Adjustable ladder support attachment
United States Patent 1 1111 3,878,917  
 McBride Apr. 22, 1975 [54] ADJUSTABLE LADDER SUPPORT 1,49620] 6/1924 Baxter l82/l72 ATTACHMENT 3,568.798 3/1971 Pierce l82/l72 [76] lnventor: Leo Robert McBride, 4308 Hoover,  
 Boise, Idaho 83705 [22] Filed: July 16, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 379,539  
 [52] U.S. Cl. 182/172 [51] Int. Cl. E06c H22 [58] Field of Search 182/172, 163, 164; 248/2l0, 221. 226 A, 229  
 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 570.66l ll/l896 Cantrell 182/163 Primary Examiner-Reinaldo IP. Machado Attorney, Agent, or Firm-John W. Kraft; Charles L. Kraft [5 7] ABSTRA CT The ladder support comprises :a ladder engaging sleeve which is slidably mounted distally from its uppermost terminal end of a leg of a typical ladder, a buttress shaft being adjustable as to its length, and a sleevebuttress coupling assembly which is operable to join the buttress and sleeve together to selectively pivot and lock the buttress shaft with respect to the sleeve and ladder leg.  
 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures ADJUSTABLE LADDER SUPPORT ATTACHMENT FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to ladders and ladder apparatus, and more particularly to a ladder support for providing lateral or longitudinal support to a ladder.  
 DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART:  
 Ladders commonly used and employed may be conveniently divided into bipod or leanto ladders, and into tripod, quadrupod and so on or self-supporting ladders. Bipod ladders have a pair of legs supporting a plurality of distally disposed rungs which are fastened to the legs. The bipod ladder is intended to be leaned against a structure which is intended to be elimed. Tripod and like ladders employ a pair of legs having a plurality of distally disposed rungs and one or more support buttresses which are typically pivotally disposed to rotate rearwardly, thus permitting the ladder to stand independent of a structure. It has been found that a frequent cause of accidents on ladders has been that while the ladder is usually relatively stable longitudinally (i.e., along its front to rear axis) the ladder may be easily tipped over if the climber leans laterally. This is particularly true if the climber is at the top of the ladder.  
  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a ladder support providing lateral buttressing thereto.  
  It is a further object of this invention that the ladder support of this invention include a coupling to laterally pivot the support means and to position and lock buttress means.  
  It is another object of this invention that the ladder support have means for adjustably lengthening and shortening the buttress.  
  It is an object of this invention to provide a ladder support in which the ladder support may be used for lateral buttressing and for longitudinal buttressing to permit a bipod ladder to be used as a self supporting ladder.  
  These and other objects shall become apparent from the description following, it being understood that modifications may be made without affecting the teachings of the invention here set out.  
 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION:  
  The ladder support comprises a ladder engaging sleeve which is slidably mounted distally from its uppermost terminal end of a leg of a typical ladder, a buttress shaft being adjustable as to its length, and a sleeve-buttress coupling assembly which is operable to join the buttress and sleeve together to selectively pivot and lock the buttress shaft with respect to the sleeve and ladder lag.  
  A more thorough and comprehensive understanding may be had from the detailed description of the preferred embodiment when read in connection with the drawings forming a part of this specification.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS:  
  FIG. 1 is a right front perspective view of the adjustable ladder support attachment of this invention shown mounted to a typical bipod ladder and shown with the ladder supports pivoted into an operating position in broken lines for illustrative purposes.  
  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken substantially along the lines 2-2 of the FIG. 1 showing the sleevebuttress coupling assembly.  
  FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, side elevational view of the crown-gear-Iike securing and positioning means taken from the apparatus of the FIG. 2.  
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT:  
  Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to the FIG. 1, the adjustable ladlder support attachment of this invention is shown to advantage and generally identified by the numeral 10. The ladder support 10 is intended to provide lateral support to a ladder 11. The ladder support is employed in a support to a ladder 11. Although the supports 10 are shown as being employed in identical pairs ofladder supports 10, one disposed at each side of the ladder 11, it is to be understood that only one support 10 may be so used. It is to be understood that the ladder support 10 may be employed with bipod or leanto type ladders, and with tripod or selfsupporting ladders to equal advantage where lateral support is required. In the description which follows, the ladder support 10 is employed with a bipod-leanto type ladder 11 which is intended to be illustrative of all ladders.  
  The ladder support 10 comprises a buttress shaft 12, a ladder engaging sleeve 13 and a sleeve-buttress coupling assembly 14. The buttress shaft 12 is a member by which lateral force from the ladder 11 is transmitted into the ground. The buttress shaft 12 may include a hollow, cylindrical member 15, and a telescoping, eylindrical member 16 which is slidably engageable within the hollow cylindrical member 15. The members 15 and 16 may be selectively locked to a suitable length of buttress shaft 12 by means of a lock screw 17 which threadably engages a hole (not shown) in the member 15, and whose tip compressively engages the member 16. It is to be understood that any of a variety of selective locking means could be employed. The lowermost terminal end, or the end opposite the end engaging the member 15, of the cylindrical member 16 may include a gripping foot 18.  
  Referring to the FIGS. 1 and 2, the ladder engaging sleeve 13 is a member which is slidable along a leg 19 of the ladder l 1. The ladder engaging sleeve 13 is selectively locked distally from the uppermost terminal end of the leg 19 by means of a lock screw 20 which engages a hole 13&#39; in the sleeve 13 whose tip compressively engages the leg 19. The coupling assembly 14 joins the uppermost terminal end, at the end opposite the end engaging cylindrical member 16 of the hollow cylindrical member 15 to the sleeve 13. As shown to advantage in the FIG. 2, the coupling assembly 14 is carried by means of a hollow cylindrical sleeve 22 which is closely slidable about the stud on a substantially cylindrical stud 21, which is projected from the outermost terminal side of the sleeve 13. The cylindrical sleeve 22 is selectively locked in a predetermined juxtaposition on the stud 21 by means of a spring loader lock bolt 23 which is slidably engageable through a hole 22 in the sleeve 22 and which is engageable in one of a plurality of socket holes 24 in the stud 21. It may be seen that the stud 21, sleeve 22 and lock bolt 23 provide means for positioning the lowermost terminal end of the buttress shaft forwardly and rearwardly in alignment with respect to the ladder 11, and its leg 19 thus permitting the support means to convert a bipod ladder 11 to a self-supporting ladder. The coupling assembly 14 includes a sidewardly projecting tongue 25. The uppermost terminal end of the hollow, cylindrical member 15 is provided with a coupling wall 26 which has its outer configuration following the cylindrical configuration of the member 15, and which has an upstanding wall disposed along a cord across the cylindrically configured member 15 adjacent to the tongue 25. The wall 26 is intended to be abutted with one of the flat terminal sides of the tongue by means of a lock bolt 27 which is engagable through a hole 26 in the wall 26 and a hole 25&#39; in the tongue 25 and is secured by a fastener means such as a wing nut 27. As shown more clearly in FIG. 3, the coupling assembly 14 may include additional means for positioning and locking the tongue 25 and the wall 26 together such as a multiplicity of meshable crown-gear-like teeth 28 cut into the respective tongue 25 and wall 26. It has been found to advantage to round the uppermost terminal end of the wall 6 to permit pivoting of the buttress shaft 12 with respect to the hollow cylindrical sleeve 22 and its tongue 25.  
  Referring again to the FIG. 1, the sleeve 13 of the ladder support 10 may be suitably positioned distally from the uppermost terminal end on one of the legs 19 of the ladder 11. The ladder support 10 may be then used to provide lateral support by positioning the buttress shaft 12 in alignment with the legs 19 and locking the sleeve 22 and the stud 21 by means of the bolt 23 as set out above. The ladder support 10 may also be used to provide longitudinal support for a selfsupporting ladder by pivoting the buttress shaft 12 with respect to the leg 19 by means of the stud 21 and the sleeve 22 as set out above. when the ladder support 10 is a suitable juxtaposition with respect to the type of support required, the buttress shaft 12 may be pivoted outwardly with respect to the leg 19 by means of the tongue 25 and wall 26 on the lock bolt 27. When the lowermost terminal end of the buttress shaft 12 is a suitable distance away from the lowermost terminal end of the leg 19, the lock bolt 27 is secured. The buttress support 12 may be extended to a suitable length to meet the ground by telescoping the member 16 with respect to the member 17 and securing the respective members 15 and 16 by means of the lock screw 17.  
  Having thus described in detail a preferred apparatus which embodies the concepts and principles of the invention and which accomplishes the various objects,  
 purposes and aims thereof, it is to be appreciated and will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many physical changes could be made in the apparatus without altering the inventive concepts and principles embodied therein. Hence, it is intended that the scope of the invention be limited only to the extent indicated in the appended claims.  
 I claim:  
 1. A ladder having a pair of upstanding legs, a ladder support, comprising:  
 A ladder engaging sleeve which is slidably mounted distally from the uppermost terminal end of one of said legs and which is secured to said leg by a lock screw carried in said sleeve;  
 a sleeve-buttress coupling being suitably mounted to said sleeve, and including a tongue having one substantially upstandingly disposed face, a coupling wall having a face disposed adjacent said upstanding face of said tongue, and a lock screw disposed through said coupling wall into said tongue, said tongue being fastened to said ladder sleeve by means of a sidewardly projecting stud fastened to the outer terminal side of said ladder sleeve, and a sleeve fastened to said tongue and which is slidably engageable with said stud, said stud and said stud engaging sleeve being secured by a lock screw; and  
 a buttress shaft including a hollow cylindrical member fastened at its uppermost terminal end to said coupling wall, and a telescoping cylindrical member which is slidably engageable within said hollow cylindrical member, bothof said members being secured to each other by a lock screw which is threadably engageable with a hole in said hollow member to engage the outer wall of said telescoping member. 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said stud and said sleeve are cylindrically shaped, and wherein said set screw is threadably engageable in said stud engaging sleeve to engage one of a plurality of socket holes disposed at intervals about the circumference in said stud.