a high power siren device  68  capable of producing an 85 dB audible noise being desirable in many applications. In some embodiments wherein the alert device  62  is configured to emit a visual alert, the alert device  62  will include a strobe light device  70 , of which many suitable types and configurations are known. It will be desirable in some applications for the strobe light device  70  to be positioned so that it reflects of the material of the strap(s)  12  to further enhance the illumination. In some embodiments wherein the alert device  62  is configured to emit a wireless signal, the alert device  62  will include a wireless transmitter  72 , of which many suitable types and configurations are known. 
     With reference to  FIG. 3 , a method  74  is shown for providing an alert that a fall harness  10  or other piece of fall protection equipment (FPE)  10  has experienced an arrested fall while worn or used by a user/worker  14 . The method includes the step  76  of providing the piece of fall protection equipment  10  with an electrical circuit  45  that is closed in a first state wherein the piece of fall protection equipment  10  has not experienced an arrested fall, and that is open in a second state wherein the piece of fall protection equipment  10  has experienced an arrested fall while worn or used by a user  14 . The method  74  further includes the step  78  of automatically initiating an alert in response to the open circuit. 
     With reference to  FIG. 4 , a method  80  is shown for providing an alert that a fall harness  10  or other piece of fall protection equipment has experienced an arrested the fall when worn or used by a user  14 , the piece of fall protection equipment  10  including a fall indicator  20  having a first state wherein the piece of fall protection equipment  10  has not experienced a fall, and a second state wherein the piece of fall protection equipment  10  has experienced a fall while worn or used by user  14 . The method includes the steps of: 
     electronically detecting  82  a change of the fall indicator  20  from the first state to the second state; and 
     automatically initiating  84  an alert in response to the step on electronically detecting. 
     In a further embodiment of the method  80 , the step  82  of electronically detecting includes creating  86  an open circuit  48  in response to the change of the fall indicator  20  from the first state to the second state. 
     While several embodiments have been shown and discussed herein, it should be understood that this disclosure contemplates modifications to those embodiments. For example, while the electronics module  60  has been shown as being fixed to the fall indicator  20 , the electronics module  60  could be fixed to other portions of the harness  10 . As another example, while the electronics module  60  has been shown as being mounted and enclosed in a single housing  66 , the electronics module  60  could be mounted and enclosed in multiple housings. As a further example, while the illustrated embodiments show the alert device  62  as being connected to the electrical connection  40  via the MPU  64  and initiated by the MPU  64 , other operable connections are contemplated that would initiate the alert device  62  in response to the open circuit  48 . As yet a further example, while the illustrated embodiment of the electrical connection  40  is shown in the form of a snap fastener  50 , other suitable forms of electrical connections having a pair of electrical contacts that can be connected in the first state and disconnected in the second state are contemplated within the scope of this disclosure. As yet another example, while the fall indicator  20  has been disclosed herein in connection with a fall harness  10 , use of the fall indicator  20  with other types of fall protection equipment, such as, for example, fall protection lanyards and SRL&#39;s, is contemplated within the scope of this disclosure. As a further example, while the breakable/releasable connection  24  is shown the form of two lines of stitching  26  that extend through three layers of length  22  of strap  12 , it is possible for either or both of the lines of stitching  26  to extend only through two layers of the length of strap  12 , or for the connection to be a single line of stitching that extends only through two layers of the length of strap  12 .