Patent Application
20200256125
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for converting a conventional ladder into an emergency rescue ladder. The apparatus described is a removable ladder attachment that secures quickly to a conventional ladder and provides a hinged extension that may be positioned in a break or hole in a semi-frozen body of water to aid in rescue operations.
In rescue events where a person or animal has fallen through the ice surface of a semi-frozen body of water it is often impossible for a rescuer to place much weight on the unstable ice surface, thus making it difficult to reach a person who has fallen through the ice. Obviously, time is of the essence in in these situations, since hypothermia and the attendant loss of motor and cognitive function set in quickly as body temperature plummets.
Various devices have been developed and used to assist in ice-breakthrough rescues, including various rope devices and ladders. The use of a rescue ladder offers some advantages, since the ladder provides a pair of opposed side rails that distribute weight across a width of the ice surface and can easily be slid towards the ice break from a distance. Once the ladder has been extended to the break area, the person being rescued need only hold on to a ladder rung and the rescuers can then pull the ladder back towards a more stable section of ice, or the shoreline.
The use of a conventional ladder in ice rescues does suffer from several disadvantages however. In some instances the person being rescued may not be capable of holding onto a ladder rung tightly enough to be pulled out of the water as the ladder is retracted by rescuers. Furthermore, in some instances it is desirable to be able to lower a portion of the ladder into the hole caused by the break in the ice, so that a victim can place his or her feet on a rung and thus be pulled out of the water to safety. However, with conventional ladders that simply lay flat on the ice surface this is impossible.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an apparatus to be used in conjunction with a ladder to assist in ice-breakthrough rescue operations that is quick to assemble, readily deployed, and capable of being lowered or placed at least partially in the water to enable a victim to grasp the rescue apparatus.
The present disclosure is related to an apparatus for providing a ladder attachment that converts a conventional ladder to a rescue ladder. The system described herein provides a ladder attachment that is wider than the width of the ladder to which it is attached. The ladder attachment may include a pair of spaced apart side rails that are secured together by at least one rung.
In various embodiments, the system disclosed herein provides an attachment that includes at least one end having a removable rung or pin that slides through two opposed apertures in the side rails of the attachment. This removable rung acts as a hinge when the attachment is secured to a conventional ladder by aligning the opposed apertures with the end rung of a conventional ladder and then inserting the removable pin through the cylindrical rung. This feature of the system enables a rescuer or rescue team to rapidly deploy the ladder attachment, quickly securing it to a longer ladder for emergency use.
In some embodiments and aspects both ends of the attachment may include a removable pin. In these embodiments the attachment may be used to secure two ladders together as needed. In other aspects and embodiments one end of the attachment may include a step or foothold to assist a person being rescued whereby the step end of the attachment may be placed in the water.
In various implementations set forth, a removable ladder attachment for use with a ladder of predetermined size having at least one hollow rung is described. The removable ladder attachment may have a first and a second side rail having a plurality of rungs extending between the first and the second side rail, wherein the plurality of rungs separate the first and the second side rail by a first predetermined width. The removable latter may also have a first aperture formed in the first side rail and a second aperture formed in the second side rail substantially opposing the first aperture. The removable ladder may also include a removable rung insertable through the first aperture and the second aperture and extending between the first side rail and the second side rail wherein a first end of the removable rung is extends beyond the first rail and a second end of the removable run extends beyond the second rail. In some implementations, the first predetermined width of the removable ladder attachment is greater than a second predetermined width of the ladder of predetermined size having at least one hollow rung to which the removable ladder is to be pivotally attached. In further implementations, the removable rung is sized to extend through the at least one hollow rung of the ladder of predetermined size and through the first and the second aperture of the removable ladder and be releasably locked in place.
In some aspects and embodiments a universal apparatus for securing a pair of rescue ladders together is provided. In these embodiments a pair of end clamps operate to secure a pair of rods that engage hollow ladder rungs, thereby connecting the end rungs of two different ladders together. In some further embodiments the apparatus may include a pair of foldable legs that are secured on a single end by a clamp. By utilizing a simple, lightweight, and readily assembled apparatus for securing two ladders together, a rescue crew can rapidly connect and deploy a pair of ladders for use in an ice or water rescue emergency.
In some additional embodiments two pairs of opposed spring-loaded clamps may be provided to secure adjacent rungs of two ladders together, thereby providing for rapid attachment and disassembly.
The term “ladder” as used herein includes any type of ladder having a rung or rungs that are cylindrically and hollow so that the removable rung or pin of the attachment may be positioned there through.
It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts and additional concepts discussed in greater detail below (provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent) are part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. In particular, all combinations of claimed subject matter appearing at the end of this disclosure are contemplated as being part of the inventive subject matter disclosed herein. It should also be appreciated that terminology explicitly employed herein that also may appear in any disclosure incorporated by reference should be accorded a meaning most consistent with the particular concepts disclosed herein.
Other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the drawing Figures taken in conjunction with the appended drawing Figures.
In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale. Emphasis is instead generally placed upon illustrating the principles of the disclosure, wherein;
Referring now to drawing
In some embodiments ladder 1 is constructed to have a conventional spacing between rails 2, for example 12 or 16 inches, although one of ordinary skill will understand that a wide variety of ladder 1 rail 2 spacings are capable of being employed in conjunction with attachment apparatus 10 without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore a ladder or ladders 1 used in conjunction with apparatus 10 may have any length and still be capable of being utilized with apparatus 10. It should be noted that commercial emergency and residential use ladders are typically manufactured in compliance with safety and sizing standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as well as the American Ladder Institute (ALI). The invention disclosed herein is, in some embodiments, intended to be operable with a many of the ladders 1 manufactured according to these standards, but it should be understood that the invention is not limited to use with ladders 1 manufactured in such a fashion
In various embodiments attachment apparatus 10 is constructed of a pair of spaced, generally parallel side rails 20 secured together by at least one rung 30. Side rails 20 may be constructed to have top 22 and bottom 24 flanges that extend outwardly away from rails 20, thereby providing a surface along which attachment 10 may slide during use. Top and bottom flanges 22, 24 may be produced in a variety of widths. For example, in some embodiments a three inch wide top and bottom flange 22, 24 may be employed to facilitate sliding across ice 5 and further to increase the surface area over which weight is distributed when a person being rescued is being pulled to safety, thereby reducing the possibility of additional breakthroughs.
In some exemplary embodiments top flange 22 and bottom flange 24 may terminate at either end 26 of attachment 10 in a curved or chamfered edge 28, thereby enabling attachment 10 to slide or glide along an ice 5 surface without digging in or causing undue resistance. Furthermore, spaced side rails 20 are spaced apart to be slightly wider than the ladder 1 to which attachment 10 is being secured, so that side rails 20 can be positioned outside the rails of a conventional ladder 1, as will be discussed further herein below.
In some embodiments depicted in
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Once secured as described herein above and as depicted in
In some aspects and embodiments of the invention, and as best depicted in
It should be noted that ladder attachment apparatus 10 may be constructed of any conventional material that is commonly used for a conventional ladder, such as fiberglass, aluminum, steel, or even wood without departing from the scope of the invention. Furthermore, attachment 10 may be constructed in a wide variety of sizes. Spaced rails 20 need only be slightly wider than the ladder 1 to which the attachment is being secured. Additionally, attachment 10 may include a plurality of rungs 30, or just one rung 30 depending on the space and storage needs of the user.
Referring now to
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In some further aspects and embodiments as best seen in
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In some embodiments a cross-member 160 is secured to a pair of spaced legs 150 to space them from each other, and prevent clamps 140 from sliding side-to-side once apparatus 100 is secured to ladder 1. In some embodiments, one pair of split clamps 140 on a first end 102 of apparatus 100 are secured together by hinges 142. As best seen in
In some additional embodiments and as best depicted in
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While the present invention has been shown and described herein in what are considered to be the preferred embodiments thereof, illustrating the results and advantages over the prior art obtained through the present invention, the invention is not limited to those specific embodiments. Thus, the forms of the invention shown and described herein are to be taken as illustrative only and other embodiments may be selected without departing from the scope of the present invention, as set forth in the claims appended hereto.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16275196 | Feb 2019 | US |
| Child | 16662926 | US |
