GB2306997A

GB2306997A - Pole Step

Info

Publication number: GB2306997A
Application number: GB9602673A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Barton
Original assignee: BC Barton and Son Ltd
Current assignee: BC Barton and Son Ltd
Priority date: 1995-11-07
Filing date: 1996-02-09
Publication date: 1997-05-14
Anticipated expiration: 2016-02-09
Also published as: GB9602673D0; GB2306997B

Abstract

A pole step that extends outwardly from a pole for providing a foot hold comprises a foot piece (10) and a separate support member (11). The foot piece (10) includes serrations for enhancing the grip of a foot, two flange portions (eg 17) which extend in opposite directions circumferentially to receive fasteners extending through apertures (18), and notches (eg 32) to hold the support member (11) in the correct relative position. The support member (11) includes a portion (29) that extends above the upper surface of the foot piece (10) and is constructed to provide means for releaseably engaging with the foot piece (10).

Description

Title: POLE STEP Description of Invention This invention relates to a pole step, that is to say a device for attachment to a pole to afford a foothold for a person climbing the pole.

Pole steps are commonly provided on poles which support overhead telephone or electricity supply cables. A number of pole steps are usually provided on the uppermost portion only of a pole, the lowermost step being at sufficient height above the ground so as not to be able to be reached without the assistance of a ladder, in order to deter unauthorised climbing of the pole. A person requiring to climb the pole in order to work on the cables or any other equipment it supports will, after having used a ladder to reach the lowermost steps on the pole, climb using the steps as footholds and handholds and after having climbed the pole will carry out the necessary work supported by the steps and a safety harness or sling.

One design of pole step which has been widely used hitherto is a onepiece component pressed from sheet metal so as to afford a footpiece portion which is adapted to be held to the pole by fasteners and to extend outwardly therefrom, and a support portion extending downwardly and at an inclination from a mid-region of the footpiece portion to be fastened to the pole at a lower position. Such a pole step is highly satisfactory in use, but expensive in manufacture since its design requires it to be of relatively thick sheet metal and at least some of the pressing operations which form it to its final shape require to be carried out while hot.

It is broadly the object of the present invention to provide an improved pole step. The respects in which the pole step according to the invention is advantageous compared with such known pole steps are pointed out in greater detail hereafter.

According to one aspect of the present invention, we provide a pole step comprising: a footpiece, adapted to be connected to a pole by fastening means and to extend outwardly from the pole for providing a foot support; a separate support member engaging the footpiece at a position spaced (in use) from the pole and adapted to be fastened to the pole at a position spaced beneath the footpiece, for supporting the footpiece.

Preferably the support member engages the footpiece adjacent its end remote from the pole in use, and extends at an inclination to the footpiece.

Preferably the support member includes a portion which extends above an upper surface portion of the footpiece to provide a check against the sliding of a foot off the footpiece in the direction of the length of the footpiece.

Preferably the footpiece is a metal pressing and is generally of U-shape in cross-section for at least a portion of its length, having upwardly extending parallel or substantially parallel limbs. The free ends of the limbs preferably are configured as gripping formations, e.g. serrations, to enhance grip of a foot when standing upon the footpiece.

Alternatively the footpiece may be generally of inverted U-shape in cross-section for at least a portion of its length, having limbs extending downwardly from a web portion. In this casse the upwardly presented surface of the web portion may be roughened or otherwise provided with grip-enhancing formations.

Preferably the footpiece is adapted to be fastened to a pole by having two flange portions which extend in opposite directions circumferentially of the pole and may be secured to the pole by fasteners extending through apertures in such flange portions.

The outermost end portion of the footpiece may include wall portions (which are continuations of the limbs of the U-section of the footpiece) which are spaced from one another with an engaging portion of the support member received therebetween, or else are adjacent one another in which case the support member may have an opening through which they extend.

In either embodiment, preferably the footpiece has notches or like formations with which the support member cooperates to hold it in the correct relative position with regard to the footpiece.

As compared with known pole steps as described above, a pole step in accordance with the invention has the advantage that both the footpiece and the support member may be designed having regard to strength and economy in use of material without any constraint imposed by the requirement on the pole step to be made in a single piece. Particularly, it may be possible to manufacture both the footpiece and support member from thinner metal such as sheet steel than has been used hitherto. For example, it may be possible to use sheet steel of 4mm thickness or possibly even 3mm, as compared with 6mm which has been used for previously known steps.

Further, the provision of a separate support member enables the pole steps to be packed for despatch to their users in the dismantled condition. In this condition, they require less packing space.

The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figures 1 and 2 are respectively a side elevation and plan view of a first embodiment of pole step in accordance with the invention; Figures 3 and 4 are respectively side elevation and plan view of a further embodiment of pole step in accordance with the invention.

Figure 5 is a side elevation of part of yet a further embodiment of pole step in accordance with the invention.

Referring firstly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the pole step there illustrated comprises the principal components of a footpiece indicated generally at 10 and a support member indicated generally at 11. Both the footpiece and support member are made of sheet metal such as steel by appropriate stamping, pressing and like operations, the thickness of the metal being suitable to enable the step, when in use, satisfactorily to bear the weight of a person and any equipment that may be in use by the person when using the step to afford access to the upper part of a pole. By way of example only, such thickness may, in the case of steel, be 3mm or 4mm. The footpiece and support member preferably are provided, after manufacture, with a corrosion resistant coating, e.g. they may be galvanised.

The footpiece 10 has a central portion which is of U-shape in crosssection having upstanding limbs 12, 13 joined by a curved web 14 at their lower edges. It will be noted that the web 14 has drain holes 15 so that in use water cannot accumulate therein. At one end of the central part of the footpiece, the limbs 12, 13 are separated from one another and bent in opposite directions away from one another to form attachment flanges 16, 17 respectively oriented to lie substantially tangentially to a pole of typical diameter with which the step is intended to be used. The flanges 16, 17 have apertures for receiving fasteners such as screws for holding the footpiece to the pole, such aperture being shown at 18 in Figure 1 for the flange 17.At the opposite end of the footpiece 10, the limbs 12, 13 extend into spaced walls 19, 20 not joined by a web as 14 and spaced from one another by a greater distance than the limbs 12, 13.

The upper edges of the limbs 12, 13 and part of the upper edges of the walls 19, 20 are provided with serrated formations 21 to afford a grip for a person standing on the step.

The support member 11 comprises a substantially straight portion 25 which may be pressed to an arcuate cross-sectional shape or provided with a reinforcing rib as indicated at 26 to increase its rigidity. At its lower end the support member has an inclined flange 27 oriented to lie against the surface of a pole and provided with an aperture for receiving a fastener for securing it to the pole. At its upper end, the support member has a waisted portion 28 whose width is such as to fit tightly between and be gripped by the walls 19, 20 when therebetween.Beyond the waisted portion 28, the support member has a portion 29 which is inclined to the portion 25 thereof so as to be upwardly oriented when the support member is assembled with the footpiece of the step, so as to extend above the upper surface of the footpiece to prevent the foot of a user from sliding off the footpiece lengthwise thereof.

At each end of the waisted portion 29 of the support member the normal-width parts of the support member afford abutment surfaces 30, 31.

These cooperate with notches 32, 33 respectively formed in the upper and lower edges of each of the walls 19, 20. They guide the support member 11 to assume a position in which it is inclined to the footpiece as illustrated at the correct orientation, and is held in such orientation by virtue of the gripping of the waisted portion 28 of the support member between the walls 19, 20.

It is envisaged that steps as above described will be despatched to the user with the support members separate from the footpieces, enabling more convenient packing thereof. The user will introduce the waisted portion 28 of the support member between the walls 19, 20 of the footpiece and manipulate it until it reaches the illustrated position whereupon the step is ready for use.

Referring now to Figures 3 and 4 of the drawings, these illustrate a step which is similar in many respects to that illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 and the following description will therefore be confined to the differences between the embodiments. Instead of the spaced walls 19, 20 the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4 has walls 40, 41 which are bent so as to lie in face-to-face contact with one another. Instead of the waisted portion 28, the support member has an aperture 42 through which the walls 40, 41 extend.The walls 40, 41 have notches which engage with the boundaries of the aperture 42 in the direction of the length of the support member to guide the support member to the orientation relative to the footpiece shown in Figure 3, and the dimensions of the aperture 42 are such that after assembly of the step prior to its application to a pole the step remains in condition ready for use.

Figure 3 further shows that the support member may adjacent its lower flange have a reinforcing rib as indicated in broken lines at 43.

As compared with the embodiment of Figures 1 and 2, the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4 has the advantage that the walls 40, 41 are constrained by their engagement with the support member against spreading away from one another. Further, they do not afford an opening in which the fingers of a person using the step as a handhold might get trapped.

Referring finally now to Figure 5 of the drawings, this shows part of yet a further embodiment of a pole step in accordance with the invention. It is similar in many respects to the embodiment of Figures 3 and 4, in that the footpiece has, at its free end, wall portions as indicated at 50 which lie in face to face contact with one another and extend through an aperture in the support member 51. The support member 51 is the same as the support member shown in Figures 3 and 4, and will not therefore be described in greater detail.

The footpiece in Figure 5 further comprises a portion indicated generally at 52 in which it is of inverted U-shape in cross-section, comprising a web whose upper surface is indicated at 53 and spaced parallel limbs one of which is visible at 54 and which extend downwardly from the web. The limbs at 54 are provided with attachment flanges as above described. The upwardly presented surface 53 of the web is provided with gripping formations e.g.

indentations 55 to enhance grip of a person standing on the step.

As compared with the previously described embodiments, the embodiment of Figure 5 has an advantage in that there is no possibility of dirt or water lying in its inverted U-shaped portion. It is not necessary to provide drain holes in the web portion thereof. There is no danger of the fingers of a person using the step as a hand hold becoming trapped in the U-section portion of the footpiece.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the following claims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific forms or in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or a method or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate, may, separately or in any combination of such features, be utilised for realising the invention in diverse forms thereof.

Claims

1. A pole step comprising: a footpiece, adapted to be connected to a pole by fastening means and to extend outwardly from the pole for providing a foot support; a separate support member engaging the footpiece at a position spaced (in use) from the pole and adapted to be fastened to the pole at a position spaced beneath the footpiece, for supporting the footpiece.

2. A pole step according to Claim 1 wherein the support member engages the footpiece adjacent its end remote from the pole in use, and extends at an inclination to the footpiece.

3. A pole step according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the support member includes a portion which extends above an upper surface portion of the footpiece to provide a check against the sliding of a foot off the footpiece in the direction of the length of the footpiece.

4. A pole step according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the footpiece is a metal pressing and is generally of U-shape in cross-section for at least a portion of its length, having upwardly extending parallel or substantially parallel limbs.

5. A pole step according to Claim 4 wherein the free ends of the limbs are configured as gripping formations, e.g. serrations, for enhancing grip of a foot when standing upon the footpiece.

6. A pole step according to any one of Claims 1 to 3 wherein the footpiece is generally of inverted U-shape in cross-section for at least a portion of its length, having limbs extending downwardly from a web portion.

7. A pole step according to Claim 6 wherein the upwardly presented surface of the web portion is roughened or otherwise provided with gripenhancing formations.

8. A pole step according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the footpiece is adapted to be fastened to a pole by having two flange portions which extend in opposite directions circumferentially of the pole, to receive fasteners extending through apertures in such flange portions.

9. A pole step according to any one of the preceding claims wherein outermost end portion of the footpiece includes wall portions which are spaced from one another with an engaging portion of the support member received therebetween.

10. A pole step according to any one of Claims 1 to 8 wherein the outermost end portion of the footpiece includes wall portions adjacent one another, the support member having an opening through which they extend.

11. A pole step according to Claim 9 or Claim 10 wherein the footpiece has notches or like formations with which the support member cooperates to hold it in the correct relative position with regard to the footpiece.

12. A pole step substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

13. Any novel feature or novel combination of features described herein and/or in the accompanying drawings.