Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02715005 2010-09-21
PET HARNESS SAFETY SYSTEM
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application Serial No.
61/244,725 filed September 22, 2009, which is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates generally to a pet harness safety system, and more
particularly
to a pet harness safety system having a harness assembly worn by a pet and a
carabiner
tether assembly to secure the harness assembly to a vehicle during usage.
2. Description of the Related Art.
Pet safety systems are essential when traveling with a pet, such as a dog, to
protect
the pet and the driver and any passengers in a vehicle. Pet safety systems are
available in a
variety of sizes and styles, and few crash tests have been conducted to ensure
they will do
the job in case of a sudden stop or accident. Statistically, a twenty-five
(25) pound,
unrestrained dog can become a deadly, one-thousand (1000) pound projectile in
the event of
a forty (40) mph vehicular crash. In addition, pet safety systems prohibit the
pet from
distracting the driver while driving the vehicle, making travel safer for
everyone.
Current pet safety systems, however, do not meet any reasonable safety
standards.
Many harnesses of the current pet safety systems are designed for walking and
built to meet
the form, fit, and function of walking the dog and effectively put a "safety"
claim on a
walking harness. Few harnesses of the current pet safety systems adequately
provide for the
safety of the pet (and their owners) when driving and potential hazards are
encountered. For
example, many of the existing harnesses for pet safety systems are not
practical because they
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are either "over-engineered" and expensive or "under-engineered" and unsafe.
Over-
engineered harnesses for pet safety systems often include heavy, cumbersome
buckles,
hardware, and excessive webbing, and suffer from poor overall installation,
design, and
functionality. These over-engineered harnesses provide adequate safety by some
expectations, but are impractical because they are difficult installation into
the vehicle,
difficult to fit properly to the pet, and/or have cumbersome buckles (e.g.,
car seat buckles on
the harness), which are heavy, awkward, and clearly uncomfortable for the pet.
In addition,
these over-engineered harnesses render the pet safety system impractical for
anything other
than in-vehicle use. At the other extreme are the under-engineered harnesses,
which are
typically merely a walking harness labeled as a "safety harness" by only
providing a means
to secure or tether the pet in the vehicle. However, the under-engineered
harness serves no
practical safeguard in the event of an accident. The under-engineered
harnesses fail at three-
hundred (300) pounds of force, whereas a reasonable safety rating for an
average pet would
easily be five (5) to ten (10) times that force.
It is therefore desirable to provide a pet harness safety system that limits
all
unnecessary hardware, connectors, and buckles by providing a harness assembly
that
includes two support body loops made from webbing that are joined by a
carabiner tether
assembly, which becomes a part of the pet harness safety system without
disrupting/interrupting the integrity of the body loops.
It is still further desirable to provide a pet harness safety system having a
carabiner
tether assembly designed to "close" the pet harness safety system and secure
the harness
assembly to the vehicle.
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It is yet further desirable to provide a pet harness safety system that is
light-weight
and capable of being easily worn either in or out of the vehicle, while
exceeding the safety
ratings for the appropriate dog weights by withstanding over four-thousand
(4,000) pounds
of force.
It is yet further desirable to provide a pet harness safety system that may be
easily
put on or taken off of a pet while keeping a consistent custom fit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In general, the invention relates to a pet harness safety system having a
harness
assembly and a carabiner tether assembly. The carabiner tether assembly
includes an
elongate tether body with opposing carabiners. During usage, one of the
carabiners is
secured to the harness assembly while the other carabiner is secured to the
seat belt buckle
webbing or child seat latch. The harness assembly includes two parallel body
loops that are
adjustably joined together via a body support to form a completed or closed
system without
any additional hardware, connectors or metal rings. Each of the body loops are
folded to
form a reinforced loop at a point of attachment to the carabiner and a slide
to adjust the size
and fit the body loops about the dog and close the loop system. The chest
plate body
support includes a series of body loop apertures for receipt of the body
loops.
A primary and a secondary back plate are respectively attached to the body
loops and
may be releasably fastened together using a fitting connector. The primary
back plate is
movable between an open position and a closed potion. The fitting connector
does not
interrupt or interfere with the integrity of the pet harness safety system and
does not bear
any load when a load is placed on the pet harness safety system, such as
during an accident
involving the vehicle.
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During use, the pet harness safety system loops substantially parallel to the
body of
the dog such that only its shoulders are encircled by the body loops, at which
point they may
be releasably coupled via the fitting connector. The primary back plate is
moved from the
open to the closed position, the loops of the body loops are secured by the
carabiner, and the
carabiner can be secured thereto to secure the pet harness safety system to
the vehicle.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a perspective view of an illustrative embodiment of the pet
harness safety
system disclosed herein;
Figure 2 is an exterior view of the illustrative embodiment of the pet harness
safety
system shown in Figure 1;
Figure 3 is an interior view of the illustrative embodiment of the pet harness
safety
system shown in Figure 1;
Figure 4 is an exploded view of an example of a primary back plate in an open
position in accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the pet harness
safety system
disclosed herein; and
Figure 5 is an exploded view of the primary back plate of the pet harness
safety
system shown in Figure 4 in a closed position.
Other advantages and features will be apparent from the following description,
and
from the claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The devices discussed herein are merely illustrative of specific manners in
which to
make and use this invention and are not to be interpreted as limiting in
scope.
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While the devices have been described with a certain degree of particularity,
it is to
be noted that many modifications may be made in the construction and the
arrangement of
the structural and functional details disclosed herein without departing from
the spirit and
scope of this disclosure. It is understood that the devices are not limited to
the embodiments
set forth herein for purposes of exemplification.
Referring to the figures of the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference
designate like elements throughout the several views, and initially to Figure
1, a pet harness
safety system 10 is shown during use to secure to a dog 12 within a vehicle
(not shown) for
travel. The pet harness safety system 10 includes a harness assembly 14 and a
carabiner
tether assembly 16. As shown, the carabiner tether assembly 16 includes an
elongate tether
body 18 formed from suitable webbing and being disposed intermediate of
opposing
carabiners 20 on opposing terminal ends 22 of the tether body 18. Each
opposing terminal
end 22 may include a connection loop 24 formed by a length of the webbing
secured to the
tether body 18, and each of the connection loops 24 has the carabiner 20
received
. therethrough, as illustrated in Figure 1. During usage, one of the
carabiners 20 of the
carabiner tether assembly 16 is secured to the harness assembly 14 while the
other carabiner
is secured to the in-vehicle restraint system, such as by securing to the
webbing of a seat
belt latch (not shown).
Referring now to Figures 2 and 3, the harness assembly 14 of the pet harness
safety
20 system 10 includes two parallel body loops 26 and 28 formed from suitable
webbing, which
are adjustably joined together via a body support 30 to form a completed or
closed system
without any additional hardware, connectors or metal rings. Each of the body
loops 26 and
28 includes a reinforced segment that is secured to form a loop 32 and 34,
respectively.
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Each of the body loops 26 and 28 also includes a slide 36, which may be
adjusted to fit the
body loops 26 and 28 of the pet harness safety system 10 to the dog 12. Each
of the slides
36 includes a pair of parallel, elongate apertures 38 for receipt of the body
loop 26 and 28.
The slides 36 may be constructed of any light-weight metal or other suitable
resilient
material. The slides 36 enable the pet harness safety system 10 to be adjusted
and fitted to
the dog 12 once, and, thereafter, the pet harness safety system 10 can be
easily put on and/or
off with a fitting connector 40.
The body support 30, as exemplified in Figures 2 and 3, includes an upper
section
42, a lower section 44, and an intermediate section 46 joining the upper
section 42 and the
lower section 44. The upper section 42 of the body support 30 may include
opposing flared
members 48A and 48B, each having a series of body loop apertures 50 for
receipt of the
respective body loops 26 or 28. The opposing flared members 48A and 48B of the
upper
section 42 of the body support 30 may be joined using a suitable webbing joint
52, and, as
illustrated, a substantially V-shaped webbing joint 52 secured intermediate of
the opposing
flared members 48A and 48B. The lower section 44 may have a width greater than
a width
of the elongate intermediate section 46 and have a series of body loop
apertures 50 for
receipt of the respective body loops 26 and 28. Thus, the body support 30 may
be
substantially Y-shaped at the upper section 42 and substantially I-shaped at
the lower section
44. In addition, a substantially tubular wrap 54 may surround the elongate
intermediate
section 46 and the segments of the body loops 26 and 28 engaged with the body
support 30.
The reinforced loop 32 of the body loop 26 is secured to a primary back plate
56
loop, and the reinforced loop of the body loop 28 is secured to a secondary
back plate 58.
The primary back plate 56 includes a first segment 60 and a second segment 62,
with the
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first segment 60 having a width less than a width of the second segment 62. On
a face of the
primary back plate 56, both the first segment 60 and the second segment 62
include a
fastener, such as hook and loop fastener components 64A and 64B respectively
placed such
that the first segment 60 may be releasably fastened to the second segment 62.
In addition,
the first segment 60 includes a substantially I-shaped aperture 66 having
opposing enlarged
ends 68A and 68B separated by opposing projections 70A and 70B. The second
segment 62
may include a reinforced portion 72 that abuts the fitting connector 40 during
operation.
The second segment 62 of the primary back plate 56 has a component 40A (shown
as the
female component) of the fitting connector 40 secured thereto, such as by
using a length of
webbing. The secondary back plate 58 secured to body loop 28 includes a
component 40B
(shown as the male component) of the fitting connector 40 secured thereto,
such as also by
using a length of webbing. The fitting connector 40 may be constructed of
plastic or other
resilient material and enables the pet harness safety system 10 to be easily
and quickly put
on and taken off the dog 12. The fitting connector 40 does not interrupt or
interfere with the
integrity of the pet harness safety system 10 and does not bear any load when
a load is
placed on the pet harness safety system 10, such as during an accident
involving the vehicle.
During use, an upper portion of the body loops 26 and 28 are positioned along
the
upper chest of the dog 12, while a lower portion of the body loops 26 and 28
are positioned
along the lower chest of the dog 12, with the intermediate section of the body
support 30
positioned substantially parallel to the sternum of the dog 12. Thus, the pet
harness safety
system 10 loops substantially parallel to the body of the dog 12, such that
only the shoulders
of the dog 12 are encircled by the body loops 26 and 28. The body loop 26 may
be
releasably coupled to the body loop 28 by inserting the male component 40B of
the fitting
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connector 40 having opposing protruding detents 74 into the female component
40A of the
fitting connector 40 (or vice versa), wherein the detents 74 engage detent
openings 76 in the
female connector 40A to releasably couple the body loop 26 to the body loop
28, as shown
and illustrated in Figure 4. The pet harness safety system may then be
adjusted and fitted to
the dog 12 using the slides 63 engaging the body loops 26 and 28.
Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the primary back plate 56 in an open position,
and
Figure 5 showing an enlarged view of the primary back plate 56 in a closed
position. From
the open position, the first segment 60 of the primary back plate 56 may be
folded over the
second segment 62 and the hook and loop fastener components 64A and 64B
thereon may
be releasably secured in the closed position. The loop 32 of the body loop 26
and the loop
34 of the body loop 28 are fed through the substantially I-shaped aperture 66
of the first
segment 60 of the primary back plate 56, at which point the carabiner 20 of
the carabiner
tether assembly 16 is secured to the loops 32 and 34 of the body loops 26 and
28 to secure
the pet harness safety system 10 to the vehicle. The pet harness safety system
10 is designed
to utilize the carabiner tether assembly 16 and not a standard pet leash,
since usage of a
standard pet leash would effectively render the pet harness safety system 10
only as strong
as the pet leash.
It will be appreciated that the pet harness safety system 10 may be
constructed in
varying sizes, such as small, medium, and large or based on a predetermined
weight range.
Once the pet harness safety system 10 is fitted and adjusted to the dog 12, it
may be easily
worn by the dog 12 both in and/or out of the vehicle.
The key features of the pet harness safety system 10 are (1) the harness loops
around
the pet's shoulders, minimizing the possibility of strangulation; (2) the fit
connector is
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effectively outside the load bearing system allowing the harness to be custom
fit one time,
by the load bearing slide buckle, but installed on and off the pet
conveniently with the fit
buckle; and (3) continuous loops are parallel but jointed at the loop
carabiner to form an
uninterrupted system. Furthermore, the carabiner tether assembly may be
attached and
detached from the in-vehicle restraint system without interrupting the harness
loop
assembly. Thus, the harness loop assembly is for fitting the harness around
the dog
comfortably, while the carabiner tether assembly effectively connects the
system together
and to the vehicle.
Whereas, the devices have been described in relation to the drawings and
claims, it
should be understood that other and further modifications, apart from those
shown or
suggested herein, may be made within the spirit and scope of this invention.
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