AU773360B2 - Extension ladder support attachment - Google Patents

Description

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EXTENSION LADDER SUPPORT ATTACHMENT FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates, in general to support attachments for ladders and in particular to a support attachment intended to support an end of a ladder against the roof of a structure without bringing the ladder into contact with a roof gutter of the structure.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION One problem with placing a ladder against a structure, such as a house for example, is that upon a tradesman or other worker climbing the ladder there may be a tendency for the top of the ladder to slide laterally along the edge of the house. This sliding may well result in the ladder becoming unstable and the tradesman suffering a fall. In the past this problem has been combated to some extent by having a second worker hold the bottom of ladder in order to resist sliding. However such a solution adds to the labour intensiveness of the task in hand.

Typically the edge of the house in contact with the ladder is an edge of a gutter. As gutters are frequently of a relatively fragile construction leaning a 20 ladder against them and having a worker climb up the ladder may result in denting or other damage.

In the prior art there have been attempts to address the above problems.

In US patents 4,601,365 to Davis and 4,714,136 to Morin for example there are descriptions of supports which are designed for placement inside the gutter and S 25 are not necessarily attached to the ladder.

Furthermore, in US patent 4,369,860 there is described a device attached to the inside of the uprights of the ladder and having a projecting portion which fits inside the gutter. Similarly in US patent 4,823,912 there is described an apparatus which makes use of a padded board or cross-member to engage the side of a house beneath the gutter in order to keep the ladder out of contact with the side of the gutter.

In British patent application GB 2118236 there is described a ladder attachment having spaced risers supported on a ladder by rung brackets that pass over the top of the rungs, that is, the open face of the brackets face downward. The upper portions of the risers mount a pivoted roof pad to support the top of the ladder relative to the roof. This apparatus has the disadvantage that the ladder must be secure on its feet; any slippage of the foot of the ladder would tend to pull the ladder out of engagement with the apparatus.

In US patent 5,358,071 a bracket is described which has opposed elongate legs which can be releasably attached to support a rod passed through the hollow rungs of the ladder. The bracket further includes a support surface which may be adjusted to lie parallel the roof and which in use is supported by the roof and by a C-shaped bracket which fits inside the gutter and butts up against the back wall of the gutter. A problem with the latter apparatus however is that the support bracket is somewhat fiddly to install as it must be inserted into the gutter which is difficult to do without the initial aid of a ladder.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a useful alternative to the ladder stabilising devices described in the prior art which addresses or at least ameliorates the abovementioned problems of ladder instability and potential gutter damage.

*:**SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention there is provided a ladder stabiliser including: at least one riser portion; S 25 at least one each of substantially U-shaped upper and lower rung engagement brackets supported on said riser and adapted to engage corresponding rungs of a ladder, one of said upper and lower rung engagement brackets engaging its respective rung over the top of the rung and the other of said upper and lower rung engagement brackets engaging its respective rung from underneath its respective rung, said rung engagement brackets being selectively adjustable in their relative spacing on said riser to permit engagement with the respective rungs and securable in said engagement; roof engagement means secured to an upper portion of said at least one riser portion, said upper portion being configured to operatively bridge between the roof and the ladder.

In a preferred embodiment there are first and second parallel riser portions.

The upper securing means may include first and second rung engagement brackets coupled to the first and second parallel riser members respectively.

Preferably the lower securing means includes first and second rung engagement brackets coupled to the first and second parallel riser members respectively.

Alternatively the first or second securing means may include apertures through the first and second parallel riser members for receiving a pin for connection through the rungs of the ladder.

Preferably the securing means are positionally adjustable relative to the *first and second parallel riser members respectively.

Si** 20In one embodiment the roof contact means includes a plate having a flat surface for contact with a roof.

Preferably the plate is pivotally connected to the at least one riser member.

The flat surface of the plate may have upon it a resilient substance for operatively increasing friction with the roof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put into practical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate typical preferred embodiments of the invention and wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective illustration of a ladder stabiliser according to a first embodiment of the invention.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the ladder stabiliser of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of the ladder stabiliser of Figure 1 in use; Figure 4 is a side view of a further embodiment of a ladder stabiliser according to the invention in use; Figure 5 is a perspective view of a further embodiment of a ladder stabiliser according to the present invention; and Figure 6 is a side view of a further embodiment of a ladder stabiliser according to the invention in use.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to Figure 1 there is depicted a ladder stabiliser 0io according to a first embodiment of the invention. The embodiment shown includes a pair of riser members in the form of riser arms 12A and 12B. Welded across the ends of one end of the arms is a pivot tube 14 which provides a structural connection between arms 12A and 12B and also facilitates pivoted connection of a roof contact means in the form of a stabiliser bracket 16. Each end of pivot tube 14 is threaded. Stabiliser bracket 16 comprises a metal plate bent up at each end for pivotal connection to pivot tube 14 by means of bolts 18A, 18B which screw into the threaded ends of tube 14. Along the underside of the bracket 16 there is attached a resilient material in the form of rubber strip In operation of the ladder stabiliser strip 28 provides a desirable cushioning of the plate against a roof surface. It will be noted that in the embodiment shown, the pivot tube and stabiliser bracket extend laterally beyond the ends of each of the arms 12A and 12B. This lateral extension is not essential but is desirable in order to increase the stabiliser's resistance to tilting when in use.

Telescopically extending from the lower limit of arms 12A and 12B are lower securing means in the form of rung brackets 22A and 22B whose positions may be adjusted by means of thumbscrews 24A and 24B respectively.

Upper securing means in the form of J-shaped upper rung brackets 26A and 26B are welded to the outside of arms 12A and 12B respectively.

Spacer bar 20 is also welded between arms 12A and 12B as a structural member. Ladder stabiliser 10 is configured so that upper and lower rung brackets 26A, 26B and 22A, 22B respectively fit within the risers of commonly available ladders.

With reference to Figure 2 there is depicted the apparatus of Figure 1 when viewed in the general direction of arrow A-A' as shown in that figure.

Referring now to Figure 3 there is shown a schematic representation of ladder stabiliser 10 in use. Stabiliser 10 is attached to ladder 30 by positioning the J-shaped upper rung brackets 26A 26B snugly about rung 32. Lower rung brackets 22A, 22B are adjusted to fit over rung 32 and kept in place by means of thumbscrews 24A and 24B respectively. Ladder 30 with stabiliser attached is then leaned against the roof 36 of a house 40 or other building.

Stabiliser bracket 16 pivots as it brought into contact with the roof so that rubber strip 28 comes into flat contact with roof 36 in order to increase friction between the ladder stabiliser and the roof. It will be noted that the riser arms 12A and 128 are shaped to bridge up and over the gutter between the ladder and the region of contact of stabiliser 16 with the roof. Consequently gutter 38 is avoided and is not brought into contact with the ladder as is desirable in order to prevent possible gutter damage.

The stabiliser may be attached to any two rungs of a ladder to cater for different work situations. For example, where the ladder is to be used to climb through an aperture in a roof the upper securing bracket would be attached to say the third rung from the top of the ladder. This arrangement provides a user with the top of the ladder to hang on to in order to gain access to the roof top.

Alternatively, in cases where a ladder is to be placed against a wall the ladder stabiliser would be secured to the top two rungs of the ladder and the pivoting stabiliser bracket would be rotated up to make contact with the side of the wall.

Although the invention has hereto been explained with reference to one 0 25 particular embodiment it will be realised that many variations are possible. For 0 example, while it is preferable that the roof contact means be plate shaped and pivot about the riser arms, many other alternatives are possible. One possible variation is that the contact member could comprise a padded cylinder attached between the ends of arms 12A and 128. As shown at item 42 of Figure 4.

Furthermore, in the embodiment depicted in Figures 1-3, the upper rung brackets 26A, 268 are fixed to the arms of the ladder stabiliser whereas the position of the lower brackets may be adjusted due to the telescopic attachment 6 of the lower rung brackets to the arms. However it will be realised that the purpose of this arrangement is simply to facilitate securement of the arms to the rungs of the ladder. Other arrangements are also possible. For example the upper rung brackets might be adjustable in position.

In the embodiment shown in Figures 1-3 the lower rung bracket fits over the rung 34 whereas the upper rung bracket fits under the rung 32. An alternative arrangement is shown in Figure 4 wherein the upper bracket 26A' fits over the upper rung 32 and the lower bracket 22A' fits under the bracket.

Yet another embodiment is shown in Figure 5, the principal difference over the previous designs being that a single riser arm 12 is present.

It will be noted that due to the arrangement of stabiliser 10 ladder 30 is kept well clear of gutter 38. In the embodiment of Figures 1-5 this clearance is due to the particular shape of the riser arms 12A, 12B, (or riser arm 12 in the case of the embodiment of Figure However the riser arm could have other shapes and still keep the ladder clear of the gutter. With reference to Figure 6 there is shown another possible configuration in which the riser arm commences at a point between the upper and lower rung attachment brackets.

A combination of securing means could also be used. For example the riser arms could be shaped to allow the use of J-shaped upper rung brackets as 20 shown in Figures 1-6 with pins used to attach to the lower rung.

It will of course be realised that the above has been given only by way of illustrative example of the invention and that 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 set forth in the following claims.

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Claims (8)

1. A ladder stabiliser including: at least one riser portion; at least one each of substantially U-shaped upper and lower rung engagement brackets supported on said riser and adapted to engage corresponding rungs of a ladder, one of said upper and lower rung engagement brackets engaging its respective rung over the top of the rung and the other of said upper and lower rung engagement brackets engaging its respective rung from underneath its respective rung, said rung engagement brackets being selectively adjustable in their relative spacing on said riser to permit engagement with the respective rungs and securable in said engagement; roof engagement means secured to an upper portion of said at least one riser portion, said upper portion being configured to operatively bridge between the roof and the ladder.

2. A ladder stabiliser according to claim 1, wherein the at least one riser portion comprises first and second substantially parallel riser members. o:

3. A ladder stabiliser according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the roof contact means includes a plate having a flat surface for contact with the roof.

4. A ladder stabiliser according to claim 3, wherein the plate is pivotally connected to the at least one riser member.

A ladder stabiliser according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the flat surface has upon it a resilient substance for operatively increasing friction with the roof.

6. A ladder stabiliser according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said at least one riser portion is telescopic to provide said selectively adjustability.

7. A ladder stabiliser according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said lower rung engagement bracket is configured to locate the lower end of the riser portion substantially centrally over the rung, and said upper rung engagement bracket is disposed forward of the riser portion, whereby said riser portion is inclined toward the roof out of the plane of the ladder in use.

8. A ladder stabiliser substantially as described herein with reference to Figures 1 to 6. DATED THIS 1 9TH DAY OF MARCH 2004 LAWSON VICTOR RYAN and CHARLES STODDART BY OUR ATTORNEYS PIZZEYS PATENT AND TRADE MARK ATTORNEYS g* *oeo ooo go• o*ooo