AU2004203632B2 - Safety Bracket for Ladders - Google Patents

Description

"SAFETY BRACKET FOR LADDERS" FIELD OF INVENTION THIS INVENTION relates to safety brackets for ladders. The invention is primarily directed to providing for the clamping of an upper portion of a ladder to a fixed structure to prevent the ladder from moving and/or falling away from the structure with or without personnel climbing thereon.

BACKGROUND ART When a ladder is used, it is usually leaned against a the guttering of a structure upon which or in relation to which it is desired to elevate oneself. Sometimes the support upon which the base of the ladder rests is uneven or unstable, leading to the risk that the ladder will fall away from the intended position with respect to the structure. The risk may be especially present in the case of extension ladders.

It is an object of the invention to provide a safety bracket for ladders which alleviates the aforementioned problems, or at least to provide an alternative to existing devices. Other objects and advantages of the present invention may become apparent from the following description.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION With the foregoing in view, this invention in one aspect resides broadly in a safety bracket for ladders comprising a pair of opposed clamp assemblies, each clamp assembly including: a main body portion; an interconnection member extending from the main body portion towards the other clamp assembly for interconnecting the main body portions to one another, the interconnection member being adjustably interconnectible with the interconnection member -2of the other clamp assembly whereby the main body parts may be held in a selected spaced relationship to one another; a pair of jaw members pivotally connected to the main body portion, and arranged in opposed disposition with respect to one another for pivotal movement towards and away from one another; and jaw actuation means operatively interconnecting the jaw members for limiting the pivotal movement of the jaw members away from one another.

In another aspect, this invention resides broadly in a safety bracket for ladders comprising a pair of opposed clamp assemblies, each clamp assembly including: a main body portion; an interconnection member extending from the main body portion towards the other clamp assembly for interconnecting the main body portions to one another, the interconnection member being adjustably interconnectible with the interconnection member of the other clamp assembly whereby the main body parts may be held in a selected spaced relationship to one another; a jaw member pivotally connected to the main body portion, and arranged in opposed disposition with respect to the main body portion for pivotal movement towards and away from the main body portion; and jaw actuation means operatively interconnecting the jaw member to the main body portion for limiting the pivotal movement of the jaw member away from the main body portion.

In another aspect, this invention resides broadly in a safety bracket for ladders comprising a pair of opposed clamp assemblies, each clamp assembly including: -3a main body portion; an interconnection member extending from the main body portion towards the other clamp assembly for interconnecting the main body portions to one another, the interconnection member being adjustably interconnectible with the interconnection member of the other clamp assembly whereby the main body parts may be held in a selected spaced relationship to one another; a jaw member pivotally connected to the main body portion, and arranged for pivotal movement towards and away a jaw engagement portion; and jaw actuation means operatively associated with the jaw member for limiting the pivotal movement of the jaw member away from the jaw engagement portion.

Preferably, the jaw engagement portion is constituted by a second jaw member and the actuation means operatively interconnects the jaw members. Preferably, the main body portion includes an extension portion to which the jaw members are pivotally attached, whereby the length of the main body portion may be extended and retracted such that the spacing of the pivot point or points of the jaw members with respect to the interconnection member may be adjusted. Preferably, there are two interconnection members in substantially parallel spaced relationship to one another to enable the main body portions to be held in substantially parallel disposition with respect to one another.

The interconnection members and the extension portions are preferably operatively associated with clamping means for clamping the parts in a selected position with respect to one another. In a preferred form, the clamping means are constituted by a thumb screw, wing-headed bolt or screw or such like in threaded engagement with the respective parts. In such form, the main body portion is formed from tubular parts, the extension portion being operatively insertable into a main body member, and being clampable into a selected position with respect thereto.

It is also preferred that the interconnection members include respective tubular members, an inner member being operatively insertable into an outer member, the outer member extending from one of the main body portions and the inner member extending from the other of the main body portions, the outer and inner members extending from corresponding locations on the main body member to provide substantial alignment of the main body portions with respect to one another. In such form, the inner member may be clamped in a selected position with respect to the outer member by operative tightening of a threaded screw, such as thumb screw, wing-headed screw or such like in threaded engagement with the outer tube and having a bearing end face for bearing against an outer face of the inner tube. If course, reference to the tubular parts being insertable into one another refers to a substantial coaxial alignment of the relevant parts so that the effective length of the assembled parts can be operatively varied.

The jaw members are preferably provided with gripping pads on at least part of their respective opposed faces. The gripping pads are preferably formed from a suitable resilient material such as rubber, plastics or the like to enable the jaw members to clamp against opposed faces of a projecting part of a building, such as, for example, the roof guttering, substantially without damaging decorative finishes on the surface thereof. The actuation means is operable to urge the jaw members towards one another or towards the main body portion, as the case may be.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the following drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention, and wherein: Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic pictorial view of a safety bracket for ladders according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic pictorial view of an alternative safety bracket for ladders according to the invention; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic pictorial view showing the safety bracket of Fig. 2 in operative engagement with a ladder; Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic pictorial view showing the safety brackets of Figs. 1 and 2 in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The safety bracket 10 shown in Fig. 1 includes two main body members 11 of elongate, tubular form and substantial cannular cross section held in substantially parallel disposition by an interconnecting member comprising an interconnecting spigot 12 extending from the lower end of one of the body members (the one on the left-hand side of Fig. 1 as shown) which interconnects with any interconnecting socket 13 extending from one end of the other body member. The spigot member is slidably insertable onto the bore of the socket member, and the relative position therein may be fixed by tightening one or both of two interconnector wing bolts 14, each of which engages a threaded aperture through one side of the interconnecting socket against the interconnecting spigot.

-6- A jaw member 15 is pivotally attached to each body member at or near the end opposite that from which the interconnecting members extend, the axis pivoting of each being substantially coaxial whereby the jaw members pivot in substantially parallel planes in the direction of arrows 16. The jaw member on each main body member may be pivoted towards the body member to engage with a gripping pad 17, corresponding gripping pads being provided on the face of the jaw member opposed to the gripping pad on the main body member. The jaw members may be moved by respective actuator bolts 18 inserted through respective apertures 19 through the main body member, the apertures 19 being in substantial operative alignment with respective jaw apertures through the jaw members and to the orifice of which a captive or fixed nut 21 is provided. The nut is operatively aligned with so that the actuator bolts may be threadedly engaged therewith for operative clamping of the jaws to the main body part.

Extending laterally through each main body member are provided two threaded apertures 23 for threaded engagement each with a respective fixing wing bolt 22 which may be inserted from the outside face of each body member to engage with an outside face or the like of the stiles of a ladder about which the safety bracket may be mounted.

The alternative safety bracket 30 showed in Fig. 2 has many similar parts to those of the safety bracket 10 of Fig. 1, the similar parts being given the same reference numerals as those of Fig. 1. However, there are some differences, not the least of which is the inclusion of a second jaw member 24 pivotally attached to the main body member, the main body member being constituted in the alternative embodiment by a body member spigot portion 25 which is slidedbly engagable with a body member socket portion 26 to provide length adjustment in the direction of arrows 27. The body member spigot portion is angled at an intermediate bend 28, there by providing an angled portion 29 to which the jaw member and second jaw member are pivotally connected for pivotal movement in substantially the same plain and substantially parallel to one another. The length adjustment of the body member is fixed by tightening the body member wing S nuts 31, two of which are provided on each body member, and one or both of which may be tightened to secure the body member spigot portion in its appropriate location in the body member socket portion.

A second interconnecting spigot member 32 and second interconnecting socket member 33 are provided in spaced substantially parallel relationship to the interconnecting spigot and socket shown and described in respect of Fig. 1. The second interconnecting spigot and socket members have their own interconnector wing bolts 14 which may be tightened in the same fashion as the interconnector wing bolts of the interconnecting spigot and socket 12 and 13.

In each of the embodiments shown, each main body member and is associated jaw member or pair of jaw members constitute a clamp assembly for clamping against, for example, the guttering of a building.

In the case of the alternative safety bracket, two fixing plates 36 are provided intermediate the ends of the second interconnecting spigot and socket members to permit a user to fasten the alternative safety bracket to the rung of a ladder.

In this respect, a U-bolt, one of which is shown in dashed outline at 37, may be inserted into the apertures 34 through the end portions of the fixing plates, engaging the rung inside the U-bolts prior to inserting their ends through the apertures. A pair of nuts {not shown) may then be tightened onto the ends of the U-bolts.

The adjustment of the relative spacing of the two body members (and clamp assemblies thereby) is achieved by lengthening or shortening the first and second interconnecting spigots and sockets and tightening the interconnector wing bolts as required.

When the main body members substantially engage outside the styles of a ladder which is to be clamped safely in place by the bracket, the jaw members may be tightened towards opposed faces of house guttering 35 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. It can be seen in Fig. 3 in particular that the angled portion 29 can engage with the outer sides of the styles of a ladder, the two interconnecting members being laid against the outer face of the ladder (being the face directed away from the building against which the ladder is leant). Thus, the ladder is secured in place by tightening the actuator bolts 18 to a position at which the jaw members, that is, the gripping pads of the jaw members, engage opposed faces of the guttering. The ladder is thereby held within a rectangle defined by the inner sides of the interconnecting members, the inner sides of the main body members and the outer face of the guttering. As an alternative, the ladder may be passed through the space between the first and second interconnecting members, and the ladder held securely in place against guttering or some other part of the building to which the jaw members are closed to clamp against some projecting part of a building or the like. The alternative bracket, may be of course be fixed to the ladder as described above by engaging U-bolts with a rung of the ladder and the fixing plates of the ladder. In the arrangement shown in Fig. 4, the safety bracket engages with the upper portion of a wall against which a ladder is placed.

In use, the safety bracket of the present invention may be carried from site to site for engagement with different ladders, or maybe engaged against a particular ladder by tightening the length of the interconnecting members such that the inner faces of the main body members engaged with the outer faces of the styles with sufficient force to substantially retain the safety bracket in its appropriate position on the ladder. The ladder maybe placed against a building by leaning it at a steeper angle than what is required and then by making the angle shallower, thereby dropping the height of the safety bracket such that the jaw members can be placed on opposed sides of a projecting part of the building to which the safety bracket is to be clamped. In the case of most buildings, the side of the guttering maybe used for the purpose of clamping the safety apparatus, and thereby the upper end portion of a ladder, in a secure disposition with respect to the building. Alternatively, the ladder may be put in place and the bracket slid over the top of the ladder once it is in position. However, the second alternative is not preferred in situations where the ground or support surface for the ladder is uneven or unstable. Even with the clamps not being tightened against the guttering, some stability may be afforded to the ladder once the jaw members have been extended over the top of the guttering.

While the above is given by way of illustrative examples of the invention, all such modifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

Claims (7)

1. A safety bracket for ladders comprising a pair of opposed clamp assemblies, each clamp assembly including: a main body portion; an interconnection member extending from the main body portion towards the other clamp assembly for interconnecting the main body portions to one another, the interconnection member being adjustably interconnectible with the interconnection member of the other clamp assembly whereby the main body parts may be held in a selected spaced relationship to one another; a pair of jaw members pivotally connected to the main body portion, and arranged in opposed disposition with respect to one another for pivotal movement towards and away from one another; and jaw actuation means operatively interconnecting the jaw members for limiting the pivotal movement of the jaw members away from one another.

2. A safety bracket for ladders comprising a pair of opposed clamp assemblies, each clamp assembly including: a main body portion; an interconnection member extending from the main body portion towards the other clamp assembly for interconnecting the main body portions to one another, the interconnection member being adjustably interconnectible with the interconnection member of the other clamp assembly whereby the main body parts may be held in a selected spaced relationship to one another; a jaw member pivotally connected to the main body portion, and arranged in opposed disposition with respect to the main body portion for pivotal movement towards and away from the main body portion; and -11- jaw actuation means operatively interconnecting the jaw member to the main body portion for limiting the pivotal movement of the jaw member away from the main body portion.

3. A safety bracket for ladders comprising a pair of opposed clamp assemblies, each clamp assembly including: a main body portion; an interconnection member extending from the main body portion towards the other clamp assembly for interconnecting the main body portions to one another, the interconnection member being adjustably interconnectible with the interconnection member of the other clamp assembly whereby the main body parts may be held in a selected spaced relationship to one another; a jaw member pivotally connected to the main body portion, and arranged for pivotal movement towards and away a jaw engagement portion; and jaw actuation means operatively associated with the jaw member for limiting the pivotal movement of the jaw member away from the jaw engagement portion.

4. A safety clamp according to Claim 3, wherein the jaw engagement portion is constituted by a second jaw member and the actuation means operatively interconnects the jaw members.

A safety clamp according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the main body portion includes an extension portion to which the jaw members are pivotally attached, whereby the length of the main body portion may be extended and retracted such that the spacing of the pivot point or points of the jaw members with respect to the interconnection member may be adjusted. -12-

6. A safety clamp according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein there are two interconnection members in substantially parallel spaced relationship to one another.

7. A safety clamp substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 1. 7. A safety clamp substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Fig. 2. Dated this 6 th day of August, 2004 PIERRE WALTER MEUNIER By his Patent Attorneys AHEARN FOX