Ladder Support Bracket with Swivel Retainer for Pit Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
The high incidence of accidents involving ladders due to inadequate anchoring, particularly when positioned against walls or structures like elevator shafts, necessitates a solution that ensures stability and easy handling while minimizing weight and layout impact.
Innovation Solution
A ladder support bracket with a support shoulder and two jaws that can be clamped to elongated rails, featuring a retainer mechanism for secure attachment and swivel connection, allowing for adjustable positioning and folding to minimize footprint when not in use, thus preventing tipping and ensuring safe placement against a pit wall.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a ladder is equipped with a support device for anchoring to a wall or landing level, then the stability and safety of the ladder is improved, but the weight and complexity of the ladder increases
Solution Approach 1:
The support device is designed as a separate, detachable bracket that can be independently attached to the ladder and removed when not in use. This segmentation allows the ladder to maintain its lightweight design while providing stability support when needed, resolving the contradiction between reliability and weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket incorporates movable elements including a swivel connection at the ladder interface and an adjustable positioning mechanism at the wall contact point. These dynamic features allow the bracket to adapt to different installation conditions while maintaining a compact form factor, improving stability without adding excessive weight.
2Reliability
If a bracket is permanently attached to the ladder, then the stability is improved, but the ease of operation and storage becomes worse
Solution Approach 1:
The support function is separated into a detachable bracket component that can be independently mounted and removed. This allows the bracket to be attached during installation/maintenance operations for stability, and easily removed or folded away when the ladder needs to be stored or transported, resolving the contradiction between stability and ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The bracket features a swivel connection that allows it to be rotated into a compact position parallel to the ladder when not in use, and an adjustable mechanism that enables easy positioning during installation. These dynamic characteristics make the bracket easy to operate and store while maintaining stability when deployed.
3Ease of manufacture
If the bracket is designed with fixed positioning, then the manufacturing simplicity is improved, but the adaptability to different installation positions becomes worse
Solution Approach 1:
The bracket incorporates an adjustable positioning mechanism with movable elements that can be positioned at different locations along the ladder and wall interface. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the same bracket design to adapt to various installation positions and ladder configurations without requiring multiple specialized bracket types, balancing manufacturing simplicity with adaptability.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention concerns a ladder support bracket having a support shoulder for creating a support contact with a complementary backup, the bracket comprising at least one jaw for joining the bracket to an upstanding rail of a ladder, the jaw having also a retainer mechanism by means of which the bracket - when being attached to a rail of a ladder - can be brought into a clamping position attaching the bracket unmovably to the rail and a release position holding the bracket in a swivel connection relative to the rail and/or movably along at least a section of such rail.