This invention relates generally to safety nets which are employed to catch a falling object or person. More.,particularly, the present invention relates generally to safety nets which are employed to catch a falling person without imparting serious injury to the person.
Safety nets have long been employed to minimize the risk of serious injury or death from accidental falling at construction sites and other hazardous structures. The safety nets are typically mounted below the areas from which an accidental fall may potentially occur. Such safety nets are commonly required at construction sites to protect the construction workers as well as the general public.
While conventional safety nets have prevented a number of accidental deaths and very serious injuries, it is well established that injuries and even serious injuries may nevertheless result from an accidental fall into a safety net. The ability of a safety net to catch a falling object or person without injury is a direct function of the ability of the safety net to absorb the energy of the falling object or person. As a general proposition, the greater the effective distance of deceleration imparted by the safety net, the less effective force of resistance or stress is exerted by the net against the falling object or person. The likelihood of injury resulting from a fall is inversely proportional to the characteristic force of resistance of the safety net.
The ability of a safety net to absorb a load is a function of the composite materials of the safety net as well as the net configuration and the mounting configuration of the safety net. The ability of the net to deform upon impact is also important in attaining favorable shock absorbing characteristics for the net.