Ladders and ladder components are provided including a rung assembly that provides an alert to a user of the ladder that they are standing on a particular rung or step. In one example, the lower most rung or step of a ladder includes a rung assembly having an alert mechanism. The alert mechanism may provide an audible and/or other sensory alert to a user when they step on the rung assembly so that the user recognizes their position relative to the ground or supporting surface. In one embodiment, the rung assembly is configured such that a front edge remains in a constant or fixed position relative to the rails to which it is coupled so that a user can rely on a fixed or constant position of the front edge of the assembly when climbing or descending the ladder.

A ladder standoff includes at least one bent plate that is configured to be detachably engaged with at least one ladder rung of a ladder by at least one connection plate that is configured to be detachably connected to the bent plate and to the ladder rung. The ladder standoff may be attached to a ladder and used to secure a ladder to a vertically-extending building wall structure at a selected distance. The length of the ladder standoff can be extended in a substantially horizontal direction in relation to the vertically extending ladder and vertically extending building wall to provide a ladder standoff with variable lengths to accommodate different distances between the ladder and the surface of the vertically extending building wall.

A tool use system has a tool having sensors tracking use of the tool, a first CPU executing first coded instructions monitoring input from the sensors with respect to time; and first wireless communication circuitry adapted to transmit data, and a central hub comprising a second CPU executing second coded instructions, a data repository, and second wireless communication circuitry compatible with the first wireless communication circuitry. The first coded instructions comprise an algorithm adapted to identify an instance of unsafe use of the tool based on sensory input and time, and wherein an identified instance of unsafe use is transmitted by the first wireless communication circuitry to the second wireless communication circuitry, and the second coded instructions cause the instance of unsafe use to be recorded in the data repository.

The present invention relates to ladders and, more particularly, various configurations of ladders including straight and extension ladders, as well as to methods relating to the use and manufacture of such ladders. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a ladder is provided that includes a first pair of spaced apart rails and a plurality of rungs extending between and coupled to the first pair of spaced apart rails. The ladder also includes a pair of lateral support members, wherein each support member is selectively displaceable in a lateral direction relative to an associated rail. Additionally, the ladder includes a pair of adjustable legs, each leg having a first end slidably coupled to an associated rail of the first pair of spaced apart rails and being slidably coupled to an associated lateral support member.

The present invention relates to ladders and, more particularly, various configurations of ladders including straight and extension ladders, as well as to methods relating to the use and manufacture of such ladders. In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a ladder is provided that includes a first pair of spaced apart rails and a plurality of rungs extending between and coupled to the first pair of spaced apart rails. The ladder also includes a pair of lateral support members, wherein each support member is selectively displaceable in a lateral direction relative to an associated rail. Additionally, the ladder includes a pair of adjustable legs, each leg having a first end slidably coupled to an associated rail of the first pair of spaced apart rails and being slidably coupled to an associated lateral support member.

A ladder safety mechanism comprises at least one damp, preferably a pair of spaced apart damps, attachable part way along a ladder, to secure the ladder to part of a structure. In some embodiments, the mechanism includes at least one manually operated actuator, such as a rope or cable, coupled to the at least one clamp to enable a user located at the bottom of the ladder to open the at least one clamp to receive the part of a structure. In some embodiments, the at least one clamp is automatically secured to the part of the structure by placing the clamp onto the structure. The at least one manually operated actuator also enables a user located at the bottom of the ladder to open the at least one damp to release the part of the structure. The at least one clamp is oriented substantially perpendicularly to a part of the structure to which the ladder is to be attached.

A ladder accessory is easily adapted for mounting on ladders of different shapes and sizes. The ladder accessory includes mounting slots whose long dimensions run in at least two different directions. This allows mounting hardware to be placed anywhere along the length of the slot, as may be convenient for a particular ladder's geometry.

A semi-cylindrical tubular component with grip component used to carry a ladder distributes the load supported by the user's hand. The ladder carrier device and process increase the contact area of the open longitudinal end or the flat u-channel, of the grip, with the ladder rung or side rails, resulting in a more evenly distributed load. The grip device can be used on both ladder rung and ladder leg supported with tension only, and accommodates hands of a plurality of human operators, and more than one user at a time. Additionally, the ladder may be carried either vertically or horizontally.

A semi-cylindrical tubular component with grip component used to carry a ladder distributes the load supported by the user's hand. The ladder carrier device and process increase the contact area of the open longitudinal end or the flat u-channel, of the grip, with the ladder rung or side rails, resulting in a more evenly distributed load. The grip device can be used on both ladder rung and ladder leg supported with tension only, and accommodates hands of a plurality of human operators, and more than one user at a time. Additionally, the ladder may be carried either vertically or horizontally.

The invention relates to a ladder stabiliser that obviates the existing requirement for a leaning ladder to be physically secured to a building and/or footed near the ground by a second person. The stabiliser comprises a base (12) for supporting, in use, both feet of a ladder (100); and upstanding walls (14, 16, 18, 20) defining an open-topped three-dimensional space for accommodating, and at least partially enclosing, the lower distal ends of a ladder (100) at a predetermined optimum angle of inclination. At least one wall (14, 16, 18, 20) extends above the height of the lowermost rung of an inclined ladder (100). A pivotable wall (18) is openable to allow the ladder (100) to be inserted and removed from the stabiliser. The stabiliser may be provided with removable ballast weights (30), and adjustable clamps (36).