GB2416800A

GB2416800A - Ladder stabilisation

Info

Publication number: GB2416800A
Application number: GB0416839A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Simon Anthony Whittle
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-07-28
Filing date: 2004-07-28
Publication date: 2006-02-08
Also published as: GB0416839D0

Abstract

A stay 10 for securing a ladder to a wall comprises a rigid arm capable of being attached to an anchorage 39 at one end and capable of being attached to a ladder at the other end 18: the arm is extendable and can be tensioned in use. As shown, the arm may be tensioned by means of a trigger arrangement 13 which causes rod 11 to slide into sheath 12 after attaching hook 36 to a wall and hook 18 to the ladder. A bridge arrangement for use at the ladder end comprises a threaded rod which passes through a ladder rung and has threaded nuts at each end to tighten it, a hook such as 18 being trapped between these nuts and further threaded nuts, which may be resiliently deformable.

Description

1 2416800 Ladder Stabilisation

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the stabilization of ladders when in use. More particularly, the invention provides a ladder stay and means for securing the stay to a ladder.

Background of the Invention

Various ways have been disclosed for securing a ladder to a structure which is being accessed using the ladder e.g. a wall on the side of a building or an outdoor advertising billboard. For example, the ladder may be tied to the wall by a rope or strap attached to the stile on each side of the ladder to prevent it slipping.

A problem associated with known means of securing ladders in this way is the time taken to secure the ladder and to release it after use.

The present invention overcomes or at least mitigates this problem by providing a ladder stay that can be easily and quickly deployed and disconnected after use.

Brief summary of the Invention

In one aspect the invention provides a ladder stay for securing a ladder to a wall comprising a rigid arm having means enabling attachment of the arm to an anchorage at one end of the arm and means enabling attachment of the arm to the ladder at the other end of the arm wherein the arm is extendable and comprises means to tension the arm when in use.

In accordance with another aspect of the invention there is provided means for securing a ladder stay to a ladder comprising a rigid bridge for bridging the stiles of a ladder, means for securing the bridge to each stile of the ladder and means at each end of the bridge enabling attachment of a ladder stay.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a ladder stay in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic side elevation of the stay of Figure 1 in use.

Figure 3 is a schematic front elevation of the stay of Figure l in use.

Figure 4 is a side elevation showing in detail the attachment of the stay to a wall.

Figure 5 is a schematic view showing means for securing a ladder stay to a ladder in accordance with the invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

The ladder stay of the invention comprises a rigid extendable arm having means to tension the arm when in use. It also comprises at one end of the arm means enabling attachment of the arm to an anchorage e.g. to a structure against which the ladder is being secured such as a wall or billboard, or to an adjacent structure. At the other end of the arm, means enabling attachment of the arm to the ladder is provided.

The rigid extendable arm may take any form capable of being tensioned. For example, the arm may comprise two elongate members that slide relative to each other and that can be locked together under tension. For example, the members may l 0 be two adjacent rods, two adjacent or concentric tubes, or a rod within a tube.

Once each end of the stay is attached, tensioning of the stay may be achieved by any known means e.g. by advancing one elongate member relative to the other in order to shorten their combined length and locking the members together. Suitable means include the use of a threaded rod or tube having a threaded outer collar that can be turned to provide the tensioning. Alternatively, a ratchet system could be employed.

Preferably, the extendable arm comprises a rod mounted within a tube, the rod being movable longitudinally of itself with its longitudinal axis coinciding with or substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tube; and means for advancing the rod longitudinally of itself into the tube.

The stay may comprise a stock formed by a single generally flat plate; the tube projecting from one edge of the stock and the rod being mounted in the stock.

The rod may be mounted in the stock by being engaged on each side by at least one bridge bounded by edges generally perpendicular to the axis of the rod and by ends which merge into the remainder of the stock.

A bridge on one side of the rod may be displaced from the plane of the stock in one direction and a bridge on the other side of the stock may be displaced from the plane of stock in the opposite direction.

Preferably, the means for advancing the rod longitudinally of itself comprises a movable one-way gripper arranged for reciprocation longitudinally of the rod and arranged to tilt relative to the axis of the rod between a rod-gripping position on the forward stroke of reciprocation of the gripper to advance the rod and a rod-release position on the rearward stroke of reciprocation of the gripper to return without moving the rod.

The gripper may comprise a plate member through which the rod passes having an aperture which is slightly larger than the cross section of the rod, said plate member being located in an aperture in the stock.

A trigger may be pivotally mounted on the stock, the trigger having an actuating end which bears against the rearward side of the gripper.

Preferably, the stock includes a butt extending generally transverse to the axis of the rod and the trigger, in the pulled condition, extends alongside the butt.

A spring biased catch may be provided at the rear of the stock to prevent the rod from being moved rearwardly when the trigger is released so that by pulling and releasing the trigger a plurality of times the rod can be advanced in a succession of forward steps.

It will be appreciated that the means enabling attachment of the arm to an anchorage may take any known form. Typically, it will be one part of a two part coupling combination such as a hook and loop or a push fit combination. Various systems may be employed using such parts as a rope, belt, cable, strap or chain. In a preferred embodiment, the means enabling attachment of the arm to an anchorage is a hook and the anchorage is an eyebolt.

Preferably, the means enabling attachment of the arm to an anchorage comprises a hook attached to the end of the tube. A metal hook welded to a metal

tube is suitable.

Similarly, the means enabling attachment of the arm to the ladder at the other end of the arm may take any known form. Typically, it will be one part of a two part coupling combination such as a hook and loop or a push fit combination. Various systems may be employed using such parts as a rope, belt, cable, strap or chain.

Preferably, the ladder stay is provided with a hook, an eyebolt or a strap.

The means enabling attachment of the arm to the ladder may include means capable of attachment of the arm to the ladder, said means allowing at least some vertical and lateral rotation of the arm about its point of attachment to the ladder.

Preferably, the means capable of attachment of the arm to the ladder comprises a rigid bridge for bridging the stiles of a ladder, means for securing the bridge to each stile of the ladder and means at each end of the bridge enabling attachment of the ladder stay. In a preferred embodiment, the bridge is suitable for passing through the hollow rung of a ladder or for passing through holes in the stiles of the ladder so that the arm is substantially parallel to a rung.

The means at each end of the bridge enabling attachment of a ladder stay may comprise a loop, a hook, a hinge, a universal joint or a buckle The bridge may be a rod of circular cross section threaded at each end and having a threaded securing means at each end to secure the rod to the stiles of the ladder.

Each securing means may be shaped to ingress into the open end of a hollow rung of the ladder. In a preferred embodiment, each securing means is substantially spherical in shape. Advantageously, at least the part of such securing means that ingresses into the open end of a hollow rung of the ladder when in use is made of a resilient material.

An additional substantially spherical securing means may be provided at each end of the rod positioned against the securing means securing the rod to the stiles of the ladder. In this embodiment, the means enabling attachment of the arm of the ladder stay to the ladder may be a swan neck hook positioned between the securing means securing the rod to the stiles of the ladder and the additional securing means.

The means for securing a ladder stay to a ladder comprising a rigid bridge for bridging the stiles of a ladder, means for securing the bridge to each stile of the ladder and means at each end of the bridge enabling attachment of a ladder stay, as described above, may be provided separately from the ladder stay.

A particularly preferred embodiment of the invention is described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Figure I shows a ladder stay 10 in accordance with the invention. In this embodiment, the rigid arm of the stay comprises a metal rod 1 1 and a metal tube 12.

The means to tension the arm when in use is provided by a trigger handled device 13 capable of pulling the rod into the tube and locking it in position.

The tensioning device comprises a stock 14 which can be made of a single metal plate cut and formed in a single stamping operation. The stock has a rectangular aperture open at one end that accommodates the tube 12. The arms of the stock 15,16 either side of the aperture are welded to diametrically opposed sides of the tube 12.

The rod I I is mounted on the stock 14 for movement longitudinally of itself and with its axis coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the tube 12. At the end of the rod inside the tube 12 is a circlip 17 while the other end is formed as a swan hook 18 by which the stay may be attached to fixing means on the ladder as described below.

The stock 14 has a large central aperture 19. On either side ofthe aperture 19 are slits to form four bridges 20, 21, 22 and 23. The outer bridges 20 and 23 are deformed out of the general plane of the stock 14 towards the viewer, while the bridges 21 and 22 are deformed out of the general plane of the stock 14 towards the viewer.

The rod 11 passes through the slits so that the rod is supported on one side by the bridges 20 and 23, while it is supported on the other side by the bridges 21 and 22 both of which lie between the bridges 20 and 23. In this way the rod is mounted for longitudinal movement.

The rod can be moved incrementally by a mechanism comprising a gripper plate 24 having an opening through which the rod passes and which is only slightly larger than the rod. The gripper plate 24 is guided by the aperture 19 and is biased to the right by a compression spring 25 surrounding the rod 11. The gripper plate 24 can be tilted and advanced by means of a trigger 26 pivoted on the stock 14 by a rivet 27, the trigger having an actuating end 28 to engage the gripper plate 24. The trigger 26 may be made of the same sheet metal as the stock 14 and may be produced in the same stamping operation. The stock 14 has an integral butt portion 29 which extends downwardly and generally perpendicularly to the axis of the rod 11 and, when the trigger is pulled, the trigger lies generally alongside the butt portion 29. The edges of the trigger 26 and of the butt portion 29 which are engaged by the fingers and palm of an operator have protective plastics channels 30 and 31 which are retained thereon by the resilience of the plastics and/or by an adhesive.

Return travel of the rod l 1 is normally prevented by a catch 32 which is an apertured plate similar to the gripper plate 24 and is biased to the rod 11 by a spring 33, its upper edge being trapped by a nose 34 on the stock 14.

At the end of the tube 12 remote from the stock 14, a metal rod 35 terminating in a hook 36 is welded to the outer surface of the tube, the longitudinal axis of the rod being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tube and the hook being at a distance from the end of the tube.

For convenience, both the rod 11 and the tube 12 are shown as broken in the drawing. In practice, the length of the rod 11 is slightly shorter than the combined length of the tube 12 and hook 36.

Use of the ladder stay shown in Figure 1 may be seen by way of schematic illustration in Figures 2 and 3. A detailed view of the attachment of the stay to the wall is shown in figure 4.

Before deployment, the rod 11 is generally retracted as far as possible into the tube 12 in order to minimise the overall size of the stay. In use, the swan hook end 18 of the ladder stay 10 is attached to a stile of a ladder 37 which has been positioned against a wall 38 ready to be secured. With the trigger 26 released, the catch plate 32 is depressed by a thumb and the stay is extended by pushing the butt portion 29 away with the palm of the hand from the swan hook end 18 so that the tubel2 slides over the rod 11 until the hook 36 reaches a point of attachment on the wall e.g. an eyeball 39 into which it is hooked. A similar operation can be performed simultaneously using a second ladder stay I Oa attached to the other stile of the ladder. The stays are preferably attached to the ladder at shoulder to head height when the ladder is erect.

Once the stay has been loosely attached to the wall, the rod 11 is then advanced into the tube 12 by successively squeezing and releasing the trigger 26.

This action shortens the stay and puts it under tension holding the ladder firmly against the wall.

Thus, an operator can very easily and quickly secure a ladder to a wall while standing at the bottom of the ladder and, using one hand either side of the ladder, locate and tighten a stay to the wall on each side of the ladder.

Releasing the stay is also achieved easily and quickly. By depressing the catch plate 32, the rod 11 is released and the tension in the stay is removed. The hook 36 is taken out of the eyeball and, if necessary, the stay and ladder disconnected.

A preferred means for securing the ladder stay to a ladder is shown schematically in Figure 5. It comprises a bridge in the form of a rod 51 that passes through the hollow rung 52 of a ladder from one stile 53 of the ladder to the other stile, not shown. The rod has a threaded end 54 extending beyond the stile 53. A threaded spherically shaped nut 55 is tightened against the stile 53 to secure the bridge to the ladder. The nut has a rubber exterior and ingresses into the hollow end of the rung 52 ensuring a good fit. A second spherically shaped nut 56 is tightened on the end of the rod 51 against nut 55. The end of a swan neck hook 57 is shown between nuts 55 and 56.

The swan neck hook is attached to a ladder stay which is not shown. The swan neck hook has dimensions such that it is held between the nuts 55 and 56 while allowing at least some vertical and lateral rotation of the am, of the ladder stay about its point of attachment to the ladder.

In use, the rod 51 is passed through a hollow rung 52 of the ladder, preferably at shoulder to head height when the ladder is erect. When centralised in the rung, only the threaded ends of the rod are visible protruding from each stile of the ladder.

A nut is wound onto the threaded rod on each side of the ladder and tightened to secure the rod to the ladder. A second nut is then wound onto the threaded rod on each side of the ladder. Once fitted, the means for securing the ladder stay to a ladder can be left attached to the ladder for convenience.

A ladder stay having a swan neck hook for attachment to the ladder can be attached to the ladder very quickly. The outer nut at each end of the rod 51 is loosened to allow the hook to be hooked over the rod. The gap between the end of the swan neck hook and the body of the hook is preferably only slightly greater than the diameter of the rod. By tightening the outer nut against the inner nut on the rod, the hook is prevented from being removed while the ladder stay can be moved up or down and from side to side to enable the far end of the ladder stay to locate its anchorage.

Claims

I. A ladder stay for securing a ladder to a wall comprising a rigid arm having means enabling attachment of the arm to an anchorage at one end of the arm and means enabling attachment of the arm to the ladder at the other end of the arm wherein the arm is extendable and comprises means to tension the arm when in use.
2. A ladder stay according to claim I wherein the extendable arm comprises a rod mounted within a tube, the rod being movable longitudinally of itself with its longitudinal axis coinciding with or substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tube; and means for advancing the rod longitudinally of itself into the tube.
3. A ladder stay according to claim 2 comprising a stock formed by a single generally flat plate; the tube projecting from one edge of the stock and the rod being mounted in the stock.
4. A ladder stay according to claim 3 wherein the rod is mounted in the stock by being engaged on each side by at least one bridge bounded by edges generally perpendicular to the axis of the rod and by ends which merge into the remainder of the stock.
5. A ladder stay according to claim 4 wherein a bridge on one side of the rod is displaced from the plane of the stock in one direction and a bridge on the other side of the stock is displaced from the plane of stock in the opposite direction.
6. A ladder stay according to any one of claims 3 to 5 wherein the means for advancing the rod longitudinally of itself comprises a movable oneway gripper arranged for reciprocation longitudinally of the rod and arranged to tilt relative to the axis of the rod between a rod-gripping position on the forward stroke of reciprocation of the gripper to advance the rod and a rod-release position on the rearward stroke of reciprocation of the gripper to return without moving the rod.
7. A ladder stay according to claim 6 wherein the gripper comprises a plate member through which the rod passes having an aperture which is slightly larger than the cross section of the rod, said plate member being located in an aperture in the stock.
8. A ladder stay according to claim 6 or 7 comprising a trigger pivotally mounted on the stock, the trigger having an actuating end which bears against the rearward side of the gripper.
9. A ladder stay according to claim 8 wherein the stock includes a butt extending generally transverse to the axis of the rod and the trigger, in the pulled condition, extends alongside the butt.
10. A ladder stay according to claim 8 or claim 9 wherein a spring biased catch is provided at the rear of the stock to prevent the rod from being moved rearwardly when the trigger is released so that by pulling and releasing the trigger a plurality of times the rod can be advanced in a succession of forward steps.
11. A ladder stay according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the means enabling attachment of the arm to an anchorage at one end of the arm is a hook, an eyebolt, or a strap.
12. A ladder stay according to any one of claims 2 to 10 wherein the means enabling attachment of the arm to an anchorage at one end of the arm comprises a hook attached to the end of the tube.
13. A ladder stay according to any one of the preceding claims wherein the means enabling attachment of the arm to the ladder at the other end of the arm comprises a hook, an eyebolt or a strap.
14. A ladder stay according to any one of claims 1 to 12 wherein the means enabling attachment of the arm to the ladder at the other end of the arm includes means capable of attachment of the arm to the ladder, said means allowing at least some vertical and lateral rotation of the arm about its point of attachment to the ladder.
15. A ladder stay according to claim 14 wherein the means capable of attachment of the arm to the ladder comprises a joint or hinge.
16. A ladder stay according to claim 14 or claim 15 wherein the means capable of attachment of the arm to the ladder comprises a rigid bridge for bridging the stiles of a ladder, means for securing the bridge to each stile of the ladder and means at each end of the bridge enabling attachment of a ladder stay.
17. A ladder stay according to claim 16 wherein the bridge is suitable for passing through the hollow rung of a ladder or for passing through holes in the stiles of the ladder so that the arm is substantially parallel to a rung.
18. A ladder stay according to claims 7 wherein the bridge is a rod of circular cross section threaded at each end and having a threaded securing means at each end to secure the rod to the stiles of the ladder.
19. A ladder stay according to claim 18 wherein each securing means is shaped to ingress into the open end of a hollow rung of the ladder.
20. A ladder stay according to claim 19 wherein each securing means is substantially spherical in shape.
21. A ladder stay according to claim 20 wherein at least the part of the securing means shaped to ingress into the open end of a hollow rung of the ladder is made of a resilient material.
22. A ladder stay according to claim 20 or claim 21 comprising an additional substantially spherical securing means at each end of the rod positioned against the securing means securing the rod to the stiles of the ladder.
23. A ladder stay according to claim 22 wherein the means enabling attachment of the arm of the ladder stay to the ladder is a swan neck hook positioned between the securing means securing the rod to the stiles of the ladder and the additional securing means.
24. Means for securing a ladder stay to a ladder comprising a rigid bridge for bridging the stiles of a ladder, means for securing the bridge to each stile of the ladder and means at each end of the bridge enabling attachment of a ladder stay.
25. Means according to claim 24 wherein the bridge is suitable for passing through the hollow rung of a ladder or for passing through holes in the stiles of the ladder so that the bridge is substantially parallel to a rung
26. Means for securing a ladder stay to a ladder according to claim 25 wherein the means at each end of the arm enabling attachment of a ladder stay comprises a loop, a hook, a hinge, a universal joint or a buckle
27. Means for securing a ladder stay to a ladder according to claim 25 wherein the bridge is a rod of circular cross section threaded at each end and having a threaded securing means at each end to secure the rod to the stiles of the ladder.
28. Means for securing a ladder stay to a ladder according to claim 27 wherein each securing means is shaped to ingress into the open end of a hollow rung of the ladder.
29. Means for securing a ladder stay to a ladder according to claim 28 wherein each securing means is substantially spherical in shape.
30. Means for securing a ladder stay to a ladder according to claim 28 wherein at least the part of the securing means shaped to ingress into the open end of a hollow rung of the ladder is made of a resilient material.
31. Means for securing a ladder stay to a ladder according to claim 29 or claim 30 composing an additional substantially spherical securing means at each end of the rod positioned against the securing means securing the rod to the stiles of the ladder.