AU2005200346A1

AU2005200346A1 - Ladder Support

Info

Publication number: AU2005200346A1
Application number: AU2005200346A
Authority: AU
Inventors: David Roger Nelson Salisbury
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-01-30
Filing date: 2005-01-28
Publication date: 2005-08-18

Description

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AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990 DAVID ROGER NELSON SALISBURY COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Invention Title.

Ladder Support The following statement is a full description of this invention including the best method of performing it known to us:- 2 Ladder Support 00 Field of the Invention This invention relates to a ladder support and relates particularly to a support for IND 5 a ladder resting against the guttering around a building to facilitate access to the guttering and/or building roof.

C€3 Background of the Invention It is often necessary for a building owner or occupier, or a tradesman to gain access to the roof of a building for repairs or maintenance, or equipment installation or the like. It is also necessary to gain access to the guttering for purposes of maintenance, painting, cleaning or the like. With many building structures, such access is difficult due to the nature of the ground where a ladder is to be used. The ground may be sloping or be relatively soft, or covered in a non-stable surface. In all instances where ladders are used to provide access to a relatively high position above the ground, it is most important that the ladder is properly supported. Many accidents occur due to ladders being improperly supported and moving due to the load on the ladder when a person climbs the ladder. Further, ladders, particularly relatively light ladders formed of aluminium, may be moved by the wind unless properly supported.

The use of ladders is a hazardous activity, and safety issues and liability issues for a building owner or occupier can arise if a ladder is improperly used. While scaffolding is relatively safer to use if properly installed and maintained, most homeowners and tradesmen use ladders to access roofs and guttering on an adhoc basis where the use of scaffolding is unwarranted and unnecessary and inconvenient.

US Patent 5215163 describes a ladder bracket which bolts to the facia of a building in order to lean the ladder close to the roof line but clear of the gutter itself.

The device requires bolts to pass through the facia. Tiles often project into the gutter.

These must be lifted or removed to make the installation. In some gutters the free edge is somewhat higher than the fixed edge so that securing the bolts is difficult. If the bar against which the ladder leans is clear of the gutter it increases the distance between the person on the ladder and the parts of the building which may need attention such as the eves.

It is therefore desirable to provide a ladder support which reduces the hazards associated with use of a ladder when accessing a building roof or guttering.

m:\specifications\500000\503000\5031 76cmpdcc.doc 3 SIt is also desirable to provide a ladder support which is able to be secured in position to provide a permanent location for use of a ladder in accessing a building roof 00 or the like.

It is also desirable to provide a ladder support which may be used with a wide variety of different gutter sections and structures.

It is also desirable to provide a ladder support which reduces the likelihood of a ladder moving laterally when in position and in use.

N, It is also desirable to provide a ladder support that is able to be used with a wide varieties of ladders of different constructions and dimensions.

It is also desirable to provide a ladder support which provides a firm, stable platform to receive the upper end of a leaning ladder.

It is also desirable to provide a ladder support that is relatively simple in construction and is easy to use.

It is also desirable to provide a ladder support that is able to be fixed in position to an existing gutter.

It is also desirable to provide a ladder support that may be formed integral with a fabricated gutter section for incorporation into a guttering system.

Summary of the Invention In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided a ladder support adapted to support a ladder resting against guttering attached to a building, the support including a pair of spaced arms adapted to extend outwardly from an upper edge of the guttering, interconnecting means interconnecting said arms and being so located, in use, relative to the guttering as to receive and support at least part of the load of a ladder resting against the guttering or the interconnecting means, and foot means associated with the interconnecting means whereby load from the ladder support is transferred to the building attachment, said spaced arms adapted to restrict lateral movement of said ladder when engaged with the guttering or interconnecting means between the arms.

Preferably, said interconnecting means comprises a rigid metal bar. In one embodiment, the metal bar is adapted to be attached to an upper, outer edge of the guttering, more preferably within the guttering adjacent the upper outer edge.

In one form, the foot means comprises a substantially U-shaped member formed of metal rod and adapted to extend inwardly and downwardly to engage a rear wall of the guttering. The spaced arms may comprise outwardly extending portions of the Ushaped metal rod extending outwardly from the bar.

m:\speciflcations\500000\503000\503176cmpdcc.doc 4 SIn another form, the support is formed of sheet metal having an outer part n shaped to define the arms, a centre section extending downwardly within the guttering 00 and adapted to be fastened thereto, and an inner section comprising the foot which is shaped to engage the inner wall of the guttering. In one embodiment, the outer part is O 5 formed by cutting a substantially rectangular hole in the sheet midway along the hole to form the palms, with the portion between the arms being of double metal thickness.

In another form of the invention, the arms comprise metal brackets formed integral with or secured to an outer wall of the' guttering. In this form, the interconnecting means comprises a section of guttering extending between the arms.

This section may be reinforced by corrugations formed in the guttering outer wall.

With such an arrangement, the foot means includes rearwardly extending legs formed integral with or attached to the arms, or the guttering adjacent the arms.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a ladder support adapted to support a ladder resting against guttering attached to a building, the support including a surface to support the load of a ladder, foot means associated with the surface and extending into the guttering to engage a rear wall thereof whereby load from the ladder is transferred to the building attachment, and means to attach the support to an outer wall of said guttering.

Preferably, the support includes spaced arms adapted to extend outwardly from an upper edge portion of the guttering. A bar may extend between the arms to include the surface. The foot means may extend rearwardly from the bar and may include a substantially U-shaped rod extending inwardly and downwardly to engage within a corner formed between the inner rear wall and bottom wall of the guttering.

It will be evident that the ladder need not contact the support directly, as is the case when the interconnecting means is fastened inside the guttering. It is sufficient that the support is so located and associated with the guttering as to transfer load from the ladder to the building attachment.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a fabricated gutter section for a guttering system for a building adapted to be attached to and be supported by a building structure, comprising a rear wall portion, an integral bottom wall and an integral outer wall, and a ladder support as hereinbefore described integrally formed with the gutter section.

While it is preferred that the ladder support is fixed to the gutter or gutter section, such as by rivets, screws or bolts, or by welding, the support may be used in an unattached manner, or the support may be releasably attached to the guttering by a m:\specifications\500000\503000\503176cmpdcc.doc F-clamp or the like. With this arrangement, the support may be used at any position n around the building and fixed in the desired location.

oO 00 Brief Description of the Drawings In order that the invention will be more readily understood embodiments thereof Cwill now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein: O Figure 1 is a view of one embodiment of a ladder support in accordance with the present invention; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the ladder support of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment of Figure 3; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a third embodiment of the invention; and Figure 6 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments Referring to Figures 1 and 2, a ladder support of this embodiment is adapted to support a ladder 26 resting against the rolled bead 8 of a section of guttering, a rear wall 2 of which is secured to and supported by a facia 15, as by nails, support brackets or the like, as is known in the art. Without the ladder support, the ladder 26, under load of a person on the ladder, is likely to distort the gutter, possibly causing damage, and the ladder is subject to potential, unsafe lateral movement.

The ladder support of this embodiment is formed of metal rod having a generally U-shape with a foot 16 adapted to engage the corner between the rear wall 2 and bottom wall 4 of the guttering. Legs 12 and 14 extend outwardly from the foot 16, each leg including an upwardly curved part 18 merging into a cranked portion 20 from which extend arms 24.

Flat bar 10 of rectangular cross section is welded to and extends between the two cranked portions 20. of each leg 12 and 14. The bar 10 has two spaced holes 28 to receive rivets 30 which secure the bar 10 to the front wall 9 of the guttering. Screws, bolts or other fasteners or adhesive may be used to secure the bar 10 to the guttering.

When installing the support in position, the holes 28 may be used to mark the front wall 9 to locate the proper position to drill holes therethrough to receive the rivets.

When installed as described, the ladder support of this embodiment is able to transfer loads applied from the ladder 26 through the bead 8 on the front wall 9 to the bar 10 and then through the legs 12/14 to the foot 16 where the load is transferred to the m :\specifications\500000\503000\503176cmpdcc.doc 6 Ssupporting facia 15. Thus, the load on the ladder is not supported by the gutter itself but is transferred therefrom to the building aftachment or facia.

00 The outwardly extending arms 24 are so spaced that the styles of the ladder 26 engages therebetween to thereby restrict lateral movement of the ladder and hold the ladder in the proper, vertical position.

Referring to Figures 3 and 4, a second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in which the ladder support is made from sheet metal, preferably heavy Sgauge, galvanised sheet steel or the like.

In this embodiment, the ladder support has an inner section 33 having at its lower, inner end, a rolled bead 31 that engages in the comer between the gutter rear wall 2 and bottom wall 4. The inner section 33 merges with an upwardly extending centre section 32 which curves outwardly to merge with an outer section 34. The centre section 32 is formed with a pair of holes to receive rivets 30 or self-tapping screws or the like by which the support is secured to the front wall 9 of the guttering.

The outer section 34 defines a pair of spaced arms 24 between which the styles of a ladder 26 are engaged. The outer section 34 of this embodiment is formed by cutting a rectangular hole in the sheet metal from which the support is fabricated and folding the sheet midway along the length of the cut hole to thereby provide a double thickness of material for the outer section 34 and arms 24. The doubled material provides the necessary strength to support the load of the ladder and transfer that load through the support to a facia 15 to which the gutter is attached. Preferably, the spacing between the arms 24 is approximately 400mm, although the spacing may vary in accordance with the width of ladder to be used with the support. It is preferred that lateral movement of the upper portion of the ladder engaged between the arms 24 is restricted to between 10 and 100mm.

Referring to Figure 5, a further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in which a length of gutter 36 is formed from a gauge of metal thicker than that used for a standard gutter system. The front wall 9 of the gutter 36 has a pair of outstanding arms 24 formed integrally therewith. The arms are of a length and width to provide sufficient lateral resistance to a ladder engaged with the gutter section 36. If desired, the arms 24 may be provided with corrugations, rolled edges or other means for providing additional strength thereto.

In order that the load of a ladder engaged with the gutter section 36 between the arms 24 is appropriately transferred to the supporting building structure, rearwardly extending legs 38 are also integrally formed with the gutter section 36. The inner end m:\specifications\500000\503000\503176cmpdcc.doc 7 Fof the legs 38 include a foot 16 to engage the rear wall 2 of the gutter section 36 thereby transferring the ladder load through the leg 38 to the building.

00 Referring to Figure 6, a further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in which a gutter section 36 is formed along the front wall 9 with one or more corrugations 40. The corrugations provide additional strength to the front wall. In this embodiment, the arms 24 are attached to the front wall 9 of the gutter section 36 by rivets 30. If desired, rearwardly extending legs each having a foot, similar to that Sshown in Figure 5, may be attached to the front wall 9 to assist in the transfer of load from a ladder to a building supporting structure.

The gutter sections 36 of Figures 5 and 6 may be incorporated into a guttering system by appropriate joiners, adhesives or other means known in the art. The gutter sections 36 may be closed at one end if required. By providing gutter sections with an included ladder support, a guttering system may be designed for a building in which a plurality of such gutter sections are located at spaced intervals around the building structure.

It will be appreciated that, because of the structure of the ladder support as illustrated in the embodiments, normal flow of water along the gutter is substantially undisturbed as the support legs extending between the front and rear walls of the gutter are spaced from the bottom wall 4. Further, in those cases where installation is required, the only operation required is to drill holes in the front wall of the gutter, which is a relatively simple operation.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the invention as shown in the specific embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

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Claims

2. A ladder support according to claim 1 wherein said interconnecting means comprises a rigid metal bar.
3. A ladder support according to claim 2 wherein said bar is adapted to be attached to an upper, outer edge of said guttering.
4. A ladder support according to claim 2 or claim 3 wherein said bar is adapted to be fixed within said guttering adjacent an upper, outer edge thereof. A ladder support according to any one of claims 1 to 4 wherein said foot means comprises a substantially U-shaped member formed of metal rod and adapted to extend inwardly and downwardly from the interconnecting means to engage a rear wall of-the guttering.
6. A ladder support according to claim 5 wherein said arms comprise end portions of the U-shaped rod extending outwardly from the interconnecting means.
7. A ladder support according to claim 1 wherein said support is formed of sheet metal having an outer part forming the interconnecting means and adapted to overlie an outer, upper edge portion of the guttering, the outer part being shaped to define the arms, a centre section extending downwardly within the guttering and adapted to be fastened thereto, and an inner section of the sheet comprising the foot means shaped to engage an inner wall of the guttering. m:\specifications\500000\503000\503 1 76cmpdcc.doc 9
8. A ladder support according to claim 7 wherein the outer part is formed by cutting a substantially rectangular hole in the sheet metal adjacent one end and folding 00 the sheet mid-way along the hole to form the arms.
9. A ladder support according to claim 7 or claim 8 wherein the inner section is rolled to form a bead to engage within the corner formed between an inner wall and a bottom wall of the guttering. A ladder support according to claim 1 wherein said arms comprise metal brackets formed integral with or secured to an outer wall of said guttering.
11. A ladder support according to claim 10 wherein said interconnecting means comprises a section of guttering extending between the arms.
12. A ladder support according to claim 11 wherein said section of guttering between the arms is reinforced by corrugations formed in the guttering wall.
13. A ladder support according to any one of claims 10 to 12 wherein said foot means includes rearwardly extending legs formed integral with or attached to said arms.
14. A ladder support adapted to support a ladder resting against guttering attached to a building, the support including a surface to support the load of a ladder, foot means associated with the surface and extending into the guttering to engage a rear wall thereof whereby load from the ladder is transferred to the building attachment, and means to attach the support to an outer wall of said guttering. A ladder support according to claim 14 wherein said support includes spaced arms adapted to extend outwardly from an upper edge portion of the guttering.
16. A ladder support according to claim 15 wherein a bar extends between the arms and includes said surface.
17. A ladder support according to claim 16 wherein said foot means extends rearwardly from said bar and includes a substantially U-shaped member formed of m:\specifications\500000\503000\5031 76cmpdcc.doc tf3 N metal rod and adapted to extend inwardly and downwardly from the bar to engage within a corner formed between an inner wall and a bottom wall of the guttering. 00
18. A ladder support according to claim 16 wherein said bar is secured to the inner surface of the outer wall of the guttering and supports the ladder load through the outer wall, and the arms extend upwardly and outwardly from an upper edge of the outer wall. S19. A ladder support according to claim 14 or claim 15 wherein said surface comprises corrugations formed in the outer wall. A ladder support according to claim 14 wherein said support is formed of sheet metal having an outer part defining said surface and adapted to overlie an upper edge portion of the outer wall of the guttering, the outer part being shaped to define spaced arms, a centre section extending downwardly within the guttering and adapted to be fastened thereto, and an inner section of the sheet comprising the foot means shaped to engage the rear wall of the guttering.
21. A ladder support according to claim 20 wherein the outer part is formed by cutting a substantially rectangular hole in the sheet metal adjacent one end and folding the sheet mid-way along the hole to form the arms.
22. A ladder support according to claim 20 or claim 21 wherein the inner section is rolled to form a bead to engage within the corner formed between the inner wall and a bottom wall of the guttering. 23 A ladder support according to claim 15 wherein said arms comprise metal brackets formed integral with or secured to the outer wall of said guttering.
24. A ladder support according to claim 23 wherein said surface comprises a section of guttering extending between the arms.
25. A fabricated gutter section for a guttering system for a building adapted to be attached to and be supported by a building structure, comprising a rear wall portion, an integral bottom wall and outer wall, and a ladder support as claimed in any one of the preceding claims integrally formed with the gutter section. m:\specifications\500000\503000\503176cmpdcc.doc S26. A ladder support substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 00 Dated this twenty-eighth day of January 2005 c David Roger Nelson Salisbury Patent Attorneys for the Applicant: SF B RICE CO m:\specifications\500000\50300\503176cnfipdc.dooc