Ladder leveling accessory

Details Ladder leveling accessory Ladder leveling accessory

2000-04-06

2001-03-06

Chin-Shue, Alvin (Department: 3634)

Fire escape, ladder, or scaffold

Safety device for ground-supported ladder

Terminal foot or shoe

C182S107000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06196353

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a ladder leveling accessory which may be attached to a ladder to level and stabilize the ladder when positioned on a non-level ground surface.
There is a substantial amount of prior art directed towards attachments for a ladder, such as an extension ladder, for permitting use on uneven or unleveled surfaces.
Just a few examples of the prior art are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,948,352; 4,423,797; 4,683,982; 4,766,976; 4,802,471; 4,336,331; 5,174,412; 5,273,133; 5,325,936; 5,507,364; 5,526,898 and 5,619,222. This listing is not meant to be comprehensive of all ladder leveling devices, but merely exemplary of the prior art. For example, there are a substantial number of others of earlier dates referenced in these patents. Each of the known devices provides an extension member to be placed on the end of one or both legs of the ladder to permit two points of contact with the ground surface so that the steps or rungs of the ladder are disposed substantially horizontally. Many of these prior art apparatus are relatively expensive complicated devices. Examples of such are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,766,976; 5,174,412; 5,526,898 and 5,707,364. Others have slidable members connectable to at least one of he legs and secured thereto by various locking means once the steps or rungs are in the horizontal position. In many cases, this proves to be difficult and may involve trial and error since extension ladders may be relatively heavy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Consequently, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a ladder leveling accessory which is relatively inexpensive, simple to use and substantially foolproof to set up.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a ladder accessory attachable to the legs of a ladder that has a single point of engagement with the ground, such as a spike, and a relatively flexible base member through which the spike extends.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide ladder leveling apparatus connectable to the legs of a ladder and having a downwardly projecting spike disposed at an angle relatively to the axis of elongation of the ladder for penetrating a ground surface, and a flexible base member through which the spike extends and which may be positions itself onto the ground.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a ladder leveling accessory which is attached to the legs or stiles of a ladder, the accessory having a configuration which forms an apex remote from leg attachment arms and disposed centrally transversely intermediate the arms, an elongated peg being connected at the apex and extending away from the arms at an angle relatively to the plane in which the arms and thus the legs are disposed. The peg may be in the configuration of a spike so as to readily enter a penetratable ground surface such as natural terrain or may have a spherical end for disposition on a hard surface. Surprisingly, the system provides stability to a ladder on any surface despite the single point of contact. A flexible sheet or mat material is secured at the top of the spike which then conforms to the shape of the ground to provide further stabilization to the system when on a surface penetratable by the spike. Not only does the accessory perform satisfactorily when the terrain is inclined transversely, i.e., where one leg of the ladder would not touch the ground when the steps are horizontally disposed, but it also performs satisfactorily when the terrain slopes away from the surface against which the ladder is braced, an area where the prior art is deficient.


REFERENCES:
patent: 39854 (1863-09-01), Wemple
patent: 1184292 (1959-07-01), None

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