The present invention relates to construction equipment and tools, and more particularly, to an improved line roller assembly for aiding in hoisting or lowering lines, cables or cords to a roof of a structure, tower, scaffolding or other installation.
Line rollers for use on rooftops or other installations for aiding in hoisting, moving or lowering lines, cables or cords are known on the art. Some drawbacks of prior art line rollers being used on a structure, for example, are that the lines, cables or cords being directed over the parapet wall of the structure or over other components of a building or structure and over the rollers of the line roller onto the roof or to the ground below are not directed far away from the exterior wall of the structure extending from the roof to the ground below. As such, the lines, cables or cords often rub against the outer wall which may be several tens or hundreds of feet making it difficult for the lines, cables or cords to be directed over the rollers and the parapet walls. Such outer walls often include doors, windows, balconies and other obstructions the lines, cable or cords may get hung up on as well. As such, there is a need in the art for a line roller that eliminates the aforementioned drawbacks.
In an embodiment, there is provided a line roller assembly including a base assembly including a clamping assembly configured to clamp the base assembly to a parapet wall surrounding a roof of a structure or other installation, a carriage assembly slidably mounted on the base assembly, said carriage assembly including at least one arm including a roller at a distal end, said carriage assembly movable between at least one extended position and a medial position, and said at least one roller includes a groove configured to receive a line for aiding the line over the parapet wall, wherein in the at least one extended position the at least one arm extends a pre-determined distance over an edge of an outer wall of the structure or the at least one arm extends a pre-determined distance over an inner edge of the parapet wall of the structure over the roof.
In an embodiment, there is provided a line roller assembly, including a base assembly including a clamping assembly configured to clamp the base assembly to a parapet wall surrounding a roof of a structure or other installation, and a carriage assembly slidably mounted on the base assembly, said carriage assembly including a pair of opposing arms each arm including a roller at a distal end, said carriage assembly movable between opposing first and second extended positions and a medial position, and said rollers each have a groove configured to receive a line for aiding the line over the parapet wall, wherein in a first extended position one of the arms extends a pre-determined distance over an edge of an outer wall of the structure.
In an embodiment, there is provided a line roller assembly, including a base assembly including a clamping assembly configured to clamp the base assembly to an attachment point on an installation, a carriage assembly slidably mounted on the base assembly, said carriage assembly including a pair of opposing arms each arm including a roller at a distal end, said carriage assembly movable between opposing first and second extended positions and a medial position, and said rollers each have a groove configured to receive a line for aiding the line over a top of the line roller assembly and the attachment point of the installation, wherein in a first extended position one of the arms extends a pre-determined distance from the medial position of the carriage assembly.
Referring now to
It is known in the industry that lines, cables, wires, ropes or cords (hereinafter “line”) like the line 75 illustrated in
Referring now also to
In use, the rollers 127 are free to roll on their axes when a line 75 is laid in a groove formed in each of the rollers 127. As such, the line 75 is free to roll within the groove of the rollers 127 and move unobstructed over the parapet wall 50 as it is being unreeled from a cord reel (not shown) disposed on the ground outside the wall and pulled onto the roof surface for installation on or use on the roof for powering equipment on the roof or for powering tools and equipment on the roof from a power source disposed on the ground or other location. Oppositely, the line 75 is free to move unobstructed over the parapet wall on the rollers 127 as it is being unreeled from a line reel disposed on the roof and pulled directed over the rollers 127 and the parapet wall 50 to the ground below.
The base assembly 150 includes a pair of opposing guide rail guide assemblies 155 each having a pair of opposing guide rail guides 157 slidingly receiving the guide rails 120 through channels 158 formed therein. Each of the guide rail guides 157 include an alignment guide rail guide 160 attached thereto and disposed beneath and outwardly therefrom. Each of the alignment guide rail guides 160 include a channel 162 formed therein for slidingly receiving an alignment guide rail 165 therein as described more fully hereinbelow.
Referring now also to
Referring now specifically to
It was discovered that during the rotation of the threaded rod 180 in either direction during installation or removal of the line roller assembly 100 that a torqueing action on the line roller assembly 100 causes friction and misalignment of the guide rails 120 and the guide rail guide assemblies 155 making installation or removal of the line roller assembly 100 from the parapet wall 50 difficult. To overcome this torqueing action, and as previously discussed, extending outwardly from and beneath each of the guide rail guides 157 is an alignment guide rail guide 160. Each of the alignment guide rail guides 160 include a channel 162 formed therein for slidingly receiving an alignment guide rail 165. The alignment guide rail 165 ensures precise alignment of the guide rail guides 157 as the guide rails 120 are slidingly moved within the guide rail guides 157 when the clamping plates 170 are urged toward or away from the parapet wall 50. Each of the alignment guide rails 165 includes a cap 167 at each end to ensure the alignment rail guides 160 are maintained within the translatable distance of their respective alignment guide rail 165.
In an embodiment, the line roller assembly 100 may include a safety ring 105 or other attachment point affixed to one of the clamping plates 170, guide rails 120 or other attachment point for attachment to a safety line (not shown) which may be attached to the roof, parapet wall 50 or other fixed attachment point to prevent the line roller assembly 100 from falling from the parapet wall 50 to the ground below possible damaging the line roller assembly 100, the outer wall of the structure, or hurting persons or property on the ground below. The foregoing arrangement facilitates extending the carriage assembly 110 and roller 127 (in the direction of arrows 200) on the first end 102 of the line roller assembly 100 from a medial position on the base assembly 150 by guide rails 120 sliding within guide rail guides 157 to a desirable intended first use position (illustrated in phantom lines in
In an embodiment, a latch or lock (not shown) may be used to lock the carriage assembly 110 of the line roller assembly 100 into position on the base assembly 150 that is most suitable for one of the first and second intended use positions or other contemplated intended use positions most beneficial to prevent the line 75 from contacting the inner edge of the parapet wall 50, outer wall of the structure, or other possible obstacles that may prevent the unobstructed hoisting of the line 75 onto or from the roof of the structure.
In other embodiments of the invention, the guide rollers 127 may be motorized to assist in causing the line 75 to or from the roof. There may be a cap or enclosure (not shown) that goes over the line roller assembly 100 to prevent the line 75 from slipping within the grooved sections of the rollers 127.
In other embodiments, there may additional rollers located parallel to the rollers 127 for additional lines that may be needed to be brought from a cable roller on the ground to the roof or oppositely from the roof to the ground below.
Thus, there has been shown and described several embodiments of a line roller assembly. As is evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the present invention are not limited by the particular details of the examples illustrated herein, and it is therefore contemplated that other modifications and applications, or equivalents thereof, will occur to those skilled in the art. The terms “having” and “including” and similar terms as used in the foregoing specification are used in the sense of “optional” or “may include” and not as “required”. Many changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications of the present invention will, however, become apparent to those skilled in the art after considering the specification and the accompanying drawings. All such changes, modifications, variations and other uses and applications which do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention are deemed to be covered by the invention which is limited only by the claims which follow.
This application claims benefit of U.S. provisional patent application No. 63/146,736 filed on Feb. 8, 2021 and is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/325,305 filed on May 20, 2021, both of which are incorporated by reference as if fully rewritten herein.
Number | Date | Country | |
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63146736 | Feb 2021 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 17325305 | May 2021 | US |
Child | 18412782 | US |