Patent Application
20210207436
The present invention relates generally to ladders, and particularly to an apparatus for stabilizing a ladder.
Ladders are widely used to access regions at a height, for example, roof or windows of a building, for repairs, installation, among other applications. One of the key requirements is to ensure safety of a user of the ladders, that is, the person who climbs the ladder. This is particularly true for ladders with a single longitudinal profile, one end of which rests on the ground, and the other end rests on a wall of a structure the user is climbing. In such ladders, the user climbs from a front side, facing the structure.
In many situations, the user may be carrying tools, or working on the ladder in different positions, and such situations may induce instability in the user's footing or the stability of the ladder. In many cases, when the user completely climbs out of the top of the ladder onto the structure, and needs to mount the ladder from the building in the same orientation, that is, facing the structure. This maneuver also induces instability, because the user approaches the ladder facing away from the structure, and eventually needs to turn around in order to face the structure, to climb down in the same orientation as climbing up. Such and other instabilities may cause the user and/or the ladder to fall, and associated injuries, which is highly undesirable.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a ladder stabilization apparatus and a stable ladder.
The present invention provides a ladder stabilization apparatus and a stable ladder, substantially as shown in and/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as set forth more completely in the claims. These and other features and advantages of the present disclosure may be appreciated from a review of the following detailed description of the present disclosure, along with the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout.
So that the manner in which the above-recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a ladder stabilizing apparatus, and a ladder fitted with the ladder stabilizing apparatus. The ladder stabilizing apparatus includes one or more side stabilizers and one or more front-back stabilizers attachable to a ladder, for example, via a support bracket attached to a side of the legs of the ladder. In some embodiments, the ladder stabilization apparatus includes tall back and front support extensions to provide additional support to the ladder. The ladder stabilization further includes a bridge attachable to the top of the ladder. The bridge comprises two arms, each extendable from a side of the ladder, and configured to rest on a surface of a structure for which the ladder is used for access. The ladder fitted with the ladder stabilizing apparatus allows a climber or a user to climb the ladder with the user's back facing the structure, and the user to emerge from the ladder through the bridge, upwards, and board the structure. The ladder stabilization apparatus also allows the user to board the ladder, from the structure, facing away from the structure, and climb down in the same orientation. Unlike the conventional ladders, in which the user either boards on from the structure to the ladder in an orientation facing the structure by turning around while boarding the ladder from the structure, or boards the ladder facing away from the structure, but then must turn to face the structure, the ladder with the ladder stabilization apparatus allows the user to board on and board off the structure safely, facing away from the structure and climbing down facing away from the structure.
Each of the stabilizers and the bridge arms may include extendable legs to adjust length to maintain a balance even on an uneven terrain. Each of the stabilizers and bridge arms may include a shoe at an end to provide an enhanced grip when resting on the ground or the structure, respectively. In some embodiments, for example for tall ladders, the ladder stabilization apparatus includes additional stabilization components, such as, a tall back support and a tall front support.
For ease of reference, coordinate axes 40 (X, Y, Z) are shown, such that the X direction is the horizontal to the ground (left-right, side), that is, along the length of the steps 16, Y direction is the vertical to the ground (up-down), that is along the height of the ladder 10, Z direction is perpendicular to the X-Y plane, that is, into the building. To access the structure 20 or a part thereof, the user 30 needs to gain elevation in the Y direction. The steps of the ladder are generally horizontal, and the plane of the ladder 10 is along the X direction. Upon climbing the ladder 10, the user 30 climbs to the structure 20 by moving in the Z direction. The back of the ladder 10 is the side of the ladder 10 facing the structure 20, and the front of the ladder 10 is the side of the ladder 10 opposite the back. The front and back are on opposite sides of the ladder, along the Z direction.
The first side stabilizer 103A includes a side leg 104A affixed at its top end 104A-T to the first support bracket 102A proximal to its top end 102A-T by a side leg joint 106A. A bottom end 104A-B of the side leg 104A is coupled to a top end 108A-T of a side extender leg 108A by a side extender leg joint 110A. The side leg 104A and the side extender leg 108A comprises holes 105A, 107A respectively, through which the joint 110A joins the side leg 104A and the side extender leg 108A, preventing relative movement therebetween. Overlap between the side leg 104A and the side extender leg 108A can be adjusted to align the holes 105A, 107A, achieve a desired overall length of the first side leg 104 and the first side extender leg 108, and reconfigure the joint 114A to the aligned holes to achieve a desired length of the first side stabilizer 103A. Such a relative, adjustable locking mechanism, which uses the joint 110A and holes 105A, 107A to adjust a combined length of two components, that is, the side leg 104A and the side extender leg 108A, respectively, is referred to as an “extension mechanism,” which makes stabilizer 103A extendable. Extension mechanisms are used in several components of the ladder stabilization apparatus, for example, as discussed below.
The side extender leg 108A includes a shoe 116A affixed to its bottom end 108A-B, to rest on the ground, and for enhancing grip of the side extender leg 108A on the ground, or a resting surface. The side stabilizer 103A, configured to a correct length with respect to the ground, provides stability to the ladder 10 against movement to the first side 12.
The front-back stabilizer 111A includes a pair of front-back legs, with a front leg 112A extending to the front of the ladder 10, and a back leg 112B extending to the back of the ladder. Each of the front and the back legs are affixed to the bottom end 102A-B at their respective top ends by a front-back leg pair joint 114A. The front and the back legs includes holes 113A to adjustably affix to the bottom end 102A-B by reconfiguring the joint 114A in different holes. In some embodiments, each of the front and the back legs 112A, 112B include an extension mechanism. In some embodiments, each of the front and back legs 112A, 112B includes respective shoes 116A at their bottom end, for example, to rest on the ground, and for enhancing grip of the front and back leg pair 112 A, 112 B on the ground, or a resting surface. The front-back stabilizer 111A, configured to a correct length with respect to the ground, provides stability to the ladder 10 against a front-back movement of the first side 12.
The ladder stabilization apparatus 100 further includes a second support bracket 102B affixed to the second side 14 of the ladder 10. The second support bracket 102B is a mirror image of the first support bracket 102A. The second support bracket comprises a second side stabilizer 103B and a second front-back stabilizer 111B, each of which are a mirror image of the corresponding first side stabilizer 113A and the first front-back stabilizer 111A, comprising all components as described above. All numerals for the first side 12 components include an “A,” and the corresponding numerals for the components of the second side 14 include a “B,” with the exception of front-back leg pair, in which the first side front leg is 112A, first side back leg is 112B, second side front leg is 112C, and the second side back leg is 112D. The side stabilizer 103B, configured to a correct length with respect to the ground, provides stability to the ladder 10 against movement to the second side 14. The front-back stabilizer 111B, configured to a correct length with respect to the ground, provides stability to the ladder 10 against a front-back movement of the second side 14.
The ladder stabilization apparatus 100 further includes a bridge 117 affixed proximal to a top end of the ladder 10. The bridge 117 comprises a first bridge arm 118A extending from a top portion of the first side 12, in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the ladder, that is, the Z-direction. In some embodiments, the first bridge arm 118A extends from the top of the first side 12. The first bridge arm 118A is affixed to the first side by a joint 120A at a first side of the first bridge arm 118A, opposite which, the first bridge arm 118A includes a shoe 122A for enhancing grip of the first bridge arm 118A on the structure 20, or a resting surface. In some embodiments, the first bridge arm 118A comprises an extension mechanism, and is extendable. The bridge 117 includes a second bridge arm 118B, which is a mirror image of the first bridge arm 118A. The bridge 117 stabilizes the ladder 10 with respect to the structure 10, against any movement away from the structure 20, particularly when the user 30 climbs the ladder 10 from the back of the ladder 10, that is, the side of the ladder 10 directly facing the structure 20.
In some embodiments, the bridge 117 further includes arm rails 119 extending upwards from the first and the second sides 12, 14, and extending away from the plane of the ladder 10 (Z-direction). The arm rails 119 help the user 30 in climbing off the ladder 10 onto the structure 20, and climbing on to the ladder 10 from the structure 20.
In some embodiments, the first and the second sides 12, 14 also include an extension mechanism with corresponding extender legs, configured to extend from the bottom of the first and the second sides, and adjustable to a desired length. The extendable first and second sides allow for use of the ladder 10 on uneven ground surface, or other configurations, such as the first side on the ground and the second side on a stair, above the ground. Further, each of the first and the second sides 12, 14 include a shoe 116 for enhancing the grip of the first and the second sides on the ground, or a resting surface.
The tall back support 130 includes a first tall back support 130A extending from a middle portion of a first side 212 of the ladder 210, and a second tall back support 130B extending from a middle portion of a second side 214 of the ladder 210. The first tall back support 130A comprises an extension mechanism, for example, similar to the side leg 104 and the side extender leg 108. The first tall back support 130A is affixed to the ladder 210 at its first end by a back support joint 132A, and at its second end opposite the first end, includes a back support shoe 134A to rest on, and enhance grip with a wall or a portion of a structure 220, or a resting surface. The second tall back support 130B is a mirror image of the first tall back support 130A.
The tall front support 140 includes a first tall front support 140A extending from a top portion of the first side 212 of the ladder 210, and a second tall front support 140B extending from a top portion of the second side 214 of the ladder 210. The first tall front support 140A comprises an extension mechanism, for example, similar to the side leg 104 and the side extender leg 108. The first tall back support 140A is affixed to the ladder 210 at its first end by a front support joint 142A, and at its second end opposite the first end, includes a front support shoe 144A to rest on, and enhance grip with the ground, or a resting surface. The second tall front support 140B is a mirror image of the first tall back support 140A.
In some embodiments, a ladder stabilization apparatus may include one or more of side stabilizers (for each side), for example, the side stabilizers 103 of
In some embodiments, one or more of the joints of the ladder stabilization apparatus, for example, the joints 106, 108 are removable. In some embodiments, one or more of the arm or legs of the ladder stabilization apparatus are extendable, that is, each comprises an extension mechanism. In some embodiments, the arms or legs of the ladder stabilization apparatus include a shoe at an end thereof that rests on a surface, for example, the ground, or the structure, for enhancing the grip thereto and preventing slippage. In some embodiments, the ladder 10 or 210, in use, is configured to rest against the structure 20 with a slight tilt towards the structure 20, for example, up to 15 degrees from the vertical.
Several features of the ladder stabilization apparatus are symmetrical, that is, the structure on the first side (12 or 212) is identical to the structure on the second side (14 or 214), except that the structures are a mirror image of one another. As an example, the side leg 113A extending from the first side 12 of
While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised without departing from the basic scope thereof. The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and/or detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, the examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the embodiments herein. Various features are described which may be exhibited by some embodiments and not by others. Similarly, various requirements are described which may be requirements for some embodiments but not for other embodiments.
Moreover, although the following description contains many specifics for the purposes of illustration, anyone skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations and/or alterations to said details are within the scope of the present disclosure. Similarly, although many of the features of the present disclosure are described in terms of each other, or in conjunction with each other, one skilled in the art will appreciate that many of these features can be provided independently of other features. Accordingly, this description of the present disclosure is set forth without any loss of generality to, and without imposing limitations upon, the present disclosure.
It should be understood that various alterations, adjustments, changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and without diminishing its attendant advantages. It is, therefore, intended that such alterations, adjustments, changes and modifications be covered by claims appended hereto.
This application claims priority to the U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/956,622, filed on Jan. 2, 2020, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62956622 | Jan 2020 | US |
