AU765007B2

AU765007B2 - Fixing units of a foothold

Info

Publication number: AU765007B2
Application number: AU21279/99A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Eizo Takahashi
Original assignee: Miyama Kogyo Co Ltd
Current assignee: FBS Miyama Co Ltd
Priority date: 1999-03-18
Filing date: 1999-03-18
Publication date: 2003-09-04
Anticipated expiration: 2019-03-18
Also published as: AU2127999A; TW386125B

Description

Our Ref: 722735 P/00/011 Regulation 3:2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Applicant(s): Miyama Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha No 4-5, Sakaecho 2-chome Soka-shi Saitama-ken 340-0011

JAPAN

DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Trade Mark Attorneys Level 10, 10 Barrack Street SYDNEY NSW 2000 Address for Service: Invention Title: Fixing units of a foothold The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- 5020 P:\WPDOCS\RET722735sp~ci.DOC-03/02/03 -1- FIXING UNITS OF A FOOTHOLD DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to fixing units or members of a foothold including a tread, side portions positioned at both sides of the tread and legs to be embedded into a concrete wall.

As fixing members of a conventional foothold including a tread, side portions positioned at both sides of the tread and legs to be embedded into a concrete wall, there is known a foothold, for example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 8-6828 (Fig. 6) having the construction wherein protruding portions (retained portions) are formed on the legs, and groove portions (retaining portions) are formed on the inner walls of hollow closing bodies serving as fixing members and .these protruding portions are elastically retained by the groove portions.

In the fixing members of the conventional foothold, since the protruding portions of the legs and the groove portions of the fixing members are elastically retained at one stage, there is a possibility that the foothold is gradually rattled vertically and laterally when it is used for a long period of time when going up and down the foothold, lacking in stability thereof.

The present invention has been made in view of the problem of the prior art.

The present invention seeks to provide fixing units or members of a foothold capable of reliably and easily fitting the legs of the foothold to the fixing members embedded into the manhole wall and so forth, so that the foothold can be reliably fixed to the manhole wall and so forth and it can endure for a long period of use.

P:\WPDOCS\REr722735sp DOC-03/02IO3 -2- To achieve the aboveadvantage, the fixing members of a foothold according to the first aspect of the present invention is characterized in including a tread 2, side portions 3 extended from both sides of the tread 2, legs 4 to be fixed to a concrete wall, fixing members 10 embedded in the concrete wall and having substantially hollow circular cylinder bodies, said tread 2, side portions 3 and legs 4 being formed of a core 5 and first and second synthetic resins 6 and 6a for covering the core 5, said second synthetic resins 6a for covering the core 5 of the legs 4 having a substantially circular shape in cross section, and the first and second synthetic resins 6 and 6a being integrated with each other, a plurality of fins 8 provided axially on outer peripheries of the synthetic resins 6a in a plurality of stages in the direction from the legs 4 toward the side portions 3, said fixing members having a plurality of steps 12 on the inner walls thereof by which the plurality of fins 8 are retained, and contact support pieces 9 protruded from boundaries between the side portions 3 and legs 4 so as to bring into 15 contact with the concrete wall.

S. The fixing members of a foothold according to the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the upper surface of the tread 2 is inclined upward from the central portion toward the both ends thereof at the angle of 1 to 5 degrees.

The fixing members of a foothold according to the third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that reflectors 17 are provided on the tread 2 at portions adjacent both ends thereof, wherein the right reflector 17 is red and the other reflector 17 is green.

The fixing members of a foothold according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the tread 2 has a wave-shaped grip portion 18 provided at the inner side surface thereof in the axial direction and another waveshaped grip portion 20 provided at the lower surface of the tread 2 in the axial direction and having irregularities 19 thereon.

P:\WPDOCS\RET\722735sp~i.DOC-03/02/3 -3- The fixing members of a foothold according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in further including belt-shaped projections 21 formed along the outer ends of both side portions 3.

The fixing members of a foothold according to the sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in further including blow receiving portions 23 at the front side of the tread 2 when the legs 4 are embedded in the concrete wall.

The fixing members of a foothold according to the seventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in including a tread 2, side portions 3 extended from both sides of the tread 2, legs 4 to be fixed to a concrete wall, fixing members 10 embedded in the concrete wall and having substantially hollow circular cylinder bodies, said tread 2, side portions 3 and legs 4 being formed of a core 5 and first and second synthetic resins 6 and 6a for covering the 15 core 5, said second synthetic resins 6a for covering the core 5 of the legs 4 having a substantially circular shape in cross section, and the first and second synthetic resins 6 and 6a being integrated with each other, a plurality of fins 8 provided axially on outer peripheries of the synthetic resins 6a in a plurality of stages in the direction from the legs 4 toward the side portions 3, said fixing members having a plurality of steps 12 on the inner walls thereof by which the plurality of fins 8 are retained, characterized in that the upper surface of the tread 2 is inclined upward from the central portion toward the both ends thereof at the angle of 1 to degrees, and reflectors are provided on the tread 2 at portions adjacent both ends thereof, wherein the right reflector is red and the other reflector is green, while the tread 2 has a waveshaped grip portion provided at the inner side surface thereof in the axial direction and 25 another wave-shaped grip portion provided at the lower surface of the tread 2 in the axial direction and having irregularities thereon, belt-shaped projections 22 are formed along the outer ends of both side portions 3, and the P:\WPDOCS\REh72273sp5 .DDOC-0312/03 -4contact support pieces 9 are protruded from boundaries between the side portions 3 and legs 4 so as to bring into contact with the concrete wall.

The present invention will become more fully understood from the following detailed description of a preferred but non-limiting embodiment thereof, described in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Fig. 1 is a plan view of a foothold according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a front view of the foothold in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side view of the foothold in Fig.

1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the foothold taken along line A-A in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the foothold taken along line B-B in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a front view ofa fixing member; Fig. 7 is a side view of the fixing member in Fig. 6; 15 Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the fixing member taken along line C-C in Fig. 6; and "Fig. 9 is a view for explaining a state where the leg of the foothold is retained by the fixing S"member.

Fixing members of a foothold according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is described with reference to Figs. 1 to 9, wherein Fig. 1 is a plan view of a foothold according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a front view of the foothold in Fig. 1, Fig.

3 is a side view of the foothold in Fig. 1, Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the foothold taken along line A-A in Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of the foothold taken along line B-B oin Fig. 1, Fig. 6 is a front view of a fixing member, Fig. 7 is a side view of the fixing member in Fig. 6, Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the fixing member taken along line C-C in Fig. 6, and Fig. 9 is a view for explaining a state where the leg of the foothold is retained by the fixing member.

In Fig. 1, a reference numeral 1 depicts an entire configuration of a foothold. The foothold 1 comprises a tread 2, side portions 3 positioned at both sides of the tread 2, and legs 4 to be fixed to a concrete wall 16 and so forth. These tread 2, side portions 3 and legs 4 are formed of a core 5 made of iron and having substantially U-shape as viewed from the plane and first synthetic resins 6 such a polypropylene cover the core 5 for keeping the core from rusting. Slip prevention patterns 7 are formed on the entire surfaces of the tread 2 and side portions 3.

Second synthetic resins 6a covering the core 5 of the legs 4 has a substantially circular shape in cross section and a plurality of two) fins 8 are provided axially on the outer peripheries of the second synthetic resins 6a in a plurality of three) stages in the direction from the legs 4 side toward the side portions 3, wherein the fins 8 are integrated with the second synthetic resins 6a. Tip ends of the fins 8 are slightly curved so as to expand 15 its diameter outward.

Denoted by 9 are contact support pieces protruded from boundaries between the side portions 3 and the legs 4 so as to bring into contact with the concrete wall surface.

Denoted by 10 are fixing members for fixing the legs to a concrete wall 16 and have substantially hollow circular cylindrical bodies, and diameters of the hollow circular cylindrical bodies are substantially the same as those of the synthetic resins 6a of the legs. A plurality of steps 12 are provided on the inner walls 11 of the hollow circular cylindrical bodies by which the respective fins 8 of the foothold 1 are retained. The external shape of the fixing members 10 have circular cylindrical shapes having steps 13 corresponding to the steps 12, and include columnar reinforcing ribs 14 at four parts of the surfaces thereof at the same angular interval and collars 15 at the ends thereof, wherein the fixing members 10 are prevented from falling out by the steps 13 and the collars With the fixing members 10 of the foothold a having the construction set forth above, for example, in the case of fixing the foothold 1 to the concrete wall 16, the fixing members 10 are embedded into the concrete wall 16 in a give interval.

The legs 4 are inserted into the inner walls 11 of the fixing members in a state where the tip ends of the fins 8 are pressed by inner walls 11 after filling an adhesive into the fixing members 10. Subsequently, the entire foothold 1 is slightly pulled toward a person. As a result, the tip ends of the fins 8 are retained relative to the plurality of steps 12 formed in the inner :°oooo walls 11 of the fixing members 10 while they are expanded in diameter so that the lateral rattling of the legs 4 can be reliably prevented while interlocked with the adhesive. With these operations, the legs side are 15 brought into intimate contact with the fixing members 10 embedded in the concrete wall 16, and the legs 4 are reliably fixed to the concrete wall 16.

Further, since the contact support pieces 9 protruded from boundaries between the side portions 3 and the legs 4 are brought into contact with the concrete wall surface to support the foothold 1 so that the foothold 1 is more reliably prevented from hanging down.

The upper surface of the tread 2 is varied in the manner that it is inclined upward from the center S toward both ends thereof at the angle of 1 to 5 degrees. As a result, both feet of a person can be placed on the tread 2 with safety so that the working can be safely performed by the person.

Reflectors 17 are provided on both end corners of the tread 2. If the right reflector 17 is red while the left reflector 18 is green, the right and left positions of the foothold are made clear, thereby orienting the foothold in a specific direction.

A wave-shaped grip portion 18 is provided on the tread 2 at the inner side thereof in the axial direction thereof. Another wave-shaped grip portion having irregularities 19 is formed on the tread 2 at the lower surface thereof.

In this case, although it is normally conceived that the person goes up and down the foothold 1 while gripping the foothold 1 that is positioned several stages above the foothold 1 on which the person places his or her both legs, the tread 2 can be easily gripped because the wave shape is formed on the inner side of the tread 2 in the axial direction. Still further, since the tread 2 has the wave-shaped grip portion 20 having the irregularities 19 on the lower surface of the tread 2 in the axial direction, both hands can be prevented from slipping so that the person can go up and down the foothold 1 with safety.

Denoted by 21 are belt-shaped projections formed along the outer end S" portions of the side portions 3. With the provision of these projections 21, 15 even ifboth legs are placed on the side portions 3 when working, the working can be performed by the person with safety while both legs are not slipped laterally from the tread 2 owing to the projections 21.

It is possible to cover the back surfaces of the projections 21 by reflectors 22, as shown by imaginary lines in Figs. 2 and 3, whereby the areas of the reflectors increase so that the position of the foothold 1 is made clearer.

At least one blow receiving portion 23 that is used when embedding the foothold 1 formed of synthetic resins into the concrete wall is provided on the front sides of the tread 2, and the blow receiving portion 23 is integrally formed with the first synthetic resins 6 of the tread 2.

There is a case where the legs 4 are hardly embedded or inserted into the inner wall of a concrete wall even -if the foothold 1 is pressed against the inner wall by hands when fixing the foothold 1 to the concrete wall. In this case, it is normally conceivable that the front side of the tread 2 is blown by a hammer and so forth to embed or insert the legs 4 into the inner wall. With the provision of the blow receiving portions 23, the front side of the tread 2 is hardly damaged, and hence the foothold 1 can be reliably fixed to the concrete wall. Further, one blow receiving portion 23 may be formed on the central front side of the tread 2 if the width of the tread is narrow.

According to the fixing members of the foothold of the first aspect of the invention, since the fixing members of the foothold 1 comprises a tread 2, side portions 3 positioned at both sides of the tread 2, legs 4 to be fixed to a concrete wall, fixing members 10 embedded in the concrete wall and have substantially hollow circular cylinder bodies, said tread 2, side portions 3 and legs 4 being formed of a core 5 and first and second synthetic resins 6 and 6a S for covering the core 5, said second synthetic resins 6a for covering the core of the legs 4 having a substantially circular shape in cross section, and the first and second synthetic resins 6 and 6a being integrated with each other, a 15 plurality of fins 8 provided axially on outer peripheries of the synthetic resins 6a in a plurality of stages in the direction from the legs 4 toward the side portions 3, said fixing members having a plurality of steps 12 on the inner walls thereof by which the plurality of fins 8 are retained, and contact support pieces 9 protruded from boundaries between the side portions 3 and legs 4 so as to bring into contact with the concrete wall, they can reliably and easily fit the legs of the foothold to the fixing members embedded into the manhole wall and so forth, so that the foothold can be reliably fixed to the manhole wall and so forth and it can endure for a long period of use.

According to the fixing members of a foothold of the second aspect of the invention, since the upper surface of the tread is inclined upward from the central portion toward the both ends thereof at the angle of 1 to degrees, both legs of a person can be placed on the upper surface of the tread with safety, and hence the person can reliably perform working.

According to the fixing members of a foothold of the third aspect of the invention, since reflectors are provided on both cornered portions of the tread wherein the right reflector is red and the other reflector is green, the positions of the right and left portions of the foothold are made clear, thereby providing a safe foothold capable of orienting the foothold in specific direction.

According to the fixing members of a foothold of the fourth aspect of the invention, since the tread has a wave-shaped grip portion provided at the inner side surface thereof in the axial direction and another wave-shaped grip portion provided at the lower surface of the tread in the axial direction having irregularities thereon, a person can easily grip the tread when going up and down the tread, and both hands are prevented from slipping from the tread, thereby providing a safe foothold.

According to the fixing members of a foothold of the fiRfth aspect of the S* invention, since the foothold comprises belt-shaped projections formed along 15 the outer ends of both side portions, both legs are not laterally slipped from the tread owing to the projections, thereby providing a safe foothold capable of working with safety.

According to the fixing members of a foothold of the sixth aspect of the invention, since the foothold comprises blow receiving portions at the front 20 side of the tread when the legs are embedded in the concrete wall, the foothold is hardly damaged, when it is fixed to the concrete wall, thereby providing a foothold capable of being reliably fixed to the concrete wall.

According to the foothold of the seventh aspect of the invention, since the foothold comprises all the components as set forth in the first to sixth aspects of the invention, the legs of the foothold can be reliably fitted to the fixing members embedded in the concrete wall such as a manhole so that the foothold can be reliably fixed to the concrete wall. Further, both legs are not laterally slipped from the tread owing to the projections even if both legs are P:\WPDOCS\RET\722735spci.DOC-03/02/03 placed on side portions when using the foothold, thereby assuring the reliable working by the person. Still further, the foothold is oriented in the specific direction and the tread can be easily gripped by hands of the person when going up and down the tread, and the foothold is hardly damaged. More still further, the foothold can be reliably fixed to the wall surface, and it can endure for a long period of use.

Throughout this specification and the claims which follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise", or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other integer or step or group of integers or steps.

The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that that prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.

*e

Claims

1. A foothold 1 including a tread, side portions extended from both sides of the tread, legs to be fixed to a concrete wall, fixing members embedded in the concrete wall and having substantially hollow circular cylinder bodies, said tread, side portions and legs being formed of a core and first and second synthetic resins for covering the core, said second synthetic resins for covering the core of the legs having a substantially circular shape in cross section, and the first and second synthetic resins being integrated with each other, a plurality of fins provided axially on outer peripheries of the synthetic resins 6a in a plurality of stages in the direction from the legs toward the side portions, said fixing members having a plurality of steps on the inner walls thereof by which the plurality of fins are retained, and contact support pieces protruded from boundaries between the side portions and legs so as to bring into contact with the concrete wall.

2. The foothold according to Claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the tread is inclined upward from the central portion toward the both ends thereof at the angle of 1 to 5 degrees.

3. The foothold according to Claim 1, wherein reflectors are provided on the tread at portions adjacent both ends thereof, wherein the right reflector is red and the other reflector is green.

4. The foothold according to Claim 1, wherein the tread has a wave-shaped grip portion provided at the inner side surface thereof in the axial direction and another wave-shaped grip portion provided at the lower surface of the tread in the axial direction and having irregularities thereon.

P:\WPDOCS\REI722735spci.DOC-03/02/03 -12- The foothold according to Claim 1, further including belt-shaped projections formed along the outer ends of both side portions.

6. The foothold according to Claim 1, further including blow receiving portions at the front side of the tread when the legs are embedded in the concrete wall.

7. A foothold 1 including a tread, side portions extended from both sides of the tread, legs to be fixed to a concrete wall, fixing members embedded in the concrete wall and having substantially hollow circular cylinder bodies, said tread, side portions and legs being formed of a core and first and second synthetic resins for covering the core, said second synthetic resins for covering the core of the legs having a substantially circular shape in cross section, and the first and second synthetic resins being integrated with each other, a plurality of fins provided axially on outer peripheries of the synthetic resins in a plurality of stages in the direction from the legs toward the side portions, said fixing members having a plurality of steps on the inner walls thereof by which the plurality of fins are retained, characterized in that the upper surface of the tread is inclined upward from the central portion toward the both ends thereof at the angle of 1 to 5 degrees, and reflectors are provided on the tread at portions adjacent both ends thereof, wherein the right reflector is red and the other reflector is green, while the tread has a wave-shaped grip portion provided at the inner side surface thereof in the axial direction and another wave-shaped grip portion provided at the lower surface of the tread in the axial direction and having irregularities thereon, belt-shaped projections are formed along the outer ends of both side portions, and the contact support pieces are protruded from boundaries between the side portions and legs so as to bring into contact with the concrete wall. PkWPDOCSrcd\722735spi.DOC-3O2O3 13

8. A foothold, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings. DATED this 3rd day of February, 2003 MJYAMA KOGYO KABUSHIIM KAISHA By Their Patent Attorneys DAVIES COLLISON CAVE