BAR-GRATE-DECKING LADDER STABILIZER SYSTEM AND METHOD

Abstract

A bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system and method for removably securing a variety of stepladders to a variety of standard bar-grate decking. A brace unit providing a rack bar with rack teeth, a drop-through preventing handle and an under-grate crossbar is placed through a void between two main bearing bars of bar-grate decking and positioned such that the under-grate crossbar is forced against the underside of the two main bearing bars and the adjacent bars. A clamp unit providing a rack bar guide and a pawl is clamped to a rail or stringer of the stepladder, with the rack bar of the brace unit passing upward through the rack bar guide of the clamp unit. In a ratcheting action the pawl allows upward movement of the rack bar but prevents downward return by locking into the rack teeth of the rack bar, thereby maintaining a pulling force between the ladder rail and the decking, stabilizing the stepladder for safe use.

Claims

1. A bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system for use with a standard stepladder on bar-grate decking, the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system comprising: (i) a brace unit comprising: (a) a rack bar having rack teeth and having an upward and downward orientation in use; (b) an under-grate crossbar at the downward end of said rack bar, adapted to placement through a void in the bar-grate decking and contact against the underside of the bar-grate decking; and (c) a drop-through preventing handle at the upward end of said rack bar; and (ii) a clamp unit comprising: (a) a ladder-rail clamp adapted to clamp to the ladder rail of a standard stepladder; (b) a rack bar guide adapted to allow and control movement of said rack bar; and (c) a pawl adapted to move into and out of said rack bar guide in a ratcheting action allowing upward movement of said brace unit in contact with the bar-grate decking against said clamp unit in contact with the ladder rail of the stepladder, transferring and maintaining a pulling force between the bar-grate decking and the ladder rail, stabilizing the stepladder for use.

2. The bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system of claim 1, further comprising a safety cable adapted to connect said brace unit and said clamp unit.

3. The bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system of claim 1, where said clamp unit further comprises a pawl release adapted to release said pawl from said rack teeth of said rack bar.

4. The bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system of claim 1, where said clamp unit further comprises a pawl-side arm and a free-side arm adapted to clamp to the ladder rail of the stepladder.

5. The bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system of claim 1, where said clamp unit further comprises a latch socket and a latch plug adapted to maintain clamping force upon the ladder rail of the stepladder.

6. The bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system of claim 1, where said under-grate crossbar is further adapted to make underside contact with at least four main bearing bars of standard bar-grate decking.

7. The bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system of claim 1, where said under-grate crossbar has a length of five inches.

8. The bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system of claim 1, where said drop-through preventing handle is further adapted to catch on the bars of the bar-grate-decking to prevent a drop through if accidentally dropped.

9. The bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system of claim 1, where said drop-through preventing handle is further adapted to indicate the orientation of said under-grate crossbar in use.

10. The bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system of claim 1, where said rack teeth on said rack bar further comprise rack teeth on at least two faces of said rack bar, on at least one face parallel to said under-grate crossbar and at least one face perpendicular to said under-grate crossbar.

11. The bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system of claim 1, where said rack teeth on said rack bar further comprise rack teeth on four faces of said rack bar.

12. A bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system for use with a standard stepladder on bar-grate decking, the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system comprising: (i) a brace unit comprising: (a) a rack bar having rack teeth on at least two faces and having an upward and downward orientation in use; (b) an under-grate crossbar at the downward end of said rack bar, adapted to placement through a void in the bar-grate decking and contact against the underside of at least four main bearing bars of the bar-grate decking; and (c) a drop-through preventing handle at the upward end of said rack bar, adapted to catch on to the bars of the bar-grate-decking to prevent a drop through if accidentally dropped; and (ii) a clamp unit comprising: (a) a ladder-rail clamp adapted to clamp to the ladder rail of a standard stepladder; (b) a rack bar guide adapted to allow and control movement of said rack bar; and (c) a pawl adapted to move into and out of said rack bar guide in a ratcheting action allowing upward movement of said brace unit in contact with the bar-grate decking against said clamp unit in contact with the ladder rail of the stepladder, transferring and maintaining a pulling force between the bar-grate decking and the ladder rail, stabilizing the stepladder for use.

13. A bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer method for use with a standard stepladder on bar-grate decking, the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer method comprising: (i) providing a bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer system comprising: (a) a brace unit comprising: (1) a rack bar having rack teeth and having an upward and downward orientation in use; (2) an under-grate crossbar at the downward end of said rack bar, adapted to placement through a void in the bar-grate decking and contact against the underside of the bar-grate decking; and (3) a drop-through preventing handle at the upward end of said rack bar; and (b) a clamp unit comprising: (1) a ladder-rail clamp adapted to clamp to the ladder rail of a standard stepladder; (2) a rack bar guide adapted to allow and control movement of said rack bar; and (3) a pawl adapted to move into and out of said rack bar guide in a ratcheting action allowing upward movement of said brace unit in contact with the bar-grate decking against said clamp unit in contact with the ladder rail of the stepladder, transferring and maintaining a pulling force between the bar-grate decking and the ladder rail, stabilizing the stepladder for use; (ii) placing said under-grate crossbar of said brace unit through the void between two main bearing bars of the bar-grate decking; (iii) turning said brace unit thereby placing said under and perpendicular to the main bearing bars of the bar-grate decking; (iv) pulling upward on said brace unit; (v) placing said rack bar of said brace unit through said rack bar guide of said clamp unit; (vi) clamping said clamp unit to the ladder rail of the stepladder; (vii) engaging said pawl with said rack teeth of said rack bar in a ratcheting action; (viii) maintaining a pulling force between the ladder rail of the stepladder and the main bearing bars of the bar-grate decking, thereby stabilizing the stepladder on the decking; (ix) releasing said pawl release of said clamp unit, thereby releasing said pawl from said rack teeth and releasing the pulling force between the ladder rail and the bar-grate decking; (x) removing said brace unit and said clamp unit; and (xi) storing said brace unit and said clamp unit for future use.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Reference will now be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein:

[0019] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer of the invention in use on metal bar-grate decking;

[0020] FIG. 2 is a side view of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer of the invention in use on metal bar-grate decking;

[0021] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer of the invention in use on fiberglass bar-grate decking;

[0022] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer of the invention in use on metal bar-grate decking with the ladder placed perpendicular to the long bars of the grate;

[0023] FIG. 5 is a perpendicular view of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer of the invention in use in an alternate configuration on metal bar-grate decking;

[0024] FIG. 6 is a perpendicular view of the initial placement of the brace unit of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer of the invention in use on metal bar-grate decking;

[0025] FIG. 7 is a perpendicular view of the subsequent placement of the brace unit of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer of the invention in use on metal bar-grate decking;

[0026] FIG. 8 is a perpendicular view of the clamp unit of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer of the invention, open, with the pawl extended;

[0027] FIG. 9 is a perpendicular view of the clamp unit of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer of the invention, open with the pawl retracted; and

[0028] FIG. 10 is a perpendicular view of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer of the invention in use with an optional safety cable.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] Referring to FIG. 1, the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer 10 system and method easily and removably secures a standard stepladder to standard bar-grate decking such as the serrated metal bar decking illustrated. A brace unit 1 providing a rack bar 11 having rack teeth 12 is placed through a void between the bars of the decking so that an under-grate crossbar 13 contacts and pulls against the undersides of the bars and other adjacent bars. A drop-through preventing handle 14 is used to pull upward lightly during installation, and also catches on the bars and prevents a drop through if accidentally dropped. The drop-through preventing handle 14 is made parallel with the under-grate crossbar 13 in order to provide a visual indication of the orientation of the under-grate crossbar 13 installed under the decking.

[0030] A clamp unit 2, treated in detail below, clamps onto a rail or stringer of the stepladder, with the rack bar 11 of the brace unit 1 passing through the clamp unit 2, where the rack teeth 12 can be caught by an internal pawl, exerting a ratcheting action pulling upward on the under-grate crossbar 13 of the brace unit and pulling downward on the rail of the ladder. Rack teeth 12 are provided on at least two faces of the rack bar 11, on at least one face parallel to the under-grate crossbar 13 and at least one face perpendicular. Therefore, the brace unit can be installed such that the under-grate crossbar 13 is always perpendicular to the main bars of the decking. The illustrated preferred embodiment shows rack teeth 12 provided on all four faces of the rack bar 11.

[0031] For greater stability and for a fail-safe backup two or more units of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer 10 can be installed, as shown. The light weight, small cost, easy transport, and easy set-up and take-down of the system allows for using more than one unit.

[0032] The brace unit 1 can be made from metal bar or rod. The drop-through preventing handle 14 can be formed by bending or by welding or otherwise securely attaching the handle to the rack bar 11. The under-grate crossbar 13 should normally be very securely welded to reduce risk of other methods or fasteners coming loose or failing in use.

[0033] Referring to FIG. 2, the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer 10 is used with standard types of bar-grate decking and with standard general-purpose stepladders of the A-frame type. The rails, stringers, or sides of the ladder will always incline inward toward the top, and therefore both downward and inward force applied to the rails through the clamp units 2 will always have a downward component pulling the ladder securely toward the deck. In use, the under-grate crossbar 13 is pulled up against the undersides of at least the two bars defining the void or slot which the brace unit 1 has been placed through, plus the adjacent bars on either side, for a total of four bars. If the under-grate crossbar 13 were to be made longer to span more bars, then it might become too long to be placed into the available voids or slots found in standard bar-grate decking. In the illustrated preferred embodiment, the under-grate crossbar 13 has a length of approximately 5 inches. The length of the rack bar 11 is very approximately 30 inches, which allows for installation of the clamp units 2 on the rails of the ladder between the lowest step at approximately 1 foot and the next lowest step at approximately 2 feet, with a large amount of adjustment allowed.

[0034] Referring to FIG. 3, the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer 10 is also used on standard fiberglass or FRP grate decking, which has thicker bars and narrower voids or slots between compared to standard metal bar grate decking. The illustrated preferred embodiment can be used interchangeably between metal bar decking and fiberglass bar decking.

[0035] Referring to FIG. 4, while the illustrations have shown ladders installed with the steps running parallel to the main bars of the decking, the ladder can also be installed with the steps running perpendicular to the main bars, as shown here. Because the brace unit 1 provides rack teeth 12 on at least two faces of the rack bar 11, the under-grate crossbar 13 can be installed at the proper perpendicular to the main bars of the decking, and the drop-through preventing handle 14 can be turned either inward or outward as best suits the specific installation.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 5, it is advisable and preferred that two units of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer 10 be used for added stability and fail-safe protection. The clamp units 2 can be attached interchangeably to the step rails and the usually smaller back rails of various different stepladders providing varying sizes of rails. Both units of the bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer 10 can be clamped to both step rails, as shown, which might be needed in circumstances where the back of the ladder, or the decking under the back of the ladder, is blocked.

[0037] Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the placement of the brace unit 1 through standard serrated steel bar grate decking, having the standard crossbar spacing of 4 inches, is shown. One end of the under-grate crossbar 13 is placed first, at an angle, into the void or space between two main or bearing bars. Then the other end is placed through the bars and the unit is turned, using the drop-through preventing handle 14, so that the under-grate crossbar 13 runs perpendicular to the main or bearing bars.

[0038] Referring to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the clamp unit 2 can be opened to allow placement around a rail of the stepladder, and then closed to clamp to the ladder rail. In the illustrated embodiment the clamp is provided with two arms, a pawl-side arm 21 and a free-side arm 22 connected through a pivoting connector. When closed, the arms are held together and the clamping force is maintained by a latch socket 23 and corresponding latch plug 24. A variety of sizes of ladder rails are accommodated within the ladder-rail larger clamp 25 and ladder-rail lesser clamp 26 when the unit is closed. In use, the rack bar 11 of the brace unit 1 is placed through the rack bar guide 27 of the clamp unit 2. A pawl 28, operated by a pawl release 29 extends into and retracts from the rack bar guide 27 space. An internal spring keeps the pawl 28 extended unless the pawl release 29 is used to retract it. In use, the pawl 28 extends into the rack teeth 12 on the rack bar 11 of the brace unit 1. The shape and angles of the pawl 28 and the opposite matching configuration of the rack teeth 12 create a ratchet or ratcheting action where the brace unit 1 can easily be pulled upward through the installed clamp unit 2, with the upward moving rack teeth 12 pushing the pawl 28 back to allow travel of the rack bar 11, and the return of the pawl 28 into the next rack tooth 12, locking the rack bar 11 against backward movement, and maintaining whatever force was used to pull the brace unit 1 upward against the under-grate crossbar 13 in contact with the underside of the main bearing bars of the decking. Therefore, the installed bar-grate-decking ladder stabilizer 10 places and maintains a pulling force between the ladder rail and the decking, stabilizing the ladder for safe use. After use, the pulling force can be released by the pawl release 29 of the clamp unit 2, which can be removed from the ladder rail and the rack bar 11. The brace unit 1 can be turned, angled, and pulled back up through the void or slot between the bars. The interchangeable brace units 1 and clamp units 2 can be transported and stored either along with the ladder itself, or otherwise such that they are readily accessible the next time when needed.

[0039] Referring to FIG. 10, optionally a safety cable 30 is provided which can both provide extra security against the brace unit dropping through the bar-grate decking and possibly injuring someone or something below, and can serve to keep the brace unit 1 and clamp unit 2 together during storage, transportation, and use. In the illustrated embodiment the safety cable 30 is implemented as a steel cable 31.

[0040] Many other changes and modifications can be made in the system and method of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I therefore pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.