Hopboard roof platform

Abstract

A platform including an upper deck and a lower deck longer than the upper deck, both being constructed of a light-weight sturdy material. The edges of the upper deck extend downward and the edges of the lower deck extend upward. The decks are hinged together at the forward edge of the platform, which comes in contact with the roof. Male-female sleeves are attached to the inner parts of the sides and support pieces of both decks to provide support. The sleeves adjust so the platform can accommodate varying roof pitches. The bottom surface of the lower deck is covered in non-skid material to provide adhesion to the roof. The forward edge of the lower deck has extensions with holes so the platform can be secured to the roof with screws or nails.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation in part of application number 11/146,549, now pending.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention is generally directed to a knock-down roof platform that provides a horizontally level work area for a person on a roof.

2. Description of the Related Art

The known knock-down type roof platforms require improvements in stability and adhesion to the roof in order to further increase the safety of workers on and around roof structures and reduce the potential of injury or death.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages of the known platforms.

Additional aspects and/or advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.

The above and/or other aspects may be achieved by providing a platform that increases the surface area in contact with a roof to provide improved adhesion and stability.

The above and/or other aspects may also be achieved by providing a platform which allows the user to further secure the platform to a roof, for example, with screws or nails.

The above and/or other aspects may also be achieved by providing a platform which includes an upper deck and a lower deck, longer than the upper deck, both being constructed of a light-weight and sturdy material. The edges of the upper deck extend downward and the edges of the lower deck extend upward. The decks are hinged together at the forward edge of the platform, which comes in contact with the roof. Male-female sleeves are attached to the inner parts of the sides and support pieces of both decks to provide support. The sleeves adjust so the platform can accommodate varying roof pitches.

The bottom surface of the lower deck is covered in a non-skid material to provide greater friction and adhesion on the roof. The upper deck may be covered with non-skid material. The forward edge of the lower deck has extensions with holes so that the platform can be secured to the roof with screws or nails. The forward edge of the upper deck of the platform may also have an attached handle for portability.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects and/or advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the platform according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment of the present platform illustrating a different roof angle as compared to FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 in a storage/transport position;

FIG. 5 is a view of the forward edge of the platform of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view of the topside of the lower deck of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 7 is a view of the underside of the upper deck of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Reference will now be made in detail to the present embodiment of the present invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Referring to FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 generally indicates the HopBoard Roof Platform 5 according to an embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter “platform”). The platform 5 is secured to a roof 7. The platform 5 includes an upper deck 6 and a lower deck 8. The lower deck 8 is longer than the upper deck 6 in the direction of the slope of the roof 7. The upper deck 6 and lower deck 8 may be constructed of a light-weight yet sturdy material. The edges of the upper deck 6 extend downward and the edges of the lower deck 8 extend upward. Male sleeves 11 are attached to the lower deck 8, and female sleeves 13 are attached to the upper deck 6. The lower deck 8 is reinforced with a stiffener 26. The upper deck 6 is also reinforced with a stiffener, which is not shown. The bottom surface of the lower deck 8 is covered in a non-skid material 17 to provide greater friction and adhesion to the roof 7. Although not shown, the upper deck 6 may also be covered with the non-skid material 17.

Referring to FIGS. 2, 5, 6, and 7, the decks 6, 8 are joined by hinges 16 at the forward edge of the platform 5. The hinges 16 may be welded or similarly secured. A rear edge 9 of the lower deck 8 is opposite the forward edge 10 and is lower than the forward edge 10 of the lower deck 8 during operation.

The forward edge 10 of the lower deck 8 has extensions 23 at each corner thereof. The extensions 23 have holes 19 so the platform can be secured to the roof 7 with screws or nails, or any other securing apparatus. The male sleeves 11 are attached to inner parts of sides 12 of the lower deck 8. The female sleeves 13 are attached to inner parts of sides 14 of the upper deck 6. Support pieces 18 and 22 of the lower deck 8 and upper deck 6 respectively are attached to the male and female sleeves 11 and 13.

As shown in FIG. 3, the male sleeves 11 insert into the female sleeves 13 and are secured via cotter pin 15 (or bolt or other securing apparatus) to provide support. The male sleeves 11 each have sets of aligned holes 24 while the female sleeves 13 each have the single hole 25. Selecting a particular set of aligned holes 24 and securing via the cotter pin 15 with the holes 25 of each of the female sleeves 13 accommodates varying roof pitches.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, in addition to allowing varying positions of the platform 5 for different roof pitches, the hinges 16 also allow the platform 5 to collapse for transport and/or storage. The male sleeves 11 fold down into the lower deck 8 and the female sleeves 13 fold up into the upper deck 6. A latch 28 secures the decks together during transport and/or storage. The forward edge 10 of the upper deck 6 may have an attached handle 21 for portability purposes.

Although an embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A platform for use on a roof, comprising:

a first deck;

a second deck, rotatably attached to the first deck and comprising a surface in contact with the roof, the surface comprising a non-skid material thereon; and

a support unit to adjustably support the first deck relative to the second deck.

2. The platform of claim 1, wherein the second deck is longer than the first deck in a direction of slope of the roof.

3. The platform of claim 1, wherein the surface is entirely covered in the non-skid material.

4. The platform of claim 1, wherein the second deck defines a hole to receive a securing apparatus to secure the second deck to the roof.

5. The platform of claim 4, wherein the second deck further comprises an extension defining the hole.

6. The platform of claim 1, wherein the support unit comprises a male sleeve and a female sleeve to receive the male sleeve.

7. The platform of claim 1, wherein the first deck comprises the non-skid material.

8. The platform of claim 6, wherein the apparatus folds upon itself so that sides of the first and second decks and the male and female sleeves are substantially parallel.

9. A method of providing a platform on a roof, comprising:

providing a first deck in a substantially horizontal position;

contacting a non-skid coating of a second deck, rotatably attached to the first deck, to the roof; and

supporting the first deck relative to the second deck.

10. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

providing a securing unit through the second deck into the roof to thereby secure the platform to the roof.

11. The method of claim 9, further comprising rotating the second deck relative to the first deck so that the second deck corresponds to a slope of the roof.