Safety apparatus for a person at an elevated location

Abstract

A safety apparatus for a person includes a harness and jacket worn b the person. The harness includes a dorsal ring and the jacket includes a dorsal opening aligned with the dorsal ring. A safety line can be attached to the dorsal ring without interfering with the operation of the jacket. The jacket is repeatably moveable between positions covering and uncovering the harness so that the jacket can be replaced with another one without removing the harness.

1 . A safety apparatus, comprising:
 a harness which includes a ring;   a jacket having an opening extending therethrough, the jacket and harness being repeatably separable from each other;   a fastening element carried by the jacket;   a flap carried by the jacket;   a complementary fastening element carried by the flap;   wherein the flap is attached to the jacket proximate to a first side portion of the opening, and the fastening element is positioned proximate to a second side portion of the opening.   
     
     
         2 . The safety apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first and second side portions are proximate to opposed sides of the opening. 
     
     
         3 . The safety apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first side portion is an upper side portion, and the second side portion is a lower side portion. 
     
     
         4 . The safety apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first side portion is a lower side portion, and the second side portion is an upper side portion. 
     
     
         5 . The safety apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the fastening element includes hook tape. 
     
     
         6 . The safety apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the fastening element includes loop tape. 
     
     
         7 . The safety apparatus of  claim 1 , further including a complementary fastening element carried by the flap. 
     
     
         8 . The safety apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the complementary fastening element includes hook tape. 
     
     
         9 . The safety apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the complementary fastening element includes loop tape. 
     
     
         10 . A safety apparatus, comprising:
 a harness which includes a dorsal ring;   a jacket having a dorsal opening extending therethrough, the jacket and harness being repeatably separable from each other; and   a flap carried by the jacket, the flap being repeatably moveable between first and second opposed side portions of the dorsal opening, wherein a centerline of the jacket extends between the first and second opposed side portions.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , further including a fastener positioned proximate to the first side portion, wherein the flap is attached to the jacket proximate to the second side portion. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the flap is repeatably moveable between first and second positions covering and uncovering the opening, respectively. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein, in the first position, the flap holds the dorsal ring upwardly so the dorsal ring extends along an exterior of the jacket. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein, in the first position, the flap holds the dorsal ring downwardly so the ring extends along an exterior of the jacket. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , further including a safety line attached to the dorsal ring, the attachment between the safety line and dorsal ring being repeatably moveable between positions enclosed and unenclosed with the jacket. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the harness includes a strap and strap guide, wherein the strap guide couples the dorsal ring to the strap. 
     
     
         17 . A method of manufacturing a safety apparatus, comprising:
 positioning a fastener proximate to a first side portion of a dorsal opening of a jacket;   positioning a flap proximate to a second side portion of the dorsal opening; and   positioning a complementary fastener so the complementary fastener is carried by the flap;   wherein a centerline of the jacket extends between the first and second side portions of the dorsal opening.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further including attaching the flap to the jacket proximate to the second side portion of the opening, and attaching the fastener to the jacket proximate to the first side portion of the opening. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 17 , wherein the fastener includes loop tape and the complementary fastener includes hook tape. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the fastener includes hook tape and the complementary fastener includes loop tape.