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EP-4736960-A1 - HARNESS AND METHOD

EP4736960A1EP 4736960 A1EP4736960 A1EP 4736960A1EP-4736960-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a harness (1) comprising a belt loop (2), a leg loop (4), and a belay connection structure (10) that includes at least one ring-like element (11, 12); at least one tubular element (21, 22), wherein one of the belt loop (2) and the leg loop (4) together with a circumferential section of the at least one ring-like element (11, 12) extend through the at least one tubular element (21, 22), and wherein the at least one tubular element (21, 22) extends along a length (23) that equals more than half of a circumferential length (13) of the at least one ring-like element (11, 12); and a belay connection element (30) connecting the belt loop (2) and the leg loop (4) with each other and extending through the at least one ring-like element (11, 12). The invention further relates to a method for adjusting and to a method for securing.

Inventors

  • BRIOSCHI, Gianluca
  • DAL CANTO, Rebecca

Assignees

  • SKYLOTEC GmbH

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20241030

Claims (13)

  1. Harness (1) comprising a belt loop (2), a leg loop (4), and a belay connection structure (10) that includes at least one ring-like element (11, 12); at least one tubular element (21, 22), wherein one of the belt loop (2) and the leg loop (4) together with a circumferential section of the at least one ring-like element (11, 12) extend through the at least one tubular element (21, 22), and wherein the at least one tubular element (21, 22) extends along a length (23) that equals more than half of a circumferential length (13) of the at least one ring-like element (11, 12); and a belay connection element (30) connecting the belt loop (2) and the leg loop (4) with each other and extending through the at least one ring-like element (11, 12).
  2. Harness (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the at least one ring-like element (11, 12) comprises a first ring-like element (11) extending through a first tubular element (21) of the at least one tubular element (21, 22), the at least one ring-like element (11, 12) comprises a second ring-like element (12) extending through a second tubular element (22) of the at least one tubular element (21, 22).
  3. Harness (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein at least one of the belt loop (2) and the leg loop (4) comprises a flat webbing.
  4. Harness according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the belt loop (2) and the leg loop (4) is configured to be adjustable in length and particularly includes a free loop end (6) with a thickened structure.
  5. Harness (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein at least one of the at least one ring-like element (11, 12) and the belay connection element (30) is configured to be opened and closed.
  6. Harness (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein at least one of the at least one ring-like element (11, 12) and the belay connection element (30) is configured to be adjustable in circumferential length (13).
  7. Harness (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the belay connection element (30) comprises a textile material, e.g. wherein at least two layers (31, 32) of the textile material and/or the flat webbing are sewn together along a circumferential direction, and/or a metal material, e.g. a carabiner.
  8. Harness (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one ring-like element (11, 12) comprises a width which is smaller than a width of the respectively adjacent belt loop (2) or leg loop (4), particularly by at least 5%.
  9. Harness (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one ring-like element (11, 12) comprises a flat webbing, and the at least one tubular element (21, 22) is flexible.
  10. Harness (1) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the at least one tubular element (21, 22) forms a tunnel (25) along the length (23) and comprises a textile material with a closure section (24) extending along the length (23), the closure section (24) closing the at least one tubular element (21, 22) on a side, particularly the closure section (24) is arranged only on one longitudinal side of the at least one tubular element (21, 22) and includes a seam, a magnet arrangement, a velcro arrangement or the like.
  11. Harness (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein the closure section (24) is configured to be opened and closed for inserting or removing the at least one ring-like element (11, 12) and/or is configured for adjusting the tunnel (25) in diameter.
  12. Method for adjusting a harness (1) according to one of the preceding claims, the harness (1) worn by a user, the belt loop (2) surrounding a belt region (102) of the user (100) and the leg loop (4) surrounding two legs (104) of the user (100), the belay connection structure (10) connecting the belt loop (2) and the leg loop (4), the method comprising: moving the at least one tubular element (21, 22) along an extension of the belt loop (2) or leg loop (4) and thereby changing the location of a belay connection area (3, 5) relative to the user (100) in the transversal direction (T) of the user (100), wherein one or both of the belt loop (2) and the leg loop (4) is slack.
  13. Method for securing a position of the belay connection structure (10) of a harness (1) according to one of claims 1 to 11 along the transversal direction (T) of a user, the harness (1) worn by the user, the belt loop (2) surrounding a belt region (102) of the user (100) and the leg loop (4) surrounding two legs (104) of the user (100), the belay connection structure (10) connecting the belt loop (2) and the leg loop (4), the method comprising: tightening at least one of the belt loop (2) and the leg loop (4) in the transversal direction (T) of the user (100) and around the user (100) and thereby tightening the at least one ring-like element (11, 12) in the at least one tubular element (21, 22) and fixing the at least one tubular element (21, 22) on the belt loop (2) or leg loop (4) in the transversal direction (T).

Description

FIELD OF INVENTION The invention relates to harness comprising a belt loop, a leg loop, and a belay connection element connecting the belt loop and the leg loop with each other. The invention further relates to a method. BACKGROUND A part of safety equipment is designated as a harness, which is worn on a body of a person during climbing, ski touring, mountaineering, via ferrata, tree maintenance, or during work with a risk of falling, and through which a connection is established between the person to be secured and, for example, a safety device to prevent falls or a tie in point. The harness is typically made from several loops, which are placed around the middle of the body as belt loop respectively hip belt and around legs of the person as leg belts. The loops are brought together at a tie in point, often provided as belay connection element, to which a safety rope or a carabiner may be connected as a safety device against falling. The belt loop, the leg loop, and an optionally present chest strap may be adjustable to the bodily dimensions of the person to be secured, so that on the one hand forces occurring between the person and the harness are safely transmitted and, on the other hand, it may be prevented that the person to be secured unintentionally slips out of the harness. Harnesses for climbing in the recreation sector and for industrial safety are basically comparable in structure; however, said harnesses must satisfy different standards. While standard EN 12277 is relevant, for example, in the sporting sector, standard EN 361 applies for harnesses for industrial safety and standard EN 358 applies for tethers. So-called 'two buckles waistbelt harnesses' grant to the user great adjustability range and a more symmetrical harness, which results in a more comfortable fit, which is e.g. due to mirrored gear loops and padding. A downside is an increased cost and weight of the harness; at the same time, it has more components subject to possible failures and therefore require more supervision during use. In addition, it is required to adjust two webbings and two buckles at the same length, which typically is an impractical task in the field. So-called 'one buckle waistbelt harnesses' might be lighter, less expensive, safer, and easier to adjust than the two buckle waistbelt harnesses. However, downsides typically include reduced size range, and reduced comfort if the user is not perfectly at the middle of the size range . This is problematic and affects even the same user, when he/she wears the harness all year long, so with thin clothes during summer and with additional layers during winter season. Last but not least, it is a great disadvantage in case of `one-size fit all' harnesses commonly used in gyms, rope courses, and Via Ferrata. In the past, harnesses manufacturers tried to solve such problems creating one buckle waistbelt harnesses with sliding paddings that could move over the load bearing sling of the waistbelt. Such solution greatly reduced existing disadvantages but was creating new issues, related to the movement of the paddings during use, e.g. the load bearing structure was static while the user was rolling inside. As the paddings were free to move, other main negative topics were reduced durability, cheap feeling of transmitted to the user, and out of fashion look. SUMMARY OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a harness and respective methods involving a harness with enhanced durability, enhanced quality and looks, enhanced adaptability to weather and user comfort, lower cost to produce and enhanced safety. Particularly, it is an object to avoid disadvantages of known harnesses and methods. The invention is defined by the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are described by the features of the dependent claims. Particularly, the object is solved by a harness comprising a belt loop, a leg loop, and a belay connection structure. The belay connection structure includes at least one ring-like element, at least one tubular element, and a belay connection element. One of the belt loop and the leg loop may extend together with a circumferential section of the at least one ring-like element through the at least one tubular element. The at least one tubular element may extend along a length that equals more than half of a circumferential length of the at least one ring-like element. The belay connection element may connect or may be configured to connect the belt loop and the leg loop with each other. The belay connection element may extend through the at least one ring-like element. In other words, particularly, a harness is suggested that includes two loops to surround the user in substantially horizontal planes and one arrangement to connect the two loops. The arrangement is configured with at least one sleeve arranged on at least one of the two loops and additionally with at least one further loop that additionally extends thr