Patent Application
20240261636
The present disclosure relates to adjustable construction stilts.
Conventional construction stilts typically come sets that are 12-30 inches tall, 24-42 inches, and 28-48 inches. Such stilts may be difficult to get on and take off due to base height. When raised, it is difficult to go through doorways and when lowered to sit down. Stairs and other unequal surfaces are especially difficult to stand on.
A vertically adjustable construction stilt assembly according to one disclosed non-limiting embodiment of the present disclosure includes a first stilt portion; a foot portion mounted to the first stilt portion; a second stilt portion movable with respect to the first stilt portion; a leg attachment mounted to the second stilt portion to retain a leg of a user to the second stilt portion; an adjustment system attached to the first stilt portion and the second stilt portion to selectively move the second stilt portion with respect to the first stilt portion; a wireless remote in communication with the adjustment system to selectively move the second stilt portion with respect to the first stilt portion to control vertical height of the stilt assembly.
The foregoing features and elements may be combined in various combinations without exclusivity, unless expressly indicated otherwise. These features and elements as well as the operation thereof will become more apparent in light of the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be appreciated that however the following description and drawings are intended to be exemplary in nature and non-limiting.
Various features will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the disclosed non-limiting embodiment. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows:
A foot assembly 70 is attached to the first stilt portion 30. The foot assembly 70 may include a springed 72 in-step to provide a walking cushion. The foot assembly 70 may include hinges or other articulatable portions and/or an adjustable heel.
A leg attachment 80 is mounted to the second stilt portion 40 to retain a leg of a user. The leg attachment 80 may include ratchet straps 84 for easy inserting and removal of the foot, a 4 inch wide calf strap 82 for better comfort and reduce pinching, and toe and heel spring blocks to facilitate balance and reducing falls. The first stilt portion 30 and the second stilt portion 40 may be manufactured of a composite material such as carbon fiber, etc.
The adjustment system 50 may include a battery powered scissor lift-type actuator 52 with one of a hydraulic, pneumatic, and electrical. The adjustment system 50 may be operated in response to a control 42 that may include at least one processor, e.g., microprocessor, microcontroller, digital signal processor, etc., a memory, and an input/output (I/O) interface. The processor and the I/O interface are communicatively coupled to the memory. The memory may be embodied as various forms of ROM, RAM, which stores data and control algorithms such as the logic described herein to control, for example. The I/O interface is communicatively coupled to a number of hardware, firmware, and/or software components, including, for example, physically to the actuator 52 and wirelessly to the wireless remote 60.
The wireless remote 60 is in communication with the adjustment system 50 to selectively move the second stilt portion 40 with respect to the first stilt portion 30 to control the vertical height of the stilt assembly. The remote 60 operates the adjustment system 50 via the controller 42 through a short-range communication protocols such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc. The wireless remote 60 may be a mobile app or dedicated hardware device with, for example, buttons 62 for Left and Right, and both stilts to extend and retract individually or together. This permits adjustment to stand on any surface whether it be an incline, regular flooring, or stairs.
The stilts allow adjustment to you to walk through doorways or sit down without having to remove them or squat. The stilts allow also the retrieval of the tools/materials without removal.
Although the different non-limiting embodiments have specific illustrated components, the embodiments of this invention are not limited to those particular combinations. It is possible to use some of the components or features from any of the non-limiting embodiments in combination with features or components from any of the other non-limiting embodiments.
The foregoing description is exemplary rather than defined by the limitations within. Various non-limiting embodiments are disclosed herein, however, one of ordinary skill in the art would recognize that various modifications and variations in light of the above teachings will fall within the scope of the appended claims. It is therefore to be appreciated that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosure may be practiced other than as specifically described. For that reason the appended claims should be studied to determine true scope and content.
