Abstract:
A support pad apparatus, including a rigid platform and a load-spreading conformable pad thereunder that conforms to the bottom surface of the platform and may either be flat or concave along its bottom surface to engage the surface of a flat, uneven or sloped roof or some other type of flat, uneven or sloped hard or soft underlying surface, both within and outside of a building, or in any other appropriate setting. The top of the platform contains the structural means to ensure that the person working, standing or walking upon the platform is able to maintain a secure, stable, and balanced footing.

Description:
This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 11/436,945 filed May 19, 2006, now abandoned. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     In the construction and related trades, it is necessary in almost every situation to provide protection to the surfaces located nearby and adjacent to the work locations and the pathways leading to and from these locations. Examples are, without limitation, locations within buildings, including flat and sloped tile, wood, carpet and stone floor surfaces, and outside buildings, including flat and sloped ground surfaces comprised of softscape, e.g. grass (natural and synthetic), and flat and sloped tile, wood, and stone and a wide variety of other natural and synthetic deck and outdoor surfaces. Flat and sloped roof surfaces require the same kind of protection. 
     A building&#39;s roof is intended to keep out the heat of the sun, the chill of the wind, and precipitation. A long roof-life is desirable in order to avoid the inconvenience and the damage that can result from a leaky roof and the usually associated high cost of repair and maintenance. Many roofing materials, which normally have a long life-span even when they are exposed to the damaging effects of sunlight and precipitation, can still become desiccative and extremely brittle over time. Brittle roofing materials can include natural materials, such as slate, and also man-made materials constructed of synthetic or inorganic components. Some man-made materials designed to be used instead of slate, such as those that are cement or oil based, or wood, can become extremely brittle as well. Roofing surface materials, even those that tend not to become as brittle as some others, e.g. composition shingle and metal, still require protection from damage in the process of installing, repairing or maintaining a flat or sloping roof surface. 
     Accordingly, a suitable apparatus is necessary for distributing the load of a person&#39;s weight and the weight of any materials or equipment that person might be carrying to permit such person to walk about and work without causing damage to the underlying surface. This apparatus needs to be stable and provide a safe and reliable working platform upon which a person may walk and work in any direction properly balanced while protecting the underlying surfaces, as described heretofore. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to aid in the understanding of this invention, it can be stated in essentially summary form that the invention is directed to a support pad apparatus, which includes a fairly rigid platform, which may be flat or slightly convex, with a load-spreading pad thereunder that conforms to the bottom surface of the platform and may either be flat or concave along its bottom surface to engage the surface of a flat, uneven or sloped roof or some other type of flat, uneven or sloped hard or soft underlying surface, both within and outside of a building, or in any other appropriate working environment. The top of the platform contains the structural means to ensure that the person working or walking upon the platform is able to maintain a secure, stable, and balanced footing on its surface. 
     Accordingly, it is a purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a support pad apparatus which is configured to lay upon a fragile, brittle or any other type of sloped, uneven or flat underlying surface and assist in distributing the weight of a person walking upon the apparatus and the weight of any materials or equipment that person may be carrying in order to prevent damage to the underlying structure or surface, or its individual component elements. 
     It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a support pad apparatus which is configured to lay upon a fragile, brittle or any other type of flat, uneven or sloped underlying surface and provide the means for a safe, secure and balanced footing for a person walking upon the underlying surface in any direction. 
     It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a support pad apparatus, which is configured to ensure enhanced stability and balance for a person when walking or working upon any type of flat, uneven or sloped surface that requires protection from damage or destruction. 
     It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a support pad apparatus which can be employed on sloped, flat or uneven surfaces, such as roofs and a wide variety of fragile and sometimes expensive indoor or outdoor hardscapes and softscapes, to ensure the protection, preservation and integrity of the underlying surfaces. 
     It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a support pad apparatus which can be used to support the weight of all kinds of items, including product inventory equipment and the like, placed in temporary or permanent storage. 
     It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a support pad apparatus structured to be lightweight, and which has one or more handholds so that it can be easily transported. 
     It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a support pad apparatus which has friction grit on the top of the platform to improve a person&#39;s traction and balance while walking upon the apparatus. 
     It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a support pad apparatus to provide the means for supporting a person&#39;s feet, for compensating for an uneven or sloped underlying surface, and enhancing a person&#39;s balance by leveling the person&#39;s body orientation. 
     It is a further purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a support pad apparatus which is configured so that several of the support pads can be attached together, either vertically or horizontally in a row, to provide a person a greater area upon which the person can move in any direction without walking directly upon or damaging the underlying surface. 
     The features of this invention, which are believed to be novel, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The present invention, both as its organization and manner of operation, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may be best understood by reference to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the support pad apparatus of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a top view of the support pad apparatus of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is an elevational view of the support pad apparatus of the present invention shown from one side. 
         FIG. 4  is an elevational view of the support pad apparatus of the present invention shown from the opposite side. 
         FIG. 5  is a perspective view of a broken away portion of a roof structure together with the support pad apparatus of the present invention, showing the manner in which the apparatus is deployed upon a roof. 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a broken away portion of a roof structure together with several vertically deployed and attached support pad apparatuses of the present invention, showing the placement of the person&#39;s feet against the foot supports and the person&#39;s body orientation. 
         FIG. 7  is an enlarged section taken generally along line  7 - 7  of  FIG. 6 , with parts broken away. 
         FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the support pad apparatus of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a perspective view of a roof of a building structure, with parts broken away, together with an alternative embodiment of the support pad apparatus of the present invention, showing the placement of the person&#39;s feet on the cleats and the person&#39;s body orientation. 
         FIG. 10  is a side elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the support pad apparatus of the present invention deployed on an uneven grass surface. 
         FIG. 11  is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the support pad apparatus of the present invention deployed on a carpeted surface inside a building. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     The support pad apparatus of the present invention generally designated at  10  in  FIG. 1  is particularly appropriate for use on various types of uneven, sloped and level surfaces. Examples are grass surfaces ( FIG. 10 ) and other outdoor surfaces containing softscapes (natural and synthetic), such as grass, low-lying plants and other types of foliage; or hardscapes such as flat, uneven or sloped ground-level brickwork, stonework, low-lying outdoor statuary, and sculptural works, or above-ground decking constructed of a wide assortment of materials, including, without limitation, tile, wood, carpet ( FIG. 11 ), synthetic grass and stone. The support pad also has applications as a platform on which to temporarily or permanently store items of all kinds while preserving the integrity of the underlying flooring surface. 
     The support pad apparatus is also appropriate to provide the means to walk about and work upon roofs of buildings and preserve the integrity of their underlying surfaces. For example, the building shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6  is any type of building structure with a roof wherein the contents must be protected from the effects of the weather, especially heat, wind and precipitation. The building, for example, may be a home, store, factory, warehouse or some other type of similar structure and is provided with a roof, which is designed and built to protect the structure&#39;s interior. The roof may be constructed of a myriad of conventional materials, some of which may be inherently fragile. Other types of roofs are constructed of materials that may not be inherently fragile or susceptible to easy breakage. Still, over time, with prolonged exposure to the elements, these roofs become more prone to damage than they were when they were originally installed. Materials that can be employed to construct the roof include, without limitation, tile (clay, cement, and metal), composition shingle (standard and dimensional), shake (natural or synthetic), metal (raised seam, flat, corrugated or profiled), and slate (natural and synthetic). A principal objective of the present invention is the protection of these types of roofs against the localized overloading of a person&#39;s weight combined possibly with the weight of any materials or equipment that person may be carrying when the person walks upon the roof surface, resulting in severe and usually costly damage to the roofs integrated component materials. 
     Accordingly, it is necessary to avoid direct heavily-weighted loads upon most types of roofs and, whenever possible, to distribute the weighted overload on the roof when a person walks and works upon its surface. The support pad apparatus of the present invention may be provided for use on flat, uneven and sloped roofs made of all kinds of materials to ensure that a person&#39;s walking load is spread sufficiently across the entire apparatus to avoid damage to the roofs surface. 
     The support pad apparatus, particularly when deployed on the surface of a sloped roof, must also provide a safe and reliable working platform for the person standing, walking and working on it. Consistent with this objective, the support pad must also provide the means to ensure that the person standing, walking and working on the pad can maintain the proper body balance, and that the risk of slipping or falling off the pad or off the roof entirely is absolutely minimized. 
     The preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated by reference to support pad apparatus  10 , which forms the principal load distributing member and may be deployed upon a roof  14  (see  FIGS. 5 and 6 ) or any hardscape or softscape (see  FIGS. 10 and 11 ) situated in a wide variety of contexts to provide a platform on which a person can walk, stand, kneel or even recline to perform installations of all kinds, repair work, transportation tasks or the like, or upon which to support goods in storage, and which protects the underlying surface from damage. Platform  16  includes first side edge  18 , second side edge  20 , front end  22 , back end  24 , top working surface  26  and bottom surface  28 , which may be flat or concave. Platform  16  also includes one or more horizontally disposed slots, such as, for example, slots  30  and  32 , with each such slot having openings  34 ,  36 , and  38 ,  40  at their respective ends. Each slot is preferably 3″ in width at the top and 4″ in width at the base. Various other combinations of these dimensions may also be suitable. 
     Key member  42 , which conforms to the configuration of slot  30 , is slidably insertable into slot  30  entering the slot by engaging it at opening  36 . Key member  44 , which conforms to the configuration of slot  32 , is slidably insertable into slot  32  entering the slot by engaging it at opening  40 . Foot supports  46 ,  47 , and  48 ,  49  are formed along corresponding edges  46   a ,  47   a  and  48   a ,  49   a  of slots  30  and  32 , respectively, and are used to give the person standing and working on the platform a stable and secure footing and a level body orientation appropriately tangential to the slope of the underlying roof surface to assist in maintaining a proper balance (see  FIGS. 6 and 7 ). 
     Foot supports  46 ,  47  and  48 ,  49  enhance the support characteristics of the support pad by providing the means to ensure that the worker&#39;s body, particularly when standing and performing a task, is oriented in a more natural horizontal position. This enables the person to walk and work more safely on the apparatus with greater balance and with less risk of slippage or disorientation. 
     Slots  30  and  32  are tapered so that the width at one end is narrower or wider than the width at the opposite end, as the case may be. Key members  42  and  44  are tapered in conformal relationship with their respective slots. 
     When key members  42  and  44  are inserted into their respective slots, either slot  30  or slot  32 , the combination of the two elements provide for a flat uninterrupted working surface on the platform. There are situations where this kind of platform is required, such as, for example, when the work involves a level or only slightly uneven surface not requiring the use of foot supports  46 ,  47  and  48 ,  49 , such as a flat roof, the flooring inside a building or a level or slightly uneven ground surface in a backyard or some other type of outdoor environment ( FIGS. 10 and 11 ). 
     Particular examples include grass surfaces and surfaces containing softscape, such as low-lying plants or other types of low-profile foliage; or hardscapes, such as ground level brickwork, stonework, low-lying outdoor statuary, and sculptural works, or above-ground decking made of wood or any other type of natural or synthetic material. In this embodiment, key members  42  and  44  are securely held tightly within their respective slots. Thus, for example, end  51  of the key member  42  is “wedged” into the corresponding tapered end of slot  30  and the end  52  of the key member  42  is prevented from slipping back out with the use of means to hold end  52  in place, such as, for example, VELCRO® material, also known by its generic components as hook and loop fasteners  58  and  60 . 
     Platform  16  is typically constructed of materials consistent with the mechanical needs of a load distribution apparatus. A thick sheet of plywood or any suitable polymer-based material having a 2′ width by a 4′, 5′, or 6′ length is preferred for working surface applications or for use to support foot traffic. When used to accommodate storage or for staging applications and for use in equipment and material transport, the preferred dimensions for the platform are 4′×4′, 4′×6′ and 4′×8′. 
     Attached to bottom surface  28  of platform  16  is resilient pad  70 , which is employed to spread the load of the weight of the platform and a person walking on it, including any item (equipment, products, etc.) that person might be carrying, and preferably is ½″ to ¾″ thick when deployed within an enclosed structure, and 1″ to 1½″ thick when deployed in an outdoor environment. Resilient pad  70  includes top surface  72  and pliable bottom surface  74 , which can be flat, but also may be concave as the conditions may require. Pliable concave bottom surface  74  is adapted to more closely conform to the shape of the underlying surface, particularly when uneven, to provide stability and eliminate an unsettling fulcrum effect that could easily result from contact between a support pad apparatus with a rigid or inflexible flat bottom surface and an uneven underlying surface (see  FIG. 10 ). Resilient pad  70  can be constructed from a large assortment of natural and synthetic materials, though a synthetic polymer composition foam material is generally preferred. 
     Platform  16  can be configured so that top surface  26  is flat, and bottom surface  28  is either flat or concave. Resilient pad  70 , when joined with platform  16  having a concave bottom surface  28 , conforms to the concave bottom surface either because of the conformable material employed or by actually shaping top surface  72  of resilient pad  70  in a mateable convex configuration. 
     Platform  16  is sufficiently rigid and resilient pad  70  sufficiently resilient so that the load created by a person&#39;s weight and/or any materials, equipment, or consumer or other goods the person is transporting or working with is distributed more evenly and the underlying working surface is not damaged. 
     Platform  16  and resilient pad  70  are joined together with some type of suitable adhesive or with the use of any other conventional attachment means commonly employed for this purpose. 
     Support pad apparatus  10  needs to be easily and comfortably carried to and from the job site or wherever else it may have application. It is for this reason that 2′×4′, 2′×5′, and 2′×6′ configurations are desirable. Hand grips  90  and  92  are formed as slots through platform  16  usually at its midpoint and adjacent its edges. The hand grips are each sized sufficiently large to accommodate almost any size hand. It should be noted that in any embodiment of the present invention resilient pad  70  may include notches  94  and  96  (see  FIG. 8 ) corresponding to the hand grip slots  90  and  92 . Notches  94  and  96  may be omitted, as desired. 
     In an alternative embodiment of the present invention shown in  FIGS. 8 and 9 , additional means are provided to strengthen platform  17  and to provide additional anti-slip support, include the use of ladder steps or cleats  100 ,  102 , and  104 , secured to the upper surface  26  of platform  17 . Cleats  100 ,  102  and  104  need not be large. A nominal 1 inch by 2 inch (actual ¾ inch by 1½ inch) strip of wood lumber or any other suitable natural or synthetic material is sufficient for this purpose. Cleats  100  and  104  extend the full width of the platform. Cleat  102  is installed between handholds  90  and  92  and thus is shorter in length. Each cleat as well as the entire top surface of platform  17  may also be coated with the high-friction grit material  108  to further minimize foot slippage. 
     Cleats  100 ,  102  and  104  are secured in place using any suitable means, including, without limitation, nuts and bolts, or any strong adhesive. 
     A person usually requires at least two support pads when walking or working on any type of underlying surface, whether inside a building or in any kind of outside environment. In this application, the person typically stands on one support pad while deploying a second ahead of the first. If necessary to proceed across the underlying, surface, the person normally would step to the second support pad and deploys the first pad as the next one in the sequence. In this way, a person can reach the area where the person is intending to perform the work without directly stepping on the underlying surface. 
     There may be situations in which a person may wish to move up and down a section the underlying surface without having to reposition the support pads in the process. Illustrative of this is  FIG. 6 , which shows several support pad apparatuses  10  connected end-to-end on a sloped roof. 
     The preferred means to interconnect several support pads, either vertically or horizontally, across the underlying surface is to employ mateable VELCRO® fastener strips attached to each end of a support pad (see  FIGS. 1 through 6 ). Interlinking hook and loop fasteners  80  and  82  are thus used for this purpose. Other types of conventional attachment means may also be suitable. 
     Fastener  106  is affixed against either the front or back end of each pad and used to hold another fastener out of the way, such as fastener  82 , when fastener  82  is not being used to interlink support pads. To achieve this, fastener  82  is simply folded down and pressed against fastener  106  ( FIG. 10 ), to hold fastener  82  in place. 
     This invention has been described in its presently preferred embodiment, and it is clear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications, modes and embodiments within the ability of those skilled in the art and without the exercise of this inventive faculty.