EP4459093A1

EP4459093A1 - Ladder safety system and ladder including at least one such system

Info

Publication number: EP4459093A1
Application number: EP24169080.9A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Andrea Vera
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2023-05-03
Filing date: 2024-04-08
Publication date: 2024-11-06

Abstract

A ladder safety system is described, consisting of a pair of hooks (1) fixed to at least one of a composite sleeve (2) and a protruding rod (3), the pair of hooks (1) being connectable to a portion of a structure to stably secure the ladder resting on the structure at a certain height from the ground, such that at least one of a composite sleeve (2) and a protruding rod (3) may be coupled to the ladder.Such at least one of a composite sleeve (2) and a protruding rod (3) is designed to be able to oscillate relative to the ladder to allow the pair of hooks (1) to align appropriately with a portion of a structure. Furthermore, a ladder including a ladder safety system is described.

Description

The present invention refers to a ladder safety system.
Furthermore, the present invention relates to a ladder comprising a ladder safety system.
Broadly speaking, the present invention relates to ladders fixed to structures, such as windows, eaves, posts or the like specially adapted to be installed parallel to the roof surface.
In particular, the present invention refers to supports specially adapted to fix a ladder to a ridge, a pitch, or a gutter of a roof.
Very often, access to roofs is only possible from the outside, by placing a ladder on the eaves or a pitch. This type of access is very dangerous because, the higher one climbs, the more the ladder may swing and the end of the ladder resting on the roof or gutter may slide to the right or left of the operator engaged in the climb.
Known ladder hooking devices are of two types: the ones meant for pre-assembled hooking of the ladder on the roof; hooks being fixed at a given height and assembled on the ladder.
The state of the art of pre-assembled roof hooking devices is represented by patent application US 2016/0208554 A1 having as an object a mounting joint designed to secure the ladder anchor safety attachment to a ladder, a swivel joint fixed to the mounting j oint, a telescopic arm fixed to the opposite end of the swivel joint from the mounting joint, and a clamp fixed to the distal end of the telescopic arm, wherein the clamp is designed to be capable of being fixed to a solid object able to anchor the ladder while the ladder is in use. The ladder anchor attachment is designed to provide a way to secure a ladder against one or more solid objects and structures in order to hold the ladder in place during use, wherein one or more solid objects and structures may have preferred anchor points which may vary significantly in their distance and position from the ladder.
The state of the art in connection to hooking devices fixed at a given height assembled on a ladder is represented by US patent application 4,949,810 A in relation to a pair of attachments for use with ladders provided with hollow rungs to stabilize the ladder and protect the gutter. The present invention provides flat steel bars bent to fit the spacing between ladder rungs with a steel tube welded to each end sized to fit snugly into the opening of any two consecutive rungs in that ladder.
Furthermore, it is known the state of the art represented by patent application WO 2019/171479 A1 related to a crane which allows counterweight assembly work to be carried out with a ladder stably engaged with the turret. The ladder is provided with an engagement element in which an inverted U-shaped engagement groove is formed and a support element, which rotatably supports the engagement element. The engagement element is formed by an elongated hole into which a pin provided on the support element is inserted. When the turret sinks during counterweight mounting, the hooking element rotates and follows the downward movement of a hooking portion resulting in the hook groove being prevented from lifting and detaching from the hooking portion - receiving portion.
The state of the art in connection to devices with pre-assembled hooks on the roof is not the subject of interest of the present invention to solve the problem of safe use of a ladder.
The state of the art in connection to devices provided with fixed hooks at a given height assembled on the ladder does not solve the problem as how to ensure an automatic hooking and unhooking of the ladder from a structure.
The solution to the technical problem is suggested by patent application WO 2019/171479 A1 via a rotating hooking element through which a downward movement of a hooking portion may be carried out thus preventing the hooking groove from lifting up and detaching from the hook.
It is an object of the present invention to solve the aforementioned problems of the prior art by providing a ladder safety system allowing a ladder automatic hooking and unhooking from a structure.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a ladder, which includes a ladder safety system capable of allowing the ladder to be automatically hooked and unhooked from a structure.
The above-mentioned objects and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are achieved with a ladder safety system such as that described in claim 1
Furthermore, the aforementioned and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are achieved with a ladder comprising a safety system such as that described in claim 9.
Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variants of the present invention form the subject matter of the dependent claims.
It is understood that all the attached claims form an integral part of this description.
It will be immediately obvious that countless variations and modifications may be applied to what has been described (for example relating to shape, dimensions, arrangements and parts with equivalent functionality) without departing from the scope of protection of the invention as appears from the attached claims.
The present invention will be better described based on some preferred embodiments, provided by way of example and not by way of limitation, with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows an axonometric view of a portion of an embodiment of a first ladder configuration including a ladder safety system, according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 shows an axonometric view of a portion of an embodiment of a second ladder configuration including a ladder safety system, according to the present invention;
FIG. 3 shows an axonometric view of an embodiment of the ladder safety system shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 shows an axonometric view of an embodiment of the ladder safety system shown in FIG. 2; and
FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, show some significant embodiments of the ladder including a ladder safety system, according to the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 2, it may be noted that a ladder safety system according to the present invention consists of a pair of hooks 1 fixed to at least one of a composite sleeve 2 and a protruding rod 3.
The pair of hooks 1 may be hooked to a portion of a structure to stably secure the ladder resting on the structure at a certain height from the ground.
Such at least one of a composite sleeve 2 and a protruding rod 3 is connectable to the ladder.
Advantageously, at least one of a composite sleeve 2 and a protruding rod 3 is designed to be able to oscillate with respect to the ladder so as to allow the pair of hooks 1 to align appropriately with a portion of a structure.
Each hook of the pair of hooks 1 is made up of a section of a folded band of resilient material fixed to a respective part of the composite sleeve 2 and to a respective part of the protruding rod 3 via a coupling element 4.
Referring to FIG. 3, the composite sleeve 2 includes at least a pair of annular half- bands 5, 6 attached via a pair of coupling elements 4.
Each pair of annular half bands 5, 6 is composed so as to loosely encircle a rung of the ladder.
A spacer rod 7 has its ends connected to a respective pair of such annular half- bands 5, 6 via a pair of coupling elements 4.
Referring to FIG. 4, the protruding rod 3 is designed for passing through a rung of the ladder in order to be able to receive the pair of hooks 1 near the respective portion of the protruding rod 3.
Each rung of the ladder is drilled to allow the protruding rod 3 to pass through each respective rung loosely and to be positioned with its protruding ends relative to the respective rung.
The ladder safety system is made of metal.
For such a ladder safety system it is preferable to use coupling elements 4 of the bolt or quick connection type.
Each hook of the pair of hooks 1 is bent into a slightly open U or J shape to facilitate hooking.
The pair of hooks 1 extends orthogonally with respect to the spacer rod 7 and the protruding rod 3.
Referring to FIGS. 5, 6, and 7 a ladder according to the present invention is visible, which includes a ladder safety system consisting of a pair of hooks 1 fixed to at least one of a compound sleeve 2, not shown, and a protruding rod 3.
The pair of hooks 1 is fixable to a portion of a structure to stably secure the ladder resting on the structure at a certain height from the ground.
Such at least one of a composite sleeve 2, not shown, and a protruding rod 3 is connectable to the ladder and is able to oscillate relative to the ladder so as to allow the pair of hooks 1 to align appropriately with a portion of a structure.
The safety system uses a rung of the ladder located at an height compatible with that of the structure from the ground, wherein by changing the inclination of the ladder and raising the ladder from the ground by an height of the same order of magnitude as the pair of hooks 1, the pair of hooks 1 may be hooked to the portion of a structure, having rested the rung ladder on the ground.
By changing the inclination of the ladder again and lifting the ladder from the ground to a height of the same order of magnitude as the pair of hooks 1, it is possible to unhook the pair of hooks 1 from the portion of a structure, having moved the ladder further away from the structure.
A self-contained safety kit for ladders is of the type comprising a pair of hooks 1, a protruding rod 3, four coupling elements 4, two pairs of annular half bands 5, 6, and a spacer rod 7.
Advantageously, such a self-contained kit allows the use of a first configuration with a composite sleeve 2 and a second configuration with a protruding rod 3.
Aluminum ladders, which are the most commonly used, are provided with steps or rungs placed at a distance of about 28 cm, the rung or step is firmly secured to side uprights via a pressing system resulting in a through hole for each step and/or rung.
The ladder safety system being the subject of the invention is based on the idea of exploiting the progressive height of the ladder step/rung by passing a metal tube, i.e., the protruding rod 3, through the hole, or take advantage of the step/rung itself, via the compound sleeve 2.
The protruding rod 3 is to pass through the hole with which the ladder rung is provided and come out on the other side protruding approximately 5 cm on each side. For example, if the ladder measures 42 cm wide, the protruding rod 3 must be approximately 52 cm.
The protruding rod 3 shall rotate freely inside the rung ladder.
The hooks 1 may be made of metal. The length and shape of the hook 1 may vary based on the location or the type of structure to which said hook is to be hooked. The thickness and width of the hook 1 may vary depending on the material used: aluminium, galvanized iron, steel, etc. The shape of the hook is obtained by bending one end, for example, into a slightly open U- or J-shape so as to facilitate hooking starting from a portion of a sheet metal or a section of rod having one end flattened and perforated to receive the coupling element.
In order to proceed to implement a ladder safety system, the hooks 1 must be free to rotate relative to a given rung of the ladder.
Then the omega-shaped brackets, i.e. the pair of annular half bands 5, 6, are to be fitted with the spacer rod 7, without tightening the coupling elements 4.
Subsequently the ladder is to be leaned against the roof or a structure at an height one wishes to reach with the ladder.
Looking up toward the bearing point, one has to memorize the step or rung below the bearing point.
The ladder is to be lowered and the tubular threaded into the memorized rung/step, finally the hooks shall be bolted with the U facing downward.
By raising the ladder, the hooks 1 automatically come to be arranged facing downwards due to gravity.
By placing the ladder on aforementioned bearing point and increasing the inclination thereof, the hooks move further and further apart.
The ladder shall be lifted by causing the hooks go beyond the bearing point.
Once the hooks 1 are beyond the hooking point, they come to be positioned perpendicular to the ground.
By lowering the ladder, the hooks become automatically hooked with the bearing point due to gravity.
In order to release the ladder, simply increase the inclination and lift.
The adjustment versatility of the self-contained rung ladder safety kit is given by the distance of the step/rung which is approximately 28 cm.
The self-contained safety kit for rung ladders, being subject of the invention, allows the ladder to be secured not only to roofs, but also to elements such as those shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, for example, ropes, overhead cables, steel girders, scaffolding, handrails, railings.
Some preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, but of course these are susceptible to further modifications and variations within the same inventive idea. In particular, it will be immediately apparent to those skilled in the art that there are numerous variants and modifications, functionally equivalent to the foregoing, which fall within the scope of protection of the invention as evidenced in the appended claims in which, any reference number placed in parentheses cannot be interpreted as limiting the claims. Furthermore, the word "including" does not exclude the presence of elements and/or steps other than those listed in the claims. The article "an," or "the" preceding a feature does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such features. The mere fact that some features are mentioned in different dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these features cannot be advantageously used.

Claims

Self-contained ladder safety system, including:
- a pair of hooks (1) fixed to at least one of a composite sleeve (2) and a protruding rod (3), the pair of hooks (1) being connectable to a portion of a manufactured product to stably secure the ladder resting on the structure at a certain height from the ground, said at least one of a compound sleeve (2) and a protruding rod (3) being connectable to the ladder, said at least one of a compound sleeve (2) and a protruding rod (3) being designed to be able to oscillate relative to the ladder to allow the pair of hooks (1) to align appropriately with a portion of a structure;

- the composite sleeve (2) which includes four coupling elements (4) and two pairs of annular semi-bands (5), (6) respectively connected via a pair of coupling elements (4), said two pairs of annular semi-bands (5), (6) being composed so as to loosely enclose a rung of the ladder; and

- a spacer rod (7), having its ends connected to a respective pair of said annular half bands (5), (6) via a pair of coupling elements (4);
characterized in that there is provided use of a first configuration with a composite sleeve (2) and a second configuration with a protruding rod (3),
Ladder safety system according to the preceding claim, characterized in that each coupling of the pair of hooks (1) consists of a section of a folded band of resilient material attached to a respective portion of the compound sleeve (2) and to a respective portion of the projecting rod (3) by means of a coupling element (4).
Ladder safety system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that said protruding rod (3) is designed to pass through a rung of the ladder in order to receive the pair of hooks (1) in proximity to the respective portion of the protruding rod (3), each rung of the ladder being drilled to allow the protruding rod (3) to loosely pass through each respective rung and to be positioned with the ends thereof protruding relative to the respective rung.
Safety system for ladders according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the former is made of metal and provides for the use of coupling elements (4) of the bolt or quick connection type.
Ladder safety system according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that each hook of the pair of hooks (1) is bent into a slightly open U or J shape to facilitate the hooking.
Safety system for ladders according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the pair of hooks (1) extends orthogonally relative to the spacer rod (7) and to the protruding rod (3).
Ladder comprising a ladder safety system consisting of a pair of hooks (1) secured to at least one of a compound sleeve (2) and a projecting rod (3), the pair of hooks (1) being connectable to a portion of a structure to stably ensure the ladder resting on the structure at a certain height from the ground, said at least one of a composite sleeve (2) and a protruding rod (3) being connectable to the ladder and being able to oscillate relative to the ladder in order for the coupling pair (1) to align appropriately with a portion of a manufactured product, characterized in that, after having connected the safety system using a rung of the ladder located at an height compatible with that of the structure from the ground, after having changed the inclination of the ladder and raised the ladder from the ground by an height of the same order of magnitude as the pair of hooks (1), the pair of hooks (1) is connectable to the portion of a structure after having rested the ladder onto the ground, and by the fact that, by changing the ladder inclination again and lifting the ladder from the ground to a height of the same order of magnitude as the pair of hooks (1), the pair of hooks (1) may be unhooked from the portion of a structure after having moved the ladder away from the structure itself.