Ladders, rung assemblies for ladders and related methods

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10487578-B2
Application number	US-201514849917-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 10, 2015
Priority date	Sep 12, 2014
Publication date	Nov 26, 2019
Grant date	Nov 26, 2019

Abstract

Ladders and ladder components are provided including a rung assembly that provides an alert to a user of the ladder that they are standing on a particular rung or step. In one example, the lower most rung or step of a ladder includes a rung assembly having an alert mechanism. The alert mechanism may provide an audible and/or other sensory alert to a user when they step on the rung assembly so that the user recognizes their position relative to the ground or supporting surface. In one embodiment, the rung assembly is configured such that a front edge remains in a constant or fixed position relative to the rails to which it is coupled so that a user can rely on a fixed or constant position of the front edge of the assembly when climbing or descending the ladder.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A ladder comprising:
a first assembly comprising a first pair of rails including a first rail spaced apart from a second rail;
a rung assembly having a first portion coupled with the first rail and a second portion coupled with the second rail, the rung assembly comprising:
a base member comprising a front wall, a rear wall, an upper wall extending between the front wall and the rear wall and an elongated groove formed on an outer surface of the base member and having a groove length that extends between the first rail and the second rail, the elongated groove being positioned adjacent the front wall and the upper wall;
a displaceable member having an elongated pivot member having a length that extends between the first rail and the second rail, the elongated pivot member being at least partially positioned in the elongated groove, the displaceable member being configured to be pivotally displaced, about an axis extending through the elongated pivot member along the groove length, from a first position to a second position relative to the base member;
at least one alert mechanism associated with the displaceable member and configured to provide an audible alert when the displaceable member is displaced from the first position to the second position.

2. The ladder of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of additional rungs extending between and coupled to the first pair of spaced apart rails.

3. The ladder of claim 2 , wherein the rung assembly is below the plurality of additional rungs.

4. The ladder of claim 1 , wherein the displaceable member includes an upper tread portion.

5. The ladder of claim 1 , wherein the at least one alert mechanism includes a bracket coupled with the base member, a pin slidably coupled with the bracket, a collar disposed about the pin and slidable relative to the pin, and a detent mechanism configured to hold the collar at a specified position on the pin until a force of a specified magnitude is applied to the collar.

6. The ladder of claim 5 , wherein the at least one alert mechanism is positioned and configured so that the collar is released from the detent mechanism when the displaceable member is in the second position.

7. The ladder of claim 6 , wherein the at least one alert mechanism includes two alert mechanisms.

8. The ladder of claim 1 , further comprising a second assembly comprising at least one rail and a top cap coupled to the first assembly and to the second assembly.

9. A rung assembly for a ladder, the rung assembly comprising:
a base member;
a displaceable member coupled with the base member and configured to be displaced from a first position to a second position relative to the base member;
at least one alert mechanism associated with the displaceable member and configured to provide an audible alert when the displaceable member is displaced from the first position to the second position, wherein the at least one alert mechanism includes:
a bracket coupled with the base member;
a pin member slidably coupled with the bracket;
a collar slidably coupled with the pin member such that it is slidable relative to the pin member between a first collar-position and a second collar-position relative to the pin member;
at least one biasing member positioned between the collar and a portion of the bracket; and
a detent mechanism configured to hold the collar at the first collar-position on the pin member until a force of a specified magnitude and direction is applied to the collar by the at least one biasing member relative to the bracket such that the collar is displaced from the first collar-position towards the second collar-position.

10. The rung assembly of claim 9 , wherein the base member includes:
a front wall;
a rear wall;
an upper wall extending between the front wall and the rear wall;
an elongated groove positioned adjacent a location where the front wall joins the upper wall.

11. The rung assembly of claim 9 , wherein the base member includes:
a front wall;
a rear wall;
an upper wall extending between the front wall;
and the rear wall;
a channel formed in the upper wall, the channel configured to extend between a first pair of rails of the ladder.

12. The rung assembly of claim 9 , wherein the at least one alert mechanism further includes at least one additional biasing member positioned between a portion of the pin member and another portion of the bracket.

Assignees

• Wing Entpr Inc

Inventors

• Smith Christian
• Cook Benjamin
• Peterson Sean
• Russell Brian
• Moss N Ryan
• Wright Bryan
• Jonas Gary

Classifications

• E06C7/08

  Special construction of longitudinal members, or rungs or other treads · CPC title

• E06C7/003 Primary

  Indicating devices, e.g. user warnings or inclinators · CPC title

• E06C1/18

  with supporting struts formed as ladders {(E06C1/32 takes precedence)} · CPC title