Patent Application
20230183992
The present disclosure generally relates to safety devices, and more particularly, to safety devices for rooftop work and related methods.
Every year many roofers and homeowners are seriously injured or even die from residential rooftop falls. Moreover, with the rise in residential rooftop solar module system installations, the number of incidents continues to increase. While there are various safety protection kits on the market, they are most often too expensive, too cumbersome to use on the roof, or too difficult and time consuming to assemble/disassemble by their users. When all of these factors combine, many chose to just take the risks and not use any safety precautions.
As such, further developments in safety devices for rooftop applications may be desirable.
A safety system for a building roof may include a plurality of anchors to be connected to the building roof at spaced apart locations, at least one frame member, a net connected to the at least one frame member, and a plurality of straps each defining a loop extending between a respective anchor and the at least one frame member, with a portion of the loop being connected to the net. The safety system may further include a plurality of standoff members to be positioned between the building roof and the at least one frame member at spaced apart locations to hold the at least one frame member away from the building roof, and disengage from the building roof when the net is under load so that the net wraps around the load and the straps hang from the anchors.
In an example implementation, the anchors may comprise anchor rings. In accordance with another example, the anchors may comprise roof ridge hooks. The bottom portions of the strap loops may be connected to the net across a surface thereof, for example. In some embodiments, the standoff members may be jointed.
In one embodiment, the at least one frame member may comprise a first frame member connected to a first side of the net and a second frame member connected to a second side of the net opposite the first side. Moreover, the first frame member may be positioned adjacent the building roof and the second frame member may be held away from the building roof by the standoff members. By way of example, the standoff members may comprise at least one of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), metal strips, and wood.
A related safety device for a building having a building roof may include at least one frame member, a net connected to the at least one frame member, and a plurality of straps each defining a loop extending between a respective anchor connected to the building roof and the at least one frame member, with a portion of the loop being connected to the net. The safety device may further include a plurality of standoff members to be positioned between the building roof and the at least one frame member at spaced apart locations to hold the at least one frame member away from the building roof, and disengage from the building roof when the net is under load so that the net wraps around the load and the straps hang from the anchors.
A related method may include connecting a plurality of anchors to a building roof at spaced apart locations, and connecting a plurality of straps each to a respective anchor. Each strap may define a loop extending between the respective anchor and at least one frame member, and a portion of the loop may be connected to a net. The method may further include positioning a plurality of standoff members between the building roof and the at least one frame member at spaced apart locations to hold the at least one frame member away from the building roof, and disengage from the building roof when the net is under load so that the net wraps around the load and the straps hang from the anchors.
The present description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments are shown. However, many different embodiments may be used, and thus the description should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.
Referring initially to
Referring additionally to
A standoff pole or member 37 extends between the roof 31 and the far or outer net pole 34, to extend the outer net pole and netting 35 away from the building 32 until a load (e.g., person, heavy equipment, etc.) falls into it. Then the standoff poles 37 collapse, and the net 35 cradles the person or object therein by the straps 36 which are anchored to the rooftop 31. By way of example, the standoff poles 37 may be made of PVC, and the standoff poles may be jointed (e.g., PVC union 38) or hinged in the middle to facilitate collapsing under load. In other embodiments, the standoff members 37 may be flexible metal strips, wood, or other suitable materials. The poles 33, 34 may be made of similar materials, and since the straps 36 bear the weight of the load the poles may be lightweight for ease of assembly and transportation. The net 35 may be made out of various materials such as polyester, fabric, nylon, etc.
The system 30 relatively easily installs to the rooftop 31 edge with the use of an anchor, such as the safety anchor rings 40 attached with lag screws 41. In some embodiments, the anchor rings 40 can be hidden under shingles and removed after a job (e.g., solar panel installation, etc.) is completed, or left in place for subsequent jobs. In other embodiments, the straps 36 may be connected to a roof ridge hook 45, such as the one shown in
In an example implementation, the safety net system 30 may be sectional, such as in six to eight foot long sections that can be installed in a modular fashion to cover some or all of the side of the roof 31. By way of example, the safety net 35 may be five feet across, and the standoff poles 37 may hold the pole 35 in a rage or three to four feet away from the edge of the roof, although different dimensions of netting and net sections may be used in different embodiments.
In some embodiment, the inner net pole 33 may be omitted. In another example embodiment, the standoff poles 37 may be jointed as noted above and connected between respective ends of the poles 33, 34 to define a rectangular net frame therewith. In this regard, when the net 35 receives a load, the standoff poles collapse and disengage from the roof 31, in that they no longer apply pressure to the roof to hold the outer net pole 34 out away from the roof.
Many modifications and other embodiments of the invention will come to the mind of one skilled in the art having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings, which are provided by way of example. Therefore, it is understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed, and that other modifications and embodiments are intended to be included.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63265105 | Dec 2021 | US |
