Patent Application
20160208555
Falls from ladders propped up against roofs or other upper reaches of buildings result in thousands of injuries a year. Many of these type accidents are caused by ladders which are not positioned safely and which then slip, slide, or tip, resulting in the worker on the ladder to fall and, often times, sustain serious bodily harm.
Numerous ladder to building securing and stabilizing systems have been proposed, some which have had greater success than others. However, there have been no such systems particularly directed to safely positioning and retaining a propped ladder to the parapet of a building. Since many buildings, especially those which are industrial and commercial in nature, have parapets on their roofs, a ladder retaining system for these buildings would constitute an important step in worker safety.
It is thus the object of the present invention to provide a ladder mounting and retaining system specifically designed for a building parapet.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a ladder mounting and retaining system which safely and securely retains a propped ladder adjacent to a parapet.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a ladder mounting and retaining system which is easily installed on the parapet and ladder.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a ladder mounting and retaining system which is readily adjustable for use on parapets of different widths.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a ladder mounting and retaining system which is also readily adjustable for use with ladders of varying widths.
These and other objects are accomplished by the present invention, a ladder mounting and retaining system for use on building parapets which utilizes a parapet support member secured to the parapet of a building, a ladder support member for retaining the sides of the lengths of a ladder, and a connecting member in the form of a threaded rod, interconnecting the parapet support member and the ladder support member for maintaining these members at a given distance from each other. The parapet support member is secured in position by locking nuts threaded around the connecting member and the ladder support member is secured over the outboard edge of the parapet by retention members. Ladder supports are adjustable on the ladder support member to accommodate ladders of different widths.
The navel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention, itself, however, both as to its design, construction and use, together with additional features and advantages thereof, are best understood upon review of the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The ladder mounting and retaining system of the present invention comprises parapet support member 2 having longitudinal axis 4, ladder support member 20 having longitudinal axis 22, and connecting member 10, having longitudinal axis 12, extending between the parapet support member and the ladder support member. Connecting member 10 is optimally a rod element having threads 14 extending the length of the rod element. Threads 14 comprise adjustment means for varying the distances between parapet support member 2 and ladder support member 20, once these members are positioned on a parapet.
Parapet support member 2, configured to overlay the inboard side of a parapet 100, as seen in
Locking means, in the form of nut members 16 and 18, threadably engage threads 14 along connecting member 10. Tightening nut members 16 and 18 against upper section 8 of parapet support member 2, serves to secure parapet support member 2 and ladder support member 20 at the requisite, pre-determined distance to accommodate parapets of any given width.
Ladder support member 20, configured to overlay the outboard side of parapet 100, comprises lower section 24 and upper section 26. Connecting member 10 extends into top support 28 on lower section 24 and is secured to the lower section by tightening nut member 17, threaded onto connecting member 10, against the top support.
Top section 28 comprises round, threaded, rotatable cylinder 60 which is located between block members 61 and 64 positioned on lower section 24. Block members 61 and 64 have channels extending therethrough. Bolts 62 and 63 extend through block members 61 and 64 and are threadably engaged within cylinder 60. This configuration allows cylinder 60 to rotate, providing the means to permit angular adjustment of connecting member 10 and parapet support member 2, in relation to ladder support member 20, in the event the inboard and outboard top edges of the parapet are not level or the top parapet surface is sloped. By allowing for the rotation of cylinder 60, parapet support member 2 and ladder support member 20 can be set so as to be as level as possible, in order to maintain a greater surface to surface contact where the support members meet the parapet surfaces.
Upper section 26 accommodates commonly used handled threaded retention members 30, 33, 36 and 39. The retention members each comprise upper handles 31, 34, 37 and 40 for manual rotation, each handle being connected to the threaded stems 32, 35, 38 and 41 extending down from the handles.
Stems 32 and 35 of retention members 30 and 33 extend through threaded openings 42 and 44 through upper section 26. Retention embers 30 and 33 are rotated so as to be tightened within openings 42 and 44 and against the top surface of lower section 24 to assist in rigidly maintaining upper section 26 on the lower section.
Ladder supports 50 and 54 overlay the top surface and at both ends of upper section 26. Ladder supports 50 and 54 each comprise two elongated slots, each slot located over a threaded end opening through upper section 26. Elongated slots 51 and 53 through ladder support 50 are shown in
Guide bolt 58 is located within slot 51 of ladder support 50 and a threaded end opening through upper section 26. See
In this manner, the ladder mounting and retaining system of the present invention, rigidly and safely secures a ladder to rooftop parapets of varying size.
The system has additional versatility in that it can be used for the retention of ladders to the sides of buildings having no parapets. By loosening retention members 30 and 33, upper section 26 is removed from lower member 24. Upper section 26 is then free to be used independently of the remaining components of ladder support member 20 and parapet support member 2, against any building, with its ladder width size adjustment capability in tact.
Certain novel features and components of this invention are disclosed in detail in order to make the invention clear in at least one form thereof. However, it is to be clearly understood that the invention as disclosed is not necessarily limited to the exact form and details as disclosed, since it is apparent that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.
