Patent Application
20240410189
A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the xeroxographic reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure in exactly the form it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rights whatsoever.
The instant invention relates to the worker's safety device. In particular, the invention comprehends a splash guard that will keep the concrete splashes away from the worker when using a concrete vibrator in flat places.
Concrete is one of the most widely used construction materials, commonly found on both residential and commercial construction sites. But just because it's a common material doesn't mean it can be taken lightly.
In fact, concrete can be hazardous in all forms: powder, liquid and solid. Wet cement (an ingredient in concrete) is caustic, abrasive and drying. Exposure to wet concrete can result in skin irritation or even first-, second- or third-degree chemical burns. Other common hazards include skin and eye irritation.
Strict legislation, strong health and safety awareness and effective management systems are the key to providing a safe working environment where employees and their families can feel secure in the knowledge that they will return home unharmed at the end of each day.
According to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration in the US, more than 250 000 people work in concrete manufacturing. Over one year, 10% of these workers (28 000) experienced a job-related injury or illness and there were 42 fatalities.
By looking at prior art multiple advancements have been seen in similar regards. For instance, a U.S. Pat. No. 5,978,961A relates to anti-crush worker-safety hardjacket. An improved rigid safety-vest structure intended for general use in hazardous-construction environments, such as encountered by trench and tunnel workers. Sudden cave-in situations are said by the U.S. Federal-agency O.S.H.A. to tragically take many lives annually to insidious suffocation, attributable to simple impairment of a workers' upper-abdomen/thorax region by suddenly surrounding cave-in earth. The notion of the HardJacket™ being to prevent these fatalities, by providing the worker a light-weight aerated upper-torso safety-vest within which an earthen immobilized worker can maintain their vital breathing action, —while efforts are being made to bodily extricate them. The disclosure includes a three-paneled frontally opening self-donning structure fabricated with an interlaced metal truss-structure, preferably enveloped in a bright-colored aerating nylon-fabric; plus, a generic-variant embodiment, formed of inner and outer rigid-skins separated by a rigid foam-core interior. All iterations employ a comfortably flexile shoulder suspension arrangement, and may be provided with optional backside rollers, enabling a worker to more easily scoot beneath an overhanging ledge or vehicle.
A KR patent 2,003,0041531A relates to a safety system for construction work. The safety system for the construction side is provided to improve the existing fall protection net with a difficult and complicated installation, by a reformed structure with an easy and safe way of installation, thereby to prevent unexpected loss of lives. CONSTITUTION: The safety system of a construction site contains too posts, a net, wires, sub wires and sub hooks. The net is located at the front side of each post and connected to the halfway point and the upper point of both posts through hook-attached wires, and the sub wires are connected to the lower area of the posts and the sub hooks are attached at the designated part of the wires. Accordingly, simple, easy and safe application maximizes work efficiency and be widely used in all kinds of construction sites such as bridges and high-rise buildings, last but not least loss of lives are effectively preventable.
A CA patent 2,208,340A1 relates to construction worker's safety device. The invention is a safety device for sliding attachment to a flange of an I-beam. The device is a metal rod having a plurality of holes spaced along it, a first flange engaging member affixed at a first end of the rod, and a second flange engaging member slidably attached to the rod. Attachment means for a safety lanyard is slidably attached to the rod, and stop means are attached at a second end of the rod for preventing the disassembly of the slidable second flange engaging member and the lanyard attachment means from the rod. A pin sized to extend through each of the holes spaced along the rod provides a means for securing the flange engaging members to a flange of an I-beam. The pin has means to releasably secure it in place.
It can thus be seen from the foregoing that several attempts have been made to provide different materials and strategies for providing an enhanced level of safety for the workers in the construction field. However clearly, the need exists for concrete workers, to have a safety device allowing them to be properly covered from concrete splashes and doesn't pose any hindrance to them while performing their job. The current invention aims to provide a Concrete V Shield that will keep the concrete splashes away from the worker when using a concrete vibrator in flat places.
None of the previous inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Hence, the inventor of the present invention proposes to resolve and surmount existent technical difficulties to eliminate the aforementioned shortcomings of prior art.
In light of the disadvantages of the prior art, the following summary is provided to facilitate an understanding of some of the innovative features unique to the present invention and is not intended to be a full description. A full appreciation of the various aspects of the invention can be gained by taking the entire specification, claims, drawings, and abstract as a whole.
The primary objective of this invention is to provide improvements in a concrete shield that protects workers from concrete splashes.
It is a further object to provide a concrete shield that eliminates the need for a face shield and other protective clothing.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a shield with straps to adjust as per head size.
Still another important feature of this invention is its simplicity of assembly, ease of installation, effectiveness in use and generally inexpensive manufacturing cost.
Another objective of the invention is to provide a shield wherein it is easy to clean and light in weight.
This Summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example embodiments, so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.
The accompanying figures, where like reference numerals refer to identical or functionally similar elements throughout the separate views, together with the detailed description below, are incorporated in and form part of the specification, and serve to further illustrate embodiments of concepts that include the claimed invention and explain various principles and advantages of those embodiments.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The apparatus and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.
Detailed descriptions of the preferred embodiment are provided herein. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.
In May 2013, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development's (WBCSD) Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) published revised guidelines on measuring and reporting safety in the cement industry. The safety of workers has always been a priority for the industry, but the revised guidelines refocus efforts on eliminating fatalities in the workplace altogether. The CSI identified driver and contractor safety as high-risk areas. Fatalities in this area are most likely to happen while driving or operating mobile plant equipment and contractors are shown to be more at risk than employees or third parties.
Additionally, anyone involved in the manufacture or use of cement should also be aware of the hazards that it presents. These include ill health mainly through skin contact, the inhalation of dust and through manual handling accidents. Wet cement is strongly caustic and can cause severe burns if it comes into contact with skin and is not promptly washed off. Similarly, dry cement powder can cause eye or respiratory irritation when introduced to mucous membranes.
The present invention relates to an advancement in a concrete shield that will cover the machine's head and will save the worker from concrete splashes in an effective manner.
The present invention as per its preferred embodiments provides a shield preferably developed from plastic and consists of 2 main parts. The assembly includes a plastic sheet and a plastic strap. The plastic sheet will be cut allowing it to roll to form a cone shape that will wrap around the vibrator head/hose. The straps will hold the cone in place.
The present invention as per its additional embodiments eliminates the need for additional equipment like clothing, helmets, and similar arrangements as seen in the background art, and can reduce cost and can save time for workers.
The assembly as per its additional embodiments makes it possible to rapidly install the concrete shield and with its provided straps, it is easy to fix the assembly to the concrete mixer's head.
The assembly as per its additional embodiments makes it possible for workers to work without any hindrance of wearing any type of device. They can work in the same manner; thus, the efficiency of the job is enhanced.
Having described the invention in detail, those skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications may be made to the invention without departing from its spirit. Therefore, it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited to the specific embodiment illustrated and described. Rather, it is intended that the scope of this invention be determined by the appended claims and their equivalents.
The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader to quickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features are grouped together in various embodiments for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the following claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing on its own as a separately claimed subject matter.
