Shock absorber for fall protection system
AssigneeD B Industries, Inc.
InventorJ. Thomas Wolner
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A shock absorber as designed for use in fall protection systems and may be incorporated integrally with either a belt or lanyard or may be used as a separate component in conjunction with conventional belts and lanyards. A shock absorbing mechanism of the invention utilizes a piercing member having smooth edges which pierce a piece of webbing material. When force is applied to opposite ends of the shock absorber, the piercing member stretches and breaks latitudinal fibers of the webbing material. This allows near complete retention of the strength of the longitudinal fibers as those fibers are not damaged during the absorbing operation.
Claims3
A shock absorber for fall protection systems, said shock absorber comprising:
- at least one piece of webbing having first and second ends and longitudinal and latitudinal fibers;
- attachment means at said first and second ends;
- and
- a smooth-edged piercing member initially piercing said webbing at first and second piercing points adjacent said first and second ends, respectively, the linear distance long the entire length of said webbing being greater than the distance between said first and second piercing points.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.