Adjustable Ladder Support Leg for Roof Overhang Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ladders, particularly multi-purpose and offset ladders, are prone to accidents when used at high heights due to insufficient support leg length, leading to balance and overbalance risks, as they are not adaptable to varying roof overhangs.
Innovation Solution
A ladder with a joint that allows adjustable pivoting angles between 0° and 180°, and an extendable support leg that can be fine-tuned in length to match roof overhangs, combined with a latching mechanism for stability, ensuring the support leg is always sufficient for safe use.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the support leg is designed for a medium roof overhang, then the ladder structure remains simple and manageable, but the ladder becomes unsafe when used on houses with different (larger) roof overhangs
Solution Approach 1:
The support leg is made dynamically adjustable in length through a telescopic design with multiple extension stages. Users can extend the support leg to match different roof overhang lengths, transforming a static structure into an adaptable one that maintains safety across varying application conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The length parameter of the support leg is made variable rather than fixed. By providing adjustable length settings, the ladder can be configured to match different roof overhang dimensions, ensuring proper safety angles and preventing overbalancing while working on roofs of varying sizes.
2Reliability
If the support leg is made extendable to accommodate larger roof overhangs, then safety is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support leg is divided into multiple telescopic segments that can extend independently. This segmentation allows the support leg to achieve greater length while maintaining structural integrity and manageable complexity through modular design elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The telescopic support leg employs a nested structure where smaller segments are housed within larger ones. When extended, the segments slide out in sequence like nested dolls, providing length adjustment capability while keeping the retracted configuration compact and simple.
3Ease of operation
If a fixed support leg length is used, then the device remains simple and easy to operate, but it cannot adapt to varying roof overhangs
Solution Approach 1:
The support leg transitions from a fixed to a dynamically adjustable configuration. The extension mechanism is designed to be user-friendly, allowing workers to quickly adapt the support leg length to match different roof overhangs without complicated procedures.
4Device complexity
If the support leg is too short for the actual roof overhang, then the ladder structure remains simple, but the user faces balance and overbalance risks
Solution Approach 1:
The extendable support leg provides preliminary adjustment capability before the ladder is put into service. Users can pre-adjust the support leg length to match the specific roof overhang, preventing balance issues and overbalancing risks before they occur during roof work.
Data Source
AI summary
A ladder including a step leg and a support leg connected to the step leg with a joint. The joint is adjustable and the ladder latches automatically with the joint in the angular positions at 0°, between 25° and 45°, between 100° and 120° and at 180°.