The present invention relates to a safety net having an attachment device for securing to a construction element particularly for use as a fall arrest apparatus.
When working at elevated positions, in order to protect anyone below the working position, a safety apparatus should be provided to arrest a fall of debris. Typically a safety net may be suspended just below the working height fastened, for example, to free standing columns or to fixtures mounted to a wall.
However for permanent fall arrest protection, for instance in engineering facilities having overhead fittings, maintaining a suspended safety net to span the entire overhead area may not be appropriate due to the construction of the facility, the working height, the obstruction it would cause or its cost. There is therefore a need for an improved safety apparatus which addresses these drawbacks, is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and easy to install. It is an object of the present invention to address this need or, more generally, to provide an improved safety net.
According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a safety net assembly comprising: a bag constructed of wire mesh, the bag having an open mouth, the bag including a plurality of eyes integral with the wire mesh and spaced circumferentially about the mouth;
an elongate line having opposing first and second ends, first and second line portions of the line being disposed adjacent the first and second ends respectively, an intermediate portion of the line located between the first and second line portions, and
a choker fitting having two faces between which a plurality of openings extend, and an end fixture on the choker fitting, wherein the first portion of the line is connected in a ring by the choker fitting, the first end being fixed to the end fixture, the first portion extending through the eyes for drawing the mouth closed, and the intermediate portion extending through at least one of the openings in the choker fitting.
The first portion of the line provides an elongate flexible member, and while the first portion of the line may be continuous, it may alternatively be interrupted by fasteners, links, or the like, connected to adjacent ends of the line and which can be separated so that the ring may be broken as needed in some installations of the net (which are discussed below).
Preferably the intermediate portion extends through the openings in the choker fitting so that a loop in the line protrudes from each of the faces of the choker fitting. It will be apparent that two openings will be sufficient for connection in this manner, however most preferably the openings include three openings through which the line passes sequentially.
Preferably the line further comprises a terminal eye formed on the second end of the line. The assembly preferably further comprises a hook fastener received in the terminal eye.
Preferably the two faces of the choker fitting comprise opposing faces of a planar part of the choker fitting, the end fixture comprising a line-receiving aperture having an axis disposed in the plane of the planar part and the first end of the line includes a fixture thereon, whereby the first portion is received in the line-receiving aperture and the fixture is sized so as not to pass through the line-receiving aperture.
Preferably the wire mesh bag is formed from a length of wire with fastenings joining portions of the length of wire, the length of wire extending from the closed end toward the mouth and being turned back upon itself to form the eyes at the mouth and corresponding eyes at the closed end, each eye at the mouth being fixed by a respective one of said fastenings to the adjacent eye on either side thereof, and each eye at the closed end being fixed by a respective one of said fastenings to the adjacent eye on either side thereof to form the bag.
The fastenings that join two portions of the length of wire and are preferably all of like type, most preferably being ferrules which are crimped or moulded in place.
Preferably the fastenings joining the eyes at the closed end are more closely spaced along the length of wire than the fastenings joining the eyes at the mouth.
In another aspect the invention provides a method of securing apparatus mounted overhead upon a construction member, the method comprising:
providing a safety net assembly substantially as described above;
introducing the apparatus through the mouth so as to at least partially enclose the apparatus in the wire mesh bag;
manipulating the choker fitting and line to close the mouth;
looping the second portion about the construction member, and
connecting the first portion and the second end by means of a hook fastener.
This invention provides a safety net assembly which is effective and efficient in operational use, and which has an overall simple design which minimizes manufacturing costs and maximizes performance.
Preferred forms of the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Referring to
In the first embodiment illustrated the mesh is made from a length of wire 5 which may be continuous (i.e. a single length) or discontinuous (for instance, including end-to-end joints) and which provides a degree of flexibility and resilience to the bag 1, allowing it to be expanded in the transverse direction to accommodate apparatus of varying size, while being readily collapsible. The bag 1 is made from a planar mesh 10, shown in
The mesh 10 is a non-woven type in which portions of the length of wire 5 are joined by fastenings in the form of ferrules 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d at nodes of the mesh. The length of wire 5 extends generally longitudinally and is turned back upon itself and joined by ferrules 9c to form eyes 11 at the first edge 23 of the mesh 10, and by ferrules 9d to form eyes 12 at the longitudinally opposing second edge 22 of the mesh 10. Fastenings in the form of ferrules 9b join the adjacent eyes 12 along the second edge 22 and ferrules 9a join the adjacent eyes 11 along the along the first edge 23.
The mesh 10 may be conveniently manufactured by winding the length of wire 5 between pegs 27 spaced apart in two parallel lines, the lines being spaced apart in the longitudinal direction (relative to the mesh 10). The length of wire 5 is wound about the pegs in a zigzag pattern, alternating in direction when it is turned back upon itself around each peg 27.
To then form the bag 1 from the mesh 10 of
To produce a bag 1 shaped to taper outwardly from the closed end 2 toward the open mouth 3, the transverse dimension of the second edge 22 exceeds that of the first edge 23. To achieve this, the eyes 12 are larger than the eyes 11 and the ferrules 9a joining the eyes 11 are spaced more closely apart (by dimension 24 measured along the length of wire 5) than the ferrules 9b joining the eyes 12 on the second edge 22 (which are spaced by dimension 25 measured along the length of wire 5).
The choker fitting 52 shown in detail in
As shown most clearly on
The choker fitting 52 has a first plurality of apertures 56, 57 and 58 extending between the upper surface 53 and the lower surface 54 in the region 52a. The aperture 56 is spaced by a first distance D1 from the edge surface 59a and a second distance D2 from the first of the second side edge 60a. The second aperture 57 is aligned with the first aperture 56 and is spaced the first distance D1 from the first side edge 59a and is spaced a third distance D3 from the side edge 60a. the third aperture 58 is aligned with the second aperture 57 and is spaced the third distance D3 from the side edge 60a and a fourth distance D4 fro the side edge 59a. As shown on
The end fixture aperture 65 is spaced from the three apertures 56, 57 and 58 near the side edge 6b approximately equally distanced from the side edges 59a and 59b. However a different location for the end fixture aperture 65 may be selected as desired for particular applications.
The line 33 has a first end 70 adjacent to which a bead-shaped ferrule or fixture 71 is fixed. The fixture 71 is disposed in the aperture 65 while the first end 70 extends through the line-receiving aperture 63, the fixture being larger than the aperture 63 so as to thereby fix the first end the choker fitting 52. A second end 72 of the line 33 opposing the first end 70 includes a terminal eye 73 formed as by an eye splice or by a loop fixed by a ferrule, or like fastener.
A first portion 74 of the line 33 adjacent the first end 70 extends from the end fixture 55 in a ring through the eyes 12 for drawing the mouth 3 closed. A second portion 78 of the line 33 extends from the choker fitting 52 to the second end 72.
An intermediate portion 75 of the line 33 is located between the first and second line portions 74, 78, and passes sequentially through the openings 56, 57, 58 in the choker fitting. As shown in dashed outline in
The line 3 and the length of wire 5 are preferably twisted stainless steel wire cables for corrosion resistance. Similarly the other components, such as the ferrules 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d and the hook fastener are also formed of stainless steel.
A third embodiment of the invention is shown in
In a fourth embodiment the net of the invention, shown in
In use, as best seen in
Aspects of the present invention have been described by way of example only and it should be appreciated that modifications and additions may be made thereto without departing from the scope thereof.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
107952 | Osborn | Oct 1870 | A |
363495 | Wilson | May 1887 | A |
656431 | Stewart | Aug 1900 | A |
790929 | Smith | May 1905 | A |
866965 | Redding | Sep 1907 | A |
1201972 | Keely | Oct 1916 | A |
1426537 | Bauer | Aug 1922 | A |
1491316 | Ryan | Apr 1924 | A |
1541427 | Low | Jun 1925 | A |
1546798 | Seagren | Jul 1925 | A |
1570291 | Van Alstine | Jan 1926 | A |
2233083 | MacKenzie | Feb 1941 | A |
2240510 | Meighan | May 1941 | A |
2316950 | Goeller | Apr 1943 | A |
2440712 | Bickell | May 1948 | A |
2991539 | Higgins | Jul 1961 | A |
3328064 | Simon | Jun 1967 | A |
3930288 | Black et al. | Jan 1976 | A |
3953911 | Fishack | May 1976 | A |
4066144 | Valerio, Jr. | Jan 1978 | A |
4107825 | Brawand | Aug 1978 | A |
4280435 | Loomis | Jul 1981 | A |
4723634 | Fisk | Feb 1988 | A |
4982813 | Starr | Jan 1991 | A |
5167299 | Nusbaum | Dec 1992 | A |
5351367 | Kennedy et al. | Oct 1994 | A |
5839768 | Wackerly | Nov 1998 | A |
6026662 | Schlipper | Feb 2000 | A |
6077587 | Potok | Jun 2000 | A |
6112379 | Fernandez | Sep 2000 | A |
6244081 | Schlipper | Jun 2001 | B1 |
6317935 | O'Rouke | Nov 2001 | B1 |
6389655 | Libecco | May 2002 | B2 |
7069753 | Schlipper | Jul 2006 | B2 |
Entry |
---|
U.S. Appl. No. 09/063,682, filed Feb. 22, 2000, MRM Holdings LTD. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20110011677 A1 | Jan 2011 | US |