Field of Search:
182/214,206,107,108,93,82,129 248/356
Claims:
I claim
1. A ladder attachment of the character described for holding a ladder in a substantially vertical, operative position against a building, comprising, rod means, at least one bracket carried by the ladder for slidably receiving said rod means, means connecting said bracket to the upper end portion of the ladder, a tubular portion formed on said bracket, said rod means being freely slidable in said tubular portion, and spring means mounted between said rod means and said bracket for biasing said rod means in a longitudinal direction toward the upper end of the ladder, whereby the upper end of the rod means is biased against the lower surface of the building eaves to thereby hold the ladder in a substantially vertical, operative position.
2. A ladder attachment according to claim 1 wherein a rubber tip is mounted on the upper ends of the rod means whereby the upper end of the rod means is frictionally held against the building eaves.
3. A ladder attachment according to claim 1 wherein a pair of brackets are provided, and means connecting each bracket to a respective side rail of the ladder.
4. A ladder attachment according to claim 1 wherein the spring means comprises a tension spring connected between the lower end portion of the rod means and the bracket.
5. A ladder attachment according to claim 4 wherein a stop collar is secured to the rod means and adapted to engage the end of the tubular portion to thereby limit the movement of the rod means upwardly through the tubular portion.
6. A ladder attachment according to claim 1 wherein the means for connecting the bracket to the ladder side rail comprises, a pair of straps, each strap having one end secured to the bracket and the opposite end clamped to the ladder side rail.
7. A ladder attachment according to claim 1 wherein the bracket comprises a piece of sheet metal bent back upon itself to form the tubular portion along one edge thereof, the free ends of the sheet having inwardly bent flange portions engaging the inner edge of the ladder side rail.
Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the normal use of a ladder, and more particularly an extension ladder, when mounted in operative position against a building, the ladder is disposed in an inclined position relative to the building, whereby the upper end portion of the ladder is closer to the building than the lower end of the ladder. When a workman, such as a painter, uses the ladder to paint the side of the building, he must continually adjust the position of the ladder relative to the building since, as his work proceeds downwardly along the side of the building, he becomes progressively further away from the building until he is in a position where he can no longer reach the side of the building. While the extension ladder may be used for performing work on the major part of the building side, a point is reached where it is impossible for the painter to use the ladder in the stable, inclined position and finish the work on the lower portion of the building wall; thus, requiring the use of a smaller ladder, such as a step ladder.
SUMMARY
In order to overcome the disadvantage of continuously manipulating a ladder in the course of performing work on the side of a building, and to preclude the necessity of having a plurality of ladders of different sizes at the job site, the ladder attachment of the present invention has been devised which comprises, essentially, a bracket secured to each side frame or rail or an extension ladder. A rubber-tipped rod is slidably mounted in each bracket, and a tension spring is connected between each rod and its respective bracket, whereby the rods are biased upwardly toward the upper end of the ladder. By this construction and arrangement, the spring biased rods are adapted to frictionally engage the bottom surface of a building eaves whereby the ladder is held in a substantially vertical, operative position relative to the building.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side elevational view showing the attachment of the present invention secured to an extension ladder disposed initially in an inclined position relative to a building;
FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the ladder and associated attachment disposed in the operative, vertical position relative to the building;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2;
FIG. 4 is a view taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3; and
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary, sectional, top plan view showing another embodiment of the manner in which the attachment may be secured to a ladder having flanged side rails.
Referring to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the attachment 1 of the present invention is shown mounted on an extension ladder 2 disposed adjacent a building 3.
The details of the construction of the attachment are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 wherein it will be seen that each side rail 2a of the ladder has a bracket 4 secured thereto by suitable clamps 5, to be described more fully hereinafter. Each bracket 4 comprises a piece of sheet metal bent back upon itself to form a tubular portion 4a along one edge thereof, a plurality of bolts 6 extend through the sheet metal to hold the edge portion in a substantially tubular configuration. A rod 7 is slidably received in each of the tubular portions 4a of the bracket, each rod having a rubber tip 8 secured to the top end thereof and a collar 9 secured to the lower end portion thereof. A tension spring 10 is connected between the collar 9 and the bracket 4 whereby the rod is biased upwardly through the tubular portion 4a. Each rod 7 is provided with a stop collar 11 which abuts the lower end of the tubular portion to thereby limit the upward movement of the rod.
The free edges of the bracket, that is, the edges of the bracket opposite from the tubular portion 4a, are bent inwardly to form flange portions 4b adapted to abut the inner edge portion 2b of the ladder side rail. The brackets are secured to the ladder side rails by straps 5a having their end portions secured to opposite faces of the bracket by suitable bolts 5b, the outer ends of the straps being secured to the ladder side rails by a clamping plate 5c secured to the straps by bolts 5d.
FIG. 5 illustrates another embodiment of securing the attachment of the present invention to a conventional extruded metal ladder having flanged side rails. On this type of ladder, the flanged portions 4b of the bracket 4 abut the inner surfaces 2c of the flanged side rail and are held thereon by the bolts 5b.
In the use of a ladder employing the attachment of the present invention, the ladder is first disposed in an inclined position as shown in FIG. 1, with the tip 8 of each rod 7 engaging the lower surface 3a of the building eaves. The lower end of the ladder is then moved toward the building to a substantially vertical position as shown in FIG. 2. As the lower end of the ladder is being moved toward the building, the rods 7 are caused to slide downwardly relative to their respective brackets against the biasing force of the springs. Through the biasing force of the springs 10 urging the rods 7 upwardly, the upper ends of the rods are frictionally held against the building eaves to thereby maintain the ladder in a substantially vertical position.
While the attachment has been shown attached to the upper end portion of the ladder, it can be mounted at other positions along the length of the ladder side rails depending upon the height of the building upon which the ladder is to be used.
It is to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shown and described is to be taken as a preferred example of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may be resorted to, without departing from the spirit of the invention or scope of the subjoined claims.