Fire escape – ladder – or scaffold – Pitched roof conforming scaffold
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-27
2002-02-12
Stodola, Daniel P. (Department: 3634)
Fire escape, ladder, or scaffold
Pitched roof conforming scaffold
C248S237000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06345689
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention generally relates to the field of fall protection devices which are attached to roofs of building structures and, more particularly, to a more universal fall protection device in relation to any one or more of roof pitch, roof overhang, and facia board height.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Construction work can be a very dangerous profession. More and more regulations are being put into effect to address the safety of construction workers. One example is in relation to roofing work where construction workers are installing or repairing a roofing structure. Rooftop fall protection devices which meet certain requirements are now required by OSHA for at least certain types of work being done on at least certain types of roofs.
Various rooftop fall protection devices have been proposed in the past. Few if any have met with any degree of commercial success. There are numerous contributing factors. One is the complexity of many of the rooftop fall protection devices. Complex designs mean increased manufacturing costs which are of course passed on to the contractor. Contractors will often have a number of roofing jobs going on at the same time which increases the number of fall protection devices which the contractor must purchase. Many contractors simply cannot afford to maintain an adequate inventory of fall protection devices such that the use of fall protection devices becomes cost prohibitive. Increased complexity of the design of the fall protection device also usually means a large number of parts. As the number of parts increases, so to does the likelihood that one or more of these parts will be lost or misplaced. Lost or misplaced parts may render the fall protection device unusable or unsafe if installed, both of which defeats the purpose of the above-noted regulations.
Installation may also may become an issue if complex designs are implemented in a given rooftop fall protection device. Certain complexly designed fall protection devices may be time consuming to install. Either the construction job will become more expensive or the installation will be done in haste which increases the likelihood of an improper and thereby unsafe installation. Some rooftop fall protection device designs may be so complex that they would require a contractor to spend adequate time, and therefore money, on training personnel on the proper installation and/or use of the fall protection device. This is somewhat unrealistic due to the often transient nature of construction crews where individual crew members often come and go. Without proper training and if the design is complex, the rooftop fall protection device will often be left on the ground or it will be improperly installed. All of these scenarios are undesirable.
Another factor which has likely adversely affected the commercial success of rooftop fall protection systems is the lack of uniformity in rooftop construction. More and more different pitches are being used in current construction projects. Many fall protection devices are designed for use with only a single roof pitch, which means that the contractor would be required to further increase the inventory of rooftop fall protection devices. Those rooftop fall protection devices that may be used on multiple roof pitches likely utilize a complex design. Both of these factors introduce the above-noted types of drawbacks.
Finally, many rooftop fall protection devices simply are not practical for the type of work which must be done on the roof. Any rooftop fall protection device which is disposed on the roofing surface or on the surface on which the roof is to be installed limits the instances in which the device may be used. Consider a situation where the rooftop fall protection device is designed to attach to a deck (e.g., plywood nailed onto the upper surfaces of the roofing rafters). This means that up until the time that the deck is installed, the fall protection device would be unusable. Relatively significant safety issues exist in roofing applications up to the time that the deck is installed. Having the fall protection device installed on the deck or other roofing surface also limits the amount of the roof which may be worked on with the fall protection device installed. How is that portion of the roof between the fall protection device and the edge of the roof to be worked upon? These are just some of the impracticalities associated with some rooftop fall protection device designs which have been proposed.
FIG. 1
presents a rooftop fall protection system
70
which is admitted to be in the prior art and which is installed on a roof
5
. Generally, the roof
5
includes a plurality of laterally-spaced rafters
10
(only one shown). One characteristic of the roof
5
relates to the orientation of the rafters
10
. Each rafter
10
is disposed at a first angle
65
relative to a horizontal reference plane and which is effectively tantamount to the pitch of the roof
5
. Another characteristic of the roof
5
is its overhang which is that portion of the roof
5
which extends beyond a vertically-disposed wall (not shown) which supports the roof
5
.
Each rafter
10
includes a first rafter end
15
which is fixed to an at least generally horizontally disposed facia board
40
. The rafters
10
extend from this facia board
40
to a peak associated with the roof
5
along a generally longitudinally or axially extending path. Each rafter
10
further includes a first rafter edge surface
25
(“top” surface), a vertically spaced second rafter edge surface
30
(“bottom” surface), and a pair of laterally spaced rafter side surfaces
35
. Roofing materials are installed on the first rafter edge surface
25
. The rafters
10
are thereby disposed “on edge” in the installed position. That is, the distance between the first rafter edge surface
25
and the second rafter edge surface
30
is typically greater than the distance between the pair of rafters side surfaces
35
. Typical dimensions used for the rafters
10
include 2×4s. Other dimensions for rafters
10
have been used.
The facia board
40
extends along the edge of the roof
5
and is attached to each of the rafters
10
which interfaces therewith such as by nails or the like. More specifically, the facia board
40
includes a first facia board side surface
45
which projects at least generally away from the roof
5
, a second facia board side surface
50
which interfaces with the rafters
10
, a first facia board edge surface
55
which projects at least generally “upwardly”, and a vertically spaced second facia board edge surface
60
which projects at least generally “downwardly.” The facia board
40
is thereby disposed “on edge” in the installed position. That is, the distance between the first facia board edge surface
55
and the second facia board edge surface
60
is typically greater than the distance between the first facia board side surface
45
and the second facia board side surface
50
. Various dimensions are now being used for the facia boards
40
, including 2×4s, 2×6s, 2×10s, and 2×12s.
The fall protection system
70
is installed on the roof
5
to protect workers from falling off the same. One component of the fall protection system
70
is a plurality of stanchions
75
which are spaced along the facia board
40
(only one shown in FIG.
1
). Each stanchion
75
is defined by a first stanchion section
80
which is at least generally longitudinally extending and vertically disposed when mounted on the particular roof
5
of
FIG. 1
, and a second stanchion section
85
which is also least generally longitudinally extending and horizontally disposed when mounted on the particular roof
5
of FIG.
1
. As such, the stanchions
75
utilize an L-shaped profile. The stanchions
75
are of an integral structure such that there is no mechanical joint between the first stanchion section
80
and the second stanchion section
85
. This integral structure with the noted profile is formed by a bending operation. Another key component
LandOfFree
Rooftop fall protection system does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Rooftop fall protection system, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Rooftop fall protection system will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2945004