Abstract:
A fall protection system having two telescoping supports positioned at either end of a job location and having a crossbar extending there between that allow a user to work in an elevated position while also providing a tethering point to protect against falls. The supports may be coupled to a pair of conventional ladders that support a walk board, or the supports may directly support a walk board extending between the two supports. The two supports retain and securely attach to a horizontal support beam that is the anchoring location for a fall protection harness. A user may then use the walk board to perform installations or repairs above the minimum height necessary for fall protection and be secured against a fall by attaching via a harness and strap to the cross-bar.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/257,186, filed on Apr. 21, 2014. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0003]    The present invention relates to fall protection systems and, more particularly, to a system for securely supporting a user engaged in building repairs and renovations. 
         [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art 
         [0005]    Falls are the leading cause of worker injuries and fatalities in the construction industry in the United States. Each year, between 150 and 200 workers are killed and more than 100,000 are injured as a result of falls at construction sites, despite numerous federal regulations requiring the use of fall protection systems. For example, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires that personal fall arrest systems will, when stopping a fall, limit maximum arresting forces, be rigged such that an employee can neither free fall more than six feet nor contact any lower level, bring an employee to a complete stop and limit maximum deceleration distance to 3 ½ feet, and have sufficient strength to withstand twice the potential impact energy of a worker free falling a distance of 6 feet or the free fall distance permitted by the system. Many other rules and regulations govern worker safety and must be complied with to reduce worker injuries. 
         [0006]    One approach to providing protection when work is being performed on the side of a building, such as during window installation or repair, is to remove the roof ridge cap or sheathing and install an anchorage to the truss or rafter structure underneath as roof sheathing does not provide enough support. This process necessary compromises roof integrity and can lead to future problems, such as leaking roofs and lost roof tiles. In addition, this approach requires that contractors have access to and climb onto the roof to install and remove the anchor system, which is time consuming and may require additional equipment not necessary for the particular job and location. 
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention comprises a fall protection system that is easily installed and does not involve retrofitting an anchorage to the roof or otherwise compromising roof integrity. Instead, a user deploys two vertical supports positioned at either end of a job location. The two vertical supports, which may be telescoping, are interconnected to a horizontal support beam that is used as the anchoring location for a fall protection harness or arrest system. The two vertical supports may be interconnected to two conventional ladders, which may additionally support a conventional walk board via ladder jacks. Alternatively, the two vertical supports may support a walk board affixed to the supports by moveable brackets. A user may then perform installations or repair while standing on the walk board and secured against a fall by attaching to the horizontal support beam. In addition, the horizontal support beam may be used to support a hoist with or without the walk board in position. Thus, the present invention avoids the need for extensive site installation and may be used with conventional ladder work system to provide sufficient fall protection and satisfy government workplace regulations. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S) 
         [0008]    The present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reading the following Detailed Description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
           [0009]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a fall protection system according to the present invention; 
           [0010]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a telescoping support for use in a fall protection system according to the present invention; 
           [0011]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a cross-bar interlocking system for use in a fall protection system according to the present invention; 
           [0012]      FIG. 4  is a first perspective view of an embodiment of a ladder interlocking system for use in a fall protection system according to the present invention; 
           [0013]      FIG. 5  is a second perspective view of an embodiment of a ladder interlocking system for use in a fall protection system according to the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 6  is a perspective view of the use of a walk-board system in combination with the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIG. 7  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of a fall protection system according to the present invention; 
           [0016]      FIG. 8  is a front elevation of the second embodiment of a fall protection system according to the present invention; 
           [0017]      FIG. 9  is a partial perspective view of the second embodiment of a fall protection system according to the present invention; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 10  is a partial perspective view of the second embodiment of a fall protection system according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0019]    Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout, there is seen in  FIG. 1  a system  10  for securing a user against falling while performing work on the side of a building, such as installing or replacing windows, repairing siding, etc. System  10  comprises a pair of telescoping supports  12  and  14  that are spaced apart and interconnected by a horizontal support  16 , such as an I-beam, cross-bar, cross-member or the like, the extends horizontally when installed. Horizontal support  16  supports an anchorage  18 , as a user-safety strap, wire hook, or cross-arm strap (available from Miller Fall Protection of Honeywell, Inc., Franklin, Pa.), that may be attached to or around horizontal support  16  at one and, at the other end, to a conventional fall protection lanyard and/or harness via a carabiner. Anchorage  18  may alternatively comprise an adjustable beam anchor that is fixed in place, or a beam trolley having rollers that can traverse along an I-beam serving as horizontal support  16 . 
         [0020]    As seen in  FIG. 2 , telescoping supports  12  and  14  each include a base  20  for firmly securing supporting  12  and  14  in place next to a building or other structure. Base  20  can include a footer or pad for improved traction, or include holes or other structure that allows base  20  to be pinned, staked, or nailed in place. Base  20  supports a lower member  22  that is telescopically engaged with an upper member  24 . Alternatively, lower member  22  and upper member  24  can be integrally formed as a single unit, pivotally attached to each other, or interconnected via fasteners. Lower member  22  preferably comprises a tubular structure that houses upper member  24  is various states between a retracted position and an expended position. Although a retractable pin  26  associated with lower member  22  may be used with a corresponding series of holes  28  in upper member  24  for interlocking lower member  22  and upper member  24  in a fixed position relative to each other, it should be recognized by those of skill in the art that other known mechanisms for securing telescoping elements in place may be used. The composition and dimension of telescoping supports  12  and  14  and horizontal support  16  are preferably selected to comply with current government regulations, such as the fall protection standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that currently require that anchorages for personal fall arrest systems satisfy 5,000 pound tensile load tests. 
         [0021]    As seen in  FIG. 3 , the upper end of upper member  24  includes a bracket  30  for locking to cross-bar  16 . When horizontal support  16  comprises an I-beam, bracket  30  may comprise a clevis  32  that engages the lower flange of the I-beam. Clevis  32  may optionally include a spring biased pin  34  that extends above the lower flange of the I-beam after it is positioned in clevis  32 . It should be recognized by those of skill in the art that upper member  24  may be releasably attached to horizontal support  16  in various ways other than by bracket  30 . For example, straps may be used, particularly if horizontal support  16  is rod-shaped, or horizontal support  16  and upper member  24  may interlocked using other known mechanical structures. 
         [0022]    Supports  12  and  14  may be secured to corresponding ladders  40  and  42  positioned at either end of the job location. The distance between ladders, and thus the length of horizontal support  16 , is dependent on the width of the work area or building and any applicable building codes or government regulations governing occupational safety. For example, OSHA currently allows for various maximum spans depending on the composition of the platform. Supports  12  and  14  may be secured to ladders  40  and  42 , respectively, using straps attached to conventional ladder jacks. Alternatively, as seen in  FIGS. 4 , a ladder bracket  44  dimensioned to engage one of the stringers (or rails) of each of ladder  40  and  42  may be formed with or coupled to bracket  30 . As seen in  FIG. 5 , ladder bracket  44  can be designed to engage a stringer of ladder  40  from either side so that supports  12  and  14  can be positioned interiorly or exteriorly of ladders  40  and  42 , or used interchangeable with either of ladders  40  and  42 . 
         [0023]    As supports  12  and  14  are positioned vertically or at a slight angle away from a building, while properly positioned ladders  40  and  42  will have a standoff angle, ladder bracket  44  may simply engage the stringer of ladders  40  and  42  to prevent movement between supports  12  and  14  and ladders  40  and  42 , respectively. In addition, a pair of ladder retainers  46  and  48  may be affixed to the side of the building where work is being performed and attached to the upper ends of ladders  40  and  42  to prevent movement of the ladders laterally or away from the building such as when ladder brackets  44  are used to connect supports  12  and  14  to ladders  40  and  42 . 
         [0024]    As seen in  FIG. 6 , a set of ladder jacks  50  and  52  may be positioned on ladders  40  and  42  to support a walk board  54  extending therebetween. A user may thus stand and walk along walk board  54  to perform installations or repairs to the side of a building or structure while harnessed to horizontal support  16 . In the event that the user slips off of walk-board  54 , horizontal support  16  will prevent user from falling to the ground. Alternatively, horizontal support  16  could additionally be positioned to act as a guard rail in lieu of or in addition to performing the role a fall arrest anchor location. 
         [0025]    In addition to using support  16  as the tethering point for a personal arrest system, the present invention may be used as a hoist to lift virtually any heavy item that falls within the safety factors of the system. For example, system  10  may be used to hoist windows so that they may be lifted into position for installation or removed from a location. Similarly, system  10  could be positioned proximately to a garage and used to host vehicle engines, transmissions, and other automotive when performing repairs. 
         [0026]    Referring to  FIGS. 7 and 8 , another embodiment of a system  100  for securing a user against falling while performing work on the side of a building comprises a pair of telescoping supports  112  and  114  that are spaced apart and interconnected by a support  116 , such as an I-beam, cross-bar, cross-member or the like, the extends horizontally when installed. Horizontal support  116  supports an anchorage  118 , as a user-safety strap, wire hook, or cross-arm strap (available from Miller Fall Protection of Honeywell, Inc., Franklin, Pa.), that may be attached to or around horizontal support  116  at one and, at the other end, to a conventional fall protection lanyard and/or harness via a carabiner. Anchorage  118  may alternatively comprise an adjustable beam anchor that is fixed in place, or a beam trolley having rollers that can traverse along an I-beam serving as horizontal support  116 . 
         [0027]    Telescoping supports  112  and  114  each include a base  120  for firmly securing supporting  112  and  114  in place next to a building or other structure. Base  120  can include a footer or pad for improved traction, or include holes or other structure that allows base  120  to be pinned, staked, or nailed in place. Base  120  supports a lower member  122  that is telescopically engaged with an upper member  124 . Alternatively, lower member  122  and upper member  124  can be integrally formed as a single unit, pivotally attached to each other, or interconnected via fasteners. Lower member  122  preferably comprises a tubular structure that houses upper member  124  in various states between a retracted position and an expended position. Although a retractable pin  126  associated with lower member  122  may be used with a corresponding series of holes in upper member  124  for interlocking lower member  122  and upper member  124  in a fixed position relative to each other, it should be recognized by those of skill in the art that other known mechanisms for securing telescoping elements in place may be used. The composition and dimension of telescoping supports  112  and  114  and horizontal support  116  are preferably selected to comply with current government regulations, such as the fall protection standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) that currently require that anchorages for personal fall arrest systems satisfy 5,000 pound tensile load tests. 
         [0028]    As seen in  FIG. 9 , the upper end of upper member  124  includes a bracket  130  for locking to cross-bar  116 . When horizontal support  116  comprises an I-beam, bracket  130  may comprise a clevis  132  that engages the lower flange of the I-beam. It should be recognized by those of skill in the art that upper member  24  may be releasably attached to horizontal support  16  in various ways other than by bracket  130 . For example, straps may be used, particularly if horizontal support  116  is rod-shaped, or horizontal support  116  and upper member  124  may interlocked using other known mechanical structures. 
         [0029]    Supports  112  and  114  are secured in position alongside a building by a corresponding pair of retainers  140  and  142  that can be attached to the building. Each retainer  140  and  142  may include a bracket  144  that couples to upper member  124  and a strap  146  that can be secured to building and attached thereto, such as by affixing nails through strap  146  into building. 
         [0030]    Referring to  FIG. 10 , a walk board  154  is suspended between supports  112  and  114  by a pair of vertically adjustable walk board brackets  150  and  152  attached to lower member  122  of each of supports  112  and  114 . Brackets  150  and  152  allow walk board  154  to be positioned at the appropriate height for a particular location and job to be performed, so that a user can easily reach the area to be worked while being tethered to anchorage  118 . It should be recognized by those of skill in the art that a user can gain access to walk board  154  through various conventional means, such as a ladder or pump jack.