Patent Application
20210017778
The invention relates to devices for improved roofing safety, and particularly to improved devices used for installing, maintaining, and repairing sloped Roofs.
Work that involves roofing has long been known to be a dangerous occupation. Slips, falls, injuries and deaths are too common. A number of solutions have previously been proposed, yet problems persist with respect to both safety and the contributions of the solutions to efficiency in getting the job done.
For example, the bracket shown in
As a result of these shortcomings, the foot guard 12 is likely to slip upward along the support portion 912 of the bracket 900, in the direction of the arrows 905, even if the worker 90 is constantly vigilant to avoid shifting it, potentially causing both the foot guard 12 and the worker 90 to fall from the roof, creating a hazard not only for the falling worker and any tools he/she may be working with, but for anything that might be below—including passersby.
Moreover, the presence of the gap 910 means that if the worker drops any hammers or other tools or hardware, they are likely to slide along the roof to the gap 910, fall between the roof 100 and the foot guard 12, and endanger anything and anyone below.
And the absence of any means for securing himself to the roofing bracket, via a personnel restraint device, means that the worker 90 is in constant danger of falling from the roof to whatever happens to be below.
It is also noted that the height of prior-art safety devices, while adequate for engaging feet or footwear of roofing workers and adding a significant measure of safety, is in some situations insufficient to protect a worker, his/her tools, and or various work materials from toppling over or otherwise falling past the foot guard or other restraint component onto whatever happens to be below.
In its various aspects, the invention disclosed herein addresses these problems, and offers further advantages.
In various aspects and embodiments the invention provides improved devices for roofing or other construction or maintenance or use of high places. In particular, the invention provides improved roofing guard devices configured for permanent or releasable attachment to roofing surfaces, in order to provide permanent or removable support, with greater reliability, for foot guards such as 2″×4″, 2″×6″, or other boards in such manner as to help prevent carpenters, shinglers, and other roofing workers from falling from rooftops.
For example, in one aspect the invention provides a roofing guard device, such as a bracket, comprising at least a mount portion, a foot-guard brace portion, and a fall-arrest safety mount. The mount portion can be adapted for permanent or releasable and in all cases secure, attachment, e.g., by means of nails or screws, to a roofing surface, such as a plywood or other wooden substrate, for example. The foot-guard brace portion can be adapted to permanently or releasably support a foot guard in a generally orthogonal relationship with respect to the roofing surface. For secure support of the foot guard, the foot-guard brace can include a retainer flange adapted to firmly restrain the foot guard from moving away from the foot-guard brace or the roof, in order to ensure that a worker on the roof might is not deprived of needed support.
Fall-arrest safety mounts in accordance with such embodiments can be adapted for permanent or releasable attachment of one or more personnel fall arrest devices, such as safety straps or safety lines, and can be provided on either or both of the mount portion and the foot-guard brace portion. As described below, a very wide variety of fall-arrest safety mounts can be provided, for cooperation with a very wide variety of personnel safety devices, such as restraining straps.
In various embodiments, roofing guard devices in accordance with the invention can include one or more lateral braces configured to extend away from sides of the mounting portion, in order to provide greater stability to the roofing guard device, and therefore increased roofer safety. In such embodiments, the mount portion and the foot-guard brace portion can be integrally formed of flat sheet or bar stock.
Among the additional improvements offered by various aspects and embodiments of the invention is placement of lateral brace(s) as described above, one on either side of the mounting portion, at such a distance from the foot-guard brace portion that when the roofing guard device is installed on a roofing surface with lower edge(s) of the lateral brace(s) aligned with a lower edge of the roofing surface, there is substantially no gap between the lower edge of the roofing surface and an edge of an installed foot guard.
Among the additional improvements offered by various aspects and embodiments of the invention is the provision of removable or permanent attachments for fencing structures adapted to prevent roofers and other personnel, and/or their equipment or work materials, from falling off roofs or other structures. Such embodiments can, for example, comprise fixed or removable posts for fixed or removable attachment of sections of paneled fencing, for example through the use of D-rings or other quick links and corresponding grommets, and corresponding fencing and attachment components.
These and further aspects, advantages, and embodiments of the invention are disclosed below, with reference to the attached Figures.
Various aspects and embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which are meant to be exemplary and not limiting, and in which like references are intended to refer to like or corresponding parts.
Preferred embodiments of the various aspects of the invention are described through reference to the drawings.
Mount portions 210 of
In the embodiments shown in
Alternatively, or in addition, foot guards 12 can be restrained from movement in directions 17, 19, etc., by driving nails, screws, or other fasteners into the guards 12 through some or all of holes 236.
In the embodiments shown in
In the embodiments shown in
As noted above, among the improvements provided by the invention is configuration of roofing guard devices 200 in such fashion that gaps between foot guard(s) 12 and roofing surfaces 100 are minimized or eliminated, such that objects dropped on the roofing surfaces are not able to slide or roll along the roofing surface and drop between the foot guard(s) 12 and the roof 100 and fall onto people and other objects below.
This feature can, for example, be implemented by configuring a distance 250 between the lateral braces 240 and the foot-guard brace potion 220 such that, when the roofing guard 200 is attached to the roof surface 100 with a lower edge of the substantially collinear lateral braces 240 substantially aligned with a lower edge 101 of the roofing surface and a foot guard 12 is supported by the foot-guard brace portion, there is substantially no gap between the lower edge of the roofing surface and a lower edge or side 13 (
This can be accomplished, for example, by configuring the roofing guard device 200 so that the length or dimension 250 is less than or approximately equal to the width 15 of the foot guard 12 (
As will be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant arts, the thickness(s) or gauges “t” (
For example, in some currently preferred embodiments roofing devices in accordance with the invention are formed from flat steel sheet of thickness or gauge t of approximately ⅛th inch, with lengths L and W of approximately 12 inches and 6 inches respectively, heights H of approximately 5 inches, and uniform or varied flange widths FW of between 1 and 2 inches (
As previously noted, fall-arrest safety mounts 230 can be provided in a very wide variety of configurations, depending upon the desired types of fall-arrest harnesses or systems 400 (
In some presently-preferred embodiments, fall-arrest safety mounts 230 are provided in the form of swiveled rings 234 provided in swivels 235 welded or otherwise permanently attached to any or all of foot-guard brace portion(s) 220, mount portions 210, and/or lateral support portion(s) 240, as shown for example in
As previously noted, among the improvements offered by various aspects and embodiments of the invention are removable or permanent attachments for fencing structures adapted to prevent roofers and other personnel, and/or their equipment and work materials, from falling off roofs or other structures. Such embodiments can, for example, comprise fixed and/or removable posts for fixed or removable attachment of sections of paneled fencing, for example through the use of D-rings and/or quick links and corresponding grommets; sleeves provided at the ends and intermediate sections and adapted to fit over support posts, etc.
In the embodiment shown in
In some embodiments of guard devices 200, 202 comprising fencing post portions 270, other components such as mount or retainer portion 210, foot-guard brace portion 220 (including retention flanges 214, 216), and lateral support portions 240 can be configured in accordance with any of the variations described above. Alternatively, some or all of such components may be varied, especially in ways that contribute to the efficiency or effectiveness of such fencing structures or components.
For example, in some embodiments any or all of flanges 210, 220, 240 can comprise holes 236 instead of, or in addition to, one or more slots 212, 213, including such as those shown in
In various embodiments fencing post components 275 can be fixedly or removably attached to roofing guard devices 200, 202. For example, in some embodiments a post 275 can be welded or otherwise fixedly attached to a flange 214, 220, etc. of a device 200, 200, as shown in
Alternatively, or in addition, post(s) 275 can be removably attached to flange(s) 220, 214, 220, etc., for example by means of one or more bolts and/or spring-loaded detents 276 and sleeves 277. For example, as shown in
In some embodiments, foot guard devices 202 and/or fencing post(s) 275 can be configured such that when they are installed on roofing surfaces, fencing post(s) 275 and fencing 300 supported thereby are substantially vertical, or substantially normal to the roofing surfaces to which they are attached, or at any other desired orientation with respect to guard device 202 and/or a roof to which the device is attached. For example, as shown in
In further embodiments, posts 275 can be oriented in substantially horizontal configurations, so as to provide horizontally-extended protection for otherwise falling people or objects.
Of course, by appropriately configuring the angles between attachment flange 210, brass portion 220, and in some embodiments retainer flange 214, any desired angle 302 may be achieved between the longitudinal axis 299 of post 275 and the vertical “V”. Moreover, through the use of spring-biased detents and hinges/hinge plates, etc., a range of angles 302 can be provided and easily and securely selected by a roofer or other operator.
Fencing or fence section(s) 300 can be attached to one or more posts 275 in any ways suitable for use in implementing the various improvements disclosed herein. For example, fencing 300 can be provided in the form of single panels, for permanent or removable attachment between pairs of guard devices 202 only, or in the multi-panel forms, for permanent or removable attachment to larger numbers of devices 202. Many forms of removable and/or permanently attached fencing sections 300 suitable for implementing the invention exist, and doubtless others will be created subsequent to this disclosure.
For example, as shown in
Alternatively, or in addition, any of a wide variety of alternative devices may be used to fixedly or removably attach fencing/panels 300 to posts 475 and other components of roofing systems in accordance with the disclosure. As shown, for example, in
Alternatively, or in addition, some or all of panels 300 may be fixedly attached to posts 375, guard devices 200, 202, and or foot braces 12. For example, as shown in
Thus, as will be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant arts, many forms of removable and/or fixed attachment of fencing sections 300 to roof guard devices 200, 202, 12, etc., currently exist, and doubtless further suitable devices will be created subsequent to this disclosure.
Thus in various aspects and embodiments the invention provides foot guard and fencing assemblies 500 comprising pluralities of foot guard and fencing devices 200, 202, and one or more fencing panels or sections 300, each fencing panel or section 300 comprising a web portion and two ends, each end comprising a sleeve configured to receive a fencing post of one of the plurality of foot guard and fencing devices. In some embodiments, such assemblies comprise one or one fencing panels 300 having one or more grommets or other devices 283 for attaching the fencing panels 300 to a foot brace 12 disposed between two fencing posts 275.
In the same or other embodiments, such guard and fencing assemblies 500 can be configured for removable or releasable attachment of fencing portions 300 to fencing posts 375 and/or other components 200, 202, 214, 216, 12 by means of attachments 281, 283, 285, etc., in addition to or as an alternative to the use of sleeves.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the relevant arts that devices 200, 202, and assemblies 500 in accordance with the invention can be provided in a variety of modular forms, leaving it to the discretion of the individual roofer or other user 90 to add as many nets 300 as they require for each application. For example, in a commercial embodiment assemblies might be sold in sets of 4 guard devices 200, 202, allowing for use of 3 net panels 302, any additional desired lengthening to be accomplished through the purchase or other acquisition of additional sets 500. Through the use of such systems or sets 500 any edges, precipices, or other otherwise unprotected drop-offs may be protected from falling personnel and objects, and increased protection for pedestrians and others below such workplaces from falling objects or materials.
Various materials and exemplary dimensions are set out above. As will be understood by those skilled in the relevant arts, a very wide variety of material and dimensions will be appropriate for use in implementing the improvements described herein, depending on factors such as the nature of the roofs to be worked upon; the height of roofing works above the ground; the sizes, weights, and numbers of roofing workers, tools, and materials to be protected by the systems; and the nature of materials available. A wide variety of metals, plastics, polymers, and natural fibers will serve, depending on the context of use. In an example roofing guard system 500 adapted for the support of safety nets 300 on a residential or commercial roof having roofing joists spaced at, for example, 26 inches, the following exemplary dimensions may be used in fabrication:
As will be understood by those skilled in the relevant arts, fencing webs 310 can be of net or solid fabric form, depending on factors such as available materials, system purposes, and fencing dimensions, and can be formed of natural or artificial fibers in sheet or net form.
While the disclosure has been provided and illustrated in connection with specific, presently-preferred embodiments, many variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention(s) disclosed herein. The disclosure and invention(s) are therefore not to be limited to the exact components or details of methodology or construction set forth above. Except to the extent necessary or inherent in the processes themselves, no particular order to steps or stages of methods or processes described in this disclosure, including the Figures, is intended or implied. In many cases the order of process steps may be varied without changing the purpose, effect, or import of the methods described. The scope of the invention is to be defined solely by the appended claims, giving due consideration to the doctrine of equivalents and related doctrines.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3050157 | Jul 2019 | CA | national |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 16516446 | Jul 2019 | US |
| Child | 16931667 | US |
