This invention relates generally to ladder stand-offs and more particularly to ladder stand-offs useful in corner applications.
Ladders are commonly used for many tasks to enable the user to reach locations that otherwise could not be reached. One of the most common types of ladders is the lean-on ladder which comprises a pair of laterally spaced side rails interconnected by a plurality of longitudinally spaced rungs. In use, the bottom of the ladder is supported on the ground or a floor and the top of the ladder is placed against a wall or similar vertical surface. Generally, lean-on ladders should be oriented at an angle of lean (i.e., the angle between the ladder and the ground or floor) of approximately 70–80 degrees for safe and stable deployment.
It is known to use ladder attachments such as stand-offs with lean-on ladders to increase ladder stability. Such devices are attached to the upper portion of the ladder and position the ladder away from the wall that it is leaned against. Stand-offs designed to be used in corner applications have also been proposed. However, many known stand-offs are not readily used with both flat and corner surfaces or require manual adjustment of various moving parts to permit use with different surfaces. Such moving parts are susceptible to becoming lost or broken. Many current stand-offs are also big and bulky and thus not suitable for use in tight spaces.
Accordingly, there is a need for a ladder stand-off that is compact and easy to use and can be used on both flat and corner surfaces without excessive adjustable parts.
The above-mentioned need is met by the present invention, which provides a ladder stand-off having an extension beam and first and second stand-off sections slidingly mounted on the extension beam, so as to provide an adjustable span. The first stand-off section includes a first support beam and a first arm fixedly connected to the first support beam, and the second stand-off section includes a second support beam and a second arm fixedly connected to the second support beam. A contact element is pivotally contacted to the outer end of each arm. In one embodiment, each arm is connected to the respective support beam at a point located between the two ends of the support beam, and the two arms extend in an outward direction so as to be angularly divergent with respect to each other. The ladder stand-off also includes means for being detachably secured to a ladder.
In one possible embodiment, each of the support beams defines a hollow interior such that a portion of the extension beam can be slidingly received in the support beam. Means for fixing each stand-off section relative to the extension beam are included.
The present invention can also be implemented as a ladder stand-off kit having multiple extension beams of different lengths that can be used interchangeably with the two ladder stand-off sections. In this case, the desired extension beam would be assembled with the first and second stand-off sections to form a ladder stand-off.
The present invention and its advantages over the prior art will be more readily understood upon reading the following detailed description and the appended claims with reference to the accompanying drawings.
The subject matter that is regarded as the invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding part of the specification. The invention, however, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing figures in which:
Referring to the drawings wherein identical reference numerals denote the same elements throughout the various views,
Referring to
In one embodiment, the first and second support beams 78 and 80 are slidingly mounted on the extension beam 18 in a telescoping manner. To accomplish this, the support beams 78 and 80 are open at the ends so as to define hollow interiors that are shaped to match the exterior shape of the extension beam 18. The cross-sectional dimensions of the support beams 78 and 80 are slightly greater than that of the extension beam 18. This permits a first portion of the extension beam 18 (e.g., all or part of one half of the extension beam) to be slidingly received in the hollow interior of the first support beam 78 and a second portion of the extension beam 18 (e.g., all or part of the other half of the extension beam) to be slidingly received in the hollow interior of the second support beam 80. Accordingly, the first portion of the extension beam 18 fits into the first support beam 78, and the second portion of the extension beam 18 fits into the second support beam 80, thereby slidingly mounting the first and second stand-off sections 74 and 76 on the extension beam 18.
With this arrangement, the positions of the first and second stand-off sections 74 and 76 on the extension beam 18 can be adjusted. For instance,
The ladder stand-off 10 further includes means for fixing the first and second stand-off sections 74 and 76 relative to the extension beam 18. One possible embodiment of a means for fixing the stand-off sections 74 and 76 includes a hole 82 formed through the first support beam 78, a hole 84 formed through the second support beam 80, and a plurality of holes 86 formed through, a spaced longitudinally along, the extension beam 18. The first stand-off section 74 is fixed relative to the extension beam 18 by aligning the hole 82 with a selected one of the holes 86, inserting a bolt 88 (such as a carriage bolt) through the aligned holes 82, 86, and securing the bolt 88 with a wing nut 90. Similarly, the second stand-off section 76 is fixed relative to the extension beam 18 by aligning the hole 84 with another selected one of the holes 86, inserting a bolt 88 through the aligned holes 84, 86, and securing the bolt 88 with a wing nut 90. In both instances, the bolts 88 are arranged with the bolt heads on the upper surfaces of the support beams 78 and 80 and the wing nuts 90 underneath so that the wing nuts 90 are less likely to interfere with the user. Pins retained by a spring clip or cotter pin could be used as an alternative to threaded bolts. Because of the plurality of holes 86 in the extension beam 18, the stand-off sections 74 and 76 can be selectively positioned in a number of locations on the extension beam 18. This allows the ladder stand-off 10 to be set up with spans of various widths, depending on the needed application. For example, when working in tight spaces, the ladder stand-off 10 can be set up in the compact mode shown in
Each of the first and second arms 20 and 22 is joined, at a first end thereof, to a first surface 24 of its corresponding support beam 78, 80. The first and second arms 20 and 22 are fixedly joined, such as by welding or the like, to the corresponding support beam 78, 80. The first arm 20 is joined to the first support beam 78 at a first point between the two ends of the first support beam 78, so as to be positioned approximately in the center of the first support beam 78. The second arm 22 is joined to the second support beam 80 at a first point between the two ends of the second support beam 80, so as to be positioned approximately in the center of the second support beam 80. The first and second connection points are spaced apart a predetermined distance (which distance is dependent on the positioning of the stand-off sections 74 and 76 relative to the extension beam 18). The first connection point is spaced a predetermined distance from the outer end of the first support beam 78, and the second connection point is spaced the same predetermined distance from the outer end of the second support beam 80. This distance is sufficient to permit the ladder stand-off 10 to be attached to a ladder, in a manner described below.
The first and second arms 20 and 22 extend outwardly from the corresponding first beam surface 24 so as to be angularly divergent with respect to each other, generally defining an angle therebetween that is less than 90 degrees. Specifically, the first and second arms 20 and 22 each forms an outside angle α with the corresponding first beam surface 24 (which extends in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the extension beam 18) that is less than 90 degrees. In this case, the distal ends of the first and second arms 20 and 22 are spaced apart a distance that is greater than the distance that the fixed ends of the first and second arms 20 and 22 are spaced apart. The angle α is generally in the range of 70–85 degrees. The first and second arms 20 and 22 are also angled relative to a second surface 26 of the corresponding support beam 78, 80, which is perpendicular to the first beam surface 24. As best seen in
The ladder stand-off 10 includes a contact element 28 pivotally connected to the distal end of each of the first and second arms 20 and 22. Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
The ladder stand-off 10 is generally sized based on the size of the ladder that it is to be used with. In the illustrated embodiment, for example, the combined length of the first and second support beams 78 and 80 (which are preferably, although not necessarily, equal in length) is just slightly longer than the width of the ladder 12. Furthermore, the length of the extension beam 18 is preferably substantially equal to the combined length of the first and second support beams 78 and 80. Moreover, the span of the ladder stand-off 10 (i.e., the distance between the distal ends of the first and second arms 20 and 22) in the compact mode is preferably equal to, or slightly greater than, the width of the ladder 12, while being less than the combined length of the first and second support beams 78 and 80. For example, for a ladder that is 19 inches wide (which is a typical ladder width), a combined support beam length of 21 inches would be desirable. The distance between the first and second connection points of the fixed ends of the first and second arms 20 and 22, with the ladder stand-off in its compact mode, is approximately 12 inches. The arms 20 and 22 in the illustrated embodiment are 13.5 inches long and define an angle α of 75 degrees, which results in a compact mode span of about 19 inches. Many other sizes and dimensions are possible. For instance the extension beam length could be significantly greater than the combined length of the first and second support beams 78 and 80.
The ladder stand-off 10 can alternatively be provided with multiple extension beams of different lengths to provide even more variability in the span of the device. For instance, in addition to the extension beam 18, the ladder stand-off 10 could be provided with a second, longer extension beam 92 (shown in
The ladder stand-off 10 is detachably secured to the ladder 12 through any suitable fastening means. One possible means for detachably securing the ladder stand-off 10 to the ladder 12 comprises a pair of U-bolts 66 that are threaded at both terminal ends, a pair of flat braces 68 having laterally spaced holes for receiving the legs of the U-bolts 66, and four threaded elements such as wing nuts 70. Each U-bolt 66 is placed over a corresponding support beam 78, 80 (or the extension beam 92) so that the bottom of the “U” abuts the first beam surface 24 and the two legs of the U-bolt 66 extend over the respective support beam 78, 80 (or the extension beam 92) and on opposite sides of the respective side rails 14. The flat braces 68 are mounted over the U-bolt legs so as to engage the back of the respective sides rails 14. Tightening the wing nuts 70 on the threaded legs of the U-bolts 66 thereby secures the supporting beams 78, 80 (or the extension beam 92) to the side rails 14. The ladder stand-off 10 is preferably, but not necessarily, attached to the ladder 12 with the beam 18 adjacent to the top most of the ladder rungs 16. In this case, the innermost leg of each U-bolt 66 can be positioned over the rung 16 (as shown in the Figures) so as to prevent the ladder stand-off 10 from slipping downward relative to the ladder 12. Other means for detachably securing the ladder stand-off 10 to the ladder 12 can also be used.
With the ladder stand-off 10 detachably secured thereto, the ladder 12 is placed on a horizontal surface, such as the ground or floor, and leaned against a vertical surface 72 (see
The pivoting nature of the contact elements 28 allows the ladder stand-off 10 to be used with a variety of vertical surfaces, including a flat wall (
The ladder stand-off 10 can also be used in the manner of a ridge hook. That is, with the ladder stand-off 10 attached, the ladder 12 can be placed flat on a pitched roof with the ladder stand-off 10 situated over the peak of the roof. The arms 20 and 22 are oriented downward so that the contact elements 28 abut the roof on the other side of the peak. With this set-up, the ladder stand-off 10 will secure the ladder 12 on the roof, allowing a worker to walk on the ladder 12. When used in this manner, the innermost leg of each U-bolt 66 would preferably be positioned under the adjacent ladder rung 16 so as to prevent the ladder 12 from slipping downward relative to the ladder stand-off 10.
While specific embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications thereto can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.
This application is a Continuation-In-Part of copending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/680,648, entitled “LADDER STAND-OFF” and filed Oct. 7, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,962,237.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1004284 | Lehmann | Sep 1911 | A |
3146854 | Terwilliger | Sep 1964 | A |
3459277 | Frederick | Aug 1969 | A |
5242031 | Ashley | Sep 1993 | A |
6244382 | Labonte | Jun 2001 | B1 |
6250424 | Laug | Jun 2001 | B1 |
6360845 | Allison | Mar 2002 | B1 |
6691825 | Haig | Feb 2004 | B1 |
6698547 | Uridel | Mar 2004 | B1 |
6962237 | Underhill | Nov 2005 | B1 |
6997283 | Wollenberg et al. | Feb 2006 | B1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
355504 | Feb 1990 | EP |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20050072633 A1 | Apr 2005 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
Parent | 10680648 | Oct 2003 | US |
Child | 10946136 | US |