Fire escape – ladder – or scaffold – Pitched roof conforming scaffold
Utility Patent
1999-10-15
2001-01-02
Chin-Shue, Alvin (Department: 3634)
Fire escape, ladder, or scaffold
Pitched roof conforming scaffold
C182S113000
Utility Patent
active
06167986
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to construction site safety equipment, and more particularly is a fall protection device adapted to be used on wood frame structures.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One of the more dangerous jobs in construction is roofing work, particularly framing. The problem is that until the trusses are installed, there is literally nothing to hold onto for the workers. Therefore falls from the top of the framed walls of buildings are all too commonplace.
Even after the roof is framed, if the roof is pitched, as most are, the angle of the roof makes footing far more hazardous than on a flat surface. Poor weather conditions can make a slanted roof a very slippery place to walk. Accordingly, builders have tried to provide various safety devices to protect workers building a roof. Many of these devices include mounting a “lifeline” that allows workers to clip a safety belt onto a secured line to minimize their danger of being injured in a fall.
One difficulty encountered in designing lifeline securing devices is that they of course must be secured to something. The most convenient place to mount anchors for a lifeline for roof work in on a pair of spaced rafters or trusses. However, using the trusses as mounting points means that at least two of the trusses must be installed without any safety device.
Extending lifeline mounts vertically from the wall members is also less than ideal. The roof rafters ordinarily extend past the plane of the walls. When the sheeting is to be put on the roof, lifeline mounts extending vertically from the wall members must be removed before the sheeting can be secured.
All these problems will be exacerbated in the year 2000, when OSHA regulations will require that all construction workers working at a height of seven feet or more must have a fall prevention device available.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fall protection device for workers on a roof that has lifeline anchors mounted on wall frame members. The lifeline anchors must be able to remain in place when the roof sheeting is installed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a fall protection device that meets all OSHA requirements.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a fall protection device that is easy and inexpensive to manufacture.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is a fall protection device that comprises at least a pair of lifeline anchors. The anchors are affixed to a wall frame before the frame is tilted up into place. The anchors include an extension means that enables the device to clear the roof overhang so that it can remain in place throughout the construction of the roof. Support members provide sufficient rigidity so that the device has the requisite pull resistance to meet all applicable regulations. A lifeline mount arm extends upward from the extension means, and the lifeline is secured between a pair of mount arms.
An advantage of the present invention is that the device can be mounted onto the wall frame while the frame is on the ground.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it can be left in place throughout the construction process once it has been installed, thereby enabling all the trades that are employed in residential home building to utilize the device.
A still further advantage of the present invention is that it allows the members of the construction industry to be in compliance with relevant OSHA regulations.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the description of the best presently known mode of carrying out the invention as described herein and as illustrated in the drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2833503 (1958-05-01), Harshbarger
patent: 3938619 (1976-02-01), Kurabayashi
patent: 4122916 (1978-10-01), Strobel
patent: 5307897 (1994-05-01), Turner
patent: 5515941 (1996-05-01), Palmer
patent: 5638917 (1997-06-01), Vennen
patent: 5718305 (1998-02-01), Palmer
patent: 1321617 (1963-02-01), None
Chin-Shue Alvin
The Kline Law Firm
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