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US 8,573,359 B2Granted
Rapid access casualty extraction (RACE) belt
OwnerPatrick C. Westinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present invention relates generally to a casualty recovery device that allows for a hands free recovery or extraction, either in a combat theatre or any other emergency rescue operation where hands free operation is of significant benefit and time is of the essence.
Claims1
A rapid access casualty extraction device comprising:
- a riggers belt with an inside, an outside, a proximal end, a distal end, a buckle with a sliding belt gripper attached to said distal end with a triangular load bearing coupling mounted adjacent to said buckle and an open ended pouch attached on the outside of said riggers belt with said open end of said pouch toward said distal end of said riggers belt, a male hook section on said outside of said proximal end of said riggers belt, followed by a female loop section and a loose end that extends beyond said buckle whereby said loose end of said riggers belt is secured by engaging said hooks into said loops;
- a carabiner attached to said distal end of a drag strap;
- said drag strap with a proximal end and a distal end where said drag strap has fold line indicators marked on said drag strap such that when said drag strap is folded on said fold line indicators approximately ⅔ the length of said folded drag strap sections and said carabiner fit into said pouch wherein said pouch is made from elastomeric material and is of sufficient height, width and depth to hold multiple folded sections of said drag strap and said carabiner, leaving the remainder of said folded sections and the end of the carabiner exposed for rapid one handed deployment of said drag strap connected carabiner;
- a quick release shackle with a proximal end, a distal end, a fixed loop on said distal end, a latchable loop on said proximal end, wherein said distal end of said quick release shackle is attached to said proximal end of said drag strap and said proximal end of said quick release shackle is connected to said load bearing coupling on said riggers belt, a spring loaded normally closed retention pin attached to a quick release strap by a release strap connector such that when said quick release strap is pulled, said retention pin is retracted, allowing a latch portion of said latchable loop to swing open, thereby disconnecting said riggers belt from said drag strap;
- and,
- a keeper/silencer comprising an additional strip of said riggers belt material that has a front side and a back side, is attached perpendicularly to said outside of said riggers belt approximately 1½ inches from said distal end of said riggers belt, approximately centered on said keeper/silencer's long axis on said riggers belt, leaving a section above and a section below said riggers belt, where said section below said riggers belt has a strip of male hooks on said front side and said section above said riggers belt has a section of female loops on said back side, where when said quick release shackle and said quick release strap are trapped between said riggers belt and a folded down top section with a folded up bottom section firmly pressed against said back side of said folded down top section, engaging said male hooks with said female loops, accidental activation of said quick release shackle is prevented and rattling noises from contact between said triangular load bearing coupling and said quick release shackle are eliminated creating silent operation in battlefield conditions.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.