Patent Application
20220356764
According to the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission, in 2018 more than 580,000 people in the United States were injured due to falls from ladders, resulting in at least 300 deaths. The rungs of most extension ladders sold in the United States are typically about 2 inches, or about 5 cm deep, wherein the average foot length of a North American Caucasian mail is 26.3 cm, or approximately 10.4 inches. This leads to inherent instability in the user of the ladder trying to balance on rungs that are significantly smaller than the user's feet.
Various embodiments of the present invention recognize and address the foregoing considerations, and others, of prior art devices, by providing an apparatus that may be hung on an existing ladder that will provide a larger and more stable surface for the user to stand on.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
The present invention includes an accessory step extender apparatus comprised of at least two hanging arms, a horizontal stepping platform, and at least two platform support rods. In embodiments of the invention, at least two of the platform support rods are attached to the horizontal stepping platform, and at least two of the hanging rods are attached to the horizontal stepping platform directly, or the platform support rods, which themselves are attached to the horizontal stepping platform. Such apparatus is hung by the hanging rods on one rung of a ladder and by the platform support rods on a second, lower rung of the ladder. When the apparatus is hung, the horizontal stepping platform extends towards the interior of the ladder (or back if you are facing the ladder) even with or approximately even with the second rung of the ladder, thus extending the area where the ladder user's foot or feet may be placed. This extension allows for the user to not only place the ball of its foot down, but also the toe box, ball, and arch of the foot, thus providing better stability for the ladder user.
Various embodiments of the disclosure will be described below. In the course of the description, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale. References to “left,” “right,” “front,” and “back” are taken from the perspective of a user facing a positioned ladder.
Various embodiments will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the concepts disclosed herein may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
Referring now to
As shown in the embodiment in
The invention is further comprised of a horizontal stepping platform 300. The horizontal stepping platform 300, when the apparatus is engaged, is intended to bear the weight of the user's foot or feet, either entirely or in addition to the rung 820 on which the platform support rods 400 are hung. The horizontal stepping platform 300 in the embodiment shown in
As shown in
When there are two platform support rods 400, each platform support rod is comprised of at least a horizontal platform side support 440, a rod interior extension 430, a rod horizontal step overlay 420, and a rod exterior vertical extension 410. Each horizontal platform side support 440 is comprised of an arm attachment end 450 and a step end 443 In each of the two platform support rods 400, the rod interior extension 430 connects to or extends from the step end 443 of the horizontal platform side support 440. In the embodiment shown in
One of each of the two platform rods 400 is either attached to (as shown in
As shown in
In preferred embodiments, which will be further explained in relation to
The ladder 800 is not a part of the embodiment of the apparatus 100 itself, but for the purpose of illustrating how the apparatus is used in conjunction with a ladder, various components of the ladder are described herein as well. When referring to the interior end of a rung of a ladder, we are herein referring to the long edge of the rung that, in ordinary use, the ladder climber's toe would be closest to. When referring to the exterior end of a rung of a ladder, we are herein referring to the long edge of the rung that, in ordinary use, the ladder climber's heel would be closest to.
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As further shown in
In the embodiment shown in
In the embodiments shown in
In the embodiments shown in
As referenced above, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, the platform attachment end 250 and the arm extension end 450 are connected using a means that allows for movement, so that the hanging arms 200 may be moved into various positions with respect to the horizontal stepping platform 300.
In some optional embodiments of the invention, the two side platform support rods 400 may each be integrated with in a unitary piece with the horizontal stepping platform 300, such that the horizontal side supports 440 of each side platform support rod is each outer side 360, 370 of the horizontal stepping platform 300.
In other embodiments of the invention, additional platform support rods (in addition to the two on the sides of the horizontal stepping platform) may be included and attached to the bottom surface 350 of the horizontal stepping platform 300 to provide more support. Such additional platform support rods may be comprised of all of the components described herein, or may be comprised of fewer than all of the components described herein. In one embodiment of the invention, at least a third platform support rod is attached to the bottom surface 350 of the horizontal stepping platform. Further embodiments which are not shown in the Figures may include additional platform supports, which may optionally extend horizontally across the bottom surface 350 of the platform support rod, i.e. from the first outer side 360 to the second outer side 370.
In other embodiments of the invention not shown in the drawings, the horizontal stepping platform 300 may not include any holes. The top stepping surface 310 horizontal stepping platform 300 may optionally be a smooth surface with no holes or indentations. The top stepping surface 310 of the horizontal stepping platform 300 may also optionally include one or more other tractional features, including but not limited to nubs, ridges, grooves, spikes, indentations, or other features to improve the traction of the user's feet on the top surface 310 of the horizontal stepping platform.
The optional holes 330 of the horizontal stepping platform 330 may, as shown in the Figures be eye-shaped. However, such optional holes may have other alternative shapes, including but not limited to round, oval oblong, triangular, square, rectangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, or other regular polygon or irregular shapes.
In apparatuses according to the invention, the respective lengths of the arms 200 and side platform support rods 400 are such that the arms and the side platform support rods 400 may be hung on successive rungs of a ladder when the embodiment of the invention is it its extended position. In preferred embodiments, the length of the diagonal hanging extensions 240 is 13.5 to 14.5 inches, preferably 14 inches. The preferred total length of each hanging arm 200 is 15.5 inches to 16.5 inches in total length, more preferably about 16 inches, and most preferably 16 inches.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the arm horizontal step overlay extension 220 and rod horizontal step overlay 420 each have a respective length such that the apparatus may be used on most movable standard step ladders, extension ladders, and pylon ladders. However, this statement is not meant to limit embodiments of the invention for use only with such ladders or devices.
The respective distance between the two hanging arms 200 with respect to each other and the distance between each of the respective side platform support rods 400 with respect to each other must be such that the apparatus in accordance with the invention fits between the side vertical supports of a ladder, and onto the rungs themselves. Thus, the apparatus in accordance with the invention must be narrower than the ladder such apparatus is used on. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the interior distance between the respective hanging arms is between 12⅜ inches and 12⅝ inches, more preferably about 12½ inches. Similarly, the preferred width of the horizontal stepping platform 300 is 12.5 inches.
The horizontal stepping platform 300 should be of sufficient size to effectively extend the second rung 820 of the ladder so that more of a user's foot may be placed on the 300 than is typically placed on a rung of a ladder. The horizontal stepping platform is preferably of sufficient size such that an adult's entire toe box, ball of foot portion of the shoe, and part of the arch area of the user's shoe will fit well within the platform, if used by an adult. As shown in the embodiments in the figures and as described in this paragraph, an adult male user with a US size 14 shoe could place his foot on the extension device and it would still make for a comfortable step that supports not only the ball of the foot, but the toe and arch portion as well. In preferred embodiments, the depth of the horizontal stepping platform as measured from the arm attachment end 450 to the step end 443 is between 8 and 11 inches, more preferably between 9 and 10 inches, most preferably 9.5 inches. The thickness of the horizontal stepping platform should maintain a balance between thinness, for ease of use, and mechanical support to enable support of any reasonable adult user's weight. It should be of appropriate materials and thickness to be able to support at least a 250 pound person, more preferably at least 300 pounds. The horizontal stepping platform 300 may be made of any variety of rigid materials, including steel, fiberglass, other metals, and rigid formed plastic. In preferred embodiments, the horizontal stepping platform 300 is composed of ½ inch honeycomb fiberglass.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the angles of vertical interior extension 210, arm horizontal step overlay extension 220, vertical exterior extension 230, diagonal hanging extension 240 with respect to each other are such that and the angles of the rod interior extension 430, the rod horizontal step overlay 420, and rod exterior vertical extension 410 with respect to each other are such that when the apparatus is positioned on the ladder 800, the platform 300 is even with the second rung 820 or parallel to the ground, or both. This may be accomplished with both rounded shapes of vertical interior extension 210 and vertical exterior extension 230 and more squared-off shapes. In preferred embodiments, the angle between the vertical interior extension 210 and horizontal step overlay extension on a hanging arm 200 and the arm horizontal step overlay extension 220 is 85 to 95 degrees, more preferably about 90 degrees. In preferred embodiments, the angle between the arm horizontal step overlay extension 220 and vertical exterior extension 230 is 85 to 95 degrees, more preferably about 90 degrees. In preferred embodiments, the angle between vertical exterior extension 230 and diagonal hanging extension 240 is between 120 and 130 degrees, more preferably about 130 degrees. In embodiments of the invention with two hanging arms 200, both hanging arms should be of similar or identical dimensions and with similar or identical angles.
In preferred embodiments of the invention, the length of each rod horizontal step overlay 420 is between 1⅞ inches and 2⅜ inches, more preferably 2 to 2¼ inches, most preferably 2¼ inches. In preferred embodiments of the invention, the length of each arm horizontal step overlay extension 220 is between 1⅞ inches and 2⅜ inches, more preferably 2 to 2¼ inches, most preferably 2¼ inches.
The various components of embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention may be made of different materials that possess the necessary strength and rigidity to support at least 250 pounds of weight. Thus, in preferred embodiments of the invention, the hanging arms 200, horizontal stepping platform 300, and side platform support rods 400 are made of aluminum, steel, reinforced polyester resin, and/or fiberglass, more preferably aluminum or fiberglass, most preferably fiberglass.
