GB2373815A

GB2373815A - Ladder roof hook

Info

Publication number: GB2373815A
Application number: GB0104276A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Ashley Roberts
Original assignee: GIZMOTECH UK Ltd
Current assignee: GIZMOTECH UK Ltd
Priority date: 2001-02-21
Filing date: 2001-02-21
Publication date: 2002-10-02
Anticipated expiration: 2021-02-21
Also published as: GB2373815B; GB2374113B; GB2374113A; GB0104276D0; GB0120427D0

Abstract

A ladder roof hook 1 is connected pivotably at the top of a ladder 2 so that it can support the ladder 2 stably, when not perpendicular to a roof ridge, e.g. when working in a roof valley.

Description

ROOF LADDERS AND ROOF HOOKS

This invention is to do with ladders and particularly to ladders with roof hook assemblies. This invention is in particular related to improving the safety of roof ladders.

Roof ladders are simply conventional ladders with roof hooks attached either permanently or removably to one end which enable these ladders to be hooked onto the ridge of a roof to keep the ladder from sliding down the roof. Conventional roof ladders are convenient to use when gaining access to the main slope of the roof.

However, problems arise when work needs to be done on corners and awkward multi-sloped regions of the roof, especially at valley or hipped positions i. e. regions where slopes of the roof meet. To gain access to these regions one may lay the roof ladder flat on the main slope of the roof as close as possible to the intersection and then lean across. This dangerous procedure may sometimes result in access to only part of the intersecting slopes and may allow tasks such as painting to be performed. For more detailed jobs such as tiling and disc cutting, close access is required to these difficult areas. Builders sometimes achieve this in a valley by arranging several ladders of decreasing lengths adjacent to each other, all on the same slope.

The builder then gains access along the valley by moving from one ladder to the other. This is difficult and

unsafe especially if a lot of equipment is being carried.

A third method employed to gain access to intersecting slopes is by tilting a roof ladder sideways, so that it hangs down non-perpendicularly from the ridge and can be moved further into the valley. However, only one side of the roof hook then makes contact with the ridge of the roof. This gives an extremely unstable arrangement in which application of weight pulls the ladder out of position and leads to the roof hook damaging the tiles on the other side of the ridge. This is worse in wet conditions.

The present invention provides a ladder connected to a roof hook by a connection which allows the roof hook to be angled sideways relative to the line of the ladder.

Preferably the connection allows for this angular adjustment over a range of operational angles.

Preferably also the angle between the ladder and the roof hook can be locked at angles selected in this range.

Most conveniently the connection is a pivot connection between a connecting portion of the roof hook and a connecting portion which is part of or is adapted to be secured to the ladder.

In the usual way, the roof hook generally has an engagement locus-for engaging on the top and/or other side of the roof ridge-that is distributed along the ridge direction so that the roof hook has a single stable orientation relative to the ridge when in place. Thus, the roof hook may have plural hook portions spaced apart,

and/or a longitudinal bar on the end of a hook part that extends over the ridge.

The consequence of this is that the roof hook can assume its proper orientation relative to the ridge, and so minimise the likely damage to the roof there, while at the same time the ladder can be angled sideways to extend non-perpendicularly down from the ridge e. g. alongside the intersection between two sloping parts of a roof such as a valley or hipped portion.

Usually the top of the ladder requires adaptation to form one side of the adjustable-angle connection. This may be by means of e. g. a connector body which is permanently or releasable securable across the face of the ladder, and faces a corresponding connector body of the roof hook. Preferably these bodies are shaped to engage each other or the pivoting connection between them is such that their relative rotational movement is guided in essentially one plane. Locking means may be provided engageable between these connector bodies to hold them at any one of a selected range of available angular orientations e. g. between 0 and 45 degrees. The adjustment may or may not be continuous. One means of adjustment is a locking connector on one connecting body which is engageable with the other connecting body at any one of a range of angular positions thereof relative to the pivot point. This might be for example a series of holes in a plate through which a locking fastener on the other body can pass. Perhaps more convenient is to have

opposed plates with contoured surfaces which when the plates are brought together interlock with one another to prevent relative rotation, whereas when the plates are allowed to move apart e. g. by loosening at the pivot connection, the plates can be turned relative to one another to the desired angle.

The roof hook arrangement may be provided as a permanent part of the ladder or as a roof hook assembly attachable to an existing ladder which may in itself be conventional. This roof hook assembly will comprise the hook portions and the two relatively adjustable connector bodies according to any of the above proposals, with means for attaching the first connector body to the top of the ladder e. g. by side bolts to engage the stiles of the ladder, or a fixing plate or U-bolts to fasten to the top rungs.

The roof hook assembly may comprise one or more wheels directed oppositely to the hook portion (s) as is conventional, so that it can be run up to the ridge without damaging the roof.

Another aspect herein is a ladder attachment comprising one or more laterally-directed feet on the end of one or more laterally-extending legs which are securable to a ladder e. g. by bolting to one of its stiles, or by one or more leg portions passing through open rungs and being locked in lateral position. The usefulness of this attachment is in working in the valley of a roof with a roof ladder running up the valley non

perpendicularly to the ridge, as described above. Although the roof hook may engage the ridge properly with the ladder angled provided that a roof hook arrangement as described above is used, there is still a tendency for the ladder to slide under the user's weight in an attempt to run down the steepest slope i. e. perpendicularly to the ridge. A ladder attachment as described here can be secured to extend laterally from a lower part of the ladder and for its foot or feet to engage the counterslope to the other side of the valley so that the run of the ladder is maintained at a spacing from the angle of the valley. This means that a worker can work on the angle of the valley all the way down the ladder without the distance changing. Of course, the fixing of the ladder attachment is preferably adjustable to allow adjustment of the extent of lateral extension.

A further and separate aspect of the present invention, although it may be used in conjunction with a ladder having a roof hook as set out above, relates to ladder arrangements for use on hipped roofs i. e. where the intersection between two sloping roof areas is a sloping ridge rather than a sloping valley.

In this aspect we propose that in order to work on the hipped ridge of a roof, two ladders are connected side-by-side, preferably substantially parallel, but turned towards each other so that they can lie on the mutually angled roof surfaces to either side of the ridge. Generally at least one of these roof areas will

have a horizontal ridge run at the top, and a roof hook e. g. as described above can be used to hold one of the ladders in place. The second ladder is then held in position to the other side of the sloping ridge, even though there may be no top ridge to which it could itself be hooked.

To this end, this aspect of the invention provides a ladder connection arrangement comprising one or more transverse frame elements providing longitudinally-spaced connection points for the two ladders, and with the connection points preferably relatively angled to either side of the frame so as to hold the two ladders rigidly in a condition turned towards each other as mentioned above.

Typically the connecting frame has plural transversely-extending braces and these are preferably arched to leave a working clearance over the sloping ridge.

Because one ladder will typically be held up on the roof via its connection to the other, it is preferred that the frame connectors are cross-braced relative to one another because this provides greater structural rigidity with less weight. A preferred embodiment has pairs of arched transverse frame members connected at a central cross over point and with connector clamps or other fastening arrangements at their ends and adjoined to the rungs or stiles of the two ladders. In virtue of this arrangement is its versatility, since the

longitudinal spacing between the fasteners on each side is easily adjusted to suit a given ladder, with only a minor consequential change in the lateral spacing of the two ladders.

There now follows a detailed description of various embodiments of the present invention, with reference to the drawings.

Fig. l : A perspective view of a conventional ladder coupled to a roof hook.

Fig. 2: Front view of the roof hook.

Fig. 3: Perspective view of a second embodiment.

Fig. 4: Schematic view showing use of a lateral stay.

Fig. l shows a possible way of attaching a roof hook 1 to a conventional ladder 2. In this embodiment the roof hook 1 comprises two elongate side members 3 and 4, both of which terminate into a hook-like structure 6. The terminating end of each hook 6 of the side frame members 3 and 4 is a transverse rod 8 which has sock-like covering 9 on both its ends. This covering is usually of some resilient rubber or plastic material. The rod 8 with its covering 9 provides a stable lodging means for the roof hook. Each side frame member (3,4) of the roof hook features a bracket 7 attached to it on the elongate section of the side frame members 3,4 behind the hook like termination. This bracket is attached by means of one or more nut and bolt connections 10. The bracket 7 is so arranged that any feature attached to this bracket will be orientated in a direction that is opposite to

that of the direction of the hook 6. A wheel 11 is affixed to the tip of each bracket by means of a screw 12. This wheel is used for sliding the ladder 2 up onto the sloping surface of the roof and prevents the ladder 2 from scratching and sliding on the surface of the slope whilst the ladder is being set up.

The upper connector 13 is connected to the ladder 2 and in this embodiment the upper connector 13 is attached to the transverse side members 15 and 16 of the ladder which are in turn connected on either end to the side frame members 17 and 18 of the ladder. The upper connector 13 lies below the transverse frame member 15 and 16 and in between the side frame members 17,18 and the upper connector 13 and transverse frame members 15 and 16 associate with each other by means of nut and bolt connections. Shoulders 19,20 lie transversely across the transverse frame member 16, the side frame member having one shoulder at either end. Each end of the shoulder 19 has an aperture which is coaxial with an underlying aperture in the upper connector 13. A similar set of apertures are located at both ends of the shoulder 20 which also correspond to underlying apertures in the upper connector 13. Bolts 21,22, 23,24 are inserted into each aperture of the shoulders 19 and 20. These bolts connect the shoulders 19,20 to the upper connector and in doing so also attach the upper connector 13 to the transverse member 16 of the ladder 2. The connections in this case are fastened with wing nuts 24,25, 26,27, which

when fastened to the bolts come in contact with washers 28, 29, 30, 31 that are interposed between the wing nuts 24,25, 26,27 and the apertures of the shoulders. The upper connector 13 is also connected to the transverse side frame member 15 of the ladder 2. Here, the leading edge 32 of the upper connector 13 in contact with the transverse member 15 folds over and partially covers the transverse member 15 along its length. In addition to folding over the transverse member 15 the leading edge 32 of the upper connector 32 is affixed to the transverse member by two connection points 33,34 each comprising an aperture in the upper connector close to its folded leading edge coaxially arranged with an underlying aperture in the transverse members 15. The connection points 33,34 are located at either end of the transverse member 15 and the folded edge 32 of the upper connector 13. Bolts passing through both connecting points 33 and 34 connect the transverse member 13 to the folded over edge 32 of the upper connector 13, and wing nuts 35,36 secure these bolts in place. The wing nuts 35 and 36 communicate with the folder over edge of the upper connector 13 by way of washers 37 and 38.

The upper connector 13 features a centrally located aperture 39 (a) that is coaxial with an underlying aperture 39 (b) of the lower connector 14.

The arrangement of the roof ladder is shown in Fig 2. The upper connector 13 and the lower connector 14 although held together by fastening mechanisms passing

through apertures 39 (a) and 39 (b) do not make contact with each other.

A set of nylon discs 43 separate the upper and lower connector 13 and 14. These discs comprise centrally located apertures that are not only coaxial with each other but are also coaxial with the apertures 39 and 39 (b).

A bolt 40 passes through the apertures 39,39 (b) and through those of the discs 43 thus sandwiching these components together. The bolt is held in place by a wing nut 44 which when screwed onto the bolt connects to a washer 42 interposed between the wing nut 44 and the aperture 39 of the upper connector 13. Once the ladder is pivoted at a certain angle with respect to the roof hook, it is locked in this position by tightening of wing nut and bolt connections 48 and 49, which extend between the upper connector 13 and the lower connector 14.

When the roof ladder 2 of the above embodiment is arranged non-perpendicularly to the ridge, it is prevented from slipping by means of lateral stay that is attached to the lower half of the ladder (Fig 4).

Another embodiment of the present invention is useful when doing work on ridges of roofs (Fig 3). This comprises a ladder 2 rotatably attached to the roof hook 1. The roof hook 1 is attached to the ridge of the roof with the ladder positioned at an angle to this roof hook. In this particular embodiment the ladder 2 is attached by means of arched bracing connectors 46 to another ladder 45. The connectors 46 are arranged in pairs. Each end of the connectors 46 are attached to the rungs of the ladders 2 and 45 by way of a holding bracket 47 that clasps onto the rung.

Each pair of connectors 46 forms a cross-shaped connection between the ladders 2 and 45. This embodiment enables the worker to work on the sloping ridges of the roof by placing one foot on each ladder.

Claims

CLAIMS : 1. A ladder roof hook having a ladder connection providing for the roof hook to be angled sideways relative to the line of the ladder.
2. A ladder roof hook according to claim 1 in which the ladder connection provides for the sideways angle of the roof hook to be adjusted over a range of operational angles.
3. A ladder roof hook according to claim 2 in which the ladder connection provides for the angle to lock at different angles in the range.
4. A ladder roof hook according to any one of the preceding claims in which the roof hook has a roof ridge engagement locus adapted for a single stable operational orientation relative to the ridge.
5. A ladder roof hook according to any one of the preceding claims in which the roof hook has plural hook portions spaced apart.
6. A ladder roof hook according to any one of the preceding claims in which the ladder connection includes a connection body securable fixedly to the ladder and a further connection body securable fixedly to the roof hook, the connection bodies being relatively rotatably coupled.