Abstract:
A harness for a hunter is provided having a tree mounting assembly. The tree mounting assembly includes a retractor configured to arrest the fall of a user. The retractor contains about 20 feet of webbing and is configured to actuate to locked webbing when the webbing is paying out at a rate indicative of slightly greater than about 0.5 g acceleration being applied to the user coupled to the webbing.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/543,479, filed on Feb. 10, 2004. The disclosure of the above application is incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a safety harness and, more particularly, to a safety harness for use during hunting to reduce injuries to the hunters due to accidental falls from a tree stand.  
       BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003]     Hunting stands are frequently used by hunters and commonly referred to as hunting blinds, tree stands, tree-mounted hunting stands, and the like. The hunting stands can take many forms; some exemplary forms include tree-mounted stands, ground-based stands, and self-supported hunting stands. Further tree stands offer various amenities contained within the stand; some exemplary amenities include seats, various stand adjustments, and mounting and storage locations for rifles, equipment and the like.  
         [0004]     Many devices have been developed to secure the hunter in a hunting stand to improve hunter safety. As such, many devices address the scenario where the hunter installs the hunting stand above the ground. Examples of such installations include securing the hunting stand to a tree or constructing a self-supporting assembly to maintain the hunting stand above the ground. In the above examples, there is an important concern about the hunter falling from the tree stand to the ground. It is desirable to have a system allowing the hunter generally complete freedom of movement while in the tree stand. It is also desirable to provide a device that keeps the hunter safe if the hunter were to fall from the tree stand. Any safety harness must address and balance the competing interests of freedom of motion and safety during a fall. It has been suggested that seat belt retractors with associated webbing can be used to restrain a hunter. An example of one of these designs can be seen in US Patent Application No. 2004/0140158 herein incorporated by reference.  
         [0005]     As the amount of webbing increases about a spool of the retractors of the prior art, the diameter of the wound webbing increases. As acceleration of the spool is a function of the diameter of the wound webbing, it is not possible to have a retractor with more than about 6 to 8 feet which will function to stop a falling hunter at between 0.5 g and 1.0 g. Should more than about 6 to 8 feet of webbing be used, even slow extractions of the webbing will lock the spool.  
         [0006]     To overcome the disadvantages of the prior art, a harness is provided having a tree mounting assembly. The tree mounting assembly includes a retractor configured to arrest the fall of a user. The retractor contains about 20 feet of webbing and is configured to actuate to locked webbing when the webbing is paying out at an acceleration of greater than 0.5 g being applied to the user coupled to the webbing.  
         [0007]     In another embodiment to the invention, a systems which incorporates a removable combination of clothing with integrated climbing belt for fall arresting and rescue from confined spaces is provided. The system provides the advantages of ease of use, and utilizes a harness which distributes loads to a wide and strategic areas of the body that are more capable of sustaining high loads for a short period of time.  
         [0008]     The harness has a climbing belt permanently stitched to one side of the harness and a D-Ring sewn to the other side of the harness capable of receiving the climbing belt&#39;s connecting hardware i.e., carbiner, snap hook, etc. The climbing belt is used during climbing, either up a utility pole of while climbing up a tree to a tree stand. The full body fall arrest harness has snaps imbedded and properly positioned in it to securely attach to the garment receiving the harness. The garment, in turn, has the receiving snaps also positioned to properly locate the harness into the garment. The use of snaps allow the user to remove the harness from the garment for cleaning or for the use in another type garment i.e., camouflage garment to an orange garment, reflective garment instead of a non-reflective garment, etc. The fully body arrest harness may be attached to various articles of clothing such as a jacket, vest, overalls or coveralls so that donning the article of clothing and harness is easy and automatically positions the harness for proper and safe use. The harness may be used for industrial purposes or recreational purposes, such as hunting from a tree stand.  
         [0009]     One of the major issues in proper use of a fall arrest harness is the proper installation to a user&#39;s body of the fall arrest harness. Many potential product users become confused with how to properly put on the fall arrest harness and do not properly install the harness to their body. This has the potential to expose them to the risk of more severe injuries or even death in the event of a fall. One potential method to make it easier for the user to understand how to properly install their harness is to package the product on a hanger or harness caddie. The caddie may be in the outline or shape of a human with the harness draped around it showing the proper way a person should wear the harness. This visual presentation will make it easy for the person to see how to put it on right. Another additional way to help clarify how to put the harness on properly is to place small identifying tags to key locations on the harness. The tags might be used for locations such as right shoulder, left shoulder, right chest, left chest, left leg inside, left leg outside, right leg inside, right leg outside, attaching tether and tree strap to name just a few possible locations to be identified. The tags would be especially helpful if the harness were not stored on the caddie, i.e. just thrown in a pile which does frequently occur. The tags can be of many different possible materials (possibly Tyvek or similar material) that will withstand a lifetime of use and remain attached and readable.  
         [0010]     Further areas of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description provided hereinafter. It should be understood that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating the preferred embodiment of the invention, are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     The present invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is an assembled view of the safety harness of the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is the safety harness of  FIG. 1  coupled to a vest;  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  represents a safety harness vest assembly of  FIG. 2  in a closed configuration;  
         [0015]      FIGS. 4 and 5  represent a retractor assembly for a fixation to a tree or tree stand which is fixed to the harness vest assembly; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 6  is a diagrammatic view of a safety harness constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention diagrammatically showing the hunter&#39;s safety harness for a tree stand. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0017]     The following description of the preferred embodiments is merely exemplary in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  shows the harness  10  which is configured to be coupled to a tree restraining belt  12 . The harness  10  is formed of a vertical belt portion  14  and a cross pair of back supporting straps  16  and  18 . To provide adjustment, a pair of waist surrounding webbing portions  20  and  22  are slidably coupled to the first pair of back supporting straps  16  and  18 . Coupled between the waist surrounding webbing portions  20  and  22  and a first end  24  and  26  of the crossed back support straps  16  and  18  is a pair of chest restraining belts  28  and  30 .  
         [0019]     Coupled to the ends of the belt is a plurality of buckles  32  which are configured to adjustably fasten the harness  10  about a user&#39;s torso (not shown). Additionally coupled to a substantial amount of the webbing of the harness  10  is a plurality of fasteners  40  which is configured to couple the harness  10  to a fabric vest  44 . These fasteners can, for example, be of the form of snaps, buttons or fabric hook-type fasteners such as Velcro. These fasteners  40  are configured to engage to corresponding fasteners  42  on the vest  44 .  
         [0020]     As best seen in  FIG. 2 , the vest  44  is laid in an open configuration. The harness  10  is then spread out on top of the vest and is coupled to the vest using the fasteners  40  and  42 . Further, the vest  44  is shown as an oval having a pair of arm receiving apertures  46 . It is envisioned that the vest  44  can take the form of a jacket having sleeves. Furthermore, the vest  44  can be a simple cloth vest having patterns such as camouflage or hunters orange, it is further envisioned that the vest can be insulated or rain resistant.  
         [0021]     The cross pair of back supports are formed of a first and second cross back support webbing members  16  and  18 . Both of these members  16  and  18  have fasteners  40  located at central positions of the members  16  and  18 . Located between the pair of waist support portions  20  and  22  and the first and second cross back support webbing members  16  and  18  are fasteners  40 .  
         [0022]     Further as shown in  FIG. 3 , the exterior of the vest  44  can have a plurality of snaps or a fastener  46  or belts  48  which are used to enclose the vest about the user&#39;s torso when in use. In this regard the fastener  40  can be formed of a male snap  41  coupled to the webbing  16 ,  18 ,  20 ,  22 , and  28 . Additionally, the female fastener portions are placed on the interior surface of the vest  40 .  
         [0023]      FIGS. 4 and 5  depict views of a retractor with a snap hook assembly and a retractor with a tree strap assembly which is used to couple the harness  10  and the vest  44  to the tree. The retractor is configured to hold more than 18 feet of webbing and, more particularly, more than about 20 feet of webbing. The retractor has a web sense mechanism which actuates when the webbing is subjected to a predetermined amount of acceleration, namely between 0.5 g and 1.5 g.  
         [0024]     In the preferred embodiment, the retractor utilizes a webbing having a thickness of less than about 0.75 mm and, particularly, less than about 0.6 mm. This thickness allows for more than 20 feet of webbing to be wound about the spool. Further, this thickness of webbing allows the web sense mechanism for the retractor to function properly throughout the entire extraction of the webbing.  
         [0025]     Referring to  FIG. 6 , there is shown an exemplary safety harness in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention and generally indicated by reference numeral  10 . The safety harness  10  includes a tree mounting assembly  12 , a linking assembly  14 , and a body harness  16 . The tree mounting assembly  12  comprises a cinching clamp, a tree loop  20 , and a mounting bracket  22 . The linking assembly  14 , which is configured to couple to the tree mounting assembly  12 , comprises a retractor  24 , a belt  26 , and a connector  28 . The body harness  16  (typically provided in conjunction with a wearable garment such as a jacket or vest  70 ), which is configured to be coupled to the linking assembly  14  and the tree mounting assembly  12 , comprises an adjustable waist belt  30 , an adjustable belt lock  32  such as a buckle or buckle and mating tongue, and a tether line  34 .  
         [0026]     In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the tree mounting assembly  12  may be removably secured to a tree  42  at a predetermined distance above the ground  44 , typically proximate the location of a tree stand  45 . The mounting bracket  22  and the tree loop  20  are positioned around the tree  42  and then secured with the cinching clamp  18 , which allows the hunter to tighten the mounting assembly  12  against the tree  42 . Tightening the tree loop  20  and the mounting bracket  22  against the tree provides a stable and a secure location to which the linking assembly  14  can be attached.  
         [0027]     The mounting assembly  12  is installed by the hunter  46  around the tree  42  so the mounting bracket  22  is accessible to the hunter  46 , while in the hunting stand  45 . Once the hunter  46  has installed the mounting assembly  12  to the tree  42 , the hunter will connect the linking assembly  14 , and more particularly the retractor  24 , to the mounting assembly  12 . The lengthened webbing or belt  26  allows the hunter to climb down the tree stand and still be protected by the retractor.  
         [0028]     The linking assembly  14  comprises the retractor  24 , the belt  26 , and the connector  28 . The retractor  24  is a modified emergency locking (ELR) seat belt retractor having a retractor frame with a keyhole opening or slot. As is known in the art, seat belt retractor  24  includes a cylindrical belt reel or spool rotatably mounted on bearing or bushings to the retractor frame for coiling and uncoiling the belt  26 . The spool or reel is stopped by a lock mechanism. In the present application, the lock mechanism comprises an inertia sensor such as a web sensor, a lock pawl (or lock bar or lock dog), which is brought into contact with teeth on a lock wheel associated with the reel. The belt reel is spring loaded, in a belt rewind direction, by a rewind spring (not shown).  
         [0029]     One skilled in the art will readily appreciate many seat belt retractor devices can be used in the present invention. One will further appreciate the application of a seat belt retractor in the present invention does not necessitate the use of a vehicle deceleration sensor commonly found in seat belt retractors. Nevertheless, a modified seat belt web sensor is necessary for the proper operation of the present invention. One such exemplary seat belt retractor is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,283,391, which is commonly assigned and hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety as if fully set forth herein. The web sensor mechanism within the retractor will initiate the locking-up of the retractor when the belt  60  is being unwound (protracted) from the spool at a level (rate or acceleration) in excess of a predetermined level. This rapid unwinding of the spool would occur as the hunter starts to fall or falls from the tree stand. In the present invention the web sensor mechanism is set to initiate the locking up of the reel  60  when the belt  26  is unwound therefrom at an acceleration at or above about 0.5 g-1.5 g. The typical web sensor of an automotive seat belt retractor will initiate the locking up of the retractor at or above 1.5 g. Preferably, more than 18 feet and, most preferably, more than 20 feet of webbing will be placed on the spool.  
         [0030]     The description of the invention is merely exemplary in nature and, thus, variations that do not depart from the gist of the invention are intended to be within the scope of the invention. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention.