EP1783322B1 - Ladder with platform and foldable tubular safety cages, especially for extension ladders - Google Patents

Abstract

The ladder has a balustrade tube (13) associated to a lower platform (15) and including lower and upper rails (17, 19) arranged at about 0.5 mm and 1 mm from the platform, respectively. The rails form a peripheral edge articulated to an upper plane (5). The edge is connected to side legs (27) slidably connected to a post (21) in the plane. The platform is foldably mounted in an out of service folded position in which the platform and tube are brought in the ladder plane to occupy only a less volume, from a service position where the platform and tube are deployed to protect a person.

Description

The invention relates to a platform ladder and foldable guardrail tubes, especially for sliding ladders.

A scale according to the preamble of claim 1 is described in GB-A-2158498 , AU-A-7409874 and FR-A-2632349 .

Current legislation is evolving in order to better ensure the safety of people working on ladders, to avoid accidents that may occur, including falling, for people.

It is in fact proposed a platform ladder and at least one guardrail tube according to claim 1.

The ladder may comprise lateral hooks by which it may be hooked on another ladder (single or sliding) on its rungs, to adapt the height of the platform and railing assembly to the desired height of use. .

It can fit on a sliding scale hooking on its upper plane.

It is preferably integrated with a sliding ladder at least two planes slidably mounted relative to each other for its variable length or height adjustment in use, characterized in that it is provided with a flat assembly in the form of a support for the person and at least one person's railing tube, mounted foldable into a folded out-of-service position where the two planes are brought one on top of the other, from a service position where the Plans are deployed relative to one another at the desired height of the ladder and the platform and railing assembly is deployed to support and protect the user.

In this case, the platform and guard rail assembly is mounted on the upper plane of the sliding ladder.

The platform is advantageously constituted by a plate lined with a peripheral skirting board, mounted articulated between the uprights from the upper plane, preferably to an upper echelon of this plane, this platform in folded position coming retracted in the plane of the upper plane of scale and between its amounts to allow the sliding of this upper plane on the first, and in the service position it is rotated to a suitable angle, locked in a substantially horizontal position, to support the user in the normal inclination of the ladder.

According to the invention, the guardrail tube portion associated with the lower platform consists of a lower rail disposed about 0.5 m from the platform and an upper rail disposed about 1 m from the rail. platform, these smooth formed to form a peripheral edge protection of the person being mounted articulated to said upper plane and connected to at least one side leg connected itself with the possibility of sliding to an amount of the upper plane of scale.

Preferably, said lower and upper rails are each connected, and on each side of the ladder, to a leg connected to an upright of the upper plane, the two legs extending from top to bottom to form an access ramp to the platform for the user, in the locked position of service on their upright, and allow the articulated drive of all the smooth to their collapsed position out of service, outside the locked service position.

Preferably, the rails extend parallel and likewise the associated lower legs, constituting an articulated parallelogram assembly driven in deployment by the movable lower legs.

Thus in the folded position of the platform assembly and railing tube, the platform retracts inside the upper plane to allow its sliding on the first and the rails come on top of one another in a small thickness, above the upper plane, being driven with the upper plane in the descent of this plane on the first.

The legs can be formed with a longitudinal lumen receiving at least one lock element of the operating position, integral with the upright, and engaged on at least one stop element, a screw for example, secured to the leg, in the service position .

Naturally, the ladder can receive at least one accessory conventional, such as a support cradle on a crossbar before a guardrail tube, shaped V for support on a pole or a tree and a strap or anchor chain tightened around the pole, wheels of end for rolling on a support wall etc .., preferably mounted integral with the guardrail tube at the front thereof.

In addition, it advantageously receives lateral stabilizing legs, mounted each hinged on a ladder upright and which due to the additional weight of the platform and railing assembly and the larger amplitude of the supported person relative on a conventional scale, provide more rigid support for the ladder by reducing load deflection, stabilize the ladder laterally and avoid unpleasant platform beat movements.

• La figure 1 est une vue en perspective d'une échelle coulissante pourvue d'un ensemble de plate-forme et tubes garde-corps selon l'invention en position déployée de service,
• La figure 2 est une vue en élévation de l'échelle de la figure 1 en position repliée hors service,
• La figure 3 est une vue en perspective agrandie partielle du dispositif de verrouillage de coulissement de l'ensemble garde-corps de l'échelle,
• La figure 4 montre une variante de réalisation concernant une échelle simple et pouvant être montée sur une échelle classique, simple ou coulissante.

The invention is illustrated below by means of exemplary embodiments and with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• The figure 1 is a perspective view of a sliding ladder provided with a set of platform and railing tubes according to the invention in the deployed position of service,
• The figure 2 is an elevation view of the scale of the figure 1 in the folded out position,
• The figure 3 is a partial enlarged perspective view of the slide lock device of the ladder railing assembly,
• The figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment on a simple scale and can be mounted on a conventional ladder, simple or sliding.

With reference to figures 1 and 2 , the sliding ladder 1 shown has two scale planes, respectively a lower plane 3 and an upper plane 5, the upper plane 5 being slidably mounted on the lower plane 3 by means of a conventional sliding device, for example to the means of longitudinal rails 7 on the uprights of the planes or lateral wings (not shown) receiving the amounts of the upper plane and secured to the amounts of the lower plane.

The translational drive of the upper plane 5 on the lower plane 3 is achieved by means of a conventional device 9 with pulleys and rope that is drawn at will to adapt the length of the scale to the desired height of use. The locking in height of the upper plane 5 on the lower plane 3 is achieved by means of tilting elements with 11 points retracting at the lifting and engaging in stop locking of the upper plane 5 on the lower plane 3 to the descent, or hooks (not shown) to take on the lower plane rungs.

The upper plane 5 comprises a railing assembly 13 and upper platform 15, collapsible from an off position ( figure 2 ), of reduced length and of small thickness, in an extended commissioning position where the platform 15 is turned in a horizontal position for the support of a person and the railing part 13 envelops the person standing by means of a lower rail 17 and an upper rail 19.

The platform 15 is a plate 16 lined with a conventional peripheral skirting 18, mounted articulated between the uprights 21 of the upper plane 5 to an upper echelon 23 thereof. It is slightly smaller than the distance between uprights 21 and folds parallel to the plane. In the operating position, it is turned horizontally, retained by cables (not shown) or sliding rods 25 connected to the uprights 21.

The lower rail 17 disposed at a height of 0.5 m from the platform 15 in use is a generally U-shaped metal tubular rail, the middle part of which extends forwardly.

The upper rail 19 is a metal tubular railing generally U-shaped, the same size in width to that of the lower rail 17 but a little longer, and whose middle portion is facing rearward.

The rear opening of the lower rail 17 allows access to the platform 15 by a person climbing on the ladder.

These smooth 17, 19 are mounted articulated by their lateral branches substantially in their middle part, each on each of the uprights 21 of the upper plane, which extend to the upper level without step about 1 m high.

They are connected by their rear part to two parallel lateral legs 27, themselves articulated on each side of the ladder, each to a post 21 of the upper plane. These lateral legs 27 are mounted sliding up and down each on a post 21 upper plane of scale and connect the lower 17 and upper 19 rails in a set of articulated parallelogram. The heddles 17, 19 are thus driven parallel to each other in a folded position where they are arranged one on the other ( figure 2 ) an extended service position ( figure 1 ) where they are horizontal, at an average scale inclination of 70 ° (of normal use).

In this service position, the legs 27 also form an access ramp to the platform 15.

The legs 27 slide by each of their lower end ( figure 3 ) on a support member 29 attached to the upright 21 and having a latch lug 31 articulated on the axis 33 of which the leg slides by a lower complementary groove 35, the tab 31 coming into service position locking engagement by a portion of notch 37 on a protruding portion at the end of the groove, a screw 39 for example, disposed at the end of the leg.

The notch 37 is inclined downwards and prevents in service any release of grip of the notch by the leg.

The clearance is achieved by raising the latch tab 31, out of engagement with the notch 37, which allows the legs 27 to slide down on their support piece 29.

The ladder also comprises accessory elements, such as stabilizing legs 41 laterally articulated each on a lower plane upright 3, an upper support cradle 43 on a front transverse bar of the upper beam 19, equipped with wheels and straps anchoring or anchoring to the wall or upper support member of the ladder, lower legs 45 with height adjustment etc.

Operation is now described.

Starting from the folded position of the ladder, figure 2 , where the upper plane 5 is arranged downwardly on the lower plane 3, and the platform assembly 15 and guardrail tubes 13 is folded along the upper plane 5, the assembly can be held in position by means of straps (not shown) attached around the uprights and legs of the planes, it is to remove the said straps, put the scale to the desired length of use by sliding the upper plane 5 on the lower plane 3, by pulling on the rope of the slider device 9, and locking the position by pressing the positioning point 11 rocker elements on a plane echelon lower adequate. The platform 15 then falls with the scale inclination horizontally of itself in position, retained by the rods 25, as soon as it exceeds the steps of the lower plane 3. The driving legs 27 are then pushed back. smooth and these unfold horizontally. The legs 27 at the end of sliding stroke themselves come into positional locking, thanks to the engagement of the latch tabs 31 on the screws 39 projecting from the legs. The ladder is then inclined at its normal operating angle, approximately 70 °, by application of the front face of the top rail 19 to the support wall or support element (post). Then we have the lateral stabilizer legs 41 in support spaced apart on the ground. At this time, the scale is ready for use and the operator accesses the support platform 15 with the help of legs 27 forming access ramps. It is introduced inside the lower rail 17 and then in the upper rail 19 to come on the platform 15. At this time, the ladder effectively supports and protects the operator, both in a position squatted by the lower rail 17 than in a standing position retained by the upper rail 19, allowing it a wide movement of movement for its work in height and with a rigid support of the ladder, in particular by the lateral stabilizer bars 41.

The figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment relating to a simple scale the equipped with a platform device 15 'and railing 13' foldable according to the invention. The platform device 15 'and railing 13' has for example the same elements as the platform device 15 and guardrail 13 described above. The simple scale 1 'can then constitute a top plane 5 of a sliding scale as defined above.

This simple ladder is provided with side hook elements 47 at the lower level, two hook elements 47 fixed on each side on each scale post 49, and on the first and third lower rungs 51 respectively. This simple ladder 1 'fits on another conventional scale, simple or sliding (of greater or equal width) and can be hooked on it to the desired height of use (platform and guardrail), generally in a single position on the sliding plane of the ladder at the upper level by engagement of its hook elements 47 on the rungs of the lower ladder.

The various embodiments described can adapt to one or the other of the sliding or simple ladders described with reference to the figures 1 and 4 .

The invention thus provides a platform ladder and foldable guardrail tubes, for an adjustable and easy situation setting and with a secure and comfortable use of the operator.

Claims (11)

1. A ladder (1, 1') with a platform and with at least one tubular safety cage, provided with a platform assembly (15, 15') for supporting a person and at least one tubular safety cage (13, 13') for the supported person, said ladder comprising an upper section (5) and a lower section (3), said assembly being mounted so as to be foldable into a folded out-of-use position, in which the platform (15, 15') is brought into the plane of the ladder (1, 1') and the tubular safety cages (13, 13') are brought against the ladder plane (1, 1') so as to occupy only a small amount of space, from an in-use position in which the assembly of the platform (15, 15') and tubular safety cage (13, 13') is opened out to support and protect the user, characterised in that the tubular safety cage part (13) associated with the lower platform (15) consists of a lower guard rail (17) disposed approximately 0.5 m from the platform (15) and an upper guard rail (19) disposed approximately 1 m from the platform (15), said guard rails (17, 19) shaped to form a peripheral frame for protecting the person being mounted in a hinged manner on said upper section (5) and connected at least to one lateral leg (27) itself connected with the possibility of sliding to an upright (21) of the upper ladder section (5).
2. A ladder (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that said lower (17) and upper (19) guard rails are each connected, on each side of the ladder, to a leg (27) connected to an upright (21) of the upper section (5), the two legs (27) extending downwards to form a hand rail assisting the user to access the platform (15), when locked in the in-use position on their upright (21), and to allow hinged actuation of the assembly of guard rails (17, 19) into their folded, out-of-use position from the locked, in-use position.
3. A ladder (1) according to either one of claims 1 and 2, characterised in that the guard rails (17, 19) extend in parallel, as do the associated lower legs (27) constituting a hinged parallelogram assembly actuated to open out by the mobile lower legs (27).
4. A ladder (1) according to any one of claims 1 - 3, characterised in that the legs (27) are formed with a longitudinal slot (35) receiving slidingly at least one locking element (31) for locking in the in-use position, firmly connected to the upright (21) and engaged with at least one stop element, a screw (39) for example, firmly connected to the leg (27), in the in-use position.
5. A ladder (1') according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises lateral hooks (47) by which it may be hooked onto another ladder (single or sliding) on the rungs of said other ladder, to adapt the height of the platform assembly (15') and tubular safety cage (13') to the desired utilisation height.
6. A ladder (1') according to claim 5, characterised in that it may fit on another sliding ladder, being hooked to the upper section of said other sliding ladder.
7. A ladder (1) according to claim 1, comprising at least two sections (3, 5) mounted slidingly relative to one another for variable length or height adjustment in use, characterised in that it is provided with a platform assembly (15) for supporting the person and at least one tubular safety cage (13) for protecting the person, said assembly being mounted so as to be foldable into a folded out-of-use position, in which the two sections (3, 5) are brought one onto the other, from an in-use position in which the sections (3, 5) are opened out relative to one another to the desired height of the ladder and the assembly of platform (15) and tubular safety cage (13) is opened out to support and protect the user.
8. A ladder (1) according to claim 7, characterised in that the assembly of platform (15) and tubular safety cage (13) is mounted on the upper section (5) of the ladder.
9. A ladder (1) according to claim 7 or claim 8, characterised in that the platform (15) consists of a plate (16) bordered by peripheral edging (18), said plate (16) being mounted in hinged manner between the uprights (21) of the upper section (5), preferably on one rung (23) of said section, said platform (15) in the folded position being brought in retracted manner into the plane of the upper section (5) of the ladder and between the uprights (21) thereof to allow sliding of said upper section over the first section (3), and in the in-use position it is turned to a suitable angle and locked in a substantially horizontal position to support the user when the ladder is normally inclined.
10. A ladder (1, 1') according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it receives at least one conventional accessory such as a bearing cradle (43) on a crossbar at the front of a tubular safety cage, shaped in a V for bearing against a post or a tree, and an anchoring strap or chain tightened around the post, end wheels for rolling over a bearing wall etc., preferably mounted integrally with the tubular safety cage at the front thereof.
11. A ladder (1, 1') according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that it comprises lateral stabiliser legs (41) mounted hinged to a ladder upright and which, because of the additional weight of the platform and safety cage assembly and the greater movement of the supported person relative to a conventional (single or sliding) ladder, bring about more rigid support of the ladder by reducing deflection under load, stabilise the ladder laterally and prevent unpleasant wobbling of the platform.

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