US3139154A - Safety guard attachments for ladders - Google Patents

Description

June 30, 1964 w. EWALD 3,139,154

SAFETY GUARD ATTACHMENTS FOR LADDERS Filed Dec. 14, 1962 INVENTOR. MLL/A/v Ek/ALD United States Patent C) 3,139,154 SAFETY GUARD ATTACHMENTS FOR LADDERS William Ewald, 545 West End Ave, New York 24, N.Y. Filed Dec. 14, 1962, Ser. No. 244,781 7 Claims. (CL 182-196) This invention relates to safety attachments for ladders.

It is an object of the present invention to provide means defining a safety guard construction for ladders to facilitate the performance of work by a person standing on either of the two top steps of a ladder.

It is another object of the present invention to provide safety guards as aforesaid which are adjustable both widthwise and lengthwise of the ladder to enable their use at different elevations on the ladder.

A related object of the present invention is the provision of such safety guard structures which are adapted for use with ladders of different constructions.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide safety guards of this type which are automatically retained in any adjusted position without the provision of special locking means therefor, and which can be ad justed by the user without descending from the ladder.

Another object of the present invention is the provision of such safety guards which are equipped with a variablelength safety belt to accommodate persons of different girths.

Still another object of the present invention is the provision of ladder safety guards as aforesaid which are equipped with means for removably attaching thereto work trays or receptacles for holding tools or working materials.

It is yet another object of the present invention to pro vide ladder safety guards which may be produced at relatively low cost as attachments for all types of ladders.

The foregoing and other objects and characteristics of preferred embodiments of the present invention, as well as the advantages accruing from its use, will be more fully understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a safety guard attachment according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the structure shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the structure shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view, on an enlarged scale, taken along the line 4-4 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional View, similar to FIG. 4, of a modified form of a part of the safety guard according to the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a ladder safety guard according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Referring now first to FIGS. 1 to 4, a ladder safety guard 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention is there shown as associated with a step ladder 11. The ladder illustrated comprises a pair of front legs 12 and a pair of rear legs 13, the front legs being rigidly secured with the aid of angle brackets 12a and 12b to the underside of a horizontal platform or top step 14. The rear legs 13 are pivotally connected to the rearwardmost sections of the angle brackets 12b and are also linked with the front legs at a lower elevation by suitable folding braces (not shown). For purposes of stability, the front legs 12 of the ladder diverge from one another slightly in a downward direction from the platform or top step 14. Several lower steps 15 (only the uppermost one 3,139,154 Patented June 30, 1964 of which is shown) are secured to the legs 12 by means of angle brackets 15a.

The safety guard 10 comprises a variable-length horizontal cross member 16 connected at its opposite ends to a pair of downwardly diverging side members 17 and 18. The cross member 16 is constructed of two parts 19 and 20 which are mated to one another by a tongue and groove arrangement. As clearly shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the body of the part 19 at the middle region of the cross member 16 is horizontally recessed to define a frontwardly open channel 19a, while the body of the part 20 at the middle region of the cross member 16 is reduced in width and thickness to define a flat extension or tongue 20a which is slidably received in the channel 19a. The channeled part 19 of the cross member is provided with three sets of vertically aligned openings 2121, spaced from each other along the channel, and the tongued part 20 of the cross member is provided with one opening 22 adjacent the free end of the tongue 20a. These openings are appropriately shaped so that when the opening 22 is in axial alignment with any one set of the openings 21-41, a locking pin or bolt 23 may be inserted therethrough to fix the tongue 20a in position within the channel 19a.

The parts 19 and 20 of the cross member 16 further comprise at their respective remote ends a pair of frontwardly extending side rails 24 and 25 the inside surfaces 24:: and 25a of which are curved and merge smoothly into the front edges of the channel 19a and tongue 20a. The width of the tongue is preferably such that it fills the entire channel and that the front edge of the tongue is flush with the front edge of the channel. Thus, the space between the side rails is effectively contoured and without sharp corners or projecting surfaces for maximum comfort of any person using the ladder and leaning against the cross member.

As an additional safety factor which might be desired by ladder users, the present invention contemplates the provision of a safety strap in the form of a flexible belt or chain 26 one end of which is removably connected to a hook or knob 27 secured to the side rail 24 of the cross member 16. The side rail 25 is likewise provided with a hook or knob 28 to which the other end portion of the belt is removably connected. The locations of attachment of the belt or chain to either or both of the hooks 27 and 28 may be selected at random to accommodate persons of different girths. Especially where the safety strap is a chain, the same may be covered over the major portion of its length by a flexible sleeve or tube 29 (FIG. 3) of rubber or heavy fabric.

The side members 17 and 18 of the safety guard 10 are fixedly secured, in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4, to the respective cross member side rails 24 and 25, for example by means of respective externally threaded extensions 30 (only one is shown in FIG. I) screwed into corresponding internally threaded bores provided in the undersides of the side rails 24 and 25. The side members 17 and 18 extend slidably through a pair of tubular bushings or sleeves 31 and 32 which constrain them to move in respective paths diverging relative to one another in a downward direction. The sleeves 31 and 32 are provided adjacent their upper ends with respective transverse webs or flanges 33 and 34 and adjacent their lower ends With respective lateral webs or flanges 35 and 36 secured by screws or bolts 35a and 36a to slotted flanges 37a and 38a of a pair of angle brackets 37 and 38. The entire group of elements 16 to 38 thus constitute an extensible guard rail which may be considered a composite attachment for the ladder 11 and, as will be apparent from the following, may be associated and sold with the ladder by the manufacturer thereof or which may be purchased by a prospective user as a separate accessory for a ladder already owned by him.

Inassembling the safety guard rail with a ladder, it will be clear that the flanges 33 and 34 of the sleeves or bushings 31 and 32 are first secured to the top step 14 of the ladder by means of screws or bolts 33a and 34a. Thereafter the angle brackets 37 and 33 are secured by screws or bolts (not shown) to the ladder legs 12. The provision of the slots in the flanges 37a and 38a of these brackets thus ensures that the attachment can be adapted to any ladder regardless of the angular orientation of the legs 12 thereof. Thereafter, the side members 17 and 18 are fitted individually into the sleeves or bushings 31 and 32, the parts 19 and 2d of the cross member 16 at this stage not being fitted into or locked to one another. Finally, the tongue 2tla is fitted into the channel 1% and the pin 23 inserted into a bore formed by a superposed set of openings 212221'. initially, or whenever the ladder is not in use, this bore is that one which is defined by the openings 2121' at the righthand side of the cross member 16 as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3. The cross member at such time is in its most extended state and is disposed directly atop the platform 14, while the side members 17 and 18 extend along the front legs 12 of the ladder 11. The entire attachment 16 thus is closly conformed to the outline of the ladder, permitting the same to be stored together with the attachment without any extra space being required. 7

In use, when a person desires to perform work while standing on the top step 14 of the ladder, the safety guard 19 is raised to its most elevated position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Preparatory to the raising operation, the pin 23 is removed from the cross member so that the tongue can be telescopically moved into and through the channel until the shoulder 25b at the juncture of the tongue 211a and the side rail 25 abuts against the end of the channeled part 19 of the cross member. In this position, the opening 22 in the tongue is in axial alignment with the set of openings 2121 at the left-hand end of the channel part (as seen in FIGS. 1 and 3). The pin 23 is now inserted into the so-formed bore to lock the parts of the cross member to one another. It will be readily understood that once this has been done, the safety guard cannot be moved up or down even though the side members 17 and 18 are not positively locked to the respective sleeves or bushings 31 and 32. The arrangement is such that the cross member when so adjusted is essentially waist-high relative to the user.

The present invention contemplates the provision of means for supporting within easy reach of the user of the ladder any equipment, tools or working materials which he may require. To this end, there are secured in any suitable manner to the outer rear surface of the cross member part 19 a pair of channel brackets 39 and 40 provided with openings adapted to receive locking pins or bolts 41 and 42. The spaces between the upper and lower lugs or cars of the brackets 39 and 40 are adapted to accommodate a flange 4-3 of a tray or like receptacle 44, which flange is also provided with a pair of openings through which the pins 41 and 42 can pass when the flange is received in the said spaces for supporting the tray from the brackets 39 and 48. The tray is so con- 'structed, as by being underslung or the like (see FIG. 2), that it will not interfere with the lowering of the guard to the position in which the cross member rests on or near the top step of the ladder.

As an extra safety measure, when the user reaches the top step he may pass the chain or belt 26 behind his back and connect the two opposite end sections of the chain or belt to the hooks 27 and 28. It is also to be noted that, to prevent the user from losing his balance on the ladder, the angular orientation of the side members 17 and 18 relative to the vertical is such that a vertical plane passing through the front edge of the cross member is disposed at least slightly beyond the location of the tips of the users toes.

Should it now be desired to perform work standing on the second step '15 of the ladder, after the work on the top step is completed, the user merely extracts the pin 23 from the bore 212221' in which it is'then received and descends one step from the top step of the ladder. Since the cross member is unlocked, the side members 17 and 1d slide downwardly through the bushings 31 and 32 While the cross member elongates as the tongue 211a slides outwardly through the channel 1%. When the opening 22 is aligned with the middle set of openings 21-21, the

in is inserted into the so-formed bore, a ain lockin the i cross member in position and length. The latter thus will again automatically remain secured in its new adjusted elevation, by virtue of the fact that with the length of the cross member fixed, any linear movement of the side members 17 and 18 through the angularly oriented sleeves 31 and 32 is inhibited. In this position also, the front edge of the cross member 16, i.e. that edge against which the user leans, is again disposed approximately waisthigh relative to the user and at least slightly beyond the vertical plane passing through the tips of the users toes. It will be noted that the extension in length of the cross member according to this embodiment of the invention has no adverse effect on the smoothness of the said front edge of the cross member since the front edge of the tongue 20a always coincides with the corresponding edge of the channel 19a.

As is readily apparent, the adjustment of the guard rail from its position corresponding to the second ladder step to its position corresponding to the top step involves precisely the reverse of the foregoing operations. It is emphasized, however, that it is never necessary for the user, while effecting either this upward adjustment or the previously described downward adjustment of the guard rail, to descend from the ladder inasmuch as the contraction or extension of the cross member 16 occurs automatically (once it is unlocked) as the side members 17 and 18 move along their converging or diverging paths, i.e. as the height of the guard rail above the top step is changed.

The cross member in lieu of being constituted by a tongue and groove connection may be constructed as shown in. FIG. 5. In accordance with this embodiment of the present invention, the middle portion of the cross member 16 is composed of a tube 45 and a rod 46 coaxial therewith. Both the tube and the rod are provided with openings similar to the openings 2121"and 22 in the cross member parts 19 and 20 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 to accommodate the locking pin 23, and the tube 45 carries a pair of tray-supporting brackets 45'. Also the two parts of the cross member 16 are provided with respective contoured side rails corresponding to the side rails 24 and 25 of the cross member 16.

In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, the safety guard 10 may be adapted for use with differently constructed ladders by articulating the side members to the cross member. This is illustrated in FIG. 6 in relation to a cross member 16, but it would be as applicable to a cross member 16'. As shown in FIG. 6, the cross member 16 is provided at its opposite ends, i.e. below the side rails 24 and 25, with lugs 48 and 49 to which the side members 17 and 18' are pivotally connected by means of lugs 50 and 51 and respective pivot pins or bolts 52 and 53. It is preferred that the pivot pins extending through the respective sets of lugs 48-51} and 49-51 be associated with friction wash rs or the like the function of which is to retain the side members in any desired angular orientation relative to the cross member. A construction of this type may be found to be very advantageous where the cross member and side members are to be adapted to a pair of sleeves or bushings 31 and 32 which are fixed to the ladder legs 12 without the intermediary of slotted angle-brackets as shown in FIG. 1 and thus cannot be angularly adjusted.

It is to be noted that the safety guard rail is herein described for adjustment to only two operating positions corresponding to the ladder users standing on either the top step or the next to top step of a given ladder, since in most ordinary ladders by the time the user reaches the third step from the top the use of the safety guard will no longer be required. Nevertheless it will be clear to those skilled in the art that if desired or necessary it is possible, within the purview of the present invention, to construct the guard for adjustment to more than two operating positions by the provision of more than three sets of openings in the cross member, especially to adapt the guard attachment for use with ladders of different widths.

In any event, it will be apparent from the foregoing description that a safety guard according to the present invention is composed of a minimum number of parts of extremely simple design and requires only the pin 23 and the associated openings 212221 or other locking means for locking the guard in any adjusted position. The entire attachment can thus be manufactured at relatively little cost and is extremely easy to install, which makes it highly attractive from economic and utilitarian standpoints to skilled artisans, e.g. painters, decorators, electricians, carpenters, plumbers, etc. as well as to ordinary persons, e.g. homeowners, and the like, commonly known as do-it-yourself fixers.

It Will further be apparent that the side members 17 and 18 of the guard rail 10 need not be arranged for slidable movement at the exterior sides of the ladder legs 12. If desired, the bushings or bearings for the guard rail side members may be secured to the inner sides of the ladder legs, in which case it would be merely necessary to provide suitable clearance openings in the steps 14 and 15 to accommodate the said side members. Other variations in the disclosed structure, for example the hinging of the tray 44 to the cross member 16 in lieu of the illustrated slot and pin connections, will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

Although there have been described herein several safety guard constructions according to preferred embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that this description is intended for purposes of illustration only and that the structures and structural relationships disclosed are susceptible to various changes none of which involves any departure from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the hereto appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a ladder having step-supporting legs; a safety guard rail comprising a variable length cross member adapted to be positioned above the top step of said ladder, a pair of downwardly depending side members connected at their uppermost ends to the opposed end sections of said cross member, means carried by said ladder for constraining said side members to sliding movement in respective paths diverging relative to one another downwardly with respect to said top step of said ladder, and means for locking said cross member against change in length at a plurality of adjusted lengths of said cross member corresponding, respectively, to the location of the same at an essentially waist-high elevation above the planes of at least the two top steps of said ladder, the locking of said cross member preventing any up or down movements of said guard rail relative to said ladder.

2. The combination of claim 1, further comprising receptacle means carried by said cross member for supporting equipment and working materials for the user of the ladder.

3. The combination of claim 1, said cross member comprising a plurality of telescopically movable parts one of which defines a passageway slidably receiving the other.

4. The combination of claim 3, said one part being shaped to define an elongated channel, and said other part being shaped as an elongated tongue.

5. The combination of claim 3, said one part being a hollow tube, and said other part being an elongated rod.

6. The combination of claim 3, further comprising pivot means interconnecting said uppermost ends of said side members and said opposed end sections of said cross member to adapt said side members for movement in paths of differing degrees of relative divergence.

7. In combination with a ladder having step-supporting legs; a safety guard rail comprising a variable length cross member adapted to be positioned above the top step of said ladder, a pair of downwardly depending side members connected at their uppermost ends to the opposed end sections of said cross member and diverging relative to one another downwardly from said cross member, means carried by said ladder for constraining said side members to sliding movement in respective paths diverging relative to one another downwardly with respect to said top step of said ladder, said cross member comprising a pair of telescopically movable male and female elements, and means for releasably locking said elements of said cross member to each other at each of a plurality of predetermined lengths of said cross member, whereby upon such locking of said cross member elements at any selected elevation above said top step of said ladder, no change in the length of said cross member can occur and the guard rail is automatically secured in position against up or down movement from such selected elevation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,916,208 Diou July 4, 1933 1,953,390 Bosch Apr. 3, 1934 2,245,661 Fieroh June 17, 1941 2,388,892 Wilson Nov. 13, 1945 2,614,744 Hedglon Oct. 21, 1952 2,957,542 Rizzuto Oct. 25, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 137,889 Great Britain Jan. 29, 1920 490,357 Italy Feb. 8, 1954

Claims (1)

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A LADDER HAVING STEP-SUPPORTING LEGS; A SAFETY GUARD RAIL COMPRISING A VARIABLE LENGTH CROSS MEMBER ADAPTED TO BE POSITIONED ABOVE THE TOP STEP OF SAID LADDER, A PAIR OF DOWNWARDLY DEPENDING SIDE MEMBERS CONNECTED AT THEIR UPPERMOST ENDS TO THE OPPOSED END SECTIONS OF SAID CROSS MEMBER, MEANS CARRIED BY SAID LADDER FOR CONSTRAINING SAID SIDE MEMBERS TO SLIDING MOVEMENT IN RESPECTIVE PATHS DIVERGING RELATIVE TO ONE ANOTHER DOWNWARDLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID TOP STEP OF SAID LADDER, AND MEANS FOR LOCKING SAID CROSS MEMBER AGAINST CHANGE IN LENGTH AT A PLURALITY OF ADJUSTED LENGTHS OF SAID CROSS MEMBER CORRESPONDING, RESPECTIVELY, TO THE LOCATION OF THE SAME AT AN ESSENTIALLY WAIST-HIGH ELEVATION ABOVE THE PLANES OF AT LEAST THE TWO TOP STEPS OF SAID

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