US2945550A

US2945550A - Safety platform for sliding poles

Info

Publication number: US2945550A
Application number: US422329A
Authority: US
Inventors: Norman H Andreasen
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1954-04-12
Filing date: 1954-04-12
Publication date: 1960-07-19
Anticipated expiration: 1977-07-19

Description

July 19, 1960 N. H. ANDREASEN 2,945,550

SAFETY PLATFORM FOR SLIDING POLES Filed April 12, 1954 I J52 a e 72 f0 7". 'LM U TIIZan 47f a fndreasen Mtg,

2,945,550 SAFETY PLATFORM FOR SLIDING POLES Norman H. Andreasen, 5229 N. Kimball Ave, Chicago, 111.

Filed Apr. 12, 1954, Ser. No. 422,329 4 Claims. (Cl. 182-137) This invention relates to platforms for the base of sliding poles, and more particularly to'such platforms as will be highly resilient, easily removed from and replaced to its functional position, provided with a designed bottom surface to take initial shock in landing and to permit free circulation of air thereunder.

Sliding poles are generally associated with firehouses in the public mind, although they are used in many other plants and buildings where rapid descent from one floorto another is desired. Generally speaking they are upright poles extending from a base at one floor through a generally round opening in an overhead floor on which men can slide rapidly from an upper floor to a lower floor.

Men sliding down such poles strike the base floor with considerable force, depending of course upon their weight and speed of slide. If a plurality of men are using the pole in rapid succession, a person striking the base must move rapidly away to' clear it for the next man. Since men using it are often fatigued and indeed frequently arising from sleep, alertness and caution in use of the pole must sometimes be compensated for by mechanical means. It has therefore become common practice to provide cushioning means at the base of such poles which will absorb some of the shock of landing from a speedy descent. Such means have heretofore been permanent or semi-permanent installations built around the pole base and directly on the floor. Such cushioning means heretofore in use absorb and retain moisture, lose their resiliency, and often stain and damage the base floor from mildew and rot. These and numerous other deficiencies are encountered in sliding pole cushions generally in use.

My invention has for its specific objects the provision of a highly resilient platform spaced from the base floor to permit air circulation thus preventing stain and rotting from mildew and the like and at the same time providing resilient knobs to absorb initial shock, placed designedly in such locations on the bottom of the platform as to meet the greater number of landing blows without increasing the thickness of the structure throughout its area.

The many advantages and objectives of my invention will be apparent from the drawings and the following description of one highly satisfactory form of my invention.

Fig. l is a top perspective view taken from the side, showing my safety platform mounted about the base of a sliding pole;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of my safety platform;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of my invention taken along the lines 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a section of the bottom of my safety platform.

In Fig. 1, my safety platform, generally designated 20, is shown mounted on a floor 22 about the base of a sliding pole 24. As shown in this and other figures the platform comprises a generally round cushion 26, made rates Patent ice of sponge rubber or similar material and preferably having a smooth skin surface preventing water absorption. The diameter of the cushion 26 is preferably about 28 inches, and it is provided with a rounded periphery 28. I have found that this size and shape are highly desirable as large enough to absorb landing shock and yet small enough to be quickly cleared, permitting rapid departure without obstruction.

On the under side of the safety platform, and preferably molded integrally therewith and of the same material are a plurality of knobs 30. These as well as all exposed surfaces of the safety platform are preferably provided with a smooth skin surface to prevent water absorption.

The knobs 30 not only serve to space the platform from the floor permitting air circulation thereunder but are also located as to be more closely together at points of most likely impact and shock than for example at points around the outer portions of the platform. The closer crowding of the knobs at various points is indicated in the drawings as at 32 and 34 in Fig. 4 and at 36 in Fig. 3.

At the center of the platform there is provided an opening 38 to surround the sliding pole. Sliding poles vary in diameter and I have found it desirable to make the center hole at least inch larger in diameter than the pole with which it is used. A fairly common size is a 3 inch diameter pole.

Another important feature of my platform is the means for placing it about the base of the sliding pole and for easy removal therefrom. While this at first thought would appear to be an easy matter, it is complicated by the fact that an even and complete cushioning medium must be placed completely around the pole without leaving any open or dead spots which might result in opening the cushion on impact or striking a dead spot with the body resulting in impact injury. For this purpose I provide a slit radius starting in a straight line direct from the center of the platforms center hole, as at 40 and terminating in the same straight line at the periphery, as at 42. The slit, however, makes a rounding turn 44 back toward the center at an angle of about 35 for several inches then makes another rounding turn 46 to continue again toward the periphery on a line parallel to the first, proceeding for about half the radius of the platform. It then makes another rounding turn 48 at about 35 until it makes another rounding turn at the same angle to meet the path of the original slit at 50 and proceeds therealong to the periphery 42. The slit preferably does not pass through any of the supporting knobs but should receive extra support therefrom by arrangement of the supporting knobs, particularly at adjacent corners, as for example, by the

knobs

52, 54, 56, 58, 6t} and 62. While variations in the path of the slit may successfully be made, that which I have shown and described keeps the slit closed on impact, prevents it from spreading after long use, and at the same time permits ready removal and replacement of the platform for daily cleaning and the like.

The knobs or protuberances on the under side of the safety platform located adjacent the edges of the slit tend to keep the slit from separating in use by maintaining the cushion in that area in the same plane as the remainder of the cushion face and also by providing additional friction resistance at the floor or base upon which the safety platform stands.

It is desirable that a landing platform of my invention have a low overall height, preferably about 1 /2 inches or less and I have found that thickness from top surface through a knob to be very satisfactory.

It will be clear that the platform above described meets my objectives and while its precise form may be varied in particulars, I do not desire to be limited to that shown, except as defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. A safety platform for sliding poles comprising a resilient pad having a central opening to fit around a sliding pole, said pad being of substantial diameter, relative to a mans measurements, such that a man descending on it in sliding down the pole engages it with his feet normally and most often at an inner area near the pole and adjacent the center thereof, the pad thus having an outer area surrounding the inner area, said pad having a slit from its central opening to its outer periphery to permit mounting the pad around the sliding pole, and resilient knobs protruding from the under side of said pad to space it from a floor base and to permit air circulation thereunder and provide cushioning means for initial shock, said knobs being located about said pad at closer proximity to each other in said inner area and thus in the area receiving greatest impact shock than at said outer area.

2. A safety platform for sliding poles as described in claim 1, in which the platform is molded in one piece of resilient sponge rubber, all exterior parts of said platform having a skin surface resistive to water absorption, whereby to provide maximum resilience in all parts in cluding said inner area receiving greatest impact shock and maximum drying effect by air circulation.

3. A safety platform for sliding poles comprising a resilient pad having a central opening to fit around a sliding pole, said pad having a slit from its central opening to its outer periphery to permit mounting of the pad around the sliding pole, and resilient knobs protruding from the underside of said pad to space it from a floor base and to permit air circulation thereunder and pro viding cushioning means for initial shock, said knobs being located about said pad at closer proximity to each other at a central area than at the outer peripheral area surrounding the central area at least other than near said slit, and being at closer proximity to each other adjacent said slit on each side thereof than in other areas.

4. A safety platform for sliding poles comprising a resilient pad having a central opening to fit around a sliding pole, said pad being of substantial diameter, rela tive to a mans measurements, such that a man descending on it in sliding down the pole engages it with his feet normally and most often at an inner area near the pole and adjacent the center thereof, the pad thus having an outer area surrounding the inner area, said pad having a slit from its central opening to its outer periphery to permit mounting the pad around the sliding pole, said slit following a path in the plane of the pad defining tongueand-groove formation as between the portions'defining the slit, the tongue-and-groove thus being extended in said plane, and the tongue and the portion on the opposite side of the slit defining the groove having mutually interlocking elongated projections, and resilient knobs protruding from the underside of said pad to space it from a floor base and to permit air circulation thereunder and provide cushioning means for initial shock, said knobs being distributed generally over the area of the pad for maintaining the pad at a substantially uniform level, said knobs including at least one on each of said projections for maintaining the latter at said uniform level whereby to maintain said tongue-and-groove in secure interlock notwithstanding deflection or distortion of any part of the pad dueto irnpact'by a man landing thereon.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 863,054 Dickerson Aug. 13, 1907 1,049,087 Hill Dec. 31, 1912 2,143,122 Dawson Jan. 10, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS 485,974 Canada Aug. 19, 1952