Fall protection equipment having inductive sensor for connection status and control

A fall protection device comprising:

• a gated hook comprising:
• a body that at least partially defines an area of attachment configured to receive a structure, and
• a moveable gate connected to the body and configured to move between an open position and a closed position, wherein the open position provides access to the area of attachment of the gated hook and the closed position restricts access to the area of attachment of the gated hook;
• at least one first sensor for sensing at least that the structure is within the area of attachment of the gated hook, the at least one first sensor comprising an electrical circuit comprising at least one elongated conductive coil with a long axis that extends generally along at least a portion of the bowl of the body of the gated hook and that is configured so that when an electrical current flows through the electrical circuit an electromagnetic field is formed at least within the area of attachment of the gated hook;
• at least one gate sensor configured to generate data indicating at least that the moveable gate is in the closed position;
• and,
• one or more processors configured to:
• receive data from the at least one first sensor and use the data to determine that the structure is within the area of attachment of the gated hook based on the data indicating a change in an electrical characteristic of the electrical circuit of the at least one first sensor, the change in the electrical characteristic being associated with the presence of the structure within the area of attachment of the gated hook;
• receive data from the at least one gate sensor;
• and,
• generate information indicative that the gated hook of the fall protection device is connected to the structure and thus that a user of the fall protection device is connected, by way of the fall protection device, to an anchorage capable of supporting the weight of the user in the event of a user fall, based at least in part on the determination that the structure is within the area of attachment of the gated hook and that the moveable gate of the gated hook is in the closed position;
• and wherein the one or more processors are further configured to control the actuation of at least one lock that is actuatable to prevent the moveable gate of the gated hook from moving from the closed position to the open position, so that when the at least one lock is actuated, the gated hook of the fall protection device is prevented from being disconnected from the structure.