Patent Description:
As is well known, the connector is substantially a special metal hook or ring of varying shape and size, fitted with a spring element that ensures the closure of the hook itself, which, when closed, takes on the characteristics of a ring.

Generally used for hanging, suspending or preventing bodies from falling, it is particularly useful in mountaineering, where it is indispensable for manoeuvres that are to be performed on the wall, but also in all the numerous rescue, maintenance, construction, repair, cleaning and similar operations, which are carried out at height on buildings, in various civil and industrial buildings, including by airplanes or helicopters.

Think of the maintenance and the cleaning of the facades of skyscrapers, but also of the interventions on wind turbines or on remote transmission antennas, of the rescue and salvaging operations in the mountains or by firefighters.

Within these applications there is a wide variety of connectors, both in terms of shape, size and materials.

The invention applies to all of these variants, but of particular interest here are connectors having an opening locking mechanism (commonly known as a "screwgate"), the latter being a bushing that can be arranged in a non-operational position in which it allows the connector to be opened by moving its elastically oscillating lever, and in a position in which it locks the lever while keeping the connector closed (usually the normal position and used to support forces).

The screwgate can be manually operated (e.g. by screw) or automatically operated by a spring (e.g. two- or three-movement snap closure); this system serves, once closed, to prevent an accidental opening of the connector lever. This is advantageous for the normal manoeuvres envisaged by the techniques of use, such as self-belaying during a stop and when manoeuvring a person up a wall or in any case in an exposed condition.

In fact, if the connector were positioned by turning the arm with the lever in contact with a surface (of the user, of other devices, of the structures, of the rock), movements could involuntarily open the lever, generating a situation of risk or even of fall of the user. The lever locked with screwgate allows to overcome this problem.

The connectors are subject to precise technical standards regarding their mechanical properties, such as mechanical strengths, shapes and surface state, the information to be affixed, the requirements of the mechanisms.

The climbing and mountaineering connectors, as well as those for occupational and civil use, are considered as personal protective equipment and are certified according to the relevant standards; in Europe the standards are harmonised with the European regulations and directives in force (e.g. EN <NUM> and EN <NUM>), while in the rest of the world the requirements vary locally and according to technical standards of the sector (e.g. ANSI/ASSP Z359 and CSA Z259 Fall Protection Code, NFPA <NUM>).

The climbing and mountaineering connectors can also bear the international mark UIAA, the documentation for which is in the public domain: the latter provides for more restrictive constraints on manufacturers aimed at ensuring additional safety thanks to continuously updated information from users, associations, manufacturers, and laboratories all over the world, and not restricted to the European context.

To help recognise the qualities required of such a tiny object, following the main strengths required according to the UIAA mountaineering regulation, the minimum required breaking loads vary according to the intended use of the connector: along the longitudinal axis (i.e. in the same direction as the long side of the connector) with closed lever it can vary between <NUM> and <NUM> kN, while the longitudinal one with open lever between <NUM> and <NUM> kN, and the one in the transverse direction between <NUM> and <NUM> kN. However, there are connectors with different breaking loads, depending on the needs.

By global agreement there is therefore the need to continuously monitor the status of the connector, both during use and during storage. These aspects are also regulated by various regulations (EN <NUM> in Europe) which require the manufacturer to provide knowledge for the checks and the user to carry them out according to the information received.

However, this and other important information relating to the characteristics of the connectors is not readily and immediately available to users.

In fact, connectors are generally stamped with the minimum necessary information that can be received on the limited available surface (e.g. longitudinal strength, reference technical standard for their determination, traceability information, mark of conformity to the target market), but this refers to the product under new conditions and therefore after a few years of use the properties of a connector may be reduced by the use that has been made thereof.

In addition, the connectors can be interchanged or mixed up among people, so that while apparently similar, they may have different characteristics related to age, use, storage conditions, preventing the lean traceability in the supply chain required by the market regulations. It is also possible to re-use the connectors that have been sold and are destined for disposal because they do not comply with the prescribed checks.

There is therefore a general need for more comprehensive information on personal protective equipment such as the connectors that are of interest herein, in order to achieve a better level of safety and reliability than what is currently the case, also available to the users themselves, whether they are employed by large companies or private individuals.

To meet this need, one could think of stamping this information on the metal of the connectors, but this alters their strength capacity, especially if carried out hot, and it is impossible to apply all the required information legibly.

On the other hand, one could also think, as an alternative, of applying adhesive labels: however, in addition to not being reliable due to the fact that the labels can be written by anyone, they are however easily subject to damages or detachments due to shocks, scratches, water and other causes, which might make them illegible or useless. The labels can then be removed and applied to another connector and would often turn out to be larger than the connector itself.

The technical problem underlying the invention is therefore that of making available a connector, i.e., a personal safety device typically made of metal material or in any case with high strength, which can be reliably associated with information relating to its identification and/or use, so as to achieve a better level of safety than similar known safety devices.

The idea of solving this problem is to associate a radio-frequency electronic device (e.g., of the so-called NFC type, an acronym for the term Near Field Communication) with the connector, so as to allow the computerised recognition and to receive and transmit information in a secure manner via a signalling apparatus electromagnetically coupled with it. One prior art connector using radio-frequency identification (RFID) tagging is known from <CIT>.

A connector according to claim <NUM> is provided. The radio-frequency device is applied on the screwgate of the connector, as this allows the positioning of the connector in a less stressed area and easily accessible for short distance communications.

In addition, the radio-frequency device is arranged in a groove or recess of the connector screwgate, so that it is partially covered and protected from shocks, scratches and the like.

These and other features of the invention are set forth more specifically in the claims appended to this description.

These features, the effects resulting therefrom and the advantages achieved by the invention, will be more apparent from the description below of an example embodiment thereof, illustrated with reference to the attached figures provided by way of indication and not limitation, wherein:.

With reference to the drawings listed above, the first figure shows a connector indicated as a whole with the reference numeral <NUM>, in accordance with the invention.

The connector <NUM> has a general substantially "D"-profile but could be configured differently, for example circular, oval, oblong and anything else known in the art.

The connector comprises a lever finger <NUM>, oscillating with respect to a fulcrum <NUM> located at one end 5a of the hook-shaped body <NUM> of the connector; the free end 2a of the oscillating finger <NUM> is intended to rest on the second end 5b of the hook-shaped body <NUM> of the connector <NUM>, in the closed condition of the latter.

The finger <NUM> oscillates in opposition to the elastic action of a spring <NUM> housed therein, which when at rest keeps the finger <NUM> in a closed condition (<FIG>).

On the finger <NUM> there is applied a security screwgate <NUM> of the connector <NUM>, which is also movable between an advanced condition for locking the finger <NUM> in the closed condition (<FIG>), and a retracted position in which it allows the oscillations of the lever finger <NUM> (as in <FIG>).

For this purpose, the screwgate <NUM> and the finger <NUM> are mutually coupled by means of an interlock and spring mechanism <NUM>; the screwgate <NUM> is also preferably provided with an external knurling <NUM>, which facilitates its grip with the phalanges of a user's fingers. As an alternative to (or in combination with) the spring mechanism <NUM>, the screwgate <NUM> and the finger <NUM> can be coupled by means of a thread.

In accordance with the invention, an element or tag <NUM> for radio-frequency proximity communications (e.g., NFC) is applied on the screwgate <NUM>.

As is well known, proximity communication is a receiving/transmitting technology that provides wireless, contactless connectivity between a transmitter and a receiver, via short-range radio frequencies RF) (usually up to a maximum of <NUM>). For the sake of brevity, reference is made to the extensive technical and scientific literature on the subject, citing as one of the first examples of this type of device the one described in <CIT>.

The technology enables a two-way communication: when two apparatuses, circuits or devices (also called initiator and target) are brought closer within a few centimetres (typically <NUM>), a peer-to-peer network is created between the two apparatuses and both can send and receive information.

The technology usually operates at a frequency of <NUM> and can reach a maximum data rate of <NUM> kbits/s.

NFC can be implemented directly via an integrated circuit (chip), or via a special external card that is connected to the initiator device.

Preferably, in the connector <NUM> the tag <NUM> is configured in the form of a ring <NUM> made of polymeric (e.g. polypropylene, ABS, polyethylene) or elastomeric material (e.g. silicone, polyurethane, rubber) or comprising an elastomeric matrix, so as to be resistant to external agents (water, dust, humidity, electrostaticity, etc.) and suitable for absorbing shocks or various stresses, protecting the electronic circuit(s) <NUM> embedded therein. According to a preferred embodiment, the ring <NUM> has a thickness such that it is flush with the outer one of the adjacent parts of the screwgate <NUM>, such as the knurling <NUM> and the tang 10a.

For this purpose, in the screwgate <NUM> there is an annular groove <NUM> having a depth substantially equal to the radial thickness of the ring <NUM>, so that the latter can be housed inside the groove <NUM>.

From the foregoing, it is possible to understand how the connector <NUM> solves the technical problem underlying the invention outlined above.

In fact, the presence of the tag <NUM> allows information to be exchanged with the electronic circuit <NUM> inside it; this information may be of various kinds, for example a unique code of the tag, a number, batch and/or date of manufacture, the owner of the connector <NUM>, or even the number of times and/or the time of use and so on.

As already explained, in fact, the radio-frequency devices are capable of two-way communication with appropriate transceivers, today also consisting of mobile phones <NUM>, as schematically shown in <FIG>.

The data contained in the electronic circuit <NUM> of the tag <NUM> can therefore be read whenever desired, with a normal computer reader or even a portable device <NUM>.

The data can also be updated in the same way, i.e., via a transceiving apparatus, exploiting the two-way characteristic of the proximity communication.

Obviously, these functions can be increased and can be integrated with other solutions. For example, one might think of including among the data in the tag <NUM> also those for linking to an Internet page or website or database, in order to expand the content and the amount of information that can be consulted.

In this case, when the tag <NUM> on the connector is read with a mobile phone, the opening of a document or of an application on the Internet network is activated where the information can be consulted.

It should also be pointed out that the positioning of the tag <NUM> on the screwgate <NUM> allows to limit the stresses to which it is subjected, since in the use of the connector the screwgate <NUM>, being arranged on the closing finger <NUM>, is not particularly stressed by the ropes, pulleys, descenders, harnesses or other tools, which are used with the connector to secure people in working or mountaineering manoeuvres.

Any stresses on the connector <NUM> caused by shocks, falls and the like are in no case transmitted to the ring <NUM> arranged on the screwgate <NUM> and nor to the finger <NUM> or the body <NUM> of the connector.

On the basis of these teachings, the persons skilled in the art will be able to develop or implement further functions and characteristics of the connector.

Claim 1:
Connector (<NUM>) comprising a hook-shaped body (<NUM>), a finger (<NUM>) connected to the hook-shaped body (<NUM>) and oscillating between a closed condition, in which it is engaged with one end (5b) of the body (<NUM>), and an open condition, in which it is separate from the same, in opposition to the elastic action of a spring (<NUM>), a screwgate (<NUM>) coupled with the oscillating finger (<NUM>) for locking the latter in the closed position, a proximity communication element or tag (<NUM>) associated with the screwgate (<NUM>),
characterized in that the proximity communication element or tag (<NUM>) is substantially configured as a ring (<NUM>), wherein the ring (<NUM>) is housed in an annular groove (<NUM>) formed inside or outside the screwgate (<NUM>), having a depth substantially equal to the radial thickness of the ring (<NUM>), so that the latter can be housed inside the groove (<NUM>).