GB418344A - A new or improved ladder - Google Patents

Abstract

418,344. Ladders. PRIDE, E., 19, Priestlands Park Road, Sidcup, Kent. March 5, 1934, No. 6922. [Class 20 (ii).] A lazy-tongs ladder 1 for use in combination with a trap door 11 for affording access to an upper-floor 6 from a lower or ground floor 15 is arranged with the uppermost links hingedly connected to brackets 5 mounted on the upper floor and the lower links having a pin-and-slot connection 9, 10 with brackets 16 fixed to the upper face of the trap door 11, and means are provided for pulling down the trap door from its normal position, in which it is held with the ladder in folded condition, to a position in which if may be detachably connected to the lower floor with the ladder extended. Each bracket 5 is provided with a depending hook 4, as shown in Fig. 4, for connection to the uppermost links of the ladder, and is adapted to support a rotatably-mounted spring-loaded drum 17, which, by means of a rope 19 connected to the trap door 11, is adapted to maintain the door in closed position with the ladder folded, as shown. in Fig. 7. When the door is pulled down to the positions shown in Figs. 1 and 5 against the action of the spring drums, the lowermost links slide in the slots 10 in the brackets 16 on the trap door and are then held in position by pins 22 engaging holes in the links and brackets. The pins 22 have hinged inner ends to prevent accidental displacement. The trap door is held in its lower position by a screw 13 passing through a hole 12 in the door and entering a tapped socket 14 disposed in the lower floor 15. Each bracket 5 is provided with a stanchion 21 to afford a hand grip, as shown in Fig. 1. One or more ropes are fixed to the underside of the trap door to permit the same to be pulled down. The pivots 2 of the links may extend from the ends of the tubular rungs, or the rungs may consist of flat bars faced with wood and fixed to the inner links above the pivotal connections of the latter. To provide an inclined extended ladder, one of the lowermost links is pivoted to the bracket 16 as shown in Fig. 9 and the crossing link is arranged with the pin-and-slot connection 9, 10. The links 1 may be provided with extensions 24 to constitute hand rails, as shown in Fig. 9.