Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E06—DOORS, WINDOWS, SHUTTERS, OR ROLLER BLINDS IN GENERAL; LADDERS
  • E06C—LADDERS
  • E06C7/00—Component parts, supporting parts, or accessories
  • E06C7/006—Devices for preventing access

Definitions

• the present invention relates to the management of access and use of a ladder, inclined or not, to condemn this access to any unauthorized person and to allow the safe use of this ladder for the authorized user.
• the present invention intends to propose a device for locking access to a ladder which can not only effectively ensure the prohibition of access to any unauthorized person but also ensure that the authorized user can use the ladder in safety and with as much comfort as possible.
• the subject of the invention is a device for managing access and use of a ladder extending between a lower level and a protected upper level, the lower access to which is regulated, comprising a means for prohibiting or preventing the use of at least some of the rungs of this ladder formed by a panel and means for its connection to the ladder which hold the panel, in a first state, applied against a face of the ladder opposite to its access face and in a second state, remote from this face of the ladder.
• the means for connecting the panel to the ladder comprise an articulation with an axis parallel to the rungs of the ladder and remote from the transverse edge of the panel which is closest to it.
• This distance makes it possible to obtain a separation of the panel relative to the ladder such that the user can place his foot correctly, safely and comfortably, on the first rung, once the condemnation has been cleared.
• the panel can have different shapes. The simplest comes down to a simple sheet mounted on a frame or box to give it sufficient rigidity. It can take a more complex form, in particular to constitute an at least partial closure of the inter-bar space, either by stamping, or by cutting a boxed or curved (folded) panel in the longitudinal direction for the passage of bars, etc.
• the axis of the ladder panel hinge is below the lower transverse edge of the panel. Tests have in fact shown that this position is the most convenient for the user for, on the one hand, locking and unlocking access to the ladder and, on the other hand, so that, from the first rungs, he can comfortably put his foot on them.
• the panel when the ladder is equipped with a crinoline, the panel is provided in the upper part with a cover, of width less than the spacing of the uprights of the ladder, capable of at least partially blocking the internal passage of the crinoline.
• the locking can be maintained in the open position
• the device in which the panel is hinged to scale in the lower part, is equipped for this purpose with a member for returning said panel against the rear face of the ladder and a mechanism for retaining the panel in its separated state from the ladder, carried by the end of the lid remote from the panel to cooperate with an element of the ladder, preferably a rung, under which the operculum crosses the plane of the scale.
• the retention mechanism envisaged resides in a retractable stop normally projecting above the free end of the panel, erasable, either by a rung of the ladder at the passage of this end, under the latter, at the opening of the condemnation, against the effect of a return member, or by an operating linkage comprising, at the level of the foot of the ladder, a manual actuation member for erasing this stop to allow the folding of the panel under the effect of its return member.
• the invention proposes to equip the panel with a quarter bolt tower which is normally engaged in a striker carried by the ladder.
• a bolt operating key acting either directly on the latter or via a transmission, if the strike plate (and any locking device) is located on the ladder at a level inaccessible to the user at the foot of the ladder and, on the other hand, by a pedal, located on the lid, connected to the bolt by a transmission linkage.
• the user located at the foot of the ladder and authorized to climb it can release the bolt from its keeper by means of a personal key, the possession of which is the mark of his authorization. He then pushes the panel to tilt it around its lower articulation until the retaining stop engages. After having climbed the lower rungs of the ladder, he actuates with his foot the deletion of the stop. The panel is then automatically recalled against the ladder and the bolt again engaged in the keeper.
• the user On the descent, the user, with his foot, on the one hand, activates the pedal to release the bolt from its keeper and, on the other hand, pushes the lid back to the rear of the ladder until engagement of the retaining stop which allows him to continue the descent to the ground. Finally, he actuates the operating member of the stop to clear it in order to allow its passage under the bar and release the folding of the latter against the rear face of the ladder.
• FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of a ladder equipped with the device, showing more particularly a lower part of the locking panel according to a first embodiment
• FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of a ladder equipped with the device, showing more particularly an upper part of the locking panel according to a second embodiment
• the Figure 3 is a perspective view of a locking panel equipped with an upper lid
• Figure 4 is a side view which illustrates an advantageous arrangement of the device according to the invention
• Figure 5 is a perspective view illustrating the control means of the device of the invention for an authorized user
• FIG. 5a is a partial detail view taken from FIG. 5
• FIG. 5b is another partial detail view taken from FIG. 5, FIG.
• FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a ladder equipped with a device according to a third embodiment
• FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a ladder equipped with a device according to a qua third embodiment
• Figure 8 is a perspective view of a scale equipped with a device according to a fifth embodiment.
• the inclined ladder 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 to which the device of the invention applies, comprises horizontal rungs 2 between two side uprights 3 and 4.
• the device of the invention comprises a panel 5 whose length is sufficient to cover several rungs 2 of the ladder 1 and whose width is at least substantially that of the ladder taken between the uprights 3 and 4.
• This panel is shaped so that its cross section current has a central part which, in the case of these figures, crosses the mean plane of the ladder 1 (the mean plane is the plane parallel to the rungs 2 and to the uprights 3, 4 and which passes through the middle of the rungs and uprights), in other words, said central portion of the panel 5 passes between the bars 2 until it extends beyond the mid-plane of the ladder 1.
• the function of this configuration is to make the bars 2 of the scale 1 by making it impossible to support the foot or hold the hand.
• the central part of the panel 5 then occupies the space between the bars 2 sufficiently to prevent the foot or the hand of the user from being able to penetrate this space to bear correctly on the lower bar or to grip it .
• the bars 2 are then housed in cutouts 6 formed in this central part, when the panel 5 is folded down on the ladder, which allows the central part to partly occupy the inter-bar space.
• the panel 5 is articulated to scale around an axis 7 parallel to the bars 2, by its lower part and more precisely by means of arms 8 and 9 extending the panel 5 downwards beyond its lower edge 5a.
• the arms 8, 9 make it possible to have a panel in which the axis 7 is remote from the lower edge 5a in a longitudinal direction of the panel 5 (and of the ladder 1 when the panel 5 is folded against the ladder 1) .
• the lower part of the panel 5 is sufficiently moved away from the ladder so that the user's foot can take proper support on the first uncovered rung.
• the panel 5 is hinged to scale 1 which has a crinoline la, also around a transverse axis 10 by the two arms 11 and 12 which extend its upper part beyond its upper edge 5b. It is understood that the arms 11, 12 make it possible to have a panel in which the axis 10 is remote from the upper edge 5b in a longitudinal direction of the panel 5 (and of the ladder 1 when the panel 5 is folded against the ladder 1). Thus, as before, allow correct support of the user's foot on the last rung uncovered by the panel when it is moved away from the ladder.
• the panel 5 is located at the rear of the ladder 1 so that the effect of gravity tends to move it away from the latter.
• FIG. 3 represents an alternative embodiment of the panel 5 in which it is formed of a box whose front face 13 has the cutouts 6.
• This box defines an interior space between this front face 13 cut out and a solid rear face which makes it possible to accommodate operating mechanisms as shown in the following.
• the panel has an upper lid 14, substantially perpendicular to the face 13, and whose width is less than the spacing of the uprights of the ladder.
• This cover is intended to pass between two bars 2 to form an obstacle for access to the ladder, in particular if the latter has a crinoline, and to constitute a resting stage for a user of the ladder located above. of the panel. It will be noted that this cover comprises at its free end, a pedal 15 and a retractable stop 16, a more detailed description of which will be given below.
• FIG 4 we see a panel like that of Figure 3, associated with a ladder 1 provided with a crinoline the.
• Panel 5 in addition to joint 7, is biased against the ladder by a biasing member 17, here a pair of gas struts, against the effect of gravity.
• the recall effort will be adjusted so that the user provides only minimal effort to manually take off the panel 5 from the ladder 1, aided in this by the effect of gravity.
• the upper surface of the cover 14 is not strictly perpendicular to the panel 5. It has an angle A with respect to this panel which depends on the angle of inclination B of the ladder 1 with respect to the horizontal (on the ground), so that when the panel 5 is folded against the ladder 1, the user who rests on the cover 14 has a feeling similar to that which he has when he is at the foot of the ladder 1 at the end of the descent or at the start of the ascent.
• the angle between the panel and the upper surface of the lid is 84 degrees, to within a few degrees, in particular to hold account of the proximity that the end of the lid must maintain with the rung 2 of the ladder 1 under which it passes, in order to implement a stop for maintaining the separated state of the panel 5 as described below below.
• FIGS. 5, 5a and 5b These two elements are found in FIGS. 5, 5a and 5b.
• FIG. 5 is therefore a diagram which shows the various mechanisms allowing the user to maneuver the device of the invention in order to satisfy the most recent regulatory requirements in terms of safety and ergonomics. More specifically, the mechanisms shown are transmission members, connecting on the one hand a bolt P for locking the condemnation to the lower barrel 19 and to the upper pedal 15 for maneuvering this bolt P and, on the other hand connecting the abutment retractable 16 to the pusher 18. These mechanisms are housed in a box-shaped panel such as that referenced 5 in FIG. the lid 14 also made in the form of a box.
• the pedal 15 and stop 16 are pivotally mounted, the first to be able to be pressed against a return member and the second to be held projecting above the end of the lid by its own return member.
• the return member of the pedal 15 is for example sized so that the pedal 15 can only be depressed by exerting a relatively large force (for example about twenty daN) in order in particular to avoid accidental depression of the pedal 15 (and therefore an untimely opening of the cover 14) by the user when descending the ladder or to avoid any attempt to open by hand from the bottom of the ladder.
• the quarter-turn bolt P which normally projects out of the lock, can be retracted by action on the barrel, by means of a key specific to the authorized user. This operation of the bolt by the cylinder is ensured by a linkage 28 and is independent of the operation of the bolt P by the pedal 15.
• the pusher 18 is pivotally mounted around the fixed axis 20 and acts on the rod 29, which actuates the pusher 30 in rotation around a fixed axis 31.
• the pusher 30 causes a rod 32 to slide which causes the stop 16 to pivot around of an axis 33.
• Internal return members in this transmission place the abutment 16 projecting with respect to the lid 14.
• the authorized user in front of the locked condemnation, acts with his key or any other operating device on the cylinder 19.
• the rod 28 which is associated with it, causes the bolt P to retract into the lock 27.
• the panel 5 can then be moved aside manually of the ladder until the stop 16, sliding while retracting under a bar 2 of the latter (this bar is called stop bar thereafter to distinguish it from the others) thanks to the slope that it presents in the upper part, comes to protrude again behind this bar and holds the panel apart against its return member 17.
• the user comfortably crosses the bars thus discovered until reaching a bar 2 above the bar of stop which cooperates with the stop. He can then easily press (directly or via an intermediate mechanism) with his foot on the stopper 16 which can then go back under the stop bar and let the panel be folded down by the return member 17.
• the condemnation is then re-locked, prohibiting access to anyone who does not have the appropriate means of maneuvering the barrel 19.
• FIGs 6 to 8 there is a ladder 1, devoid of a crinoline, equipped with a panel 5 formed of a box and articulated to the ladder 1 via arms 8, 9 as in Figures 3 and 4.
• the panel 5 has an upper part connected to each of the uprights 8, 9 by a compass 40 comprising a first connecting rod 40.1 having one end hinged to the upright 8, 9 and an opposite end hinged to one end of a second link 40.2 having an opposite end hinged to one side of the upper part of the panel 5.
• the first connecting rod 40.1 is extended beyond its articulation to the second connecting rod 40.2 by a lever at the free end of which is hooked one end of a return member 41 having an opposite end hooked to a lug integral with the end of the second connecting rod hinged to the panel 5.
• the return member 41 tends to fold the panel 5 against the ladder 1.
• the upper end of the panel 5 is provided with a cover 14 as in Figure 3.
• the ladder is vertical and no longer inclined.
• the panels 5 do not include a cover 14 and implement a slightly different mechanism for manipulating the panel 5 when the user is on the ladder 1 above the panel 5.
• This mechanism comprises a rod 42 mounted to slide along the upright 8 of the ladder 1 parallel to said upright.
• the rod 42 comprises a first end 42.1 hinged to a first end of a third connecting rod 43 having a second end articulated at a midpoint of the first connecting rod 40.1.
• the rod 42 includes a second end 42.2 associated with an operating member.
• the operating member is a pedal 44 operable by the foot of the user when his feet are on a bar 2 located above the upper edge 5b of the panel 5.
• the maneuvering member is a handle 45 operable by the hand of the user when his feet are on a bar 2 located above the upper edge 5b of the panel 5.
• the abutment preventing the folding of the panel 5 against the ladder 1, against the force of the return member 41 is not shown.
• This stop can for example be constituted by a lock, an indexing in rotation of the handle or the pedal...
• the ladder can be inclined or vertical, with or without a crinoline.
• a substantially horizontal cover will preferably be used.
• the bolt can be connected to a locking latch or a lock or any other means of locking.
• the return member can be arranged to hold the panel 5 in the open position, in particular when the hinge pin is above the panel 5.
• the operculum can occupy all or part of the section transverse of the crinoline.
• the operculum can be arranged to extend to the lower end of the crinoline or inside the latter.
• the device in which the panel is hinged to scale in the lower part, is equipped of a return member of said panel in the spaced position from the rear face of the ladder.
• the stop can be arranged to be retractable in a housing of the lid so as not to injure an operator who would fall on the lid.

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Ladders (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

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• 2020
  • 2020-09-30 FR FR2010000A patent/FR3114604B1/fr active Active
• 2021
  • 2021-09-08 EP EP21777227.6A patent/EP4222336A1/de active Pending
  • 2021-09-08 EP EP21773764.2A patent/EP4222335A1/de active Pending
  • 2021-09-08 WO PCT/EP2021/074732 patent/WO2022069174A1/fr unknown
  • 2021-09-08 WO PCT/EP2021/074730 patent/WO2022069173A1/fr unknown

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